Stuck at a Brick Wall - Portrait of Our Peter Wormuth

Brick Wall - A "brick wall" ancestor is one that you are having difficulty finding; or one who's the last in a branch where you cannot identify parents or records or follow geographically any further back.  It's where you're stuck.  Often, there are a variety of inconsistencies in information.  It becomes more and more difficult to follow an ancestor the further back in time their life was because records are fewer and more messy and there were often mistakes in records.

Peter Wormuth:  a portrait of an ancestor.  The link is to his profile @ WikiTree.

Peter Wormuth is our furthest back ancestor in our branch of that family.

There is another Peter Wormuth that we believe we are related to.  There are actually quite a few Peter Wormuths in the family.

So, I'll begin with what we think we know about Peter and try to sketch his life from beginning to end.

Peter was one of my maternal 3rd great grandfathers.

According to calculations from various censuses, Peter was born about 1788.  Where he was born is still in question.

Before 1850, only the names of the Heads of Household were recorded on the censuses.  The rest of the people in the household are recorded as male or female of various age ranges.  From 1850 on, the names of everyone in the house was recorded.

Each census also had some unique bits of information.  There are inconsistencies in census information; some people seemed to be iffy about their age, for instance.

There were federal censuses beginning in 1790 and every 10 years since.  In addition, some states had state censuses and there were special censuses in various places since before the country was established.  New York State had state censuses every 10 years on the 5th year, beginning in 1825 with a change of date with the 1885 census which was done in 1892 and back on schedule with the 1905, 1915 and 1925 when they stopped.  Censuses are expensive projects to accomplish.  This means that, for people who lived in New York, they can be followed every 5 years.

Here, I'm going to do a time line for Peter, from census data and a few other sources:

1862, May 16 - Peter died in Jeffersonville, Sullivan County, NY; from his headstone.

buried in the Wormuth family cemetery on the land that Peter owned in Callicoon, NY.  The headstone is leaning against a tree there, now broken.  We found 10 additional grave stones there but there may be more.

1860 US Census, living in Callicoon, Sullivan County, NY.

Peter Wormouth, age 72, born NY,
Grace, age 40, born England, 
James H., age 8, born NY,
Richard, age 1, born NY.

Peter's son, Joseph also appears on this census on the same page.  What we've learned that Peter either gave or sold parcels of his land to some of his sons who also lived on the original land in Callicoon.  Sons Stephen, Peter, Jr., and John on the next page of that census.

1855 New York State Census, living in Callicoon, Sullivan County, NY.

Peter, age 66, farmer, born in Montgomery County, owned his land, lived there 27 years at the time of that census, married:
Grace, his wife, age 38, born in England, lived there 6 years.
Eliza A, daughter, age 5, born in Sullivan County.
James H., son, age 2, born in Sullivan County.
Mary C., daughter, age  1, born in Sullivan County. 

1850 US Census, living in Callicoon, Sullivan County, NY.

Peter, age 60, farmer, born New York

Mary, wife, (undoubtedly Grace), age 30, born NY, 

Elizabeth, daughter, age 1 month, born NY.

1849, August 31, Sullivan Whig newspaper:  marriage listing:  Peter Wormuth of Callicoon to Grace Ramsey, widow of James Ramsey of Bethel.

NOTES:  So, we see that Peter married Grace Ramsey in 1849.  The 1850 census says that Peter's wife was named, Mary, but his wife in 1855 was Grace.  So Maybe, Grace's middle name was Mary; people often used their middle name.

According to the 1855 New York State Census, Peter was born in Montgomery County, whether that was Montgomery County, NY or Montgomery County, PA is a question.  The 1855 NYS Census column heading for Place of Birth clearly instructs the census taker to ask:  "In what county of this State, or in what other State or Foreign Country born."  Peter's place of birth on this census is recorded as Montgomery.  But, there's also a Montgomery County in Pennsylvania.  His place of birth varies on different censuses.  Peter is also 66 on this census which means that he was born between 1788 and 1789.  It means that he should be 61 on the 1850 US Census.  Had he lived until 1900, that census would have shown a closer birth date for him.

