52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks (Week 4): Close to Home

Amy Johnson Crow from Generations Cafe is hosting a blog writing prompt this year called 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.  Since I need a swift kick in the you-know-what to get me blogging more regularly again, I thought I'd jump in.  I like that she gives us "permission" to interpret the prompt however we wish and share it however we wish.  It doesn't have to be a blog post; it could be a family video, a letter to a child or grandchild, an e-mail, etc.  I'm actually jumping back a week to address the prompt "Close to Home." 

My Ranney family roots in the United States are definitely rooted in Middletown, Connecticut.  My 9th great-grandfather, Thomas Rany, immigrated from Scotland about 1658 and settled in Middletown.  He married Mary Hubbard, daughter of George and Elizabeth Watts Hubbard, in Middletown in May 1659.  He was the first of six generations that were born or lived in Middletown until the Ohio Reserve opened up and the Ranneys migrated westward. 

First a little history on Middletown.  It is a city located in Middlesex County, Connecticut, along the Connecticut River, in the central part of the state.  It is 16 miles south of Hartford and was originally included in the County of Hartford.  In 1650, it was incorporated as a town under its original Native American name, Mattabeseck.  A mere three years later, the name was changed to Middletown.  This was chosen because the site was approximately halfway between Windsor and Saybrook on the Great River.  Middlesex County was formed in 1785.  The city was originally a busy saling port and then an industrial center. 

The land on the western bank of the Connecticut River where Middletown now lies was home to the Mattabesett Native Americans (also spelled Mattabesec, Mattabeseck, and Mattabesek) and the area was named after them.  At the time the first European settlers arrived, the Mattabesetts were a part of a group of tribes in the Connecticut Valley, under a single chief named Sowheag. 

Plans were drawn up for the settlement as early as 1646, and the first Europeans arrived from nearby Connecticut colonies in 1650.  The town was established in 1651.  Life was not easy for these early colonial Puritans; cleaning the land and building homes, and tending farms in the rocky soil of New England was a labor-intensive ordeal.  Law, too, was often harsh among the Puritans; offenses legally punishable by death in the Connecticut colonies included, "witchcraft, blasphemy, cursing or smiting of parents, and incorrigible stubbornness of children."

Other Indians, the Pequot Mohegans, arrived in the Middletown area in the latter half of the 17th century.  They were traditional allies of the English colonists, but enemies of the Mattabesett and other local tribes.  Upon arrival, conflict between them and the local tribes ensued.  Sowheag hoped that the colonists would intervene.  They did not.  Smallpox also afflicted the Mattabesett, lessening their ability to resist and their cohesion as a tribe.  Records show that Sowheag was forced to sell off most of the Mattabesett property to the local colonists.  By 1676, the Puritans owned all but 300 acres of the former Mattabesett territory.  Similar stories of tragic interaction between Native Americans and colonists were common in 17th century New England.

During the 18th Century, Middletown became the largest and most prosperous settlement in Connecticut.  By the time of the American Revolution, Middletown was a thriving port with one-third of its citizens involved in merchant and maritime activities.  The port's decline began in the early 19th century with strained American-British relations and resulting trade restrictions, which led to the War of 1812.  My family (or at least the direct line) left the area at different times between 1790-1810. 

As I mentioned, Thomas Rany (or Ranney) was the first of my direct line to live in Middletown.  I found this quote about him during my research:

"Thomas Ranney was admitted an inhabitant of Middletown and granted a home there, February 9, 1658, next to that of Thomas Hopewell; who lived on the corner of Main and Church Streets.  In 1663 he had located to what is now Cromwell Ct.; he frequently held town offices."

Thomas (1616-1713) and Mary (1642-1721) had 11 children (that I know of).  I am descended from their oldest child:

Thomas (1661-1726) who married Rebecca Willett (abt 1663-1731) of Hartford on March 29, 1691 in Hartford.  They had 7 children (again, that I know of) and I am descended from their 5th child:

Nathaniel (1702-1766) who married Rachel Sage (1708-1755) on January 16, 1734.  They had 8 children, and I am descended from their oldest:

Nathaniel, Jr (1735-1800) who was born in Middletown and married Prudence Willard (1739-1803) on March 10, 1757 in Middletown.  Between 1790-1800, Nathaniel Jr and Prudence left Middletown and headed west to Ohio.  Nathaniel died in 1800 in Summit County, Ohio. Nathaniel and Prudence had 12 children, and I am descended from their 2nd child:

Comfort (1759-1859) was born in Middletown and married Ruth Lenora Treat (dates unknown).  I am only aware of two children they had, and I am descended from the oldest:

Comfort (1788-1823), born in Middletown, married Elizabeth Hubbard (1790-1868) on December 25, 1808 in Haddam, another town in Middlesex County.  All of their children were born in Ohio.  So they must have migrated immediately upon marrying - between 1808-1809, as their first child was born November 28, 1809.)

