Vanatta photo & Document gallery
Gearshum & Sarah Caroline Palmer Vanatta
After serving in the Black Hawk wars as a private in the P. Butler Company, this Dutch, Baptist farmer and his wife came over the land from Pennsylvania to Mercer County, Illinois. It was here that he met his wife, Sarah Caroline Palmer an Indiana native and married her.
They spent a few years in Illinois and the family as a whole (Gearshum’s siblings, etc. ) really made a name for the themselves. There is a town named Vanatta, etc. But soon enough it was time to move on. In 1854, they next moved on to Oregon via covered wagon. Like so many before and after them they traveled along the Oregon trail. The train they were on was known as the Macy Train finally came to a stop in Linn County. Again they owned land in Linn County.
Their final residence was in the city of Brush Prairie, Clark County, Washington where they moved to in 1863. In Brush Prairie they again owned land and finished raising their children. Here they helped start the Brush Prairie Baptist Church and donated the land that the Brush Prairie Cemetery now on resides. This is where Gearshum and Caroline are laid to rest.Gearshum and Caroline Vanatta are the mother and father to my great-great grandmother Mary Vanatta who was married to Essalum Monroe Hall. Mary and Essalum had several children one of which was named Daisy Viola Hall. Daisy married Thomas Willard Coop. One of their younger children was named Earl Otho Coop… my loving, beloved grandfather.
More Reading:
Read Early Memories by one of their grandchildren: by: Irene Clark Davis.
Gearshum & Sarah’s daughter married a Clark, hence the inclusion of Grandma Clark’s Riddles.
Reading your blog, it struck me that the Snyder name sounds very Dutch. I also see you mention the Dutch surname VanAtta. Being Dutch myself, I was very much interested. I also have a blog with many genealogical subjects. One of my posts shows a survey of foreign genealogical blogs/sites showing Dutch origin surnames. The URL is http://www.patmcast.blogspot.com/2012/05/dutch-ancestors.html. The idea is to try and establish contacts between people who have an interest in the same surname. There are numerous cases in The Netherlands where people emigrated centuries ago without leaving a trace in Dutch archives. With my blog I try to bring Dutch and foreign (mainly US/CAN) genealogists together.
Therefore, I like to have your permission to show your site in my a.m. blog.
I look forward to your reaction!
Kind regards,
Peter
In this case, Snyder is very, very German. haha!!
Yes, you can link to my blog from yours. 😉 Peg
Hi PeggyAnn! I mentioned your blog in mine. If there is anything you want me to change or add, just let me know. Peter