How this scrapbook works
Everything collected for the Berkeley-Thomas & Glean tree lives here, grouped under each person's name. Each entry gives the person's key facts from the family tree file, then each item found (image or transcription), where it came from, and what it adds or contradicts.
Batch 1 (screenshots and photos collected Nov–Dec 2019) covers 14 people in two branches:
| Branch | People in this batch |
|---|---|
| Berkeley / Thomas / Miles / Beane (England, USA, Argentina) | Ursula Saranne Thomas née Berkeley; John Edward Haines Thomas; Sarah Ann Miles; Sarah Miles née Brown; Florence Sarah Beane Davis; Eric Talbot Shakespear Miles |
| Glean / Morrell / Fine / Embree (colonial Long Island & Connecticut) | Anthony Gleane & Esther Sallis; Hannah Morrell née Gleane; Jan Jansen Fyn/Fine & Hester Jans; Susannah Fine; Robert Embree & Mary Bassett |
Conventions: quoted text is transcribed as written, including old spelling. Tree says = what the GEDCOM file currently records. To check = a conflict or gap to resolve before adding to the tree. Anything that disagrees between sources is also gathered in the final section.
Order: entries run chronologically, earliest-born person first. Items about a whole family or place (the Berkeley pedigree, the slavery-compensation claims, the Gentle ancestry, the family grave, Merchiston) sit at the date of the earliest person they concern. General sections (the Glean surname, reference sites and the research report) and the open questions come last.
Chapter 1 — Jan Jansen Fyn (Fine) (1613–1701)
Relationship to Sancia: her 8× great-grandfather, on her mother's (Glean) side. He was the grandfather of Susannah Fine, who married Anthony Glean (1686–1734). The record the tree links into her line gives his birth as 1640, not 1613.
Tree says: Jan Jansen Fyn (Fine), born 1613, died Mar 1701, New York. His wife appears twice: "Hester Jans Patton" (born St Francis, Guadeloupe) and "Hester Jans" (born abt 1643, Flatbush; married 1660 ??). Susannah Fine, born 27 Jun 1704, Jamaica, Kings; died 1751; wife of Anthony Glean (1686–1734); her mother is Hannah Verscheur.
Item 1 — Will abstract of John Pine [Fine] of Newtown, 1701
The Gleanes witnessing the will shows the two families were close neighbours in Newtown a generation before Anthony Glean (b. 1686) married Susannah Fine.
To check:
- The will was proved May 1703, so John was alive when it was written in Mar 1701 — his death is between those dates, not "Mar 1701".
- The Susannah named in the will is John's daughter, alive by 1701. The tree's Susannah (b. 1704, daughter of Hannah Verscheur, probably with Johannis Fine) would be his granddaughter. Confirm which Susannah married Anthony Glean.
- Merge the two Hester Jans records once her origin (Guadeloupe vs Flatbush) is settled.
- Who are Garret De Bow (stepson or son-in-law?) and Wm. Gleane?
Item 2 — Web research (Oct 2026)
- Flatbush in 1666. On 22 June 1666 Carsten Jansen sold a house and lot in Flatbush to Jan Jansen Fyn (Brouwer Genealogy Database). That places the family in Flatbush in the 1660s, which fits the tree's "Hester Jans, born Flatbush" better than Guadeloupe.
- His son Johannes Fyn of Newtown. Johannes made his will on 23 Dec 1714; it was proved 21 Nov 1715. The witnesses were Joost Durie Jr, Thomas Pettit Jr and Catharine Pettit (Find a Grave, Joost Duryea, from the Brouwer database). Johannes is the Fine who married Hannah Verscheur, the mother the tree gives Susannah.
- The key published study. Harry Macy Jr., "The Verschuer Family of Bushwick: Its Roots in the Netherlands and Descendants Through Comegys, Fyn, Duryea, Covert, and Simonson", NYG&B Record vol. 124 no. 4 p. 193, and vol. 125 nos. 1–3 (pp. 34, 96, 170) (NYG&B article index). It is a peer-reviewed account of the Fyn line and should settle who Susannah's parents were.
Adds to the tree: the 1666 Flatbush purchase; Johannes Fyn's will dates and witnesses; the Macy article as the source to cite.
To check: read Macy's Fyn section; find Johannes Fyn's will in the NYHS Abstracts of Wills (unrecorded wills, vol. XI, or vol. II) to see whether it names a daughter Susannah.
Chapter 2 — Robert Embree (1620–1656) and Mary Bassett (1617–1698)
Relationship to Sancia: Robert Embree and Mary Bassett are her 9× great-grandparents, on her mother's (Glean) side.
Tree says: Robert Embree born 1620, "Normandy, Surrey, England ??"; died 21 July 1656, Stamford, Connecticut. Mary Bassett born and baptised 21 Dec 1617, All Saints, Stamford, Lincolnshire; arrived Boston 1624; Quaker; died 1698, Hempstead, Long Island. Son Robert (1652–1657). The Embree name continues in the Glean line (e.g. Eric Embree Glean, b. 1909 Grenada).
Item 1 — Excerpts from Embree Remembered by Mary Ellen Embree LeBien (screenshot, 6 Dec 2019)
- Robert Embree married Mary Bassett c. 1643/44 at New Haven, then moved to Stamford.
- "Goody" Bassett was hanged for witchcraft at Stratford in 1651.
- Robert Bassett was one of the "rebels" of Stamford.
- Robert Embree died 21 July 1656 (matches the tree).
- His widow remarried and moved to Hempstead, Long Island (matches Mary's death place).
Adds to the tree: marriage date and place; Mary's second marriage; the Bassett witchcraft and Stamford-rebel story as family background.
To check: how Goody Bassett and Robert Bassett relate to Mary (mother? brother?); Mary's second husband's name; the 1624 Boston arrival (Boston was founded in 1630); full citation of the book (publisher, year, page).
Item 2 — Web research (Oct 2026)
- Mary's parents. Mary was the daughter of John Bassett (d. by Feb 1652, New Haven) and his wife Margery. Margery's will, entered 17 May 1656 at Stamford, names her son Robert Bassett, her "son Emery" (Robert Embree), her daughters Goodwife Emery and Goodwife Webb, and a grandson John Emery (Jacobus, Stamford Probate Records, p. 175, via McCurdy lineage). So Robert Bassett, the Stamford "rebel", was Mary's brother.
- Goody Bassett. The woman hanged at Stratford on 15 May 1651 was the wife of Thomas Bassett, a carpenter; her first name is unknown, and Stratford formally exonerated her on 26 Oct 2023 (Wikipedia). She was not Mary's mother, since Margery was alive in 1653. Any link is at most an in-law one.
- Mary's second husband. George Baldwin, married 21 July 1656 at Stamford. They moved to Hempstead, where in January 1680/1 George gave his stepson Samuel Embree half his common rights; George died by Dec 1681 (McCurdy lineage, citing the Hempstead town records).
- Robert in New Haven. He appears as "Emery", fined on 4 Jan 1643 for coming late to militia training; his last mention there is 2 Oct 1649 (McCurdy lineage).
- Children given online: John (c. 1642), Robert, Mary, Samuel (c. 1648, New Haven), Joseph, and Moses (b. 16 Dec 1652, Stamford).
- The line to the Gleans. Robert and Mary → John Embree (c. 1642, m. Sarah Pearsall of Flushing) → Samuel Embree → Samuel Embree (m. Abigail Rowland) → Sarah Embree (c. 1718), who married Anthony Glean before 3 Mar 1739 (see Chapter 5). One website shows one Samuel here, another two; two Samuels makes Robert Sancia's 9× great-grandfather, as the tree has it.
To check: the tree's death date for Robert (21 July 1656) is the same day Mary is said to remarry, and other sources put his death in 1655; which Samuel generation is right; the "arrived Boston 1624" claim, which nothing supports.
Chapter 3 — Anthony Gleane (1630–1691) and Esther Sallis
Relationship to Sancia: her 7× great-grandfather, on her mother's (Glean) side.
Tree says: Anthony born 1630, England; resident 1667; died 1691, Newtown, New York; buried Elmhurst, Queens; will probated New York. Wife Esther Sallis, born abt 1625?, died Newtown. Children include Hannah Anne (1644–1676, m. Thomas Morrell) and Anthony (1686–1734, m. Susannah Fine).
Item 1 — Newtown town court minutes, c. 1682: Gleane v. Wood (two pages)
- Georg Coock and his wife Ann Coock gave evidence in a dispute between Anthony Gleane and Georg Wood.
- The quarrel began over a fire at a fence by the Hempstead swamp.
- A fight followed on the Sabbath, during which Gleane's wife struck Wood with a pair of tongs.
- The town court referred the case up to a Justice of the Peace.
The unnamed "wife" would be Esther (née Sallis), if the marriage is correct — a vivid picture of her.
To check: exact date and volume/page of the minutes; whether the Justice of the Peace record survives; Anthony's birth year (a daughter born 1644 needs Anthony born by c. 1620, not 1630); whether Esther was the mother of both Hannah (1644) and Anthony (1686) — a 42-year gap suggests two wives or two generations.
Item 2 — Riker's Annals of Newtown (1852), pp. 108–113: the Dongan Patent of 1686 (batch 6)
"Anthony Gleane had served in the time of Gov. Nicoll as a drummer in the garrison at New-York. He bought a small estate in Newtown, married Esther, widow of Samuel Sallis, and died here in or about 1691, aged 60 years. Many years later his house was still standing somewhere between the premises of Mr. Mack and Mr. Bretonniere. He left sons, William, Thomas and Anthony, the first of whom died in 1704, having served as town clerk, and as a church warden of the Jamaica parish. His two brothers removed to Flushing, where Anthony died, May 10th, 1734, leaving a large personal property as appears by the original inventory, now in possession of his great grandson, Mr. John Glean, of Saratoga, New-York. He left sons, William, born 1709, Anthony, born 1715, and James, born 1718, the first of whom remained on the paternal farm in Flushing till his death. The others settled in New-York, where the descendants of Anthony still reside. James died at Pittstown, New-York, aged 75 years, Aug. 15th, 1793. His son Anthony was a valiant soldier of the Revolution, and was in the service during the whole war, after which he settled upon a farm at Saratoga, in this state, sustaining the reputation of a respectable and good man. He died in his 92d year, May 1st, 1842, leaving issue, John, Oliver and Hannah."
The full text is on archive.org.
Item 3 — Map of Newtown, Long Island, 1852 (NYPL)
Item 4 — History of Queens County (W.W. Munsell, 1882), Newtown chapter
This chapter (pp. 329–408, transcribed on the Brooklyn Genealogy site) follows Riker closely. It adds lists of officials in which the eldest son appears:
- Town clerk: William Glean, 1698
- Assessor: William Glean, 1695, 1699
- Thomas Morrell is listed among the early inhabitants.
Item 5 — Your research notes on Anthony Gleane ("Detailed Glean Family Narrative" and "Notes relating to Anthony Glean")
Your working notes say:
- Origins: born c. 1630 in England, possibly Hardwick, Bucks (with some confusion with a Glean family of Hardwick, Norfolk).
- Arrival: he was probably one of the ~450 soldiers in Col. Richard Nicolls's flotilla of four warships. It sailed from Portsmouth on 25 May 1664 and took New Amsterdam from Peter Stuyvesant on 8 Sep 1664, renaming it New York. They were not the Duke of York and Albany's Maritime Regiment, which was only formed on 28 Oct 1664 (see Item 9). Background notes on Nicolls (1624–1672) are included.
