My Great Great Grandparents - Orlando Gage & Edith Gallup

My great grandfather was a remarkable person.  The man I knew had a bit of a gruff exterior, but put in a baby in his lap and he melted.  I know him to have been an incredibly hard worker who supported his family during some of the darkest times of the last century.  I knew him to be a man of courage, values and strength. It makes me think about the parents who gave him the foundation to be the man he was.

Ora Silas Gage was born 5 Apr 1892 in Esperance, Schenectady Co., NY.  He was the second child of Orlando Gage and Edith Phoebe Gallup.  I say he was the second child because his older brother, Allen died rather tragically at 22 months old.  He had been in one of those toddler contraptions with wheels.  Allen had walked under a table and stood up and hit a nail that was under the table and died.  Needless to say, my great grandpa was very watchful of any babies walking under tables.

  

Orlando abt 1875

Charity abt 1875

Orlando worked as a carpenter and as a farmer.  He was born 2 Apr 1850 in Knox, Albany Co., NY to Gilbert and Phoebe Allen Gage.  Orlando was the oldest of 5 children. His mother was 20 years old and his father was 26 years of age.  I have thought that 1850 would have been a curious time to be born in this country.  Orlando wouldn't have been old enough to fight in the Civil War but was old enough to understand what was going on.  I suppose if had been in different circumstances, he probably could have slipped in when he was 14 years old.  Gilbert was not a Civil War veteran either.  I would suspect that he might have been more valuable as a farmer.  Orlando married for the first time to Charity Ellen Hotaling on 12 Jan 1875 at the United Methodist Church in Delmar, NY.  Charity was the 19 year old daughter of Michael Hotaling and Ellen Robertson. Orlando and Charity had the following children:

• Burton Latta Gage b. 8 Oct 1876 d. 27 Sept 1949 m. Bessie Margaret Young
• Edwin Welsh Gage b. 7 Jun 1879 d. 3 May 1959 m. Flora Mae Sidney
• Leroy James Gage b. 22 Dec 1880 d. 14 Oct 1910 m. Effie M. Butts
• Nellie Mable Gage b. 10 Sept 1885 d. 11 Sept 1972 m. Harry John Lewis

Charity died a few weeks after Nellie's birth on 9 Oct 1885.  I don't know if she died of the after effects of childbirth or if her death was as a result of something else.  Orlando was left with 4 children all under the age of 10.  I believe that Nellie might have been left with her grandmother, Phebe Allen Gage.  It is difficult to know for sure.  She is recorded in the 1900 census with Phebe and her maternal grandparents passed away in 1891 & 1892, so they may not have been in the best of health.  On 05 May 1886, Orlando married 26 year old spinster teacher, Edith Phoebe Gallup.

Edith Gallup - abt 1880?

Edith Phoebe Gallup was born 28 Jan 1860 in Duanesburg, Schenectady Co., NY to Silas Gallup and Phoebe Ann Montanye. Edith was the eldest of 12 children and was born just 11 months after her parents eloped.  Silas was the local schoolteacher and Phoebe was his 15 year old student.  Supposedly a couple rang a bell to announce a marriage, since no one paid attention, they kept it secret until the end of the term.  From what I have been able to gather, Edith boarded with some of her student's families and was a schoolteacher.  She had likely been teaching close to 10 years when she married Orlando.  I have to wonder if she hadn't been a teacher to one or two of Orlando's children. I think that we have a different view of marriage and parenting today that doesn't really fit that period of time.  It must have been difficult for a widower to have four children, continue to take care of the farm work and work as a carpenter.  So, when Orlando married Edith on 5 May 1886, there might have been more of what we might call a marriage of convenience.  I know that 26 is considered to be somewhat older for a woman to marry for the first time, and Orlando certainly needed a mother figure for his rambunctious three boys. Edith probably also knew she would be quite alone as her family was planning on moving to Nebraska and she had no intention of going with them.  In fact, Edith's family left New York for Nebraska and arrived on Thanksgiving day in 1887.

Here are the children that Orlando and Edith had:

Allen G. Gage b. 10 Dec 1888 d. 12 Oct 1890
Ora Silas Gage b. 5 Apr 1892 d. 30 Dec 1990 m. Florence Christine Shawver
Phebe Margaret Gage b. 23 Oct 1894 d. 28 July 1976 m. August Peterson
Peter Z Gage b. 23 Oct 1894 d. 21 Nov 1983 m. Elizabeth Pearl Mathieson
Alice Irene Gage b. 29 Mar 1896 d. 11 Sep 1976 m. Howard E Frey

Gage Family - abt 1896

I know there was the struggle of losing their oldest child.  I also know that with the twins (Pete & Phebe) it was quite a struggle for a while.  Pete was very small, only about 4 pounds.  They kept him in a dresser drawer surrounded by clothes to keep him work.  Thankfully he survived, although his growth must have been curtailed somewhat as he was quite short.  Tall enough to be a soldier in World War I, though!   Sometime around 1907, Edith had a severe fall.  She was unable to do much more than sit in a chair.  Here is a letter that she wrote to her mother in October 1907:

Transcription of a letter written by Edith Gallup Gage to her mother, Phebe Montanye Gallup.    October 23, 1907    Dear Mother:    My twins are 13 years old today and a great deal of help to me.  Monday night after school the girls washed a large washing besides getting supper. (I don't pretend to do anything only what I can do sitting down.)  Tuesday morning they rinsed and starch the clothes done, did the morning work even to making beds and mopping and got things ready for dinner.  They baked (2 apple pies) and got to school in time they were up at half past four.  Orlando killed 5 pigs yesterday, 4 for market.  They only dressed 102 lbs. a price.  We kept one, sold them at Esperance and got 9 cents a lbs. They were late pigs, the last of April and only skim milk, so it was not so bad.  He thrashed in the afternoon, earning $5 and moved his machine today.  He is digging potatoes for us.  He won't have any nuts to send to send you as the squirrels and friends of ours are taking them when the children are gone.  Orlando is away thrashing and I can't stop them.  I can only teeter backward and forward when I try to walk so I don't try much any more, the sides, back, and belly burns like fire when I try although the flesh feels ice cold, Orlando says, when you touch it.  I do not feel heat nor cold just comfortable when I lay still that is something to be thankful and I do not worry.  It will be and is all for the best.  I hope you are better. Here is a slip of a pretty red geranium.  It is near time for the mail so I must quit with love to all.    Edith

On 08 Jan 1908, Edith died of lobar pneumonia after suffering what her death certificate called chronic myelitis (duration of 7 months).  She was 47 years old.  I have been told that Orlando took care of his wife, arranged her funeral and died himself a few days later on 16 Jan 1908 at the age of 57.  Orlando also died of lobar pneumonia.  Here is a transcription of an obit that his pastor, Rev N McLeod wrote:

After brief illness of pneumonia and within a week after the death of his wife from pneumonia, elder Orlando Gage passed to his rewards Jan 19, 1908.  His death caused deep sorrow in the community and especially in the church and ??? where he was a member and regular attendant.

