Married and Buried in Chillisquaque
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| Gazebo in Chillisquaque Presbyterian Cemetery Site of the Church Where John and Mariah Were Married |
John
McWilliams and Polly Cruiser may have been a bit nervous as they stood before Rev.
John Bryson in the Chillisquaque Presbyterian Church on their wedding day. The
log structure was probably packed with family and friends gathered to witness
the union of the twenty-five-year-old residents of Turbot Township. The young
couple had grown up as neighbors on nearby farms and were about to establish a
home of their own. Everyone would have been dressed in their Sunday best
homespun linen and woolen garments and eagerly anticipating a few hours of
respite from the backbreaking labors necessary to provide for their families. Rev.
Bryson probably personalized his words to Polly and John because he had served
the congregation of Chillisquaque, the first church in the area, for twenty
years and was likely well-acquainted with the bride and groom.
The
newlyweds must have taken their marriage oaths seriously and employed the
blessings of God, Rev. Bryson and the assembled guests to fortify them
throughout the joys and sorrows they would face during their lives together. They
continued the tradition of raising a large family and supporting themselves by
tilling the soil and raising livestock, just as their ancestors had done. Their
marriage endured for over 27 years until death separated them. When their
earthly journey was complete, they were buried side by side in the churchyard
cemetery just a few steps from where they exchanged nuptial vows.
The Middle Child
John
drew his first breath on a mid-summer Monday, June 28, 1784, in in Turbot
Township, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania.[1]
He was the seventh of thirteen children born to William and Sarah Nichol McWilliams
who were married in York County in 1771.[2]
Six siblings were born before him and six more entered the world after him.
His
father was a Scots-Irish Presbyterian immigrant who purchased an original land
warrant of 306 acres in Northumberland County in 1774.[3]
William and Sarah faced incredible hardships as early pioneers in the
Pennsylvania wilderness. After clearing their land, building a log cabin and
planting crops with only primitive implements, they endured the menace of
attack by Native Americans. During the Revolutionary War, Indians had ambushed
scores of settlers, slaughtered them, torched their property, and took their
scalps as trophies. The colonists whose lives were spared often suffered
serious wounds or were hauled away as prisoners by the Seneca and Iroquois
tribes.[4]
Before John was born, his parents and four oldest siblings were forced to flee
to Fort Augusta to seek refuge from the danger of Indian attacks throughout the
Susquehanna Valley in the summers of 1778 and 1779.[5]
They were witnesses to the rebellion against British rule in the colonies and
supported the fledgling US government from its inception.[6]
At age three, John became one of the original citizens of Pennsylvania when it became
the second of the thirteen colonies to declare statehood in 1787.
Life
was probably hectic in the McWilliams household during John’s childhood. The
family welcomed a new baby every two or three years between 1771 and 1796. John
had eight brothers and four sisters. It must have been crowded and noisy in the
cramped living space in their log cabin! Thirteen members of the family lived
in the household when the census taker visited in 1800. The offspring were
robust and healthy, as all thirteen children lived to adulthood. This was
highly unusual before the age of modern medicine. Disease, accidents,
infection, lack of medical care, and even poor nutrition claimed many young
lives at the turn of the nineteenth century.
The
McWilliams did have the advantage of plenty of laborers to assist with the farm
and household chores necessary to maintain their large family. William trained his
sons to plow, sow and reap abundant harvests of grain in the rich soil around
Limestone Creek. All of them became successful farmers. The daughters undoubtedly
learned to garden, cook, spin, weave and sew at Sarah’s side as she worked from
sunrise to sunset to provide food and clothing for her growing brood.
Church
attendance and schooling were likely important parts of John’s upbringing. His
father was one of the founding members of the original Chillisquaque
Presbyterian Church built in 1774. Church records from this time period have
disappeared, but 42 heads of families including William McWilliams, signed the
“call” to Rev. Bryson inviting him to serve as pastor in 1790.[7]
The
McWilliams would have made the weekly trek to worship on foot, by horseback or
in a horse-drawn wagon. Six wooden steps led the worshipers into the entrance
of the white frame church where they sat in high, straight-backed pews. A clerk
“raised the tunes” in a square box at the front of the church and the sermon
was spoken from a pulpit. Two services were held on the Sabbath with an hour
intermission between. Before the second sermon, the congregation would gather
for lunch during the intermission. The congregation was expected to spend the
rest of their Sunday at home studying Catechism.[8]
Church attendance surely provided social as well as spiritual sustenance for
the settlers who lived in solitary cabins connected solely by narrow paths
through the forests, and over mountains and rivers. The Presbyterians generally
placed a high value on education, so it is probable that John attended a
subscription school in the neighborhood. In, fact it seems fairly certain that
all children attended school in Northumberland County. Tax laws required that
the names of all poor children who could not afford schooling be recorded in
the tax rolls. Both school and poor taxes were deducted from John’s estate in
1850.
