| The story: |
From the Published book:
Family lore as recorded in a book attributed to the notes of Jeremiah Zeamer titled "Biographical annals of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania" published in 1905. A copy was found at the Cumberland County (PA) Historical Society. "In the Eckels family there has long been cherished a tradition that a child was born at sea, while its parents were on their way to America. The story is that the elder Eckels with his family, set sail from Ireland in a ship that became disabled., and had to return to port from which it started for repairs. While out to sea the Eckels child was born, and on return the family disembarked, concluding to defer migrating to America till some more suitable time. Soon afterward the wife died.......... In the course of time Mr. Eckels married again, and finally reached America, settling in what now is western Pennsylvania. ..............Among the children of his first marriage were a Nathaniel and Francis........ Accounts differ as to whether it was Nathaniel or Francis who was born at sea." Note: The importance of this is Nathaniel was born on Oct. 2, 1744 and Francis was born in 1750 or 1751 and it has a bearing on Charles' actual arrival date.
From Zeamer's hand written notes:
Jeremiah Zeamer created the confusion of Nathaniel and Francis by recording the child born at sea as Nathaniel on page 11, Francis on page 52 and Nathaniel on page 53. Note: there is an entry in Zeamers notes of different width and ink color indicating it was Francis. It looks like it was Zeamer who made this entry and there are notations in the margins all through the handwritten version. Zeamer also states that Charles Eckles was an Ulster Scot who came to America from Northern Ireland. In the file is a note stating the name of the boat that Charles Eckles might have come over on was the Elizabeth and Mary. |
| From the Published book.
Harry E. Eckles in his 1946 book "Eckles and Eckels Families in the United States" expands on this information. Charles Eckles, who was born about 1715 and died in October 1781, near Chambersburg in the souther part of Pennsylvania. He states that "Charles Eckles came with two of his brothers from Northern Ireland..........Records show that Edward Eckles of Virginia could well be the brother of Charles because tradition says one brother went south". He then declares that "James and George Eckles, a sea captain, were in eastern Pennsylvania at the same time as Charles.............and they were not far from his age". Harry Eckles further states the child at sea theory again and concludes "the family came on a small boat, perhaps owned by the brothers and commanded by Captain George Eckles." He then continues on about whether Nathaniel or Francis was born at sea and he favored Nathaniel.
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| From the Published book.
Information can also be gathered from the Huston Family Records. The Eckels / Huston / Clendenin familes had many children who married between the families. The book "History of the Huston families and their descendants, 1450-1912" published in 1912 in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania by E. Rankin Huston gives us a chance to compare Jeremiah Zeamer and Harry E. Eckles statements
for accuracy. Harry Eckles was aware of the Zeamer and Huston books.
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| Who were these authors?
Jeremiah Zeamer was a farmer in Silver Springs Township, Cumberland County who with his son set out to record the history of Cumberland County before 1840. He recorded his facts and interviews in a log book written by hand. These notes formed the basis of the printed book "Biographical annals of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania" by Genealogical Pub. Co. of Chicago in 1905 - Author Unknown. Harry E. Eckles was a single man who worked as an architect especially in the design of railroad stations. Harry did a mass mailing of post cards in 1943 to every Eckles / Eckels name he could find asking them to record their families for him. He also hired a woman to do his Pennsylvania research and paid her wages, travel expenses and room and board as she travelled across Pennsylvania. Harry then assembled this mountain of data into the book "Eckles and Eckels Families in the United States". E. Rankin Huston was a family member whose book although about the Huston family frequently includes the Eckels and Clendenin families especially as it relates to Nathaniel Eckels extended family. All three of these books were monumental undertakings. I will frequently quote from these works because not everyone has access to them.
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| The story so far | A summary that needs updating - my observations.
Charles Eccles left Belfast or Newry, in Northern Ireland with his family, probably for the port of Philadelphia. Family lore says it may have been on a family owned boat Captained by George Eckels and with him were his brothers James and Edward. Charles wife had a son (either Nathaniel or Francis) who was born at sea. The boat became disabled and they returned to Northern Ireland. His first wife died. Charles remarried and set out again with the family and arrived in America. (This would be a trip of about 8 to 9 weeks)Keeping in mind the time frames of Nathaniel being born in 1744 and Francis being born c. 1751 the time frame for Francis gets narrower and it gets better for Nathaniel being born at sea. Charles Eccles first known record is a tax recording as a renter in 1753 in Chester County, Pennsylvania. Francis could have been the child but if the time span in Northern Ireland was long between voyage attempts then Francis is out of contention. So this means Charles arrival would be somewhere between 1744 and 1753. The connection to George Eckels and the Elizabeth and Mary starts to get real fuzzy (see below) as well as Philadelphia for a port of entry. Keep in mind there were Eckels immigrants from just after Mayflower times into Boston, New York, New Castle, New Orleans and later into Baltimore etc.. As passenger lists continue to be transcribed we may find out we were right all along and it was Philadelphia. I am confident that our current information is very close to correct. It just needs a little tweaking with actual facts. I only mention all of this so as not to mislead any other researchers who may stumble upon some other valuable fact especially in this day of the Internet.
