Surname Saturday - Coakley family of County Cork, Ireland

According to Irish Names and Surnames by Patrick Woulfe, Coakley is an old West Cork name that means son of the blind hero or possibly son of the blind poet. There are many variations on the spellings and origins of the name, but the only one I've seen for my family is Coakley or Cokley.

 

My 3x great-grandparents were Patrick Creedan and Mary Coakley of Clondrohid, County Cork, Ireland. Patrick and Mary had three children shown below. I haven't been able to find a marriage record for Patrick and Mary or a baptism record for Mary, so I don't have a date of birth for her.

Julia Creedan was born in 1842 and baptized in Clondrohid. Her baptism sponsors were Daniel Cokley and Hanora Creeden and the townland was Carrigapooca. Timothy Creedan was born in March 1846. I've never been able to find a baptism record for Timothy, but his birth year is confirmed on census records, his tombstone and his obituary. Hanora Creedan was born in August 1848. Baptism sponsors were John Keeffee and Johanna Toomy and the location was Carrigapooca.

Timothy is my 2x great-grandfather and the only child of Patrick and Mary to have children. From Timothy's obituary written in 1899, Patrick came to Clinton County, Ohio in 1849 to make a home for the family. Shortly after he arrived, he got word that Mary had died. He sent for Timothy and Julia and they came to New Orleans and up the river to Ohio. Patrick remarried in 1851 and had several more children with Hannah Hoover in Clinton County. Julia entered the Sisters of Charity convent in Ohio around 1870 and took the name Sister Mary Felix. Her death certificate in 1918 named her parents as Patrick Creedon and Mary Coakley. I haven't found any further mention of Hanora, so most likely she died in Ireland.

So far, Mary's Coakley family is a brick wall. The Daniel Coakley named as a sponsor on Julia's baptism was probably a relative and possibly a sibling. I've turned up a couple of families that had both a Mary and Daniel in that time period, but haven't found any other info on them yet. 

On the same page as Patrick Creedan's baptism record in 1814, there is a Daniel Coakley born to Timothy Coakley and Honora Crowly in the Rahallusk township of Clondrohid. Daniel's birth is marked as illegitimate and the sponsors are Michael Buckley and Catharine Coakley. I couldn't find a daughter named Mary with a father named Timothy in this location though. 

 

A Daniel Coakley and July Leary had four children baptized in Inchigeelagh, shown below. July's name is given as Julian in some of the baptism records. I haven't been able to find any other records for this Mary. Baptism sponsors are as follows:
Daniel - ? Leary and Julian Coakley
Mary -   ? Leary and Cath P?
Denis -  ? Leary and Narry Henissey?
Narry -  Joh or Jer Leary and Mary Leary  

  

There was a Coakley family in Clinton County, Ohio that had close ties to my Creeden family, but that hasn't turned up any leads on Mary's family either. There are a lot of descendants of this Coakley family, but I haven't identified any DNA matches to my family or any connections in the records in Ohio or Ireland. 

I also have several DNA matches to a Coakley family in Ireland, but haven't found a possibility for my Mary in that family. Other possible Coakley DNA matches are through my direct line from Mary's son Timothy, but most of those seem to be on the Creeden side so far.

I'd love to hear from anyone else researching the Coakleys!

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Origins

The theme for this week is "Origins". Genealogists often get the question, "Where is your family from?". 

I do get asked that question, so I'm using this post to document what I know about my family's origins and what is still a mystery. Most of my maternal ancestors eventually settled in Queen Anne's County, Maryland or nearby counties. The chart below shows some of my maternal immigrant ancestors and my best guess at where they're from. Italics indicate data where I haven't found any supporting records. While some of these lines can be traced down to my ancestors, some of them get a bit murky in the middle and it's presumed that my lines are related to the immigrant ancestors.

The origins of my Chilcutt, Covey, Godwin and Meredith ancestors are unknown and I haven't traced my Councill line back further than Henry Councill. There was a Dennis Councill/Councell in the estate records of a Jacobus Seth in Talbot County, Maryland as early as 1698. It's possible that he is Henry Councill's father or other relation, but I haven't seen any proof of that so far.

Maternal Immigrant Ancestors

The next chart shows the main lines for my paternal immigrant ancestors. Most of them arrived in the US in the 1800s so the relationships are easier to prove than with my maternal side. The exceptions are my Matson and Clevenger lines. John Matson still remains mostly a mystery. He is the ancestor of my great-great-grandmother Mary Ann Matson Creeden. He was married to Nancy Ann Clevenger and they moved from Virginia to Clinton County, Ohio in the early 1800s. Mary is also related to the Clevengers through her mother Dortha Clevenger.

Paternal Immigrant Ancestors

A final note is that these origins match up pretty well with the ethnicity estimates from Ancestry DNA tests for me, my sister and my mother. My estimates show roughly 1/3 England/NW Europe, 1/3 Germanic Europe and 1/3 a  mix from Wales, Scotland, Ireland and Sweden/Denmark. The English and Welsh are from my maternal side, while the Germanic Europe and Sweden/Denmark are paternal. I have Irish and Scottish ancestry on both sides. The Meredith surname originated in Wales, so that's a possibility for the Welsh ancestry.

#52Ancestors is a series of weekly family history prompts developed by Amy Johnson Crow.

