Anna's Musings & Writings

52 Ancestors Week 34: Timeline. Trying to Reconstruct a Timeline of My 3rd Great-Grandparents Michael Nestor and Catherine Hansberry using Irish Petty Session Court Registers.

Posted on August 22, 2022 by Anna Kasper, ACDP

Old postcard of the inside of a family home in Ireland in 19th and early 20th century. From Postcards Ireland.com

This week’s writing prompt is Timeline. I have decided to write about my 3rd great-grandparents Michael Nestor and Catherine Hansberry of Gort, Galway, Ireland. In my research they appear to be non-existent in church and census records in Ireland! Below explains why finding your ancestors in records in Ireland prior to 1901 is so difficult.

From The National Archives of Ireland website.

There are very few records that survive from this area of Galway during this time. They did try to reconstruct the 1851 Irish Census in 1919/1920 but in my family’s case, no one was living in Ireland to submit the information, and many had died. He appears in the Irish Petty Court Registers for Gort and Derreen, and a Catherine Nestor also appears in Gort court records numerous times. Although we know Catherine most likely died in the 1870’s in Ireland, but we don’t know for sure, she could have died in the 1860’s or even prior to 1860, her death record has not been found. Her husband Michael Nestor immigrated to the USA after 1870 and before 1880 and possibly shortly after her death and is found living with their married daughter Catherine Mary “Kate’ Nestor Mullen Fahy (Fay) in the 1880 US Census.

Michael Nestor was born about 1814 in or near Gort, Galway, Ireland, and died 6 February 1894 in Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky. He was the son of Michael Nestor and Bridget _____.

In Ireland, the surname Nestor was derived as a shortened form of Mac Girr an Adhastair, meaning son of the short man of the bridle. It was sometimes shortened to Mac an Adhastair. The surname Nestor is most common in Counties Galway and Clare.

He was to be the oldest and had several known siblings including:

John Nestor born about 1819 in Gort, Galway, Ireland.
Mary Nestor born about 1825 in County Galway, Ireland. She married Timothy Glynn. I have DNA matches to their descendants.
Patrick Nestor born 1827 in Gort, Galway, Ireland, and died 17 June 1899 in Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. He married Mary Ann McCarthy. I have DNA matches to their descendants.
Honora/Honoria Nestor born about 1829 in County Galway, Ireland and died in Derrybrien, Loughrea, Galway, Ireland. She married John Gilchreest, and they lived in Caherlavine, Loughrea, Galway, Ireland. I have Gilchreest DNA matches in Ireland from this line.
James Jacob Nestor born 1831 in Gort, Galway, Ireland, and died 10 August 1890 in Pittsburgh, Allegheny, Pennsylvania. He married/1 to Catherine Duignan and married/2 to Catherine Grimes. I have DNA matches to their descendants.

I also have DNA matches to the descendants of his aunt Ellen Nestor who married John Shaughnessy and immigrated to Troy, Rensselaer County, New York, and his uncle Patrick “Paddy” Nestor who married Ellen___ and some of their descendants went to England.

Catherine Hansberry was born about 1820 in Gort/Derreen (Kilbeacanty), Galway, Ireland. The surname Hanberry/Hansberry is not a common surname in Ireland. There are only two pockets where the name is found, in south Galway (and just over into County Clare) and in an area of County Mayo. The surname Hanberry/Hansberry is derived from the old Gaelic personal name Ainmhire, meaning freedom from levity or madness.

Catherine was the daughter of John Hanberry and Catherine Glynn. She is also thought to be the oldest and had several known siblings including:

Michael Hansberry born 1825 in Gort, Galway, Ireland, and died 10 March 1867 in Mobile, Mobile County, Alabama. He married Mary Ann Hanlon. I have DNA matches to their descendants.
Peter Hansberry born about 1826 in Derreen, Gort, Galway, Ireland, and died in Pennsylvania. He married Margaret Donnady/Dormady. I have DNA matches to their descendants.
Julia Hansberry born about 1829 in Gort, Galway, Ireland, and died 5 March 1869 in Mobile, Mobile County, Alabama. She married Martin Hanlon (he and Mary Ann Hanlon were siblings). I have DNA matches to their descendants.
Thomas Hanberry born 1832 in Tubber, Galway, Ireland, and died 16 February 1910 in Corrofin, County Clare, Ireland. He married Catherine Walsh.
Patrick Hanberry born about 1835 in Derreen, Kilbeacanty, Galway, Ireland, and died in County Galway. He married B. Monaghan.
Bridget Hanberry born in Derreen, Gort, Galway, Ireland and died young in Derreen, Kilbeacanty, Galway, Ireland.

I also have DNA matches to the descendants of her uncle Michael Hansberry who married Mary Shaughnessy.

Known children born to Michael Nestor and Catherine Hanberry/Hansberry:

Thomas Nestor born about 1835 in Gort, Galway, Ireland. He may be the same Thomas Nestor that marries Bridget Potter and later moves to Hillsbrook, Galway and dies sometime after the 1911 Irish Census where he is found living in Hillsbrook.
Michael Nestor born 1836 in Gort, Galway, Ireland and died 28 April 1869 in Emmetsburg, Palo Alto County, Iowa. He married 15 July 1861 in Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania to Mary Joynt, as her first husband. Mary Joynt was the daughter of David Patrick Joynt and Bridget Ann McDermott. I am related to both Michael Nestor and his wife Mary Joynt. He is my 2nd great-grand uncle, and she is my 1st cousin, 4x removed. I have DNA matches to their descendants, as well as to the descendants from Mary Joynt Nestor and her second husband Edward “Ned” Murphy.
John Nestor born about 1837 in Beagh Parish, Galway, Ireland and died December 1923 in Tuam, Galway, Ireland.
Jeremiah “Jerry” Nestor born about 1839 in County Galway, Ireland. He married Anne Carroll. I have DNA matches to their descendants, but I have a double connection. His great-granddaughter Eileen Frances Connelly immigrated to the USA from Ireland. and married 29 November 1934 in New York City, New York to Michael Moylan. Michael Moylan was from Gort and was a Fahey/Fahy relation. He and my grandmother were 3rd cousins.
Catherine Mary “Kate” Nestor born 10 January 1840 in Gort, Galway, Ireland, and died 8 June 1902 in Ottumwa, Wapello, Iowa. She states on census records that she came to the U.S. at age 16 in 1856. She is believed to have married briefly to ____ Mullen who died, which would explain her name being listed as Mullen. I have found no DNA connection to the name Mullen/Mullens. How we know that she was a Nestor, is that her father came to the USA as a widower and lived with her and is found in the census with her and is listed as her father, also it was passed down in oral histories that we are of the Nestor family. She marries 17 December 1858 in Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky to Daniel Wolfetone “Dan” Fahey/Fahy (Fay). Her name is listed as Catherine Mullen in the marriage license. (My direct ancestors).
Bridget Nestor born in Gort, Galway, Ireland.
Patrick Nestor born in Gort, Galway, Ireland.

So, what were the Petty Sessions Courts?

The Petty Sessions were the lowest courts within Ireland’s judicial system up to the early 20th century. They dealt with the minor cases and were presided over by unpaid Justices of the Peace who were usually local landowners or dignitaries. These judges could make summary judgements on cases and there was no jury. The Sessions were convened daily, weekly or monthly, depending on the volume of cases. The cases heard at the Petty Sessions courts generally included minor law-breaking such as public disorder or drunkenness, poaching and other minor larceny, straying animals, and also complaints by individuals about non-payment of debts, boundary disputes, quality of purchased goods, and minor assaults. – From the Illustrated London News. The more serious cases were referred to ‘Quarter Sessions’ where a jury would hear the case.

I find Michael Nestor in the Petty Session Courts records for in and around Gort, Galway, Ireland.

The first place I find him is in 1858. The actual court record is not available to view. The court is in Derreen in Beagh parish close to Gort. He is the Defendant, and the trail date is 16 September 1858. Unfortunately, nothing more is known about this case. But it would be a minor case as described in the definition of The Petty Sessions.

His wife Catherine Hanberry/Hansberry was from Derreen in Beagh parish, which is near Gort, so it is not surprising he is found in the Derreen court.

Below you will see the next Petty Session Court register he appears in. It is from 18 February 1865 and in the Petty Session court in Gort.

The Complainant is S.C. James Driver. He appears in three entries for this day. He appears to be a Constable. From what I can find the S. C. probably meant Special Constable. Michael Nestor is the Defendant and is listed “of Gort”. The charges are the same for all three entries where S. C. James Driver is the Complainant. The charges are for allowing his cart _____ to be an obstruction on the public road at Gort on 14th February 1865. The other two Defendants in the other cases are John Fahey of Gort and John Hynes of Gort, same charges on the same date.

He may be the Michael Nestor who applied for a dog license in Gort.

Accounting for his age and that he immigrated to the USA in the 1870’s I believe those are the only two entries for my Michael Nestor in the Petty Sessions Court.

There are several entries for a Catherine Nestor. Usually, she is appearing as a witness in cases before the Petty Sessions Court and as a Complainant and Defendant only a few times. She is in the Gort records from 1855 to 1874. I do not find a Catherine Nestor in the court records after 1874. I cannot be sure she is my Catherine Hanberry Nestor, but it’s quite possible.

1880 US Census for the town of Aroma in Kankakee County, Illinois.

What I do know is that Michael Nestor is left a widower prior to the 1880 U.S. Census. He is found in the town of Aroma in Kankakee County, Illinois. He is the living with his daughter married daughter Catherine Fay and six of her children. He is listed as Michael Nester. Her husband Daniel “Dan” Fahey/Fahy (Fay) is not in the census with them and is thought to be out of town working.

In 1860, Daniel and Catherine are living in Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky. In the 1860 US Census they are listed as Daniel Fahy and Catherine Fahy with their eight-month-old son Thomas Fahy. Also living with them is a Michael Doyle aged 29 and born in Ireland. Daniel and Michael are both listed as laborers. Who was Michael Doyle? I do not know what connection he had to them. A family member? A friend? A co-worker of Daniel? A border?

He may be the Michael D. Doyle buried in the Saint John Cemetery in Louisville, Kentucky with a birth year of 1829 and died 7 May 1890.

He may instead be the Michael Doyle born June 1832 in Ireland and is found in the 1900 US Census for Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky. Living with his wife Ellen born July 1840 in Ireland, and their 2 sons; J. Thomas Doyle and J. Michael Doyle. Ellen’s maiden name is given is Nevil and Mooney in later records. But the son’s list their place of birth as Ireland in this census and future records. And the whole family lists their year of immigration as 1888. So, this is most likely not the same Michael Doyle that was living with my ancestors in 1860.

My beautiful great-great grandmother Catherine Mary “Kate” Nestor Mullen Fay.

In 1870, Daniel and Catherine are found living in the city of Chicago. In the 1870 US Census they are living in the 18th ward of the city of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois. They are listed as Daniel and Catherine Fay. Dan listed his occupation as a Tanner. Living with them are three of their children and a John Ward aged 15 born in Pennsylvania working as a laborer, and a Daniel Donovan aged 5 and born in Kentucky.

I do have some connections via marriage to the surname Ward in Gort, via intermarriage with my Fahey related O’Donnell cousins, but I don’t see a direct connection to the John Ward found in the census with them.

I have been unable to locate John Ward or Daniel Donovan in any other records. Was Daniel Donovan a relation? He was born in Kentucky and at only age 5 he must have been related to them or possibly to the 15-year-old John Ward.

Michael Nestor is not found living with his daughter until 1880. He dies before the 1900 US Census. He died in Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky on 6 February 1894.

Sources for Nestor and Hanberry surname information and the Petty Sessions Court definition:

Nestor Surname meaning – Wikipedia.org
Nestor Surname. The Surnames of Ireland, Edward MacLysaght, Dublin, 1978.
Hanberry/Hansberry Surname – houseofnames.com
Great insights from Petty sources – the Petty Session Court Records, Jim Ryan April 26, 2020. ancestornetwork.ie

If you’d like to learn more about the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks project, please visit here:

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.

Or join the Facebook group Generations Cafe.

If you use any information from my blog posts as a reference or source, please give credit and provide a link back to my work that you are referencing. Unless otherwise noted, my work is © Anna A. Kasper 2011-2026. All rights reserved. Thank you.

Posted in 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, Genealogy | Tagged 52 Ancestors, ancestors, Ancestry, Aroma, Beagh, Caherlavine, Carroll, Catholic, Chicago, Christian, Connelly, Cook County, Derreen, Derrybrien, DNA, Donnady, Donovan, Dormady, Doyle, Duignan, Emmetsburg, Fahey, Fahy, family history, Family Tree, Fay, Galway, Genealogy, Gilchreest, Glynn, Gort, Grimes, Hanberry, Hanlon, Hansberry, Hillsbrook, Illinois, Iowa, Ireland, Irish, Joynt, Kankakee County, Kentucky, Kilbeacanty, Loughrea, Louisville Kentucky, McCarthy, McDermott, Monaghan, Moylan, Mullen, Mullens, Mullins, Murphy, Nestor, New York, New York City, Ottumwa, Palo Alto County, Pennsylvania, Petty Session Courts, Pittsburgh, Shaughnessy, Timeline, Troy, Tuam, United States, US Census, Walsh, Wapello County, Ward | Leave a comment

52 Ancestors, Week 31: Help. How Chief Tuccamirgan of the Delaware Tribe Helped My Ancestor Johann Philip Kaes (John Philip Case).

Posted on August 1, 2022 by Anna Kasper, ACDP

Mine Brook, Hunterdon County, New Jersey.

This week’s writing prompt word is help. I decided to write the story of how Chief Tuccamirgan of the Delaware Tribe helped and befriended my ancestor Johann Philip Kaes (John Philip Case).

First a little biographical information about him:

Johann Philip Kaes was born about 1679 in Anhausen, Neuwied, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany, the son of Hans Henrich Kaes and Anna Veronica ____. He is found near Rückeroth at Anhausen in church records. Anhausen is 5 miles northeast of Neuwied.

He married first to Anna Elizabetha Jung, daughter of Frantz Henrich Jung and Veronika Remer, on 29 November 1703 in Anhausen, Germany. His first wife Anna Elizabetha Jung died 21 September 1721 in Anhausen, Germany, and Johann Philip Kaes immigrated to America. He was naturalized in New Jersey on 8 July 1730. He married second to Rachel Houser/Hauser in Hunterdon County, New Jersey.

He and his first wife Anna Elizabetha Jung are my direct ancestors.

Case-Dvoor farmhouse, barn and property today.

