These pages have not been updated in several years and are no longer up to date with our current database. Our new site can be found here.

Jim & Selma Burrows

The Families of Gilbert Blue and Rebecca Blue

Note:While most of my pages have not been updated since they were created in 1995, I have updated this page because it contained a lot of speculation about the relationship of the various Blue families, and I have learned a lot since writing it. In particular, my views on David Blue's parentage have changed substantially, and thus the sharing of this page between the siblings Gilbert and Rebecca Blue.

The original page may be found here.

Gilbert Blue

Gilbert Blue was born March 14, 1786 in Pennsylvania and died in 1866. He married a woman named Margaret. She died in 1848.

Their children were:

Curran McC Blue, born 1812
Cyrus B. Blue, born about 1817, died 1903.
Elizabeth A. Blue, born 1818 in Ohio, died 1884.
Sarah C. Blue born 1818, died 1885.
Matilda J. Blue, born 1823 in Ohio, died 1897.
Mary Ann Blue, died before 1866.

Rebecca Blue

Rebecca Blue was born about 1790 and died in about 1835. She and her son David lived with David's uncle Gilbert in Ohio when David was young. As Gilbert had no unaccounted for brothers to be David's father, but did have an unnamed younger sister, it is probable that Rebecca was Gilbert's sister and David illegitimate, the death of his father on the trip west being made up to account for Rebecca's lack of a husband.

See "1.5.10.3 Gilbert BLUE" and "1.5.10.5 Rebecca BLUE" on the 4th generation Descendants of John Blaw page of the National Blue Family Association for more on Rebecca and Gilbert.

Her children were:

David Byron Blue, born in about 1814 in Pennsylvania. He married Wealthy Bartlett, the daughter of Abner Bratlett and Obedience Mix.

Rebecca married James Fletcher in 1818.

Their children were:

Maria J. Fletcher
Elizabeth Fletcher
Lydia Fletcher
Jane Fletcher
Sarah Ann Fletcher
James Jackson Fletcher
William Fletcher

Original research notes Update as of March, 2000

This whole family is, at present, highly conjectural. It is based upon the census records Blue families in Iowa, and the marriage records for Blues in Benton County. It seems quite likely that most of these people are related to John D. Blue, but their exact relationships are guesswork. On the whole it appears to go together well and to tell a consistent story of the migration of the Blues from Pennsylvania to Ohio in around 1816 and from Ohio to Iowa in 1865. A good deal more work is needed to confirm this picture, however.

That Gilbert Blue is related to David Blue is quite speculative. It is based solely on the fact that, like David Blue, he was a carpenter and moved from Pennsylvania to Ohio to Iowa, and the fact that John D. Blue's grandson was named J. Gilbert Blue.
If these speculations are correct the family tree looks like this:

Gilbert Blue, b. ca. 1786, PA David Blue, b. ca. 1814, PA Abner Blue, b. ca. 1843, OH John D. Blue, b. 1844, OH Iona Blue, b. 1868, IA Leonard Blue, b. 1870, IA Alice E. Blue, b. 1871, IA Thomas C. Blue, b.1873, IA Thomas C. Blue J. Gilbert Blue Robert Bruce Blue, b. 1876, IA John D. Blue jr, b. 1878, IA David L. Blue, b. ca. 1847, OH Anna L. Blue, b. ca. 1854, OH Etna Blue Elizabeth A. Blue, b. ca. 1818, OH Matilda J. Blue, b. ca. 1826, OH Irvin Blue John M. Blue J. F. Blue, b. ca. 1859 Wm C. Blue, b. ca. 1860

