Speculations about the Origins of the Conselors
Misc. Conselor Listings
Elijah Concealer, 1839
The will of Jerimiah Conselar, 1811
Thomas Conselor (1784-1853)
Revisiting the Moor Question
Counsellor households, 1850 census, Salem County, New Jersey
The Many William Conselors
John Gonsaloes, Accomack Tithables for 1663-1695
James Conselor, 1850 Talbot County, Maryland, census
Edward Concellor who married Prudence Tammons/Sammons
The "councilor" Tamanend__________________________
Speculations about the Origins of the Conselors
From Charles C Counceller 6/21/1998:
I first learned of the "Kirkes Lambs" story back in the early 1970's from George Massey, a genealogist from the Kent county area, and a close friend of Donald Downs (see The Moors of Delaware By Donald VanLear Downs). I have never heard this story from any Conselar descendant. I have however heard two other stories about the origin of the Conselars.
Story #1
The earliest Conselar came from France and took an Indian woman for his wife.Story #2
The earliest Conselar was a pirate and shipwrecked off the coast of Delaware. He was a Spaniard, his wife Moorish.In the Biographical Review of Cumberland County New Jersey 1896, in detailing the family history of Edward P. Counsellor, it states "son of Stephen Counsellor......... His grandfather, Benjamin Counsellor, was a son of Duysea Counsellor, a native of France, who came to the United States when a young man. Benjamin Counsellor was born in this country and the later years of his life were spent in Salem (NJ)"
However, it is clear that Benjamin's father was Elijah Conselar of Little Creek Hundred. See the wills records, census and land records etc.
The story from some of the Michigan Counsellers is that the earliest Conselar was from France and took an Indian woman for his wife. The Michigan Counsellers/Councilors are descended from Elisha who could be a son of Benjamin. I have heard the pirate story from at least one of the Michigan Councilors. I also have been in contact with Lee Counsellour who's origins are in the Detroit Michigan area and he, while not knowing much of his family history, states that his grandfather came out of Canada, a descendant of Asa or a similar sounding name who was from France.
Lee Counsellour believes he is the only Counsellour left in his line. I find it particularily interesting that Asa and Duysea have a similar sound. Added to this is the fact that Everett Counsellor migrated from Cumberland county NJ (?) to Canada in the 1880-1890's and was never heard from again.
The story in the Indiana Councellers is that of the pirates. I find it striking that this same pirate story is told to me by Sarah Seeney during my visit to Dover during the Bloomsbury presentation. My Indiana Councellers, left Delaware abt 1814, and left New Jersey abt 1855. As far as I know, there has been no contact with Delaware or Salem county, NJ until the 1970's when I determined we had roots there. This means this pirate story goes back 150 years or more.
There has been no contact between the Indiana and Michigan branches until very recently, yet this same story lives in the Michigan branch. Elisha migrated to Michigan abt 1862. Personally, I think any of these stories could be true, or a part of the story or even a part of each story could be fact. Myself, I think the pirate story is more believable especially given the fact pirate ships DID shipwreck off the coast of Delaware and the same basic story is being told by families which have been disconnected for at least 130 years.
Anyway, this is what I think. I hope someday we do find out for sure. I realize and understand the Indian connections but these Euro names came from someplace other than imagination.
From Ned Heite 98-06-21:
The Kirke's Lambs story is totally made up. The only place it appears is in the mind of my cousin Donald and George Valentine Massey, both of whom had fertile imaginations and well-exercised elbows. Donald went to great lengths to corroborate the military story, but never went to sources such as Virginia local records that could corroborate the actual movement of people into the Chesapeake.
Story #1, of the French (or other mediterranean) immigrant with an Indian wife fits very well with the evidence, to-wit:
1. He appears on the frontier apparently as a single man.
2. He settles in an area near the Indians.
3. If he was Catholic or Jewish, he would be unlikely to marry a Protestant, and they likewise would be
disinclined to socialize with him. There were lots of Jews with Iberian names running around the Netherlands.
4. The place where he lived, in Mitsawoket, was under Indian control when he moved there.
5. His children intermarried with at least one family of known Indian heritage.Story #2 has some merit as folklore because it has come down unaltered from so many sources that have not been in communication. There is evidence for this as well:
1. Pirates had a way of showing up here. My own ancestor was one of Blackbeard's boys, and in 1717 when
the Virginians flushed out Ned Teach, Reynolds and his friends took their share and split. All they had to do
was declare that they were not associated with Captain Kidd and they would get amnesty.2. Knock off the "pirate" handle and you have a swarthy Catholic settler with little money who moves to the edge
of English/Nordic society on the Delaware.3. There were documented and undocumented shipwrecks on the coast.
On the whole, Story #1 is the best fit, followed by #2. Kirke's Lambs should march to another drummer, probably back in England.
From Chuck Counceller 3/8/98:
Of the Conselars (and variants) in the USA, it appears to me there are three original families.
1. The Delaware family.........Thomas Conselah
2. The New York family........Jacob Counsellor, sentenced to transportation from
England in 1774.3. The Brooklyn family..........Jan De Conselyea immigrated in 1662 to Brooklyn NY
A possible 4th is the Pennsylvania family although I believe they are part of the Delaware family. I haven't done much on this line.
There is also a Thomas Councellor...sentenced to transportation from England in 1766 I have nothing further on him.
There are presently less than 200 Conselar (and variants spellings) listings on the internet phone directories. My research indicates most of the Conselars are descended from the Delaware family. From the Delaware family there are various branches ( as I call them ). They are:
Delaware branch........I find no Conselars left in DE, but probably a lot of descendants. Last common spelling...Concealor
New Jersey.......descendents of Benjamin, Charles, Thomas Sr. (Bloomsbury Thomas ?) and John.