If we follow the pattern of Peter's age from those censuses, Peter should appear on an 1840 US census, age 50.

1840 US Census, living in Liberty, Sullivan County, NY. (Callicoon was formed from Liberty in 1842, so they were living in the same place).  This is a very difficult census to read; very faded.

Peter Wormuth, age 50-60, 
one male, 10-15,
2 males, 15-20,
2 males, 20-30
wife, 50-60; this was before he married Grace,
1 female, 10-15,
1 female 15-20,
1 female, 20-30.

1830 US Census, living in Liberty, Sullivan County, NY.

Peter Womurth, age 30-40, 

one male under 5,

2 males, 5-10,

1 male, 10-15,

1 male, 15-20,

wife, age 30-40,

1 female under 5,

2 females, 5-10.

Then things get interesting and confusing.  The 1855 census says Peter and his family lived on his land in Callicoon/Liberty for 27 years.  Assuming that's accurate, that meant they lived there since about 1828.  Assuming Peter began his own family in his 20s, that would be in the 1820s, but where.  

There is no 1825 NYS census found for Sullivan County.  Peter would have been 30 on the 1820 US Census.

The 1820 US census has no headings to indicate what the data means but forms have been created to clarify that (columns to identify individuals:

Name    Males    Males    Males    Males    Males    Males    Females    Females    Females    Females    

             under 10    10-16    16-18    16-26    26-45    45 up    und 10        10-16        16-26        26-45

                                                                                                 Females

                                                                                                    45 up

1820 US Census, living in Bainbridge, Chenango County, NY?

Peter Wormuth, age 45 or older, (is this our Peter's father?)

2 or 3 males, 10-16,

wife?, age 26-45,

1 female, 10-16.

and, next page, below:

Peter Wormouth, age 26-45, (is this our Peter?)

2 males, 10-16,

wife?, age 16-26,

1 female, 10-16.

Then, nothing.  But, there are name variants...:  Wormuth, Wormouth, Wormoeth, Warmuth, Warmouth, Warmoeth, Wermuth, Wermouth, Wormwood, Wolgemuth, Wohlgemuth, etc.  There are quite a lot of variations of the spelling because there weren't formalized spelling rules until the mid-1800s; and spelling varied depending on the original language:  English, German, Polish, etc.

The next census would be 1810. Peter would have been about 20 then.  He might have started his own family by then or he might have still been with this parents.  There are hundreds of possibilities, just in the State of New York.  Here are a few:

1810 US Census:

Mathew Wormwood, living in Johnstown, Montgomery County, NY, age 45 and older, with a son age 16-35.

Peter Wormwood, living in Canajoharie, Montgomery County, NY, age 45 and older, with a son age 16-25.

I found one Wormwood in 1810 in Pennsylvania but he didn't have a son the right age and he wasn't the right age.

Were either of these our Peter's father?  We don't know.

So, assuming Peter was born around 1788/1789, he would have appeared on the 1790 US census as a "free white male under 16 years." which is one of the headings on that census; and it would show that after the name of his father, whoever that may be.

This is where I stop - for now.

News

 Our thanks to Elyssa Olsen (Ihlefeldt) who guided us to the Wormuth family cemetery in Callicoon on Saturday, July 19, 2025.

We found it!  Actually her mom, Donna, found it a while ago.  Remember this photo?

Quite a few of us have a copy of this photo now.  Donna took this picture of our Peter Wormuth's headstone.  It's there, at the Wormuth family cemetery.  That was then/this is it today.  

broken.  We're going to try to have it repaired.  That's Elyssa, holding it.

Our thanks to Dylan and Olivia Olsen, Elyssa's kids, for cleaning the stone.

We had a great time; Elyssa, her kids, cousin Les Wormuth and me.

