Tag: Ireland

52W Mark V – Week 18: Conrad Liggett

Conrad Liggett (1815-1838)

My Great x4 Grandfather, Conrad Liggett, had a very short life of only 22 years. As far as I can tell, he essentially lived long enough to have a child, which ensured my existence.

Conrad was the seventh of ten children born to James Liggett and Susanna Carr. Unusual for many family trees, I know more about his maternal line than his paternal side.

Apparently, Conrad’s Great Grandfather, James Alexander Liggett, was from Londonderry, Ireland and emigrated to Pennsylvania sometime before 1740. He seems to have moved to Virginia by 1740, where his son James, and grandson James, were born.

Conrad’s mother, Susanna Carr, was of German and Swiss heritage. Her father’s paternal line originated in Schwaigern, Wurttemburg, which is less than 75 kilometers from where many of my Germans from Russia ancestors originated from. On her father’s maternal side, Susanna’s great grandparents were from Switzerland.

On her maternal line, Susanna’s heritage is entirely Swiss, primarily from the area around Basil, which is also not far from where my Germans from Russia ancestors originated. I find it fascinating that I have Swiss ancestors, so I am somewhat surprised by how little I have done in researching those lines.

It seems that all of Conrad’s grandparents, as well as his parents, were born in Virginia. James and Susanna’s first three children were also born in Virginia. Sometime shortly before 1810, the family moved to Ohio, where the rest of their children, including Conrad, were born.

Conrad was born on December 28, 1815, possibly in Madison County, Ohio. Early in his childhood, probably around when he was eight, Conrad’s family moved to Scioto Township, Delaware County, Ohio. There are actually five Scioto Townships in Ohio, all in different counties, all along the Scioto River.

Several older sources suggest some of Conrad’s life events occurred in Ostrander, Delaware, Ohio, which cannot be true. Ostrander was not established until a train station was built there in 1852 and the town itself was not incorporated until 1875. However, land once farmed by Conrad’s father was located where Ostrander now stands.

On February 28, 1837, Conrad married Louisa Thomas in Delaware County. While the evidence is thin, it seems that Louisa was a widow when she married Conrad. Conrad and Louisa’s only child, Charlotte, was born on October 6, 1837. As one wag described Conrad in a discussion on FamilySearch, he was a “bad boy” because Charlotte was born little more than seven months after her parents’ marriage.

Regardless of the circumstances of Charlotte’s conception and birth, Conrad did not get to see much of his daughter’s life. Six and a half months after Charlotte was born, on April 21, 1838, Conrad died.

I do not know what caused his untimely death, but it left Louisa a widow for a second time. While his death was incredibly unfortunate for the entire family, Conrad’s brief existence was long enough to ensure mine. There is something rather bittersweet about that.

52W Mark V – Week 12: Samuel Nelson

Samuel Nelson (1785-1847)

With my Great x4 Grandfather, Samuel Nelson, I’ve reached the last of the ancestors I’ll be writing about for the 2026 52 Ancestors Challenge who is is largely behind a massive brick wall.

Based upon the thin and flimsy information I have, Samuel was born in 1785 in Donegal, Ireland. He married Martha Burns around 1810. They had at least one child, my Great x3 Grandfather Robert Nelson. Samuel died on September 16, 1847 in Muff, Donegal. That’s it.

And now I’m caught up with this year’s challenge! Enjoy it while it lasts.

I hope you’ve enjoyed meeting this again, hopefully for the last time this year.

52W Mark V – Week 11: Martha Burns

Martha Burns (1787-1865)

Continuing in my adventures in brick walls, this week I look at my Great x4 Grandmother, Martha Burns.

Several decades ago, while visiting my Aunt Diana, she told me that she understood that through our Nelson line we had Scottish ancestry and that Robbie Burns was one of our ancestors. I was thrilled, because Burns was one of my favourite poets. So when I learned that I had an ancestor surnamed Burns I was excited, because it meant what my aunt had told me was plausible.

Unfortunately, like many family legends, the story does not hold up to scrutiny.

First of all, none of the Bard of Ayrshire’s children – legitimate and illegitimate – were named Martha. Furthermore, the Nelsons weren’t Scottish. They’re Irish. Martha was born in 1787 in Muff, Donegal, Ireland. As far as I know, Martha never left Ireland, where she may have died in 1865. Martha’s son Robert and his wife Elizabeth left Ireland for Scotland in their mid twenties and remained there for five or six years before emigrating to America. It’s possible that Robert brought his mother to Scotland, but I don’t know why he’d leave her there when he left for the States.

Like my other seventh generation Irish ancestors, I have precious little information about Martha Burns. So like the others, anything I can say about her does not have a great foundation. It is hardly definitive.

For decades, I have seen trees naming a Mary Slaak or Slaught as Martha’s mother. While this person has been persistently named and connected with Martha in many trees I’ve seen over the decades, I’ve never seen any evidence to support it. I’ve seen various fathers attached to Martha, but I don’t recall seeing one that has been consistently named or been attached for very long.

Martha married Samuel Nelson sometime around 1810. The only child that I know of was their son Robert (my Great x3 Grandfather). I have seen the names of other children come and go, but there’s never been much if any evidence to support the connection. Heck, I don’t think I’ve seen much compelling evidence to indicate that Martha was Robert’s mother. Most of the information I have is as far from the Genealogical Proof Standard as you can get.

Martha died on September 25, 1865. Again, I have little reason to believe that’s correct, but it’s the date I’ve seen most consistently set out over the years. Of course, consistency could only mean that the same mistake has been repeated ad nauseum. Is Martha my ancestor? Did she even exist?

All in all, I’d like one less brick in the wall. 🎶

52W Mark V – Week 10: John Joseph

John Joseph (1793-1867)

Another opportunity to catch up on the 52 Ancestors Challenge with another brick wall ancestor, my Great x4 Grandfather John Joseph. Of course, I’d love to know more about John than have an opportunity to play catch-up. So here’s what I know, based on thin information. As with last week, this information is hardly definitive or reliable.

John was born in 1793 in Muff, Donegal, Ireland. He married Martha Carr sometime around 1810, although as I explained last post I suspect it was later in time. John and Martha had at least one child, my Great x3 Grandmother Elizabeth Joseph. Elizabeth was born in 1818, so I suspect John and Martha married sometime shortly before then.

John died on September 25, 1867 in Muff. Not that I can find anything solid to base that upon.

Most of the documentation I have about John Joseph.