Mayflower Ancestors

Ella made this in preschool. I pointed to the bridge and said
"Look! There's your 12xgreat-grandfather!" She was unimpressed.

I hate to perpetuate the Thanksgiving Myth. I'd love to replace the insipid and factually inaccurate story of pilgrims and Indians with, say, the true life story of Tisquantum (aka Squanto), who was one seriously amazing person. But, I digress...

Thanksgiving is a good time to post about our family's Mayflower ancestors. I've found eleven so far, plus a number of early immigrants to Plymouth from other ships. Like my post on Revolutionary War soldiers, I will keep updating this post as I learn more. The following is as accurate as I can make it, but there are a number of self-perpetuating genealogical myths about the Mayflower, so it can be a minefield for the amateur like myself. Still, some 35 million people - about 12% of the U.S. population - can claim descent from one of the 24 original Mayflower families to leave descendants, so the odds are with us.

Now, on to those batty boaters in black.

The Bartlett Mayflower Ancestors:

Most of our Mayflower ancestry comes from Nova Scotia. Lydia Bartlett (1779-1862), my 5xgreat-grandmother and the descendant of multiple Mayflower passengers, married Thomas Kinney (1783-?). The Kinneys married into the Hancocks, and the Hancocks married into the Deans. Not all of Lydia's ancestors were on the Mayflower, of course, but those who were not had almost all reached Plymouth by 1635. Lydia Bartlett's ancestors include:

Richard Warren: Richard Warren was a London merchant and a man of some wealth. He was given the title "Mr.", which suggests he was a person of property. Unlike most of the London merchant contingent, though, he signed on to the voyage as a member of the Leiden group (the pilgrims). It is not clear why, or whether he was a member of the "Saints", as the puritans were called, or the "Strangers", as they called those who were from the more secular community and were financially backing the colony. Warren signed the Mayflower Compact, helped scout the Cape Cod region, and was part of the First Encounter (when the colonists met the indigenous inhabitants and learned that well-trained bowmen trump slow muskets.)

Warren's wife, Elizabeth Walker, and his five daughters, were left behind in England, but came over to Plymouth in 1623, on the Anne. Richard and Elizabeth Warren had seven children, all of whom survived and had numerous children themselves, making this couple one of the most common Mayflower ancestors. Some of their descendants include Ulysses Grant, Franklin Roosevelt, Henry Longfellow, Henry Thoreau, and Alan Shepard. Oh, and us.

Lydia Bartlett descended from Richard's eldest daughter, Mary, who married Robert Bartlett, a fellow passenger on the Anne, and Lydia's 3xgreat-grandfather.

Edward Doty: Doty traveled on the Mayflower as the indentured servant of Stephen Hopkins (who is also one of our ancestors), which suggests he had little personal wealth. He was probably from London, and was a member of the "Strangers" contingent - the more secular group traveling to the new colony for economic opportunities. He signed the Mayflower Compact, and was part of the group that scouted Cape Cod for suitable habitation sites, along with Warren and Hopkins.

Doty's major legacy is that he was, well, a bit of a jackass. He was never kicked out of Plymouth, like many troublemakers were, but he was well represented in the legal annals of the colony. He fought the first duel in the colony, in the summer of 1621, and his behavior didn't improve much from there. The surviving records document 23 court cases brought against him, with charges ranging from fraud to slander to theft to assault. He never suffered serious punishments, however, so his crimes must have been relatively minor.

Doty married Faith Clarke, whose family arrived in 1634, and they had nine children. Lydia Bartlett's grandfather, Lemuel Bartlett, married Mary Doty, who was the great-granddaughter of Edward and Faith Doty.

Francis Cooke (thrice): Cooke, unlike Doty and Warren, was a "Saint", a member of the puritan religious contingent out of Leiden, Holland, where the community had been in exile from the stricter religious rules of England. Actually, he was a religious seperatist who was already in Leiden when the puritans arrived. He had married a French Walloon (Protestant), Hester Mahieu, and was a member of that church, but later joined the puritans.

Cooke and his eldest son, John, who was thirteen at the time, sailed on the Mayflower, leaving Hester and the younger children behind. The rest of the family came later, on the Anne. Cooke never held high office, but neither was he a troublemaker like Doty. The records indicate he consistently did his duty to the colony, and was particularly active as a surveyor. He was a signer of the Mayflower Compact.

Francis and Hester Cooke had seven children. We are related to them three ways. Their second son, Jacob, had a daughter, Elizabeth, with his first wife, Damaris Hopkins. Elizabeth married Edward Doty's son, and became Lydia Bartlett's great grandmother. Elizabeth's younger sister, Ruth, married Helkiah Tinkham, and their great-granddaughter was Lydia Bartlett's mother. Jacob Cooke also had a daughter, Sarah, with his second wife, Elizabeth Lettice. Sarah married Lydia Bartlett's grandfather, Lemuel Bartlett.

Stephen Hopkins and Elizabeth Fisher Hopkins (Stephen seven times, Elizabeth twice): Stephen Hopkins had a fascinating life, even before he boarded the Mayflower with his wife, Elizabeth, and three of his children. Hopkins had owned a tavern in Hampshire, but signed up to sail to Jamestown in June of 1609. His ship, the Sea Venture, was caught in a storm, and the company was shipwrecked on Bermuda. They were there ten months before they built ships and sailed to Virginia. During that time, Hopkins was charged with and convicted of mutiny. He was sentenced to death, but was spared. Many scholars believe that Shakespeare's The Tempest was inspired by the story of the Sea Venture, and that the character Stephano was based on Stephen Hopkins.

Hopkins was in Jamestown under Captain John Smith from 1610-1614. He gained valuable colonial experience (i.e., how to screw over the local people and not drop dead from hunger), but returned to England when he received word that his first wife had died, leaving their three young children unprotected. Back in England, Hopkins remarried, to Elizabeth Fisher, had several more children, and ran his tavern until the whole family packed up and left on the Mayflower. They were "Strangers", not members of the puritan religious group. Hopkins signed the Mayflower Compact and he was instrumental in developing a relationship with Massasoit, the leader of the Wampanoag Confederacy. He became fluent in local languages.

