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Stephanie
Gathering Sachemess
USA
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
June 23 2002
Status: offline
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 Posted - February 19 2003 : 7:04:27 PM
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Inspired by several members discovering in another thread that we have this hobby in common I decided to make a new thread just for genealogy. Post your success stories, most-wanted, brick walls, and especially your colonial and pre-colonial ancestors so Rich won't throw us off of here!
I was on another discussion list the other day and found that several of the genealogists I was talking to had had strange coincidences, eerie happenings and Twilight Zones at some point during their searches. It was great to hear their stories. So, anyone here have a spooky or coincidental genealogy story?
I'll start with mine:
A couple of years ago I was alone in a remote cemetery in northwest Florida. It was August and about 500 degrees plus humidity. For this mountain girl the air was stifling and I found that I actually had trouble breathing because the air was so thick. Just a few steps from my car and I was already soaking in sweat, but I couldn't stop because I hadn't driven 500 miles for nothing!
I was looking for members of the Cook family on my mother's side, and as I browsed around I realized I wouldn't be able to stay out there very long in that heat. I made it about halfway through the cemetery and decided to come back later. I was so hot I was getting dizzy and short of breath. When I started off walking to the right a little bit but still in the general direction of my car, I heard a loud PLOP like a stone being thrown into the bottom of a well. It was very nearby and loud, and caused me to stop and jump a little and turn around. For no reason, after turning around I changed my course and went left and after a few steps another loud noise broke the stuffy silence: a crow flew off from behind a stone with a loud CAWCAW! I stopped walking and jumped again because I was so startled, and when I looked down I was standing on my great-grandfather's grave! Only it wasn't the one I was looking for, it was one who I had NO idea he was buried there. And there was his wife's grave and actually several family members right there together. I was spooked because twice I had stopped because of loud noises and turned and changed my path because of them. And they led me to Great-grandfather Sellers, who otherwise I would have passed unnoticed several feet away. I think he wanted to be found! Or was I overheated and hallucinating?
Okay who's next?
steph
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Theresa
Bumppo's Tavern Proprietress
USA
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May 17 2002
Status: offline
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Posted - February 19 2003 : 9:21:03 PM
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Hey Steph,
I don't have a spooky coincidence story. I DO have a co-worker who will be going to England this summer to visit a friend and it seems that she lives within "investigating" distance of the dwelling where my great-grandmother lived before coming to America. This address and household is listed in the 1881 census. My great-grandmother was eleven at the time. I'm hoping they locate this dwelling (if it's still standing) and will photograph it for me.
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Theresa |
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Wilderness Woman
Watcher of the Wood
USA
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November 27 2002
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Posted - February 19 2003 : 9:38:12 PM
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Great idea, Stephanie!
OK, Rich? It's within 6 degrees... right? Let's see... The folks in LOTM lived in the 1700s... We all had ancestors who lived in the 1700s... right? See? That works!
I love your story Stephanie. I don't think I've had any crows throwing stones at me to get my genealogical attention, but I should be able to come up with something. Hmmmmmm... let me think on it awhile....  |
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securemann
Deerslayer
USA
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July 08 2002
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Posted - February 19 2003 : 9:43:17 PM
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| O.k. Steph, We all know that wonderful feeling of walking through a grave yard and doing detective work.The eerie quiet and the solitude while you walk around looking for your dead kin-folk. Anyway,I was in a cemetery in Northern New York looking for my Civil War GG Grandfathers grave.You remember him,I put his site on this forum sometime back.He was the guy that was ambushed by the rebs in Chancellorsville.I was walking around getting discouraged and decided to stop by an old tree to rest.Lord and behold,I looked around the tree and saw this small military tombstone.Great day in the morning! It was old GG Granddad.The tree grew right up in front of the grave! I was so happy because on the tombstone it had his rank and his outfit he belonged to.This discovery got the ball rolling for more infro on him.This was way back in 1979 and I have been rolling ever since. |
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richfed
Sachem
USA
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May 13 2002
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Posted - February 20 2003 : 05:10:38 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by Wilderness Woman
OK, Rich? It's within 6 degrees... right? Let's see... The folks in LOTM lived in the 1700s... We all had ancestors who lived in the 1700s... right? See? That works!
By jove, I think she's got it! Pretty easy, eh? |
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Stephanie
Gathering Sachemess
USA
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
June 23 2002
Status: offline
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Posted - February 20 2003 : 1:17:23 PM
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Great story!!! It's similar to mine in that as soon as we were about ready to give up, there they are!
