SAKES ALIVE! SHE’S 95!!

She really made it! And in fine fettle, too! We had a lovely party for our mom, Muriel Ava Brown Webecke on her birthday, October 24, 2009. She is so proud of her heritage and her Wickwire ancestry. She has 14 grandchildren and 39 great-grands. She has grown from being a farm girl in Byron, New York, to being educated at USC, to teaching college and high school courses in French, Spanish, English and engineering math and calculus. She loves her farm roots and the work ethic she learned from her parents. She and Dad were active in researching family history for 40 years. She is one lovely, sweet, content lady and I’m so proud she’s my mom.

Thank you for honoring her by sharing her photo on our wonderful Wickwire website.

Laraine Webecke Shoemaker

Muriel Ava Brown Webecke

That is one great-looking young lady! We certainly wish we could have been there to honor her on her 95th birthday, and we thank Laraine again for sending us this treasure! To show you her connection to our family, here is a descendant’s list for Nathaniel Wickwire to Muriel:
 
Direct Descendants of Nathaniel Wickwire
                                   
            1          Nathaniel Wickwire     1764 – 1831
..                      +Lydia Squires            1762 – 1856
……..    2          Lydia Wickwire            1791 – 1843
…………                        +Abner Hopkins, Sr.     1783 – 1844
……………….     3          Eunice Uceba Hopkins 1819 – 1897
…………………..             +Lemuel Hulbert Merrill          1816 – 1895
………………………..       4          Amy Merrill      1845 – 1936
……………………………               +Melville Beverly Cox Brown  1833 – 1899
………………………………….        5          Searls Graham Brown 1879 – 1947
……………………………………..                +Addie Belle Cole       1878 – 1965
…………………………………………..          6          Muriel Ava Brown        1914 -
 
Muriel married Ernest P. Webecke, Laraine’s father.

Unfortunately we also have some very sad news to share with you this week. Deltra Wickware Johnson passed away on the 17th of November. Here is the notice that cousin Linda Tannis sent to us:

JOHNSON, Deltra Died Peacefully at Kingston General Hospital on Tuesday November 17, 2009. Deltra Wickware, formerly of RR # 1, Lyndhurst, in her 93rd year. Widow of Dr. D.S. Johnson (D.J.). Dear Mother of Deltra Willis of Watertown, N.Y., Sharon-Gay and her husband Dr. Nick Doroszkiewicz of Hagersville. Predeceased by son, Dr. Graeme Johnson. Also survived by daughter-in-law, Kim Johnson. Predeceased by brother, Douglas McNeil Wickware. Fondly remembered by grandchildren, Deltra Lynne, Andrew, Ashley, Andrea, Allan, Fraser, Curtis and Cameron as well as great-grandchildren, Zachary and William. Also survived by several nieces and nephews. A Private Inurnment Service will be held at Capital Memorial Gardens, Nepean at a later date. As expressions of sympathy, memorial donations made to the Carveth Care Centre, Gananoque or the Charity of your choice would be appreciated by the family. Funeral arrangements entrusted to the SCOTLAND FUNERAL HOME, 27 MAIN STREET, ELGIN: 1-613-359-5555

Deltra was from one of our fine Canadian family lines. Here is her lineage for your review: DELTRA BEA14 WICKWARE (ALBERT BROWNBRIDGE13, TILLEY HOUGHTON12, PHILIP11, JAMES10, LEBBEUS9 WICKWIRE, LEBBEUS8, JONATHAN7, JOHN6 WICKWARE). She and I would be 7th cousins, twice removed, and our common ancestors were John and Mary Tonge Wickware. We send our heartfelt condolences to her family.

We also found out that another of our oldest family members passed away but we don’t have many details. Avis Marie Wickware, born 26 December 1927, passed away 10 November 2009, in Newport, Oregon, we believe. We don’t know a lot about Avis, except she was a retired teacher in the New York school system. Her family spent the 1930’s through the 1950’s in the New York area, primarily in Warsaw, Cortland, Homer, and Buffalo, which are not far apart. In 1980 she was in Gallup, New Mexico. Her later years were spent in the northwest part of the US. She never married as far as we can tell. She was the daughter of Albert F. and Alice Rende Wickwire. Here is her lineage for your information: AVIS MARIE14 WICKWIRE (ALBERT F.13, FRANK12, ALBERTO11, GEORGE WASHINGTON LOOMIS10, JEREMIAH9, JEREMIAH8, PETER7, JOHN6 WICKWARE). Avis and I would be 7th cousins, once removed, and our common ancestors were John and Mary Tonge Wickware. We would certainly be interested in learning more about Avis, if any of you know more about her. It is amazing that she lived 82 years and this is all we know about her. According to our records she was an only child so there isn’t any hope of finding any close relatives.

