52 Ancestors Week 38: On the Map

Question

Time for the next 52 Ancestors challenge...

Please share with us a profile of an ancestor or relative who matches this week's theme:

On the Map

Share below.

You don't need to share every week to participate, but those who do will earn badges. If this is your first time participating and you don't have the participation badge, or if you pass a milestone (13 shared profiles in 13 weeks, 26 in 26, or 52 in 52) let us know here. For more about the challenge, click here.

Answer 1

My paternal family moved around quite a lot.

My great-grandfather Albert Sidney Dowding moved around the country a lot. His parents were both born in London but met and married in Eastbourne. He was born in Eastbourne, but the family returned to London (possibly linked to his dad Horace doing military service) where he grew up.

He married my great-grandmother in London, and shortly afterwards his entire family (including his parents and siblings) all returned to Eastbourne. It was in Eastbourne where he met his second wife, and they ran away to London together and had two children. I also believe they may have lived at Macclesfield at some point around this time.

They finally returned to Eastbourne, where divorce and remarriage happened. After 11 years of living in Eastbourne, he and his second wife moved to Cumbria. After 15 years of living in Cumbria, he divorced again and migrated to Yorkshire, which is where his third marriage was and his place of death.

His brother Edward lived in Portsmouth at one point (which is where he married), and eventually migrated to Australia. He also has a sister living in America.

Answer 2

My late mother-in-law's family name came, presumably, from their country of origin: Ireland!

Answer 3

3G Grandfather John Truslow was a jeweler/silversmith.  He was born in VA (in an area that is now WV), eventually moving to TN.  I found his shop at 313 E. Main St. on an 1890 Sanborn Fire Map of Johnson TN.

Answer 4

There is a century and a half old family myth that the Ranck family who migrated to America from the Rhineland in the 1740's were French Huguenots with the surname Ranc or du Ranc.  Several contemporary researchers cast some doubts on a French origin and I followed up with my own research by tracking the names of the 'other' French families in the area.  

In the end I found that the family was German and 'in-laws' (the parents of the wife) were from France and were likely Huguenots.  Perhaps when the story was passed from generation to generation the details got blurred.

I used a map to plot out all the families (both French and German) to see how close they were to where our Ranck family lived:

While more research is needed, I am confident that the descendants of Hans Ranck (aka Jean Ranc) are from Germany.

Answer 5

Moving around the map. I have lived in a total of 3 different countries!!

My ancestors did not move around a lot. They mostly all stayed in their home counties -  until they all emigrated to the other side of the world - from the UK to New Zealand. And even then, my ancestors mostly stayed in Dunedin, and the southern part of New Zealand.

My parents left Dunedin (NZ) in the South Island, after their first child died at 2 days old. My sisters and I grew up in a small farming town in the North Island.

In the 1970s,  my parents got the urge to be missionaries so I spent 3 miserable years in the Solomon Islands. Back to NZ to finish High School and get a job.

I had a growing urge to get out of NZ. I felt that it was too small and that I needed to move somewhere else. Somewhere else that was bigger.

So when I fell in love with my spouse who was from Canada, I took the opportunity to move again - to a much bigger country. Stretching my arms. So much better.

I know that I have not travelled so much within Canada since I have been here, but it is the mentality of being in a large  country as opposed to a small one, that makes all the difference.

Edited to add a map!! LOL

I love the below map. It shows the Pacific Ocean as the centre of the world which is as it should be - since the Pacific Ocean is the largest Ocean on the map. And with most of the economy coming out of Pacific countries such as China and Japan, that is as it should be. The Atlantic Ocean is no longer the centre of this world!!

https://www.wikitree.com/photo/jpg/Page_to_show_Images_on_the_G2G_forum-4

Answer 6

My cousin Dr. Bessie Pierce (1886-1974) described in volume one of "A History of Chicago" the unsuccessful efforts of Captain Nathan Heald to safely evacuate Fort Dearborn in the face of an attack by armed Potawatomi, loyal to the British enemy. This was August of 1812. The map below, found in Dr. Pierce's book, shows how scanty the town of Chicago was at the time.

