(1) Francis Besson (c.1720 – bef. 1798) & Anna Elizabeth Case (c.1725 – 1798)
According to the will of Tunis Case in 1769, Francis Besson was married to Tunis’ daughter, Elizabeth. But according to the will of Adam Hummer written in 1781 Besson was married to his daughter Elizabeth Hummer. Besson was named executor of Hummer’s estate along with Hummer’s son Cort.
According to Henry Z. Jones, about 1750, Besson migrated to NJ from Germany with wife Elizabeth Hummer, daughter of Adam Hummer, and her ten children. They came in a group of other Germans, including Abraham Shurts. Besson “settled 4 miles from Flemington, near where Mr. Peartree [Andrew Bearder] lives.”
Besson is a name that unfortunately had many many variations one would hardly recognize, including Pysong, Batson, Polson, Pozon, on and on.
Francis Besson built his house on land that was later owned by the Flemington Water Co., according to a descendant. It is long gone.
I only know of three of the ten children of Francis Besson, the most important being his son John who Besson named in his will dated August 11, 1794. (For mores on John Besson’s property, see “Pysong & Peartree.”) He also named daughters Anna Yawyer (Yawger) and Catherine Mires. If he had other children, they had either died or moved west (which was sometimes the same thing).
Second Generation:
| (2.1) John Besson Sr. (1750 – 1842) & Margaret Opdycke (1751 – 1820)
| (2.2) Anna Besson (c.1760 – bef. 1850) & William Yawger (c.1755 – )
| (2.3) Catharine Besson (c.1770 – after 1794) & Petrus/Peter Myers (1773 – )
Third Generation:
| (2.1) John Besson Sr. & Margaret Opdycke
| | (3.1) John Besson Jr. (1773 – 1838) & Rachel Trout (1777 – 1866)
| | (3.2) Thomas Besson (1774 – bef. 1842)
| | (3.3) Francis Franklin Besson (1776 – 1815) & Elizabeth Lewis Thatcher (1778 – 1810)
| | (3.4) Samuel Besson (1779 – 1869) & Zeruviah Sophie Opdycke (c.1782 – )
| | (3.5) William Besson (1781 – )
| | (3.6) Ann Besson (1783 – 1866) & 1) John Trout (1779 – 1808)
| | (3.6) Ann Besson (1783 – 1866) & 2) George Trout Jr. (1773 – 1843)
| | (3.7) Margaret Besson (1787 – after 1852) & John Hughes (c.1775 – )
| | (3.8) Agesilaus Besson (1790 – bef. 1852) & Elizabeth Hummer (c.1794 – 1841)
| | (3.9) Mary Besson (1793 – 1857) & Andrew Bearder (1794 – 1865)
| (2.2) Anna Besson & William Yawger
| | (3.1) William Yawger (c.1780 – ) & Catharine Corshon [?] (c.1786 – )
Fourth Generation:
| (2.1) John Besson Sr. & Margaret Opdycke
| | (3.1) John Besson Jr. & Rachel Trout
| | | (4.1) Samuel Besson (1796 – 1869)
| | | (4.2) Margaret Besson (1797 – )
| | | (4.3) George Besson (1799 – 1877) & Mahala Little (1814 – 1900)
| | | (4.4) Hannah Besson (1801 – 1886) & Jonathan Odell Pickel (1798 – 1869)
| | | (4.5) John Besson (1803 – 1863) & Frances Taylor (1828 – 1861)
| | | (4.6) Cathrine Besson (c.1804 – 1824)
| | | (4.7) Anna Besson (1805 – )
| | | (4.8) William Besson (1807 – 1894) & Margaret A. Case (1816 – 1868)
| | | (4.9) Rachel Besson (1809 – ) & David Austin Jr.
