Free HAM Book GiveAway Contest - May, 2008

Free "HAM" Book Giveaway Contest

May, 2008

This time, the question I want to know is:


How well do we know our HAM Revolutionary War veterans from Virginia?

This month, we having a Free HAM Book Giveaway Contest based on the Revolutionary War Poll questions at the HAM Country blog. The Contest is to win a free three volume set of our book "A Short History of the HAM Surname in Virginia & NC."

The person who gives the best answers to this month's Revolutionary War Poll wins.

Here's how you can enter. You can enter by either:

- Commenting to the HAM Country blog under the Revolutionary War Poll (or Free Book Giveaway Contest).

- OR, you can enter by posting a video (to You Tube, etc).



I have decided NOT to accept email entries, except under special circumstances. That's because the Blog and You Tube are public, and it would just not be fair to accept non public entries. (I will post any special circumstance entries to the blog.)

I'll take either of those two - comments or video. The comments should contain the "correct" answers to the Poll questions. (This is separate from just voting in the Poll. That is, you can vote in the Poll without entering the contest. To enter the contest, post a "comment" to the Contest with the answers to the Rev War Poll.)
If two people tie for the best answers, and one has a video on You Tube and the other has a comment on the HAM Country blog, then I will give more points for the You Tube video. That's because it takes a little bit more effort to do a video, and the HAM Country Blog answer will be public.
However, I WILL be checking to make sure that people aren't making videos from a blog, or blogging from a video. But, if both belong to you, then that's fine.

The answers don't need to be anything too technical, nothing too fancy. You just have to give the best answers to the HAM Revolutionary War Poll questions. You might want to remember that "real" genealogists will cite their sources.

Just convince me that your answers are the best.
There are ten questions in that Poll. (This may make it tough to get into one You Tube video.)
This contest is going to run until the "HAM veterans of the Revolutionary War Poll" is over. It closes May 31st, 2008 at 11:59 PM. After that, there will be no more responses accepted.

I'll take a few days and read them all, or watch the videos and figure out which one I think is the best, and that person will be the winner. I will need to be able to identify who you are, so that I can announce the winner and send the book to you.
This is a nice set of books, about 10 years in the making. It's a good book to have in your library.

The winner gets all three volumes. It's got research in England, France, Virginia, and North Carolina. It's got Mordecai HAM Bible records, Revolutionary War records. It's got a lot of early HAM information by County and time line. If you're a HAM genealogist, it's a handy reference for your library.
So, go ahead and enter the contest. Just make sure that you have the best answer. There are tough questions on this Poll. If you know your stuff, then you just might be able to figure that out and get some bonus points. I will also give bonus points for primary source records on a You Tube video.
You've got the month of May to enter. The Contest closes May 31st, 2008 at 11:59 PM.

Have a good time, and while you're at it, vote on the Revolutionary War Poll questions.


(Free HAM Book GiveAway Contest You Tube video was removed after this contest.)

To post comments, click on the title and scroll to the bottom.

Poll: HAM Revolutionary War Veterans

Poll: HAM Revolutionary War Veterans

May, 2008

Out of all of my research in Virginia, I have to admit that nothing nothing is more interesting than to read the Revolutionary War Pension papers. With Memorial Day coming up, I thought this might be a good topic for this month's HAM Country Blog Poll.


Susan Bullock is the co-author that can claim descent from a Revolutionary War Veteran. Also, the HAM DNA Project participant Linzey Ham descends from a Revolutionary War veteran. They descend from Mordecai Ham, who participated in one of the most important battles of the War.

Mordecai HAM Pension papers

In fact, there were HAM's in nearly all of the major battles that are considered to be among the turning points of the American Revolution. Do you know who they were, and which battles they participated in?

This was one of the areas that we covered in our book, but this is also a subject that has never had comprehensive coverage by genealogy books on the HAM surname. Organizations such as the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) hold a good library of records, but they do not publish genealogy books on the HAM surname.


We didn't explain the battles, show much in the way of on site battlefield pictures, or show maps of the battle campaigns. We didn't show existing pictures of the generals, or soldiers in uniform. We didn't show ships on the ocean in battle formation, or explain how the War played out. That type of information would probably require a separate book in itself. However, we did include a number of existing records on Revolutionary War Veterans, and some information about their residence and family, when possible.

One of my favorite pension papers to read has to include that of Drury Ham, who had also participated in the Revolutionary War.


