Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia, and Me

An interesting item was posted on Facebook by the Hampton History Museum this month. I made an immediate connection between Elizabeth Queen of Bohemia and our own family history, but I had no idea that this Elizabeth was the one for whom the places in Tidewater are named! Elizabeth River, Elizabeth City County... I always assumed they were named for Queen Elizabeth I of England, as the state of Virginia was.

Posted on Facebook February 13, 2016

My ancestors were in the Bohemian Queen's inner circle! Here is an excerpt from a previous blog entry (4/12/15) that I wrote about Nicholas Stillwell, my 9th great grandfather and Abigail Hopton, my 9th great grandmother:

Nicholas Stillwell was born in Surrey, England in 1603. He fled England to escape religious persecution, becoming a soldier of Elizabeth Stuart the Queen of Bohemia who was protestant. Elizabeth is called "the Winter Queen" because of her short tenure in the winter of 1619-1620. According to tradition, he married one of her maids of honor, Abigail Hopton, in about 1630. After the defeat of Prague, Elizabeth went into exile at The Hague, and her army disbanded. Nicholas came to America and settled in Virginia.

My ancestor, Nicholas Stillwell came to Virginia around 1630 and owned a tobacco plantation on the York River (where the Colonial Parkway is today) and was a well-known leader in the colonists' fight against the Indians. Could he have been instrumental in giving the Elizabeth River its name? Elizabeth City County? It is entirely possible!

This is the story I found: 

The Elizabeth River in colonial Southeastern Virginia was named in honour of the princess, as was Cape Elizabeth a peninsula, and today, a town in the United States in the state of Maine. John Smith explored and mapped New England and gave names to places mainly based on the names used by Native Americans. When Smith presented his map to Charles I, he suggested that the king should feel free to change the "barbarous names" for "English" ones. The king made many such changes, but only four survive today, one of which is Cape Elizabeth.[47] 

 Stewart, George R. (1967) [1945], Names on the Land: A Historical Account of Place-Naming in the United States (Sentry edition (3rd) ed.), Houghton Mifflin, p. 38

I find it fascinating that my family history is so deeply embedded in the history of Tidewater Virginia, especially on my maternal side.  As far as I ever knew, my mother's family came from "out west," and my father's family from Richmond and New Jersey. How they ended up here, where it all began, it such an amazing saga!

Lt. Nicholas Stillwell > Capt. Nicholas Stillwell > Nicholas Stillwell III > John Stillwell > William L. Stillwell > Catherine Stillwell > Capt. Jacob Wandell > Miriam Olivia Wandell > Ada Clemina Hall > Horace C. Crofford > Virginia M. Crofford > Teresa Zaun Austin

Places to go, People to see: The Old Country

Here are the locations in Europe that our ancestors emmigrated from:

England
Paternal:

• Langley Parish, Kent - Thomas Judd (paternal)
• Suffolk - John Wilcox (paternal)
• Stourton, Whichford, Warwickshire - Thomas Welles & Alice Tomes
• Ringstead, Northamptonshire - Hannah Tuttle (paternal)
• Bridgenorth - Thomas Thompson (paternal)
• Warwickshire - Ann Thompson Hawkins (paternal)
• Bingley, West Yorkshire, England - William Bradley (paternal)
• Surrey - Thomas Dickerman (paternal)
• London - John C. Abbott (paternal)
• Gillingham, Dorset - John Greene
• Dunton-Bassett, Leicester County - William Almy
• South Kilworth, Leicestershire - Elizabeth Audrey Barlowe
• Long Lane, London, Middlesex - Roger Williams
• Worksop, Nottinghamshire - Mary Barnard
• High Laver, Essex - Roger Williams m. Mary Barnard
• Tichfield, Hampshire - William Sabin
• Stepney, Middlesex - Mary Elizabeth Wright
• St Albans, Hertfordshire - James Ashton
• Norwich, Norfolk - John Throckmorton
• Suffolk, Norfolk - Rebecca Colvill

Maternal:

• On Avon, Warwickshire - William Hickoks
• Stratford On Avon, Warwickshire - Elizabeth Stacy (m. William Hickoks)
• High Ongar, Essex Co. - Robert Lyman
• Harwich - Sarah ? Lyman
• Dorking, Surrey - Nicholas Stilwell
• Wytham, Somerset - Abigail Hopkins (m. Nicholas Stilwell)
• ? - Edward & Mary Bosworth
• Fenstanton, co. Huntington - John Howland
• Henlow, Bedfordshire - Elizabeth Tilley

