William ALLUM 1st Of Maryland And Pennsylvania

  General Notes:

Document: Will of William Allum of Washington County, Pennsylvania, page 1 of 2 (See "Our Ancestor Allum" for page 2 of 2)

Florence Sturgis McIlvaine, Washington County, Pennsylvania Historical Society, June 12, 1964 letter to DeeAnna:

"[At the court house] I was given the original will of William Allum as probated in Will Book 5, page 547, by the Register of Wills office to run through the duostat machine in the hall of the court house. I am enclosing the two pages of the will. The will had to be mended in two places by transparent mending tape because the pages were coming apart at the folds. The clerk in the office did the mending. The words are very much dimmed, but very little of importance is covered [by the tape]. It merely gives the date of probate and is as follows: 'Jan. 16, 1840, Letters testamentary with copy of will and probate annexed was issued to Isaac Lewis, the within named, who on the same day was duly affirmed. George Morrison, Register.'

"I looked to see if there had been a 'Final Account' filed, a usual procedure after a will has been probated and after bills are paid and all assets accounted for. Up to 1880, no account was filed. Many times when only real estate is involved, a final account is never filed."

A transcription of William's will is among information below.

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A FEW WORDS about ALLUM: Maryland and Pennsylvania...Westward




This web site with 53 years of research is to allow those who may still be searching to find an ancestor.

Images -- photos, documents, memorabilia -- have been created specifically for these pages. For that reason, images (and original text) may not be reproduced for publication or presented to, or used by, another web site or organization without written inquiry and written consent.

You may link to this site -- to the home page, to this page or any other internal page or pages, or to a photo or photos pertinent to you and your family.




--DeeAnna Allum Granston
Descendant@rso.net


ALLUM: Maryland and Pennsylvania...Westward web site
Copyright Shirley Allum Hudlicky and DeeAnna Allum Granston
All Rights Reserved

First Allum web site, 1997-2006
Current Allum web site, 2006 to present




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Do you have a piece of our puzzle--obituary, document, photo or fact? Your contributions will be included with your name as Contributor, and you do retain ownership of your material.

Do you have corrections to this web site?

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Comments:


After 45 years of searching, the location of William Allum prior to the 1790 census for Washington County, Pennsylvania ceased to be a mystery as of February, 2001. Although I already owned several Family Tree Maker CDs on a variety of genealogical topics, not until I visited a local library with its collection of FTM CDs did I find "William Allum" on No. 208 (Maryland Genealogical Society Bulletin, Volumes 1-38). His name appears in Volume 18, No. 1, Winter 1977 issue within the March 28, 1778 Harford County, Maryland tax list for Spesutia Upper Hundred ("free males 18 and upwards"). This brief, invaluable information opened the door to research in the State of Maryland. That William had not been a property owner in Maryland helped obscure his name from a researcher's view. Although hope persists, to date he has not been found in church records. If early Maryland records of importance to us as researchers and descendants have survived, it is my belief that William's surname has been incorrectly recorded and/or transcribed. When we find a reference we believe could have been "Allum," it is important to view handwriting on the primary record (on microfilm, for example). For a variety of spellings, see the page in this online file titled Surname Misspellings (Potential). It is also important to be aware that the name may have been incorrectly documented or transcribed as "Allen"--and its variety of spellings. Yikes!




Background:

In 1956 Shirley Allum Hudlicky was inspired to seek her heritage after the death of a cherished family member. In that year, she inherited a trunk with genealogically valuable items: "Work began in earnest on the ' tree ' after the death of my maternal grandmother in the fall of 1956 and, as the eldest grandchild, I inherited her trunk with old clippings, pictures and tintypes. However, I have been interested in such things all my life," Shirley stated.

In 1959 -- when I was 17 -- my parents received a letter from Shirley asking if a relationship existed. It was a letter others in the country would receive.

In 1964 -- when I was 22 -- and after Shirley and I exchanged brief correspondence, we realized--although "half a country apart" (west coast and midwest)--we could work together to achieve greater knowledge about ALLUM. Thus, it began. We exchanged 70 long, detailed letters in 1964 and 1965 alone. In July, 1964 Shirley wrote, "My Allum research in large quantities ended about 1958 or 1959. Now, due to your influence and interest, I am getting back in the swing of more extensive research. It is such a pleasure to have another genealogical 'nut' in the family. I would say that some of the others are interested but not to the extent of working on it like you and I are doing."

We were locating, acquiring and exchanging copies of wills, birth, marriage and death records, obituaries, vintage photos, locations of graves and inscriptions from stones, in a time when one wrote letters, awaited replies, researched unattended in court house vaults, squinted at fiche or film, and strolled cemeteries for ancestral markers. We sent for and (for a fee, no questions asked, no relationship necessary) obtained state certificates with details and additional clues. All-important census data was gleaned from microfilm purchased by Shirley, then viewed at her library. Gratifying new acquaintances were made through correspondence or in person.

In 1965 -- after her first trip to Pennsylvania -- Shirley shared, "You have no idea how much there is in the way of family information in that area. The members of the family who stayed there have been there a good long time--making records. I'm sure we're related to half the county!"

Among surnames that enter the Allum line within its first few generations in Washington and Greene counties are Armstrong, Barnhart, Bell, Carroll, Cummins, Cumpston (& Worrick), Ealy, Fields (& Teagarden), Fry-Frye, Gregory, Huffman, Jones, Lewis, Loar, McKanna, Moninger, Parson, Raper, Sargent, Sermon, Sprowls, Strope, Supler, Swart, Wallace and Younken.

Words of (now) long-deceased family members--in original letters to Shirley and me 40-50 years ago--helped point our way to additional research avenues and greater family knowledge.

Like other genealogists, Shirley's house and my own proceeded to lean with years of accumulation.

In time, others became interested, inspired by Shirley's early outline (with her own later additions) passed from one pair of hands to another. Now, more descendants than ever before are seeking--and finding--ancestor data online, in many cases shared by those who had sought, found and documented "the old-fashioned way." Today, the Internet presents an astonishing array of opportunities for additional data from which ALLUM has also benefited.

