Going through DeLong Files

It's sometimes helpful to go through old files and to just get in touch with writers that haven't been reached for a while. I'm going through the DeLong files right now, which compromises three full loose-leaf notebooks.

I've always been intrigued by our Canadian DeLong family. I have an E-Mail from 2004 from "D.M.". I know that the "D" stands for Doreen, and I know that Doreen is from the DeLong family. I hope to get her home address and send the next Prairie Roots newsletter to her.

Doreen writes..."Andrew is buried beside his wife Edna (on the North side of her) in the North Battleford Municipal Cemetery. There is no marker for him. There is a gravestone for Edna. The lettering is very faded." Andrew is the brother of ggrandmother, Catherine Elizabeth (Libby) DeLong Daugherty, wife of George Daugherty. Andrew and his wife, Edna Draper returned to Canada from S.D. Andrew is the grandfather of Loren DeLong, whom I keep in touch and have mentioned in this blogsite.

Continued..."Any dates re: Peter, Jr. (Libby's father) or others are in the bible record and in my grandfather's recollections as told to my mom. These items and a picture of Susan Powell DeLong (Catherine's mother), were found in my mother's things after she passed away in 1996 (Catherine Pratt). Clarence DeLong's wife, Betty DeLong (Charbonneau) has also passed away, but I have no birth and death dates regarding her with me." Betty DeLong has been mentioned by the family of Clarence McGirr & Marilyn McNeil Hershly. Clarence's mother, Mabel Daugherty McGirr, visited this family at one time in Canada. Getting back to Loren, Clarence and Betty were his mother and father.

"North Battleford is on one of the main routes to Alaska. If you are going through, be sure to let us know." D.M.

Andrew was born in Whitby, Ontario in 1871. In 1880 he left for Michigan and South Dakota. Andrew then went to Oregon and returned to S.D. He also went to Virginia and after spending a few months there, returned to Canada. There, he and Edna married (1905), in NOrth Battleford, Sask. Evidently Edna and Andrew met each other when Andrew helped Edna's family across a bolder during a severe rain storm. Edna has roots in Phillips, WI, northeast of where I live. They had three children: Clarence, Carl William, and George Henry.

There are several instances of people in this family moving to the US and then back to Canada. It's incredible that these journeys were so numerous. We are talking about long, long distances.

Another day of Peppers

I've decided to spend today becoming more acqainted with the generation of Peppers that my 2nd great grandmother, Martha Pepper Daugherty belonged to. I've printed off a copy of yesterday's blog to keep some of these people straight. Many Pepper or Peppers family members had huge numbers of children.

Henry & Hiram were brothers of Martha. They had small families..I've got them both with daughters named Lillie - one a Lillie E. and one a Lillie D. Another brother was John. He died in Kansas City Mo. after a long life. He and Mary Ellen Prettyman had 8 children, one being Irvin that I wrote about earlier this winter.

Then comes Martha, married to William Henry Daugherty, of whom I've developed a great deal of respect for. I shared her obituary earlier this month. According to family members, William was "a scalawag. He was a gambler and probably a womanizer. Great Grandma D. kicked him out and ordered the kids, 'Don't you bury him beside me.' or something to that effect. I've heard a version with her using stronger language than that. Martha is buried alone in the Wessington Cemetery. They had a large family...William John, Hattie, George Henry (my ggrandfather), Edward, Fred R., Emma & Richard. Helen McNeil stated that there were 10 children, so I'm assuming that there were babies that dyed at birth.

Another brother of Martha was Jacob. He married Alice Tuttle. The Tuttle name is also mentioned in the Bartholomew family. They had a daughter Louella A. Pepper. I've been in communication with the granddaughter of Louella, who married Martha's son Edward (first cousins). After Louella's mother died, Jacob married Mary Wiggins and they had Maude Pepper. Mary had two children from a previous marriage.

Walter Scott Peppers was another of Martha's brothers. They had two daughters. Not much information is known of the rest of Martha's siblings.

Now a bit about Martha's aunt Mary Catherine who married a Dawson. She had a son, John Dawson and had three children. Then there was Louisa Jane Dawson. There were four "Knour" children. James Edward Dawson had five children, Charles Wesley Dawson had one. Martha B. Dawson, had 6 children.

As to Martha's uncle Daniel Peppers, he had a daughter Nancy who married Daniel Gray and they had three children.

Martha's aunt Christina Magdelena Peppers married a Hamson. Her son William Allen Hamson had two children.

