The truth about William Sherwill, the Conestoga Fur Trader, as
of June 2011, at least until another document is found changing everything.
Other documents have been found as of 25 April 2019 which do change some things
as shown below.
Copyright June 2011 LaRae Free Kerr M Ed. Revised 25 April 2019
When I started this
project, my family group record on William Sherrill the Fur Trader, gave his
wife as Mary Egford/Higford with a question mark. His proven children were
Mary, Margery, William Jr and Adam. Children with question marks were Avington,
two Samuels born in different years, John, Ute/Uriah/Yont, David, Amanda and
Reuben. The family group record was full of errors; however, perusing available
records left a streamlined, solid family as shown below.
After carefully
reading this document, if you have any true sources that support, refute or
enhance the following information, I would appreciate your sharing them with
me. Please do not quote “family sources,” “ancestry.com’s familytree [unless
there are real sources],” “new.familysearch.org [unless sources are attached]”
or any other cut-and-paste resource, for they are not sources. But do
share court and land records, family Bibles, diaries, letters, etc. To follow
our discoveries about the Sherrills, Perkins and Frees, please follow the blog
at www.alfreefamily.blogspot.com.
You may email me at kerrworks@sfcn.org.
Also, please, do not
commit plagiarism by cutting and pasting this document into other sites,
especially in pieces that leave out supporting data. When quoting this
document, give complete sourcing: Kerr, LaRae Free. “The truth about
William Sherwill, the Conestoga Fur Trader, as of June 2011, and April 2019, at
least until another document is found changing everything.” www.alfreefamilyblogspot.com.
20 Jun 2011. 25 Apr 2019. 2027l
Further, I reserve the
right to modify anything and everything in this document as you send me new
information, and as Jill, Michael and I find new information. Look for the
book: the working title is Richard
Perkins and William Sherrill: American
Ancestors of Mary Pennington Free.
Names are funny
things. No matter how unusual the name you are searching may be, there will be
other people with the same or similar names in the same or similar time periods
and places. Remember, too, please, that all spelling must be done
phonetically. The surname Sherrill has been found in varying documents as well
as sometimes in the same documents spelled in these and other
ways: Sherrill /Shirwell/Sherrel/Sherwill/Shearwell/Sherel/ Sherett/Cheril/
Sherville/Sheral/Shurl/Cherral/Sarill/Sherrerd, pronounced Sherry in parts of
England
Documents are funny
things, too. Thousands of records are destroyed each year, yet many make it
through the natural disasters, the mice and rats, the burned house or
courthouse, the trips to the dump, and end up in a library or on a microfilm or
book or even onto the Internet.
Consequently, the
appearance of just one record can change all that a family believed about their
family heretofore. Such is the case with the William Sherrill pedigree.
Please remember these three things as you peruse the following much abbreviated
information: no name is unique; names must be read phonetically; and with
the advent of digital technology, “lost” or at least previously unfound,
ancient records are coming to light.
Why
William Sherrill has only four children.
The four children of
William Sherrill can be proven by court and church records. The St George
Parish Register by Reamy p 60 includes this entry: “Mary Perkins daughter of
Richard Perkins Sr [Jr in this book] and Mary his wife and granddaughter to
William Sheerwill Senior born 1 Dec 1739.” This shows that Mary the mother was
the daughter of William Sherrill Sr, and her daughter Mary was his
granddaughter. This is an unusual entry in that it mentions the grandfather,
and it proves that Mary the mother, the wife of Richard Perkins Jr, was William
Sherrill Sr’s daughter.
Deeds show that in 1729
William Sherrill Sr sold 100 acres to each of his two sons, Adam and his wife
Elizabeth, and William Jr and his wife Margaret. This proves that William
Sherrill Sr had two sons, Adam and William Jr.
