Stories from Mom: Part 4, Mushrooms!

By Virginia Williams Kelly

Another memory that I will never forget is about mushrooms. I love mushrooms and will put them on almost everything. This goes back to the time when I was about 10 years of age and my Uncle Tuck took me mushroom hunting with him. It was after a good rain in the spring and wild mushrooms had all ‘sprung’ everywhere not very far from my grandfather’s house. We went off so that he could show me which were good mushrooms and which were bad and how to tell the difference, and also explaining to me that to pick the wrong one would, to say the least, make me extremely ill.
 

Joe, Grace, and Tuck (on right), three of the 12 Whetstone children.

The Whetstone Boys: Joe, Jimmy, Tuck (right front), and Tad.

I did very well over the years as far as mushroom picking was concerned but when I was sixteen I became a little careless. I was preparing to go to the Easter Sunrise Service on Dan’s Mountain and a beautiful place to see the sunrise on Easter Sunday morning. On Easter Saturday morning I awoke and saw that it had rained the night before and I just knew that all those beautiful mushrooms would be out and plentiful. So off I went.

My Uncle Tuck and his wife Alva.

(Leslie Laurence Whetstone 1905-1995)

I picked a good many lovely mushrooms and later that evening I cooked a large skillet-full, and since no one else wanted them, I ate them all. Now I have never had a weight problem and was always a very healthy person so when I woke up at 3 O’clock in the morning and was a very, very sick girl I figured that I had poisoned myself. Being young and healthy and after empting my stomach I made it to the Sunrise Service albeit a little weak and sleepy. One would think that a person would not look at a mushroom again but no such thing happened to me and I still love them.

My Mama with me sitting on the front porch of the Whetstone home. 1918.

My Grandfather Whetstone standing next to the water pump in the yard. 1900.

 

You can read previous post of Mom's stories here:

Part 1: Those were the days my friend, we though they'd never end

Part 2: Center Street

Part 3: Summertime on Center Street

The URL for this post is: http://nutsfromthefamilytree.blogspot.com/2013/11/stories-from-mom-part-4-mushrooms.html

 

Surname Saturday: Was her maiden name Stauler, or what?

Off we go into another Surname Saturday, the blogging prompt from GeneaBloggers. We're climbing back up the branches of Mom's Big Tree, which you can see on Ancestry.com here. We're into the 4th great grandmothers so we're far enough back to have some problems finding records, and our subject of the day is a woman we know little about. We know where she's buried (and thank you Cousin Steve for the wonderful photos on Find A Grave), but we're not sure of her last name. Poor GGGG GM!

And you know that all of us who do Surname Saturday use it as "cousin bait" just in case a cousin or two decides to Google one of our ancestors! Therefore, I might be going overboard, but I'm including a lot of names;)

1. Diane Kelly Weintraub

2. Francis Patrick " Pat" Kelly (1916 - 2007)
3. Virginia Williams, living and loving it

4. John Lee "Lee" Kelly (1892 - 1969)
5. Helen Gertrude Zeller Kelly ( 1894 - 1985)

10. Gustav William "Gus" Zeller (1858 - 1927)
11. Moretta Workman Zeller (1859 - 1946)

11. Moretta (Workman) Zeller (1859 - 1946)

23. Nancy Ann (Troutman) Workman (1826 - 1882)

22. Elijah Workman (1816 - 1864)
23. Nancy Ann Troutman (1826 - 1882)
Elijah was born and died in Zihlman, Allegany County, MD, which is really hard to find on the map but located near Mt. Savage and Frostburg, Maryland. You can just about see Zihlman from where Mom now lives, especially when the leaves are off the trees.
Nancy Ann Troutman was born in Wellersburg, Somerset County, PA, and that's where the Troutman line settled and stayed, except for a short move and back again, or the ones who wandered off to Ohio. Elijah was a farmer.
Here are their children:
Amanda Workman (1848 - 1865)
Caspar Workman (1849 - 1949). He married Margaret Holtzman Merrill. They both died in Frostburg.
Benjamin Workman (1851 - 1869)
John Franklin Workman (1857 - 1930). He married Mary Anne Mealing. They both died in Frostburg.
11. Moretta Workman Zeller (1859 - 1946)
Mary Ann Workman (1861 - 1939). She married Peter Pressman. They both died in Frostburg.
Joseph Workman (1863 - 1894). He died in Frostburg.

