Author: M. Logan

My 4th Great Grandfather.

Clara’s Great Grandfather.

                         Katholisches Kirchenbuch 
                          (Catholic Church Book)
                              Sterberegister
                             (death register)

Katholisches Kirchenbuch

Rosenberg is the German name for this place.  The Polish name is Różyny, a village in Poland located in the Pomeranian Voivodeship.  In the 1800’s Różyny was subordinated to the administration of the Prussian partition.

Obviously, this opened up more research opportunities for me.  This was an amazing discovery for me and a huge brick wall for years!

Thanks to Family Search and the LDS Library for digitizing these records.

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As I wrote before, Hans de Neus was my 7th great-grandfather on my paternal side. I also wrote about Kunkle’s on the same side, but the maternal line. These families intermarried.

Susanna Neis was Hans’ great-granddaughter. Susanna married Michael Schlonecker, Jr., who is Charles Kunkle’s great-grandson.

Michael’s mother was Anna Marie Heilig. Her parents were Johann Henrich Heilig and Susanna De Wees Rittenhouse.

The Heilig and Rittenhouse families were fascinating to research.

William Rittenhouse (Wilhelm Rittenghausen) was the son of Nicholaus. Wilhelm was born in Broich, a small village outside of Mühlheim on the Ruhr River, in 1644. Today, Broich is a district in Mühleim an der Ruhr in the German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Adolf and Mathias Vorster leased and ran a paper mill in Broich and came from a family of papermakers. Mathias married Claus’ sister, Ermgard, and they moved to Holland in the early 1660s. As a late teen, Wilhelm joined them in the Netherlands to help them run their papermill. He lived in the Netherlands for over twenty years. In 1665 he married Geertruid Pieters. They had three children, Nicholas (Claus), Gerrit, and Elisabeth. They grew up speaking both German and Dutch.

The Vorster and Rittenhouse family papermaking business was expanding. And, by 1672, they had moved to Amsterdam. Wilhelm moved to Amsterdam as their paper merchant. He learned both the production and marketing sides of the paper industry.

Wilhelm took the citizen’s oath in Amsterdam, signing his name as “Willem Riddinghuÿsen.” He had assumed a Dutch identity. He was also familiar with and converted to the Mennonite faith. He jumped on the William Penn bandwagon and his “holy experiment” to Pennsylvania, USA.

Willem emigrated to America. He knew that no paper was being produced in the British colonies of North America. He also knew he was on to something big. He was rivaled only by the paper that was being imported from Europe.

Rittenhouse knew the “low Dutch” and “High German” languages.

It is believed “that the Rittenhouse family first shipped to New York, based on the work of a nineteenth-century antiquarian who claimed to have seen a family bible that noted the family’s arrival in New York on November 2, 1687, as well as the fact that Claus Rittenhouse married a Dutch woman, Wilhelmina de Wees, in the city on May 29, 1689.”       Source:  “The First Successful Attempt to Rescue From Oblivion’ the History of the Rittenhouse Family and Their Paper Mills,” RittenhouseTown: A Journal of History 1.1 (2000): 20-41. Collections of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society I, Marriages: Dutch Church, New York, 1639-1801 (1890), 67.

“Willem and Claus were awarded several town lots to grow their papermill in the formed settlement of Germantown, six miles outside of Philadelphia, and on September 29, 1690, Willem leased a twenty-acre lot on a tributary of the Wissahickon Creek and formed a company with several prominent Philadelphia residents to erect a paper mill.” Source: “Rittenhouse Paper Mill Lease, 1706,” “Rittenhouse Family Papers,” Library Company of Philadelphia.

That day, Willem Rittenhouse and his son Claus began their careers as paper makers and business owners in America.  It did not take him long to seek out investors.  He found three prominent citizens, and a deal was made.  Willem bought paper molds from his uncle in the Netherlands.

The demand for paper in Pennsylvania started increasing.  One of his partners sold his 1/4 share back to Wilhelm.  As payment, Claus and William Rittenhouse agreed to “deliver to sd. William Bradford… ye full quantity of Seven Ream of blue paper, yearly” and let Bradford “have ye refusal of all ye printing paper that they make and he shall take ye same at Ten shillings pr. Ream, As also ye sd. Bradford shall have ye refusal of five Ream of writing paper and Thirty Ream of brown paper yearly… ye writing paper to be at 20s and ye brown paper at 6 s. pr. Ream.”  Source: The text of the original lease, now lost, is quoted in Jones, “Historical Sketch,” 323-324.   Did you notice the word, ream?

The molds that made the paper were pounded out or reamed out.  That’s how you have your “ream” of paper.

Unfortunately, a flash flood around 1700 destroyed the entire mill building.  “But, William Penn clearly deemed Rittenhouse’s business a great asset to the colony and, while on his second visit to Pennsylvania, took an active interest in raising support for the reconstruction of the mill.” (Same source as above)

Wilhelm’s health was declining. He “leased” three of his four shares to his son, Claus, for the nominal rent of “one peppercorn yearly.” (a metaphor for a very small payment) Wilhelm died of unknown causes on February 18, 1708. He left no will, and all four mill shares went to his son Claus, who became the sole owner.

