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Thursday, March 2, 2017
Monday, October 3, 2016
Jenkins Family Traditions - Fact or Fiction?
(exerpt from: "Nicolaus Henckell the Hessian" by Douglas B. MacDonald, 2009)
Have you heard the story about . . . ?
Many stories have been passed down through the family from generation to generation. And of course we realize that once something has been put in writing, whether true or false, it tends to take on a life of its own. Sometimes such stories or items become quoted as if they were prime sources themselves. Even prime source records may sometimes vary when compared with each other. For example, birth dates on tombstones or from census documents are usually less reliable than birth or baptism records from church documents because the date of recording is more distant from the event of record. For the same reason, birth dates from infant baptism records are more accurate than those from adult baptisms. Conflicting sources must always be evaluated. But which of the many stories from family tradition should we now consider fiction?
Great Old Ages - Not Fiction, but Exaggerated
The great old ages of some of Nicholas and Elizabeth’s children born in PEI contain errors. These came from an article in the Examiner of 1 March 1880, written a few weeks after daughter Catherine had died. Even the questionnaire answered by William Jenkins in old age contains an error in the year of his own birth. He could not possibly have been born in PEI in 1783, because his parents did not arrive on the Island until 1787. And to this day, no church source has ever been found which records either birth or baptism for any of their children born on the Island. Let’s look at the details.
The Examiner said “Nicholas Jenking [sic] the father died at 76. His wife 75, John Jenkins 90, George accidently killed 51, Susannah is still alive aged 100, William died at 92, Nicholas 90, Catherine 91, James still alive aged 88, Henry died at 81, Elizabeth 86 and Leanor 72.” But what should it be?
In order in which the names appeared in the article:
Nicholas Sr. was born 28 March 1755 and died 15 July 1823, so would have been 68, not 76.
Elizabeth, his wife, birth date unknown, died 29 July 1823, less than two weeks after Nicholas. She was probably not 7 years older than her husband, and if actually one year younger than Nicholas as the article shows, she would have been 67, not 75. Also, if she had been 75, she would have been born about 1748, and given birth to their last child Magdalene (Laney or Leanor) at about age 50, which is considered unlikely. She was probably born about 1756.
John George Jenkins, born 13 May 1784 in Treysa and died 20 June 1866, so would have been 82, not 90.
George, born in PEI but date unknown, was accidently killed 30 October 1836, but if age 51 at the time would have been born about 1785 when the family was still living in Germany. He was more probably born about 1789, so would have died aged 47, not 51. Remember, too, that the article was written about 43 years after he died, so his age was probably off.
Susannah, born 18 December 1785 in Treysa, died 14 May 1884, so would have been 94 in 1880, not 100.
William was born about 1787, so could have been 92 if he had died shortly before the article appeared, and if he had been born shortly after the family arrived in PEI, and his age is considered possible.
Nicholas Jr. was probably born about 1790, so when he died in 1877 he would have been about 87, not 90.
Catherine was probably born about 1791 and died 10 February 1880, so would have been 88, not 91.
James was probably born about 1792 and died 24 Feb 1887, so could have been 88 when the article appeared. If so, he would have died age 95.
Henry was born about 1788 and died about 1870, so could have been 81.
Elizabeth was born about 1793 and died in 1858, so would have been about 63, not 86, but would have been born about 86 years before the article, possibly explaining the number used.
Magdalene (Laney or Leanor) was born about 1798, died in 1858, so would have been about 60, not 72.
Nicholas was born in Hanover, Germany - Fiction
We now know from church records that Nicholas Jenkins was born Nicolaus Henckell on 28 March 1755 in Treysa, Germany to Johann Hermann Henckel and Anna Elisabeth Otto. He was baptized 31 March 1755, and confirmed in the Lutheran Church, Treysa in 1769 at the age of 14.
The Surname Change Was Suggested by a Minister - Fiction
The story persists that Nicholas anglicized his surname to Jenkins at the suggestion of Rev. Dr. Louis Charles
Jenkins, Minister at St. Paul’s Anglican Church, Charlottetown, PEI. However, Rev. Jenkins wasn’t born until 1797 in England, and the "Weekly Examiner" of 21 Nov 1884 says he didn’t emigrate to the Island until about 1820. Nicholas would have been 65 years old by that time, and have been an Island resident for 33 years. The earliest record of Rev. L. C. Jenkins having to do with any of Nicholas’ descendants is the baptism of grandson John Jenkins, son of James and Margaret, who was baptized 9 December 1829, some six years after Nicholas died. Meanwhile, Nicholas Junior was using the Jenkins surname at least by May 1809 when his name appears on a land transaction.
Nicholas Was Married Twice - Fiction
Nothing has been found to back up the tradition that Nicholas had two wives, the first being an Edwards from the Channel Islands or the Isles of Scilly, the second one being the widow Baum. The Edwards connection comes through a son and daughter of Nicholas. It was Nicholas Jr. who married Mary Edwards, and his sister Magdalene (Laney) who married Richard Edwards, their parents being James Edwards and Dobson McBriar, whose family came from the Isles of Scilly off the southwest tip of Cornwall, England. We also know that while in America, 28 year old Nicolaus Henckell was married 27 July 1783 to Betsey [Elizabeth] Robinson in the Presbyterian Church, Jamaica, Long Island, NY by Rev. Matthias Burnet. A few weeks later, on 15 August 1783, the soldiers of the Regiment von Knyphausen sailed from New York for Germany, Nicolaus and his new bride among them, and after two months they arrived back in Ziegenhain on 16 October 1783. It was only about 5 km from there to his hometown of Treysa.
Elizabeth Pfluger Married Lt. Col. Baum - Fiction
Nothing has been found to date to back up the idea that Nicholas’ wife Elizabeth had been previously married to a German soldier surnamed Baum. She most certainly was never married to Lt. Col. Frederick Baum who was killed in the Battle of Bennington in Aug 1777. This is backed up by court records in Germany where Lt. Col. Baum’s widow, mistress and daughters fought over his estate, with no mention of a wife or child in America. And it is therefore also certain that Nicholas was never married to anyone with either the maiden or married surname of Pfluger, as this name came from a brother-in-law of the Lt. Col.
(exerpt from: "Nicolaus Henckell the Hessian" by Douglas B. MacDonald, 2009)
Have you heard the story about . . . ?
Many stories have been passed down through the family from generation to generation. And of course we realize that once something has been put in writing, whether true or false, it tends to take on a life of its own. Sometimes such stories or items become quoted as if they were prime sources themselves. Even prime source records may sometimes vary when compared with each other. For example, birth dates on tombstones or from census documents are usually less reliable than birth or baptism records from church documents because the date of recording is more distant from the event of record. For the same reason, birth dates from infant baptism records are more accurate than those from adult baptisms. Conflicting sources must always be evaluated. But which of the many stories from family tradition should we now consider fiction?
Great Old Ages - Not Fiction, but Exaggerated
The great old ages of some of Nicholas and Elizabeth’s children born in PEI contain errors. These came from an article in the Examiner of 1 March 1880, written a few weeks after daughter Catherine had died. Even the questionnaire answered by William Jenkins in old age contains an error in the year of his own birth. He could not possibly have been born in PEI in 1783, because his parents did not arrive on the Island until 1787. And to this day, no church source has ever been found which records either birth or baptism for any of their children born on the Island. Let’s look at the details.
