Comments on Werner H Casselman UEL

Question

On 11 Dec 2023 Dave Rutherford wrote on Casselman-100:

Loyalist Directory shows Eleonora Chrysler as his wife (https://uelac.ca/loyalist-directory/detail/?wpda_search_column_id=1368) but no real sources offered. But there is apparently an author (Holmes quoted on the profile) who claims that Rachel Davy/Davis was his wife. It seems that both cannot be true. Does anyone have any additional information to help sort this out?

Answer 1

I've become convinced the Chrysler record is a red herring. I made these notes for myself on my Ancestry tree to remind myself of family relationships that tend to support the theory of a Davy wife:

Anna Margaret Saltsman b. 1718 married Wm Casselman b. 1717

Anna Maria Saltsman 1729 married Peter Davy 1724 s/o Thomas 1675 of Schenectady

Werner Casselman 1739 (cousin of William) m. Rachel Davy 1745 d/o Thomas Davy 1707 of Schenectady (brother of the aforementioned Peter)

Link to my tree if you care to have a look:

https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/11526156/person/302113369997/facts

I see some possible DNA clues, but without investigation, I can't claim my 4-6th c match to someone who has Werner Casselman in his tree is proof that Werner married Rachel Davy.

Comments

Hi Sharon,

I see that your tree mentions the Salrtsman/Davy/Casselman marriage alliances but there are no sources.

Have you found any records for these marriages?

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There are no marriage records for Anna Margaret Saltsman and her sister Anna Maria Saltsman that I have found, if that's what you mean by "no sources". Their marriages are based on the baptism records of their children, and those baptism records are fully documented on my tree. If the record is in the Ancestry database, it will show up under Sources. If the record is not in the Ancestry database, I have listed the citation in the timeline, labeled Baptism or possibly Church Record.

The marriage of Werner Casselman to Rachel Davis/Davy is unproven. Even the name itself is made up, but I have accepted it as a sort of straw man, so that I can have a profile for the wife of Werner Casselmen to discuss with other researchers.

As for DNA, a Canadian research partner is a direct descendant of Werner's daughter Rachel and says she has zero Chrysler matches. Thinking about you this morning, I've added a couple of weblinks, found by my Canadian colleague, to my profile for Rachel - records that carry the names Neltie, Cornelia and Eleonora.  

https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/11526156/person/302113367945/facts

If you don't have an Ancestry subscription and can't open records I have attached to my profiles in Ancestry, you can contact me at [email deleted] and I will endeavor to give you more information.

The evidence for Werner Casselman's marriage remains unsatisfactory.

Thx, Sharon

Answer 2

The link on Eleonora Chrysler's page to Find-a-Grave goes to a page for Rachel Eleanora Neetje Davis, although it also mentions Eleonara Chrysler. Unfortunately, there is no picture. The death dates given for the two women are the same.

I have written to the Ontario genealogist for the Loyalist Association to see what documentation they have. But bear in mind their objective is to prove loyalists and their descendants, rather than their spouses.

Comments

Thanks Nick. Let us know if they have anything. I'm not familiar with the Davis/Davy line, but the Chrysler's had a significant presence in early Upper Canada. One would think that if there was a Chrysler involved, there should be some sort of record somewhere.

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Thanks. I found Leonora Catherina Kreisler in a Chrysler family tree but only her parentage and birth. There is a baptismal record for her in a Dutch Reformed Church NY for 24 Dec 1743.

Perhaps she died and Werner re-married and based on the similarity of names, family tree creators have used the birth and death dates of the two women.