Here are the surnames of the families I’m researching.
Albu – ethnic Romanians, originally from Torac in present-day Serbia.
Bartusek – in Budapest from the 1830s; earliest known ancestor Janos Bartuschek who married Catharine Benki. Related surnames include Kekomezey or Kogomezey and Hladik.
Curry – from Virginia to Illinois to Minnesota; earliest known ancestor James Curry, born ca. 1735; his son Isaac Curry married Rhoda Gresham.
Derr – from Pennsylvania to Ohio to Minnesota; earliest known ancestor is Peter Derr (1776-1849) who married Mary Brinley.
Ellis – On my maternal side, earliest known ancestors are James Ellis (b. 1758) and Sarah Riggs who were married in Jefferson County, Tennessee. Descendants moved westward through Coles County, Illinois and to Minnesota.
Ellis – On my paternal side, I am interested in Rhodum Ellis (1756-1817) and wife Amelia Yelton who moved from Prince William County, Virginia to Pendleton County, Kentucky in the early 1800s. Rhodum’s ancestry can supposedly be traced to John Ellis (1661-1728 Henrico County, Virginia) but I do not have evidence of this.
Ferguson – from Bradford County, Pennsylvania to Coles County, Illinois; the earliest known ancestor is William James Ferguson (1762-1826) who married Patience Franklin (1769-1845). I would like to pursue information about William’s patriotic service during the Revolutionary War.
Fowler – Earliest ancestor is Samuel Fowler (b 1790) who married Susannah Hart (daughter of Noah Hart 1754- and Cynthia Grey); their children were Samuel William Fowler (b 1824 in Niagara County, New York) and my ancestor Susan Permelia Fowler (b 1829 in New York or Massachusetts?). Samuel Fowler was a Methodist minister who converted to Mormonism. Daughter Susan married Seeley Reeves, Sr. in 1848. Both the Fowler and the Reeves family were involved with the Mormons’ westward migration through Nauvoo, Illinois; Iowa and Missouri.
Franklin – Patience Franklin (1769-1845) married to William James Ferguson, was the daughter of Jonathan Franklin, and his parents were John Franklin and Keziah Pierce.
Hagen – see Norwegian lines, below
Moisescu – My Romanian family is from Sannicolau Mare, Romania (formerly Nagy szent miklos, Hungary); earliest known ancestor is Iefta Moisescu (b abt 1830) who married Petra and had a son Andrei Moisescu who married 1) Sofia Stanciu and 2) Maria Naeden. Related names include Bartusek, Bunea, Sinitean, Marian, Boata, and Sarafolean. I share DNA results with people named Funari, Cotosman and Sarafolean.
Norwegian Lines from Toten: Dybdal, Grotberg, Hagen (Rustadhagen).
Reeves – My earliest known ancestor is James Reeves (1793-1835) who married Eunice Manning (1800-1863) in Burlington, New Jersey. They were Latter Day Saints or Mormons. Eunice was also married to Isaac Busenbark and Asher Busenbark. Her son Seeley Reeves, Sr. was probably married to Polly Busenbark (I found an 1844 marriage license in Burlington, Iowa, but no marriage return). Then he married a woman named Martha, who died along with their infant son in 1847 at Winter Quarters, Iowa. Finally in 1848 in Holt County, Missouri, Seeley married Susan Permelia Fowler.
ROMANIANS – I have been actively researching Romanian immigrants to the U.S. (not just my family) and specifically to the Midwest and Minnesota for over 30 years. I have a large collection of resources and I am willing to help and share information with others. I am a co-founder of Romanian Genealogy Society. Also check out the website for the documentary film, “A Thousand Dollars and Back: Recollections of Early Romanian Immigration to Minnesota,” here.
Young – I am “stuck” in Bracken and Pendleton Counties of Kentucky on my Young line! The earliest ancestor is James Young, born between 1770 and 1780 in Virginia. His son Henry James Young (1800-1837) married Catherine “Kitty” Ellis in 1826 in Pendleton County, Kentucky. They had children there: James Young who died before 1888 in St. Louis; John Young who died between 1880-1888; Laura Young, born after 1830; and Samuel Lockwood Young, born in 1827 in Kentucky. Henry James Young died before 1837 (but I can’t find a death record) and his widow Catherine married Benjamin Shoemaker and had additional children. Samuel Lockwood Young married Elisabeth Ann Wellman in Pendleton County in 1872. (She would later marry James Beach). Related names include Brewer, Houchen, Schubert, Peters, and others.
There’s more! You can likely find my family tree on Ancestry.com (I may be working out some bugs if you can’t find the extensive tree online), or please contact me by email at VAlbu at comcast dot net.
History Sifter 