George Laws Vrooman
ID # 1476, (1792-1865)
| Father | Adam Vrooman (1753-1810) |
| Mother | Margaret Mattice (1759-) |
| Birth | George Laws Vrooman was born on 28 November 1792 at Canada. |
| Marriage | He married Margaret Bolton. |
| Death | He died on 13 September 1865 at Lafayette Co., Wisconsin, at age 72. |
| Note | Page 66 of the 1949 Vrooman Family book provides a starting point for research for George Laws Vrooman. It states that he was born on 28 November 1792. We have no way to confirm this, but given available census information in what little later documentation is to be found, this won't be far off. The book also states that George settled in Toledo, Ohio, and ends his story there. Such census information that is available to us has not confirmed his presence in Toledo, but with confidence we may now say that he is the George L. Vrooman who appears in the 1840 census at Winnebago County, Illinois. The 1840 census shows heads of family only and indicates that George had a substantial family with him. Separately, but on the same page and only three households away, is shown Adam Vroman. Since Adam, son of George , would have been approximately 12 at the time, it appears that there was another Adam Vroman in Winnebago, possibly a family connection. On 7 January, 1848, George L. Vroman and Adam Vroman take up land in Jo Daviess County. Since the 1850 census shows George and an Adam in different households, but apparently adjacent to each other, and since Adam's age is given as 22, it seems likely that this George and Adam were father and son. It should be pointed out, however, that a history of Apple River Township in Jo Daviess County states that an Adam Vroman was present and farming there as early as 1828. Such land records as we have do not confirm the presence of an Adam Vroman in Winnebago in 1840, nor do they confirm his presence from the 1820s at Apple River. With the proximity of the families in the 1840 census at Winnebago, however, it is possible that George Laws Vroman was drawn to the area by a nephew or cousin. For the moment, this is mainly guess work (see notes under Adam N. Vrooman for the Galena - Jo Daviess - connection), but that the Adam Vrooman who appears in Winnebago County, Illinois, in the 1840 census, is likely the son of Nicholas Vrooman, brother to Adam Vrooman the U.E.L. is, for the moment, as good a bet as any. See pages 62 and 63 of the 1949 book. See also page 106 of the book. The book shows two marriages for Adam son of Nicholas. There may have been a third marriage (and divorce). He may have been married for a time to Alathea Waddams in the 1840s in Jo Daviess County, Illinois, and had a daughter Lucy. Needless to say, more research is required on the matter. The 1850 and 1860 censuses in Jo Daviess County in Illinois which show George Vrooman and his family provide us with conflicting information and shifting presences of family members found, but comparisons of names and age between the two censuses place us on safe ground in identifying them as one and the same family. The chief difficulty with the 1850 census taken at Millville is that it places the birth of George and several family members in New York State. The 1850 census page is faded and the handwriting difficult, but it is still quite readable. If the 1850 census is wrong in placing George's birth in New York State, the 1860 census places George's birth in Canada and this seems correct. Agewise, there is no doubt that we are looking at the same persons in both censuses. The 1860 census also places the birth of sons John and Walter in Canada. In an online posting, a descendant of George Laws Vrooman states that her ancestor died in 1866. We now know that George's actual date of death was 13 September, 1865. We may confirm this by way of a legal proceeding in Jo Daviess County Court, the children of George L. Vroman vs. Sarah Vroman. The descendant also states that she has some reason to believe that George's first wife was named Margaret (now confirmed). The 1850 census in Jo Daviess County shows George as a widower. At the time of the 1860 census, he has with him a wife, Sarah. She will be his second wife. We do not know her maiden name or if she was a widow when she married George. Both the 1850 and 1860 censuses place George in Jo Daviess County. The 1850 census shows him at Millville and the 1860 census shows him in Courtland Township. A descendant of George Laws Vrooman has graciously supplied a list of his children and some of his grandchildren. Much of this appears to come from a family source. Census information from 1860 shows George's children as all being born in Canada. This seems reasonable, Mary born in 1838 included, for George did not sell off his property in Harwich Township until September of 1838 (See Abstract Index on GSU105550 for Harwich, lot 15 on the 6th concession from Lake Erie.) The residence of George at the time of his death was probably still Jo Daviess County in Illinois. There is some indication that for at least a time he was an innkeeper. However, George's widow, in a deposition related to his estate places his death in Lafayette County in Wisconsin and dates the event to 13 September, 1865. Some notes on George's land ownership in Upper Canada. MS963 Reel 157, page 130, Order-in-Council dated August 20, 1819, grants to George Vrooman 200 acres of