My Family History Primer

By

Charles W. Paige

 

 

Grandparents Lyman and Hannah (Francis) Keyes:  brought my line of Keyes from East Bloomfield, Ontario Co., NY to Cambria, Niagara Co., NY before 1820; had seven children

Grandmother Hannah (Francis) Keyes:  brought some of her children to Climax, Kalamazoo Co., MI in 1835, seven years after Grandfather Lyman died; farmed and taught earliest school classes in her own residence at Climax before a school was built; married Step-Grandfather George Fletcher of PA, VA, and MI

Cousins to each other and my cousins architect Maurice Powers Carney of Battle Creek, MI, and attorney and amateur photographer Claude Silas Carney of Kalamazoo, MI:  each married a sister of brothers Richard and Joseph Burchnall Westnedge of Kalamazoo; Richard died at Manila, Philippines of typhoid fever during the Spanish American War; “Fightin’ Joe” died of illness at Nantes, France at the end of The Great War; Kalamazoo’s West Street renamed Westnedge Avenue in their honor

Grandparents Phillip and Mary (Lilly) Shook:  brought my line of Shooks from PA (probably Turbot Twp., Northumberland Co.) to Lockport, Niagara Co., NY by way of Seneca Co., NY; their house used as meeting place to start area's German Lutheran and Reformed Church, of which Phillip became an elder January 1, 1837 (later called the Evangelical Lutheran Church); Phillip and Mary had eight children; Phillip had three children by second wife Step-Grandmother Hannah (Lilly) Shook

Grandfather Johnathan “Jonas” Shook:  was a principal member at time of organization of English Lutheran Church at Cambria, Niagara Co., NY in 1837 (later called St. Paul's Lutheran Church); had nine children by wife Grandmother Anna (LaRoche) Shook

Grandparents Orlando and Lucinda (Shook) Keyes:  brought my line of Keyes from Cambria, Niagara Co., NY to Climax, Kalamazoo Co., MI in 1851; had seven children

Grandfather Rev. Orlando Keyes:  originally a cooper by trade; ordained a minister of the gospel about 1859; served as chaplain of the 12^th Michigan Veteran Volunteer Infantry during Civil War and died from disease contracted during military service

Grandfather Riley Preston Page:  came to Branch Co., MI from Webster, Monroe Co., NY with parents and brother about 1857 and returned there alone before 1900; fathered six children—three apiece by first two wives, Step-Grandmother Elizabeth (Hollenbeck) Page and Grandmother Sarah M. (Keyes) Page; was a farmer, farm laborer, then sewing machine traveling salesman in MI and shoe maker/shoe repairer in NY; married third wife Step-Grandmother Emma (Conant) Wright Page at Webster, Monroe Co., NY

Grandmother Sarah M. (Keyes) Page:  married Step-Grandfather Harvey Olmstead Cline “H.O.,” who was a storekeeper, real estate broker, and served two terms as sheriff of Ingham Co., MI

Grandparents Jonathan and Mary (Fay) Brigham:  married as first cousins; had ten children; Mary’s father was Grandfather John Fay who sailed to America in 1656 on same ship (the Speedwell) with Grandfather Thomas Barns, sailing from Gravesend about May 20, 1656 and landing in Boston, Suffolk Co., MA June 27, 1656; the Fay line and Barns line joined nearly three hundred years later with marriage of Parents Jennie Louise Barnes and Howard Oswald Paige

Cousin Margret W. (Keyes) Blackenstoe Reed:  with second husband Irishman James Frazier Reed and daughter Virginia Blackenstoe, traveled from Union, Monroe Co., VA to San Jose, Santa Clara Co., CA; survived ill-fated Donner party, James Frazier Reed being one of its leaders; Margret had one child by first husband Lloyd Carter Blackenstoe and six children by James Frazier Reed

Cousin Brigham Young:  replaced Joseph Smith as head of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints after Smith killed; took Mormons to Great Salt Lake area of UT to escape persecution; founded Salt Lake City; explored a natural wonder of UT he named Zion, which later became Zion National Park; had fifty-seven children by twenty-three wives—thirteen of the children were born of six wives who had been widows of Joseph Smith