- Newtown: he was one of 46 freeholders under the Newtown patent. Your note says "1628", but the Nicolls patent was 1666 and Dongan's confirmation 1686.
- Published mention: Compendium of American Genealogy (First Families of America), Vol. V, p. 383.
- Samuel Sallis: a Samuel Sallis petitioned for land at Jamaica, L.I. (Ecclesiastical Records, State of New York, p. 464). In 1672 the Rev. William Leverich conveyed a half-lot "formerly owned by Samuel Sallis" to Richard Owen (Leverich genealogy).
- His house: an NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission archaeology report quotes Riker. It places "Anthony Glene" between Bretonniere's and Mack's on Jamaica Road, and notes that a Friends' Meeting House stood on Mack's corner from 1722.
- Revolutionary War (later generations): Anthony Glean, master of the Continental row galley Lady Washington; Anthony and James Glean, Dutchess County 4th Militia; Oliver Glean, quartermaster, 5th Regiment of the Line.
- Line of descent: Anthony (1630) → Anthony (1680/86–1734) → Anthony (1715–1776, m. Sarah Embree, daughter of Samuel Embree and Abigail Rowland) → Anthony (1736, Revolutionary soldier, m. Jane) → Mary Glean (1785–1875, m. George Kayler).
- Still to find: his birth or any UK record; Esther and her first husband Samuel Sallis; the exact location of his farm.
Sources linked in your notes (added from "Notes relating to Anthony Glean", Oct 2026):
- Newtown and the Gleanes: Google Books, pp. 134–134c "in particular"; Google Books, "various entries", p. 596; Google Books, p. 138; Google Books (front cover link); Riker, Annals of Newtown, full text on archive.org.
- Samuel Sallis and the Leverich deed: Caleb Leverich narrative (leverichgenealogy.org, PDF). On 13 Apr 1693 Caleb Leverich confirmed his father's deed of 25 Apr 1672 conveying the half-lot "formerly owned by Samuel Sallis" to Richard Owen and his wife. Ecclesiastical Records, State of New York, index entry for Sallis.
- Revolutionary War Gleans: Google Books, p. 281; Google Books, p. 277; Google Books, p. 42.
- Ancestry: the record image cited in your Ancestry tree (needs an Ancestry login).
A separate note, "Schooner Millard Fillmore", is filed with the Glean papers. It describes a wooden schooner built in Buffalo in 1856 (official no. 16395, 139 ft), which traded on the Great Lakes, was used by the Navy in the Civil War, and sank off Rogers City, Lake Huron, in Aug 1891 carrying pig iron. Its link to the family isn't stated. It may relate to the Millard name (Caroline Anna Millard, wife of Robert Fitzhardinge Berkeley) or to a Glean or Embree mariner.
To check: Riker lists Anthony's sons as William, Thomas and Anthony, with William the eldest, town clerk in 1698 and dead in 1704. The Simpson tree has William born 1687, which would make him town clerk at 11, so he must have been born by about 1670. That also suggests he was Esther's son by Anthony only if she married Anthony by about 1670. The Revolutionary soldier who died 1 May 1842 in his 92nd year was the son of James (1718–1793), not of Anthony (1715–1776) — check which Anthony your tree's line runs through.
Item 6 — Find a Grave memorial 225929493, "Anthony Gleane Sr." (batch 7)
Adds to the tree: the 20 Nov 1667 land sale, the earliest dated record of Anthony, placing him as a garrison drummer at Fort James; the burial ground's location, now a park; and the source of the tree's "residence 1667" fact.
To check: the 1667 deed in the colonial Long Island deed books (Gravesend town records); where the "1631" birth comes from (it's just 1691 less 60).
Item 7 — Research findings (from the research chat)
The chain to Sancia. Anthony is Lilias Glean's 6× great-grandfather:
Anthony (1630) → Anthony (1686–1734) → Anthony (1715–1776) → James Embree (1740–1811) → James Embree (1778–1839, "lost at sea") → James (1814–1867, Grenada) → Wharton Embree (1841–1901) → Stedman Embree (1869–1925) → Lilias → Sancia
What the tree records and how well it is supported:
- Birth 1630 in England, from Find a Grave only (it is simply 1691 less his age of 60).
- Residence 1667 — this is the 20 Nov 1667 land sale as a garrison drummer (Item 6).
- Death 1691 at Newtown (now Elmhurst, Queens), with burial there and a New York probate.
- Parents given as William Gleane (bapt. 1609, Burgh le Marsh, Lincolnshire) and Margaret. This comes only from another member's tree, and nothing links William to the New York Anthony.
His arrival. A garrison drummer at Fort James before 1667 suggests he came with the English force that took New Amsterdam in 1664. That could be a route to his English origins, but it's an inference, not a documented fact.
Problems in the tree worth fixing:
- Hannah Anne (b. 1644) is listed as Anthony and Esther's child. That would make Anthony 14 at her birth, and 30 years before the recorded marriage (c. 1674). She is more likely Esther's daughter by Samuel Sallis.
- Esther's age. With Esther born "abt 1625?", she would have been 61 when Anthony Jr was born in 1686. Either her birth year is wrong or Anthony Jr had a different mother.
- The will transcript ("Anthony Gleane Last will") belongs to Anthony Jr (d. 1734), not this Anthony. It's filed under Anthony Glean of Flushing.
- Duplicates. There are two Anthony Gleans born 1736, plus an undated "Anthony Gleane III".
- The link to Grenada. The step from New York to Grenada (James Embree b. 1778 → James b. 1814) is established by the family (confirmed Oct 2026). Family stories pass it down, and the family holds portraits of James Embree Glean (1778–1839, lost at sea), the first of the family to settle in Grenada and build estates there. The Grenada deed entries of 1811–1831 (under Research reference sites) would add documentary support, but the link itself is not in doubt.
Where to look next:
- Newtown court minutes. Read the Minutes of the Town Courts of Newtown, 1656–1690 page by page.
- The 1691 will. Get Anthony's own will or administration from the New York probate collection.
- The 1667 deed. Look it up in the colonial Long Island deed books.
- His English origins. Check the Burgh le Marsh baptisms at Lincolnshire Archives or on FreeREG. Also look at Norfolk, since Gleane is a rare surname and the best-known Gleane family was based there. Treat the Lincolnshire parentage as unproven until something links it to the New York Anthony.
Item 8 — Web research (Oct 2026)
- The Norfolk Gleanes. The only prominent Gleane family in England was at Hardwick, Norfolk: Sir Peter Gleane (c. 1619–1696), a Royalist officer, was made a baronet on 6 Mar 1666, and the title died out in 1745 (Wikipedia). Nothing links a garrison drummer to them; your notes' "Hardwick, Bucks" is probably a mix-up with Hardwick, Norfolk.
- A Gravesend thread. Anthony's 1667 deed sold land that had belonged to William Comton of Gravesend. Thomas Morrell, the husband of Hannah Gleane, had received a lot in Gravesend's second division in 1646 (Morrill Online). The two families may have known each other there before Newtown.
- Hannah's dates don't fit him as a father. Hannah married Thomas Morrell about 1660 (Chapter 4), before Anthony reached New York in 1664. She is more likely a sister, or Esther's daughter by Samuel Sallis, than Anthony's child.
- His own will. A 1691 will or administration would be abstracted in the NYHS Abstracts of Wills, vol. I (1665–1707). It is online at HathiTrust, which blocks automated searching, so it needs a manual look.
Item 9 — Nicolls's 1664 expedition, which probably brought Anthony to New York
Nicolls sailed from Portsmouth on 25 May 1664 with four ships and took the surrender of New Amsterdam on 6–8 Sep 1664 (27 Aug in the English calendar of the time) (Wikipedia).
| Ship | Guns |
|---|---|
| Guinea (flagship, Captain Hugh Hyde) | 36 |
| Elias | 30 |
| Martin | 16 |
| William and Nicholas | 10 |
Gun figures are from an older history; a Dutch report of the time put them at 40–50 each, so treat them as rough.
- The voyage. Fog scattered the ships; Nicolls called at Boston, others at Piscataqua. The fleet anchored in Gravesend Bay below the Narrows on 27 August.
- The troops. About 300–450 soldiers, organised as foot companies under the commissioners: Nicolls's own, Sir Robert Carr's and George Cartwright's. They then garrisoned Fort James (New York), Fort Orange (Albany) and the Delaware; Carr's company was disbanded in 1667 (History Reconsidered). Nicolls's own reports speak simply of "the foot company" (Calendar of State Papers Colonial, 1664).
- Not the Maritime Regiment. The Duke of York and Albany's Maritime Regiment, forerunner of the Royal Marines, was formed on 28 Oct 1664, five months after the fleet sailed (Wikipedia).
What it means for Anthony: his 1667 deed calls him a drummer of the garrison of James Fort, which fits his arriving with one of these companies, most likely Nicolls's own.
How many drummers? English foot companies of the 1660s usually had two drummers each, beside a captain, lieutenant, ensign, two sergeants, three corporals and about 100 men. Three or four companies would therefore have had only about 6 to 9 drummers, and no drum major, as the force was not a full regiment. This is the general practice of the period, not a muster roll of this expedition.
From drummer to Newtown freeholder. As one of so few drummers, Anthony was a known figure in the garrison under Nicolls, who was also governor from 1664. Newtown already existed (founded 1652 as Middelburg), but Nicolls confirmed its title with a patent in 1666, and its freeholders were recorded that year. Anthony sold his Gravesend land interest in 1667 still as a garrison drummer, then bought a small estate in Newtown (Riker, Item 2). That path, from Nicolls's soldier to landholder under Nicolls's government, explains how he came to be among Newtown's freeholders, named in Dongan's confirming patent of 1686.
To check: whether Anthony is already on Riker's list of Newtown freeholders of 4 Dec 1666 (Annals of Newtown, Appendix G), or joined after 1667.
To check: Nicolls's garrison papers and pay lists (Calendar of State Papers Colonial; Documents Relative to the Colonial History of New York) for a drummer named Gleane.
From your notes (added Oct 2026).
- Richard Nicolls himself. Born 1624 at Ampthill, Bedfordshire. He commanded a royalist troop of horse in the Civil War and went into exile with the royal family. After the Restoration he became groom of the bedchamber to James, Duke of York, who had him appointed in 1664 to the commission (with Sir Robert Carr, George Cartwright and Samuel Maverick) to take New Netherland. As first English governor of New York he guaranteed the Dutch their property, inheritance laws and freedom of religion, and introduced English law on Long Island through the "Duke's Laws", proclaimed at Hempstead on 1 Mar 1665. He went home in 1668, succeeded by Francis Lovelace, and was killed by a cannonball at the Battle of Solebay (Southwold Bay), off Suffolk, on 28 May 1672. His monument in Ampthill church incorporates the cannonball.
- The arrival, from a 2014 New York news piece (the 350th anniversary). On 26 Aug 1664 the four frigates, led by the Guinea "manned by 150 sailors and conveying 300 redcoats", anchored in Gravesend Bay off Brooklyn, between Coney Island and the Narrows. Over the next 13 days the soldiers landed and mustered at a ferry landing roughly where the River Café is moored today, under the Brooklyn Bridge, while two warships sailed to the Battery and trained their guns on Fort Amsterdam.
