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Gwynnes of Cumberland MD and Urbana OH

Gwynnes of Cumberland MD and Urbana OH

Posted: 30 Apr 2009 2:21AM GMT
Classification: Query
Edited: 4 May 2009 1:46PM GMT
Surnames: Gwynne, Murdoch, Barclay,
I am searching for descendants of Thomas Gwynne (1782-1825)and wife Jane Murdoch born Cumberland, MD and died Urbana, OH.

I saw a notation at the Urbana, OH library (Genealogy room) from someone searching the Gwynne family of Urbana..but wasn't able to connect.

I am not closely related...but remain highly interested in Gwynne family. I am a descendant of the Barclay family of Bedford, PA - Hester Barclay - the first female Swedenborgian in America in 1784 - and grew up in W. PA. I am related in several ways - the Swedenborgian church, Isabella Murdoch (sister of Jane) who married Josiah Espy Barclay of Bedford, etc. etc.

Please get in touch with me if you have any information about this family. I might have more, and am happy to share what I have.

Arthur_Humphrey


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Re: Gwynnes of Cumberland MD and Urbana OH

Posted: 15 Feb 2013 1:53AM GMT
Classification: Query
Surnames: Gwynne
Thomas Gwynne was a prominent pioneer who lived in Madison County before moving to Urbana. I live in London, OH, and have a lot of information I can share with you. Some of his descendants are still alive. In return, I would ask for your sources of information about Mr. Gwynne. I believe Thomas Gwynne is buried in Oakdale Cemetery in Urbana.

John Stroman

Re: Gwynnes of Cumberland MD and Urbana OH

Posted: 15 Feb 2013 3:13PM GMT
Classification: Query
John,

I am so thrilled by your post which I received yesterday, as it opens a whole new chapter for me on the Gwynne family. I believe you are correct in stating that Thomas Gwynne is buried in Urbana - I have a photo of some Gwynne graves there but they are hard to read.

My interest in the Gywnnes stems from my own family ancestry, which is traced back to the Barclay family of Bedford, PA. Thomas Gwynne's wife was one Jane Murdoch (no dates but her siblings were born in Cumberland between 1786-1808 - and her parent were Hon. Patrick Murdoch b. Scotland and Jane Moore (no dates or other information).

My Barclay ancestors were the first American converts to the Swedenborgian faith (google it), and Bailey-Barclay Hall at Urbana University (which houses the Johnny Appleseed Museum - he was a Swedenborgian) is named in part for my 4th great grand Aunt Hester Barclay 1755-1796.

I believe the Murdochs (and probably the Gwynne's) were converted by Hester Barclay in Bedford or Cumberland (these towns are just down / up the ridge from one another)in the late 1790's....and I have always felt that Thomas Gwynne and Jane Murdoch were the first "Swedenborgians" in the town of Urbana.

I had no idea that Thomas stopped in London, Madison Co. before settling in Urbana and this is huge news for me. Thanks to you I was able to find the Gwynne Farm Cemetery (Deer Creek Township Cemetery?) and noticed names of Moore's and Campbells who I think hailed from Maryland and are likely close relatives of Jane Moore (Murdoch) - mother of Jane Moore (Gwynne).

FYI, I am related to the Gwynne's only in that Jane Murdoch (Gwynne)'s sister, Isabella Cadell Murdoch 1800-1862 married Josiah Espy Barclay 1797-1825 of Bedford, PA. Isabella then moved to Urbana after she was widowed (where her sister Jane Gwynne and three Murdoch brothers lived) - but later she remarried to a McCoy and moved to Columbus where she is buried.

Much more to solve but this clue you have given me is a terrific one. Very helpful to me. I believe Thomas Gwynne's father was an Evan Gywnne from what Ihave seen on Ancestry.com - and wonder if the early settler of London, OH - one E.W. Gwynne (whose farm the cemetery seems to be on) is that man himself? And if the John Moore 1762-1839 buried there might be either the father or brother of Jane Moore (Murdoch) - mother of Jane Moore (Mrs. Thomas Gwynne)?

I used to visit Urbana twice a year when I served on the Board of the Johnny Appleseed Foundation, but don't any longer since I resigned.

