My name is George G. Stradtman, Jr., and I am the Site manager of this Web site. My genealogy research is focused on the following families: Stradtman, Struve, Wilkie, Poe, Wilkerson, Mullen, Copeland, Gast, Ferguson, Hackney, Mann, and several others. You invited to sign the <Link to guestbook>. Thank you for visiting!
About our family
My Stradtmann family last resided in Germany, in the Blumlage section of Celle, although DNA analysis shows likely origins elsewhere. The name refers to a person who lives on the main thoroughfare through a town... or possibly to a wanderer whose life is "on the road." Family legend says that Great Grandpa Henreich C. Stradtmann's relatives owned a large inn in Celle.
The Gasts and Struves both arrived in the USA from Hessen. The former appear to have been there for a very long time. The Struves, however, have connections in Denmark and Russia. The primary occupation of the Gasts in old times was in manufacture of baskets and (more recently) pottery.
The Wilkies are bona fide Scots whose primary family occupation was in barrel making. They were, throughout the 1700's and 1800's, active in the commercial and political lives of both North and South Carolina. A Loyalist branch of the family established itself in Nova Scotia after the American War of Independence.
The Poes are of uncertain origin, although they appear to have immigrated to Virginia from Ireland. They intermarried with the Hackneys (Huguenots) and a very broad range of families that appear to have in common a belief in principles that are very similar to what I've encountered among Pennsylvania Quakers... In fact, many members of that family were/are part of the Society of Friends. The first Poe of our family in NC (Jesse Poe, Sr.) made a fortune as a horse trader and farmer. The most prominent member of the family was probably Clarence Poe, editor of The Progressive Farmer and an important official of FDR's New Deal.
The Wilkersons to whom I'm related seem to have come from a family that more commonly uses the spelling "Wilkinson," although local pronunciation in NC affected the current form of the name in that section. They were Irish, probably Ulster.
The Copelands of North Carolina appear to have been Quaker. They were of either Irish or English origin.
The Mullens were of Irish origin, although there has been intermarriage in Lancaster County (Pennsylvania) with members of the Church of the Brethren (Schue and related families) and other "plain" sects.
The Manns of North Carolina were most likely of Irish origin, with the name derived from McMahon.
Missing pieces
I'm looking for connections in Ireland, presumably County Carlow or Wexford, for Edward Mullen who was born in the late 1700's. His father may have been Patrick Mullen, and there is an excellent chance that he had a brother named Thomas.
Although they're not related to me by blood, I have long been fascinated by the genealogy of the Kalish/Kaczalsky and Gluchovsky families. Always looking for more information about their connections in the USA, Ukraine, and elsewhere.
Also trying to find out more about Stradtmann relatives in Europe and Struves there and in the USA. The search for Wilkies and other families with whom they intermarried is also a long-term pursuit.
Of course the Great Mystery of Mysteries is in regard to Wilkerson/Wilkinson relatives in Ireland. Margaret Wilkerson (b. ca. 1813, in NC) was the daughter of an unknown Wilkerson who married a Copeland and then returned to Ireland after his wife died during or shortly after Margaret's birth.