Um, rebs? ambush? Who, us?
steph |
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securemann
Deerslayer
USA
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July 08 2002
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Posted - February 20 2003 : 8:34:29 PM
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| I will be going to another cemetery in the spring up in Vermont to look for my GGGG Grandfather.He was Ephraim Mann who served in the Massachusetts troops during the Revolutionary War.He was a private in Capt.Wild's Company with Col.Greaton's regiment.Ephraim's son,Thomas Jewett Mann Sr.,who is my GGG Grandfather served in the war of 1812.Don't know where to start with him.And of course,my GG Grandfather,Thomas Jewett Mann Jr.who was in the Civil War.What a line up:The Revolutionary War,the War of 1812,and the Civil War.Man,I love this stuff! |
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Wilderness Woman
Watcher of the Wood
USA
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November 27 2002
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Posted - February 20 2003 : 10:26:03 PM
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Boy! So do I!
Having the internet with its rapidly growing content is a genealogist's dream. I told my 85 year old father (who doesn't understand computers at all) it's like having the world's largest library right at your finger tips. But you know, even with that... there is just nothing like walking through an old cemetery, hunting for your ancestors' graves, and finding them! You know those bumper stickers that say "I brake for garage sales"? Well I need one that says "I brake for Old Cemeteries"!
I don't have a "spooky" cemetery story: no crows throwing stones at me, or trees tapping me on the shoulder. But a cemetery visit nearly 10 years ago very nearly gave me a sort of "spiritual experience." I certainly don't believe in ghosts (other than the Holy One!), but this was...well... here's the story:
Background: I'll try to keep it brief. My paternal grandmother was born in Webster, New York (near Rochester) in 1897. The family moved to California in 1900. My Dad was born there, I was born there. In 1978, my husband and I moved from the West Coast back here to St. Lawrence Co., New York. Full circle.
I had been dabbling in genealogy since the mid 70's, but in 1994 I made one of those connections with a distant cousin who had done much research on my grandmother's (and mine) ancestors. It was one of those wonderful instances where you take your end of the family and plug it right into someone else's end, and Voila! Instant ancestors!
What I found out was that I had a whole Mohawk Valley German Palatine Heritage that went back to 1710. I was enthralled! I read everything I could get my hands on. I couldn't get enough of it, and still can't. When I made my first visit to the little white Snells Bush Dutch Reformed Church near Little Falls that my ancestors founded in about 1755, I walked through the cemetery that sits right next to it... and I was absolutely stunned.
There are perhaps 150 graves there and virtually everyone who is buried there is part of my family. I was surrounded by no less than 4 sets of grandparents alone, not to mention countless aunts and uncles and cousins. Many of them were in the French and Indian War, were Revolutionary War soldiers of the Tryon County Militia who fought at the Battle of Oriskany. Others were in the War of 1812. Some were Civil War soldiers.
These were men and women who were friends and neighbors of King Hendrick of the Mohawks, Molly Brant and Chief Joseph Brant (until he sided with the British), and General Nicholas Herkimer.
I sat there, on the ground, in front of my 5th Great-Grandfather Lt. Henrick Zimmerman's grave stone and literally cried. And that was when the "spiritual revelation" hit me. Through my tears I looked up at the church steeple piercing the clear blue sky and I thought very simply: I have come home! This is where I belong. These are my people. I am walking on land that was theirs. They lived here, loved here, bore their children here, and died here. It was as simple as that. I was home. |
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Gadget Girl
Gatherer of Gathering Gadgets
USA
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May 17 2002
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Posted - February 20 2003 : 10:58:27 PM
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Cool Story WW!!
I have several times hit the genealogy payload on Rootsweb's World Connect Project. I've traced 6 of my 8 great-grandparents families to Europe (5 Scotland, 1 Germany) - no wonder there is nothing crisper, clearer, deeper to my soul than the sound of bagpipes and the Scottish dialect. It is SO amazing to discover one grandparents name after another - right on down the line with each click - AMAZING! I have information on up to 18 generations in one line, then I thought...do you realize, when you discover that 18th generation relative, he/she is only one of 262,144 of your grandparents at that level alone? Gives new meaning to the term "genetic pool", eh?
Of course, on the web no one's knows exactly when meticulous documentation breaks down, but it is great for clues and lost names!
Diana S.  |
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Wilderness Woman
Watcher of the Wood
USA
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November 27 2002
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Posted - February 21 2003 : 10:13:21 PM
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This is a Genealogy poem I heard several years ago, and it hits the nail right on the head! I have no idea who wrote it, but I love it.
I went looking for an ancestor; I cannot find him still.
He moved around from place to place and did not leave a will.
He married where a courthouse burned. He mended all his fences.
He avoided any man who came to take the US census.
He always kept his luggage packed, this man who had no fame.
And every 20 years or so, this rascal changed his name.
