Tag: genealogy

Finding Abigail… Part 2 (Logan Family)

Photo by Harold Wijnholds on Unsplash

Finding Abigail has proven to be a significant challenge. As I wrote in Finding Abigail… Part 1, her last name has been elusive. I have been tracking my research about her through the research logs, and here is what I have.

Date Contacted-Who Contacted-Why Contacted- Response

  • 12/2/2019 City of Danbury, CT Abigail Soper They wrote back and said, “Certifiable records began in 1840.”
  • 12/26/2019 Dorset Historical Society Proof of Abigail’s assumed last name of Soper My email:  I was hoping you could please do a preliminary search and let me know if you have any information on the Soper family. My main search is for an Abigail Soper who married Daniel Logan, about 1780, my 4th great grandparents. It is stated, but not sourced that Abigail’s father was Samuel Soper. Supposedly a Hugh Logan married Abigail’s sister, Jemima, about 1784. And, Lucy Logan (Hugh’s sister) married their brother, William, about 1797. I have contacted a few county clerks, but they do not have these earlier records. Any help or direction is much appreciated.
  • 12/27/2019 Dorset Historical Society His response:   I checked through our archives and could not find any information to tie Samuel Soper to Abigail Soper Logan. I did find some tidbits which may be of use.

          According to the History of Danby, Joseph Soper was the first settler of Danby, in 1765, and two of his (unnamed) brothers settled in Dorset. They came from Nine Partners, New York.

         According to a genealogy of the Allen family, “Seth Allen was born 16 Jan 1733/34 in Dartmouth, Bristol, Mass., and died Aft. 1801. He married Anna Soper Abt. 1752 in Dutchess County, N.Y., daughter of Peletiah Soper and Martha Soper. She was born 06 Feb 1734/35 in Windsor, Hartford, Ct. and died after 1801.” Seth and Anna bought land in Danby in 1769, which they sold in 1770, when they were in Manchester. They bought land in Manchester in 1773 from Peletiah Soper. After that, things get murkier, but they probably lived in East Dorset around 1800, and in Bromley, Vt. after 1800 (Bromley later changed its’ name to Peru).

          “The Marriage Records of John Strong” records the wedding on September 5, 1782 of Robert Allen and Patty Soper of Dorset.

         Several records say that the Soper Tavern was in South Dorset, at the intersection of modern-day Route 30 and Cross Road. None of the records give the first names of people who operated the tavern.

          The Dorset Church records record the baptism of “Mrs. Samuel Soper 1803-04.”

          Last, Rev. Parsons Pratt, in his genealogical records, noted that other Soper family members settled in “Brandon and other northern [Vermont] towns.

          Like I said, nothing specific to your request, but I hope some of this scattershot information proves useful in your quest.

                        Sincerely yours,

                        Jon Mathewson

                        Curator

  • 12/25/2019 Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness https://raogk.org/ Any Soper info Raymond Toolan from RAOGK emailed me back (his words)    

                        I have done some looking and have found at least one extended family of Sopers from the mid-18th century in the towns of Dorset and Manchester in Bennington County. Your Abigail creates a bit of a problem. Remember the brief history lesson I gave you? In 1765 the French and Indian Wars had only ended two years previous. This means that England had new land it needed to quantify. The colonies of New York and New Hampshire felt that each of their grants gave them most or all of this former French territory as part of their landholdings. Each colony sent surveyors in to lay out grants. An early Vermont land speculator, Ethan Allen and his brother Ira preferred to deal with the governor of New Hampshire and so they formed The Green Mountain Boys, an ad hoc group of vigilantes whose mission was to force the New York surveyors and tax collectors out in favor of New Hampshire. There is some argument as to how successful they may have been. History remembers this group regarding their taking over Ft Ticonderoga in NY. The point in this is that in 1765 those towns were most likely considered part of NY as Vermont, per se, did not exist at that time. Middlebury, Vermont, is a bit north in Addison County, also on the west side of the Green Mountains, and also was most likely considered part of NY before 1777. I will see if I can find anything that connects Abigail to this family in Dorset and Manchester. You might see if you can get the contact information for the town’s historical society in Dorset and Manchester, Vermont. Every town has a historical society, and some are more active than others.

  • 12/24/2019       The period in history that is involved here is a tough one for research in Vermont. Initially, the area, including Vermont, was under French control. After the battle on the Plains of Abraham in Quebec [ending the French and Indian wars], the area became part of the English holdings. Both the colonies of New York and New Hampshire claimed all or part of the land between them. While they were still arguing, the War of Independence broke out in 1776. IN 1777, the residents of the land area between Lake Champlain and the Connecticut River declared themselves an independent republic. This lasted until 1791 when Vermont was admitted as the 14th state. All record-keeping was done at the office of the town clerk. It still is. The recording of births, marriages, and deaths varied from town to town and really was not codified until around 1865. Copies of the various records were not collected at a central archive until around 1911. I will see if I can find any sort of documentation for you, but, honestly, the odds are very slim.