He ran a tavern, which did not sit well with puritan authorities, and he was frequently the focus of complaints for allowing customers to drink on Sundays, or at late hours. Unlike his servant, Edward Doty, however, he was a relatively upstanding citizen. He had traveled with another servant, Edward Leister, who appears to have left for Virginia soon after landing. Stephen died in 1644. Elizabeth must have died before him, for in his will he asked that he be buried next to her.

Stephen and Elizabeth Hopkins had seven children. He also had three with his first wife. Their fifth child, Damaris (second of that name, after their first Damaris died), married Jacob Cooke, the son of Francis Cooke, above. This marriage produced a daughter, Elizabeth, who married into the Doty line and became Lydia Bartlett's great-great grandmother. They also had a younger daughter, Ruth, who married a Tinkham. Lydia's mother was their great-granddaughter.

We are also related to Stephen (but not Elizabeth) through his son, Giles, and his daughter, Constance, from his first marriage. Constance married Nicholas Snow. Her granddaughter, Bethia Snow, married her brother Giles's grandson, John Smith, and they were the parents of Mercy Smith who married into the Kinney line. There is also an unproven connection between Constance and Nicholas's daughter Ruth and the Cole line, which married into the Kinney line. If that line were proven, we'd be related to Stephen five times - twice through Lydia Bartlett and three times through Thomas Kinney. (For two more connections to Hopkins, see below).

Peter Browne: Peter Browne was from Dorking, Surrey, the same town as the Mullins family, another set of Mayflower passengers. They were apparently quite close, and he accompanied them on their voyage, but unfortunately the Mullins died during the first winter. Browne had the dubious distinction - along with John Goodman - of being the first person to get lost in the woods upon arrival in Massachusetts. He was a signer of the Mayflower Compact, and a member of the "Strangers" group of secular colonists.

Browne was single when he arrived, but he married Martha Ford, the widow of a Mr. Ford, who had sailed with her husband and children on the Fortune in 1621. (Mr. Ford died on the voyage.) Their daughter, Mary Browne, married Ephriam Trinkham, and their great-granddaughter married into the Bartlett family, becoming Lydia Bartlett's mother. (We are, incidentally, related to Martha Ford three times, since we are also descendants of her daughter from her first marriage, also named Martha Ford, and we are descendants of a daughter from her third marriage, Martha Nelson. And, yes, if you're beginning to wonder, Lydia Bartlett's inbreeding coefficient was rather high.) Browne died of an unknown infectious disease that killed several other Mayflower passengers in 1633. His daughter, Mary Browne, was placed in the guardianship of John Doane, who is also one of our ancestors.

The Doane Mayflower Ancestors:

Those are the six Mayflower passengers from whom we are descended through Lydia Bartlett (and her husband Thomas Kinney). Lydia Bartlett and Thomas Kinney's son, Simeon, married Olive Doane, who came from her own long line of inbred religious fanatics. While the Bartlett ancestors above were mostly "Strangers", the Doanes include more "Saints", plus a shocking level of inbreeding among the early families of Barnstable, Massachusetts.

Olive Doane gives us more links to Stephen Hopkins (or should we call him Stephano?). Olive's 3xgreat-grandfather, Daniel Doane, married Constance Snow, the grand-daughter of Stephen Hopkins. For those of you counting at home, yep, we are now descended from Stephen Hopkins at least five times, maybe six, if we accept the disputed Cole connection. But wait! Can we add a sixth/seventh line of descent? Yes! Mehitable Kenney, Olive Doane's mother, was the 3xgreat-granddaughter of Stephen Hopkins, through his son, Giles.

William Brewster and Mary Brewster: William Brewster was the only college-educated "Saint", and the only one with diplomatic and political experience. As a young man, he had studied at Cambridge and was aide to William Davidson, who was a secretary to Elizabeth I. Davidson is mainly known to history as the man who obeyed Elizabeth's secret order to execute Mary, Queen of Scots, and then to take the fall for "mistakenly" having her killed in 1587. Brewster worked for him at the time.

In 1609, Brewster fled England with a number of separatists to the Netherlands, where he was elected the ruling elder of the congregation. He later became "second in command" to Pastor John Robinson, the leader of the Pilgrims in Leiden. Brewster was in hiding for the year before leaving on the Mayflower, after he published criticisms of the English king.

Brewster was joined on the Mayflower by his wife, Mary, and his two sons. In Plymouth, Brewster served as the first religious leader of the colony, and was an important adviser to Governor Bradford. He died in 1644.

William and Mary Brewster had five children: Patience, Fear, Love, Wrestling, and...Johnathan. We are descendants of Patience Brewster, who married Thomas Pence. Their great-granddaughter married Israel Doane, and was Olive Doane's great-great grandmother.

The Manary Mayflower Ancestors:

My grandmother, Ilau Manary Dean, had Mayflower ancestors through her father, who was a descendant of British loyalists in Canada. Specifically, her great-grandmother, Eleanor Holland McGregor, had a long New England pedigree. She had three Mayflower ancestors, all from the same family.

Mary Chilton, and her parents, James and Susanna Chilton: Mary Chilton was only 13 when she accompanied her parents, James and Susanna, on the Mayflower voyage. She was known for being the first woman to step ashore. She was a member of the "Saints", having spent much of her childhood in Leiden. James Chilton, her father, signed the Mayflower Compact, but both of her parents died within a month of landing, from the first wave of infectious disease to sweep the colony. He was 63, the oldest of the colonists.

Mary married John Winslow. Their daughter, Susannah, married a Latham. Susannah's grandaughter, Anne, married a Wade, and Anne's grandaughter, Hannah Wade, married into the McGregor family. Eleanor Holland McGregor was her grand-daughter.

The "Other Mayflowers":

The 102 passengers on the Mayflower arrived in Massachusetts in late 1620. The first winter was so harsh (or, rather, they were so unprepared), that almost half the colonists died. By the time of the "First Thanksgiving" only four adult women were still alive.

