The Manx DNA Project (Teare and Cross sides)

For my Manx family: an extensive DNA project is being conducted on the Isle of Man, giving new insight into the origins of several uniquely Manx surnames. "Teare" and "Cottier" are both on the list, though nothing conclusive has been published yet about these names. You can follow the project on this blog, "Manx Research": http://manxresearch.wordpress.com/ .

Our Saint Patrick Connection (Teare Side, Cross Side)

Happy Saint Patrick's Day, family! I have not been able to write in quite some time, and may not pick it up for awhile. However this project is still alive and I hope to be back to writing sooner rather than later!

For a quick break in my hiatus, here is our Manx connection to Saint Patrick, in honor of his saints day: 

Saint Patrick is credited with bringing Christianity to the Isle of Man in the 5th century. According to legend, he was returning to Ireland from Liverpool and stopped over in what is now Peel. He was so disgusted by the use of pagan magic on the Isle that he apparently remained for three years, converting many and establishing the Celtic Church at Peel (the ruins of this church are still visible at Peel Castle, which is situated on what is called Saint Patrick's Island). By the time he left, Christianity had taken over as the dominant religion on the Isle, which Saint Patrick had fully toured during his stay. 

Today there are two Parish churches that bear Saint Patrick's name: one at Patrick, and the other at Jurby, where our Teare relatives are buried. 

So wear your green with pride today- and not just for Michigan State's victory! 

The Stewarts of Scotland (Teare Side)

John Teare's paternal grandmother was Mary Elizabeth Stewart. It is her line that I will be discussing today.

Our Stewart line hails from Scotland, where our immigrant ancestor John Stewart was born in 1719. He arrived in Pennsylvania as a child, probably in the 1720s, where he continued to live, marry, and raise a family in York.

In 1751 John married a born and bred Pennsylvanian, Elizabeth Schneider. Land records show that John owned 50 acres of land in York County. John and Elizabeth had 8 children. Our line continues through his third son, Matthias (or Matthew) Stewart.

While John and Elizabeth lived out their lives in Pennsylvania, Matthias and his two older brothers, John and Jacob, felt drawn just west of the border. The three brothers and their families settled in Columbiana County, Ohio in the late 1700s. Matthias and his wife Eva had a son, Samuel. Samuel and his wife Elisabeth had a son, John Wesley Stewart. And finally, John and his wife Susannah had a daughter, Mary Elizabeth- John Teare's paternal grandmother. All of this happened in Columbiana County, Ohio.

Now John and Susannah also felt drawn further west, and probably moved several times before finally settling in Allen County, Indiana. This explains how their daughter, an Ohio girl, wound up with a Michigan Man (Robert Teare)! John and Susannah have an impressive resting spot in the Eel River Cemetery in Indiana (pictured below).

John Wesley and Susan Stewart. 

I have no further information about the Stewart family in Scotland, but here is a standard Stewart family crest. There are many varieties based on the various Stewart lines, but all contain the blue and white checkered pattern seen below:

FAMILY LINE @ A GLANCE: Teare-->Stewart

WHERE TO GO:
The Eel River Cemetery in Allen County, Indiana (click for more info)
The York County PA Historical Society and Museum: http://www.yorkheritage.org/

The South Dover Cemetery (Cross Side)

I'm attempting to work my way backwards along the Cross line. I haven't made it back to an immigrant ancestor yet, unfortunately. In the meantime, here's some information on the Cross and Vedder (Alice Cross's great great grandparents) families who first came to Michigan.

Samuel S Cross and his bride Sarah Liebolt Cross hailed from New Jersey, moved to New York, and eventually settled in Lenawee County, MI. Both are buried, along with several of their children, at the South Dover Cemetery near Clayton, MI.

Their second son, David, married Cordelia Vedder, whose parents (Harmon and Annie Bordine Vedder) are also buried at the South Dover Cemetery.

Here are some pictures from the Cemetery:

The Cross Family Stone with individual markers.

Harmon and Annie Vedder

Samuel S. Cross Marker.

Entrance to the South Dover Cemetery

FAMILY LINE @ A GLANCE: Cross-->Vedder, Cross

WHERE TO GO: The South Dover Cemetery, Clayton MI

Every Man (Has) An Island. (Teare Side)

Okay, so maybe not every man has an island. But if you are a relation to John Teare, then you do!

I've been researching our ancestors who were early settlers of the Massachusetts colony. You may remember my recent post about the Aldrich family. Jacob Aldrich II is John Teare's 7th great grandfather. But it is his wife who we are focused on in this post.

Jacob was married to Margery Hayward, daughter of Samuel Heyward and Mehitable Thompson. At one point family legend had it that Mehitable Thompson was our key to being direct descendants of the pilgrims. While this proved to be false, I think I like the real story even better. The Thompson line predates the arrival of the pilgrims in Massachusetts!

You see, Mehitable's grandfather, David, was a pretty important guy. David Thompson (John Teare's 10th great grandfather) was an apothecary and an agent for Sir Ferdinando Gorges, and had received considerable education in London. In 1622 he agreed to sail from Plymouth, England with two other men to find a suitable location for a new settlement. On November 16, 1622, the Council for New England granted David Thompson six thousand acres of land and one island in New England- what is today known as Thompson's Island.

Thompson Island, Boston Harbor

Thompson's Island is located in the Boston Harbor, and is open to visitors on Summer Sundays.

David and his wife Amyes had a son, John. John and his wife had a daughter, Mehitable. And Mehitable is the start of our connection to the Thompson line!

