I’m Linda Stufflebean and I have been a family history researcher since 1979. Most of my friends would agree that I’m a genealogy addict. In addition to doing some professional work, I have been a volunteer teacher here in Tucson for ten years. Through the years, I have visited numerous repositories, court houses and cemeteries in the quest for details about the lives of my ancestors. Of course, there have been brick walls along the way. I have been fortunate to find ways to knock down – or march around – many of them and decided to focus this blog on some of my methods and how I’ve had to think outside the box to find success. I’ll also share great (mostly free) resources I come across and, last but not least, hope to connect with many distant cousins.
Hello Linda, when doing Google search for William Williams and Judith Saunders, it brought me to your website. I am working on a book on Matthew Pryor and his descendants (5 generations) and believe you (or your husband) is from son William. I am from another son Philip. I also saw the Rector article you listed and I am a Rector descendant, too, as Philip’s wife was Elizabeth Rector. I plan to do a short chapter on William Williams because of his several daughters who married Pryors and would love to have your help with this if you have done a good amount of work on them or can refer me to a good source. Thank you.
Hi Linda, I have read with great pleasure your blog containing the Astle family history. For many years, I have searched for the family origin of Elizabeth Astle of Derby, who married Thomas Porter of Fredericton on 1 September 1874 at Chatham, NB.
This couple lived on the Miramichi, Fredericton & finally in Everett, Victoria County, NB on the Tobique River.
Elizabeth (Astles) Porter’s death certificate (2 August 1927 at Everett, Victoria Co., NB) gives John Astle & __Sturgen as her parents, info provided by her son Sylvanus Porter. It states that Elizabeth was born 10 April 1854 in Miramichi. I have found one Elizabeth Astle, age 8, in the 1861 census of Derby, NB who could possibly be the correct age, d/o John & Elizabeth. In 1871 Lizzie Astle, 17y, is a servant living in Derby with Ann Parker, age 59 (perhaps a daughter of Christopher & Ann). In the 1861 census, Ann Parker, 37y, “Sickly-Blind” ,was living with mother Ann, 56y-Inn Keeper. I would be grateful for any info you may have concerning Elizabeth Astle wife of Thomas Porter which could link her to previous generations of the Astle family. Elizabeth was my husband’s paternal great grandmother.
The family had always said that we have Holland Dutch ancestry. Years ago some one my father met at work (I believe he was from or lived in Germany) told dad that meant or probably meant Holland Deutsch. When I first got a PC and the internet (back in the mid to late ’90’s) I was able to find something on “Holland Deutsch”, but several (or little more) computers and moves later I can’t find the information. When I try to look up the term how, I can’t find anything on the net. Have you heard this term before and if so, do you know what area of Germany it would be referring to? All I remember is it was in the area where France, Germany and Switzerland are now. I have found some of my Paternal grandmother’s (Hacker) in records on Ancestry that indicate that they came from Rußheim, Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Would this area be what is meant by Holland Deutsch?
You wrote a piece about Processioners records and I see those records were from Washington County, Kentucky. Could you tell me where you found these please. This is exactly what I have been looking for.
Thank you in Advance.
My comments about Passaic General Hospital seemed to disappear because I rambled on a bit. Hope that is because you look them over before they are posted.
I wanted to add that the German interpreting by my teenage self at Passaic General Hospital die did meander around slowly in the direction of becoming a certified German > English translator and teaching legal translation at the U of Chicago’s Graham School. And I am in the process of ferreting out relatives who have been in Staten Island since Dutch & Huegenot times, so I am looking forward to reading your postings on geneaogical research. Cheers & thanks again,
Hey Linda!
I believe we are distantly related. I’m a descendant of Jedediah Fairweather. I really enjoyed that land grant you posted about Benedict Arnold!
Hi, I am a descendant of John Stufflebean. I am trying to find a document that shows the relationship of John to his son Michael “Charles”. I have read and reread this beautiful document of the Stufflebean family, and I just cant find the connection on paper. Any help would be appreciated.