46. Benjamin Franklin Troutman (1780 - 1856) (Find A Grave Memorial# 74544823)
47. Catherine Wolgerman (1765 - ????)
It is quite possible that Benjamin Franklin Troutman was born in Greenwich Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania and came to the Somerset area with his parents. If he did then his father, Peter Troutman, moved from his place of birth in Somerset to Berks County and then moved back to Somerset County again. Benjamin Franklin was said to have been a renowned gunsmith and well known for his craft. He could sing and dance and was in competitions for such talent. In the 1850 Census he is listed as a farmer, working the land with his son, Adam.
They has these children:
John Troutman (1782 - 1870). He married Elizabeth Horn. They both died in Ohio.
Mary Ann Troutman (1816 - 1899) She married Solomon John Leidig.
Joseph Troutman (possibly twins with Mary Ann. 1816 - 1898). He married Elizabeth surname unknown.
George Troutman (1820 - 1891)
Daniel Benjamin Troutman (1822 - 1891). He married Catherine Emerick. They both died in Kansas.
William Troutman (1825 - 1837) He married Louisa surname unknown.
23. Nancy Ann Troutman 1826 - 1882
Sarah Troutman (1829 - ????). Sarah married George Washington Sheirer.
Adam Agustus Troutman (1832 - 1858). He married Amanda Hildebrand.
Eleanora Troutman (about 1835 - before August 1856). She married M. Reiber.
Harriet Troutman (1843 - before 1920). She married John W. Hansel.

92. Peter Troutman (1754 - 1846) (Find A Grave Memorial# 26925953)
93. Mary Barbara Stauler (1757 - 1836) (Find A Grave Memorial# 74554972)
Peter Troutman served in the Revolutionary War. We have a lot of information about him:) But know next to nothing about her.
They had these children:
46. Benjamin Franklin Troutman (1780 - 1856)
Mary Ann Troutman (1781 - 1853). She married John Emmerick. They both died in Ohio.
Anna Marie Troutman (1783 - 1869). She married Abraham Miller.
Mary Magdelina Troutman (1785 - 1853)
Rachael Troutman (???? - 1862).She married Daniel Martz in 1836 and then David Albright in 1832.
Jacob M. Troutman (1788 - 1877). He married Rebecca Boyer.
Susanna Troutman (1789 - 1829). She married Peter Boyer.
John Troutman ( 1782 - 1870). He married first Elizabeth Horn and then Mary Thomas.
Annie Troutman (1802 - 1853)
Catherine Troutman (1808 - ????). She married John Mease.
Rebecca Troutman ( 1812 - ????)
Elizabeth Troutman (1789 - ????)
Peter lived ten years longer than Mary Barbara. He married again to Barbara Cassell on 11 Jan 1838, a younger woman (40 years old when they married) born in 1796 and died in 1870, and about whom we know absolutely nothing. If she was married before we don't know about it. They had no children together. Amazingly, Peter Troutman lived to be 92!

I feel so bad for the women who get lost in a sea of records about the men of the day. Mary Barbara live to be 79 years old and I'm thinking that was pretty good for the time and place. She's buried with her husband in Comps Cemetery, just over the Maryland / Pennsylvania border in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. It's not too far north of where her granddaughter, Nancy Ann Troutman married and lived with her husband, Elijah Workman, and had my great grandmother Moretta Workman. It was a small world then and now.

"In Memory of Mary B. Const. of Peter Troutman,

died Nov. 14th AD 1836,

Aged 79 y, 8m & 14d."

(Photo Courtesy of Steve Miller. Thanks Steve!)

 

Screen shot of the page for Mary Barbara Stauler?? Troutman

on Find A Grave, created and managed by Steve Miller.