The Mayflower had sailed back to England, and in November of 1621, a group of 37 colonists sent by the colony's merchant backers arrived on the Fortune. By then, the situation in the colony had stabilized, and a number of men who had come over on their own sent back to Holland or England for their wives and children. In July of 1623, the Anne arrived, bringing another 96 colonists, many relatives of Mayflower colonists. With the arrival of the Anne, Plymouth colony had nearly 200 people. In addition to our eleven ancestors on the Mayflower, which constitutes nearly a third of the families who left descendants, we are also descended from a number of those early additions to the colony, in some cases many times over(descent through the Kinney/Bartlett line unless noted):

Fortune Passengers (November 1621):
Stephen Deane
Martha Ford
Mr. Ford (died during voyage)
Martha Ford (daughter of Martha and Mr. Ford)
Thomas Prence
John Winslow (descent through the Manary line)

Anne Passengers (July 1623):
Nicholas Snow
Eliza Walker Warren
Mary Warren
Jacob Cooke
Hester Mahien Cooke
John Faunce
George Morton
Julianne Carpenter Morton
Patience Morton
Nathaniel Morton
Edward Bangs

We are descended, then, from about 13% of the inhabitants of Plymouth in 1623. Given the high degree of endogamous marriage in colonial New England, that's not particularly surprising.

John Thomas Stoecklein

John T. Stoecklein
Photo from Mike Cunningham

Continuing with my series of biographical sketches, I wanted to focus on a member of my maternal line, since I featured Ammon Goode Hancock, my father's great-great grandfather, in my last post.

Photo from Mike Cunningham

John Thomas Stoecklein was my great-great grandfather. The Stoeckleins were about as different from the slave-owning Virginia gentry Hancocks as they could be. John T. was born December 10, 1851, in Dayton, Ohio. His family was Bavarian and Catholic. His father was Joseph C. Stoecklein, born in 1827 in the village of Stadt Prozelten, in the municipality of Faulbach, Bavaria, along the Main river, between Wurtzburg and Frankfurt. The town had about 150 inhabitants at the time of Joseph's birth, and there's not much there, even today, with fewer than 3,000 inhabitants in the whole municipality. John T.'s mother was Carolina Zwisler (also spelled Zwissler or Zwiesler), born around 1833, also in Faulbach, and most likely also in Stadt Prozelten(1).

Bavaria was in turmoil during the 1830s and 40s. In 1837, the Catholic clergy had supported a political movement to change the constitution (mostly the strip Protestants of civil rights), Eventually, political unrest led to the Revolutions of 1848, during which intellectual leaders called for greater freedom and rights for common people. The movement was defeated by the aristocracy, but Bavaria's king, Ludwig I, was forced to abdicate in 1848, replaced by his son, Maximilian II(2).

The unrest in the German states led to a wave of emigration to the United States, particularly among young men who otherwise would have been required to serve in the army during a period of nearly constant, and pointless, warfare. As was common at the time, the citizens of Stadt Prozelten stuck together, even in the New World. Joseph was the first to reach Dayton, sometime before 1849. It was a town of around 12,000 people with a large German population. He got a job at a meat-packing plant, wrote back home, and was soon joined by his brothers, John and Valentine, his father (his mother had died), and many other inhabitants of Faulbach, including the Zwisler family(1).

Joseph Stoecklein and Carolina Zwisler married February 18, 1851 (3). Joseph was 24, and Carolina
was 18. Whether or not they had been sweethearts in Bavaria, they no doubt were drawn to each other as familiar faces in a strange land. Undoubtedly, their families would have been happy to bless this marriage with a "known entity" at a time when they were still trying to find their bearings. Joseph and Carolina's first son, John T., was born 10 months after their wedding. Their second son, Joseph, was born around 1854, and their final child, Charles, in 1858.

Photo from Mike Cunningham

We do not have a lot of information about John T.'s childhood. The family was listed in the 1860 census, living in Harrison Township (part of Dayton) with their three boys and several German borders: Michael Frank, 23, from Bavaria; Christ Plocker, 19, from Wittenberg; and Adeline Feltman, 25, from Hanover(4). Joseph's occupation is listed as butcher, and he reports real estate worth $4000, and a personal estate of $800, which seems quite a fortune for someone who was less than 15 years off the boat. One of their borders, Michael Frank, was also a
butcher, and one wonders if he was an apprentice or employee. The census does not tell us exactly where the family lived, but in the 1864 Dayton city directory, their address is in Dayton View(5).The many spelling variants of their last name makes it difficult to find information about the family through on-line databases. The 1864 directory illustrates that perfectly, with its entries for the brothers "Valentine Steckland" and "Joseph Steocklein".*

John T. initially followed in his father's footsteps and became a butcher. In the 1871 city directory, John is listed as a butcher, living on Mad River Valley Pike in North Dayton(6). At least, I believe this is him. The extended Stoeckline family had a strong tendency to repeat the same first names. This, combined with the erratic spelling of their last name, makes it very difficult to track individuals unless they are listed with their immediate households.

Appolonia Stocklein
Photo from Mike Cunningham

However he was making a living, he must have been doing well, for the next year he married Appolonia Baker (or Becker) on November 12, 1872. Appolonia was born March 8, 1854, also in Dayton. She was the daughter of Casper and Anna Maria Baker, both of Saxony. Her father was a stone cutter, and Appolonia was the third of his eight children. Most documents refer to her as "Lena" or "Loney".


John T. does not appear in another city directory (as far as I can tell) until 1881. Other John Stoecklines are listed, but none of them are butchers, which appears to have been John T.'s occupation until 1882. He may have been working in his father's business. His extended Stoeckline family, meanwhile, was mostly in the brewing or saloon business. His uncle John had moved straight to Miamisburg from Bavaria, in the late 1840s, in order to take a job with an old colleague, Karl Schrouder, who had opened his own brewery(1). And by 1862, John T's uncle Valentine is listed as a saloon keeper on the northwest corner of Williams St. and the Germantown Pike in Miami City (Miamisburg, I assume). By 1871, his uncle John's saloon and brewery is listed in the city directory at

Cora Stoecklein
Photo from Mike Cunningham

429 W. 3rd St. By 1874, Uncle Valentine was prosperous enough to have his name in large print in the city directory as the owner of a wine and beer saloon(6).

