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Currently Available (described more fully below)

    Henry and Hannah (Bryan) McDaniel and the McDonalds, Bryans, and Lincolns

    Lininger ~ From Griesbach, Germany to Dutchtown, Pennsylvania

    Saylor of Elizabeth Hundred ~ Matthias Seiler of Frederick and Washington Counties, Maryland and

        His Descendants

Coming in 2007 (described more fully below)

    Lynneage ~ Lynns of Scotland and Ulster

     (name variations include: Lin, Lind, Line, Linn, Linning, Linnie, Lyn, Lyne, Lynn, and Lynne)

Coming 2007-08 (described more fully below)

    Henry and Hannah (Bryan) McDaniel and Their Progeny

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Currently Available

Henry and Hannah (Bryan) McDaniel and the McDonalds, Bryans, and Lincolns © 2005
Author: Loretta Lynn Layman

Size and Binding: 142 pp., hardbound burgundy cover with gold lettering

Price: $50 for Media Mail (6-8 weeks); $55 for Priority Mail (3-4 days most destinations); $65 for Express Mail (1 day)

Please add to all orders the appropriate sales tax, using the table above, on $50.

Some Related Surnames:  Armstrong, Boggs/Bogges, Carpenter, Chick, Clyse, Drummond, Eakins, Gilmore, Guthrie, Hall, Jones, Kenney, Kilgore, Lambert, Lasley, Loucks/Lowks, Massie, Myers, Neal, Nelson, Patterson, Prose, Radabaugh, Shumate, Summers, Wagner/Wagoner/Waggoner

Overview:

Henry McDaniel, Jr. was born in Pittsylvania County, Virginia in November 1763. At the age of 16, he volunteered to serve in the Virginia militia, joining other colonists in America's war for independence. A member of Lynch's Light Horse (commonly called Lynch's Rangers), he fought and was wounded at the Battle of King's Mountain, a turning point in the southern fighting. After the war, he moved to Monroe (formerly Greenbrier) County, West Virginia, where he met and married Hannah Bryan in 1788. In 1810, he became one of the first settlers in Gallia County, Ohio. In 1811, he brought his family to the wilderness. Some forty years later, the community surrounding Henry and Hannah's homestead came to be called McDaniel Crossroads.

Hannah Bryan was born in Rockingham County, Virginia in September 1770. In the 1780's, her family moved to Greenbrier County, where she met and married Henry McDaniel, Jr.  A long-held belief in many branches of the McDaniel family is that Hannah was an aunt of President Abraham Lincoln.  What the record proves, beyond a reasonable doubt, is that she was not his aunt but his first cousin once removed.  Hannah's mother, Lydia Lincoln, was a sister to the President's grandfather, also named Abraham Lincoln.

The heart of this book is a presentation and discussion of the documents and records which prove that relationship, including discussions of:

    (1)    the interchangeability of McDaniel and McDonald (or MacDonald);

    (2)    the chain of evidence for Hannah's Bryan/O'Bryan and Lincoln ancestries; and

    (3)    a few words about the Lincoln family in general. 

Included are images and transcripts of each of the following:

    (1)    Henry and Hannah's 1788 marriage record;

    (2)    several Bryan/O'Bryan wills and deeds from the mid to late 1700s;

    (3)    "Virginia" John Lincoln's 1784 will (transcript only);

    (4)    a 1798 deed to Henry in which his name is written both McDaniel and McDonald;

    (5)    Henry's 1832 affidavit in application for Revolutionary War pension, signed by him;

    (6)    a brief 1834 letter in Henry's own hand; and

    (7)    an 1853 affidavit of Henry and Hannah's son Alexander concerning Hannah's marriage, age, and date

            of death.

I am honored to have my work in this connection endorsed by Paul H. Verduin, a noted authority on Lincoln's antecedents and for many years the General Secretary of the Abraham Lincoln Institute of the MidAtlantic. 

Featured are:

    (1)    a chapter discussing three controversial aspects of Lincoln's character;

    (2)    a brief genealogy of McDaniel descendants down to Henry and Hannah's great-grandchildren; and

    (3)    a number of family photographs taken in the mid to late 1800's.

Sources: 

     Sources for this book total 66.  A list is available upon request.

