Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Timeline: Ethelyn Allen AKA Teresa Marie Allen

I like to look at information from different angles.  Usually it helps me to see patterns, discrepancies, etc.  I decided to make a timeline of my maternal grandmother's life based on the facts that I have verified, assuming that Ethelyn Allen and Teresa Marie are the same person.

Teresa Marie Allen, 1893 - 1966

Year - Place - Event
1893 - Illinois - birth - July; Augustus D. and Eva L. Allen (m. 17 years @ 1900 census)
1893 - Keokuk, Iowa - A. D. Allen ran a mercantile business for 7 years.
1900 - Wichita, Kansas - Augustus (41) , Eva (32) , Ethelyn (7), Eliza A. Bosworth (74)
1903 - Wichita, Kansas - Mar 22 newspaper article, A.D. Allen birthday - Ethelyn (10)
1904 - Wichita, Kansas - Eva L. Allen, widow, 125 Fannie St. (city directory)
1905 - Wichita, Kansas - A. D. Allen m. Emma Schindler - no mention of Eva or Ethelyn
1905 - Wichita, Kansas - A. D. Allen, 45, from Iowa; Mrs. Allen, 30 (Kansas Census)
1910 - Woodward, Ok - Eva L. Allen, widow, patient, Old Fort Supply asylum
1910 - Mother Theresa Muldoon died, buried in Evergreen Cemetery, Paris, TX
1910 - Texas - newspaper article about A. D. Allen's trip to South Texas
1911 - Woodward, Ok - Eva L. Allen died (her gravestone was discovered in 1995)
1912 - Sisters of Mercy move to Chicago
1915 - Fort Worth, Texas - last known sighting of A. D. Allen, heading to Canton, Ok.
1916 - Sherman, Texas - Teresa, nurse, resident St. Vincent Sanitarium (with Maude)
1916 - Major fire in Paris, TX, burning half the city
1917 - Paris, Texas - Teresa, nurse, resident at Paris Sanitarium (with Maude)
1917 - A. D. Allen died in Osawatomie State Hospital, Miami County, KS
1919 - Paris, Texas - Teresa, grad, Paris Sanitarium Sch of Nursing (with Maude)
1919 - Paris, Texas - Teresa, resident, 125 Pine Bluff (with Maude)
1919 - Wichita, Kansas - newspaper personal ad in search of A. D. Allen
1920 - Wichita, Kansas - Emma Allen, housemaid, widow of A. D. Allen (US Census)
1920 - Oklahoma City - Teresa, nurse, boarder, Eleventh Street (with Maude)
1926 - Chicago, Ill. - married Horace C. Crofford on January 30
1927 - Waukegan, Ill - residence, 640 Mill Court (near Ada Crofford & family)
1929 - Waukegan, Ill - residence, 2000 Washington St.
1929 - Waukegan, Ill - birth of Horace, Jr. on Nov. 9
1930 - Waukegan, Ill - Horace 35, Teresa 35, son 4 mo., 2 lodgers;  occupation:  none
1932 - Waukegan, Ill - birth of Virginia Maude, Mar. 3, St. Therese Hospital
1940 - Waukegan, Ill - residence, Washington St.; Sonny, 10; Virginia, 8
1940 - Waukegan, Ill - occupation: retail store manager (Horace - warehouse mgr)
1948 - Norfolk, Va. - 3709 Llewelyn Ave (Virginia Registered Nurse Roster)
1951 - Norfolk, Va. - 535 W. 37th St. (Horace, electrician, NOB) - city directory
1954 - Norfolk, Va. - 535 W. 37th St. ("Marie") - city directory
1958 - Norfolk, Va. - 535 W. 37th St. (Tersa A.) - city directory
1960 - Norfolk, Va. - 535 W. 37th st. (Teresa A.) - city directory
1966 - Norfolk, Va. - death, Dec. 10, age 74 (actual age 73)
1966 - Virginia Beach, Va. - burial, Rosewood Memorial Park, Garden of the Good Shepherd

Interesting notes:

  1. The last record of Ethelyn is in 1903; the first record of "Teresa" is in 1916.
  2. Ethelyn/Teresa remembered a visit from her father while she was in an orphanage/boarding school in Texas - see A. D. Allen's documented 1910 trip to Texas.
  3. Ethelyn/Teresa was placed in the orphanage/boarding school sometime between 1904 and 1910 (probably before 1905 as she is not listed in A. D. Allen's household in the 1905 Kansas State Census).
  4. Sister Teresa Muldoon opened a boarding school in Paris, Texas in 1900.  In 1910, the school was converted to a hospital.  This coincides with A. D. Allen's trip to Texas. Ethelyn/Teresa would have been 17 years old. 
  5. Ethelyn/Teresa never mentioned her father's lifelong passion for horses; nor did she ever know her true birthday and year which is odd since she was at least 10 years old at the time of her last known appearance with family.  As an adult, she celebrated her birthday on August 22.
  6. Her best friend Maude moved to Oakland, California and lived there with a "partner," Leila Smith (1930, 1940 Census). Her occupation was given as "radiograph" (X-ray) technician in a funeral home, and a "tray" (X-ray?) technician in an office laboratory.  Maude died in 1965, one year before Teresa.
  7. In 1912, the Sisters of Mercy moved back to Chicago (Mercy Hospital). This could be the impetus for Teresa Allen's move to Chicago after 1920.  Sister Theresa Muldoon died and was buried in Paris, Texas' Evergreen Cemetery.
  8. Notes according to daughter Virginia: Teresa met Horace at a party in Chicago. Horace was involved in politics. Teresa worked for an ear-nose-throat doctor in Waukegan. Virginia remembers her mother saying that she changed her name.
  9. Virginia remembers that they lived in several different houses in Virginia between 1940 and 1948:  
    1. Portsmouth - lived temporarily with Ed & Agnes Suter
    2. Schafer St (Oak Ridge, Norfolk Co.)  - 3rd - 7th Gr., Coleman Place Elementary
    3. 10th St., Norfolk, Va.
    4. Omuhundra Ave., Norfolk, Va.
    5. New York Ave., Norfolk, Va.
    6. Llewellyn Ave. (big Victorian house on the corner)



Monday, December 28, 2015

Humorous side note

Our Allen ancestors in Lunenburg County, Virginia in the 1700's, owned extensive land on "Fucking Creek" (now called Modest Creek).
Abstracted from Library of VA records by Ron Goodman, Nov 2000:
27 May 1755, Robert Allen of Amelia Co., to Joseph Pulliam of Lunenburg, for 11£.11s.7p, 150 ac Lunenburg Co, on forks of Fucking (now Modest) Creek, part of grant to sd. Allen on 10 Sep 1755, Wit: Henry Williams, William Brown, rec 5 Dec 1758 (LuDB 5:350-351)
There are other even worse place names from that era.  I guess you could say that our early Virginia ancestors had a less than romantic view of the land.  If you want a chuckle, check out some of the other early place names in our country, but don't say I didn't warn you: http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=134219


Saturday, December 12, 2015

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.

Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Lunenburg, Virginia

The main focus of my research lately has been on the Allens of Virginia.  I am determined to prove the link between my orphaned grandmother, Teresa (nee Ethelyn), and the Allens that have shown up in my DNA matches.

The Allens started out in New Kent County.  I have pinpointed the exact location of their homestead. The property is described as being on "Williamsburg Road." There are even photos online of the Allen home taken during the Civil War.

Historic map of New Kent landowners showing the Allen property.  There is also Allen property near West Point, Virginia.






The arrow points to the present day location of the Allen property shown on the historic map above.  It is on or near the current site of the New Kent airport.  The branch of the river that runs north toward Tallysville is called "Allen's Run."
The Allens moved to Lunenburg County from New Kent.  Historic Lunenburg County is known as the "Mother of Counties."  It included thirteen counties that were part of the "Hanover Counties," west and south of Richmond. The Allen home was the old "Brengle's Place" in Lewiston.

Our Allen ancestors were instrumental in the development of the road system on Lunenburg.
An act of the General Assembly passed March 21, 1853, authorized formation of the Lewiston Plank Road Company to construct a road from a point on the Richmond and Danville Railroad by way of Lewiston in Lunenburg County to some point on the Meherrin River or to the Lunenburg Plank Road. Capital stock was set at $30,000 with the Board of Public Works authorized to subscribe to 3/5 or $18,000. The construction was to begin within two years, with completion by five years. An increased in capital stock was authorized March 29, 1858 by $10,000 to complete the project.

From the guide to the Lewiston Plank Road Company Minute Book, 1853-1855, (The Library of Virginia)
From here, some of the Allens moved south into North and South Carolina, and some moved west into Kentucky and beyond. Our family was in the group that moved west.

William Allen and his wife, Mary Lewis, have shown up consistently in my DNA matches.  I believe their son Turner was my 4th great grandfather, but have yet to find conclusive evidence of this.


Sunday, November 29, 2015

Why is genealogy important?

In reading The Old Free State, by Landon Bell, I came across an introductory chapter to the lineages of important people in the history of Lunenburg, Virginia.  These important people include the names in our family tree, such as Allen and Neblett.  In this chapter, there was a discourse on genealogists - why do we care about the history of our family?  Is it a matter of pride or conceit?  I've often wondered how others view my interest in our family tree... these passages put it in perspective:

A quote from Daniel Webster:
There may be, and there often is, indeed, a regard for ancestry, which nourishes only a weak pride; as there is also a care for posterity, which only disguises an habitual avarice, or hides the workings of a low and groveling vanity. But there is also a moral and philosophical respect for our ancestors, which elevates the character and improves the heart. Next to the sense of religious duty and moral feeling, I hardly know what should bear with stronger obligation on a liberal and enlightened mind, than a consciousness of alliance with excellence which has departed; and a consciousness, too, that in its acts and conduct, and even in it sentiments, it may be actively operating on the happiness of those who come after it.
The author expounds, quoting Col. Thomas L. Crittendon:
If the traditions of the people of Virginia, and of Lunenburg, and their devotion to principles, and their respect for the best and governmental institutions, in their struggles for religious and political freedom and for liberty, be not worthy of veneration, then why should people strive to transmit blessings to posterity? And if those who in the past have struggled to assure a better condition of society are worthy to be honored for their efforts, their sacrifices and their accomplishments, what is more appropriate than to preserve their names and their lineages that their descendants to the remotest time may know the facts, and preserve them in grateful remembrance.
It is not only for the memories of those departed, mentioned herein, that the service of preserving their names from oblivion is performed. For them it is a service of affection and a veneration, but the service to their memories is insignificant compared to the benefits conferred upon future generations. "Since the world began, no people have ever reason to power or splendor who have not cherished and striven to perpetuate the memory of their great men...."
 I am amazed at our links to some of the famous people in our ancestry, but I am also invested in it for the stories.  We may not all be considered great men or women, but our stories certainly can be a source of enlightenment and entertainment.

Saturday, November 28, 2015

Research can be tedious

Sometimes, genealogy research means sifting page by page through many obscure documents, some of them faded or handwritten and very difficult to read; others more than a thousand pages long.  A rare nugget of priceless information makes it all worthwhile.

I am currently going through a 1277-page publication called, The Old Free State: a contribution to the history of Lunenburg County and Southside Virginia.  Sounds fascinating, right?  Not something I would have picked up for pleasure reading, but it is the most intimate account of the early history of Virginia that I have ever read, covering the time from Jamestown to the modern age.  Our ancestors consorted with the likes of Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry. The Allen name goes back to Jamestown. I am about halfway through this document after hours at the computer.  I can only endure about a half hour at a time, so it may take days to wade through.

On another browser page, I am downloading a publication called, "Historical and Genealogical Miscellany: Early Settlers of New Jersey and Their Descendants, Vol. III" by John E. Stillwell, M. D.  In a cursory preview, I almost immediately found a couple of priceless nuggets about one of our family founders, Thomas Applegate, who came to American from Norfolkshire, England.  Those Applegates seemed to have issues with fiery tempers and loose tongues!  For instance:
His wife, Elizabeth Applegate, seems to haye been one of the unfortunate persons who suffered from the ecclesiastical tyranny of that puritanical age, for she was "censured to stand with her tongue in a cleft stick for swearing, reviling and railing." 
 In another instance, Thomas Applegate, was sued for slander by another one of our ancestors, Nicholas Stillwell (from a completely different branch of the family tree):
Xicholas Stiilwell, of Grayesend, sued him for slander in saying that if his, (Stillwell's) debts were paid he would have but little left.
Sometimes I learn something that has nothing to do with our family, like the fact that John Randolph and Nathaniel Macon (for whom the Methodist college was named) were not professed Christians.  And that U. S. Grant was a slave owner who never released his slaves until forced to by the Emancipation Proclamation.  (You may have known this, but I did not).

So, this is what I am doing when I am not adding anything to our family tree.  Slogging through the mire.

Friday, November 27, 2015

Motivation

Got some much-needed and appreciated encouragement today.  Sometimes there are roadblocks in this solitary journey, and it's easy to walk away from it for a while.  Today my niece told me how she loves reading the blog, and my nephew told me that he used our family tree to find baby names.  That was thrilling.  It is all the gratification I need to keep going.

Friday, November 20, 2015

Genealogy Roadshow

Love this show... on a whim I applied to be on it.  I told the story of my orphaned grandmother and the problem of finding her parents.  Here is the reply I finally got months later:

Hello from the Genealogy Roadshow Team!

We appreciate you taking the time to apply for this season of Genealogy Roadshow. Unfortunately, due to the limited amount of stories we can tell, we will not be able to move forward with your story. There are many reasons why a story doesn't make it on our show. Even though you won't be taping with us, your questions and family history are still very important. We encourage you to keep researching!


