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  1. #1
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    Default Middleditch (Mid-1700�s)

    Hello again

    I was wondering if anyone knows about a “William Middleditch”in the mid 1700's (1760's to about 1778) who served on a ship. I don't know if he was the captain of the ship, a crew member and I don’t know if it was a military ship, trading ship or merchant marines.

    The story of my male biological 7x great grandfather has a couple different versions yet similar. This ancestor came from Spain or Portugal to Boston Massachusetts and took the name “William Middleditch.”

    Different versions passed down from various branches were:

    * The boy was an orphan, stowaway (I don’t think he came here against his will)
    * There was war, the parents put him on a British ship to help him escape
    * Whoever W Middleditch was took a liking to the boy and/or had trouble pronouncing his name. This is why the boy took the Middleditch name.

    Some personal thoughts:

    About 1370 Great Britain and Spain signed a treaty to protect each other. This was after Europe drove the Moors of Africa back out of Spain after they invaded and held most of Spain for 500 years.
    So if Portugal and England were allies, they were allies during the 7 years war while fighting Spain and France.

    So could the ancestor have been Portuguese? Or a minority within Spain such as Basque or Catalan?

    My Y DNA from a LivingDNA shows most of my Haplogroup in Spain and France. Maybe I should take a better test.

    Would there be anything out there to learn about William Middleditch who served on a ship that went from Spain to the Colonies which is now Massachusetts?

    Thanks for any responses
    Last edited by christanel; 14-09-2020 at 7:08 PM. Reason: Bad title

  2. #2

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    Quote Originally Posted by Hueby101 View Post
    Hello again

    I was wondering if anyone knows about a “William Middleditch”in the mid 1700�s (1760�s to about 1778) who served on a ship. I don�t know if he was the captain of the ship, a crew member and I don’t know if it was a military ship, trading ship or merchant marines.

    The story of my male biological 7x great grandfather has a couple different versions yet similar. This ancestor came from Spain or Portugal to Boston Massachusetts and took the name “William Middleditch.”

    Different versions passed down from various branches were:

    * The boy was an orphan, stowaway (I don’t think he came here against his will)
    * There was war, the parents put him on a British ship to help him escape
    * Whoever W Middleditch was took a liking to the boy and/or had trouble pronouncing his name. This is why the boy took the Middleditch name.

    Some personal thoughts:

    About 1370 Great Britain and Spain signed a treaty to protect each other. This was after Europe drove the Moors of Africa back out of Spain after they invaded and held most of Spain for 500 years.
    So if Portugal and England were allies, they were allies during the 7 years war while fighting Spain and France.

    So could the ancestor have been Portuguese? Or a minority within Spain such as Basque or Catalan?

    My Y DNA from a LivingDNA shows most of my Haplogroup in Spain and France. Maybe I should take a better test.

    Would there be anything out there to learn about William Middleditch who served on a ship that went from Spain to the Colonies which is now Massachusetts?

    Thanks for any responses
    I too am trying to find out about William Middleditch I am also a William Middleditch trying to find out what nationality he was

  3. #3

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    I am trying to find out about William Middleditch to iam also a William Middleditch can’t seem to find anything out before him or where he came from people keep saying from a ship and assumed name I have always heard

  4. #4
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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Willianjames View Post
    I am trying to find out about William Middleditch to iam also a William Middleditch can’t seem to find anything out before him or where he came from people keep saying from a ship and assumed name I have always heard
    Will keep you posted if I find something! I have a hunch it was the Spanish Basque Country. William's son Matthew named some of his children Latin names- Alonzo, Lorenzo, Paola. I'm hoping these names are clues to family left behind. Another Middleditch descendent's YDNA gave him an "Italo-Celtic" ethnicity. Some DNA sites do link me to Basque Country too.

    Been learning a lot of Spain's history! On a Eupedia Website some poster believes "Italo-Celtic" people mixed in with the Basques as per many YDNA Haplogroup are Italo-Celtic (male line) and mDNA are Basque (female line). Then you had the Vistigoths. It was interesting learning about them. Many fled to the northern areas during the Muslim Conquest.

    Another website forum argued DNA shows the Basques weren't as isolated as they claim (They have their own language that isn't similar to any other ethnic group). This could support the argument on the Eupedia Website.

    I hope to someday just take a real good YDNA test through 23 and Me. Maybe that will help. Otherwise just keep plugging away!
    Last edited by Hueby101; 26-07-2019 at 4:15 AM. Reason: Corrections

  5. #5

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    Thank you are their any known pictures of William

  6. #6
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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Willianjames View Post
    Thank you are their any known pictures of William
    Unfortunately not that I'm aware of. There is one of his son Matthew. Back in the 90's a lady named Tammy Jackson wrote a book called "Huldah's Tracks." It is about William's daughter-in-law.

    I have seen it on the internet in the past. There were photos of Matthew and Huldah. Her's was hard to see.

    Apparently the photo of Matthew was taken after he died. Augh!

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hueby101 View Post
    Unfortunately not that I'm aware of. There is one of his son Matthew. Back in the 90's a lady named Tammy Jackson wrote a book called "Huldah's Tracks." It is about William's daughter-in-law.

    I have seen it on the internet in the past. There were photos of Matthew and Huldah. Her's was hard to see.

    Apparently the photo of Matthew was taken after he died. Augh!
    Hi Again- are you on Ancestry or any other site like that?

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Willianjames View Post
    Thank you are their any known pictures of William
    Hello Again William

    After many hours of researching I am going to call it quits. I am convinced he was not from Spain- but from the British Isles. On Ancestry those who descend from him (share the same fatherline) we all share two common areas- England and Scotland.
    During the Colonial times the new schools all had ties to Latin and Greek. This could explain some of the Latin names in the family.
    It has also been very interesting learning about Scottish history. I also match Scottish samples on My True Ancestry. I feel very confident the original “Middleditch” was a young orphan of Scottish ethnicity.

    Now for a shot of Scotch!

  9. #9
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    Default

    Hello!... just an update. I guess quitting isn't in my DNA

    Searched through the church logs. Unlike most who were married, there was no "Intent to marry" recorded between William Middleditch and Mary Houghton. Just the marriage itself.

    They marry in Bolton, Mass 1778 then move to Vermont where their children are born. I researched this part of Vermont and there was word/belief it was filled with rich farmland for many. I wasn't able to learn if there was a split in the church that caused people to migrate from Massachucetts to Vermont. Or was William connected to this area?

    William Middleditch would serve in Captain Jason Duncan's Company in a march from Dummerston to Brattleboro VT. The militia was activated as it was believed the British were using allied Indigenous tribes to attack Brattleboro (Which never happened).

    William and Mary have 5 children:
    Matthew 1779
    William 1780
    Lovinia 1782
    Jemima 1784
    Cyrus 1786

    I believe the 2nd child William would die young. Now Mary had a sister- Lavina. I have seen people use many variations of this name. I believe their daughter Lovinia was named after Mary Houghton's sister.

    Cyrus was named after Mary Houghton's father- Cyrus Houghton.

    I could not find the names Matthew and Jemima as family members/relatives of Mary...therefor I believe these are possible parent's names or close family connections of "William Middleditch."

    Also per Ancestry (which are estimates)of the American descendants of William Middleditch, there was only one common place among the shared matches...Scotland.

    So I'll keep digging here and there

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