#28 - Hawxhurst Genealogical Story of 1888 by William Ephraim Hauxhurst - A Guest Blogger from the 1800s

Now and then I get lucky. This post is a result of finding a "story" written about the Hauxhurst family by a Hauxhurst before the 20th century.

The Hawxhurst family has been on Long Island for centuries, and intermarried with some of the same Quaker families.This post will contain a genealogical piece of the Hawxhurst [also spelled Hauxhurst and Hawkshurst] family and written by an ancestor was was local to the Westbury, Long Island, my great-great grandfather, William Ephraim Hawxhurst's story.  
WE Hawxhurst was the husband of Marianna Hicks (separate post on her), and compiled this summary in February of 1888 (well over a century ago).  

He writes that the information comes from an extract in his "possession that appears to have been taken from the town records," with his own additions.

What appears in brackets are my additions. The names in bold indicates one of my direct ancestors. I have placed a Roman numeral next to each generation.

  Hawxhurst Genealogy

"A short account of my father's family taken from an extract in my possession that appears to have been taken from the town records with additions made by myself Wm. E. Hauxhurst in Feb. 1888.

[I] Christopher Hauxhust & Mary Ruddick
Sometime before 1672, Christopher Hauxhurst, of Cedar Swamp (now Greenvale) married Mary Ruddick, oldest daughter of Henry Ruddick of Killingworth, one of the first settlers and largest land owners in the old purchase of Oyster Bay [Long Island, NY].
 
Their children were: William, Mary, and Sampson. 

• William left no children. 
• Mary married George Townsend and was the ancestors of the Duck Pond, Norwich, and Yellow Coate Townsends. 
• Sampson married Hannah Townsend, daughter of John Townsend at the Mill [known as ‘Mill John’ Townsend]

[II] Sampson Hauxhurst and Hannah Townsend
[Sampson & Hannah] …lived for several years at Cedar Swamp, where he had a large property derived from his grandfather Ruddick, his father and his father-in-law.
 
Re: Sampson & Hannah (Townsend)’s Children & etc:
Somewhere between 1710 and 20 he [Sampson Hauxhurst] removed to Matinecock (now called Buckram).
Now, 1888 known as Locust Valley), where he also had inherited property.
Here for several years the records show him actively engaged in buying and selling land. Probably to bring his estate into a compact form when he died.
His children were:

• William, 
• Benjamin,
• Sampson and
• Joseph.

[III] William [Hauxhurst] and Benjamin engaged in mercantile pursuits in New York. The latter being successful. The former [William] was at first prosperous but some of the numerous misfortunes to which mercantile operations are subject, lost his property. 

Re:William Hauxhurst’s children
-His daughter Hannah married Peter Townsend of Chester Orange County, son of the fourth Henry Townsend. 

-Sampson and Joseph remained on their father's estate where their farm was bought  by James Cock. 

[IV] Joseph Hauxhurst & Family
[It is believed Joseph  married Sarah Mott. They had William Hauxhurst and probably at least three daughters.]

[V] William, the son of Joseph Hauxhurst
William (my grandfather), the son of Joseph, then removed to Kill River Hollow. 
He afterward removed to Oyster Bay in what has been known as Poverty Hollow.
Re: William Hauxhurst's Wife & Family
William, my grandfather, married Violette [Violetta] [Allen/Alling] They had children.

• Sarah married William L. Baxter. Lived at Cow Neck [Long Island, NY].

• Esther never was married  Lived to be an old woman.

• Mary married Isaac F. Brandt. Lived in New York

• Phebe married Daniel Waldron. Lived at East Norwich.

• Townsend never married. Died while young.

• Allen married. Lived in Oyster Bay.

• Ephraim Cock Hauxhurst [his father] married. Lived in his latter years where I now live.

[VI]Ephraim Hauxhurst's marriages:

1. Ephraim, my father, was married first to Julia Lefferts. She lived a short time.
2. He then married Mary Ann McKenny. Had one child who lived about one year. She died. [A Quaker source said the child's name was Ephraim]
3. He then married my mother, Charity Titus, daughter of Timothy [Titus] of Wheatly.

Ephraim Hauxhurst’s occupation, William writes:
My father was a schoolteacher in his younger days. He taught first at Huntington where he married his first wife, Julia Leffert.

He also taught in Oyster Bay and at Glen Cove [Long Island] where he married his second wife, Mary Ann McKenny. She lived some two years.