        FYI, the clerks of the courts cannot really assist you as other than records of divorces or other court-related issues they have no records. Births, deaths, and marriages are all with the town clerks and at the archive in Middlesex. There are 254 towns, cities, gores, and grants in Vermont, each with its own clerk.

  • 12/26/2019 Manchester Historical Society Vermont Soper Emailed them, have not received a response as of 1/4/2020
  • 1/18/20 Marlin Logan Emailed Marlin and asked if he had sources on his information for Soper.  
  • 1/19/20 Manchester Historical Society Vermont Soper and Logan Emailed them again
  • 1/19/20 Dorset Historical Society Soper and Logan Emailed them on information for Soper
  • 1/22/20 Email from Marlin Logan

Hi Marlee

Went back to all my old records and so sorry I don’t have anymore information than is on my Family Tree.

Tried unsuccessfully to check other resources also and I come up with a blank.

You have sparked my interest again so will keep your request as I update and find new information.  Hopefully we can find a little more data than we have.

Good hunting.

Marlin

As you can see, I do not know much more than I did when I started. But, tracking my inquiries on this log will keep me from repeating quests.  

I may look into the other Soper’s mentioned and see if I can find any Abigail’s in their lines.               

As you can see, we all have brick walls in our family history. I may be able to help with yours. Contact me for your some virtual family history tutoring.

What is Virtual tutoring?
* Individual screen shares- a virtual whiteboard to work on:
* Family tree creation.
* Records search for documenting your family history.
* Get help to break down brick walls on a particular ancestor.
http://loganalogy.com/genealogy-classes/

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Mary Yeula Wescott

In this 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge, Close to Home, I wrote about Mary Yeula Wescott, my great-grandaunt. She was born on 27 December 1889 at Poyner’s Hill in Currituck, North Carolina, where her father, John Thomas Wescott, was the keeper of the Poyner’s Hill Life-Saving station. She was the third of six children born to John and a year younger than my great-grandfather, Albert.  

Laura Wescott, Martha Ann Chadwick Wescott, Mary Yeula Wescott

At a very young age, Mary loved to read and write. She was first published at the age of 12 when she decided to enter a writing contest for the St. Nicholas Magazine: An Illustrated Book For Young Folks by Mary Mapes Dodge. The following was published in January 1903:  

Poplar Branch, N.C.

    Dear St. Nicholas: I am a little girl twelve years old, and I live on one of the sand-bars of North Carolina, five miles from the mainland. The nearest store and post-office is five miles away. My papa is the captain of the Poyners Hill Life-saving Station. We are bounded on the north and south by sand-hills, on the east by the ocean, and on the west by the Currituck Sound. The land near and on which the station is situated belongs to the Currituck Shooting Club, the club-house is the nearest one to us except the station. The club does not allow any of the station men except papa to build on the beach. We live only a few steps from the station and a little further from the sea, while the club-house is on the other side of the beach. So you see, we have it lonely here sometimes. Inclosed [sic] find my contribution which I hope is worthy of a prize.

Yours truly,

    Mary Yeula Wescott

               (age 12)

The poem she enclosed won her a silver badge.

FORGIVING

BY MARY YEULA WESCOTT  

(Silver Badge)

My little friend Annie 

Came over to play. 

We stayed in the house, 

As ‘t was stormy that day. 

She had her doll, Susan, 

And mine was named Jane ; 

We dressed and undressed them 

Again and again. 

We made them fine bonnets 

For each little head. 

They wore them to parties, 

Then came home to bed. 

Ann stepped on my finger, 

And said she was glad. 

I got up and slapped her, 

She ‘d made me so mad. 

Then I knocked Susan’s head off, 

And Annie broke Jane. 

We cried, and we quarreled 

Again and again. 

Then I said I was sorry, 

As much as could be; 

So I forgave Annie, 

And she forgave me. 

Mary continued to send in poems and articles, as did her brother, Albert, and her sister, Laura. However, Mary continued to write to them until at least the age of 17.  

My Dear St. Nicholas League: I am sending to you today my verses for the September competition, and I am so sorry to remember that I have but three more. Does everyone get old so dreadfully fast? 

Your subject appealed to me this month, for I have several relatives including my father, who are members of the Life Saving Service to which I have a reference in the poem. This small band extends along the coast of the United States and guards its coast from the ravages of the storm. They maintain a constant watch along the shore and at the appearance of a distressed vessel launch their frail boats and, pitting their strength against the force of the waves, give aid to the distressed seamen. When the sea is so high that launching a boat from the shore is impossible, the beach apparatus is used and the sailors are brought from the vessel by means of a ” breeches-buoy,” which is drawn shoreward over a cable that has been shot across the vessel from the shore and fastened to the mast of the distressed vessel. 

