Grimshaw Immigrants to the New World

And Elsewhere Around the Globe

 

 

(Note: Webpage in preparation)

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The Grimshaws in America today are descended from immigrants who started coming to the new World as early as 1651, only 45 years after the founding of Jamestown, Virginia, the first English colony. Webpages have been prepared for Grimshaw immigrants for whom sufficient information has been collected to be of interest to Grimshaw researchers (usually from contributors to this website, but also from library research and site visits). Approximately 50 webpages for Grimshaw immigrants have been prepared since the website was initiated in July 2000.

Contents:

Webpage Credits

Records of Grimshaw Immigrants to the New World 

The Edwin A Grimshaw Collection of American Grimshaw Family Lines

William Grimshaw from Canada Fought with the Colonials in the U.S. Revolutionary War

References

 

Records of Grimshaw Immigrants to the New World (Isaac Grimshaw the Earliest with Information)

As a means of gaining as much insight as possible into the immigration of Grimshaws into North America, and their subsequent "radiation" (family growth and movement through succeeding generations), several indexes for records of immigration to the U.S. have been examined for Grimshaw entries. This survey indicates that Grimshaws have been coming to America since the mid-1600s, less than 50 years after the founding of the Jamestown Colony in Virginia. More than 130 Grimshaw immigrants entered the U.S. (and the preceding colonies) between 1651 and 1880 according to these indexes.

Click here for the webpage on the Grimshaw immigrants to America from 1651 to 1880.

The earliest Grimshaw immigrants recorded (the first dozen or so) came during the colonial period and appear in records related to the Virginia and Maryland colonies. They appear as owners (or at least tenants) of land, as an indentured servant (in one case), and as convicts that were deported to Virginia or Maryland. One couple is also recorded as coming to the Georgia colony. After the Revolutionary War, the immigration pattern changed dramatically and shifted northward, with the majority of records showing connections with New York, particularly as immigrants through the port of New York. Strong connections in Pennsylvania are also indicated, especially in naturalization records.

Descendants or family lines have not yet been developed for any of the Grimshaws identified in the above survey as having arrived in the colonies before the Revolutionary War. In fact, the earliest Grimshaw immigrant identified in the survey of Grimshaw immigrants referenced above -- and for whom more information than just the immigration record has been found -- was Isaac Grimshaw, who arrived in 1805.

Click here for the webpage on Isaac Grimshaw, who arrived in New York in 1805.

 

The Edwin A Grimshaw Collection of American Grimshaw Family Lines

In 1979 Ed Grimshaw of Lake Charles, Louisiana, purchased a book of Grimshaw family information offered by Beatrice Bayley. In an effort to trace his family history, Ed sent inquiries to the nearly 600 Grimshaws listed in Bayley's book. He received 81 responses to his inquiry letter. These responses, received in 1979 and 1980, comprise a valuable record of Grimshaw immigrants to the U.S. and their descendants. In many cases, the information in Ed’s collection serves as the best available "starting point" for further research into the various American Grimshaw family lines. 

Click here for the webpage on Edwin Grimshaw's letter to American Grimshaws in 1979 and the 81 responses he received.

The responses to Ed Grimshaw's inquiry included identification of many of the Grimshaw immigrants to the U.S.

 

William Grimshaw from Canada Fought with the Colonials in the U.S. Revolutionary War in 1782 and 1783

William Grimshaw fought in the American Revolutionary War on the side of the Colonials. He was a member of Hazen’s Regiment, which was initiated in Canada by Moses Hazen near the beginning of the conflict. Apparently William’s service began in January 1782 and continued until the regiment was disbanded* in June 1783, a period of about 18 months. Records indicate that William was a fifer and that he served in Captain (Clement or Louis) Gosselin’s Company. After the war, William settled in New Hampshire for nearly 25 years (1788 to 1812) and then probably moved on to Vermont, New York and Canada. U.S. Census records for New Hampshire indicate that was living in Grafton County, New Hampshire in 1790, 1800 and 1810. His date of death and place of burial have not yet been determined, but he probably died in Upper Canada after migrating there from New Hampshire. No record of his immigration, or that of his parents (who are unknown), has been found.

Click here for the webpage on William Grimshaw's service in the Revolutonary War.

Click here for the webpage on William Grimshaw's life in New Hampshire after the war.

If William was a fifer in Hazen's Regiment, he would probably have been quite young, possibly no more than 16 years old. If he was recruited in 1782, he would have been born in about 1766. This birthdate would establish William as one of the earliest recorded Grimshaw in North America. And clearly he was the earliest Grimshaw to leave multitudinous descendants for whom a well-developed descendant chart has been prepared.

William had a number of children, including Zephaniah, George and Levi Grimshaw, although the connection of these three to William has not yet been definitively established. All three of these brothers had extensive families who lived in the U.S., and many American Grimshaws trace their lineage back to one of the three brothers. Very complete descendant charts have been developed for all three brothers.

Click here for the webpage on Zephaniah Grimshaw and his many families.

Click here for the webpage on George and Charlotte (Menard) Grimshaw.

Click here for the webpage on Levi and Hannah (Towne) Grimshaw.

 

References

1Author

2Author

 

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Webpage posted April 2011. Updated February 2013 with addition of text and contents.

Grimshaw Immigrants to the New World