Where were they from prior to appearing in Southwest Pennsylvania records in the mid-1770’s? Were there two John Clawson’s in early frontier Ohio? Was Mary Clawson Marsh - one of the first babies born in frontier southwest Ohio - a daughter of John Clawson of Preble County? And much more.

After Frank found me on the internet as a Clawson researcher, we had a long correspondence over the next three years - where he wrote me a number of long, dense emails about our mutual research before he passed away in 2008. Each of these emails was rich in detail about these various research questions. His analysis of John Clawson in early southwest Ohio is more detailed and of high quality of any research I am aware of on the subject. It deserves to be preserved for the use of Clawson researchers.

Since Frank’s death in 2008, these emails have been in my computer, and I have referred to them a number of times. As I finally get around to preparing and posting pages here on my Clawson ancestry, I appreciate even more the value of Frank’s work and realize that all researchers looking at this family from this period would benefit. So rather than just quote from these, it is important to have the entire context - and to post them so everyone can benefit from his research. So below are the full fact-laden analyses he sent me by email. They will be of value to anyone researching this Clawson family branch.

In his last major email to me in 2008, he indicated he was doing a history of John Clawson of Preble County. Who knows if he started, and left even part of a manuscript. His widow is gone now. It’s possible his materials are with one of his children.

I have posted these emails in the chronological order that I received them, and list them here - with the subjects detailed - as a table of contents. Right below are the date and brief summary of each email - which serves as a table of contents for this page - and then each of the Frank Crosswhite emails follows. I have spell checked his texts, and in a few places tried paragraph breaks. Otherwise these emails are as originally sent.

Table of Contents - Brief Summary of Each Email Posted On This Page

May 20, 2005 - The original email from Frank to John indicating the Clawson connection.

May 21, 2005 - Frank Crosswhite to John Laird, on the subject of John Clawson of Preble County and whether there were two John Clawson’s in early southwest Ohio; Asa Garrett Clawson and the Woodward family connection; Hiram Hoover Clawson and the Hoover connection; Kansas Clawsons; Frank’s family and life, including the Clawson connection; the ancestry of the Clawson line; Rodelphus Clawson; Jonas Hoover and the development of the delicious apple; the Scottish connection; the name Lott.

May 22, 2005 - From John Laird to Frank Crosswhite re: the Clawson ancestry and the question of two John Clawsons - and the Draper Papers.

May 23, 2005 - Email from Frank Crosswhite to John Laird in response to worksheet on John Clawson in early Ohio; Whether Fountain County Clawsons were connected to John Clawson; John Cleve Symmes in early Ohio land issues; Timothy Marsh and Mary Clawson Marsh; Washington County PA Clawsons - including Whitely Church and Benjamin Stites; Clawsons in other counties; the Quaker connection; Garret Clawson, the father, in the time of the “Indian Wars”; and the Woodwards - among many subjects!

May 23, 2005 - Frank Crosswhite to John Laird Email - Unclear which email this refers to.

May 24, 2005 - Email from Frank Crosswhite to John Laird - John Clawson of Preble County, his early movements, mentions in early southwest Ohio references; the Marshes, John’s Clawson’s service in the Pennsylvania frontier militia, and the Crosswhite Family History in various locations in early Virginia.

November 4, 2005 - Email from Frank Crosswhite to John Laird re the John Clawson of early Ohio, John Clawson in Preble County, John Clawson’s revolutionary war service, the time in Pennsylvania and connection to Greene County, the ancestry of Clawsons and the early ones in New York, the Marsh family in Ohio and Indiana, Mary Clawson (Marsh) and her birth in Ohio, and more.

November 6, 2005 - Email from Frank Crosswhite to John Laird re John and Lois Clawson; the Marsh ancestry of Timothy in England, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Ohio; Timothy and Mary Marsh and their children; the connection of Mary Clawson Marsh to John and Lois by names; theories about Lois Clawson’s maiden name; Josiah Clawson probable son of John; Henry Co., IN.

November 6, 2005 - Email From John Laird to Frank Crosswhite re: John Clawson Records in Preble County, records of other John Clawsons.

Undated - Description of Garrett Clawson in Maryland Military Unit ca 1776 - an email about Garrett Clawson’s military service in a Maryland unit.  There is background on this unit and also speculation on when Garrett had to be there to enroll.  This is undated, but Frank believes in this email that Garrett is the progrenitor of the our Clawson family - something he discounted in later emails below.

About 2006, I think - undated - Email likely Frank Crosswhite to John Laird, but unclear; long definitive statement on the ancestry of Frank’s Clawson line, including Dutch immigration to New York and New Jersey Clawsons that moved west; Claes Corneliszen Van Schouw; New Amsterdam; Peter Clawson; Claes Corneliszen Van Schouw went by a number of names including Claes Corneliszen, Claes Meutelaer, Claes Corneliszen Meutelaer, and Claes Corneliszen Van Schouw Metelaer; the Pirate Peter Clawson.

July 8, 2006 - Email from Frank Crosswhite to John Laird - DNA testing re Clawson ancestry; Gary Purviance’s uncle Archie Clawson; Dutch ancestry; Clawsons in New York and New Jersey; William Clawson of New Jersey.

December 18, 2007 - Frank Crosswhite to John Laird re DNA testing of current Clawsons that link back to the Dutch Clawsons; Piscataway; Raritan; Hiram Hoover Clawson; religion of Clawsons.

SPECIAL NOTE PLACED AT THIS LOCATION: There is a special website of the Van Shouw DNA Project, which credits Frank Crosswhite for the ancestral link and can be found at: https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/van-schouw/about/background The ancestral link is described in the previous email.

February 11, 2008 - Email from Frank Crosswhite to John Laird - Meade County, Kentucky John Clawson and pension; John Clawson of Roxbury, New Jersey, descendant of Claus; Claes Corneliszen's marriage and his wife’s parentage; genealogies of this family do not match the actual family; Gerbrant Claeszen, brother of our Willem Claeszen known as Gerbrant Claes; Berkeley County Virginia Clawsons; speculation about Mary Clawson (Greene County PA) ancestry; Scottish links; Lott Clawson names; Mormon Clawsons; relationship of the different branches.

March 31, 2008 - Email from Frank Crosswhite to John Laird - Willem Jacobse Van Boerum patriarch of the Boerum family; Willem married Hannah Clawson; William Clawson marries a Smock; First Continental Congress and George Washington; Benjamin Van Cleve; Cornelius Clawson descendants in Butler Co., Ohio; John Clawson at Cunningham’s Station, Ohio; Covalt; Clawson cases at New Jersey Supreme Court prior to 1790; Stockton Family; Rush family; Kelly family marrying into Clawsons; Buckles family marrying in; Woodward and Ammerman Families marrying in. Email just below from Douglas Buckelew about the Clawson - Buckelew connection.

June 10, 2008 - Email from Frank Crosswhite to Bruce Woodworth; last known email from Frank Crosswhie on this page; John Clawson and Marcey Harris of Berkeley County, Virginia; connections with Salem County, New Jersey; Mary Clawson and Buckalew; Thomas Clawson of Mercer’s Mills; Garrabrant and Coverts, Finger Lakes, New York; Thomas Clawson and widow Ann dissolving business partnerships; Josiah Clawson and Richard Stockton; Frank’s pledge to write: “THE LIFE AND TIMES OF JOHN CLAWSON, THE GREAT HUNTER AND INDIAN FIGHTER, WITH SKETCHES OF HIS CONTMPORARIES, ANTECEDANTS AND DESCENDANTS”.

December 20, 2008 - Carol Crosswhite’s Email about Frank’s Death

December 2008 - Frank Crosswhite’s Obituary

Postscripts - 2009 - Email exchange with Bruce Woodworth, John Laird, and Carol Crosswhite on the name Josiah in Frank’s history and how it informs Frank’s Clawson ancestry.

2017 - John Laird’s discovery of an 1854 deed from Peter Clawson’s 1838 estate in Shelby County, Ohio showing that Garrett Clawson and his wife Delilah of Fountain County, Indiana sold his share of Peter’s land - tying Garrett to Peter as his son.  The deed is posted following the brief explanation.

May 20, 2005

The original email from Frank to John indicating the Clawson connection.

From: Frank Crosswhite

To: John Laird

Subject: Clawson genealogy

Date: Fri, 20 May 2005

Are you still interested in Clawson genealogy? I am a descendent of John Clawson who died in Preble County, Ohio in 1827. My name is Frank S. Crosswhite

May 21, 2005

Frank Crosswhite to John Laird, on the subject of John Clawson of Preble County and whether there were two John Clawson’s in early southwest Ohio; Asa Garrett Clawson and the Woodward family connection; Hiram Hoover Clawson and the Hoover connection; Kansas Clawsons; Frank’s family and life, including the Clawson connection; the ancestry of the Clawson line; Rodelphus Clawson; Jonas Hoover and the development of the delicious apple; the Scottish connection; the name Lott.

John--

I have every confidence that my ancestor John Clawson was indeed the brother of Peter, Garret Jr., Thomas and Josiah, based on a couple of passages in the Draper Papers.  I rather wish that he wasn't the great Indian fighter mentioned in the History of Preble County, who scalped his victims, etc.  But that history has him moving DOWN from Banta's Fork to Dixon Township. The legal description of his land on what is now Banta Creek would place it in the township just above Lanier Township, so "down" would make sense. I doubt there were more than 150 heads of households in Dixon Township in 1820, fewer earlier.  It seems highly unlikely that two unrelated John Clawsons lived near the mouth of the Little Miami River in 1788, moved to Banta's Fork about 1805 and eventually to Dixon Township.  I believe that John Clawson and Thomas Woodward did likely go to Indiana in 1818 in search of land.  Although Woodward did indeed die about three years later, John lived longer.  Children of both of these men later lived in Henry County, Indiana and from the 1849-50 lawsuit it looks like Isaac Clawson and brother Josiah Clawson (both of whom married daughters of Thomas Woodward)were siding with one Woodward son against other Woodward descendants.

My great grandfather Asa Garret Clawson is mentioned in the lawsuit (as Asa G. Clawson) as grandson of Thomas Woodward.  In the 1820 census of Preble County John Clawson is a neighbor of Thomas Woodward.  According to the History of Preble County, the great Indian fighter eventually settled on Four Mile Creek in Dixon Township and from Thomas Woodward's will he also lived on Four Mile Creek in Dixon Township.  I live not far from the Arizona LDS Temple and its Family History Center, so will go there to make actual photocopies of the 1820 Preble County Census.  In Thomas Woodward's will he mentions the quarter section of land he owned in Indiana.  My Josiah Clawson married Phoebe Woodward and they named my Asa Garret Clawson for two of Josiah's brothers, Asa and Garret, and also as I believe, for Josiah's father Garret.  My mother had a later Asa Garret Clawson for a brother who died in infancy.  The older Asa Garret Clawson married Rebecca Hoover and their descendants are listed in the book "Genealogy of the Herbert Hoover Family."  The first edition, published by the Hoover Institute at Stanford, had listed myself and wife and three children, but the latest edition published by the Hoover Presidential Library truncated the genealogy at the level of my parents.  When my grandfather Hiram Hoover Clawson died in 1906 he made his wife promise that his children would have the college education that he never had.  He was a self-made man.  He played the violin in the Kansas City Orchestra, participated in the Oklahoma Land Rush and owned a harness factory in Rocky Ford, Colorado.  His sister, Bertha Fidelia Clawson, founded a girl's school in Japan.  His first son, Johann Strauss Clawson, participated in the Korean Armistice talks as ranking Red Cross official and adjunct Lieutenant Colonel in the Air Force.  He also administered the Red Cross facilities at bases in Germany and died there on the job. His only child, Joan S. Clawson, married Tilman Bucher.  She owns a Real Estate company near Washington, D.C.  My mother got her college degree at Emporia State College in Kansas and helped other of her siblings financially to get their degrees.  Several, like my mother, became teachers.  My mother's mother, Mary Clawson, married first Hiram Hoover Clawson who died in 1906.  Then in 1909 she married his brother, William Josiah Clawson, who died in 1933. Before marrying my grandmother, William Josiah went west and purchased a large part of Signal Hill in the Long Beach area, before the discovery of oil there. I haven't learned all of the details but he  profited little. In my grandmother's parlor, however, was a large picture of all the oil wells on the hill and this picture inspired many of the Clawson children. In grandmother's old age she lived with my parents at Mesa, Arizona. She died in 1964 at the age of 86 and was buried by her two husbands at Paola, Miami County, Kansas.  My late uncle Elmer Josiah Clawson formed the Clawson Oil Company of Hartford, Kansas and drilled many oil wells.  He also owned a chain of gas stations.  Some of his sons-in-law worked in  the oil company and continue with oil interests after break-up of the company after his death.  One of his daughters, Jean L. Clawson, married Mack Colt, heir to the Colt Firearms Company.  They owned a chain of Sonic Drive-In fast food restaurants.  One of Elmer Josiah's sons, William C. Clawson, a bridge engineer, is Vice President for bridge engineering in a large company in Kansas City that engineers bridges all over the world.  He is often travelling to places like China.  Another of Elmer Josiah's daughters, Jo F. Clawson, married John William Sweatt.  Both are ministers of the gospel and formed Jo Sweatt Ministries of Kansas City.  My mother's sister Josephine had polio and met her future husband Tom Beckwith, who also had polio, in a hospital polio ward.  Uncle Tom did a lot of Clawson genealogy.  He became a professor of aeronautical engineering at the University of Pittsburgh.   Their daughter Mary Gale married Geoffrey Marshall. He received a PhD degree at Rice University and became Director of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

I worked for 32 years as a botanist at the University of Arizona.  I got my PHD at the University of Wisconsin.  I lived in Wisconsin about nine years and spent many a day at the Wisconsin State Historical Society Library looking at old documents like the Draper Papers.  I also donated them some old historic manuscripts relating to Wisconsin.  My wife, Dr. Carol D. Crosswhite, a zoologist, worked for the University of Arizona for 31 years.  My sister, Dr. Virginia M. Hyde, just retired this year after 34 years at Washington State University.  She has given lectures in several countries, England, Canada and Mexico that I recall off-hand.  She is in charge this summer of a symposium in Taos, New Mexico to be attended by persons from 15 countries and all populated continents. Her husband, Dr. David Barnes, worked a similar length of time at Washington State University.  My daughter, Dr. Katherine M. Crosswhite-Beasley, teaches linguistics at Rice University in Houston.  Last year she gave lectures in Barcelona, Spain and Tromso, Norway.  She and her husband are currently in Poland doing research with a cutting-edge electronic machine which tracks and records eye movements of the Polish people they are working with.  She took courses at the University of Leningrad and Moscow State University and received her PhD from the University of California, Los Angeles.  For my wife's first degree, she was a member of the first graduating class attending all four years at the University of California, Riverside.  My son Jason A. Crosswhite has degrees in geology and geophysics and is still awaiting his PhD in geophysics at the University of Oregon.  So, like John Clawson, his descendants had wanderlust as well.

I had kidney failure in November, 2002 and have to be on dialysis three days a week for four hours each day.  Aside from cleaning my blood, they take 3-4 liters of water out of my blood each time.  Otherwise I would have severe edema, since my kidneys can no longer excrete liquid.  The only alternative would be to not drink anything.  Missing a dialysis session is NOT an option.

Did you know that the LDS Library has a manuscript genealogy of Rodelphus Clawson and his wife?  The library catalog says it traces ancestry back to the 1500's.  It is on my list of things to see, as Rodelphus was a descendant of Garret Sr.

I look forward to finding more information on Garret Sr. and his wife in other places as well and look forward to future discussions with you.

