Week #7 Theme is "Outcast"

Although our family tree doesn't show anyone who was shunned or cast out. We have several cases where a parent disapproved of a child’s choice of a mate. We also have a few cases where a child left the home on his own due to a dispute. Every family probably has these stories. I’ll just mention a few here. Charlotte Clark of Kent, England was daughter of a man of military position. John Clark was Steward of Royal Ordnance Hospital, in Woolwich. When Charlotte was in her early 20s, in 1836, she married William Terry, a wheelwright / carriage maker. He was also from Kent, but further east near Dover. I always wondered how they met, as their classes would not have associated (think of Jane Austen novels of the era.) They went to live in Deal, and later sold their carriage making business and migrated to America in 1848. An early letter we have found written by Charlotte's daughter, Amelia, says that Charlotte married against her parents' wishes, and was disinherited by her father, for marrying beneath her station. William and Charlotte had 10 children, 7 of whom lived to marry and have children. They were such an adventuresome family, with descendants pursuing education and business ventures all across our country. We have met (in person and online) cousins from each of those family lines, and are thankful that Charlotte met and married William, our Great Great Grandparents. In my husband's family, we have Rose Marguerite McCool, Gerry's grandmother. Her mother, Anna Roselee Powell McCool, had died in 1893, when Rose was only 14. The next year, her father, John, married a second wife. The older children had left home, but there were 5 children under 10 in the family. Story has it that Rose did not get along with her step mother. She probably had to help keep house and be a nanny to the babies. After about a year, Rose met Jordon Burris, a southerner who worked on the railroad, which didn't set well with her father, a staunch Union veteran. John was also a very strict Presbyterian, and Jordon may not have lived up to the standards John had set for his daughters. After their marriage, Rose was estranged from her father for 30 years, although she remained close to all her siblings who had scattered through several western states. She was able to see him again before his death in 1933. A sad story that is repeated in too many families. But as I am writing this on Valentine's Day, I think that both the young women above married for love, and their marriages stood the test of time.

 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.  Week #7 Theme - LANDED. 

In 1848, my Gt Gt Grandparents, William Terry and wife, Charlotte Ann Clark Terry, sold their wagon and carriage shop in Deal, County of Kent, England. They set out for the United States, with their 7 children. Family letters say that Charlotte’s marriage to a “tradesman” was frowned upon by her father who was superintendent of the Royal Navy Hospital.  She may have even been disowned.  

The  ship they took was the American Eagle.  It was an American sailing ship that traveled between New York and London from 1846 to 1867, during which period her westbound passages averaged 35 days, her shortest passage being 22 days, her longest 57. 

They sailed from Liverpool and were out 4 or 5 weeks when the captain feared they had yellow fever or smallpox aboard.   The captain turned back to Liverpool, and they were quarantined until given a clean bill of health by port authorities.  One of the children, Amelia, who was about 8 years old at the time, remembered it was a sailing ship and that the voyage took six weeks. She wrote that she saw a man being buried at sea during the voyage. 

They reached New York in 1849, and went first to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Charlotte was traveling for two… as my great grandmother Elizabeth (Lizzie) Terry was born when they reached the town of Milwaukee. William was again in the carriage making business, and they lived next to a livery stable. 

Later they farmed in Illinois, where William and three Terry children died. The widowed Charlotte followed family members to Kansas and then on to Oregon.

In  Kansas, our Lizzie married Samuel Griffin, who had fought as a Union Soldier in the Civil War. In 1891, after Samuel Griffin died, Lizzie and her six children, ages 3 to 17, moved from Kansas to Oklahoma Territory, where she homesteaded a quarter section of land.

William Terry & Charlotte Clark, of Kent, England

William Terry, our gt. gt. grandfather, was born in England around 1812-15. Charlotte Clark, according to family letters, was born in England in 1806. Family letters tell us that William's parents were William and Ann Terry. The parents of Charlotte are said to be John and Nancy Clark. Both families are from the County of Kent. Watch for more to come on these families as we search further.

The name of Terry is found throughout the county records. We find this marriage record of William Terry and Charlotte Ann Clark at St. Luke's Anglican Church, Old Charlton, Kent, England. (Current photo of St. Lukes' above.)

William Terry
Spouse: Charlotte Ann Clark
Marriage: 12 September 1836
St. Luke, Old Charlton
Kent, England

Family lore says that Charlotte was disinherited by her father, John, when she married. William Terry was a tradesman, a carriage maker or wheelwright. John Clark, her father, was superintendent of Government Military Hospitals, stationed at Woolwich. The engraving below is the Woolwich area, drawn in 1775. The St. Luke's Church is mid-left in the skyline.

The County of Kent is east of London, on the southeast coast of England. The cliffs of Dover are in this area, as well as several castles. The ancient town of Bath and legendary area of Canterbury are found in Kent.

Several children were born to William and Charlotte Terry in England, before the family left for America in 1848. We have found birth registrations for: Charles Terry, Amelia Terry, and Edwin A. Terry in Kent County England Records. Family letters state that the family sold their carriage making business in Deal, Kent County, and took a sailing shop to America. Below is a view of the city of Deal, seen from the harbor. Not far from Deal is Dover, famous for the white cliffs. The White Cliffs of Dover would be the first view of England seen by those crossing the English Channel from France (unless they are taking the "chunnel.")