John T. and Appolonia's first child, Cora (known as "Cody") was born July 5, 1875 (7). In 1877, on October 31, John T's father, Joseph, died of consumption (8). He was buried in Calvary Cemetery, where a substantial number of my maternal relatives rest. Sometime during that year, John T. and Appolonia's second child, Marie Antoinette (who understandably preferred the name "Betty") was born. In the 1880 U.S. Census of Dayton, John T.'s occupation is listed as "butcher", and his family consists of Lena, little Cora and Nettie, and an 11-month old boy named Willie who had been born in July of 1879. Willie must have died shortly thereafter, as there are no more records of him. Family stories suggest that John T. and Appolonia lost at least two other children (9). We know that there was a daughter named Laura, born around 1882, because we have a newspaper account that she was saved from drowning by her older sister, Cora, at the age of five. Unfortunately, she did not survive much longer, although I have found no record of her death.

From family album, Mike Cunningham

It is possible that John T. and his brother Joseph took over their father's butcher shop after his death. By 1881, they are listed in the city directory as "J. Stoeckline and Bro. (Jos. and John T.) daily market, 327 E. 3rd", with John T.'s personal residence listed as Covington Pike (6). The rest of the family continued to work in the saloon and brewery business, however. Although John T.'s Uncle Valentine appeared to have passed on by 1881, his widow, Sophia, continued to run his saloon at the corner of Williams and Germantown Pile, and at least one John Stoeckline was working as a bar tender. By 1887, John T.'s youngest brother, Charles, had also opened a saloon, and a Joseph Stoeckline (not clear if it's his brother or a nephew/cousin) owned "The Turf" and "The Office" sample bar, billiard hall and lunch counter. (A "sample bar" was another name for a saloon).

Betty Stoecklein
Photo from Mike Cunningham

In 1882, John T. changed his occupation. For the next fourteen years, he is listed in the city directory as a "driver", although his brother continues to be listed as a butcher. John T. may have been a driver for his brother's butcher shop, or he may have begun making deliveries for breweries and saloons. Since he later opened a saloon of his own, that would be my best guess. John T.'s address is given as SE River, between Central Av. and Salem, Dayton View. Later editions of the city directory give the address as 102 W. River. (6).

John T., on the far left, in his driver days?
(photograph from Mike Cunningham)

During this time, John T. and Appolonia's youngest child (and my great-grandmother), Irene Stoeckline was born, on January 12, 1891. Around this time, Appolonia took ill. She died on May 29, 1895, after an illness of four years. She was only 41. We do not know the cause of death, but given the long illness and the subsequent family history, I wonder if she died of liver cancer, like her daughter and granddaughter, as well as one great-granddaughter.

Her death may have spurred John T. to make a change in his career, because in the 1896 city

Irene Stoecklein
Photo from Mike Cunningham

directory, John T. is co-owner of a new business, Shartel and Stoeckline (John L. Shartel and John T. Stoecklein), "LaMascotte Lunch and Sample Room" at 33 S. Main. John T. had joined his family in the brewing and saloon business. He also moved his residence to 731 W. North Ave.(6). John Shartel left the business fairly quickly, for by the next year, the business was listed as "Stoecklein and Brehm (John T. S. and Wm. B.), sample room (same address). His listing appears next to the Stoecklein Brothers saloon (run by Henry and John J.), as well as Charles's saloon and "The Office" sample room, run by Joseph. From 1898 through 1902, John T. appears in the city directory as the sole owner of "The Mascotte Saloon, Restaurant, and Billiard Room", living at 744 S. Main (6).

Irene Stoecklein

Meanwhile, his daughters were growing up. On Oct 18, 1899, John T. married Mary A. Boga (10). She was 35, he was 48. The marriage must have been a significant change for Cody, who was 24 and had presumably been running her father's household since her mother's death. Irene, only eight, would have been most affected. Her grandchildren remember her saying that she never liked her stepmother. The least-affected daughter was Betty, aged 22, who married Earle Hack two years later and left the household (11). John T. and Mary had no children of their own.

By 1902, John T. was successful enough that his name appears in big letters in the city directory. He is living in the same place, but he is now proprietor of "The Mint" Sample Room, 210 S. Main, and proud owner of a rare telephone (number Main 1422) (6).  Not until 1904 does The Mint move to its final location at 136 S. Ludlow. Around the same time, John T. moved his family residence to 334 E. Hickory.

The early 1900s were a period of stability for the Stoecklines. They stopped moving so frequently. Cody remained with her father until his death, so she was there to care for her little sister. The Mint prospered, and Dayton was growing. The calm was short-lived, however.

The Mint, John T. on left
Photo from Mike Cunningham

On March 25, 1913, after storms dropped 8-12 inches of rain on the already saturated Miami River Valley, one of the worst natural disasters in Ohio history hit Dayton. The Great Dayton Flood broke through the levees and sent water up to 20 feet deep through downtown Dayton. Houses were swept away, killing their occupants. Families were stranded on their roofs, some dying during rescue attempts. Gas lines exploded, causing fires that could not be contained because the fire department was unable to navigate the streets. People walked the telegraph

The Mint, on Ludlow St., during the flood
Photo from Mike Cunningham

and electrical wires to safety, balancing high above the flood waters. 360 people died, and 65,000 were driven from their homes.

The Mint was in the middle of the flood. Family history says that John T. lost a number of barrels of expensive whiskey to the waters. Undoubtedly there was a great deal of property damage, as well.

The family home, on Hickory St., was at the very edge of the flood. I have never heard if the family had to evacuate, or if there was any damage to their home. The picture below was taken from the top of a school building in the 500 block of Hickory St, only a few blocks from the Stoeckline home. It seems likely the flood had some effect on their home.

