Applegate Surname
With John Edward Beyl marrying Edna Mae Applegate, this gives me a whole new line of ancestors to research. My initial search on the Applegate surname looks promising.
I did a quick search on Ancestry.com to find the origin of the surname Applegate. It appears to be a variant of Applegarth which seems to come from the northern Middle English word gate or road.
Fortunately, Ancestry seems to have hundreds of thousands of records for the Applegate surname so this may be very promising when researching this line of genealogy.
Surname Meaning
Name Distribution
It looks like the great majority of the Applegate ancestors immigrated to New Jersey. Many also immigrated to other areas of the Northeast including Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. But of course there are some scattered throughout the rest of the United States.
Naturally, I will be looking for how they got to Indiana. Edna Mae was born in Indiana, that’s not to say that her immediate ancestors originated from there. But they ended up there so I will be looking for where they were immediately before Indiana and where their arrival point was.
I don’t yet know where her parents were born so I’m not sure how far back in the Applegate line that they immigrated. Based on the time frame, I would venture to guess that it would’ve been her grand parents or great grandparents that immigrated.
Applegate Family Origin
It seems that many Applegate immigrants came from England while many others came from Great Britain. A couple from Denmark and 1 from Ireland.
Since 12% of my DNA comes from Great Britain, we could assume that they immigrated from Great Britain, although I’m not into making assumptions when it comes to genealogy.
That could come from a different line. So I’ll definitely have to research this further.
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Applegate Immigration Year
Most of the Applegate families seem to have immigrated between 1851 and 1890.
There’s a pretty big spike in 1857, it would be interesting to find out what happened that year, if anything, that caused so many more to come over.
This time frame would appear to be the time of Edna’s great grandparents. I’ll definitely be looking to confirm this.
I haven’t yet seen any passenger lists for this line, though I’ve only done the research for one person so far. So hopefully I’ll find more on them soon.
As expected, most of them were farmers and many were Laborers. I’ve found a lot of Laborers in the Beyl lineage. I’m guessing I’ll find many more in the Applegate lineage as well. But you never know.
Applegate Family Occupations
I’ve found that most wives, prior to the 1900’s, were housekeepers or housewives. So it’s not surprising to see the 6% in this chart. I’ve also see a few Carpenters in there as well, but again, that’s on the Beyl side.
It’s interesting to see a few Blacksmiths in this line. I hope to find one or two of those among my ancestors…just because I dare to be different.
I know that Edna’s father was a Drayman who owned his house. I just learned that a Drayman is a person who delivers beer for a brewery. That is different, I like that…alcohol aside.
Applegate Members I’ve Researched So Far
- George W. Applegate.
- John William Applegate
- Edna Mae Applegate.
- Elsie Mae Applegate
- George Thomas Applegate
Applegate Life Expectancy
Finally, it looks like the Applegate family life expectancy has been pretty close to that of the general public.
It seems as though many lived to see their 70s.
I do find it interesting that life expectancy spiked in the late 50s by over 20 years! It’s commonly known the technological advances began in the 50s, perhaps this is the reason for the spike.
I think researchers are still trying to pin down the reasons for such differences. So I will continue focusing on my own ancestors and let the scientists tackle that question.
Not a lot of information just yet on this line as I’ve only researched one person so far. But, as always, I will come back and update this page as I find more information. So much to do, so little time!
Applegate Civil War Records
It would be nice to know more about these ancestors. Where did they come from before Indiana? Why did they immigrate to the United States? Are there any notable or famous ancestors in this line?
Have you found Applegate in your family tree yet? If so, I’d love to hear from you!
Even if you haven’t, have you found reliable places to research the history of your family name? I’d love to know where to go to find out facts about surnames that are accurate and can provide some of the history behind the name. Do share and let us know how you do it. Just drop a line in the comments below.
That’s all for now, I’ll check back regularly and update this page as I find additional information.
Happy searching!
~Kris