The site of the Case-Dvoor farmstead lies near the eastern end of a 5,000-acre tract that stretches along the northern edge of the Amwell Valley. Pennsylvania founder William Penn owned the land, and when he died in 1718, his three sons inherited it. Those sons — John, Thomas and Richard — subdivided the property, selling a 374-acre portion straddling Tuccaminjah Creek (later Mine Brook) to German immigrant Johan Philip Kaes (later Anglicized to Case) in March of 1738.

Johan Philip established his pioneer farmstead beside the Walnut Brook, which flows through property. After Johan’s passing, the property was split between heirs and some of it was sold. In 1798, Johan’s son Philip built the stone farmhouse that still stands today. Throughout the years the property has passed through a number of hands and has seen various uses including copper mining, a tannery, a dairy barn, and a stock farm. The Dvoor family, Latvian immigrants, were the last to own it before the Land Trust and sought to preserve it as a surviving example of the Flemington area’s agricultural heritage.

Today the site hosts a popular farmers market and winter market, featuring local fruits, vegetables, grass-fed meats, cheese, bread, wine, honey, live plants, alpaca woolens, and a variety of organic produce. Visitors can enjoy various trails through the property that connect to nearby nature preserves.

This is part of a mural found in the Union Hotel in Flemington, Hunterdon County, New Jersey and is of my ancestor Johann Philip Kaes (John Philip Case) and his friend Tuccamirgan, Chief of Delaware Native American tribe.

A rather peculiar story handed down in the Case family evokes the frontier conditions current throughout much of Hunterdon County well into the 18th century. One of Johan Philip’s sons used to talk about his mother getting lost in the woods. She went to hunt her cow and wandered around for several hours and finally saw a column of smoke curling above the tops of the trees. Going in that direction she came to a house, and, after knocking at the door, discovered it to be her own dwelling. . . The wolves would often howl around the Case house, and one of these animals came on the doorstep and attacked the dog, when Mrs. Case drove him off with a stick.

Johan Philip Case replaced his pioneer dwelling with a substantial stone house cemented with mud that stood on the east side of the creek (the land currently owned by St. Magdalen de Pazzi Roman Catholic Church). When Hugh Capner tore the house down around the 1850s, he found the walls solid and strong.

Philip Case (Johan Philip’s son) acquired the property on the west side of the creek encompassing the present farmstead, which had been sold out of the family some years earlier. He lived and farmed here throughout his life.

The land on the east side of the creek, including Johan Philip’s stone house, was sold to John Capner, whose family had recently emigrated from England. We know much about the Case family thanks to the Capners, who corresponded regularly with the relatives and arrived in America with a trunk full of letters from them. These letters now belong to the Hunterdon County Historical Society.”

A Delaware Indian Chief named Tuccamirgan lived nearby, and John Philip and the Indian became very close friends. John Philip would not have survived on his settlement without the help of Tuccamirgan. The Indian assisted John Philip with the building of his cabin and provided protection from the hostile nearby natives. They protected the Cases from the dangers of the wilderness and showed them how to live off the land.

As time went on, the Delaware Chief and Case’s bond became stronger. The Cases had many young children, and the Delaware Chief and his wife, having none of their own, would frequently “borrow” some of the Case children. They would bring the children back to their wigwam up the creek, taking good care of them and spending the whole day together. They would then return the Case children to their father at the end of the day.

It is also believed that Chief Tuccamirgan carved a crib out of a tree and gifted it to John Phillip Case to use for one of his babies. The Chief and his wife found great joy in the Case children, and they gladly spent their days babysitting and becoming second parents to the Case children.

The actual pipe gifted to my ancestor by Tuccamirgan. Photo from HCHS.

The friendship Tuccamirgan and Case shared was an unbreakable bond. The Chief referred to John as his “blue brother,” and together they would smoke “the pipe of peace” over the course of their friendship. The ancient pipe bowl that accompanied Tuccamirgan’s pipe, an artifact which was already hundreds of years old at the time, was gifted to John as a sign of their friendship. It was passed down in the Case family until it was donated to the Hunterdon County Historical Society in 1925.

As he was nearing his death, Chief Tuccamirgan requested that he be buried near his good friend so Case buried him on his land. This became the first grave in what was afterward known as the Case burial ground. The burial was attended with great ceremony (there was a wild dance about his grave, which was kept up all through the night). The grave was dug very deep, and the Chief was placed in a sitting position facing the East. His war and hunting implements were buried with him. Six years later John Philip Case joined his Indian friend in the little cemetery. The hallowed ground is less than a hundred feet wide. It is located in Flemington’s residential area on Bonnell Street surrounded by houses on all sides. In 1925 the Flemington Historical League restored the cemetery. The lot was regraded and re-seeded; stones were reset. A protective stone wall was erected at the front of the property and a monument to the Indian Chief who had befriended the first settler John Philip Case was raised. Seven hundred citizens attended the dedication of a marble obelisk in memory of Chief Tuccamirgan. On one face is written ‘In Memory of the Delaware Indian Chief Tuccamirgan 1750′; and on the other, “Erected by the Citizens of Flemington As a Tribute to this Friend of the White Man’.”

To learn more about Johann Philip Kase (later known as John Philip Case), his roots in Germany, his children and descendants, and their life in America, please visit my blog post about him here: My Ancestor Johann Philip Kaes (John Philip Case) of Anhausen, Germany, and New Jersey, and his Interesting Relationship with Chief Tuccamirgan of the Delaware Tribe.

Sources:

The Case Family: Pioneer Settlers of Flemington (1) – Hunterdon Land Trust
Johann Phillip Kaes (wikitree.com)
Chief Tuccamirgan: a legacy of friendship – The Delphi (dvrhs.org)
Tuccamirgan’s Pipe Rediscovered in HCHS Archives (hunterdonhistory.org)
CASE-DVOOR FARMSTEAD at journeythroughjersey.com.

If you’d like to learn more about the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks project, please visit here:

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.

Or join the Facebook group Generations Cafe.

Posted in 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, Genealogy | Tagged 52 Ancestors, Anhausen, blue brother, Capner, Case, Delaware Tribe, Dvoor, faith, family history, Family Tree, Flemington, Genealogy, German, Germany, HCHS, Hunterdon County, Hunterdon County Historical Society, Jung, Kaes, Mine Brook, Neuwied, New Jersey, Rückeroth, Remer, Rhineland-Palatinate, Ruckerroth, St. Magdalen di Pazzi Roman Catholic Church, the pipe of peace, Tuccaminjah Creek, Tuccamirgan, Tuccamirgan's Pipe, Union Hotel | 2 Comments

Rest in Peace Cousin Tony Dow

Posted on July 29, 2022 by Anna Kasper, ACDP

Tony Dow. The cast of *Leave it to Beaver*.

I used to watch Leave it to Beaver in syndication when I was a kid. I was quite saddened to learn of Tony Dow’s death at the age of 77 this past Wednesday. So, I thought I’d post my genealogical connection to him. We were distant cousins, 10th cousins actually. We shared Colonial American ancestors Edward Bangs and Rebecca ____ (possible maiden name Hobart). His line continued with Apphia Bangs and Col. John Knowles and mine with Hannah Bangs and John Doane, Jr. This is on his Dow lines. My Bangs ancestors are on my Cole side way back in Colonial Massachusetts.

Edward Bangs and Rebecca ____ (possible maiden name of Hobart) are the ancestors of many well-known individuals including:

William Rufus Day, 36th U.S. Secretary of State.
Bing Crosby, Singer-Songwriter and Actor.
Thomas Pynchon, American Novelist.
Brewster Kahle, Founder of Internet Archive (Wayback Machine).
Annie Proulx, Novelist and Short Story Writer.
Tamsin Todd, CEO of Findmypast.
Anna Gunn, Actress.
Fergie, Singer-Songwriter.
Avril Lavigne, Singer-Songwriter.
Edmund Sears, Boson Tea Party Participant.
Eugene Foss, 45th Governor of Massachusetts.
Pres. H.W. Bush.
Pres. George W. Bush.
Charles Dawes, 30th U.S. Vice President.
Norman Rockwell, Artist.
Jeb Bush, 43rd Governor of Florida.
Endicott Peabody, 62nd Governor of Massachusetts.
Kyra Sedgwick.
Taylor Swift.
Orrin Hatch, U.S. Senator from Utah.
James Taylor, singer-songwriter.
Dan Quayle, 44 U.S. President.
Pete Buttigieg, current U.S. Secretary of Transportation.
Sydney Biddle Barrows, Mayflower Madam.
Lindsay Wagner, Actor. (She is also my McComas cousin).

The first eleven listed share the next set of ancestors with me and are also descended from Hannah Bangs and John Doane, Jr. Five of those eleven also share Paine ancestors with me. The rest above are descended from Edward Bangs, the brother of Hannah Bangs and Apphia Bangs. To my knowledge, Tony Dow is the only famous person descended directly from Apphia Bangs and Col. John Knowles.

*Tony Dow, left, and Jerry Mathers as Wally and Beaver Cleaver. | Photo courtesy of Pat McDermott/Wikimedia Commons (CC0)*

Posted in Famous Kin, Genealogy | Tagged Anna Gunn, Annie Proulx, Avril Lavigne, Bangs, Bing Crosby, Brewster Kahle, British American Colonies, British Colonies, Charles Dawes, Cole, Colonial America, Colonial Massachusetts, Cousin, Cousins, Dan Quayle, Dow, Edmund Sears, Endicott Peabody, Eugene Foss, family history, Family Tree, Fergie, Genealogy, George W. Bush, H.W. Bush, Hobart, James Taylor, Jeb Bush, Kyra Sedgwick, Leave it to Beaver, Orrin Hatch, Paine, Pete Buttigieg, Rest in Peace, RIP, Sydney Biddle Barrows, Tamsin Todd, Taylor Swift, Thomas Pynchon, Tony Dow, William Rufus Day | Leave a comment

52 Ancestors – Week 30: Teams. My Cousin Mitchell “Mitch” Nutick. Dancer on Broadway and Founder of the West Hollywood Tennis Association.

Posted on July 25, 2022 by Anna Kasper, ACDP

This week’s writing prompt for 52 Ancestors is Teams. I do have Irish ancestors killed by a team of runaway horses, and many ancestors that were farmers and used a team of horses. I have some distant cousins that have played professional baseball. I have many ancestors that were in the military and militias. The words militia, squadron, etc. are related to the word team, as in a group of people. But I decided to write about my cousin Mitch Nutick, and his love of tennis.

Above photo is of Jenit Farrow (Vance) with her dance partner Mitch Nutick at Deer Park High School. Jenit was in the Class of 1949, after graduation she married John “Bucky” Vance (Class of 1948). Photo courtesy of her daughter Judy Vance Ferguson.

Mitchell Edward “Mitch” Nutick was my double cousin. We were Nutick 2nd cousins, 1 time removed, and we were Armstrong 3rd cousins. Our Nutick ancestors were siblings, and our Armstrong ancestors were 1st cousins.

Mitch Nutick in his high school graduation photo.

Mitchell Edward “Mitch” Nutick was born 13 September 1931 in Terrace Park, Hamilton County, Ohio, and died at the age of 88 years old on 14 April 2020 in Los Angeles, California.

He was the son of Mitchell Howard Nutick and Emma Jane Bowker. He grew up in Deer Park, Hamilton County, Ohio, and attended Deer Park High School.

In his 20’s he left the Midwest for New York City and settled in Manhattan.

He was a dancer on the Denny Vaughn Show which aired on the CBC Television channel (Canadian English language public television network) from June 1954 to June 1957.

He appeared as a bit actor in a few of the plays listed below, but he was mainly a dancer on Broadway in the original stage production of Bells are Ringing (1956) and:

The Body Beautiful (1958), The Girls Against the Boys (1959), 13 Daughters (1961), Guys and Dolls (1965), and an off-Broadway production of Guys and Dolls (1966).

He was a talented dancer, and handsome with beautiful piercing “Paul Newman” blue eyes.

By 1970 he had migrated to Los Angeles and was living in West Hollywood. He worked as a bookkeeper for many years. He loved to play tennis. In the Fall of 1978, Mitch, along with 7 other gay tennis friends, began a regular tennis gathering playing matches in West Hollywood Park. They called the original organization the West Hollywood Tennis Association — which is now known as the Los Angeles Tennis Association (LATA) with a 300+ annual membership.

Along with David Newlon, he researched the history of the club and presented the club with a History of LATA for the club’s 30th anniversary in 2008.

Mitch Nutick and the Los Angeles Tennis Association:

Founding Member 1978.
Board Treasurer 1984-2016.
LATA Lifetime Achievement Award 1995.
Inducted Into GLTA Hall Of Fame 2000.
President’s Award 2006.
Outstanding Member Award 2008.
President’s Award 2017.

Although his most recognizable contribution to the LATA was his service as a Treasurer for 30 seasons. His first stint as the Treasurer was in 1984 and his last was 2016. The club will always consider him a Treasurer Emeritus.

At LATA there have been several Mitch Nutick Club Tennis Tournaments.

Photo: Mitch Nutick on left, Norm Tucker on the right (1994).

In the above photo from 1994 are Mitch Nutick and Norm Tucker noting their victories in Men’s Singles tennis as U.S. Tennis Association Champions in 1987 and 1993.

To learn more about our shared Nutick/Weiss and related ancestors please visit my blog posts:

I have not written in this blog specifically about my Armstrong ancestors, but I have written about direct related lines:

Sources for information about the West Hollywood Tennis Association and the Los Angeles Tennis Association (LATA):

If you’d like to learn more about the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks project, please visit here:

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.

Or join the Facebook group Generations Cafe.

Posted in 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, Genealogy | Tagged 13 Daughters, 52 Ancestors, Armstrong, Bells are Ringing, Bowker, Broadway, California, CBC Television, Cousins, Dancer, Deer Park, Deer Park High School, Denny Vaughn Show, Double cousins, family history, Family Tree, gay, Genealogy, Guys and Dolls, Hamilton County Ohio, LATA, LGBT, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Tennis Association, Manhattan, Mitch Nutick, Mitch Nutick Club Tennis Tournaments, New York City, Nutick, Off Broadway, Ohio, Tennis, Terrace Park Ohio, The Body Beautiful, The Girls Against the Boys, U.S.T.A., West Hollywood, West Hollywood Tennis Association | Leave a comment

German Surnames in My Family tree and German Language Studies. 52 Ancestors, Week 29: Fun Fact.

Posted on July 18, 2022 by Anna Kasper, ACDP

Just a few of the German surnames of my direct ancestors that the meaning of their name was helpful in my German language studies.