Look-Up: 

If you believe you are descended from Henry and Hannah (Bryan) McDaniel, I would be pleased to check my database for a total of two persons in your line.  Married names of the daughters of the McDaniel family include, among others:

Lininger ~ From Griesbach, Germany to Dutchtown, Pennsylvania © 2004

Author: Loretta Lynn Layman

Size and Binding: 27 pp., comb-bound

Price: $20 for First Class Mail (1-2 weeks); $25 for Priority Mail (3-4 days most destinations); $35 for Express Mail (1 day). Please add to all orders the appropriate sales tax, using the table above, on $20.

Overview (Introduction to the Book):

Church records in Germany are, for many reasons, an invaluable tool in tracing one’s ancestry. A baptismal register, for example, might even include a father’s signature, which can then be compared to his signature on a ship register. Often, then, the family would join a German-American church where additional children were baptized and later married. Thus, one may derive a continuous record of a particular family from their home in Germany to their new home in the new world.

Moving forward through generations is a greater challenge.  It can be particularly difficult to conclusively prove one’s lineage in the early 18th century.  Often, the best one can expect is strong circumstantial evidence.  That is the case in one generation of the Liningers.  No conclusive proof has yet been found of the parents of Jacob Lininger (1797-1870) of Lancaster and Franklin Counties, Pennsylvania, progenitor of the family in Dutchtown. However, the circumstantial evidence is very strong.

Jacob’s gravestone inscription records his name as Jacob Leininger.  The funeral home register for his son Peter states that Jacob’s place of birth was Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.  In 1790, there was only one Lininger or Leininger in Lancaster County - John Leininger of Cocalico, whose family had emigrated from Germany and settled first in Berks County.  John had married a woman from Lancaster County and lived there for some undetermined period of time.  In 1800, when Jacob was three, there were no Liningers or Leiningers in Lancaster County; however, John Lininger was living in Westmoreland County with his wife, three male children including one Jacob’s age, and four female children.  In 1810, then, he was living back in Cocalico, where his name is spelled Lininger, again with his wife, three male children, and four female children.

Beginning in the 19th century, Jacob’s descendants are clearly proved by the U.S. census, military records, wills, funeral home registers, and gravestone inscriptions.  Copies of many of these records are included in the following history of the Lininger family of Dutchtown, Pennsylvania.

Included are:

    (1)    an image of the Leininger coat of arms

    (2)    a brief history and description of life in the Palatinate, from which the Liningers came

    (3)    images and transcripts of census records of 1850, 1880, 1900, 1910, and 1920

    (4)    a record of the Civil War service of Peter Burkholder Lininger, along with a description of his Unit's

             history

    (5)    an image and transcript of his mother's will

Saylor of Elizabeth Hundred ~ Matthias Seiler of Frederick and Washington Counties, Maryland and His Descendants © 1995

Author: Loretta Lynn Layman

Size and Binding: 30 pp., comb-bound

Price: $20 for First Class Mail (1-2 weeks); $25 for Priority Mail (3-4 days most destinations); $35 for Express Mail (1 day). Please add to all orders the appropriate sales tax, using the table above, on $20.Some Related Surnames: Bell, Boyer, Brunner, Davis, Duvall, Graham, Harry, Humrichouse, Knode, Leatherman/Lederman, Middlekauff/Mittelkauff, Miller, Murphy, Neigh/Nye, Ruck, Shanefelt/Schoenfeld, Wilt, Wolfersberger

Overview (taken largely from the book's Introduction):

Matthias Seiler was born about 1720 in Germany and immigrated sometime before 1749, when his first known child was baptized in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Maryland.  He was a farmer who owned 300 acres on which he grew wheat, rye, corn, and apples and produced hay and hemp.  He also owned a house in Hagerstown, Washington County, Maryland.
 

The study of an early German family is at once fascinating, challenging, and rewarding. Some of their customs are perhaps unique to their race.  One such custom is found in the naming of children.
 

All the daughters in a family might be given the same first name, usually Anna or Maria, followed by different middle names, by which the daughters were called.  In the Harbaugh family, George, son of the immigrant Yost Herbach, named daughters Anna Margaret, Anna Maria, and Anna Regina, calling them Margaret, Maria, and Regina, respectively; Matthias Seiler, progenitor of the family recorded here, named three of his daughters Maria Catharina, Maria Magdalena, and Maria Elisabetha.  Likewise, all the sons in a family might be given a name such as Johan or Johannes, with various middle names. The reason for this peculiar custom was a belief that, if the devil came to take the child in death, he would be so confused by the names that he would be unable to take any child at all.  The actual result of this custom, unfortunately, has been great confusion for many a genealogist.
 