Grandfather Charles Orlando Page:  survived diphtheria contracted as an infant to be the only of three surviving children of Grandfather Riley P. Page to bring forward several generations of descendants; of the other two surviving siblings:  Uncle George Hudson and Aunt Mary (Reed) Page brought forward a single generation; Aunt Carrie (Page) Richards Soule Wheeler and first husband Uncle Theodore Dudley "Dorr" Richards began what would be a two-generation run beginning with their daughter, cousin Lola Mae (Richards) Milliman, who was widowed young and in June 1911 became editor and manager of the Scotts department of the Cereal, a Climax, Kalamazoo Co., MI newspaper

Grandfather Henry Welter:  born 1735 in Germany and came to America at age 5; was in American Revolutionary War as drummer from May 1775 until 1778; had four children by Grandmother currently unknown; lived to be 99 years old at Drakestown, Morris Co., NJ

Grandparents William and Sarah (Welter) Casner:  brought my line of Cas(t)ners from Morris Co., NJ to Milo, Yates Co., NY in 1835; to Ovid, Clinton Co., MI about 1855; helped found First Baptist Church of Shepardsville, Clinton Co., MI in 1876; had eight children

Grandparents Edward Potter and Frances “Franky” Marie Laronge (Gargett/Sutliff) Castner:  had three children; moved their family from Ovid, Clinton Co., MI to Lansing, Ingham Co., MI to Detroit, Wayne Co., MI before being divorced in 1902

Grandmother Franky (Gargett/Sutliff) Castner Witherell:  a highly skilled seamstress who worked with furs; lived to be over 102 years old; married as second husband Detroit barber Step-Grandfather Harry J. Witherell; they moved to Jackson, MI from Detroit in 1921

Grandfather Edward Potter Castner:  helped found First Baptist Church of Shepardsville, Clinton Co., MI in 1876; married as his second wife Canadian-born Step-Grandmother Catherine, twenty-six years his junior and of Irish parentage; lived in Redford, Wayne Co., MI (near Detroit)

Grandmother Maude Annabelle (Castner) Page Moore:  took steps to preserve family history by writing memories in several small notebooks and by giving list of her father Grandfather Edward Potter Castner’s siblings to adoptive granddaughter Gayle Marie (Page) Miller, who had expressed an interest; had three children by first husband Grandfather Charles Orlando Page

Step-Grandfather Ira Arthur Moore:  farmer in Carroll Co., IN; prison guard at the Indiana Reformatory at Pendleton, Madison Co., IN for four years; moved to Jackson, MI with first wife Lillian and joined the Southern Michigan Prison (SMP) staff as a guard in 1929; became Chief Steward (head cook) at prison after prison riot of 1952 until retirement in 1958; supervised preparation of about 18,000 meals a day for inmates and staff of prison and trustee farms; second wife was Grandmother Maude Annabelle (Castner) Page Moore

Grandmother Sarah (Lord) Willson:  in September 1692 accused of witchcraft, arrested at Andover, Essex Co., MA and imprisoned fifteen weeks at Salem before being released; while in prison, was interviewed by Rev. Increase Mather, father of Cotton Mather; had at least one child by husband Grandfather Joseph Willson

Grandmother Sarah Willson, Jr.:  in September 1692 accused of witchcraft, arrested at Andover, Essex Co., MA and imprisoned six weeks at Salem before being released; later, had at least one child by husband Grandfather Jacob Preston

Grandfather Richard Tayer:  was born in Gloucestershire, England in 1600; brought my line of T(h)ayers from England to Braintree, Norfolk Co., MA in 1641; had at least one child by wife Grandmother Dorothy Pray; family resided in Braintree for more than 150 years

Grandfather William Henry Page, Sr.:  brought my line of Pages from England to America in 1829 along with Step-Grandmother Martha (Hudson), settling first in Wayne Co., NY; later settled at Webster, Monroe Co., NY with second wife Grandmother Chloe (Thayer) Robinson Page, and finally at Bronson, Branch Co., MI in about 1857

Grandmother Chloe (Thayer) Robinson Page:  settled at Macedon, Wayne Co., NY in 1800 with parents Grandparents William and Chloe (Preston) Thayer and nine siblings; origination point was Braintree, Norfolk Co., MA; had five children by first husband Step-Grandfather James Robinson; had two children by second husband Grandfather William Henry Page, Sr.

