Charles David Spangler

On this day, 25 April 1912, Charles David Spangler (my spouse’s 3rd great-grandfather) passed away in Lansing, Fayette County, West Virginia.

Born on 5 November 1837, in Botetourt County, Virginia, Charles David Spangler was the second known child of Jacob Spangler and Elizabeth “Eliza” L. Craft, joining older brother Clifton Hill Spangler, who was born a year and a half earlier.

Everyday Women, Everyday Lives

In celebration of Women’s History Month, March’s 12 Ancestors in 12 Months writing prompt is Females.

For more than 12 years, I have written about hundreds of women in our combined family trees, many of them found in the pages of history books. In this post, I wanted to focus on everyday women—ten to them to be exact—who died in March. Although these women lived simpler lives than our more famous forebearers, their lives were important nonetheless, especially to those of us who proudly call them ”family.“

William C. Hanson

On this day, 28 February 1871, William C. Hanson (my spouse’s 4th great-grandfather) passed away. (Some have claimed that the C stands for Christopher, although I have not been able to confirm this.)

Born in 1791, in Botetourt County, Virginia, William was the son of William Hanson and Sivily Sabina Tuckwiller. He joined known elder sisters Polly Hanson (born circa 1787) and Nancy Tuckwiller Hanson (born 21 December 1789).

Ruth Ann (Hanson) Spangler

On this day, 29 November 1919, Ruth Ann Hanson, my spouse’s 2nd great-grandmother, passed away.

Born in April 1851 in Greenbrier County, Virginia (now a part of West Virginia), Ruth Ann Hanson was the daughter of John A. Hanson and Mary Jane Shuck. She joined four older brothers Charles A. Hanson, born on 1 September 1844; James M. Hanson, born circa 1846; Franklin M. Hanson, born circa 1848; and George C. Hanson, born circa 1850.

ABCs & Our Family Trees: Letters N & O

I have always been fascinated by language, specifically where it originates and how it adapts, mutates, and relates to other languages. That is why I found the recent series of blogs by Andrew’s Kindred so intriguing. It combined my love of etymology with my love of genealogy. I was so inspired, in fact, that I decided to try my hand at chronicling the origins of our families’ surnames.

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This is the thirteenth installment of a series of posts documenting the etymology of many of our families’ surnames (recent and distant, direct and indirect.)

Well, since I already covered the M names, let’s now address the letters N and O: