Happy 250th America! Remembering my Revolutionary Ancestors

Carmen Johnson - 1976

 As we celebrate 250 years as a country, I have spent a bit of time thinking about past celebrations.  I am old enough to remember the bicentennial (I was 10.)  My Mom made me a Betsy Ross costume (see photo above) and my brother was Uncle Sam.  We both marched in the Orchards Blossom festivalparade.  (Doesn’t exist any more)  We didn’t celebrate the 4^th watching fireworks, we were camping and it was a momentus personal day.  I got up on water skis for the first time and caught a 14 inch trout off the boat. 

Dad and I have spent a lot of time the past few weeks watching Revolutionary War documentaries.  As a student of history, I am aware of many of the various battles and events of the Revolutionary period…however it has been fun to do a more serious deep dive.  Personally, I would advise anyone who has interest in history to first read James McCullough’s John Adams which I personally think is the finest biography I have ever read.  The mini series done on HBO was excellent as well.  I have always found John Adams to be one of the most interesting and important figures in that time period.  I would agree he wasn’t the best President…but as one of our founding fathers, I am not sure he has gotten the credit that he deserves.  We probably have more information about him because of the wealth of letters between he and his wife Abigail Adams – who was probably as brilliant as her husband.  If you look at the founding fathers with a modern eye…most of them have feet of clay.  They were powerful men – many were slaveowners or wealthy merchants.  Most had a college education.  While the Declaration of Independence isn’t perfect  - it set the foundatioin for our country.  It would take the Civil War to start to get rid of the stain of slavery.  However, if you understand the time period – you realize what a remarkable thing it was for 13 colonies to unanimously declare Independence from Britain.  It was David going against Goliath. 

This year will probably be spent with family which is the way it should be.  I will likely go and watch our local fireworks as well.  The majority of my family were here before the mid 1700’s.  The last immigrant that I know about was 1810 from Ireland.  I have Mayflower ancestors and it turns out that I have at least 17 members of my ancestry who served in the Revolutionary War if I look at both sides of my family.  I am sure there were others.

Paternal Side

 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)

William Hunter Cavendish – Served as Quarter Master General during Revolutionary War 1778-1882 (6^th great grandfather)

Joseph Gage – Listed in 6^th Rgeiment of Militia (1780-1781 – Nelson’s Company Vermont (6^th great grandfather.)

 Maternal Side

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)

Samuel Knapp served in the NY Continental Troops as a Corporal. (6^th great grandfather)

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!

Genealogy Wanderings - Allen

Phebe Allen with grandchildren (Gilbert Gage Jr,'s children).

I have way too many Allen's in my family tree.  Even one is too many.  I have found it to be one of the more difficult lines to research - similar to Johnson, Smith and Jones (which I have all three).  My 3rd great grandmother was Phoebe Allen married to Gilbert Gage.  I am fairly sure that my great grandfather knew his grandmother as she died in 1910 and he left 1908 with his siblings to Nebraska after their parents died.  So, other than a picture of her, a gravestone, and a few records - I knew very little about her and her family.

I learned fairly early on that she was the daughter of John Peter Allen and Elizabeth Zen and was part of his second family.  John Peter Allen was born 24 Sept 1783 in NY and d. 2 Apr 1868 in Knox, Albany Co., NY.  He was first married to Anna Eva Weidman (b. 1786 d. 1821) and they were the parents of:

• Asa Allen b. 1806
• Hannah Maria Allen b. 11 Jun 1808 d. aft 1880 m. John Grassfield
• William Allen b. 11 Oct 1810 d. 7 Oct 1892 m. Elizabeth Ann Engle
• John P. Allen Jr. b. 19 Jun 1812 d. 28 Dec 1883 m. Catherine Margaret Beller and Melinda Haverly
• James Ira Allen b. 8 May 1817 d. 7 Oct 1866 m. Eva P. Ball
• Sylvester Allen b. 7 Jan 1818 d. 20 Sep 1898 m. Sarah A Bunzey
• Susanna Allen b. 7 Jul 1821 d. 29 May 1889 m. Jacob Henry Haverly

Since I don't have a definite death date for Anna Eva Weidman, I assume that she likely died in childbirth or shortly after with her last child.  John Peter Allen then remarried in abt 1825 to Elizabeth Zeh, my 4th great grandmother.  She was b. 24 Sept 1793 and d. 14 Oct 1851 to Peter Jost Zeh and Annatje Truax. Elizabeth and John Peter Allen had the following children:

• Ann Eliza Allen b. 27 July 1827
• Emma Elizabeth Allen b. 28 Aug 1828
• Phoebe Ann Allen b. 7 Jan 1830 d. 30 Dec 1912 m. Gilbert Gage (my 3rd great grandparents)
• Peter Zeh Allen b 14 Dec 1830 d. aft 1910 m. Harriet Charlotte Schoonmaker m. Sarah E m. Phoebe A Schermehorn
• Elizabeth Allen b.  27 Mar 1833 d. 22 Jan 1918 m. George Haverly

I have been lucky to have gotten some copies of records on Elizabeth Zeh's family and was able to trace it back several generations on multiple lines.  However, the Allen line hasn't been as easy. Sometime along the last 20 years, I started a correspondence with a descendant of James Ira Allen that has been more beneficial to me than to him...I am sure.  He had wonderful information on his ancestor including the fact that he had served in the Civil War.  This cousin did the research that opened a whole new group of Allen's to explore.

According to what my cousin found...John Peter Allen was the son of Samuel Allen and Sarah Shephard Hammond.  Sarah Hammond's line goes back and meets up with the line of Francis Cooke...which gives me another Mayflower ancestors. She also connects with my Wilbore line. Samuel Allen's line meets up with my Allen ancestors Nehemiah Allen and Sarah Woodford as well as Judah Wright and Mercy Burt.