Uncle William Henry Page, Jr.:  came to Branch Co., Michigan from Webster, Monroe Co., NY with parents and brother about 1857; had nine children by wife Aunt Mariah (Patch) Page

Grandparents Robert and Hannah (Uxor) Mason:  resided at Bolton, Lancashire, England, where Robert died at Battle of Bolton during English civil war against King Charles I; son Grandfather Sampson Mason was soldier in Cromwell's Army; Sampson came to America in 1649, settling first at Dorchester, MA; in 1650 married Grandmother Mary Butterworth at Rehoboth, Bristol Co., MA, where they settled; Sampson and Mary had thirteen children

Grandparents Thomas and Dorothy (Wheatley) Bliss:  brought my Bliss line from Devonshire, England to Braintree, Norfolk Co., MA in 1636 and ultimately to the religious colony of Rehoboth, Bristol Co., MA, where family resided for more than 130 years; had four children; their granddaughter Aunt Rachel (Bliss) Mann, daughter of Grandparents Jonathan and Miriam (Harmon) Bliss and first wife of Uncle Thomas Mann, and the baby in her arms were two of first victims killed by Indians at Swansea, Bristol Co., MA at the outbreak of the King Philip’s War in 1675

Grandfather Captain Samuel Bliss:  fought in the Revolutionary War; commanded a company of eight day minute men April 19-27, 1775, afterwards a company of eight months men in Col. Timothy Walker's regiment; was in Captain Slade's Company three years and was General Washington's steward at Morristown in winter of 1777; had five children by wife Grandmother Keziah (Wilmarth) Carpenter Bliss

Grandfather Calvin Hall Bliss, Sr.:  had five children by first wife Grandmother Seraph (Bothwell) Bliss and four children by second wife Step-Grandmother Louisa (Tuttle) West Bliss; most of children by first marriage settled in Calhoun Co., MI and most by second marriage settled in Prince Edward Co., VA along with Calvin, Sr. and Louisa, where son Half-Uncle Calvin Hall Bliss, Jr. was sheriff in 1880

Grandparents Adam F. and Anna Mary (Mcclean) Hubbard:  brought my Hubbard line from NY to Calhoun and Barry counties, MI; had five children

Grandparents Sidney E. and Helen M. (Hubbard) Bliss:  brought my Bliss line from Galen, Wayne Co., NY to Calhoun Co., MI in 1866, first to Tekonsha then to Albion; had six children

Uncle Alexander Wilson, Jr.:  came to America from Scotland with his nephew Uncle William Duncan, Jr. in 1794; initially settled in Philadelphia, PA; at first was weaver; traveled extensively to sell woven goods and to collect bird specimens and information, and subscribers to his ornithological book series; attributed as Father of American Ornithology, preceding John James Audubon by over a decade

Uncle William Duncan, Jr.:  twin of Grandmother Isabella Duncan, came to America from Scotland with Uncle Alexander Wilson in 1794; settled in Philadelphia, PA; settled at Ovid, Seneca Co., NY; settled at Milestown, PA; was weaver; was schoolteacher; did some traveling with his Uncle Alexander

Grandmother Isabella (Duncan) McNelly Ellis:  twin of Uncle William Duncan, Jr.; came to America from Scotland in 1797; lived in Philadelphia, PA; had five children by husband Grandfather John McNelly from Ireland; settled in PA; settled at Ovid, Seneca Co., NY; settled at Pulteney, Steuben Co., NY; married Step-Grandfather John Ellis after John McNelly’s death

Grandfather John McNelly:  came to America from Ireland about 1798 (perhaps a refugee from 1798 Irish Rebellion); became US citizen in 1808; enlisted as soldier in War of 1812; took part in US invasion of Canada led by Major-General James Wilkinson; died during military service

