Saturday, May 19, 2012

I'm a Nutter...


My English friend Ray has been calling me a nutter for years. Little did we know back then that I actually AM a Nutter! My Great Great grandmother is Mary Nutter, a direct descendant of Christopher Nutter, my 8th Great Grandfather, who sailed from England to Maryland in 1665 when he was just 21. When I began to research this line, I was very excited to find out how far back it would go and to connect it to England (as you all know, it's the land I love most!). The name is Anglo-Saxon and is found in both Yorkshire and Lancashire. It was first recorded in Gloucestershire and variants of this surname have been around since the early middle ages. I was able to take my Nutter line back even further to Christopher's Grandfather, Richard Nutter, who was born in Lancashire in 1579. I still have lots of research to do on my Nutter ancestors but I've discovered quite a bit in a short amount of time.

Last April I was lucky enough to have a friend who was living in Maryland at the time and invited me for a visit. One day we set out by car and drove to the Eastern Shore and down to Nutters Neck. This was land owned by Christopher and given to his sons Matthew and Christopher. This was the birthplace of my 5th Great Grandfather, Matthew Nathan Nutter who was grandson of Matthew and great grandson of Christopher. He was the last in my direct line to have lived at Nutters Neck, having left for Harrison County, Virginia where he and his brother built Nutter Fort. It was so cool to walk around the area. There is just one small dirt road called Nutters Neck Road that leads into some woods and deadends at Manumsco Creek. I could imagine how it looked in 1665 as there weren't any towns or buildings around, save a few farms and there was certainly nothing around or along Nutters Neck. I could imagine the Nutters fishing in the creek and hunting in the woods. I wondered if they ran into any Indians or had to endure any hurricanes or blizzards. Still so much to find out! But for now you all can enjoy these images we took while there. It was so cool to walk where my ancestors once tread and it's always so much more fun to be hunting for clues somewhere other than the internet! :-)

Nutters Neck Area

Nutters Neck Road


As Shadows Fall

 On the Trail of Ancestors


The Woods Surrounding Nutters Neck


Panoramic View of the woods around Nutters Neck. Pic taken by my friend Missy Trent.

 Feeling at Home

Manumsco Creek

Matthew Nathan Nutter was the son of John Huett Nutter (Matthew's first son and Christopher's grandson) and in the next post I'll be sharing the fascinating history on that middle name, another of my direct lines! You won't want to miss this one, as it's historical, tragic and full of political drama! Stay tuned...

15 comments:

  1. This is so cool, Laura! What a wonderful adventure and journey! Beautiful pictures and you do look quite at home! Can't wait to read your next entry!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Awesome! I so look forward to hearing about what's next. I was actually going to same almost the same thing as Nichole, so I'll just say, "Ditto!" :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks for stopping by you two! I'm really excited to get the DNA results back and see if I can finally break through that Irish brick wall...we shall see!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I have a bunch of Nutters in my family tree, but they don't appear to be related. Hatevil Nutter was born about 1598 and settled in Dover, New Hampshire. I love the name (both the surname and the given name), too. It is one of those odd Puritan names like Thankful or Resolve.

    ReplyDelete
  5. HI- We are related Christopher Nutter was also my eight times great grandfather (or something like that) John Huett was my great great great grandfather. My father has done a lot of research let me know if you want to know more. I live in DC PS My grandfathers middle name was Huett. Susan Nutter

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We're related too!!! My relative was John Huett as well.

      Delete
  6. PS Ann Nutter was a second wife> She had the last name Nutter because she married her husband's brother after he died.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Awesome! I want to visit! Did you have a chance to visit Manokin Presbyterian church in Somerset where Christoper is buried?

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'm a Nutter!!! I'm a descendant of Christopher Nutter as well. My grandpa's name is George Nutter. He was born in Nicolas County, West Virginia. I'm not sure what his parents' names were. His brother was Gerald (Jerry Nutter). They moved to Washington state before my dad was born.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I'm trying to figure out my connection, ok, I figured out my connection to Major General Humphrey Atherton, from here, I need to connect it to Alice and Richard Nutter. How did you guys figure it out?

    ReplyDelete
  10. My ancestors are mostly from Lancashire, UK and they migrated to the states, New Hampshire, Boston, New York, Vermont and Pennsylvania. I had my DNA results done.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I am also a descendant of Christopher Nutter on my mother's side. I was fortunate enough to travel to England and visit the area that Christopher was from. I love the research and the connection to history that it gives.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hello All. Matthew Nathan Nutter is my 6th Great-Great Grandfather. Lots of great information her.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I am also a Nutter relative. My granddad was Joseph, his dad was Cletis the son of Andrew Jackson Nutter who is the Son of Willis who is the son of Andrew Jackson Sr. My family has known about Nuttersfort and the Lacashire England Nutters. I hope to visit both places whenever it is safe to travel abroad after the pandemic.


    ReplyDelete