Any other information you have would be of great interest. I am in touch with two Murdoch descendants, but not any Gwynnes. There is a lovely Gwynne house in Urbana which was built by Thomas's son I believe.

Hope to hear from you again if this interests you - but thanks again for such a wonderful tip.

Arthur Humphrey - Coral Gables, FL
afh143@aol.com

Re: Gwynnes of Cumberland MD and Urbana OH

Posted: 15 Feb 2013 3:57PM GMT
Classification: Query
Arthur,

I suggest you start here:

http://archive.org/details/historyofmadison00brow

This is a free online, downloadable version of the 1883 History of Madison County. (You can find one for Champaign County too by searching that same website.) First, download the B/W PDF (it's a smaller file than the color version, about 8 Mb), and then from the same website open the "plain text" version. That is a digitized version of the book, but with several typographical errors. In the plain text version, if you use the "find" option in Internet Explorer (Ctl+F) you get a little window at the top. If you type in Gwynne, you will get 61 hits that tells you most everything about the Gwynne brothers (all 6) from about 1810 until much later. You can then get the real English (without the typos) by going to the same page in the PDF file (use the real page numbers at the top right of the image. The Adobe Reader page numbers are off by as many as 10 because of many blank unnumbered pages in the image). E.W. Gwynne is Thomas' younger brother Eli. The Thomas Gwynne associated with UU is Thomas' son, Thomas M. Gwynne, who was a Civil War veteran. By doing some creative searching in Ancestry.com, you can come up with a biographical sketch of Eli in "Ohio Biographical Sketches, 1876," and copies of the land grants to David and Thomas Gwynne signed by President Monore in the US. General Land Office Records, 1796-1907.

I'm doing historical/archaeological research for the Ohio Historical Society, and looking at the remains of buildings on the former Gwynne farms (eventually totalling 5,000 acres). The Upper Gwynne Farm is now the main base for the OSU Farm Science Review in London (you can easily find their website).

You might also enjoy searching Google for "Thomas Gwynne" and "Marcus Heylin" together. There is an online record from the Champaign County Court about Heylin stealing a bunch of pelts from the Gwynne Bros. store in Urbana and selling them on the black market.

My main interest in this research is the lost village of Lawrenceville (Limerick) that Gwynne started on his property in 1816 (see the History).

The Gwynnes still have some living relatives here in Madison County, but they are elderly, and I have not inverviewed them yet. I also have more historical information, but I don't have it organized. The Gwynne brothers were the Donald Trump of their day here in Madison and Champaign Counties, so I started looking at a pile of bricks and ended up with a pile of information I haven't made much sense of yet. Gotta get organized.

Good luck,

John

Re: Gwynnes of Cumberland MD and Urbana OH

Posted: 15 Feb 2013 6:08PM GMT
Classification: Query
John,

You are wonderfully kind, and thank you for this additional information. It is raining here today in Miami and researching all these Gwynne brothers makes a perfect pastime. Your project sounds fascinating - I must make a point of visiting London, OH next time I am in the area.

I am very indebted to you for contacting me and sharing what you know. I am very excited as I think this tip will help me solve the mystery of the ancestry of Jane Murdoch (Gwynne - Mrs. Thomas Gwynne) -and her "Moore ancestors" and perhaps even some of my own Barclay family (the name Campbell and Moore figure in my ancestry as well - and I see there is a connection to the Gwynnes).

If you ever want to visit the Gwynne house in Urbana (also known as the Humphrey house) on Scioto St., I met the owners once and have their contact information - they gave me tour. It is as stunning on the outside as the inside, but the current owners know little about the Gwynnes (just the Humphrey family - no relation to mine - who were subsequent owners).

And I know where Thomas Gwynne is buried in Urbana's cemetery and have some photos - just send me your email if you want these and I will gladly share.

The Murdoch family is really my greatest interest, as being Swedenborgians (Urbana University was originally Swedenborgian) - I believe they are the ones responsible for bringing the story of John Chapman to light - as they knew him. I don't think there would be a Johnny Appleseed without them.