Hi Rhonda. It’s nice to meet another Stufflebean cousin. I’ve emailed you the marriage record for Michael Stufflebean and Elizabeth Baker. He isn’t Michael Charles. George Baker split Michael’s name between two lines of script and separated them as Mi Chael, which someone at some point misread as Charles.
Hi Linda,
My name is Jim Miller. I really enjoy your research on the Jacob Miller line. My family is from Muhlenberg Co Ky and I’m almost positive Jacob is my 7th GG. My line is Jacob, Martin Miller Sr., Jacob, Martin, Alfred Jackson, Martin Ephraim, Cairl Eugene, Darrell Ross, and then me. I am not a real hi tech researcher unfortunately but my email is Jmill1880@aol.com if you have any more info on Jacobs’s parents. I used to be on Ancestry but I am not anymore. I remember seeing someones tree listing Christian as a father for Jacob and going a long way back to Germany when the name was Mueller ? Anyway thanks for your hard work and dedication . I am an Illinois guy but am really proud of my KY roots !
I love genealogy .
Hi Linda! I have recently become interested in researching my family genealogy, and it took me to your blog. I am a descendant of Joseph Ketchum. He was my gggg grandfather. I found your research so interesting and enlightening. I had had no idea about Elsee Larrison and would love to find out more about her and her family. Have you found anything new about them since your post, or maybe the name of her first husband? If you encounter any new research concerning them, I’d be really excited to know. Thank you so much!
Hi Linda
I just discovered your blog and enjoyed it very much. I will visit you more. I started serious research in 1965 when my 2 sons started school giving me some day-time hours for myself. I dedicated every Tuesday for years as MY day and I spent the full day at the Fort Worth Public library. I was sort of an anomaly as a young woman in my 20s and all of the DAR ladies took me under their wings and I had some really great teachers.
I studied the Claunch family and others and at the time the only published material I found was the sources you listed about Virginia. A limited amount of microfilm was available, and I searched it all. I purchased my first Tandy home computer about 1985 to get a better handle on organizing. When the internet became available for home use I put my Claunch research, already about 25 years’ worth, online. My data was on the first CD produced by Ancestry and has been available since. I enjoy sharing and have kept my database online since about 1993 including a home page, that I no longer have.
Matt Claunch, his wife and I became very good friends since our lines connect through Grainger County, Tennessee, and St. Clair County, Alabama. Matt was a wonderful researcher. I am 80 years old now and am so happy to see others carrying on the research and discovering new data as more information is made available on the internet. Genealogy Is A Labor Of Love.
It is always fun to hear from someone else who started researching BI – before the internet. Family history really is a lifelong activity, isn’t it? Congratulations on staying up to date online, too.
I just discovered your blog, and noticed you have no “brick walls.” I would be more than happy to give you a few if you get bored! Thanks for all the interesting information, which I receive through Randy Seaver’s blog.
I wish I had no brick walls. 🙂 I do have a few, but they are quite solid at this point – Slovak ancestors with church records only back to 1800, Southern ancestors in my husband’s tree who lived on the frontier and even a handful of New Englanders for whom no maiden names have been uncovered. Who are some of your brick walls and where did they live?
Yours is the first hopeful source of information I have reached in looking for my grandmother’s birth parents. We know only that her father was William Larrison from New Jersey, very likely, Burlington. We do not know her mother’s name, but her full name was Emma May Larrison. Family lore tells us that she was raised by another family, the Creamers, also from Burlington, and we lately discovered that she is buried in the Creamer family plot in Arlington cemetery, Camden County, New Jersey. Can you direct me to any other sources that might help us identify my great-grandfather? MANY THANKS! Carolyn Lembeck, State College, Pa.
