Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia, and Me

An interesting item was posted on Facebook by the Hampton History Museum this month. I made an immediate connection between Elizabeth Queen of Bohemia and our own family history, but I had no idea that this Elizabeth was the one for whom the places in Tidewater are named! Elizabeth River, Elizabeth City County... I always assumed they were named for Queen Elizabeth I of England, as the state of Virginia was.

Posted on Facebook February 13, 2016

My ancestors were in the Bohemian Queen's inner circle! Here is an excerpt from a previous blog entry (4/12/15) that I wrote about Nicholas Stillwell, my 9th great grandfather and Abigail Hopton, my 9th great grandmother:

Nicholas Stillwell was born in Surrey, England in 1603. He fled England to escape religious persecution, becoming a soldier of Elizabeth Stuart the Queen of Bohemia who was protestant. Elizabeth is called "the Winter Queen" because of her short tenure in the winter of 1619-1620. According to tradition, he married one of her maids of honor, Abigail Hopton, in about 1630. After the defeat of Prague, Elizabeth went into exile at The Hague, and her army disbanded. Nicholas came to America and settled in Virginia.

My ancestor, Nicholas Stillwell came to Virginia around 1630 and owned a tobacco plantation on the York River (where the Colonial Parkway is today) and was a well-known leader in the colonists' fight against the Indians. Could he have been instrumental in giving the Elizabeth River its name? Elizabeth City County? It is entirely possible!

This is the story I found: 

The Elizabeth River in colonial Southeastern Virginia was named in honour of the princess, as was Cape Elizabeth a peninsula, and today, a town in the United States in the state of Maine. John Smith explored and mapped New England and gave names to places mainly based on the names used by Native Americans. When Smith presented his map to Charles I, he suggested that the king should feel free to change the "barbarous names" for "English" ones. The king made many such changes, but only four survive today, one of which is Cape Elizabeth.[47] 

 Stewart, George R. (1967) [1945], Names on the Land: A Historical Account of Place-Naming in the United States (Sentry edition (3rd) ed.), Houghton Mifflin, p. 38

I find it fascinating that my family history is so deeply embedded in the history of Tidewater Virginia, especially on my maternal side.  As far as I ever knew, my mother's family came from "out west," and my father's family from Richmond and New Jersey. How they ended up here, where it all began, it such an amazing saga!

Lt. Nicholas Stillwell > Capt. Nicholas Stillwell > Nicholas Stillwell III > John Stillwell > William L. Stillwell > Catherine Stillwell > Capt. Jacob Wandell > Miriam Olivia Wandell > Ada Clemina Hall > Horace C. Crofford > Virginia M. Crofford > Teresa Zaun Austin

Inn at Warner Hall, Gloucester, Virginia

We are descendants of the Lewis's and Warners who owned Warner Hall until the 1830's.  Our first ancestor on this soil was Augustine Warner I, who came to Jamestown in 1642. (Augustine was also George Washington's great-grandfather - there is also a connection to Thomas Jefferson's family). Augustine built the original house at Warner Hall.

I have written about this in a previous blog entry, but I thought it would be good to include a link to the history of Warner Hall.

Here is an excerpt:

Elizabeth, the third daughter of Augustine Warner II, became the wife of John Lewis and inherited Warner Hall. Their son, John Lewis II (1702-1754) was a member of His Majesty’s Council, and was prominent in Gloucester County. The Lewis Family occupied Warner Hall for generations and members of the family immigrated to all parts of the United States. Lewis family descendants built a number of important Virginia homes including Belle Farm, Eagle Point, Abingdon and Severn Hall. Colonel Fielding Lewis of Belle Farm, was the grandson of Elizabeth and John Lewis. Col. Lewis was married twice, first to Catherine Washington, and after her death, to Elizabeth (Betty) Washington, sister of George. One of Fredericksburg’s most beautiful and historic homes, Kenmore, was built by Fielding Lewis for his wife Betty.   

http://www.warnerhall.com/words-from-our-innkeepers/warner-hall-a-brief-history/

Jacqueline Gail Zaun, 1934-2016

My father's younger sister passed away this week.  She was 81 years old, but far from thinking that her time on earth was at an end.  She had lost her adult son to cancer, but she continued to live the dream - children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, winters in Virginia and summers in Florida. She had an active retirement lifestyle including golf, boating, playing bridge and socializing with her many friends, and even skydiving! She was involved in her church, and also in many philanthropic activities throughout her life. She made friends everywhere she went, and secretly assisted many achieve their dreams. She married the love of her life and they lived together happily for 61 years.