He then taught school in Westbury [Long Island, NY] and purchased the farm where I now live and married after a few years my mother, Charity Titus, daughter of Timothy of Wheatly. They had children.

• Elizabeth-Married Oliver Van Cott of Dutchess Co., N. Y.

• Caroline-Never married. Died when grown.

• William Ephraim married Marianna Hicks daughter of Isaac and Mary Fry Hicks. Lives at Westbury on father's farm.

• Margaret T. - Not married. Lives with me.

William E Hauxhurst continues with his own family:
 
William E. [himself] and Marianna [Hicks] have children:

• Mary Willis married Edwin Tyson. Lives in Flora Dale, Penna.

• Caroline - Not married

• Wm. Wallace -Not married

• Florence Amelia - Not married

• Harold E. -  Not married

• Bertha C - Not married [my great grandmother]

The Hauxhurst Genealogical Story of  1888 ends here. 
More on William E Hauxhurst and the Tyson family in other posts. Below a photo of the author (or "guest blogger") of this post, William E Hauxhurst.

William Ephraim Hauxhurst author of this story abt 1870-80

From the book:
American Ancestry- Giving The Name and Descent, in the Male Line, Americans whose Ancestors Settled In the United States Previous To The Declaration of Independence, A.D. 1776, VOL. X. Albany, N. Y. : Joel Munsell’s Sons, Publishers. 1895. 

HAWXHURST, WILLIAM EPHRAIM of Old Westbury, N. Y. 
Born there May 19, 1838
farmer and surveyor, son of Ephraim Cock Hawxhurst (1793-1859) and Charity Titus (1802-1877)
Married Oct. 17, 1861 Marianna Hicks b. Sept. 27, 1842, dau. of Isaac and Mary Fry [Willis] Hicks and gr.-dau. of John Doughty and Sarah [Rushmore] Hicks and of John and Mary [Kirby] Willis,
issue:
*Mary Willis
* Caroline
*William Wallace
*Florence A.
*Harold E.
*Bertha C.

#27- Ephraim Cock Hawxhurst and Charity Titus and Their Family

  Ephraim Cock Hauxhurst and Charity Titus

Ephraim Cock Hauxhurst (Hawxhurst / Hawkshurst) was my great grandmother Bertha Hauxhurst’s grandfather (my great-great-great grandfather).

Ephraim C Hawxhurst was the son of William Hauxhurst and Viotetta Allen (or Alling), and a longtime member of Westbury Monthly Meetings. 

His father, William Hauxhurst  was born 1761 and died 1831 while his mother was Violetta Alling [Allen] was born in 1765 and died 1819. It looks like they had seven children who survived to adulthood, Ephraim C being the third eldest.

1-Esther (1789-1858)
2-Noah Townsend (1791-1826)
3-**Ephraim Cock (1793-1860)
4-Allen (1796-1879)
5-Mary (1798-1858)
6-Sarah (1801-1885)
7-Phoebe (1804-1883)

Ephraim was given a middle name Cock which reflected yet another Long Island family he was descended from. The Cock (Cox, Cocks, Coke) family was had settled in Matinecock, Oyster Bay in the 1600s. 
This sample page from a book (publ. 1914) shows a testimony of some early Quaker families listed on the right-hand page. The book is “The History and genealogy of the Cock, Cocks, Cox family, descended from James and Sarah Cock, of Killingworth upon Matinecock, in the township of Oyster Bay, Long Island, N.Y”
 

Cock Family on Long Island

Ephraim Cock Hawxhurst's Birthdate & His Marriages
Ephraim was born April 29, 1793 and was married three times.
He married first Julia Lefferts on September 22, 1821, but she died. 
Ephraim married second a Mary Ann McKenny [McKenna] on November 27, 1824. She died also.
His third wife was Charity Titus, daughter of Timothy Titus and Margaret Titus.  Charity Titus was born December 24, 1802.

Third Marriage
Ephraim married Charity Titus on March 26, 1834 at Westbury. 

Titus Family
Charity Titus was of the of the Long Island Titus family--another long-time Quaker family of Long Island. 
The Titus family is arrived first to New England and then settled in Long Island about 1650. Her parents were likely distant cousins as they both bore the Titus surname and Quakers within a region frequently married distant cousins (or, sometimes, first cousins). 

Her father was Timothy Titus (1765-1850). His first wife Margaret Hoagland bore two sons and then died. His second wife, and Charity's  mother, was Margaret Titus (1773-1855).

