Destination - Chestertown Maryland

Destination Delmarva at Washington College in Chestertown Maryland was an event I am glad I attended this past Saturday. Sponsored by Colonial Roots, Delaware Genealogical Society and Maryland Genealogical and attended by at least 100 avid researchers, it was definitely not-to-be-missed.

My cousin and I traveled together and so thoroughly enjoyed driving past important markers in our ancestors lives.We are probably lucky it was cold and rainy or we would have stopped several times and been late both going and coming. Who knew that we would pass the Queen Anne Courthouse and St.Luke's Church? Someone did, of course but not these two from Salem County NJ and St.Georges Delaware who were enthralled at our proximity to our family history.We plan to drive up to the area on a non-rainy day and inspect "the road past where Henry Carrow lives" which has been memorialized in Queen Anne records.

Equally exciting for me was spending the day in the company of Mary Beaulieu my fellow blogger and compatriot in uncovering elusive Delmarva ancestors. The entire assemblage was so like minded as we scooped up newer publications like "Dorchester County Marriages" like they were gold nuggets and excitedly met others researching the same folks.

Russ McCabe is to be thanked for requesting as his "gold watch" at his recent retirement 100 copies of "East of the Mason-Dixon Line" and giving one to each attendee. I was awestruck when he told us how our ancestors traveled up from Accomac VA via the waterways which illustrated why they settled where they did. Russ told us of narratives like " my parents and I left Accomac in 1683 " which I must now go and find. His talk was absolutely one of the most exciting I have heard.

Sally Deakyne Burke and Peggy Deakyne Mealy, wonderful researchers and authors most impressed me with their interest in a common tie between my Carrow ancestors and their Deakynes. We mutually agreed to explore that tie in detail and I personally vowed to make sure my research is as accurate as it can be.

Ed Wright's Church records are always enlightening but he has shared much of that with me on other occasions. Rebecca Kolford gave a breathtaking talk on our female ancestors and how to illuminate their lives through their vital statistics and those of their family members. I won't soon forget her Whitman forebears.

Besides the rain and chill the only downside was that we had to make choices on which presentation we would attend. My gratitude to all those at the Delaware and Maryland societies who underwrote the workshops and provided the delectable bakery items that were ever available and were always ready to chat.

How They Came

Ellen Lynch Faunt and infant son William came to America in June 1969 on the ship City of Paris ahead of husband and older son Patrick. Ellen presumably had relatives to live with near New Jersey where we find the family in early 1870. but they have proved elusive.

A couple named Michael and Ellen Lynch are in Pennsylvania around the same time and the occupation, Greengrocer, fits with what I know of Ellen and William in Beverly NJ around 1880.
A big question mark for me is did the family "split up" or safety reasons or was it purely economics? Many Irish couples worked and saved and came one at a time but I am not sure this is the case.

William Faunt has a British Army pension and did not fit into a more typical profile of 19th century immigrants. The couple lived in Belfast after William was medically discharged from duty and he could do little heavy lifting so I am not sure he stayed behind to work his passage.
A second son also named William is born , and presumably dies in Belfast.Possibly Ellen is fleeing Ireland or the smoke of Belfast with her second William,her third son.

William Senior first is found as caretaker of Wall Rope Company in Beverly NJ and soon enough he and Ellen are listed as greengrocers.The family lived in rooms above the rope factory. Their oldest child, my great grandfather Patrick was not five when they came.Eventually he works in the rope factory and possibly helps his mother with the family greengrocer endeavor.Family lore indicates that Patrick's wife Mary Dugan is also a greengrocer.

Mary Dugan's uncle John Dugan comes to America first with his wife Rose Coyle.They are thought to have been childless and brought Mary and her brother Bernard to America one at a time.He seems to have been an entrepreneur although it is a little unclear in what capacity.A livery stable is a strong possibility. Possibly this is how the couple met as Patrick surely took the ferry to Philadelphia from the New Jersey side for his mother's produce.

