Robert B. Duncan 1810-1897

I found something new on the Duncans! I was going through some notes I took awhile back when looking through Smart Match results on My Heritage. I don't know why it took me so long to follow up on it, it must have sat in my files for months! But I saw it a week or so ago, and I decided to look into it. So far it looks pretty good.

Robert B. Duncan appears to have been the brother of my William Duncan. All the files and stories I had seen before named William's parents as Robert Duncan (from Scotland) and Lucy Boyles or Broyles. That was pretty much it. I had the clues they were from PA/NY. What I had seen so far indicated that William was born in Genesee County, NY. But I pretty much dead ended there. There were a few clues along the way that William had a couple brothers, but not much info on them either. Well, it appears that facts about William's father and grandfather have gotten mixed up in the passage of time.
In  the files that I had Smart Matches with was a list of names of William's brothers and sisters, it named his parents as Anna Boyles and Robert Duncan (born in PA) then went on to name the grandparents as Robert Duncan (born in Scotland) and Agnes Singleton. The files also listed 8 brothers and sisters for William!! The files didn't include much about William, I still don't have absolute proof that this William is the same as my William, but going by the parents names may be the best I get.

I started looking into the siblings of William to see if I can verify anything more and to gather more clues. I have found some really interesting things. William's brother (younger than William by about 2 years) became rather successful in Indiana, and I have uncovered a biography and a sketch  of Robert B. Duncan in the History of Indianapolis & Marion County Indiana. This is what it said. It was loaded with clues!

Robert B. Duncan is of Scotch descent, his grandfather, Robert Duncan, born in 1726, a native Scotchman, having emigrated to America in 1754, where he engaged in the pursuit of his trade, that of a tailor. He married Agnes Singleton, born in 1742, also of Scotch parentage, and had children, - Robert, James, John, and three daughters. Robert was born in Pennsylvania, Sept. 28, 1772 and during his youth resided in that State, after which he removed to Western New York and engaged in farming pursuits. He married Miss Anna Boyles, and had children, - James, Ester, William, Robert B., Margaret, John, Samuel, Jane and Annie. The death of Mrs. Duncan occurred in 1822, and that of Mr. Duncan Jan. 6, 1846. Their son Robert B. was born in Ontario County, N.Y., June 15, 1810, where the earliest seven years of his life were spent. In 1817 he removed to Ohio and settled near Sandusky, his residence until the spring of 1820, when the family emigrated to Connor’s Station, in the present Hamilton County, Ind., then an unsurveyed prairie. Various employments occupied the time here until 1824, when he became a resident of Pike township, Marion Co., and engaged in the pioneer labor of clearing ground and farming. The year 1827 found him a resident of Indianapolis, where he entered the county clerk’s office as deputy, and remained employed until March, 1834, when he was elected to the office of clerk of the county., and held the position for sixteen successive years. Mr. Duncan had meanwhile engaged in the study of law, and immediately, on the expiration of his official term in 1850, began his professional career, confining himself mainly to business associated with the Probate Court and to consultation. Mr. Duncan was early in his political career a Whig, and continued his relations with that party until later indorsement of the articles of the Republican platform. With the exception of his lengthy period of official life as county clerk, he has never accepted or sought office. He was reared in the stanch faith of the Scotch Presbyterian Church, and still adheres to that belief. Mr. Duncan was married in December, 1843, to Miss Mary E., daughter of Dr. John H. Sanders, of Indianapolis, to whom were born children, - John S. (a practicing lawyer), Robert P. (a manufacturer), Anna D. (wife of William T. Barbee of Lafayette, Ind.), and Nellie D. (wife of John R. Wilson, of Indianapolis). Mr. Duncan enjoys the distinction of being the oldest continuous resident of the county.

 

Transcribed from History of Indianapolis & Marion County Indiana by Berry Robinson Sulgrove. Illustrated. Printed in 1884 in Philadelphia by L.H. Everts & Co.

