Family of Rebecca^6 Van Wicklen (Montgomery)
Note: There is some controversy as to whether Rebecca
Montgomery was a Van Wicklen or a Van Siclen. The circumstantial evidence for her being a Van Wicklen includes the following: 1.
John^5 Van Wicklen (Paul^4, Garret^3, Gerrit^2, Jentie^1 Jeppes) had a daughter (unnamed in census) b. abt 1786/7 in
Dutchess County. John^5 appears in the 1790 U.S. census in Clinton (Dutchess County), NY with one male and four females
under 16. (Rebecca Montgomery m. Hugh in Dutchess County.) 2. John^5 Van Wicklen moves to Ontario, Canada in 1810 preceded by his
brothers, Garret (in 1801) and Isaac (in 1797). 3. Hugh and Rebecca Montgomery show up in the 1821 Cramahe Township
census with John^6 Van Wicklen, son of John^5 and presumably Rebecca's brother. 4. Malcolm Montgomery has a family Bible
inscription that reads Rebecca Van Wicklen, b. 1787 All in all, warranting a page for Rebecca^6 Van Wicklen until evidence leads
in another more convincing direction.
(In an email dated 13 June 2000, Malcolm writes with respect to "the possibility of Rebecca being a Van Sicklin, that comes
from a local, oral history based on Wooler, Northumberland County, Canada publication, "As the Crow Flies", from what
Malcolm's father's first cousin Hilda told to Leona Austin, the author. Hilda did not have the family bible to refer to. I have it
from multiple independent sources that Rebecca was a Van Wicklin. Rebecca is my great great grandmother.)
Rebecca^6 Van Wicklen (John^5, Paul^4, Garret^3, Gerrit^2, Jentie^1
Jeppes), b. 19 March 1786, Dutchess County, NY
[See note in source section below about Hugh
and Rebecca's arrival in Kingston, Ontario by boat on Christmas Day, 1819 along
with Rebecca's brother, John.]
Married: Hugh Montgomery (b. 29 January 1785) 17 May 1809 in Clinton, Dutchess County, NY
Children:
1. Richard^7 Montgomery, b. 22 April 1810, Dutchess County, NY
2. Jane^7 Montgomery, b. 1 July 1811, Dutchess County, NY
3. Mariah^7 Montgomery, b. 23 October 1812, Dutchess County, NY
4. Sarah^7 Montgomery, b. 7 April 1814, Dutchess County, NY
5. John^7 Montgomery, b. 13 July 1817, Dutchess County, NY
6. Henry^7 Montgomery, b. 18 July 1819, Dutchess County, NY
7. George^7 Montgomery, b. 7 November 1820, Cramahe Township, Ontario
8. James^7 Montgomery, b. 24 November 1823, Murray Township, Ontario
9. Cornelius^7 Montgomery, b. 26 June 1826, Murray Township, Ontario
Parents:
Rebecca's parents are John and Christina
(Traver) Van Wicklen
Hugh's parents are Richard and Miss (Heulin) Montgomery
Photo (L to R) is Mark Graham, Camerron Montgomery, and Jo Anne Graham and behind them is the farmland that once
belonged to Hugh and Rebecca Montgomery--the original Montgomery homestead in Ontario, Canada. Mark and Jo Anne are
descended from Opal Van Wicklin (their great grandmother), and Camerron Montgomery is descended from the Rebecca Van
Wicklin and Cornelius Montgomery listed on this page. Rebecca is Camerron's great great great grandmother.
Background information:
Rebecca^6 Van Wicklen (John^5, Paul^4, Garret^3, Gerrit^2, Jentie^1
Jeppes), was b. 6 March 1786, Dutchess County, NY and d. 6 November 1860. (Malcolm Montgomery is holder of the family Bible of Hugh and Rebecca and it contains an
inscription of Rebecca Van Wickley, b. 1787. This altered spelling was also seen in her father, John and grandfather Paul's
surname in various documents.) She is the daughter of John and Christina (Traver) Van Wicklen. Rebecca m. Hugh
Montgomery (b. 29 January 1785 in New York State and d. 7 July 1867 in Brighton Township, ONT. Hugh is the son of
Richard and (____) Montgomery. Hugh was among the first settlers in Richland Station, Oswego County, New York, USA in
1801.
Hugh's father, Richard, held a commission in the Royal Navy. He came to America pre-revolution from Belfast, Ireland and
settled on the Mohawk River in Mass. Richard m. a Huelin and had at least two sons, Hugh and a brother Richard who died in
the War of 1812 as an American soldier. (Richard Montgomery is listed in the British Officers' Handbook, 1763, p.102 in "Full context of Loyalists
in the American Revolution: Miscellaneous Records" as Richard Montgomery, 4 May 1762 - 47th Regiment of Foot -- information
provided in 27 February 2002 email from Cheryl Viger)
Hugh and Rebecca emigrated from Dutchess County to Cramahe Township, Ontario, Canada between 1810 and 1820 showing
up in the Cramahe Township Census in 1821 with John Van Wicklen (Rebecca's brother presumably because her father, John
Van Wicklen, Snr. arrived in Ontario, Canada in 1810). They settled Conc. 4, Lot 30 in what is now Brighton Township.
