Clara, GiGi’s grandfather. (my great grandmother’s grandfather)
My 3rd great grandfather. He was born in June of 1844.
John was baptized in Prussia (updated 3/31/18) Żukowo, Poland, actually it is a town in Kartuzy County, in the Pomeranian Voivodeship of northern Poland in the cultural region of Kashubia. Żukowo is about 20 minutes Southwest of Gdańsk.
His parents were Franz Rajkowski and Josephine Tesmer. They were married in the parish of Matarnia, Gdańsk, Prussia. (updated 3/31/18)
John had three sisters and two brothers. He married Johanna Sierotzka in the parish of Pomerania, Poland in 1865 when he was 20 years old and she was 24 years old. They had seven children together. After 20 years of marriage and at the age of 43, Johanna died. Their youngest was 3 years old, it was 1885. (Updated 4/3/18 to show accurate ages from newly found dates)
In January of 1886, John married Augusta Borowska. That same month they had their first child together, a girl. Her name was Marianne, a year later Ida Margarethe was born and then died. A year after that Anna and a year after that, Conrad Theodore Alois. All were born in Gdańsk, Prussia. (updated 3/31/18)
John’s father Franz died in 1890, the year Conrad was born. In 1892, Bertha was born and when she was 6 months old, they headed to America. Two adults and six children, the oldest 10 years old, departed Antwerp, Belgium on May 13, 1893 and boarded the ship Switzerland for Philadelphia, PA heading to Milwaukee, WI. They had 2 bags of luggage. Two bags for eight people! Amazing. Can you imagine?
It took a month after arriving in Philadelphia to end up in Michigan. More than likely they traveled by train. “In this age of instant digital communications and fast travel, we tend to forget that not so long ago traveling distances were subjectively very different. In the 1800s, for example, traveling a few hundred miles across the U.S. meant taking a steam-powered train, and the trip could take days. Going from coast to coast, which now takes less than a day, could take weeks.” ~MICHAEL GRAHAM RICHARD
Franz is the only one who stayed in Poland and in 1941 died from complications of asystolia (failure of the ventricles of the heart to contract (usually caused by ventricular fibrillation) and stomach cancer . I know he was married in 1895 so maybe he didn’t want to leave his fiance. He had a son four months after his marriage.
Clara Rosalie died in Poland, Prussia at age one in 1876.
All his other children ended up in Wisconsin.
Paul Max (probably Maximilian) was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, John was 50 years old. At age 52, Joseph Frank was born, at age 55 Albert, and at age 58, Maximilian Anthony. Somewhere in between they had and lost two other children. By the time that Max was born, they had shortened their last name to Reik.
Have you been counting? John was a very busy man. He had 20 children!
In the 1900 and 1910 census’ John’s occupation is listed as “Laborer (Round House)”. A “round house laborer” cleans off accumulated grease and dirt from the running gears of locomotives. They were also neighbors of their daughters Augusta (the Schwitkowski’s) and Marianne (Mary Placzek on the census).
By 1911, John is still shown as an “AL” (alien), meaning he was not yet Naturalized (the process by which an alien becomes an American citizen). “It is a voluntary act; naturalization is not required. Of the foreign-born persons listed on the 1890 through 1930 censuses, 25 percent had not become naturalized or filed their “first papers.” (source: archives.gov).
Both John and his son Conrad were working for the railroad at this time. Paul was a sausage maker in a packing house.
In 1904 his mother died. She was 93. I don’t have any record that John ever went back to Poland, even to see his mother or his son. In 1909, his second wife died. Their youngest, Max was only four years old. In 1930 his son Paul Max died at the age of 34, John was 86 and had become naturalized somewhere between 1920 and 1930. I am working on getting those papers. John was living with his daughter, Julia (Mankowski).
Two years later John died.
He is buried at Saint Adalberts Cemetery in Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin.
I’ve paid the Archiwum Państwowe w Gdańsku (Archives of Gdansk, Poland) for paperwork on the Reikowski’s. If I learn anything new from these papers, I will post.
UPDATE 3/31/18:
On 3/23/18, I received an email stating they had found me through this blog. It was Paul Max’s great granddaughter, Mary Reik and her husband John. My 2nd cousin! How awesome is that?! They helped me with her branch of the tree and I sent them some information. They live in Naples, Florida most of the year. Oh, and regarding Paul Max dying at such a young age, according to Mary, he died when the ambulance that was taking him to the hospital for an emergency appendectomy ran out of gas.
Thank you for reading.
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For as long as I can remember there has been a rumor in the family about us having American Indian blood. As I’ve worked on my tree, I even found hints in the Logan tree. Is there truth in this or just romantic fantasy? Do we turn to DNA to find out? Do we trace our ancestral limbs and find documentation?
Well, when doing your DNA, “if the Native percentage is back beyond 6 generations and drops below the 1% threshold, it’s extremely difficult to discern today.” It also depends on the type of test you had done. This is a good website explaining https://dna-explained.com/…/proving-native-american…/
So, I entered my DNA results into GEDMATCH and ran the MDLP World-22 Admixture; it came up as .26; on the World9 Admixture, it came up as .62, and the puntDNAL K13 came up as 1.07. So, do I have American Indian in me? Yes. Traces, but yes! But from which side of the family, Logan or Wescott? For me, it can be on either side.
“On Roanoke island and some of the adjacent sand islands and on the mainland of Dare and Hyde counties on the coast of North Carolina are a few families of mixed-blood, descendants of the local Indian tribes.” Mr. Speck visited Hyde and Dare Counties on behalf of the Bureau of American Ethnology in 1915.
“According to the accounts furnished by Raleigh’s Expedition, being the earliest notice that we have of these tribes, the region between Albemarle and Pamlico sound was the home of the Secotan Indians…among them the Hatteras band occupying the sandbanks off the coast, and the Machapunga on the mainland, near Mattamuskeet Lake.
A visit to their old home, however, and persistent inquiry among the settlers of Albemarle and Pamlico sound brought to knowledge a few individuals who are descended from Indians who came originally from Pungo River near Mattamuskeet Lake, Hyde County. These are evidently remnants of the Machapunga tribe, who have left their name to the Pungo River. Those whom I met traced their descent from one Israel Pierce, who was known as a Pungo River Indian.
I traced Pierce’s descendants through Mrs. M. H. Pugh, Pierce’s granddaughter, now a very old woman, estimating her age to be about eighty years, who was born and raised in the Pungo River district. Later in her life, she moved to Hatteras Island. She has four sons, daughters, and numerous grandchildren. At present, the dark-skinned people living on Roanoke, Hatteras, and other neighboring islands of the Pugh, Daniels, and Berry families, largely of negro blood, and some of those named Westcott, of a lighter strain, are of this blood.”
Annie Pugh was the “Mrs. M.H.Pugh” mentioned in the 1916 article by Frank G. Speck entitled “Remnants of the Machapunga Indians.” Only Annie considered herself Pungo Indian. Most of the people are descendants of the Hatteras and Roanoke Indians. Smith Pugh’s mother was a Hatteras Indian woman, and his father was white. I have not found a connection to this particular Pugh, but we have many Pugh names in our tree. They have been hard to trace.
The Wescott’s could also be “Melungeon’s,” “a term traditionally applied to one of numerous “tri-racial isolate” groups. Blacks, Native American, and White…Their ancestors can usually be traced back to colonial Virginia and the Carolinas. They were largely endogamous, marrying primarily within their community until about 1900. One of the theories about the Melungeons is that they are descendants of the Lost Colonists.
Martha Ann Chadwick, John T. Wescott’s wife, looks like she has Indian blood. She has the Pugh lineage. Her stepdaughter, Dora, also has the look.
Martha Ann Chadwick Wescott
Martha and Laura Wescott
Young Dora
Older Dora
Interestingly, the Isle of Wight, VA, where the Wescott’s came from, was originally called Warrosquyoake Shire, named after the Native Americans, Warrosquyoackes. The name was changed in 1637 to the Isle of Wight due to the difficulty in pronouncing their name.
My 6th great-grandmother on the Logan side is Lydia Russell Bean. If you Google her name, you will see many stories of her capture by the Cherokee and her freedom by Nanyehi (Cherokee: “One who goes about”), known in English as Nancy Ward.
The below is not original research on my part – I thank Google.
Lydia was tending to her cows near her cabin when…..quoting John P. Brown’s “Old Frontiers,”
“She was captured by the Indians as she rode horseback toward Fort Lee at Watauga and was taken to the Cherokee Camp on Nolichucky River.
She was told that she would be killed. She was questioned . . . [and] taken to a little town along the Little Tennessee River. Mrs. Bean was taken to Toquo and tied to a stake at the top of a large mound. The fire had been lighted around her when the Beloved woman, Nancy Ward, arrived on the scene.
Revolted at the thought that a Cherokee should torture a squaw she hastened to the rescue, scattered the burning brands, and cut the bonds which fastened the prisoner.
She took Mrs. Bean to her own house, where she was treated kindly.
In her gratitude, Lydia Bean instructed Nancy Ward and the other Cherokee women in making butter and cheese.