| | | (4.10) Jacob Besson (1811 – 1890) & Sarah Carhart Runkle (1816 – 1896)
| | | (4.11) Rebecah Besson (1813 – 1900) & David Austin
| | | (4.12) Jeremiah Besson (c.1815 – 1886) & Rebecca Jane Brady (~1822 – )
| | | (4.13) Theodore Besson (1818 – )
| | | (4.14) Fanny Besson (1822 – 1891) & Sylvester Apgar (1821 – 1874)
| | (3.3) Francis Franklin Besson & Elizabeth Lewis Thatcher
| | | (4.1) Joseph Besson (1800 – 1849) & Catharine S. Jones (1819 – 1889)
| | | (4.2) Margaret Besson (1802 – 1876) & Richard Green Sergeant Esq. (1795 – 1878)
| | | (4.3) Elizabeth Eliza Besson (1804 – 1853) & Henry Rockafellar (1806 – 1868)
| | | (4.4) Mary A. Besson (1806 – 1861) & Jonas Sutton (1804 – 1879)
| | | (4.5) Rebecca Jane Besson (1807 – 1870) & Jacob Rockafellar (1800 – 1893)
| | | (4.6) Julia Ann Besson (1808 – 1847) & William Dilts (1793 – 1850)
| | | (4.7) Elizabeth Besson (1810 – 1866) & Maj. John Aller (1803 – 1878)
| | (3.6) Ann Annie Besson & 1) John Trout
| | | (4.1) Jeremiah Trout (1805 – 1896) & Mary Ann Dunn (1808 – 1900)
| | | (4.2) Asher Trout (1807 – 1897) & Harriet Buchanan (1817 – 1853)
| | (3.6) Ann Annie Besson (1783 – 1866) & 2) George Trout Jr. (1773 – 1843)
| | | (4.3) John Trout (1812 – 1903)
| | | | | m. 1) Mary Hannah Abbott (1816 – 1861)
| | | | | m. 2) Mary Y. Boughner (1815 – 1900)
| | | | | m. 3) Mary Y. Brewer (1815 – 1900)
| | | (4.4) Sarah Ann Trout (1815 – 1900) & Jacob N. Thatcher (1811 – 1884)
| | | (4.5) Margaret Besson Trout (1821 – 1903) & Shf. Robert T. Thatcher (1819 – 1895)
| | | (4.6) Lucretia P. Trout (1824 – 1914) & Ephraim Robbins (1821 – 1849)
| | (3.3) Francis Franklin Besson & Elizabeth Lewis Thatcher
| | | (4.2) Margaret Besson & Richard Green Sergeant Esq.
| | | | (5.1) Sarah Sergeant (c.1826 – 1881) & George S. Johnson, Jr. (1818 – 1905)
| | | | (5.2) George Sergeant (1829 – 1906) & Lillie English
| | | | (5.3) Charles Sergeant (c.1830 – 1868) & Elizabeth Juliana Watson (c.1840 – )
| | | (4.3) Elizabeth Eliza Besson & Henry Rockafellar
| | | | (5.1) George T. Rockafellar (1829 – 1832)
| | | | (5.2) Joseph B. Rockafellar (1831 – 1832)
| | | | (5.3) Ellen Besson Rockafellar (1836 – 1864) & James Fonner (1830 – 1864)
| | | | (5.4) Emma Rockafellar (1844 – 1908) & Sgt. James O. Bellis (1839 – 1912)
| | | (4.4) Mary A. Besson (1806 – 1861) & Jonas Sutton (1804 – 1879)
| | | | (5.1) Amos Sutton (1834 – 1909)
| | | | | | m. 1) Caroline Jones Anderson (1840 – )
| | | | | | m. 2) Mary Ellen Meade (c.1858 – )
| | | | (5.2) Elizabeth B. Sutton (c.1835 – 1891) & Gideon Moore (1837 – 1904)
| | | | (5.3) Theodore Sutton (c.1839 – )
| | | | (5.4) William Sutton (c.1841 – )
| | | | (5.5) Joseph S. Sutton (c.1843 – )
| | | | (5.6) Jane Sutton (c.1847 – 1872) & John Trimmer Aller (c.1842 – 1915)
| | | (4.5) Rebecca Jane Besson & Jacob Rockafellar
| | | | (5.1) John Besson Rockafellar (1827 – 1885) & Sarah Ann Suydam (1821 – 1880)
| | | | (5.2) Joseph B. Rockafellar (1832 – )
| | | | (5.3) George T. Rockafellar (1839 – )
| | | | (5.4) William J. Rockafellar (c.1840 – )
| | | | (5.5) Electa Lettie Rockafellow (1850 – 1946) & Sylvanus Shaw Higgins (1846 – 1920)
| | | | (5.6) Emeline Rockafellar
| | | | (5.7) Catherine Rockafellar
| | | (4.6) Julia Ann Besson & William Dilts
| | | | (5.1) Maryann Dilts (1830 – )
| | | | (5.2) Elizabeth B. Dilts (1836 – )
| | | | (5.3) Daniel Dilts (c.1837 – aft 1900) & Lydia Rake (c.1837 – )
| | | | (5.4) Charles Green Dilts (1838 – )
| | | | (5.5) Margaretta M. Dilts (1841 – 1906) & John D. Cox (1844 – 1932)
