Matthew Ozbun (Principal)

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: Cool Springs, Sussex County, Delaware.
Surname/tag: Osborn

Biography

• Matthew Osborn was born on the 12th of March 1729 to Matthew Osborn and Isabella Dobson in Cool Springs, Sussex County, Delaware.^[1] See Research Note 1.
• In 1748 Matthew's family moved from Sussex County, Delaware (Duck Creek Monthly Meeting) to York County, Pennsylvania.^[2] See Research Note 2.
• In 1752 Matthew's family moved from York County, Pennsylvania to ? County, Virginia.^[2] See Research Note 3.
• In 1753 Matthew's family moved from ? County, Virginia to Orange County, North Carolina.^[2] See Research Note 4.
• On the 17th of January 1754 Matthew was accepted in the Cane Creek Monthly Meeting (Alamance, North Carolina) by certificate from the monthly meeting in Warrington, Pennsylvania dated the 4th of June 1753.^[3]
• On the 24th of June 1755 (NS) Matthew married Mary Reynolds, daughter of William Reynolds and Mary Brown in Guilford County, North Carolina.^[4][5]See Research Note 5.
  • On the 5th of July 1755 it is reported that Mary and Matthew's marriage was accomplished in good order.^[6][7]
• The 1790 U. S. census finds Matthew living with his family in Randolph County, North Carolina.^[8] See Research Note 15.
• Matthew died on the 27th of January 1816 in Guilford County, North Carolina. ^[9][10][11]

The children of Matthew Osborn and Mary Reynolds

1. Abigail Osborn b Sep 9 1756, m William Way Apr 11 1776
2. Hannah Osborn b Feb 6 1758, m Joseph Stout Oct 10 1776
3. David Osborn b Oct 29 1762, m Lydia Davis Aug 1787
4. William Osborn b 11 27 1764, m Anna Macy Apr 9 1788
5. Lydia Osborn b Jan 24 1767, m Abner Barker May 26 1791
6. Mary Osborn b Feb 3 1770, m John Barker May 26 1791.^[12]
7. Matthew Osborn b Sep 3 1773, d Feb 24 1784
8. Jeremiah Osborne b Jan 1 1781, m Sarah Davidson Nov 26 1801.^[9]

Research Notes

Research Note 0. The Julian vs the Gregorian calendar. In the British dominions the shift from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar took place on the 21st of March 1752. The details of the conversion of a Julian date to a Gregorian date (or vice versus), while interesting, are of little consequence. It is seldom that one needs to convert a date from one to the other calendar. Dates prior to the 21st of March 1752 are Julian, while those after this date are Georgian. As a consequence, the year 1752 starts on the 21st of March and ends on the 31st of December.

The difficulty enters when working with the Quaker calendar. The Quakers do not use the names of heathen gods to name their months. Instead they number them, the first month at the beginning of the year is the First month, the next month is the Second month, etc. Thus prior to 1752 a Quaker date, 22d 11m 1751y converts 22 Jan 1751 in the Julian Calendar. On the other hand, for a date after 1752, for example 22d 11m 1753 converts to 22 Nov 1753 in the Gregorian calendar.

One often see notation as follows: 22 Jan 1729/30. This notation is used when the Julian and Georgian years do not coincide, that is, for dates from 1st of January thru the 20th of March. Thus for 22 Jan 1729/30 is giving both the Julian date 22 Jan 1729 and the Georgian date 22 Jan 1730.