Oh well.  

Sunday, November 15, 2015

Getting in deep

I broke down finally and bought the Family Tree Maker software.  I have wondered why people would need software when Ancestry does it all for you.  Yesterday I asked another serious genealogy researcher that question.  Her reasoning was... it puts your family records in your own hands in case the website goes down or they start charging exorbitant fees.  It makes it possible to continue working on the family tree even when internet is not available.  It keeps your information private until you are ready to post it on Ancestry, thus allowing you to do all the necessary verification first. I hadn't thought of any of that but it made sense.

The Family Tree Maker software downloaded all of my records from Ancestry, and automatically syncs with my online records. It gives a more comprehensive display of the information on one screen.  It can print out a large number of different reports which may come in handy.  Ancestry prints reports but is more limited.

I've found that the more ways you can look at your information, the easier it is to spot inconsistencies and inaccuracies.  Right away, I was able to see that one of my links was incorrect because I could see the birth and death dates for two generations on the same page. I have had trouble seeing the media and documents that are posted on Ancestry - that might be a major limitation, but I am still working through it.

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

John Dillingham,


This is a published account of the life of my 3X great grandfather, John Dilllingham, 1773-1861 (father-in-law of the first Calvin Crofford).  There is much written about him - he was quite a character and influential in settling the Liberty Township in Indiana.  He lived through many hardships at sea and on land, including tragic encounters with Indians which cost the lives of some of his family.  His life spanned 88 years and covered territory from New England to Indiana.


                      BIOGRAPHY OF JOHN DILLINGHAM
by Amos Felt, for “The Fire Lands Pioneer,” presented in June, 1867, and               appearing in their journal for June, 1867, on pages 70 -- 73.
 John Dillingham and his family were among the early settlers of the Fire Lands.  Where he was born I do not recollect, but I think that he said in Rhode Island, and that his father’s family were formerly from the vicinity of Cape Cod.  He had two or three brothers and a sister or two.  He lost his mother when quite young, and his father married a Quakeress for his second wife.Early in life he took to the ocean, intending to follow the water, but when about seventeen years of age the brig on which he was went to Lisbon for salt, and on her return trip met with adverse winds and calms, so that they were more than double the time that they intended.  Their store of provisions was exhausted and they were about casting lots to see who should be food for the rest, when they discovered a vessel; but she did not heed their signal of distress.  They soon after saw land, and another vessel came to their relief, enabling them to get into harbor, which was Hartford, Conn., I think. After making a few more voyages he quit the sea, and before he was twenty-one years of age he married Clarissa Olcott, of East Hartford, Conn., by whom he had six children, namely, Henry, Clarissa, Betsey, Sally, Fanny, and Polly, all of whom are dead; and the dust of two of them is mingled with that of the Fire lands.Within a year after his marriage he enlisted as third Sergeant under a Captain Miles, who was recruiting for General Wayne’s army, to fight the Indians.  His Captain retained him for some time in the recruiting service before he joined his regiment, which was somewhere on or near the Ohio River.  He serve his time out under General Wayne, but was not in the battle of the Falling timbers, being detailed to guard the Maumee River to attack the Indians.Many were his hairbreadth escapes while he was in the service.  He used to relate to me the following:  At one time he was detailed to carry dispatches from some post between Cincinnati, and where General Wayne was encamped the winter before the war closed, and on his return, a little before sunset, he passed an old dry tree that had fallen and was on fire.  He concluded that it was the work of the Indians and that it was not safe to stop there for the night, so he pursued his journey.  In about a mile he met six or seven men that were on their way to Wayne’s camp.  They inquired if there was any fire or chance to make any.  He told them there was one about a mile ahead of them, and they beset him hard to turn about and go and stay with them that night.  He told them he did not consider it safe and that it was a plan of the Indians to decoy some one, that they might murder him.  They only laughed at him and he put ahead until it was about dark, then left the trail and put off to one side, dug away the snow and made a hole in the ground, got some dry wood and made a little fire, took his blanket and covered himself so as not to have an light seen, and sitting, slept what he could.  The next day he arrived at his post safe.  In a few days he heard of those men being killed by the Indians that night by that fire.
After Mr. Dillingham had served his time out and got his discharge, he returned to his family in Connecticut, but after working in one place and another, some of the time by-the-day, he concluded that Connecticut was not the best place for him.  He took his little family and started for the far West.  He made a stand in the town of Stafford, between Leroy and Batavia, Genesee County, New York, where he lived until 1809.  He then moved to Ashtabula County, in this State [Ohio] then to Mentor, Geauga County, thence to Tinker’s Creek, near Cleveland.  Here he buried his first wife[i] and two of his daughters, Clarissa and Polly, having buried his third daughter, Sally, in Stafford.
He married Hannah Hicox, of Cleveland, for his second wife.  She bore him fourteen or fifteen children, among whom were Sally, Ann, John, Hannah, Betsey, King, Esther, Olcott and Comfort.  They had three births that were twins.  The most of the children died in infancy and I never knew their names.When the war of 1812 broke out Mr. Dillingham was living on Tinker’s Creek, and he either volunteered or came as a substitute to Camp Avery.  After staying there some five or six weeks, his son Henry became dissatisfied with living at home with a step-mother, came out to see him and prevailed on him and his Captain to let him serve out his father’s time.In the Spring (that is 1813) he moved to Bloomingville, and there kept a kind of log tavern, and he and Henry carried the mail from Cleveland to Camp Seneca, where Gen. Harrison was encamped.Now let me digress to relate a few incidents connected with those times.  Soon after Major Croghan beat the British and Indians off from Fort Stephenson, now Fremont, the Indians divided into two small bands of some two or three hundred each, and roamed through different sections of the country.  One party made for Bloomingville, where there was a small settlement that had been posted up in a blockhouse.  It stood on the opposite side of the road from the old brick building, built by a company that styled themselves the Commercial Bank of Sandusky Bay.  The inhabitants thought there was no danger, and had mostly left the blockhouse and gone to their homes.  It seems to me that there was a hand of Providence in their escaping the tomahawk and scalping knife.Two men, John Paxton and Seth Harrington, both good hunters took it into their heads to go to a deer lick soon after the battle at Fort Stephenson.  The lick was situated somewhere near the road then leading from Huron through Bloomingville to Lower Sandusky, and some distance West.  Some time past the middle of the afternoon they mounted their horses and started.  The road ran some of the way across prairie and other places on ridges.  As they went off the prairie onto the ridge, some two miles from the blockhouse, they discovered a few Indians coming onto the other end of the ridge.  Paxton drew his rifle to fire, but Harrington caught it and told him not to, for there were more behind them, and that they were intending to attack the settlement.  They wheeled their horses and made for the blockhouse, and rallied the settlers as soon as possible.  By that means the settlement was saved.One more incident of this affair and I will resume my narrative.  A Mrs. Wood, a widow, sister of Captain Harrington, as he was always called (for they elected him their Captain that night,) after carrying in what wood and water she might want, went upstairs and brought down a one-tined pitchfork, which she said she was going to fight the Indians with, if they attacked them while the Captain drilled the men.  She took her post with them, with her one tined pitchfork.Mr. Dillingham took the mail to carry from Cleveland to Camp Seneca, where General Harrison was encamped.  Colonel Proctor, the British commandant at Malden, was desirous of getting hold of Harrison’s dispatches, to get some clue of this intentions, and had offered the Indians a large reward if they would take the mail and bring it to him.  General Harrison was aware of their intentions and frequently sent out detachments from Colonel Ball’s squadron of mounted riflemen, to clear them from the mail route.  At one time they came upon fourteen of fifteen Indians secreted in a thicket of hazel brush, and killed all but one, who broke through the horsemen, and as they fired at him, fell over an old log and pretended to be dead, by that means getting away.  At another time they killed nine.  This I had from Henry Dillingham, who carried the mail part of the time instead of his father, and saw the Indians after they were killed.About the close of the war Mr. Dillingham bought a farm a little below the head of Cold Creek, where Mr. Petingill built a gristmill afterward.  In the Fall of 1815 he bought of John Beatty two hundred acres of land, lying in 3rd section of Perkins Township, on Pike Creek, about half way between Bloomingville and Sandusky City.  Here he made considerable improvement, but finding that Beatty’s title to the land was not good, he exchanged with him for land in the first section of Norwalk Township, where he lived from October 1819 until June 1836.  He sold the latter tract to Mr. Chas. Jackson, and moved to Porter Co., Indiana, with most of his family, and there he died some four or five years ago, aged about ninety, his wire having died some two years before him.Henry Dillingham married Amanda Page, and began a farm on Pike Creek, the next lot south of his father’s.  After living on it a year he sold out to a man by the name of Rodgers, who let it go back to Mr. Beatty.  He moved to his father-in-law’s and stayed a year, then back to Pike Creek in March, and lived there until the 1st of October, 1819, then to the first section of Norwalk, where he lived, I think, about two years.  He then moved to Ridgefield and made the first beginning in what is called the Webb settlement, where he lived until 1837, when he sold to a man by the name of Baldwin, who afterwards sold to Daniel Ruggles.  In June 1839, he moved to Porter County, Ind., where he died, in January 1850.  They had six children born on the Fire Lands, namely, Harriet, Rebecca, Adelia, Clarissa, Lyman, and one that died and was buried on the farm in RidgefieldBetsey Dillingham, the second daughter of John Dillingham, died the 28th of July, 1818, on Pike Creek, and was buried on her father’s farm, on a ridge the east side of the creek, where there were four others buried – a man and his son, Clark by name, in one grave.  The other two were Titus Allen, a son of Justes Allen, aged about fifteen, and an infant child of Zina Rhoads.  The last time I was there the graves were not to be found.  The farm had been divided and the ridge had been built on, near where the graves had been.Fanny, the fourth daughter of Mr. Dillingham, was married Amos Felt, the writer of this article, October 7th, 1819, by Julius House, Esq. They were the first couple that he married.  She died May 26th, 1840, aged 37 years, 1 month and 9 days.  She had eight children.  Three died young, and two have since followed her – Almira, the wife of Wesley Laylin, and Julia R., the wife of J. C. Waggoner.Sally, the eldest child of Mr. Dillingham by his second wife, married Edward Cole, of Bronson.  They moved to Porter County, Indiana, in 1837, where they still remain, and, it is said, have accumulated a large property.Mr. Dillingham was a very stirring, active man, a great lover of handsome cattle – red and brindle being his favorite colors.  But he was a poor feeder and quite often lost much stock.  He was rather of a roving mind for one that married so young.  I once asked him how he came to quit a sailor’s life.  He said that his education was poor, that he could never rise above a common sailor, and that, he thought, was rather a low calling for him.He was rather quick and passionate, yet free-hearted in company and full of life.  From the days of President Jackson to the end of his life he was a rank Democrat.




