Lancaster Wiseley - Bright Cemetery

To find Bright cemetery go downtown Findlay and take E Sandusky St. (Rte 568 or Carey Rd) east a few miles. The actual cemetery is off the road about 1/4 mile or more on the north side of the road.



Look closely and you can see the headstones
in the distance just above the entrance marker.

  In this weeks blog we will follow the "William" line. John Wiseley came to the Lancaster Ohio area about 1800.  He most likely traveled on the new Zane's Trace which ran from Wheeling across the southeastern part of Ohio. The trace was little more than an area where the trees had been cut down in a wide path through the woods.  It was quickly completed in 1796-97. More on the trace and other means of transportation available to settlers in a future blog.

     John had 5 children, William, James, Edward, George and Ann. It is William and one of his descendants we wish to look at this week.
      William was the first child of John and Mary Ann Wiseley. He was born in Pennsylvania about 1780 in or near York County. He most likely was named after his Uncle William, John's brother, who would remain a bachelor and live his entire life in York Springs.


Look for these attractive stone structures
that mark the entrance to Bright cemetery



        John's son William married Rachel Thomlinson, Leah's sister, in Fairfield County, Ohio, 1801. They had a couple of girls and within 5 years Rachel died. William next married Sarah Cole and they had 9 children.  One of the youngest girls was named Rachel, the same as William's first wife.  The oldest boy was named Allen.

        A side note. When you read of an Allen Wiseley be aware that there were dozens and dozens of people named Allen Wiseley. I once received a letter from a direct decendant of  the Allen we just mentioned and his name was ....ready for this.....Allen Wiseley V (the fifth)   Yes every generation named at least one kid Allen for five generations. Talk about making genealogy work harder! 
       Anyway, we are dealing with Allen son of William, grandson of John.  He would settle 120 miles north of Fairfield county in a wilderness that became Findlay, Ohio. There is a lot of information about Allen which should be in a future blog. He was very much involved in business, education, farming etc. At one time he owned 3000 acres of prime farmland.  His descendants still cover the part of Ohio south of Toledo and around Findlay.

      For several years there was a Bright-Wiseley reunion in Findlay. The two families had a joint reunion because the they were so often connected in marriage. Allen married Ameliah Bright, daughter of Major Bright. (That was his name..not his rank!)  All three of them are buried in Bright cemetery just east of Findlay OH.
   Allen and Amelia have a unique combined stone. The two sides are connected with an arch on which are written "father" and Mother"  The two pillars
have their individual information.
There are several other headstones of interest to people doing genealogy. I have them pictured below.










Allen (20 Feb 1809 - 25 April 1888
and Amelia Wiseley (20 Feb 1809 - 9 Dec 1878)



Close up of both side of the arched stone above. Birth dates are correct. Both were born on the same day!

 
 



Keziah Wiseley
Dau of A.M. & M.M.
age 19Y 5M 27D

   Note the stone to the right of Keziah. It is Amos, her father. Not shown is her mother. Both stones are shown below.  The addition of "dau of.." helps to identify them.

 

 Below find the stone of Major Bright -senior.

One of several Bright tombstones in this cemetery.

An overview of the Bright cemetery with
the location of some of the Wiseleys
who are buried here.

    

    

Lancaster Wiseley - Coffman cemetery.

I know where John Wiseley is buried. I don't know where John Wiseley is buried. WHAT???  Actually both statements are true.  Let me explain.



But first some background to help you know what we are discussing in this weeks blog. In the "Lancaster line" one of the earliest ancestor we have documentation on is John Wiseley. He arrived in Lancaster, OH around 1800 with others who had traveled from near Lancaster, PA. As we have mentioned before he had five children, William, Edward, James, George and Ann. Edward married Leah and had about 15 kids. ("About 15" because after 12 you lose count!)

Joseph was one of Leah's brothers
Don't read too much into the word Consort.
They were married!

Leah Wiseley

    The headstone above is in Coffman cemetery.
John Wiseley (also buried in Coffman) was the father of  Edward Wiseley. Edward married Leah Tomlinson, brother to the Joseph shown above.  Speaking of Leah I found her stone in the back of Coffman cemetery near Carroll, Ohio. Carroll is a small town about 6 or 7 miles northwest of Lancaster, Ohio.  Leah's headstone looks like it may be in the original burial spot. That is not the case with most of the stones in this cemetery. At one time they had been in a couple of piles, neatly stacked in one place. I have no idea why, other than they may have fallen over and the care takers just gathered them. Your guess is as good as mine.

