mermaidcamp
Keeping current in wellness, in and out of the water
You can scroll the shelf using ← and → keys
Hans Michael Schmidt, Seventh Great-Grandfather
December 14, 2017
— 2 Comments
Spotswood Headrights
My seventh great-grandfather came to Virginia in 1717 with a group of Lutheran immigrants. Their unscrupulous ship captain not only landed at the wrong port, but sold them into indentured servitude. Captain Andrew Tarbett had spent the passage given him by the Germans, then took them to Virginia rather than their promised destination, Pennsylvania. He sold them to Lt.Governor Alexander Spotswood.
Lieutenant Governor Alexander Spotswood’s lawsuits against his indentured servants. From 1723 through 1726, Spotswood claimed that several Germans had failed to carry out the terms of their “contract” with him. My ancestor was sued in 1924. He proved his importation in 1926 with his wife on the ship Scott. He patented land on June 24, 1926.
These emigrants left their villages in southern Germany (Baden and Württemberg) about 12 Jul 1717 enroute for Pennsylvania by way of London. Starvation took the lives of several of the passengers (probably 50 people perished, most of them children) who had been swindled by their captain who was retained in London. The ship held about 138 passengers and did not land in Pennsylvania but to Virginia where the passengers were sold as indentured servants to Governor Spotswood.
The base for this reconstructed list comes from:
- Before Germanna by Gary J. Zimmerman and Johni Cerny
- ÄThe Second Germanna Colony of 1717, Other Germanna Pioneers, the So-called Third Germanna Colony of 1719, and Late Comers to the Hebron Church Community” by B.C. Holtzclaw in The Germanna Record (1965) 6: 51-74.
Research by Zimmerman & Cerny has shown that several who were thought to have come to Virginia in 1719-1720 were actually more likely part of the 1717 group. The strongest evidence for this is the absence of any references to each of these families in Germany after 1716 and the fact that they would have left from others from the same town at that time.
Hans Michael Johann Schmidt Smith (1690 – 1761)
7th great-grandfather
7th great-grandfather
John Felter Smith (1710 – 1793)
son of Hans Michael Johann Schmidt Smith
son of Hans Michael Johann Schmidt Smith
Johannes John SCHMIDT SMITH (1742 – 1814)
son of John Felter Smith
son of John Felter Smith
Henry Smith (1780 – 1859)
son of Johannes John SCHMIDT SMITH
son of Johannes John SCHMIDT SMITH
Swain Smith (1805 – 1885)
son of Henry Smith
son of Henry Smith
Jerimiah Smith (1845 – )
son of Swain Smith
son of Swain Smith
Minnie M Smith (1872 – 1893)
daughter of Jerimiah Smith
daughter of Jerimiah Smith
Ernest Abner Morse (1890 – 1965)
son of Minnie M Smith
son of Minnie M Smith
Richard Arden Morse (1920 – 2004)
son of Ernest Abner Morse
son of Ernest Abner Morse
Pamela Morse
I am the daughter of Richard Arden Morse
I am the daughter of Richard Arden Morse
Note: Hans is short for Johannes which is John in English
Below research provided courtesy of Tom Bowen:
“From “Before Germanna,” by Johni Cerni and Gary J. Zimmerman, No. 5,
January 1990, The Ancestry of the Sheible, Peck, Milker Smith and Holt Families:
“The Evangelical Lutheran minister [for Gemmingen, Baden] began a new set of parish registers in 1693, and the marriage entries of the Schmidt brothers are recorded therein:
married 21 January 1710 Hanns Michael Schmid, son of Michael Schmid, deceased, court official here, step-son of Alt [Old]
Hans Hecker, to Anna Margaretha, daughter of deceased Josoph Sauter, deceased courth official here.”
On 12 July 1717 the minister at Gemmingen listed in the parish death register the “parents, together with their children, [who] expect to move away from here, wanting to take ship to Pennsylvania, and there in the hardship of the wilderness better their piece of bread than they could here.” Included were:
Hans Michael Schmidt, age 28
wife Anna Margaretha, same age,
son Hans Michael, age 5 1/2
son Christopher, age 1/2
his in-laws.
Also listed was Matthäus Schmidt, age 25/30, wife Regina Catherina, same age, son Matthäus, age 3 1/2 and daughter Anna Margaretha, age 1/2.
