ELSWORTH families in America

[whalespew]

I am not an Anjou expert, but my attempts to trace the Ellsworth tale indicate German Elsworth's research was published in 1956 in two forms - Ellsworth Families of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York (as noted here http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/FH2&CISOPTR=31502&REC=3), and Our Ellsworth Ancestors. Both volumes were edited by John Orvall Ellsworth. In the preface of Ellsworth Families of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York, John states all dates and names were researched by German and his wife Mary prior to 1917. In his own preface to Our Ellsworth Ancestors German states he started his research in 1908 and continued it for the next 50 years. I am inclined to believe German's primary account regarding the dates of his research, despite the obvious 50 year hyperbole, extending his research 2 years into the future from the date of publication of his book.

In Our Ellsworth Ancestors German states the following:
Reference is made by some writers that Josiah was born 7 August, 1629 in Cambridgshire, England, the son of Sir John Ellsworth and Lucia Bower. (Not confirmed). Sir John may have been the son of Lord John or the son of David. In any case Josiah was probably a descendant of Sir Simon de Ellsworth who was born about 1235 in England.... Sir John, probably the son of Lord John, is reported to have come to America in 1634, later returning to England where he died in 1649. Josiah came to America in about 1646, at the age of seventeen.

German was not as dogmatic about Cambridgeshire as a lot of sloppy researchers who followed made him out to be. Without checking and verifying footnotes people have taken what German said may have been, and not confirmed at that, and turned it into dogmatic history.

Now, that being said, his research is obviously not without its problems, for instance the travels of Josiah and John to America as detailed by German do not seem to be directly documented any where else. There is however a reference by Hinman here http://books.google.com/books?id=dt7CGDD0PsgC&lr&pg=PA24#v=onepage&q&f=false to John Elsworth arriving in in America in 1646. This problem is discussed further on my website.

Like I said earlier, I am not an Anjou expert, but to the classic markers, or pre-amble, as referenced by Johnxyz, "the derivation of the name, some early recorded uses of the name, and the family coat of arms" I would like to add the inevitable tie to nobility. The earlier referenced site by johnxyz, url]http://personal.linkline.com/xymox/fraud/fraud.htm[/url] quotes Anderson in stating, "A typical Anjou pedigree displays four recognizable features:

1. A dazzling range of connections between dozens of immigrants to New England; for example, connections far beyond what may be seen in pedigrees produced by anyone else.
2. Many wild geographical leaps, outside the normal range of migration patterns.
3. An overwhelming number of citations to documents that actually exist, and actually include what Anjou says they include and
4. Here and there an invented document, without citation, which appears to support the many connections noted under item 1 above.

The classic derivation of the Ellsworth name is listed by Stiles in 1892 in his book the History and Genealogies of Ancient Windsor Connecticut here http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/FH23&CISOPTR=13982&REC=2 on pages 208-210. Stiles' version includes the derivation of name, early uses, and tie to nobility. No coat of arms is included, as Stiles' work is not that kind of a book.

Sylvester Aylsworth gives his version of the family derivation, early usage of the name, tie to nobility, wild geographic leaps, and family coat of arms and crest in 1840 in his book A Registor of the Aylsworth Family here http://www.archive.org/stream/arthuraylsworthh00ayls#page/14/mode/2up pages 15-29.

[whalespew]

So where does that leave us? Well, Sylvester Aylsworth, who is pre-Anjou (1863-1942), seems to be the earliest known source of the wildly improbable, and surely worthy of Anjou, fiction of the "three brothers" immigrating to New York and Connecticut from Holland and Wales. While this sounds like something one would expect from an Anjou line, in this instance Anjou appears to be innocent. By subscribing to the three brothers theory, German seems to be referencing Aylsworth, not Anjou.

Stiles, on the other hand, was a contemporary of Anjou. Stiles’ work, while not without mistakes, does seem to be well respected among the New England and DAR crowd. Stiles also includes sources for his own foray into “historical fiction,” writing about the Ellsworth provenance, which could plausibly preclude Anjou. On the other hand Stiles states in his footnotes he is indebted to the assistance of six other individuals in his account of the Ellsworth line, any of which potentially could have been tainted by Anjou.

German (1871-1961) was also a contemporary of Anjou, however I would say his research in this matter seems to draw heavily on Stiles and Aylesworth. In German’s favor are the following:
First. While the immigration pattern for the Windsor area would seem to support the Timberscombe, rather than the Cambridgshire theory, this can be attributed to Stiles, who has a plausible, if unproven, provenance for this theory
Second. Yes the family coat of arms is present, but this seems to be a ubiquitous misunderstanding persisting to our day, without Anjou’s continued help, so I am not sure how damming this is.
Third. German comes nowhere citing a even modicum of sources, let alone an overwhelming number.
Fourth, German is at least skeptical of some of the claims he makes in his research.