Northward view of flooding taken from the Hickory Street School,
 formerly located at 501 Hickory Street in Dayton. Downtown.
The Stoecklein home was two blocks west of this location.
Dayton is visible in the upper righthand corner. March 26, 1913. from http://ecommons.udayton.edu/archives_flood_images/1/

After the devastation of the flood, the Stoeckline family must have been happy to celebrate the marriage of Irene on June 2, 1914, to Louis Leyes, and the birth of their first child, Mary Jane (my grandmother) on December 8, 1915. We can imagine that John T. was thrilled to finally have a grandchild (Cody never married and Betty had no children).

Louis Leyes with his delivery horses, c. 1913
Photo from Mike Cunningham

I don't know how Irene and Louis met. Louis lived on W. Bruen St., a street which intersected
Ludlow, but which no longer exists under that name. He was also a driver by profession, so he may have met Irene through her father, making deliveries to The Mint. They also, of course, may have met through church or any number of family connections.

John T. and Mary Jane Leyes
from Mike Cunningham

John T. and Mary Jane Leyes
from Mike Cunningham

Irene Stoecklein Leyes and
Mary Jane
Photo from Mike Cunningham

By 1919, John T. closed The Mint (6). Prohibition was approved by the U.S. Congress in January of 1919. Although the law did not take affect until January of 1920, John T. must have seen the writing on the wall. His saloon could survive a flood, but not the prohibition of alcohol. Besides, he was 68 and retirement may have been welcome.

John T. and Cody moved to 1800 E. Wyoming by 1919. Around that time, Mary died, leaving John T. a widower again (12). He lived with Cody until his death, December 21, 1926 (13).



________
*To clarify, the family may have always spelled their name "Stoecklein", but as is common at that time, the written records reflect a variety of ways that names were spelled. Frequently, census records, marriage licenses, city directories, and other documents were created by an English-speaking clerk writing down the name as he heard it spoken by the person in question. Even if that person was literate, his or her own preferred spelling of the name was not taken into consideration most of the time. Hence, a wide variety of variations in spelling.



References:

(1) Brown, Ashley. 1899. Stoecklein Family History. Compiled by Colleen Cunningham, 1993.

(2) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Bavaria#Constitution_and_Revolution

(3) "Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-1997," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XD2X-HP2 : accessed 6 January 2015), Joseph Stockling and Caroline Zwissler, 18 Feb 1851; citing Montgomery, Ohio, United States, reference Vol B2 pg 468; county courthouses, Ohio; FHL microfilm 1,030,835.

(4) "United States Census, 1860," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MCGJ-84G : accessed 31 January 2015), Joseph Steckline, Harrison Township, Montgomery, Ohio, United States; from "1860 U.S. Federal Census - Population," Fold3.com; citing p. 42, household ID 289, NARA microfilm publication M653, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C.; FHL microfilm 805,013.

(5) http://interactive.ancestry.com/2469/4286615?backurl=http%3a%2f%2fsearch.ancestry.com%2fsearch%2fdb.aspx%3fdbid%3d2469%26path%3d&ssrc=&backlabel=ReturnBrowsing#?imageId=4286722

(6)  Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

(7) "Ohio, County Births, 1841-2003," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/X67L-5SH : accessed 17 January 2015), John F. Stoecklein in entry for Stoecklein, 05 Jul 1875; citing Birth, Dayton, Montgomery, Ohio, reference v 2 p 179, county courthouses, Ohio; FHL microfilm 1,030,824.

(8) ("Ohio, County Death Records, 1840-2001," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/F6VZ-CM1 : accessed 13 February 2015), Joseph Stoecklein, 31 Oct 1877; citing Death, Randolph Township, Montgomery, Ohio, United States, source ID v 2 p 179, County courthouses, Ohio; FHL microfilm 1,030,827.

(9) 1880; Census Place: Randolph, Montgomery, Ohio; Roll: 1052; Family History Film: 1255052; Page:755B; Enumeration District: 175; Image: 0672

(10) "Ohio, Marriages, 1800-1958," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XDD6-NJ6 : accessed 6 January 2015), Joseph Stoecklein in entry for John T. Stoecklein Or Stocklein and Mary A. Boga, 18 Oct 1899; citing Montgomery Co., Ohio, reference 2:3Q13VCV; FHL microfilm 1,030,845.

(11) "Ohio, Marriages, 1800-1958," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XDDX-947 : accessed 5 January 2015), Appolonia Baker in entry for Earle Mócowen Hack and Marie Antoinette Stoecklein, 19 Jun 1901; citing Montgomery Co., Ohio, reference 2:3Q163H5; FHL microfilm 1,030,845.

(12) "United States Census, 1920," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MDBM-CYS : accessed 9 November 2015), John T Stoecklein, Dayton Ward 10, Montgomery, Ohio, United States; citing sheet 10A, family 211, NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 1,821,422.

(13) "Ohio Death Index, 1908-1932, 1938-1944, and 1958-2007," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VKY7-3T1 : accessed 9 November 2015), John T Stoecklein, 21 Dec 1926; from "Ohio, Deaths, 1908-1932, 1938-2007," database and images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 2010); citing vol. , certificate number , Ohio Historical Society, Columbus; Ohio Department of Health, State Vital Statistics Unit, Columbus.

French Canadians: What we mean by an "isolated population"

In Anthropology classes, you'll hear the French Canadians referred to as an "isolated population", meaning that there is little intermarriage/breeding with other ethnic/racial groups. (You'll also see the word "inbred", but we try to avoid that because it has negative connotations.) In truth, French-Canadian populations have long mixed with Native and other European communities, however, there is a tendency toward endogamy. Because of the "isolation" of French-Canadian communities, there are certain genetic markers associated with French-Canadian ancestry, as well as unusually high incidence of certain genetic diseases, particularly Tay-Sachs.

