In a 2007 newsletter, by the Franconia Museum in Franconia, Virginia, Mary Evelyn Smith of the Broders Lineage shared an account written by Laura Ruth Riston Meek (Franconia Museum Inc. 7). According to some brief research on the exact identity of Mary Evelyn, she and Laura share a common ancestor in John Hewitson Broders Sr. His son, John Hewitson Broders Jr., is Evelyn’s grandfather. John Hewitson Broders Jr.’s sister is Laura Broders Harrison Riston, Laura Ruth’s mother. I am not related to the Broders, but through some evidence I’ve assembled over the years, I believe I have a common ancestor through Laura Ruth’s father’s side. Laura Ruth’s father George Washington Riston is the grandson of Zadock Clifford Riston, who is our common ancestor through my mother’s maternal grandfather, Francis Schanberger. His mother was Mary Jane Riston. My goal in this story is to share my thought process on each important piece of evidence connecting my lineage to Zadock.

According to this 2007 document, Laura Ruth Riston Meek was born in 1874 in Fairfax, Virginia (Franconia Museum Inc. 9). Her Mother was Laura Broders Harrison Riston, who was previously married to Henry Thomas Harrison, a Confederate spy during the Civil War (Tenkotte and Claypool 434). He eventually rose in the ranks and reported to Robert E. Lee through Lieutenant General James Longstreet. Harrison’s intelligence gathering eventually sparked the Battle of Gettysburg, arguably the Civil War’s most famous battle and a turning point for the war as a whole. After the war, Harrison took Laura and their family to Mexico, who eventually abandoned them to prospect for gold in Montana (National Park Service). Laura and the Harrison family hired detectives to search for him, but he remained reclusive and was presumed dead (Franconia Museum Inc. 9). Harrison eventually turned up in Ohio in 1893, but by then Laura had already moved on, remarried, and had more children (National Park Service).

Laura Harrison married George Washington Riston in Fairfax, Virginia in 1873, and he helped raise her children from her previous marriage (Franconia Museum Inc. 9). Laura Ruth spoke a lot about her family and lineage in this 2007 document, which is a useful link to our shared family history. This account was written in 1956 when Laura Ruth was 82, and three years before her death in 1959 (Franconia Museum Inc. 14). Though she recalls many great details that I can confirm through census data, death certificates, and other official documents, some of the names and birthplaces she recalls do not match the official record. To be fair, I am writing this in 2023 at 38 years old and have access to a massive database of indexed documents and records to help prove connections. Often in my research, the official record has misspellings and errors, but I tend to look at the context in relationships. That said, this document is helpful in proving (or disproving) my lineage in a roundabout way.

In Laura Ruth’s account, she begins to discuss the Riston lineage. In it she mentions her grandfather Thomas who was born in France in 1818. He married a woman named Mary Mullikin. She mentions her father, George Washington Riston’s birthdate as March 25, 1838 (Franconia Museum Inc. 9). Laura Ruth also mentioned his death date as December 23, 1926 (Franconia Museum Inc. 7). In another clue that came up in further research, she mentions her sister Kate’s husband, Thadeus Hopkins (Franconia Museum Inc. 13). In my research, I found George Washington Riston’s death certificate from 1926. In it, his parents are listed as “Benjimen” Riston (birthplace unknown) and Elizabeth Millikin, born in Prince George County, Maryland (Virginia, “Death Records”). While it is possible this is a different George Washington Riston, the context of the other information is hard to deny. His late wife is listed as Laura Harrison Borders, the informant is Kate R. Hopkins from Fairfax, VA, and the birth and death dates match Laura Ruth’s account  (Virginia, “Death Records”). I would argue it is safe to say this document from 1926 has more plausibility in confirming George’s parents’ names than Laura Ruth’s account in 1956. That’s not to say there isn’t a Thomas or Mary in the family, but it’s possible Laura Ruth recalled the wrong people when referring to her grandparents.