lot 7 on the 7th concession of Brock Township (next door to brother James) as the son of a Loyalist. The Abstract Index for this property shows George receiving the patent on an illegible date in the 1820. George did not sell this property until 1832. The family was probably in residence in Brock Township for these years. Wife Margaret's 1818 grant in Harwich Township was sold off in 1826. It's possible the family spent some time there prior to 1826, but, all considered, this is unlikely. As mentioned, George sold his property in Brock Township in 1832. He then purchased a clergy reserve in Harwich Township on April 1, 1833. This was the full 200 acres of lot 15 on the 6th concession. The record for this is volume 1, page 144, and appears on microfilm MS693 reel 190, Clergy Reserve Sales, Register 1, 1829-1924. This same page then shows George purchasing 50 acres of lot 10 on the 6th concession on April 12, 1834. The sale page doesn't note which survey in Harwich this concession is on, but other information places it in the Lake Erie survey. George's presence in Harwich is mentioned by Alvin Armstrong in his The First 200 years of Blenheim and South Harwich (written in 1985), page 218. He also dates his presence there to 1833 and the above document is probably his source. The Abstract index for the SW 1/2 of Lot 15 on the 6th concession of the Lake Erie Survey, Township of Harwich is of limited help, though it does locate for us the survey. The first line of the index shows a Crown Grant to George Maynard Jr. of the 100 acres involved dated July 18th, 1850. Line 2 shows George L. Vrooman selling this property to George 'Minnard' on Sept. 24, 1838. Why the transactions are presented in this disordered fashion isn't at all clear; a crown grant issued in earlier years could be wiped from the record upon the re-issue of a crown grant in later years. The clerks usually then disregarded earlier transactions on the piece of land in question. Perhaps we are fortunate to have a record of George's sale of this property at all. The Township Papers series of files (microfilm MS658 reel 186) for Harwich, Lot 17, concession 6, contains a letter from George Vrooman to Peter Robinson, Commissioner of Crown Lands at York. There is much bleed-through on the letter and it's difficult to read, but it is dated at Harwich on the 26th August, 1833. This might in some manner also relate to Mr. Armstrong's source. It's also possible that, considering the disarray that the files are in, there's more to be found. (A note on the Township Papers and Abstract Index microfilms for Harwich Township: At the beginning of these microfilms, the persons doing the microfilming state they had no idea how to order the records. The confusion arises from the fact that there are three surveys in Harwich: the Thames River survey, the Lake Erie survey, and the Communications Road survey - the latter having its own complications. Since these are indeed in a state of disorder, researchers should prepare themselves to go through the microfilms page by page.) A descendent of George Laws Vrooman searched for such estate information as she could find in Jo Daviess County, Illinois. An application by wife Sarah Vrooman indicates that George died without a will. This document shows that Sarah became the administrator of the estate and dates George's death to on or about 13 September, 1865, at Lafayette County, Wisconsin. It names other survivors as Leah Leonard, Adam Vrooman (it may be that the family at this point was unaware of young Adam's death), Elias Vrooman, John Vrooman, Nancy Laird, Margaret Wood, Mary Smith, Abraham Vrooman. In a separate affadavit, Sarah made oath that Mary E. Smith and her husband John Smith, Elias Vrooman, Nancy Laird, Eunice Snyder, widow of John Vrooman and her children George H. and Araminta Vrooman, Margaret Wood and her husband James, were all non-residents of the State of Illinois. At some point there was a legal conflict regarding the estate between Sarah and George's children. How this was resolved isn't clear. Part of the documentation, however, is a sworn statement provided by a Notary Public in the County of LaFayette in the state of Wisconsin. This is to confirm the outstanding account of F. A. Thomas for a coffin, fully trimmed. The bill is dated September 16th, 1865. Daughter Nancy Laird, who lived in Wisconsin, billed the estate for a hearse. This is dated September 14th, 1865. A bill against the estate includes a statement of costs for clothes in which George was laid out, but a bill for a gravestone does not appear to be with the documentation. A note here for family historians: The older children of George Laws Vrooman and Margaret Bolton were probably born in Brock Township. This is rather to the north of the town of Uxbridge. Those born after 1832, including Mary, their last born, were likely born in Harwich Township, not far from present Rondeau Provincial Park on Lake Erie. The location where Elias was born - he was born in 1832 is less certain - and birth records, church or otherwise, have not been found. The foregoing is the likely scenario, but hardly certain. The Archives of Ontario have been checked for this, but, so far, nothing has been found. |
Children of George Laws Vrooman and Margaret Bolton |
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| Last Edited | 26 Mar 2020 |