A True Overview of My Genealogy.

A "True" Overview?

My last post on genealogy, labeled an Overview of My Genealogy, simply went the farthest back I have traced, through one line. First I'll start with a lovely pie chart of my ethnicity:

Yes, some who know me as having very pale skin will be surprised that I'm a quarter Mexican, but it's true, the extended family has a Mexican dinner every day-after-Christmas.

You can tell the four quarters are my four grandparents; the right side is my father, the left side is my mother. In a clockwise direction, it's PP (father of father), MP (mother of father), PM (father of mother), MM (mother of mother). I'll give the first letters of their names; S, J, I, and W.

Part 1: Scandinavian Side
S.'s father is named Sigfrid Hampus Svenson, and he went by his middle name. He was born to a Sven and Johanna in Malmö, Sweden, and his father died when he was still young. His mother was of course dragged down by having to raise six kids (Hampus was the eldest son). So Hampus eventually went to work in the cigar factory as a teenager.

By his late teens (16&17), he got into drinking, and more then once almost drowned, being too drunk to dogie-paddle. He was part of a gang of boys, and they always made mischief. Once a Salvation Army parade marched by, and the boys decided to take the flag away from the carrier. It was Hampus that attepmted it, but as he tried the flag-carrier said "You'll never take the flag away from me."

That seemed to change Hampus. He stopped drinking, stopped hanging out with the other ruffians. He started to wonder what that flag-carrier had that he didn't; facing up to a guy like him. Signs at the Salvation Army said things like "Come and be Saved," perhaps that was it. At the nearest church, they didn't even let him in (on account of a poor reputation for mischief), so he had to go to a further out church. That year he became a Christian, and immigrated to America (I have a ship's manifest showing him, of course. He also changed his last name).

It is because of that flag-bearer that our family is Christian.

Anyhow, he later missioned in India with his Norwegian-American wife, Cora, whose parentage I have yet to figure out. My grandfather was born there, and I still have some Indian hats of his up on a shelf in my room.

Of his father, Sven Svenson, I have yet to figure out a genealogy. Of his mother Johanna, however, I have found her parents to be Jonas Kastell and Albertina Ekelund, the former being a soldier living 1800-1880. I have yet to trace back further.

Part 2: Scottish Side
The parents of my grandmother, J, are Frank Brown and Jeanie Stewart. Both were born in Scotland and came to the USA.

Frank Brown was born in either 1885 or 1895; I have yet to figure out which. The former is the date I have always been told, though a 1930 USA census record as well as a 1901 Scotland census record seems to support the latter. Whatever the date, he fought in World War 1 as part of the British army before immigrating to Chicago in the 20s. I have yet to figure out if he married Jeanie in America or Scotland, but it was before 1925, when this picture was taken:

His parents are William Armour Brown and Margaret McNeill. I have yet to find Margaret's parents, though I am sure she has a brother John. There are three children of William's age living in the town of his birth in 1861, so I have yet to figure his parentage out (interestingly, one possibility is that his father was Irish. That'd be lovely). Here is a picture of William and Margaret, with Frank only five years old:

As for my grandmother's mother's side, her parents were Andrew Stewart and Jeanie McGilvary. Unlike the Browns, who had only one kid (I think), the Stewart side had a lot:

I have yet to figure out their parentages, though I know that Jeanie's mother's maiden name was "Bailey."

Here's two more photos of Frank and Jeanie, the former being him in the war:

Part 3: Mexican Side
My maternal grandfather, I, was conceived in Mexico and born in Chicago, the youngest son of Otilio Velazquez and Ramona Santillian. His father left him very young for Hollywood, for he was a screenwriter by profession (I only learned this recently from a second cousin once removed visiting). He must have specialized in Mexican romance, for there is a rejection letter owned by the said S.C.O.R. that says that at the time there was no market for such a genre.