Margaret Pepper, another aunt of Martha's, married a Brown. Her son John had four children and her daughter Mary Brown (married name, Graves), had 9 children. Another son of Margaret, William H., married Elizabeth F. Pepper, daughter of Jacob Pepper and Naomi Francis (again, first cousins). There were five children born to them. Another son of Margaret was Jacob Brown. He had 6 children.

Martha's uncle, Jacob, also had a daughter Martha J. This is a bit confusing. "She appears to have been a jolly soul." This Martha married Jacob Ritenour and they had three children. Another daughter of Jacob was Margaret. she married a James Harris and then John Short. There are four children in that family. Elizabeth F. Pepper was also a daughter of Jacob. As was mentioned above, she married her first cousin William H. Brown. Anna America Pepper was another daughter in this family. She married Austin Shawcross. They had 5 children. Jacob's son John W. Pepper had a son Roy. Jacob's next daughter was Delia Sydna. There is some confusion as to Delia's name and marriages. She did marry Mathias Misner and they had 3 children. One more child of Jacob's was Honora Alice. She married Joseph Shawcross and they had 4 children. I'll come back to her at another time.

The picture is of Martha's uncle Jacob Pepper.

Whew! That's a lot of cousins. It's good to review them and become familiar with last names that are connected to our family.

Starting with Jacob Pepper

Let's see...it's been awhile since I've looked at my files on Jacob Pepper. I owe much of my information to James Shawcross. Jacob is my 5th ggrandfather. The names "Pepper" and "Peppers" are used throughout our history. Reminder: Martha Pepper married William Henry Daugherty.

Don't know where or when Jacob Pepper was born. The family could be of German descent. A child of Jacob was Frederick Peppers, born 1762 in PA. Jacob died in 1847 in Richmond, Ross, Ohio.

Frederick married Deborah Gisburt, 1798 in Frederick, MD. Deborah was born in 1779 and died in 1856. She was buried in Union Cemetery, Warren County, Indiana. I just checked my map and Warren County is on the western border of Indiana, about half way down, just west of Layfayette. I need to find out where Union Cemetery is. Frederick died in 1847 in Richmond, Ross, Ohio. He was a farmer and moved to Ross County, Ohio, in 1819.

Frederick and Deborah had 10 children. Our ancestor, John Pepper was the third from the oldest and was born in 1800 in Maryland. In fact when checking things out, all children, except the youngest (Susannah) was born in Maryland. I'd love to find out more about the other children.

I know nothing about John's oldest brother David. His sister, Charolette married Asa Mounts. I believe that there is quite a bit of information concerning Asa. John married Rebecca Goodon. Rebecca was born in 1803 and died 1860 in Iowa. John died two years before her death, in Tazewell, Illinois. Tazewell county is just beneath Peoria. John and Rebecca had 11 children; including my 2nd ggrandmother, Martha.

It looks like John and Rebecca's oldest son, Daniel Frederick , died when 6 months old. Henry Wilson Peppers lived a long life, Hiram Johnson Peppers also enjoyed old age, Anderson Peppers, died at 19, then there was Margaret H. Peppers, next came John Peppers, next came Martha, then Jacob, next George Washington Pepper, than Mary Ann Pepper and lastly Walter Scott Peppers. I'm not realy sure but I think that Martha is the only sibling to have lived in South Dakota.

John and Charolette's sibling, Mary Catherine Pepper was also buried in Union Cemetery, Warren County, Indiana. She had 16 children by Edward Dawson. Edward died at the age of 50 and Mary Catherine married Parrot Smith. All of her children had the Dawson last name. Generally speaking these 16 children were born in Ross county, Ohio or Indiana.

The brother of the above, Daniel, eventually died in Illinois. He and his wife Serena O'Neal had three children.

A sister of the above, Christina Magdalena pepper, married James Hamson and they had 8 children. It looks like Christina and James lived in Illinois, Tazewell County.

Another sibling of OUR Martha's father, John, was Margaret pepper. She married John Brown and they had 10 children.

I'm not sure about Henry, who was born before Margaret, but I have quite a bit of information on Jacob Pepper. It is Jacob that Thomas Shawcrosse is descended from. I'll cover him a bit more later.