[i] In the book “The Descendants of Thomas Olcott” Clarissa is said to have died May 13th, 1809, in Manchester, Connecticut.  “The Descendants of Thomas Olcott,” by Goodwin, Nathaniel Case Tiffany; Burnham Press, Hartford, CT 1845.

Sunday, November 1, 2015

Halloween Night on Newport Avenue

Last night, while Trick-or-Treating with my two eldest sons and granddaughter, I happened upon an older gentleman sitting in a plastic chair in front of the house where my father lived as a teenager.  The man was nice, but not terribly impressed with my story, however he let me take a picture from on the porch.  It was a haunting moment for me.

4306 Newport Avenue

Sunday, October 25, 2015

Allen Family Dilemma

Sorry all for not posting in so long.  I am stumped by some of the DNA findings, and have been searching - so far in vain - for any information to solve some of the questions that have arisen.

The DNA tests have confirmed that we are descendants of the illustrious Allen - Lewis - Warner - Dozier families of Virginia, but there are some missing links, two to be exact.  I can trace the Allens back to Robert Scott Allen, my 2nd great grandfather, but the proven ancestry then skips back two generations.

In our family tree, I have established the two missing links, but have no documented proof other than other family trees (which also have no documented proof).

Here is the line of descent as I have it so far:

Teresa Zaun, b. 1954, Norfolk, full circle back to Virginia!
^
Virginia Crofford, b. 1932, Waukegan, Illinois
^
Teresa (nee Ethelyn) Allen, b. 1893, Illinois
^
Augustus Dozier Allen, b. 1859, Illinois
^
Robert Scott Allen, b. 1797, Lunenburg, Virginia (d. 1864 - Civil War?)
^
John Watson Allen**, b. ????, Lunenburg, Virginia
^
Turner Allen**, b. 1751, Lunenburg, Virginia
^
William Allen*, b. 1724, New Kent, Virginia - m. Mary Lewis, daughter of Col. Charles Lewis of The Byrd of Goochland County, whose mother was Elizabeth Warner of Gloucester, and whose father was John Lewis, both of whom are buried at Warner Hall.
^
Robert Allen, Jr.*, b. 1704, New Kent, Virginia
^
Robert Allen, Sr., b. 1680, New Kent, Virginia (records in St. Peter's Church registry)

                                                *proven by DNA **no documented proof

Here is the reasoning behind my conclusions about the two ancestors in doubt:

I believe that John Watson Allen is correct because he was married to Rebekah Scott, whose mother was a Dozier.  The Scott and Dozier links were confirmed by DNA and the names were carried on in the next generations.  I do not know where the Watson name came from and I'm not 100% sure that was his middle name.

I believe that Turner Allen is correct because he is the only son of William who stayed in Lunenburg County, Virginia, where Robert Scott Allen was eventually born.  I know that Turner had a son named John, but that name was pretty common in the Allen family. Sorting them all out is a challenge!

