Home of R. H. Hodgson in Chester County, Pa

Robert Hodgson was my ancestor. However, I'm not yet sure if this is my direct ancestor, or someone more distantly related.

A Hair's Breadth Away

I've been quite obsessed with genealogy the last couple of weeks. Well honestly, the last couple of years! But the last couple of weeks it's ALL I want to be doing.

That happens when I make a find or develop a theory. I have a couple and so I have more than enough work to do. I believe I've found the city in France my Dellitt ancestors may come from.

I still need to be able to prove it though --  that's one 'hair's breadth away'.

Really when I chose that title though I was thinking of the Lockhart line I've been researching. I've had a theory for a couple of years now about who Major Robert Lockhart's brothers were and because of people mentioned in 2 wills I've been working to prove the relationship. I suppose you could go off of just what I have in the one will of his brother (if I'm right) Josiah Lockhart of Lancaster, Pa. But I would like something more, because there were SO many Robert Lockharts in that area at that time and of the right age. I've found a connection through the Denny line of Robert's wife Margery Denny to the same surname mentioned in the wills I've found, so I suppose I'm related at least through her. But I'm positive (just want that extra bit of security) that I've got the right line.

And that's why I say a hair's breadth. Because I have him recorded in a census. Now I just have to establish that it's not someone else, but is my Robert Lockhart.

I'll let you know when I do. And that's the only reason I haven't put the surnames here. I want to be able to easily say 'yes, this is definitely my line. and here's why.' Not "yes, I'm pretty sure, positive this is my line, I just still need another piece of evidence."

What Goes Well With Branwen?

I love coming up with first and middle name combinations. Branwen is one of my all-time favorite names. But I find it hard to pair her with just the right name. Here are some attempts:

Branwen Abby
Branwen Aurelie
Branwen Edith
Branwen Eurydice
Branwen Jeannie

Faith Branwen
Edith Branwen
Ida Branwen
Lilia Branwen
Nicola Branwen

September 28th, 2013

 I've worked on this a little more. I think, for now anyway, I'm going with Branwen Patience. Patience is another name I love, love, love.

Some other names I am really loving today:

Katherine Iseult
Elizabeth Camilla
Liessa Elowen
Bridget Calliope
Phoebe Gwenllian
Rebecca Ann
Priscilla Jane
Sarai Elaina
Adela Temperance
Dacia Frances
Nadia Eilonwy
Emmeline Ingrid
Grace Cassiopeia
and last but not least
Maia Angharad

And a parting thought on Branwen. I'm having a hard time remaining committed to Branwen Patience. I looked at the list above again and thought Nicola Branwen looked so wonderful. Hmm. We'll see.

1 syllable Names

Ann
Ayn
Bay
Bess
Beth
Bette
Blair
Brekke
Brett
Brooke
Cam
Cass
Dale
Day
Elle
Eire
Em
Eve
Fay
Gaye
Gem
Jan
Jane
Jay
Jean
Jen
Jet
Jo
Joan
June
Kat
Kate
Kay
Kit
Lane
Leigh
Liv
Lou
Lynn
Madge
Maeve
Mags
May
Meg
Midge
Moon
Moss
Nan
Nat
Nell
Neve
Noor
Pam
Pat
Pearl
Peg
Pet
Rae
Rain
Rose
Rue
Ruth
Skye
Soon
Sue
Suk
Tess
Ti
True
Truth
Val
Vale
Viv
Ya
Zee

