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Saturday, October 29, 2011

More Information on William Millikan Sr.

The purpose of this letter written by William Millikan Sr. on behalf of his friend Abraham Woodward.

Abraham Woodward's letter

William Millikan's Letter

The birth of his daughter in 1764 apparently encouraged Abraham Woodward to try to make his amends with the Quakers. He wrote the following apology for his conduct: "Dear Friends Under a consideration of the necessity of a regular conduct I could not be satisfied until I could inform you of my sincere acknowledgement of my fault which I do with all my heart declare to have been a great deal of trouble to me since I left you but if you will favour me by receiving me into unity again as there is nothing I desire more. I hope my conduct for the futer shall be more satisfactory hopeing you will favour me with a certificate and send by Samuel Millikan. I recommend this acknowledgement to friends belonging to Bradford Monthly Meeting. /s/ Abraham Woodward". The Millikans were neighbors of the Woodwards in Rowan County, and Samuel's father

William Millikan wrote a note to accompany Abraham's request: "These are to certifie to you that since Abraham Woodward hath come to live in our parts that he hath behaved himself orderly and we think more and more so, he perceiveing more of the nobility and substance of his education and profession and as such we recomend him Sept the 24th 1764 /s/William Millikan". Four other neighbors affixed their signatures to the note: John Mills, William Thornbrough, John Frazier, and James Davis. While the documents contain original signatures, the body of each seems to have been written by the same person and the handwriting matches more closely with William Millikan's signature than with Abraham's.

Samuel Millikan duly took the documents to Chester County, Pennsylvania, where Bradford Monthly Meeting records his arrival on the 9th month 29th day 1764. The Bradford Quakers did not find Abraham's apology sufficient and did not prepare the requested certificate (Quakers were required to specifically spell out their fault and apologize for it and Abraham's note did not do that.) There the matter stood for another year.

In the 10th month of 1765 Abraham Woodward himself went to Pennsylvania. Bradford Monthly Meeting records the receipt on the 18th day of 10th month 1765 of the following acknowledgement: "Whereas I Abraham Woodward was educated in the profession of the people called Quakers but not having so strict regard to the teachings of Greace in my own heart, as could have been desired, but gave way to my own liberty & inclanation, so far as to have carnal knowledge of one Alic Simcock & afterwards accomplished my marriage with another Woman by the assistance of a priest, therefore I acknowledge my faults & misconduct desiring that friends may pas it by & take me under their care to be in a membership again. /s/Abraham Woodward".

The Bradford Quakers accepted this specific apology. The following certificate was prepared: "From our Monthly Meeting of Bradford held at Bradford the 18th 10th Month 1765 To the Monthly Meeting of New Garden in North Carolina Dear Friends, Whereas application was made to us by ye bearer hereof Abraham Woodward for a certificate in order to be joined to your meeting, these may therefore certifie that the necessary care hath been taken concerning him, and we do not find but that his outward affairs are settled to satisfaction, and that he hath made sattisfaction for his misconduct whilst amongst us, and we look upon him to be a Member of our Christian Society as such therefore we recommend him to your Christian care and oversith desiring his growth and prosperity in the best things, and subscribe ourselves. Your Friends Signed in and on behalf of our meeting by-- William Woodward, John Coope, Evan Jones, James Trimble, Richard Barnard, Humphry Marshall, James Kenny, Richard Baker, Jonathan Parke, Caleb Kirk, Joel Baily, Samuel Fisher, James Marshall, Samuel Coope, Eleanor Worth, William Cooper, Richard Buffington, Isaac Coates, Nathan Coope". Many of the people who signed the certificate were Abraham's relatives including the first signer, William Woodward, his own father.

Abraham Woodward presented his certificate at New Garden Monthly Meeting in Rowan County, North Carolina, on 30th day 11th month 1765. Because of this record, some genealogies have given the Woodwards' arrival date in North Carolina as 1765 but it is clear from the sequence of events and Abraham's presence in the 1762 census that they arrived much earlier. This is the only record for Abraham Woodward at the New Garden Monthly Meeting.

Source: The Woodward Genealogy Website
http://freepages.family.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mygermanfamilies/Woodward.html
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I started researching my family tree last year. My father is a West and my mother is a McClellan. Researching my family history has truly been a monumental task. I’ve spent untold hours searching for long lost relatives… Where’s a ghost whisperer when you need one? With the surname McClellan being so popular due to General George B. McClellan and the surname West being a geographical direction, the hunt was hindered on many occasions. Search engines have run me through the ringer. The fact is, I threw my hands in the air and swore to walk away from this project more times than I can remember. It really is a roller coaster ride. This project has caused me tears of anger, tears of joy and has heightened my already existing anxiety disorder to its limits. It has forced me to be patient when I didn’t want to be and caused me to be organized and detail oriented, which that in itself is a huge achievement. But most of all, it gave me hope and a sense of belonging.