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The
Raynors of Ketchaponack
Preface
Jonathan
Raynor, the common ancestor of all Raynor descendants in this
genealogy, was the first white resident of Ketchaponack, the area
encompassed by the villages of Westhampton and Westhampton Beach
on eastern Long Island. From that one seed, many little Raynors
have sprouted to abundantly populate the hamlets of Westhampton
and Westhampton Beach, as well as the larger world beyond.
Jonathan
Raynor was the grandson of Thurston Raynor, our first
Raynor
ancestor in America, who immigrated to New England from England
in 1634 with his wife and children and an orphaned nephew,
Edward
Raynor, and in the 1640's, settled in Southampton, Long Island.
Thurston
Raynor had seven children who lived to adulthood, and probably
30 - 40 grandchildren; therefore, it is likely Thurston's descendants
have numbered in the hundreds of thousands.
Originally,
the village of what is now Westhampton Beach was laid out in three
distinct divisions; eventually, all three divisions of the new settlement
became known as Ketchaponack (or Catchaponack, or any of eight
other spellings) - an Indian term meaning a place where large
roots grow.
This
genealogy of Jonathan Raynor includes approximately 3,500
of his direct descendants and defines the relationship of each early Westhampton/Westhampton
Beach Raynor family to all the others. Some local area
Raynor
families are not, however, descended from Jonathan Raynor; specifically,
Ansel
Raynor, the son of Napoleon Raynor, who came from Greenport,
and Jesse L. Raynor of Quiogue, were descendants of Josiah
Raynor of Manorville, L.I., another of Thurston Raynor’s
grandsons.
THE
RAYNORS OF KETCHAPONACK was originally compiled and published in 1992
in conjunction with the first RAYNOR ROUNDUP, which was held on
October
3, 1992 at the Westhampton Beach Methodist Church and attended
by more than 150 Raynor relatives.
An expanded
second edition was published in 1994 which included nearly 1,400
direct descendants of Jonathan Raynor. This current, third
edition is the culmination of further research and accumulated new information.
The
format of this genealogy facilitates following a family line from one generation
to the next. All descendants are numbered consecutively starting
with Jonathan Raynor (#1); each generation is identified
by a prefix number, i.e., fourth generation (from our common
ancestor, Thurston) descendants have a "4-" in front
of their individual numbers, fifth generation descendants, a "5-",
etc. A descendant's children are listed as "issue",
and each descendant with children has an asterisk ("*") before
his/her name, indicating that same individual appears under the
subsequent generation as a parent, with the same identifying number.
An index
of names is included to facilitate location of descendants and their
spouses. Also included is a list of references. Specific
sources for all data in the genealogy may be ascertained by contacting
the author. In those few instances where different sources present
contradictory information (usually dates), the author has taken the liberty
of listing the best documented date(s), or has presented the alternative
date thusly: 15 Jan (or 16 Feb). The sign, "ca" refers to "about"
when an exact date is not known. It should also be noted that when
the name (or abbreviation) of a state doesn’t follow the name of a town
or city, the state is always New York, where the vast majority of Jonathan
Raynor’s descendants have lived.
Identification
of adoptions and divorces has been intentionally omitted from this
genealogy. Since adopted children are reared as Raynor descendants
as much as are biological children, differentiating adopted from biological
children would serve no useful purpose in this type of family history.
Likewise, each marriage is important and has been noted, but identification
of divorces would not enhance the utility of this document.
Art
Raynor, of Bartow, Florida (formerly of Westhampton),
has been the inspiration for this project from the outset. Without
his encouragement and assistance, this genealogy would never have seen
the light of day. Art not only provided considerable Raynor
information and assisted in editing drafts of the original document, but
he also created the cover design and prepared the Introduction as well
as the 30's map and guide of the Westhampton and Westhampton
Beach Raynors. Art, too, was my savior during the innumerable
times I encountered computer problems in preparing the original manuscript
in 1992.
The
author wishes to acknowledge his gratitude to the many other individuals
and organizations whose contributions of time, information and suggestions
have helped to make this genealogy as complete and accurate as possible.
Without their tremendous help, THE RAYNORS OF KETCHAPONACK would
be very incomplete and lacking in other ways. Contacts with these
Raynor
descendant contributors have been the most gratifying aspect of this project
for the author.
This
genealogy represents only a beginning, a first attempt to identify and
link the Westhampton/Westhampton Beach Raynor families –
descendants
of but one of Thurston Raynor’s grandchildren. Perhaps, this
research effort may stimulate one or more Raynor descendants of
a younger generation to undertake a comprehensive Raynor genealogy,
to include all of Thurston Raynor's known descendants. In
the meantime, it is hoped this present, limited work may be of interest
to members of the Raynor "clan".
Stuart P. Howell, Jr.
September 1998
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