Prall Family Website [& Facebook page] At Long Last!!!!

 For those of you scrounging the internet or my old blog posts for Prall information, there will soon be a new venue for Prall news and information!

After having our old website lay dormant for close to a dozen years, the Prall Family Association's new webmaster, Crystal Wilken, is preparing a new, updated Prall family website and Facebook page.

This should allow Prall cousins with internet access to share information, ask questions and make connections with new and old cousins.

I've been hoping for some time to get a new website up and running with someone with the skills to manage it. Now, with Crystal, I think we've got it!

As soon as updates are available on the new PFA website from Crystal, I'll post them here, so keep checking back!

The Thoroughgood Family: Time for Corrections

 In my post on the Thoroughgood family I have relied on a compilation of sources that have apparently been based on incorrect assumptions.

Ann Thoroghgood, daughter of  Sir John Thoroughgood and Frances Meautys, who married Thomas Keeling was apparently incorrectly assigned to that family.

Thomas and Ann Keeling named a son Adam and another Thoroughgood. It was therefore assumed that she was closely related to Adam Thoroughgood, who transported Thomas Keeling to Virginia in 1628.

Keeling worked off his indenture, returned to England and married Ann, returning to Virginia about 1634/5.

Ann's birth has been given as 1613 or 1618. In various sources she has been identified as the daughter or granddaughter of Sir William Thoroughgood; daughter of Sir John; or daughter or sister of Adam. She iss not named in the wills of William or John, thus eliminating her as Adam's sister. She would be too old to be his daughter. 

.The 17th Century Families of John Martin & Thomas Keeling of Lower Norfolk, Virginia suggests that Ann's maiden name is unknown.

There was a Thomas Thorowgood, mariner, who could have been her father. An Ann Thoroughgood, daughter of John, was christened at Sawbridgewoth, Hertfordshire, England on 27 Feb 1613. The identity of this John is not clear.

If Ann was not the daughter of a Thoroughgood male, could she have been the daughter of one of the Thoroughgood women? That would still link her to Adam Thoroughgood in some capacity.

Was the naming of Adam and Thoroughgood Keeling simply a tribute to the man who brought Thomas Keeling to Virginia? Could Adam's wife served as midwife in the births of the Keeling children? Was Ann indeed a Thoroughgood?

Several new mysteries to be unraveled.

[And yes, I do intend to start posting on the "new family." I just need to find the time to get started!]

   

I'm Back! My long awaited return to blogging and genealogy updates.

 Hello readers,

It has been about 14 months since my last post. Events about that time brought my focus on blogging to a screeching halt. A few weeks earlier I had submitted DNA samples to Living DNA & Ancestry DNA. The results came in about early July.

The results shows regional results similar to what I would have expected. Heavily based in the British Isles and northwestern Europe, with a scattering of northern Europe. Ancestry DNA results included surnames related to my DNA results. Other than a few common surnames, none matched what I already had recorded in 30 years of research. Investigation led to the only logical conclusion - the DNA results were wrong! 

JUST KIDDING!

In talking to two of my cousins, I learned what I suspected, I had indeed been adopted. Mom and Pop just never got around to telling me! My folks learned that a young woman was planning to give her baby up for adoption. Lawyers were secured and arrangements were made. On 8 April 1951, the day after my birth, I was turned over to my new family.

I was born in a Jefferson County, IN farmhouse that no longer stands. I was delivered by my maternal grandmother. 

I was extremely lucky in drawing my adoptive parents! Both were quite supportive and did a good job of raising me. I grew up an only child. Mom passed in 2000 and Pop in 2007.

Forward to 2020. After learning I was adopted, I was contacted by a paternal cousin who helped narrow down candidates for my birth father. Cousins on the maternal side whom I was able to correspond with, fleshed out my story. I was not an only child, I was one of six! A younger sister had died a few years earlier. A sister and three brothers were still living. It seems that several cousins new about me from their parents. No one knew what had become of me 

A meeting with my older sister was arranged in October and I was invited to meet two of my brothers in January. Unfortunately, I was not able to meet my other brother [also adopted] until February at our sister's funeral service.

So, here I am, now the oldest of four brothers. It is really weird getting used to new family members. The upside, everyone has welcomed me into the fold and my "adopted" cousins won't give me up.

And, as my better half pointed out, "This is God's way of telling you that you're not done with your genealogy research."

My "new " DNA results: 45% British Isles & NW Europe, 35% Scotland, 15% Ireland, 5% Norway. Maybe that 35% explains why I like bagpipe music! 

St. John update and new floors

Last first: We had new flooring installed, so putting the house back in order trumps genealogy, for the moment. [I'm on break for a few minutes.]

St. John update: It appears that I was misinformed about the termination of the theory that Christopher and Matthias Sension / St. John were of "Dutch" heritage. That idea is dormant, but alive and kicking. So, I'm back to square one or near to it.

Were the St. Johns from Highlight, Glamorgan, Wales or Antwerp, Spanish Netherlands [Belgium]?

Stay tuned, there may eventually be an answer!

John Simmons Jr.: Three wives mentioned

Several sources have mentioned that the only reference to all three of John Simmons Jr.'s three wives is in the DAR files. It is. One supporting document lists all three Mrs. Simmonses:
1. Mary Nelson
2. Lucy Cunningham
3. Margaret Harbison Moffat

John Simmons: Tavern keeper

Supporting documents suggest that John may not have left New York City when the Redcoats arrived.
It was noted that John Simmons provided food for American prisoners in 1777.

John may also have been the scourge of small children. Local kids appeared to have been terrified of him and called John "Old Simmons." [Maybe ol' John just enjoyed scaring the local urchins in good-natured fun! [A 400 pounder cold have done a lot of scaring!]

DC heating up for 50th Anniversary of Apollo 11

We were in Washington DC over the weekend. It was HOT. The capital city is ramping up for the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11. Sound systems, screens and other elements are being set up on the Mall for the celebration. It should be a spectacular event!

On the junket this weekend were Ford's Theater and the Peterson House, Mount Vernon, the Smithsonian Udvar-Hazy Museum, the Spy Museum and the Smithsonian Castle. While my better half attended a conference, I took in the WWII Memorial and conducted a bit of research at the DAR Library.

For those of you planning on a trip to DC, several displays at the Air and Space Museum will be shut down while the facility undergoes renovation. Many of the items at A&S are being moved to Udvar-Hazy. [Udvar-Hazy is part of the Smithsonian and holds planes, spacecraft, etc. not on display at A&S, or, like Space shuttle Discovery - too large for A&S. It's located near Dulles Airport.]

The Spy Museum is quite an experience! It covers the history of spy craft and has a ton of interactive displays. The gift shot has an interesting variety of books, gizmos, attire, games and such. [The beverage cooler is labeled "truth serums."]

The research session at the DAR Library was worth the effort. I was able to fing a gem or two on my Revolutionary War ancestors. More on that later!