Claus continued his father’s practice of raising family members in the craft of papermaking. In addition to his son, William (1691-1744), who inherited the mill in 1734, Claus also taught the trade to his brother-in-law, William De Wees (brother of Claus’s wife, Wilhelmina), and assisted him in setting up a second paper mill in the Chestnut Hill district nearby in 1710.

Until 1729, the Rittenhouse family had a monopoly on papermills in Pennsylvania and the British colonies at large.  None of the mills seemed to have survived, but below is the William Rittenhouse homestead built in 1707.

The smaller building in the picture below was built 1690 as a residence.

Claus built a third mill in 1734.  The mill produced several kinds and qualities of paper, including writing, printing, brown and blue paper, and pasteboard.  Watermarks were produced by working a certain wire pattern into the molds;

Sources: Allen, “Rittenhouse Paper Mill,” 119-122; Green, Rittenhouse Mill, 17-19.

Although the Germantown Mennonites started meeting in the house of Jacob van Bebber as early as 1690, it took until 1698 for Rittenhouse and another craftsman, the silversmith Hans de Neus (my 7th great-grandfather!), to be chosen as minister and deacon of the community.   Since Rittenhouse was not an ordained bishop, no one in the new Mennonite community was authorized to perform baptisms and communions.  Source: John L. Ruth, “A Christian Settlement ‘in Antiquam Silvam’: The Emigration from Krefeld to Pennsylvania in 1683 and the Mennonite Community of Germantown,” Mennonite Quarterly Review 57 (1983): 307-31, here 320, 322.

Wilhelm’s great-grandson is David Rittenhouse (April 8, 1732 – June 26, 1796) an American astronomer, inventor, clockmaker, mathematician, surveyor, scientific instrument craftsman, and public official. Rittenhouse was a member of the American Philosophical Society and the first director of the United States Mint.

Nicholas’ daughter is Susanna de Wees Rittenhouse.  She married Johann Henrich Heilig.

The Heiligs are another interesting family.  One of my next blogs will be about this immigrant from Germany who made clocks.  Do you have a Heilig clock?

As always, let me know if you see any errors or have any suggestions!

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No, this is not a reality TV show; we are not the Kardashians.  I have been studying hard the last few days, learning about another culture altogether, our ancestry, our heritage.

On Monday, I searched for more information on Johann Reikowski’s parents, Franz and Josephine (Tesmer) Reikowski.  It led me to the My Heritage site, where I have their free, basic tree set up.   It listed a Franciszek and  Józefina Reikowski (nee Tesmer).  An email was listed, so I emailed.  Not 20 minutes later, I received a reply.  I was in touch with my 4th cousin, 1x removed, Arkadiusz Cyman, or Arek as he is called, from Warsaw, Poland.

Arek’s 2nd great-grandmother, Marianna, is my Johann’s (my 3rd great grandfather’s) sister (that’s where the “1x removed” comes in).  Marianna’s granddaughter married a Ziemann, that changed to Cyman.

Through him, I found that Johann had other siblings unknown to me.  More on that at another time.  Arek knew that “many Kashubians went to the USA but had no idea if any members of my [his] family were among them.”.   It didn’t dawn on me until a few emails later that he spoke of a people, not a surname.  Both the Reikowskis and the Tesmers are Kashubian.

So, does that mean that Reikowski is actually Polish and not German?  Not exactly.  I have spent the last three days and emails with Arek trying to understand.  I will try my best to explain without being insensitive to the region. As Arek told me, “Kashubians and Silesians’ German heritage is still a sensitive topic in Poland.”

Here is how Arek explained it to me.  “Most of Kashubians claim to be Polish. Quote: “There wouldn’t be Kashubia without Poland – and there wouldn’t be Poland without Kashubia.”

However, during the “Germanization” period, many people preferred to be perceived as Germans – and some really dropped their Polish/Kashubian heritage for good. Kashubia was a relatively poor rural region, and in those times, Kashubian people were treated worse than Germans.”

Kashubian (Kaszubian) is a West Slavic language belonging to the Lechitic (a language subgroup consisting of Polish and several other languages and dialects that originally were spoken in the area) group of languages of northern Poland. It is thought to be a variation of the original Pomeranian language. Kashubian enjoys legal protection in Poland as a minority language, is taught in Polish schools, and can be found on many regional street signs.  Source: https://www.inyourpocket.com/kashubia/The-Kashubians_70079f 

And, get this.  One of the most significant emigration settlements in America was Wisconsin!  Yes, the area where our Reikowskis lived! 

Due to the “reorganization” of Poland by Prussia and Russia in the 1800s, attempts to displace Poles with German citizens and weaken ethnic and cultural ties, many people, including the Kashubes, left Poland.   Source: https://onmilwaukee.com/visitors/articles/kaszubespark.html?28473

The Wilno website states that “the Prussians were systematically pushing the Kashubs to leave the area by discouraging the use of their language, the practice of their religion, and expropriating their land. Approximately one-third of the Kashub population emigrated mainly to America and Canada.”