It turns out Captain Nathan Heald (1774-1832) is related to my paternal grandmother's first husband, Oliver Heald (1906-1935), but that doesn't mean I'm related to the Heald's. Oliver Heald might be my dad's father, then again he might not be.

Answer 7

On the map on the far right between the Anthony property is the property in Pennsylvania of my 4th great grandfather and DAR Patriot Captain Andrew Sharp. Andrew Sharp enlisted on three separate occasions and served under General George Washington. He participated in the Battle of Long Island and the Battle of Brandywine and was appointed to the rank of captain by General Washington, and at the Battle of Trenton Ferry he was cited for heroism. 

Answer 8

My Grandparents moved across the country because my grandfather got a good job.

Answer 9

When I think of "On the Map" I think of my 4th Great Grandfather, John Stephens. He left Cornwall, England with his family intending to live in Canada. He decided he didn't like Canada and moved the family to Ashtabula, Ohio. He then moved his family to Illinois. All of these moves occurred in the year 1849. In 1856 John moved the family (for the last time) to Dunn County, Wisconsin.

P.S. Hi Robynne ;) 

Answer 10

My 4th great uncle, Judge John Sample seemed determined to have his name on a map! He moved his family to Randolph County Indiana and "entered land there, January 16, 1817 (Sections 3, 20, 13), and laid out Sampletown very early." Some old settlers said that the new county seat would have been located at Sampletown, four miles west of Winchester, but that the settlers there were unwilling to 'come down' sufficiently with donations.”. The locality was called Sampletown as late as 1882.  Circa 1839 he moved his family to Henry County Iowa and again tried for a Sampletown. Sadly, by the end of the cholera epidemic of 1851, all the Samples but one daughter, Eliza Ann, ended up in the Cholera Hill/Sample Cemetery.

Comments

Google maps could not show me Sampletown, and Google tells me that its real name was Vernon. How disappointing! I am impressed that you took a picture of this nonexistent place! Every genealogist should have a camera as well as a map.

Answer 11

One of my 4x GG Father's comes to mind Samuel Maggard, Sr.

If any of you have visited the very mountainous and treed jungle, rocky terrain you understand why this was a true feat back in 1795.

From Profile:  Soon after their marriage, in 1795 with the money they made selling off the land they were given by their British Employer, they joined a wagon train and came to Kentucky. Along with several of his slaves, he brought his young family into Eastern Kentucky. Samuel along with his wife Rebecca, joined a caravan of fifteen wagons out of the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, to Kentucky in 1805. They moved practically all of their furniture from Virginia, as well as other household goods, including, cooking utensils, a table for preparing meals en route. Samuel moved all of his farming tools, sheep and hogs. They also had their milk cows tied behind their wagons. It is said that Samuel could not bear the thought of leaving any of their furniture or other luxuries behind that would help to make them comfortable in Kentucky, so one of the oxen-drawn wagons contained bedding for Rebecca and the children to rest and sleep in at night while on their journey. The trip was long and hazardous and they endured many hardships. 

Comments

No picture

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Yes I am trying but it won't load I have it on Samuel's profile how do I get it to go ? I am using the same format as last time I posted a picture {{Image|file=Maggard-38.jpg|caption=From "Coming Down the Cumberland" Area on Map}}  

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Find your picture. Put your mouse over it, right click, then "copy image location"

Go back to your story and click "edit."

Click the "picture" icon. (Looks like 2 mountains and a sun). This will open a dialogue box with a place to paste the URL (picture location). Click save. Good luck.

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There it went, thanks for the more simple instructions than I had gotten on that in G2G before, Joyce 

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I am all tired out from reading about this trip! Imagine having to unload your table every day to fix the meals.

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Yeah, and chasing after all those animals!

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Joyce and Loretta,   Noted your "picture instructions"......One of my ongoing projects........with previous help from Alexis and Linda Peterson.

