My ancestor, Catherine Harshbarger-Deardorff is described beautifully in, "A History of the Descendants of Jacob and Maria Eva Harshbarger of Switzerland":

"She was a woman full of life and energy, even in her old age, ever cheerful and disposed to look on the bright side of all things...She could never be idle, regularly retiring at 9 o'clock and arose at 4.  Her disposition was mild, yet firm.  She never manifested anger...she had little education, but was an intelligent conversationalist, and her memory was so good that she was authority on Scripture, of which she was very fond.  She and her husband were Dunkards and her home was the 'meeting house' for many years.  Her hospitality for strangers and the homeless was unsurpassed...she was among the first to visit the sick and afflicted, her skill as a nurse was well known and her services were more often sought after than that of a doctor."

Mrs. Catherine Deardorff,

from "Faces from the Past" by Beverly Whitaker

Please pay your respects to my ancestor at:

Find A Grave

Schwarzenau Brethren

Left to right:
Nannie Deardorff-Brown, David Deardorff, Mabel Deardorff-Garman

Thanks to digging into my Dad's maternal line and laughing my head off at the antics of Dwight Schrute on The Office, I've lately been very fascinated with my Brethren roots.

According to Related Families of Botetourt Court, Virginia, my 6th generation great-grandmother, Mrs. Anna Eva AMMEN, (nee RANCK) "...became a Dunkard but Durst [her husband] refused to change his religion...Her Presbyterian parents considered she had committed a grave sin by becoming a Dunkard."

No doubt it was Eva's religious beliefs that influence her descendants.  Daughter, Barbara (my 5th generation great-grandmother) married Christian HARSHBARGER, also a Dunkard, and their daughter Catherine (my 4th generation great-grandmother) married John Jacob DEARDORFF, another Dunkard.  John and Catherine's son, David and wife Eva (née RONK- a relative of my 6th great-grandmother, Anna Ranck-Ammen), opened his home to Dunkard meetings in Cedar County, Missouri, before a church was built there. 

The Deardorff family has Dunkard roots going back nearly 300 years to Anthony Deardorff, who according to the Encyclopedia of the History of Missouri Vol. 2, was "...a German Dunkard minister, who left his native country on account of religious persecution, and immigrated to America in 1729..."  When my father, who was raised by his grandmother, told me that as a young boy he went to the Church of the Brethren, I was not very surprised.  But that is where my family connection to the Brethren ends (though I now wonder if my longing of a simpler way of life has been somehow imprinted in my DNA).

In the upcoming weeks, I will be researching my roots through The Church of the Brethren Network.  Besides learning more about my direct ancestors, I will be studying when the Brethren began to adopt modern technology and began to live life a bit differently than their Amish and Mennonite cousins in faith.  I am also very interested in how their religion influenced their cooking (my grandmother was an incredible cook, and I believe she learned to cook from her Deardorff mother).

Van Salee

It is difficult enough with all of the Van Sickle research I tackle; I will not dive too far into the Van Salee gene pool.  For the most part, I will leave that to others.  I foresee a great deal of confusion on the part of the Van Salee researcher.  Jan JANSZOON, the man, is fast becoming lost in a sea of fiction, but Jan Janszoon, the pirate, fueled by modern-day plays and poems, and a current pirate craze in Hollywood, is once again raising his flag and sailing in the perilous Mediterranean of the early 17th century.

But as stated, I'm not wading too far into those waters.  My search for all Van Sickles (especially those tricky 18th century ones) continues.  It was when searching for one tricky relative when lo and behold I found the will of one France Abramse VAN SELLEA (a purported descendant of Jan Janszoon.)  Because the Van Sickle and Van Salee paths often flow parallel here on land, I do know something about the family, mainly in regard to the relationship of Anthony Jansen of Salee and his daughter Eva (Mrs. Ferdinandus Van Sicklen).  There are enough muddy waters there- the claim that Anthony was the son of Jan Janszoon is likely, but not proven.  The claim that Ferdinandus Van Sicklen is related to the VAN DER SICKLEN family of Belgium is downright hysterical when one learns how that information came to be, but it still may be possible.  But I digress.

I did say that I located the will of France Abramse Van Sellea.  Now according to records1, France (Frans) was the son of Abraham Van Salee, a mulatto, and likely a brother of Anthony Van Salee.   Frans is an important person in Van Salee history.  From my own research I have concluded that Anthony had no other sons, and that all descendants of the Van Salee name are through Frans (such as John Van Salee DE GRASSE).

