(American Genealogical-Biographical Index)

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The AGBI¹ is one of the standard references for genealogical and biographical information in America. Volume 68 of the AGBI contains 30 Grimshaw listings. Some of these listings comprise more than one reference to the same individual. This webpage presents the references containing the 30 Grimshaw entries and, where possible, makes connections to Grimshaw immigrants and their family lines. Please contact the website author (see homepage for contact information) if you have additional information on any of these Grimshaws!

Description of the AGBI

List of Grimshaws

Allen, Sam

Babcock Gen

Heads Fam. N.H.

Isham Fam

Pa. Archives, v. 2

Pa. Archives, v. 4

Rev. War Recds. Va

Stone, Gregory

Taylor, Jasper

Transcript, 1932, 3629

Transcript, 1935, 707

WoodstockCt Gen

References

As noted, the AGBI is one of the most important genealogical references for the U.S. The Source² (p. 41) describes the AGBI as follows:

Printed Sources³ (p. 210) provides the following description:

Many compiled genealogies (family histories) are well indexed, but some are only partially indexed or are not indexed at all. The most comprehensive index to family histories and to some other sources -- such as the published 1790 U.S. census Pennsylvania Archives, Boston Transcript a newspaper genealogy column), and other sources –- is The American Genealogical – Biographical Index, new series (Middletown, Conn.: Godfrey Memorial Library, 1952 —). Formerly known as Rider’s Index, the first series, edited by Fremont Rider, was published from 1942 to 1952. Known as AGBI, the new series is more comprehensive (although several volumes covering the end of the alphabet have not yet been published; they are being published annually by Godfrey Memorial Library). This reference work is a unique every-name collective index alphabetically arranged by surname and given name to the titles included. Although only selected family history titles are indexed in it, AGBI should be consulted as a finding aid by all American genealogists, especially those doing pre-1900 research and those doing New England research.

The 30 Grimshaw listings in the AGBI⁴ (Series 2, v 68) include four variants of spelling: Grimshaw (27), Grimshew (1), Grimshire (1) and Grinshaw (1). The listings are enumerated as shown below, with date and place of birth.

1. Alice Grimshaw, 1809, England, Mississippi

2. Anna P. Grimshaw

3. Annie Grimshaw, 187?, Wisconsin

4. Bayley Grimshaw, 183?, New York

5. Betsey (Lord) Grimshaw, 179?

6. Charles Delos Grimshaw, 184?, New York

7. Charlotte (Shaw) Grimshaw, 181?

8. Eli Grimshaw, 184?, Wisconsin

9. Emma (Sluman) Grimshaw, 186?

10. Frances Grimshaw

11. Frances Grimshaw, 189?, Washington

12. Frances Keziah (Oatman) Grimshaw, 184?

13. Hattie May Grimshaw, 1877, New York

14. Henry Grimshaw, 179?, Massachusets

15. Henry Grimshaw, 1820, England, Massachusets

16. John Grimshaw

17. John Grimshaw, 174?, Virginia, Illinois

18. John Grimshaw, 181?, Massachusets

19. John U. Grimshaw, 1796, Ireland, Illinois

20. Lloyd Grimshaw, 189?, Washington

21. Lucinda E. Grimshaw, 1835, Canada, Vermont

22. Martha Maria (Allen) Grimshaw, 1823

23. Mary (Murphy) Grimshaw, 184?

24. Miles Grimshaw, 186?, Washington

25. Oriole Grimshaw, 189?, Washington

26. Richard Grimshaw, 175?, Pennsylvania

27. William Grimshaw, 175?, New Hampshire

28. Richard Grimshew, 175?, Pennsylvania

29. John Grimshire, 174?, Virginia

30. John Grinshaw 174?, Virginia

These 30 Grimshaws are indexed from a total of 12 references (set forth in v. 54 of AGBI), which are shown in the References at the bottom of this webpage. Each of the 12 references containing Grimshaw entries was copied and reviewed for this webpage and is described in the following sections. In each case, the Grimshaws that are included in the reference are listed, with the individuals keyed to the above numbered list. Also in each case, the information included in the reference on the Grimshaws is summarized and, where possible, a hyperlink to the corresponding Grimshaw webpage is provided.