He was born in Knox, NY Apr 2, 1850.  In early life he learned and followed the trade of carpenter.  He lived for some time in Albany and was an attendant at the West End Presbyterian Church.

He married Miss Charity Ellen Hotaling of Clarkesville, NY, from where four children were born, viz, Burton L, Edwin W, Leroy J, and Nellie Mabel, now Mr. Harry Lewis.

Mrs. Gage died Oct 9, 1885 while residing in Knox.

Soon after, Mr. Gage married Miss Edith Gallup of Duanesburg, NY from whom were born five children viz Allen, who died when 22 months old, Ora Silas, Peter Z and Phoebe Margaret, twins, and Alice Irene.  Mr. Gage (with his wife) united with the Church at Esperance, Mary 26, 1891 and was ordained an Elder May 8, 1898, which office he filled till his death.  He was a brother beloved in the Church and the community.

The following Resolution was enacted by the session of the Presbyterian church, Esperance Apr 4, 1908.

Whereas, since last we met, death has claimed our beloved co-worker, Elder Orlando Gage Jan 16, 1908, after a brief illness pneumonia.

That, we sorrowfully record our loss and hereby express our appreciation of his character and efficient service since uniting with this church.

That We Express to the family, bereft of both father and mothers within one week, our sympathy and prayers that the God of their parents may be their God, and that they may find comfort in his sustaining grace. 

May a copy be sent to the committee and the clergy in Albany Presbyterian.

Signed Rev N McLeod

I really never heard my great grandfather talk about the time after his parents died.  I don't know who they stayed with - but I do know that perhaps it was within days or even weeks my 15 year old great grandfather escorted his siblings to their maternal grandmother in Nebraska.  After leaving them there, he struck off on his own.  However, that is a different story!

Hannah Covenhoven/Conover and Abram Montanye

One of the family names that has always fascinated me was that of Montanye.  It has been spelled or misspelled many different ways depending how you look at it.  Thanks to Lois Stewart and the Society of the Descendants of Johannes De La Montagne – I know a lot more about the family that I probably would ever had learned on my own.  So, I have tried to fill out information on my small branch of this family.

My great great great grandmother was Phoebe Ann Montanye, the daughter of Abram C. Montanye and Hannah Covenhoven/Conover.  I have an uncle who still remembers seeing her during her last years she was alive.  He has often recounted the story that he and his family went to visit her and they walked into the room and she reached under her bed for something.  He was never sure if it was going to be a cookie or her chamber pot…thankfully for him, it was the cookie.  Phoebe married her schoolteacher, Silas Gallup, on 12 Feb 1859 when she was just barely 15 years old, and their first child was born just a year later, my great great grandmother Edith Phoebe Gallup.  I have spent a lot of time researching information on she and her children, but I have always struggled a bit more with her parents and siblings.

Abram C. Montanye was born on 2 Jan 1806 in Charleston, Montgomery Co., NY to James Montanye and Keziah VanDuyn.  (Keziah’s last name is a guess by several researchers that I have worked with and have reason to trust their judgment.)   Abram was the middle child of seven children.  They were:

• James Montaney b. 1799 d. 1857 m Lois Mary Avery
• John Montaney b. 1800 d. 1854 m. Alida Shufelt
• Edward S. Montanye b. 1803 d. 1850 m. Miriam Mary Rockwell
• Abram C. Montanye b. 1806 d. 1884 m. Hannah Conover
• William C. Montanye b. 1808 d. 1895 m. Rachel Rockwell
• David Montaney b. 1812 d. 1870 m. Eliza A Williams
• Elizabeth Montanye b. 1814 d. 1889 m. Isaiah Rockwell

There is a lot that I don’t know about Abram Montanye’s siblings and their families.  I have made a stab on occasion to fill out my information, but I suspect that it might be project larger than I want to tackle at the moment.  However, compared to what I know about Abram Montanye’s family, I know very little about Hannah Conover and her family.

The first record that I was able to find mention of was that of a marriage between Abram Montanye and Hannah Conover/Covenhoven conducted at the Baptist Church at Rider’s Corners in Charleston, Montgomery Co., NY.  The marriage was performed by Rev Elijah Herrick on 25 Dec 1827.  That was my best and most significant piece of information.  I also made a guess that the Mary Covenhoven that married a John Tallmadge might be a sister to my Hannah Covenoven and perhaps the Angelina Covenhoven who married Charles Kellogg might all be related.  However, that didn’t really help me figure out who Hannah’s parents were and what her real name was.  I have heard it as Conover and as Covenhoven.  The fact of the matter is – is that it might be both names.  Conover might be an Americanized version of Covenhoven.  The only lucky thing about Hannah was that she died on 29 Nov 1888 at the age of 81.  Because it was after 1880, there was the possibility of a death record, so I saved the money and sent off for Hannah’s death record. I didn’t get a lot more than her parent’s names from that record – that of Abram Conover and Mary.  So, while I might guess that she had a sister named Angelina and another sister, I have no proof nor anything that leads me into another direction as yet. 

One of the few bits and pieces that I was able to discover from the Montgomery Co., NY genweb site was a listing that Abram and Hannah were buried at the Rockwell Family Farm.  It seemed that no matter who I asked or who they asked, we were never able to find that cemetery.  At least up until last year when I got the delightful email telling that Hananh and Abram (the links will take you to the Find a Grave listing - were buried in the Priddle Road Cemetery in Esperance, Schoharie Co., NY.

Here is the family of Hannah Conover/Covenhoven and Abram Montanye:

• Polly Montanye b. 1828 d?
• Angelina Montanye b. 1829 d. ?
• Nancy Mary Montanye b. 1833 d. 1878 m. Chester Irving Gardiner
• William Judson Montanye b. 1834 d. 8 Jan 1918
• John R. Montanye b. 20 Sept 1835 d. 8 Jan 1918 m. Harriet Brate
• Elizabeth b. 1837 d. ? m. Frederick H. Smith
• Harriet Montanye b. 1839 d. 1922 m. Charles Barkley
• Sarah Jane Montanye b. 1842 d. 1837 m. William A Young
• Phoebe Ann Montanye b. 1844 d. 1927 m. Silas Gallup
• Hannah E. Montanye b. 1852 d. 1906 m. Frederick Cady French

Fannie Gallup Robinson Montanye Tabor

My great great grandmother Edith Gallup Gage
and her younger sister, Fannie!

