Mike's uncle, Kenny McComas, asked me two years ago to go to Ellis Island next time Mike and I were in NYC and see if we could find Mike's Great, Great Grandmother on the books because she came to the United States from Denmark. She did, but she came before 1892. Those who came before 1892 came through Battery Park. Mike and I still went to Ellis Island and still looked for her. We talked to a lady there and she told me what web site to go to and I should be able to locate her there. Let me tell you, many people came through New York City those days, many with the last name Jenson and or Jensen. Marion was supposed to be her real name, but she was called Mattie. It has proven to be very hard to figure out this family because there are many men with the name Jens Jensen. Many changed their names when they got here and there are other problems in tracing this family.
Now, Mike wants to kill Kenny because I have spent many, many hours, days, weeks maybe on tracing all the families that my children belong to. I have researched the McComas, Jensen, Starkey, Strever, Willis, Schaefer, Deason, Rogers, Morgan, Wilkinson, Coffman, Davis, and I think there are a couple of others that I can not think of at this moment. My eyes are so tired and my brain is getting that way. There are three families that I am not having much luck with. This has proven to be an addiction. I can not stand to look for something and not find what I am looking for. I may not be cut out for this. I tends to keep me up late at night. At some point I am going to have to just stop and be happy with what I have because it is consuming much of my time that I need to be spending on other things. I am happy to be able to pass this information on to Krista and Amanda as well as any other family members who are interested. One family on my Great Grandfather Wilkinsons family tree goes all the way back to 1330 in England. The last name on the list is Thomas Mede. Mead, Meade, are two other spellings for the name in the tree. This is also true of other family names. There are many different spellings of last names.
I should have asked more questions to more people while they were still here. My Grandfather Deason had a cousin named Willie who traced the Deason family many years ago before computers. I have an new found admiration for her. I can't imagine how many years she spent putting together the information that she did. I am happy to say that my girls will at least know the names of all of their Great, Great, Great Grandparents names and where they came from. The McComas family goes back to Scotland, the Jensen family goes back to Denmark, the Strever family goes back to France and the other part from the Netherlands, the Starkey family goes back to Wales, the Deason family also goes back to Scotland, the Morgan family goes back to England, The Wilkinson family goes back to Ireland and England, the Schaefer family goes back to Germany, there is more, but I can't think at this point. Anyway, my children are from Europe....I have to say it has been very interesting doing this. I hope Krista and Amanda find it an interesting read someday. We will be able to tell their children where they came from.
Enough said tonight. I will try to give more background as I find it. I have a couple of stories to tell about that I need to sit down with pencil and paper first before I put them on here. The things that I remember my granny telling me. I was only 19 when she died but I did listen to her tell me stories...I hope I can remember some of them. I don't want this history to be lost. My girls have been at a disadvantage because their grandparents died so young. Thank goodness Lucille is still here so they do have one great grandmother.
Now, Mike wants to kill Kenny because I have spent many, many hours, days, weeks maybe on tracing all the families that my children belong to. I have researched the McComas, Jensen, Starkey, Strever, Willis, Schaefer, Deason, Rogers, Morgan, Wilkinson, Coffman, Davis, and I think there are a couple of others that I can not think of at this moment. My eyes are so tired and my brain is getting that way. There are three families that I am not having much luck with. This has proven to be an addiction. I can not stand to look for something and not find what I am looking for. I may not be cut out for this. I tends to keep me up late at night. At some point I am going to have to just stop and be happy with what I have because it is consuming much of my time that I need to be spending on other things. I am happy to be able to pass this information on to Krista and Amanda as well as any other family members who are interested. One family on my Great Grandfather Wilkinsons family tree goes all the way back to 1330 in England. The last name on the list is Thomas Mede. Mead, Meade, are two other spellings for the name in the tree. This is also true of other family names. There are many different spellings of last names.
I should have asked more questions to more people while they were still here. My Grandfather Deason had a cousin named Willie who traced the Deason family many years ago before computers. I have an new found admiration for her. I can't imagine how many years she spent putting together the information that she did. I am happy to say that my girls will at least know the names of all of their Great, Great, Great Grandparents names and where they came from. The McComas family goes back to Scotland, the Jensen family goes back to Denmark, the Strever family goes back to France and the other part from the Netherlands, the Starkey family goes back to Wales, the Deason family also goes back to Scotland, the Morgan family goes back to England, The Wilkinson family goes back to Ireland and England, the Schaefer family goes back to Germany, there is more, but I can't think at this point. Anyway, my children are from Europe....I have to say it has been very interesting doing this. I hope Krista and Amanda find it an interesting read someday. We will be able to tell their children where they came from.
Enough said tonight. I will try to give more background as I find it. I have a couple of stories to tell about that I need to sit down with pencil and paper first before I put them on here. The things that I remember my granny telling me. I was only 19 when she died but I did listen to her tell me stories...I hope I can remember some of them. I don't want this history to be lost. My girls have been at a disadvantage because their grandparents died so young. Thank goodness Lucille is still here so they do have one great grandmother.
