William Coleman
ID # 3629
| Birth | William Coleman was born at Newark, New Jersey. |
| Marriage | He married Mary Wilson. |
| Note | Initially, bits and pieces of information for the background of the John W. Coleman came to hand. Then a copy of the Bell-Cornwell Family Record was found. This is undated, though said to have been published in March of 1992, apparently privately, by Frances Bell Fordyce. The author does not claim to be a professional genealogist, but such as can be confirmed the material stands up well. The author of the Record names the wife of William Coleman as Mary Wilson. They are said to be the parents of John W. Coleman and his sister Nancy. William Coleman is said to have been born in Newark, New Jersey, and later to have lived in Reading, Pennsylvania. William is said to have served in the Berks County Militia during the Revolution and he was a seargeant in the 5th Pennsylvania Regiment. It was some time before your researcher realized that John Coleman, the husband of Elizabeth Lawrason, on lot 6 of the 3rd concession of Beverly was quite another person than John W. Coleman, the husband of Margaret Hayes, on lot 6 of the 1st concession of Beverly. It does, however, remain a possibility that they were cousins. For starters: John W. Coleman and John Coleman were both from New Jersey. Sarah, the daughter of John Coleman and Elizabeth Lawrason, married George Buckburrough - earlier records show him as George Buckberry - and they named a son James Coleman Buckberrough. Sarah and George were in the habit of naming children after family members. This may not mean much when we consider that George and Sarah settled on lot 8 of the 1st concession in 1829 and were only two lots away from John W. Coleman and his wife Margaret who were the parents of James H. Coleman. The difficulty with this is that James Coleman Buckberrough was born in 1824 and while John W. Coleman was on the 2nd concession in the same area for a time, it isn't clear where George and Sarah were located. We do know, however, that when John W. Coleman sold the south half of lot 6 on the 1st concession to his son William Hayes Coleman in 1835, one of the witnesses to the transaction was George Buckberry. (See GS1421, Old Beverly Records, Register L, grant 116.) None of which is much help. The best we may say is that the two Coleman families were on good terms for the husband of one to act as a witness to a land transaction for the other family. So far as can be ascertained, such early information as we have came down, perhaps as much as a century ago, from children or grandchildren of Gabriel Cornwell and Phoebe Coleman. One tenuous problem here is the place of James H. Coleman who is buried with his wife Jane Blasdell in Troy Cemetery. For some years, it seemed reasonable to say that James was a son of John Coleman and Elizabeth Lawrason of the 3rd concession of Beverly. This is now discounted. The evidence is circumstantial, but it seems reasonably certain that James was the son of John W. Coleman and Margaret Hayes. Certainly, the Bell-Cornwell Family Record says as much, and given the array of associated dates it does appear as though there is a family bible in the background that was used as a source. This is as yet unproven, but it does support the circumstantial evidence. Information that may be found in the Bell-Cornwell Family Record has it that John W. Coleman and Nancy Coleman Matthews were brother and sister. This also remains unproven so far as solid evidence is concerned, but is almost certainly the case for the circumstantial evidence is supportive. Assistance has been received with the names of the children of John W. Coleman and Margaret Hayes from Matthews and Cornwell descendents. Inevitably, there is some variation in the lists, but the names as they appear herein are taken as a starting point. Finally, to everyone who contributed, I hope you will find value-added in notes on the John W. Coleman family and their ordeal with the Second Heirs & Devisees Commission. This provides some land background of the family's sojourn in Beverly Township. Such evidence as has been found for the relationship of the Colemans to Nancy Coleman Matthews is circumstantial, but the Matthews were for a time in what became South Dumfries Township, next door to Beverly, and the documentable relationship between the Colemans and Matthews, while circumstantial, should be of some interest. |
Children of William Coleman and Mary Wilson |
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| Last Edited | 10 Aug 2024 |