Category Archives: Astle

Astle

Jane, Wife of Daniel Astle and George Ripplee, New Brunswick, Canada

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I’ve spent many years unraveling the story of Loyalist James Astle and have had a fair amount of success.

However, his son Daniel, who was born about 1783, probably at Sorel, Quebec, before his parents moved to New Brunswick, has left but a few bread crumbs to tell the story of his life.

In fact, Daniel was assumed to be unmarried and having no descendants when he died by November 1817. It was then that his brother, John, published notice of the administration of Daniel’s estate.

Proof that Daniel had not only married, but had several children was found in a land deed recorded in 1848, 31 years after Daniel’s death.

This page isn’t the easiest to read, but here is the pertinent portion of the deed proving his connection to his father, James, and naming his widow and surviving children:

This indenture made the twenty first day of October in the year of our Lord on thousand eight hundred and forty eight Between George Ripple of the parish of Nelson in the County of Northumberland farmer and Jane his wife James Astle of the same place Yeoman John Astle of the same place Yeoman and Elizabeth his wife George Astle of the parish of Stanley in the County of York and Elizabeth his wife Thomas Coleman of Calais in the State of Maine Yeoman and Elizabeth his wife and Abraham Clark of the parish of Nelson County of Northumberland and Hannah his wife of the first part and James Mitchell of the parish of Blissfield aforesaid farmer of the second part. . . . .

Witnesseth. . .being on the north side of the southwest branch of the River Miramichi in the parish of Blissfield . . . . .being a one- seventh part of Lots twenty eight and thirty nine formerly granted to . . . James Astle deceased . . . . at the upper boundary of the lands assigned to Angelica Walls . . . . the said Jane wife of George Ripple as the widow of Daniel Astle deceased and the said James Astle, John Astle, George Astle, Elizabeth Coleman and Hannah Clark as children and heirs of Daniel Astle deceased. . . . .

This is my favorite kind of deed as all the heirs are named plus I have the name of Daniel’s widow’s second husband.

One piece of information I have yet to uncover is Jane (MNU) Astle Ripplee’s maiden name.

No marriage record for Daniel and Jane Astle has been found, although they probably married about 1807 as their first child was born in November 1808.

However, there are some possible clues found in the names of Daniel and Jane’s FAN club and, later, in the Ripplee FAN club.

When Jane married (2) George “Rapplee” on 26 Jan 1819, the witnesses were Christopher Parker and William Barclay.

I have found no other connections to any Barclays, but the Parker surname is a different story. Could it be that Christopher Parker was the bride’s witness and William Barclay stood up for the groom?

On 22 January 1839, twenty years after George Ripplee married Jane, Hannah Astle, daughter of Daniel and Jane, married Abraham Clarke in Newcastle, Northumberland, New Brunswick, Canada. Margaret Parker was one of the witnesses.

Further, when Jane’s son, John, married Elizabeth Parker on 19 Feb 1846, witnesses were Rowland Crocker and William Parker.

There also seem to be a lot of Parker business dealings with the Astles, but only with those Astles who belong to Daniel’s family. Daniel’s sons, James and John, both had land dealings with Parkers and George and Jane Ripplee were jointly bound with Christopher Parker in 1819 for a total sum of £620.

Next, on 20 Apr 1824, Richard Simonds won a judgment against George Ripplee and Christopher Parker for £392.13s.8p. (reason not stated) and on 6 Nov 1825, John A. Street won £79.1s. for trespass against George Ripplee and Christopher Parker.

In addition, in 1829, one Christopher Parker sold seven lots of land in St. Mary’s on the Nashwaak, some land in Nelson and a lot in St. John to George, Hugh and William Parker of Nelson for £1150. The witnesses were George Ripplee and W. Sterling. The land had originally been granted to members of the disbanded 42nd Regiment.

In 1810, Christopher Parker received a land grant in Newcastle. 400 acres were granted to him, along with seven others – James Anderson, George Flet, William Knight, John Newman, John Power, Jonathan Sherwood and Stephen Sherwood.

