The Ancestry of Richard Milhous Nixon

54 Pages·2009·3.46 MB·English

Richard Nixon Presidential Library
White House Special Files Collection
Folder List
Box Number Folder Number Document Date Document Type Document Description
10 11 06/10/1971 Report The Ancestry of Richard Milhous
Nixon.Third Edition, 1971. (Continued in
10:12). 53 pages of 104.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009 Page 1 of 1
THE ANCESTRY OF

R, ICHARD MILHOUS NIXON'

by
Raymond Martin Bell
Washington and Jefferson College
~~
/O~ 197/
Washington, Pennsyl
v~a

Third, edition 1971
1
.'
Dedicated to
Francis Anthony Nixon
.and.
Hannah Milhou8 Nixon
2
CONTENTS
-
Preface -
­ 3
­
Acknowledgements .. -
- 4
-
Introduction ­
- 5
-
Maps
7
I
Family Tree
-8
Parents 2-3
~ - 16
Grandparents 4-7 ­
- 17
Great-grandparents 6-15'
- 19
4gt " 16-31
- 22
3gt " 32-63- 27
4gt " 64-127
- 33
5gt " 128-255 - - 42
6gt " 256-511
- 51
..
7gt 512-1023 - 60
8gt " 1024-2047
- 65
The Moores of Ballymoney, Ireland
- 69
Hoover & Eisenhower Trees ­
- 70
Index of Surnames ­
- 71
- -
Index of Nixons ­
- 75
3
PREFACE
On September 26, 1952 Mrs. Florence B. Sterner, of Menges Mills, Pa.
wrote to the compiler of this record asking for assistance in determining
the forebears of Senator Richard Nixon. She was' 'a friend and former
neighbor of Senator Nixon's mother. She wrote at the suggestion of Miss
Jessica C. Ferguson, Genealogist at the Pennsylvania State Library.
Senator Nixon knew that his great-grandfather Nixon had been killed at
the battle of Gettysburg in 1863 and that his grandfather had been born
somewhere west of Pittsburgh, Pa.
A search of Washington County (Pa.) court records showed three George
Nixons. Census data and pension data showed their birth dates to be 1152,
1184 and 1821. George Nixon I purchased a farm at Washington, Pa. in 180).
His son, Seeds Nixon, was one of the connecting links. Delaware records
showed a marriage in 1115 of George Nixon and Sarah Seeds. Ohio records
showed a Revolutionary veteran, named George Nixon, who had a son, Seeds.
Washington County deed records indicated that George I and Seeds lived
on the same farm. The pension record of George Nixon I (S8919) coupled
with will and deed records of New Castle County, Del. proved that George I
was a son of that he went to Penna. in 1803 and Ohio in 1830.
~ames,
Further research showed'that George Nixon I went to Henry County, Illinois
in 1842 and died soon after arrival. The DAR marked his grave in 1925.
The grandson, George Nixon III, was born in Pa., went to Ohio in 1853
and died at Gettysburg in 1863 a few days after the battle.
Research turned next to the Trimmer family of Washington County, for
the Pension record of George Nixon Ill's widow showed her maiden name to
be Trimmer. By a roundabout way involving amateur radio a copy was ob­
tained of the manuscript on the Trimmer Genealogy written in 1904 by David
Trimmer of McArthur, Ohio. Correspondence with the parents of Richard Mil­
hous Nixon showed that on the maternal side his Milhous, Griffith and
Burdg ancestors had lived near Washington, Pa. This led eventually to
the tracing of all lines and the publication of this record.
The compiler of these notes found the Nixons listed in the early 18000s
as members on the rolls of the First United Methodist Church (Washington),
for which he is records custodian. A sampler which had puzzled Miss Flo­
rence Eisele, of Natchez, Miss. for many years turned out to bear the
names of members of the family of George Nixon II. It was found that the
parents of both the Nixon and the Milhous grandfathers were married in
Washington County. George Nixon - Margaret 1843 in a Mthodist
~Trimmer
ceremony; Joshua V. Milhous - Elizabeth P. Griffith 1841 in a Quaker one.
Research was greatly facilitated by the excellent Quaker records in Hin­
shaw's volumes and at Swarthmore College. All of the maternal lines and
one-third of the paternal lines were found to be Quaker.
To search out lines such as Moore and Malmsbury requked years of digging,
with the search ending in printed genealogies. Many families were written
up in county histories. Family, church, court, census and pension records
were searched. These families were found to have published genealogies.
Brinton, Burdg, Cattell, Clemson, Dickinson, Doane, Gaskill, Griffith,
Hemingway, Hussey, Lippincott, Malmsbury, Mendenhall, Milhous, Moore,