The last child of Frederick Peppers and Deborah Gisburt is Susaanah. She was born in 1818 in Ross County, Ohio. She married William Deegan and they had three children. Susannah died in Iroquois County, Illinois. Checking my Atlas, that particular county is located straight east of Peoria, close to the Indiana Border. I still need to visualize each family's migration to the Dakotas. `

Blogging "Enke"

It's rather fun to do some internet searching on a particular name and see what happens. I did this for a few days and just searched "Enke". Keep in mind that Enke was the last name of my second great grandmother, Lydia. She married William White Wilson.

I did find the blog of my 4th cousin 2x removed: Erich Enke, familiar to me in family communications. He and his wife are proud parents of a lovely little girl. You can visit Erich at enkefamilyblogspot.com.

There are several variations of the name...Enck, Enk, Enckler, Encke, Enke, Encking, Enkings, etc. The origin is German and was first found in Salzburg, where this family name became a "prominent contributor to the development of the district from ancient times."

Some of the first settlers of this family name were Jacob Enck, who arrived in 1743; as did Hans Peter Enck in 1751; Johann Jacob Enck in 1764; and Henrich Enckler who came to Philadelphia in 1863. I haven't checked to see if there are any family connects with these people.

There was an Elizabeth Edith Enke, b. 1929, who changed her name to Edie Adams!

The name Enke is the 30,645th most common name in the US. There were 718 in the last US census. You can see a listing of every one of them if you search the right place.

I have found the following occupations among my web searching...mountaineer, professor, tennis player, soccer player, filmaker, lawyer, musician, speed skater, chemist, writer, quarterback, artist, wheel manufacturer, designer, guitar maker, soccer coach, film gossip, basketball coach, physician, animal activist, feminist activist, and poker player.

The name Enke can mean "widow".
In the Urban Dictionary, Enke is "a smooth talkin white boy who loves to toke on the ganja plant."

There is an Enke cemetery in Missouri, a golf course in Arizona, and an online art gallery.

When searching www.findagrave.com, I came up with a possibility of the burial site of Lydia's mother and father in Uniontown Cemetery, Uniontown, Knox County, Illinois. I need to continue to further look into this and to touch base with the few Enke's that I'm sure we're related to.

Remembering Irene Carrington Daugherty

I've been wanting to put more of Aunt Beulah Daugherty Goehring's writings in my newsletter,Prairie Roots, but haven't always had the space. Looking through my Carrington books, I came across this lovely writing Buelah did of her mother, my grandmother, Irene Carrington Daugherty. It's interesting that I don't have a middle name for gram. I've not seen a birth certificate for her. I'll add that to my "to do" list. I'm just taking snippets here and there of Beulah's document.

"My mother (Irene Carrington) grew up on a farm north of Wessington (SD) that was the site of her parent's homestead. My mother told stories of going to Stratton school in the horse and buggy. School was in session only a few months of the year, and the farm children were to work the other months - this was more essential than schooling! She often told of coming home from school and unharnessing the horse when it was so cold their fingers would almost freeze handling the harness. Note: It might be interesting to search for this school, or the site on my next trip to SD.

My mother always loved school and her happiest memories seeemed were associated with it. She always encouraged her children to read, and many evenings at home were spent reading aloud. My mother, Helen, whole-hearted agrees with this.

My parents had a big family to raise during the depression years which were quite a struggle. In spite of the drought, grasshoppers and all of the elements against the SD farmer, we always had the necessities of life. My mother always put her family first. If there was a need for a new dress for the "speaking contest" or "county chorus", somehow we always had one, but Mom went without so we would look nice. She sewed all our dresses until we were old enough to buy our own. I remember so many that she made when I was little, because I loved them so much. Even after all these many years, I can describe the style and color of them.

Mom saw to it that we got our start in Christian Education by attending Tipton Sunday School. She taught several years herself and we seldom missed a sunday. In the summer we would hitch up our Shetland Pony to the buggy and go to Bible school. We always made it without too many incidents, except when it rained, the wheels would enlarge to twice their size with the gumbo of the roads.

Mom taught us to love nature, as her father had taught her. Beware of the person who would destroy a bird's nest or any other of God's creatures! In the summer we would lie out on the grass at night and watch the stars. If we were lucky, we would see a comet zoom across the sky, or maybe catch a firefly. The quiet serenity of a hot summer evening, with no care in the world has a more stabilizing effect than the violence and crime on tv that the modern children of today are exposed to."

Maybe it's a day for remembering small happenings in our lives and the people that affected us daily.

Today's photo is of Irene Carrington Daugherty.