This message is significantly delayed, but it is sincere–just as sincere as it would have been if I had written it earlier. I want you to know how much I appreciate your thorough and thoughtful review of the 4th edition of “The Researcher’s Guide to American Genealogy.” It is nice to know that my work on this project is appreciated. The update from the 3rd edition was full-time job for three years. I am pleased that there are people out there who think my effort was worthwhile.
Your book was and will continue to be a classic. Thank you for all four editions. 🙂
Linda,
Many thanks for your mention of my erstwhile posts on Vita Brevis – I appreciate someone of your high standards and experience reading my work and thoughts!
Kind regards,
Jeff Record
A post from 2015 has 2 funeral cards One from Michael Wancho & one from his son Henry.
Michael was my uncle. Henry my cousin. They were much beloved in life, & not forgotten in death.
I am in contact w. Michael’s grandchildren & henry’s nieces & nephew.
If there is a way to obtain these original cqrds, please let me know. It would mean the world to us.
Thank you,
Hi Linda,
I am a descendant of Samuel Robertson and wife Elizabeth Harris. I also have been doing family research and have much on Samuel’s sons and daughters. My great great grandfather was his son James. James was married first to Nancy Wheeler and they had 7 children. His second wife was Susan and they had no children. Samuel’s son William married Nancy and they went to Indiana about the same time as James and Nancy. They had about 8 children and they are my brick wall although I have the names of 2 daughters, Ann and Margaret. I possibly have more children but have been unable to “prove” about them. I have the 3 daughters of James and Nancy about whom you evidently didn’t know. They all married and had children and I have court documents naming James’ children.
Regarding James’ sister Henrietta– I was never certain whether to put Caroline Matilda as her daughter or the daughter of her husband’s second wife.
I don’t know if you would be interested in my research. I am 87 years old and none of my immediate family is interested but I have a great deal of information on the Robertsons.
Samuel was born in Virginia and his father was Jacob Robertson and mother Martha possibly Headon or Heaton. I have copies of documents when Samuel sold his property in Caswell County NC and went to KY.
Hi Linda
I saw your digitized picture of an old gem-sized tintype photo. It is very clear and well done. I have several dozen gem-sized tintypes, and I would like to digitize them. Can you indicate the method you used?
Thanks
Hi Linda (lovely name BTW),
Thanks for the link to my article “How to tackle your first big scanning project.” Now I’m over here, I’ve been pleasurably exploring your site for the past hour. What a collection of resources you have here!
Warmly,
Linda 🙂
Hello Linda,
I’m interested in the Lewis Family as one of my cousins is David Lewis Field, so far we have not found the connection. I suspect I’m close as Sueanne Field listed a David Lewis as a boundry neighbor to Joseph Field , Roberts son. That puts him back 7 generations from our common ancestor, William. b1698.
Kim Fields
Hi Kim, Other than working on my husband’s direct line, I’ve done little work on the Lewis family. Be aware, though, that even with David Lewis Field, there might not be a family tie at all. Some of my ancestors just gave middle names and first/middle names of neighbors/ ministers or well-to-do families nearby to their own children with no ties even by marriage.
Linda: I want to thank you for listing my recent post, “Revisiting The Issue of Tense in Writing About Ancestors,” among your Friday Finds this week. I am honored to be mentioned and appreciate it very much. Thank you.
John
Hi Linda,
I am a decendant of William Lawrence who sailed with his mother Joanna on the Planter 1635.
Prior to reading your article I had wondered if there was a connection with John Tuttle of the Tuttle farm in New Hapshire. Thanks for clearing that up.
The oldest item I have of the Lawrence family is from the grt grandson of William. A duel letter presented to John Lawrence in 1780. John Lawrence was part of the 1st militia formed that joined the British when they arrived in New York 1776.
My wife and I spent our 25th anniversary in the UK. We didnt make it to St Albans but had lunch at Ashton Hall near Lancaster which has Lawrence history.
I wish I had also know about the Northern Ireland connection to Joanna you wrote of as we also visited there.
Thanks for the extra research information.