Abe
Al
Ames
Ang
Ashe
Beau (or Bo)
Ben
Bert
Blaine
Blair
Blaise
Bob
Bram
Bran
Brandt
Brent
Brett
Brock
Brook
Brooks
Burke
Burl
Cab
Cal
Cam
Charles
Chance
Chase
Chet
Chuck
Dale
Dan
Dane
Dar
Dave
Dick
Dodge
Dwight
Ed
Fields
Fitz
Ford
Frank
Franz
Fred
Fritz
Gad
Gage
Gray
Guy
Hal
Han
Hank
Hans
Hayes
Hugh
Ike
Jack
Jake
Jan (pronounced "yawn", Scandinavian)
Jarl (pronounced 'yarl', Scandinavian)
Jay
Jed
Jens
Jet
Jim
Jin
Joe
Joel
John
Kale
Kay
Kev
Kit
Lance
Lane
Lars
Lee
Les
Lex
Lorne
Lot
Lou
Lynn
Mack
Mance
Mark
Matt
Max
Mel
Mick
Mike
Miles
Mitch
Nat
Nate
Ned
Nels
Nick
Oak
Oakes
Oh
Oz
Pan
Pat
Paul
Pete
Phil
Rance
Rand
Ray
Reid
Rich
Rick
Rob
Rock
Rod
Roy
Royce
Russ
Sam
Saul
Shaq
Shem
Sky
Steve
Stig
Sven
Tad
Ted
Thad
Thayne
Thor
Thorne
Tig
Tim
Tom
Trent
Trey
Troy
Vance
Vaughan
Vick
Vince
Wade
Walt
Wayne
Wes
Will
Yul
Yves
Zach
Zan
Zane
Zeb
Zed
Zeke

Every Name There Is - B

Here are the girl B names:

Babette

Babs

Bailey

Bambi

Barb

Barbara

Barbarella

Barbarelle

Barbaretta

Barbarette

Barbie

Basia

Bay

Bayard

Beatrice

Beatrisa

Beatrix

Beatriz

Beautiful

Becky

Bedinger

Belen

Bella

Belladonna

Belle

Belphoebe

Benin

Berengaria

Berenice

Beret

Berlin

Bernarda

Bernarde

Bernadetta

Bernadette

Bernadina

Bernadine

Bernardina

Bernardine

Bernardita

Bernestine

Bernetta

Bernie

Bernice

Bernina

Bernine

Berta

Berte

Berthe

Bertha

Bertille

Bertina

Bertine

Beryl

Bess

Bessie

Beth

Bethan

Bethaney

Bethel

Bethia

Bethlehem

Bethzabeth

Betsy

Bettany

Bette

Bettina
Bettine

Betty

Beulah

Bev

Beverly

Bianca

Bienvenida

Bindi

Bitsy

Blakeley

Blanca

Blanche

Blanchefleur

Bliss

Blodwen

Blossom

Bluebell

Blythe

Bo

Bobbetta

Bobette

Bonneville

Bonnie

Boston

Bountiful

Brandilyn

Branwen

Brantley

Breeanne

Brenda

Brendalyn

Brenna

Briallen

Brianda

Bridget

Brietta

Brigida

Brigitta

Brigitte

Briony

Brisa

Brita

Britta

Brittan

Brittanica

Brittney

Bronislava

Bronislawa

Bronwen

Brooke

Brookeleigh

Brooklyn

Brynley

Brynn

Brynna

Buffy

Bunny

And the Boy B Names:

Baldric

Baldwin

Balfour

Bannon

Barclay

Barnabas

Barnaby

Barney

Baron

Barrabas

Barrett

Barry

Bart

Barthelemy

Bartholomew

Bartolo

Barton

Bartley

Bastian

Baxter

Beauregard

Bede

Bedivere

Ben

Benedict

Benjamin

Bennett

Benny

Beowulf

Bernard

Bernie

Bert

Bertrand

Bev

Beverley

Birch

Bjorn

Blaise

Blake

Bo

Boyd

Brad

Bradley

Bram

Brandt

Branwell

Braulio

Brent

Brett

Brian

Brice

Britton

Broderick

Brody

Brooks

Bruce

Bryant

Bryson

Buck

Burke

Burnell

Burton

Byron 

If you know of any I've forgotten, please suggest it in the comments!