More about William Bartholomew ( 1602-1680)

I've decided to continue the story of William Bartholomew, ancestor of Mary Montgomery Bartholomew Carrington, my second great grandmother...again, from information provided to my grandmother, Irene Carrington, from her cousin,a Robert Bartholomew. I've no knowledge of him except he was living in New York State and apparently never married.

"William Barthlomew was of good parentage. He enjoyed unusual educational advantages and probably received a practical business training in his father's store. Leaving the paternal roof, (in Burford, Oxfordshire) we find him before the age of 30 in London, married, keeping house and probably in some mercantile employment. London at that time put up with & encouraged vulgarity, vice and crime. This young man chose his company from a persecuted but devoutly religious sect, showing a strong and noble character. Surrounded by oppression, perhaps disowned by his father, it is not strange that such a spirit should wish to breathe a freer air, brave the dreaded ocean and join the Puritan settlers in the wilds of America.

The facts given show the high standard he maintained in his adopted home. William had a disregard of his personal interests and instead devoted much of his life to the service of the colony. The colonists needed such a men, and the many and conspicuous trusts placed in his hands show that he was faithful to them. At times he must have been a successful merchant as numerous land transactions and other evidences indicate. He died at the home of his only daughter. His wife Anne died in Charlestown, Jan. 29, 1682."

Anne and William probably had four children: Mary, who married Matthew Whipple and later Jacob Greene, Joseph who resided in London, Eng. in 1693, another William, who our line is descended from, and Abigail, who I have listed as, but this doesn't correlated with the above paragraph. Our Mary Montgomery Bartholomew Carrington is the 5th ggranddaughter of William and Anne. I'll continue this line at another time.

Besides the above mentioned document, I found terrific information on The New England Colonists Web. Some information I have in front of me are The History of Oxfordshire, The Clint Eastwood Tree (yes, you read correctly...he is a relation to our family), St. Frideswide, Passenger list of the ship called Griffin, Salem, Massachusetts, The Lord Family, The Bartholomew Family, The Scudder Family, Puritanism, New England Timeline, and lots more. There is a Guestbook as well that I haven't take time to really check up on. The information on the Bartholomew family is overwhelming. I have some info on 22 different generations of this family and that includes almost 2,000 individuals.

William Bartholomew - to Boston, aboard the "Griffin"

Just to refresh: Lucius Carrington married Mary Montgomery Barthlomew (my ggrandparents)

Aunt Delores (Lori) Daugherty Johnson was the beginning of my interest in family history. She had a document written by "a Barthlomew cousin of Irene Carrington Daugherty...perhaps named Robert Barthlomew." This cousin never married, that I know of. The document is extremely interesting, however it doesn't state the name of compiler nor any of the sources. Still...it gave me a start...the only start I had. The document included four sheets of a tree chart, hand written with very small penmanship, and then several sheets of hand typed notes of all the people included in the chart. It was quite an undertaking and has become a very cherished possession of mine. Without this document, I might not have directed my interests to family history. I have three full notebooks of information and communications about the Bartholomew family. I'll gradually fill you in on this record and hopefully will spur your curiosity concerning this truly interesting family.

We start with three Bartholomews with the names of John, Robert, and Richard living in Warborough, Oxfordshire, England about 1550! John had a son John, who probably assisted in the founding of Bartholomew Chapel, Burford. Many of us (myself, daughter Elisabeth, some Johnsons,and some Goehrings) have visited this Chapel at St John's church in Burford, Oxfordshire, in the Cotswald Country in England. They were inspiring visits.

This second John had a son William (these names repeat themselves throughout generations), who was christened in Warborough, Eng., in Feb. 7, 1567. His wife was buried in a village a couple of miles from Burford. I looked for Friswede Metalfe's burial plot, but the stones were just too worn for positive identification. This William was a mercer, a dealer in silks and woolens in Burford. His name was prefixed by "Mr." showing that he held the social rank of gentleman. He and Friswede had 9 children. As I have mentioned in a previous post, the home manor is still standing and being lived in. It is a very lovely building.

The second son of William & Friswede is the branch that we are related to. William was born in 1602. There is a posibility that William was disowned from his father because of his religious faith. He was a dissenter of the Church of England...a Puritan. He was a very good friend of Anne Hutchison (check out her history, it's simply fascinating) and accompanied Rev. John Lothrop, his congregation, and Anne Hutchinson to America. It is possible that he was a member of the Presbyterian Congregation in London, and was imprisoned with them. It is easily seen why his farther disowned him. William was well educated, a student at the well-known Grammar School of Burford, and was probably a fellow student of Peter Heylin, who became Chaplain to King Charles I and afterwards sub-dean of Westminster.