When I saw it, it was obvious that he knew a lot about the Troutman line so I contacted him.

Nice!

 
The URL for this post is: http://nutsfromthefamilytree.blogspot.com/2013/11/surname-saturday-was-her-maiden-name.html

Stories from Mom: Part 3, Summertime on Center Street

By Virginia Williams Kelly

Summer time was especially wonderful on Center Street. It all started the day school was let out. There was always a big “Hurrah” from every child. It also meant that we were allowed to stay up until 10 O’clock. That was when we all congregated on the wall of the McGregor property and under the street light and told ghost stories, each person trying to out-do the other one. There were always 8 to 10 of us ranging from 9 to 15 years of age.

When it was time to go to bed I was never ready so I would try to read by the light from the street lamp which would shine dimly into my bedroom window, that is until Mama came around to say goodnight and always caught me reading and made me stop. I think she could read my mind because she always caught me at it.

Mama holding me as a baby, about 1919.

That's me on the right and my sister Dot on the left.

Dorothy (Williams) Conrad (1920 - 2007.)

There was always family all around us, and friends too. Here's our family with the Conrad family. My sister, Dot, married Harold, not pictured here.

On the top row, left to right are the parents: my Mama Emma, and my Dad Camey Senior, looking very young. Next to them on the right are Pete Conrad and his wife Elsie.

The kids are from left to right: Betty Conrad, my brother Camey, Mae Conrad, my sister Dot, and me on the fight in front.

Mary Middleton and I, best of friends, about 1938.

 

Since there were very few cars on the road in those days we could always play games in the middle of the road. Hide and seek was one of our favorite ones because if you could get away from the street light you could be hidden all evening if you wanted. But no one ever wanted that because it was much less boring to be caught and have to start all over again. We always had a ball game going although it was a little hard to play ball at night away from the light.

When someone was fortunate enough to get a pair of roller skates for a birthday, everyone had a great time since we all shared in riding them. I remember when I received a pair for my birthday, and since I was left-handed and left footed, lots of kids wanted to ride with me because I rode with my left foot and could then share my right skate with any friend who happened to come by. Wood Street was our favorite street for riding since it was a rather steep hill for one skate riding. I don’t think we ever learned to skate with two skates until we went to the roller rink when we were older.

Dad with one his hunting dogs. He loved to hunt and fish.

Here's another picture of Mama and I. This one is from my cousin Betty.

My sister Dot, 1938, dressed up.

You can read Part 1 here.
And you can read Part 2 here.


The URL for this post is:

Stories by Mom: Part 2, Center Street

By Virginia Williams Kelly

My first debacle with the outside world was when I was four-and-a-half years of age. It was Christmas time of 1922 and our bank gave out oranges to all their small customers. My mother took my younger sister, Dot, and I to get these goodies. My mother could hold my sister above the crowd, but there was no one to hold me and since I was small for my age, it was claustrophobia time for me.

 

I was surrounded by very large people and scared to death that I would be trampled on or some other disaster would befall me. I don't even remember getting my orange for all I wanted was to get out of there. As you see, I did survive but it certainly left scars on my psyche. To this day I have to be the last on an elevator and closest to the door. When I go to church I have to sit on the end of the pew and I can't sit in the middle in the back seat of a car. I just can't be penned in.

 

That's my Mama and Dad, Emma Susan (Whetstone) Williams (1897 - 1956) and Cambria "Camey" Williams (1897 - 1960). I'm on Dad's lap.

Dad was named after the Cambria Mountains in Wales because his father was born in Wales.

Here's my Grandmother, Kate, in her back yard.
Their "farm" is now part of Frostburg State University.
Catherine Elizabeth (House) Whetstone 1865 - 1947.

We lived with them until I was about five years old. People did that then.

Here's the house we rented on Center Street, Frostburg, Maryland.

 

Here I am with a kitten in my lap.

Some things never change and now I have two cats in my lap.

