Names Behind The Numbers - Creger & Blayden

My childhood was filled with my Mom’s family: her parents, her siblings and their children, her aunts and uncles, her 1st and 2nd cousins. They came to our home for visits and we went to visit them. We saw each other at holiday gatherings and family reunion picnics. They sent Christmas cards with newsy letters. Their names are familiar. These are my people.

I have over 30 notebooks and file cabinets filled with research as a testament to research my parent's did on Mom's Creger/Blayden ancestry. This continues to be the focus of my research. 

Last month I wrote how I’d thus far been able to identify 177 direct ancestors along this line going back 9 generations(1). While some ancestors are known beyond 9 generations, they're numbers are so few I chose not to include them in that statistical report.

Since the goal has primarily been to identify our immigrant ancestors, in many cases we stopped researching a surname once the immigrant was found. It might be possible to find additional ancestors along those lines with further research.

Then there are those pesky brick wall ancestors who defy every effort to find them. Their surname may be well document in prior generations however I may have reached an impasse that prevents me from taking that line further back in time.

And, of course, there are the missing women. I call them my “Ghost” ancestors.

Prior to the late 19th or early 20th century, women had few legal rights. Unless she remained single, became widowed or divorced, a woman couldn’t even enter into contracts without her husbands consent. Additionally, U.S. census records prior to 1850 only listed the name of the head of the household - who in most cases was a male.

If lucky, I might know the first name of a Ghost but not yet know her maiden name. In other instances, I might not know her name at all. Each Ghost was somebody’s daughter and somebody’s wife…and she was the mother of one of my direct ancestors. Sadly however it seems that no one saw fit to record her name. For obvious reasons, Ghost women do not appear in this ancestral surname list.

I always hesitate to publish a list of my ancestral names. Invariably it seems that the minute I do I find new information which results in someone’s name needing to be added to or deleted from the list. Thus, what follows is a list of my currently known direct maternal Creger/Blayden surnames. 

Each surname is followed by the first name(s) of those direct ancestors who are known to have that surname. Each first name is followed by that person’s Ahnentafel number(2). In those instances where a surname appears twice it means that name appears in two different family lines. For example, the name Brown appears both in the Hamilton family line and in the Plumb line.

In some cases you will find that some people have multiple Ahnentafel numbers. This is a direct result of the Brickey cousin marriages(1). Had those cousins not married, each number would represent a different person with a different surname.

Ainsworth (Grace¹⁴⁴¹)

Alleine (Isabelle⁹⁶³, Joseph¹⁹²⁶)

Ashton (Mary⁴⁹)

Atkins (Rachel Naomi¹³, James²⁶)

Banbridge (Jane¹⁴⁴³, Guy²⁸⁸⁶)

Baxter (Emeline²¹, James W.⁴², James⁸⁴)

Black (daughter⁷⁹, Henry¹⁵⁸)

Bladen/Blayden (Gertrude Ethel³, James Horatio⁶, Walter Lewis¹², George²⁴, William⁴⁸, William⁹⁶, John¹⁹², Thomas³⁵⁴)

Botetort (Eleanor³⁰⁵)

Bradley (Catherine⁶⁶⁹)

Brickey/Briquet (Nancy Ann⁴¹, Mary Molly⁸¹, Peter⁸², Elizabeth⁸³, Jarret^162,164, John¹⁶⁶, Peter^{324, 328, 332}, John^{648, 656, 664}, Julien^{1296, 1312, 1326})

Broome (Margaret²²⁵, Thomas⁴⁵⁰)

Brown (Isabella¹²⁷)

Brown/Browne (Phebe¹⁴⁴⁷, William²⁸⁹⁴, Joseph⁵⁷⁷⁸, William¹¹⁵⁷⁶)

Bumstead (Mercy¹²¹⁷, Thomas²⁴³⁴)

Cash (Dinah⁵¹)

Chambers (Susanne²⁴³⁵)

Chaplin (Dorothea²⁸⁸¹)

Clarke (Agnes Smith²³, James³⁶)

Clingo (Sarah²⁷)

Coley (Elizabeth⁴⁵¹)

Compton (Lucinda Angeline⁹, Willis Harvey¹⁸, Ralph³⁶, Micajah⁷²)

Constalbe (Sarah¹⁹⁵)

Corbin (Mary¹¹⁹³, Nicholas²³⁸⁶)

Corley (Katherine¹⁶¹, James Richard³²²)

Costard (Marie-Dorothee⁸⁹, Giles¹⁷⁸)

Courtney (Rosamond³³⁵, John⁶⁷⁰)

Crabbe (Alce^{649, 657, 665})

Crackbone (Grace⁵⁷⁶¹)

Creger (Helen¹, James Iver², Peter Alexander⁴, Samuel⁸, Peter¹⁶, Jacob³²)

Curtis (Effarilla³²³, John⁶³⁶)

Danks (Anne^{2605, 2637, 2659})

Dickson (Anne¹⁵³)

Diehl (Mary Magdeline⁶¹, Daniel¹²²)

Dudouet (Olive^{2595, 2627, 2659})

Edgington (Margaret Annabel⁷, Thomas¹⁴, Brice Viers²⁸, George III⁵⁶, George II¹¹², George²²⁴)

Elsick (Magdalene¹¹⁵⁷⁷)