His parents came from Europe; they could be on some list
Of passengers to the USA, but somehow he got missed.
And no one else anywhere is searching for this man.
So I play geneasolitaire to find him if I can.
I'm told he's buried in a plot, with tombstone he was blessed.
But the weather took the engraving and some vandal took the rest.
He died before the county clerks decided to keep records.
No family Bible has emerged in spite of all my efforts.
To top it off this ancestor, who has caused me many groans,
Just to give me one more pain, betrothed a girl named JONES!
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Wilderness Woman
Watcher of the Wood
USA
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November 27 2002
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Posted - February 24 2003 : 08:45:48 AM
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It seems that in genealogy the focus is always very strongly on the male lines of the family. This is partly because the surname "threads" are easier to follow. The ladies seem to get lost a lot easier, with their name changes. And if they are widowed and remarried... forget it! Also, since it was a very male-oriented world in those days, the focus just naturally falls on the men.
But the women were important too... whether it be bearing children (a very dangerous occupation back then) and raising a large family, or running the farm while hubby was off to war, or teaching school, or even fighting in a war. I was wondering if anyone has some interesting women-folk in their backgrounds that you would like to share with us? |
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securemann
Deerslayer
USA
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
July 08 2002
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Posted - February 24 2003 : 4:38:22 PM
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| First of all W.W.,great poem! That basically says it all.Now for the woman-folk.I admire my grandmother who came to America in 1903.She landed at Ellis Island all alone and only 17 years old.She left her family behind to come to the land where the streets were made of gold.The little money she did make here she sent back to the old country to her family who lived on a small farm.She had a tough life and became depressed because she missed her family and never made it back to visit.She worked as a maid for well to do people but struggled all her life.She lost my grandfather only being married for about 3 years in 1919.The next fellow she married turned out to be a drunken bum who abused her and my Mother.She tried to stay strong throughout the whole ordeal for the sake of my mom.She couldn't speak English too well and had to endure living in cold water flats in Brooklyn,N.Y.Oh,the second fellow she married was finally taken away in a strait jacket due to booze.Strong lady,lonely lady,immigrant lady. |
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Wilderness Woman
Watcher of the Wood
USA
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November 27 2002
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Posted - February 24 2003 : 6:14:38 PM
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| Very poignant story, Securemann. 17 years old! Amazing! And I get nervous when I have to make a 6 hour flight across country alone... at the age of 56! I cannot imagine leaving one's family and making a how-many-week journey across an ocean as a teen-ager. What country did she come from? She must have been quite a lady and certainly deserved better than life dealt her. Bless her. |
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securemann
Deerslayer
USA
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July 08 2002
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Posted - February 24 2003 : 8:16:03 PM
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| She came from a place long gone called Gottschee,Krain which was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.It is now known as Kocevje,Slovenia just north of Croatia and the Kulpa River.They were called Gottscheers who settled in that area in the late 1200's from southern Austria.Some intermarried with the Slavs which made for some crazy surnames.Thanks to the computer,I found out so much about my heritage from over there.I even e-mail some Gottscheers who are still over there! Out of 2 million people in Slovenia,there are only 500 Gottscheers left.Most came to the U.S.,Canada,and Austrailia after W.W.II. |
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Wilderness Woman
Watcher of the Wood
USA
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November 27 2002
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Posted - February 24 2003 : 9:44:31 PM
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| That's really interesting! Some place names I'm not at all familiar with. Thanks! |
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Stephanie
Gathering Sachemess
USA
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June 23 2002
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Posted - February 24 2003 : 11:08:33 PM
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Securemann that's quite a story! She must have been quite a woman.
Aside from bearing children, we all know that women played important roles in building this nation and holding it together. One reason I don't know much about my female ancestors is because very little is said about them on the census. For a male, it might give you occupation and other interesting information, but for the wife/mother, the occupations in my line throughout the 19th c. were listed as "Keeping house." Sometimes it's worded a little differently: occupation: none. Then you look down and see that she has 12 children. No occupation, right!
Steph |
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Wilderness Woman
Watcher of the Wood
USA
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November 27 2002
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Posted - February 25 2003 : 08:37:38 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by Stephanie
Sometimes it's worded a little differently: occupation: none. Then you look down and see that she has 12 children. No occupation, right!
That's for sure, Stephanie... and on top of caring for an enormous family, they often helped with the farm chores as well. Of course, as the older children grew, they were put right to work alongside their parents.
I have a 5th great-grandmother, Mehitable (that's what I said!) Rowe Maxfield, who was one of those. She was born in 1752, got married at age 14. Her first child was born in 1768 when she was 15 or 16, and she kept right on poppin' em out until she was 41 years old. 15 altogether. Now if you stop and calculate it, that means she was either pregnant or nursing a child, probably nearly constantly, for about 26 years or so..., and sometimes doing both at the same time! Of course, the fact that she survived all of those childbirths is amazing in itself.