Though Laura Ruth misremembered a few details, her comprehensive recollection allowed me to get a few key elements to look for in connecting my branch to hers. Including locating George Washington Riston and his parents Benjamin and Elizabeth, much of the Riston lineage comes from Prince George County, MD, which is just outside Washington, D.C. Francis Shanberger’s mother is Mary Jane Riston and his maternal grandfather is Joseph B Riston who was born in or just outside Washington, D.C. in 1849 (Kaye 126). I have in my archive, Francis Shanberger’s parents’ marriage certificate, which I scanned in 2003 along with some family photos (Church of St. Peter). This document gives me the names of George (Francis’s father) and Charles Schanberger, Mary Jane (his mother) and Elizabeth Riston.

With this marriage certificate and an 1880 Federal Census from Baltimore, I can begin to prove Elizabeth (Bessie) and Mary Jane’s connection to each other and the rest of their family. In the 1880 census, Mary Jane was 5, Elizabeth was 3, and their brother Thomas B was 6 (Ancestry.com, “1880 Census”). The dates and names match with other, similar records.The 1880 census also includes Mary Jane’s parents, Joseph Benjamin and Mary Jane [Conney] (Ancestry.com, “1880 Census”). He was about 33 and she was 37 at the time.This census, as well as several other censuses, show Joseph was born in Washington, D.C., putting him closer to the general source of the other Ristons I am looking for. This census also indicates his parents were born in Virginia (Ancestry.com, “1880 Census”). And a 1910 census shows Joseph, Mary, and Elizabeth living in George Schanberger’s house, which makes this proof pretty obvious (Ancestry.com, “1910 Census”). Additionally a marriage record from Washington, D.C.’s list of marriages confirms Joseph and Mary were married in the Capital (Washington, D.C., “Marriage Index”).

This is where the record gets hairy. The census information only lists ages and not birthdates, and all of this is documented by enumerators, who of course are human and make mistakes. The 1880 census lists Joseph as 33 (Ancestry.com, “1880 Census”), 1900 as 50 (Ancestry.com, “1900 Census”), and 1910 indicates he’s 60 (Ancestry.com, “1910 Census”), meaning he was born either in 1847 or 1850. Maybe he was even born in 1846 or 1849 depending on his birthday. At this point I have Joseph Benjamin Riston born between 1846 and 1850 in Washington, D.C., and I have George Washington Riston born in 1838 in Prince George’s County, MD, which surrounds the eastern side of the Capital. George Washington Riston died in Fairfax, VA (Virginia, “Death Records”), which is on the western side of the Capital, so there’s definitely some movement going on.

Tracing George Washington Riston’s parents is a little easier thanks to Laura Ruth’s information and the moderate celebrity status of his wife and her ex-husband. I had already proved Benjamin Riston and Elizibeth Mullican are his parents, but in digging further, an 1850 census from Fairfax, VA shows Benjamin and Elizabeth with a 13 year old George W Riston (Ancestry.com, “1850 Census – Fairfax”). The dates and family match as well, which gives me an approximate 1799 birthdate for Benjamin. Benjamin Riston’s father is Zadock Clifford Riston (Brumbaugh, “Vol 2” 386), born, married, and died in Prince George’s County, MD in 1754 (Ancestry.com, “Revolutionary War Records”), 1786 (Brumbaugh, “Vol 1” 148), and 1839 (Brumbaugh, “Vol 2” 386) respectively. He was 85 at the time of his death, and according to his Revolutionary War pension record, his son, Benjamin, and daughter, Cassandra Ann King, were listed as recipients (Brumbaugh, “Vol 2” 386).

