Hello Mumma researchers, cousins, family and friends - BULLETIN #23 15 September 2003 GENERAL INFO [If you don't care to receive future Bulletins, please send me a message and I will remove you from this distribution list. These messages are sent out on a random basis when I feel there is something useful to communicate to everyone. The circulation is about 700 copies.] PREVIOUS BULLETINS & NEWSLETTERS ARE AVAILABLE If you or someone else has interest in reading some of the previous Bulletins or Newsletters, they can viewed or download from the MUMMA archives. The index for the archive is located at http://www.mumma.org/archives.html CAN'T FIND YOUR ANCESTOR IN THE CENSUS INDEXES & OTHER DOCUMENTS? Like all of you, I too have problems sometimes locating an ancestors in the various census indexes. As you know, a human has had to view each census image and instantly transcribe the spelling of the names. All my life I have had problems with people correctly writing or reading the Mumma surname. Therefore, the census is no exception and the handwriting was not always clear. When I look for the name in census records, however, I can usually spot the name because it is easy to recognize the funny squiggles. One of the worst transcripitions I recently discovered was "Winsna" instead of "Mumma". To find this entry, I had to search page by page. So, be alert, be aware and be inventive when searching your name in the census indexes. I find the census are usually accurate and everyone is there, they are just hard to find. The name was often written as "Muma" instead of "Mumma", but that is easy to overcome by using wildcard searches such as "MUM*" Here is another example of spelling problems. I recently received an interesting note from Carol Ryan Acosta regarding John W. Mewmaw who died during the Civil War in the Battle of Cheatham Hill near Kennesaw Mt, GA Carol said: "I found the grave site of John W. Mewmaw. He is buried at Marietta National Cemetery in Marietta, GA. Only one problem, they have his name wrong on the tomestone - when he signed up his last name was spelled Mewman - when he was buried they spelled it Newman - I checked the roster & there was no John W. Newman in Co. K 78th Illinois infantry - his film # is M539 roll 61 - while I am so glad I found him, now I wonder is there any way we can get this corrected? I figured if anyone would know you would - he is buried in section I - plot 9394 died 6-27-1864 in the battle of Cheatham Hill at Kennesaw Mountain." So, again it proves you can't even trust tombstones for correct names or dates. If anyone can help Carol try to get the tombstone corrected, please contact her directly at Carol Ryan Acosta, E-mail CarolAcosta@msn.com MUMMA SURNAME DNA PROJECT Great progress continues with the Mumma DNA project. The results and report, as of June, 2003 are available for viewing at http://www.mumma.org/DNA.htm It is a big file, (480 KB) so be patient if you are using a dial-up modem connection as there are lots of graphs and tables to view. I plan to revise and update this report in the very near future which will include the analyses of 8 addition men. One analysis was quite significant. This Mumma family lived in the Fishing Creek area of northern East/West parts of Hanover Township. There are family legends and thin evidence to suggest that John Mumma migrated from Hempfield Township of Lancaster County and may be a descendant of the immigrant, Peter. The DNA analysis of a descendant of this branch was a perfect fit to the DNA analysis of a known Peter descendant. At last, we have confirmation of the connection and it remains to identify the exact son of Peter. After the results of two men are received later this week and analyzed, a revised report will be reissued. CHRISTIAN MUMMA & ELIZABETH HAUSE DOCUMENT DISCOVERED o In July, while on holiday in Norway, I was contacted by Carolyn Johnson Rice of Springfield, a descendant of Christian Mumma, b. 1791. In her message she said: ...."My brother still has what we assume to be either a baptismal certificate or other religious document that has Christian’s name on it….we cannot read it as it is written in what we think is German."....... Needless to say that statement piqued my curiosity and I asked if they would send a copy of the documents. What a great surprise when I received copies of the documents. One document appears to have been folded and had been tucked in a letter or in a bible. It was in a box of "genealogy stuff" they inherited from their mother. Carolyn's descent from Christian is as follows: Christian => Henry => Charles E. => Dorothy E. => Carolyn Louise Johnson. As I reviewed and roughly transcribed the document, I could see that it listed the births of Christian and Elizabeth, listed their marriage date and listed what appears to be seven children with their full names and dates of birth. The big surprise, of course, is only five children had been previously identified. The document was then correctly transcribed/translated by Corinne Earnest of East Berlin, PA. ------------------------------- Christian Mumma was born the 30th August in the year 1791 and gave himself in matrimony with Elizabeth Hass on the 31st of December in the year 1818 [Eizabeth] was born the 4th of August in the year of our Lord 1802 --- ------ ------ These above mentioned parents had the following children born --- ------- ------- [name erased] was born the 