Tag: Migration

Ira Ayers and Helen Derrie Biographical Sketch

May 9, 2011 Dennis Ayers No comments exist

This is a short biographical sketch of the lives of Ira Ayers and his wife Helen Derrie. It very briefly describes where they lived, worked and worshipped during their lifetimes. Since they are my mother and father, I call them Mom and Dad in this post. I realize that I have already described some of Dad’s and Mom’s early days in previous posts, but I want to include some of that same information again in this post to have a complete summary for both Mom and Dad.

Walnut Mountain, Pioneer, TN

Ira Ayers (Dad) was born in a log house similar to the one shown on Walnut Mountain, in Campbell County, TN on November 14, 1913, and was raised there on a 42 acre farm. The property was located off Adam Hollow Rd off Stinking Creek Rd. The mailing address was RFD #1, Pioneer, TN. It was about 25 miles to LaFollette, TN by road, but less than half that across the mountains on foot or horseback.

As the oldest child, he worked many long hard days on the farm alongside his Father, and shouldered many other family responsibilities.

Seveirville, TN

Dad enlisted into the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCCs) in his early 20s. He was first stationed at the CCC camp in the Smoky Mountains National Park where he helped clear land for roads and campgrounds. He stayed at that camp from June 18, 1935 until March 16, 1936.

Norris, TN

After being in the CCCs for 9 months, Dad was transferred to the camp at Norris, TN which was much closer to home. At this location, he helped clear land for roads and recreation areas around the newly constructed Norris Dam. He worked there from March 16, 1936 until September 30, 1937 when he was discharged from the CCCs. During this period he was hospitalized for 3 months at Ft. Oglethorpe, GA due to a serious accident in which he almost cut off the front of his left foot with an axe.

Charlie Hollow, Stinking Creek, TN

After returning from the CCCs, Dad moved back home to the farm and worked with his brother Addison at the Charlie Hollow Coal Mines. He did not like the work.

Jacksboro, TN

Helen Derrie, (Mom) was born in Jacksboro, TN on March 7, 1923. She was a middle child in a large family. Jacksboro is the Seat of Campbell County.

LaFollette, TN

Mom moved with her family to LaFollette, TN when she was only 6 months

old. When she was 14, the family moved to a house on Hwy 25W at Coke Oven Hill. Part of the unpainted house can be seen in the picture of her father. They were extremely poor and Mom had to drop out of school and lie about her age so she could get a job in the local shirt factory.

As a young teenager, Mom worked in the shirt factory in Lafollette. There she was paid by the number of pieces sewed in a day. It was called “piecework”.

She met Dad at a square dance. They got married on January 2, 1942 and moved to Baltimore, MD for only a few months until Dad was drafted in the Army. When he went into the service, Mom moved back home with her family in LaFollette, TN. She continued to live there until their first child, Dennis Ira Ayers (me), was born on December 28, 1942.

2112 Coker Ave., Knoxville, TN

Den 1yr & Mother — **Helen and Dennis 1943**

After I was born, Mom soon moved with me to live with her older sister, Lillian, at her house at 2112 Coker Ave. in Knoxville, TN. Aunt Lilley had made the invitation to make sure that Mom and I had better living conditions while I was still a baby. Mom lived there from about January 1943 for a year.

911 N. Calvert St, Baltimore, MD

Before the War, Dad had actually moved to Baltimore with his cousin Leonard Ferguson in May 1941, and worked in a body and fender shop. (Don’t know where he lived during that time.)

1st 911 N. Calvert St in 2009 — **2009 View**

After the bombing of Pearl Harbor on Dec 7, 1941, he returned to LaFollette and married Mom on Jan 2, 1942. Together they returned to Baltimore for a short time in early 1942 and he got a job with the B&O Railroad. When he was drafted in April, he and Mom traveled back to LaFollette. After the War, they again moved back to Baltimore where the B&O had held his job for him. They first lived in an apartment at 911 N. Calvert Street from January 1946 to March 1948, and acted as superintendents for apartments in two large 3 Story townhouses. Mom collected rents and Dad kept the coal furnaces fired up for heat to all the apartments. They received a reduction in the rent of their own apartment for their efforts.-

107 N. Carey St., Baltimore, MD

They rented an apartment at 107 N. Carey Street from March 1948 to May 1948. The townhouse was across the street from a small park and was the first and only house they ever lived in that had a bathroom shower. Not sure why they lived here only two months except perhaps it was the opportunity to buy their own house which caused them to move again quickly.

