Peters and Allied Families - Newsletter Vol. 1, Number 1

Fort Worth, Texas August, 1997

Dedicated to the Descendants of John and Rachel Pownall Peters

1. The purpose of this Newsletter is to seek information regarding the descendants of John and Rachel Pownall Peters. The ultimate goal is to fill a book with every descendant included. Impractical as it may seem, that is still the goal. After the death of my father, Albert L. Peters, Sr., it became evident that my knowledge of the Peters family was minimal. In the year following his death, my interest was kindled by visiting Pike County, Ohio, and the immediate area. Being a rare book dealer and a college professor, I had access to valuable resources. This has enabled me to put together information that previously was unknown to me.

2. Let me start by describing stories either written or told to me:

A. "Supposedly James Peters (father of John) came to America in 1748 from Ireland. He was married in 1749 to Mary Bird(Burd). In 1750 he drowned in the Susquehanna River while trying to rescue a woman who had fallen overboard from a flatboard. His death was
caused by his having a large amount of silver money on his person which pulled him to the bottom of the river. Three months after his death a son John was born". Comment:
This has not been documented. Also others have noted John’s birthdate as 1752. A conflict in dates exists, but I must say that I go along with the 1750 date. This story was passed down from Archie Peters and my g-grandfather, Milton Peters, who were young enough to receive this from their parents, sons of John and Rachel.

B. Myrna Peters of Duncan, Oklahoma, has been pursuing the family genealogy for many years. She has attempted to locate the gravesites of John and Rachel Peters, all to no avail. She was of the impression that they were buried in or near Pickaway County, Ohio. This
was only natural, as she is descended from John C. Peters,who lived and farmed in that county.
UPDATE: John Owen Peters of Rochester, NY, has located the gravesites. John O. had discovered that John and Rachel had originally moved to Ross County. Elisha P. (my
gg-grandfather) and William D. (John o.’s gg-grandfather) had moved to Pike county in 1813. Further research reveled that John died in 1828 and that Rachel was now living with Elisha and Druscilla Peters. Rachel died in 1832. Last summer John visited Peters Cemetery (for some reason now called Haskins Cemetery) and located the demolished gravestone of William D. Peters. While revisiting last week, he in his words, "Walked around the cedar tree on the other side of William D.’s gravestone and, behold, there was the marker of John Peters". Next to it was a marker that had been interpreted as K.P. Peters, died 1837. It didn’t take long to realize that the K had been an R and that the 7 was a 2. The elements were rough on the markers, but the puzzle was solved. Many thanks to John for his painstaking devotion to this pursuit.

3. The Lineage of John and Rachel begins with their children:

A. John C. Peters
B. William D. Peters
C. Elisha P. Peters
D. Rachel Peters Vendervert
E. Mary Peters Pownall
F. Elizabeth Peters Campbell
G. Abigail Peters
H. Sarah Peters Towner
I. Margaret Peters Nye

4. Contact has been established with descendants of John C., William D., Elisha P., Rachel, and Sarah. Personally, I have not been able to contact any of the others, although
some of you might have.

5. This is being mailed to as many of you as possible. Please read it, keep it, give copies to others, and send me your information. We want to make this compilation as thorough as possible and that’s only possible with your assistance. Include all known relatives including
grandchildren. This is truly a remarkable family - spread throughout the United States including Ohio(of course), New York, California, Texas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Washington, Michigan,Kentucky, and perhaps the world. If John and Rachel could stand back and look at their extended family, they would be very proud.

6. All mail should be sent to:

Albert L. Peters
8600 Hidden Meadow
Fort Woth, TX 76179
Telephone: 817/236-1141
E-mail: apeters386@aol.com

7. The goal is to make this a quarterly publication. I will call on others for assistance and maybe eventually we can pass this editing job around.