 I think it was Sharon Wiseley from Oregon that convinced the caretakers to unpile and replace the stones. When I visited this cemetery the first time in about 2003 the headstones that had been stacked were arranged in a couple of rows. They were standing up but obviously not in their original place.
     Notice the odd dating on Leah's stone. No birth date is given. Many headstones from this time period do not give the date of birth. 
     The Julian calender (named for Julius Caesar) had been in place since 54 BC. It was 11 minutes off from the solar year or 3 days off every 400 years. In 1582 Pope Gregory XIII ordered the Julian Calendar be replaced with the Gregorian calendar. It was 10 days off the solar year and affected when Easter was celebrated.
     Protestant countries were less than enthusiastic to adopt the Pope's new Catholic calendar. It took England 170 years to get on board. England did not switch until Wednesday, September 2, 1752. By that time there was a difference of 11 days on the calendar between London and Paris. On Wednesday night all England (and the colonies) went to bed on Wednesday September 2, and woke the next morning on Thursday September 14!
     So anyone born before September 1752 and dated after then would have a birth date that was 11 days off, unless they had used the old system which would not have matched the dates under the new calendar. It was just too confusing so for about the next hundred years tombstones stated when a person died and then gave you years, months and days they had lived, instead of the confusion of birth dates. (Confused?  So were they!) 

 OK Back to Coffman Cemetery. The picture to the left shows one of several Coffman headstones. This cemetery was not like the ones today where people are buried next to total strangers. All the people of the same generation knew one another and most of these were friends and many were related by marriage. Unfortunately many of the stones are too far gone to read what information they contain. But we can still learn from the style and shape of the stones. Look at the one below for example. See the fine detail that is still visible. This is William Wiseley's headstone.  Edward's brother.

Deteriorating Headstone of William Wiseley

Probably Edward's stone. 
Note the similar style.

If you look closely you will see this was the daughter of Edward and Leah.  "Daut. of E. & L,"  Note the spelling of Wisely here. Go back to Leah's headstone and see that Edward Wiseley is spelled differently.  If you recall in another blog I showed Leah had her name spelled three different ways on documents. Look at the date on this headstone and tell me when she was born. I can't figure it out in my head either.    

This stone has very little that can be read. But it still contains some clues. Look at some of the previous known heastones and you will see this is the same pattern and style of marker. Also look in the background. The house is almost the same in both pictures where it shows. That indicates these stones were in the same area. You can just make out Wiseley, but the first name is gone.  Perhaps this is the John that came here from Pennsylvania?  Or George or James.  When I research them I may find they were buried somewhere else, in which case that would make this most likely John's headstone, and one of the earliest I have found.

My wife with her hand on Leah's stone.
The brown headstones to her left are other Wiseley markers.
They seem to be in their original places.

Taken from the road at the front of Coffman cemetery
Note the row of stones that have just been stood up.
My wife is in the background near Leah's stone.

.

 

Looking East across the pleasant valley
Carroll, OH is in the distance.

If you are in the Ohio area and related to the Lancaster Wiseley's you should take the few minutes to drive to this lovely, if somewhat neglected cemetary. 

DIRECTIONS: Take 33 out of Columbus to Carroll, OH, a few miles north of Lancaster. Turn west onto Winchester road. In about 1/2 mile look for Kaufman Rd on the left. In about 1/2 mile you will T with Brandt Rd. Turn right (up the hill) and drive to Hope Drive. Or if you have a GPS set it for 3944 Hope Dr NW, Carroll, OH 43112

Intersection of Hope and Brandt rd.

Looking east. You can just see Carroll.

I have several more photos of headstones from this cemetery. If anyone is interested please contact me and i will Email them to you. Or if any picture here is of interest i will be glad to share them with you. 
    It was sad to see so many stones of young children here. Life was difficult for these people. But the Scotch-Irish were strong people with pioneering hearts. The values they brought to this country are slowly disappearing. Please take time to read about the Scotch-Irish on line or get a book from your library. Your children need to know their ancestors were hard working, freedom loving, independant and self reliant people. 
      Now with no further comment I leave you with some more photos of Coffman.  Check back next week for my next blog. Your feedback is greatly appreciated.  Email me at davidwiseley@gmail.com

Childs marker??  Is this a Wiseley?
No other names starting with W in this cemetery??

Sleep my babies - take your rest.

DID WISELEYS COME FROM GERMANY?

Where Did We Come From – Part 4.

Did we come from Germany? Yes. There are several U S census records that list Germany as the birthplace of Wiseleys.

Are we German? I don’t think so. I believe there is a strong enough case to raise reasonable doubt and show how people who were Scotch-Irish would have been born in Germany. I have not read this “hypothesis” anywhere else. It is my own interpretation of historical facts. I do spend time reading history and I noticed some interesting events that alone were not significant, but taken together will explain why I think the Wiseleys that came from Germany were Scotch-Irish. (Yes, I admit that does sound odd. Even my wife raised one eyebrow when she read it!)

        (If you really hate reading history just skip to the SUMMARY at the bottom of this blog.)

