My Family Tree: digest version

Me

I was born in Norfolk, and moved with my family to Princess Anne County (which later became Virginia Beach) when I was just five years old. As a result, my personal roots are firmly planted in Kempsville, a historic and close-knit community in Virginia Beach. I raised my four boys where there had been a field when I was young, just bicycling distance from my childhood home.

My parents

My parents, John Beverly Zaun and Virginia Maude Crofford, met and married in Norfolk, Virginia. They were both students at Maury High School. John went to trade school and began a satisfying, lifelong career with Landmark; he was video tape engineer for WTAR-TV, and later Chief engineer for WTAR/WLTY radio. Virginia completed two years of college at William and Mary Extension (now ODU), and worked as church organist (Emmanuel Episcopal Church) and piano teacher, then as secretary in various positions, with congressman Bill Whitehurst, and the City of Virginia Beach, with the police detective bureau and with city planning. John died in 1998 (probable pulmonary embolism) and is buried at Rosewood Cemetery on Witchduck Road in Virginia Beach. Virginia died on Aug. 13, 2022, and is buried next to John. 

My grandparents

My father's parents were both born in Richmond, Virginia. Earnest Earl Zaun was one of five children and grew up in Dumbarton. My paternal grandmother, Jacqueline Delmar Abbott, the youngest of three sisters and three half-brothers, also lived in the Dumbarton area. "Ernie" and "Jack's" first date was taking the train to Buckroe Beach in Hampton for the day. They were engaged at ages 19 and 17; his engagement gift to her was a cedar chest, which I now have in my upstairs bedroom. Just after the Depression, my father's parents unhappily tore themselves away from their families moved to Norfolk in search of work. They had two children, My father, "Bev," born in Richmond, and a daughter, Jacqueline Gail who was born in Norfolk. Ernie worked as a bookkeeper for Dalton and Bundy Lumberyard in Norfolk. I have his leather tape measure in my box of keepsakes. Ernie was an adult class Bible teacher at the Christian Temple in Norfolk. Jacqueline was a lifelong, devoted member of the church. Ernie tragically died after a botched gall bladder surgery when he was just 49 years old. This sent the family into a tailspin and they never really recovered. My dad became his mother's protector; my aunt took her into her home to live for a time. She recovered eventually and worked as library assistant at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront Library for 19 years. She lived on her own at the Mayflower in Virginia Beach, then at Luther Manor apartments. Jacqueline had only a 9th grade education, but was an avid reader and a formidable Scrabble opponent. She died in her sleep in 1998. She and Ernie are both buried at Rosewood Cemetery.

My mother's parents married in 1926, and had two children, both born in Waukegan. Horace Calvin Crofford lived with his mother, Ada, in Waukegan, and went to engineering school at AMBU in Chicago. Teresa Marie Allen (nee Ethelyn) worked as a nurse/receptionist at a doctor's office (Dr. Jolley, ENT) in Waukegan. Horace and Teresa met in Chicago at some kind of political event. Horace was born in Buffalo Gap, South Dakota and grew up on a ranch in Newcastle, Wyoming. He joined the Army and served in France in WWI as a telegrapher. Teresa was born in either Illinois or Iowa, and her family moved to Wichita, Kansas around 1899 during the real estate boom there. Her parents were apparently divorced in 1904, and Teresa, age 10, was sent to a Catholic boarding school in Paris, Texas, where she was later trained as a nurse. She lived in a boarding house with her best friend Maude and worked in Oklahoma City. She moved to Chicago in the early 1920's. Sadly, she never knew what became of her parents. The Crofford family moved to Virginia in 1942 in search of work. Horace found work as an electrician at the Naval base in Norfolk. Horace told stories and sang songs of the wild west. Teresa was a dedicated adult class Sunday School teacher in the Nazarene Church. She died of breast cancer in 1966, and Horace died two years later. They are buried at Rosewood Cemetery in Virginia Beach.

My great-grandparents

My paternal grandfather's parents, John Adam Zaun and Georgia Ella Powell, met and married in Richmond. They lived at 4611 Penix Road in Dumbarton, and raised five children there. "Adam" was a cement contractor - I remember there were always cement statuary and garden features in their yard. Adam was born in Henrico County; Georgia, by some unexplained circumstances, was born in Iowa, though her siblings were all born in Richmond. Adam died in 1969; Georgia died in 1973. Both are buried in Bethlehem Baptist Church cemetery on Penix Rd.

