Surname Saturday: George

George is my husband's maternal line.  The oldest George ancester I've found (so far!) is Mathew George (June 20, 1804 - Nov. 17, 1879), who I've already written about here and here.  His second wife was Sarah Van Skike with whom he had twelve children.  We're interested in his fifth child, Francis.

Francis Marion George was born on March 26, 1855 in Iowa.  On July 3, 1879 he married Annie Laurie Brewer in Soldier, Jackson Co., Kansas.  He died June 8, 1930 in Topeka, Shawnee Co., Kansas.  They had the following children:

• Rosa Nellie George - born July 11, 1881 (who married William Henry Bland)
• Andrew Thomas George - born Aug. 31, 1883 and died Aug. 8, 1885
• Susie Elmira George - born Sept. 29, 1886 (who married August Herde)
• Goldie Malinda George - born May 11, 18888 (who ran off with William Henry Bland)
• Nancy Jane George - born Sept. 24, 1889 (who married Benjamin Edwards)
• James Carrol George - born July 7, 1892 (who married Erma Wild Hawk)
• Iva May George - born Sept. 29, 1894 (who married Cecil Leroy Mondt)
• Otto Marion George
• Ada Laura George - born Sept. 5, 1899 (who married Wesley McDanil)
• Evea Gladys George - born April 30, 1901 (who married George Hunt)
• Viril Max George - born June 3, 1903 (who married Goldie Armstrong)
• Lila Laverne George - born Nov. 29, 1907

Otto Marion George was born in Soldier, Jackson Co., Kansas on Oct. 14, 1897.  In 1919 he married Florence Manda King (daughter of Francis M King and Lucinda Hunt).  He died on his birthday in 1969 in Bakersfield, California.  He and Florence had five children:

• Otto Marion George Jr. (Sept. 5, 1920 - Nov. 24, 1976)
• Francis George (born in 1923)
• Velma George (Nov. 9, 1925 - April 3, 1998)
• Viola George (born June 11, 1926)
• Elsie Lorraine George (Oct. 5, 1928 - Dec. 31, 1980) who married Jerry Louis Prewett

If you're related drop me a line, I'd love to hear from you!

Surname Saturday: Prewett

The Prewett's drive me crazy!  My brick wall is William Prewett, born abt 1817 in Tennessee. On August 10, 1837 he married Temperence Bunge in Shelby County, Tennessee and shortly thereafter headed to Red River County, Texas.  He died before 1860.  They had five children:

• Martha Prewett (born abt 1840; married William Scroggins)
• Zebiah Ann Prewett (born 1842; married Joseph Gordon Whitehead)
• William B Prewett (born abt 1843; married Matilda Jordan)
• Nancy Prewett (born abt 1846; married Daniel B Mallonee)
• Jeremiah Prewett (listed as Janetta on the 1850 census)

Jeremiah Prewett was born abt 1847 in Texas.  He was married in Kaufman County on August 19, 1869 to Rittie Wilson (also known as Mary Lou Rita Wilson).  They had four children: John William Prewett, Emma Prewett (born abt 1874) and the twins Early and Earnest (born abt 1877).  Jeremiah died in April 1880.

John William Prewett was born on November 26, 1870 in Texas.  He married Cora Bell House in 1896.  They had thirteen children:

• Harvey Olan Prewett (born Sept. 7, 1898 in Indian Territory)
• Mary Luetta Prewett (born Dec. 9, 1900 in Indian Territory)
• Hattie Lee Prewett (born Feb. 4, 1902 in Oklahoma)
• John William Prewett Jr (born June 22, 1904 in Pontotoc Co., Oklahoma)
• Marion Wesley Prewett (born Oct. 17, 1905 in Pontotoc Co., Oklahoma)
• Minnie Ola Prewett (born March 18, 1907 in Pontotoc Co., Oklahoma)
• Vergie Maye Prewett (born May 26, 1908 in Pontotoc Co., Oklahoma)
• Nellie Irene Prewett (born May 4, 1910 in Pontotoc Co., Oklahoma)
• James Arthur Prewett (born Jul 27, 1911 in Pontotoc Co., Oklahoma)
• Millicent Juanita Prewett (born Dec. 8, 1912 in Pontotoc Co., Oklahoma)
• Robert Allison Prewett (born May 1, 1914 in Pontotoc Co., Oklahoma)
• Ruby Carmen Prewett (born March 3, 1919 in Roff, Pontotoc Co., Oklahoma)
• Jerry Louis Prewtt (born Dec. 25, 1923 in Roff, Pontotoc Co., Oklahoma)

Jerry Louis Prewett (who married Elsie George) is my husband's father.

If you have any information on this family (or better yet, are part of this family), please contact me.  My husband and I would love to hear from you!

Surname Saturday: McLaughlin

My line of McLaughlins goes back to John McLaughlin (1743 - 1812) and his unknown wife.  Well, she's unknown to me... if you know otherwise, please let me know!  Their oldest child was James McLaughlin (b. Jul 1769, Ireland).  He emigrated to Pennsylvania at the age of 19 (approximately) and married Matilda Elizabeth Best.  They had several children, including Samuel Best McLaughlin.

Samuel Best McLaughlin was born Feb. 17, 1813 in Muhlenburg, Kentucky.  He married Rachel Hammett on Sept. 22, 1831 in Peoria, Illinois.  (You can read about their early life together here.)  They had ten children between 1832 and 1854.  He died on Oct. 22, 1887 in Peoria, Illinois.

