P is for Palatines

Olive Tree Genealogy is continuing a new Alphabet Genealogy series of blog posts. I'm not following the usual way of going A-Z surnames. Instead I will create a one word "tag". Then I will share an ancestor (mine, my husband's, an inlaw's or one of my children's) who fits the tag

Today's letter is P for Palatines

At the invitation of Queen Anne in the spring of 1709, about 7 000 harassed Palatines sailed down the Rhine to Rotterdam. From there, about 3000 were dispatched to America, either directly or via England, under the auspices of William Penn. The remaining 4 000 were sent via England to Ireland to strengthen the protestant interest.

In 1710, three large groups of Palatines sailed from London. The first went to Ireland, the second to Carolina and the third to New York with the new Governor, Robert Hunter. There were 3 000 Palatines on 10 ships that sailed for New York and approximately 470 died on the voyage or shortly after their arrival. 

I have several Palatine ancestors. My list of Palatine ancestors is at Palatine Family Names

O is for Orphans

Olive Tree Genealogy is continuing a new Alphabet Genealogy series of blog posts. I'm not following the usual way of going A-Z surnames. Instead I will create a one word "tag". Then I will share an ancestor (mine, my husband's, an inlaw's or one of my children's) who fits the tag

Today's letter is O for Orphans. My husband's great-grandmother Elsie Phyllis Markham was orphaned at the age of 8 months. Her older brothers ages 8 and 2 years old were also orphaned when their parents succumbed to illness in London England in October and November 1898.

The boys were sent to orphanages but Elsie was taken in by relatives, eventually brought to Canada by her brother Albert Finch who had been sent to Canada as a Barnardo Boy in 1901.

Albert was admitted to Barnardos Homes as an orphan on 16 Feb. 1899 age 8 years, 4 months. He spent one night at the Receiving House in Stepney East London and on 17 Feb. 1899 he was transferred to Sheppard House in Bow, East London. On 10 May 1899 Albert was boarded out with foster parents in Romsey Hampshire where he remained for two years before returning to East London to Leopold House on 8 March 1901. On 21 March 1901 he was sent to Canada on the SS Tunisian

Luckily for those with orphans in the family tree, there are many good orphanage records available. We were able to obtain Albert's records from Barnardo's but his brother's records could not be found as he was sent to a different orphanage in England called the Miller Homes. We could not find records for this orphanage.

No child left the Miller Homes until employment had been found for them. The boys were apprenticed to a trade and some with the ability to teacher training. They were always provided with three suits and a sum of money. The girls left at 17 and went into domestic service, nursing or teacher training, they too were provided with an outfit of clothes and some money. George Miller gave his blessing to every child on leaving his care, and gave each a Bible.

As one orphan recalled upon leaving, "My belongings were my Bible, my clothes and half a crown and, best of all, was the priceless blessing of George Miller's prayers."

 

UPDATE: Many readers have asked what happened to Elsie and her little brother. I am writing their stories today and will publish them here on Olive Tree Genealogy blog in the coming weeks.

N is for New Netherland

Olive Tree Genealogy is continuing a new Alphabet Genealogy series of blog posts. I'm not following the usual way of going A-Z surnames. Instead I will create a one word "tag". Then I will share an ancestor (mine, my husband's, an inlaw's or one of my children's) who fits the tag

Today's letter is N for New Netherland

Many of my readers know I have dozens of New Netherland ancestors. For those not familiar with the term, New York state was originally settled by the Dutch and named New Netherland. If you have New Netherland ancestors please take a look at my pages with ships lists 1624-1664 including an exclusive project I have been working on for many years - compiling lists of those who sailed to New Netherland that are not found on published lists.

You will also find a history of New Netherland, and several interesting databases where you might find an ancestor name.

Some of my many New Netherland ancestors can be found on my site:

* BRADT. BRATT Bradt Family Descendants of Albert Andriessen de Noorman aka Bradt
* DAMEN Damen Family Descendants of Jan Cornelise Damen from Bunik Netherlands
* LEROY. LARAWAY. AUDY.  Simeon LeRoy dit Audy French settler to New France (Quebec) then New York
* PIER Pier Family Jan Theunissen and Arent Theunissen Pier and their descendants
* POST The New Jersey Post Family Descendants of Adriaen Crijnen Post. Book Available
* RYCKMAN Ryckman Family Harmen Janse Ryckman of New Netherland
* VAN ALSTYNE The Van Alstyne Family - The descendants of Jan Martense de Wever aka Van Alstyne
* VAN SLYKE. VAN SLYCK The Van Slyke Family - The descendants of Cornelise Antonissen Van Slyke and his nephew Willem Pieterse Van Slyke. Two books on the family also available
* VAN VALKENBURG Van Valkenburg Family Lambert Van Valkenburg and his son Jochem Lambertse
* VROOMAN The Vrooman Family in New Netherland New York Book Available

