Research Trip 8C: Kent

I have a few Kent ancestors, but the main curiosity here is that Kent seems to be the origin of the English Pralls. I'd like to investigate the surname there. And, of course, other family surnames.

Even though my Prall line hails from The Netherlands, I still wonder if the family has ties to the Pilgrim migration into Holland.

The family coat of arms keeps showing up 'English.'

Research Trip 8B: London

London should be a stop by itself. I would check in at the National Archives and other local records repositories to search families that resided in the London area. There should be sufficient sites to visit in my spare time! :)-

Research Trip 8A: England - South

The big trip will be to England, region by region. I seem to have ancestors from just about every shire in the country!

South: Hampshire, Surrey, Berkshire.

Plan: Hit the research archives in each county, visit churches that may contain ancestral  records and visit any historical sites that strike my fancy.

While in Hampshire, I want to dig into my Simmons ancestry to verify that I have the correct folks ID'd as ancestors. Earlier researchers offer a handful of options. I also want to look into the holdings at Portsea that went to John Simmons Sr. of NYC.

In Honor of Those Who Served....

Veterans'' Day was originally called Armistice Day, commemorating the end of the "War to End All Wars" [World War I] on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918. Eventually it came to honor all veterans who served the US Armed Forces.

In the past, I have named the men who have served the US dating back to the Revolutionary War.
This time around, I'll just list the wars and whether or not family served in them.

Revolutionary War: yes, at least a couple of dozen!
War of 1812: yes, 3-5.
Blackhawk War: no
Civil War: yes, one, plus several collateral ancestors.
Indian Wars: no
Spanish-American War: no
War in the Philippines: one collateral
WWI: no
WWII: an uncle
Korean War: no
Viet Nam War: no
Gulf Wars: no 
Wars in the Middle East: no

Research Trip #7: Scotland

This may be the toughest trip to plan due to the lack of concrete evidence on my Scottish ancestors. Families from Scotland, or suspected to be: MacCallum, Crail, Cunningham, Mahurin, lack places of origin and dates of departure [except for Malcolm MacCallum].

That makes Edinburgh and the Archives a starting point to look for information on those families. Results would determine the trip from there. A return to the village of Crail would be a must, as would the site of the Battle of Dunbar. Revisiting St. Andrews would be fun.

Research Trip #6: Belgium and Northern France

A few ancestral families originated or passed through Antwerp. [The St. John/Sension/Santken family was one.] Others [Billiou and DuBois] called Artois in modern-day Northern France.

In addition to digging into local church and archival records, the trip would have to include a trip to Normandy to visit the site of the D-Day Invasion and Allied Military Cemeteries.

Research Trip #5: The Netherlands

A trip to The Netherlands would include several stops: Heerde [Gelderland], Leiden, Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Naerden. Two of those would be curiosity stops: Naerden and Heerde. One or the other was the birthplace of Arent Jansen Prall, most likely the latter. The Prall Family Association has hired Dutch researchers in the past, but a little first had research couldn't hurt.

Leiden was the home, for awhile, to the Pilgrims [Elder William Brewster], the Billiou and DuBois families, and several others. Amsterdam was also a stopping off point for several families of Dutch, German, Huguenot and Danish origin before sailing to America. Rotterdam was a port of departure for some other families.

The Pilgrim Museum would be at the top of the "places to visit" in Leiden. As for Amsterdam, I can offer more "exploration destinations" after returning from a cruise later next year. Amsterdam is a stop-over on the trip.

Research Trip #4: Germany

My research trip to Germany would focus on western Germany. Baden [Karlsruhe], North Rhein-Westfalen, Mulheim an Ruhr [Broich] and Lower Saxony [Oldenburg].

The stop at Karlsruhe would allow me to research my Laubsher ancestry. Sites? Touring the city and locating the Laubscher homestead would cover that end of it.

Westfalen and Broich were home to Wilhelm Rittenhouse. Researching the family and visiting the old cities along the Rhine would occupy my time there.

Oldenburg in Lower Saxony was home to the progenitor of my Garrison line. After researching the local records, wandering the town would cover the relaxation. Oldenburg even has an Irish Pub!