Margery is proven to be
the child of William Sherrill Sr by a line in the will of Christopher Hoomes
wherein he wrote: “I give and bequeath to my reputed son and whom I have raised
from infancy, William Sherrill, son of Margaret Sherrill, alias Margery
Perkins.” This Margery Perkins is the wife of Elisha Perkins, brother to
Richard Perkins Jr who married Margery’s sister, Mary. This gives her maiden
name as Sherrill, and includes the common form of her given name, Margery. Note
that she named her son by Christopher Hoomes after her father, William
Sherrill.
Why Long Island, New York’s Samuel
Sherrill [identified as Shipwreck Sam] is not William Sherrill, the Conestoga
Fur Trader’s, father.
A better question than
this is: Why did anyone think Samuel Sherrill was William Sherrill’s father in
the first place?
It was because of
proximity. Those wonderful early researchers who gave us such great
genealogical heritages had very few records to work with, so their modus
operandi was to look around for the closest person with the same or similar
last name. Still works today, but it must be accompanied by records, and
it must fit known dates.
In addition, consider
that genealogy rule that if you can’t prove a relationship, attempt to disprove
it. The wills of Samuel Sherrill of Long Island and his wife disproved any
connection to William.
Neither Samuel Sherrill’s
will nor that of his wife mentioned a son named William Sherrill. In fact, the
only son mentioned is Recompence. There were some daughters.
Sometimes sons are not
mentioned in probates because they have already received their inheritances or
are cut off. My Perkins line has examples of both. Still there are other
records connecting the father and son. In the case of Samuel and William there
are no connecting records found thus far, not one. Further, William lived in
Maryland and just across the border into Pennsylvania while Samuel lived in
Long Island, New York.
In Hudson-Mohawk
Genealogical and Family Memoirs, Vol III, edited by Cuyler Reynolds and
published in 1911, in an article titled “The Sherrill Line,” p 1065, it says
“Recompence, only son of Samuel and ______(Parsons) Sherrill,
was born in Easthampton, Long Island, about 1678 [underlining is my
own].” So for at least one hundred years, Sherrill researchers have known
Samuel was the father of Recompence, NOT William Sr.
Wanda Clark, in her Sherrill
Saga,p 17 in my version, says, “There is no doubt that William Sherrill,
the Conestoga fur trader pre-dated the Long Island Samuel Sherrill.” Therefore,
Samuel Sherrill could not be William’s father just simply because he was too
young to be.
Further, there were other
Sherrills in the Americas: Samuel Shewell, Samuel Share, John Sherle, Thomas
Shirle, Thomas Sherwill, William Sherrill/Sheriff who immigrated in 1659, for
example, from Virginia to New Hampshire to list just a few. See
Clark, Wanda L. The Sherrill Saga. Photocopy
of rough draft in possession of LaRae Free Kerr, p/s 27. McAlester, OK. 1 Jan
1987. p 26. and Shoemaker, Jill. June Research, email 17 June
2011 10:48 pm. See also Sherrill immigrants/emigrants on Ancestry.com
A new-found record seems
to indicate William Sherrill, the Fur Trader, was the emigrant and is not the
son of any colonial Sherrill by any spelling or domicile.
Why neither Maryland
Samuel Sherrill is the Fur Trader’s father.
If proximity sent early
researchers into Long Island, New York in search of William Sherrill’s parents,
it sent some researchers even closer to William’s domicile when a Samuel
Sherrill was found in Maryland itself. One of William Andrew Sherrill’s
thousands of Sherrill note cards said: “Samuel Sherrill d. Charles County, Md
1676. B. England 1635. Married an Ashbrook. Supposed to be the father of
William Sherrill. B. Charles County, Maryland, 1675.” Clark.
Saga. P 36 Please note there is NO source for this information and
neither of those great Sherrill researchers, William Andrew Sherrill or Wanda L
Clark credit it, though in his thoroughness, Bill recorded it. The source
for the death year is shown below.
