Looking Back: Research Gone Haywire, Ancestors Lost [and Gained]

Over 29 years of research things have not always gone smoothly. I've messed up a time or two, but the real scary situations have been the family genealogies that have been researched with a lot left to be desired.

In four cases that I can recall, I lost about 15 believed-to-be ancestral families. Of course, I have picked up at least that many in the process!

Case #1: The St. John Switch: Early St. John research had carried my line through three generations of Mathias St. Johns. Later research spearheaded by James N. Churchyard led to the realization that Samuel St. John was the brother and not the son of the third Mathias. That knocked Mathias III out of thee direct line. Also removed were  the BOUTON, MARVIN & GREGORY families. No new families were added until the ancestry of Mathias I came to light. That story has appeared in a few earlier posts.

Case #2: The Hazens and the Mayflower Connection: The authors of the Hazen genealogy had Elizabeth Dart married to John Hazen. A fellow researcher mentioned that there was supposed to have been a Mayflower connection in the family. That led to the discovery that Elizabeth Dart was a Dart by marriage, not by birth. She was a Turner. Seven families initially bit the dust: DART, HOUGH, CALKINS, SPEAKE, PAYNE, EATON & DOUGLAS. One made a return to the fold, DOUGLAS. Several new families joined the tree: TURNER, KEENEY, OLDHAM, SOWTER, GAYMER, MASON & BREWSTER [Mayflower connection]. As for the Douglas family, a son dropped and a daughter added from the same family.

Case #3: The Wrong John Low: Here was an error on my part. I had the wrong John Lew attached to my tree. A little geography lesson put John Low and his wife Elizabeth in the wrong part of Massachusetts! A quick check determined the correct couple. I had John married to Elizabet Stoddard. My John Low actually married Elizabeth Howland. It was an easy fix. Elizabeth was already family. Her brother Arthur was an ancestor. STODDARD & ROGERS went by the wayside. No new families added.

Case #4:The Lockwood Debacle: The Hazen Lockwood effort on the Lockwood family was a complete disaster. The authors claimed Robert Lockwood to be the progenitor of the family in the US. They all but ignored his brother Edmund. As I turned out, Edmund contributed far more to the Lockwood line than did Robert. Robert, Jonathan, Joseph and Reuben were supposed to make up my first four generations. Remove Robert, Jonathan and Reuben. Actually, Joseph was Edmund's son and fit the lineage. His line continued with James and daughter Anna, who married John St. John. Lost families: NORMAN, FERRIS, AYERS & CRAMP. Added: WEBB & NORTON.

16 families went by the wayside, while 9 new families came into the fold. One got dropped, then added back to the tree. That was a lot of research down the tube! The important thing is that errors were corrected.

More Hostetler News

The agonizing part of surname research is that there were numerous spelling variations of so many surname. My own suffers that curse: Prall, Praul, Prawl, Prale, Praall and Praal just to name a handful. Some family members keep one spelling, others a different one.

Such is the case with Hostetler. Hostetler, Hostetter, Hochsetter, Hochstatter, Hochstadter and Hochstetler.

My Nicholas Hostetler arrived in Philadelphia in 1749 and settled in York Co., PA. He may have had two brothers, Christian and Ulrich. That's open to debate. Also open to debate, as I've mentioned before, is the identity of Nicholas' wife. Was she Mary, Anna, Magdalena or Anna Ulrich?

Mary is the wife named in Nicholas' will. There's a Magdalena buried on the family farm. Anna or Anna Ulrich is the wife of choice on most family trees. Most of those trees have "bonus children" not named in Nicholas' will. This suggests an error - probably uniting two Nicholas' into one. Anna is likely the wife of the "other Nicholas."

I've been sharing info with another Hostetlet-Miller researcher and she uncovered some intriguing records in York Co.
(1) Nicolas Hochstatter married Magdalena Euler on 27 May 1754.
(2) Joh. Niclaus Hochstatter son of Niclaus and Magdalena, bp. Jan 1760; Frantz and Frantzina Hochstatter, sponsors.
and I turned up
(3) Maria Magdalena Ohler daughter of George and Maria Magdalena Jacobia, bp. 12 Dec 1730 in Baden, Germany

We have supporting, albeit circumstantial, evidence for Mrs. Hostetler - Maria Magdalena Ohler/Euler [there's that surname thing again]. Nicholas gave his wife's name as Mary [Maria] and the Magdalena buried on the farm died in 1801 at age 70 [born 1730].

Question: Where do Frantz and Frantzina fit into the picture with Nicholas?
There were other Ohler/Euler/Oiler families in York Co. , Valentin and Conrad. Were they related to Maria Magdalen?

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Hostetler - Miller research hiccups

First of all, way too many Pennsylvania Miller parents named their sons Nicholas during the 1740-50s. Trying to find proof of service for my Nicholas Miller during the Revolutionary War has become a seemingly insurmountable task. He is listed as having served with the Continental Army in Pennsylvania on his veteran's burial permit. That's the only clue so far.

