Ozias Ansley (1743 - 1828)

Born 1743 in Essex, England

Ancestors

Husband of Dorothea (Unknown) Ansley — married 1764 (to about 1769) in Stone Arabia, Tryon, New York

Husband of Charity (Whitenack) Ansley — married 1774 (to 1801) in Sussex, New Jersey

Husband of Elizabeth (Simonson) Ansley — married 23 Oct 1805 in Moravian Church, Richmond, Staten Island, New York, United States

Descendants

Died 8 Sep 1828 at about age 85 in Staten Island, Richmond, New York, United States

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Biography

Birth

1743 England, United Kingdom

Marriage

Ozias Ainsley and Elizabeth Johnson were married on 23 Oct 1805 at the United Brethern Congregation of Moravia, Staten Island, Richmond, New York. ^[1]

Residence

1810 Castleton, Richmond, New York, United States ^[2]

1820 Northfield, Richmond, New York, United States^[3]

Death and Burial

Died at age 85, September 8, 1828, Staten Island, Richmond, New York, United States and was buried at Asbury Methodist Cemetery, New Springville, N.Y. ^[4]

Genealogical Records

The following section of this profile provides detailed information found in the various cited sources. The purpose of this section is to provide the reader access to the information contained within the cited sources; to identify source data conflicts and identify the origin of data errors; and, finally, to provide a platform to analyze, cross-correlate, and comment on important aspects of the cited historical data record.

Church Records

• Primary Source, U.S., Dutch Reformed Church Records in Selected States, 1639-1989 ^[5] Data Summary:

1. ) Page 54; Image 54 of 157: Johanna Aansle, daughter of Hosea Aansle and Dorothea was born 1 July 1765 and was baptized at the Dutch Reformed Church of Stone Arabia, New York on 15 Sept 1765. The Sacrament was witnessed by Henry Walrath's wife Catharina. {Editorial: This baptism record names Ozias as Hosea as the father of Johanna. The name Hosea is likely a phonetic reception and recording of the name Ozias; especially if the "s" was silent in his name pronunciation. While the spelling of the first and last names as Hosea Aansle adds some obfuscation to this record, there are three facts in this document which strongly link it to the Ozias Ansley of this profile: first it is to be expected that a teenaged Ozias would settle nearby his father, therefore placing Ozias in this area and this church at this date; second, the witness to the baptism of Johanna was the same family friend, Catharina Walrath, who also was a witness to the baptism of Ozias's sister Margaret and brother Samuel at the same church on 11 Dec 1768; and third, Johanna (Joanna), born 1 July 1765, is identified in other records ^[6] as the daughter of Ozias Ansley. This document is the source which identifies the first wife of Ozias to be Dorothea of an unknown maiden name; it also establishes Dorothea to be the mother of Joanna, and hence requires a later marriage date to thence second wife, Charity Whitenait.}
2. ) Page 159; Image 82 of 157: Maria, daughter of Hosea Hansle and Dorothea was born on 10 Sept 1767 and was baptized on April 24, 1768. Witnesses were John Smith and wife Maria {Brother in law and Sister of Ozias Ansley}

Vital Records

Marriage Records

• Primary Source, New York, Marriages, 1686-1980 ^[1] Data Summary:

1. ) Ozias Ansley married Elizabeth Johnson on 23 Oct 1805 at the United Brethern Congregation aka The Moravian Church of Staten Island, Richmond, New York.

Death Records

• Primary Source, (burial); Tertiary Source (biography), Find A Grave Index ^[4] Data Summary:

1. ) Ozias Ansley, son of John Gilbert Ansley (1718–1816) was born 1743 in England and he died 8 Sep 1828 (aged 84–85) at Richmond County (Staten Island), New York, USA
   1. ) Siblings
      1. ) John Ansley (1745–1806)
      2. ) Elizabeth (Ansley) Empie (1753–1808)
      3. ) Thomas Ansley (1758–1817)
      4. ) Rebecca (Ansley) Marsh (1764–1848)
   2. ) Marriage. Ozias Ansley was married three times. His first marriage was to a Dorthea (unknown maiden name) in Montgomery County, New York where she died. His second marriage was to Charity (Whitenait) Ansley (1748–1801) in 1768; Charity died and was buried in Canada. His third marriage was to Elizabeth (Simonson) Ansley (1770–1841) in 1805. Children:
      1. ) Johanna (Ansley) Buchner (1765–1820)
      2. ) John Ansley (1769–1822)
      3. ) Thomas Ansley (1771–1831)
      4. ) Ozias I. Ansley (1783–1827)
      5. ) Andrew Ansley (1807–1869)
2. ) BURIAL. Ozias Ansley was buried in the Asbury Methodist Cemetery at New Springville, Richmond County (Staten Island), New York, USA. PLOT: Section 3
   1. ) Find a Grave biography, "Ozias Ansley was married three times. His first wife was Dorothea whose maiden name is unknown. They lived in Montgomery County, NY. After her death, Ozias and several of his brothers removed to Sussex County, NJ, where he married his second wife, Charity Whitenait. She died in Canada and Ozias returned to Staten Island, NY, where he had been stationed as a British Loyalist officer during the American Revolution. He married for a third time, Elizabeth Simonson, widow of Nathaniel Johnson and mother of Sophia (Johnson) Vanderbilt, wife of Cornelius Vanderbilt, "The Commodore".
   2. ) Tombstone Inscription, "SACRED to the memory of CAPT. OZIAS ANSLEY who died Mar. 18 1827, aged 83 years, 8 months, & 18 days. {Note the date of death year, and number of years of life are difficult to read from the inscription, but the transcription offered is the best interpretation of the inscription revealed in the photo--this transcription does not conform to the Vital data listed by the Find a Grave profile authour. Also note, the inscription is followed by a poetic verse that is indecipherable from the photo}

Biographic and Genealogical References

• Secondary Source, Davidson, Our Ansley Family, ^[6] The Our Ansley Family genealogy by Davidson is largely based upon a trove of personal letters between members of the Ansley family, which have been preserved by the family to the present day. Data Extract:

1. ) Page 4: Six groups of Ansley immigrants to North America are identified, the earliest group is identified as the "Loyalist Group." This group first appears in the Sir William Johnson lands in Eastern New York, from which a settlement in Sussex, New Jersey is formed, by four of sons of the founding immigrant. After the Revolutionary War, two sons stayed in Nova Scotia, two sons settled in newly opened lands in Western Pennsylvania, the two youngest sons went to Kingston, Canada, while the daughters married New York farmers and took up residence in the mid-section of what became New York State. {Note the book later defines identity of the founder of this group to be Gilbert Ansley}
2. ) Page 5: The Loyalist Group. Gilbert Ansley, patriarch. Due to the disruption of the Revolutionary War, particularly to the Loyalist families, the author notes that no actual data has been found on Gilbert Ansley and that what is known has been passed down through family tradition. This family tradition states that Gilbert Ansley, a native of England, immigrated to North America sometime between 1755 and 1760, along with several of his children, and settled near Johnstown in present day Fulton County, New York. Prior to departing from England he married a Miss Allison, sister of Robert Allison, a prominent man in the settlement of Western, NJ. There are no known records on his immigration and it is assumed he came as a British soldier, taking land in the Kingsborough and Sacandaga Patents, later found to be in the possession of his sons after the War. It is noted that Sir William Johnson, an influential British Indian Agent had succeeded in amassing and distributing vast tracts of land, in particular to British soldier, in the New York area where Gilbert is purported to have settled. Gilbert and his wife had ten children, the youngest being born in 1762. It is not known where he died, but old letters show his wife to have survived until 1816. Four of Gilbert's sons, Ozias, Daniel, John, and Thomas went with their Uncle Robert Allison and became farmers in the Western frontier of New Jersey prior to the War. Sons, Amos and Samuel remained with their mother in New York State, and daughters Mary, Rebecca, Margaret, and Elizabeth remained in New York State and married farmers in Tryon County, as it was known at the time. {Editorial, the progenitor of the "Loyalist Group" is identified as Gilbert Ansley and only as Gilbert Ansley, the text never offers a hint that he may have also been identified by the name John Ansley; hence inserting a bit of fog in the record regarding other sources which clearly identify this same man to be either John or John Gilbert Ansley}
3. ) Pages 6 - 10: The Story of the Loyalists. An informative narrative on the disruptive and damaging impact the Revolutionary War had upon citizens who remained Loyal to the English government during and after the Revolution.
4. ) Page 11.5 (Corrections and Additions): Ozias was the son of John Gilbert Ansley and his wife Catherine Allison. He married Dorothea (unknown surname) in New York. Children by Dorothea: Johanna, Mary, and probably Elizabeth; baptizmal records for Johanna and Mary may be found in the Stone Arabia church records of 1765 Ozias married second Charity Whitenack of Sussex County, New Jersey around 1768, shortly after moving there with his uncle Robert Allison. Thirteen children were recorded from this marriage.
5. ) Page 12.5 (Corrections and Additions): The children of OZIAS and Dorothea were Elizabeth, Johanna,and Mary.
6. ) Dorothea wife of Ozias Page 14.5 (Corrections and Additions): Children of Ozias and Dorothea
7. ) Page 12 - 22: OZIAS ANSLEY and his descendants.
   1. ) Vital Data: Ozias Ansley (1743 - 1828), son of Gilbert Ansley was born in England and immigrated, with his parents, to North America, about 1760.
   2. ) Marriage: Ozias Ansley married (first) Charity Whitenait (1748-1801) in 1764 and they were the parents of sixteen children. {Editorial: this genealogy does not recognize nor mention a Dorothea (Unknown) Ansley as the first wife of Ozias} Charity was likely a child of the German-Palatinate Settlement with an English mother and a German father; she died in St. John, New Brunswick and is buried in the Loyalist Burying Ground. Children of Ozias Ansley by Charity Whitenait:
      1. ) Elizabeth. Died as an infant.
      2. ) Joanna (1765-____), was born at Sussex County, NJ. She married Henry Boughner.
      3. ) Mary (1767-____) Died as an infant.
      4. ) John (1769 - 1822) married Christina Smith (____ - 1818) in 1801 and lived in Philedelphia. He was a sea captain and died, at sea, on a return voyage on his schooner from Caragena Spain. No living children.
      5. ) Thomas (1771 - 1831) was born in Suffolk County, New Jersey and went with his parents to Nova Scotia during the Loyalist evacuation of 1783. He assisted in the establishment of the Anglican Church in Sussex Vale, later renamed New Brunswick, and in mid-life became a Baptist Missionary.
      6. ) Sarah (1771-1831) married Abram Baxter, a maritime merchant; they lived in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada.
      7. ) Elizabeth (1775-____), married (first) ____ Wade, and second William Hale. Mother of Eliza, Penelope, Sarah, Peter, John, Charles, and Maria.
      8. ) Ozias Jr. Died as an infant.
      9. ) Charity (1778 - ____). married Nathaniel Brittain, the son of a well known loyalist. Went with the loyalist evacuation after the war and lived in Canada until about 1807 when the family returned to New Jersey.
      10. ) Martha (1779 - ____) died in infancy.
      11. ) Hannah (1782 - ____) died in infancy.
      12. ) Ozias Jr. (1783 - 1827) married Mary Lake of Staten Island. Ozias Ansley Jr. was a sea captain and returned to Staten Island, NY. in 1805 with his father.
      13. ) Rebecca (1785 -1849), married Nathan Garrison of a Well known family of Massachusetts Loyalists in 1802. Married second Valentine Troop
      14. ) Daniel (1787 - 1879). Was born in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada; married Frances Bailey in 1813. Second wife was a Miss Farley, and his third wife was Eliza Oakes.
      15. ) Penelope (1789 - ____). Married Charles Henry Herring in 1819.
      16. ) Andrew (1789 - ____) Died as an infant.
   3. ) Second marriage. Ozias Ansley married (second) Elizabeth Johnson, widow of Nathaniel Johnson, in 1805. Children by Elizabeth Johnson:
      1. ) Andrew Ansley. (1806 - 1869) was born on Staten Island. He was a sea captain and was associated with the Customs Service. Andrew married Catherine Decker in 1841 and, second, Eliza Crocheron.
   4. ) Places of Residence:
      1. ) Born in England in 1743 and lived there with his parent until their immigration to North America between 1755 and 1760 when Ozias would have been between 12 and 17. The geographic reference to England is non-specific, and implies the author lacked information on the specific location of the family residence in England. On page 5, the author notes that the choice his father made to settle in the New York lands of Sir William Johnson, suggests that the Ansley and Johnson families may have been acquainted prior to the Ansley immigration, which would suggest the Ansley's were from the Scottish - Irish area of England.
      2. ) Upon arriving in America, the Gilbert Ansley family settled in or near Johnstown, New York, which is present day Fulton County, and this is where Ozias was first married to a descendant of the German-English Palatinate Settlers, and first started a family.
      3. ) Prior to the outbreak of the Revolutionary War in 1776, Ozias had migrated from Johnstown, NY to Sussex County in Western New Jersey along with his uncle Robert Allison (his mother's brother) and his brothers John, Daniel, and Thomas; where the four brothers are documented as having enlisted in the service of the First New Jersey Volunteers of the Loyalist Regiment at the beginning of the War and were summoned by the local Committee of Safety for their declaration of allegiance. The committee for safety seized the land and property of the Loyalists, hence depriving them of a means of provision.
      4. ) During the war years presumably from about 1776 to 1783, Ozias Ansley had been stationed with his New Jersey Loyalist Regiment at Staten Island, New York, which was held by the British for the duration of the war. {Editorial the text does not specify the domicile of his wife and children during this period, but the fact that his farmland and property had been seized by the Patriots, and that he fathered at least five children during this period affirms the family were present with him at Staten Island}
      5. ) At the close of the War, Ozias Ansley and his family elected to join the roughly 60,000 American exiles and was evacuated by the British to an undeveloped area of Nova Scotia, Canada, which later became New Brunswick. The settlement was known as Sussex Vale; and here Ozias and his family settled and started over having lost everything in the war.
      6. ) In 1805, Ozias returned to Staten Island, New York with several of his children, and here he remarried and remained, for the rest of his life; except for the duration of the War of 1812 when he was interred at Bedford, Westchester Co., NY because he was a British Officer on half-pay.