This week’s writing theme for 52 Ancestors is “Fun Fact.” Not everything in family history has to be serious. This week, we can be creative and think of something fun you’ve found during your research. With that in mind, I decided to write about German surnames in my tree, where I previously researched the meaning of the name and recently discovered with beginning to learn German on the Duolingo app that I already knew many German words due to the oodles of German ancestors I have in my family tree.

I have a large amount of German ancestry on my maternal side. I have a more recent link to Germany on my paternal side. One of my paternal great-grandmothers, Alice Elizabeth Nutick Armstrong, her parents were immigrants from Klingenmünster, Germany and Rawitsch, Wielkopolskie, Poland (which at the time was part of the Kingdom of Prussia), her maternal line was 100% German, her paternal line was mostly German with at least one Polish line.

On my paternal side, other than this one great-grandmother, the only other German ancestry is way back in New York when it was still Dutch. I have German and French Huguenot ancestors that lived in Dutch New Amsterdam and intermarried with the Dutch. But on my maternal side I have a ton of German ancestors. Many coming in 1710, others by 1750, and a few came later in the 1700’s.

I am including twenty surnames, out of multitudes in my tree, that I had prior researched their meaning, and that the words or related words popped up in my German language studies. I am not including German surnames that their meaning is related to personal names or placenames in Germany or surnames from old middle or high German that no longer are used or any that don’t correspond directly to words I could learn in my language studies.

As you can see below, my primary language studies at Duolingo have been in Norwegian. I only recently began to do more German language learning. Deutsche Sprache, schwere Sprache! A very true German idiom that means – German is hard/German is a difficult language.

Ackerman 👩🏼‍🌾 – acker means field in German. The name means a man who works the fields. Examples in German: en Acker bestellen – to till the soil. die Äcker bestellen – to plow the fields. My Ackerman ancestors were from Fußgonheim, Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Scherer 🐑- From the German verb scheren meaning to shear as in shearing sheep. Occupational name for a sheepshearer or someone who used scissors to trim the surface of finished cloth and remove excessive nap. Example in German: Ich kann meine Schafe jetzt nicht scheren. Es ist noch immer kalt. – I cannot shear my sheep now. It’s still cold. My Scherer ancestors were from Barbelroth, Südliche Weinstraße, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Paternal side. Armstrong – Nutick – Weiss – Fried – Propheter – Scherer.
Ohl 🌼🌸🌾 – From the German word öl which means oil and is a German occupational name for an extractor of linseed oil. Examples in German: Ich möchte mit Öl kochen. – I want to cook with oil. Öl und Essig sind mein liebstes Salatdressing. – Oil and vinegar are my favorite salad dressing. My Ohl ancestors were from Klingenmünster, Südliche Weinstraße, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Paternal side. Armstrong – Nutick – Weiss – Fried – Ohl.
Weinmann 🍇🍾🍷 – Wein means wine in German, literally translated the name is vine-man or wine-man. It is an occupational name for someone who produced and or sold wine. Example in German: Ich möchte Wein zu meinem Pasta-Abendessen. – I want wine with my pasta dinner. My Weinmann ancestors were from Klingenmünster, Südliche Weinstraße, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Paternal side. Armstrong – Nutick – Weiss – Fried – Propheter – Weinnmann.
Weinrich/Wenrich 🍇🍾🍷 – which is from the word Weinreich which means Wine Kingdom. Wein means wine and reich means rich i.e., rich with wine. Examples in German: Die Prinzessin lebte in einem Weinreich. – The princess lived in a wine kingdom. Die Winzer waren reich mit wein und Glück. – The winemakers were rich with wine and luck. My Wenrich ancestors were from Edigheim, Ludwigshafen Am Rhein, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Maternal side. Cole – Kennedy – Spatz – Wenrich.
Weiss 🥚👰☁️ – which is from the German word weiß which means white. Example in German: Ich bevorzuge weiße Schokolade mit Erdbeeren. – I prefer white chocolate with strawberries. Der Schleier der Braut war weiß. – The bride’s veil was white. My Weiss ancestors were from Klingenmünster, Südliche Weinstraße, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Paternal side. Armstrong – Nutick – Weiss.
Großhans (Grosshans) 👨 – from the German word groß which means large, combined with the personal name Hans i.e., a big man named Hans. Examples in German: Die Vase war groß. – The vase is large. Berlin ist eine große Stadt. – Berlin is a large city. My Grosshans ancestors were from Klingenmünster, Südliche Weinstraße, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Paternal side. Armstrong – Nutick – Weiss – Fried – Propheter – Grosshans.
Keller 🍇🍾🍷 – In modern German the word keller means cellar or basement, but historically it designates a person who was a cellarer or winemaker. A cellarer was a person, usually in a monastery, responsible for providing food and drink. Examples in German: Der Kellermeister macht Wein. – The cellar master makes wine. Im Keller des Hauses herrschte Spuk. – The basement of the house was haunted. My Keller ancestors were from Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany but migrated to Enzweihingen, Ludwigsburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Maternal side. Cole – Losure/Lozier – Schwenck – Keller.
Loew 🦁 – From the German word Löwe which means lion. Examples in German: Ein Löwe schlief unter dem Baum. – A lion was sleeping under the tree. Der Löwe, die Hexe und die Garderobe ist eines meiner Lieblingsbücher. – The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is one of my favorite books. My Loew ancestors were from Diedenshausen, Siegen-Wittgenstein, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Maternal side. Cole – Losure/Lozier – Womelsdorf – Kemper – Loew.
Kaes/Kase 🧀 – from the German word Käse which means cheese. Denoting a person who made and sold cheese. Examples in German: Ich liebe alle Arten von Käse! – I love all kinds of cheese! Köstlichen deutschen Butterkäse finden Sie i Wisconsin. – Delicious German butter cheese can be found in Wisconsin. My Kaes ancestors were from Westfalen, Anhausen, Neuwied, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Maternal side. Cole – Kennedy – Price – Mateer – Chambers – Linaberry – Kuhl – Kaes.
Jung 👧🧒 – from the German word jung which means young. Example in German: Der Junge war sehr jung. – The boy was very young. My Jung ancestors were from Anhausen, Neuwied, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Maternal side. Cole – Kennedy – Price – Mateer – Chambers – Linaberry – Kuhl – Kaes – Jung.
Kuhl 🧊🆒❄️ – from the German word kühl which means cool. Examples in German: the verb kühlen which means to cool, chill, refrigerate, be cooling. kühl und sachlich – cool and factual, no-nonsense. kühl halten. – keep cool. kühl werden. – to become (to get) cool. kühl ab. – cool off. abends wurde es kühl. – in the evenings it got cool. My Kuhl ancestors were from Zurbach, Maxsain, Westerwaldkreis, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Maternal side. Cole – Kennedy – Price – Mateer – Chambers – Linaberry – Kuhl.
Silber 🤍🍶💍👩‍🦳 – means silver in German. It was an occupational name for a silversmith. It can also be a descendant of Silber, a pet form of Sigilbert (victory); one who came from Silber (silver), the name of various places in Germany; one with gray or silvery hair. Example in German: Ein Silberschmied stellte Becher, Schmuck, Silberwaren und andere Gegenstände aus Silber her. – A silversmith made cups, jewelry, silverware, and other items out of silver. My Silber ancestors were from Dettingen, Alb-Donau-Kreis, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Maternal side. Cole – Kennedy – Williams – Swartzlader – Silber.
Sonntag ⛪📅 – means Sunday is German. It was a nickname for someone who had some particular connection with Sunday. It may have arisen from a personal name for a child born on Sunday, for this was considered a lucky day. Example in German: Sonntag ist ein Ruhetag. – Sunday is a day of rest. My Sonntag ancestors were from Nordhofen, Westerwaldkreis, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Maternal side. Cole – Kennedy – Price – Mateer – Chambers – Linaberry – Kuhl – Staats – Sonntag.
Spatz 𓅪🐦 – means sparrow in German. Example in German: Der Spatz flog hoch in den Himmel. – The sparrow was flying high in the sky. My Spatz ancestors were from Söllingen, Pfinztal, Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Maternal side. Cole – Kennedy – Spatz.
Kirchenbauer ⛪✟🙏👼 – the word Kirchenbauer in German actually means church builders. Examples in German: Meine Vorfahren waren Kirchenbauer. – My ancestors were church builders. Die Namen der Erbauer der Kirche sind unbekannt. – The names of the builders of the church are unknown. But if you divide the name into two parts, Kirchen means church and bauer means farmer, peasant. Bauer has some additional meanings / usages, such as a pawn in a chess game. Additional examples in German: Der Bauer verkaufte Obst auf dem Bauernmarkt. – The farmer was selling fruit at the farmer’s market. Der Bauer revoltierte gegen die Macht des Königs und der Kirche. – The peasant was revolting against the power of the king and church. Der Bauer ist eine wichtige Schachfigur. – The pawn is an important chess piece. My Kirchenbauer ancestors were from Noettingen, Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Maternal side. Cole – Kennedy – Spatz – Kirchenbauer.
Hafer 🌾🥣 – means oats in German. It was an occupational name for a grower of or dealer in oats. Example in German: Ich möchte Hafer zum Frühstück. – I want oats for breakfast. Der Hafer war verkocht und trocken. – The oats were overcooked and dry. My Hafer ancestors were from Durlangen, Ostalbkreis, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Maternal side. Cole – Kennedy – Spatz – Hafer.
Druckenmiller (Druckenmüller) 🌾🍞– was a name for a miller whose mill was situated in a dry place. Although the German word drücken means press and the German word drucken means print, this surname Druckenmiller comes from these two German words: trocken meaning dry and Müller meaning a miller. Examples in German: Der Mann war ein Trockenmüller. – The man was a dry miller. Der Hafer war verkocht und trocken. – The oats were overcooked and dry. My Druckenmiller ancestors were from Ediger, Cochem-Zell, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Maternal side. Cole – Kennedy – Spatz – Hafer – Druckenmiller.
Kasebier (Käsebier) 🧀🍺 – in German Käse means cheese and Bier means beer, so literally cheese beer! An occupational name for a tavern keeper who served only cold food. Examples in German: Ich mache Käsebier. – I am making cheese beer. Ich esse Käse und Bier. – I am eating cheese and beer. My Kasebier ancestors were from Schwarzenau, Siegen-Wittgenstein, Arnsberg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Maternal side. Cole – Losure/Lozier – Womelsdorf – Kasebier.
Schwarzländer (Swartzlander) 🖤 – from the German words schwarz which means black and länder which means countries / land which means the same in English and German. It is a name for someone from an area of Bavaria known as Schwarzland ‘The Black Land’. My Swartzlander ancestors were from Steinhart, Donau-Ries, Bavaria, Germany. Maternal side. Cole – Kennedy – Williams – Swartzlader.

Deutsches Bier und Käse perfekt für das Oktoberfest. – German beer and cheeses perfect for Oktoberfest. 🧀🍺

Honorable mention, a few names that didn’t make it unto the above list of the twenty surnames:

Busch 🌳🦗🌲- – the German word Busch means a bush or shrub. A surname for someone who lived by a thicket or wood. Examples in German: brennender Busch – burning bush. Buschfeuer – bushfire. dorniger Busch – thorny bush. Maternal side.

Lindenmeyer 🟢👨‍🌾💚🥦- from the German word Linde which means lime tree. A surname for a tenant of a farm identified by a lime tree. Meyer, the second part of the surname, is not helpful to my language learning – Meyer is from the High German meier, a status name for a steward, bailiff, or overseer, which later came to be used to denote a tenant farmer. Example in German: Ich habe mehrere Linden ist mein Garten. – I have several lime trees in my yard. My Lindenmeyer ancestors were from Großgartach, Heilbronn, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany. Maternal side. Cole – Kennedy – Palmer – Wolf (Nolff) – Lindenmeyer.

Since I love to learn languages, to me, this week’s writings are very much inclusive of what I consider fun facts! 😏

If you’d like to learn more about the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks project, please visit here:

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.

Or join the Facebook group Generations Cafe.

Posted in 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, Genealogy | Tagged 52 Ancestors, Acker, Ackerman, Alb-Donau-Kreis, Anhausen, Öl, Baden-Württemberg, Barbelroth, Bavaria, Bier, Busch, Cochem-Zell, Dettingen, Deutsche Sprache schwere Sprache!, Diedenshausen, Donau-Ries, Druckenmüller, Druckenmiller, Durlangen, Ediger, Edigheim, Enzweihingen, family history, Family Tree, Fußgonheim, Fun Fact, Genealogy, German, German American, Germany, Großhans, Grosshans, Hafer, Jung, Kaes, Karlsruhe, Kase, Kasebier, Käse, Käsebier, kühl, Keller, Kirchenbauer, Klingenmünster, Kuhl, Löwe, learning German, Linde, Lindenmeyer, Loew, Mann, Maxsain, Meyer, Noettingen, Nordhofen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Ohl, Oktoberfest, Ostalbkreis, Pfinztal, Reich, Rheinland-Pfalz, Rhineland-Palatinate, Söllingen, Scherer, Schwarzenau, Schwarzland, Schwarzländer, Sheep, Siegen-Wittgenstein, Silber, Sonntag, Spatz, Steinhart, Stuttgart, Swartzlander, weiß, Wein, Weinmann, Weinrich, Weiss, Wenrich, Westerwaldkreis, Westfalen, Wittgenstein, Zurbach | 3 Comments

Famous Fahey Kin. Actress Myrna Fahey. 52 Ancestors, Week 28 – Characters.

Posted on July 16, 2022 by Anna Kasper, ACDP

This week’s writing prompt is Characters. Although we are always free to be creative and interpret the prompt however we wish, some suggestions were: every family has a person who might be described as a “character,” or someone named for a famous character, or working through a language that uses characters other than what you’re used to, or deciphering a character on a tombstone? But as always, we can be creative and have fun with the writing prompt. I did notice another participant took it to be someone who played a character and wrote about her 3rd cousin actress Donna Reed. This got me thinking that maybe I should write about my 3rd cousin (1x removed) actress Myrna Fahey. I should note here that Myrna Fahey is also my 11th cousin! But more about that later.

She is not as well-known or remembered as more recent actors with Fahey/Fahy roots in Galway. Actor Jeff Fahey’s great-grandfather was Thomas Fahey who was born in and married, Ellen M. Carney/Kearney, in Glenamaddy, Galway, Ireland. Glenamaddy is near the village of Boyounagh.

Actress Jennifer Lawrence also has Fahey ancestors from Galway. Her 3rd great grandmother was Ellen Hobbens Broderick who was born in Gurtymadden, Galway, Ireland and immigrated to Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky. She was the daughter of Michael Hobbens and Catherine Fahey.

