Researchers
Researchers and Historians
Acknowledgement of Contributors to the Sergeant Saga Website
Individuals who have made meaningful contributions to this research project, including identifying, collecting, analyzing and recording historical information are acknowledged as follows:
- Neal E. Sergeant and Lisa A. Montaney are spearheading the genealogical research behind the Sergeant Saga website and are engaged in ongoing information collection and analysis as historical documents become available. Neal envisioned the concept and design for this website, developed the client-side and server-side programming, integrated the content and theme, and activated and maintains the website on a web server. Lisa’s research and analysis has been central to extending family history back to early America.
- Linn Sergeant Kovar assisted with guidance, direction and content editing.
- Donald R. Sergeant secured and preserved family documents and photos, including the retention of materials used in authoring A Sergeant Saga.
- Finally, thanks to the many other family members whose on-going contributions of information and photos are increasing the depth of family history presented here.
The Researchers of A Sergeant Saga
Maurice Dean Sergeant, John Anjer Sergeant and Eleanor Sergeant Wiltrout researched and authored the first edition of A Sergeant Saga. Additionally, we acknowledge the contributions of everyone who worked on A Sergeant Saga over four decades ago with the following passage:
“We especially want to thank the children of Howard and Clara Sergeant for their knowledge and support in this project: Doris Sergeant Kovar, John Sergeant, Lucy Sergeant, Ruth Sergeant Buskirk, Neal R. Sergeant and Clinton E. Sergeant.” Excerpt from A Sergeant Saga
Clarys Boyle, Doug Boyle and Ron Smith
In 2019 a Sergeant family tree was created through research by Clarys Ann Sergeant Boyle and Ron Smith, and design by Douglas Leon Boyle, and shared with family members. This endeavor was an important step forward in collecting and organizing our family history as it assembled and presented birth, death and occupation data, both contemporary and historic, for over 400 family members.
Stephen Niles
Stephen Sergeant Niles researched his own genealogy for 40 plus years and, after his marriage to Linda Sue Buskirk, researched Linda’s Sergeant family history as well. Stephen is named after the Rev. John Sergeant (1710-1749) who was a missionary for the Native Americans of Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Stephen thinks it is possible that our two Sergeant families link up sometime prior to the 1660’s, but no definitive connection has been found. He put together a wonderful resource that chronicles both his own family tree and our Sergeant line, listing 11 generations of the descendants of Thomas Sergeant (1661-1711). That tree includes many details concerning the descendants of Samuel George Sergeant (1768-1841) and his brother Thomas Sergeant (1771-1835), who are in our direct line of descent.
Penny Kresl
Penny Kresl is the 4th great granddaughter of Thomas Sergeant (abt 1771-1835) and has been researching our Sergeant/Sargent families for about 30 years. Her knowledge of this family has been a tremendous help as we research further back in time. She introduced us to the research of Professor Adolphus Sage and the interviews he conducted with family members in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Penny worked with her cousin, Don Wyman, to acquire the microfilms of the baptismal records for Samuel, Thomas and Sally Sergeant. These are the only records we have to prove the parentage of these Sergeant ancestors. Penny also recruited family members for the Sergeant Y-DNA study of the Samuel and Thomas Sergeant lines, specifically to help unravel the mystery of who was the first of our ancestors to come to America.
Hiram Adolphus Sage
October 21, 1859 – February 21, 1944
Hiram Adolphus Sage was a professor of physics at the Oshkosh Normal School, predecessor of the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh, and a genealogist. He is the grandson of Hiram Sergeant, son of Samuel George Sergeant and Catherine Marvin. When Professor Sage looked into his Sergeant family history, he discovered no record of anyone having researched our branch of the Sergeant line. He began his research about 1890 and continued for several decades. Besides reviewing documents available to him, he interviewed the few living ancestors of Samuel and Catherine. Those interviews and his research conclusions have been instrumental in piecing together the story of Samuel and Thomas Sergeant.
The Sage research is preserved at the New York State Library in Albany, New York, as a collection entitled “Adolphus Hiram Sage Genealogy Papers”, covering eight generations of the Sage and Sergeant families and allied lines in America.