Most commonly spelled Counsellor. John entered Salem county NJ abt 1795. Charles, Benjamin and Thomas within the 20 years. John died in 1850 at the age of 96 yrs.Michigan......descendents of Elisha, (son of Benjamin ?)
most common spellings, Councilor and Counseller. Elisha entered Wayne county abt 1860. His son
Benjamin* married Hannah Munson (dau of Robert Munson and Jennie Lockwood) born in DE
Benjamin's* mother was Sarah Sisco.Indiana.....descendents of Thomas Sr. and Mary ( ? ). Mary, widow of Thomas Sr (he died 1853 Salem County) buried in New Castle, died 1871. Her sons, Thomas and Elijah, also buried in New Castle.
Ohio......descendents of William Henry Counsellor and Temperance Garton (Girton) to Auglaize county Ohio in 1835. They had 13 children, two sons where killed in Civil War. Their son Elias became Presiding Elder of United Brethren Church.
Pennsylvania...theory only
From Chuck Counceller 4/5/98:
According to Maybelle Bordley, Benjamin Simons had two brothers who went to Michigan, and she thinks Benjamin did too before 1860..This very well makes sense to me, because Elisha Councilor (connection to Edward Conceilor not established, but I think they could have been brothers) is in Van Buren, Wayne county Michigan in 1860. I don't have an index for these years in Michigan but a person might find them together or nearby. Elisha Councilor, 1860 Michigan, M653-564 p.20. Elisha is thought to be a son of Benjamin Conselar (son of Elijah Conselar and Hannah Durham.
Edward Conceilor married Prudence Tammons, Sammons or Simons, sister of Benjamin Simons.
All of these stories are some day going to fall into place. Two of the Michigan Counsellers, descendants of Elisha Councilor, have told me of their remembering going on a trip with their grandmother to visit a dying relative who lived on an Indian reservation. I believe this area was around St. Ignace which is on the upper peninsula right at the straits of Mackinac. They were young at the time, one now is 79 the other is 71, and naturally didn't question what was going on. But the dying person told the grandmother that this would be the last time to see each other. There was some mention of the grave site being "right inside the gate" at the local cemetery.
The family story passed down in the Michigan families is that their earliest ancestor in MI came out of Canada with an Indian wife and settled in MI. I have been writing to a fellow by the name of Lee Counsellour who believes he is the last of the Counsellours and that his earliest ancestor in MI came out Canada and was of French blood. His name was thought to be Acea or something similar. He thought that his grandfather was born in Wayne county MI.
Back in the early 1970's, I visited a George Counsellor in Bridgeton NJ who told me his grandfather had a brother named Everett who left NJ and went to Sherbrooke, Canada. If you look at a map, it seems to be a natural road of travel from Cherbrook to the Detroit area.
One NJ county biographical history, in RE to Edward P. Counsellor, states his grandfather was Benjamin Counsellor who's father was Duysea Counsellor who came from Alsace, France. Benjamin's father was in fact Elijah (D1801) Conselar of Kent county. ( Unless there is actually a second Benjamin.) But notice Duysea could become Acea to someone who only heard this a few times.
It seems each branch of the Conselars have a different family story as to the origin of the earliest Conselar ancestor.
_______________________
Misc. Conselor Listings
From Chuck Counceller 4/5/98:
DELAWARE
==========Listed below are Conselar ( and Variants) names from various indexes;
1820 Kent Co., De, Duck Creek Benjamin Consulas....................page 049
1820 Sussex Co., De., Broad Creek hund William Consealor......................page 396
1828 Sussex Co., De., Little Creek hund. William Concealer...............listed with "n"
1828 Kent Co., De., Dover hundred Benjamin Concealer
1830 Sussex Co., De., Little Creek hund. William Concealer.....................page 144
1830 Kent Co., De., Dover hundred Benjamin Concealer.................page 265
1837 Sussex Co., De., Broadkiln hund. William Consealer
1837 Sussex., De., Little Creek hund. Sally Concealer
1837 New Castle Co., De.,Appoquinimink h. Elisha Counsellor
1837 New Castle Co., De., Christiana hund. James Concly
1840 New Castle Co., De., Appoquinimink h. Elisha Counsellor......................page 324
1840 Sussex Co., De., Little Creek hund. Sally Concealer.........................page 458
1842 New Castle Co., De., Appoquinimink h. Elisha Counsellor
1842 Sussex Co., De., Broadkiln hund. William Consealer
1842 Sussex Co., De., Little Creek hund. Sally Concealer
1850 Kent Co., De., Dover hundred Edward Consedar....................page 179
1860 Sussex Co., De., Broadkiln hund. William Conseler......................page 626
1860 Sussex Co., De., Broadkiln hund. William Conseler......................page 6
1860 Sussex Co., De., Little Creek hund. Sallie Conseater.......................page 430
1860 Sussex Co., De., Little Creek hund. Sallie Conseater.......................page 0Tennesee
=========1840 Monroe Co., Tn., Conrad Counselor.....................page 98
1840 Monroe Co., Tn., Katharine Counselor.................page 98New Jersey
==========1774 Sussex Co., NJ., Newtown twp Peter Conselius............... ........page 139
also shown on tax list of 1774, page 005
1830 Sussex Co., NJ., Sandyston twp Peter Consely...........................page 313
1830 Salem Co., NJ., Salem twp John Councellor........................page 277
1840 Essex Co., NJ., Caldwell twp John Consellia......................... page 449
1840 Bergen Co., NJ., Franklin twp Alexander Consilyer.................page 151
1850 Essex Co., NJ., 5th ward Newark Henry Cnseller..........................page 466Pennsylvania
=============1810 Allegheny Co., Pa., Ohio twp Benjamin Consolles.................page 320
1820 Chester Co., Pa., Penn twp John Conseller..........................page 364
1820 Crawford Co., Pa., Fairfield twp Peter Consely...........................page 073
1820 Crawford Co., Pa., Fairfield twp Andrew Consley.......................page 073
1820 Chester Co., Pa., Thornbury twp William Counseller...................page 461
1830 Delaware Co., Pa., Thornbury William Counseller...................page 259
1840 Delaware Co., Pa., Thornbury William Counseller...................page 060
1850 Allegheny Co., Pa., Pittsburgh, Ward 5 Ferdinand Consellor................page 296
1850 Monroe Co., Pa., Middle Smithfield twp William Consallers...................page 140Louisiana territory
===================
1810 Louisiana terr William ConslerConnecticutt
=============
1850 New Haven Co., Ct., Derby Mary Conseller..........................page 279Maryland
==========
Talbot Co., Md., Easton district James Conseler........................page 003
Caroline Co., Md., Upper dist #1 Thomas Counsole....................page 278North carolina
