After 40+ years of research on my Irish ancestors, I have learned that some were Native Irish, some were Anglo-Irish, some were Ulster Scots, and some may even be Vikings (or Norsemen). Some of them were Roman Catholic, some were Church of Ireland, some were Presbyterians, and some, in the distant past, were Celtic pagans. Some were Loyalists, some were Rebels, some were Scotch Covenanters, … Continue reading More Irish Than The Irish
I found something that I think is interesting – an ancestor who was martyred during the Marian Persecution in the 1550s. My mother’s mother’s mother’s mother’s mother was named Sophia Anne Rogers. A member of the Protestant Ascendancy, she lived in Northern Ireland in the 19th C. Her grandfather was Rev. George Rogers (1695-1769). George Rogers was born on December 27, 1695, in Lisburn, Antrim, … Continue reading Martyr for a Cause
I was preparing to record an episode of my podcast on YouTube when I decided to check on the exhibits I wanted to show in the three episodes I call the Knox Chronicles. One of the exhibits that I wanted to present was about my DNA. So, I went to Ancestry.com to review my DNA Ethnicity Estimate. But when I saw the report, I immediately … Continue reading Ethnicity Inheritance Estimate
I was curious to find information about my father’s Pickering ancestors who moved from Salem to Mendon, Massachusetts in the 1730s. I scoured Google Books and came across a book titled “The Annals of the Town of Mendon 1659-1880.” Three generations of my Pickering ancestors lived in Mendon for nearly a century. I was uncertain about the exact timing of Edward and Hannah Pickering’s departure … Continue reading More Pickering Papers
Following up on my earlier post, I was curious to see what other ancestral families of mine were in Salem, Massachusetts or thereabouts at the time of the Salem Witch Trials. There were others who then lived in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, but other than the Flint family, no else was in Salem. Nevertheless, I discovered one of my father’s ancestors who played a role … Continue reading John Coggeshall
Here is a look at my Puritan ancestors who lived in Salem, Massachusetts, during the time of the Witch Trials in the 1690s. This is also the story of a family that owned and occupied the same house for ten successive generations. Introduction Years ago, when I embarked on my journey to research my family history, I encountered a branch about which I had very … Continue reading The Pickering Papers
In a previous post, I recounted the discovery of one of my father’s ancestors known in legend as La Bete Canteraine, the beast of Canteriane – a werewolf. However, as I later found out, Hugues III de Campavaine was not the sole member of his family renowned for an active afterlife. Turning my attention to a list of ancestors I had identified as participants in … Continue reading A Ghost Story
When I started exploring my family history nearly 45 years ago, I never imagined that someday I might find a werewolf in my family tree… but here we are! And it does seem appropriate that I would make this discovery in the dog days of August because according to the commercials I keep hearing on the radio, Halloween is just around the corner. Building upon … Continue reading La Bête Canteraine
In an earlier post, I connected my ancestor, Louis de Waudripont, with a minor noble family called the House of Waudripont. Connecting with one branch of nobility often leads to finding more of them. Digging deeper, I uncovered a few new branches containing half-dozen Crusaders and one family line that goes back to Charlemagne. This post focuses on the lineage of Mahaut de Bethune, an … Continue reading The House of Bethune
Two intriguing mysteries have finally been solved. For quite some time, I had been fascinated by the ancestry of two of my 18th-century Belgian forebears, Louis De Wadripont and Maria De Backer. They were not ordinary brick walls in genealogical research, and their origins remained a mystery until last night. Louis and Maria, who married in 1794, piqued my curiosity with their elusive lineages. My … Continue reading Noblesse Oblige
Gathering Leaves 