Histories

• Who is the family of Elizabeth Covey? Her husband Daniel Donovan's family lived Baltimore and (after 1773) Harford counties, in tthe parishes of St. John's & St. George's.Their marriage is recorded in 1778 in Harford county, but aside from that, she seems to be a ghost. (Query posted March, 2025).

• A William Lansdale married Ann Warfield in the later 18th century in Maryland. Who was William's family? That is all that is recorded in Welsh. (Query posted June, 2006).

• Who was the family of Jemima Jones who married Seth Hyatt of Hyattsville, MD? I have found no evidence for her family. (Query posted March, 2025).

• A John Lansdale married Mary Pumphrey on 7 Dec. 1809 in Montgomery County, Maryland. How might this John be related to other Lansdales on the site? Mary's sister Caroline Eleanor Mackelfresh King Pumphrey (yes!) married a Lansdale as well, descended from Charles Lansdale and Catherine Wheeler (see below), but John is not clearly connected to anyone. (Query updated March, 2025).

• Aside from the unknown Lansdales above, there are in fact two different Lansdale trees on this site. The firs, a core tree, descends from immigrant ancestors Isaac Lansdale and Margaret Lancaster. There is a second, however: the descendants of Charles Lansdale and Catherine Wheeler. This family concentrates historically in Prince George's County and descends to, among others, Gen. Edward Geary Lansdale. (Query posted June, 2006).

So the mystery is, then: how are they related? They both appear on the site because they are rather distantly related by marriage. At the moment, it seems that they aren't related by blood on this side of the Atlantic, but there are at least four reasons why they might be. The first is, of course, that they lived very close to each other in Maryland.

A second bit of evidence cuts both for and against a relationship. General E.G. Lansdale records that his father told him that the USS Lansdale was named "for the son of a second cousin of his grandfather." The legend may point to the fact that there was a common ancestor. But, unfortunately, it seems like it's not true. [Here's my logic: his father's (Lansdale) grandfather was John Lansdale, and his second cousin would in the story be Philip Lansdale the father of Philip Van Horne Lansdale. Second cousins have common great-grandfathers. But, John's great-grandfather was Charles Lansdale m. Catherine Wheeler, while Philip's great-grandfather was Isaac Lansdale m. Eleanor Crabb).]

Third, Lansdale family history records the story that there were two or three Lansdale brothers who immigrated together from England. Who were they? If this story is true, one for sure was Isaac Lansdale, since his birth is recorded as being in England. But the only siblings of his I know of are both ciphers—John and Sarah Valentine—of whom nothing is recorded.

A fourth factor allowing for a relationship is the mere fact of the unknown. Who are the John Lansdale and Mary Pumphrey mentioned above, for example? Mary Ann marries John Bucey, who was a grandson of Charles. Is this John Lansdale a grandson of Isaac? The dates would fit. If so, this is an awfully close connection, especially if they were from Montgomery County.

Right now, however, there are many problems with all of this. Charles' family seems to have been Catholic, and Isaac's family all seem to have been Anglican/Episcopalian. And if Charles's family did immigrate with Isaac's, there is a a generational gap to reckon with. Charles was born in 1742, and Isaac was born 6 decades earlier, abt. 1686 in England. Charles would either either be the descendant of a different immigrant ancestor, or would have to be the son of one of Isaac's sons—probably Isaac Jr., John, or Richard—and while one researcher hypothesized that he was John's son, he also clearly says that this was an arbitrary guess.