1910 U.S. Federal Census (2nd ward, Holdrege, Phelps, Nebraska, 10 April 1910, sheet 2A)

1. Thomas Simpson, head of household, male, white, age 38, married for 19 years, born in Iowa, father born in Indiana, mother born in Indiana, speaks English, occupation commercial traveler, never out of work in 1909 or 1910, can read and write, rents a house, did not serve in union or confederate forces, not blind, not dumb
2. Emma Simpson, wife, female, white, age 38, married for 19 years, born in Iowa,  father born in Indiana, mother born in Indiana, speaks English, no occupation, can read and write, not blind, not dumb
3. Verva Simpson, daughter, female, white, age 18, single, born in Nebraska, father born in Iowa, mother born in Iowa, speaks English, can read and write, attended school, not blind or dumb
4. Alta Simpson, daughter, female, white, age 17, single, born in Nebraska, father born in Iowa, mother born in Iowa, speaks English, can read and write, attended school, not blind or dumb
5. Evert Simpson, son, male, white, age 15, single, born in Nebraska, father born in Iowa, mother born in Iowa, speaks English, can read and write, attended school, not blind or dumb
6. Cecilia Simpson, daughter, female, white, age 13, single, born in Iowa, father born in Iowa, mother born in Iowa, speaks English, can read and write, attended school, not blind or dumb

Notes

• Two more children, Rachel and Lowell, are on next page
• Cecil was born in Iowa while her older and younger siblings were all born in Nebraska
• Data is consistent with 1910 census; 1890 census was destroyed

​1910 U.S. Federal Census (2nd ward, Holdrege, Phelps, Nebraska, 10 April 1910, sheet 2B)

1. Rachel Simpson, daughter, female, white, age 8, single, born in Nebraska, father born in Iowa, mother born in Iowa, speaks English, can read and write, attended school, not blind or dumb
2. Lowell Simpson, son, male, white, age 5, single, born in Nebraska, father born in Iowa, mother born in Iowa, speaks English, can read and write, attended school, not blind or dumb

Notes

• Six more members of the family on page 2A

April 5th 1784 Administration Bond for the Personal Estate of Hezekiah Truitt and related Orphan's Court record and Certifying Records

Probate original document image 
Probate Transcript

These 1784 documents include an Orphan's Court record and an Administration Bond for the accurate and truthful accounting of the personal estate of Hezekiah Truitt of Sussex County, Delaware. An Administration Bond obliges the named persons to be responsible for the accuracy and truthfulness of the accounting of the estate. If they fail in their obligations, they are responsible to the state for the sum of 200 pounds.

Two Truitts, possibly daughters, are named: Trany Truitt and Eunice Truitt. Also named is Benjamin Hudson, who was primarily responsible for the appraisal of the estate. Benjamin may have been a guardian to Trany and/or Eunice or may have simply volunteered for this specific task out of friendship or financial remuneration.

Trany and Eunice are named as spinsters. Eunice's first child, Comfort Dutton, was born on August 30, 1786, which does not create any inconsistencies with this description.

Other names on these documents, appearing in a legal capacity: William Polk, Nathaniel Young, Levin Connaway, William Garrison.

The final appraisal of the personal estate, which does not include land, was 59 pounds, 8 shillings, 4 pence. It including some basic household furniture, farm implements, stored crops and seeds, and clothing. ​

History of Delaware: 1609-1888: Local History

Original page image

Summary: This page describes a prominent local farmer, Clement Cecil Simpson, and some of his family history, mentioning my 4th great grandparents, John Simpson and Mary Hilford, and my 3rd great grandfather, Clement Simpson. 

