American Bankers In Detroit

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Frederick M. Alger (son of Russell A. Alger) is a second cousin 3x removed of my son-in-law's; Standish Backus and I most likely have mutual Backus ancestors, and another relative of mine married into the Book family (probably related to Dr. J. B. Book). 

Colver-Culver Genealogy

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"John Winthrop the younger, in whose company Edward Culver came to America, recruited his band of colonists from the counties Middlesex, Kent and Essex; as the Colver, or Culver, is found in the Middlesex records, especially in some parishes of London, it is more than probable Edward Colver was a native of those parts."

Edward Culver married Sarah Backus, daughter of William Backus and Elizabeth Pratt.

Daniel Kelley, A Backus/Reynolds Descendant

A genealogical history of the Kelley family : descended from Joseph Kelley of Norwich, Connecticut, with much biographical matter concerning the first four generations and notes of inflowing female lines:

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Backus's In The Genung--Ganong--Ganung Genealogy

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John Taylor, son of Thomas Taylor and Nancy Ganong, married Adelaide Backus.

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Other Backus's mentioned here.

Corporal 'Lige's Recruit...

...A Story of Crown Point and Ticonderoga,  By James Otis (Juvenile Fiction):

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A reference to Ticonderoga was found in an ancestor's (John Backus) Revolutionary War pension papers here.  In a supporting affidavit for his father's pension application, John Backus's son stated that he "Often heard him say on his return that he was at Ticonderoga under Gen'l Wayne in Captain Douglas Company."

Brother Jonathan

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Also see my blog post at Detour Through History.

The Trumbull family was intertwined with the Backus's (I'm a Backus descendant).

Lucy (Backus) Dodge

Dodge genealogy : Descendants Of Tristram Dodge:

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Lucy Backus was the daughter of John and Jerusha (Baker) Backus [John and Jerusha are my 5th great-grandparents].

At Mount Independence

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Meanwhile, Major General Riedesel, who, with the German division had encamped at Three Mile Point, pushed forward a detachment along the east shore of the lake opposite the fort, as far as East Creek, a stream that flows into Champlain, along the northern base of Mount Independence.

Fort Ticonderoga was situated upon a sharp point of land at the junction of the waters of the two lakes. A somewhat correct idea of its situation perhaps, might be obtained, by describing it as the center of a triangle, of which Mounts Hope, Independence and Defiance are the angles. 

The usual quiet, therefore, was maintained within the fort, until the darkness of the night had hidden them from the eyes of those who rested on the adjacent hills. Then commenced the [American] preparation for retreat. After midnight, the garrison moved silently down the descent to the water side, and unperceived crossed the bridge to Mount Independence.

Just as day was breaking in the cast, the flag of England unfurled its ample folds above the walls of Ticonderoga. Without delay he [British Gen. Simon Fraser] hastened over the bridge to Mount Independence, and, followed by Riedesel and his Brunswickers, pressed eagerly forward in the track of the flying patriots.

An ancestor at Mount Independence:

John Backus's Revolutionary War Pension:

...Ticonderoga has been then but a short time when he was placed in a redout a short distance from the main fort as an artillerist together with others of the same regiment.

During the winter there was much work done in making something like a bridge across a marsh or a part of the lake from the fort to the foot of mount independence... . 

Connected To One By Family And The Other By Geography

From Washington, West of the Cascades...


"In 1907 he [Judge Thomas Burke] went abroad, accompanied by his wife and Mr. and Mrs. M. F. Backus*. They sailed on the steamship Minnesota and traveled extensively through the Orient, combining business and pleasure, for the two gentlemen were special commissioners of the Alaska-Yukon Pacific Exposition. Their efforts in that connection were given without compensation and the participation of the Japanese and other oriental peoples in the exposition was brought about through their efforts."

*Manson Franklin (M.F.) Backus was the nephew of my great-great-great grandmother, Laura (Backus) Richmond (Manson's father, Clinton, was Laura's half-brother), and it was his name that caught my attention in the book.  

"In the meantime he (Thomas Burke) had determined upon the law as his life work and in preparation therefore he entered the Michigan State University [sic] at Ann Arbor, although again his period of study was not a continuous one, as it was necessary for him to leave the university at times and continue teaching in order to meet the expense of his college course. He was also a student for a time in the office of a practicing lawyer at Marshall, Michigan, and following his admission to the bar he entered upon active practice in that city. Before a year had passed he was chosen to fill the position of city attorney, which office he continued to fill until his removal to the west in 1875. [He was a student in Ypsilanti, Michigan, in 1870]

He began the practice of his profession in partnership with John J. McGilvra, a pioneer lawyer who came to Washington territory in 1861, holding an appointment as United States district attorney, given to him by President Lincoln. This partnership did not continue very long, although the two men remained firm friends and Burke became permanently related to McGilvra by winning the heart and hand of his beautiful daughter.