I have Fahey connections to both Mountbellew and the Peterswell/Gort areas further south. Gurtymadden is 18 miles from Peterswell, while Glenamaddy is 12 miles from and closer to Mountbellew. I have not found a DNA or records connection between Jeff Fahey’s ancestors and mine, as of yet. But I have found a DNA connection to Jennifer Lawrence via her Fahey kin. I am still working out the connection between her Fahey ancestors and mine.

Myrna Fahey with Vincent Price and Mark Damon in the 1960 film *House of Usher*.

Back to Myrna Fahey. I love, love, love, Vincent Price, so I knew who Myrna Fahey was right away, from seeing her in the 1960 film House of Usher in which she co-stared with Vincent Price and Mark Damon. And yes, I do have a more distant family connection to Vincent Price, which thrills me to pieces! We share Spencer ancestors in Colonial America. This connection to him is on my maternal side.

I knew that my paternal great-great grandfather Daniel Wolfetone “Dan” Fahey (Fay) had a brother, Patrick Fahey, that came to the USA a few years prior to the family and settled in Bangor, Penobscot County, Maine before 1848. By 1855 Patrick had migrated to Vermillion, Dakota County, Minnesota. I also knew he had a brother named Edward, and I discovered that Edward Fahey, who was one of the siblings that originally stayed in Ireland, did come to the USA in 1860 and, as his older brother Patrick had done earlier, he settled in Bangor, Penobscot County, Maine. Edward did not migrate elsewhere; he stayed in Maine.

Myrna Fahey with Mark Damon in the 1960 film *House of Usher*.

Edward Fahey’s occupation as listed in the Bangor city directories was a stonecutter. He married Mary Burke in 1864. Her parentage is unknown, but she was born in Ireland and immigrated to the USA in 1861. They had the following children:

John F. Fahey born February 1866 in Bangor, Penobscot County, Maine, and died 1944 in Penobscot County, Maine. He married Nellie I. Murphy. They had only one child Francis Edward “Mickey” Fahey, who was the father of Myrna Fahey.
Edward P. Fahey born February 1868 in Bangor, Penobscot County, Maine, and died before the 1950 census in Maine. He never married. He is listed as a Riverman in Bangor city directories and as a laborer. As an older man, I find him living in The Salvation Army House/Hotel in Bangor in the 1930 and 1940 Censuses.
Mary Ellen Fahey born April 1870 in Bangor, Penobscot County, Maine, and died 27 June 1900 in Bangor. She never married.
Anna “Annie” Fahey born 26 August 1872 in Bangor, Penobscot County, Maine, and died 6 August 1976. She never married. She began working before she was aged 19 years old as a Compositor and continued this trade for several decades until she made a claim for Social Security on 11 March 1944 at the age of 74. A compositor was a typesetter, the person who inserted each letter of a word into the frames for printing. They had to be able to think back-to-front to put all the letters and punctuation in the right place – and they had to do it at some speed! It was very much a skilled job. Interestingly, women were often employed in this occupation, it was said due to their deftness of touch and quickness of motion, making them particularly skilled at this job. She lived to the ripe old age of 103!

As noted above, only one of the children, John F. Fahey has descendants today. He was the only one to marry of his siblings. He married Nellie I. Murphy on 27 August 1904 in Bangor, Maine. Nellie was born in Rhode Island to Lawrence Murphy (born in Ireland) and Martha Slavin (born in Canada).

John F. Fahey and Nellie I. Murphy had one child, a son:

Francis Edward “Mickey” Fahey born 11 April 1906 in Carmel, Penobscot County, Maine, and died 23 January 1985 in Columbia Falls, Washington County, Maine. He was the father of Myrna Fahey.

Myrna Fahey appearing on an episode of *Batman* with Burt Ward.

Francis Edward “Mickey” Fahey married Olevia Newcomb on 1 January 1927 in Bangor, Penobscot County, Maine. She was the daughter of Clyde Allen Newcomb and Laura J. Ingraham. Her Newcomb ancestors were in Maine for some generations, then her ancestors go back to Colonial Massachusetts. Although I do not share Newcomb ancestors with her mother, my ancestors did live in the same places in Colonial Massachusetts, and I am related via marriage to her Newcomb ancestors.

But I do share Hopkins ancestors with Olevia Newcomb! We are both descended from Mayflower Pilgrim Stephen Hopkins and his first wife Mary. Making me a 10th cousin 1x removed to Myrna Fahey’s mother Olevia Newcomb. Which is how I am both Myrna Fahey’s 3rd cousin 1x removed and also her 11th cousin!

Francis Edward “Mickey” Fahey married Olevia Newcomb had three children:

Michael Newcomb Fahey born 30 May 1927 in Carmel, Penobscot County, Maine, and died 29 October 2001 in Fort Lauderdale, Broward County, Florida. He served in the US Navy during WWII.
Charles Francis Fahey born 8 June 1930 in Carmel, Penobscot County, Maine, and died 29 June 2010 in Bar Harbor, Hancock County, Maine. He married/1 to (Living) Usiak and m/2 to (Living) Trask Davisson.
Myrna Elizabeth Fahey born 12 March 1933 in Carmel, Penobscot County, Maine, and died 6 MAY 1973 in Santa Monica, Los Angeles County, California. She never married.

Myrna Fahey (1959) from a guest appearance on the Western anthology series *Death Valley Days*.

Myrna Fahey is probably known best for her role as Maria Crespo in Walt Disney’s Zorro and as Madeline Usher in The Fall of the House of Usher.

She was a former cheerleader and beauty pageant queen. She was an avid skier and stock investor and was known for insisting that her dressing rooms be equipped with a stock ticker.

She appeared in episodes of 37 television series from the 1950s into the early 1970s, including Bonanza, Wagon Train, The Time Tunnel with Robert Colbert, Maverick with James Garner, 77 Sunset Strip with Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Laramie, Gunsmoke with James Arness, The Adventures of Superman with George Reeves, Kraft Suspense Theatre, Daniel Boone with Fess Parker, Perry Mason with Raymond Burr, and Batman with Adam West and Burt Ward. (1)

Myrna Fahey (1958) with Guy Williams in an episode of Zorro.

In 1961, Myrna took a starring role in the TV series Father of the Bride, based on the acclaimed film of the same name. She was cast based solely on her striking resemblance to Elizabeth Taylor, a comparison that Myrna did not appreciate, revealing to one interviewer “the fact that I’m supposed to look like Elizabeth What’s-Her-Name had nothing to do with my getting [the part], because we don’t really look alike, I don’t think.” Myrna fought to be released from her contract with the show, citing that too much emphasis was put on the “father” character and not enough on her “bride” character. the series lasted one season.

It was reported in December 1955 that she was at the Coconut Grove night club with Frank Sinatra associate Nick Sevano. (3) Myrna briefly dated Yankees baseball star Joe DiMaggio. In 1963, both Joe and Myrna received a series of anonymous death threats. Several messages threatened her with facial disfigurement with acid and Joe with the killing of his son, Joe Jr. As per the FBI interviews, the two only dined together once during a work visit to Rome in June 1962 – but columnists had recycled this alleged romance throughout the end of 1962 and 1963, to dramatic results. The FBI eventually traced those letters to an obsessive Marilyn Monroe fan and patient in a psychiatric institution in San Jose, California. In addition to briefly dating baseball player Joe DiMaggio, she also dated actor George Hamilton. (1 & 2)

In the early 1970’s, Myrna’s workload slowed, as she was diagnosed with cancer. She appeared in one episode of the medical drama Marcus Welby, MD and played a beauty pageant chaperone in the TV movie The Great American Beauty Contest. The producers devised her bit part solely to help her maintain her industry health benefits during her final illness. It would prove to be her final role. Myrna lost her long battle with cancer, at St. John’s Hospital in Santa Monica, on 6 May 1973 at the age of 40. She was buried at Mount Pleasant Catholic Cemetery in Bangor, Maine. (1)

References:

Myrna Fahey. wikipedia.org.
Marilyn Monroe & Joe DiMaggio: A Retrospective – Part I. Blog on tumblr.com.
Carroll, Harrison, syndicated columnist (December 21, 1955). “Behind the Scenes in Hollywood” Greenburg Daily News. Greenburg, Indiana. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.

If you’d like to learn more about the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks project, please visit here:

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.

Or join the Facebook group Generations Cafe.

Posted in 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, Famous Kin, Genealogy, Uncategorized | Tagged 52 Ancestors, 77 Sunset Strip, Actor, Actress, Adam West, Bangor, Batman, Bonanaza, Boyounagh, Burke, Burt Ward, Catholic, Colonial Massachusetts, Cousins, Daniel Boone, Disney's Zorro, Edgar Allen Poe, Fahey, family history, Family Tree, Famous Kin, FBI, Frank Sinatra, Galway, Genealogy, George Hamilton, Glenamaddy, Gort Galway, Gunsmoke, Gurtymadden, Guy Williams, Hopkins, House of Usher, Ingraham, Ireland, Irish, Irish American, Jeff Fahey, Jennifer Lawrence, Joe Dimaggio, Laramie, Louisville Kentucky, Maine, Mark Damon, Massachusetts, Maverick, Mayflower Pilgrim, Minnosota, Mountbellew, Murphy, Myrna Fahey, Newcomb, Nick Sevano, Penobscot County, Perry Mason, Peterswell Galway, Spencer, Stephen Hopkins, The Fall of the House of Usher, The Time Tunnel, Vincent Price, Wagon Train | 2 Comments

William G. Lyons, My 2nd Great Granduncle. 52 Ancestors, Week 27: Extended Family.

Posted on July 10, 2022 by Anna Kasper, ACDP

This week’s writing prompt for 52 Ancestors is Extended Family. We often focus on those people from whom we descend. But what about their siblings, aunts, uncles, and cousins? They played a role in our ancestors’ lives, just like those people play a role in our own lives. This is a good week to explore the lives of these other people in the family tree. I chose to write about my 2nd great granduncle William G. Lyons. The mining industry in Northern California and especially in Nevada played a big part in his life.

Photo: Miners at a mine in Nevada in the late 1800’s

He was the son of James W. Lyons and Catherine Ann Barton. His father was born in New Jersey and was of a New Jersey Lyons family. Catherine Barton was the daughter of Thomas Barton and Rebecca Ann Cooper.

Rebecca Ann Cooper who was descended on her paternal side from Pennsylvania Quakers and on Rebecca Cooper’s maternal side, she was descended from early German and Dutch settlers in New York.

James W. Lyons and Catherine Barton had several children including:

Elizabeth “Betsy” Lyons born about November 1817 in Falls, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. She is listed as a female aged under 10 years old in the 1820 Census and as a female aged 20 to 29 in the household of her father in the 1840 Census. She’s not living with her parents in the 1850 Census. She may have married, but I haven’t found a marriage record for her. Or she died prior to 1850. Little is known about her.
Daughter (Possibly Sarah) Lyons born about 1818/1819 in Falls, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. She is one of two females under the age of 10 listed in the 1820 Census and is most likely the female listed as aged 15 to 19 in the household of her father in the 1840 Census. She is not living with her parents in the 1850 Census. She may have died prior to 1850. (See below, she may be the Sarah Lyons that married Jeremiah Terry).
Amelia Ann Lyons born 20 November 1822 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and died 26 September 1910 in Osborne County, Kansas. She married Robert J. Lukens.
Catherine Ann Lyons born 26 December 1825 in Falls, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and died 1903 in Fletcher, Miami County, Ohio. She married/1 on 28 March 1847 in Hamilton County, Ohio to Albert Addis. After his death she married/2 on 25 October 1850 in Lost Creek, Miami County, Ohio to Isaac H. Stinsman.
Henrietta Frances “Nettie” Lyons born 24 April 1828 in Bristol, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and died 7 December 1910 in Milford, Clermont County, Ohio. She married on 25 February 1847 in Hamilton County, Ohio to Marshall Davis Armstrong.
William G. Lyons born 4 September 1830 in Falls, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and died 10 June 1904 in Phoenix, Maricopa, Arizona. He never married.
Daughter (Mary M.) Lyons born about 1831 in Falls, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. She is listed as a female aged 5 to 9 years old in the 1840 Census. I believe she is the Mary M. Lyons who marries Dimick/Derick B. Ten Eick on 17 December 1848 in Miami County, Ohio. He dies 3 months later. I do not know what happened to her, but it appears she may have also died in 1849, she is not found in the 1850 Census.
James W. Lyons, Jr. born about 1833 in Falls, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and died after 1880 and before the 1900 census. He married on 20 February 1864 in Butler County, Ohio to Anna M. Fisher.
Rebecca Ann Lyons born about 1836 in Falls, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. She is listed as one of two females aged under 5 years old in the 1840 Census. She is not found in the 1850 Census with her parents and siblings. She may have died prior to 1850. The other female under 5 years old is Martha.
Martha A. Knight Lyons born 3 October 1838 in Falls, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and died 15 August 1928 in Benton, Butler County, Kansas. She married on 15 October 1856 in Miami County, Ohio to Bradford Carroll Armstrong, as his third wife. (They are my direct ancestors). Marshall Davis Armstrong and Bradford Carroll Armstrong were brothers, so two Lyons sisters married two Armstrong brothers.

There are a few Lyons brides found in the Miami County, Ohio marriage records that do not belong to the other Lyons families known to be in Miami County at the same times as my Lyons ancestors. Here are the marriage records that may include the unknown named Lyons daughters above:

Sarah Lyons who marries Jeremiah Terry on 9 July 1847 in Miami County, Ohio. I have been unable to locate either of them in additional records, or have I been able to find anyone researching this couple. This couple may have been part of the group of settlers that were Randolph Slaves that settled in Miami County during the summer of 1846. And as such would not be connected to my Lyons ancestors. It appears that the word colored was written in the marriage record, although I do not find a record listing them among the names of the Randolph Slave settlers, and she may have been the daughter of James W. Lyons and Catherine Barton.

Mary M. Lyons who marries Dimick/Derick B. Ten Eick on 17 December 1848 in Miami County, Ohio. There is a Derick Teneick that died on 19 Mar 1849 in Miami County, Ohio. He was 3 months shy of his 22nd birthday. He is buried in Kepper Cemetery in Tipp City, Miami County, Ohio. If this is the same man in the marriage record, then he died 3 months after his marriage. I have not found anyone listing that he was married in their family trees. His name is listed as Derick Teneick on his headstone, but his name is also found in records as Derick TenEyck/Ten Eick. He was the son of Henry P TenEyck (Teneick) and Eleanor Baracalow. Fun side note here, I am also related to Derick Ten Eick, he is my 6th cousin 5x removed, we share early Dutch settlers in New York.