This week we heard from one of our Canadian cousins with a unique request. Let us share the email with you so you can see what Michael David Wickware needs:

Hi Rick,

I’m a long-time reader of the Family Newsletter, and I’m writing to you with a really big request. Here’s the story:

My company, Wickware Communications, is based in Toronto, Canada, and virtually all of our clients are here in Canada (I’m a writer, and we provide marketing/communications services to financial industry firms). Me and my team of five employees have just added a sixth person who is based in California, and we are finally embarking on a longstanding dream—expanding into the U.S. market. Truthfully, my hope is to one day be able to move to the U.S. and enjoy, among many other things, a warmer climate.

So, we have our first American employee and are setting up our American office. My business partner and I plan to spend as much time as possible in the U.S. seeking out and serving new clients. We are within weeks of launching a fabulous new website that will include a beautiful promotional video designed to help sell our services to U.S. clients.

There’s just one snag: our web address is www.wickware.ca, and all the feedback we’ve received is that a “.ca” URL is a no-no in the U.S. market. It’s unfamiliar to most users, and may register as “untrustworthy” with some people. We’ve heard this from more than one expert on the matter. Of course, a “.com” URL is the universal standard for a commerce-oriented website. I think you can see where I’m heading with this…

Would you consider giving or selling me the www.wickware.com address, and moving your site to an alternative, such as www.wickware.net, www.wickware.org, www.wickwar.com, www.wickwire.com, or something along these lines? I’d be more than happy to pay for any costs related to making the switch.

I know you’ve put a lot of effort into your current site, and I’m loath to even ask. But it would mean a lot to me, it would help our business create new opportunities for ourselves and others, and I’m quite certain it would be a smooth transition for your fans and readers. I’m grateful for your consideration, and glad to answer any questions you may have.

Have a safe and happy trip home for the Thanksgiving holiday, and I’ll look forward to hearing from you!

Thank you and all the best,

Michael Wickware

We do understand where Michael is coming from, and we are very sympathetic. And I might add we are actively considering transferring the site address to him. It has been a good one to us for over ten years but Michael is correct about the commercial aspects of the site for his type of website whereas ours is not commercial in any manner. So, Trey and I are checking out sites and other providers to see how we can help Michael out. If any of you have any suggestions we would be glad to hear them. By the way, most of the alternate sites mentioned above are already taken by other people, but there are options available. We forgot to mention that Michael is the son of Walter David and Trudy Kent Wickware, and we wish him immense success in his business ventures, and in his quest for warmer weather.

Now, one of the interesting parts to this find is that we have a different name for this gentleman, and we ask for help from our great Canadian researchers on this. We have him listed as Orvis Earle Wickwire, son of Joseph Wesley and Theresa Adela Moody Wickwire. We are not sure where our information comes from, so any help you can give would be appreciated. We can’t find a connection to Orval or Orvis in any of the ancestral lines. We do see him listed in Canadian census lists as Orvis.

Another oddity in names on this family is that Orvis Earle’s mother, whom we have as Theresa Adela Moody, also has been listed as Tressa Adela Moody in various official papers. Anyone who may have more info on this, please let us know. In conclusion we are going to leave Orvis Earle Wickwire the way we had it originally, and call the first paperwork shown above as an aberration.

Rick:

Here are some photos from Oak Hill Cemetery in Plymouth, Michigan. They are for my Paternal Great-Grandfather Edward Wickware and his wife, Sarah, my Paternal Grandmother, Flossie Belle (Wickware) Walke and her husband, Sanford Evans Walke, her sister Hazel’s first husband, John Doty, and Flossie’s eldest son, (my Uncle) Robert Walke.

Michele Walke

(click more to see photos…)

In following up on the Sandy Wickwires, we are also chock-a-block full of Sandy Walkes. Sanford E. Walke IV is my nephew.

1. EDWARD THOMAS13 WICKWARE (LIBEOUS PHILIP12, PHILIP11, PHILIP LEBEOUS10 WICKWIRE, LEBBEUS9, LEBBEUS8, JONATHAN7, JOHN6 WICKWARE, JOHN5, JOHN4, JOHN3, JOHN2, PB THOMAS1) was born 22 Feb 1856 in Mallorytown, Leeds, ON, and died 28 Mar 1908 in Pontiac, Oakland, MI. He married SARAH ELIZABETH COLWELL 27 Nov 1881 in Watrousville, Tuscola, MI. She was born 29 Mar 1864 in Ontario, Wayne, NY, and died 25 Jan 1924 in Pontiac, Oakland, MI.