My hat's off to you Mehitable... and all of the others who did the same.  |
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Scott Bubar
Colonial Militia
USA
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May 17 2002
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Posted - February 25 2003 : 10:37:40 PM
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It still amazes me what you can find on the internet.
Back in November, I posted this thread on the "Other Military Encounters" forum here:
Indian "Naval" Operations and Vengeful Women, 1677
What I neglected to say is that I believe one or more of the women on that beach were my ancestors. |
~~Aim small, miss small. |
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Wilderness Woman
Watcher of the Wood
USA
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November 27 2002
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Posted - February 26 2003 : 4:05:16 PM
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Fascinating story, Scott.
Isn't it interesting how violence breeds violence? Not that I necessarily blame those women. If they had been told that their husbands and sons were dead at the Indians' hands, and they were strongly grieving... Well. Who knows how one would act? |
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Wilderness Woman
Watcher of the Wood
USA
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November 27 2002
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Posted - February 26 2003 : 4:41:23 PM
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Speaking of violence, I have a couple of "Women" stories to share. They both feature women in the above-mentioned Mohawk Valley Palatine families.
The first story is well documented within the family. It takes place in early August of 1777, when General Nicholas Herkimer called up the Tryon County Militia to go to the relief of Fort Schuyler (now Ft. Stanwix in Rome, NY), which was under siege by St. Leger and Joseph Brant. All able-bodied men from 16 to 60 were ordered to muster at Fort Dayton (present day Herkimer, NY).
In my Snell family, there were many men who answered the call. But one, Nicholas Snell, had a bit of a problem. It seems his wife Elizabeth Zimmerman Snell had "The Sight." In a dream, she "saw" that something horrible was going to happen to the men of the valley, and in particular to the Snell family. She was terrified that she would lose her husband so when the call came, she hid her husband's musket in a hollow tree. Well, since a Militiaman is not worth a lot without his musket, the Militia left Ft. Dayton without him.
Finally, after arguing and pleading with his wife, she relented and fetched his weapon and he set off. He was enough behind the Militia, that by the time he caught up with them, the horrible bloody Battle of Oriskany, where the Militia was ambushed by the Indians and Tories, was over. The horrible thing that Elizabeth had dreamed of had happened. Seven Snell men were killed that day, as well as hundreds of other Valley men. Another Snell, who was wounded but survived, was Peter Snell... my 5th great-grandfather.
The second story takes place in the same Snell family, although this woman was not my direct ancestress. In 1780, one of many Indian raids took place in the Valley. A band of Indians came upon the farm of Catharine Snell. Her husband was away and she was home alone with her children. She was made to sit against the outside wall of her house so she could watch her children be killed. One of her sons, who was about 5, managed to run and hide in the bake oven. Several of the others were killed before her eyes before the Indians were frightened off by some approaching men. As they left, they quickly knocked Catharine senseless and scalped her. She survived and her wounds healed. She always wore a small white cotton cap to cover the top of her head. The child who hid in the bake oven passed this story down through the generations. |
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securemann
Deerslayer
USA
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July 08 2002
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Posted - February 26 2003 : 5:19:03 PM
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| Wow,some story! In April I will be going to the only place in New York State that has a Wall of Honor for Purple Heart Medal winners.I will be wearing my Dad's Purple Heart Medal on my chest when I go.I think it's the grand opening ok'ed by Gov.Pataki.Only an hour from me!! Take a look: www.revolutionaryday.com/usroute9w/windsor/visitor.htm I do believe this falls within the 6 degrees. |
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securemann
Deerslayer
USA
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July 08 2002
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Posted - February 26 2003 : 5:21:35 PM
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| This too: nysparks.state.ny.us/info/purpinfo.html |
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Wilderness Woman
Watcher of the Wood
USA
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November 27 2002
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Posted - July 12 2003 : 10:51:27 PM
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Securemann, I moved over to the Genealogy thread so I could ask you about your Schoharie Valley Palatine ancestors. What are the surnames involved? As I have mentioned above in several places, mine were Zimmerman and Snell, mainly, but there was also Failing, Kilts, Bellinger, and Jung.
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securemann
Deerslayer
USA
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July 08 2002
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Posted - July 12 2003 : 11:44:48 PM
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| In Schoharie County,you have two Mann cultures.One is Palatine and the other is English.I have both.My great Grandfather's name was Mann and my great Grandmothers maiden name was Mann.One was a Palatine and the other was English.The English side only came to Schoharie County around 1850 while the Palatine side was there since the 1700's. |
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