The Examiner said “Nicholas Jenking [sic] the father died at 76. His wife 75, John Jenkins 90, George accidently killed 51, Susannah is still alive aged 100, William died at 92, Nicholas 90, Catherine 91, James still alive aged 88, Henry died at 81, Elizabeth 86 and Leanor 72.” But what should it be?
In order in which the names appeared in the article:
Nicholas Sr. was born 28 March 1755 and died 15 July 1823, so would have been 68, not 76.
Elizabeth, his wife, birth date unknown, died 29 July 1823, less than two weeks after Nicholas. She was probably not 7 years older than her husband, and if actually one year younger than Nicholas as the article shows, she would have been 67, not 75. Also, if she had been 75, she would have been born about 1748, and given birth to their last child Magdalene (Laney or Leanor) at about age 50, which is considered unlikely. She was probably born about 1756.
John George Jenkins, born 13 May 1784 in Treysa and died 20 June 1866, so would have been 82, not 90.
George, born in PEI but date unknown, was accidently killed 30 October 1836, but if age 51 at the time would have been born about 1785 when the family was still living in Germany. He was more probably born about 1789, so would have died aged 47, not 51. Remember, too, that the article was written about 43 years after he died, so his age was probably off.
Susannah, born 18 December 1785 in Treysa, died 14 May 1884, so would have been 94 in 1880, not 100.
William was born about 1787, so could have been 92 if he had died shortly before the article appeared, and if he had been born shortly after the family arrived in PEI, and his age is considered possible.
Nicholas Jr. was probably born about 1790, so when he died in 1877 he would have been about 87, not 90.
Catherine was probably born about 1791 and died 10 February 1880, so would have been 88, not 91.
James was probably born about 1792 and died 24 Feb 1887, so could have been 88 when the article appeared. If so, he would have died age 95.
Henry was born about 1788 and died about 1870, so could have been 81.
Elizabeth was born about 1793 and died in 1858, so would have been about 63, not 86, but would have been born about 86 years before the article, possibly explaining the number used.
Magdalene (Laney or Leanor) was born about 1798, died in 1858, so would have been about 60, not 72.
Nicholas was born in Hanover, Germany - Fiction
We now know from church records that Nicholas Jenkins was born Nicolaus Henckell on 28 March 1755 in Treysa, Germany to Johann Hermann Henckel and Anna Elisabeth Otto. He was baptized 31 March 1755, and confirmed in the Lutheran Church, Treysa in 1769 at the age of 14.
The Surname Change Was Suggested by a Minister - Fiction
The story persists that Nicholas anglicized his surname to Jenkins at the suggestion of Rev. Dr. Louis Charles
Jenkins, Minister at St. Paul’s Anglican Church, Charlottetown, PEI. However, Rev. Jenkins wasn’t born until 1797 in England, and the "Weekly Examiner" of 21 Nov 1884 says he didn’t emigrate to the Island until about 1820. Nicholas would have been 65 years old by that time, and have been an Island resident for 33 years. The earliest record of Rev. L. C. Jenkins having to do with any of Nicholas’ descendants is the baptism of grandson John Jenkins, son of James and Margaret, who was baptized 9 December 1829, some six years after Nicholas died. Meanwhile, Nicholas Junior was using the Jenkins surname at least by May 1809 when his name appears on a land transaction.
Nicholas Was Married Twice - Fiction
Nothing has been found to back up the tradition that Nicholas had two wives, the first being an Edwards from the Channel Islands or the Isles of Scilly, the second one being the widow Baum. The Edwards connection comes through a son and daughter of Nicholas. It was Nicholas Jr. who married Mary Edwards, and his sister Magdalene (Laney) who married Richard Edwards, their parents being James Edwards and Dobson McBriar, whose family came from the Isles of Scilly off the southwest tip of Cornwall, England. We also know that while in America, 28 year old Nicolaus Henckell was married 27 July 1783 to Betsey [Elizabeth] Robinson in the Presbyterian Church, Jamaica, Long Island, NY by Rev. Matthias Burnet. A few weeks later, on 15 August 1783, the soldiers of the Regiment von Knyphausen sailed from New York for Germany, Nicolaus and his new bride among them, and after two months they arrived back in Ziegenhain on 16 October 1783. It was only about 5 km from there to his hometown of Treysa.
Elizabeth Pfluger Married Lt. Col. Baum - Fiction
Nothing has been found to date to back up the idea that Nicholas’ wife Elizabeth had been previously married to a German soldier surnamed Baum. She most certainly was never married to Lt. Col. Frederick Baum who was killed in the Battle of Bennington in Aug 1777. This is backed up by court records in Germany where Lt. Col. Baum’s widow, mistress and daughters fought over his estate, with no mention of a wife or child in America. And it is therefore also certain that Nicholas was never married to anyone with either the maiden or married surname of Pfluger, as this name came from a brother-in-law of the Lt. Col.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Miscellaneous Updates
Glad to see more than 10,600 visits so far to this blog. I hope you find something of interest in your quest to add to your knowledge of the Jenkins and Ballem families.
I regret not having posted in a long time, but there have been problems in posting articles to this blog. Also, I broke my arm just over a year ago, and it still has neither the strength nor mobility that the other arm has. Before you feel too sorry for me, I broke it while ice-skating on a cruise ship in the eastern Mediterranean. It was initially set on board, but had to be re-broken when I got home, and plate and pins installed.
My book Nicolaus Henckell the Hessian: A Genealogy of Jenkins Families of Prince Edward Island has been well received, and the 3-volume set is selling well too. As requested in the book, I welcome all additions, corrections, or errors. When sufficient information has been received, it is planned to publish a fourth volume to the set. Meanwhile, four addenda, with a total of 26 pages, have been emailed to those who purchased the book whose address I have. If you have purchased the book, but have not received the addenda, please let me know. Email me at demacdonald[at]pei[dot]sympatico[dot]ca, remembering to complete the areas in brackets properly. (Sorry for any confusion, but an address presented in this way helps lessen spam.)
Does anyone have information on Amelia Jenkins of Millview, PEI, who was married 3 March 1874 to Samuel Jardine? Whose family are they? Do they have any family?
Friday, April 30, 2010
April Photo of the Month
Mount Albion School, Lot 48, PEI.
Can anyone help identify the teacher and pupils? What year was this photo taken?
Please send whatever names you can to me at: demacdonald (at) pei.sympatico.ca .If you can help with this, I have an older photo of the same school to try later.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Jenkins Photo of the Month - March 2010
You never know where a priceless family photo is going to turn up. This picture was taken in the entrance to Piazza Joe's Italian Eatery & Bistro in Charlottetown, PEI. Look closely at the photo on the wall (click on it to enlarge). Would you have recognized it as the family of Robert Jenkins and Margaret Louisa (Young) Jenkins which was taken in 1901? And an original, not a copy, in the original frame! It has appeared previuosly on this site. One of the young girls is my wife's grandmother Hannah Belle Jenkins.
