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Latest Update: 26 December 2008
They were
parents and grandparents to Robinson and Marshall Clans who were not
their natural descendants. Four of the six orphaned children of Catharina Truby Rohrer Marshall named their own children
after one or both of them. Dr. Simeon Hovey (1759-1837) and his wife Mary Ann "Polly" Truby (1775-1868) were in multiple
ways the couple whose care and choices
for our ancestors made the world of difference for us. Without them, we could not easily trace our roots to Polly's
sister, Catharina. Aunt Hovey made sure that our family identity wasn't lost, when John and Catharina
Marshall both died in the summer of 1806 in far-away Ohio.
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| 1810 SIgnature of Dr. Simeon Hovey |
She may have died in 1868, but years of thinking about her and her unique place
in our family's story made Aunt Hovey "a natural" for my 2007 Easter homily. Click below!
An "Aunt Hovey" Easter Homily
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POLLY'S CAPTURE BY THE INDIANS
When she was a child, Mary Ann (Polly) Truby was captured by the Indians.
Colonel Christopher Truby, her father and a Westmoreland County Ranger, with some comrades tracked the child and her captors
to the area of present-day Clarion, Pennsylvania, where they successfully negotiated her release.
This tale came down through many lines of our Family--and as living memory and
oral history to me from Charles S. L. Robinson (1912-2002), who was the heir to the Hovey lands and lived there, at the Robinson
Farm, in the last decades of his life.
What a great story! See the link (below) for my reworking of the account for my daughter Jennifer when she was seven years old.
Little Polly and the Indians--1977
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| Native American Reenactor -- 225th Anniversary of the Burning of Hannas Town (July 2007) |
MARY ANN TRUBY’S FIRST HUSBAND
Mary Ann “Polly” Truby (1775-1868) was married first to Jacob Britzious. Letters of Administration were granted for Britzious’ estate on 23 June 1794 to Christopher Truby, Mary [Ann Truby] Britzious and Frederick Rohrer, Jr. Bondsmen
and sureties for the estate were Frederick Rohrer, Sr., and John Young.
Britzious was remembered by the family as “Bridges”; see Mary Truby Graff, Early History of Truby-Graff and Affiliated Families,
1941; page 79. This family recollection, along with the Truby and Rohrer connections
referenced above, link Mary Ann Truby to this Jacob Britzious. At present, nothing
more is known about him. Since he died the same year as his brother-in-law, Frederick
Rohrer, Junior; and since Christopher Truby (their father-in-law) donated some of his land to the
German churches for a cemetery in 1795, we can assume that they were among the first persons buried in Greensburg's historic German Cemetery. Polly later
married Dr. Simeon Hovey, 17 years her senior.
Detail of the foundation of the Hovey-Robinson Barn
(early 1800s, built most likely under
the supervision of Dr. Hovey)
Click here -- This BARN is listed with the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission's Cultural Resources Database
Click here for some detailed photos of the barn, both inside and out.
Links You'll Like -- More about
the Hoveys
History of HOVEY Township (Beers, 1914)
Simeon Hovey's Will (1837)
1837 Inventory of Hovey's Estate
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| Click on the page for a larger version |
FROM DR. HOVEY'S LIBRARY
Dr. Simeon Hovey was remembered across a multiple-county area as a man of letters and refinement. The
inventory of his estate records the sale of his Library. Some of these books remained on his land and in the home of
his "grandson" Samuel Marshall Robinson until after the 2002 death of his grandson, Charles S. L. Robinson. In
October 2008, Sam Robinson of New Hampshire emailed me a scan of the above title page, from a set of Hovey's books which has
remained in the family. This particular page is of double interest and importance to us. It bears not only Hovey's
signature as the owner of the book; but also the inscription "Simeon H. Robinson / A present from from his Aunt Hovey".
Simeon Hovey Robinson (1824-1888) was the second "grandson" named for Dr. Hovey by his niece
and nephew, Elisha and Betsy Rohrer Robinson. The first child--their first son--lived from 1817-1822. Hovey's importance to his
extended family and to his community is seen in the number of boys who were named for him. Simeon Hovey Marshall, born also in 1824, was another "grandson", the first son of Samuel Marshall and Phebe Perry.
We don't have an identified photo of SImeon H. Robinson. His life was punctuated by
an illness which led successive census takers (1860-1880) to label him "insane". His family cared for him throughout
his life, and he is buried with them near the graves of his parents, his Uncle Simeon and Aunt Hovey, and beside the older Robinson brother who
first was given Dr. Hovey's name.
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DR. SIMEON HOVEY
PIONEER MEDICAL MEN
From Armstrong County, Pennsylvania: Her People, Past
and Present
(Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1914; Volume I, Chapter 11, page 82)
“The early history of the medical fraternity of Armstrong county, whatever
it may have been, was not handed on to us either by legend or written history. Previous
to 1863 very little of the records of the profession can be found, except short notes from Smith's history, and rules of ethics. When Armstrong county was founded in 1800, Dr. Simeon Hovey was the only practicing
physician and surgeon within its bounds. Dr. Hovey was a scholarly gentleman,
a native of Connecticut, a good physician and a skillful surgeon for his day, and for several
years he was the only medical adviser for the northern portions of Armstrong and Butler
counties and the greater portion of Clarion and Venango counties. He located
in the northern part of the county in 1797, and Hovey township bears his name.”
