While researching the founding families of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and studying their names and occupations in the 1820’s, I discovered that spinster daughters of wealthy families like the Ballantynes were often passionate about genealogy. I found this rather amusing and ironic given they weren’t helping perpetuate the family lines! But these older maidens/matrons enjoyed a bit of genealogical meddling, so to speak, and left some fine records for us today.
This is where Andra Ballantyne gets her rather obsessive preoccupation in Love’s Awakening.
Straight from the pages of Pittsburgh history!
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Any genealogists out there? Any skeletons in your family tree? Or saints?
Happy reading!
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I guess I could say I am an amutar genealogist. I love looking up things for my family tree and following leads. So far in my search no saints and a couple skeletons. I also discovered that many in my family tree enjoyed naming their children after famous historical figures.
In my research I discovered that my mom was the first person in her family not to elope going back six generations. One Skeleton in the closet was that two ancestors were disowned by their families for choosing to marry people that were not entirely white. The disowning was the skeleton in my opinion not the marriage.
Another skeleton was finding out that some of my Irish Kentucky ancestors were moonshine runners. I guess it’s true that fact is often stranger than fiction.
Carissa, So interesting to hear more about your roots and skeletons and such! I’m afraid we have more skeletons than saints on our end. Fascinating about all that eloping! And that you know that it happened over so many generations – amazing. Then your dear mom broke the record! Yes, I think KY moonshiners or southern moonshiners are in quite a few of our lines. Sad about that mixed race history as far as it being thought a shame. That happened in our family, too, to the point that my dear great-grandpa wasn’t even acknowledged as Indian/native for many years in the family, just whispered that it was “rumored” he was. But the photos of him leave little doubt!
I love the custom of naming children after historical figures. That happened in my family, too, among the Berea and Jackson County, KY Blantons. There’s even a Christopher Columbus Blanton in the 19th- century that always makes me smile :).
I am thankful for my mixed race heritage even though I the pale one in the family with blue eyes my grandfather keep telling me that he can see some of the native blood in me.
I know one thing I am thankful that my great great grandmother Gracie eloped to marry Benjamin her “redshirt” She was from what I hear of family stories a fiery redhead irish girl with green eyes. The only person on mom’s side of the family to have non brown eyes till I came a long with blue. My sister has been the only baby born in the family who looked anything like Gracie. Only my sister is redhaired green eyed with olive skin.
Carissa, I so wish I could see a pic of you with all your family, especially those sisters! So interesting your grandfather told you he can see that history/heritage in you. I imagine it’s in your features and not your fair coloring. Like you, I am very fair though I tan very dark which is sort of odd. I covet all that red hair in your family! I hope one day to have a redheaded grandbaby :). You’re so blessed with a rich family history. And sisters! I don’t have any so I can only imagine what a blessing that would be!
Love it! I recently connected with one of my father’s cousins (in her 70s) and it’s been interesting the different parts of family history we know and the different slant on people and events!
Anne, I know just what you mean. Every part of the same family has a different story or different side of things to tell. I just want to gather it all up and weave it into a story. I’ve often wished our ancestors (well, mine as maybe yours did!) had left more letters and journals. Census records just don’t quite cut it but I am thankful for those bare bones. Glad you’ve connected with your dad’s long lost cousin. That’s bound to be interesting and inspiring. Love this sort of personal history :)!
Another fascinating bit of history, Laura. And I thank you.
I find genealogy very interesting, but my brother is the one with all the family records. We are related to Judge and Congressman R. H. Stanton from Maysville, KY. (Served just pre-Civil War). I have his 1884 Christmas gift to his wife, a set: The Book of Common Prayer & Hymnal. This was a precious find among my aunts belongings, showing a spiritual heritage that dwindled for some generations.
My husband is a Moody, but so far we find no direct link to the great Dwight L Moody–other than spiritual siblings, which is a gift in itself.
I love reading everyone’s notes, and find it amazing how some things are passed down even though not by blood, like Carissa’s family “tradition” of eloping. Sorry your grandfather, Laura, encountered the bias he did. Undoubtedly, there was also some benefit God wrought from that for you and his descendants. I am pleased and proud to say I have a daughter-in-law (I call daughter-in-love) who is half Native American.
