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In 1689 only eleven years after the end of King Philip’s War the French and Indians began a rampage in New York and New England that would be called King William’s War. The year 1690 saw the rampage continue when Schenectady New York was attacked and burned in February. In March 1690 the settlement at Salmon Falls Maine was attacked and decimated. In May 1690 … Continue reading Captain Noah Wiswall’s fight
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Thompson J. Wright, his wife Jane and their family moved from Wolcott N.Y. to Michigan around 1838. Thompson Wright was 44 years old at the time. He probably moved along with his brothers Frederick and Solomon.[1] The 1840 Michigan census notes that Frederick Wright lived in Parma Michigan and Thompson Wright lived in Concord Michigan, contiguous to and south of Parma. The 1840 census locates the … Continue reading Discovering the Wright Family in the Civil War
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The Boating Genealogists made a summer genealogical trip to Huron, Wolcott, and Cato New York in August 2023. After the American Revolution Wolcott New York, then known as Sterling, was part of the Military Bounty Tract. That tract contained lands awarded to veterans of the victorious American forces, lands that were previously held by Britain’s Indian allies. Several of my ancestral families settled there for some … Continue reading A Genealogy Trip to Wolcott and Cato New York
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1692 – Susannah Roots and the Salem Witch Trials Josiah Root was born in 1612. His wife Susannah and he lived in Beverly MA on the outskirts of Salem MA. Josiah died in 1683. After his death his widow Susannah was caught up in the Salem Witch trials of 1692. Cotton Mather wrote a defense of the Salem Witch Hunt of 1692 called Wonders of the … Continue reading The New England Witch Trials – part 3
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1684 – The Suspicious Death of Philip Smith Cotton Mather’s seventh example of witchcraft in New England in his book Magnalia Christi Americana details the death of my ancestor Philip Smith of Hadley Massachusetts in 1684. Philip arrived in the New World as a one year old having been born in England around 1633 to Samuel and Elizabeth Smith, early settlers of Wethersfield CT, and of Hadley MA. Philip … Continue reading The New England Witch Trials – part 2
The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same. Really? This section of the blog is Part One of a Three Part episode that will talk about family members in early New England that were affected by the miscarriage of justice known as the New England Witch Hunts. Two of those family members figure prominently in witchcraft examples detailed in a book written by … Continue reading The New England Witch Trials
DNA is useful in genealogy. From adding previously unknown relatives to your family tree, to making new discoveries not mentioned in the written record, to breaking through family tree brick walls, DNA research is a great addition to a family historian’s toolkit. I described my genealogy breakthroughs in my book Discover Your Roots! How I found my North American and Revolutionary War Ancestors. Some of … Continue reading DNA Genealogy
Family history facts get lost. Some things like war experiences may not be spoken of. Hard times that people experience may never be shared. Divorce and early deaths sever family history pipelines. Family history may be gilded over, forgotten or swept under the rug. Time and time again genealogy and family history discoveries are made that have an emotional impact. I visited the Gettysburg Civil … Continue reading Rediscovering the Travis Family in the Civil War
Who were the parents of Lewis Travis? A genealogy conundrum appears in my Travis line in the late 1700’s. Lewis Travis my 3rd great-grandfather was born in Yorktown NY about 1796. His death record in 1881 Greenville Michigan states that his father’s name was Annanias and his mother’s name was Jemima.[1] That should end the question of parentage. However, the conundrum appears in the written family history written … Continue reading A Memorial Day Remembrance -Who Were the Parents of Lewis Travis?
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?
The Boating Genealogists 