There has never been a video documentary on HAM's in the Revolutionary War. There have been no books on the campaigns that our HAM ancestors fought during that war. This isn't because the stories are not there, it is simply because it has never been done. These stories are not often told. The Revolution has been told elsewhere, but only in general terms of the commanding officers or the battles. Research on the HAM name in the Revolutionary War has been poor, at best.


Yorktown Battlefield


You might recall Mel Gibson in the movie "The Patriot," a dramatization of one of the battles that a Ham participated in. Of course, the name "Ham" does not appear in this movie as one of the characters, and the ending is entirely fictional. In that regard, the movie does little more than call to mind a more romantic version of the actual events, and does little to address the history behind "Ham" Revolutionary War veterans. It does, however, give you an impression of the conflicts that families may have experienced during the war.


Which might say something about the sorry state of affairs when it comes to genealogy work on the HAM name. I would say that not near enough has been completed. And again, unfortunately, even the Revolutionary War Veterans have some bad information listed on the internet. HAM genealogists from Virginia still have a lot more work to do. This month we are having another poll at the HAM Country blog for the HAM researchers. This time, I would like to know how well we know our Revolutionary War Veterans from Virginia. As in the previous poll, the answers can be found in (or figured out from) our book "A Short History of the HAM Surname in Virginia & NC."

Yorktown battlefield

The questions are:

- What HAM's fought at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse?

- Which HAM was a Lieutenant in the Navy during the Revolutionary War?

- What was the name of the ship commanded by a HAM during the siege of Yorktown?

- Which HAM was an Indian Spy during the Revolutionary War?

- Which HAM Received a severe head wound during a skirmish with the Tories during the Revolutionary War?

- When was Mordecai HAM finally discharged from the service?

- Who was most likely to be Drury HAM's father, based upon the County land survey?

- Who served under Captain Daniel Sparks?

- Who was denied a pension (due to lack of records) after serving under General Sumpter?

- Who served as a surgeon during the Revolutionary War?


You will find the poll at the HAM Country blog.


The poll questions close on May 31st at 11:59 PM.

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Contest Results: Jerome HAM - April 2008

HAM Book Contest Results
Jerome HAM Poll Questions
April, 2008

We had a tie between "mynaime05" and "Hammer." Technically, "mynaime05" was the first of the two to submit their comment and therefore would be the winner for reasons of time.

I have discussed this with Geneva and Susan, and they agree to waive the fastest response this time, and permit both to win. That's mainly because there was some confusion about "how to" enter the contest. However, from now on, if there is a tie, the prize will go to the earliest entry.

There were three total entries in the contest. Both entries for "mynaime05" and "Hammer" had two correct answers (Missy entered twice, but I only counted her "official" answer. Missy answered one question correctly.) There were four multiple choice questions in the Poll. So, the winners got two answers correct out of a total of four questions.

Both "mynaime05" and "Hammer" got the number of children correct, but differed on when Jerome HAM was born, and whether or not the Jerome HAM of Bristol and Jerome HAM of Virginia was the same man.

For when Jerome HAM was born, the Poll would accept more than one answer (there was more than one correct answer). "Hammer" selected the wrong birth date.

For the last question, the two Jerome HAM's were different men. "mynaime05" selected the wrong answer.

So, both answered two of the questions correctly.

If "mynaime05" and "Hammer" will send me an email privately, I would like to gather their contact information so that we can send the books out. My email: odoniv (at) earthlink.net

Congratulations go to the contest winners, "mynaime05" and "Hammer."

To post comments, click on the title and scroll to the bottom.

POLL Results: Jerome HAM

POLL Results: Jerome HAM

April 30, 2008

The HAM Country POLL results for Jerome HAM are in. The Poll closed on April 30th at 11:59 PM.

The questions focussed on the High Sheriff and Burgess of York County, Virginia. Folks on my email list had over two weeks to respond. I must have received hundreds of emails about this over the past decade, and about 100 genealogists were able to read the Poll questions prior to the close of that Poll. In preparation for the Poll questions, I did a quick survey of Family Tree entries for Jerome HAM on several internet web sites. The one with the most trees was the pay service, Ancestry.com with well over 600 Jerome HAM Family Trees. Another was the Rootsweb WorldConnect web site. A third search was done at FamilySearch.org.

About 97% of the Jerome HAM family trees on the internet have bad information about Jerome HAM.

The Poll generated only about 12 votes. Pretty poor response. There were 141 page loads of the Blog, and 93 views of the You Tube video.

I would gather that people were not voting. I would also gather most folks do not know the answers, since most of the responses to the Poll pretty much reflected the WRONG information on the internet.

All of the answers to the poll questions can either be found in or figured out by using our book. It is hard to believe that people are not using our book for that time frame.