More About EDWARD THOMAS WICKWARE:
Burial: 31 Mar 1908, Pontiac, Oakland, Michigan
Census: 1870, Ellington, Tuscola, MI

More About SARAH ELIZABETH COLWELL:
Burial: 28 Jan 1924, Pontiac, Oakland, Michigan

More About EDWARD WICKWARE and SARAH COLWELL:
Marriage: 27 Nov 1881, Watrousville, Tuscola, MI

Children of EDWARD WICKWARE and SARAH COLWELL are:
2. i. HOWARD CHESTER14 WICKWARE, b. 19 Jan 1883, Wickware, Tuscola, MI; d. 21 Dec 1957.
3. ii. FLORENCE BELLE WICKWARE, b. 17 May 1891, Pontiac, Oakland, MI; d. 18 Mar 1957.
iii. HAZEL ATHEA WICKWARE, b. 24 Jul 1892, Cass City, Tuscola, MI; m. (1) JOHN BERNARD DOTY, 29 May 1913; m. (2) WINFIELD CLAUDE IRBY, 23 Jul 1941.

More About HAZEL ATHEA WICKWARE:
Occupation: Beauty Shop Owner, Detroit, Wayne, MI
Residence: Detroit, Wayne, MI

More About JOHN DOTY and HAZEL WICKWARE:
Marriage: 29 May 1913

More About WINFIELD IRBY and HAZEL WICKWARE:
Marriage: 23 Jul 1941

4. iv. PRESTON EDWARD WICKWARE, b. 12 Jan 1895, Pontiac, Oakland, MI; d. 17 May 1960.

Great photos that Michele took and we really appreciate them very much.

Captain JOSEPH WICKWIRE – 1734-1822

The Third Generation

Joseph Wickwire was born 22 June 1734 and baptized 16 October 1734 in the North Parish of New London, Connecticut, the seventh child of Peter and Patience (Chapel) Wickwire.  His father died when Joseph was ten years old.  Peter’s will directed that his son, Joseph, be apprenticed in some trade when he became 14 years old.  Peter’s will also directed a part of the estate be distributed when all his children reached full age.  The estate was not distributed until 1765, however, when Joseph was settled in Bennington, Vermont.  Whether he received his share, or relinquished it to a relative, is yet unknown.

Joseph may have apprenticed in nearby Lebanon, where he lived from at least 1757 to 1761.  Lebanon was the sixth largest town in Connecticut in 1756, with a population of almost 3300 people, a wide range of crafts, and significant commerce for the time. In August 1757,  Joseph served in a Lebanon company at the relief of Fort William Henry, New York during the French and Indian War.  He married 13 July 1758 Martha Story of Franklin [Norwich], Connecticut at the First Congregationalist Church of Lebanon.  And he purchased a house and acre of land in Lebanon 23 November 1759, which he sold 21 October 1761.  From Lebanon, Joseph and Martha migrated to Bennington, Vermont, where his name appears on a list of Bennington residents for 1761.

Bennington was the first permanent town settled in western Vermont.  It was among many new towns settled in northern New England, New York, and Pennsylvania following the French and Indian War (1755-62), because the French defeat opened up new territory for English settlement.  New England provided most of the new settlers, propelled by the region’s population explosion and resulting land scarcity, tremendous inflation and a post-war recession, and religious conflict of the Great Awakening.  In addition, many New England settlers migrated to land they had seen during service in the French and Indian War.

Joseph was probably motivated by all of these forces.  New London County, Connecticut had more than doubled in population from 1740 to 1760.  Available land had become scarce, expensive, and often depleted.  And Joseph would not have received his inheritance for another four years.  He may also have been involved in the religious revival and the evangelical movement, as was his wife’s family.  Finally, Joseph had almost certainly travelled through what would become Vermont, since he fought at Fort William Henry on Lake George, New York, which was northwest of the future Bennington settlement.

Joseph and Martha Wickwire were among the original settlers of Bennington in 1761.  They were led by Samuel Robinson, a deacon of the Separate church of Hardwick, Massachusetts.  Robinson had commanded his town’s militia during the French and Indian War, travelled through the future Bennington area, and consequently purchased the land from speculators, who had earlier been granted the land by the New Hampshire Governor Benning Wentworth (for whom Bennington was named).

Robinson recruited settlers from the Separate churches around Hardwick, Massachusetts and Norwich, Connecticut.  In June 1761, the Robinson, Harwood, and Pratt families–consisting of 22 individuals–arrived to plant crops.  Another 20 families followed after the fall harvests in their Connecticut and Massachusetts towns.  Joseph and Martha (Story) Wickwire and Ebenezer and Philippa (Story) Wood, were among these families, and probably arrived in November 1761 with Newent (Norwich) Church leader Joseph Safford.