Analysis: Clement Cecil Simpson is the nephew of my 3rd great grandfather, Clement Simpson. This page asserts several useful facts about the Simpsons.
1) John Simpson was born 28 Dec 1750 and died 14 Jul 1819
2) John was married to Mary Milford, who was born 15 Jan 1748 and died 19 Apr 1826
3) Mary and John had 5 children: Esther (b. 1777), Nancy (b. 1773, died young), Clement (. 1779), John (b. 1781), and Thomas (b.1783)
4) Clement and John emigrated to Ohio in 1818 and raised large families
5) The Simpsons were Scotch-Irish. This term was widely used to describe anyone of Scotch-Irish, Scottish, or northern English heritage. These 3 groups all shared a common culture and religion and were often lumped together as a single group, despite their different origins.
6) The Simpsons were among the first to receive land grants in the hundred. There is a land grant record of a William Simpson receiving a grant of 110 acres in Kent County in 1718. This could be our first ancestor in the region.
6) The Simpsons were progressive farmers, who kept their lands in a high state of cultivation
​7) Clement's brother, Thomas, was elected on the Adams ticket. His son, Clement Cecil Simpson, was a lifelong Whig and Republican. This, along with a petition signed by Clement Simpson in 1832 against Jackson's actions against the banks, suggests strong Whig tendencies in the family.

Citation: Page 1174, History of Delaware : 1609-1888: Local history; Volume 2 of History of Delaware : 1609-1888, John Thomas Scharf Publisher L. J. Richards, 1888; Original from Cornell University; Digitized 7 May 2012; obtained from https://play.google.com/store/books/details/History_of_Delaware_1609_1888_Local_history?id=3mk3AQAAMAAJ​

Transcribed by Google 7 May 2012
​
Clement Cecil Simpson, farmer of Mispillion Hundred, was a descendant of one of the earliest settlers in this locality. He was born in Milford Hundred, March 29, 1809. He was the son of Thomas Simpson, a farmer, who was esteemed for his many good qualities as a citizen and religious man. Thomas was elected a member of the Legislature on the Adams ticket, in 1829, but died November 29th, of that year. Thomas was married three times, his first wife being Mary, daughter of John and Elizabeth Cecil, of Queen Anne's County, Maryland, his wedding taking place February 28. 1806. Two children of this marriage grew to maturity, — the subject of this sketch and Ezekiel Merrick, who died August 24, 1875, in California. The wife died in 1813, and the following year he married Mary, widow of Beauchamp Walton and daughter of David and Susannah Harrington, by whom he had one child, William Walton. The second wife dying in 1817, in 1820 he married Rachael, daughter of Solomon and Elizabeth Griffith, and three children were the fruits of this last marriage, — Silas Asbury, Margaret Anna (now deceased) and Thomas Simpson. The father of Thomas Simpson was John Simpson, born December 28, 1750, and died July 14, 1819. He married Mary, daughter of Matthew and Ann Milford, who was born January 15, 1748, and died April 19, 1826. Their children were Esther, born in 1777, and died in 1840 ; Nancy, born in 1773, who was killed by accident when a young woman; Clement born in 1779 ; John, born in 1781; and Thomas, born November 26, 1783. John and Clement emigrated, to Ohio in 1818, and raised large families. The family was originally of that hardy, thrifty class of people, Scotch-Irish, and were among the first to receive land-grant in the hundred, and in what is now Milford. They have always been among the progressive farmers, and have kept their land in a high state of cultivation. The subject of this sketch attended school irregularly until he was fourteen years of age. He was then apprenticed to a blacksmith, but remained but three years, abandoning it at the end of that time on account of his health, and returned to farming. In 1852 he purchased the farm in Mispillion Hundred upon which James B. Cooper, who married his granddaughter, the eldest daughter of Alexander Simpson, now resides. He purchased several other tracts after this, among them six acres in the town of Harrington, which he divided into town lots and sold. He engaged in the growth of grain to a large extent, and was a successful cultivator of fruits. Good management and strict integrity was the secret of his success. He was one of the best known men in the hundred, aod one of the leading citizens of Kent County. He was a life-long Whig and Republican, and a staunch Union man during the war. He died April 3, 1883. In January, 1832, Clement C. Simpson was married to Ann, daughter of Jeremiah and Sarah Morris, who had removed from Caroline County, Md., to Kent County, Del. As a result of this union six children have grown to maturity, —Alexander, who married a daughter of Henry and Rhoda Lewis; Mary; Ezekiel Henry, who married Louisa Calloway, and died October, 3, 1878, aged thirty-six years; Richard John, residing in Kansas; James Thomas; and Sarah Matilda, wife of Thomas A. Melvin. Alexander, who married a daughter of Henry and Rhoda Lewis, had nineteen children, fourteen of whom are living;, viz. : Anne, wife of James B. Cooper ; Henry R. ; Mary R., wife of Evan Lewis; Clement C; Rhoda L.; Lucy M.; Alexine ; John ; Sarah C.; Emma ; Charles; Laura Virginia ; James D. and Grace.

