Paper and Threads

There is a break this week in our lessons in the Studying Under the Masters course, so I decided to post information about my other Winter activities.

1.  Our grandchildren:  We took 8 year old Robbie and 4 year old Zach to the Museum of Modern Art last week to listen to the Children's audioguide.  The museum has short, interesting commentaries for about 15 of their major art works in the permanent collection.  Here they are listening to the commentary about Matisse's painting The Piano Lesson.  All of our grandchildren love to do this.

2.  Surface Design:  This semester I'm taking a surface design class at Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) - fifteen 4 hour lab sessions using dye to paint on silk.  I have some experience with these techniques, but thought it would be fun to study with an artist from FIT. 

Here is a watercolor painting of one of 6 butterflies that I "drew" with gutta and water soluble resists on silk and painted with Sennelier dyes.   I also painted it as a watercolor so I would have an entry in my daily art journal. 

3.  Family Research:   I signed up for Family History Writing Month in February and decided to write a story  (at least 250 words per day) about my Great-great-great-great grandmother Christina Wampler.  She was kidnapped by the Delaware Indians in Lancaster Co. PA in 1757, during the French-Indian War, and was returned with 206 captives to Carlisle PA in 1764.  The British took 1500 soldiers to the Ohio Valley to force the Delaware, Shawnee, and Mingo Indians to sign a peace treaty and return their captives.  Her kidnapping and return were both reported in the PA Gazette (Benjamin Franklin, editor) and here is part of the handwritten captive list that I obtained from the Clements Rare Manuscript Library at the University of Michigan.

She is #40 on this scanned portion of the list and was returned with one shirt, 1 legging, 1 shoe pack and 1 blanket.  I don't know her age when she was kidnapped, but the fact that she was able to tell soldiers her full name after living with the Indians for 7 years and speaking their language, makes me assume that she was probably older than 4-5 years.  Notice a captive named Flat Nose right below her - this is obviously a name given by the Indians.  There are also captives listed with only their first names.  She married Peter Graybeal, had a large family, lived in Ashe Co, NC and died in Jackson Co. Ohio.

I'm hoping that someone with more information about her may find this entry in a Google Search.  I exchange information with other Graybeal descendants, but there is so much more to learn. 

Posted by Shirley at 5:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

This is the third of 4 blog posts in which I will outline information about one of my 4 grandparents and their ancestral line.

I started doing family research (genealogy) in 2000, using old fashioned methods.  I went back generation by generation using records on microfilm at the National Archives branch in NYC, the New York Public Library, and the NY Muncipal Archives - and obtained birth, marriage, death, census, passenger list, and naturalization documents for each ancestor.  After several years and many generations, I reached brick walls in each line, due to lack of existing records.  In the process I met distant cousins through genealogy message boards, and became friends and co-researchers with many of them.

I recently read that CURRENT genealogic researchers rarely use Genealogy message boards, but instead "google" names of interest, so blogs are now the most important method of making connections.  I therefore decided I would post information on each of my 4 ancestral lines here on my blog - which is usually used to share my art and textile passions.  This will be an extra post each month.

My father was born in Virginia and lived there and in West Virginia until he was a young man.  He then moved North to New Jersey and several years later met and married my mother.  I barely knew my "Southern" relatives, but since learned that my Paternal Grandfather's ancestors arrived in America early enough to include Revolutionary and Civil War soldiers and even a child kidnaped in the French-Indian War and returned 7 years later in a prisoner exchange at Fort Pitt.

My grandparents, Robert Cleveland Parker and Mary Ethel Sheffield. met in Washington Co. Virginia and eloped to be married in Bristol TN.  

Cleve Parker was born in Ashe Co. NC to Thomas Jefferson Parker and Rachel Alice Graybeal. 

Tom's parents were John Parker and Elizabeth Fair and this is as far as I can trace the Parker line.  I have US census information for John and Elizabeth from 1850 (Johnson Co. TN) to their deaths in Ashe Co. NC.  I researched all of the Wilkes and Ashe Co Parker Families from 1800 to 1840 and I'm looking for proof that John was the son of David Parker from Wilkes Co. NC.  I have no other information on Elizabeth Fair.

Rachel's parents were Jacob Graybeal and Rachel Catherine Shoun.  The Shoun family lived in Johnson Co. TN, adjacent to Ashe Co NC.  Other names in her family:  Andrew Shoun, Elizabeth Powell, Leonard Shoun, Barbary Slemp.

Jacob's parents were Peter Graybeal Jr. and Mary Burkett and his grandparents were Peter Graybeal Sr. and Christina Wampler.  I did lots of research on Christina Wampler and have copies of original reports of her kidnapping as a child in PA by the Delaware Indians in 1757 and return in 1764 as part of a big prisoner exchange arranged by Lt. Henry Bouquet for General Gage - head of the British Forces in America during the French-Indian War.  She and Peter probably married in Maryland and then settled in Ashe Co. NC. 

I would be delighted to exchange information with other researchers of any of these families.

Posted by Shirley at 6:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

This is the second of 4 monthly blog posts in which I will outline information about one of my 4 grandparents and their ancestral line.  Last month I posted information about my Maternal Grandfather William J. Ross and his ancestral line. 

This month I will post information about my Maternal Grandmother, Bernadine Gillis, and her ancestral line.

This is Bernadine Gillis as a young woman - date unknown

Here is another photo of my maternal grandparents William and Bernadine.  The first appeared in last month's posting.

