Reaching Out

 

Introduction

Thank you for visiting our site and welcome.

We have been working on the family history for a number of years; however, there are still gaps in our knowledge.  This site is established in the hope that family members might contribute to these lapses as well as learn family history that may be unknown to them.

An effort has been made to assure information is correct but we realize there may be some errors.  As family historians know, there are many iterations of the family name in historical records including Wanzer, Wonzo, Wanser, Wamzel, and Wango to name a few.   We welcome your input on any content on this site.  Our goal is to publish an accurate family history.

We will attempt to make weekly posts giving the history of individual ancestors starting with the first known generation.  No information about living family members will be included on this site.

The picture above was taken some time in the early 1920’s.  Pictured in the back row are:  William Andrew Wanzo, Nettie Wanzo, Adelia Wanzo, Elvin H. Wanzo, and Bertha Wanzo who are all children of William Clark Wanzo, seated in the front row.  He is the son of William and Jane Wanzo.

Currently we can trace the Wanzo family back to William Wanzo (1801 – 1876). We have separate records that place his birth both in Virginia and Maryland. His birthdate is known from the tombstone in Union Ridge Cemetery in Rutland Ohio.

It is likely that William, with his immediate and extended family, arrived in Ohio in 1862 as a refugee as a result of Lightburn’s Retreat. We have learned from military records, many of the family were free persons of color working as miners in Malden, (Virginia/West Virginia) before the Civil War. A mass migration of Union loyalists, black and white, occurred when Confederate soldiers swept through the Kanawha Valley.  Soon after arriving in Ohio, the young men in the family enlisted in the United States Colored Troops.

Third Generation: Ellen Wanzo

Thomas Yancy/Yancey

Thomas Yancy/Yancey was born in 1835 in Virginia. He married Ellen Wanzo in 1854.  We do not know his date of death.

Lucy Yancy/Yancey

hen Lucy Yancy/Yancey was born in 1865 in West Virginia, her father, Thomas, was 30, and her mother, Ellen, was 29. She had ten siblings. She died as a child on November 30, 1870, in Kanawha City, West Virginia.

Martha Yancy/Yancey

When Martha Yancy /Yancey was born on June 10, 1870, in London, West Virginia, her father, Thomas, was 35, and her mother, Ellen, was 34. We don’t know if she married, had children, or when she died.

Mary Yancy/Yancey

When Mary Yancy/Yancey was born in November 1870 in West Virginia, her father, Thomas, was 35, and her mother, Ellen, was 34.  She died as an infant on December 12, 1870, in Kanawha City, West Virginia, within a year of her birth.

Nettie Yancy/Yancey

When Nettie Yancy/Yancey was born in 1870 in West Virginia, her father, Thomas, was 35, and her mother, Ellen, was 34. She married Sheridan Triplet on May 6, 1901, in her hometown. They had one child during their marriage. She died on November 20, 1939, in Ironton, Ohio, at the age of 69.

Marrier Yancy/Yancey

When Marier Yancy/Yancey was born in 1873 in West Virginia,  father, Thomas, was 38 and their mother, Ellen, was 37.  We have no record of marriage, children, or date of death.

Emma Yancy/Yancey

When Emma Yancy/Yancey was born in 1875 in West Virginia, her father, Thomas, was 40, and her mother, Ellen, was 39.  We have no record of marriage, children, or date of death.

William Yancy/Yancey

When William Yancy/Yancey was born on November 15, 1882, in Virginia, his father, Thomas, was 47 and his mother, Ellen, was 46. He married Francis Leftbridge on December 18, 1902, in West Virginia. He died on October 2, 1950, in Muhlenberg, Kentucky, at the age of 67.  We have no record of any children.

June Yancy/Yancey

When June Yancy/Yancey was born in 1882 in West Virginia, his father, Thomas, was 47 and his mother, Ellen, was 46.  We have no record of marriage, children, or date of death.