ABCs

I love collecting things, and one of thing I've collected are alphabet books. I love every kind. This book - ABC Menagerie - I discovered yesterday at Thanksgiving Point. It's a bit pricey (it was $22 or $23). The pictures are of clever little stuffed animals - very unusual - to go with the rhymes for each letter (iguana for i, elephant for e). The rhymes are just so-so, the main attraction are the photos of the stuffed animals which are so creative. Better than a Dr. Seuss character. Just fabulous.

The other reason I love this book is it fits another fascination of mine - names. Each animal has a name (Brunehilde and Xavier) as well as the pronunciation of the name - which is handy as there were several even I had not heard of - and I've been collecting names for at least 30 years, rather fanatically. Some names have alternate pronunciations from those listed in the book, but still, it's a nice feature rarely found in kid's books.

It is the second name alphabet book I own. The other one is in Spanish and was written by a famous poet (but I'm forgetting if it was Rosario Ferre or Rosario Castellanos - and it's buried in a box somewhere). I can't even tell you the name because it escapes me. The pictures for that book are nice enough, but that is not the main attraction. The rhymes are SO much fun, it is a great book from that angle. Also because it's an older book, published in the 1970s I believe, the names are even older. They're Spanish and they're more old-fashioned Spanish. How many of you who have not grown up in a Spanish-speaking environment know which Spanish names are now considered old-fashioned? Not me in any case.

But still. What a treat to be browsing in a store yesterday, when that was not my original plan for the day, not a bookstore, and to discover this book. I really enjoyed it and wished I had money.

But I'm glad I've developed some self-control.

The Spanish name alphabet book? Maybe 25 cents at a yard sale. If I had to pick one to save from a fire? The 25 cent book which is probably out of print.

A fun counting rhyme

I took this from a book from the 1800s I came across on google books. "Games and Songs of American Children". Even though it was published in 1890 some of the people that were the sources of the various rhymes were quite old at the time, around 90, so they do reflect some old rhymes and games.

This is a counting rhyme:

Intery, mintory, cutery corn,
Appleseed and apple-thorn;
Wire, briar, limber lock,
Five mice in a flock;
Catch him Jack,
Hold him Tom,
Blow the bellows,
Old man out.

This is for the kind of counting children do when choosing who will go first - rather than eeny meeny miney moe, for instance, or Bubble gum, bubble gum.

And the interesting thing is how many variations of these rhymes they have in the book, with explanations. It would seem it is related to number words from the British Isles. Eeny and meeny being similar to 'intery' and 'mintery', and eeny meeny likewise similar to the counting words from Ireland "eina" and "mina".

I believe that's how it works. Just as Fee Fie Foe Fum were also counting words

Using Directories for Genealogy

I've found some 19th century directories that the Lancaster Historical Society has made available (and most importantly, searchable) online to be useful in my genealogy. This is a recent discovery. I had found some relatives in a directory online for Winchester, Virginia but just not thought to look for more directories. These are fabulous because they give both home and work addresses in some cases, lists the occupation of the person and if they are a widow it states that and who their husband was. You can find people who were boarding in someone else's home and also, as these are not just every ten years like the censuses, you can figure out where folks were or went to this way. It's a great way to research your ancestors! And looking at some of the advertisements gives you a real feel for the life they lived. When I see that Louisa M. Dellett was one of 3 music teachers in her town of Columbia, PA and that another female Dellet listed was a milliner, I can imagine a little bit what their lives were like. When Joseph Dellett is a cigar box maker and another Dellett a chair ornamenter, I feel like I know more about who they were.

I've come across a Samuel H. Lockard listed in Boyd's Directory of Columbia (Pennsylvania) on page 317. He was the proprietor of the Riverside Hotel, 109 S Front (Street).

