“When
our hearts turn to our ancestors, something changes inside us. We feel part of
something greater than ourselves.” - Russell M. Nelson
The best aspect of doing genealogical
research is being able to discover and share stories about the lives, trials,
and accomplishments of your ancestors. Expressing and remembering these stories
allow us to breathe life back into our ancestor’s and
appreciate both their sacrifice’s and triumphs.
Below I have made a list of my “Top 10 Most Interesting Ancestors”, which I hope
you will find interesting too. As I compiled my
research for this post, it caused me to reflect on just how brave many of my
ancestors were. I hope that you enjoy reading their stories.
James William Edwards – 1727-1803
(my 8th great-grandfather), Born in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. In
1740, he was taken from his home in Scotland and sold to an individual in
Fairfax, Virginia to work as an indentured servant. He married Sarah Jacobs and
had ten children. James Edwards served as a Patrolman during the French and
Indian War. March 1, 1777, he entered the military as a Private in the 1st
Virginia State Regiment. In 1786, he moved his family from Fairfax, Virginia to
the Washington, Kentucky area. Then, in 1796, he purchased 1,000 acres of land
across the Ohio River from Maysville, Kentucky and founded the town of
Aberdeen, Ohio (located in Brown County), naming it after his Scottish home.
Sources: Smith, Joseph P. History of the
Republican Party in Ohio. Chicago: Lewis Pub. Co, 1898. Print.
 |
| George Edwards 7th great-grandfather |
George Edwards – 1772-1870 (my 7th great-grandfather), Son of James William
Edwards, as discussed above. According to his obituary, George was a “soldier of the Indian War and Colonel of the 2nd Ohio Regiment
in the War of 1812. He represented Brown Co. in the Ohio Legislature for 9
years between 1820 and 1830".
Source:
Orange Edwards – 1819-1897
(my 7th great-uncle) Son of George Edwards, above. Orange Edwards was educated in Georgetown and
was a classmate and friend of President Ulysses S. Grant. At 21 years old, he
was elected Justice of the Peace. In 1840, he cast his first presidential vote
for William Henry Harrison. “Strongly
opposed to slavery, his home was made a station of the underground railroad” and he assisted many slaves seeking freedom in the North. He joined
the Republican party as it was formed and “attended
the first convention of the party in the state in 1854 as the only delegate
from Brown County”. He was an elector of Ohio in 1876 and
voted for Rutherford B. Hayes. He served several terms as trustee of Union
township, Brown County and was mayor of Ripley for five terms. According to the
book, “The History of the Republican Party
in Ohio”, Orange Edwards “become one of the best known Republicans in southern Ohio…he was an excellent campaign speaker, argumentative, logical,
cogent, instructive, and entertaining”.
Source:
Smith, Joseph P. History of the
Republican Party in Ohio. Chicago: Lewis Pub. Co, 1898. Print.
 |
| Russell Shaw 6th great-grandfather |
Russell Shaw – 1781-1864
(my 6th great-grandfather). Born in Stephentown, New York. He was
married to Joanna and had 12 children. He was a blacksmith and a farmer by
trade. Russell served as a soldier in the War of 1812 and founded the town Russellville,
Ohio in 1816. The town is located in Brown County. He and his brothers, Asa and
Peter, built steamboats in Ripley, Ohio. At one time, he also owned a general
store. The first Brown County Fair was held in Russellville and legend has it – Russell Shaw’s onions were prize winners at the
first fair in 1850! At the first meeting of an elected Russellville town
council in 1854, Russell Shaw was chose to serve as town treasurer, a position
that he held until his death.
 |
| James Carter 5th great-grandfather |
James Carter –
1812-1888 & (my 5th great-grandfather). He married Elizabeth McDonald
and had nine children. Originally from Pennsylvania, they moved to Millfied, Athens
Co., Ohio. James served as a Private in the Army. He and Elizabeth were members
of the church of the Disciples. He was an ardent worker for the temperance
movement, which was the movement to curb the consumption of alcohol in the
United States.