Other interesting facts I have found connected with Robert B. Duncan is through his wife Mary Elizabeth Sanders. I haven't looked into this very much, it was just a peek, but it seems pretty clear that the Sanders family was descended from Squire Boone, the brother of Daniel Boone. I don't know much about Elizabeth's father, yet, but for a short time their former home was used as the Governor's Mansion. Elizabeth had 4 sisters, the youngest was Jemima. Jemima was married to Dr. Richard J. Gatling (the inventor of the Gatling Gun). Just a tidbit I thought my sons would find interesting.


As for the other siblings, this is what I have so far. (everything is assumed approximate here, it's still being researched. I just want to get this info on the web and hope other researchers find it and contact me. So please, if any of these people are in your tree, anywhere, let me know! If you have any information that can help prove any of this or dispute it, please let me know!)

Children of Robert Duncan (1772-1846) and Anna (Lucy) Boyles (1777(?)-1822)


James Duncan- born 1804. It appears he married Mary Beck 10 Sept 1830.  
I found some will information that is unclear if it's for this James or the James, son of Robert and Agnes. I'll try to include that later.

Ester Duncan- born  Dec 20, 1806. Married 1) William Robinson. I found the name of one child of theirs so far, Frances A., who married a David Bovee.
Esther married 2) John McManis who was a vet of the war of 1812.
Esther was buried in Pine River Cemetery, Richland County, Wisconsin. A note on the records I found say she "died very suddenly while her daughter [Frances A. Bovee] was being buried.
It is recorded that William C. Robinson died May 19, 1842 in Indiana
John McManis is buried in the Bovee Cemetery in Richland County, Wisconsin. It is estimated that he died between 1880 and 1896.

*William Duncan- (my ancestor) born  October 14, 1808 in Genesee County, NY. Married 3 times 1) Amanda Hutsell (my ancestor), 2) Sarah Catherine Hines 3) Susan Trammell (also my ancestor). William reportedly died Jan 5, 1879, though I have yet to find record or grave.

Robert B. Duncan- (I believe B is for Boyles) born June 15, 1810 in Ontario County, NY. married Mary Elizabeth Sanders in December 1843. They had children: 1)John Sanders Duncan, a lawyer, 2) Robert P. Duncan a manufacturer, 3) Anna D. Duncan who married William T. Barbee of Lafyette IN., and 4) Nellie D. Duncan who married John R. Wilson of Indianapolis. Robert B. Duncan died 1897.

Margaret Duncan- born April 20, 1812. died January 12, 1888. She was married to Aaron Stearns Glidewell. I found her grave in Deep Springs Cemetery in Sullivan County, Missouri. They had at least one child, by the name of John T. Glidewell (1840-1902).

John Duncan- born March 31, 1814, died December 27, 1863. He married Amaretta Ridgeway. I found John's grave in Wilson Cemetery in Monon, White County, Indiana.

Samuel Brady Duncan- born March 4, 1816. died April 16, 1906.  I found this page with Samuel's obit and and this page with some family info, including names of children. Samuel was married to Elizabeth Hornbeck in 1843. Seems he went to Iowa in 1853 and lived in Winterset. It says he was buried in the Winterset Cemetery, but I'm not finding either on Find A Grave.

Anna B. Duncan- born 1820 and died 1911. She married Durfee Bovee in 1837. Durfee was the son of Elisha Bovee and Catherine (Durfee) Bovee. So far I have found two children of Anna and Durfee: 1) Elisha Bovee (1840-1913) who married Victoria Potter and 2) Samuel Durfee Bovee (1845-1923) who married Emily West. I found Samuel Durfee Bovee's grave on Find A Grave in the Oaksdale Cemetery, Whitman County, Washington.  I found record of Anna and Durfee Bovee's graves in the Bovee Cemetery in Orion Township, Richland County, Wisconsin.