Frank S. Crosswhite

P.S.  Having been in the UA College of Agriculture for many years, I would note that the delicious Apple was developed by Jonas M. Hoover, grandson of my ancestor Andrew Hoover.  Clawson Wheat, a historically important variety in the files of the USDA was developed by Garret Clawson of the Garrabrant Clawson line.  A descendant of "Garry Brant Clawson" said he was from Holland but genealogists are now connecting him to the New Jersey Clawsons.  I am reluctant to believe that our Garret Sr. and his wife Mary were actually born in Holland. One tends to trace family genealogy back as far as one can and then state that the oldest generation is the one that came from the old country.  I think the verdict is not yet in on our ultimate Clawson ancestors.  Descendants in different branches of the posterity of Garret Sr. and Mary claim a Scottish connection.  Indeed, thousands of Scotsmen went in at least two armies to Holland to fight against the Spanish overlords in the 16th and 17th centuries. Many are said to have stayed long enough to establish families.  A grandson of Garret Sr. and Mary was named Lott Clawson.  There was a Welshman named Lott Evans who was a friend of William Penn.  At least the two Dutch pedigrees in New York and New Jersey include persons with the surname Lott.  The Biblical Lot has only one "t" but I plan to examine a Dutch Bible for the spelling.  --FSC

May 22, 2005

From John Laird to Frank Crosswhite re: the Clawson ancestry and the question of two John Clawsons - and the Draper Papers.

From: John Laird

To: Frank Crosswhite

Subject Re: Clawson genealogy

Date: Sun, 22 May 2005

Frank -- Thank you so much for your e-mail back, and thanks for the thoughtful sections on both genealogy and your family  I am happy to have made the connection, and also to hear of your family and the different Clawson achievements  Sounds like you have had a good and full life.

I have gotten away from the John Clawson issue in the last few months, but I started to do a worksheet on the issue  It comes from the fact that a Clawson historian, Charles Clawson, believed that there were two John Clawsons in southwest Ohio at the time of the frontier  I have attached a worksheet, which I had started to work on but hadn't put as much time into as I would have liked  It speaks to some of the things you mentioned in your e-mail about names  Charles believes that the recollections of a granddaughter of Peter Clawson, the Peter Clawson who came to Indiana with his brother Garrett and uncles Thomas and Josiah (I descend from Josiah) ca 1824, was a son of John Clawson, not Peter Sr  This led Charles to try to figure out the situation, and he concluded that there were two John Clawsons and Peter and Garret were sons of John, not Peter  I disagree, and have been in contact, but he hasn't responded  As I said I have attached my worksheet, so you can see a little of what he said and what the questions were.

I also very much appreciated the work you've done with the Draper Papers  I have tried to collect the Clawson references  I was really pleased to see the one a few years back that referred to John and Si (believing that was short for Josiah, my ancestor)  I understand the issues with the "Indian Fighter" thing  It always has been a little distressing  I would be interested in the references you found, just to make sure they match the ones I have   

I also have a VERY long text document on the original Mary and Garrett and their children and descendants, and I think it includes what I have on the Draper Paper entries  It is always a work in progress, and if I have never e-mailed it to you, I would be happy to do it  After the legislative session last year, I treated myself to a few days at the library in Salt Lake City, and haven't fully had the chance to enter everything from that visit into my notes  I have seen the Rodolphus thing, but I can't recall  I have the pages somewhere, I believe it comes through Peter or John's son Samuel.

Once again, I'm happy to hear from you, and hope that we can exchange ideas and information about John and his family.

Best, John Laird

May 23, 2005

Email from Frank Crosswhite to John Laird in response to worksheet on John Clawson in early Ohio; Whether Fountain County Clawsons were connected to John Clawson; John Cleve Symmes in early Ohio land issues; Timothy Marsh and Mary Clawson Marsh; Washington County PA Clawsons - including Whitely Church and Benjamin Stites; Clawsons in other counties; the Quaker connection; Garret Clawson, the father, in the time of the “Indian Wars”; and the Woodwards - among many subjects!

From: Frank Crosswhite

To: John Laird

Subject: Re: Clawson genealogy

Date: Mon, 23 May 2005

(attachment from John in the original email: JohnClawsonWorksheet.rtf - compiling all known records for John Clawson in frontier SouthWest Ohio); at the time Charles Clawson had published a detailed Clawson history, but had suggested there were two John Clawsons in frontier southwest Ohio. Frank was responding after reading this:

John-- I tried to send you a version of this message earlier today but when I hit the send button it said that there was a fatal flaw and the message disappeared so I am keying it back in thinking that you couldn't have received it. Thank you exceedingly for the discussion on John Clawson. I didn't realize that he was in contention although I had perceived that some have not wanted to claim the great Indian fighter. But we are not allowed to choose our ancestors. I don't see any evidence that any of the Fountain County Clawsons had a John Clawson for a father. I don't think we yet know all of my John Clawson's children, so the Peter who died in the Civil War could certainly be an early son. Most of my genealogy notes and images are in boxes in storage and were done without reference to the internet Many, many hours of cranking microfilm readers and searching for references in county books, etc. It will take a long time for me to write it all up but I will place copies in key libraries and computerize it so anyone can have it I am starting to use the internet for genealogy and that is how I found your name and e-mail address.  I seem to remember in a History of Fountain County published in the 1980's that Garret and Peter Clawson of Fountain County were treated as cousins of Thomas and Josiah Clawson of Fountain County I don't see that reference in your discussion in the attachment you sent. Is this perhaps because Charles Clawson may have been the source of the information in the Fountain County book? I don't remember. In the case of Timothy Marsh and Mary Clawson that you cited, Timothy was from New Jersey and I believe the source erroneously put John Clawson's origin as New Jersey as well. I recall another reference in the Timothy Marsh and Mary Clawson line saying that John Clawson was a German from Kentucky.  Unfortunately editors of "mug books" or county histories often edited "Dutch" to "German" thinking that the informant was poorly schooled and was using the vernacular (as in "Pennsylvania Dutch") for German Prior to 1787 the U. S. Military burned out any settlers in Ohio, so would-be settlers were clustered across the river in Kentucky, having floated down the Ohio River Both Benjamin Stites and John Clawson were in the Washington County militia in 1782 and undoubtedly knew each other Stites was a trader supplying flour to Kentuckians, floating down from the port of Redstone on the Monongahela to Limestone, Kentucky on the Ohio He obviously had help on such trips He and a bunch of "sooners" [my interpretation], on the pretext of looking for stolen horses, on one of his trips to Kentucky, crossed the forbidden barrier of the Ohio River and explored the area between the Miami Rivers On this trip he discovered Turkey Bottom (now under the tarmacs of Cincinnati's Lunken Airport) and declared it the best agricultural land he had ever seen He wanted a way to get this land He went back to Washington County and eventually to New Jersey where his relatives put him in touch with John Cleve Symmes, a New Jersey delegate to Congress, and the rest is history Almost all of Stites' biographies erroneously state that he was a Revolutionary War hero in New Jersey, whereas like John Clawson, all of his Revolutionary War activity was with the Washington County, Pennsylvania militia This was the militia of which 180 members killed the innocent Gnadenhutten Indians in Ohio in 1782 and of which 480 followed Col. William Crawford to Ohio to his defeat later that year and his being burned at the stake in the presence of Simon Girty John Cleve Symmes went with Benjamin Stites to Limestone, Kentucky and whether they succeeded in crossing the river again to check the land out is debated In any event, Stites went back to Washington County and Symmes quickly hurried to New York, where Congress then sat, and succeeded in lobbying his fellow congressmen for Congress to sell him the "Miami Purchase." Stites was allowed by Symmes to stake out 10,000 acres for himself as a finder's fee even before action by Congress was final Stites "sold" parts of this land to people before he owned it and it is my belief that John Clawson did actually live there as early as 1787 Indeed, there were still records being made for Benjamin Stites and John Clawson in Washington County for a while Benjamin Stites was excommunicated from the Goshen Baptist Church of Whitely in Washington County as late as 1792 for marrying a woman while still having a living wife John Clawson was probably still taxable in Pennsylvania due to having a cow and personal property there as late as 1789, the tax perhaps paid for him by relatives, or perhaps like Benjamin Stites he may have made trips back and forth for supplies or other reasons. In making up tax lists, authorities used the previous year's list as a base in many jurisdictions and it was hard to get off of a list if you were still considered taxable in your old jurisdiction. I think that John had been living with his mother and younger brother Josiah before going to Ohio in contrast to the other three brothers who had Pennsylvania land. Perhaps as long as his mother was there to pay his small tax, he was making tax records John was a "long hunter," the classic example of which was Daniel Boone who would go from North Carolina to Kentucky for weeks at a time, once as I recall for over a year!  As I recall, Stites did not register a deed from Symmes until 1796 and then for a greatly reduced acreage since Symmes had defaulted on his payments to the Treasury Both Symmes and Stites had sold land they did not own and Symmes, not being a good record keeper, had sold the same land to more than one purchaser.  Some parcels were sold by Stites to one person and by Symmes to another.  Persons in the middle often had to re-buy their land from someone who seemed to have a better claim. I think that John Clawson had to pay a better claimant for his Ohio land in 1796 and by 1799 this claim too probably proved invalid, resulting in John's petition to Congress John's brother Peter probably sold his disputed land to a sucker about 1800 because the buyer advertised that he would not honor drafts that he had given Peter Clawson since he had received nothing in consideration Obviously at the time he signed the notes he thought otherwise   Although a county history has my Josiah Clawson (John's son) being born in Pennsylvania, this is undoubtedly because of a remembrance by descendants of the Pennsylvania connection of the family. I prefer to use the 1850 census of Henry County when my Josiah was still alive which shows him to have been born in 1793 in Ohio The family group sheet for John Clawson and Lois which is the basis of LDS records in the IGI has serious flaws and the dates given are estimates which have proven to be wrong The worst date is my Josiah's, which if true would have had him marrying Phoebe Woodward at the age of 8 years. If John did indeed marry Lois or Louisa in 1796, then he was married at least twice, perhaps three times My Josiah would be by a previous wife, perhaps explaining why a descendant of Lois might not have his data correct But one descendant said Lois had 17 children Perhaps John Clawson married a widow who already had quite a few children Or perhaps it was really John who had the 17 and later generations, knowing only of Lois, rationalized that they were all hers If John was indeed born in 1764 or 1765 and had a daughter Mary in 1787, there would appear to be room for quite a few more children being born before his marriage to Lois in 1796 I see that you found the reference to John Clawson being at Columbia in 1789 and carrying the scalped man on his back to his home. At St. Clair's Defeat in 1791, all (about 200) of the women and children were killed by the Indians aside from the hundreds of soldiers St. Clair was planning a series of forts and his success was expected to open up the area for settlement that later became Montgomery and Preble Counties As a result, whole families were on the expedition and all but two of the defenseless dependents were killed by the Indians Since St. Clair had taken so many able bodied men from the southern Miami region for this great expedition, the Indians ventured down to the southern region, making successful attacks on White's Station and Covalt's Station Plenty of opportunity here for Indians killing a Clawson wife and children So many of the deaths then were unrecorded for history My interpretation of John's records in the Draper Papers is that they were pre-1791 and that the interjection by the informant that Si (i.e. Josiah) was John's brother and had scouted or spied with Bailey, could have been before or after the stories told about John In fact, they prove to have been after 1791 since Josiah's activity as an Indian spy is first documented in 1782 All the brothers but Garret, Jr. are recorded in one place or another as being Indian spies. Abraham Covalt had been Captain of a company of Indian spies back in Pennsylvania.  Yes, indeed I would like to have your treatment of Garret Clawson, Sr. and his wife Mary and their descendants I think Garret, Sr. made only one record in Pennsylvania, that of being in Capt. Thomas Gaddis's Company of Monongalia County, Virginia militia at Fort Liberty His son Garret, Jr. did not recite this in his application for pension so I think it was Garret Sr. in Gaddis's command By late 1777 Pennsylvania offered to make Gaddis a Colonel in the Westmoreland County militia, which he accepted This effectively cut Monongalia County, Virginia in half with that part east of the Monongahela being effectively under the jurisdiction of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania This means that Garret, Sr. was at Fort Liberty probably in late 1776 or early 1777.  The Pennsylvania Commission to Determine the Locations of Frontier Forts never heard of "Fort Liberty" being used for Gaddis's fort, it generally being called Fort Gaddis or Gaddis's Fort For this reason I think Gaddis mustered his Monongalia County militia at Fort Liberty just across the line from Monongalia County into Ohio County, Virginia and that Garret, Sr. may have died in the fierce attacks on the Ohio County region by the Indians and Loyalists from Detroit in 1776-1777 Large numbers of defenders were killed and scalped and their names were lost to history This could explain why John hated the Indians so much.  I have just started this last week on genealogy again after many years By the way, My Asa Garret Clawson married Rebecca Hoover who in the 1850 census of Wayne County, Indiana lived with her parents right next door to William Clawson, son of Josiah Clawson and Rebecca Clark of the Quaker Clawsons Rebecca Clark was excommunicated from Fairfax Monthly Meeting in Virginia for marrying "out of union," which meant that Josiah was her cousin My working theory is that my Josiah Clawson, born in 1793, might have known of some relationship to William Clawson, born in 1785 William's mother was born in 1762 so perhaps William's father Josiah Clawson was born in the 1750's We might look for a possible relationship of Garret, Sr. to the father of this Josiah Clawson in Chester County, Pennsylvania. In the Woodward line there are Quakers from Chester County. Rebecca Clark and her parents trace back to Chester County, Pennsylvania My theory is that Asa Garret may have met Rebecca Hoover when his family may have come from Henry County to visit with William Clawson's family   My ancestor David Hoover (Rebecca Hoover's grandfather) led a band of Quakers from Montgomery County, Ohio through the wilderness to Wayne County, Indiana in 1806 He discovered the site which became Richmond and settled nearby. As Quakers from all over, even the Carolinas, heard of the new site, he laid off lots (being a surveyor) for a couple of enterprising Quaker business men to sell to the public and his choice of the name Richmond (for Richmond, Virginia) was agreed to He held seven commissions to public office in Wayne County during his lifetime and was elected to the Indiana Legislature.  Asa Garret Clawson also had Quaker heritage through the Woodward family, Phoebe's mother having been born Rachel Starr, a Quaker Josiah and Phoebe named a daughter Rachel for her and a son James Starr Clawson for Rachel's father and grandfather of that name who were somewhat noteworthy historically at Newcastle on the Delaware I suspect that Newcastle in Henry County relates to Woodwards and their relatives settling there Rachel Starr, while marrying the Baptist Thomas Woodward, also had Quaker Woodward ancestors herself Thomas Woodward of Preble County was "born at sea" according to his tombstone and his father of the same name, a famous ship's captain of Philadelphia (and Revolutionary War maritime hero) died in Africa I hope he wasn't a slave  trader.   Thanks for putting up with my ramblings-- Frank S. Crosswhite

P.S.--My mother, Mary Hazel Clawson, due to both heritage and geography, attended the Friends meeting at Twin Mound, Kansas as did my sister and I when sent back from Arizona to spend the summer with Grandmother Clawson My parents had a Quaker wedding at Emporia, Kansas in 1937 My mother was quite adventuresome Before she married my father she went back to Indiana and Ohio to stay with relatives and lived for a year with nuns in a convent while teaching in Ohio She, like her mother, was a nurse at the Ossawatomie State Hospital near Kansas City She taught the children at the State Orphanage She taught the children of the oil-well roughnecks in the Flint Hills of Kansas A newspaper biography of her before marriage was written because of her published poetry It stated that she had visited every western state, had studied the Indians in Arizona and was an excellent horse-woman I remember her telling how well she loved Catalina Island off the coast of California After her wedding my father built minesweepers and sub-chasers at the Tacoma Boatbuilding Company in Tacoma, Washington, then returned to Effingham, Kansas with war effort medals.  We had a farm for a few years. But Mother longed for Arizona. She obtained a job in Coolidge, Arizona to teach the illiterate children of migrant cotton-pickers and also the children of the Akimel O'odham Indians My father bowed to her wishes and sold the farm and crops and contents of the house and barn at auction I remember large quantities of potatoes in gunnysacks and large piles of watermelons and bushels of grain being bid on We emigrated to Arizona on the Southern Pacific Railroad My father was much in demand for supervising construction of schools, commercial buildings and housing tracts.  Asa Garret Clawson and his wife died of typhoid fever in 1885 in Coffey County, Kansas leaving a whole family of children The younger ones were parceled out to relatives back in Indiana The book on my missionary great aunt Bertha, entitled "Bertha Fidelia" tells of her living in Indiana with her Uncle James (James Starr Clawson) and Aunt Sophronia (James's second wife Sophronia Hickman) at Springport in Henry County The book is good for telling how she joined the Christian Church The Woodward and Clawson men were Baptists and the Hoovers were Quakers Aunt Bertha in the book said her father, Asa Garret Clawson described himself as a Predestinarian Baptist But the Baptists and Campbellites briefly merged and when they eventually separated some Baptists remained as Campbellites Phoebe Woodward Clawson, wife of my Josiah became a Campbellite evangelist and many of her children and relatives in Henry County remained Campbellites Eventually the Campbellites reorganized as the Christian Church, claiming that denominations were meaningless and that all protestants belonged to the Christian Church. --FSC    

