Month: April 2022

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James and The Silver Mine

~ michaelhvs ~ Leave a comment
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Col. James Harrod, one of Kentucky’s greatest pioneers and the founder of Harrodsburg KY, was the father-in-law of my aunt’s 5th great-grandfather. His death in 1792 is still somewhat of a mystery.

In those early days of settlement, there were numerous land disputes and court cases involving Kentucky settlers who were forced to protect their land rights from newcomers. James was involved with a number of them, many against a man named Bridges. Despite these disputes, Bridges asked James to accompany him in his search of a supposed Silver Mine thought to exist in the area. His wife, Ann, not trusting Bridges, begged him not to go but James could not be persuaded. Finally Ann just asked him to take another friend which he did.

According to that friend, James had gone upstream to check some traps and Bridges disappeared from camp. He heard a gunshot, but thought one of them had just shot their next meal. Suddenly Bridges comes running back into camp shouting about seeing many Indian footprints and that he had seen James get killed. He convinced the friend not to go search of James due to the many Indians that were around them.

James was said to have been wearing a shirt with distinctive silver buttons engraved with the letter H. Some time later, it was told that Bridges tried to sell those buttons at a distant trading post. Family members then returned to the campsite and while they did find a skeleton in a cave nearby, positive identification was not possible.

Michael Ondrasik and Home Video Studio specialize in the preservation of family memories through the digitalization of film, videotapes, audio recordings, photos, negatives, and slides. For more information, call 352-735-8550 or visit our website. And don’t forget to check out our TEDx talk! https://youtu.be/uYlTTHp_CO8

The Oregon Trail

~ michaelhvs ~ Leave a comment
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1852 was a standout year for American emigration. Thousands if not tens of thousands took advantage of a treaty engineered by Thomas Fitzpatrick Broken Hand which all but eliminated the danger of Indian attacks, allowing pioneers to safely cross the Indian territories and head west. Eyewitness accounts of that year testified to wagon trains that stretched out to the horizon “as far as the eye could see.” My daughter-in-law’s 5th great granduncle (Thomas Banks) and 5th great grandaunt (Suzannah Jarvis Banks) happened to be in one of those wagons.

Thomas, having been drafted into the war of 1812, survived by paying another young man to serve in his stead. The young man unfortunately became a casualty of that war while Thomas, newly married with children, moved to his father’s home in Kentucky and then further west to Arkansas where he started a lumber business.

And then came 1852 and the promise of opportunity. Now 68 years old, Thomas Banks sold his mill in Arkansas and after gathering his wife and sons (along with other family members), he joined a train of 102 Conestoga wagons which were making their way west towards the promised land of Oregon. And while Indian attacks indeed did not occur, that did not mean the journey wasn’t fraught with peril. Neither Thomas nor Suzannah would survive the trip.

The real enemy turned out to be disease. It was most likely cholera that caused the deaths of so many emigrants along the Oregon Trail. Suzannah died first, in September of 1852. She was buried along the banks of the Burnt River. Thomas followed his wife a month later and was buried beside the Umatilla River. Years later attempts were made to find their gravesites but the temporary markers that were originally used had long since disappeared.

Michael Ondrasik and Home Video Studio specialize in the preservation of family memories through the digitalization of film, videotapes, audio recordings, photos, negatives, and slides. For more information, call 352-735-8550 or visit our website. And don’t forget to check out our TEDx talk! https://youtu.be/uYlTTHp_CO8

A Knight To Remember

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By all accounts, it would appear that Sir George Beeston led an incredible life. Born in 1501 to gentrified parentage, he inherited the family estate at the young age of 22. He became a considerable landowner, not only in his home borough of Chelsea, but he also held leases in Norfolk, Suffolk, and Lincolnshire. 