"Soon after their [Comfort and Elizabeth] marriage, they removed to Cleveland, Ohio, where Mr. Ranney, who was a ship carpenter by trade, engaged in shipbuilding."

Comfort Ranney (1788-1823) was the last of my direct line of Ranneys to be born or live in Middletown, Connecticut.  About 150 years of Ranneys.

Sources:

A new and accurate map of Connecticut and Rhode Island, from best authorities. [London, 1780] Map. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/99466763/>.

Akron and Summit County, Ohio, 1825-1928, Scottt Dix Kenfield, Supervising Editor, 1928

Cronin, William. Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England. 2003, Hill and Wang, New York.

The Hamlin Family, A Genealogy of Capt. Giles Hamlin of Middletown, Connecticut, 1654-1900 by Hon. H. Franklin Andrews, 1900.

Middlesex County Historical Society and Wesleyan University Library's Special Collections Archives. The History of Middletown "Part I: 1650–1800." Prepared by Jeff Harmon. Cited from the City of Middletown website Archived May 15, 2006, at Archive.today January 1, 2007.

Middletown Upper Houses: A History of the North Society of Middletown from 1650 to 1800, C.C. Adams, (New York, 1908)

Warner, Elizabeth. A Pictorial History of Middletown.Greater Middletown Preservation Trust. Donning Publishers. Norfolk, Virginia, 1990.

Wikipedia contributors. (2020, January 21). Middletown, Connecticut. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 20:38, February 2, 2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Middletown,_Connecticut&oldid=936817405

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - A Day in the Life

From Randy over at Genea-Musings:

it's Saturday Night - 

time for more Genealogy Fun!!!

Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to:

1)  What were the newspaper headlines the day one of your grandparents or great-grandparents were born?

2)  Use any newspaper provider (Chronicling America (https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov) is FREE) to find the headlines.

3)  Tell us who your subject was, when and where they were born, and tell us three or four headlines on the front page of the newspaper for that date.

4)  Share your finds on your own blog post, in a comment on this post, or on your Facebook page.  Please provide a link to your work as a comment to this post.

Here's mine:

My great-grandmother, Bessie Alice Carter, was born February 9, 1883 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  

Since I don't have a subscription to a newspaper archive, I used Randy's suggestion and searched Chronicling America.  I could not locate a Milwaukee newspaper from that day, but I did find the front page of the "Iowa County Democrat" out of Mineral Point, Wisconsin for that date.  

Mineral Point is located about 2 hours almost due east (and slightly south) of Milwaukee.  It is also about 3 and a half hours from Eagle Grove, Iowa, which is where Bessie grew up.  

There do not seem to be many headlines.  It's mostly little snippets of information all jumbled together on one page.     

Here are the few:

- Telegraphic.  News by Wire Reduced to Close Quarters for Convenient Reference and Easy Reading.  

  - Crime

  - Foreign

  - Fires and Casualties

  - Washington

  - General Notes

  - Milwaukee Market

  - Chicago Market

  - This takes the Belt

- The Forty-Seventh Congress

- The Legislature

- Tariff Meddlers.  Democrats Charged with Obstructing Legislation by the Republicans.
  - The River and Harbor Bill Modestly Calls for $6,000,000 This Time

Sounds like mostly the same kinds of news as we see today...especially about politics.  It also seems this little town had very little going on cause all the news is from around the country and the world.  

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun -- Your Favorite Toys as a Child

From Randy over at Genea-Musings:

it's Saturday Night - 

time for more Genealogy Fun!!!

Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to:

1)  What are some (one or more) of the toys you played with as a child?  

2)  Share your favorite toy(s) with us in your own blog post, in a comment on this blog post, or in a Facebook message.  Please leave a comment on this blog noting where your conjectures are located.

Here's mine:

There are the toys I remember playing with and the toys I've kept that are important to me, but I don't necessarily remember playing with them.  

I had a play refrigerator that I loved to play with.  I kept that thing well stocked didn't I?!

I remember playing with my Barbie dolls.  I had a case with a fold out "apartment" with two twin beds for Barbie and a friend to sleep.  Unfortunately, I didn't keep it and don't have any pictures of it, but I remember spending hours playing with Barbie, her clothes and that apartment.

