• 
• 
• 
• 

• Henry J. Falkinburg I 
•  Henry J. Falkinburg II 
•  John Falkinburg 
•  Samuel Falkinberg I 
•  Samuel Falkinburg II 
•  George H. Falkinburg 
•  Solomon Falkenburg 
•  Samuel E. Falkenburg 
•  Edgar R. Falkenburg 

John Falkinburg and Mary Somers

Our family tree branches from John Falkinburg, the fourth son of Henry and Penelope. John married Mary Somers late in 1760 or early in 1761. Mary Somers’ great-grandfather, John Somers, was born in Worcester, England, in 1640. Like many English Quakers he left the mother country to find freedom in Penn’s colony. John settled at the mouth of the Great Egg Harbor River in a place that would eventually bear his name, Somers Point². [3.3]

Because there were no orders of ministry among the Quakers, there was no one to officially conduct or solemnize marriages among them. The marriage ceremony was a solemn contract signed and entered into by the intended spouses in the presence of witnesses. When we read in chapter 2 that Henry Jacobs Falkinburg and Mary Jacobs married themselves according to the Friends’ ceremony, it sounds strange in light of modern day custom and tradition.

The record of the marriage between John Falkinburg and Mary Somers begins in the Monthly Meeting at Great Egg Harbor, the community to which Mary and her family belonged. [3.4]

Ten days later the Monthly Meeting at Little Egg Harbor approved the marriage. [3.5]

One month later John presented his certificate to marry from the Little Egg Harbor Monthly Meeting to the Friends at Great Egg Harbor, and the couple was given permission to marry. Finally, on 5 d, 1 mo, 1761 the Meeting at Great Egg Harbor reports that the marriage between John Falkenburg and Mary Somers was accomplished.

John and Mary Falkinburg had eight children born in the community of Little Egg Harbor. [3.6] The eldest, Edmund (named after his maternal grandfather) was born in 1762. Our family tree branches from the second son Samuel, born 28 NOV 1764. Two additional sons John Jr. and Joseph were born in the coastal community, followed by four daughters Hannah, Talitha, Judith, and Susanna. The events depicted in Timeline of the American Revolution shown below occurred during the formative years of this young family. How did these events impact the family? How did they cope with the growing unrest? What role did the family play in the Revolution? Our ancestor Samuel would have been twelve years of age at the time of the Declaration of Independence.

Notes
2	Somers Point is about 20 miles south of Osborn Island, home of the Falkinburg family.
References
3.3	_______ An Historic Trip up the Great Egg Harbor River, Somers Point. somerspointhistorty.org
3.4	Meldrum, Charlotte, Early Church Records of Burlington County, vol 2, (Heritage Books, 2007) p. 224..
3.5	National Genealogical Society quarterly 1918, vol. 7 (Washington D.C., 1922), p. 62
3.6	Meldrum, Charlotte - 2007, p. 209.