As I work on the genealogy of my French-Canadian ancestors, I'm getting a much more visceral understanding of what we mean by "isolated". My great-grandmother, Medora LeFebvre, was born in Maine, but her parents were both born in the area around Quebec City, and following their families back, with only one exception, every single one of her direct-line ancestors has their ultimate origin in Quebec City in the early to mid 1600s. (The one exception is an English soldier from the mid-1700s). Most of the French-speaking Catholic inhabitants of Quebec City married other French-speaking Catholics (whether of European or Native ancestry), making the effective breeding population quite small. Now, obviously, there were other French-speaking Catholic communities, and people were continuously moving between them. I'm only 1/8 French Canadian, for example, and there are lots of other people with mixed French-Canadian ancestry.

If we think about this mathematically, however, we can see why most French-Canadians have some overlapping heritage. Take the specific case of Quebec City: Quebec City was founded in 1608, but grew quite slowly. According to wikipedia, (granted, not the most impressive source), in 1665, the town only had 550 people, a quarter of whom were in religious orders. This means that only a little over 400 people made up the reproducing population of the city (and of course, many of those would have been children, so not yet of reproductive age). If we're generous, we can say that 350 years ago, or around 17 generations back, Quebec City had about 450 potential ancestors. Seventeen generations back, we each have a total of 131,072 ancestors. If all of your ancestry is in Quebec City prior to 1665, then you are likely related to almost everyone who lived in the city at that time, and most of them would be related to you through multiple lines (that is, they would repeat over and over in your family tree).

 Of course, many people's French-Canadian ancestors - even the ones from Quebec City - migrated into New France after 1665. But French migration was cut off when the French lost control of the city in 1763, at which time the population was about 8,000 people. That is 252 years ago, or over 12 generations back, when we each have 4,096 ancestors. Again, anyone whose ancestry is rooted in the French population of Quebec City is very likely to be related to almost anyone else with similar ancestry, since each of us is probably related to half of the inhabitants of the town in 1763. (OK, that's not quite true, because of repeats, but you get the idea).

The practical effect of this isolated population is that most French-Canadians - particularly if they are from the same region of French Canada - are related to each other on some level. When I see that a person has French-Canadian ancestry in Quebec City, I know I'm almost certain to have some connection. Wikitree.com has a fun feature that allows you to calculate your relationship to anyone who is in their system. Here are some tidbits from our family:

I am 9th cousins with the new Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, through our common descent from Charles Cloutier, one of the early immigrants to Quebec City, who arrived in 1634. We have 46 known common ancestors in the last 25 generations.

Madonna (the singer) and I are 7th cousins, twice removed. We share 50 known ancestors in the last 25 generations, the closest being my eighth great-grandfather (her sixth), Charles Fortin, who was born in Quebec in 1656. I find this a particularly funny relationship because Madonna's family and mine (on my father's side) have deep roots in Bay City, Michigan. My grandmother knew her grandmother. But we're related through my mother's side.

Sticking with singers, Celine Dion and I are also 7th cousins (once removed). We have 125 known common ancestors in 25 generations, starting with Pierre Morin, born in Port-Royal, Acadia (eastern Canada) in 1662.

Hillary Rodham Clinton and I are 7th cousins, once removed. We share my 8th great-grandfather, Mathurin Gagnon, who was born in Perche, France, in 1606, and migrated to Quebec City sometime before 1641.

I'm sure there are a bunch more. If I run across any in the process of genealogy, I'll let you know.

Ammon Goode Hancock

Ammon Goode Hancock
A bad copy of a copy of a photograph handed down by
my Great Aunt Lillian, his great-granddaughter

I'm going to post biographical sketches of my ancestors as I fill in their wikitree.com pages, so I can use the blog as a way of organizing the information and creating a more coherent narrative. I'm currently working on the Hancock line, so let's start with my great-great-great-grandfather, Ammon Goode Hancock.

The Hancock line is Virginian. Like really, really Virginian. As in, we-go-back-to-Jamestown Virginian. They definitely count as family "skeletons in the closet": they were Southern gentry, slave-owners, and supporters of the Confederacy. 

Harriet Walden Hancock
Another awful copy

Ammon Goode Hancock was born April 17, 1815 in Bedford County, Virginia, an area just west of Lynchburg. Unfortunately, this is too early for the U.S. Census to list people individually, but his father, Justus Hancock, was living in the southern census district of Bedford County in 1820 (1). Based on the ages of the people enumerated in the census, it appears Ammon, who was the oldest child, was living with his father, his mother Harriet Walden Hancock, his brother Johnathan, and his sister, Martha. Ammon would later have another brother and sister, Daniel (name uncertain) and Lucy. That census also shows four slaves: two young boys, and a man and a woman in the 14-26 age range. We don't know their names, but in 1846, after his father's death, Ammon sold 3 or 4 slaves as Justus's executor. In a newspaper advertisement for the upcoming sale (a rather cold-blooded word for

Again with the awful copies

forceably removing a person from their home and, potentially, their family), one of the women is described as "valuable" because she was a good cook, weaver, and washer. Perhaps this was the 14-26 year old woman of the 1820 census?


The 1973 Historic Map of Bedford County, which includes information from 1750-1865, shows multiple Hancock farms south of Flint Hill, off Goose Creek (2). I don't know which of these farms belonged to Justus.

Ammon's unusual name comes from his paternal grandmother, Ann Ammon Hancock, and was repeated many times in the family. His middle name, Goode, may come from John Goode (or another member of that family), whose farm is visible on the historic map, east of Lowry, near the small town of Goode. I don't know if there was any connection by marriage or descent between the families. Other names appear on the map that are prominent in Hancock family records, for example, Read and Fuqua. Clearly, these were the prominent families of the county.

Close-up of the historic map. Click to enlarge.

Ammon (or at least someone Ammon's age) appears in the household of Justus Hancock through the 1840 census, always living in southern Bedford County (3). We don't know much about his childhood, however, his sister, Martha (Hancock) Wheat kept a journal beginning in 1850. I have not read the journal myself, but it was the subject of an interesting academic paper on evangelical women in rural Virginia (17). Martha was born again as a young woman, during a wave of evangelization in the 1840s, and married an equally pious man. Her journal states that she attended school at the Antioch Methodist church, but, like many of the Virginian founding fathers, such as Washington and Jefferson, Justus Hancock was only nominally Christian. This indifference toward institutional religion appears to have continued in her brothers, as well, since Martha relates attempts to convert her brothers' households. Her spelling, grammar, and penmanship show her to have been better educated than the average woman of her time and station. Ammon, therefore, grew up in a family that valued education for all of its children, although it did not much value religion.

