When my paternal grandfather’s father moved his family from Tennessee to Texas in the early 1900s, my paternal grandmother’s German cousins were there to greet them. Anton Heinrich Dreyer, my 1st cousin, 5x removed, immigrated to America with his wife and children in 1842. Arriving in Galveston aboard the sea-faring vessel Francisco, Anton and his pioneering family made their way first to Columbus, Texas before… More →
Month: November 2015
Cousins marrying cousins: For Crying Utlaut
The ninth instance of one of my mother’s relatives marrying one of my father’s relatives has been found! Rudolph Utlaut, my 2nd great grandfather and my mother’s ancestor, came to America with his parents and five siblings. His sister, Sophia, married Wilhelm Beckmann. Their son, Frederick Wilhelm, chose a Biesemeyer maiden – and a distant relative of my father’s –… More →
Taps
Andrew Ward, the author of River Run Red: The Fort Pillow Massacre In The American Civil War, devoted a paragraph of his book to Milas M. Deason, my 3rd great grand uncle. The son of John R. and Lydia Ann Deason, Milas (or Miles) was a Union soldier in the Tennessee Calvary and a bugler. Western Tennessee, where Milas was born, had aligned itself with the Unionists of the North.… More →
Connecting Poca-Dots
After months of research, I can finally say with certainty that Martin Trantham’s wife was the great granddaughter of Pocahontas. Wouldn’t that make for a great opening sentence? A few hearts were broken and tears were shed at our last family reunion when I revealed my DNA showed no traces of Native American ancestors. Neither did my father’s or his… More →
Double Duewel Cousin
Befuddled. That was my situation six months ago when I discovered a second Duewel family living near Warren County, Missouri about the same time as my Duewel ancestors. Countless hours were spent trying to figure out how the two families might be related to no avail. Fortuitously, one of the descendants from the other family wrote a book about his ancestors’ first 100 years in America. Surely… More →
Bockhorst Bound
A week of research in Warren County, Missouri enabled me to answer many of the questions I had about the last few years in the life of my 3rd great grandfather, Fritz Duewel. One of the new things I learned, however, was difficult for me to understand: Fritz never owned any land. I know this because I painstaking examined every deed book… More →
The Day They Ran Out of Names
My (Grand) Uncle “Sonny” tells the delightful tale of how a misunderstanding lead to the unusual combination of his first and middle names. Most assuredly, when my great grandfather told the doctor’s assistant to (just) give his tenth child the doctor’s name for a first name, he meant he should be given the doctor’s first name. (Or did he?) In great grandpa’s defense, I… More →
Beyond a Deasonable Route
The path leading to John R. Deason‘s parents is strewn with circumstantial evidence and 30+ DNA cousins who seem to all be pointing in the same direction. While I would prefer an irrefutable “smoking gun” proving what I am about to put forth, one doth not yet exist. Nevertheless, it appears that the most likely and logical candidates for John’s parents are William… More →
Tar Heel Roots
So I am passing through Raleigh, North Carolina airport security this morning and the TSA agent looks at my ID and says: “We have a James Trantham who works here. Are you related?” “Yes.” Kenfolk: Tranthams Relation: Distant Cousin Common ancestor: Martin Trantham who came to North Carolina before 1755
Raleigh Research Rally
Ancestry.com found a new way to get more of my money: partner with the State Archives of North Carolina and host a two-day genealogy bash. Since many of my ancestors called North Carolina home before migrating west, I decided it was an opportunity I probably shouldn’t miss. And I’ve been looking for an excuse to visit Raleigh. So off I… More →