Gail was the youngest of her generation in our family. She was born into a family that was very close, a family where multi-generations and sometimes extended family lived in the same house or very nearby. The deep attachment to family was part of her soul. There was great sadness when her beloved father was forced to move from Richmond to Norfolk in search of work. For a while, her mother cried all the time living so far from her family.

Gail (center) with some of her Richmond relatives

The young Zaun family lived in a tiny, two-bedroom apartment in Norfolk for many years, sometimes welcoming other family members into their cramped quarters to live. They later moved in the house at 4306 Newport Avenue. Gail says that she remembers thinking hat house was a mansion compared to the apartment! In truth, it was a tiny two-story house, only one room wide, but with a big front porch and a huge side yard. Gail was so excited to get the largest bedroom in the house. (My father, four years older, was put into the smaller "nursery" where stars glowed on the ceiling). This house had steep, wooden stairs to the second floor. Gail's father sternly warned her never to come down the stairs in her stockings because of the danger of slipping. One day she heard a terrible thumping and bumping, and ran to find her father sprawled at the bottom of the steps... in his stocking-ed feet. Gail also remembered a time when she closed the front door on a young sailor who was aggressively trying to court her. He climbed up on a chair and tried to talk to her through the transom, attempting to convince her to let him in. Gail and her brother, Bev, had a happy childhood. They attended Maury High School, where Gail made lifelong friendships. Some of these friends were at her funeral.

Maury High School grad with brother, Bev

The Zauns were too poor to own a car, so they walked to the closest church, the Christian Temple at 33rd and Llewellyn.  There is where Gail and later, her own children were married.  Her parents were involved in that church all of their lives; her father was a beloved teacher of the adult Sunday School class until his untimely death at age 47. The minister at the Christian Temple buried her mother Jacqueline four decades later.

Gail remembered keeping a diary as a young girl, in which she sometimes fabricated details of her life. When her mother eventually found this diary, it was taken as fact, and Gail got in big trouble! Writing was a passion for Gail - in her lifetime, she wrote many letters and poems to family and friends. She once wrote a romantic note to Joe:  "Just call me Wee Wee, 'cause I'm all Urine." Letter-writing was her main form of communication. She and her husband Joe never had a computer, or even a basic cell phone until late in life. They were proudly resistant to technology. She knew nothing about blogging or Facebook, which probably would have satisfied her social and emotional needs perfectly. Good, or bad?  I do not judge. I should be blessed with so many friends.

Joe and Gail

Gail and Joe adopted a daughter, Katherine Gail, when they lived in a small house on Green Kemp Road in Virginia Beach, and two years later a son, Joseph Glenn. About ten years later, Gail became mysteriously ill.  She went to doctors and had tests done, but could not determine the source. They finally figured it out - she was pregnant. They joyfully welcomed Sandra Lynn into the family.

They lived in in Alanton in Virginia Beach where, true to character, they established many lifelong friendships. For a time, Gail's mother Jacqueline lived in their home as she battled with alcoholism and finally got back on her feet. Gail attended to her mother faithfully, through some very difficult times. Joe invested in a sand lot on the water on Bay Island, and they eventually built a house there.  They hosted family holidays at their gracious home for the extended family, which included her brother's family. The whole family celebrated Easter together at Joe's parents' home at the end of Witchduck Road for more than a decade.

Easter at the Watsons' home on Witchduck Road in 1989

Gail's occupation was being Joe's wife. It worked for them for 61 years.

Gail and Joe's children married and moved away - Kathy to Northern Virginia, Glenn to North Carolina, and Sandi to Vancouver, Canada.  Thus began a nomadic lifestyle for them. They sold their home on Bay Island and bought a condo in Virginia Beach, and another one in Ft. Myers, Florida.  They flew to visit their children and grandchildren, or hosted their children's visits whenever they were in Virginia Beach.  Gail's closeness with her Richmond cousins continued strong... she and Teeny and Peggy talked often. Together they put a long-overdue headstone on their Abbott grandparents' grave at Bethlehem cemetery.

Death has a way of shaking up families, for better or worse.  When her brother (my father) died in 1998, and then her mother six months later, the family was never the same. Gail carried this grief the rest of her life. She found peace in the end, and was joyful even in her fear. Her last words to everyone... I love you.

Her funeral was a lovely tribute to a lovely and gracious woman. She was at peace at the end, knowing her death was near. She had no pain, only sorrow at leaving her loved ones, especially Joe. She wrote dozens of letters to family and friends, many of which were received after her death.  These letters told of her love and gratitude for her family, and of her concern for their own personal lives. The church was packed with family and friends, and even friends of family.

Today, the burial will be private, just family.  She will be laid to rest near her parents, her son Glenn, and Joe's parents at Rosewood Cemetery in Virginia Beach.  She can rest in peace, assured that her death has brought her family together in love.

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)

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

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.

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.