WOLVERTONS UNLIMITED

Glenn Gohr , e d i t o r 1023 E . McCanse S t . S p r i n g f i e l d , MO 65803

Phone: 417-833-2814 (evenings & weekends)

US/CAN 929.27305 W839 v . 1 , n o . 1 J u l / A u g 1993

Descendants o f ANDREW WOOLVERTON With a l l i e d f a m i l i e s o f HANKS, DODSON. NEVILLE, LITTLEFIELD, and HARRIS

V o l . 1, l u m b e r 1

a» NORTH WEs7 T E M P L E ^ jSÍ>TAtëtëtClW3UTAH 84150

This I s the premier Issue of WOLVERTOHS UHLIMITED, a bi-monthly f a m i l y n e w s l e t t e r , which i s being s t a r t e d as a successor t o the COUSIHS UHLIMITED n e w s l e t t e r which was p u b l i s h e d by Royal A l l e n Wolverton f o r a number of years.

Royal passed away unexpectedly a t Sun Lakes, Arizona, on December 29, 1992 a f t e r a s h o r t and b i t t e r f i g h t w i t h bone cancer. T r i b u t e s t o Royal, a copy of h i s s e r v i c e record, and the eulogy presented at h i s f u n e r a l were i n c l u d e d w i t h the f i n a l i s s u e of COUSIHS UHLIMITED CHov. /Dec. 1992> which was mailed out t o the s u b s c r i b e r s i n A p r i l of t h i s year.

He was 85 years o l d a t h i s death. He had p a r t i a l l y w r i t t e n h i s f i n a l n e wsletter, and the r e s t was completed by f a m i l y members. Royal p u b l i s h e d the COUSIHS UNLIMITED ne w s l e t t e r continuously from the f a l l of 1980 t o December 1992. And before that he p u b l i s h e d a n e w s l e t t e r c a l l e d CORH POHE. T h i s e d i t o r has kcopies of a l l the i s s u e s of COUSIHS UNLIMITED, but I would l i k e t o "obtain c o p i e s of CORH POHE.

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How t o introduce myself. I am 35 years o l d and have been i n t e r e s t e d i n f a m i l y h i s t o r y s i n c e 1973 C when I was 15 years o l d ) . Genealogy has been an a v i d hobby of mine f o r a l l these years, and through i t I have learned some great t r u t h s from h i s t o r y and have met many wonderful people. I was r e a r e d i n W i c h i t a F a l l s , Texas, where I graduated w i t h a B. A. i n E n g l i s h from Midwestern S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y i n 1979. Then I moved t o S p r i n g f i e l d , M i s s o u r i t o attend the Assemblies of God T h e o l o g i c a l Seminary, r e c e i v i n g a master of d i v i n i t y degree i n June 19S4.

I am an ordained Assemblies of God m i n i s t e r , working i n the i n t e r n a t i o n a l headquarters of the church, l o c a t e d here i n S p r i n g f i e l d , M i s s o u r i . My p o s i t i o n i s A r c h i v e s A s s i s t a n t and copy e d i t o r of HERITAGE magazine, a h i s t o r i c a l p u b l i c a t i o n d i s t r i b u t e d by the Assemblies of God Archives. I have a l s o taught E n g l i s h a t two l o c a l B i b l e c o l l e g e s and have preached i n v a r i o u s churches.

A f t e r coming t o S p r i n g f i e l d , I met my w i f e , Marion <Brown>, and we were married on June 9, 1984. We have one adopted son, Jared James Gohr, age 17 months.

My g e n e a l o g i c a l i n t e r e s t s i n c l u d e being a l i f e member of the l o c a l Ozarks Genealogical S o c i e t y , a l i f e member of the Sons of the American R e v o l u t i o n and an o f f i c e r i n the l o c a l chapter, being fthe author of three f a m i l y genealogy books, and c o n t r i b u t i n g t o a number of other f a m i l y n e w s l e t t e r s and books. I am a l s o i n v o l v e d i n various church a c t i v i t i e s and have served as an o f f i c e r i n the l o c a l S p r i n g f i e l d C h r i s t i a n W r i t e r s Club.

