Origin
- Country
- England
- Meaning
- English - It is a variation of the surname Yeatman or Yateman. It derives from the Old English word geat (meaning "gate") combined with mann (meaning "man"). It was a topographical or occupational name given to a "gatekeeper" or someone who lived right beside a town or parish gate
- Arrival Era
- 1740 timeframe or earlier
Known Family Members
- John Enoch Yetman (~1720 – 1800)
Chuck's 4th great-grandfather
Ms. Yetman (~1760 – 1820)
Chuck's 3rd great-grandmother and wife of Thomas Holman
The Yetman surname is definitely of English origin. The family in America appears to have started with John Yetman and his wife, Margaret Gordon, who settled in Monmouth County NY after they married in 1741. However, it is possible he is not the original immigrant. We just do not have records to verify the start of this family in America.
Figuring out we were related to the Yetmans took some digging. The first clue was an application for a Revolutionary War pension that Thomas Holman filed.
In 1832, Congress passed the most expansive legislation, finally moving away from disability or poverty requirements, and started to award money to all surviving veterans or their widows. Because many veterans had no paperwork left by 1832, the government allowed them to go to local courthouses and give detailed oral testimonies of their service to apply, hence, we have the breadcrumb leading us back to New Jersey.
Below is the (easy to read) text of the declaration of Isabella McDermott:
State of New Jersey } Monmouth County } Personally appeared before me the subscriber one of the Justices of the Peace in aforesaid County of Monmouth comes Isabella McDermott, who being duly sworn upon her oath saith, that She is in her 74 year of age, and that she knew Thomas Holeman that he married her sister and that it was generally reported & believed that he was a Revolutionary Soldier. She remembers that in the Spring of 1776 he left Home to Enter in the Revolutionary Service, she lived in his family & that he wrote Several Letters home, from stating he was at Ticonderoga she remembered that he was in the army and did not return tell in the Spring 1777. He was gone better than a year. She did not see him within that time and that she believes from the circumstances that She has Stated that the said Thomas Holeman was in the U. S Service more than a year Taken & Sworn to before me this 14 day of November 1834 Isabella McDermott (her mark, "X")
This meant looking for a woman born around 1760 who married a guy with the last name of McDermott, who were living in Monmouth County in 1834. I found several documents that show that Isabella McDermott is the child of John Yetman. Here they are:
The baptism records of the Old Tennent Church also show a John Yateman presenting five daughters, including Isabella, who is of the correct age to match the age she stated in Thomas Holman's pension application. What this means is that Thomas Holman married one of her sisters (Mary, Elizabeth, Margaret or Lucia, assuming all daughters are accounted for in this record).