================
1800 Rutherford Co., John Canseler...........................page 104
1830 Rutherford Co., 1st regiment Phillip Consellor........................page 446Ohio
=====
1820 Ross Co., Paxton twp., John Counselor..........................page 290Virginia
========
1830 Berkeley Co. Conrad Counslar........................page 211I did not include the 1850 known from Salem Co., NJ.
I did not include the family of Jacob Counsellor and what I believe is his offspring from New York. He was sentenced to transportation In 1774 and settled in Dutchess co., NY from Eengland
I did not include the Consylyeas of new york. I did not go beyond 1860 indexes. If anyone can shed light on any of these, please do so.
Elijah Concealer, 1839
From Charles C Counceller 98-05-26
RE: Parents of Elijah CONSELAR d 1801: no proof exists that I am aware of, however I believe his father was William. William is the most logical and really I believe, is the only one available for the correct period of time. And I believe this William is the son of Thomas d1726 and the grandson of Thomas who d 1739. Wish I did have proof.
I have, over the past 15 months or so gained much much info and insight into this family thanks to Chuck Martin and also the present day descendents (of which I am a self-appointed collector of info) . However, I must admit, my proven line of Conselars is no furthur back than I had it 30 years ago. I know a lot more but am still looking for that evidence which shows me who Thomas Counsellor Sr d1853 Salem Co., NJ, is descended from (this is the Bloomsbury Thomas). It could be John or it could be William or ? I am descended as follows
:
Thomas Counsellor Sr. D1853
Thomas Councellor Jr D1871
Arthur Counceller D 1941
Thomas Counceller Sr. D 1979
Charles Counceller (me)
From Charles R. Martin 98-03-29
I was very perplexed about Jesse Dean's comment in his 1839 will that " I give to Elijah Concealer the pieced bed quilt upstairs which was made by his mother my last wife." This bothered me so much that I had to examine the original and this I did. In the will there is no other mention of his last wife and there is no surviving spouse mentioned or even referred to in an indirect manner. This means that his last wife had preceeded him in death and she had died prior to 1839.
I know that excellent documentation exists for the Elijah Counsellor family line that lived in and around Cheswold. I reexamined my data for this group of Counsellors and have come to the following conclusions.
I believe the Elijah Concealer referred to in Jesse Dean's will of 1839 is the son of Jeremiah (d 1811) and Elizabeth (unknown) Concealer. Elizabeth (unknown) married 1st Jeremiah Concealer (d 1811), 2nd she married Elijah Concealer (d 1825) who was a brother to Jeremiah, and 3rd she married Jesse Dean (d 1839).
I have no reference data on which I can base or conclude anything about the first two marriages of Jesse to 1) Elizabeth Durham and 2) Rebecca (unknown). Assuming these are correct then the Jesse who died in 1839 married three times: 1st Elizabeth Durham, 2nd Rebecca (unknown) and 3rd Elizabeth (unknown) Concealer Concealer. Elizabeth (unknown) also marries three times: 1st Jeremiah Concealer, 2nd Elijah Concealor and 3rd Jesse Dean.
The Ester (Hester) Concealer who married Jesse Dean on 29 Aug 1814 is a daughter of Jeremiah (d 1811) and Elizabeth. This Jesse dies ca 1815-16 and Ester marries Elisha Durham. This Ester (Hester) can not be the wife of the Jesse Dean who died in1839. According to Ned Heite and I have no reason to doubt Ned, there are four Jesse Deans alive during the time period of our interest. Maybe someone can straighten us out on the Jesses.
To all in the group (and new readers!), please feel free to make any comments, corrections or suggestions to any of the items I have discussed or proposed.
From Charles C Counceller 98-06-22:
I have one reservation about posting the file. This is the possible error in the connecting Elisha as a son of Benjamins. This was a best solution put forward by a genealogist hired by Ted Councilor (one of the MI Councilors) several years ago.
I, like Chuck Martin, believe this to be wrong. Who Elisha's father is, I don't know. Chuck thinks it is William. At this time, I have a Michigan Counseller trying to find some death info on Elisha (he died in Gratiot county MI in 1864 [taking from memory here])
However, this file does contains some info on Stephens family etc which your file does not have. So if you wish, I'll send it AS IS, just keep in mind the Elisha. Also many of the notes and proofs are not yet entered. I did notice we don't quite agree on the children of John Durham's. I got mine from the will record mostly.
From Charles C Counceller 98-07-03:
Joyce Counseller of Saginaw, MI, a descendant of Elisha, found this info recently.
Elisha Councilor m Rebecca Dean. Proof of her maiden name as Dean is listed on her marriage record when she remarried after Elisha's death. She married Mitchell Perkins 3 16 1872 in Fulton, MI. He was a farmer from Canton, Wayne county MI. They are both listed as colored and both listed as being from DELAWARE. She was 45 yrs and he was 57 yrs at time of marriage. They were married by W. R. Price, JP; witnesses were George Price and Finley Dodge
Joyce's address is Joyce Counseller
715 Tulane
Saginaw, MI 48604This is a very interesting piece of information. The fact that both Rebecca and Mitchell Perkins were both from DE sent me looking. I find Mitchell Perkins in the DE 1840 census living in Appoquinimink Hundred. He is listed on page 324. Also in the DE 1840 census, living in Appoquinimink Hundred AND ON PAGE 324 IS ELISHA COUNSELLOR.