Due to Mrs. Bean’s training, Nancy Ward became the first owner of a herd of cattle.”
Lydia is credited with bravery at the time of her capture by the Indians, for she led her captors to believe the garrison at the Watauga settlement was well-defended, thus preventing an attack.
Although she was saved from certain death in July of 1776, her brother George was killed by Indians in May of 1797, and Lydia’s daughter Jane was killed by Indians in 1798.
However, it is rumored that Lydia’s nephew, Lewis (Louis) Russell, son of George, married (or had relations with) a Cherokee, which produced descendants.
The Henderson Rolls ( surnames with ancestors known to inhabit the Cherokee domain) lists some 1,959 persons of the Cherokee Nation in North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia…Full-Blood “Indians, Half-Breeds, Quadroons, Whites and Slaves,” as well as “mixed Catawba’s; mixed Spaniard; mixed Negroes” and “descendants of reserves.” Also listed are intermarried wives of Cherokees.
And the Dawes Rolls (“Final Rolls of the Citizens and Freedmen of the Five Civilized Tribes in Indian Territory”) have lists of surnames in Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Seminole Tribes.
Both of these rolls list Russell (I have Russells on both sides) and Bean (as well as Burns, Chase, Daniels, Davis, Harrison, Hawkins, Hill, & Logan- names from my tree). Now, whether or not these are MY ancestors. Who knows, but it is interesting.
So, where do my traces of Native Americans come from? I keep digging to find out.
If you need research assistance, do not hesitate to contact me.
My Eighth Great-Grandfather: Once Again, We Find the Wescott’s on the Shoreline
Many researchers have studied the Wescott name, but the exact origins of our lineage remain uncertain. Most findings are based on deductions rather than definitive records.
The earliest known record of our lineage traces back to John Wescott, who lived in Accomack County (now Northampton), Virginia. Much of the information about him comes from “The Miles Files,” a valuable research collection compiled by M.K. Miles. These files, generously donated to the Virginia Eastern Shore Public Library, contain over 83,000 names from the Eastern Shore counties of Accomack and Northampton, Virginia; Somerset, Worcester, and Wicomico in Maryland; and Sussex County, Delaware. This collection documents the Westcott family along with “hundreds of families from the Eastern Shore, from Charlemagne to the early 1900s.”
It is believed that John Wescott I was born in Accomack County, Virginia, in 1659. Although unproven, his father may have been William Wescott, one of three brothers from England and a nephew of Stukely Wescott.
John’s age was recorded in November 1684 in Northampton County, Virginia, as “Jno Wescott, 25.”
John married Elizabeth Clarke, daughter of George Clarke II and Elizabeth (maiden name unknown), before June 28, 1690, in Northampton County, Virginia.
The Elizabeths in this lineage can be confusing. In an email, M.K. Miles suggested that “George Clarke II’s first wife, Elizabeth, likely died after their children were born, and he then married a second wife named Elizabeth, who was young enough to be the mother of John Wescott’s children.”
John and Elizabeth frequently appeared in court records. One notable mention is a court order from June 28, 1690, in Northampton County, Virginia. On that date, “upon the petition of Wm. Sterlinge against John Wescott as marrying Elizabeth, the widow of George Clarke deceased, the court ordered Wescott to provide an account of Clarke’s estate at the next court session.” Sterlinge was Elizabeth’s first husband.
John was mentioned again in a court order on February 2, 1691, in Northampton County, Virginia. The record states that “John Wescott, having married Elizabeth Clarke, administrator of George Clarke’s estate, petitioned for a valuation of certain cattle on Hogg Island belonging to the deceased’s estate and for a division of the livestock between himself and Clarke’s children.”
John also witnessed a will before October 28, 1698, in Northampton County, Virginia. On this date, he, along with William Kendall and Robert Browne, witnessed the will of William Sterlinge, whose wife was named Elizabeth.
Another intriguing court case involved Elizabeth and Ellenor Carter, a freewoman, and revolved around 17th-century cloth. The dispute ultimately resulted in John Wescott paying a fine to Ellenor’s husband, Thomas Carter.
17th-Century Cloth and Its Importance
Dowlas was one of the most common linens of the period. Another widely used imported fabric was “ozenbrig,” a tough, coarse linen woven in Osnabruck, Westphalia. This fabric was used for making breeches, entire suits, sheets, table covers, and carpetbags.
In 1706, records indicate land transactions involving John Wescott. George Clarke sold several parcels on Hog Island, Northampton County, Virginia: 100 acres to William Harmanson, 200 acres to John Westcote, 100 acres to Edward Joynes, and 200 acres to Jonathan Bell.
On March 12, 1728, John was named in the settlement of his son’s estate. The court ordered John Wescott, as heir-at-law, to appear and explain why Simon Elliott should not be granted administration of the estate of Littleton Wescott, John’s deceased son.
John Wescott’s Will
John made his will on June 16, 1728, in Northampton County, Virginia. In it, he bequeathed:
100 acres on the south side of his land to his son John for life, then to his grandson John Wescott.
The remaining 100 acres, including his house and plantation, to his grandson Littleton Jarman.
The remainder of his estate (except for his mill) to be divided among his three children: John Wescott, Elclanah Barker, and Francis Ellit.
His mill to be shared between the two plantations.
Executors: His son John and son-in-law Simon Elliot.
Witnesses: Matthew Floyd, John Satchell, and John Esdell.
John Wescott passed away before July 9, 1728, when his will was proved in court.
Children of John and Elizabeth Wescott
John and Elizabeth had five children:
John Wescott II (c. 1692–before November 13, 1733) – Our ancestor
Elclanah Wescott (c. 1698–unknown)
Frances Wescott (c. 1700–unknown)
Littleton Wescott (c. 1702–before March 12, 1728)
A daughter (name unknown, c. 1704–before June 16, 1728)
Wescott Family Origins
Wescott Family Origins
Many believe that all Westcott, Wescoat, and Wescott families descend from Stukely Wescott. However, it is unclear whether our direct ancestor was Stukely, his brother, or his nephew. The exact lineage remains uncertain.
The name “Wes” is thought to derive from “Wessex,” while “Cot” may refer to a cottage or protected home.
The story of John Wescott and his descendants highlights the challenges of early American colonial life. Through court records, land transactions, and family connections, we gain a glimpse into the resilience and legacy of our ancestors. Though many details remain uncertain, the Wescott family played a vital role in shaping the communities of the Eastern Shore. As we continue our research, we honor their journey and preserve their history for future generations.
William R.M. Houston M.D. & Jean M. Mihalyka, Colonial Residents of Virginia’s Eastern Shore (Whose Ages Were Proved Before Court Officials of Accomack and Northampton Counties), p. 114. Albert Mack Sterling, The Sterling Genealogy, Volume One, p. 230 (William Sterling of Hungar’s Parish, Northampton County, Virginia). Frank V. Walcyzk, Northampton Co, VA, Bk 13, Orders & Wills, 1689-1698, Vol 1 (1689-1694), p. 154 (origin page number) (a division of the estate of George Clarke). James Handley Marshall, Northampton Co, VA, Abstracts of Wills & Administrations, 1632-1802, p. 161 (will of William Sterling, wife Elizabeth). Ralph T. Whitelaw, Virginia’s Eastern Shore (A History of Northampton and Accomack Counties), p. 369 (tract N62). James Handley Marshall, Northampton Co, VA, Abstracts of Wills & Administrations, 1632-1802, p. 264 (will of John Westcott).
The wife of my 2nd great-grandfather and my 3rd cousin, 4x removed.
(Her headstone has her name as “Lovie.” Census records show “Lovey,” as does her marriage record. She signed her father’s probate paper as “Lovy.”) I can only guess that the “G” is for her mother’s maiden name of “Gard or Guard,” as was the custom.
Unfortunately, this will be one of my shorter blogs because Lovie lived such a short, sad life.
When Lovie G. Tillett was born on April 6, 1860, in North Carolina, her father, Willis Tillett, was 38, and her mother, Abigail Gard, was 28.
Lovie was just one year old during the Civil War when the Burnside Expedition rolled into North Carolina and ravaged her town. Union troops led by General Ambrose Burnside fought a series of engagements along the North Carolina Coast in 1862.
Her father, Willis, was a Lighthouse Assistant to the Keeper from 1870-1873 in Roanoke Marshes, making $400 annually.
Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse was taken out of service by Confederates shortly after the outbreak of the Civil War, but the light was reactivated in 1863. By 1872, the marsh beneath the lighthouse had washed away, leaving the structure standing in ten feet of water. ……..The Lighthouse Board felt building a new lighthouse would be cheaper than rendering the current one safe.
Photograph courtesy U.S. Coast Guard
They were close to the Wescott’s, living next to several of them from 1860 to 1870, the latest living next door to John T. Wescott and his family. Among several relationships with each other, the main one is that John T. and Willis were first cousins. (Willis is also the stepson of John’s uncle)
In 1872, Lovie’s mother, Aby, died at age 40. Lovie was just 12 years old, and her father was 50. Sadly, Aby’s own mother died when Aby was just 11.
The epitaph on her stone reads, “She sleeps in Jesus and is blest. How sweet her slumbers are: From suffering & from sin released. She’s freed from every care.”