 

 

At about age five, in 1924, we moved to a rented house on Centre Street. We had no inside plumbing except a cold water tap for running water. Our outside toilet was in the back yard and extremely cold in the winter. Water for washing and bathing was heated on our gas stove and carried to a tin tub for bathing once a week on Saturday night to get ready for Sunday church.

We always attended the Congregational Church on Bowery Street which was the next street over from where we lived at the corner of Loo Street (now College Avenue) and Center Street. The center of the universe, the center of the town, the center of life and of everything: these are the things that a small street called Centre Street meant to me growing up. I grew up on this street and although many, many years have passed since I left there, the memories of those years are as sweet to me now as they were so very many years ago when I was a child.

Mama was a member of the Ladies' Aide Society and here's a photo from one of their picnics.

Here's the Congregational Church Choir posing in front of the church. I'm in the middle.

I loved the choir and choir practice. Still love music, especially organ music.

I'm in the front row with my best friend Mary Middleton on my left and my sister Dot on the end.

Just after we moved to Center Street, it was summer and the city was paving our cobble street with macadam. Every day my sister and I sat on the curb and watched the great old machines and the men at their work. I still like the smell of that paving material.

Smells were always important to me on Center Street especially the smell of baloney, not the kind you get today, but the kind that old Mr. Byers had on his meat wagon that came around faithfully every Tuesday and Friday. The wagon was pulled by an ancient and patient horse that knew every stop on the route. Ours was one he always stopped at and we were always waiting because, you see, Mr. Byers had a very sharp butcher’s knife with which he always cut us a very nice slice of that oh-so-good baloney to eat. I don’t think I ever forgave Mr. Byers for retiring and taking his treat with him. Times change and progress takes over.

The smells of rain, snow and of fire from fall leaves burning are especially wonderful to me even today. The summer rains were the best because then Mama let us put on our bathing suits and play on the street and the macadam felt so nice on our bare feet.

There was nothing nicer than holding your face up to the rain and letting it pound on your face and sticking your tongue out to lick the rain drops. I don’t know of any child who doesn’t find pleasure in this form of entertainment.

You can read Part 1 here.

The URL for this post is:

Stories by Mom: Part 1, Those were the days, my friend, we thought they'd never end.

Those were the days my friend, I thought they’d never end!

By Virginia Williams Kelly

I love to walk. I have walked all my life. I used to walk three miles every morning, seven days a week not for my health but simply because I loved to do it and I got such a ‘high’ from just strolling along that I wanted  to walk and walk. But everything comes to an end eventually. 

My journey into my childhood started when I was about six years old and this story is part of it.

I was born on 29 July, 1918 into what Tom Brokaw called the Greatest Generation and if you were that lucky then you have seen almost all life has to offer, both good and bad.

My earliest memory was at age two. It was of my grandfather Williams (Daniel Williams, 1852 – 1920) who ask me to pass him his spittoon since he was chewing tobacco. I did not know of course that he was dying of kidney failure. He died on 19 April, 1920.  I can picture very vividly the room he was in, the couch in the corner and the wall telephone by the window next to the couch. That old telephone always fascinated me.

Daniel Williams (1852 – 1920), about 1919

My memories at about age three were the worst of my life and I think it set a pattern for the way I viewed many other things. We were living with my maternal grandparents (Joseph H. Whetstone and Catherine Elizabeth House Whetstone) and I had two uncles only seven and 13 years older than myself. They were always playing tricks on me. They loved to sit my little backside on the scrub brush, bristles up so that I could not get down and to leave me crying for my mother. They loved to torment me in every way their devious little minds could think of.

Me with a hair bow and the three “evil” uncles: Left to right: George, Leslie Lawrence, and Joseph Edward.

I also had a big old rooster attack me and since his feathers flew everywhere I was afraid of feathers. The uncles would put feathers all around the porch so I couldn't even play on the porch which was the only place I was allowed to play.

I also disliked open umbrellas for some reason and they always had an open umbrella on the porch. I think I had developed many phobias by the time I was three because of these incidents and many more. I did get back at them later when they hid their candy bars under the dining room table and I was small enough to reach them and eat them, and they were delicious too.

