| HISTORY OF WILLIAM TERRY AND CHARLOTTE CLARK |
| William Terry was born in England around 1812-15. Charlotte Clark, according to family letters, was born in England in 1806. Family letters tell us that William's parents were William and Ann Terry. The parents of Charlotte are said to be John and Nancy Clark. Both families are from the County of Kent. Watch for more to come on these families as we search further. |
| The County of Kent is east of London, on the southeast coast of England. The cliffs of Dover are in this area and several castles. The ancient town of Bath and legendary area of Canterbury are found in Kent. Read more at this site for Kent history including the stories of smugglers !! |
| William Terry Spouse: Charlotte Ann Clark Marriage: 12 September 1836 St. Luke, Old Charlton Kent, England |
| The name of Terry is found throughout the county records. We find this marriage record of William Terry and Charlotte Ann Clark at St. Luke's Anglican Church, Old Charlton, Kent, England. (Current day photo seen above left.) The date was 12 Sept. 1836. Family lore says that Charlotte was disinherited by her father, when she married. William Terry was a tradesman, a carriage maker or wheelwright. John Clark, her father, was superintendent of Government Military Hospitals, stationed at Woolwich. The engraving above is the Woolwich area, drawn in 1775. The St. Luke's church is mid-left in the skyline. |
| Several children were born in England before the family left for America in 1848. We have found birth registrations for: Charles Terry, Amelia Terry, and Edwin A. Terry in Kent County, England Records. Family letters state that the family sold their carriage making business in Deal, Kent County, and took a sailing ship to America. Below (left) is a view of the city of Deal, seen from the harbor. Not far from Deal is Dover, famous for the white cliffs. The White Cliffs of Dover would be the first view of England seen by those crossing the English Channel from France (unless they are taking the "Chunnel.") |
| A portion of an old letter from Henry Davis, son of Amelia Terry, states: "Charlotte Ann Clark [was] born to John Clark and wife Oct 5, 1806, the youngest of 6 children. In 1829 [note: 1836] she married William Terry. To that union were born 9 children: |
| Sarah, Charles, Lottie, Amelia (our mother, born Jan. 2, 1840), Samuel, William, Edwin, Elizabeth, and Clara. Charlotte and William Terry sold their wagon and carriage shop in Deal, County of Kent, England and took voyage for the United States. They were out 4 or 5 weeks and the captain feared they had yellow fever aboard. The captain turned back to Liverpool and they were quarantined until given a clean bill of health by port authorities. They reached the U.S. about 1849....." |
| Passenger List for the ship "American Eagle" lists the family: (Click photo and scroll site for information on "American Eagle" |
| Terry, Amelia Gender: Female Embarkation: London Age: 8 Ship: American Eagle Occupation: child Passengers: 164 Native Country: Great Britain Destination: USA Literacy:Not Listed Arrival Date: 1 August 1849 ------------------------------------------------------- |
| Terry, Charles Gender: Male Embarkation: London Age: 11 Ship: American Eagle Occupation: none Passengers: 164 Native Country: Great Britain Destination: USA Literacy:Not listed Arrival Date: 1 August 1849 ------------------------------------------------------- |
| Terry, Charlotte [mother] Gender: Female Embarkation: London Age: 38 Ship: American Eagle Occupation: none Passengers: 164 Native Country: Great Britain Destination: USA Literacy: Not listed Arrival Date: 1 August 1849 ------------------------------------------------------- |
| Terry, Charlotte Gender: Female Embarkation: London Age: 4 Ship: American Eagle Occupation: child Passengers: 164 Residence: Unknown Compartment: Native Country: Great Britain Destination: USA Literacy:Not listed Arrival Date: 1 August 1849 ------------------------------------------------------- |
| Terry, Edwin Gender: Male Embarkation: London Age: 2 Ship: American Eagle Occupation: child Passengers: 164 Native Country: Great Britain Destination: USA Arrival Date: 1 August 1849 ------------------------------------------------------- |
| Another Terry Family is on board: Terry, George [not our direct ancestor ] Gender: Male Embarkation: London Age: 34 Ship: American Eagle Occupation: none Passengers: 164 Native Country: Great Britain Destination: USA Literacy: Not listed Arrival Date: 1 August 1849 Wife: Elizabeth, age 29 Infant: George, born at sea -------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Terry, Samuel Gender: Male Embarkation: London Age: 6 Ship: American Eagle Occupation: child Passengers: 164 Native Country: Great Britain Destination: USA Literacy: Not listed Arrival Date: 1 August 1849 ------------------------------------------------------- |
| Terry, Sarah Gender: Female Embarkation: London Age: 10 Ship: American Eagle Occupation: none Passengers: 164 Native Country: Great Britain Destination: USA Literacy: Not listed Arrival Date: 1 August 1849 ------------------------------------------------------- |
