Winder Wonderland DNA Project John Burton WINDER [15049]
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WINDER, Robert [12941]
(1730-Bef 1786)
Elizabeth [12942]
(1740-After 1786)
WINDER, John [12953]
(1769-Bef 1814)
CLARKSON, Grace [12960]
(1771-1858)

WINDER, John Burton [15049]
(1795-1866)

 

Family Links

Spouses/Children:
1. Unknown

2. UBER, Elizabeth [15052]

WINDER, John Burton [15049] 1

  • Born: 27 Apr 1795, , Skerton, Lancashire, England 1 2
  • Christened: 13 Sep 1795, , , Lancashire, England 1 3
  • Marriage (1): Unknown
  • Marriage (2): UBER, Elizabeth [15052] in 1832
  • Died: 27 Jul 1866, Amsterdam, Mercer, Pennsylvania, USA at age 71 2
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bullet  General Notes:

According to Richard Winder (Aug 1999):

English roots
According to family tradition , the Winder family of Mercer County, Pennsylvania descends from John B. Winder (JBW), a man born to the laboring class in Lancashire, England. JBW is almost certainly the same individual as one John Burton Winder, born in Skerton , Lancashire, England in 1795 [One great grandchild of JBW was named Burton]. JBW's birth date was probably April 27, 1795 [tombstone]. U.S. census data and immigration interviews indicate a birth a few months later, but all within a time frame before his baptism at St. Mary's parish church in Lancaster on September 13, 1795.

Skerton family roots
According to church records, JBW's father was John Winder of Skerton, probably one of two John Winders born in Skerton during the right time frame, one in 1769 , the other in 1763 . In the will of JBW's great uncle John Winder (a staymaker who lived in Skerton), the first names of this great uncle's nephew William Bevenson Winder and nieces Agnes Whinray and Mary Fryer or Mary Haworth match the first names of some of the siblings of the 1769 John Winder. This would most likely make JBW's grandfather one Robert Winder of Skerton, a tailor who died by 1786, survived by his widow Elizabeth. According to the will of JBW's great uncle, Robert's siblings included John, Elizabeth (Chambers), Margaret (Whinray), Ann, and Christiana (Gregson).The church records list Robert, John, Ann, Betty, Agnes, Mary, Thomas, William, and Robert as children for Robert and Elizabeth Winder in this time frame:. At this point, there is no explanation for the presence of the two Roberts, one of whom died July 1, 1784. JBW's Great Uncle John also indicated in his will that JBW's father John was a blacksmith who had died by 1814 (by age 45), survived by his widow Grace. Church records at St. Mary's parish church confirm that Grace Clarkson of Lancaster was JBW's mother, and married JBW's father on February 9, 1790. Only two Grace Winders were buried in Lancaster during the right time period, one in 1858, and one in 1865. JBW's mother was probably the one who died in 1858 (she most likely would have been in her mid-eighties). The name Grace appears among the American great grand children of JBW (see Chapter 3). JBW had two older brothers (John, b. July 3, 1791, and Thomas, b. April 24, 1794), one older sister (Ann, b. September 2, 1792), and one younger sister (Ellen or Eleanor, b. August 22, 1797). The names John, (Polly) Ann, and Ellen all appear again as children of JBW. There is no death recorded for the elder John before JBW's birth, so the two Johns were perhaps named after different senior Johns (the father and the great uncle?) and JBW given a middle name to distinguish him from his elder brother. It was not common for people of the laboring class to have middle names in that era.

Growing up in Skerton In 1801, when JBW was about 6 years old, Skerton was a small town populated by 276 families of the laboring class . It was considered a rough neighborhood , with five hotels catering to tourists on a dark and narrow main street running north-south and lined with buildings on either side (Fig. 2). When JBW was 13, his father, a blacksmith, approved his apprenticeship to a block and pump maker, Stephen Postlethwaite Butcher of Lancaster. Two years later, his father approved his apprenticeship to a shipwright, John Brookbank of Lancaster. Family tradition is that JBW left for America two years before completing his seven year apprenticeship with a shipwright, but this is probably a confused recollection regarding the earlier two year apprenticeship. Family tradition also says that although JBW received room and board, the shipwright was a "stern and exacting taskmaster", and this may be borne out in apprenticeship records. John Brookbank took on a fairly large number of apprentices, indicating that he was either prosperous or difficult to work for (perhaps both). While he was an apprentice, JBW's family lived in a messuage or dwelling house with a garden owned by JBW's Great Uncle John. By the time JBW was 19 years old, his father and Great Uncle had died, with his mother inheriting the house. Just what JBW may or may not have inherited from his great uncle is unclear, since Ann, Eleanor, and one John are the only children of Grace Winder mentioned in the will.

Emigration to America According to his interview for naturalization as a citizen of the United States, JBW emigrated from Portsmouth England in 1818, arriving in New York in August, age 22. This is a point in time late enough for him to have completed the full term of seven years on his second apprenticeship, which had started in April of 1810. The stated age is too young for an April birth for JBW, so there was an error of several months either in the naturalization record, or on JBW's tombstone. Although the U.S. National Archives keeps no records of passenger arrivals before 1820, there are records of ship arrivals. There may also be records of passenger arrivals at Staten Island, so watch this space- it should be possible to gather additional information about JBW's arrival in America. There appear to be no records of the family of Grace Winder in Skerton by the 1842 census, although other Winders were present. Her family either emigrated, died, or moved on. A move to Lancaster is probable given the death of a Grace Winder in Lancaster in 1858. It is not known if JBW had any further contact with his mother or siblings after emigration. He seems to have stopped using his full middle name.