May 23, 2005

Frank Crosswhite to John Laird Email - Unclear which email this refers to

From: Frank Crosswhite

To: John Laird

Subject: Clawson genealogy

Date: Mon, 23 May 2005

I obviously meant War of 1812 rather than Civil War. Frank

 May 24, 2005

Email from Frank Crosswhite to John Laird - John Clawson of Preble County, his early movements, mentions in early southwest Ohio references; the Marshes, John’s Clawson’s service in the Pennsylvania frontier militia, and the Crosswhite Family History in various locations in early Virginia

From: Frank Crosswhite

To: John Laird

Subject: Clawson genealogy

Date: Tue, 24 May 2005

John -- I have finally digested the first attachment you sent on the John Clawson Ancestry Question. It will take me a long time to digest the second attachment, The Garret Clawson Family of Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana. I am really impressed with the scholarship involved. You have done Clawson descendants a service of epic dimensions. Oops! Did you know that you have a same sex marriage in your discussion of the Puckett connection? "...one named Sarah who married a woman by the name of Puckett." Have you seen the handwriting for the name Pucket? Could this actually be Packer? Just a thought. The rationale that relatives must have been descended from siblings of a grandparent is only human nature. I didn't learn that my Aunt Bertha was a great aunt until I started doing genealogy. My transcription of the Fountain County, Indiana census for 1850 does not show Garret Clawson to have been born in 1795. What I took from the microfilm  follows:  Garret Clawson, age 58, male, farmer, $3600 in property, born in Pennsylvania; Delilah Clawson, age 56, female, born in Virginia; Jacob Clawson, age 36, male, born in Ohio; George Clawson, age 21, male, born in Indiana; Rebecca Clawson, age 21, female, born in Indiana; William Clawson, age 19, male, born in Indiana. I don't have any question marks in my transcription so the age 58 would have been clear to me on the microfilm at the time. Have you looked at the actual microfilm? I was interested in the Shroyer connection because my ancestor Hiram Hoover had a sister Esther who married Henry Shroyer. With regard to Mary Welsh possibly being Mary Marsh, you must be referring to Mary Clawson who married Timothy Marsh. This Mary Marsh, however, in her obituary is said to have been the daughter of John Clawson. Her family claimed that she was the first non-Indian child to be born in Ohio, which I take to mean  the southwestern portion that Mary was familiar with or what became Hamilton County. Her birthplace was said to have been near the mouth of the Little Miami River in 1787. I have her exact date of birth in a box in storage. This birth is the only proof I have of John Clawson being there as early as 1787. Symmes issued a handbill asking for settlers in 1787 and although there were no organized expeditions for settlement until 1788, the U.S. military stopped burning out settlers in 1787. To be the first non-Indian child the 1787 date would indeed be necessary as settlers in considerable groups were coming in 1788 and 1789 and one would assume that these people were procreating. From the history of Hamilton County we know that John Clawson was a "neighbor"  in 1789 of the scalped resident of Columbia which he carried on his back. Columbia was near the mouth of the Little Miami River. The Preble County history has the great Indian fighter coming from near the mouth of the Little Miami River and eventually settling on Four Mile Creek in Dixon Township. I can't prove that he went to Indiana in 1818 looking for land and returning to Preble County, but his very close neighbor on Four Mile Creek, my ancestor Thomas Woodward, did just that. Thomas claimed a quarter section of land in Indiana and returned to Preble County where he died. Such older men who had been outdoorsmen  all their lives still had wanderlust in their veins and a hunger for choice land but probably were scarcely up to the hard work of clearing, levelling and making improvements. They would leave this to their children.  I am trying to learn more about John Clawson by learning more about the people he came into contact with. John's superior officer in the Washington County militia in 1782 was John Guthrey. The Guthrey family is mentioned in the business minutes of the Goshen Baptist Church of Whitely. A fellow private in John Clawson's unit in 1782 was Henry Yoho, an Indian spy who served earlier with Jacob Whetzel, the notorious Indian killer and Indian spy, whose record would put John Clawson's to shame. I have an entire book on Whetzel in storage but I didn't realize when I read it that there would turn up the possible connection through Henry Yoho to John Clawson.

I bought the book because of the Crosswhite connection to the back country of Virginia. My ancestor William Crosthwait/Crosswhite settled at an uninhabited cross-roads of trails in the sparsely populated back-country of Virginia in 1732. It was back-country then but now midway between Washington, DC and the University of Virginia. He built an extra-large house which served not only as our family home but also as an inn. As new counties were set up and old ones split, our home was chosen as the site for the British court for Orange County to meet. There was plenty of room and comfortable accommodations. Eventually we deeded over two acres next-door for construction of a courthouse. At that time Orange County was the catch-all county for all of Virginia's claims all the way to the Mississippi River, Wisconsin, southeastern Pennsylvania, etc. At the inn my family kept the key to the courthouse and opened it for the panel of travelling justices each month. No one knew when the individual justices would arrive from the four directions or if one would arrive in the middle of the night. Those from the back-country having land claims or other business stayed at our inn where they could bathe, shave and make themselves presentable at court. The justices themselves avoided paying for room charges by sleeping on the courthouse floor. Court records show us providing "small beer" and candles to the justices so they could socialize at night and discuss rulings.  Eventually Augusta County was split off from Orange to encompass the farther-out lands and then West Augusta District to embrace the western part. Then came Monongalia, Ohio and Yohogania Counties for the region involving the Clawsons. Even after Augusta County was formed, all of its transactions and hearings occurred at our courthouse for a number of years because Augusta had no courthouse and the gentleman justices were reluctant to travel that far! A town eventually grew up around our house and inn and courthouse and this is the present Orange, Virginia. The Taylor and Madison families, which were intermarried, lived a short distance away and when my ancestor Abraham Crosswhite married Mary Taylor, daughter of George Taylor, the Clerk of Court, their son, my George Crosswhite, shared a set of great-grandparents with President James Madison and President Zacchary Taylor. Probate records at Orange Courthouse show that our family doctor was Dr. Thomas Walker, the guardian of young Thomas Jefferson when his father Peter Jefferson died. Our family lawyer was George Wythe, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. This was the only record of George Wythe practicing in Orange County. Unfortunately my William Crosthwait/Crosswhite who originally built the inn died at the time of the Balcony Falls Massacre in Augusta County during the period in which the Augusta court was still unorganized and its business was being transacted at our courthouse. William had just previously tomahawk-blazed a survey for himself near Balcony Falls and although his grant for the land went through, the patent was issued posthumously. He was a minor land speculator and owned lands in five Virginia counties at the time of his death. We think that he was killed in the massacre. Orange County conducted an inquest but the results of the inquest have never been found. We think that they may have been sent to the governor of Virginia and perhaps by him to the governor of Pennsylvania or to the Colonial Office in Britain because of the heated controversy which ensued. The Indians were from New York and Pennsylvania and were on their way through Virginia to kill Catawbas In the Carolinas for sport. Coming through Virginia they were practicing by killing the cattle and hogs of the settlers. They thought that they could do this because they were under the protection of the Iroquois Confederacy which was a British dependency which was anti-French. New York and Pennsylvania let them do whatever they wanted as long as they didn't kill New Yorkers or Pennsylvanians. This was because Britain could claim all the lands under control of the Iroquois Confederacy, even lands of the Mingos and Shawnees if the Iroquois had effective control over the other tribes. The Indians that came into Virginia on this occasion were from Pennsylvania although the Council Fire of the Confederacy was in New York. The Indians were a mixed group of young hot-heads, mostly Mingos and Shawnee. Captain McDowell of Augusta County sent riders to call in all the able-bodied men to escort the Indians to the Carolinas. The Indians would have nothing of this and a fierce battle ensued in which Captain McDowell and a number of his men were killed by the Indians. The names of the men other than McDowell have been lost to history but I have been trying to make up a possible list from Orange County probates, including that of my William. One clue is that Captain McDowell received a posthumous patent on the same day that William received his posthumous patent for an adjoining acreage. I am trying to find other land owners in the Balcony Falls area and tie them to probates that occurred after the massacre. The massacre touched off a major squabble between the governors of New York and Pennsylvania on the one hand and the governor of Virginia on the other hand. New York and Pennsylvania claimed that Virginia had no right to come to blows with the anti-French Indians! To satisfy the Colonial Office in Britain, Virginia was forced to apologize to the Indians and present them with wampum of the correct color and gifts. This set very sorely with the citizens of Virginia. --Frank S. Crosswhite  

November 4, 2005

Email from Frank Crosswhite to John Laird re the John Clawson of early Ohio, John Clawson in Preble County, John Clawson’s revolutionary war service, the time in Pennsylvania and connection to Greene County, the ancestry of Clawsons and the early ones in New York, the Marsh family in Ohio and Indiana, Mary Clawson (Marsh) and her birth in Ohio, and more.

John--

I know that you are interested in knowing if there were two John Clawsons in Preble County, Ohio about 1808 or only one. If there were two, I know from court records that my branch of Clawsons descends from the John Clawson who died in Preble County in 1727 [SIC - he meant 1827]. But I think that there was only one John Clawson there about 1808.

The evidence for there being two is that one seems to be brother to all of the Clawson siblings from Greene County, Pennsylvania while the other (the father of Mary Clawson who married Timothy Marsh) was said to have been a German from Kentucky.  You have the references.

Then some say that John Clawson (d. 1727) had a daughter Mary Lydia Clawson and so could not have had a different daughter Mary Clawson. I have seen no authentic record of Lydia Clawson using the name Mary. However, I have found from genealogists studying colonial Dutch practice that sometimes more than one daughter received the name Mary  or its Dutch equivalent and that all but the first were normally referred to by their "call" or second name.

I have thought that there was only one John Clawson who lived near the mouth of the Little Miami River as early as 1787-8 and then moved to Preble County.  I also am convinced that the Clawson family of Greene County, Pennsylvania can be traced back to New Jersey.

Recently I found a biography of John Marsh in Volume 5 of "Indiana, One Hundred and Fifty Years of American Development", by Charles Roll.  Lewis Publishing Company. 1931.

The main biography is of Henry Wysor Marsh, of Muncie, Indiana, but tells about Henry's grandfather, John Marsh.

"In 1856 a newcomer arrived in Muncie named John Marsh.  He had come from Cambridge City, Indiana.  In association with John W. Burson he established the Muncie branch of the State Bank of Indiana.  The establishment of this bank was in reality a mile post in the progress of Muncie as a commercial center.  John Marsh before living in Indiana was a resident of Preble County, Ohio.  He was born August 22, 1811, son of Timothy and Mary (Clawson) Marsh.  Mary Clawson was born near the mouth of the Little Miami River in Ohio, August 22, 1787.  Her father, John Clawson, had been a soldier with the Continental forces in the War of the Revolution, going from his home colony of New Jersey.  His daughter Mary, it is claimed, was the first white child born in Southern Ohio.  She died in September, 1877.  Timothy Marsh was a native of Elizabeth, New Jersey, and was a descendant of Samuel Marsh, who came to America from England in 1632."

Another biography states specifically that Mary Clawson was born at Turkey Bottom at the mouth of the Little Miami River and we specifically have John Clawson on record in 1789 as carrying a man on his back who had been mortally wounded by an Indian at Turkey Bottom.

Contrast the biography in the Indiana book cited above with the one which had this John Clawson as a German from Kentucky and which also said that "...Timothy Marsh was the son of John Marsh, who came to this country from England and settled in what is now Germantown, Montgomery County, Ohio..."

I am of the opinion that the original Dutch immigrant in the Greene County, Pennsylvania Clawson line was Claes Corneliszen Van Schouw who came to New Netherland (now New York) about 1640. I will try to find a Samuel Marsh who came from England in 1632. It also appears that Dolly Garrison's father was from a Dutch New Netherland family which used the patronymic Gerritszen at the time that the English required the Dutch to adopt permanent surnames. At least I have found a genealogy which says so.

The vast majority of Dutch immigration to North America occurred during the colonial New Netherland period beginning in the 1620's, tapering off to a dribble or almost nothing by the end of that century.

I have been studying Willem Claeszen (son of Claes Corneliszen Van Schouw and Metje Herperts) who was born about 1655 at Nieuw Amersfoort, Long Island, now part of Brooklyn. He married twice and although his first son was named Gerrit [i.e. Garret], I do not think that our Clawsons are descended from this first son.

By the time of Willem Claeszen's will and administration in 1723-24 in Middlesex County, New Jersey, he was going by the name William Clawson. His history and land records on Staten Island and then at Raritan Landing in New Jersey are very well documented. There is a map showing his farm and quite a number of surrounding families, many of which his children married into and whose descendants can be traced to Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio.  He had a very large number of descendants who spread out in New Jersey, enough to account for all or almost all New Jersey Clawsons or Clawsons coming from New Jersey.

I think that I know where the Greene County, Pennsylvania Clawson family fits in but I don't want to announce anything on insufficient evidence. Note in the biography above that John Marsh partnered with John W. Burson. Although this biography does not say so, they both came from Preble County, Ohio. John Marsh was County Treasurer in Preble County before going to Indiana. The Burson family lived very close to John Clawson's family in Preble County. John Clawson's son Garret C. Clawson married Nancy Burson in Preble County. (This has been misread "Busson" which is incorrect--I have seen the original handwriting.)

So, it appears that in this Marsh lineage there was no John Clawson who was a German from Kentucky but rather a John Clawson [who was probably Dutch] from New Jersey.

I think this matches rather well the John Clawson of Preble County who died in 1827. Many undocumented records say that this John Clawson was from Virginia but I don't think that these prove that he was born in Virginia. What became Greene County, Pennsylvania had long been considered part of Virginia.

All of these old published biographies have mistakes.  The one cited above mentions "Continental forces" whereas the John Clawson of Greene County, Pennsylvania merely served in the militia.  Then another biography has John Clawson going to Indiana and dying "three years later."

Note that the biography does not say "Continental Line" but rather Continental forces, which may be a sloppy way of referring to the Patriot side of the struggle as opposed to the side of the English, in the sense that the militia were an adjunct to the regular Line. This may have been written by a skilled author trying to flatter the family for which the biography was written.

Note that the biography above has John Clawson "...going from his home colony of New Jersey."  It perhaps implies that this was to go into the army somewhere to fight in the Revolution. But New Jersey residents were inducted into the army right there in New Jersey and since so much of the fighting was in New Jersey they mostly stayed there.

Actually the John Clawson of Greene County, Pennsylvania got into the very tail-end of the war in 1782 in the militia. But that was enough for descendants to have a tradition that he served.

My first cousin, Dr. William Clawson, Vice-President of HNTB corporation of Kansas City, is a bridge engineer and I note that the John Marsh discussed above had a son, John Rollin Marsh, who was Chief Engineer for the Indiana Bridge Company in the 1880's. I believe that both of these bridge engineers were descended from the John Clawson who died in Preble County, Indiana in 1827.

Please let me know about your recent research, particularly anything that you may have uncovered in Salt Lake City.

Best Wishes.

Frank S. Crosswhite

November 6, 2005

Email from Frank Crosswhite to John Laird re John and Lois Clawson; the Marsh ancestry of Timothy in England, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Ohio; Timothy and Mary Marsh and their children; the connection of Mary Clawson Marsh to John and Lois by names; theories about Lois Clawson’s maiden name; Josiah Clawson probable son of John; Henry Co., IN.

