ALICE WELLSMITH
THE STORY AS I KNOW IT
Alice may have been a Wellsmith was
born Jan 16, 1637/38 in Hadwell Parish, Inksborough,
Worcester, England. Her parents were said to
be John George Wellsmith and Alice Moth Maris.
However, there is no documentation re her
birth name or birth date. All the dates and parents
are found in Family Search under Alice
Wellsmith. Her birth name Wilsmith or
Wellsmith is also found on Find A Grave.
Inkbarrow has a parish church, St. Peter's which dates from the 13th century. Grafton Flyford also has an ancient church. The villages are less than 5 miles apart and both are east of the small city of Worcester. Actually the exact wording that is on the web " George Maris born Dec. 2, 1632 Grafton Flyford, christened 1632 in Hadswell Parish, Inksborough." I can find no reference to a Hadswell Parish. Inkberrow, yes. So my assumption is that George Maris was born in this area, and eventually connected to Inkborough and Grafton Flyford.
However, I recently received a message from a member of the Stanley family who has lived in the area for at least 400 years. She said Hadswell should be spelled Chadswell and was a part of the Inkberrow Parish mid 1600s. It is just east of Inkberrow. Cladswell Home Farm was where her ancestor John Stanley lived and was visited by George Fox. Chadswell is now the village of Cookhill, also known as Coles Hill. Thank you Alison.I'm hopeful to find Chadwells parish records confirm the data from Family Search.
In 1659 Alice married George
Maris of the same town. He was a
shoemaker and a Quaker. they had 6 known
children. All were born in the Hadwell Parish and
all, but last two emigrated with their parents to
Pennsylvania, married and died there. .
1. Alice Maris born Oct 17, 1660, married Jacob
Simcock. She died Dec 10 1726 in Pennsylvania
2. George Maris Jr. born Dec. 2, 1662,
married Jane Maddock. He died Nov. 1705 in
Pennsylvania
3. Elizabeth Maris born March 1664/65 married
John Mendenhall. She died before 1708 in
Pennsylvania
4. Anna Maris born June 18, 1667 married John
Worrilow. When she died is unclear, but
after 1710 in Pennsylvania
5. John
Maris born May 21, 1669 married Susannah
Lewis. He died March 8, 1746/47 in
Pennsylvania
6. Richard Maris born Nov. 20 1672 married Elizabeth
Hayes. He died 1745 in Pennsylvania
7. Susanne Maris born 1674 and died before
they emigrated in 1683
8. Katherine Maris born 1677 and died before they
emigrated in 1683
George was a practicing Quaker and as such was
subjected to fines and imprisonment in England. He
finally decided the only way to live a full life was to
emigrate to Pennsylvania, which they did in 1683.
There is a Darby Certificates of Removal: George
Maris of Grafton Flyford in Worcestershire produced
a certificate from Hadswell Monthly Meeting,
Worcestershire, England, for himself, his wife and minor
children, recorded 6th day, 3rd mo, 1683. The Quaker
year began in March so I believe this would be May.
The family sailed for America aboard the ship, Bristol
Comfort. He was granted 400 acres on 16 Oct 1683 in
Springfield Township, Chester County, PA.
George built a substantial building of stone, called Home
House. The house remained in the Maris family
until the early 1900s. It still stands at 421 N. State Road, Springfield, PA
and there is a website dedicated to the story of the house
with a photo. http://www.delcohistory.org/shs/maris.htm
The township of Springfield got its name because of the
large spring near George's home. He became a
minister of the Society of Friends, active in the Chester
Monthly meeting. and was justice of holding courts for
Chester County from 1685 until 1693. His children
all married into Quaker families of the Chester and
Delaware counties PA and stayed near by.
Alice Wellsmith Maris died March 11,1699. from a Quaker
Records of Pennock family connected Deaths, page 3.
George lived another 6 years. I would guess
they were buried on their estate. Find a Grave says they
were buried in Chester County. Fits.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
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Doc; gpwel010.html
Date created: 1/27/2013
Date edited 11/3/2022
Date edited 5/14/2024
Date edited 11/9/2024