We don't know when he went to London or when he married Anna Lord, but before September 1634, he had entertained the famous Mrs. Anne HUtchinson at his London home.

In September 1634, William arrived in Boston, on the ship "Griffin".
In 1635, he was made a freeman at Boston and was granted several tracts of land in Ipswitch, MA. He appeared at the General Court at Boston as a chosen representative of the inhabitants of Ipswich. He had only been in America seven months.
In 1637 - William was appointed on a special grand jury in Boston and took a prominent part in the trial of Mrs. Anne Hutchinson. I just googled Anne Hutchinson and there is an incredible amount of information on this revolutionary of religious freedom and rights for women.
In 1641 William became Town Clerk of Ipswich.
In 1645 he was appointed on a committee to report on the best manner of destroying "ye wolves, which are such revenous cruel creatures and daily vexatious to all ye inhabitants of ye colony."
In 1654, William was chosen treasurer of the county.
In 1655 he was a commissioner and was both "businesslike and an honorable man."
His grave in Phipps Street Cemetery, Charlestown, MA is in a prominent position adjoining that of John Harvard, the benefactor of Harvard College. William died in 1680 at the age of 78 years.
In later posts I'll continue sharing this interesting transcript. I hope I've whetted your curiosity about this ancestor from the Bartholomew family.

Daugherty/Pepper Story - Part 2

In my last posting I relayed the story of the axe and the possible connection of Abraham Lincoln and the Daugherty/Pepper family. Today I'm continuing with the second story. This one is from a delightful man named Ralph (Doc) Pesicka, grandson of Hattie Daugherty Place.

I met Doc in his community of Dupree, S.D. Dupree is the county seat of Ziebach County. The population is around 200 people.

While talking with Doc this last summer, he told me the story of the Pepper cradle. He knew that the cradle was in his basement...just not sure where. The rockers of the cradle no longer were attached. A few weeks later Doc did assure me that the rocker was still in his basement. Anyway here's the story from what I understood...

Abe Lincoln was a neighbor of the William Daugherty family in Illinois (this is very, very possible). According to family legend, Abe used to rock the cradle and read books to someone in the Pepper family. At this time Abe was a grown man.

George Daugherty (my ggrandfather) was born near Delevan, Illinois, south of Peoria, north of Springfield. As the story goes, George brought the cradle from Illinois. Remember that George's mother was a Pepper. The cradle is about 30ft long and quite deep. Anyway, George threw the cradle in the dump in Wessington. George's son, Robbie, was a habitual dump-visitor and found the cradle and brought it to his home. George's sister, Hattie Daugherty Place (born in Mason County, Illinois), saw the cradle, and said (according to Doc), "This is our cradle!". She brought it to her family and it's been taken care of by the Place/Pesicka family since.

Boy, this is a confusing story...and definitely has some source of validity. The solution will take using maps and dates to figure out where and when all these people moved in and out of Illinois.

I've written Doc and asked him about the story, but writing is very difficult for him and he's been ill. I'm hoping his children will learn more, but am afraid much of what happened disappeared with the death of Ralph's mother Edna and his grandmother, Hattie.

The accompanying photo is of Ralph (Doc) Pesicka.

Daugherty/Pepper Story

The Daugherty/Pepper family has two stories that are connected with Abraham Lincoln...neither of which has any actual proof.

The first one takes place in the southwest end of Huron, S.D., where a terrific museum (not sure of exact name) can be found. Our cousin, Linda Marcus, is on the museum board. There is an axe in the museum (see photo)and according to Linda, her father, Ivan Daugherty, (son of Frank Daugherty & Laura Carrington) said the ax was found by a Mr. Marvel who was an antique hunter. He had the ax for years and sent it to Denver to be carbon dated. There it was said to be the right age for the following story...

It is said that William Daugherty had the exhibited ax and Abe had the horse and they cut trees together. Here is the inscription on the card from the museum...

AXe- Owned by William Henry Daugherty, Born September 24, 1830. Reported to have been used by him and Abe Lincoln in Virginia. On loan by Ivan Daugherty, Huron.

