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Grandon or Grandin?

Our theme for this week is Brick Wall.    Brick Wall is an expression genealogists use when they get to a place in the tree where the evidence stops and the research on that line comes to a standstill.  The Brick Wall prevents us from going further in understanding that part of our family history.   The deeper one gets into history, the more branches explored; the more Brick Walls pop up.  
Image generated using Chat GPT

In tracing the Grandon branch of our family tree one gets to an interesting juncture.  If we start at the latest generation (Felix Grandon, son of Jeremy) ) and work our way back, we can trace 10 generations to Bernard Grandon.  We have a copy of his marriage license showing he married Sarah Poincett in Burlington, New Jersey in 1740, however, our Brick Wall pops up when trying to go any further.  

Tradition has it that Bernard was born to Daniel Grandin in 1721.  Daniel was the first “Grandin” to come to the continent.  He arrived around 1715 at Colt Neck, New Jersey and there is a lot of evidence written about him to document his arrival, his land holdings, his friendship with Roger Williams the famed founder of the Baptist church, and his marriage to Mary Throckmorton of the famed pilgrim family who arrived on the Mayflower.  This makes sense for time and place, and the spelling of the last name is not that unusual given they are phonetically identical.  So, it’s an easy pill to swallow, and I would love for this to be Bernard’s family, however, there are a few red flags.  

First as previously mentioned I have not seen a record of Bernard Grandon’s birth or christening, or any document that would link him to Daniel and Mary Grandin. 
 
Second, Daniel and all of his descendants consistently spell their last name GRANDIN, while all of Bernard’s descendants consistently spell their last name GRANDON.  There is no variation in spelling between the families.  The only variant spelling I have seen was with a few Civil War records for Isaac Grandon where they had spelled his name GRANDEN, but never GRANDIN.  

Third, there was an extensive Throckmorton genealogy published in 1929, documenting Throckmorton's genealogy back to 1630.  There is a section that describes Mary Throckmorton, her marriage to Daniel Grandin, and their descendants through many generations.  There is no indication that any of their children were named Bernard, and none that spelled the last name GRANDON.   

Fortunately, we will be spending time on the East Coast this year and my goal is to research the archives in New Jersey to find information about Bernard Grandon that will break down this Brick Wall.  Where was he born? When did he come to America?  Are there any other documents to be discovered?  Stay tuned.  
  
Grandon Generations in British Colonial America and the United States of America
Bernard who begat Edward, Burlington, New Jersey 1744
Edward who begat William, Greene County, Pennsylvania 1774
William who begat Ezekiel, Greene County, Pennsylvania 1813
Ezekiel who begat Isaac, Greene County, Pennsylvania 1838
Issac who begat James, Greene County, Pennsylvania 1869
James who begat Charles, Greene County, Pennsylvania 1903
Charles who begat Jerry Sr, Hayward, California 1937
Jerry Sr who begat Jerry Jr, Hayward, California 1955
Jerry Jr who begat Jeremy, Pensacola, Florida, 1977
Jeremy who begat Felix, Aurora, Colorado, 2012

Image of Marriage License notation in records of Old St. Mary's
Church, Burlington, New Jersey, bottom paragraph is the record
of Bernard Grandon and Sarah Pointsway (var. Poincett).


Felix Grandon, our latest Grandon






 





Comments

  1. BarbaraMarch 14, 2025 at 10:29 AM

    Hope we can break down your brick wall
    Great story.

    ReplyDelete

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