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| John McWilliams 1809 Tax Roll Turbot Township, Northumberland County, PA |
John
worked on the family farm with his father and siblings until he reached his
mid-twenties. After age 21, he appeared on the 1809 and 1810 tax rolls as a
single man in Turbot Township. As such, he was taxed 33 cents.[9]
He was counted as a resident in his aged father’s home in 1810, when his oldest
brother James was enumerated as the head of household in the federal population
census.[10]
 |
| John McWilliams, His Father William, and Brothers in the 1812 Tax Roll Turbot Township, Northumberland County, PA |
After
his marriage, John remained on the Turbot Township tax rolls with his father
and brothers for a few years. In 1812 and 1813, he did not own land but was
taxed nine cents on his personal property and 10 cents on his occupation. He
was identified as a laborer who owned one horse and one cow, assessed
respectively at 6 cents and 3 cents each. It is possible that he owned more
livestock, but only horses and cows were taxed. He may have continued to live
in William’s house or he may have built a separate cabin on
William’s property, while still working for his father. John last appears in the Turbot tax list in
1816, when a second horse was added to his personal property.[11]
Going Dutch
 |
| Mary Kroesen October 2, 1785 Baptism North and Southampton Low Dutch Reformed Church, Bucks County, PA |
John
and Polly married before their first child was born in 1811, although the exact
marriage date has not been determined. Polly was the third child and only
daughter of Jantye Corssen and John Cruisen’s four children.[12]
Several undocumented sources state that Polly was born in 1785 and her baptism
in the Southampton Low Dutch Reformed Church was recorded on October 2, 1785 in
Bucks County.[13] Note that both the Corsen and Cruisen surnames were spelled in several different ways in documents.
.jpg) |
| Marriage Record of John Krewson and Jane Corson September 15, 1772, in Newton, Bucks County, PA |
Polly’s ancestors emigrated to America from the Netherlands in the mid-1600s. The Kroesen (also spelled Krewson and Cruisen) and Corssen (also spelled Corson) families were some of the original colonial landowners in the Dutch settlements in Brooklyn and Staten Island, New York. Her maternal great-grandfather Benjamin Corssen Sr. left Staten Island and purchased a 250-acre farm in Northampton, Bucks County, Pennsylvania in 1726. Her paternal Kroesen ancestors were in Bucks County as early as 1718. They were closely associated with the Corssens in both New York and in Bucks County and members of the two families frequently intermarried.[14] Her parents, John Cruisen and Janetye “Jane” Corson, were married on September 15, 1772, in the Presbyterian Church in Newton, Bucks County, Pennsylvania.[15] Polly came to Northumberland County in 1793 when her father purchased 105 acres of land near William McWilliams’ farm in Turbot Township.[16]
 |
| Newton Presbyterian Church Built in 1769, Remodeled in 1842, Newton, Bucks County, PA; Used by George Washington as a Hospital, Jail & POW "Camp" in 1776 |
Polly’s
given name was “Mariah,” (Dutch spelling for Mary) which is inscribed on her
tombstone. She was identified as “Polly,” a common nickname for Mary, in her
father’s will and as “Mary” in land deeds with her husband John.[17]
These documents suggest that she was called Polly by her family. There were
many variations of the spelling of her surname. Her father’s headstone reads
“Cruisen,” but the name morphed into “Cruiser” when it was given as a middle
name in future generations of McWilliams men.
 |
| John Cruiser Monument in Chillisquaque Cemetery Mountour County, PA |
Polly’s father died in 1796 at age 46, when she was eleven years old.[18] Her two elder brothers were 23 and 15 years old, but her younger brother was only nine. The older boys probably assumed the farm duties to support their mother and younger siblings after their father’s death, although her father provided for the minor children’s care and education in his will.
 |
| Inventory of John Cruiser Estate 1796 Northumberland County, PA, page 1 |
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| Inventory of John Cruiser Estate, page 2 |
Polly’s
father’s personal property was appraised soon after he passed away. The list of
his possessions was filed in Sunbury on November 12, 1796, and is now housed in
the Northumberland County Courthouse.[19]
The property in John Cruisen’s estate suggested that he was a successful farmer
who lived an austere life and managed to produce a bounty of crops with a bare
minimum of equipment.