Once in a while you come across a rather close relative that you find intriguing.  Not because they did anything special…but because they seem so different than the rest of their family members…at least on paper.  My 3^rd great aunt is one of those people.

Fannie E. Gallup was born on 20 Jul 1872 in Duanesburg, Schenectady Co., NY, the sixth of eleven children.  She moved west with her parents in 1888.  In about 1890, she married Theodore Robinson.  They had one son, Frank b. 1892 and they must have divorced soon after.  Theodore Robinson marries again and in 1896, so does Fannie.

The second marriage was really interesting.   If her son, Frank was born in Nebraska in 1892 and she was divorced soon after that, what prompts her to go back to New York?  Perhaps there was some sort of scandal or stigma attached to her divorce…or perhaps she felt closer to her older siblings who were still in New York.  It can’t have been easy to have been a young woman with a child and divorced.  (I must admit, that I am assuming she was divorced – I have no proof)  Perhaps she is in New York a few months or a few years – but she marries her cousin Cyrus M. Montanye sometime around 1896.

Cyrus M. Montanye was the son of William C. Montanye and Rachel Rockwell.  William C. Montanye was the younger brother of Abram C. Montanye who was also Phoebe Montanye’s father and therefore Fannie Gallup’s grandfather.  So, Fannie married her mother’s 1^st cousin and therefore her 1^st cousin, once removed.  He was quite a few years older than she as well.  Cyrus was born 31 Jul 1833 in Esperance, Schoharie Co., NY.  He married Martha Hemstreet in 1853 and they were the parents of perhaps as many 14 children, and all but the youngest three were older than Fannie.  Martha Hemstreet dies on 15 Apr 1895.  Sometime in either in late 1895 or 1896, Cyrus and Fannie marry.  I wonder how Cyrus Montanye’s children felt about him marrying a much younger woman…or if they didn’t like the fact that she was a cousin or a divorced woman.  I don’t know what they thought, but in the late 1890’s, I am sure those thoughts probably entered their minds.  Then a short time thereafter, Cyrus and Fannie had a daughter named Katherine V. Montanye, who I always heard referred to as “Katie”.  Cyrus dies on 5 Dec 1906 in Esperance and his buried with his first wife at Esperance Cemetery. 

So, Fannie is a divorced woman in her first marriage and now a widow in her second marriage and she appears in the 1910 census as a 38 years old woman with a 18 year old son (Frank E. Robinson) and a 13 year old daughter (Katie V. Montanye).  If you take a quick look at that census page there are Rockwells and a Conover – all who could be cousins to Fannie.

Fannie doesn’t stay a widow for very long, she marries a Henry C. Taber sometime after 1910.  Once again, he is an older widower some 26 years older than she.  He lives until 1925 when he is killed by a passing train. Perhaps at this point, Fannie gives up on marriage. 

Fannie must have traveled back and forth between her mother and family living in Nebraska and family in New York.  It must have been during one of her visits that her daughter Katie met and decided to marry Osean Carl Swanson, so Katie stayed in Nebraska, while Fannie returned to New York.

I have had a hard time locating Fannie in the 1930 or 1940 census, although I did find a listing with her living in Albany as a domestic in 1933 and 1934.  Until fall of 2012, I had no idea as to when Fannie passed away or where she spent the last years of her life.  There wasn't much I could document after her third husband’s death in 1925. 

In September of 2012, my cousins, father and I were walking around Lyons Cemetery, Burt Co., NE.  (Probably one of my favorite cemeteries that I have visited)  There were so many familiar names of family members who were buried in that cemetery.  In one section, my great grandfather’s sister was buried, a short ways away, my great grandmother’s sister was located.  There were a number of my great grandfather’s relatives in a small area which included his grandparents and a few aunts and uncles.  While I was wondering about a section over, I came across the Swanson surname.  I glanced down to look closer and noticed that it and C. Osean Swanson and next his name was that of his wife, Kathryn V.  – Which I knew was the Katie Montanye that I had always heard about.  There were a few children’s graves next to theirs at the end was a gravestone that I never expected to find, Fannie E. Tabor. 

You might wonder what I found so intriguing about Fannie.  It seemed to me that her siblings lived fairly normal lives.  They married and spent their lifetimes in one place with one spouse.  Some stayed in New York, but most were in Nebraska.  I know they gathered on at least one occasion because it is a family photo that is my best picture of most of the Gallup siblings with their mother.  It always seemed to me that Fannie was hard to pin down.  Up until I found her gravestone, I had never been able to figure out exactly when she died or where she died.  I don’t have any exact dates for any of her marriages nor do I really have much detail about her life.  So the most intriguing thing about her is what I don’t know.  Everyone once in a while, another detail emerges and clears up some of the confusion.  I suppose that I will always find her interesting because she was so different than her siblings.

Back Row:  Irena Gallup (m. Frank King), Hugh Gallup, Alice Gallup (m. Win Grenier), George Gallup, Everett Henry Gallup

Front Row:   Elizabeth Gallup (m. John Hanson), Albert Burlingame Gallup, Phoebe Montanye Gallup, and Fannie Gallup (m. Theodore Robinson, Cyrus Montanye, & Henry Tabor)

Everette Henry Gallup

When I was growing up, I would often hear my grandmother talk about her father's aunts and uncles that she remembered from Nebraska.  One of the ones that she talked about often was one she referred to as Uncle Henry.

Everett Henry Gallup was 7th child in a family of 12 children.  He was born in Duanesburg, Schenectady Co., NY on 16 Jun 1873 to Silas Gallup and Phebe Ann Montanye.  He moved with his family on Thanksgiving Day in  1887 to Burt Co., NE.  Henry had two older brothers, Albert and Allen.  Albert was a school teacher and probably came out before his parents as did his other brother, Allen.  There were opportunities for young men that weren't available in New York.  However, Allen  went back to New York and married in 1898 and lived there his lifetime.  From what I understand, Silas Gallup had some health problems and had been encouraged by his brother and sons to come out to Nebraska because it was a dryer climate.  I don't know if this meant that he had tuberculosis or simply weak lungs - but I suspect that his health was not good.  So after moving out west in 1887, and starting a farm, his sons Henry and George probably did the bulk of the work.  By the time Silas Gallup died in 1898 of throat cancer, his sons aged 25 and 23 were already taking care of the farm.

