Wyckoff - Irvin - Olin Family History
"When a man's talk is of his ancestors, the best of his family is underground. But that is not true when introspect teaches humility, and stirs emulation." Fannie Williams Irvin--
The framework of this site is a family tree containing over 1100 individuals going back to the earliest colonial times and before. Click on the "Search" or "Find" tab at the top of the page and enter a name to call up the facts about that individual, and then use the various tabs to display ancestors, descendants and family relationships, including how you are related to anyone else. Use the "Media" drop down menu to explore hundreds of items - photos, documents, stories, heirlooms, etc. and the individuals to whom they are linked. The letter "I," "F" or "S" followed by a number is the ID number for a specific individual, family or source, respectively. The TNG software behind this site is very feature-rich. Take time to explore! Click on the green buttons for more detail, and be sure to visit the Family History Pages for much more content.
Genealogy is the practice of researching the facts about individuals - births, deaths, marriages, etc. and their family relationships. Family history, in our definition, goes beyond genealogy to tell the story of a family - not just the names of our ancestors, but the kind of individuals they were. What were their lives like? What legacy did they leave? We have documented sources wherever possible, but much of the content of this site is based on family tradition. In some cases modern tools such as linguistic analysis and DNA testing have upended previous assumptions, but a vivid family portrait emerges nevertheless. By studying this portrait, we can learn a bit about ourselves. We hope you agree.
The roots of our family tree are wide and deep. The Wyckoffs came from Marienhafe in East Frisia (now Germany) (S15), the Olins possibly from Sweden via France and England (S46), the Irvins from Scotland/Ireland, the Veils and Sechlers from Germany, the Williams from Wales, the Chapins from England and the Nixons from England via Ireland. They settled first in Colonial New England and New Amsterdam and then continued to push the frontier west through New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Vermont, New York and beyond. Collectively their stories weave a rich tapestry, replete with Native American massacres, wartime service, and success in business and commerce. Our ancestors were Pilgrims, pioneers, bankers, farmers, pastors and college trustees. They painted and wrote poetry, held public office, ran hardware stores and built tanneries and knitting mills. They were pillars of the community and shapers of the American experience, a legacy passed on to us. Explore this site and get to meet them!
The goals of this site are to: (1) Serve as a repository of materials relating to the history of certain branches of the Wyckoff, Irvin, and Olin families; (2) Make that material accessible to all members of the family; (3) Present and interpret the material in an engaging and useful manner; (4) Encourage additional contributions of material and observations; and (5) Above all, maintain and develop personal connections among family members.
Considerable effort went into pulling this website together, and more will be required to keep it updated as time goes on. One may ask, "Why bother?" There are several reasons. One is that as families scatter geographically it becomes harder to maintain the oral history that previously passed from generation to generation. And by the time most people develop an interest in their family history those of whom they might ask questions are gone. Finally, most modern homes don't have large attics for storing family "stuff" and we can't just keep passing it on!
Meet Some Family
A Unique Relationship
Present-day Wyckoffs, Olins and Fausolds are twice related! We share the same great-great grandparents (Milo H. Olin I and Mary Chapin) on one branch of the family tree, as well as the same great-grandparents (Charles H. Irvin and Fannie Williams) on another branch.
Fred C. Olin
Founded by Fred C. Olin (I1363) in 1893, the Olin Gas Engine Co. of Buffalo, NY and Titusville, PA manufactured gas engines that are prized by collectors today.
Sir Robert Irving
Sir Robert Beaufin Irving was Captain of the RMS Queen Mary and once docked the huge ship unaided during a New York City tugboat strike. He was the last Irving of Bonshaw to live in Bonshaw Tower and his death in 1954 ended an unbroken line of ownership that began in the mid 16th-Century. His successor sold the property, and today the tower is owned by a junior branch of the Irving Clan.
John Nixon
Distant relative John Nixon signed the Declaration of Independence and gave the first public reading of the sacred document from the steps of Independence Hall on July 8, 1776.
Thomas Jefferson
Keziah Foree Wyckoff (I11) used to say, "The family knew cousin Tom was a pretty smart young man, but none ever supposed he was fit to be President of the United States."
Isham Reavis, Jr.
Isham Reavis, Jr. (I299) wanted to read the law under Abraham Lincoln, but the future president advised him to take a different approach. He did, leading to 6 generations of Reavis lawyers (so far!).
Charles was killed in the Battle of Fort Donelson, and James died of fever during the Peninsula Campaign. John, William, Samuel and David served together in Company D, 106th Penn. Infantry and were wounded at Gettysburg, Savage Station and Wilderness, Cold Harbor and Petersburg, respectively. Franklin served in the Calvary.
John Olin I was 14 years old in 1678 when he was pressed (abducted and forced to serve) by a British man-o-war off the coast of Wales. When the ship reached Boston Harbor John either jumped ship or was released and made his way to East Greenwich, Rhode Island, where he took up farming and married Susannah Spencer in 1708.
In September 1775 Col. Benedict Arnold led a force of 1100 soldiers on a march from Cambridge, MA through the Maine wilderness in an attempt to capture Quebec. Sgt. William McCoy of Hendricks' Pennsylvania Riflemen was one of only 600 to survive the march, unsuccessful siege, and imprisonment. His journal is a first-hand account of the expedition.
