Francis O'Neil and the O'Neil Family - Part 2

 The O'Neil Family, the Next Generations

If you missed Part 1 of the story, go here . . .

Francis O'Neil and Elizabeth Nevin came to America from Scotland and Ireland in the 1840s, married, and raised a large family that included children from previous marriages. They started out in south-central Wisconsin and then embarked on a 400-mile journey to far western Iowa and lived out their lives on the prairie.

From the 1897 Sanborn Map, the Arlington Hotel is shown on Fourth Street.
The hotel was often the center of life for the extended O'Neil family. 

David Hollister & the Hollister Family (4)

 Part Four - T.J. Hollister and Family

If you missed Part 3 of the story, go here . . .

If you missed Part 2 of the story, go here . . .
If you missed Part 1 of the story, go here . . .

Toward the end of his life, David Hollister would make one last journey, along with a number of the children, and would set down in Mapleton, Iowa. Here, they would settle in the surrounding area and raise their families on the prairie. David's fourth-born, Thomas Jefferson Hollister, was in his 20s when the family headed west. In Mapleton, he met another traveler from Wisconsin, Hannah O'Neil, and they married, raising seven children together. Some of those children would fan out across the United States as they reached adulthood, and one would make the ultimate sacrifice. The last part of this series is their story.

The children of Thomas Jefferson Hollister and Hannah O'Neal:
Stella, Grace, Rush, Mable, Loren, Nona, and Thomas.

Margaret O'Neil - Part I - About the Women

Margaret O'Neil - Pioneer and Story Teller - Part 1

Margaret O'Neil might be just another name in a long list of names of my ancestors. An ordinary woman in a faraway corner of 19th-century America, she was a wife, mother, sister, and aunt who was born in small-town Wisconsin and grew up, lived, and died in small-town Iowa. In those days, letter writing (correspondence) and journaling were common occupations of those who could read and write. Margaret was no different, except for one thing that stands out, which helps us shine a light on her existence. She wrote a story, a story of her family and their traveling adventure across the Midwest in a covered wagon - it's a pioneer's story. She told it well enough to get it published in a local newspaper and through that, it found its way to others. Not unlike a more famous writer and contemporary, Laura Ingalls, Margaret told her 'Little House on the Prairie' tale.

Margaret (center) with brother Loren and sister Hannah. They
were just little kids on the month-long journey to far western Iowa.

About the Women

As one researches their family history, it soon becomes abundantly apparent that most of the information is about the men in the family, and information on the women is often severely lacking. 

The O'Neil Sisters, Frontier Women.

Nina Goldbin - About the Women

Nina Goldbin, Rags-to-Riches

Nina Goldbin is a relatively recent find in my hunt for ancestors and like most of my discoveries, it was completely unexpected. Lately, I have been searching for any new information (new to me), which has allowed me to update, add to, and generally refresh older posts. There is always new information available and this round of inquiry was very fruitful. When I found Nina, I was intrigued and the more I looked into her story, the more interesting it became. The rags-to-riches title may be a bit of an exaggeration but I think it is safe to say that Nina rose from very humble beginnings to something completely unexpected.

Nina, circa 1922

Peder P. Moe - Short Biography

Peder Moe, North Dakota Pioneer

Peder Moe was born on September 28, 1858, in Hafslo, Norway. In 1864, at about the age of six, he came to America with his parents, Peter Olsen Moe and Anna Augundsdatter Lad and several siblings. They first went to Black Earth, Wisconsin and then settled on Section One in the northeast corner of the Town of Blue Mounds and just north of what would eventually become the Village of Mount Horeb.

Peder Moe, about 1890.

1950 Census - Another Milestone

Back in 2012, I was really excited about the release of the 1940 US Census - I called it once in a lifetime and it was. But lo and behold, these past 10 years have gone by fast and another 'once' is happening. The 1950 census data has been released.

72 years ago, census takers were going around the country gathering information about the population. My mom was 12 years old and growing up in small-town Wisconsin. As a matter of fact, her hometown (and mine) had a population that was less than a quarter of its size today. 1950 ushered in an era of prosperity and growth for much of the country. World War II was in the rear view mirror and the future looked bright. In my own family search, many of the boys and girls from the 1940 census are adults and starting families of their own by 1950 and there are new names in the lists - new children who were not yet born in 1940. There are also those that have disappeared from the record, yes, some have died in the intervening years. The census brings home the full circle of life in cold, hard facts.