After finding the restaurant owner, Joe Lisi, I was told that he had bought the framed photo at a yard sale. As he was from the US it had no sentimental value to him, but was just an old family photo to go with a few others he had on adjacent walls of the entry to his establishment. After explaining the significance to our family, I asked if I could buy it from him. He replied that he would not sell it, but that what he wanted was an old family photo, and that if I could provide him with a suitable replacement we could make a trade. You will now find hanging in it's place a copy of the photo of the family of Isabella Jenkins and husband Kenneth MacDonald taken in 1903, which is also found in Nicolaus Henckell the Hessian, Vol. I, p. 242. Thank you Joe.
The moral of the story is to always keep your eyes peeled for old family photos. You never know where you might come across something which is priceless to the preservation of your family heritage.
If you have old Jenkins family photos to share on this site, please send a scanned copy to me at demacdonald@pei.sympatico.ca . And please don't forget to identify all your photos with who is in them so it won't someday be tossed out like the priceless Jenkins photo shown above.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Jenkins Photo of the Month - February
This photo of the Henry Boswall Jenkins family was submitted by his grandson Hudson Jenkins. It shows Henry Boswall Jenkins, born 23 February 1866 in Mount Albion, Lot 48, PEI; his wife Elizabeth Jane (Bessie) MacKenzie Jenkins, born 17 September 1877; and their sons. From the left, they are Lorne Alexander Jenkins, Robert Harold Jenkins and Henry Spurgeon Jenkins. It was undated, but appears to have been taken about 1908. You can find more on this family in Nicolaus Henckell the Hessian, Vol. 1, p. 241.
If you have old photos and/or stories to share, please email me.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
How a Baby Received His Name
This photo of the family of Robert Jenkins was taken in the early summer of 1901 in Charlottetown. The baby shown on his mother's lap had been born 27 April 1901. The Governor General of Canada, His Excellency Lord Gilbert Minto, and his wife visited Prince Edward Island later that summer. During the visit Robert somehow managed to present this photo of the family to Lady Minto, requesting that she name the baby. She called him Gilbert, after her husband, and he thus became Gilbert Minto Jenkins. This begs the question of what he had been called before, and what his birth name might have been registered as.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Addendum #1 - Nicolaus Henckell the Hessian
The first four-page Addendum has recently been emailed in PDF format to those who have the 3 volume set of the book Nicolaus Henckell the Hessian. If you have the book but have not received Addendum #1 via email, it is because I do not have your email address. If you do have the book and wish to receive further complete updates as they become available, please send an email with your name to me at demacdonald@pei.sympatico.ca.
Also please remember to provide scanned copies of old family photos (with people identified) and additions and/or corrections to the above address, as a further addendum is planned for whenever there is sufficient material so that the information in the book may be kept up to date.
Also please remember to provide scanned copies of old family photos (with people identified) and additions and/or corrections to the above address, as a further addendum is planned for whenever there is sufficient material so that the information in the book may be kept up to date.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Jenkins Photo of the Month - January
This photo was submitted by Roddie MacLean of his great-grandparents Caroline Amelia Jenkins, born 1852, died 1944, (daughter of George E. Jenkins and Susannah Marie Hawkins), with husband J. Benjamin Mutch and young son Robert Everett Mutch. R. E. Mutch (1876-1957) was baptized 21 April 1879, the occasion for this photo. They farmed in Earnscliffe, Lot 50, PEI. Al Mutch tells of his grandmother Amelia taking his sister on walks to the shore to gather kindling chips from an area where ships were built in the 1800s. See more on the family in Nicolaus Henckell the Hessian: A Genealogy of Jenkins Families of Prince Edward Island, Vol. I - p. 36.
Do you have old Jenkins photos? Please take time to share them with relatives via this site. You can have them scanned and emailed to me at demacdonald@pei.sympatico.ca . Include a story about the photo if you can, or about someone in the photo in general, but this is not necessary.
Meanwhile, always remember to put names lightly on the back of your old photos, and dates if you know them. Otherwise future generations will not know who is in the photo or its significance to family history, and might just throw them out.
Friday, December 18, 2009
HENCKELL BOOK REVIEW - 17 DEC 2009
(Click on the image to enlarge)
This article on "Nicolaus Henckell the Hessian" and the author was published in "The Guardian", Charlottetown, PEI on 17 December 2009.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
HENCKELL/JENKINS GENEALOGY PUBLISHED
The books have now been received from the printer.
The initial request for interest in the book was in order to try to get a fix on how many to order from the printer. Based on interest received by the time the final edit of the book went to print, I accepted their advice on the number to run. As I am personally totally funding this endeavor, you can understand that I wouldn’t want to have a large stock of unsold books for a long time. Also, with the rather large size of the book (3 volumes) and subsequent retail price of $140, there was a great deal of concern as to potential demand. As a result, I am also temporarily subsidizing the cost of the books until the end of the book launch so that the set of three volumes may be had for $95 rather than the retail price of $140.
To my pleasant surprise, there has been a large request for the book, and in order to guarantee a copy for pickup at the launch, people have been paying for their books in advance. Consequently, I cannot guarantee availability at the launch unless payment is received in advance. It will be first come, first served, and a list has been kept from the beginning of orders paid as they are received. As of November 7, requests have been received for 60% of the print run, and one-quarter of the total run has already been paid in advance. This is with 3 weeks still remaining until the launch.
For your information, at such time as 85% of the books in print are sold an order will be placed for a reprint. I have been told that reprinting would take about 3 weeks, so would still be available for pickup before Christmas. Meanwhile, the discounted price of $95.00 will only be guaranteed for orders paid on or before the November 28 book launch.
If interested in guaranteeing a copy for pickup at the launch, please email me at: demacdonald@pei.sympatico.ca for details on where to send a cheque. For copies to be mailed outside the province, packing and postage charges will be applied. For the amount, please send your complete address, including postal or zip code, via email. Every effort will be made to mail out as soon after receiving payment as possible.
Just to confirm launch details, the PEI Genealogical Society is hosting it at 2:00pm on Saturday November 28 at the Carriage House, Beaconsfield, 2 Kent Street, Charlottetown.
Please pass this information on to others who might have an interest in the book. If you have any questions, please email me.
Monday, September 28, 2009
THE JENKINS BOOK IS AT THE PRINTER
Nicolaus Henckell the Hessian
A Genealogy of Jenkins Families
of Prince Edward Island
by Douglas B. MacDonald, GRS(C)
A Genealogy of Jenkins Families
of Prince Edward Island
by Douglas B. MacDonald, GRS(C)
Finally at the printer, Nicolaus Henckell the Hessian includes more than 19,600 of his descendants and spouses. This three volume set is 8½" x 11" in size and contains 1,390 pages.
There are separate chapters on each of Nicholas’ children, their descendants and spouses; William’s family alone requires 534 pages. Volume I, about 472 pages, also covers family traditions such as place of birth of Nicolaus and two oldest children, the surname change to Jenkins, his two (?) marriages, and the descendants as heirs to a three billion dollar estate. It has the life story of Nicolaus from birth through the American Revolution, his return to Germany, his arrival in PEI, and what it was like then to begin a life on the Island. Volume II, about 433 pages, ends with an appendix of maps and family photos. Volume III, about 485 pages, ends with a separate index to each volume. For those who wish to verify some of the facts for themselves, there are more than 6,600 footnotes of sources. There are also photos of his birth and baptism record, as well as that of his first two children.
This long-anticipated book is now at the printer and will be available soon. The book launch is planned for November 28 in Charlottetown, PEI, in time for Christmas giving. The 3-volume set will retail for $140, but will initially be available at a subsidized cost of only $95 for the set, plus shipping where required. Shipping costs will be determined once the first set is received from the printer.