The Poll questions were:

- When was Jerome HAM born? - Jerome HAM married Sibella. What was Sibella's maiden name? - How many children did Jerome HAM have by wife Sibella?

- Were Jerome HAM of Bristol and the Jerome HAM of York County, VA the same man?

Jamestown Church in ruins

Here are the results from the Jerome HAM Poll:

72% have responded that they believe Jerome HAM was born about 1580.

18 % believe that he was born about 1659.

9 % believe that Jerome HAM was born about 1650.

9 % believe that Jerome HAM was born before 1565. (You could select more than one date on this question.)







66 % have responded that they believe Sibella's maiden name was CAINHOE.

32 % did not know Sibella's maiden name.












36 % believe Jerome HAM had five or more children by wife Sibella.

27 % believe Jerome HAM had three children by wife Sibella.

27 % believe Jerome HAM had two children by wife Sibella.

9 % believe they had four children.







42 % of those that responded believe that the Jerome HAM of Bristol was the same man as the Jerome HAM of York County, Virginia.

42 % of those that responded believe that the Jerome HAM of Bristol was NOT the same man as the Jerome HAM of York County, Virginia.

16 % said they did not know.





Which, I suppose explains why there are so many errors posted to the internet web sites (such as ancestry.com). Most likely, folks are not using our book as a reference when posting information about Jerome HAM to the internet.

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Free "HAM" Book Giveaway Contest

Free "HAM" Book Giveaway Contest

April, 2008

This month, we are going to have a Free HAM Book Giveaway Contest at the HAM Country blog based on the Jerome HAM Poll questions.


The Contest is to win a free three volume set of our book "A Short History of the HAM Surname in Virginia & NC."

The person who gives the best answers to the Jerome HAM Blog Poll wins.

Here's how you can enter. You can enter by either:

- Commenting to the HAM Country blog under the Jerome HAM Poll (or Free Book Giveaway Contest).

- OR, you can enter by posting a video (to You Tube, etc).


I have decided NOT to accept email entries, except under special circumstances. That's because the Blog and You Tube are public, and it would just not be fair to accept non public entries. (I will post any special circumstance entries to the blog.)

I'll take either of those two - comments or video.

If two people tie for the best answers, and one has a video on You Tube and the other has a comment on the HAM Country blog, then I will give more points for the You Tube video. That's because it takes a little bit more effort to do a video, and the HAM Country Blog answer will be public.

However, I WILL be checking to make sure that people aren't making videos from a blog, or blogging from a video. But, if both belong to you, then that's fine.

The answers don't need to be anything too technical, nothing too fancy. You just have to give the best answers to the Jerome HAM Poll questions. You might want to remember that "real" genealogists will cite their sources.

Just convince me that your answers are the best.

There are four questions in that Poll. The questions are:

- When was Jerome HAM born?
- Jerome HAM married Sibella. What was Sibella's maiden name?
- How many children did Jerome HAM have by wife Sibella?
- Were Jerome HAM of Bristol and the Jerome HAM of York County, VA the same man?

This contest is going to run until the Jerome HAM Poll is over. It closes April 30th, 2008 at 11:59 PM. After that, there will be no more responses accepted.

I'll take a few days and read them all, or watch the videos and figure out which one I think is the best, and that person will be the winner. I will need to be able to identify who you are, so that I can announce the winner and send the you the book.

This is a nice set of books, about 10 years in the making. It's a good book to have in your library.

The winner gets all three volumes. It's got research in England, France, Virginia, and North Carolina. It's got Mordecai HAM Bible records, Revolutionary War records. It's got Amelia County, Caroline County, Orange County, and a lot of other early HAM information by County.

If you're a HAM genealogist, it's a handy reference for your library.

So, go ahead and enter the contest. Just make sure that you have the best answer. Oh, there is one trick question on the Poll. If you know your stuff, then you just might be able to figure that out and get some bonus points. I will also give bonus points for primary source records on a You Tube video.

You've got a little over two weeks to enter.
Have a good time, and while you're at it, vote on the Jerome HAM Poll questions.

To post comments, click on the title and scroll to the bottom.

POLL: Jerome HAM, April 2008

Jerome HAM Poll

April 6, 2008

One of the most enduring names for HAM genealogists of Virginia is that of Jerome HAM. High Sheriff and Burgess of York County, Virginia, he left an intriguing paper trail for us.