I have a few ideas about who he 'might' be. Since this directory is for the year 1874-75 he is too old to be the Samuel Lockhart brother to Robert and Josiah Lockhart (Robert is probably my Major Robert Volney Lockhart who married Margery Denny and moved to Virginia). He might be a son of that Samuel, however, as Samuel Lockhart, Revolutionary War veteran, lived in Lancaster in 1809 when his brother Josiah wrote his will (though he was living in Virginia in the 1820s this doesn't mean he didn't live in both places, as my ancestor Brigadier General Josiah Lockhart had homes in Adams County, Ohio and in Virginia at the same time. Another possibility is that he is the son of Josiah Lockhart who was named as the son of Josiah Lockhart in his will of 1809 (therefore Samuel H. Lockard would be the grandson of Josiah Lockhart, who was in business with his brother Robert during the Revolutionary War in Lancaster in the 1770s.) Another possibility is that Samuel is descended from a different brother or other relative who came to Lancaster. And of course, given the various Lockhart families in the vicinity he might not be related at all (but I'm crossing my fingers). It's at least a piece of information to go off of. I'll let you know when I figure out more.

So here are the theories.

Major Robert Volney Lockhart    - son Brigadier General Josiah E. Lockhart
Josiah Lockhart  - son Josiah Lockhart
Samuel Lockhart (Revolutionary War veteran)- daughters Sarah and Nancy Lockhart
possible 4th brother who either stayed in Ireland or had died by 1804  - son Thomas Lockhart (Thomas could be the son of Robert or Samuel, Robert seems more likely than Samuel) lived in Londonderry as of 1809 (and there is a candidate listed in the Tithe Applotments for County Tyrone, Ireland, townland of Killyberry in the Ballyscullion Parish in 1828, so he may NOT have come to America)

1. Samuel H. Lockard, hotel proprietor in 1874-75 is the son of Samuel Lockhart, Revolutionary War Veteran -  the older Samuel H. Lockard was in 1874 the more likely it is that this or #3 or 4 below is the correct theory

2. Samuel H. Lockhard, hotel proprietor in 1874-75 is the son of Josiah Lockhart, son of Josiah Lockhart (brother to Robert and Samuel)  - the younger he was in 1874 the more likely it is that this is the correct theory, as it seems likely that Josiah son of Josiah was very young in 1809 (based on the provisions made for him in the will) and it also seems likely that he was the same as the Josiah Lockhart who died in Puerto Rico in 1841, a representative of the U.S. government to the Virgin Islands and who was from Lancaster, PA and left a widow and a few children when he died in 1841 (or 1840, I need to check my notes).

 3. Samuel H. Lockhard, hotel proprietor in 1874-75 is the son of a possible 4th brother (possibly the father also of Thomas Lockhart, nephew to Josiah Lockhart mentioned in the will of 1809)

4.  Samuel H. Lockhard, hotel proprietor in 1874-75 is the son of a Lockhart I am not related to.

    

Josiah Lockhart - court proceeding in Pennsylvania July 1834

Following is a decision of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania regarding a land dispute involving Josiah Lockhart. Given the date I am assuming this is the Josiah Lockhart mentioned in the will of Josiah Lockhart of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 1809. He left most of the inheritance to his only son, Josiah Lockhart. I believe this is the same Josiah Lockhart who later died in Puerto Rico in December 1841 leaving a widow and 3 or 4 children at home in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He was the representative of the U.S. government in the Virgin Islands at the time, I think they were still a Dutch possession. Not sure what land this suit is regarding but I am curious to find out more about this.




Taken from Reports of Cases Argued and Adjudged in the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania By Pennsylvania. Supreme Court, William Wynne Wister, Frederick Watts Pages 371 and 372

Every Name There Is - II

This is the 2nd post of names in my effort to put all the names I can think of or come across on this blog. Not every spelling, just every name (given names, not surnames, pet names, etc).