On our part of the coast, storms are numerous, and a rescue of this kind is a frequent occurrence. 

I thank you so much for the encouragement you have given me in my endeavors to win that coveted cash prize. 

But whether I succeed or not, I shall ever remember with gratitude the pleasure and benefit I have derived from your interesting work. Long life to you, my dear St. Nicholas League, and best wishes from your devoted League member, Mary Yeula Wescott (age 17).

It must have been this magazine that sparked her love of books.  

Mary went to school in Durham and graduated from Trinity College (now Duke University) in 1914 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree, Magna cum laude. She taught Latin in local schools and went back to Trinity. In 1920, she took a leave of absence to attend and then graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree from the Simmons College of Library Science in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1924, where she also worked in a government position while attending school. Mary returned to Trinity College, her alma mater, to work at Trinity College Library (now Duke University Library).  

About 1932, Professor William K. Boyd organized the work of the Newspaper Department and placed Miss Allene Ramage in charge of it. Miss Ramage, aided by Miss Mary Wescott and Miss Eva E. Malone, prepared a checklist of these papers under the title Bibliographical Contributions of the Duke University Libraries: a Checklist of United States Newspapers. This publication has been of value to many librarians and scholars throughout the United States.  

Part I: Alabama––Georgia

Part II: Idaho––Massachusetts

Part III: Michigan––New York

Part IV: North Carolina

Part V: North Dakota––Vermont

Part VI: Virginia––Wyoming

~LIBRARY NOTES -A BULLETIN ISSUED FOR 

The Friends of Duke University Library April 1953; Number 27 

She worked there until she retired in December 1954 as Head of the Catalogue Department. A dinner was given in her honor on 14 December 1954. Among the special guests was Lawrence Quincy Mumford, Librarian of Congress. Mr. Mumford, who had known Miss Wescott since his student days, summarized well her contribution to college and university when he spoke of her retirement as the termination of “a valuable career in librarianship.” 

~LIBRARY NOTES -A BULLETIN ISSUED FOR 

The Friends of Duke University Library April 1953; Number 27 

“Pride in her profession, friendliness, compassion, and a delightful sense of humor — these were the characteristics that made Mary Wescott deeply loved as well as highly respected. Exactly what her personal philosophy was, one would not presume to say. One feels though that possibly she expressed it in the last stanza of a poem she wrote long ago — “The Dream of the Sea.” 

O my Heart keep young, we would cross that main 

With its raging tide; 

We would enter those fields of glad abode 

On the other side — 

And we, how we long for the mighty strife 

And the waves’ wild sweep — 

To battle our way to the rich reward 

And then to sleep! “

Seven months after Mary retired, she died in her sleep. She never married.

By the way, 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. Fitting for a woman who never stopped climbing.

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Do You Know the AGBI?

It is the American Genealogical Biographical Index and one of the most essential printed genealogical sources in the United States. But I did not always know that. It was a hint, a source in Ancestry.com that would come up periodically on my New England ancestors. I never really understood it except for it to confirm a birth or some other fact. Ah, the ignorance of the early days!  

Recently, I looked back at some older entries in my family tree to see if I could find new leads on some of my more elusive ancestors. One was Margaret Car(r), my 6th great-grandmother. She married John Logan, the ancestor who came to Connecticut through Massachusetts. Although I know John came from Ireland, I do not know anything about Margaret before she came to Connecticut. Although I know they married in Massachusetts.  

One of the first clues I looked at again was the AGBI. In researching it, I came across a blog by Diane B. of OneRhodeIslandFamily.com. In it, she wrote, “The Boston Transcript was a Boston, Massachusetts newspaper that regularly carried a page of genealogical questions and answers. That feature ran for several decades in the late 1800s/early 1900s.” And, it is indexed in the AGBI!  

Even more exciting was learning that I can order them and over 800 printed genealogies and other compiled sources from the Godfrey Memorial Library. From their website, “Godfrey Memorial Library is the owner and publisher of the American Genealogical Biographical Index (AGBI), which contains more than four million names, statistics, and sources for research, including local histories, church and vital records, military lists, and more. It also includes over two million records from the Boston Transcript. AGBI is the largest and most important genealogical reference set ever published, and clearly the best starting point to find any early New England settlers. This is an index to the books and periodicals on our shelves.”

This is what it looks like in Ancestry.com.

Did I just stumble upon a gold mine? We’ll soon find out, as I mailed out my request a couple of days ago. I printed out their order form, and for $10 each entry, I can soon find out what they know about my ancestor.  

You, too, can access this gold mine at https://www.godfrey.org/agbi.html. Print and fill out the order form, then use the information from the AGBI index for each ancestor requested. I limited myself to three ancestors, including Margaret.  

