Other Family Stories
Grandma and Grandpa Lord
William Lord, who was born in about 1623 and his wife Dorothy have a rather unique distinction. They are not only my 9th great grandparents, they are also my 10th great grandparents! I am related to them through two of their children. Their son Richard had a daughter Phebe who married Joseph Sill in 1706. Their daughter Mary had a great, great grand daughter named Chloe Barnes who married Elijah Bennett Sill in about 1781. Somewhere along the way, the family of Mary was married one more time than the family of Richard, accounting for the addition of an extra generation in her branch of the tree.
Slaves?
In his will dated May 28, 1744, our ancestor Samuel Olmstead gave to his daughter Mary a negro girl named Patience and to his daughter Deborah, he gave a negro girl named Phyllis. There were, in times past, people known as indentured servants. Their service to a family was more of a contractual agreement. After serving a family for a number of years, they were given some land of their own to settle on with their families. Since the girls named here appear in a will, it seems to me they were considered to be property, and therefore were probably slaves for the Olmstead family.
In the book Old Silltown is a story regarding slaves in the Sill family. In the home of Captain Thomas Sill hung a painting of a colored boy. It was said he was a boy named Daniel who was a descendant of a slave owned by Lieutenant John Sill. Daniel was owned and brought up by the family. Daniel drowned in an attempt to save a young member of the Sill family who fell overboard into the river.
Clark Confusion
The parents of Sarah Clark were George and Sarah Clark who came from England to Milford, Connecticut in 1639. This information, however, is not as straightforward as it may seem. The facts are very confusing for the following reasons.
1. Not one, but two George Clarks came to Milford, Connecticut in 1639.
2. They were both married to women named Sarah.
3. They both had daughters named Sarah.
4. They both died in the year 1690.
Thankfully, a descendant named George Clarke Bryant was able to sort through the records and publish his results in 1949. Our ancestor George was commonly known as any or all of the following: Farmer, Junior, husbandman, or yeoman. The other George was known as Deacon, Senior, and carpenter. Deacon George also had a son named George. For the brief period of time between the deaths of Deacon George and Farmer George, Farmer George became known as Senior while the other younger George became known as Junior! How Mr. Bryant was able to sort this all out, I do not know. He must have been blessed with incredible patience and attention to details.
Pennsylvania Dutch
I have grown up hearing that the Kuntzleman family was of Pennsylvania Dutch origin. The Pennsylvania Dutch came from German speaking areas of Europe from the 1600's through the early 1800's. They settled in southeastern Pennsylvania and were called Dutch due to the mispronunciation of the word Deutsch, which means German. So many of these people came to America that by 1775 one third of the population of Pennsylvania was of German origin. The present day Amish and Mennonites are descendants of these immigrants.
I have recently learned more about the Kuntzelman family. The earliest known ancestor was Bartolomai Kuntzelman who was born in Germany in 1696. He arrived in America aboard the ship Molly on October 16, 1741. He died in Pennsylvania in 1774. Lydia (Ossman) Kuntzelman's obituary from 1911 states that "Grandma Kuntzelman was converted in early womanhood and united with the Church of God in Pa." The Church of God is not affiliated with any other religious organization, including any of the branches of Pennsylvania Dutch. Future generations of this family most likely were no longer following the Pennsylvania Dutch beliefs.
The twisted trunk of the Bennett family tree
I have found a lot of weird intermarriages between families while digging through the old records. One of them was found in Dorcas Bennett's family. Dorcas' paternal grandparents were Thomas Bennett and Mary Booth. Thomas' parents were James Bennett and Mary Joy. Mary's parents were Ephraim Booth and Mary Osborn. After the deaths of Mary Joy and Ephraim Booth, James Bennett married Mary Osborn . Thus Thomas Bennett and Mary Booth, although completely unrelated, were living in the same family as brother and sister from the time Thomas was 14 and Mary was 7. They were married nine years later. Although this was probably not considered odd at the time, it makes for an interesting family tree for their ancestors!
Top Gunn
The first Gunn ancestor in America was Jasper Gunn, one of supposedly nine Gunn brothers who came to America. Jasper came to Massachusetts in 1635 aboard the ship Defense. There has been much debate as to who he came with. A woman named Ann Gunn was also on board. Some say she was his wife. However his wife's name was never recorded as Ann anywhere else. His wife's name was recorded as either Mary or Christian Gunn on a number of occasions. On her will, she officially recorded her own name as Christian Gunn, so that is the name I am using in my version of the family history. Exactly who Ann and Mary were may never be known. There were many recording errors in those days, so they may in fact all be the same person.