 

The Whetstones with some of their grandchildren:

Joseph Hampton Whetstone (1858 – 1939), Catherine Elizabeth House Whetstone (1865 – 1947). That’s me in the big hair bow, third child from the left.

The children are, left to right: Gene Knowles, my sister Dot, me, Chuck Knowles and Sandy Whetstone.

 

Times and daily life were very different then. Two things happened at that time that left scars. The most horrendous one was to see my Dad shoot his hunting dog. No one ever explained to me that the dog had distemper and had to be put down because there were no treatments or cures for it. So this led to my championing of all animals especially dogs.

 

The other horrible event was to watch my grandfather kill chickens twice, once with a hatchet and once by wringing its neck. I know now that these things were common but that didn't help a three year old to understand them.

My younger sister, Evelyn, died at age three and I can still recall how pretty she was, always smiling but she got diphtheria and never got over it. I can still see her in Grandmother's cabinet pulling out the towels so she could lie down on the shelves.

I remember my Aunt Edna dying of tuberculosis, although I didn't know that it was happening, when I used to sit on her bed while she told me little stories. She died on 11 May, 1922. She gave me a paper doll which I still have.

Yes indeed, times and daily life were very different then.

 

Me with one of the many dogs in my life.

My sisters and I: left to right, Dorothy “Dot” (Williams) Conrad (1920 – 2007), Evelyn Marie (1921 – 1924), and me.

Tune in tomorrow for the next installment!

 

The URL for this post is: http://nutsfromthefamilytree.blogspot.com/2013/11/stories-by-mom-part-1-those-were-days.html

 



Stories by Mom: an introduction

If you've been a reader here for any length of time at all, you'll know that my Mom is alive and well, still kicking at 95! She lives by herself, mostly, and I say "mostly" because people just love her and are always coming by and staying for a while. People bring her soup and fresh made bread, because if you had a charming 95 year-old relative wouldn't you?

Everyone in town who has lived there any length of time or done any amount of genealogy around Western Maryland and especially in the little mountain town of Frostburg in Allegany County will have run into her either on the discussion boards or in years past at the courthouse, libraries, cemeteries, and historical institutions from Cumberland to all over in northern West Virginia and up into Pennsylvania. Genealogists who have ancestors on our direct line come from hundreds of miles to look at her files and chat with her. She's that kind of person. Everyone know Virginia Kelly.

Mom loves a good story and even more, loves a good mystery, genealogy style. She can still spot all those illegitimate births and unusual mating's form a mile away. If you have a criminal past and are in our direct line, she knows what you did. And don't be a missing person on our tree after 1800 because if you don't want to be found, too bad for you!

On one of my recent trips back east to see Mom while I was inspecting her bookshelf, I came across some steno notebooks where she wrote sources and discoveries in repositories, as she found them. Then at the end of one were some other writings: her stories from her own life. What a treasure! She read me a bit of it and I snuck out my cell phone and did a voice recording. I carry it with me, always.

When I got home I realized that if I was enjoying her stories from her own life, others would too, so she transcribed her handwritten words and typed them up. After some word processing fiasco that neither Mom nor I really want to talk about, I finally got the emails she sent with her typed documents, every bit of it.

When we all met up in Cleveland not too long ago I brought the first draft of it in booklet form. We all loved it. It needs more photos but doesn't everything? And I just know that Mom has already typed up a story about all the dogs in her life too. We just need to find it.

So here's what I plan to do. In the upcoming days Mom's stories will appear on this blog, complete with the photos we're using in her book. I do think that you'll really enjoy them. It starts just about the time when she was born in 1918 and travels through her childhood, teen years, and young adulthood. As you can spot right away, we're in small town life just before the Great Depression and on until just before WWII. Mom paints a picture of the joys and sadness's that touch almost every life no matter where or when, while closely describing her particular time and place.

Thanks, Mom for writing your stories. They are an instant family treasure!

Virginia (Williams) Kelly.

