Social Group
Early Life
James was born 11 October 1719,
in Solebury Township, Bucks County, PA.
He was born in his parent’s cabin on the Scarborough farm, the sixth
child of George and Sarah, 4th (living) son.
At age 3, the family moved to George’s land; but sadly he died only 3
years later. George and Sarah were
founder members of Buckingham Friends Meeting in Buckingham Township, and it is
believed he is buried there. Upon
Sarah’s death, James inherited 62 acres.
His mother remarried to Matthew Hall who raised his young stepchildren.
Moving to VA
In 1739, age 20, James and brother John, left for the
Shenandoah Valley of VA. Many
Quakers had already gone, including their uncle Robert Scarborough and their
older brothers Stephanus and Absalom.
He sold his PA land and settled in VA
near his brothers. In 1752,
he bought 227 acres north of Winchester, described as either side of the Great
Springs (or Green Springs) Road at the foot of North Mountain.
This is fairly easy to locate on a
detailed map.
Marriage and Family Life
Married Sarah Wood, 3 November 1743, Smith River
Meeting, Frederick County, VA. I’m
not sure where the date came from, as all records of Smith Creek Meeting were
destroyed. Sarah was 23 and James
was 24, if the marriage date is correct.
Sarah Wood born 11 November 1720, probably in Frederick
County, VA. She probably belonged
to Smith Creek Meeting as did James’s brothers.
There are a few records of a Richard Wood in the area; it seems likely
he was Sarah’s father, and she and James named their first son Richard – and
this is a name not found previously in the Haworth families of previous
generations.
James and Sarah were members of Hopewell Friends
Meeting, which was closer to his land.
They had 7 children; 6 lived to adulthood.
Five of them are represented here today:
Richard, Jemima, George, James, and Sarah.
In this group, our ancestor is James (Jr.) the third son.
The children were:
James died
1757, age 38, near Hopewell, Frederick County, VA.
He was away from home, perhaps hunting.
He is probably buried at Hopewell Friends Meeting. Sarah was left with
six children ages 2-13. The records of
Hopewell Meeting show that they were driven off their land before James’s death,
lost 12 head of cattle but saved their household goods and some stock.
Sarah was awarded 3 pounds from Philadelphia Quarterly Meeting, in aid.
She remarried in 1759, and in 1768, moved with the children (except
Richard) to Bush River Friends Meeting in SC, as many Quakers did. She died 20
June 1769, age 48, Newberry County, South Carolina, and is buried in the Bush
River Friends Burial Ground. All of her children eventually left SC.
George, James, and Elizabeth left for North
Carolina/Tennessee soon after; her daughters, Jemima and Sarah, married there,
and eventually joined some of their siblings in Ohio.