Benjamin Shreve

Notes:

...The Shreve family were among the earliest settlers of New England, Caleb, the progenitor, being recorded as a resident of Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1641. Two of his sons, Caleb and John, located in Rhode Island, the former, in 1680, marring Sarah, daughter of Dirick Areson, of Flushing, L. I.. Soon after he removed to Shrewsbury, East Jersey, in the vicinity of which he remained from 1685 until 1699, when he purchased a large tract of over 300 acres from Richard French, Mt. Pleasant, Mansfield Township, Burlington County, West Jersey. This notable homestead has remained in the possession of successive generations of the family until this day.
...Caleb Shreve had seven sons and three daughters. At his death in 1740, sixty years after his marriage, his wife was still living. His will bequeathed to her one third of his personal property and a life interest in his real estate. In a note "inferted before signing of ye same,' he requested that his wife, at her death, leave her personal property to Benjamin, the youngest son to whom was left the entire estate, after his mother's death, except certain small legacies to his brothers, Thomas, Joshua, Joseph, Caleb, Jonathan and David five shillings each; the same to his daughters, Mary (Shreve) Gibbs and Sarah (Shreve) Ogburn; five shillings to his son-in-law, Benj. Scattergood and some personal property to Sarah Shreve, daughter of his son Joshua. It is supposed that the older sons were provided for in his life time. The daughter who was the wife of Benj. Scattergood evidently was deceased.
...Benjamin Shreve added to his valuable patrimony by various land purchases some 450 acres. Tradition says he died prematurely in consequence of a fall from his horse. He was not yet fifty years of age. His will shows his solicitude for his minor children and their careful bringing up. Several of his sons and one grandson distinguished themselves in the war for national independence. Although the Shreve family were honored and esteemed Friends, meeting and government records show that the various branches of the family were possessed of a martial spirit to an eminent degree. A portion of the old house was built by Caleb Shreve in 1725, and another part by Benjamin in 1742, these figures being conspicuous on the eastern end. it stands upon high ground commanding a fine view, and within has many colonial features, in old Dutch tiling, fireplaces, cupboards, etc. From Caleb the property passed to his son, Benjamin, who died in 1844. In 1902 it descended to the present owner, B. F. Haywood Shreve, of Philadelphia. (Source: Compiled and Published by Howard Barclay French, Genealogy of the Descendants of Thomas French - Volume I: With some account of Colonial Manners and Doings(Philadelphia: Privately Printed, 1909), pg. 223)