(Brighton was formed out of parts of Cramahe and Murray Townships in 1851. For more information see Brighton History.)
By 1823, Hugh and Rebecca are in Murray. They are also listed in the 1850 Ontario Census as Quakers.
Children: Richard^7
Montgomery, (b. 22 April 1810 and d. 15 December 1840) m. Lucy Ann (____)
Jane^7 Montgomery, (b. 1 July 1811, d. 11 March 1899) m. John C. Manney, 18 December 1836;
Mariah^7 Montgomery, (b. 23 October 1812, d. after
1883) and m. a Mr. Alley abt 1832. She was mentioned in her brother's will in 1883;
Sarah^7 Montgomery, (b. 7 April 1814, d. 7 July 1816 in NY State.;
John^7 Montgomery, b. 13 July 1817 (see 1881 census information below);
Henry^7 Montgomery (b. 18 July 1819, d. 19 July 1902);
George^7 Montgomery (b. 7 November 1820, d. 20 January 1897) m. Lucinda (___) before 1846,
and had a daughter, Sarah (b. abt 1847) who m. John Fogarty on 1 June 1867 (The 7 July 2000 email from Jack Verge
Montgomery below applies to this George^7); James^7
Montgomery, (b. 24 November 1823, d. 10 May 1877); Cornelius^7
Montgomery, b. 26 June 1826 and married Elizabeth Ann Lawson, d/o of William (b. 2 Feb 1810, Murray) and Sarah [Jones]
Lawson (b. 1810, Napanee). The first six children (Richard through Henry) were b. in Dutchess County, NY and the last three
(George, James, Cornelius) were b. in Ontario, Canada.
(Note: Lucy Montgomery is a witness at the wedding of John and Jane (Montgomery) Manney. She could be the unnamed
sister of Jane or perhaps she could be the wife of Richard Montgomery)
The following note is from Jack Verge Montgomery (email 4
October 1999) based partially on information from Beth Mulac. Malcolm's family Bible inscriptions add some specificity to this
material: "Hugh Montgomery was among the first settlers in Richland Station, Oswego County, NY (1801) (part of Oneida
County after 1807). Hugh was a weaver and in 1812 established a Quaker Woolen factory in Oneida County. In 1820 or early 1821,
Hugh, Rebecca and the family of five children, Jane, Richard, John, Henry, and one unnamed girl (Lucy?), left New York and arrived in
Cramahe Township of Northumberland County. The family of 7 (3 boys, 2 girls and parents) was enumerated in 1821 Cramahe
Township Census. the three boys and two girls were joined by George, the fourth son durig the time they remained in Cramahe.
In early 1823 the family moved to Murray Township and the census for 1823 in Murray, records the parents, four boys under
age 16 and 2 girls under age 16. Another change in census records takes place when looking at 1826 due to another son, James,
being born in 1824, but we still have 2 girls under 16 until the census of 1828 when the last son, Cornelius joins the family and
Jane is no longer under 16 years, but there still is one female under 16 in the household. The conclusion I reached is that the
second girl was born after Jane and Richard were born, but before John arrived in 1817."
Email from Malcolm Montgomery (18 June 2000): The following note was sent to me by another great grandson of Rebecca's,
Allyn Dean: "Richard Montgomery was an officer in the British Navy, ran away from home at 17 years and sailed across keeping
the log book on the way (spoke seven languages). He settled in the states on Mohawk River in Massachusetts (right where Allyn
Dean's people came from) and married Miss Heulin (her people were rebels so he never went home again)."
7 July 2000 email from Malcolm Montgomery: From the 1881 census we have Rachel Montgomery in Gates Van Wicklin's
household. Rachel is Gates' first cousin, and is Emma's (who married Sherman) older sister. In the same household we have
Isaac Mattis, who married Annette Montgomery, who was Rachel and Emma's younger sister. The census calls her Nellie, and
she is there with their one-year old son Nicholas. Their older sister Phoebe Jane Montgomery married John Carr, son of
Abraham and Rhoda Carr [buried at Carr Cemetery with Garret and Rachel VW]. Phoebe Jane was John Carr's 2nd wife. You
have John Carr in Gates' household from the 1871 census with two sons from his first marriage. Finally, on the farm next to
Gates' lived the Plumpton's. John N. Plumpton married Ruth Montgomery, who was a niece to the sisters Phoebe, Jane,
Emma, and Annette. This information solidifies the link between the Montgomerys and the Van Wicklins, particularly you
[JVW] line, or more interestingly, your great grandfather's household.
