In about 1685-6, my 8th g-grandparents Cornelis and Jannetje Doremus, emigrated to America from Holland, and settled at Acquackanonk (now Paterson), New Jersey.  Below is a brief biography details the life of Cornelis Doremus and his link to my paternal family line.  This is a new branch that has unearthed a number of new names for me to research: Van Voorhees, Romeijn, Lutkens, Berban, Jans, Terhune, Westervelt, Bogart, Van Houten, and Matthyseen. Many of the records that enabled these families to be identified are documented in the Records of the Reformed Dutch Church of Bergen, N. J. (now Jersey City). 

Cornelis Doremus and Jannetje Van Elslant My 8th paternal great-grandparents

7^th great-grandfather – Joris Doremus b. 1693 in Passaic, NJ d. 1733 in Preakness, NJ (Married Marretje Berdan)

6^th great-grandfather – John (Johannes) Doremus b. 1720 in Preakness, NJ d. 1784 NY (Married Maria Lutkens)

5^th great-grandmother – Maritje Doremus b. 1743 in Hackensack, NJ d. 1813 in Red Mills NJ (Married Albert Van Voorhees)

4^th great-grandmother – Ellen Lenah Van Voorhees b. 1784 in Arcola, NJ d. 1857 in New York (Married Lewis L. Conklin 1771-1828)

3rd great-grandmother – Maria Conklin b. 1818 in Bergen County, NJ d. 1899 in Milton, CT (Married Rev. Richard Thompson)

2nd great-grandmother – Ellen Jane Thompson b. 1845 in New Jersey d. 1924 in West Avon, CT (Married Edward G. Fowler)

Great-grandmother – Minnie Fowler b. 1868 in Bloomfield, CT d. 1957 in Bloomfield, CT (Married Samuel Spencer)

Paternal Grandmother  – Gladys Spencer b. 1898 in Bloomfield, CT d. 1984 in Hartford, CT (Married George French)

My Father – John S. French b. 1931 in Hartford, CT d. 2014 in Walnut Creek, CA

Comments, corrections and and suggestions appreciated.

Copyright © 2020. All Rights Reserved by David R. French.

While scant information is available, history shows us that Effie MacPherson MacLeod was certainly made of sterner stuff.  Effie is my paternal 4th Great Grandmother. In 1803, six-year old Effie came from the Isle of Skye, Scotland to Prince Edward Island, Canada with her family.

Later, with her husband Robert MacLeod, she moved to Lake Ainslie, Pleasant Bay, Cape North and finally Victoria, Nova Scotia. In 1828, she made the trip from Pleasant Bay to Cape North in an 14-foot open boat.  According to family lore, during that perilous voyage, Effie gave birth to her son Angus MacLeod while in Aspy Bay.

Effie was a midwife and was for a time the only doctor in the Cape North area. According to a history of the region, Effie journeyed on horseback and snowshoes to reach those in need of her services.

Marie-Henriette LeJeune Ross (1762-1860)

In researching Effie, I came across another pioneer midwife who lived in north Cape Breton during the same period.  In Nova Scotia, the story of Granny Ross is widely known and she is considered to be a “trail- blazer in the world of women in science.”

During the early years of her adult life, Marie-Henriette became aware of her gifts as a healer and midwife. The legend of Granny Ross began in Little Bras d’Or, where she cared for and saved the lives of many settlers during a smallpox epidemic. Since she had already contracted the disease, she was immune to its effects.

Note: The source for the map at the top of this post (Carte de L’Isle Royale 1744) is the Beaton Institute, Cape Breton University and is being used for personal or non-commercial use.

© David R. French and French in Name Only, 2020. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.