The Kashubes are a Slavic tribe who originally settled on or near the Hel peninsula, which juts into the Baltic Sea between 1,100 and 1,400 years ago.   Here is a beautiful video of the area today.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7nh5sJok2w 

According to the Herder-Institut, “West Prussia is an extremely interesting yet problematic region of East Central Europe: National and political affiliations have changed many times between the Middle Ages and the present day, and its ethnic, national and cultural complexity make this region “between Germans and Poles” a paradigm of complex German-Polish relations.”  Well said!

I have found a lot of our ancestors in the Pomeranian area.  Pommern and Pomerania are Slavic in origin from the Slavic word “pomorze, meaning “by the sea.”  Of course.  What else would it mean?

According to FamilySearch.org, “The Kashubians are those Pomeranians (in eastern Pomerania and in northern and western West Prussia) who resisted Germanization and largely retained their native Slavic language and their Catholic religion. The Pomeranians were those who adopted the German language and the Protestant religion. Yet the ethnic origins of the Kashubians and the Pomeranians are the same.  Kashubian is classified either as a language or a Polish dialect.”

According to the Kashubian History and Culture; Kaszubi / Historia i Kultura Kaszubów, “for over 1,500 years, the Kashubs have lived along the shore of the Baltic Sea. Their traditional occupations were fishing and farming.” That sounds about right.

Kashubians are known for their Catholic family values, embroidery, ceramics, weaving, and folk dancing.  In Cassubia, a proverb held that “what is Catholic is Cassubian, what is Protestant is German.”

Canada has a vast Kashubian settlement.  From the Madawaska Valley Current:

“There is a Polish proverb observing that

“Wherever you go, you can’t get rid of yourself.”

While some things can be lost in translation through decades, it is interesting to see how the values of a simple, hard-working farming life can thrive through generations and prompt others to flourish in a world that needs to be reconciled with God’s simplicity.”

Wilno, Canada, is the first and oldest settlement in Canada.  One of the neatest stories I read was about the “Cross Roads.”  You can read the whole article at http://www.wilno.org/culture/crosses.html, but basically, when they settled in the Wilno area of Canada, there were no Catholic churches nearby.  “To satisfy their strong need to pray to Our Lord the settlers erected large wooden crosses at the intersections of main roads. This was a tradition they borrowed from the motherland. On Sundays and Holy Days the pioneers close to each intersection would gather at the crossroads and celebrate their Faith.”  These were private prayers, not services.

“Our enjoyment of this great land we live upon today is possible only because of the hard work and the strong faith of our pioneer ancestors. It was their faith in God that kept them going through difficult terrain and even-more difficult economic times. We must do what we can to keep that faith alive.” ~The Wilno Heritage Society  AMEN!

My ancestors never cease to amaze me; the more I learn, the more amazed I am.  Their faith and perseverance through everything just continue to astound me.  We would not have what we have today without them.

You can read more about Kashub culture and heritage here   http://www.wilno.org/culture.html

Arek tells me that my “Scandinavian genes could have been transferred to you by your Kashubian ancestors – we had Vikings there and a war against Sweden in the XVII century. “

In addition to personality traits, Kashubians are known for having blonde hair and blue eyes, which Father Paul Breza, founder of Winona’s Polish Museum, said can be traced back to the Swedes who lived on the other side of the Baltic Sea. “The Swedes came over and stole our women,” he said.   He also said, “Kashubians are known for being polite and reserved. They are also known for their persistent natures and determination.”

Above and Below is the traditional Kashubian dress.

There is also an annual Kashubian fishermen’s sea pilgrimage in Puck, Poland

You can read about Kashubian cuisine at http://www.kashub.com/canada/food.html

I have learned a lot since Monday; I am sure this is just the tip of the iceberg.  I look forward to hearing more from Arek and learning more about my Kashubian Reikowskis and the allusive Tesmers.

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My 4th Great Grandmother.

The link for a closer look is https://imgur.com/a/s9bLN

Translation of Death Certificate, thanks to Carolina Meyer of FB:

No. 152

Oliva, 6 September 1904

Before the undersigning registrar appeared today, the personally known laborer’s wife Catharina Klawa née Reikowski, residing in Oliva, Seekathe [Seekate] No. 3, and declared that

her mother Josephine Reikowski née Tessmer, widowed, 93 years old, Catholic religion, residing in Oliva with her,

born at Banin, county [Kreis] Carthaus [Karthaus], was married to the at Bissau deceased laborer Franz Reikowski,

first and family name, occupation and last residence of the deceased parents unknown,

died in Oliva at her residence on 6 September 1904 at 3 a.m.

Above one printed word crossed out.

Read out, approved and due to the declarant’s inability to write signed with her mark

X X X Catharina Klawa

The registrar.