To reserve your copy, or for more information, please contact Doug MacDonald at (902) 892-1181 or email demacdonald@pei.sympatico.ca. For those books prepaid for delivery outside PEI, every effort will be made to ship them for arrival by November 28. For those on the Island who prepay, book sets will be available for pickup at the launch or from the author.
Please pass this information on to others you think might be interested.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Henckell Genealogy Progress
This is a quick update on progress on the Henckell/Jenkins genealogy. Just because I haven't been updating this site doesn't mean I haven't been working on the book. It grew so large (about 40 MB in size) that it crashed in both WordPerfect and in MS Word formats. I have now broken it down by chapters, one for each of Nicholas' descendants, but William's is still about 600 pages long (about 18 MB in size) and it still crashes. I've tripled the RAM on my computer to better handle the big files, but am still having difficulty. I've been at it for long hours daily, beginning after breakfast and working until 10:00 or 11:00 at night.
I have been trying everything I can find to cut down on the cost of books. At the moment, it looks like 8-1/2x11 page size, Ariel 10pt font, with footnotes and name index at 9pt. and still totals about 1350 pages without maps, photos, etc. At this rate, it will be about 4 volumes, and might sell for $95 plus postage for the set. If you are interested in purchasing a set, with no committment at this time until finalized details are known, please send an email to me at demacdonald@pei.sympatico.ca so I can add your name to a list of those interested.
Meanwhile, I've got to get back to editing the book.
I have been trying everything I can find to cut down on the cost of books. At the moment, it looks like 8-1/2x11 page size, Ariel 10pt font, with footnotes and name index at 9pt. and still totals about 1350 pages without maps, photos, etc. At this rate, it will be about 4 volumes, and might sell for $95 plus postage for the set. If you are interested in purchasing a set, with no committment at this time until finalized details are known, please send an email to me at demacdonald@pei.sympatico.ca so I can add your name to a list of those interested.
Meanwhile, I've got to get back to editing the book.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
George A. Wood to be Inducted into PEI Sports Hall of Fame
The first Prince Edward Island born player to have a career in Major League Baseball is to be inducted into the PEI Sports Hall of Fame later this summer.
As noted in an earlier entry to this site, George Albert (Dandy) Wood was the son of Joseph A. Wood and Mary Ann Jenkins. He was born in PEI on November 9, 1858 and moved to Boston with his parents in 1867. He went on to play 1,280 games in the majors, and was the 1882 National League Home Run Champion.
In order to let as many of his family as possible know of this honor to be bestowed on him, your help is requested in trying to locate descendants of his brothers and sisters. Although George and his wife Cora did not have children, he had two brothers and two sisters as follows:
AMOS WOOD, born in PEI September 1860, died September 1918, probably in MA.
ROSCILLA WOOD, born in PEI March 1863, married about 1886 in MA EDWARD H. WINSOR, born March 1853. They lived in Dorchester, MA and had a son EDWARD BAKER WINSOR, born April 1887 in Boston, MA.
LERONA J. WOOD, born about 1869 in East Boston, MA, married SAMUEL SHEIDOW.
JOSEPH LEMUEL WOOD, born March 1877 in East Boston, MA.
It would be greatly appreciated if someone with Massachusetts research connections could help locate one or more living descendants of Joseph and Mary Ann (Jenkins) Wood, and pass this information along to me at: demacdonald@pei.sympatico.ca .
As noted in an earlier entry to this site, George Albert (Dandy) Wood was the son of Joseph A. Wood and Mary Ann Jenkins. He was born in PEI on November 9, 1858 and moved to Boston with his parents in 1867. He went on to play 1,280 games in the majors, and was the 1882 National League Home Run Champion.
In order to let as many of his family as possible know of this honor to be bestowed on him, your help is requested in trying to locate descendants of his brothers and sisters. Although George and his wife Cora did not have children, he had two brothers and two sisters as follows:
AMOS WOOD, born in PEI September 1860, died September 1918, probably in MA.
ROSCILLA WOOD, born in PEI March 1863, married about 1886 in MA EDWARD H. WINSOR, born March 1853. They lived in Dorchester, MA and had a son EDWARD BAKER WINSOR, born April 1887 in Boston, MA.
LERONA J. WOOD, born about 1869 in East Boston, MA, married SAMUEL SHEIDOW.
JOSEPH LEMUEL WOOD, born March 1877 in East Boston, MA.
It would be greatly appreciated if someone with Massachusetts research connections could help locate one or more living descendants of Joseph and Mary Ann (Jenkins) Wood, and pass this information along to me at: demacdonald@pei.sympatico.ca .
Thursday, April 23, 2009
LAST CALL - JENKINS GENEALOGY INPUT
We are nearing the end of the road in gathering information for inclusion in the book of Nicholas (Henckel) Jenkins and his almost 19,000 descendants. It looks now like it will require two volumes to cover everyone that we know of to date. Once the information is generated in the proper format for publishing, it will be too difficult to go back and add or modify names and information.
The small committee working on this Jenkins genealogy has been Paulette (Johnston) McNally and Doug MacDonald of Charlottetown, and Hazel (Jenkins) Sanford of Vancouver. Although we have collaborated for a few years now, we could not have done this without the gracious input of others. We are indebted to the many of you who have already submitted information on your branch of the family. Without your input this project would not have been nearly as comprehensive as it already is.
If you are wondering if your name is included, or if your branch of the family is included, or if what you have on the family is to be included, or if you have an old photo you would like to see included, etc., please send it via email to demacdonald@pei.sympatico.ca by May 15, 2009 at the latest. Nothing received after that date will be included, but will be saved for a future update some years down the road. If in doubt, please ask.
Please pass this information on to anyone you think might be interested so they won't be left out. As of May 15th we will have reached the point of no return for additions and/or corrections.
The small committee working on this Jenkins genealogy has been Paulette (Johnston) McNally and Doug MacDonald of Charlottetown, and Hazel (Jenkins) Sanford of Vancouver. Although we have collaborated for a few years now, we could not have done this without the gracious input of others. We are indebted to the many of you who have already submitted information on your branch of the family. Without your input this project would not have been nearly as comprehensive as it already is.
If you are wondering if your name is included, or if your branch of the family is included, or if what you have on the family is to be included, or if you have an old photo you would like to see included, etc., please send it via email to demacdonald@pei.sympatico.ca by May 15, 2009 at the latest. Nothing received after that date will be included, but will be saved for a future update some years down the road. If in doubt, please ask.
Please pass this information on to anyone you think might be interested so they won't be left out. As of May 15th we will have reached the point of no return for additions and/or corrections.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Jenkins Picture Puzzle
Robert & Margaret Jenkins's Family - 1898
Robert & Margaret Jenkins's Family - 1901
Robert & Margaret Jenkins's Family - 1911
Shown above are three photos of the family of Robert Jenkins of Mount Albion, Lot 48, PEI. Who knows the names of those in the 1898 and 1901 photos in the order in which they appear? I am almost certain, but not positive, as to which is which. But I would like your help in finding out for certain. Who can help me solve the puzzle? Please email your answers to me at demacdonald@pei.sympatico.ca .