His
wardrobe was sparse, including only one pair of breeches, one pair overalls,
one pair trousers, two shirts, three jackets, one coat, one great coat, three
pairs of stockings, one fur hat and one pair of mittens. He also owned a pair
of silver knee buckles and one other pair of knee buckles. He retained an
impressive number of livestock on his farm, consisting of a yoke of oxen, three
cows, one bull, one calf, three horses, fourteen sheep, nine hogs and some
small pigs. His farm implements and tools were limited to a wagon, windmill,
plow, harrow, three axes, a maul, wedges, cutting box, dung fork, pitch fork,
and flax break. His harvest was probably nearly complete for the year at the
time of his death in early October. The value of stacks of rye and wheat,
quantities of hay and oats, and grain still in the ground (possibly corn) was
also estimated.
 |
| John McWilliams and Wife Mary Heirs Deed 1822 |
Polly’s brothers lived on her father's property in Turbot Township with their widowed mother until it was sold in 1815. John and Polly retained their one-fourth share of her father’s real estate, but her three brothers sold their interest in the land.[20] At the time of the sale, the McWilliams were described as residents of Limestone Township, Columbia County, in the property deed. It is not clear whether John moved to Columbia County during this time or whether changes in the county boundaries placed his residence in a different jurisdiction. John does not appear to have been charged taxes on his and Polly’s inherited real estate. Perhaps because of its small acreage, it was under the threshold of value for taxation on real estate. They later sold the inherited land in 1822, when they were again described as residents of Limestone Township.[21]
John
and Polly likely used the proceeds from their land sale to finance the purchase
of a farm in Chillisquaque Township the next year. A reference to John’s
purchase of 100 acres near Lime Ridge in 1826 where he lived until his death, was
made in a county history book published in 1915.[22]
However, the property deed from the sale of his real estate after his death
confirmed that he bought two adjoining parcels of land in Chillisquaque
Township in 1823 and 1828.[23]
His family was enumerated in Chillisquaque Township in the 1830 and 1840
censuses and he owned 123 acres of land in Chillisquaque Township when he
passed away.[24] John
also appeared on the tax rolls of the township from 1824 until 1830, the last
year that tax records are accessible online.[25]
Next, Chapter 2 - There's No Place Like Home
[1] Headstone, John McWilliams, Chillisquaque Cemetery, Mexico, Montour County, Pennsylvania
[2] Cuthbertson, John, Register of Marriages and Baptisms Performed by Rev. John Cuthbertson Covenanter Minister 1751-1791 With Index to Locations and Persons Visited, Washington, D.C., Lancaster Pa., Lancaster Press, 1934, page 219, William McWilliams & Sarah Nickle, Marriage, 27 March 1771, accessed https://babel.hathitrust.org
[3] Pennsylvania State Archives, RG-17, Records of the Land Office, Patent Indexes, 1684-[ca.1957], series #17.147, 154 & 155, Patent Index, “A and AA” Series, 1684-1781, Images of Each Index Page, p. 213, William McWilliams, 25 January 1774; accessed www.phmc.pa.gov, Patent Index Pages, Series A and AA, 1823-1838, Surnames beginning with “M,” page 214
[4] Meginness, John Franklin, Otzinachson: or, a history of the West Branch Valley of the Susquehanna.., Philadelphia, H.B. Ashmead, 1857, pages 192-216; accessed https://archive.org
[5] Floyd, J.L. & Co., Genealogical and Biographical Annals of Northumberland County Pennsylvania, Chicago, IL, J.L. Floyd & Co., 1911, p. 224, William McWilliams; accessed https://archive.org
[6] William Henry Egle, Proprietary, Supply, and State Tax Lists of the Counties of Northampton and Northumberland, for the Years 1772 to 1787, Pennsylvania Archives, Third Series, Volume 19, Harrisburg, PA, Wlm. Stanley Ray, state printer, 1898, pages 506, 576; accessed familysearch.org
[7] Finney, Rev. William Gardner, The History of the Chillisquaque Church,
1926, Pennsylvania, Church and Town Records,
1708-1985, p. 20 & 27, Historical Society of Pennsylvania; Historic
Pennsylvania Church and Town Records; Reel: 236; accessed www.ancestry.com
[8] Dr. Mary Belle Lontz, “Chillisquaque Church and Cemetery,” Proceedings and Addresses, 10 December 1990, Volume XXX, page 99-100, The Northumberland County Historical Society, Sunbury, PA
[9] Northumberland County, PA, Board of County Commissioners, Tax Records, 1774-1843, Turbut Township, 1787-1825, filmstrip 1449349, DGS 7857877, John McWilliams, 1809; accessed www.familysearch.org, image 80
[10] 1810 U.S. census, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Turbot Township, p. 130, James McWilliams; NARA microfilm publication M252, roll 53; accessed www.ancestry.com, image 8
[11] Northumberland County, PA, Board of County Commissioners, Tax Records, 1774-1843, Turbut Township, 1776-1791, 1787-1809, 1810-1825; filmstrip 1449349, DGS 7857877, William McWilliams; accessed www.familysearch.org.
