Category: USA

Haan, Kruithof, Michigan, Schenck, Slis, van der Slik, Zuid-Holland

Goeree-Overflakke, Zuid-Holland, Nederland: van der Slik, Kruithof, Elsevier, Schenck, Slis, and related families

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Christina van der Slik was born on the island of Goeree-Overflakkee in 1839 to Johannes Pietersz van der Slik and Jannetje Kruijthof. The history of both families on the islands is documented back to the 1500s. The van der Sliks immigrated to America in 1855, settling in Ottawa County, Michigan. Christina married GIjsbert Haan from Hilversum, Noord-Holland, Nederland. He was the son of Gijsbert Haan, founder of the Christian Reformed Church in North America, and his wife Marretje Pos. Gijsbert died in 1869 of tuberculosis, leaving her with eight small children. In 1875, Christina married Jan de Groot from Menaldum, Friesland, Nederland, the son of Eeltje Aukes de Groot and Trijntje Teuniswas.

Das, Haan, Land, Michigan, Noord-Holland, Pos, Utrecht

Gijsbert Haan of Hilversum, Noord-Holland, Nederland: founder of the Christian Reformed Church in North America

Gijsbert Haan was born in 1801 in Hilversum, Noord-Holland, Nederland. He was a carpet weaver and manufacturer, and lived on a farm at the corner of the Groest and the Herenstraat. As a part of Afscheiding (the Secession of 1834 from the Dutch Reformed Church), Gijsbert faced religious persecution and financial hardship. In 1847, he immigrated with his family to America, where he founded the Christian Reformed Church in North America.

County Waterford, Hayes, Mulcahy, New York

The Hayes and Mulcahy families of Kilkeany, Waterford, Ireland, and Auburn, New York, USA

John Hayes and Johanna Mulcahy were parents of eight children born in Kilkeany, County Waterford, Ireland between 1842-1862: Timothy, John, Hanorah, Thomas, Catherine, Ellen, Johanna, and Maurice. Many of their children immigrated to Auburn in Cayuga County, New York.

Brooks, Fuller, Indiana, North Carolina, Ohio

Henry Brooks and Mariah Fuller of Hancock County, Indiana and Stringtown, West Indianapolis

Henry Brooks married Mariah Fuller on 7 Jun 1838. Mariah Fuller was from Brown County, Ohio, where many original pioneers of Hancock County lived prior to settling in Indiana. In the 1850s, the Brookses moved to Stringtown or Indianola in West Indianapolis. They had 10 children, 41 grandchildren, and 83 great-grandchildren, with many living descendants today.

Michigan, Oxfordshire, Surrey, Ward

George Ward of Aston and Cote, Oxfordshire, brother of Thomas Ward?

George Ward was the son of James Ward and Maria Willoughby of Aston and Cote in Oxfordshire. George moved to Mortlake in Surrey, where he married his Irish-born wife Bridget McCann. George and Bridget left for America in 1863, after their leaving-shop was investigated in a sting at the Woolwich Police Court. The Ward Family settled on a 40 acre farm in Mundy, Genesee County, Michigan. **Updated with new images and references**

American Revolutionary War, Armstrong, Vermont

Hopestill Armstrong and the Green Mountain Boys of Vermont

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Hopestill Armstrong was a private in Capt. Elijah Dewey’s Co. of Col. Moses Robinson’s Regt. of the Green Mountain Boys of Vermont. Ensign Nathaniel Fillmore Sr. was Hopestill’s relative by marriage and the grandfather of the Thirteenth President of the United States, Millard Fillmore. Together they fought at the Battle of Bennington.

American Revolutionary War, Armstrong, Ohio, Vermont, War of 1812

Oliver Armstrong: militia general and abolitionist

Oliver Armstrong of Bennington, Vermont came into this world with big shoes to fill. He was born 26 Apr 1783, at the tail end of America’s war for Independence. His father Hopestill, along with uncles John, Lebbeus and Hezekiah Armstrong, were veterans of the Battle of Bennington in the Revolutionary War.

American Civil War, Indiana, Mexican-American War, Wünsch

Frederick Wünsch: American Civil War veteran, a mind unseated by tragedy

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“The enemy pressed us, and we were ordered to retire in haste. We all ran as hard as we could go, and when I had ran only a few yards, my foot struck against a dead man, and I was thrown headlong to the ground, on my face, with considerable force.”

New York, Styles

The Styles Family comes to America – Baltinglass to Auburn, New York

On 12 Nov 1888, Edward and Margaret Styles arrived in New York on the SS Adriatic with their five youngest children: William, Edward, Mary, Margaret and Thomas. The four older Styles children Robert, James, Anna and Katherine had emigrated from Ireland one at a time to find work in Auburn, New York, sending their earnings home to Baltinglass for their siblings and parents.

Golf History, Indiana, Michigan, Surrey, Ward

Alfred John Ward – Golf Professional – Part II “Slender Englishman” builds Pleasant Run Golf Course

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In April of 1923, a “slender Englishman” named Alf Ward walked into the office of Indianapolis mayor Lew Shank. He introduced himself as the new golf professional for city’s municipal club. The mayor sent Alfred out to Irvington with shovels, horses, and a few men. He was to build Pleasant Run, the “finest municipal golf course in the country.”

Golf History, New York, Surrey, Ward

Alfred John Ward – Golf Professional – Alf comes to America

Alfred was the eighth of twelve children born in 1883 to Thomas James Ward, a Battersea distillery worker and builder’s labourer, and Sarah Courtneidge, a coachman’s daughter from Wimbledon. Alfred got his start in golf working as an assistant to James Braid at Walton Heath Golf Club in Walton-on-the-Hill, Surrey.

Golf History, New York, Surrey, Ward

Tom Hancock – Golf Professional

Tom Hancock was an English golf professional with a long and active career in the United States. Born in Richmond, Surrey in 1885, Tom began training in his hometown with J. H. Taylor at Royal Mid-Surrey Golf Club. He then worked as an assistant to James Braid at Walton Heath, where he knew my great-grandfather Alf Ward.

Golf History, Indiana, Michigan, Styles, Ward

Little Jimmie Ward

Young Jimmie seems to be about the most popular player on the Irvington course, for whenever he steps up to the tee with his small bag of clubs, the crowd gathers. The little chap will step up to the ball after his father, Alf Ward, who is the professional at the course, has teed it up for him, then get ready to swing. Then he will look around with a mischievous grin and say “Watch me.”