Series 1 of the AGBI (a.k.a. the Rider Index) was also reviewed for this webpage. The following four references, also included in Series 2 (and therefore on this webpage) were found in Series 1: Babcock Gen; Isham Fam; Stone, Gregory; and Woodstock Ct Gen.

The following four Grimshaws are listed in this reference:

5. Betsey (Lord)

14. Henry

15. Henry

22. Martha Maria (Allen)

Samuel Allen, from County of Essex in England, emigrated to Cambridge, MA in 1632. Martha Maria Allen, daughter of Isaiah and Deborah (Pease) Allen, was an 8^th generation descendant of Samuel Allen. She was born on March 28, 1822 and married Henry Grimshaw on May 27, 1845 in Chicopee (CT?). They had two children and in about 1875 were residing in Worcester, MA.

Henry Grimshaw was the son of Henry and Betsey (Lord) Grimshaw who resided in Springfield, MA in about 1876. Henry (m. Martha Maria Allen) was born in New Church, Rosendale (sic), England on May 24, 1820.

It seems apparent that Henry and Betsey (Lord) Grimshaw immigrated to the U.S. (probably MA) between the time of the birth and marriage of their son, Henry (i.e., 1820 to 1845.) Neither the ancestors of Henry Grimshaw nor the descendants of this family line have not yet been found in research for this website.

Three Grimshaws are referenced in this source:

3. Annie

8. Eli

23. Mary (Murphy)

James Babcock settled in Portsmouth, RI in 1642. His 8^th generation descendant, William Horace Babcock, was born in Norway Ridge (RI?) on September 15, 1874 to Joseph T and Harriet (Colvin) or Catherine (Hilts) Babcock. On December 24, 1900, William married Annie Grimshaw, daughter of Eli and Mary (Murphy) Grimshaw. 

According to Terry Micks, Eli Grimshaw and his daughter Annie are descendants of the George and Charlotte (Menard) Grimshaw line. Eli was the son of Alexander Eli and Sarah Ann (Thompson) Grimshaw and the grandson of George and Charlotte (Menard) Grimshaw. Thanks to Terry for adding this information!

One Grimshaw is shown in this reference:

27. William

This William Grimshaw is the one who fought in the Revolutionary War and subsequently settled in New Hampshire. His Revolutionary War records, and his post-war life and descendants have been described on companion webpages. His children are believed to include Betsey, Zephaniah, George, Levi and (possibly) Edward Grimshaw. Descendants of Zephaniah and George include two of the earliest and largest Grimshaw lines in North America and are also described on companion webpages.

This reference includes the following five Grimshaws:

4. Bailey

6. Charles Delos

12. Frances Keziah (Oatman)

13. Hattie May

21. Lucinda E.

John Isham, or his father before him, apparently migrated to the U.S. (probably MA) in the 1600s. Descendants of John Isham married two unrelated Grimshaw women -- Ezra Isham (5^th generation) and Frederick Isham (8^th generation.)

Ezra Isham

Ezra Isham, 5^th generation descendant of John, was born on January 14, 1803 at St. George, VT and died at Williston, VT on August 7, 1877. He married his second wife, Lucinda E. Grimshaw (born in Quebec about 1835) on November 29, 1881. The following notation is provided in the reference:

142. Ezra Isham (Jehiel, Isaac, Isaac, John), born at St. George, Vt. Jan. 14, 1803; died at Williston, Vt. Aug 7, 1877; married first, Dec. 6, 1826, Aurelia Downer, born in Williston, Vt. Aug. 29, 1802, died there Aug. 25, 1857, daughter of John and Eliizabeth (Willoughby) Downer of Williston; married second, in Clinton, N.Y., Lucinda E. Grimshaw, born in the Province of Quebec, Canada, about 1835, living at Williston, Vt. Nov. 29, 1881, sister of Bailey Grimshaw of Clinton, Clinton county, N.Y. in 1882.