The other need we have is to establish Charles actual Northern Ireland connection because I have tons of European data waiting to be plugged in. There are Eckels (Eccles) origins in England, Scotland and Northern and Southern Ireland. Because of disasters with the records in Ireland were need to find the connections as records there are recreated. Because of when and where the early American family lived we should be very comfortable that they were Ulster Scots (Scotch Irish) from Northern Ireland. Multiple historical references agree with this.
We have a leg up because genealogical research, because of its popularity, is becoming a pay as you go service. So it is in our interest if we visit the areas especially Pennsylvania that we take time to check out the various historical societies we see instead of depending on the Internet. Hopefully with this page as a guide you should have an easier time and of course share the information with your extended family. Historical societies offer the information for very little money and in some cases for free.
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| The facts: Tracking George Eckels and the Sloop Elizabeth and Mary. |
Ships movements recorded from the Philadelphia Custom House records published in "The Pennsylvania Gazette" newspaper.
Note: Usual routes of ships from Philadelphia was north to New England and south to the Carribean. This was a result of cargo vs. demand and profits. European ships usually followed the trade winds to and from the Carribean. Of course there were exceptions of movement between Philadephia and Europe usually involving passengers (Germans and Quakers). Most cargo ships brought European manufactured goods and West Indies sugar, molasses, liquor and occassionally slaves in from the Carribean Islands and brought U.S. hard goods, meat and grain to the Carribean. Slave traffic was mainly to South Carolina and only as a minor cargo to Philadelphia. Of the total number of slaves brought from Africa, 6% came to the U.S., 44% stayed in the Carribean and 50% went to South America. Slaves brought to Philadelphia usually worked in the North. Primarliy thought of as a Southern thing, all states had some form of Plantations and Slavery and some northern slaves worked for merchants. To put it in perspective 11,500,000 slaves were brought to the Carribean, 645,000 were relocated to the U.S. and State records for 1794 list 5,100 for Connecticut. Census Records after 1800 are of little value because they listed slaves and free colored or mulattos and are known to include American Indians or mixed populations.The 1794 recordings are from actual shipping manifest records and a Connecticut survey specifically counting slaves. (Slavery statistics published by the Hartford Courant newspaper)
(Trade Route Chart below)
- New - found 7/30/2008 - Mary & Elizabeth (as recorded) in December of 1718 made a trip from Londonderry to Boston captained by Alexander Miller and owned by Robert Homes recorded as "full of passengers". Names are reversed and Homes spelled without an L. This is however a trans-atlantic voyage.
- December 17, 1744 The Sloop Elizabeth And Mary, Captain Robert Holmes, arrived from Boston and left for Boston.
July 31, 1746 the Elizabeth and Mary made a trip from St. Kitts to Philadephia captained by B. Minors
August 21, 1746 The Elizabeth and Mary left Philadephia for St. Kitts captained by Benjamin Minos.
August 6, 1747 The Elizabeth and Mary made a trip from St. Kitts to Philadephia captained by Stafford Somersal.
August 7, 1747 Advertisement Stafford Somersal offers a 20 shilling reward for runaway Burmudas Negro Man named Jack.
September 3, 1747 The Elizabeth and Mary left Philadephia for St. Kitts captained by Isreal Sommersal.
July 19, 1750 The Elizabeth and Mary entered Philadelphia from Burmuda captained by Benjamin Minor.
August 9, 1750 The Elizabeth and Mary left Philadephia for St. Kitts captained by Benjamin Minors.
August 9, 1750 The Sloop William left Philadephia for Jamaica captained by George Eckles.
1750, Oct. 7, 1750 George Eckles married Susannah Holmes in Philadelphia whose father Robert Holmes may have owned the Elizabeth and Mary. Robert Holmes also was a brother in law of Benjamin Franklin having married one his younger sisters, Mary Franklin.
March 21, 1751 The Sloop William entered Philadelphia from the Bay of Honduras captained by George Eckles.
May 16, 1751 The Sloop Three Friends left Philadelphia for Jamaica captained by George Eckles.