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Thanks John,  yes all the instructions in Wikitree for G2G about pictures need re-written in more simple language for us technically challenged, in my opinion.

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Loretta, your answer to this week's theme helped to inspire my answer, which in turn provides a little history about the Wilderness Road that your Maggard family took into Kentucky.

Answer 12

William Tuttle-27 and his family arrived with his family on the Planter in 1635. They settled in New Haven and he is 'on the map' for New Haven Colony in 1641. William is my 10th great grandfather.

 

Comments

Carol !   On passing over that map of New Haven I had to stop and look again......the same map my wife's ancestor is on.

Answer 13

My ancestor Theodore Bechard, born in L'Acadie, Quebec, Canada, is one of the 58 men for whom Canada Bay, New South Wales, Australia, is named. This is about as far apart as any two places can be. To trace his journey, we need a globe rather than a flat map. Ready?

28 September 1839-  ship Buffalo sails from Montreal. Aboard are  prisoners convicted of treason for their role in the Patriots' War of rebellion.

30 November 1839- Buffalo  takes on supplies at Rio de Janeiro.

28 December 1839-Buffalo rounds Cape Horn

26 February 1840-Buffalo arrives New South Wales. Convicts spend 4 years at hard labor, most notably cutting stone for Parramatta Road.

1844- convicts are pardoned and travel to London.

18 January 1845-now known as "exiles", they travel from London to New York on ship "Switzerland."

28 December 1872-Theodore's life ends where it began, in L'Acadie.

Comments

Yes, a globe for a picture would have been very applicable!

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I actually tracked this on my globe before I wrote it. It is a long way!

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Joyce,  My education continues........closer to my maternal ancestor's territory.....the Maritimes.

Answer 14

The champion for this theme  I have is https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Von_Schubert-6  he either traveled to or lived in the following

Europe, Africa, USA, Asia,  he had multiple nationalities at various times

Answer 15

My maternal grandfather moved from Bohemia to Flint,Michigan to Toledo, Ohio and back

My maternal grandmother's grandparents moved from Ontario to Bay City, Michigan

My dad's grandparents moved from eastern Kentucky to northern Michigan in search of better jobs.

Answer 16

On the map......I'm sure I can find something?.......Then, (this) today, just up the road at Hunters Creek where we, 5 WikiTreers, had been standing under the railroad  trestle, twice recently, where the highest pile occurred. Would this put Hunters Creek, B.C. "On the Map"?  Oh ya......in my haste I forgot, "Ancestors", needed to qualify this post.......So, how did I get under this trestle?.......Well, my father, being born, in 1899, in Burma was at an early age, dropped off with grandparents in Cheltenham, England, for 5 years, until they retired to the Okanagan, B.C., in 1910, bypassing my mother being born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and eventually went on to chasing submarines 24 hours a day in the RCN off the West Coast of B.C., as, he had returned to England to do in WWI.  Not needed to say, during WWII, rest and relaxation is arranged, from time to time, and I won't go on to say the local teachers at Prince George, B.C., where my mother now resided, hosted a dance for the Naval Officers.........

Comments

When I looked up Hunter's Creek on Google Maps, all I saw was a marker with no other places around it. I had to zoom out several times before I figured out where it was. But yes, John, Hunter's Creek is on the map. I also looked at your pictures, and now that you have figured out how to do links, maybe you can figure out how to post pictures. I also looked at the Youtube video, which I thought was a video of you. I thought "John looks a lot like Joe Biden."

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Hunters (Creek) is a rest stop on the Freeway near Hope B.C., and, it is a pleasant location to enjoy a wilderness walk along the creek, under 2 roadway bridges and a rail mainline trestle, and there, you see the Fraser River.  Having  been there many times before, I often wondered what it would be like with a train overhead, then, (this)   ........A 60 car train wreck over top of where we had been standing......Can anybody see the video of the wreck?

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Yes, John, I see the video. This train wreck happened 2 days ago!! Right where you were standing a few days earlier! Yikes! (When I looked at the video earlier, it was preceded by an ad for Joe Biden, so I thought that was you.)