Morse, Potts, Price, Scothorn, Shattuck, Shinn, Smith, Trimmer.
4
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Over two hundred individuals and libraries have helped in this project.
In addition, a number of governmental agencies have provided assistance.
In recent months Frank R Baird (Penna) has given a lot of he]p. In addi­
tion, special aid has been provided by John WHaines (N J), Mrs Carl Main
(Ohio), Robert Barnes (Md) and Warren W Nixon (Iowa). Here are some of
the other persons who have been of help.
Mr & Mrs Frank A Nixon F Donald Nixon Dr & Mrs Ernest L Nixon
Mrs· C H Nixon W K Nixon Roy'B Nixon
Mrs Alice Wyatt Mrs Margaret Martin Mrs Joyce Sanden
Mr & Mrs R M Everett Mrs Edna Jordan Mrs Susan Sheehan
Harry A Diehl Jerry F Peter Mrs Frederick Banks
George Swank Arthur M Saltzer WClifford Lant
Mrs Bertha Nickell Mrs Dick Rugh Mrs Willard G Isaacson
Mrs Thomas J Hannon Mrs Cora S Winkler Mrs Hazel Dubenhorst
Mrs Ruth M Smith Miss Cornelia F Walker Mrs Revelie W Brannon
Mrs Dorothy Z Milhous Henry H Beeson William F Mendenhall
M G Price George W Ingram Walter Farwell
Miss Dorothy Laird Leon deValinger Miss Rose Mary Woods
Donald H Rogers , Carl Boyer III Noble M Melencamp
Mrs Paul Monks Miss Rebecca Wadsworth Mrs Eloise Wadsworth
Mrs WAH McIlvaine Mrs Eleanor Melson. Miss Jessica C Ferguson
Beverly Brown Mrs Mary Richardson Wallace Johnston
John C W Riddle C G James Mrs Hazel B Williams
Charles MEwing Margaret SWard Mary S Patterson
Floyd Trimmer Doyle K Trimmer Mrs A H McCoy
M L Heisey Mrs Grayce Farthing Don L Berry
Mrs Edith G Nunes Mrs Jessamyn McPherson Gerald V Mendenhall
.Thomas L Anderson Mrs Rebecca B Colesar Philip Meyer
Samuel J Clokey Mrs E F Gaskill Ira A Brown
Ralph H Lane Mrs Bertha Kamm A Russell Slagle
Mrs L E Goeller . Frank Wadsworth Miss Florence Eisele
Ralph McIlvaine Mrs Harold Fitzgerald Mrs Florence Sterner
Mrs Sarah Bu ler Roger Thomas Charles Hines
James E Emer3 Mrs L E Gibbons Henry Hall
Mrs H N Lazenby Warren Pickett Charles Custer
Gilbert H Doane David C Trimmer Edward P Trimmer
Anna E Shaddinger R Kenneth Trimmer Mrs Ann H Hutton
Mrs Olive Goodbody Paul J Lareau John B Threlfa1l
Leslie WMillhouse Mrs Dianne S Humes John R Nesbitt
Special thanks go to Dr George E McCracken for publishing the complete
Nixon family tree in The AmeriCan Genealogist in April 1970 and 1971.
NOTE ON THE CALENDAR
In records before 1752, especially those of Quakers, the tenth month
was December and the new year began March 25. In 1752 the new year was
changed to begin January 1 and 11 days were added to all dates to bring
them in line with the seasons. For example, George Washington was born
12m 11-1731 by a Quaker calendar, Feb 11-1731/32 by his calendar, Feb 22­
1732 by our calendar. Some in book may be based on one system,
dat~s ~his
=
some on the other. 10m 31-1731 • Dec 31-1731r 11m 1-1731/32 Jan 1-1732;
1m 24-1741/41 was followed by 1m 25-1742 = Mar 25-1742. This does not
take into account the eleven days added in Sep 1752. That month had 19
~s.
5
INTRODUCTION
When a man becomes President of the United States, there is interest
in his ancestry. President Nixon was born in California. His father was
born in Ohio; his mother in Indiana. His parents, two of his grandparents
and two of his great-grandparents died in California. All of his grand­
parents, all of his great-grandparents and 13 of his 16 great-great­
grandparents lived at one time in, Ohio. The sixteen were born in.
Penna 6. Md 4. N J 3. Del 2, Ohio 1
The states of residence at time of death were.
Ohio 7. Iowa 3. Ind 2, Penna 1. Mo 1. Md 1.
There are a number of unusual facts about the Nixon ancestors.
a
(1) they all lived in narrow band between Baltimore, Md and Newark, N J.
several moved to this region from New England or Long Island,
(2) on the average they landed in America about 1685. there is no
record of any landing after 1775.
(3) about two-thirds were Quakers, on both sides of the family,
(4) many of the families are well-known and have published histories,
(5) a conservative estimate is that over two million Americans are
"cousins" of President Nixon, if one goes out to fifth cousins.
(6) except for the Trimmers, all the lines go back to the British Isles,
mainly England, with a few from Scotland and Wales, and several
families stopping in Ireland on the way to America,
on the maternal side there is considerable longevity, for five