The ship Alsatia when it sails in 1878 has a Sarah Coyle, possibly a cousin from Donegal on it so Mary does not come alone. Her brother Bernard comes several years later.Our speculation and that of an Irish researcher is that father Patrick Dugan is deceased by this time. Catherine McClafferty Dugan and the couple's last child James as well as other unknown siblings of Mary and Barney are still alive in the 1911 census.

William Faunt and his son Patrick do not live to grow old in America, victims of early heart attacks in 1889 and 1921. Ellen Faunt marries Charles Schneider, baker, in Beverly in 1890 and disappears from records after her American born daughters marry well.

Mary Dugan Faunt dies in 1902 of what sounds like a strangulated hernia possibly for the heavy lifting entailed in the produce business. Patrick raises six young children although tales abound of almost monthly evictions.The older siblings delay marrying until the two youngest boys have left home. Patrick fathers a son from a second marriage in 1918 but is dead in 1921.His son from that marriage George Patrick dies in Italy in WWII.

Don't we all think our family's emigration narratives unique and their struggles in America poignantly difficult? I surely do, but I am very grateful for their journeys.They did it for me and mine.

Tombstone Tuesday

These actually came to my attention last night which was Tuesday. My Great Grandfather Patrick Faunt was born in Limerick Ireland and is last found in records in the 1920 census with wife Florence and children Helen and George.

I failed to find a death for him after numerous tries.I believe this to be him and have records being searched this week. There is another Patrick living in the area but they spell their last name differently..Font.They are not sure they are related.I am sure they are as I have pulled about 50 Irish records including their Patrick.

Patrick's father William (1840-1889) is also buried in this cemetery St. Peter's in Riverside New Jersey as well as some infants born in America. William Faunt and Ellen his wife brought their two little boys to Beverly New Jersey in 1869, William had a military pension from the British Army.Pat's sisters Jennie Faunt Cooper and Nellie Faunt Hutchins who were born in America lived nearby in Burlington City.

Find A Grave has had both of these added since I last looked.George Patrick Faunt was killed in WWII and apparently was orphaned young. This was a fact of life for my Patrick as his first wife Mary Dugan died in 1902 leaving him with six young children to raise.Edward my grandfather had just turned four.

George Faunt's draft record indicates he supports his widowed mother.Poor dear.So many motherless and fatherless children in my immediate family.

Rest In Peace, Patrick and George and may perpetual light shine on you.

Early Delaware Edenfield family

The trusty and accomplished researcher who assists me with my Delaware and Maryland family lines has brought back an amazing amount of data.It is still a work in progress and maybe always will be but much of it is entrancing. In the Carrow family there are other lines and relatives, of course, including Edenfield, Maloney and Jones.


William F.Carrow who is a Civil War Veteran married Margaret Edenfield.Actually both he and Margaret married others during the war but were both widowed. They married in 1878 and she brought a child to the marriage.

I was hoping to find a way back to the first Edenfield, John who comes from Yorkshire and marries in Kent County Delaware by 1702 without hitting a minefield. The minefield comes in the person of Jonas Edenfield who has been called the"Pirate of Bombay Hook" for his enterprenurial efforts with the British warships during the Revolution and the sale of beef and rum.

However it seems at this point that the line goes from Thomas Edenfield who is father to my Margaret Carrow through another Thomas and then..guess what..Jonas and then another Jonas before the immigrant.

Good news here is that the first Jonas seemingly marries Tabitha Stedham who is of the "Old Swedes" Stidhams which is a plus. Another upbeat bit of news is that Jonas Sr.'s niece Lydia marries William Clayton which is the family of Caesar Rodney.

Jonas Stidham's partner in this endeavor on the marshes off Delaware was a Lucas Stedham who went on to "take the Oath" of allegiance to the new country and thus got off the hook.Jonas however may have only paid a minuscule fine which probably speaks to conflicted loyalties in the area.