So, there you have it.  I believe I am correct, but as far a proof goes, I am stuck.  I may have to start using other resources than those that can be found online.

Sunday, September 27, 2015

Flesh and blood

As I record the facts and details of my ancestors' lives, I can't help but think about how these long-gone individuals were loved and remembered in their lifetimes by their children and grandchildren.  They were real, living, breathing, thinking, feeling people who passed their DNA - and their character - to me through succeeding generations.

I had the great fortune to know my father's grandparents and to be close to a large extended family of aunts, uncles, and cousins.  My father's family were/are born storytellers... family gatherings tend to be filled with laughter as we repeat stories of our most eccentric or wayward family members.  As a child, I loved them all and thought of all of these characters quite fondly.  It wasn't until I was older that I was aware of the darker side of some of these stories.

I would like to leave a sense of certain ones for posterity, in no particular order...

Jacqueline Delmar Abbott Zaun (paternal grandmother)
My Mamaw....  She clung to family, her lifeline.  She loved her Richmond family and stayed close to them to the end, even though she lived all her adult life in Virginia Beach near her children and grandchildren.  She was lots of fun to be around, and had no trouble relating to her grandchildren and their friends.  She was close to her great-grandchildren as well.  She was the classic redhead, a little spitfire, spunky, sassy, and a flirt with men of all ages... but she was always classy. She kept up her appearance faithfully.  She got up early every single morning, made her bed, dressed up, donned her stockings and jewelry, and was ready for whatever the day would bring.  She had a simple life, with few material possessions, but elegant taste in decor and furnishings.  She read voraciously, and that was the way that she became educated - her formal education only went through the 9th grade.  After her husband Ernie died tragically at the age of 47, she went to work at the lingerie counter at Ames & Brownley Department store.  She had some troubles with suitors in pursuit of her husband's insurance money.  My father had to throw one fellow out of the house by the scruff of his neck.  She eventually became an alcoholic and caused a lot of trouble for her adult children.  At her lowest point, she decided to turn that around.  She gave up drinking, and never went back to it. But she never got over Ernie's death.  They had adored each other, and she never remarried.  She lived with her daughter in a converted attic apartment for a time, and then moved to The Mayflower apartments at the Virginia Beach oceanfront. She was a library assistant, a fixture at the front desk of the 22nd Street Library for 19 years. She was an avid game player, especially Bingo and Scrabble.  I visited her at least weekly to play Scrabble or take a stroll on the Boardwalk. We have many stories about her - like the time she pulled up her shirt at the Thanksgiving dinner table, her ruthless Scrabble playing (I don't have much - I'll just play this "itty bitty" word - and it would be like 77 points), and the "damn dishes" (She was a shameless Indian-giver).  She adored her son Bev - he could do no wrong - but was more demanding and critical of her daughter, Gail. When Bev died, she followed six months later....died in her sleep at age 87, looking beautiful and peaceful after a lifetime of drinking, smoking, and general naughtiness.  Sure she was flawed, but there are many ways I want to be like her.

Ernie and Jack Zaun off to a New Year's Party
Horace Calvin Crofford (maternal grandfather)
Baba (pronounced buh-bah)... he was a big man, but there could be no gentler soul.  He deeply loved his family and was devoted to his wife, Teresa.  They were never financially affluent, but their needs were few.  I remember walking hand in hand with him around the block at their 35th Street home in Norfolk, ending up at the corner drugstore to get a nickel ice cream cone. He always had Lifesavers for me in church. He loved to talk about his younger days in the Black Hills of Wyoming.  He tapped his feet as he sang songs of The Old West, and played his mouth harp or harmonica.  He loved maps - he had a drawer full of fold-up maps which he would pull out and talk about the places in the stories he told.  He loved rocks and fossils - he told about Barnum Brown, the famous paleontologist who discovered T-Rex bones on or near his father's ranch.  He especially loved to talk about horses (as I wrote about in a previous post).  He once brought me a rusty bridle bit that he found on one of his trips to see his Wyoming family.  (My dad sanded and spray painted it silver and I still treasure it). I remember him having a jar of "hoarhound" candy on the sideboard which I thought was the most disgusting flavor on earth. After Teresa died, he moved in with our family for a time, sleeping on a fold out bed in our family room. He moved to a dingy apartment in Ingleside where he lived only a brief time before he died in his sleep of a heart attack.
Baba and Me
Herman Lukhard (paternal great-uncle)
Uncle Herman was not related to me by blood, but he was a powerful and influential man, truly a figurehead in every sense of the word. He has been gone for years, but his influence in the family remains. He was a Character with a capital C! I especially see glimpses of him in my cousin David now and then. I wrote about him in a previous post, but will include some personal memories of him here.  I remember him as a highly energetic, driven man, with a quick wit and ability to see humor in most any situation.  We'd do almost anything to make him laugh, but we feared his ire. He was controlling and impatient. If things didn't go the way he thought they should, everyone was sorry. We'd say we're sorry, and he would agree, "yes, you're the sorriest thing I ever saw!"  One time, when I was sixteen, my cousins and I wanted to go to 7-11 (by miles of narrow, winding country road) in a car that he bought for his daughter Teeny.  We trudged across the wide field up to the main house to ask Uncle Herman's permission for me to drive the car.  He made us go all the way back to get my driver's license and show it to him. Once, Robin and I rode with him ahead of everyone else to the "rivah" house. She and I were shooting pool in the sunroom and listening to my new Ray Stevens album (Everything is Beautiful), while he was busy in the kitchen, running in and out of the house getting stuff from the car.  Robin and I heard what sounded like a waterfall. Curious, we went to the kitchen and found it flooded, with an waterfall gushing down the stairs into the garage.  Uncle Herman had put a mess of green beans in the sink, turned the water on to rinse them, and forgot about it. When he saw the flood, it was not a pretty scene.  We helped him clean it up without talking much. A short time later, we heard the sound again.  We ran to the kitchen and it was flooded again! This time, he had put frozen chicken in the sink to thaw. The water was still running and flowed down the steps into the garage.  This time, we were frantic to clean it up before he came back in, but it wasn't easy as we were doubled over with laughter. We told Aunt Miriam about it later, but he was not amused. Robin knew, but I didn't know, that Herman had a problem with alcohol and things like that happened with him.  There were those moments, but he was a beloved Adult Class Sunday School teacher for many years.  I remember visiting his class at the church in Richmond when I was in college, and I thought he was such a commanding presence in front of that large class. People were in awe of him and entertained by his humor. In the midst of a heated discussion, I raised my hand timidly- he ordered everyone else to be quiet and "let the youth speak!" Most of all Uncle Herman loved the land, owning homes and property all over the state.  He loved boats - at the "rivah" house, he had a yacht, a pontoon boat, and several row boats. Boat rides out on the Potomac and the Rappahannock are some of my fondest memories from childhood. Uncle Herman had a running battle with his horse, a huge pinto Tennessee Walker named Champ. Champ was as controlling and stubborn as his owner and they just rubbed each other the wrong way. Uncle Herman never went into the barn without a broom to fend off attacks and we could hear him yelling from a distance. Things were NEVER dull around Uncle Herman, that's for sure.
Teeny, Herman, and Miriam on a visit to Va. Beach
George Wright Abbott (paternal great-grandfather)
Gramp... he died when I was only five, but I do have an impression of a man who was unconditionally loving and maybe a little frumpy (?).  He was adored by his three daughters, and they were devastated when he died.  I think my dad would have been a lot like him if he had lived longer.
Ar Newport Avenue in Norfolk for Gail's wedding
Teresa Allen Crofford (maternal grandmother)
Nanno... she died of breast cancer when I was only 12.  I remember her as an endlessly patient grandmother, playing dominoes with me on a card table in her living room, and even playing "pretend" with a set of plastic horses and cowboys.  She always had a fresh-baked lemon pound cake on a small table at the entrance to her kitchen. She also always had a jar of lemon drop candy. She would make the most amazing cinnamon and butter toast for breakfast. Her home and her clothes had a distinct smell, which lingers clearly in my memory to this day.  I would spend the night with her, along with my cousin Ronney, or my sister and cousin Cindy would spend the night with her. For safety, because of the steep wooden stairs, she would lock our bedroom door from the outside at night, but she would leave two jars on the windowsill, one for drinking and one for peeing. We always feared we would mix them up. I spent a lot of time in church with her, at Tidewater Central Church of the Nazarene.  She was a respected Bible teacher and compassionate "do-gooder." During church services, she would get caught up in the spirit and cry out, waving her hands in the air and sometimes running up the aisle. That was just normal to me. I remember her cleaning up my plate after a steak dinner, eating all the fat that I cut off my meat.  I remember her saving aluminum foil to use again, and saving bread bags. She wasted nothing.  The Depression did that to people.