| | | (4.7) Elizabeth Besson & Maj. John Aller
| | | | (5.1) Margaret Aller (c.1830 – ) & John S. Lloyd (c.1830 – )
| | | | (5.2) Elizabeth Aller (c.1835 – c.1860)
| | | (4.4) William Besson & Sophia Hartpence
| | | | (5.1) Hart Besson (1851 – 1851)
| | | | (5.2) Thomas E. Besson (1853 – 1933) & Mary E. Brewer (1853 – 1946)
| | | | (5.2) Thomas Elwood Besson* (1853 – 1933) & Mary H. Trout (c.1854 – )
| | | | (5.3) Everetta Besson (1854 – 1862)
| | | | (5.4) Charles Moore Besson (1862 – 1863)
| | | | (5.5) Arabella Besson (1863 – 1918) & Israel Poulson Shepherd (1863 – 1953)
| | | | (5.6) Mary Besson (c.1865 – )
| | | (4.5) Margaret Maggie Besson & William Rake
| | | | (5.1) William Besson Rake (c.1875 – )
Sixth & Seventh Generations:
| (2.1) John Besson Sr. & Margaret Opdycke
| | (3.1) John Besson Jr. & Rachel Trout
| | | (4.8) William Besson & Margaret A. Case
| | | | (5.2) John Case Besson & Hassaltine J. Nice
| | | | | (6.1) Lonidas H. Besson (c.1865 – )
| | | | | (6.2) John William Rufus Besson (c.1865 – )
Joy, in case you don’t have access to Ancestry.com, I turned up the fact that between 1920 and 1930, Merton and wife Pearl Slack got divorced. I found Pearl in the 1930 and 1940 census records, but no sign of Merton.
Thank you! yes, they divorced and He changed his name to Albert Leroy Shoppe. He died in 1949. He had 2 additional children, My Uncle Frank L. Shoppe, and My Mother, Grace Elizabeth Shoppe.
I am desc from Merton Shepherd:s sister Mary Shepherd who married James Craig and moved to Otisville, NY. I have a photo of Merton with his sisters. Please forward my email to Joy Norlander, Merton’s family. I was told Merton died in Georgia. I am Historian for the Village of Otisville, NY and Joy Norlander can also find me that way. Thank you. Nancie Craig
Hi, I am researching my uncle (by marriage) Dr Theodore Carlton Sutton (1886-1976). His father, also Theodore Carlton Sutton (1839- ), had property in San Francisco, but a notice of his marriage in 1886, in Melbourne, Australia, states his address as Suttonwood, Hunterdon, New Jersey. His father was Joseph Besson Sutton. I have just come across this Besson family tree, and I see there is a Theodore Sutton, born 1859. Is it possible this is a mistake (and in fact he was the same as my Theodore Sutton, really born in 1839). It seems likely this is a mistake as he is the third son, and listed in the tree above between a sister (1835) and brother (1841). Also, his mother would have been 53 if the date is in fact correct. The list here has Theodore Sutton’s father as Jonas Sutton. In my tree, he is Joseph Besson Sutton. Is it possible they are the same person, and one or the other trees has the name (slightly) wrong? Thanks! Clive Collins
Clive, you are quite right. That is a mistake, presumably a typo. Thank you for catching it. As for who Theodore’s parents were, the estate record of Jonas Sutton, who wrote his will in 1878, named his children as: Amos Sutton of Sandbrook, Elizabeth Moor daughter and wife of Gideon Moor of Sergeantsville, Theodore Sutton, Joseph Sutton of Sacramento, CA, William Sutton of Sandbrook and William Aller son of Trimmer Aller of Sandbrook. I have no information on the Joseph Sutton who was living in CA in 1879, but it seems likely that his brother Theodore joined him there. By the way, Elizabeth was Jonas Sutton’s daughter and Gideon Moor’s wife–odd how it was written to sound like she was both daughter and wife of Moor. William Aller was Jonas’ grandson, whose mother Jane Sutton Aller, had died in 1872.
