JOHN HENRY GREGG
THE STORY AS I KNOW IT
John Henry Gregg was born 1668 in Ardmore,
Waterford Ireland. This is a port town on the south
coast of Ireland about half way between Cork and the town of
Waterford. According to Wiki it is the oldest
Christian town in Ireland. His parents were Willaim Gregg Jr. and
Anne Wilkinson.
From about 1660 on Quakers were looked on with disfavor and
distrust by British Parliament and a steady increase of
penalties were experienced. The Gregg family had
been influenced by William Penn about 1678 and became
Quakers. In 1682 they became part of the first group of
Quakers to leave Great Britain for Pennsylvania, probably aboard
the Caledonia. this included their eldest child, 14 year
old John Henry Gregg. Re Immigration of
Irish Quakers to Pennsylvania by Albert Cook Myers.
The Gregg family settled on the west side of Brandywine
creek near what is now Centerville. The built there was
called Strand Millas. It lay on what is now called
Montchanin Rd and contained land now part of Winterthur and
Wilmington Country Club. Ten Mile country and
Its Pioneer Families by Howard Lewis Leckey, about page 531 has
a section on the Gregg family It states that John
Henry Gregg owned
3 square miles along the Brandywine and his house is on the
Hagley Property.
The family first participated in the Newark Quaker Meeting
on the east side of the Brandywine. But because of
the danger of crossing the Creek, they were given permission
along with neighbors, Mathias Defosse, Henry and Thomas
Hollingsworth, and others to start their own
meeting. It became Centre Meeting on Centre Meeting Rd,
just East of Centreville.
William
Gregg died five years after arriving in America. John
H Gregg was 19 years old and became head of the family at
that time. The land and property continued under his
care. In 1694 he built a stone house on the land, 2-story.
Later that same year, on November 11, 1694 he married Elizabeth
Cooke at Concord Friends Meeting. Re
A short History of John Henry Gregg's Family and their
Ancestors by Elma Gregg Marshall
John
Henry and Elizabeth Cooke Gregg had a large family.
According to Ms Marshall, they had 3 daughters and 4
sons. However, there may have been other children
which died young so were not included in his will.
Those known via the will were:
William Gregg born 1695
Emey Gregg born 1698
Thomas Gregg born 1701
Samuel Gregg born Aug 5, 1710 ) twins
Jospeh Gregg born Aug 5, 1710 )
Hannah Gregg born 1713
Rebecca Gregg born about 1716
He was said to be serious and obviously a good business man. He remained active with the Quakers and was helpful as advisor and legally to his sister, Anne at the death of both of her husbands, first William Dickerson in 1708 and then John Houghton in1720.
John and Elizabeth Gregg bought land to erect a Grist Mill on Aug. 17, 1702 re Ms Marshall. She also stated that at one time John Gregg owned 5700 acres of land along the Brandywine River including the first mill at Rockland. Eventually, most of his land was owned by the DuPont family and company.. For a very interesting description of the property owned by the Gregg family go to http://mchhistory.blogspot.com/2013/02/mch-history-blog-on-road-strand-millas.htmlIn 1735 John Gregg of Christiana Hundred, New Castle County, yeoman stated "that he has dwelt in the said County about 51 Years". #175, Miscellaneous papers, 1655-1805, three Lower counties, Historical society of Penna. It is not known why he made the declaration.
On April 27, 1738 John Henry Gregg made a will as yeoman of Christiana Hundred. It was probated March 6 1738/39. He names his wife Elizabeth, William "my eldest son", Thomas, Joseph, Samuel, Hannah, Rebecca, Emey.
The Executors were sons William and Thomas.
He was buried at the Centre Meeting Burial Grounds. There is a note that Elizabeth Gregg died later that same year. But I do not have a source for that. I must believe she is buried with John Henry Gregg.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
If you know the answer please CONTACT US
How do we know his birth year?
Find deeds and patents for the land owned by the Gregg family.
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Doc; gpgre050.html
Date created 9/2/2021
Date updated 6/23/2022
Date edited 5/21/2023