FYI, the Murdochs and Barclays were all very prominent people in their respective towns (Cumberland and Bedford, PA), so I can only imagine the Gwynnes were as well.

If you ever find a trace of Thomas Gwynne's father Evan Gwynne, please let me know. I can only wonder if he too was Scottish as was Hon. Patrick Murdoch - Jane Murdoch (Gwynne's father)?

Kind rgds,

Arthur Humphrey - Coral Gables, FL
afh143@aol.com

Re: Gwynnes of Cumberland MD and Urbana OH

Posted: 16 Feb 2013 1:48PM GMT
Classification: Query
Arthur,
I got information about Evan Gwynne under the search for Thomas Gwynne here on Ancestry.com. Be sure to add his birth year to narrow the search. I have 1782, but I have also seen 1794 (maybe for Eli, who I think was younger). There is a short piece on Thomas Gwynne in Ohio Biographical Sketches 1876 (Ancestrylibrary.com), but it's confusing because I think it is really for Eli but listed under Thomas, because the death date matches Eli's on December 7, 1866.

Anyway, in the 1800 federal census Evan Gwynne was living in Maryland, Alleghany County, Wills (or Wills Town). I can see the original image of the census, but except for the name it is just a list of numbers with no key as to what they mean.
Under the full record for Thomas Gwynne [Capt], where it lists parents, children, and siblings down the right side, I found Evan was born in Wales in 1750, died in Cumberland, MD in 1818, and his wife, Elizabeth Claypoole Simkins, died in Cumberland, MD in 1847.
Hope this helps. If I have time today I'll go to the library and check the numbers again.

John Stroman

Re: Gwynnes of Cumberland MD and Urbana OH

Posted: 16 Feb 2013 2:22PM GMT
Classification: Query
Arthur,

Just found this on Rootsweb.com (part of Ancestry.com family) in searching for individual brothers of Thomas Gwynne. Don't know about the Lowdermilk book. Will try to find out.

John


Subject: Gwynne family in Cumberland
Date: Fri, 16 Sep 2005 17:20:47 -0700 (PDT)

Now that Carol has so kindly taught me how to do this, I shall make an attempt at my first "official" query to the list.

I am looking for birth and death information for Fanny Dent who married John Evan Gwynne. John Evan came to Ohio about 1810, but there is no record of Fanny having come with him.
She was related to John and Dickeson Dent and Frederick Dent was either her brother or cousin. Frederick's daughter Julia married U.S. Grant.

Also--Our family has been looking for years for the burial place of Evan Gwynne who died in Allegany County in 1818. He was active in many facets of the development of Cumberland and owned farm land in the county northwest of Fort Cumberland. His farm was called Pleasant Valley; another called Gregg's Defeat; and another called Grove Camp. In a trip to Cumberland I determined that the farms were located in and around the LaVale area. Lowdermilk mentions Evan many times. I would love to find a death notice for Evan because it might name the location of his interment.

Thanks for any help you may be able to give.
Nancy

Re: Gwynnes of Cumberland MD and Urbana OH

Posted: 1 Sep 2013 10:24PM GMT
Classification: Query
Hi John,

I stumbled upon your correspondence with Arthur regarding my family the Gwynnes. The Thomas Gwynne you speak mostly of was my 4th great grandfather and Thomas Murdoch Gwynne is my 3rd ggrandfather. I've worked with Arthur previously on many items regarding my family and am willing to help you if I can. I would love to find any more information on any living Gwynnes in Madison County. I do not know that line and would like to see how they fit. The last of my known Gwynne family was Nancy Kilbourne Gwynne (the person that you recommended Arthur should contact) passed away this year. She and I had worked diligently on our family and I have many interesting things in our collection.

Thank you,

Stacey Haggerty

Re: Gwynnes of Cumberland MD and Urbana OH

Posted: 2 Sep 2013 3:33PM GMT
Classification: Query
Hi Stacy,

You're in luck. I just got out of two months in the hospital. Otherwise I would have missed your message.

I can give you a lot of information, but Ancestry keeps sending me an "invalid" message when I try to attach anything. Please contact me privately at jdsa89@columbus.rr.com and I'll be happy to oblige.

Best regards,

John Stroman
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