In 2004 I received an e-mail from Shirley passing to me the privilege and responsibility of communicating fact by fact knowledge gathered over five decades about ALLUM and collateral families. "My health does not allow it," she stated.

While preparing this online file, I examined data documented early in the evolution of our Allum genealogy. I reminisced: "I began, Shirley, reading our oldest correspondence that begins with your 1959 ancestral outline. It grabbed me then and hasn't let go; I clearly recall being genuinely mesmerized by it. It impacted me so, I can actually feel now what I felt then as I gazed at it and wondered about the people it represented." All over again, as I referred to her extracts from census records, history books, wills, estates, letters from correspondents--detailed, precise and analyzed with depth of thought--I marveled at her dedication. Each important clue and fact was committed to paper by hand, then carefully typewritten to preserve and to share. Initially, of course, one blank piece of paper was the origin of what is here today.

In 2006 Shirley--at age 89--died less than three weeks after this web site was posted. (In the Index of Names, click on "Allum, Shirley Elizabeth")

For decades, Shirley's annual newsletter that informed and entertained at Christmastime had been a conduit to long-time and newest acquaintances and relatives, literally throughout the country. Her name is synonymous with graciousness and lightheartedness and is now, and rightfully should always be, synonymous with the genealogy of ALLUM.

Within these pages, we celebrate her legacy.




Keep in Mind:

The brief census data shared within these pages is to provide an overview of the residences and removals of each Allum descendant within "the first 4 generations" when the exodus of some (not all) from Pennsylvania...westward...was at its height. It also points the way to obtaining each record by providing any unusual spelling of the surname for a specific person during a specific census year. Allum has been transcribed as "Ablum," "Allmer," "Allena," "Allence," "Alluin," "Allwin," among other astonishing ways, making a census extract difficult to locate without luck or creativity. Those who subscribe to census records online can use information provided here to quickly locate an individual. While the goal is to find every Allum for every census year he or she was alive, some remain elusive. You, the reader, can bring fresh eyes to census searches.

Today, digitized census records 1850 through 1930 do feature "every name" indexes, meaning everyone in a household is identified (whether or not surnames are spelled correctly!).

Because most of our female ancestors were wives, mothers and homemakers cited as "Keeping House" in census records, unless a female was documented with a different occupation, I have instead noted the occupation of her husband.

My most recent personal focus was to locate and document early Allums who had long eluded research grasp, most of them within our 3rd generation. This was accomplished beginning, in most instances, with the now-familiar technology of online census records (properly known as population schedules) and various approaches to using accompanying search engines. 'Successful, it was then a matter of researching in additional ways to round out data. It was gratifying to pinpoint people whose names had been before me for decades but whose life events had been undocumented because their migratory trails had been lost to time or their married surnames blurred by well-meant but incorrect initial information.

Photos of gravestones I have labeled © James Fordyce originate with CDs (now five in number) created by Jim for the Cornerstone Genealogical Society at Waynesburg, Greene County, Pennsylvania, and offered for sale by that organization. Jim's own dedication is evident in his enormous undertaking to eventually photograph every stone in every cemetery in Greene County. The CDs are invaluable to those interested who may never otherwise see a gravestone of their Greene County ancestor(s).

Precisely because they are on the web, vintage photographs at this site display Allum: Maryland and Pennsylvania...Westward.




Purpose...and Participation:

The purpose of this web site is to illuminate those who preceded us and to honor our heritage.

Of descendants interested, most do not have time or inclination to pursue. Some, however, will be be reminded that Great Grandma's memorabilia can be photocopied or scanned...or a memory will be jogged to a photograph of potential importance to others. Prominent--or perhaps almost forgotten--in your household is something to be preserved and shared. What can you contribute?

Recollections, too, are of interest. All of us cherish anecdotes about siblings, parents and grandparents (certainly, our own children). One of my favorites is the following from the 1920s; names have been eliminated to protect the innocent. Ha!



HOME ALONE

"Our parents and our aunt and uncle went to visit a relative who was ill in South Dakota in the summer of 1927. There were five children in our family and five children in our aunt and uncle's family. We ten cousins were at our farm with our aunt's mother taking care of us.

"Shortly after our parents left, our caretaker was notified that her husband had become ill so she returned to her home in another town. We ten cousins were suddenly and unexpectedly 'alone.'

"The eldest was my cousin, who was about fifteen, followed by me, about thirteen. The youngest were my sister, five, and our cousin, four.

"One thing all of us remember is an old buggy frame we would push up the hill, then all of us would get on and our eldest cousin would steer it down the hill and through the gate with all of us kids clinging to it in various positions. Time after time, day after day. How dangerous! How we survived that and day to day without an adult present, I don't know! What we ate, when we slept, no one recalls. And we cut our youngest cousin's hair!

"Our parents were shocked to learn the ten of us had been without supervision most of the time they were away. I do not recall how long a time period that would have been, but to travel from northeast Iowa to eastern South Dakota by auto and back again would have taken quite some time in those days!"




Personal Note:

The more I explore and learn about my ancestors, the more I realize with a sense of awe and humor that--of the many families that migrated from Washington and Greene counties, Pennsylvania to the midwest--my own ancestral families from southwestern Pennsylvania are entwined with those of my former midwest classmates, grammar through high school. Throughout my youth I was associating--and was unknowingly associated--with people whose ancestors likely interacted with my own in an earlier time.