First we need to put on hip boots and wade into the confusing events of the 30 years war (1618-1648) We should start with Martin Luther in 1517 and his posting of the 95 thesis on the college chapel door. As we know that was the start of the Protestant Reformation. By 1550 Calvinism was also a factor. It spread North along the Rhine river area in what was then known as the Palatinate. The Palatinate is the part of present day Germany that is in the southwest corner and extends along the Rhine.


Priests bless prisoners before they are hung
That was thoughtful.

 As can be expected Catholics and Protestants did not get along well. By about 1618 both sides had decided the best solution was to kill off the other side. (Seems like the Christian thing to do!) Small skirmishes gradually grew into what has been called the Thirty Years War. It involved lots of countries, politics, and religion and generally made a mess of Germany.

       The protestant nations were able to form the Protestant Union, with Frederick IV as the leader. (1608) It was partly the result of the Dutch and Danes looking to King James I of England for leadership. This alliance of protestant nations provided a united force that for 40 years would fight against the Catholic Armies. Frederick V would take over the leadership of the Union from his father Frederick IV.



 ELIZABETH - KING JAMES DAUGHTER



So how were the Scotch/Scotch-Irish part of this European (German) War? We only need to know who Fredrick V married to start putting this puzzle together. Marriage was mostly a way to gain alliances between nations or maintain the balance of power that existed. And such was the case with Frederick. He married King James I daughter Elizabeth in Feb 1613. They were married in England and then headed home to the German city of Heidelberg and the newly renovated Heidelberg Castle. 

FREDERICK V
The Winter king



          In 1618 the Bohemian Estates rebelled against the Catholic Church and invited Frederick V, head of the Protestant Union, to be their king. He gladly accepted the job of being a Protestant King in a Catholic nation. That event is generally recognized as the start of the 30 years war. The Spanish armies, fighting for the Catholic side, drove Fredrick V from the throne. He was chased out of the country and would spend the rest of his life in exile in Holland. Some say he ran like a coward. He only lasted one winter and has gained the insulting title of “The Winter King”.

The 30 years war would continue without him. It would not end until 1648. There are lots of twists and turns in this war but what we need to know is that King James poured money and troops into the thirty years war, some to support his Son-in-Law, some to support his alliances with other nations and most to fight against Spain.



But the fight against Spain did not take place in Spain but in Germany, in the Palatinate. As briefly as possible here is the situation. Spain had wanted to keep England out of the war and had tried to get King James to have his son Charles marry a Spanish princess. The Spanish did everything they could to keep James preoccupied to stay out of the European war that was coming. When the Austrian and Spanish Hapsburgs broke out in full warfare against the protestants, the Spanish not only ran Frederick out of Bohemia, they also took the Palatinate, which had once been under the authority of Frederick. James I saw he had been tricked by Spain. He went to parliament for money and troops to send to Germany (Palatine area) and drive the Spanish out!  He demanded Spain return the Palatines to his son-in-law.   James asked Parliament for 30,000 men and 500,000 pounds to equip an army to go beat the stuffing out of the Spanish. Parliament gave him 160,000 pounds.

MAP OF PALATINE

The English manned the castle in Heidelberg and other cities in the region. Significant numbers of English soldiers would have been Scottish or Scots-Irish. The times in Scotland in the early 1600’s were severe. These harsh conditions were part of the reason 50,000 Scots would go to Ulster Ireland. The same hardships would have encouraged men from Scotland or Ulster to join the English army. At least they would not starve, as so many of their countrymen were at that time.



With a large number of Scots and Ulster Scots in Germany it seems probable to me that some would have stayed, married local women and had families. More research needs to be done in this area but I think there is sufficient history to explain how Scots may have been born in Germany.

SUMMARY


A conflict erupted in Europe in the 1600’s that is known as the 30 years war. It was a fight between Catholics and Protestants. The leader of the Protestants married King James Daughter. King James sent troops to help his son-in-law. Some of the troops were from Scotland or Ulster. These Scottish troops may have stayed on in Germany. Some of them that were named Wiseley may have had families. That is one idea why some people who were born in Germany are racially Scottish or at least carried the Wiseley name when they migrated to America.

In our next blog we will consider what the forces were that made people leave their homelands and what the attractions were that drew them to the Colonies. Thanks for reading such a long blog.

Where did we come from – Part 3 Scotland?

Was Scotland the original home of the Wiseley clan?
The short answer is Yes, the Wisely line is from the Scottish Lowlands. But that simple answer raises more questions.
Did some of the Wiseley’s come from Germany?
Were the Scotch-Irish part Irish and part Scot?
Are there still Wisely’s in Scotland?

The answer to the question about Germany is Yes. There were Scottish Wiseleys that came from Germany. (I like sauerkraut ..maybe I’m German?)

There is a longer story behind that answer that I will address in a future blog.

