PDA

View Full Version : My Great Great Great Grandparents



X-Rated
08-28-2012, 03:48 PM
Many people have been meaning to ask about my avatar. Yeah.

It is my great great great grandparents, Davy and Lydia Shirar. They were the first "Shirar's" in the US as far as I know. Davy's grandfather moved to the US from Nazi Germany in 1730 with the name "Scheurer". When they moved to Philly, the people at the courthouse wanted a name that was a little more American so they changed it to "Shirer". Davy's dad, Valentine, moved his brood to Muskingum County, Ohio. Well, things being the way they were, the family apparently fought a lot and Davy grew up, married and moved to Carroll County, Indiana. Changed his name and everything.

That's where these two lived and died. http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRI8HuMV-aiyjxpgi4fu0obw85x4C7_5WOMoV_XiZWa0sHzhu5X&t=1

Well, Davy and Lydia are buried right there in the center of the Flora, IN cemetery. Some of their kids moved on to Kansas and that's where I came in and moved back east. But there were 6 generations of Shirar's in Kansas after that time.

Anyone else do any lineage stuff? Find out where you are descended from?

KG4NEL
08-28-2012, 04:03 PM
My dad's side came over in the early '20s - they spent several years in France after getting the hell out of the Ottoman Empire before the Turks came to town. Turns out they picked a good time to leave: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Van

I know nothing of their pre-Genocide history, would be cool to know.

kf0rt
08-28-2012, 04:03 PM
You'll catch some flak for "Nazi Germany in 1730" but I think I get the picture.

Cool stuff, and I've dabbled in this, mostly on my Dad's side of the family. Have some info going back to the 1600's. I think I've done all the "easy" research now and am waiting for more time to hopefully get into it more. I have a portrait of my G-Grandmother that looks a lot like your G-G-G. Will have to post that when I get back to the archives. Some German blood here, but mostly Dutch -- family came over in the Dutch migration of the mid-1800's and settled mostly in the Buffalo, NY area (Clymer, to be precise).

It's fun to look into this stuff, and it's never been easier.

PA5COR
08-28-2012, 04:08 PM
I lost track of the family tree in 1400 in Friesland the province where both parents come from, before that time there were no church books or written accounts of the family to be found.
My wife comes from the Bergerac French family, and her side fled to the Netherlands when the Hugenots were chased and killed in France.
They renamed themselves to Berserik, and lived in the Hague where i was born as well, my dad and mum lived there because he got a job as policeman there after the war.
It can take lots of time to sort out that stuff, internet made it a bit less problematic because all registers were scanned and put up on the net of most townhall's.

WX7P
08-28-2012, 04:10 PM
My Dad has been a big genealogy buff since the 60's. I can't count how many cemeteries I've been to all over CA and the US and all the aging relatives he interviewed.
As a kid, it was boring, but reading the results of the research is interesting now.

My family has been in CA since 1845 on my Dad's side. My mother was born in Nebraska and even though she's been in CA since 1942, you can still hear the Midwest in her voice. (Mon-DEE instead of Monday or "Warsh" instead of Wash).

I have reams of this stuff I haven't even looked at yet. Maybe some day.

X-Rated
08-28-2012, 04:27 PM
My Dad has been a big genealogy buff since the 60's. I can't count how many cemeteries I've been to all over CA and the US and all the aging relatives he interviewed.
As a kid, it was boring, but reading the results of the research is interesting now.

My family has been in CA since 1845 on my Dad's side. My mother was born in Nebraska and even though she's been in CA since 1942, you can still hear the Midwest in her voice. (Mon-DEE instead of Monday or "Warsh" instead of Wash).

I have reams of this stuff I haven't even looked at yet. Maybe some day.

I have worked hard to remove "warsh" and stuff like that from the plains states dialect. One of my distant relatives lived in Grass Vally near you. Her name was Ara Shirar Sanders. She was a massive genealogy buff. A lot of my info came from her.

I made a lineage dealie for my grand daughter in case she wants to join the DAR when she turns 18 in 14 years.

GAUMER, JACOB

Ancestor #: A043676

Service:

PENNSYLVANIA Rank: PRIVATE

Birth:

(BAPTISED) 7-30-1756 MACUNGIE TWP NORTHAMPTON CO PENNSYLVANIA

Death:

1820 MUSKINGUM CO OHIO

Service Source:

PA ARCH VOL 8 SER 5 P 60

Service Description:

1) CAPTS GEORGE KNAPINGBERGER & GRIENLMYER
2) NORTHAMPTON CO,MILITIA

Son

Daniel B. Gaumer b. 10 Apr 1781, d. 10 Sep 1858 or 10 Sep 1859

Daughter

Lydia Gaumer (Shirar) b. 24 Jan 1803, d. 28 Jul 1872

Son

Levi Shirar b. 25 May 1823, d. 21 Aug 1891

Son

James Riley Shirar b. 13 Dec 1851, d. 6 Dec 1924

Son

Charles Levi Shirar b. 31 Dec 1878, d. 15 Oct 1969

Son

James Lester Shirar b. 25 Jan 1912, d. 14 Jan 2003

Son

N9XR Jerry Lester Shirar b. 18 Nov 1957

Son

Joshua Ryan Shirar b. 1 Jul 1981

Daughter

Valerie Skye Shirar b. 24 Jul 2008

N8YX
08-28-2012, 04:35 PM
I can trace one side of my mother's lineage back to the Mayflower. The Injun side is a bit harder, and my father's kin was Swiss. I'm a damn mutt. :lol:

kf0rt
08-28-2012, 05:03 PM
Not sure where the thread lock came from on this one. Software glitch? Yeah, that's it. :lol:

KK4AMI
08-28-2012, 05:46 PM
Many people have been meaning to ask about my avatar. Yeah.

It is my great great great grandparents, Davy and Lydia Shirar. They were the first "Shirar's" in the US as far as I know. Davy's grandfather moved to the US from Nazi Germany in 1730 with the name "Scheurer". When they moved to Philly, the people at the courthouse wanted a name that was a little more American so they changed it to "Shirer". Davy's dad, Valentine, moved his brood to Muskingum County, Ohio. Well, things being the way they were, the family apparently fought a lot and Davy grew up, married and moved to Carroll County, Indiana. Changed his name and everything.

That's where these two lived and died. http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRI8HuMV-aiyjxpgi4fu0obw85x4C7_5WOMoV_XiZWa0sHzhu5X&t=1

Well, Davy and Lydia are buried right there in the center of the Flora, IN cemetery. Some of their kids moved on to Kansas and that's where I came in and moved back east. But there were 6 generations of Shirar's in Kansas after that time.

Anyone else do any lineage stuff? Find out where you are descended from?

Any chance you are related to the Astronaut Wally Schirra? I know its not the same spelling, but names do get changed over the years and he was from the same Jersey/Philadelphia area. It's pretty close.

7045

X-Rated
08-28-2012, 05:51 PM
Any chance you are related to the Astronaut Wally Schirra? I know its not the same spelling, but names do get changed over the years and he was from the same Jersey/Philadelphia area. It's pretty close.

I believe the "Shirra's" are Brit. There are authentic "Shirer's" who are Brit as well. We are not related to any of those of Brit origin. My Grandfather did marry a Brit, but her name was Alice Cooper. She really rocked.

KK4AMI
08-28-2012, 05:56 PM
I believe the "Shirra's" are Brit. There are authentic "Shirer's" who are Brit as well. We are not related to any of those of Brit origin. My Grandfather did marry a Brit, but her name was Alice Cooper. She really rocked.

I don't know... he has your great great great grandmothers nose. :)

WN9HJW
08-28-2012, 05:58 PM
Deleted

KK4AMI
08-28-2012, 06:05 PM
My wife does genealogy research as an avocation in retirement. She's also something of an expert on genealogy and history of Alexandria, Virginia, having worked for the Alexandria Public Library in the Special Collections & Local History Branch for about ten years. She's contributed research to several books.

I'm currently researching my great-grandfather Charles Bush and his line. If you look up my Profile picture, that's him standing in front of the Massillon (Ohio) State Hospital for the Insane in about 1934. Yes, he was a patient. Long story. Anyway, that line of the family seems to have come from New York and I'm trying to peice together the genealogy from Charley back.

At least he didn't get drunk and fall asleep on the Chicago & Alton railroad tracks and get killed by a train, like my Irish great-great-grandfather Thomas Dwyer did in about 1880.

So part of my background was either alcoholic or insane, I guess. Half the family lineage is Polish and I have them traced to several towns south of Krakow. Planning a trip there in a few years. One fourth is Prussian, from the region which is now Gdansk, Poland. The Polish and Prussians all came to the US between 1890 to 1910.

Gdansk was Danzig. Hey, that's where my mother comes from. She and her family left there when the Russians chased all the Germans out after the war. I stopped following my lineage when I realized there was no money in it.

suddenseer
08-28-2012, 07:31 PM
Gdansk was Danzig. Hey, that's where my mother comes from. She and her family left there when the Russians chased all the Germans out after the war. I stopped following my lineage when I realized there was no money in it.I stopped following my lineage when I realized they were all a bunch of criminals, like my present relatives.

N8YX
08-28-2012, 10:38 PM
Not sure where the thread lock came from on this one. Software glitch? Yeah, that's it. :lol:
I posted my response via this Xoom. Not surprised if it accidentally locked the discussion, as the keyboard is downright flaky at times. Sorry if it was me...

X-Rated
08-28-2012, 10:43 PM
I posted my response via this Xoom. Not surprised if it accidentally locked the discussion, as the keyboard is downright flaky at times. Sorry if it was me...