This is another indication these families moved with their relatives and/or neighbors to new locations.
The will of Jerimiah Conselar, 1811
From Chuck Counceller 3/14/98:
I believed the Hester Conselar info which is in the Dean family history which was put out by Betty and Ray Terry was incorrect. However, I am beginning to think this may be correct and that what we are looking at is a different Jesse Dean.
This 1839 will of Jesse Dean does not mention a son Jerimiah. It may be that the Hester Conselar, dau of Jerimiah is a different Hester than the one in the 1839 will. It may be that the Elijah Counselar mentioned in the 1839 will is actually the son of Jesse Deans second wife.
The will states '"HIS MOTHER MY LAST WIFE" Jesse was alive when he wrote this will. I think what he might have meant by LAST was not Ester but Rebecca, for at that time of writing the will, Rebecca was his LAST, meaning previous, wife.
According to my interpretation of the will of Jerimiah Conselar, 1811:
Hester (Ester) was the daughter of Jerimiah Conselar and Elizabeth ............ She first married Jesse Dean and had one son, Jerimiah Dean. Jesse died and she then married Elisha Durham. They had 10 children. Hester died in 1840. So this clearly is a different Jesse Dean. Hester could not have remarried in 1839, have 10 childen and die in 1840.
With Elisha, Hester had Joel, Isaac, Elijah, John, Elizabeth, David, Mary, Heste, Ann and Clayton(who died underage)
It would be good if another person interpreted it also.
The only Elijah I have living in 1839 is Hester's brother.
Thomas Conselor (1784-1853)
From Ned Heite:
This morning I received a package of information from Chuck Counceller about his ancestor, Thomas Conselor (1784-1853). I have no doubt whatever that Thomas is the same person whose house we excavated at Bloomsbury.
A Thomas was listed as living on the Bloomsbury property at the death of the owner, Francis Denney, in 1812. Francis Denney was the executor of John Durham, who died in 1788. Two of his daughters were wives of Conselors: Elijah and Thomas.
Elijah's homestead was on the east end of the Durham land near the mouth of Alston's Branch. Elijah died in 1801 and left sons Jeremiah, Elijah, and Benjamin.
The Ridgely letter Chuck cited contains lots of clues. The other Ridgely farm was Fox Hall, immediately adjacent to Jolley's Neck, the Handsor home place, and usually tenanted by people of the Cheswold community. If Thomas Conselor was the son of the tenant on Fox Hall, there should be little trouble identifying his father, just by the Ridgely accounts.
The Ridgely farm that the Conselor brothers wanted to rent was Hillyard's Adventure, immediately east of Bloomsbury. In fact, Patrick Conner, an earlier tenant on Bloomsbury, tried to take out a patent on part of Hillyard's Adventure.
The information about the nineteenth-century Elisha Conselor who married Sarah Sisco is interesting,since both were from the community we are researching, and they probably were related.
The timing is right for Thomas Conselor to have found his wife in New Jersey, rather than Delaware. He was evicted rather colorfully in 1814. He had rented some land of Samuel Conner, and Abraham Allee, Francis Denney's son in law and owner of Bloomsbury, grabbed the harness of his horse and stopped him from plowing. The Thompson brothers from across the creek then came in and plowed the ground, knocking down Conselor's fence in the process.
Fences were a political issue in those days, and by putting a fence around his field Conselor was identifying himself as a progressive farmer.
Chuck, you say that Thomas Conselor, born in 1828, married Mary Elen Dunham in Salem, New Jersey. Are you sure that name wasn't Durham? Be sure.
Your research is extremely interesting, and fills in a lot of gaps for me in the history of the people who lived at Bloomsbury. I think it's pretty evident that you are a descendant of the man I studied. I can't tell you much except that he had good taste in ceramics and I may even know his shoe size.
Thomas Conselor, the first of the line, probably was the tenant who "seated" Griffith Jones' tract on the north bank of Little Creek, which would place it somewhere along Division Street (North Little Creek Road) in Dover, at the south end of Little Creek Hundred.
Once the patentee's claim to a tract had been perfected by "seating," the tenant who seated the farm would get his piece of the action. Sometimes, several men would club together as "mates" to establish a farm on the frontier. Well, guys alone on the frontier, eating their own cooking, the rest is history.
The chief of the Lenape who led them from Indiana into Missouri had a white father and an Indian mother. The white father stayed in Indiana with his white wife, and the Indian wife moved west with the Indian son. The Conners who stayed behind in Indiana started Connersville, where Chuck lives.
It's interesting that the material Chuck sent me from the [white] history of Connersville makes only passing mention of the "other" family. The history I have read from the Lenape end of the story makes the half-Indian Conner into a hero. He was all Lenape, of course, because his mother alone bestowed that status. And he had a very distinguished career leading the people who eventually settled in Bartlesville and don't answer their mail, either snail or e.
So where did Thomas Consela get a wife? Picture yourself about to start a winter in a makeshift cabin on the frontier.
From Ned Heite
Chuck, thanks again for your information about Thomas Consealor. You have sent me off looking at various new research direction.
While putting away the files from the Bloomsbury project, I reviewed the store accounts from the Coombe and Allee stores in Smyrna, John Conselor went to Jonathan Allee's store in Smyrna August 31, 1810, and bought four pounds of sugar and two pounds of coffee for a dollar. He later bought a blanket, 3 yards of cloth, and two combs for $5.335.
On June 30, John came into the store and charged to the account of Thomas a batch of similar goods. He bought six pounds of sugar, two pounds of coffee, a half gallon of rum, a quarter pound of snuff and three yards of muslin. On his own account, John bought a set of cups and saucers for 50 cents, and a pair of shoes for a buck fifty.
In 1811, a David Conselor was also an active customer at Allee's store.
Robert Coombes described Thomas as a mulatto, but Allee did not. He went to the Coombes store June 29, 1813 and bought china for £5/9/9.5, which was a lot of money. On February 3, 1814, Coombes posted the constable's collection of Conselor's store debt.