2235 Guilford Ave., Baltimore, MD

3rd 2235 Guilford Ave 2009 — **2235 Guilford Ave in 2009 Rebuilt After A Fire**

They bought a 3 story townhouse at 2235 Guilford Avenue in May 1948, and lived there until March 1950. They rented out an apartment on the top floor. On Saturdays, I was allowed to go with some older kids to the movies several blocks away on Greenmount Ave. They were comfortable in this house, but Dad yearned to move to the country.

This is where their second child, Helen Carol Ayers, was born on February 18, 1950.

During the years they lived in the city, they always used public transportation. They bought their first car, a 1947 Gray Pymouth, when they got ready to move to the country in 1950.

Baltimore City Church

In the 1940s, Mom and Dad became devout Christians. They attended the Christian & Missionary Alliance church for most of the time they lived in Baltimore City, and for several more years even after moving to the country. It was located at the corner of Guilford Ave and Lanvale Street. I remember many long rides on Sundays to this church, sometimes twice a day from out in the country. Mom always liked to round up as many neighbor children as possible and take them to Sunday School.

1676 Woodstock Rd., Woodstock, MD

In November 1949. they bought a 7.5 acre farm on Old Court Rd, Woodstock, in Howard County MD.

The property contained a small three bedroom, one bath house with a coal fired furnace. The house had been built in the late 1920s where an old one room schoolhouse once stood. A flagpole in the front yard and and remnants of an old seesaw in the side yard were reminders of an earlier era. However, Mom was pregnant with Carol and needed frequent attention at Lutheran Hospital in the city. So, they didn’t move to this property until April 1950, after Carol was born and the weather had begun warming.

This is the house where their third child, Annette Arlene Ayers, was born on January 11, 1959.

The mailing address was at first just Rt #1, Woodstock, MD, but it was changed around 1970 to 1676 Woodstock Rd. After living there for 53 years they were forced to move for health reasons in April 2003.

Ellicott City Church

Seven years after moving to Howard County, Mom and Dad finally transferred to the First Church of God in Ellicott City. They attended church there from around 1957 until the mid 1980s, over 25 years. Attending church functions was their primary social outlet, and they continued taking neighborhood children to Sunday School.

Rogers Avenue Church

Helen & Ira Ayers 1989 — **Ira and Helen ca 1989**

In the mid 1980s, Mom and Dad left the small church in downtown Ellicott City to join the much larger Crossroads Church of the Nazarene located closer to home on Rogers Avenue. This church offered them many more opportunities for fellowship in their older years. They really enjoyed being in the Primetimers senior’s group.

Camden Yards Rail Yard, Baltimore, MD

Dad first went to work for the B&O Railroad on March 5, 1942, but after only one month of service he was drafted into the Army. The B&O held his job for him until he could resume work as a Brakeman after the war was over. His primary base of work was the Camden Rail Yard in Baltimore City. This site is where the Oriole Baseball Park at Camden Yards is located today.

Locust Point Rail Yard, Baltimore, MD

Dad also worked months at a time at the B&O Locust Point Rail Yard located near Ft. McHenry in Baltimore. He was a member of the Railroad Workers Union and over the years gained considerable seniority in the Union. As a result, his job was secure and he always was able to “bump” workers with less seniority to work shifts and locations which he preferred. For example, he almost always worked the 3:00PM to 11:30PM second shift which allowed him to do farm work in the mornings.

Dad retired in August 1978 with 36 years and 5 months service. His last position was Yard Foreman. He was 65 years old.

Spring Grove State Hosptial, Catonsville, MD

After working at home to pass her GED test, Mom took a job with the State of MD in a nurses training program at the Spring Grove State Hospital located in Catonsville, MD in 1965. Under this program she eventually became a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN), and worked with mentally handicapped patients. She worked at this hospital until about 1970.

Springfield State Hospital, Sykesville, MD

Sometime around 1970, Mom transferred to the Springfield State Hospital in Sykesville, MD which was an easier commute from home. At this facility she was trained and assumed the duties of an Industrial Therapist. In this job she assigned handicapped patients to various jobs around the hospital campus to develop skills for employment after leaving the hospital. She really liked this job and took great pride in her work.

Mom retired from the state of MD in June 1983 after 18 years of service. She was 60 years old.

LifeSpring Assisted Living Home, Catonsville, MD

Over the years, Dad developed severe arthritis in his hips and ankles and had a hip replaced in his early 80s. Mom had a severe hearing problem and developed Parkinson’s Disease in her 70s. So, in April 2003, due to failing health, Mom and Dad moved together into the LifeSpring Assisted Living Home in Catonsville, MD. At first they were very apprehensive, but they soon learned to like the facility, which was a converted old mansion. They were able to share a large bedroom together. Their strong faith always remained and strengthened them.