Thanks for sharing everyone.
Thanks for sharing, everyone.
Oh, thanks so much for sharing a bit of your family tree, Mary Kay! We’re nearly Kentucky kin :). I am familiar with both Judge Stanton (the name, anyway) and Maysville (beautiful place). Your heirloom book is priceless. It must be a joy to discover that legacy of faith which you have picked up again, thankfully.
My Wyatt is reading a book about Dwight Moody right now. He was truly an amazing man! Well said about the spiritual siblings. Amen to that.
Love that your daughter-in-love is half-Native American. Talk about rich history! Our pastor’s DIL is also half Sioux. I think there are more mixed bloods than we know of. I’m one of them but as blonde as can be. Sad that it gets so watered down through the ages though if you look at family photos there are some amazing physical similarities that shine though.
Bless you for adding so much here. Seems we all agree genealogy is so fascinating!
Hi, Laura!
I’ve just, in the last few years, found some interesting history about my family. Haven’t been able to trace very far back in my father’s genealogy – the most interesting, to me, was that he had a cousin that was a life-long missionary to the Seminole Indians, in Florida.
I found, in my mother’s genealogy history: (1)Gerrit vanSwearingen (came to the U.S. from Holland), who was instrumental in helping found the historic St. Mary’s City (Maryland) – which has been under excavation for several years. (2)We have descended from the infamous, fighting, clan Gregor (MacGregor), a branch – of which, Rob Roy was also descended. (3)We are also descendants of Marmaduke vanSwearingwen, who was captured by Shawnee Indians, & made a war chief – because they were impressed with his bravery. He was renamed Blue Jacket, because he was wearing a blue jacket when he was captured. There was an outdoor drama about his life in Zenia, Oh. – which ran for over 25 years. Several years ago – there was a dispute as to whether Marmaduke was actually Blue Jacket, reportedly – DNA tests of descendants from both Marmaduke, & Blue Jacket’s families have determined that they are not the same man. Guess I will never know for sure!
Bonnie, Your family history reads like a can’t-put-down novel! I am familiar with both vanSwearingen and the Marmaduke/Blue Jacket names and stories. I believe the former was a key figure in the Revolutionary War, too, or that family wsa – and Blue Jacket is dear to my heart! I have seen that outdoor drama in in Ohio as my parents lived in Springfield and I went to Denison University up the road from there. It’s a wonderful, rich drama and I am sad it ended! It was very much like Wilderness Road, the drama done outside Berea, KY where I grew up. I spent many a summer in that amphitheater watching that production of Ky’s first settlers, never dreaming I would one day write about them. OH MY! All this talk of history makes me want to hurry up and write another KY book which I am thinking about right now.
Love that your father’s family included a life-long missionary to the Seminoles. Now that’s my kind of history! Especially since my brother is a missionary/pastor in Spain and has been on the field about 25 years. I can only imagine what being a missionary was like during that time period with the Indians. Amazing!
Thanks so much for taking time to share this here. I feel so inspired! It’s wonderful talking about family and history as it’s so personal and brings it home in fresh ways. Bless you, Bonnie.
I am familiar with, & have seen, Wilderness Road, & love Berea – the shops, & history. I live just south of Louisville – who knows, I may have passed you on the street while you were living in Ky., & not even been aware of it. Would love for you to write another book set in Ky.. Please express my thanks to your brother for the work he is doing. I appreciate our missionaries – they aren’t recognized enough!
Bonnie, We may very well have passed each other on the street – or been in that amphitheater for Wilderness Road! That’s a wonderful thought :). Glad you are familiar with Berea. It’s such a wonderful place. My dad trained at Boone Tavern in its heyday as he was in the hospitality industry and so we also lived at Mammoth Cave National Park for 6 years and then Bowling Green. I have a feeling you’ve been there, too! I’m most at home in Lexington and Berea where I spent most of my time but now Lexington is so huge to me and so many of the horse farms have become shopping centers, etc. Sad for me in a way though am thankful Berea is much the way it used to be. My parent’s have a house there overlooking the mountains. My dream is to return there. My son, Wyatt, wanted to go to U of L and play basketball which delighted my but am sad basketball has been exchanged for firefighting instead. I would so love another reason to visit Louisville. It’s a beautiful, richly historic place.