M is for Murderer

 Warder and Dublin Weekly Mail
Saturday 09 July 1842

Olive Tree Genealogy is continuing a new Alphabet Genealogy series of blog posts. I'm not following the usual way of going A-Z surnames. Instead I will create a one word "tag". Then I will share an ancestor (mine, my husband's, an inlaw's or one of my children's) who fits the tag

Today's letter is M for Murderer. I don't have any murderers or ancestors who were murdered, in my family tree. But my husband does.

In September 1813, my husband's 5th great grandparents William and Mary Massey were murdered in their beds in Temple Carrick, Wicklow Ireland.

The burial registers have this note with their entry of burial on September 9th:

"Murdered in their bed, 8 children thus left orphans." 

Their murderer was never found, but rumours persisted that their son Edward (my husband's 4th great-grandfather) had killed them.

In 1842 Edward sued a man who continued to spread the gossip and accuse Edward of being a murderer. The courts found in Edward's favour. The mystery was never solved and to this day no one knows who murdered William and Mary.

L is For Loyalist Ancestors

Olive Tree Genealogy is continuing a new Alphabet Genealogy series of blog posts. I'm not following the usual way of going A-Z surnames. Instead I will create a one word "tag". Then I will share an ancestor (mine, my husband's, an inlaw's or one of my children's) who fits the tag

Today's letter is L for Loyalists.

A Loyalist is any person who is loyal to their allegiance (especially in times of revolt). During the American Revolution in what was to become the United States of America, a Loyalist (also called UEL - United Empire Loyalist) was anyone who remained loyal to the King of England. They were called Tories in their own country but Loyalists elsewhere. Most fled to Canada and helped settle that country, particularly Ontario and Nova Scotia

I have 3 Loyalist ancestors - Isaac Van Valkenburg aka Vollick, his son Cornelis Vollick and Jacob Larroway, the father-in-law of Cornelis Vollick. All of them fought in Butler's Rangers and settled in the Niagara area of what is now Ontario.

If anyone else is a descendant of Isaac the Loyalist, or his sons Cornelis Vollick and Storm Follick, I wrote a 3 volume set of books on this family for genealogists.


 From Van Valkenburg to Vollick: V.1 The Loyalist Isaac Van Valkenburg aka Vollick and his Vollick & Follick Children by Lorine McGinnis Schulze


Available on Amazon.com or Amazon.ca or e-book version V. 1 From Van Valkenburg to Vollick

 





I've also written a guide for researchers who are seeking a Loyalist ancestor in Ontario. 


 

Guide to Finding a Loyalist Ancestor in Upper Canada (Ontario) is available in paperback or as an e-book on Amazon.com and on Amazon.ca
 

K is For Kent England Ancestors

Olive Tree Genealogy is continuing a new Alphabet Genealogy series of blog posts. I'm not following the usual way of going A-Z surnames. Instead I will create a one word "tag". Then I will share an ancestor (mine, my husband's, an inlaw's or one of my children's) who fits the tag

Today's letter is K for Kent UK. My mother was first generation Canadian. Both her parents were born in Ramsgate, Kent UK. Her lines on both sides go back many generations in Kent.

Here are some (but certainly not all) of my Kent surnames:

Fuller, Caspall, Norris, Phylpot, Simpson, Stead, Elvery, Laming, Fryer, Hinds, Wildbore, Page, Sutton, Rayner, Friar/Fryer, Prigg, Peerless, Hubbard, Smithett, Badcock, Moses, Ellington, and more.

I started writing books about my Kent ancestors so that I could share them with my adult children. I've only just touched the tip of the Kent iceberg with these:


The Caspall Family of Kent England

 The Caspall family can be found in Kent England with John Caspall's birth circa 1710-1717. This book follows the descendants of John Caspall and his wife Mary Prigg for six generations.










The Wildbore Family of Kent England by Lorine McGinnis Schulze
 
This book follows 4 generations of descendants of George Wildbore and his wife Alicia Pamphlett (nee Sackett) who married in Minster, Thanet, Kent England in 1571.








The Hubbard Family of Kent England by Lorine McGinnis Schulze


 Isaac Hubbard married the widow Mary Ducy in St. James in Dover in 1698.This book follows Isaac and Mary's descendants down four generations through their son Isaac, their grandson Philip, their greaat-grandson Philip and their great-great-granddaughter Milly Elizabeth who married John Caspall. 