Malcolm goes on to say that he believes that my (JVW) "step" great grandmother was Rebecca Montgomery, eldest daughter of
Richard Montgomery, who was Hugh and Rebecca's eldest son! He also believes that Gates is the son of John Van
Wicklen, not Cornelius. He is working on details and will soon share the results
of his research into this issue.
7 July 2000 email from Jack Verge Montgomery concerning his grandfather, Charles Henry Montgomery:
This little tidbit came from my father and his siblings, who could never really agree on just what their dear old dad, Charles
Henry Montgomery, had admitted to, as far as his past was concerned. Some of the kids said that Charles H. mentioned the
name Fogarty as a possible parent. He also mentioned the name CARR. I had looked at this a few times and did accumulate
several Carrs who looked like possibilities, but could never find the link. The most interesting Carr was John because he
married Phoebe Jane Montgomery and in the 1881 census, John Carr with Phoebe J. and John's son, James, by his first wife
Betsy Carl(e) were living right next door to John Dodge. So what you might say? John Dodge had married Elizabeth Switzer
who was born a Plumpton, d/o Horace Plumpton and born in England. Elizabeth had at least two children with Switzer, and
Mary, at 23 years in 1881, was still living with her mother and John Dodge, next door to John Carr and Phoebe Jane. There
was one more person living with the Dodges, 13 year old Charles Montgomery, who I think was my grandfather. But where did
Charles come from? Who were his parents? I don't know when Betsy Carle, John Carr's first wife died. It must have been
after 1863 when their son, William, was born. John didn't marry Phoebe Jane Montgomery until after 1871. Did John have a
housekeeper for some years? When Betsy died he'd need someone to look after his three children.
Phoebe Jane was born about 1846, but didn't marry for many years. Perhaps she was keeping house for John Carr. Perhaps
she had a child, either by John or an unknown in 1868 who later called himself Charles Henry Montgomery. Granddad,
Charles Henry Montgomery, told his children that when he ran away from home, he "chose" the name Montgomery because
he liked it. I wonder--if "Henry" was for his great uncle, brother of George, his birth granddad?
Source:
Harry Macy, Jr. The Van Wicklen/Van Wickle Family: Including its Frisian Origin and Connections to Minnerly and
Kranchheyt; The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Vol. 128, No. 4 (October 1997); p. 243-244.
U.S. 1790 Census; various Ontario census including Cramahe and Murray Township Census data as reviewed by Malcolm
Montgomery, Beth Mulac, Jack Verge Montgomery, Brian Tackaberry and others. Personal email correspondence with
Malcolm Montgomery has been the most important source of information for this page.
1881 Ontario Census -- courtesy Cheryl Viger, 30 April 2002
John Montgomery M S 64 Irish USA
Richard Montgomery M S 40 Irish Ontario
Phoebe Poole F W 39 German Ontario
Benjiman Poole M S 5 English Ontario
Religion: Methodist
Family Bible inscription in possession of Malcolm Montgomery;
Email correspondence with Malcolm and Jack Verge Montgomery and Beth Mulac (via Jack) about Rebecca Van Wicklin and
the Montgomerys.
1 August 2000 email from Marg Graham-Trottman: A writeup on the Stone School mentions Esli Terrill and Hannah Terrill. It also mentions
"straight up from the school, up on the hill lives Cornelius Montgomery." "Stanley Montgomery's farm is where Hughie Montgomery lived." "Cornelius
Montgomery" was hunting a deer in the woods. He shot at one but missed. The ball knocked the hammer from the hand of the carpenter who was working on
the school roof. This is remembered in the district as being a close call. Esli Terril recalls the time when the boys commandeered a stoneboat from the hill by
Cornelius Montgomery. One day the stoneboat took off and ended up in a stonepile at the bottom. Everyone was okay, but Charles Perry flew through the air.
He lived to grow up and tell the story. Teachers in stone school: Mr. Keith Montgomery, Mr. Wesley Montgomery, Clinton Terrill.
British Officers' Handbook, 1763, p.102 in "Full context of Loyalists in the American Revolution: Miscellaneous Records" -- Richard Montgomery, 4 May
1762 - 47th Regiment of Foot -- information provided in 27 February 2002 email from Cheryl Viger)
1 July 2013 email from Malcolm Montgomery indicates the following: Hugh Montgomery and Rebecca [Van Wicklin] Montgomery with your gr gr grandfather, John Van Wicklin, arrived in Canada on Christmas Day, 1819. They came by boat, landing at Kingston, Ontario. They went first to the in-laws before settling in Murray Twp.