Now, in order to help you, I will give you the dates of birth of the family. Robert was born January 1849, and his 2nd wife Margaret November 1859. From his 1st marriage to Jessie Currie were born Robert Harold (June 1873), Ludlow (November 1875), James Daniel (December 1877), Jessie Winnifred (December 1879), Henry Marshall (August 1881), Parkman (August 1883), Frederick (May 1885), Susan Margaret Jane (August 1887), and Earle Goodspeed (October 1889). From the 2nd marriage were born John Spurgeon (January 1891), Arthur Emerson (August 1892), Hannah Belle (November 1894), Mary Victoria (December 1895), Minnie Laura (February 1898), Chrystie Doctor (May 1899), Gilbert Minto (April 1901), Edna May (May 1904), and William Robert (March 1907).
If you find these photos interesting, let me know, and I can post others of this family in casual scenes for you to identify also.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Relatives in Pro Sports
George A. Wood Baseball Card, from the United States Library of Congress Collection.
Some of you may know of Jenkins relatives who are active in professional sports. Lorie Kane, born in Charlottetown, PEI, has been an LPGA touring professional since 1995. Did you know that her great-great grandmother was Isabella Jenkins of Johnston’s River and Covehead, PEI? Dion Phaneuf is an All Star defenceman with the NHL Calgary Flames. Many of you are aware that his grandmother is Roma (Jenkins) Phaneuf of Summerside, PEI.
But I’ll bet many of you have not heard of baseball’s National League Home Run Champion from the family? He was almost certainly the first Prince Edward Island born player in the Majors. His name was George A. (Dandy) Wood.
Mary Ann Jenkins was born 12 March 1836 in Pownal, Lot 49, PEI, oldest daughter of James MacBriar (Scilly) Jenkins and Sarah Wood. She was married on 25 October 1855 at "Springfield", a pleasant farm in China point, Lot 50, to Joseph A. Wood, born in 1824 in Alexandra, Lot 49. Joseph was a first cousin of his mother-in-law Sarah. Mary and Joseph’s first child, George A. Wood, was born on 9 November 1858 in PEI, as were his siblings Amos (born about 1861) and Roscilla (born about 1863). Some time between 1863 and 1869, the family emigrated to the United States, settling in Boston, MA. There, about 1869, was born their fourth and last child Loronia. George was a great-great grandson of Nicholas (Henckel) Jenkins, our immigrant ancestor.
George began his professional baseball career on 1 May 1880 at age 21 with the Worcester Ruby Legs of the National League. This League had been founded in 1876 with eight teams, but there was a great turnover during those early turbulent years. Worcester, MA, joined the League in 1880, but was gone by the end of the 1882 season. With so many teams coming and going, players changed teams frequently, and George was no exception. After beginning his career with Worcester in 1880, he played with the Detroit Wolverines (1881-1885), Philadelphia Quakers (1886-1889), Philadelphia Athletics (1890-1891), Baltimore Orioles (1889, 1892), and Cincinnati Reds (1892). In 1891 he was both player and manager of the Athletics in the American Association. In 1881 he was among the National League leaders with a .421 slugging percentage. In 1882, his .269 batting average was well above the team average; the year in which he led the League in home runs and was runner up in triples.
Wood also participated in an early integrated baseball game. The Chicago Tribune reported on the game as follows: "A very singular contest took place at New Orleans, La., on April 4, 1880, when five Northern professionals succeeded in defeating the colored professional nine of that city by a score of 17 to 3." According to the account reported 14 months later in the Chicago Tribune of July 1881, Tim Keefe pitched, Charlie Bennett caught, John Sullivan played first base, while Wood and George Creamer "were entrusted with the onerous task of filling the other six positions."
George died on 4 April 1924 at age 65 in Harrisburg, PA. He was buried in Union Street Cemetery, Franklin, MA.
Article references included "The Baseball Page.com"; "baseball-reference.com"; "baseball-almanac.com"; and "wikipedia.org"
As usual, if you have any comments, please email me at demacdonald@pei.sympatico.ca
Some of you may know of Jenkins relatives who are active in professional sports. Lorie Kane, born in Charlottetown, PEI, has been an LPGA touring professional since 1995. Did you know that her great-great grandmother was Isabella Jenkins of Johnston’s River and Covehead, PEI? Dion Phaneuf is an All Star defenceman with the NHL Calgary Flames. Many of you are aware that his grandmother is Roma (Jenkins) Phaneuf of Summerside, PEI.
But I’ll bet many of you have not heard of baseball’s National League Home Run Champion from the family? He was almost certainly the first Prince Edward Island born player in the Majors. His name was George A. (Dandy) Wood.
Mary Ann Jenkins was born 12 March 1836 in Pownal, Lot 49, PEI, oldest daughter of James MacBriar (Scilly) Jenkins and Sarah Wood. She was married on 25 October 1855 at "Springfield", a pleasant farm in China point, Lot 50, to Joseph A. Wood, born in 1824 in Alexandra, Lot 49. Joseph was a first cousin of his mother-in-law Sarah. Mary and Joseph’s first child, George A. Wood, was born on 9 November 1858 in PEI, as were his siblings Amos (born about 1861) and Roscilla (born about 1863). Some time between 1863 and 1869, the family emigrated to the United States, settling in Boston, MA. There, about 1869, was born their fourth and last child Loronia. George was a great-great grandson of Nicholas (Henckel) Jenkins, our immigrant ancestor.
George began his professional baseball career on 1 May 1880 at age 21 with the Worcester Ruby Legs of the National League. This League had been founded in 1876 with eight teams, but there was a great turnover during those early turbulent years. Worcester, MA, joined the League in 1880, but was gone by the end of the 1882 season. With so many teams coming and going, players changed teams frequently, and George was no exception. After beginning his career with Worcester in 1880, he played with the Detroit Wolverines (1881-1885), Philadelphia Quakers (1886-1889), Philadelphia Athletics (1890-1891), Baltimore Orioles (1889, 1892), and Cincinnati Reds (1892). In 1891 he was both player and manager of the Athletics in the American Association. In 1881 he was among the National League leaders with a .421 slugging percentage. In 1882, his .269 batting average was well above the team average; the year in which he led the League in home runs and was runner up in triples.
Wood also participated in an early integrated baseball game. The Chicago Tribune reported on the game as follows: "A very singular contest took place at New Orleans, La., on April 4, 1880, when five Northern professionals succeeded in defeating the colored professional nine of that city by a score of 17 to 3." According to the account reported 14 months later in the Chicago Tribune of July 1881, Tim Keefe pitched, Charlie Bennett caught, John Sullivan played first base, while Wood and George Creamer "were entrusted with the onerous task of filling the other six positions."
George died on 4 April 1924 at age 65 in Harrisburg, PA. He was buried in Union Street Cemetery, Franklin, MA.
Article references included "The Baseball Page.com"; "baseball-reference.com"; "baseball-almanac.com"; and "wikipedia.org"
As usual, if you have any comments, please email me at demacdonald@pei.sympatico.ca
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Family Facts, Fiction & Future
FACTS:
How does the family of Nicholas (Henckel) Jenkins now appear? As a result of findings in Treysa, what changes are required to what has been previously presented here?
We know that Nicholas Jenkins was born Nikolaus Henckel on 28 March 1755 in Treysa, Germany to Johann Hermann Henckel and Anna Elisabeth Ott. He was baptized 31 March 1755, and confirmed in the Lutheran Church, Treysa in 1769 at the age of 14.