Another source attached to Margaret is regarding her marriage in Marshfield, Massachusetts, to John, titled “Mayflower Source Records.” Upon closer inspection, it was from the New England Historical and Genealogical Register called the “Mayflower Source Records: Primary Data Concerning Southeastern Massachusetts, Cape Cod, and the Islands of Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard” by Gary Boyd Rogers. It’s a source of material where the majority of the descendants of the Mayflower Pilgrims settled by the end of the 18th century. Am I, or is Margaret, descended from a Mayflower passenger?  

Exciting stuff! New revelations to dig up for sure.  

Thanks for reading!

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Working the Dead Ends

If you’re reading this hoping to get great clues on finding your brick walls, do not get too excited. I do have a few for you, though. 

Today, I searched for more of my dead ends using techniques taught to me by fellow family historians and professional genealogists. They provide some great tips and websites for research.  

One such tip is to get the most out of Google™ searches using “Boolean Operators.” Here are some examples.

From the Southern Adventist University

Some others are:

*

Acts as a wildcard and will match any word or phrase.

Example: christmas*trees 

( )

Group multiple terms or search operators to control how the search is executed.

Example: (Christmas OR trees) decorations

$

Search for prices. Also works for Euro (€), but not GBP (£) 🙁

Example: Samsung $329

define:

A dictionary built into Google. 

Example: define:entrepreneur

cache:

Returns the most recent cached version of a web page (an old version of a web page) (provided the page is indexed, of course).

Example: cache:samsung.com

site:

Limit results to those from a specific website.

Example: site:samsung.com

related:

Find sites linked to a given domain.

Example: related:samsung.com

intitle:

Find pages with a specific word (or words) in the title. In our example, any results containing the word “Samsung” in the title tag will be returned.

Example: intitle:Samsung

allintitle:

Similar to “intitle,” only results containing all the specified words in the title tag will be returned.

Example: allintitle:Samsung android

Another excellent search tool in my research has been Google Books.

  • Go to Google search
  • Type a surname or subject and hit enter
  • Click on the “More” menu
  • Click on “Books.”
  • You can leave the search as is or click on “Any Books”
  • Then click on “Google EBooks” to search for books online.
  • Again, you can use the above Boolean Operators here.    

I used these techniques today, searching for brick walls of mine and some of my clients, family, and friends. I was able to find some information that may help, but I have many names that stump me at the moment. Here is just a sample of my particular toughies:

Abigail Soper (cannot find proof of last name)

Daniel Logan’s marriage record to the above Abigail

Margaret Johnson Carr 

Letitia Porterfield and John Rowan

John McMahan and Margaret Hargrove

Horace Case (could be John Horace Case)  

Himan Chapman and his wife, Ann

Kezia(h), who married Isaac Burns

Williams Morrison and Christina Spiker

Charles William Davis and Eliza Wake’s parents

Jožef Fugina

Katharina Ilić 

Andreas Henning 

Maria Kriese

Franz Sierotzki’s family

Josephine(a) Tesmer

Jesse Decatur Simmons (researching for my uncle) 😉 

There are many more, but these are my frustrating names now. I hope those searching these same names will find this blog, and we can collaborate.

 I have many emails to different historical societies, churches, and county clerks trying to gather information or possible avenues for me to search.  

Another great tool to find older, archived items is https://archive.org/.

For instance, go to that website and type in the search engine “Wood County, Ohio.” You get 1,147 results! Once you click a book or similar, you can then search inside the book itself.  

And, always, always work sideways! Research the siblings, the aunts, the uncles, and cousins. You will be amazed at what you can find. You can even find others who are researching the same family.  

So, do not give up. Keep trying and dig, dig, dig. I have broken many brick walls. It has sometimes taken years, but it happened.  

To all those reading, have a Merry Christmas, Festivus, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Boxing Day, Ōmisoka, or any other holiday you celebrate. Make beautiful memories together, and write them down for your descendants while you’re at it!

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Essential Tips for Ancestry Document Insights

Lately, I have been helping several people with their family history. One thing that they have in common is the same issue I ran into when I first started. They did not take full advantage of the document hint that was given to them when they were researching.

For instance, a man and I had both located a census on his relative. He took it at face value, only looking at the page that, in this instance, Ancestry® had provided. It showed the page of his ancestor and their children. However, when I looked at the same document, I found the wife’s family in the same census record. How? By using the back and forward arrows to look at the other pages in the census.

Most families tended to stay in the same neighborhood if not living together. In this case, they were neighbors. I’ve found that both sides of the family were neighbors up and down the street. Of course, with the inventions of cars, airplanes, and other transports, this won’t be the case for our generations and those that come after us; we move around more often.

Another common mistake is looking at the index only for information rather than the whole record. For instance, take this death record of my great-grandmother, Caroline Stitt Logan. The index shows her relevant details, such as her date of birth, date of death, etc.

But, if you click on the document, it shows her cause of death, the informant for the certificate (my great-grandfather signed it), where they lived, where her parents were from, and where her burial was.