From: Frank Crosswhite

To: John Laird

Subject: Re:   John Clawson

Date: Sun, 06 Nov 2005

John-- The Marsh genealogy, including Timothy Marsh and Mary Clawson, is easily found in Rootsweb's Family Trees on their WorldConnect Project. The genealogy there goes back to John Marsh and Grace Baldwin about 1589 in England, then to Samuel Marsh (born ca. 1620) and Comfort Mann in Connecticut. You probably know how to access these trees. If not, I will look up the URL citation.   This Samuel later lived at Trembly Point on the Rahway River in New Jersey. Then came John Marsh and Elizabeth Clark of Rahway. This John died in 1744 at Rahway.  Then came Jonathan Marsh and Mary T. (surname said to be Scudder). Jonathan died at Westfield, NJ in 1779. Then came John Marsh and Mary Searing. John died at Carlisle, Hamilton County, Ohio about 1799. Then came Timothy Marsh (b. 3 April, 1778) and Mary Clawson, daughter of John Clawson.   The children of Timothy Marsh and Mary Clawson are listed as 1) Phoebe Marsh 2) John Marsh 3) Lois Marsh 4) David Marsh 5) Timothy Marsh 6) William Marsh 7) Wilson Marsh 8) James Marsh 9) Searing Marsh As you know, John Clawson II (son of the John who died in 1827) named a son Wilson T. Clawson. I think that Lois Marsh was probably named for Lois (wife of John I). So, it seems not unlikely that this Lois Clawson was the mother of Mary Clawson (who married Timothy Marsh).  So, in naming little Lois, Mary would not unlikely be giving her the name of her own mother. Since both Mary Clawson Marsh and John Clawson II named children Wilson Marsh and Wilson Clawson, respectively, I think Mary and John II were likely sister and brother, meaning that there were not two contemporary John Clawsons in the early (1808 and before) history of the Miami valley. It is conceivable that Lois Clawson's maiden name might have been Wilson, but this is only a hypothesis. Another hypothesis might be that Lois was born a Thompson with her father having a name like Wilson Thompson. I note that Wilson Clawson's full name was Wilson Thompson Clawson.  Note that Lois, the wife of John I, was reported in an obituary in a later generation to have had 17 children. John Clawson, Sr. would have been liable for taxes in Pennsylvania in the 1780's if he had not yet sold his land there, as long as there was some relative there to pay.  I'm not sure what might have happened to some of John's early children, but due to the Indian atrocities, John could certainly have taken his family back to Pennsylvania at some point for a while. As you probably know, the 1850 census for Henry County, Indiana says that my Josiah Clawson (who married Phoebe Woodward) was born in Ohio, notwithstanding some biographies of descendants saying that he was born in Pennsylvania. I think that his family in Indiana knew that the migration route of his Clawson family had been from Pennsylvania to Ohio to Indiana, from family stories. Whether they knew if he was born in Pennsylvania or Ohio is less certain. That is why I put more faith in the census record when he was alive.  I wish I knew more about navigation of the Ohio River going upstream. I have read about a number of people who made trips back and forth from Southwestern Pennsylvania to Hamilton County, Ohio.  I suppose they went by boats with sails, as the winds went from west to east, but I don't know. I think that there was a trace or early road as well. I cannot account for the names Lois and Wilson in the Marsh genealogy prior to Mary Clawson marrying Timothy Marsh. The Marsh genealogy seems to list all children in each generation. But both names, Lois and Wilson, seem to relate to the Clawsons. Best Wishes. Frank S. Crosswhite   

 November 6, 2005

 Email From John Laird to Frank Crosswhite re: John Clawson Records in Preble County, records of other John Clawsons.

From: John Laird

To: Frank Crosswhite

Subject: Re: John Clawson

Date: Sun, 6 Nov 2005

Frank -- You write the most thoughtful and detailed notes of anyone I do family history work with! Thank you1 I am out the door in a little bit for three days to Big Sur. I haven't had a chance to fully digest what I picked up in Salt Lake City. I personally took copies from microfilm on every John land deed prior to 1827 I could find, I copied the Preble Tax Record extracts for the 1827 period, I got the Marsh bio from the Indiana book, I managed to find a new compilation of early Montgomery Co OH record mentions, and some other things. I tried to look at Piscataway records, and I took Clawson references from Berkeley Co WVA. I also looked at the Washington Co PA tax records for the Clawsons in the 1780's. I just haven't had a chance to pour over them as I've been working around the clock since I got back. I'm going to get to them soon, and I'll put them on top and get back to you. I'd like to compare notes. I'm sorry I don't have this quite together yet. Hope all is well.

Undated - Description of Garrett Clawson in Maryland Military Unit ca 1776

In the Upper District of Frederick County, Maryland on July 20, 1776 our Garret Clawson, as “Garrett Closson” was enlisted by Lieutenant Christian Orndorff into Captain John Reynolds’ Company of Maryland troops.  (From Archives of Maryland, Volume 18, g. 50.  Muster Rolls and Other Records of Service of Maryland Troops in the American Revolution.)

Recruitment in 1776 for Frederick County was done in three districts:  1) Lower District, which became Montgomery County, 2) Middle District which remained Frederick County, and 3) Upper District which became Washington County.  Garret Clawson was in the Upper District.  There were three companies for the Upper District lead by 1) Captain Aeneas Campbell, 2) Captain John Reynolds and 3) Captain Henry Hardman.  Garret Clawson was in the 2nd Company.  Under Captain John Reynolds were 1st Lieutenant Moses Chapline, 2nd Lieutenant Christian Orndorff (spelled Orendoff in other documents) and Ensign Nathan Williams.  These companies do not appear to be part of any regular regiment, so may have been part of a battalion of militia. No other records for these companies exist after the initial recruitment lists.  When enlisted these men were “effective and able-bodied” and had to be passed on by someone other than the recruiter.  A Major Francis Deakins approved some of the units but not the one Garret was in.  I think that Deakins was regular army.   After the war Deakins was entrusted to survey the land to the west of Fort Cumberland in Washington County to be made into 50 and 100 acre parcels for regular army veterans, with 100 acres  going to any recruiter who had signed up 20 or more men.  This was to satisfy promises made when soldiers were originally recruited. Christian Orndorff  had enlisted 22 men including Garret so possibly he had been looking for this additional acreage. But I think that the acreage was only for regular army.


By 1778 the 2nd Battalion of what had been the Upper District, now Washington County, was lead by Captain Christian ”Orendoff,” Jr. with a 1st Lieutenant Joseph “Rennolds” said to be son of John in the  original  document.  This sounds like the same unit that Garret had been in. This was definitely a militia unit and the men were drafted for 9 months.  Service in the regular army was for 3 years or the duration of the war.  An inducement to enlist in the regular army  was a promise of 50 acres of land after the three years of service, so I do not think that the regulars were drafted. On the page of the Maryland Archives listing Garret Clawson (as “Garrett Closson”) only one soldier is listed as a volunteer so Garret’s enlistment would appear to be for 9 months of compulsory militia service.  Assuming that he fulfilled his service on April 20, 1777 the earliest he could have arrived in Monongalia County, Virginia (i.e. southwestern Pennsylvania) would have been in May of 1777.

Garret’s unit in Maryland, from the names of the officers, probably was centered around Elizabeth Town, now Hagerstown, Washington County, Maryland.  This was the eastern terminus of Braddock’s Road which led to Beeson’s Town, now Uniontown, Fayette County, Pennsylvania.  Garret must have been in northern Virginia before Fall of 1777 since he was recorded on the roll of Captain Thomas Gaddis’s Company of Monongalia County Militia taken at Fort Liberty.  By Fall Gaddis had switched his allegiance to Pennsylvania and was a Colonel in the Westmoreland County Pennsylvania militia. 

In 1777 the Indians of Ohio, under leadership of British regulars from Detroit, were extremely active in crossing the Ohio River in large bands to attack the forts, killing and scalping defenders in western Pennsylvania and northern Virginia.  The likely reason for Captain Gaddis’s militia to have mustered at Fort Liberty in Ohio County, Virginia would have been to come to its assistance or to the assistance of Fort Henry (later Wheeling, West Virginia) which was threatened just to the south.  Unfortunately many soldiers were killed in this region at about this time and their names have been lost to history.  It was at this time that the British commander at Detroit, Henry Hamilton, was offering the Ohio Indians a large bounty, paid in commodities and hardware, for each scalp taken from settlers on the frontiers of Virginia and Pennsylvania.  Hamilton became known as the “Hair Buyer” and countless men, women and children were killed and scalped on the frontier by Indians seeking commodities and hardware.  It was during this period of terrorism that Garret Clawson, Sr. died, perhaps even as early as 1777.

Garret likely had gone up Braddock’s Road before 1777 to find suitable land before bringing his family and this could have been before being drafted in Maryland. One would doubt that he would bring a wife and 6 children with no place to settle.  On the other hand people were fleeing the war  in the East and from a look at some of Maryland’s regular army units, desertion sometimes was over 50%, so departures could be hasty. 

The Dunkards for whom Dunkard Creek was named had trapped in the Whitely Creek and Dunkard Creek area in what is now Greene County, Pennsylvania at an early date. These were the Eckerlin brothers. They  had purchased furs from the Indians while headquartered in Frederick County, Maryland in the 1750’s to sell them to a fur company owned by the Calvert family of Maryland. If we only knew what occupation Garret, Sr followed!

About 2006, I think - undated

Email likely Frank Crosswhite to John Laird, but unclear; long definitive statement on the ancestry of Frank’s Clawson line, including Dutch immigration to New York and New Jersey Clawsons that moved west; Claes Corneliszen Van Schouw; New Amsterdam; Peter Clawson; Claes Corneliszen Van Schouw went by a number of names including Claes Corneliszen, Claes Meutelaer, Claes Corneliszen Meutelaer, and Claes Corneliszen Van Schouw Metelaer; the Pirate Peter Clawson;

Confusions Surrounding Claes Corneliszen Van Schouw “Meutelaer” --Frank S. Crosswhite

I invite any and all Clawson descendants to comment on or correct me, on the following discussion of the often conflicting claims concerning Claes Corneliszen Van Schouw “Meutelaer.”

Claes Corneliszen Van Schouw was born April 3, 1597 on the island of Oland in Sweden, according to some researchers. Others say that he was born on the island of Schouwen in Holland. In any event, he is said to be the progenitor of many New Jersey Clawson families which spread to Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, upstate New York and throughout America. His father, Cornelis Peterson, is said to have been a first generation Dutchman, having come from the island of Oland in Sweden to the island of Schouwen in Holland. Here Peterson lived with wife Johanna Van der Goes who he had married on May 12, 1593. After the father of Claes Corneliszen died in 1599, Claes is said to have been raised by his grandfather, Jacob Van der Goes, who often sailed to the Dutch colonies as a trader. On the island of Schouwen in Holland Claes married Margareta Van der Goes, a relative of his mother and grandfather, on November 9, 1623. In 1624 the couple found themselves back in Sweden on the island of Boda where their son Pieter Claeson was born January 25, 1625. Returning to the island of Schouwen, the couple lived at Zieriksee where Margareta died August 2, 1631. Claes is said to have owned a small ship “Svenska Kronen” which he sold before coming to America.

In the late 1920’s, William Foreman Wyckoff paid a learned European scholar, Dr. Gustave Anjou, to trace the forebears of Claes Corneliszen Von Schouw, as he became known. The product of this enquiry was duly received and showed that his ancestors were minor ship owners and traders in the North Sea and were originally Swedish with Norwegian connections. Some critics believe that this researcher may have confused Claes Corneliszen Van Schouw with Claes Corneliszen Van Norden, the ancestor of the Claeson Wijkopf family or the Wyckoff family of today. Others think that Claes may have been described as “Van Norden” because of his Swedish derivation and the northern islands of Oland and Boda from the perspective of those in Holland but described as “Van Schouw” after coming to America.

Apparently Claes Corneliszen Van Schouw came to America about the same time as Claes Corneliszen Van Norden, if indeed, as some scholarship indicates, they were different people. Some say that Van Schouw and his son Pieter came in style on the yacht Rensselaerwyck which left Amsterdam on October 1, 1636 and arrived at New Amsterdam on March 4, 1637. Others say that it was actually Van Norden and his son Pieter who arrived this way and that Van Schouw and his son Pieter, according to Riker’s History of Harlem, came in 1636 on the ship King David Pieter, the son of one of them, appears on the records of the Rensselaer Manor within a week of the landing of the yacht Rennselaerwyck. One of the Pieters, if indeed there were two, became known as Peter Clawson and died about 1700. Granted that this Peter was son of Claes Corneliszen Van Schouw, as most genealogists indicate, the other Pieter probably never went by the name Clawson as a surname and by some experts most of the Claeson Wijkopf clan adopted the surname Wyckoff. Some Clawsons were once told that Pieter Claeson Wijkopf adopted the name Peter Clawson and leased out some 90 some acres in Manhattan on a 99 year lease and that the land should revert to Clawson heirs. This is reminiscent of proven frauds in the 19th Century when confidence men would seek money from supposed heirs to press their case with distant authorities and courts. In any event, this may have confused some Clawsons concerning their genealogy.

In any event, all agree that Claes Corneliszen Van Schouw went by a number of names including Claes Corneliszen, Claes Meutelaer, Claes Corneliszen Meutelaer, and Claes Corneliszen Van Schouw Metelaer. The word meutelaer has been much debated. It is thought to have been descriptive of him or his occupation. The Dutch word meutelaer is archaic today but had some very different meanings. The most commonly cited is “mutterer.” According to Robert Brian Stewart of Evans, Georgia an educated Hollander living in Iowa told him that 300 years ago the term was used to refer to a “Beggar of the Sea.” “Vagabond of the Sea” might make more sense in English, as the term seems to have been used as a euphemism for “pirate.” In a web posting by Bryce Stevens on Dutch-Colonies-L Archives, 22 Nov. 1998, the meaning of “mutterer” is mentioned with an alternative that a parent or grand-parent might have been one of the “Sea Beggars” or pirate-heroes of Holland. He speculates that considering the island nature of Schouwen, the pirate meaning might be a possibility. In a later posting on the Dutch-Colonies-L Archives, 21 Aug. 2001 Bryce Stevens further discusses “Meutelaer” in reference to Claes Corniliszen Van Schow. He cites Hoppin’s Washington Ancestry, Volume 3, pages 175-177, where an article by a Wyckoff descendant in the Somerset County [New Jersey] Historical Quarterly is discussed. This article asserted that Meutelaer in reference to Claes Corneliszen may have had reference to freebooting, citing Motley’s Rise and Fall of the Dutch Republic. Hoppin himself however could see no connection between freebooting and other meanings of meutelaer [the latter deriving like the English word “muttering.”] An etymological discussion linking the two meanings, however is given at the end of this present discussion. Hoppin speculated that Claes Corneliszen Von Schouw might have been referred to as “Meutelaer” as a misprint for Neutelaer or Notelaer, referring to nut-trees. This weird theory was apparently first suggested by Rev. Theodorus Polhemus according to a response by State Archivist A. J. F. Van Laer to a query by Hoppin. Van Laer opined however, that the island was probably named for Claes Corneliszen Van Schouw Meutelaer rather than vice-versa. By this theory, before receiving a grant of land covering what is now Brooklyn Heights on 24 November, 1642, Claes may have lived for two and a half years on Meutelaer’s Island, off the New York coast. He later sold the Brooklyn Heights land and purchased lands at Flatland, now the 32nd ward of Brooklyn.