George and Henry are listed in the 1900 census as partners and as farmers, but in 1907, George married Clara Thompson and moved to his own place.  Henry was left at the home place taking of his mother and he never married.  In 1908, his oldest sister (my great great grandmother) died and her four children came out west.  The oldest, my great grandfather, went his own way after bringing his siblings out on the train.  The younger three moved in and made the Gallup home place their home.  I don't think that circumstance lasted too long.  I have heard that the son, Peter, felt as though he was treated as a hired hand and if he was going to be treated that way, then he might as well be paid for it.  The youngest, Alice also was living with another family as a servant.  So in the 1910 census, only Everett Henry, his mother Phoebe and his niece Phoebe are in the household.  I have heard enough from relatives, that Phebe Montanye Gallup was not the easiest person to live with and many in the family felt that her granddaughter, Phebe Gage, was a remarkable person for staying to take care of her grandmother.  I have to wonder if the same might been said about Henry or (Everett Henry) which was his full name.  Henry Gallup never married and was the only one of his siblings to do so.   Phebe Montanye Gallup died on 21 Jun 1927 in Oakland, Burt Co., NE and left at the Gallup home place was Henry and his niece, Phoebe...and old bachelor and his old maid niece.

Phebe Montanye Gallup

They lived together and continued on as before with Henry working the farm and Phebe taking care of the home and all of the other things that women did during that time.  All that changed on 16 May, 1932, when Henry died in a tractor accident at the age of 58.  He wasn't the youngest of his sibling to die - two sisters had predeceased him, but he was the first of the Gallup brothers to die.  The farm was sold as well as all of the contents and while Phebe was supposed to not inherit anything by her grandmother's will, Henry's siblings made sure that she did - because along with her uncle - they had taken care of Phebe Gallup and the family farm for decades.  Unlike her uncle, Phebe did not remain unmarried and married a widower, August Peterson when she was 43 years of age.  In fact, I dimly remember meeting her before she died in 1976 at the age of 81.

I think this a picture of the Gallup home place in Nebraska

Gallup Family Portrait

When I first started researching the Gallup family, I had a list of names that belonged to my great great grandmother's siblings.  However, I never had faces to put to the names.  A cousin gave me a copy of this photo several years ago, and since then I have seen many photos of these family members. 

I believe that this photo was taken around 1915 or so and most certainly taken in or near Lyons, Burt Co., NE.  Here are the cast of characters...

Back Row:  Irena Gallup (m. Frank King) , Hugh Gallup, Alice Gallup (m. Win Grenier), George Gallup, Everett Henry Gallup
Front Row:   Elizabeth Gallup (m. John Hanson) , Albert Burlingame Gallup, Phoebe Montanye Gallup, and Fanny Gallup (m. Theodore Robinson, Cyrus Montanye, & Henry Tabor)

Not pictured are Helen Gallup m. Joseph Brown - see below (Helen is at the top with daughter Helen Brown Noonan and her two children)  Phoebe Montanye Gallup on the right.

 



 

I don't have a photo of Allen Gallup who lived in New York, but below is  photo of my great great grandmother and her children. I would estimate that both photographs were taken around 1896.  The two children are the twins, Peter Z. Gage and Phebe Margaret Gage - the small boy is my great grandfather Ora Silas Gage and the baby is Alice Irene Gage and also Orlando Gage is in the top picture.

 

This Gallup lineage is as follows:

Edith Phoebe Gallup m. Orlando Gage
Silas Gallup m. Phoebe Ann Montanye
Ebenezer Gallup m. Susan Harden
Silas Gallup m. Sarah Gallup
Nathaniel Gallup m. Hannah Gore & Nathan Gallup m. Sarah Giddings
Nathaniel Gallup m. Margaret Gallup & Benadam Gallup Jr m. Eunice Cobb
John Gallup III m. Elizabeth Harris & Benadam Gallup m. Esther Prentice
John Gallup m. Hannah Anna Lake (John Gallup III and Benadam are brothers)
John Gallop m. Christobel Bruschett

John Gallop and Christobel Bruschett are my 10th great grandparents and were the immigrants to the New World...

The pictures above are the best photos that I have of my great great grandmother's family.  They have a long history in this country arriving in Boston in 1630 then moving to Connecticut and later New York and finally immigrating to Nebraska in the 1880's. 

Jesse De Forest

When I first started researching the Montanye family  over a decade ago, I found that the name went through several different spellings and through some research and some luck, I found Lois Stewart who was the founder of the Society of the Descendants of Johannes De La Montagne.  Through her and her book on the family, I was able to establish my ancestral line.  However, I was really fascinated by Jesse De Forest, the father in law of Johannes De La Montagne.

Jesse De Forest was born about 1576 in Avesnes, Sedan, France to Jean De Forest and Anne Maillard.  He married Marie Du Cloux on 23 Sep 1601.  Jesse De Forest eventually ended up in Leyden, Holland which is where most of the Protestants moved to from various European countries. Holland seemed to be a bastion for those who were Protestants as is exemplified by the Puritans living there after English religious control.  Jesse De Forest was considered to be a Huguenot.  These were a group of Frenchman who were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France who fled France in the late 1500’s and early 1600’s.  According to the birth dates and data of his children, Jesse De Forest and his family were in Leyden, Holland by 1615.

As has been explained to me, Jesse De Forest had a very valuable skill.  He was a “Dyer in Black” which during his lifetime was an impressive skill.  Only those who were experts were licensed to dye black material because of the difficulty in keeping the material black after washing.  Many times the color would leach out leaving the material gray.  So, he was considered to be a skilled craftsman and important member of the community.

Around the time of Jesse’s birth and during his lifetime, many of the European countries were establish edicts whose goal was to forcibly convert the Protestants back to Catholicism.  Some couldn’t leave the countries and were converted, however about 200,000 fled to places like Leyden, Holland so they could practice the religion freely.   Jesse De Forest was considered to be one of the leaders of the French Huguenot families living Leyden, Holland at this time.  In 1621, Jesse De Forest submitted a petition to the English Ambassador to the Hague to establish a colony in Virginia.  He agreed but said that the families couldn’t live together…which wasn’t what they desired at all.  The Dutch East India Company was founded in 1621 and after a year or so, Jesse De Forest got permission to emigrate with other Huguenot families to the West Indies.  In preparation for the immigration, Jesse De Forest left with several others to look for a place to establish a colony.  During an exploration of Guyana, Jesse de Forest died on the Oyapock River…never to see his efforts come to fruition. 