.Before leaving Marshall, Judge Burke had decided that Seattle was to be the place of his future residence." 

United States Census, 1880
Name:     Tho'S Burke
Residence:     Seattle, King, Washington
Birthdate:     1851
Birthplace:     New York, United States
Relationship to Head:     Self
Spouse's Name:     Carrie Burke
Spouse's Birthplace:     Illinois, United States
Father's Birthplace:     Ireland
Mother's Birthplace:     Ireland
Race or Color (Expanded):     White
Occupation:     Lawyer
     Household    Gender    Age
      Tho'S Burke     M     29
Spouse     Carrie Burke     F     21

Reading further about Judge Burke, the references to Michigan State University and Marshall, Michigan, got my attention.  We frequently shop and dine in Marshall, Michigan, from our summer home. (Thomas Burke attended the University of Michigan, not Michigan State University).  Not only did Judge Burke live in my neck of the woods at one time, he toured the Orient with one of my "Backus" relatives.

The Duke of Stockbridge - A Romance of Shay's Rebellion

The Duke of Stockbridge by Edward Bellamy (a Socialist) and Joseph Shiffman, was a story or "Romance" of Shays' Rebellion, published in 1900 (although published serially in 1879).  [See my June 2006 post about Shays Rebellion at "Detour Through History"]

"...when he (Mr. Bellamy) undertook to write a romance of his native Berkshire Hills he chose not unnaturally the episode of the revolt of the debtor farmers in 1786 against their harsh creditors and the oppressive State government."  A New York Times review of the novel can be found here. 

Shays Rebellion participants were intent upon storming the Springfield [Mass.] Armory.  According to this site, the problem arose from the "mercantile elite" of Eastern Massachusetts, ...who "demanded hard currency to pay foreign creditors."

Did Shays Rebellion scare leaders into supporting a strong central government?  Apparently Madison was persuaded.

From Gazetteer of Berkshire county, Massachusetts, 1725-1885:

 "There have been eight executions in the county [Berkshire Co., Mass.] for capital offences, as follows: John Bly and Charles Rose, December 6, 1787, for burglary committed in Lanesboro, under pretense of getting supplies for men engaged in Shays Insurrection;....".  This source stated that "John Bly and Charles Rose, (two of the leaders of the rebellion) were hanged for treason."  Another source stated that .."800 rebels were captured, 18 were sentenced to death and two were actually put to death."

Although Shays' Rebellion is of historical importance, the historical characters in The Duke of Stockbridge who were descended from William Backus, as am I, are of particular interest to me.  I love it when genealogical material can be mined in fiction.

Excerpts:

 It is true that Squire Jahleel Woodbridge is even more brilliantly descended, counting two colonial governors and numerous divines among his ancestry, not to speak of a rumored kinship with the English noble family of Northumberland. But instead of tending to a profitless rivalry the respective claims of the Edwardses and the Woodbridges to distinction have happily been merged by the marriage of Jahleel Woodbridge and Lucy Edwards, the sister of Squire Timothy, so that in all social and political matters, the two families are closely allied. [Duke of Stockbridge - DOS]

In the west half of the store building, Squire Edwards lives with his family, including, besides his wife and children, the remnants of his father's family and that of his sister, the widowed Mrs. President Burr. Young Aaron Burr* was there, for a while after his graduation at Princeton, and during the intervals of his arduous theological studies with Dr. Bellamy at Bethlehem. Perchance there are heart-sore maidens in the village, who, to their sorrow, could give more particular information of the exploits of the seductive Aaron at this period, than I am able to. [DOS]

*Aaron Burr, though not a Backus descendant, had Backus cousins.  Aaron Burr was also descended from Agnes Harris, widow of William Spencer, through her 2nd husband, William Edwards.  William Spencer was my Gerrard Spencer's brother (Gerrard's daughter, Sarah, married Stephen Backus). 

Another "Backus" descendant is Sarah Palin.

Factoid:  Francis Bellamy, the author Edward's cousin, wrote the original Pledge of Allegiance.

A Piece of Burr's Conspiracy In The Ohio River

The Street of Knives, a novel by Cyril Harris, described Aaron Burr's pursuit of "...his dream of Mexico and empire, of gold and glory (otherwise known as the Burr conspiracy). Burr made his historic journey by flatboat down the Ohio and the Mississippi, appealing to the West to join him." [See review in the Ohio History website here].