My Hostetlers have an interesting situation. Nicholas Hostetler is not well documented, but there are a few clues. Those clues may have gotten twisted. Buried on the Hostetler farm was a Magdalena Hostetler, died 1801, aged 70. That's an ideal fit for Nicholas' wife. However, most family trees  have Nicholas' wife as Anna, some have her as an Ulrich. Nicholas' will names wife Mary.

Theory? My Nicholas was married to Mary Magdalena _______. Another Nicholas married Anna Ulrich. Unfortunately, most family trees have the two Nicholas Hostetlers as one. My Nicholas named his children in his will and the trees have extras.

Oh, if genealogy was easy!

Keeney Update: Maiden name of Captain William Keeney's wife, Agnes

Discovering my Keeney ancestors was one of my most interesting Salt Lake Institute ventures. A fellow researcher of the Hazen family had heard that we had a Mayflower ancestor. Absolutely nothing to date had pointed in that direction. If the Mayflower connection was true, someone goofed in earlier research.

That proved to be the case. Research had Elizabeth Dart marrying John Hazen. Technically, that was correct. Elizabeth Turner had married Thomas Dart. She was not a Dart by birth as Hazen researchers had stated. Elizabeth Turner Dart Hazen was indeed a descendant of the Mayflower's  William Brewster. She was the daughter of Ezekiel Turner and Susanna Keeney, granddaughter of William Keeney.

One of the gaps in the Keeney research was the maiden name of William's wife, Agnes. Various sources gave her maiden name as Duglas, Parker and Duckett.

A possible resolution has been found in Phillimore's Leicester records for marriages in Ashby Parva from 1589-1837.

Phillimore shows a William Kynney marrying Agnes [written over Mary] Duckett on 30 Nov 1627 in Ashby Parva, Leicestershire. This may or may not be the correct William Kenney. It does, however, fit with the estimated date of William's marriage to Agnes.

http://leicestershireparishrecords.blogspot.com/2010/05/phillimores-marriages-ashby-parva-1589.html

Hutton Update: Minor Changes

Matthew Hutton and Beatrice Fincham get a minor tweaking. Beatrice's birth is estimated to have been about 1547 in Owtwell, Isle of Ely, Norfolk, England. The date of her marriage to Matthew Hutton was25 August 1567 in Downham, Huntingdonshire [now Cambridge], England.

Miller Family #2

Second Generation

2.  Nicholas Miller^2–3 (Ludwig-1) was born circa Aug 1749 in Pennsylvania.³ He died on 23 Jul 1833 at the age of 83 at Woodmansee Sugar Valley Cemetery, Maustown, Butler Co., OH in Liberty Twp., Butler, Ohio, United States.³ Nicholas Miller was the second son of Ludwig and Barbara [Grable] Miller. He was born in August of 1749 probably in SE Pennsylvania or near Antietam, MD. The family had settled in what was to become Fayette Co. about 1771.

Nicholas served as a private in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War according to his Grave Registration Card.. No record of his service has been located to date.

Nicholas been appearing in Luzerne and Manellen Township tax records from 1785 to 1789. Nicholas married Margaret Hostetler about 1786. He was residing in Manellen Twp. at the time of the 1790 census. Miller was renting 400 acres, a house and barn in German Twp. from Nicholas Fast in 1798.

Nicholas Miller recorded a deed for 110 acres in Manellen and Luzerne Twp. purchased from his brother, Samuel on 16 August 1803. He sold his land about 1814. The Millers were in Liberty Twp., Butler Co., OH by 1820 and as early as 1815.

Nicholas and Margaret had eight children: Lewis, Catherine, Sarah, Daniel, Ann, Mary, Israel and Eliza.

Nicholas died in Butler Co. om 23 July 1833 and was buried in the Woodmansee Sugar Valley Cemetery in Maustown, Butler Co., Ohio.  Margaret followed him in death on 18 July 1834.

Nicholas Miller and Margaret Hostetler^3–5 were married circa 1786 in Prob. Fayette Co., Pennsylvania, United States.² Margaret Hostetler^2,4, daughter of Nicholas Hostetler and Mary Magdalena Ulrich?, was born in Jan 1764 in Pennsylvania.⁴ She died on 18 Jul 1834 at the age of 70 in Butler Co., Ohio, United States.⁴ She was also known as Ellen Miller.² Margaret was buried at Woodmansee Sugar Valley Cemetery, Maustown, Butler, Ohio.⁴ Margaret was buried in the Woodmansee Sugar Valley Cemetery in Maustown, Butler Co., Ohio.

Nicholas Miller and Margaret Hostetler had the following children:

              3              i.   Lewis Miller, born 1788, Fayette Co., Pennsylvania, United States; married Loraine Griffis, 1830, Butler Co., Ohio, United States; died ca 1865, Butler Co., Ohio, United States.

