South Central Texas2

I took this picture near Medina Lake which is west of San Antonio.  Normally, this creek bed would be dry but we've had a lot rain recently.

South Central Texas

I took a drive out towards Medina Lake today and saw this beautiful field under the January sun.  I believe it hit the 60s before the day was out.

Happy New Year!

Some New Year's resolutions:

1) Post more on this blog
2) Travel more
3) Exercise more
4) Forget about work and its moroseness while away from work

Interstellar

I saw this movie on Friday at the theater.  Now, just making it to the theater was an accomplishment for me as I abhor the prices, audience behavior, etc.  I prefer to watch movies in the privacy of my own home.  But sometimes, I really want to see a movie before it comes out on DVD--thus, I made up my mind to go see this one.

And, I'm really glad I did.  It had amazing effects but an even more interesting story line.  I really enjoyed how the director blended the 'journey' that permeated the movie with the emotional connections between the main characters.  I don't want to give anything away but the ending is a real tearjerker.

Definitely go see this if you think you have any interest at all in the subject.  It won't disappoint.

Bethlehem Lutheran Church3

Not actually the church mentioned in the photos below but a landscape shot taken with the church behind me.  The eyes can see a long way in this part of Texas.

Bethlehem Lutheran Church2

Here is the chapel next to the church in the post below.

Bethlehem Lutheran Church

For the first time in months, the weather was cool in South Central Texas so I decided to go out and take some pictures this afternoon.  I took this one about 30 miles from my house in a "ghost town" called Quihi.  It's not really a ghost town because people do live in the vicinity but the population is much reduced from its heyday in the 19th century.  Anyway, this is the Bethlehem Lutheran Church founded in 1852 and still with a congregation.  I have some more from this area that I will post in a few days.

Eastern Kentucky2

This was interesting.  We took this picture at the head of Long Branch about three miles from where we left the main road.  I have no idea who painted the rock or the purpose behind it but said individual seemed to have talent.

Eastern Kentucky

Last week, I visited family in both West Virginia and Kentucky.  One of the highlights of the trip was driving up this narrow road into an area called "Long Branch" in Martin County, Kentucky.  I was particularly interested in locating this area because my genealogical research identifies this as the location of some of my ancestors in the 1800s.  More specifically, I was looking for members of the 'Ball' and 'Hensley' families.  Well, Long Branch is a hard place to find if you've never been there and we had to ask a few of the locals to make sure we were in the right place.  You may also notice that the picture isn't that great and this is because trees are everywhere making it difficult to see very far!  Anyway, we didn't acquire very much information on this trip but we did get some leads concerning a few cemeteries that we want to check out in the future whenever we can get our hands on a four-wheel drive.

September Travels

I'll be visiting my family in KY/WV in September and hope to view several locations that have special resonance for me after studying my genealogy.  More specifically, I plan to explore an area where one branch of the Ball family from Virginia settled when they first moved to Eastern KY.  As I age, I become more and more fascinated with my origins and what my ancestors went through long ago.

Less than eight years till retirement and I'll move back to those mountains.  That will be my home base as I also hope to continue my overseas travels, too.

Migration Patterns

As I continue researching my genealogy, I am picking up on migration patterns into Appalachia that I was not aware of before.  In the past, I assumed the majority of migration into that area came from the Scotch-Irish who were seeking cheap land that was no longer available on the coast.  However, I now see it somewhat differently.  More likely than not, your average migrant went west because he was NOT the first son of a planter family in eastern Virginia and needed to strike out on his own to make his fortune.  You see, "primogeniture" was, by law or custom, still in effect in the colonies and required most of the inheritance to go to the eldest son.  An example of this in my lineage is the case of Moses Ball (1717-1792).  Even though he had several sons, he followed the custom and left most of his estate to the eldest one.  His other sons were left to fend for themselves and most coped with this by moving a little farther west in the Virginia colony.  My 4th great grandfather George Ball, the son of Moses, was one of these and died in Ewing, Virginia much farther west than where he was born.  His son, Moses III, moved on to Pike County, Kentucky dying there many years later. 

