Ancestral Heritage - Part 4

The wrap-up: surnames Q-Z.

46 - England                       3 - probably England
5 - Switzerland                   2 - probably Germany
3 - Germany                       1 - probably Wales
3 - Wales                           5 - unknown
1 - Ireland
3 - The Netherlands
_______________________________________________________________________-

England = 156                       Switzerland = 13
prob England = 12                 Sweden = 2
Wales = 8                              Germany = 10
prob Wales = 1                       prob Germany = 3
Scotland = 3                          The Netherlands = 12
prob Scotland = 1                   prob The Netherlands = 1
Ireland = 4                              W. Flanders/Belgium = 1
prob Ireland = 1                      Fr. Flanders/Netherlands = 1
Wales/England = 1                  unknown = 25
Scotland/N. Ireland = 2
Scotland/Ireland = 1
England/Ireland = 1
England/Scotland = 1

So, England claims about 65%, the rest of Britain/Ireland about 9%, Western Europe about 17% & unknown about 9%.

Satisfy your curiosity & figure your own heritage. By the way, my late-comers were Irish [c1835, 1852].
Nearly everyone else arrived during the 1600s &  1700s!

Ancestral Heritage - Part 3

Hre are surnames J-P. The final installment [Q-Z] & totals will appear with the next post.

32 - England                   1 - W. Flanders/Belguim
6 - The Netherlands        1 - England or Scotland
5 - Switzerland                1 - probably The Netherlands
3 - Ireland                       2 - probably England
2 - Germany                    8 - unknown
2 - Wales
1 - Scotland
1 - Sweden

England is still dominant, The Netherlands picked up a point or two.

Ancestral Heritage - Part 2

Here's round two,  D-H: 67 surnames:

43 England                         2 probably England
2 The Netherlands              1 probably Switzerland
1 Scotland                          1 probably Germany
2 Switzerland                      1 probably Ireland
3 Wales                              5 unknown
3 Germany
1 French Flanders or The Netherlands
1 Ireland or England
1 Ulster or Scotland

English bloodlines are still very dominant. Dutch, German, Irish & a few others should pick up a little.

Ancestral Heritage - Part 1

I have wondered from time to time, [sans DNA reports] what percentage of what nationalities were included in my bloodlines. I know the British Isles are well covered [England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales], as is Germany, The Netherlands, Switzerland & other western European nations to a much lesser degree.

So far I have waded through letters A, B & C, a total of 54 surnames. The dynamics will change as I go through the alphabet, but so far, no surprises. The results based on at least one generation =

35 England                            5 probably England  
1 Wales                                1 Scotland or Ireland
1 Switzerland                        1 Scotland or Ulster
1 Sweden                             1 probably Scotland   
1 Scotland                            7 unknown
 2 Germany     
1 The Netherlands           
That's about 60-70% English. That percentage should hold fairly well. A few more letters next time!

Family Lore Presentation

Saturday, May 11, the Genealogical Society of Marion County will present "San Juan Hill, a Mayflower Connection, a Ship Lost at Sea & other bits of family lore" at the Eagle Branch of the Marion Co. Public Library [34th & Georgetown] from 1:00-3:00.

The presentation will cover how to sort out fact from fiction in the stories passed down from generation to generation, or at least determine if the story could be true. Speaker: yours tryly.

Ancestors in Hiding: The Crail Family

One of the great mysteries of my genealogical research is why James B. & Mary [Jones] Crail went into hiding every 10 years, you know, like 1840, 1850, 1860 & 1870.

Various sources identify the parents of Aaron, John & Sylvester Crail as James B. Crail & Mary A. Jones. James & Mary married in Ohio [probably] about 1834. Sylvester was born in Hamilton Co., OH in 1835 & John was born there two years later. Aaron was born in Marion Co., OH in 1839. [source for all three: Civil War service records]

The family was in Shelby Co., IN from at least 1851 [when Mary purchased lots in Marietta, Shelby, IN] & 1854 [when she & James sold the lots.] The three brothers married during the '50s & were easily tracked until their deaths.

James & Mary have yet to be located in any other records. I found a church contributors list in Cincinnati in 1836 & tax lists for 1838 that could have been the correct James B. Crail. Mary next appeared in the Indy city directories beginning in 1876 as a widow of James & generally residing with son John. She died in 1887. [Death certificate: born Kentucky, father - T. Jones] There is no record of James from 1854 until his death prior to 1876.

James was probably the son of James Berry Crail, Sr. The elder James & his family never show up with the younger James.

I have been in contact with another Crail researcher over the years who is a descendant of George Berry Crail purported to be the 4th son of James & Mary. Inconsistencies in research, misidentification of familial relationships & zero records placing George with the rest of the family have prevented me from fully accepting the connection. The supporting evidence FOR George is that he doesn't appear in the 1850-70 censuses either. His death certificate does name his parents as James B. Crail & Mary Jones.

I guess I'm bull-headed. Until I can find more supporting evidence, I just can't fully accept the story.

Gulley: Enoch vs. George

My Gulley line turned up an interesting brick wall. I had documentation that Richard & John Gulley saw Revolutionary War service, but my ancestor Enoch [their brother] did not. Then I came across a DAR submision for a George Gulley: b. 1750 England, d. 1828 Kentucky, m. Frances Franklin. George served with the Virginia troops during the Rev. War.

Enoch Gulley was born in 1750, but in Virginia [a family story had him born in Wales]. He died in Shelby Co., Idiana about 1829 & was married to Frances "Franky" Franklin.

Were Enoch & George one & the same? Nothing has turned up yet to prove or disprove it one way or the other.

Another mystery to be investigated!