Gapinski-Eaton-Martin-Huntley

My name is William James HALOUPEK, and I was born 5 Apr 1956 in Des Moines, Iowa. I was adopted at age 6 months, and I didn't know much about my birth parents, before 2011. The adoption papers say that my birth name is Gary Lee GAPINSKI.

Starting about 2008, I have researched the ancestry of my adoptive parents, Jack HALOUPEK and Lois POSEKANY. Their ancestors came from Bohemia and Germany, from 1852 to 1892. See Bill's Genealogy site for the HALOUPEK/POSEKANY ancestry.

This GAPINSKI site covers my biological ancestry, which comes mostly from the British Isles, with some from Germany and Poland. Some were in America as early as 1630, and the last, a great-grandfather, in 1892.

My birth certificate gives my birth name as Gary Lee GAPINSKI. Not having much to go on, in 2009 I had DNA testing done by the Genographic Project (from National Geographic) and in 2011 a test with AncestryDNA (from Ancestry.com). A summary of the results is on my DNA Results page.

I called the Iowa Children's Home Society in 2013. Apparently, Iowa has passed a privacy law, so I can only get them to tell me general results. What little I know about my birth parents is on my Birth Mother page.

AncestryDNA gave me several close matches (distant cousins), with more coming in every day, and some have posted their public member trees, so I was able to identify several probable ancestors. Working forward in time, I eventually found my 4 grandparents, with high confidence. Now I think I have identified my birth parents. One of them may be still living, so I won't give their names. In general, I try to avoid posting much personal information about anyone still living, even if obtained from public sources.

The next 4 charts show the ancestry of each of my (biological) grandparents. There is a page on this site for the family of each male in the charts. (Sorry about the patriarchal organization. It is easiest.)

Note on the format: I try to make my webpages look good on both wide and narrow screens. I've found that the screen size affects the ratio of font size to image size. If the font appears too large or too small, try zooming in or out. If you're looking at this site on a phone, I don't know what to tell you!

The known ancestral lines of William Ezra MARTIN had all been in America since before the American Revolution, although very few can be traced before 1750 with any confidence. Some were Cherokee, and lived in Old Cherokee Nation. Others lived in VA and SC, and moved into DeKalb County, GA, and later moved west, into AL and AR.

The MARTIN/MERTEN line, which is my paternal line, with paternal haplogroup I-P109, goes back to Merten of Ferndorf, who was born about 1505. Some of the links in this chain are based on slim evidence, but the line appears to lead from Stephen MARTIN to his great-grandfather, the immigrant from Germany, Johann Jost MERTEN, who became John Joseph MARTIN in America. He was one of the original settlers in the Germanna Colony, in 1714 VA. His ancestry well-established, back to his 4g-grandfather, Merten of Ferndorf.

Sarah CROWLEY may have been the child or niece of James CROWLEY and Dorcas SMITH, of Oglethorpe County, GA.

The SPRUILL line goes back several more generations, and undoubtedly traces back to Dr. Godfrey SPRUILL (1718-1760) of Tyrrell County, SC, but I'm not sure of the exact lineage. The parents of James T SPRUILL were Stephen SPRUILL and Margarett LORD. I haven't found Margarett's parents, but James' parents were probably William SPRUILL and Elizabeth ROBERGSON.

The parents and grandparents of Almeda ADAMS moved from SC and NC to GA in the decades after the American Revolution, roughly 1790 to 1820. Records are sparse, and little is known before 1820. Almeda's parents were Salathiel ADAMS and Sarah HARRIS. The parents of Salathiel were Thomas ADAMS and Milly MEDCALF. Almost nothing is known about Thomas ADAMS. The parents of Milly MEDCALF were William MEDCALF and Amelia, probably a Native American. William MEDCALF was once thought to have come from MD, but more recent work has traced his roots back to SC, and to DE before that. The parents of Sarah HARRIS were Joseph HARRIS and Elizabeth CRIBB, both of whom have been the subject of much research. Joseph HARRIS is somehow connected to the descendants of Charles HARRIS, b. about 1600 in Scotland.

William BOWERS was born about 1787 in VA. Nothing else is known about his life until he married Sabra CHRISTIE in Newton County, AR in 1842. His parents may have been Andrew Jackson BOWERS and Catherine CAMPBELL.