Most of the siblings stayed in Ohio for some decades with a few later venturing to Kansas. Only William G. Lyons decided to venture further west.

There are no known photos of William G. Lyons. In the 1850 census he is found living near, but not with, his family in Lost Creek, Miami County, Ohio. He is aged 20 years old and is working as a laborer.

One of the many mines in Placer County, California.

But by 1855 he had ventured to Placer County, California. According to his obituary he came to California from his eastern home during the ’49 excitement and followed placer mining there for a number of years. Placer County, California was at the heart of the 1848 California Gold Rush.

The same obituary states he didn’t come to Nevada until 1869, but I find him in directories in Virginia City, Storey County, Nevada in 1861 and in Dayton, Lyons County, Nevada in 1868-1869. Also included in his obituary is the following: The deceased was one of the pioneers of Nevada and especially of White Pine County, having been prominently identified with the mining industry in this section since the early days of Mineral City in the 70’s. [He] Was one of the original locators of the Monitor mine at Taylor, which was sold to the New Eberhardt Co. of London, England. He was also one of the locators of the Chainman mine here [White Pine County]. The Chainman mine was primarily a gold mine but was secondarily a silver mine. Moving to Virginia City during the palmy Comstock days, from which place he came to White Pines in ’69.

I was unable to locate him in any records for the time period he was in Placer County, California, when he was engaged in the mining industry there.

For great content and more photos, please visit the Nevada Expeditions website. A photo of the Taylor [White Pine County, Nevada] Mine shaft taken in 2020. The Monitor Mine was mostly a silver mine.

I was able to locate him in the 1870 Nevada territorial Census index for Gold Hill, Storey County, Nevada, but the image of the census was unavailable. Census records for Nevada, prior to the 1875 Nevada state census and the 1880 US Federal Census, are spotty at best.

I believe I did find him in state historical records which included the listing of businesses in Mineral City, White Pine County, Nevada in 1874 as “MITCHEL & LYONS – Lived at this time at what was later known as the OLE HANSON ranch.” Today, Mineral City is listed as a former populated place located along US highway 50. A former mining boom town founded in 1869 with a population of about 600 by 1872. (1)

It was just west of Ely, Nevada, and named Mineral City until 1876. It was the first mining camp in the Robinson District. Since Mineral City lay on the Central Overland Route, a stagecoach stop followed, and by 1872, the boomtown had a post office, a ten-stamp mill, mercantile stores, an express office, six saloons, hotels, four boarding houses, restaurants, livery stables, and a blacksmith shop. In 1896 the town was renamed Lane City for Charles D. Lane, following his purchase of Chainman, a major local mining and milling operation. It continued into the twentieth century, but as of 2014 the town (lying along what is now US 50) is abandoned and only a few structures and foundations remain. (2 & 3) Remember that William G. Lyons was one of the locators of the Chainman Mine. A locator was one who locates and establishes a mining claim.

He did quite well in the mining industry and in the 1880 Census for Ward, White Pine County, Nevada, his occupation is listed as Mine Superintendent. In 1883 he was the postmaster of the post office in Taylor in White Pine County, Nevada. Also see further down his business dealings in 1886 with W. N. McGill. In the 1900 Census for Ely, White Pine County, Nevada, his occupation is listed as Capitalist, he is living alone, and he owns his home free and clear. He is listed in the White Pine Newspaper several times in the listings of registered voters.

Luckily, his obituary also tells us a bit more about him as a person. He is described as one of the most kind-hearted and generous of bachelors, and while his presence will be greatly missed from among us, still his many kind deeds and acts of benevolence shall live forever after in the minds of scores he has be-friended.

Also, according to his obituary, he always enjoyed good health until two years prior to his death, but the early vicissitudes of pioneer life began to tell upon him and, although he sought restoration in the climate of California and Arizona, it was to no avail. He died at Stone’s Sanitarium in Phoenix, Arizona. He appears to have died of tuberculosis. His mining and capitalists’ ventures left him well off financially for only affluent patients were cared for at these sanitariums in Pheonix.

William G. Lyons headstone found in Downs Cemetery.

The last view lines of his obituary tell us about his living relatives and that he only had two known living relatives (he actually had three siblings alive at the time of the death). His two sisters are mentioned as two sisters living in Kansas. They were Amelia Ann Lyons Lukens and Martha Ann Knight Lyons Armstrong. His sister Henrietta Frances “Nettie” Lyons Armstrong, at the time of his death, was living in Milford, Clemont County, Ohio, but Martha and Amelia were living in Kansas. His remains were shipped to Kansas, and his final resting place is found in Downs Cemetery in Osbourne County, Kansas. His sister Amelia Ann Lyons Lukens lived in Osbourne County, Kansas.

A final note, I did find in the White Pine Newspaper for July 28, 1904, a notice of hearing of petition for probate of the will and for issuance of letters of testamentary in the matter of the Estate of William G. Lyons. W. N. McGill filed a petition for the probate of the last will of William G. Lyons.

William Neil “Billy” McGill. Business partner of William G. Lyons.

I have been unable as of yet to view the last will and testament of William G. Lyons. But researching W. N. McGill, it appears they were in business together. W. N. McGill’s full name was William Neil McGill. In the 1900 Census for Ely, White Pine County, Nevada, he is listed as a farmer, albeit a quite well to do farmer, with a wife and several children, as well as a servant and several employees. By 1910 he is a widower and living with him are his sister, several of his adult children, a daughter-in-law and a granddaughter, as well as two servants. His occupation is now listed as Stock Grower.

On the Nevada Adventures website of exploring ghost towns and mining camps in Nevada, I was able to find the following: William Neil McGill and his partner, William Lyons, bought Cowger’s Ranch in 1886, and soon the ranch was one of the most prosperous in the county [White Pine County]. Lyons had been the co-discoverer of Taylor in 1885, and because of his interests there, he sold out to McGill in late 1886. (4)

John Cowger established Cowger’s Ranch in 1872 and soon had extensive grain fields. By 1880 he had become the sole owner of the area’s water rights. An unsubstantiated rumor has it that Jesse James and his gang ate there while escaping from a sheriff’s posse. (4)

In 1886, William Neil McGill acquired full control of the ranch, and along with former Nevada governor Jewett Adams began one of the largest livestock operations in the state. Their strong partnership continued into the 20th century, until Adams died in June 1920, followed by McGill in April 1923, after which their empire fell. (5)

On the death certificate of William McGill of March of 1923, it states he was the manager of Adams & McGill Co., and the nature of the industry is listing as raising of silver stocks. He is found in the Who’s Who of the Pacific Coast, 1913, and it states he was Pres. of Campton Commercial Co., Ely Packing Co.; member of firm, Adam & McGill; Dir. First Nat’l Bank of Ely, Natl. Copper Bank of Salt Lake.

William G. Lyons and William Neil “Billy” McGill may have known each other in Ohio, as well as their business dealings in Nevada. Both the families lived in Miami County, Ohio and both had family connections to Hamilton County, Ohio and further back to New Jersey.

Whereas William Neil “Billy” McGill is listed in the Who’s Who and written up in newspapers for perseverance and its importance as a “must” to survive, and his many accomplishments, William G. Lyons, who was also quite successful in his financial ventures, was remembered for his kindness, generosity, and friendships.

References:

Mineral City, Robinson Mining District, White Pine Co., Nevada, USA at Mindat.org which is run by the not-for-profit Hudson Institute of Mineralogy.
Lane City, Nevada. Greatbasinheritage.org via Internet Archive.
Lane City/Mineral City, Nevada. wikipedia.org.
McGill (Smelter) (Axhandle Springs). nevadadventures.com.
McGill, White Pine County nvexpeditions.com.

If you’d like to learn more about the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks project, please visit here:

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.

Or join the Facebook group Generations Cafe.

Posted in 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, Genealogy | Tagged 52 Ancestors, Addis, Armstrong, Barton, Bucks County Pennsylvania, California, Chainman Mine, Cooper, Cowger's Ranch, Dutch, Ely, English, Family Tree, Genealogy, German, Gold, Gold Rush, Hamilton County Ohio, Jewett Adams, Kansas, Lukens, Lyons, Lyons County Nevada, McGill, Miami County Ohio, Mineral City, Mining, Monitor Mine, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Placer County California, Silver, Stinsman, Virginia City Nevada, Ward Nevada, White Pine | 6 Comments

Eight of My Grandfather’s Siblings – All Broken Branches. Premature Death, Never Able to Bloom and Grow into Adulthood. 52 Ancestors, Week 25: Broken Branch.

Posted on June 20, 2022 by Anna Kasper, ACDP

The 52 Ancestors writing theme this week is Broken Branch. This is the meaning of a broken tree or broken tree branch in family trees and on headstones; a tree represents life, a broken tree, or a broken branch, symbolizes death, or more specifically a life cut short. This symbolism is usually used on headstones, to signify a break in the family tree, someone who died an untimely or premature death. Usually seen on a younger person’s gravestone, an alternate symbol is a broken flower bud, or rose stem. A broken tree at the trunk usually represents the loss of a family patriarch. (1)

Most commonly the hanging flower bud is used on headstones of children who died an untimely or premature death. The broken rose or flower bud or stem represents the flower that did not bloom into full blossom, the life that was cut short before it had a chance to grow to adulthood. The three leaves on the rose stem represent the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. (2)

My grandfather Durward Edward Cole was the son of Joseph Edward Cole and Anna Cora Prindle. He had three siblings that lived into adulthood and married, although only one of his siblings, Jesse Cole, had children, so my Mom only had three Cole first cousins.

My grandfather had a total of eleven siblings, but I can only find records on eight of them. Eight of his siblings are broken branches on the family tree. These eight siblings died young.

This is what is known about the eight siblings who lives were cut short before they could grow and bloom into adulthood. Three of them, I can find no records about them. On the birth certificate of Carl Cole, the last child born to Anna Prindle and Joseph Cole, it is listed that she had given birth to a total of twelve children, with eight living at that time.

The first broken branch of his siblings is Mabel. The most is known about her. Mabel R. Cole was born 10 February 1896 in Dekalb County, Indiana. Her parents separated and divorced by 1910. She is found in the 1910 census in Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan, living with her maternal aunt Ona Belle Prindle and her aunt’s second husband Charles Danner, and her first cousin Helen J. Danner.

The House of the Good Shepherd, Detroit, Michigan – 1910.

Within a year after she is found in the 1910 census she is living in The House of the Good Shepherd (aka Sisters of the Good Shepherd Girls Reformatory). The Sisters of the Good Shepherd opened their Detroit house in 1883. The House was located on Fort Street West, and the property took up an entire block. Although orphans were sent here, it was mostly a girl’s reformatory school. The home was not endowed, and the Good Sisters depended on their work and the charitably disposed for maintenance of the house. In 1920 the Sisters were looking after 500 girls.

Mabel’s childhood was one of dysfunction with alcohol abuse within the family, she had to deal with her parent’s drama and fighting (which was at least partly chronicled in the local newspaper in Indiana), their divorce and her mother leaving her younger children with family members. As well as the fact that she was a teenager, which at any time in history can be a difficult time.

Mabel’s final resting place at Mount Elliott Cemetery in Detroit, Michigan. She has no headstone, but a grave marker tells us she is buried in this section.

According to her death certificate she died at The House of the Good Shephard on 5 September 1912 at the age of sixteen of Acute Nephritis which can come on quite suddenly. Nephritis is an old word for what is called Glomerulonephritis today. The causes are often a viral or bacterial infection, especially streptococcal bacteria. Easily treatable today, that was not the case in 1912. Symptoms Mabel would have experienced include blood in the urine (red or brown pee), fluid buildup in the tissues which engenders swelling around the face, eyes, ankles, legs, and belly, high blood pressure, headaches, nausea and vomiting. (3) Not a pleasant way to die.

I am a cradle Catholic that had a good experience with the religious Sisters that were my teachers, but I am not naive, I know that homes like this one would have had a large population of girls in comparison to the number of Sisters and other workers to take care of them. Abuse and neglect also happened. Some of the girls were prostitutes, others just considered problem children and teens, others were orphans, and often they were not believed if they said they were ill until it was too late. Mabel was under the care of a physician for only one day before her death. Whether neglect and/or abuse played a part in her death is information lost to time, but it is quite possible, along with lack of treatments available for her ailment at this time.

Divine Comfort by artist Heather V. Kreiter.

The second broken branch was a baby boy that only lived one day. He was born on 11 May 1898 in DeKalb County, Indiana, he died the next day on the 12th of May. He was not named and his place of burial in DeKalb County, Indiana is unknown.

Gladys Cole is on the right, her Prindle 1st Cousin Neva North is on left. Ashley, Dekalb County, Indiana.

The third broken branch is Gladys Cole. The photo above, and the photo below, are the only known photos of Gladys Cole. In the photo above, she is on the right, her Prindle 1st Cousin Neva North is on the left. Gladys was born on 1 November 1902 in DeKalb County, Indiana. She died on 8 May 1910 at the age of seven. I was told by my Uncle George Cole that her death greatly affected the family, especially her father, for Gladys was his favorite.

In the photo above, Gladys Cole is on far left her cousin Neva North next to her, her mother Anna Cora Prindle Cole next to Neva. The woman on the far right is thought to be a family member, but she is not identified on the back of the photo. Gladys’ place of death is not known but was probably in DeKalb County, Indiana. I have been unable to find her mother Anna Cora Prindle Cole in the 1910 census, but we know that she and her daughter Goldie Cole in December 1910 were living in Fort Wayne, Allen County, Indiana. Gladys’ father is found in the April 1910 census of Detroit, Michigan living with his twenty-two-year-old son Jesse Cole. They are both listed as lodgers. Gladys is not living with him. Gladys may have been living with extended family and died before the census was taken in that area, although her being in the photo above taken it is thought the same year she died, 1910, that she most likely was living with her mother before her death. Her final resting place is unknown. But if she died in DeKalb or Allen County, Indiana, she was probably buried in these one of these places. There are numerous family members and ancestors buried in cemeteries in DeKalb County.

The fourth broken branch is Ida Cole. She was born 20 November 1906 in Allen County, Indiana. She died prior to 1910, so would have been under age three with she died. She died in Indiana; her final resting place is unknown.

The fifth broken branch is Carl Cole. He was born on 19 February 1909 in Fort Wayne, Allen County, Indiana. He died at age 6 1/2 months in September 1909 in Indiana. His final resting place is unknown.