Helen 81st BD — **Helen’s 81st Birthday**

However, In the following months, Dad’s health took a turn for the worse, and it was necessary for him to move to a Nursing Home in November 2003. In addition to dementia, Dad suffered from mini-strokes that caused trouble swallowing. This led to severe malnutrition.

Mom continued to live at LifeSpring for almost another year until she fell and broke her pelvis in October 2004. Already suffering from Parkinson’s Disease, the use of morphine to relieve the pelvic pain at the hospital caused her to slip into a semi-conscious state from which she never recovered. At that time she too needed to move to a Nursing Home.

St. Elizabeths Nursing Facility, Baltimore, MD

Dad went first to St. Elizabeths Nursing Home in November 2003 and was well cared for until he died on December 31, 2003 at age 90.

Mom went to St. Elizabeths in October 2004 and was well cared for until she died on January 12, 2005, a little over a year later than Dad. She was 81 years old.

Crestlawn Memorial Gardens, Ellicott City, MD

Mom and Dad are both laid to rest at Crestlawn Memorial Gardens Cemetery on Sand Hill Road in Ellicott City. This is the final resting place for their tired bodies as I know their spirits are at home in Heaven.

Ira Ayers and Helen Derrie Biographical Sketch AYERS Line

May 9, 2011 Dennis No comments exist

Walnut Mountain, Pioneer, TN

Ira Ayers (Dad) was born in a log house similar to the one shown on Walnut

Mountain, in Campbell County, TN on November 14, 1913, and was raised there on a 42 acre farm. The property was located off Adam Hollow Rd off Stinking Creek Rd. The mailing address was RFD #1, Pioneer, TN. It was about 25 miles to LaFollette, TN by road, but less than half that across the mountains on foot or horseback.

As the oldest child, he worked many long hard days on the farm alongside his Father, and shouldered many other family responsibilities.

Seveirville, TN

Norris, TN

Charlie Hollow, Stinking Creek, TN

After returning from the CCCs, Dad moved back home to the farm and worked with his brother Addison at the Charlie Hollow Coal Mines. He did not like the work.

Jacksboro, TN

Helen Derrie, (Mom) was born in Jacksboro, TN on March 7, 1923. She was a middle child in a large family. Jacksboro is the Seat of Campbell County.

LaFollette, TN

Helen 17 Years Old — **Helen at about 17**

Mom moved with her family to LaFollette, TN when she was only 6 months old. When she was 14, the family moved to a house on Hwy 25W at Coke Oven Hill. Part of the unpainted house can be seen in the picture of her father. They were extremely poor and Mom had to drop out of school and lie about her age so she could get a job in the local shirt factory.

As a young teenager, Mom worked in the shirt factory in Lafollette. There she was paid by the number of pieces sewed in a day. It was called “piecework”.

2112 Coker Ave., Knoxville, TN

911 N. Calvert St, Baltimore, MD

Before the War, Dad had actually moved to Baltimore with his cousin Leonard Ferguson in May 1941, and worked in a body and fender shop. (Don’t know where he lived during that time.)

107 N. Carey St., Baltimore, MD

2235 Guilford Ave., Baltimore, MD

This is where their second child, Helen Carol Ayers, was born on February 18, 1950.

During the years they lived in the city, they always used public transportation. They bought their first car, a 1947 Gray Pymouth, when they got ready to move to the country in 1950.

Baltimore City Church

1676 Woodstock Rd., Woodstock, MD

In November 1949. they bought a 7.5 acre farm on Old Court Rd, Woodstock, in Howard County MD.

This is the house where their third child, Annette Arlene Ayers, was born on January 11, 1959.

Ellicott City Church

Rogers Avenue Church

Camden Yards Rail Yard, Baltimore, MD

Locust Point Rail Yard, Baltimore, MD

Dad retired in August 1978 with 36 years and 5 months service. His last position was Yard Foreman. He was 65 years old.

Spring Grove State Hosptial, Catonsville, MD

Springfield State Hospital, Sykesville, MD

Mom retired from the state of MD in June 1983 after 18 years of service. She was 60 years old.

LifeSpring Assisted Living Home, Catonsville, MD

St. Elizabeths Nursing Facility, Baltimore, MD

Dad went first to St. Elizabeths Nursing Home in November 2003 and was well cared for until he died on December 31, 2003 at age 90.

Mom went to St. Elizabeths in October 2004 and was well cared for until she died on January 12, 2005, a little over a year later than Dad. She was 81 years old.

