Until not long ago, I knew very little about my family’s roots. I was armed with only scant knowledge in
which I could only trace both my paternal and maternal ancestry to approximately a hundred years ago.
However, during the past few years, I’ve gained an amazing new awareness of it thanks to genealogical research conducted by my brother, and to a lesser extent myself, on Ancestry.com. This research has laid bare a family history that, in some instances, can be traced backed to the Early Middle Ages.
It revealed that the ancestral Wells line is intertwined intimately with English history, perhaps dating as far back as William the Conqueror. Another paternal line indicates that I could be a direct descendant of English King Edward III. Research on more ‘recent’ findings shows that I have paternal ancestors who were English Puritans that immigrated to New England during the time of the Pilgrims. Later generations lived there while the American Revolution unfolded and one ancestor, it appears, was the father to a Declaration of Independence signer named Oliver Wolcott.
Findings also show more recently that my paternal grandmother’s father, Thomas Jefferson Wiley, had fought in the Civil War as a Union infantryman for a Minnesota volunteer regiment.
While not as far-reaching, this fresh research greatly broadened my knowledge on my maternal roots as well. My family was already aware that my mother, whose maiden name was Kelley, was descended from Irish Catholic stock. However, we could only trace that lineage back to my great-grandfather, John Joseph Kelley, who immigrated from Ireland to the United States sometime during the late 19th Century. This new inquiry enabled us to learn to my great-grandfather’s surname was ‘Kelly’ before immigration officials anglicized it upon his entry to this country in 1888. The findings also enabled us to trace his lineage, as well as his wife, Bridget Fitzgerald, back several more generations.
Research on my maternal ancestry also revealed, a heretofore, unknown link to Swiss German ancestors who settled in Idaho around 1883 and to Quaker ancestors who originally settled in Pennsylvania during the 1700s and later moved to North Carolina, Ohio, and Indiana in subsequent generations.
My sixth great-grandfather, the Reverend Thomas Beals, is one ancestor in this line who was particularly noteworthy. He was a Quaker missionary preacher who’s credited with being the first to bring that religion to the wilderness in what was to become Ohio. (It existed then as the Northwest Territory.) This link provides an interesting account on how Beals was arrested and later released after working out a peace agreement with Native Americans.
All in all, these findings have been an epiphany. Yet, I must recognize that they paint somewhat of a rosy account of my roots and do not come even close revealing the complete picture. The vast majority of my roots remains hidden and will probably remain so for eternity. These findings are based on written accounts, which become more difficult to come by as one delves further into the past. Many of my ancestors were illiterate and have no record whatsoever of their existence. As is the case with all of humanity, I suspect I don’t have to time travel very far to find direct ancestors who cannot be traced.
However, during the past few years, I’ve gained an amazing new awareness of it thanks to genealogical research conducted by my brother, and to a lesser extent myself, on Ancestry.com. This research has laid bare a family history that, in some instances, can be traced backed to the Early Middle Ages.
While not as far-reaching, this fresh research greatly broadened my knowledge on my maternal roots as well. My family was already aware that my mother, whose maiden name was Kelley, was descended from Irish Catholic stock. However, we could only trace that lineage back to my great-grandfather, John Joseph Kelley, who immigrated from Ireland to the United States sometime during the late 19th Century. This new inquiry enabled us to learn to my great-grandfather’s surname was ‘Kelly’ before immigration officials anglicized it upon his entry to this country in 1888. The findings also enabled us to trace his lineage, as well as his wife, Bridget Fitzgerald, back several more generations.
Research on my maternal ancestry also revealed, a heretofore, unknown link to Swiss German ancestors who settled in Idaho around 1883 and to Quaker ancestors who originally settled in Pennsylvania during the 1700s and later moved to North Carolina, Ohio, and Indiana in subsequent generations.
My sixth great-grandfather, the Reverend Thomas Beals, is one ancestor in this line who was particularly noteworthy. He was a Quaker missionary preacher who’s credited with being the first to bring that religion to the wilderness in what was to become Ohio. (It existed then as the Northwest Territory.) This link provides an interesting account on how Beals was arrested and later released after working out a peace agreement with Native Americans.
All in all, these findings have been an epiphany. Yet, I must recognize that they paint somewhat of a rosy account of my roots and do not come even close revealing the complete picture. The vast majority of my roots remains hidden and will probably remain so for eternity. These findings are based on written accounts, which become more difficult to come by as one delves further into the past. Many of my ancestors were illiterate and have no record whatsoever of their existence. As is the case with all of humanity, I suspect I don’t have to time travel very far to find direct ancestors who cannot be traced.
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