Health, Joy, Peace,

DeeAnna




Contributors Since November, 1997:

Allum, Kenneth M., Jr.
Allum, Ronald Roy
Ball, David
Baran, William L.
Beckenhauer, Carol Boone
Bell, April
Besmer, Lorraine Leslie
Block, Carolyn Rebecca Britt
Blocker, Martha Bush
Brennan, Margaret Smith
Buchanan, Candice
Campbell, Nancy Jo Allum
Clark, Cherie Atkinson
Copley, Roberta Strutt (deceased 2005)
Corbett, Diane (Fowler) (Lisk)
Cotton, Betty Baker
Cummins, Mary Farley
Davidson, Trudie Kerstowske
Dennis, Vicki
Doren, Sherrie Seaton
Dreyer, Donna Shepherd
Durbin, Helen S.
Eggum, Gretchen
Elliott, Nola
Emeterio, Lou
Fairclo, Katy McCarty
Farley, John R.
Finn, Nancy Shade
Flournoy, Betty
Fortune, Louise Allum
Franzen, Phyllis
Freeze, Dorothy
Fry, James Homer (deceased 2000)
Frye, Tammy Dawn
Getter, Julie Eggert
Grim, James Bryar (deceased 2004)
Grim, Lanny
Guessford, Pearl A.
Harris, Yvonne Reedy
Heisel, Nancy Boals
Hicks, Kenneth Wesley
Hicks, Ruth Anna Martin
Hill, Ralph Laurance
Hinshaw, Lois J.
Iiames, Roberta
Israel, J. Robert
Jones, Danielle Harding
Jorgensen, Kristen
Kanning, Karen Bride
Kebodoux, Renee
Keim, Marilyn
Klaassen, Talma
Kline, Jackie Hutchison
Ladely, David
Lanigan, Mary Ellen
Larson, Darlene Fields
Lesmeister, Caryn
Licastro, Lauren Stanko
Lovette, Opal Sturtivant
Lundquist, Marilyn Lloyd
Lytle, Sheri Fields
Mallett, Laura Nelle
Martin, Al and Carole
McCullough, Bud
McElroy, William Robert, Jr.
Melbo, Gary Curtiss
Meyer, Debra Stanko
Meyer, Netha
Miller, Richard "Daniel"
Miller, Shirley Jones
Miller, Sue Miles
Nelson, Leslie
Neveln, Gary Arthur
Payne, Cindy Lee
Ratliff, Sharon Cunningham
Ross, Diann Egge
Rushman, Brenda
Saenz, Tanya Allum
Schlater, Linda Kelley
Schreck, Robert Wayne
Seaman, Carolyn
Seelandt, Laura
Shaffer, George and Imogene (Daniels)
Shaffer, Jennifer Bolles
Slocum, Lucile Adamson
Smith, Doris Hill
Sprowls, Ruth
Staska, David
Stevens, Julia Saxby
Stoddard, Joyce Hanna
Temple, Ruby Guessford
Van Vleet, Judy
Von Ahsen, Anita
Weber, Pat
Willingham, Freda
Wilson, Patricia Engle
Yarin, Karen Lansing
Zeitz, Sadie Fields
Zoebel, Carole Ann Hall
Zollars, Jerry

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Can you help?

Our Allum genealogy's "most wanted" are the following that can quickly be accessed by going to the Index of Names. What is being sought in conjunction with each individual is posted on that person's page:

Allum, Ann --- Allum, Cal V. --- Allum, Eve --- Allum, Isaac Leonard --- Allum, Mary S. --- Allum, Merle Grace --- Allum, Rebecca --- Bell, Catherine --- Cumpston, Jacob and Mary --- Lewis, Charles W. --- Swart, John Newton Garfield - Bible (can you identify photos within his Bible?) --- Wallace, Belle


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As you read the following timeline pertaining to William Allum (ca 1754-1840), keep in mind that the following Presidents had been in office during his lifetime:

George Washington
John Adams
Thomas Jefferson
James Madison
James Monroe
John Quincy Adams
Andrew Jackson
Martin Van Buren (William died when Van Buren was in office)

William knew of our nation's struggle for independence, knew of its founding fathers, and was among those who participated in a westward migration from eastern Maryland to southwestern Pennsylvania.


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WILLIAM ALLUM lived in West Bethlehem Township in Washington County, Pennsylvania, near what is now Scenery Hill. His daughter Mary has been documented as having been born in Maryland in 1781, creating a link from William Allum of Pennsylvania…to William Allum of Maryland.

(See "Mary S. Allum" for additional information)


OCCUPATION (William): Farmer and Preacher



RELIGIOUS AFFILIATIONS:


Reference: William Allum was a Trustee of Redstone Church in 1796, located near Hillsborough (now Scenery Hill) in Washington County, PA. Pages 974 and 975 of Boyd Crumrine's HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA (L. H. Everts & Co., Philadelphia, 1882) provide information about the church. William's surname is documented "Allen."


Reference: At the web site titled THE SPALDING RESEARCH PROJECT at http://solomonspalding.com/SRP/saga/saga01c.htm are references to William Allum, John Supler, Jonathan Parkinson, Lot Leonard and Rhoda Fordyce, who lived in Washington or Greene counties, PA. Within the writings of Abel M. Sargent -- shared at the web site referred to above -- is a reference to "The ministers of the FREE CHURCH, now in regular and good standing, in the cause of Christ on the waters of the River Ohio" and includes "William Allum, formerly a Baptist preacher." The entry is dated "13th August, 1811." Interestingly, William Allum has not been found in the 1810 census, not only in Washington or Greene counties but elsewhere. (Was he "traveling," preaching along the waters of the Ohio River?!)


Reference: The CINCINNATI COMMERCIAL TRIBUNE of April 8, 1870 included a news article titled The Anniversary of the Settlement of Ohio, Its Celebration by Pioneer Association with its address by Judge William Johnston. A pertinent excerpt is as follows:

"We reached Red Stone late in the fall and camped for the winter in an out-house belonging to old Billy Allum, a preacher in a denomination now obsolete, known by the name of Hacyons [should be "Halcyons" --DeeAnna], a name which they had assumed as a representative of their peaceful principles and quiet life. Here in this hacyon [sic] quiet my mother and her five children nestled while my father and his exploring party crossed over to Ohio in seach of land."

DeeAnna's Note: The foregoing was a reflection of Judge Johnston in 1870. It is written that Johnston was born about 1806 and, as a boy, settled with his parents and siblings in Jefferson County, Ohio. The year in which he and his family spent the winter on the property of "old Billy Allum" is not made known in the newspaper article.


Reference: On page 338 in the book GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF THE DESCENDANTS OF ABRAHAM TEAGARDEN by Helen Elizabeth Vogt (1967) is a reference to William Baker Teagarden with the enigmatic statement, "At the age of twelve he went to neighborhood night school taught by the Methodist Minister William Allum." (Born in 1810, Teagarden would have been twelve in 1822.)