His military records show that he joined his regiment in April 1775 in Ziegenhain, Germany, having just turned 20 years old. He was listed as a Tambour (drummer) in the 3rd Company (von Minnigerode Company) of the Hessen-Kassel Regiment von Knyphausen. Regiment von Knyphausen departed the fortress at Ziegenhain for America on 3 March 1776. His time in America has been highlighted in a previous entry to this site of 11 Aug 2007.
We also know that while in America, 28 year old Nicholas Henckel was married 27 July 1783 to Betsey [Elizabeth] Robinson in the Presbyterian Church, Jamaica, Long Island, NY by Rev. Matthias Burnet. A few weeks later, on 15 August 1783, the soldiers of the Regiment von Knyphausen sailed from New York for Germany, and after two months arrived back in Ziegenhain on 16 October 1783. It was only about 5 km from there to his hometown of Treysa.
Nicholas and Elizabeth had the following children born while living in Treysa: Johann George Henckel was born 13 May 1784 in Treysa, nine months after they had departed New York. This is the oldest son, John Jenkins, who died in Prince Edward Island 20 Jun 1866. Susannah Henckel was born 19 months later on 15 Dec 1785 in Treysa. This is the Susannah Jenkins who died in Prince Edward Island 14 May 1884.
Nicolaus Henckel was listed in 1785 as a Master Shoemaker living with a Mrs. Entwichene in Treysa. His father, Johann Hermann Henkel, also a Master Shoemaker, died and was buried 28 May 1787. Church records say their "illegitimate child" Anna Maria, born in New York, died at 11pm on 27 Nov 1787 in Treysa, aged 9 years. She would have been born about 1778, or 5 years before they were married. The same death record says that the parents were "absconded" or "deserted", indicating that they had left Treysa before that date. Based on the records, it is probably safe to say that Nicholas, Elizabeth, John and Susannah left Treysa for Prince Edward Island in North America sometime between the deaths of his father and daughter, or between May and November 1787. This corresponds with the timing of fellow regimental drummers Wilhelm Fischer (later William Fisher) and Georg Weckesser or Weickerssen (later George Vickerson) also leaving the Treysa/Ziegenhain area with their families to settle in PEI. As to 12 year old Peter Baum who arrived on the Island with the Henckel family, we will discuss this below.
FICTION:
Which are the stories from family tradition that now should be considered fiction? Of course we realize that once something has been put in writing, whether true or false, it tends to take on a life of its own. And sometimes such stories or items become quoted as if they were prime sources themselves. Even prime source records may sometimes vary when compared with each other. For example, birth dates on tombstones or from census documents are usually less reliable than birth or baptism records from church documents because the date of recording is more distant from the event of record.
Henckel to Jenkins - The story persists that Nicholas anglicized his surname to Jenkins at the suggestion of Rev. Dr. Louis Charles Jenkins, Minister at St. Paul’s Anglican Church, Charlottetown, PEI. However, Rev. Jenkins wasn’t born until Aug 1797 in England, and the "Weekly Examiner" of 21 Nov 1884 says he didn’t emigrate to the Island until about 1820. Nicholas would have been 65 years old by that time, and have been an Island resident for 33 years. It should be noted that there have been numerous different spellings of all German immigrants names at the time. However, although named as Nicholas Jenkins in his will, it was signed "Nikolaus Henckell".
Another Marriage for Nicholas - There has never been anything to back up the tradition that Nicholas was previously married to anyone other than Elizabeth (Betsy) Robinson. The Edwards connection comes from Nicholas Henckel’s son Nicholas Jr.’s first marriage to Mary Edwards, not from Nicholas Senior. Her parents were reportedly James Edwards and Dobson McBriar, whose family came from the Isles of Scilly off the southwest tip of Cornwall, England.
Elizabeth Pfluger Married Lt. Col. Baum - Nothing has been found to date to back up the idea that Nicholas’ wife Elizabeth had been previously married to a German soldier surnamed Baum. She most certainly was never married to Lt. Col. Frederick Baum who was killed in the Battle of Bennington in Aug 1777. This is backed up by court records in Germany where Lt. Col. Baum’s widow, mistress and daughters fought over his estate, with no mention of a wife or child in America. And it is therefore also certain that Nicholas was never married to anyone with either the maiden or married surname of Pfluger, as this name came from a brother-in-law of the Lt. Col.
John & Susannah Born in Hannover - Family tradition has said that Nicholas’ oldest son John was born in Hanover, Germany about 1777, and that daughter Susannah was also born there about 1778 or 1779. We now know that no one in the family was born in Hannover.
Great Old Ages - The great old ages of some of Nicholas and Elizabeth’s children born in PEI contain errors. Some of these came from newspaper articles written either late in life or after some had died. Even the questionnaire answered by William Jenkins in old age contains an error in the year of his own birth. He could not possibly have been born in PEI in 1783, because his parents did not arrive on the Island until 1787. To this day, no church source has ever been found which records either birth or baptism for any of their children born in PEI.
FUTURE:
Where do we go from here? What are some of the major questions still outstanding, and where might we look for answers?
Anna Maria Henckel Birth Records - If Anna Maria Henckel was born to Nicholas and Elizabeth (or Betsy) in New York about 1778, is there a birth record to be found? Might her birth be found under her mother’s name as she and Nicholas were not yet married? She died in 1787, the year the rest of the family emigrated to the Island. William Jenkins, writing some 89 years later in 1876, said that a child named Mary had died on the passage. Since this would have been before William was born, is it possible that he was referring to the story he had heard of Maria dying in 1787, about the time of the passage? And why was she left behind in Treysa, and with whom? At this point we can only speculate that she was already very ill when they were to leave, and that she was left behind in the care of relatives.
Children born in PEI - Where are the records of birth and baptism of any of Nicholas and Elizabeth’s children who were born in PEI?
Relation to Peter Baum - Who are the parents of Peter Baum? And what is his relation to Nicholas and Elizabeth? According to newspaper accounts and court records of August 1792, Peter was a young boy of about 17 at that time. This would have him born about 1775, but where, and to whom? We know there were at one time Baum families living in Treysa, but no connection has yet been made with Peter. Why would 12 year old Peter have been included with Nicholas and Elizabeth’s family when they left Germany in 1787 to settle in PEI? Was he a child of Elizabeth before she met Nicholas?
As is usual in genealogy, for every puzzle you solve there are many unanswered questions remaining. Who among us will be the first with source records to establish answers to any of the questions posed above? If anyone has evidence to dispute the claims above, I would love to see the proof. If you have any ideas for possible means of arriving at these answers, please help the effort by emailing me at demacdonald@pei.sympatico.ca .
How does the family of Nicholas (Henckel) Jenkins now appear? As a result of findings in Treysa, what changes are required to what has been previously presented here?
We know that Nicholas Jenkins was born Nikolaus Henckel on 28 March 1755 in Treysa, Germany to Johann Hermann Henckel and Anna Elisabeth Ott. He was baptized 31 March 1755, and confirmed in the Lutheran Church, Treysa in 1769 at the age of 14.