| Terry, William [father] Gender: Male Embarkation: London Age: 37 Ship: American Eagle Occupation: wheelwright Passengers:164 Native Country: Great Britain Destination: USA Literacy: Not listed Arrival Date: 1 August 1849 -------------------------------------------- |
| Terry, William Gender: Male Embarkation: London Age: 5 Ship: American Eagle Occupation: child Passengers: 164 Native Country: Great Britain Destination: USA Literacy:Not listed Arrival Date: 1 August 1849 ------------------------------------------------------ |
| We first find William Terry and his wife, Charlotte, living in America in Milwaukee, Wisconsin Census records of 1850. (District #19, 3rd Ward, Household #536) [My notes are in brackets.] |
| Wisconsin 1850 Census William Terry, 35 Wheelwright b. England [appr. 1815] Charlotte, 36 b. England [appr.1814] Sarah, 11 b. England [appr. 1839 ] Amelia, 10 In School b. Eng. [appr. 1840 ] Samuel , 8 In School b. Eng. [appr. 1842 ] William J., 7 In School b. Eng. [appr. 1843 ] Charlotte N., 6 b. Eng. [appr. 1844 ] Edwin , 3 b. Eng. [appr. 1847 ] Elizabeth, 3 mos. born in Wisconsin [1850 ] [Grand daughter, Dorothy Mann Gleason, raised by Elizabeth, related the family story that Elizabeth (Lizzie) was conceived in England, born in the U.S.] |
| The Terrys llived next to the Chapin family's livery stable, near a boarding house, shingle maker, house carpenter, draying (hauling) business, and a tailor. Another child, Clara, was born after this census. Lizzie's older brother Charles would have been about 13 [b. Eng. 1836] at the time and was not listed with the family. He is found in Racine County, Wisconsin, in 1850 Census. |
| Wisconsin 1850 Census, Racine Co. Raymond Twp., Pg. 116, Enumerated on Sept 4, 1850 Charles Terry age 13, born Eng. , listed as Farmer with family named White. Morris P. White, age 33, b. NY Julia White, 33, b. NY Mary White, age 2 [This family may have been the ones who built the home in Racine. They may even have traveled from New York to Wisconsin at the same time as the Terry family. |
| A news article about Charles Terry, written around 1928, gives us an idea of the times. He came to America [from England] with his parents in the 1840s. They located in Milwaukee when there was not a mile of railroad track in the state of Wisconsin. Later they moved to Thompsonville, near Racine, where his father built the first house in that town and afterwards moved to Chicago, which then had a population of 15,000 people. |
| During the years between 1860 and 1873, the Terrys lived in Illinois, possibly in Chicago and then near Decatur IL, in Macon County. County map of Illinois is below. Macon County is right in the middle. See 1860 census record for Terrys. |
| Macon County, IL was in the area frequented by Abraham Lincoln and his family. To the west of Macon County, you will find Sangamon County, IL. This was where Abraham Lincoln lived from 1831 - 1837. Although it is well before the Terry family arrived in Illinois, the legends lived on, especially as Abe Lincoln gained political fame. The text below is from the Macon County page at www.genweb.com. The article was written in 1880: |
| "History of Early Settlers of Macon County IL" "When Abraham Lincoln came with his father to Illinois, he first became a resident of Macon County. His mind was accidentally determined towards the profession of law by the perusal of some law books at the house of 'Uncle Billy Warnick.' It came about in this way: He went to Uncle Billy's house to see one of the girls, but in going got his feet badly frosted, and was, for a week or ten days, unable to return home. While under the medical treatment of old Mrs. Warnick, he began the study of the stray law-books owned by Uncle Billy." |
| The 1928 newspaper article about Charles Terry states that he voted for Abraham Lincoln three times while a resident of Illinois. The first time was in Beardstown, when Mr. Lincoln was a candidate for congressman at large. This would have to have been in 1852 or 1856. Beardstown is in Cass County, not far from Lincoln's New Salem and Springfield, IL. |
| At sometime during the early 1860s, the Terry men became naturalized citizens. Such records were kept in local or county courthouses and have not yet been found for this family. Enlistments in militia and/or Union services are listed for the following men of this family: |
| TERRY, CHARLES PVT Co. I 68 IL US INF DECATUR TERRY, WILLIAM J. REC Co. E 10 IL US CAV BLUE MOUND TAYLOR, JAMES M 2LT Co. E 41 IL US INF BLUE MOUND (Could this be Amelia's Husband?) |
| Information in an early letter from a Terry descendant states that another son Edwin also enlisted in Union service. "In 1863, William Terry and Edward [sic.] joined the army. Charles joined just before the war ended." (from Henry Davis' account.) More about Civil War service is found under the family pages of the Terry brothers. |
| At least one of the Terry sons, Samuel, purchased land in Macon County, IL, in 1869, as shown in a land transaction record, from Illinois State Archives Database of Public Land Sales. See Samuel Terry's page. |
| In searching for Terry families in IL around 1860, I found a family whose travels parallel our Terrys. The Lay family is documented by Betty Pederson, in OR. [No connection to Terrys is found in her narrative, but the migration pattern is very similar. Even though this was not our family, they surely knew our kin, as their journeys follow the same routes, to the same counties, during the same years. I have cut some of the text that applied just to her family. ] |