• Secondary Source, American Biographical Notes, ^[7] Data Extract;

1. ) Page 7. Ens. Ozias Ansley in 1782 was tory in the first battalion of NJ volunteers. He settled in New Brunswick, Canada, where he received half pay. He was a magistrate and a judge of common pleas for several years. Ozias later moved to Staten Island, NY where he died in 1828 at the age of 85 {birth year ~ 1743}. Ozias Ansley was the father of Rev. Thomas A. Ansley a P. E. minister in Nova Scotia, who died 1831 in St. Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada at about 65 years of age. {This requires his birth date to be about 1766.} {Source: Sabine's Loyalists}

• Primary and Secondary Source material, Charlotte Megill Hix MATRILINEAL DESCENDANTS OF CATHERINE ALLISON ANSLEY, ^[8] Genealogical research paper focused on the daughters of John and Catherine (Allison) Ansley, the research is principally based upon inter-family letters of the John Ansley family which have been passed down to the author, Charlotte Hix. Data Extract:

1. ) Daughters of Catherine Ansley; Page 3 of 35: Matriarch: Catherine Allison was born about 1720 in England where she married John Ansley circa 1741. To date, no reliable reference has been found with a record of the death of John Ansly, however, the extant letters in the possession of Ms. Hix, note that Catherine Ansley died in Canada in 1816.
   1. ) Children of John and Catherine (Allison) Ansley:
      1. ) Ozias Ansley; born 1743 in England; died at Staten Island; married (first) Dorothea ____; (second) Charity Whitenait, who died 6 May 1801 in the 53 year of her age and was buried at the St. John Burial Ground in Canada; and (third) Elizabeth (Simonson) Johnson.
      2. ) Daniel Ansley; b. ca. 1745; m. (1st) Patience, (2nd) 1815 Widow McAdams; d. 1824.
      3. ) Mary Ansley; b. ca 1761,
      4. ) John
      5. ) Elizabeth Ansley; b. ca 1761,
      6. ) Thomas
      7. ) Amos
      8. ) Samuel
      9. ) Margaret Ansley; b. ca 1761,
      10. ) Rebecca Ansley; b. ca. 1763.