The John M. Blue family listed here is based upon two marriage records we have for Benton County, Iowa in the 1890s. According to these, John M. Blue and his wife Esther Bentz had two sons--William C. and J. F.--both born in Ohio in about 1860. J. D. Blue (presumably John Demotte Blue) testified as to the majority and suitability for marriage of William C. Blue, and an Irvin Blue so testified for J. F. Blue. I'm assuming that John M. was part of the same Blue clan that moved to Iowa from Ohio in around 1865. From his age he could be from either David or J. D.'s generations, although it is more likely that he was from David's. Since it is unlikely David had two sons named John, but quite likely that the two Johns are related, I've listed John M. as David's brother and thus Gilbert's son.
We know nothing about Irvin Blue other than his testimony as to J. F. Blue's suitability for marriage. I have inferred that he was a relative of J. F.'s, and since he isn't known to be of David's family, he is likely to either be the son of John M. or Gilbert. I'm listing him as the latter.

Since I first created this page, I've learned that some of this speculation was pretty close and some of quite incorrect. Gilbert is related to John D. Blue, but he was his great uncle, and his father had lived with him as a boy. David was probably illegitimate, his mother Rebecca being his uncle Gilbert's younger sister.
John M. Blue is not related to our family, at least not since the two families came to the US from the Netherlands.
The family tree actually looks more like this:
Peter Blue (Peterris Blaw), b 1751, NJ Gilbert Blue, b. 1786, PA Elizabeth A. Blue, b. ca. 1818, OH Matilda J. Blue, b. ca. 1826, OH Rebecca Blue, b. ca. 1790, David Blue, b. ca. 1814, PA Joel Gilbert Blue, b 1840 Abner Blue, b. ca. 1843, OH John D. Blue, b. 1844, OH Iona Blue, b. 1868, IA Leonard Blue, b. 1870, IA Alice E. Blue, b. 1871, IA Thomas C. Blue, b.1873, IA Thomas C. Blue J. Gilbert Blue Robert Bruce Blue, b. 1876, IA John D. Blue jr, b. 1878, IA David L. Blue, b. ca. 1847, OH Anna L. Blue, b. ca. 1854, OH Etna T. Blue Unrelated Blues: John M. Blue J. F. Blue, b. ca. 1859 Wm C. Blue, b. ca. 1860 Irvin Blue Austin A. Blue

According to Willima C. Blue's grandson Richard, John M. Blue was born Marinus Den Blaauwen and was an immigrant from the Netherlands, a member of the family of Levi Den Blaauwen that arrived in Cleveland, OH in 1857. Most of the family remained in Cleveland, some using the Den Blaauwen name, some adopting the Anglicized version BLUE.
John M. and Esther Bentz Blue's two eldest sons, John F. Blue and William C. Blue, were born in Wayne County. There are additional children born in Benton County, including Irvin Blue and fourth son, Austin A. Blue, who was a lifelong resident of Benton County, and he had sons there.