Anniversary party at 37th Street in Norfolk.
The doorjamb visible behind her in the picture is the one
where our height was marked every year.
 Helen Shelton (paternal great aunt)
"Aunt" Helen... she was my father's aunt, but the relationship has proven to be complicated from what I have learned in my research.  She stayed with my dad's family in their tiny apartment in Norfolk as a teenager due to an unhappy home life (i.e. stepmother), sharing a bed with my dad who was still a young child. She and my dad remained very close. After Helen married, she lived in Richmond with her beloved "Dickie" but visited us often.  She was beautiful inside and out. She resembled Elizabeth Taylor in looks, exuding sweetness, humility, and love.  I remember her with much affection.  It was quite a shock to find out that her father Earl was born 3 years before his (supposed) father married his mother. As I said, it's complicated.

I am sitting on Aunt Helen's lap at the house on Witchduck Road
with Mamaw and my dad.
John Adam Zaun (paternal great grandfather)
Poppoo.... my oldest son is his namesake.  We made the pilgrimage to Richmond a couple of times a year to visit my great grandparents in their tiny house on Penick Road (see previous post "Our Women"). He died when I was 15, so I did not have a deep relationship with him, but I remember him fondly.  He was always sitting in his big easy chair puffing on his pipe, his gnarled fingers caressing the wooden lid of his tobacco jar.  I loved the smell, and I absolutely cherish the possession of his tobacco jar with the worn-smooth lid and the smaller jar for his matches.  It still smells of his tobacco.

In the yard at Penick Road.

Ernest Earl Zaun (paternal grandfather)
Pampaw.  This man is remembered as a wonderful man by everyone who knew him.  He died of complications from a botched gall bladder surgery at age 47 - I was only 4 1/2.  But I have distinct memories of him.  I recall sitting in his lap in the big green recliner in the den of his Witchduck Road house.  He would put a bandage on one finger of each hand and do the "Fly Away Jack, Fly Away Jill" trick that would have me completely mystified.  I remember walking around the yard holding his hand as he explained about every plant and tree in the yard.  He was one who told me that crabapples were not actually good to eat.  I can almost hear his words in my head.  I recall clearly the brand of peanut butter I had at their house when I was little, and I remember the flavor of their toothpaste. The sheets that are on my bed right now remind me of the pattern of his pajamas - it's the reason I bought them. Strong associations! I remember him telling me a story about tying a string to his big toe while he slept so that he could rock my father's cradle without getting up.  He was a football coach and Boy Scout leader to countless boys - now old men who still talk about him reverently. He was a bookkeeper at Dalton and Bundy Lumberyard in Norfolk.  I still have his leather covered measuring tape.  I have never heard a negative word spoken about him.

Mom sitting in Pampaw's recliner in the den at Witchduck Road.
Georgia Powell Zaun  (paternal great grandmother)
Nannie... I have already written quite a bit about her so I will be brief here.  She is the one who got me started on my family tree.  From her bed, she told me everything about her family that she could remember and I wrote it all down.  I was barely in my teens!  So happy I did that.  She was a quiet, but loving person.  I know her best through the letters she wrote to me and to my dad when he was little.

This is probably not a finished post.... check back later! And to repeat myself, I covet your comments on any of these posts.  If you have a story to add to what I have written, please share it in the comments below!

Saturday, September 26, 2015

Colonel Charles Lilburne Lewis of The Byrd

Me > Virginia Crofford > Teresa Allen > Augustus Allen > Robert Scott Allen > John Watson Allen > Turner Allen > Mary Lewis > Col. Charles Lewis.

I am posting this now, but plan to keep adding to it as I have time.  See also a previous post on the Allen and Lewis families.

Charles Lilburne Lewis was born in 1696 at Chemokin, New Kent County, Virginia.  His parents were John Taliaferro Lewis of New Kent County and Elizabeth Warner of Warner Hall (which is now a bed and breakfast and destination wedding site in Gloucester).  In 1717, Charles married Mary Howell, daughter of James Howell who was owner of "The Byrd" Plantation in Goochland. In 1725, Charles and Mary acquired The Byrd and moved there.  Charles was thereafter known as "Charles Lilburne Lewis of The Byrd." He lived there for fifty years. His son, Robert, inherited it after Charles' death.
http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=7213&id=I18946

Byrd plantation, showing how imports and exports came by ship to the front door. http://www.wikiwand.com/en/History_of_Virginia
The Byrd is now a farm and winery in Goochland.  I can find no mention of a historic home on the property, but it would be wonderful to visit and soak in the family history there.

Col. Lewis wrote a well-known journal during his time serving in the military under George Washington.  I purchased a copy of it from Amazon.

Sunday, September 20, 2015

Family Names

Genealogy is so much easier when people give their children traditional family names.  I have been able to verify my research countless number of times by looking at the names of all the siblings of my ancestors.  One or more of the siblings will usually have a middle name that comes from a grandparent or great grandparent.  Many times at least one sibling will have a middle name that comes from a maternal ancestor, which is the only way the maternal name is carried on.