My link to the Volverton family Is somewhat remote, but I have found the Volverton history to be quite fascinating, and I do not wish for the COUSIHS newsletter to end. Communication with other subscribers w i l l be beneficial to us a l l .

My lineage to Andrew Voolverton i s through his son James Matthew Voolverton who married Agatha Villiams <a descendant of the Hanks, Dodson, and Seville families). Hext the lineage comes down through James Matthew's daughter Fancy Artemisia (Voolverton) L i t t l e f i e l d . Haricy married Luther Rice L i t t l e f i e l d . Their daughter was Sarah Agatha L i t t l e f i e l d who married Villiam Ashley Harris. This last-named couple are my great-great grandparents.

My own parents are Lawrence and Hazel (Harris) Gohr who are retired and live at Monte Vista, Colorado. I have two sisters, Margery <Gohr) Bartell who lives at Arnold, Missouri, and Alice <Gohr) Kettner who lives at Hew Holland, I l l i n o i s . A brother, Fred, passed away in 1974, due to a mountain climbing accident.

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In this newsletter, I wish to include genealogical records and updates to the information in DESCEHDAHTS OF AFDREV VOOLVERTOH, the book published by Royal Volverton in 1985. If you have v i t a l records concerning family members that would t i e into the Voolverton book, please send them so that they can be included i n future newsletters.

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RESEARCH AT THE HEVBERRY LIBRARY

This past May I was in Chicago at an archives conference with my job. For the last 6 years i t has been an annual event for me to stay at the Bismarck Hotel in downtown Chicago and attend the Midwest Archives Conference. Other years my wife has gone with me and relaxed i n the hotel room while I went to the sessions. This year, because our Jared was only 15 months old, i t seemed best for the family to stay at home. I flew on TVA from Springfield to St. Louis and from there to Chicago. I was gone from May 12-16th, and returned home again on TVA.

Flying i s O.K., but the high altitude always hurts my ears. I would rather drive and see the scenery at ground level. There are so many interesting sights to see no matter where i n the U. S. you may venture.

Vhile in Chicago I toured the archives f a c i l i t i e s of the Hewberry Library and the University of Chicago Historical Society. The Hewberry Library i s an excellent research f a c i l i t y for genealogist and others interested i n the humanities. Hot only did I learn about their conservation laboratory and techniques for preserving historical materials, but I also managed to get in several hours of family research. The names I found information on included Gohr, L i t t l e f i e l d , Hanks, Heville, and Volverton.

One of my great-great uncles, Herman Gohr, was married in Chicago in January 1880, so I was glad to find reference to him in an early c i t y directory. Other Gohrs were also l i s t e d as l i v i n g

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i n Chicago i n the 1880s and e a r l i e r . Whether these are c l o s e r e l a t i v e s of mine, I do not know. Gohr i s a German name which i n c i d e n t l y means " d w e l l e r near a swamp." I have a Gohr coat of arms hanging on my study w a l l , but whether my d i r e c t a n c e s t o r s were e n t i t l e d t o t h i s coat of arms i s unknown.

LITTLEFIELD RESEARCH

The L i t t l e f i e l d s I found l i v i n g i n Chicago i n the 1880s and 1890s are undoubtedly descendants of Edmund L i t t l e f i e l d who s e t t l e d i n Maine i n about 1638. The Tennessee, Oklahoma, and Texas L i t t l e f i e l d s have been unable t o e s t a b l i s h a l i n k w i t h the L i t t l e f i e l d s of Maine. Our immigrant ancestor i s W i l l i a m L i t t l e f i e l d , who came t o the U.S. i n about 1723.

The records I l o c a t e d on Chicago L i t t l e f i e l d s are being forwarded t o the LITTLEFIELD FAMILY HEWSLETTER which p u b l i s h e s info r m a t i o n on a l l L i t t l e f i e l d s i n the U.S. and abroad. The c o s t f o r s u b s c r i p t i o n i s $10.00 f o r the c u r r e n t year. You may c o n t a c t the e d i t o r : C h a r l e s L i t t l e f i e l d Seaman, L i t t l e f i e l d Family newsletter, P.O. Box 817, Ogunquit, Maine 03907-0817. Phone: C207) 646-3753.