Three years later, when Lovie was 15, her father passed away.
His epitaph reads: “Farewell friends and daughter dear. I am not dead but sleeping here. My peace is made my grave, you see, Prepare for death & follow me.”
Willis did not leave a will, but John T. Wescott swore to the goods owned by Willis.
What is interesting about these documents is not only that John T. is swearing to Willis’ “chattels, rights, and credits” on Feb. 14, 1877, because he died without leaving a last Will and Testament, but that W. D. Chaddic (Martha Chadwick’s father) is the probate judge.
In Feb of 1877, the inventory of chattel was $475.35, but Washington DC sent $300, I assume from his last paycheck. By March 1, 1877, Willis’ estate was said to be worth $775.35. This would be $17,323.05 today!
Four days after her father’s death, Lovie turned 16 years old, having no parents to celebrate her.
Six months later, she married John Thomas Wescott, her 3rd cousin on one side and first cousin 1x removed on the other side.
A year later, their daughter Dora was born. And, sadly a year after that, Lovie died.
Her epitaph is so sad. It reads, “Sad is the house and lone the hours Since thy sweet smiles are gone. But Oh, a brighter home than ours, In Heaven is now thine own.”
Their cemetery is in Manteo off of Hwy 64 on property now owned by and being preserved by the Culpepper family. They have a connection to the Etheridge and Tillett families. There was also a "M. B. Culpepper" as a witness to John and Martha's wedding.
Cemetery Photos Courtesy of Dianne Tillett Ward
There is also a fourth grave belonging to John’s Aunt, Sabra Hackett. She’s the Aunt who helped raise Dora. Her epitaph reads: “This is not death’s dark portal. Tis life’s fair gate to me. Link after link is broken. And I at last am free.”
Sabra is not only John’s Aunt but is also Lovie’s Half Aunt, her mother’s half-sister. Wow, the intermarriages are mind-boggling.
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Not much is known about my 2nd great-grandfather, Silas H. Logan. As I wrote on his son’s blog, James Lemuel Logan, from the History of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania Genealogy Memoirs – Illustrated – Vol. II
“Silas Logan, father of James L. Logan, of Vandergrift, born about 1825, in Corry, Erie county, Pennsylvania, and as a young man went to Wisconsin, then situated on the frontier. He settled among the Indians, but after a shore time returned to Pennsylvania, having made both the outward and homeward trips by wagon. On his return he settled in Titusville, where he engaged in the oil business, later removing to Blairsville, where he did some oil prospecting. Subsequently he took up his abode in Greensburg, and some time in the eighties went to Detroit, where he has since resided on a farm in the suburbs. Mr. Logan married Elizabeth Rowan, and the following are their children: James L., see forward: Henry, head bookkeeper for the American Harrow Company, of Detroit: Elsie, and Lena, both at home.”
Although the above article says he was born in Pennsylvania, five of the census records say he was born in New York, while his death record says Ohio. Regardless, he was born to Lemuel H. Logan and Lois Louise Bean on 10 Mar 1833. He was the second child of eight whole siblings and four half-siblings. By age four, they had moved to Pennsylvania from New York, where five of his siblings were born by the time he was 16.
At the age of 17, his sister Mary Jane died. She was only 4 yrs, 5 mos. and 18 days old. Seven days later, his brother Herman died as well. He was just 7 months old. We don’t know why they died, although there was an influenza epidemic during that year.
Two years later, his brother Ryland was born. Silas was 19. Just twenty-four days later, his mother, Lois, dies. We can only guess that she had difficulty recovering after the birth of Ryland. This same year, 1852, there was a Yellow Fever epidemic.
Records show that in 1859, Silas married my 2nd great-grandmother, Sarah Elizabeth Rowan, in Wisconsin when she was 16. Here is where our great-grandfather, Lemuel, was born. Silas farmed land with his in-laws for about a year before moving to Pennsylvania to begin working for the railroad. The 1870 census shows him as an engineer living in Oil Creek, Pennsylvania, on his sister-in-law’s family’s land (John Bean married Clara Armitage, and they owned Oil Creek). His other brother, Stephen, is shown as an “Oil Producer” in the same area and time period.
In 1879, his daughter Birdie was born in New York. A year later, they are back in Pennsylvania. The census shows he only worked the railroad 6 months out of the year, so he must have been doing the oil prospecting the other 6 months, traveling back and forth by wagon during this time.
By the 1900s, Silas and his family were farming in Michigan, and they remained there until he died of bronchopneumonia in 1917 at age 84.He is buried at Union Corners Cemetery in Troy, Oakland County, Michigan.
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My 2nd Great Grandfather- This is one gentleman whom I wish I had the honor of meeting. Those strong Wescott genes are surely evident in this man. I warn you, this is one of my longer blogs. How can you shorten a man’s life with two full-time careers and several business ventures in his 86 years? Did you know he designed many things still used in the Coast Guard today?
You will also see in many articles where Wescott is spelled Westcott. In my research, I had to learn to put in varied spellings (Wescott, Westcott, Westcoat, Weskitt)
John Thomas Wescott was born on August 31, 1853, in Currituck, North Carolina, his father, John, was 28, and his mother, Lovie, was 21. He had an older brother, William, born the year and a half before. His sister, Matilda Mann Wescott, was born when he was two. His brother Josiah Holley Wescott was born when “Little JT” was four years old.
Wescott Family Bible Sent to Virginia Spence Westlake from Mabel Wescott Martin Spring 1989
Copyright 1829
His father was a fisherman, and John started attending school when he was 6 years old. Unfortunately, his brother, William, died at the young age of 8 years old when JT was only 7. A year later, another brother came along, Charles Davis Wescott.
Around that year, the American Civil War came to North Carolina. JT recalls the Burnside Expedition, The Battle of Roanoke Island. In a newspaper article dated June 1, 1939, he states his father became a prisoner because they harbored two injured Confederate soldiers. In the article below, he refers to Virginia Dare, the first English-born child in the Americas. We, my genealogical cousins and I have been unable to find any record of John Sr. being a POW, but that does not mean he wasn’t one. It could have been an overnight stay in jail, or he had to pay a fine, or he was part of the prisoner exchange.
When John was 10, his sister Virginia Caroline was born. Three years later, another brother, Obediah Jennings, was born, and three years after that, Robert Edward Lee was born. By this time, JT was 16 years old.
He engaged in the Life Saving Service as a Surfman in the Nags Head Station- then known as No. 7- at 22 and served there for 5 years.
John Thomas Wescott married Lovey C. Tillett (his 3rd cousin) in Dare, North Carolina, on October 19, 1876, when he was 23. Lovey was just 16. A year later, their daughter, Dora D. Wescott, was born. Sadly, Lovey died just 11 months later. There is no death certificate on her, but many think she had complications with her birth and could not overcome them. John found himself with a new career, farming land, and a widow with an 11-month-old baby.
In 1880, his Aunt, Sabra Hackett, is shown as living with him and helping him raise Dora. With the help of his aunt, his career started thriving, and his brothers soon joined him.
Left: Charles Davis Wescott. The three men above right are Edgar Chadwick, Obadiah Wescott, and John Thomas Wescott. (Edgar is Martha Chadwick’s brother)
updated 11/25/17 due to another picture of Edgar being found
Josiah Holly Wescott
This same year, John’s position is shown as a boatswain of the Revenue Cutter, delivering supplies to the life-saving stations along the coast. He served in this position for 6 years. (A Boatswain is a ship’s officer in charge of equipment and the crew.)
By 1883, he married Martha Ann Chadwick, our ancestor, when she was 18 and John was 30. They had five children, plus Dora. A year after the marriage, his father died.
I see a lot of Wescott features in her, so I guess they’re Chadwick features!
By 1884, John was shown in Branson’s North Carolina Business Directory as the proprietor of the Wescott Hotel in Roanoke Island, NC. This same directory shows WD Chaddic (Martha’s father) as a lawyer in Manteo. It also shows he owns the Manteo Hotel in Manteo. We do not know much about the hotel he owned besides what is in the directory.
This same year, they moved to Elizabeth City, and his daughter Laura Chadwick Wescott was born.
In 1887, he was appointed Keeper of the Poyner’s Hill Lifesaving Station at the rate of $700.00 per year.
John T. Wescott’s Poyner’s Hill Lifesaving badge.
During his tenure here, he helped to save over twenty-five lives, all under very difficult and perilous conditions.
This same beach is owned by the Currituck Shooting Club. It was an exclusive club for hunters of fowl from all over. The fees were $3,000 to $5,000 a year. You can read more about the club here. I do not believe the Wescott’s were members, but the lifesaving station was on land owned by the Shooting Club. In fact, when Mary was younger, she wrote this letter to the St. Nicholas Magazine: An Illustrated Book For Young Folks by Mary Mapes Dodge.
In Albert Wescott Sr.’s things were some pictures of the club.
The Currituck Shooting Club owned the land where the Poyners Hill Lifesaving Sation was constructed. The shooting club, one of the oldest of its kind, burned to the ground in 2003, destroying valuable guns and artifacts about members such as J P Morgan and William Vanderbilt.