The novice researcher might also be confused by the not uncommon occurrence of marriages between cousins.  A woman’s married name might well be the same as her maiden name.
 

Researching the German family is complicated by the wide variety of spellings used to record names, a result not only of poor or inconsistent spelling but also of differences in ethnic background and thus pronunciation.  In German, where “e” and “i” occur together, the first is silent and the second is pronounced as a long vowel; Seiler would be pronounced Siler, which was much like the British pronunciation of “sailor.”  In the colonial and federal periods, when public officials were largely of British origin or background, public records usually display the name as Sailer, Sailor, or Saylor (while German church records almost always list Seiler). Perhaps such public officials thought the family had derived its name from the occupation of a seafaring ancestor.  In fact, however, the German word seiler means “rope-maker” while men of that trade also made and repaired sails for ships. Eventually, many branches of the family adopted the anglicized form of the name.  From a family Bible, it seems that Saylor was settled on by one branch by about 1831).  Of course, as America became more “American,” the name came to be pronounced as it is today.

Matthias Seiler and his wife, Magdalena, were the parents of eight known children.  Married names of the daughters of the Saylor family include, among others:

Coming in 2007

Lynneage ~ the Linns and Lynns of Scotland and Ulster, Ireland

Author: Loretta Lynn Layman

Size and Binding: Number of pages to be determined; hardbound in blue with gold lettering

Price: To be determined.

Overview (excerpted in part from the book's Introduction):

As related in “The Clan Linn” (Dr. George Wilds Linn, 1905), Hugh Linn lived in Ulster, Ireland in the mid to late 1700’s and had his roots in Scotland.  His Scottish blood is confirmed by Church of Ireland records, which state that Linn was a Scottish family and solidly Presbyterian.  Regrettably, the general loss of records in Ireland has rendered vain all attempts to produce the names of Hugh’s parents, and there is precious little hope of discovering his direct Scottish lineage.

Nevertheless, Hugh’s descendants naturally would be curious about those who centuries ago, in the romantic period of noble Scotland, bore the name of Linn or Lynn, as well as those of the name who lived in Ulster.  The task of this writer, then, is to set down the history of men and women of that name, many of whom were assuredly related in some way.  At the same time, it is hoped that this book may aid other Lynns and Linns in the pursuit of their Ulster and Scottish roots.  Records included in this volume cover the earliest history of the name in Scotland and Ireland through about 1900).  It does not purport to be an exhaustive study, however, and those in search of their ancestors in either place are urged to dig deeper.

Featured are:

    (1)  The Lords of Lynn and Superiors of Highlees

          (first names of the chiefs and their heirs - Andrew, John, Walter, and William)

    (2)  Linn, the Lairds of Larg

          (first names of the chiefs - Fergus, William, and Alexander)

    (3)   Alexander Linn of Derry Farm, Martyr

    (4)  Rev. Patrick Linn, Minister of Dumfries

    (5)  Lords of Lyne and Locherworth

          (first names of the chiefs - David and Robert)

    (6)  Lin, Heritors of Linsmill

          (first name of the heir appears always to be William)

    (7)  Linns of Leith

    (8)  Linds of Gorgie

          (first names: Alexander, George, John, and Robert)

    (9)   Lynne of Pitroddie

    (10)  Hundreds of other individuals and families, with some brief genealogical sketches.

Sources:

    (1)    Ayr Burgh Accounts 1534-1624, Scottish History Society (1937)

    (2)    Ayrshire Directory of 1837, Pigot and Company (1837)

    (3)    Burke’s Landed Gentry of Great Britain, 19^th Ed, Burke's Peerage and Gentry (2001)

    (4)   Caledonia: Or, an Historical and Topographical Account of North Britain, from the Most

           Ancient to the Present Times, George Chalmers, London (1807-24)

    (5)    Calendar of Documents Relating to Scotland Preserved in Her Majesty’s Public Record Office,

            U.K. Government Publications, London (1884)

    (6)    Census of Ireland 1659, Seamus Pender, Ed. (1939)

    (7)    County Down [Ireland] Gravestone Inscriptions, Ulster Historical Foundation

    (8)    Directory of Scottish Settlers in North America, 1625-1825, David Dobson (1984)

    (9)    Dundonald – A Contribution to Parochial History, James H. Gillespie, B.D. (1939)

    (10)  The Freemasons’ Quarterly Review, Vol. 9, London (1842)