Linda … I am a family researcher also (not as diligent as you, however) and found your blog while researching Mary Butterworth. Your name rang a bell and I found it among the the list of “possible relatives” from my Ancestry DNA (we are ‘umpti-ump’ cousins at some level – still haven’t figured out those relationships!). You blogs are priceless, I have been reading for the past couple of weeks and filling in blanks left and right. We share about 8 or so great-grandparents (all in the 9th and 10th generation back – I am of your generation) but our families go in separate paths with a generation or two. These include Sampson Mason and Mary Butterworth (thank you!), Francis Dane and Elizabeth Ingalls, Thomas Gardner (of Cape Ann – my 9th ggf William Allen was there also), Joseph Grafton and Mary Moore, William Haskell and Mary Tybott, Ira Hicks and Sarah Thornton, Phillip Torrey and Alice ?, and William Warren and Abigail Baker?. I started this about 20 some odd years ago and have enjoyed every minute – have met ‘family’ and friends along the way. Again, I thank you for ll the work you have put in ‘cousin’.
Hi Linda!
We obviously are related, as my mother was a Stufflebeam. I’ve enjoyed reading your emptybranhesonthe familytree! I’ve learned some things I didn’t know, so thank you for that information. I continue doing genealogy on the Stufflebeams. My great grandfather and grandfather Stufflebeam are from the Waverly, Iowa area. Thanks for filling in some of my brick walls!
Linda, Several years ago you sent me “Loyalist John Adams” which contained my family history; James Adams, Deer Island, Charlotte, New Bruswick, Canada. I’m just starting to work on that family branch and I’m trying to find out what happen to James’ daughter Elizabeth J Adams Gray. I’m finding that Ancestery. Com is not reliable and has many errors in it. It states that she died in Medina, Ohio in 1916 even though she lived her whole life in Brewer, Maine and another record shows her living at 148 Main Street, Brewer, Maine in 1899. I can’t find anything else. I was just wondering if you had found anything else on her to get me started. She married Stillman Gray in 15 June, 1864. Thank You
Linda, my brothers and I are related to you on my mother’s side through George Giddings.
Hello Linda! My sister stumbled on your blog while doing research on our Thompson and forwarded it to me as I do most of the deep diving. That said we have been researching out Thompson tree since about 1990. And while we have found a tremendous amount of “crumbs” and other information, our Stone Wall is ca. 1800. That is the year our ggg-grandfather, John, and ggg-grandmother, Christiana, had their first child, Robert. About ten years ago, I became aware of John & Precille Thompson living in then Lincoln County , Virginia. And the relationship of Laurence Thompson to this John. And that this Laurence Thompson’s daughter, Margaret, married Amor Stalcop (Stalcup) in 1792. in Mercer County, KY. The connection?? John and Christiana had a son, my direct ancestor, named John “Stalcup” Thompson! I have several instances, documents, where he signed his full name and demonstrates he was literate. Recently I have been putting as much of my pieces of information into a timeline/migration route outline. It has opened more areas to search than closed! Fun. Do you know when Laurence Thompson, his parents and siblings migrated to Kentucky? I have found information that they were there as early as 1783, possibly 1781. John & Precille’s daughter married John Robison20 Dec 1783 in Lincoln Cty, Virginia. And I can link Laurence to Ann, Evan and John (Jr I assume) Thompson. In addition, a Laurence, Evan and a John (father or son?) signed the petition to the Virginia Legislature in 1784 for a town charter for Harrodsburg. THere is more. Are you aware of all this information? Does it have meaning for you?? Do you have any leads information that might help me? And I do have more but this is a limited space. I hope you will contact me, directly is very fine. I am retired, 73 and live in Seattle.