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1754 BIRTH* (approximate) (see asterisk after second paragraph below) of William Allum in an undocumented location (perhaps Maryland) - At this time it is unknown if William was our immigrant ancestor...or if one or more generations in America preceded him. Was William (or his own immigrant ancestor) from England, Scotland or Ireland? Each of those locations has been mentioned, either in print or by a descendant in a branch of the family in which a potential location of origin has been passed down.

Might William have arrived in this country as a stowaway on a ship? Descendant Charles Monroe Swart and his brother Harley (both now deceased) believed that the case. In a 1978 letter to Shirley Allum Hudlicky, Charley wrote, "[My brother and I] picked each other's minds about how William Allum got to America. We are both convinced that he was a stowaway. From bits of conversation that Harley had heard, he may have had to do considerable work to pay for his passage which, I understand, was the punishment in the old days."

While there are earlier references--although few--to the surname ALLUM in Maryland, none are yet definitively linked to "our" William.


*The 1830 census classifies William Allum "70 - 80" years of age allowing us to calculate he was born 1750 - 1760. The 1800 census describes him as "45 and over." Presuming that to be accurate, his birth can be narrowed to pre-1755.


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In America in 1754--the approximate year William Allum was born--France and England were at war on this soil. In this case, "England - English" included Lieutenant Colonel George Washington who surrendered in 1754 to French forces near Fort Necessity in the Ohio River Valley. The struggle would persist for British or French domination of the upper Ohio River Valley that could ultimately determine control of North America for a colonial population that already exceeded one million. Two years earlier, in 1752, at the age of 20 Washington inherited the estate of Mount Vernon in Virginia that had been in his family since 1690. [Not until 1789 would Washington fill the nation's new office of President of the United States.] By 1754, words for "Yankee Doodle" had been written to an old English song.

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1774 - MD, Harford County was formed from Baltimore County
1774 - MD Tax List, Harford Co, Spesutia Upper Hundred (A "William Allin" is designated "taxable" [over age 18 ] in the household of Ann Stephen.
Should that surname have been "Allum"? We do not know, but the 1774 list would likely have been the first in which William could have
appeared as "taxable" in Maryland)
1776 - MD Census - Where is William? (Might he have served in the Revolutionary War? His surname has not been found as "Allum" in Revolutionary
War records. On the other hand, 1776 records for Spesutia Upper Hundred are missing, while Spesutia Lower Hundred is extant; likewise,
1776 records for Deer Creek Upper Hundred -- where William is documented in 1783 -- are also missing, while Deer Creek Lower Hundred is
extant)
1778 - MD Tax List, Harford Co, Spesutia Upper Hundred ("William Allum")
1783 - MD Tax List, Harford Co, Deer Creek Upper Hundred ("William Allum") (four people are in the household)
William was not taxed because the value of his property was less than 10 pounds
Deer Creek Upper Hundred in Maryland was immediately south of Pennsylvania but farther east from Washington County, Pennsylvania to
which William migrated

A detailed description of the term "Hundreds" and names of the Hundreds that existed in the 1700s in Maryland is at the following URL:

http://www.rootsweb.com/~mdbaltim/hundreds.html

1784-1789 MIGRATION - William may have migrated from Harford County, Maryland to Washington County, Pennsylvania as early as 1784 when his son John was born, but there is no proof that John was born in PA instead of MD. John died in 1836 before a location of birth was required on a census, for example.

1790 CENSUS - Pennsylvania, Washington County, West Bethlehem Township (as "Alum")

Five people are in the William Allum household in 1790. Of course, the one male "over 16" would have been William himself. The one male under 16 would have been William's son John, born about 1784. Of the four females (ages unidentified), one would have been William's wife; his daughter Mary born in 1781; another daughter, presumably Sarah born in 1789; and a female who certainly may have been, and probably was, a daughter but could have been a female related or unrelated to the family.

In 1790 the population of Washington County was 23,866, according to the book A GAZETEER OF THE STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA by Thomas F. Gordon, published 1975 in New Orleans. "This county was first settled by emigrants from the north of Ireland, by others from New Jersey, by Germans from Europe, and from other parts of the state, and is now inhabited by their descendants," Gordon tells us.


Florence Sturgis McIlvaine, Washington County Historical Society, June 12, 1964 letter to DeeAnna:
"From my land patent maps of Washington, Greene and Fayette counties, I find no early land patent under the Allum name. In the early years this area was claimed by both Virginia and Pennsylvania. Virginia was strong enough to hold Court hereabouts from February 1775 to 1780. Then, as the Revolution was on, Virginia withdrew and Washington County was erected in 1781 from Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. In my index to the courts, as of Virginia, there is nothing listed under the Allum name."

DeeAnna Allum Granston, July 31, 1964 letter to Shirley Allum Hudlicky:
"William lived near Hillsborough. Perhaps we can tell from patent maps who owned the land and thereby gain a clue as to how he came to be living there. You know, I really think William came from another state, and I think it was Maryland. (Not for 37 more years could this statement be documented--in 2001.) Could the land have belonged to a relative who didn't bear the Allum name?"


HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA, by Boyd Crumrine, 1882, pages 975-976:

"The Town of Hillsborough is located within the territory of West Bethlehem Township, about midway between the boroughs of Washington and Brownsville, about twelve miles from either place. The town lies on both sides of the old National road, and it was one of the principal points at which the coaches of the different stage-lines made a stopping place in the prosperous days of the great thoroughfare. The site of Hillsborough is a part of the tract called 'Springtown' surveyed Feb. 23, 1785, to Isaac Bush, who sold to George Hill, June 18, 1786. On the 13th of February, 1800, George Hill conveyed the tract 'Springtown' to his son, Stephen Hill. Nineteen years after the above-mentioned conveyance of the 'Springtown' property by George Hill to his son, Stephen Hill, the latter with Thomas McGiffin (to whom he had conveyed an interest in the land), laid out upon it the town bearing the name of the principal proprietor."

The town had 106 lots and the main street, formed by the National Road, was 60 feet wide. On the town plan was a road called "Crooks Street," named for the Crooks family, early inhabitants and landowners.

Crumrine goes on to say, "Upon the site of Hillsborough a public-house had been kept by Thomas Hill as early as 1794, and it was continued by the Hill family for many years [as] "Hills Stone Tavern."