- The Maritime Regiment question. Your "Detailed Glean Family Narrative" suggests the soldiers may have been from the Duke of York and Albany's Maritime Regiment, because the Duke and Charles II visited Portsmouth on 17 May 1664 and gave Col. William Legge authority to raise it. The official formation date remains 28 Oct 1664, after the fleet had sailed, so this is kept here as the family's working theory rather than a fact.
Differences to note: the anchoring date is 26 Aug in the news piece and 27 Aug above, and the troop figure is 300 there and "about 450" in your Narrative. Both are within the range the sources give.
Chapter 4 — Hannah Morrell (née Gleane) (1644–1676)
Relationship to Sancia: her 7× great-aunt. Hannah was a daughter of Anthony Gleane (her 7× great-grandfather) and a sister of Anthony Gleane (1686–1734), her 6× great-grandfather.
Tree says: Hannah Anne Gleane, born 1644, Long Island City, Queens; died 1676, New Town, Long Island; daughter of Anthony Gleane and Esther Sallis; wife of Thomas Morrell. No children recorded.
Item 1 — Geni profile (two screenshots, 3 Dec 2019)
Adds to the tree: five named children; death month (April).
To check: birthplace — England (Geni) vs Long Island City (tree); birth year 1640 vs 1644; Geni is user-compiled, so look for the sources behind it before adding the children.
Item 2 — Local-history note on Thomas Morrell (batch 6)
Your research notes quote a local history of Middle Village:
"As early as 1663 Thomas Morrell, an Englishman whose family held an honorable position among England's landed gentry, came to the New World. He married Hannah Glen and settled in parts of Newtown now called Middle Village. At that time all of Newtown was a dense wilderness … The first roads were Johnson Avenue (now Caldwell Avenue), Juniper Avenue (now 69th Street), Juniper Swamp Road (now Juniper Valley Road) and Dry Harbor Road."
Thomas Morrell also appears among the patentees of the 1686 Dongan Patent (see Anthony Gleane, Item 2). Hannah died in 1676, so he was a widower by then. Your notes also link the Geni profile of Thomas Morrell I and a Morrell lineage page.
Item 3 — Web research (Oct 2026)
Morrill Online, a Morrell surname site, gives:
| Person | Details |
|---|---|
| Thomas Morrell | b. c. 1630, England; lot in Gravesend's second division, 1646; d. 1704, Newtown |
| Marriage | to Hannah Gleane, c. 1660, Newtown |
| Children | Thomas (c. 1662), Samuel (c. 1664), Joseph (c. 1667), Jonathan (c. 1670), William (c. 1672), Sarah (c. 1674), Abigail (c. 1676) |
| Later wife | Martha ____ (Morrill Online) |
Adds to the tree: a marriage date of about 1660, seven children (Geni had five named), and Thomas's later wife Martha.
To check: a c. 1660 marriage puts Hannah's birth about 1640, which fits Geni's date. But it also means she married before Anthony Gleane arrived in 1664, so she is unlikely to be his daughter (see Chapter 3, Item 8). Her last child, Abigail, was born about 1676, the year she died.
Berkeley ancestry: from Maurice Berkeley of Southwark to the Barbados Berkeleys
Relationship to Sancia: all direct ancestors on her father's side, through her grandmother Ursula Berkeley:
- Maurice Berkeley (b. 1661): 7× great-grandfather
- Maurice Berkeley (1685–1736): 6× great-grandfather
- Henry Berkeley (1734–1800): 5× great-grandfather
- Henry Earle Berkeley (1758–1786): 4× great-grandfather
- John Henry Earle Berkeley (1784–1839): 3× great-grandfather
- Robert Fitzhardinge Berkeley (1825–1893): great-great-grandfather
- Fitzhardinge John Earle Berkeley (b. 1853): great-grandfather
Tree says: Maurice Berkeley (b. 1661) → Maurice Berkeley (1685–1736, Nevis), who married (1) Anne Callow in 1718 and (2) Sarah Tobin in 1728 → Henry Berkeley (1734–1800), m. Mary Earle → Henry Earle Berkeley (1758–1786), m. Mary Elliot → John Henry Earle Berkeley (1784–1839) → Robert Fitzhardinge Berkeley (1825–1893), m. Caroline Anna Millard → Fitzhardinge John Earle Berkeley (b. 1853) → Ursula.
These printed pages look like they come from Vere Langford Oliver's Caribbeana (note the "[Ed.]" footnote), which published West Indian pedigrees with extracts from parish registers and family papers.
Item 1 — Pedigree: Maurice Berkeley of St Olave's, Southwark
| Person | Details |
|---|---|
| Maurice Berkeley of St Olave's, Southwark | Born 1661; admitted a surgeon 1692; buried 21 Mar 1743, aged 82. Will dated 31 Jan 1742/3, proved 21 Mar 1743/4 (PCC 63 Anstis) |
| Maurice Berkeley, jun. | Admitted a surgeon 1720; buried at St John's, Nevis, 26 Feb 1735/6 |
| His 1st wife Anne Callow | Only daughter and eventually heir of the Rev. Roger Callow of Warbleton, Sussex |
| Their daughter Anne Berkeley | Only child, bapt. St Saviour's 17 Aug 1724; m. 8 Oct 1747 Thomas Hussey of Burwash, Sussex; d. 26 Aug 1797, buried at Ashford, Kent |
| His 2nd wife Sarah Tobin | Daughter of Walter Tobin of Nevis; married in London and sailed for Nevis in 1731; ? buried 24 Aug 1755 aged 53 at St John's |
| Their son Maurice | Elder son; died a bachelor |
Item 2 — Family Bible, Hussey letter and St George's, Basseterre baptisms
Letter of Edward Hussey, Scotney Castle, Sussex: "Maurice Berkeley, sen[io]r was admitted as a 'foreign brother,' it is alleged, of Barber Surgeons Company on 3rd Oct. 1692. And his son Maurice — who afterwards married as his second wife, Sarah Tobin — was also admitted as a 'foreign brother' on 6th Jan[uar]y 1720. The arms are the same as those of the present head of the house, viz.: Randal, Earl of Berkeley … I have the deed of settlement made on the marriage of my ancestor Thos. Hussey in 1747 to Anne Berkeley on which her seal bears those arms on a lozenge."
Editor's footnote: "In the ped. of Hussey in Berry's Sussex, p. 127, it is stated that 'Mr Maurice Berkeley had sons b. in the W.I., by his 2d wife, who are presumed to have d. unm., as fruitless inquiries after them were prosecuted by the family for many years.'"
Baptisms, St George's, Basseterre, St Kitts:
| Baptised | Child | Parents | Born |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26 Jan 1763 | Maurice | Henry and Mary B. | 31 Mar 1762 |
| 25 Sep 1763 | Thomas | Henry and Mary B. | 21 Aug |
| 16 Feb 1766 | John | Henry and Mary B. | 9 Feb |
| 24 Jul 1768 | William Feuilleteau | Henry and Mary B. | 28 Apr |
| 19 Nov 1770 | Thomas | Henry and Mary B. | 15 Sep |
| 16 Feb 1773 | Sarah | Henry and Mary B. | 4 Nov 1772 |
| 17 Feb 1775 | Mary Earle | Henry and Mary B. | 16 Nov 1774 |
| 23 Feb 1777 | Catherine | Henry and Mary Berkley | 14 Dec 1776 |
| 12 Mar 1786 | John Henry Earl | Henry Earl and Mary B. | 9 Feb 1784 |
| — | Sarah Eliza | same parents | 19 Dec 1785 |
| 2 May 1791 | Louisa | George and Sarah B. | 19 Dec 1790 |
| 28 May 1795 | Lucy Emra | George and Eliz[abe]th B. | 10 Oct 1794 |
Item 3 — Pedigree: children of Robert Fitzhardinge Berkeley (Ursula's aunts and uncles)
Adds to the tree: the Southwark surgeon origins; Anne Callow's father and the Hussey marriage; the Barber-Surgeons admissions; the arms used; the full St Kitts baptism run, including Sarah Eliza (b. 1785), a full sister of John Henry Earle; the spouses Mary Berkeley Murray, Emma Murray and Anna Innis; Dorothy Berkeley.
To check:
- The Family Bible says the ancestor was "Henry Berkeley, M.D. of Essex" who married Miss Tobin. The pedigree and the Hussey letter say it was Maurice Berkeley jun., surgeon (your tree follows the pedigree).
- Maurice Julian: born 1857 here, 1860 in your tree.
- Augustus: 1869 here, 1868 in your tree.
- Maurice jun.'s birth: the tree's 1685 is inferred, as the pedigree gives none.
- The footnote's "sons presumed to have died unmarried" is the very line your tree descends through (via Henry, b. 1734). That's worth noting, since the Hussey family evidently lost track of them.
- Find the source title and volume, and the page before p. 21 for the parents' generation.
Item 4 — Research findings on the Berkeley origins (from the research chat)
This is Felix Thomas's Berkeley descent through his mother, with how well each step is supported:
- Ursula Saranne Berkeley (1877–1961), born in Grenada, Felix's mother.
- Fitzhardinge John Earle Berkeley (b. 1853), who married Sarah Ann Miles at St Michael, Barbados, in 1876.
- Rev. Robert Fitzhardinge Berkeley (1825–1893), well confirmed. He was rector of St Philip, Barbados, and a canon. His son Alfred became Bishop of Barbados, so Bishop Alfred Pakenham Berkeley (1862–1938) was Felix's great-uncle; his obituaries are worth finding.
- John Henry Earle Berkeley (1784–1839), documented in the Legacies of British Slavery database. He married his first cousin Mary Elizabeth Berkeley, daughter of George Berkeley, at Basseterre in 1808. With his uncle Thomas he owned the Paradise, Mt Horne, Plaisance, Springs and Paraclete estates in Grenada. His will is at the National Archives (PROB 11/1907).
- Henry Earle Berkeley (1758–1786).
- Henry Berkeley (1734–1800) of St Kitts, well documented. He married Mary Earle, daughter of John Earle of St Kitts; his will was written in 1796 and proved in 1800.
- Maurice Berkeley (d. 1735/6), where the documented line was thought to stop. He was a surgeon from Southwark who moved to Nevis in 1731 and married Sarah Tobin in London in 1728, with an earlier marriage to Anne Callow in 1718.
The Berkeley Castle question. The Bruton (Somerset) branch, headed by the Viscounts Fitzhardinge, descends in the male line from Berkeley Castle. It comes through Sir Maurice de Berkeley (killed at the siege of Calais, 1347), a younger son of the 2nd Baron Berkeley. Maurice Berkeley, 3rd Viscount Fitzhardinge (1628–1690), had no legitimate sons. His will left £500 to his mistress Mary Rutley and £500 to each of their two sons, Francis Berkeley alias Rutley and Maurice Berkeley alias Rutley, still minors in 1690. They also inherited land in co. Westmeath, Ireland. A Maurice under 21 in 1690 would fit a birth of c. 1670–1690, and the family's later use of "Maurice" and "Fitzhardinge" points the same way.