Ezra Isham was a farmer, residing at Williston, Vt.

Lucinda was the daughter of Zephaniah Grimshaw and Asentha Noakes; Zepheniah’s family lines are described on a companion webpage. Bailey Grimshaw, indicated above as Lucinda’s brother, has not previously been identified in this family line. It may be that the reference is to Lucinda’s older brother Barzillai (possibly a nickname for such an unusual name as Barzillai?)

There were five children from the marriage of Ezra and Lucinda (Grimshaw) Isham:

365. Rush S. Isham, b. Aug 27, 1858; m. Sept. 24, 1877, Wells J. Connors.

366. Ella E. Isham, b. March 3, 1862; m. Aug. 5, 1876, Robert Fenwick.

367. Mabel A. Isham, b. Dec. 2, 1860; m. Aug. 25, 1878, John L. Tyndall.

368. Lida L., b. Mar. 14, 1863; m. Aug 25, 1878, Dr. John Labelle.

369. Sheridan, b. ___; m. ___ West

According to Bill O’Halloran’s website,* Lucinda married a second time, to Benjamin Covey, in 1882.

(*http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/o/h/a/William-F-Ohalloran)

There were 13 children from Ezra’s first marriage, to Aurelia Downer, for a total of 18 with both wives, spanning the period from 1827 to 1864.

Frederick Isham

Frederick Eldon Isham, 8^th generation descendant of John Isham, was born at Rodman, NY on December 18, 1872 to George and M. (Kellog) Isham. On September 14, 1898, at Lorraine, NY, Frederick married Hattie May Grimshaw, the daughter of Charles DeLos and Frances Keziah (Oatman) Grimshaw. Hattie May was born at Lorraine, NY on October 19, 1877. Fred and Hattie May had two children, both born at Rodman, NY:

Edna Marion Isham, b. April 15, 1902

George Charles Isham, b. September 6, 1904

Charles DeLos and Frances (Fanny) Grimshaw are described on a companion webpage. Charles is in the Joseph and Elizabeth (Booth Mitchell-Hadden) Grimshaw family line, which in turn is descended from the "Yorkshire" line of Grimshaws with Edward and Dorothy (Raner) Grimshaw as the earliest known progenitors.

One Grimshaw appears in this reference:

26. Richard Grimshaw

According to this record, Richard fought in the Revolutionary War in Captain B. Fishbourne’s Company of the Fourth Pennsylvania Regiment between January 1, 1777 and November 3, 1783. Aside from the next record (see below), no other traces of this Richard Grimshaw have yet been found in research for this website.

Another Richard (undoubtedly the same one) appears in this reference:

28. Richard Grimshew

This record appears to be another indication of the Revolutionary War service of Richard Grimshaw (spelled Grimshew in this entry.) According to this record, he was a private who received depreciation pay, as indicated by cancelled certificates on file in the Division of Public Records of the Pennsylvania State Library. As noted in the preceding record, other traces of Richard have not yet been found in research for this website.

Three Grimshaws are indicated in this record, all named John, as having served in the Revolutionary War:

17. John Grimshaw

29. John Grimshire

30. John Grinshaw

It is highly likely that these three entries are, in fact, the same individual with different spellings of the Grimshaw surname. The first two are indicated as having served in the same unit – Clark’s Illinois Regiment. The third entry indicates that John was a Pvt and that his records are located at the War Departnment.

Records of John’s Revolutionary War service were also encountered during research on William Grimshaw, who served in Hazen’s Regiment (see entry above on William, Heads Fam.) The record for John Grimshaw is shown on the webpage for William. Aside from these three entries, and the record shown on William's webpage, no additional records of John Grimshaw, or any of his ancestors (or descendants) have yet been identified in research for this website.