Joy Nordlander
February 23, 2021 @ 12:58 pm
Thank you!
My sisters and I have been searching for information on our grandfather’s family.
He was Merton Shepherd.
Marfy Goodspeed
February 23, 2021 @ 1:37 pm
Joy, in case you don’t have access to Ancestry.com, I turned up the fact that between 1920 and 1930, Merton and wife Pearl Slack got divorced. I found Pearl in the 1930 and 1940 census records, but no sign of Merton.
Joy Nordlander
February 23, 2021 @ 3:31 pm
Thank you! yes, they divorced and He changed his name to Albert Leroy Shoppe. He died in 1949. He had 2 additional children, My Uncle Frank L. Shoppe, and My Mother, Grace Elizabeth Shoppe.
Nancie Craig
April 8, 2021 @ 6:48 pm
I am desc from Merton Shepherd:s sister Mary Shepherd who married James Craig and moved to Otisville, NY. I have a photo of Merton with his sisters. Please forward my email to Joy Norlander, Merton’s family. I was told Merton died in Georgia. I am Historian for the Village of Otisville, NY and Joy Norlander can also find me that way. Thank you. Nancie Craig
Clive Collins
November 30, 2021 @ 5:08 am
Hi, I am researching my uncle (by marriage) Dr Theodore Carlton Sutton (1886-1976). His father, also Theodore Carlton Sutton (1839- ), had property in San Francisco, but a notice of his marriage in 1886, in Melbourne, Australia, states his address as Suttonwood, Hunterdon, New Jersey. His father was Joseph Besson Sutton. I have just come across this Besson family tree, and I see there is a Theodore Sutton, born 1859. Is it possible this is a mistake (and in fact he was the same as my Theodore Sutton, really born in 1839). It seems likely this is a mistake as he is the third son, and listed in the tree above between a sister (1835) and brother (1841). Also, his mother would have been 53 if the date is in fact correct. The list here has Theodore Sutton’s father as Jonas Sutton. In my tree, he is Joseph Besson Sutton. Is it possible they are the same person, and one or the other trees has the name (slightly) wrong? Thanks! Clive Collins
Marfy Goodspeed
November 30, 2021 @ 7:35 am
Clive, you are quite right. That is a mistake, presumably a typo. Thank you for catching it. As for who Theodore’s parents were, the estate record of Jonas Sutton, who wrote his will in 1878, named his children as: Amos Sutton of Sandbrook, Elizabeth Moor daughter and wife of Gideon Moor of Sergeantsville, Theodore Sutton, Joseph Sutton of Sacramento, CA, William Sutton of Sandbrook and William Aller son of Trimmer Aller of Sandbrook. I have no information on the Joseph Sutton who was living in CA in 1879, but it seems likely that his brother Theodore joined him there. By the way, Elizabeth was Jonas Sutton’s daughter and Gideon Moor’s wife–odd how it was written to sound like she was both daughter and wife of Moor. William Aller was Jonas’ grandson, whose mother Jane Sutton Aller, had died in 1872.