Surname Saturday - Perkins

A line in my family tree that I continue to neglect is that of my Rome Ancestors

For the time being, I’m still focusing on trying to penetrate the 1870 brick wall of Jasper and Jane Pierce, 2^nd great grandparents via my maternal grandmother, and the 1870 brick wall of my 3^rd great grandparents, Frank and Venus Everett, via my paternal grandmother. However, when I’ve temporarily exhausted ideas of where to turn next to bring those walls down, I usually begin to focus on other areas of my tree, wondering what became of the various collateral lines.

One of those collateral lines is Great Grand Aunt Penny Rome, my granddad’s, LC Hosch, maternal aunt.

Aunt Penny was one of my Great Grandmother’s, Sally Rome Hosch, younger sisters. Aunt Penny married Wesley (Wes) L. Perkins in Walton County, GA on 22 March 1894.

The 1900 Federal Census, which was the first census after they were married, shows them living in Walton County, GA with the following children: Ruf, Ennis, Wayman, and Maud.

The 1910 Federal Census shows them still to be living in Walton County, GA.

Aunt Penny and Uncle Wes now have nine children: Rufus, Ennis, Wayman, Maud, Calvin, Clifford, Annie, Ophelia, and Ruth M.

After the 1910 census I lose track of Aunt Penny, at least in Walton County, GA, but thanks to Ancestry’s shaking leaves, I’ve long suspected that Aunt Penny migrated to Arkansas. About a year ago, I saw the shaking leaf. My first thoughts were it had to be Aunt Penny. It was just too much of a coincidence that there was a Wesley and Penny Perkins on the 1920 census living in Pulaski County, AR, who were born in GA around the same time as Aunt Penny and her husband Uncle Wesley Perkins and whose children had the exact same names as those listed on the 1900 and 1910 censuses for Walton County, GA and who were also born in GA.

As I focused most of 2010 on trying to bring down those monumental 1870 brick walls on the lines mentioned above, I put Aunt Penny on the back burner. Recently though, my curiosity with regard to Aunt Penny was aroused when I came across another tree on Ancestry that contained the suspected Aunt Penny and unlike a lot of trees I come across on Ancestry, this one actually made sense. As this could possibly be one of my Great Grand Aunt’s descendants, I desperately wanted to make contact, but I needed to be sure that the Penny Perkins that appeared in the 1900 and 1910 censuses in Walton County Georgia was indeed the same Penny Perkins in 1920 Pulaski County Arkansas.

I initially thought about sending away for the SS-5 Application of a Wayman Perkins who died in 1980 in Conway, Faulkner, AR. This could possibly be her son but I decided against ordering the SS-5 and instead went a different route after finding what appeared to be Aunt Penny listed in the Arkansas Death Index. This Penny Perkins died in 1937. As death certificates usually cost less than SS-5 applications, I checked out the Arkansas Department of Health website to get all the particulars on ordering a death certificate. Per the website, death records that are more than 50 years old can be released to the public. Thankfully, this death certificate met the criteria. The cost for a death certificate was $10.00.

When Aunt Penny’s death certificate arrived the week of Sept. 12, 2011, I had literally forgotten about my request for her death certificate. I was excited and didn’t even wait until I got in the house to open the envelope. Sometimes, before you even open an envelope of requested documentation, you just know you’ve scored one for the ancestors. This is how I felt as I ripped open the envelope containing Aunt Penny’s death certificate. Never the less, I still braced myself just in case the information I sought, the names of her parents, was not on the death certificate.

There it is. Her dad is Wyatt Rome. The informant was her son Calvin Perkins. I’m so thankful that Calvin knew the name of his grandfather, my 2^nd great grandfather. I’m also grateful that he saved his 1^st cousin twice removed the expense of having to write for an SS-5 application.

Now that I’ve confirmed the relationship, my next step is to contact the owner of the tree, and try to connect with this forgotten / unknown branch of the tree. Hopefully, I’ll finally be able to record a successful reaching out experience. So far, I’ve not had much success in this department. Wish me luck.

Surname Saturday

Confirmation of a Surname, a Marriage, and Family Lore

While I regroup and decide on my next plan of attack in trying to determine the last slave owner of my 2nd great grandparents, Jasper and Jane Pierce, I thought I would briefly revisit my great grandmother Fannie.

Since I’ve not written about Grandma Fannie in awhile, some of the basic background with regard to her various surnames is as follows:

Henry – This is the surname handed down by my grandmother concerning her mother’s maiden name.

White – This was the surname handed down by grandmom’s siblings, Ossie, Evelina, and Roy. Prior to 2009, I had never heard of the White surname.

Sanford – This was the surname that the descendants of my grandmother’s older half sister knew Grandma Fannie as.

Amazingly, I’m slowly confirming all of my great grandmother’s surnames.