Why this isn't proof: Maurice was a common Berkeley forename in every branch. "Fitzhardinge" became fashionable after the 5th Earl of Berkeley's sons (born from 1786) used it, so Robert Fitzhardinge's parents may have chosen it to claim kinship rather than because they could prove it. And nothing yet connects the Southwark surgeon to Mary Rutley's son.
How the printed pedigree (Item 1) affects this. Caribbeana gives the Nevis Maurice a father: Maurice Berkeley senior of St Olave's, born 1661, admitted a surgeon in 1692, buried 1743 aged 82. If that's right, the Nevis Maurice was the son of an older Southwark surgeon, not of the 3rd Viscount, and the "alias Rutley" idea falls away unless Caribbeana is mistaken.
Errors in the tree that affect this question:
- Mary Earle's father. Mary Earle (b. 1742) is linked to a John Earle who was born in 1665 and died in 1689 at Watertown, Massachusetts, 53 years before she was born. The whole Earle ancestry above her (Ralph Earle, Joan Savage, the Moultons of Todenham, Gloucestershire) is therefore invalid. Her real father was John Earle of St Kitts. Resolved (Oct 2026): Mary Earle has now been detached from the tree, so the wrong Earle line no longer appears in it.
- Alfred Pakenham Berkeley's baptism. He is born in Barbados on 9 Mar 1862 and baptised at Cam, Gloucestershire, on 6 Apr 1862. A transatlantic crossing within four weeks of birth is very unlikely, so check the original register. If the family really was at Cam, a few miles from Berkeley Castle, that is interesting in itself.
- Duplicates and unverified titles. George Berkeley (1760) appears twice, and the "Sir" given to Maurice Julian Berkeley couldn't be verified.
- A different Barbados Berkeley family. Sir George Berkeley (1819–1905), son of General Sackville Hamilton Berkeley and Elizabeth Pilgrim, belonged to a separate family. Elizabeth was described as the daughter of William Murray of Bruce Vale estate. Your Berkeleys also married Murrays (Bishop Alfred's wife was Emily/Emma Murray), so online trees could easily have mixed the two families up.
How to prove or disprove the link:
- The 1690 will of the 3rd Viscount Fitzhardinge (National Archives, PROB 11), which may name guardians or plans to apprentice the boys.
- The Barber-Surgeons' Company apprenticeship and freedom registers (London Metropolitan Archives / Guildhall), which normally name the apprentice's father. This is the single best test for both Maurices (admitted 1692 and 1720).
- Oliver's Caribbeana, vol. VI, pp. 17–22, for what he says about Maurice's origins.
- Maurice's own will (proved 1735/6) and the London marriage licences for 1718 and 1728, which often give age, parish and occupation.
- The Irish Registry of Deeds, for any dealings with the Westmeath land by the Nevis Berkeleys or their heirs.
- Y-DNA from a living male-line Berkeley of this family (e.g. a descendant of Augustus Frederick Millard Berkeley), compared with the Berkeley/Barclay surname DNA projects.
Items 1 and 2 are the priorities; either could settle the question.
Item 5 — Portraits of Canon Robert Fitzhardinge Berkeley and Caroline Anna Millard
Relationship to Sancia: Robert and Caroline are her great-great-grandparents, on her father's side. They were the parents of Fitzhardinge John Earle Berkeley, Ursula's father, and of the Bishop, Alfred Pakenham Berkeley.
Adds to the tree: Robert's calling — rector of St Philip, Barbados, and canon — which the tree doesn't record.
To check: where and when Robert was ordained and made canon (Crockford's Clerical Directory would list his career).
Item 6 — Web research (Oct 2026)
- Bishop Alfred Pakenham Berkeley's career (Wikipedia). Born 9 Mar 1862, as the tree has it. Educated at Harrison College and Codrington College, Barbados; deacon 1885, priest 1886. Curate of St George's and vicar of All Saints, Antigua (1887); curate of St Philip, Barbados (1888); vicar of Holy Innocents (1891–1901); rector of St Philip (1901–07), his father's old parish; dean and rector of St Michael (1907–17). Consecrated Bishop of Barbados and the Windward Islands on 12 Aug 1917, then Bishop of the Windward Islands (1927–30). Died 15 May 1938, buried in Brompton Cemetery, London.
- When the Canon took St Philip. The previous rector, Robert Francis King, was buried on 12 Feb 1875 aged 88, still living at St Philip's Rectory (Caribbean Family History). So Robert Fitzhardinge Berkeley probably became rector in or after 1875.
- Who was Chief Justice of Fiji? Wikipedia gives the Chief Justice of Fiji (1889–1902) as Sir Henry Spencer Berkeley (b. 6 Sep 1851, St Kitts), son of Thomas Berkeley Hardtman Berkeley and Alice Hart Rawlins. His son was named Maurice Anthony (Wikipedia). Item 3 gives both the post and a son Maurice Anthony to Maurice Julian Berkeley. Either the transcription merged two cousins or the printed page did.
- The St Kitts cousins. Henry Spencer's father, Thomas Berkeley Hardtman Berkeley CMG (14 Jan 1824 – 6 Dec 1881), was President of the Leeward Islands General Legislative Council; the Berkeley Memorial in Basseterre honours him (SKNIS).
To check: see Item 7, which re-reads the printed page on Maurice Julian and Fiji; how Thomas B. H. Berkeley's line joins yours (probably through one of Henry and Mary's sons baptised at Basseterre).
Item 7 — The printed pages checked again (Oct 2026)
The three printed pages (Items 1–3) were re-read against the transcriptions above, which match them. Read together with the later research, they settle or sharpen several points:
- The Chief Justice of Fiji puzzle. The printed page itself says Maurice Julian Berkeley (b. 1857) was "Chief Justice of Fiji; Judge in British Guiana", with a son "Maurice Anthony Berkeley, bapt. 1891 in Fiji". Wikipedia gives the Chief Justice of Fiji in 1889–1902 as his St Kitts cousin Sir Henry Spencer Berkeley, whose son was also Maurice Anthony (Item 6). The baptism in Fiji in 1891 fits Sir Henry's family, so the editor of the pedigree probably merged the two men. Maurice Julian's own post was more likely the judgeship in British Guiana.
- Bishop Alfred. The page adds that he was an M.A. of Durham (Codrington College's degrees were then awarded through Durham University). It says Dean in 1906; Wikipedia says 1907.
- Frances Berkeley, born 1862, died an infant. Alfred was born on 9 Mar 1862, so Frances may have been his twin.
- Thomas Berkeley is confirmed. The St George's, Basseterre baptisms list Thomas, son of Henry and Mary, born 15 Sep 1770, baptised 19 Nov 1770. Legacies of British Slavery gives exactly that birth date for the Thomas Berkeley who was John Henry Earle Berkeley's uncle and partner in the Grenada estates. He is the Thomas of the slavery claims. An elder brother Thomas, born 21 Aug 1763, evidently died young.
- John Berkeley (b. 9 Feb 1766) is another of Henry and Mary's sons in the same list, and the likeliest John Berkeley of the Morne Rouge claim.
- Further sources named on the page for Anne Berkeley and the Husseys: Burke's Landed Gentry, and Berry's Sussex Genealogies, p. 127.
To check: Maurice Julian Berkeley's career in the Colonial Office lists (for example the Colonial Office List of the 1890s); a baptism or birth record for Frances, to see whether she and Alfred were twins.
Chapter 5 — Anthony Gleane (1686–1734) and Susannah Fine (1704–1751)
Relationship to Sancia: her 6× great-grandfather, on her mother's (Glean) side.
Tree says: born 1686, Newtown; son of Anthony Gleane (c. 1630–1691) and Esther; married Susannah Fine; died 10 May 1734 at Flushing, will probated New York. Children include Anthony (1715–1776) and William (b. 1709).
Item 1 — Transcription of his will (batch 7)
This is a typed transcription, headed "Transcription of the Will of Anthony Glean of Flushing in Queens County in the Province of New York". The key points:
- Occupation: blacksmith, "sick in body but … of sound and disposing mind".
- Eldest son William Gleane: gets the dwelling house, orchards, barns, lands and meadows. This is on condition that he keeps and maintains his mother while she remains a widow; if he doesn't, she may take over the property.
- Wife Susannah Gleane: a feather bed and furniture, and £40 if she remarries.
- Younger sons Anthony and James Gleane: £100 each.
- Daughters Elizabeth, Susannah and Phebe: £40 each, "the like or equal" to what their sisters had already had. This suggests there were other, older daughters, already provided for.
- Sale of the estate: on the widow's death or remarriage, the real estate is to be sold and the legacies paid. The residue is split equally among William, Anthony and James, with William first taking £200.
- Executors: his wife, son William, and his brother-in-law Johannes Buckhout.
- Probate: letters granted to Susannah Gleane, William Gleane and Johannes Buckhout, with an inventory due by the following 19 February. The seal of the Prerogative Court of New York is dated 19 August 1734.
This matches Riker (Item 2 above): he died at Flushing in 1734, leaving sons William (b. 1709), Anthony (1715) and James (1718), with William staying on "the paternal farm in Flushing".
Adds to the tree: his occupation (blacksmith); his daughters Elizabeth, Susannah and Phebe (Femmetje/Phoebe is already in the tree) and probably older married daughters; the brother-in-law Johannes Buckhout; the probate date, 19 Aug 1734.
To check: how Johannes Buckhout was a brother-in-law. He may have married a Fine sister of Susannah, or a sister of Anthony. Find the original will: New York Wills, Liber 12, or the Abstracts of Wills, Collections of the New-York Historical Society. Note that the tree has Susannah Fine born in 1704, which would make her only 5 when William was born in 1709. Either she was a second wife, or her birth year is wrong. See also the will of John Pine/Fine (1701), whose daughter Susannah was alive by 1701.
Two more clauses (checked against the full transcription, Oct 2026): if any child died "before age" (under 21), a daughter's share was to be divided among the surviving daughters and a son's among the surviving sons. And the executors, or any one of them if the others had died or were away, were empowered to "bargain & sell" the real estate.
Item 2 — Web research (Oct 2026)
- Johannes Buckhout, the brother-in-law. Johannes Boeckhout was baptised on 13 Aug 1683 at the Reformed Dutch Church, New York, son of Pieter Janszen Boeckhout and Lysbeth Papen (WikiTree, which warns he is often confused with a cousin baptised in 1679). An online tree records him marrying Esther Fine on 17 May 1712 (Shunk family tree). If Esther was Susannah's sister, that explains "brother-in-law" in the will, and "Hester" repeats her grandmother's name. The same tree also lists a Susanna Buckhout married to an Anthony Glean, probably a muddle, but worth bearing in mind.
- Susannah's birth year. A sister marrying in 1712 suggests Susannah was born in the 1690s, not 1704. That would also remove the problem of her being 5 when William was born in 1709.
- Son Anthony's marriage. Sarah Embree (b. c. 1718, Hempstead), daughter of Samuel Embree and Abigail Rowland, had married "Mr Glean" by 3 Mar 1739 (Norman Davis, Westchester Patriarchs, p. 79, via McCurdy lineage). Her father Samuel died in Westchester County, his will proved in June 1740 (McCurdy lineage). The 3 Mar 1739 date is probably his will, naming her as Sarah Glean. This is the Anthony (1715–1776) of your line.
