Over the past several months, I've been doing a lot of research on my ancestry. Until a few days ago, I couldn't find much for the Ketcham side of my family. I thought it was really ironic because I really wanted to know where the Ketcham name came from.
I could find the Williams side (my dad's mother's father's side), and the Troyer side (my dad's mother's mother's side), and the Freet side (my dad's father's mother's side), but I couldn't find the Ketcham side (my dad's father's father's side). It was what I was honestly most curious about, but I couldn't get back any further than my great-great-grandfather. And, that was only because my grandmother had up to that point written in the family Bible (which is now in my possession).
Anyway, a few days ago, I got a few leads and when I followed up on them, Bam! I found my great-great-great-grandfather. And, today, I found clear back to my great to the tenth power grandfather (haha). Here it is.
* Edward Ketcham was born in England. He came to the U.S. in 1635. He first arrived in Ipswich, Massachusetts, but later settled in Connecticut. He was the first of the Ketcham name to arrive in the U.S.
Edward was a Puritan. His first wife died while he still lived in England, and he remarried immediately upon arriving in the U.S. He and his wife, Sarah, had a daughter named Sarah in 1640. She was likely the first of the Ketcham name to be born in the U.S.
Before Edward, the line is a little hazy. There are a few different possibilities as to who his father could have been. One of them was Sir Ronald Ketcham. It would not have been his real name. He was named so because he was the one to "ketch" Guy Fawkes.
(If you're not quite sure where you've heard that name, think V for Vendetta... "V" wore a Guy Fawkes costume because Guy Fawkes attempted to bring "The Gunpowder Plan" to fruition. "V" actually gets to follow through with his own "Gunpowder Plan" in the movie. And, so I think it's definitely cool that I could be related to the man who caught Guy Fawkes.)
Another option is from a line in England whose last name was Chetcham (most likely James Chetcham would have been Edward's father). It could also be that the name was chosen because the family came from Kitchenham or Kitcham in England (it was common to choose a last name based on a former residence).
As you can probably tell from the list, the spelling of the name changed back and forth from Ketcham and Ketchum, I guess based on simple preference.
Anywho... I'm just really wowed by all of it. I'm so excited that I've finally figured out where the Ketcham name came from. It's English! I'll have to blog later about my other ancestors. I just really wanted to share my Ketcham roots. ;)
Oh, also of minor significance, one of my cousins very far back is actually Thomas Edward Ketchum. He is also known as "Black Jack" Ketchum. He was actually a famous cowboy-turned-trainrobber. So, probably not the most likable guy, but he's one of the few famous people that I've found in my family tree.
Oh, and in case you're curious, I do most of my research on http://www.ancestry.com. It's a wonderful website!
I could find the Williams side (my dad's mother's father's side), and the Troyer side (my dad's mother's mother's side), and the Freet side (my dad's father's mother's side), but I couldn't find the Ketcham side (my dad's father's father's side). It was what I was honestly most curious about, but I couldn't get back any further than my great-great-grandfather. And, that was only because my grandmother had up to that point written in the family Bible (which is now in my possession).
Anyway, a few days ago, I got a few leads and when I followed up on them, Bam! I found my great-great-great-grandfather. And, today, I found clear back to my great to the tenth power grandfather (haha). Here it is.
| Tara Lyn Ketcham | 1985- | ||
| Terry Lee Ketcham | 1964- | Tammy Kay Milton | 1966- |
| Ernest Jay Ketcham | 1933-1999 | Wilma Jean Williams | 1934-2005 |
| Ernest Alfa Ketcham | 1895-1973 | Charity Olive Freet | 1901-1980 |
| George Washington Ketcham | 1869-1934 | Anna Cedochca Shock | 1869-1954 |
| Simmons (Simeon) Ketcham | 1835-? | Amanda Kimble | 1839-? |
| Andrew Ketcham | 1810-1861 | Esther (Hester) Barnes | 1811-1890 |
| Holmes Ketcham | 1772-1846 | Mary Van Sickle | 1784-1842 |
| Danial Ketcham | 1753-1829 | Alice Holmes | 1753-1781 |
| Ebenezer Ketchum | 1722-1777 | Mary Sherwood | 1725-? |
| Nathaniel Ketchum | 1678-1738 | Sarah Wakelee | 1683-1738 |
| Joseph Ketchum | 1646-1730 | Mercy Lindall | 1658-1683 |
| Edward Ketcham* | 1590-1655 | Sarah Salman | 1608-1672 |
* Edward Ketcham was born in England. He came to the U.S. in 1635. He first arrived in Ipswich, Massachusetts, but later settled in Connecticut. He was the first of the Ketcham name to arrive in the U.S.