WILL
Benjamin Shreve
...In the Name of God Amen The Fourteenth Day of March in the Year of our Lord 1750.51 One Thousand Seven Hundred & Fifty, Fifty One, I Benjamin Shreve of Mansfield in the County of Burlington in the Province of West new jersey Yeoman being weak and Sick in bodey but in perfect Mind and Memory thanks be given to God for the Same, therefore calling to mind the Mortality of my Body and knowing that it is Appointed for all Men once to die, do make and ordain this my last Will and Testament. And as touching Such Worldly Estate wherewith it hath pleased God to bless me in this Life, I give devise and dispose of the Same in the following manner and Form. Imprimis it is my Will and I do order, That in the first place, all my just Debts and Funeral Charges be paid and Satisfied by my Executors hereafter mentioned.
...ITEM I give to my well beloved Wife Rebecca Shreve One Third part of all my personal Estate, to her Heirs and Assigns forever, And also the Benefit of my Real Estate if She continue my Widow till my Children come of Age each in their Order it being to enable her to bring them up, but if she happen to Marry again She Shall have no power any longer in my Real Estate or the bringing up of my Children, Saving at the Discression of my Exrs. as they Shall Appoint or order. ITEM I give to my Two Daughters (Viz) Kezia Shreve and Sarah Shreve Share and Share alike of the remainder of my Personal Estate to be paid them as they attain to the Age of Eighteen Years. Now it is my Will tat Kezia she Shall have her Portion within a Year after my Decease Seeing She is of Age and Sarah as above said now if either of my Daughters Die within a Year after my decease She that Surviveth Shall have the Portion of the Deceased. ITEM I give to my Son Caleb Shreve all and Singular the Estate of Lands and Tenements I now live on to him his Heirs and Assigns forever. ITEM I give to my Son William Shreve all and Singular the Lands Farm or Plantation I lately purchased of Preserve Brown lying and being in Mansfield and part in Chesterfield in ye Said County of Burlington to be enjoyed by him when he Attaineth to the Age of Twenty One Years, his Heirs and Assigns forever. ITEM I give to my Son Israel Shreve all that Farm or Plantation I lately Purchased of Jacob Ong of Hanover and also the One Hundred Acres of Land I had by Virtue of my Fathers last Will & Testament which Land my Father Purchased of Daniel Smith, to him his Heirs and Assigns forever. And also a right for One Hundred Acres of Land which I Purchased of Preserve Brown all which to be enjoyed by him when he attaineth to the Age of Twenty One Years his Heirs and Assigns for ever. ITEM I give to my Three Sons (Viz) Caleb, William and Israel all & Singular my Cedar Swamp to be equally Divided amongst them by North and South Lines, Caleb to have the West Side, William the middle part and Israel the residue to be enjoyed by them their Heirs and Assigns forever. Further it is my Will that if my Son Caleb Should Die before he come of Age that William Shall have the Portion that was given to Caleb, and Israels Portion shall be that is given to William and if either of ye younger Ones die before they come of Age the Survivor to enjoy both their Portions his Heirs and Assigns forever. ITEM I give to my Two Youngest Sons Benjamin and Samuel each of them Five Hundred Pounds to be paid them as they attain to the Age of Twenty One Years, and if either of them die before they come of Age the Survivor to have the whole and to be paid as followeth Caleb to pay to Benjamin Four Pounds and William to pay to Benjamin One Hundred Pounds lawful Money of the Same Place. And William to pay unto Samuel Four Hundred Pounds & Caleb One hundred Pounds to compleat their Portions to be paid them out of their Estates given them as abovesaid. Also it is my Will that my Nigro Man Jack be immediately Set free he paying to them that enjoyeth the Homestead forty Shillings per Year for Five Years after my Decease and the Money to be kept in order to keep him in his Old Age, and the rest they that enjoyeth the Homestead Shall make up in Maintaining him. I likewise order that no Timber be cut to waste or destroyed Saving for the necessary use of ye places, nor no more upland to be cleared neither any of ye Meadows & Swamp land to be plowed. Lastly I Constitute and appoint Daniel Doughty and Michael Newbold my trusty and well beloved Friends, my only & Executors of this my last Will and Testament. And I do hereby utterly disallow, revoke & disanul all and every other former Testaments, Wills, Legacies, & Executors, by me in any ways before this Time Named, Willed and Bequeathed, Ratifying & Confirming this and no other to be my last Will and Testament In Witness whereof I have hereunto Set my Hand and Seal the Day and Year above written.
Benjaman Shreve (seal)

Signed, Sealed, Published and Declared by the Said Benjamin Shreve as his last Will & Testament in ye Presence of us ye Subscribers
Barzillai Newbold
Levi Nutt
Robt. Bland
Daniel Doughty & Michael Newbold Executors in the within Testament named being duly affirmed according to Law did declare that the within Instrument contains the true last Will and Testament of Benjamin Shreve. (Source: Compiled and Published by Howard Barclay French, Genealogy of the Descendants of Thomas French - Volume I: With some account of Colonial Manners and Doings(Philadelphia: Privately Printed, 1909) pg. 227, 228)

Benjamin married Rebecca French on 23 Apr 1729 in Springfield Township, Burlington County, New Jersey, British Colonial Ameirca. Rebecca (daughter of Richard French and Mary King) was born in 1709 in Burlington, New Jersey, British Colonial America; died after 1750 in Burlington, New Jersey, British Colonial America. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Married:
23da 2mo 1729