Sabra CHRISTIE was more than half Cherokee Indian. She traveled on the Trail of Tears, from the Old Cherokee Nation to AR. Her parents were William CHRISTIE and Mary WAH-LEE. The parents of William were Edward "Ned" CHRISTIE and Sallie PEAK. (Ned's nephew and namesake was the famous Cherokee outlaw and hero, Ned CHRISTIE.) The parents of Ned were "Trader" John CHRISTIE and Hikatiyah "ONI".

William ALLEN was born about 1822 in AL, probably near what later became the city of Birmingham. Nothing is known about his parents or siblings. He first appeared in Itawamba County, MS when he married Matilda Caroline NORWOOD in 1848. They later moved to Logan County, AR.

The parents of Matilda Caroline NORWOOD were probably Theophilus NORWOOD and Sally Caroline BROWN. I have found Theophilus' possible parents and paternal grandparents, but the evidence is slim.

The ancestry of Isel HUNTLEY is varied. The lines that I've been able to trace to before 1750 were in early New England, and a few are traced to England.

Enoch HUNTLEY's parents were Benjamin HUNTLEY and Bethia DURAN. Almost nothing is known about Bethia. However, the HUNTLEY ancestry goes back 5 more generations, to my 8g-grandparents, John and Jane HUNTLEY, Henry and Sarah CHAMPION, and Balthasar and Alice DE WOLF, all of whom immigrated from England to New England in 1645-7. Several generations of HUNTLEYs lived in early Lyme, CT.

The parents of Betsey BURGESS were Dennis BURGESS and Betsey, last name unknown. Dennis was born about 1757 in NY, and moved to VT after the revolution, and then to Ontario, Canada about 1796. His parents may have been Jacob BURGESS and Ruth WOOD, of Lanesborough, MA.

Horace BARTLETT was the son of Jacob BARTLETT and Patience JUDEVINE, of Charlestown, Cheshire, NH. Nothing more is known about Jacob BARTLETT, but I have traced the ancestry of Patience JUDEVINE back several more generations, especially on her maternal side. Her parents were William JUDEVINE and Patience GROUT, who had come to NH from MA. William's parents were Cornelius JUDEVINE and Jane ROGERS. Cornelius was born about 1710 in St. Lawrence, Thanet, County Kent, England, and came to Boston, MA in the mid 1720s, possibly with his father and siblings. The parents of Patience GROUT were Col. John GROUT and Joanna BOYNTON. Col. John GROUT had grandparents and great-grandparents who had come from England and settled in Middlesex County, MA. Joanna BOYNTON also had 4 or 5 generations of ancestors who had come from England and settled in Rowley, Essex County, MA.

The parents of Sally WOODRUFF/WOODWORTH were Elijah and Betsey WOODWORTH, of Royalton, Niagara County, NY.

Jacob FISHER was born about 1801 in KY, and moved to IN by 1830. I haven't found any records of him before 1830.

Juliana Asia BOYD was a daughter of John BOYD Jr and Ann Nancy MARTIN, who had moved to KY from VA about 1796. John's parents were John BOYD Sr and Sarah GRYFYTH, of Martinsburg, VA (now WV). John BOYD Sr is probably related to the BOYDs of Franklin County, PA. It is said that all BOYDs in America descend from Clan BOYD, based in Ayreshire, Scotland.

Andrew Joseph KELLER and Phebe BENTLEY lived in Lincoln County, NC. Very little is known about them.

I was stuck on Fred A. GAPINSKI for a long time, and finally realized that he went by his middle name, Albert, when he was young. So I was able to find his parents and siblings, and names of grandparents in Poland. Fred's father, John GAPINSKI, came to America in 1892, and was my most recent immigrant ancestor. I've tried to connect the various GAPINSKI families in the US.

Louisa HAUSLEIN's parents were Fritz HAUSLEIN and Maria BAUERS. The records regarding their birthplaces are inconsistent. They lived in Kane County, IL and both died young, leaving their children orphaned.

Fritz HAUSLEIN's mother was Sophia M. F. SASS born 1828 in Boddin, Mecklenburg, Germany. His father's name was Johann AWE. Sophia came to America, possibly with Fritz, and married Edidus "Philip" HAUSLEIN. Fritz was adopted by Philip HAUSLEIN. So I'm not genetically related to the HAUSLEINs, except for the descendants of Sophia and Philip.