Nor is there any known document connecting
William Sherrill to this Samuel Sherrill of Charles County, Maryland. Records
indicate this Samuel Sherrill was in Charles County, MD in 1663. Deed records
then jump to 1674-1677 when this Samuel was dead. But none of these deeds,
nor the estate appraisement seem to mention wife or children. Clark,
Saga pp 23-25. See notes below:
Samuel Sherrill
1670 9 Aug. Samuel
Serrell of Charles Co also Samuel Serell of Petuxent River in Calvert Co MD was
pd 1000 lbs tobacco to cut and mail 14 foot logs.
1673. Samuell Sherrell
sells Ashbrooks Rest to John Boyden
1674, 6 Nov. Samuell
Sherrell of Charles Co MD? Swears about William Lewis
1676 24 Jul. Benjamin
Roger (Roser?) adm his estate. Samuel Sherrill is of Charles, MD.
1678 13 Apr Robert
Benjar of Baltimore Co MD administers Margaret's estate.
Why
would these non-related people administer the estates of Samuel and Margaret,
his wife, if they had living children? Especially since William Sherrill, the
Fur Trader, was nearby? Kerr, LaRae Free. Notes and Timeline. Personal Ancestral File
under Samuel Sherrill d 1676 Md.
Still another Samuel
Shewell/Showell can be found in Maryland records, in Somerset County. This
one’s wife was Mary; his children were Johnathan, Mary and Charles, and his
will was drawn 18 Apr 1695 and proved 13 Oct 1698 through 18 Jul 1713. Clark,
Saga. P 38. No known record connects this man to William Sherrill, the Fur
Trader.
CONCLUSION: No
records connect William Sherrill the fur trader to any Samuel Sherrill. Both
the Long Island, NY Samuel Sherrill and the Somerset County, MD Samuel Sherrill
were too young to be William’s father. The Charles County, MD Samuel Sherrill
is of an age where he might be William Sherrill’s father, but it appears from
both his and his wife Margaret’s estates, that there were no children. No
document has yet been found connecting this Samuel Sherrill with William Sherrill
the Fur Trader.
Why William Sherrill the
Fur Trader’s wife is not Margaret, Rudisil or Reutzel.
The bottom line on
William Sherrill’s wife is that she is not mentioned in any record found thus
far. That William did have children he claimed as his own and met the
requirements to be considered “English” therefore qualifying for land ownership
and taxation, can be found in Maryland and Pennsylvania land records where he
deeded parcels to his sons Adam and William Jr. The much litigated Margery
Sherrill is listed as William Jr’s sister in court records. Mary
Sherrill’s daughter is given as the granddaughter of William Sheerwill, senior,
in the parish registers. But there is no evidence of marriages or wives for
William, though obviously there was at least one. So for the time being, his
wife must be called by that ubiquitous and meaningless name, Mrs. William
Sherrill.
To understand why neither
the forename Margaret nor the surname Rudicil or Reutzel can belong to her
[except coincidentally and outside the following parameters], consider the
source of those names.
First, the Long Island
Samuel Sherrill’s wife, first name unknown by the editor, Reynolds, of the
entry above, has often been given as Margaret Parsons. When Sherrill
researchers were compelled to remove “Shipwreck” Samuel Sherrill from their
pedigree charts as William’s father for lack of evidence, they might have
forgotten to also remove Samuel Sherrill’s wife as his mother. Hence the name
Margaret Parsons stayed on some records even though she almost certainly never
met the William Sherrill she was supposed to have birthed.
Second, there is a Margaret
Therrell/Sherrell/Thurrold, who left a will mentioning daughters and a
grandson, nothing concerning a son William, yet her name comes up as a possible
mother to William. See Clark, Wanda L. The Sherrill Saga. Photocopy of rough draft in possession of LaRae Free Kerr, p/s
27. McAlester, OK. 1 Jan 1987. Pp 8, 18-22.
Third, William Sherrill
Jr’s wife’s name was listed as Margaret in various deeds. He was not always,
nor even often called Jr in the land records, and it is difficult to tell which
William Sherrill is which. However, deeds make it clear that the wife of
William Sherrill, the son of William Sherrill the Indian trader, was named
Margaret.