So who were Thomas, David, and John? John clearly was related somehow closely to Thomas. I have not been able to find any of these names in the probate records of any of the Conselors I have checked. Yet you have evidence that the Conselor brothers had a local father who had been a tenant on one of the Ridgely farms, and that Thomas wanted to rent the Hillyards Adventure farm next to Bloomsbury in 1805.
So who was the father of Thomas Conselor of Bloomsbury?
The only Conselor of the period for whom I don't have a list of children is Thomas, the son-in-law of John Durham. He appears in the 1782 state census as having two nonwhites in his household. Thomas of Bloomsbury was born a couple of years later, maybe they are the parents.
From Ned Heite 98-02-18
Chuck Counceller has set the juices flowing. Looking at his notes I am wondering if Thomas Conselor (1784-1843) of Bloomsbury and later Elsinboro Township was the son of John (c1753-1849) of Kent County and later Salem.
Has anyone looked at the wills and estate papers in Salem County of these two individuals? As soon as I mail this letter I am going to the Delaware Archives to take a look at some other items Chuck has suggested.
Jean Consiglio in 1767 left her estate to Dr. Charles Ridgely, who owned Fox Hall in Murderkill Hundred. Dr. Ridgely's widow considered renting her Hillyard's Adventure site to Thomas and his brother. In that correspondence it was revealed that Thomas was the son of a former tenant on another Ridgely farm. The other Ridgely farm was Fox Hall. John appears in Murderkill Hundred in the records when he lived in Delaware.
From Ned Heite 98-02-18
MPierce96@aol.com wrote:
>Councellor, Thomas, d 10-22-1853 age 69 yrs, 7 mons, 15 days
>Councellor, Benjamin, d 5-7-1846 age 67 yrs, and 4 mons
>Rachel wf of Benjamin d. 12-2-1852 age 70 yrs and 2mons
>
>Were Benjamin and Thomas brothers????No. I think Thomas was the son of John. Benjamin was the son of the Elijah who died in 1801. Rachel was a Sparkman
>David (mall) Maule m. Sally Counselor 7-28-1797.
Sally was the daughter of John. The Maull family were watermen. There is a Maull family in Sussex County who were pilots. I think Miah Maull shoals in the bay take their name from this family.
John Conselor (c. 1753-1849) supplied brick for repair of the kitchen at Loockerman Hall, now on the Delaware State University campus, in 1791, according to a Loockerman guardian account. The Loockerman farm was immediately adjacent to Fox Hall. I haven't found him mentioned in the Ridgely estate accounts dealing with that farm. They list the rents, but not the tenants.
When the Loockerman estate was divided in 1791, Daniel Durham and Benjamin Durham were chain carriers for the surveyor. This is the Benjamin (d. 1810), son of the Daniel who died in 1786, and his brother (d. 1815).
Jane Consiglio, wife of Francis and widow of John Bibbin, hatter, died in Dover in 1765 and left everything to Dr. Charles Ridgely. I don't know why her husband is left out, but one can guess. Dr. Ridgely owned Fox Hall.
REVISITING THE MOOR QUESTION
From Charles C Counceller 98-02-21
Back in 1974, I had hired a researcher in Delaware to help with the Conselar lineage. Due to having 4 kids under 7 and a limited income, I didn't have much money to spend, so the amount of research I could afford was very limited. The researcher I hired was George Massey II. Among the information he sent me was a copy of a typewritten letter from Donald VanLear Downs of Downs Chapel, Delaware. The letter was dated August 10, 1960. Who the letter was originally addressed to is unknown to me. Maybe you have seen this, but here it is, just as it was written.
> > THE MOORS OF DELAWARE by Donald Downs
> >
> > Charles II of England married Catharine of Braganza (Portugal) on April 23, (etc, etc)
From Ned Heite 98-02-21
Donald Downs was a distant cousin of mine, so I can say it.
His story just doesn't hold water. There are too many places along the trail where records would have been created and kept.
Personally, I prefer "Occam's Razor," which states that the simplest answer is probably correct.
Thomas Conselor, the first of the line, probably was the tenant who "seated" Griffith Jones' tract on the north bank of Little Creek, which would place it somewhere along Division Street (North Little Creek Road) in Dover, at the south end of Little Creek Hundred.
Once the patentee's claim to a tract had been perfected by "seating," the tenant who seated the farm would get his piece of the action. Sometimes, several men would club together as "mates" to establish a farm on the frontier. Well, guys alone on the frontier, eating their own cooking, the rest is history.
The chief of the Lenape who led them from Indiana into Missouri had a white father and an Indian mother. The white father stayed in Indiana with his white wife, and the Indian wife moved west with the Indian son. The Conners who stayed behind in Indiana started Connersville, where Chuck lives.
It's interesting that the material Chuck sent me from the [white] history of Connersville makes only passing mention of the "other" family. The history I have read from the Lenape end of the story makes the half-Indian Conner into a hero. He was all Lenape, of course, because his mother alone bestowed that status. And he had a very distinguished career leading the people who eventually settled in Bartlesville and don't answer their mail, either snail or e.
So where did Thomas Consela get a wife? Picture yourself about to start a winter in a makeshift cabin on the frontier.
Counsellor households, 1850 census, Salem County, New Jersey
From Ned Heite 98-02-26
I spent yesterday in Salem, NJ, sorting out some loose ends from both the Nathan Williams and Bloomsbury. Some saintly person at the historical society has hand-indexed the 1850 census. Here are the Counsellor households. I find several things interesting, first of which is an apparent racial dichotomy among groups of households.
It's my understanding that some of the descendant families claim white ancestry from a French progenitor, and indeed we have a German ancestry for Benjamin, William and Mary. I'm fascinated by the households with "mulatto" husbands and "white" wives.
In parentheses, I have noted the apparent year of birth, obtained by subtracting the age from 1850. Let's study these lists and determine what they mean about racial perceptions among these families. Are there several unrelated families, or related families perceived differently by the census takers? And who is Alexander? Why did he move to Elsinboro Township from Pennsylvania?