Hello! My grandma was Eula Nettie Stufflebeem Ross (23 September 1892 – March 1974). She was of the Tulare Judicial Township, Tulare, California branch. Her parents were John Wesley and Laura Robertson. Uncle Jolly and Laura were two of my most favorite people when I was little! I recognize so many of the surnames you list due to my own tree building. All the photos on Family Search and various websites were posted by me. The oldest being my moms ggrandmother Minerva Herd Matthews. It’s too bad we can’t post photos here. I am pretty sure I have a few of me as a toddler with Jolly and Laura either in Bonsall CA or in Orange County CA in their trailer park.-
John Wesley Stufflebeem
1854–1927 • MF6Y-T9Q
Marriage: 1885
California, United States
Laura B. Robertson
1866–1949 • KH5P-VCB
Children of Laura B. Robertson and John Wesley Stufflebeem
Jolly Wesley Stufflebeem
1887–1983 • KCXZ-2S6
Eulah Nettie Ross STUFFLEBEEM
1892–1974 • LB23-5HN
William Melvin Stufflebeem
1899–1979 • K816-4KY
William Jacob Robertson
1831–1899 • KFY2-57W
Marriage: 7 AUG 1853
Minerva Herd Mathews
1833–1923 • KFR4-JB4
Children of Minerva Herd Mathews and William Jacob Robertson (9)
Frances Ellen Hill (This was not a photo I posted nor a child I attached to the tree personally)
1849–1881 • LHFW-GVF
Step –
William Jacob Robertson
Matilda Jane Hill
1852–1890 • LHFW-5MK
Step –
William Jacob Robertson
Franklin Pearce Robertson
1855–1928 • LBZL-M5Y
Janettie Ore Robertson
1857–1950 • KCF4-QGX
George Nelson Robertson
1860–1953 • LHF4-MQW
William Marion Robertson
1860–1950 • K8BZ-BWV
Mary Irene ROBERTSON
1862–1862 • LHFW-RFG
Laura B. Robertson
1866–1949 • KH5P-VCB
James ROBERTSON
1870–Deceased • LHFW-R2
Hi. Thank you for the Parker info. Curious if you have done a DNA. Elizabeth Parker is my relation. 1776.
Thanks!
I have been looking into Samuel Tarbox of New Gloucester. His name came up while researching an individual named James Elwell in my husband’s line. James would be my husband’s 3rd g-grandfather.
I think it is possible that Samuel Tarbox may have have taken in James Elwell as a “bonded out/apprentice” child when James was quite young (maybe as young as three) because his father and maybe also his mother were dead by January 1769.
I wonder if you’ve ever come across information that may support such a claim in your research? I haven’t yet been able to go to the Gloucester, MA archives and look at the papers myself because of COVID (they aren’t digitized so far as I know) but my primary reason for wanting to do so is a note in an archive source that has been digitized on their site–see page page 30 of this link: http://gloucester-ma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/4579/Apprentices?bidId=
I believe Samuel Tarbox has a connection to the Stevens family by marriage. I also believe that the mother of “my” James was Elizabeth Stevens. Do you happen to know if your Stevens ancestors might have a connection as a wife, daughter, aunt, etc to Elizabeth Stevens of Gloucester MA who marries Jacob Elwell also of Gloucester in 1751?
PS. Early census records also show that Samuel Tarbox (and/or his son Samuel) lived nearby James Elwell in 1800, 1820, 1830, 1840 Federal Census in Pejepscot/Danville, ME.
Hi! I was excited to stumble across your blog. I have recently taken up the mantle of family historian. A stumbling block in the oral history my mother tried to get regarding her father’s side of the family was his mother’s refusal to discuss her family. Her name was Della Stufflebeam Richards of Arkansas. Thanks to you, I now have filled in a lot of blank spaces on the family tree!
Hello, I am a direct descendant of Joseph Riddle and his wife, Rhoda Monk Riddle through their daughter, Rhoda. Pleased to meet you.