Ammon's father died in April of 1845. As mentioned above, Ammon was the executor of his will, and probably spent a good deal of time putting his affairs into order. He was also beginning his own business and tobacco plantation, as we can see by the events of the 1850s.

1903 Advertisement for Hancock Bros. Co.
This comes from Lynchburghistory.com, which charges
way too much for their images, so I screen-shot it and
we'll just have to put up with the watermark.

I cannot find Ammon in the 1850 census. His mother, Harriet, is still living in Bedford with her two youngest children (4). Ammon may have been in and out of Campbell county, setting up his own plantation. According to an early 20th century advertisement from Lynchburg, Ammon founded the Hancock Tobacco Company in 1851, around the time he married Charlotte Elizabeth Hewitt, in Bedford County, on July 1. D.P. Read was their surety (5). Ammon was 36, and Charlotte was 26. She came from a French Huguenot family that also had deep roots in Virginia, and she had grown up in Bedford County.

Around 1853, Ammon built a large factory at the end of Cabell street, in Lynchburg. The factory is still standing, as part of the historic Daniel's Hill neighborhood. (6). Later, around 1855, Ammon and Charlotte built a home on the same lot as the factory. The Daniel's Hill neighborhood first opened up in the mid-1840s, when a large plantation from a century earlier was divided into plots and sold, mostly to wealthy businessmen and landowners. A number of 19th century mansions still line the streets, but the cross streets - one of which is named Hancock St. - were filled with "vernacular architecture" (aka shacks) for the people who worked in the big houses and the factory. The neighborhood was one of the most well-to-do suburbs of the city.

Charlotte Elizabeth Hewitt Hancock

Lynchburg, at the time, was booming. By 1850, it had the second-highest per capita income of any city in the nation. The reason for this was tobacco (and, apparently, the first mass-produced, mass-marketed enema). Lynchburg was a transportation hub, where the railroads met and trade boomed between the North and the South.

Despite their house in a fashionable neighborhood, the Hancock family didn't live in the city of Lynchburg year-round. It appears they spent the summer on their plantation in Campbell County, just south of Lynchburg. In both the 1860 and 1870 censuses, the growing family is shown as living in Campbell County (7)(8), and not until 1880 did the census taker actually find them on Cabell St.(9). An 1860s map of Campbell County shows the Hancock plantation in the far east of the county. They were presumably growing tobacco.

The 1860 census recorded Ammon and Charlotte and three sons: James, Ernest Justus (my great-great grandfather), and Edwin (7). Two other whites were living in the household, an R.L. Bigby (male) and an E. Roberts (female). They may have been boarders, employees, tenants, or family.

In addition to the white household, Ammon's slaves were recorded on the 1860 slave schedule (but he is not on the 1850 slave schedule)(10). He is listed as having three "slave houses" (I put that in quotes because I'm not sure what it means, in terms of actual accommodations), with a total of 34 slaves. These men, women, and children ranged in age from 6 to 50 years of age, but the vast majority were under 25, most in mid-adolescence. Their names are not listed, we only have their age and their color, but we can imagine their lives were difficult, and the large number of young people suggests many had been taken from their families far too young. It's painful to see a list of 12 year old children and know they were probably crying themselves to sleep at night, as were their mothers.

The article about Martha (Hancock) Wheat, mentioned above, confirms that the ownership of 34 people put Ammon Hancock among the economic elite of the city. Although most white landowners in the area did own slaves, the vast majority owned fewer than five people.

Ammon and Charlotte with their three youngest children (l-r)
Edwin (Ned), Ernest, and Lilly. Around 1865.
Even by standards of the day, their expressions are pretty
miserable. Must be their guilty consciences.

Presumably, the statistics that tout Lynchburg's per capita wealth didn't include slaves as "capita". Their labor produced the tobacco that fueled the economic boom - and the wealth of the upper class - but they did not share in that wealth.

Ammon was 46 years old when the Civil War began in 1861. His sons would have been 9, 7, and 4. (The last child, a daughter named Lily, was born near the end of the war, in 1864.) I have very little information about the Hancock family during the war. Ammon appears on a list of privates in the Lynchburg Rifles (11). However, since he had cousins and nephews who were also named Ammon Hancock, it is possible that he is not the person in the war record. We know from letters written to Charlotte that three of her Hewitt nephews were officers in the war, on the Confederate side.

Ammon's sons, Edward, Ernest, and James
Late 1860s?

Unsurprisingly, given its importance as a transportation and trade hub, Lynchburg became a critical resupply and hospital location for the Confederacy. It even served as the state capital for four days, April 6-10, 1865, which history buffs will recognize as the time between the abandonment of Richmond and Lee's defeat at Appomattox. The largest women-run hospital in the Confederacy, the Ladies' Relief Hospital, was in Lynchburg (12). I cannot find documents from that hospital, but it is possible that Charlotte and Ammon's sisters volunteered there.

The Battle of Lynchburg was fought just outside of town in June of 1864. Jubal Early, the Confederate commander, used the local population to mislead the Union commanders into believing they were outnumbered, eventually pushing them into retreat. Early ran a train up and down the line, while the population stood at the station and cheered, as if they were receiving reinforcements. The local prostitutes also helped by misleading their Union clients with false reports of reinforcements (13). We will probably never know if the Hancock family participated in that battle, or in the deception, in any way.

Historic photograph of the Hancock Tobacco Factory.
This was also taken from lynchburghistory.com with watermark

What we do know is that Ammon was not financially or personally ruined by the loss of his free labor supply, or by the ravages of war. In 1865 he signed a loyalty oath and received a pardon from President Andrew Johnson (14). In the 1870 census, he reported land holding worth $2,500 (about $50, 000 in today's money), and a personal estate of $1,800 ($32,000). Not bad for someone who, only five years earlier, had backed the losing side in a war, and as a result lost control over the people upon whom he relied for free labor. I suspect the former slaves who had earned him that fortune were considerably less well off.