Edward was a Puritan. His first wife died while he still lived in England, and he remarried immediately upon arriving in the U.S. He and his wife, Sarah, had a daughter named Sarah in 1640. She was likely the first of the Ketcham name to be born in the U.S.
Before Edward, the line is a little hazy. There are a few different possibilities as to who his father could have been. One of them was Sir Ronald Ketcham. It would not have been his real name. He was named so because he was the one to "ketch" Guy Fawkes.
(If you're not quite sure where you've heard that name, think V for Vendetta... "V" wore a Guy Fawkes costume because Guy Fawkes attempted to bring "The Gunpowder Plan" to fruition. "V" actually gets to follow through with his own "Gunpowder Plan" in the movie. And, so I think it's definitely cool that I could be related to the man who caught Guy Fawkes.)
Another option is from a line in England whose last name was Chetcham (most likely James Chetcham would have been Edward's father). It could also be that the name was chosen because the family came from Kitchenham or Kitcham in England (it was common to choose a last name based on a former residence).
As you can probably tell from the list, the spelling of the name changed back and forth from Ketcham and Ketchum, I guess based on simple preference.
Anywho... I'm just really wowed by all of it. I'm so excited that I've finally figured out where the Ketcham name came from. It's English! I'll have to blog later about my other ancestors. I just really wanted to share my Ketcham roots. ;)
Oh, also of minor significance, one of my cousins very far back is actually Thomas Edward Ketchum. He is also known as "Black Jack" Ketchum. He was actually a famous cowboy-turned-trainrobber. So, probably not the most likable guy, but he's one of the few famous people that I've found in my family tree.
Oh, and in case you're curious, I do most of my research on http://www.ancestry.com. It's a wonderful website!
11 comments:
Good research, cousin! And by that I mean very distant cousin, as my ancestry comes from Joseph Ketcham's brother Samuel. If I'm doing the calculations right, that would make me your dad's tenth cousin.
I happened on this blog while I was poking around idly for more information about Edward. It's kind of cool to think that since all Ketchams (and Ketchums and Ketchems) come from him, we both share a traceable relationship with anybody who carries one of those names.
If you're interested, I just blogged on my own branch of the Ketcham family here.
Nice to have found you!
Thanks for commenting! I just started researching last year, and I was amazed at all of the Ketchams going back to one man. I still do searches to see if any new information is out there on Edward, so should you come across anything, let me know!
I actually only came across one other Ketchum while I was living in North Carolina. I just moved to Colorado, so I'm curious to see if there are any Ketchams here (I'm originally from Indiana and there are plenty there!).
There used to be a website ketchamfamily.org but it is no longer in service. It was very well done & packed with info. The most famous "Ketchum" in our tree is Walt Whitman. Sarah, the first Ketcham born in America, married a Whitman. Four generations later Walt arrived. Ketcham's & Whitman's intermarried a number of times. I am from the line of Edward's first son, John.
My line didn't show up on ketchamfamily.org, as my great-great-grandfather moved to Missouri and apparently failed to notify the family webmaster. :)
Then to make things worse, my grandfather came out west to Oregon a jump ahead of the law, and didn't keep up with the family back east. I wouldn't have known how we connected to Ketchamdom at large if I hadn't run across a genealogy buff who happened to recognize a couple of names in my family.