As mentioned below in conjunction with the year 1794, the former Hill's Stone Tavern is now known as CENTURY INN. It is the oldest continuously operated inn on the historic National Road. At "Google," type in "Century Inn, Scenery Hill, Pennsylvania" -- DeeAnna

Shirley Allum Hudlicky, September, 1964 letter to DeeAnna:
"People occupying the area where William Allum lived in West Bethlehem Township in Washington County were William Hill; just below him, Josiah Crawford; to his right, Thomas Crooks, with two parcels of ground; and below him, Alexander Wallis. Thomas Crooks' first parcel of land was on a Virginia Certificate in 1785, the same as that of William Hill. This would be the Thomas Crooks for which 'Crooks Graveyard' is named. William Hill is the ancestor of Stephen who witnessed the will of William Allum."

EARLY LANDOWNERS OF PENNSYLVANIA: Atlas of Township Warantee Maps of Washington County, PA by Sharon MacInnes, Ph. D., Closson Press, Apollo, Pennsylvania, April, 2004, pages 303-308, excerpts only:

Original tracts in the vicinity of land occupied by William Allum in West Bethlehem Township:
1785 - George Myers on a Virginia Certificate on January 19: "Fanny's Green," 400 acres
1785 - James Braden on a Virginia Certificate on January 20: "Braden's Delight," 412 1/4 acres
1785 - Adam Hartman on February 26: "Stony Meadow," 249 3/4 acres
1785 - William Hill [George Hill?] on a Virginia Certificate on February 23: "Springtown," 393 3/4 acres
1785 - Thomas Crooks, Esq. on a Virginia Certificate on February 25: "Richard's Valley," 421 1/2 acres
1785 - Alexander Wallis on May 14: "Springfield," 197 1/2 acres
1785 - William Wallis on May 14: "Richmond," 570 acres
1786 - Lewis Walker on October 18: "The Remains of Green Forest," 367 acres
1788 - Henry Conkle on February 11: "German," 392 1/4 acres
1797 - Josiah Crawford on December 14: "Rotterdam," 440 acres

1793 TAX - Pennsylvania, Washington Co, West Bethlehem Township
William Allum was taxed for "26 1/2 acres, 2 cows and 2 cabins") (D.A.R. List)

1794 ESTABLISHMENT - Pennsylvania, Washington County, West Bethlehem Township
Stephen Hill operated an inn at Hillsborough (now called "Scenery Hill"). In the 1960s, a sign on the premises read, "HILL'S TAVERN--This tavern, in continuous operation since 1794 when it was opened by Stephen Hill, is one of the oldest on the National Road. It was a popular stop for stage coaches and waggoners." Today it is known as CENTURY INN. (At "Google," type in "Century Inn, Scenery Hill, Pennsylvania")


Shirley Allum Hudlicky, 1992 letter:

"Every time I entered Century Inn I stepped on a well-worn, hollowed-out stone step at the door, which reminded me that my ancestors, William and Charles Allum, probably helped to wear it down. This was a rest stop for stages and wagons. As Charles was a wagoneer, he must have been there many times on his way to Cumberland, Maryland with a load of pork. I have an old sad iron I purchased in one of those antique shops in Scenery Hill. I use it as a paper weight."


1796 DEED - Pennsylvania, Washington County, West Bethlehem Township
Thomas Crooks and his wife Judith granted a deed on September 20 to trustees Joshua Davis, Leonard Roberts, WILLIAM ALLUM, John Welsh, Joseph Morton and Thomas Eaton for 5 shillings "lawful money of Pennsylvania" for a certain parcel of land known as "Churchyard" that adjoined lands of Thomas Hill(s), Thomas Crooks and "the road to Redstone." This land had been part of a patent to Thomas Crooks by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ten years earlier, on March 28, 1786. Deed Book 1M, page 359, Washington County, PA courthouse

1797 DEED - Pennsylvania, Washington County, West Bethlehem Township
Again, Thomas Crooks, Esq. and his wife Judith granted land to trustees Joshua Davis, Leonard Roberts, WILLIAM ALLEM, John Weltch (Welsh), Thomas Richards and James Eaton, etc. on July 17. Deed Book 1N, page 304, Washington County, PA Courthouse

1797 FORMATION - Redstone Church, Washington County, West Bethlehem Township
Book, HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA, by Boyd Crumrine, 1882, page 974:
"Churches.--In the year 1797 measures were taken by the earliest religious society known in West Bethlehem township toward erecting a house for worship. This was known as the "Redstone" church and was built upon land purchased of Thomas Crooks for that purpose. The trustees of the society were Joshua Davis, Leonard Roberts, William Allen (sic), John Welch, Thomas Richardson and James Eaton, who, on July 11, 1797, purchased of Thomas Crooks a piece of land containing one rood and thirty-seven perches, "situate on the Redstone road," for which they paid a consideration of five shillings on that date. A proviso in the contract granted to those attending church the privilege of passing to and from a spring on other land of Mr. Crooks. This church was built under the charge and supervision of Rev. Joseph Doddridge, and was located about half a mile below the site of the village of Hillsborough. It was entirely abandoned many years ago, and by some it is thought to have been identical with the Episcopal Church which was pulled down some thirty years ago, the logs being used to construct the house now occupied by Edward Taylor. The graveyard in connection with this church is called the Crooks Graveyard. It was originally well laid out and cared for, but is now unfenced and neglected. In passing through it one sees that the first interments date back more than eighty years. From the inscriptions it is seen that Judith Parr died in October, 1802, aged seventy-nine years; Col. Thomas Crooks died Feb. 25, 1815, past eighty years of age; Judith Crooks died April 30, 1823, nearly eighty-four years of age; Henry Huntsberry died Feb. 7, 1830, seventy years old; Robert Rigle died Oct. 1, 1848, aged ninety years; Lieut.-Col. Roger S. Dix, U.S.A., died Jan. 7, 1849; William Dickerson died Aug. 13, 1859, ninety-two years of age."


Shirley Allum Hudlicky, August 4, 1964 letter to DeeAnna:

"William Allum as trustee of the Episcopal Church came from Raymond Bell of Washington and Jefferson College in Washington, Pennsylvania. He has written a number of books on genealogy and Greene County, Pennsylvania history."