The Hinds Family of Kent England


The Hinds families were in Ramsgate Kent England for many generations. This book follows the descendants of Thomas Hinds and his wife Sarah Ammis who married in 1693 in Canterbury.








The Laming Family of Kent England
by Lorine McGinnis Schulze


The Laming family is found in Thanet and Minster Kent England for over 200 years. This book follows six generations of descendants of William Laming born circa 1610 and his wife Mary Culmer.







The Norris Family of Kent England
 
This book follows two distinct Norris families in Kent England. The first is the Norris family found in Lenham Kent in 1773 when Edward Norris and Catherine Earl were married in the Lenham parish church. Four generations of their descendants are followed. The second is the Norris family of Elmsted and Waltham Kent.
 

The Problem of Family Not Wanting Your Genealogy Research

Several years ago I came to the realization that no one in my immediate family wants my 40 plus years of research on our genealogy. A few are mildly interested in hearing the more exciting stories of blacksheep ancestors or famous relatives or an intriguing mystery. No one but me does actual research into our ancestors.

That means that my binders and file folders full of documents and charts are not something anyone is going to take and preserve when I'm gone. I'm sure many of you are facing the same problem. So...what to do?

My solution has been to create family books for each surname. I keep them short, no more than 30 pages for each book. Some surnames have multiple volumes and each volume is for one generation including children. These books are what I call "Coffee Table" books, meant to be picked up and thumbed through casually. Not all documents are included because that would turn into a book consisting of hundreds of pages! 

After publishing them on Shutterfly I give them as gifts at Christmas. That is one way the family stories and research might be preserved for future generations. If you are unfamiliar with Shutterfly I have a tutorial on using it on my Olive Tree Genealogy YouTube Channel.

Creating a Memory Book in Shutterfly (Tutorial 1)

Creating a Memory Book in Shutterfly (Tutorial 2)

Creating a Memory Book in Shutterfly (Tutorial 3)

From Van Valkenburg to Vollick
V.1 The Loyalist Isaac Van Valkenburg aka Vollick
and his Vollick & Follick Children

Another solution I use is to create books for sale to other descendants. Since I tend to research all siblings in a family I can often provide details, facts and documents on a large number of family members for each generation. I use Amazon KDP for those books which then are made available on Amazon. 

See my list of books I have published here.  Money I make from these sales helps offset my expenses in subscribing to online companies for their databases.

I also donate a copy of any books I create to local archives or libraries where the family settled.  This helps ensure that even more descendants will have access to my research in the future.

How have you overcome the problem of your family not wanting your genealogy records?

J is For Jailbird

1863 Indictment William Massey for Theft

Olive Tree Genealogy is continuing a new Alphabet Genealogy series of blog posts. I'm not following the usual way of going A-Z surnames.

Instead I will create a one word "tag". Then I will share an ancestor (mine, my husband's, an inlaw's or one of my children's) who fits the tag

Today's letter isJ for Jailbird.

Do you have any ancestors who ended up in prison? I do, but not as many as my husband.

My husband's 3rd great-grandfather William Massey lived in St Mary's Ontario from 1860 until his death in 1865. 

William, a teamster, worked for the newly formed American Express Company which had an office in St. Mary's in the mid 1800s. In 1862 William was charged with stealing over $800.00 from the Company (approximately $20,000.00 now) and arraigned for trial. One of the jurors at his arraignment was non other than Timothy Eaton, founder of Eaton's Company stores.

Read more about William and the lies he told his family to explain his absence while in jail. 

Olive May Peer, born November 1898 in Port Credit Ontario, has a common Peer ancestor with me. Her 3rd great-grandfather Jacob Peer, who I wrote about in the book "The Peer Family of North America" is my 4th. great-grandfather. My grandmother, also named Olive Peer, was Olive May's cousin.

In February 1927 Olive May married Robert Jackson. She could not have known that her husband was using an alias, that his real name was Robert Rodgers, and that her husband would be charged with two counts of bigamy and sentenced to time in jail.
 
Read more about Olive and her bigamist husband.

For something a little lighter, perhaps even humourous read Baa baa blacksheep, have you any cows? My great-grandmother's brothers spent time in jail for stealing a cow! Imagine going to jail in 1901 for a year and a half just for stealing a cow.

To find more exciting and troubling stories of ancestors who have been sent to prison for various crimes ranging from being drunk and disorderly to murder, use the topic "JAIL"  That topic will also bring up lists of prisoners in various jails, and more!