His military records show that he joined his regiment in April 1775 in Ziegenhain, Germany, having just turned 20 years old. He was listed as a Tambour (drummer) in the 3rd Company (von Minnigerode Company) of the Hessen-Kassel Regiment von Knyphausen. Regiment von Knyphausen departed the fortress at Ziegenhain for America on 3 March 1776. His time in America has been highlighted in a previous entry to this site of 11 Aug 2007.
We also know that while in America, 28 year old Nicholas Henckel was married 27 July 1783 to Betsey [Elizabeth] Robinson in the Presbyterian Church, Jamaica, Long Island, NY by Rev. Matthias Burnet. A few weeks later, on 15 August 1783, the soldiers of the Regiment von Knyphausen sailed from New York for Germany, and after two months arrived back in Ziegenhain on 16 October 1783. It was only about 5 km from there to his hometown of Treysa.
Nicholas and Elizabeth had the following children born while living in Treysa: Johann George Henckel was born 13 May 1784 in Treysa, nine months after they had departed New York. This is the oldest son, John Jenkins, who died in Prince Edward Island 20 Jun 1866. Susannah Henckel was born 19 months later on 15 Dec 1785 in Treysa. This is the Susannah Jenkins who died in Prince Edward Island 14 May 1884.
Nicolaus Henckel was listed in 1785 as a Master Shoemaker living with a Mrs. Entwichene in Treysa. His father, Johann Hermann Henkel, also a Master Shoemaker, died and was buried 28 May 1787. Church records say their "illegitimate child" Anna Maria, born in New York, died at 11pm on 27 Nov 1787 in Treysa, aged 9 years. She would have been born about 1778, or 5 years before they were married. The same death record says that the parents were "absconded" or "deserted", indicating that they had left Treysa before that date. Based on the records, it is probably safe to say that Nicholas, Elizabeth, John and Susannah left Treysa for Prince Edward Island in North America sometime between the deaths of his father and daughter, or between May and November 1787. This corresponds with the timing of fellow regimental drummers Wilhelm Fischer (later William Fisher) and Georg Weckesser or Weickerssen (later George Vickerson) also leaving the Treysa/Ziegenhain area with their families to settle in PEI. As to 12 year old Peter Baum who arrived on the Island with the Henckel family, we will discuss this below.
FICTION:
Which are the stories from family tradition that now should be considered fiction? Of course we realize that once something has been put in writing, whether true or false, it tends to take on a life of its own. And sometimes such stories or items become quoted as if they were prime sources themselves. Even prime source records may sometimes vary when compared with each other. For example, birth dates on tombstones or from census documents are usually less reliable than birth or baptism records from church documents because the date of recording is more distant from the event of record.
Henckel to Jenkins - The story persists that Nicholas anglicized his surname to Jenkins at the suggestion of Rev. Dr. Louis Charles Jenkins, Minister at St. Paul’s Anglican Church, Charlottetown, PEI. However, Rev. Jenkins wasn’t born until Aug 1797 in England, and the "Weekly Examiner" of 21 Nov 1884 says he didn’t emigrate to the Island until about 1820. Nicholas would have been 65 years old by that time, and have been an Island resident for 33 years. It should be noted that there have been numerous different spellings of all German immigrants names at the time. However, although named as Nicholas Jenkins in his will, it was signed "Nikolaus Henckell".
Another Marriage for Nicholas - There has never been anything to back up the tradition that Nicholas was previously married to anyone other than Elizabeth (Betsy) Robinson. The Edwards connection comes from Nicholas Henckel’s son Nicholas Jr.’s first marriage to Mary Edwards, not from Nicholas Senior. Her parents were reportedly James Edwards and Dobson McBriar, whose family came from the Isles of Scilly off the southwest tip of Cornwall, England.
Elizabeth Pfluger Married Lt. Col. Baum - Nothing has been found to date to back up the idea that Nicholas’ wife Elizabeth had been previously married to a German soldier surnamed Baum. She most certainly was never married to Lt. Col. Frederick Baum who was killed in the Battle of Bennington in Aug 1777. This is backed up by court records in Germany where Lt. Col. Baum’s widow, mistress and daughters fought over his estate, with no mention of a wife or child in America. And it is therefore also certain that Nicholas was never married to anyone with either the maiden or married surname of Pfluger, as this name came from a brother-in-law of the Lt. Col.
John & Susannah Born in Hannover - Family tradition has said that Nicholas’ oldest son John was born in Hanover, Germany about 1777, and that daughter Susannah was also born there about 1778 or 1779. We now know that no one in the family was born in Hannover.
Great Old Ages - The great old ages of some of Nicholas and Elizabeth’s children born in PEI contain errors. Some of these came from newspaper articles written either late in life or after some had died. Even the questionnaire answered by William Jenkins in old age contains an error in the year of his own birth. He could not possibly have been born in PEI in 1783, because his parents did not arrive on the Island until 1787. To this day, no church source has ever been found which records either birth or baptism for any of their children born in PEI.
FUTURE:
Where do we go from here? What are some of the major questions still outstanding, and where might we look for answers?
Anna Maria Henckel Birth Records - If Anna Maria Henckel was born to Nicholas and Elizabeth (or Betsy) in New York about 1778, is there a birth record to be found? Might her birth be found under her mother’s name as she and Nicholas were not yet married? She died in 1787, the year the rest of the family emigrated to the Island. William Jenkins, writing some 89 years later in 1876, said that a child named Mary had died on the passage. Since this would have been before William was born, is it possible that he was referring to the story he had heard of Maria dying in 1787, about the time of the passage? And why was she left behind in Treysa, and with whom? At this point we can only speculate that she was already very ill when they were to leave, and that she was left behind in the care of relatives.
Children born in PEI - Where are the records of birth and baptism of any of Nicholas and Elizabeth’s children who were born in PEI?
Relation to Peter Baum - Who are the parents of Peter Baum? And what is his relation to Nicholas and Elizabeth? According to newspaper accounts and court records of August 1792, Peter was a young boy of about 17 at that time. This would have him born about 1775, but where, and to whom? We know there were at one time Baum families living in Treysa, but no connection has yet been made with Peter. Why would 12 year old Peter have been included with Nicholas and Elizabeth’s family when they left Germany in 1787 to settle in PEI? Was he a child of Elizabeth before she met Nicholas?
As is usual in genealogy, for every puzzle you solve there are many unanswered questions remaining. Who among us will be the first with source records to establish answers to any of the questions posed above? If anyone has evidence to dispute the claims above, I would love to see the proof. If you have any ideas for possible means of arriving at these answers, please help the effort by emailing me at demacdonald@pei.sympatico.ca .
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Final Day in Treysa
Inside the Henkel house, Treysa.
In the cellar of the Henkel house, showing the stone vaulted ceiling.
In the cellar showing old winding stone stairway up to the ground floor. Nearby is the former entrance to a tunnel.
We met our new friends again after breakfast on Day 3, and were given photocopies of Treysa church records. These included the marriage of Nicholas’s grandparents Johann Heinrich Henckel and Elizabeth Lotz in 1722, Nicholas’s parents Johann Herman Henckel and Anna Elizabeth Otto in 1752, and the baptism/christening (including birth date) of Nicholas himself in 1755. We were also given copies of some house records from the local Treysa archives. Among these were all owners of the Henkel house from 1623 to the present. This showed Henkel families owning the house continuously from 1730 to 1978. However, these Henkels were Bakers, not Shoemakers. Please see again the reference in the Treysa - Day One posting to the two families of Henkels in Treysa. You will recall that Nicholas’s widowed father remarried when Nicholas was 5 or 6 years old to Susanna Henkel, and that she was one of the "Baker Henkels", thus connecting the two families.
