The 100th Annual Cass Reunion Commemorative Photo Album THE 100TH ANNUAL CASS REUNION COMMEMORATIVE PHOTO ALBUM (Second Edition) Created by Dennis G. Cass June 2011 1 The 100th Annual Cass Reunion Commemorative Photo Album COAT OF ARMS MOTTO: Remember your country everywhere. 2 The 100th Annual Cass Reunion Commemorative Photo Album THE CASS NAME The name Cass is Anglo-Saxon in origin. It was a name given to a maker of boxes and chests. The surname Cass is derived from the Old French word casse, which means case. Thus, Cass is a metonymic type of occupational surname; it is derived from the principle object associated with the occupation, which in this case was the product produced. Cass is an Anglo-Saxon surname which has survived the rigorous course of history to the present day. Emerging from the shadows of time, the records reveal the earliest origins of this distinguished family. Historians have researched such ancient manuscripts as the Domesday Book compiled in 1086 A.D., by Duke William of Normandy, the Ragman Rolls (1291-1296) collected by King Edward 1st of England, the Curia Regis Rolls, the Pipe Rolls, the Hearth Rolls, parish registers, baptismals, tax records and other ancient documents. Researchers found the first record of the name Cass in Cambridgeshire where they were seated from very ancient times, some say well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D. The Cass name occurred in many manuscripts and from time to time the surname was spelt Casse, Cash, Cass, Cashe, with these changes in spelling occurring, even between father and son. In the 16th century even literate people such as William Shakespeare varied the spelling of their own names. There are many reasons for these spelling variations, for instance official court languages such as Latin and French had their influence on how a name was recorded. In general, church officials and scribes recorded a name as it was told to them, rather than follow any spelling rules or conventions. The Anglo-Saxon tribes produced many surnames such as Cass. These founding cultures settled in England in about the 5th century A.D., displacing the ancient Britons who populated the area in Roman times. The Angles and Saxons established several independent kingdoms, Northumbria, Mercia, Wessex, Kent, Essex, Sussex and East Anglia, collectively known as the Heptarchy. All of these rival kingdoms were unified in the 9th century by Egbert, King of Wessex. In 1066, the relative peace which the country had been existing under was shattered. The Norman invasion from France and their victory at the Battle of Hastings meant that many Anglo-Saxon landholders lost their property to duke William and his invading nobles. Under oppressive Norman rule many families decided to move north to Yorkshire and beyond the border to Scotland. The Cass family emerged as notable Englishmen in the county of Cambridgeshire where they were recorded as a family of great antiquity seated at the village of Cass with manor and estates in that shire. They flourished there for many centuries, and intermarried with the distinguished families in that shire. By 1030 they had moved north with David, Earl of Huntingdon, who became King David of Scotland, and they were granted lands at Craigmillar in Dunfermline. They also acquired territories at Monkton Hall, Dalkeith, and Strathmiglo. Meanwhile a junior branch that had remained in Cambridgeshire branched to Yorkshire (our branch) and Kent in England. Distinguished members of the family at this time include William Cash of Salem, Mass. a frigate captain. RESOURCE: The Hall of Names 3 The 100th Annual Cass Reunion Commemorative Photo Album 4 The 100th Annual Cass Reunion Commemorative Photo Album First Generation (C0) JOHN & HANNAH (Pratt) CASS John and Hannah were our original Cass ancestors to immigrate to Erie in 1842 from Rodley, Yorkshire, England. They moved to South Harbor Creek in 1844 where he became sole owner of the Harbor Creek Woolen Mill by 1854. John was born February 04, 1800 in Calverley Bridge, Yorkshire, England while Hannah was born February 17, 1805 in Calverley, Yorkshire, England. Both died in South Harbor Creek and are buried in Wales Cemetery, Greene Twp., Erie Co., PA. 5 The 100th Annual Cass Reunion Commemorative Photo Album 6 The 100th Annual Cass Reunion Commemorative Photo Album 1865 Map of South East Harbor Creek Twp. 7 The 100th Annual Cass Reunion Commemorative Photo Album EDWARD “Ned” CASS (C00) (brother of John) Ned was born May 23, 1804 in Calverley Hill, Yorkshire, England. He died in South Harbor Creek and is buried in Wales Cemetery, Greene Twp., Erie Co., PA. He had no children. He worked in the woolen mills of his brother John of South Harbor Creek, Erie Co., PA, his brother William of North East, Erie Co., PA and Ephraim Smith of Fallston, Beaver Co., PA who was the father-in-law of Ned's nephew Edward W. Cass. 8 The 100th Annual Cass Reunion Commemorative Photo Album Second Generation (C1) EDWARD W. & ELIZABETH (Smith) CASS Edward was the oldest son of John & Hannah (Pratt) Cass. He was born November 20, 1825 in Calverley, Yorkshire, England and was a lad of 16 years when he came to America with his parents and siblings. He moved to Beaver Co., PA where he worked for Ephraim Smith at his woolen mill. After marrying the bosses daughter, Elizabeth, they returned to Harbor Creek to help his father run the Harbor Creek Woolen Mill which he owned. Elizabeth was born November 06, 1827 in Yorkshire, England. Both died in South Harbor Creek and are buried in Wales Cemetery, Greene Twp., Erie Co., PA. 9 The 100th Annual Cass Reunion Commemorative Photo Album Edward & Elizabeth (Smith) Cass with daughter Mary and Elizabeth's sister Mary Ann (Smith) Hay about 1870 on Clark Road. 10