Research Note 1. Birth place and date. At present we do not have a primary source for Matthew's birth place. What is known is that the Duck Creek Monthly Meeting in Kent County, Delaware gave Matthew's parents, Matthew Osborn and Isabella Dobson, leave to marry on the 18 of November 1723.^[13] The minute specifically noted that both Matthew and Isabella are from the Cool Springs Preparatory Meeting in Sussex County, Delaware. Approximately six years later Matthew is born. There is no indication that they move to another location. It is concluded from this that Matthew was born in Sussex County, Delaware. With regard to his birth date, it is given explicitly in Quaker records.^[1] The date, of course, is given in Quaker notation, that is, 12d 1m 1729 OS. As the year is prior to 1752 this date must be translated into Julian date. The first month in the Julian year is March, the translated date is 12 March 1729 OS. It should be noted this date is less than two weeks from the new year, 1730 (which starts on the 25th of March). It should also be noted that a common error is to translate the date into a Gregorian date this yields 12 Jan 1729. In conclusion the birth place is taken as Cool Springs, Sussex County, Delaware^[14] and the birth date to be 12 Mar 1729.

Research Note 2. Move from Sussex County, Delaware to York County, Pennsylvania.

Research Note 3. Move from York County,Pennsylvania to ? county, Virginia.

Research Note 4. Move from ? county, Virginia to Orange County, North Carolina.

Research Note 5. Marriage documentation.

Research Note 15. 1790 U. S. census. The 1790 census reports that there are seven people in Matthew's household: two boys under 16 years of age, one man over the age of 16 years and four females. Matthew and his wife account for the man over 16 years of age and one of the females. In 1790, two of the girls (Lydia Osborn, Mary Osborn) are not married and one of the boys (Jeremiah Osborne) is not married and it can be assumed that they still live at home. This leave one boy under the age of 16 and a female of indeterminate age. Recall that in winter of 1781 a great sickness fell on this community. The prime example is William Ozbun's family. William was Matthew's uncle. William had nine children, these are Matthew's cousins. Between November 1781 and January 1782 seven of Matthew's nine cousins would die of a "slow fever." Could the two extras reported by the census be surviving orphans?