So let's take a look at the...

Family Line @ A Glance: Teare-->Gregory-->Easton-->Aldrich-->Heyward-->Thompson

WHERE TO GO:  Thompson's Island
For more information, see: http://www.bostonharborislands.org/

The Burton Line (Noble Side)

One of my favorite parts of genealogy research is tracing back our long-established American family lines until I finally reach the immigrant ancestor. I love that I have early colonial ancestors on both my maternal and paternal sides (in the Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Virginia colonies). These families helped shape our country. They braved rough seas and were greeted by harsh winters. They held strong religious convictions. They fought for what they believed in. They lived, loved, married, and raised their families through the constantly changing backdrop of the American colonies, and later the first states. Most of all, they survived- and for that we of course are all grateful!

As much as I love seeing our ancestors become established in early American through my research, there is something so satisfying about finally finding that immigrant ancestor- the one who started it all! Perhaps out of a need for adventure, perhaps out of economic hardship, or even because of religious conviction. Whatever the reason, they decided to move to the New World and forever changed the course of their family line.

On my maternal grandfather's side, Richard Burton was that man.

Born in 1580 in the Newcastle neighborhood of London (no longer in existence), Richard was one of the earliest settlers of the Virginia colony. The colony had existed since 1607, but in 1634 the British divided Virginia into 8 divisions. One of these divisions was Henrico, where Richard decided to settle. The division was named for Henricus, a Virginia city settled in 1611 that was abandoned in 1622 due to Powhatan aggression. The original lines of Henrico County or Division extended along the James River, encompassing much of Richmond, and as far west as Charlottesville.

A reenactment takes place at Henricus Historical Park. 

The original county seat of Henrico was at Varina farms, the alleged home of Pocahontas and John Rolfe. It was the rector of Henrico Parish, Rev. James Blair, who first drew up plans for a college, later prompting the British government to grant a charter for the second college in the colonies, William & Mary. Obviously, a lot of history took place here. And from Richard Burton, seven generations of Burton families remained in Henrico County.

Around 1820, Andrew Burton decided to move to Kentucky. He wed Susannah Shockey in 1823, at the age of 25. They had a house full of children and settled in Morgan, where census records state that Andrew was a farmer. At this time in Kentucky, the population was still 57% English, though the number of Scots, Irish, German, French, and Welsh immigrants was on the rise. Andrew's wife was proof of this; the origin of the surname 'Shockey' is German.

Andrew was special not only because he was the first Burton to leave Virginia, but because the move apparently did him good. Andrew lived to be 100 years old according to census records. Andrew is John Noble's third great grandfather. Richard Burton, our British immigrant ancestor, is John Noble's 11th great grandfather.

WHERE TO GO:
Henrico County: It still exists today, but it is not as large as the original division was. The country seat is the state capital, Richmond. Visit the Henrico Tourism History site.

Henricus Historical Park: http://www.henricus.org/

Morgan County, KY: Unfortunately hit hard by a tornado in 2012, the once charming town of West Liberty (the county seat) is now in a serious rebuilding period.

The Cottier Surname (Cross Side)

This is my second post on the origin of Manx surnames within our family. Today I'll be looking at the Cottier name (the maiden name of Alice Noble's grandmother).

The Cottier name (Americanized to Cotcher) is of Old Norse descent (proof that there is Viking blood within me!). In A. W. Moore's The Surnames and Place Names of the Isle of Man, he states that "Cottier" is to be pronounced "Cotchier", making the spelling change in the US less surprising. It is said to be a contraction of "MacOttarr"- Ottarr's son. Ottar is old Norse for "Twilight Sword", according to Moore.  

There is documentation of that name, or the Anglo-Saxon "Ohthere" as far back as the 11th century. In the 1098 Chronicon Manniae, it is said that a battle between two groups of Manxmen left the Earl Other, leader of the Northern Manxmen, slain. 

Even names of Old Norse origin were given the prefix "Mac", and this was the case with the variant forms MacOttir, MacOttar, MacOttarr, and later MacCottier. The form "Cotter" was most common through the 17th century, when "Cottier" overtook it. According to Manx legend, two French Huguenot families by the name of Cottier settled on the Isle of Man in the late 16th century in Lezayre. In this case, "Cottier" would have most likely been an Anglicized form of the French surname, "Gauthier".

If this story is true, this may have influenced the "Cotter" name's evolution on the Isle, however it is worth noting that "MacCottier" was recorded before then. 

Our Cottier family was from Marown Parish. I searched the Manorial Roll from 1511 and found record of John McOtter and his son William. They were living in "Trolby"- literally "Farm of Trolls". It comes from the Scandanavian "Trolla-byr". According to the Manx notebook: There is a little stream here running down through the glen which one might well imagine as being the supposed abode of 'trolls,' or goblins.

This may or may not be a family connection, but it is still cool to see that there is a long history of Cottiers in Marown Parish. The location described above is located in what is now Crosby. See below for a link to Google Maps.  

Cottiers were coming to the US in the first part of the 19th century, settling almost exclusively in New York and Ohio. By the 1920s Cottier families could be found in over 30 states, though Ohio retained the largest single population. Obviously, some made it to the superior state to the North, and from that our family line can be traced! 

WHERE TO GO: Marown Parish, Isle of Man and Trollaby Lane. Click here for a Google Map.

Click here for Trollaby Farm. 

Family Line @ A Glance: Cross-->Cotcher-->Cottier