All Things Mace

[Neil Sutherland]

This section is for general Mace postings ... anything or anyone concerning the name Mace. (Was there such a person ... General Mace?)

[weintcorner]

My great,great, great grandfather John Fenwick married Jane Mace 8th December1805 in St. Peter's Parish Church, Monkwearmouth. Does anyone know anything about Jane or John? John's father was also John Fenwick born 1736, mother Ruth Steel. I've traced them in Washington, Co. Durham parish records. How did Jane come to be living in Monkwearmouth at time of her marriage since she was born in Berwick? How and where did they meet? Bar

[weintcorner]

P.S. I do know that Jane Mace was daughter of Francis Mace. Bar

[jill le bian]

Bar you don't happen to know who Jane's great grandparents were do you?
Jill

[neil]

I wonder about the difference in the birth of John Sr (1736) and the birth of John Jr, 1778 ... 42 years. Not impossible, but back then pretty unusual.

Nonetheless, the closest possible info I can find on him (John jr) is:

B. 1781, Yearson, Northumberland
Spouse: Jane Fenwick

Residence: Witton Gilbert, Durham (Re: 1861 Census)

[neil]

oooops .... sorry. I looked into the above Jane/John, and it is the wrong ones. She came from Berwick also, but of another surname. Duh!

I do know Jane Mace's birth at 23 April 1786, though. At least that fact is certain!

The fact that she didn't marry in Berwick may, yet again, be due to another family fall out. Perhaps a different denomination. As a butcher, I can't see Francis moving his family down to Sunderland for work purposes, even if it were for a short period.

Yet again, more questions, and no answers ... thats genealogy!

[jill1246]

Hi if there's anyone there. This is Jill could you explain how I can gain access to the main Forum as I keep getting refused. There's a message saying the page is inaccessible.
Thanks.

[tuskmanuno]

My my name is Daniel Mace and am trying to further my search of the family tree. My Grandfather was John Bunyan Mace, his father was George Washington Mace, his father was John Henry Mace, his father was William Mace, his father was Ebenezer Mace, born 1761. Please help

[adammcd]

Hey Daniel

Don't know if this is the same Ebenezer but I have found this line

Henry Mace was born in 1720/1730 in England. He died in 1781 in Hampshire, West Virginia. He married Ann Petty about 1750 in Hampshire, West Virginia. She was born about 1730 in Pennsylvania. She died about 1800 in Hardy, Virginia.

They had the following children:

i John Mace was born on 25 Mar 1752 in Pennsylvania. He died in 1837/1839 in Vinton, Vinton, Ohio.
ii Isaac Mace was born on 16 Jul 1755 in Augusta, Virginia. He died about 1839 in Kanawah, Virginia.
iii Henry Mace was born in 1759 in Hampshire, West Virginia. He died on 5 Jan 1807 in Randolph, West Virginia.
iv Ebenezer Mace was born in 1761 in Hampshire, West Virginia. He died in 1835 in Randolph, West Virginia.
v Nicholas Mace was born estimated 1763.
vi Jacob Mace was born estimated 1765. He died about 1835 in Chillicothe, Ross, Ohio.
vii Mary Mace was born about 1771.


The plot thickens. Don't know what info you have, but does any of this fit into the picture?

"Lyman Chalkey, Chronicles of the Scotch-Irish Settlement of Virginia, Vol 1 16 Nov 1774.
Killed while attempting to escape from Virginia Militia. Accused of being a Tory but actually misled by John Brake and John Claypole because he could not read, he signed the papaer believing that he was enlisiting in VA Militia instead of the Army, His two sons, Isaac and John were present when he was shot. Issac shot the forse out from under Lt. Snickers. Henry had a brother Nicholas who bought land in Augusta Co., at the same time. Petty family has confused the two in terms of who md Ann Petty. Both brothers were married to Ann.



Gretchen Ann (Mace) Velasco , Mace Family Book.
The Western Augusta Territory was a vast, wild area featuring mountains, deep ravines, severe climate and many rivers and streams flowing west to the Ohio and Kanawa rivers. Fertile land was scarse and in the early 1700's only the hardiest of pioneer colonists ventured into the area. For the most part these pioneers were illiterate, relatively backward and adaptable to such severe environment. Their loyalty to the king of England was far less than loyalty to themselves and their own survival. About 1715, the West Augusta territory, by order of the English King George I, was reformed into eight large counties, one of which was Augusta located in the northeast corner of present W. Virginia. In 1753, the Present county of Hampshire was formed from part of Augusta county. About 1758 Henry Mace I, whom we believe to be our first ancestor in America moved over the South Pennsylvania border to the newly formed Hampshire county. Henry homesteaded in a valley on the South Fork of the Potomac River about twenty miles south of Moorhead, Hampshire County, VA. (now WVA)

From the limited data on Henry Mace I, it appears that he was, in fact, a solid citizen of Hampshire County Virginia. Early Augusta County records show that on January 2, 1761 he signed a petition for the building of a road from "widow Wrights mill" hence to Thomas Harrisons in the Great Road to the Courthouse" Also, Henry I was made a naturalized citizen on November 16, 1774.