Surname Saturday - My Creeden Tree

When I started my blog, I didn't know anything about Timothy Creeden's origins other than he came from Ireland and family legend said he was from County Cork. Timothy is my 2x great-grandfather and for a long time I thought he was my first ancestor from Ireland to come to the United States. Since them I've learned that his father Patrick Creedan came to Clinton County, OH in 1849 and then sent for his children Timothy and Julia after he received word that his wife (Mary Coakley) had died in Ireland. The following report shows three generations of my Creeden tree.

Outline Descendant Report for Patrick Creedan:

1 Patrick Creedan b: 1814 in Ireland, d: 19 Jun 1883 in Clinton County, OH
  +Mary Coakley b: Ireland, m: Ireland, d: Bef. 1851 in Ireland
...2 Julia Creeden b: 01 Jul 1842 in Clondrohid, County Cork, Ireland, d: 22 Feb 1918 in Mount St. Joseph, Ohio
...2 Timothy Creeden b: 26 Mar 1846 in County Cork, Ireland, d: 14 Dec 1899 in Mercer, Ohio, USA
     +Mary Ann Matson b: 21 Apr 1851 in Clinton County, OH, m: 10 Dec 1868 in Clinton County , Ohio, USA, d: 08 Sep 1925 in Celina, OH
......3 Patrick Creeden b: 19 Nov 1869 in Clinton County, OH, d: 29 Nov 1872 in Clinton County, OH
......3 James E. Creeden b: 23 Oct 1871 in Clinton County, OH, d: 03 Oct 1889 in Mercer, Ohio, USA
......3 Mary Elizabeth Creeden b: 23 Mar 1874 in Clinton County, OH, d: 13 Aug 1930
        +George Fischer b: 1874, m: Abt. 1895, d: 14 Dec 1937 in California
......3 Daniel Creeden b: 29 Apr 1877, d: 21 Mar 1962 in Mercer County, OH (MCGS: Rockford OH Nursing Home)
        +Lena Gleagall b: 27 Jan 1879, d: 27 May 1962 in Toledo, OH
......3 Dennis L. Creeden b: 08 Sep 1878 in Clinton County, OH, d: 17 Jan 1930
        +Nellie Burton b: 03 Nov 1878 in Skeels Crossing, Mercer County, OH, m: 21 Jan 1901 in Mercer, Ohio, USA
......3 Edward Creeden b: 10 Apr 1884, d: 14 Feb 1937 in Newport, KY
......3 Charles Acy Creeden b: 05 Nov 1886 in Celina, OH, d: 09 May 1958 in Mercer, Ohio, USA
        + Anna Theresia Niehaus b: 11 Apr 1888 in Celina, OH, m: 27 Nov 1907 in Celina, OH, d: 07 Nov 1968 in Gibbons Hospital, Celina, OH
......3 Julia Dorothy Creeden b: 10 Nov 1888 in Celina, OH, d: 22 Apr 1967 in Pueblo, CO
        +Lorenz Richard Balleweg b: 28 Jan 1886 in Verdigree,Ne, m: 29 May 1913 in Pueblo, CO, d: 22 Aug 1948 in Pueblo,Pueblo,Co
......3 Idabel Creeden b: 04 Oct 1891 in Celina, Mercer County, Ohio, USA, d: 01 May 1974 in Celina, Mercer, OH
        +Harvey W. Stout b: 24 Jan 1891, d: 23 Dec 1964
......3 Joshua Patrick Creeden b: 07 Dec 1894 in Celina, OH, d: 26 Jun 1964 in Three Rivers, MI
        +Audria Olive King b: 22 Apr 1889, m: Feb 1920 in Mercer, Ohio, USA, d: 16 May 1989 in Celina, OH
...2 Hanora Creedan b: 1848 in Clondrohid, County Cork, Ireland
  +Hannah Jane Hoover b: 1822 in Clinton County, OH, m: 1851 in Clinton County, OH, d: 10 Oct 1879 in Clinton County, OH
...2 Phebe Creedan b: 1858 in Clinton County, OH, d: 07 Jan 1883 in Clinton County, OH
...2 Hannah Jane Creedan b: 1860 in Ohio
     +Jacob Gilbert Moorman m: 29 Jul 1880 in Clinton County, OH
......3 Jesse William Moorman b: 15 Apr 1884 in Sabina, Clinton, Ohio
......3 Elizabeth Hannah "Bessie" Moorman b: 21 Jul 1881 in Sabina, Clinton, Ohio, d: 07 Dec 1941 in Berea, Cuyahoga, Ohio
        +William Thomas Bidlingmyer b: 1881, m: 01 Sep 1904 in Cuyahoga, Ohio, United States
...2 Rose Creedan b: 1861 in Ohio, d: 30 Jun 1922 in Mercer, Ohio, USA
...2 Patrick W. Creedan b: 1864 in Ohio
...2 Johanna Creedan b: 30 Oct 1853 in Clinton County, OH, d: 30 Jan 1875 in Clinton County, OH
     + Charles B. Bernard m: 07 Dec 1873 in Clinton County, OH
......3 Eliza Bernard b: 29 Dec 1874 in Clinton County, OH, d: 11 Jan 1875 in Clinton County, OH
......3 Elijah Quincy Bernard b: 30 Dec 1874 in Clinton County, OH, d: 05 Jun 1942 in Wilmington, Clinton, Ohio, USA
...2 John Creedan b: 13 Nov 1853 in Clinton County, OH, d: 13 Dec 1923 in Recovery, Mercer, Ohio, USA
     +Minerva McFarland d: Bef. 1915
......3 Hiram Hurlbert Creedan b: 04 Mar 1875, d: 19 Sep 1935 in Sabina, Clinton, Ohio
        +Hallie M b: Abt. 1888, d: 26 Sep 1961 in Dayton, Montgomery, Ohio
......3 Flora May Creedan b: 16 Nov 1889 in Greenville, Darke, Ohio, d: 1959 in Winchester, Indiana, USA
        +John Norris d: 1959
......3 Estella Catherine Creedan b: 20 Oct 1894 in Adams, Darke, Ohio, USA
        +Isaac Clarence Pyle m: 21 Aug 1915 in Jay County, Indiana

