Frances (Gorsuch) Sission (abt. 1642)

Born about 1642 in Walkern, Hertfordshire, England

Ancestors

Descendants

Died [date unknown] in England [uncertain]

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Biography

Frances Gorsuch

1642 Birth

Frances was born after 1642 at Walkern, Hertfordshire, England, possibly the youngest child of John Gorsuch and Anne Lovelace.^[1]

Gender

Frances was sometimes erroneously identified as a son, but was clearly called "daughter" in the 1662 will of her grandmother, Alice (Hall) Gorsuch, "Johanna and Frances daughters of my said son John" (Pg 392).^[2]

Siblings

The following list of siblings of Frances is useful as the lives of these siblings intertwined on both sides of the Atlantic for a number of years.

1. Daniel Gorsuch born 1628 or 1629, eldest son, remained in England
2. John Gorsuch b c. 1630, 2nd son, poss died young
3. William Gorsuch b 1631 or 1632, 3rd son, d 1698; mar Catherine Morgan, remained in England
4. Katherine "Katheren" Gorsuch bpt Nov 26, 1633, to Virginia Theo. Hone; mar William Whitby
5. Robert Gorsuch bpt Nov 19, 1635
6. Richard Gorsuch bpt Apr 19, 1637, to Virginia
7. Anne/Anna Gorsuch bpt March 13, 1638/9 Walkern, to Virginia; mar 1) Capt. Thomas Todd, 2) Capt. David Jones, 3) Capt. John Oldton
8. Elizabeth Gorsuch bpt May 13, 1641, to Virginia; mar ____ Powell
9. Charles Gorsuch bpt Aug 25, 1642; certificate of marriage 1690/1 to Anne Hawkins at a West River, Maryland Quaker MM
10. Lovelace Gorsuch b after 1638
11. Joanna Gorsuch bpt March 15, 1639/40
12. Frances Gorsuch b after 1642, called a granddaughter in Anne (Barnes) Gorsuch's will (Pg 85), b after 1638, poss died young. The daughter, Frances, (erroneously often identified as a son), was clearly called "daughter" in the 1662 will of her grandmother, Alice (Hall) Gorsuch, "Johanna and Frances daughters of my said son John" (Pg 392).^[2]

Immigration

She dies not appear on the list of passengers to Virginia in 1652, sponsored by Theophilus Hone, and she also was not one of the younger siblings who applied for a guardian in 1657.^[2] However, she was mentioned in the will of her paternal grandmother, Alice Gorsuch in 1662 (Pg 392).^[2] No further record has been found.

1652 Emigrating Orphans Named

Theo. Hoane had two patents on 22 Feb 1652, one for 130 acs, Lancaster Co., on N side of Rappa Riv. and the other, 720 ac on N side of Rappa. Riv., beg. on Ewd side of a branch running out of the head of Cosotawaman Riv., etc., listing the emigrating Gorsuch orphans.] ^[3]

Marriage

Frances Gorsuch married John Sisson, b. 1621 probably in Virginia.

Mr. Newman offers proof his ancestress, Elizabeth, wife of Capt. Cornelius Howard, was the daughter of Rev. John Gorsuch, a clergyman of the Church of England, after whose death "through the contrivance of the Puritans", the orphan children of Rev. Gorsuch and their mother emigrated to America, most going to VA but eventually settling in MD. ^[4]

And, "that the Rev. Mr. Gorsuch had a daughter who is placed as Frances, the wife of John Sisson, whom he transported to Maryland in 1660." (Also: From Adventurers of Purse and Person, p. 277 [I believe this is the first edition.].

Frances Gorsuch is mentioned in the will, in 1662, of her grandmother Alice Gorsuch as "the daughter of my son John . . . ".) ^[3]

1659 Immigration to Maryland

In 1659, John and his wife Frances immigrated to Maryland. In 1660 his daughter Joane was transported to Maryland.

Born in 1642, Frances would have been aged 17 in 1659. These dates are likely the dates of the land grant for immigrating, not the dates of travel itself. If Joane was transported in 1660, say she was actually born in 1659, and that her parents were married perhaps in 1658.

