John Michael Easterday (Ostertag)-Hessian Soldier turned American Patriot

I always thought that my ancestors were the group of immigrant that flowed through Ellis Island in search of a better life in America.

What I have found is that the majority of my ancestors have been in America for hundreds of years!

One ancestor in particular came to America, not of his own free will was John Michael Easterday/Ostertag.


He is thought to have been born in Guenzertsreuth, Germany around 1754, as many documents point to a Michael Ostertag being born in that town around that same date but many of the dates don't match up to the American dates.

He was brought to this country to fight for the British in the American Revolution.

Page 4 of Descendants of Michael Easterday of Washington County, Maryland by Dr. Howard G. Lanham Edition 1 for Ostertag/Easterday Family Association International Reunion Included with family history In possession of Anne Smittle

In America, Michael fought against George Washington for Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown. Sometime during this siege, Michael decided to leave his position and fight with George Washington. It is not sure if he was captured along with the rest of his regiment and imprisoned in the "Hessian Barracks" in Frederick, Maryland or if he was drawn to the area as this is where most of his comrades were. But we do know he did not leave America. He opted to settle in Frederick County, Maryland and start a family.

He married twice, had eighteen children, became a naturalized citizen, owned and operated a flour mill and bought and sold many tracts of land in the Frederick/Washington Counties located in Maryland. He died in 1837 and is buried in a cemetery in Boonsboro, Maryland.

John Michael Easterday is my 4th Great Grandfather on my Father's side. He had a daughter, Tracy Easterday who married William Henry Topper. They had a child, Letitia Topper who married John Wesley Palmerton. They had a child, Harley Palmerton who married Vida Bell Cabana.

Thank you Grandma Lucile!

When I first started on this journey of finding my family roots, I hounded asked my family for information: photos, recipes, documents and stories that I could use to find out who my family was.

Little did I know that one person that helped me the most was someone I had never met before. My grandmother, Edith Lucile Palmerton Rose.

Lucile, as she went by, died in 1967. I was not born until 1972.

My Uncle had given me some papers and photos in 2012 that he had collected from family members who had started to delve into our family tree long before the internet was around. I had some wonderful photos and some scraps of paper with handwritten notes on them to go by.

The first piece of paper I used to help build this side of the family tree were handwritten notes from Lucile. I am not sure when they were written but I love everything about them.

When I started plugging in these names, I found census records, photos and military records! Everyone was a match! I had more than enough information for the Palmerton side of the family.

There was another small piece of paper that Lucile had written that I kept looking at to make sure I was on the right track with my family tree.

Easterday--check!
Krontz--check!
Topper--check!
Hoover--
Corbin--check!
Preston--

Hoover and Preston. Two names that did not automatically come up when I started plugging in all those names. When I asked my Dad about the name Hoover. He said his mom (Lucile) always told him we were related to Herbert Hoover!

So I looked up Herbert Hoover and nothing. So much for being a long lost relative of a former POTUS!

I had started hitting brick walls and couldn't find anything that linked Hoover or Preston to the family tree. I decided to re-read all my notes, back of pictures and documents I had gathered to see if I had overlooked something. I re-read this letter that my great-great grandmother Edith Shelpman (not her real maiden name....another story to unfold!) had written January 17, 1930.

Who is Mary Ann Zimmerman?

I  started to research Mary Ann and Erastus Zimmerman (Or Simmerman). I found that they were married in the same Ohio county that my Great-Great-Great Grandmother Abigail Aquilla Topper was from. I assumed it was an aunt or a cousin and didn't think about it anymore. After all, it wasn't unusual for children to live with relatives once their parents died.

So I looked at Abigail Aquilla Topper again to see if I was missing anything. Obviously John Hoover was important in her life and in the letter it states that Abigail chose to live with Luke Hoover when she turned 14.

The last record I had of Abigail was from the 1940 census. She was living in Maricopa, Arizona with her Granddaughter. She was 89 years old and widowed. I decided to see if I could find out when she died and looked for the death records in Maricopa County in Arizona.

BINGO!

It was there all along! Mary Ann Hoover was Abigail's mother!


Now I haven't made any connection to Herbert Hoover....yet! But I will keep looking!

And who is Preston.......

P.S. I have decided to try and blog about 52 ancestors in 52 weeks. Let's see how I do! ( I am already behind....)