Grandmother Mary (Wilson) Duncan:  brought remainder of her family from Scotland to America in 1802; settled at Ovid, Seneca Co., NY; had six children by husband Grandfather William Duncan, Sr., who did not accompany family to America

Grandparents Robert and Jane Hood:  brought my Hood line from Turbot Twp., Northumberland Co., PA to Seneca Co., NY; had three children

Grandfather James Hood, Sr.:  a carpenter; brought my Hood line from Seneca Co., NY to Pulteney, Steuben Co., NY to Novi, Oakland Co., MI, ultimately settling in Moscow, Hillsdale Co., MI; had ten children by first wife Grandmother Catharine (McNelly) Hood; married second wife Step-Grandmother Emily, whose first husband Lewis T. Miller had settled in Moscow Twp. in 1834, was a delegate to Michigan’s first Constitution Convention in 1836, and was an uncle of the Hon. William H. Seward, instrumental in the purchase of Alaska from the Russians

Grandmother Catharine (McNelly) Hood:  gave birth to ten children before losing own life after birth of twins while staying with Uncle James and Aunt Jane (Waddell) Duncan in Lyons, Oakland Co., MI; husband Grandfather James Hood, Sr. was away; children raised in separate homes

Uncle James Duncan Hood:  twin of Uncle William McNelly Hood; raised by Uncle James and Aunt Jane (Waddell) Duncan; took $50 bounty to serve in Civil War for another person; was captured by Confederate soldiers at Chickamauga and died at Andersonville Prison, GA

Grandfather Thomas Goodenow:  born at Donhead, St. Andrews, Wiltshire, England; came to America on "Confidence" in April 1638; settled at Sudbury, Middlesex Co., MA; with other residents of Sudbury later founded Marlborough, Middlesex Co., MA; selectman of Marlborough 1661, 1662 and 1664; surveyor of highways; built a bridge across Sudbury River; had seven children by wife Grandmother Jane (Ruddick) Goodenow; their crippled granddaughter Mary, a daughter of Uncle Samuel and Aunt Mary Goodenow, was killed and scalped by marauding Indians August 18, 1707

Grandfather Thomas Barns:  at age 20 came to America on same ship (the Speedwell) with Grandfather John Fay, sailing from Gravesend about May 20, 1656 and landing in Boston, Suffolk Co., MA June 27, 1656; became early settler at Marlborough, Middlesex Co., MA; had seven children by wife Grandmother Abigail (Goodenow) Barns; in 1676, during King Philip's War, family temporarily fled to Concord, Middlesex Co., MA while house and goods burned by Indians as part of destruction of Marlborough; the Fay line and Barns line joined nearly three hundred years later with marriage of Parents Jennie Louise Barnes and Howard Oswald Paige

Grandfather William James Barns:  first of my Barns ancestors born in America; with Grandmother Mary (Smith) Barns brought my line from Marlborough, Middlesex Co., MA to East Haddam, Middlesex Co., CT; had nine children

Grandfather Thomas Barns:  orphaned at age 12—Samuel Evans of Haddam appointed as guardian; Thomas and Grandmother Rebecca Hungerford (Cone) Barns brought my Barns line from East Haddam, Middlesex Co., CT to Sharon, Litchfield Co., CT; had eight children

Grandparents Thomas and Sarah Barns:  remained at Sharon, Litchfield Co., CT; they and their seven children mentioned in book “Born, Married and Died in Sharon, Conn”

Grandparents Aaron and Martha (Eggleston) Barns:  brought my Barns line from Sharon, Litchfield Co., CT to Mentz/Aurelius, Cayuga Co., NY; used a “shell or dinner horn” to call people in from the fields; had seven children

Uncle Jeffrey Samuel Barns:  administrator to last will and testament of Grandfather Aaron Barns; settled at Mentz and Brutus, Cayuga Co., NY; settled at Butler and Galen, Wayne Co., NY; settled at Murray, Orleans Co., NY; settled at Niles Twp., Berrien Co., MI; settled at Butler, Branch Co., MI; had six children by wife Aunt Lucretia Barns, who spent her last years at Quincy, Branch Co., MI

