Thursday 6 October 2016

The Risteen and Sparling Branches of My Family Tree


In my last two blog posts I’ve written about my Sabean ancestors in Nova Scotia and New England. Today, I will connect the Sabean branch to the Risteen and Sparling branches, beginning with my 4th great grandfather, Davis Sabean, who married my 4th great grandmother, Catherine Risteen.



Catherine was born in 1806 in Nova Scotia. Her parents are Joseph Risteen and Catherine Sparling. There are numerous records supporting that Joseph Risteen was a Loyalist who settled in New Brunswick after the American Revolution:


1.     Joseph Ristine, Wheelwright, The Pennsylvania Line. Source: Journals and Diaries of the Revolution With Lists of Officers and Soldiers, 1775-1783,


2.     “RISTINE, Joseph. Wheelwright and Pilot for the King. Came alone. Born in 1750 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, died 6 August 1839 at Shelburne. Admiral Digby recommended that he receive land for services rendered. Recommended by Captain Dole.” Source: Names Submitted To Be Part Of The Port Roseway Associates Group Of United Empire Loyalists Evacuated From New York to Shelburne, Nova Scotia, 1783, globalgenealogy.com


3.     He is also listed in the Minutes Of The Proceedings Of The Port Roseway Associates 1782, globalgenealogy.com


4.     “Ristine, Joseph. Port Roseway Associate (408:48)” Source: Nova Scotia Immigrants to 1867, Vol. I


5.     “Ristine, Joseph. Wheelwright; Port Roseway Associate (6:17)” Source: Nova Scotia Immigrants to 1867, Vol. II


6.     “Joseph Risteen, residence about 1784, New Brunswick, Canada, Comments: Loyalists to Britain”, Source: New York, Genealogical Records, 1675-1920


7.     Joseph Risteen, wheelwright, origin: Pennsylvania, family: 0, servants: 0, remarks: New Brunswick. Source: Fort Havoc (Wallace Hale), Loyalist Reference Documents: Shelburne, Nova Scotia Loyalists, Provincial Archives of New Brunswick


8.     Died 1839 in Carlton, New Brunswick, age 90. Source: Loyalists of American Revolution, p214


As mentioned above, Joseph Risteen was born in 1750 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and arrived in Shelburne, Nova Scotia in 1783. He and his wife, Catherine Sparling left Nova Scotia some time after 1806, to settle in New Brunswick. We know this because Catherine was born in Nova Scotia in 1806. Joseph died August 6, 1839, in Carleton County, New Brunswick. He is buried in Jacksonville Community Cemetery, Carleton Co. Also buried in the same cemetery are:

RISTEEN, Catherine, b. 1764, d. 1841 (on same headstone as Joseph)

RISTEEN, Jacob, b. 1804, d. 1844

RISTEEN, Eliza Camber, b. 1812, d. 1887 “relict of Jacob RISTEEN”

RISTEEN, Ruth A, b. Jan 1836, d. Jul 1883, “d/o Jacob”



Joseph’s wife, Catherine Sparling, was born in 1764 in New York City, New York. Her parents are Peter William Sparling and Margaret Fissell. Catherine has eight siblings:

1.     Ann Sparling, b. 13 Nov 1760, NY; m. Bartholomew Musgrave, 27 Sep 1778

2.     Mary Catherine, b. abt. 1762, NY

3.     William Peter, b. 1769, NY; m. Eleanor Leaver, 30 Oct 1791, Sydney, NS

4.     Jacob, b. 31 Oct 1770, NY

5.     Philip, b. abt. 1775; d. 1848

6.     Margaret, b. 1 Nov 1776, NY; m. Adam Moore, 14 Nov 1793; d. 29 Aug 1838

7.     George, b. 30 Jun 1782, NY; m. Ann Jefferson, 30 Jul 1811; d. 1817

8.     Margaret Ann, b. 1786, Sydney, NS; m. William Averns, Sep 1820



Catherine’s father, Peter Sparling, was born in 1732 in Ireland. He and his wife Margaret Fissell were married in 1754, in Ireland, prior to emigrating to New York. They were on board the ship “Pery”, departing from Limerick and arriving in New York in 1760. Peter was also on the list of names submitted to be part of The Port Roseway Associates group of United Empire Loyalists evacuated from New York to Shelburne, Nova Scotia 1783. It states he arrived in Shelburne with a woman and 6 children, and that he later settled in Sydney. Peter died on February 4, 1820 in Nova Scotia. He was 89 years old. His wife, Margaret, was born in Killiheen, Ireland (date unknown) and died on February 15, 1820 in North West Arm, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.



