Post by Abraxas on May 16, 2011 12:11:30 GMT -5
These are the names of those traditionally linked to the Jersey Devil by way of linage, as they occur in history. Followed by a brief description of their relationship and position within the different version of the Jersey Devil legend.
The Leeds Family
1. Thomas Leeds, the founder of the New Jersey family of Leeds, came from Leeds, England, to Shrewsbury, Monmouth County in 1696. He and wife obtained 240 acres of land in East Jersey. Before two years had passed his wife, by whom he had three sons, died. Thomas Leeds died in 1687, and was buried beside his first wife in the yard, his widow removed to Philadelphia. His will is there recorded, dated 9 mo. 18, 1703. The sons of Thomas Leeds and his first wife were William, Daniel, Thomas, J., no issue.
2. William Leeds lived at Middletown, Monmouth County, N.J. until after the death of his wife Dorothea; his occupation being that of cooper. In 1705 he purchased 200 acres of land from his brother Daniel, “on the sea coast near Absecon Creek.” In 1708 he bought more land from John Budd, of Philadelphia.
3. Daniel Leeds was born in Leeds, England, about 1652, and followed his father to the New World in 1678. Daniel married, first, Ann Stacy, 2 mo. 21, 1681, daughter of Robert Stacy, a tanner of Burlington, and a niece of Mahlon Stacy, who settled the “Falls of the Delaware,” where Trenton now stands. His official position was that of a member of the Assembly, 1682. As early as 1694 he “located land” in Great Egg Harbor, Daniel brought hither his family, settled upon this land and called it Leeds’ Point, in ground on the Point, and the highest point of land on the coast from Highlands to the Capes of Virginia.
4. Mother Leeds (Mrs Leeds), is the woman who gave birth to the Jersey Devil in the legend, but we know nothing of her true identity. The name of the Jersey Devil's mother is not mentioned in these early versions of the legend. Although there are many different versions of the legend which mention a Mrs Leeds we are never provided with any additional information, at least not until much later. All that is certain is that she lived in either Leeds Point, Burlington etc.
5. Daniel (1676?-1740?) This is the only historical name directly linked to a possible explanation for the origins of the Jersey Devil legend
6. Satan, Prince of Darkness, Reported to be the father of the Jersey Devil.
7. Ann Archer Leeds, who said to be a wild loose kind of a girl who, perhaps in a drunken stupor careless cried out that she hoped her baby would be a Devil.
8. Mrs. Shrouds is another name proclaimed to be the name of the Jersey Devil's mother, but this name is not found in association with the legend until the 1930s.
9. Jane Leeds Johnson and Jake Johnson. The first instance of a couple in association with the Jersey Devil legend, usually only the mother is mentioned, with no name attached.
10. Larner Leeds is yet another name from the 1930s which appears in connection with the legend. This is one of the more doubtful connections, the daughter of Larner Leeds emphatically denies that this, claiming that the house on Leeds Point came to them through the Higbee family, not the Leedses.
11. A Lenape Indian, who placed a curse on his wife for sleeping with a white man. She got pregnant and the baby became the original Jersey Devil.
12. Harry Leeds, who counts the legendary Mother Leeds as an ancestor — and thus, is a distant cousin of the Jersey Devil. Leeds, 64, isn't a fearful man. He fought as a Marine in Korea and later served as an Army paratrooper. Yet when he goes raccoon hunting around his home in Leeds Point, he gets the spine-
tingling sensation that he's not alone. "When you're out there, your visibility is restricted and the trees seem to go on forever," Leeds said. "The least little disturbance gets all your adrenaline flowing and gets you imagining things.
13. Samuel Shrouds, Sr. Places and circumstances of Jersey Devil's birth
The Leeds Family
1. Thomas Leeds, the founder of the New Jersey family of Leeds, came from Leeds, England, to Shrewsbury, Monmouth County in 1696. He and wife obtained 240 acres of land in East Jersey. Before two years had passed his wife, by whom he had three sons, died. Thomas Leeds died in 1687, and was buried beside his first wife in the yard, his widow removed to Philadelphia. His will is there recorded, dated 9 mo. 18, 1703. The sons of Thomas Leeds and his first wife were William, Daniel, Thomas, J., no issue.
2. William Leeds lived at Middletown, Monmouth County, N.J. until after the death of his wife Dorothea; his occupation being that of cooper. In 1705 he purchased 200 acres of land from his brother Daniel, “on the sea coast near Absecon Creek.” In 1708 he bought more land from John Budd, of Philadelphia.
3. Daniel Leeds was born in Leeds, England, about 1652, and followed his father to the New World in 1678. Daniel married, first, Ann Stacy, 2 mo. 21, 1681, daughter of Robert Stacy, a tanner of Burlington, and a niece of Mahlon Stacy, who settled the “Falls of the Delaware,” where Trenton now stands. His official position was that of a member of the Assembly, 1682. As early as 1694 he “located land” in Great Egg Harbor, Daniel brought hither his family, settled upon this land and called it Leeds’ Point, in ground on the Point, and the highest point of land on the coast from Highlands to the Capes of Virginia.
4. Mother Leeds (Mrs Leeds), is the woman who gave birth to the Jersey Devil in the legend, but we know nothing of her true identity. The name of the Jersey Devil's mother is not mentioned in these early versions of the legend. Although there are many different versions of the legend which mention a Mrs Leeds we are never provided with any additional information, at least not until much later. All that is certain is that she lived in either Leeds Point, Burlington etc.
5. Daniel (1676?-1740?) This is the only historical name directly linked to a possible explanation for the origins of the Jersey Devil legend
6. Satan, Prince of Darkness, Reported to be the father of the Jersey Devil.
7. Ann Archer Leeds, who said to be a wild loose kind of a girl who, perhaps in a drunken stupor careless cried out that she hoped her baby would be a Devil.
8. Mrs. Shrouds is another name proclaimed to be the name of the Jersey Devil's mother, but this name is not found in association with the legend until the 1930s.
9. Jane Leeds Johnson and Jake Johnson. The first instance of a couple in association with the Jersey Devil legend, usually only the mother is mentioned, with no name attached.
10. Larner Leeds is yet another name from the 1930s which appears in connection with the legend. This is one of the more doubtful connections, the daughter of Larner Leeds emphatically denies that this, claiming that the house on Leeds Point came to them through the Higbee family, not the Leedses.
11. A Lenape Indian, who placed a curse on his wife for sleeping with a white man. She got pregnant and the baby became the original Jersey Devil.
12. Harry Leeds, who counts the legendary Mother Leeds as an ancestor — and thus, is a distant cousin of the Jersey Devil. Leeds, 64, isn't a fearful man. He fought as a Marine in Korea and later served as an Army paratrooper. Yet when he goes raccoon hunting around his home in Leeds Point, he gets the spine-
tingling sensation that he's not alone. "When you're out there, your visibility is restricted and the trees seem to go on forever," Leeds said. "The least little disturbance gets all your adrenaline flowing and gets you imagining things.
13. Samuel Shrouds, Sr. Places and circumstances of Jersey Devil's birth