Research Notes

1. ) 2017, Aug 9. Reference ^[7] confirms find-a-grave birth year, death year, and place of death.
2. ) 2018, Dec 13. The Dutch Reformed Church birth document, which identifies Dorothea as the mother of Johanna, also requires that Ozias' marriage to Charity happened later in his life. The most probable date for this second marriage is in 1774 near the end of the 6 year gap between the births of his children John (b. 1769) and Elizabeth (b. 1775), probably at his New Jersey domicile.
3. ) 2018-12-14 The following Stone Arabia Dutch Reformed Church baptism record offers a significant hint regarding the identity of the maiden surname of Dorothea Ansley. Adolf Walrath and Dorothea Hess parents of Henry Walrath, baptized 10 Feb 1753. Witnesses; Henry Walrath and wife Elizabeth Catherine. The repeated appearance of the Walrath family as witnesses at the Ansley baptisms, suggests that the Walraths are related by marriage, and a good guess would be that Adolf and Dorothea had a daughter Dorothea that became the wife of Ozias Ansley. (Also the Birth of Anna on page 91)
4. ) The following definitions and syntax conventions apply to the preceding text of this profile:
   1. ) A Primary Source contains data that was recorded by the person in the profile; or by someone known to or with first hand knowledge of that person, during the person's lifetime, death or within two generations thereafter.
   2. ) A Secondary Source is a genealogical reference created as the result of a extensive study of available source material and it provides some evidence of the source documentation used to generate the text data.
   3. ) A Tertiary Source is a genealogical data source which is a collection of genealogical information that does not cite Primary or Secondary information sources, and the data may be factual or hearsay.
   4. ) Braces {Editorial Note Example} are used to insert editorial comments; that is to say, information or clarification that is not contained in the original, cited source material.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} New York, Marriages, 1686-1980 index, FamilySearch, Ozias Alnsley and Elizabeth Johnson, 23 Oct 1805; citing reference ; FHL microfilm 974.7 B2N V. 39-40.
2. ↑ 1810; Census Place: Castleton, Richmond, New York; Roll: 34; Page: 445; Image: 0181388; Family History Library Film: 00274
3. ↑ 1820 U S Census; Census Place: Richmond, New York; Page: 109; NARA M33, roll 65.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Find A Grave Index, Ozias Ansley burial record and tombstone photo
5. ↑ "U.S., Dutch Reformed Church Records in Selected States, 1639-1989," Ancestry.com database on-line. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. Dutch Reformed Church Records from New York and New Jersey. Holland Society of New York, New York, New York. Dutch Reformed Church Records from New Jersey. The Archives of the Reformed Church in America, New Brunswick, New Jersey. Johanna Aansle scanned baptism record
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} Davidson, Harold Ansley, Our Ansley Family, a record of the lives and times of the early members of the Ansley house in America, with ancestral tables covering a number of the family groups of their descendants. Self-published. Copyright 1933. There are two copies known to be available on the internet. The first is at archive.org and contains the original text. The copy at ancestry.com contains the original text plus corrections and supplemental material (regarding Dorothea, the first wife of Ozias, for example).

   1. ) Our Ansley Family, original text at Archive.org
   2. ) Our Ansley Family, with additions and corrections at Ancestry.com

7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} Hough, Franklin B., American Biographical Notes Being Short Notices of Deceased Persons, chiefly those not included in Allen's or in Drake's Biographical Dictionaries; Publisher: Joel Munsell, Albany, 1875. Page 7. Ozias Ansley biography
8. ↑ Hix, Charlotte Megill, MATRILINEAL DESCENDANTS OF CATHERINE ALLISON ANSLEY, of England, Montgomery County, New York, and Canada Self-Published, P.O. Box 2277, Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, 2000. Manuscript may be examined online or downloaded. Also available at FamilySearch

• New Jersey Volunteers, Roster of Officers 1776-1783, On-Line Institute for Advanced Loyalist Studies, http://www.royalprovincial.com/military/rhist/njv/njvofficers.htm .

Other Sources