Cliff and I loved to look at all the different tombstones in the cemetery. One of our favourites stood on the crest of the hill. This tall monument was topped with a dove. To us it seemed this bird had perched there and had been turned to stone.

We really were not very good at figuring out big words but we tried. Since ‘ph' sounded like an ‘f', we concluded that Phebe was "feebee'. The next word was a name we had never seen before - ‘Dykeman.'   Cliff was a lot better at decoding than I was so he figured it was ‘Dike - man.'

From Social Studies, we had learned about the dikes in Holland and the story of the little boy who had saved the village with his quick thinking. Dutch people wore wooden shoes but we had never heard  of anyone in  our community wearing them. This Dutch name on a tombstone was a real puzzle to us.

In later years I learned that Phoebe Dykeman was married to William Titus, one of the Titus brothers who had come from Jemseg. Phebe and William  lived in the house on the hill, behind the Baptist Church.

I thought little more of this Dykeman name until a chance meeting with a man who spends his lunch hours reading microfilm at the Saint John Free Public Library.  Brian Ballard  told me the Dykemans were of Dutch origin. They had settled in New Amsterdam (Manhattan Island, where a Dykeman Museum is now located). For a time they lived in Tarrytown and Philipsborough, New York.

Garrett Dykeman was a descendant from Jan Dyckman and was baptized in the Dutch Reformed Church in Tarrytown. On March 04, 1766, he married Eunice Ann Hatfield at White Plains, NY. During the Revolutionary War, he served with the Westchester Militia in the British Forces and was taken  prisoner. He and his wife and family came with the Loyalists of the fall fleet of 1783 with Company 52 aboard the Neptune. He was granted a lot in Carleton but soon went upriver to settle in Waterborough, Queens County accompanied by children: Jacob; Gilbert; Moses; Joseph; Eunice Ann and Rebecca. Although he died on June 19, 1813 and is buried at Gagetown the Dykeman named has lived on.

Brian Ballard has compiled more than three hundred pages of information on this Dykeman family. He willingly admits that his research has benefitted greatly from the generosity of others researching the family. Therefore he wishes to pass on his information to those who are interested in this Dykeman Family and their descendants. If you contact him at  bballard@nbnet.nb.ca  he will e-mail you without charge his three hundred pages of information on the Dykemans.  

Brian does not belief in keeping his research material under a bushel basket but prefers to let it fly through cyberspace to others.

 Query 98-582
McGee - Pierce:  Miss McGee was born about1800 possibly in Colraine, Northrn Ireland. She married  Pierce either in Colraine or Saint John. They settled in New Brunswick, possibly Dickey Mt. area of  Norton Parish, Kings Co. Pierce is referred to as "General" in some old family letters.  Any information on this Pierce family would be appreciated.
  - F. Wyland, 228 Westport Rd, Wilton, CT., USA., 06897. E-mail to awyland@ct2.nai.net.

 Query 98-583
Stockford: I am seeking information on Fannie M. Stockford or Hugh Stockford of Hyde Park, Massachusetts. I am interested in the family and their Saint John connection.
 -Valerie Evans, 2 Brookdale Avenue, Grand Bay-Westfield, N.B. E5K 2B6. E-mail  ene@nbnet.nb.ca.

Query 98-584
McAfee:  We are trying to locate anyone with information on the McAfee line. Samuel McAfee was born about1807 in Ireland. He died Aug. 14,1881. His wife, Rosanne was born about1814 in Ireland. She died in Saint John on Jul. 23, 1896. They are both  buried in the Saint John Church of England burial grounds. They may possibly have had sons Samuel and Joseph.
  -R. Brown, 1218 Beaver Run, Anderson, SC., USA., 29625. E-mail to rcbjmb@mindspring.com.

Query 98-585
Prince - Egers - Jardine - Yeamans: I would like information about my grandparents who lived in Hardwood Ridge, New Brunswick. They were all born around 1870. Henry Prince and his wife Annie Egers,  James Jardine and his wife Annabelle Yeamans. I believe that Henry Prince was born in Moncton and James Jardine may have been from P.E.I.  I have been told that some members of the Prince family are buried in Saint John.
 -Robert Prince, 195 Overlook Rd., Arlington, MA., USA., 02474. E-mail BTPrince195@aol.com.

Query 98-586
Ellsworth - Hazelwood - Bryson - Higgins: I am looking for any information on Ephriam Gardner Ellsworth born in1858 and married to Adria Anna Hazelwood born1863. James Hazelwood Ellsworth - born 1899 - was one of their 5 children. Also I am seeking material on Robert Bryson born 1868 and Bertha Amelia Higgins born 1867.  I have information to share on the branch of the family who moved from Saint John to the West Coast of Canada in the1920s
 -Candy Headley, 15034 S.E. Primrose, Milwaukie, Oregon, USA., 97267. E-mail ihula@teleport.com.

Query 98-587
Shaw - DeWolfe: Capt. Edward James Shaw came from Mt. Denson, Nova Scotia. He and his family had a residence in Saint John. His wife was Hannah DeWolfe. They had seven children.  The three oldest boys may have been born in Saint John between 1866 and 1870. They perished at sea with their father in 1879. The surviving children were: William an inventor with Edison Labs born about 1874 in Saint John; Ernest (1877); Dorithy born about 1872  in England; my grandfather, Edward Burt Shaw was born in Saint John in 1879. The family moved to Boston following the tragedy. Any help would be appreciated.
 -Richard B. McGuinness, 377 Turner Street, Auburn, Maine, USA., 04210. E-mail  CHETI377@aol.com.

 Query 98-588
Greenlaw - Mcgill: I am searching for any information on Jewett Moses Greenlaw born in New Brunswick in 1863. He moved to Eureka, California  where he married Elizebeth Mcgill. They had four children, Charles, Jewett, Frank and Gerald.
 -C. Gretton. E-mail to cgretton@sonic.net.

 Query 98-589
Hillcoat - Fenwick: I have been researching my grandmother's Hillcoat family and have
documented her forefathers from - Thomas Hillcoat born about 1645 at Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, England. His wife was Ann Fenwick born in 1649. I have compiled extensive information about this line, but have lost a branch in Canada's eastern states. I am seeking any Hillcoat family members to share the family history with.
 -Don Hazelton, 7 South Golden Key Drive, Gilbert, Arizona, USA., 85233-581. E-mail to Grenadier@POBoxes.com or Hazelton@primenet.com.

 Query 98-590
Ryan - Dwyer: I am seeking information on the family and parents of Patrick A. Ryan who was born about 1821 in Ireland. He was married on Jan. 21,1847 at St. Stephen's Parish Church in Milltown, Charlotte Co, New Brunswick to Catherine Dwyer born 1816 in Ireland. Patrick is not listed in the 1850 Maine census. He died on Mar.10, 1853 in Washington Co, Maine and is buried in the Calais Cemetery. His wife Catherine, who was listed in the 1860 and 1870 census records for Baring, Maine with the family of their daughter Bridget Ann (Ryan) Robb died May 22, 1876 and is buried with her husband. Any additional information or details on this family would be greatly appreciated.
 -Dave Wells, 16236 Lilac Lane, Los Gatos, CA., USA., 95032-3523. E-mail to DaveWells@mac.com

Ruby M. Cusack is a genealogy. Send your queries to her at: rmcusack@nbnet.nb.ca. (Please put Yesteryear Families in the subject line.) Include your name and mailing address for the benefit of  readers of the newspaper, who do not have access to E-mail.