Original research notes	Update as of March, 2000
This whole family is, at present, highly conjectural. It is based upon the census records Blue families in Iowa, and the marriage records for Blues in Benton County. It seems quite likely that most of these people are related to John D. Blue, but their exact relationships are guesswork. On the whole it appears to go together well and to tell a consistent story of the migration of the Blues from Pennsylvania to Ohio in around 1816 and from Ohio to Iowa in 1865. A good deal more work is needed to confirm this picture, however. That Gilbert Blue is related to David Blue is quite speculative. It is based solely on the fact that, like David Blue, he was a carpenter and moved from Pennsylvania to Ohio to Iowa, and the fact that John D. Blue's grandson was named J. Gilbert Blue. If these speculations are correct the family tree looks like this: Gilbert Blue, b. ca. 1786, PA David Blue, b. ca. 1814, PA Abner Blue, b. ca. 1843, OH John D. Blue, b. 1844, OH Iona Blue, b. 1868, IA Leonard Blue, b. 1870, IA Alice E. Blue, b. 1871, IA Thomas C. Blue, b.1873, IA Thomas C. Blue J. Gilbert Blue Robert Bruce Blue, b. 1876, IA John D. Blue jr, b. 1878, IA David L. Blue, b. ca. 1847, OH Anna L. Blue, b. ca. 1854, OH Etna Blue Elizabeth A. Blue, b. ca. 1818, OH Matilda J. Blue, b. ca. 1826, OH Irvin Blue John M. Blue J. F. Blue, b. ca. 1859 Wm C. Blue, b. ca. 1860 The John M. Blue family listed here is based upon two marriage records we have for Benton County, Iowa in the 1890s. According to these, John M. Blue and his wife Esther Bentz had two sons--William C. and J. F.--both born in Ohio in about 1860. J. D. Blue (presumably John Demotte Blue) testified as to the majority and suitability for marriage of William C. Blue, and an Irvin Blue so testified for J. F. Blue. I'm assuming that John M. was part of the same Blue clan that moved to Iowa from Ohio in around 1865. From his age he could be from either David or J. D.'s generations, although it is more likely that he was from David's. Since it is unlikely David had two sons named John, but quite likely that the two Johns are related, I've listed John M. as David's brother and thus Gilbert's son. We know nothing about Irvin Blue other than his testimony as to J. F. Blue's suitability for marriage. I have inferred that he was a relative of J. F.'s, and since he isn't known to be of David's family, he is likely to either be the son of John M. or Gilbert. I'm listing him as the latter.	Since I first created this page, I've learned that some of this speculation was pretty close and some of quite incorrect. Gilbert is related to John D. Blue, but he was his great uncle, and his father had lived with him as a boy. David was probably illegitimate, his mother Rebecca being his uncle Gilbert's younger sister. John M. Blue is not related to our family, at least not since the two families came to the US from the Netherlands. The family tree actually looks more like this: Peter Blue (Peterris Blaw), b 1751, NJ Gilbert Blue, b. 1786, PA Elizabeth A. Blue, b. ca. 1818, OH Matilda J. Blue, b. ca. 1826, OH Rebecca Blue, b. ca. 1790, David Blue, b. ca. 1814, PA Joel Gilbert Blue, b 1840 Abner Blue, b. ca. 1843, OH John D. Blue, b. 1844, OH Iona Blue, b. 1868, IA Leonard Blue, b. 1870, IA Alice E. Blue, b. 1871, IA Thomas C. Blue, b.1873, IA Thomas C. Blue J. Gilbert Blue Robert Bruce Blue, b. 1876, IA John D. Blue jr, b. 1878, IA David L. Blue, b. ca. 1847, OH Anna L. Blue, b. ca. 1854, OH Etna T. Blue Unrelated Blues: John M. Blue J. F. Blue, b. ca. 1859 Wm C. Blue, b. ca. 1860 Irvin Blue Austin A. Blue According to Willima C. Blue's grandson Richard, John M. Blue was born Marinus Den Blaauwen and was an immigrant from the Netherlands, a member of the family of Levi Den Blaauwen that arrived in Cleveland, OH in 1857. Most of the family remained in Cleveland, some using the Den Blaauwen name, some adopting the Anglicized version BLUE. John M. and Esther Bentz Blue's two eldest sons, John F. Blue and William C. Blue, were born in Wayne County. There are additional children born in Benton County, including Irvin Blue and fourth son, Austin A. Blue, who was a lifelong resident of Benton County, and he had sons there.

John M. Blue and his wife Esther Bentz had two sons:

J. F. Blue, born in Ohio in about 1859, married, at the age of 33 Katie (Schlaurbaum) Newell (age 27) in Van Horne, Benton County, Iowa on 16 February, 1893. J. F. was a grain buyer in Van Horne, Benton County, Iowa. Katie was the widowed daughter of John Schlaurbaum and his wife Louisa Schuniller (name uncertain).
William C. Blue, born in Ohio in about 1860, married, at the age of 27, Emma J. Baker (age 24) in Eldorado Township, Benton County, Iowa, on 21 March 1889. William was a farmer in Van Horne. Emma was the daughter of Emanuel Baker, and his wife the former Miss Troutman.