Saturday, March 18, 2017

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun -- A Critical Life Decision

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):

1)  Did you or your ancestor make a critical life decision that really changed their life in terms of place, work, family, relationships, etc.?

2)  Tell us about it in your own blog post, in a comment on this post, or in a comment on Facebook or Google+.

Here's mine:

The most critical of decisions of my ancestors that I know about is probably that of my father, Frederick Walton Seaver.

In 1940, he was age 29, residing in Leominster, Massachusetts with his sister Ruth and her family, working as an investigator for a loan company, and sweeping snow off the porch and walkways for his sister.  According to three of his sisters, he was in a relationship with a Catholic young lady.  My father asked her father for permission to marry, and the girl's father said "No" because my father was not Catholic.  

My father decided to leave Leominster and go to San Diego.  He mailed a letter on 18 December to his Aunt Emily (Richmond) Taylor in San Diego from Columbus, Ohio that said "...I'll be out to see you by Sunday, Dec. 22."  and "...This is rather sudden, but the opportunity came, and I took it."

I was told that he drove across the country in three days and arrived on the doorstep before the letter arrived.  Needless to say, they were surprised!  But they took him in, and he spent several months with them until he could get a place of his own.

One night at dinner with the family, my father said "I need a girlfriend..." and Aunt Emily's 14 year old granddaughter, Marcia, piped up "I know a pretty teacher at my school..."  The teacher was invited to dinner at the Taylor house, and a relationship began.  You can probably guess that the teacher was my mother, Betty Virginia Carringer, who was in her first year teaching Art at Woodrow Wilson Junior High School where Marcia went to school.  

Fred and Betty married on 12 July 1942 in San Diego, and his mother, Bess (Richmond) Seaver and his youngest sister Geraldine Seaver came all the way to San Diego on the train for the event.  

After their marriage, Fred and Betty rented a house at 577 Twin Oaks Avenue in Chula Vista, and they both started working at Rohr Aircraft in Chula Vista, which was making aircraft parts for World War II aircraft.  Betty stopped working when she became pregnant, and their first son was born in October 1943.

There were so many decisions involved here that affected the lives of my parents, their three sons, and their descendants, including:

*  Fred asked the Leominster girlfriend to marry him.
*  The girlfriend's father said no.
*  Fred decided to leave Leominster and drive to San Diego.
*  The Taylor family took him in right at Christmas time.
*  Fred declared that he wanted a girlfriend.
*  Marcia piped up saying she knew of a pretty teacher.
*  Betty accepted a dinner invitation, and they started dating.
*  Fred made and Betty accepted a marriage proposal.
*  They got married.

I'm glad they did!  One of my favorite sayings is:  "There are things that happen in a moment that take a lifetime to explain."

=======================================


Copyright (c) 2017, 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 -- WORCESTER (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 #1767, who is Sarah WORCESTER (1667-1721) 
[Note: the earlier great-grandmothers and 8th great-grandfathers have been covered in earlier posts].

My ancestral line back through four generations of this WORCESTER family line is:


1. Randall J. Seaver (1943-????)

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


6.  Lyle Lawrence Carringer (1891-1976)
7.  Emily Kemp Auble (1899-1977)

12.  Henry Austin Carringer (1853-1946)
13.  Abbie Ardelle "Della" Smith (1862-1944)

26.  Devier James Lamphier Smith (1849-1894)
27.  Abigail A. "Abbey" Vaux (1844-1931)

54.  Samuel Vaux (1816-1880)
55.  Mary Ann Underhill (1815-1883)

110.  Amos Underhill (1772-1865)
111.  Mary "Polly" Metcalf (1780-1855)

220.  John Underhill (1745-1816)
221.  Hannah Colby (1745-????)

440.  John Underhill (1720-1793)
441.  Joanna Healey (1718-1809)

882.  William Healey (1688-1772)
883.  Mary Samborne (1690-1790)

1766.  Benjamin Samborne, born 20 December 1668 in Hampton Falls, Rockingham, New Hampshire, United States; died 15 December 1740 in Hampton Falls, Rockingham, New Hampshire, United States.  He was the son of 3532. John Samborne and 3533. Mary Tucke.  He married before 1690 in New Hampshire, United States.
1767.  Sarah Worcester, born 15 August 1667 in Salisbury, Essex, Massachusetts, United States; died 29 January 1721 in Hampton, Rockingham, New Hampshire, United States.

Children of Benjamin Samborne and Sarah Worcester are:

*  Mary Samborne (1690-1790), married 1716 William Healey (1688-1772)
*  Joanna Samborne (1692-1717), married 1714 Cornelius Clough (1680-????)
*  Sarah Samborne (1694-1756), married 1714 Reuben Samborne (1692-1756).
*  Theodate Samborne (1696-1756), married 1719 Jonathan Samborne (1700-????).
*  Dorothy Samborne (1698-1757), married (1) 1721 Jethro Bachiler (1698-1723); (2) 1736 Alexander Moulton (1695-????).
*  Abigail Samborne (1700-1741), married 1725 Enoch Colby (1702-1780).
*  Jemima Samborne (1702-????), married (1) 1720 John Stacy (1697-1736); (2) 1743 Samuel Lord (1700-1772).
*  Susanna Samborne (1704-1776), married 1750 Joshua Blake (1701-1777).
*  Benjamin Samborne (1706-????).
*  Judah Samborne (1708-????), married 1725 Robert Quimby (1701-????).
*  Benjamin Samborne (1712-1748), married (1) 1733 Hannah Tilton; (2) 1736 Dorothy Tilton (1713-1784).

3534.  Timothy Worcester, born 14 May 1642 in Salisbury, Essex, Massachusetts, United States; died 1672 in Salisbury, Essex, Massachusetts, United States.  He was the son of 12. William Worcester and 13. Sarah.  He married before 1667 in Probably Salisbury, Essex, Massachusetts, United States.
3535.  Susanna LNU, born 1646 in Salisbury, Essex, Massachusetts, United States; died 22 October 1730 in Salisbury, Essex, Massachusetts, United States.

Children of Timothy Worcester and Susanna are:

*  Sarah Worcester (1667-1721), married 1690 Benjamin Samborne (1668-1740).
*  Susanna Worcester (1672-1710), married Moses Pike (1658-1742).

7068.  William Worcester, born 1595 in Cheddington, Buckinghamshire, England; died 28 October 1662 in Salisbury, Essex, Massachusetts, United States.  He was the son of 14136. Joseph Worcester and 14137. Alice LNU.  He married about 1628 in probably Buckinghamshire, England.
7069.  Sarah LNU, born about 1605 in England; died 23 April 1650 in Salisbury, Essex, Massachusetts, United States.

Children of William Worcester and Sarah are:

*  Samuel Worcester (1628-1681), married 1659 Elizabeth Parrott (1640-????).
*  Pateince Worcester (1630-1630).
*  Mary Worcester (1630-1630).
*  Susannah Worcester (1634-1688), married 1653 Thomas Stacy (1622-1689).
*  John Worcester (1636-1637).
*  William Worcester (1638-1683), married 1660 Constant LNU (1640-????).
*  Sarah Worcester (1639-1641).
*  Sarah Worcester (1641-1646).
*  Timothy Worcester (1642-1672), married 1667 Susanna LNU (1646-1730).
*  Moses Worcester (1643-1731), married (1) 1676 Elizabeth Stark (1643-????); (2) 1695 Sarah LNU (1645-????).
*  Elizabeth Worcester (1648-1649).
*  Elizabeth Worcester (1650-????).

Information about the Worcester family was obtained from:

*  Malva Lynn Teed and Mary L. Emil, We Are Because They Were (1983), accessed on FHL US/CAN Microfilm 1,033,945 Item 6.

*  John P. Worcester, The Worcester Family in America [website] (http://www.worcesterfamily.com/index.htm : 2013).

=============================================

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2017/03/surname-saturday-worcester-england-to.html

Copyright (c) 2017, 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, March 17, 2017

This Week's We're Related Relationships - 17 March 2017

I received 7 new cousin relationships on the We're Related mobile app over the last week, which is based on Ancestry Member Trees.  The new relationships, and my initial evaluation of them, are:

1)  Vincent Price - Actor, 7th cousin 2x removed, common ancestor is Lydia Copeland (1661-1727).

My line to Lydia Copeland is through daughter Lydia White (1686-???) of Mendon, Mass.  Vincent's line is through Benjamin White (1701-1741), brother of my Lydia.  My judgment is that this relationship is Very Likely.

2)  Betty White -- Actor, 7th cousin 2x removed, common ancestor is Samuel Carpenter (1638-1683).  

My line to Samuel Carpenter is son Solomon Carpenter (1677-1750) of Rehoboth, Mass.  Betty's line is through a son Josiah Carpenter (1664-1727), who I don't have as a brother of my Solomon.  Most of the first 50 Ancestry Member Trees for Josiah say his father is William Carpenter, not Samuel Carpenter.  Only 3 of the 2,726 trees show Samuel as Josiah's father.  My judgment is that this relationship is Unlikely.

3)  Richard Gere - Actor, 7th cousin 2x removed, common ancestor is Elizabeth Arnold (1684-1758).

My line to Elizabeth Arnold goes through daughter Ruth Hawkins (1711-1789) of Providence, R.I.  Richard's line goes through Joseph Hawkins (1709-1753), brother to my Ruth.  My judgment is that this relationship is Very Likely.

4)  Shelley Bishop -- Facebook friend, 9th cousin, common ancestor is Benjamin Samborne (1668-1740).

My line to Benjamin goes through daughter Mary Samborne (1690-1790) of Hampton, N.H.  Shelley's line goes through Sarah Sanborn (1694-1756), who I have as a sister of my Mary.  My judgment is that this relationship is Very Likely.

5)  Jack Keruoac -- Author, 9th cousin, common ancestor is Mary Snow (1630-1704).

My line to Mary Snow goes through John Paine (1660-1731) of Eastham, Mass.  Jack's line goes through Mary Oben (Paine) (1670-1703).  My John Paine has a sister Mary Paine (1650-1704) who married James Rogers and Israel Cole.  My judgment is that this relationship is Unlikely.

6)  Stevie Nicks - Musician, 8th cousin 2xc removed, common ancestor is Moses Barber (1653-1733).

My line to Moses Barber goes through daughter Anna Barber (1717-1800) of Kingstown, R.I., while Stevie's line goes through Mercy Barber (1708-1790), who I have as Anna's sister.  My judgment is that this relationship is Very Likely.

7)  Stephen Harper -- Politician, 7th cousin, common ancestor is Mary Goble (1693-1734).

My line to Mary Goble is through daughter Abigail Fletcher (1720-1783) of Concord, Mass, while Stephen's line is through David Fletcher (1726-1785), who I have as a brother of my Abigail.  My judgment is that this relationship is Very Likely.

My count is up to 190 famous or Facebook cousins provided by the app.  This week, my judgment is that only 5 of the 7 cousin relationships are Likely or better.

I will say it again:  My biggest problem with this We're Related app is that it thinks it knows my ancestral lines better than I do, and adds one to five generations to some of my end-of-line ancestors.  The second biggest problem is that many of the lines of the famous or Facebook persons have colonial lines that jump from one region to another. 


The app may be right -- I don't know for sure -- and I can't really find out because the app provides no source material to back up their assertions.  If there was authoritative information for my end-of-line ancestors, I would add it.  None of the "Unlikely" or "Wrong" relationships have been convincing to me yet.



=======================================


Copyright (c) 2017, 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.