Per pro Schumann

The accordance with the main register is certified.

Oliva, 6 September 1904

The registrar.

Per pro Schumann [signature]

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You can view a more closeup view here, https://imgur.com/WMlW6yv

Translation (Thanks to Carolina of my Prussian Genealogy FB Page)

No. 21

Residence of the bride
Bissau, Danziger Höhe (County) Pomorskie, Westpreussen

First and last name and age of the spouses:
Johann Reikowski, servant/farm hand [Knecht], 22 years old
with
Anna Sierotzki, virgin, 24 years old

Day of the marriage:
November 26, 1865

Name of the pastor:
same as above [Herlth]

First and last name of the witnesses:
Joseph Meyer, August Derda

[Last lines at the bottom of the page next to the church’s stamp:]

The accuracy of the above register is hereby certified.
Matern, 2 January 1866
Herlth [signature]
Pastor

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Are the Schwittkowski’s German or Polish?  That has been a conundrum since I started this journey with the Schwittkowski’s and Johann, as written in my blog Schwittkowski Name Change to Hennig.  We know with the Naturalization Papers and the name change to the Hennig name was because they insisted that they were German (as we were told growing up) but that Schwittkowski sounded too Polish.

Today I found records on my 3rd great-aunt, Anna Elisabeth Schwittkowski. Johann Leopold’s sister.  She was born in Rosenberg, Danziger Höhe, Danzig, Westpreussen. If I understand the history correctly, it was German then. Danziger Höhe is now within Poland.  Below is the map for the time period when Johann and his siblings were born.

The map below is the same area today. (Gdansk/Danzig)

Clara wrote notes under John, Anton, and Paul’s name on a piece of paper that says “Enlisted in the Army (German) at 14 or 15- deserted at 21 to the US”.  Dates show that this matches Paul.  Paul emigrated in 1892, declared in 1900, and his petition, name change, and naturalization was in 1911.  He died in 1938 after having nine children from two wives in Milwaukee.

There is no central archive for German military records. German states each had their own system of keeping military records before 1867. These records are now stored in several German state archives.  In 1945 the Prussian military records were almost completely destroyed by the U.S. bombing of Potsdam, where the records were archived. ~https://www.genealoger.com/german/ger_military.htm

Anton Adalbert was the brother who came to America with John.  Anton and John departed Antwerp, Belgium, on the ship “Belgenland.”  They arrived in Philadelphia on  May 25, 1891. Ship manifest notes, “Both are German cits, are farmers, sitting in J Forward, are carrying 2 pieces of luggage, and plan to settle in Milwaukee”.

Can you imagine making this trip?  First of all, they had to get to Antwerp.  Belgium is 644 miles from Prussia.  I can only assume they traveled by train.  Trains back then only ran about 62 mph; that is a long ride.

After arriving on the ship in May, they were on solid ground again in June.  The steamship took about 12-14 days.

Then they still had to travel from Philadelphia to their final destination, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.   Train?

He married in 1893 and had seven children.  He died in 1919 at the age of 52.

The only other brother’s name I have is Johann Valentin.  The only record I can find on Valentin is his baptismal record.  Maria Elisabeth was born on March 14, 1872, baptized, and then died on June 30, 1872.  Anna Elisabeth was born in April 1874.  She married in 1903 and died in Danzig-Bürgerwiesen, Freie Stadt Danzig, Preußen on May 23, 1912.

There were eight other brothers.  I have been unable to find anything on them.  All I know is from notes from Clara Elizabeth Hennig stating that her grandfather, John (1865-1933), had 11 brothers and one sister. She also notes that if they would have had 12 boys, the mother would have received a gold medal from Kaiser.

I have no idea who their parents were.  I only hope to get the marriage and baptismal records; I have indexes now.  If I can get copies of the certificates, I can obtain more names, such as their parents and brothers.

This solves the German vs. Polish saga, at least for these particular Schwittkowski’s.  Obviously, this line identified themselves as German.  Until I know his parents, we will not know where this name originated from.

Updated 3/31/18:  Here is a possibility; in different things I am reading regarding the -ski ending surnames is that they are

“Slavic in origin. You will also see it in a lot of German names. Those names very common in Eastern Germany, but can also be found in the West due to migrations.  Much of former Prussian territory (and a lot of present day Austria) were occupied by Slavs and in the Baltic (Balts) but were conquered by Germanic tribes who not only Christianized them, but culturally absorbed them. So there are a lot of people in Eastern Germany that have Slavic roots, and it reflects in the surnames. Today they consider themselves completely German.”  https://www.quora.com/Is-the-%E2%80%98-ski%E2%80%99-last-name-Polish-Russian-or-German

By the way, my Ashkenazi Jew DNA results are only 3.45%… scant, very distant.

Stay tuned.

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My 4th Great Grandparents were from Slovenia.  They are Peter Koče (b. 1810) and Catharina Fugina (b. 1805).  I wrote about our Slovenia ancestry in Who Were Mat’s Parents and Gottschee.  They had three children together before Catharina died in 1848.  Peter remarried and had five more children.  One of these children with his second wife is Lucija Koče (pronounced Kotze).