The youngest son was George Washington McLaughlin, born on July 4, 1850 in Marshall Co., Illinois.  On August 19, 1870 in New Buffalo, Michigan, he married Relief Elizabeth Bonham (daughter of William Bonham and Amanda Webster).  They had twelve children between 1870 and 1888.  George died on April 21, 1896 in Marshall Co., Illinois.  He, like his father, is buried in the Yankee Street Cemetery in Marshall County.

Their youngest son was Clifford Clyde McLaughlin.  He was born Feb. 1, 1882 in Steuben township, Illinois.  He married Emily Phoebe Clifton on March 2, 1904.  They had fifteen children.  The oldest, Ethel Mae was born May 28, 1904 and the youngest, Margaret Iola, was born May 28, 1927.  I happen to find this odd fact quite intersting, possibly because my own birthday is May 28th.  Clifford died on August 2, 1956 in Sparland, Illinois.

Child number six was my grandmother, Alice Wilda McLaughlin, born Feb. 28, 1913 in Steuben, Illinois.  She came to California to take care of an ailing aunt where she met my grandfather, Chester Doran.  They married on April 9 in Yuma, Arizona.  She died in Colton, California on Sept. 25, 1967.

 

Standing in the back: Oscar McLaughlin, Rachel Leona (McLauhlin) Dunbar, Clifford Clyde McLaughlin, George Washington McLaughlin, Mayme (McLaughlin) Harvey, and Albert McLaughlin.  Seated in th front: Cora Pearl (McLaughlin) Donath, Relief Elizabeth Bonham, and Minnie (McLaughlin) Auth.

Thanks to the generosity of several relatives, I actually have a lot of information, pictures, etc. on the McLaughlins.  If you're connected to this particular section of my wandering vines please contact me.  I'd love to hear from you!

Surname Saturday: Danchak and Dushek

On my father's side our heritage is Dutch and Czechoslovakian.  I've already written about the Dutch ancestry (Rosa), so that leaves the Czech: Danchak and Dushek.

 From left to right: John Roy, John, Gardina, Lydia and Bessie

My grandmother, Gardina (Gardie) Matilda Danchak was one of five children born to John Danchak and Lydia Dushek. Her oldest sister Ella (born Sept. 12, 1898) died in October of 1902.  Next was Bessie (July 20, 1899 - Nov. 1982), then my grandmother (March 13, 1902 to July 15, 1979).  She had two younger brothers, John Roy (July 3, 1904 - Feb. 18, 1978) and Allen Edward (Feb. 16, 1911 - Oct. 29, 1942).

John Danchak (originally Dancak) was born Dec. 2, 1868 in Przno, Moravia, Austria in what later became Czechoslovakia.  He died in Port Lavaca, Texas, on Oct. 11, 1922.  He was one of several children born to John Danchak (1839 - 1925) and Rosalie Adamek (1841 - 1903).

Lydia Mary Dushek (originally Dusek) was born May 30, 1875 in Brenham, Texas and died Nov. 6, 1956 in Colton, California.  She was one of eight children born to Jan Dushek (b. 1847 in Cermna, Bohemia/Czechoslovakia, d. 1908 in Caldwell, Texas) and Terezie Janke/Janku/Janak (1848 - 1903).

Thanks to a kind soul I met on the TexasCzech group, I have more information on the Dushek line (Thanks, Mike!), but I'm still having a heck of a time researching the Danchak's.  If you're part of the Danchak line, please contact me!

Surname Saturday: Doran

My Doran line is from my mother's side of the family, so I'll start with her.  She's the daughter of Chester Joseph Doran (b. 29 Jun 1906, d. 17 Sep 1972) and Alice Wilda McLaughlin (b. 28 Feb 1913, d. 25 Sep 1967).

Grandpa Chet was one of four children born to Alexander Judd Doran and Lillian Francis Stroud (whom I've written about previously, refer to my posts of October 9 and 10, 2009).

A.J. Doran was one of nine children born to Hamilton Green Doran (b. 20 Oct 1839, d. 12 Feb 1905) and Charlotte Belinda McCroskey (b. 19 Mar 1847, d. 15 Feb 1883).  I've written about Hamilton too, please refer to my post of December 24th.

H. G. Doran was one of twelve children (five boys, seven girls) born to Alexander Doran and Delpha Marilla Judd.  Delpha (or Delphia) was born 22 Mar 1822 in Reddies River, Wilkes Co., North Carolina and died in 1865 in Christian Co., Missouri.  Alexander was born 29 Apr 1815 in Johnson Co., Tennessee and died in Aug of 1896. 

The Doran family ~ Alexander and Delphia

Alexander was the oldest son of Robert Lowry Doran and Elizabeth Lowry.  Betsy was born 13 Aug 1790 in Virginia.  She was the daughter of James Lowry and Jane McCaleb.  Robert was born 19 Jul 1786 in Abingdon, Washington Co., Virginia.  They were married 19 May 1812 and had ten children.

Robert's parents were Alexander Doran (b. 2 Jun 1760, d. 7 Jan 1814) and Elizabeth Lowry (1757 - 1800).  This Elizabeth was the daughter of John Lowry and Elizabeth Moore.  Alexander faught in the Battle of Kings Mountain and (along with his father) in the Revolutionary War.

Alexander was the son of James Doran (b. abt. 1730, Ireland, d. Nov 1799) and Margaret Gordon (1732 - 1799).  According to family lore Margaret's father was opposed to the marriage of his daughter to James Doran, but her mother consented and they were married twelve months before her father knew it.