Gen-research Trip #3: Switzerland

A nice compact little trip! Fly into Zurich for a little tourism and preliminary research. Two stops would follow, the towns of Basserdorf and Nurensdorf, which are only a few miles apart. The two towns were home to my Rinker ancestors. Exploring the towns, their Lutheran churches and older districts would adequately cover the research and site-seeing aspects of the trip.

Research Trip #2: Wales

A trip to Wales would focus on the Evans & Pugh families of Gwynedd & Denbighshire and Thomas  of Glamorganshire & Monmouthshire.

As all three families trace back deep into Welsh history, the territory might expand some. Having the patronymics traced back several generations will also help. I was in contact with a couple of "cousins" in the Fron Goch area several years back. Trying to renew contact would be nice. 

Considering the proximity of Cardiff to the Thomas home shires of Glamorgan and Monmouth, that would be a good starting place. There are enough historic sites tied to the family to balance research.

Gwynedd and Denbighshire, to the north, would offer plenty to see in relation to the Pugh and Evans families. Considering that the two families share common ancestry 2-3 generations back, the research would be simplified.

Back to Cardiff, and home!

Genealogy-related Dream Vacations: #1 - Cork to Donegal

I have several dream vacations that tie together family history research and site-seeing: Ireland, Wales, England, Scotland, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium and a few other places. Some, England, for example, might take a few months. Others might be just a week or two.

I learned early on to combine research and relaxation on "research trips." A day or two digging through court houses, libraries or archives, should be followed by a visit to local historic sites, museums, etc. That saves wear and tear on eyes and mind. Time permitting, of course!

My first overseas trip would be to Ireland. Two counties at opposite ends of the Emerald Isle would be targeted. County Cork in the south and County Donegal in the north.

Cork would be the first stop. I don't have much to go on with great-great-grandmother Catherine O'Neil. I have a birthdate, two actually. I also have the names of her parents. Beyond that, scant information. My uncle thought the O'Neils lived in a town between Cork and Blarney.

A nice train ride through the Irish countryside to County Donegal would follow Cork research and visiting places that drew my interest. Options? Straight to Donegal via Limerick, Ennis, Galway and Sligo? East to Kilkenney and Dublin, then northwest through Cavan and Enniskillen? To be determined. Research stop in Dublin?

Donegal was the ancestral home of my McHughs. I have birthdates for John and elder brother Daniel, as well as info on Daniel's wife. Hopefully, that would be enough to get me started. Toss in a couple of extra days getting to know the area.

Not a bad trip.

Day-trip to DC

My girlfriend and I took a day trip through AmbassadAir to Washington DC yesterday. The flight was delayed about a hour and a half by a mechanical issue. Passengers finally boarded about 8:15 AM. The boarding procedure included a dancing T-Rex and a pilot serenading us and playing his guitar. The head flight attendant was a stand-up comic who sang a few of his instructions. Quite a start to the day.

The fight reached Reagan about 10:00. We asked to be dropped off at the Smithsonian while most went on a tour of the US Capitol and sight-seeing trip around the city, before ending up at the Smithsonian.

We started with the Air and Space Museum. The NASA exhibits, historic and military aircraft exhibits were the highlights of the museum. We took a bike-for-hire ride to the American History Museum and lunch at the "Stars and Stripes Café."

The new exhibit for the "Star Spangled Banner" [Fort McHenry flag] was really impressive. [The last time I was in DC, the flag was still undergoing restoration.] Artifacts like Ben Franklin's walking stick, Washington's uniform and sword, Gen. Benjamin Lincoln's sword, and the table and chairs from Lee's surrender at Appomattox were among my favorites.

I missed the combined exhibit of iconic TV artifacts [Fonzie's jacket, Fess Parker's coonskin cap, etc.], most of which are now in storage. Archie & Edith Bunker's chairs, Howdy Doody and a pair of Mickey Mouse ears are in other exhibits. Having them all together was neater!

The "political correctness motif" of many exhibits was a bit wearing. Facts and artifacts are more interesting to me.

We were able to spend a little time in the Museum of Natural History before the tour bus arrived to take the group to dinner at the Union Station food court.

The flight out of Dulles was at about 10:00 PM and we got home about midnight. A long, tiring, interesting, entertaining and fun day.