The Wickwires were part of the extended Story family that settled in Bennington.  Phillipa Wood and Martha Wickwire were sisters.  Their parents, Stephen and Mary (Emerson) Story, migrated to Bennington with their unmarried children probably in November 1762, and probably in the group led by Nathan Clark and Ebenezer Walbridge.  Among those children was Sarah Story, who later married Joseph Rudd.  Another of these children was Stephen Story Jr., who had married Lydia Wood, sister to Ebenezer Wood.  Furthermore, the Woods were first cousins to Joseph Rudd, who had come to Bennington from Norwich with his brother, John, probably in November-December 1764.  Stephen and Lydia (Wood) Story Jr. arrived at Bennington by 1 June 1665.  And Daniel and Martha (Hazan) Story arrived at Bennington by 1 November 1667.  All of these couples were Wickwire in-laws.  Additionally, Joseph Rudd’s brother, John, and father, Joseph followed later to Bennington.  And Joseph Wickwire’s first cousin, Jonathan Wickwire, son of Jonathan, was at Bennington in 1667, when he signed a land purchase treaty with local Indians.  However, Jonathan moved on to Lansingburgh, New York by 1770.

At Bennington’s first town meeting, 31 March 1762, Joseph Wickwire became one of Bennington’s original selectmen.  Joseph does not appear on the first extant list of Bennington church members of 3 December 1762, which lists Martha Wickwire, Stephen Story, Sarah Story, and Elijah Story.  However, the original list is partly destroyed and is missing possibly 30 names.  Joseph was a member of the First Church on 7 January 1784, when he was among  church members agreeing to be taxed to support a minister.  He certainly became a member by 1765, when two Wickwire children were baptized at the Bennington church, because baptism required both parents to be church members.  Phillipa (Story) Wood became a member in 1764; her husband, Ebenezer, and their daughter, Hepzibah, became members in 1765; Stephen Story’s wife, Mary (Emerson) Story, also became a member in 1765.  Benajah and Lydia Story became members by 1768 and Joseph Rudd, by 1773, based on baptism records.  Joseph Wickwire, Daniel Story, and Joseph Rudd all signed a pledge to support the Bennington church minister 7 January 1784.

The First Conflict:  War with New York

The Bennington settlement soon encountered its first external threat.  Although Robinson had purchased grants made by New Hampshire, the area was also claimed by New York, which had begun to grant the same land already granted by New Hampshire.  In 1663, New York Dutch settlers arrived at the Hoosic Patent, just west of Bennington.  Samuel Robinson, a New Hampshire appointed constable, led a group of Bennington men to evict the Dutch.  Robinson’s son, Samuel Jr., was captured and imprisoned at Albany for two months.  In 1664, New York issued arrest warrants for the Robinsons and other Vermonters considered tresspassers.  As a result, Bennington established its first militia 24 October 1664, which included Joseph Wickwire and his in-laws Ebenezer Wood, Thomas, Elijah, and Benajah Story.  As the “Yankee-Yorker War” continued, Bennington sent Samuel Robinson with a petition to London for a final ruling in 1766.  Robinson was successful, although he died of smallpox while in London, but New York continued to grant Vermont land.  Consequently, Bennington settlers, including Joseph and Jonathan Wickwire, organized a subscription movement to purchase their land from the Wappinger Indians, 30 November 1767.  Ten years later, Vermont declared its independence from England and from New York.  The Yankee-Yorker War continued:  In 1782, under Ethan Allen’s overall command, Cpt. Joseph Wickwire led his company in Vermont’s attack on Guilford, Vermont, which had been seized by pro-New York settlers.  Not until 1791 was Vermont admitted to the Union as the 14th state, only after New York received $30,000 from Vermont to settle the dispute. 

Joseph was a proprietor of Bennington, since he was one of its first selectment, chosen at the first public meeting, comprised solely of proprietors.  He received an initial proprietary grant of 360 acres.  His original homestead was located on the south side of today’s Route 9, West Main Street, west of Bennington Center and just east of Fairdale Farms.  It was owned in part by decedents until the 1840s, when son Reuben left it by will to his daughters.  It appears on a Bennington Museum map depicting land ownership in 1785 as Joseph’s homestead.  How much land Joseph ultimately owned is yet unknown.  But in 1773 he deeded 30 acres on the northwest slope of Mt. Anthony for $25, a pig, and two bushels of wheat:

Commencing at a pile of eleven large stones, a little more than a stone’s throw from the hemlocks, where the pigeons nested last year, thence by a diagonal line twenty-five rods [25 x 16.5' or 482.5'] northeasterly to a birch tree around which a grapevine is twined; thence easterly in a straight line forth-nine rods and two links [2 x 7.92" or 249' 9.85"] to a big flat rock in the bottom of a deep hollow; thence in a straight line twenty-five rods [482.5'] easterly to the northwest corner of the Moses Robinson lot, so called; thence along said Robinson’s west line nearly fifty rods [965'] in a straight line, except at eighteen paces from said Robinson’s northwest corner, the line passes around a squarish jog of rocks, and then thence to a stake and stones; thence in a straight line westerly seventy-five rods [1447.5'] to a hallow sugar maple tree twenty-three inches in diameter; thence in a diagonal line to the place of beginning, and containing thirty acres, more or less, the exact amount to be determined by a royal surveyor within two years.  A certain patch of rocks whereon no grass or wood has ever grown or is likely to grow shall be deducted from the said thirty acres as having no value.  