First there was the White surname. This was Grandma Fannie’s surname at the time she married my great grandfather, Cornelius Pierce, in 1889. I wrote about this discovery in 2009.

During my research trip to Walton County, GA probate court (November 2010), I was finally able to confirm the Sanford surname when I found the marriage certificate for one Fannie Pierce and B. F. Sanford. I do wish that GA marriage certificates gave more information but based on research to date as well as the stories handed down by my grandmother and other descendants, I’m confident that this is my great grandmother and that she married B. F. Sanford after the death of my great grandfather.

To repeat the story handed down from grandmom, after Cornelius died, Great Grandma Fannie had stated that she was not going to marry again because of how great granddad had treated her. (Based on family stories, I think Great Grandpa Cornelius was a ladies man.). However, not too long after Cornelius’ death (14 May 1910), there was some man hanging around and Great Grandma proceeded to try to get her girls married off. However, grandma never did complete the story and never divulged this new man’s name or even if Fannie remarried although I guess it’s sort of implied. Years latter, and after my grandmother had passed, we learned of the Sanford surname when some of Grand Aunt Mattie’s children came to visit.

So, this only leaves one surname to prove or disprove and of the three, it’s the one that presents the biggest challenge and yet, based on family lore, and circumstantial evidence I believe it existed, too and while I’ll continue to try to find Grandma Fannie via the White surname, my gut still keeps telling me it’s the Henry or versions there of that will help me to locate her prior to 1889.

The picture of the marriage license for my Great Grandmother to B. F. Sanford was taken on November 15, 2010 by the owner of this blog. The marriage license is located in Book K, page 124, Walton County, GA Marriage Records, Colored.

Surname Saturday - Stovall

Surname Saturday - Stovall

The Stovall surname represents the only 3rd great grandparent I’ve been able to discover.


My Stovall lineage is as follows:

1. Me
2. Mom
3. Oscar Lucillous “LC” Hosch - born abt 12 Aug 1887 in Jackson County, GA; date of death - 10 Sep 1978, Shelby, Cleveland County, NC
4. Sallie Rome – born abt 1868, Walton County, GA; date of death unknown (most likely between (1895 – 1900)
5. Wyatt Rome – born abt 1840 in Georgia; date of death unknown (between 1910 and 1920), Walton County, GA
6. Eliza Stovall – born abt 1810 in Georgia; date of death unknown (between 1880 and 1900). Grandma Eliza appears on the 1880 census in the household of my 2nd great grandfather, Wyatt Rome, but is not on the 1900 census.

In addition to Grandpa Wyatt, the 1870 Federal census points toward my 3rd great grandmother probably having at least 2 other children, Emma Stovall and Lou Stovall. I’ve tried to trace forward to find out what became of them but have been unsuccessful to this point.

WorldNames Public Profiler doesn’t provide any information on the origins of this surname. I tried a Google Search and checked out a few other sites in hopes of learning more about the origin of the surname and other than one site indicating that it was English and another indicating that it was French, there appears to be no available explanation for the surname.

Could this be a truly American name? The surname distribution leads one to believe this could be a possibility. The top three countries for this surname are United States at 53.4 FPN, Luxembourg at 8.5 FPN, and Canada at 1.6 FPN. The top three regions for the surname are Mississippi at 261.9 FPN, Texas at 209.75 FPN, and Georgia at 191.5 FPN. Finally, the top three cities for this surname are Memphis, TN; Atlanta, GA; and Chicago, IL.

I’ve not done much work on my Stovall line, so as always, I’m hoping that another descendant of Grandma Eliza Stovall will come across this blog and help me fill in the details.

Surname Saturday - Rome

My Rome lineage is as follows:

1. Me
2. Mom
3. Oscar Lucillous "LC" Hosch - born abt. 12 Aug 1887 in Jackson County, GA; date of death - 10 Sep 1978, Shelby, Cleveland County, NC
4. Sally Rome - born abt. 1868, Walton County, GA, date of death unkown but best guestimate is sometime between 1895 and 1900. On the 1900 census, granddad, his older brother Will and his younger brother Hosea are found in the household of their grandparents. Granddad always stated that both his parents died when he was a young boy and his grandparents finished rearing he and his brothers.
5. Wyatt and Alice Rome - Wyat was born abt. 1840 in Georgia. Date of death unknown but most likely between 1910 and 1920 in Walton County, GA. Grandpa Wyatt appears on 1910 census but is not listed on later censuses. Alice was born abt. 1836 in Georgia and died between 1900 and 1910 in Walton County, GA.

According to WorldNames Public Profiler, the Rome surname is of Scottish / Celtic descent. The top 3 coutries for the surname are Solvenia, France, and Belgium, The top 3 regions for the surname are Southland District, New Zealand, Louisana, and Auvergne, France. The top 3 cities are Carlisle, North, United Kingdom; Baton Rouge, LA; and St. Etienne, Rhône-Alps, France.