Crestlawn Memorial Gardens, Ellicott City, MD

Ayers Brothers and Sisters

May 2, 2011 Dennis Ayers 2 comments

As mentioned before, Martin Ayers had four children with his first wife, Hannah, and five children with his second wife, Eullalia. I’ve never seen a picture of the whole group all together. The picture below is the closest with all the offspring present except Addison who had joined the CCCs, and Geneva who was not yet born. It must have been at a special family gathering, since Rose and Mary were already married and living away.

Although growing up they lived in an isolated mountain environment with few material possessions and with no transportation and none of today’s conveniences, the children had normal childhoods, and were close to one another. They had pet dogs and cats, went to school and church, and grew up like everyone else in the mountains…strong and independent. They attended the Flat Rock School located about 3 miles away, which meant a lot of walking. It was a one room schoolhouse with a big pot-bellied stove for heat and a long coatroom in the back. The teacher taught all grades 1 through 12. One side of the big room was for the higher grades and the other side was for the lower grades. They attended church at the Broyles Church of God near Adam Hollow, with the whole family sometimes walking to service. Then as they got older, some ventured off the mountain to find jobs elsewhere.

Unfortunately, due to overall poor economic conditions in the county, in the 1940s Ira, Rose, Addison, Aileen, Bill and Hannah left Tennessee for better opportunities in the North, as Mary, Tom and Geneva stayed behind. While relocating proved to be the right thing for those individuals that left, the result was a fractured family with members living far apart in four different states. Family love was always still there, but opportunities for the brothers and sisters to be together grew fewer and fewer over the years. Now 65 years later only Aileen and Geneva remain. For the benefit of those who didn’t know them, below is an introduction and short summary of how each of the brothers and sisters’ lives evolved from the oldest to the youngest, with some old pictures thrown in for fun. Remember to click the photos to enlarge them. All facts may not be totally correct, so readers please let me know when I need to make corrections.

Ira Lawson Ayers (1913 – 2003)

Ira, born in 1913, married Helen Derrie in 1942 and they moved to Baltimore, MD in early 1946. He worked for the B&O railroad as a brakeman, but he also worked just as hard as a part-time farmer. He and his wife had three children: Dennis, Carol, and Annette. Ira had a serious and stern disposition along with a short temper, probably like his great-grandfather, Elihu. He worked very hard for his family. Only after retirement, did he mellow and become more relaxed. Ira died in 2003 at age 90 after suffering several mini-strokes. See more about his life with Helen in a following post.

Rose Elizabeth Ayers Jordan (1915 – 2001)

Rose, born in 1915, married Vurl Jordan in 1937. She was working as a housekeeper in LaFollette, and she and some other young women like to go watch the men in the CCCs constructing Cove Lake. There she met Vurl who was a bulldozer driver. Rose and Vurl had three children: Jack, Bob, and Carolyn. They moved to Baltimore in the late 1930s where Vurl got a job at the Baltimore Shipyards, and where he continued working during WWII. After the war, he became a partner in a sawmill operation, and later owned a successful hardware & lumber store in Glen Burnie, MD. Rose had a sweet and gentle disposition and always wore a smile. She was a homemaker and the family attended the Nazarene Church. In the 1970s, Rose and Vurl moved to Florida, first to Homestead and then to North Ft Myers, where they spent the rest of their years. Vurl died in 1988 at age 71 and Rose died in 2001 at age 85.

Mary Lou Ayers Myers (1918 – 2007)

Mary, born in 1918, married John Myers in 1935. She was working as a housekeeper in LaFollette, when she met John who lived on a farm nearby. Mary and John had four children: Sue, Janice, Glenn, and Joan. John also came to Baltimore for a time in the 1940s to work in the shipyards, and brought his family to live in Glen Burnie, MD from about 1948 to 1950. Then they returned to live in Tennessee, and never moved again from their farm in LaFollette. In addition to farming, John worked as a carpenter for many years at the Oak Ridge National Laboratories established during WWII in adjacent Anderson County, TN, as part of the effort to produce materials for a nuclear bomb. Mary was a homemaker and was a very quiet spoken lady with a quick smile. The family attended the Independent Baptist Church in LaFollette. John died in 1992 and Mary died in 2007 at age 88.

Addison Lee Ayers (1919 – 1986)

Addison, born in 1919, married Doris Rauhoff in 1940. Addison met her when she was working in a small grocery store in the Stinking Creek area. According to their daughter, Wanda, they were married by a preacher, who was also a postman. One day Addison and Doris were waiting by the mailbox and asked him to marry them! They moved to Milford, Ohio, near Cincinnati in the 1940s. Addison and Doris had six children: Troy, Glenna Faye, Don, Wanda, Ricky, and Debbie. Addison worked at a paper mill where he fed the pulp beaters. He and Doris also liked to build houses, sell them, and then move on to the next house project. Addison was a quiet man, with good humor and a twinkle in his eye. He died in 1986 from cancer at age 66. Doris later moved back to LaFollette, TN where she remarried an old acquaintance. She died in 1994.