Jamestown Church in ruins

For well over a decade, I have received numerous emails and inquiries regarding Jerome HAM. Some claim that he was born in Bristol, England, and died in York County, Virginia. Some claim that he was born in Germany. Some say that he was born in 1577. Some say 1580. Others say he was born in 1650. Many believe that he was the single immigrant ancestor to all of the HAM lines in Virginia.

Nearly all of the inquiries that I get do not have him listed correctly. Why not? What's going on here?

Part of the problem is that Jamestown was destroyed by fire in 1699. Church records have been destroyed. Only York County records remain, and those records have never been made widely available to the public. Jamestown is now an archaeological dig. Most people will never see the extant records unless they make a research trip to Richmond.








Jamestown Church plaque








The Survey
I did a quick survey of Family Tree entries for Jerome HAM on several internet web sites. The one with the most trees was the pay service, Ancestry.com with well over 600 Jerome HAM Family Trees. Another was the Rootsweb WorldConnect web site. A third search was done at FamilySearch.org.

Here are the results:

The search from Ancestry.com returned over 600 Family Trees for Jerome HAM.

Here are some examples:


- The ALLEN Family Tree, where Jerome HAM is born in 1650 in York County, VA
- The ALLEN Family Tree, where Jerome HAM is born in 1577 in County Somerset, England.
- The BANNISTER Family Tree, where Jerome HAM is born in 1650 in York County, VA
- The BAUGH Family Tree, where Jerome HAM is born in 1577 in County Somerset, England.
- The BRYANT Family Tree, where Jerome HAM is born in 1650 in York County, VA
- The CALHOUN Family Tree, where Jerome HAM is born in 1650 in York County, VA
- The COLLINS Family Tree, where Jerome HAM is born in 1650 in York County, VA
- The COOK Family Tree, where Jerome HAM is born in 1650 in York County, VA
- The ELDER Family Tree, where Jerome HAM is born in 1650 in York County, VA
- The FRY Family Tree, where Jerome HAM is born in 1650 in York County, VA
- The GOLDEN Family Tree, where Jerome HAM is born in 1650 in York County, VA
- The HART Family Tree, where Jerome HAM is born in 1650 in York County, VA
- The HESTER Family Tree, where Jerome HAM is born in 1577 in County Somerset, England.

Some say that Jerome HAM was born in 1577, other say 1650.

The search at Rootsweb WorldConnect returned 33 trees




WorldConnect search

Some say that Jerome HAM was born in 1577, other say 1580.

The FamilySearch web site returned 100 Family Trees for Jerome HAM. This one I had to do in two searches, one for England and one for Virginia:




search at FamilySearch.org

These have Jerome HAM being married in 1648, and most have him buried in 1659. Probably the best, but not quite right either.

That’s about 708 Family trees counted from internet sources, and 96.5% had bad information about Jerome HAM.
Can you find the accurate ones?

One of the emails that I received about internet sources told me that the file on the internet that had the "most downloads" must be the correct one for her ancestor. I would have to say that "real" genealogists would never use the number of downloads as a gauge of accuracy. Genealogists prefer documentation, preferably from primary source material. (For more information on genealogy standards, see the "code of ethics" web pages for the Board for Certification of Genealogists and the Association of Professional Genealogists.)

So, today I am launching a poll at the HAM Country blog for the HAM researchers. The questions are:

- When was Jerome HAM born?

- Jerome HAM married Sibella. What was Sibella's maiden name?

- How many children did Jerome HAM have by wife Sibella?

- Were Jerome HAM of Bristol and the Jerome HAM of York County, VA the same man?

You will find the poll at the HAM Country blog.
The poll questions close on April 30th at 11:59 PM.

Jamestown church interior

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HAM DNA Project 2007

The HAM DNA Project 2007
You Tube video

The HAM DNA Project began with Family Tree DNA in the summer of 2005. I am the current Administrator of the HAM DNA Project.

DNA is a relatively new tool for genealogists. This Project is the first time DNA has been used in an organized study for the HAM Surname. It was the first time that a DNA Y-Search had been performed to predict the ancestral homeland. This was the first time that a DNA study had been performed to study the HAM immigrants from England to Virginia. The Y-Search study had been performed on my own line in an effort to determine the immigrant homeland. Until the presentation, genealogy rumors an myths were running rampant, including the relatively widespread story of German origins. The prevailing myth being that all HAM lines in Virginia descended from one man, Jerome HAM.

The problem with traditional genealogy research in Virginia is that many genealogical records have been destroyed.

The HAM DNA Project presentation was given in Jefferson, North Carolina on April 21, 2007. At that time, we had not yet obtained a matching kit for any HAM DNA group from anybody in Europe. I had performed a Y-Search study of my DNA group (HAM DNA Group #1), and had located matching DNA samples from England. Three locations bubbled to the top of the list - Yorkshire, London, and Crewkerne.



