Monthly Archives: May 2017

George Hammitt or George Hamack

Much like the story from a few weeks ago, about how often Asahel Barnes is confused with his cousin, Asahel Barnes, it appears there are times when George Hamack is mistaken for George Hammitt of Burlington County, New Jersey.  As a result, the records of their sons, each named Samuel and each with a wife whose maiden name was Sharp, are also merged together in some histories.  The story of two Georges, two Samuels and two Sharp women is as difficult to understand as it is to tell.  Many of the facts we uncovered were discovered while trying to confirm whether Samuel Hammitt, the son of George Hammitt and Rhoda Packer, was married to Elizabeth Sharp or Esther Sharp.

The Haddonfield Monthly Minutes of the Friends Society recorded the marriage of Esther Sharp and Samuel Hamack, son of George Hamack, deceased, in 1749.  Wondering if this was an alternate spelling of the Hammitt name, we dug a little deeper.  Continue reading

Searching for Samuel Hammitt and Jane Simmons

Samuel Hammitt (1754-1807) and Jane Simmons (1750-1825)

Our biggest roadblock throughout this search has been determining the ancestors of Samuel Hammitt and Jane Simmons.  Following the family’s roots back to Philadelphia was easily documented.  Documenting a jump across the river has proven a bit more challenging.  It was Joachim’s journal that told us to make the leap when he identified his ancestor as Isaac, who first made a home in South Jersey.  Almost all the 1800, 1810 and 1820 New Jersey Federal Census records were lost, the exception being the 1800 records for Cumberland County and the 1820 records for Roxbury and Morris Counties.  While the Cumberland County records survived, they are not available online.[1]  For the time being we rely on tax records, Wills or the abstracts of Wills, Church records and the Monthly Meeting records of the Friends Society.  Through these records we identify extended family members and begin to understand the relationships between families.


Samuel is first found in the records of Christ Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where, on 10 January 1763, Samuel, his sister, Mary, and their father, Isaac, were Baptized by Rev. Richard Peters, D.O.  Continue reading