Sisson, John (p. 421, Liber 5, Folio 484, 516) Immigrated 1659^[5]

Sisson, Frances (p. 420, Liber 5, Folio 484) transported 1659 - wife of John ^[5]

Sisson, Joane (p. 421, Liber 5, Folio 516) transported 1660 - dau of John^[5]

Howard, Cornelius (p. 240, Liber 5, Folio 466) Immigrated 1659^[5]

1662 Named in Will of Grandmother Alice

Frances Gorsuch, daughter of "my son John", was named in the July 7, 1662 will of his grandmother Alice (Hall) Gorsuch, of Weston, Co. Hertford, spinster, widow of Daniel Gorsuch, proved February 3, 1662-3 in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, to receive an equal division among six grandchildren of "my lease for about five years yet to come, of about £52 a year in the parish of St. Olave, Southwark, payable by Frances Wilkinsonne and Richard Daniell. ^[6]

Note that she was still Frances Gorsuch and presumably unmarried in 1662.

John Sisson's Military Service

Captain John Sisson appears as an officer in the royal colonial army and the comrade of wealthy tobacco planters and large landholders of the Tidewater region. ^[7]

1663 Sisson named in will of Capt. Cornelius Howard

Capt. Cornelius Howard, a brother army officer and himself a wealthy planter on the Severn River, . . . in his will affectionately names "Capt John SISSON" as "my brother" (i.e., in friendship) and appointed him executor of his will . . . dated in 1663 ^[8]

Capt. Cornelius Howard, a brother army officer and himself a wealthy planter on the Severn River, who in 1671-1675 represented Anne Arundel Co, MD in the Colonial Assembly, in his will affectionately names "Capt. John Sisson" as "my brother (i.e. in friendship) and appointed him executor of his will, than which no greater proof of confidence could have been given in those troublesome days. This will is dated in 1663. [Note: This is John Sisson's will, not Cornelius Howard's. See below.] ^[7]

1663 Will

John Sison's will, probated 16 Mary 1663 in Anne Arundel County, names

• wife Frances,
• eldest daughter Jean Sison,
• daughter Eliza Sison,
• brother Benjamin Sison,
• brother Cornelius Howard (i.e., brother-in-law) . . . John's wife's Frances Gorsuch's sister Elizabeth Gorsuch Howard, the wife of Cornelius Howard.

In 1663, Frances, born 1642, would have been 21; Joane or Jean, probably born 1659, would have been 4, and Eliza, born two years later, would have been 2.

Sison, John, A. A. [Anne Arundel] Co., ---/16th Mar 1663. ^[9]

• To wife Frances, execx., plantation.
• To eld. dau Jean Sison, personalty.
• To Eliza: Sison, land, including island bought of Edward Lloyd.
• To brothers Benjamin Sison and Cornelius Howard, personalty.
• Overseers: Cornelius Howard afsd., and Richard Higgins.
• Test: Wm. Wilson, Wm. Grymes.
• [In his will, John requested Cornelius Howard to look after his wife and children. See Anne Arundel Gentry, 2:261-63.]

Captain John Sisson, in 1663, named Cornelius Howard, 'my brother' and executor. Mrs. Elizabeth Howard, wife of Cornelius, . . . ". And, p. 167. "'John Brown (of John)' held the homesead of the Severn and in his will of 1773, recorded: . . . '---wife Elizabeth Brown, executrix.' She was Elizabeth Yieldhall, granddaughter of Elizabeth (Sisson) Brown. ^[10]

1677 Estate Unsettled

"As late as July 30, 1677, the estate of John Sison remained unsettled. George Parker, Procurator for Cornelius Howard, appeared in court and stated that Cornelius Howard was the executor of the estate of John Sison and that William Yieldhall [also spelled Yealdhall], of Anne Arundel Co., had married one of the daughters [Elizabeth] and refused to render an account of the deceased's goods. The court thereupon issued citations against Yieldhall to show cause why he withheld the personalty." ^[11]

Children

Based on his will, at his death he had two children, both daughters, both unmarried. Estimate their age at 18 or less, and their dates of birth would be 1645 and 1643. This could place John and Frances' marriage a year earlier at 1642, and if they married at 21 and 18, John's birth at 1621 and Frances' at 1624.

Frances herself, however, was born in 1642.

1. Jean Sison, eldest daughter, named in 1663 will ^[9]
2. Eliza Sison, daughter, named in 1663 will^[9]

The land of Jane and Elizabeth SISSON is included in the Maryland Rent Rolls of Baltimore and Anne Arundel Counties in 1666 and 1667.]