 

In part 2 we talked about the Ulster Plantations and the people who lived and worked on the plantations being Lowland Scots. Rich, well connected Scots and English could get huge allotments of land from the English King if they agreed to bring a number of Scot or English farmers to work the land. They also had to provide arms to protect the plantation. These large landholders were called undertakers because they were willing to “undertake” the opportunity. It wasn’t because they worked people to death.



THISTLE
     THE EMBLEM OF SCOTLAND



The Ulster plantations were a break with the feudal land arrangement still existing in southern Scotland. Here the Lowland Scot and English farmers could lease the land for long periods of time. (20 years and more)  They could grow their own crops, build their own houses and live in relative freedom. The Ulster plantation worked well for about 100 years, or about 5 generations of Scots. Thus many Scots were born in Ireland of Scottish parents and were raised in a Scottish culture. Were they Irish or Scotch? I say they were Scots. Some might say they were Irish. I won’t argue with them. (I won’t even mention that they are wrong!)

What about intermarriage? Did some of the Ulster Scots marry Irish spouses? Yes it did happen, but not in great enough numbers to affect the Scottish culture that existed on the plantations. Several reasons explain the rarity of intermarriage between Scots and Irish.

1. The Scots were fiercely Presbyterian. The Irish were determinedly Catholic both religiously and culturally The Scots said some harsh things about the Pope. The Irish said insulting things about the Scotch “heritics.” Consequently there would be a lot of pressure from both families to avoid having one of their kin be joined with “popery” or “heretics”


2. There just were not that many Irish around. Ulster was full of Scots, with some English and a few French Huguenots. It was illegal for a Scot or Englishman to lease any land to an Irishman. It did happen and some Irish were farming the least desirable land, but their presence was limited. The Protestant population on the plantations thought of the Irish as little more than savages and barbarians.


3. Scotland was so close to Ulster that parents often sent their children to Scotland for their education, and when they were of a marriageable age could go back to Scotland for a mate.
 
The term Scots-Irish refers to those Lowland Scots who lived in Ireland on the plantations. It does not mean that they were a mixture of Scots and Irish. The book by Dunaway says it well. Here is passage quoting a Reverend who lived in Ulster;
                       “To this hour, in the remoter and unchanged parts of Antrim and Down,
                         the country  folks will tell you: ‘We’re no Eerish bot Scoatch”
                                  (the book was published in 1944)

HIGHLAND & LOWLAND SCOTLAND

There are several things you should know about Scotland to appreciate your ancestry. First of all the country was one nation but divided culturally into Highland and Lowland Scots. The two regions were populated by genetically different races. Here is what happened. Without lots of dates and details the British Isles were populated by people who were racially Celtic. One of the numerous invasions of the British Isles was the Anglos and Saxons. The Celts were driven to western England (Wales), Northern Scotland and Ireland. The Anglos made it their new home. It became known as Angland. We call it England. That explains why the Highland Scots are racially closer to the Celtic Irish, and the Welsh than with the lowland Scots who were a mixture of Anglo, Saxon, Norman, Dane, Celtic, etc etc..

What kind of people were these lowland Scots? We can imagine from their living conditions that they were tough people. Their toughness was the result of several factors; Relative isolation from other nations, poor soil, outdated farming methods, bands of robbers, no central government because it was beyond their feudal way of thinking, and there was little of cultural inspiration to challenge their minds. No great literature, painting, sculpture or philosophers came from Lowland Scots during this time period. Finally they had to endure centuries of the warfare between England to the south and the Celtic Highland Scots to the north who often had their battles in the Lowland farm country.  The lowland Scots would have their lands and buildings destroyed in the "crossfire". And yet they endured.




STAINED GLASS THISTLE

 

The lack of any central authority required each Scot to be their own enforcer. They could give blow for blow, and having done all, still fight on. These people did not know the meaning of submitting. That was one of the character traits that made them successful as patriots in America. No wonder the Scottish national emblem is not the Shamrock, but the Thistle. Many Wiseleys came from the area around Aberdeen, which recently chose a Rose as their city emblem…and even then the idea of  being tough enough to survive was shown by the kind of rose they selected. The Wild Scottish Rose.  No hot house delicate flower for these folks!  

There is one last factor we need to consider. Scotch Whiskey.

Scotch Whiskey has been made in Scotland since about the 12th century. (by the monks in monestaries no less!)  Barley was one of the grains that grew in the thin Lowland soil. Much of it was turned into Scotch Whiskey which was consumed by these tough Scots.

Overall these lowland Scotch were hard working, never give up, hard fighting, hard drinking, frugal, independent thinking people.

That should be more than sufficient to give you some background on the Lowland Scots. But there is so much more that you might want to learn. If so please go to one of the many sources I have listed to the left.

The next blog will address the idea of the Wiseley’s coming from Germany. Look for it in about a week. I try to post a new blog every weekend.