When the explorers came home, leaving Jesse De Forest’s body in Guyana, Johannes De La Montange married Jesse De Forest’s daughter, Rachel.  After their marriage, Johannes and Rachel first traveled to the West Indies and found that the weather and environment wasn’t to Rachel’s liking.  They went back to Holland and headed to New Amsterdam on 25 Sept 1636 on the ship Rensselaerswyck.   Not too long after their arrival in the New World…Johannes and Rachel took over Vrendal, a plantation that had been owned by Rachel’s brother Henry who had died shortly before.  He was able to grow a profitable crop of Tobacco but was soon chased off by the Indians.  Vrendal is what we know today as the upper half of what is now Central Park in New York City. 

Even though Jesse De Forest never made it to New Amsterdam or modern New York, he is considered to be one of the founders of the New Amsterdam and regarded as one of the main leaders of the Huguenots and Walloon’s.  There is a Walloon Settlers Memorial in Battery Park in New York City (http://www.flickr.com/photos/wallyg/331724758/) as well as monument in Avesnes, France that was erected at the same time as the New York City memorial (http://www.defreest.com/avesnesfrance.html)  It isn’t often that you find such an interesting historical personality as your 11^th Great Grandfather .  The Montanye family were native to New York State from 1637 until 1908, when Jesse De Forest’s 8^th great grandson (Ora Silas Gage) took his siblings and left for Nebraska after their parents death.  So, while I’ve never been to New York State – my genealogy roots are deep into that state’s history.

Maternal Lines - Gallup

When I first started researching my family history seriously…one of the families that really interested me was the Gallup family.  My great grandfather was the son of Edith Gallup and Orlando Gage.  Edith herself was a bit of an enigma herself.  When she married Orlando Gage, she was 28 years old – probably considered by most as an old maid schoolteacher.  By the time she married Orlando, she was pretty much alone in NY as most of her family had traveled west to Nebraska.  The story I always heard was that she was afraid of the Indians.  I think that marrying a widower with four children might have been a little scarier than the Indians in Nebraska.

I knew that Edith was the daughter of Silas Gallup and Phebe Montanye – but I didn’t know much about the family beyond that.  As my research began before the internet was a popular source of material, my only real place to research was my local library.  I have to admit that the research pickings are pretty slim here in Lewiston, ID and I had no access to a large genealogy library anywhere in the immediate vicinity.  So, I started looking through the books available and found some Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) books that had numerous entries about the Gallup family.  Since I really didn’t know much beyond Edith’s parents – it was a lot of information with little connection to what I currently knew.  I remember that it wasn’t too long after that when I had the chance to talk with my great uncle about the family.  He simply looked at me and asked me why I hadn’t looked at the Gallup Genealogy.  He got me his copy of the Gallup genealogy and a whole new world opened up.

This particular copy of the Gallup Genealogy was published in 1966 and I must say that this was the first professionally printed genealogy that I had seen.  My great grandfather had a copy of a Gage genealogy that I had poured over and it was likely a self-published genealogy judging by the paper and typestyle.  At the time – I was terribly naïve and inexperienced.  I had no idea that there had been researched, documented and published genealogies about several different families that had been professional published since before the start of the 20^th century.  The Gallup Association had published its first genealogy in 1896.  The one that I had in my hand had been published in 1966 and I was later to learn that another Gallup genealogy had been published in 1987.  So, I had in my hands a genealogy that answered my questions about my Gallup family ancestry.  I must say that I was glad to have a computer program to record the generations back…because there were a few too many cousins who married each other. 

So…here is my family line:

• John Gallop m. Christobel Bruschett
• John Gallup m. Hannah Lake
• John Gallup (III) m. Elizabeth Harris & Benadam Gallup m. Esther Prentice
• Nathaniel Gallup m. Margaret Gallup  & Benadam Gallup Jr m. Eunice Cobb
• Nathaniel Gallup m. Hannah Gore & Nathan Gallup m. Sarah Giddings
• Silas Gallup m. Sarah Gallup
• Ebenezer Gallup m. Susan Harden
• Silas Gallup m. Phoebe Montanye
• Edith Gallup m. Orlando Gage
• Ora Silas Gage m. Florence Christine Shawver
• Helen Marian Gage m. Frank Stewart Johnson

 I have been fascinated with the maternal lines in my family.  You are fortunate while doing genealogy to be able to find information on these lines.  Under many circumstances, the women’s maiden names are not recorded.  Sometimes you can make a guess on the surname because many times a son will have the first or middle name of the mother’s family.  The Gallup family was the first maternal family line that I researched…and I learned a great deal genealogy by exploring that book.  During the next six weeks, I spent hours upon hours every day entering the data into my genealogy program.  At the time, I was unemployed so I had lots of time.  By the time I had finished – I had entered 13,000 names into my database.  I learned several things of importance in genealogical research.

• Families tend to intermarry – there will be multiple families that you will have to pay attention to get the full picture.
• Pay attention to the siblings of your ancestor and their families – they are likely to pop up again in your research.
• There is always more to learn and there is always more to the story.
• Sometimes multiple children will have the same names in a family.  If a young child dies, very often the next child will have the same name. 
• Pay attention to the female lineages – you never know when one of them might lead you to a Mayflower ancestor (Eunice Cobb)

Not everyone is going to be as fortunate to find a family genealogy.  Even if you do, it is important to try to find the supporting information to see if you as a researcher come to the same conclusion.  When I first started trying to find out something about Edith Gallup – I never imagined that her family would be so complicated and so interesting.  I am always finding new stuff to look at and marvel at in this large and impressive family.

My DNA Journey - The Results

Several weeks ago, I wrote about taking the Ancestry.com Autosomal DNA test and I promised that I would let you know what the results were.  In my previous blog (http://genheirlooms.blogspot.com/2012/07/my-dna-journey.html) I talked about what I expected to find out from my test…here is what I found out.

My supposition was that I would be 100% European – with the possibility that I might have some Native American ancestry or an Asian lineage.  Despite every family story – the test shows that I have no Native American ancestry.  Like most people, the story of that Indian in the background is just that…a story.  In fact, there weren’t a lot of surprises in my results…except one.

Most of my ancestry is Scandinavian or from Norway, Sweden and Denmark.  I would imagine that most people tested whose families come from England and Ireland will most likely have the same result.  The Vikings left a lot of descendants all over Europe both as merchants and raiders.  I suspect that most of this ancestry for me comes through England and Ireland.  From what I have been able to surmise – most of my English ancestors came to England  through the Norman Invasion in 1066.  Since there isn’t a lot of record keeping…going much beyond that is difficult.  The Scandinavian portion is 55%.  Most of my paternal side of the family probably comes from England and probably makes us the majority of this Scandinavian branch.  There is also ancestry on my maternal lines that are Irish and Scottish and could also be part of this Scandinavian portion.