Peter the son of Claes Corneliszen Van Schouw is thought to be the Peter Clawson of this time period who was a swashbuckling sea adventurer or, frankly speaking, a pirate. The pirate Peter Clawson is documented in Watson’s Annals of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania published in 1857. Peter Clawson, in response to an offer of amnesty, appeared as a witness in June, 1697 in Philadelphia in the prosecution of James Brown for piracy. Brown was a member of the Pennsylvania Assembly and a son-in-law of Governor Markham. Due to the importance of the case present were Governor Markham, Edward Shippen, Charles Sanders, John Farmer and Charles Sober, Justices; David Lloyd, Attorney General; and Thomas Robinson, attorney for the Earl of Romney. Chief witnesses, on an offer of immunity from prosecution were Jan Mathias and Peter Clawson. They gave long stories of their adventures around the world -- Africa, the Red Sea, East Indies, etc. They claimed to have been forced into piracy and admitted preying only on vessels such as a rich Turkish one and only taking the valuables and not killing the owner. Upon returning to America they and the crew distributed themselves to their homes in New York, Connecticut, West Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Meutelaer in Dutch has a cognate in English - meddler. The fourth (obsolete) meaning of “to meddle” in the Oxford Dictionary refers to joining in company with others and the sixth (obsolete) meaning refers to engaging in conflict or a fight. These meanings are documented to the years 1375 and 1340-70 respectively and although there was little writing before then, the meanings doubtless came along with the Frisians, Angles and Saxons who immigrated to England from near Holland. The English verb “to mutter,” being cognate with the Dutch verb “meutelen” likely derives from “to meddle” in the sense of muttering originally being whispered meddling concerning someone else’s affairs. A “meddler” was probably in deep derivation a middler, in the sense of being in the midst or middle. In the case of a group of men the “between” meaning would logically refer to a pledge among them. The obsolete combining together aspect of ”to meddle” is retained in the modern noun medley, whereby a number of things are joined effectively together. By vowel shift, “to muddle” came to imply a somewhat unstructured combining of discordant elements probably helped by analogy with the noun “mud” which became confused with it. Along one line of word development a meddler was a middler who put himself in the middle between someone’s affairs and a third party, the Dutch meutelaer even retaining the “l” in place of the English “r.” The English version with the “r” probably became standard by likening the word to the verb “to utter.” On another line of word development, a meddler or middler who became a desired middleman in a dispute was differentiated as a mediator.

Willem Claeson, said to be son of Claes Corneliszen Van Schouw Meutelaer, in later life went by the name William Clawson. He is said to have been a younger brother of Peter Clawson but could have been his son. His will was probated March 10, 1723/4, Old Style. The will refers to him as William Clawson of Piscataway, Middlesex County, New Jersey. It refers to his wife Mary and children Cornelius, Benjamin, Josias, William, John, Garrabrant, Joseph, Thomas, Mary Drake, Hanah, and grandson William Clawson. His wife Mary was executrix, assisted by Hendrick Breese of Piscataway. Genealogists treat wife Mary as a second wife Mary Breese, the first wife being Elsje Croesen. The son Gerret by wife Elsje must have died before the date of the will.

No Willem is documented in Dutch Reformed Church records as a son of Claes Corneliszen Van Schouw. Such records purport to show that Claes was married twice in New York and had children over a very long period of years. Aside from son Peter by Margareta Van de Goes born in 1625, by his second wife he had sons Cornelis, born October 4, 1643 and Gerbrant, born April 4, 1649. Also daughters Tryntje, born ca. 1633; Pieterje, born October 28, 16409; Floris, born January 20 1647; and Ariaen, born November 5, 1651. As an old man he started a third family with a new wife, Catalyntje Janse, having two sons, Cornelis, born June 12, 1671 and Johannes, born October 14, 1674. The possibility exists that William Clawson of Piscataway may have been a grandson of Claes and son of Peter Clawson. In the Dutch Reformed Church is a marriage of Claes Corneliszen Van Shoonhoven on July 28, 1670 to Catalyn Jans Van Amsterdam. This likely accounts for the supposed marriage of Van Schouw to Catalyntje Jans. It seems less likely that Van Schouw married a young woman of child bearing age when he was 73 years old and after 19 years of having no children, so Van Shoonhoven must have been a different person. This would mean that the last child of Van Schouw, Ariaen, was born in 1751. Some say that Ariaen was not a female but a male who became Aaron Clawson. William Clawson who died at Piscataway, New Jersey in 1723/24 is said to have been born in 1757, which would be six years after the birth of the last known child of Van Schouw. In 1757 Claes Corneliszen Van Schouw would have been 60 years old.

However, there was a Claes Corneliszen Van Voorhout in the Dutch Reformed Church records who married Marius Brechte on October 17, 1649 and it is possible that this Claes Corneliszen might have been confused with Van Schouw just like Van Shoonhoven was confused with Van Schouw.

If Claes Corneliszen Van Schouw was indeed a different person from Claes Corneliszen Van Norden, then genealogists have given them the same date of birth and Van Norden left no other trace than his son Peter. Although each of these latter men by the name Claes Corneliszen is credited with a son Peter born about 1725, only Peter Claeszen Wijkopf is credited with children (quite a few) and these are said to have become Wyckoffs. Others claim that some became Clawsons. Peter Claeszen Wijkopf is listed by genealogists as dying in 1694 whereas the court testimony of Peter Clawson the pirate was in June of 1697. This would make it appear that there were two different Peters but the earlier death of Peter Claeszen Wijkopf needs to be confirmed. Otherwise it is still possible that there was only one Peter.

I hope I have raised enough points to provoke discussion. I would appreciate any answers to the many questions raised. My point in this discussion was not to document specific dates, births, marriages, deaths, etc. but rather to point out the uncertain nature of what is thought to be known.

July 8, 2006

Email from Frank Crosswhite to John Laird - DNA testing re Clawson ancestry; Gary Purviance’s uncle Archie Clawson; Dutch ancestry; Clawsons in New York and New Jersey; William Clawson of New Jersey;

From: Frank Crosswhite

To: John Laird

Sent: Sat, 8 Jul 2006 8:53 PM

Subject:  Clawson genealogy

John-- Gary Purviance tells me that his mother's brother, Archie Clawson, had his DNA tested and it matched that of three other people: 1) a descendant of the Mormon leader and founder of ZCMI, Hiram Bradley Clawson, 2) a Petersen descendant of Gerbrant Claeszen [Gerbrant was son of Claes Cornelisen Van Schouw], 3) another Petersen descendant of Gerbrant Claeszen. Archie's testing was the customary testing of the Y-chromosome. You will recall that the Y-chromosome is passed only from father to son, so that neither you nor I nor Gary Purviance could have the Y-chromosome of Claes Corneliszen Van Schouw. The conclusion of the DNA study is that the two Petersens and the two Clawsons (including Gary's uncle) are direct descendants in the male line of a common male ancestor [obviously Claes Corneliszen Van Schouw]. The two Petersen lines and the Mormon Clawson line already had evidence of their descent from Claes Corneliszen Van Schouw. Mormon genealogists have traced the lineage of Rudger Clawson (son of Hiram Bradley Clawson) back to Cornelius Clawson (son of William Clawson who lived between Piscataway and Raritan Landing in Middlesex County, New Jersey.  The record of this William's first marriage still exists (in the records of a Dutch Reformed Church on Long Island) showing that at the time of the marriage he was living at Gowanus, Long Island (later incorporated into Brooklyn) and was born at Nieuw Amersfoort, Long Island [the last known location for Claes Corneliszen Van Schouw]. Gerbrant Claesen, the son of Claes Corneliszen Van Schouw was sponsor for the baptism of Garret (first child of our William Claeszen). Later, William named a son Gerbrant. After living at Gowanus, William obtained land from the estate of his father-in-law Garret Dirksen. This land was on Staten Island midway between Gowanus, Long Island and Piscataway and Raritan Landing in New Jersey. While still living on Staten Island William explored the land around Piscataway and Raritran Landing, purchasing what became the Clawson Farm. He may have maintained a residence on Staten Island while developing his New Jersey lands since he was still said to be a resident of Staten Island when selling his land there. I posted a map on the Rootsweb Dutch Colonies List showing William's land in New Jersey and the location of all of his neighbors with my transcriptions of the neighbors' names. Much concerning Claes Corneliszen Van Schouw's genealogy is absolutely false and comes from the genealogical forger Dr. Anjou. The true genealogy of Claes Corneliszen Von Schouw has been discovered in records still extant in Holland. I have most of this in a CD on Bowman genealogy recently made by a Bowman attorney in Arkansas who descends from Claes Corneliszen Van Schouw. Be careful about false records used by LDS researchers concerning a Nannincks being the wife of Claes Corneliszen Van Schouw and a Van Der Goes in his ancestry. Also, he had nothing to do with Sweden. Contrary to Dr. Anjou, he had no known royal ancestry. Claes was named for St. Nicholas, patron saint of farmers. Claes was a tobacco farmer on Long Island. A number of his records are still extant. His original farm is now the land under the Brooklyn administrative center. He was head of one of the 14 families comprising Brooklyn when it was originally founded. A son-in-law of his was one of the trustees to whom Brooklyn was granted by the King of England after the English takeover. Dr. Anjou was hired by a Wyckoff descendant of Claes Corneliszen Van Schouw several decades ago to research Claes' ancestry in Europe. Dr. Anjou made up some thrilling episodes and a spurious genealogy which is still found in genealogies written by a number of Claes' descendants’. All Wyckoffs are descended from Peter Claeszen. Peter apparently invented the surname Wyckoff which relates to his having been a magistrate at Niew Amersfoort. Dr. Anjou claimed to have discovered evidence that this Peter was the first son of Claes Corneliszen Van Schouw. This appears now to be false. However, many Wyckoffs are independently descended from Claes. I have made a number of additional corrections to treatments of Claes Corneliszen Van Schouw concerning several of his children. Most treatments of Claes Corneliszen Van Schouw follow that in the book Washington Ancestry which dealt with the first President and a couple of dozen other families. I have rather abundant notes on Claes and his descendants (and corrections to the Washington Ancestry book) but have not yet written anything up. All Van Arsdales (and similar spellings) in America descend from a daughter of Claes Corneliszen Van Schouw. Also a number of Wyckoffs through another daughter. Also a number of Bowmans. All of Claes' children used the patronymic surname "Claeszen" or "Claes" (in later records spelled "Klaas") during their lifetimes. The change of Claes to Klaas was the result of a formal spelling change adopted by the Dutch in Europe. Even the married daughters continued to use "Claes" in typical Dutch fashion of not adopting the husband's surname, but rather using the given name of their father as their identifying patronymic. Technically their patronymic was Claesdotter but Dutch in America almost always left off the "dotter" just as some sons (or people writing about them in marriage and baptism records) left off the "zen" or "sen." William Claeszen (also known as William Claes) was the last-born child of Claes and the only one of Claes' children to make Claeszen (later Clawson) an inherited surname. Interestingly, the Dutch "Sinter Claes" became "Santa Claus" in New York among the Dutch from which he spread to the English. William Clawson's probate in New Jersey uses both the spelling William Clauson and William Clawson.

Best wishes, Frank S. Crosswhite  

 December 18, 2007

Frank Crosswhite to John Laird re DNA testing of current Clawsons that link back to the Dutch Clawsons; Piscataway; Raritan; Hiram Hoover Clawson; religion of Clawsons.

From: Frank Crosswhite
To: John Laird
Sent: Tue, 18 Dec 2007 10:30 pm
Subject: Van Schouw DNA Project

Earlier this year my sister, Dr. Virginia Hyde Barnes, talked our first cousin, Donald Gary Clawson, into submitting his DNA to the Van Schouw DNA project as our surrogate. Our mother, Mary Hazel Clawson, was sister to Gary's father. Another cousin, Dr. William Clawson, also submitted his DNA sample. Gary and Bill have the same great grandfather, Asa Garret Clawson, whose genealogy we trace back to Willem Claeszen, son of Claes Corneliszen Van Schouw, a resident of Brooklyn prior to 1640. The results of the DNA testing showed that the yDNA of both Gary and Bill match the yDNA of other known descendants of Claes Corneliszen Van Schouw. Persons in the Van Schouw yDNA project with the surnames Peterson and Garrabrant descend from our Willem Claeszen's brother Gerbrant Claeszen in male to male lines. Children of Gerbrant went by the patronymic Gerbrantse or Garrabrantse, which morphed to the surname Garrabrant. However, the descendants of Gerbrant Claeszen's son Pieter Gerbrantse chose to adopt Peterson as a surname from their patronymic Pietersen. Gerbrant Claeszen's own baptismal record in the Manhattan Dutch church shows his father to have been Claes Meuteler, the nickname by which Claes Corneliszen Van Schouw was generally known in colloquial terms. This latter point has been well-studied by genealogists. Gerbrant Claeszen served as witness or sponsor at the baptism in the Long Island Dutch church of Garret, the first child of his brother Willem Claeszen. This Garret probably used the patronymic Willemsen in later life. In America Willemsen generally morphed to Williamson. The possibility exists that some Williamsons in the United States are descended from Claes Corneliszen Van Schouw. It is possible that children of Garret may have adopted the patronymic Garretsen. Generally the Dutch Garretsen has changed to Garrison so we should look for possible Garrison descendants of Claes Corneliszen Van Schouw. Garret must have been much liked by the other children of Willem Claeszen, as their descendants named children Garret through the centuries. The 1850 census of the United States lists no fewer than 10 descendants of Willem Claeszen with the given name Garret. Aside from Garret, the later children of Willem Claeszen all adopted Clawson as their surname as the English version of their father's patronymic Claeszen. All of the Clawsons in the Van Schouw yDNA project descend from Claes Corneliszen Van Schouw's son Willem Claeszen. We have found only daughters for Claes Corneliszen Van Schouw's son Herpert Claeszen. No progeny at all are known for the other sons of Claes Corneliszen Van Schouw, other than Herpert, Gerbrant and Willem. Descendants of Claes's daughters are rather well-documented. Both Gerbrant and William eventually settled in New Jersey, Gerbrant near Bergen where there was a mission of the Manhattan Dutch church, but Willem in the Raritan Valley which for some years had no Dutch church at all. Some of the Dutch inhabitants of Raritan Landing attended the Piscataway Baptist Church until a Dutch church on the Raritan was finally established. Willem Claeszen lived between Raritan Landing and Piscataway and some of his children and their descendants married members of the Piscataway Baptist Church. When the Dutch church on the Raritan was finally established, Willem brought in all of his children born after Garret for baptism. We think that he had been attending the Piscataway Baptist Church which did not believe in child baptism. The Piscataway Baptist Church split over doctrine, with one group becoming the Piscataway Seventh Day Baptist Church. One of Willem's grandsons espoused this latter church and was the forefather of Hiram Bradley Clawson who took up Mormonism, was among the original pioneers to Salt Lake City, married a daughter of Brigham Young and was the chief mercantilist of the LDS colony, being in charge of ZCMI. Two of the Clawsons in the Van Schouw DNA project are descended from Hiram Bradley Clawson. The other three Clawsons in the Van Schouw DNA project descend from two brothers, John and Peter Clawson, who grew up in the frontier of extreme southwestern Pennsylvania and settled in the Northwestern Territory before it became Ohio. John and Peter had several other brothers and all fought in various wars with Indians. John was known as "The Great Indian Fighter" and is written up in various books. One of these Clawson participants in the Van Schouw DNA project claims descent from John but my research indicates that he descends from Peter. My mother's Clawson line through John Clawson ("The Great Indian Fighter") became Campbellite and Quaker. John's son Josiah married Phoebe Woodward who was a Campbellite minister. She was of Quaker heritage. Several of her descendants were missionaries to Japan and China. One, Bertha Fidelia Clawson, founded a school in Japan which morphed into a large university today which also spun off the Tokyo Theological Seminary. The university in turn has established a Japanese language immersion school in Atlanta, Georgia. My mother's grandfather, Asa Garret Clawson, although never becoming a Mormon, became acquainted with Hiram Bradley Clawson and accompanied him on a Mormon wagon train through Indiana but dropped off in Kansas Territory to live among the Osage and Ottummwa Indians. While there he may have fathered a child, Garret Clawson, documented as an Osage Indian who settled just to the south in Oklahoma. Both Asa Garret Clawson and Hiram Bradley Clawson descended from men named John Clawson who at one time lived in Pennsylvania. Hiram Bradley Clawson's John Clawson lived in Cussawego, Pennsylvania and was described as a Quaker in a local history. As mentioned earlier, his line came down through the Piscataway Seventh Day Baptist Church. A different Clawson Quaker line descending from Willem Claeszen was established by a Josiah Clawson who married Rebecca Clark. She was read out of the Fairfax Monthly Meeting (near Washington, DC) for "marrying out of union" which meant that she and Josiah were first cousins. This latter Clawson Quaker line settled in North Carolina and followed the immigration of North Carolina Quakers to Richmond, Wayne County, Indiana, the immigration which had been initiated by Asa Garret Clawson's wife's grandfather, David Hoover, who along the way had lived in the Preble/Montgomery County area of Ohio where Asa Garret Clawson's Clawson ancestors lived. Asa Garret Clawson eventually returned from Kansas Territory to Indiana and married Rebecca Hoover, a Quaker who lived in Richmond next door to his Quaker Clawson cousins descending from Josiah Clawson and Rebecca Clark. Rebecca Hoover's grandfather was founder of Richmond, Indiana. Asa then moved back to the land he had taken up at Ottumwa, Coffey County, Kansas. My mother's father, Hiram Hoover Clawson, was son of Asa Garret Clawson. Asa Garret Clawson's father was a Josiah Clawson who was a cousin of the Quaker Josiah Clawson mentioned above. The original Willem Claeszen had a son named Josias in Dutch which morphed into Josiah in English. Siblings of Josiah must have liked him very much, as descendants named so many children Josiah that genealogy becomes a bit tedious and confused. Persons with the given name Hiram generally had fathers who belonged to the Masonic Order. Hiram, the master builder, figures prominently in Masonic initiation rituals in which he is killed by apprentices. In any event, it is gratifying to see that DNA is backing up and confirming the genealogy of the families descending from Claes Corneliszen Van Schouw. Best Wishes, Frank S. Crosswhite

