Family Tree Overview

I spend a lot of time rechecking facts and dates, confirming my sources, and examining relationships on our family tree.  Time and again I will follow each line back until I come to an ancestor that has questionable documentation, then I'll work on that person for a while.

Our family tree is pretty solidly proven to my 2X great grandparents, with the possible exception of one (Elizabeth Hilen):

Paternal great-great grandparents:

John "Adam" Zaun, 1840-1922 - b. Germany; d. Richmond, VA
Elizabeth "Louise" Wellner, 1847-1924 - b. Germany; d. Richmond, VA

Jefferson Monroe Powell, 1862-1935 - b. Richmond, VA; d. Richmond, VA
Marie "Louise" Judd, 1859-1925 - b. NY; d. Richmond, VA

Whitfield Barrie Abbott, 1844-1889 - b. New Jersey; d. New Jersey
Sarah L. "Sadie" Wright, 1864-1903 - b. NY; d. New Jersey

Eley Bryant, 1829-1887 - b. Southampton Co., VA; d. Princess Anne Co., VA (Civil War, CSA, POW)
Margaret Cobb, abt 1839-1900- b. Southampton Co., Va; d. Princess Anne Co., VA

Maternal great-great grandparents:

Calvin Crawford (later Crofford), 1806-1880 - b. NY; d. Lancaster, NE (Civil War, U.S.)
Anna Dillingham, 1815-1900 - b. OH; d. Fall River, SD

Andrew A. Hall, 1828-1907 - b. Chittenango, NY; d. Newcastle, WY (Civil War, U.S.)
Miriam "Olivia" Wandell, 1824-1908 - b. Westchester Co., NY; d. Newcastle, WY

Robert Scott Allen, 1797-1864 - b. Lunenburg, VA; d. Illinois (Civil War, CSA?)
Elizabeth Hilen (Highland)1814-1896 - b. OH; d. IL (little known information about her)

Orlando Marcus Bosworth, 1825-1884 - b. OH; d. IL
Eliza Ann Applegate, 1826-1899 - b. KY; d. Wichita, KS

I enjoy tracing the family lineage on a map.  Note that we have Virginia roots on both sides! A few of the branches on our tree are way back, even centuries earlier in England. Follow the Judds back to the 1400's.  Trace the Bryants and Allens back to the earliest days of the Virginia Colony, even to Jamestown.  Look at the Judds, Bosworths, Applegates, Dillinghams, and the Halls to find some of New England's first colonists and revolutionaries. See our prominent Mormon ancestor in the Bosworth family.  It is also through the Bosworth family that we are descended from the Mayflower's John Howland.

Here are the only ones of my 2X great grandparents that have photos available:

Miriam Olivia Wandell Hall

Andrew A. Hall

Whitfield Barrie Abbott (no picture of Sarah)

Eley and Margaret Cobb Bryant

Mary Louise Judd and Jefferson Powell

It is amazing to me to know that these people lived and died and loved and suffered hardships that we cannot even imagine. They were far more adventurous and courageous than I ever thought of being.  Many of them left their families and childhood homes to seek a better life in a dangerous, unknown land.  They traveled thousands of miles by primitive means through stormy seas, enemy territories, and rough terrain.  It is because of their lives that I am living the life I have now.  The more I learn, the more I feel a proud reverence for them.