Family Grove

By Pricilla Boswell

[Michael Drew is my great-great-great-great-great grandfather. He is the father of Margaret Drew Blackburn Bell, who was the mother of Judge William Blackburn and my great-great-great grandmother, Mary Ann Blackburn.]

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This Family Grove site can perhaps be a bit confusing since we have a very complex family history between John and myself. John’s mother’s side includes surnames: Meyer, Goeckle, Sage, and Shauffellen. John’s father’s surnames are Castellucci and Barilla.

My adoptive maternal side’s surnames are Silverstien, Silver, Mortensen, and Carr. My adoptive paternal side includes surnames: Fuller, Arnold, Carlson, Bowen, Glass, Phillips, Stevens, Talbot, Warner, Willmarth, Wise, Worthington, and Wright.

My birth paternal surnames include: Henke, Doran, and Leonard. While my birth maternal surnames are: Anderson, Blackburn, Bond, Drew, Ellis, Foster, Fridley, Hennig, Hiltz, Jones, Keim, Lincoln, Morgan, Naas/Nauss, Ochesenbein, Redden, Rulofson, Salyer, Trachsel, Tubbs, Weeks, Weidner, Woolf, Yoder, and Zaugg.

This is no means an exhaustive list of surnames. We will be adding surnames as we go along.

 

Descendants of Heinrich Woolf
By Priscilla A. Boswell
[The following is the ancestry of my great-great-great-great grandmother Margaret Drew Blackburn Bell, who was the daughter of Michael Drew and Elizabeth Woolf. Margaret Drew Blackburn Bell was the mother of Judge William Blackburn and my great-great-great grandmother, Mary Ann Blackburn]

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 Maggie was the daughter of Mary Ann Blackburn and James Morgan. She was the sister of Salome Morgan and neice of Judge William Blackburn. That would make her my great-great-grandaunt. Margaret was born July 17, 1835 or 36 in Springfield, Clark County, Ohio.

On March 28, 1854 she married Thomas Jefferson  Weeks. Thomas J. Weeks was born Dec 22, 1829 in Wayne, Kennebec County, ME, the son of Thomas and Sarah (HARMON) WEEKS.

He came to CA at age 20 in 1849, sailing from Boston on the ship, New Jersey, bound around Cape Horn for the Golden Gate. Upon his arrival in Santa Cruz , he bought a cabin from a schooner with an associate, lived in it on the beach. Raised potatoes on land leased from Judge Blackburn. In 1852, Thomas Weeks was growing potatoes with his brother, Braddock B. Weeks.

Thomas J. Weeks had three brothers, Braddock B. (b. 1812) and Bartlett V. Weeks of Pecadero, and George Weeks who lived in the East.

Thomas and Margaret had three children: Clara (Mrs. Frank STEARNS, Los Gatos, who was a SP conductor), Albion (Allie, Alfred, or Albert P) of Santa Cruz, and Horace, who died at age 8. 

Thomas Jefferson Weeks passed away in Santa Cruz on December 18, 1905 (one source has him dying on April 18, 1905)  at his home on Walnut Avenue aged 75. Thomas was buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Santa Cruz. The Thomas J. Weeks  information was submitted by Gertrude B. Lincoln of Santa Cruz. Margaret Morgan-Weeks died on June 16, 1918 at the age of 81.

From her obit:
“After services had been held at the home on California Street by Rev. Irving Bristol, pastor of the First Methodist church, all that was mortal of Mrs. Margaret M. Weeks was tenderly laid away yesterday in the Odd Fellows cemetery. The pallbearers were W.S. Moore, C.D. Hinkle, A.H. Foster, Frank Mattison, Charles P. Clark, and W.W. Clark, all old friends of the family. Many beautiful floral offerings covered the grave. The funeral was private in accordance with the wish of the deceased. ” June 1918

 

 

James Morgan is my great-great-great grandfather. James Morgan was born about 1808-1809 in Virginia. His marriage certificate to Mary Ann Blackburn has him born about 1810 in Berkeley County, Virginia. We believe that he was the son of Benjamin Morgan and Ann Ellis (m. July 18, 1783, Hagerstown, Washington, Maryland). On October 7, 1830, James Morgan married Mary Ann Blackburn in Clark County, Ohio.
On November 15, 1831, they had their eldest son, Joseph William Morgan (b. November 15, 1831, d. October 20, 1863) in Virginia. From the 1850 Census from Henderson County, Illinois, there is a Jacob Morgan, born August 20, 1833 and died September 12, 1845 before they made the trip overland to Santa Cruz.
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Celebrating the anniversary of Salome’s family’s arrival from Illinois to Santa Cruz, California. In Salome’s handwriting: October 23, 1910 Picnic my Gum grove. 19 in all S.F. Written on 1-12-70 in Grandaunt Phyllis’ handwriting: This, written by Grandma Salome Morgan Fridley. Her hand is raised. October 23, 1852 was the anniversary date. The arrow points to Grandpa Alonzo Fridley. Another arrow points to Uncle Elmer (seated on ground on the left).

