Members of the Chidester
and allied families.
Dear folks:
I think that you either know me personally or have heard of Thelma Chidester Anderson and myself and so we need very little introduction. However, if you haven’t heard of us, Thema’s father was John Nicoll Chidester and mother Mary Elizabeth Workman Chidester.
As a hobby, I started writing a history of the Chidester Family in America about fifteen years ago. Today I have amassed a collection of over 14,000 Chidester, Chedester, Chitester, Chittister, Chichester, Chidster, Chedster, Chiddister names, including of course, one or two generations of the women who married into these families. This has become almost a big business with me. I have over 5000 family group sheets. All the names are on 3 x 5 cards for quick reference. Orignal deeds, wills, army discharges and scores of photostat copies of these and other vital records. BUT! I can’t get any further back than about 1775 on John Madison Chidesters line. I have combed (very fine comb) the records in Onondaga and Oneida counties, New York for clues. I have written to every Methodist church in these counties, almost every post master, every shcool, and in fact just baout every place there is trying to find the answer. All I have been able to do is to find every last one descendant of David Starr Chidester the brother of John Madison Chidester. You know David Starr stayed in N.Y. He did not join the church as his brother John M. did. He remained with his grandparents in Vienna, Oneida Co., until grown. He died in Syracuse, N.Y. in 1875 as a very well known physician and surgeon. Today, his descendant Dr. Augustus B. Chidester says that he is the fifth of a line of physicians. That makes John Peck Chidester and his father John David Chidester doctors also. Finding the descendants of David Starr Chidester was no easy task. David was married twice. First in 1828 to Nancy Shurtleff and then again to Mary Lyon. He had families with each. There are no descendants through Nancy living today. The last one died in 1941. By Mary Lyon only a few.
I feel quite sure that somewheres someone has some information that we need. For years everybody thought that John Madison was born in Pompey, Onondaga Co., N.Y. Kenneth Cropper recently found in the records of St. George that he was born in Ardage, N.Y. Have we been searching in vain. I can’t find Ardage in any Atlas, so I have written to Albany, N.Y. asking them where Ardage was located. This indicates that someplace in Utah there is the right clue as to who John Madison descended from. With your permission I will find this. First, I need a group sheet on what you have. Even if you have sent this to me before. Sit down right now, tonight, and go over all your records and make me some group sheets on what you have. Also any written material that you have. Give me any rumors (call them ruors) information, etc., that you have heard regarding John Madison Chidester. His life story, his children, etc. SEARCH your old attic, book of remembrance, records, bibles etc. SEND THEM TO ME. I will compile them all and present them to the Presdient of the Association for the re-union in August 1958. All of us have information about the family but no one as all the information. I have much material that you do not have. If you want I’ll ditto it (this letter is a ditto) and make copies for all of you. I have 20 closely typewritten pages about David Starr. We should have 500 about John Madison and his descendants. Ever see the Pulsipher Family history. Wonderful history. Ida Chidester helped compile a wonderful history.
I forgot to mention that Dr. David Starr Chidester was an ordained Methodist Minister. He had churchs in 15 different hamlets, townships, villages, throughout N.Y. Why I even found the family up in Vermont. Ever know your own family lived in Vermot. They did. David Delmond Chidester was a dentist up there in Vermont. He was in the Civil War, got homesick and deserted, went out to Michigan and died. Who else went to Michigan. John Madison and his mother Mary Ann (Polly) Gifford Chidester Darrow and her husband George Darrow. George died 1842 and Mary joined the church and came to Utah. Ever hear of all the Darrow children. I haven’t searched for their descendants but am going to. Why? Well they are half brothers to John Madison and David Starr Chidester. Some joined the church and came to California and some did not.
Interesting thing I found in the Pulsipher Family History (I borrowed from Ken Cropper and must return one day) anyway I found reference to Joseph Chidester living in Pompey, N.Y. in 1820. I have all the descendents of this mand and his parents and even grandparents. This takes us back to 1750 to Pennsylvania. Was John Peck related? I do not know. David Chidester and wife Mary lived in Pompey in 1810. Their daughter Clorinda Chidester married Solmon Loveland in Pompey. Was this David our David John Chidester. I don’t know. There was a Daniel and David Chidester in old Albany county, N.Y. 1790. Daniel’s son Gardner Chidester married Andria Vorce and they moved to Pompey about 1812. Was David a brother of Samuel or his father. I don’t know. You see the clues? Clorinda Chidester was born in Stillwater, N.Y. old Albany county again. The county clerk in Stillwater wants $35 to search his records for Chidester. Right now I have other irons in the fire to possibly get it for nothing.
Right now all I want is to interest you folks in is to send me all the information you have on the Chidesters and those that married into or out of the family. Get this all in one place so I can make a great big family history for the association. Remmeber now all the information not just part of it. What a wonderful thing it will be when we connect into these 14,000 odd Chidesters we have. Wouldn’t you like to see a great big history of the family.
Let me tell you about the English branch, James Chichester, originator in America, settled in Salem Mass. 1640. He was from Devonshire, Eng. He moved to Huntington, Long Island in 1655. His family, driven off the Island in 1700 for being Tories. Moved to Connecticut. One became Sgt. Chidester in charge of Fort Hoosic, now Williamstown, Mass. in 1750. Was killed by the Indians 1754. I have a huge book that gives his whole life story. Family migrated to Morris county, N.J. 1755. I have traced a lot of the Chidesters back to this Morristown family. In fct one John Chidester in Rev. war from Morristown, finally became a Loyalist and went up to Nova Scotia in 1784. Came back to Morristown 1790. I have been trying to find something on this fellow. Was he John David? Cluds clues and more clues. You just have to keep at this thing. One day we will have it. I could go on and on and tell you about the Chidesters galore. The longest stage coach lin in America was started and owned by John Chidester. It ran from St. Louis to Elpaso to Yuma. John Chidester owned all the cotton during the Civil War. Made the north give him $1,000,000 for some cotton. The North said that he was a gagster. He was a good business man. Drew Chidester owned and operated the largest steamship company on the west coast. He died in 1947. I knew him. He is from the Ohio, Penn. family. One Chidester left $5,000,000 to a fund (Syracuse, N.Y.) to give people who have done something for society Anyone that has made society better. I should have found her before she passed away. Perhaps I could have persuaded her to lend us some for this history. One woman in Tulare, Cal. collected Chidester history for 40 years without knowing what to do with it. She sent it to me saying that she had no idea what she was collecting it for. Must have been 1000 names. She died less than 30 days later. I wrote her son a month later asking him for some information on her family. He wrote that someone had burned all his mother’s geneology. I had it all. Did you know your own aunt Kitty burned all the Chidester family history before she died with the remark that no one was interested and she wasn’t going to leave it. Dr. Augustus saw the record. Took the family back to England, tch tch tch. One Chidester has has family history from 1500 to 1800 stitched on a piece of cloth. David Starr wrote his pedigree on Dog’s pedgree chart. I have it. Quite a pedigree.
Well my time with this letter is about up so I am going to close asking again for you to send me all the information you have. This is asking a lot istn’ it? BUT if we don’t get it in one place how is anyone to know just what we do have. I have plenty of help down here. Barbara Chidester Williams is helping me. She is from Enoch Chidester of Price family. Aunt Vera Chidester Barton lives here also. Her son Keith is on the H.C., as Stake genealogist. So! lets be on the lookout for your genealogy. Say be sure and tell me the names and addresses of any memeber of your family who isn’t living near you so we can write to them also. Kenneth Cropper will mail these letter from Salt Lake City as he can find the addresses by calling up members of the family.
Elmer C. Anderson