Can You Match or Beat Mine?

Family Trees can be very confusing with intermarriages, step-parents, multiple marriages, etc. 

Davd Annal posed an intriguing question on Twitter asking if anyone could beat his four brothers marrying four sisters. I can. 

Here's mine - in the early 19th century 6 Vollick siblings married 5 Burkholder siblings (you'll figure that out when you look below):

1826 Matthias Vollick m Catherine Burkholder

1827 Isaac Vollick m Sophia Burkholder

1830 Janine Volllick (1) md Jacob Burkholder

1831 Richard Vollick m Elizabeth Burkholder (My ancestors)

1831 Margaret Vollick m David Burkholder

1846 Eliza Vollick (2) m Jacob Burkholder

The Vollick family sometimes used the surname Follick. You can read more about the family at Isaac Van Valkenburg aka Vollick, Loyalist from New York with Butler's Rangers in Niagara

Can you match or beat mine?

 

Jonas Larroway Loyalist

Jonas Larroway 1792 Land Certificate

Jonas Larroway, United Empire Loyalist, born 1731 Schoharie Co. New York, was descended from the LeRoy dit Audy family who settled in New France (now Quebec) from France in 1668. The LeRoy surname underwent great changes, becoming LeRoy dit Audy or Ody in New France, and Laraway or LeRoy in the United States.

Simeon LeRoy dit Audy was born in Creances Normandy. Simeon settled first in the fief or seigneurie of St.-Joseph or L'espinay, Charlesbourg, near the Charles River which belonged to the Hebert- Couillard de L'espinay family in Quebec, Canada in 1668


Jonas Larroway was my 5th great-grandfather and he married in 1754 in Schoharie NY, Elizabeth (Betsy) Muller, daughter of Johannes Nicholas Muller and Maria Dorothea Wuest, a Palatine line.

Jonas fought in Butler's Rangers during the American Revolution and settled at Niagara, Ontario in 1783.

Continue reading at https://www.olivetreegenealogy.com/loy/surnames/larroway.shtml

Meme: Immigrant Ancestor Jonas Larroway, a Loyalist

1797 Certification of Jonas Larroway's Service in Butler's Rangers

There is a lot of discussion about immigration in America right now. Tempers have flared, and different groups hold various strong opinions. There is also Brexit, where immigration was a large focus of the recent vote which resulted in the U.K. leaving the E.U.

I've been following this for several months and it occurs to me that those of us in Canada, America, and Australia have immigrant ancestors. Have you researched yours? Do you know who they were, why they came to your country and when? Do you know how they fared once settled in their new land? Were they welcomed? Were they shunned? Was their discrimination based on their religion or ethnic origin? These are all questions that are important, and interesting to discover. With that in mind, I'm the dedicating Saturdays (as many as needed) as the day to join me in discussing your immigrant ancestors.

You will be able to read any you are interested in by using the keyword Immigrant Ancestors. I'm going to share each week what I know of my immigrant ancestors to North America (whether that is USA or Canada)

Jonas Larroway, United Empire Loyalist, born 1731 Schoharie Co. New York, was descended from the LeRoy dit Audy family who settled in New France (now Quebec) from France in 1668. His great-grandfather, Simeon LeRoy dit Audy was born in Creances Normandy. Simeon settled first in Quebec, Canada in October 1668 where he married a Filles du Roi named Claude (Blandina) Deschalets, an orphan who was sent to New France with her two sisters to be married to a suitable French settler.

The LeRoy surname underwent great changes, becoming LeRoy dit Audy or Ody in New France, and Laraway or LeRoy in the United States. Jonas was my 5th great-grandfather and he married in 1754 in Schoharie New York, Elizabeth (Betsy) Muller, daughter of Johannes Nicholas Muller and Maria Dorothea Wuest, a Palatine line.

Jonas fought in Butler's Rangers during the American Revolution and settled at Niagara, Ontario in 1783.

Jonas, along with other Loyalists, suffered greatly for what he believed in. He had to flee his home in New York to remain loyal to the King of England. 

Woman of Courage Anna Maria Warner

Because February is Women's History Month I wanted to share with my readers the story of strong and courageous women in my life. You will be able to follow along as you wish by choosing the label "Women of Courage" in the right side bar. I encourage my readers to join me in honoring women of courage in your own families.

When my 5th great-grandmother Anna Maria (Mary) Warner was born in Schoharie New York in 1735, she could not have known the hard times she would go through as an adult. Her husband Isaac Van Valkenburg aka Vollick was imprisoned three times during the American Revolution for his Loyalist sympathies. When he was in prison, Mary was solely responsible for their 10 children. 

