4th Great Grandparents
Josiah Haines
13 Oct 1748 - 17 Aug 1811
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Rebecca Austin
22 Nov 1752 - 23 Aug 1812
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Their Parents
Jonathan Haines
abt 1714 - 16 Apr 1785 and Hannah Sharp 27 Mar 1721 - 23 Oct 1784 |
Francis Austin
abt 1723 - 5 Nov 1782 and Deborah Sharp Allen abt 1723 - 24 Sep 1782 |
Josiah
Josiah was born on 13 Oct 1748 in Evesham Township to Jonathan and Hannah, one of six children, and was most assuredly a member of the Society of Friends (Quaker). His father Jonathan had done very well and in his will left Josiah and his brothers a considerable amount of land, the boundaries of which were painstakingly described. He also leaves the "Prickett's Mill Tract to his sons.
Rebecca
Born Burlington County (probably Evesham Township as well), the fifth of 11 children, seven girls and four boys. Her parents were Francis Austin and Deborah Sharp.
Their Marriage
Quaker courtship rules (read this very short description of the rules) were very strict and the couple's intentions must first be approved by all parents, then declared, then approved by the women's meeting, then brought to the men's meeting where the final say was had. All of this took months and the couple was under surveillance the entire time. There were a number of issues that could arise in which one would be denied approval for the marriage: first cousins were strictly forbidden to wed, both members must be a member of the Society of Friends (or commit the grievous crime of "marrying-out"), if one was from another "Meeting" then a certificate of cleanliness was needed, too close after the death of a spouse, previous engagement, etc. There were not a lot of prospects for a spouse in those times because of the "closed" nature of their religion. People married within their monthly meeting house generally and this resulted in intermarriages between a few families.
I believe Josiah and Rebecca must have truly loved one another to go through that and be denied, then went ahead and had a civil service anyway. (Again against the rules, see above linked article.) They surely knew each other as children and most likely had a great fondness for one another. However, they were cousins. Josiah was disowned for "marriage with one too close to kin" as written in the minutes of the Evesham Monthly Metting, NJ, 12 mo. (Feb) 5, 1776 - Ref: Richard Haines and His Descendants, Vol 2, pg 48. This was not entirely uncommon however. They were certainly not the only ones as I found quite a few marked "disowned" in the Quaker Meetings records. Even Josiah's brother Jacob was disowned for marrying Sarah Austin.
Being disowned by the Friends is not akin (no pun intended) to being excommunicated from the Catholic Church. When a member was disowned, they were not ostracized by the community or their family. They could still attend the Meetings but could not vote. And, if they wished, they could present a letter of apology to the Meeting and likely be accepted back as a voting member and still be married. I can find no evidence of their making any apologies. There is also no evidence that their children were adversely affected. Their first child died at five months old but from what we don't know. Nothing else is written about them that I can find (so far). The had 10 children in all and nine of them were boys!
Josiah died on 17 Aug 1811 at 62 years of age. His will was dated 1 Jan 1806 and probated 19 Sep 1811. Rebecca died one year and later on 23 Aug 1812 at 59 years of age.
In any case, I try not to judge them for if it wasn't for the decisions that this couple made, none of us would be here. I must admit I find Josiah and Rebecca the most interesting couple in my research.
I believe Josiah and Rebecca must have truly loved one another to go through that and be denied, then went ahead and had a civil service anyway. (Again against the rules, see above linked article.) They surely knew each other as children and most likely had a great fondness for one another. However, they were cousins. Josiah was disowned for "marriage with one too close to kin" as written in the minutes of the Evesham Monthly Metting, NJ, 12 mo. (Feb) 5, 1776 - Ref: Richard Haines and His Descendants, Vol 2, pg 48. This was not entirely uncommon however. They were certainly not the only ones as I found quite a few marked "disowned" in the Quaker Meetings records. Even Josiah's brother Jacob was disowned for marrying Sarah Austin.
Being disowned by the Friends is not akin (no pun intended) to being excommunicated from the Catholic Church. When a member was disowned, they were not ostracized by the community or their family. They could still attend the Meetings but could not vote. And, if they wished, they could present a letter of apology to the Meeting and likely be accepted back as a voting member and still be married. I can find no evidence of their making any apologies. There is also no evidence that their children were adversely affected. Their first child died at five months old but from what we don't know. Nothing else is written about them that I can find (so far). The had 10 children in all and nine of them were boys!
Josiah died on 17 Aug 1811 at 62 years of age. His will was dated 1 Jan 1806 and probated 19 Sep 1811. Rebecca died one year and later on 23 Aug 1812 at 59 years of age.
In any case, I try not to judge them for if it wasn't for the decisions that this couple made, none of us would be here. I must admit I find Josiah and Rebecca the most interesting couple in my research.
The Mix
Their Pedigrees - click to enlarge
This diagram shows the pedigrees of both Josiah and Rebecca and demonstrates their kinship. They had many in their lines who were siblings, cousins, etc. Click the chart to enlarge it. This diagram also demonstrates our lineage to two members of each the Haines, Borton, Austin, and Sharp families.
Their Children
They had 10 children, 9 boys. Note that when a child died, it was common for parents to name another child the same name. It was also common to name the first children after grandparents and then their own names later, as in the case here of children #8 and #9.
- Francis Austin - Mar 1777 - 29 Aug 1777
Died at 5 months old and no evidence on cause of death. - Francis Haines - 15 Oct 1778 - ?
married Esther Huff, had unknown amount of children - Stacy Haines - 9 Dec 1780 -
married Mary Mull, unknown amount of children - Ellis Haines - 3 Jan 1783 - abt 1800
He died in either his late teens or early twenties and probably never married. - Jonathan Haines (3) - 18 Apr 1785 - abt 1865
married Ann Bradley Harvey and had seven children - Thomas Haines - 9 Oct 1787 - 10 Nov 1860
married Agnes Huff, had nine children - John Haines - 28 Dec 1789 - ?
married Ann Lippincott and had at least two children, Emeline and Micajah - Josiah Haines - abt 1791 - ?
married Keziah Walton - Rebecca Haines - 1 Sep 1792 - 1842
married James Mason and had at least two children, Amanda and William H - Job Haines - 1802 - ?
married Rachel Ellis