Notes for: Charlotte Sovereign

Charlotte's last name is normally seen in genealogies as Shardine. The source of this is unknown. Joan Best has translated a copy of a letter sent to her by Judy Laylon. The letter was most likely written by Charlotte's husband, Nicholas Bodine. Nicholas wrote this letter to his sister, Martha (Bodine) Beers, in Ohio. He says that he had married a Charlotte "Sovereene" (Sovereign). The last name is a little hard to read, but Joan says it appears to be a form of "Sovereign." This does seem to fit with the fact that Sovereign was a name found in the area. Here is a copy of that letter as transcribed by Joan Best:

____________________

July 28th 1826 [The 2 in 1826 is partially obscured. Only the top is visible. However, it is the only date that makes sense in the context of the letter.]

Brother and sisters I embrace this opportunity to inform you that we are all well at present and thanks be to the all mity for his kind faviors and hoping these few lines may find you in the same state of health . I am in the State of Pennsylvania at this time and it is 25 days since I left Canada and then tha were all in a reasonable state of health but Abrahams wife and Best is troubel with the asma and Abrahams wife is in a meloncolly state and has ben this 10 years past. She cant neither see nor talk but at the same time has children. Since shes bin this way shes had 3 or 4 if I am correct. She has in all ten children James Watson nine Betsey five Any 6 or seven. I will now return on my story. I am at this time at Thomas Girtons as before stated from Canada. Williams and Thomas’ famalys are well and send, there respects to you all.

I ohere side [I think this means “To other side”. This is the end of first sheet. I think the two sheets of paper I have were back to back in the original]

Second sheet:

I am married and have ben four years last winter and we have two children living boys and one dead and we call the oldest James Alexandra youngest Franklin. We suspect that you wold enquire who I married as she is a stanger of you all her name is or was Charlott Sovereene. I am living in Canada yet and expect to remain myndays in that place as I have got seteld there it is agrate while since I have had any sight of you Martha Desiar I seen when I was here before but I wood be verry happy to see you both once more but if we will we may talk to each other by pen and paper if the distance was not grat I wood come and see you but you must for give my indulgance as I have come a long jurney and my family will be expecting me home. I expct to leve this on the first of August for Canada and there to spend the remainder of my days as I am not as

Joan said that the letter appears to end in mid-sentence. She didn't know if there was an additional page, but Ruth Dengler, who also received a copy of the letter, had told her that there were two more pages to this letter that Judy Laylon said were too faint to scan. Ruth has transcribed this letter also, with some variations and a different interpretation of the meaning of parts of it.

Joan said that Nicholas had moved to Canada and is first found in the records there as an appraiser of estates in early 1826 together with a Gabriel Cullver. This letter says the writer’s wife is Charlotte Sovereene. This would be a variation of the name Sovereign. The Sovereign family was an extensive family of that area in Ontario. There were several marriages with the Culver family, and there is a daughter named Charlotte born in 1805, with no attributed husband. Another researcher (LDS) had given her last name as Shardine. Therefore Joan believes Nicholas' wife to be Charlotte Sovereign.

Here is a message from Joan:

----- Original Message -----

From: "Joan Best" (joanbest1@earthlink.net)

Sent: Wednesday, March 27, 2002

Subject: Sovereign family

Yes, I have been reexamining the Sovereign family, trying to figure out just how Nicholas' partner Gabriel Culver was related to his wife, Charlotte Sovereign and I ran into the Pickel connection. I chucked at the small world. I was already familiar with this family because of two other connections. I have a loyalist ancestor, Isaac Lamb, whose great-granddaughter [Rebecca Wheelon] married Michael Best's son Edwin]. Isaac was the brother of Freelove Lamb, the wife of John and mother of Jabez Collver, grandmother of Gabriel Collver [Culver] and the four girls that married sons of Frederick Sovereign.

Frederick Sovereign and Jabez Culver and most of their children, took up residence in Norfolk Co. [just east of Elgin] Ontario. Four Sovereign sons married four Culver sisters. Gabriel Culver was either the brother [probable] or the nephew of these Culver sisters, thus the brother-in-law of the Sovereign men, including George, Charlotte Sovereign's father.

I also researched this family earlier when I discovered that James and Amy [Bodine] Best's daughter Mary Ann [Best] McMichael had married second, Leonard Sovereign [son of Leonard and cousin to Charlotte].

I think this establishes the social connection to go with my interpretation of the name in the letter and the fact that there was a Charlotte Sovereign of the right age living in the area to create a probability that Nicholas's wife was Charlotte, daughter of George Sovereign.

End of info from Joan Best.

I later found some info on the Internet about Charlotte's family. It didn't have any sources, but it looks okay and I assume it is about this Charlotte Sovereign. She was the daughter of George Sovereign (b. 1780, in Morris Co., NJ) and Phoebe Powell. Geogre was the son of Frederick Sovereign (b. 17??, in Germany) and Lavinia Culver.