On 1 June 1816, Christopher Parker and William Nesmith were approved as estate administrators for John Beauhannon in Miramichi (which is the area where the Astles and Parkers lived.)

On 19 November 1822, Christopher Parker was the sole signer on a petition to establish a school in Nelson.

There is also an 1836 land petition for Northumberland County on which Christopher Parker’s name is found.

On 27 August 1841, Ann Parker, widow of Christopher Parker, Tavern keeper, sold land:


Northumberland County DB 38:664
Source: FamilySearch

This portion of the land deed identifies it as property purchased on 25 October 1823 with George Ripplee.

In 1851, we find Ann, already widowed and head of household with daughter Ann, aged 37, born c1814, daughter Mary, 24, born c1827 son Christopher, 20, born c1831, son Thomas, 18,  born c1833 and son James, 15, born c1836. Hugh Parker, likely another son, is next door with his own household and is aged 32, born c1819.



Ann Parker, 1851 Census
Source: Library & Archives Canada

Two doors away is one William Parker and wife Ellen, both 30, born c1821. William might be yet another child of Ann.

In 1861, Ann was living in Derby, Northumberland, New Brunswick, Canada:


Ann Parker, 1861 Census
Source: Library & Archives Canada

Her age matches her age at death, so born c1792. Her son, Christopher, was born c1830, son Thomas, c1833, son James, c1836 and daughter Ann, apparently unmarried, c1812. Hugh Parker, living next door, might have been another son. He was 43, born c1818.

The widow of Christopher Parker, Ann, died 8 December 1870, aged 78, at Derby. In her will, she named William Parker as executor along with son-in-law William Wilson. Bequests were left to daughter Ann and sons Christopher, Thomas and James.

Northumberland County has a loss of records for c1840 when Christopher Parker died, so no will or probate is available. Based on Ann’s birth being in the early 1790s, Christopher Parker would clearly have been a contemporary of Daniel Astle (born c1783) and George Ripplee (born c1781).

A newspaper announcement stated that Jane Ripplee died on 2 Oct 1854 at the home of his (sic) son, J.T. Astle.

Children of Daniel and Jane (Parker?) Astle:

1. George (N.? or Hiram?), born c1809; married (1) Margaret Russell, 27 November 1833, John. Both were of Portland, St. John. Witnesses were R. Payne and A. Robertson (2) Elizabeth F. Lyons, 28 March 1839.  One of their children was Margaret Grace who married Charles Bamford.

2. Mary Elizabeth, born c1811; died 26 December 1889, Calais, Washington, Maine; married Thomas Coleman, 22 June 1830, Nelson, Northumberland, New Brunswick.

3. John T(homas?), born c1812; married (1) Elizabeth Parker, 19 February 1846 (2) Eliza Weston, 11 October 1855. John was listed as an insolvent lumberer in 1858-9.

4. James D(aniel), born c1815; married Rebecca Vanderbeck, 27 March 1851.

5. Hannah, born c1817; married Abram Clarke, 22 Jan 1839. Witnesses were John Astels and Margaret Parker.

Okay, readers – Do I seem to be on the right track and do you have any suggestions for further research? I haven’t found any reliable trees or other resources online.

Astle

Loyalist James Astle and the Kayaderosseras Patent, Albany County, NY 1773

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Sometimes BSOs (bright shiny objects) give a much needed break from tedious research. The Stufflebean family lived in Albany County, New York in the 18th century. While looking at land record indexes (mortgage records, as they are called in that county), I decided to check the A entries because my Loyalist James Astle lived in what was Albany County in the days of the American Revolution.

Much to my surprise, there was an entry for James Astle in Volume 4, pages 47-49, involving Gerard G. Beeckman and Dirck Lefferts on 25 October 1773.


Bottom right entry


Source: FamilySearch

James Astle was a young married man in November 1773, having wed Elizabeth McLane in November 1770. Their first known surviving child, Hannah was born on 17 May 1773 and the family was apparently living in Schenectady.