Given the abundance of documentation, it appears to me that the family would be an excellent study subject for someone researching race perception origins.
Counsellor households, 1850 census, Salem County, New Jersey First Name Age Sex Race Born in Occupation (notes at bottom) Stephen1 29 m blank NJ (1821) baker Catherine 29 f blank Germany Edward P 8 m blank NJ Benjamin F. 6 m blank NJ William 3 m blank NJ Mary E 1 f blank NJ Hannah2 26 f blank NJ blank Charles3 23 m blank NJ (1827) shoemaker Sarah Ann 19 f blank NJ Margaret A. 4 f blank NJ Henry 1 m blank NJ Hannah4 21 f blank NJ (1829) Rachel5 73 f blank Maryland (1777) Sarah6 23 f blank NJ (1827) David7 27 m mulatto NJ (1823) laborer Sarah 22 f blank NJ Edward 2 m blank NJ James8 35 m blank NJ (1815) Elanor9 34 f blank NJ (1816) George 2 m blank NJ Lydia Ann 7 mo. f blank NJ Alexander10 26 m mulatto Pa (1824) Ann 22 f mulatto Pa Susan 4 f mulatto Pa John11 25 m blank NJ (1825) farmer Mary A. 26 f blank William 8 m blank NJ Edwin 7 m blank NJ John 4 m blank NJ Sarah A. 3 f blank NJ Morris 1 m blank NJ Samuel12 33 m mulatto NJ (1817) Emily 32 f blank Thomas13 65 m mulatto Delaware (1785) Mary 53 f blank NJ (1797) Thomas, Jr. 22 m mulatto NJ (1828) Rachel 18 f mulatto NJ (1832) Elijah 14 m mulatto NJ (1836)
1 (a white baker with a German wife.)
2 (a few pages after Stephen's entry, no occupation given.)
3 (a young shoemaker in Salem with a young wife, married as teenagers)
4 (yet another Hannah in Salem town)
5 (resident in Elsinboro township. Is this the widow of John? She is too
young to have been the mother of Thomas of Bloomsbury, but it would explain
why John's daughter was named Rachel.)
6 (Elsinboro township)
7 (Elsinboro again. He is listed as a mulatto, but the child is not.)
8 (also in Elsinboro, no occupation)
9 (Is this a widow with a baby? She appears on page 99, with the next entry.)
10 (on the same page with Elanor, and with the following entry in Elsinboro)
11 (This household runs from page 99 to 100, still in Elsinboro)
12 (Page 100, Elsinboro. On the next page is "our" Thomas.)
13 (Page 101, Elsinboro. By this calculation, Thomas Jr. was born c.1828, when Thomas was 43 and Mary was 31. When Elijah was born, Mary was 39. In 1815, Mary would have been 18 and Thomas was 30.)
From Charles C Counceller 98-02-26
Will try to help with the various families of the Counsellors in Salem county. Going down the 1850 census list, above:
===========
Stephen is the son of Benjamin (d1846 the son of Elijah d 1801) married Catherine Baker (from Germany)
other children born after 1850:
John...living in 1896
Adeline m Thomas Orton
Kate m George Curry
............................................................................
David is the son of Charles & Rhoda Hogate he m Sarah Finlaw (Finley)
other chilren:
Ruth m .....Mason
Joan m......Powell
Georgeann m Alexander Lounsbury
David Smith Jr. m Emma Lamblack
John
William
Louise m .......Schultz
............................................................................
James is the son of Charles(same Chas above) and Margaret Teel
James m Eleanor Curtis
the Elanor you have listed next on your list is James wife and children. My notes from reading census microfilm does not indicate any break in census listing
............................................................................
John and Mary A.
John is the son of Thomas Sr (Bloomsbury) m Mary Ann Barnett
other children:
Elizabeth b abt 1851
Malissa b abt 1854 m William Wilson
Thomas b abt 1856 m Lillie Crowley
Powell b abt 1858
Ada B.
(son Morris died in Muncie, In 1926
............................................................................
Samuel is the son of Charles and Margaret Teel Counsellor. He m Emily Councillor
............................................................................
Others I can't ID..I have tried for a long time but can't get very many of the present day families to respond to my letters. Much of this info comes from family bibles and printed sources. I believe Benjamin(son of Elijah d1801) has some of his clan in the Bridgeton area, 1850s on.Maybe the Rachael aged 73 is actually Rachel Counsellor Jones, dau of John d1850. One other Counseller I have not seen the census on is Jerimiah Counseller 1850 New Jersey, Middlesex county Woolbridge twnp page 039.
There are several Counsellers in the PA 1850 census which I have not looked at. I have the page numbers,countys etc.
From Ned Heite 98-03-08
Chuck brings up some interesting points. The progenitor of the Kent County, Delaware family (and therefore the New Jersey family) was almost certainly Thomas, a landowner who farmed in Little Creek Neck during the seventeenth century. He is something of an enigma, but only because everyone else is. The records simply do not exist in Delaware.
A profitable line of inquiry would be to seek a connection with the Brooklyn immigrant. I say this because the local seventeenth-century records for the New York area are excellent, many of them published.
Many Delaware families moved here during the period just before Penn's 1682 takeover. Since Delaware was part of New Netherland and then New York, it should come as no surprise that so many Dutch families had connections in both colonies. To name just a few, there were the Loockermans, Bayards, Comegys, Hermans, and Lowbers.
The Consealor trail here in Delaware is cold, but has anyone looked for Thomas in another colony. like New York or Barbados?
From Ned Heite 98-03-18
Chuck Martin from Ohio was here doing some archives research. I finally, I believe, convinced him that Thomas Gonseala, who arrived in Kent County a little after 1680 was the first Thomas Conselor. In his probate record, his name is spelled with a G, and his administratrix, almost certainly his widow, spells her name with a C.