Barbara Aileen Ayers Huckelby (1930 – present)

Aileen as she is called was born in 1930. She married Gene Huckelby in 1947 and they moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, soon afterwards. Aileen and Gene had two daughters: Brenda and Marsha. Aileen was always a homemaker while Gene worked in the same paper mill as Addison Ayers. He drove a fork lift. After being married for 62 years, Gene died in 2010. He was a quiet, gentle man, and had a strong religious faith. Aileen is very talkative and has a wonderful sense of humor, and she too is very religious. She has a strong memory and has been a great resource of family information. Aileen and Gene liked to spend winters in Florida, and Aileen still returns there with her daughter, Brenda.

William Riley Ayers (1933 – 2003)

Bill was born in 1933 and named after his grandfather. He married Rose Sharp in 1952 and they moved to Milford, Ohio also. He worked for a company that makes heaters. He and Rose had two sons: William and Timothy. Bill was a prankster and a cutup, and always liked to have fun. He loved bluegrass music and played the guitar and banjo as much as he could. He died of cancer in 2003 at age 70. Rose continued to live in Milford, but later died in December 2012.

Hannie Evelyn Ayers Chadwell (1935 – 1993)

Hannie, born in 1935, married Henry Chadwell. They moved to Indianapolis, Indiana in the 1950s. Henry worked for the railroad while Hannie was a homemaker. They had four children: Angie, Paul, Terry, and Tony. Hannie loved music and loved to laugh. She too died of cancer in 1993 at age of 57. Henry also died in 1996.

Aaron Tommy Ayers (1937 – 2008)

Tom, as he was called, was born in 1937. He never married and always stayed close to home, except for a tour in the Army in the 1950s when he was stationed in Maryland and in Germany. He was an MP in the service. Back home in LaFollette, Tom had a variety of jobs over the years including working at a shirt factory and working at a food store. He tended to have various physical ailments that mostly kept him from full-time work, and he continued to live with his mother until she died in 1994. He then continued to live in her house until heart trouble caused him to move in with his sister, Geneva in 2006. Tom was a laid back, easy-going individual who liked to read books. He was a great storyteller, and enjoyed watching television. He died of a heart condition in 2008 at age 71.

Alice Geneva Ayers Collingsworth (1941 – present)

Geneva, born in 1941 was the last child of Martin Ayers and Eullalia Hatmaker. She Married Frank Collingsworth, Jr. in 1959, and she always calls him Junior. Geneva and Junior have lived in LaFollette ever since they were married. They do not have any children. Geneva is a homemaker and Junior worked in construction and also later as a school janitor and maintenance man. Geneva is quiet, soft-spoken, and has an infectious laugh. They attend the Independent Baptist Church in LaFollette.

Becoming Kentucky Pioneers

April 7, 2011 Dennis Ayers No comments exist

As can be clearly seen from stories up to now, our Ayers ancestors possessed a pioneering spirit that kept urging them ever onward to new lands of promise and hope. Nathaniel Ayers in North Carolina was like those before him.

Up until the mid 1700s, the French had control of land west of the Appalachian Mountains, and essentially kept the English settlers hemmed in the East by playing the Indians against them, and by relying on the seemingly insurmountable mountains. However, after the British defeated the French and Indians in 1763, the French conceded all contested lands to the Mississippi River. This initially was a cause for celebration for the settlers wanting to move to the new frontier lands. However, the royal proclamation of 1763 did much to dampen that celebration as it in effect closed off the frontier to colonial expansion, ostensibly to calm the Indians and regulate trade and settlement.

Daniel Boone, the legendary wilderness scout, was born in Pennsylvania and raised as a Quaker. Like the Ayers family from Maryland, Daniel’s family was one of the many that migrated southward, settling in western North Carolina in 1750. As a young man, he was known to be fearless and for taking long hunting expeditions into Indian territory. The region beyond the settled borders of Virginia and the mountains was called Kentucky and it was a total wilderness. Despite the proclamation and some resistance from American Indian tribes such as the Shawnee, in 1775 Daniel Boone blazed his Wilderness Trail through the Cumberland Gap in the Appalachian Mountains over into Kentucky. He pushed even further into the state beyond the mountains and founded the Fort Boonesboro settlement in the fertile central region. See map at the end.