My paternal grandmother's parents, George Wright Abbott and Ida Rene Bryant, met in New Jersey, though they lived in Richmond near Ida's sons after they married. George was born in Fort Lee, New Jersey. Ida Rene was born in Southampton County, Virginia, one of a set of identical twins. Her twin, Addie, lived with her husband Bluke in Princess Anne County, which was probably a major factor in bringing my father's parents to Norfolk. Ida's brother was married to George's half-sister; Ida visited them in New Jersey, meeting George for the first time when she was 26 and he was only ten. The Abbotts owned a piano parts business; Charles Bryant, Ida's brother was a piano salesman in NJ. Ida was 37, a widow, when she and George married in 1905; George was only 21. They had four children: three daughters (Jacqueline the youngest) and a son, George, Jr., who died as an infant. The Abbotts are buried in Bethlehem Baptist Church cemetery on Penix Rd.

My maternal grandfather's parents were from pioneer families. Horace's father, also named Horace Calvin Crofford, moved as a young man to the Black Hills of South Dakota from Nebraska, in search of gold. His mother, Ada Clemina Hall, was born in Chittenango, New York, but traveled west with her family to Michigan, then to Dakota Territory, being one of the first settlers of Fargo. They eventually moved to Fort Lincoln, hoping for military escort to the Black Hills of South Dakota. Ada was a schoolteacher in Fort Lincoln while they lived there for a year or so. They finally got to the Black Hills and settled on a ranch there. That is where she met Horace, at a meeting to discuss banding together against the threat of an Indian uprising. Horace was a sheep rancher. Ada was a teacher, writer, historian, and inventor. They had three sons and a daughter, who were raised in Newcastle, Wyoming. Horace was once arrested for murder; he killed a cattle rancher in a dispute over grazing land but was later exonerated. They inexplicably moved to Polk County, Missouri around 1915 (Civil War land grant?), where Horace died the following year. After that, Ada lived in at various times with her children, in Montana, Illinois, and Wisconsin. She died in 1930 and is buried near Twin Lakes, WI.

My maternal grandmother's parents married in Schuyler County, Illinois in 1883. Augustus Dozier Allen, was born in Hancock County, Illinois. Eva Louise Bosworth was born in nearby Schuyler County. They had one daughter, Ethelyn, in 1893. They moved across the river to Keokuk, Iowa for seven years where Augustus was a merchant. They moved to Wichita, Kansas around 1899, where Augustus worked for the Bureau of Immigration, then for a real estate company, B. D. Allen (no relation). The last known mention of the family was a news article about Augustus' birthday party in March 1903. After that, Eva was listed as "widowed" in the city directory. Augustus (not deceased), married Miss Emma Schindler, a housekeeper, in 1905. Their daughter Ethelyn was sent to a boarding school in Texas where she changed her name to Teresa Marie. About that time, Eva was committed to an asylum in Woodward, Oklahoma where she died and was buried in 1911. Augustus was committed to an insane asylum in Miami County, Kansas in 1917. He died two weeks after admission.

My 2X great grandparents

John Adam Zaun's parents were both born in Germany. John Adam Zaun (Soun) and Elizabeth Louisa Wellner, along with her parents, Peter and Barbara, traveled to America on the same ship arriving in New York in 1867. They married in Richmond, Virginia, in 1868 and raised their families in Dumbarton. They died in 1922 and 1924, respectively, and are buried in Bethlehem Baptist Church Cemetery on Penix Road.

Georgia Powell's parents, Jefferson Monroe Powell and Maria Louise Judd, married in Richmond in 1880. "Jeff" was born in Richmond; "Louise" in New York City. They met, supposedly, on a farm owned by her father on the Mechanicsville Turnpike; however I cannot determine whether this property is in Virginia, as her father, Orrin Judd, had no documented ties to Virginia. The Powells had at least nine children, some of whom died in infancy. They lived for one or two years in Iowa, where Georgia was born, but moved back to Richmond. Jefferson worked as a salesperson in a grocery store. Maria was a beloved Sunday School teacher and superintendent at Bethlehem Baptist Church. They are both buried there.

George Abbott's parents were Whitfield Barrie Abbott and Sarah "Sadie" Wright. They lived in Coytesville, New Jersey. Whitfield was a teacher at the Rennsalaer Institute in New York City. He died in 1889 at 45 years old. Sadie went to work in the family piano manufacturing business making action parts. They had five children, only two survived infanthood. She died in 1903.