I have already found some interesting tidbits on these families and there is so much more to look at.  I have a feeling that my grandparents were cousins of some sort.  Might take me a bit more time to find out.  I helped my cousin a bit with bits and pieces and he has more than paid me back with all this new information.  Now, I just have to find the time to explore!

My Rhode Island Roots-Wilbore

John Wilbore was born abt 1590 in Braintree, Essex, England and was likely the son of Joseph Wilbore and his wife Mary.  He married Joan Drane around 1616, they had a several children, among them, my 9th great grandfather, William Wilbore.  William was born either in Felsted or Braintree, Essex, England.  He likely immigrated as a young man and married around 1653 to a Martha Holmes. They had the following children:

Mary b. 1654 d. 1670 m. Joseph Mowry
Joseph b. 1656 d. 4 May 1729 m. Ann Brownell
John b. 1658 m. Hannah
Thomas b. 1659 m. Mary
William b. 25 Dec 1660 d. 1738 m. Sarah Tallman
Martha b. 1662 m. William Sherman
Samuel b. 10 Apr 1664 d. 1740 m. Mary Potter
Daniel b. 1666 d. 28 Nov 1741 m. Ann Barney
Joanna b. 1668 d. 1759 m. Nathaniel Potter
Benjamin b. 1670 d. 1729 m. Mary Kinnicut m. Elizabeth Head

This family primarily lived in Rhode Island.  The main locations that appear frequently are Tiverton, RI and Portsmouth, RI.  I have found this name to be spelled as Wilbore, Wilbur, Wilbor, Wilbour and I must admit that I am not sure which one is correct.  I have chosen to use Wilbore as that seems to be the most common spelling.

The first Wilbore that I came across as an ancestor was Samuel Wilbore.  The Wilbore's link to my family through my paternal Gage line.

Samuel Wilbore m. Mary Potter
Samuel Wilbore m. Elizabeth Carr
Mary Wilbore m. Silas Devol
Mary Brownell Davol m. John Macomber
Ruth Macomber m. William Gage
Potter Gage m. Cynthia Swan
Gilbert Gage m. Phebe Allen
Orlando Gage m. Edith Gallup
Ora Silas Gage m. Florence Christine Shawver
Helen Marian Gage m. Frank Stewart Johnson (my grandparents)

So, Samuel Wilbore and Mary Potter are my 9th great grandparents.  According to what I have found, Mary Potter's grandmother is also named Dorothy Wilbore.  I am fairly sure that they are connected in some way as she is born in the same area of England. So, as it happens, I was doodling around one night looking at another maternal line..and I run into the name of Wilbore again. When I started to look a little closer to the line, I found that my 9th great grandfather's sister, Martha was also my 8th great grandmother.  This line is definitely one that I need to look at more closely...but this is what I have found:

Martha Wilbore m. William Sherman
Mary Sherman m. Daniel Shepherd
Elizabeth Shepherd m. William Hammond
Sarah Shepherd Hammond m. Samuel Allen
John Peter Allen m. Elizabeth Zeh
Phebe Allen m. Gilbert Gage
Orlando Gage m. Edith Gallup
Ora Silas Gage m. Florence Christine Shawver
Helen Marian Gage m. Frank Stewart Johnson (my grandparents)

There are probably many lines that I need to examine more fully.  Thanks to the good work of a cousin (James Anderson), the Allen line is another tempting area to explore.  I have a lot of New England ancestry living in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire.  Many of those lines moved to New York.  I find it interesting to be descended from two siblings..one being my 9th great grandparent and another being my 8th great grandparent.  I probably will find some more interesting lines as I explore the Allen's more fully, and it seems likely I might find a few more interesting connections.

Phebe Allen Gage pictured with her grandchildren through son, Gilbert.
She and her husband, Gilbert shared common Wilbore ancestry.

From Pennsylvania to Kansas - Kelley trails

I've been interested in history for most of my life.  Some of my earliest memories involve sitting and listening to stories by my great grandmothers.  So a degree in History and later an obsession with genealogical research seemed to be a natural progression for me.  The older that I get and the more I learn about history, the more I am frustrated at the knowledge of History exhibited by many of the younger generations and many in my own.  My family stories are not necessarily unique, but I am certainly glad that I have taken the time to learn about them.

One of the topics that I remember studying a bit in high school was about the Cumberland Gap.  Essentially, I knew it was a pathway where immigrants coming in from the north would travel to the south and that Daniel Boone was one of those responsible for establishing the trail and that it was part of the Wilderness Road.  I didn't realize how much that passage way would impact my own family history.  I have family members that came through Philadelphia and stopped in West Virginia (Shawvers & Amicks) and I have families that continued clear down to the Clinch Mountain's in TN such as the Kelly's and Hammer families.

Kinchen W. Kelley was the son of Johnathan H. Kelley and Margaret E. Matherly  who were most likely Irish immigrants who came in through Philadelphia like many other immigrants from the Pre-Revolutionary War period.  Kinchen was born on 19 Jun 1759 in Pennsylvania and probably traveled down to Tennessee as a young man.  He married Elizabeth "Betsy" Hammer in abt 1787.  I  believe from what I have read that the Hammers were already in Tennessee by the time that Betsy married Kinchen.  Like Kinchen, Betsy was born in Pennsylvania on 14 Dec 1764.  She was the daughter of John Melchior Hammer II and Maria Margaretha Kaupp who were both from Oberjesingen, Wurttemberg, Germany.  According to some sources, the Hammers traveled down about 1780 and settled near Knob Creek, Washington Co., TN.  The family got two land grants of 200 acres and had a home that was built at the first spring above Jonesborough.  John Hammer was an important man in the area - serving as a Missionary, Farm, Census Take, Property Assessor, Counter of Taxables and served on several juries.  In addition, he was appointed by John Sevier as a Magistrate after the State Constitution was formed. He died in 1817 and his wife, Margaretha died 10 years later in 1827.