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Joyce,   Might go for stroll under the trestle, today, and see if Joe is still there.

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Somehow I don't think it will be so pretty and peaceful today.

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Joe's not  here ? 

Answer 17

When I look at the map as a North German, I immediately notice the largest city in Northern Germany: Hamburg.
I myself was born 50 km north of Hamburg and now live 100 km south of Hamburg.
Only yesterday I found two marriage certificates from my ancestors, who both got married in Hamburg. One woman married a man from Lucerne in Switzerland, another one a man from today's Poznan in Poland.
Many of my Schleswig-Holstein ancestors moved to Hamburg and worked and started families there; three of my grandfather's sisters alone. You could say that all roads lead to Hamburg.
And all my ancestors who emigrated to America left by ship in Hamburg. Hamburg, the gateway to the world.
That explains why Hamburg is the most important city for me in terms of family history.
A song expresses it nicely: "Hamburg my pearl!"

Comments

Neither Lucerne nor Poznan is very close to Hamburg. Do you wonder why they came there? And how? (I assume this was before the days of highways).

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The marriage of the guy frome Poznan was 1897, the other one with the guy frome Lucerne was 1878.

I think that both men moved to Hamburg because they had a change to get work there.

Maybe the came by train, but it is also possible that they used a coach or horses.

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Thanks for sharing Dieter, and expanding my knowledge. Had to look at my Earnhardt ancestor on WikiTree to refresh location in Germany, SW area. Googled Hamburg, maps and city. WOW, so beautiful and cosmopolitan.  The Town Hall is fabulous! I assume this is where you research at the archives. Lucky you! Read on Hamburg's port history and importance to German and European migration. My ancestor from Rhineland-Palatinate. Just helped another on ancestry G2G and their line was from Saxony. Learned a lot today, THANKS!

Answer 18

The town that had the most people from my family have an event in it is Eden (NSW, Australia) with 290 events (BDM), close runner up was Bombala (NSW, Australia) with 280!!

Comments

Nobody in Canada Bay?

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How do you keep track of "events per location"? How do you define "location"? Is it worth keeping track of?

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I use Legacy family tree, so I did a report and then found the places with the most people :) An event is Birth/Christening, Death/Burial or Marriage.

Answer 19

In searching for my paternal great-great grandfather, I used a spreadsheet to map out every location that my paternal great-grandfather, Elias Buch, lived as well as those people he came in contact with.

Comments

I never thought of using a spread sheet! Do you keep them for everyone? What did you learn by keeping one for him? I wonder why, if he fought on the Union Side, he ended up in Louisiana?

Answer 20

I have found it is a good practice to plot locations for the people you are researching, especially if you are sifting through somebody's undocumented tree.  Like when you are trying to improve a profile on wikitree, for example.  Sometimes you will realize that the data doesn't fit.  While people did move around even before the locomotive and the westward expansion, sometimes there will be two people with similar names and ages in different towns in say, Massachusetts, who have gotten confused with each other.   Why are they in born on one side of the state, and then getting married on the other?  Can you plot a migration, or has someone just made a leap based on similar names?

Original research from primary and secondary sources is always preferable to those undocumented trees.  But when you see someone from 1700s getting married in North Carolina and dying in Maine, put a pin in that.  Do you have the right Jane Doe?  Go back to the sources you are sure of, and look at each document.  The decennial censuses are a big help because they mention locations of birth for the children (1850 and after), so you can plot the migrations.  But generations earlier, when the census is not helpful, look at the birth and death records in the towns you know the parents lived.  Sometimes cousins with the same names are confused,  A map is sometimes your best genealogical tool to figure out who was who.

Comments

Quite right, Carolyn!

Usually, it's the right place and the wrong person. Sometimes it's the right person in the wrong place. (I just moved someone from Salem, Oregon, to Salem, Massachusetts.) But when it looks like the wrong place, but turns out to be the right place, that's when things get interesting! That's how I learned about Casket Girls, Syrians in Manitoba, and the Republic of Vermont.