The Buell Family - Colonial Americans

Martha Buell was the wife of Nathaniel Holcombe II. She was born in Simsbury, Connecticut in 1675. Martha was the third or fourth of nine or ten children of Sergeant Peter Buell (b.1644, d.1728) and his first wife, Martha Cogan (Coggins / Cozzins) (b.1648, d.1686), both of Windsor, Connecticut.

Martha and Nathaniel Holcombe were married in 1695. She was raised on the frontier at Hop Meadow and would raise her family in the remote outpost at Salmon Brook. By the early 1700s, the area was becoming more settled and less of a frontier but there were still dangers lurking about. 

William Buell listed on the Ancient Map of Windsor. Connecticut.

Salmon Brook (Granby), Connecticut

Salmon Brook, which started out as no more than a small cluster of houses and a remote outpost of Simsbury, would later become part of the newly formed Town of Granby. It was the home of Nathaniel Holcombe I, II and III and is an important place in the history of this family line. It is certain that almost every Holcombe in Granby was a descendant of the first Nathaniel and hundreds of them raised families and lived out their lives there. Six generations from this writer's direct line lived there, for over 120 years, starting with Nathaniel and ending with Apollas.

Granby Center (Salmon Brook); from the United States Geological Survey, 1892

In Search of David Hollister

One of the joys of family research is discovering lines of ancestors that you had never heard of. In my search, there have been a few of these, mostly from my paternal grandmother’s family. I did not have much information on her and so a lot was waiting to be found. One of these families, the Hollisters, started out in colonial Connecticut and ended up, via New York, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, in far western Iowa.


The Town of Dansville, Stuben County, New York;
where David Hollister spent his youth?

Windsor, Connecticut

Located north of Hartford on the Connecticut River, Windsor was the first permanent settlement in the, soon-to-be Connecticut Colony and the home of Thomas Holcombe. In 1633 a group from Plymouth established a trading post at the meeting of the Connecticut and Farmington Rivers. A year later, the first group from Dorchester, Massachusetts, established itself just north of the trading post. Others from Dorchester would follow and a foothold in Connecticut was established.

North-central Connecticut prior to 1625 showing tribal settlements
along the Connecticut River in the area of future Windsor.

The Towns of My Ancestors

The primary focus of Genealogy is often concentrated on individual ancestors and their connection to others in the family. It is concerned about birth, parents, marriage, children, work, service, accomplishments and eventually death. These are the markers of a life and form a thread that connects each generation to the next. The place where they lived is another point of data but not always the focus of a Genealogy. Place was certainly an important part of each individual's life and yet, one constant seems to be that these folks were always on the move. It took a lot of work to put down roots and build a life but often, just as they had made a place for themselves, they would pack up and head out, usually toward the horizon of the setting sun. Still, those places . . . their home . . . was everything to the colonists and pioneers of America. Being able to settle in a place of one's own was the very definition of the freedom these people were looking for.

Town of Blue Mounds, Wisconsin. A survey from about 1833 shows the military
 road (on the ridge at the top of the map) and one settler (upper left corner). Like
the calm before the storm, over the next 30 years, the town will fill up; first with
 Yankees from the east, then a mix of Germans, Norwegians, Swiss and others.

The Chapin Family - Colonial Americans

Catherine Chapin was the wife of Nathaniel Bliss and the mother of Mary Bliss. She was born is Pomeroy, Devon, England in 1622. Catherine was the third of 10 or 11 children of Samuel Chapin (b.1598? d.1675) and Cicely Penny (b.1602, d.1682).

John Chapin

The Chapin family is believed to have come to America about 1638, landed at Boston and settled in Roxbury. Samuel Chapin was born in Paignton, Devon, England and was baptized on October 8, 1598 at Saint John the Baptist Church. He was the fourth of five children of John Chapin (b.1566? d.1600) and Phillipa Easton (b.1569? d.1615) both of Paignton. Their other children were: Joane, Phillipe, Thomas and Margaret. Phillipa Easton was the daughter of Henry Easton and Joan Clieffe. 


Saint John the Baptist Church, Paignton, Devon, England

The Bliss Family - Colonial Americans

Mary Bliss was the wife of Nathaniel Holcombe. She was born is Springfield, Massachusetts in 1651. Mary was the third of four children of Nathaniel Bliss (b.1622, d.1654) and Catharine Chapin (b.1630, d.1711).

Old First Church of Springfield - 1645

Six Years of Blogging about Genealogy

“My Other Blog - Family History and Genealogy" celebrated its 6th anniversary yesterday, September 30, 2016. On that same day in 2010, the very first post, just under 400 words and titled “Yet Another Blog” was published.