Two Grimshaws are recorded in this reference:

10. Frances

16. John

James Edwin Stone, 9^th generation descendant of Gregory Stone, was born on October 27, 1850 at Weathersfield, VT to Charles Hubbard and Mary (Rumhill) Stone. On December 31, 1875, James married Mrs. Frances (Grimshaw) Slattery, who was born in Newburyport, MA on December 4, 1851, the daughter of John and Jane (Seavey) Grimshaw. James and Frances Stone had four children:

Edith Louise, b. in Weathersfield, Vt., 11 Dec. 1879; m. at Springfield, Vt., 29 June 1904, Rev. George Linnaeus Thompson, b. in Stafford, Conn., 16 Oct. 1870, son of George and Emily Jeanette (Colburn) Thompson….

Frank Hubbard, b. in Weathersfield, Vt., 27 Nov. 1881; lived in Spring field and Bellows Falls, Vt., until abt. 1910 when he removed to Laconia, N.H., where he is a cost estimator for the Laconia Car Company and has held the office of selectman…

Gertrude Annie, b. in Springfield, Vt., 12 Apr. 1885; graduated from Boston University in 1909, and is a high school teacher in her native town.

Vivia Irene, b. in Springfield, Vt., 7 Dec. 1888; graduated from Middlebury College in 1912, and is a high school teacher in Concord, N.H.

Deborah Lundbech has provided information that has made a companion webpage possible on John and Jane (Seavey) Grimshaw.

A photo of Jane (Seavey) Grimshaw's headstone has been found on the following website:

http://www.gravematter.com/cem-nh-portsmouth.asp

The picture is shown below, followed by a description of the cemetery where it is located. 

The Old North Cemetery is on Maplewood Avenue in Portsmouth next to the train yard and across from the Portsmouth Herald building. It was established in 1753 on land purchased from John Hart and is the second oldest burying ground in the city. Many historically significant people for the state of New Hampshire and the Revolutionary War rest here including General William Whipple (a friend of George Washington and General during the Revolutionary War), Hall Jackson, Prince Whipple, and Governor John Langdon. There are currently 468 entries for this cemetery. 

This reference includes information on the following five Grimshaws;

9. Emma (Sluman)

11. Frances

20. Lloyd

24. Miles

25. Oriole

Jasper Taylor was born in 1794. One of his descendants, Olive Jane Gee, was born on July 7, 1828 in NY and married Arnold Sluman. They resided first at Cape Vincent in Jefferson County, NY (opposite Wolfe Island) and later moved to Vancouver, WA. Their seventh child (of 10 children) was Emma Sluman, who married Miles Grimshaw and had three children: Oriole, Lloyd and Frances Grimshaw.

Miles Grimshaw was the son of Thomas and Anna (Lathrop) Grimshaw and the grandson of William and Mary Ann (Blair) Grimshaw, whose family is described on a companion webpage. This webpage shows that Miles’ marriage to Emma Sluman was a second marriage; the first was to Frances Abbott. It is interesting to note that one of the children of Miles and Emma may have been named for Miles’ first wife. Alternatively, research by Barbara Bonner has shown that Emma may have had a sister or aunt Frances Gee for whom she (Emma) named her daughter.

The Boston Transcript for many years (1906 to 1941) carried a genealogical column in which researchers placed requests for information on their forebears. The May 6, 1932 edition included such a request for information (no. 3639) for the following:

7. Charlotte (Shaw)

19. John U.

The request reads as follows:

(3639.) GRIMSHAW. I am searching for the family line of John U. Grimshaw who came to America in 1832. His father was Thomas Grimshaw of Whitehouse, near Belfast. I have been told that the family comes from the line of Walter de Grimshaw, but the crest of our branch of the family as it is shown on the old silver, is of a griffin segreant clasping a rose in its dexter claw, while the other Grimshaw line seems to have only the Griffin segreant. The family is, I am quite sure, descended from Thomas Grimshaw who died 1539, whose wife was Elizabeth Harrington. John Usher Grimshaw was born 1796 at Whitehouse, near Belfast, died in Pike Co., Ill., 1849, married Charlotte Shaw daughter of Henry Shaw of Ballygally, County Antrim, Ireland, who died 1851, in Pittsfield, Ill. I should be very, very glad to have any information that other Transcript readers can give me regarding this branch of the family, or to know to whom I should apply for information. H.G.B.A.

