Casper Surber was born or baptized on 5 March 1719 in Switzerland.He married Barbara Merkj, and shortly afterwards, on 18 April 1741 left from the German-speaking parish of Schoefflisdorf in Oberwenigen (near Zurich) for "Carolina." Caspar and Barbara may have been Mennonites or other religious dissidents such as Anabaptists, as these formed the majority of Swiss emigrants.They … Continue reading Caspar Surber (Sarver) and Barbara Merkj
Category: Biographies
Captain George Denison and Lady Ann Borodell
Born in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, England, George Denison arrived in Massachusetts Bay Colony with his father, William Denison aboard the "Lion" in 1632 as part of the Great Migration. His father was among a group of Roxbury, Massachusetts (now part of Boston) men "disarmed" for their support of the theologian and proto-evangelist Anne Hutchinson. Captain George first married Bridget Thompson of … Continue reading Captain George Denison and Lady Ann Borodell
Colonel Jonathan Latimer and Lucretia Griswold
Jonathan Latimer was a descendant of the English Robert Latimer, who arrived in Boston in 1635 on the ship "Hopewell" as part of the Great Migration. Jonathan's father (also named Jonathan Latimer) was married to Borodell Denison, Captain George Denison's great-granddaughter. Jonathan Latimer II was born in New London, Connecticut in 1724.The Latimers were by that time a wealthy family, having … Continue reading Colonel Jonathan Latimer and Lucretia Griswold
Elder William Brewster and Mary Wentworth
Born in 1560 in the town of Scrooby in Nottinghamshire, England, William Brewster married Mary Wentworth, and studied briefly at the college of Cambridge before becoming active in the movement to reform the Anglican church. His congregation eventually emigrated to the more religiously tolerant environment of Leyden, Holland, where he began publishing religious tracts that were circulated … Continue reading Elder William Brewster and Mary Wentworth
Matthew Griswold and Anna Wolcott
Matthew Griswold, born about 1620 in Kenilworth, Warwickshire, England (near Coventry), arrived in Massachusetts in 1639 in a group led by the Reverend John Wareham. He married Anna (or Hannah) Wolcott who born about 1620 in Tolland, Somerset, England. She arrived with her parents, Henry Wolcott and Elizabeth Saunders, on the "Mary and John" as part of the Winthrop Fleet at Nantasket, … Continue reading Matthew Griswold and Anna Wolcott
Calvin Cole: Reluctant Rebel
For my entire life, I had always heard that my grandmother's people were with the Union in the Civil War. There was good reason to believe it, as Benton and Carroll counties were settled primarily by people from the hills of East Tennessee and western North Carolina. In fact, Union sympathy ran high in both … Continue reading Calvin Cole: Reluctant Rebel
A Long Way to Tennessee 