Family
Unlike his first wives Charity Titus (Hawxhurst) survived and gave birth to children and then outlived Ephraim.
Charity Titus died November 7, 1877, outliving Ephraim by seventeen years. Ephraim died November 12, 1860 in Westbury, Long Island, NY.

Their children and grandchildren
1-Elizabeth was born February 7, 1835. Elizabeth married Oliver Van Cott.
 -Her brother,the son (William), noted that this sister’s husbandwas of Dutchess County NY.  And, that he (Oliver) was a descendant of one of their grandmothers, Jemina Titus.  Jemima was his grandfather Timothy's sister, and she married John Van Cott. They were distantly related. (Got that?)
William noted that Elizabeth and Oliver Van Cott had two children at the time he was writing (in mid or late 1880s): Sons were: William E. Van Cott, and George T. Van Cott.

2 Caroline was born July 17, 1836 and died June 21, 1860, buried at Westbury.
William notes that this sister “never married.” 
She had a “spinal disease and could not walk. She died with diphtheria in 1860.”
 
3 William Ephraim, (subject of Post # 34) was born May 19, 1838. William E Hauxhurst married Marianna Hicks (subject of Post #31).  William made a nice summary of genealogical notes, including the ones mentioned here.
William and Marianna had six children. Their youngest child was my great grandmother, Bertha Charity.

4 Margaret T, born July 4, 1845 and died March 14, 1916 was  “unmarried.” William notes she “Lives with me.”(her brother William at Buckram, LI)

#26-Marianna Hicks of Long Island

Marianna Hicks of Long Island

 Marianna Hicks is my last direct ancestor named Hicks. She was the daughter of Isaac Hicks and Mary F Willis: the children of Isaac Hicks and Mary Fry Willis were:
1 Gilbert (1838-1922),
2 Edward (1840-1920) and
3 William C (1845-1846-died as an infant), and the subject of this post:
4 Marianna, my great-great grandmother 

Marianna Hicks, my great-great grandmother, was born September 27 1842 in  Nassau Co, New York and died August 13, 1915 in Nassau, County, New York. She is the last of the Hicks family  in my direct ancestry. 

Childhood Toy for Marianna
Marianna's  father Isaac  Hicks made  her a doll's bed to play with as a child. It is adorned with  handmade canopy and sheets.  Here are my photos of it:

Side view dolls bed by Isaac for Marianna Hicks c 1852

view frm corner Isaac Hicks' doll bed for Marianna c 1852

Isaac's doll bed for Marianna Hicks w/o mattress c 1852

Pillows and view of mattress with little sheets removed Marianna Hicks' c 1852

Five Generations
Marianna was the granddaughter of John Doughty Hicks (1790-1829) and Sarah R Rushmore (1790-1893) on her paternal side; of John Willis (1790-1864) and Mary W Kirby (1790-1873) on her maternal side.
Both of Marianna's grandmothers lived long lives: Mary W (Kirby) Willis lived to be 83 and Sarah (Rushmore) Hicks lived to be 103. We have a rare photo of 5 generations here:

5 Generations: L-R  Marianna Hicks Hawxhurst, Sarah Rushmore Hicks,  Isaac Hicks; seated Mary Hawxhurst Tyson and toddler Mary Muriel Tyson c 1891 Old Westbury, NY

Youth and Marriage

Marianna Hicks c 1856-57 as teen

Marianna Hicks married William Ephraim Hawxhurst on October 17, 1861 in Westbury, Long Island, NY.

William Ephraim Hawxhurst

 

William E Hawxhurst

William Ephraim Hawxhurst was born on May 19, 1838 in Old Westbury, Long Island, New York and he died February 5, 1908 in prob. Hempstead, New York.
William  Hawxhurst  was the son of:

•  Ephraim Cock Hawxhurst (1793-1860) and

• Charity Titus (1802-1877), Both of Long Island and Quaker

NOTE: The name Hawxhurst nearly as often spelled Hauxhurst, and in documents sometimes it appears as Hawkshurst.

 

CHILDREN:
The first child Mary was born in 1862 and the last child Bertha was born in 1881-so there was a 19 year age span between the first and last born child.