An important stop on Burr's journey of 1806 was at Blennerhassett (formerly Backus) Island, near the town of Marietta, Ohio, where Burr proposed to "set up a depot, complete with barracks, ammunition storage and drill fields." The problem of Burr and his plans for setting up shop in Marietta became the problem of local store owner Dudley Woodbridge, as the "head of the town council." [See Mr. Woodbridge's testimony in the Trial of Aaron Burr].

The "elders" made it clear to Burr that Blennerhassett Island would be more suitable for his purposes than would Marietta. Burr felt that the "chilly wind blowing between us" was because it was felt that he (Burr) was "attainted with the smell of England...". Judge Meigs told Burr that "...we out here have got it into our heads that a trap of some sort is being set by certain ones for us to walk into... ."

Replica of the Blennerhassett house on the Island; upper left photo is the dining room in the house and upper right photo is a bedroom there. Can it be said that Aaron Burr ate and slept here? [Not really; the original house burned in 1811]

The wealthy Harman Blennerhassett was described by Dudley Woodbridge as having "every sort of sense but common sense." Just ask Margaret Blennerhassett, who was both the wife and the niece of Mr. Blennerhassett!

When Burr told the Blennerhassetts that it's understandable that they named their island after the god Bacchus, Mr. Blennerhassett explained by saying, "But you see, Your Excellency, the name isn't Bacchus, but Backus. He spelled the name out, and was at great pains to explain that Elijah Backus* of Norwich in Connecticut had once bought the place for two hundred and fifty pounds Virginia currency, and had later sold it for half as much again."

The Backus angle is especially of interest to me because I am a descendant of William Backus, the original immigrant, as is Dudley Woodbridge (Jr.) and Elijah Backus (who was related to Woodbridge). Aaron Burr's Edwards' ancestors intermarried with the Backus family. In addition, Burr's ancestress, Agnes Harris married 1st William Spencer (a brother of my Gerard Spencer) and 2nd William Edwards, Aaron Burr's ancestor. *Elijah Backus's daughter, Lucy, married Judge Nathaniel Pope and was the mother of Civil War General John Pope.

George Washington was also a former owner of the island which was part of Virginia (now West Virginia). When the conspiracy surfaced, Burr was prosecuted for treason in Richmond, Virginia, probably to the relief of the "elders" of Marietta, Ohio.

When In Savannah...

One sight to see in Savannah, Georgia, is Bonaventure Cemetery, made even more famous by the novel, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt. While there, not only did we visit the graves of the famous, there was an unexpected genealogy angle as well. Trans- planted members of the New England Backus family (and their Georgia kin) were buried in Bonaventure. Jim took pictures of the Backus gravestones and I posted them at findagrave.com. For more information, a search can be done.

Henry Ritter Backus was born in Lindsley, New York, the oldest son of Ebenezer & Sarah (Lindsley) Backus. His Backus lineage: (Henry Ritter7, Ebenezer6, Delucena5, John4, John3, William2, William1). I am also a descendant of William1. He also lived in Binghamton, NY, and Athens, PA, before moving south to Wilmington, NC, eventually settling in Savannah, Georgia.

Buried near Henry Ritter Backus is his wife, Helen Jewett Backus, daughter, Annie Jewett Backus, son Henry Edward Backus (and his wife Alice Hardee) and daughter Elizabeth Welch (Backus) Mason.

The book, Biographical history of Westchester County, New York, pub. 1899, mentioned that Henry Ritter married Eliza Backus, daughter of Delucena Backus, and that Eliza was a descendant of Governor William Bradford (Mayflower). Apparently Henry Ritter Backus was named after his Aunt Eliza's husband. The book also stated that Delucena Backus married Electa Mallory. Delucena was the son of John Backus & Sybil Whiting and the grandson of John Backus & Mary Bingham. Then there was William Backus who married Elizabeth Pratt, and the next ancestor was William Backus who crossed over in the "Rainbow" and was first heard of in Saybrook, Connecticut in 1637.

The University of North Carolina houses a manuscript by Annie Jewett Backus

Manuscript by Annie J. Backus, tracing the descent of Mrs. Thomas Pinckney Waring's family, of Savannah, Ga., from the Backus family of Norwich, England, 1637-1908. Genealogical research includes character and family sketches, ancestoral anecdotes, and childhood recollections. Parent's marriage and courtship, mother's teaching school, and author's debut in society as well as encounters with Indians, condemned prisoners, and hurricanes are mentioned.

We also visited graves mentioned in the book by Berendt including songwriting legend Johnny Mercer, as well as poet Conrad Aiken and his parents.