When I first started studying the Kelley family, I talked to the granddaughter of William Kelley and Ailey Allen.  She was the youngest child of one of the youngest children of William Kelley and Ailey Allen and actually spent her young years on their farm.  Family legend said that William Kelly as a boy came to Clay Co., KY with his family probably in the 1840's.  They had a wagon that carried their goods...but the older children walked along side the wagon.  They came from the Clinch Mountains in Tennessee.  Researchers before me had pieced together that William's father John Kelley was the son of Kinchen Kelley.  This information seemed to be confirmed by a copy of Kinchen Kelley's will.  Even though it seems strange to have a John and Johnathan mentioned in the same will.  That seems to me to be practically the same name. The connection also seemed to confirmed to me by the prominent use of the name Kinchen within the Kelley family.

So, in just a few generations the Kelley family traveled from Pennsylvania (Kinchen b. 1759) to Tennessee (m. Elizabeth "Betsy" Hammer abt 1787) and then moved to Clay Co., KY around 1840 (John Kelley & Elizabeth Hunter).  My Great Great Grandfather was the son of William Kelley and Ailey Allen and the grandson of John Kelley and Elizabeth Hunter.  John Ward Kelley moved his own family out of Kentucky and to Kansas and Oklahoma in 1885.  Sarah Rachel Kelley, John Ward's daughter, married John Lyons Tannahill and their son, Oliver Richard Tannahill was my grandfather.  My grandfather's family didn't stay that long in Kansas and Oklahoma and left in the 1920's although I don't think it was for better opportunity but rather running from the law...but that is a story for another time.

I wonder how many Americans who had ancestors who traveled the same pathway from Pennsylvania to Tennessee and how many have tried to trace that pathway back.  I'm not sure I would have ever known where the Kelleys and Hammers had lived if it wasn't for some genealogists and historians who spent time and effort to locate the Killey Cemetery in Knob Creek, Washington Co., TN (See Killey "Kinchen" Cemetery for more info)  Here is a link to Kinchen Kelley (Killey)'s gravestone on Find A Grave and that of his wife Elizabeth "Betsy" Hammer.  Here is my Kelley Line:

Kinchen Kelley m. Elizabeth "Betsy" Hammer
John Kelley m. Elizabeth Hunter
William Kelley m. Ailey Allen
John Ward Kelley m. Melvina Robertson
Sarah Rachel Kelley m. John Lyons Tannahill
Oliver Richard Tannahill m. Capitola Esther Friddle
My Parents...then Me

New York Roots

As I got older, I knew the story of Granddad Gage coming out west with his sibling from New York State to Nebraska in 1908.  Their parents had died, and their maternal grandmother wanted them to come and live with her.  Granddad Gage had a genealogy history of his Gage family that showed some surprising information for me.  His paternal family had pretty much been in the same region of New York State for about a 100 years.

Granddad Gage and some of his siblings - Left to Right
Alice, Phebe, Pete, Ora (Granddad) Nellie & Burt.

The first New York Gage was Joseph Gage.  He was born on 3 May 1734 in Freetown, Bristol Co., MA to William Montgomery Gage and Hannah Davis.  Joseph married Mary Jane Huddleston on 13 Sep 1756 in Dartmouth, Bristol Co., MA.  I would love to say that I have a lot more generations preceding Joseph Gage…but that is not the case.  His father, William Montgomery Gage, is the first Gage that we are sure is a direct ancestor.  William Montgomery Gage is thought to have been born around 1696 based on some land documents that he signed.  He served in a militia from Maine for six months in 1722 which I assume involved some war between the Colonists and the Native Americans.  His line of work has been recorded as schoolmaster and any Gages that believe they are descended from the William Gage of Freetown, MA – this is the Gage that they are descended from.  Joseph Gage married a few years after his father’s death in 1756 and within a few years moved to New York State.  According to his second son’s birthplace, he was in Otsego Co., NY in 1759, in Dutchess Co., NY in 1762, and in Duanesburg, Schenectady Co., NY by 1764 which is where he lived the rest of his life.

Joseph and Mary had at least 10 children, nine of whom were sons.  Some of those sons spelled their names Gage and some spelled it Gaige…but they were from the same family.  Joseph died on 23 May 1811 in Duanesburg, NY and Mary died a few years later on 27 Jan 1814.  Their fourth youngest son was William Gage b. 20 Aug 1770 in Duanesburg, NY and d. 18 Jan 1865 in Knox, Albany Co., NY.  He married Ruth Macomber in 1790.  Four Gage siblings married four Macomber siblings which leads me to believe that the families probably lived near each other.  William Gage and Ruth Macomber's fourth son, Potter Gage was born 25 Dec 1798 in Knox, Albany Co., NY.  Potter Gage was my great grandfather’s great grandfather.

To finish up the line…Potter Gage m. Cynthia Swan – their son, Gilbert Gage m. Phoebe Allen, and their grandson, Orlando m. Charity Hotaling and Edith Gallup.  So from about 1759 to 1908 – Granddad Gage’s paternal line had lived in New York State.  His mother’s family (Gallup) had come from Connecticut in 1796.  The Swan’s were in New York by 1800 (they also came from Connecticut), the Allen line had actually been there probably since the early 1700’s (See Palantine Families)  At some point, I expected to find an immigrant who arrived after 1800…but I never found one in Granddad Gage’s family.  His family lines had actually been some of the early settlers of Connecticut and moved westward to New York State.  The family line that I originally had the most information on (Gage) actually turned out to be one of the more difficult lines to locate the immigrant ancestor.  I don’t know if we will ever find the documentary evidence…but I believe that science does offer some hope. 

