Simon JEFFERS aka Simon Jeffries, married to Anne Young
My ancestor, Richard Grayson, was married in 1780 to
Elizabeth Jeffers, of Scituate, RI, ref
http://www.newhorizonsgenealogicalservices.com/arnold-collection/providence-cranston-ri-marriages.htmhttp://www.newhorizonsgenealogicalservices.com/arnold-collection/providence-cranston-ri-marriages.htm
Elizabeth was the daughter of Simon Jeffers.
The actual announcement reads
“GRASON, Richard, of Great Britain, and Elizabeth Jeffries, of Simon, of Cranston,
…March 22, 1780”
Richard was a deserter from the British Army, hence his status “of Great Britain”
Upon Elizabeth’s death in 1844, her obituary included the line
“In Smithfield, Rhode Island, 7th inst., Mrs. Betsey GRAYSON, in her 98th year.
She was partially a descendant from the Indians.” Ref
http://files.usgwarchives.net/ma/barnstable/obits/obi1844b.txthttp://files.usgwarchives.net/ma/barnstable/obits/obi1844b.txt
I am left puzzled as to whom Simon’s ancestors were, and where the Indian blood
comes in. In the 1774 colonial census for Scituate, Rhode Island, we see
Simon listed, along with his wife’s cousins, Dyer Young and Jonah Young, plus
his wife’s uncle, David Blackmar. Ref
http://www.newhorizonsgenealogicalservices.com/1774-ri-colonial-census-scituate.htmhttp://www.newhorizonsgenealogicalservices.com/1774-ri-colonial-census-scituate.htm
Simon’s wife was supposedly Anne Young, daughter of John Young and Jemima Blackmar.
Simon Jeffers had married Anne Young in 1755, ref
http://www.newhorizonsgenealogicalservices.com/arnold-collection/providence-cranston-ri-marriages.htmhttp://www.newhorizonsgenealogicalservices.com/arnold-collection/providence-cranston-ri-marriages.htm
“Jeffers, Simon, of Cranston, and Anne Young, of John, of Scituate; m. by William Burton, Justice, Oct. 31, 1755” Simon himself was supposedly born in Cranston, about 1728.
In 1775, we see Simon Jeffers as a member of Joseph Knight's Scituate Company,
basically a paramilitary group organized in anticipation of the revolution which
was to ensue in the following year, ref
http://digitalcommons.providence.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1020&context=primaryhttp://digitalcommons.providence.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1020&context=primary
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Whenever I think of Indians in conjunction with Rhode Island in general, and Scituate
in particular, I think of the Wampanoeg Nation.
The last name Jeffers has been traditionally popular among the Wampanoeg people,
and even today, on Martha’s Vineyard, where the main reservation is, you can find
the surname.
So my questions are:
Who were Simon Jeffers’ parents?
Was he part Wampanoeg?
Thanks,
Robert Grayson Wilcox