A “Mrs. Anne King,” was a separate entry in the 1820 census right next to Zadock Riston Jr, which at the time, only listed heads of households (Ancestry.com, “1820 Census-Hydes”). Is this “Ann,” Cassandra Ann? In these records, every other person in the household would just be a tally mark. This makes sense, but leaves a mystery as to who is who when researching archives. That said, Zadock Riston Jr. married Mary Ann King in 1818 according to a transcribed marriage record (Scott 273). I don’t think he married his sister, but the naming does make this detail confusing when trying to verify who’s who.

So far, Zadock Clifford Riston has two sons, Benjamin and Zadock Jr. On the same 1820 census in the Piscataway area of Prince George’s County, Zadock Sr. can be found in a separate entry from his son (Ancestry.com, “1820 Census-Piscataway”), who was listed living in Hydes (this name is defunct) . Piscataway, by the way, is near the location of the church many of my Riston records point to in Baptisms and other events. This church is known as St. John’s but is used interchangeably with Piscataway Parish (Skirven 135).

Zadock Sr. (spelled Zydock Ryston in this 1820 record) is the head of the household with four men and five women living under his roof. Two are over 45 (presumably Zadock and his wife Elizabeth), one boy and two girls under 10, one boy 16 to 18, one boy 16 to 26, one girl up to 16, and one girl up to 26 (Ancestry.com, “1820 Census – Piscataway”). If these are all his remaining children, the birth ranges are from 1794 to the 1810s (possibly the early 1810s if Zadock and his wife are in their mid 40s). So assuming these people are his children, Zadock and Elizabeth had nine kids. Some of my unverified sources claim he had six kids so maybe his adult children were living in this household before moving out. I only need to worry about the men as Riston is Francis Schanberger’s mother’s maiden name, so one of his five sons is my relative. The three in the 1820 census are unnamed. 

My search takes me to FamilySeach, which is semi-related to Ancestry.com. Unlike Ancestry, which allows users to create family trees however they want (many just point to each other), FamilySearch operates more like Wikipedia – each person is a unique entry that can be modified and shared by different users. If I want to change Francis Schanberger to “Frank” everyone with my great-grandfather in their tree would get affected. It would tag me as the one who made the change so they do have ways to keep abuse to a minimum, but I will say like some of the trees on Ancestry.com, there are a lot of unsourced facts. Both sites have their pros and cons. I prefer Ancestry so I can work on something with minimal interference. FamilySearch already has the Shanberger to Zadock link, and while that is great news, I want to make my remaining research on this connection a little more watertight with all the logic I’ve provided. Spoiler: Francis Schanberger’s grandfather, Joseph B. Riston is the great-grandson of Zadock. His father is James Thomas and his grandfather is Dennis. Who is this according to?

If this is true, George Washington Riston’s uncle is Dennis and cousin is James Thomas. Perhaps that is the “Thomas” that Laura Ruth recalled (Franconia Museum Inc. 9). OR, in some other records I’ve seen, “Thomas” is Laura Ruth’s uncle and George Washington Riston’s brother, and Dennis is not correct – he doesn’t even show up in these records. I can’t get ahead of myself though. I would like to connect these people with the right logic. I want to better confirm Joseph B. Riston’s father. The best lead I have is an 1851 baptism record from St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Alexandria, VA (Kaye 126). This church is across the Potomac and less than eight miles from the Ristons of Piscataway in Maryland. Washington, D.C. is just across the Potomac River, but here’s the thing… At that time Alexandria, VA had just retroceded from Washington, D.C. in 1846 (Historical Society of Washington, D.C.). This is something to keep in mind as the 1840s-1850s era of DC might have some interchangeable records. The record, from the First-Fifty Two Years of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church by Ruth Lincoln Kaye lists a “Joseph Benjamin Reston” born to Thomas and Mary on August 9, 1849 and baptized on July 29, 1851 (Kaye 126). If not for the slight name discrepancy, the date and first and middle names of Joseph Benjamin Reston are spot on. Piscataway Parish in Maryland, by the way, is Episcipalian (Maryland Historical Trust).

