Cousins are keepers of TREASURE!

I have a niece-in-law through my ex-husband's family line, who is about 10 years older than my eldest daughter, i.e., they're first cousins. They're very close, have even lived together at various times. I see her now and then, maybe two or three times a year, friendly, sociable, busy, travels a lot.

At one of my granddaughters' birthday, her 13th [milestones racing by], we began talking about my favourite topic, genealogy. Oh, you guessed that already?? Yes, this niece-in-law is one of those on all sides of the family who actually reads and comments on my genealogy posts, particularly those 52 Ancestors/52 Weeks blogs about the LEWIS-RICE line, her line. I try to make certain that I feature ancestors on both sides of my kids' family lines.  Fairness rules.

Chatting along, I wondered aloud how disappointing it was that my ex had no photos of his mother when she was younger, or her siblings, and none of his father, grandparents, etc. on that side. And I wondered if she might have seen any, since her father did photography as a profession for some years...? Just wondering...

"Sure, I have lots of them.  His father's whole family, all the kids. There's one with Isaac and all the kids. Yeah.  And one of Jack & Bill's parents, and..."

I gasped and stared at her. I was so excited I almost spilled my wine [a very nice Malbec, from S.America].

"Oh. I guess you didn't know, eh?"  She made a face. "We need to get together then. I've got all sorts of photos, letters, journals, stuff. In a trunk. I don't know why I didn't think of it before...  Hmmm, I thought you had already seen these."  

My eldest daughter chimed in that she wanted to see these too, and would be very happy to help. All cell phones were pulled out, calendars consulted, a date picked.

We have a date in a little over a week, for the three of us to go digging in this trunk, sort out what we find, and I'll be taking bundles back home to scan here.

I suspect my scanner will be running every day possible until I get all these treasures copied and organized on my computer. Won't it be fun to be able to go through them, see all those new-to-me people?  And new to my own 4 kids as well. Treasures.

I teach beginners to always take note of the eldest child or eldest daughter in families when looking for momentos or photographs - they often hold the family treasures... and here I'd forgotten to check with this daughter of the eldest son (my ex was his younger brother).

Yup, she has the treasures. And soon, I will have copies. Can't wait. I'm so excited!!

52 ANCESTORS in 52 WEEKS, No. 48: Edyth "Edy" SLAYTON, b. abt 1793 VA

Following the challenge from Amy Johnson Crow to write a post weekly, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, here is my 48th installment, Edyth "Edy" SLAYTON, b. abt 1776 in Tennessee.  Edy is the 3rd great-grandmother of my ex-husband, the 4th great-grandmother of our children.  I am continuing to write about the ancestors whom I know little about, to remind myself to do more research on them. Some of them had minimal research done when I first began searching out my family tree, before I began to learn about using good genealogical standards. 

Edy is the daughter of Daniel Henry SLAYTON & Ann "Millie" WALLER, and she appears to have been born in Tennessee in approximately 1775. I have very little information on other siblings, and very little on her parents.  It doesn't help that there were at least 3 Daniel Slayden/Slayton men living nearby. This surname is written many ways: Slayton, Slayden, Sladden, and so on.

On 18 Mar 1793 in Pittsylvania County Virginia, Edy married Archibald "Archer" WALTERS, son of Thomas WALTERS and Lucy WALKER [not yet proven]. There is much confusion about the existence of two Archer Walter men living in close proximity - one, several years older, was the uncle to the younger. This appears to be the younger Archibald.  He had been married earlier to Elizabeth Richards in 1788. They had 2 children; however in late 1791, Elizabeth died in childbirth of the 2nd child.  Children were Mary, and Abner (married, children).

Edy and Archer had 6 children:
  1.  Anderson, [ancestor], b. 10 May 1794, VA, d. 30 Apr1863 in White county, IL; m. 1815 in TN to Elizabeth JOYNER; 7 children
  2.  Asa, b. abt 1795, TN, d. 1868 IL
  3.  Daniel [named for Edy's father], b. abt 1799, TN,  d. 1856, IL
  4.  Thomas, b. abt 1801, TN, d. in White county, IL
  5.  Lucy, b. abt 1803, TN, d. 1875, IL
  6.  Martha, b. abt 1804, TN, d. 1840, IL 

As can be seen, the family settled in Tennessee (in Montgomery County) for perhaps a decade or two, before moving slightly further north to White County, Illinois.

Archer is said to have died about 1846 in Montgomery county, TN.  It is confusing to hear he died in Tennessee when he seems to have settled in Illinois by about 1835?  Perhaps he was living with an adult child, perhaps after his wife died?  