(I peeked at all the internments of the Oaksdale Cemetery in Washington, and there is a bunch of Byrums which I am pretty sure are other descendants of my Byram ancestors on my dad's side of the tree. Many of the memorials were created by a lady I have cooresponded with already! Small world!) 

 Emily T. Duncan- born 1829. d. 1863. Married James L. Shaw.  I found Emily and James' graves in Pretty Prairie Cemetery in Battle Ground, Tippecanoe County, Indiana. Her memorial says she was the daughter of Robert and Hanna Duncan.


Robert Duncan and Agnes Singleton (grandparents of William Duncan, parents of the Robert Duncan who married Anna Boyles)

The History of Indianapolis, mentioned above, tells me that Robert, the grandfather of my William, was born in 1726 and was from Scotland. It says that his wife, Agnes Singleton was born in 1742 and was of Scotch parentage.


The files I found on My Heritage and it's also mentioned in the History of Indianapolis that Robert and Agnes had three sons and three daughters, but only the names of the sons have been mentioned. They are:
*1) Robert Duncan 1772-1846 married to Anna Boyles (also seen listed as Lucy Boyles and Hanna Boyles last name has also been listed as Broyles).
2) John S. Duncan 1786-1864 (not to be confused with Robert B. Duncan's son by the same name who became a lawyer in Indianapolis like his father) I found a Find A Grave page for a John S. Duncan at the Pleasant Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis, IN. The birth date is unknown, death date given as May 4, 1864.  John was married twice 1) Elizabeth 2) Maria (last name of either not yet known.)
3) James L. Duncan  no dates have yet been found on James. The My Heritage file had the same birth dates (June 15, 1786 in PA) and same death dates (May 4, 1864 Marion, Grant Indiana). I find it highly unlikely they were born on the same dates AND died on the same dates, so until I verify both, it is assumed it is a simple error in their files.  The wife of James is only listed as Elizabeth.
I did find a couple mentions in the History of Indianapolis of John and James Duncan, but it is not yet certain it is these two.


As for the will information mentioned above with James, son of Robert and Anna, here is what I found.
it says: (do they mean "son of Robert Duncan and Agnes Singelton"?

James Duncan, d. 1855 Marion Co. IN, uncle of Robert B. Duncan and son of Robert Duncan and Anna Boyles of Ontario Co. NY
Marion Co. IN Will Books
      C-90: James Duncan of City of Indianapolis, Marion Co. IN, feeble in body; to my daughter Elizabeth $100 out of residue of personal estate after debts if there be sufficient; and that her minority shall be no bar to her receiving and receipting the money, and if necessary, she shall receive so much of my real estate or the proceeds to make up the money; the remainder divided between my wife (unnamed) and all my children, including said Elizabeth, as the law directs. Appoint my nephew Robert B. Duncan exec. 22 Feb. 1855, /s/ James Duncan, wit. Mary E. Duncan, Robert B. Duncan. Proved 9 Jan. 1857. (FHL film 499,449, SLC 9/17/91)

Well. lots of digging and sorting to do. I do hope this draws in some responses from other descendants!  This has taken me all day to post, so I hope I haven't made any serious mistakes.

My Trux line (Trucks)

My 4th great grandparents were Thomas McCluer and Susannah Trucks (Trux).
I'm not sure when Susannah was born, (one family file I found says 1791) and it seems most likely she was born in Pennsylvania. She died in 1838 right after the family moved from Ohio to Jackson County, Illinois.
Susannah's parents were William J. Trux (only seen spelled Trucks a few times) and Mehitable McCoy. I'm not certain about dates of Mehitable but I'm pretty sure was was previously married to a Asahel Bucks and had a son with that husband, William, who was killed at the age of 14 in the Wyoming Valley Massacre.
William Trux  was born 1750 in Frederick, Maryland (some sources say possibly Connecticut). I believe he was the son of George Trux and Samantha (LNU). It appears he had another wife, before Mehitable, a daughter of Porter Ayres.
I found this research which has been helpful, about Mehitable and William, and includes a bit of info about the Ayers.
Although this file places Mehitable at the Battle of Wyoming Valley, I have not been able to connect William Trux to the battle (1778). This research says Mehitable's first husband died 1779, so he survived the battle and also that she married William Trux about the same year. From what I have seen, William and Mehitable's first child was born about 1780, so this sounds right to me. It has been my belief that William Trux probably arrived to the area shortly after the massacre. Which is also about the time he was finished fighting in the war.