Hello! Delighted to find your blog! Hoping you can help me. Can you tell me what document or documents identify the children of William Crabtree and Hannah Whitaker? The reason I am asking is DNA suggests overwhelmingly that I am in some way related to them. I have dozens and dozens of DNA matches who descend from Abraham Whitaker and Ann Poteet. The closest matches descend from William and Hannah. My 5th great grandfather was Valentine Choate, who was enumerated in Washington County, VA in 1782, along with William Crabtree and Thomas Byrd. There is some family connection between them. I have 17 DNA matches who descend from Thomas Byrd. They also share DNA with descendants of William and Hannah. His grandson, Alfred Byrd, was the marriage bondsman for my 3rd great grandparents. Valentine’s daughter, Naomi Choate, is my 4th great grandmother. I noticed your husband descends from a Naomi Crabtree. I am wondering if Naomi was a family named passed down. Sorry for the long message! Any insight would be greatly appreciated.
Hello Linda!
I was wondering if you had the court document for Lydia Perkins-Peabody? I am a descendant, and have been trying to access this record – no luck yet. I have document from 1647 that only references Eunice Cole. Thank you in advance,
Linda, my 6th grandfather was James Adams, born 1668 Middlesex MA. Wife was d Hall. Just wondering if we are distantly related.
Hi James, I don’t think so. My line of Adams are descended from Edward Adams of Milford, Connecticut in 1640.
Hi Linda, Researching one of my other Campobello lines, I stumbled upon your 2017 articles on the confusing Parkers of early Campobello. I have two lines of descent from Parkers of Campobello, and one from a probably not closely related Parker line of Lubec ME, which all merge in the marriage of my last Campobello born ancestor and her husband. Have you gotten any farther with them?
My two Campobello lines are
A) Margaret “Penny” Parker b. abt 1794-6 who married Alexander Calder, and
B) Sarah May Parker b. 16 Sep 1812 in Hall’s Harbour, Kings, Nova Scotia, d. 18 Jun 1886 Campobello and married 30 May 1832 in Lubec ME to Nehemiah Mitchell. They lived on Campobello. Sarah is believed to be a daughter by Ann of the Thomas Parker you mention who married first Ann Mears. Barto gives this Thomas as a son of Jonathan Parker, but I’m inclined to believe him to be a son of the Benjamin Parker of the Camel.
In my Lubec Parker line, roughly contemporaneous with Sarah May Parker, is a James Madison Parker. His father is believed to be Isaac Parker about whom almost nothing is known, but I doubt a loyalist or first generation descendant of a loyalist would name their son after the current American president.
What might be of most interest is a hint I have that Sarah May Parker Mitchell’s “letters are preserved at the St. John Museum” in St. John, New Brunswick. I have not seen those myself, and the rudimentary search for the New Brunswick Museum’s archives available online doesn’t give any results that look to me like they would be her letters. (I did see some early Campobello records though.)
Hi Linda-
I’m thrilled to find your blog. What a resource. I found you from your recent post on Flemstead Ransone’s estate, on which my 4th Gr-Grandfather, Zadock Lackland, was an arbiter. I’m following my Lackland lineage and I’ve reached Richmond City and Buckingham County, Virginia; also Jefferson County (before it was West Virginia). I’ve got solid documentation up to Zadock Lackland but the trail stops there for now. Most of my Lacklands lived in severely burned counties. I’ve found useful source material from newspaper Chancery docs, but I know there are other researchers like me trying to build trees from burned counties, and I would love to connect. I live in Seattle and won’t be traveling to Virginia until next summer to do in-person research. Do you know of any genealogical societies that would help me with my research in Buckingham, Henrico, and Jackson counties? I’m hoping to connect with folks who might point me to sources for my Virginia Lackland family and their neighbors, such as the Ransones. Thank you!
I can not figure out how to subscribe to your website, which is excellent. Pease advise
Hello,
I was happy to find your pages on Thomas Gardner and his son, John. What got me to your site, as well, was the Coleman reference.
For those who may be interested, research continues with respect to his wives. Some details have been discussed at his WikiTree Profile. The Profile for Margaret Fryer has more information provided by Gardner Research.