There are about 10 stones in the cemetery all clustered around the tree; the rest have no writing on them.  It's all overgrown.

I'm hoping the new owner will allow us to maintain the cemetery. It may take time to establish a relationship so be patient while we work on this.  

Hurray!!!

Name Variants

 Name variants in genealogy and family history research are a headache.  It means that you have to search for each of the variant spellings of a surname in every resource.  It takes time.  

At WikiTree, the preference, and expectation, is that there is one correct surname, but that just isn't true, and, in practice, what's used is the "last name at birth".  Unhappily, even that is often inaccurate.  Many of my ancestors were illiterate, rural people who neither read, nor wrote.  Reading and writing were not taught to many people for generations.  In addition, official records of births, marriages and deaths didn't begin until about 1881 and, even then, not everyone complied with registration.  Many babies were born at home.  Common law marriage was common.  People died at home and were buried on their own land.  The names written in documents were not written by the person themselves but by others who wrote what they heard and often the name is written differently within the same document.

Spelling had no "rules" until the mid-1800s and, again, even then, spelling rules evolved and "improved".  So, it's no wonder that names can have many variant spellings.

Add to that the mass of immigrants with languages in different scripts, like German, and variants are multiplied.  The history of any language can be very complex and confusing.  My given name, Lorraine, is a very modern spelling and is, apparently, derived from Lothairingen or Lothair.  Now tell me how Lothair became Lorraine.

Many variant spellings are just that, differences of one or two letters because spelling was inexact for generations:  Wormuth, Wormouth.  Individuals who wrote also had preferences that might differ from those of relatives.  My birth surname, O'Dell, alternates within my own family between Odell and O'Dell.  My mother's birth surname, Beismer, is a very modern spelling that has only existed for a few generations and that family line has as many as 52 reported variant spellings, some of them still in use.

So, just a few thoughts about the annoyance of surname variant spellings.  We keep finding new ones for Wormuth.

Slow Progress

Progress is slow, if I'm conscientious and complete, at least, the basic information for each individual.

I'm currently moving forward from Peter and Harriet Wormuth and his other marriages, making sure that each person in the family are given profiles @ WikiTree and added to the Study.  Then, the marriages and children of each individual is added and another generation is completed.  

Right now, I'm working on Joseph Wormuth's family, having added all his children.  I'm now researching each of his children's families; the spouses and children.  I will then move on to the families of Joseph's brothers: John, Stephen and Peter, Jr's.; then, on to his half brother's families.

They all had a lot of children back then so that's a lot of profiles, most of which haven't been created yet.

BTW, I'm going to do a little Study, at some point, about the number of children that some of the women had and how old they were when they gave birth to their last child.  I'm thankful that changes happened.

I have a checklist for each profile I create @ WikiTree.  Each piece of the profile is not always found which is frustrating and I try to take the time to look in as many places as possible.  One of the most difficult things about researching the Wormuth family branches is that so many individuals in the family were named the same in different branches of the family.  Some have the same middle names so there may be multiple people within OUR branch of the Wormuths with the exact same name.  It makes research more time consuming because I have to spend more time sorting out which Peter or Joseph or Leon I'm finding.

What you can expect to see in most of my WikiTree profiles, if found:

• Birth, marriage and death dates and places.
• Place of burial.
• Parents
• Children
• A photo.
• Military service.
• Any unusual information found.
• Any memories discovered.

Any of you reading this, can join WikiTree and the Study, if you want.  Any of you can send me information and photos, and I will include them.

Watch the Count on the right.

Leave a comment, if you visit and read this.  Thank you.

Latest News

 I've added a Study Count to the right hand column so you can quickly see how many profiles are currently in the Study.

Since one task of a one-name study is to find all individuals with any of the variants of that surname, I had been doing just that, hunting and finding individuals.  Then, I realized that I hadn't finished with the my own branch of the Wormuth family; so, I shifted gears.  The Study count will increase but probably a little slower because I will be trying to fill in basic data in the profile and sources.  But I should also be adding wives and children.