[13] North and Southampton Dutch Reformed Church (Bucks County, Pennsylvania), Baptisms, Pennsylvania, Church and Town Records, 1669-2013, page 37, Mary daughter of John Kroesen and Jane Corsen; accessed www.ancestry.com, image 2036
[14] Corson, Orville, Three Hundred Years with the Corson Families in America…Volume I, Burlington, VT, Free Press Interstate Printing Corporation, 1939, page 43-44, 94, 109; accessed www.ancestry.com
[15] Pennsylvania Marriages, 1709-1940, database, John Krewson and Jane Corson, 15 Sep 1772; Presbyterian Church, Newton, Bucks, Pennsylvania, index; filmstrip 1313850, accessed www.familysearch.org
[16] Recorder of Deeds, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, Courthouse, Sunbury, Pennsylvania, Deed Book, volume L, 1779-1802, John Cruisen (1793), 16 February 1793, page 461–463, filmstrip 961197, DGS 7903177; accessed www.familysearch.org, images 249 –250
[17] Register of Wills, Northumberland County, Courthouse, Sunbury, Pennsylvania, Wills Book No
1-3, 1772-1845, book 1, page 177, John Crusen (1796), Will, 17 October 1796; Pennsylvania,
Wills and Probate Records, 1683-1993, microfilm roll 961022; accessed www.ancestry.com. image 106
[18] Finney, p. 75
[19] Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, Recorder of Deeds, Estate Inventory, File C 31, 1796, John Cruisen, Northumberland County Courthouse, Sunbury, PA
[20] Recorder of Deeds, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, Courthouse, Sunbury, Pennsylvania, Deed Book, volume T-U, 1795-1821, John Cruisen (1815), Volume T, page 12-13, 11 November 1815, filmstrip 961202, DGS 8036685; accessed at www.familysearch.org, image 12
[21] Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, Recorder of Deeds, Register and Recorder’s Office, Northumberland County Courthouse, Sunbury; Deed Book, Volume T-U, 1795-1821, Volume T, Page 632-633, John and Mary McWilliams (1822), Land Sale 9 May 1822, filmstrip 961202, DGS 8036685; accessed www.familysearch.org, images 681-682
[22] Beers, J.H., Historical and Biographical Annals of Columbia and Montour Counties Pennsylvania Volume One, Chicago, J.H. Beers and Company, 1915, page 583; accessed http://archive.org
[23] Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, Recorder of Deeds, Register and Recorder’s Office, Northumberland County Courthouse, Sunbury; Deed Book Volume JJ 1829-1853, p. 440, William McWilliams (1853), Land Deed, March 5, 1853; Deeds 1772-1914, Deed Book, vol. JJ, 1829-1853, filmstrip 961211, DGS 8086003; accessed www.familysearch.org, image 248
[24] 1830 U.S. census,
Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, Chillisquaque Township, population
schedule, p. 149, John McWilliams; NARA microfilm publication M19, roll 147,
Family History Library Film:
00020621; accessed www.ancestry.com, image 9
and
1840 U.S. census,
Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, Chillisquaque Township, population
schedule, p. 129, John McWilliams; NARA microfilm publication M704, roll 475,
image 270, Family History Library Film 0020551; accessed www.ancestry.com,
image 5
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