They arrived in Virginia near Germanna in then Essex Co., now Culpeper Co., in late 1717 or early 1718 according to today’s calendar, being members of the so-called second Germanna Colony of 1717. The colony moved about 25 miles west to the Robinson River area of Spotsylvania Co. in 1725. This area became Orange Co. in 1734, Culpeper Co. in 1748, and Madison Co. in 1793.”
We have a copy of his will:
25 Feb. 1760, from Culpeper Co. Will Book A, p. 243:
In the name of God Amen, I John Michael Smith of the Parish of Brumfield in Culpeper County being old weak & helpless, but thanks be unto God of perfect Mind and Memory, & calling unto Mind the Mortality of my Body & knowing it is appointed for all men once to die, do make & ordain this my last will and Testament. That is to say principally & first of all I give & recommend my Soul into the Hands of Almighty God that gave it, & my Body I recommend to the Earth to be buried in decent Christian Burial nothing doubting that at the General Resurrection I shall receive the same again, by the mighty Power of God. and as touching such worldly Estate wherewith it hath pleased God to bless me in this Life, I do give demise & dispose of the same in the following manner & form, viz.
I do give bequeath & make over unto my dearly beloved only Son John Michael Smith Junior & his heirs forever all my Estate personal as well as real, that he may take the sole & full Possession of it, & all the Lands Goods & Chattels forever after my decease, reserving unto me only the Claim to my Estate as long as I live, & thereby I do revoke & disannull all Wills made before by me & I do acknowledge to be this my last Will & Testament never to be revoked
Signed Sealed & delivered Witness my Hand & Seal
in the presence of us
in the year of our Lord God Michael Schmid?
1760. 25th of February (signed in German)
Adam (AY) Jager,
Henry Ayler
At Court held for the County of Culpeper on Thursday the 19th day of February 1761 This last Will and Testament of John Michael Smith decd was exhibited to the Court by John Michael Smith his only son & heir and the Executor therein named and was proved by the oaths of Adam Yeager & Henry Aylor Witnesses thereto and ordered to be recorded and on the motion of the said Executor Certificate is granted him for obtaining a Probate thereof he giving Bond & Security according to Law and also took the oath of an Executor.
Take Time For Retreat
November 30, 2017
— 1 Comment
According to the Farmer’s Almanac, December 3rd’s Full Moon will appear brighter and larger than any Moon this year. It is 2017’s one and only “Supermoon.” This means that the rising of the Full Moon happens at its closest distance to Earth, causing the Moon to appear up to 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter than usual. So definitely make […]
Samuel Harris Vassar, Fifth Great-Grandfather
November 26, 2017
— 4 Comments
Sunbridge Cemetery
Also known as: City Cemetery, Saint Joseph City Cemetery
Saint Joseph, Buchanan County, Missouri, USA
My fifth great-grandfather was born in Virginia and died in Buchannan County, Missouri after a long and prosperous life. He was a pioneer who crashed with Daniel Boone in his youth.
Samuel Harris Vassar was the son of Abraham Vassar and his wife Rhoda. His birth place lay in the beautiful county of the Flat Creekwatershed of Amelia co. VA. He found his way to Kentucky. Later, after the death of his father in 1779, he learned he had been given 200 acres of the Flat Creek Plantation a a deed of gift that he see to the care of his mother and young sister Delilah after the father was dead.His elder sister Martha Catherine Deaton and her husband Levi lived onthe place until 1803. Levi Deaton had died in 1799 leaving Martha a widow.
On the return trip to Kentucky, Samuel and his mother and sister took refuge in Daniel Boone’s Fort. Later, in 1803, Rhoda Harris Vassar died in Clark Co, KY.
During the time he was in Kentucky, Samuel Harris Vassar acquired a200 acre farm on the south side of the Red River at its mouth and theKentucky river on its east bank. This spot had a workable salt desposit which he developed. In addition to the regular farm crops, hehad a water mill on Calloway Creek which ran along his southern line.
Samuel Harris Vassar met the daughter of Peter and Mary Ann Goossee, named for her mother and nicknamed “Polly”. Samuel was 38. However consent must be had from the father of the child to be married if the child was between the ages of 12 1/2 and 16. Thus, a bond was given as reguired: Clark Co KY; January 21, 1795; Samuel H Vassar to Polly Goossee, the father. Bondsman, Peter Goossee, JR. To this union were born 5 sons and 2 daughters.