To check: Esther Fine's parents (Macy's Verschuer article, Chapter 1 Item 2); Samuel Embree's 1739/40 will in the NYHS Abstracts of Wills, vol. III (1730–1744), online at HathiTrust — the same volume should hold Anthony's own 1734 will abstract.
Slavery compensation records, 1830s (Legacies of British Slavery)
When slavery was abolished in the British colonies in 1834, the government paid compensation to slave-owners, and to their creditors and mortgagees, for the people they had enslaved. The claims are recorded in the University College London Legacies of British Slavery database. These screenshots show claims involving three surnames in this tree. Each figure in brackets is the number of enslaved people covered by the claim.
Berkeley — Grenada
In the tree, John Henry Earle Berkeley (1784–1839) died at St Andrew's, Grenada. His son Thomas Berkeley (1820–1858) was only about 15 when the claims were made (1835–36). The Thomas who claimed alongside John Henry may therefore be another Thomas, such as John Henry's uncle Thomas (b. 1770). This is now confirmed: his baptism at St George's, Basseterre gives him the same birth date, 15 Sep 1770, as Legacies of British Slavery (Berkeley ancestry, Item 7). The John Berkeley of Morne Rouge is also unidentified: John Henry's son John died in 1823, so it may be his uncle John (b. 1766).
Glean — Grenada
This James Embree Glean is almost certainly the one born in New York in 1778 (lost at sea in 1839). He had a family in Grenada with Jeanne Rose "Ma Zyne" Mandilhon, and his son James (1814–1867) is Wharton's father. No John Glean in the tree fits Grenada in the 1830s.
Thomas — Tobago
The tree's Thomas family came from Barbados, and later generations lived in Tobago (Felix Fitzhardinge Thomas was born at Merchiston Estate, Tobago, in 1903). Whether this Jane and John are connected isn't yet known. The tree's John Thomas (b. 1796, Barbados, son of Lynch Thomas and Ann Clarke) is a possible candidate for the John.
To check: open each claim on the Legacies of British Slavery database for the full claim histories, addresses and biographical notes. They may confirm which Thomas and John Berkeley these were, and whether this Jane and John Thomas belong to the family.
Web research (Oct 2026)
- The Thomas Berkeley in the Grenada claims is identified. He was Thomas Berkeley (b. 15 Sep 1770), son of Henry Berkeley of St Kitts and Nevis, and uncle and business partner of John Henry Earle Berkeley (Legacies of British Slavery). Together they also bought the Union estate on Carriacou. He married Mary Stedman Young in London on 6 Sep 1814, had a daughter Mina Elizabeth, and moved to Brussels. His will is dated 11 Jan 1836 and was proved 3 Oct 1836 (National Archives PROB 11/1867/494).
- James Embree Glean's claim. Described as "of St John Parish", he claimed for Mount Granby as owner-in-fee on 9 Nov 1835; the claim was uncontested and he was paid £719 0s 2d (circa £850,000 in 2026) for 29 people (National Archives T71/880; LBS claim).
James Embree Glean (b. 1778, lost at sea Aug 1839) — further research (Oct 2026)
- The family's portraits of him. The family holds portraits of this James Embree Glean. Family tradition remembers him as the first of the family to settle in Grenada and build estates there. Together with the family stories, the portraits are what establish the line from Anthony Gleane of Newtown to the Grenada Gleans.
- Alive and in St John's parish in Nov 1835. His uncontested Mount Granby claim of 9 Nov 1835 is the latest record of him found before 1839 (LBS claim).
- The Mandilhon link. A "Mandillon Labastile senior" owned an estate in the same parish, in the Gouyave district, in 1763 (LBS estate). This fits the family account of his partner Jeanne Rose "Ma Zyne" Mandilhon. Whether Mount Granby came to him through her family is a guess, not yet shown by any record.
- No matching shipwreck yet. The published lists of ships lost in August and September 1839 show nothing from Grenada; the only West Indies losses were timber ships bound from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia to Barbados (August, September). A small inter-island vessel would appear only in local papers or Lloyd's List.
What £719 0s 2d in 1835 is worth in 2026. It depends on the measure:
| Measure | 2026 value (approx.) |
|---|---|
| Prices (what it would buy) | £86,000–£119,000 |
| Incomes (against average earnings) | about £610,000 |
| Share of the economy per person | about £3.6 million |
The price range comes from an ONS-based inflation calculator, ×165 (in2013dollars), and from Full Fact's conversion of the whole £20 million compensation fund, ×120. The other two rows apply Full Fact's income (×850) and economy (×5,000) ratios (Full Fact). The price figure says what the money would buy; the income figure better reflects what it meant to him at the time.
Where to look next:
- Grenada slave registers, 1817–1834 (National Archives T71, on Ancestry): when he first appears in Grenada and what he held.
- His full compensation file (T71/880): address and any counter-claims.
- Lloyd's List for Aug–Sep 1839, and 1839 Grenada newspapers at the British Library: the vessel he was lost on.
- Grenada probate or administration after 1839 (Supreme Court Registry, St George's): who administered Mount Granby. This could name his son James (b. 1814) and add a document to the family's own evidence for the New York–Grenada link.
The New York and Cuban Gleans: James Embree Glean's relatives
Relationship to Sancia: the people here are relatives of her 3× great-grandfather James Embree Glean (1778–1839). Elizabeth Glean (Mrs John McComb) and Anthony Glean (c. 1778–1818) were his sister and brother, so the Cuban Gleans are cousins of the Grenada line.
Item 1 — Family notes on J.E.G.'s will, the McCombs and the "Cuban connection" (page 3 of a family typescript)
- J.E.G.'s will. James Embree Glean, "our Grenadian Glean forefather", left an inheritance to his "Beloved relative, Mr. Anthony Glean".
- That Anthony was Lieutenant Anthony Glean (b. 1751), son of James Glean and Engeltje Buckhout, and grandson of Anthony and Susannah (Chapter 5). He became a hero of the American Revolution and was recorded as the first to hoist the American flag when the British left New York. The page adds that one of his great-granddaughters married "a guy called George W. Bush".
- J.E.G.'s father. The writer's view is that J.E.G.'s father, James Embree Glean (i), born about 1740, was a first cousin of Lieutenant Anthony.
- The Collingwood Manuscript. Written by Helen Collingwood, it says James Embree Glean (i) was a son of Anthony Glean and Sarah Embree, and the father of three children: J.E.G., Elizabeth, and another Anthony (b. c. 1778).
- Elizabeth and John McComb. Elizabeth married the American architect John McComb, who looked after J.E.G.'s affairs in New York; his children are also named in J.E.G.'s will. Copies of the will and other papers, including letters to John McComb, were retrieved from the New-York Historical Society many years ago by Frances Brinkley and Edward Kent.
- Anthony (b. c. 1778) in Cuba. He married Anna (Nancy) Gorham and lived in Cuba, where they had four children, Frank, Anita, James and George. Anthony died in 1818, aged about 40. Nancy then married James Macomb (note the different spelling), whose family owned a large sugar plantation in Cuba, the Victoria Estate. James Macomb adopted the Glean children. A Macomb descendant, Mrs Faith Perry of Florida, supplied the writer with a large collection of correspondence and papers on this "Cuban connection".
How it fits the scrapbook:
- It supports the chain in Chapter 3: Anthony (1715–1776) and Sarah Embree → James Embree Glean (c. 1740) → James Embree Glean (1778–1839). It also gives an independent source for that step, the Collingwood Manuscript.
- It agrees with Riker (Chapter 3, Item 5): the Revolutionary soldier who died in 1842 in his 92nd year, so born about 1751, was the son of James (1718–1793), not of Anthony (1715–1776).
- James (1718) marrying Engeltje Buckhout adds a second Buckhout link. Johannes Buckhout was already the brother-in-law of Anthony Gleane (1686–1734) and an executor of his will (Chapter 5).
- "First cousin" is worth checking. If James Embree Glean (i) was a son of Anthony (1715), and Lieutenant Anthony a son of James (1718), they were first cousins, as the writer suggests.
To check: who wrote this typescript, and whether the rest of it and the Collingwood Manuscript survive; the copy of J.E.G.'s will (date, place and where it was proved); Elizabeth's marriage to John McComb; whether "Frank" is the Don Francisco R. Glean of Item 2.
Item 2 — "The 1896 Arrest of William & Louis Glean" (two pages)
The arrest (Subinclosure 3). Captain Benito Carreras of the local mounted guerrilla of Sagua la Grande reported on 13 Apr 1896 that insurgents were to meet at the farm "El Porvenir", on the grounds of the demolished plantation "Macun", under the command of "Mr. William Glean Tentres".
- He surrounded the house with 60 men. Mr Glean refused for fifteen minutes to open the door. When it was opened, a mounted party outside answered "Cuba!" to the challenge, and shots were exchanged before they fled.
- In the house were William, his brother Lewis (Louis), a man named Manuel Fernandez and, hidden between two partition walls, Lucio Martinez Mesa, armed with a Smith revolver.
- The search found a double-barrelled gun, a sword which Mr Glean said had belonged to his late father, two machetes, powder and cartridges. Two harnessed horses were found, one belonging to William Glean.
- All four were arrested and taken to Sagua.
The family's note. The mother of James, William and Louis was Emma Jenkins. Spanish custom names a person after both parents, so "William Glean Tentres" is taken to be a garbling of William Glean Jenkins.
The property (Subinclosure 4). The mayor of Sagua la Grande, Emilio Noruega, wrote on 14 Sep 1896 that the assessment books show the sugar plantation "Panchita", known as "Macun", under the name of the heirs of Don Francisco R. Glean. It had changed hands several times and had lately been adjudged to Messrs Radelat and Arenas. Some cattle were also registered to "the Glean Brothers".
What the wider correspondence adds (checked Oct 2026, Office of the Historian, FRUS 1896): the brothers were William A. Glean and Lewis M. Glean, both United States citizens. They were held at Lewis's house near Sagua and treated as planning to join the insurgents, though neither was found armed. Secretary of State Richard Olney instructed the US minister in Madrid to insist on their right, under the 1795 treaty and the 1877 protocol, to be tried by the ordinary courts rather than the military. By the Spanish reply of Dec 1896 (document) they had been held incommunicado for about 38 hours, released provisionally on 17 May 1896, and their case passed to the ordinary court on 5 Jul 1896. They are described there as lessees, not owners, of the land. The case was still open at the end of 1896.
To check: whether Don Francisco R. Glean is "Frank", son of Anthony Glean and Nancy Gorham (Item 1). If so, William, Lewis and James were Anthony's grandsons, and second cousins of Wharton Embree Glean. Also check how the case ended in 1897 (the next FRUS volume), and the brothers' US citizenship records (passport applications, naturalisation).
The Gentle and Brown ancestry of Eliza Jane Brown
Item 1 — Summary
Eliza Jane Brown's mother was Elizabeth Gentle, so the Gentle family of St George's, Grenada are ancestors of J.D. Glean's children. Several Gentles also married back into the Glean family.
| Generation | Person | Key facts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Robert Jeremiah Gentle (1801–1852) | Merchant, St George's; described as one of the "intelligent men of colour". He married (1) Abigail Campbell (1794–1840) in 1822, (2) Caroline Eliza Kerr in 1840, and (3) Mary Ann Church in 1848. The Slave Registers (1817–1834) show he held a few enslaved people, including George, Member, Dorinder and Mary, who came to him through his marriage to Abigail Campbell. Died 29 Apr 1852 |
| 2 | Elizabeth Gentle (b. 26 Jul 1830) | Married Holberton Octavius Brown, 28 Nov 1851. He was the son of James Nibbs Brown, clerk, and died by 1859 |
| 3 | Eliza Jane Brown (1854–1927) | Married James David Glean |
Other family links in the report:
- Gracie Louie Gentle (b. c. 1882), daughter of Archdeacon George Augustus Gentle, married Holberton Glean in 1913.
