From Patriot Ancestor to President Hoover

One of the fun things you can do with WikiTree is find famous relatives. The WikiTree mission is to create an accurate, single family tree that makes genealogy free and accessible for everyone. Anyone can enter their family information linking to already existing family members. Now the fun begins.

 Amongst the famous relatives list is US Presidents; my closest relation is the 31st President.

Swiss born Gregor Jonas Huber is my linking ancestor to President Herbert Hoover. Gregor, my 8^th great grandfather was born in what is now the Canton of Aargau. In 1698 he immigrated to Germany due to religious persecution. Shortly after settling in Ellerstadt he married fellow Swiss immigrant Anna Kreutzer. They had eleven children including my direct ancestor Johannes Jacob and President Hoover’s direct ancestor Andreas. Both brothers immigrated to the American Colonies; one settling in the north, the other in the south. 

Johannes Jacob married Maria Magdalena shortly before boarding the Mortonhouse bound for Philadelphia; eventually they settled in Lancaster County. Now that, Covid fears are waning, I plan on making a trip to Lancaster to find out more about my ancestor’s history in that area.

Their son, my 6^th great grandfather, JacobHoover is recognized by the Daughters of the American Revolution as a Revolutionary War Patriot. Simply put, Ritts Kids cousin’s, you are eligible to apply for membership with the DAR or Sons of the American Revolution.

Almost all of my direct ancestors came into America via Philadelphia, and in a generation or two settled in the Bedford - Blair - Cambria county area. Martin Hoover, my 5th great grandfather was an exception. About 1805, he along with his second wife Catherine Knee and several of his grown children decided to travel west settling in Ohio and Indiana. 

Martin's daughter Christina, my 4th great grandmother did not travel west with her father and siblings. She married  Dunkard Preacher John George Metzker, remaining in what became Blair County. They had 13 children in 19 years, including my ancestor Isaac who ran the family farm. His daughter Eliza moved back to farm with her younger children after both her mother and husband, Alexander Hudson passed away. Eliza, her parents and several children are buried in the Mennonite Cemetery which is down the street from the farm she grew up on.

Mennonite Cemetery by the Altoona Airport

Eliza’s eldest daughter Lizzie, married Harry Ritts. They had nine boys and my Nana, whom we affectionately refer to as the Ritts Kids. The “kids” were raised on a farm in Antis Township, which is now the Pine Grove exit on Rt 99. Only a few Ritts Kids descendants still reside in the area. Most moved west to Pittsburgh and beyond.

The 10th President of the United States has a Grandson Still Living in 2020!

Cool Historical Fact Learned Today

10th US President John Tyler

The 10^th President of the United States has a grandson still living in 2020! President John Tyler [1790-1862] served as President from 1841-1845. Vice President John Tyler became President after William Henry Harrison’s death only one month into his presidency. While President, John married for the second time at age 54 to twenty four year old Julia Gardiner. President Tyler only served on term then moved he and Julia moved back to Virginia.¹ John and Julia had seven children:

David Gardiner Tyler [12 Jul 1846 - 5 Sep 1927]
John Alexander Tyler Jr [7 Apr 1848 - 1 Sep 1883]
Julia Tyler [25 Dec 1849 - 8 May 1871]
Lachlan Tyler [2 Dec 1851 - 26 Jan 1902]
Lyon Gardiner Tyler [24 Aug 1853 -12 Feb 1935]
Robert Fitzwalter Tyler [12 Mar 1856 - 31 Dec 1927]
Margaret Pearl Tyler [20 Jun 1860 -30 Jun 1947]²

President Tyler died in 1862 when Lyon was only eight. Like his father Lyon married twice. First to Anne Tucker, then at age 70, to Sue Ruffin. Lyon and Sue had three children:

Lyon Gardiner Jr. [3 Jan 1925 – 26 Sep 2020]
Harrison Ruffin Tyler [ 1928 - ]
Henry Tyler [18 Jan 1930 - 26 Jan 1930]³

Little Harrison was only seven when his father Lyon Sr died, his mother passed away when he was 25. Following in the footsteps of his grandfather and great-grandfather, Harrison graduated from William and Mary in 1949 with an engineering degree. Cool side note, Harrison’s great-grandfather Virginia Governor John Tyler⁴ was college roommates with Thomas Jefferson. Father, Lyon Sr did not attend William and Mary however was the college’s President for 34 years from 1888 to1919. Back to current day, Harrison’s brother Lyon Gardiner Tyler Jr recently passed away in September 2020⁵, leaving Harrison, at age 91, the last of President Tyler’s grandchildren still living.

Sources:

1] https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/presidents/john-tyler/ 

2] https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Tyler-150

3] https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Tyler-149

4] https://www.wm.edu/as/history/news/news-archive/2001-2005_archive/harrison-ruffin-tyler-49-pledges-5-million-to-lyon-gardiner-tyler-department-of-history.php

5] https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/lyon-g-tyler-jr-grandson-of-president-john-tyler-dies-at-95/2020/10/10/6c5825c8-0a60-11eb-859b-f9c27abe638d_story.html

Relative Finder Says I'm Related to George Washington!

While playing around with FamilySearch.org I found a new toy - Relative Finder, which I suppose is their answer to the now defunct We're Related app by Ancestry. Relative Finder has found connections to 180 famous, infamous and otherwise notable people including 13 US Presidents. I was aware of distant connections to two presidents, Herbert Hoover & Richard Nixon through my own research. Today I verified my connector ancestors to George Washington. 

Curious thing as I look at this chart, my patriot ancestor Bancroft Woodcock and George Washington are 6th cousins. Contemporaries, the two corresponded with at least one letter from Bancroft to the General still in existence. At one point when Wilmington, Delaware was under consideration to become the US capitol, Bancroft's beloved Bellveau set upon a hill overlooking the city was a candidate for the presidential residence. 

Laundry, errands and reports beckon, more discoveries will have to wait until another day. 

Review: Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President

Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Prior to reading Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President, James Garfield was just a name on the list of Presidents. A man born in poverty he became a educator, father, lawyer, Civil War General, Congressman and President.

Although he only served a few brief months, his death helped change medical world as we know it. It is often said necessity is the mother of invention. Alexander Graham Bell's early versions of metal detectors was an effort to help find the bullet lodged in President Garfield. Dr Lister's antiseptic surgery finally gained respect and acceptance after the autopsy on the President. It showed the massive infection that finally killed him came from his doctors inserting unsterilized fingers and instruments into the wound.

A proponent of black suffrage President Garfield appealed to southerners with the belief that the way to repair the south was through education and supporting southern commercial and industrial interests. Following the assassination attempt and the agonizing months until his death allowed the country to connect in a way it hadn't found in decades. President Garfield's brief presidency helped finally unite the country.

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