Here is an example of how this naming tradition helps me.  I am having difficulty finding information on John Watson Allen.  I believe he is my 3X great grandfather, but I can't find any documentation to support that.  However, I can make assumptions based on what I do know:
  • John Watson Allen married Rebecca Scott of Lunenburg County, Va.   
  • Rebecca Scott's mother was Ann Dozier.
  • Robert Scott Allen is the father of Augustus Dozier Allen, my great grandfather.
  • Robert Scott Allen was born in Lunenburg County, Va.
  • One of Augustus' sisters is named Rebecca Scott Allen.  
Therefore, I can conclude that John Watson Allen and Rebecca Scott must be the parents of Robert Scott Allen.  This conclusion does not meet genealogical proof standards, but it is all I have to go on at the moment.



Sunday, September 13, 2015

Family Tree - maternal grandmother (5 generations)

This is part of the family tree that has been the most work.  There are still some unverified links here... the DNA tests have both helped and confused things.


Proving that my grandmother Teresa was actually born as Ethelyn Allen was the primary aim of the DNA test, and I believe that was a success:
1) DNA indicates a connection to the Allens of New Kent County, Virginia.  
2) Augustus Dozier Allen's father is from Virginia according to census documents.  
3) Dozier is a family name linked to my tree, further proof that Augustus Dozier Allen in my great grandfather.  
4) Augustus Allen's only daughter was named Ethelyn; therefore, she has to be my grandmother.


There is some question still about who Eliza Ann Applegate's parents are.  There are an unbelievable number of Eliza Applegates from Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois! She is definitely listed on a U. S. Census document in the household of "Tabitha" Applegate; however, there is another Eliza Applegate who is the daughter of Samuel and Cassandra Newkirk. This would not seem to be the correct Eliza, except that the Newkirks have shown up in my DNA test results.  I am still scratching my head over that one.

Interesting to note here that my grandmother was born in Illinois, grew up in Wichita, and lived in an orphanage in Texas.  But both her mother and father's families originated in Virginia.  

Family Tree - paternal grandmother (5 generations)

My little red-headed grandma "Jack" Abbott has an intriguing genealogy.  The Abbott family of New Jersey were well-known piano makers from England.  John Abbott married into the Whitfield/Godfrey family, who were descendants of some important first settlers in New England including Roger Williams of Rhode Island. My grandmother's maternal ancestors were original land grant holders in Southhampton County, Virginia.  Owens, Bryant, Cobb, Underwood, Chandler, and Edwards are still common names in that area. Eley Bryant was a Civil War POW at Point Lookout, Maryland.  



I still have many questions about this branch of the family tree.  Ida Rene Bryant was the subject of more than one previous post and there are many curiosities about her life. I'd like to know exactly where Eley and Margaret Bryant lived when they moved to Princess Anne County near the end of their lives. I know it was in the Blackwater/Land of Promise area, but have no idea how to find the property.  I'd be willing to bet the house is still there! I'd like to know how the Bryant family originally connected with the Abbott family in New Jersey... Ida Rene's brother Charles Bryant moved from Southhampton County to New Jersey and became a piano dealer.  Another brother, WilliamThomas Bryant, married Rebecca Abbott, George Abbott's sister. William and Bonnie lived in Princess Anne County until his mother Margaret died and then they moved to New Jersey.  Ida Rene later married George Abbott who was 14 years younger than she.  Strange that a family in New Jersey would have so many close ties to a family so deeply rooted in Virginia.

Family Tree - paternal grandfather (5 generations)

This is my paternal grandfather Ernie Zaun's family tree.  Part of this tree doesn't go back very far because my 2X great grandfather John Adam Zaun came straight from Germany. I know where he was born, but cannot identify his parents.  My burning question to him would be, why would you come to a new country at a time when it is embroiled in a Civil War?  My 2X great grandmother Elizabeth Wellner came over from Germany with her parents on the same ship with Adam Zaun.  I found them on an immigrant passenger list, but that is all I know about them.  My great grandmother Georgia Powell ("Nanny") came from an illustrious New England lineage which includes a Governor of Connecticut and First Settlers of Hartford.  I can trace her ancestry back to the earliest colonial days in the Judd and Bradley families.



My grandfather Ernie's paternal side was from Germany as I mentioned. His mother Georgia's paternal side was from Ireland and England; her maternal side was from England and Scotland.  There are previous posts telling the stories of George James Powell, Mary Louise Judd, Orrin Bishop Judd, and Elizabeth MacDonald.  

Saturday, September 12, 2015

Family Tree - maternal grandfather (5 generations)

I am so deeply immersed in the lives of our ancestors that they are almost as familiar to me as my immediate family. I have written stories about many of the individuals, but I realize that it may be difficult to keep track of the relationships if you don't visit Ancestry.com on a regular basis.  I thought it might be helpful to post a visual.

In the last post, I showed my family tree back to my 2X great grandparents.  Next I will post my four grandparents' trees back to my 4X great grandparents...starting right here with my maternal grandfather's tree:


Much of what I know about this branch of the family tree I learned from the writings of my great- grandmother Ada (Hall) Crofford.  I discovered that some of the details in her family history were not completely accurate, but she wrote stories that colorfully connected our family to historical events of the day.
Ada's mother's side of the family were prominent in the Dutch community in New York.

To remind you of a few other interesting details:  
John Dillingham told a story of being lost at sea as a young man with a few other men. They were finally rescued but not before they had discussed the possibility of which of them would be sacrificed for food.
The Dillingham family is still an important family in Liberty, Indiana - there are buildings, places, and streets named after them.  
Jacob Wandell, my 4th great grandfather, was Quartermaster at Valley Forge with Gen. George Washington. 
William Haight was mentioned in the journal of Deborah Sampson, the notorious Revolutionary War soldier (male imposter).
Andrew Hall from Michigan was trained as a Civil War soldier in Newport News.  He became a surgeon's assistant under General McClellan during the Seven Days Battle in Virginia.
Horace Calvin Crofford's discharge papers after the Civil War were signed by Ulysses S. Grant.


Thursday, September 10, 2015

My Family Tree - 5 generations

Here are five generations of my family tree, as accurate as I have been able to prove thus far.  I printed this basic tree from Ancestry.com, but on the actual website, you can see all the documentation and photos that I have accumulated on each person.  Each one has a unique story to tell!  I am 100% sure of the identities of all but two of these folks.  Sadie Wright and Elizabeth Highland, both 2X great grandmothers, have precious little information available, either in family documents or online.  Their names are about all that could be found.

I hope this is readable - it was hard to get a scanned copy to fit this space.

