Early Families known to the GREGGS

Among the first land owners of the Delaware area was William PENN. On Feb. 17, 1699 he directed Henry HOLLINGSWORTH to lay out 30,000 acres to his children William and Letitia Penn. Letitia's portion was later sold to settlers in the area. According to the "Immigration of Irish Quakers" William GREGG(1642-1687) and his wife Ann came to America with the DIXON, HOLLINGSWORTH, and SHARPLEY families of northern Ireland.

In the book "Quaker Greggs" Kendall states, "As a devout adherant William Gregg was a member of a colonial friend group which left Ireland after October 1682 possibly in the ship "Caledonia" with William HOGE. William built a log cabin located on Stand Milas in 1684, his neighbors were Matthias Defosee, Henry, and Thomas HOLLINGSWORTH, Thomas WOOLASTEN, George HOGG, William HOGE, John HUSSY, and William DIXON. The book "Hockessin" says Ann Gregg the second child and only daughter of William Gregg, was the second wife of William DIXON 1662-1708. William DIXON purchased a one hundred acre farm from Letitia Penn which was located between the farms of John and Isaac DIXON. West of William Dixons land was a plot belonging to Thomas DIXON which completed the belt across the Hockessin Valley with the exception of John Houghton's one hundred acres.The DIXONS and the HOUGHTONS were old family friends and after Williams death Ann married John HOUGHTON.
The book Quaker Greggs refers to the Dixon family as "THE FAMOUS DICKSONS". The family's origin is Scottish from the clan of Dick(Richard)de Keith. Marshall Hervey de Keith who died in 1240, married Margaret, daughter of William Douglas who was the 3rd son of Lord Douglas of Scotland. Their son "Richard de Keith" was head of the lowlands clan. Richard was succedded by his son Thomas Dickson 1247-1307 who was killed on Palm Sunday. Thomas was succeeded by his son Thomas. When King James I transported whole Scottish communities to Ireland, many of the Dicksons left Scotland and became Quakers.

The immigrant William's oldest son John GREGG 1668-1738 married Elizabeth COOKE in 1694. The COOKE family originated in England. In 1702 John Gregg purchased the first land sold out of Letitia's Penns Manor. On his 200 acres he built a mill which he conveyed to his son William in 1730.

William's second son George GREGG 1674-1744 married Sara HOGG, daughter of George and Ann Hogg. The HOGG family are descended from Sir John Hogge of Musselton, Scotland. George and Ann's children were John GREGG 1716-1788 who married Susanna CURLE, Richard GREGG 1718-1754 who married Anne HADLEY, and George GREGG 1720-1794 who married Elizabeth HANBY.

Anne HADLEY'S father, Simon HADLEY, came to America in 1712 and settled in Chester Co Pa. with his wife Ruth and six children. He was the son of Simon Hadley born 1640 in Kings County, Ireland. According to the book "Hockessin" about the early settlers in the Hockesssin Valley, Simon and Ruth (Keran) purchased 1200 acres from the estate of Letitia PENN-Aubrey where they had two more children. Ruth died in 1750 and Simon married Phoebe GRUBB in 1752. In 1756 Simon was killed in his stable by a servant.

Richard Gregg and Anne HADLEY lived as Quakers in Wilmington, Delaware. They had eight children including Simon Gregg 1736, Sarah 1738,Jacob 1741-1801, William 1744, Miriam 1746, Deborah 1747, Phoebe 1749 and Ruth who married William BRACKEN. Many of Richard and Annes children where disowned by the Quakers for marrying out of the church and they moved to the Carolinas. The book Quaker Greggs states that Jacob Gregg and his wife Susanna UNDERWOOD moved with their cousin Jacob Gregg and wife Polly HATCHER, along with the HOLLINGSWORTHS and the BRACKENS to Cane Creek Meeting in Almance Co. South Carolina.

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and estates of the families above.