To begin with, yes, William Henry Daugherty was born in 1830 (one source says 1831) in Virginia, the area now part of West Virginia. I'm quite sure his birthday was February 23. Abe Lincoln was born Feb. 12, 1809, in Kentucky, then moving to Indiana and Illinois.

We know that William Henry lived in Macon County, Illinois, before buying land in Appanoose County, Iowa in 1856. To add to the confusion there's also a Mason County, Illinois. Mason is north of Springfield, while Macon is East of Springfield, close to Decatur. In 1830 Abe's family settled near Decatur. William Henry was born about this time. So the timing doesn't jive, though the location does.

William Henry's father was James William Dougherty but known as William. I have no birthdate for him, but he was married in Maryland in 1825. This does make him closer to Abe's age. In the 1870 census this William lived in Macon County. Because we have no information about where William resided between 1825-1870, it would be possible for he and Abe Lincoln to know each other. Note: from Illinois, this family moved to Iowa.

I do feel that there is a connection between the Lincoln and the Daugherty/Pepper family. Much of this is due to another story from Ralph (Doc) Pesicka. I'll write this intriguing story next.

I would appreciate any help in collaborating the story of the axe. I'd also like to talk to the Marvel family. There are some people of that name still living in the Huron/Wessington area. Some are even relatives. This just strengthens my resolve to re-visit South Dakota late summer or early fall.

The Death of Martha Pepper Daugherty

I’m looking at a copy of the obituary of Mrs. Martha Pepper Daugherty (my second ggrandmother) from a Jan. 1924 newspaper clipping. The old obits had delightful ways of describing the death of local citizens. At least this document mentioned Martha’s maiden name…so many written about women have not…it’s as though there was no history of women mentioned previous to their marriage.

“Mrs. Martha Daugherty died in her home in Wessington (S.D.) on Friday, January 18, 1924. Mrs. Daugherty was one of the pioneers of this country, having lived here since 1884, coming with her husband and children when this country was still in its earliest history.

Martha Pepper was born January 3rd, 1833 at Chillicothee, Ohio. She joined the Methodist Church at the age of eighteen and thereafter her life was dedicated to His work. She was united in marriage to William H. Daugherty at Delavan, Ill. on February 19th, 1861. To this union were born nine children, two passing away in infancy. The surviving children are John William, Hattie, George H., Edward, Fred, Emma J. and Dick.

In the year of 1884 Mr. and Mrs. Daugherty homesteaded in Dakota Territory on land that in now twelve miles northeast of Wessington. In 1905 the family moved to Wessington, where she has made her home until the time of her death. Her husband preceded her in death six years, having passed away in 1918. In January 1922 Mrs. Daugherty was stricken with a sickness which finally resulted in her death. During the last two years of her life, she was as cheerful as ever, always willing for a friendly smile and words with her neighbors.

Besides the many friends who will mourn her loss she leaves her children, sixteen grandchildren and twenty three great grandchildren.

No one of the early settlers here will be remembered with more appreciation by those who lived here at this time.

The marriage of Martha and William Henry was probably a stormy one. We can only guess at some of the situations that occurred with these two individuals. More about this in a later posting.

Loyalists in the DeLong Family

This posting is concerned with ggrandmother Catherine Elizabeth(Libby)DeLong Daugherty's family. Many of the DeLongs were loyalists (Revolutionary War) and eventually settled in Canada. Some mention of these DeLongs were mentioned in my January 23 posting.

Eventually we'll get more specific about which descendents of Catherine's family actually were attributed the term, "Loyalist." In this posting I hope to learn more about the term myself. Much of this information was contributed by Ann MacKenzie, M.A.

"The Loyalists came from every class and walk of life. Some depended on the Crown for their livelihood and status and had considerable wealth and property. Many were farmers and craftsmen. There were clerks and clergymen, lawyers and labourers, soldiers and slaves, Native Americans, college graduates, and people who could not write their own names.

They had little in common except their opposition to the revolution. Some had strong ties with Britain; others had simply supported what turned out to be the losing side. Local incidents, fear of change, self-interest, political principles, emotional bonds - any of these influenced their decision to remain loyal to the Crown. The common thread that linked these diverse groups was a distrust of too much democracy which they believed resulted in mob rule and an accompanying breakdown of law and order. Loyalists believed that the British connection guaranteed them a more secure and prosperous life than republicanism would."

It's been estimated that 10-15 percent of the population of the Thirteen Colonies, some 250,000 people, opposed the revolution. Loyalists who remained in the Thirteen Colonies during the revolution were branded as traitors and hounded by their Patriot (rebel)neighbors.