It is not known who the submitter (H.G.B.A.) was.

John Usher Grimshaw is in the "Irish" line of Grimshaws, which is described on a companion webpage.

The family line of John Usher Grimshaw is currently being researched by Mr. and Mrs. Bill Grote. It appears that John and Charlotte (Shaw) Grimshaw immigrated to the U.S. and joined other Grimshaw relatives living in western Illinois. William Grimshaw (the subject of a companion webpage) was an attorney in Pike County, IL, who had migrated there in the early 1830s after receiving his law degree in Philadelphia.

It is interesting to note that Margaret Grimshaw, daughter of John Usher and Charlotte Grimshaw, became the second wife of William Grimshaw. It is hoped that additional information on John and Charlotte Grimshaw will be available from the Grotes in the future.

As a side note, the submitter (H.G.B.A.) apparently erred in making the connection of the "Irish" Grimshaw line back to the Clayton-le-Moors and Eccleshill line. This connection is discussed on a companion webpage. The family of John Usher Grimshaw descended not from Thomas Grimshaw (m. Elizabeth Harrington), but from Thomas’s uncle, Nicholas (living 1481.) Also, Thomas apparently married Margaret, daughter of Elizabeth Harrington, rather than Elizabeth.

The August 7, 1935 edition of the Boston Transcript included an entry (no. 707) that has the following Grimshaws:

1. Alice

18. John

The full entry appears as follows:

(707.) Any information in regard to the following families would be appreciated:

1. HUNTER, MURIE, MUIR. George Hunter, born March 30, 1828, Devonshire Clakmannan, Scotland, married Elizabeth Murie, born July 3, 1851, Iowa. She was the daughter of David and Mary ___ (?) Murie and was born Oct. 28, 1831. Mary was the daughter of Walt Muir (they changed the spelling of name to Murie) and Ellen Beverage. The George Hunter above was a son of James Hunter, born 1784, Scotland and Mary Snadon born 1789, at Coalyland, Clakmannon, Scotland.
2. GRIMSHAW, DUCKWORTH. Lawrence Grimshaw, born Oct. 6, 1871, Lancashire, England, son of Thomas Grimshaw and wife Mary ___ (?). He married Mary Duckworth, born April 4, 1786, Lancashire, England, the daughter of Lawrence Duckworth and Elizabeth ___ (?)
3. WHITTAKER. Alice Whittaker, born Dec. 28, 1809, Lancashire, England, died Nov. 30, 1876; married John Grimshaw about 1836. She came to America about 1812. She was the daughter of Lawrence Whittaker and Mary ___ (?)
4. MOYES, PEARCE, EASTCOTT. William Moyes, born June 25, 1817, Othoham, Cornwall, England, son of William and Mary (Pearce) Moyes. He married 1840, Mary Eastcott, born April 23, 1817, at Jacobstowe, Cornwall, England. She was the daughter of William Eastcott and Elizabeth Vandell. A.G.

The identity of the submitter is signified only by the initials A.G. and is unknown.

This entry refers to the Duckworth Grimshaw family line, which is described on a companion webpage. Duckworth converted to Mormonism in 1860 and immigrated to America (UT) in 1862. He was followed by his parents [John and Alice (Whitaker) Grimshaw] and apparently also, at least one aunt.

