Saturday, March 16, 2024

Nantucket research ideas

 This morning, a message came across my computer from Genealogy Bank.  It is a link to a blog post by Melissa Davenport Berry about the founders of Nantucket.  Melissa includes ideas for further research.  As I have time I will add my own ideas here.  

https://blog.genealogybank.com/scions-of-nantucket-founders-part-1.html

Friday, March 15, 2024

Washtub and Potato Hole Woodsons

Following a hint from Ancestry I was able to add a maiden name for the wife of Obadiah Woodson to my children's tree.  The hint led to getting in touch with Ancestry member karenjlewis.  Karen shared a great story to add to this Woodson family line from https://virginiahistory.org/exhibitions/taking-aim 




A massive 7-foot, 4-inch English long fowler often referred to as the “Woodson” musket. According to family tradition, the oldest part of the musket (dating to the mid-1600s) was used by Lt. Col. Thomas Ligon, who helped Sara Woodson defend her Prince George County home during the Third Anglo-Powhatan War. Many Woodson descendants refer to themselves as “potato hole” or “washtub” Woodsons based on their relationship to Sara Woodson’s sons—John (10 years old) and Robert (12 years old). During the skirmish, John was reportedly hidden under a washtub and Robert in a “potato hole” (cellar). Many well-known figures in U.S. history are related to the Woodson family including Dolly Madison (first lady of the United States) and Jesse Woodson James.


 If I eventually adopt John and Sarah Winston Woodson into the tree of my husband and children here are sources I found on Ancestry to look at:



And here is information about Sarah found on find a grave:

Sara was born around 1600 in Devonshire, England. She may have been the daughter of Isaac Winston and Mary Dabney. However the surname and ancestry of Sara seem to be a matter of some dispute.

Sara married Dr. John Woodson about 1619 in Dorsetshire, England and the couple sailed on the ship "George" for Virginia on 29 Jan 1619 arriving in Jamestown 16 April 1619. The ship George sailed from England and landed nearly a year before the more famous ship, the Mayflower, came to Plymouth's shore.
Dr. Woodson was MD Oxford University; 1604. Dr and Sarah Woodson came in the capacity of surgeon to a company of soldiers who were sent over for the protection of the colonist against the Indians.

Children:
John Woodson b. 1632
Robert Woodson Sr. b.1634

 

Thursday, March 14, 2024

Barbara Rutledge's research

Barbara Rutledge died in February of this year.  Barbara was the registrar of the Buford Chapter of the DAR when I submitted my papers.  She probably held every office during her time in Buford.  She was a founding member of KYOWVA genealogical society.  And she most certainly wrote her own obituary because it listed many of her genealogical accomplishments.  

Pat and Sally wanted to go to the funeral and had doubts about driving there (both ladies are in their 90s).  So I agreed to take them.  And Sandee Peck showed up on her own.  So there were four of us at the funeral to represent Buford Chapter.  It was one of those decisions made that made me very glad!

Barbara's daughter met us and  told us that Barbara had asked that her DAR pins be returned to the DAR and that her research not be trashed.  That she wanted it to be given to someone who would use it.  Of course, I agreed to take everything.  Her daughter and son-in-law said they did not want it back!  And I knew that I had saved files and piles from the trash.  It has been a big job going through it and finding the right place to take it.  But I have had fun with it.

Last Saturday night I was brain dead by evening.  Pat, Joline, and Jane and I had gone to Charlie Botts' visitation and then straight to the DAR meeting at Woodlands.  And I had hauled some of Barbara Rutledge's stuff to the meeting.  I decided I didn't have enough brain power to do much of anything, but I could go through a few more piles of Barbara's "stuff" to sort out trash and items that should go back to the family whether they want it or not. 

Barbara had in one of her boxes a couple of maps.  They were of The Beverley patent.  And I decided to take them back into my office with me.  I have seen this map many times.  I know where to find it on the internet.  I can not tell you why I took it with me.

Tuesday, February 27, 2024

Dar's Patriot

Today I am digging out of my rabbit holes that I fell into over the weekend  after an incredibly busy Monday.  I had saved a map of Poughkeepsie from Dar's ancestor's whereabouts during the Revolution. The area outlined on the map in red dotted line is Orange County, NY (Poughkeepsie is in Dutchess County)  My own ancestors were in Orange County and served during the Revolution from that county.   


 I am doing no more than this this morning but I didn't want to loose this thought.  Could our ancestors have served together?  What were the patriots doing?  Would they have known each other?  

My Cooley family had originally been in Connecticut along the coast that you see on the map between Stamford and Bridgeport.  My Carey family could possibly have come from NY city to Orange County.  I am very unclear about this.....need a bit of research to get it figured.  Quit on this for the day

Monday, February 26, 2024

Dar's European roots

My buddy, Dar, has roots both in Colonial America and also in the area I am going to describe below.  Over the weekend we found a Patriot for Dar.  I can find her tree by using darkaso on Ancestry.   It is her McIver side of her family that goes back to a man named James Rhyndress who was living in Dutchess County NY during the Revolution.  It is likely that he fought with my own ancestors who were living in next door county:  Orange.  


