When Jean Dellock first started unraveling her family's past, it was slow going.
The pace quickened when the grandmother of two from Schuylkill County, Pa. discovered her ancestors had arrived to town on the coattails of John Potts, founder of Pottsville, Pa., now the county seat. The snippet of history that trickled out was cause for pride, and kept her digging for more.
She probed deeper. And as she did, a family secret slowly seeped from the cracked-open record books. Turns out Jean's great-great-grandfather had not one, but three, families. That's all it took to get Jean hooked on genealogical research.
Family Records Oozing...Scandal?
In a nearby county, Jean's great-great-grandfather had been widowed with several children. Shortly after his wife met her demise, another woman's children were baptized — with the great-great-grandfather's surname. Oddly enough, the names of the children in the separate households corresponded. Both the man's wife and mistress had a son named Jacob.
"Was he worried about mixing up names from the two households?" asks Jean, who was able to distinguish the illegitimate children because they took their mother's maiden name as their middle name.
"Records indicate that these two families knew of each other. There were deeds and transactions between the children," says Jean. She kept going. And, buried within the dusty record books, she discovered her ancestor's third wife.
The surprises behind the facts are what keep her reaching further back in time. No, there weren't official lists of mistresses at the local historical society. Instead, Jean used the documents and resources available to fill in the blanks.
| “When working on genealogy projects, every sliver of information is a hint on where to find more.” |
"When you're working on these genealogy projects, every sliver of information is a hint on where to find more," she says.
A Search for Membership
It wasn't her craving for stories, though, that initially led Jean to pore over the family records — it was a quest for membership. Her niece wished to join the ranks of Laura Bush and Elizabeth Dole as a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, a non-profit organization (with chapters in all 50 states and the District of Columbia) that promotes history and patriotism through scholarships, support for veterans, and contributions to national memorials.
One membership requirement involves proving "bloodline descent from an ancestor who aided in achieving American independence." Though her niece never joined the DAR, Jean and her mother did. Some 20 years later, she's still enthralled by the research. Asked when she'll be "done" with the project, Jean says with a laugh, "Never!"
A Lost War Hero Found
Beyond amorous escapades, the trail of documents also led to a family member, James Monroe Seitzinger, who received the Congressional Medal of Honor for heroism during the 1862 Battle of Cold Harbor (during the Civil War). In memory of his bravery, the Congressional Medal of Honor Historical Society issued a special plaque to be displayed on his gravestone in Fountain Springs, Pa. Relatives, including Jean's four sons and two grandsons, gathered at a local cemetery for a ceremony acknowledging the family soldier's high distinction.
Jean was lucky. After her parents' families immigrated to Schuylkill County, Pa. in the 1700's, they stayed put. Thus, she could rely heavily on original sources of record — history books, census and military records, obituaries, wills and deeds — found at her local historical society.
Indeed, so knowledgeable of local genealogical resources did Jean become, that for the past 10 years she's been helping others delve into their families' pasts at the Historical Society of Schuylkill County, where she's now a board member. Why such passion for what's long gone? Says Jean, "It gives us a sense of place and context — of where we came from."
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