The Wescott name is written in the US Coast Guard’s website archives numerous times. I wrote to them after discovering there was an article written on John Thomas. Click on the link below to read what was sent to me from their archives.
A year later, Albert Read Wescott, Sr. was born in Poyner’s Hill. A year after that, in 1889, JT’s brother, Charles, was murdered.
Capt. C. D. Wescott of the steamer Cleopatra was stabbed in the shoulder by Mordica Hudson at Trenton, Jones County, last Saturday night. Causes: whiskey. The parties got into a dispute, ending in a fight, and Hudson stabbed Wescott in the shoulder with a knife, severing an artery, from which Wescott bled to death in an hour. ~December 12, 1889 The Tarborough Southerner from Tarboro, North Carolina · Page 1
The trial of Mordecai Hudson for the killing of Capt. Charles D. Wescott last November, at Trenton, was begun at Trenton on Tuesday morning, and Hudson was sentenced by the Judge to five years in the penitentiary. ~April 8, 1890 The Progressive Farmer from Winston-Salem, North Carolina · Page 3
All the Wescott brothers attended the trial.
Mary Yuela was born that same year, and Cora Virginia a few years later. I have never been able to determine where the name Yeula came from. The closest I found was that it could be an Indian word meaning Upward slope.
And in 1890, his son, Albert, was diagnosed with polio.
In 1892, John designed the box for Coston signals.
The Surfmen were supplied with appropriate clothing and boots, a lantern, a Coston Signal Kit, and a Surfman’s brass badge or token on which was noted his station and number. The Coston Signal was not unlike today’s flare gun and was to be used as a warning device when necessary. It was the duty of the Surfman to constantly look seaward as he walked, looking for ships in distress. If he saw a vessel that was headed into danger, he fired a Coston Signal in the hope the master of the ship would realize his error and turn seaward. If the vessel was already in the process of foundering, the signal was deployed to indicate they had been discovered and help was on the way. In such a circumstance, it was critical that the patrolman take accurate note of the circumstances and quickly return to the station to apprise the Keeper of the details. Accurate information was essential to allow the Keeper to decide what apparatus should be transported to the scene.
~History of The U.S. Life-Saving Service – III, Life At The Station by Tom Wimbrow
By 1900, JT was Secretary and Treasurer of the newly founded North Carolina Surfman’s Mutual Benefit Association, and JT designed a Cartouch Box.
Similar to this one
In researching his designs, I discovered that the Coston Signal was invented by a woman, MADAME MARTHA J. COSTON.
I am unsure if this is the box John designed, but it must be similar. These designs are still used in the military services as of this day.
His mother died in 1902, and Mabel Agassiz Wescott was born shortly afterward. Her middle name has always fascinated me, so I researched. Alexander Agassiz made three expeditions aboard the Albatross to collect specimens, explore the ocean depths, and study coral islands and reefs. John was such a lover of the sea and ships, so maybe he named her after Alexander.
Captain John Wescott is second to the right, standing, and Captain Josiah Wescott is second to the right, sitting.
In 1903, the Wright Brothers came calling to the Kill Devils Hill Life Saving Station in Kitty Hawk. Although family lore states that John T. was taking a nap during the flight, it is undocumented that he was there. However, his brothers and cousins were.
In “Conquering the Sky” by Larry E. Tise, several Keepers are mentioned along with Robert L. Wescott and others listed below. Read some here.
Commanded by Capt. Jesse Etheridge Ward (possible cousin), the surfmen;
Will S. Dough (another possible cousin),
Adam D. Etheridge (father-in-law of 5th great-grandmother),
Bob L. Wescott (John T’s brother),
Tom Beacham (another cousin),
“Uncle Benny” O’Neal and,
click —> John T. Daniels (our 1st cousin 3x removed- married Amanda Wescott, John T’s Aunt!) He is now famous for taking the first picture of the Wright Brother’s flight, and for a few “minutes, though unconventional, Daniels “flew” with the flyer, becoming the third man to fly in the Wright Flyer and the first man to be involved in an airplane accident.”
In 1909, his brother, Josiah, died while working as a Captain in the New Inlet Life Saving Station. He had served at the station since 1894. He had a heart attack while waiting for the mail boat in Rodanthe. The postmaster sent for Keeper Midgett, who brought other surfmen. The crew respectively escorted him back to Manteo, where he lived. All drills were ceased for the day.
Martha, Captain Wescott, and Mabel in 1910.
In 1915, the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service and the U.S. Lifesaving Service were merged to form a new agency, the U.S. Coast Guard. In 1939, the Coast Guard absorbed the U.S. Lighthouse Service, and by 1946, it had also absorbed the Steamboat Inspection Service.
Two years later, in 1917, at age 63, Captain John Thomas Wescott retired. I have a feeling if he was not made to retire, he would have continued in the Coast Guard. But retirement did not stop JT. On to another career…
Captain Wescott moved his family to Wayneville, North Carolina, better known as Lake Junaluska, by the next year. During this time, the Lake Junaluska Assembly, Inc. was being established. The Laymen’s Missionary Movement was created in 1908. The Second General Missionary Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, was held at Lake Junaluska on June 25-29, 1913, and this constituted the official opening of the Southern Assembly.
Chief Junaluska, for whom the Assembly, community, and adjoining mountain are named, was a Cherokee chief among the exiles of 1838. It is said that his name was originally Tsunulahunski or Gulkalaski. He fought under Jackson in the War of 1812 and saved the General’s life at the Battle of Horse Shoe Bend; in later life, he was quoted as saying that if he had known Jackson would drive his people from their home, he would not have saved his life at the Bend. He was the friend of the white man and so remained even after the deportation. Junaluska died on November 20, 1858, when he was over a hundred years old. He and his wife, Nicie, are buried near Robbinsville, North Carolina, where their graves are surrounded by an iron fence and a bronze tablet erected in 1910 bears an inscription that recites his story and service to the State and nation.
Despite the program’s excellence and the collection’s success, the Southern Assembly in 1913 seems to have been a dismal place. The lake had not been filled, and early attendants spoke of mud all over the place and walking across the dry lake bed where a corn crop was being harvested.
Most people stayed at Waynesville, and the Southern Railway ran a shuttle train back and forth. Hand baggage could be carried, but wagons had to be found to transport trunks and heavy luggage. Captain Wescott was in the right place at the right time, for the first passenger boat was put on the lake, operated by Captain Wescott, and was named “Unagusta.” Captain Wescott started his new career at age 64. A boat was built to ply the lake and transport visitors from the railway station to the Terrace Hotel. Captain Wescott, who for a period was manager of the Terrace. The name was later changed to Cherokee; this boat became obsolete, and in 1952, the Cherokee II was built. ~Source: “Junaluska Jubilee: A short history of the Lake Junaluska Assembly, Inc. on the occasion of its Fiftieth Anniversary.”
Photos in possession of Marlee Logan passed down by Albert Read Wescott, Sr. to Sharon Wescott Gibbs.
Lake Junaluska and The Cherokee about 1920.
The Cherokee boathouse.
Captain Wescott, Albert Read Wescott Jr. with Bucky, Mary W sitting 1919-20
1920s -Rebecca Carver: My father had a dairy farm, and we furnished the milk that went to the families at the Assembly. They didn’t have swimming pools in the 1920 ‘s and ’30s, so the Assembly let Camp Junaluska, which was above Long’s Chapel United Methodist church, build boat docks and let us go swimming in the lake just down below the depot station. That’s how I learned to swim. Captain Wescott owned the Cherokee Inn, and he was a very good friend of my father. Back then, the children and youth stayed fully clothed until they got to the bath house, and then they went into a little room and changed into a bathing suit. Well, we didn’t have the ten or fifteen cents to pay for that little room, so Captain Wescott let us have a boat. We’d go out on that little boat and change into our bathing suits, and go over to swim near the bath house. Then we’d go back out in the boat and change back into our clothes, and then bring the boat back to Captain Wescott. He was a very dear friend.
About 1923, the annual election of the Queen of Junaluska was inaugurated. The first queen was Miss Mabel Wescott, daughter of Captain Wescott, and with three exceptions, there was an annual election thereafter. The crowning was always an important social event, preceded in the afternoon by a boat pageant in which the Queen, her court, and many other young people rode in boats towed by the Cherokee. As recalled by one resident, “Closely related to the coronation ceremonies is the water pageant. This is usually set for the day of the crowning of the Queen. The decorated boats are as beautiful as delicate petals drifting on a quiet stream. Everyone in the community gathers along the lake shore or in the reviewing stand at the boathouse to see the prize floats go by. In former years, Captain Wescott, with a big Cherokee boat, drew all the decorated craft, tied together like a giant daisy chain, before the reviewing stand. Along the shore and upon the green lawn near the auditorium, Junaluska neighbors and visiting friends gather annually to watch the water sports.”
As written in “The Waynesville Mountaineer” on June 16, 1926:
“The Cherokee,” a picture courtesy of the Spence/Wescott family. Circa 1920.
1923, John ran a hotel, and in 1926, at age 76, Captain Wescott was still going strong. The Duke Alumni held their reunion at Lake Junaluska, where the Captain took them on a tour of the lake before their retreat.