By the time Granddad had left New York in 1908 – his family had been living in the same area (give or take a few miles) for almost 150 years.  I don’t know how many descendants of Orlando Gage are still in the New York area.  I know that there are a few that I am communicated with that still bear the last name of Gage.  I wonder how many of them know that their family has been there since the mid 1700’s.  That seems quite unique for me as I live in a town that has only been in existence since 1861 and I live in a state that has been a state only since 1890.  (I live in Lewiston, Idaho)  My family has only been in Idaho since the 1920’s (maternal side) and 1930’s (paternal side).  I suppose that it is one of the exciting things about genealogy – it is a lot of fun to try and figure out where your family came from…and how your family ended up where they are.  In my Granddad Gage’s life time – he traveled from New York to Nebraska to Iowa to South Dakota to Idaho and then to Oregon – that is quite a journey for a 98 year lifetime!

Palatine Family Roots

I have had my battles with common surnames.  I have Johnson, Smith, Jones and a few Allens.  Needless to say, research on these families can be a bit daunting.  There is an Allen line on my Mom’s side of the family that stretches back to New England…however, the Allen line on my father’s side of the family is a window into the German side of my great grandfather’s family.

Phoebe Allen Gage with grandchildren - around 1910.

Phoebe Ann Allen was born 7 Jan 1830 in Knox, Albany Co., NY.  She married Gilbert Gage in 1849, most likely in Knox, Albany Co., NY as well.  They were the parents of five children:  Orlando, Elizabeth, Juliette, Frank, and Gilbert Gage.  Phoebe was daughter of Elizabeth Zeh and John P. Allen.  It seems somehow unfortunate that I’ve never been able to taker Phoebe’s paternal line back any further than her father.  John P. Allen is much too common a name to differentiate him from other John Allen’s in the vicinity.  Perhaps someday when I have the chance to go to New York to research, I may find something interesting.  Here is what I know about John P. Allen.  He was born in NY on 24 Sep 1783 and died on 2 Apr 1868 in Knox, Albany Co., NY.  He was married to Anna Eva Weidman (daughter of William Weidman and Maria Chambers) sometime in 1807. (The Weidman family shows up often amongst these German families around Albany Co., NY).  She probably died in childbirth or shortly after childbirth in 1821 probably in Berne, Albany Co., NY (which was called Beaverdam at the time) They were the parents of seven children:  Asa, Hannah Maria, William, John P. Jr., James Ira, Sylvester, and Susanna Allen.  In about 1825, John P. Allen married Elizabeth Zeh.  She was born 24 Sep 1793 in Berne, Albany Co., NY and died on 14 Oct 1851 in Knox, Albany Co., NY.  They were the parents of Ann Eliza, Emma Elizabeth, Phoebe Ann (my 3^rd great grandmother), Peter Zeh, and Elizabeth.  Elizabeth was the daughter of Peter Jost Zeh and Annatje Truax. 

The Zeh family was a whole new kettle of fish for me.  I had had no idea that there had been such a strong German contingent in my great grandfather’s family.  When I initially learned of the line, I did what I normally did.  I posted queries on the appropriate news lists early and often.  Through email, I was educated on a bit of the history of the Zeh family in NY.  I may never make much progress on the Allen line – but there was a wealth of information on the Zeh family and they had been amongst some of the earliest settlers in the Schoharie river valley.    Johannes Zeh was born in Oppenheim, Germany in 1667.  He was married to Anna Magdalena in 1692 and they were the parents of Johann George, Johannes Gerhardt, Ignatius, and Johannes Petrus.  You can label the Zehs among many other families as Palatine Germans.  Germany at this point was essentially a bunch of small countries and one of these areas was Palatine.  It was a land that was battled over by the French, Dutch, Germans, and later the English.  There were numerous battles –but Queen Anne’s War which was between 1701 to 1713 was probably the biggest impetus for many to leaving the Palatine region along the Rhine.  In a short amount of time over 13,000 Germans left and headed to America.  Many arrived around 1710, but the Zeh family were first recorded in the Schoharie Valley in 1709.  Of the four children that traveled with Johannes and his wife in 1709 died within a few years after their arrival.  My ancestor, Johannes Zeh, Jr was born about 1710 near Germantown, NY.    Johannes married Maria Bellinger and Anna Catherine Bellinger – sisters who were the daughters of Marcus Bellinger and Anna Catherine Deckmann.  (Also German immigrants)  I’m not really sure which sister he married first, but it is Anna Catherine who he marries in 3 Mar 1738 and they have nine children.  Their third son, Jost Bellinger Zeh and Anna Barbara Wanner were the parents of Peter Jost Zeh and grandparents of Elizabeth Zeh…my 4^th great grandmother.