SPECIAL NOTE: To this day, there is a special website of the Van Shouw DNA Project, which credits Frank Crosswhite and can be found at:

https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/van-schouw/about/background

The “About” Introduction of this website mentions Frank Crosswhite: “Strictly speaking, 'Van Schouw' is not a surname. The term, 'the Van Schouw family group' refers to descendants of Claes Cornelissen van Schouw, and includes present-day male-line descendants of the surnames Garrabrant, Clawson, Peterson and some variants. Claes Cornelissen immigrated to New Netherland prior to 1640. No known record dispositively identifies Claes Cornelissen's place of birth or his parents. In New Netherland, he and his children used patronymic naming according to Dutch tradition, i.e., they used 'Claes' or 'Claesen' as their second names. His grandchildren by his son Willem adopted the surname Clawson. His son Gerbrant's children used the second name Gerbrantsen; variants of that name were used by all of Gerbrant's grandchildren, except the descendants of Gerbrant's son Pieter, who adopted the surname Peterson. 

The Van Schouw surname project at Family Tree DNA was established about 2006 by Clawson descendant Frank Crosswhite (d 2008), mainly to verify the existence of living members of all three lines via Y-DNA. That goal has been accomplished. In addition, Y-DNA results demonstrate the existence of unrelated Clawson and Peterson lines.”

February 11, 2008

Email from Frank Crosswhite to John Laird - Meade County, Kentucky John Clawson and pension; John Clawson of Roxbury, New Jersey, descendant of Claus; Claes Corneliszen's marriage and his wife’s parentage; genealogies of this family do not match the actual family; Gerbrant Claeszen, brother of our Willem Claeszen known as Gerbrant Claes; Berkeley County Virginia Clawsons; speculation about Mary Clawson (Greene County PA) ancestry; Scottish links; Lott Clawson names; Mormon Clawsons; relationship of the different branches.

Thank you for the letters to and from Salt Lake City concerning Revolutionary War service for persons named John Clawson who served in New Jersey units.

I had guessed that the Meade County John Clawson who was 80 years old would not have received a pension because, although his affidavit beats around the bush after demonstrating 1 month of militia service and becoming disabled due to the musket accident, the record that I located for him indicated that he was discharged due to his disability at a time when he had accumulated only 1 month of militia service. I notice that the fourth letter you sent states that he had been denied a pension for failing to demonstrate six months of service (as required by the Pension Act).

The records of the other John Clawson, born at Roxbury, Morris County, New Jersey, which Salt Lake City also requested, although they apparently did not know it at the time, were the ones that they really needed. This John Clawson of Roxbury, Morris County, was the son of Zachariah Clawson, the son of Cornelius Clawson, the son of Willem Claeszen, the son of Claes Corneliszen, the latter born at Browershaven, Island of Schou (now referred to in the plural form as Schouwen), Zeeland, the Netherlands on February 12, 1606. His island of birth is in a complex estuary formed where several major rivers of Europe, including the Rhine, empty out at a common point into the ocean. From this island scows were employed to trans-ship merchandise to or from the interior of Europe to or from large ocean-going vessels. The father of this Claes Corneliszen from Schouw ("Van Schouw") was Cornelis Jansen (= Cornelius the son of John. Schouw is pronounced like our scow.

I have a copy of Claes Corneliszen's marriage record at Sloterdijck (now engulfed by Amsterdam) to our ancestress Metje Herperts on March 21, 1632.  Metje's father was Herpert Jansen of Hasellunen, Germany, which in German was something like Herbert Johannson. Metje's mother, Pieterje Jacobs, was born on the Island of Ameland, West Friesland, and appeared before the minister, Rev. Matthijas Mursius to allow the marriage of Metje to proceed, as Metje was only 20 years old and by Dutch law incapable of marriage without parental approval in person. At the time of Metje's marriage she was living on the street which had the Dutch name Haerlemmerstraat or Harlem Street. Metje's parents had been married November 1, 1609 in the Oude Kerk (the Old Church) in Amsterdam. Our Claes' wife Metje had been baptized in the Niuewe Kerk (the New Church) in Amsterdam on November 7 or 9, 1610.

Our ancestors Claes and Metje baptized their first two children in Holland before they came over to New Netherland, their first daughter was Tryntje Catharine), baptized on June 12, 1633 and their first son, Herpert (Herbert), on August 14, 1635.

I thought that I would send the European details now while I am still alive and active. Details in published and manuscript genealogies of this family are totally at variance with the facts and were fraudulently manufactured by a Swede using the alias Dr. Anjou who claimed to be an accomplished genealogist. The Wyckoff family had commissioned Dr. Anjoou to travel to Europe a number of decades ago to uncover the ancestry of Claes Corneliszen Van Schouw. This scoundrel used the Wyckoff money to vacation in Sweden while dreaming up a fictitious report. Quite a number of genealogies reposing in the Salt Lake City archives, used as the basis for temple ordinances and written by Dr. Anjou, are also being found to be gross fabrications. The modern research on the European antecedents of our Clawsons was researched for a lawyer in Arkansas who I correspond with, Ed Bowman, who descends from one of our Willem Claeszen's sisters, Tryntjte Claes (Dutch women did not use the -sen or -zen form of the patronym Claeszen because they were not sons. The old form Claesdotter, which would still be the correct form in Iceland, became cumbersome in Dutch so women either tacked on -dr to their father's given name or merely used their father's given name intact as their patronym. Women could also tack an -e onto the given name of their father or if it ended in -s they might add a -z. A daughter of Claes might use the patronym Claesz.

Gerbrant Claeszen, the brother of our Willem Claeszen, most frequently used the predominantly feminine form as simply Gerbrant Claes. As the Dutch language experienced waves of spelling reforms, the name Claes began to be spelled Klaas and even some of the records of our Willem Claeszen were written by clerks as Willem Klaas. Claes began as the casual form for Niclaes (Nicholas), from Sinter Niclaes, our Santa Claus. Claes was a lucky name in Holland for a son who was hoped to excel in life in farming, because Sinter Niclaes in Holland was the patron saint of farmers. During the period of Dutch use of patronyms, women did not adopt the last name of their husband, using their maiden name throughout life.

Records for the marriage of the parents of the John Clawson of Roxbury, Morris County, New Jersey were found in records of the Piscataway Seventh Day Baptist Church of Middlesex County, New Jersey, which had been transported to far western Pennsylvania where they were later discovered. This John's father Zachariah had espoused the Seventh Day version when it broke off of the regular Piscataway Baptist Church. This branch of Seventh Day Clawsons can often easily be identified by their tendency to give their children obscure Biblical names like Issachar, Zachariah and Zephaniah. The Mormon Clawsons descend from John Clawson of Roxbury, Morris County, through a documented lineage with records at Cussewago, Crawford County, Pennsylvania and Utica, Oneida County, New York.

Quibbletown in Piscataway Township, Middlesex County, New Jersey dates to the separation of the Piscataway Seventh Day Baptist Church from the regular Piscataway Baptist Church. Quibbletown got its name from the Baptist neighbors quibbling with each other as to whether Saturday or Sunday was the Sabbath. The son of our Willem Claeszen from which the Clawsons of Clawson Run descend was the Thomas Clawson who had a farm at Quibbletown. This is the Thomas Clawson who was father of the three brothers, Richard, Josiah and Garrabrant, who settled in Berkeley County, Virginia after living for a while in Pennsylvania between Philadelphia and probably Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania. Our own ancestor who had been husband of widow Mary Clawson I believe to have been the unfortunate John Clawson ordered hanged by General George Washington when he was accused of trying to cross the lines in the vicinity of Philadelphia. Washington had proclaimed that he would treat line-crossers as spies, but settlers going to Philadelphia for supplies probably never got the message. He appears to have had John Clawson hanged as an example to others, as even confirmed Tories were allowed to live. I believe that widow Mary was daughter of a Scottish family (there are at least three branches of Clawsons descending from widow Mary which claim Scottish ancestry through the Clawsons). I identify her ancestry as pinpointed in or near Perth Amboy. I have examined the Bible record in which widow Mary's grandson Lott W. Clawson occurs. The record does not say Lotow Clawson as some have claimed, but rather is consistent with the name of the tavern owner Lott W. Clawson whose records are all found as Lott W. Clawson. Lotow is a Polish word. Next to the Buckalews at Perth Amboy is the only location where families used Lott as a given name. This is also a hotbed of families with the Dutch fixed surname Lott. Most likely widow Mary had been born by the first wife of Frederick Buckalew, a modestly wealthy carpenter of Perth Amboy, whose will disclosed that two of his daughters had married Clawsons, the daughter Margaret to Richard Clawson (son of Thomas) and the daughter Rachel to Josiah Clawson (again son of Thomas). I think that Frederick's daughter Mary (who has not been traced and was given an endowment of 100 pounds for the interest to help her) sounds like a widow. I believe that Frederick Buckalew's daughter Mary was by his first wife whose name is unknown but who in this hotbed of Lotts probably was the source of the name Lott in Lott W. Clawson's name. The Buckalew genealogy seems to be confused, as it has the name of his second wife, who was living when he died, as the name of his first wife, with Mary attributed to the second wife. The actual name of the first wife who I think is the mother of Frederick's daughter Mary is as yet unknown.

Hiram Bradley Clawson with his widowed mother and brother, John Clawson, traveled with the Saints by wagon train to Salt Lake City where Hiram managed ZCMI, and married two daughters of his friend Brigham Young (for whom he acted as secretary). Hiram Clawson was very successful financially and socially and in Church affairs. With Brigham Young's approval he was able to maintained four wives simultaneously. One of his sons, Rudger Clawson (which I think is a form of the Dutch Rutger (Roger) became one of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Rutgers (as in Rutgers University) is a Dutch patronym based on the given name Rutger.

My own ancestor, Asa Garret Clawson, father of my grandfather Hiram Hoover Clawson, met Hiram Bradley Clawson somewhere between Nauvoo, Illinois and Salt Lake City and travelled with him on a wagon train to Salt Lake City but went only so far as Kansas Territory which was then a reserve for Indians. He settled among the Indians, eventually marrying Rebecca Hoover, granddaughter of David Hoover, the Quaker discoverer of the Whitewater country in Wayne County, Indiana who also laid out and named the City of Richmond, the County seat of Wayne County. Rebecca lived directly next door to the home of Josiah and Rebecca Clawson, Josiah having died by this time, having charged his eldest son William with supporting widow Rebecca Clawson. Asa Garret Clawson's own father was also named Josiah Clawson and was the eldest son of John Clawson, "The Great Indian Fighter." At this time the different branches of Clawsons descending from Willem Claeszen of Piscataway still knew how they were related or soon found out after comparing notes. It is my belief that the family of Asa Garret Clawson's father Josiah Clawson, was very familiar with the family of the other and contemporary Josiah Clawson. The two Josiahs lived near each other although in adjacent counties, but when populations of both counties were rather small. I imagine Asa Garret Clawson playing with "the girl next door" on a Sunday afternoon following a joint family dinner while the fathers of the two Clawson families engaged in discussions. Rebecca Hoover was this "girl next door" who became my ancestor as my mother's grandmother.

Best Wishes,

Frank S. Crosswhite

March 31, 2008

Email from Frank Crosswhite to John Laird - Willem Jacobse Van Boerum patriarch of the Boerum family; Willem married Hannah Clawson; William Clawson marries a Smock; First Continental Congress and George Washington; Benjamin Van Cleve; Cornelius Clawson descendants in Butler Co., Ohio; John Clawson at Cunningham’s Station, Ohio; Covalt; Clawson cases at New Jersey Supreme Court prior to 1790; Stockton Family; Rush family; Kelly family marrying into Clawsons; Buckles family marrying in; Woodward and Ammerman Families marrying in. Email just below from Douglas Buckelew about the Clawson - Buckelew connection.

