A Delaware Bible Record

A Delaware Bible Record:

Kent County Families

 

This article appears in the Delaware Genealogical Society Journal, Vol. 4, No. 1, April 1987, p. 18-20.

At the time that I wrote this article, none of the records were online and all of them were found using the resources at what was then the Hall of Records, now the Delaware Public Archives, in Dover, Delaware.

 

The following records are transcribed from the ‘Family Record’ page of a Bible believed to have belonged to Clarissa Ann (Moore) Lacey of Frederica, Delaware. This Bible fragment was in the possession of Gertrude E. (McDonough) Rogers whose husband, Asa Clark Rogers, Jr., came from Frederica, Delaware.

(Note: Spelling and punctuation are as appeared in the record. All entries appear to be in different handwriting).

 

FAMILY RECORD

 

BIRTHS

Vincent Moore son of Issac Moore and Agnes his wife was borned the 1^st day of March 1775

 

Sarah Moore wife of Vincent Moore was Borned April 12^th 1786

 

Thomas Wyatt Son of Noah Wyatt was borned September 13 1783

 

Clairiasa [sic] Fox [originally transcribed as FORD] wife of Thomas Wyatt was borned 1790 [1]

Thomas T. Lacey the son of Zadock B. Lacey and Mary his wife was borned December the 16^th 1828

 

Sallie M. Lacey Daughter of Thomas T. Lacey & Clairasa his wife was borned March the 8th 1855

 

James Lacey, son of Thomas & Clarrisa A. Lacey was borned November the 28^th 1859

 

Clara Lacey daughter of Thomas T. Lacey &  Clairasa his wife was borned March the 25^th 1862

 

Thomas Lacey Rogers son of Asa Rogers and Sallie his wife was borned February the 10^th 1877

 

Harriet Lacey Rogers daughter of Asa Rogers and Sallie his wife was borned January the 2th 1879

 

Lawrence Smithers Rogers Son of Asa C. Rogers and Sallie his wife was borned August 17^th 1881

 

Asa Clark Rogers son of Asa C. Rogers and Sallie his wife was borned August [crossed out] January the 16^th 1887

NOTES

The original Bible may have passed from the Moore family to the Lacey family and then on to the Rogers family (most residing in and around Frederica, Delaware). All that remains is a cardboard-backed photocopy of one page of the Bible and family members do not know what happened to the original Bible. The above relationships were verified using online resources and other resources available at the Hall of Records/Delaware Public Archives in Dover, Delaware. The following notes have been collected and updated (2022).

 

Vincent Moore m. Sarah Wyatt on 12 Dec 1806 [2].  Eldest son Thomas J. Moore may have been born out of wedlock about 1802/1803. According to the Kent County, Delaware Bastardy Bonds, on 28 Nov 1803, Vincent Moore names Sally Wyatt as the mother of a male child (unnamed) [3]. Both Vincent and Sarah are buried in Barratt’s Chapel Cemetery in Frederica, Delaware [4]. Their tombstones record their birth and death years only: Vincent (1775-1828) and Sarah (1786-1826).  The will of Vincent Moore names the following children [5]:

 

    i.  Thomas J. Moore (1802-1859)

   ii. James C. Moore (21 Oct 1805 – 18 Apr 1846)

 iii.  Agnes B. Moore (1807 - 1807) m. Thomas B. Harrington

  iv.  Isaac B. Moore (2 Dec 1810 – 4 Mar 1851)

   v.  Sally Ann Moore (1 July 1813 -14 Dec 1865) m. Samuel Harrington

  vi.  Mary S. Moore (2 Mar 1816 – 14 Aug 1882) m. Lowbar Harrington

 vii.  Vincent E. Moore (28 Aug 1818 – 21 Nov 1897)

viii.  William Andrew Moore (2 Mar 1821 – 21 Aug 1885)

 

T.J. Scarf’s History of Delaware mentions that Vincent Moore was the owner of 549 acres outside Frederica in 1815. [6]

 

James C. Moore married Sally Ann Wyatt (8 Jan 1807 – 29 Jun 1849) on 4 November 1826 in Caroline County, Maryland. [7] Although James and Sally do not appear in the Bible record, they are the parents of Carissa Ann Moore who later became the wife of Thomas T. Lacey. 