Florence Sturgis McIlvaine, Washington County, Pennsylvania Historical Society, June 12, 1964 letter to DeeAnna:

"Both Redstone church (Episcopalian) in West Bethlehem Township in Washington County and St. Thomas Episcopal church in Fayette County have long been gone, and I know of no records in connection with either church that now exist."

Information of value and interest to us about William, his wives and children would have been in Redstone church records. --DeeAnna


1798 DIRECT (Federal) TAX - Pennsylvania, Washington County, West Bethlehem Township
Allum, William ... house valued at $50 ... tract of 26 acres valued at $128.

The direct tax was enacted during the presidential term of John Adams and was intended to raise $2,000,000 to increase the armed forces when France was attacking American ships. Taxed were homes, lands and slaves.

The surnames STROPE, RAPER, GREGORY, LOAR and BARNHART that represent early marriages for ALLUM individuals are not found within Washington County tax lists for the year 1798.

1800 CENSUS - Pennsylvania, Washington County, West Bethlehem Township (as "Allum")
Eight people are in the William Allum household--three males, five females. The male and female "45 and over" were William and his first wife. Son John, born about 1784, was likely the male 10-15 (even though he would have become 16 sometime in the year 1800) while the male under 10 was Charles, born in 1796. A female in the household was 10-15 and could have been daughter Sarah born in 1789. In addition, there were three females under age 10 that presumably included Rebecca and Ann. Therefore, there is one daughter under age 10 whose name is unaccounted for at this time; OR the eldest female could actually have been daughter, Mary S. Allum, who had been born late in 1781...but should have been in a higher age range, one that included age "18"; OR Mary could simply have been a resident in another's household in 1800. (She did not marry until 1816.)

Here, I will comment that Sarah's gravestone tells us she died in 1876 at age 87, which calculates to 1789 as her year of birth. She would have been 11 in 1800. If, in fact, she was the female designated "10-15," five years separated her from her elder brother John born in 1784. Logically, another child had been born to William and his first wife in that time period, but we have no proof. If, for some reason, Sarah was considered "under 10," another female had been born between John (1784) and Sarah (1789), leaving two females under 10 to fulfill the statistics of the 1800 census.

1808 WILL - Dr. Charles Wheeler (will proved 1813) named William Allum as the beneficiary of fifty pounds and "four Vol. of Burnes Sermons." In addition, William was to benefit further only under certain circumstances. In 1813, the year Wheeler's will was probated, William purchased land in Greene County, Pennsylvania, later -- according to William's will -- divided between his sons John and Charles.

In the Index of Names in this online file, click on "Wheeler, Charles" to see a transcription of his 1808 will.

I do believe the reference of "four Vol. of Burnes Sermons" in Wheeler's will pertains to volumes of sermon outlines by Jabez Burns, 1805-1876, a widely-known English preacher active in Methodist circles and, later, in Baptist ones. --DeeAnna

1810 LAND ACQUISITION - Pennsylvania, Washington County, Bethlehem Township
Dated "June 19, 1810," a patent was granted William Allum for "26 acres 128 perches" named "Surplusage" in a transaction with Peter Riley. The acreage was along Ten Mile Creek in Bethlehem Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania. Thus far it is the first land transaction discovered for William.

1810 CENSUS - William Allum has not been located. "Our" William is not the William Hallam in Strabane Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania in the 1810 census. That William is a bonafide member of the Hallam family of Washington County, PA and younger than William Allum would have been in that census year.


Shirley Allum Hudlicky:
"I have noted the 1810 census reveals two men over 45 associated with Stephen Hill and wonder if one of them was William Allum visiting or working for Mr. Hill at his tavern, or inn, during this time. There are many reasons William could have been missed when the 1810 census was taken, but it is frustrating."


1813 LAND SURVEY - Pennsylvania, Greene County, Richhill Township
On March 1, land called "Moonrough" was surveyed for William Allum in Greene County, "situate on the waters of Wheeling Creek in Richhill township."

The book, PENNSYLVANIA ARCHIVES, Volume 26, page 627, documents the survey on that date referring to 270 acres instead of the 252 acres to which William refers in his Will. The handrawn survey is in Book C, Volume 2, page 130 at the Land Office in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania but can also be seen at this web site within additional pages pertaining to William Allum.

"Whereas William Allum of the twp of Richhill in the county of Greene hath applied for two hundred and seventy acres of land, including an improvement adjoining lands of Thomas Strope,* John Heider, John Scott, and Abraham Fisher, situate on the waters of Wheeling Creek on a branch called Taddy's Run in the twp of Richhill in the county of Greene for which he has paid into the office of the State Treasurer, at the rate of fifty shillings per hundred acres. Interest thereon from the 1st of July 1800 to be paid agreeably to the several acts of Assembly in such case made and provided.

"These are therefore to authorise (sic) and require you to survey or cause to be surveyed unto the said William Allum the quantity of acres by him applied for at the place aforesaid if not already surveyed or appropriated and to make return thereof into the Land Office for which this shall be your Warrant.
1 March 1813"

*Later, William Allum's daughter Sarah would marry Thomas Strope and live on Strope's property in Richhill Township in Greene County, PA


Shirley Allum Hudlicky, August 11, 1964 letter to DeeAnna:

"Looking through my notes I see it was 1958 when I last looked at the Pennsylvania Archives. I spent hours copying indexes. I found only one ALLUM spelled as such, and that was William's land survey in 1813 in Greene County."


1816 LAND ACQUISITION - Pennsylvania, Greene County, Richhill Township
William Allum was the Warrantee (March 1, 1813) and Patentee (January-February,1816) for land in Greene County, Pennsylvania described as 270 acres in some references but "252 acres 139 perches" in others. The land, called "Moonrough" was along Wheeling Creek in Richhill Township, Greene County, Pennsylvania. William's will bequeathed the land to his sons John and Charles, but John predeceased him, passing on in 1836.