 |
| John Corboy 4th great-grandfather |
John and Margaret Corboy – 1822-1883 & (my 4th great-grandparents). John and
Margaret Corboy were born in the area of Carney, County Tipperary, Ireland. John
and Margaret married and immigrated to the United States from Ireland during
the time of the great potato famine, first stopping in Connecticut where three
children were born, and then settling in Brown County, Ohio. After clearing
land, they built a house and barn (the barn stood until 1987). They planted
their first crops in 1859 and gathered a successful harvest. From 1851-1879,
John and Margaret Corboy had ten children. The farming was expanded, along with
a flour mill. John was also elected a Washington Township Trustee.
George W. Wilson – 1838-1918 (my 4th great-grandfather). George was born in
Transylvania County, North Carolina. He married Laura Jane Miller and had four
children. His obituary in part reads, “At the
close of the Civil War, Mr. Wilson was the sheriff of Transylvania County, the
second sheriff the county ever had. He was a member of the constitutional convention
in 1875. He represented his county in the legislature four times. One time, he
was a senator for Haywood, Henderson, and Transylvania counties. He served with the
board of county commissioners for several years. Mr. Wilson was a friend to the
poor always. A sympathetic heart beat within his breast. He was also a man of a
great of originality, and did much of his own thinking.”
Source:
Rev. John Franklin Woodfin – 1830-1914 (my 4th great-grandfather). Born in Mills
River, North Carolina. First married Juliet Montgomery and had three children.
Then married Emily Hood and had ten more children. He was a minister at the
Mills River Methodist Church and remained in the conference for many years. On
Nov. 12 1914, the N.C Democrat reported his death by writing, “Rev. Frank Woodfin, a very well-known and popular man of this
country…His age was in ninety. He was a
resident awhile of near Blantyre and his remains were brought for interment to
the Methodist Church of this place…Mr.
Woodfin was a good farmer, and in his younger days took great interest in
public affairs, being a member of the constitutional convention in 1875.”
Source:
Anna Fedczak – 1890-1943
(my 2nd great-grandmother) Anna was born in a small village an hour
outside of Lviv, Ukraine. At the age of 16 years old, with only $10 in her
possession, she boarded a ship headed for America (The ship was called the SS
Batavia, which is interesting since I am from Batavia, Ohio). On her
immigration document, she stated that she was going to Pennsylvania to live
with her stepsister and work as a handmaid. If she did go to Pennsylvania, she
did not stay long. Anna married Harry Fedczak, also an immigrant from Ukraine
and moved to Wheeling, West Virginia where they had three children: Harry Jr.,
John, and Michael. Anna took care of the home and managed the grocery store
that the family owned.
Source:
John and Priscilla Alden – 1599-1687
& 1602-1688 (my 10th
great-grandparents). John and Priscilla Alden were American colonial figures
who both arrived on the first voyage on the Mayflower. John Alden became one of
the Purchasers and Undertakers for the colony, also serving as Assistant in the
Colony government, Deputy Governor, Colony Treasurer, and a member of the
committee in charge of revising laws.
Priscilla’s “parents died in the first winter
ashore, in early 1621…she chose to stay with the Pilgrims
even though she had a brother and sister surviving in England”. It is unclear who she stayed with or where she was until she
married John Alden in 1623. Their marriage is the third known marriage in the
Plymouth Colony.
Sources:
Until
I composed this list, I didn’t
realize how much of my family has been participated in the political arena. Personally,
I have always been very interested in politics and I have contributed to
volunteering in a couple of campaigns – now I
know where I get the interest!
As you
research your ancestors, I would urge you to somehow write down or record
stories of your most interesting ancestors'. You
too, may discover a pattern.
I loved reading this post about your 10 most interesting ancestors. And love the connection you made in regard to politics. I will have to try it to see what similarities I come up with!
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