HOVEY TOWNSHIP
Armstrong County,
Pennsylvania
From History of Armstrong
County, Pennsylvania by Robert Walter Smith, Volume 1, Chapter 36, page 263 (Chicago: Waterman, Watkins & Co., 1883)
"Dr. Simeon Hovey, from whom the township [Hovey Township] acquired its name, was one
of the pioneer settlers of this section, coming here in 1797. He was a native
of Connecticut, a man of learning and culture and a surgeon
of remarkable ability. He served under 'Mad Anthony' Wayne
as surgeon and later settled in Greensburg, Westmoreland county. From there he came to this county. He
did not remain here all of the time, but practiced at intervals at the former place.
He was always in demand as a physician, frequently being called into consultation at Kittanning and in the neighboring
counties. His whole life was one of usefulness and good works, and no one was
better known or more affectionately regarded at that time. He died in 1837, at
the age of seventy-eight, leaving no posterity, although he had been married. His
nephew, Elisha Robinson, inherited his property."
Genealogist Mary Truby Graff’s
article about the Hoveys,
from
Early History of Truby-Graff and Affiliated Families, 1941
(click
below!)
CLICK HERE! Mary Truby Graff Article
A possible photo of
AUNT HOVEY in her extreme
age.
Is this a "four-generation" photograph?
Can any family member identify
the older woman to Aunt Hovey's right?
Her identity may be a clue to the identity
of the two younger women.
The picture was taken by the photographer C. J. Snyder (No. 2 Second St.,
Parker City, Pennsylvania)
Dr. Simeon Hovey's Land Grant
EDIT THIS!! << Tax-free land in the western part of the state,
called the "Donation Lands," was offered to Revolutionary War soldiers of the Pennsylvania Line of the Continental Army.
Also in this section of Pennsylvania were "Depreciation Lands," sold at reduced prices to Revolutionary War veterans or available
to them instead of payment if they redeemed their depreciation certificates. The claims to these lands were published with
maps in vols. 3 and 7 of Pennsylvania Archives, 3rd series. A helpful discussion of both of these land groups by John E. Winner
appeared in Western Pennsylvania Historical Magazine 8 (1925): 1–11. See also "The Depreciation and Donation Lands,"
compiled by Nell Y. Herchenroether, in Western Pennsylvania Genealogical Quarterly 7 (1981): 127–33. >>
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| Western Pennsylvania Donation--Depreication Lands Map |
For a larger version of this map, click here
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| A View of Simeon Hovey's Lands, near the Hovey homestead, on the high west bluff of the Allegheny |
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| Bailey Bible Record of the Death of Aunt Hovey |
A record of the death of Mary Ann Truby Hovey, from the Family Bible of her "daughter" Mary
Ann Marshall Bailey. This record is significant for two reasons: it verifies the important place Aunt Hovey held for
Mary Ann Bailey as her "mother"; and second, it allows us to calculate Aunt Hovey's birthdate: 13 May 1775. She was
born in Newtown
(now Greensburg), Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania.
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| Aunt Hovey's Gravestone, Parker Presbyterian Cemetery |
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| The record of the death of Dr. SImeon Hovey, from Bible of his nephew and heir, Elisha Robinson |
PHOTO CREDITS THIS PAGE
The large photograph of Aunt Hovey comes from Sarah Cooper Avey's book My Pennsylvania
Ancestors. The original is in the possession of . . .
The scan of Dr. Hovey's signature was made by Kelly Marshall from
a document kept by Turk descendants of John Marshall (1803-1889) in Parker, Pennsylvania.
The group photo--possibly a four-generation picture--comes
from the family photo collection of our cousin, Sam Robinson.
The photograph of the foundation of the Hovey-Robinson barn was taken by Kelly Marshall
in 1978, and that of Aunt Hovey's gravestone in 2007.
The scan of the Aunt Hovey Bible record is from the family pages of the Bailey
Family Bible, made by Kelly Marshall, with the careful assistance of Patrick Martinelli, a sixth-generation descendant of
the Baileys.
The scan of the Simeon Hovey Bible record is from the family pages of the Elisha
and Elizabeth Rohrer Robinson Family Bible, made by their descendant Sam Robinson.
The pictures of the Native American reenactor at Hanna's Town and of the Hovey-Robinson
barn were taken by Paul Mohney of Los Angeles during his July 2007 visit to the area.
Enter supporting content here
"It is amazing
how much family
is out there!
Who knew?!?"
Cousin Jeff Olson
of the State of Washington
Jeff is a sixth-generation descendant
of John Marshall and
Catharina Truby Rohrer Marshall
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(All the Time!)
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I make a good effort not to place online any information which easily would
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(or a photo of you and/or a family member which you prefer would not appear) just
e-mail me. I'll remove the information and/or the picture right away.
COPYRIGHT INFORMATION
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and images on this site
which
aren't in the public domain are
the
intellectual property of Gordon Kelly Marshall.
Researchers,
family members, libraries,
or
genealogical and/or historical societies are invited to use
the information
freely, for non-commercial purposes only,
with proper
credit to this site.
The website may not be copied or distributed
without express written consent.
Email me at
marshallfamily@zoominternet.net.
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