Are “Thomas & Mary Reston” the same as FamilySearch’s James Thomas Riston and Mary Amanda Trunnel? If so, this marriage announcement from August 13, 1846 might help prove that (Alexandria Gazette 3). Thomas and Mary’s son, Joseph Benjamin would be born three years later. The Fairfax County, Virginia detail gives credence to Joseph’s claim that his father was born in Virginia in the 1880 census (Ancestry.com, “1880 Census”).

Interestingly, in that very same newspaper as the Riston-Trunnel marriage announcement, the retrocession of Alexandria from Washington, D.C. is mentioned (Alexandria Gazette 4). It’s possible this information was reprinted daily in those days, but this definitely solidifies the Riston family’s place in history.

The 1850 Federal Census in Washington, D.C. offers additional proof of Thomas, Mary, and Joseph. Thomas and Mary Riston are listed and they are both 27, giving them a birth year of 1822 or 1823. Thomas claims he was from Maryland and Mary from Virginia. Joseph Benjamin is listed as James (Ancestry.com, “1850 Census – DC”). This could be wrong, but it’s also possible the enumerator didn’t record his name properly or his parents changed his name. “James” is written as ½ so he would have been a newborn, roughly matching the dates from St. Paul’s and the general age in other records on Joseph Benjamin Riston. His birthplace is also written to be DC just like all the other records for Joseph Benjamin. Is this an entirely different Joseph and Mary Riston who had a newborn in Washington, D.C., or just an error? I believe this record has some plausibility, and I believe it might explain the two year gap between Joseph Benjamin’s birth and baptism (Kaye 126). I would need more information to understand this moment in their lives, but otherwise the data checks a lot of boxes.

Looking again at the FamilySearch tree, the name “James” in James Thomas Riston might be true as many men go by their middle name, no record of this name exists… at least none that I can find in his adult life. I will address this later, as well as some interesting clues laid out in the data provided. Needless to say, the name “Thomas Riston” keeps appearing, sometimes with the middle initial “B” but never with the name “James”.

On December 19, 1852, my 4th great-grandmother, Mary Riston died at the age of 30 (The Daily Republic 3). Joseph Benjamin was three. 

Thomas remarried in 1854. His new wife’s name was also Mary – Mary Jane McLane (Ancestry.com, “DC Marriage Records”). They had a daughter, Alice in 1857, and son, Charles in 1858 (Ancestry.com, “1870 Census”). Thomas served for three months in the Civil War and served the Union side as a private (Historical Data Systems, comp). He died on September 16, 1866, and he is buried in Glenwood Cemetery in Washington, D.C. (Find a Grave). Taking it back to his son Joseph Benjamin briefly, an 1870 Federal Census for Washington, D.C. shows Mary Riston as the head and her step-son Joseph at 20 years old, working as a painter (Ancestry.com, “1870 Census”). Joseph’s step siblings, Alice and Clark are listed to help confirm the relationships. Joseph remained a painter the rest of his life (Ancestry.com, “1910 Census”).

Now how does Thomas Riston connect to Zadock? Dennis comes up on FamilySearch, but there’s no substance to it. Thomas was born in 1822 or 1823 according to the 1850 census (Ancestry.com, “1850 Census – DC”). Laura Ruth Riston Meek recalled a “Thomas” in the family as her grandfather who turned out to be Benjamin, and a second Thomas as her uncle (Franconia Museum Inc. 9). Could it be that Thomas Riston, my 4th great-grandfather, and George Washington Riston are both sons of Benjamin Riston? In the 1840 Prince George’s County, MD census, Benjamin Riston (and his neighbors/in-laws, the Mullikins and Kings) is listed, showing a single son 20 and under (Ancestry.com, “1840 Census”). Thomas would have been 17/18. 

