Nicholas Gassaway

During our recent travels during April and May of 2026, my wife Nancy was researching her Calvert forebears which she hopes eventually to turn into a book. Given that her and my ancestors were closely associated in early colonial Maryland, I found plenty of opportunities to explore my own genealogical heritage, discovering that three of my 9th great grandfathers served in the colonial assembly during the 17th century. One of these was Colonel Nicholas Gassaway, who was born in 1634 and died in 1691 or 92. As noted previously, Gassaway represented Anne Arundel County in what by then was called the Royal Assembly in 1692-93, 1694-97, and 1697/98-1700. This was in the years immediately following the Glorious Revolution of 1688, which overthrew the Stuart monarchs in the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland. A Protestant, he was evidently part of the leadership which took over the colony after the Catholic Lords Baltimore had been deprived of their proprietorship.

Gassaway was born in London and was apparently baptized at St. Margaret's Church, Westminster, London. I assume this is the St. Margaret's adjacent to Westminster Abbey which I visited as a young man of twenty years of age. Gassaway came to Maryland around 1649 or 50 apparently as an indentured servant, eventually working his way up to becoming one of the colony's more prominent citizens. His burial place is unknown, although I found several Gassaway graves in the St. Anne's Cemetery in Annapolis. These were probably his descendants. I have set up a page with quotations from two sources, plus a pedigree for Gassaway.

Incidentally, I was having coffee with a friend after our return and mentioned Gassaway's name. My friend said that he and his wife, during their frequent trips to Georgia and Florida, have driven past a sign for Gassaway, West Virginia. After looking up the city's name, I learned that it was named for Henry Gassaway Davis (1823-1916), Senator from West Virginia and Democratic nominee for Vice President in 1904. Davis was indeed a 4th great grandson to Nicholas Gassaway and thus a distant cousin of ours, more specifically my 5th cousin, 5 times removed.

Here is the lineage from Gassaway to Lucy Jane Bently Hyder:

Nicholas Gassaway (1634-1691/92), m. Anne Hester Besson (1638-1692) 

Thomas Gassaway (1683-1739), m. Susanna Hanslap (1682-1740) 

Elizabeth Gassaway (1712-?), m Captain John Howard (1698-1765)

Hannah Howard (1735-?), m Caleb Osborne (1731-1781)

Elizabeth Abigail Osborne (1757-1856), m Zachariah Wells (1745-1825)

Dr. Jeremiah Wells (1792-1845), m Elizabeth Culbertson (1792/96-1859)

David W. Wells (c 1815-1865), m Nancy Jane Elkins (1822-1887)

Virginia Elizabeth Wells (1857-1917), m Squire Benjamin Bentley (1849-1903)

Lucy Jane Bentley (1875-1948), m Nelson Hyder (1875-1959)