Matrilineal Monday - Councill family of Maryland

When I started researching my Councill family, I could only trace back to my 2x great-grandparents Francis Councill and Mary Ann Meredith from Queen Anne's County, MD. Using a combination of church, land, and probate records, I've been able to go back four more generations to Henry Councill and Elizabeth Banroche. There are still several mysteries and conjectures on here, but this is what I have in my family tree software so far. I have quite a few dates, marriages, and children that aren't entered yet, so I'll update the tree in a future post.

Outline Descendant Report for Henry Councill:

 

1 Henry Councill b: England, d: 1760 in Maryland
  + Elizabeth Banroche b: France
...2 John Councill d: 1795 
      + Sarah Carey
......3 Edward Carey Councill
        + Bridget Nowland
.........4 John Councill Jr. d: Aft. 1827
           + Ann Baynard or Browning m: 1808, d: Bef. 1834
............5 Francis Councill b: 1817 in Maryland, d: 1888
              + Mary Ann Meredith b: Abt. 1825 in Maryland,
                m: 08 Jul 1840 in Queen Annes, Maryland
...............6 John Wesley Councill b: 09 Feb 1859 in Centreville, Maryland, d: 05 Dec 1916 
                  in Baltimore, Maryland
                 + Ariana Sparks b: 18 Apr 1864 in Centreville, Maryland,
                   d: 16 Dec 1929 in Baltimore, Maryland
..................7 John Herbert Councill b: 1888, d: 1966 + Ollie W. Reed
..................7 Mary Blanche Councill b: 1889, d: 1889
..................7 Barbara Anna Councill b: 1890, d: 28 Dec 1964 in Salisbury, MD
                    + George Borcherding
..................7 Mabel Councill b: 1892 + Peter Lee
..................7 Myrtle Councill b: 1893, d: 1971
                    + Thomas William King m: 1912
..................7 Samuel Leonard Councill b: 1894, d: 1927 + Anne
..................7 Winifred Councill b: 1895, d: 1954 + Forest Goodrick
..................7 Hersey Hall Councill Sr. b: 06 Dec 1896 in Centreville, Maryland,
                    d: 06 Mar 1986 in Silver Spring, Montgomery, Maryland, USA
                    + Estelle Gibson
                    + Annetta Williams McPherson
..................7 Hilda Councill b: 02 Aug 1898, d: May 1983 in Baltimore, Maryland
                    + Fred Noble
                    + Tony Melka
..................7 Julius King Councill b: 1899, d: 1918
..................7 Royce Rufus Councill b: 17 Jul 1902 in Queen Anne's County, MD,
                    d: Nov 1970 in New Castle, DE
                    + Edna Catherine Willis b: 12 Jan 1905 in Queen Anne's County, MD,
                      m: 13 Jun 1925 in Queen Anne's County, MD,
                      d: 28 May 1973 in New Castle, DE
..................7 Oscar Fearson Councill b: 1904 in Queen Anne's County, MD,
                    d: 25 Aug 1986 in Orange City, Florida
                    + Grace Green b: 1905
..................7 Ruby Ordel Councill b: 1907,
                    d: 10 Mar 1990 in Holiday, Pasco, Florida, USA
                    + Justis Ehlers
                    + Edward Parlett
...............6 Robert Councill b: Abt. 1853
                 + Martha Sparks
..................7 May Councill
..................7 Margaret Councill
..................7 Lillian Councill
...............6 Mary Councill b: Abt. 1860 + Unknown
...............6 Anna Councill
                 + McDodd
..................7 Ida McDodd
..................7 Lizzie McDodd
..................7 Henry McDodd
...............6 Marietta A. Councill b: Abt. 1842
                 + James Booker m: 18 Dec 1862 in Queen Anne's County, MD
                 + Charles J. Weaver m: 28 Dec 1878 in Queen Anne's County, MD
...............6 Richard Councill b: Abt. 1850
...............6 Frank Councill b: 1859
............5 Thomas Henry Councell b: Abt. 1829 in Maryland,
              d: 16 May 1883 in Easton, Maryland
              +    Martha Rebecca Cooper b: 18 May 1841 in Talbot County, Maryland,
                    m: 10 Jan 1867, d: 1881 in Talbot County, Maryland
............5 William Councill b: Bef. 1813
............5 James N. Councill b: 1816
............5 John Councill b: 1821
.........4 Francis Beaston Councill
.........4 Elijah Councill
...2 Joseph Councill
     + Rebecca
......3 John Councill
......3 Mary Councill
......3 Ann Councill
...2 Catharine Councill
...2 Martha Councill
...2 Mary Councill
...2 Anastasia Councill

Henry Councill is said to be from England and Elizabeth Banroche from France. Elizabeth's surname is a bit suspect since I've never found anyone else with that name. One of my Councill cousins suggested that it may actually be referencing a place: Ban de la Roche in Alsace, France. I think that may be a good guess!

