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.

Louis Goldner - Short Biography

Louis Goldner - Chicago, Illinois

Louis Goldner was born on October 28, 1861, in Chicago. He was the middle child of three sons of Frederick Goldner (b.1829, d.1906) and Louise Ebersold (b.1830, d.1889). 

Louis Goldner, probably in Oak Park, Illinois

Alfred Peterson - Short Biography

Alfred Peterson of Mount Horeb, Wisconsin

Alfred Peterson (who also shows up in some records as Albert) was born on March 29, 1882, in the Town of Blue Mounds, Wisconsin. His parents were Ole Peterson and Martha Breisnes. Ole had come to America in 1862 and settled in Blue Mounds, where he first farmed 80 acres on section 10 and then over 200 acres on section 11 at the western edge of the fledgling community of Mount Horeb. About a year after Alfred’s birth, his mother would die from complications of childbirth. This would leave Ole to care for a large family, including a number of young children. It is likely that Alfred, his brother Olaus and perhaps some other children went to live with a woman named Betsy Peterson. She was a widow and had a farm near the Ole Peterson farm.

A young Alfred Petersen

Frederick Roth II - Short Biography

Frederick Roth - Monroe and Chicago

My Great-Grandfather, Frederick Roth II was born on October 20, 1885. He was the oldest child and only son of Frederick Roth I and Mary Zweifel of Monroe, Wisconsin. His father had immigrated from Switzerland around 1880 and settled in Monroe, where he operated the Monroe House and later a tavern near the Illinois Central train station. Mary (or Maria) Zweifel was the daughter of Fridolin Zweifel and Regula Oswald (or Oswalt). Fridolin, along with five brothers, came to New Glarus from “old” Glarus, Switzerland in the 1850s. He settled just south of New Glarus, where he farmed 200 acres on sections 4, 8 and 9 in the Town of Washington.

The Roth family of Monroe, Wisconsin, about 1900; Frederick I,
daughter Rose, son Frederick II, and Maria (Zweifel).

Wilderman Family (3) - Colonists and Pioneers

Part 3 - From Frontier to Settled Territory
Find Part 2 of the Story Here . . .
Find Part 1 of the Story Here . . .

Note, this post has been revised. The original 2-Part Wilderman Family series has been updated and more information has been added. The series has been expanded to 3 Parts with most of the new information in this part.

Jacob Wilderman and Johann Meyer, and family left their small village in Baden, Germany and came to Colonial America in 1751. Jacob would marry Elizabetha Meyer and make his home in Maryland. There he would raise a family, farm, fight in the revolution and live out his live. After the Revolution, his son George would marry and head to western Pennsylvania to live in the company of other Pennsylvania Dutch settlers. Later he would pick-up once more and venture into the frontier of the Northwest Territory and settle just east of the Mississippi River in what is now Illinois.

The Wilderman Cemetery in the countryside on Section 8 in the Town of Freeburg.
James Wilderman, Sarah Jarvis and a number of their children are buried here.

Two Years of Blogging about Genealogy

“My Other Blog - Family History and Genealogy" celebrated its 2nd anniversary yesterday, September 30, 2012. On that same day in 2010, the very first post, just under 400 words and titled “Yet Another Blog” was published.

At the time, I wasn’t sure exactly what this blog was going to focus on but writing about my ancestry was certainly one of the options I was entertaining. The decision to move in that direction didn't take long, however. The next two posts, both in October of 2010 were about my family history quest and once I started down the road toward genealogy, I never looked back.

Before I started learning about my Genealogy, I had never
heard of Granby, Connecticut. Now I know that it played
an important role in my own family history.

With a total of 36 posts (including this one), the website has grown at a slow but steady pace. In addition to the output that comes out of this blog (writing and posting), there has also been some worthwhile input. I have received more than a handful of connections to distant cousins. Prior to being contacted, I did not know any of them and they have contributed a lot of great information about my family history. Hopefully, I have also been able to provide them with some good information as well.

9/30/10 - 9/30/12: Two Years of Blogging About My Family History - 36 posts, 10,000 visitors and some great new connections.

In addition to the two-year anniversary, another milestone . . . 10,000 visitors . . . was also reached in September. This is a small blog, very focused and with no marketing or advertising so I do not expect much traffic. I now receive anywhere from 600 - 900 visitors per month, which has far exceeded my expectations. Here are some highlights of the first two years:

• September 2010 - First Post: Yet Another Blog
• February 2011 - First Family Post: The Goldners of Chicago - Finding a Lost Family
• May 2011 - First Full Family Biography: David Herman - Arrived 1862
• June 2011 - First Contact with Other Researchers - Peterson/Moe Family
• August 2011 - First Short Biography: Lars P. Moe - Short Biography
• April 2012 - Accessed 1940 U.S. Census
• May 2012 - History Page Added
• September 2012 - 10,000 Visitor Mark

Right now, I am in the middle of writing about the Holcombe Family, the ancestry that first got me really excited about my own genealogy. I have two articles published with a couple more to go. I look forward to continuing with the blog and sharing my information with others for some time to come.

Related Reading:
History Page Added
The Flow of Information
The Genealogy Mother Load

Holcombe Family (2) - Colonial Generations

Part 2 - Nathaniel Holcombe of Salmon Brook

Thomas Holcombe would arrive in New England sometime between 1630 and 1633. A few short years later, he would be living on the outskirts of Connecticut's first settlement, Windsor. There, he and his wife, Elizabeth, would raise a large family and prosper. Their youngest son, Nathaniel, would be only nine years old when Thomas died. After that time, Nathaniel's stepfather, James Enno and his older brothers would probably have a great influence on him as he grew to manhood in the wilderness at Poquonock.

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



The original settlers at the remote outpost at Poquonock, circa 1640.