1820 CENSUS - Pennsylvania, Greene County, Richhill Township (as "Allims")
Three people are in the William Allum household. The male "45 and up" was William. The female "45 plus" was our ancestor, William's first wife. To me, the second female appears to have been 26-45 (not 16-26) and would likely have been unmarried Sarah, who was about 30 years old. The first wife of Sarah's future husband, Thomas Strope, Sr., died after the 1820 census; we can presume Sarah and Thomas were married before the birth of their first child in 1824. (If William's daughters Rebecca and Ann were younger than Sarah, where were they in 1820? Might they have already been married?) In 1820, William, his first wife and (again presumably) Sarah were in Richhill Township on property immediately adjacent to that of Sarah's future husband, Thomas Strope, Sr.

(In Sarah's section of this online file, I have speculated that she and Thomas were married in Greene County rather than in Washington County. Once again, the family Bible and/or a Redstone church record [Washington County] would have documented her marriage.)

According to Thomas F. Gordon, author of A GAZETEER OF THE STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA, 1975, New Orleans, the population of West Bethlehem Township in 1820 was 2,187. By 1830 the population had decreased somewhat, to 2,048.

1830 CENSUS - Pennsylvania, Washington County, West Bethlehem Township (as "Allum")
Four people are in the William Allum household. This census includes one male 70-80 (William) and one female 40-50 (William's second wife Eve). Was the one male under 5 (born 1825-1830) Eve's son from a previous marriage? Was the one female 5-10 (born 1820-1815) Kate Bell, who appears with Eve in the 1850 census? If so, was she Eve's daughter from a previous marriage? In 1850, "Bell" would have been Kate's married name. (See notations below about the 1850 census.) William Allum's will was prepared in 1831. According to terminology used in his 1831 will, William did not have a child, or children, by his second wife Eve as of that year, and in 1831 Eve would have been about 50 years old.

1831 WILL - William prepared and signed his will on March 12 in Washington County, Pennsylvania

1840 DEATH - Pennsylvania, presumably in Washington County, West Bethlehem Township
Probate for William Allum's will was underway by January 16, 1840. He died very early 1840, prior to January 16, at the age of "about 86" years. His cause of death is undocumented and his burial location unknown. All graves in the Allum, Supler and Jones cemeteries in Greene County, PA were moved in 1981 to Enon Cemetery by the Consol Coal Company (after a hearing attended by Allum descendants, including Shirley Allum Hudlicky). Charles' son James had been the first documented burial in the Allum Cemetery in 1850. When graves were moved in 1981, there were two "unknowns" determined to be an adult and a child.


Shirley Allum Hudlicky, 2001:
"The 'unknowns' could have been pre-1850. The adult could have been Charles' father William. It was William's land in Greene County, PA that was divided evenly between his sons John and Charles upon his death in 1840. It is possible William was buried in Washington County, PA on a family farm in West Bethlehem Township or in Crooks Cemetery which, in 2001, is on a dairy farm north of Scenery Hill on Swagler Road in West Bethlehem Township. The land for this cemetery was purchased from Col. Thomas Crooks and was the burial ground for Redstone Episcopal Church. The cemetery (originally adjacent to the church --DeeAnna) is abandoned. There is an interesting account of Thomas Crooks' grave, found overgrown with weeds and brambles, cleared and abandoned again. At the time of William's death, West Bethlehem Township cemeteries included Scenery Hill (Hillsborough then); Hill's Cemetery; Bethlehem Cemetery; Horn's Cemetery; Pigeon Creek; Zollarsville; several private family burying grounds; and Redstone, abandoned one mile east of Scenery Hill."


1840 PROBATE - Will Book 5, pages 547 and 548, at the Washington County, PA courthouse reveals names of William's children, including sons John and Charles who perpetuated the Allum surname. (In the book, ABSTRACTS OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA WILLS, WILLBOOKS 1-5 (1776-1841), Closson Press, 1995, page 498, William's name is William "Allen.")

William bequeathed the family Bible to his son John, but because John predeceased him, the Bible may have become owned by John's younger brother Charles. (In that time period, books were scarce because they often had to be imported. A family-owned Bible was used to teach reading and writing, as well as religion.)

Witnesses to William's will were Stephen Hill and Robert Quail. One executor was Isaac Lewis (William Allum's son-in-law, married to William's daughter Mary). The other was to have been Stephen Hill. However, in 1840 when the will was to be probated, it was attested to by Samuel Cunningham that Stephen Hill was a resident of Indiana. Read below.



William's handwritten will bearing his signature, prepared on March 12, 1831, is as follows:


IN THE NAME OF GOD, AMEN, I, William Allums, of the Township of Westbethleam in the County of Washington and State of Pennsylvania, being Old but of Sound memory and understanding, but considering the uncertainty of this transitory life, do make and publish this my last Will and testament in manner and form following, to Wit--FIRST it is my Will and I do order that all my just debts and funeral expenses be duly paid and satisfied as soon as conveniently can be after my decease--SECONDLY I give and bequeath unto my wife EVE the farm or place I now live on together with all my Goods, Chattles (sic), Notes and effects So long as She continues my Widow, and if She Should Marry after my decease it is my Will and desire that the Said farm or place Shall be Sould and the proceeds Divided equally between my Daughters Mary, Rebecca, Sarah, and Ann, or their heirs, and further it is my Will and desire that my Wife Eve Whether She Should remain my Widow or not Shall have and possess all my goods and chattels as before mentioned, Except, One Bed and beding, books and book case and Loom, Which I alow to be Sould and divided equaly between my daughters aforesaid in case my Wife Eve Should Marry--THIRDLY AND LASTLY it is my Will and desire to give to my Sons John and Charles my farm of Land Situate in Greene County Rich Hill Township Containing two hundred and fifty two Acres more or less to be equaly divided betwen them to the best advantage. aslow I Will and bequeath to my Son John my family Bible and to my Son Charles I bequeath Burkett's Explanation of The New Testament--And lastly, I nominate, constitute and appoint Stephan Hill of Hillsborough and Isaac Lewis to be executors of this my Will hereby revoking all other Wills and declaring this and no other to be my last Will and Testament. In Witness Whereof I have hereunto Set my hand and Seal this 12th Day of March, 1831--

Will and testament in presance of us
Stephen Hill WILLIAM ALLUM (Seal)
Robert Quail

