Withrow Family History
Withrow Family History
I’ve found several meanings or derivatives for the name Withrow and have listed them below.
The surname “Withrow” is thought to be of English origin and originally meant “a dweller at a lane through the willow trees.” The name Withrow has long been identified as originating in Scotland and later became one of the many Scottish names associated with the Scotch-Irish. Researchers report that the name may have changed early from Woodrow.
The name Withrow has been described as deriving from the profession ‘Wood-reeve’, an overseer of a royal forest.
Black’s Surnames of Scotland lists Witherow as a variant spelling of Woodrow (Wodrow) which occurred in Ulster. Several researchers have documented instances in the United States in which Withrows have reverted to the surname Woodrow.
The name Withrow is of Anglo-Saxon origin. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon or Old English word “withe” meaning “a tough, supple twig, especially of a willow, used for binding things together”.
The Withrows are identified with the “Scotch-Irish” Presbyterians (or other protestants) who came to America from Ulster, Northern Ireland. The Scotch-Irish were born in Ireland, and were NOT of Irish descent at all, but were the Scotch of the Lowlands and English of North England. They colonized Northern Ireland in the 17th century by force of the English to prevent further rebellion, as it had been the region most resistant to English control during the preceding century. It is supposed that the Withrow family moved from Scotland along with other Presbyterians to Northern Ireland before coming to America in the 18th and 19th centuries. Many believe the first Withrows came to America as Irish Quakers
Why did the Scotch-Irish migrate to America?
Pushed out of Ireland by religious conflicts, lack of political autonomy and dire economic conditions, these immigrants, who were often called “Scotch-Irish,” were pulled to America by the promise of land ownership and greater religious freedom. Many Scotch-Irish immigrants were educated, skilled workers.
Between the 1680s and 1815 at least 100,000 Ulster Scots embarked on a new migration, this time across the Atlantic to North America. They were pushed out of Ulster by discrimination by the Anglican Church of Ireland against their Presbyterian religion, by a depression in the linen trade that provided income to so many of them, and by a steep increase in land rents (rackrenting) driven by an explosion of population. Ulster, which had seemed so attractive a destination earlier in the seventeenth century, now appeared to more and more Ulster Scots to be a vale of tears.
Coincidentally, at this time of growing suffering in Ulster, a new land of opportunity beckoned in North America. Exploration and settlement of that newest part of the British Empire had grown apace during the seventeenth century. By the 1680s trade between American and Irish ports had expanded, driven by the importation of American flaxseed so crucial to the Ulster linen industry. As more ships unloaded their cargoes in Ulster ports, their crews brought glowing reports of the wonders of America. Many of the Ulster Scots migrants, or their descendants, decided that migration could once again be their salvation.
The Early Years
Early on and for several hundred years, the Withrow’s or Wodrow’s (name used most often before immigration to America), tended to be in the Eaglesham, Renfrewshire, and Baxters Glasgow, Stirling Scotland region.
About the year 1300, the Wodrow (Woodrow/Withrow) ancestors emigrated into Scotland from England. They owned the hill of Eglesham (Eaglesham), without interruption for 3 centuries. Eaglesham is a village about seven miles from Glasgow surrounded by beautiful scenery and possessing the ruins of Polnoon Castle built with ransom money of Harry Hotspur after the battle of Otterburn.
The Withrow line I’ve been able to trace so far goes back to 1500 Scotland.
William Wodrow (Withrow) 1500-1588 (13th GGF, Great GrandFather)
Agnes Wallace 1500-1536 (13th GGM, Great GrandMother)
…from historical and genealogical collections of Rev. James Woodrow …”Generation after generation this family gave of its sons to the priesthood until the time came when men’s souls were to be tried by new tests. Patric Wodrow (1540-1572), a priest, had the moral courage to abandon the faith of his fathers and take his stand with the reformers, and like Luther, he took unto himself a wife, marrying Agnes Hamilton, daughter of a brother of the House of Abercorn.”
In about 1670 Thomas Wodrow (Withrow) 1646-1681; moved to Ulster, Ireland. Our ancestors lived there for several generations. Thomas’s son Christopher Paul Withrow (1670-1729) was the father of Robert John Withrow (1692-1741; my 6th GGF)
First Generation in America
ROBERT and JANET (JENNET) WITHROW
Many of the Withrow’s in the US descended from this couple.
They sailed from NORTHERN IRELAND to AMERICA ~ 1710 ish. Robert Withrow, Sr. was born in Ireland, perhaps Ulster on 24 June 1692. He came to the US (most likely through Baltimore). to Adams County, Pennsylvania. This was an area where Quakers came to settle. Robert settled in the Brandywine Creek area of PA and DE in the early 1700’s.
He must have traveled to America as a single man sometime in the early 1700’s. He married Janet May on 14 May 1714 in Old York, Adams Co., PA. Janet was born 1 Dec. 1686.
The birth dates of Robert, Janet and children appear on the Withrow Family Bible which is described by Don Woods in Message 71 on the GenForum.com.