- George Edwin Palmer Gentle (1880–1958) married Harriet "Hattie" Kent, daughter of Frederick Kent. Frederick is in your tree (d. 1917, Willesden).
- Gwenyth (Gwen) Gentle Kent (b. 1914, Morne Fendue), daughter of George Kent and Louie Glean, is in both your Berkeley-Thomas and Simpson trees.
More on Robert Jeremiah Gentle and the slave registers (from the full report, Oct 2026): besides those who came with Abigail Campbell (George, Member, Dorinder and Mary; two girls, Kitty and Mary Ceil, were later sold), he was the registered owner from 1828 of enslaved people held as guardian of William Cooper, and in 1829 as executor of Janevieve Francis. Of her two, a 49-year-old African woman named Mary was left to Francoise Chiri, and a 22-year-old Grenadian woman, Cesarine, to Robert himself. He died on 29 Apr 1852; his will (9 Mar 1852) was proved on 17 May 1852 to Richard Walker, David James Davison, James Gentle and Mary Ann Gentle.
Item 2 — The full report: "Robert Jeremiah Gentle & his Descendants" (Ashley Steele)
Open the full report (PDF, 45 pages)
This 45-page report covers seven generations and about 100 numbered people, with detailed source notes (Grenada baptism, marriage, burial and probate record numbers), family letters and diary extracts. It includes the Brown, Glean, Copland, Kent, McNeilly, Smith, Steele and Layne descendants. Living people's details are marked "details excluded". It's too long to copy here in full; the parts that touch your tree are summarised above.
Chapter 6 — Sarah Miles (née Brown) (b. 1828)
Relationship to Sancia: her great-great-grandmother, on her father's side. Sarah was the mother of Sarah Ann Miles, Ursula Berkeley's mother.
Tree says: born c. 1828, Stepney; wife of — Miles; living South Hackney 1861 and Woodford Bridge, Essex 1871; by 1900 a widow living with her daughter Kate Beane's family in Passaic Ward 3, New Jersey ("Mother in Law"). Mother of Sarah Ann (b. 1850), Alfred (b. 1861), Florence Hannah (1863–65) and Kate (b. 1868).
Item 1 — Watercolour portrait by her daughter Kate Beane
To check: husband's first name; when Sarah emigrated to the USA; death date and place.
Item 2 — Her husband James Miles, lead and glass merchant (batch 6)
The tree doesn't yet name Sarah's husband. Two notes filed with David Simpson's letter to "Richard" (a Miles relative) fill the gap.
1. A CuriousFox (Middlesex) research note. It reads:
JAMES MILES, lead and glass merchant, born 1825, died Strand 1874, m. December 1847, Sarah Brown. His father may also have been James. Children, Sarah 1850, Henry 1852, Alfred 1855 (who emigrated to Argentina), James 1858, Elizabeth 1861, Marion c1865, Kate Miles 1868. Lived at 18 Church Street, Bethnal Green, then Ash Grove W2, then Woodford Green, Essex in 1871 census. His wife Sarah is listed as a widow in 1881 census, living in Gibraltar Place, Bethnal Green.
2. His business, from Spitalfields Life, "Sam Nicholls of Nicholls & Clarke". James Miles ran a building-supplies business in Commercial Street, Stepney, later in Shoreditch High Street. Sam Nicholls joined him in 1862 at 25 shillings a week and was earning £537 a year by 1875. "When, in 1875 James Miles' recklessness led to the demise of the company", Nicholls and Harry Clarke bought the business in July 1875. It became Nicholls & Clarke, which stayed at Norton Folgate/Shoreditch until 2003.
3. What David's letter adds about the daughters:
- Elizabeth, Marian Louise and Kate Miles arrived in New York together on 9 Aug 1880 aboard the Greece from London.
- Elizabeth married Peter F Campbell in Manhattan on 19 Jan 1895. Another note gives Peter's parents as George Campbell and Catherine Fraser.
- Marian Louise possibly married a Richard Wilson in Kings County, New York, on 15 Apr 1885.
- Kate married Edmund Murray Barnard Beane in New York City on 5 Apr 1895. In the 1900 census they were in Passaic with James (b. 1896), Beatrice (1897) and Florence (1899), plus Kate's widowed mother Sarah Miles.
Adds to the tree: Sarah's husband James Miles (1825–1874) and their marriage (Dec 1847); children Henry (1852) and James (1858), and Marian Louise (c. 1865); Kate's son James Beane (b. 1896); the family addresses and business story.
To check: Alfred's birth — 1855 here, 1861 in your tree. Sarah Ann's birth (1850) matches. James's death in 1874 in the Strand district, and his marriage in Dec 1847. Also, the 1875 collapse of the business came after his death in 1874 — was the firm run by his executors or a son?
Chapter 7 — James David Glean (1840–1915)
Relationship to Sancia: her great-great-uncle, a brother of her great-grandfather Wharton Embree Glean.
Tree says: James David Glean, born 1840, Grenada; son of James Glean (1814–1867) and Louisa Boyden; brother of Wharton Embree Glean. He married Eliza Jane Brown (1854–1927) on 13 Apr 1870, Grenada, and died 1 Aug 1915 at Bridgetown, Barbados. Thirteen children are listed, some apparently duplicated (Mabel and May; Louie).
Item 1 — Family history extract by Ashley Steele ("James David Glean and Eliza Brown")
This is the entry for Eliza Jane Brown from Ashley Steele's descendant report on the Gentle family (Item 2 of the next section). Ashley is a grandson of Holberton Glean through his daughter Lorna Mary Glean (Mrs George Sydney Steele). It's based on Grenada church, civil and probate records, with the reference numbers given.
| Fact | Ashley's report | Your tree |
|---|---|---|
| J.D.'s birth | 1850 (aged 26 at marriage, MR 548 of 1876) | 1840 |
| J.D.'s parents | James Glean, school teacher, and Louisa Taylor | James Glean and Louisa Boyden |
| Marriage | 16 Nov 1876, Wesleyan Chapel, St George's (MR 548 of 1876) | 13 Apr 1870 |
| J.D.'s occupation | Surveyor, merchant, planter | — |
| Eliza's birth and baptism | b. 28 Aug 1854, St George's; bap. 8 Oct 1854, Methodist Church (Bapt. 1577 of 1854) | 1854 |
| Eliza's death | 27 Dec 1927; buried same day, St Patrick's Anglican churchyard, aged 73; will signed 26 Dec 1927, probate 30 Jan 1928 to Emily Gertrude Copland and George Kent | 1927 |
| J.D.'s death | 1 Aug 1915, Bridgetown, Barbados; will signed 24 Aug 1913 at Mt Alexander, St Patrick's; probate 74/15 | Same death |
His will and the family quarrel. J.D. left Eliza an annuity of £30. He left his Mt Alexander Estate and a commercial property in Sauteurs (tenants included David Slinger & Co and the Government) to 8 of his 11 children. His house in Young Street, St George's went to four daughters: Edith Mabel, Agnes Eugenia, Lilian Marguerite and Ethel Claire. The estate was valued at under £10,000.
Three children were left out entirely: Holberton Colville, George Embree, and Maude, an invalid. Ashley's mother remembered that Holberton hated his sister Louie, wife of the executor George Kent. She hinted at it in her poem "To Aunt Louie — Morne Fendue Memories":
You took me in and fed me — / The small orphan at your gate, / The child, who once taught to love / Finds it difficult to hate.
The will was probated on 28 Jan 1916 to Fitz John Henry Copland, George Kent and John Jackson McNeilly (a "double probate").
J.D.'s reputation. Eric Glean, Sancia's uncle, wrote to his brother Alister from Pointe-à-Pierre, Trinidad, about 1940–41, after talking with Walter Moore:
"Old James Glean got the best of the bunch. The only one with brain; enough to rob even his brother, to double cross his son and to cheat his nephew (S.E.G) … The only one who could do the impossible — educate his children in England, leave wealth, and live a life of double-crossing in comfort."
"S.E.G." is Stedman Embree Glean, Eric's father and Sancia's grandfather.
Other details. Eliza's own will of Dec 1927 included all the children except Maude, who is said to have been an invalid from birth, kept in a room at Mt Alexander Great House; she died a month after her mother. Only the foundation walls of Mt Alexander Great House survive, on a promontory overlooking the west and north coasts of Grenada. In 1895 (Deed 333) Wharton Embree Glean conveyed the 50-acre "Mount Williams Des Elles" near Sauteurs to J.D., with a site plan J.D. drew himself.
Their children, from Ashley's report:
| Child | Born | Died | Married / notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emily Gertrude | 4 Feb 1878, Gouyave | 13 May 1957, Trinidad | Fitzjohn Henry Copland, 1900, merchant, Sauteurs |
| Holberton (Holly) Colville | 31 Mar 1880, Gouyave | Oct 1946, Mt Alexander | Gracie Louie Gentle, 3 Apr 1913; estate overseer |
| Louisa Beatrice (Louie) | 8 Feb 1882 | 11 Sep 1946, Morne Fendue | George Kent, 20 Jun 1907 (son of Frederick Kent) |
| Edith Mabel (May) | 27 Oct 1883, St George's | 1959; buried Kensal Rise, London | John Abram Jackson McNeilly, 8 Aug 1915 |
| George Embree | 20 Nov 1885 | — | m. a Gentle (entry 15) |
| Agnes Eugenie | 20 Oct 1889, St George's | 1962 | Nurse; to New York 1922 on SS Mayaro; McLean Hospital, Belmont, Mass.; De Vries marriage unproven |
| Charles Evans | c. Dec 1891 | 1951 | Partner Laffie James |
| Lilian Marguerite | 11 Feb 1894 | 1964 | Nurse, USA from 1922; Leonard Allen marriage unproven |
| Ethel Claire | 3 Mar 1896 | 14 Apr 1980, London W10 | — |
| Alice Maude | 1897 | Jan 1928 (buried 18 Jan, Sauteurs) | Invalid |
| James Henry Percy | 10 Sep 1897 | c. 1970, England | Ella Bacher; chief engineer, SS Ronald M. Scobie, 1952 |
To check: J.D.'s birth year (1840 or 1850) and mother (Boyden or Taylor). If he was born in 1850, is he really Wharton's brother, or a cousin? Also check the marriage date (1870 or 1876) against Grenada MR 548 of 1876. The tree's children need correcting: Ethel Clare's dates, Maude's death (1928 not 1960), and the duplicates Mabel/May and James/James Henry Percy.
Further details from Ashley's report and footnotes (added Oct 2026):
- Probate in two stages. J.D.'s will (probate 74/15) was first proved on 19 Nov 1915, when Fitz John Henry Copland alone was appointed. The other two executors, George Kent and John Jackson McNeilly, were added on 28 Jan 1916.
- Alice Maude's age. She was buried on 18 Jan 1928 "at age 40", which means she was born about 1887–88, not 1897. Her birth year in both the report and the tree needs checking.
