Mertz Genealogy - Person Sheet
Mertz Genealogy - Person Sheet
Name6G GM Kasiah/Cassandra 
Spouses
Birth15 February 1704, St James Parish, Anne Arundel Co, MD3101
Memo(church record)
Deathbefore 12 April 17713102
Memo(estate inventory filed)
Father7G GF John Wiley
Mother7G GM Martha
Marriageabout 1724
My Comments notes for 6G GM Kasiah/Cassandra
Luke baptized many children with wife Kasiah, but at the time of his death, in 1771, the administrator of his estate was his widow Cassandra who filed the inventory 12 Apr 1771 with William and Luke Wiley the “approvers.”
It seems to me possible that Kasiah was a corruption of Cassie, a nick-name for Cassandra. The argument against this conclusion is maybe her name was Keziah, a real name in those times. I have seen record of many women back then named Keziah and many named Cassandra and I know of no instance where Keziah seems to be a nick-name of Cassandra. But the only reference we have to her was as Kasiah in the records of St. John’s/St. George’s and it was spelled that way leaving it ambiguous in my mind.
But consider this: The last child baptized by Luke and Kasiah was Walter born 8 May 1742. Cassandra Wiley signed as a witness for many of the Thomas Brerewood deeds, the earliest I can find dated 15 Oct 1742. Really? Just 5 months elapsed time to change wives?
Until I see evidence pointing to a different conclusion, I believe Kasiah was a nick-name for Cassandra.
What was Cassandra’s maiden name is the question? The Internet suggests it was Carr. I am not certain if that is only confusion based on the fact that Luke’s mother was, I believe, the widow Carr. But it is certainly possible that Cassandra was a Carr, perhaps a niece of Martha’s. Yes that could mean Luke and Cassandra were cousins, but such things happened back then.
On the another hand, you cannot read all those land records and not conclude that the Anderson and Wiley families were closely connected. It sure makes me wonder if Cassandra might have been an Anderson, though I can’t make that work. It could instead be that Ruth, mother of Moses Collett, was an Anderson. Or even that Ruth married second an Anderson. I cannot quite figure this all out.... yet.
The Anderson name that most often crops up in connection with the Wileys and the Colletts is Benjamin Anderson. There was such a man born about 1704 in Anne Arundel County, son of our ancestor John Anderson. I’m not sure if it was the same Benjamin Anderson, but if it was, then John Anderson was a more important ancestor of ours than I give him credit for.
It seems to me possible that Kasiah was a corruption of Cassie, a nick-name for Cassandra. The argument against this conclusion is maybe her name was Keziah, a real name in those times. I have seen record of many women back then named Keziah and many named Cassandra and I know of no instance where Keziah seems to be a nick-name of Cassandra. But the only reference we have to her was as Kasiah in the records of St. John’s/St. George’s and it was spelled that way leaving it ambiguous in my mind.
But consider this: The last child baptized by Luke and Kasiah was Walter born 8 May 1742. Cassandra Wiley signed as a witness for many of the Thomas Brerewood deeds, the earliest I can find dated 15 Oct 1742. Really? Just 5 months elapsed time to change wives?
Until I see evidence pointing to a different conclusion, I believe Kasiah was a nick-name for Cassandra.
What was Cassandra’s maiden name is the question? The Internet suggests it was Carr. I am not certain if that is only confusion based on the fact that Luke’s mother was, I believe, the widow Carr. But it is certainly possible that Cassandra was a Carr, perhaps a niece of Martha’s. Yes that could mean Luke and Cassandra were cousins, but such things happened back then.
On the another hand, you cannot read all those land records and not conclude that the Anderson and Wiley families were closely connected. It sure makes me wonder if Cassandra might have been an Anderson, though I can’t make that work. It could instead be that Ruth, mother of Moses Collett, was an Anderson. Or even that Ruth married second an Anderson. I cannot quite figure this all out.... yet.
