And in the Beginning.......

I started this journey when my son was about 4 years old, but that was before the home computer and when you needed to use soundex to look up census records on microfilm. Wow, how much easier genealogy research has become over the last 22 years! I am sooooo grateful for Google Books, The Mormon Church and it's members, rootsweb, and all my fellow researchers.

My latest quest has been the Mareen Duvall Family from Maryland. Mareen Duvall (born 1635)came to America from France about 1650. One of his wives, and my direct descendant, was Susannah Brashear/Brassuer/Brassier. The couple lived on Mareen's plantation in Maryland called "Middle Plantation." Mareen was actually married three times which was not so uncommon during this time period. I have come across many men and woman who have married two and three times over. My line descendends down the tree with Mareen and Susannah Duvall's daughter Susannah who married Colonel Robert Tyler.

Colonel Robert Tyler was a member of the House of Burgesses continuously from 1704 to 1725 (Md. Archives Vol 26, 27, 29, and 30.) In 1695, Robert Tyler was commissioned one of the first magistrates of Prince George's Co. between 1697-98 and was accorded a Gentleman of the Quorum. He was also commissioned in 1708 by Gov. John Seymour. In 1704, he was a delegate to Prince George's Co. and served until 1724 he was then referred to as "Chief Justice at Marlborough." He owned hundreds of acres of land. (from "Mareen Duval of Middle Plantation" by Harry Wright Newman pgs. 162-165.)

Colonel Robert and Susannah (Duvall) Tyler had a daughter named Sabina Tyler (born 1703)who married Nathaniel Wickham. Nathaniel and Sabina (Tyler) Wickham's daughter Sabina Wickham became the wife of William Elder III (born 1729.)

William and Sabina (Wickham) Elder III lived near Emmittsburg, Maryland. Willam Elder II received a patent for land from Lord Baltimore, dated 27 Aug 1732. This is on record at the Mt. St. Mary Archives, Emmitsburg, Md. I visited the archives last summer as well as Mount Saint Mary's and the Elder Family Cemetery. The Elder Family Cemetery is marked by a plaque, surrounded by a split rail fence, and situated under a small grove of old trees. Some of the stones have been replaced and some have been crudely repaired, but yet preserved. It's very peaceful in Emmittsburg and probably not much changed from colonial times.

William and Sabina (Wickham) Elder III had a daughter Ann who married Daniel Delozier, Sr. (born 1750) "On April 2, 1804, Daniel and Ann sold part of a tract of land called "March Weather", located in the middle of the divisional line between states Maryland and Pennsylvania. They moved East of the Allegheny mountains to settle in the unbroken wilderness which is now Cambria County, Pennsylvania. According to a story taken from "History of Cambria County", page 543, "Delozier, Daniel came to Loretto with the McGuire pioneer family..." Ann Elder's father William also came from southern MD (Emmitsburg) to the Loretto area. But before influence by Father Gallitzen to move to Loretto, William Elder owned an area of land he named St. Mary's Mount and named his log cabin home "Pleasent Level". This home was in equal parts divided, one half served as residence for his family, the other half served as a Chapel. Mount St. Mary's Seminary and College at what is now Emmitsburg are on land that the Elder's owned. As mentioned and noted in Elder Family Papers, the family migrated into Pennsylvania by influence from Father Gallitzen "who advocated western settlement to his former congretation."*
*source: Guide to the Elder Family Papers

Now you know how our family got from Maryland to the middle of Pennsylvania. It's all because of Father Prince Gallitzin.

More later :-)