Another example is this obituary that came up under Caroline’s name. If you only go by this index, then you would think that it is the obituary for Caroline, but it is not. It is for her father, William.

Click on the obit and look at all the information we have. It lists William’s father’s name and William’s children with their married names.

The most fascinating records to do this with are passenger lists and immigration paperwork. Not only can the passenger list tell you where your ancestor is going, but it can tell you where they are from and whom they are visiting. Some immigration paperwork will list family names, birth dates, etc. Depending on the time frame, you may even get a picture of the immigrant.

Dissect every document you can get your hands on. You never know what you may discover.

But what if there is no image to click on when you find an index? Look at the film number or the “source information” at the bottom of the index. For instance, here is the index for Elizabeth Hennig.

There is no document to click on and dissect. But, there is “Source Information.”

The source information tells me that the original data can be found in FamilySearch. After pulling up FamilySearch.org, click “Search” and “Records.” Then “Restrict Records By” “Film Number.” Enter the film number found on the Ancestry index. In this case, it is film number 527772. Once there, you click on the link it provides and then the film number from the index.

Click on the magnifying glass next to the record your researching, in this case, the 527772.

It would help if you remembered that humans indexed and scanned these records. Sometimes there is no rhyme or reason for how they scanned the images. If you are lucky, they are by date, but sometimes they are scanned in randomly. It would serve you well if you were patient.

Then go back, as you have been doing, and look at older records that you may have placed an index hint to and see if you can get more information from that source. You may be surprised!

Good luck! Let me know if you need assistance.

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Malebysse to Beckwith- 25 Generations (Logan Family)

UPDATED 3/2021: There is speculation about how our Beckwith line connects with the Yorkshire Beckwiths. More research is needed. Beware of “The Beckwiths,” Paul Edmond Beckwith, Albany, 1891. This genealogy, which contains a totally fabricated English lineage, is filled with errors, has a son Benjamin2, who never existed, and was thoroughly debunked in “The American Genealogist” articles by Simeon Fox. This genealogy is not recommended by the Society of the Descendants of the Founders of Hartford.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sir Hugh de Malebisse (Malbisse, Malebysse, Malbis), one of the Norman knights who accompanied the Conqueror to England and served in the Battle of Hastings, is my 25th great-grandfather. That’s right, 25th!  

“Sir Hugh de Malbisse held lands (in Yorkshire), time of William the Conqueror” is all the Domesday Book says about him.  (The Domesday Book or “Book of Winchester” is a manuscript record of the “Great Survey” of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William the Conqueror.)  Since he was a Norman, he must have had a fair complexion and a tall height. When he fought in Hastings, he wore “a leather coat of tough bull hide.” According to the book “The Beckwiths” by Paul Beckwith, the leather coat would have had metal rings sown upon it, just touching each other. The coat and breeches would have been one piece with a casque of metal at the breast gilded and painted. He would have had gloves of leather and sheepskin covering his legs. He must have been a formidable figure in 1066 A.D. 

He married Emma de Percy, daughter of Henry de Percy of Acaster.  (There is a lot of confusing information in different books on who this Emma married.  Some say she married Hugh’s son, Richard. Others say she married a William.) I am more inclined to believe the original writers of history, such as the Madox, Hist. of Exchequer, i. 316, which states that the first Hugh was married to the daughter of Henry de Percy.  

Madox was a legal antiquary and historian known for his publication and discussion of medieval records and charters, particularly his History of the Exchequer, tracing the administration and records of that branch of the state from the Norman Conquest to the time of Edward II. It became a standard work for the study of English medieval history. He held the office of historiographer royal from 1708 until his death.

Hugh had three sons. Richard, Hugh (2), and Galfred.  This Hugh (2) is our direct line. He married first, Emma de Bray.  I am not finding much on this, Hugh. His brother, Richard, seems to take up much of the glory, or in this case, scandal.  More on him later. Hugh’s (2) will be proven in the third year of the reign of King Stephen, 1138. Galfred gave all his land to God and became the first Prior at the monastery of Newbo of Lincolnshire in 1142.

By the way, Richard, whom I mentioned before, was an interesting, cruel fellow.  He was a justiciar, held Acaster in 1176, and was a forester for Yorkshire (Madox, i. 316).  But then things changed for dear ‘ole Richard.  

He was one of the leaders in the savage attack on and massacre of the Jews at York in 1190 (Will. Newburgh, i. 321, Rolls Ser.) As a punishment for his share in this outrage his lands were seized by the king. Malebysse appears to have been a supporter of Earl John, and in consequence he was one of those who were excommunicated by William de Longchamp in December 1191 (Hoveden, iii. 153). In 1193 he paid a fine of twenty marks for the recovery of his lands till the king’s return, and eventually paid six hundred marks for full restoration (Madox, Hist. of Exchequer, i. 473, 483).  Richard Malebysse

Evidently, he owed many debts to “the Jews” and was known as “the Evil Beast’.  On hearing the news of the southern outbreaks, he and various members of the Percy, Faulconbridge, and Darrel families determined to seize the opportunity to wipe out their indebtedness.  One hundred and fifty Jews were killed.  The entire Jewish community was wiped out!  More can be read in the Jewish Encyclopedia.