              4             ii.   Catherine Miller, born 30 Nov 1791, Pennsylvania; married Isaac Clark, 30 May 1815, Reily Twp., Butler, Ohio; died 7 Jan 1879, Hendricks Co., Indiana.

              5            iii.   Sarah Miller, born 7 Jun 1795, Fayette Co., Pennsylvania, United States; married Benjamin Enyart, 7 Apr 1818, Butler Co., Ohio, United States; died 14 Feb 1883, Cass Co., Indiana, United States.

              6            iv.   Daniel Miller, born 2 Apr 1798, Fayette Co., Pennsylvania, United States; married Ruth Collier, 25 Oct 1831, Butler Co., Ohio, United States; died 17 Aug 1870, Newtown, Fountain, Indiana, United States.

              7             v.   Ann Miller, born ca 1800, Fayette Co., Pennsylvania, United States; married Israel Miley.

              8            vi.   Mary Miller, born ca 1800, Fayette Co., Pennsylvania, United States; married Alexander Sickles, 16 Dec 1834, Butler Co., Ohio, United States.

              9           vii.   Israel Miller, born 1805, Fayette Co., Pennsylvania, United States; married Mary Mahan.

           10          viii.   Eliza Miller, born 19 Nov 1806, Fayette Co., Pennsylvania, United States; married Daniel Griffis, 21 Apr 1825, Butler Co., Ohio, United States; died 17 Sep 1894, Hamilton, Butler, Ohio, United States.

           11            ix.   Sally Ann Miller, married james wesley.

Sources:

        1. "Ludwig Miller Family Tree", database, WikiTree, WikiTree (https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Miller-39979 : accessed )"; submitted, [contact information for private use].

        2. Frank Clark, Catherine Miller - Hendricks Co., IN Message Board, Subject: Re: Obits, Listserve: Ancestry.com (21 March 2004, Original Date, 29 May 2000).

        3. Find A Grave, compiler, "Woodmansee Sugar Valley Cemetery, Maustown, Butler, OH," database, Find A Grave (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/42259348/nicholas-miller : accessed 14 January 2019), Nicholas Miller.

        4. Find A Grave, compiler, "Woodmansee Sugar Valley Cemetery, Maustown, Butler, OH," database, Find A Grave (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/42259700/margaret-miller : accessed 14 January 2019), B/D of Margaret Hostetler Miller.

        5. "Ludwig Miller Family Tree," database, WikiTree, "Nicholas Miller."

Miller Family #1

The Millers and Hostetlers link up with the Clark family in Butler Co., OH.

First Generation

1.  Ludwig Miller¹ was born circa 1725 in Germany.¹ He died in 1813 at the age of 88 in Fayette Co., Pennsylvania, United States.¹ Ludwig Miller was of German extraction. According to family tradition, Ludwig and George Craft [b. 1727] were two of thee cousins who sailed for America together and settled near Antietam, Maryland. The third cousin was purportedly a Grable, possibly a Joseph Grable who was born about 1725.. Ludwig and George both married Graables. Craft was a native of Nurenberg, so Ludwig may have been from there as well. The trio reportedly were indentured servants.

Craft settled in Coventry, Chester Co., PA in 1751and was residing near the PA/MD border in 1755. He migrated to what was then Westmoreland Co., PA about 1771/2. Joseph Grable was baptized at the Conestoga Brethern Church in Lancaster, PA in 1747. [George and Ludwig reportedly converted to the Bretern faith as well.] He was residing between Hagerstown and Sharpsburg in Washington Co., MD in 1749. Grable was in what became Fayette Co., PA by 1773. Miller had a land warrant in Rapho Twp., Lancaster Co. in 1752 and was living near Craft in 1757. Ludwig moved on to western Pennsylvania around 1771.

Ludwig made his will in 1808 and died in 1813. Children of Ludwig and Barbara [Grable] Miller were believed to be Samuel, Nicholas, Catherine, Hannah, Elizabeth, Solomon, Jonathan, David, Mary, Jacob, Abraham, Rebeccah and possibly John.

Ludwig Miller and Barbara Grable¹ were married circa 1742 in Maryland or Pennsylvania.¹ Barbara Grable¹ was born circa 1725 in Germany.¹ She died in Prob. Fayette Co., Pennsylvania, United States.¹ Barbara was probably the daughter of Nicholas Grable of Frederick Co., MD who named children Samuel, Barbara and Elizabeth in his will. Elizabeth Grable married George Craft, a neighbor of the Millers and possibly Nichols' cousin. Samuel Grable lived just across the line in northern Maryland.

Barbara was named in several early deeds with her husband, but not later ones. This would suggest that she preceded Ludwig in death.

Ludwig Miller and Barbara Grable had the following child:

              2              i.   Nicholas Miller, born ca Aug 1749, Pennsylvania; married Margaret Hostetler, ca 1786, Prob. Fayette Co., Pennsylvania, United States; died 23 Jul 1833, Liberty Twp., Butler, Ohio, United States.