The sixth, seventh, and eighth broken branches are unknown. They were born between the censuses, and no birth or death records have been found for them, all three would have died young, possibly shortly after birth.

I wanted to take this week’s writings to remember my three grandaunts; Mabel, Gladys, and Ida, and my two granduncles; Carl and an infant baby boy, and three others that all died young. Broken branches in my family tree.

Gone but not forgotten by me, your grandniece. My hope is that family members and others reading this, in doing so will remember these little ones taken before their time, leaving the earthly plane before their lives were fully lived. May they always have an angel by their side in heaven.

References:

Meaning of a Broken Tree or Branch. City of Grove, Oklahoma website.
Meaning of a Broken Flower Stem. City of Grove, Oklahoma website.
Glomerulonephritis (GN). ClevelandClinic.org.

If you’d like to learn more about the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks project, please visit here:

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.

Or join the Facebook group Generations Cafe.

Posted in 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, Genealogy | Tagged 52 Ancestors, Allen County Indiana, Ashley Indiana, Broken Branches, Broken Flower Stem, Broken Tree Branch, Catholic, Cole, Danner, DeKalb County Indiana, Detroit, family history, Family Tree, Fort Wayne Indiana, Genealogy, girl's reformatory school, Glomerulonephritis, gravestones, headstones, House of the Good Shepherd, Indiana, Michigan, Nephritis, North, Premature Death, Prindle, Sisters of the Good Shepherd, Sisters of the Good Shepherd Girls Reformatory, symbolism, Wayne County Michigan | 2 Comments

The First Name Tacy. There are 35+ Women named Tacy in my Family Tree! 52 Ancestors, Week 47: The Name’s the Same.

Posted on June 14, 2022 by Anna Kasper, ACDP

This week’s 52 Ancestors writing prompt is “The Name’s the Same”. I had prior written about how my ancestor named Tacy was a very popular name in my tree. I decided to update and add to my original post and share it for this week. All about the female first name Tacy, and my ancestor that gave rise to so many of her descenants being named after her.

Lucille Ball, as Tacy Bolton-Collini, and her husband Desi Arnaz play a married couple in *The Long, Long Trailer* (1953).

Above is a promotional photo from the 1953 film The Long, Long Trailer, starting Lucille Ball, as Tacy Bolton-Collini, and her real-life husband Desi Arnaz, playing a married couple. Prior to discovering that I am descended (twice) from my 9th great-grandmother, Tacy Cooper Hubbard, I had only heard of the female first name Tacy in the Lucille Ball movie. It is a favorite of mine, and I have seen in numerous times on the Turner Classic Movies (TCM) channel. On a side note, I am related to Lucille Ball, we share several of the same Colonial American ancestors.

I checked to see if the name Tacy was used for a character in any other productions. It has been used only a few times. In addition to film The Long, Long Trailer, there was a character named Tacy Cassidy in the 2019 USA Network TV series Dare Me, played by Alison Thornton. Currently, you can stream Dare Me on Netflix.

Above is the original cover for the first book in the Betsy-Tacy series.

In literary works, it only appears a few times. The name appears in the haunted library mystery, Due or Die Trying by Allison Brook. Tacy can be a nickname for Anastacia, although not the case with my ancestor. Using Tacy as a nickname, there is a character named Anna Anastacia “Tacy” Kelly in the Betsy-Tacy series consisting of 10 books written in the 1940s and 1950s by Maud Hart Lovelace.

I also just happen to share the Colonial American ancestors, William Preston and Elizabeth Sale, with the author of the Betsy-Tacy series, Maud Hart Lovelace.

Icon of my ancestor Tacy Cooper Hubbard by artist GC Myers. He also is a descendant of hers.

The original ancestor that engendered the name Tacy to be passed down to numerous of her descendants was Tacy Cooper. She is my (twice) 9th great-grandmother. She was born 23 February 1618 in England and died 27 September 1697 in Westerly, Washington County, Rhode Island, she married Rev. Samuel Hubbard.

Tacy is considered one of the founders of the American Seventh Day Baptist Church. Tacy, her husband Samuel, one daughter, and four other persons formed the first Seventh Day Baptist Church in America in 1671. The Seventh Day Baptists exist to this day and were a big part of my family line for many, many years.

The parentage of Tacy Cooper is unknown and unproven. But she and her husband were originally members of the Congregational Church. The origins of Congregationalism are found in 16th-century Puritanism.

Although the name Tacy can be a nickname for Eustacia or Anastasia, her name is only found listed as Tacy (and misspelled as Tasy on occasion) and was not a nickname. It was passed down to numerous descendants as Tacy, occasionally as Tacey, and at least once as Tacie, but never as a nickname for Eustacia or Anastasia. Tacy is an English name that means “fruitful”. Tacy is also a name used by Puritans that means silence, it is from the Latin tace for “Be quiet!” It was in use in the 16th century, though usage of the name died out two centuries later. But as you will see the name did not die out in usage among the descendants of Tacy Cooper Hubbard. Even in the beginning of the 20th century, 200+ years after her death, I found one of her descendants named Tacy after her!

The name appears in genealogical records in the USA, UK, Canada, and Scotland as both a first name and a surname. The name is much less common today as a first name.

The name Tacy was passed down at least 35 times to the descendants of Tacy Cooper Hubbard. These are just the ones I know about! I am sure there are more than 35 descendants named Tacy, if I were to follow every single one of her descendancy lines down to the 20th century. I descend from two daughters of Rev. Samuel Hubbard and Tacy Cooper: Ruth Hubbard who married Robert Burdick and Bethia Hubbard who married Rev. Joseph Clarke, Jr. (Seventh Day Baptist clergyman).

I am including a brief biography of she and her husband below, but further down I have included the list of her 35 known descendants named after her. This list includes two of my direct ancestors, several siblings of my direct ancestors, and oodles of cousins.

Tacy Cooper’s husband Samuel Hubbard arrived in Salem, Massachusetts, in October 1633, and probably came in the ship “James”, which left Gravesend, England, late in August of 1633, and arrived in Massachusetts Bay in October. He says in his diary, “I was born of good parents. My Mother brought me up in the fear of the Lord, in Mendlesham, in catechizing me and hearing choice ministers.”

In 1635, he moved to Watertown, Massachusetts, where he joined the [Congregational] church and that same year he went to Dorchester (Windsor), Connecticut. where he married Tacy Cooper.

Samuel and Tacy went to Wethersfield, Connecticut, in 1637, and moved up the Connecticut River to Springfield, Massachuetts in 1639. In December 1640 “Samuel Hubbard is alsoe appoynted by a generall vote to keepe an Ordinary [Inn] for ye entertaynment of Strangers.”

They left for Fairfield, Connecticut, in 1647, though only stayed a short time due to church disagreements. Samuel and Tacy were preaching the doctrines of Anabaptism. He says in his diary: “God having enlightened both (but mostly my wife) into his holy ordinance of baptising only of visible believers, and being very zealous for it, she was mostly struck at, and answered two terms publicly, where I was said to be as bad as she, and sore threatened with imprisonment to Hartford jail, if not to renounce it or to remove: that scripture came into our minds.”

“If they persecute you in one place flee to another;” and so we did 2nd day of October 1648. We went for Rhode Island and arrived there the 12th day. I and my wife upon our manifestation of our faith were baptised by brother Joseph Clarke, 3rd day of November 1648.“

Samuel was a zealous Baptist and public religious disputant. For twenty-three years he belonged to the First Baptist Church of Newport, which sent him to Boston in 1651 “to visit the bretherin who was imprisoned in Boston jayl for witnessing the truth of baptising believers only, viz : Brothers John Clarke, Obadiah Holmes, and John Crandall.” In 1657 he went with Holmes on a preaching tour on Long Island, and in 1664 he was appointed General Solicitor of the Colony.

In about 1665, a Seventh Day Baptist missionary and his wife arrived in Newport from London; the first convert to the Sabbath in America being Tacy Cooper Hubbard. Samuel and Tacy, one daughter, and four other persons formed the first Seventh Day Baptist Church in America in 1671. Samuel reported that in 1678 there were 37 “Sabbatarians” in America; 20 in Newport, 7 at Westerly (also known as Hopkinton) and 10 at New London, Connecticut. Three years later the number of members reached 51; of this group two were Native Americans.

In 1675 in his diary, he refers to a “testament of my grandfather Cocke’s, printed in 1549, which he [Cocke] hid in his bed straw lest it should be found and burned in Queen Mary’s days.”

Samuel was born to Dissenter parents in Mendlesham, England in 1610. Samuel’s grandfather, Thomas Hubbard was driven out of the town of Mendlesham in 1556 for believing that Scripture contained enough information on its own to teach necessary doctrine to be saved.

He died between 1688 and 1692, and his wife after 1697, but no traces of their burial places have been found.

Source for biography:

One Thousand years of Hubbard History: 1866 – 1895
Published by Harlan Page Hubbard, New York. 1895.
Shope Family Ancestors

All the women below are descendants of my ancestor, my twice 9th great-grandmother, Tacy Cooper Hubbard:

Tacy Crandall, my 5th great-grandmother, she was born 1721 in Westerly, Washington County, Rhode Island, and died 1 June 1795 in White Day Creek, Monongalia County, West Virginia. She married Rev. Thomas William Davis (clergyman in the Seventh-Day Baptist church).

Tacy Kennedy, my 3rd great grandaunt, she was born about 1782 in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, she died young. She was a sibling of my 3rd great-grandfather John Kennedy.

Tacy Davis, my 4th great grandaunt, she was born in 1761 Shrewsbury, Monmouth, New Jersey, and married Thomas S. Palmer. She was sibling of my 4th great-grandmother Ruth Davis Kennedy.

Tacy Crandall, my 6th great grandaunt, she was born 1692 in Westerly, Washington County, Rhode Island, she married John Lewis.

Tacy Burdick, my 7th great grandaunt, she was born 2 December 1677 in Newport, Newport, Rhode Island, she married Rev. Joseph Maxson (Seventh-Day Baptist clergyman). I am also related to Rev. Joseph Maxson, he is my 7th great granduncle.

Tacy Davis, my 1st cousin, 5 times removed, she was born 1 September 1774 Monmouth, New Jersey, she died as a baby in 1775.

Tacy B. Davis, my 1st cousin, 5 times removed, she was born 25 June 1801 in Harrison, Charles, Virginia, she married Joseph Jeffrey Jr.

Tacy Davis, my 1st cousin, 6 times removed, she was born 13 July 1766 in Hopkinton, Washington County, Rhode Island, she married Nathaniel Kenyon.

Tacy Wells, my 1st cousin, 7x removed, she was born 4 January 1715 in Westerly, Washington, Rhode Island, she married Hubbard Burdick.

Tacy Burdick, my 2nd cousin, 6 times removed, she was born 1740 in Westerly, Washington County, Rhode Island, she died at eight years of age.

Tacy Burdick, my 2nd cousin, 6 times removed, she was born 12 October 1754 in Hopkinton, Washington, Rhode Island, she married Peleg Saunders.

Tacy Saunders, my 4th cousin, 5 times removed, she was born 4 February 1722 in Westerly, Washington County, Rhode Island, she married John Allen.

Tacy Maxson, she was born 15 December 1728 in Westerly, Washington County, Rhode Island, she married Jonathan Lewis.

Tacy Burdick, she was born born 11 September 1735 in Westerly, Washington County, Rhode Island.

Tacy Lewis, she was born 29 September 1743 in Charlestown, Washington County, Rhode Island, she married Benjamin Cahoon Card.

Tacy Stillman, she was born 14 April 1755 in Westerly, Washington County, Rhode Island, she married Stephen Saunders.

Tacy Clark, she was born 3 June 1756 Kingston, Rhode Island, she married Benedict Crandall.

Tacy Crandall, she was born 30 November 1769 in Rhode Island, she married Samuel Crumb.

Tacy Lanphier, she was born 14 May 1770 born Westerly, Washington County, Rhode Island, she married Ethan Allen Maxson.

Tacy Langworthy, she was born 1 Jul 1773 in Hopkinton, Washington County, Rhode Island, she married Charles Babcock.

Tacy Lewis, she was born 14 January 1790 Westerly, Washington County, Rhode Island, she married Nathaniel Tanner.

Tacy Crandall, she was born 8 September 1798 Washington County, Rhode Island, she married William Scriven.

Tacy C. Card, she was born 17 February 1807 in Richmond, Washington County, Rhode Island, she married Seventh-Day Baptist clergyman Weeden Barber.

Tacy Ann Gilkeson, she was born 1819 in Pennsylvania, she married William MacIntosh

Tacy Lucinda Greene, she was born 7 December 1820 in Washington County, Rhode Island, she married Thomas Taylor Larkin.

Tacy Ann Greene, she was born 18 October 1822 in North Stonington, New London, Connecticut, she married James Jerome Crandall.

Tacy Ann Maxson, she was born 12 October 1825 in Washington County, Rhode Island, she died four years later and is buried in Hopkinton, Washington County, Rhode Island.

Tacy M. Scriven, she was born 17 September 1829 in Rensselaer County, New York, she married James Carroll Schullin.

Tacy Ann Palmer, she was born 4 January 1831 in Rhode Island.

Tacy Jane Jeffrey, she was born 28 February 1833 in West Union, Harrison, West Virginia, she married Elisha Hall.

Tacy Noyes, she was born 7 November 1844 in Hopkinton, Washington County, Rhode Island, she died aged 19 in 1864.

Tacie Elizabeth Larkin, she was born 31 Jul 1858 in Hopkinton, Washington County, Rhode Island, she married Alberti Randolph Stillman.

Helen Tacy Ann MacIntosh, she was born 18 February 1865 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, she never married, she died at age 52 in 1918.

Tacy Ann MacIntosh, she was born 16 November 1896 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, she married Earl Chester Fuhrman.

Tacy Angeline Crandall, she was born 19 July 1902 in Ashaway, Washington County, Rhode Island, she married Dr. Walter Saretzki (Chiropractor).

Famous Kin of Rev. Samuel Hubbard and Tacy Cooper:

John Batterson Stetson, Inventor of the Cowboy Hat.
Harry Chapin, Singer and Songwriter.
Mary Chapin Carpenter, Singer and Songwriter.
Billy Gilman, Country Music and Pop Singer.
Cash Warren, TV Producer.
Amy Adams, Movie Actress.