However, after about ten years, Richard is back.  

After the accession of John, Malebysse comes into some prominence. In June 1199, he, or it may be his brother Hugh, was sent as an envoy to Scotland to William the Lion to demand homage. In July 1200, he had a license to fortify Wheldrake Castle, but the permission was withdrawn at the request of the citizens of York. In May 1201, he was sent on a mission to the king of Scots to ask him to defer his answer to Northumberland until Michaelmas (Hoveden, iv. 91, 117, 163–4). Malebysse was a justice itinerant for Yorkshire in 1201 and next year sat to acknowledge fines at Westminster. In 1204, he was employed to enforce the payment of aid. He was keeper of the forests of Galtres, Derwent, and Wernedale. He died in 1209.

We must take the bad with the good in our family history. 

Back to my direct line.  Hugh (2) and Emma had Simon.  He was lord of Cowton in Craven, England, and married a daughter of John, Lord of Methley.  I do not know much about Simon either. More research needs to be done.  

Simon had Hercules de Malebysse.  Hercules married Lady Beckwith Bruce, daughter of Sir William Bruce of Uglebarnby and heiress of an estate named Beckwith. He retained the Malbisse escutcheon (his coat of arms) and assumed Beckwith as a surname during the period when surnames were being adopted in England. Beckwith was the name of his wife’s estate.  So, the Beckwith surname was passed down. At this time, they still use “de Beckwith”. Lady Beckwith and Hercules had Nicolas de Beckwith born in 1260. He married a woman by the last name of Chaworth, but nothing more is known.  

Nicolas and his wife had Hamon in 1294.  Hamon married a daughter of Sir Philip Sydney. He was the first of the family to drop the use of the particle “de” in the surname.  Hamon and Anne had William in 1316. William and “unknown” Usfleet had Thomas. Thomas and “unknown” Sawley had Adam. He married (second) Elizabeth Malebisse, widow of John Heringe. His children were all by his first wife, name unknown.  His first wife and he had William. William married a daughter of Sir John Baskerville, a descendant of English and French ancestry, who traced his lineage to the Emperor Charlemagne (don’t we all).

I’ll run through our line in this paragraph as I know the names; I just haven’t researched them.  William and his wife had Thomas, who died in 1495. Thomas had Robert, who had John, who had Robert, who had Robert. This Robert made his will on October 6, 1536, and died before March following.  Robert had Marmaduke Beckwith in 1567.

In 1597 he sold Clint and purchased Fetherstone and Aikton (or Acton).   Among his numerous children was William Beckwith, the founder of the Virginia line of Beckwiths, who landed in America in 1607. He sailed from England in the ship “Phoenix” and arrived with Captain John Smith at Jamestown, Va. (I’ll be researching this little gem!)

This immigrant ancestor and progenitor of the Beckwiths of New England and those branches of the family, which are offshoots of the New England lines, was born in England about the year 1610. The history of his life from when he came to America is somewhat obscure. 

He is found early in Hartford, Conn. Here, he bought the homestead of William Pratt, one of the original proprietors of Hartford, in 1645. About 1652, he was in the same colony at New London and Lyme, his land lying in both towns. It is judged from the size of his real estate holdings that he was a man of considerable wealth.

He was able to give land to his sons liberally, and it is recorded that in 1675, thirty acres of additional land were granted to him, all of which he gave to his son, Joseph Beckwith. 

UPDATE March 2021: There is a question that the connection between Matthew 1 (b. 1610 or maybe 1612) and the Beckwiths of Yorkshire seems inaccurate/undocumented. 

Matthew Beckwith occupied a prominent place in the community and was one of its most prominent citizens. He was killed on October 21, 1680, “by a fall in a dark night down a ledge of rocks.”

There are many books about the Malebisse family.  You can research yourself at Google Books.  

Sources:

(WordPress will not let me cite them properly without upgrading to the Business Plan!)

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/domesday/

“The Beckwiths”: Beckwith, Paul (Paul Edmond), 1848-1907 ….” 3 Jun. 2009, https://archive.org/details/thebeckwiths00beck.

From https://www.foundersofhartford.org/the-founders/matthew-beckwith/ Genealogy not recommended: “The Beckwiths,” Paul Edmond Beckwith, Albany, 1891. This genealogy, which contains a totally fabricated English lineage, is filled with errors, has a son Benjamin2, who never existed, and was thoroughly debunked in “The American Genealogist” articles by Simeon Fox.

