ESPY FAMILY of Pennsylvania

         GEORGE ESPY

BAKER FAMILY HISTORY

AND GENEALOGY

"Our immediate ancestors are Scotch that came to the Scottish Plantation of Down-Antrim at the time when religious persecution was greatest in Scotland. They were signers of the "Solemn League and Covenant,"

Source: The Espy Family in America by Florence Mercy Espy p. 10

THIS PAGE IS A COMPLILATION OF MATERIALS THAT I HAVE FOUND ON MY ESPY

LINE PRESENTED ALONG WITH MY OWN PERSONAL RESEARCH. IT IS PRESENTED

HERE AS A RESEARCH AID FOR YOUR OWN RESEARCH AND ALL FACTS SHOULD

BE VERIFIED.



This family ancestry was compiled several years ago for my family and as such, it was not originally intended to be put on the Internet. Since most of my inquiries from the Internet are about the Espy family, I am including this chapter in hopes that it will help other Espy researchers. As of this date March 8, 2005 I am including only those individuals that are my direct ancestors their children and grandchildren. It is my goal to present an in-depth Espy family research page within one easy to access site. This is such a large family that it will take me years to update and put up a complete family listing so please be patient.

Most of the descendancies comes from the Espey-Espy Genealogy Book, which was a heroic effort on the part of the authors to provide an accurate record of the family, there are some inconsistencies and errors contained in the three-volume set. This site information is basically a compilation taken from books, newspapers, and the Internet and over the years, some of the sources have been mislaid. It is not my intent to claim this work as my own and if anyone should recognize his own work being reproduced here without the proper credit please accept my apologies and do contact me with the correct source information and URL [if you have one] so that I may give you proper credit.

If you have some information or ancestors that you would like to add to this site please contact me.

DESCENDANTS OF GEORGE ESPY

Generation 1

1. GEORGE ESPY was born 1623 in Edinborough, Midlothian, Scotland, and died in County Antrium, Ulster, Ireland. He married NANCY PATTON 1645 in Edinborough, Midlothian, Scotland. She was born 1625 in Edinborough, Midlothian, Scotland.

Notes for GEORGE ESPY:

"In her 1905 book, Florence Mercy Espy says, ". . . George Espy who came to the "Plantations" in Ireland from Scotland, as early as 1610. Their descendants are scattered over the north of Irleland and some of them live there to this day, while many of them have emigrated to America and Australia. We find record of two families that in later and more peaceful times returned to Scotland and settled in and about Glasgow, where their descendants still live.

Source: The Espy-Espey Geneaalogy Book vol. I p. v

Child of GEORGE ESPY and NANCY PATTON is:

2. i.    HUGH ESPY, b. Abt. 1643.

Generation 2

2. HUGH ESPY (GEORGE1) was born Abt. 1643 probably in Edinborugh, Midlotian, Scotland. He married LISA UNKNOWN or MARY STEWART. She was born 1649 in Edinborough, Midlothian, Scotland, and died in County Antrium, Ulster, Ireland.

Notes for LISA UNKNOWN and MARY STEWART:

There is no proof that either Lisa [Elizabeth?] or Mary Stewart was the wife of Hugh or the mother of Josiah. (I have another Mary Stewart b. about 1735 listed as married to ( # 16) Hugh Espy b. about 1735). There most likely was only one couple with these names and they were probably the latter couple. Records on this family are not available and there is a lot of speculation going around.

Child of HUGH ESPY and LISA UNKNOWN or MARY STEWART is:

            3.    i.    JOSIAH ESPY, b. 1670



Nov. 2008

Hi Linda,

I have spent a considerable amount of time recently searching for documentation on the parents of Josiah Espy, b. 1670 in Ireland. As you know Florence Mercy Espy listed his father as Hugh, b. 1647 in Scotland. In the preface of William G. Espy 's book there are comments about the lack of documentation for Josiah's ancestors and he chose not to list them in his books. I subscribe to the services of scotlandspeople.gov and have paid fees to search 7 government data sets for Josiah's ancestors. I did not find a single reference to a George Espy, Hugh Espy or Nancy Patton during the period of 1600-1800. I have also been communicating with 3 separate professional genealogists in Scotland about the possibility of locating Josiah's ancestors. I have considered paying a fee for a Scottish genealogist to do research, but none of these professionals have convinced me that they can find documentation of Josiah's ancestors. Therefore, I have decided to drop Josiah's ancestors from my tree to avoid propagating errors that appear to exist in hundreds of trees now existing for Espy/Espey families in the USA.

Harry Espey

Generation 3

3. JOSIAH ESPY (HUGH2, GEORGE1) was born 1670 in County Antrium, Ulster, Ireland, and died in Paxtang, (Harrisburg) Dauphin Co., PA. He married PRISCILLA MITCHELL 1690 in County Antrium, Ulster, Ireland. She was born 1672 in County Antrium, Ulster, Ireland, and died in Paxtang, Dauphin Co., PA. Old Derry Church Yard, many claim that he was buried here but the old church records do not support the claim.

Notes for JOSIAH ESPY:

“It is likely that members of the Espy clan went from Scotland with, or following the Hamilton family from the original area south of Glasgow to the Hamilton Estate in Ireland partially located in County Down.

A Rev. James McGregor, Minister of the Aghadowey congregation in County Londonderry, was influential in persuading many of the Ulster Scots to emigrate to America.

Josiah and Priscilla Mitchell Espy were married in Ireland, it is supposed, but no record can be found, neither can any proof be found that they crossed the ocean, nor can we find any record of death of either." At the present time we are unaware of any documented proof that supports the chronology and relationship of the three generations - George, Hugh, and Josiah - referred to above. Florence Mercy Espy's old book is all we can quote as to the Scotland - Ireland connection. Her working papers and supporting document, done in Fort Madison, Iowa, at the end of the nineteenth century have long since been lost."

Source: The Espy-Espey Geneaalogy Book vol. p. v

Children of JOSIAH ESPY and PRISCILLA MITCHELL are:

         4.       i.    SAMUEL ESPY, b. 1693

         5.      ii.    GEORGE ESPY, b. May 17, 1699

                 iii.    MARTHA ESPY b. 1697; m. HUMPHREY FULLERTON; b. Abt. 1697.

        6.      iv.    JOSIAH ESPY, b. 1699

                  v.    ELIZABETH ESPY, b. 1700; m. 1720 LYTLE.

                 vi.    MARY ESPY, b. 1702; m. 1722 MONTGOMERY.

        7.     vii.    JOHN ESPY, b. 1704.

                         More About JOHN ESPY:

                         Twin of William

               viii.    WILLIAM ESPY, b. 1704.

         More About WILLIAM ESPY:

         Twin of John, he may have died young

                 ix.    JEAN ESPY, b. 1706; m. GILCHRISt.

                  x.    PRISCILLA ESPY, b. 1708; m. JOHN PATTERSON; b. Abt. 1708.

Linda Hansen