On page 281 of the book Catholics of Colonial Delmarva by Thomas Joseph Peterman, it says "She (Anastasia Councill) was the daughter of Henry Councill of Tully's Neck... The other children of Henry Councill (who had come to Maryland in 1729) and his wife Elizabeth Banroche (who was of French parentage)..." It goes on to name the children and their wives. The source the book gives for the paragraph is Carley, "Baptismal Register of Joseph Mosley, S.J.." 41.

I've seen several trees on Ancestry that have Dennis Councill as the father of Henry Councill. There are references to a Dennis Councill listed in the debts for the estate of Jacobus Seth in Talbot County, MD in 1698 and 1702. In the 1702 entry, Dennis is called a runaway, so I've wondered if he could've been an indentured servant. I need more information to prove whether or not he was the father of Henry, so I haven't added Dennis to my tree yet. I noticed that the reference in the above paragraph states that Henry came to Maryland in 1729, so that doesn't match up with the dates for Dennis.

Another mystery is the surname of the mother of Francis Councill. Most of my evidence points to her being Ann Baynard, but there are some sources that say Ann Browning. Despite the mysteries, I've learned a lot about my Councills since my first post about them in 2011.

Surname Saturday - Sparks from Queen Anne's, MD

This version of my Sparks family tree connects my Sparks family to the original Sparks immigrants in Queen Anne's County, MD.  There are still a lot of gaps to fill in, but I've learned a lot since my original Sparks post in 2011.

My great-grandmother Ariana Sparks was born in Queen Anne's County, MD and later moved to Baltimore, MD with her husband John Councill. Her parents were Samuel Sparks and Susan Godwin. Samuel Sparks is named in land records along with his father Daniel, uncle John, and his siblings and spouses.

The will of James Sparks names sons Daniel, John, and Henson. This is one of the shakier links since I don't have proof that these are the same Daniel and John Sparks named in the land records with Samuel Sparks. The time period and location in Queen Anne's County seem to fit.

The other shaky link is the one from James to William Sparks, Jr. The Sparks Quarterly Issue 124 has an explanation of why James Sparks is the probable son of William Sparks, Jr. According to the Sparks Quarterly, William Sparks  had four sons: William Jr., George, John, and Joseph. Wills and estate settlements of John, George, and Joseph name their children, but none of them are believed to be the James that married Elizabeth Burkhurst.

Sources for the first four levels in the tree are the Sparks Quarterly and the Sparks Family Tree.

Surname Saturday - Five Generation Birthplace Chart

I've been seeing this all over Facebook and genealogy blogs, so thought I'd join in on the fun! This five generation chart shows the birthplaces of my family, starting with me and going up to my 2x great-grandparents. The paternal lines are on top in each pair and I've color coded them by US state and country.

I added the surnames of my 2x great-grandparents on the right, color coded by their country of origin. The names in white are still unknown or lines I haven't researched that far back yet. Most of the unknowns are probably from the UK, Ireland, and France, but my Matson line is still a mystery. My Gast family was from France, although they were close to the German border. My Councill and Sparks families were from England.

The first blog I saw this on was Linda Hall-Little's Passage to the Past's blog and the template I used was posted on Miriam Robbin's AnceStories blog. J. Paul Hawthorne, author of GeneaSpy blog came up with the original idea. Check out #MyColorfulAncestry on Twitter and Facebook to see more charts.

Motivation Monday - Researching my 2x Great-Grandparents

This is an update to my to-do list for my 2x great-grandparents. In the graphics below, I'm showing the parents for each of my great-grandparents and taking a quick look at how much research I've done on them to date.

I've made a lot of progress on my Councill families by going through land and probate records for Queen Anne's County, MD and the surrounding counties. I think Francis' parents were John Councill and Ann Baynard and I've found found several siblings for Francis. From land records, I know that Ann Baynard's father was Levin Baynard. I still haven't researched the Meredith family.

My Sparks and Godwin families are proving much harder to trace. Through land records, I know that Samuel's father is Daniel Sparks and from census records I know that Susan Godwin's parents are Samuel and Ann Godwin. I located Samuel Spark's obituary which was in an old email! I've found a few possibilities for Samuel Godwin's cousins and siblings, but nothing so far on his parents.

Next up:

• Post the land records for Samuel Sparks.
• Continue searching the land and probate records.
• Start researching the Meredith family.

Since my last update, I received some information from the Clinton County Genealogy Society on my Creeden and Matson families. It didn't provide any information on their parents, but had some interesting data on some of their siblings and other relatives. I'd still like to find an actual vital record for Timothy Creeden and find out more about Mary Ann Matson's grandparents. I haven't made any progress on finding out what happened to Anna Niehaus' brother Albert Rohrer.

Next up:

• Do a detailed timeline on Timothy and his children to see what records I'm still missing
• Organize and post my research on Timothy's siblings
• Retrace steps on Albert Rohrer and Mary Matson's parents
• Follow up on some of the Creeden mysteries (more here)

Since my last update, I made some progress on  my Schaefer and Desch families and posted the will of Catherine's father Ferdinand Desch. I haven't done too much more on my Pulskamps and Gasts.

Next up:

• Organize my Pulskamp and Gast data and see what's missing
• Continue with Schaefer and Desch research

I haven't researched my Willis and Chilcutt families since my last update, so still have a lot of research to do on these lines.