Research has been arduous not only due to the name changes but also due to the bilingual state of the area.  Locations and surnames are bilingual (German/Slovenian).

For instance, place names include Altenmarkt = Stari Trg, Tscheplach = Čeplje, Vornschloss = Predgrad, Weisskrain = Bela Krajina.  Surnames include: Bukowetz = Bukovac, Kotze = Koče, Mejatsch = Mejač, Michelitsch = Mihelič, Schutte = Šutej, Roschitsch = Rožič, Maurin = Movrin, and Vidosch = Vidoš.  It is really hard to remember some of these when searching.

Anyway, Lucija was born in 1858 in Stari Trg ob Kolpi.  Not much is known about Lucija at this time except that she married Peter Meteš and died in Slovenia at 77 in 1936.  They had six sons and two daughters.  Their first son, Peter, died at 2 mos. old in 1884.  Jozef Zachary Meteš was born next in 1887, Pavel next in 1890, Marija in 1891, Peter in 1894, Lucija in 1897, Alojzij in 1899, and Rudolf in 1901.

The children in bold print above have been tracked to “Amerika.”  Marija and Jozef are found in Calumet, Michigan, where they marry, and then Peter is found later in Montana, although he came over first.  My trail on Marija ends with her marriage to Anton Hasan in Calumet.  I know Pavel (now Paul) immigrated to Michigan, and Rudolf arrived in 1927  and died in 1983 in Queens, New York.

Jozef marries another Gotschee named Marija Maurin.  Now going by Mary, she was born in Vimolj.  After his brother Rudolf was born, Jozef headed to America, and he and Mary married in 1907 in Calumet, Michigan.

In 1911, Jozef, now known as Joseph Metesh, moved his family to Walkerville, Silver Bow, Montana, and purchased a dairy farm. The National Dairy is a little north of Walkerville, a small incorporated town directly north of Butte.

They must have all talked once and agreed to change the Meteš to Metesh because they all go by this name now.

Jozef and Mary have four boys and two girls.  The first Joseph died in 1912 at age two from an accident with scalding hot water.

Marie Loretta “Mayme” married and moved to California.  Emma married and stayed in Montana.

Rudolph ended up going to war and not returning to ranch life. He married in Nevada and lived out his life in Utah.

John James ended up staying with his younger brother, Edward, since it was “essential service,” meaning the dairy farm was an occupation considered important enough to the US that those serving in such occupations are exempt—in fact forbidden—from military service. He married and operated the J & M Bar when he was older.

Joe Edward served in WWII in Africa and the Middle East.  He went to Flint Creek afterward, purchased Hanna Ranch south of Philipsburg, and operated the dairy farm there for many years.  He also engaged in mining and prospecting.  William also ended up in Philipsburg, but little is known about him.

John James remained on the dairy farm the rest of his life, herding cattle and raising his family.  Ed, his son, still lives in Butte and has given me many of these pictures and oral history.  We found each other through a genealogy Facebook page and DNA.

Jozef died on Dec. 18, 1918, during the Spanish Flu Epidemic. He was only 32.

Jozef left behind five children. One son predeceased him in 1912.

Mary continued to manage the dairy, married Jozef’s brother, Peter, in December of 1922, and gave birth to a son five days later.

They would have three more sons.

Michael (who was called Peter when he was younger and then Mickey as he got older) and Edward stayed on the ranch, working and doing rodeos.

Working in various mines, from mucker to lab, Peter eventually entered the dairy business. His ranch was on the southeast side of Butte, where the airport is now. Ed’s cousin Bill Johnson, Emma’s son, told him he remembers being on that ranch. He remembers seeing Mary there when she was sick in bed.

From Ed: My mom, till this very day, will say that the older kids didn’t like Peter at all. He probably never lived at the North Walkerville ranch. Mary probably had to commute between the places. (probably 15 miles round trip) I remember being around Peter a bit. I remember being with my Dad, working on his back porch. This would have been well after he was out of the ranch business. Funny, but his house is currently owned by my wife’s aunt and uncle who recently moved back to Butte.

The National Dairy ran until about 1948 when Mary died.

The Metesh family is very prevalent in Butte, Montana.  Geologists, Ranchers, Environmentalists, and the like.  Until this research, I had no idea Slovenians were such a big part of Montana.

In 1912, Mr. A. J. Terbovec wrote about the town itself: “Butte is the largest city of Montana (39,165 inhabitants) and the largest Slovene settlement in this state. The town is alive and beautiful. It lies at the foot of mountains of medium height. Copper ore is brought up by hoists from the depths of these mountains. The majority of the Slovenes are employed in these mines, as are also the Serbs and Croats. The Slovenes already have stores and a few taverns.