 

Sarah Moore is recorded as the wife of Vincent Moore, and was born 12 April 1786. She is the daughter of Noah Wyatt. [8] Thomas Wyatt is recorded in the Bible record as the son of Noah Wyatt and was born 13 September 1783. Thomas Wyatt and Sarah Wyatt Moore were siblings. Noah Wyatt and his son Thomas Wyatt removed to Caroline County, Maryland before 1800. [9] The administration of Thomas Wyatt, Sr. [4] and Sarah identifies Noah Wyatt as his son. [10]

Thomas Wyatt (the younger) married Clara (Clarissa) as the Bible record indicates that Clairissa [sic], the wife of Thomas Wyatt was born in 1790. In the Bible record, the surname is smudged and was originally transcribed as FORD, as there are many Ford families in Kent County, Delaware. However, recent evidence has shown that Clarissa or Clara Fox was the daughter of Anthony Fox of Ann Arundel County, Maryland [11] and that she and Thomas Wyatt were married on 19 February 1806 in Ann Arundel. [12] At that time, Thomas Wyatt was living in Caroline County, Maryland. Thomas and Clarissa Wyatt had Sally Ann Wyatt, who married James C. Moore, son of Vincent Moore and Sarah Wyatt on 4 November 1826 in Kent County, Delaware. [13]

As Sarah Wyatt, daughter of Noah Wyatt married Vincent Moore and they had James C. Moore; and Thomas Wyatt, son of Noah Wyatt married Clarissa Fox and they had Sally Ann Wyatt; then James C. Moore married his maternal first cousin.

James C. Moore died intestate and Sally, his wife, turns over the administration of his estate to her father, Thomas Wyatt. [14]  Thomas Wyatt also assumes guardianship of the children of James C. Moore and Sally Ann Wyatt. [15] Both James C. Moore and his wife died before 1850.

The children of James C. Moore and Sally are given in the administration of the estate of James C. Moore as : [16]

 

  i. Clarissa Ann Moore (14 Sep 1827 – 16 Jan 1877) [17]

 ii. Thomas Henry Moore (1830 - ?)

iii. Sarah Moore (13 Nov 1831 – 15 Sep 1841) [18]

 iv. Mary Eliza Moore (26 Feb 1834 – 21 Mar 1911) m. James Tomlinson. [19]

  v. Susan George Moore (19 Mar 1836 – 4 Dec 1894) m. John Wallace Reynolds [20]

 vi. James Moore (20 Nov 1843 – 25 Aug 1844) [21]

The will and probate record of Thomas Wyatt identifies his grandchildren Mary Eliza Moore and Susan George (Moore) Reynolds; children of James C. Moore and Sally Ann Wyatt. [22]

 

Clarissa Ann Moore m. Thomas T. Lacey on 24 Dec 1850 in Frederica [23].  Thomas T. Lacey (16 Dec 1828 – 31 Oct 1902) was the third child of Zadock B. Lacey and Mary (Hopkins) Lacey of Sussex County, Delaware. Prior to the 1850 Federal census, Thomas T. Lacey left Sussex County and came to Frederica to work in the shipbuilding trade. According to T.J. Scharf’s History of Delaware [24], Thomas T. Lacey was a trustee on the building committee of the 3^rd Frederica Methodist Church in 1856. His name appears often in the Frederica church records as an elder of the church. He was a Collector for the town of Frederica in n1866 and part owner of a shipbuilding company in 1869. He was elected Sheriff of Kent County and served from 1880-1882. He was secretary, treasurer and general superintendent of the Delmarva Fertilizer Company at Clayton in 1883.  He was a state senator from Kent County in 1892-1897.  

Thomas and Clarissa Lacey’s children as recorded in the Bible fragment were:

  i. Sallie M. Lacey (8 Mar 1855 – 12 Apr 1909)

 ii. James Lacey (28 Oct 1859 - ?)

iii. Clara M. Lacey (23 Mar 1862 – 25 Jan 1917)

 

Clara Lacey never married and lived with her father after Clarissa died. [25] They both later lived in the house of Sallie M. and her husband Asa Clark Rogers, Sr. in Frederica. [26] With the exception of James Lacey, Thomas T. Lacey’s family is buried in Barratt’s Chapel Cemetery in Frederica.

 

Sallie M. Lacey m. Asa Clark Rogers on 24 Dec 1875 at the house of Thomas T. Lacey in Frederica [27]. Asa Clark Rogers, Sr. was not native to Delaware. He was the 4^th child of Hezekiah Rogers and Harriet Clark. [28] The Rogers family came from the Clifton Park area of Saratoga County, New York, and settled in Frederica around 1864. Asa Clark Rogers, Sr. owned a hardware store in Frederica that supplied stoves to the region and he was an accomplished tinsmith. [29] Their children (all born in Frederica) were:

   i. Thomas Lacey Rogers (10 Feb 1877 – 5 Jan 1879)

  ii. Harriet (Hattie) Lacey Rogers (2 Jan 1879 – 5 Mar 1886)

These two children are buried in the same plot as Thomas T. and Clarissa Lacey in Barratt’s Chapel Cemetery.

iii. Lawrence Smithers Rogers (17 Aug 1881 - ?) Moved to New Jersey.