I have 16% Central European ancestry which includes Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Luxembourg and Liechtenstein.  I am actually surprised that this isn’t a bigger chunk of my family background.  My paternal great grandmother’s ancestry primarily came out of this region – mostly likely Germany and Austria.  My paternal grandfather also had ancestry from Germany.  Most of my German ancestors left Europe in the early to mid-1700’s and ended up in New York and West Virginia. 

The Southern European label is the one that confuses me the most.  According to my test, I have 13% Southern European ancestry which includes Italy, Spain & Portugal.  As far as I know, I have no ancestry from that area.  It is a large enough chunk that it leads me to believe that it might come from my Friddle ancestry.  I make this guess…because of all my family lines, this is the one I know the least about.  My great great grandfather first shows up in 1858 in a record.  By that point, he has been married and already had several children and the 1858 record is his second marriage.  I’ve never been able to locate an 1850 census record for him nor any mention of parents.  My great uncle told me that his father had told him that Moses Friddles was supposedly a foundling child.  He was taken in by a family and raised by them and his ancestry is unknown.  I have no proof of the accuracy of this story.  Most of my family lines trace back to before the 1700’s with only a few exceptions and most of those lines come through either England or Germany.  So…this is definitely a puzzle.

My test also says that I have 12% British Isles ancestry.  Since, there is such a predominance of Scandinavian ancestry in my family that I think comes through England…this ancestry is also puzzling.  I suspect that is an area that had little contact with the pillaging Vikings which leads me to guess that it might be Wales.  According to some of the information that I have read, my mother’s paternal grandfather’s mother was supposedly from a Welsh background.  With a surname like Jones – I’m not sure how you can make that assumption because that name is so common.    However, it is a decent theory to look into.

The test leaves me with a lot of questions and possible contacts.  Several matches have come up that are likely 4^th to 6^th cousins.  With as many family lines that I have – I suspect that it won’t be easy to really establish a true match.  However the question that I have always had about the Native American ancestry is answered and like most others…is proved false.    (See Blog – Do I have Native American ancestry? - http://genheirlooms.blogspot.com/2011/11/do-i-have-native-american-ancestry.html for more info!)

So here are some of my main family lines and my best guess as to where they came from:

Paternal Lines:

• Johnson – England
• Gage – England
• Gallup – England
• Montanye – France
• Shawver – Germany
• Pitsenbarger – Switzerland
• Lyons – Ireland
• Pope – England

Maternal Lines:

• Tannahill – Scotland
• Brown – England or Ireland
• Bailey – Ireland
• Jones – Wales
• Dollar – Scotland
• Friddle - ???
• Pennington – England
• Allen – England
• Kelley – Ireland
• Fillinger - Ireland

They Lived Their Faith

I descend from some of the earliest settlers who came to this country searching for religious freedom.  Some were on the Mayflower and later ships and some came later during the Palantine onslaught.    But, the religious ideas that I have today came down through my great grandparents.  Neither one of them were born Catholic, but they were probably the most devout Catholics that I have ever known.

My Great Grandparents Wedding Picture

Granddad Gage was most likely born in the Presbyterian Church.  His father, Orlando Gage, was an Elder in the Presbyterian Church at Esperance, NY and in fact, I have a copy of letter that was essentially a memorial to Orlando Gage.  I’ve no idea of the exact denomination of Edith Gallup’s family’s religious affiliation.  I suspect that they were probably Baptist.  One of the few records that I can find on Edith’s grandmother, Hannah Conover, is that she married Abram Montanye at the Baptist Church at Rider’s Corners, Charleston, Montgomery Co., NY.  There also seems to be a strong vein of the Raritan Reformed Dutch Church association running through the Montanye family.  Either way, they were far from Catholicism.

Grandma Gage was also born into the Presbyterian Church.  Her father was an elder in the church at Decatur, NE and I know that her grandfather was a preacher back in West Virginia who was referred to as “Brother Shawver” or “Shoutin George Shawver.”  Perhaps that is how my great grandparents originally met was through church, however, I am not really sure.  But when they chose to get married, they married in the Catholic Church.  Granddad Gage and spent a few years working for Linus Brenner, and he and his family were devout Catholics.  After a few years of attending church with them, he converted to Catholicism as did my grandmother.  I think this event occurred before their marriage, because their eldest son was baptized as were all of their children.

My Grandmother's 1st Communion

Their religious beliefs had a strong impact on their life and how they raised their families.  Throughout all of the hard times, I think that their faith kept them strong.  I know that when they lived up on Hatter Creek and the weather was so bad, my grandmother would read the Bible and they would still observe church even at home.  All of her children grew up going to church and respecting the church and its traditions.  Not all of their children continued their practice of going to church…some left and never really came back and others returned and have enjoyed a strong relationship with their church.  Some of my happiest memories as a child going to church was going to church with my great grandparents.  Granddad Gage’s chest would puff out enough that I thought his buttons would burst.  He loved the fact that his family filled up the entire pew at the church.  Even now I have talked to people who remember attending church with my great grandparents when they lived in Lewiston, ID in the 1950’s.  I can still picture them walking into church together and saying the words of mass.  By the time they had passed, they had lived together for 73 ½ years and had lived as a wonderfully devoted couple to each other and their faith.  There is much to admire about both.

Monsignor Hughes and myself at my 1st Communion

John Gallop - 10th Great Grandfather

My 10^th great grandfather set sail for Boston on March 20, 1630 on the Mary and John as part of the Winthrop Fleet.  John Gallop was one of the first grantees of land in the northern part of Boston where he had a house and wharf right in the northern part of town.  It was called Gallop’s Point…and I have no idea what it is called today, but in 1630 it was a distinctive location associated with a distinctive person.

John Gallop was born about 1591 in Mosterton, County Dorset, England to John Gallop and Mary Crabbe.    When John Gallop made his voyage to Boston in 1630, he left his wife and children behind in England to what may have been perceived an uncertain future.  Not too long after his arrival, he became an important part of the new colony.  He was important enough that Governor Winthrop feared he would return to England and wrote to the Rev. John White:

I have much difficultye to keep John Gallop here by reason of his wife will not come. 

                I marvayle at the woman's weaknesse.  I pray pursuade her and further her coming by all means.  If she will come, let her have the remainder of his wages; if not, let it be bestowed to bring over his childre, if so he desires.  It would be about 40 pounds losse to him to come for her.