He became a member of the Parliament, an advisor to the Queen and, most importantly, served in the English Navy under four monarchs. He was one of the captains ordered to “keep the Narrow Seas.” He is buried in Bunbury Church which states his age at the time of his death to be 102. His eulogy, carved in his tomb, is as follows:  

“Here lies buried George Beeston, knight, a promoter of valor and truth. He, having been brought up from his youth in the arts of war, was chosen one of his company of pensioners by the invincible King Henry VIII when he besieged Boulogne. He merited the same under Edward VI in the battle against the Scots at Musselburgh. Afterwards under the same King, under Mary, and under Elizabeth, in the naval engagements as captain or vice-captain of the fleet, by whom, after that most mighty Spanish fleet of 1588, had been vanquished, he was honoured with the order of knighthood. Now, his years pressing heavily on him, when he had admirably approved his integrity to princes, and his bravery to his adversaries, acceptable to God, and dear to good men, and long expecting Christ; in the year 1601 he fell asleep in Him, so that he may rise again in Him with joy.”

Sir George Beeston was one of my 15th generational great-grandfathers.

Michael Ondrasik and Home Video Studio specialize in the preservation of family memories through the digitalization of film, videotapes, audio recordings, photos, negatives, and slides. For more information, call 352-735-8550 or visit our website. And don’t forget to check out our TEDx talk! https://youtu.be/uYlTTHp_CO8

The Ten Eyckers

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Conradt Ten Eyck, one of my 10th great grandfathers, was born in Moers, Germany in 1617, at a time when that area was under Dutch control. He was listed as a shoemaker’s helper (apprentice) when he married his wife but by the time he made his way to America, he was known as a master tanner, one of the first to operate in New Amsterdam.  The origin of the name Ten Eyck is more German than Dutch and means, “near the oak,” an apparent reference to his trade as oak bark is rich in tannin and essential in the tannery business.

Conradt purchased land on the west side of what is now Broad Street, extending from the East River, along a canal which ran through the center of Broad Street to Beaver Street. He was quite wealthy by the standards of his day and, as a successful businessman, was soon an influential figure in the development of the area which was to become NYC. He was appointed by the courts to inspect complaints and settle disputes and was named one of four “Ouerzeers” who were tasked with laying out and paving of the streets.

His children followed him in the family business and became successful in their own ways. Members of the Ten Eyck family would serve as Albany Mayor, New York State Senator, U.S. Representatives from New York and U.S. Senator from New Jersey. The Ten Eycks also formed several businesses, including the Ten Eyck hotel and the Ten Eyck insurance group.

Michael Ondrasik and Home Video Studio specialize in the preservation of family memories through the digitalization of film, videotapes, audio recordings, photos, negatives, and slides. For more information, call 352-735-8550 or visit our website. And don’t forget to check out our TEDx talk! https://youtu.be/uYlTTHp_CO8

How Looking To The Past Can Change Our Future

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Last January, I was privileged to take the TEDx stage to share my “idea worth spreading.” It was a great experience and one that I will always remember. I am happy to say that the video of my TEDx talk has just been released and is available for viewing. It might help explain how it is that I am able to find all these stories about my ancestors. The link is below.

If you find any value in it, please take the time to like, comment or share. I’d love to hear what you think.

Fort Nashborough

~ michaelhvs ~ Leave a comment
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A while back, I wrote about my 5th great grandfather, John Blakemore, and the role he played in the settlement of what was to become Nashville. It turns out that my daughter-in-law’s 7th great grandfather, William Austin Cooper, may have known him.

Cooper was a trader, guide, scout and commissioner for Daniel Boone. He was paid to assist Boone and others in clearing the Wilderness Road and escorting families from Clinch Mountain to the Cumberland Settlements in Tennessee. In December of 1779, the new settlers were divided into two expeditions. Cooper and most of the men took the land route to Nashville while Blakemore travelled via his ill-fated river journey. But the two groups eventually met up at their final destination, the bluffs of the French Salt Springs where they built their settlement, Fort Nashborough. It was a palisaded log fort, made entirely of wood without metal nails or fixtures.

Cooper, who had married Malea Labon of the Chickasaw Nation, died in 1781 defending Fort Nashborough from attacking Cherokee Indians being led by Chief Dragging Canoe. In recognition of his service and sacrifice, his heirs were granted 640 acres of land situated on the north side of the Cumberland River.

Michael Ondrasik and Home Video Studio specialize in the preservation of family memories through the digitalization of film, videotapes, audio recordings, photos, negatives and slides. For more information, call 352-735-8550 or visit our website.