In 1818, Simpson R, son of Samuel and Polly, went to Missouri territory as a fur trader for a St Louis based fur company. Upon returning to KY with his wife and new son, he told tales of the newland opening up. These stories led Samuel at the age of 61 to go to Howard Co, MO with his wife and 3 unmarried children. Another son, Samuel Jenkins, became an Indian Trader for the Chouteaus of St Louis. Elizabeth and Benjamin remained with their parents until their marriages in Clay co, MO.
About this time, in 1830, Mary “Polly” the mother died. She is buried near the north county line of Clay co in a graveyard with other Goosey family members. In 1835 Samuel married Cynthia (Simpson) Castile, the widow of Joseph Castile. Both Samuel and Cynthia were advanced in age. Samuel never returned to KY. He sold his holdings there by Power of Attorney. He and his son Benjamin operated a grist mill in Clinton Co, MO. At his death he held many notes. One of thesefor a few hundred dollars was on Joseph Robidoux, the founder of St Joseph MO. This note was never paid. He died 24 Oct 1846 and is buried in the NE corner of Sunbridge Cemetery in Buchanan Co, MO. A statementon file in the Buchanan Probate Papers records that he was “taken inhis 89th year”.
After the death of Samuel, Cynthia, his second wife, lived with a son by her first marriage. The 1850 census shows David Castile, age 36, born TN, to have a wife and 6 children and Cynthia Vassar living with this family. Castile Creek, which headed in the new county of DeKalb, MO and flowed through Clinton and Caly counties emptying eventually into a tributary of the Missouri River was named for Joseph Castile.
Samuel Harris VASSAR (1757 – 1846)
5th great-grandfather
Mary VESSOR (1801 – 1836)
daughter of Samuel Harris VASSAR
Margaret Mathews (1831 – 1867)
daughter of Mary VESSOR
Julia McConnell (1854 – 1879)
daughter of Margaret Mathews
Minnie M Smith (1872 – 1893)
daughter of Julia McConnell
Ernest Abner Morse (1890 – 1965)
son of Minnie M Smith
Richard Arden Morse (1920 – 2004)
son of Ernest Abner Morse
Pamela Morse
I am the daughter of Richard Arden Morse
On The Rock
November 22, 2017
— 1 Comment
Mayflower
The ship was grounded on the shoals
The Pilgrims had not yet achieved their goals
The crowd was hungry, tired, depressed and sick
There was no welcoming party with a magic trick
To heal the suffering and recover moral fortitude
All the tribe had to offer was comfort and food
With great trepidation they approached the invaders
Dressed in high hats and collars of religious crusaders
Busy Body
November 14, 2017
Mr Busy Body
Busy Body takes a dim view of other fellow sculptures’ emotional needs
He fancies himself a special man among all the men who have ever been
His masquerade from day to day hides the truth he completely disregards
As just some kind of background noise from his own distant, fragile past
His foundation has eroded leaving his memory in a precarious position
He can go on pretending his shining honor has never been tarnished
But everyone knows his life was a series of misguided actions that killed him
#SelfCareSunday Family History Oddysey
September 10, 2017
— 2 Comments
Price Tower
Inn at Price Tower Bar
You may wonder why I am making family history the theme of today’s self care post. Many of you know I am an avid fan of genealogy study. I have been involved since 2008 with ancestry.com. My parents were both dead when I began my quest. I am including this advice to you on self care because if your ancestors are still living you have an opportunity to excavate their memories before it is too late. The elders crave attention and are often neglected socially. Asking them questions about their youth and their ancestors is not only a great way to include them socially, but learn and grow in the process. Pictures, stories, and either video or audio interviews will become priceless tools for future generations. Once you know what your own family did in history, you have a much better sense of world events.
I was able to gather some photos and direct information form my uncle by marriage. His wife, my father’s sister, had left behind some old photos. His kids were adopted, so nobody really wanted the pictures. He gathered up some boxes and an overnight bag, and we hit the road in Kansas. I picked him and the photos up in Wichita at his apartment. We drove to Bartlesville, OK to spend the night at the Inn At Price Tower, in Frank Lloyd Wright’s only executed skyscraper. We rented a two story very swanky apartment with loads of copper furniture and accents. There is so much copper in the construction of the building, inside and out, that they cannot get wifi to work at all. We rode the tiny copper elevator up to the copper cocktail lounge for a drink. After dinner on the town we sat in our living room on the first floor of our suite to review the photos. He told stories about most of them, and I chose the ones I wanted to take. It was a fun time for both of us. After breakfast with a view we left the Tower before the tour of the gallery and building, which I am sure is excellent.
