Good Ol' Johnny

I liked Thomas MacEntee's idea of "Surname Saturday" @geneabloggers on Twitter so much that I decided to use it for my blog today [plus I didn't have to come up with my own theme - thanks Thomas!]

Now, I know this is supposed to be a list of surnames that I'm researching,...and I'll get to that...just as soon as I tell you a story. [You didn't really think that you'd get away without a story did ya'?...Ha!]

First, though, a little quiz: does anyone know what Johnny Appleseed's real name was? [Yeah, I know, a quiz AND a story - What can I say? It's 2 for 1 day]

When my son was in 2nd grade, he was asked to play Johnny Appleseed in a play because he read so well [proud mom]. Does everyone remember ol' Johnny Appleseed [ya' know, the guy with apple seeds who went everywhere with a pot on his head]? Well, because they were 2nd graders, they were going to read their parts instead of memorizing them [Hallelujah! Have you ever tried to get a 2nd grader to memorize a lot of lines for a school play?].

Well, everyone read their parts, sang their songs, drank their cider, and basically had a grand time. There's nothin' like seeing your 7 year old son wearin' a long beard and and a pot on his head! [Johnny's later years.]

Little did I know, at the time, that we actually had a connection to good ol' Johnny Appleseed [well, my husband and children do...sorta']. While researching the Hackett's on my husband's side, I found him [or, he found me - aren't those the best finds?].

In a biographical and regional sketch of Bloominggrove, Richland County, Ohio, Johnny Appleseed was purported to have gone through there at one time or another [note the preciseness of the account].

"Really?", you ask. A guy named Johnny Appleseed actually went through a town named Bloominggrove?...in a county named Richland?...in the great state of Ohio, no less? [Say it ain't so, Joe.]

I know, who'd a "thunk" it? [more Texas-speakl]

O.K., so we're not related to good ol' Johnny [at least, not that I've found], and maybe he didn't stay with "our" Hackett's there, but he is [again, purported] to have stayed with their neighbors [only hundreds of acres away - he did like to walk, so, who knows?].

Was it coincidence that my son played Johnny Appleseed in 2nd grade? [I dunno. This is a rhetorical question.]

Do you know what Johnny Appleseed's real name was? [This is not rhetorical. Drop me a line and your answer in a comment, please.]

So, speaking of elementary school, does anyone have a John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt in their family? [me neither...& apparently, no Appleseed's either - at least not of the name variety. I have plenty of fruits and nuts in my family tree, though...]

Note: Along with no animals being hurt in the writing of this blog, I do have appropriate documentation to substantiate my writing, and it's available for your perusal. [Just as soon as I track down my 2nd grade teacher and have her sign a statement in the presence of a witness and notary affirming that she did, indeed, tell me the story about good ol' Johnny...I think it was 2nd grade...or maybe it was 1st...hmmm...]

O.K., here's a few of the names that I'm researching:

Hackett [PA>OH>IA]
Casteel [TN>IL]
Marshall / Marschall [Posen Prussia>TX]
Blacketer [VA>KY>IN>IA>MO>TX
Truitt [VA>MD>DE>KY>TX]
O'Brien [IRL>LA>TX]
Martin [NC>TN>IL>TX]
Vaughn / Vaughan [VT>CAN>MI>TX]
Vaughn / Vaughan [NC>VA>TN>KY>IL]

Caroline