Wales

• Cardiff, Glamorgan - William Edwards

Holland

• Waalwijk, Waalwijk, Noord-Brabant, Netherlands - Johannes Wandell 
• ? - Haight
• ? - Gerretson

Germany

• ? - Zaun
• ? - Wellner

Ireland

• ? - Wright
• ? - Powell

Scotland

• ? - Crofford

Lt. Nicholas Stillwell, Virginia colonist

My family, what would you think if I told you that one of your ancestors - my 9th great grandfather - was associated with Jamestown?

Lt. Nicholas Stillwell > Capt. Nicholas Stillwell > Nicholas Stillwell III > John Stillwell > William L. Stillwell > Catherine Stillwell > Capt. Jacob Wandell > Miriam Olivia Wandell > Ada Clemina Hall > Horace C. Crofford > Virginia M. Crofford > Teresa Zaun Austin

Lt. Nicholas Stillwell was the progenitor of the famous Stillwells of Long Island. We are direct descendants through my mother's paternal lineage.  There is a wealth of primary documentation about the Stillwell family.  It took some time to wade through it all, especially since many of them had the same first names and there were multiple spellings of the last name. Interesting, this Nicholas consistently wrote his name with the N backwards, so his writing is distinctive. He was a military man who led expeditions against the Indians, but he was also described as a pious man who "lived for the betterment of the human race."  He was loyal all his life to the Dutch people in America.

Nicholas Stillwell was born in Surrey, England in 1603.  He fled England to escape religious persecution, becoming a soldier of Elizabeth Stuart the Queen of Bohemia who was protestant. Elizabeth is called "the Winter Queen" because of her short tenure in the winter of 1619-1620.  According to tradition, he married one of her maids of honor, Abigail Hopton, in about 1630.  After the defeat of Prague, Elizabeth went into exile at The Hague, and her army disbanded.  Nicholas came to America and settled in Virginia.

[see this post for new info on the Queen of Bohemia]

He was a successful tobacco plantation owner on the York River in Virginia from 1635 to about 1646. His house and plantation were located "east of West Creek" (now Felgate's Creek) right off what is now the National Colonial Historic Parkway. From 1635 to 1639, he was a tobacco evaluator, inspecting tobacco for quality before it was shipped to England, so he likely was well known to John Rolfe. He aided Claiborne (future governor of Maryland) in the fight against the Indians in Virginia from 1644-1646.  Afterward, Nicholas left Virginia - perhaps because the "Claiborne Incident," whatever that implies, caused an unsafe situation for colonists vulnerable to attack by small groups of Indians, or maybe because Gov. Berkeley created an uncomfortable situation for certain protestant groups in Virginia.

UPDATE 5/3/2020:  Just discovered that Nicholas Stilwell also owned 200 acres in what is now Gloucester. The following two maps were found in The Descendants of Lieutenant Nicholas Stillwell, Volume I by Raymond J. Stillwell, 2010. Note the proximity to Warner Hall.

In 1646, he left for New Amsterdam, leaving his land to be taken by others.  He was one of the 20 original farm owners (Lady Moody colonists*) in Graves End. He traded a house in town for an outlying plantation. He had to prove he could defend himself from the Indians in order to obtain permission to live outside the town.  He led expeditions against the Indians during the Esopus Wars, which were localized conflicts between the Indians and the Dutch. In the years 1650-1653, he was the town magistrate.  He was a close personal friend and confidante of Peter Stuyvesant, the last Dutch governor of New Amsterdam.

Graves End, or Gravesend, NY

In 1664, he purchased land on Manhattan Island.  In 1665, he moved to Staten Island directly across the bay from Gravesend.  He received the estate of Thomas Morell by will, as Morell did not have heirs.

Nicholas died on Staten Island on December 28, 1671.  

Nicholas Stillwell owned the land on Staten Island between what is now
Jefferson and Liberty Avenues, in the area of Dongan Hills.

