User:Gstradtman

Stradtmann appears to have been adopted as a surname by my 2x great grandparents in the then Kingdom of Hannover in 1819 or 1820. Their origins and original surname are unknown. Matters are complicated by the fact that Great Grandpa Heinrich Christoph/Christian Stradtmann was a polygamist and apparently was disowned by his relatives as a result. The Stradtmanns seem to have run an inn in Celle-Blumlage. The Struves were literate but poor. Heinrich Christian (my 2x great grandfather) was a singer in the theatre choir of the Electoral Prince of Hesse-Kassel; he also ran in inn in Kathrinhagen. The Gasts apparently made their living through basket weaving at the time of their immigration to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in the early 1800's. They shortly switched to pottery manufacturing and continued primarily in that trade until the late 19th century. They ran the Eagle or Gast Pottery on North Queen Street in Lancaster, PA. My 3x Great Grandpa Edward Mullen reached Philadelphia on 2 Jul 1816, then settled in Tredyffrin Twp., Montgomery Co., PA. The family was firmly established in Lancaster County by 1850. I am related to the Shue and Matter families (early pioneers in Lancaster County) through the Mullens. The Matters connect with the family of General Dwight David Eisenhower. An unknown Wilkerson was my 3X great grandfather. He came from Ireland to Chatham County, NC, where he married a Copeland. My 2x Great Grandma Margaret (nee Wilkerson) Johnson was one of fraternal twins; their mother apparently died during or shortly after their birth. Their father returned to Ireland in about 1816; he was never heard from again. I've been especially interested to find out what happened to "the red-haired twin" of family legend. The Wilkies reached South Carolina in the 1700's. They were well established there as coopers by the time of the Revolution. The trade continued in my North-Carolina line until the 1920's. My 3x Great Grandpa Jesse Poe was born in Culpeper County, Virginia, in about 1768. He and his mother migrated into Chatham County, NC, just in time for the Revolution. My Johnsons were of British origin. They lived in Chatham County, NC. I cannot with certainty go back further in that line than Harrison/Harry/Harris Johnson; he was born in 1805. The Clarks settled in Orange and/or Chatham County, NC. As is true for the Johnsons, it is difficult to distinguish their line from others with the same surname. One male ancestor had the given name Vatchell,not very common... so that might help in "fitting" him. The Manns settled in Wake County, North Carolina. Great Grandma Hester Ann Stevens Mann married Great Grandpa William Benjamin Wilkie before the Civil War; they lived in or near Pittsboro, Chatham Co., NC. The Wards have a genealogy that traces them to England, but there are indications that they were of Portuguese origin and may have made their way to the British Isles with the ancestors of the Poes and Tysors (I'm related to the Tysors through marriage.).