- Ethel Claire died at 151 Highlever Road, London W10, on 14 Apr 1980.
- Agnes. The 1930 US census has her in Belmont, Massachusetts. The 1940 census has a "Gladys E. Glean", registered nurse, at McLean Hospital, Belmont, on $900 a year, who may be her.
- An earlier source. Parts of Ashley's report (Percy Glean's family and the McNeillys) come from a typed tree of J.D.'s descendants made many years ago by Aidan Layne for Betty Mascoll. If a copy survives in the family it is worth finding.
Item 2 — Portrait of J.D. Glean, c. 1855–1870 (batch 5)
To check: where and when it was taken (a studio stamp on the back would help). If J.D. was educated or worked in England, it may be an English studio portrait.
Web research (Oct 2026)
A Barbados burial register entry (Caribbean Family History):
| Field | Register says |
|---|---|
| Name | James David Glean |
| Buried | 1 Aug 1915, Westbury Cemetery, Barbados |
| Age | 64 |
| Residence | Homestead, Christ Church |
| Born | Grenada |
| Occupation | Planter of St Patrick's, Grenada |
To check: age 64 puts his birth about 1851, not 1840; and 1 Aug 1915 is his burial date, so he died a day or two earlier. A birth about 1851 would also make him closer in age to Eliza Jane Brown (b. 1854). Look for his baptism in Grenada to settle it.
Chapter 8 — Wharton Embree Glean (1841–1901)
Relationship to Sancia: her great-grandfather, on her mother's side. His son Stedman was the father of Sancia's mother, Lilias.
Tree says: Wharton Embree Glean, born 21 Dec 1841, Grenada; son of James Glean (1814–1867) and Louisa Boyden. He was Colonial Revenue Officer for St John and St Michael parishes (1867). He married Sarah Rebecca Moore (1846 – 7 Jan 1943), died 20 Sep 1901 at Sauteurs, St Patrick's, and was buried at St Patrick's Anglican churchyard. The only child recorded is Stedman Embree Glean (1869–1925), who married Helen Mary Alexander and was the father of Madeline (1899–1979) and Lilias (1907–1987, Sancia's mother).
Item 1 — "The Family of Wharton Embree Glean, circa 1900" (gleanealogy.com, saved 18 Dec 2009)
| Where in the photo | Who |
|---|---|
| Seated in chairs, back | Wharton Embree Glean (d. 1901) and his wife Sarah Jane Rebecca Moore (c. 1845–1943) |
| On the ground, left | Vernon Embree Glean ("J. Vernon Glean") and his wife Constance Carney |
| On the ground, centre | Alice Louisa Glean and her husband Nathaniel Isaac Deane |
| On the ground, right | Stedman Embree Glean ("Steddy", given as 1864–1925) and his wife Helen Mary Alexander (d. 1944) |
| The baby | Madeline Embree Glean ("Mae", 1899–1979) |
This is the hand-restored print, held by David Watson and scanned in 2004. Madeline was born in Oct 1899 and looks under a year old, so the photo was probably taken in 1900.
A second photo of Wharton, with J. Wildman at Streatham, London, in June 1889, is in the Gallery.
Adds to the tree: two more children of Wharton and Sarah — Vernon Embree (m. Constance Carney) and Alice Louisa (m. Nathaniel Isaac Deane); Sarah's middle name "Jane"; nicknames "Steddy" and "Mae".
To check: Stedman's birth year, 1864 (website) or 1869 (tree). Sarah's death: 7 Jan 1943 here, but 7 Jan 1942 in the Simpson tree. The tree's 1880 marriage for Stedman and Helen, when Helen (b. 1869) would have been 11 — probably 1898. Also, who now holds the prints (Uncle Kent, Shirley, Gillian, David Watson)?
The Glean family grave, Grenada — restoration notes
This is a note of decisions on restoring the family grave, which holds Wharton and Stedman Glean. It was agreed between Shirley and Sancia, with Gillian involved in the design. From the headstone, it's presumably at St Patrick's Anglican churchyard, Sauteurs, where Wharton and Stedman are recorded as buried.
Decisions:
- Repair: a retaining surround with a second tier, with the centre covered in river stones (colour to be agreed) to stop plant growth.
- Funding: paid from money left by Florence, about EC $7,000. Any residue goes towards a new plaque for Wharton and Stedman.
- Contractors: Otway Bailey to quote for the works by Friday 20 October. Marcus Bailey is to make and fit the plaques; he advised against standing headstones, which get used to tether animals.
- Plaques: slightly angled plaques of uniform design, set evenly on the south and north sides, in order of age:
| Order | Plaque for | Diocesan permission |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wharton & Stedman | Not needed (existing) |
| 2 | Boyce | Shirley to apply |
| 3 | May | Shirley to apply |
| 4 | Alistair | Granted (Shirley) |
| 5 | Florence | Granted (Shirley) |
| 6 | Lilias | Sancia has applied |
| 7 | Eric | Shirley to apply |
Each family chooses its own wording and pays for its own plaque; any residue of Florence's money is shared equally.
The seven names are Stedman's children and grandchildren: Wilfred "Boyce", Madeline "May", Alister, Florence Helen, Lilias and Eric. That suggests they are commemorated together here, even those who died abroad.
To check: the year of these notes (a Friday 20 October fell in 2017 and 2023); the full headstone inscription before it is replaced (the wife named is probably Sarah Rebecca Moore); whether the new plaques were installed, and their wording — worth photographing for the scrapbook.
Chapter 9 — Sarah Ann Miles (b. 1850)
Relationship to Sancia: her great-grandmother, on her father's side. Sarah Ann was the mother of Ursula Berkeley.
Tree says: born 1850, Mile End, Middlesex; baptised 4 Feb 1863, St Mary Whitechapel, Stepney; daughter of Sarah Miles née Brown; wife of Fitzhardinge John Earle Berkeley (b. 1853); mother of Ursula Saranne Berkeley. Sister of Kate Beane and Alfred Miles.
Item 1 — Portrait, 1877
To check: marriage date and place; death date and place (not in tree).
Two more photos of Sarah Ann are in the Gallery: "Grandma Berkeley" in a rocking chair (c. 1895–1910) and a damaged early-1900s portrait against tropical foliage.
Chapter 10 — John Edward Haines Thomas (1870–1960)
Relationship to Sancia: her grandfather, the father of her father Felix.
Tree says: born 7 June 1870, Barbados; brother of Edmund Lynch Thomas (1893–1992); husband of Ursula Saranne Berkeley; died 2 November 1960.
Item 1 — Photograph
Three later snapshots, probably of John and Ursula (on the steps with a dog, with a baby, and beside a car), are in the Gallery.
Web research (Oct 2026)
- The Alefounders at Grafton, Tobago. The University of the West Indies archive holds two 1974 design projects for "Mrs. E. Alefounder" at Grafton, Tobago: a beach hotel and a residential development. Grafton, a former cocoa estate, is now the Grafton Caledonia Wildlife Sanctuary (Afar). In 1960 Robert and Phyllis Alefounder were at Studley Park, so the family evidently also held Grafton.
To check: who "Mrs E. Alefounder" was — a later wife of Robert, or the wife of a son; when the Alefounders acquired Grafton; whether John and Ursula's house "Oneida" was on the same part of the coast.
Chapter 11 — Ursula Saranne Berkeley (1877–1961)
Relationship to Sancia: her grandmother, the mother of her father Felix.
Tree says: born 31 Aug 1877, Guave, St Andrew, Grenada; daughter of Fitzhardinge John Earle Berkeley and Sarah Ann Miles; married John Edward Haines Thomas; children include Felix Fitzhardinge Thomas (1903–1950) and Phyllis Ursula Thomas Alefounder (1905–1995); departed New York 29 Jun 1950; died 25 Aug 1961.
Item 1 — Photograph (IMG_3403)
More photos of Ursula are in the Gallery, including the 1898 carte de visite she sent from Brighton to "Ted", her future husband, signed "Sara". It shows she was in Brighton in the spring of 1898, aged 20.
To check: why she was in Brighton in 1898 (school, or relatives — Aunt Kate Beane's family?), and where the 1900 marriage took place.
Chapter 12 — Florence Sarah Beane (b. 1899)
Relationship to Sancia: her first cousin twice removed. Florence's mother, Kate Beane (née Miles), was a sister of Sancia's great-grandmother Sarah Ann Miles, so Florence and Sancia's grandmother Ursula were first cousins.
Tree says: born 12 Nov 1899, Passaic, New Jersey; daughter of Edmund Murray Barnard Beane and Kate Miles; baptised 27 Nov 1905, Newark; arrived New York 16 Jul 1916; boarder in Middletown, Connecticut 1920 (single); widowed head of household, Englewood NJ 1930 and New York City 1940; arrived Rio de Janeiro 1945. Sister of Beatrice Kate Beane (1897–1982).
Item 1 — Emergency passport application, Buenos Aires, 19 June 1916
- Applicant: Florence S. Beane, student, aged 16
- Born: Passaic, New Jersey, 12 October 1899
- Father: naturalized US citizen
- Permanent US residence: Fitchburg, Massachusetts
- Left the US on 1 May 1906 (so living abroad, probably Argentina, from age 6)
- Returning to the US via Uruguay, Brazil and the West Indies
- Sworn before John E. Martin Jr at the US Embassy, Buenos Aires
This fits the tree's arrival in New York on 16 Jul 1916, four weeks later.
Item 2 — Brazilian consular registration card, 5 January 1945
- Name: Florence Sarah Beane Davis
- Born: Passaic, NJ, 12/11/1899 (Brazilian day/month order = 12 November)
- Marital status: widow; occupation: advogada (lawyer)
- Parents: Edmund and Kate Beane
- Resident of New York
- US passport no. 2069, issued 2 Jan 1945; visa no. 26
- Signed by consul Sotero Cosme
Adds to the tree: she qualified as a lawyer; US passport number; exact visa date for the 1945 Brazil trip; Fitchburg, Mass. as family home address in 1916; the family's move abroad in 1906.
To check: birth day (12 Oct vs 12 Nov); husband Davis — name, marriage date, his death before 1930; why the family was in Buenos Aires (link to uncle Alfred Miles, who died there?).
Item 3 — David Simpson's research notes on Florence (batch 6)
From David's letter to "Richard":
- In 1906, aged 6, she left the US for Argentina after school in Fitchburg, Mass., "presumably" to live with her uncle Alfred Miles.
- She returned to the US on 16 Jul 1916 aboard the Vauban.
- 1920 census: a boarder with Nathan Smith's family in Connecticut. He was a foreman in a textile factory; she gave her occupation as interpreter in the factory.
- 1930 census: Florence Davis, head of household in Englewood, NJ, working as a secretary in a bank (parents born Nova Scotia and England).
- 1940 census: a widow on Riverside Drive, New York City, with daughters Elizabeth (14) and Joan (4). Occupation lawyer, income $3,500 a year.
Adds to the tree: her two daughters, Elizabeth (b. c. 1926) and Joan (b. c. 1936), and her occupations. Joan's birth c. 1936, after the 1930 "widowed" entry, suggests she was separated rather than widowed in 1930, or that she remarried.
Chapter 13 — Felix Fitzhardinge Thomas (1903–1950)
Relationship to Sancia: her father.
Tree says:
- Born 2 Feb 1903 at Merchiston Estate, Tobago.
- Journalist at the Trinidad Guardian, Port of Spain, 1945–50.
- Died 1 May 1950 in Port of Spain, aged 47; buried 3 May 1950 at Mucurapo Cemetery (note: "St Crispins Church").
- Parents: John Edward Haines Thomas (b. 1870, Barbados) and Ursula Saranne Berkeley (b. 1877, Grenada), married 6 Jun 1900. His middle name comes from his maternal grandfather, Fitzhardinge John Earle Berkeley.
- Five known siblings, including Phyllis Ursula (1905–1995) and Maud (1913–2011).
- Wife Lilias Embree Glean (1907–1987, born Sauteurs, Grenada; entered in the tree under her married name, Thomas). Daughter Sancia, born Port of Spain, 12 Sep 1948.
Item 1 — Research findings (from the research chat)
Where Felix fits. Felix and Anthony Gleane are the two ends of the chain this tree is named after, but Felix is not descended from Anthony. Lilias is, as Anthony's 6× great-granddaughter. So their daughter Sancia descends from both the Berkeley–Thomas line (through Felix) and the Glean line (through Lilias).
Weaknesses in his record:
- That Felix was Sancia's father is confirmed first-hand, by Sancia herself and by his wife Lilias Glean. Only the documents are missing: in the Ancestry tree his facts still cite just "Ancestry Family Trees", so his dates have no primary record yet.
- There is no marriage date or place for Felix and Lilias.
His birthplace. According to UCL's Legacies of British Slavery database, Merchiston was formed from lots in the Queen's Bay division of St Paul parish, Tobago. It was held by Mrs Napier in 1832 and recorded as abandoned by 1862. By 1903 it was presumably being worked again or used for something else. Did his father work there, perhaps as manager or overseer? (The photographs of Merchiston are in the next section.)
Where to look next:
- Obituary. A Trinidad Guardian journalist who died in post would very likely have had a death notice or obituary in the paper around 2–5 May 1950. Back issues are on microfilm at NALIS (the national library in Port of Spain) and in the British Library's newspaper collections.
- Civil records. The Registrar General in Port of Spain should hold his 1903 Tobago birth, his marriage and his 1950 death. FamilySearch also has some Trinidad & Tobago civil and church records.
- Church registers. St Crispin's Anglican church may hold the burial entry and possibly the marriage.
- UK records for Lilias. She died in London in 1987, with probate granted in 1988. Her will and death certificate may name Felix and give the marriage.
- A timing clue. His mother Ursula left New York on 29 Jun 1950, only weeks after his death. That passenger list may show where she was heading and why.
To check: all of the above. These would add documents for his dates. His place as Sancia's father is not in question: it was confirmed first-hand by Sancia and by Lilias.
Merchiston Estate, Tobago, and other places
Tree says: Felix Fitzhardinge Thomas, Sancia's father, was born at Merchiston Estate, Tobago, on 2 Feb 1903, so John and Ursula Thomas were living there then.
Item 1 — "Merchiston", original print
Item 3 — Unlabelled house with arched porch
Item 4 — Unlabelled view over a bay
To check: where Merchiston Estate was (parish, and whether the house survives); whether the arched-porch house and the bay can be identified — any writing on the backs?
Item 5 — Merchiston: the wooden estate house
Item 6 — The dining room at Oneida
To check (Items 5–6): where in Tobago Merchiston and Oneida stood, and whether either house survives; the dates of both prints.
Chapter 14 — Eric Talbot Shakespear Miles
Relationship to Sancia: not proven, because Eric isn't in the tree. If Alfred Miles (b. 1861), her great-great-uncle, was Eric's grandfather as suggested below, Eric was Sancia's second cousin once removed.
Tree says: not in the tree. Likely connection: Alfred Miles (b. 1861 Mile End Old Town; left London 18 Nov 1920; died Buenos Aires) may be the father of Alfred Shakespear Miles, which would make Eric his grandson.
Item 1 — Biographical notes (screenshot, 28 Nov 2019)
To check: prove Alfred Shakespear Miles (b. 1885) is the son of Alfred Miles (b. 1861) — look for an 1885 birth/baptism (London or Buenos Aires) and the 1891 census; only then add Eric and his parents to the tree.
Item 2 — Fuller copy of the same table (batch 4)
A second screenshot of the same source shows more than Item 1:
- Eric was one of nine children: "Son (with six brothers and two sisters)".
- Rank before commission: L/Cpl (date "?"). 2nd Lt 3 Jun 1943 [291852]; WS/Lt 3 Dec 1943 (relinquished 21 Oct 1946); Hon. Lt 21 Oct 1946.
- Role in "B" Squadron, 25th Dragoons: 4 Troop Leader, then 1 Troop Leader.
- Wife Cynthia Zia Hester Westenra: 7 Sep 1920 – 23 Mar 2002. Her parents: Hon. Richard Westenra (1893–1944) and Alice Florence Blacker-Douglas (1895–1975).
- "His son writes: He was commissioned at Dehradun Indian Military Academy … His and one of his troop's tanks were burnt out on 11th February 1944. He and his crew received a replacement Lee the next morning. He is mentioned in three books about The Admin Box. The most recent 'Burma '44' by James Holland."
Item 3 — Passenger list: the Miles family to Buenos Aires via Montevideo
They were landing at Buenos Aires; the entry above theirs is for Montevideo. Alfred's age (41, b. 1885) dates the voyage to about 1926. Eric (b. 1921) isn't with them, so he may already have been at school in England, or the rest of the family is on another page.
Adds: Eric's siblings Joan Muriel (b. c. 1924) and Peter Percy (b. c. 1926); the family's English address in Bromley, Kent; Alfred's occupation, farmer (probably an estancia in Argentina).
To check: the full page and date of this list (UK Outward Passenger Lists, 1890–1960) and the ship's name; Peter Percy's birth registration (Bromley, c. 1926), which would give his mother's maiden name, Hirst, and confirm the family.
Item 4 — The 1926 visit to England (David Simpson's notes, batch 6)
Alfred Shakespear Miles arrived at Southampton from Buenos Aires on 26 Apr 1926 aboard the Arlanza, travelling first class. With him were his wife Ethel Josephine, Joan Muriel (2) and Peter Percy (5 months); he gave his occupation as farmer. Their last address in England was the Vanderbilt Hotel, Cromwell Road. They sailed back to Buenos Aires on 1 Sep 1926 aboard the Almanzora, when he gave his name as "Alfredo" and his occupation as "rancher".
That makes the passenger list above (Item 3) the return voyage of September 1926. Its Bromley address (Braunton House, Durham Road) differs from the Vanderbilt Hotel, so the family may have moved during the visit.
Chapter 15 — Jennifer Ann Brown and Glenn Harvey Campbell (1944–1988; 1935–1988)
Relationship to Sancia: Jennifer was her first cousin, because Jennifer's mother Maud and Sancia's father Felix were sister and brother. Glenn was Jennifer's husband.
Tree says: Jennifer Ann Brown was born 21 Feb 1944 in Port of Spain. Her parents were Mitchell Brown and Maud Nelson Miles Berkeley Thomas (1913–2011), a daughter of John Edward Haines Thomas and Ursula Berkeley — so Jennifer was Sancia's first cousin. She married Glenn Harvey Campbell (b. 23 Feb 1935, Cleveland, Ohio). Both died on 31 Aug 1988, Jennifer at Euless and Glenn at Dallas, Texas.
How they died. Glenn and Jennifer were among the 14 people killed when Delta Air Lines Flight 1141, a Boeing 727 bound for Salt Lake City, crashed on take-off at Dallas/Fort Worth on 31 August 1988. The crew had not set the flaps and slats for take-off; 94 of the 108 on board survived. See Delta Air Lines Flight 1141 on Wikipedia.
Adds to the tree: their children, Robert and Vivian; the cause of death.
Item 1 — Christmas card, 1979
The photo on the card shows the four of them: Glenn and Jennifer, their daughter Vivian (the girl in yellow on the rope swing) and their son Robert, whose name is cut off the card.
To check:
- Robert's and Vivian's dates, and whether they should be added to the tree. The tree lists a "Glenn H. Campbell" and "Jennifer Campbell" under Glenn's parents, which looks like a misplacement.
The Glean surname
Item 1 — "Glean Family Crest and Name History", HouseOfNames.com (saved 18 Dec 2009)
Note of caution: this is a commercial surname page, not a pedigree. It doesn't show that the Newtown Gleanes (Anthony Gleane, c. 1630–1691) came from Cornwall or were entitled to any arms. The page itself says no family can claim arms without proven descent. It's worth keeping as background only.
Research reference sites
Your saved list of useful sites:
- Berkeley Memorial — Wikipedia
- Berkeley Memorial — memorial drinking fountains blog
- Legacies of British Slavery — person record 2146640785
- Google Books — search "Anthony Gleane Newtown"
- HathiTrust catalogue record 000362454
- FamilySearch — A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England
- First Settlers of New England (genealogyvillage.com)
Leads from your saved search pages ("GLEAN GENEOLOGY 2" / "glean geneology", a 2000s Google search for "james embree glean"):
Gleanealogy.com, "The Glean Family, circa 1900. Panorama Estate — St Patrick's Parish — Grenada". This is the family website behind the Wharton Glean photo.
Grenada deed-index entries posted to the CARIBBEAN-L mailing list, for James Embree Glean:
- 1811: release of mortgage from Alexander Fraser
- 1812: lease and release from Hugh Rose
- 1813: feoffment from Lucy Campbell
- 1831: release of dower from William Burke
These are the only documents so far placing James Embree Glean (b. 1778) in Grenada, and they are key to proving the New York–Grenada link.
New York marriage licences before 1784: Jacob Emmens and Elizabeth Glean, 30 Apr 1771; Stephen Embree and Hannah Emmery, 5 Feb 1776.
Quaker Church Cemetery, Town of Saratoga: Erwin Glean, d. 5 Aug 1882 aged 9 days, son of George and Mattie Glean.
ArchiveGrid lists a collection under "Glean, James E".
The Embree Family Genealogy Forum has a thread "EMBREE / GLEAN" by Alan Osborn.
Research report: Felix Thomas, Anthony Gleane and the Berkeley origins
This typed research report (filed twice, as identical copies) reviews your Ancestry export of 614 people in 167 families. It explains how the tree's two "ends" connect: Anthony Gleane is Lilias's 6× great-grandfather, and so Sancia's ancestor, but not Felix's. The chain is:
Anthony (1630) → Anthony (1686–1734) → Anthony (1715–1776) → James Embree (1740–1811) → James Embree (1778–1839) → James (1814–1867, Grenada) → Wharton Embree (1841–1901) → Stedman Embree (1869–1925) → Lilias
The report's findings are now filed with the people they concern:
- Felix Fitzhardinge Thomas (1903–1950): his record, its weaknesses and where to look next.
- Anthony Gleane (c. 1630–1691), Item 7: the chain, the tree's problems and where to look next.
- Berkeley ancestry, Item 4: Felix's Berkeley descent, the Berkeley Castle / "alias Rutley" question and how to test it.
It also noted that Stedman Glean's marriage is recorded as 1880, when he would have been 11. That's probably a typo for about 1898; see Wharton Embree Glean.