I considered myself to be fairly well educated in United States history, however, I had never heard of the Palatine Immigration to America.  While living in their homeland along the Rhine River, these people had to live with repeated military invasions by French for numerous years.  They left their homes and headed towards England to escape the Palatine with the promise of land in the American colonies.  The British found out that very quickly couldn’t take care of this large group of people and started to find ways of sending these refugees to the American colonies and many of these families ended up in New York.   They were unlike the Huguenots of an earlier generation because they were not as well educated or skilled of laborers.  They were laborers who knew how to raise livestock, farm land or make cheese and wine.  Queen Anne’s government decided to provide a way for these German Protestants to make their way to the colonies.  They were booked passage on a ship and had to work in trade for passage. 
Many of these families were originally brought to New York but within the next five years they moved to Pennsylvania, New Jersey and the Carolinas but about 40 families went to the Schoharie area of New York and settled there.  I would estimate that just about all of Phoebe Ann Allen’s ancestry came from the Palatine families including names like: Zeh, Zeybel, Bellinger, Folmar, Wanner, and Deckman which are all direct ancestors of Phoebe’s and mine!  Here are some of the ancestors I've discovered along the way!

• Phoebe Ann Allen m. Gilbert Gage
• John P. Allen m. Elizabeth Zeh
• Peter Jost Zeh m. Annatje Truax (See line below)
• Jost Bellinger Zeh m. Anna Barbara Wanner (See line below)
• Johannes Zeh Jr. m. Anna Catherine Bellinger
• Johannes Zeh m. Anna Magdalena - Marcus Bellinger m. Anna Catherine Deckman
• Nicholas Bellinger m. Anna Maria Margaretha Kuhn - Johan Conrad Deckmann m. Juliana Stroh

• Willem Truax m. Anna Elizabeth Zeybel
• George Seibel m. Anna Maria Reyin
• Jacob Zeybel m. Anna Getha
    
• Michael Wanner m. Elizabeth Folmar (daughter of Christian Fulmar)
• Ludwig Wanner m. Anna Barbara Beisels
• Hans Wanner m. ?, Hans Andres Beisels m. ?

Happy Thanksgiving

I didn't appreciate the significance of the history of Thanksgiving when I was young.  I knew the general stuff about the Pilgrims because we got to color pictures of them and talked about them in a general sense.  When I got older, teachers only seemed to want to spent a few minutes on the most general and unexciting of details.  History is a story that needs to be taught like a story and not a bunch of names and dates.  I didn't have an appreciation for significance of the Pilgrims and those other early settlers who arrived in the next ten years.  I didn't understand the deprivation that they suffered or the loss of people.  There were a lot of these new settlers who in a few months lost husbands, wives, and children to sickness in those first few months.  I'm not sure that most teachers really know that story to be fair...they probably received the same type of education that I did on the subject.

I've been researching my family's genealogy for 15 years.  During that time, I've come across mostly common people who have made their way in the world - each in their own unique way.  However, so much of my family comes from the New England area and I knew that it was likely that I had a few Mayflower ancestors.  Last year I wrote about these ancestors in:

• My Mayflower Ancestry - Pt 1 - My Gallup line tracing back to John Howland & Elizabeth Tilley.
• My Mayflower Ancestry - Pt 2 - My Swan line going back to John Billington.
• My Mayflower Ancestry - Pt 3 - My Allen line going back to William White and my Winslow line.

You might say that now when I sit down to our Thanksgiving table with family and friends that I have a new appreciation of who has come before me.  

I think that this was my second Thanksgiving ..as I am the toddler sitting in the high chair.  So much on the table is familiar from my childhood - from the candle holders, the china, salt and pepper shakers to the Turkey in the center.  As I place that Turkey on our table once again, I know that it has been our family since about 1948 and has been on every Thanksgiving table during my lifetime.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!

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

Edy Pennington Eastrage

Depending on whatever theory that you believe in…Edy Pennington is most likely the oldest child of Levi Pennington and Elizabeth Henson.   I am fairly confident that Levi Pennington and Elizabeth Henson had at least 12 children and possibly as many as 14.  I am descended from one of the youngest daughters, Elizabeth, but I have always been interested in Edy Pennington.

Edy was born about 1815 likely around the Little Laurel region of Ashe Co., NC.  Her parents probably either married the year she was born or just before.  It would have put her mother at the age of 16 and her father at the age of 21.  Edy marries a Nathan Estrage in about 1835.  He was likely a close neighbor.  Nathan was the son of Henry Eastridge and Elizabeth Floyd.  I’ve never spent a lot of time looking at Nathan’s ancestry but I have spent a bit of time trying to figure out if the name is supposed to be Eastrage, Eastridge, or Estrage.  I’m still not sure of the spelling but I have gone with the spelling of Eastrage because that is what I have found in census records.

Edy and Nathan had children right away after the marriage and had at least six children.  According to the estate record of Levi Pennington, we actually have a pretty good rundown of the children.

• Elizabeth was born abt 1836 in Ashe Co., NC and d. bef 1865. She was married to Radford Davidson on 17 Jan 1852 also in Ashe Co., NC.  Elizabeth died before 1865 and her husband died before 1870.  I’ve had limited luck tracing their children any further.  I only have limited information on the children and a death date on one of them. 
• William Harrison was born 2 Jan 1840 in Ashe Co., NC and d. 6 May 1925 Ashe Co., NC.  He was married to either Mary Dishman or Davis.  They had 9 children spent their lives in the area.
• Catherine was born Jun 1842 and d. 8 Nov 1915.  She married Charles A. Warren on 3 May 1869 and they had three children.
• Nancy was born about 1845 in Ashe Co., NC and d. bet 1876-1880.  She was married to John H. Shepherd and had six children. 
• Edia was born about 1848 in Ashe Co., NC and d. Feb 1880.  She was married to Alvin Columbus Lou Allen.  (Alvin’s brother Calvin, was married to Edia’s 1^st cousin, Tishia Pennington)  I have very little on their two daughters, although I suspect on the little bits of information that I do have that the family might have ended up in Johnson Co., TN
• Hiley was born about May 1850 in Ashe Co., NC, married Wiley Elbert Vanover on 18 Aug 1882 in Johnson Co., TN and they are next found in the 1900 IL census with three children.