The challenge for me with writing this blog is that in genealogy there is no end. There are always more records to find, more stories to suss out. I find it extremely difficult to end a post. It probably seems simple and concise (or at least that’s my goal) but in reality, there are many trails I could follow all the time, and individual stories for each name mentioned. My hope is that if you happen upon this blog and find someone you are connected to it’ll give you a springboard to discover more about your ancestor. After all, the true joy in genealogy is finding discoveries for yourself!



Until next time, happy hunting, fellow gene geeks!





Sources:

1.     New Brunswick Cemeteries, Provincial Archives of New Brunswick

2.     Bio Sketches of Loyalists of the American Revolution, Vol. 2, p. 214

3.     Names submitted to be part of The Port Roseway Associates group of United Empire Loyalists evacuated from New York to Shelburne, Nova Scotia 1783, globalgeneaology.com

4.     Minutes Of The Proceedings Of The Port Roseway Associates 1782, globalgenealogy.com

5.     Journals and Diaries of the Revolution With Lists of Officers and Soldiers, 1775-1783

6.     Fort Havoc (Wallace Hale), Loyalist Reference Documents: Shelburne, Nova Scotia Loyalists, Provincial Archives of New Brunswick

7.     Loyalists of American Revolution

8.     New York, Genealogical Records, 1675-1920

9.     Nova Scotia Immigrants to 1867, Vol. I
    10.  U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s
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4 comments:

  1. Hedware17 October 2016 at 07:38

    Hi - great work.
    Just on the Margaret Ann Sparlings. It seems strange that a second daughter would be called Margaret Ann when the first Margaret Ann is still alive (US census records give her name as Margaret Ann). I dont have access to US/Canadian primary sources, but so far I haven't been able to link the second Margaret Ann to Peter and Margaret Sparling. The mother Margaret Sparling would have been 52 if she was the mother of the second Margaret Ann - bit of a stretch as I dont think any Sparling females gave birth past 42. Many trees that list both Margaret Anns also give them the same date of death i.e. 1838.
    A number of researchers do not include her in this family and I contend they are probably correct.
    Do you have anything that firmly puts the second Margaret Ann to Peter and Margaret Sparling? I would be most interested.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Unearthing Ancestors17 October 2016 at 09:48

    Hi and thanks! I thought it was strange too that they are both named Margaret, although I only have info for one having the middle name Ann. On the info I found, one is Margaret b. Nov 1, 1776 in NY (who married Adam Moore), the other is Margaret Ann, b. 1786 Sydney, NS (who married William Averns). My source for this information is "Names submitted to be part of The Roseway Association group of United Empire Loyalists evacuated from New York to Shelburne, Nova Scotia 1783" by Lark Szick, Randal Oulton and Gail Facini (Apr 15, 1998), updated by Rick Roberts (Nov 18, 2013), on GlobalGenealogy.com. My research into this branch of my family is very new, and I would love any documentation (besides the ones I've sourced above) that you would be willing to share with me. Cheers, Deb

    ReplyDelete
  3. Unknown26 July 2018 at 21:14

    All interesting as my ancestry family tree shows: Joseph Risteen
    1759–1839
    BIRTH 1759 • Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
    DEATH 1839 • Jacksontown, Carleton, New Brunswick, Canada
    4th great-grandfather

    ReplyDelete
  4. Unknown13 November 2018 at 11:02

    Hello! Do you know what the country of origin of the surname Risteen is? Is it UK? Ireland? Thanks!

    ReplyDelete

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