California Cousins

​Through DNA matching, I recently discovered my father’s 3rd cousin, Joanne, living in southern California. Joanne and my father share the same 2nd great grandparents: James Alexander Woods and Aumain (Anna) Ritschhart.

Partial Family Tree - Click to Enlarge

When James Alexander Woods was born February 2, 1806 in Ross County, Ohio, his father, Samuel, was 25, and his mother, Elizabeth Hall, was 22. Samuel was an immigrant from Ireland while Elizabeth was from Virginia, where her family had lived for three generations after emigrating from England. James was the third of eleven children and the oldest son.

Anna Ritschhart was born one year later, on February 21, 1807, also in Ross County. Her father, Christian, was 67, and her mother, Sophia Mitz, was 26. Christian had immigrated from Oberhofen, Switzerland at the age of 11 and had nine children from a previous marriage. Little is currently known about Sophia except that she was of German ancestry. Christian and Sophia had two children, Fredrick and Anna. Anna grew up speaking, reading, and writing German and never did learn how to read and write in English.

James and Anna married on September 13, 1827 and soon moved north to Michigan, where they had their first child, Samuel, in 1831. However, within two years, they then settled in Elkhart County, Indiana, where they had they had six more children, including my 2nd great grandmother, Rachel Woods, in 1833 and Joanne’s great grandfather, Joseph Hall Woods, in 1841.

Joseph Hall Woods

The 1850s was a tumultuous decade for the Woods, their oldest son, Samuel, died in 1853 and soon afterwards, the family quit Indiana to relocate in Polk County, Iowa, near Des Moines, where they farmed with one James’ maternal cousins. They were successful farmers and over the next several years, most of their children married and several purchased land in the same or nearby counties.

On January 10, 1858, Rachel married Nelson Simpson and the newlyweds moved to neighboring Dallas County where they had six children, including my great grandfather, Thomas. The family lived in Dallas County until around 1884, when Nelson, Rachel, their children, and one grandson pulled up stakes and moved to Holdrege, Nebraska. Continuing the family tradition of migration, 30 years later, in 1914, Thomas uprooted his family, including my grandfather, Lowell, and relocated to Saskatchewan. Through DNA matching, I recently discovered my father’s 3rd cousin, Joanne, living in southern California. Joanne and my father share the same 2nd great grandparents: James Alexander Woods and Aumain (Anna) Ritschhart.

Here are some tidied up notes about our common ancestor with a description of our relationship with Joanne, if anyone is at all interested.

When James Alexander Woods was born February 2, 1806 in Ross County, Ohio, his father, Samuel, was 25, and his mother, Elizabeth Hall, was 22. Samuel was an immigrant from Ireland while Elizabeth was from Virginia, where her family had lived for three generations after emigrating from England. James was the third of eleven children and the oldest son.

Anna Ritschhart was born one year later, on February 21, 1807, also in Ross County. Her father, Christian, was 67, and her mother, Sophia Mitz, was 26. Christian had immigrated from Oberhofen, Switzerland at the age of 11 and had nine children from a previous marriage. Little is currently known about Sophia except that she was of German ancestry. Christian and Sophia had two children, Fredrick and Anna. Anna grew up speaking, reading, and writing German and never did learn how to read and write in English.

James and Anna married on September 13, 1827 and soon moved north to Michigan, where they had their first child, Samuel, in 1831. However, within two years, they then settled in Elkhart County, Indiana, where they had they had six more children, including my 2nd great grandmother, Rachel Woods, in 1833 and Joanne’s great grandfather, Joseph Hall Woods, in 1841.

The 1850s was a tumultuous decade for the Woods, their oldest son, Samuel, died in 1853 and soon afterwards, the family quit Indiana to relocate in Polk County, Iowa, near Des Moines, where they farmed with one James’ maternal cousins. They were successful farmers and over the next several years, most of their children married and several purchased land in the same or nearby counties.

On January 10, 1858, Rachel married Nelson Simpson and the newlyweds moved to neighboring Dallas County where they had six children, including my great grandfather, Thomas. The family lived in Dallas County until around 1884, when Nelson, Rachel, their children, and one grandson pulled up stakes and moved to Holdrege, Nebraska. Continuing the family tradition of migration, 30 years later, in 1914, Thomas uprooted his family, including my grandfather, Lowell, and relocated to Saskatchewan. 

Anna Ritschhart Woods Grave

The American Civil War broke out in 1861 and three of James’ and Anna’s unmarried sons joined the Union army. On April 8, 1862, serving as a private in the 3rd Iowa Volunteer Infantry Regiment, John Lewis Woods was killed at the Battle of Shiloh, a battle that claimed 13,047 union and 10,699 Confederate lives.

Joseph Hall Woods had served as a private in the Iowa 16th Infantry and following the war, on April 17, 1865, married Eliza Jane Calhoun and began farming some land near his parents. Joseph and Eliza had at least 4 children, including Joanne’s grandfather, Frank Edwin Woods. Frank married Eliza Holland in 1892 and, after working as a grocer for a few years in Iowa, moved with his wife and daughter to Spokane, Washington, where they had a second daughter, Vera, who was to be Joanne’s mother. After some further moving around, the family eventually settled down in southern California.