Grandfather David Sittser:  immigrated with his family to Throop, Cayuga Co., NY (near Auburn) from area called Rensselaerwyck Manor near Berne, Albany Co., NY in 1815 to help build new state prison at Auburn (his name is engraved on a wall in the old part of the prison); also that year, with his sons, built large farmhouse on Sittser Road in Throop, which remained in family until about 1970; the “Sitzer or Community Cemetery” is located on part of original property across the meadow from the house, where David, Sarah, and some descendants and relatives R.I.P; had seven children by wife Grandmother Sarah (Mills) Sittser

Uncle Peter and Aunt Emeline J. (Miller) Sittser:  settled on old Sittser farm; became abolitionists and were part of Underground Railroad; at time of 1860 Federal census of Cayuga County had living with them Charles and Betsey Fergeson and child Maria, fugitive slaves—Charles being 38 years old and born in Virginia; later settled on a farm near Owasco Lake, where Peter and Emeline ran "Sittser's Resort" for summer boarders at foot of Owasco Lake until 1890

Cousin Clara (Sittser) Williams:  before marriage to physician Marcus J. Williams, was one of ten women attending Syracuse University at Syracuse, NY, who founded Alpha Phi women’s fraternity in September 1872; first meeting of the today-international fraternity/sorority held September 18 in Clara’s room

Grandparents Thomas and Sarah (Sittser) Barns:  settled at Mentz, Cayuga Co., NY; settled at Rose, Butler and Galen, Wayne Co., NY; settled at Seneca Falls, Seneca Co., NY; brought my Barns line from Seneca Falls to Jackson, Jackson Co., MI in 1843

Grandparents David and Mary W. (Hood) Barns:  bought a 200-acre farm near Horton, Jackson Co., MI, that remained owned by their descendants for well over a century; David had two children by first wife Step-Grandmother Arvilla (Field) Barns and six children by Mary

Grandfather William Hood Barn(e)s:  recorded several highlights of family history on paper, later leading to discoveries of much more information; had four children by wife Grandmother Nellie Mae (Bliss) Barnes

Grandfather Bygod Egleston:  brought my line of E(g)glestons from England to America about 1630, landing at Dorchester, MA; about 1635 moved to Windsor, Hartford Co., CT, at the confluence of the Farmington and Connecticut rivers and about six miles north of Hartford; had four children by wife Grandmother Mary (Talcott) Egleston; had seven children by wife Step-Grandmother Mary (Wall) Egleston

Grandfather Nicholas Disbrough:  listed as one of original landowners of Hartford, Hartford Co., CT; cabinet-maker (two beautiful chests carved by him are in the Hartford, CT Athenaeum); chosen chimney-viewer 1647, 1655, 1663, 1669; chosen surveyor of highways 1665; in 1683 became involved in dispute with neighbor over ownership of clothing chest resulting in Nicholas being afflicted by events deemed supernatural; after dispute resolved, such events ceased; a local pastor reported the purportedly supernatural phenomena to Rev. Increase Mather, to be used by both Increase and Cotton Mather, his son, to build case for Salem Witch Trials (account first introduced in Increase’s "Remarkable Providences, An Essay For the Recording of Illustrious Providences"  (Boston, 1684); and later was the fourth example in Cotton’s "Thaumatographia Pneumatica"); Nicholas was “suspicioned” a witch at time of trials (1692) but had died nearly a decade earlier; had four children by wife Grandmother Mary (Bronson) Disbrough

Grandparents Samuel I and Sarah (Disbrough) Eggleston:  settled in Middletown, Hartford Co., CT; had nine children

Grandfather Samuel IV Eggleston:  one of earliest settlers at Spencer’s Corner (a later name), Northeast Twp., Dutchess Co., NY; wrote a mandatory schoolbook called, “Know Your Schoolmaster”; had eleven children by wife Grandmother Hester (Buck) Eggleston

 

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