                                                Your assured in the Lord's worke,

                                                Massachusetts, July 4, 1632

                                                                J. Winthrop.

Finally on September 4, 1633, John Gallop’s wife and children arrived on the Griffin after an eight week crossing.  John Gallop himself traveled out to the ship and piloted the ship through a new channel that he had discovered in the Boston harbor…and so began the long history of the Gallup family in the United States.  I am descended from his oldest son, John as well as President, George H. W. Bush, President George W. Bush, George Horace Gallup (founder of Gallup poll) and Emily Dickinson.

 

Very early in my genealogy research, I was curious about the Gallup family.  My great grandfather’s mother was a Gallup and I knew that this was a prominent family.  Not knowing where to start, I started looking at the DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) books that we had in my local library.  They were interesting, but I got the feeling that I was well out of my depth.  I knew Edith Gallup was the daughter of Silas Gallup and Phoebe Montanye…but little else.  At a family funeral, my great uncle told me about a book that he had bought many years before that contained a Gallup genealogy.  He let me borrow the copy of the book…and you might say a whole new world opened up for me.  I found that my Edith Gallup had a long and interesting family that stretched back to the beginnings of this country.  The first Gallup genealogy was published about 1896, the copy that I was using was published in 1966.  During the next several weeks, I input all 12,000 Gallups in my database and began my fascination with this family and its numerous allied families.  It is a fascination that still pulls at me today.  There seems to always be some new detail that needs to be found.  I might never have happened, if that long ago Reverend hadn’t convinced John Gallop’s wife, Christobel Bruschett and their children to make that eight week journey from England.  It boggles my mind to think of all the things that had to happen in my family’s history to be where I am and who I am.

My Mayflower Ancestry - Pt 1

If you have New England ancestry and your family has been in this country for generations, you most likely have Mayflower ancestry.  The search is much easier for some because someone has gone through the process of researching and documenting those lines.  God Bless those someone’s…because I know it is hard work.  My friend Midge is one of those who has completed the documentation!

One of my favorite researchers and Gallup cousins is the fabulous Midge Frazel, her Granite in My Blood blog has been a great resource for information about cemeteries and gravestones…especially those in New England as well as many New England families.  Midge was kind enough to share many of her Gallup cemetery photos to post on my website and through the years we have shared many stories, laughs and information. Through our communication about the Gallup family - we discovered our shared Mayflower line…here is my line:

• John Howland m. Elizabeth Tilley
• Desire Howland m. John Gorham
• Elizabeth Gorham m. Joseph Hallet
• Lois Hallet m. Henry Cobb
• Eunice Cobb m. Benadam Gallup, Jr.
• Nathan Gallup m. Sarah Giddings
• Sarah Gallup m. Silas Gallup (yes she married her 2^nd  cousin)
• Ebenezer Gallup m. Susan Harden
• Silas Gallup m. Phebe Montanye
• Edith Gallup m. Orlando Gage
• Ora Silas Gage m. Florence Shawver
• Helen Gage m. Frank Johnson
• Eugene Johnson m. Betty Tannahill
• Me…

So…I began in earnest studying a part of history that I had never had a great deal of interest in before.  During my years in school, I had been inundated with the story about the Pilgrims and the Mayflower that had been taught in a staid and boring way.  These people were stuck on a pedestal by many of my teachers…and they were therefore boring.  So, I began the process of learning about my Mayflower ancestry and learned that these Pilgrims were all too human and faced hardships that I have a difficult even comprehending.  I wish my teachers had taught me more about the reality of what they faced and that they were flawed people trying their best to make a new life.

Elizabeth Tilley was a 13 year old girl who traveled with her parents on the Mayflower in 1620.  She was one of 11 girls who ranged in age from 1 to 17.  When the Mayflower left on its historic voyage it was already near winter.  Most of the women and children stayed on the ship while the men began the process of constructing the colony.  By the time the Mayflower left for England in early April a third of the Mayflower passengers had died.   Elizabeth lost both of her parents and her aunt and uncle.  Almost all of the girls who came over with their families lost them during that first winter.  It must have been frightening for Elizabeth…13 years old and literally all alone with the only family she had an ocean away.  She was taken in by the Carver family but even they died during that first year in the colony. 

John Howland journeyed over on the Mayflower as a manservant for Governor John Carver.  During the voyage over, John Howland fell overboard but managed to grab ahold of the topsail rope and was fished out by the crew with a hook.  He was likely 21 years old – but his true age is unknown.  He was one of two bachelors who made the voyage. John Howland signed the Mayflower Compact and served as a Committeeman in the General court of Plymouth.  He became a freeman in Plymouth in 1633 and he and Elizabeth became major landholders in the area.  

John Howland and Elizabeth Tilley married about 1623 when Elizabeth was 16 and John was abt 24 years old.  They shared 10 children and a long life together.  John Howland died about 1672 at his son’s house in Plymouth.  Elizabeth went to live with her son, Jabez, in Plymouth and later lived her daughter Lydia, the wife of James Brown in Swansea (now East Providence, RI).  Elizabeth died on Dec 22, 1687 and is buried at the Little Neck Cemetery in East Providence, RI. 

According to the John Howland Society, there are over 10 million living descendants of the 52 surviving Mayflower Pilgrim.  There are certainly some notables among John Howland and Elizabeth Tilley’s descendants including three Presidents (Franklin Delano Roosevelt, George Herbert Walker Bush, George W. Bush) notable actors such as Humphrey Bogart and poets such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. 

If you are interested in more info – I encourage you to check out:

The Pilgrim John Howland Society

Caleb Johnson’s Mayflower History.com

Thru the Looking Glass – Mayflower Families

Montanye - My Huguenot Ancestry

When you start the genealogical journey back in time, you come across some interesting and seemingly far off places.  Our immigrant ancestors came from somewhere and sometime we are lucky to discover some of those interesting places.  My 10^th great grandfather, Dr. Johannes De La Montagne came reportedly  from Saintonge, France on the west coast of France.  I say reportedly because I’ve never heard of any proof or any trace of him during his childhood.  The facts that we know about De La Montagne are in themselves fascinating.

In 1623, Dr. Johannes De La Montagne shoes up with Jesse de Forest during a journey to the Amazon River near the coast of Guiana.  Jesse De Forest was leading a Huguenot expedition in Guiana to find a location for a colony.  Johannes actually ended up being the keeper of the journals during the expedition probably because he was literate.  He returned to Leyden, Holland with the news that Jesse De Forest had died in 1624 in Guiana.  Johannes also courted and married Jesse De Forest’s daughter, Rachel.  They left in 1628 for Tobago but Rachel returned by 1631 possibly because of poor health caused by the climate.  Johannes returned in 1633 to Holland and in 1636 left for America.