Am thrilled you’d like another KY book. I have a really neat idea for one and am working on developing that now. I sure hope it comes to be. And thanks for your heartfelt comment about missionaries. I’m so thankful my brother is one. So many are needed and now other countries are sending them to the US! Have a blessed Sunday!
In the 1700’s, 2 brothers left what is now Turkey and journeyed to Gaza for a better life. After a while, one brother decided Alexandria was where things were really happening. In no time, they lost touch.
In 1993, my husband and I found ourselves in a new town, far from where either of us had grown up. The pastor of the little church we’d attended a few times invited us to their church picnic, so we went.
He’d been a missionary in Alexandria for decades and spoke fluent Arabic.
This man actually pastored the church my father went to during his university days, in Alexandria.
We arrived at the picnic and I saw a family sitting at a table and said to my husband “They’re Arabs.”
“How do you know they’re not Mexican?”
“Because I can tell.”
Pastor Hawley said “I want you to meet Elias and Elizabeth.”
“Sure.”
So, Pastor H says “Elias and Elizabeth Zarifeh, this is John and Jennifer Major.”
I stood there, stunned beyond words!!!
“NO WAY!!”
Elias bristled and looked at me. “Do you have a PROBLEM with my name?”
“NO! Zarifeh is my maiden name!”
Elias: “NO WAY!!”
Now, remember those 2 Turkish brothers who lost touch in the late 1700’s?
My dad is the great-great X 300 years grandson of one brother.
Elias? The great-great X 300 years grandson of the OTHER brother.
One church picnic, 300 years of searching, a redheaded daughter of a nice boy from Gaza and the stranger she met at a picnic.
BAM! When Elias and my dad met, they each had their family trees on a giant spreadsheet.
All the Zarifehs, traced and back together again after 300 years. WOW.
WOW is right! That is just like winning the genealogical lottery, Jennifer! The odds of that happening are so remote that it could only have been divinely inspired. Double WOW. I’ve often wondered about your maiden name. It’s beautiful and memorable and really stands out. I hope you use it when you publish. Have you decided on that yet? I almost took a pen name and went by Lindsay Duncan which is a family name and Scottish. Never sure about those pen names, the benefits or drawbacks…
It’s wonderful you can trace your family line so far back especially given the Arab connection. I bet your recent trip to Europe brought all that history home to you in a new way. I am reminded of Paul’s journeys. Nothing like reading the book of Acts and such to stir the travel bug. I know you’re as hopelessly bitten in that respect as I am :).
I love knowing this tidbit of history about Pittsburgh’s spinsters! I has thought Andra’s passion was interesting when I read it, but I find it even more interesting now! 🙂
Some of my mom’s ancestors were Mormons and they have the most amazing genealogical records. I have discovered quite a few interesting ancestors through http://www.familysearch.org. Here are just a few (and I’d love to tell some of their stories!): One of my ancestors is Thomas Hubbard who was burned at the stake by Bloody Mary in 1555. His great-great-granddaughter, Ruth Hubbard, was the first white child born in Springfield, Mass., her great-great-grandson, Gideon Burdick was a drummer boy for George Washington during the Battle of the Potomac. And Gideon’s daughter, Rebecca Winters, was baptized by Joseph Smith (the founder of the Mormon Church) in New York State. Rebecca died on the Mormon Trail in Scottsbluff, Nebraska in 1852 and is still buried there. There is an old wagon wheel rim on the prairie with the words “Rebecca Winters, Age 50” engraved on the wheel. I’ve been to the grave and been to the historical society in Scottsbluff named after her. I’ve been told there is a statue at Brigham Young University of her and her daughter, Helen, since she is considered one of the mothers of the faith. The man who carved the words in the wagon rim was William Reynolds, and his five year old daughter, Ellis, stayed up all night holding a lantern for him to work by, so they could leave at the first light of day to keep traveling. Though Ellis is not one of my ancestors, we chose to name our daughter after her because I loved the story. We dedicated our Ellis as the “Bearer of Christ’s Light.” I’m so very thankful for genealogy!!