1. Keziah Shreve was born on 8 Mar 1730 in Burlington, New Jersey, British Colonial America; and died.
2. Richard Shreve was born on 10 Aug 1732 in Burlington, New Jersey, British Colonial America; and died.
3. Caleb Shreve was born on 25 Oct 1734 in Burlington, New Jersey, British Colonial America; died on 21 Jun 1792.
4. William Shreve was born on 4 Oct 1737 in Burlington County, New Jersey, British Colonial America; died in 1812.
5. Israel Shreve was born on 24 Feb 1739 in Mansfield Township, Burlington County, New Jersey, British Colonial America; died on 14 Dec 1799 in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States.
6. Benjamin Shreve, Jr. was born on 7 Dec 1747 in Burlington, New Jersey, British Colonial America; died on 18 Nov 1801.
7. Samuel Shreve was born on 25 Mar 1750 in Burlington, New Jersey, British Colonial America.
8. Sarah Shreve was born on 18 Oct 1744 in Burlington, New Jersey, British Colonial America; and died.

Other Events:

• Name: Caleb Sheriff
• Occupation: Blacksmith

Notes:

...Caleb Sheriff permanently located in New Jersey on his marriage about 1680. He lived after 1699 in Burlington county, seven miles east of the present site of Mount Holly. At that date his children numbered seven. The eldest, Martha was twelve years of age; the five next older were boys, with probably the youngest, Mary, an infant; a daughter and two sons were subsequently born. Previous to the birth of the youngest in 1706. the oldest daughter, Martha, married in 1704.
...The family remained unbroken by marriages until 1711-1713, during which period Thomas, Joshua, Joseph, and Caleb married. The marriages of the remaining children occurred; Jonathan in 1720, Mary in 1721, Sarah in 1724, Benjamin the youngest in 1729. After marriage the father gave each child a fine farm, the precise locations of which are not known. They were probably all living in Burlington County in 1739, as the poll book of an election held in that county that year has in it the names of every son and son-in-law, excepting John Ogborne. The four elder children had sons old enough to vote, but they may have moved to other places. In the list of voters is an Amos Shreve and Caleb, Jonathan, Samuel and Thomas Scattergood, who were probably sons of Martha Shreve and Benjamin Scattergood. The descendants of Benjamin, the youngest child, have preserved the best history of the family. He acquired from his father by will the old homestead and became by contract with his mother sole heir to her property, to cover her interest in the rumored Amsterdam estate. This instrument was executed February 28, 1740-41, while she was living with Benjamin and after the marriages of her other children.
...Caleb and Sarah Areson Shreve were members of the Society of Friends in Burlington County. Caleb's will was dated April 5, 1735. Caleb changed the family name from Sheriff to Shreve after moving to New Jersey. (Source: L. P. Allen, The Genealogy and History of the Shreve Family from 1641 (Greenfield, Illinois: Privately Printed, 1901), pg. 19)

Caleb married Sarah Areson about 1680 in Long Island, New York. Sarah (daughter of Diedrich Areson and Sarah Orrest) was born in 1660; died after 1699 in Burlington, New Jersey, British Colonial America. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events:

• Name: Sarah Aaronson

Notes:

...Benjamin's mother Sarah Areson Shreve lived with Benjamin at the Homestead in Burlington County until her death.
...Benjamin had a son William, who had a son (1757) married to Sarah Beck in 1775 who had a daughter Sarah Shreve (married to David Ingersoll of Lee, Massachusetts. (first families v.3, pg. 310)

Notes:

...The ancestry of Thomas Sheriff, of Rhode Island, may be tradition, but the early records of that province show conclusively that he had eight children and was a property-owner when he died. As late as 1737 the members of the family that remained in the vicinity retained the name "Sherrif," while Caleb, who had married and emigrated to New Jersey, adopted the form "Shreve."
...1675, Jun. 11. Inventorys, £218, 12s., viz.: house and land £15, a horse and mare £7, 2 cows, 3 calves, 5 ewes, 5 lambs, 8 shoats, a feather bed, 6 pillows, 2 bolsters, 6 blankets, ring, flock bed, 56 pounds pewter, warming pan, silver dram cup, looking glass, &c. (Source: L. P. Allen, The Genealogy and History of the Shreve Family from 1641 (Greenfield, Illinois: Privately Printed, 1901), pg. 17)

