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Hopkins Family Story: Immigrating to America
In 1854 Robert Hopkins and family immigrated from England to the Old Mission Peninsula, Michigan. This is the Hopkins family story — before, during and directly after immigration pieced together from historic records. Continue reading Hopkins Family Story: Immigrating to America
June 2021 – Northport Michigan to Erie Pennsylvania, Home of Commodore Perry’s War of 1812 Fleet
June 2nd to Jun 6th – We picked up our boat from storage in Northport and got her ready for the trip. She sat in storage over the pandemic of 2020 and so cleaning was more extensive than it was in prior years and took several days. Once cleaned and rigged she was ready to set sail, but we were one crew member short. June 6th – … Continue reading June 2021 – Northport Michigan to Erie Pennsylvania, Home of Commodore Perry’s War of 1812 Fleet
Can DNA Reveal the Identity of the Parents of Marietta Williams?
Who were the parents of Marietta Williams Church? I’ve traced many branches of my family tree but the Marietta Williams branch has eluded me, left a large gap in my family tree, and prompted a lengthy search for the identity of her parents. BACKGROUND Isaac Church Sr. is listed in his obituary as having moved to Michigan in 1846 and his wife is listed as … Continue reading Can DNA Reveal the Identity of the Parents of Marietta Williams?
A Genealogy Visit to Connecticut During the Waning Days of the Covid Pandemic
WEDNESDAY, 5 MAY 2021 The Boating Genealogists trip to Wethersfield Connecticut was a pilgrimage of sorts. I wrote in my book Discover Your Roots! How I found My North American and Revolutionary War Ancestors that I traced my Wright family ancestry back to Thomas Wright, one of the first settlers of Wethersfield, and several of the Ten Adventurers, Robert Seeley, Nathaniel Foote, Robert Rose, William Swayne, and possibly John … Continue reading A Genealogy Visit to Connecticut During the Waning Days of the Covid Pandemic
Early Petoskey Settlers, The Shaws
This is an account of two early Petoskey Michigan settlers, Charles Nahum Shaw and his wife Emma Eliza (Shattuck) Shaw. Charles Nahum Shaw was born in 1836. His family moved from Massachusetts to Camden, Michigan by the time Charles was 7 years old. Similarly Emma’s family moved from New York in the late 1840s, first to Sylvania Ohio where Emma was born, and then to … Continue reading Early Petoskey Settlers, The Shaws
Rediscovering the New England and New Netherlands Indian War Heroes, 1636 – 1698
The 1600’s were an age of almost constant warfare between North American Colonists and hostile Indian tribes. Discover the early New York and New England Indian Wars as described by the people that lived through them. Follow the author as he rediscovers his family in this forgotten era of American History and the extraordinary settlers and heroes that played such an important part in the … Continue reading Rediscovering the New England and New Netherlands Indian War Heroes, 1636 – 1698
Discover Your Roots!, Part 2
Follow the author’s journey as he breaks through two Morrell and Hendrick genealogical brick walls and finds his Van Deusen and Brown family ancestors. Read about Charles Nahum Shaw a Civil War veteran, an inventor, and a very early settler of Petoskey Michigan. Book excerpt — This is an account of two early Petoskey Michigan settlers, Charles Nahum Shaw and his wife Emma Eliza Shaw, … Continue reading Discover Your Roots!, Part 2
The Sometimes Insane Life of Hannah Hopkins
Hannah Hopkins fully acknowledged she had bouts of insanity. The implications to her parents Robert and Susannah Hopkins were all too real. Nonetheless, exactly how her insanity manifested itself is hard to discern. What is more apparent is how her parents supported their daughter through her trials. Taking a step back, in Victorian times mental patients were typically labelled with mania, dementia, melancholy or moral … Continue reading The Sometimes Insane Life of Hannah Hopkins
The Fiery Spotsylvania Court House Battle and John Hopkins
On May 12, 1864 at 4:30 a.m. the Union Second Corps attacked Muleshoe salient at Spotsylvania Court House, Virginia under the command of Major General Winfield S. Hancock leading to some of the most violent fighting in the Civil War. As part of the Second Corps, the Michigan 26th Regiment joined the charge and was one of the first regiments to plant its colors on … Continue reading The Fiery Spotsylvania Court House Battle and John Hopkins
William Hopkins and the Pennsylvania Oil Boom
In 1859 Edwin Drake struck oil at 69 feet below ground along the banks of Oil Creek in Venango County, Pennsylvania. Drake’s well was one of the first commercial oil wells in the United States. Within a few years the Pennsylvania oil boom was in full swing. Thousands came to the Oil Creek area to strike it rich or just find good work. William Hopkins, … Continue reading William Hopkins and the Pennsylvania Oil Boom
The Boating Genealogists 