Robert Withrow settled in the Brandywine Creek area of Pennsylvania and Delaware in the early 1700’s. They moved to PA, then to VA, and on into the Carolinas, typical of many “Scotch-Irish” in America. They went south through Cumberland into the frontier and established a homestead in the Brunswick territory (renamed Augusta in 1738), somewhere near present day Franklin County, Virginia where Janet dies in 1727. Robert reportedly died 14 July 1741 in Franklin Co., VA. Two of Robert’s (1692-1741) sons, Robert (1723-1797; our descendant) and his brother William (1717-1770) went north and west into the Greenbrier region (now West Virginia), and the other brother, John W. Withrow (1719-1795), went south to North Carolina
Robert Withrow (1723-1797) had a son Robert Samuel Withrow (1771 to 1860) who lived his whole life in the Greenbrier area. He had a son named Abel Withrow (1796-1880).
Interesting Note:
Pa (Earl Edmund Withrow) always told me we had an Abe/Abraham Withrow who fought in the Civil War. Maybe our Civil War items came from him? Never knew if this was true or if Pa was just pulling my leg. Well, we do have an Abe Withrow (two in fact) but they’re not Abraham, but Abel so guess Pa was telling the truth. 😊
The first Abe Withrow (1796-1880) moved from Greenbrier, WV to Decatur Co., Indiana around 1808. He was likely too old for the Civil War (65+ yrs). His son, Abel Alderson Withrow (1832-1911; my 2nd GGF) moved to Santa Clara, CA and was in the Civil War (Union; enlistment 5 Feb 1863 in 2nd Mass Cav). After the war he married Martha Morris (Mattie) Treadwell (1846-1916).
Another Interesting Note:
Abel actually died in Sawtelle, Los Angeles (Malibu). He’s listed as an inmate as was everyone where he was living in the 1910 Census. I initially feared he was in prison, but actually he was in a US National Home for Disabled Volunteered Soldiers 😊
Here is an article from a Santa Clara Paper:
https://www.mariposaresearch.net/santaclararesearch/SCBIOS/aawithrow.html
THE VALLEY OF HEART’S DELIGHT
ABEL ALDERSON WITHROW
SURNAMES: WITHROW, JORDON, TREADWELL, STAMP.
Abel Alderson Withrow, familiarly known as “Abe”, is a veteran soldier and also the veteran saddle and harness maker and carriage trimmer of Santa Clara, and deals largely in whips, robes, etc. His shop is not only the rendezvous of the G. A. R. men, but also of his other friends, who frequently drop in to “swap news” and talk over old times.
He was born at Lawrenceburg, Indiana, in 1833. When twelve years of age he was taken to Greensburg, Indiana, by his parents, Abel and Susan (Jordan) Withrow, both deceased. At the age of fourteen years he was apprenticed to learn the saddle and harness making trade. After serving three years he went to Salem, Iowa, in 1851, and continued working at his trade until the spring of 1853, when, catching the gold fever of that day, like thousands of others, he undertook the perilous and fatiguing journey over the plains to the gold regions of California, and reached the diggings at Pine Grove after weeks of weary travel. He mined at Pine Grove and St. Louis until the fall of 1857, when his golden dreams were dispelled by the realization of rough fare, hard work, and small gains. From Pine Grove he came to Santa Clara, where he was employed at his trade as a journeyman till 1860, when he became proprietor of a resort seven miles west of Santa Clara, known as the Blackberry Farm, which he kept until 1862, when the war excitement was at its height in California. The sentiment of the State seemed evenly divided on the question of union or disunion; but while loyal to the Union by a loyal press and a host of earnest patriots, and although no call was made upon the citizens here for soldiers, there were thousands of patriotic men anxious for an opportunity to go to the front and prove their devotion to the flag. In that year Mr. Withrow became a member of the California Hundred, so well and favorably known in history that it is unnecessary to dwell upon it in this sketch. The company in which he enlisted was under Capt. George A. Manning, which with other companies went East by steamer, paying their own expenses and going direct to Readville, Massachusetts, where they were drilled, mounted, and assigned to active duty as a part of the Second Massachusetts Cavalry, under Colonel Charles Russell Lowell. They participated in fifty battles and skirmishes, Mr. Withrow being in thirty-two of them. Though not permitted to carry the “Bear Flag” they took with them, they were always identified and known among the commands they served as the “The Californians,” Mr. Withrow enlisted as a trumpeter, and was afterward promoted as chief trumpeter. He was discharged at Readville, Massachusetts, with his regiment, July 20, 1865, the war being closed, and after visiting relatives and friends in Indiana and Iowa, returned to Santa Clara in the following November, where he was welcomed alike by Unionist and non-Unionist. In the spring of 1866 he opened his harness shop at Santa Clara.
September 14, 1869, he was married at Santa Clara, to Miss Mattie, daughter of Dr. James E. Treadwell, deceased, and nee Annie Stamp. She was born at Havre de Grace, Maryland. They have two children: Elsie B., who is completing her musical education at San Francisco under her cousin, Miss Marie Withrow, who recently finished her studies in Europe, and Ralph V., a student in the Santa Clara public school.