When Johannes and Rachel left for America in 1636 they sailed with several of Rachel’s brothers and uncle as well as their 3 children.  Rachel gave birth to a daughter, Maria, on board the ship near the island of Madeira (part of group of islands off of Portugal).  After their arrival in New Amsterdam, now New York, Rachel’s brother Henry, started a tobacco plantation called Vrendahl.   Henry died soon after and Johannes and Rachel took over the plantation.  The plantation was located in the upper half of what is now known as Central Park in Manhattan.  They were driven off of the plantation by some local Indians and the plantation was abandoned.

Johannes became of the official surgeon of New Amsterdam and spent several years working for both Willem Kieft and Peter Stuyvesant – both had the role of the Dutch Director-General in the colony of New Netherland.  Johannes later became the Vice Director of the colony and had special responsibility for Fort Orange (Albany) and the Dutch settlement of Beverwyck.  When the colony was taken over by the British in 1664, Johannes De La Montagne had to resign his position and sign a loyalty oath.  According to records, Johannes returned to Holland with Peter Stuyvesant to defend the turnover of the colony.  He returned to the America and probably died around 1670 in Claverack, NY which is about an hour south of Albany.

My line descends through Johannes and Rachel’s son Jean.  The family had a prominent position within the early history of New York both within the government and founding.  I’ve been told that there is a monument to the Huguenots in Central Park – probably not too far from where Johannes and his wife Rachel De Forest lived.  As a group who were searching for religious freedom they left a significant imprint on one of the most important cities in the world, New York City. 

 One of the interesting problems with the Montagne family is the numerous spellings.  Within my line alone, I find the following spellings:  De La Montagne, Delamontanie, & Montanye.  The family comes from Harlem, New York City, Pluckemin, NJ, and finally ends up in Charleston, Montgomery Co., NY which is where my great great great grandmother’s family lived and near where she married her schoolteacher when she 15 years old.  Phebe Montanye Gallup was born a little over 200 years after her ancestor immigrated.  My grandmother and great uncle both remember Grandma Gallup, as she was called quite well.  I think it is pretty remarkable that we live in 2011 and she was born in 1844 – and she is still well remembered.  

If you are interested in the family of the Montanye's look up Lois Stewart's genealogy on the Montanye's called "The Ancestors and Descendants of James Montaney (1799-1857) of Oppenheim, Fulton County, New York; A Genealogical History...of the Montanye Family"

Revolutionary War Veterans

Seeing that it is Veteran’s Day on Friday…I thought it would be a good opportunity to talk about some of my ancestors who were Veterans.  On my father’s side there are several mostly from the New England/New York area and Virginia:

·         Probably my oldest American Veteran who fought on American soil was my 9^th great grandfather, John Gallup.  He died storming the fort in the Great Swamp fight at Narragansett on 19 Dec 1675.  He was buried in a mass grave alongside his soldiers.
·         His son John Gallup b. 1646 was also with him at the battle but survived.   (8^th great grandfather)
·         Col. Nathan Gallup fought in the Revolutionary War.  (6^th great grandfather)
·         John Macomber fought on the Massachusetts line despite being a Quaker. (6^th great grandfather)
·         Abel Willey – fought in the a company from Plymouth to reinforce Ft. Ticonderoga (5^th great grandfather)
·         Asa Wheelock served in Ebenezer Learned’s regiment during the Lexington Alarm of 19 Apr 1775. (5^th great grandfather)
·         Edward Montanye fought in Captain Ten Eyck’s Company in the New Jersey militia. (6^th great grandfather)
·          Abraham Pitzenberger served as Private in Michael Reader's Co., from Virginia. (6^th great grandfather)

My mother’s family were pretty well entrenched in the south for the most part and the majority of her Revolutionary ancestors fought in the Battle of King’s Mountain in North Carolina.

·        James Tannehill served as a private on the Maryland line and spent a lot of his time as POW in the Revolutionary War. (4^th great grandfather)
·         Isaac Harrington served in NY under Captain Jonathan Hallett. (5^th great grandfather)
·         William Harrington in the 6^th & 10^th Berkshire Co., of Massachusetts. (6^th great grandfather)
·         David Allen, who was Adoniram’s father also fought in the Revolutionary war at the Battle of Moores Creek despite being in his late 60’s.  (6^th great grandfather)
·         Julius Ceasar Robertson fought at the Battle of Kings Mountain and the Battle of Point Pleasant. (5^th great grandfather)
·         Roderick Shelton also fought at the Battle of Kings Mountain. (5^th great grandfather)
·         William Dollar fought in the NC militia and was also involved in the Battle of King’s Mountain. (5^th great grandfather)
·         Adoniram “Teges” Allen served as a Captain in the South Carolina Partisan rangers in the battle of King’s Mountain.  (5^th great grandfather)

The likelihood is that there are probably several more that were Revolutionary War ancestors or veterans of the early wars from the 1600’s and 1700’s.  I must admit that one of my favorite ancestors that I have researched is Adoniram “Teges” Allen.  The story goes that he was born in 1734 in New Hampshire near the Vermont border.  He immigrated south to North Carolina with his father David and fought in the Revolutionary War.  Adoniram was recorded in Georgia and South Carolina before he decided at the age of 72 to make yet another move – to Clay Co., KY.  He built a water-powered saw and grist mill in 1807 on the south fork of the Kentucky River. He was nicknamed “Teges” which was shortened from “Tedious” which was known by, because he was so particular.  If you look at a map of Kentucky today, you will find a Teges river, which was named for Adoniram Allen.  He lived to the age of 104 and died in 1838…having retired only a few years before. I have heard that Adoniram Allen was closely related to Ethan Allen, of the Green Mountain Boys.  I always thought that the tie in was with Allen side…a few years ago, I discovered that they Adoniram & Ethan weren’t related through the Allen side but rather through their mothers – who were sisters. 

I’m sure that there are probably a few more Revolutionary War Veterans in my family that I do not yet know about.  I’ve studied history for most of my life.  I have always tried to imagine the difficulties that a Revolutionary Veteran faced – by fighting for the colonies – the choices that they made helped build our nation.  I’m proud of their sacrifice and those of their families.  They fought for the idea of the United States of America and defeated the superpower, the British Empire.  What a proud heritage that we have as Americans!