Ogden Family in America, 1640s On

[jdelauche]

Hello from the U.S.A.

Author John Harpster has extensively researched the family of John Ogden (The Pilgrim) (b. 1609, England; d. 1682, Elizabethtown, New Jersey, British Colony.) He came to the conclusion that the John Ogden he was studying was probably from Lancashire. Mr. Harpster had a book published in the United States: JOHN OGDEN, THE PILGRIM (1609-1682): A MAN OF MORE THAN ORDINARY MARK (2006). Cranbury, New Jersey: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press.

The book is really a biography, but is useful for those tracing that Ogden family line in the British Colonies and the U.S.A. It definitely clears up all the bogus information that U.S. Ogden genealogy researchers obtained from the William Ogden Wheeler book THE OGDEN FAMILY IN AMERICA.

Fortunately, once in the British colonies of North America, John Ogden did the kinds of things that got his name and deeds written in official records, so getting that information correct was easier for Harpster. Plus, enough of "The Pilgrim's" descendants became people of enough import, of a sort, to have their names and deeds recorded in official records. (Although those dang American Ogdens seemed to have named a lot of their progeny after another Ogden, living in the same location around the same time, helping to confuse "the issue" - pardon the pun.) The Ogden family descending from John, The Pilgrim (as the U.S. genealogists call him) was also fruitful and multiplied, so there are now a lot of us.

Jean E. DeLauche, a John Ogden, The Pilgrim, descendant
P.S. For more information on John Harpster's book go to:
ogdenbooks.com

[garstonite]

Do you know what age John was when he left England ?...did he have a son in England born 1645 ?
babtism of John Ogden 23rd November 1645 in Lymm,by Warrington ......father John Ogden .......allan

[jdelauche]

Hello -

John Ogden, The Pilgrim, (b. 19 Sep 1609, probably in Lancashire) arrived in the British Colony in Connecticut about 1641, age 32, most likely. The first mention of him at Rippowam, Connecticut was late in 1641. He was married 8 May 1637, in England (probably Lancashire) to Jane Bond. They emigrated to the New World with their 3 children, John (b. 3 Mar 1638) and twins, Jonathan and David (b. 11 Jan 1639.) There was another John Ogden in Connecticut at the same time as John (The Pilgrim - as he is referred to in the family, now.) That other John Ogden was a relative of John The Pilgrim - an uncle I believe - who probably came from the same area as John The Pilgrim. I suspect there were other John Ogdens around -- about the same time period -- all probably related, too -- in Lancashire and maybe Yorkshire. It seems the family followed the British Isles pattern of naming children after older kin with cousins and uncles having the same names.

Jean E. DeLauche

[bibliojunkie]

Hi Jean. What are your sources for John’s dates? I had a quick look on the IGI site where there are multiple listings of John (the Pilgrim) Ogden. All appear to be member submitted entries and therefore should be treated with a great deal of caution. These entries also claim his marriage to Jane Bond took place in Bradley Plains, Hampshire. Was the IGI the source of the ’bogus information’ you mentioned in your first post?

Ali

[jdelauche]

Hello, Ali -

My apologies for not replying sooner. I haven't logged into this forum for a while.

My sources of information on John (The Pilgrim) Ogden are as follows:

Birth, about 1609:
* Ancestry.com American Genealogical-Biographical Index

** The next 2 sources are what I would call "iffy" as I suspect the information was taken from the book by William Ogden Wheeler (1907) The Ogden Family In America, Elizabethtown Branch, And Their English Ancestry: John Ogden, The Pilgrim And His Descendants, 1640-1906, Their History, Biography, And Genealogy which is now considered "suspect" regarding early John Ogden family information. It seems that the genealogist Wheeler hired to do the research faked the early information about the family being from Bradley Plain, Hampshire, England. Most of the information on the family after arriving in the American colonies can be verified by other original resources, so much of that is a bit more reliable.
* Ancestry.com Millenium File (questionable, as the information was probably taken from the Wheeler book)

* Ancestry.com Family Data Collection - Births (definitely as the information was most likely taken from the Wheeler book)

* Book: Harpster, Jack (2006). John Ogden, The Pilgrim (1609-1682): A Man of More Than Ordinary Mark. Cranbury, New Jersey: Fairleigh Dickenson University Press. (This is a well-researched book by a John, The Pilgrim descendant. He cites his references, many of which are original documents. Plus, he points out the likely errors in the Wheeler book. It can probably be purchased as a special order from a local book store -- buy local I say :-) -- or ordered via Amazon.com. Or, if you choose not to purchse a copy, I suspect your local public library can find the book held in another library in Great Britain and request that it be borrowed for you to read, via Interlibrary Loan. Ask a librarian at your public library information/reference desk about this.)

Marriage, 8 May 1637 to Jane Bond, Lancashire, England:
* Harpster book, page 201

Arrival, late 1641 Rippowam, Connecticut, British Colony (present day Stamford, Connecticut, USA):
* Ancestry.com Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s

* Harpster book, page 65

Occupation, Stone Mason:
* Late 1641Rippowam, Connecticut, British Colony; Builds a dam and mill for the town:
Harpster book, pages 68-71
* May 1642, New Amsterdam, Island of Manhattan, New Netherlands, Dutch Colony; With brother Richard, obtains contract to build first permanent stone church in New Amsterdam located at or near Bowling Green park in present day New York City, New York, USA:
Harpster book, pages 81-95

Death, 30 May 1682, Elizabethtown, Union County, New Jersey, British Colony:
* Harpster book, didn't not the page/s
* Ancestry.com Millenium File

(The Birth information in this file was most likely taken from the "iffy" Wheeler book source, but the death date can be verified with original historical records in state of New Jersey archival repositories.)
* Ancestry Family Data Collection - Deaths


I have other information on John, The Pilgrim I scanned, mostly from the Harpster book, but I haven't added it to my family tree yet.

Another source of John, The Pilgrim information can be found via the Internet on free web sites offering the full text of the book
The History of Elizabeth, New Jersey: Including the Early History of Union County. (1868), author, Edwin F. Hatfield:
* Internet Archive www.
archive.org
The pages were scanned early in the technology of page scanning, however, and some of the text was garbled in the scanning, making the information a bit difficult to "decipher."
* Google Books books.google.com
The text is easier to read

I hope this information is helpful to you. I'm a librarian/archivist/genealogist by profession and tend to be a bit "picky" about resources and their accuracy. :-)

All the best to you -
Jean E. DeLauche, Missouri, USA

[jdelauche]

Correction to my previous post:

Death, 30 May 1682, Elizabethtown, Union County, New Jersey, British Colony:
* Harpster book, didn't note the page/s

I left the "e" off "note."

Jean E. DeLauche, Missouri, USA