Jasper and his family settled in Roxbury, Massachusetts, where he was a doctor in the town. In 1645 the family moved to Hartford, Connecticut where Jasper was one of only two recorded doctors in the entire colony. In 1657 the family moved to Milford, Connecticut. There he became a schoolmaster, a church Deacon, and a sealer of weights and measures as well as continuing to be a doctor. Jasper died in Milford on January 12, 1670/71. His wife then moved to Hatfield, Connecticut, where I believe she lived until her death in October of 1690. We are descendants of Jasper's son Jobamah.
The McNitt Family
The McNitts who settled in the American colonies in the early part of the eighteenth century descended from the ancient Scottish clan MacNauchtan (or MacNaughton). A branch of the MacNauchtans of Argyll settled in the province of Galloway in Southwestern Scotland in the thirteenth century and shortened the name to MacNaught. Members of the family eventually moved to Ulster, in northern Ireland, and then to America and adopted such forms of the surname as McNitt, McNett, McNutt, McNight, and McKnight.
In 1720 Alexander McNitt, his wife Sarah, their son Barnard, and his wife Margaret came to Boston. Whether any of Alexander and Sarah's other children came along is unknown. The McNitts probably did not remain in Boston long as the Puritans had a fairly low opinion of Ulster Scots. Barnard and his wife Margaret moved to Worcester, Massachusetts in 1726. Margaret died during or shortly after the birth of their son Alexander, who was born December 10, 1726. A little over a year later, Barnard married Jane (or Jean) Clark in Middlesex County. Shortly after, Barnard and his family moved to Palmer, Massachusetts.
On January 14, 1732, Barnard bought 100 acres of land. The farm lay on both sides of the old Boston road (now known as Highway 20) and extended south to the Quabaug River. At the time, the farm included only one small house, possibly a log cabin. As of 1951, traces of the old cellar and well could still be seen. A large barn was added in 1735. On May 16, 1746, Barnard purchased an adjoining 100 acres. Due to the size of his family, a larger house was built at some point as well. The original house is rumored to have burned down and been replaced in 1760. This house was purchased and restored by family member V. V. McNitt in 1922. Today Barnard McNitt is honored with a bronze historical marker beside the house's main entrance.
As Barnard's sons became old enough to help with farm work, he became more active in government and church affairs. He served as town clerk, 1741-1750 and 1755-1761; member of the board of selectmen in 1754 and 1755; and member of many committees chosen at town meetings. He also traveled to Boston several times on town business and was elected an elder in the Presbyterian Church in 1755. On January 2, 1773, Barnard sold the family farm to his son John. A serious illness must have provoked the sale, as Barnard died exactly two weeks later. As several children had already left Palmer and most of the others left soon thereafter, his heirs sold the family farm on April 9, 1776.
Barnard's son Alexander moved to the Ulster Scot settlement at Pelham, Massachusetts, where he married Elizabeth McLem in 1749. While living there he was elected to such offices as hog rieve, surveyor, and fence viewer. Alexander participated briefly in the French and Indian War in 1757, serving as a private in a regiment sent to the relief of Fort William Henry at the head of Lake George. A tax list for 1760 shows him as the owner of two oxen, three cows, and ten sheep.
In 1769, Alexander and many of his neighbors moved to a new community, which eventually became known as Salem, New York. The McNitts bought a farm several miles out of town on the Salem-West Hebron road (currently known as Highway 153), which remained in the possession of Alexander's descendants until 1946.
Alexander was almost 50 years old when the Revolutionary War began, but soon set to work organizing a militia company. Captain McNitt's company mainly fought bands of Indians and Tories around Salem. On one occasion, a company of Tories attacked them and they had to take refuge in a building on the Captain's own farm. The militia repulsed the attacking party after a sharp fight. The Governor of New York appointed Alexander as one of the three Commissioners for Conspiracies on two occasions during the war. The Commissioners determined which New York residents supported the British cause and then moved to exchange these Tories for any rebels held prisoner by the British. Three of Alexander's brothers and five of his sons also served in the American Revolution, with the British holding one son for two years as a prisoner of war.
Elizabeth McLem McNitt died in 1791 and Alexander soon married a woman named Jane. He retired from farming in 1796 and sold the farm to his sons Daniel and Alexander Jr. In return they agreed to give him a life lease on the house, barn and garden plus half the hay and grain harvested and sufficient firewood. Alexander's second wife died in 1811, but he lived several more years, reaching the age of 90 before dying in 1817.