Gabrielle, I can sense your passion for history as I read this, so like my own! Love that you know such fascinating details about your family history, both tragic and admirable! You’re so right – the Mormons keep such incredible records. I’ve heard that if you want to do research genealogically you start there. LOVE, of course, your Gideon Burdick as drummer boy. That would make a great story right there as I’m just wild about all things Washington! It’s really neat that you have been Rebecca’s gravesite and historical society. The Oregon trail must be very similar to the Mormon Trail in some respects and I love that history. Your Ellis has such a lovely name – and the history behinds it makes it even moreso! The meaning is especially beautiful.
I guess I should share a little about my own family history, other than the Daniel Boone-coming-to-KY-from-VA story that’s on the back of my books. One of the more interesting pieces is that my father’s family were Irish and among the signers of the Magna Carta. My mother’s great-grandfather was with the mounted cavalry in the Civil War as he was quite a horseman, was captured on the KY/TN line and taken to Andersonville, the prison camp further south. We have stories of his time in captivity there that are too awful to repeat here but he was never the same after that experience though he did return home to his family in time. I have his very old trunk here in my living room and treasure it. Anyway, I could talk history all day :). You, too, I imagine! Thanks so much for sharing here.
That’s interesting to learn. I’m a true genealogy enthusiast, as you know. Obsessed, yes. I love that I have so many old New England ancestors which is an endless inspiration to me. I just can’t get beyond my great grandparents in Sweden on my father’s side. Very frustrating. I’ve read some family histories written by women and I can see how those spinsters would have a special interest since they probably had more time to devote to recording the family history since they were not busy propagating one!
Chuckling over your propagating comment, Carla. So true! I know you love genealogy and it’s no wonder given your New England roots! I think you’ll enjoy a book coming up by Rebecca DeMarino next summer. Her history is so similar to yours. Stay tuned for a cover as it’s coming soon. I’m about to read the book for endorsement and it sounds very interesting. Lots of colonial fiction coming up at Revell…
Swedish ancestors and the language barrier must be very frustrating. We’ve encountered that on Randy’s side. We know that in the year 1720 three Moravian brothers (Matthias, Christian, and Balsar Frantz) docked in Philadelphia and one became a minister and church planter in Pennsylvania as the family fanned out onto the frontier. But their roots in Austria and Switzerland are dead ends.
Oh, to have more time to search for these things!
That’s fascinating about Randy’s family history. Hopefully you can find some answers some day. Its fun to learn about the faith roots of a family and it sounds like he has some strong ones.
Even though it’s his family and not mine, I’m so proud of his godly heritage, yes! There has been some departure from that, sadly, over the years but it’s still going strong here in our home and in his parent’s, etc. Makes me think of the verse TRAIN UP A CHILD. I do believe those words work themselves out throughout history in families and I’m so thankful.
I think genealogy is fascinating! My dad’s side I don’t know much about, because he never knew his father. And I only trace his mother’s side so far. My mom’s family is much easier to trace. My 4th great grandfather immigrated to the US from Germany after his wife died. He had too many children to take care of, so a Mennonite family took some of his children in. She already had some Anabaptist roots, but I was curious at how some of her Lutheran German relatives became Mennonite, because that is a huge jump in theology! She had several family member were bishops in the Mennonite church. The other side of her family is English and German, and they were not Anabaptists, haha. I enjoy finding out where my ancestors came from, but I also love hearing about what religion or denominations they were. It is interesting to see where they were married and where they were buried when they passed on.
I hope you are doing well, Laura! 🙂
Emma, So good to hear from you – and your family roots :)! Like you, I’m always fascinated by denominations as that often says so much about a person culturally, etc. The Anabaptists have always been of interest to me – and you’re so right about that theological leap! We’re mostly Baptist on my mom’s side and Presbyterian on my dad’s. But somehow there’s a bit of Methodism mixed up in there. Growing up I wanted to be Jewish as I was in that crowd in high school! Now that’s a leap! Of course I would have been Messianic :).
I hope you’re doing well and your work is, too!