Disbanded Loyalist Regiments settled along the St. Lawrence River upstream from Montreal and along the North shore of Lake Ontario. The majority of settlers had been frontier farmers before the revolution and they were used to wilderness conditions, but they had lost almost everything they owned when they fled from their homes. To my knowledge, the government Canadian, gave them free land.
Note to self: Research further this last sentence. By far the greatest numbers of Loyalist migration came to present-day Ontario. This is where Catherine Elizabeth's ancestors went.

Approximetely 70,000 Loyalists fled the Thirteen Colonies, beginning as early as 1775. The signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783, which recognized the independence of the United States, was the final blow for the Loyalists. Faced with further mistreatment and hostility of their countrymen, Loyalists who had remained in the Thirteen Colonies during the war now were faced with exile...either Nova Scotia or Quebec (Ontario-Quebec).

As with every subject that has been skimmed in this blog, more needs to be considered and written about the DeLong family Loyalists.

It's Enke Family Time

I like to take turns with families when writing in this blog. I've just mentioned the Wilsons so now it's time for the Enkeys. Lydia Enke was my 2nd ggrandmother. She married William White Wilson. My blog from January 21st tells where I am in researching this family. Lydia (again...love that name) had a grandfather Jacob Enke, married to an Elizabeth (another beautiful name.) Jacob was born in Pennsylvania about 1776. That's where my information stops. So the Enkey/Enke family has been in America a long time. I'm thinking that they are of German descent. Quoting from 1886 Portrait and Biographical Album of Knox County, "Hiram's father (Lydia's father), was of German descent. Hiram's mother, Ann Susan Pryer was of English extraction and birth and was mother of 15 children"...Lydia being one of them.

I have mentioned Robert Enkey.(4th cousin). In 2006 he mentioned that he had an uncle living in my community of New Richmond. I didn't recognize his aunt(Anne) & uncle (Edward) nor did either of their children, Carol and Curtis ring a bell. I looked today and didn't find an Edward Miller in the phone book. That doesn't mean a lot...perhaps he has a cell phone, or maybe Edward is in a nursing home, without a land phone of his own. Rather interesting...small world. I'm assuming that Robert can be found in Florida right now and hope to hear from him.

I had also mentioned Erich Enke. His ancestor, Josiah, was Lydia's brother. They had many siblings. Josiah and Lydia had a brother Hiram...also mentioned on Jan. 21. Reading his biography, it says that Hiram enlisted in the 7th Illinois Cavalry, Co. D., with Capt. Reynolds of Galesburg having command. Hiram entered his regiment at Camp Yates, in Springifled, then proceeded to St. Louis, Mo. The regiment was then ordered to Columbus, Ky and from there to Corinth, where there was a "pitiful struggle" on the 4th and 5th of October. The regiment came out of the fight without the loss of a single man and Hiram Enke remained in the city of Corinth for the next three months. He was then ordered to Bolivar, Tenn. than LaGrange for winter quarters. The next summer, HIram guarded the railroad from Memphis to Corinth. In the spring, on to middle Tennessee. In the battle of Franklin, Tenn. in 1864, Hiram's regiment was situated on the left flank. The battle was successful and they went on to Nashville, where they remained until the battle at that city. His brigade lost several men in this engagement. They next followed Hood to the Tennessee River and at Tuscumbia all his regiment was dismounted and compelled to wade a swollen stream, which gave Hiram a severe illness, from which he never recovered. He was mustered out of service on the first day of July, 1864, at Nashville, Tennesee "with honor attending him as courageous man and soldier."

In politics, Hiram upheld the Republican party with word and deed. He believed that no "creed save that of commong good, but is of true and pure moral character." He held the principles of the Prohibitionist.

Somehow I found myself writing about the Civil War again! Even though Hiram is the brother of my 2nd ggrandmother, it helps to show the world that Lydia was living in. Lydia married William White Wilson, after he had a noble history in the Civil War. The war must have had an enormous influence in her life.

The Wilsons & the Civil War

My second ggrandfather, William White Wilson enlisted in company A., Fourteenth Illinois cavalry during the Civil War.

For a long time, I've wanted to follow that company and see where they fought and some of the details. Years ago, the Paulson brothers, of Clear Lake, WI, shared a document concerning this Company, but it's been misplaced. I've written and asked for another copy. Until then Jack Stevens has been very helpful in this regard.

