Showing posts with label Maryland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Maryland. Show all posts

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...

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Finding Records of the Past

Although it's been almost a year since I have posted to my Genealogy blog, I have still been doing research. With an upcoming trip to Maryland and Virginia, I have been focusing on my Nutter Ancestors who settled a good part of the Virginias and Maryland. I recently purchased a book called Stepney Parish Records of Somerset County, Maryland. This book contains birth, deaths, marriages and confirmation records for the period of 1709-1889 from the churches of St. Bartholomew's at Green Hill and St. Mary's at Tyaskin.

Inside are records for John Huett Nutter and Ann Nutter, my 6th great grandparents as well as their son Matthew Nathan Nutter, my 5th great grandfather.


As is the case with this record, sometimes it brings up more questions than answers. Ann Nutter was a second wife. Was she a cousin and her maiden name actually was Nutter or did they make an error in the records, forgetting perhaps to list her by her maiden name? Based on the time period, it was not unusual for cousins to marry and my hunch is that Ann's maiden name was Nutter and she was a cousin from another Nutter line. I have added this to my "questions to be answered, proof needed" list. That list is long. Really, really long.

One of the features at Ancestry.com is the "relationship" tree, showing exactly how you are related to someone way down the line. I've got over 1100 people currently in my family tree so it's helpful to have a way to view the relationship easily.


John Huett NUTTER (1705 - 1760)
is your 6th great grandfather
Son of John Huett
Son of Matthew Nathan
Son of William
Daughter of Isaac W
Son of Mary E.
Daughter of Claude Everett
Son of Billie Louise
You are the daughter of Larry


In addition, I found this burial record for a Bridgett Spelman from 1660. 1660! It's so amazing that the paper is still intact and legible! She was buried at St. Mary in Ealing, England. One of these trips to England needs to be strictly an ancestral research trip! I have a Bridgett Spelman in my tree who is my 12th Great Grandmother but she died 100 years earlier.  Could this be a direct descendent of hers? Or could this actually be from 1560 and not 1660? The only way to find out, is to travel and check out the original for myself! Some day!





Bridgett Spelman (1515 - 1560)



is your 12th great grandmother
Son of Bridgett
Daughter of Edward
Son of Barbary
Daughter of Samuel
Daughter of Mary
Son of Hannah
Son of Benjamin
Son of Samuel
Son of Thomas
Son of Timothy Sewell
Son of Asbury S
Daughter of Claude Everett
Son of Billie Louise
You are the daughter of Larry


So, with renewed enthusiasm I continue to search for documentation and records of my ancestors. What information will be uncovered when I get to Maryland and Virginia? The adventure continues...