I remember sitting in the kitchen floor while my mom prepared dinner and playing jacks.  

Then there are the toys I have kept:

This doll was given to me by  very important person in my life.  Mofer.  At least that's what I called her.  She was my babysitter/nanny when I was little in Augusta.  I loved her so much.  She loved me so much that when my parents announced we were moving to Florida, she begged my dad to let me stay with her.  LOL.  I must have played with this doll quite a bit cause she has some worn spots, and those clothes are obviously not what she was originally wearing.  There used to be a bottle, and when you would give her water, she would wet her diaper.  

I am told this teddy bear was originally my sister's.  I don't remember it being given to me or anything.  I just remember it always being there.  It lived on my bed and I'm betting I slept with it for years.  

I was raised as an only child so I probably didn't play with as many toys as some.  I mostly read.  But there are a few that are provide fun memories and make me smile.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun -- What Family Heirlooms Did You Inherit or Obtain?

From Randy over at Genea-Musings: 

it's Saturday Night - 

time for more Genealogy Fun!!!

 Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to:

1)  The NEHGS Weekly Genealogy newsletter asked an interesting question this week - let's use it for our SNGF this week.

2)  What "family heirlooms" did you inherit or obtain?  What are your most cherished possessions that were owned or created by an ancestor or relative?  They could be photographs, letters or documents, a diary, an audio or video recording, books, jewelry, clothing, quilts, needlework, drawing or painting, toy or doll, collectibles, musical instrument, furniture, something else?

3)  Share your cherished heirloom(s) in your own blog post, on Facebook, and leave a link to it in the comments.

Here's mine:

Oh my goodness! I am blessed to have so many of my family heirlooms.  Since I am the unofficial family historian and my parent's only child, a lot of things have come my way.

From my father's side of the family:

Jewelry, watch, jewelry box, and Bible from my Grandmother Nealie Drake Tapley.  I believe I have told the story on this blog of how these came into my possession.  

My father's Masonic ring.  His handmade quilt.

One of my most cherished possessions is an 8x10" picture of my Uncle Russ and Aunt Elizabeth that always sat on my parent's dresser.  After my father passed, it came to live with me.  

A set of etched glasses Aunt Elizabeth gave my parents.  

My bedroom suite was left to me by my Uncle Dempsey Tapley.  It's not hundred of years old or anything, but it's at least 30 years old.  

From my mother's side of the family:

My grandfather's cameras.  I have an entire case just for them.  Three Polaroid cameras and a Falcon.

My grandfather's teacup collection.  Yes, my grandfather loved teacups!  They are displayed in my china cabinet with their matching saucers.

Several of my grandfather's books, such as Pilgrim's Progress.

My grandfather's genealogy research notes.  Yes, he is who inspired me to do all this research into the wee hours.    

My great-grandmother's, Bessie Carter Ranney, china head doll.  I had it cleaned and repaired many years ago, and it is definitely a prized possession.  The story goes that she had scarlet fever when she was a child, so all of her toys had to be destroyed.  The china head doll is the first toy she received after she recovered.

I have both my great-grandmother's and grandmother's diaries. 

Some jewelry that belonged to my great aunt, Alice Ranney Thornburg.  Plus her name tag from her time employed at Patton State Hospital in San Bernardino,  California.  I also have her children's size rocking chair.  

I have a U.S. Navy locket that my grandfather gave my grandmother during World War II.  I also have the military flag from my grandfather's funeral.  It is framed and displayed in my home. 

My great-grandmother's dining room table, which I had refinished and use as my scrapbooking table.   

I have paperwork, too. Reports cards, high school and college yearbooks, funeral books, marriage licenses, death certificates, even some divorce decrees.  

And course, lots of beloved pictures from both sides of the family.  I just wished they had all come labeled!  

Is there anything I wish I had?  Only more pictures, I think.  With notes of who and where they were.  I can dream, can't I?  

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Your Most Frustrating Brick Wall Problem

From Randy over at Genea-Musings: 

it's Saturday Night - 

time for more Genealogy Fun!!!

 Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to:

1)  What is your most frustrating brick wall problem?  Tell us what you want to know and what you have found to date.

2)  Share your genealogy brick wall problem in your own blog post, on Facebook, and leave a link to it in the comments.

Here's mine:

Well, my brick wall has always been and continues to be my great-great grandfather, George W. Schwalls.  I wrote a lengthy blog post about the mystery that surrounds him in 2011 (please visit https://gatapleytree.blogspot.com/2011/05/mystery-monday-how-did-he-get-here.html to read the full story), so I'm going to be much more concise here.