In 1925, his brother, Captain Robert E. Lee, died in Kitty Hawk from thoracic actinomycosis, which he had suffered since 1918. Two years later, his sister Matilda died of a ruptured gall bladder in Virginia.
Back Row: Mabel A. Wescott, Cora Wescott Spence, Mary Y. Wescott, John Albert Coggins, Laura Wescott Coggins Middle Row: Ruby Wescott (holding dau. Jean) Albert R. Wescott, Martha Ann Chadwick Wescott, Capt. John Thomas Wescott Front Row: Albert R. Wescott, Jr., (son of Ruby & Albert, Sr) Mary Virginia Spence,
On December 26, 1933, Captain Wescott, age 80, and Martha, age 68, celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary.
Two years later, Martha died of a kidney disorder. (Chronic valvular disease, chronic nephritis)
1938- John Thomas Wescott, Jr., Albert Read Wescott, Sr., Albert Read Wescott, Jr.
In June of 1939, at age 85, Captain Wescott began “grooming” for his 22nd season with the Cherokee. Among Ruby and Albert Wescott, Sr.’s are two original newspaper articles. One of which I’ve agreed to give our cousin, descendant of Josiah Holly, for the archives in North Carolina. Although he lived in Norfolk, VA, he would come to Lake Junaluska during the summers.
WHEREAS, the Wescott Family arrived in Currituck, North Carolina ( Manteo was a part of Currituck County until 1870 ) in 1755, and Stuckley Wescott believed to be the first Wescott in 1635 to arrive in America; and WHEREAS, the Wescotts were one of 7 original families that settled on Roanoke Island, and donated one acre in 1870 for the Old Courthouse in downtown Manteo.” WHEREAS, the Wescotts were hardworking people, farmers, seamen, postmasters, fishermen, boat builders, merchants, hunters, and guides, the most famous job of the Wescott men is they served as Lifesavers and served the highest rank, Keepers of the Stations. Later many joined the Coast Guard and served for years. And
WHEREAS, the Wescotts were known for their sense of humor, it was said in the Observer June 19, 1878, “Practical jokers, general rule they obey the Bible” and are proud of their heritage and contributions to the Town of Manteo.
WHEREAS, on July 7, 1899 the “Fisherman and Farmer” stated that Josiah Holly Wescott was “an all around good fellow and we are proud to have such a man in a humane service watching and rescuing the imperiled when in shipwreck”.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT PROCLAIMED on behalf of the humble members of the Wescott Family, that I Jamie Daniels, Mayor of the Town of Manteo, and on behalf of the Board of Commissioners, do hereby recognize October 28, 2017 as the “Wescott Family Day”.
On October 28, 2017 there was the first Wescott’s of Manteo Family Reunion. Unfortunately, I could not attend, but hope to next year. With information from myself, Lou Ellen Daniels (4th cousin; descendant of Josiah Holly Wescott), Juanita Wescott (wife of my 2nd cousin, Colon Wayne Wescott; descendant of Josiah Holly Wescott), and others from the descendant’s of Captain John Thomas Wescott’s brothers, cousins were brought together to discuss their Wescott heritage.
Below are the pages of JT’s siblings displayed at the reunion with contributions from each family.
They visited the cemetery being preserved in the middle of the Manteo Airport. The stone on the outside of the white fence is John Wescott’s headstone (my 3rd great grandfather), Captain JT’s father. Wescott Cemetery
From the Wescott Cemetery link above, you will see that several markers are unclear. This is what Juanita wrote to me after her visit there.
“Theo Fitzpatrick was a confederate soldier. His grave is clear. Many of the grave sites are cement slabs, put there by the government in WWII , about 1940. They say there are slaves buried here. We have been told that some stones were removed and thrown away. William Wescott saw them at the end of a road used as a dump, then one day they disappeared. Also, Malcolm Fearing told me the same story as he was told by his father, Keith Fearing. I believe they were Barbry and John “Jackie” and others as I see Barbry still living beside John and Lovie in 1850 on the census. I can’t find the brothers and sisters of John “Wellington” anywhere. We keep the name Wellington just to differentiate between the Johns. Don’t know where it came from. I only find the name John in signed documents and historical records.”
The “Wellington” reference is from a discussion I had with Juanita and Lou Ellen as to Captain JT’s father, John. Many people refer to his middle name being “Wellington”, but we’ve never had any proof of that and in a newspaper article, John Thomas refers to his father as John T. Wescott, Sr.
Uncle Read will have to go with me next October. I have a feeling he and his third cousin, Wilton Wescott, would get along famously!
Wilton is an amazing photographer, Wilton C. Photography (view his site), but his life is the Salt Life for sure.
Juanita said, “My favorite moment from the reunion was when the three oldest Wescott men from three of John Thomas’ brothers met for the first time. They were all raised here on the same 12 mile island but did not know each other. “
Charles Wescott (99 yrs old), William Wescott, and Roy Wescott.
The next reunion is the third weekend of October 2018. Who’s going with me?
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Sometimes a person carries a whole world inside them—memories of language, land, loss, hope. One of those people in our family was my 2nd great-grandmother, Marija Švegelj, known in the U.S. as Mary Swegel. Her life bridges two worlds: the rugged past of Gottschee and the new land she came to love.
Roots in Gottschee, Childhood in Change
Marija was born on November 19, 1867, in Stari Trg ob Kolpi, Slovenia. Her dad, Jožef Švegelj, was about 20; her mother, Marija Koce, was 27. She wasn’t alone for long—she had a younger sister, Katarina, born in 1870, and brothers Jožef and Peter.
When Marija was nine, tragedy struck: her mother died in June 1877. Little Katarina had already died earlier. Her father, just 30, was left with three children under the age of ten. Only two months later, he married again—to another Marija (Marija Sterk)—and together they had seven more children. Change came early in Marija’s life; responsibility, too.
Both sides of Marija’s family were Gottscheers—her mother’s Koce and Fugina families; her father’s second wife’s Sterk line; her grandmother’s Ilić line. Gottschee wasn’t just a place; it was a patchwork of culture, dialect, and a sense of identity folded into every conversation at home.
Crossing Borders, Holding Identity
Though several of Marija’s siblings immigrated in the late 1890s, she stayed. She came over in 1914, after her children were already in America. By then, the world she was born into had twisted: Austria became something else; political crises bubbled; states shifted. Identity was being reshaped fast—not always by choice.
Gottschee was German-speaking, settled long ago under the Habsburgs, but with the fall of empires and the rise of new nations, what “home” meant got complicated. Borders changed; citizenship changed. But family stories, language at the dinner table, the tastes of childhood—those are harder to change.
Hard Times, Strong Roots
World events were anything but kind to Gottscheers. As years passed, political pressure increased, language laws shifted, national boundaries wobbled, and finally, during World War II, the community was forced to uproot in ways no one should have to. Homes were lost, families scattered.
For Marija, it meant she never saw her homeland—or many of her family—again after leaving. But she carried the smells, the songs, the family recipes, the whisper of Gottscheer German dialects, deep inside her. She carried community and faith and family, even when geography said “you are far.”
What Marija’s Journey Gives Us
Heritage is not just a place of birth—it’s what you carry across oceans. The stories, the lullabies, the names.
Change isn’t sudden. It builds gradually: loss, shifting borders, new languages. But identity can survive that, thrive even.
Love and belonging are powerful. Even though she couldn’t return, Marija helped us remember. She helped bridge “there” and “here.”
Looking Back, Moving Forward Marija’s life is a reminder: roots matter, even when they’re hidden beneath the surface. Hers reminds us that though borders change and homes can be lost, what we pass down—our family values, our memory, our voice—are ours forever. We are living proof of persistence, love, and the invisible threads that keep families whole.
Gottschee refers to a former German-speaking region in Carniola, now in Slovenia. The original German settlers of the region are called Gottschee Germans or Gottscheers, and they also developed a distinct German dialect called Gottschee German or Gottscheerish. It is like comparing Old English to our current English. (Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gottschee)
Seal of the City of Gottschee
The city of Gottschee was granted city status in 1471. The seal of the city shows Saint Bartholomew, the patron saint of the parish church.
The inscription on the old seal, Sigilum Civitatis in Kotschew 1471, is translated, Seal of the City of Gottschee 1471.
From some Gottscheer’s : In school, Belay had to learn three alphabets: Cyrillic, Roman, and Old German—a sign of the many cultures that shared the lands around Gottschee. In high school, he had to learn Slovenian in just one year, because it became the language of instruction.
Teachers who spoke German were removed and replaced by teachers who would only speak Slovenian to the school children. This presented a huge difficulty for the Gottscheers since most of them did not speak Slovenian. Problems arose and a feeling of ill will was created.
Edward Eppich lived on his father’s farm in Gottschee until he was 11. “You had only maybe one or two horses and a pig, and that’s what you lived on,” Eppich recalls. When Austrians first settled Gottschee in the 1300s, they found the land rocky and difficult to sow. “It was not that easy,” he says.