In Salome’s writing: Oct. 23, 1910 Picnic in eucalyptus grove.
The guy holding the dog at the end could be Philip Fridley’s cousin – Al Weeks Father. Salome’s sister Margaret married a Thomas J. Weeks.

The progenitor of the Blackburns came from England in colonial times according to the History of San Luis Obispo (1883). Joseph Blackburn was born at Charleston, Kenawa County, Virginia in 1788. Joseph married Margaret Drew in 1807 in Maryland. Margaret Drew was born on February 06, 1782 in Washington Co., Maryland, and was the daughter of Michael Drew and Elizabeth Woolfe. They moved to Harpers Ferry, Jefferson County, Virginia. Biographies of his sons list him being born in Virginia, but may have been West Virginia at the time of his birth. Joseph served in the War of 1812 (the year his eldest daughter, Mary Ann was born) and was wounded at the battle of Fort McHenry, in the desperate defense of the city of Baltimore in 1814 (the year his son, Judge William Blackburn, was born), when the British were repulsed and their invasion thwarted. Joseph was a butcher by trade. In 1822, Joseph and his family moved to Springfield, Clark County, Ohio. The Alt family story is that he drowned in St. Mary’s River, Michigan abt. 1825. Margaret Drew Blackburn Bell’s obituary says that he died in 1824. Per Patricia Boswell, there is a will on file in Clark County for a Joseph Blackburn.

Notes for JOSEPH BLACKBURN:Family lived in Harper’s Ferry, Jefferson, VA until 1822 when they moved to . was a Butcher by trade and he Research and source notes: Deborah Sweet -1) Per Pricilla Boswell, with sub-sources:1)”Family Roots” by Catherine Schilder, 2)Clark Co. Ohio Marriage Records 1818-1865, 3)1830 Clark Co. Ohio Census, 4)Denise Castellucci queries, Genforum, posted5/8/1998.The Alt family story is that he was a Butcher by trade and he drowned in St. Mary’s River, Michigan abt. 1825.Later info from Priscilla gives the death dates and place as shown.2) Deborah Sweet – note – born in Charleston, Kenawha Co., Virginia – Priscilla has this as Virginia. It may simply be a slip, as this is actually located in West Virginia. It is possible that at one time, perhaps before West Virginia was formed as a separate state, it was located in Virginia. I need to double check with her about this.

3) Per Priscilla – there is an 1824 will on file in Clark Co., Ohio for Joseph Blackburn

[Much of the information here was taken from a biography in History of San Luis Obispo (1883)]
James Hanson Blackburn was born on September 8, 1820 in Harpers Ferry, Jefferson County, Virginia. His parents were Joseph Blackburn and Margaret Drew.

In 1822, when he was only two years old, his family moved to Springfield, Clark County, Ohio. His father, Joseph, died two years later. This left his family dependant on their mother Margaret to support them with little help from the older children.

“The struggle was necessarily a hard one, but such as laid the foundation of a future character of self-reliance, frugality, industry and forethought upon a natural energy and inate principles of right.”

James lived in Logan County, Kentucky about 1834 to 1837 to attend school. In 1837, he moved to Oquakee, Illinois where most of his family lived, including his brother Daniel Drew Blackburn. His brother worked as a carpenter at the time. At age 17, he also worked as a carpenter although he never served an apprenticeship to the trade. Instead he became handy enough with the tools and working with his brother while going to school acquiring a fair education. (more…)

[Margaret Drew Blackburn Bell is my great-great-great-great grandmother. She is also the mother of my great-great-great granduncle, Judge William Blackburn.]

“Died, in great peace, at Santa Cruz, April 6th, Sister Margaret Bell, aged 76 years and 2 months. Sister Bell was born in Maryland, 1781, where she married Joseph Blackburn, 1807. They moved to Virginia — lived there 15 years, then moved to Ohio, where she lost her husband in 1824. After six years, she married James Bell, who died in 1835.

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[This is my great-grandmother, Ethel Gertrude Redding/Redden’s side of the family from Nova Scotia.]

One of the most elusive ancestors of mine is Catherine Anna Barbara Ruppert who was born in 1775 who ended up in Nova Scotia and marrying John Jacob Hiltz in February 24, 1794 or prior to 1807. She is listed as Susanna Barkhouse, or Susanna Ruppert. This ancestor is the mother of Anna [Catherine] Barbara Hiltz (b. July 1801) who married John Redden (b. November 9, 1799). John Redden is my great-grandmother’s great-grandfather.

Susanna is also listed as Anna, Catherine, or Barbara for a given name. She is even listed as Anna Barbara ROBAR in a Lunenburg marriage record to John Jacob Hiltz. Almost everywhere I look there is conflicting information.

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