----- Original Message -----
From: Margaret Kerr Beckwith
To: Barbara Porter ; Beth Beckwith ; Betty Lorraine Hubbard ; Betty Middlemist ; Bill Combs ; Bob Peters ; Bob White ; Buddy Kerr ; Carol & Dan Elsey ; Diana Sanko ; Gary White ; Harvey Waybright ; Jason & Ann Nelson ; Mike & Kim Boyce ; Patty Yokum ; Paula Teter ; Phyllis Elza Webb ; Roger Elza ; Sandra Elza Judy ; Susie Wilson
Cc: Nora Kay Brown ; Vicki Ford
Sent: Wednesday, January 14, 2009 5:10 PM
Subject: Fw: Elseys
Hello to all,
This is a newly found Elsey/Elza's family recollections!
Some differ from other research but there are many similarities!
While I was quite ill last year, I lost a lot of my research that I had completed on the Elsey lineage. I do, however, have most of my outline.
Our Edward Elsey had a brother, John, born in England (about 1742) but I have no records to show he came over from Leigh, Surrey, England. Edward & his brother Thomas (who later settled in Ohio) were born in this country, where both served in the Revolutionary War. There parents came to America in 1753, arriving in either Maryland or Virginia.
They came with one child, Mary, who was born in Leigh, Surrey, England on October 7, 1752. Mary married Joseph Foltz (Voltz) and they had several children, including Regina who lived a great deal of her life in Lewis County, VA (now WV). Regina first married a Jacob Hudson & then David F. Wetzel.
I know that they had at least older three siblings born in England that there are no records of them coming to America:
Sarah, Elizabeth & William. I have never run across a Frederick as a sibling; could he have been an uncle?
As stated previously, my next grandfather in this line, Thompson, resided most of his life in Randolph County, VA (now WV). He was approximately eight years younger than Nicholas.
I have, in my lost work, the research where I traced Thomas Elsey & Ann (Finch) Elsey from England to America with Mary. I personally believe that Thomas & Ann were the parents of the siblings I have herein described. My maternal uncle, Harvey Waybright, has always believed, however, that there was an older Nicholas Elsey that would have been the father.
We will always have, as a genealogist friend of mine calls it, a "people puzzle" with this line! I hope none of us will ever give up the "hunt" though! I will continue my work on my Elsey lineage as long as the good Lord allows!
Kay, I would love to have known of your reunion as I would have attended. I am always looking for Elsey relatives and would ask if I might be included in any future get-togethers! I want to try to plan a large joint Elsey/White Reunion at the end of July if all goes well, since there were so many marriages between these two lines.
All info, feedback, suggestions, etc. is always welcome!
One Elsey cousin,
Margaret
----- Original Message -----
From: [log in to unmask]
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Wednesday, January 14, 2009 2:17 PM
Subject: Re: Elseys
Hi again:
I would be much interested in reviewing the source info you have connecting Nicholas Elsey of Preston County to your grandfather and grandmother, Edward and Sally. I have an open mind on the issue; how it doesn't seem to jibe with Preston County oral tradition.
Last summer, I hosted a reunion of the descendants of Benjamin Elsey (a Nicholas grandson) and Almeda DeBerry. In connection with the reunion I wrote a 3 chapter family "history" (a chapter about Preston County Elseys; another about Preston County DeBerrys; and the third a tribute to my grandfather, William H. Elsey.
I think I have a pretty good handle on Nicholas' descendants; especially the William W. Elsey/ Benjamin Elsey line. Ancestors--not so much!!!
Here's what I wrote about Nicholas' parents:
THE FAMILY TRADITION (about Frederick/John Elsey)
The legend that I heard as a child is that multiple Elsey brothers came from England during the American Revolutionary War to fight for the British. They liked what they saw and decided to stay.
Whether there were two or four Elsey British soldiers depends on who was telling the story. Acocording to the four brother account--one brother went north, one south, one east, and one west. According to the two brother version--one brother went north of the Mason-Dixon line; the other south of the Line. In any case our Elsey ancestor ended up in the area of Virginia that is now Preston County, West Virginia. I don't know that Mom ever gave this brother a name. Aunt Jean remembers his given name as John. Uncle Bill, in preparing an Elsey genealogy for his sons, called him Frederick based on Preston County Histories.
THE PRESTON COUNTY JOURNAL VERSION
The Preston County Journal ran a series of articles in 1907 and 1908 about the pioneers of Preston. Here's what the Journal said about our pioneer ancestor.