After the colonists finally defeated the British in the Revolutionary War, all the land to the Mississippi was then ceded to the Americans, and some adventurers began traveling there. However, in the early years, many travelers fell victim to hostile Indians. Soon though, with this new opportunity to homestead and a new route through the mountains marked by Boone, more than 200,000 settlers migrated to the Kentucky frontier by 1800. Nathaniel Ayers and his family from North Carolina were among these early pioneers.

It is believed Nathaniel’s wife was Mary Leake and they had at least one child in NC about 1794, named Bailey Ayers. Kentucky was admitted as a state in 1792, and the Wilderness Trail was widened to accommodate wagons pulled by oxen. It is difficult to pinpoint, but it is believed the family relocated to the new state around 1800. We know for certain though, that by 1810 they were living in Wayne County, KY, a mountainous area near the border with Tennessee. The family had 3 males and 6 females. It took hardy souls to homestead in this area, which was nothing but wilderness, and still occupied by scattered Indians. At this time there were less than 800 families in the county. Settlers lived within riding or walking distance of each other and they had large families, with their children and grandchildren inter-married into each others families. This area today is part of the Daniel Boone National Forest.

Nathaniel Ayers is mentioned as helping with a land survey in 1808 in Campbell County, Tennessee, and in county court records in 1815 and 1818. At that time Campbell County was larger than today and the western part of it was just across the state border from Wayne County, KY. Did he actually move to TN for a time? I think the answer is probably not because he apparently lived in an area close to the border between KY and TN which was in dispute and not officially settled until 1820. So, the border moved around him.

Nathaniel then disappears from all other records until he applied for his Revolutionary War pension from Laurel County, KY in 1836. It must be assumed he was living with the family of one of his daughters and was not a head of household. It is also assumed that he died sometime after 1836 in Laurel County which is a short distance northeast of Wayne County.

When Nathaniel Ayers first came into Kentucky, why did his family settle in the mountains instead of pushing further into the central area of KY where the land was certainly more amenable to farming? One strong possibility was that he already knew other family or friends who had previously relocated there. Another reason is that all the best lands had already been settled on before he arrived. The actual reason is unknown today. Whatever the reason, the mountain way of life he entered set the course of history for the next five generations of Ayers families.

Wilderness_road — **Daniel Boone’s Wilderness Road**

Nathaniel Ayers Migrates to Virginia

March 31, 2011 Dennis Ayers No comments exist

In 1746 Nathaniel Ayers began selling his land in Baltimore County, Maryland. By about 1755, he and his wife, Rhoda, and family had migrated to Halifax County in southern Virginia (near Danville today), on the border of North Carolina. Why did they leave what appeared to be a prosperous livelihood in MD? Why did they undertake such an arduous journey which took them over 300 miles to the south? The answers are not known for sure, but it is believed that religion was a primary factor along with a desire for more land, and perhaps opposition to slavery.

After 1735, as the supply of land grew short in colonies farther north, numerous farmers from Pennsylvania, Maryland, and northern Virginia began packing their possessions and making the long journey to the Southern Piedmont in the Virginia colony.

In addition, it seems that Nathaniel converted to the Quaker religion in Maryland, perhaps when he married Rhoda. The Quakers were one of the first groups to oppose slavery, which was heavily employed by most tobacco farmers. In the 1750s, there was a large Quaker migration to the frontier areas of Virginia and North Carolina, and Nathaniel’s family probably joined in with others from Pennsylvania and Maryland moving southward. The proceedings of the Quaker South River Monthly Meeting (held near what is today Lynchburg, VA) show that Nathaniel Ayers was accepted into membership in 1758. This Quaker Meeting covered many of the southern VA counties including Halifax County.

Also, in 1758, Nathaniel purchased 116 acres of land on Little Double Creek. In 1767, the western part of Halifax County where Nathaniel and his family lived became Pittsylvania County, and not long after that he was granted 200 acres on branches of the Dan River. Before he died, he also acquired another 600 acres of adjoining land. In 1760, Nathaniel and several of his neighbors are credited with “laying a road”.

Nathaniel Ayers died in early 1777, and his will was probated at the courthouse in Chatham, in Pittsylvania County. His oldest living sons, Thomas and Moses were the executors. Mentioned in the will were his wife Rhoda and 5 surviving children.

Pitts County — **Nathaniel Ayers in Pittsylvania County, VA**

The map above shows the general Piedmont area where Nathaniel settled. I have been to this area on a research trip in 2006. Pittsylvania County and the surrounding counties in both VA and NC contain beautiful gently rolling farmland as far as the eye can see. One can certainly understand why northern colonists migrated to this area.