 iv. Asa Clark Rogers, Jr. (16 Jan 1886 – 18 Apr 1958). Moved to New York City and married Gertrude E. McDonough (the owner of the Bible record) in 1917. [30]

 

SOURCES

 

[1] On the original bible age, the ink is smudged for Clairissa’s last name. It was mis-transcribed as FORD, which seems reasonable considering that there were many FORD families in Kent County, Delaware. However, in 2022, an SAR membership application and subsequent research confirmed that Thomas Wyatt married Clara (or Clarisa) FOX in Ann Arundel County, Maryland. [U.S. Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) Membership Applications, 1889-1970, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2204/, accessed 1 December 2022) SAR Application File, #16317, Accepted 28 Oct 1809, Anthony Fox]. Subsequent research shows that Thomas Wyatt and his father, Noah Wyatt [both contained in this bible record] had removed to Caroline County, Maryland before 1800. Thomas and Clairissa’s daughter, Sally Ann Wyatt had married James C. Moore (son of Vincent Moore) in Kent County, Delaware, which also happens to be his maternal first cousin. The will and probate of Thomas Wyatt in 1860-1861 confirms this.

[2]  Delaware Marriage Records, 1744-1912, database with images, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1508/ : accessed 30 August 2022) Marriage Bond for Vincent Moore and Sarah Wyatt, 12 December 1806; Marriage Records 1806, Vol. 18, p. 92; citing Public Archives Commission, Delaware Public Archives. Marriage Records, 1744-1912. Dover, Delaware: Delaware Public Archives. Record Group # RG 1325; Subgroup # 003; Series # 004.  Image 14/45.

[3] [No author], “Delaware, Kent County Bastardy Bonds”, Delaware Genealogical Society Journal, 18 (October 2016): 84  

[4] Find A Grave, memorial 30732536, Vincent Moore (1775-1828). Find A Grave, memorial 30693676, Sarah Moore (1786-1826).  

[5] Delaware, Kent County Wills 1680-1860, images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/34099 : accessed 6 September 2022), Will Book Q, p. 115-116, Will of Vincent Moore, 3 May 1825. [FHL 6490], image 126/575.

[6] J. Thomas Scharf, "Kent County," History of Delaware, 1609-1888, Volume 2, (Philadelphia, L.J. Richards and Co: 1888), 1162.

[7]  Maryland, Compiled Marriages, 1655-1850, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7846/), Marriage of James Moore and Sally Ann Wyatt, 1826; Original data: Dodd, Jordan, Liahona Research, comp.. Maryland Marriages, 1655-1850.

[8] Maryland, Register of Wills, 1629-1999, database, FamilySearch  (https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/1803986 : accessed 1 December 2022), Caroline County, Will of Noah Wyatt, 13 July 1816, Volume JR#C, p. 300-303, image 157-158 [FHL 005085940].

[9] 1800 U.S. census, Caroline County, Maryland, p. 22, line 54, Noah Wiat digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7590/ : accessed 1 December 2022); citing National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), M32; Roll: 10; Page: 22; Image: 29; Family History Library Film: 193663. Noah Wiat [Wyatt] is enumerated with a male age 10-15 years, which would be the approximate age range for Thomas Wyatt. A female in the age range for his daughter, Sarah, does not seem to have been recorded. In subsequent census records, Thomas Wyatt was born in Maryland, so likely that Noah Wyatt and his son moved to Maryland before Thomas was born in 1783.

[10] Delaware, Kent County Probate Case Files, images, FamilySearch.org (https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/2819015 : accessed 1 December 2022) > Case files, Wroten, Maggie - Wynn, Elizabeth, RG3545.000, roll 247, 1680-1935, DGS: 104429259. Probate case file for Thomas Wyatt, 1812-1813, images  380-386.

[11] U.S. Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) Membership Applications, 1889-1970, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2204/, accessed 1 December 2022) SAR Application File, #16317, Accepted 28 Oct 1909, Anthony Fox. Genealogy provided in application shows that Clarisa [sic] Fox was the daughter of Anthony Fox and that she married Thomas Wyatt. The source of the provided information was from a descendant of Anthony Fox.

[12] Maryland County Marriages, 1658-1940, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/2523377, accessed 1 December 2022), Marriage of Thomas Wyatt and Clara Fox, 19 February 1806, in Marriage Records, 1777-1896, Arundel, Maryland [Ann Arundel County] [FHL 13243], p. 91.

[13] Maryland, Compiled Marriages, 1655-1850, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7846/), Marriage of James Moore and Sally Ann Wyatt, 1826 in Caroline County; Original data: Dodd, Jordan, Liahona Research, comp.. Maryland Marriages, 1655-1850.