Uncle Paul and I were off next to Independence, KS, where my father was born. There was a library and courthouse in town with genealogical information. I found some good material, including my maternal great-grandmother’s entire probate file, which was at the courthouse. I chose the pages I wanted, and the clerk of the court made copies and mailed them to me for a small fee. I learned a lot from reading the entire file, but selected pages with important facts or handwriting of my great-grandmother. Uncle Paul and I visited Coffeyville, KS and the vicinity where my family had settled, right next to the Cherokee Nation. Since he had lived around there most of his life, my uncle had lots of stories to tell about the past. It was fascinating, even when it did not involve my direct ancestors. The Cherokee Strip, which is the name of this area on the border of Kansas and Oklahoma, was the wild wild west, and my ancestors were part of it.
After I dropped my uncle back in Wichita he was able to stay in his own apartment only a few months longer. His health deteriorated to the point that he needed constant care. His daughter is a nurse, lived nearby, and was able to handle his care with the best possible circumstances. She got a job as a supervisor at the facility where he lived. After he passed away she moved to Arkansas, where she was born and my grandparents both died. There was some kind of full circle there. I will always be happy I went on that adventure seeking my ancestors. You don’t need to take a road trip to interview somebody in your family. Pick up the phone and learn more about your heritage and history by asking your elders, before it is no longer possible. I wish I had done more of that.
The act of reaching out to your elders to learn about the history of your family can be healing as well as enlightening to all participants. I advise that you consider this because photos and stories will be lost forever if nobody collects them. Take care of family history to take care of yourself. You can do this on line with digital records, and if you are lucky you can also do it with living relatives. If you are super lucky you can go in person to the places your ancestors lived in the company of someone who knows a lot about the place.
#SelfCareSunday Soft Focus
August 20, 2017
— 3 Comments
shadow boundary
boundary
Lines are bring drawn everywhere. Politics have seeped into the most mundane parts of our lives. We all need a break, a retreat from the news without dropping out of our responsibilities. Many feel the fatigue of caring for others, either financially or literally. To keep the well of wellbeing primed each of us needs to take care of our own needs before deciding what others might need. I believe in taking a step back, looking at things from a safe distance, and with a very soft focus. What do I mean by soft focus?
- Find simple ways to express gratitude to your family, friends and coworkers
- Make daily habit patterns revolve around healthy habits like meditation and exercise
- Take control of the time you spend on line or texting for social purposes
- Reclaim a portion (no matter how small) of your paycheck to save for a worthy goal, personal or community oriented
- Analyse your own happiness quotient-how much you bring to the table, and how much you rely on others for emotional juice
- Walk away from fruitless arguments you recognize that you have had in the past
It is very tempting to jump into all the arguments available to us at all hours on social media. This too shall pass. Maintain balance by taking your centering practices much more seriously than the outrage of the moment. Don’t consume the toxic Kool Aid. It is spiked, altered, unhealthy.
both
both
both
#WeekendCoffeeShare America The Beautiful
August 19, 2017
— 4 Comments
Believe That
If we were having coffee this weekend I would offer you iced tea and some succotash I just made. I have been listening to a wonderful audio course about this culinary and cultural history of humanity. I heard the part about American colonists adopting crops from natives very quickly because many crops they brought from England did not grow over here. Succotash (a word borrowed from a native language) is a stew of corn, beans, onions, peppers, and tomatoes. It can be made with only corn and beans if need be. I realized I had those groceries on hand in the fridge so I whipped up a batch. It is a heavenly, and truly American dish. Help yourself. I am working on reminding myself of all the noble and beautiful parts of having been born in the US. Succotash is one of those.