I'm working to complete our Wormuth family branch, all the individuals, and to bring those family branches forward to find living relatives.

In so doing the following have been discovered:

• There are a lot of repetitions of given names; lots and lots:  Peter, Joseph, Mary, Stephen and more.  
• Some of the family trees, relating to our branch, posted online have large mistakes; mostly confusing those repetitious given names.
• Some branches of the family had a very large number of children.

While working to improve the profiles of those already on WikiTree and adding profiles of additional members of specific family groups, I decided to trace direct male lines from Peter Wormuth, in Sullivan County, forward.  That gives us the direct male DNA for purposes.  Y-chromosomal DNA is passes from father to son only.  I'm not going to post that online for privacy reasons but I do have it so, if anyone reading this, in the Wormuth family, wants it, I can send it to you.  Of course, if you're male and your name is Wormuth, and recognize any of this family line, you're descended from Peter Wormuth of Sullivan County, New York.  Your DNA test will give you the origins of the family.  Please share it with me.

FYI, the Study includes all individuals with any of the variant surnames but also wives because they take the name at marriage.  Females with the surnames, at birth, who marry are, of course, included because their birth surname is Wormuth, but their children will not be included because the Study is of the name, not the relationships.  This is a clarification of the Study.

That's it for now.  Watch the count.

Please leave a comment to let me now you've been here.  Thank you.

Wormwood to Wormuth

A Peter Wormwood in Montgomery County, New York, was also Peter Wormuth.

When I first learned of this, I was confused.  How does Wormwood become Wormuth?

It's been quite a while since I learned of the 2 variants of the, apparent, same surname.  As I've been researching the variants recently, for the Wormuth Name Study, these 2 variants have appeared several times and something always makes me stop and wonder.

I know that Wormwood is the common name of a medicinal and toxic herb but I hadn't stopped during my family history research to remind myself exactly what plant that is.

Until last night...for no apparent reason....

You'll find wormwood in Shakespeare's Hamlet, "Wormwood, Wormwood." when young Hamlet learns that his mother knew that her brother-in-law, Hamlet's uncle, had murdered Hamlet's father, the king.  It's also found and in several other old English literary works.  The herb is bitter; the knowledge that his mother was aware that his uncle had murdered his father and then married him was bitter to Hamlet.

Wormwood is the English common name of a species of Artemisia. specifically Artemisia absinthium, also commonly called absinthe.  As you may know, absinthe is the herb that flavors, with other herbs, the liqueur of the same name.  Absinthe, the liqueur, was banned for some time in various places, including the United States, because it was said to cause hallucinations and addiction, but has since been proven to be no more harmful than any other alcoholic drink.  

Artemisia is also used to treat a variety of ailments and diseases and I used it myself to treat one of my cats who was dying of renal failure and it did give him some relief.  It's a bitter herb, used in syrupy liqueurs.

"The French word absinthe can refer either to the alcoholic beverage, or less commonly, to the actual wormwood plant. Absinthe is derived from the Latin absinthium, which in turn comes from the Greek ἀψσίνθιον apsínthion, "wormwood".  from Wikipedia

Artemisia is an invasive plant in the United States and grows just about everywhere.  (I had quite a difficult time finding a public domain photo of the plant as I know it.  The picture below is much more substantial than most that I see around me, but you may recognize it anyway and it undoubtedly grows around you. I may take a picture myself in the next few months in case this is not a public domain photo as it said it was.)

Artemisia is also used to flavor vermuth.  Vermuth -- Wermuth/Wermut (German for wormwood [1]) -- Wormuth/Wormot.  

So we now know the meaning of our Wormuth name.  Whether other variants of the name, such as Warmuth, Warmouth, etc. have the same derivation is yet to be learned.

For me, it was a fun thing to learn.  Wormwood and Wormuth are the same name; as are all the variants mentioned.

1 - Wikipedia - vermouth