Even more interesting is somewhere between 1840 and 1850, the Benjamin Riston family moved to Fairfax, VA. The 1840 census listing Benjamin was from Prince George’s County, MD (Ancestry.com, “1840 Census”) where all the Ristons hailed from, but by 1850, Benjamin and Laura Ruth’s George Washington Riston are now in Fairfax (Ancestry.com, “1850 Census – Fairfax”). Thomas Riston is not listed in this group but off with his new wife, Mary,  and newborn son, Joseph, in Washington, D.C. (Ancestry.com, “1850 Census – DC”). And let’s not forget the August 1846 marriage announcement for Thomas and Mary, in which “Thomas Riston of Fairfax County, VA [married] Miss Mary M.,” providing a proximity connection to Benjamin and George Washington Riston (Alexandria Gazette 3). At this time, no Ristons turn up in the Prince George’s County, MD census. Additionally, in Joseph B’s 1910 census taken in Baltimore, he reported his father, Thomas, was born in Maryland (Ancestry.com, “1910 Census”). Despite Thomas Riston’s marriage article saying he was from Fairfax, VA, his birthplace is documented to be Maryland. Piecing together all these clues, it appears a tally mark for Thomas Riston was in an 1840 Prince George’s County, MD census at around 17/18 years old, with a 1910 census to back up his birth place, and a story from Laura Ruth Riston Meek to confirm a Thomas in the family. After 1840, the Riston family moved to Fairfax, VA which is later proven by an 1850 census and names matching Laura Ruth’s story. Thomas Riston turns up at 23 years old in an 1846  marriage announcement that claims he’s from Fairfax, and three years later his son, Joseph is baptized in an Alexandrian Episopal church, matching the religious background of the Prince George’s County Ristons. To me this is all incredibly interesting.

I cannot discount the Dennis Riston path however. He does show up on Ancestry.com and FamilySearch records. He is supposedly Zadock’s son and Benjamin’s brother, but likely died before Zadock, hence not getting mentioned in his Revolutionary War pension (Brumbaugh, “Vol 2” 386). Many records show Dennis had a son named Dennis Washington Riston (St. John’s Parish 89). According to a Maryland Births and Christenings record on both FamilySearch and Ancestry.com, there is a “James Thomas Riston” born to a Dennis Riston on September 24, 1822 (St. John’s Parish 90), the same general year as Thomas B Riston, son of Benjamin. Both Benjamin and Dennis are sons of Zadock on the FamilySearch tree and some Ancestry.com trees. I browsed the Maryland Births and Christenings for Piscataway Church, and on page 90 of the record, I found “December 12 [1822] James Thomas son of Dennis Riston and wife born 24 Sep 1822. (St. John’s Parish 90)” This is hard to ignore considering the names “Thomas” and  “Riston,” and the date in Prince George’s County. It’s just a single line of information but it connects someone with the Thomas to Dennis. There is no concrete connection between Thomas and Benjamin other than a nameless tally mark and the interesting aforementioned coincidences. Even Laura Ruth Riston Meek, sadly, doesn’t mention the name Benjamin, despite the clear connections her father, George Washington Riston and Benjamin have in other sources.

Proving Dennis Riston exists is a lot harder than that Benjamin connection I would have wanted to see. In reviewing my notes, open web browser tabs, and Riston family tree dead ends of all the Thomases, Benjamins, and their wives and mothers named Mary, this is a good time to pause the research and look at the confirmed facts.

My maternal grandmother’s father is Francis Schanberger. Easy. I grew up knowing that name and even met his wife, my great-grandmother Charlotte when I was young. I have enough pictures, stories, and records to prove this. Next, Francis’s mother is Mary Jane Riston. She married George Schanberger, brother to the well known Frederick Schanberger who ran Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theater in the heyday of Vaudeville (Donellan). There’s lots of data here. I have George and Mary Jane’s marriage with her sister, Elizabeth Riston’s name (Church of St. Peter). I have census data proving Mary Jane and Elizibeth living with their father Joseph B. Riston (Ancestry.com, “1850 Census – DC”). And I have census data proving an older Joseph B. living with George and Mary Jane (and young Francis) (Ancestry.com, “1910 Census”). Joesph’s a painter in all of them.