Settlement in America

The whereabouts of JBW in the decade between his arrival in New York City in 1818 and his settlement in Mercer County, Pennsylvania during or before 1829 (when JBW registered to become a naturalized citizen) are not yet established.

As far as is known there are no living descendants from John B. Winder's first marriage. It is thought that his first wife also died at a young age. After her death, John B. Winder came to Amsterdam, near Grove City, Pennsylvania and later was married to Elizabeth Uber."

Starting over According to his registration of intent for naturalized citizenship, JBW had moved to Mercer County, Pennsylvania by August 1, 1829. Based on census data and land transactions, JBW had settled into farming in Springfield Township with his second wife, Elizabeth (Uber) Winder, by 1832. Land transactions verify that Elizabeth was the daughter of John Uber, who was a son of German immigrant Peter Uber . By this second marriage, JBW and his spouse Elizabeth had seven children. He became a naturalized citizen in 1853, and is then listed as selling land to Thomas Foster in 1856.

Death The tombstone for John B. Winder is located in the Amsterdam cemetery, Liberty Township, Mercer Co . JBW's tombstone reads "John B. Winder, born in Lankashire England N.C." (naturalized citizen) "April 27, 1795, died July 27, 1866". According to the family tradition recorded by Hazel (Winder) McKenzie, John B. Winder died in 1863. Possibly there was delay in the placing of the stone (dates were often confused when stones were placed long after the fact), or a typographical error in the family record. The graves of JBW's wife Elizabeth, son John Winder, and daughter-in-law Catherine Winder (wife of C.C. Winder) are also at the cemetery.

From: "Richard S. Winder" <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, July 17, 2001 11:16 PM
[snip]
The whereabouts of JBW in the decade between his arrival in New York City in 1818
and his settlement in Mercer County, Pennsylvania during or before 1829 (when JBW
registered to become a naturalized citizen) are not yet established. It is at
some point between 1818 and 1829 that the dramatic events retold by his great
grandchild Hazel (Winder) McKenzie transpired:

".Some time after coming to this country he [JBW] was married. The identity of
his first wife cannot now be established. It is known that two children were born
to this marriage, a boy and a girl. One day, when the children were yet quite
small, they were stolen by a band of Indians. The boy, being crippled, was not
able to keep up with the Indians on their way back to camp. The next morning when
they broke camp, two of the Indians kept the boy back, and after the band had gone
some distance the two Indians overtook them, but the boy was not with them. It is
supposed that they killed him. They did not harm the girl, and she lived with the
Indians for many years. When she had become a young woman she was rescued by a
fur-trader. All of the Indians had left camp this day except a blind squaw and
the girl. The fur-trader told her that if she wanted to go back to her people
that he would take her. So he covered her up in the boat with the furs and
started to row back across the lake. The Indians, returning to camp, discovered
the girl was gone. They tracked her to the edge of the lake, and as they had not
gone far from shore the Indians shouted to the fur trader, asking if he had seen
the girl. He told them she was in camp when he was there. Returning to his home
the fur trader sent word to her father to come for Martha, as that was her name.
Her father brought her home and she lived there for some time.
One story of Martha's experiences with the Indians has been retold many times.
One summer the white people destroyed their corn and they were short of food. One
substitute was roasted grasshoppers. They dug a hole in the center of a large
clearing. Then they surrounded the clearing, and with branches of trees in their
hands they drove the grasshoppers into the hole. When this was accomplished they
threw the brush over the hole and set fire to it. When it had burned, they picked
the grasshoppers out with their fingers and ate them. According to Martha's
report, roasted grasshoppers are quite good, especially if you are hungry.
While washing the clothes one day, Martha scratched her hand on a pin, and she
died from the effects of blood poisoning. As far as is known there are no living
descendants from John B. Winder's first marriage. It is thought that his first
wife also died at a young age. After her death, John B. Winder came to Amsterdam,
near Grove City, Pennsylvania and later was married to Elizabeth Uber."

-RSW 2

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bullet  Noted events in his life were:

1. Baptism, 13 Sep 1795. 2

2. Arrived in America, Aug 1818, , , New York, USA. 2 Migrated From Portsmouth, England To New York

3. Residence, Bef 1 Aug 1829, , Mercer, Pennsylvania, USA. 2

4. Naturalization, 1829. 2 Registered To Become Naturalized Citizen

5. census: federal, 1850, Springfield, Mercer, Pennsylvania, USA. This event was shared with Benjamin J WINDER (Household Member), Christopher Cribs WINDER (Household Member), Elizabeth UBER (Household Member), Elizabeth WINDER (Household Member), Ellen WINDER (Household Member), James Parker WINDER (Household Member), John WINDER (Household Member), and Polly Ann WINDER (Household Member).

6. cemetery: German Reformed Church Cemetery, Jul 1866, Amsterdam, Mercer, Pennsylvania, USA.


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John married Elizabeth UBER [15052] [MRIN: 5258], daughter of John UBER [12970] and Unknown, in 1832. (Elizabeth UBER [15052] was born on 7 Dec 1805 in , Mercer, Pennsylvania, USA 1 and died on 19 Sep 1886 in , Mercer, Pennsylvania, USA 1.)


bullet  Marriage Notes:

Had 7 children 2

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Sources


1 Richard Winder, June 2000.

2 Richard Winder, Aug 1999.

3 Matthew M. Wise, The Littleton Heritage (Wentworth, West Columbia, SC 1997), Pg. 354.


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