Read to the bottom for How to Use this Blog . I have been exploring genealogy since I was little, listening to all the stories told by Aunts Connie and Helena, Cousins Ann and Howie and Maurietta, Uncles Leonard and Arthur. There were m ore dead people in the stories than live ones, and they were lots more fun. This was way before it was anyone's hobby, when I was the only one who was interested. Sneaking into the Archives underage and running around graveyards. I was lost to the present, either reading books about Pilgrims or building stories in my head. Always asking, asking, asking. "How is he related to us? Who is their mother? What was her name, and her name, and her name? " While Aunt Anna said, "I don't want to find out anyone was arrested for stealing sheep." Now I find I know more stories about more people than anyone else. And I have more photos of other people's grandparents than anyone else, thanks to a mother who started taking pictures wh...
How many Johns do you know? Probably a lot, since it is the most popular first name in the US today, with 5,298,362 males (total, not new babies). How many ancestors do we have named John? ( 🙋 Quiz - answer at bottom). A lot also, because 5.8 million Johns have been born since 1530. Add to that the cognates of John in other languages - Johann, Juan, Jean, Sean, Giovanni, Jovan, Ivan, Evan, Ian, Yannis, Jens, Jan - and you know why genealogists groan when they find a John to research. So it is not surprising that although our ancestor John B. Acker (see Acker Pedigree Chart, see Acker Family - Ester Crank and John B. Acker Descendant Chart) was the only man of that name when he lived in Shelburne, Nova Scotia, there were quite a few men named John or Jan Acker or Ecker in his hometown of Philipsburgh Manor, New York Province. Jan, pronounced YON, is the Dutch form of John, and Ecker seems to be the preferred version of Acker b...