Boys

Letter A

Aaro

Aaron

Aaronas

Aata

Aatami

Aatos

Aatto

Aatu

Ab

Aba

Abaco

Abad

Abahu

Aban

Abarran

Abas

Abasea

Abaye

Abbe

Abbijah

Abbin

Abbo

Abbondio

Abbott

Abdiel

Abdul

Abdullah

Abe
Abednego
Abel

Aberlard

Abelito 

Abiel

Abihu

Abijah

Abimael

Abimelech

Abinadi

Abiram

Abisai

Abner
Abraham
Abram
Absalom

Abu

Acacius

Acceus

Ace

Achaikos

Achan

Achilles
Acton

Adair

Adalbern

Adalbert

Adalbert

Adalfuns

Adalhard

Adalwin

Adalwolf

Adam
Adan
Addison

Adelmar

Adlai

Adolfo
Adolph
Adolphus

Adolphus

Adonai

Adonijah

Adoniram

Adonis

Adrastos

Adrian

Adriano

Adrianus

Adriel

Aed

Aedelwine

Aegidius

Aeldwine

Aelfgar

Aelfheah

Aelfric

Aelfwin

Aelianus

Aelius

Aelred

Aemilius

Aeneas

Aeolus

Aeschylus

Aeson

Aesop

Aetius

Agam

Agamemnon

Agapetos

Agapio

Agapito

Agathangelos

Agathon

Agim

Agmundr

Agni

Agrippa

Agusti

Ahab

Ahaseurus

Ahaz

Ahmad

Ahmed

Ahenobarbus

Ahmet

Ahmose

Ahoth

Ahriman

Ahti

Ahura Mazda

Aias

Aidan
Aidric

Ailil

Ailin

Ailpein

Aiman

Aimo

Aingeru

Aitor

Ajax

Akakios

Akash

Akeem

Akhenaten

Akos

Akseli

Aku

Al
Aladdin
Alaric

Albaer

Alban

Albano

Albanus

Alberich

Alberico

Albert
Alberto

Albertus

Albinus

Alboin

Alborz

Albrecht

Albus

Alby

Alcaeus

Aldegar

Alden

Alderic

Aldo

Aldric

Aldert

Aldhard

Aldo

Aldous

Alecjo

Alec

Aled

Aleifr

Aleixo

Alejandro

Alejo

Aleksandras

Aleksandru

Aleksanteri

Aleksi

Alessandro

Alessio

Alexander

Alex
Alexander
Alexei
Alf
Alfie
Alfonso
Alfred
Alfredo

Alfwin

Algar

Algernon

Ali

Alistair

Allen
Alma

Almanzo

Aloysius

Alphonse

Alpin

Alton

Alva

Alvey

Alvin

Amadeo

Amadeus

Amadis

Amador

Amalaric

Amandus

Amari
Amasa
Ambrose

Ambrosino

Ambrosio

Ambrosius
Amerigo
Ames

Amias

Amis

Ammad
Ammon
Amos
Amulek
Ananias
Anastasio
Anastasius
Anatole

Anatolio

Anatoly
Anders
Anderson
Anderton
Andre
Andreas
Andres
Andrew

Andy
Ang

Angel

Angelo

Angelus

Angra Mainyu

Angus

Anibal

Ansel

Anselm

Anson

Anthony
Antoine
Anton
Antoninus
Antonio
Antonius
Antony
Aolius
Apollo
Apollodorus
Aragorn
Archer
Archibald
Archie
Ares
Ari

Aristophanes

Aristoteles
Aristotle

Arlen

Arlo

Arn
Arnie
Arno
Arnold
Arnulf
Art
Arthur
Artie
Artur
Arturo

Artus

Arvel

Arvid

Arwel

Asa
Ash
Asher
Ashley
Ashton

Asser

Aston

Astor

Atherton

Atlas

Aton

Atreus

Atreyu
Atticus
Audric

Audley

Auguinare

August

Augustin

Augustino

Aurelian

Aureliano

Aurelio

Austin

Averett
Averill
Avery

Avin

Axel

Azariah

Aziz
Azriel

Every Name There Is

Names have been an obsession of mine since childhood. My quest beginning with this post is to list every name there is (personal name, not surname, pet name, etc). Not every spelling, mind you, just every name. I don't mean to list Ann and Anne.

