Upper Level: Benjamin Trotter 1699 Mary Fisher 1711-1750

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Benjamin Trotter 1699 Mary Fisher 1711-1750

Benjamin was a Quaker
this symbol is known as a
Quaker Star

Benjamin Trotter
Born Nov 1699 Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Parents: William Trotter and Rebecca Theach
Occupation: Chair maker, Quaker preacher for 40 years
Religion: Quaker
Married Mary Fisher 4 Jun 1734 Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Died 26 Mar 1768 Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Buried: Friends Arch Street Meeting House

A Testimony of the monthly meeting of Friends in Philadelphia concerning our friend, Benjamin Trotter, who was born in this city in the ninth month of the year 1699

Newspaper Obituary extraction

He was one whom the Lord early visited and reached unto by the reproofs of His devine light and grace, for those youthful vanities and corrupt conversation, by which nature he was prone to and pursued, to the grief of his pious mother, who was religiously concerned to restrain him; but as he became obedient to the renewed visitations of the heavenly call, denying himself of those things he was reproved for, he not only ceased in doing evil, but to live in the practice of doing well; and continuing faithful, became an example of plainess and self-denial, for which he suffered much scoffing and mocking of those who had been his companions in folly; yet he neither fainted nor was turned aside by the reproaches of the ungodly, which thus fell to his lot, for his plain testimony to their evil conduct.

In the twenty-sixth year of his age, he appeared in the work of the ministry, and laboured therein in much plainess and godly sincerity, adorning the doctrine he preached by a humble cirumspect life and conversation, being exemplary in his diligence and industry to labor honestly for a livelihood, though often in much bodily infirmity and weakness desiring, as he sometimes expressed, that he might not owe any man any thing but love. His inoffensive openess and affability, drawing many of different denominations to converse with him, he had some seasonable opportunities of admonishing and rebuking the evil doer and evil speaker, which he did, in the plainess of an upright zeal for the promotion of piety and virtue, tempered with true brotherly kindness and charity; respecting not the person of the proud nor of the rich, because of his riches, but with Christian freedom, declaring the truth to his neighbor, and was thus in private as well as in public, a preacher of righteousness.

In his public ministry, he was zealous against errors both in principle and practice, and constantly concerned to press the necessity of obedience to the principle of divine grace; a manifestation which is given to every man; knowing from his own experience that it bringeth salvation to all them that obey and follow its teachings, and was frequently enabled with energy and power, to bear testimony to the outward coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, his miraculous birth, his holy example in his life and precepts, and his sufferings and death at Jerusalem, by which he hath obtained eternal redemption for us.

In his public testimony, a little before his last sickness, he expressed his apprehensions, that his time among us would be short, and fervently exhorted to watchfulness and care, to keep our lamps trimmed and our lights burning, and urged the necessity of being prepared to meet the bridegroom, as not knowing what hour he will come.

He travelled several times and and visited most of the meetings of Friends in this province and New Jersey, and some of the adjacent provinces, but was not much from home; being upwards of forty years a diligent attender of our religious meetings in this city, zealously concerned for the maintaining our Christian discipline in meekness and true charity, careful in the exercise of pure religion, visiting the widow and fatherless in their afflictions, and often qualified to administer relief and consolation to their dejected minds.

Afflictions of divers kinds, and some very deep and exercising, fell to his lot through the course of his life, which he was enabled to bear with exemplary patience and resignation, and particularly through his last illness, in which, in upwards of six weeks, he underwent great difficulty and pain, being afflicted with the asthma and dropsy, so that he suffered much, yet was never heard to utter a murmur or complaint, but frequently expressed his thankfulness that he had not more pain, and often engaged in prayer, tha the might be preserved in patience to the end,which was graciously granted him; so that he was capable of speaking to the comfort and edification of those who visited him; and from the fervrent love of the brethren, which evidently appeared through his life, and most conspiciously during his last illness, and even in the hour of his death, we have a well-grounded assurance that he is passed unto life, and hath received a reward of righteousness.