We keep running into interesting race perception things All the Consealors in Duck Creek and Little Creek hundreds were "Negro" in the 1803 statewide property tax assessment. Over in New Jersey, in the Salem County 1850 census returns, the Consealor men are all described as mulattoes. Their wives are described as white.
Does this difference in perceived status and race have anything to do with the exodus to New Jersey during the early nineteenth century? Thomas Consealor of Bloomsbury was the only "mulatto" in one of the store accounts of circa 1809-1814.
We had correspondence earlier this week from a Williams descendant, whose grandfather Williams was supposed to be an Indian. He lived in the Harrington area of lower Kent County, and pictures seem to indicate that he was indeed Indian, even though his marriage license (in 1900) described him and his wife as white. He moved around, working as a telegraph operator and a truck farmer.
I am pursuing the Williams trail because I am trying to nail down Nathan Williams, who occupied our site on McKee Road in Dover. He was alleged to be a "Free Negro" in a document dated 1838, but if so he was the only black Williams in Kent County. I figure he was born about 1800.
Well, now here is what is interesting about the Williams family. First, there was a Williams marriage in a Cheswold family at about the period of Nathan's birth. There were other individuals named Williams in the vicinity before 1800, but I have not been able to nail them down, But Williams was also an Indian name in Maryland. The Piscataway/Conoy told Cara Blume and me about an Indian named Williams who refused to vacate some tribal land on the Western Shore in the 1730s.
There was a John Williams who was an Indian living on the Locust Neck reservation in 1757. I have the funniest feeling that it will be necessary to sew together all these threads of Williamses.
The Many William Conselors
From Ned Heite 98-06-16
John C. Carter wrote:
One of my current goals is to gather documentation to establish two (possibly three) ancestors through the SAR (Sons of the American Revolution).
William Conselor is a problem to me. Are you aware that the first deed John Durham granted was to William Conselor, in 1756? I've been ignoring the purchase of the huge Steele tract, in which Durham's partner was one Sterling. Then I have found a later reference to people named Sterling as nonwhites.
We don't know the names, necessarily, of the mother(s) of John Durham's children. We know only the name of one mother-in-law. If I am correct, she was well connected by virtue of her work as a midwife. So who are these Sterling people? Where did the money come from? For that matter, where did John come from?
As for the Conselor ancestry, I'm trying to find the father of Thomas, who may be John.The Delaware Archives volumes may be the printed version. You can address inquiries to the Archives search room directly by email. I believe it is archives@state.de.us. Go to the state home page (www.state.de.us), and they have a bunch of stuff online.
From Ned Heite 98-06-30
The connection to Tammany or Tamanend is shaky at best. The Conselor family in Kent County were there, and using that name (spelt Gonsela) at about the same time as Penn and Tammany were hammering out their treaties. There are names derived from Indian titles, and Sockum is probably the most prominent.
From Lynn Jackson 8/5/1998
Have you seen Williams probate records? I was transcribing them to add to my webpage and it looks to me like in 2 places he's called "Junr."
IF this was the grandson alluded to by Thomas Conselah in his 1739 will , then perhaps he was not Mary's son, but the son of a previously deceased son, William. But then why would he be called "Junr." over 40 years later???? Could there have been another William Concilor wandering around ? If so, which one was married to Mary and the neighbor/friend of John Durham Sr. ????
Also at the bottom of this William's accounting...crossed out.... it says :
Was there yet a third William Concilor ??????"By cloathing and supporting Whittenton Conselor 2 1/2 years at (blank)"
"By Do..William Conselor from his Birth 2 1/2 years at (blank) "Still haven't been able to firmly connect John Durham's Concilor son-in-laws with William and Mary.
From Ned Heite 98-08-06
Went and looked at the file of William Conselor today. They have all the probate documents in the same folder now, and it is very interesting. The bond was signed by William and John Durham. William signed, while John made a mark. Administration letters issued May 1, 1780. Inventory was written 3 May 1780, by Jacob Stout and James Starling.
Jacob Stout owned the later Denney farm, where DelTech college now stands. This Jacob Stout, the elder, was originally a Tory, but with some of his conservative friends turned to the Continental cause and served in the
legislature before he died about five years after taking this inventory. His son, Jacob, was acting governor in 1820. His daughter, Mrs. Cowgill, started a school for colored people on the Stout farm between Cheswold and
Leipsic. The school was burned twice during the Civil War. The younger (Governor) Jacob Stout was business partner of John Pleasanton, who owned the McKee Road property.James Starling was a partner with John Durham in a huge land purchase from which Durham parcelled out several farms to his sons-in-law. I know nothing about Starling, but his heirs were quite well fixed.
William Conselor's final account was passed November 26, 1783, about two and a half years after his death. That would explain the references to two and a half years. I would guess that Whittenton and William were young sons of this William.
This William died forty years after the death of Thomas. That's a long long time between the death of a demonstrably very old grandfather and a grandson who has a baby son. I'd guess that the earlier William must have been ten years old by the time of this grandfather's will, or born before 1730.
May I suggest yet another William?
1. The grandson William mentioned in Thomas Conselah's will
2. His son, William Junior, who died in 1780, born around 1750-1760.
3. William the third, born in 1780.I suggest you send this one to Indiana for review. The name Whittenton tells us that the William who died in 1780 was somehow related to the Durhams, since all the Whittentons so far have been Durhams or their close
relatives.This still doesn't tell me who Thomas Conselor's father was. I would guess that the stuff was scratched out because it was not an allowable cost. If the widow was alive, she would not be entitled to care for the children unless there was a landed estate to tap for the funds.
From Charles Martin 8/10/98
I don't have the answer to the William Concilor dilemma.
Concerning the comment about Thomas Conselah's grandson William: ... If this was the grandson alluded to by Thomas Conselah in his 1739 will, then perhaps he was not Mary's son but the son of a previously deceased son, .... I have asked myself the same thing.
