Great Grandfathers in Civil War

Scots-Irish Ancestors

With names like McLelland, McAlister, McClurken, Ballaugh, Carmichael and McNutt it seems as if our family has our fair share of Irish and/or Scottish blood. Other surnames in our family that have reportedly been from Ireland or Scotland are: Bailey, Boyd, Brice, and Dargan.

Scots-Irish history tells us that many Scots crossed over the narrow channel and move to Northern Ireland. Ulster Scots is another term used for these Scots families that emigrated to Ireland.

Naming Patterns

Today in naming our children few parents use the old naming patterns, but in genealogical research these naming patterns and use of family and friends names is invaluable. I know first hand about this because I was able to locate the next generation back from my gg grandparents by using this very method which opened up a world of additional ancestors that had been previously documented. Prior to the 20th century this naming pattern was used by most families.

I do have one naming pattern of my own that I have noticed has occurred too often to not mention and it's a very curious one: the last child in many families was named after their paternal grandfather. It could have been that a previous child had already had that name and had died and the parents used the same name again. It could be something that simple, but I've seen it too many times to not mention it.

Now that I am writing a post about this, I'm going to check these naming patterns out in my own family tree. I have noticed that the Father of the child seems to come later on in the naming of the sons.

First son was named after his (the first son's) paternal Grandfather - his Father's Father.

Second son was named after his maternal Grandfather - his Mother's Father.

Third son was named after the Father, or the Father's paternal Grandfather.

Fourth son was named after the Father's eldest brother or after the Mother's paternal Grandfather.

Fifth son was named after the Mother's eldest brother or after the Father's maternal Grandfather.

Sixth son was named after the Father's eldest brother or after the Mother's maternal Grandfather.

Daughters

First daughter was named after her maternal Grandmother.

Second daughter was named after her paternal Grandmother.

Third daughter was named after the Mother or the Mother's maternal Grandmother.

Fourth daughter was named after the Mother's eldest sister or after the Father's paternal Grandmother.

Fifth daughter was named after the Father's eldest sister or after the Mother's paternal Grandmother.

Sixth daughter was named after the Mother's 2nd eldest sister or after the Father's paternal Grandmother.

I'm particularly interested in the middle names of children because they are typically names that denote the favorite relatives. It can also be used to connect family members, when records can't be found. 

Diseases of Yore

I think some families have certain subjects they tend to talk about more than others - ours tends to talk about health issues. Whenever I see a cause of death on a death certificate I wonder what it is and usually look it up.

There are certain "Diseases of Yore" that I am not clear on what they were and how they may have affected our ancestors.

I became a fan of Downton Abbey last year and in Season Three that aired in January 2013 in the U.S., daughter Sybil developed Eclampsia, which is a disease pregnant woman today still develop. It was pretty horrifying watching poor Sybil go through the effects of the disease and while it was portrayed for dramatic purposes, it makes think of all the women who died from this disease in the past, right in our own family lines. Hypertension, delusion, high levels of protein in the urine and then life-threatening seizures are part of the disease. Other than testing for high levels of protein, and high blood pressure, viewers saw the delusion and physical seizures as portrayed by Lady Sybil. Sad. :(

Sepsis is something I see quite often on the death certificates. The old-time name might be along the lines of it being called Blood Poisoning, but it's mainly a bacterial or viral infection that can't be fought off by the person's body alone. Left untreated, without antibiotics resulting in septic shock and complete system failure is typically what causes death. From what I am reading, this is still today a very common cause of death, many times resulting from other primary diseases.

Consumption was the "of Yore" word for Tuberculosis (TB), an air-borne disease that has been found in ancient times as well as today. It was known as the wasting disease.

Cholera is a bacterial infection of the small intestines with symptoms of watery diarrhea and vomiting. Cause is due to unsanitary conditions and consuming water or food that has been contaminated by a person already infected. Our ancestors living in the U.S. between 1832 in 1851 may have lived through or died from a Cholera epidemic.

Notes - As I am reading about these diseases mentioned above and because I didn't want to list some of the more medical details and potentially gross sounding descriptions, I'm noticing that some of the diseases say that people can already have these diseases and transmit them but yet not be sick themselves. I think I knew this and others probably know this, but I suppose I didn't realize how many times this is the case.

REMEDIES:

Penicillin, the antibiotic, wasn't used widely until around the time of WWII.

Homeopathic Remedies
Everyone's bodily systems function differently for many reasons and before starting anything, check it out and more importantly, pay very close attention if any adverse reactions occur and stop doing it.

Apple Cider Vinegar - This one is interesting because my maternal Grandmother subscribed to the philosophy of drinking a glass of water daily with 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar. She always said she would live to the age of 100 years old . . . and she did.  RIP . . . Sophronia Isabelle (Vaughn) Strange - 1896 - 1996.

Disclaimer: This is not meant to be a medically reliable description of these diseases and conditions, but rather, they are the medical conditions that I was interested in learning more about. Do NOT use this information for any diagnostic purposes - it's just my blog. See the medical websites and medical professionals for accurate information about each of these. The same holds true for any remedies I've listed.

I will add other items as they come along in my travels.

Random Wanderings

I admit that I am an avid web surfer for information about the subjects that interest me. Therefore, I will be posting some various items under this category just for fun and to share the things that I like or I find interesting or inspiring.

