Saturday, July 16, 2016

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - How Many Ancestors Did You "Meet"?

Calling all Genea-Musings Fans: 

 It's Saturday Night again - 
time for some more Genealogy Fun!!



Here is your assignment if you choose to play along (cue the Mission Impossible music, please!): 


1) Write down which of your ancestors that you have met in person (yes, even if you were too young to remember them).

2) Tell us their names, where they lived, and their relationship to you in a blog post, or in comments to this post, or in comments on Facebook.


Here is my list:

* Betty Virginia (Carringer) Seaver (1919-2002), my mother, resided in San Diego CA her whole life.

* Frederick Walton Seaver (1911-1983), my father, resided in Leominster, MA until 1940 and then in San Diego until his death.

* Lyle Lawrence Carringer (1891-1976), my mother's father, who resided in San Diego his whole life.

* Emily Kemp (Auble) Carringer (1899-1977), my mother's mother, who resided in Chicago, Illinois until about 1911, then in San Diego until her death.

* Georgianna (Kemp) Auble (1868-1952), my great-grandmother (mother of Emily, grandmother of Betty), who resided in Norfolk County, Ontario until she went to Chicago, IL in the 1880s, and then to San Diego in about 1911.

* Henry Austin Carringer (1853-1946), my great-grandfather (father of Lyle, grandfather of Betty). He was born in Mercer County, PA, moved to Louisa County IA in the 1860's, then to Boulder County CO in the 1870's, and then to San Diego in 1887, and he lived out his life there.

* Della (Smith) Carringer (1862-1944), my great-grandmother (mother of Lyle, grandmother of Betty). She was born in Dodge County WI, lived in Taylor County IA, Andrew County MO, Clay,  Pottawatomie and Cloud Counties KS, Red Willow County NE, and came to San Diego in 1887.

* Alma Bessie (Richmond) Seaver (1882-1962), my grandmother (mother of my father, Fred). She was born in Windham County CT, resided in Leominster MA from about 1895 to her death in 1962. I only met her once - in 1958 when she came to visit our family in San Diego.

My paternal grandfather, Frederick Walton Seaver (1876-1942), died just before my birth year of 1943.

So, I "met" eight of my ancestors. That's probably a pretty low number. Who will have the highest number? It wouldn't surprise me if someone comes up with 15 or 20 ancestors that they have "met."



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The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2016/07/saturday-night-genealogy-fun-how-many.html

Copyright (c) 2016, Randall J. Seaver

Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post.  Share it on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or Pinterest using the icons below.  Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.


Surname Saturday - BRADSTREET (England to colonial New England)

It's Surname Saturday, and I'm "counting down" my Ancestral Name List each week.  


I am in the 8th great-grandmothers and I'm up to Ancestor #1441, who is Mercy BRADSTREET (1647-1715) 
[Note: the earlier great-grandmothers and 8th great-grandfathers have been covered in earlier posts].

My ancestral line back through two generations of this BRADSTREET family line is:


1. Randall J. Seaver

2. Frederick Walton Seaver (1911-1983)
3. Betty Virginia Carringer (1919-2002)

4. Frederick Walton Seaver (1876-1942)
5. Alma Bessie Richmond (1882-1962)


10.  Thomas Richmond (1848-1917)
11.  Julia E. White (1848-1913)

22.  Henry Arnold White (1824-1885)
23.  Amy Frances Oatley (1826-1864)

44.  Jonathan White (1805-1850)
45.  Miranda Wade (1804-1850)

90.  Simon Wade (1767-1857)
91.  Phebe Horton (1772-1820)

180.  Simon Wade (1731-1800)
181.  Deborah Tracy (1731-1800)

360.  Nathaniel Wade (1709-1754)
361.  Ruth Hawkings (1711-1789)

720.  Jonathan Wade (1683-1720)
721.  Mary Dolberry (1677-1720)

1440.  Nathaniel Wade, born 1648 in Ipswich, Essex, Massachusetts, United States; died 28 November 1707 in Medford, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States.  He was the son of 2880. Jonathan Wade and 2881. Susanna.  He married 31 October 1672 in Andover, Essex, Massachusetts, United States.
1441.  Mercy Bradstreet, born 1647 in Andover, Essex, Massachusetts, United States; died 05 October 1715 in Medford, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States.  

Children of Nathaniel Wade and Mercy Bradstreet are:
*  Nathaniel Wade (1673-1748), married (1_ 1694 Mary Davenport (1676-1718); (2) 1741 Rebecca Symonds (1687-????).
*  Simon Wade (1676-1698).
*  Susannah Wade (1676-????).
*  Mercy Wade (1678-1712), married 1699 John Bradestreet (1676-????).
*  Jonathan Wade (1683-1720), married 1701 Mary Dolberry (1677-1720).
*  Samuel Wade (1683-1738), married 1706 Lydia Newhall (1687-????).
*  Anne Wade (1685-????).
*  Dorothy Wade (1687-1726), married 1706 Jonathan Willis (1684-1749).

2882.  Simon Bradstreet, born before 18 March 1604 in Horbling, Lincolnshire, England; died 27 March 1697 in Salem, Essex, Massachusetts, United States.  He was the son of 5764. Simon Bradstreet and 5765. Margaret.  He married about 1630 in Yardley Hastings, Northamptonshire, England.
2883.  Anne Dudley, born before 20 March 1612 in Northampton, Northamptonshire, England; died 16 September 1672 in Andover, Essex, Massachusetts, United States.  She was the daughter of 5766. Thomas Dudley and 5767. Dorothy Yorke.

Children of Simon Bradstreet and Anne Dudley are:
*  Samuel Bradstreet (1632-1682), married (1) 1662 Mercy Tyng (1643-1670); (2) 1674 Martha (1640-????).
*  Dorothy Bradstreet (1633-1672), married 1654 Seaborn Cotton (1633-1686).
*  Sarah Bradstreet (1636-1707), married (1) 1658 Richard Hubbard (1631-1681); (2) 1681 Samuel Ward (1638-1690).
*  Simon Bradstreet (1640-1683), married 1667 Lucy Woodbridge (1642-1710).
*  Hannah Bradstreet (1641-1707), married 1659 Andrew Wiggin (1641-1709).
*  Mercy Bradstreet (1647-1715), married 1672 Nathaniel Wade (1648-1707)
*  Dudley Bradstreet (1648-1702), married 1673 Ann Wood (1653-????).
*  John Bradstreet (1652-1718), married 1677 Sarah Perkins (1657-1745).

Information about the Bradstreet family was obtained from:

*  Dean Crawford Smith, edited by Melinde Lutz Sanborn, The Ancestry of Eva Belle Kempton, 1878-1908, Part II: The Ancestry of Amanda Spiller, 1823-1873 (Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2008).

*  Robert Charles Anderson (editor), The Great Migration Begins" (Boston, Mass. : New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1995), Volume I, pgs. 209-215.

*  Marston Watson, Royal Families: Americans of Royal and Noble Ancestry, Volume One: Governor Thomas Dudley and Descendants Through Five Generations, Second Edition (Baltimore, Md.:  Genealogical Publishing Company).

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The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2016/07/surname-saturday-bradstreet-england-to.html

Copyright (c) 2016, Randall J. Seaver

Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post.  Share it on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or Pinterest using the icons below.  Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.

Friday, July 15, 2016

Seavers in the News - James M. Seaver Suicide in 1869

Inspired by Diane Gould Hall's post today, titled FRIDAY FINDS ~ Gordon W. Flower, dead, only 3 days after his marriage to Lovina McNinch–What was the cause of death? on the Michigan Family Trails blog, I decided to search for Seaver suicides in the online newspapers.  

On GenealogyBank, the search for last name "Seaver" and keyword "suicide" yielded quite a few articles.  The first one was this from the New York Herald newspaper dated Friday, May 21, 1869:



The transcription of the article is:

MELANCHOLY SUICIDE IN NIAGARA COUNTY, N.Y.
-----------------
(From the Lockport (N.Y.) papers, May 18)
On Monday last James M. Seaver, Collector of the
town of Hartland, Niagara County, committed sui-
cide by shooting himself in the heart.  Mr. Seaver
was elected Collector in 1868, and last winter it was
discovered that the tax roll had been tampered with
and Mr. Seaver was indicted for forgery.  The unfor-
tunate man made restitution as far as he was able
to those who supposed they had been wronged by
him, and in making restitution a note of hand, pur-
porting to be endorsed by his father, was used by
him.  Later the endorsement was pronounced a for-
gery - a circumstance which affected Mr. Seaver very

much.  Expecting his trial would take place this
week he took his life in the manner stated, protest-
ing his innocence to the last, as will be seen by the
following letter written by him: --
                          JOHNSON's CREEK, May 17, 1869.

A letter followed:


The transcription is:

TO ANY AND ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:--
To friends, if any there is left, I would give my
kind regards from the bottom of my heart: to those
who are persecuting me I forgive them.  But there
is this difference between them and me.  Whilst
they were at their homes perambulating the country
with their patriotism oozing out at their finger ends,
I was at the front doing my duty to my country and
government and eating raw pork and hard bread. I
have been placed in trying circumstances before in
my life. I have been upon many a gory field of
strife, where my fellow man went down by the hun-
dreds and thousands; my only son carried from Cold
Harbor with his life's blood oozing out, and myself
maimed, scarred and wounded on more than one
battle-field; all this I could stand.  But when men
that I have been strong friends with, and they pre-
tend to be friends to me, and then turn to be black-
hearted traitors, it's more than I can stand, and es-
pecially after everything was all right to the last cent.
I have this satisfaction of knowing that nobody is
wronged but myself, and I have concluded to quit.
I have been advised to forsake my bail; but no, gen-
tlemen, no, never!  One thing more and I have done.
I am not guilty of altering that roll, so help me God!

I am sure that there is more to this story and I have not pursued it to any extent yet.  

My real interest was "Who is James M. Seaver?" and "what is his ancestry?"

I managed to find census records for the 1855 New York State Census in Hartland, N.Y. with wife Maria and children Catherine and Aaron, and in the 1860 U.S. Census in Hartland, N.Y. with his wife and two children in the John S. and Martha Severs household, and in the 1865 New York Census with Marie and Catherine in the John S. and Martha M. Severs household.  He was apparently born in about 1817.  

James M. Severs enlisted in Company E of the New York 8th Cavalry Regiment as a Private on 14 August 1862, and was mustered out as a full First Lieutenant on 27 June 1865 at Alexandria, Virginia.  The New York Town Clerks Register of Men Who Served in the Civil War on Ancestry.com provides a birth date for James M. Severs of Hartland as 22 May 1817.

There is one Ancestry Member Tree that includes James M. Severs, but it is not accessible.  I do not have James M. Severs or his parents or spouse and children in my Seaver database yet, but I will add them soon.  I need to do a bit more research about him and the family.  I wonder what happened to his wife and daughter.

All of the historical records I've seen so far give his surname as Severs, but the newspaper article lists it as Seaver.  

This was fun to research, but sad to read.  Life is hard sometimes.  

There thousands of real-life stories in the Seaver/Sever/Severs historical annals - this is one of them.


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Copyright (c) 2016, Randall J. Seaver

Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post.  Share it on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or Pinterest using the icons below.  Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.