His body was attended by a great number of Friends and others, his fellow citizens of divers religious denominations, to our meeting house in High Street, on the 24th of the third month 1768, and after a solemn meeting, in which several living testimonies were borne, was interred in our burial ground in this city. Signed James Pemberton, Clerk, the fourth day of the 8th month, 1769

Date: 25 Feb 1768

Prove Date: 1 Apr 1768

Name: Benjamin Trotter

Residence: Philadelphia

Description: Decedent
Title: Chairmaker
BookPage: O:220
Remarks: Benjamn Trotter. Phila. Chair maker. 2 mo. 25, 1768. 1 April 1768. Daughter: Mary Browne. Grandchildren: Mary, Elizabeth, Rebecca, Dinah, Joseph, Hannah and Benjamin Browne. Execs.: cousin David Bacon and John Pemberton. Negro: Rose. O:220.

His will, dated 5 Feb 1768 was offered for probate 1 Apr 1768
"...First, I do give, desire and bequeath to my dear daughter, Mary Brown, my wearing apparel, and having heretofore assisted my said beloved daughter Mary as I have been well capable, yet consdiering she may continue under Tryals & difficulties (Mary's husband, Abraham Browne, had been disowned by the Quakers for 'bearing arms' in the war - perhaps the French and Indian War?), I do give unto her the interest which my yearly ...from the money hereafter bequeathed in my grandchildren during their minority...I give and bequeath unto Rose, a Negro woman whome I have set free and at liberty, a small feather bed, a trundle bedstead with sacking bottom, two blankets and a pair of sheets....The money arising from such sale or sales (his executors were to sell what they could) unto my loving grandchildren, Mary, Elizabeth, Rebecca, Dinah, Joseph, Hannah, and Benjamin Brown, to be paid to them as they respectively attain to age or marry...."

Sources
US Newspaper Extractions, Index of Obituaries 1704-1800 page 474
https://sites.google.com/site/webstergriggsfamilies/webster/trotter
Will: ancestry.com
Book: The Friends (Quaker) Library for his memorial pages 183-184
US Encyclopedia of Quaker Genealogy Volumes 1-6
US Quaker Meeting Records
Genealogies of Pennsylvania Families, Page 563
Family Search
A source listed on findagrave: Genealogical Gleanings from the Journal of Elizabeth Drinker, 1759 to 1807, Page 591 in Pennsylvania Vital Records, Vol. I, by the Genealogical Publishing Company, Incorporated in 1983
Occupation, Religion: The Winterthur Library The Joseph Downs Collection of Manuscripts and Printed Ephemera
Note: I found information about the Trotters of Philadelphia online. Apparently, many members of the family were locally famous for their hand-crafted furniture.
Memorial: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/155016869
Mary Fisher
Born 26 Mar 1711 Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Note: This birth date has to be wrong as her marriage to William Corker took place in 1709 on Quaker records. More likely, she was born much earlier, perhaps as early as 1690.
Parents: William Fisher and Bridget Hodgkins
Married 1) William Corker
Children: Elizabeth
Died 28 Mar 1750 Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Sources
Death date: US Quaker Meeting Records
US Encyclopedia of Quaker Genealogy Volumes 1-6
US Quaker Meeting Records
ancestry.com
Family Search

CHILDREN

Mary Trotter
Born 24 Jan 1734 Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Married Abraham Browne 29 Mar 1754 West Grove, Chester, Pennsylvania
Children: Mary, Elizabeth, Dinah, Rebecca, Joseph, Abraham, Hannah, Benjamin
Died 11 Feb 1802 West Grove, Chester, Pennsylvania
Buried: New West Grove Friends Cemetery
Sources
For a look at the some of the land that Abraham Brown owned: Book: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania 1907 Official Documents Case: No. 7 A. 35 18 Dec 1907 Evidently there was a question about the land that Mary Trotter owned and had surveyed in 1794 (before her death)
Family Search
Memorial: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/190646031/mary-browne

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From a Funeral Program

When I come to the end of the road

And the sun has set for me

I want no rites in a gloom-filled room

Why cry for a soul set free?