Indenture between Thomas Hilford and Martha Killen, Ann Smith, Jane Fleming, Esther Nickinson, Mary Simpson, and Rachel Catts; 9 May 1772; Kent County, Delaware.

Indenture original image page 1
Indenture original image page 2 and 3
Transcription Document

Summary: The children of Matthew Hilford, who died 29 Nov 1764, enter a contract with one another wherein Thomas Hilford obtains the lands and property belonging to his late father in exchange for 120 pounds to be paid to his sisters: Martha Killen, Ann Smith, Jane Fleming, Esther Nickinson, Mary Simpson, and Rachel Catts.

Analysis: This indenture provides evidence that John Simpson's wife, Mary, was the daughter of Matthew Hilford. Previously, everyone believed that this family was named Milford, based on page 1174 in History of Delaware : 1609-1888: Local history. However, no one could find any records of this family in Delaware. However, the Hilford family described in this indenture has a long paper trail. 

This indenture also mentions several other families in the region and describes the property of Matthew Hilford, providing important context for understanding our ancestors lives. In 1772, Delaware is still British so it mentions His Majesty. Matthew Hilford owned two tracts of land totalling 162.5 acres. One of Matthew's son-in-laws was a shoemaker; another was a tailor. 

Citation: Delaware Public Archives; Delaware Land Records; Roll Number: 783; Ancestry.com. Delaware, Land Records, 1677-1947 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. This collection was indexed by Ancestry World Archives Project contributors.; Original data: Delaware, Land Records, 1677–1947. Recorder of Deeds, Kent County, RG 3555, Subgroup 000, Series 021. Delaware Public Archives, Dover, Delaware.

Transcribed by Davis W. Simpson 26 Oct 2016:
​
This Indenture made the ninth day of May Anno. Dom. one thousand seven hundred & seventy two between John Killen & Martha his wife; Samuel Smith & Ann his wife; Joseph Fleming tailor & Jane his wife; Joshua Nickinson Junr shoemaker & Esther his wife; John Simpson Junr & Mary his wife and William Catts & Rachel his wife, all of Kent County on Delaware of the one part and Thomas Hilford of the same place yeoman, of the other part, Whereas, Matthew Hilford of the said County dec’d by his Testament & Last Will in writing, proved in due form of law & remaining in the Register’s office in the Town of Dover, in the said County of Kent (inter alia) did devise unto the above said Martha, Ann, Jane, Esther, Mary & Rachel, Daughters of the said Matthew Hilford fifty acres of land situate in the said County of Kent, Mispillion Hundred, part of an undivided tract of land known by the name of Hayfield also a certain parcel of land situate in the said County & Hundred, including the mansion plantation of the said testator and bounded as follows, Beginning at a small cyprus in the edge of main branch of Mispillion Creek and continuing from thence north northwest eighty four perches; thence south seven degrees west twenty-four perches to a small branch falling into the aforesaid main branch, thence down the several water courses of said small branch, into the aforesaid main branch to the place of beginning containing by the computation one hundred & twelve acres & a half acre of land, is being all that portion of land allotted unto Peter Hoffman & Mary his wife (one of the daughters of Thomas Painter) by a division of a tract of land called Hunting Quarter now filed in the Rolls Office for the said County of Kent; By virtue of which devise, the above said fifty acres of land part of the said tract of called Hayfield together also with the above described one hundred & twelve & a half acres of land north of said tract called Hunting Quarter did legally descend unto the above named daughters of the above testator as in & by the said Will and Testament reference there being thereunto had may more fully appear; Now this indenture witnesseth that the above said John Killen & Martha his wife, Joshua Nickinson & Esther his wife, John Simpson & Mary his wife, and William Catts & Rachel his wife, for & in consideration of the sum of one hundred & twenty pounds lawfull money of Pennsylvania to them well & truly paid or secured to be paid at the sealing & delivery hereof by the said Thomas Hilford the receipt whereof they do hereby acknowledge & thereof doth acquit & forever discharge the said Thomas Hilford his heirs & assigns by these present, hath granted bargained sold released & confirmed and by these present doth absolutely grant bargain sell release & confirm unto the said Thomas Hilford his heirs & assigns all the above mentioned two parcels of land devised as above said intended to include all & every part of the land or lands of the above said Matthew Hilford devised unto his above named daughters by the aforesaid Will & Testament situate as abovesaid together also with all singular the buildings improvements rights liberties advantages hereditaments & arrears nances thereunto belonging or in anywise appertaining to have & hold the abovesaid two parcels of land hereditaments & premises hereby granted or mentioned to be granted with the appurtenances unto the said Thomas Hilford his heirs & assigns and to the sole only proper use & behoof of him the said Thomas Hilford, his heirs & assigns forever.

