Hello and welcome!
My main interest in research is my maiden name, JESTINGS, which has been a rather difficult one to trace back to England. Charles is a reoccuring name throughout our history, as is James. I have located a record on a Charles JESTINGS who was married in 1873 in Portsea, ENG. He is definitely a descendent of a common JESTINGS ancestor and where my research is focused on at the current moment. The oldest Jestings I've found is an Anne Jesting(e) born in 1593 in Sidmouth, Devon, ENG. Her father's name was James JESTING(E).
Someone in this family came over into Nova Scotia, I'm guessing in the 1700s, because the earliest JESTINGS name I've found there is a Joseph Jestings, born Abt 1784. He married an Anne (or possibly Mary Ann)Phiney. in 1806 in Cornwallis, St. John's, Nova Scotia. My great-great grandfather and grandfather lived in Round Hill, NS. Then some of the family came to America through Maine, where some still reside. My grandfather, Charles Stewart Jestings, was born in Newport, Rhode Island, which is where my cousins and uncles live. My father, Walter Jestings, moved with my mother to Columbus, OH, where they raised the three of us children, and we now reside in Atlanta, GA. I have found JESTINGS from one coast to another, but not many. It's a rare name. Any clues for new info. or additional info. to add to the tree would be much appreciated. In return, I have posted my family tree below.
My mother's maiden name was KENDALL. This has been my easiest research and has been extremely fruitful. Our branch is the Westmoreland,ENG> Norfolk,ENG> Massachusetts,USA one. It dates back to 1421. Feel free to browse the tree, which holds hundreds and hundreds of Kendall names and please let me know if you have anything to add or correct!
On my father's mother's side, my great-grandfather's full name was Adolphus Charles Frederick Bolthazar DREHER. He immigrated from Germany in November 1866 on the passenger ship "Germania" from hamburg to New York, alone, at 27 years of age.
He joined the Union Army on January 10th, 1867 and served as an orderly, just after the civil war, throughout the south.
He met Pauline Dorothy Ida Gustava NIETZ in Providence, RI and married her in New Bedford, Massachusetts on Christmas day 1873. This is where they raised their nine children.
The youngest child (Christie Gertrude Dreher) was my grandmother. She married Charles Stewart Jestings of Newport, Rhode Island in 1926, and their 3rd and youngest son is my father (Walter James Jestings).
Adolphus' father's name was the same as his and his mother's name was Augusta VonWolfe. Pauline's parents names were Louisa Voss (spelled Foss in some records) and Frederick Nietz of Germany. She and her family came to the U.S. at different times (possibly just her and her siblings)- Pauline in 1872. I haven't been able to find a passenger record on any of the "Nietz family" yet. I did find Adolphus', but no exact birthtown, just the region in Prussia then called NEUMARK. There were several Neumark's at the time, but he was supposedly from an area in Upper Silesia, that is part of Poland now.
If anyone knows where I can find the missing passenger lists for Germany to New England areas for 1872, I would love for you to contact me. The National Archives lists have gaps, at least the branch in Atlanta. I would ultimately like to find the exact towns in Germany each family was from and anyone who has
knowledge on Upper Silesia or Prussia, I'd love to hear from you.
Another name I'd like to find more information on is STEWART. My great great grandfather was McCartney STEWART (b.1831 in Ireland), who immigrated to New England in 1891.
Thanks and happy researching!
~~~~~~~~~~~~April Lynn Jestings-Brown~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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