My two direct lines of descent from Tacy Cooper:

Tacy Cooper and Rev. Samuel Hubbard (son of Yoeman James Hubbard and Naomi Cooke (Cocke)).
Ruth Hubbard and Robert Burdick.
Debora Burdick and Rev. Joseph Crandall (son of John Crandall (the elder) and his first wife).
John F. Crandall and Mary Yeomans (daughter of Samuel Yeomans and Mary Ellis).
Tacy Crandall and Rev. Thomas William Davis (son of Rev. John Davis and Elizabeth Maxson).
Ruth Davis and Dennis Kennedy (son of John Kennedy and Sarah Murray).
John Kennedy and Jane Williams (daughter of Zachariah Williams and Elizabeth Swartzlander).
John Davis Kennedy and Susan Palmer (daughter of John Palmer and Mary Ann Spots (Spatz)).
Abraham G. Kennedy and Mary Elizabeth Price (daughter of James Price and Julia Ann Meteer/Mateer).
Glenna Annette Kennedy and Durward Edward Cole (son of Joseph Cole and Anna Cora Prindle) – my grandparents.

Tacy Cooper and Rev. Samuel Hubbard (son of Yoeman James Hubbard and Naomi Cooke (Cocke)).
Bethia Hubbard and Rev. Joseph Clarke, Jr. (son of Rev. Joseph Clarke, Sr. and Margaret Turner).
Judith Clarke and Rev. John M. Maxson, Jr. (son of Rev. John M. Maxson, Sr. and Mary ___).
Elizabeth Maxson and Rev. John Davis (son of Rev. William Davis and Elizabeth May Brisley).
Rev. Thomas William Davis and Tacy Crandall (daughter of John F. Crandall and Mary Yeomans).
Ruth Davis and Dennis Kennedy (son of John Kennedy and Sarah Murray). This couple is #6 in the first direct line.

Please see my other blog post regarding many of my ancestors listed above, and related family lines: My Davis, Maxson, Crandall, Burdick, and related lines, in Wales, England, and Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, New Jersey.

This post was updated with new information on 18 November 2025.

Links for further reading about my ancestors Rev. Samuel Hubbard and Tacy Cooper:

Samuel and Tacy Hubbard: A Couple Devoted to God’s Sabbath by Rev. Don A. Sanford. Sabbath Recorder, Council on History.
Icon: Tacy Cooper at redtreetimes.com. Concerning the work of artist GC Myers, who is also a descendant of Tacy Cooper Hubbard.

If you’d like to learn more about the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks project, please visit here:

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.

Or join the Facebook group Generations Cafe.

Posted in 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, Famous Kin, Genealogy, Religious, Theology | Tagged 52 Ancestors, Allen, Amy Adams, Anastacia, Babcock, Baptist, Barber, Betsy-Tacy series, Billy Gilman, Burdick, Cash Warren, Christian, Clark, Cole, Colonial America, Congregational Church, Connecticut, Cooper, Crandall, Crumb, Dare Me, Davis, Due or Die Trying, England, Eustacia, faith, family history, Family Names, Family Tree, Genealogy, Hall, Harry Chapin, History, Hubbard, Jeffrey, John Batterson Stetson, Kennedy, Kenyon, Larkin, Lewis, Lucille Ball, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Massachusetts, Maud Hart Lovelace, Maxson, New Jersey, Palmer, Preston, Price, Puritians, Rhode Island, Sale, Saretzki, Saunders, Schullin, Scriven, Seventh-Day Baptist, Stillman, Tace, Tacie, Tacy, Tasy, The Long Long Trailer, The Name's the Same, Virginia, Washington County Rhode Island, West Virginia, Williams, Yeomans | 5 Comments

My Ancestor James McTeer (Mateer) from Kilkeel, Down, N. Ireland & Lived in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. Related Scottish Donaldson & Sproat Lines. 52 Ancestors, Week 22: Conflict.

Posted on May 21, 2022 by Anna Kasper, ACDP

I wrote this blog entry ten days early and am updating it today. Tomorrow the prompt for 52 Ancestors, Week 22 will be Conflict. I am interpreting this week’s prompt to mean conflicting records, conflicting family trees, etc. In this case it was partly engendered by the family passing the name James onto not only one of his sons but also numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren of my immigrant ancestor James McTeer (Mateer) from Kilkeel, Down, N. Ireland. Also, I must add that hundreds of people repeating and sharing incorrect information in their family trees and elsewhere on the Internet has also contributed to the confusion regarding my direct line. I have endeavored, using various records and DNA, to attempt to resolve the conflicting information and present my conclusions.

After getting the actual prompt this past Tuesday, it’s supposed to be directly related to a conflict as in a military conflict, but it still is applicable for my James McTeer (Mateer) and his sons service during the French and Indian War. I have included information about their military service further down.

But firstly, I wanted to share some biographical information regarding my immigrant ancestor James McTeer (Mateer) to set the foundation for the sharing of the details of my research into identifying and placing correctly his descendants named James, especially my direct line, and the outcome of my labors.

My ancestor James McTeer was born about 1697 in Kilkeel, County Down, Ireland (now Northern Ireland).

Kilkeel (Encyclopædia Britannica)
Cottages near the beach, with the Mourne Mountains in the distance, Kilkeel, Newry and Mourne, N. Ireland.

A bit about Kilkeel:

Kilkeel, Irish Cill Chaoil, it is a fishing port and seaside resort in southeastern Northern Ireland. It lies at the mouth of the River Kilkeel at the foot of the Mourne Mountains. (1) It is the southernmost town in Northern Ireland. Kilkeel town is the main fishing port on the County Down coast, and its harbor is home to the largest fishing fleet in Northern Ireland. It had a population of 6,541 people at the 2011 Census. The town contains the ruins of a 14th-century church and fort, winding streets and terraced shops. (2, 3, 4, & 5)

Sometime about 1730 James McTeer left Northern Ireland with a wife and family. On shipboard his children fell ill and died one by one, then his wife succumbed to illness as well; so, the grief-stricken young man arrived alone in Pennsylvania. This same traditional story has been handed down from generation to generation in both Tennessee and Ohio. Though the story is essentially the same in both branches, the number, sex, and names of the children vary, and no one has presumed to suggest a name or identity for this first wife. (8 & 9)

The first record of James McTeer was his application for a grant of land in 1747 in what was then known as Lancaster County, “West Side, Beyond the River Susquehanna” which eventually became Cumberland County, Pennsylvania in 1750. In 1736, the Penn family had signed a treaty with the Indians to open up the land on the west side of the river. The connection of the McTeers with the founding of the early Presbyterian Congregation of Silver Springs in 1736 indicates that they were residents of this area in the early 1730’s. (6 & 9)

Once settled in British Colonial America, he married second to Margaret Anderson about 1731 in Allen, Cumberland, Pennsylvania. It is believed he married third to Molly Sharon.

At least three generations of McTeers were elders in the Silver Spring Presbyterian Church in Mechanicsburg, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. The church was founded in 1736. James McTeer was one of a group of forty-two members who, in the early years of the church signed notes to cover past church indebtedness and to guarantee the salary of the pastor.

Silver Spring Presbyterian Church and Cemetery
Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.

History of Silver Spring Presbyterian Church:

Scots-Irish settlers who traveled west across the Susquehanna River in search of new beginnings can be credited for establishing the Silver Spring Presbyterian Church, located at 444 Silver Spring Road. Attracted by the region’s fertile soil and natural beauty, they made the decision to put down roots.

According to church records, the settlers, who embraced Presbyterianism, held their first worship meeting in 1732. Two years later, Alexander Craighead was appointed to preach to the people “over the river,” and by 1735, the first “Meiting House” was constructed on the land near the spring. It was described as a “small log building, roughly built, with split-log floors and seats, and few, if any, windows.”

By 1757, the area was officially organized and became known as Silver Spring Township. James Silver’s spring is still accessible from the north side of today’s “Meiting House,” where water is routinely used for baptisms.

In 1782, the Rev. Samuel Waugh was named the first American-born pastor to be licensed by the Donegal Presbytery. He lived with his wife, Eliza Hoge, daughter of David Hoge, one of Silver Spring Township’s founding trustees, in a small limestone house adjacent to the church property, which is now being used by the church as a retreat center. Waugh, educated at Princeton, served the church for 25 years until he died at the age of 58. (7)

Soon after completing his title to the property with a patent dated 11 Nov.1760, James McTeer built a store house near a large flowing spring, probably at about the point where Lisburn Road crosses Cedar Run. A Cumberland County map of the 1860s shows at that time seven houses on what had been the original McTeer land grant. (8 & 9)

Records of the Pennsylvania Direct Tax of 1798 for Allen Twp., Cumberland County, list James McTeer’s original house then owned and occupied by his son Samuel McTeer, as a stone dwelling, 16 by 22 feet, one story with four windows containing 48 lights (panes of glass); the accompanying kitchen was shown as an outbuilding 16 by 12 feet with two windows containing 12 lights; and the whole property including two acres of land was valued at $600.

When Major Will A. McTeer of Maryville, Tenn., visited the locality a century later this house was still standing and still owned by a McTeer descendant, Mrs. Ellen Saxton. The Major wrote his impressions in a letter from Mechanicsburg, dated 30 July 1898; “We got here last night. A beautiful town of five thousand inhabitants, nestled down in the richest and loveliest little valley I have ever seen. I am just now back from a visit to the old homestead of my great, great grandfather, four miles out. The main part of the old stone house is still standing but very old and dilapidated. The old farm is of the very best. A barn as big as Texas … filled … with oats by the six-horse load. I drank from the old spring that slaked the thirst of my ancestors.”

But only a few weeks after this encounter the old place was torn down; so, a neighboring farmer could use the stones for the foundation of a milk station. In Mrs. Saxton’s words, “It was hard for me to make up my mind to it but thought it best to lay sentiment aside as it was getting unsightly and useless and possibly dangerous.” (8 & 9)

James McTeer was elected a captain (during the French and Indian War) in the Cumberland County, Pennsylvania Associators, 10,000 volunteer militiamen formed into 120 companies throughout Pennsylvania and commissioned by the governor. They were called Associated Regiments, and they continued for the next 30 years until the Revolutionary War. His son, John, also raised a company of Associators in the Silver Springs community and was elected captain and served in the Revolutionary War. In fact, five of James Mateer’s sons and three of his sons-in-law served with the Pennsylvania troops at various times during the war. (6)

Out of his 400 acres James McTeer provided a farm for each of his four sons who remained in Allen Township. On 8 Dec 1770 “for love and affection” he deeded 100 acres to his son John; on 21 December 1770 he made a similar conveyance to his son William: and by his will he also gave land to sons James and Samuel. Son Robert moved to Fermanagh Township, Cumberland County, soon after his marriage and had already gone on to Tennessee before his father’s death. Since he received in the will only a token legacy, it is clear that Robert had in some way received his share at an earlier date, but the nature of that inheritance is now past recovery. (8 & 9)

His will was probated March 16, 1785, and Samuel McTeer was the executor. He died in his 89th year making the date of his birth about 1697.

Known children of James McTeer and Margaret Anderson:

James McTeer (Mateer) born 6 April 1732 in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, and died 12 October 1803 in Allen, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. He married Elizabeth Donaldson, she was born in Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland, the daughter of Andrew Donaldson, Sr. and Isobel / Anapel Sproat. See note further down.
Elizabeth McTeer (Mateer) born 9 April 1734 in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, and died 18 May 1805. She married William Boyd.
Capt. John McTeer (Mateer) born 30 April 1736 in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, and died 10 April 1790. He married Mary Huston.
William McTeer (Mateer) born 2 December 1738 in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, and died August 1819 in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. He married Margaret Carothers.
Robert Montgomery McTeer (Mateer) born 25 January 1740 in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, and died 6 April 1824 in Blount, Tennessee. He married Agnes Ann Martin.

Some list him as marrying third to Molly Sharon. There were Sharon families in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania that were also from Ulster, Ireland (now N. Ireland). The following children are variously listed as children with his second wife and also sometimes as with his third wife:

Alice (Elsie) McTeer (Mateer) born 17 March 1746 in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, and died in 1804. She married John Carruthers/Carothers.
Sarah McTeer born 19 April 1749 in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, and died before 1810 in Mifflin County, Pennsylvania. She married John Pauley.
Samuel Mateer (McTeer) born 12 April 1752 in Allen Township, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, and died September 1800 in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. He married Rosannah Quigley.

The next generation or two down, there is great confusion online regarding my James Mateer/McTeer (grandson of James McTeer born in N. Ireland) who married Elizabeth Nelson, and his parentage. Hundreds of people have copied incorrect information and parentage for him. Below I discuss the sons of James McTeer (Mateer) and his grandchildren named James and how my ancestor fits and doesn’t fit with each.

My James Mateer (McTeer) was not the son of William Mateer (McTeer). Many list him as the son of Willliam Mateer and Dorcas McClure. There was a Dorcas McClure McTeer (Minteer) that is in probate records, witnessing wills in Harrison County, Kentucky, and would be attached to the McTeer lines that migrated to Kentucky. This is not the same Dorcas Mateer that is listed as a witness in some wills in Pennsylvania. Some list William Mateer as marrying both Margaret Carruthers and Dorcas McClure. There is a Dorcas McClure McTeer found in probate records in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, but they don’t match the death date for the William McTeer that married Margaret Carruthers. There were McClure families in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, and this same Dorcas is listed in the will of a Joseph McClure. I have not attempted to work out the relationship of these two women named Dorcas McClure who married into the same McTeer (Mateer) family. There appears to also be a Dorcas Mateer (McTeer) who never married that is found in the Pennsylvania records and is sometimes confused with the women named Dorcas McClure Mateer (McTeer).

I have zero direct DNA connections to this McClure family of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. I have three DNA matches that are descendants of the McClure family of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, one is a confirmed maternal Palmer related match, the second is related to me on my paternal Doughty or related lines, the third only matches to me and our connection is unknown. My maternal half-sister has two DNA matches to descendants of this McClure family of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, she shares the same Palmer related match with me, and the second one is only a match to her but appears to have a maternal Prindle/Greatsinger connection and as a side note, my sister’s second match is my distant paternal Doty/Doughty cousin! My niece, my maternal half-brother’s daughter, has zero DNA matches to descendants of this same McClure family. My Kennedy 2nd cousin has two DNA matches to this McClure family and both are non-related Johnson connection matches.

I do have some distant DNA connections to the Carothers family, but there were a few intermarriages with the same McTeer and Carothers families.

William McTeer and Margaret Carothers did have a son named James Mateer (McTeer) who was born 1 November 1765 in Pennsylvania, and died 23 May 1832 in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. This James McTeer (Mateer) married Elizabeth Ross, the daughter of William Ross and Jean Nisbet. I do have distant DNA connections to the children of James Mateer (McTeer) and Elizabeth Ross.