I do know he was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. The link above indicated that, so I went to Ancestry and searched records there and wound up finding numerous copies of records with his name on them, both pay roll and muster records. This is, so far, what I have determined about his military service: William Trux served with the German Regiment, Maryland, Continental Army. I'm not exactly sure when he enlisted, but a record from The Historical Register of Officers of the Continental Army During The War of the Revolution April 1775-December 1783 (New Revised and Enlarged Edition by Francis B. Heitman) has him  listed as follows:

Trux, William (Md) Private German Regiment, 21st July, 1776; Sergeant, 1st March 1777; Ensign 25th July 1778; resigned 1st July 1779.

I have not yet figured out why he resigned. I lost record of him in muster rolls after September 9, 1778, and he was not on the payroll for October 1778 and onward. It's only my guess that he may have been injured and that's why the time lapse between his falling off the rolls and resigning. If anyone knows how I might learn the reason for him leaving I would greatly appreciate it. I found no clues in the records I have found so far.

I found William Trux in the census for the following years and places

• 1790 Luzerne County, PA with a total of 7 members in the home
• 1800 Kingston, Luzerne, PA with a total of 5 members in the home
• 1810 Kingston, Luzerne, PA with a total of 10 members in the home, including 5 slaves.
• 1830 Blooming Grove, Richland, OH. with a total of 8 members in the home. no slaves. 

He was also mentioned in a couple sources as having bought land in Kingston, PA  in 1803 "lots 21 and 22 of the Fourth Division of lots" and built a grist mill and saw mill at what is now Trucksville, on one of those lots, before 1811. He was also described as a justice of the peace and served as an overseer of the poor around the 1797-1809 time frame. It is then said he moved to Knox County, Wayne Twsp, Ohio in 1811.
This page was one I found with lots of information.


George Trux was, I believe, William's father. I have an estimated birth date of 1725 for him. It is said that the family's origin is Baden Germany, but it is not known for sure where George was born. Some have said England, some have said Frederick, Maryland. It is not known who his parents were, I speculate he may have been the immigrant ancestor for that line.
I found a George Trux on at least one census, 1790 in Frederick Maryland with 9 household members.
I found several mentions of George Trucks in This was the life: excerpts from the judgment records of Frederick County ...By Millard Milburn Rice, Maryland. County Court (Frederick County) concerning building a bridge across Little Pipe Creek near his home, and in references to building new roads, his place of home given as reference points for locations.
That's pretty much it.

My Barber Line

With a name like Thomas Barber Nase, I was almost sure that Barber was another family name. So one day I decided to see if I could find out anything about that, and I did. I dug around and dug around until I found some will abstracts from Sussex Co, NJ (1860 census for TB Nase showed he was born in New Jersey and I think I had already found clues that his father's name was George). There was this entry:

BARBER, Thomas of Greenwich. 1492S - W. 20 Sep 1808; Filed 5 Dec 1816. Wife: Margaret. Sons: Samuel and John (dec'd). Daughters: Phebe STIVERS, Elizabeth NACE(sic) w/o George and Ann Perine MUCHLER. Others: S-n-l, John STIVERS; Thomas and Robert BARBER s/o dec'd son John. Executors: Wife, Margaret, dau Ann (Nancy) Perine MUCHLER and William KENNEDY. Witnesses: James McCARTER, James J. KENNEDY and William M. KENNEDY.

It was the clue I needed! Later on I found this:

File 12696 C. 