Miss me a little - but not for too long

And not with your head bowed low

Remember the love that we once shared

Miss me, but let me go.

For this is a journey that we all must take

And each must go alone

It's all part of the Master's plan

A step on the road to home.

When you are lonely and sick at heart

Go to the hills we know

And bury your sorrow among the trees

Miss me, but let me go.

The Line

Every minute someone leaves this world behind.
We are all in “the line” without knowing it.
We never know how many people are before us.
We can not move to the back of the line.
We can not step out of the line.
We can not avoid the line.

So while we wait in line -

Make moments count.
Make priorities.
Make the time.
Make your gifts known.
Make a nobody feel like a somebody.
Make your voice heard.
Make the small things big.
Make someone smile.
Make the change.
Make love.
Make up.
Make peace.
Make sure to tell your people they are loved.
Make sure to have no regrets.
Make sure you are ready.

I'm My Own Grandpa

Many, many years ago when I was 23,
I got married to a widow
who was as pretty as could be.
She had a grown up daughter
who had a hair of red.
My father fell in love with her
and soon the two were wed.
This made my dad my son-in-law
And changed my very life.
My daughter was my mother,
for she was my father's wife.
To complicate the matters worse,
although it brought me joy,
I soon became the father
of a bouncing baby boy.
My little baby then became a brother -in-law to dad
and so became my uncle though it made me very sad.
For if he was my uncle,
then that also made him brother to the widow's grown-up- daughter,
who of course, was my stepmother.
Father's wife then had a son,
who kept them on the run.
And he became my grandson, for he was my daughter's son.
My wife is now my mother's mother
and it makes me blue.
Because, although she is my wife,
she's my grandma too.
If my wife is my grandmother,
then I am her grandchild.
and every time I think of it,
it simply makes me wild.
For now I have become the strangest case you ever saw.
As the husband of my grandmother,
I am my own grandpa!

Quotes from the Prophets

President Gordon B Hinckley: "It is good to look to the past to gain appreciation for the present and perspective for the future. It is good to look upon the virtues of those who have gone before, to gain strength for whatever lies ahead. It is good to reflect upon the work of those who labored so hard and gained so little in this world, but out of whose dreams and early plans so well nurtured, has come a great harvest of which we are the beneficiaries. Their tremendous example can become a compelling motivation for us all, for each of us is a pioneer in his own life."

President Spencer W Kimball: "I hope to see us dissolve the artificial boundary line we so often place between missionary work and temple and genealogical work, because it is the same great redemptive work!"

President Joseph Fielding Smith: " The responsibility on behalf of our kindred dead rests with equal force on all, according to our individual ability and opportunities...the greatest and grandest duty of all is to labor for the dead."

The Passing of the Pot (Chamber Pot)

As far back in childhood
As memory may go
One household vessel greets me
That wasn't made for show
Beneath the bed twas anchored
Where only few could see
But served the entire family
With equal privacy
Some called the critter Peggy
And some the thundermug
And others called it badger
A few called it jug
To bring it in at evening
Was bad enough no doubt
But heaven help the person
Who had to take it out
Our big one was enormous
And would accomodate
A watermelon party
Composed of six or eight
When nights were dark and rainy
It was a useful urn
On icy winter mornings
The cold rim seemed to burn
At times when things were rushing
And business extra good
Each took his turn a waiting
Or did the best he could
Sometimes when in a hurry
To our disgust and shame
We fumbled in the darkness
And slightly missed our aim
The special one for company
Was decorated well
But just the same it rendered
That old familiar smell
Today this modernism
Relieves me a lot
And only in my vision
I see that homely pot.
(author unknown)

Poem about ancestors

Though steep is the path I follow today,
The footprints of time will show me the way.
For many have traveled a smiliar road,
And carried an equal of heavier load.

No troubles I face are new to this earth,
That man has not faced from time of his birth.
The route has been charted and roads have been paved
By legions before me who were stalwart and brave.