Their children:

1-Mary Willis Hawxhurst 1862-1941 (M Edwin Comly Tyson, bro of Chester Tyson)
2-Caroline H Hawxhurst 1866-1939 (M Frederick Fraley Sharpless)
3-William Wallace Hawxhurst 1869-1952 (M Ida Fredericke Hunninghaus)
4-Florence Amelia Hawxhurst 1875- after 1930 (M Richard Carpenter)
5-Harold Ephraim Hawxhurst 1878-1947 (M Hazel Blossom Sutton)
6-*Bertha Charity Hawxhurst 1881-1973 (M Chester J Tyson, bro of Edwin Comly Tyson)                                                                                                                            *Bertha was my great grandmother.

Relatives & Friends: Orthodox & Hicksite Friends Westbury
Apparently the Hawxhursts were tight with the local Orthodox Friends. In the picture below, the woman who is second from left is "Aunt Margaret Hauxhurst" - Margaret is William Hawxhurst's sister.

Bertha labeled several photos of the school she attended for instruction, and this one happened to have several Orthodox Friends.

Left to Right: Henrietta Titus, Margaret Hawkshurst (sis to WE Hawkshurst), Mary Post, Sarah Titus, Sarah Bunyan. 

(Recall that W.E. Hawkshurst's mother's maiden name is Titus).

Add caption

Henrietta Titus, Marg Hawxhurst, Mary Post, Sarah Titus, Sarah Bunyan -Orthodox Friends who instructed

From Oct 10, 1908 Newspaper article

L-R Harold Hawxhurst, William Hawxhurst Marianna, Bertha H- in front, Wallace Hawxhurst. Unknown woman-poss Ida H, Unknown Man, Florence Hawxhurst c.1888

Bertha's photo of "Mother" (Marianna Hicks Hawxhurst) c 1906

Marianna Hicks Hawxhurst's Obituary August 1915

#25 -Mary Fry Willis, wife of Isaac Hicks. Middle Name to the Rescue!

Mary Fry Willis (1817-1898), wife of Isaac Hicks.  Happiness is Finding A Middle Name

I love middle names: My brother’s middle name is “Bancroft” it was once a surname (family) name. As a surname, helps in genealogy so middle names can help--if you’re lucky.  I would urge caution, middle names can also muddle things.
 

Mary Fry Willis - D of John Willis & Mary W Kirby
Mary Fry Willis was named after her ancestor Mary Fry, and was born on 14 January  1817  in Westbury, Long Island, NY (Jericho Meeting).  She was the daughter of John Willis and Mary W Kirby. 

Mary Fry Willis married Isaac Hicks (found in another post) in Westbury, New York. 

Which Willis? Which Mary?

I looked through naming patterns (first names) and then at the Quakers on Long Island who intermarried. I began to despair when rather running into a genealogical brick wall, I was dealing with a profusion of possibilities. 

Mary Fry Willis’ Middle Name To the Rescue
I took advantage of Mary Willis’ middle name “Fry” beginning with the assumption that it was a surname in her family--and Quaker. 
I then was lucky enough to find a letter written by a family member who had grown up in the area, and was acquainted with all the families on LI; a letter written about 1910. 
The writer said Mary Fry Willis was given the name “Mary Fry”  in honor of one of her great grandmothers. 
So now I knew she had a direct ancestor with that name thus narrowing my choices. She was also descended from a Mary Fry, and the Fry family was a Quaker family, likely from Long Island. 

I was hopeful that I'd narrowed the possibilities to Quaker females on Long Island in the pre-Revolutionary War period who named Mary Fry.
Indeed, I found only 1 Mary Fry (or Frey) from the colonial era:

• Mary Fry Willis’ great-great grandmother was Mary Fry (1712-1800). She married Samuel Willis & MFW's great-great grandfather (1704-1782) Their son was:

•  Mary Fry Willis’ great grandfather was John Willis (1734-1789). His son was:

• Mary Fry Willis’ grandfather was Samuel Willis (1759-1838). His son was:

• Mary Fry Willis’ father was John Willis (1790-1864)

So, Mary Fry Willis was named for her great-great grandmother, Mary Fry who was born in December 1712 in Westbury, NY and died May 28, 1800.

 
Joining Families: Mary Fry & Samuel Willis to Phebe Willets & Adam Mott

• Fry/Willis/Willets/Mott 

Quakers were inclined to join families.  

For example, the Fry/Willis/Willets/Mott families became intertwined in one generation when three of Mary Fry & Samuel Willis’ children married three of Phebe Willets (of Post #22 and Post #23) & Adam Mott’s children.