HAHKS RESEARCH

Concerning the Hanks f a m i l y , I l o c a t e d s e v e r a l items. The U n i v e r s i t y of Chicago H i s t o r i c a l S o c i e t y has a l a r g e r e a d i n g room which houses "The W i l l i a m E. Barton C o l l e c t i o n of L i n c o l n i a n a . " I d i d not have time t o browse or study t h i s c o l l e c t i o n , but I have asked the l i b r a r i a n t o send me a l i s t i n g of the m a t e r i a l s housed i n t h a t c o l l e c t i o n . I f you do not know, W i l l i a m E. Barton was one of the e a r l y a u t h o r i t i e s on the L i n c o l n and Hanks f a m i l y l i n e a g e of P r e sident Abraham L i n c o l n . He wrote a book c a l l e d THE LIHEAGE OF LIHCOLH.

Through the Hanks f a m i l y we are a l l r e l a t e d t o Abraham L i n c o l n . L i n c o l n ' s mother was Hancy Hanks. She i s r e p o r t e d by some t o be the daughter of Joseph Hanks (brother of Moses Hanks, our ancestor). Others say Hancy's f a t h e r was Abraham Hanks, and that P r e s i d e n t L i n c o l n was named Abraham a f t e r both grandfathers, i . e . Abraham L i n c o l n and Abraham Hanks. Another view h o l d s t h a t Hancy was the i l l e g i t i m a t e daughter of one Lucy Hanks, daughter of Joseph. Adin Baber was another Hanks a u t h o r i t y and wrote s e v e r a l books on the Hanks-Lincoln connection. He h e l d t h a t L i n c o l n was named a f t e r both grandfathers. For some time now, I myself have subscribed t o the Lucy Hanks s t o r y . Lucy i s mentioned by Barton; W i l l i a m Herndon, L i n c o l n ' s law partner; and others. But f o r some reason, Baber does not mention any Lucy Hanks connected t o Hancy Hanks L i n c o l n .

I n c i d e n t l y , the Univ. of Chicago H i s t o r i c a l S o c i e t y has an a c t u a l p i e chest which was made by Thomas L i n c o l n f o r h i s stepmother. T h i s was an i n t e r e s t i n g p iece of L i n c o l n i a n a which I was p r i v i l e g e d t o see. A couple years ago my w i f e and I v i s i t e d L i n c o l n ' s home and museum a t S p r i n g f i e l d , I l l i n o i s . We a l s o

L v i s i t e d h i s grave there.

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A Hanks book which I located both at the Univ. of Chicago Historical Society and at the Fewberry Library was: IV RE LUCEY HAFKS, by James A. Peterson. Yorkville, IL: the author, 1973. 42 pages. This gives documentary evidence for Lucy Hanks existing and being a near relative to President Lincoln. Peterson's theory i s that Lucy Hanks was married t w i c e — f i r s t to Hanks and then to Sparrow. Her maiden name was probably Shipley. Her f i r s t husband was l i k e l y a brother to Joseph, Abraham, and Moses Hanks before mentioned. He died young, so we do not have his name given anywhere. This would explain how Fancy (Hanks) Lincoln was known both by Hanks and by Sparrow. This would also remove any possibility of Fancy being illegitimate.

FEVILLE RESEARCH

The Feville family i s an a l l i e d line to the Wolvertons through the Hanks and Dodson families. Moses Hanks was married to Agatha Dodson. Agatha's mother was Mary (Feville) Dodson. The Fevilles descend from one John Feville who was transported by S i r Leonard Calvert from England to Maryland on "The Ark and Dove" i n 1634. At one time there was a Society of John Feville Descendants who had a family newsletter. It ran from 1976-1980. It i s believed that John Feville was a direct descendant of the famous Feville family well known i n English history. There i s s t i l l a Baron Feville in Great Britain today. However, the parentage and exact place of origin of John Feville, the immigrant ancestor, has always been a mystery.

A few years back, a researcher in Arkansas informed me that John's father was a Thomas Feville of Bolton, Lancashire, England as found on a record of the LDS church in Salt Lake City. After reviewing the record she supplied and viewing the IGI index from Salt Lake City, i t became obvious that there are a number of John Fevilles of about the same age who were contemporaries i n England. There i s no proof that our John Feville was the son of a Thomas.