At this point, I have been unable to find any records about where or when Edy died. 

If you have additional information or corrections to the above, please do not hesitate to contact me via calewis at telus dot net, or in the Comments below.  I welcome all information to help in adding details to Edy's life.  Thanks for stopping by and reading.

52 ANCESTORS in 52 WEEKS, No. 47: Richard TREAT, 1584-1668/9

Following the challenge from Amy Johnson Crow to write a post weekly, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, here is my 47th installment, Richard TREAT, 1584-1668/9, my 8th great-grandfather on my mother's side.

My direct line from Richard Treat(1): Robert (Gov.) Robert Treat (2), Joseph (Capt) Treat (3), Samuel Treat (4), Samuel Peet Treat (5), Anna Treat (6), Charles Giles Graves (7), Clara Augusta Graves (8), Marguerite Josephine Terwilliger (9), Mary Marguerite Kuhn (10), Celia Gillespie (me).

Richard TREAT is another of the early New England settlers in my mother's ancestral line, having arrived approximately 1635.  Note that in England, this TREAT ancestral name is directly related to the TROTT surname, this group of ancestors having changed spelling in America shortly after settling in the New England Colonies. Another group of TROTT immigrants in New England did not change the spelling and are likely relatives - not as yet proven with DNA and genealogy research.

Richard TREAT's parents were Robert & Honora TROTT; he was one of 5 children attributed to this couple who lived in Pitminster, Somerset, England. Richard was baptised 28 Aug 1584 in Pitminster, and his wife, Alice GAYLORD (Gaylaud, var.) was baptised there 10 May 1595.  They married 27 Apr 1615 in Pitminster, and they emigrated from Somerset after the death of both Richard's parents: Robert in 1598/99, and Honora on 17 Sep 1627, and very shortly after the birth of their youngest child, Katharine. 

Richard & Alice TREAT had 11 children baptized in Pitminster, but 2 died before the family emigrated. The Treat family settled first in Dorchester, Massachusetts before moving to Wethersfield, Connecticut, where they remained:
        A first son, Robert, apparently died as an infant
   1.  Honor, bap 19 Mar 1615/16; m. John Deming in CT, 10 children
   2.  Joanna, bap 24 May 1618, d. Oct 1694; m. Lieut. John Hollster; 8 children
   3.  Sarah, bap 3 Dec 1620, d. after Jun 1673; m. Matthew Canfield, 9 children
   4.  Richard, bap 9 Sep 1623, d. 1693 Newark NJ; m. Sarah Coleman, 4 children; apparently an alternate date of 9 Jan 1621/22.
   5.  Robert [ancestor], bap 23 Feb 1623/4 or 1624/25, d. 12 Jul 1710; m. 25 Dec 1646 to Jane TAPP, 8 children [Governor of Connecticut]
   6.  Elizabeth, bap 25 Jul 1627; m. George Wolcott, 4 children
   7.  Susanna, bap 8 Oct 1629, d. bef 7 Nov 1705; m. 1652 to Lieut. Robert Webster, 5 children
   8.  Alice, bap 16 Feb  1630/31, d. 2 Aug 1633 Pitminster Eng.
   9.  James (Lieut), bap 20 Jul 1634, d. 12 Feb 1708/09; m. 26 Jan 1664/65 to Rebecca Lattimer, 9 known children
 10.  Catharine, bap 29 Jun 1637;  m. 19 Nov 1655 to Rev. William Thompson

Richard was one of the Patentees of the Charter of Connecticut  to King Charles II. Written in May 1661, it was taken to England by their current Governor, John Winthrop, and finally approved 1 May 1662.  Richard was Deputy to the Connecticut General Court 1644-1658, Magistrate or Assistant Magistrate between 1657-1665; he was on Governor Winthrop's Council in 1663-1664. He left a sizeable estate when he died, detailed in his will.

Richard wrote his will 13 Feb 1668/9 in Milford, New Haven, CT, and is said to have died a year later, on 3 Mar 1669/70 in Wethersfield.  His wife, Alice died shortly afterwards. Although he is 'known' to have been buried in the Wethersfield Village Cemetery, there is no headstone left standing. 

If you have information or corrections, please do not hesitate to contact me through calewis at telus dot net, or in the Comments below.  Thanks for stopping by to read this very brief history. 

