Surname Saturday – CURLESS/CURLISS/CORLISS

This is the first in a series of blog posts dedicated to my female ancestors and their maiden names. Mary Ann Curless Vickers was my 4th great-grandmother. She lived to be more than 100 years old. Born in Smithfield, Rhode Island on 16 August 1797, she also resided in nearby Thompson, CT and Oxford, MA. Her parents were Nancy (Annie) Pollock and Christopher Curless. Christopher … Continue reading Surname Saturday – CURLESS/CURLISS/CORLISS

The Women Before Me

I thank Heather Rojo from Nutfield Genealogy for her post on how she organizes her Surname Saturday posts. I’m going to work on the maiden names of women in my ancestry beginning with my maternal line. Those names include: Ransom, Slocum, Dailey, Curless, Vickers, Williams, Scott, Harry, Foster, Money, Henry, Quow, Jackson, Willett, Romsor, Pegan, Pollock, Brown, Toney, and Hazzard. And, yes, I know these … Continue reading The Women Before Me

Who is Molly Pegan? (Part 2)

Molly Pegan is my sixth great grandmother and a source of much controversy in my small Nipmuc community.  Some of us believe her to be Nipmuc, especially since her maiden name is Pegan – a known Nipmuc name. Others (including nameless BIA researchers) don’t think she is Nipmuc and that the name is simply coincidence. Now her last name is not the only reason folks … Continue reading Who is Molly Pegan? (Part 2)