Next up:

• Organize the data I've collected on these families and enter into my family tree.
• Continue going through the probate info on FamilySearch.

Surname Saturday - Keefe

I first got interested in the Keefe family from Clinton County, Ohio while looking at the Creedon references in the 1915 History of Clinton County. I found an article that mentioned a Johanna Creedon married to John Keefe with children Timothy, Mary, James, Hannah, Patrick, and Julia. All of these names also appear in my 2x great-grandfather Timothy Creeden's family in Clinton County.

Excerpt from 1915 History of Clinton County, Ohio

The article in the history was about Joseph Kuebler and Julia Keefe. Julia was the daughter of James and Ann (Shea) Keefe, both natives of Ireland. Julia's grandparents were John Keefe and Johanna Creedon who came to America in April, 1858. James and Ann Keefe were both born in 1844.

Constantine passenger list, May 1858

The passenger list shown above is from the Constantine arriving in New York in May 1858. It shows a John and Johanna Keefe with a younger Pat, Honora, and James. They were all listed as being from Ireland with a destination of Ohio. That looks like a possible match, but where are Timothy, Mary, and Julia?

An 1876 atlas of Clinton County, Ohio shows that T. Keefe's property is very close to my 3x great-grandfather Patrick Creedan's land. I figured the families at least knew each other even if they weren't related.

When I found my 3x great-grandfather Patrick Creedan's will, there was a definite connection to the Keefe family. The executor of his will was Timothy Keefe and one of the witnesses was Bridget Keefe. Now I was really interested! I wondered if Johanna (Creedon) Keefe could be a sister or other relation of Patrick since they would be in the same age range.

I did a search on the RootsIreland.ie site for John Keefe and Johanna Creedon and found one possible match. John O'Keeffe was married to Johanna Creedan on February 23, 1830. Witnesses were William, Denis, and John Creedon and the marriage was performed in Clondrohid parish, County Cork. This is the third Creedon family in Clinton County with ties to Clondrohid! The first is my Patrick Creedan and the second is a note from another researcher that a Hannah and Timothy Creeden were married in Clondrohid in 1854. This Timothy died at sea on the passage to America in 1865.

I searched for children born to John and Johanna Keefe to see if they were a match for the Clinton County couple. I found the following baptisms listed: Patrick (1836), twins Julia and Peter (1840), Honora (1842) , and James (1844). I still didn't find anything for Timothy or Mary, but there was a Peter baptized on the same day as Julia. Patrick was baptized in Macroom and the O'Keeffe spelling was used. The other children were baptized in Kilnamartyra which borders the Clondrohid parish. Macroom is also a few miles away from Clondrohid. With those records, I can fill in a little more information on the family.

With the Creedan and probable Clondrohid ties, this family definitely needs more investigation. I'll follow up with posts on what I've found in the Ohio census and vital records for the Keefe families. Johanna and John are living with Timothy Keefe in some of the census records, so I have found a link to their son Timothy. This is a new family for me, so I'd love to hear from anyone else researching the Keefe families.

Surname Saturday - Anna Marie Schaefer

When I did some "to do" lists for my 2x-great-grandparents, I realized that I didn't know anything about Anna Marie Schaefer other than her name. I'm not even entirely sure which version of her name is correct. I've seen Anna Marie, Mary Anna, and other variations and I've seen her last name spelled "Schaeffer". Whichever one is correct, in most of the records I've seen, she went by Mary.

Anna Marie Schaefer Pulskamp

I knew that she married Herman Henry Pulskamp around 1854 and they lived in Celina, Ohio. I have a family tree from a Pulskamp cousin that says she was born on November 17, 1833 in Hanover, Germany. The 1880 census agrees with that data and shows that she was 46 years old and that she and her parents were from Hanover. My great-grandfather George is listed as "Geo" and is 7 years old.

Mary's husband Herman was also from Hanover.  I've noticed as I've researched my German ancestors that many of the census records actually give a location, while records for my Irish ancestors never say anything but Ireland! I suppose some of that had to do with changing territories and borders in Germany.

A Google search turned up a match in A Portrait and Biographical Record of Mercer and Van Wert Counties, Ohio, published in 1896. The biography was about one of their sons, John Bernard Pulskamp, but included a bit of detail on Herman and Mary. The biography gives her year and place of marriage as 1854 in Cincinnati. It also states that she came to the US in 1848 and lists the seven children that were living in 1896.

With the info that Mary came to the US in 1848, I found a possible match in a passenger list for the Mary Adeline that arrived from Bremen, Germany on August 15, 1848.

  

A census entry for 1850 in Crawford County, Ohio appears to be the same family, so it's a possibility that this is Mary's family.

I also checked some online family trees, but didn't find anything definite for her parents. She was only 52 when she died and one tree mentioned that she died of consumption. I'm still not sure who Mary's parents were, but at least I have a few clues to follow up on now.

Sources:

• Year: 1880; Census Place: Celina, Mercer, Ohio; Roll: 1048; Family History. Film: 1255048; Page: 457B; Enumeration District: 187; Image: 0627. Ancestry.com online database
• Google Books: A Portrait and Biographical Record of Mercer and Van Wert Counties, Ohio, published in 1896 by A. W. Bowen & Co. in Chicago, IL
• Year: 1848; Arrival: New York, New York; Microfilm Serial: M237; Microfilm Roll: 74; Line: 1; List Number: 916; Page Number: 4. Ancestry.com. New York, Passenger Lists, 1820-1957 [database on-line]
• Year: 1850; Census Place: Jackson, Crawford, Ohio; Roll: M432_671; Page: 369A; Image: 105  Ancestry.com. 1850 United States Federal Census [database on-line]
• Thanks to LDarcy for posting the picture of Mary on FindAGrave.