52 ANCESTORS in 52 WEEKS: No. 46, WWI Roll Call

Following the challenge from Amy Johnson Crow to write a post weekly, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, here is my 46th installment, "WWI Roll Call", with basic details of the three relatives who died in "The Great War" 1914-1916.  Two relatives (great-uncles) are on my GILLESPIE-BUNN side, the other on the LEWIS-RICE line.  The photo on the right is #1 below, George Armstrong Gillespie, aged 28.


1.  George Armstrong GILLESPIE, b. 1886, Barrow in Furness, Lancashire, England, d. 8 Aug 1916, France.  
The 4th and last child of George GILLESPIE & Catherine ARMSTRONG, a bachelor, he was living with his unmarried older sister, Mary, and his parents, at 44 Earle Street, Barrow, at the time he entered military service in 1914. His older two brothers, including my grandfather, were living in Canada at this time.  
George A. Gillespie died August 8, 1916, aged 32; his identifying number is R/3245, attached to the 11th Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps. He is buried in Hebuterne Communal Cemetery, France.  His headstone carving, as requested by his parents, is the following:
THE WICKED / CEASE FROM TROUBLING / AND THE WEARY / ARE AT REST  

2.  Thomas BUNN,  b. 12 Dec 1886, Barrow in Furness, Lancashire, England, d. 8 Oct 1917, Belgium.  
Thomas was the 4th child (of 9) of George BUNN & Sarah Elizabeth WHITEHOUSE, the brother of my grandfather Gillespie's wife. Thomas lived for a short time in Canada, following his older brother George who had immigrated in 1910.  He is a bit of a mystery and there is a story that he married or lived common-law with a woman while living in the Maritimes in Canada.  However, when war was declared, he returned to Barrow and enlisted there.  He joined the Royal Army Medical Corp, 23rd Field Ambulance, (the 7th Division). He was killed in action on 8 Oct 1917, in Belgium, and is buried in Tyne Cot Memorial, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium. His name may be seen on Panel 160. (The link shows the cemetery ringed by Panels filled with approximately 35,000 names of casualties...)  

3.  Arthur Aiken LEWIS, b. 16 Apr 1887, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, d. 8 May 1917, Vimy Ridge, France.
Arthur was the eldest of 8 children of Isaac Charles LEWIS & Alma Jane AIKEN. Arthur worked as a Surveyor, on Vancouver Island,as seen on 1911 Census. His CEF - Canadian Expeditionary Force - papers show he enlisted 26 Oct 1915, service number #61710, 22nd Battalion, Canadian Infantry.  There is some confusion re his death date, as the Vimy Memorial certificate provides date of death as 15/09/1916 (Sept. 15, 1916); but the official notification of his death is May 8, 1917, "in the trenches south of Acheville" which is by Vimy Ridge. The confusion has not been reconciled at this point.  The Canadian Vimy Memorial is a remarkable construction, sitting on the Ridge itself. You can read of its design, construction, and more by clicking on this link.  


So many young men were killed in World War I.  The poppies seen in London signify one poppy for each soldier. Here is one link, but searching will find you many more. 

Lest We Forget...   
   

52 ANCESTORS in 52 WEEKS, No. 45: (Capt) George CURWEN, 1610-1684, Immigrant

Following the challenge from Amy Johnson Crow to write a post weekly, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, here is my 45th installment, Captain George CURWEN.  George CURWEN's title of Captain refers to his military service as Captain of a troop of militia during King Philip's War.  

Thank heavens for relationship calculators on family tree software: he's the husband of my ex-husband's half-7th great-grand aunt, (8th, to our children) through the RICE family line, up through to Susanna WHITE Winslow's daughter, Elizabeth!  I decided to write a little bit about him after reading through a book I stumbled on in our B.C. Genealogical Society's library while volunteering there.  

The book I found is: Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America before 1700, by Frederick Lewis Weis, 7th Edition by Walter Lee Sheppard, Jr., published by Genealogical Publishing Co. Inc., 1992.  This book is a compilation of ascendancy of early colonists back to Saxon and English Monarchs, French, Charlemagne, Early Kings of Scotland and Ireland, and much more. As I have quite a few early colonists, I checked the names with my database, and found George CURWEN. (I also found Thomas TROWBRIDGE, but that's another story!)  Many specific sources are listed, one of them refers to a chart made "by Rev. George Curwen 1698, made during his father's lifetime". This book is not a primary source, as it is a compilation from various other sources, none of which I have seen or examined. Still, it is an interesting start.