A large number of Slovenes have been here for many years already. Some have a fair amount of wealth. Others, at least, have their own houses. Even though three is no Slovene school here and the children have to attend English schools, the young people have high esteem for their mother tongue and are never ashamed of it, as is the case, unfortunately, in many other regions. The Slovene girls stand out especially, which speak in their favor just as does their honesty. It honors both the older people and the youth”.

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This one is for my nephew, Dan Logan-Fasy, Attorney at Law.   I’ve followed Dan most of his career and think his ancestors would be very proud of his determination, fight for those who suffer in silence, and grit to find justice, as did his 4th cousin, Walter Seth Logan, Sr.

Source: 

A National Register of the Society, Sons of the American Revolution, Volume 1

Walter Seth Logan was prepared for college in the Suffield Institute and the Fort Edward Collegiate Institute. He was graduated from Yale in 1870, from Harvard Law School in 1871, and Columbia Law School in 1872, in which year he was admitted to the New York Bar. Entering the law office of James C. Carter, he became the assistant of Mr. Carter and Charles O’Conor in the famous Jumel will case, thus beginning under the most favorable auspices a career as a lawyer that has been full of successes and honors.

He has been prominent in Mexican as well as in State and National legal disputations, and is readily recognized as one of the fore most men in his profession. In addition to his professional labors he has found time to devote to literary work on economic, historical and other popular subjects. Among his essays and addresses are “The Siege of Cuautla, the Bunker Hill of Mexico,” “An Argument for an Eight-Hour Law,” “Nationalism,” “Peonage in Mexico,” “A Mexican Law Suit,” “Saxon and Latin Courts,” “A Permanent International Tribunal,” “Needed Modifications of the Patent Laws,” “The Limitation of Inheritances,” and “A More Socialistic State.”

Mr. Logan has been a leading spirit in the several reform movements of New York City, and was Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Ballot Reform. Association of New York State in 1887-1889, whose work has resulted in the present improved condition of our ballot system, greatly reducing the frauds so prevalent under the old system.

An ex-president of the New York State Bar Association, he is a prominent member of the American Bar Association, chairman of one of the most important committees, and at present a vice-president of the association. A member of the Manhattan, Democratic, New York Yacht and many other clubs and’ organizations, legal, social and literary, and a liberal patron, of the arts and sciences, he has also been active in the various patriotic societies of the land, participating in many of their celebrations as an orator. A member of the Society of the Colonial Wars, of the Founders and Patriots, and President of the Empire State Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, he counts as one of the greatest honors he has received his recent election as President General of the National Society. He was married in 1875 to Eliza Preston Kenyon of Brooklyn, New York. They have three children, Hollister (Yale. 1000; Columbia Law School, 1902); Janette– ( Smith, 1905); and Walter Seth Logan, Jr. (Yale, Harvard Law)

He had many articles written about him.  One in “The American Lawyer” – Walter S. Logan and his obituary from the New York State Bar Association is quite something to read.  Obituary

Here is a website of some of his books that are now online.  Online Books Page

Walter was born April 15, 1847, in Washington, Connecticut, to Seth Savage Logan and Abigail Serene Hollister.  He was President General Logan of the Sons of the American Revolution.  The article quoting his speech in The National Yearbook mentions that Walter Penn’s Secretary, James Logan, is related to us.  I just haven’t found what the connection is.  His father, Seth, is mentioned in several places as well.

Written in The Connecticut Magazine, Volumes 3-4, 1897:

Even the Political party strength in Connecticut Kids Encyclopedia mentions Seth Logan (D) from 1870.

Until writing this blog, I had no idea they were in politics too!  Some of these articles about the family above are the first I’ve seen.  It has been a while since I’ve worked on this Logan line, and it is amazing how far the online records and digitized articles have come.  I have a lot of work to do, but I wanted to share what I have so far.

Seth’s parents were Mathew Logan and Laura Sanford, farmers.  Mathew’s father was Mathew Logan, Sr., married to Sarah Savage.  Mathew, Sr. (DAR# A071144) was our Revolutionary War veteran, as was his brother, James (DAR# A071130), whose name is also on this memorial.  The Gideon below is Walter’s great-grandfather.

Stay tuned; I know there is more to come.  Keep fighting the good fight, Dan.  Your ancestors are smiling down on you.

Read more about our Logan ancestry at

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No, I have not forgotten or stopped on my quest of writing my ancestor’s stories.  Actually, I have spread myself a little thin with all the branches of my tree that need attention.  I have many irons in the fire as you will see below.

Let’s start with John Loggan of 1699.  Many a researcher, those who have been doing this a lot longer than me are still stymied by this line.  DNA is proving to help some, but no one has been able to prove his father.  However, my theory and many others who have the same thought believe that Restalrig is the key.  My sister Cathy has told me that Dad and his dad named their ranch in Kettle Falls, Washington the “Restalrig Ranch”.  So there must be something that kept that place-name in our family.  The latest I received from a DNA cousin is this,

“It seems John had enough wealth to purchase a farm. I think the funds came from his inheritance or possibly sale of a land grant in the Ulster Plantation. DNA indicates that we are related to some Logan’s from Ayrshire, Scotland. I found a Walter Logan who left Ayrshire about 1610 for the Ulster Plantation and obtained a land grant in 1617. I think Walter may be John’s great-grandfather.