Executed Bennington, Albany Co, province of New York.

Moses Robinson, cited in the above deed, was the son of Samuel Robinson, who organized the Bennington settlement.  Moses, a judge at the time of this deed, was Joseph’s regimental commander in 1776, and later became one of the three Vermont delegates to the Continental Congress, one of Vermont’s original US Senator, and the state’s second governor.  Joseph appears to have purchased land elsewhere in Vermont.  In 1779, he petitioned the Vermont General Assembly not to grant land requested by Nathan Clark and other Bennington men, because Joseph had a New York grant to the same area.  No record of the Assembly’s response is extent; however, Nathan Clark was a Vermont leader during the Revolution, and probably was well acquainted with members of the Assembly.

Joseph Wickwire was one of 436 documented Green Mountain Boys who settled western Vermont from 1761-75.  These men originally organized to fend off New York land claims.  However, their organization permitted their early use in the Revolutionary War under the leadership of Ethan Allen, who had achieved effective leadership by 1772. 

The Second Conflict:  American Revolution

Joseph Wickwire participated in three significant conflicts of the Revolutionary War:  Fort Ticonderoga, Mount Independence, and the Battle of Bennington.  In May 1775, he was among the 100 Bennington men recruited by Ethan Allen who comprised most of the American force Allen and Benedict Arnold led in the capture of Fort Ticonderoga.  The cannon seized at the Fort by the Bennington men and brought by Gen. Henry Knox to Boston in January 1776 enabled George Washington to free that city from the English in March 1776.  Joseph Wickwire also fought at Mount Independence (which sits across Lake George from Fort Ticonderoga) in July 1777, when Fort Ticonderoga was recaptured 1777 by English Gen. John Burgoyne.  This recapture was part of Burgoyne’s strategy to divide the northern and southern colonies.  Joseph’s third major conflict also occurred during this English campaign.  The Battle of Bennington occurred on 16-17 August 1777.  Gen. Burgoyne, in preparation of his attack on Albany, had ordered a force to capture an American supply depot at Bennington.  The American forces were led by Gen. Stark of New Hampshire.  Joseph Wickwire was a private in Cpt. Elijah Dewey’s Company.  Casualties from what were actually two battles (English reinforcements arrived and were defeated the following day) were 207 English/Hessian dead and about 700 English/Hessian prisoners, against about 30 Americans dead and about 40 wounded.  In 1780, Sgt. Joseph Wickwire was in brother-in-law, Cpt. Ebenezer Wood’s Company, Col. Samuel Herrick’s Regiment.  During the next two years, Joseph performed a various times as an ensign and lieutenant in Wood’s and other companies of Bennington.  Later, he became a captain and commanded a Bennington company against the English.

Joseph also appears in records for both corralling and for purchasing cattle confiscated from Loyalists during the Revolution.  In 1777, Joseph received 36 shillings for guarding cattle and purchased a “red bull calf” for 1.10.6.  Joseph bought 12 other cows and 36 deer skin at other public auctions of confiscated goods.  At one of the same sales, his daughter, Sarah Kinsley, purchased a dye tub.  Joseph would probably have designated these cattle as his own with his cattle mark–a slit in the right ear.

The military tradition begun by Joseph continued over the next generations, although with less glorious results.  At least six descendants of the next three generations died in uniform.  Others also suffered during war.  Some merely served.

• Chapel (son of Joseph) died after the Battle of Plattsburg, New York, War of 1812.
• Milton (Chapel) pressed, New York, War of 1814; led a Vermont militia company.
• Rollin (Milton) died from battle wounds, Vermont, Civil War.
• Charles (Milton) was imprisoned, wounded, and lost an arm, Vermont, Civil War.
• George McBride (son-in-law of Milton) was imprisoned, Vermont, Civil War.
• Erastus (Reuben/Joseph) died on ship and buried at sea, Vermont, peacetime.
• Henry (Reuben) spent a year in a federal prison camp, Florida, Civil War. 
• John (Henry) died of typhoid in a Southern military hospital, Florida, Civil War.
• David (Henry) discharged as underage and without permission, Florida, Civil War.
• William (Francis/Reuben) died in a Southern prison camp, Vermont, Civil War.
• Charles (Moses/Reuben) died after a disability discharge, Alabama, Civil War.

The 1790 census reports Joseph and Martha Wickwire living with another female, a male under 16 years, and three males over 16.  The 1800 census reports Joseph living in Bennington with two woman over 45 years and a male, 10-15 years old.  One of the women was Martha Wickwire, and the boy was possibly a grandson.  The 1810 census reports Joseph in nearby Arlington, Vermont–although nothing suggests that Joseph had moved from his farm, which Reuben later owned.  In 1820, Joseph is probably listed under Reuben’s name in the census report.