Ida Rene's parents, Eley Bryant and Margaret Cobb, were both born in Southampton County, Virginia. Both families were original settlers with land grants from colonial times. Eley, a farmer, was a POW in the Civil War, held captive for a year at Point Lookout, Maryland. He and Margaret had nine children. They moved to Princess Anne County around 1885, then Eley died in 1887. Their son William and his wife, Bonnie Abbott lived with Margaret on their farm, which was near her daughter Addie's farm at Pungo Ferry Rd. William and Bonnie moved back to New Jersey and Margaret moved to Richmond around 1900. I do not know where Eley and Margaret are buried, but am guessing that it might be on the family property in Blackwater.

Horace Calvin Crofford, Sr.'s parents were Calvin Crofford and Anna Dillingham. Calvin was born in either Vermont or more likely, New York, the son of a Genessee Valley millwright named Horace. Calvin was one of the early settlers of Jackson Township in Porter County, Indiana. Anna's family came from New England, lived for a time in Ohio, and were early settlers of Liberty Township in Porter County, Indiana. Anna taught school in the livingroom of her father's house. Calvin and Anna married in 1839 (she was a widow). They had seven children - 3 girls and 5 boys. They moved to Missouri for a time, then to Lincoln, Nebraska where they received a grant of land under the Homestead Act. Calvin died in 1880, and Anna went to live with her son, Charles in South Dakota. She died in 1900 and was buried in Edgemont Cemetery in Fall River County, SD.

Ada Hall's parents, Andrew Hall and Miriam Olivia Wandell, were born in New York. They pioneered westward, living in Oswego, NY and then Marquette, MI, where Andrew worked as a miner. He volunteered with the Michigan Volunteer Infantry in 1861 and trained at Newport News, Virginia. He was a surgical assistant during the Peninsula Campaign of the Civil War, but fell ill after less than a year and was sent to the hospital at Fort Slocum in David's Island, NY. Months later, he rejoined his suffering, starving family in Michigan and resumed working in the mines. They eventually moved across the river to Fargo, being one of the first settlers after the railroad bridge was built over from Michigan. They later traveled south and spent a year at Fort Lincoln, then moved with military accompaniment to the Black Hills. They owned a ranch at or near what is now Sturgis, SD - neighbors often gathered at "Old Man" Hall's ranch for meetings. Andrew died in 1907, leaving land in Newcastle to his daughter Ada. "Olivia" died in 1908. Both are buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Newcastle.

Augustus Allen's parents, Robert Scott Allen and Elizabeth Highland were married in 1833 in Hamilton County, Ohio, just across the Ohio River from Covington, Kenton County, KY. Robert was born in Virginia and moved to Kentucky; Elizabeth was born in Ohio. They had eight children in Kentucky, then they moved to Hancock County, Illinois, where they had two more children including my ancestor Augustus. Robert joined the Illinois Infantry in 1862 and survived the Civil War only to die at the war's end in 1864. He is buried at Tioga Schoolhouse in Hancock County. Elizabeth died in 1896 and is buried in Springdale Cemetery in Peoria, Illinois, where she lived out her last days with her son Jacob.

Eva Bosworth's parents, Orlando Marcus Bosworth and Eliza Ann Applegate, were married in 1853 in Schuyler County, Illinois. They had three children, only two of whom survived to adulthood. Orlando died in 1884 and is buried at Bethany Cemetery at Littleton. Eliza went to live with Augustus and Eva in Wichita, where her son Richard also lived. She is listed on the 1900 U.S. Census in Wichita, although she actually died in 1899. She is buried with Orlando at Bethany Cemetery.

My 3X great grandparents and beyond... 

Paternal:

Zaun/Soun - from Mainz, Germany.

Wellner, Peter and Barbara - from Germany

Powell, George James and Mary Ellen Stevens - George fought at the Siege of Petersburg and the battle at Sailor's Creek. He was captured at Farmville three days before the surrender at Appomatox. He died before 1870, but I have found no documentation. Mary Ellen lived until 1901 in Richmond.

Judd, Orrin Bishop and Elizabeth MacDonald - Orrin was a Baptist preacher and well known theologian in Connecticut. He is connected to the founding of Colgate University and leaves a family legacy there. He wrote the translation of the Book of Matthew that is the accepted version by the American Bible Society. Elizabeth was a journalist for the New York Tribune. Their highly-publicized, scandalous divorce led to her suicide by laudanum  in 1874 at her millinery shop in Norwalk, Connecticut, after her children were taken from her by the court. Elizabeth's parents were Alexander MacDonald and Elizabeth Borjan, both of New York, but I have not been able to trace her family back any further. The Judd family can be traced back to early New England colonists, with famous names such as Bradley, Thorpe, Welles (Governor Thomas Welles of Connecticut) and can be traced back to famous royalty in England, Spain, and France, including Phillippe III of France and Isabelle De Aragon of Spain in the 1200's, Edward II of England in the early 1300's, and Lord Berkeley, 1400's.