30th of August in the year 1819 in the sign of Steinbock (Capricorn) ------------------------------ Jacob Mumma was born the 4th of September in the year 1820 in the sign of Löwe (Leo) ------------------------------- Christian Mumma was born the 3rd of February in the year 1823 in the sign of Scorpio ------------------------------- Johannes Mumma was born the 4th of December in the year 1824 in the sign of Taurus -------------------------------- Elizabeth Mumma was born the 3rd of July in the year 1827 in the sign Waage (Libra) -------------------------------- Henrich Mumma was born the 3rd of July in the year 1827 in the sign Wagge (Libra) --------------------------------- a little son was stillborn the 3rd August in the year 1829 in the [sign of] Virgo --------------------------------- If you would like to view the document, I have posted an image of it on the web site for downloading as a Word document. The URL is: http://www.mumma.org/archives/ChristianMummaRecord.doc Copy this address and paste it into your browser address bar. This should initiate a download of the file for saving or viewing. If you have problems, contact me. So, what does all of this mean as it raises many questions, but also answers a few others: 1) Is the document genuine? It appears so and the fact it was written in German helps narrow the time frame in which it was likely written. 2) When was it written? Nothing obvious on the document, but it appears that it was written all at one time by one person from observing the handwriting style and ink. This means it was likely written after the last entry written in 1829 and probably before Elizabeth's death in 1876. 3) The amount of detail given suggests the writer was very familiar with the family. Could it have been Catherine herself? Not likely since she could not sign her name on documents. So, the writer remains a mystery. 4) The last little stillborn son has not been reported previously, as far as I know. Again this suggests the writer knew lots of intimate details. 5) Interesting that Elizabeth and Henrich were twins, another fact I have not seen reported previously. 6) Who was the first child that had their name erased? Wow! this is the biggest mystery of all. Why would anyone scratch out the name of a child? The only thing I can offer is the writer wrote the name incorrectly, then went back, scratched it out, but neglected to write in the correct name. If this is indeed their first child, I suggest that she was a female who likely married before 1837 when Christian and the rest of the family migrated from Hempfield, Lancaster Co., PA to Clark Co. OH. At the time the family moved, this child would have been about 18 years old and of marrying age. If this were the case, and she died not long after the family moved away, her name may have become lost to some of the younger family members. Also, possibly she married outside of the Mennonite/Brethren faith and was shunned or disowned. If any one reading this can help solve any of this mystery, please contact me. I would like to thank Carolyn for sharing this most interesting document. OTHER INTERESTING STUFF o New surname maps http://www.gens-us.net/ This is an interesting site created by a group of Italians that will display a map of the United States with different colors, depending on the surname density for each state. I believe they used one of the telephone CD's as the database, then extracted surname information based on states. You can try some fairly unusual surnames and the result will probably match fairly closely current telephone listings found when you search the “Switchboard” or similar Internet telephone directories. Anyway, it is fun, interesting and a little different than some of the other maps that display surname frequency based on census data. This way, all current surname spellings are listed. DATABASE CHANGES & ADDITIONS o Samuel Mumma of Wisconisco Township, Dauphin county, PA - There has been extensive additions to the database regarding this family, thanks to the help and input from several researchers and descendants of this line. The family remained as an isolated group in this northern part of Dauphin County, so they are easy to track. We still haven't been able to connect the progenitor of this group, Samuel Mumma ( b. about 1822 in PA) to one of the original Mumma immigrant families. As was common for many of these early families, Samuel and his wife were illiterate. Please contact me if you have any additional data regarding this "unattached" branch. o Conrad Mumma, b. 1760 Added some additional information in the NOTES of Conrad. This family has been difficult to track and trace because they too were illiterate for the early generations. It is uncertain whether Conrad was born in PA or MD. Some of his younger siblings were born in Frederick County, MD. We know he was confirmed in St. John's Evangelical-Reformed Church of Frederick Co. MD, in 1783. He can be found in various documents for Cumberland, Allegany County and for Hampshire Co., VA while he lived in these areas. Jane Moomau Doughty sent me some wonderful deed documents relating to Conrad which help identify some of his children, as well as making interesting reading. My thanks to Jane for her never ending quest to uncover Mumma information. An extraction from the rent indenture with Rev Denny Fairfax is very informative. One of the reasons that Conrad can't be found in the 