A portion of the will of France Abramse Van Salle can be found online, but for those serious about researching this family, the entire will would be much enjoyed (there is a probate as well, but due to its length, I will not include it.).  To follow is my transcription of a transcribed copy (that's right, transcribed at least twice now) of the will of France Abramse Van Sellea (aka Frans Abramse Van Salee):

The Will of France Abramse Van Sellea2

In the name of God Amen the third day of May in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and thirty seven I France Abramse Van Sellea in the County of Orange in the Province of New York being very sick & weak in body but of perfect mind and memory thanks be given to God therefore calling unto mind the mortality of my body & knowing it is appointed for all men once to Dye do make & Ordain this my last Will & Testament that is to say principally first of all I give and recommend my Soul into the hands of God that gave it & for my body I recommend it to the Earth to be buried in a Christian & like & decent manner at the discretion of my Executors nothing doubting but at the General Resurrection I shall receive the same again by the mighty power of God & touching such Worldly Estate where with it hath blessed God to bless me in this Life I give devise and dispose of the same in the following manner and form Imprimis It is my will and I do order that in the first place all my just debts and bequeath unto my dearly beloved Wife whome I Constitute make and ordain one of my Executrixs of this my last Will and Testament all and singular the Lands messuages and Tenements and with all my moveable Estate that I now Dye possess'd of by her freely to be possess'd and Injoy'd during her being my Widdow but in case my beloved Wife should compleat a second marriage then I give and bequeath to my wel beloved son France Van Sellea Junr. whome  I constitute make Ordain one of my Executors of this my last Will and Testament after my dearly beloved Wife Death Isabala or at her second marriage all and singular the Lands messuages and Tenements with all my moveable Estate that I shall now Dye possess'd of I do give to the above named France Van Sellea my youngest son aforementioned all my Lands and moveable Estate by him freely to be possess'd by him his heirs and assignes for ever, Item I give to my well beloved son Abram Van Sellea one of the best horses that Wife Isabella shall Dye possess'd of and that my youngest Son France Van Sellea Junr. one of my Executors shall deliver unto his Eldest Brother Abraham Van Sellea one of my best horses after a Decease or a second marriage of my Wife Isabella, Further it is my Will and pleasure that in case my dearly beloved Wife Isabella whome I give all my Lands and moveable Estate to during her Life or my Widdow but in case she should Dye or marry again after my Decease then as before mentioned I give all of my Lands and moveable Estate to my youngest Son France Van Sellea Junr.

France Abrams (his mark) Van Sellea (SS)
In the presence of Arie Koning, Johannis De Gran, Johannes Remsen.

One of my Executors and further out of my Estate I give unto my Eldest Son Abram Van Sellea twelve pounds ten shillings and unto my Daughter Anna Mary Van Sellea I do give twelve pounds ten shillings and I do give unto my Second Son Cuffeen Prime Van Sellea twelve pounds ten shillings and I do give unto my third Son Casper Prime Van Sellea twelve pounds ten shillings which in all makes fifty pounds which said fifty pound my youngest Son France Van Sellea shall pay unto my three Sons and Daughters in Current Lawfull money of New York each of them twelve pounds ten shillings as aforest in this my last Will and Testament but if any of my Sons and Daughter before mentioned should Dye before or after my Decease and leave no Issue of their Bodys Lawfully begotten them I give them Legacies to my youngest Son France Van Sellea Junr. my Executor in case of their Death without Issue and further I give and bequeath unto Marya Salmons my Wifes Daughter one Cow, it is further my Will that after my Wifes Isabella Decease or a second marriage that my youngest Son France Van Sellea Junr. whom I give all my Land and moveable Estate to Except the fore mentioned Legacies shall pay unto my forementioned children the abovesaid fifty pounds in Lawfull money of New York in a twelve months time or a year time after the Decease of my Wife or a second marriage and further my Son France Van Sellea Junr. shall deliver a Cow to Marya Salmons my Wifes Daughter in a year after my Wife Isabella Decease or second marriage and I do hereby utterly disallow revoke and disannull all and every other former Testament Wills Legacies and Executors by me in any ways before this Time named Will and bequeathed Ratifying and Confirming this and no other to be my last Will and Testament In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand & Seal the day and year before written.

France Abramse (his mark) Van Sellea (SS)
Signed Sealed Published Pronounced & Declared by the said France Abramse Van Sellea Senr. as his last Will and Testamt. in the presence of us the Subscribers (Viz. this my Will Contains two sheets, Johannes Remsen, Arie Koning, Johannes De Gran.

P.S.  Mr. Howard Swain's post from 2005 sums up the connection of the Van Salee family quite accurately.