Duckworth married, first, Mary Jane Moyes, and they had 13 children. A second, bigamist marriage was to Ellen Muir, and one child (Thomas Duckworth Grimshaw) was born to the second marriage. Duckworth spent a year in the state penitentiary for violation of Utah’s laws against bigamy.

One Grimshaw appears in this reference:

2. Anna

The family of John Grow was described in volume 6 of the History of Woodstock, CT. A 7^th generation descendant of John was William R. Grow, son of Oliver W. and Luthera Grow. William apparently lived in Lorraine, NY and married Anna P. Grimshaw, who was born in July 1853 and died on February 5, 1884. 

Anna P. Grimshaw was apparently the adopted daughter (9th child; the first 8 were boys) of the Joseph and Mary Ann (Adsit) Grimshaw family (see companion webpage), who were living in Lorraine, NY at the time of Anna's birth.

¹Rider, Fremont, ed., 1952 — present, The American Genealogical-Biographical Index (AGBI), Series 2: Middletown, CT, Godfry Memorial Library, 206 volumes.

²Szucs, Loretto D., and Sandra H. Luebking, eds., 1997, The Source - a Guidebook of American Genealogy: Salt Lake City, UT, Ancestry, Inc., unk p.

³Meyerink, Kory L., ed., 1998, Printed Sources - a Guide to Published Genealogical Records: Salt Lake City, UT, Ancestry, Inc., unk p.

⁴Rider, Fremont, ed., 1969, The American Genealogical-Biographical Index to American Genealogical, Biographical and Local History Materials: Middleton, CT, The Godfrey Memorial Library, v. 68, unk. p.

⁵Allen, Willard S., 1876, Genealogy of Samuel Allen of Windsor, Ct. and Some of His Descendants: Boston, MA, 76 p.

⁶Babcock, Stephen, 1903, Isiah Babcock, Sr. and Des. (aka Babcock Genealogy): New York, NY, Eaton & Mains, 119 p. (or 640 p.)

⁷U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1907, Heads of Families at the First U.S. Census, NH: Washington, D.C., Government Printing Office, 146 p.

⁸Brainard, Homer W., 1938, Survey of the Ishams in England and America: Rutland, VT, The Tuttle Publishing Co., 672 p.

⁹Montgomery, Thomas L., ed., 1906, Pennsylvania Archives, Fifth Series, v. II: Harrisburg, PA, Harrisburg Publishing Co., 1103 p.

¹⁰Montgomery, Thomas L., ed., 1906, Pennsylvania Archives, Fifth Series, v. IV: Harrisburg, PA, Harrisburg Publishing Co., 848 p.

¹¹Gwathmey, John H., ed., 1938, Historical Register of Virginians in the Revolution -  Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, 1775-1783: Richmond, VA, Press Publishers, 872 p.

¹²Bartlett, J. Gardiner, 1918, Gregory Stone Genealogy - Ancestry and Descendants of Dea. Gregory Stone of Cambridge, Mass., 1320-1917: Boston, MA, privately published, 906 p.

¹³Taylor, Eva M. L., 1950, Jasper Taylor and His Descendants, with Genealogies of Related Families: Bethesda, MD, privately published (printed by Shenandoah Publishing House, Strasburg, VA), 233 p.

¹⁴Author Unknown, 1932, Gen. Column of the "Boston Transcript", : Boston, MA, May 6, 1932, p. ?, #3639

¹⁵Author Unknown, 1935, Gen. Column of the "Boston Transcript", 1906-1941: Boston, MA, August 7, 1936, p. ?, #707

¹⁶ Bowen, Clarence W., 1930-1943, History of Woodstock, Connecticut, v. 6, Genealogies of Woodstock Families: Norwood, MA, privately published (printed by The Plimpton Press, Norwood, MA), 960 p. (v 6 of 8 volumes)

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Webpage posted February 2001, updated June 2001. Updated August 2006 with additions on Jane (Seavey) Grimshaw and Anna P Grimshaw.