1790 census for Maryland is he was likely living in Hampshire County, VA at that time. Unfortunately, the 1790 Virginia census was lost. Hence, deeds become a valuable research tool. ********************************* Deed Book 9, page 135 - 25 August, 1792 Hampshire County, VA A rent indenture between Rev. Denny Fairfax of Leeds Castle, Kent, GB. by Conrad Muma of Hampshire County, VA for 13 acres of land at the cost of 40 Shillings "current" money of the state of Virginia for the term of the natural lives of Conrad or his two sons, John and Jacob. Conrad could not sign his name, but made his mark. [This suggests that John and Jacob were the only two sons alive in 1792.] By the standard terms of the lease, a house, 20 feet by 16 feet had to be erected with a brick or stove chimney and to keep in good condition. Also required to plant an orchard of 100 apple trees and plant them 30 feet asunder [distance between trees] ********************************* The terms of this indenture were standard "boiler plate" included in the numerous lease agreements made by Rev Denny Fairfax's. He held extensive land holdings in Virginia. Some of the other deeds are listed in Conrad's NOTES. DATABASE TREE INFORMATION o A new database was uploaded to the web site on 1 September, 2003 and it now includes 57,194 individuals/descendants. Some of the additions, changes and corrections are quite significant and I would like to thank all of you who supplied corrections and additions. If I neglected to mention your branch or contribution, I apologize and request that you contact me again and refresh my failing memory. Indiv's Desc's REF# Top Person in a particular tree + notes ------- ------ ---- --------------------------------------- 45007 24718 2 Leonard /Mumma/ b. bet 1690-1700 (1732 immigrant) * * 1 Jacob /Mumma/ b. 1685-1690 (1731 immigrant) * * 4 Peter /Mumma/ b. ~1721 (1748 immigrant) Lancaster, PA * * U8 Christian /Mumma/ b. 1791 PA (moved to Clark Co., OH) * * U56 Jacob /Mumma/ b. 1816 PA, (moved to Clark Co., OH 4171 2684 U21 Jacob /Muma/ b. ABT. 1750 (Canadian Mumas) 1904 1186 U53 Jacob Mumaw b. 1755-1760 Bullskin Twp, Fayette Co, PA 1469 817 U46 David /Mumma/ b. 1788-1792 (Fulton/Franklin Co, PA) 997 672 U7 David /Muma/ b. ABT. 1760 (Mewmaw spelling) VA, IL, MO 878 535 U45 Christian /Mummer/ b.~1770 (Moma, Moomau & Moomaugh) 600 376 U62..John /Mumma/ b. 27 Nov 1750 Hempfield Twp & York Co. PA 548 373 U28 John /Mumma/ b. 1790 W. Hanover Twp., Dauphin Co., PA 466 292 U30 John /Mumma/ b. BEF 1750 resided Cumberland Co. 282 181 E1-K1 Wilhelm /Momma/ (European Mommas & Kettenis families) 200 139 U57 Samuel /Mumma/ b. 1822 Lykens, Dauphin Co., PA 148 84 U51 George /Mummaugh/ b. 1809 resided Carroll Co., MD 125 77 U43 Henry /Muma/ b 17 Mar 1787 Cocalico Twp, Lancaster Co. 122 85 E2 Leonhard /Momma/ b. 1580 (European Mommas) 84 41 U25 James B. /Mumma/ b. 1841 (Burnt Cabins, Fulton Co., PA) 65 25 U50 Samuel /Mumma/ b.~1835 resided Womelsdorf, Berks Co, PA 44 22 U36 Barbara /Mumma/ b. Sep 27, 1768 (m. Henry Strickler) 27 23 U59 Solomon /Mumma/ b. 1793 Cocalico Twp. & Schuylkill Co 24 15 U60 Harry Martin /Mumma/ b. abt 1886 - Dauphin Co., PA 21 13 U37 B.F. /Mumma/ b. ~ 1857 OH, resided in Missouri 13 11 U52 Solomon /Mumma b. 1838 PA, resided Granville, IL 13 8 U63 James R. /Mumaw/ b. 1875, resided Shenandoah Co., VA 3 1 U55 James /Mumma/ b. ABT. 1837 Fulton Co., PA 1 0 U48 Samuel /Mumma/, b.~1799 d. Old Soldier's Home-Dayton OH 1 0 3 Johan Lorentz /Momma/, d. 1752 (1747 Immigrant) 2 0 - A /.Hog/ b. 1 Jan 1900 (my test individual) * because of cousin marriages between branches, all of the descendants of Jacob Mumma, Peter Mumma and Christian Mumma are included with the totals for Leonard Mumma. MUMMA SURNAME FREQUENCY IN THE DATABASE Mumma[3588], Moomaw[1927], Mumaw[1306], Muma[898], Mumau[319], Mumaugh[272],Momma[231], Moomau[203], Mummau[168], Mummah[126], Mewmaw[76], Mumah[58], Moma[56], Mummaw[53], Mummaugh[49], Moomaugh[29], Mughmaw[26], Mooma[6], Mummer [1], Mommal[1] FUTURE ACTIVITIES I am currently working with Udo Momma of Germany to revise the MOMMA portion of the database. Udo has been working diligently on this portion of the Mumma ancestors, along with Freed Reenstjerna for the Reenstierna branch. As a reminder, two Mommas migrated to Sweden and were ennobled in 1669 and changed their surnames from Momma to Reenstjerna. This change is well documented and their connection confirmed through our DNA testing program. I expect to upload the revised file in a week or so. This will include over 5700 European ancestors/cousins. Unfortunately, our link to the correct male Momma(s) has not been identified and confirmed through satisfactory civil or religious documentation. READABILITY To make sure this Bulletin is readable by the maximum number of different computer & E-mail systems, it is transmitted in plain text, without embedded formatting. This message was composed in 10 point monospaced Courier font. Any necessary indenting, centering and columns was done with spaces, not tabs. It is currently being sent as "blind carbon copies". This is why your name does not appear on the address line. If you have difficulty viewing or printing this message, please let me know. Douglas M. Mumma 2123 Farmington Place Livermore, CA 94550 Phone (925) 447-5164 e-mail: doug@mumma.org Web Site http://www.mumma.org/mumma.html ************************** END ***********************