Ida Yancy/Yancey

When Ida Yancy/Yancey was born on February 2, 1884, in Malden, West Virginia, her father, Thomas, was 49, and her mother, Ellen, was 48. She married George E. Roten on March 9, 1899. They had two children during their marriage. She died on May 18, 1958, in Wheeling, West Virginia, at the age of 74.

James Garfield Yancy/Yancey

When James Garfield Yancy/Yancey was born on October 5, 1884, in Malden, West Virginia, his father, Thomas, was 49 and his mother, Ellen, was 48. He married Mabel Kinney on November 20, 1912, in Fayette, West Virginia. He died on July 9, 1954, in Bellaire, Ohio, at the age of 69.  We have no record of children.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Second Generation

Henry Wanzo

When Henry Wanzo was born in 1835 in Virginia, his father, William, was 34 and his mother, Jane, was 25.  He served in the United States Colored Troops during the Civil War.  He died on June 11, 1914, in Meigs, Ohio, having lived a long life of 79 years, and was buried in Rutland, Ohio. We have no record of any marriages or children.

Ellen Wanzo

When Ellen Wanzo was born in 1836 in Virginia, her father, William, was 35, and her mother, Jane, was 26. She married Thomas Yancy (Yancey) in 1854. They had 11 children in 21 years. She died on January 26, 1925, in Boomer, West Virginia, at the age of 89.

Benjamin Wanzo

When Benjamin Wanzo was born in 1844 in West Virginia, his father, William, was 43 and his mother, Jane, was 34. He served in the Civil War in the US Colored Troops.  Delaware, Ohio is where is mustered in at age 20.  He mustered out in 1865 in Nashville, Tenn.  He had one son and one daughter between 1876 and 1878. He died on August 14, 1893, in Rutland, Ohio, at the age of 49.

Nancy Wanzo

When Nancy Wanzo was born in 1846 in West Virginia, her father, William, was 45, and her mother, Jane, was 36. She had one daughter with Granville Richards in 1868. We have not been able to locate her date of death.

George Wanzo

When George Wanzo was born about 1859, in West Virginia, his father, William, was 58 and his mother, Jane, was 49. He married Sophia Toliver on October 11, 1880. They had one child during their marriage.   He worked as a boatman. He died by drowning on November 5, 1896, while working on a boat in Cincinnati, Ohio, at the age of 37.

Susan Wanzo

When Susan Wanzo was born in 1860 in West Virginia, her father, William, was 59, and her mother, Jane, was 50.   The last record we have on Susan is the 1870 Census when she was 10 years old.  No death record has been found.

Walter Wanzo

When Walter Wanzo was born in 1865 in West Virginia, his father, William, was 64 and his mother, Jane, was 55.  Walter may have possiblely been a grandchild given Jane’s age when he was born.  . He died on August 29, 1936, in Meigs, Ohio, at the age of 71.  As far as we know he never married or had any children.

Josephine Wanzo

When Josephine Wanzo was born in 1868 in Ohio, her father, William, was 67, and her mother, Jane, was 58. She married James Bryant in 1892. They had two children during their marriage. She died on October 14, 1918, at the age of 50.

William Clark Wanzo

When William Clark Wanzo was born on December 20, 1834, in Virginia, his father, William, was 33 and his mother, Jane, was 24. He married Lucy Cook on December 27, 1856, in Malden, Virginia. They had ten children in 22 years. He died on October 17, 1927, in Rutland, Ohio, at the age of 92, and was buried there.

 

 

 

 

First Generation: William Wanzo

William Wanzo and Jane Wiley Wanzo

William Wanzo was born in 1801 in  Virginia (Note:  We have one record that indicates he was born in Maryland). He had five sons and four daughters with Jane Wiley between 1834 and 1868. He died on April 16, 1876, having lived a long life of 75 years.  Currently we have very little information on either of them.  Jane outlived her husband by over twenty years.

Jane Wiley was born in 1810 in Virginia.   She became blind in her later years and was cared for by her sons.  She died on April 19, 1898, having lived a long life of 88 years.