| "Great-grandfather Eli Lay was nineteen when he moved with his brothers and sister [from Fredericks Co VA around 1838] to St. Charles, Missouri [near St. Louis] where he would later marry Emily Ann McCormick. The young couple bought a farm from James Darst.... Eli and his brother-in-law, William Friedly, owned and operated a saw-mill, grist-mill, a brick kiln, and a blacksmith shop on their two farms in St. Charles County, Missouri. William Friedly was the husband of Emily Ann's sister, Mary. In 1865, the Eli Lay family moved to Macon County, Illinois. [This county is where we find William and Charlotte and family in 1860. William J. enlisted at Blue Mound in Macon County.] |
| Five years later, in 1870, the family moved again, this time by wagon train to Montgomery County, Kansas. [This is the same time that we find the Terry family moving to KS.] They started from Blue Mound Township near Decatur, Macon County, Illinois. They crossed the Mississippi River by ferry boat at Jersey Landing, near New Mella; then stayed for a visit with Eli's sister, Rebecca Lay Smith in St. Charles County, Missouri. They crossed the Missouri River on a Ferry at Rocheport, continued through Missouri and entered Kansas north of Ft. Scott. They continued on to St. Paul and Independence, KS. |
| Between St. Paul and Independence, they stopped at the 'notorious Bender Farm' to buy feed for their horses. This farm must have been located near the path of the wagon-train, and they offered food and lodging for travelers and their horses, and cattle. Supposedly, the owners often robbed and sometimes killed the unwary travelers. Fortunately, they did not plan to spend the night. The story of the Bender farm was the basis for an episode in the 1960 TV series, The Big Valley. In 1885 Eli and Emily moved one more time, from Montgomery County, to the neighboring county, Chautauqua County, Kansas. [ In Montgomery County Census, this family is found near Samuel and Lizzie Terry Griffin and family.] |
| Grandfather James Darst McCutchen Lay, the eldest of the children of the Eli Lays, was a farmer and lived in the area of Elk City, in Montgomery County, Kansas. [This is where Amelia and 3rd husband Alexander Davis lived.] In 1901 James Darst McCutcheon Lay, widower, and the eight young Lay children moved to Oregon. Some of their Kansas friends and family, including James' sister, Jane Lay Skinner, had previously gone to Oregon. They wrote back to James that the Oregon country was exceptionally green, lush, fertile, and beautiful. These glowing descriptions convinced James to sell out and move to Oregon. |
| They came by train (one week of travel) via the southern route to San Francisco, then north to Canby, Oregon. For the next few years the family rented farms in and around Canby, Carus, Barlow, and Molalla areas, and in 1917 purchased a large farm near Molalla." from "A LAY OF THE LAND" 12/96 |
| A William Terry, whom we believe to be our ancestor is buried in the Salem Baptist Cemetery, Macon County, IL. Inscription says: William Terry, died May 14, 1863, Aged 52 yrs. one month 3 days. The remaining family lives in Pleasant View, IL, near South Macon P.O. in 1870, according to census records. Charles Terry and family, and Edward Terry are living in Randolph County, IL in 1870 Census record. In October of the same year, Charles and his family moved to Atchison, KS (major stop on the railroad.) William John Terry is living with the Huffman family, near the Terrys in Macon County IL, June 1870 census. I also found an 1871 record for a William Terry, who works in a 'spoke factory' near Indianapolis, IN, which matches the ages of our 'younger' William. An old letter states that Amelia Terry Taylor Dudrey moved to Montgomery County, Kansas, where her mother and brother, Samuel, lived, after her 2nd husband, Mr. Dudrey, died in 1872. The marriage of Lizzie Terry and Samuel Young Griffin took place "at Sunnyside, at the bride's mother's home," in 1873. |
| An account by Henry E. Davis, son of Amelia Terry Davis and grandson of William and Charlotte Terry, states: |
| "...In 1889, on October 25, we arrived in Portland. The following spring, Uncle Samuel and family and Grandmother Terry arrived in Portland to make it their home. Grandma [Charlotte] Terry was born Oct 5, 1806, died Nov. 8, 1890." |
| Charlotte Terry's tombstone is found in Portland, OR, at Lone Fir Cemetery. A photograph of the stone is on the Lizzie Terry website at myfamily.com, with inscription: Charlett A. Terry Born Oct. 5, 1806 Died Nov. 8, 189 |
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| More on the descendants of William and Charlotte Terry will be posted on the following pages: Charles W. Terry and Descendants Sarah Terry Amelia Terry and Descendants Samuel Terry and Descendants Lottie Terry William John Terry and Descendants Edwin Terry and Descendants Elizabeth Terry and Descendants Clara Terry and Descendants |
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| A scene in Milwaukee, Wisconsin around 1860. Note the dirt street and false front buildings. |
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