Surname Saturday - 2x Great-Grandparents

I mentioned in my Gast surname post that I'd finally posted some information for each of my lines at the great-grandparent level. I've skipped around quite a bit and some posts were a lot more detailed than others, but these posts have really helped me to organize my data and see what's missing.

In the graphics below, I'm showing the parents for each of my great-grandparents and taking a quick look at how much research I've done on them to date.

I probably have the most data on the Creeden famly since they're the ones I started out researching. I'd still like to find an actual vital record for Timothy Creeden and find out more about Mary Ann Matson's grandparents. I think Timothy's parents are Patrick Creedan and Mary Coakley from Clondrohid, Ireland, but I'd like to find more evidence to back that up. The main mystery on the Niehaus side is what happened to Anna Niehaus' brother Albert Rohrer?

Next up:

• Do a detailed timeline on Timothy to see what records I'm still missing
• Follow up with Clinton County Genealogy Society. I wrote them in January to see what info they might have on the Creeden and Matson families and was contacted in March by someone that said she had information on the families. Updating to add that I should be receiving the information from the Clinton County Genealogy Society soon!
• Retrace steps on Albert Rohrer.

I've been going through the Queen Anne's County, MD probate records on FamilySearch for these families and I've found probate files or wills for Francis Councill, his wife Mary, and Samuel and Susan Sparks. I still have a lot of data to go through and posted earlier about how intertwined these families were. I don't know the parents for Mary Meredith or anything about her family, although some other Merediths pop up in the census records.

Next up:

• Organize the data I've collected recently and enter into my family tree.
• Transcribe the wills and probate info I've found on FamilySearch.

I haven't researched my Schaefer line at all and don't know too much about my Desch family. I just recently found the will of Catherine's father Ferdinand Desch on FamilySearch, so I'll transcribe that in a future post. I have quite a bit of info on the Pulskamps and Gasts, but some of it still needs to be sorted out.

Next up:

• Start researching the Schaefer line. Woot, a whole new line to investigate!
• Transcribe the will for Ferdinand Desch.

I've posted some information on my Willis and Chilcutt families, but still have a lot of research to do on these lines. I have even less data on the Adams and Covey lines. I have a head start for all of these thanks to people that shared their family trees. It is much appreciated!

Next up:

• Organize the data I've collected on these families and enter into my family tree.
• Continue going through the probate info on FamilySearch.

So that's a quick glance at where I am for my 2x great-grandparents. Looks like I have a long "to do" list!

Surname Saturday - Acy

This will be one of my shorter surname posts since I can find out so little about the Acy surname. In fact, I'm not even completely sure that it is a surname since it only occurs as a middle name in my family.

My great-grandfather's full name was Charles Acy Creeden. He usually signed documents as Charles A. Creeden, so I've only found the name in writing in a couple of places. Before finding the index to the Mercer County, Ohio birth records, I had thought the name was spelled Acey.

The entry above is from a Mercer County, Ohio report of births and the one below is from the Probate Court records. Both clearly show Charles' middle name as Acy, although one has his birth date as November 10 and the other shows November 5. His obituary and headstone both say November 5, so that is probably the correct date.

I could find very few Acys or Aceys in the Ohio census and none in Clinton or Mercer counties where the family lived. The Ancestry.com message boards only have a few entries for the names and the origin seems to be Yorkshire, England. There is one mention of an Acey coming from County Cork, Ireland where Charles' father Timothy was born.

My Dad asked Charles where the name came from and he didn't know. This one may remain a mystery.

Sources:

• "Ohio, County Births, 1841-2003," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/VNWF-3XC : accessed 27 Apr 2013), Charles Acy Creeden, 1886.
• "Ohio, County Births, 1841-2003," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/VN7J-JZY : accessed 27 Apr 2013), Charles Acy Creeden, 1887.

Surname Saturday - Gast

A few years ago, a Gast cousin sent me an extensive family tree that went all the way back to the 1700s in  Ligsdorf Haut-Rhin, France. I was surprised to find out that the family came from France since my father had always thought they were German. Searching for Ligsdorf Haut-Rhin, showed that it is part of the Alsace-Lorraine region of France. This region has changed hands between Germany and France several times and most of the population had Germanic origins. I found that the family gave their place of birth as France in some census entries and Germany in others. I've put information from the family tree in italics in the text that follows.

Andre Gast and his family came to Baltimore, MD in 1828 and later settled in Minster, Ohio. Andre Gast was born on September 09, 1788 in Ligsdorf, Haut-Rhin, France, and died in 1854 in Maria Stein, OH. He married Therese Bendi on June 02, 1808 in Ligsdorf, Haut-Rhin, France, daughter of Pierre Bendi and Madeleine Meister. She was born on August 05, 1781 in Ligsdorf, Haut-Rhin, France, and died in Maria Stein, OH.

Andreas and Tracey Gast in 1850 Auglaize, Ohio census

I found a good possibility for Andre and Therese in the 1850 Auglaize, Ohio census where Minster is located. They have the correct ages and are from France. The census shows that Andre was a farmer.