Politically, Mr. Withrow is Republican. He has been a member of the School Board of Santa Clara four years, and Town Treasurer two years. In 1876 he was made an Odd Fellow in True Fellowship Lodge, No. 238, I. O. O. F., Santa Clara, of which he is still a member, and has held the office of Treasurer for eight consecutive years.
Abel had a brother Woodward W. Withrow (1827-1881) who was the construction engineer for the famous sea wall in San Francisco. He married Katherine “Kate” Almond (1831-1922) and they had 2 daughters: Evelyn Almond Withrow (1858-1928) and Marie Withrow (1853-1932). Eva was a famous painter, studied under the eminent J. Frank Currier, and travelled the globe studying and exhibiting her paintings. Marie’s passion was music. She was the president of the Teachers Association of California, travelled the globe often with her sister Eva, and wrote “Some Staccato Notes for Singers” which is still being reprinted today and is readily available on Amazon. She is the one who petitioned Congress to make The Stars and Stripes Forever the official march of the United States. We have the original thank you reply from John Phillip Sousa in our possession. She was also the voice instructor to Billie Burke (Glenda, Good Witch of the North, in the Wizard of Oz). Ms. Burke gave Marie an expensive diamond bracelet. The main stone was used for the ring that Pa (my dad) wore.
Abel ‘Abe’ Withrow (1832-1911) had a son Ralph Withrow (1872-1944) who had a son Earl Boynton Withrow (1898-1958). This was Pa’s dad. We called him Gaga. He too lived his whole life in the Santa Clara/Santa Cruz area, but records show he died in Mariposa Co. He actually died in Yosemite, doing what he loved most “Fishing”. He was the manager of Santa Cruz Savings and Loan.
Interesting Note:
Pa tells an interesting story about Gaga. Once as a young man, Gaga was fishing in Yosemite (which he did often). He wasn’t having much luck one day, but an Indian fishing near him was catching trout right and left. Gaga offered the Indian ½ of his peanut butter sandwich so the Indian showed him what he was using for bait, a hellgrammite. This became our family’s secret bait source every time we fished there …..and we always did better than the fishermen around us.
Earl Boynton Withrow (1898-1958) had a son Earl Edmund Withrow (1927-1998). He was my Dad, ‘Pa’ to us. There’s just so much to says about him, but his obituary below will give an introductory summary. More to be included in his section later.
Withrow Migration Timeline
England (probably) prior 1300-1500
Scotland (Eaglesham, Renfrewshire) ~(1300-1500)-1665
Ireland (Ulster) 1665-1710
Pennsylvania and Virginia 1710-1790
West Virginia (Greenbrier) 1790-1830
Indiana (Lawrenceburg) 1830-1869
California (Santa Clara, Santa Cruz) 1853-present
(most of the Withrows)
Washington (Seattle) 1970-present
Dave & Karla
Harrington and Cleveland History
The Harrington’s and Cleveland’s have a very long history in England, but I’m only going to briefly discuss them from the time they came to America. Robert Harrington (1616-1707) was born in Somerset England in 1616. He left there through the port of Ipswich in 1634 and settled in Watertown Mass. He remained there until his death in 1707. In fact, multiple generations lived within 100 miles or less of these Boston areas until about 1850 when Milton H B Harrington (1819-1899) moved to Kennebec, Maine (175 miles north) then on to Madera, California in about 1888. His son Thomas Edward Harrington (1845-1908) lived there too. Sometime after1900 he moved to San Jose/Santa Clara where he died in 1908. The family seemed to go between Madera, Fresno (25 miles SE) and San Jose/Santa Clara until 1910 when Clarence Thomas Harrington (1900-1968; my grandfather) moved permanently to San Jose/Santa Clara and on to Santa Cruz by 1940. My parents met there, at Santa Cruz High School, and after WWII married (1949) and began raising our family.
The Cleveland’s started with Moses Cleveland (1622-1702) , who was born in Ipswich in 1622, left through that port town as well sometime between 1633 and 1642 (listed dates vary). He settled in Woburn, Massachusetts and married Ann Winn there in 1648. Many of the Clevelands in the US probably came from Moses. In the book “The Genealogy of the Cleveland & Cleaveland Families; (Vol. 1; 1899), he appears as #1. In our line, if a relative appears in this book and has a number assigned, I’ve included that number next to their name (here and in Ancestry.com). This family too stayed within 75-85 miles of Boston from 1642 to about 1902 when Ephraim Marsh Cleveland (1823-1913; #4253) moved all over the place. He was a prominent physician, and was married 3 times. We are related to Louisa Haviland (1846-1928; wife #3) Records show he lived in Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Kansas before ending up in Orange, California. It is through Ephraim that we are related to Grover Cleveland. His son Ellis Efraim Cleveland (1874-1914; #10033-6) is who my brother Steve is named after. Ellis was living in Santa Clara by 1900. He married Harriet E Rivoire (1881-1926) in 1902. The Rivoire family, although French speaking, came from Torino, Italy. Their family roots go back at least to the early 1600’s, all living in the Torino area. Their ancestry is known thanks to the excellent records kept by the Waldensian Church. Ellis and Harriet were the parents of my maternal grandmother Leora May Cleveland (1906-1997).