The Anderson name that most often crops up in connection with the Wileys and the Colletts is Benjamin Anderson. There was such a man born about 1704 in Anne Arundel County, son of our ancestor John Anderson. I’m not sure if it was the same Benjamin Anderson, but if it was, then John Anderson was a more important ancestor of ours than I give him credit for.
Parent-Proof notes for Luke (Spouse 1)
His birth was recorded in the register of St. James Parish, Anne Arundel County.
Relocated notes for Luke (Spouse 1)
I believe he had moved to Baltimore County by 1730, perhaps earlier. The first mention of him in Baltimore County is when he patented, with brother John, a tract called Sign of the Panther (sometimes Sign of the Painter) in 1734 that they had surveyed in 1727.
My Comments notes for Luke (Spouse 1)
I can find his name in early Baltimore County records dozens of times. I wish that just once the name of a daughter Elizabeth would show up in the same record as his. I guess that would make my life too easy.
When the Province of Maryland was founded, it was conceived differently than other early provinces in America. The idea was it would be divided into very large “manors” in the European tradition, each manor headed by a titled person. There is one very prominent vestige of this heritage today. My Lady’s Manor is a famous place surrounding Monkton, MD. As a matter of fact, locals are celebrating it’s tercentenary in 2013 as it was founded in 1713, a 10,000 acre gift by Lord Baltimore to his fourth wife Margaret.
Margaret’s grand-daughter Charlotte, who inherited My Lady’s Manor, married Thomas Brerewood Jr. who apparently was a man incapable of acting as a steward of his own wealth, so his father, Thomas Brerewood Sr. stepped in and began leasing out parcels of the manor to individuals typically for the joint lives of three individuals.
Luke Wiley was very much involved with the leasing of the lands by Thomas Brerewood Sr. Simple math would say 10,000 acres could be divided into 100 tracts of 100 acres each and that is roughly what happened. Some tracts were bigger and some smaller and in total I can only find about 80 recorded leases in the format described.
Not only is it interesting to see who the lessees and their two associates were -- but each deed typically was witnessed by two other people.
Luke Wiley was a witness on 31 on those deeds. I have no idea how to explain that. Did he hang around the recorders office a lot, did he have a job there? Not that I know of. I have imagined that maybe, if there was a Brerewood land office (would there have been such a thing in 1742 and 1743?) that Luke’s land was nearest that land office. So when they needed a witness, they went to Luke’s place.
That may explain why Cassandra Wiley was the second most popular person to be named as a witness. She was often named with Luke but even more often with Martha Bull.
So, who was Martha Bull? Did she live with Luke and Cassandra? They had a daughter Martha who married Abraham Bull -- but that was 1749 and all the leases were several years earlier. I have pondered if Luke’s mother Martha may have married a third time -- Mr. Bull -- and that maybe he died and Martha came to live with Luke. But that seems to be a stretch. But I am certain that, one way or another, Martha Bull was closely associated with Luke Wiley.
Almost all of the other persons who appeared multiple times as a witness, with the possible exception of James Madgwick, were people who can be demonstrated to have been friends or family of Luke’s.
Now consider some of the actual Brerewood leases:
In 1739, Luke acquired from Thos Brerewood 100 acres assigned the name Lukes. This, I think, was a sale and not the typical lease of a few years later.
On the same day, Thomas Anderson also acquired from Thos Brerewood 100 acres -- also in the form of a sale, not a lease. Both of these sales seem to have been the result of agreements made in 1731 by Thomas Jr. and were now being formalized.
In 1742, Thos Brerewood leased to Luke Wiley 75 acres on the manor for the joint lives of Luke age 36 and his sons Luke Jr. 3 and Walter 3 months. Later more land was added to this tract.
In 1742, Thos Brerewood leased 70 acres to Thomas Anderson for the joint lives of Thomas age 41, William Wiley (son of Luke) 10 and Benjamin Anderson (son of Benjamin) 11.