Their steps never faltered nor courage grew dim,
For they trusted the Lord and let Him led them.
If my faith and my trust remain steadfast and true,
God will guide and protect me in all that I do.
- Dolores Karides

The Elusive Ancestor

I went searching for an ancestor.
I cannot find him still.
He moved around from place to place
and did not leave a will.
He married where a courthouse burned.
He mended all his fences.
He avoided any man who came to
take the US census

He always kept his luggage packed,
This man who had no fame,
and every 20 years or so,
This rascal changed his name.
No one else inthis world is
searching for this elusive man,
so I play "Gene-solitaire"
To find him, if I can!

I'm told he's buried in a plot,
with tombstone he was blessed;
but the weather took engravings,
and some vandals took the rest.
He died before the county clerks
were appointed to keep records
No family Bible has emerged -
In spite of all my efforts.

To top it off, this elusive ancestor
who has caused me many groans -
left me even one more challenge:
He brothed a lady,
by the name of "Jones"!
(Got this from a publication
put out by the DUP organization
that names the author: Merrell Kenworthy)

Poem: Heaven's Door

If I should go before you,

If life on earth were through;

I'll stop just inside Heaven's door,

and there I'll wait for you.

You've but to look 'cross star filled skies,

Past the moon and then beyond;

To know my leaving could never break,

This heart's undying bond.

And if you should go before me,

If your journey on earth were through;

You know I will be close behind,

I'll never be far from you.

Across the span of time and space,

This love will reach this far;

For you'll always carry a bit of my heart,

No matter where you are.

Allison Chambers Coxsey©1995 ~ All Rights Reserved

Which Shall It Be? by Adelaide Proctor

Which shall it be?

"Which shall it be? Which shall it be?
I looked at John and John looked at me,
And when I found that I must speak,
My voice seemed strangely low and weak:
˜Tell me again what Robert said,"
And then I, listening, bent my head.
This is his letter:˜I will give
A house and land while you shall live,
If, in return, from out your seven,
One child to me for aye is given."

I looked at John's old garments worn;
I thought of all that he had borne
Of poverty, and work, and care,
Which I, though willing, could not share;
I thought of seven young mouths to feed,
Of seven little children's need,
And then of this.

˜Come, John,said I,
We'll choose among them as they lie
Asleep. So, walking hand in hand,
Dear John and I surveyed our band:
First to the cradle lightly stepped,
Where Lilian, the baby, slept.
Softly the father stooped to lay
His rough hand down in a loving way,
When dream or whisper made her stir,
And huskily he said: ˜Not her!"

We stooped beside the trundle bed,
And one long ray of twilight shed
Athwart the boyish faces there,
In sleep so beautiful and fair;
I saw on James rough, red cheek
A tear undried. E'er John could speak,
He's but a baby, too," said I,
And kissed him as we hurried by.

Pale, patient, Robbie's angel face
Still in his sleep bore suffering's trace.
˜No, for a thousand crowns, not him!"
He whispered, while our eyes were dim.
Poor Dick! bad Dick! our wayward son”
Turbulent, restless, idle one”
Could he be spared?
Nay, He who gave
Bade us befriend him to the grave;
Only a mother's heart could be
Patient enough for such as he;
˜And so," said John, ˜I would not dare
To take him from her bedside prayer."

Then stole we softly up above,
And knelt by Mary, child of love;
˜Perhaps for her ˜twould better be,"
I said to John. Quite silently
He lifted up a curl that lay
Across her cheek in a wilful way,
And shook his head: ˜Nay, love, not thee,
The while my heart beat audibly.

Only one more, our eldest lad,
Trusty and truthful, good and glad,
So like his father. ˜No, John, no!
I cannot, will not, let him go."

And so we wrote, in courteous way,
We could not give one child away;
And afterward toil lighter seemed,
Thinking of that of which we dreamed,
Happy in truth that not one face
Was missed from its accustomed place;
Thankful to work for all the seven,
Trusting the rest to One in heaven."

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Benjamin Trotter 1699 Mary Fisher 1711-1750

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