There are a couple of decades of tax records to be scrutinized before my Thomas Edenfield who is orphaned quite young is officially in the Thomas, Thomas,Jonas, Jonas line but it is looking like a sure thing.The mists of time are being penetrated slightly for me to peek in.

More cousins in Beverly New Jersey ?

The daughters of Richard Swanson and Mary Agnes Rementer Swanson have by and large had happiness elude them.One notable exception was Bessie Katherine , youngest child,who married Dan Ulmer and seems to have fared very well.Of the six daughters three are dead at an early age leaving motherless children.

Margaret Swanson sister of my grandmother may have had another child before she passed away in 1923. Recently we found that Margaret had had a whirlwind courtship in 1906 which ended at some point in divorce.Her bridegroom was a Baseball player and local legend John Westley Reasnor and they eloped to the chagrin of his fans.

My cousin and I have been trying valiantly to unearth details.Margaret's son John Westley Reasnor, also a Baseball player of some renown goes by the name of John Westly. He and his two sisters are found in a children's home in 1920. Newspaper clippings of 1918 that reported that John Rasnor died in WWI in France were possibly inserted by him or a friend as he is found alive afterwards. Another news story in 1920 indicates his mother had a "Dream" that he was still alive and asked the local police to try to locate him. Is it possible she wants her grandchildren properly cared for and knows he is shirking his responsibilty?

Family stories are that the couple divorced and that Margaret is deceased by 1920. Imagine our surprise to find a cemetery record for Margaret Swanson Gorgand while other relatives interments were being searched. The spelling was very wrong but it seems that Margaret Swanson remarries by 1922 or at least by her death Feb. 7, 1923 to one Orest Gorgana or Gargana.She is buried in a Swanson family plot in Monument Cemetery in Beverly NJ .

The 1930 census shows Orest Gargana and a second wife Florence with Evelyn and Anthony.Evelyn does not seem to be a child of that new marriage as she is seven and they are married in 1925.

Our faithful Burlington County genealogy buddy researcher has found that Evelyn , if she is daughter to Margaret Swanson is raised in Beverly NJ as a daughter to Orest and Florence Gargana. Her obituary names them as parents and names Anthony,Rosemarie and Raymond as siblings.We await a birth record from NJ Archives to know for sure who Evelyn's mother was.

Questions that always linger for me is how in such a tiny town were such large secrets kept?
Why was life so hard for these girls in this family? Only one of the sisters lived to raise their children as one lost her only child and one lived with a man for many years without marriage or children. A last question would be poignant,did Margaret marry to try to provide a home for her children or did she place them in a home to try and salvage a life for herself?

UPDATE ~ Birth records show Evelyn Gargana is not the daughter of Margaret Swanson so this one time at least I can not be upset at the Swanson family lack of cohesiveness.

My Journey to find 16 Great Great Grandparents

Is it as good as it gets? I don't know but I continue to work at finding all 16 great greats despite the missing pieces. By utilizing both paper records and DNA I am getting pretty close to a full picture although my "head count" is down.

My father's father was unknown to us, and I believe, to him.His grandparents adopted and raised him and we were told his birth certificate was sealed. Six years after his death I was able to find his birth data and there was a name.

