I made some pretty interesting finds in my research around the Blakeley family this past week. The most interesting find? We’re related to Norman Rockwell!
Norman Rockwell self portrait
Yes, Norman Perceval Rockwell, popular 20th-century American painter and illustrator, is a distant cousin. Norman, born in 1894, was of my grandparents’ generation. If my figuring is correct, my 6th great grandparents, Ensign John Rockwell and Elizabeth Keeler Rockwell, are Norman’s 4th great grandparents.
After writing last week about the Stanbridge Ridge Cemetery in Missisquoi, Québec, I became curious about my 4th great grandmother, Mehitable Rockwell Corey, who is buried there. I began researching her family. As I went along, I wondered if there was a connection to Norman, who was born in New York City in 1894.
I found a good resource for information about the Rockwell family compiled by Micheal Melville Strong of Springfield, Illinois. It seems the page was last updated in 2001, but it is very detailed and I’ve no reason to doubt the accuracy of what’s there.
I haven’t added all of the information into my Ancestry.com family tree yet, but I’ll try below to connect the dots so that you can see the relationship. Let’s first trace Norman Rockwell’s family tree going backward.
Norman Rockwell was born February 3, 1894, in New York City to Jarvis Waring Rockwell and Nancy Hill Rockwell.
Jarvis Waring Rockwell was born December 18, 1867, in Yonkers, New York. His parents were John William Rockwell and Phoebe Boyce Waring Rockwell.
John William Rockwell was born March 26, 1838, in New York City to Samuel Darling Rockwell and Oril Sherman Rockwell.
Samuel Darling Rockwell was born January 23, 1810, in Ridgebury, Connecticut. His parents were Runa Rockwell and Rachel Darling Rockwell.
Runa Rockwell was born February 11, 1773, in Ridgebury, Connecticut, to Abraham Rockwell and Esther Riggs Rockwell.
Abraham Rockwell was born October 8, 1749, in Ridgebury, Connecticut, to Ensign John Rockwell and Elizabeth Keeler Rockwell. Abraham was the ninth child in a family of 10. His older brother John was born May 12, 1734 in Ridgefield, Connecticut.
Ensign John Rockwell and Elizabeth Keeler Rockwell, parents of Abraham and John, are where we’ll begin tracing forward in my family tree.
Ensign John Rockwell was born in April of 1706 in Norwalk, Connecticut. His first son, and second child of 10, was John Rockwell, brother of Abraham, Norman Rockwell’s 3rd great grandfather.
John Rockwell was born May 12, 1734, in Ridgefield, Connecticut. He married Hannah Scott on April 16, 1754, in Ridgefield. They had 11 children, including their youngest daughter Mehitable.
Mehitable Rockwell was born February 13, 1775, in Lanesborough, Massachusetts. She married Caleb Corey of Rhode Island in 1794. They started their family in Massachusetts. Daughter Permelia was the fifth child of 10. Shortly after Permelia’s birth in 1803, the Coreys moved to Stanbridge, Missisquoi, Québec, Canada.
Permelia Corey was born in 1803. At the age of 16, on September 5, 1819, she married Truman Blakeley, a farmer of Stanbridge. Truman and Permelia had 10 children, including son Charles Robert Blakeley.
Charles Robert Blakeley was born March 21, 1835, in Pike River, Missisquoi, Québec. Around 1860, he moved to New York City with his brother Earl Rockwell Blakeley where the two worked as ice dealers. Charles returned to Lower Canada late in 1860 to marry Mary Elizabeth Rix. He brought his bride back to New York City where they raised a family of eight, including son Almon Dunbar Blakeley.
Almon Dunbar Blakeley was born November 8, 1868, in New York City. He married Mary A. “Minnie” Walsh on July 12, 1900. Almon and Minnie raised six children, including daughter Mary Elizabeth.
Mary Elizabeth Blakeley was born June 13, 1904, in New York City. On November 24, 1927, she married George Benedict Latchford. The Latchfords raised four children, the oldest being Catherine Mary Latchford, my mother.
Catherine Mary Latchford was born September 23, 1928, in New York City. She married Henry Neil Murphy on May 27, 1950. The Murphys had nine children, including me, and moved the family to Dallas, Texas, in 1964.
So, there you have it. Colin and Liam, you have artistic greatness in your DNA. Cousin Norman Rockwell.
Source:
http://ift.tt/1rwEgw1