...Indenture was one of the most common ways for free-willers to pay for their passage. The practice in those days was to book passage and then allow the captain to "sell" off an indenture to another more prosperous passenger. According to the Plymouth Church Records (12:32), Thomas had apparently been indentured to John Barnes and then, "On the fourth of August 1638 John Barnes sold Robert Bartlett the remaining three years of Thomas Shreve's indenture." Robert Bartlet is mentioned in the 1627 Division of the Cattle as a member of the company of Francis Eaton.
...The indentures were of two lengths, a shorter of five years and a longer of seven years. If we assume a five-year indenture, its term would have begun in 1635-1636. If Thomas were contracted into a seven-year indenture, then it would have begun in 1633-1634. This points to an arrival date inside a three-year window between 1633 and 1636. The indenture also lends credence to a birth date earlier than 1620, as he would have been only 13-15 years of age booking passage on a ship and selling his indenture. Not impossible, but perhaps unlikely. With a birth date of 1610 he would have been 23-26 years of age.
...From the early records it appears Thomas lived initially in Plymouth and then purchased land in Little Compton, now Rhode Island, but originally a part of Massachusetts. The original part of the "Old Colony" of Plymouth covered a much larger territory. At that time, Little Compton was occupied by an Indian tribe called the "Saconets" (Hills 1977, p. 82)

Thomas married Martha _____ in 1649 in Portsmouth, Newport County, Rhode Island, British Colonial America. Martha was born in 1630 in Little Compton, Colony of Rhode Island, British Colonial America; died about 1691 in Rhode Island, British Colonial America. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events:

• Name: Martha Hazard
• Name: Martha Hues
• Name: Martha Sheriff

Notes:

...She m. (2) Thomas Hazard and (3) Lewis Hues.
...Plymouth, Mass., Portsmouth, R. I. 1641, Dec. 7. He and William Brown complained against James Laxford in an action of trespass. They attached four goats and a lamb in the hands of Samuel Eddy and Joshua Pratt, amounting to 33 shillings, and several other sums in other persons' hands. 1666, Dec. 10, Portsmouth. he deeded Thomas Hazard a quarter of a share in Misquamicut and also paid him 20 pounds, receiving in exchange therefor 30 acres in Portsmouth, and house, orchard, etc., all to belong to Thomas Hazard for life and at decease of Thomas Hazard to be for Thomas Sheriff and his wife Martha for their lives, and at death of both of them to go to 2nd son John Sheriff and heirs, and for want of issue of John to go to 3rd son Caleb, etc.
...Her second husband, Thomas Hazard, made a declaration (just after her first husband's death in 1675, May 29): "This is to satisfy all men, whom it may anyway concern, whereas there is a promise of matrimony betwixt Thomas Hazard and Martha Sheriff, yet I the foresaid Thomas Hazard do take the said Martha Sheriff for her own person, without having anything to do with her estate or with anything that is hers," etc.
...1691, Mar. 22. Martha Hues, wife of Lewis Hues, made agreement with her son John Sheriff, which she had by former husband. Whereas said Lewis Hues was lawfully married to his above named wife Martha, took an occasion privately to go away within six or seven weeks after he was married, taking away great part of her estate that was hers in her former husband's time. She now surrenders all her estate real and personal to her son John, excepting provisions, bedding, etc., and such things as she formerly gave her daughter Susanna Sheriff. John Sheriff to pay his mother £6, on Dec. 25th yearly for life, and thirty pounds good butter and thirty pounds good cheese and two barrels cider, two barrels apples, firewood, room at north-east end of home she now lives in, east part of garden, and keep of a horse or mare, etc. (Source: L. P. Allen, The Genealogy and History of the Shreve Family from 1641 (Greenfield, Illinois: Privately Printed, 1901), pg. 17-18.)

Diedrich married Sarah Orrest in Holland, Netherlands. Sarah was born in 1635 in Holland, Netherlands; died in in Long Island City, Queens, New York, British Colonial America. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events:

• Name: Sarah Forest