[14]  Delaware, Kent County Probate Case Files, images, FamilySearch.org (https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/2819015 : accessed 9 August 2022) > Case files, Moor, Albert S. - Moore, John T. Sr., RG3545.000, roll 158, 1680-193, DGS: 104426487. Probate case file for James C. Moore, 1846-1850, images 640-659, 667-680.

[15] Delaware, Kent County, Orphan's Court records, 1660-1978, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/2094183), Estate of James C. Moore, 1847-1852, Orphans' Court records > Montague, Woodrow Wilson - Moore, Joseph C., ca. 1763-1946, Film 100019745, image 735-786.

[16]  Delaware, Kent County Probate Case Files. Probate case file for James C. Moore.

[17] Find A Grave, memorial 30199429, Clarissa A. Lacey (1827-1877), Barratt’s Chapel Cemetery, Frederica, Kent County, Delaware.

[18] Find A Grave, memorial 30693690, Sarah Jane Moore (1831-1841), Barratt’s Chapel Cemetery, Frederica, Kent County, Delaware.

[19] Find A Grave, memorial 36026208, Mary E. Moore Tomlinson (1834-1911), Barratt’s Chapel Cemetery, Frederica, Kent County, Delaware; Delaware Marriage Records, 1744-1912, database with images (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1508/ : accessed 12 August 2022), Marriage Bond of Mary E.Moore - James Tomlinson,  11 November 1872, Vol. 32, p. 268; Citing Public Archives Commission, Delaware Public Archives. Marriage Records, 1744-1912. Dover, Delaware: Delaware Public Archives. Record Group # RG 1325; Subgroup # 003; Series # 004.

[20] Find A Grave, memorial 35928931, Susan G. Reynolds (1836-1894), Barratt’s Chapel Cemetery, Frederica, Kent County, Delaware; Delaware Marriage Records, 1806-1933, database with images (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1673/ accessed 1 January 2000), Register ion Marriages > Kent > 1859 > M> Moore; entry for Susan G. Moore - John W. Reynolds, 17 November 1857; Citing Delaware. Delaware Vital Records. Microfilm. Delaware Public Archives, Dover.

[21]  Find A Grave, memorial 30693513, James W. Moore (1843-1844), Barratt’s Chapel Cemetery, Frederica, Kent County, Delaware.

[22] Maryland, Caroline County, Probate Records, 1679-1959, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/2288486 : accessed 1 December 2022), Estate of Thomas Wyatt, Administration accounts, C459-10 & T1266[GHM H], 1860-1870, p. 223-224; 290-291, images 248-250 and 315-316. [DGS 101273197]

[23] Delaware Marriage Records, 1744-1912, database with images, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1508/ : accessed 9 June 2021) Marriage of Thomas T. Lacy and Clarissa A. Moore, 24 December 1850; Vol. 90, p. 14, Photocopy of Marriages Recorded, Kent Co., Volume 1-A; citing Public Archives Commission, Delaware Public Archives. Marriage Records, 1744-1912. Dover, Delaware: Delaware Public Archives. Record Group # RG 1325; Subgroup # 003; Series # 004.  Image 78/82.

[24] J. Thomas Scharf, "Kent County," History of Delaware, 1609-1888, Volume 2, (Philadelphia, L.J. Richards and Co: 1888), 1039, 1129, 1160, 1161; Records of the Frederica M.C. Church, Frederica, Delaware, 1780-1914, 15; 87th Delaware General Assembly, 3 January 1893 - 7 January 1895; 88th Delaware General Assembly, 7 January 1895 - 5 January 1897.

[25] 1880 U.S. census, Kent County, East South Murderkill Hundred, Delaware, Frederica, p. 13, stamped p. 296A, dwelling 110, family 110, line 27, ED 41, Thomas T. Lacy household; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6742 : accessed 10 June 2021); citing National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) microfilm publication T9 roll 117. Image 5/14.

[26] 1900 U.S. census, Kent County, Murderkill Hundred, Delaware, Frederica, p. 24B, dwelling 515, family 533, line 70, ED 79, Asa C. Rogers household; digital image, Ancestry (https:// https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7602/ : accessed 4 June 2021); citing National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) microfilm publication T623.

[27] Records of the Frederica M.E. Church, Frederica, Delaware, 1780-1914, images, FamilySearch.org (https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/274443 : accessed 30 May 2021), entry for marriage Asa C. Rogers - Sallie M. Lacey, 24 December 1874, Item 7,  image 597/779.

[28] Rogers Family Bible, published by Merriam Moore & Co. 1848. Troy, NY. In possession of Mary Helen Alexander Rogers, wife of Livy Clark Rogers (2).

[29]  Industries of Delaware, City of Frederica, 1880. Photocopy in possession of author.

[30] Collegiate Church (New York City, New York), Marriage Certificate, Rogers-McDonough (1917). Privately held by Gene R. Major.