The Kings Church Cypress Grave Marker

As we all know Delmarva lacks stone, so it should come as no surprise that early grave markers were wood, usually cypress.  Even cypress eventually succumbs to the elements and disappears. The early markers have all but gone.  Some were replaced with stone when the monument carvers begin to move into the area about the 1860s.  One of the last ones is out at Kings Church on Gordy Road between Whitesville and Salt Barn Road.

The marker is so weathered you can not make out any lettering.

There may be a record as to whose grave this is but at the moment I am too lazy to investigate and find out. 

Sorrowful Margaret Custis

It is a rare given name for a child to be named Sorrowful, but it did occasional occur.  Mostly the given name of Sorrowful occurs more (but still rare)  in Hyde County North Carolina.  In some cases you can see, where in later generations those who had Sorrowfull as a middle name, the spelling was changed and it became Sarfull. In researching early settlers of the Eastern Shore of Virginia I encountered Sorrowful Margaret Custis (born 1681 - died about 1750), daughter of John Custis III (of Wilsonia ) and Margaret Michael.  In her case, she was named Sorrowfull because her mother died giving birth to her.  The Custis family has always had a certain eccentric in it, so to give a child that kind of name is no surprise.

John Custis was a well off planter and merchant who lived at Arlington Northampton county Virginia.  They had at least five children of which Sorrowful Margaret was the last (makes sense if her mother died giving birth to her) .  His grandson would marry Martha Danridge, who after the grandson's death, would marry George Washington.  His great grand daughter would marry Robert E. Lee.

So back to Sorrowful.  She married William Kendall and after his death Thomas Cable.  She had as children; Littleton Kendall, Col. Custis Kendall, William Kendall IV, Ann Kendall, Peggy Kendall, Leah Kendall, Henrietta Kendall,  George Mason Kendall and Ester Cable, Elizabeth Cable, and Sarah Cable.  Yes she was productive. .

1813 Request For food for the British

On March 16th the Mayor of Lewis received this letter for food from the British.  The Mayor turned him down.  Normally the handwriting of this period is so loopy that it is unreadable unless you train yourself to read it but this letter is fairly clear. The letter was published by the Delaware archives on their site.

Jay Hearn Will Speak At Nabb research Center Wednesday

Calling All Hearnes

The Lower Delmarva Genealogical Society is proud to present

 Jay Hearn  

Jay Hearn will be speaking on “A Father & Son’s Journey:  From a Delmar Confederate Veteran to an Immigrant Merchant, William Hearne’s London Roots.”  Jay and his father have been passionately researching the Hearn(e) family of Delmarva since 1973, however it has only been in the last year that new discoveries have shed some light on his English roots and those of his wife, Mary Westcott.  Anyone with interest in the Hearn(e) and Gray Families of the late 1600’s from  old Somerset  County will not want to miss out on these findings!

This event is open to the public and is free.

 

Wednesday afternoon at 2 PM March 23rd at the Edward H. Nabb Research Center for Delmarva History and Culture at Salisbury University - Wayne and Powell Street Unit #190

 

Clean water In 1966

From Daily Times 1966
Samuel J. mitchell

The DNA Test

For those who have considered taken a DNA test to determine your ancestry, let me share with you my experience with the Ancestry.com $99 DNA test.  Back in January I sent a test tube of spit to Ancestry.com for the DNA test.  The results came back last week.  The lab results consisted of first, an analysis of where your DNA came from.  Second, a list of 7,800 other people who took the DNA test and were a match to be immediate family or a distant cousin.   

The Ethnicity Estimate, or where my DNA came from, was no surprise since I have done family tree work for a while.  In my case it showed;

Great Britain 56%

Ireland 25%

Scandinavia 8%

Iberian Peninsula 3%

Finland/Northwest Russia 3%

East Europe 2%

Italy/Greece less than 1 %

European Jewish less than 1 %

Asia Central less than 1 %

For the most part, you can see the origins follow trade routes, wars and invasion routes

The list of 7,800 people that had a DNA test done and I was a relative of them was of a questionable value.   My daughter had a DNA test done last year so they showed her as immediate family,  the second and third cousins I could see how they were relatives.  The problems came when you got beyond third cousins; because everyone who is a native of the area tends to have the same surnames in their family tree.  For me, the number of Hearnes, Ellis, Hastings, Callaways, Culvers etc  is staggering so when you look at the remaining 7,700 “relatives” you have no idea how they are relatives other than they have a number of the same surnames your family tree has.  In some cases there are no familiar surnames and you would have to research deep in order to find the connection.

If you were to take the DNA test results seriously you would want a second DNA test made by a different company and then you could compare the results to have a better feel for how accurate they are. 

 

  

Delmar Extend The water Line

From The Salisbury Times Feb 21 1957