Under the yearly quitrent hereafter accruing for the premises to the Chief Lord or Lords of the Fee thereof & all arrearages of the same rent & the said John Killen and Martha his wife, Samuel Smith and Ann his wife, Joseph Fleming & Jane his wife, Joshua Nickinson & Esther his wife, John Simpson & Mary his wife & William Catts & Rachel his wife, them & every & either of their heirs executors & administrators the land & premises hereby granted or mentioned to be granted with all & every of the appurtenances unto the said Thomas Hilford his heirs & assigns against them the said John Killen & Martha his wife, Samuel Smith & Ann his wife, Joseph Fleming & Jane his wife, Joshua Nickinson & Esther his wife, John Simpson & Mary his wife & William Catts & Rachel his wife their heirs executors administrators & every of them. Also against the heirs & assigns of Robert Killen Esq. dec’d and against the lawfull claim title property or demand of all manner of person or persons whatsoever claiming or to claim from by or under them or either of them shall & will warrant & forever defend by these present and the said John Killen & Martha his wife, Samuel Smith & Ann his wife, Joseph Fleming & Jane his wife, Joshua Nickinson & Esther his wife, John Simpson & Mary his wife and William Catts & Rachel his wife do hereby make & constitute Tadok Crapper & William Killen Esq. of the said County of Kent or either of them to be their lawfull attorneys or attorney irrevocable for & in the name of these constituents & as their deed to acknowledge this indenture in open court according to law in witness whereof the said parties have interchangeably set their hands & seals to these presents the day and year first above written.

Sealed & duly executed in the presence of us:
Mark Killen
Archabald Fleming
Kent County on Delaware

John Killen            Joshua Nickenson
Martha Killen       Esther Nickenson
Samuel Smith       Jn Simpson jun’r
Ann Smith             Mary Simpson
Joseph Fleming    William Catts
Jane Fleming         Rachel Catts

Be it remembered that on the 8th day of May 1772 came Martha Killen, Ann Smith, Jane Fleming, Esther Nickenson, Mary Simpson and Rachel Catts who being privately examined by me the subscriber one of his majesty’s justices of the peace in and for the County also whether they and each of them voluntarily without compulsion fear threat or unlawful bribes of their respective husbands became parties to the within indenture answered in the affirmative.

Kent County on Delaware            Tadok Crapper

Be it remembered that Mark Killen one of the subscribing witnesses to the within deed came into the County Court of Common Pleas held at Dover in and for Kent County on Delaware the thirteenth day of May in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and seventy two and made oast on the holy Evangelists that he saw the several persons whose names are subscribed to the within deed sign seal and duly execute the within deed and power of attorney therein and that he subscribed his name as a witness thereto and also saw also Archibald Flemming subscribe his name as one other witness to the same. Whereupon came Tadok CrapperEsq. Into the same Court and then and there did acknowledge the within deed with the land and premises therein specified unto thomas Hilford to be his rights and property according to the purpose and effect thereof by virtue of the power and authority unto him herein given in testimony whereof I have hereunto caused the public seal of Kent County aforesaid to be affixed. 

A True Copy Teste                 Samuel Chew Prothy