So, yes indeed, we are related to the Scottish Logan’s — and most probably to the Logan’s of Restalrig, as some of this family moved to Ayrshire after the last Baron of Restalrig (the 7th Baron) was deprived of his title and land holdings by a huge miscarriage of justice. But that’s another long story.”  I think I’ve told this story on a blog, about the the Gowrie Conspiracy.

Azubah Royce’s family comes from England.

Nicholas Carew (1496 – 1539)

an English courtier and diplomat during the reign of King Henry VIII
14th great-grandfather
Thomas Carew ( – 1431)
son of Nicholas Carew
Joane Carew (1420 – 1470)
daughter of Thomas Carew
Thomas Saunders ( – 1609)
son of Joane Carew
Elizabeth Saunders (1584 – 1675)
daughter of Thomas Saunders
Anna Wolcott (1621 – 1704)
daughter of Elizabeth Saunders
Elizabeth Griswold (1653 – 1737)
daughter of Anna Wolcott
Ruth Beckwith (1680 – 1747)
daughter of Elizabeth Griswold
John Royce (1712 – 1760)
son of Ruth Beckwith
Azubah Royce (1737 – 1796)
daughter of John Royce
Daniel Logan (1762 – 1810)
son of Azubah Royce
Lemuel H. Logan (1797 – 1869)
son of Daniel Logan
Silas H. Logan (1833 – 1917)
son of Lemuel H. Logan
James Lemuel Logan (1860 – 1952)
son of Silas H. Logan
Glenn Henry Logan (1899 – 1982)
son of James Lemuel Logan
My Dad Logan
son of Glenn Henry Logan
Me

Nicholas Carew’s daughter was Anne Carew.  Their daughter was Lady Elizabeth Throckmorton, “Bess”.  Sir Walter Raleigh’s wife, and a Lady of the Privy Chamber to Queen Elizabeth I of England.  She dressed the Queen!  Ring any bells?

Dad’s mother’s family leads to Germany.  They are the Kunkle/Gunkel’s and the Kepple/Schaeffer’s.  I can only get so far on my own, but another cousin I “met” long ago researching the same line was kind enough to share his research with me.  However, I have to re-do mine as I got off track years ago when entering the information.  I just haven’t been back to it as it’s painstakingly slow to enter.  I can tell you that the Gunkel’s were glass makers in Germany in the 15th and 16th centuries.

I have been able to trace Dad’s great-grandmother’s people (Rowan, Porterfield, McMahan and Hargrove) on his father’s side to Ireland, but try getting records from there!  His great-grandmother’s mother’s side is not much better.  Their names are Galbraith, Appleby, Alters, Case, Lane, Devlin, and Stitt, most from Pennsylvania.

Then we have the Cofer and Davis families, Ruby Chapman Wescott’s (my MeMa) mother’s family.  They were big and evidently are still prolific in the Norfolk and Isle of Wight, VA area.  I recently wrote the City of Norfolk Bureau of Cemeteries and found a little goldmine.  The woman there was very helpful, I received more than I imagined I would.  See below:

“…regarding Charles William Davis’ burial, we have on file his interment card and a plot map card which indicates his burial site. …the east two-thirds of the lot is owned by W. Davis.”  

On this card were other family members buried in this lot.  They each showed year of birth and year of death.  He evidently owned the east part of lot 11 which has 10 plots, 5 of which are still empty.  I have written her to see what happens with those other five.

The Cofer’s were plantation owners, and according to Ruby and cousins (from letters and notes Aunt Sharon sent me), Martha Cofer went to a finishing girls private school for music and had her own carriage and two horses.

Martha Ann Davis told her granddaughter, Elizabeth Cofer Reed, that she had not dressed herself until she was grown. She also told her that the slaves did not want to leave when they were freed.

I am still researching trying to find information on the plantation and the family.

Mathias J. Chapman was Ruby’s grandfather.  I recently wrote to the John Wesley United Methodist Church in Hagerstown, MD as the church used to be St. Paul’s Methodist Episcopal Church from 1825-1910 and where Mathias and Isadore Burns were married.  She was able to locate the register.  “I don’t have too much information for you, but I am attaching a copy of a page out of our records book that was compiled in 1971. It confirms that your ancestors were married here by Rev. George W. Heyde on 11/14/1864.” 

She also gave me two other places that I might want to research.  She was very helpful.  When I asked if I could pay her for her research and time, she said “You don’t owe us a thing. Glad to help! Genealogy is one of my hobbies, so I understand how exciting it is to find documentation. Have fun with the search!!”

Ten days ago, I received an email from a DNA Match I reached out to.  It was Mary Rogers, aka Mary Virginia Martin, Albert Wescott, Jr.’s First Cousin!  She is Mabel Agassiz Wescott’s 76-year-old daughter.  She’s been a wonderful source of oral history and lives “part of her time” right here in Florida.  The other part she stays in Kentucky.  She still has the 50th wedding anniversary ring that John Thomas gave Martha!