Francis Schanberger > Mary Jane Riston > Joseph B Riston are all confirmed.

Joseph B’s father Thomas is tricky because his two different wives named Mary, which led to some confusion. But Joseph B. is in a census as a painter and the correct age with the second Mary and her confirmed children (Ancestry.com, “1870 Census”). Joseph B. lists his DC/Virginia origins in all census records and fits the bill of Episcopalian baptismal records in Alexandria with his parents, Thomas and Mary (Kaye 126). I should note my family has very Catholic roots on all sides and it’s apparent in this branch going back to George and Mary Jane’s wedding, so this religion switch is kind of an interesting discovery.

Thomas and Mary show up in an 1850 Washington, D.C. census with their infant son “James” who is really Joseph (Ancestry.com, “1850 Census – DC”) in a time when Alexandria was retroceding from the District of Columbia (Historical Society of Washington, D.C.). In clearing some of the confusion of the two Riston wives named Mary and the tale of two cities all around the same time, finding Thomas Riston’s gravesite helped me expand the 1822 birth year from the 1850 census (Ancestry.com, “1850 Census – DC”) to the September 24, 1822 birthdate (Find a Grave) – but I should note that this information is user entered and I have not seen a record of September 24th. I put in a request for a photo to be taken of the grave, but as of this writing, this information is questionable. The census data from 1910 also helped me get a Maryland origin for Thomas (Ancestry.com, “1910 Census”).

The September 24, 1822 date (if true), Maryland origin, “Thomas” name, and of course, “Riston” surname ties this all together to that baptismal record for James Thomas Riston, son of Dennis. (Why is everyone in this family named James as a child? And why did James Thomas Riston become Thomas B Riston?) This record proves in some way that a Thomas Riston existed in Piscataway Parish in Prince George’s County, MD – the same Episcopal church as all the other Ristons, especially Zadock (Ancestry.com, “1790 Census”). 

So Francis Schanberger > Mary Jane Riston > Joseph B Riston > “James” Thomas Riston > Dennis all have connections, but adult Thomas never uses James and Dennis is only mentioned once in a single church record – well twice, but in the same source.

It has crossed my mind that “Dennis” could be a transcription error and he’s one in the same as Benjamin Riston, who is misremembered as Thomas Sr. from France in Laura Ruth’s story (Franconia Museum Inc. 9). Nearly every record I used to piece this together has an incorrect name. The church record of James Thomas Riston’s baptism is a legitimate record and proves the location and date, but Dennis can also be one of Zadock’s five (at least!) sons (Ancestry.com, “1820 Census – Piscataway”) – three of which I did not identify. But is the information contained in the record accurate? If Dennis is correct, the only other information I have to prove he existed is his first born son and James Thomas Riston’s brother, Dennis Washington Riston (St. John’s Parish 89). Dennis Washington Riston was born two years before Thomas and baptized in Piscataway like his brother. Dennis Jr., and moved to Pittsburgh at some point in his life to make cigars, eventually dying in 1907 (The Star 5). (Interestingly and tangentially related, my dad’s paternal grandfather was from Pittsburgh in the late 1800s and liked smoking cigars.)

Additionally, I found a small, but hopeful 1830 census of Dennis Riston existing in the Alexandria side of Washington, D.C. (not yet Alexandria, VA) with two boys under 5, one boy 5 – 10, and he and his wife between 40 and 50 years old (Ancestry.com, “1830 Census”). It gives an approximate birth year of 1790, but his sons were older and he would have been younger. I don’t think this is the guy, but I want to put this out there to eliminate.