I had never located any land records for James Astle. By 1783, he was in Quebec and then moved on to Ludlow, New Brunswick, Canada on the Miramichi River.

In fact, except for James’s marriage record and the births of Hannah, followed by her sister Angelica in 1774, James’s life in New York has been a complete mystery.

This land record was a fun surprise. I paged through this volume and noted that Mr. Beeckman and Mr. Lefferts, residents of New York City, made similar mortgage deals with a number of other men who had land in the Kayaderossera Patent, which I’d never heard of.

The Kayaderossera Patent was a tract of land granted by Queen Anne in the early 1700s to thirteen subjects (none of whom were named Astle or McLane). The land grant today comprises most of Saratoga County, New York, plus parts of several other counties.

However, due to protests from the Mohawk Indians over ownership rights and the French and Indian War, decades passed before the land was formally surveyed in 1770 when the acreage was divided into 25 allotments. Each allotment was then subdivided into 13 lots.

James Astle’s land is identified in two ways. First, it was in the town of Ballston. Second, it was Lot 3 in the VII Division, which I take to mean Lot 3 in the 7th allotment.


Lot 3, Allotment VII
Source: Wikimedia Commons

James Astle, like the other men, put up his land as collateral for loan, which was to be repaid in four installments of £77.10 each year for four years on the 13th September of 1775, 1776, 1777 and 1778.

His loan was quite substantial for the time. £308.40 totaled is the equivalent today of about $58,000.

What I don’t know is how James Astle came to be one of the owners of Kayaderossera Patent land, nor do I know how he relinquished ownership of it. There is no further record that he reneged on his mortgage payments, but the war had begun.

Did he not repay the mortgage and use part of that money to leave for Canada? I know he was in Quebec in 1783, but have no idea if he removed there during the war or at its conclusion. Albany County at the time actually extended all the way to the Canadian border.

Hmmm. A new to-do item to add to my research list.

Astle, Loyalists

James Astle & James Astle, 1784 in Quebec

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As unusual as the Astle surname is in colonial America, there were actually two men named James Astle who were loyal to the king during the American Revolution and both of whom removed to Canada at the close of the war.

On the 1784 Paspebiac Land Lottery List with “James Astles” was a “James Astles Jr.”, a young unmarried man. The elder James was my Loyalist ancestor, who was married and had a family. My ancestors arrived on the “Snow Liberty” while the other James arrived on the brig “Polly.”

DNA testing of a 4 times great grandson of each of these men has proven that the great grandsons are likely to have a common ancestor within six to eight generations. That means that the two James Astles of 1784 were likely father-son, uncle-nephew or cousins.

What became of James Astles Jr. can be seen by examining Quebec records. He arrived in Quebec on 9 June 1784. Arriving with my James Astles and family were an unmarried Abel Davis (who married Angelica Astle, daughter of my James and his wife, Elizabeth McLean) and Robert Flowers. It is surmised that Sarah Flowers was a daughter of Robert Flowers, who brought a wife and three children with him to Quebec. Sarah Flowers married James Astles (not mine, the other one) and they settled in New Carlisle, Bonaventure County, Quebec, Canada. Spelling of the name in New Carlisle was generally recorded as Assels.

St. Andrew’s Anglican Church records show that James Assles Sr., farmer of New Carlisle, died on 1 October 1823, aged 64 years, in the presence of his sons, John and James, and other relatives.

A petition to the government on 3 January 1817, found on leaf 61 in the 1816 Relief or 1816 Famine book, by James Assles of New Carlisle, includes his age (61) and the fact that he was supporting a wife and ten children during difficult times. It also states his military service during the war totaled 12 years in the 20th and 53rd Regiments of Foot, loyal to the king.