Joseph Wickwire died 2 June 1822.  The obituary describes him as a Whig and the oldest person in town.   His will of 24 October 1816 was probated 7 August 1822.  Youngest son Reuben, as executor, was directed to provide $20 a year to Joseph’s second wife, widow Mary (Branch) Lawrence Wickware (who was allowed to keep all the personal property she had brought with her to this marriage).  Only three of Joseph’s 12 children survived him.  He left money to these children and his grandchildren, by deceased children.  Reuben received the residual estate, including Joseph’s farm; youngest sons typically inherited the homestead, since elder brothers generally moved on to begin their own homes.  Daughter Patience Church was left $25.  Son Roswell was left $50 and all of his father’s clothing.  Sarah Kinsley’s children were left $10 each.  Joseph Wickwire Jr.’s child or children by his second wife were left $50 each.  Chapel Wickwire’s children were left $50 each.  Rufus Wickwire’s child or children by his first wife were left $50.

Now, we are sure most of you have noticed a few errors in Stephen’s research, which was done many years ago, before the internet and search engines. We haven’t had time to check and correct the few minor errors due to time constraints here. So please forgive us if you notice something out of whack. It doesn’t mean our main database is incorrect, just this story. For an example, here is an error that cousin Lukas Huisman caught last week for us:

Hi Rick, a slight correction to Stephen Beck’s research:

Rhoda Wickwire (Jun 18, 1762 – bef. 1808) married Henry Milton (Nov 30, 1760 – 1818).  They had 9 children, the youngest of whom, Prudence, born about 1793, was raised by her uncle, Peter Wickwire, who never married and had no children of his own. Peter was a school master in Shepody, New Brunswick.

Regards,

Lukas Huisman

In Stephen’s story, he only had two children for Rhoda and Henry Milton. We thank Lukas very much.

Cousin Dick Bedwell sent in a link to a very interesting article on DNA testing. As many of you know, several of us have had our DNA tested and found that we are indeed related. Both the Wickware and Wickwire lines had the same DNA and cousins 8 generations apart had the same DNA structure. For example, William Wickware and myself matched on 66 of 67 markers and we are 7^th cousins, twice removed. We have to go all the way back to John and Mary Tonge Wickware for a common ancestor. Here is Dick’s email to us with the link to the DNA article:

http://www.seniornet.org/jsnet/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=441&Itemid=37

Rick,

Here is an excellent explanation of the importance of DNA testing.

Dick

Cousins Ken and Amber Wickwire wrote in with some news about one of our family authors:

Thought you might be interested in this from the latest Dalhousie Magazine (NS) under the Classnotes section:

Nancy Wickwire Fraser, BA, has published her latest book, Letters from Paris:  a Halifax Lass Tackles the Sorbonne, 1954/55. 

Nancy Wickwire Fraser is married to Duncan Fraser, and she is the daughter of James Leander and Marguerite Brown Wickwire. Here is Nancy’s lineage for your review: NANCY¹⁴ WICKWIRE  (JAMES LEANDER¹³, FREDERICK WILLIAM¹², JOHN LEANDER¹¹, PETER¹⁰, SILAS⁹, PETER⁸, PETER⁷, JOHN⁶ WICKWARE). Nancy and I are 7^th cousins, twice removed. You can buy this book on Amazon.com and also her first book, Mysterious Brockville. We don’t have this new book yet, but have lots of copies of her first book and it is very interesting. We look forward to reading this new one.

From Vic & Marian Coley:

This is one of the most beautiful stories I have ever read.  And it sure hit the nail on the head for us.  Please take time to read it.  You will be blessed I am sure

 Shmily

My grandparents were married for over half a century, and played their own special game from the time they had met each other. The goal of their game was to write the word “shmily” in a surprise place for the other to find. They took turns leaving “shmily” around the house, and as soon as one of them discovered it, it was their turn to hide it once more. They dragged “shmily” with their fingers through the sugar and flour containers to await whoever was preparing the next meal. They smeared it in the dew on the windows overlooking the patio where my grandma always fed us warm, homemade pudding with blue food coloring. “Shmily” was written in the steam left on the mirror after a hot shower, where it would reappear bath after bath. At one point, my grandmother even unrolled an entire roll of toilet paper to leave “shmily” on the very last sheet.

There was no end to the places “shmily” would pop up. Little notes with “shmily” scribbled hurriedly were found on dashboards and car seats, or taped to steering wheels. The notes were stuffed inside shoes and left under pillows. “Shmily” was written in the dust upon the mantel and traced in the ashes of the fireplace.

This mysterious word was as much a part of my grandparents’ house as the furniture. It took me a long time before I was able to fully appreciate my grand-parents’ game. Skepticism has kept me from believing in true love-one that is pure and enduring. However, I never doubted my grandparents’ relationship. They had love down pat. It was more than their flirtatious little games; it was a way of life. Their relationship was based on a devotion and passionate affection which not everyone is lucky to experience. Grandma and Grandpa held hands every chance they could. They stole kisses as they bumped into each other in their tiny kitchen.