While at the Fewberry Library I found a very old volume which was about 16x24 inches in size and about 100 pages thick which contained lineage charts on the Feville family i n England. The book i s HISTORIES OF FOBLE BRITISH FAMILIES by Drummond. London: William Pickering, 1846. 2 vols. The Feville lineage was included in volume 2. Listed on the charts, I only found one John Feville who seemed the right age to be our John, and who might have immigrated to the U.S. I hope to contact the current Baron Feville to see i f he has further records on the John Feville I found, to see i f he has record of a marriage, children, or any other information which might verify or disprove i f he should be the John Feville who settled i n Maryland.

WOLVERTOF RESEARCH

The Wolverton information included locating a copy of THE WOOLVERTOFS by Emma Ten Broeck Runk which i s a 91-page book which gives excellent treatment of the early history of the Woolvertons in America. I already had a copy of this in my f i l e s . The Fewberry Library also has a microform copy of the booklet, CHRIST

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THE ETERS AL VORD by Charles Voolverton, our immigrant ancestor. I t i s a 40-page r e l i g i o u s booklet published i n 1738 which has been microfilmed by the American A n t i q u a r i a n S o c i e t y , C h a r l e s Evans number 4327.

A copy of Royal Volverton's book, DESCEFDAFTS OF AFDREV VOOLVERTOF, was donated by c o u s i n John E a r l V o l v e r t o n t o the Fewberry L i b r a r y s e v e r a l years ago, but f o r some reason i t i s no longer l i s t e d i n the c a r d c a t a l o g . John E a r l V o l v e r t o n l i v e s i n Chicago, and I spoke w i t h him by telephone w h i l e on t h i s t r i p . He encouraged me t o take up the t o r c h of c o n t i n u i n g w i t h a f a m i l y newsletter. He a l s o s a i d t h a t i f the Voolverton book has been l o s t from the Fewberry L i b r a r y t h a t he might t r y t o donate another copy t o t h e i r f a c i l i t y .

The other i n f o r m a t i o n on Volvertons which I found a t the Fewberry L i b r a r y concerned V o l v e r t o n coat of arms. The l i b r a r y has a l a r g e c o l l e c t i o n of d e s c r i p t i o n s and p l a t e s of coat of arms. I found s e v e r a l f o r the name Volverton, but a l l had the same general d e s c r i p t i o n , which would i n d i c a t e t h a t the t i t l e h o l d e r s were a l l r e l a t e d i n some way. Information on the V o l v e r t o n coat of arms w i l l be i n c l u d e d l a t e r .

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LIFCOLF KFEV THE IMPORTAFCE OF PRAYER

• I have been d r i v e n many times t o my knees by the overwhelming c o n v i c t i o n t h a t I had nowhere e l s e t o go."

—Abraham L i n c o l n

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REV. JOSEPH BOYD VOLVERTOF, b. Fov. 19, 1910 Easton, ME; d. Fov. 2, 1984 S c o t t s V a l l e y , CA. He attended Z i o n B i b l e I n s t i t u t e i n East Providence Rhode I s l a n d and C e n t r a l B i b l e I n s t i t u t e i n S p r i n g f i e l d , M i s s o u r i . Then he was ordained as an Assemblies of God m i n i s t e r on May 13, 1943. He m i n i s t e r e d as an e v a n g e l i s t and pastor i n Few York, Few Jersey, Kansas, I l l i n o i s , and C a l i f o r n i a . During 1981 and 1982 he was p r e s i d e n t and taught a t St. James College i n San Bruno, C a l i f o r n i a . H i s widow, Margaret V o l v e r t o n , was s t i l l l i v i n g a t S c o t t s V a l l e y , C a l i f o r n i a i n January 1991. They had no c h i l d r e n .

(From records i n the Assemblies of God Archives)

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VATCH THAT "THEOMETER!-

The mind and the tongue, the two great a l l i e s of eloquence i n a preacher's p u l p i t m i n i s t r y , can a l s o betray him i f he i s not c a r e f u l . Memory can e i t h e r work i t s magic or cause i t s mistakes.