Another reason for the early migrations west was the practice of the new government in bestowing lands in those areas to Revolutionary War veterans as part of their pensions.  Time after time, I see this with my ancestors based on land grant records.  Ultimately, you had Scotch-Irish, Colonial English, and even German settlers moving into the western parts of the Virginia colony.  Those individuals led a tough life what with Indian raids and the harsh terrain and this required them to develop a level of savagery themselves just to survive it all.  I think this explains why outsiders to Appalachia view this area as being backwards and hostile whereas, the people are simply products of a difficult environment.

My 'European' Heritage

Wow!  There were a lot of surprises from my genealogical research over the past month.  As mentioned in a previous post, my DNA results indicate more of a 'Continental Europe' influence than a 'British Isles' one.  This was initially confusing since every surname I've ever been aware of was British in nature.  The problem was that I hadn't yet gone back far enough in my research.  I have now researched six generations and found the following surnames in my ancestry:

Father's Branch

German

Krummholz (Anglicized to Crum)
Honaker
Schmidt (Smith)
Scherp
Ries (Reese)
Hermann (Harmon)
Seiburren
Laitmer
Englert
Haan
Rodenbucher

French

Auxier (actually, Alsatian so could also be considered German)
Depuy

Dutch

Hornbeck
Roosa
Wynkoop
Pels
Van Vliet (Van Fleet)
DeHooges


Mother's Branch

German

Schrader
Nin
Bader (Borders)
Balterspergerin
Kuppler

French

Poteet
Tonnelier (Tunnell)
Regnault
Martiau
Brasseuir (Brashears)
Dubois
Brevard


As you can see, most of this influence comes from my father's lineage rather than my mother's.  This makes sense in a way because my largest concentration is 32% Europe West whereas, my mother's is 52% British.  I wish I could get my father's results to confirm this but he has an aversion to such tests!

Garmisch4

A gorge near the town of Garmisch.

Garmisch3

The town of Garmisch below as seen from a restaurant.

Garmisch2

Another beautiful scene from Garmisch

Garmisch

A friend of mine, who's been living in Germany for the last 20 years or so, sent me this view from his hotel in Garmisch, Germany.  Wish I were there.

Henry Smith (1760-1830)

"Ancestry.com" is an amazing resource for researching one's genealogy.  Using this tool, I continue to find interesting items in my own.  Just today, I discovered a lineage I suspected but for which I had no direct proof.  You see, my DNA results indicate more of a German/Scandinavian background with the following breakdown:

Europe West        32%
Great Britain       25%
Scandinavia         19%
Irish                    16%

Compared to my mother's results (with 52% Great Britain), I show a lot of Continental Europe even though almost all of the surnames in my ancestry are British in origin.  Initially, I assumed this was from the fact that many British people are actually descendants of Germanic (Anglo/Saxon/Jute) invaders of the British Isles 1,500 years ago and the test was simply reflecting this.  Also, there is an element of Scandinavian mixed in especially if one's ancestors lived in the north and east of England and Scotland during the "Danelaw" when Viking invaders ruled those parts of Britain.  So, I thought I had it all figured out until my latest discovery.

Here is the lineage (beginning with my paternal grandfather) that led to the individual 'Henry Smith' in the subject line:

Vernal E. McCoy, son of
Laura B. Moore, daughter of
James H. Moore, s/o
Mary A. Maynard, d/o
Martha Smith, d/o
Henry Smith (1760-1830) and Mary Honaker (1768-1826)

Now, when I saw the name 'Honaker,' I immediately suspected it was of German origin and was correct in that assumption.  However, I was very surprised when I saw that Henry Smith was actually born in the Hesse state of Germany with the given name of "Heinrich Schmidt!"  So, he must have anglicized his name when he came to America.  This starts to make my DNA results a little clearer.

Some more interesting facts about Henry and his wife:

*It is thought Henry Smith fought in the Revolutionary War on the side of the Continental Army.  I was skeptical of this at first as Hessian mercenaries were actively recruited to serve the British army during the war.  However, he did receive land in Pike County, Kentucky and moved there with his wife from Virginia after the war.  It was common practice for the government to award land in this area to its veterans and so, maybe he did fight on the side of the revolutionaries.