I took an online course to be able to better understand the DNA test results. It made me realize that more of our family members should get tested in order to more fully prove my genealogy research!  I thought that siblings had nearly identical DNA, but that is not true at all.  My sister and I each got different pieces of our parents' DNA; therefore, she may have gotten pieces of DNA from an ancestor that I did not.  I also learned that cousins, up to 4th cousins, almost certainly share at least some DNA.  On the other hand, I could be cousins with someone who shares absolutely no DNA at all with me, but we could both be linked by DNA to a different cousin who shares our same ancestor.  This gets very complicated, as you can imagine.


Monday, August 31, 2015

Mexico?

The oddest thing that has come out of my DNA matches is a link to several family trees that are almost entirely in Mexico.  And these are not distant cousins!  They are 4th cousins with a "very high" degree of confidence!

I cannot explain it.  One of those trees is also linked to the Allen ancestors, which is even more mystifying, though Augustus Allen lived closer to Mexico than anyone else in the family.

If you look at my DNA Ethnicity report, it shows that 10% of my genes come from the Iberian peninsula. That could explain any Spanish blood, but it would have been much further back than 4th cousins.  

Wondering... (I do a lot of wondering)....

Sunday, August 30, 2015

Virginia and the Allens, Lewis's and Warners

Just some random thoughts on recent discoveries....

Me > Virginia Crofford > Teresa Allen > Augustus Allen > Robert Scott Allen > John Watson Allen > Turner Allen > William Carr Allen (m. Mary Lewis, dau. of Col. Charles Lewis).

Even though Augustus Dozier Allen was born in Illinois, his father, Robert Scott Allen, was from Virginia.  I love that my grandparents came back to Virginia almost a century later from "out West" not knowing that they were returning to the land of their ancestors. Full circle.

Augustus' middle name, Dozier, came from his paternal grandmother's mother, Ann Dozier, who married Robert Scott of Lunenburg, Va.  Source: The Georgia Frontier:  Revolutionary War Families to the mid-1800's.  (Google books)  This new branch on the family tree was immediately confirmed by DNA matches!

Could the name Augustus have come from his 5X great grandfather Augustine Warner?

I am still shaking my head over the fact that my grandmother's family came from New Kent County, which is a place that I have always loved.  When I drive to visit family in Old Church, I always take the back roads through New Kent.  Maybe my ancestors' spirits drew me there!  Col. Charles Lewis was born at "Chemokins," a plantation that, coincidentally, my Uncle Herman Lukhard (different side of the family) worked as a tenant farmer in the early 1900's.  The land was originally purchased from Col. John West (the old West store is still on Rt. 360 at Old Church Rd).  Col. Charles Lewis sold Chemokins in the late 1700's to George Webb, and it was in the Webb family for more than a hundred years.  It was sold to J.L.Slaughter and the Hampstead Land and Phosphate Company in 1889.  I have passed the Hampstead property many times and wondered what was beyond those brick entrances!  The Hampstead House, built in 1825, is on the register of historic homes in Virginia. It sits on a bluff with a view of the Pamunkey River. There are ruins of buildings on that land that were probably there when the Lewis' owned it.  It is owned by the Wallace family today.  I looked it up on Google maps, satellite view, and could see some very old gravestones there - I just may have to knock on their door one day!

UPDATE July 2023: On a recent drive through New Kent County, I saw that the Hampstead land is being cleared of forest, and the house can now be seen from the road. I learned that the property is being turned into a destination/wedding venue. That was good news. 

Sunday, August 23, 2015

Warner Hall Plantation, est. 1642 - “Austin’s Desire”

One of my proven ancestors through the DNA test is Elizabeth Warner, 1672-1720. Elizabeth married John Taliaferro Lewis, my 7th great grandfather.

Here is the lineage from my maternal grandmother back (*proven through DNA):

Teresa/Ethelyn Allen, 1893-1966 (b. Illinois)
Augustus Allen, 1859- ? (b. Illinois)
Robert Scott Allen, 1797-1864 (b. Virginia)
?John Watson Allen, ? - ? (b. Virginia)
?Turner Allen, 1751 - 1800 (b. Virginia)
Mary Carr Lewis, 1725 - 1778 (b. Virginia; m. William Carr Allen)
*Charles Lilburne Lewis, 1696 - 1779 (b. Virginia)
*Elizabeth Warner, 1672 - 1720 (b. Virginia; m. *Col. John Taliaferro Lewis, 
"one of His Majesty's Honorable Council for this Colony")

Elizabeth inherited Warner Hall, at the head of the Severn River in Gloucester County, today recognized as one of the premier historic homes in Virginia:
Referred to as “Austin’s Desire” in the 1642-land patent, the original six hundred-acre plantation site was established by Augustine Warner as a “land grant” from the British Crown. Augustine Warner received the acreage in exchange for bringing twelve settlers across the Atlantic Ocean to the Jamestown Settlement, a colony desperately in need of manpower to survive in the New World.
"The Lewis family occupied Warner Hall for generations and members of the family immigrated to all parts of the United States."  (A Brief History of Warner Hall Plantation).  In 1740, the original part of the home burned down and was rebuilt on the same foundation.  The plantation remained in the Lewis family until the 1830's.  In 1849, the center part of the home was again destroyed by fire, and the owners built the current frame house on the same foundation with the same floor plan.

The Warners and the Lewis's were among the most prominent families in Virginia. Warner Hall played a significant part in Bacon's Rebellion.  Elizabeth Warner's sister Mildred married Lawrence Washington, and their son Augustine married Mary Ball, who became the mother of George Washington.
Some of the most recognized names in American history are direct descendants of Warner Hall’s founder, Augustine Warner – George Washington, the first president of the United States, Robert E. Lee, the most famous Civil War General and Captain Meriwether Lewis, renowned American explorer of the Lewis and Clark expedition. 
George Washington was a frequent visitor to his grandparent’s plantation. 
Queen Elizabeth II, the current monarch of England, is also a direct descendent of Augustine Warner. In England, Warner Hall is referred to as “the home of the Queen’s American ancestors.”  (A Brief History of Warner Hall Plantation)

Virginia Bed and Breakfast History
Warner Hall and the Warner-Lewis family graveyard.  Elizabeth Warner's inscriptions reads:  "Here Lyeth Interr'd ye Body of Elizabeth Lewis the Daughter of Col Augustine Warner and Mildred his Wife and late wife of John Lewis Esq. She was Born at Chesake the 24th of November, 1672 Aged 47 years 2 Months and 12 Days, and was a Tender Mother of 14 Children. She Departed this Life the 5th Day of February 1719/20."

The Inn at Warner Hall is hosting a family reunion event this year through October 29:  "Descendants of the Warner, Lewis and Washington families are invited to visit Warner Hall to connect more deeply to their historical roots during this special family reunion promotion."  "Descendants are invited to the Inn at Warner Hall’s “All In The Family” reunion, a promotion to help get as many descendants to visit the property as possibly, likely uniting cousins who have never met."  The event will benefit the Warner Hall Graveyard preservation fund.