In the e a r l y months of my m i n i s t r y , we had a neighbor who was q u i t e i l l i t e r a t e and seemed t o have no great d e s i r e t o change. One of h i s most repeated mistakes i n the King's E n g l i s h was the

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pronunciation of the word, "thermometer." His consistent interpretation was "theometer." Frequently, i n a laughing way, we would use his pronunciation in private conversation.

One Sunday morning while earnestly preaching and endeavoring to use this word as a portion of an illustration, I found that my tongue could remember only one way to pronounce the word, •theometer." Repeated efforts to correct myself only added to my confusion. It came out "theometer" every time. I can assure you that never again did I mimic my neighbor. That one lesson was enough.

— J . Boyd Wolverton (CHRIST'S AMBASSADORS HERALD magazine, Hov. 1955, p. 18)

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WORKS BY CHARLES WOOLVERTOS

Charles Woolverton, our immigrant ancestor, was a Quaker. He was a close friend of William Penn, the well-known leader of the Society of Friends. Some sources even claim that Charles Wolverton came over on the ship "Welcome" i n 1682 with William Penn and the f i r s t group of Quakers to arrive i n the U.S. There are no documents to substantiate that Charles Woolverton arrived at the same time as Penn.

The names of the "Welcome Claimants" are f a i r l y well documented. In fact, there i s a Welcome Society (for descendants of the passengers on this ship) which i s similar to the Mayflower Society. It appears to me that Charles Woolverton came to the colonies several years after Penn's arrival. F i r s t mention of Charles that I have found i s August 20, 1693 when he purchased 100 acres of land in Burlington County, Hew Jersey from William Biddle.

Charles Evans, an early American bibliographer, has published a chronological dictionary of early books, pamphlets and periodicals published in the United States. It i s called AMERICAS BIBLIOGRAPHY. In Volume 1, 1639-1729, p. 412 i s l i s t e d Charles Evans number 3244:

Woolverton, Charles. The S p i r i t ' s Teaching Man's Sure Guide: Briefly Asserted

and Recommended to the Sober Perusal of a l l Christian Believers . . . The Second Edition, corrected and amended by the author, with large additions. Philadelphia: Printed for the Author by Franklin and Meredith, 1729.

In Volume 2, 1730-1750, p. 136 i s l i s t e d Charles Evans number 4327:

Woolverton, Charles. Christ the Eternal Word. The Only Means of Man's

Salvation. A Sermon. Philadelphia: Printed by B. Franklin, for the author, 1738. 40 p.

Vol. 2, p. 174 also l i s t s Charles Evans number 4660:

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Woolverton, Charles. . The Upright L i v e s of the Heathen B r i e f l y Foted; or E p i s t l e s I and Discourses Betwixt Alexander the Conquerer and Dindimus

King of the Brachmans, G i v i n g an Account of What S o r t of People They Are, T h e i r D i v i n i t y , and Philosophy, With T h e i r Manner of L i v i n g , & c. Together a l s o w i t h the Dying Words of Ockamickon, an Indian King. Spoken t o Jahkursoe, h i s B r o t h e r s Son, Whom He Appointed King A f t e r Him. C o l l e c t e d Together, and P u b l i s h e d For General S e r v i c e . . . P h i l a d e l p h i a : P r i n t e d and s o l d by A. W. Bradford, 1740. 16 p.

A f t e r i n q u i r i n g w i t h the American A n t i q u a r i a n S o c i e t y , which has copied most of the pamphlets i n Charles Evans' b i b l i o g r a p h y onto microform cards or m i c r o f i c h e , i t was d i s c o v e r e d t h a t o n l y one of these 3 pamphlets i s s t i l l known t o e x i s t . I t i s CHRIST THE ETERHAL WORD. The booklet i s a v a i l a b l e on the Readex M i c r o p r i n t e d i t i o n of EARLY AMERICAN IMPRIFTS, 1639-1800. The o r i g i n a l booklet may be found a t the U n i v e r s i t y of Pennsylvania and a t Swarthmore Colle g e , F r i e n d s H i s t o r i c a l L i b r a r y .