The URL for this post is: http://nutsfromthefamilytree.blogspot.com/2013/11/stories-by-mom-introduction.html 

Surname Saturday: About those Trimbles

It's Saturday once again, and that means it's time for my still fav blogging prompt from GeneaBloggers called Surname Saturday. Here's the official description from the source itself:
To participate in Surname Saturday, simply create a post in which you discuss a surname and mention its origins, its geographical location(s) and how it fits into your genealogy research.

I was encouraged to do this at the beginning of the year as cousin bait, and am so very glad I did. It truly is the perfect cousin bait because any remote cousins out there interested in genealogy will probably get around to Googling that surname and hopefully find this blog. One thing I can say is that if you decide to do this one, take the surnames in an orderly manner back through the generations, and follow each back. It's easy and I've eventually been in contact with just about one cousin for each of the surnames I post!

I've taken a longish break from my Surname Saturday posts but let's get going again. I got stumped on the Trimbles because, frankly, I was having "Trouble with Trimbles" (and that reference is for Star Trek fans;)

So here goes as we follow the branches back to the Trimble family of Maryland. There are Trimbles elsewhere in the Colonies early history, but those aren't ours. Here is our bunch.


1. Diane Kelly Weintraub

2. Francis Patrick " Pat" Kelly (1916 - 2007)
3. Virginia Williams, living and loving it

4. John Lee "Lee" Kelly (1892 - 1969)
5. Helen Gertrude Zeller Kelly ( 1894 - 1985)

10. Gustav William "Gus" Zeller (1858 - 1927)
11. Moretta Workman Zeller (1859 - 1946)

22. Elijah Workman 1816 - 1864
23. Nancy Ann Troutman 1826 - 1882

44. John Workman 1779 - 1859
45. Amelia or (Abigail) Combs about 1789 - ????
John was also born in Zihlman but died just up the hill in Frostburg. Presumable, Amelia Combs was born close by Zihlman and also died in Frostburg, but proof remains elusive.
John was a farmer and in the 1840 US Census owned one slave. This was the first record of him owning slaves.
They had these children:
Rebecca Workman 1809 - before 1908. She married Solomon Hansel. They both died in Frostburg.
Kate Workman 1810 - ????. She married Noah Trimble from Wellersburg PA.
Joseph Workman 1812 - 1879. He married Louisa Knabenshue from Keyser, Mineral County, WVa.
Isaac Workman 1814 - 1897
22. Elijah Workman 1816 - 1864
Margaret Workman 1819 - 1908. She married James P. Hannah and then Harry Stevens.
John L. Workman 1821 - 11873. He married Druzilla Workman.
Stephen Workman 1823 - ????.
Cuthbert Workman 1825 - 1882. He married Nancy Conkle. He died in Danville, Knox, County, OH.
Nimrod Workman 1828 - 1870.
William Combs Workman 1831 - 1894. He married Clara Sophia Winebrenner and then Rebecca Sheffiff.

90. John Combs (1765 - 1854)
91. Margaret Trimble (1780 - 1859)
Combs family history has it that John Combs was born in Virginia and married Margaret Trimble in 1794, presumably in Allegany County, Maryland, where they had their family. Mom thinks he was from the part of Virginia that became West Virginia, and perhaps as far west as Hampshire or Morgan counties, or maybe even old Virginia's Frederick County. If he was, then it wasn't so far to go to get to Western Maryland where he ended up.
It's been thought that this John Combs served in the Revolutionary War but he would only have been 11 years old when it began. His birth year could easily be incorrect, as records from this time and place are sketchy at best. But if you look you'll find an approved SAR application from about 1940 on Ancestry.com... but I have my doubts. It is true that Military Lot #3352 was assigned to a Jacob Corns, and that could be a transcription error of some sort, but I haven't seen the original and can't really comment.
The connection that's real solid is to his brother, Cuthbert Combs/Coombs who married Margaret Trimble's sister Abigale. Cuthbert took Military Lots numbered 3408 and 3407.
This John Combs remains a mystery to me and is on the list for a full investigation because we need details, don't we? First place I'll look is Fold3.
They had these known children:
45. Amelia Combs about 1789 - ????
William Combs 1799 - 1878. He married first Marie Arnold and then Sarah Wheeler.
Mary Margaret Combs 1803 - before 1839. She married Josiah Porter and you'll find this couple on the Porter Surname Saturday post.
We know much less about these children:
Martha Combs
John Combs, who married Bathsheba Drake.
Althea Combs

