Surprising Connections

I recently acquired all of my mother's files on her genealogy research, including reams of printouts of email exchanges from the 1990's with fellow Wandell researchers from various genealogy message boards. One of these researchers (cousins), contacted her last week and discovered her memory decline. I connected with him by phone and explained about her issues, and also shared my DescendDance blog with him. It inspired me to spend a couple of afternoons sorting through all of Mom's files and purging duplicate or useless papers. It is now reduced to a manageable pile. Some of the cousins with whom she corresponded sent her some invaluable copies of original documents that I did not have. I am looking forward to incorporating them into my research.

On another note, my sister and her husband (Holly and Clayton Bernick) were going through the last of his mother's storage boxes of memorabilia. They found a piano recital program that listed his mother's name (Jane Ramsey), and surprise! It also listed the names of our beloved Aunt Teeny (Miriam Lukhard) and cousin Peggy (then Page, now Baldacci)! Jane was about 14, and Teeny and Peggy were around 10 years old in 1946. When I told Teeny about it today, she told me that Gramp used to take her and Peggy to piano lessons in his truck every week and they hated it. But they loved the piano teacher, a little old Dutch man named A. J. Pennartz. He was the organist at the church where the recitals were held. Teeny and Peggy quit lessons as soon as they were allowed, but Jane continued with the same teacher until college and corresponded with him long after her lessons were through.

The times dispatch. September 15, 1912, Page 10

A Noteworthy Generation

I have observed that my ancestors from a certain generation were notable or influential in their time. All are my great-great-great grandfathers from both maternal and paternal sides:

Orrin Bishop Judd, 1816-1892 (my paternal 3X great grandfather)
A famous preacher in the Baptist Church in Hartford, Connecticut. He authored several books, including a translation of the Bible, and wrote the foreword in several other books. He was a trustee at Colgate University (his 1st wife was Maria Colgate), and his descendants followed this tradition. He became notorious during a highly publicized divorce scandal - front page news! Elizabeth (my 3X great grandmother) eventually committed suicide over losing her children in the divorce. Orrin then married Susanna, the housekeeper who was his co-conspirator in the purported abuses against Elizabeth.

Joseph Bucklin Bosworth, 1790-1850 (my maternal 3X great grandfather)
Leader in the Mormon Church and close friend to Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon Church in America. His preaching is well-documented, his "visions" recounted, and his name can be found in Joseph Smith's diaries. Joseph Smith wrote, "Bro. Bozworth was strong in the faith - he is a good man, and may, if faithful, do much good."  He was born in Providence, RI, and fought in the War of 1812. He died in Illinois.

John C. Abbott, 1815-1989 (my paternal 3X great grandfather)
Award-winning piano-maker; established a piano factory in NY City. All of his brothers came to America to work with him. Possibly the son of John Abbott, a famous "music table" maker in London. Later opened the Abbott and Sons piano parts factory in Palisades Park, NJ.

John Dillingham, 1773-1861 (my maternal 3X great grandfather)
Pioneer, born in Rhode Island or Massachusetts, traveled through Ohio to Indiana. A first settler in the township of Liberty, Indiana. Fought in the War of 1812. Well known especially for his hospitality to travelers. "Dillingham" is a prevalent place name to this day in Liberty.

Capt. Jacob Wandell, 1779-1868 (my maternal 3X great grandfather)
A 2nd generation Dutch settler in NY City - son of the wealthy and prosperous shipping magnate, Jacob Wandell, also born of the famous Stillwell family in NY. Parents were connected to the famous Vanderbilts. Fought in the War of 1812, but apparently deserted. Worked as a mariner on the Hudson River. Buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery.

Veterans pre-1900

This is a beginning attempt to compile a list of men in our direct line of ancestry who fought in wars prior to 1900.  This list does not include men who registered but did not serve.

Anglo-Powhatan War, 1644-1646 and the Esopus Wars
Nicholas Stillwell, 1603-1671

French and Indian War
Abraham Hall, 1709-1761 (in the army at Crown Point)

Revolutionary War
Jacob Wandell, 1747-1828
William Allen 1724-1789
Benajah Bosworth, 1744-1800 (Crary's Regiment)
Robert Allen 1704-1784

Crary's Regiment, Revolutionary War

War of 1812
Benjamin Applegate, 1774-1862
Richard Pierce Applegate, 1796-1847
Capt. Jacob Wandell, 1779-1868 (deserted)
John Dillingham, 1773-1861, & son, Henry

Civil War, 1862-1865
Calvin V. Crofford, US 1806-1880
Horace C. Crofford, US 1846-1916 (Mail runner)
Andrew Hall, US 1828-1907 (Hospitalized 6 mos, David's Island, NY)
Eley Bryant, 1829-1887 (POW Pt. Lookout, MD)
George J. Powell, CSA 1825-1866 (POW Farmville, VA)
Robert Scott Allen, CSA 1797-1864 

Jacob Wandell, 1747-1827

My 4th great grandfather, Jacob Wandell, was the son of Johannes Wandell who immigrated from the Netherlands in 1737.  Johannes was the gg?grandson of the famous Dutch poet and playwright, Joost Van Der Vandel, whose statue is displayed in Vandelpark in Amsterdam.

