A NAME IS A NAME IS A NAME, RIGHT?

Ubrecht ca. 1500's

In my husband's line is a fascinating name, Van Scyoc.  That should be easy to research, said I in my naive early years of doing family history research. Ha! The gods are fickle and they proved it with this fascinating name.  A wonderful elderly researcher named Melwood VanScyoc communicated with me and helped me with some information to get started.

He assured me that despite the variety of spellings, all the names represented people who were descendants of the same person who had arrived from Holland to the "New Amsterdam" of the old New York area.  This ancestor came from Ubrecht in the Netherlands in the early 1600's.

Tracking the same family across seven states, I found over sixteen spellings of the name in official documents.  Sometimes middle names were used as first names, officials misspelled names, and left off the "Van" in the last name all together.

A note about official records such as census, deeds, marriage papers, etc.  The custom was for the officer to write the names of the person.  Some were better at spelling, some had more knowledge of one language than another, some sounded it out, some guessed, and some actually asked!  Accented speech, speech impediments, and poor writing skills converge at times to create sheer havoc in records. While present day families may attack much meaning to a specific spelling, a researcher cannot assume all instances of the name in a record were the work of the person involved, that the name was consistently spelled, or that it is the one "correct" spelling.  In one family they had a family Bible kept for generations, but then discovered the person who had begun it was terrible at spelling and had misspelled words all of her life!

SOME variations of this name: VanScyoc, Van Scyoc, Van Seyeo, Van Scyre, Van Schyhock, Shyhock, Syoc, Van Lykowk, Van Schoiak, Van Sayoc, Van Schoiack, Vanscharack, Schoiack, etc.

Moving out of the New Amsterdam area, some went into Pennsylvania and Virginia, some into Ohio, some into Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Iowa, Oregon, California, Kansas, Arkansas, etc.

Lucinda Ann Oakley

Lucinda Ann Oakley VanScyoc, wife of Franklin VanScyoc, and mother of James VanScyoc

TALE OF TWO MARGARET VAN SCYOCS: Untangling VAN SCYOC, SHIRLEY and CRABBS lines

At

TALE OF TWO MARGARET VAN SCYOCS : Untangling the VANSCYOC, SHIRLEY and CRABB Lines

One the issues of family history is the invisibility of females and thus the image of Margaret Ann Van Scyoc Shirley to the left (sent to me by a descendant) clearly illustrates a woman some -intentionally or unintentionally - try to hide.  It is often at such times that issues of social status, family status, race, or gender serve to further hide identity and information.

Once Upon a Time in Fremont Co., Iowa, there were two girls named Margaret VanScyoc.   

I n Fremont County, Iowa two Margaret Van Scyocs are confused. One married a SHIRLEY and one a CRABBS.

1) Margaret A. VanScyoc, daughter of Ashbill VanScyoc and wife Sarah Ann Farley VanScyoc. She was born in abt 1846 in Mo or Ia. She married John S. Shirley, had children W.A. and Daisy.  This is proven through a record of her mother estate settlement, Sarah Ann Farley Van Scyoc Fletcher.  She is found on numerous census records for Lucas, Ks.    

There were aunts or cousins in the county named Mustard and Keeler and in 1860 when her father was missing or dead many of her siblings were with these kin while her mother prepared to give birth in June to Almira VanSycoc, her baby sister..   The 1880 Census lists her in Kansas with her husband John S. Shirley.

MEANWHILE - There was also .....

2) Margaret E. Van Scyoc, daughter of John Van Scyoc and wife Julia Winters.   This Van Scyoc and Ashbel Van Scyoc may have been related in some manner resulting in the same surname and similar first names and research is ongoing.  This Margaret, however, married according to the country biographical history of 1881,  on January 17,1869, her father's business parter, Frederick Crabbs. She is in Fremont Co., Iowa on the 1880 census.

According to the Fremont Co., Iowa Biographies of 1881:

History of Fremont County, Iowa Des Moines: Iowa Hist. Co., 1881. Sidney  Township.(Transcribed by Cay Merryman and located in full at http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~iabiog/fremont/f 1881/f1881-sid ney.htm#)

CRABBS, Frederick, P. O. Sidney, joint proprietor Cromwell House; born July 9, 1837, in Carroll county, Maryland. He there grew to manhood, employing his time in farming. Mr. Crabbs came to Cedar county, Iowa, in the year 1868, where he remained until 1872, when he came to Sidney. From the time he came to Iowa until 1874, he followed the occupation of a farmer. In 1875, formed his present partnership with Mr. Scyoc, and entered at once upon the conduct of the Cromwell House. January 17, 1869, he married Miss Margaret E. Scyoc, the daughter of his business partner, by whom he has two children: Frederick and John.

Same source:

SCYOC, John V., joint proprietor Cromwell House, P. O. Sidney; born January 9, 1816, in Perry county, Pa., where he attained the estate of manhood, and resided many years. His early life was passed as a farmer, and his educational advantages limited to the common schools of that day. He followed the occupation of a tanner for five years, and then, the four years following, engaged in railroading. In the spring of 1865 he moved to Cedar county, Iowa, following farming for one year, when, in 1866, he removed to Jefferson county, engaging in farming until the fall of 1871. He then moved to Fremont county, settling permanently at Sidney. In 1873 he rented the hotel propery, known as the Cromwell House, which he conducted until 1875. In that year he purchased the property, in copartnership with Frederick Crabbs, and these gentlemen still conduct the house. Mr. Scyoc was married June 1, 1843, to Miss Julia Winters, a native of Maryland, born August 12, 1819. They have four children living: Isaac, Margaret, Julia and Jennie, all married, and three deceased. Mr. Scyoc is a member of the Masonic fraternity; and both he and his wife are members of the M. E. church

A look at the census records clearly  indicate the CRABB/CRABBS group stayed in Fremont Co., Iowa and the SHIRLEY group remained in the Russell County, KS area. 


What may have contributed to the confusion was the fact the mother of John S. Shirley was a step-daughter to Margaret's mother Sarah Farley VanScyoc Fletcher.  Apparently the VAN SCYOCS, FLEtCHER, and FARLEY clans may have moved in sync from VA, Ohio, Indiana, and Missouri.  This may have been because they knew one another or a mere change of travel at the time.

Furthering confusing the issue is the information on the SHIRLEY ASSOCIATION WEBSITE which continues to associate the wrong Margaret VanScyoc with John Shirley. (http: //www.shirleyassociation.c om/NewShirleySite/Photos/ShirleyAssociationHistoricCollection/branch14margaretannshirleyandsonwillia mashirley.html). 

I had contacted them in 2005 about the confusion but it was not changed and continues to be found on trees. 

Marilyn A. Hudson, MLIS

4/20/2011  

Floyd L. Moore and Elizabeth VanScyoc Moore

Grandview, Carroll Co., Arkansas. The Moore family were early pioneers in the area.