Sources
Several notable source documents are presented here since they either one-of-a-kind or are not widely available.
Descendants of Moses Dunbar of Waterford, Connecticut New!
Family tradition among descendants of Amelia (Dunbar) Sisson says that she is descended from Moses Dunbar who was tried, convicted, and hanged as a traitor in 1777 in Connecticut during the American Revolution. We believe we have established the ancestral connection between Amelia and Moses.
Moses Dunbar the traitor had seven children from his first marriage and one child, also called Moses Dunbar, from his second marriage. This younger Moses was born in mid-1777, months after his father was hanged.
We focused our research on a Moses Dunbar who is found in New London County, Connecticut, starting in 1800, and who lived in Waterford until his death in 1855. We believe he is the youngest son of Moses Dunbar the traitor.
Moses Dunbar of Waterford had at least 15 children by two wives, although only three of his nine children by his first wife, possibly called Esther, have been identified. These include his eldest son James Dunbar, father of Amelia (Dunbar) Sisson, and a third Moses Dunbar “of East Lyme.” All six children of Moses Dunbar of Waterford by his second wife, Sarah Getchell, have been identified.
Our 53-page research paper, Descendants of Moses Dunbar of Waterford, Connecticut (.pdf, 16.5mb), by Lee Gazlay, shows our findings and analysis that led us to the above conclusions.
We invite comments regarding our research. Use the Contact tab above to email your comments.
Stephen Tefft, Late of Jewett City, Connecticut
The ancestors of Stephen Tefft, late of Jewett City, Connecticut, and father of John H. Tefft, have long been a mystery. Through extensive research, we believe we have identified Stephen’s parents as Ezekiel Tefft and Amie Wilcox, both from Rhode Island and later migrating to Smyrna, New York. Our website contains over 124 of Stephen’s descendants and their families.
Our 29-page research paper, Ancestors of Stephen Tefft, Late of Jewett City, Connecticut (.pdf, 2.655 mb), by Lee Gazlay, shows our findings and analysis that led us to the above identification of Stephen Tefft’s parents and ancestors.
We are actively soliciting comments on our research and conclusions. Use the Contact tab above to email your comments.
Gazlay Family Notes
We have given this untitled, undated five page document the name Gazlay Family Notes. Although not identified, the authors are probably descendants of John Arvin Gazlay (1846-1911), based on the content that focuses on his branch of the family. The first page, in handwritten cursive, appears to repeat the information from the interview of Sayrs Gazlay in 1852 by his brother Theodore, and originally documented in Theodore’s Genealogy of the Gazlay Family. Page two, also in cursive, continues with the family of third generation John Gazlay (1750-1816), and expands the family of his son John F. Gazlay (1788-1875). Pages three, four, and five use a Family Sheet form for successive descendants in this branch of the family: Arvin Henry Gazlay (1815-1849), John Arvin Gazlay (1846-1911), and John Arvin Gazlay (1881-1960). Several dates in the photocopy differ from those shown in other sources.
This transcription of Gazlay Family Notes presents the information in a more simple format than the available photocopy, which unfortunately is faded and somewhat unreadable along the right margins of the first two pages. The location of the original document is not known.
Ancestors and Descendants of The Reverend Silas Constant
Ancestors and Descendants of The Reverend Silas Constant (.pdf, 1.136mb), by Robert Lee Gazlay (14th Edition, 8 June 2010, 91 pages), documents decades of research on the descendants of the Reverend Silas Constant (1750-1825), only child of Joseph Constant and Susan Tirrell.
Reverend Constant was a preacher in Westchester County, New York, and surrounding areas in the late 1700s and early 1800s. He kept a remarkable journal of his journeys and preachings, providing rich details about life in rural New York and the people he served, although he made no special effort in the case of his own family. A substantial part of his journal was published in The Journal of the Reverend Silas Constant, edited by Emily Warren Roebling in 1903, and republished in 1976 and 1984. Emily Roebling included details about Reverend Constant’s children in the introduction to the Journal and in various footnotes, and although she did not provide source citations, most of these details can be substantiated using other records. Copies of Roebling’s The Journal of the Reverend Silas Constant are held by members of the Constant family, and are available in some public libraries.
Ancestors and Descendants of The Reverend Silas Constant carries this Constant family’s history forward to present day, and includes over 200 descendants of Reverend Constant.
Gazlay History
Gazlay History (.pdf, 709kb), compiled by Margaret Howe in 1955-1956 (unpublished, 29 pages), provides details for the descendants of Daniel Gazlay (1778-1847), Margaret’s direct ancestor, and the lineage of Jacob Gazlay, which supplements material from other sources. Margaret explains on the cover page that the document is “based on material my mother Inez L. Gazlay collected, but never lived to edit. Her material has just been copied and explains the more extensive material on generation V and VI. Other information has been added which I found from numerous sources.” This .pdf document was scanned from a photocopy. The whereabouts of the original document are unknown. Virtually all of the people, facts, and biographies in Margaret’s Gazlay History have been incorporated into this Gazlay Family History website.
The Murder of J. W. Roby
An article in The Galveston Daily News, Wednesday August 16, 1899, gives an account of the murder of James Wilson Roby (c.1867-1898) that occurred in Orange, Texas, on September 8, 1898.
Genealogy of the Gazlay Family
The Genealogy of the Gazlay Family, collated by Theodore Gazlay in 1890, is the oldest known surviving account of the descendants of John Gazlay who emigrated from England about the year 1715. Much of the information in Theodore’s Genealogy comes from a statement by his older brother, Rev. Sayrs Gazlay made in 1852. The location of the original document, if it still exists, is unknown, and is longer than the first seven pages that are reproduced here from a faded photocopy.
Biographic Study of David McGregor
A Biographic Study of David McGregor was published in 1944 after David’s death. This short book is a wonderful synopsis of his life and provides some genealogical details of his family.
Daily Manna for Christian Pilgrims
The Daily Manna for Christian Pilgrims is a small date book originally given to and owned by Nellie (Patterson) McGregor. Handwritten entries of life events for various family members makes this book unique. Original now in possession of Lee Gazlay.