From: Frank Crosswhite

To: John Laird

Subject: Re: Stockton-Rush-Pintard-Boudinot

Date: Mon, 31 Mar 2008

The American patriarch of the Boerum family was Willem Jacobse Van Boerum who was born about 1617 in the Netherlands and whose will was probated 3 April 1688 in Brooklyn, Long Island, New York. The Boerum Hill district of Brooklyn is named for this family. Among the first American-born in this family was Adriaen ("Arie") Boerum who eventually settled at Raritan Landing, Piscataway Township in New Jersey, having married Sarah Smock before 1698 in New York. He came to the Raritan Valley with Sarah's parents, Hendrick Matthyse Smock and Guertje Harmons Coerten. Hendrick built a fine house next door to Willem Claessen and his son Leendert built next to that, with Arie and Sarah building not far away. Arie and Sarah operated a Tavern. With time, Hendrick built a fine new house to replace the first and this still stands on River Road as one of the oldest historic houses in New Jersey. It is operated as a historic house museum. Arie Boerum and Sarah Smock had children, among whom was William Boerum who grew up to marry the "girl next door," Hannah Clawson, daughter of William and Mary. Leendert Smock and his wife Sarah also had children, including another Sarah Smock who grew up to marry "the boy next door," Hannah's brother, William Clawson. Meanwhile, back in Brooklyn, a cousin, Simon Boerum, of the same generation as William Boerum and Hannah Clawson, married Maria Martense Schenk. Cousin Simon Boerum was thought of highly by the citizens of Long Island who sent him as their delegate to the First Continental Congress where he worked alongside George Washington, Richard Henry Lee, William Paca, Patrick Henry, Edward Pendleton, Samuel Adams, Caesar Rodney and other members. He was a strong supporter of "non-importation" and was instrumental in defeating the "Galloway Plan" for reconciliation with England by a 6 to 5 vote of the Congress. Simon Boerum's wife, Maria Martense Schenck, was sister to Roelof Martense Schenck. Roelof married Susannah Montfoort. In this latter line, Rachel Shenck was born, who married Aaron Van Cleve, a close relative of John Clawson's friend Benjamin Van Cleve. Jannetje Van Cleve, daughter of Aaron and Rachel, was with the Dutch who early moved to Kentucky. There were many instances when the Dutch fled to Boonesboro for protection from Indian raiding parties. Jannetje was the wife of Daniel Boone's brother Squire Boone. Squire Boone and Jannetje Van Cleve are ancestors of my first cousin Betty nee Clawson through my aunt Hazel Glassel Clawson who married my mother's brother Johann Strauss Clawson. (Grandmother Clawson, whose surname had been Johann, loved the music of Johann Strauss which her husband played as violinist in the Kansas City Symphony Orchestra). Among the children of William Boerum and Hannah Clawson were sons Arie and William. In the meantime, a third sibling of Hannah Clawson and her brother William, Mary Clawson, had married Jonathan Drake. Deborah Drake, daughter of Jonathan Drake and Mary Clawson, married William Boerum, son of William Boerum and Hannah Clawson. It should be pointed out that Hannah Clawson, William Clawson and Mary Clawson were all brothers and sisters of Thomas Clawson who married Ann Stockton. A fifth sibling, Cornelius Clawson, married Mary Breese (his cousin by his father William's sister Geertje Claessen). Descendants of Cornelius were early settlers in what became Butler County, Ohio.   Cousin Simon Boerum was returned as a member of the Second Continental Congress in 1775 but he died before the members of that body signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776. But going back to Arie and William, mentioned above as sons of William Boerum and Hannah Clawson: Arie Boerum married Mary Laen in Bedford County, Virginia. Their son, Aaron Boerum Jr. was a pioneer about 1800 in eastern Hamilton County, Ohio. His first settlement was in Sycamore Township, the township where John Clawson lived at Cunningham's Station. Whether the township lines changed or Aaron moved slightly is not known, but soon he lived in the township just to the east next to Joseph Jones and his wife, Mary Covalt, witnessing the will of Mary's husband when he died. Mary Covalt was the daughter of Abraham Covalt. She is the one who recorded the details of the Covalt Family coming down the Ohio River in flatboats and building Covalt's Station.  There are various pieces of evidence that Thomas Clawson's wife was Ann Stockton. Thomas Clawson wrote his will in January of 1771 and it was probated the next month. Executors named in the will were his son William Clawson and son-in-law Peter Covert. (Some Coverts were also early settlers at Cincinnati). The will of Thomas Clawson specified that Thomas' two youngest sons, Josiah Clawson and Garrabrant Clawson, were to live with and help their mother Ann for five years, continuing to make payments on "Mercer's Mills," one of Thomas' key money-making properties. Thomas apparently believed that there would be enough positive cash flow from the mills in five year’s time to pay off the mortgage, so to speak. Although Thomas had debts at the time of his death, the inventory of his estate was in the black at about 2,500.00 pounds sterling, quite considerably above average for that day. He appears to have had interests and properties in several counties. In a landmark PhD dissertation in 1988 by Rebecca Yamin, entitled "The Raritan Landing Traders: Local Trade in Pre-Revolutionary New Jersey" results of archaeological diggings and archival studies by Rutgers University and New York University were presented. The earliest settler at Raritan Landing by many years was listed as William Claessen on the basis of research by C. C. Vermuele published in 1936 in the Proceedings of the New Jersey Historical Society. Vermeule, a local historian born the prior century, had interviewed aged informants during that century who could remember Raritan Landing before it was abandoned after having been burned by the British during the Revolutionary War. A much smaller village had developed just across the Raritan, which now is the City of New Brunswick and seat of Rutgers University. A part of Rutgers has spilled across the river onto the below ground corpse of Raritan Landing.  Subsequent to 1988 Yamin has overseen multi-million dollar excavations by at least four archaeological institutions at Raritan Landing, some information from which is presented to the public on-line. In her dissertation, Yamin studied the inventories of the estates of Cornelius Clawson Sr. (1758) and Thomas Clawson (1761).  I have obtained a copy of Yamin's dissertation but I cannot find that the more extensive later work has yet been published. I have read on-line claims that the Raritan Landing excavations at Piscataway represent the most extensive such excavations in U.S. history.   Son William administered Thomas' estate for a number of years until his mother Ann stepped in with support of her kinfolk. It is not yet clear whether son William died during this period or became insolvent or simply left New Jersey. Interestingly, the will of Frederick Buckalew gives an acreage at Cranbury to his daughter Rachel who was married to William's brother Richard Clawson. The last William Clawson was heard from he (William) was reduced to a mere 5 acres at this same Cranbury which he lost to creditors. Perhaps he had traded the land at Perth Amboy to Richard for the land at Cranbury. In any event, both tracts were lost to creditors.  There were over 100 Clawson cases at law before the Supreme Court of New Jersey prior to 1790, most involving Thomas Clawson, his sons and relatives. One in 1719-20 is by Arie Boerum, Plaintiff vs. the original William Clawson and his wife Mary. Another that year is by Arie Boerum vs Josiah Clawson, son of William and Mary. I have ordered the entire case files for 19 of these supreme court cases and will order all if the first 19 prove to be useful. I dread having to decipher the old handwriting.  Ann suddenly stepped forward during the stamp-act and non-importation resolves in the few years just prior to the American Revolution. At this time Lewis Pintard, Elias Boudinot, Benjamin Rush, and the father of John Pintard were all married to Stockton women who wanted only the best for their kinswoman. At this time Ann had been for some years a merchant and partner in the firm of John Hamersley and Company. Since she was known as Ann Hamersley, she was probably John's wife. Whether they also divorced is unknown. In any event, the Stocktons and their kin were extreme patriots and subscribers to the non-importation resolutions. They were powerful enough and formidable enough to back Ann in her asserting herself. I get the feeling that at least some were working behind the scenes with Ann, and as far as helping Ann to sell the old Thomas Clawson properties, helping on record.   It appears that Ann had a dispute with John Hamersley over non-importation. John's business had been importing goods from England to sell in the colonies. Since a reference indicates that John Hamersley and Company is known to have operated from 1759 to 1770, only to be dissolved by Ann Stockton Clawson Hamersley that latter year, it seems probable that Thomas and Ann Clawson had been operating the store in question prior to Thomas' death.  The ownership of "Mercer's Mills" by Thomas Clawson and his family also indicates a merchant activity. Ann's stepping forward was in context of wagon-loads of merchandise imported from Britain by New York merchants suddenly finding themselves sinking into rivers once they reached Woodbridge, Piscataway or New Brunswick. I wonder what Indians were responsible? (Shades of the Boston Tea Party). Ann clearly chose non-importation along with her kinspeople and in defiance of her partner in John Hamersley and Company. When I finally write everything up, I will tell more about Tobias Van Norden, merchant at Bound Brook, who enters into the picture, and definitely about Elias Boudinot, so intimately tied up with Ann's relatives. Many historians consider him the first President of the United States. Being President of the Continental Congress when the Revolutionary War ended, and being the highest ranking official on our side, he was the one who signed the treaty with England on behalf of the United States of America, ending the conflict. I also like John Pintard who as an orphan was brought up by his uncle Lewis Pintard. He signed the fractional paper money issued by New York, now worth fortunes to collectors.  In 1770 Ann placed advertisements in New York and Pennsylvania newspapers declaring the partnership of John Hamersley and Company dissolved and that the company was now her sole proprietorship. She stated that she had an excellent stock of merchandise which she would continue to offer for sale on the same terms as before. Her in-law Lewis Pintard chose to import goods from Madeira and elsewhere. Up to this time he had been responsible for importing 1/3 of the goods coming into Manhattan from abroad. At the same time, Ann also offered for sale a property in Monmouth County, New Jersey which she described as suitable as a site for a new store. I take this to indicate that she had been planning to add a shop to her enterprise but with non-importation from England she might have to scurry to restock more than one shop. Also, now in 1770 she would have been in her mid-fifties.  Also appearing in newspapers during this period were announcements by Lewis Pintard and Ann Hamersley of sale of properties formerly owned by Thomas Clawson to be auctioned by Ludlow and Hoffman of Dock Street in Manhattan. Lewis Pintard, Gabriel H. Ludlow, and Nicholas Hoffman were best of friends and powerful merchants of New York City, being founders of its Chamber of Commerce for which they had obtained a charter from the King.  In 1659 two boys had been born on Long Island in the Dutch Colony of Niew Nederland. Richard Stockton was born at Vlissingen (now Flushing), son of Richard Stockton and his wife, Abigail Bloomfield. Willem Claesen was born the same year at Niew Amersfoort (now Flatlands), son of Claes Cornelissen Van Schouw and wife Metje Herperts. This was a good five years before the English takeover of 1664 which changed Niew Nederland into New York.  These two boys grew up and married, both settling at Piscataway on the Raritan River of New Jersey in the 1680's. The next generation saw Stocktons buying land from Dr. Henry Greenland in the Raritan Valley and the Clawsons buying lands next door from Dr. William Mercer. The good doctors had favored lands at the fords of the Raritan or Millstone Rivers as these were strategic commercial sites where a doctor could receive patients from several directions or in the alternative for the doctor to ride horseback in several directions to call on patients. As profits came rolling in, the doctors further developed the commercial potentials of their well-chosen lands at the fords, Dr. Mercer building mills for grinding grain and cutting lumber, whereas Dr. Greenland added to his estate a "house of ordinary," now called a tavern.  In retrospect its seems inevitable that Thomas Clawson, owning "Mercer's Mills" would meet Ann Stockton who likely lived at Dr. Greenland's old place. Another story of the "girl next door." As they raised their children in the 1730's to 1750's, Thomas and Ann Clawson must have talked often of the colonists' rights to liberty and a better life for the common people. Ann proved to be a woman who took matters into her own hands. Her enemies would have thought of her as a termagant. During the second half of the 1750's Thomas led riots against entrenched and unethical power-brokers. I think that Ann must have encouraged him. Soon Thomas was indicted for "high treason." Although a wanted man for several years, he lived openly among the citizens, visiting openly with the sheriff, undersheriff and others.  But once when he was a member of a jury trying a case in Perth Amboy, a high-ranking state official spotted him and demanded that the sheriff put him in irons. But the sheriff did not rise from his chair. Then the official ordered the undersheriff and the attending constables and bailiffs to apprehend Thomas Clawson, who by this time was slipping out the back door! Slowly the undersheriff, constables and bailiffs followed after Thomas but soon returned, with the lame excuse that Thomas had found an axe in the sheriff's home and had threatened them with it. Historians now credit Thomas Clawson's actions as being a precursor to the American Revolution.  Richard Stockton of Long Island had several sons born at Piscataway and we calculate that one of these was the father of Ann Stockton, the grandmother of John Clawson, the great hunter and Indian fighter. John Stockton, one of Richard's sons, was born at Piscataway in 1701. He married Abigail Phillips whose mother was Margaret Stockton. John and Abigail settled in a part of next-door Somerset County which eventually became Princeton in the new county of Mercer, named for General Hugh Mercer who fell at the Battle of Princeton during the Revolution. The good general was the brother of Dr. William Mercer of "Mercer's Mills" purchased by Thomas Clawson.  John and Abigail Stockton were the parents of Richard Stockton, Signer of the Declaration of Independence on behalf of New Jersey. This Richard Stockton's wife was Annis Boudinot, sister of Elias Boudinot. Julia Stockton, daughter of Richard and Annis, was the wife of Dr. Benjamin Rush of Philadelphia, Signer of the Declaration of Independence on behalf of Pennsylvania. Julia Stockton's brother Richard married Mary Field Stockton. This Richard and Mary had a son Richard who went to the sea and became a Commodore in the service of the United States. He was quite valiant in seizing California for the United States during the Mexican War. He served briefly as military governor of California.  Jacob Rush, brother of Dr. Benjamin Rush, was well-known for exploring Pennsylvania to the west and settled in what became Morgan Township of Greene County. Although not a doctor himself, he took great delight in curing people of the back county of various complaints, using his brother's proprietary medicine known as "Dr. Rush's Bilious Pills" which contained at least 50% mercury. These had an explosive laxative effect. The Lewis and Clark Expedition took along 600 of these pills which they called "thunder clappers."  The exact route of Lewis and Clark westward has been tracked through measurement of the mercury content of the soil at their successive latrines. Moses Rush, son of Jacob and nephew of Dr. Benjamin Rush, was an early settler near Cincinnati, Ohio. His wife was Rachel Kelly of the Kellys of New Castle on the Delaware, the old Dutch colony of Niew Amstel. Rachel was daughter of Joseph Lancaster Kelly and Elizabeth Kezia Blackford. Rachel's brother, Ambrose Dudley Kelly, married Sarah Stockton, another descendant of Richard Stockton of Piscataway. Indeed, the Kings Highway leading from Woodbridge, New Jersey directly to New Castle passed right by Dr. Mercer's Mills and Dr. Greenland's Farm and Ordinary at Piscataway at the Lower Ford over the Raritan where River Road breaks off to the west toward Bound Brook, Somerville, Princeton and Trenton. In terms of ease-of-travel, New Castle was rather close in terms of accessibility to Piscataway. Another sibling of Rachel and Ambrose, Mary Kelly, married John Clawson, Jr., son of John Clawson, "the Great Hunter and Indian Fighter." Another sibling, George Marion Kelly, married Lydia Clawson, another child of John and Lois Clawson. Another sibling, Elizabeth Kelly, married John Horner, the son of John Horner, who was yet the son of another John Horner, all very well-known in New Jersey history. Grandfather John Horner had sold a block of land to Richard Stockton, part of which became the Stockton estate "Morven" and part of which became the campus of the College of New Jersey, later called Princeton University.  The father of all these Kelly siblings, Joseph Lancaster Kelly, had been born at New Castle on the Delaware. John Blackford, brother of Elizabeth Keziah Blackford, the mother of all these Kelly siblings, was the husband of Elizabeth Buckles. This Elizabeth was the sister of  1) David B. Buckles who married Elizabeth Covalt. 2) James Buckles who married Hannah nee Luce. 3) Robert Buckles who married Mary Gerrard. 4) General William M. Buckles who married Lois Covalt Clawson, daughter of Thomas Clawson and Sophia Pendleton Covalt. 5) John G. Buckles who married Mary Ann Clawson, daughter of Thomas Clawson and Sophia Pendleton Covalt. 6) Rev. Abraham Buckles, who married Elizabeth Shanks, daughter of Joseph Shanks and Mary Clawson. 7) Mary Buckles who married James Garrard. Abraham Jay Buckles, grandson of Rev. Abraham Buckles and Elizabeth Shanks, was recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor for valor at the Civil War Battle of the Wilderness. He was wounded in four major Civil War battles, was shot through the body at the Battle of the Wilderness, had a leg amputated after another battle, but survived to serve as a judge for many years in California. He was wounded in the right thigh at the Battle of Bull Run, in the right shoulder at Gettysburg, and in the right leg at Petersburg. Jeremiah Blackford and his brother John were sons of John Blackford, Sr., born at Piscataway March 17, 1718. Daniel Blackford, born at Piscataway and first cousin to Jeremiah and John Jr., was the father of Joseph Blackford whose wife was Mary Staats, a descendant of Jan Petersen Van Huysom in both the Clawson and Buckalew lineages. The son of Joseph and Mary was the Honorable Isaac Newton Blackford for whom Blackford County, Indiana was named. He was a high ranking judge for the state of Indiana and later for the United States at Washington, D.C. Although most of the Stocktons of New Jersey were honorable patriots during the Revolutionary War, there was a black sheep, a Richard Stockton closely related to the one who signed the Declaration of Independence. This Richard Stockton, due to his double-dealing was generally referred to as "Double-Dick" Stockton. He was an awful Tory and accepted a position as Major in the British Loyalists of New Jersey led by Van Courtland Skinner. While in Queens, Long Island, Double-Dick Stockton during the Revolutionary War abruptly ran through and killed with a sword a peaceful miller of a fine old Dutch family, Dirck Ammerman, who had merely asked another officer to please next time to bring money to pay for milling of any grain brought. Testimony taken after the war ended indicated that this was a murder although Stockton was allowed to be paroled to Canada. The Ammerman Family of Preble County, Ohio descends from the Long Island family through Isaac Ammerman, Sr. who married Sarah Van Arsdalen and Isaac Ammerman Jr. who married Eleanor Van Arsdalen. These Ammermans were closely related to the one murdered by Double-Dick Stockton. Both Van Arsdalen women descend from Pieterje Claessen, sister of William Claessen of Raritan Landing, Piscataway Twp., Middlesex Co., New Jersey. The Clawson, Woodward and Ammerman families became further interconnected in Preble County. Here John Clawson's oldest son Josiah Clawson married Phoebe Woodward who had ancestral roots at New Castle on the Delaware. John Clawson's youngest son Isaac Clawson married Rebecca Woodward, daughter of Phoebe's brother Jacob. Eli Woodward, brother of Rebecca and son of Phoebe's brother Jacob, married Eliza Jane Ammerman, daughter of John Ammerman, Sr. A brother of Eliza Jane, John Ammerman, Jr. married Caroline Clawson, daughter of Isaac Clawson and Rebecca Woodward. Caroline's brother, Cornelius Clawson, married a first cousin of John Ammerman, Sr., Catherine Jane Ammerman. Catherine Jane was the daughter of John Junior's uncle William Ammerman. William and John Sr. were sons of Philip Ammerman, son of Isaac Ammerman Jr. and Eleanor Van Arsdalen. Best Wishes, Frank S. Crosswhite

June 2008 - various:
From: Douglas Buckelew
Subject: Re: [DUTCH-COLONIES] Clawson Family
Date: Wed, 11 Jun 2008

Frederick Buckelew wrote his will on 30 July 1776 and it was probated on 29 March 1777. In his will, he mentions Margaret the wife of Josiah Clawson, Rachel the wife of Richard Clawson and a daughter named Mary who was probably the wife of John Clawson.