In 1743, Thos Brerewood leased to John Wiley 30 acres for the joint lives of John’s sons: John Jr. 15, Benjamin 7, Ablo 5.
In 1743, Thos Brerewood leased 95 acres to Henry Taylor for the joint lives of Henry age 32, Luke Wiley (son of Luke) 3 and Martha Wiley (daughter of Luke) 12.
In 1742, Thomas Brerewood leased land to Moses Collett for the joint lives of Moses age 24, Daniel age 18 and William Anderson (son of Benjamin) age 14.
As I read through these, I am struck by the clear association of Luke Wiley with persons named Carr, Anderson, Taylor and Collett. I know how Carr and Wiley are connected (Luke’s mother was Walter Carr’s widow). I know how Taylor and Wiley are connected (in his 1726 will, Richard Taylor named his grand-daughter Margaret Sing, who married on 23 Dec 1734, William Wiley -- Luke’s brother I think). I know how Wiley and Collett are connected (Moses Collett married Elizabeth Wiley).
Anderson is the family I have yet to connect but can there be any doubt of the closeness of the two families? Since I don’t know Luke’s wife’s maiden name or his mother’s or for that matter the maiden name of Daniel Collett’s wife, I would bet one or the other of them was maiden name Anderson. I’m not ready to proclaim who it was and how it might all fit together yet, I just think it must.
The Anderson-Wiley connection keeps coming up. One of my theories has always been that Cassandra, wife of Luke, was an Anderson. But at least one woman named Cassandra Anderson can be ruled out -- the one that married Israel Standiford. Interestingly, in 1743 Thomas Brerewood leased to Israel Standiford 100 acres for the joint lives of himself age 23, wife Cassandra 17 and Benjamin Anderson 11. It is all one big crazy circle.
Were The Wileys Quakers? It keeps coming up, connections between Luke Wiley and the Quakers. Consider:
Luke’s daughter Martha married Abraham Bull in 1749 at the Gunpowder Meeting House. He was Quaker. When he died, she married in 1765 second William Amos, a Quaker.
Daniel Collett, son of Moses and Elizabeth (Wiley, I believe) Collett, marred Mary Haines -- the Haines family were Quakers.
There was a Quaker Wiley family of Harford County who came there from Chester County, PA. I do not believe there is any connection between the two Wiley families, although I would not rule out that there was several generations previous to Luke. But I think they were separate families and just, by the time of the Revolutionary War, living in about the same place -- one family (ours) having come from Anne Arundel County, the other from Chester.
A David Wiley died in Chester County in 1784. Two of his sons, David and Matthew, showed up in Harford County perhaps about the time of the War. David in particular is noteworthy as he married Ann Gemmill of York County and was a Major in the War. The name David Wiley -- as the two given names of different people -- was not uncommon in the late 1790’s and early 1800’s. For example, David Wiley Gemmill married Ruth Curry, daughter of Kean and Eliza Curry.
When the Province of Maryland was founded, it was conceived differently than other early provinces in America. The idea was it would be divided into very large “manors” in the European tradition, each manor headed by a titled person. There is one very prominent vestige of this heritage today. My Lady’s Manor is a famous place surrounding Monkton, MD. As a matter of fact, locals are celebrating it’s tercentenary in 2013 as it was founded in 1713, a 10,000 acre gift by Lord Baltimore to his fourth wife Margaret.
Margaret’s grand-daughter Charlotte, who inherited My Lady’s Manor, married Thomas Brerewood Jr. who apparently was a man incapable of acting as a steward of his own wealth, so his father, Thomas Brerewood Sr. stepped in and began leasing out parcels of the manor to individuals typically for the joint lives of three individuals.
Luke Wiley was very much involved with the leasing of the lands by Thomas Brerewood Sr. Simple math would say 10,000 acres could be divided into 100 tracts of 100 acres each and that is roughly what happened. Some tracts were bigger and some smaller and in total I can only find about 80 recorded leases in the format described.