generations the average age at death was about eighty years •.

I
Richard Mi1lhous Nixon had eight great-grandparents, two of whom died
after he was born. The eight branches are.
NIXON - the earliest record is in 1731, when James Nixon bought a farm in
Brandywine Hundred, New Castle Co, Del. He may have come from Ireland.
His descendants migrated to Penna, Ohio and California. Miss Jessica C
Ferguson and Dr Ralph H Lane assisted the compiler in this branch.
TRIMMER - John Trimmer, of German origin, is listed in Hunterdon Co, N J
in 1739. This family also lived in Morris Co, N J, and Juniata, Snyder
and Washington Cos in Pa, where a Trimmer married a Nixon. David Trimmer's
manuscript Genealogy was very valuable.
WADSWORTH - the name of Thomas Wadsworth appears in Harford Co, Md in
1741, when he was married. The family moved to Ohio, where a Wadsworth
married a Nixon. Help was supplied by Miss Rebecca Wadsworth, Robert
Barnes and Mrs Florence Main.
MOORE - James Moore migrated from Ballymoney, Co Antrim in Ireland to
Lancaster Co, Pa before 1759. His father, also James, was married in
Ireland in 1714. The family moved west to Centre Co and Allegheny Co in
Pa and then to Ohio, where a Moore married a Wadsworth. The main source is
"The Ancestors and Descendants of Andrew Moore by JAM Passmore, Phila,
1897. Assistance was provided by Mrs Ruth M Smith with the Lillian
Rowell charts, Warren W Nixon, Margaret S Ward, Mrs Florence Main.
MILHOUS - Thomas Milhous, born 1699, went from Timahoe, Co Kildare, Ireland
to Chester 'Co, Pa in 1729. He lived nine miles west of James Nixon. (Did
they ever meet?) Thomas' grandfather, also, Thomas, was in Co Antrim,
Ireland in 1669. From Chester Co the family moved to OhiO, Ind and Cal.
MrsMartha Gibbons provided copies of Milhous histories by William Mil­
hcusand Mrs Dorothy Z Milhous. Family records from the Milhous Bibles,
used in the 1969 inauguration,were supplied by the Library of Congress.
6
GRIFFITH - William Griffith went from Wales to New Castle Co, Del about
1700. His family moved to York Co and Washington Co in Pa where a
Griffith - Milhous marriage occurred. James Griffith 1808-1892, of York
Co wrote a history of his family. Mrs Florence Sterner provided a copy
of the original in the York County Historical Society.
BURDG - the Burdg family is found at Great Neck, Long Island, N Y in the
1670·s. From here they went to Monmouth Co, N J, Fayette Co, Pa, and
Ohio, where a Milhous married a Burdg. The main source is Burdg and
Allied Families by Howard G Burdg, Conway, N H 1950.
HEMINGWAY - the Hemingways appear in Roxbury, Mass about 1634. They
moved to Burlington Co, N J and then Ohio, where a Hemingway married
and
a Burdg. The chief source is Ralph Hemmenway His Descendants by
C A H Newton, Napierville, III 1932 and 1943.
Into the above eight branches married eight morel
WILSON - New Castle Co, Del, Washington, Pa
HUNT - Washington Co, Pa. This line has not been traced.
LYTLE - Baltimore Co, Md. Data supplied by Robert Barnes
BROWN - Ireland, Frederick Co, Va, Hampshire Co, W Va, Perry Co,. Ohio
Data supplied by Mrs Florence Main
VICKERS - Bucks Co and Chester Co, Pa
PRICE - Ann Arundel Co, Md. Data supplied by A Russell Slagle
MATTHEWS - New Castle Co, Del, Baltimore Co, Md
MALMSBURY - England: Phila region,Burlington Co, N J. Help was given
by John W Haines and Mrs Edna Jordan. The MaulSby Genealogy
by Barnard was helpful. The surname has had many spellings.
Of the Nixon forebears, 19 lived in Washington Co, Pa, 9 in the ad­
joining counties of Allegheny, Greene and Fayette. There were nine lines
in Mass; 11 in New Castle Co, Del, 11 in Baltimore Co, Md, 9 in Burling­
ton Co, N J • 7 in Bucks Co, Pa and 14 in Chester-Delawre Cos, Pa.
RELATED PUBLICATIONS BY. RMB
1953 The Washington County {Pal Ancestors of Vice-President Richard
Milhous Nixon (with Jessica C Ferguson)
1954 The Ancestry of Richard Milhous Nixon (also 1966 &1970)
West with the Milhous and Nixon Families
The Family of Anthony Trimmer
The Nixon Chart '
1956 Nixon (Descendants) (with Ralph H Lane)
1957 From James to Richard, the Nixon Line (also 1969)
1959 Trimmer' Family Outline (with Ira A Brown)
1962 The Trimmer Family (with Ira A Brown)
1963 lJ.'homas Wadsworth, "Harford Co, 'Md
1971 The Clemson Family of Pennsylvania (with Baird and Ward)
The Family of Paul Trimmer of Washington Co, Pa
7
16 MAIN ANCESTRAL LINES