A few days later another DNA match reached out to me.  We are 3rd cousins.  She is adopted.  We think we have narrowed to the Logan side of the family, more specifically, Art’s mother’s side since it is X-Match DNA.  She knows the names of her biological parents, but now thinks her dad was also adopted.  Until she can find out, we’re stumped.  None of her names are in my tree, but they are German names which makes sense for that side of the tree.

As I was reading some Facebook genealogical posts in one of my Outer Banks pages, a name popped out at me in the conversation that I recognized from newspaper articles that MeMa (Ruby) had saved.  He responded to my picture I posted about John Thomas being the keeper on the land that the Currituck Shooting Club owned.  He wrote:

“Mary and her son, Skip, had it colorized at a Photoshop in Los Angeles. Thank you for including it in this thread. Mary and the Poyner family were close to and very fond of the Wescott family, and Mary stayed in contact with them as long as they lived. My grandmother, Gladys Forbes Sawyer (dau of John W. Poyner’s sister) told a story about the Wescott son (who was a paraplegic), being in the party with the John W. Poyner family and my grandmother and her sister on a steamboat trip to Elizabeth City. They went via THE GUIDE, which on the return trip floundered in a squall off from Camden Point on its way to the North River ports of Powells Point, Jarvisburg, and Barnett’s Creek at Grandy. The passengers waded to shore and spent the night in a fishing camp on Camden Point before being rescued the next day. My grandmother said that John W. Poyner held the Wescott boy in his arms and got him safely to shore. They were all terrified. I remember Mary telling me that he later lived in Florida and that one of the girls was a dietician at the University of Georgia. I believe the Wescotts lived in Durham after Capt. Wescott died.”

I don’t recall ever hearing this story.  Mr. Sawyer also helped me put names to some pictures Ruby had.

In another Facebook forum, I ran into another DNA cousin.  We’re 5th cousin 2x removed or something like that.  She’s from the Midgett/Pugh side.  Her dad was what she calls an “outside child”.  He was born out-of-wedlock and didn’t know the family.  I helped her figure out her relations and how to read her DNA.  I am by no means an expert, but was able to help her maneuver around her DNA results as well as the Facebook pages to find her cousins.  She had to tell one cousin, gently, tell how they were connected.  Now these cousins are sharing stories and pictures with her of a grandfather she never knew.  She also has “traces” of American Indian in her DNA.

Married to Matthew Midyett is Judith White.  I’ve written about them.  Supposedly, her family is from the Jamestown Colony of White’s.  Another line I have yet to investigate.

I am still waiting on John Thomas Wescott’s official military personnel file from his Life Saving Service.  Another “patiently waiting” moment.  I applied month’s ago!

Now to the Stephanz/Stefanc side.  I have one DNA cousin who is big on DNA and triangulation, chromosomes, etc.  So much, she makes my head spin.  I told her I needed a “DNA For Dummies” version, but she cannot seem to explain it in layman’s terms.  I am by no means a stupid person, but wow, it gets deep.

I have not gotten any farther than 1818 with Matijas Stefanc in Slovenia, but there is another Matijas Stefanc out there born 1777 that I am sure I am related to, I just cannot get the connection.  I am related, DNA says, to people descended from this Matijas, but alas the connection eludes me.  Maybe the DNA whiz kid above can help unravel the mystery.  The same can be said for the Swegel/Sveglj’s of the same are.

I am also at a standstill with the Schwittkowski’s and Hennig’s as to further my exploration with them, I need to get records and to get records that are online, I need to get my butt to the local Family History Center.  There is one here on Blanding, I just haven’t gone to check them out.  They do have odd hours, I just have to decide on a time and date and just go!

Then we have the Reikowski’s.  I have paid the research fee and sent away for documentation from the State Archives of Gdansk, Poland (Archiwum Państwowe w Gdańsku) and am hoping that opens a few more doors of exploration for me.  I located an online database with christenings, marriages, and deaths with some of our ancestor’s names and have requested the documents of these events.  It takes a long while, but is usually well worth the wait.  Talk about patience! My original request was early December.

I also received the Naturalization papers of our Augusta Reikowski’s brother, Johann Michael, who went by John.  It didn’t really give me much more that I knew, other than he left Germany under Wilhem II’s rule. Wilhelm II was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia, ruling the German Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia from 15 June 1888 to 9 November 1918.  His petition was approved in June 1906.  He had applied in Wisconsin in March of 1900.

So, as you can see, I have not been twiddling my thumbs.  If anything, I am buried in ancestors. I even dream about them.  I need a system.  A month on one branch and alternate or something like that.

As Gram always said, “It’s in the genes!”.   It certainly is.  We have a lot in our genes, and I am proud of every single cell I have researched.

As always, let me know if you see any errors in my writing or my research.

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