There are at least two key points though which need to be explained before ruling out any Anjou contamination:
First. Who is Lucia Bower? German’s work seems to be the oldest reference to this person. Lucia is a possible (probable in my opinion) invention. All other details can be sourced to earlier documents, at least tenuously, but there seems to be no basis for Lucia.

Second. In Appendix I of Our Ellsworth Ancestors, entitled “The Ellsworths and their Name”, separate from the main body of research, German details the family origin, early usage of the name, ties to nobility, improbable connections between several ancestors (the three brothers theory). The interesting part about this appendix is a footnote which states the appendix was copied from a Genealogical and Historical Sketch provided by the Media Research Bureau, 110 F, St. Washington, D.C. German adds the illuminating comment that this address was reported as “Out of Business” by the Postal Service in August 1955.

German never included any footnotes or source citations elsewhere. He must have smelled something fishy, but could not resist including the authoritative findings of the “Sketch.” To stir the pot even more, this “Sketch” lists a 12 source bibliography. Eleven of the twelve source are legitimate and I have verified. While the sources do have tidbits of filler info referenced in the “Sketch,” they are a far cry from supporting the juicy details regarding Ellsworth provenance. The twelfth source most likely is legitimate too, but I have not verified it. If it is legitimate however, the title of the book indicates at most it can be more filler.

Who / what was the Media Research Bureau? Anjou’s outfit was called AMERICAN CONSUMERS SOCIETY, located at No. 2 West 45th Street, New York. The company referenced by German could be another front, or maybe a competitor in misinformation? Here is a link showing an advertisement for the Media Research Bureau http://books.google.com/books?id=MtsDAAAAMBAJ&pg=RA1-PA799&lpg=RA1-PA799&dq=media+research+bureau+1110+f+st+washington&source=bl&ots=2ymB5rxIHq&sig=EPF5wCzxvy98U1DR9F8LWXeJqzE&hl=en&ei=cQb6TJiPINP4nwf27oXGCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CB8Q6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=media%20research%20bureau%201110%20f%20st%20washington&f=false

This sketch as copied by German does not list Lucia, so either this “Sketch” is only partially reproduced, which does not seem to be the case, or there is some other unidentified document from somewhere else that German is drawing on when he says Reference is made by some writers that Josiah was born 7 August, 1629 in Cambridgshire, England, the son of Sir John Ellsworth and Lucia Bower. (Not confirmed). Is this source Anjou, or someone else?  This sounds awfully specific for such an early date, and no one seems to be able to produce any proof. As stated earlier in this thread, there seems to be a whiff of rodent here.

[johnxyz]

Reading all this again I agree that the more detailed analysis of sources points in directions other than Anjou.

I first came across him when checking the "well known" line on my family, that it can trace its ancestry to "Adam de Copley slain at York in 1070". For this Anjou proved  useful, identifying additional source material. Tracking through those and other sources, I've concluded that it is an Elizabethan invention - the earliest reference I can find is 1630.

It does however suggest a historical parallel between Elizabethan England, and more recent American history - the desire to have a pedigree linked back to long-standing English nobility.

And whilst it is interesting to note the parallel, it still leaves your putative rodent. I don't think the specificity of the 1629 date is of itself a problem. Where parish registers from that era exist, the dates and information are specific. That the date is subsequently ascribed to several different places is possibly cause for concern, but I have seen that happen often, even when the original primary source is known and properly recorded. The real cause for concern is that in this case no-one seems be able to locate the primary source.   

Until that is found, or its false origin established, the best that can be done is to record what is known and not known - and I admire the way this thread has presented that.

[tickle]

Hi all

I just read all this again with interest. It seems that no progress has been forthcoming since our initial debate. However, the Cambridgeshire Family History Society has a 'Supersearch' facility on its website, so I entered Josiah Elsworth/Ellsworth with and without dates and came up with: The Search has found no records which match your search criteria. Surprise, surprise!

Best wishes

Tickle

[tickle]

Hi again all

Tom McCarthy has put a lot of the detail of German Ellsworth's research on http://www.aylesworth.net/Confidence_family_DWT_CSS/ellsworth_family_notes.htm

It is easy from that to completely disconnect the NY family from the discussion. Tom quotes German thus:

"At this time, 1664, one of three brothers fled to Holland. He adopted the Dutch pronunciation ELSWORT. After a few years living there, he with his family emigrated to America, and settled in the city of New York where many of the descendants still remain. His name is believed to be Theophilus. 

"He and his descendants professed their attachment to the Dutch Reformed Church. They spell their name ELSWORTH. "

We have primary source material which gives Theophilus's birth as Bristol 1625, and his emigration from Holland to New Amsterdam in 1652, so for my money that's case closed. He can not possibly be a brother to any of the other folk unless his mother was child bearing for 20+ years and was a very old lady!

Best wishes

Tickle