Frederick Elsey, a native of the central part of England, came from Virginia about 1796, or perhaps a little earlier. He settled on the east bank of the Cheat at the mouth of Elsey's Run. Here he lost his first wife and was married to Eve Floyd, by whom he had a son Nicholas. The father died soon afterward and the widow married John Groves, another pioneer of Preston. The three sons by the first wife returned East when the father remarried but the youngest of them at length settled in Randolph where descendants of his are living....In or about 1840, the (youngest son Nicholas) settled on the C.C. Nine place, and his descendants are grouped chiefly in the plateau section of Portland district (Source: Janice Cale Sisler, Compiler, Pioneers of Preston as published in the Preston County Journal Kingwood, .Va. 1907-1908, page 41, compiled in 2001 for the Preston County Historical Society...)
THE MORTON HISTORY VERSION
Oren Morton in his 1914 History of Preston County, West Virginia edited the Preston County Journal paragraph about Frederick as follow:
Frederick Elsey, a native of central England, came from east of the Blue Ridge about 1796, and located on the east bank of Cheat just below the mouth of the Elsey's Run. There he lost his first wife and married again. The three sons of the first wife then returned east, but the youngest son went to Randolph. He is the progenitor of the Elza connection in that county. Frederick died while his son, Nicholas, by the second marriage was still small. The latter settled about 1840 on the C.C. Nine farm and his posterity are chiefly on the plateau of Portland (Oren Morton, A History of Preston County, Part 1, pages 343-343).
Note that Morton dropped the reference to Eve Floyd. Perhaps he was not sure whether she was wife 1 or wife 2. Morton also did not mention John Groves.
AUTHORITY FOR THE NAME OF JOHN
There is authority for "John" as well as Frederick for the given name of our early ancestor. Son Nicholas married for the second time in 1857 (to Matilda Jones Taylor). The name of Nicholas' father is recorded as "John Elzy" in 1857 Preston County Mariage Records. To confuse matters further, Nicholas listed his mother as Mary Elzy.
A FINAL WORD ABOUT THE ELSEY RUN PIONEER
Note that the 1907 Preston County Journal article nor Morton's 1914 History says anything about two or four brothers who came from England to fight for the British during the Revolutionary War. As of January 2008 i have not been able to document the arrival of Frederick/John from central England, nor have I been able to trace his path from East of the Blue Ridge to Elsey Run.
As far as I know everything that has been written about Frederick /John is based on oral tradition rather than written records. Fortunately, this is not true of his son Nicholas, the patriarch of the Elsey Family of Preston County. Nicholas left his prints behind in Census, Church and National Archives letters
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So bottom line--my family tradition is that Nicholas' father was named Frederick or John (some think that John was the stepfather- John Groves) and is that his mother's name was Eva or Mary. But what do I know??? Again--if you have sources, I would love to see them
Thanks for your insight.
Kay Brown
-----Original Message-----
From: Margaret Kerr Beckwith <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Cc: Barbara Porter <[log in to unmask]>; Beth Beckwith <[log in to unmask]>; Betty Lorraine Hubbard <[log in to unmask]>; Betty Middlemist <[log in to unmask]>; Bob Peters <[log in to unmask]>; Bob White <[log in to unmask]>; Buddy Kerr <[log in to unmask]>; Carol & Dan Elsey <[log in to unmask]>; Diana Sanko <[log in to unmask]>; Gary White <[log in to unmask]>; Harvey Waybright <[log in to unmask]>; Jason & Ann Nelson <[log in to unmask]>; Mike & Kim Boyce <[log in to unmask]>; Patty Yokum <[log in to unmask]>; Paula Teter <[log in to unmask]>; Phyllis Elza Webb <[log in to unmask]>; Roger Elza <[log in to unmask]>; Sandra Elza Judy <[log in to unmask]>; Susie Wilson <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wed, 14 Jan 2009 11:34 am
Subject: Re: Elseys
Hi, Kay!
It is always great to have a new cousin!
Nicholas Elsey was the son of Edward Elsey, born about 1755, and Sarah "Sally" Thompson, born about 1763.
My next grandfather was their son, Thompson, born about 1806, and the youngest child. Edward and Sally lived most of their married life in Hardy County, VA (now WV). We do not know their cause of death but they were both deceased by December 1821 when a legal guardian was appointed for Thompson.
You can visit my genealogy website on Ancestry.com (MargaretAnnKerr)!
I took a look at yours last evening.
Please stay in touch!
Margaret
(304)636-6440
----- Original Message -----
From: [log in to unmask]
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Wednesday, January 14, 2009 7:23 AM
Subject: Elseys
Hi Margaret--
Yes, I am a descendant of Nicholas Elsey. My mother was Mary Almeda Elsey, daughter of William H. Elsey, granddaughter of Benjamin H. Elsey and Almeda DeBerry, g granddaughter of William W. Elsey, and gg granddaughter of Nicholas and Jane. I grew up in Fayette Co. Pa.---over the border from Preston County WV. My grandfather relocated with his mother Almeda, wife, and children in 1922.
I will be glad to respond to communicate with you about Elseys
N. "Kay" Brown, Bethesda Md.
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