One thing I found out in my wanderings today is that one of my ancestors "brutally murdered his wife" and was executed for it back in 1750 in York County, Pennsylvania. Apparently, a researcher from Adams County, PA (part of York County was used for current day Adams County) wrote and published a 9-page paper about the settling of the estate of my ancestor. I suppose this hit me a little bit hard today because this is the first time I found out one of my ancestors did something like this. I suppose it takes a little while to get used to.

Also, today in my wanderings, much to my surprise, I found out the city I live in, from the 2010 census is ranked number 195 by population size. Who would of thought that?! We are 2 behind Topeka, KS and just below Thousand Oaks, California. We have 2 more people than Cedar Rapids, Iowa and about 90 more people than Waco, Texas. Well, I guess it's good to have an idea of other cities that are close in size - for us historians and people interested in things like that.

Okay, how does Austin, Texas come in at Number 13? I suppose they don't have very many suburbs around that area. Long Beach, CA is #36 and Kansas City is #37. I would not have thought that either. Certainly gives me a better indicator of how the population is out there. It seems as it the eastern cities and the far west coast cities would have been higher on the list.

Corinthian Hall - The R.A. Long House - Kansas City, MO

While this isn't related to my own genealogy, I've always been fascinated with one of the old homes of Kansas City. It's the home built in the early 1900's which was the city home of former lumber baron R. A. Long. It is the mansion he built on Gladstone Boulevard east of downtown Kansas City, Missouri known as Corinthian Hall named for the columns built on the front porch of the mansion.

This link has many pictures of this home: Corinthian Hall: http://www.ralonghistoricalsociety.org/corhall1.htm

When we were young and in elementary school, it was a tradition that all school children go on a field trip to this old home, because after the owners died and relatives moved on, the mansion had been donated to the City of Kansas City and was used as the official Historical Museum. During those younger years, of course I had no idea how beautiful and historic the home was without the museum items. The historical society has since moved the museum to Kansas City's historic train station Union Station which, thank goodness has also been restored and is now used for various purposed. Corinthian Hall is now being restored to its original glory now that the museum items have been moved.

I can't wait to go there again and see the house again once it's been restored.

This same R. A. Long lumber baron built a country home as well in the form of a self-sustaining farm and community, which also became another important Kansas City landmark. Not only did he build himself and his family a beautiful country estate and grounds, it contained both agricultural and dairy farms. Daughter Loula Long was an award-winning horsewoman and the city home had stables that were used by primarily her, and the country home had a horse-track and beautiful stables as well.

Anyone who is interested in the history of Kansas City should know about these two beautiful homes and their surrounding lands and communities.

German Relatives

For the most part, my family is from the British Isles area, with a few exceptions. Some of our family lines originated in Germany and other places, but this post will be about our German relatives.

German Heritage

Johan Jurg Meisser - b. Abt 1680, Germany, d. 1745 Scoharie Valley, New York State. First Immigrant to America of this Line is our 8x Great Grandfather according to documented ancestors. Johan Jurg Meisser translates to John George Meisser.

Johan Jurg Meiser came from the Phatz (Pflaz) region in Germany, his wife and four children (stated as vvrow & 4 kinder) were in the 6th group of the first immigrants to leave Germany through Rotterdam, Holland, 28 July 1709. In 1710, they sailed to England, then on to New York, America. Leaving Germany was believed to be due to religious persecutions and heavy taxes and the promise of freedom in America. After their long and arduous journey and over the span of several years, they settled in the well-known German immigrant area of southeast Pennsylvania.

According to histories, the religious persecutions were against Protestants and included Germans, Austrian, Swiss, Dutch and French people's arriving in America during the early 1700s by the thousands, settling in the state of New York, New Jersey, North Carolina and eventually Pennsylvania. England assisted and encouraged the settling of these people's in the English Colonies in America to increase the number of people in America.

Three separate immigration records have been found to prove that Johan, his wife and four children, including son Johan Michael Meisser were those that finally arrived in New York, NY, America in 1709.

The Meiser/Meisser (and various spellings) have been well-documented from this first ancestor and the children by the Meisser Genealogy Association who compiled and wrote a book.

Zecht/Sixt Family

According to family histories, Johan Jurg Meisser's wife was Anna Elizabth Zecht/Sixt - exact last name spelling not known, but I tend toward the Zecht, as it sounds more German. Her parents were:

Johan Philip Zecht b. abt 1656, Germany and married wife Ann Gertraud in Germany before immigrating with other German's to America. Johan Philip Zecht and family arrived aboard the Ship James & Elizabeth 14 June 1710 to New York, which departed from London, England. They were Lutherans and his occupation was a husbandman and vinedresser.

Those that arrived together from his family in June 1710 were:

Johann Phillip "Sex" is how it is spelled on the immigrant records - Age 53.

Anna Gertaud

Johann Henrich (John Henry) Age 20

Anna Elizabetha, Age 16

Anna Magdalena, Age 13

Son, Age 5

Daughter, Age 1-1/2 yrs of age

Place of Origin: Marienfels, Hessen, Nassau

Family Histories state that Joahann Phillip died 1710 in the Mohawk Valley, Scholarie County, New York. Although, if their ship arrived in 1710 in the ship harbors of New York, it would be fairly impossible to travel to mid-state New York in the same year and die there. More research is needed about his life and death in America.