On June 10, 1778 a band of Cayuga raiders attacked the Wyckoff farm near modern-day Williamsport, PA, killed two settlers and abducted 16-year old William. They fled north through the mountains to the Finger Lakes area of NY. After 18 months of captivity William was exchanged at Fort Stanwix. Later he returned to make his home near Canandaigua.
Alice Martin's parents are unknown; she may have been an indentured servant on the Mayflower. On July 22, 1648 Alice murdered her 4-year-old daughter Martha by slashing her neck. At trial presided over by Governor William Bradford she was found guilty and hanged at once. The motive for the crime remains unknown, but colonial life could be brutally hard and depressing. Did Alice just "snap?" (S20)
Founded by R. T. Tuttle, Truman & M.H. Olin, and J.N. Wyckoff, the Wyckoff Tuttle Olin Reaper Works employed 70 men, produced 1200 machines, and did $200,000 worth of business annually. The Tuttles provided financing, the Olins business acumen, and Wyckoffs the mechanical know-how. An 1881 Perry Reaper is in the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation.
Joseph Lewis Wyckoff and wife Minnie were staying at the Palace Hotel (pictured, subsequently destroyed by fire) in San Francisco the night of April 13, 1906 when the famous earthquake struck. They escaped safely, but spent the next few nights sleeping in the Odd Fellows Cemetery in a tent made of blankets to avoid the fires sweeping the city.
Robert Covenhoven fought in the Revolutionary War battles of Trenton and Princeton and later was a renowned guide and scout who carried a fearsome "scalping knife" with 9 notches in the handle. It was Captain Berry's refusal to take Robert's advice which led to the deadly ambush on June 10, 1778 when Robert's future brother-in-law William Wyckoff was taken prisoner.
Thomas Roberts was a first settler in Dover Colony (later NH) and its last governor before it became part of Massachusetts. Deacon Samuel Chapin was a founder of Springfield, MA, as was Rev. John Lothrop in Barnstable, MA. Edward Nixon was the second male child born in Indiana, PA. William Wyckoff and Daniel Gates (Hopewell, NY) and John Olin (Perry, NY) were pioneer settlers.
On May 31, 1889, a private dam on the Conemaugh River gave way, sending a volume of water equal to the Mississippi downstream toward Johnstown, PA at a speed of 40 mph. 2,208 people died; bodies were found as far away as Cincinnati and as late as 1911. Robert Nixon lost his entire family: wife Barbara and children Emma (16), Edward (9) and Fannie (4).
On July 9, 1757 a group of settlers taking a lunch break from harvesting grain on the homestead of Abraham Sechler near present-day Allentown, PA were attacked by a band of nine Native Americans. Ten settlers were killed. Abraham's wife Barbara was scalped and a child killed in the yard of their home.
16 year-old Pieter sailed from Amsterdam in 1636 aboard the Rensselaerswyck, arrived at Kiliaen van Rensselaer's patroonship near present-day Albany on April 7, 1637, and spent the next 6 years there laboring as an indentured servant. After marrying Grietje van Ness he moved to New Amersfoort (Brooklyn), adopted the surname Wyckoff, and became a prominent citizen.
As a daredevil youngster in Big Run, PA, he rode his sled under a passing train. In WWI he joined the Lafayette Flying Corps and was awarded France's Croix de Guerre with three Palms and the Medaille Militaire for downing three enemy aircraft. He once flew his fighter plane sideways through the Arc de Triumphe, and in 1929 attempted to set a world record for sustained flight.
On September 26, 1777, prior to the important Battle of Germantown, General George Washington made his headquarters at the home of Henry Keeley on Perkiomen Creek near present-day Schwenksville, Pennsylvania. (S48, p1023)
When David Irvin refused to divulge the secrets of Masonry to his wife Ann Maria Sechler she locked his clothes in a chest. He came home, broke the lock, went to Lodge, and then left home for good. He later returned to try and help support their son, but was refused and he was never heard from again. His father-in-law left him 25 cents in his will.
In June of 1824 Ruth Olin left Vermont with 4 children to rejoin husband Ezra and their older boys near Perry, NY. They took an Erie Canal packet boat from Albany to Rochester and then, not wanting to wait for a wagon, walked the 40 miles to Perry, arriving at the end of the second day. Mary Ann (age 12) remained behind where she was retrieved 2 weeks later, waiting anxiously by the side of the road.
Built between 1639 and 1641, Pieter Claesen Wyckoff's house in Brooklyn is the oldest building in New York State and a National Historic Landmark.
Alden House National Historic Site is part of the original property granted to Mayflower passengers John Alden and Priscilla Mullins in 1627 and home to generations of their descendants.
First constructed about 1250 and rebuilt in 1757, this combination house/barn was home to young Pieter Claesen. After he emigrated to New Amsterdam in 1637 he took the name, which means "Settlement on a Bay," for his surname. It burned in 1974.
This massive hearth (pictured in 1914) must have been the center of activity in the homestead Johannes and Anna Sechler built in 1750 in Lynn Township, near Allentown, PA.
Built by Milo H. Olin and his wife Mary Chapin Olin in 1882, this magnificent house was home to several generations of the family. It was sold in 1934, became an inn, and burned in 1963.
Built between 1535 and 1550, Bonshaw Tower is a fine example of a Scottish Border Keep. Its thick walls walls and strategic height above the Kirtle Water helped Clan Irving protect their ally Robert the Bruce, King of Scots, from the invading English.
Our Top Surnames
In the word cloud below, the size of the font for each name is indicative of the number of times that particular surname appears in our family tree. Click on a name for a list of the individuals.