Gast House and General Store

Andre and Theresa's son Mathias Gast was my 3x great-grandfather. He was born on October 28, 1813 in Ligsdorff, Haut-Rhin, France, and died on April 22, 1888 in Maria Stein, OH. He married Maria Katherine Hagedorn on September 12, 1839 in Maria Stein, OH. She was born on May 07, 1823 in Newkerchen (Hanover) Germany, and died on November 11, 1915 in Maria Stein, OH. I have also seen her name as Katharina Maria Hagedorn.

According to Wikipedia, Mathias was one of the earliest settlers in Marion Township in Mercer County, Ohio and he opened a shoe store there in 1833. The Gast house pictured above was built in 1852 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. Mathias operated a store and hotel out of his house. In later years, younger members of the Gast family built a substantial addition to the rear of the house to accommodate increasing numbers of relatives. The house is still being used as a residence, while the store was destroyed. It's definitely on my list of places to see!

1870 census entry for Mathias Gast and family in Marion Township, Mercer County, Ohio

The 1870 census for Marion Township, Mercer County, Ohio shows Mathias and his wife Catherine with their children John, Henry, Mathias, and Frances. Their oldest son, John Henry was my 2x great-grandfather. His occupation here is "clerk in store", so I would guess he was working in the family store. Mathias' place of birth says France, while his wife's says Holland. In the 1880 census, her place of birth is given as Prussia, while the 1860 census said Hanover. Also, of interest, is that Mathias's mother's place of birth is given as Switzerland.

John Henry Gast was born on October 28, 1849 in Maria Stein, OH, and died in 1934 in Celina, OH. He married Catherine "Kate" Desch, daughter of Ferdinand Desch and Katharina Anthony. She was born in 1853, and died in 1918.

1880 census entry for John Henry Gast and family in Jefferson Township, Mercer County, Ohio

In the 1880 census, John Henry Gast is a farmer. John and his wife Catharine have four children, John, Andrew, Mary, and Emma. Mary is my great-grandmother. John's parent's place of birth is given as France and Catharine's parent's place of birth is given as Prussia. In the 1900 census the place of birth is given as Germany for both John and Catherine. Interesting how the place of birth seems to change from census to census!

In the 1920 and 1930 census, John Henry Gast's father's place of birth is listed as Alsace Loraine and his mother's as Prussia.

George F. Pulskamp and Mary Gast in Jefferson Township, Mercer County, Ohio

Mary married George F. Pulskamp on August 19, 1899. In the 1900 census, they are living in Jefferson Township, Mercer County, Ohio. George is working as an Editor. He later published the Mercer County Bote, a German newspaper.

While the family tree I received on the Gast family has given me a good head start on researching the family, I have not verified any of the data before the family came to Ohio. That's another item on my long "to do" list.

With this post, I've covered all of my great-grandparent's surnames in a Surname Saturday post! These posts have really helped me organize the data I have and show what is missing.

Thanks again to Heather of Leaves for Trees for her tip on using Excel for ancestor graphics.

Surname Saturday - Niehaus

My Niehaus family came to the US from Wildeshausen, Oldenburg, Germany.  While I have some information on the names and dates in the family tree, I don't know too much about their life in Germany.  They came to the US in 1865 and settled in Mercer County, Ohio.

My 3x great-grandfather Charles (Carl Theodor Heinrich) Niehaus was born in 1831 in Wildeshausen and died in 1906 in Celina, Ohio. His occupation was listed as a Handwerker which translates to manual laborer or craftsman. His son Henry came to the US with his family at the age of 10 or 11 and lived most of his life in Mercer County, Ohio. On the 1900 census, Henry's occupation is given as Street Commissioner. A newspaper article in 1912 mentions Henry Niehaus as the Director of the County Infirmary. Henry and his wife Anna Rohrer had six daughters: Katir, Walburga, Agnes, Anna, Bertha and Caroline.

Agnes, Anna, Bertha, and Burga Niehaus in the early 1900's in Celina, OH

My great-grandmother Anna Niehaus was the first generation born in the US. She was born in Celina, Ohio on April 11, 1888 and married Charles Creeden on November 27, 1907. According to my father, Anna was the Matron of the Mercer County Jail when Charles was Sheriff in the 1920s. He also said that she was quite the sharp shooter and at one time met and did some shooting with Annie Oakley!

Anna and Charles had three children: Carl Edward (1908-1912), Robert Frank (1911-1995), and Mary Mae (1914-1999). Anna and Charles raised my father after the death of his mother in 1934.

I am lucky to have several nice pictures of my Niehaus family. Carl and Robert are pictured on the far left in my blog header. The second picture from the left is a family portrait of Anna, Carl, Robert, and Charles in 1911. Mary Mae is the young girl with the umbrella.

Once again, thanks to Marj for sharing her information on the Niehaus family. Marj is the granddaughter of Anna's sister Bertha. Thanks also to Heather of Leaves for Trees for her tip on using Excel for ancestor graphics.

Surname Saturday - Godwin, Davis, Sparks, and Meredith

My Godwin, Davis, and Sparks families are from Queen Anne's County, Maryland.

The earliest record I have for these families is from the Index to Queen Anne's County, MD Marriage Records. The index shows that my GGG-Grandparents Samuel Godwin and Ann Davis were married on March 23, 1824 by Rev. Crouch in Queen Anne's County.

Their daughter Susan Godwin was married to Samuel Sparks on July 16, 1849 by Rev. Sumption.