No problem. Thanks.

n2ize
08-29-2012, 04:14 AM
My history can be traced to a long line of Neanderthals and Barbarians. People who know me well can clearly see the Barbaric traits I have inherited. :lol:

N8XE
08-30-2012, 06:59 PM
My wife has been doing geneology now for the past two years and I admit, it is fascinating. It is not unusual for her and I to head off to some part of Ohio and troll around graveyards searching for our dead relatives. We did find my great, great, great, grandparents in Mt. Vernon, OH.

We have traced my family's namesake back to the Bas-Rhin region in France.

It is addicting once you start.

Jason N8XE

kf0rt
08-30-2012, 07:35 PM
It's cool stuff...

My fraternal grandfather died in 1965 and was buried close to where he spent most of his adult life (outside Albany, NY). During some genealogical research, I discovered that he also had a grave site in Clymer, NY where he was first married (Dad's Mom died of TB about a year after my Dad was born). My Dad had no knowledge of the Clymer site and had my grandfather's remains relocated to Clymer a few years ago, based on this.

I'm no expert at this, but find it VERY interesting. Have what I know mapped out in a program called Personal Ancestral File (free from the LDS folks - Google if interested). These days, I probably spend a day or two a year on it, just to see if anything new is available online. The most frustrating part of it (for me) is how often the female side of the research dead-ends. I've got a G-Grandfather on my Mom's side who was pretty well known in academic circles for his research in microbiology in the late 1800's and early 1900's. His wife? Can't even find her name.

WØTKX
08-31-2012, 11:26 PM
Paternal side is traced all the way back to the late 1300's. Germany, mostly the Rollfeld am Main area. Czechoslovakia and Bavaria too. The deepest roots found are right on the Main river. Story is, our family did very well making a stout and potent local red wine. One of the largest houses from the 1500's is still there, it's a Bed and Breakfast now.

The N. American move happened right after the Civil War; in SW Iowa, Germantown NY, and Saskatoon.

Maternal side is messed up. Almost everybody got wiped out, Alsace St. Lorain and the Polish ghettos. Two WW's, POOF!
No records left. Some traces of Scott/Irish, the lineage that survived. Immigrants GTFO, made it to California, 1890's.

My kid sister dug this stuff up. I have a really neato report about the paternal side she made.

N7YA
09-01-2012, 05:54 PM
My dad tried to do the family trace thing and failed miserably. I think he was just trying to make shit up to make himself feel important...either way, it didnt help me in my search for our lines.

But fortunately, my mom and aunt are tireless geneologists and are willing to travel to search old county records. They have compiled a record folder for me and my son of accurate and traceable lineage going back nearly 900 years to Norman settlements in England.

The first family from my moms side to permanently reside in the new world were the Coopers of Pyne Pointe (modern day warzone, Camden, NJ) in the 1600's. William Cooper was one of the first men to incorporate the town and established the first ferry service there...he also was a Quaker who traded slaves. The Coopers refused to participate in violence, and lived this way until the Revolution, when several family members decided the call to arms was too great to ignore. Ever since then, my family members from both sides have fought in every major conflict this country has been embroiled in from the Rev, 1812, WWI and II, Korea, Vietnam, through to Iraq. The old founders cemetery is still in Camden, but none of us want to go visit. Fuck that! :lol:

From my dads side (it took my moms research to get good info), he had this crazy story about a baby being washed up onshore and being rasied by a rich family in New England...sounds biblically familiar, doesnt it? Well, the New England part was true, and so was the rich family part...though, they are old school and greedy...the truth is we can trace our north american lineage back to the late 1600's, and the English/Scot herritage back to the time of the Norman relocation. A man named George LeTalor was the first french decended Englishman to say "bugger this!", and change his family name to the english version, our current name, Taylor, because he was sick of all the shit he and his family were getting from native English for being a froggy invader.

One side or the other of my lineage has settled numerous towns in Mass, Kentucky, SC and NC and New York from the 1700's on up. Aside from a rev war general (who is oddly enough, buried in the cemetery at the end of the street my mom currently lives on in her small PA town...shock to her), we were just military, religious and business people...nobody famous. But the fact that my family from both sides were here and directly participated in the formation of our country is pretty cool to us.

Its our more recent lines that are getting out of the house and trying to do something to be famous...ill let you know how that turns out. :lol:

WØTKX
09-01-2012, 06:06 PM
Bloody Tory! ;) :neener:

LOLWUT is up with your avatar anyway? Just wondering.

N7YA
09-02-2012, 05:36 AM
Its the whole "Illegitmus non Carborundum" thing. Fight the oppressors, etc, etc.... :)

kf0rt
09-03-2012, 01:04 PM
FYI: ancestry.com is allowing free census record lookups today (you might need a free account).

Interesting stuff for those so inclined.