Last update: 26 Mar, 2006
The family tree of Carl Summerville is very extensive. The Summerville family itself has a long history in the western Pennsylvania region. Along with that, the Summervilles were a prolific family, often having over 6 children, and sometimes over 10. Families quickly multiply on that basis.
The family history in the US begins with James Simeral, a migrant from northern Ireland in the mid 1700s. James was followed by his father and other members of his family. He was one of the first settlers in the area above Pittsburg, at a time when that city was simply a fort. He married Sarah Scott, who was apparently born in Pennsylvania, and whose father migrated there from either northern Ireland or Scotland. I have yet to identify the Scotts, but it appears that they are not the Scott family who were descendants of Rev Scott, one of the first settlers in Virginia.
In these pages on my family tree, I focused first on the branch of my maternal grandmother, because so little seems to be available. The Summerville families, on the other hand, already have a "web presence" with the Clan Summerville site, which includes extensive genealogy. Eric Martin is also a family historian who has published extensively, and is a resource for a lot of Summerville family history. I have made use of both those sources, and have deep thanks for them.
Where this differs from some other treatments of the family, is that I have tried to present a picture a little better than a GedCom can provide. I've tried to present what I know about the families I refer to, and have tried to share the documents or evidence on which I base my statements and family links.
I have personally found that a difficulty with genealogy is that this does not always occur. There are statements of relationship based on some other GedCom, and that may in turn be based on someone else's guess. Cited links can proliferate without basis in good documentation. Family records from the Church of the Latter Day Saints are sometimes used as a source because it is easy. If these are then copied into GedComs in Rootsweb, and then used uncritically in other family histories, a lot of misinformation gets multiplied.
I've found that this has happened to some extend with my family. My sister married a Mormon, and his research was not always thorough, yet it is widely available, and has been incorporated into other histories. This is a reason I have tried to present census records, birth certificates and so on. My work is not entirely free of speculation, but I have tried to make it clear where I am speculating, and on what basis.
Family history is indeed a little like a tree. Not just that it has branches and roots, but that the woody structure of birth, death and marriage is only a skeleton. The actual life of a tree is largely in it's leaves, and the life of a family is in the memories of who people actually "were". These tend to be based on more transient elements, and are found in reminisence and feeling.
Since starting this history project, I have met or contacted various people who actually knew my family members far better than I do. Their memories, pictures, stories are the life on the bare branches of the tree. An example: I recently heard from my sister that someone had phoned her. The caller had grown up near my grandparents, and the families had been close. Her brother had been given a Templar ceremonial sword by my Grandfather, and he passed it to her, to try and return to my mother. As it turns out, this family knew my grandparents far better I or my siblings did. They were the ones who found him when he died. It is important to remember that all ancestors are real people, and their lives are often more engaged with friends and neighbours than with their blood relatives. I know that most of my life would not be touched by looking at my genealogical links.
I would love to acknowledge them by name, but in most cases, they are living people with their own lives, and may not want all the problems that come with being identified on the internet.In part, I am putting this history on the net so that other members of my family may access it, now or in the future. In part, I am putting it here so that anyone who may actually wish to contribute their own memories or information might do so. Anyone who would like to contact me, may do so at the following address:
Note that this is address is a picture file, not text. I welcome contact, not spam.
Most of the pages here are about families, and I've tried to include the children at least to the point that they left home. As I said, I am basically trying to do a web source, and so welcome contributions by others in my family.
| Genealogy Home | Dad's Family | Anna McAnsh | Carl Summerville |
| Mary McAnsh Adams's Photo Gallery |
A few housekeeping things.I don't like propietary things, and in particular, believe proprietary information is anathema to spreading knowledge and understanding. Hence, feel free to use my info, but I state that I do not want it used for profit. I have spent many many hours on it, and am happy to see others benefit. To paraphrase Michael Valintine Smith, "knowledge shared is knowledge multiplied". I do consider my work to be copywrite, and give permission for its use only where it remains in the domain of free information. Of course it would be nice, and ethical, if those using it acknowledged the source, and nicer still if you let me know. This information is
|