If we were having coffee I know many of you live in other countries and are wondering what in the world is happening to the government in Washington, DC. As taxpaying citizens, believe me, we wonder even more than you do. Some people choose to stay away from news of current events, and honestly I am happy to be working with millennials who virtually never discuss anything current or political. I don’t think it is because they lack sympathy, but they really lack all the information. I am loathe to bring up any news at work because it is all so shockingly bad. Who am I to bum them out by letting them in on current events? I really like my colleagues at work. Maybe ignoring current events is the secret of their charm.
I wrote this week, but was still a little lame about production. I did a poem for Sue Vincent’s #writephoto on Thursday. I wrote a factual biography of my great-grandfather who fought for the Confederacy in the Civil War. I also have ancestors who fought for the Union and even worked on the underground railroad. I am not in any way attracted to these “historic monuments” causing all this dispute. I don’t think they were such a good idea in the first place, since Americans tend to be fairly ignorant of our own history. We just don’t need images to glorify people and events nobody even understands. I know this is not true for all of us, but I am frequently appalled at the total lack of knowledge about geography and history I encounter in Americans.
The one category in which we are still held in some esteem is comedy. SNL is the world leader that demonstrates that we do still live in a free country. Some of our freedom is being used to endanger and incarcerate part of the population. Thank God we still have Weekend Update. For any of you who have not seen #sheetcaking by Tina Fey, please enjoy this peek at our still thriving sense of humor. If we don’t laugh we will cry.
Please join us for the Weekend Coffee Share every week. Our hostess Diana brings us together from New Orleans her blog PartTimeMonster to share our feelings, our progress, and our digital beverages. Thanks for reading, writing, or commenting this week.
#WeekendCoffeeShare
Take Care Of Yourself
August 16, 2017
— 3 Comments
Compassion fatigue is the stress of caring too much… The post Are You Suffering From Compassion Fatigue? Here’s What You Should Do About It appeared first on BayArt.
via Are You Suffering From Compassion Fatigue? Here’s What You Should Do About It — BayArt
William Ellison Taylor, Great-Grandfather
August 15, 2017
— 1 Comment
William and Lucinda
My maternal great-grandfather fought for the Confederacy in the Civil War. I have a copy of the military records and pension applications for my maternal great-grandfather, William Ellison Taylor. He enlisted in the Civil War on April 26, 1861, Company C, 4th Regiment, Alabama Regiment of Volunteers, under the command of Captain N.H.R. Dawson. He was injured at the Battle of First Manassas, Virginia, on July 21, 1861. He was discharged October 22, 1861. His great-grandfather, Jonathan Aaron Taylor, fought in the Revolutionary War in South Carolina. After the Civil war William and his wife’s family moved to East Texas and bought land. He became a preacher.
William Ellison Taylor
The following is from Gospel Preachers Who Blazed the Trail by C. R. Nichol, 1911.
William Ellyson Taylor was born in Alabama, November 22, 1839, and was reared in that state. His education was received in the common schools. When the war broke out between the states he enlisted in the 4th Alabama Regiment and went to Virginia. In the battle of Manassas. July 21, 1861, he was wounded, which made him a cripple for life.
Dec. 27. 1864, he was married to Lucinda Armer, who has been his faithful help-meet, and to the present shares his joys and sorrows. To this union six boys and two girl have been born.
November, 1869, he moved to Texas. In August, 1874, Dr. W. L. Harrison preached the first sermon he ever heard. Afterward and and David Pennington became a Christian. In 1877 he began preaching and though he works on the farm, he has preached as he found opportunity. Entering the firgin field he has established congregations in Montgomery, San Jacinto and Walker counties and is now preaching monthly for congregations at Willis, Bethan and Ne Bethel, Montgomery County. When confined for nearly two years through sickness his brethren administer to his every need. All who know Bro. Taylor love him for his intrinsic worth and work in the Lord.
Gospel Preachers Who Blazed the Trail by C. R. Nichol, 1911.
William Ellison Taylor (1839 – 1918)
great-grandfather
great-grandfather
George Harvey Taylor (1884 – 1941)
son of William Ellison Taylor
son of William Ellison Taylor
Ruby Lee Taylor (1922 – 2008)
daughter of George Harvey Taylor
daughter of George Harvey Taylor
Pamela Morse
I am the daughter of Ruby Lee Taylor
I am the daughter of Ruby Lee Taylor
Ruby Lee was named after Robert E Lee. She changed the spelling to Lea later in her life. My father’s ancestors fought for the Union army and worked on the underground railroad.
mermaidcamp 