Not only is it interesting to see who the lessees and their two associates were -- but each deed typically was witnessed by two other people.
Luke Wiley was a witness on 31 on those deeds. I have no idea how to explain that. Did he hang around the recorders office a lot, did he have a job there? Not that I know of. I have imagined that maybe, if there was a Brerewood land office (would there have been such a thing in 1742 and 1743?) that Luke’s land was nearest that land office. So when they needed a witness, they went to Luke’s place.
That may explain why Cassandra Wiley was the second most popular person to be named as a witness. She was often named with Luke but even more often with Martha Bull.
So, who was Martha Bull? Did she live with Luke and Cassandra? They had a daughter Martha who married Abraham Bull -- but that was 1749 and all the leases were several years earlier. I have pondered if Luke’s mother Martha may have married a third time -- Mr. Bull -- and that maybe he died and Martha came to live with Luke. But that seems to be a stretch. But I am certain that, one way or another, Martha Bull was closely associated with Luke Wiley.
Almost all of the other persons who appeared multiple times as a witness, with the possible exception of James Madgwick, were people who can be demonstrated to have been friends or family of Luke’s.
Now consider some of the actual Brerewood leases:
In 1739, Luke acquired from Thos Brerewood 100 acres assigned the name Lukes. This, I think, was a sale and not the typical lease of a few years later.
On the same day, Thomas Anderson also acquired from Thos Brerewood 100 acres -- also in the form of a sale, not a lease. Both of these sales seem to have been the result of agreements made in 1731 by Thomas Jr. and were now being formalized.
In 1742, Thos Brerewood leased to Luke Wiley 75 acres on the manor for the joint lives of Luke age 36 and his sons Luke Jr. 3 and Walter 3 months. Later more land was added to this tract.
In 1742, Thos Brerewood leased 70 acres to Thomas Anderson for the joint lives of Thomas age 41, William Wiley (son of Luke) 10 and Benjamin Anderson (son of Benjamin) 11.
In 1743, Thos Brerewood leased to John Wiley 30 acres for the joint lives of John’s sons: John Jr. 15, Benjamin 7, Ablo 5.
In 1743, Thos Brerewood leased 95 acres to Henry Taylor for the joint lives of Henry age 32, Luke Wiley (son of Luke) 3 and Martha Wiley (daughter of Luke) 12.
In 1742, Thomas Brerewood leased land to Moses Collett for the joint lives of Moses age 24, Daniel age 18 and William Anderson (son of Benjamin) age 14.
As I read through these, I am struck by the clear association of Luke Wiley with persons named Carr, Anderson, Taylor and Collett. I know how Carr and Wiley are connected (Luke’s mother was Walter Carr’s widow). I know how Taylor and Wiley are connected (in his 1726 will, Richard Taylor named his grand-daughter Margaret Sing, who married on 23 Dec 1734, William Wiley -- Luke’s brother I think). I know how Wiley and Collett are connected (Moses Collett married Elizabeth Wiley).
Anderson is the family I have yet to connect but can there be any doubt of the closeness of the two families? Since I don’t know Luke’s wife’s maiden name or his mother’s or for that matter the maiden name of Daniel Collett’s wife, I would bet one or the other of them was maiden name Anderson. I’m not ready to proclaim who it was and how it might all fit together yet, I just think it must.
The Anderson-Wiley connection keeps coming up. One of my theories has always been that Cassandra, wife of Luke, was an Anderson. But at least one woman named Cassandra Anderson can be ruled out -- the one that married Israel Standiford. Interestingly, in 1743 Thomas Brerewood leased to Israel Standiford 100 acres for the joint lives of himself age 23, wife Cassandra 17 and Benjamin Anderson 11. It is all one big crazy circle.
Were The Wileys Quakers? It keeps coming up, connections between Luke Wiley and the Quakers. Consider:
Luke’s daughter Martha married Abraham Bull in 1749 at the Gunpowder Meeting House. He was Quaker. When he died, she married in 1765 second William Amos, a Quaker.