DNA Solves the Mystery

March 26, 2011 Dennis 1 comment

As I mentioned back in my first post about our ancient ancestors from Europe, in 2009 I had a Y-Chromosome DNA test done to determine my genetic profile. The main purpose for this test was to solve a seemingly insurmountable problem about our Ayers lineage in North America. This mystery had become a brick wall in genealogy terms.

Our ancestors in New England and New Jersey whom I have already discussed, I call “The Northern Ayers Line”. The ancestors that I will be discussing in future posts are who I call “The Southern Ayers Line”. The Migration Map below clearly shows the geographic separation of the two lines. Although I, and other researchers as I later found out, strongly believed that the two lines were related due to circumstantial evidence, no official connection could be made due to the lack of actual records.

Migration Map Partial — **Incomplete Migration Map**

Getting serious about solving the mystery, in the Fall of 2009, I joined a group of other Ayers folks around the country who also had DNA test results to compare. As it turns out, most of the others had results that showed they belonged to haplogroups other than R1b. This means those “Ayers” came from entirely different bloodlines, perhaps originating in Scotland, Germany or elsewhere. However, there were a few other R1b’s like myself, and as time went on still more testers joined the group raising hope of a successful outcome.

Recall that Y-Chromosome genetic markers are passed from father to son down the line. Without getting into the boring details, the basic approach is to compare Y-Chromosome markers with someone else to see how many matches you have. This allows you then to determine about how many generations back you had what’s called a Most Recent Common Ancestor or MRCA. Then by comparing lineage charts you can typically pinpoint and name the MRCA.

After about a year, enough other R1b folks had joined our group so that we could definitively trace many relationships. Finally by the Fall of 2010, several other testers and I were actually able to trace our MRCA all the way back to John AYRE, who came over from England. This means that paper trail or not, my bloodline and thus our Southern Ayers line does in fact flow from the Northern Ayers line. By using DNA to solve the mystery, I had jumped over my brick wall! See the now complete Migration Map below.

Note that the early migrations had to have been by ship since before about 1725, there were essentially no overland trails to be safely followed.

AYERS of New Jersey

March 21, 2011 Dennis No comments exist

The youngest son of John AYRE, the immigrant, was Obadiah, born about 1635. In 1659 Obadiah married Hannah PIKE, the daughter of John Pike who had also come over from England on the same ship as John AYRE. “Obadiah and his brothers Robert and Thomas received from their father land and they were to maintain the fences and pay all rates on this land. He also received two oxe and two cow.” However, land in the area was rocky and farming must have been difficult.

In 1664, the English claimed the area settled by the Dutch further south. As they pushed out the Dutch they renamed New Amsterdam as New York, and New Netherlands as New Jersey. The English governor of the New Jersey colony began attracting people to the area by offering land and guaranteeing religious freedom. In return for the land, the settlers were supposed to pay a yearly tax called a quitrent.

As a result, about 1667, a number of persons from Newbury, Massachusetts sailed southward and settled Woodbridge, Middlesex County, in northeast New Jersey. John Pike was one of the leaders, and Obadiah AYER and his family joined his father-in-law as one of the migrating group. Obadiah received several parcels of land for a total of 171 acres. Woodbridge was so called in honor of the Rev. John Woodbridge, of Newbury, Massachusetts. It is presumed that this distinction was conferred upon him by his friends and admirers, who came from New England.

**Basking Ridge Church with original Oak Tree**

Obadiah and Hannah had a large family with about half born in Massachusetts and half born in New Jersey. Their oldest son, John, born about 1662, married Mary WALKER about 1689 in Woodbridge. The area prospered and attracted many others who occupied the land so completely that many of the young generations sought other locations. So, in 1710, John and his family moved to Basking Ridge, NJ in Somerset County about 20 miles to the northwest of Woodbridge, where he was one of the founders of the First Presbyterian church and a principal donor of the land for church use.

John AYERS and Mary also had a large family. However, records of their deaths and marriages, etc., simply don’t exist. No doubt this is due to courthouse fires and other mishaps over the centuries. Some of their offspring went off to seek opportunity in other colonies, but most remained in the Basking Ridge, NJ area. Many of the original AYERS of New Jersey are buried in the cemetery at the Basking Ridge Presbyterian Church.

John AYRE (AYER), The Immigrant

March 16, 2011 Dennis Ayers No comments exist

Before 1660, most of America’s immigrants came from England and, like most of those that would follow them, they brought their beliefs and traditions with them. They established the language, the laws, and the culture that would evolve into America. Our AYERS ancestors were among those that led the way.