A camp for displaced Gottcheers in Austria after World War II
From the time of their arrival until the end of the war, Gottschee farmers were harassed and sometimes killed by partisans who saw them as an instrument of the occupying regime. (Source: http://alpineclub.ca/our-story/history-of-the-gottscheers/
The horrible things that happened during Hitler and Tito’s reigns are unimaginable. Some say that Tito was worse than Hitler, but evil is evil. Many could not return to their country for fear of Tito’s “purge”. The Kočevski Rog massacre and killings continued after the war, through 1945.
It is no wonder that Marija would never again see her homeland or her family again. Her country was torn apart. The once privileged Gottscheers were now a minority in a war-ravaged country.
Adolf Eppich says in his memoir, Memories of a Gottscheer Refugee“Gottscheers are blessed to have been part of a heritage that focuses on God and neighbor and strong family values.” They carried this heritage and faith to America for their descendants to carry on.
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Want to dive deeper? I’m here for it. Because family history isn’t just about knowing who came before — it’s about seeing ourselves in them, feeling their triumphs and struggles, and finding what they left that’s still alive in us.
External links www.gottschee.at Website of Gottscheer societies www.gottschee.de Information on history and culture of the Gottscheer Germans. www.gottschee.com Website with audio folklore samples from Gottscheers in the United States. Gottscheer Heritage and Genealogy Association (GHGA) website “founded in 1992 to preserve the culture, history, and genealogical records of Gottscheers and Gottschee (1330-1941)”
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William Henry Logan (1826-1899): A Pioneer’s Roots & Resilience
Every branch on the family tree begins with someone who carved out a life on raw land, who planted roots where none existed. For us, one of those roots is William Henry Logan — the man who helped turn northern Wisconsin’s wilderness into something his children and grandchildren could call home.
Early Life, Marriage, and Moving North
William Henry was born on August 30, 1826, in Portland, New York. His heart must have longed for places newer than the old roads, because some years after marrying Margaret J. Hyland (September 9, 1849), he and Margaret left New York behind and headed into Wisconsin’s frontier.
By the early 1850s, they were in Sauk County. And then in 1872, William filed a homestead in Dallas Township, Barron County — 160 acres waiting for someone to clear, build, and farm. That someone was him.
Raising a Big Family & Facing Hardship
William and Margaret had nine children: Clamania, Elizabeth (Libbie), William A., Lillie, Lydia A., Margaret L., Lemuel H., Mary L., and Ethel M. They worked hard, taught where they could, and built a life from logs and soil. Libbie, William, and Lillie all became teachers.
But it wasn’t always sunny. Tragedy struck with typhoid fever: Libbie, then Mrs. Logan, and others in the family fell ill. The emotional and physical toll was immense — yet despite all, they held together. Father continued working, mother mended spirits, and children stepped in.
The Homestead Becomes Home
William’s life at Barron County was more than just survival. He was active in Sunday schools, religious work, distributing tracts, believing children deserved knowledge and faith even in remote places.
They built a log house first, then improved, cleared land, planted Balm of Gilead (those trees by the path) as symbols of hope and permanence. Their ranch/farm/dairy homestead rose slowly, amid trees, snow, seasons, and community.
Final Years & Lasting Legacy
William Henry died March 19, 1899, on that homestead in Dallas Township, Barron County. Margaret lived on until April 24, 1919. Their children scattered, married, taught, and carried forward both tragedy and triumph.
Jessie Burrall (a grandchild or great-grandchild) brought especially bright light to the family: teacher, leader, organizer, building large Sunday School classes, doing religious education work, bringing that same commitment to community that William Henry had planted.
What William Henry’s Story Teaches Us
True pioneer spirit isn’t just in the big moves; it’s in staying when things are hard, seeing beauty in trees, and building a home from nothing.
Family isn’t perfect — sickness, loss, doubt all show up; what counts is showing up for each other anyway.
What we leave isn’t always material. It’s stories, values, seeds (literal and metaphorical), faith, and education. Those Balm of Gileads? They’re still budding.
Want to go further? I can help you map out where the old homestead is today, maybe pull up old photos or land records so you can see what William Henry saw. These stories might be decades old, but they still have roots in us.
* Balm of Gilead *
Written as it was written in the Rice Lake Chronotype newspaper, issues Nov. 16, 23rd, 30th, and Dec. 7, 1932.
Written by Mrs. Mattie Nicklow of Dallas, Wisconsin. “A Story of the Pioneer Days of Barron County”
"About 60 years ago there resided on a farm within the present city limits of Janesville a family consisting of the parents, Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Logan (Margaret Jackson Hyland) and seven children: Libbie 19, William 17, Lilly 14, Lydia 12, Margaret 8, Mary 4 and Ethel 2. An older sister, Clamanie had prior to this married S.A. Stowe of Neenah, and a brother, Lemuel H. preceeded all in death.
Mr. Logan in purchasing this farm had fully intended to till the soil and make the place a permanent home. An anticipation which no doubt would have matured had it not been for two facts: (1.) the growing activities of the world renowned Knapp Stout & Co. in northern Wisconsin, (2) the adaptability of several members of this family to become woof for the great shuttles of enterprise which this lumbering company had set in motion.
In 1871 Mr. Logan a finished woodworker and wagon maker obtained a position with Knapp-Stout at Menomonie, committing the care of the farm to the son Willie and Mrs. Logan. Having proved his efficiency he was soon sent by the company to Prairie Farm where in company with Thos. Blyton, A West Dallas pioneer farmer and carpenter, he worked on the first store building in this village, which served as a general supply store for not only Knapp-Stout, but for the country at large.
It may be of additional interest to mention here that George E. Scott, who in 1883 became manager of this store, eight years later purchased the business and erecting a new structure "famed" Prairie Farm nationally as possessing the most beautiful country store in the world.
In the course of events, as Mr. Logan was building away on the store, he noted in the conversation of his fellow laborers, corroboration and augmenting of previous reports he had heard at Reedsburg regarding the possibilities of the dairy industry in Barron county. As a direct result of this propaganda he became more and more convinced that here was his opportunity. Land could be homesteaded, he had three grown children as well as himself who could soon file on a piece of land: teachers would soon be in demand--Willie, Libbie and Lilly were all qualified teachers. Thus he reasoned to himself and little by little his conversion to Barron county was conveyed by letter to his family until finally Mrs. Logan received a definite request asking her to dispose of the farm home at Reedsburg. Also all the equipment except the team, the colts, two cows, a heifer, the wagon, necessary clothing and food for the trip and to carry them through the next winter, with an additional statement the Barron County offered ideal homemaking conditions and he desired them to join him there.
Letters continued to arrive, one finally stating. Mr. Logan had actually filed on a claim. Mr. Stowe, the son-in-law, was asked to aid Willie in preparations for the trip and to also accompany them to Prairie Farm. By midsummer all was in readiness with everyone gay and light hearted except mother. Thoughtfully she closed the old home door and with a face set toward duty and heart turning back to the closed door she seated herself beside the driver.
Early morning revealed a white covered wagon with a team of horses, colts, cows and heifer slowly moving north from Reedsburg. Due to the cattle's slow travel several nights were spent in camp, but Mrs. Logan and the two small children were fortunate in getting a room in a hotel or farmhouse each night. While the men and three older girls were truly enjoying their camp-outs until after passing into the heavily-wooded section surrounding Black River Falls. Here they were frightened by the appearance of a number of tough looking men and abandoned plans for the night camp, driving on until the animals were exhausted.
Among the major adventures of the trip was the fording of the Red Cedar River. The water was running high and the wagon box was soon floating along with ropes serving as guys, to regulate its path to that of the running gear. When they were safely on the opposite shore the children looked back to see their precious colts following up the riverbank they had just left. The silly things did not spy their mothers until they reached a point directly across the stream but some rods up from where the ford started. In they jumped, and out of sight! But the screams of Ethel and Mary soon turned to shouts of encouragement as they spied the dark specks--noses, ears, and their heads- swimming. Then with a lunge they came up the bank beside the children, making a never-to-be-forgotten picture for the more sophisticated members of the family.
During the time of preparation for the trip Mr. Logan had been busy putting up a house on his homestead. Logs were cut and hauled to the little clearing. A road was cut through the woods west to the tote road at the Sam Tucker place, so lumber could be hauled from the Knapp-Stout mill at Prairie Farm for the floor and doors of the rude structure. Jos. Richards, whose homestead was 3 miles away, gave valued help in putting up the building. Three other homesteaders (all bachelors) were for some reason deeply interested in the early completion of the house and the coming of the Logan family into their midst. These men were John Knight, Lem Sharp and John McMullen. Their claims partially joined that of Mr. Logan's on the north and west. Their assistance was most welcome and many an evening they spent that winter "getting acquainted with their new neighbors."
On Aug. 28, 1872, the wagon, which for a few days had been the only home of the family of nine, drove up at the door of Knapp Stout & Co.'s boarding house in Prairie Farm. Here comfort and plenty reigned; this added to the reunion of the family. A night's rest and morning found them all clamoring up behind the team into the wagon for the last 6 miles of their trip.