They finished each other’s sentences and shared the daily crossword puzzle and word jumble..

My grandma whispered to me about how cute my grandpa was, how handsome and old he had grown to be. She claimed that she really knew “how to pick ‘em.”

Before every meal they bowed their heads and gave thanks, marveling at their blessings: a wonderful family, good fortune, and each other. But there was a dark cloud in my grandparents’ life: my grandmother had breast cancer. The disease had first appeared ten years earlier. As always, Grandpa was with her every step of the way. He comforted her in their yellow room, painted that way so that she could always be surrounded by sunshine, even when she was too sick to go outside. Now the cancer was again attacking her body.

With the help of a cane and my grandfather’s steady hand, they went to church every morning. But my grandmother grew steadily weaker until, finally, she could not leave the house anymore. For a while, Grandpa would go to church alone, praying to God to watch over his wife.

Then one day, what we all dreaded finally happened. Grandma was gone. “Shmily.” It was scrawled in yellow on the pink ribbons of my grandmother’s funeral bouquet. As the crowd thinned and the last mourners turned to leave, my aunts, uncles, cousins and other family members came forward and gathered around Grandma one last time. Grandpa stepped up to my grandmother’s casket and, taking a shaky breath, he began to sing to her. Through his tears and grief, the song came, a deep and throaty lullaby. Shaking with my own sorrow, I will never forget that moment. For I knew that, although I couldn’t begin to fathom the depth of their love, I had been privileged to witness its unmatched beauty.

S-h-m-I-l-y:  See How Much I Love You.

By Laura Jeanne Allen

Not many people have relationships like that in this day and time, but I must say I am part of one and give thanks every day for it.

A new cousin found us just this weekend and we want to make welcome Scot Lawrence. He did such a good job of introducing himself we will just copy his email to us, plus a snippet from his website that we found interesting and very nice. Here is his email:

Hello Wickwire Family!

I got this email address from your excellent http://www.wickware.com/ website.

My name is Scot Lawrence, I’m your cousin! (well, a cousin to some of you! )

I was born in Sayre, Pennsylvania, in 1969.

I am the son of Carol Kremer and Richard Lawrence.

I am the Grandson of Edwin Kremer and Josephine Talada.

My Grandfather Edwin Kremer’s sister was Ellen Ruth Kremer Wickwire.

Ellen Ruth Wickwire was my Grand Aunt, my Grandfather’s sister.

I have recently started a Genealogy project, tracing the ancestry of my four Grandparents surnames: Lawrence, Hill, Kremer and Talada.

I never even knew my Grand Aunt Ellen Ruth existed until this year! I’m sorry I never got to meet her.. I grew up in Waverly! Not far at all from Corning..

I had never even heard of her until I received some family information from my Aunt (Donna Kremer Canavan, Ellen Ruth’s niece) a few months ago.

Well I have just uploaded a rather extensive webpage on my Kremer Genealogy:

http://gold.mylargescale.com/scottychaos/Lawrence-Chase-Genealogy/KREMER.html

And Ellen Ruth is on the page..

I would like to share my page and research with the Wickwire family, to see if the Wickwire’s perhaps have any data I’m missing, corrections, or perhaps I can share information they might not be aware of!

I would be happy to correspond with anyone who might like to discuss the Kremer line.. feel free to forward this note to anyone who might be interested..

Thanks!

Scot Lawrence

We visited Scot’s website and it is very impressive. Here is what he had for his Grand Aunt Ellen Ruth Kremer Wickwire:

My Grandfather’s sister Ellen Ruth KREMER WICKWIRE, my Great Aunt, has a LOT of descendants living today! She had 8 children, and as many as 100 of her direct descendants are living today! This is the Wickwire family of the Corning, NY area.

I never knew, or even heard of the Wickwires until I started this genealogy project in January 2009. I plan to email them to see if they have more genealogy data on the Kremer line, since we all have common Kremer ancestors. She lived until 1998! I was 29 then! and I never even knew she existed.. I never asked my Grandfather about his family. (I was 18 when he died, and it simply hadn’t occurred to me yet to be interested in family history!)

This is another example of what I wrote on the Talada page.. how its easy to “lose relatives” after only two generations removed! We all know the siblings of our parents, (our aunts and uncles), and their children, (our first cousins)…but go up just one more generation, and almost no one knows about the siblings of their GRAND parents! and all of their children.. why is this I wonder? Just too many relatives to keep track of the further you go back? Perhaps.. in any event, “hello Wickwires”! I’m your cousin Scot.. nice to meet you.