There is a lovely miniature of the Tribune Tower that was made by Otilio, before he left. I'm too lazy to inquire, but I think he was arrested for doing some measurements.

As for his genealogy, we have names that go back to his grandparents, but the names are it besides a story that his father Andres Artiaga was a Mexican-American war general.

It is the same for his wife, Ramona – we go back to her grandparents, and her father was named Jesus!

Part 4: Welsh Side
My grandmother W is the one that went back to before the American Revolution – the fact that she isn't a daughter of immigrants like the other three helps, as America is the easiest place for genealogy. Thank you census!

Her parents are Jesse Mills and Chloe Davis. The Mills genealogy goes back three generations:

Elijah = Jane or Elizabeth, haven't figured out which
       |
       Jasper = Nancy Barrett, don't know her parentage
              |
              Jesse = Chloe Davis
                    | 
                    W

Not much; the fact that people other than the head were only recorded in the census from 1850 on doesn't help.

In fact, the pie chart at the beggining is incorect. The Mills side isn't Welsh; I have no idea what they are. The Welsh side is that of Chloe's father, the German of her mother.

Here's a nice family tree to sum it up:

Davis family


Unknown                   Rev. Malachi Jones = Mary
)--------------------------.                 |
Thomas Davis               Llewellyn Davis = Bridget
|                           "the Sawyer"   |
Llewellyn "the Hammerer"                   |
|                                          |
Magdalene Davis             =              Llewellyn
                            |
        Elizabeth Kennedy = Isaac Davis I
                          |
          Eliza Ritchey = Isaac Davis II
                        |
  Harriet Hockensmith = Isaac Davis III
                      |
                      Chloe Davis
                            
That's basically what we know about the Davis family. Reverand Malachi Jones was born circa 1651 in Wales, died 1729. In his lifetime he founded the Abington Presbyterian Church, built a graveyard, and was buried in it (well the last one was hopefully after he died).

Yes, Llewellyn and Magdalene Davis were first cousins once removed and they married, but hey, I'm not mutated! As for their son Isaac Davis I, he was six years old when George Washington's men camped at Valley Forge, the camp being less than a mile from the village of the same name where Isaac lived.

Part 5: German Side
Let's do another family tree:

Hans Hackenshmidt
|
Ulrich Georg Hackenshmidt = Ursula
,-------------------------'
Georg Nicomed Hackenshmidt
|
Johann Georg Hackensmidt
|
Konrad Hackenshmidt       Georg Shmidt
|       ,-----------------(
Jacob = Elizabeth Smith   John Smith
      |                   |
      Peter Hockersmith = Christina Smith
                        |
 Elizabeth Eppley   =   John Hockensmith
                    |
Isaac Davis III  =  Harriet Hockensmith
                 |
                 Chloe Davis

Now, Konrad Hackensmidt immigrated from Germany to America starting in Rotterdam, Holland and ending up in Frederick's County, Maryland. There is a bunch of stuff about him you can find, like this timeline and the text of his will.

His son Jacob, and Jacob's brother-in-law Sgt. John Smith, were both members of William Blair's Game Cock company.

Jacob's son Peter and John's daughter Christina married; they were 1st cousins.

The winter of 1899/1900 was one of the worst for the Davises. Both Isaac Davis III and three of him and Harriet's children died then. This knocked Harriet poor, having to resort to doing laundry for pay. There is a family legend that a relative came by and offered to raise my great-grandma Chloe and make it easier for Harriet. The answer was no, of course.

Here's a picture of Harriet and her family:

Here's some pictures of Chloe (the first at a shoe factory):

So there you have it – my genealogy. So why don't you research your own genealogy? Here's a suggestion: ask your parents for information (or grandparents if still alive). With as much information you can get, google search the names or go to http://www.familysearch.org/ for free stuff, and if you're willing to pay defiantly go to http://www.ancestry.com/.

Now of course, if you really are willing to pay go to the place where your ancestor lived.

Hu-hu-hu-hu that's all folks!