It is obvious that Edy named at least one of her daughters after her sister Hiley and possible that she named another one after Elizabeth…but I think it more likely that she was named after Nathan’s mother.  Every one of these families is due more research because there is always new information that seems to come to light and sometimes new ways to search.   However, Edy seemed to leave her mark.  She stayed her entire life in Laurel Twp., Ashe Co., NC and sadly preceded both her parents in death.  Her husband never remarried as far as I can tell and stayed in the Laurel Twp., Ashe Co., NC.  Their burial location is unknown but they are probably buried in a family cemetery nearby.  

John P. Allen

Speaking of common names like Smith, Johnson, and Jones…there is another name that has bedeviled me off and on for some time…Allen.  You wouldn’t think that the Allen name would be that big of a deal…but think about it – is it from English ancestry…German…Irish….something else?  When you don’t have the parents’ names to go from…there seems to be a multitude of choices, and when they have a common name like John…there are even more choices.

Phoebe Allen Gage with Gilbert Gage, Jr's children.

My great great great grandmother was Phoebe Ann Allen.  She was born on 7 Jan 1830 in Knox, Albany Co., NY and d. 30 Dec 1912 also in Knox, Albany Co., NY.  She married Gilbert Gage around 1849 in Knox, Albany Co., NY and had five children, all of whom survived and families of their own.  Her husband preceded her in death by 18 years, so she lived a long time as a widow.  Phoebe was the middle child of John P. Allen and Elizabeth Zeh.  She had 4 full siblings and 7 half siblings.  Her father, John P. Allen was born 24 Sep 1783 in NY and d. 2 Apr 1868 in Knox, Albany Co., NY.  He was married first to Anna Eva Weidman in about 1807 and she died around 1821 probably around the birth of her last child Susanna.  John didn’t remarry until abt 1825 when he married Elizabeth Zeh, the daughter of Annatje Truax and Peter Jost Zeh.  One would think that I would have difficulty in finding information on someone with the last name of Zeh…but not so.  I have quite a bit on Elizabeth Zeh’s ancestry, John Allen – I have zilch.

The biggest problem with John P. Allen is that is names are so common.  Every time you think that you are making headway, you run into another brick wall.  As you are researching…they even seem to multiply.  Living so far away doesn’t really help either.  One of the things that I usually try to do is research the siblings.   John P. Allen and first wife, Anna Eva Weidman had the following children:

• Asa Allen b. 26 Dec 1806 Berne, Albany Co., NY d. ?
• Hannah Maria Allen b. 11 June 1808, Berne, Albany Co., NY m. 8 Aug 1825 John Grassfield d. aft 1880
• William Allen b. 11 Oct 1810 Berne, Albany Co., NY m. abt 1831 Elizabeth Ann Engle d. abt 7 Oct 1892
• John P. Allen , Jr. b. 19 Jun 1812 Berne, Albany Co., NY m1. 4 Jun 1835 Catherine Margaret Beller m2. Mlinda Haverly 23 Nov 1876 d. 28 Dec 1883 NY
• James Ira Allen b. 8 May 1817 Berne, Albany Co., NY  m. 15 Feb 1838 Eva P. Ball  d. 7 Oct 1866 Janesville, Rock Co., WI
• Sylvester Allen b. 7 Jan 1818 Berne, Albany Co., NY m. abt 1839 Sarah A. Bunzey  d. 20 Sep 1898, Albany Co., NY
• Susanna Allen b. 7 Jul 1821 Berne, Albany Co., NY m. Jan 1846 Jacob Henry Haverly d. 29 May 1889

 So, even though I have their names, I’ve never been able to find out the death dates on three of Phoebe’s full siblings…John Allen and Elizabeth Zeh’s children are:

• Ann Eliza Allen b. 27 Jul 1827 Knox, Albany Co., NY m. ? d. ?
• Emma Elizabeth Allen b. 28 Aug 1828 Knox, Albany Co., NY m. ? d. ?
• Phoebe Ann Allen b. 7 Jan 1830 Knox, Albany Co., NY d. 30 Dec 1912 Knox Albany Co., NY
• Peter Zeh Allen b. 14 Dec 1830 m1.  13 Jan 1849 Harriet Charlotte Schoonmaker , m2. Abt 1851 Sarah E. m3. Abt 1857 Phebe A.  d. ?
• Elizabeth Allen b. 27 Mar 1833 Knox, Albany Co., NY d. 22 Jan 1918 m. 19 Dec 1852 George Haverly.

It doesn’t make much sense…I have lots of info on the older children, but not so much on the younger family.  Perhaps I’ll have more luck when death records don’t cost an arm and a leg in New York State.  I think the last records I ordered cost me $27 a piece…which makes me appreciate the records that I get on Ancestry.com for the fee I pay yearly.  Whatever the case, John P. Allen’s ancestry remains a mystery.  I have come to a few conclusions though.  I suspect that he might be of German ancestry mostly because both of his wives were definitely German and his children seemed to marry into some of the local German families.  I’ve looked into the Haverly, Ball, Engle, Beller and Weidman families as well as the Zehs and haven’t really ever made much progress on John P. Allen.  However, I have found lots of tie-ins with other families that I have researched, so it is not a total loss.  Like anywhere else there seems to be a pattern of intermarriage between families in small geographic area.  It is always startling to find out how closely some of these families are related.  For now, I will continue my intermittent search for the ancestry of John P. Allen.  I don’t really expect much success but really the search can be a lot of fun!