*Mary Honaker's given name was Maria Honecker and her parents were Hans Jacob Honecker and Maria Goetz.  Her father actually came from Hinwil, Switzerland and I have to do more research for her mother although she has an obviously German name.

More to come later . . .

*Note--I am not claiming these ancestors at the moment as further research has thrown some doubt on them.  I'll continue to study this to either confirm or deny their relationship to me.

Baby Birds!

The mother bird is sad because her chicks flew away.  This nest was adjacent to my mother's house.

William Dalton (1666-1722)

I will discuss this ancestor next as 'Dalton' is my mother's maiden name.  Some records list William Dalton as being born in the Virginia colony and others show him as being born in Yorkshire, England.  I believe both are incorrect for the following reasons.  First of all, William's father, Tyrell Dalton, was born, grew up, and died in Cambridgeshire, England.  As a matter of fact, his tomb is located in the St. Vigor's church, Fulbourn in the same shire (county).  Since Tyrell never actually traveled to America, it's obvious that his son would not have been born there.  As for Yorkshire as a possible birth site, this speculation probably comes from reading about the origins of the Dalton family as being in Yorkshire.  The inscription on Tyrell's tomb indicates this origin as well but also makes clear that Tyrell never lived there.

I speculate that William came to the Virginia colony in the late 1600s but there is no way to document this since many of those records were lost during the Civil War.  It would make even more sense if he arrived sometime after his father's death in 1682 since he would not have had immediate family ties to bind him to England.  Tyrell Dalton was a justice of the peace in Cambridgeshire and was important enough to have been interned in the local church.  Therefore, I guess that William had some means to support his venture to America.  FYI, below is a picture of the tomb (and inscription in Latin) for Tyrell Dalton.

*Note--This lineage will need further research to confirm.

 

 





More on John McCoy

I have just a few more observations about this ancestor.  First of all, I am certain he is, in fact, an ancestor of mine as his arrival in America and subsequent line is well documented.  His grandson, William McCoy (1750-1835), was a Revolutionary War veteran and eventually moved to Pike County, Kentucky where he was granted a parcel of land.  He is thought to be the ancestor of all 'McCoys' in Eastern Kentucky and was my 5th great-grandfather.  I grew up in Martin County, Kentucky a former territory of Pike County.

Another observation concerning John McCoy is that he was a 'Jacobite' and initially left Scotland because of a failed rebellion to reinstall King James II on the throne.  I am curious about this because the MacKay clan was notoriously anti-Jacobite so John must have gone against clan policy in supporting the former king.  So, did he leave Scotland for fear of retaliation from the current government or did he flee because of possible clan retribution?  I would love to know more.

Genealogy Notes

I have become obsessed with my genealogy over the past few years and spend a lot of time researching it each week.  Although this is not a genealogy blog, I do want to put items of note on it as I discover them.  I thought one possibility might be putting the names (and whatever back story I might find) of the ancestors in each branch who actually crossed the pond.  After all, this would constitute amazing adventures which is, after all, the subject of this blog.  So, here goes.

I carry the surname of the first individual I will discuss.  His name was John McCoy (changed from MacKay) and he came to Maryland in approximately 1732 after spending roughly 15 years in Belfast.  He originally came from Sutherland County, Scotland in the north of the country.  I copied the following details from a site I found on the internet:

Name: John McCoy

Given Name: John

Surname: McCoy

Sex: M

Birth: 1690 in Sutherland Shire, Scotland

Death: 1762 in Washington Co., Maryland

Note: The McCoys were in Scotland until around 1700 a.d. at which time they migrated to Ireland. In the early 1700s, the McCoys started to migrate to America which was a British Colony. The earliest "known" McCoy is John, a Jacobite in Ireland. (It is believed his father was named Alexander) The Jacobites were loyal supporters of the Stuart King, James II. It is believed that John migrated to Ireland around 1716 after a failed rebellion in 1715 which was to return KingJames II to the English throne. John later migrated to America about 1732. Notes from McCoy History email, from Frank (bunkhouse...):  "John McCoy, son of Alexander McCoy, was born 1690 in Sutherland Shire,Scotland, and died 1762. He married unknown Martin. Migrated to Belfast, County Antrim, Ireland. Worked as a mercenary for English Lord Berresford. In 1732 emigrated from Belfast, Ireland. In 1737, received "Neglect" land grant in Charles County, Maryland, 150 acretract. Located today outside of Funkstown, Washington County, Maryland. 1820 -built a stone house, Funkstown, Washington County, Maryland."


John purchased land in Prince George's County, Maryland, called "Neglect" on 11/09/1742. This was a 50-acre plot. On 08/17/1747, he purchased land in Charles County, Maryland, which was referred to as "Slatford's Roost Extension." He bought "Neglect" (129 acres) in Queen Anne County, on 12/01/1748, and on 08/17/1747, he bought "Slatford's Roost Extension (54 acres) in Charles County. John's brothers, James and Daniel, may have come from Ireland with him. He died in Washington County, Maryland, in 1762.

Father: Alexander McCoy b: Abt 1665 in Sutherland Shire, Scotland
Mother: Francis Katharine (Catherine) Sutherland b: 15 Apr 1765 in Sutherland, Scotland

Marriage 1 UNKNOWN Martin

• Married:
• Change Date: 24 Apr 2004

Children

1. Archibald McCoy b: 12 Jul 1732 in Washington Co. MD
2. David McCoy
3. William McCoy
4. Joel McCoy
5. John McCoy

"Hidden America: Children of the Mountains"

I found this video yesterday on YouTube and thought I would post the link.  It discusses the enduring poverty in Appalachia, more specifically, that in Eastern Kentucky.  I was very surprised to see that it included interviews from my home county and with some people I actually know.  Although the video 'narrated' the poverty well, neither Diane Sawyer (the lead on this project) nor 20/20 discussed the bigger issues of why the War on Poverty had failed so miserably.  Perhaps in a follow-up segment?  Anyway, here is the link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBdu6uhrNno

Old Churches

I took this picture yesterday in Quihi, Texas.  These are two Lutheran churches in the middle of nowhere in South-Central Texas about 30 minutes West of San Antonio. 

Nijmegen Four-Day March, 1984(6)

Still in Nijmegen, this photo was of one of my best friends in the military.  We thought this was making a statement what with him being in the army.  I lost touch with him as with so many others I served with--remember, this was pre-internet days.

Cute Kitty

I found this guy terrorizing the birds in my backyard yesterday.  He didn't seem to be scared of anything including me!

Taiwan Friends2

Some more pictures of friends in front of a temple in Taipei.

Taiwan Friends

A picture of some of my colleagues in Taiwan right before I returned to the US.

Notre Dame Campus

Here I am standing in front of a monument on the Notre Dame campus in '87.  It's difficult to see but the Hesburgh Library is behind the monument.  I have better pictures of that building elsewhere on this blog.

Another Golden Dome Picture

Another picture taken from a lost roll of film.  This is of the Golden Dome/Administration building at Notre Dame in 1987 when I was a student there.  I can never get enough of this scene.

Nijmegen Four-Day March, 1984 (5)

Another picture from Nijmegen.  My army buddy and I are posing with a soldier from the Italian military.

Nijmegen Four-Day March, 1984 (4)

This is a great picture!  A little Dutch girl came out to offer us some of her bread as we were marching by.  They really appreciated what we represented--a symbol of the allied troops that liberated their country from the Nazis.

DNA Screenshot

Just thought I'd add this since I'm really getting into my genealogy.  Ancestry.com has a great DNA test that you can associate with others who have also submitted to it.  PS, click on the picture to get a better view.

Nijmegen Four-Day March, 1984 (3)

Here I am with some of my teammates in a pre-march poker game.  Had we known what we were in store for the next day, we might have tried to get more rest.