Back to Mary Fry Wills: Her Parents and Grandparents:
 ~Mary Fry Willis’ Mother 
 Her mother was Mary W Kirby, born July 30 1791 and died June 28 1873. 

~Mary Fry Willis' Maternal Grandparents [Mary W Kirby’s parents]: 

• Her maternal grandfather was Jacob Kirby (11 Aug 1765- 3 Dec 1859/recorded as January 1860) and maternal grandmother was Mary Seaman, b 27 Mar 1774 and died 21 Sep 1854.

 ~Mary Fry Willis’ Father 
Her father was John Willis (some of his line Post # 20), born in Oyster Bay on January 2 1790 and died October 5 1864 in Oyster Bay, Long Island, New York. I have a photo of John Willis, Mary Fry’s Willis’ father which, if it is labeled accurately, must have been shortly before his death in 1864. 

John Willis - H of Mary W Kirby, Farther of Mary Fry Willis c1860

~Mary Fry Willis’ Paternal Grandparents [John Willis’ parents]: 

• Her paternal grandfather was Samuel Willis, born March 7 1759 and died June 28 1838, (also the son of John Willis & Elizabeth Mott - mentioned in the Willis/Mott Sibling Marriages earlier). And, her paternal grandmother was Rachel Pearsall, born June 14 1765 and died May 31, 1855. She was the daughter Thomas Pearsall (1725-1807) and Ann Williams (1733-1806).

Mary Fry Willis' Family: 
Mary Fry Willis’ Siblings, The children of John Willis & Mary W Kirby:
1-Edward John Willis - 1814-1904
2-Mary Fry Willis - 1817-1898 (Married Isaac Hicks, brother of Samuel Hicks)
3-Rachel Willis - 1820-1905 (Married Samuel Hicks, brother of Isaac Hicks)
4-Lucretia Mott Willis  1837-1838
 
Marriage & Family:
Mary Fry Willis was 19 when she married the Isaac Hicks (subject of Post #29). They wed March 24, 1836 on probably in Jericho Meeting, Long Island, NY. 

Isaac Hicks was 21 years old when she married him. They lived on Long Island the rest of their lives while Isaac commenced his nursery business (see more in Post #29). 

Mary Fry Willis & Isaac Hicks' children:
  1-Gilbert (1838-1922)
  2- Edward (1840-1915)
* 3-Marianna (1842-1920)
  4-William C. (1845-1846)
 *Marianna, my great- great grandmother, married William E Hauxhurst/Hawxhurst.

Residence and Death:
I would imagine that Mary Fry would have been quite busy as Isaac was tending to building up the Hicks Nursery. They lived in Old Westbury on Long Island, NY.

Census records exist for Isaac and Mary Fry Willis for the  years 1850 (33 years old), 1870 (53 years old), 1880 (63 years old). I haven't yet unearthed the state census for the 1890s.
 She died on Long Island at 81 on February 28, 1898 and is buried in Westbury, Nassau County, New York.
 

Hicks homestead from a Christmas Card c1960

Photos and Miscellaneous Comments
Of the photos I have, they were taken when she was rather old. Her granddaughter, Bertha C Hawxhurst had saved most of the ones I have. 

Bertha, who grew up on Long Island and knew her grandmother, wrote on the back of this one a comment:
“Grandmother Hicks-very precise, neat --and stern!” 

Mary Fry Willis W Isaac Hicks c 1878-1880

Of Mary Fry Willis' siblings listed above, I bolded her sister Rachel Willis to draw attention to the fact that Rachel wed Isaac Hicks' brother, Samuel Hicks.

Below is a garden photo of Hicks & Willis relations. 
I own a (separate) labeled photo of Rachel Willis Hicks, so I'm certain she's the middle-aged woman (wearing glasses) looking at the camera. 
Seated near her is likely (but I'm not sure) Rachel’s husband (and Isaac’s brother), Samuel Hicks. The young lady on the left might be Rachel and Samuel’s unmarried daughter Anna.
Seated on far right is Isaac Hicks and Mary Fry Willis (Hicks).

Hicks/Willis Family Members: in center, Rachel Willis Hicks & maybe Samuel Hicks.                                   Far Right: Isaac Hicks & Mary Fry Willis

The photo below is of the Isaac and Mary Fry Willis (Hicks) when they were quite elderly. It was probably shortly before she died. 

Mary Fry Willis and Isaac Hicks late 1890s