Walloon's to New Amsterdam

As far as I can tell, almost all of my ancestors definitely came from Europe…some came on the Mayflower or shortly thereafter…others during the mid  1700’s and few other lines came during the early 1880’s.  I have no ancestral lines that I know of who arrived after 1825.  So…my ancestral history almost showcases some of the early immigrants who came to America.  One of those early lines is the Truax family.

My 5^th great grandmother probably has one of the more unusual names that I have come across…her name was Annatje Truax.   From what I was able to discover, it is a Dutch name.  I assume that is probably a version of Anna and Annatje was named for her mother, Anna Elizabeth Zeybel.  The only Dutch influence that was close was through Annatje’s paternal grandmother, Lysbeth De La Grange.  Annatje was born in 1769 to Willem Truax and Anna Elizabeth Zeybel.  She married Peter Jost Zeh on 4 Dec 1790.  Her great great grandson, Ora Gage was my beloved great grandfather.  Granddad Gage moved from New York in 1915 and I found out very early on that his mother’s Gallup family arrived in New York from Connecticut in the late 1780’s.  I was surprised to discover that his grandmother, Phebe Allen’s line arrived in the New York area much earlier.

Annatje’s great great grandfather, Philippe Du Trieux arrived in New Amsterdam in 1624.  He was born about 1588 in Rubaix, France.  The Du Trieux family were Walloons who were probably from what is known today as Belgium.  According to what I have read , they were primarily Celtic stock who fled their native area during the time of the Reformation.  This area of Europe was still under Spanish rule and there was a great deal of persecution for those who became Protestants.  The Du Trieux family fled to Leiden and Amsterdam, Holland.  Philippe Du Trieux was a dyer  - which was considered a very importat skill for the day.  By the time, 1624 had arrived – Philippe had been widowed and left with three small children and had remarried and started a new family.  During this same time, the West India Company had developed  a good fur trade and wanted to settle the land.  Philippe and many other Walloon families left the Netherlands in April 1624 on the “New Netherland” and arrived in New York about 6 weeks later.   Philippe ended up settling in what is present day Manhattan and owned several different pieces of land.  Philippe ended up dying in New Amsterdam, present day New York City with his eldest son, Philippe, Jr. in what I presume was an Indian attack.

Philippe’s son, Isaac married Maria Williamse Brouwver and soon after his marriage, they moved to Schenectady, Schenectady Co., NY where their son, Jacob Truax was born.  By this time the name Du Trieux had changed – perhaps so people could spell it phonetically or perhaps it was a Dutch spelling – I’m not really sure.  Jacob married Lysbeth De La Grange and their son Willem married Anna Elizabeth Zeybel…and now I am back to Annatje.  I found it very interesting to find out that my great grandfather’s family was in the same area in New York not the 100 years I suspected but actually well over 200 years before his birth. 

The rest of the line goes like this:

• Annatje Truax m. Peter Jost Zeh
• Elizabeth Zeh m. John Allen
• Phoebe Ann Allen m. Gilbert Gage
• Orlando Gage m. Edith Gallup
• Ora Silas Gage m. Florence Christine Shawver
• Helen Marian Gage m. Frank Stewart Johnson

Marian and Frank were my grandparents.  I suspect that the Truax family is one that I will revisit often as they seem to have something interesting being uncovered.  Walloons from Belgium seem pretty exotic to someone who thought they were almost all English, Irish and German!

A Clay County Kelley

I’ve been very lucky in my genealogy research.  I’ve had whole families open up with just a small bit of information.  Since so much of my ancestry is in New England, I have benefited from many early carefully researched genealogies.  Somehow I knew I wouldn’t always be so lucky!

John Ward Kelley & Melvina Robertson

John Ward Kelley is my great great grandfather.  He was born on 8 Aug 1849 in Teges, Clay Co., KY and died 12 Mar 1909 in Sparks, Lincoln Co., OK. (His gravestone has a different date - I don't know which is correct)  My mother had such a limited amount of information on her father’s family – mostly because he had died when she was very young and she had little contact with him.  I don’t remember exactly how we discovered the names of my great grandmother’s parents – but it wasn’t a clue that immediately yielded benefits.  Kelley is a name somewhat like Johnson, Smith or Jones (I have all four of these names in my ancestry)!  It is very common and very difficult to trace especially when your ancestor has a common first name like John.  I began my search for John Ward Kelley many years ago on a Clay Co., KY newslist.  Back then, the internet was still a new player in genealogy research and these newslists were a wonderful opportunity to learn more about the geographic area as well as the families of a particular county.  Clay Co., KY – I soon learned was one of the poorer counties in Kentucky and had been a site of feud violence in that latter part of the 1800’s which is when my ancestors left the area.  I soon learned that I should contact a lady by the name of Lucy.  From then on my research opened up to new vistas.

Gravestone of John Ward Kelley and his son Louis Cass Kelley.

Gravestone of John Ward Kelley's wife, Melvina Robertson.