Garner (Mary Elizabeth¹⁶⁷, Thomas³³⁴, Henry⁶⁹⁸, John¹³³⁶)

Gathercole (Maria Lewis²⁵, Evan⁵⁰)

Gosnold (Elizabeth⁵³⁴⁹, Robert¹⁰⁶⁹⁸)

Gossett/Gostwick (Abarilla¹⁴⁹, Joseph²⁹⁸, Nicholas⁵⁹⁶, Joseph¹¹⁹²)

Green/Greene (Elizabeth⁷²¹, Samuel¹⁴⁴², Bartholomew²⁸⁸⁴)

Gutridge/Guthridge (Margaret²⁹, James⁵⁸, James¹¹⁶)

Hall (Agnes⁷⁷)

Halsey (Jemima³⁶³)

Hamilton (Jane Hannah³¹, John⁶², John¹²⁴)

Haylock (Sarah⁹⁷, Thomas¹⁹⁴)

Hempstead (Mary³⁶¹, Joshua⁷²², Robert¹⁴⁴⁴)

Houlette (Anna Margaret¹¹, James Dale²², Louis J.⁴⁴, Louis-Gabriel⁸⁸, Louis¹⁷⁶)

Houston (Ann²⁴¹, Christopher⁴⁸²)

Hurel (Jeanne¹⁷⁷)

Johnston (Margaret⁴⁷)

Keene (Susanna¹³³⁷, Thomas²⁶⁷⁴, Thomas⁵³⁴⁸)

Kemp (Elizabeth²³⁸⁷)

Larrabee (Elizabeth⁷²³, Greenfield¹⁴⁴⁶)

Leliepvre (Catherine^{1297, 1313, 1329}, DeLaurent^{2594, 2626, 2658})

Lemmonier (Marie¹⁷⁹)

Lester (Marsha⁴⁴⁹)

Lindsey (Elizabeth⁵⁷, John¹¹⁴)

Lucas (Winefred^{325, 329, 333}, Charles^{650, 658, 666}, Jacob^{1300, 1316, 1332})

Lucas (Etheldred⁶⁴⁷)

Matthews (Susannah³⁹, Robert⁷⁸)

McClure (Mary¹²⁵)

McKnight (Jane⁹⁶¹)

McLaughlin (Hannah⁵⁹, Barnabas¹¹⁸)

Mills (Jane²⁸⁹⁵, Thomas Francis⁵⁷⁹⁰)

Mothershead (Elizabeth²³⁵, John⁴⁷⁰)

Naunton/Noventon (Ursula¹⁰⁶⁹⁹, William²¹³⁹⁸)

Naylor (Mary¹¹³, James²²⁶)

Nicholson (Dorothy⁶⁰⁹, George¹²¹⁸)

Plumb (Anna⁴⁵, Justus⁹⁰, Samuel¹⁸⁰, Green³⁶⁰, John⁷²⁰, George¹⁴⁴⁰, John²⁸⁸⁰, Robert⁵⁷⁶⁰)

Plummer (Sarah¹⁹³)

Purrer (Sarah Hannah⁷²⁵)

Quisenberry (Ann¹¹⁷, John²³⁴)

Rainsborough (Judith²⁴³³)

Ralston/Raulston (Malinda Ann¹⁹, David John³⁸, Samuel⁷⁶, David¹⁵², William³⁰⁴, John⁶⁰⁸, John¹²¹⁶, John²⁴³²)

Reichman (Elizabeth¹⁷, George³⁴)

Roe (Anna¹⁸¹, John³⁶², John⁷²⁴)

Rutherford/Ruthersford (Katherine Jane⁴⁸¹, John⁹⁶²)

Sammis (Margaret⁹¹)

Short (Nancy Ann⁴³)

Slinker (Agnes Emeline⁵, Levi¹⁰, Green Berry²⁰, William Brickey⁴⁰, John⁸⁰, Christopher¹⁶⁰)

Smith (Isabelle⁶³, Samuel¹²⁶)

Smith (Temperance^{651, 659, 667}, William^{1302, 1318, 1334}, Robert^{2604, 2636, 2668})

Stults (Lucy⁸⁵)

Thorley (Mary²⁶⁷⁵, Edward⁵³⁵⁰)

Walker (Isabel¹⁵, Elijah Jr.³⁰, Elijah⁶⁰, John IV¹²⁰, John III²⁴⁰, John II⁴⁸⁰, John I⁹⁶⁰)

Wallace (Nancy⁷³)

Wilbanks/Willbanks (Asinith³⁷, Joseph L.⁷⁴, William¹⁴⁸, John²⁹⁶)

Willie (Joanna¹⁴⁴⁵)

Yanstone (Abarilla⁵⁹⁷)

NOTES

1. How Many Ancestors Do We Have, Poolside Genealogy, January 2019.
2. Ahnentafel is a genealogical numbering system for listing a person's direct ancestors in a fixed sequence of ascent. The subject of the Ahnentafel is listed as No. 1, the subject's father as No. 2 and the mother as No. 3, the paternal grandparents as No. 4 and No. 5 and the maternal grandparents as No. 6 and No. 7, and so on, back through the generations. Apart from No. 1, who can be male or female, all even-numbered persons are male, and all odd-numbered persons are female.