Fourth, someone once read
the name Samuel as Rudil in one or more early documents – old cursive is often
confusing, and then someone assumed it was his mother’s surname; hence Rudisil.
As near as I can tell, the supposition about Rudil began in 1957. However, the
Rudicel family claims no one by that surname was in the Americas early enough
to be William Sherrill’s wife. In other words, and I really hate to say this,
but someone made Margaret Rudicell up. She did not exist.
Fifth, the William
Sherrill 1702 deed transferring land from William Price to William Sherrill
contains information about Margaret, but it is Margaret Price that is named,
not Margaret Sherrill.
And finally, William
Sherrill’s known daughters are Mary and Margery, a shortening of Margaret.
Surely one of those daughters would be named for their mother? Perhaps.
But in the old Scotch-Irish naming pattern, the first daughter would be named
for the mother’s mother, and the second for the father’s mother. So it is more
likely that their mother’s mother was named Mary, and their father’s mother was
named Margery; the latter turns out to be true.
Some have claimed a
Margaretha Reutzel, daughter of Elias, as his wife. However, the original
researchers for the family of Elias do not list a daughter named Margaret or
any of its variations. All of the children of this family have complete birth
[chr?] dates from church records [?] in Wolferborn, Germany, except the oldest purported
child, Margaretha,. She has been plunked in with only a birth year and the
place as Cecil, MD. Further, the ship that brought them is supposed to be the
US Butler. The US didn’t even exist at that time. The only source is
oneworldtree at ancestry. Of course, oneworldtree is not a source. After
checking this family, I am convinced Margaretha Reutzel is another person who
never did exist.
The earliest Rudisil I
noticed as I worked on this information was: A Philip Rudisili appeared in
Anson Co NC in a 28 Jun 1756 deed. Clark, Saga, p 64.Thank
you, dear Wanda Clark, for your hard work.
Two great Sherrill
researchers have independently discounted both Samuel Sherrill and Margaret
Rudisil [by any spelling] as William Sherrill’s parents and wife as shown by
this quote: “This Ermington Parish family is the strongest candidate so far for
our William, the conestoga fur traders line. Bill Sherrill of Arizona had
discounted Samuel Sherrill whom he called ‘Sinking Sam’ as our ancestor &
in his book on Jacob which he put out just before he died he removed Margaret
Rudisil as William’s wife…Note that I show no wife’s name [for the fur trader]
& show only 4 children as proven William Jr, Adam Sr; Margeret Perkins;
& Mary Perkins – and while I list Wm Sherwell & Margery Upright as his
parents I show this as “not proven” Clark, Wanda. Letter to
Helen VanderBeek dated 13 Sep 1991 from McAlester, OK. In p/s 27, handwritten,
tan lined paper.
Why William Sherrill’s
wife is not Mary Egford/Higford [or sometimes given as Gregory].
The William Sherrill/Mary
Egford marriage took place 11 May 1693 in Exeter, Devon, England. This is about
the time William Sherrill married, but he lived in Maryland not England. It is
possible he returned to England with the express purpose of acquiring a
wife. But, as shown elsewhere, his
wife’s name is not given in any known new world document.
Why Rudil Sherrill is not
William Sherrill’s son.
The name Rudil Sherrill was
a misreading of the name Rydall Furrill in the original. Both Rydall [Rudil]
and John Furrill were named in the Pennsylvania tax lists. There never was a
Rudil Sherrill; he couldn’t be anyone’s son because he did not exist.