The ancestry of Dora EATON all comes from the British Isles, as far as I can tell. Some of the lines go back to early colonial America, and others came to America more recently.

James EATON was born about 1798 in NH. As for his parents and siblings, all we know is that David, James and Reuben EATON were among the first settlers around Dimmick Hill, near the border between Maine and Chenango Town(ship)s, Broome County, NY, well before 1830.

The Sara LEE ancestry can be extended several more generations, with branches in early colonial New England, especially Dunstable and Westfield, MA, and extending into England. All of her gg-grandparents were born in New England. Her parents were Nathaniel LEE and Sarah FRENCH.

Levi SEWARD was born 1793 in Broome County, NY, but his ancestors came from Western MA, and some from CT before MA. His parents were Jedediah SEWARD and Martha SMITH. Jedediah's gg-grandfather was Lieut. William SEWARD, an early immigrant in Guilford, New Haven, CT.

Harriet SPENCER was born 1809 in NY, daughter of Elisha SPENCER and Thankful SMITH. No known relation to the SPENCERs of Hartford, CT, who appear in the ancestry of Sara LEE.

William STURGES lived his entire life in Lincolnshire, England. His parents were Emanuel STURGES and Mary TWELL. I have found 6 of William's g-grandparents in Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire.

The parents of Elizabeth MARTIN were John MARTIN and Esther LANE, of Lincolnshire, England. No known relation to the other MARTIN branches in my tree.

Margaret/Mary SHARKEY/SHANCRE/THANCRE was born Jan 1837 in Ireland. Nothing seems to be known for certain about her before 24 Apr 1860, when she married Emanuel STURGESS, in DeKalb County, IL. She may be the Margarita SHARKEY who was baptized on 2 Feb 1837 in Bray, Wicklow, Ireland, child of Edvardi SHARKEY and Bridgida LEE. She may also be the Margarita SHARKEY who married Thomas KENNEDY on 13 Feb 1855. Her first child was John KENNEDY. She is in my maternal line, so she should have maternal haplogroup H3as.

DNA Matches

The AncestryDNA results included several close matches, to whom I could send messages, through their message system. There were are now 2 possible 2nd cousins, 9 possible 3rd cousins, 388 possible 4th cousins, and many more distant cousins. Many of these people have posted their ancestry trees, in hopes of finding their distant relatives. I don't have much to offer them in kind, but I am starting to gather some information. I also uploaded my data to FTDNA and GEDmatch, and have found many more close matches, and I'm learning to use the chromosome browsers.

I was sidetracked several times by the DNA Circles on AncestryDNA. As a result, I have pages on BALDWIN, GAMACHE, G'SELL, KERN, MORGAN, WEBSTER and WRIGHT covering families that are not in my direct line. I don't want to delete these, because I did so much work on them, and they might be useful to someone.

Using DNA Circles, and my own triangulation, I first identified several probable ancestors, mostly people born between about 1750 and 1850. My research started with these individuals, and worked backward in time to find origins, and forward in time to find connections, eventually leading to my grandparents, and then my parents and siblings. I'm still not certain about the parents!

About 80% of my close matches were on the MARTIN/HUNTLEY side, and at first I suspected that my biological parents were related! But there is another side - the GAPINSKI/EATON side - and I guess that fewer relatives on that side have tested.

I started working on my adopted parents' ancestry in about 2008. All of those ancestors came to the US in the last half of the 19th Century, mostly from Bohemia, although one line came from Schleswig-Holstein, and another from western Poland, then part of Prussia. About 100 years ago, all my great-grandparents lived within about 10 miles of Chelsea, Iowa. So I spent a lot of time researching Central European history, and reading German and Czech.

In 2014 I had a DNA test and started researching my biological history. See the Birth Mother page and the DNA page. This ancestry has been much different from my adopted ancestry. Every line that I have been able to trace has gone back into the earliest colonial settlements of the US and Canada. Most came from England and Scotland, with one line from western Germany. The Gapinski name comes from Poland, and there is still a mysterious hint of Scandinavian ancestry in my DNA that has not shown up in my close matches.

This is a supplement to my main genealogy page, which is about the ancestors of my adopted parents, who I always considered my "real" parents!

This page was last updated on 13 Nov 2022. Contact haloupek at gmail dot com.