Before leaving, Mr. Logan borrowed from his employers, Knapp Stout & Co., ox teams to furnish extra power if necessary when they reached the 2 miles of road he had earlier in the summer cut through the heavy timber to his homestead. This proved a wise precaution for after leaving the tote road from Prairie Farm to Rice Lake they were in a wilderness supreme. A cyclone a short time before had nearly obliterated Mr. Logan's by-road and uprooted trees, stumps and fallen timber required much chopping and detouring for the loaded wagon. After a long day the wearied travelers came to a small opening in the timber. Here was home! True, a "log house," but that was to be only temporary, a stopping place by the way that was leading to a fine set of buildings on a Barron county dairy farm "some day".
Mother's vision was a bit cloudy that evening, but she tried to see the brilliantly pictured future as she quietly passed through the opened door and thereby took possession of the woodland cottage. Hope ran high as things were placed here and there, and sleeping arrangements were being made. Supper over the quiet hour came. It was different though--such a quiet they had never known! Out of touch of all humanity! Trees, trees--the pines' low crooning, and far away the "who-who" of a lone owl, as if questioning the right of the new intruders.
Overpowering fatigue had forced a similar quiet upon the household when the plaintive little sobs of Baby Ethel were heard from an adjoining room and in a burst of self-defense she declared: "I isn't going to sleep in this colties' house--I's going to Papa's house." Log walls to her were associated with stock and barns and the only house she had seen in Barron county was the company's boarding house, where she had met her father the evening before.
Came morning, then another and another followed evening. The house had been turned unconsciously into a home. The clearing which at their arrival was slightly larger than the house, was day by day creeping into the forest growth. There would be some acreage for garden in the spring.
Fall was here and Willie had been hired to teach in the Kellog district near Prairie Farm, boarding at the Roseman Kellog home. Libbie taught the Pelton school, boarded at Hiram Pelton's, and Lilly did not teach until spring of the following year (1873) when she secured a school 5 miles north of Rice Lake, known as the Beaton or Demars school. The three took teachers' examinations at Dallas and when William returned home he told how Chas. Finley was caught in the act of helping a would-be teacher with an arithmetic problem and when taken to task by the superintendent, A. B. Finley, how he straightened up to full stature law and said: "Well, Brother A. B., I've given you a little similar assistance -in the past. I guess this will pass."
Summer brought the teachers all back to the thatched roof which now indeed was like home to them. The little farm was growing in size. Somehow the timber that had such lonesomeness about it when they first came there was growing more friendly too. The purplish border of tress was fast changing as bud and leaf told of summer's coming. Even the two "Balm of Gilead" beside the path (only switches in size) had great bulgy spots up and down their stalks. They were alive! Though shrubbery abounded, only these two have to do with our story.
Among the pleasures in Willie's days at the new farm were his horseback rides to Prairie Farm. Often he made these trips, but the one described here is different in that the Balm of Gileads are today bursting into bud and leaf, as living memorials, after 57 years of growth at the Logan home in West Dallas!
The name of the horse Willie rode has been forgotten, but for the story's sake we'll call her "Doll." She was usually well behaved and even that day conducted herself with real dignity until nearing home, some 3 miles away, she began to put on airs. She became too proud to trot and soon cashed off with a mild run, then suddenly stopped with a force that nearly set her rider on the ground in front of her. So reining her up to the Balm of Gileads at the Sam Tucker place, which he happened to be passing, he took a couple of twigs in his hand. Nothing more was necessary! Horse and rider were home in a few moments.
The twigs were dropped as he dismounted. Later his father passing that way noticed the sticks--for nothing more did they look to be, till picking them up he discovered they were more domesticated than the growth about the home, and upon closer scrutiny he found them to be Balm of Gileads. As he stood holding them, thoughts came--not new thoughts, but old ones, of another place. There were Balm of Gileads there, yes, neighbors had them too. They bespeak settlement, culture-I'll set them out by the path to the front door, one on each side . . . . So now, in late spring, they were ready to silver out, and small though they were, Father and Mother loved to watch them grow and oft as they walked by, the sight of sprouting swigs carried their minds to other scenes: pleasant roads, comfortable homes, refining influences; again they'd recall Willie's riding home, happy and gay -- were it not for him they possibly would never have made this venture. He must have a chance! Yes, in a few years he could file on a claim, as Libby had. He was clearing now--fields are growing-soon, the place will be a real farm, a new home. How much Willie is worth to us. Our only son! At these times the "some day" was very near.
The two little twigs by the front door path were as a mental lens which drew unto them the possibilities of the future as a field glass takes the very horizon and drops it at our feet.
Summer of 1873 is waning. The school year is near. Lilly has the Wygant School, Willie the DeMars school, north of Rice Lake, and Libbie a school adjoining that of her brother.
The oldest child at home this fall was Lydia, 14. The three others were Lucinda, Mary and Ethel. Mr. and Mrs. Logan, 'not exactly young, were still in the prime of life, he being 47 and she 43. Both were of a spiritual turn of mind. Mr. Logan made many trips about the country establishing Sunday schools and distributing religious literature. Libbie was planning how she would prepare linen for housekeeping, evenings after school, so when vacation came she could take Mary for company and live on her own claim. How her heart leaped for joy at the thought!
September found the three teachers at their school work. The two north of Rice Lake did not expect to get home before the holidays, but Lilly was boarding at the Sidney Wygant home, only 3 miles away and was home every week end.
All went well until the last Friday in October when, reaching home she found her little sister Lucinda ill. No doctor? Yes, Mr. Logan while working in Prairie Farm had made the acquaintance of a physician, and harnessing up the team he drove after him that evening.
Dr. Buck consented to come and diagnose the case providing Mr. Logan could get him back to the mill in time for work the following morning. Lucinda was found to have typhoid fever and lay for weeks waiting for the fever to take its course.
Mrs. Logan watched over her child and finally saw hope of her recovery, but before her patient was able to be about, she herself was stricken with the same disease. When Lilly came home, the last weekend in November, there were two patients, one recovering and one in the toils of a raging fever.
Lydia was now nearing 15, and with Mr. Logan and the weekend help Lilly could give they managed to take care of mother, and Lucinda, though very weak, did not need so much attention.
Night after night the father drove through the snow filled road to Prairie Farm to get Dr. Buck, then back again with him at an early morning hour. Often Discouraging thoughts came as he made his early morning return from Prairie Farm, but he would find consolation in the fact that three were teaching.
Libbie's school term finished in December and then she would be at home to help awhile before she moved to her own land. Lilly would soon be home on vacation. Willie was doing fine. Mother was no worse--nature was waging a successful battle in her case as in Lucinda's.
December was here and Libbie was home. She moved about in a cheerful, happy way. Mother and sister were still helplessly weak but with her to care for them and cook they would gain rapidly. Willie had accompanied his sister home for a short vacation but was back at his school in a week's time.
One morning Willie was unable to rise and go to his school --headache, fever. Dr. Whinney was called out from Rice Lake and turning to Mrs. Demars he said, "A case of typhoid." Youth is not easily daunted. Willie thought of home, however, and after days turned to weeks he wished his father would come and see him. "Surely mother and sister are well by this time," he reasoned. Dr. Whinney wrote Mr. Logan of his son's illness and asked him to come and see him.
In the Logan home the drama of sickness was still on. The first two patients were pitifully helpless and the third patient, Libbie, was daily growing worse--she too, was a typhoid victim. A few days later Mr. Logan received Dr. Whinney's letter--the return mail carried a short letter telling Dr. Whinney the conditions at home and saying he would come just as soon as possible, but not to tell Willie of Libbie's condition.
The coming days brought strength to young William and in due time he took up his school work. The game days increased the seriousness of Libbie's illness. Hope fled.
Another letter: "Come, Willie is worse." Dr. Whinney. " Torn between his double duty the father answered: "Can't come till there's a change here." Long before the line reached Dr. Whinney the change came -- the last long change, mortal to immortal!. Casket, cemetery, pastor, church--where were they? If only Willie were here! Mr. Logan grew weak. Night after night of lonely vigil with midnight drives through snow filled roads, hoping against hope that his recompense would be Libbie's recovery, not daring to falter lest Mother in her weakness might also fail--and if Mother's heart were to fail. . . .
Night wore on. Stars shone outside. Somber, unleafed trees stood watching, still, as if fearful that one twig moving might burst the hearts of their cottage dwellers. White faced and trembling, they--mother and father of the dead--met the morning, which did not come as it always seemed to, before. It was evening time with them--dark, sad, bitter, a darkness within that morning light could not penetrate. But Nature has many forces and is resourceful beyond measure. As the light and warmth of day is fatal to the spent bloom, it at the same time is energy and life to the bursting bud at its side. So with the stricken--joy and happiness gone, duty springs up and sweet submission leads on. Mother stilled her heart with thoughts for Willie--he was needing his father--she would be brave so he could go to him.
The team was again put over the road to Prairie Farm, this time for a casket (which Knapp Stout & Co. kept in stock, bringing them up by team from Menomonie.) No burial place! Oh, must their farm, their home, their little clearing, become their cemetery? Was this pioneering?
Neighboring settlers came in, to aid and comfort. The matter was talked over and finally it was decided to take their loved Libbie's remains to a slight knoll just across the opening from the house.