In an earlier e-mail Frank Crosswhite had mentioned that the first wife of Frederick Buckelew was probably a daughter in the family of Lott because Mary named one of her children Lott. Also a man by the name of Lott signed the administration of the Will of Frederick Buckelew. Frederick Buckelew signed his name Buckelew instead of Buckalew.

Douglas C. Buckelew

June 10, 2008

Email from Frank Crosswhite to Bruce Woodworth; last known email from Frank Crosswhie on this page; John Clawson and Marcey Harris of Berkeley County, Virginia; connections with Salem County, New Jersey; Mary Clawson and Buckalew; Thomas Clawson of Mercer’s Mills; Garrabrant and Coverts, Finger Lakes, New York; Thomas Clawson and widow Ann dissolving business partnerships; Josiah Clawson and Richard Stockton; Frank’s pledge to write: “THE LIFE AND TIMES OF JOHN CLAWSON, THE GREAT HUNTER AND INDIAN FIGHTER, WITH SKETCHES OF HIS CONTMPORARIES, ANTECEDANTS AND DESCENDANTS”.

From: Frank Crosswhite
To: Dutch-Colonies@rootsweb.com
Cc: Bruce Woodworth
Sent: Tue, 10 Jun 2008 7:19 pm
Subject: Re: [DUTCH-COLONIES] Clawson Family

To Bruce Woodworth --

The John Clawson who married Marcey Harris and who moved to Berkeley County, Virginia was not John the son of Thomas. The Berkeley County John Clawson has connections with Salem County, New Jersey.

I am descended from Thomas Clawson's son John who married Mary Buckalew. This is primarily based on my Grandmother Clawson's recollection to my sister, Dr. Virginia Hyde Barnes, some 50 years ago. Mary appears as a widow in extreme southwestern Pennsylvania when the first tax list was made there in 1780-81. She was likely there much earlier. Previous researchers erroneously thought that her husband's name was Garret, but the militia record they based this on was for her son Garret, not her husband.

Traditionally this family is cited as having sons Garret, Peter, John, Thomas, and Josiah. However, a number of family trees claim that there was a first son Frederick who left no descendants. Also, some of the five sons themselves named a first son Frederick. Therefore it seems probable to me that Mary Buckalew was the daughter of Frederick Buckalew and therefore sister to Margaret Buckalew who married John's brother Josiah, as well as sister to Rachel Buckalew who married John's brother Richard.

When Thomas Clawson died (About 1761, as I recall) his will revealed that he was heavily indebted. He charged sons Josiah and Brant (Garrabrant) to live with their mother Ann and to keep "Mercer's Mills" operating for 5 years until a debt of over 2,000 pounds could be worked off. This is not verbatim but my  interpretation.

Josiah did not obey the request and took up land in 1762 at Sheerman's Valley in Pennsylvania. Garrabrant eventually went to jail and was tried for possession of counterfeit money, found guilty and had 30 lashes laid on his bare back. He ended up in the Finger Lakes region of New York together with two of his sisters who had married Coverts. It appears that it was his son (probably Garret) who had actually passed the counterfeit money.

Richard Clawson lost his New Jersey farm in a sheriff's sale on debt. This would explain why he went to Berkeley County, Virginia.

Brother William Clawson was executor for a number of years on the estate of his father Thomas Clawson but Ann, the widow, who had remarried to a merchant, begins to sell properties formerly belonging to Thomas Clawson in 1771. Also in 1771 she advertised in New York and Philadelphia newspapers that she had dissolved her business partnership and was now operating as a sole proprietorship. Lewis Pintard and perhaps other Stockton associates guided her through the maze of legal ramifications relating to women's property rights.

Her business partnership seems to have fallen apart on the basis of her choosing strict non-importation from England, whereas her business partner (and apparent husband) was fixed on importing goods from England. I now have copies of 19 Clawson court case files in the New Jersey Supreme Court out of more than 100 such Clawson cases prior to 1800. So, I still am learning. These are very difficult to read because of the old style of handwriting.

One suit by Josiah Clawson is completely in the handwriting of Richard Stockton, Signer of the Declaration of Independence. There were so many Richard Stocktons that it is unclear where Ann fits in. One of the Stocktons did own land purchased from Dr. Henry Greenland which was right next to Mercer's Mills owned by Thomas Clawson. So I think Ann was likely "the girl next door."

Mercer's Mills had been founded by Dr. William Mercer, brother of General Hugh Mercer who fell at Princeton.

All of this will be presented in more detail in my book THE LIFE AND TIMES OF JOHN CLAWSON, THE GREAT HUNTER AND INDIAN FIGHTER, WITH SKETCHES OF HIS CONTMPORARIES, ANTECEDANTS AND DESCENDANTS. This work is not yet finished.

Best Wishes,
Frank S. Crosswhite

From: Bruce Woodworth
To: dutch-colonies@rootsweb.com
Cc: Frank Crosswhite
Subject: Re: Clawson Family
Date: Tue, 10 Jun 2008 19:52:57 +0000

Frank,
 
Sounds like you have uncovered several new things about one of my favorite  ancestor families, the Clawsons. I did not know that you had determined that  Thomas' wife "Antie" was Ann Stockton. What did you discover and what do you have on Ann's family?

Then, for their son John, I have him married to Marcey Harris, and then again to  someone unknown. What do you have on his marriage to Mary Buckalew, and where  did she fit into the Buckalew family?

Thanks!

Bruce Woodworth
 
 
I wish that we could find some Clawsons who descended from the swedes. I have tried for years with no luck. At least 99% of families with a Josiah Clawson turn out to be descended from William Clawson who settled at Piscataway, New Jersey in the 17th Century.
 
Your Richard Clawson of Southeastern Pennsylvania was half Scottish by virtue of his mother, Margaret Buckalew, having married Josiah Clawson of Dutch heritage. This Josiah Clawson was indeed one of (the usually proverbial) five brothers, but these brothers were named in their father's will as William, John,  Richard, Josiah and Brant (Garrabrant). Three of the brothers married Buckalew women, John and Mary, Richard and Rachel, Josiah and Margaret. Buckalew is a spelling of Bucchleuch, a Scottish name.

The five brothers moved to various spots in the west from Middlesex County, New Jersey. They were sons of Thomas Clawson, known in New Jersey as "the Great Rioter" who was indicted for high treason. The name Richard came into the family from Ann Stockton, wife of Thomas. Sons William, John, Josiah and Garrabrant were named by Thomas for his brothers. 

All of Thomas' sons lost inherited lands in New Jersey to Sheriff's sales and were forced to find new lands in the west.
 
Aside from son Richard, your Josiah had a number of other children, the descendants of which mostly live in or near Indiana County, Pennsylvania. One son was named Peter after the Patriarch of the Buckalew family.

Richard was named for Josiah's brother Richard who died in Berkeley County, Virginia. Your Richard settled about 1762 at Sheerman's Valley, Pennsylvania and died some years later with "widow Clawson" on the tax roll for a number of years.
 
There have been later Clawsons with names Alexander and James but they were  not among the "five sons" who agreed to disagree and sought separate lives on the frontier.

Best Wishes,
Frank S. Crosswhite

December 20, 2008

Carol Crosswhite’s Email about Frank’s Death

From: Carol Crosswhite
To: John Laird
Sent: Sat, 20 Dec 2008 10:56 am
Subject: Re: sad news

Hello John--

This is Carol Crosswhite, Frank's wife, writing to tell you of his death.  He died Friday Dec. 12 after a long and very painful illness.  We miss him dreadfully but we are glad he is no longer suffering.  I know he valued your friendship and the research you did, and sharing information with you was important to him.  We are carefully preserving all his files; our oldest son Marcus might in time continue his Dad's work.  His Memorial Service will be Dec. 23 at 3:00 p.m. at our church, Gold Canyon United Methodist Church.  Thank you for being his friend.  I'm attaching a scan of his obituary.

Best regards,
Carol Crosswhite

Frank Crosswhite’s Obituary - December 2008

Postscripts to Frank’s research, from 2009 and 2017

There were two postscripts that I thought were worthy of posting at the base of Frank’s research.

The first, just below, is an email from Bruce Quinn in 2009 - to me and copied to Carol Crosswhite, with an additional take on the Clawson ancestry. He wrote below: “Frank would have been gratified by this progress”. The email exchange is posted just below.  Carol Crosswhite responded.  Bruce’s email, prefaced by Carol’s response and Bruce’s acknowledgement - all follow as a string below.  Bruce’s premise centered on the name Josiah, and how it might inform who specific ancestors were.  It is worth adding to Frank’s emails.

The second postscript involves the question of whether Garrett, and Peter Clawson, were sons of Peter - and not John Clawson. The premise of two Clawsons was advanced by Charles Clawson in his 2002 Clawson work, and was debated in some of the Frank Crosswhite emails.  In 2017, I came across a Shelby County Ohio deed - dated 1854 - from Garrett and Delilah Clawson of Fountain County, Indiana - selling a piece of Peter Clawson’s property.  Peter died in August 1836, and eight of his eleven children were listed in property transactions selling off their share of Peter’s land in Section 2, Township 9, and Range 5 in Shelby County.  There were a number of sales in the time right after Peter’s death, of his children selling shares of land from his estate.  For example, I was always confused about Margaret Garrett, listed in the probate.  There’s a land record showing that John and Margaret Gerard sold a share of Peter’s property in September 1838.

This 1854 deed with Garrett and his wife - that names them as residents of Fountain County, Indiana was so far after the other deeds of Peter’s children, that somehow, no Clawson researcher seems to have found it. It proves that the Garrett and Peter that went west in the settlement of Fountain County (and Peter went on to Carroll County, Indiana) - were sons of Peter. There likely was no second John. That deed is posted below the Bruce Quinn exchange. Frank would have loved knowing of this as well.

On Saturday, August 15, 2009 at 04:14:16 PM PDT, bruce quinn <brucequinn@hotmail.com> wrote:

Hi John,
      Somehow my computer sent my email to you also to Frank Crosswhite.  His wife answered the question.

From: Carol Crosswhite
To: Bruce Quinn
Subject: Re: Wish Crosswhite could help.
Date: Sat, 15 Aug 2009 21:13:51 +0000

Hello Bruce--
Thanks for passing this on to me.  Frank would have indeed been gratified to learn of this progress.  I know he would be right on top of things, researching and gathering evidence and posting to Dutch Colonies.  I will add your note to his genealogical files, which I am carefully keeping in case one of our children wants to take over for him.
Best wishes,
Carol Crosswhite
 
So here are two cases where the names Josias and Esaias were used interchangeably.

The Josias Clawson mentioned had a son Josias who was called Josiah.

The first Josias was apparently much-loved by his siblings and their families, with the result that a number of babies were named Josiah Clawson after Josias died. Among the Clawsons descended from William and coming out of New Jersey, the name Josiah was repeatedly used.

My mother's brother was Elmer Josiah Clawson whose father was William Josiah Clawson, whose father was Asa Garret Clawson whose father was Josiah Clawson  whose father was John Clawson (who had a brother Josiah Clawson) whose father (although claimed in genealogies to have been Garret Clawson) was probably the Josias (later Josiah) Clawson who was son of Josias (Esaias) Clawson who was son of Willem Claeszen.

Don't worry about the genealogy. I only want to emphasize the continuous use of the name Josiah in this family. The name Garret was also common. Both Josiah and Garret were also very common among Clawson families breaking off from this lineage in almost every generation.

In the King James version of the New Testament, the name Esaias was uniformly used for the person known in the Old Testament as Isaiah.

I can find no Dutch translation of Esaias to mean Josias or Josiah. Esaias is equal to Isaiah, not to Josias. I do, however, find alternates for Isaias in Dutch/Frisian as Jesajas and Isajas, both referring to Isaiah.

On the other hand, I can find several references where the Dutch name Josias has a Dutch equivalent name Josua. However, this latter name is equivalent to Joshua in English.

So, I can find Netherlands sources equating Jesajas with Esaias, as well as Josias with Josua, both of which seem to be stretches to me, but understandable.

But the only equating of Josias with Esaias that I can find is in America where English and Dutch might possibly have become a little confounded.

Interestingly, Josias (Josiah) in the Old Testament invoked such a religious revolution or re-awakening that he was put on a par with Joshua, the great leader who made a foothold in the Promised Land. Josiah destroyed heathen altars like Jesus cleansed the Temple. Josiah re-introduced Judaic law and re-established the Pasch (Passover) with its Paschal Lamb which in Christianity became Jesus with the Pasch becoming Easter.

So, I can see where someone might figuratively see Josiah as a latter-day Joshua, even though the etymologies are different.

But, I don't see Esaias (Isaiah) as equivalent to Josias (Josiah).

Perhaps confusion comes from Jesajas being an old Dutch form of Esaias which is the New Testament form of the Old Testament Isaiah.

Pronounced in Dutch, Jesajas would seem to be very close to the pronunciation of either Esaias or Josias.

So, I am trying to figure out if my ancestor who was the first to bear this name was named for Josias or Esaias, two very different people.

The most important records seem to have him as Josias, but why, then, was he called Esaias?

Was my ancestor perhaps born at Easter-time since this time of year was associated with Josias (Josiah) in that Josias prescribed that the Pasch be celebrated?

Unfortunately, when my first Josias was born, his father, Willem Claeszen (later William Clawson) undoubtedly knew both Dutch and English. This complicates matters. Before establishment of the Reformed Dutch Church on the Raritan, Willem, like other Dutch who lived nearby, may have attended the English-speaking Piscataway Baptist Church.

Could he or other locals have confused the Dutch Jesajas (Esaias) with the English Josias?

I have read in the history of Woodbridge (which was not far from Piscataway) that all denominations worshipped at the original Woodbridge white church before each denomination established its own church.

After the Reformed Dutch Church on the Raritan was established, William brought his children all in for baptism on the same day. The Baptist Church did not believe in child baptism.

Before William's death, a Reformed Dutch Church was established at New Brunswick and William and his wife Marritje (Mary) united with it since it was much closer to their home.

If anyone has access to a 17th Century Dutch Bible, I would like to know what spellings were used for Joshua, Isaiah and Josiah.

 -------------- Original message from bruce quinn: --------------

Hi John,
It's looking like Frank Crosswhite was so very close.  He thought we were all from the line of Thomas and Anne.  It appears we have 2 more lines from them in Ohio.  Josiah and William.  This surely strengthens his case.  Wish he was here to see it.

As for 2 Johns.  I can't find a trace of John number 2.  Also, if I take my Clawsons away from Peter, I have trouble finding replacements for them.

Who was Isia Clawson?  He came with Peter Sunderland into Ohio in the 1790's.

                                                            Bruce

The Garrett Clawson Deed of Peter Clawson’s land, 1854

This is the deed that is referred to above, that ties Garrett and Delilah of Fountain County, to Peter Clawson of Shelby County. It is a point that Frank Crosswhite and I discussed in emails further up on this page.

These are the research writings of Frank Crosswhite, and I am glad that through this web page they will live on. They add so much to the story of John Clawson of Preble County and the Clawson ancestry. Frank’s writings were as in depth and analytical as anything I have seen on the history of the Clawson family and of the ancestry of John Clawson of Preble County and his family. I welcome feedback, additions, or corrections.

John Laird - September 2024