Granddad's first cousin, Henry Rome, migrated to Detroit, MI. Henry's dad, Henry L. Rome, was the youngest of my 2nd great grandparent's children. Outside of that, I know very little about my Rome ancestors and family. Hopefully, one of cousin Henry's descendents or another Rome descendent will come across this post and contact me.

Surname Saturday - Pierce

Pierce

It occurred to me that while I’ve been working on my Pierce line for awhile now (see my recent Monday Madness posts) I’ve never discussed the surname.

My Pierce lineage is as follows:

1. Mavis Jones

2. Ovella Hosch

3. Mary Magdalene Pierce, born abt. 27 June 1890. Based on documentation to date, grandmom most likely was born in Clarke County, GA, although she spent the majority if not all of her formative years in Monroe, Walton, GA. Died 18 March 1966, Shelby, Cleveland, NC.

4. Cornelius Pierce, born abt. 10 March 1865, White Plains, Greene County, GA. Died 14 May 1910, Monroe, Walton, GA. Interred in Sheats Cemetery, in the Good Hope area of Walton County, GA

5. Jasper Pierce and Jane Pierce,

Jasper was born about 1850, in White Plains, GA. Date of death is unknown at this time.

Jane was born about 1844, in White Plains, GA. Date of death is unknown at this time.

From About.com, comes the following on the Pierce surname:

Definition: Adapted from the given name Piers (a derivation of Peter, which means "rock") and usually meaning "son or descendant of Piers or Peter."

Surname Origin: English, Welsh

Alternate Surname Spellings: PEARCE, PEARSE, PEARSON, PIERS, PIRS, PYRS, PEERS

According to World Names Profiler, the top country for the Pierce surname is the good old USA at 550.01 FPM, with Mississippi being the top state and Chicago, IL being the top US city with the surname.

Surname Saturday + Saturday Night Genealogy Fun

HOSCH

Randy Seaver's, Genea-Musings, Saturday Night Genealogy Fun Challenge, offered a perfect opportunity to combine Surname Saturday and SGNF.

Surname Saturday

The Hosch surname represents my maternal grandfather's lineage.

For me, the Hosch surname is so uncommon that instinctively when you hear it, you some how know there is a possible connection even if it was eons ago. The origins of this surname are Germanic and could have come from

• Northern Germany: Nickname from reduced form of Middle Low German hovesch ‘courtly’, a derivative of hof ‘court’
• South German: probably a nickname for a scornful person, from Middle High German hoschen ‘to mock’, hosche ‘mockery’
• (eastern German, of Slavic origin): from a pet form of the personal name Johannes (1)

Although, I can safely say that the bulk of my ancestors do not hail from Germany, there appears to be strong evidence, my granddad's blue eyes, that somewhere along the continuum of my ancestors, we more than likely have a European / Germanic ancestor.

There are many variations in the spelling of the name because of the way it is pronounced, at least in the South / Southeast, which does not correlate to how it's spelled at all. The most common spelling of the name is Hosch, which is how the slave owning family spelled the name and hence how the bulk of my ancestors and collateral relatives spelled it. However, the slave owner's and my family both pronounce it hush (like push but with an H). This explains how even within the descendants of the slaves, there was one variation in the spelling. Granddaddy Hosch's cousin Eli spelled it Hush. Other variations include Housch.

There is a town in Georgia, Hoschton, that bears the surname and yes, my ancestors are connected through slavery to the three men that the town was named after. Their dad, Lt. Henry Hosch, was the last or next to last owner of my 2great grandmother Matilda and their granddad, Matthew Hosch, appears, from all evidence gathered, to be grandmom Matilda's original owner. However, the first slave owner, in this line of the Hosch family appears to be Jacob Hosch, Matthew’s father, who migrated to SC in the 1700s from PA.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun Challenge


The instructions for this week were as follows:

1. Find out the geographical distribution of your surname - in the world, in your state or province, in your county or parish. I suggest that you use the Public Profiler site at http://www.publicprofiler.org/worldnames/, which seems to work quickly and easily. However, you cannot capture the image as a photo file - you have to capture the screen shot, save it and edit it.
2. Tell us about your surname distribution in a blog post of your own (with a screen shot if possible), in comments to this post, or in comments on a social networking site like Facebook and Twitter.

I went to the Public Profiler Website and entered "Hosch" in the surname field.

The profiler showed the highest distribution of the surname in Austria (48.61 FPM). Others were Germany (23.19 FPM), Switzerland (9.58 FPM) and USA (6.99 FPM).

I then checked the distribution in the US. Surprisingly, Iowa (79.28 FPM) had the highest distribution in the US with Cascade, IA being the top locality.


1. http://www.ancestry.com/facts/hosch-family-history.ashx

Until next time!