Daniel Collett, son of Moses and Elizabeth (Wiley, I believe) Collett, marred Mary Haines -- the Haines family were Quakers.
There was a Quaker Wiley family of Harford County who came there from Chester County, PA. I do not believe there is any connection between the two Wiley families, although I would not rule out that there was several generations previous to Luke. But I think they were separate families and just, by the time of the Revolutionary War, living in about the same place -- one family (ours) having come from Anne Arundel County, the other from Chester.
A David Wiley died in Chester County in 1784. Two of his sons, David and Matthew, showed up in Harford County perhaps about the time of the War. David in particular is noteworthy as he married Ann Gemmill of York County and was a Major in the War. The name David Wiley -- as the two given names of different people -- was not uncommon in the late 1790’s and early 1800’s. For example, David Wiley Gemmill married Ruth Curry, daughter of Kean and Eliza Curry.
Children Names notes for Luke (Spouse 1)
The births of six children to Luke Wyle and his wife Kasiah were recorded in the combined records of St. John’s and St. George’s Parish: Matthew 16 Nov 1730, William 31 Jan 1731, Mary 20 Dec 1735, Athea 31 Dec 1737, Luke 29 Mar 1740 and Walter 8 May 1742.
The land records confirm several of these names and approximate ages and add the name Martha to the list born about 1731. I, of course, would like to believe Elizabeth should also be added to the list, born about 1725. Remember Luke’s land patent was surveyed in 1727 and patented 1734 -- so it makes sense that if Luke had any children born earlier than Matthew, they may have been baptized before the family moved to Baltimore County and took up at St. John’s/St George’s.
I found a book titled Ancestors of Richard Milhous Nixon (his mother was Quaker, remember) that traces his ancestry to his grandfather, Samuel Brady Nixon who married Sarah Ann Wadsworth. Her great-grandfather Thomas Wadsworth married Mary Wiley in Joppa, Maryland in 1768. With the help of Robert Barnes, the author of the Nixon family history conjectures that her father was likely Matthew, son of Luke and Kezia Wiley -- the same Luke and Kezia who I conjecture were our ancestors.
I’m not sure they have their genealogy correct -- they don’t really make a strong case for the Mary-Matthew-Luke connections -- and there were two unrelated men named Matthew Wiley in that time and place.
But the book sure caught my attention by making the statement that Luke had a total of eleven children. As best I can tell, there must be some 1752 document stating that fact -- wish I could find it. I don’t know where they think they got a count of 11 children and I’m not sure the significance of the 1752 date. But it sure sounds like there is some key document that I need to find.
The land records confirm several of these names and approximate ages and add the name Martha to the list born about 1731. I, of course, would like to believe Elizabeth should also be added to the list, born about 1725. Remember Luke’s land patent was surveyed in 1727 and patented 1734 -- so it makes sense that if Luke had any children born earlier than Matthew, they may have been baptized before the family moved to Baltimore County and took up at St. John’s/St George’s.
I found a book titled Ancestors of Richard Milhous Nixon (his mother was Quaker, remember) that traces his ancestry to his grandfather, Samuel Brady Nixon who married Sarah Ann Wadsworth. Her great-grandfather Thomas Wadsworth married Mary Wiley in Joppa, Maryland in 1768. With the help of Robert Barnes, the author of the Nixon family history conjectures that her father was likely Matthew, son of Luke and Kezia Wiley -- the same Luke and Kezia who I conjecture were our ancestors.
I’m not sure they have their genealogy correct -- they don’t really make a strong case for the Mary-Matthew-Luke connections -- and there were two unrelated men named Matthew Wiley in that time and place.
But the book sure caught my attention by making the statement that Luke had a total of eleven children. As best I can tell, there must be some 1752 document stating that fact -- wish I could find it. I don’t know where they think they got a count of 11 children and I’m not sure the significance of the 1752 date. But it sure sounds like there is some key document that I need to find.