Jacob Wandell > Miriam Olivia Wandell > Ada Clemina Hall > Horace C. Crofford > Virginia M. Crofford > Teresa Zaun Austin

Jacob was born in 1747 in Fishkill, New York.  He married Catherine Stillwell in 1770,  and they had ten children.  He became a wealthy man and owned slaves.

Jacob enlisted as a Quartermaster in the military under General Washington in 1777, and was assigned to Colonel Spencer's regiment.  His connections with the Dutch community enabled him to obtain food when the English army could not.  Jacob participated in the battles of Brandywine (September) and Germantown (October), and was with the army at Valley Forge during that terrible winter of 1777-78.  My great grandmother Ada Crofford wrote:

When Washington was at Valley Forge, my great grandfather seeing the soldiers were in much need of shoes went to Washington and told him that he had left a great quantity of hides in his tan-vat, and that they were, by that time, ready to be finished.  He offered to go home and have the hides finished, and made up into shoes, by his slaves, one of whom was a good cutter, and several could sew leather.  Washington gladly gave his permission.  My great grandfather went home, returning in due time with two great wagons loaded with shoes. 

Jacob's own home was plundered during the war.  According to Ada:

Great grandfather Wandell was rich when the revolution began.  His home was between the lines much of the time and was plundered by both sides. They had got down to one cow. One day they saw a soldier departing with her.  Great grandmother had twin babies in the cradle. Snatching them from the cradle she ran to the door with a baby on either arm.  "Stop, stop!" she cried.  "If you take her, my babies will die." The soldier stopped and looked at the babies a moment, then took the rope off the cow and went off.  

In 1780, Jacob was transferred to Colonel Goose Van Schaick's regiment where he served until the close of the war.  He was in Virginia at the Battle of Yorktown, and was apparently acquainted with Lafayette. Many years later, when Lafayette visited America (1824), he recognized Jacob during a parade in NY City and embraced him.

When the Treaty was signed in 1783, Jacob's discharge was signed by George Washington.  This relic is currently housed in Washington's Headquarters in Newburgh, New York.

General Washington's Headquarters at Newburgh, NY

Jacob moved to Havershaw, New York in 1794 and became a millwright.  He died a poor man.  He and Catherine both died on Weygant's Island, now called Iona Island, on the Hudson River.  The island was owned by the Van Cortlandt family for 200 years.  It is now part of Bear Mountain State Park.

Small island on the Hudson River where Jacob and Catherine died.

The Shakespeare of the Netherlands

Joost Van Den Vondel, my maternal 7th great grandfather, was a 16th century poet and playwright who produced some of the greatest works of Dutch literature.  His allegorical plays drew from Christian themes and reflected his religious and political views.  He "holds the record for the longest tradition of annual performance in Europe." (Brill)  John Milton drew inspiration from Vondel's tragedy of Lucifer, introduced in 1654.  You can read the play HERE.   

Joost Van Den Vondel > Joost Van Den Vondel > Johannes Van Den Vondel (Wandell) > Jacob Wandell > Capt. Jacob Wandell > Miriam Olivia Wandell > Ada C. Hall > Horace C. Crofford > Virginia M. Crofford > Teresa Zaun Austin

NOTE: this link has not been verified. Working on it!

From the New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia:  

"He is the greatest poet the Netherlands have produced, one who is distinguished in every form and who occupies a place among the best poets of all time."

As a legacy, Amsterdam's biggest park, the Vondelpark, bears his name, as well as his statue in the northern part of the park. The Dutch five guilder banknote bore Vondel's portrait from 1950 until its discontinuation in 1990.

This connection needs more research.  Ada Hall Crofford shared this family lore in her writings, but the dates don't make sense. 

New Jersey

Some of our ancestors were early colonists, but many came to America just a few generations ago from England, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, and the Netherlands. So it is no surprise that our lineage can be traced back to the area in and around New York City.

Fort Lee, NJ keeps coming up as a common place of origin, particularly on my father's side.  Thomas Whitfield came from England, married Betsy Godfrey from Providence RI, and settled in New York.  Their daughter Sarah married John Abbott from Newark, NJ.  The Abbotts' son Whitfield married Sadie Wright from Brooklyn and settled in Fort Lee. Their son, my great grandfather, George Abbott, was born there.

Orrin Bishop Judd, my dad's paternal ancestor from Hartford, Connecticut, lived in Brooklyn at different times in his life and married Elizabeth MacDonald from Bronx, NY.  My mother's great grandmother, Miriam Olivia Wandell, was born in Brooklyn of parents with a Dutch heritage.

I have always felt a draw to that part of the world, especially to Long Island and Rhode Island.  Never thought much about New Jersey, but it's looking more and more interesting now.