    (11)  The Genealogy of the Family of Lind, and the Montgomeries of Smithton,

            Sir Robert Douglas, Baronet, Author of the Peerage of Scotland, Windsor (1795)

    (12)  An Historical Account of the Plantation of Ulster at the Commencement of the Seventeenth

            Century, 1608-1620, Rev. George Hill (1877)

    (13)  Historical Tales and Legends of Ayrshire, William Robertson (1889)

    (14)  History of the Counties of Ayr and Wigton, James Paterson (1866)

    (15)  History of a Fragment of the Clan Linn, Dr. George Wilds Linn (1905)

    (16)  The History of Galloway from the Earliest Period to the Present Time, Rev. William Mackenzie

            (1841)

    (17)  History of Galashiels, Robert Hall, Galashiels (1898)

    (18)  History of the Lands and Their Owners in Galloway, Peter Handyside McKerlie (1870)

    (19)  Imperial Gazetteer of Scotland (1852)

    (20)  Indexes to Irish Wills, W.P.W. Phillimore and Gertrude Thrift, Eds. (1970)

    (21)  Lin of Linsmill, Donald Whyte, The Heraldry Society of Scotland (1986)

    (22)  Memorials of the Dead in Ireland, Association for the Preservation of the Memorials (1892)

    (23)  Monuments and Monumental Inscriptions, Rev. Charles Rogers (1871-1872)

    (24)  Mylnetown in the Parish of Inch

    (25)  Notes on Bass Rock, Dane Love, Scottish Covenanter Memorials Association

    (26)  The Paisley Directory, George Fowler, Paisley (1827)

    (27)  The Paisley and Johnston Directory, George Fowler, Paisley (1828)

    (28)  Peerage of Scotland, Sir Robert Douglas (1813)

    (29)  Registrum Secreti Sigilli Regum Scotorum: The Register of the Privy Seal of

           Scotland A.D. 1488-1529, Ed., Matthew Livingstone, I.S.O., Edinburgh (1908)

    (30)  Scots Peerage, David Douglas (1914)

    (31)  Scottish Covenanter Stories, Dane Love (2000)

    (32)  Scottish Record Society Publications, Scottish Record Society (late 19th - early 20th centuries)

    (33)  Scottish Record Society Publications, New Series (1969-1981)

    (34)  Surnames of Scotland, George F. Black, Ph.D. (1946)

    (35)  The Tartans and the Clans and Families of Scotland, Sir Thomas Innes of Learney (1938, 1971)

    (36)  Topographical Dictionary of Scotland, Samuel Lewis (1846)

Coming in 2007-2008

 Henry and Hannah (Bryan) McDaniel and Their Progeny

Author: Loretta Lynn Layman

Size, Binding: Approximately 500 pp., hardbound

Price: To be determined.

Overview:

The earlier volume, Henry and Hannah (Bryan) McDaniel and the McDonalds, Bryans, and Lincolns, focuses on the relationship between Henry and Hannah and the McDonalds, Bryans, and Lincolns.   In this volume, their lives will be told in greater depth and their descendants chronicled down into the twentieth century.  Included will be:

    (1)    an excerpt from Henry's 1832 application for pension in which he relates his

            Revolutionary War service;

    (2)    an account of the family's move to Gallia County, Ohio, where they were among the first settlers;

    (3)    a description of the family's impact on their community, their state, and the nation;

    (4)    photographs of Henry's and Hannah's gravestones;

    (5)    over 2,000 known descendants, including ...

    (6)    standard genealogical data;

    (7)    dozens of biographical sketches, stories and anecdotes; and

    (8)    nearly 140 photographs from the mid nineteenth to mid twentieth centuries,

            fully half from the nineteenth.

Images and transcripts of the entire 1832 application for pension and of other documents concerning Henry appear in the earlier volume.

Sources:

    (1)    marriage records of various county courts and churches, transcribed

    (2)    a few State birth records, transcribed

    (3)    photocopies of wills, transcribed

    (4)    various State death records, transcribed

    (5)    newspaper obituaries, actual and transcriptions

    (6)    cemetery records, actual gravestones and transcriptions

    (7)    the Social Security Death Index

    (8)    original U.S. census records through 1930

    (9)    miscellaneous published source materials

    (10)   family records of descendants of various branches

Again, I would be pleased to look up two or three individuals in my database.  For a partial list of related surnames, refer to the description of the previous volume, above.

© 2007 ~ House of Lynn