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Gardner-159
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Fryer-892
Both of these Profiles are managed by the Puritan Great Migration Project at WikiTree. Given analysis of additional information, it was determined that we could set Margaret as the mother of the children. The work continues.
With respect to Coleman, I have been studying the western movement that occurred over the frontier century and, in doing so, try to make attempts at tying individuals back to New England. Take Kansas. It was almost a project of Massachusetts. There are many blog posts with this theme. That is, the long reach of New England is a never-ending story.
An example. Every Boy Scout and outdoors person knows this name.
https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2020/11/american-tinkerer.html
His father’s middle name was Russell. His mother was a Coffin. My thought was Nantucket, but there are other areas, such as Maine. Even Essex county of MA comes to mind.
A query, have you run into this family who moved from western Massachusetts to New York?
Hi.
I found your subject of the Philip Crouse Enigma a very informative topic. Very well written and what most impressed me was the clarity of the issues surrounding Philip’s identity. I have written a paper submitted to the New Brunswick archives in Fredericton NB and Geo Toponyms and Place names of Canada. that may shed some additional light onto the Philip Crouse Enigma status. I am as you are a semi veteran genealogist that relies on facts. Some 45 years now. If you are interested. I would be pleased to forward to you the two papers of which I speak. They address Philips status in the now and current climate and do shed further light on how he ended up coming to New Brunswick. Hope to hear from you. Sincerely Pear
PS. Phillip Crouse is my GGGGG Grandfather. As one of your respondents replied they expressed an interest in the Dutch Bible that was reported via other sources. I have seen, touched and examined the bible which still exists and is in Private hands. Interestingly enough. It is actually a 1780 German Bible. Unmistakably.
Dear Linda.
I found you today, googling the Meserve/Meservey family. I saw your posts on the Joseph’s living in Hope, Maine . I worked on two of the Josephs for quite some time and finally figured out mine was the son of Benjamin (1744-1822). This Joseph married Lettice “Letty” Martin. He was born about 1767 and died after 1850. In that census they were paupers. Your Joseph if I am correct was a Hannah Vickery. They had a daughter Lavinia. Is this the same family? If so , he was my 1st C 6XR.
I was actually looking to find any information or proof of Benjamins wife’s name. To date I have found nothing even though FAG keeps insisting she was Sarah Decker (his mother).
Best Regards
Donna
Very informative site.
Hello.
I appear to be a descendant of Joseph Williams, the likely younger brother of Richard Williams (1780-1860s).
I believe Joseph Williams was married to a Mary _____. Joseph died or they divorced and Mary remarried to Levin Killman by 1820. The Joseph Williams 1813 land and the 1840s Levin & Mary Killman land have the same border descriptions. It appears Joseph and Mary had Nancy Williams Hopper (c. 1809), John Williams (1811) and Sarah Williams Jennings (1815-18) and another daughter. John Williams (my ancestor) moved to Jasper County, Missouri 1841-42 and then to Collin County, Texas in 1851. A few of his Williams cousins (Richard’s daughters) also moved to Collin County but 40 years later.
The interesting bit is that in my DNA matches and many of my cousins matches we all match to people with Speer ancestors in Cumberland County, KY and even Surry County, NC which I did not expect. It makes me wonder if Joseph’s wife Mary was ALSO a Speer OR Richard and Joseph Williams are in fact Speer descendants themselves…
Lance Hall
Fort Worth, Texas
Hello cousin!
Started search last year because I wanted my Grandson to have knowledge of his ancestors. Filled in the blanks at Ancestry and then found you here.
Ulrich
Jakob
Melchoir
Johan Casper
Abraham
Andrew
William Charley
Michael Isom
William M
James Ervin
James Donald sr
James Donald jr (me)
and my sons John Wilson & Jesse Neil
Grandson James Richard
Jim Roland, Plano Tx
The mystery of my great-grandfather’s past is what drove his daughter, my grandmother, to study genealogy. My mother and then I inherited her records.