Wanda Clark wrote on page
8 of her Sherrill Saga: "Adam, Rudil and Samuel join William Sherrill in Lancaster
County tax records in 1720." Her hand-written note in the margin states:
"read original microfilm - this appears to be a mis-reading of
Samuel." This is the complete quote.
Why Samuel Sherrill is
not William Sherrill’s son.
Please note that the
first documented Samuel Sherrill in the family is the son of Adam
Sherrill. Gray, William grandson of William and Sarah Sherrill Gray copied
these entries in 1860., Old Sherrill Bible., Mrs Richard W Harris Rt 3 Oxford,
NC donated these papers as part of the Allen/Laney Papers. Paine to H V/B 24
Jan 1979., copy in poss LaRae Free Kerr, 2969 East Somerset Drive, Spanish
Fork, UT 84660.
Why is Ute/Uriah/Yont
Sherrill listed as a child of William Sherrill, the Indian trader?
The short answer is there
is no Ute/Uriah b 1705, but the man of that name born 1728 is the son of Adam
Sherrill. Adam’s son Uriah was born 1 Mar 1728 and fits all known deeds.
Further he is listed in the Sherrill Family Bible records as Adam’s son.
After reviewing the
literature about William Sherrill as well as newly noticed records, I have yet
to find him even in the same place as a Ute/Uriah/Yont Sherrill. William Sherrill
does have a grandson named Uriah b 1728, a son of Adam [some claim this Uriah
is the son of Samuel]; plus a great grandson named Uriah b 1757, son of Jacob.
Why Aventon/Avington/Abenton/Abraham
Sherrill is not William Sherrill, the Fur Trader’s, son.
Avington is another
story. He does not appear in Pennsylvania records with the William Sherrill
family. He does appear on the Catawba River with the Sherrills in North
Carolina, meaning that he would have been, most likely, 21 or older by 1748,
thus born before 1727. He is a son of William Sherrill Jr, a grandson of
William. See the following deed abstract for more about Avington.
“Anson County, North
Carolina Deeds, Vol A.
Page 103: 1 May
1752, WILLIAM SHERRILL [Jr], to his son ABBENTON SHERRILL…cattle other half to
son in law JAMES ROBINSON…WILLIAM SHERRILL [X] [SEAL]. Wit: JOHN WODSON, JOHN
CLARK, JAMES HUTCHINS.” Abstract in Clark, Wanda, The Sherrill
Saga, p 63.
Important identifiers in
this deed show that Aventon must meet these requirements:
1. He was born before 1731 –
would probably be 21 or older in 1752 or the deed’s language would have been
different.
2. His father’s name was
William Sherrill
3. William Sherrill Jr was
alive in 1752
4. Half of William
Sherrill’s cattle went to Aventon’s sister, via her husband James Robinson
5. There were not other
children in the family, since the cattle were divided into two herds only
6. William Sherrill Jr lived
in Anson Co NC in 1752
These
criteria define the family of William Sherrill Jr thusly:
1. Avington Sherrill’s birth
is estimated at about 1730 in Virginia.
2. His father’s name was
William Sherrill [Jr]; his mother was, perhaps, Margaret who later married a Mr
Wilson [another Margaret!].
3. His father, William
Sherrill Jr, died 14 Jan 1774 in Sherrill’s Fort, GA; he was killed by Indians.
So he was alive in 1752, thus able to bequeath his children these cattle.
4-5. There may have been only
the two children or the cattle would have been divided into smaller groups.
[There are also reasons why this may not be true, but looking at the most
obvious circumstance first can be helpful.] The family record I have of William
Sherrill Jr shows only two children: Aventon, and Catherine. Catherine
was married to James Robinson. It is entirely possible that the name James
Robinson originated with this deed since I do not have a marriage record for
Catherine.
7. Even though this William Sherrill Jr was with his father and
brother Adam in MD and PA, there are deeds for him in Anson Co NC 1750, 1750,
1752, 1752, 1757, 1762. He and other family members later went to GA for a time
where he was killed. Clark. Saga. Pp 63-4.