Unfortunately at this point I don’t have much to go on to prove Dennis is Zadock’s son other than a few inferences. Dennis Riston appears as the father of two boys in St. John’s (Piscataway Parish) in 1820 and 1822 (St. John’s Parish 89-90). Assuming he’s in his 20s when Dennis Jr. is born, he would be born in the late 1790s, roughly when Benjamin and Zadock Jr. had their children. Zadock’s 1820 census, again, shows two plausible sons – one 16 to 18 and another 16 to 26 (Ancestry.com, “1820 Census – Piscataway”). Zadock Jr. is out as he’s already listed elsewhere on the census (Ancestry.com, “1820 Census – Hydes”. This leaves Benjamin and Dennis. The 1850 Fairfax, VA census, and the only document giving Benjamin’s rough birth year, lists him at 51 (Ancestry.com, “1850 Census – Fairfax”). Is he the 16-26 tally mark on the 1820 census? The FamilySearch data I found places Dennis as the older sibling of the two. Maybe he’s the 16-26 tally mark. Maybe tally marks with age ranges are not helpful at all. Maybe Dennis and Benjamin are the same person. Maybe Laura Ruth’s recollection of Thomas is in fact true albeit slightly misplaced.

Here’s the other issue I’m having with Dennis, outside his mysteriousness: he’s just not mentioned anywhere outside the baptismal records (St. John’s Parish 89-90). Other than that, anything I research gets very complicated. His first son, Dennis Washington Riston definitely existed, but was he a Riston from Piscataway? According to DW’s obituary from 1907, he was born in “Alexandria, Maryland” (what?) in 1817 (The Star 5). He also was a Presbyterian, and “not a member of any secret societies,” (which is what they want you to think). He was baptized in an Episcopalian church. I’m sure it wasn’t uncommon as one of the Ristons down the line did marry into Catholicism, but seeing a religion change raises more questions unless there is more evidence to prove other relationships. Also the 1917 in Alexandria thing might make him the son of the Dennis Riston from that 1830 census, which is a stretch (Ancestry.com, “1830 Census”). Maybe that census taker made a mistake that is causing a lot of confusion for me 200 years later. On top of all that, the only mention of “Washington” as his middle name is in his baptism record (St. John’s Parish 89).

My other big issue with this is that the obituary and grave record for DW gives him a birthday of December 20, 1817 (The Star 5). The obituary even made a big deal about dying at ninety and  almost reaching four score and ten mark, which is 90 (The Star 5).

This is a great milestone and all, but as I mentioned, a few paragraphs before, Dennis Washington was two years older than the other son of Dennis Riston, “James Thomas,” not five (St. John’s Parish 89-90). As a matter of fact, Dennis Washington’s birth date on his baptism record is September 24, 1820 (St. John’s Parish 89). James Thomas’s is also September 24, but 1822 (St. John’s Parish 90). It can happen. My grandmother and her mother shared the same birthday, but maybe what really happened is someone wrote the wrong record down. I mean if you look at this record book, it looks like this information was written all at once, maybe even transcribing all documents into one book. This book presents years of information all written in the same handwriting for pages upon pages. It’s a clear case of 19th century data entry.

Here’s more proof that all of this information was written somewhat out of order. This is from the top of the same page as the Dennis Washington Riston record. In my opinion, someone was handed copies of baptismal records and transcribed them into this book. As they received more information, they couldn’t simply amend the document like we can in a spreadsheet on a basic computer. And just like any data entry job, mistakes happen. All the census data I cited has many, many inconsistencies. 