It is Dar's Seltsam side that show ancestors who go back to the area that I am going to show below.  Katharina Gottert Straki ancestors lived for at least two and maybe three generations in Hatzfeld, Hungary.

In looking for a map which would show the location I found a PDF that has great information:

https://www.zichydorfonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Hatzfeld-FB-History.pdf

A quick synopsis of the information on this site says that archaeological findings point to a settlement on this site as early as the bronze age.  In 1332-1337 it was documented as Chumbul and as was true for all of the Banat it belonged to the Kingdom of Hungary.  The community was completely destroyed during the Turkish conquest.  It was then vacant land leased to various cattle herders to pasture their herds.

In 1766 the town of Hatzfeld was colonized with families from various regions of the German Reich:  Alsace, Lorraine, Sarrland, Luxembourg, Baden, the Palatinate and from Franconia along the Rhine and Main Rivers.  There were 402 houses, a church, rectory, school and tavern in Hatzfeld which was the largest settlement in the Banat lowlands.

https://www.zichydorfonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Hatzfeld-FB-History.pdf

The rest of the article is of great interest, but I will not copy more at this time.

So where was the Banat?  and where was Hatzfeld?  On the below map it is the community labeled Jimbola that is in the very middle and just above Timisoara.



And where is the Banat?  

There is a great site with maps and history at:

https://folkdancefootnotes.org/culture/ethnicity-history-geography/banat-region-romania-serbia-hungary/

And the below map is taken from that site:


Basically what Dar told me is that her folklore in her family is that they were in a German community living in the Banat before the move to American shores, so her family history in that area would have begun in 1776.  Just about the time of the American revolution.  

My own research has shown that the Thirty Years War began in 1618 and led to 96 years of sporadic fighting that left the Palatinate of Germany decimated.  This was a deciding factor in the founding of our country and I have ancestors who fit into this category of having left the Palatinate to settle here. This settlement of our shores would have continued until the Revolutionary war when immigration pretty much stopped....perhaps this is why these people moved east instead of west?  This would be interesting to research.

Dar's people lived in the Banat until a move to Michigan to work in a chemical plant.  I need to get Dar to fill in this time period for me....from her tree it would seem that it would have been late 1800s or early 1900s as the generation that made the move were born in Hungary in 1858-1867 and died in Michigan in 1914 and 1942.  The name of the town in Michigan where this couple lived until death was Wyandotte.  I found an article that announces the fact that Wyandotte Chemical Corporation was acquired in 1969 by BASF.  

An early figure was Captain John Baptiste Ford, who used the salt to create soda ash, which in turn was used to create plate glass. In 1893, he created Michigan Alkali Company, which created baking soda, soda ash, and lye. The company, later renamed Wyandotte Chemicals Co., went on to create a variety of soaps and cleaners, eventually becoming part of BASF and expanding into the BASF industrial complex.


This almost had to have been what bought Dar's ancestors to our shores....



Friday, January 19, 2024

John Slater

Last year while I was recovering from Knee replacement I chatted with a lady who is a dna match to me.  I can find her Ancestry identifier and e-mail address in my Reunion data base as descendant of Marion Slater who was the son of Daniel Chapman Slater.  Her name is Pam.  I am copying some of her information from her Ancestry tree this morning and looking at past correspondence.  And I found a huge phooey.  I had sent her this note:


 I do not know if I ever sent her the note nor do I know what I was looking at when I saw this marriage record.  Nor do I know if this John Slater would be our mutual ancestor or a false lead.  But I wanted to put this information somewhere.  And this would have been more than a 100 years before our John Slater was born c. 1799 in York, England.  Still it is possible that our John Slater was a Quaker when he left England for Pennsylvania.  

Tuesday, January 16, 2024

Wallace family

Last year I realized that George Selden Wallace who was the author of several excellent books on the history of Huntington, WV (where I live) is descended from the Wallace family that accompanied William Woods and George McNeely and their families on the move from Pennsylvania to what is now Albemarle County, Virginia after 1732 and before 1736.  And then I realized that George Selden Wallace had written a book about his Wallace family and that the book was available in the special collections at the downtown Cabell County library.  

Michael Woods' sister, Elizabeth had married Peter Wallace in Ireland.  It is this family that accompanied Michael Woods and the McNeely family down the great wagon road.  I think that Peter was deceased.  But I need to double check this.

I took some photos of some of the pages of George Selden Wallace's book and will put them here:




There follows several pages of later descendants, but there did not seem to be more clues in this book for our McNeely family.  Actually I just found another page.  I will go back and look at this book one more time.