Some old dudes in 1752 were sitting around in Lancaster county Pennsylvania saying hey, I think there should be another county because Reading is getting too big. Let's make it and break townships right in the middle so in 350 years when people are trying to figure out where we live they'll have no idea and have to resort to random searches on some sort of inter-tubes which invariably ends with them back on a time-wasting network of socialness that sucks the hours away.
First off, let's establish the name. It's Redcay. Which can also be found as: Redkey, Retge, Redge, Rettge, Redkee and Retga. That last one gets me, that must have been some think Pennsylvania Dutch accent.
So, the oldest Redcay I can find for my brother-in-law's family is Adam Redge, who was born on Oct. 13, 1799. He was warrantied land in Berks county in 1828. Exactly 23.106 acres. Not 23 acres, not 24 acres, not 23 and one half acres. 23.106.
He died in 1871, his gravestone is at the Allegheny Church graveyard.
I know his wife's name was Anna, and I have all his kids.
But where did he come from? The census's I found state he was born in PA, but who knows where since the older census's only list the father's name, not any other member's of the household.
I've found a few family history's of Redcay's, but they are apparently different lines, because they don't match up with mine. A mystery.
And I found a farm on an 1864 map that belongs to a John Redge (Adam did have a son John), but it's in Brecknock township of Lancaster county, not Berks county. There's an 1876 map of Brecknock Township in Berks county, but there is only a T. Redcay listed as owning property. "T"? Who is this "T" imposter? There are no good pennsylvania dutch first names that start with T! There should only be Adam's, Martin's, William's, John's, Jacob's, Abram's and Elias. That's it. No T's should pop up until the early 20th century. And how sad am I that I even have a statement to make about such a subject?
And that my friends, is how I know when it's time for a break. Maybe I'll go organize some photos or something. Or maybe go outside and see what the sky looks like. Or not.....
more animals
You are lucky that your last name isn't Reed when looking for your family roots! It's impossible:)That picture of you as a little girl is adorable!
ReplyDeleteLOL Leah, that's a hoot! As for PA dutch names, have you forgotten Thomas or Tobias? There's also Amos (and interestingly enough, the nickname for that is Amy ... talk about confused the first time my Amish neighbor called his son "Amy"!).
ReplyDeleteI feel ya on the hard-to-do-geneology. I gave up after a while, because my Dad's side of the family is Delaware Indian (or Lenni-Lenape, which it was sometimes referred), and the tribe won't allow "outsiders" access to their records. Apparently, when my Grandmother married outside the tribe, she was ousted from the tribe, as were any children she had. :-( Oddly enough, her brother was the Chief at the time, too!
As for my paternal grandfather's side of the family, that's a nightmare in itself! We can't find anyone in our line, past my great grandfather. Our family weren't very good record-keepers. We suspect that our roots go back to the Earl of Sandwich (yes, the same one that gave name to those things we eat at lunchtime), but have no difinitive proof.
My sister started working on my mother's side of the family, but didn't get very far with that, either. That side is English, German and PA Dutch ... mutts, basically. LOL I'm told that, somewhere down the line, according to family folklore, that we're related to a President, but I don't know which one!
I wish you luck, it ain't easy.
Shelli
Tooooo funny about the cat! LOL! I love genealogy and finding all sorts of new things about your family and your relatives. It's like being a detective.
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