1New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Vol. 121, No. 2, Apr. 1990, "Frans Abramse Van Salee and Descendants- Colonial Black Family in NY and NJ", pgs. 65-71.

2Record of Wills, 1665-1916; Index to Wills, 1662-1923, Vol. 13 1736-1741, Film #874522, New York Surrogate's Court, filmed by The Genealogical Society of Utah, 1971.

Take A Second Look

We all have ancestors that we researched diligently, then thinking we have found enough, have put them aside for a while.  Well, I learned a lesson tonight:  keep searching!

I found that earlier this year, my great-great grandmother's death notices were placed online.  Mitch Ryder, County Coordinator at Clackamas County USGenWeb posted the notices.  He also sent me a picture of her gravestone many years ago.  What a nice man!

Van Sickle Family Genealogy And History

I forgot all about sharing the Facebook site I created on the Van Sickle family here at my blog.  Check it out:

Van Sickle Family Genealogy And History

I still run the family site at Ancestry.com too, but I had a lot of complaint about how it was difficult to find things there.  I agree, but unfortunately the format really limits the way things can be shared.  I also thought that it would be easier for Van Sickle researchers to find and share info. through Facebook since search engines pick up on what is listed at Facebook.  So it's going to be interesting to see if I can juggle it all without making it a big tangled mess.

My AncestryDNA Results

So not so long ago I ordered Ancestry.com's new DNA test.  Known as AncestryDNA, this is a genetic ethnicity.  I wanted to see if a genetic test would prove/disprove some family stories I've learned after years of tracing my tree.  I wanted to see if there was a different story to tell behind my Western European looking appearance.  Basically, I wanted the test because it sounded like fun.

So let me first explain what I knew of my ancestry before getting the results.  The paternal ancestry of my mom's father is unknown.  His mother was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, and so were her ancestors for as far back as at least 400 years.  My mom's mom is from England.  Most of her family has been in Derbyshire for hundreds of years.  

On my dad's maternal side, one line came to America from Germany in the early 1700's, and married into a family who came from France at about the same time.  These families traveled together from the east coast to a tiny little area in Missouri in the mid 1850's.   It was in this area where my dad's mom was born.  There has always been strong sense of Germanic roots on my grandma's side.  My dad's paternal side is predominantly Dutch, with bits of brick walls with surnames like "Johnson" and "Stone" thrown into the mix.  I can trace almost all of my dad's lines back to colonial America, which has been by far the most surprising thing I have learned about my ancestry.  

I'm a mutt.

And so with my mom's British roots and my dad's colonial roots, it came as no surprise that the ethnicity test revealed that nearly half of my ancestors came from the British Isles. C'mon, my grandma (my mom's mom) has an English accent!

My next largest percentage was from Southern Europe, which the test defined as Italy, Spain, and Portugal.  Understanding the migration patterns that humans have taken, a large result in this category was not a surprise. 

The next largest percentage came from Scandinavia.  When I began researching my family tree years ago, I learned that I have a very strong Swedish ancestry (Swedish royalty, in fact).  So again, no surprise.

And I can trace nearly the same percentage of my ancestry back to Eastern Europe.  This was a surprise since I cannot trace any one ancestor to this region of the world.  There are no surnames in my tree that hint to this region, yet the test shows I have ancestors who were originally from anywhere from as north as modern day Estonia or as far south as the ancient civilization of Greece.

Here is the biggest surprise:  although I have MANY ancestors with French and German names, who were born in either France or Germany, I have no genetic connection to the indigenous people of this area.  That really was something I wasn't expecting. 

One of the most puzzling results of my ethnicity test was that I am 4% Uncertain.  Uncertain??  So far I have been unable to find out what that means exactly.  Perhaps the stories of a Cherokee woman on my WORSHAM line are true.  Maybe Anthony VAN SALEE was the son of a Moroccan woman.  Are the percentages of these people so small in my blood that it comes up as uncertain?  Or am I really part bunny?

Here are my specific results:

British Isles 48%
Southern European 23%
Scandinavian 13%
Eastern European 12%
Uncertain 4%

You may be wondering how I feel about the results.  If I were to pick a favorite, it would have to be the 4% uncertain result.  I am glad that it is not known at this time.  For me, the 4% represents a belief of mine that we are all genetically related, that we're all cousins.  And while having a 100% ethnicity determination would not disprove that we are all genetically related, an uncertain number to me kind of backs up my belief.  No matter which groups make up that final 4%, I am just happy to be me!

I am also a bit more inspired to start digging again at some of those brick walls.  I know I will NEVER be able to trace every last ancestor, but anyone who tinkers with their genealogy will agree that it is fun to try.