When you start getting into 200 year old documents, things start getting extra vague and you see that not everything is documented as neatly as you’d expect. Just the way every baptismal record says “+ wife” instead of giving a proper record makes this process more frustrating. Sometimes, outside of burnt out, volunteer church record keepers and messy census data, the best information you’re going to get is keepsakes and good stories. Based on all of my research on the Riston line to Zadock in Prince George’s County, I think Laura Ruth Riston Meek has the best recollection I’m going to get. All the data I found helps strengthen her memories, even if some of the relationships were uncertain. Thomas is definitely a common name, but she must have remembered something to recall that particular name. Further, if you look at some of the family names, like Benjamin, it comes up often. Zadock’s confirmed son is Benjamin. Thomas has a ‘B’ in his middle name. Is that Benjamin? If not, then his son, Joseph’s, middle name is Benjamin. And Joseph’s son’s name, Francis Schanberger’s uncle, is Thomas B Riston (Ancestry.com, “1880 Census”). All of these connections fit so well verses the Dennis question mark; not to mention the fact that “James” is not in any other record for Thomas B Riston’s name other than the baptism (St. John’s Parish 90). However, without the baptism (or the assumption that the baptism record was written poorly) I can’t prove Thomas was from Prince George’s County other than a blip about Maryland in census data (Ancestry.com, “1910 Census”) and Laura Ruth’s story (Franconia Museum Inc. 9). I can prove he was from Fairfax around the same time (Alexandria Gazette 3) as his alleged father Benjamin and brother George Washington Riston (Ancestry.com, “1850 Census – Fairfax”). 

Based on all the information I presented, I am going to commit Thomas B Riston to being Benjamin’s son with Dennis as an alternate on my Ancestry.com family tree. Short of raiding old churches in unfamiliar places for hidden records, I believe I have exhausted the research I am going to get out of the Riston lineage in 2023. A few years ago, some of this data wasn’t available to me, so perhaps more clues will be unlocked as more information is added in the future. I hope this document serves as a way to help future generations and distant cousins who wish to pick at it some more. While I am not a professional researcher, I do enjoy a good puzzle. I spent a little extra time identifying my sources to the best of my abilities. I walked through my thought process on each individual leading from my great-grandfather, Francis Schanberger to his confirmed great-grandfather, Thomas Riston, to a loose connection to his grandfather Zadock, the Revolutionary War veteran. I hope this information makes sense, eliminates unproven facts, and clears the confusion. And if you are reading this from the future, look me up.

-Jimmy Kastner

Sources

Alexandria Gazette. “An Act.” Alexandria Gazette [Alexandria, VA], 22 August 1846, p. 4, https://www.newspapers.com/image/767178484/. Accessed 24 January 2023.

Alexandria Gazette. “Riston – Trunnel Marriage.” Alexandria Gazette [Alexandria, VA], 22 August 1843, p. 3, https://www.newspapers.com/clip/116891594/riston-trunnel-marriage/. Accessed 24 January 2023.

Ancestry.com. District of Columbia, Marriage Records, 1810-1953. Riston – McLane marriage record. 2016. Ancestry.com, Provo, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. Accessed 24 January 2023.

Ancestry.com. 1880 United States Federal Census. Tenth Census of the United States, 1880. (NARA microfilm publication T9, 1,454 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C. 2010. Ancestry.com, Provo, Ancestry.com Operations Inc, https://ancestry.com. Accessed 24 January 2023.

Ancestry.com. 1850 United States Federal Census. The National Archives in Washington D.C.; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census; Record Group Number: 29; Series Number: M432; Residence Date: 1850; Home in 1850: Fairfax, Virginia; Roll: 942; Page: 121a. 2009. Ancestry.com, Provo, Ancestry.com, https://ancestry.com. Accessed 24 January 2023.

Ancestry.com. 1850 United States Federal Census. Year: 1850; Census Place: Washington Ward 3, Washington, District of Columbia; Roll: M432_56; Page: 188B; Image: 382. 2009. Ancestry.com, Provo, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, https://ancestry.com. Accessed 24 January 2023.

Ancestry.com. 1840 United States Federal Census. Year: 1840; Census Place: District 5, Prince Georges, Maryland; Page: 56; Family History Library Film: 0013186. 2010. Ancestry.com, Provo, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., https://ancestry.com. Accessed 24 January 2023.

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