......,,_.. -;;"------·-·1'''..... ·/
Br Brown Mi Milhous
I
Bu Burdg Mo Moore
?Hu ,,~
Gr Griffith Ni Nixon
He Hemingway Pr Price BU\'
Hu Hunt Tr Trimmer
I
Ly Lytle Vi Vickers
Mal Malmsbury Wa Wadsworth
Mat Matthews Wi Wilson
140
:I­ _____________
i~''''_.._-_T#l
.'
a
Wa
G f '
Ly
\
Pr "'.~" N J J
ANCESTORS IN VICINITY OF WASHINGTON, PENNSYLVANIA
r-------------,--------------------------------,~~"~~:
Hemingway

Malmsbury

Moore
X PITTSBURGH
Trimmer
Hunt
)( WASHINGTON
Nixon
Wilson Burdg

Griffith

Smith
_"'------------'

... ...........
,' ~
8
FAMILY TREE

On the following pages an outline is given of the known ancestors
of Richard Milhous Nixon. He is (1), his father is (2), his mother (3).
His grandfathers are (4) and (6), his feat-grandfathers (8) (10) (12)
(14); his great-great-grandfathers (16 (18) (20) (22) (24) (26) (28) (30).
Each generation doubles as it goes back, The paternal line is (2) (4) (8)
(16) (32) (64) and so on. Eleven generations are listed. The following
surnames of ancestors appear.
Allen Harris Pearce
Armstrong Harry Pennell
Hartley Perkins
Bagley Haven Phillips
Baldwin HeJUingway Pierson
Barret Henderson Potts
Batchiler, Hewes Price
Biddle Hunt Prothero
Bowker Hussey
Bowne I Hyandson Record
Bradford Roades
Brinton Inskeep Roberts
Brown
Burdg James Sawtell
Burson Johns Scothorn
Butterworth Johnson Seeds
Shattuck
Carter Laican Shinn
Cattell Langdon Smith,
Clark Lester Southwick
Clayton Lewis Stanhope
Clemson Lightfoot Stearns
Lippincott Strode
Davis Lytle
Day Thomas
Dickinson Malmsbury* Thomasson
Dillon Maris Trimmer
Dixson Mason Twiggs
Doane Matthews Twining
Duncalf McComas
McCulley Vickers
. EVans McElwain
Mendenhall Wadsworth
Foote Mickle Washburn
Forster Milhous Webster
Foulke Miller Wellsmith
Moore White
. Gaskill Morse Wiley
Gibbons Willets
Giles NIXON Wilson
Goody Wise
Griffith Parker Wood
Parsons· Woodward
Harbour Passmore Wright
*
also Malsbury, Malsby, Maltsby, Maltby