Wakefield - Ireland/New Jersey/Toronto

[Kovens]

Hi Lisa,

It is entirely possible that we have communicated in the past. I have been researching the Ovens surname for many years and sometimes loos track of contacts. I am very sorry to hear about the loss of the Bible, i would have been shaking with excitement if I were to ever get my hands/ eyes on it.

From DNA research on the Ovens Y chromosome (male) we have found that the particular branch of the human Y chromosome tree that we belong to did originate someplace in the area of the Netherlands / Southern Denmark / North-Western Germany.

It is possible that your particular branch of the Ovens family did remain in the Holland area and did not come over until the time period of the "glorious revolution"  as part of William of Orange's forces. That being said, I have found records of the Ovens surname in England and Scotland as early as the 1550s.

I do agree that it appears that the events of the "glorious revolution" do appear to be the driving force behind the arrival of the Ovens family in Ireland. I have not found any record of the family in Ireland until after 1689. The earliest record in Ireland that I  have found is a burial in 1695. They are very heavily concentrated in the Fermanagh area along the western shores of lower Lough Erne.

I haven't yet been able to establish a direct paper trail between my branch and the branches in Scotland/ England other then some circumstantial ties between the Ovens family and some of the Landed families in Ireland who were came over from Scotland as part of the plantation. These same Scottish landed families come from the same areas of Scotland where I find the heaviest concentrations of Ovens. It is also documented that historically speaking a large amount of the non native Irish found in Fermanagh Ireland did immigrate from Scotland. I am pretty confident that they did come over from either England or Scotland either as part of William of Orange's forces or shortly after the war ended as part of a re-population effort.

I hope this makes sense and that I haven't bored you to tears with all of this. I look forward to hearing back from you. have a great day and happy hunting, Kyle S. Ovens

[Lisa in California]

Hi Kyle:

I think most of us bump into people with whom we've talked previously; I know I've done it several times.   

When my mum visited her uncle, (on occasion) she would sit and scrutinize the "family tree" that was written in the family bible.  I just spoke to her, to make sure I had the correct facts and she said one of her Ovens aunt's either married a missionary, or he became one after their marriage.  My mum said that when they travelled, she was able to obtain facts about the Ovens.  I don't see how she could have determined that they were for "our" Ovens, but some of the things that my mum remembers reading have turned out to be true.  For someone to have known the facts before the internet was available, to me, means that she truly had done some research.

Also, for a young person to sit and read names, dates and places, there must have been quite a bit of information written down.  My mum said that no one else in the family was interested in the information.   

Your research is not at all boring; I find that as I learn more about my ancestors I also gain knowledge of world events, which most of the time is fascinating to me.