There are several pamphlets entitled “Beckwith Notes,” intended to correct some of the “The Beckwiths” errors, but these only marginally help.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Madox

“Justiciar – Wikipedia.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justiciar

“Malebysse, Richard (DNB00) – Wikisource, the free online library.” 30 Jun. 2016, https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Malebysse,_Richard_(DNB00)

http://www.svsu.edu/library/archives/public/follett/documents/152_168/KFP152_08.pdf

http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/15122-york

 “Malebysse, Richard (DNB00) – Wikisource, the free online library.” 30 Jun. 2016, https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Malebysse,_Richard_(DNB00)

 “The history of the state of Rhode Island and Providence ….” http://www.ebooksread.com/authors-eng/thomas-williams-bicknell/the-history-of-the-state-of-rhode-island-and-providence-plantations-volume-8-kci/page-59-the-history-of-the-state-of-rhode-island-and-providence-plantations-volume-8-kci.shtml

Thank you for reading. As always, please let me know if you see any errors.

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Reconnecting

Thanksgiving is a time to be with family, and it is also a great way to reconnect with family as well. Yesterday I took my mother to her sister’s house for Thanksgiving. All her siblings were there too. Mom is seventy-six but has been sick for the last couple of years and hasn’t visited face-to-face with them.

It was a pleasant visit. My two aunts and my uncle were there. My son, mom, and I. My cousin, his wife, and children came. We Facetimed with his brother, wife, and cousin, who are out of the country. And we also spoke with another cousin on the phone who is out of state. Isn’t technology grand? 

My uncle has been researching his own family history for decades. He has run into the proverbial brick wall with his great-grandfather. I asked him to send me the name, and I would see what I could find out. My uncle also spoke to me about passing on his research to his children or grandchildren. He is 80 and has some medical issues; therefore, he would like to make sure his research lives on.  

He thinks one of his granddaughters is interested, but like me at her age, they are not just into family history just yet. I hope she finds the bug and at least ensures his ancestry is preserved for generations to come.  

That is why I keep telling my son specific stories I find that I think will pique his interest. I want him to preserve my ancestry research too. 

Everyone should have at least one family historian in their family. It is a vital way to keep our history alive!  

If you need help with your research, visit https://loganalogy.com/family-tree-research-specialist/. I also offer one on one and group tutoring as well as consults. Helping you find your ancestry is my passion.

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Getting The Most Out Of Your Family History Research

To get the most out of your family history takes time. You need to research and verify facts and sources. Sometimes you need to order documents. But, what you get out of it is so much more than the time and money you spend. It helps you to understand your family members a little bit more, and it may just help you to understand yourself a bit too.

And, don’t underestimate your children. As I explained in my Family History for Children blog, children are very curious and avid learners of their history. A good age, in my opinion, is about 4th grade.

There are many online programs out there to help you find records but do not ignore the many other outlets that can help you. I have reached out to many other researchers and genealogists in the past to help guide me in the right direction. Some I have hired to look up documents for me in a place I was not able to go to myself. Also, see my post on using Facebook to help you in your research.

Maybe you are not curious enough about your family roots to spend hours digging through historical databases. That is where Family History Researchers like myself can help.

At www.loganalogy.com, there are many ways in which I can assist you in your family history research. I not only blog about my ancestors and family research in general, but I also offer other services.

An online genealogy basics class, I provide one-on-one tutoring as well as group tutoring in the Florida, online consultations, and I offer my Family History Research Specialist service.

So, visit me at www.loganalogy.com today, and let’s build something together! 

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Born in America, 99.9 % European

While lying in bed last night, I was thinking about my ancestors. I know, weird, right? It is amazing that 23andMe shows my DNA makeup is 99.9% European. Europe is such a diverse continent with so many countries within it as it covers the whole Northern Hemisphere and many of the Eastern Hemisphere. It has over double the number of countries than North America. But, believe it or not, Europe has the least number of languages spoken, with 286 languages in 2015 compared to 1,064 in North and South America.  

29.7% is German and French, with most of my German being in Bavaria, Hamburg, Hesse, and Rhineland-Palatine. The French connection is in Switzerland, mainly in Canton of Bern and Grisons, although I haven’t found these connections yet.  

23.9% is British and Irish with the United Kingdom of Greater London, Glasgow City, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, West Midlands, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, Merseyside, Belfast, and Kent. In Ireland, we have County Dublin, County Cork, County Cavan, County Galway, County Mayo, County Leitrim, County Kilkenny, County Wicklow, County Longford, and County Louth. 

2.2% of my British and Irish are Scandinavian and Northwestern European. 13.9& is Eastern European. 1.8% is Southern European, which consists of Italy and the Mediterranean. 9.1% is “Broadley European,” explained by 23andMe as Neolithic farmers from western Asia joined Paleolithic hunter-gatherers to settle in Europe.  And, .1% of the European DNA is Ashkenazi Jewish.

