Richard married Rebecca Wall, daughter of Walter Wall who played an important role in the history of New Jersey and migrations to the west. They had 6 children. Their son Richard married Rebecca Unknown and they had 5 children. The youngest was Samuel Mount, the subject of this exercise. So, Samuel was the great grandson of the immigrant ancestor, George Mount.

You can interact with the Family Tree of Samuel Mount. [Each name is a link click on a link to move up and down and across the family trees. It is easy to get lost so use the back arrow on your browser to get back to where you want to go.]

You have read just about everything that is known about Samuel Mount and his family. Clearly, there are large gaps in the record and we will probably never have as much detail as we would like.

One of the skills that you should develop is the ability to make logical deductions based on what is known. Another is the ability to place information into a larger, historical, context. The questions that follow were designed to give you practice in both.

1. The U. S. Surname Distribution applet gives you a graphical sense of where families were living in the U. S. from about 1850 to 1990. Enter the name Mount and select all years and then Display. Write a brief paragraph describing the migration history of this surname.

2. How Far Is It from Freehold, New Jersey, to Salisbury, New York. Salisbury is in Herkimer County. Record the distance in miles and the direction. In the scheme used, 360 degrees is due north. Also record the longitude and latitude of both cities. [An introduction to Topographic Maps may help refesh you knowledge of maps in general.]

   Use the shaded relief map of New Jersey and New York to locate Freehold and Salisbury. [Freehold is just south of the map area but close enough for our purposes.] This map was prepared to illustrate the "relief" of the area. Reddish areas correspond to mountains and green areas to the valleys. Print a copy for yourself.

   Obtain a road map covering this area and locate the Hudson River and the Mohawk Valley on your map. If you were going to drive from Freehold to Salisbury, what routes would you take - assuming you choose Interstates whenever possible. How do you think Samuel and his family traveled from Freehold to Salisbury? Compare their most likely route with the one you would take and comment on the similarities. Mark the route on your copy of the map.

3. The summaries of the death of Ricahrd Aaron and Timothy are not quite consistent especially with respect to who survived and where were they at the time of the murders. According to the family tree, how many children were living in 1775? What can you say about when Samuel and his surviving family moved back to New Jersey? Assuming they were the oldest, about how old were Richard Aaron and Timothy when they were killed? [The assumption is that all of the living children accompanied their parents to New York and that none remained with relatives in New Jersey. Such assumptions need to be viewed as just that --- assumptions. Another assumption is that none of the children were born out of wedlock.]

   In your own words, based on the family tree of Samuel and Francis Cook Mount and answers to questions raised in the preceeding paragraph, write a short paragraph about their daughter Rebecca in the context of the family history.

4. Samuel Mount made his will on the 30th of May, 1801 and it was proven Sept 7, 1801 at Trenton, New Jersey. (Will Book 39, page 484.)

   Read the will and look through the inventory of his estate. Such lists often provide revealing glimpses into everday life of the times. Comment on the estate left by Samuel Mount with respect to the relative values of livestock. Why do you think that Samuel may have left everything to his son Michael?

   Richard Mount, the father of Samuel died in 1777 and was evidently quite wealthy. His last will and testament must have been made out some time before that as he left his sons Samuel and MIchael all of his lands except those that are mentioned in the will. He noted that Samuel was to have the land but that upon his death, Samuel's son Richard Aaron was to receive the property. This effectively denied Samuel the right to pass on his inheritance. There was no provision as to what would happen if Richard Aaron died before his father Samuel and the disposition of that piece of property is unknown.

   

5. Begin to place Samuel Mount's family in a historical perspective by looking at the population distribution at the time of the American Revolution. What feature(s) provided a western boundary for population expansion?

   Based on your readings, what was happening in New Jersey at about the time that Samuel and his family migrated to Salisbury? What was happening in Salisbury at about the time Aaron and Timothy were killed?

   In preparation to writing your historical perspective, locate some sources that give you Revolutionary War timelines. As part of your searching, look for Colonel John Butler, his son Walter and Butler's Rangers. What role may they have played in the history of Samuel Mount and his family?