Abbott, John C. and Sarah Whitfield - Abbott and Sons; piano forte (music table) maker from London. Moved to NY City then to Hackensack, NJ. The Whitfield family goes back to early New England colonial times with famous names such as Godfrey, Greene, Sabin, and Ashton. Their family tree extends back into 14th Century England and Wales aristocracy with the Pemberton and Bushe families (including a famous poet Ieuan) and includes Roger Williams, founder of Providence, RI.

Wright, William of New York, and Anna Walker of Ireland - unable to trace back further.

Bryant - traces back to Lewis Bryant born in 1690 in England, the original grantee of land in Southampton County. Family names in Southampton County are Joyner, Owens, Monroe, Chandler, Edmunds, Drake, Underwood.

Cobb of Southampton County - traces back to 1690, Thomas and Isabella Edwards of Wales.

Maternal:

Crawford/Crofford - Horace Crawford of Scotland and Lois Hopkins, settled in the Genessee Valley in NY in the early 1800's. The spelling of the name changed to Crofford in about the 1850's.

Dillingham, John and Hannah Hiccox -  the parents of John Dillingham cannot be confirmed, but he is known to be from RI or Massachusetts. Perhaps the family was originally from Wales. The Hiccox family can be traced back to England in the 1600's, it's most famous member being Capt. Samuel Hickock of New Haven, CT. Family names include Foote, Merrill, Hopkins, Thompkins, Sutcliff, and Warner.

Hall - can be traced back to 1500's England. Early New England colonial names are Lyman, Doolittle, Austin, English, Cunnabel, King, Lewis, and Allen.

Wandell - Capt. Jacob Wandell built a wealthy shipping company on the Hudson River. His family can be traced back to the Netherlands where a direct ancestor was Joost Van Der Vondell, the famous playwright and poet, whose works are still being performed today. Vondelpark in Amsterdam is dedicated to his name. Jacob's mother was Catherine Stilwell, descended from the famous Nicholas Stilwell, who was married to Anne Hopton, lady-in-waiting to Holland's Queen Elizabeth, the Winter Queen (after whom "Elizabeth City" and the "Elizabeth River" are named. Nicholas Stilwell was a tobacco grower at Yorktown during the time of the Jamestown colonists, and went on to settle Gravesend, NY. Jacob was married to Miriam Haight, whose father, William Haight owned land that was confiscated and later became known as Sing Sing (or Ossining), NY. Jacob served in the Revolutionary War as quartermaster under George Washington, and was with him at Valley Forge. He knew the Marquis De Lafayette - years after the war, Lafayette visited NY and recognized Jacob (by then an old man) on the street and gave him a hug. Jacob's discharge papers are on exhibit in Washington's headquarters at Newburgh, NY.

Allen, John Watson and Rebeckah Scott - from Lunenburg County, Virginia, they married in 1794. The Allen ancestors originally came from Hanover County, and descended from Capt. Charles Lilburne Lewis (I have a copy of his Revolutionary War journal), and Augustine Warner, grandfather to George Washington. Meriwether Lewis is also connected to this family. Charles' land in New Kent County was called Chemokins, which is still a working farm where, incredibly, my Uncle Herman worked as a teenager. The Rebeckah Scott's grandfather was Leonard Dozier, a third generation French Hugenot whose grandfather Leonard Dozier settled in Lunenburg County, Virginia.

Highland - nothing is known of Elizabeth Highland's parents except that her father was possibly named Thomas and lived in Ohio. Her mother is listed on the 1880 U.S.Census as "Sarah House," born in Pennsylvania.

Bosworth, Joseph Bucklin and Lucinda Hopkins - Joseph B. Bosworth was a leader in the Mormon Church, serving directly under Joseph Smith. His name is mentioned in Joseph Smith's journals. The Bosworth family can be traced back to the 1500's in New England, and are descendants of multiple Mayflower passengers, including John Howland and Elizabeth Tilley. Benajah Bosworth served in the Revolutionary War as a musician. Lucinda's father was Capt. Daniel Hopkins of Providence, RI.

Applegate, Richard Pierce and Tabitha Hawley - Richard P. Applegate was a veteran of the War of 1812. Thomas Applegate came from England in the 1500's and settled in Rhode Island. His property was known as "Applegat's Plaine." The Applegate descendants moved to New Jersey where they are included in many documents and history books there. Tabitha was born in Kentucky to Absalom Hawley. I have not been able to trace that line back any further.