(1 and 2). Great Great Grandfather Seybold may have been born in North Germany or Poland.My Autosomal DNA and my X markers as well as Sister's( my only sibling) indicate that this man may have been from that area. POLISH
(3 and 4)Great Great grandmother ( same unknown group of folks) may have been from Russia or Estonia( or else we reverse this).Initially my autosomal profile was said to be Native American but it eventually has come to look more Siberian tribal. POLISH or RUSSIAN
(5)William F. Carrow's Delaware family was in America (Accomac Virginia) by 1643 and the immigrant was from the north of Ireland very likely Portglenone Antrim. IRISH
(6) Margaret Edenfield from Delaware also had early immigrants ( 1680)ENGLISH
(7)Patrick Kirwan emigrated to South Jersey in 1880 from County Wexford IRISH
(8)Elizabeth Sweeney's parents were from Tyrone. IRISH
(9)William Faunt was born in Fethard Tipperary where his Anglo-Norman line ( Walter L'Enfant) lived since 1270. IRISH
(8)Ellen Lynch was born near Bruff Limerick, not so far from where the Faunt family lived for centuries.They came to Beverly NJ in 1869.IRISH
(9)Patrick Dugan lived and died in an area of Donegal where Gaelic is still spoken.IRISH
(10) Catherine McClafferty also still spoke Gaelic in the 1911 census in Falcarragh Donegal.Patrick was deceased by then.IRISH
(11) John Swanson 's father Captain Charles Swanson was born in Gotheburg, served in the Swedish Navy and very likely fought in the Russian War before he emigrated to the Delaware Valley in 1813.SWEDISH
(12)Rebecca Spencer's family is most likely English or Irish.
(13))Charles Rementer's grandfather Peter came with other Palatinates and settled in Southwark, Philadelphia.He is thought to have been from Alsace-Lorraine.His children said he was from Germany ( Alsace was both German and French)GERMAN
(14)Margaret Lynch was from Cork Ireland.She emigrated during the famine to Rhode Island.
Mitochondrial DNA almost exact match indicates it is likely near Bantry Bay.IRISH

Since I have an approximation of DNA that "looks like" a reference population and since my paternal grandmother eventually married a Norwegian sailor I believe unknown Grandfather (and his forebears) was Polish/Russian.

Drumroll! This was fun.
IRISH 50%
POLISH/RUSSIAN 25 %
ENGLISH 12.5 %
GERMAN 6.25%
SWEDISH 6.25%

Captain Charles Swanson and his brother Andrew

Two men named Swanson are in the Southwark Philadelphia area in the 1830 census.

Andrew Swanson and his presumed brother Charles come in 1813 according to records.These same records indicate that the men are from Goteborg Sweden. Charles Swanson at least very likely served in the Swedish Navy in their war against Russia : "While the War of 1808-09 is not to be considered being of world historical proportions, it certainly was an important event in both Swedish and Finnish history" as when the war ended 110 ships were delivered into Russian hands as was Finland after 600 years the Swedish-Finnish union was dead.

Since Charles Swanson as well as Andrew were born in Goteborg they surely were Swedish but possibly had ties to Finland.To me the men of the family appear more like Finns as they are short and dark a trait that goes on for generations. ( see attached pictures of Richard Johnson Swanson and youngest son Addison)

Andrew Swanson identifies his birthplace in his death certificate in 1862.He is a merchant.

Andrew may leave only one child Catherine B. who marries Cyrus Wilson Foss a merchant who is born in Maine.Catherine B.Foss has two children and memorializes her parents with their names I suspect, Andrew Swanson Foss and Annie Waterman Foss. Andrew and Annie and their families remain in the Delaware Valley for generations.

Charles Swanson dies August 1850 of cholera and that document describes him as a pilot on the river.Posthumously at least he is called "Captain Charles Swanson" in his daughter Hannah Swanson Jackson's obituary.

His sons who followed his career continued to live in South Philadelphia and later Camden NJ these were James and Andrew.

The three men who are found in Beverly NJ seem to be involved in transportation and merchandising perhaps and this combination of occupations may reflect their origins.

The ship type listed in their 1813 passport is "Angare" which means steamship although that is surely not possible?

Civil War records for the Beverly NJ brothers are confusing.From what I have read many men from the Burlington County area went for the bonus money; some actually went to PA for the larger bonus( Bob Knoll has information on that). All three brothers, Edward, William and John may have served in some capacity in the conflict as records exist for all. although not an actual Civil War packet.I have ordered one for each of them from NJ Archives which is offering vouchers for a very reasonable sum.

I continue to try to piece together the Swanson in America tale.