This (past) week’s theme was to write about an ancestor that was born on or nearest to your birthday. I chose to write about Mary M. McATEE WEDDING (1788-1858)- my 5th great-grandmother.
Mary M. McATEE was born 10 February 1788. She was born in Charles County, Maryland. I am not as certain about the family line prior to Mary M. McATEE WEDDING. There is a Mary McATEE who is the daughter of James and Mary McATEE and a Mary McATEE who is the daughter of Samuel and Mary McATEE. More research needs to be done to determine who her parents are.
Mary McATEE married John WEDDING in 1810 in Charles County, Maryland. John and Mary had a fairly large family and I descend through their daughter, Mary Angeline WEDDING. Their known children include: John Wesley, Thomas Lawson, Rebecca Ann, Matilda Ann, Mary Angeline, James William, Elizabeth J., George Washington, and Nackey (or Nalley) Ellen. The WEDDING family lived in the Port Tobacco, Maryland, area. John was born in Waldorf, Charles County, Maryland. Waldorf was originally named Beantown. Waldorf is about 23 miles south/southeast of Washington, DC, and Port Tobacco is another 11 miles south of Waldorf. The assumption for this blog post is that since the couple met and married, their families must also have lived somewhat close to each other in the Port Tobacco and Waldorf, Maryland, areas. John and Mary lived in this area until sometime between the 1810 and 1820 census dates. During the time they lived in Charles County, Maryland, two of then-former-President George WASHINGTON’s attending physicians also lived there- Gustavus BROWN and James CRAIK. John and Mary named one of their children after the former President George WASHINGTON. I doubt they knew him, but what if…
Sometime between the 1810 and 1820 census dates, John and Mary (McATEE) WEDDING moved to Frederick County, Maryland. Frederick County is also within the Washington, DC, metro area. It is possible that John and Mary’s family was in Frederick County in 1814 when Francis Scott KEY lived there and penned the now-famous The Star-Spangled Banner.
The period between the 1820 census and the 1825 birth of their son James brought yet another move for the family. They moved from Frederick County, Maryland, to Mill Creek Township, Hamilton County, Ohio. Living near the family in 1830 was Elihu FOLGER. I haven’t researched Elihu thoroughly, but I’m wondering if he was related to Benjamin FRANKLIN’s mother, who was also a FOLGER. It would be interesting to know.
The period between the 1830 and 1840 censuses brought another move for the WEDDING family. They moved to Franklin Township, Clermont County, Ohio. Franklin Township is near the Ohio-Kentucky state line just south and east of Cincinnati, Ohio. At least one of their sons, Thomas Lawson WEDDING, stayed behind in Hamilton County and died there in 1849. Whether John and Mary ever saw him again after they left Hamilton County is unknown. Following is a brief story about Thomas Lawson WEDDING and his wife that I located on Ancestry.com. The contributor who posted this story stated it came from a history of Hamilton County, Ohio. Spelling and grammar were not corrected and it is posted here just as it appeared there:

Westwood (Cheviot) Methodist Episcopal Church.-The Methodist class meetings at Cheviot were first held at the homes of Lawson Wedding and Dr. Kendall. William Woolley was one of the first leaders, and among the members in 1840 were fir. and Mrs. Lawson Wedding. Al r. and Mrs. Dr. Kendall, and Mesdames Alter, Ashley, and Moore. Public worship was first conducted at private houses, and when the Presbyterian church was built in 1840 it was secured for preaching on Saturday nights.
The present Methodist church, a frame structure at the southeast corner of Pleasant street and Cheviot avenue, was built in 1842. Dr. Richard Kendall, Samuel Lewis, I. C. Garrison, William Woolley, and Lawson Wedding constituted the building committee. Rev. George W. Maley was the first to preach here. The parsonage was erected in 1887. The church is a station, and the present pastor is Rev. A. U. Beall.

At this website you will find an 1845 map of Ohio. Clermont County is at the bottom, the second county from the left- just east of Cincinnati/Hamilton County: http://www.mapofus.org/_maps/atlas/1845-OH.html.
The census records prior to 1850 really don’t give much information about families so it’s difficult to verify details without spending a significant amount of time researching or going to the locations to look through courthouse records, etc. It is sometimes helpful to look at the history of the locations the family lived in. I also like to look at migration routes that were common during certain periods in history. If you are interested in the common migration routes from Maryland to Ohio at the time the WEDDING family first left Maryland, you can look at this website (my current favorite) http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~gentutor/trails.html. You can also look at this person’s research into the routes their family took from Maryland to Ohio in the late 1700’s and very early 1800’s- http://bransoncook.systemaxonline.com/narratives/migration/migration1.htm. It’s quite possible the WEDDING family took the same route and if I were to look for records along that route, I may find more information. FamilySearch also has a list of resources for researching migration routes into Ohio at https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Ohio_Emigration_and_Immigration.
According to the 1850 census, neither John nor Mary could read or write but they owned real estate worth $3700. John was 70 years old at this time and Mary was 65. Living in the home with them in 1850 were some of their children- Eliza J., George W., and Nackey (said to be listed as Nalley in the family Bible), and a 4 year old child named Albert SNYDER (listed as Albert SMIZER in a later census record). It appears that Albert belonged to John and Mary’s daughter, Elizabeth Jane. A couple of households away from John and Mary lived the widow Ann RICHARDS. Eight years after the 1850 census, Mary died and John married the neighbor-widow, Ann RICHARDS. Both Mary and John are buried at Calvary Cemetery in Felicity, Clermont County, Ohio. Ann RICHARDS and her first husband (also named John) are buried in this cemetery as well.

– Mary McATEE WEDDING.

– John WEDDING.

Port Tobacco, Maryland, has a very interesting history which you can read about at http://www.academia.edu/176111/Once_Was_Not_Enough_Founding_and_Finding_Port_Tobacco_Charles_County_Maryland. Knowing about our ancestor’s locations and the history of the location is many times very helpful in understanding more about our ancestors who lived there. I would encourage you to head over to Wikipedia and read a brief summary of the history of all of the locations in which this family lived.
I wish I had known details about my family history when I was young. Perhaps I might have been infinitely more interested in American history had I known how our ancestors were involved in the events I was learning about and what it meant to my families personally. I’m hoping that by telling the stories I know, I can not only capture my grandchildren’s interest in the future but also help you interest your children and grandchildren in a way that is meaningful.
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Until Sunday,
Lisa @ Days of Our Lives blog