The Harper Family: A Tale of Two Cities
James Harper emigrated from the county of Derry, in Ireland, and settled with his family at Casco Bay, in the province of Maine, in October, 1720. But since a war had broken out with the Indians, he moved to Boston, Mass. with all of his family except his youngest son, John. Our ancestor John remained for the defense of the province, and continued to serve against the Indians for three years and eight months. After his discharge he first went to Boston, and then to Hopkinton, Conn., where he became acquainted with Abigail Montgomery, to whom he was married November 8th, 1728. From Hopkinton he moved to Nodell's Island, near Boston. In 1741 the family moved to Middletown, Conn., where our ancestor Joseph was born on November 3, 1741. In 1747 they moved to Windsor, Conn. John, Abigail, and their family of eight children moved from Windsor to Cherry Valley, Albany county, in the province of New York in 1754. There they purchased a piece of land, which they immediately commenced to clear and cultivate. Abigail died in Cherry Valley in 1767.
Around 1767, the Harpers learned that the Indians had lands lying between the Delaware and Charlotte rivers which they were willing to sell. They were determined to found a settlement of their own, but before they could purchase the land from the Indians it was necessary to procure a license from the governor of the province. The license was granted and the Harpers, John Sr., John Jr., William, Joseph, and Alexander, purchased 250,000 acres of land on June 14, 1768. A 22,000 acre tract of this land officially became the Township of Harpersfield on November 11, 1769. In the spring of 1771, John, his new wife whose name does not appear to have been recorded, and his family moved to Harpersfield to establish a permanent settlement. John was called away on business and his wife supervised the building of the first permanent structure in Harpersfield.
The first winter in Harpersfield was particularly severe. The family had been able to move much of their supplies as far as Schoharie, roughly 25 miles away, during the summer and fall. Winter set in early that year though, and the deep snow left them stranded with very little food. Soon the food was gone except for a small portion of corn, which was ground and made into a johnny-cake. On the evening that the last of the johnny-cake was consumed, the family received a surprise. At midnight a group of people on snowshoes arrived at their door. They were from Schoharie and had carried with them enough of the Harper's supplies for them to survive the rest of the winter.
After making it through that first winter, the Harpers began selling off parcels of land. Soon, the community of Harpersfield was flourishing. On July 10, 1774, the first white male born in Delaware County was born in Harpersfield. This was our distant uncle John Harper, grandson of founder John Harper Sr. In 1775, John Sr. built a grist mill in town so his neighbors would not have to walk the 25 miles to the nearest mill in Schoharie.
In 1777, an Indian who had been treated kindly by the Harpers, came to them with disturbing news. A band of Indians and Tories were camped not far away and intended to attack the town the next day. The Harpers and their neighbors fled the town that night. The town was attacked the next day, and the Harpers house was burned down. A blockhouse was built in the town in 1778 and it became the location of another attack during the Revolutionary War. In 1780, Alexander Harper, son of John Sr., and a party of 13 other men returned to the blockhouse at Harpersfield to make maple sugar and to keep an eye on a group of Indians and Tories who were known to live in the town. Harper's party was attacked, and those who were not killed were taken prisoner and marched to Niagra. After three years, the war ended and the survivors were released. At least some of them returned to Harpersfield to start their lives over again. John Harper Sr. also returned after the war. He returned with his children only, as his wife died in 1778 in Johnstown, New York. By 1787, I believe John Sr. had died as the only Harper families living in Harpersfield were those of his sons John, William, Joseph, and Alexander.
In 1797, our ancestor Joseph Harper, his brother Alexander, his brother-in-law William McFarland, and a few other men purchased six townships of land in New Connecticut, N. W. Territory, now known as Ohio. In September of that year, a committee was sent to the area to decide on a place to begin a settlement. On March 7, 1798, Alexander, William, and a few other families left for their new land. They got as far as Rome, New York, where they remained until May 1. They then went by boat to Queenstown and by teams around the Canadian side of Lake Ontario until they reached Fort Erie. They traveled around the Canadian side because there were no roads in western New York at that time. After a week in Buffalo, New York they were able to acquire enough boats to complete their trip. On June 28, 1798, the party arrived at their new land and spent the night camped out under the stars. The next day they built a large bark hut to live in until homes could be built for the families. On September 10, 1798, Alexander Harper died. The place of his burial is in what is now the Unionville cemetery. In 1799, Joseph and John Harper and their families came to what was the second town of Harpersfield established by our ancestors. As of 1941, the original house at Harpersfield, Ohio was still intact and being used as a museum. Both Harpersfields are still around and can be found on current road maps. Harpersfield, New York is located about 60 miles northwest of New York City on highway 23. Harpersfield, Ohio is located about 45 miles northeast of Cleveland on highway 534.