After Isaac was released from prison he joined Butler's Rangers and fled to Canada. Mary continued to aid the British, and in 1779 she and the children were taken from their home at North River, New York by American patriots. Their home was burned, Mary and the children were marched 80 miles north through the forest and left in destitute circumstances to either die or figure out how to get to Canada. Luckily natives found Mary and helped them reach Montreal by July of 1779.

There the family received food rations, lodging and blankets until 1782 when they settled in the Niagara area as impoverished Loyalists. Then came the Hungry Years when crops failed and food was scarce. Hundreds of Loyalists perished. I can not begin to imagine how Mary survived and kept her family alive during these times.

Another Van Valkenburg to Vollick Book Available!

I'm pretty happy to announce that V. 2 of my series on the Van Valkenburg aka Vollick family is now available. It was a long time in the making but what a great feeling to be able to share my research and tell the family's stories to other descendants.

Cornelius Vollick, son of Isaac Van Valkenburg aka Vollick, left New York during the American Revolution. Eventually the family arrived in the wilderness of Upper Canada in 1782 as impoverished Loyalists. They settled in the Niagara area with other disbanded soldiers from Butler's Rangers. There Cornelius met and married Eve Larroway the daughter of another Loyalist who fought with Butler's Rangers. With their 9 children Cornelius and Eve carved a life in this new land. Descendants will find documents, photographs, newspaper clippings and information about Cornelius and Eve and their children and grandchildren in this 110 page Family history book. 

The book From Van Valkenburg to Vollick: V. 2 Cornelius Vollick and his Follick and Vollick Descendants to 3 Generations is available on Createspace  and on  Amazon.com

Sadly I have no control over when it might appear on Amazon for Canadians but both companies above ship to Canada. For descendants eagerly waiting for Volume 3 - the story of Storm Follick and his descendants -- it's coming soon! 

Woohoo! Just Ordered Proof Copy of my Van Valkenburg Vollick Book

Yesterday I ordered the proof copy of my new book on the Van Valkenburg-Vollick family. This book has been a dream for many years. I've been researching the Vollick (aka Follick) families for over 15 years in hopes of compiling a book one day. 

Isaac Van Valkenburg aka Vollick fought with Butler's Rangers during the American Revolution. He and his wife Anna Maria (Mary) Warner settled in Upper Canada in 1782. Isaac's Land Petitions, Affidavits of witnesses regarding his Loyalty to the British Crown, letters about Mary's ordeal after American Patriots burned her home and sent the family fleeing north to Canada in 1779, and other records are found in this book. 

Stories of Isaac's ancestors back to the first settlement of New Amsterdam (present day New York City) and Albany in the 1620s and Mary's ancestors back to the 1709 Palatine immigration from Germany to New York are included. 

Proof Copy Cover Van Valkenburg - Vollick book

This is Volume 1 of From Van Valkenburg to Vollick and is the story of Isaac Vollick the Loyalist and his sons and daughters. Volume 2 is almost ready for publication (it's about Isaac Vollick's son Cornelius Vollick and descendants of that branh), and Volume 3 has been started (it's on Isaac's son Storm Follick and descendants of that branch). Isaac had 5 daughters so there will be many more volumes to come.

Genealogy Day: My Plan for Cornelius Vollick

Well, I've decided when my first Genealogy Day is going to be, and what ancestor I'm going to work on. Genealogy Day is the day I'm setting aside once a month to work on my own genealogy for a change!

This Friday, October 1st is the big day! Hubs and I have each decided to take our first day as an organizational day. Each of us is going to choose an individual in our ancestry, and organize our notes, documents etc for that person. Then we are each going to come up with a plan for doing more research on that person. That will be our second Genealogy Day - an excursion to do the actual research.

I've chosen my 4th great-grandfather Cornelius Vollick. Cornelius was the son of a Loyalist in Butler's Rangers, and may have been a Loyalist himself. I've got conflicting information on whether or not he too was in Butler's Rangers that needs studying.

Years ago I acquired many petitions, land records and other documents regarding Cornelius but I need to go through them and study them for clues I might have missed first time around. I also plan to make a list of all petitions for Cornelius in the online Upper Canada Land Petitions Index. Part of my plan is to visit the new Ontario Archives building and get all of them again. I have them all but many are bad copies so I want new. Perhaps I missed one or two and if I did, this is my chance to get them.

My land documents and notations for Cornelius desperately need organization. A quick glance last night showed me that I have a lot of land documents, but there is no order to them and I haven't studied them in depth to think about clues found in them.