John AYRE (or sometimes written AYER) was our first ancestor to arrive in America, and in genealogical terms he is called “The Immigrant” for this bloodline. Like many other immigrants of the time, John and his family most likely came primarily for religious freedom. It must have taken great courage to travel to the new world when he was already in his forties with a half grown family. They arrived in the Massachusetts colony in 1635 just 15 years after the Mayflower in 1620, and when there were only about 1000 people in the colony. Most Massachusetts colonists were Puritans who wished to reform the established church of England, and largely Congregationalists who believed in forming churches through voluntary compacts.

Thanks to books and records preserved about the early New England colonists, other researchers have pieced together some interesting facts about John Ayre’s life. I have provided several summaries on the Family Tree website (see link or right). However, the best summary I have found is on the website of Janson Ayer and I’ll repeat selected portions below.

The Story of John Ayer of Haverhill, Massachusetts

This is the story, to the best of my (Janson Ayer) knowledge, of John Ayer and his time in Haverhill, MA. I want to thank people like Willis Brown, Robert Ayers, and Warren Ayer for sharing so much of their research and knowledge. Clearly their input has helped my research significantly and made this website possible.

The immigrant John Ayer was said to have come from England, arriving on The James in 1635 with his wife Hannah and their first 4 children – Thomas, Rebecca, Robert, and Peter. There is no documentation found for his journey, but in John’s case he came with money, and perhaps was one of the people who were not allowed to leave without surrendering money and property to the Crown. Per Willis Brown’s research, we place him on the James because of his later close association with other listed passengers on that ship, such as the Pike family, and his kinsman, John Evered alias Webb.

The James itself is a part of history, surviving the Great Hurricane of 1635. The James, out of Bristol, England, met the hurricane off the Isles of Shoals, (near the New England coast) there losing three anchors and being forced to put to sea, for no canvas or rope would hold. The storm winds drove her to within feet of the Pascataquack rocks. “At this moment,” wrote Increase Mather (his father, mother, and four brothers being among the one hundred passengers), “their lives were given up for lost; but then, in an instant of time, God turned the wind about, which carried them from the rocks of death before their eyes.” On Aug 13, 1635, The James manages to make it to Boston Harbor proper with “…her sails rent in sunder, and split in pieces, as if they had been rotten ragges…”

So were the parents of’ a great American family delivered from death at the hands of the tempest. Of the one hundred plus aboard the James, none were lost.

A farmer, John Ayre and his family resided in Salisbury, Massachusetts from 1640 – 1646, and then moved to Haverhill in 1647, where they were one of the first families to own land. John and Hannah had 5 more children – Mary, John Jr., Nathanial, Hannah, and Obadiah.

According to the “New England Heritage” John was made a freeman, and was a well respected member of Haverhill. A freeman in those days was not the opposite of a slave. A freeman was more of a citizen with benefits in the Puritan culture. The Church had to vote on who became a freeman, and the process and questions were excruciating.

To the best of our knowledge, our John was married once, to Hannah, whose maiden name is lost to history. She survived her husband, and was the mother of all of his children, easily proven by the land deeds of MA.

John passed away in Haverhill in 1657, his will was dated March 12, 1656. His wife, Hannah, survived him, and died Oct. 8, 1688, having remained his widow. John AYER devised his homestead to his oldest son John Jr., a common practice for those times.

Note from Dennis: The town of Ayer, Massachusetts, which in reality is a part of Haverhill, was named after the early AYER settlers. No doubt it was because John AYER was one of the most prosperous land owners in the area. Below is a picture of the sign entering town which I took when Sheryl and I visited in Oct 2007.

John AYRE (AYER), The Immigrant

March 16, 2011 Dennis No comments exist

John AYRE (or sometimes written AYER) was our first ancestor to arrive in America, and in genealogical terms he is called “The Immigrant” for this bloodline. Like many other immigrants of the time, John and his family most likely came primarily for religious freedom. It must have taken great courage to travel to the new world when he was already in his forties with a half-grown family. They arrived in the Massachusetts colony in 1635 just 15 years after the Mayflower in 1620, and when there were only about 1000 people in the colony. Most Massachusetts colonists were Puritans who wished to reform the established church of England, and largely Congregationalists who believed in forming churches through voluntary compacts.

The Story of John Ayer of Haverhill, Massachusetts

So were the parents of’ a great American family delivered from death at the hands of the tempest. Of the one hundred plus aboard the James, none were lost.

According to the “New England Heritage” John was made a freeman, and was a well-respected member of Haverhill. A freeman in those days was not the opposite of a slave. A freeman was more of a citizen with benefits in the Puritan culture. The Church had to vote on who became a freeman, and the process and questions were excruciating.