Genealogy Place Names - A

Silly me I thought it would be a good idea to create a ‘Place Usage Report’ in Family Tree Maker. I didn’t limit the report to direct line ancestors and what I ended up with was 4,434 pages of places mentioned in that huge tree. What to do with that massive document? Since the report is alphabetical I decided to go at it one letter at a time.

I want to share information with my family on, not only, our ancestors but the places where they lived – feeling that those places helped to shape their lives. With hundreds of choices among the ‘As’ how do I choose? I decided to keep it simple. I picked the town (or place – it could be a castle, county, etc.) that came first in the ‘As’ with a direct line ancestor. Then I picked the last place with an ‘A’.

This is how that turned out (my first random choice landed a big fish!):

Aachen, North Rhine, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany (AKA – Aix-la-Chapelle) and dear Grandpapa Charlemagne. 

Aachen Cathedral with Palatine Chapel

According to Wikipedia – “Charlemagne spent most winters in Aachen between 792 and his death in 814.”  This makes me want to stop there on my next trip to Europe – the last time I was in Germany was when I was 4, so I’d say it’s about time for another visit.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aachen
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlemagne 

Check out the links with a ‘control/click’. 

Part 2

Ayrshire, Scotland 

Eglinton Castle, Ayrshire

John Beatty 1672-1720 and Lady Margaret Montgomery 1436-1461

John and Margaret lived in Ayrshire in different centuries – but one represents my mother’s family the other represents my father’s family; which means my parents' ancestors lived in the same small county centuries before they met and married. 

John Beatty arrived in New York in 1691 and almost immediately married Susannah Asfordby, who had arrived with her parents from England in 1674 at the age of five. He just as quickly became a prominent resident of Ulster County, New York and the village of Marbletown. Some sources say he was born in Ireland and others say Ayrshire, Scotland. I somehow hear him with a Scottish brogue. These days it is a ferry boat ride from Ayrshire to Northern Ireland so he may have lived in Aryshire and disembarked for America from Ireland. Hm, I may need a trip to Ayrshire to get to the bottom of this puzzle.

Lady Margaret Montgomery had 18 hints awaiting and her father 23 on the ancestry.com tree. More questions than answers here but then that is part of the hunt. Right?  I can already see the value in the exercise. I’m learning more than my children, no doubt! I wonder what ‘B’ has in store? Please check out this link to Ayrshire:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayrshire

Photos:  Aachen Cathedral with Palatine Chapel, Photo by CEphoto, Uwe Aranas via Wikipedia Commons
Eglinton castle ruins, Eglinton Country Park, Kilwinning, North Ayrshire, Scotland. A view from the old stables/offices side. Rosser1954 at English Wikipedia