James Hixon Van Sickle

I noticed that Ancestry.com has updated their U.S. Passport Applications.  I love looking through these, especially since many of them contain photographs.  So of course I searched for the Van Sickle name!  The early Van Sickles named James are a very tricky bunch, but I recognized James Hixon Van Sickle's name when I came across it.  I checked my file and noticed that though I had some specific information on the gentleman and his descendants, Mr. Van Sickle's ancestry was incomplete.

Passports can contain a lot of important information.  James Hixon Van Sickle's passport lists his date of birth, city and state of birth, and the name and birth place of his father.  It confirmed the educator's biography which was published in the Encyclopedia of Massachusetts, Volume 3.  James, the son of John Landis Van Sickle (1821-1891) and Alexina CURTIS (1828-1875), was born in South Livonia, Livingston county, New York in 1852.  Previous research showed that John was the son of James Van Sickle (1796-1871) and Hannah LANDIS (1802-1884).

Photograph of James Hixon Van Sickle

taken from passport issued 17 June 1920

A simple Google search resulted in finding out that James Hixon Van Sickle died in 1926, but I wanted to know the specific date of his death.  It was no problem to locate an obituary for such an accomplished gentleman:

  Boston Herald

13 February 1926

Feeling confident that all that I had researched on James Hixon Van Sickle's ancestry thus far was correct, I felt it time to focus my attention on James Van Sickle and Hannah Landis, the earliest known ancestors of James Hixon Van Sickle.  I was having a big issue with this couple.  I was having a hard time locating the couple in any early census records.  I also could not find their marriage record.

I know that James Hixon Van Sickle was born in Livingston county, New York in 1852.  Trying all sorts soundex and various other searches finally showed the couple living exactly where they should have been, in the town of Livonia from 1830 through 1880.  Remember my post on the spelling of the surname?  The family was listed in the 1850 Census Index as "VANLISLE".  The actual image listed "VAN SICLE".  This search was so frustrating but it may end up being very rewarding, for in the household of the family was an Ann Sicle, age 75 (born circa 1775), and born in Pennsylvania.  Perhaps this Ann was James's mother, an aunt, or maybe even an ancestor of Hannah Landis (and was just listed incorrectly as a Van Sickle).  It is a name worth remembering.

James Hixon Van Sickle's passport had one more important bit of information.  It listed that his father was born in Warren county, New Jersey.  Formed from Sussex county in 1824, a great many of the Van Sickle lines resided in Warren county in the early 19th century (and they still do).  John Landis Van Sickle was born in 1821, before Warren county existed.  He was most likely born in the then Sussex county.  It is a good place to check for a marriage record for his parents. 

There was no decent match when I searched the marriage records of Sussex county for a James Van Sickle, but I found that in 1819, the index shows there was a Hannah Landis who married a Mr. James VAN DYKE.  I have seen the Van Sickle name spelled in various ways, but never Van Dyke, a legitimate name of its own.  Once again, I checked the actual document, and this is what I found.  The last line reads:

 

"Dec. 16- James Vansyckle Jr to Hannah Landis

both of Oxford"

From New Jersey, County Marriages, 1862-1956 

Now my research has taken me about to another generation, to a James Van Sickle, Senior, who may or may not have been married to a lady called Ann, born circa 1775.  And now I am stuck.

There were a few called James Van Sickle (Van Syckle, etc), who lived in 18th century Sussex county.  At least one of them lived in Warren county after it's formation, and he is buried there in the First Presbyterian Churchyard.  This James Van Sickle, according to his gravestone, died on August 1, 1830 at the age of 83 years, 2 months, and 9 days (making his birth date 23 May 1747).  His wife was buried there as well, along with others with the surname.  He is likely the brother of Andrew Van Sickle.

And there is actually another James Van Sickle who lived in Livingston county, New York!  This James was born circa 1776, and was married to Miss Rachel ALBERTSON in Sussex county, New Jersey on 7 February 1799.   I doubt this James is the father of the one who lived in Livonia and was married to Hannah Landis, since his marriage date is three years after the birth of James Van Sickle of Livonia.  But (1)  Perhaps James Van Sickle, husband of Rachel Albertson, had been married twice or (2) James, husband of Rachel Albertson, is a cousin of James, husband of Hannah Landis.  First names are repeating, a common occurrence in family lines of the 18th century.  It does drive me a bit crazy sometimes!

To top it off, I think they are all likely connected to one Jacobus Van Sicklen, who was also referred to as James in John Waddell Van Sickle's book.  I do not think this was in error.  Jacobus/James are often interchangeable (see an explanation at Wikipedia).