Sometime between 1842 and 1844 Joseph's son Montgomery brought his family from Ohio to Avon, Wisconsin. Although he was not the founder of a town like his ancestors, Montgomery was certainly among the earliest settlers of Avon, which held it's first town meeting in 1848. The family owned a lot of land in the area, but by the 1870's most of the family had either died or moved away.
The Swedish Story
Our ancestor Nils Johan Nilsson came to America from Sweden. Upon arriving in the United States in 1876, he changed his name to John Freedlund. I have heard two stories regarding the name change. I originally heard he changed it because he came to a "free land." More recently I have learned that in Swedish, Freed means "peaceful" and Lund means "a small piece of land amongst the forest." I think the second explanation makes more sense, but I don't know for sure why he changed his name.
John was a woodcarver who worked in a furniture factory in Rockford, Illinois. He carved a portrait of President Grover Cleveland which is currently hanging in the home of my father. Other than his mother's name, Stina Anderson, and the fact that his father's first name was probably Nils, no more is known of his ancestry. However, I have learned some more of his wife's family. (Since printing this book, I have learned more of both sides of the family. See the Ahnentafel section for more information.)
John Freedlund's wife was Emma Wilhelmina Anderson Lilja. Her parents were Gustaf Anderson Lilja and Clara Arkenby. Gustaf's parents were Anders Anderson Lilja and Louisa Charlotta Landstrom. Anders' parents were Anders Svenson and Maja Pehrsdotter. The suffixes -son and -dotter were used to signify who someone was the son or daughter of. The name Lilja was different though. Lilja was a military name. There were so many common names in Sweden, Anderson for example, that when someone joined the military they were given a military name. This name was usually a one or two syllable name and was often retained after the soldier left the service. Anders Anderson was given the name Lilja, which means "lily" in Swedish.
I have also learned that Emma was working as a maid at a farm in Blackstad, Väderstad, Sweden when she got her moving out letter on April 27, 1878. This simply meant she was given permission to leave the country. She left for New York from Goteburg, Sweden on May 3, 1878 aboard the ship Rollo. She sailed with her cousins Augusta Matilda and Charlotta Elisabeth. They all traveled under the name Anderson. How she ended up in Rockford, Illinois a year later is not known to me at this time.
The Ballous
Nelson Sill's obituary stated that he had been married to Adelia Brown and "To this union was born one child, Mrs. Ella Ballow, of Vancouver, Wash." For many years nothing more was known of Nelson's first family. In fact my great uncle Allen Sill, who would have been Addie's nephew, claimed he had never heard of her. But now, thanks to distant cousin Judy Churchill, I have a much more complete story to tell.
On December 25, 1859, Nelson Sill married Adelia Brown. She was the daughter of Henry and Rial Brown and was born in Marshall, New York in 1839. On September 29, 1860, they had a daughter named Ella. On April 28, 1870, Adelia died and was buried at the Avon Cemetery. Nelson married Charlotte Emily Harper on May 7, 1871. Ella continued living with the family and was raised as a sister to Nelson and Charlotte's children.
William Varnum Ballou was born July 17, 1856, in Boscobel, Wisconsin. He was the son of Leander and Mary Ballou and a descendant of Maturin Ballou, who came to Rhode Island in the 1640's. In 1861 his family was living in Beloit, Wisconsin and his brother Harry Beals Ballou was born. By 1864 they had moved to Brodhead, Wisconsin and his father had enlisted to fight in the Civil War. 1880 census records show that Leander, Mary, and Harry were still living in Brodhead and William was a farmer in Avon, living with Horace Beals, who I believe was his uncle. On December 16, 1881, William Ballou married Ella Sill.
Early in 1883 William sold out his interest in the Beals farm and moved to Brodhead. He was employed there as a painter at his father's carriage business. In 1884 William and Ella moved back to Avon, where William had bought a farm. Also that year they had their first child. Addie Mary Ballou was born December 22, 1884. Their second child, Nelson Lee Ballou, was born March 30, 1891. In December of 1892 the family moved to Rockford, Illinois. For reasons unknown, they returned to Brodhead in February of 1893 where William was employed at a paint shop. They moved back to Avon in September of 1895, where William "again takes charge of the store in that town". Apparently the family then stayed in one place for awhile. The kids went to school in Avon. In 1897 Addie fell from a fence at school and broke her arm in two places. William was the clerk of Avon School. William was also the director of a band. In 1897 his orchestra played in Shirland, Illinois. In 1901 Addie took a teachers examination in Orfordville, Wisconsin. She passed and became a teacher at age 16.