One indication of changed circumstances can be seen in the 1870 census. Ammon and Charlotte are living with Ammon's mother, Harriet, who was 75 at the time, and with his sister, Lucy V. (Hancock) Haynes, 34, who was presumably widowed, although I have not found any information about her husband. The household also had one Black servant, Mary Shelton, aged 25, from Virginia.

Historic photo of the Hancock house in Lynchburg
lynchburghistory.com

By 1880, the family's circumstances may have improved further, although the family didn't report their net worth in that census. In addition to the family, and Harriet, another ten people are living in the household, or perhaps are tenants in small workers lodgings around the house and factory. These additional people include one white grocer, Walter H. Wilson, 24, and two married couples, William and Laura Carter, and Humphrey and Frances Sherman. William and Laura Carter were 50 and 40 years old, respectively. William was a black man who worked in the tobacco factory (presumably the Hancock Company factory), and his wife, who was described as mulatto, worked as a servant. Humphrey Sherman, age 62, was a servant, as was Frances Sherman, age 35. Both are listed as married, but given their age differences, it is possible that Frances was Humphrey's daughter, rather than his wife. Humphrey was categorized as Black, Frances as mulatto. Another Black woman, Sallie Johnson, 28, worked as a servant and was listed as married, but her husband doesn't appear on the census record as part of this household. A single young woman, Laura Preston, 23, working as a servant, was also Black. Finally, Mourning Paige, 100, a widow, Black, was living in the household. Charlotte's grandmother's name was Mourning, and I wonder if there is a connection. If all of the people listed as servants were actually working for the Hancocks (which isn't necessarily the case), then they had seven servants.

Google maps image of the Hancock factory today

Another change had occurred by 1880: Their second son, Ernest Justus, then 25, was no longer living with the family. James, the eldest, was living with his father and working in the family business. He's listed in the 1880 census as married, although his wife does not appear on the census roll as a member of the household, unless his wife is Sallie Johnson. Edward and Lilly, ages 23 and 16, are also still at home, with Edward working in the family business and Lilly in school. Ernest Justus, however, had emigrated to Whidby Island, Washington, in 1879. Although he returned home briefly in the early 1880s, he moved west permanently in 1883 (15).

Ammon Goode Hancock died May 15, 1888, in Lynchburg (16). The Lynchburg Daily Virginian has no fewer than three obituaries listed for him in their index. However, they charge far too much for a copy, so I have not read them. Ammon was buried in Spring Hill cemetery. Ernest Justus, with new wife and child in tow, traveled across the country to help his brothers settle the estate. The family business lived on for many years, as did his wife, Charlotte, who died in 1894.

Monument for Ammon and Charlotte Hancock
Photo from http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=pv&GRid=5608949&PIpi=5143818

UPDATE: My mother called to tell me she has Ammon's original pardon from President Johnson, a huge certificate that is (apparently) actually signed by the president. This prompted me to look into Confederate pardons. Surely the president didn't have to sign a certificate for every able-bodies man in the Confederacy? Turns out, no, most ordinary soldiers could just take an oath and be done, but certain individuals had to appeal directly to the president (ex., higher-ranking officers, West Point graduates who had defected to the Confederacy, and citizens with personal value over $20,000). Since Ammon had a personal fortune over $20,000, he wrote a petition to President Johnson. It's a two-page document detailing his role in the war, which is available through an on-line database. I'm sure it will be fascinating, once I figure out how to read the horrible handwriting. Hopefully, I'll have more on this later.

References:

1.  "United States Census, 1820", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHLC-TSW : accessed 27 October 2015), Justus Hancock, 1820.

2. The map

3. "United States Census, 1830," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XH54-LYN : accessed 27 October 2015), Justus Hancock, Bedford, Virginia, United States; citing 139, NARA microfilm publication M19, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 194; FHL microfilm 29,673.; and "United States Census, 1840," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHBM-ZQK : accessed 27 October 2015), Justice Hancock, Southern District, Bedford, Virginia, United States; citing p. 258, NARA microfilm publication M704, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 550; FHL microfilm 29,683.

4.  "United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M88P-K7F : accessed 27 October 2015), Harriet S Hancock, Bedford county, Bedford, Virginia, United States; citing family 607, NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

5. http://www.vagenweb.org/bedford/bedf-m_h.htm

6. "Daniel's Hill Historic District", National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form.

7.  "United States Census, 1860," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M41F-4JY : accessed 25 September 2015), A G Hancock, Western District, Campbell, Virginia, United States; from "1860 U.S. Federal Census - Population," database, Fold3.com (http://www.fold3.com : n.d.); citing p. 7, household ID 43, NARA microfilm publication M653 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 805,338.

8.  "United States Census, 1870," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MFLK-NVT : accessed 25 September 2015), S G Hancock, Virginia, United States; citing p. 62, family 468, NARA microfilm publication M593 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 553,137.

9. "United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MCPP-H7P : accessed 1 October 2015), Jennie Davis in household of Ammon G Hancock, Lynchburg, Campbell, Virginia, United States; citing enumeration district 194, sheet 378D, NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 1359; FHL microfilm 1,255,359.

10. 1860 slave schedule

11. http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/campbell/military/history01.txt

12. http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/lynchburg_during_the_civil_war#start_entry

13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Lynchburg

14.  http://www.lva.virginia.gov/public/guides/civil-war.htm

15. "An Illustrated History of the State of Washington" by Harvey Kimball Hines, p. 568

16. "Virginia, Deaths and Burials, 1853-1912," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X5YY-7L7 : accessed 25 September 2015), Ammon G. Hancock, 15 May 1888; citing Lynchburg, Campbell, Virginia, reference Image #236; FHL microfilm 2,048,589.

17. Kierner, Cynthia A. 1992. Woman's Piety within Patriarchy: The Religious Life of Martha Hancock Wheat of Bedford County. The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography 100:79-98.