From the 1881 History of Taylor County, Iowa: Wilson, W.W...."Was with Shackleford on his raid after Morgan through Indiana and Ohio. Also with Stoneman on his raid to Macon and with Thomas at the Battle of Nashville, when on account of sickness, and the war being over, he (William) was discharged. He enlisted as a sergeant and was promoted to the rank of quartermaster sergeant of his regiment."

William's younger brothers John Fletcher Frank Wilson and Joseph M. Wilson enlisted with company F, 86th Illinois Infantry in 1862. Joseph was killed in action, with John Fletcher at his side, in 1864, at Kenesaw Mountain, Georgia. Joseph was 18 years old when he enlisted, 5' 9" tall, dark hair, and gray eyes. This last information was shared by Gloria Van Sickle of Washington state.

Morgan's Raid is named after Confederate Brigadier Gen. John Hunt Morgan. The raid (taking place from June 11-July 26, 1863), coincided with the Vicksburg Campaign and the Gettysburg Campain. "It served to draw the attention of tens of thousands of Federal troops away from their normal duties and strike fear in the civilian population of several Northern states (including northern Ohio)." After many battles, during which thousands of Union soldiers were captured, most of Morgan's men were captured on July 19 and spent the rest of the war in the infamous Camp Douglas Prisoner of War camp in Chicago. Morgan surrendered on July 26. There is an interesting account of his escape from the Ohio Penitentiary by digging a tunnel and ascending a wall with a rope made from bunk coverlets and a bent poker iron. The story doesn't stop here and makes interesting reading.

I'm checking out the Battle of Nashville, and hope to learn about both units that the Wilson brothers fought under.

Jack also noticed an error on William's grave marker. On his GAR marker it shows "INF" (infantry) and should show "CAV".

My knowledge of the Civil War is very limited. Over the next few months, perhaps that will change.

Just What was the Homestead Act

I keep writing about my pride in having Homesteaders in all my branches, both in my mother's and father's trees. It is time to do a bit of research on the Homestead Act and some of it's facets.

The Homestead Act was a United States Federal law passed by President Abraham Lincoln on May 20, 1862. It gave applicants freehold title to 160 acres...or one quarter section. This land obviously was undeveloped and outside of the original 13 colonies.

There were three steps that were required: file an application, improve the land, and file for deed of title. As long as the applicant had never taken up arms against the US Government he/she were eligible...including free slaves.

When all was said and done, 1.6 million homestead were granted and 270,000,000 acres were privatized between 1862 and 1986. This last date pertained to Alaska. The lower 48 policy ended in 1976.

The intent of the Homestead Act was to grant land for agriculture. The Act was much abused. In arid areas west of the Rocky Mountains, the land was generally not enough for a viable farm. So homesteads were used to control resources, especially water. An individual would act as a front for a large cattle operation and file for a homestead surrounding a water source under the pretense that the land was being used as a farm. Once granted "use of that water source would be denied to other cattle ranches, effectively closing off the adjacent public land to competition. This method could also be used to gain ownership of timber and oil-producing land."

There was no systematic method to evaluate claims under the Homestead Act. Land offices would rely on affidavits from witnesses "that the claimant had lived on the land for the required period of time and made the required improvements. In practice some of these witnesses were bribed."

"The Homestead Act has been blamed for contributing to the dust bowl. Since the claims were limited when the West was settled, it resulted in a preponderance of small farms whose poor practices led to erosion." These acreage limits were reasonable when the act was written at a time of animal powered tilling and harvesting.

From Early Beadle County, by Mildred Jones, "To prove up his claim, one paid $14 when filing, then had to live on the claim for five years and pay $4 more for final proof. The government required five acres of breaking the first year. Improvements such as a house and well were to be made in six months, but that time was extended in 1881 because of the hard winter. Ten acres of trees were to be put on tree claims with at least 2700 tress to the acre. One in Nance Township - that of William Henry Daugherty still have trees started in 1882. The government paid a bounty of $10 per annum for the cultivation of trees for 10 years."

There's so much more to write about this Act. It's interesting to read about the women who made claim to their land by themselves. Mom's family homesteaded in South Dakota and possibly Wyoming and Montana. Note to self: More research is needed on this subject. Dad's family farmed land in northern Minnesota.

The land that was homesteaded often was undesirable for many reasons. The determination, hard work, and just plain guts of the families that claimed them is unsurpassable. That feeling of pride still overwhelms me.