George was born 3 Nov 1610 in Sibbertoft, Northampton, England. We know his father's name was John CURWEN; his mother's name is stated to be Marjorie, but I have not seen proof. The other children were: Thomas, Matthew, Elizabeth, Sarah, and John.  His older brother, Matthias Curwen, b. abt 1602, immigrated with his three children abt 1634, settling first in Ipswich, MA.

George's first wife was Elizabeth Herbert, daughter of the Hon. John Herbert, Mayor of Northampton, England. They married in England about 1635, having at least one or two children in England. She died on 15 Sep 1668, and he married on 22 September 1669 to Elizabeth WINSLOW Brook, the only daughter of (Governor) Edward WINSLOW and Susanna White (widow), Mayflower immigrants. Elizabeth (2nd) was a widow of Robert Brook who had died earlier; she had one son, also named Robert Brook.

George & Elizabeth (1st) had seven known children:
   1.  Abigail, b. 1 Aug, 1637, died by 1 yr of age
   2.  John, b. 25 July 1638; d. 12 Jul 1683; m., 5 children
   3.  Jonathan, b. 14 Nov 1640; d. 25 Jul 1718; m., 10 children
   4.  Hannah, b. 1642, died by 1 yr of age
   5.  Abigail, b.? bap. 30 Nov 1643
   6.  Hannah, b. 1 Jan 1645/6;  d.21 Nov 1692
   7.  Elizabeth, b.? bap. 2 Jul 1648;  d. bef 1685

After Elizabeth died on 16 September 1668, in Salem, George married for a second time in 1669 to Elizabeth WINSLOW Brook (widow).  Corwin Genealogy in the United States, [by E.T. Corwin, pub. 1872 by S.W. Green, New York], lists the following children on page 78: 

George & Elizabeth (2nd) had 3 children, all of whom married, with children:
   9.  Penelope,
 10.  Susannah
 11.  George

George was a wealthy and influential man in Salem, living in the city, owning four houses, warehouses, and 2 wharves in Salem, plus another warehouse and wharf in Boston.  He also owned about 15,000 acres of various land parcels around the area. His family lived in one side of his very large home, and the other side had several businesses/trade establishments leased. He was made a Freeman in 1665, and was involved as a Selectman for most of the years from 1666-1676.

When he died 5 Jan 1684, his will showed an inventory valued at  £5,964. 10s. 7d., which was a large fortune at the time. Some details of his inventory (e.g., silver-topped cane) are still kept by descendants.  His portrait was commissioned and is in the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA; a copy is hanging in the "Witch House", house, again owned by a Corwin descendant, in Salem. He is described as having a "fine, round forehead, large nostrils, high cheek bones, and grey eyes," in the Corwin Genealogy in the US  book mentioned previously. 

Much has been written in various articles, letters, journals and books of history and genealogy, concerning George CORWIN/CURWEN, and searching on several genealogy websites will turn up a number of books and histories which may be directly searched.  Interestingly, the original surname in the 1200s, was spelled CULWEN and the spelling shifted in about 1433 - see next paragraph.  

That book that started me on this post lists the direct lineage (with more details as known in the book) as follows on pages starting at 40-41, 37, 1-4, following generation numbers:

Captain George CURWEN - John CURWEN - Henry CURWEN - Thomas CURWEN - Thomas CURWEN - Margaret CURWEN (m. cousin Wm CURWEN) - Sir Christopher CURWEN - Sir Thomas CURWEN - Sir Christopher CURWEN - William CURWEN - Gilbert CULWEN - Sir Gilbert CULWEN, Knt. - Gilbert CURWEN (m. cousin Edith HARINGTON) - Gilbert CULWEN - Patric DE CULWEN - Thomas OF WORKINGTON, son of Gospatric, Lord of Workington in Cumberland. 

The last named ancestor, Thomas of Workington, is known to have died soon after 13 Nov 1200.  Both the Harington and Culwen/Curwen lines can be traced back to Aethelred II (King, 979-1016). Aethelred II traces back to CERDIC, King of the West Saxons in the early 500s.  Yes, once one finds a landed gentry ancestor, there are interesting lineages to find, piecing them from various writings of battles, of famous people's visits, and from various collections of documents. Interesting puzzles.

Of course, all of us trace back to a fairly small group of people. I find it fascinating to see how "mixed up" we all are: Vikings and other Scandinavians, Germans, French, English, Dutch, and others.  One day I'll be able to pay for genetic testing and find out even more about my deep ancestry details.

If you have questions or comments, do contact me via calewis at telus dot net,or add them to the Comments section below.  Thank you for stopping by and reading.