1813, Sept. 20. Barber, Thomas, of Greenwich, Sussex Co.; will of. 

Wife, Margaret, $1,333.33; also my negro girl, a cow, bed and bedding, 

household goods for 1 room, all in lieu of dower, and to be at her 

own disposal. Son, Samuel, $00.66. Presbyterian Congregation at 

Harmony in Greewich Twsp., $66.66, the interest thereof for use of 

church as long as it exists there but if dissolved, the principal sum 

to return to my estate. Having paid for land on which my son-in- 

law, John Stivers lives, I give out of said estate, $533.33 to children 

of daughter, Phebe Stivers, and residue to return to my estate. Rest 

of all estate to be sold. Residue to be divided into 5 equal shares. 

One such share to children of my son, Samuel, who is to have interest 

thereof for life and if his present wife survive him, she is to have 

% of said interest during her widowhood. One share to my 2 grand- 

sons, Thomas and Robert (sons of my son, Robert, lately dec'd), 

when 21. Daughters, Elizabeth (wife of George Nace), Ann Perine 

Muckler, and Phebe Stivers, each the interest of one share and at 

their deaths, principal to their children. Executors — wife, Margaret, 

daughter, Ann Perine Muckler and friend, William Kennedy, Esq. 

Witnesses — James M. Carter, James J. Kennedy, William M. Kennedy. 

Proved Dec. 5, 1816, when Margaret Barber*, Nancy Mutchler, Wm. 

Kennedy signed as Executors. 

From http://www.archive.org/stream/documentsrelatin08newj/documentsrelatin08newj_djvu.txt

It was great! Then I went to Find A Grave. I have not been able to find the death or grave of Thomas Barber Nase, it appears he passed before his wife Polly, since I found Polly in the 1880 census in Polk, Crawford Co, OH  as a widow living with her daughter and her family (Lucy Nase Overly). So it's most likely he died in Ohio. I did find Thomas Barber and his wife Margaret on find a grave. Thomas Barber was a patriot in the Revolutionary War. I checked the DAR site and sure enough, several ladies have joined under his patriotism. Here is his Find A Grave memorial:
What seemed odd to me was that his grave, as well as his wife's, was in the basement of a church. So I contacted the person who created the memorial and he wrote back with an explanation. He explained that "the church needed to expand and the only direction they could go was out towards the parking lot. The graves were in the way, and rather than disturb them, the church addition was built over the graves. There are about 12 graves under this addition." This person has installed a Veteran's marker right outside the door that leads to the actual graves.
This same researcher is also descended from Thomas Barber and has also tried to find out more about the family. We know that Thomas' wife's name was Margaret Perrine, but that's about it. The name Perrine sounds French to me too, does anyone know?


So, the tree from Clarinda Nace got expanded. Her parent's were Thomas Barber Nase and Polly Montanye. Thomas Barber Nase was likely born 1799 in Luzerne Co, Pa. His parents were George Nase and Elizabeth Barber. I have seen two different dates for George's birth, and haven't yet confirmed one or the other. One is 1736 and the other is 1858.
I also have two possible birth dates for his wife Elizabeth Barber: 1761-1765 and she may have been born in Sussex Co, NJ. It is said she died 1817 in Luzerne Co, PA. I have seen a possible wedding date for George and Elizabeth as 1782, so if that is true and looking at birth dates suggested for Elizabeth, I tend to think George's birth date to be more likely the later of the two seen. I have yet to locate anything to confirm any dates for this couple. The death dates I have for George and Elizabeth are: George 1814 in Luzerne Co, PA and 1817 for Elizabeth also in Luzerne Co, PA. What I'm not sure about with George's date is that has him having died before Elizabeth's father, Thomas Barber who died in 1816. Would he be mentioned in the will and abstract in the present tense if he had already passed away? Or am I just reading it too literally?
According to the dates I'm seeing Elizabeth died a year after her father, but before her mother, Margaret Perrine who died in 1825.
At any rate, I'm at a dead end with the Barber and the Perrine line, but this felt like some progress anyway.