This record from the 1850 census for Queen Anne's County shows an interesting group of families living together. Susan and Samuel Sparks are living with Susan's parents and have a baby daughter, Martha Ann. A couple of young girls from the Meredith family and Rebecca Davis are also living with the Godwins. Rebecca Davis is close in age to Ann Davis Godwin, so they might be sisters. Also of note is that Samuel Godwin's occupation is a sailor.

Godwin family in 1850 census for Queen Anne's County, MD

I am not sure where these Merediths fit into my family, but my GG-Grandparents Francis Councill and Mary Meredith were married on July 8, 1840 in Queen Anne's County. Both the Merediths and the Sparks had daughters named Ariana. Francis and Mary's son John Wesley Councill married Samuel and Susan Sparks' daughter Ariana, so it would appear that all of these families were close.

The previous page in the 1850 census has a Meredith and two other Sparks families, so those might provide some clues.

Sparks family on page before Godwins in 1850 Queen Anne's census

The Sparks family above also has a daughter named Martha Ann. Robert Sparks and his family are living nearby.

Another Sparks family on the same page of the 1850 census

I have a long way to go on sorting out these families. I'd love to hear from anyone else researching any of these surnames in Queen Anne's!

Surname Saturday - Adams and Willis

I haven't done a lot of research on these families yet, so this post is to document what I have so far. My great-great-grandmother Ruth Edna Adams was born in May 1840 in Delaware and married William Martin Willis in 1859. William was born in Maryland in January 1828 and was the son of Senah B. Willis and Elizabeth Todd. I have seen quite a bit of research on the Todds, but not as much on the Willis or Adams families. Ruth's middle name caught my eye since my Willis grandmother was named Edna.

A marriage bond for William and Ruth is signed by William M. Willis and William I. Adams, so William I. Adams may be Ruth's father.

In the 1850 census, there is a Ruth E. Adams born about 1836 living with another family in Milford or Mispillion Hundred, Kent, Delaware, but I don't know if this is my Ruth.

In the 1860 census, the Willis family is in Dover Hundred, Kent County, Delaware and there is a Mary Adams, age 55 living with Ruth and William. I've wondered if Mary was Ruth's mother, but haven't been able to find any proof so far.

1860 Dover Hundred, Delaware census

In the 1870 census, the family is living in Mispillion Hundred, Kent, Delaware, the same place as the Ruth E. Adams in the 1850 census.

There are several children: James, Esther, Henry, Georganna, and Francis. Mary Adams and Sarah Adams are living with them. Georganna was a colorful character that I've posted about before.

In the 1880 census, they are still in Mispillion Hundred, Kent, Delaware and my great-grandfather Eugene Willis is 1 year old. Other children are James, Henry, Georganna, Frank, William, John, and Thomas. John's middle name is Van Berkalow which I would think is another surname in the family, but I haven't found any connections so far.

By 1900, the family had moved to Centerville, Queen Anne's County, Maryland.

From another researcher's note, Ruth and William are buried in the Chesterfield Cemetery, Centerville, MD.

I was curious about what the "hundred" meant in the place names in Delaware. From Wikipedia, "Hundreds are unincorporated subdivisions of counties, equivalent to townships, and were once used as a basis for representation in the Delaware General Assembly. While their names still appear on all real estate transactions, they currently have no meaningful use or purpose except as a geographical point of reference. The divisions, or "hundreds" as they are called, comes from the times when Delaware and Maryland were colonial holdings of Great Britain. While Delaware alone retains the use of "hundreds", the origin of most place names in both states can be traced back to the times of British rule."

Here are a few items for my "to do" lists on these families:

• See if I can find any info on Ruth and William after 1900.
• Look into the Van Berkalow surname
• Look for info on Ruth's parents
• Review research done on the Todd family

I would love to hear from anyone else researching these families!

Surname Saturday - Matson

My Matson line is a bit of a mystery. Matson could be of English or Irish origin or a spelling variation of a Swedish name like Mattison or Matheson. I have also seen the name spelled Mattson. The earliest I can trace my Matson roots back is to John Matson, born about 1758 in Loudon County, VA. He married Nancy Ann Clevenger in 1775 in Frederick County, VA and the family migrated to Clinton County, Ohio in 1817.

Mary Ann Matson in 1919

My great-great-grandmother Mary Ann Matson was born in Clinton County, Ohio in 1851 to Asa Matson and Dolly Clevenger.They had 13 children and four of the sons served in the Civil War. Thomas Jefferson Matson and Jares Lewis Matson died in the Civil War. John Franklin Matson was wounded, but survived.

Asa was said to have been a son of John and Nancy Matson, but Nancy would have been 58 years old when Asa was born! I suspect that a generation is somehow missing in the histories that have been passed down.

The 1850 census for Washington Township, Clinton County, Ohio shows Asa and Dolly with nine children.

By 1860, Asa is living with several children in the Union Township of Clinton County. Asa's wife Dolly died due to complications of childbirth after their son Asa was born and their daughter Terissa took over the child rearing duties.

On December 10, 1868, Mary married Timothy Creeden in Clinton County. Timothy was born in 1846 in Ireland and another mystery is a notation on their marriage license indicating that they are first cousins. If that is true, maybe it ties into the possible missing generation between John and Asa Matson.

I recently acquired some correspondence dating from the late 1800's to early 1900's that recorded research done on the Matson name. They concluded that the family was from Sweden, but said the family lines were a muddled mess. They also noted that one family member was said to have English origins. It was interesting to see that this brick wall goes so far back! Stay tuned for future posts where I will publish the data in the correspondence.