George W. Schwalls was born January 1, 1837 in Germany or Bavaria.  I only have this information thanks to his Civil War Pension application.  Nowhere did he ever list the town or village he was from in Germany or Bavaria.  It appears he came to the United States sometime during the 1850's.  He enlisted in the CSA in Johnson County, Georgia as a Private in Co. E, 48th Infantry on March 4, 1862.  

He lived in Johnson County, Georgia and married Lincelia E. Claxton in 1866 in Edgefield County, South Carolina.  I have no idea how they met.  I am descended from their daughter, Mattie Schwalls, born May 25, 1877.  They had 7 children together.  Lincelia (Celia) passed away January 18, 1882, and George remarried in 1883 to Mary J. Williams, born March 15, 1851.  They had 6 children.  

The family lived in the Minton's Chapel area of the county, and George was very involved in the church, Minton's Chapel Advent Christian Church.  He was a delegate from the church sent to the Second Advent Christian Conference of Southern Georgia in October 1895.  

According to George's Civil War Pension Application, dated August 27, 1902, he suffered from liver and heart disease, Asthma, a gunshot wound to the leg, and a gunshot wound to his head which left him partially deaf.  These wounds and conditions were all a result of his service in the war.  

George passed away on January 21, 1908 at the age of 71.  

So as you can see, I know quite a bit after he arrived in Georgia.  It's his life before him landing in Johnson County that I know nothing about.  Please read my original blog post (link above) to hear the speculation about his "former" life.  

Here is another post about the dead end I reached at the National Archives:  https://gatapleytree.blogspot.com/2011/10/day-two-our-final-day-at-nara.html.

It was interesting to read over these old blog posts on this subject.  I saw several items I meant to research, and I never have gotten around to it.  

However, I am still frustrated standing at my brick wall, George W. Schwalls, Sr.

Does anyone have more suggestions for researching this elusive ancestor???

Ding! Ding! Ding! I've hit lucky #13,000

Today, I entered the 13,000th relative into my family tree.  That's right.  You read that right.  Not 1,300.  It's 13,000.  Thirteen thousand.  I am related by blood or by marriage to all 13,000.  It's so wild.  Those that are not "into" genealogy won't get it. They'll think I'm crazy or boring, or don't have enough to do.  But the genealogists out there know that I am doing exactly what I want to do. Research like crazy into the wee hours of every night/morning!

The lucky 13,000th person was a 4th cousin, Ernie Keith Peebles.  He was born November 26, 1960 in Emanuel County, Georgia (where I grew up).  I never met him.  Sadly, he passed quite young at 45 years old on July 27, 2006.  I do not know if he ever married or had children.  His obituary mentions neither.  Just  his mother, Ann Hammock Peebles, my 3rd cousin, 1x, and his sister, Yonna Peebles Bailey.

We are both descended from Francis Bryant Drake and Selina King Drake.

His line:

Francis Byant's 7th child, a son, John Saffold Drake,
His daughter, Elizabeth Drake, who married Nathan Tucker Foskey,
Her daughter, Alice Foskey, who married Bennie Lee Hammock,
Her daughter, Ann Hammock, who married Ernie W. Peebles, and were the parents of
Ernie Keith Peebles.

My line:

Francis Byrant's eldest and son, James William Drake,
His son, William John Drake,
His daughter, Nealie Vermell Drake who married Lusion K Tapley,
Her son, Gilbert Earl Tapley who was the father of
ME.

So if anyone reads this and knows the Peebles, I would love to get to know them. 

Also, if you recognize any of the names and think we may be related, please, please reach out. 

Now it's on to 14,000! 

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Your Best Genealogy Humor

From Randy over at Genea-Musings: 

it's Saturday Night - 

time for more Genealogy Fun!!!

 Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to:

1) We're supposed to have fun doing this - show us your best genealogy humor - joke, cartoon, story, etc.  The more the merrier!

4)  Share your genealogy funny in your own blog post, on Facebook, and leave a link to it in the comments.

Here's mine:

(1)  Lio by Mark Tatulli for 09/01/2019.  My Mom and I found this one when I was visiting her last month.  Very appropriate for me.  

(2)  This is just totally me.

(3)  And these next two just made me laugh out loud.

 (4)  

(5)  And lastly, as my best friend, Stacey, has told me many times about my own family tree:

"Your tree don't branch!"

Have a great weekend, everyone!