^{[9][2][10][11]}

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Religious Society of Friends, Centre Monthly Meeting (Guilford, North Carolina), "Records," vol. I (1775 - 1903), p. 11, Matthew Osborn (Senior), Mary Reynolds, Matthew Osborn (Junior), North Carolina Yearly Meeting Minutes, Hege Friends Historical Library, Guilford College, Greensboro, North Carolina; "U.S., Quaker Meeting Records, 1681-1935," database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : 4 Feb 2022), North Carolina > Guilford > Centre Monthly Meeting > Records, 1775-1903 > image 10 of 120.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3} Frederic Verne Osborn. "Mathew Osborn and His Family." Self-published, 1970; electronic copy FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/581200-mathew-osborn-and-his-family : 7 Mar 2022)
3. ↑ Religious Society of Friends, Cane Creek Monthly Meeting (Alamance, North Carolina), "Minutes," vol. I (1751-1796), p. 11, Wlliam and Matthew Osborn , North Carolina Yearly Meeting Minutes, Hege Friends Historical Library, Guilford College, Greensboro, North Carolina; "U.S., Quaker Meeting Records, 1681-1935," database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : 4 Feb 2022), North Carolina > Alamance > Cane Creek Monthly Meeting > Minutes, 1751-1796, Vol I > image 9 of 208.
4. ↑ Religious Society of Friends, New London Monthly Meeting (Guilford, North Carolina), "Marriage Records," p. 18, Matthew Osborn and Mary Reynolds, North Carolina Yearly Meeting Minutes, Hege Friends Historical Library, Guilford College, Greensboro, North Carolina; "U.S., Quaker Meeting Records, 1681-1935," database with images Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : 4 Feb 2022), North Carolina > Guilford > New London Monthly Meeting > Quaker Marriage Records > image 20 of 28.
5. ↑ Religious Society of Friends, Cane Creek Monthly Meeting (Alamance, North Carolina), "Records," vol. I, p. 47, 24 Jun 1755, Matthew Osborn and Mary Reynolds, North Carolina Yearly Meeting Minutes, Hege Friends Historical Library, Guilford College, Greensboro, North Carolina; "U.S., Quaker Meeting Records, 1681-1935," database with images Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : 4 Feb 2022), North Carolina > Alamance > Cane Creek Monthly Meeting > Men´s Minutes, 1783-1800 > image 196 of 413.
6. ↑ Religious Society of Friends, Cane Creek Monthly Meeting (Alamance, North Carolina), "Minutes (Men's)," vol. I (1751 - 1796), p. 13, 5 Jul 1755, Matthew Osborn and Mary Reynolds, North Carolina Yearly Meeting Minutes, Hege Friends Historical Library, Guilford College, Greensboro, North Carolina; "U.S., Quaker Meeting Records, 1681-1935," database with images Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : 4 Feb 2022), North Carolina > Alamance > Cane Creek Monthly Meeting > Men´s Minutes, 1751-1796 > image 13 of 193.
7. ↑ Religious Society of Friends, Cane Creek Monthly Meeting (Alamance, North Carolina), "Minutes (Women's)," vol. (1751 - 1803), p. 11, 5 Jul 1755, Matthew Osborn and Mary Reynolds, North Carolina Yearly Meeting Minutes, Hege Friends Historical Library, Guilford College, Greensboro, North Carolina; "U.S., Quaker Meeting Records, 1681-1935," database with images Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : 4 Feb 2022), North Carolina > Alamance > Cane Creek Monthly Meeting > Women´s Minutes, 1751-1803 > image 7 of 116.
8. ↑ 1790 U.S. census, Randolph County, North Carolina, p. 280 (penned, top right corner), line 28 (3 lines from bottom), Matthew Osborn; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GYY8-34LT : 5 Mar 2022), United States Census, 1790 > North Carolina > Randolph > Not stated > image 2 of 23; citing NARA microfilm M637, roll 7, images 165 of 601.
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1 9.2} Billie Lee Smith, "My Friends the Lambs," (self-published, Bucklin, Kansas, 2010, updated 18 Aug 2019), Part V, The Osborn family, Generation 4, 122. Matthew Osborn III.; electronic copy, RootWeb (https://sites.rootsweb.com/~myfriendsthelambs2/part5/other/osborn.html : 9 Mar 2022).
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1} Contributors, "Matthew OSBORN-960," website, Osborne Origins (https://osborne-origins.org/linkrecs/f960.htm : 7 Mar 2022).
11. ↑ ^{11.0 11.1} Find a Grave, database and images (accessed 13 October 2019), memorial page for Mathew Osborne, III (12 Mar 1729–22 Jan 1816), Find A Grave: Memorial #77126537, maintained by Find A Grave (contributor 8); citing Centre Friends Meeting Cemetery, Guilford County, North Carolina, United States.
12. ↑ Hinshaw, William Wade and Thomas Worth Marshall. 1936. Pages 565, 685 https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015002304221&view=1up&seq=715
13. ↑ Religious Society of Friends, Duck Creek Monthly Meeting (Kent, Delaware), "Delaware Quaker records : Duck Creek Monthly Meeting, Kent County," p. 38 (Dobson) & 106 (Osborn); Electronic reproduction. FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/viewer/137986/ : 7 Mar 2022), images 43 & 111 of 152.
14. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Cool Spring, Delaware," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cool_Spring,_Delaware&oldid=1063213703 (accessed March 10, 2022). CBE/CSE style

Also see:

• Osborn, Frederic Verne. Matthew Osborn and Family. Indianapolis. : Frederic Verne Osborn:1970. https://www.worldcat.org/title/mathew-osborn-and-his-family/oclc/3330606 .
• Specific Ancestral Lines of the Boaz, Paul, Welty & Fishel Families. By Adrienne Boaz. Specific Ancestral Lines of the Boaz, Paul, Welty & Fishel Families, published in December 24, 2014 by Otter Bay Books, LLC.,
• Hinshaw, William Wade, 1867-1947, and Thomas Worth Marshall. Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy. Vol 1. Ann Arbor, Mich.: Edwards brothers, inc., 1936. Page 663 https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015002304221&view=1up&seq=693
• Hinshaw, William Wade and Thomas Worth Marshall. Vol 1.1936. Page 564 https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015002304221&view=1up&seq=594&skin=2021