My James Mateer (McTeer) also was not the son of Capt. John McTeer (Mateer) who married Mary Huston. This couple also did have a son named James! This James McTeer was called James “of Liburn” McTeer and was born about 1760 in Pennsylvania, and died 3 November 1817 in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. I have found no marriage records for him. I do have some distant DNA matches to the descendants of the other children of John McTeer and Mary Huston.

My James Mateer (McTeer) also was not the son of Robert Montgomery McTeer who married Agnes Ann Martin and migrated to Blount, Tennessee. But of course, this couple also had a son named James! This James McTeer was born about 1763 in Pennsylvania, and died 26 September 1825 in Blount County, Tennessee, he married Martha Ferguson. I do have distant DNA matches to the descendants of Robert Montgomery McTeer and Agnes Ann Martin.

My James Mateer (McTeer) was also not a son of Samuel Mateer (McTeer) and Rosannah Quigley. Firstly, Samuel Mateer (McTeer) was only a few years younger than my James Mateer (McTeer). Of course, once again this couple did have a son named James! This James Mateer was born about 1780 in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, and died 25 October 1856 near Georgetown, Fairfax, Virginia. He married Eliza Ann Tynan. I do have distant DNA matches to the descendants of Samuel Mateer (McTeer) and Rosannah Quigley.

The only son left is James McTeer. Once again there is great confusion as to the name of the spouse of this James McTeer who was the son of James McTeer (Mateer) and Margaret Anderson. He did marry a woman named Elizabeth, that is not contested, they share a cemetery headstone. Her name is listed as Elizabeth D. Mateer, the D. stood for her maiden name which was Donaldson. This is confirmed by research done by many prior to the invention of the Internet. But this fact has been largely ignored. Instead, people try to marry him to his future daughter-in-law Elizabeth Nelson! Some changing it to DeNelson (with no documentation to back up a DeNelson surname, just an attempt to explain the “D.” on her headstone).

Marriages of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania from 1749-1783.

Although hundreds of family trees on Ancestry.com, also the information on FindAGrave.com (and elsewhere all over the web) try to list Elizabeth Donaldson Mateer as Elizabeth D. Nelson Mateer. It is very much a case of them trying to fit a square peg into a circle! Elizabeth Nelson and James Meteer/Mateer married 17 Feb 1780 in East Pennsboro, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. I have seen some change the year of their marriage to 1760 to try to force it all to fit incorrectly!

Elizabeth Donaldson was born about 1742 in Girthon, Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland. She was the daughter of Andrew Donaldson, Sr. and Isobel / Anabel Sproat. My sister, my niece, my Kennedy 2nd Cousin, and I, all share DNA matches to descendants of the Donaldson family unit, and were born in Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland and died in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania.

Children of Andrew Donaldson, Sr. and Isobel / Anabel Sproat:

Elizabeth Donaldson born about 1742 in Girthon, Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland. She came with her family to Pennsylvania about 1750. She married there to James McTeer/Mateer. She died 14 October 1804 in Mechanicsburg, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. (My direct ancestors).
Eve Donaldson born about 1746 in Girthon, Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland. She came with her family to Pennsylvania about 1750. She married there to her cousin William Sproat. She died 13 April 1811 in Dickinson Township, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania.
Thomas Donaldson born between 1750-1759 in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, and died 1804 in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. He married Martha Work.
Andrew Donaldson, Jr. born about 1754 in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, and died about 1824 in Pennsylvania. He married there to his cousin Isabella Sproat.
Hugh Donaldson.

Some say that Andrew Donaldson, Sr. was killed by Indians.

Andrew Donaldson, Sr. was baptized on 30 May 1703 in Girthon, Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland. He was the son of William Donaldson and Janet Kirk.

Children of William Donaldson with first wife Janet Kirk:

Sara Donaldson was baptized on 30 March 1701 in Girthon, Kirkcudbright, Scotland.
Andrew Donaldson, Sr. was baptized on 30 May 1703 in Girthon, Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland. He died in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. He married Isobel / Anabel Sproat in Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland.
John Donaldson was baptized 5 November 1705 in Girthon, Kirkcudbright, Scotland.

Children of William Donaldson with second wife Sara Clerk:

Mary Donaldson was baptized on 23 October 1715 in Girthon, Kirkcudbright, Scotland.

Isobel / Anabel Sproat was the daughter of John Sproat and Christian / Kirstin McKie.

John Sproat married three times. Firstly, to Christian / Kirstin McKie, second to Jean Tait, and third to Marie McMillan on 17 May 1726 in Girthon, Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland. The parentage of Christian / Kirstin McKie and Jean Tait is unknown, although the surnames McKie and Tait are found in other parish church records of Girthon, and nearby parishes.

Marie McMillan was the daughter of Samuel McMillan and Sara Corbie.

Children of John Sproat with first wife Christian / Kirstin McKie:

Margaret Sproat was baptized on 21 December 1713 in Girthon, Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland. Some believe that she married John Stevenson.
Agnes Sproat was baptized on 19 July 1716 in Girthon, Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland.
Isobel / Anabel Sproat was baptized on 17 June 1719 in Girthon, Kirkcudbright, Scotland. First name listed as Anapel in baptism record. Possible transcription error, I have not been able to see a copy of the church record myself. She married Andrew Donaldson, Sr. who was also from Girthon.
John S Sproat born about 1720 in Girthon, Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland, and died 29 October 1800 in West Pennsborough, Cumberland, Pennsylvania. He married Margret Gordon.

Children of John Sproat with second wife Jean Tait.

Hugh Sproat was baptized on 14 Apr 1723 in Girthon, Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland.

Children of John Sproat and third wife Marie McMillan:

Marie Sproat (twin) was baptized 20 March 1728 in Girthon, Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland.
Elizabeth Sproat (twin) was baptized 20 March 1728 in Girthon, Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland.
John Sproat was baptized on 15 July 1731 in Girthon, Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland.

After the death of John Sproat, his wife, Marie McMillan married John McRobert on 25 April 1732 in Girthon, Kirkcudbright, Scotland.

Back to my McTeer/Mateer ancestors. James McTeer (Mateer), the son of James McTeer and Elizabeth Donaldson, was born about 1757 in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, and died in 1822 in Union Township, Mifflin County, Pennsylvania. As noted above, he married 17 February 1780 in East Pennsboro, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania to Elizabeth Nelson, the daughter of Robert Nelson.

The surname is found various ways in addition to McTeer, Meteer and Mateer, including Matier, Minteer, Matteer, Mintre, Minater, Mintier.

Below are the known and proven children of James McTeer (Mateer) and Elizabeth Nelson:

Robert Meteer (Mateer) born 25 Oct 1781 in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. He died 6 Dec 1849 in Monday Creek, Perry County, Ohio. He married Esther Chambers on 11 Dec 1817 in Mifflin County, Pennsylvania. She was born 25 July 1790 in Centre County, Pennsylvania and died 16 July 1876 in Monday Creek, Perry County, Ohio. She was the daughter of Pvt. Elijah Chambers and Mary Linaberry (Lindaberry). They are my direct ancestors.
William Mateer born about 1783 in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, and died before 1870 in Clarion, Clarion, Pennsylvania. He married Eliza Eskill, and Martha Donnelly.
Isabelle (Isabella) Meteer born 12 June 1784 in Pennsylvania, and died 25 October 1860 in Fairfield County, Ohio. She married Robert Work.
Dorcas Mateer born about 1785 in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, and died 1825 in Huntington County, Pennsylvania. It appears she never married.
Jennet (Jennette) Mateer/Meteer born 1786 in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania and died 1 January 1861 in Mahoning County, Ohio. She married William Steele. (She passed on the maiden name of her mother Nelson as a first name of her son).
Joseph M. Mateer born 1789 in Mifflin County, Pennsylvania, and died 11 January 1849 in Martinsburg, Blair, Pennsylvania. He married Mary Kline.
James Nelson “J.N.” Meteer (Mateer) born 1791 in Mifflin County, Pennsylvania, and died 14 September 1848 in Franklin County, Ohio, and married Parthena McMurtry Everett, the daughter of Abel Johnson Everitt and Bridget McMurty. They are actress Carole Lombard’s direct ancestors.

My sister, my niece, my Kennedy 2nd cousin, and I all have numerous DNA matches to the descendants of all the siblings listed above. There is a strong kinship, not just because of DNA, but also other family connections, like Isabella Meteer, her husband Robert Work, and their children all came to Perry County, Ohio then migrated to neighboring Fairfield County, Ohio. They came to Ohio first, but her brother Robert Meteer and wife Esther Chambers and their children followed them to Perry County, Ohio. Also, her niece, a daughter of Robert Meteer and Esther Chambers, Dorcas Meteer, married James M. Work, the son of Aaron Work and Millicent Everett. James M. Work was a nephew to Robert Work who married Isabella Meteer. Dorcas Meteer Work lived near her Aunt Isabella Meteer Work in Fairfield County, Ohio.

The next generation down. Children of my direct ancestors Robert Meteer and Esther Chambers:

Mary A. Meteer (Mateer) born 22 September 1819 in Pennsylvania, and died 4 April 1905 in Columbus, Franklin, Ohio. She married on 30 June 1840 in Perry County, Ohio to John Baird, as his second wife.
Chambers Meteer born 26 November 1820 Centre County, Pennsylvania, and died 12 August 1823 in Centre County, Pennsylvania.
Julia Ann Meteer (Mateer) born 25 September 1822 in Centre County, Pennsylvania, and died 4 March 1896 in Maxville, Perry County, Ohio of Paralysis. She married on 29 October 1840 in Perry County, Ohio to James Price, the son of John Price and Nancy Albert. (My great-great grandparents).
Elizabeth Meteer born 24 December 1824 in Centre County, Pennsylvania, and died 3 October 1893 in Bremen, Fairfield County, Ohio. She never married.
Jane Meteer born 10 February 1827 in Mifflin County, Pennsylvania, and died 28 October 1890 in Bremen, Fairfield County, Ohio. She never married.
Dorcas Meteer born 11 July 1833 in Monday Creek, Perry County, Ohio, and died 11 June 1895 in Fairfield County, Ohio. She married 26 October 1865 in either Perry or Fairfield Counties Ohio to James M. Work, as his second wife.

Actress Carole Lombard (born Jane Alice Peters) is a descendant of James Mateer and Elizabeth Nelson via their son James Nelson Meteer. My grandmother and Carole Lombard’s mother were direct 3rd Cousins. Please see my blog post: My Cousin Carole Lombard. Our shared Mateer/Meteer Ancestors for more information about her and her direct Meteer/Mateer family lines.

Other Mateer descendants:

Calvin Wilson Mateer, who was an American Presbyterian missionary to China for 45 years. He was a pioneer Presbyterian missionary in the Shandong province of China and the founder of the first Christian college in China. He was born 9 January 1836 in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, and died 28 September 1908 in Qingdao, China. He married first to Julia Ann Brown on 30 December 1862 in Delaware County, Ohio. She went to China with him, and after her death in 1898, he married second to Ada Haven on 25 September 1900 in Chefoo (now known as Yantai) in the Shandong province of China.

His second wife Ada Haven was born in Massachusetts and had deep roots going back into Colonial America. I am also related Ada Haven; we share two sets of ancestors in Colonial Massachusetts.

He was the son of John Mateer and Mary Diven, and grandson of William Mateer and Rebecca Black, and great-grandson of William Mateer (McTeer) and Margaret Carothers.

Is this my final word on my McTeer/Mateer lines? No, probably not! But it is the best hypothesis based on currently available records and DNA matches.

References:

Kilkeel, Down, Northern Ireland. Britannica.com
“Kilkeel”. IreAtlas Townlands Database
Kilkeel Harbour”. eOceanic.com
“Census 2011 Population Statistics for Kilkeel Settlement”. Northern Ireland
Kilkeel – Wikipedia.com
James McTeer. Findagrave.com
Silver Spring Presbyterian Church a new start for early settlers By Stephanie Kalina-Metzger, For The Sentinel. Nov 3, 2014 via Wayback Machine.
James McTeer. smokykin.com
McTeer – Mateer Families of Cumberland County Pennsylvania, Frances Davis McTeer, 1975, p. 7, 23-26.

Posted in Classic Hollywood Actors, Famous Kin, Genealogy, Religious | Tagged Albert, Alice Jane Peters, Anderson, Carole Lombard, Carothers, Carruthers, Centre County Pennsylvania, Chambers, Christian, County Down, Cumberland County Pennsylvania, Denelson, Donaldson, Donelson, Fairfield County Ohio, family history, Family Tree, French and Indiana War, Genealogy, Girthon, Ireland, Irish, Kilkeel, Kirkcudbrightshire, Linaberry, Lindaberry, Mateer, McTeer, Mechanicsburg, Meteer, Mifflin County Pennsylvania, Nelson, Northern Ireland, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Donaldson Lines, Perry County Ohio, Presbyterian, Price, Scotland, Scots-Irish, Sharon, Silver Spring Presbyterian Church, Sprat, Sproat, Sprot | 5 Comments

Anna's Musings & Writings

52 Ancestors Week 34: Timeline. Trying to Reconstruct a Timeline of My 3rd Great-Grandparents Michael Nestor and Catherine Hansberry using Irish Petty Session Court Registers.

52 Ancestors, Week 31: Help. How Chief Tuccamirgan of the Delaware Tribe Helped My Ancestor Johann Philip Kaes (John Philip Case).

Rest in Peace Cousin Tony Dow

52 Ancestors – Week 30: Teams. My Cousin Mitchell “Mitch” Nutick. Dancer on Broadway and Founder of the West Hollywood Tennis Association.

German Surnames in My Family tree and German Language Studies. 52 Ancestors, Week 29: Fun Fact.

Famous Fahey Kin. Actress Myrna Fahey. 52 Ancestors, Week 28 – Characters.

William G. Lyons, My 2nd Great Granduncle. 52 Ancestors, Week 27: Extended Family.

Eight of My Grandfather’s Siblings – All Broken Branches. Premature Death, Never Able to Bloom and Grow into Adulthood. 52 Ancestors, Week 25: Broken Branch.

The First Name Tacy. There are 35+ Women named Tacy in my Family Tree! 52 Ancestors, Week 47: The Name’s the Same.

My two direct lines of descent from Tacy Cooper:

My Ancestor James McTeer (Mateer) from Kilkeel, Down, N. Ireland & Lived in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. Related Scottish Donaldson & Sproat Lines. 52 Ancestors, Week 22: Conflict.

Recent Posts

Archives

Categories

Meta

Anna Kasper, ACDP

Follow me on Twitter