Line of descent:  Lt. Nicholas Stillwell > Capt. Nicholas Stillwell > Nicholas Stillwell III > John Stillwell > William L. Stillwell > Catherine Stillwell* > Miriam Olivia Wandell > Ada C. Hall > Horace C. Crofford > Virginia Crofford > Zaun
*some sources say Catherine's father was Stephen Stillwell, also descended from Lt. Nicholas Stillwell.  I'm still working on verifying this information.

Our family lines have crisscrossed through the generations, especially in our New England ancestry.  These links have not yet been proven, but there was a Richard Applegate (mom's maternal ancestor?) who married a daughter of John Stillwell (mom's paternal ancestor?).  I also found out that Jeremiah Stillwell (mom's paternal ancestor?) married Rebecca Ashton (dad's maternal ancestor?).

There is a book out now by Michael Philip Cash called Stillwell: a Haunting on Long Island. 180 five star reviews on Amazon!  There is a Stillwell Avenue in Gravesend, and the estates of some family members were well known on Long Island and in Queens.

*Gravesend was founded by Lady Deborah Moody, a leader of religious dissenters; she was the 1st female landowner.

Sources:
http://haygenealogy.com/hay/sources/britton/stillwelltree.html
http://www.wikitree.com/genealogy/STILLWELL
http://www.stilwell.uk.net/index.php/families/usa-stilwells/the-known-history.html
Various documents linked to Ancestry.com

Found the Holy Grail!

The genealogical Holy Grail for any Caucasian in America is to prove a claim as a Mayflower descendant.  I've been burned once - I thought I'd found a connection but had to delete it because I was unable to verify the facts with 100% certainty.  But with so many of our ancestors living in prominent colonial settlements, I was sure that we must have a Mayflower ancestor somewhere!  I have been very careful about my sources this time.  Finally, I've discovered a connection in my mother's maternal line to several Mayflower passengers!

John Howland m. Elizabeth Tilley (both Mayflower passengers) > Ichabod Bosworth > Benjamin Bosworth > Benajah Bosworth > Joseph Bucklin Bosworth > Orlando M. Bosworth > Eva L. Bosworth > Teresa/Ethelyn Allen > Virginia M. Crofford > Teresa Zaun Austin

John Howland

I traced our line back through the Bosworths and found John Howland, who is my 8th great grandfather and an original signer of the Mayflower Compact.  He came over as a manservant to Governor John Carver.  We are descended from John through his daughter Hannah.

The official history can be found here:  http://mayflowerhistory.com/howland/

"Howland Overboard," a painting by maritime artist Mike Haywood.  

A painting called Howland Overboard depicts a famous event in which John fell overboard and clung to a halyard until the sailors were able to rescue him with a boat-hook.

The presidents Bush and Mrs. Theodore Roosevelt are also descended from John Howland.



The Tilley Family

John Howland was married to Elizabeth "Bridget" Tilley, who was about twelve when she came over on the Mayflower with her parents, John Tilley and Joan Hurst Tilley.  John, also a signer of the Mayflower Compact, and Joan Tilley both died in their first winter in Plymouth, leaving Elizabeth an orphan.  She is buried in Ancient Little Neck Cemetery in Providence, R.I.  The Hursts were originally from Holland... yet another line of descent from the Netherlands for my mother's line.

The Shakespeare of the Netherlands

Joost Van Den Vondel, my maternal 7th great grandfather, was a 16th century poet and playwright who produced some of the greatest works of Dutch literature.  His allegorical plays drew from Christian themes and reflected his religious and political views.  He "holds the record for the longest tradition of annual performance in Europe." (Brill)  John Milton drew inspiration from Vondel's tragedy of Lucifer, introduced in 1654.  You can read the play HERE.   

Joost Van Den Vondel > Joost Van Den Vondel > Johannes Van Den Vondel (Wandell) > Jacob Wandell > Capt. Jacob Wandell > Miriam Olivia Wandell > Ada C. Hall > Horace C. Crofford > Virginia M. Crofford > Teresa Zaun Austin

NOTE: this link has not been verified. Working on it!

From the New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia:  

"He is the greatest poet the Netherlands have produced, one who is distinguished in every form and who occupies a place among the best poets of all time."

As a legacy, Amsterdam's biggest park, the Vondelpark, bears his name, as well as his statue in the northern part of the park. The Dutch five guilder banknote bore Vondel's portrait from 1950 until its discontinuation in 1990.

This connection needs more research.  Ada Hall Crofford shared this family lore in her writings, but the dates don't make sense.