Contagious Genealogy: A Pandemic

There is still plenty I have yet to learn about my paternal third great grandmother's life before she married Charles Miller in Lisbon, St. Lawrence County, New York in 1842. The Geddes family bible gives both her given name and nickname: Ageness (Nancy) Geddes, as well as mentioning she was a native of Belfast, Ireland and was born in 1815. "Agnes Nancy Geddes," photo, undated; database with images, Family Search (https://www.familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/171969200?p=52592885&returnLabel=Agnes%20%22Nancy%22%20Geddes%20(L69W-35P)&returnUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.familysearch.org%2Ftree%2Fperson%2Fmemories%2FL69W-35P : accessed 10 Feb 2024); user-submitted photo by robertwaynerace1, 8 Apr 2023. I found it curious to see her formal name spelled in that way, rather than the modern take of Agnes (which was embossed on her cemetery marker); though the bible was not the only place in which I've seen that spelling for an Irish woman carrying that name. And in one of ...

  DECEMBER 27, 2021 When looking forward, it’s always good to take a glance in the rearview mirror and check out where you came from. Without my ancestors paving the way, I wouldn’t have the life I live today. Week 52: Future The earliest known ancestor in my tree to have immigrated to the Americas was Edward Bosworth. His adventurous spirit led to my future here in the United States, and I have to assume his mindset at the time of his passage circled around setting up the best possible future for himself, his wife, and his kids. Unfortunately, his travels did not go quite as planned, and he paid the ultimate sacrifice. He sailed from England and arrived in Boston on a ship named Elizabeth & Dorcas in 1634. His death was recorded there in Boston Harbor. It is assumed his death was due to natural causes and that he died onboard the ship as it approached land because of a diary entry written by Samuel Sewall: Edward Bosworth, the Father, being ready to dye ask’d to be carried up...

  AUGUST 08, 2021 I’m always interested in hearing the backstory of one’s name. Nowadays, parents tend to spend a good chunk of energy in determining the names of their offspring, and I question if the trend was as big an ordeal in the past as it is the present. Week 31: Favorite Name On my father’s line of the family tree, we have very deep roots in America, stretching all the way back to the first few decades of the original colonies. The Crandall line can be traced back to Elder John Crandall who was born in England in the early 1600s and traveled to Salem, Massachusetts in the year 1635. John’s great granddaughter is my 5th great grandmother. She was born 28 January 1743 in Stonington, New London, Connecticut. Her parents, who had rather normal names of Samuel and Sarah, granted her the special name of Desire Crandall. The name Desire calls to me, because it stands apart from most other common names in my family tree. And because I consider myself a dreamer, it really tugs on m...

  MAY 23, 2021 I’ve been having a lot of new correspondence with distant cousins ever since this year’s RootsTech conference, because I made sure to make good use of the Family Connect feature. Week 20: Cousin Bait My 2nd great grandfather, Christian Eggenberger, was born 29 April 1838 in Switzerland, but the first written record I have recording his existence is the 1860 U.S. federal census, when he was already 22 years old and living in Chippewa, Wayne County, Ohio. 1860 United States Federal Census , population schedule, Chippewa, Wayne, Ohio, Christian Eckenberger household, p. 386, line 3, online database, Ancestry ( https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 23 May 2021), Provo, UT, USA; NARA microfilm publication M653, 1,438 rolls. 1860 United States Federal Census , index, population schedule, Chippewa, Wayne, Ohio, Christian Eckenberger household, p. 386, line 3, online database, Ancestry ( https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 23 May 2021), Provo, UT, USA. This census is not onl...

  MARCH 07, 2021 In 2019, my New Year’s resolution was to prove lineage to the Mayflower in anticipation of a 2020 trip to Plymouth for the 400th Anniversary. Of course, that trip didn’t happen due to the COVID-19 pandemic. And sadly, the familial connection didn’t happen either! William Halsall, “Mayflower in Plymouth Harbor,” 1882; Wikimedia Commons, database with images ( https://commons.wikimedia.org : accessed 7 Mar 2021), search for Mayflower. Week 10: Name’s the Same When I initially made that 2019 resolution, I truly thought it would be a snap to find a direct line from myself to a Mayflower passenger. There’s one branch of my father’s family that has very deep American roots around the Massachusetts Bay Colony area. I was absolutely certain that someone in that cluster of the tree must have been one of the lucky pilgrims to make that “maiden” voyage. And not once, but twice, I thought I had made the discovery! There were several other “cousins” who had blindly accepted th...