Elizabeth Sissons, 1666, Orphans Inheritance, AA Co., 200 acres. Liber 9, 465. ^[12]

Jane Sissons, 1668, Janes Inheritance, AA Co, 50 acres. Liber 11, 224; 12, 28. [See also Maryland Rent Rolls: Baltimore and Anne Arundel Counties, 1700-1707, 1705-1724. ^[12]

Sources

1. ↑ Pleasants, J. Hall, "The Gorsuch and Lovelace Families" The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 24, No. 1 (Jan., 1916), pp. 81-93, Virginia Historical Society, JSTOR.org accessed April 19, 2015
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3} Pleasants, J. Hall, "The Gorsuch and Lovelace Families (Concluded)" The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 27, No. 3/4 (Jul. - Oct., 1919), pp. 379-392, Virginia Historical Society, JSTOR.org accessed April 19, 2015
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Anne Arundel Gentry, Vol. 2, by Harry Wright Newman. Annapolis: Harry Wright Newman, 1971. Pp. 261-63 and further cited by Barbara Marsh <bmarsh@feist.com>, [SISSON-L] MD-VA Sisson-Gorsuch 1600s , Sat, 10 Jun 2000 22:37:33 -0500 http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/SISSON/2000-06/0960694653
4. ↑ Cavaliers and Pioneers, Vol. I by Nell Marion Nugent. Orig. pub. 1934; reprinted Baltimore: Gen. Pub. Co., Inc. P. 275. Cited in Anne Arundel Gentry, Vol. 2, by Harry Wright Newman. Annapolis: Harry Wright Newman, 1971. Pp. 261-63 and further cited by Barbara Marsh <bmarsh@feist.com>, [SISSON-L] MD-VA Sisson-Gorsuch 1600s , Sat, 10 Jun 2000 22:37:33 -0500 http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/SISSON/2000-06/0960694653
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3} Gust Skordas, The Early Settlers of Maryland by Gust Skordas. Baltimore: Gen. Pub. Co., Inc., 1968.
6. ↑ The Gorsuch and Lovelace Families, by J. H. P., Baltimore, Md. Virginia Historical Magazine, pp. 85-86. https://archive.org/stream/jstor-4243492/4243492_djvu.txt. Accessed Feb 10, 2016
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} "Genealogy of the Sisson Kindred in America, Photostats of Bible Records and Wills" presented to Illinois State Historical Library by Illinois State Conference of the D.A.R., General Henry Dearborn Chapter, Chicago, Illinois, 1943-1945; compiled by Gertrude S. Wheeler (Mrs. Burt T.), Evanston, Ill., State Chairman Genealogical Records Committee. Cited by Barbara Marsh in an email to David Arne Sisson on June 8, 1999. http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~dasisson/va1st.htm. Page 14. Accessed December 14, 2015. Cited by Barbara Marsh <bmarsh@feist.com>, [SISSON-L] MD-VA Sisson-Gorsuch 1600s , Sat, 10 Jun 2000 22:37:33 -0500 http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/SISSON/2000-06/0960694653
8. ↑ "Founders of Anne Arundel and Howard Counties, Maryland" J.D. Warfield, ed., [Baltimore: Kohr & Pollock, 1905]
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1 9.2} The Maryland Calendar of Wills, comp. by Jane Baldwin Cotton. Baltimore: Kohn & Pollock, 1904. Vol. I, p 27.
10. ↑ "From: Founders of Anne Arundel and Howard Counties Maryland by J. D. Warfield. Orig pub Baltimore, 1905; reprint Baltimore: Regional Pub., Co., 1973. P. 71. " Cited by Barbara Marsh <bmarsh@feist.com>, [SISSON-L] MD-VA Sisson-Gorsuch 1600s , Sat, 10 Jun 2000 22:37:33 -0500 http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/SISSON/2000-06/0960694653
11. ↑ From Anne Arundel Co. Gentry, 2:167.
12. ↑ ^{12.0 12.1} Patent Series, General Index. MD Hall of Records. Reprinted 1976. Baltimore : Gen. Pub. Co., Inc., pp 207, 208.] Cited by Barbara Marsh <bmarsh@feist.com>, [SISSON-L] MD-VA Sisson-Gorsuch 1600s , Sat, 10 Jun 2000 22:37:33 -0500 http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/SISSON/2000-06/0960694653

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