Tombstone of John Combs at Percy Cemetery, Allegany, Maryland. Find A Grave # 55582247

Margaret Trimble Combs is buried there as well. Find A Grave # 55582257

182. John Trimble (about 1735 - 1802)
183. Margaret Arnold (1739 - 1805)
John Trimble and Margaret Arnold had these 8 children:
Charlotte Trimble (1765-1844). She married William Shaw Sr.
John Trimble Jr. (1767-1823). He married Elizabeth Ann Arnold.
Abigail Trimble (1771-1793). She married Cuthbert Combs.
Henry Trimble (1772-1825). He married Margaret Critchfield.
Sophia Trimble (1774-1860). She married Peter Crow.
Catherine Trimble (1774-1815). She married Kelita Potter Sr.
Note: were Sophia and Catherine twins? Looks like it!
91. Margaret Trimble (1780 - 1859)

We're way back here and out in the western most reaches of Allegany County, Maryland, and the frontier of the time, where our John Trimble was born. Our Trimbles were part of the group of families who lived on the land between Frostburg, Allegany, Maryland and Mount Savage, Allegany, Maryland, called Federal Hill. If you want to know more about this location then you've just got to check out The Evergreen Heritage Center. Here's what they have to say about the Trimble family of this area:
Eight generations ago, in the late 1700s, one of Allegany County’s early settlers, Edward Grimes, built a stone foundation log home about a mile from a settlement that would become known as Mount Savage. That home was later acquired by the Winter family, who expanded the home with a large stone addition and outbuildings, creating a southern style plantation. After the Civil War, the Winter’s neighbors, the Trimble family, who had also settled in the area in the late 1700s, acquired the property, further expanded the home and painted it white, and named the new farm Evergreen, in honor of the fledgling evergreen trees planted there.

These Military Lots and their locations all but predict the marriages of the time. You can look at the map and see whose lot is adjacent or really close to others and then see a marriage. The Arnolds to Trimbles. The Trimbles to Coombs, and the Workman and Porters to just about everyone in the area!

 

This map of Military Lots showing the Trimble lots (As well as the Workman lots) awarded after the American Revolutionary War, was put together as a joint project of Frostburg State University and The Evergreen Heritage Center. It's one of my absolute favorite maps!

OK, it needs to be said right here that there were a bunch of Trimbles in the Colonies at this time in the early 1700s and I'm really not super familiar with all of the lines that resided outside of Maryland. Maryland, being basically a historic Catholic colony, has its separate history... not that Pennsylvanians and Virginians can't slide on over and mess up a person trying to trace a line back in time! And I know from personal experience that other Trimble lines have lived in Maryland in the early Colonial period... because I bought a book that didn't contain even one of our guys!

In order to sort out the ball of yarn that is the Trimble ancestry in this particular line, some time and effort needs to be invested, starting right here with John, and then of course his parents. But that goes on the list to do for later. If you care to you can search on John Trimble in this time period on any of the various genealogy web sites and easily find that there are a couple. So you see the problem.

Maybe John Trimble's father was David Trimble (1720-1799) born in Scotland and died in Bourbon County, Kentucky, and married Mary Houston (1724-?) and born in Kentucky. He seems to be the logical choice, and at least Mom thinks so, so it works for me until we see evidence otherwise. If so, then David's own father would be Robert Trimble (1695-?) and born in Scotland. The trail, such that it is, ends right there.

I like this line because it gets interesting and totally documentable right there on that lovely Military Map. That map tells a story, all right!


The URL for this post is: http://nutsfromthefamilytree.blogspot.com/2013/11/surname-saturday-about-those-trimbles.html