The funeral over, Mr. Logan left for Willie's bedside. A hard day's drive brought him to the DeMars home, where he learned that the relapse was more severe than the first attack. And after being there but a brief time the father was looking into the lifeless eyes of his only son. A casket was obtained in Rice Lake and the return home I will leave to my readers--often, words fail!
Duty, Still there. in this lonely and stricken home--yes, to the dead, the living, and to God! Lilly finished her school. Mr. Logan filed an heir's right to the claim Libbie had taken. Later Lydia Ann married and her husband, Joe Cobb, Took over the Claim. Later still Lydia Ann proved up on the claim and held it until late years, when it was sold to an outsider.
Lilly became the bride of Joe Burrell, Lucinda married Ed Smith. Ethel inheriting the family trait of education and teaching taught for many years in Barron county before her marriage to Wm. Modersbach of Comstock. Mary, next older than Ethel, was Mrs. Urban Larson of West Dallas.
Mr. and Mrs. Logan stayed on in their cottage home. Somehow, try as they would, the old-time cheer never completely reigned, for there, where "some day" the new home and wide tilled acreage was to be, lay two conquerors--stilled.
Yet Mr. and Mrs. Logan labored on, trusting in a final victory. Mr. Logan did much Sunday school work and distributing of religious literature in the early day homes. The tendency toward teaching spiritual truths seems to rest especially with the Burrall faction of this family and their daughter, Jessie, brought real fame to the family through this channel. Miss Jessie, born on a farm near to the home of her grandparents and the homestead of her Aunt Lydia, in West Dallas, grew to womanhood in Minnesota. After graduating from high school and college she took up teaching as her life's vocation. During the war she was engaged as chief of school service by the National Geographic Society in the city of Washington DC. While there she organized a girls' Sunday school class with a membership of 500 which in a short time reached the goal of 2,000 and carried with it the distinction of being the world's largest girls' Sunday school class.
The special aim of this able teacher-leader, who on her maternal side is descended from five generations of New England ministers, is religious, and all her efforts tend toward the stimulation of religious work at home and abroad.
After the war she accepted a position as a religious instructor in Stephens college, Columbus, MO, and in nine months found herself teacher of a Sunday school class that had grown by her efforts from a small class of men and woman from the college and state university to a number nearing 2,000. About this time the American Magazine in an article on Interesting People, said this of Miss Burrall: "Miss Burrall is a human dynamo, spending her strength prodigally but apparently drawing on some unseen force for renewed vitality. She is a rather fragile looking little woman, scarcely more than 5 feet in height and weighing only 115 pounds.
During the week she gives her time to lecturing and teaching. But if you could see her on Sunday morning, when she faces her great class, you would never guess that she had worked hard all the week. Her enthusiasm and freshness of energy would make you conclude that she had done nothing but rest and save her strength for the Sunday morning message to her pupils.
Miss Burrall reads more than 30 magazines each month in order to know what her young people are reading. She believes that prayer is as essential as breathing and just as natural." Miss Jessie Burrall (my 2nd Cousin 2x removed)
In 1929 the Jessie Burrall Hall was dedicated in memory of the work done by this plucky girl in Columbus, Mo.
After a motor trip to the Vermont hills and through New York state, where she took her mother, Lilly Logan Burrall, to visit the scenes of her greats' and grandparents' homes, she was united in marriage with Prof. Eubanks, who is a writer as well as a teacher. Together, they are carrying on the great work so near to Mrs. Eubanks' heart.
This pioneer mother and father have long since ceased their toil. They no longer watch the Balm of Gileads leaf. "At rest" they lie, close to their only son, and daughter Libbie. Part of the old farm is still owned by a member of the family. The schoolhouse where Mr. Logan and family loved to gather for Sunday services has for many years been replaced by a more modern one. The little plot of ground where Libbie and William were laid was given to Dallas as a cemetery in which, besides those mentioned are to be found many other pioneers.
The Balm of Gileads are still budding for leaf."
Another story written of him:
Abstracted from pages 98/99 of The History Of Barron County, Wisconsin, published in 1922, by H.C. Cooper, Jr. & Co., Minneapolis, Minnesota:
William Henry Logan was born August 30, 1826 in Portland, New York. He was a man of pious inclinations, and after arriving in Wisconsin, went from place to place in the wilderness, distributing religious tracts and organizing Sunday Schools so that the children living there might be reared in Christianity. On Sep. 9, 1849, after leaving New York state, he married Margaret J. Hyland at Highland Prairie, Wisconsin. She was born Oct 27, 1930 Hillsburg, New Hampshire. In the early 1850s they moved to Sauk County, Wisconsin, and in 1872 homesteaded 160 acres of land in Dallas Township, Barron County, Wisconsin. He developed the farm over the course of twenty-seven years and died there March 19, 1899. His wife died at Stone Lake, Wisconsin on April 24, 1919.
William and Margaret were the parents of nine children as follows: Clamania, born June 3, 1850 in Beaver Dam, Dame County, Wisconsin, and became the wife of S.A. Stowe, of Neenah, Wisconsin; Elizabeth F. was born June 13, 1852 in Burnett, Sauk County and was deceased as of 1922; William A. was born May 2, 1854 in Burnett, Sauk County, and was deceased as of 1922; Lillie J. was born July 11, 1857 in Westfield, Marquette County, Wisconsin, and became the wife of J.H. Burrall of Little Falls, Minnesota; Lydia A. was born Jan. 12, 1859 in Westfield, Wisconsin, and was deceased as of 1922; Margaret L. was born Feb. 11, 1863, in Westfield, and became the wife of Edgar A. Smith of Barron, Wisconsin; Lemuel H. was born Oct. 24, 1864 in Westfield and was deceased as of 1922; Mary L. was born June 23, 1867 in Reedsburg, Sauk County, and became the wife of U.L. Parsons; and Ethel M. was born April 5, 1870 in Reedsburg, and became the wife of William Modersbach of Comstock, Wisconsin.
John Loggan and his twin brother James were born in Voluntown, Connecticut, on 30 June 1731. Their father, John, was 32, and their mother, Margaret, was 28.
James stayed in Connecticut and served in the Revolutionary War.
John’s brother Hugh was born in Voluntown, Connecticut, on September 14, 1736, when John was 5 years old. Hugh passed away on September 15, 1755, in Washington, Connecticut, when John was 24 and Hugh was 19.
His sister Mary died on March 27, 1739, at the age of 14, when John was 7 years old, in Voluntown, Connecticut.
John’s brothers Robert and Samuel were born in Plainfield, Connecticut, on July 12, 1739, when John was 8 years old. Robert fought in the French and Indian War, and Samuel fought in the Civil War.
His brother Mathew was born in Washington, Connecticut, on December 15, 1742, when John was 11 years old. Mathew fought in the Revolutionary War.
John married Azubah Royce in Madison, Connecticut, on 15 November 1753, when he was 22. Azubah’s father, John Royce, was married to John’s father’s second wife, Dorcas. John Royce was Dorcas’ first husband and my sixth great-grandfather.
John had a daughter named Mary, born in 1754 in Woodbury. He also had a son named Daniel, born in 1762 in Woodbury. Another daughter, Rhoda, was born in 1767 in Woodbury but passed away at age nine. John’s mother Margaret died in 1770 in Washington when she was 67. John also had daughters named Anna and Elizabeth. Anna was born in 1770 in Woodbury, and Elizabeth was born around 1773 in Rupert, Vermont.
John Jr. was living in the 13 colonies at one of the most important turning points in American history—the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Death of Daughter
John Jr. lived in Voluntown, Connecticut, during the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. During this same year, John’s nine-year-old daughter, Rhoda, was accidentally shot by her brother while he was playing with a gun in the yard, saying he was going to shoot Tories. Rhoda had teased her brother about his ability to shoot and told him to shoot her if he could. Tragically, she was killed.
The 1777 Battle of Ridgefield was fought in the state of Connecticut, where John Logan Jr. was living at the time. His father died later that year, on 2 December 1777, in Washington, Connecticut, at the age of 78.
During the Revolutionary War, James served in Connecticut.
John Logan Jr. also lived in Vermont when it became the 14th state on 4 March 1791. After the Revolutionary War, the second “g” was dropped from our last name, and, from what I’ve discovered so far, it has been spelled “Logan” ever since.
His wife Azubah died on 27 August 1796, at the age of 59, in Rupert, Vermont. They had been married for 42 years.
John died on 17 September 1809 in Rupert, Vermont, at the age of 78.
So, I entered my DNA results into GEDMATCH and ran the MDLP World-22 Admixture; it came up as .26; on the World9 Admixture, it came up as .62, and the puntDNAL K13 came up as 1.07. So, do I have American Indian in me? Yes. Traces, but yes! But from which side of the family, Logan or Wescott? For me, it can be on either side.
John T. Wescott’s Poyner’s Hill Lifesaving badge. 
Captain Wescott, Albert Read Wescott Jr. with Bucky, Mary W sitting 1919-20
Two years later, Martha died of a kidney disorder. (Chronic valvular disease, chronic nephritis)
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