Up to that time, many years of traditional genealogy work had been performed, culminating in our book "A Short History of the HAM Surname in Virginia & NC," using tradition genealogical methods. Original source material was sought out, with visits to the Archives in the states of Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia. Professional genealogists were hired in Virginia, the UK, and France. However, I could not positively identify my immigrant ancestor, using traditional research. I was thrilled to see matching DNA samples in England. The theory of German origins was beginning to become debunked.

The HAM DNA Project had been underway for some two years by 2007. This was the first time that DNA had been used to aid our traditional genealogy research. This was the first time a Y-Search study had been published (on January 14, 2007) for our HAM DNA Group. Using limited DNA data, this was the first time any genealogist had attempted to determine what the Y-DNA may have looked like some 700 years ago. The Y-Search report returned a most likely immigrant homeland in three areas in England, Yorkshire, London, and Crewkerne (see map).



Using only the DNA data, I was able to construct a phylogenetic chart of the ancient DNA using Dean McGee's Y-DNA Utility and the PHYLIP software package:



At the time of the HAM DNA Presentation in North Carolina, the tiny HAM DNA Project (for all groups) graphed out like this:



By November, 2007 the Y-Search report had been confirmed. New participant Tony Ham was a relative recent immigrant to America, with immigrant ancestors from the area of South Brent, County Somerset in England. Tony was a good match for my DNA Group, and South Brent is about 25 miles away from Crewkerne. The Y-Search study had been a spectacular success!



The National Genographic Project had identified my Y-DNA Haplotype group as "I1a," which is of Viking origins. Family Tree DNA has identified the "I1a" haplotype group in England and northern France. In northern France, we find Normandy. The Vikings had settled in Normandy circa 800 AD, and was known to protect the coast for France. At that time, the Danes had also invaded Yorkshire. In 1066, we had the famous invasion of England by the Normans, in particular by William the Conqueror. The difference between the Danes of 800 AD in Yorkshire and the Norman Conquest is that whereas the Danes were confined to the area of Yorkshire, the distribution of Normans was more complete with the conquest of England. That is, you would expect to find the Normans in County Somerset, protecting the border area from Wales but you not expect to see the same for the Danes.

This presentation was given April 21, 2007 as part of the Ashe County Family History Weekend in Jefferson, North Carolina.

The HAM DNA Project 2007
You Tube video

To post comments, click on the title and scroll to the bottom.

The HAM Book Trailer

The HAM Book Trailer

"A Short History of the HAM Surname in Virginia & NC"

Having studied the HAM surname in Virginia for nearly a decade, our book "A Short History of the HAM Surname in Virginia & NC" was finally published in 2003. I compiled and published the book, and the research was very much a team effort. The book was co-authored with Geneva S. Greer and Susan Bullock. There were numerous contributors to the book. Professional genealogists were hired out for work in Virginia, England (Bristol and PCC Wills), as well as in France (Amiens).
This was the first time that a book had been written in an attempt to study the HAM immigrants to Virginia from England. At the time of publication, I had no evidence that my line would have immigrated from England, but I focused upon England because I at least knew my HAM line was from Virginia. Virginia was an English colony, so the probabilities favored immigration from England.
The pictures in the video were often taken on location during my research trips, or from research hired out in France. I had taken many research trips to all of the libraries featured in the video, and the pictures of Jamestown were taken on site, and are from my personal collection. I have some home video of William Kelso (of APVA) performing an archaeological dig at Jamestown, and more pictures of the ruins in Jamestown, but could not fit them into this video.

Captain John Smith, Jamestown

Those years of research were focused upon our book "A Short History of the HAM Surname in Virginia & NC," using tradition genealogical methods. We searched for original source material, with visits to the Archives in the states of Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia. Professional genealogists were hired in Virginia, the UK, and France.

Odon IV and coat of arms

Original source records were sought in all cases. When secondary sources were found, every effort was made to double check for accuracy. Owners of the book are pleased to find the clarification on Jerome HAM, for example. The reader is able to use the citations in the book to find the original source of the current myths behind Jerome HAM. The (inaccurate) Jerome HAM myths now having a life span of over 40 years, mostly spread through commercial genealogy sites, such as Ancestry.com.

The music was created by Ilya Gordon, Gregorian Sense, and Steve Massey (included by permission).


I hope that you enjoy the HAM Book video Trailer.

Click on the title to post comments.