My great-grandfather, George Washington Ray, has a listed birthday of August 25, 1864, in Ironton, Ohio. He claimed to have been an orphan who was fostered by a man he only ever called “Bandy,” presumably in Ohio, until he ran away at age 14, ending up in Colorado, where he died in 1941.
He believed he was a war orphan sent by train to the north to be fostered. But whatever happened, it happened before he was old enough to have clear memories.
He also claims that he named himself, inspired by what (beyond the obvious) he either never stated or was not recorded.
Wondering if you have any knowledge of the Bandy family in Ohio taking in foster children around the end of the Civil War? It’s a very long shot, of course. But the coincidence of name and place made me curious.
Hello Linda. I found my way to your blog while researching my Witmer ancestors, thanks to the assistance of another researcher for that family. I read with interest and a smile your account of attempting to debunk erroneous information on your Witmer lineage and the obnoxious practice of many “genealogists” in simply adopting other peoples’ family trees, especially on Ancestry. Early on in my use of Ancestry I naively attempted to reach out to Ancestry tree owners to ask about their sources, but soon realized that I was mostly wasting my time. Few even bothered to reply, and the handful who did actually admitted to just accepting what they found in others’ trees. Only one showed a bit of contrition.
That said, I have a couple of questions for you. First, I am trying to identify the parents of my 4th great grandmother Maria Witmer Habecker of Manor Township, Lancaster County, Penn. Maria is believed to have been born in 1760 and died in 1801. She married Joseph Habecker Jr. (1754-1800) of Manor Township. I have found no record for her birth/baptism and little about her at all. The Whitmer Family Genealogy (Dallis and Sarah Whitmer, 1976), shows a daughter Maria (no further information) for Michael Witmer, d. 1763, who, of course, is the same Michael Witmer whom you debunked as your ancestor! I note that a number of Ancestry trees picked up on this possible connection, but without meaningful citation. So far, this is the only possible parental link I’ve found for “my” Maria Witmer. I know this is not your line, but I’m hoping that in your diligent research on these people you might have found some additional information on Michael’s daughter Maria—or perhaps some other link to possible parents.
I also noted that you had done work on the Miller families of Botetourt County, Virginia, where my 3rd great-grandparents Frederick Miller (1760-1822) and Mary Elizabeth Peery (1769-1844) lived from sometime in the latter 1780s until 1818 when they migrated, with a number of related German families, to Clark County, Ohio. While I know Mary Elizabeth’s Peery/Bieri ancestry back to the Rhineland, I have not been able to find a birth record for Frederick or any other evidence of his parentage. Frederick was born in Pennsylvania and married there before migrating to Virginia where Mary Elizabeth’s father was already settled north of the James River. Her family had lived in Berks County, Penn., so it is highly possible that Frederick was born there. I have found a couple of promising baptismal records there, but none that match exactly and no way of determining which, if any, of them are “my” Frederick. So, as with the Witmers, I am hoping that in your research on the Botetourt Millers you might have found something useful that I missed, despite spending an entire day in Fincastle some years ago with a delightful lady who was a full-time paid genealogist working for the county court—plus lots of online searching since.
I hope I haven’t exhausted my welcome with too many questions, but I’ve pretty much hit the wall on both of these families. Any help you can provide will be very much appreciated. And thank you for your very nice blog and sharing so much information with all of us.
David Davis
Arlington, Virginia
Hi Linda,
I was reading your history on a Little Sebago Lake history page.
From your ancestry, it looks as if we would be distant cousins. I am descended from John and Amy Eddy.
I would like to correspond with you. I also live in Tucson, and have cousins in Portland who have a camp on LSL.
Hi Linda! I found your site today and am enjoying reading your posts. I’m related to the Stufflebeams and have been working on a blog post about Priscilla Estes Miller’s capture by Indians. I will certainly be following your stories!