I was doing a Google search on Holmes Ketcham and came across your blog. Very interesting. I, too, am descended from Holmes Ketcham and Mary Van Sickle through their daughter, Keturah Ann. Holmes and Mary would be my 4xgreatgrandparents. My side of the family went from Indiana-Missouri-Nebraska. Have any of you done genetic testing at www.23andme? I have. Thanks for your blog.
Not a Ketchum by far, but Nathaniel's 3xgreat-granddaughter is my fifth great grandmother. Wish I could know the truth about Edward's origins, but at this point I think the legends are worth about as much as knowing.
I am a direct descendant of Edward through John B. and Nathaniel Ketcham From the research I have done, Edward's father was Ronald Knyvett/ Ketchum. The Fawkes story seems most plausible as all of the stories because for the longest time I couldn't figure out why he was the only Ketchum of all his siblings. His mother Ann was not previously married to a Ketchum. This line goes back to the Tudor Era with Many of my relatives who were very prominent Historical figures. Interesting stuff!
Thomas Ketchem here, were all related to Edward it seems.
Great read
Hello all!
I came across your blog when I was trying to find the connection between Ketchum and Knyvett. Thought I would share what I found on ancestry.com.
Sir Ronald "Rowland" Ketchum:
Spouse: Roberta Ketcham or Cattcham
Father: Henry Sir of Charlton, Wiltshire Knyvett
Mother: Lady ANNE PICKERING of Risbridge, Suffolk
Children: Mary
Birth: 1565 Toddington, Bedfordshire, England
Death: 27 Jul 1622 England
I have traced this line up through to the noble Howard Family in England.
Hello, I have been doing research for years now and have come across all these different suspected lines but nothing solid. Never got the Henry and Anne line yet though . Do you remember off hand where you found that information? I would love to read about it as well. Thank you much in advance! I am determined to continue past Edward after years of dead ends.
Through ancestry.com I traced this, based on other family trees where they listed the mother and father many times, so there was a match with at least 10 other family trees.
This is the line I found. Also, to find the connection to Catharine and Anne Boleyn through the Ketchum and then Howard line, I double checked public family tree information for these famous people and then matched with the family line of Ketchum married to a Howard.
This is the line I traced:
Edward Ketchum B. 1590 married to Mary Hall
His father Sir Ronald "Rowland" Ketchum B. 1565 married to Roberta Ketchum
His father Henry Sir of Charlton, Wiltshire Knyvett B. 1512 in Buckenham, Norfolk, England
married to Lady Ann Pickering
His father Sir Knight Thomas Knyvett B. 1480 in Buckenham Castle, Norfolk, married to Lady Muriel of Buckenham Castle HOWARD Viscountess Lisle
THROUGH HER LINE, THE HOWARDS:
Muriel Howard's parents:
THOMAS HOWARD B. 1443 married to ELIZABETH TILNEY B. 1450
****Both Thomas Howard and Elizabeth Tilney had several children. Among their children we have of course the above Muriel Howard, and then Edmund Howard, and Elizabeth Howard.
Edmund Howard B. 1480, married Jocasta Culpeper B. 1481
Their child is CATHARINE HOWARD B. 1520 in Lambeth, Norfolk, became QUEEN and 5th wife of KING HENRY VIII, D. 1542 in the Tower of London.
Thomas Howard and Elizabeth Tilney had another child, Elizabeth Howard B. 1480. She married THOMAS BOLEYN B. 1477 in Blicking, Norfolk.
They had a child, ANNE BOLEYN B. 1507 in Blicking, Norfolk. She was QUEEN and the 2nd wife of KING HENRY VIII, D. 1536 in the Tower of London.
Anne Boleyn had one child with King Henry VIII, Queen Elizabeth Tudor I.
Queen Elizabeth I had no children, so this puts Thomas Howard as a 15th great grandfather, Anne Boleyn and Catharine Howard as 1st cousins 15 times removed, and Elizabeth I as a 2nd cousin, 14 times removed.
Exciting stuff! You can also go to ancestry.com to double check and verify this line as well.
:)
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