Well, six years is technically correct but it is also true that I did not publish a post for almost three years between November 2013 and September 2016. After working diligently for the first three years, I began to slow down in 2013 and only delivered five posts that year. Then I stopped. Was I burned out or maybe just needed a break? Not sure, but I was running out of big ideas for new posts. 

Farms at Hafslo, Sogn og Fjorde, Norway. Home of my
ancestors; connection found, thanks in part to this blog.

Colonial Families - An Overview

Since first discovering that my grandmother, Grace Holcomb could be traced back to Thomas Holcombe, an early settler to New England, I have spent considerable energy researching the Holcomb(e) name with, perhaps, some neglect of the many other colonial families that I am also connected to. It took some time to make the Holcombe connection complete and it was only after the fact that I started to look at the spouses and their ancestry. I also found myself getting more interested in the stories of the more recent "immigrants" from the 19th Century and so, once again, as the focus shifted, the allied colonial families remained on the back burner. Still, I do have some good information on those colonial families, some of which is already on this website. My goal with this post, is to try and regroup and put forward even more information about those other families.

Map of New England by John Sellers from about 1670.

Holcombe Family (5) - Colonial Generations

Part 5 - Joseph, Micah and the Movement West

Three generations named Nathaniel Holcombe carved out lives for themselves and their families in a rugged wilderness called Salmon Brook. On the colonial frontier, far removed from the more established society along the Connecticut River, these families played an important role in the settlement of America. They were a vanguard, a buffer against the unknown and a fragile line of defense for the British Empire. At the same time, they went about their business of staking a claim for themselves, conducting public and private business and building a town. They cleared land, planted orchards, established farms, and raised families in the meadows, forests and rocky foothills of the Berkshire Mountains. By the time Nathaniel III turned 80 years old, the revolution was in full swing and America was entering a new chapter. These would be the times of the next generations in this family line: Joseph and his son Micah.

If you missed Part 4 of the story, go here . . .
If you missed Part 3 of the story, go here . . .
If you missed Part 2 of the story, go here . . .
If you missed Part 1 of the story, go here . . .



North Hartford County in the 1760s. At the time of this map, Salmon Brook
is still a small settlement in the northern part of the Town of Simsbury.
Eventually, it would break away and become the Town of Granby.

Spike Peterson - Short Biography

Curtis "Spike" Peterson, the "Rassler"

One of the most colorful characters in my family history was “Spike” Peterson. He was a locally famous wrestler who traveled the wrestling circuit, primarily in southern Wisconsin, from the 1930s until his tragic death in 1951.



Curtis "Spike" Peterson, circa 1940s.

Holcombe Family (4) - Colonial Generations

Part 4 - Nathaniel Holcombe III

Nathaniel Holcombe I, the first of three Nathaniels and son of Thomas Holcombe, settled in the Town of Simsbury, Connecticut in the late 1670's in the remote wilderness at Salmon Brook. He was one of the first of the next generation of colonial pioneers to venture farther west and away from the settled areas along the Connecticut River. His son, Nathaniel II, would also raise his family in Salmon Brook. By that time, the small settlement had become more established but still lay at the edge of the British Empire in America. The next generation, the third Nathaniel, would grow up in this wilderness but as he came of age, he would raise a family in an increasingly more settled 18th-century Colonial America.

If you missed Part 3 of the story, go here . . .
If you missed Part 2 of the story, go here . . .
If you missed Part 1 of the story, go here . . .

From "The Brittle Thread of Live," The Town of Simsbury in the 1730s. Salmon Brook
 (the future Town of Granby) is toward the top. Hop Meadow (the main Simsbury settlement)
is toward the bottom. West of the Connecticut River and approaching the foothills of the
Berkshires, a number of settlements have been established along the colony's western frontier.

Holcombe Family (3) - Colonial Generations

Part 3 - Nathaniel Holcombe II

Thomas Holcombe, an early Puritan settler, would arrive in New England sometime between 1630 and 1633. A few years later, he would be part of the party that founded the first colonial town in Connecticut. He would prosper and raise a large family on this early American frontier. His youngest son, Nathaniel, would move further west as the towns along the Connecticut River filled up and good farmland became harder to come by. Nathaniel would be a prominent figure in the area of Simsbury known as Salmon Brook. There, he would establish himself and live to see his children and grandchildren spread out in the rugged foothills of an area that would eventually become the Town of Granby, Connecticut.

If you missed Part 2 of the story, go here . . .
If you missed Part 1 of the story, go here . . .

An excerpt from John Seller's map of New England. The Connecticut
River Valley in 1675. The river towns are visible and most everything
west is still the wilderness but that is soon to change.