We are certainly glad to meet Scot, and also to hear about those 100 or so descendants of Ellen Ruth Kremer Wickwire, who married Albert Edward Wickwire, by the way. Here is more info on Albert Edward:

Descendants of Albert Edward Wickwire

Generation No. 1

1. ALBERT EDWARD13 WICKWIRE (FRANK EDWARD12, ALBERT JAMES11, ALBERT G.10, ROSWELL9, JOSEPH8, PETER7, JOHN6 WICKWARE, JOHN5, JOHN4, JOHN3, JOHN2, PB THOMAS1) was born 14 Jul 1897 in Canton, PA, and died 13 Nov 1985 in Hillsborough Co., FL. He married ELLEN RUTH KREMER 20 Nov 1918 in Corning, NY. She was born 19 Jul 1900 in Sayre, PA, and died 18 Feb 1998.

Notes for ALBERT EDWARD WICKWIRE:

My father’s notes again: “Albert had a very adventurous youth which he liked to talk about. Albert and his father, mother and sister would go to Miami, FL in the winter and he liked to relate fishing in the Miami River. He quit school in the 10th grade to drive a taxi. Frank, his father, ran the Willis Knight garage and Albert worked as a Mechanic, Salesman and in the office over a period of several years. He completed a course in accounting and helped with the banking and other chores at the garage. We wanted a change so we went to Philadelphia in 1928 and lived there for about two years mostly in Germantown. We came back after Frank became ill and were there when he died in 1930. Albert and Grandma ran the garage until the Willis Knight company went bankrupt in 1933. They did not have the resources to continue. Albert got a job as a surveyor and worked for the Atlantic Tea Co. as a salesman. He was transferred to Corning, NY in 1936. He stayed with the Tea Co. until World War II broke out and then he went to work for the Corning Glass Works as a furnace operator and later as a glass inspector until retirement. Throughout all of this, mother always kept a good home and we children went to school every day pretty much on time. Most of the time we had a garden and mother always did a lot of canning. Everybody had to help out. We always had a nice Christmas and many picnics together. Albert had to work 6 days a week 10 hours or more a day. It was a very busy life for both mother and Albert. After they retired they sold the house and toured the United States living in a travel trailer and visiting their grandchildren. They settled in Fort Pierce right on the Indian River. It was always fun to go down there for fishing and conversations. It was a great place to retire.”

Joyce Wickwire Dowling

More About ALBERT EDWARD WICKWIRE:

Census 1: 1920, Waverly, Tioga, NY, living with parents

Census 2: 1910, Elmira, Chemung, NY

Census 3: 1930, Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA

Occupation 1: Taxi Driver

Occupation 2: Mechanic in his father’s Willis Knight garage

Occupation 3: Salesman in his father’s Willis Knight garage.

Occupation 4: Bet. 1920 – 1930, Auto salesman

Residence 1: 1985, Florida 33449

Residence 2: Corning, NY

Residence 3: Waverly, NY

Social Security Number: 071-09-1987

More About ELLEN RUTH KREMER:

Census 1: 1920, Waverly, Tioga, NY, living with in-laws

Census 2: 1930, Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA

Residence: 1998, Corning, Steuben Co., NY 14830

Social Security Number: 179-14-3625

More About ALBERT WICKWIRE and ELLEN KREMER:

Marriage: 20 Nov 1918, Corning, NY

Children of ALBERT WICKWIRE and ELLEN KREMER are:

i. DORA14 WICKWIRE, b. 27 Jul 1919, Waverly, Tioga, NY; m. FARRELL.

More About DORA WICKWIRE:

Census 1: 1920, Waverly, Tioga., NY

Census 2: 1930, Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA

2. ii. DONALD JAMES WICKWIRE, b. 29 Jan 1921, Waverly, Tioga, NY; d. 17 Jun 2007.

iii. MARJORIE WICKWIRE, b. 09 Nov 1922, Waverly, Tioga, NY; d. Bef. 2000.

More About MARJORIE WICKWIRE:

Census: 1930, Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA

3. iv. JUNE ANNA WICKWIRE, b. 02 Jun 1924, Waverly, Tioga, NY.

v. ALICE WICKWIRE, b. 20 Jul 1926, Waverly, Tioga, NY; m. BENNETT.

More About ALICE WICKWIRE:

Census: 1930, Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA

vi. EVA WICKWIRE, b. 10 Oct 1929, Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA; d. Bef. 2000; m. SEIDEMANN.

More About EVA WICKWIRE:

Census: 1930, Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA

vii. GRACE WICKWIRE, b. 10 Oct 1929, Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA; m. REMELE.

More About GRACE WICKWIRE:

Census: 1930, Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA

4. viii. CHARLES WICKWIRE, b. 31 Mar 1933, Waverly, Tioga, NY.

Most of the information we have on this family has come from cousin Joyce Wickwire Dowling, whose notes appear for Albert. She got her info from her father Donald James Wickwire, and she has been very gracious about sharing that information and all of her own research with us. Now we may have an opportunity to increase our knowledge substantially by sharing with Scot.

My name is Trey Wickwire and I’m Rick’s son.  I’ll be helping out here on the blog so if there is anything I can do to help, let me know.

Trey