It is known that he was illiterate, and that he fit the pattern for survival in the out-back area of Virginia. He preferred the isolation and the freedom from the influence of English royalty which dominated the costal plains area. Henry I was physically tough, willing to jerk a living off the land, and a good hunter of game in the wild. After years of farming and hunting, the residents of Hampshire county faced the prospects of the American Revolution and its consequences to them. Few residents fully understood nor joined actively in the prosecution of the Revolutionary War. Henry I, along with other Hampshire residents enlisted in the 2nd Virginia Regiment of the Continental Army. His two sons John and Isaac Mace also enlisted. Service for the Hampshire military unit was probably confined to drilling and standing by for further orders as most of the active warfare was confined to the north and east colonial areas. As the war progressed it became neccessary for the newly formed continental government to assess and collect taxes and to raise the quota of men to carry on the war. This development caused the rebellion of a group of Hampshire residents who, in 1780, formed an insurgent band which refused to pay higher taxes and to furnish more men under the quota act. A group of Hampshre county English royalists formed a Tory party led by John Claypole with the avowed purpose of joining English General Cornwallis when he entered the area. The purpose of these two insurgent groups thus becamse hoplessly confused in the illiterate minds of Hampshire residents. Many signed conflicting petitions in support of both insurgent groups ( the loyalists and the patriots). Henry Mace was one of them.

Henry was a private in the "2nd Regiment of Virginia, Continental Army". His military record shows that he entered service July 1777 and deserted camp 10 August 1777 after a month and 10 days of service.

Henry Mace I, while suspected of being a Tory (a British loyal) at the time of his death, did not merit the label in view of his illiteracy. The truth is that he and his two sons along with other illiterate mountain men of Hampshire County, Virginia were "taken in" by a John Brake and his partner, John Claypole. These two men were literate and wealthy ---both certain that British General Cornwallis would quell the colonial rebellion therby making them influential in post-war developments in Hampshire County. The personal loyalty of the mountain men to Brake and Claypole did not include and understanding of what the two were up to.

In 1781 complaints were made by the sheriff or collectors of the revenue complained to Colonel Vanmeter (Patriot) that the people of Hampshire county resisted his attempts to collect taxes and furnsh quota ot men to serve in the Patriot Army. The Tories had organized and made their leader John Claypole. They intended to meet up with Cornwallis when he came near the Valley. General Morgan was called upon to quell this "rebellion". About June 18th, the Colonial Army marched from Winchester and arrived in the Tory section of Hampshire County. They took Claypole as prisoner and moved up the Lost River and crossed the South Branch Mountain. They found a cabin near the summit which was searched. Ten men fled the cabin. An elderly man named Mace (Henry) and his two sons ran. Henry being closely pursued by an aid to General Morgan named Capt William Snickers was aiminng to take out Henry with his sword. One of Henrys sons, Isaac seeing this, fired a shot which passed through Snicker's horse's neck. The horse and Snickers fell to the ground. An Irish waiter to General Morgan who had been with the Colonials thought Snickers was dead and shot Henry Mace in the excitement of the moment. It turns out that Snickers had only been bruised. This was Henry's role in the revolution.

A petition for pardon of Henry Mace signed by his son John Mace was submitted and heard by the Hampshire County Court. Henry was posthumously pardoned in 1781.

Additional information provided by William Mace:

Henry married Ann Petty, but, Nicholas also married an Ann.

Both Henry and Nicholas were in what is present day Rockingham Co., Va by Dec 1754. There was another brother, John, who ended up in NC and was later killed by Indians along with his family. A son, Jacob, survived and came north to live with Maces in present day Hardy Co. Henry and Nicholas moved north to present day Hardy in the early 1770s. Both Henry and Nicholas had sons named Henry, Nicholas and John. Henry of Henry is the one who lived in Randolph, d. 1807 and Henry of Nicholas stayed in Shenandoah and died shortly after 1830. Henry's Nicholas is the one that went to Greene County, Tn. I also do not believe that the name was Mace originally but was Maese/Maisch or some variation thereof. I also think they came down out of what is present day Dauphin/Lebanon Cos., Pa. and that they were Huguenots.

I also do not believe that either John or Isaac were in the army, though I did hear that John was at Yorktown. Their miltary records were part of a scam to get pension money in the 1830s and both lost their pensions. Isaac may have been turned in by one of his sons-in-law."

[AverilB]

Hi there, I am newly bitten by the genealogy bug and am also descended from the Mace clan. I live in New Zealand, daughter of Lewis D'Arcy Mace, son of Louis Frank Mace, son of Thomas William George Mace (born in Maderia, 11 July 1847), son of "Captain" Thomas Francis Mace, born 1804 Battersea Fields, Surrey, England, died June 25 1891, Omata, New Zealand and there I have come to an abrupt halt :-(
Captain Thomas Francis Mace fought off some pirates in Maderia apparently and settled there but I can't find any records of his parents or the family links to UK. I am sure there must be a connection.
There are also another family of Maces who settled in the South Island of NZ, 3 brothers, Charles, Henry and Christopher, they left Thomas in Bedale, Northumberland to run the family establishment - name changed to Oddfellows Arms.
My father many generations later call the descendant of this family "second cousins" but I am struggling to find the connections and wondered if any of this sounds familiar to anybody?

[Gloria]

Hi, my first time on this forum and recently discovered that there is a Mace in my family tree, be it 2x. I live in New Zealand like AverilB Guest. When I say Mace appears 2x, I am meaning what could be 2 families of Mace, and hoping like AverilB is saying, that there is a link. I am well aware that just cos family name is same doesnt mean much, but for the fact that they both hail from England, could reduce the coincidence. I have had similar with the family name Meuli, this was where brother and sister married into 2 different families, and years later descendants from those 2 families married. Hoping someone out there might actually be able to find this common link ancestor, to solve said mystery