Those Places Thursday

I'm just following prompts right now from Genea Bloggers for ideas for posts. I'm feeling a bit scatter-brained today. There are several things I could be doing besides sitting at the computer, but I don't really feel like doing any of them yet. I'm not a morning person at all!
This first entry for Those Places Thursday is sketches  I found in Ancestry, photo copied from a book, attached to someone else's tree which has my 3rd Great Grandpa, John Allen McCluer (McClure)

 

Missionary Baptist Church in which John Allen McClure was a minister during the 1840's.

sketch of the farm of John A. McClure, taken from the 1878 History of Jackson County, Illinois

 John Allen McCluer (also spelled McClure by many) was my grandpa's great grandpa on my mom's side. (Mom>Grandpa George Duncan> Gr Grandma Viola Ellen Duncan>gr gr grandma Ruth McCluer> 3rd gr grandpa John A. McCluer)
The family notes Grandma had and other historical sketches I have found agree that John A. McCluer was born November 15, 1816 in Richland County, Ohio, near the town of Paris. The mention of Paris in family records seems to have confused some family into thinking he was born in France. My uncle kept telling me when I started my research that there was a Frenchman in the tree somewhere, so when I found this, I thought that was what he meant. That may be what he meant, but I have since traced back some more, and found a real Frenchman. But you know, that's another story for another day!
Here is a link to one of the historical sketches I found online about John A. McCluer which includes a photo of him and his wife Clarinda Nase (Nace), which has been added to my records. I have not seen anyone else identify the others in the photo, (I have also seen the photo attached to trees in Ancestry) but I would like to think maybe one is his daughter, my 2nd great grandmother, Ruth McCluer.
I have found land records for John through Ancestry, his Civil War Pension File (he served with the 81st Illinois Infantry, Company D, apparently along with his son-in-law's (Peter Hutsell Duncan) brothers Thomas R. Duncan and Giles Duncan. Peter served with the 27th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Company H.

I have found John A. McCluer (McClure) in the following census:
1850 in Jackson County, IL. (Northern District) with his wife, Clarinda, and 6 children: Susan, Sarah, Rhuey, Thomas, Anna, and George. He is listed as a farmer.
1870 in Levan, Jackson County, IL with his wife and 6 children: George, Ruth, Amanda, David, Oliver and Henry. He is listed as a farmer on this record too.
1880 in Levan, Jackson County, IL. with his wife and only one child, Oliver. He is again, listed as a farmer. His son Henry is living near by in this record.
1885 He is found in Cherokee County, Kansas (Columbus or Lyon?) with his wife and son Henry who is now 28. John and Clarinda are now 68 and 67 respectively.

It doesn't appear that John and Clarinda stayed in Kansas very long, for I found  mention of John in 1896 extracts from the Barry County, Missouri newspaper The Cassville Republican, Weekly Paper. The article is where he performed marriages as Rev. John A. McCluer. His obituary and a historical sketch were found in the same newspapers.
John died April 17- 18, 1899 at the home of his son Thomas, in Cherokee County, Kansas. and was buried at Mineral Springs Cemetery in Barry County, Mo, next to his wife, Clarinda. It appears he was very much loved by all who knew him. It seems he lived quite an amazing life, and my little bit here surely doesn't do him justice.  The link above also lists several sources, one of which seems to be his notebook. I would love to see copies of his notebook! If anyone out there reading this can help me learn more about this family, please contact me! I am always interested in hearing from other researchers and family!