So, what is the .1%? It is in southern South Asia. This area consists of these countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Interesting. I doubt I’ll find that .1%.  

The diversity it amazing to me. I have come so far in my research in the last 25 years, but looking at these regions, I have so much more to go. It is an exciting challenge to find these places in my research as I did with my Slovenian and Croatian connections in Eastern Europe. And my Scottish links in Northern Europe.  

I am proud of my European ancestry. Maybe that’s why I am addicted to all the European shows on Britbox and Acorn! 😉  

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From Scoundrel to Governor Matthew Rowan (Logan Family)

I have always wondered and had a feeling that my Rowan family had some connection to Rowan, North Carolina. I was right! My 6th great uncle, Matthew Rowan, is the connection. He started as a bit of a scoundrel but became Governor of North Carolina for a time.  

Julie Lane was studying stories from her roots in Maine. She found in archives and museums that Captain Matthew Rowan wasn’t always a good guy. The Irish ship Martha & Eliza sailed from Londonderry, Northern Ireland, on July 28, 1741, bound for Newcastle, Pennsylvania, on the Delaware River. According to the article at Working Waterfront Archives,

The ship was known as a snow (a square-rigged vessel), a 90-foot, two-misted bark commonly used to transport passengers and goods from Ireland to the colonies. The boat must have been severely overloaded with some 200 paying passengers. The captain was Matthew Rowen.  

After about four weeks, the ship was caught up in a hurricane and drifted around the north Atlantic for several weeks during which time the captain lost his bearings. Fever swept through those on board, as well as starvation, and many passengers died. At one point, a passing vessel, also in distress from the storm and low supplies, provided the ship with biscuits and water. On Oct. 28the crippled ship, her human cargo severely debilitated, finally drifted ashore among the islands around Grand Manan, fabled in ship’s lore as the site of more than 250 shipwrecks, according to Eric Allaby, an island historian.

After evacuating the passengers from the disabled ship and dispersing them in groups on three small islands, with no provisions, Captain Rowan and his crew reportedly sailed in the ship’s longboat to Fort Frederick at Pemaquid, where they “tarried.” As for the passengers, they were left to fend for themselves, creating rude shelters from parts of the derelict ship and eating shellfish and seaweed.  

Many of them died, but thanks to the discovery of their plight by Passamaquoddy Indians, a small group of passengers eventually arrived in Midcoast Maine, where a few of them remained and married local people.  

Passamaquoddy tribal members took letters from the abandoned survivors of the island shipwreck to St.George, Maine, paddling 100 miles on behalf of the stranded Irish emigrants. The letter they delivered finally brought about the rescue of the remaining stranded passengers, including Isabel Galloway and her infant. The child’s father had died, and Isabel soon married Warren farmer Archibald Gamble, with whom she had more children. The surviving infant, Isabel’s son Robert Galloway, grew to boyhood but was lost at sea at age 17. Lane said there may be Gamble descendants in the area today, as well as descendants of other survivors. Isabel is said to have given tribal members a warm welcome in Warren, unlike neighbors who considered them threatening savages.  Read more here  Read also Fisherman’s Voice

Despite his reputed smuggling activities, Rowan became a respectable member of society in North Carolina. He was never convicted or sought after for any crimes against humanity. It is recorded that he was a “Church Warden” in Bath in 1726. In 1727, after moving to the Cape Fear region, Matthew became a member of the Colonial Assembly; in 1731 was on the executive council, and in 1735 was part of the team that surveyed the boundary line between North and South Carolina and was appointed surveyor-general of the colony. Four years later was named to the Governor’s Council as Acting Governor. Thirty different letters and minutes mention Matthew from 1731 to 1754. You can peruse them at Documenting the American South, Colonial, and State Records of North Carolina.  

Matthew had an illegitimate son with Jane Stubbs but married his brother John’s widow, Elizabeth. They did not have any children together, but she did have four daughters with John, whom Matthew provided for at least once in his will and his son, John.

Matthew Rowan was born in about 1703 to Reverand John Rowan and Margaret Stewart in County Antrim, Ireland. Sometime around 1726, he immigrated to America as a shipbuilder and merchant.  In the book,

History of North Carolina: From 1584 to 1783
By Samuel A’Court Ashe

It states that Matthew Rowan came from Ireland to North Carolina around 1724-26 to build a ship or two for people in Dublin. The building of ships was an established industry in the colony then.

Rowan County was named after Matthew in 1753. Initially, Rowan included the entire northwestern sector of North Carolina, with no clear western boundary, but its size was reduced as several counties were split off. 

Matthew died on his plantation, Rowan Plantation (known as Roan), in April 1760. It is said he owned 26 slaves and over 9,000 acres at the time of his death.  

A complicated, wealthy man he was. Shipbuilder, merchant, scoundrel, politician, and governor.

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