There are no extant copies of the other two works a t t r i b u t e d t o Charles Woolverton. The f i r s t was a d v e r t i s e d f o r s a l e i n the Pennsylvania Gazette (probably before i t was publ i s h e d ) and, due to l a c k of buyer response, i t may never have been p r i n t e d . THE UPRIGHT LIVES OF THE HEATHEÏ was in c l u d e d i n C h a r l e s R. Hildeburn's book, A CEFTURY OF PRIFTIFG: THE ISSUES OF THE PRESS IF PEFFSYLVAFIA. Charles Evans and succeeding b i b l i o g r a p h e r s have been unable t o l o c a t e a copy of the t i t l e .

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CHARLES WOOLVERTOS MEFTIOFED IF QUAKER HISTORY

In g l a n c i n g through QUAKER HISTORY, a magazine p u b l i s h e d by the F r i e n d s H i s t o r i c a l A s s o c i a t i o n , I found an a r t i c l e i n the Sprin g 1991 i s s u e , "Quaker Books i n C o l o n i a l Pennsylvania," by J . W i l l i a m F r o s t . In the a r t i c l e he mentions a number of well-known Quaker authors. Then i n a footnote on page 18, he says:

—Other c o l o n i a l American authors were Jacob T a y l o r , James Claypoole, W i l l i a m Rakestraw, W i l l i a m Southeby, John Dickinson, Isaac F o r r i s I, David L l o y d ( a l l of whom probably came t o P h i l a d e l p h i a as a d u l t s ) , John Smith, Samuel Smith, John Hepburn (who may have been a K e i t h i a n when he wrote), Evan E l l i s , CHARLES WOOLVERTOF, Benjamin G i l b e r t , John Bartram, and John Woolman."

In l o o k i n g through my correspondence f i l e s , I t h i n k t h a t a l e t t e r I wrote i n 1982 may have a l e r t e d Mr. F r o s t , the w r i t e r of that a r t i c l e , t o the importance of Charles Woolverton's w r i t i n g s . I wrote t o the F r i e n d s H i s t o r i c a l L i b r a r y of Swarthmore C o l l e g e concerning the p o s s i b i l i t y of o b t a i n i n g a photocopy of CHRIST THE ETERHAL WORD (I have s i n c e made a copy from the Readex M i c r o p r i n t e d i t i o n ) . A p o r t i o n of the l e t t e r from Swarthmore reads:

i

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"Unfortunately, CHRIST THE ETERSAL WORD, THE ONLY MEABS OF MAS'S SALVATIOM i s In such fragile condition that i t cannot be photocopied. . .

"Best wishes i n your research. Your l e t t e r has made both myself and J. William Frost, Director of this library, curious to learn more about Woolverton. If you should publish your research on him, we would be delighted to obtain a copy.

"Sincerely yours, Albert W. Fowler, Associate Director"

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WOOLVERTOS, LIFUS <1846-1914>, horticulturist, was born at Grimsby, Canada West, i n 1846. He

was educated at the University of Toronto <B.A., 1869; M. A., 1870), and became a fruit-grower. From 1886 to 1901 he was secretary of the Ontario Fruit Growers' Association; and from 1886 to 1903, editor of the CASADIAS HORTICULTURIST. He died at Grimsby, Ontario, on May 7, 1914. He was the author of THE CASADIAS APPLEGROWER'S GUIDE (Toronto, 1910).

(Source: CASADIAS MES <1912>, by Morgan. Found in: THE MACMILLAS DICTIOSARY OF CASADIAS BIOGRAPHY, by W. Stewart Wallace. 3rd ed. London: Macmillan, 1963, p. 813.)

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COAT OF ARMS FOR HAMOS DE WOLVERTOS

At right i s the coat of arms belonging to Hamon de Wolverton who was livin g about the time of King John who signed the Magna Charta i n 1215. This i s the earliest mention of a Wolverton coat of arms that I have been able to find. The description i s : "Az. an eagle displayed debruised by a bend, gu." This translates to: "On a blue background, an eagle with wings outspread and tips pointing upward, overlaid by a bend of red." This was found in the book, AS HISTORICAL ESSAY OS THE MAGSA CHARTA OF KISG JOHS, By Richard Thomson. London: Printed for John Major, Fleet Street, 1829, pp. acxiv, 297.

Al l of the early Wolverton coat of arms which I have seen also include the eagle insignia as stated here. Later coat of arms have included wolves as the main emblem, which i s more i n keeping with the family name.

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