Lucy’s grandfather was John Ward Kelley’s younger brother.  She actually remembered Francis Marion Kelly and well knew the old Kelly home place in Sexton Creek, Clay Co., KY.  I learned from her that John Ward Kelley was one of eleven children and was the son of William Kelly and his wife Ailey Allen.  William Kelly was probably born in Knob Creek, Washington Co., TN and walked alongside a wagon from Washington Co., TN to Clay Co., KY around 1838 with his parents John Kelly and Elizabeth Anna Hunter.  Not too long after his arrival in Clay Co., KY, he married Ailey Allen and they built their own place at Sexton Creek.  Their son John Ward Kelley married Melvina Robertson on 2 Sep 1867 in Clay Co., KY and by the time she died in 1890 they had 14 children.  John Ward Kelley and Melvina Robertson left Kentucky in 1885 and traveled to Kansas around the Chautauqua Co., area.  I don’t know if they left for new opportunities or left because of the unrest in their home county.  Clay County at this time was considered to be one of the most lawless places in the country torn apart by family feuds.  Either way, they left for new horizons.  Melvina died in 1890 during childbirth with her last child…and the child died with her.  John married a woman named Laura sometime after Melvina’s death.  Evidently, this new step mother’s wasn’t to the liking of some of John’s children…his son Leander Kelley left supposedly because he couldn’t get along with the stepmother.  He married for a third time to Sarona Spivey…and I’ve no idea if she outlasted him or not.  I can’t really find much trace of either wife since records weren’t kept at that time.  I’ve never even been able to confirm that John Ward Kelley died in Lincoln Co., OK.  He is buried with Melvina at Oak Hill Cemetery, Belleville, Chautauqua Co., KS – so I wonder at the accuracy.  It is around 150 miles between the two locations – although if there was a railway, it could be possible.  I know from another cousin that John Ward Kelley made a trip to Idaho to visit his son, Leander – which seems like quite a trip in the early 1900’s.

So, during the past decade or so I have slowly peeled back the layers of John Ward Kelley’s life.  It hasn’t been an easy process and I still make attempts at peeling back more layers.  I would like to know more about his second and third wives…or at least have the information confirmed.  There are still some of his children that I don’t feel like I have complete information on and I am hopeful that I will be able to make some progress when the 1940 census comes out in a few months.  So after all the facts that I have found from census records to names and dates of his life, marriage, and children – I am left to fill in the blanks.  Why did he leave Kentucky?  Was it because of the unrest in Clay County or because there were new opportunities further west?  Perhaps he followed his brother Kinchen to the Kansas-Oklahoma area.  Where did he die…was it really in Oklahoma or was he in Kansas where he is buried and which date is the correct death date?  I figure if I keep looking…I may find some of the answers to my questions and perhaps some new questions to research. 

My Mayflower Ancestry - Pt 3

It is fun to study one’s maternal lines – you never know what you’ll find or where they will end up.  In our search for information on my Mom’s Allen line – we kept running into research that just wasn’t quite right.  The family story was that we were related to Ethan Allen of the Green Mountain boys from the Revolutionary War…so everyone was trying to make the Ethan Allen’s line mesh with our Adoniram Allen line…and they never worked.  It turned out that the tie was not with the Allen line but rather with their mothers…who were sisters.  It was a lesson well learned and I have found some interesting family lines on the maternal side of the family…and here is one that ties my father’s family and mother’s family together by marriage!

William White was a passenger on the Mayflower and he died on 21 Feb 1620.  Beyond that there really isn’t much more information.  He was married to a woman named Susanna and traveled on the Mayflower with his son Resolved.  Susanna White gave birth to a son named Peregrine on board the Mayflower while it was docked off of Cape Cod while the Pilgrims were trying to find a place to place their colony.  William White was one of the passengers who died on during that first winter leaving his wife with two young children to care for.  I don’t that anyone has found anything concrete on William White’s ancestry – White has to be almost as common of a name as Johnson to research.  There were a few Whites in Leiden, Holland who were possibilities, but they have been discounted.  No one knows what Susanna White’s maiden name was either.  So, she remains Susanna, wife of William White and Edward Winslow.  After the death of her husband in February, she married another widower who had lost his wife as well, Edward Winslow. 

Edward Winslow was one of the leaders of the Plymouth colony and was in fact its’ third governor.  Edward came on the Mayflower with his brother, Gilbert and his wife, Elizabeth.  Elizabeth died soon after arrival and Gilbert went back to England.  Edward married Susanna in May of 1621.  They had five children but only two lived to adulthood and had children.  Several of Edward’s brothers came within a decade, one of whom was Kenelm Winslow, my 9^th great grandfather.  So…with all of the research that Mom and I did…the only tie we ever found between my parents was when Mom’s 9^th great grandmother married Dad’s 8^th great-granduncle.  Susanna lived to be an old woman and died almost 50 years after the arrival of the Mayflower in 1680.  Edward died in 1655 while on journey to Hispaniola and was buried at sea.

Here are my lines is my line to William White & wife, Susanna.

• William White m. Susanna
• Resolved White m. Judith Vassal
• Anna White m. John Hayward
• Sarah Hayward m. David Allen
• David Allen m. Sarah Baker
• Adoniram “Teges” Allen m. Elizabeth Morris
• Morris Allen m. Rachel Bishop
• Ailey Allen m. William Kelly
• John Ward Kelly m. Melvina Robertson
• Sarah Rachel Kelly m. John Lyons Tannahill
• Oliver Richard Tannahill m. Capitola Friddle
• Betty Jean Tannahill m. Eugene Johnson
• Me!

Here is my line to Edward Winslow’s brother, Kenelm – both were sons of Edward Winslow and Magdalene Ollyver…

• Kenelm Winslow m. Eleanor Newton
• Kenelm Winslow m. Mercy Worden
• Kenelm Winslow m. Bethia Hall & Edward Winslow m. Sarah
• Hannah Winslow m. Edward Winslow (yes they were first cousins)
• Sarah Winslow m. Seth Pope
• Winslow Pope m. Mary Wheelock
• Francis Pope m. Belinda Willey
• Winslow Lonsdale Pope m. Nancy Ann Marie Lyons
• Shirlie Louisa Pope m. Ulpian Grey Johnson
• Frank Stewart Johnson m. Helen Gage
• Eugene Johnson m. Betty Tannahill
• Me!

Both of these lines were branches off of maternal lines in my family.  My advice is to not forget the women in the family.  You might find some of your most interesting ancestors!

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!