May 23, 1751 Sloop Three Friends cleared to leave port by Customs for Jamaica with captain George Eckles.
March 21, 1751 The Sloop Tenerise entered Philadelphia from Jamaica captained by George Eckles.
July 5, 1753 Advertisement: Sale of Goods imported on Teneriffe by George Eckles, commander. Sales include sugar, Jamaican Spirit (rum), ginger, changeable silks etc.
August 2, 1753 Advertisement: The Schooner Elizabeth and Mary, George Eckles, Commander now lying at Edgar Wharf two thirds full of cargo already engaged. There are extraordinary accommodations for passengers, and will sail in ten days.
November 15, 1753 The Schooner Elizabeth and Mary entered Philadelphia from St. Croix captained by George Eckles.
December 13, 1753 The Schooner Elizabeth and Mary cleared Customs to Tortola captained by George Eckles.
October 20, 1755 The Brig. Molly left for Jamaica captained by George Eckles for many years.
June 8, 1758 The Brig. Molly arrives in Philadephia captained by George Eckles from Honduras Bay.
June 8, 1758 The Sloop Elizabeth and Mary arrives in Philadephia captained by W. Gibbons from Burmuda.
Technical thoughts for the reader; A Ship, Sloop, Schooner, Snow and Brigantine may be structurally different. The name usually refers to the number of masts and their design or rigging. Sometimes upon rebuilding the sail shape or rigging was changed which would cause it classification to change. ie. A Brigantine has a square main sail. Recordings are as they appeared in the Pennsylvania Gazette. George Eckles obviously was in and out of Philadelphia with ships to the Carribean from 1750 to at least 1760. One of these ships was the Schooner William and Mary during the year of 1753. Some type of William and Mary was in and out of Philadelphia from 1745 to at least 1760 or later as recorded by Customs.The boat wasn't small (see August 2, 1753 Advertisement above) and the Elizabeth and Mary appears to have been owned by George's father-in-law. Its captain (commander) in 1753 was George Eckles.
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| The Facts: Charles Eckles recorded information. |
Taxes recorded as Eckless, Ackles, Acles, Ackols, Eckles and in the Lost and Found as Eckles.
- Tax records for Charles for 1753 in Sadsbury Township, Chester County as a renter and later as a land owner
(On Microfilm at the Chester Historical Society) in East Fallowfield Township, Chester County (next to Sadsbury) and in Sadsbury Township.
Advertisement published in "The Pennsylvania Gazette" newspaper on January 26, 1764.
Found on the Great Conestogoe Road, between the White Horse and the Ferry, A Silver faced watch, having neither Glass, Bow, Swivel nor String, and pretty crushed with a Waggon Wheel. The Owner, describing other Marks, may have her again, by applying to the Subscriber, living in Sadsbury Township, Chester County, CHARLES ECKLES.
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| The Facts: Life in early Pennsylvania
| The following account pretty much sums up the Scotch-Irish way:
"The Scotch-Irish, in their isolated cabins, accustomed themselves more quickly to the forest
environment which demanded adaptability as the price of survival. Their clothes consist of
deerskins, their food of Johnnycakes, deer and bear meat. A kind of white people are found
here who live like savages. Hunting is their chief occupation.........These tough frontiersmen matched
the Indians in meeting the challange of wilderness life. They hated the natives and land speculators alike.
Devout Presbyterians, the "buckskins", according to one acid writer, kept the Sabbath and
everything else they could lay their hand on." (source: The United States to 1865 by Michael Kraus; Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press)
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| The Facts: Charles Eckles and George Eckles
| The reason for the comparison is to establish the probable date of Charles Eckles in America. In 1753 He was taxed as a renter just outside of Philadelphia and soon after as an owner. George Eckles was a sea captain operating out of Philadelphia. George Eckles was the captain of the Elizabeth and Mary in 1753. The reader must draw his own conclusions. Maybe the family lore is such a conclusion, maybe not. Were Charles and George Eckles related? If it was a family owned boat it would be George's father-in-law. If George Eckles brought them into Philadelphia then the probable route for Charles and family was from Europe to the Carribean and then from the Carribean to Philadelphia. The Elizabeth and Mary's route was not Trans-Atlantic but in frequent trips going North and South from Philadelphia. This would mean only the last part of the voyage was on the Elizabeth and Mary (see chart below). There is a record in addition to Boston above, that the Schooner visited New Haven, Connecticut at least once with a cargo of Sugar, Salt, Molasses, Rum, Turpentine and Tar and loaded a cargo of horses and lumber for a trip to the West Indies. The research continues. |
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2008