A little more info about John and Clarinda and family: John's parents, said to be of German and Irish descent, were Thomas N. McCluer (b. Feb 28, 1790 in Maryland or Virgina possibly Rockbridge Co. Virginia, death date unknown)  and Susannah Trucks {Trux}(b. in Pennsylvania, date unknown, died August 1838.
John's siblings were Henry C., James J., George Y., William and Ruth Ann.
Clarinda was born December 9, 1817 in Luzern County, Pennsylvania and died June 16, 1893 in Barry County, Missouri. Her parents were: Thomas Barber Nase and Polly Montanye
John and Clarinda's children were Sarah A., Ruth, Susan Polly, Rhuey Jane, Thomas N., Amy, George Y., and Amanda. 
John's daughter Ruth is my gr gr grandmother, and she married Peter Hutsell Duncan (my gr gr grandfather). Ruth's sister Sarah married Peter's brother Thomas R. Duncan (both sons of William Duncan and Amanda Hutsell). After the Civil War, Peter and Thomas, and their families moved to Cherokee County, Kansas.

What I Started With

When my Dad got in contact with the family member he had in mind, something unexpected happened. He isn't sure how it happened, but a different family member sent him an email. The granddaughter of one of Dad's uncles sent him an email. She had been doing family research for a number of years. Her project started as a school project and she never quit. He was blown away by amount of information she had, and began sharing. Cousin Valerie had grown up in New Jersey too, but had by this time moved to Canada and started a family. Many long and forgotten memories of Dad's, little by little, got dusted off and brought back into light. When I'd talk to him on the phone, I could just imagine the look on his face. Valerie was sharing old photos, talking about people Dad hadn't thought about in years. He'd tell me things, and I'd try to write it down as he went. Then he'd put it in email and send it, and I groped in the darkness of the internet trying to find census, cemetery records etc. I felt like I was hunting for a needle in a haystack sometimes. My kids were young, and life was busy, but on slow days I'd do what I could.

Dad's Maternal Line
My family would go back to Kansas about once a year, or every other year to visit, and one such visit we got talking about Family Tree stuff. Dad brought out a family tree of his mother's side (Havens) that had been done back in the 80's. I had known about it, but forgot about it. Dad let me have his copy, and we made a copy of it for him too. It contained info I had never seen before. It had names and stories, cousins and ancestors. It was like gold to me! My first real peek into our family's past. How we got here and who we came from. The earliest names in the the tree are Frederick Kayhart (aka Gearhardt)  who married a Vanderhouf/Vanderhout. It says Frederick was born at sea in 1757 and died 1855 in Pine Brook (I assume NJ).  This couple are my 4th great grandparents. It also had another set of 4th great grandparents listed. Thomas Leach who was born 1781, in Nyack, NY. and died in Brook Valley (no date shown). His wife is simply listed as Priscilla. No last name, no dates.
I only recently came back to this tree to try to expand on it, but that is another story for another day. An amazing story it is too!

My Maternal Line
On that same trip back home, I went to visit Grandma. No trip back home was complete without a visit with Grandma. Grandma was that very special person in my life. We spent so much time at her house when we were growing up. She taught us kids many things, nurtured us, inspired us, put up with us, and fed us. Grandma fed us good things. But on this trip, while my little boys were running around playing with dogs and toys, I asked Grandma if she had any family information, names in a Bible or anything. She started telling me by memory, and I still have where I tried to write those names down in a way I could remember who was who. It was all so confusing. Names of people I could barely remember meeting as a small child. Grandma would mention them in stories through the years, but it was hard for me to remember who was who. They were names floating in the air. Then Grandma got out a newer Bible. not "the family Bible" just a Bible. She opened it up, and found a couple slips of paper.  I asked her permission to take them to Dad's so I could scan them. I promised to return them quickly. She agreed and that is what we did.
Here are those scans, which is what I started with when I started on my maternal line.

This white paper is my grandma's line (my mom's mom). Surnames include: RIGGS, MAKIN, BARRETT.
The yellow papers (was actually one long page but we had to split it into two scans) is my grandpa's line (my mom's dad). Surnames include: DUNCAN, MC CLUER, HASE. The double entry of Duncan is not a mistake. The family lore handed down was that Albert and Viola were cousins. But that will be another story for another day too.