I believe it is possible. Maybe additional documents will be found to help us clarify this idea. Even if the proof is lacking, as it is on so many of our ancestral lines, everyone is free to express their own hypothesis and for this reason parts of our genealogical novels will remain just hypotheses that reflect how the authors choose to portray the unproven lineage.
From Charles C Counceller 8/6/1998:
I can see we have revived an ongoing problem, how to seperate the repeated names and figure out who is who. I think Ned is close to correct on his conclusion.
There are more Williams (Conselor) than we think.
There is a William mentioned in the 1739 will.
There is the William in the will of 1780
There is the William who gave wheat to the cause in 1781.
There is also a William alive in Sussex county in 1860, born in 1795This is what I think:
Thomas, died 1739, mentions grandson William in will
Thomas, son of above, father of William, died 1726
his son William born abt 1725
William's son William Jr born abt 1745, died 1780
William Jr's son William born abt 1765, gave wheat to cause in 1781.
William of Sussex(1860) a son of 1765 William ?I have nothing really to back this up except deductions.
The William mentioned in William Jr's will of 1780 must have been a teenager at that time, for we have the wheat given in 1781.
I am still trying to understand the probate adm of Jermiah and Mary E. Concealor, both of 1867. They were brother and sister along with Elijah, who was the only surviving brother in 1868. This adm. mentions "1/9, Jermiah's share" SHARE OF WHAT ESTATE ? If we knew this, might be able to piece together a family.
Charles Chuck Charlie Chas Counceller
From Ned Heite:
Oh, dear, Chuck,
We have been through that before. The answer is "Elijah Conselor." He left five children, and from there forward, there is a Dickens novel set in rural Kent County, Delaware. The ninth share is Jeremiah's share of his father's estate. Don't reopen. I don't think any of us has been able to figure out what happened, except that there are a lot of rich lawyers in Kent County.
JOHN GONSALOES Accomack Tithables for 1663-1695
From Lynn Jackson 8/19/1998:
I have a copy of the Accomack Tithables for 1663-1695 and found some interesting names:
JNO FRANCISCO appears in 1674, 1675, 1676 ( as a negro), 1677, 1678, 1679, 1680, 1681, 1682, 1683, 1684 ( with a wife), 1685, 1686 (as a negro), 1687, 1688, 1689, 1690, 1691, 1692, 1693 and 1695.
JOHN GONSALOES appears in the 1674, 1675 (as Consalues), 1676 ( as Gonsaloos), and in 1676 ( as Gonsolvoe)
If anybody has any names they'd like me to look up for them, please let me know.
From Ned Heite 98-08-19
Looks like a winner to me. Who wants to chase this thread? Right names, right place, right time. In a word, Lynn, this is the best possibility yet. Looks like three more spellings of Conselor offhand.
James Conselor, 1850 Talbot County, Maryland, census
From Ned Heite 9/7/98
While going through the 1850 Talbot County, Maryland, census on another errand, I noticed two items that might be useful to someone:
James Conselor, no race given, aged 30, farmer, born in Delaware. Apparent wife, Darrus, born in Maryland
Lewis Coker, aged 65, mulatto, born in Maryland, apparent wife Elizabeth and children all listed as black.
Edward Concellor who married Prudence Tammons/Sammons
From Charles R. Martin 98-04-03
Preston Sammons and I have been discussing the marriage record of Edward Concellor who married Prudence Tammons in Kent Co on 3 Feb 1848.
My initial assumption was made last winter when I was reviewing the 1850 census. I noticed Edward and Prudy Consedar were enumerated with a Benjamin Samons. My assumption then was Benjamin was a brother to Prudence. I am still of this opinion for the following reasons.
In old style cursive writing capital letters S and T are practically impossible to tell apart on some peoples writing. Because of this, I examined a photostat of the marriage record while I was at the Dover archives. On the photostat it is clearly written as Tammons.
Even this hasn't changed my mind. I believe Prudence is a Sammons. The photostat may not be a copy of the original record. It could be a copy of a record that had been transcribed incorrectly from the original. If the photostat is indeed a copy of the original record, the clerk could have copied what he thought was a T, which was in reality a S, from the license or minister's marriage report that was returned for recording.
Also the name Benjamin plays a prominent pattern in Preston's Sammons family genealogy.
What do you think? Comments, corrections and suggestions are welcomed.
The "councilor" Tamanend
From Rick Counsellor <rcounsel@northland.lib.mi.us>June 28, 1998
I was recently reading a book published in 1961, The American Heritage Book of Indians, and came across a passage describing the treaty meetings between the Delaware and the Quaker leader William Penn. This passage contained this sentence:
"The most famous Delaware leader at these meetings was the councilor Tamanend..."
I realize the use of the title "councilor" in this kind of publication doesn't necessarily indicate a native origin of the term, but it caused me to consider the ssibility. Have you considered this, including the possibility that our family name, whether European or native in origin, was a name or title adapted by our Native ancestors for the purpose of assimilation into the white society? I haven't noticed much discussion of this idea by members of The List, and was curious about the current thought on the issue.As always, the dialogue on the list continues to be enlightening and informative. I just finished visiting the Lenni Lenape Historical website mentioned by several of the list members, and will be going back to it again soon. Also, who would be a good source of information about Lenni Lenape cultural symbols and their meanings? I would like to be able to adapt some of them as adornments on my canoes, hunting equipment, etc., in honor of my ancestory unless this would be considered inappropriate. Any information that you can provide would be appreciated.
From Ned Heite 98-06-30:
The connection to Tammany or Tamanend is shaky at best. The Conselor family in Kent County were there, and using that name (spelt Gonsela) at about the same time as Penn and Tammany were hammering out their treaties. There are names derived from Indian titles, and Sockum is probably the most prominent.
"The History and Genealogy of the
Native American Isolate Communities
of Kent County, Delaware, and
Surrounding Areas on the Delmarva Peninsula
and Southern New Jersey"
Copyright 1997-
All rights reserved.
Not to be used for commercial purposes.