8. Deeds for James Robinson
and Aventon Sherrill, and Aventon’s wife Pershanna Sherrill can also be found
in Anson Co NC. Clark, Saga, pp 63-4.
CONCLUSION: This Avington
Sherrill is the son of William Sherrill, Jr.
Why David, Amanda and
Reuben Sherrill are not William Sherrill the Fur Trader’s children.
There is no evidence, no
source, nada. These names were taken from a website that is fraught with
errors, and though source names are scattered throughout they don’t seem to
bear any relationship to the information listed nearby.
Where did the other
children come from?
Some family group records
list as many as 11 children for William Sherrill, the Indian trader. I’ve
looked hard for days without finding a single source that would make me add a
name to the four known children given above. Further, I’ve seen no source of
any kind for any of the other names. Where did they come from?
CONCLUSION: Only Mary,
William Jr, Adam, and Margery should be listed as William Sherrill’s and Mrs.
William Sherrill’s children.
So, as of June 2011, and
April 2019, feel free to make the following changes to your William Sherrill
the Fur Trader family group record.
1. Remove both Samuel
Sherrill and any Margaret as his parents. The book reveals those most likely to
be his parents.
2. Remove Mary
Egford/Higford/Gregory as his wife. Also remove any Margaret and any
surname. Remember that Margaret Rudicil did not exist, at least as William
Sherwill’s wife. So don’t even keep her in the database. The only name we have
at this time is Mrs. William Sherrill [use any Sherrill spelling that works in
your database.]
Margaretha Reutzel is
another apparently made up name. This woman also does not appear to have
existed.
3. Put the four known
children in this order, if you choose to follow the traditional naming
order: the first daughter will be Mary, named after her mother’s mother
[whose name we don’t actually yet know and may never know]; the second daughter
will be Margery, named after her father’s mother [this turns out to be true];
the first son will be named William after the father’s father [which is also
true]; the second son will be named after the mother’s father. However, in
this case, Mary is named after her great grandmother on her father’s side and
Adam is named after his great grandfather on his father’s side. [Of course,
it’s always possible Mary and Adam are indeed their mother’s parents’ names.]
However, there is a reason the mother’s name was never used in any of the
records: she died young; she was all or part Indian and could not legally be
included; she was of another nationality whose names were difficult; she was
not married to William Sherrill but a common law wife. Who knows?
The most likely answer is
that she died young and therefore did not need to be named in the deeds and
court records.
4. As I’ve done this
analysis, it has become clear that Mary, William, Adam and Margery, who can all
be documented as William Sherrill the Fur Trader’s children with court and land
records were born in MD and/or PA. The other children attributed to him appear
only in VA or NC records where he may never have gone. This analysis has made
it clear that those erstwhile children belong in other families. William
Sherrill the Fur Trader probably died in VA.
5. Move Aventon to his
proper position as the grandchild of William Sherrill and the son of William
Sherrill Jr.
6. Delete David, Amanda and
Reuben outright. They do not belong in this family if they even existed.
7. I find no document
mentioning John Sherrill in the MD/PA area or the right time period. So delete
him.
8. Match/merge
Ute/Uriah/Yont Sherrill with the Uriah b 1728, son of Adam the pioneer or Uriah
the son of Samuel the son of Adam the pioneer b 1757, depending on the event.
9. The Samuel Sherrill who
has been assigned the birth date of 1709 did not exist. So what Sherrill family
has sons named Samuel and Adam? That would be the family of Adam Sherrill and
Elizabeth Corzine. The deed dates assigned to Samuel Sherrill b 1709 work
even better for the Samuel Sherrill b 1725. So match/merge Samuel Sherrill
whose birth is given as 1709 with Adam’s son Samuel b 1 Oct 1725. The Samuel
Sherrill b 1709 never did exist. All his references were actually for those of
1725.