But, like nearly everyone else who lived in Avon, the Ballous eventually decided to leave for good. Sometime between 1900 and 1905 the family moved to Cherryvale, Kansas. While in Kansas Ella ran a boarding house. One of the boarders was Rufus Littlefield III. Rufus met Addie, and despite parental objections, the two were married November 25, 1907. Sometime after the marriage, the rest of the family moved west. They lived for a time in Porterville, California, then moved to Kelso, Washington in December of 1909. On December 29, 1909 William died at work of a heart attack. He was 53 years old. Ella and Lee eventually moved to Spokane, Washington. Lee was inducted into the army in 1918 and served in France in the Medical Hospital of Base Hospital #93 until June 7, 1919. While in France he was gassed with mustard gas, which affected him the rest of his life.
Meanwhile, Addie and Rufus' family continued to grow. Rufus IV was born in 1908 in Cherryvale and daughter Lillian Blanche was born in 1910 in Minneapolis, Kansas. Eventually the family moved to Cassville, Missouri, where Rufus' parents had bought a farm. Their daughter Cecil Annette (Marie) Littlefield was born there, June 7, 1918. Another daughter, who was stillborn, was also born there and is buried at the farm. On July 8, 1918 Rufus' parents sold their farm and the family moved west. Rufus and Addie moved to Troy, Idaho, where Rufus opened a barbershop. They lived here a few years and in 1924 moved to the neighboring town of Moscow, where Rufus once again operated a barbershop. Marion Catherine Littlefield was born in Moscow March 5, 1925.
Addie had suffered poor health for many years and was never well after Marion's birth. Eventually the marriage suffered and in January of 1929, Addie took her two youngest children to Spokane, Washington to live with her mother Ella and brother Lee. The divorce of Ella and Rufus was finalized in March, 1930 and Marie went to live with her father. Addie and Marion continued to live with Ella and Lee for the next few years. Ella (Sill) Ballou died on August 13, 1937 and Addie died almost exactly one year later, on August 11, 1938. After Addie's death Marion went to live with her sister Blanche. Lee never married and continued to live in Washington until his death on December 15, 1968. All of Addie's children eventually married and had families of their own. Her descendants are now living in California, Oregon, Washington, and Idaho.
The Johnson Family
This name has caused a lot of confusion among genealogists, at least the amateurs like me. This is because the family was of German origin but they have a very Swedish sounding name. It is possible that the name was originally written Janzen and was "Americanized" by immigration officials when John D. Johnson came to this country from Germany in 1868. He may have changed the name himself upon arriving in the country. However, it really seems confusing since I learned from my great uncle Lloyd Johnson that his grandparents pronounced the name "Johansen", which sounds even more Swedish than the original version! The exact origins of this family may never be known beyond what is currently known to us.
The Johnson family originally settled in Leaf River, Illinois. John L. Johnson eventually moved his family to Freeport and then to Roscoe, Illinois. They lived on the Atwood farm near Roscoe and then moved to another house on the opposite corner of the road from the Atwood farm. While living there the Sill family moved into the Atwood farm. This is how Vida met Arthur. In 1939 John and Stella moved to a farm on Highway 81, just west of Beloit, Wisconsin.
While growing up, most of the children were given nicknames. Jesse was called "Buster". Lawrence was given the name "Spiv" by his Uncle Lloyd Kuntzelman. He was named for the Spivins and Moonlight Burlesque show. Clyde was called "Mike" because there were two Clydes in his school. Lloyd was known as "Spaghetti" because he was tall and thin. Velda was called "Tag" because she would tag along with her older brothers and sisters. Viola was called "Babe" because she was the youngest. Apparently Vida was the only child who never had a nickname.
Most of the family also learned to play some musical instrument. According to my father, Lawrence played piano, Lloyd played drums, Clyde played fiddle and mouth organ, Viola played accordian and guitar, Velda played guitar, and Vida played piano. For two years Velda and Viola entertained at a local dance hall.
One day John decided he wanted to buy a television. On November 30, 1956 he got cleaned up, put his money in his pocket, and sat in the living room to wait for a neighbor to pick him up and take him to town. When Stella called for him to tell him the neighbor was there, John did not answer. He had died quietly in his chair. And interestingly, the money in his pocket was never found.
Another interesting Johnson story involves the brother of John L. Johnson. His name was William and he owned a furniture store in Leaf River. He was not just a furniture salesman though, he was also the undertaker of the town. One day in 1922 William was riding through town with his team of horses pulling his hearse. I do not know if it was empty at the time, but I believe so. While riding through town the train also came through. The train whistle spooked the horses which either ran into the train or at the very least threw William from the hearse. William was killed in the collision with the train.