I William Allums the Within named testator do hereby make and publish this codical to be aded to my last Will and testament. Viz in case my Wife Eve Should have a child by me I do Will and bequeath to Said child an Equal proportion of that which is Willed and bequeathed to my Daughters and it is my Will and desire that this present condical be anexed to and made a part of my last Will and testament. In Witness Whereof I have hereunto Set my hand and Seal this 12th Day of March, 1831--
Sighned, Sealed and Delivered by
the Testator in the presance of us
Stephen Hill WILLIAM ALLUM (Seal)
Robert Quail

Washington County ss. Be it remembered that on the 16 day of January A. D. 1840 Before me George Morrison Register for the probate of wills and granting Letters of Administration in and for Said County came Robert Quail Esq. A witness to the within Will of William Allum dec'd. who on his oath administered as the law directs does depose and say that he was present and did see the testator thereof sign this will and did hear him publish pronounce and declare the same as and for his last Will and Testament that he signed the said will as a witness at the request and in the presence of the Said William Allum dec'd. and also in the presence of Stephen Hill whom he saw sign his name also as a witness thereto, and at the time thereof the Said testator was of Sound and disposing Mind, Memory and understanding to the best of his knowledge observation and belief And at the same time appeared Sam'l. Cunningham who being Sworn as the law directs deposeth and Saith that he is acquainted with the hand writing of Stephen Hill whose name appears to the foregoing Will as a witness, that he now resides in the State of Indianna and believes the above Signature of Stephen Hill to be his hand writing.
And Sworn to and
Subscribed before me ROBERT QUAIL Geo. Morrison Regr. SAM'L. CUNNINGHAM

January 16, 1840, Letters Testamentary with copy of will and probate annexed issued to Isaac Lewis within named who on same day was duly affirmed.


GEORGE MORRISON, REGR.




Re Robert Quail
Witness to the will of William Allum in 1831

Robert was born in Ireland about 1800 to William Quail and Sarah Houston.

Both William and Sarah were born in Ireland, he about 1754, she about 1756. William died in 1837 in North Strabane Township in Washington County, PA; his wife Sarah died in 1838. Here it should be noted that, whether or not of significance to our ancestral quest, William and Sarah were contemporaries of William Allum.

Robert Quail was one of two witnesses to William Allum's will in 1831. The other was Stephen Hill.

In 1834 in Washington County, Pennsylvania, Robert married Sarah Hill (born about 1812).

Seemingly, Robert Quail and Stephen Hill -- the two witnesses to William will -- were related through Robert's wife, Sarah (Hill) Quail. The precise relationship is unknown but is sought at this time.


Re Samuel Cunningham
Appeared in place of Stephen Hill at probate of the will of William Allum in 1840

In 1840 when the will of William Allum was to be probated Samuel Cunningham attested that Stephen Hill was living in the State of Indiana. In addition to having been a witness to Allum's will in 1831, Stephen was to have been one of two executors (the other, Isaac Lewis, William's son-in-law, husband of William's daughter Mary). Stephen's distance from Pennsylvania prevented that.

In 1840 Samuel Cunningham attested that he did recognize Stephen Hill's 1831 signature. A bit of research about Samuel reveals he was a bank teller! Perhaps with that background alone he indeed recognized Stephen Hill's handwriting.


Re Stephen Hill
Witness to the will of William Allum in 1831 (also named one of two executors)

The Hill families in Washington County, Pennsylvania were numerous with more than one individual named "Stephen." At one time it was thought the Stephen Hill who witnessed William's will was the individual who had owned and operated Hill's Tavern in Hillsborough. Through the years that tavern -- formerly owned and operated by Stephen's father, George Hill -- became known as Century Inn, and the community of Hillsborough became known as Scenery Hill. (Century Inn is an inn to this day, and Scenery Hill remains the name of the locality.) Stones in the Stephen Hill Family Cemetery have been documented and photographed, including the stone of Stephen Hill, operator of Hill's Tavern, who died in 1834.

Realizing the death of Stephen Hill, operator and owner of Hill's Tavern, had occurred in 1834 ... and the Stephen Hill who witnessed the will of William Allum was alive in Indiana in 1840 ... brings into question the lineage of "this Stephen". Again, it seems Stephen Hill and Robert Quail -- who married Sarah Hill -- were related through Sarah. As of this writing, more about the blood line(s) of Stephen and Sarah is being pursued.


* * * * * * * * * *

In 1840, the year William Allum died, the nation's population -- according to the 1840 census -- had grown by a third to just over 17 million. The Post Office issued the first stamps -- for 3 cents each -- to be affixed to all letters. President Martin Van Buren was serving his last year as President, and William Henry Harrison, hero of the Battle of Tippecanoe, was elected in fall '40 to be the President beginning in '41. His running mate, and new Vice-President, was John Tyler. During the campaign the men were called "Tippecanoe and Tyler, Too." Daguerreotype studios multiplied, and some portrait artists turned wagons into portable studios and traveled from town to town. Subjects had to sit still for many minutes in order to be captured by the new technique imported from France. One new daguerreo artist was named Matthew Brady.

* * * * * * * * * *



1840 CENSUS - William's widow, Eve Allum, has not been located

1850 CENSUS - Pennsylvania, Washington County, West Bethlehem Township (Eve "Ellem")
Eve Allum is found as Eve Ellem, age 68, born in Pennsylvania, cannot read or write, with real estate valued at $900. With Eve are Kate Bell, age 29, and Kate's children, William H. Bell, age 10; Daniel F. Bell, age 8; Amanda Bell, age 6; and George F. Bell, age 3. Kate is documented through 1870, then is not found. Did she remarry? Move on? Pass on? What became of the adult Bell children?

William married Our Ancestor ALLUM about 1777 in (Probably) Maryland. (Our Ancestor ALLUM was born about 1756 and died after 1820 in Washington County, Pennsylvania (Probably).)

William next married Eve (Maiden Name Unknown) ALLUM in 1821-1829 in (Probably) Washington County, Pennsylvania. (Eve (Maiden Name Unknown) ALLUM was born about 1782 in Pennsylvania and died after 1850 in (Probably) Washington County, Pennsylvania.)