The previous day, our Genealogist friend had shown us a book entitled "Das Tagebuch des Sockenstrickers Johann Valentin Asteroth aus Treysa (1776-1831)". It was the diary of a soldier, born in Treysa, which was kept during the time of the American Revolution. His experiences and details of life as a soldier in Ziegenhain and America, and the journey to and from, would have been almost identical to that of Nicholas. Today, our friend insisted that he give us this book to further help with our research.
Before leaving to visit the town again, we showed a copy of family trees of both Evelyn and I to point out other common German ancestors in our past. These included not only Nicholas Henckel, but also John (Eichorn) Acorn and Peter (Baum) Ballem. As soon as we mentioned Peter Baum, we heard the word "Juden", Jewish. There had indeed been Baum families in Treysa, and that they had been Jewish. We mentioned that 32 year old Nicholas Henckel and family had left Germany for Prince Edward Island, Canada in 1787, and that young Peter Baum, a boy of about 12, was with them. They were quite excited and pleased about the story of a German family helping a young Jewish boy. Later that morning we were given a document for another house in Treysa which had been sold by an Abraham Baum in August 1937, presumably shortly before they left Hitler’s Germany. Our friends were going to dig deeper to see what might be found of any Baum in Treysa about 1787, specifically for any mention of Peter, and a possible reason for a connection between the Baum and Henckel families.
After thanking our friends very much for their help, we set out to see if we could get inside the Henkel house. The ground floor is now a bar, Bistro Copas, and we went in to have a coffee as soon as they opened that morning. The lady did not speak English, but went next door to fetch someone who could. Who should appear but the same man whom we had met each of the previous two days, and who owned the Henkel house. He quickly excused himself, returning with a photo of the interior as it had been before extensive restoration in the 1990s. He also had a flashlight, and proceeded to take us on a tour of the cellar below the house. It had a vaulted stone ceiling and winding stone stairs that had previously lead up to the ground floor. There had also at one time been a tunnel which lead from the cellar though the lower levels of many other buildings down toward the river a great distance away. After taking more photos, he joined us for coffee in the Bistro Copas.
After picking up our luggage at the Hotel Stadt, and a final thanks and farewell, we were off to catch the noon train for Frankfurt and our return home. We cannot say enough about how friendly and helpful the people were that we had met. Without their efforts we still would have had a pleasant visit to the area of our ancestors. But because of how friendly they were and all that they did for us during our short stay, we have gained so much more information about Nicholas, his family, the town of Treysa where he lived, and the fortress of Ziegenhain where he was a soldier, than we might have hoped for. The people, scenery, and history were all first class We have made numerous friends, and hope to visit again. If you ever get a chance to visit Germany, we would highly recommend including a visit to Schwalmstadt if at all possible.
While this visit is finished, the work is not. In the coming days and weeks the information provided in German will be reviewed for additional details on Nicholas, his family, and his community. And the new information will be incorporated into what was previously known to give a revised and updated look at this part of our family. Stay tuned for more updates. Meanwhile, what do you think of the findings so far? Do you have any observations, questions, or suggestions for lines of further research? Please add you comments below, or email to me at demacdonald@pei.sympatico.ca .
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Day 2 in Treysa (continued)
Stadtkirche, Treysa.
Church where generations of Henkels worshipped.
Entrance to Stadtkirche, Treysa.
Hospital of the Holy Ghost, Treysa.
Stadtkirche, Ziegenhain.
Nicholas worshipped here before leaving for war in America in 1776.
Interior of Stadtkirche, Ziegenhain.
Museum der Schwalm, Ziegenhain.
Regimental drums, Museum der Schwalm.
As Regimental Drummer, Nicholas would have drums identical to these.
Following closely on the genealogical update, we were told that the Evangelische Kirche (Protestant Church) in Treysa of the mid 1700s still existed, the Stadtkirche. It had been part of a Dominican cloister since about 1350, but in 1531 Landgrave Philip, in support of the Reformation, converted it to the Protestant parish church. We asked if there was a cemetery connected with the church, hoping to check out the headstones for a Henkel ancestor. The law in Germany, however, permits the reuse of graves after 30 years. People from the same families were usually buried with others in the family plot, so headstones/markers would be of little use after many years.
He told us that he personally knew the last male Henkel, who died about 50 years ago at about 30 years of age, and that the house sold some years later. This, of course, meant that he knew where the Henkels lived, and would take us to the house. It turns out that it is only about 25 meters from the Rathaus (Town Hall), and we had unknowingly taken pictures it of the previous evening. He would also get additional information on the history of the house.
We then went for a short walk to see the Henkel house, take some photos, and then met the current owner who also has a business next door. He was the same man who had helped us find an Internet Café the evening before. After excusing himself for a few minutes, he returned with legal documents of sale of the Henkel house to his family in 1975. Of course, I took photos of those as well. Then it was off to take photos of the church where Nicholas Henkel’s family had worshipped. This was where his grandparents and parents had been married, and where Nicholas’s birth and baptism/christening had been recorded. Then it was off to see the Hospital of the Holy Ghost, a medieval charity institution for the needy, aged and infirm, first mentioned in a document from 1367. Part of it now contains the local Treysa archives, which would be searched for records on the Henkel house.
In the afternoon, Evelyn and I took a taxi to Ziegenhain, the fortress about 5 km from Treysa where Nicholas had been a regimental Drummer. This was also where Nicholas departed in March 1776 headed for war in America, and to which he had returned in 1783 following the war. As the Museum der Schwalm was not to open for about an hour, we headed to the local Information Office. The lady there spoke English, could not have been more friendly, and while giving us a brochure on Ziegenhain, made arrangements for a personalized tour of the town for 4:00 pm. She also said she would deliver a photocopy of some papers on Hessian Troops from Ziegenhain to our hotel that evening.
After taking many more photos around Ziegenhain, we were the first into the Museum der Schwalm. Again, a volunteer spoke English, was most helpful, and after hearing of our connection to the town took us on a personalized tour of the exhibits. Among the displays was one of a shoemaker shop, just as Nicholas would have grown up in under the watchful eye of his Master Shoemaker father Johann Hermann Henkel. Also on display were original regimental drums identical to that used by Nicholas. Local clothing, furniture, handcrafts, etc. were also on display. At 4:00 pm we met our guide, who explained the significance of each of the historical old sites in the town, all of which would have been familiar to Nicholas. Included among those was the Protestant Church within the Fort where Nicholas would have attended services before heading off to war. Then it was time to get a taxi back to Treysa, tired but pleased with all of the information received.
Shortly after this, while going out to take evening photos of the older area of Treysa again, we crossed paths with the lady from the Information Office in Ziegenhain. She had a copy of 7 pages from a story of Hessian Troops from Ziegenhain for us as promised earlier. Without exception, everyone we met in Schwalmstadt either spoke English, or made an effort to help us find someone who could. And being a small town, we kept crossing paths with people we had met before, although we had only been there a little over 24 hours. That the area was not spoiled by flocks of tourists was confirmed when we could find no one who could think of any place to buy a souvenir of the town. (To be continued)
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