Cornelius is an important ancestor for me for two reasons. Without absolute proof that he is the father of my Richard Vollick, I can't get my Metis status back. I had Metis status but my tribe (Woodland branch of Ontario Metis Aboriginal Assocation) was disbanded (it's a long story!) and so I need to reapply through the Metis Nation of Ontario. They've already but accepted an application from a "cousin" so I know there is hope. However I descend from a different brother than my "cousin" does, so I have my work cut out for me.

Cornelius is also important because I can't obtain my UEL (Loyalist) status without that same absolute proof that he is the father of my Richard Vollick.

Hubs is going to talk about his plan for Genealogy Day on his blog AncestorsAtRest but without spoiling his blog post, I think he plans on organizing his records on his black ancestor Jonathan Butler, who settled circa 1840 in the Queen's Bush area of Upper Canada - a settlement area set aside for fugitive slaves.

We are excited about this Friday and the first of our monthly Genealogy Days! Do you have your day planned?

Ancestor Name Changes

I still remember the frustration I felt many years ago trying to find the origins and ancestry of my Loyalist ancestor Isaac Vollick.

I had diligently followed all the standard genealogy research procedures. I had traced backwards (with much trial and tribulation but that's another story) along my father's lines until I reached Isaac, a Loyalist with Butler's Rangers.

I had census records, land records, Upper Canada land petitions and other documented facts. I knew Isaac had been a private in Butler's Rangers 1777-1782. With much slogging through various microfilm I had found records of his enlistment years. The Loyalist and early Ontario records are sparse so it was a challenging process but over the course of 3 years I learned quite a bit about Isaac.

He settled in the Niagara area of Upper Canada (Ontario) with his wife Mary and at least 10 children. His petitions for land grants as a Loyalist contained much detail. Mary's husband, Isaac, was imprisoned three times by the Americans for his loyalty to the British King. After Isaac joined Butler's Rangers and fled to Canada, Mary was left with ten children, six of them small.

Mary continued to aid the British, and in 1779 she and the children were taken from their home at North River, by American patriots. Their home was burned, Mary and the children were marched 80 miles north through the forest and left in destitute circumstances. Mary and family made their way to Canada and reached Montreal by July of 1779. They received food rations, lodging and blankets until 1782 when they settled in the Niagara area as impoverished Loyalists.

All of this wonderful information was important as I then knew that Isaac and family had lived in New York. But I could not find any evidence of anyone with the surname Vollick in New York before or during the American Revolution!

I knew that one of Isaac's sons used the surname Follick but that was just a slightly different spelling, the phonetic representation of the name Vollick. I knew there were alternate spellings - Volk, Vollic, Valick etc. But still no luck finding Isaac or even any evidence of his last name.

Then one tiny clue jumped out - on the pay list of Captain William Caldwell's Company of Butler's Rangers 24 Dec. 1777 to 24 Oct. 1778 I found a listing for Isaac Volkenburg But no Isaac Volkenburg was found on the roster of Captain Caldwell's company, only Isaac Vollick. It suddenly occured to me that Volkenburg could be abbreviated to Volk (which was one of the alternate spellings for Isaac Vollick's surname that I had found)

Then serendipity lent a hand. This was back in the days before the Internet made our genealogy lives so much easier and faster, and I had been sending in queries to various genealogical publications in hopes of connecting with someone else searching the same family. Bingo! A letter from a woman in the Niagara Falls area changed everything.

She explained that my Isaac Vollick had in fact been born in Schoharie New York as the illegitimate son of Isaac Van Valkenburg and Maria Bradt. The Van Valkenbug family was a well researched Dutch line who had settled in New Amsterdam (New York City) and Albany area in the early 1600s. Apparently my Isaac had shortened his name while in Butler's Rangers to Valk which became recorded as Vollick and other spellings.

Further research confirmed this story and his baptismal record was soon found. Sponsors at Isaac's 1732 baptism in the High and Low Dutch Church in Schoharie were Isaac and Lydia Falkenburg [sic. should be Van Valkenburg] his paternal grandparents.

These two seemingly small acts (finding the pay list for a man with a similar name to Isaac Vollick the Loyalist, and connnecting with another researcher) proved to be huge, as confirming that Vollick had been Van Valkenburg led me down many other research paths and finding my ancestors back several more generations to the early 1600s. It also led to the discovery that I had a Mohawk ancestor and of course that led to even more exciting genealogy finds, as well as writing a book called The Van Slyke Family in America.....

So if you have a brick wall ancestor my advice is to think outside the box and don't dismiss the possibility that the surname you are looking for might have been something entirely different!