I started doing family research (genealogy) in 2000, using old fashioned methods.  I went back generation by generation using records on microfilm at the National Archives branch in NYC, the New York Public Library, the NY Muncipal Archives, and the State of New Jersey - and obtained available birth, marriage, death, census, passenger list, and naturalization documents for each ancestor.  After several years and many generations, I reached brick walls in each line, due to lack of existing records.  In the process I met distant cousins through genealogy message boards, and became friends and co-researchers with many of them.

I recently read that CURRENT genealogic researchers rarely use Genealogy message boards, but instead "google" names of interest, so blogs are now the most important method of making connections.  I therefore decided I would post information on each of my 4 ancestral lines here on my blog - which is usually used to share my art and textile passions.  This will be an extra post each month.

Bernadine Gillis was born 23 January 1894 in Paterson, NJ to Margaret Roegiers and Heli Gillis.  She married William J. Ross in Paterson on 28 Apr 1915 and together they had 7 children, including my mother. 

Bernadine's mother, Margaret Roegiers, was born in Paterson NJ on 26 Mar 1870,  married Heli Gillis in Paterson, NJ on  25 June 1889, and died there on 28 Nov 1914.  Together they had 7 children, but only my grandmother had children, making the Gillis family difficult to study.  

                                     Margaret Roegiers

Margaret's father, Peter Roegiers, was born  17 Jul 1837 in Waterland-Oudeman (Sint-Laureins), District Eeklo, East Flanders, Belgium, and arrived in New York on 25 Dec. 1863.

He married Mary DeSilva Dalinger (ca 1960-63), but no marriage certificate was found.  Mary was previously married and had one child.  Her father, Louis, and Stepmother Virginie  DeSilva, came to the US with Peter Roegiers on 25 Dec 1863.  Together Mary and Peter Roegiers had 10 children. 

Here is a Roegiers family photo, with Margaret seated in the first row, second from the left - next to her parents Mary and Peter.  While doing research on the Roegiers family I connected with descendents of several other Roegiers children.  Three of us met regularly, shared our information, and did more research together.  This photo was given to me by one of them.

Margaret Roegier's husband, Heli Gillis, was born in Eeklo, Belgium on 10 Oct 1866 and immigrated to the US ca 1883-4.  His parents, Petrus Gillia and Virginie Aercke, and siblings Alice, Rene, Helena, Modeste/Morris, Charles also arrived in the early 1880s.  A 7th child, Frederick, was born in Paterson NJ.  I have no pictures of my great grandfather Heli or his family. 

I will be happy to share information with any other descendents of these ancestors.

Posted by Shirley at 4:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

This is the first of 4 monthly blog posts in which I will outline information about one of my 4 grandparents and their ancestral line.

I started doing family research (genealogy) in 2000, using old fashioned methods.  I went back generation by generation using records on microfilm at the National Archives branch in NYC, the New York Public Library, and the NY Muncipal Archives - and obtained birth, marriage, death, census, passenger list, and naturalization documents for each ancestor.  After several years and many generations, I reached brick walls in each line, due to lack of existing records.  In the process I met distant cousins through genealogy message boards, and became friends and co-researchers with many of them.

I recently read that CURRENT genealogic researchers rarely use Genealogy message boards, but instead "google" names of interest, so blogs are now the most important method of making connections.  I therefore decided I would post information on each of my 4 ancestral lines here on my blog - which is usually used to share my art and textile passions.  This will be an extra post each month.

 MY MATERNAL GRANDPARENTS:   WILLIAM JAMES ROSS AND BERNADINE GILLIS ROSS

William J Ross was born in 1890 in Jersey City NJ to Lindsay Ross (born 1867 Ballynaghy, Seagoe Parish, PLU Lurgan, County Armagh) and Anna Elizabeth Ballance (birth record not found in Ireland, but siblings were born in Co. Armagh). 

   MY GREAT GRANDFATHER LINDSAY ROSS  (1867-91)

    MY GREAT GRANDMOTHER ANNA ELIZABETH BALLANCE ROSS  (CA 1865 - 1953)

Both Lindsay and Anna immigrated to the United States from County Armagh in Northern Ireland in 1888 (Apr and Sept. respectively).  They sailed separately and married here in Dec 1888.  Lindsay died in Feb. 1891, when my grandfather William was one year old and Anna remained in America, raising her son.  They lived in Paterson NJ (Passaic County) and then Totowa NJ (Passaic Co.) until their deaths in 1980 (Wm) and 1953 (his mother Anna).  I have both wooden chests that Anna brought to this county with all of her belongings, her gold wedding ring, and silver thimble).

Lindsay's Mom, Sarah Curry Ross came to the US with her 3 youngest children after her husband William Ross died in County Armagh in Dec 1890.  She died in New York City in Dec. 1903.

Anna's Mom, Mary Johnston Ballance, came to America in Mar 1891 to help Anna with her new son and she died in Passaic Co, NJ in Sept. 1908.  Her husband James, a linen weaver, died in County Armagh Ireland in 1899.

The family names in this ancestral line include:  William Ross, Sarah Curry Ross, James Ballance, Mary Johnston Ballance, James Johnston, George Ross, John Curry Jr,, Elizabeth Lindsay Curry, John Curry Sr. and Mary Atcheson Curry.

I would be delighted to exchange information with anyone researching these Irish families. 

NEXT MONTH:  My maternal Grandmother Bernadine Gillis Ross' Flemish ancestors.

Posted by Shirley at 2:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)