So, beginning with A (and add any  you see that I have missed)

(there's irregular spacing between some of the names - no names are missing this blog editor is just weird that way)


Aase
Abba
Abby

Aberdeen

Abigail
Abilene
Abish
Abra
Abril
Acacia
Acadia
Ada
Adabell
Adalyn
Adara
Addison
Addy
Adela
Adelaida
Adelaide
Adelajda
Adar
Adele
Adelheid
Adelia
Adelie

Adelina
Adeline

Adelisa

Adelise
Adelita
Adeliza
Adeltrude
Adina
Adora
Adore
Adria
Adriana
Adrie
Adrienne
Aelinde
Aeronwen
Aeronwy
Africa
Afton
Agape
Agatha

Aggie
Agnes
Agnessa
Agueda
Aida
Aileen
Ailsa
Ailse

Ainsley
Aisha

Aithne
Ajah
Alana
Alannis

Alaska
Alberta
Albertina
Albertine
Aleida
Alejandra
Alejandrina
Alessandra
Aleska

Alessia
Alex

Alexa
Alexandra
Alexandria
Alexandrina
Alexandrine
Alexia
Alexie
Alexis
Alix
Alfonsa
Alfonsina
Alfonsine
Alforetta
Alice
Alicia
Alienor
Alina
Aline
Alisa
Allasa
Allison
Ally
Alma
Alonsa
Alora
Alouette
Alyssa
Alyssia

Amalia
Amanda
Amaryllis
Amaya
Amber

Amberly
Amberlyn
Ambika

Ambrosia
Amelia
Amelie
America
Amethyst
Amira
Amity
Amrita
Amy

Ana

Anais

Anastasia
Anatola
Anatolia

Anaya
Anchoret
Andi
Andra
Andrea
Aneska
Ang
Angel
Angela
Angelica
Angelie
Angelina
Angeline
Angelique
Angelisa
Angelise
Angelyn
Angharad
Angie

Ani
Anika
Anisa
Anise
Anita
Ann
Anna
Annabella
Annabelle
Annelisa
Anneliese
Annelise
Annie
Annika
Annis
Annissa
Annora

Annuka
Anouk
Ansley
Antalya
Anthea
Antoinette
Antonia
Antonina
Antonine
Anya
Aolani
Aphra
Apollonia
Apple
April
Arabella
Arabelle
Arcadia
Arden
Aria
Ariachne
Ariadne
Ariel
Ariela
Arielita
Arielina
Arista
Arizona
Arwen
Asha
Ashanti

Ashley
Ashlyn
Ashton
Asia
Aster
Astera
Astra
Astraea
Astrid
Atalanta
Athena
Athene
Atlanta

Aubrey
Auburn
Audra
Audrey
Audria
Audrina
Augusta
Augustina
Augustine

Aura
Aurea
Aurelia
Aurelie
Aurora
Aurore
Ava
Avalon
Avalynn
Avelina
Aveline

Avelisa
Avelise
Avery
Aviva
Avril

Ayla
Azalea

40

Happy birthday to me. I'm 40. My goal is to feel younger at my next birthday than I do this year. Once I figure out a way to do that, I'll let you know!

Ribbon embroidery

This is what I think of when I think of ribbon embroidery. It's beautiful, of course. Very victorian.

 

I had not thought of how realistic a flower might look:

Or of putting it on something like a baby afghan:

Or in a monogram:

Of course, as such an elaborate form of embroidery, and with such a Victorian feel, it is only natural that the show-offs who make crazy quilt use ribbon embroidery to make their quilts even more amazing.

One of my favorite discoveries is some of the modern ways ribbon embroidery is used. This flower fairy is pretty neat.

Not that I plan to start learning ribbon embroidery. In the first place, it's made with silk and organza ribbons. Imagine the cost of a small ribbon embroidery project (never mind some of the larger endeavors). Even if the cost weren't an issue, it is just such an undertaking. For some reason I'd rather learn stumpwork and Brazilian embroidery and some of those ways of making your embroidery 3 dimensional. Uh, once I learn basic embroidery stitches.