Children of James and Sarah (Flowers) Assles:

  1. James, born c1798, New Carlisle, Bonaventure, Quebec, Canada; died 18 November 1880, New Carlisle, Bonaventure, Quebec, Canada; married Margaret Forsyth, 1 December 1825, New Carlisle, Bonaventure, Quebec, Canada. Margaret was born c1802; died 13 February 1881.
  2. John, born c1800, New Carlisle, Bonaventure, Quebec, Canada; died 27 April 1872, New Carlisle, Bonaventure, Quebec, Canada; married Flora Morrison, 19 April 1825, New Carlisle, Bonaventure, Quebec, Canada. Flora was born c1805, Quebec, Canada; died after 1881.
  3. Samuel Robert, born 5 July 1803, New Carlisle, Bonaventure, Quebec, Canada. Many trees online show him dying in May 1824. That record is a record of an adult baptism, not his death/burial record. Samuel died 8 August 1827, New Carlisle, Bonaventure, Quebec, Canada. He apparently did not marry.
  4. Alice, born c1804, New Carlisle, Bonaventure, Quebec, Canada; died 6 September 1892, New Carlisle, Bonaventure, Quebec, Canada; married James J. Morrison, 1 September 1824, New Carlisle, Bonaventure, Quebec, Canada. He was born c1794, Quebec, Canada; died after 1871.
  5. Ann, born c1811, New Carlisle, Bonaventure, Quebec, Canada; died 25 December 1851, New Carlisle, Quebec, Canada, aged about 40 years; married William Langler, 2 February 1832, New Carlisle, Bonaventure, Quebec, Canada. William was born c1808, England; died 7 May 1885, New Carlisle, Bonaventure, Quebec, Canada.
  6. Mary Jane, born c1812, New Carlisle, Bonaventure, Quebec, Canada; died after 1861; married Daniel Sawyer, 30 December 1828, New Carlisle, Quebec, Canada. He was born c1796, Quebec, Canada; died 14 December 1861.
  7. William Campbell, born c1812, Quebec, Canada; died 24 October 1884, New Carlisle, Quebec, Canada; widower when he married Mary Jane Imhoff, 6 November 1843, New Carlisle, Bonaventure, Quebec, Canada. Mary Jane was born c1822, Quebec, Canada; died after 1881. He most likely married (1) (Sarah?) Morrison and was the father of the Sarah Ann, daughter of William Assels, who died at Chatham on 27 June 1859, aged 18, at the residence of her uncle, James Morrison. Sarah’s mother may have died giving birth to her.
  8. Maria, born c1814, New Carlisle, Bonaventure, Quebec, Canada; died before 1861; married Daniel Merett/Marett, 16 April 1834. Maria’s marriage record stated that her mother, formerly the wife of James Assles, was afterwards married to Farquhar McRae. Daniel Marett is in the 1861 census, nine names above Hugh Assels. Daniel was born c1810, England; died after 1871.
  9. Hugh, born c1818, Quebec, Canada; died 16 September 1891, New Carlisle, Quebec, Canada; married Helen/Ellen Adams, 13 December 1843. Ellen was born c1827, Quebec, Canada; died after 1881.
  10. Andrew, born c1821, New Carlisle, Bonaventure, Quebec, Canada; died 1881-1891; married Lucia/Lucy Dobson, 3 January 1844. Their marriage announcement identifies him as the son of the late James Assels and Sarah Flowers. Andrew lived in New Carlisle at the time he married. Lucia was born c1823, Quebec, Canada; died after 1891.

The most interesting detail learned about this family may be that James Astles aka Assels, served in the 20th and 53rd Regiments of Foot. The 20th Regiment was organized in Devon, England. The 53rd Regiment was organized in Shropshire. Both regiments arrived to help fortify Quebec in the spring of 1776. It isn’t evident in the records in which regiment James Assels first served, but Devon and Shropshire might be hints as to the English origins of both James Astles. There is a James Astle, son of John, baptized on 28 August 1755 in Nantwich, Cheshire, England. There is also a James Astle, baptized on 1 May 1748, son of John and Martha Astle of Wilmslow, also in Cheshire. It’s about 27 miles away from Nantwich. Cheshire borders Shropshire. Perhaps there are clues here that can be followed!