Fiddle Dee Dee

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Rev. Gospero Sweet was a Methodist minister and planter, and the 5th great grandfather of my niece’s husband. He and his wife, Ann Munnerlyn, had moved from South Carolina to Georgia before settling in Florida. It was in Georgia where his granddaughter, Deborah, met Russell Crawford Mitchell, a young Confederate soldier, while he was recovering from severe wounds received at the Battle of Sharpsburg (Antietam) in Thomasville, Georgia. After his convalescence in Thomasville, R. C. Mitchell went back to the War, fighting to the end. Then he returned to Florida, where he and Deborah Margaret Sweet were married on 10 August 1865.

In the days immediately after the War, Russell Crawford Mitchell made a considerable fortune investing in cotton and selling it to the North, but he got into a fight with a carpetbagger, ran afoul of the Yankee occupation government in Florida, and had to flee to his family in Atlanta. His wife soon joined him there. They debated whether to go to Texas or to stay in Atlanta, and Mrs. Mitchell suggested they remain. She commented that her husband “seemed to have the knack of making money.” He began with a lumber mill, and branched out into real estate investments. Eventually, he became one of the wealthiest men in the city, and also served as mayor for a time.

Deborah Margaret Sweet and Russell Crawford Mitchell had eleven children and many grandchildren, all born in Atlanta. One of them, Margaret Munnerlyn Mitchell, a third cousin (three times removed), was greatly influenced by the stories of the family’s history she heard while growing up. She wrote one of the most influential books of her time, Gone With The Wind. 

Michael Ondrasik and Home Video Studio specialize in the preservation of family memories through the digitalization of film, videotapes, audio recordings, photos, negatives and slides. For more information, call 352-735-8550 or visit our website.

Once Born, Twice Buried

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Samuel Thaxter, a first cousin (eight times removed) of my wife, was a major in the British Army when he fought in the French Indian War during the mid 1700s. He was captured by Indians during the siege of Fort William Henry in 1757.

Tied to a tree, he was about to be killed when a French soldier approached him. Not much is known about any conversation that took place. Some speculate that the Frenchman recognized Thaxter as a fellow Mason. In any event, the Frenchman decided to cut Thaxter loose and allowed him to go his way.

He managed to travel by foot to Fort Edward and from there to his home in Hingham, Massachusetts. He arrived on the same afternoon as his funeral for the townspeople had already received word of his capture and supposed death. He met Mr. Caleb Bates on the road into town who exclaimed, “We just buried you!”

Thaxter, like his father and seven of his children, attended Harvard. He resided at the Thaxter Mansion on North Street in Hingham. The mansion had a secret passageway which is said to have been used to hide British soldiers during the Revolutionary War.

Michael Ondrasik and Home Video Studio specialize in the preservation of family memories through the digitalization of film, videotapes, audio recordings, photos, negatives and slides. For more information, call 352-735-8550 or visit our website.

Call Me Mabee

~ michaelhvs ~ Leave a comment
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Situated within New York’s Mohawk Valley, along the banks of the Mohawk River, is a structure widely recognized as the oldest existing building in the region, if not the state. The Mabee House, part of the Mabee Farm, now a tourist attraction, allows us to take a peek into the past at what life might have been like for the original settlers of “the new world.”

The land was first acquired and settled by Daniel Janse Van Antwerpen in the 1670s who purchased it from the Mohawks and received a grant from the English Governor to establish a fur trading post a few miles west of Schenectady. 

He sold the western part of the property to Jan Mabee, my brother-in-law’s 8th great-grandfather, in 1705 and who, for the next 300 years, kept it in the family as generations of Mabees lived, worked, and died there.

The complex includes the original family stone house that was built in 1705 (though the stones in the walls have been dated back to 1680), a slave building, the family cemetery, and a frame pre-Erie Canal Inn where Revolutionary War General Philip Schuyler stayed while surveying for the Western Inland Navigation and Lock Company.

The complex was donated by the Mabee family to the Schenectady County Historical Society in 1993 for use as a museum and educational center. It is open to the public from May to October each year.

Michael Ondrasik and Home Video Studio specialize in the preservation of family memories through the digitalization of film, videotape, audio recordings, photos, negatives and slides. For more information, call 352-735-8550 or visit our website.