Usticke Family Blog

Pictures

2009-03-26T20:42:00.002-04:00

We've uploaded pictures from the last several months to our gallery.

Westchester Atheists

2009-02-28T23:48:00.000-05:00

Click here to check out
The Westchester Atheists!

Facebook

2009-02-14T01:52:00.002-05:00

I finally gave in to the dark side and joined Facebook.

Alec Usticke

[updated 7/10/2009]

Christmas morning excitement

2008-12-21T17:22:00.002-05:00

Saffy & Liam react to what Santa brought last year.

I like how Saffy reverts to infancy, and Liam faints at the end.

Saffy leaves hospital

2008-11-22T17:50:00.002-05:00

As predicted, Saffy was discharged from the hospital yesterday.


Saffy gets her last Ganciclovir infusion	Saffy leaves the hospital

Saffy update

2008-11-20T18:36:00.002-05:00

The test results are good, and Saffy should be discharged from the hospital tomorrow. The CT scan showed no evidence of PTLD, and the EBV blood test showed a large reduction in the viral load.

Saffy in Hospital

2008-11-18T10:56:00.002-05:00

Unfortunately, Saffy is back in the hospital. She got hit with the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and was admitted on Friday. Outwardly she's now doing very well, but we're waiting for CT scan and lab results. The biggest fear is posttransplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD), a cancer caused by EBV. Depending on test results, she may need a biopsy.

She'll be in the hospital at least a few more days to complete a course of antiviral IV medication. Hopefully the cancer is just a scare and won't return and she'll be home soon.

Saffy's namesake

2008-08-22T21:39:00.002-04:00

Saffy was named after the character from the British television show Absolutely Fabulous.

Gen Con 2008

2008-08-22T00:57:00.001-04:00

My annual trip to Gen Con Indy was last weekend. Lots & lots of pictures are at gallery.usticke.org.

Cruise Vacation

2008-07-10T17:46:00.002-04:00

Our family vacation this year was a cruise on the Norwegian Spirit. The pictures are on our gallery.

Pictures

2008-07-10T17:39:00.003-04:00

We've uploaded pictures that span the past year to our gallery.

Make sure you view the video of Christmas morning excitement.

Why is my name Usticke?

2008-06-06T13:36:00.007-04:00

Before my father passed away, he spent the last few years of his life researching our family history. I recently loaded his genealogy data into the family tree site itsourtree.com and have been expanding it with other branches of our family.

Looking at my father's research, it raises some interesting questions about the Usticke name (pronounced you-stick).

Why is my name Usticke? Well, that's easy. It's because that's my father's name: Gordon William Usticke.

Why is my father's name Usticke? His father was an Englishman named Gordon Wright Nowell-Usticke. What happened to Nowell? To quote my father, "In the USA, I have used Usticke rather than Nowell-Usticke as we don't go in for hyphenated names."

So, let's go back a bit further.

Me: Alexander Earl Usticke (1970 - )
My parents: Gordon William Usticke (1935 - 2003) & Phyllis Ann Libman (1935 - )
His parents: Gordon Wright Nowell-Usticke (1894 - 1978) & Eunice Gertrude Forsythe (1914 - 1983)
His parents: William Gordon Stapylton Nowell-Usticke (1866 - 1938) & Elizabeth Wright
His parents: Stephen Usticke Nowell-Usticke (circa 1818 - circa 1875) & Lucy Eliza Marianne Bree (? - 1921)
His parents: Theophilus Samuel Beauchant (1787 - circa 1849) & Georgiana Ann Usticke Allen (1791 - circa 1875)

Wait, what happened there?

Stephen Usticke Nowell-Usticke's father was a Beauchant as was his grandfather (Theophile Beauchant) and great-grandfather (Samuel Beauchant). Why is my name Usticke and not Beauchant?

Why did Stephen Usticke Nowell-Usticke take his mother's middle name, and where did Nowell come from?

Well, let's look at his mother's family.

Georgina Allen's parents: George Allen (? - circa 1791) & Anne Usticke (circa 1763 - 1805)
Her parents: William Ustick (circa 1730 - ?) & Philippa Nowell

Stephen Usticke Nowell-Usticke was actually born Stephen Usticke Beauchant around 1818. His maternal grandmother, Anne Usticke, was the product of two English families: Nowell and Usticke (sometimes spelled Ustick and, going back to the 16th century and prior, spelled Ustwicke). Anne had six sisters but only two brothers, Stephen Usticke (circa 1752 - circa 1823) and Robert Michael Usticke (1771 - circa 1851). Apparently, neither brother had children.

William Ustick and Philippa Nowell's youngest son, Robert Michael Usticke, used both his parent's surnames; and, when he died childless in 1851, left the names and his armorial bearings (coat of arms) to his sister's grandson (his grandnephew). So, Stephen Usticke Beauchant became Stephen Usticke Nowell-Usticke.

And here's the evidence of that transaction from page 192 of the book Bulletins and Other State Intelligence for the Year 1852 by Francis Watts, published by Harrison and Sons, London, 1853.

The Nowell-Usticke coat of arms is noteworthy, because it includes three crests, which results from the combinations of three families: Nowell (left: arm grasping a sword between antlers), Usticke (center: red demi-eagle) and Beauchant (right: green martlet holding in its beak an acorn in front of rays of the sun).

So, why am I named Usticke? Because my great great grandfather inherited his name from his granduncle (my great great great great granduncle), and it's come down father and son to me (minus a hyphenated Nowell).

Whew.

[Edited 8 Jun 2008 with corrections and clarifications.]

Liam's Chunky Guys

2007-08-29T15:12:00.000-04:00

Liam shows off his (complete) collection of Star Wars Galactic Heroes, which he calls "chunky guys".

Gen Con 2007

2007-08-27T13:13:00.000-04:00

My annual trip to Gen Con Indy was last week. Lots of pictures are at gallery.usticke.org.

Star Wars Celebration IV

2007-05-28T02:44:00.001-04:00

Alec is attending Star Wars Celebration IV in Los Angeles and this time he brought the whole family. See the photos at gallery.usticke.org.

We're Moving

2006-10-28T19:16:00.000-04:00

We closed on a condominium townhouse in Peekskill, New York yesterday and will be moving shortly.

Disney World Vacation

2006-10-09T22:41:00.000-04:00

We're on vacation in Disney World. Pictures can be viewed on our gallery web site.

Games for sale on eBay

2006-09-21T15:57:00.000-04:00

We are moving, so I need to sell a portion of my games collection. Links to the eBay auctions are below. Discounted shipping is available for multiple orders.

	Axis and Allies: Europe by Avalon Hill
	Axis and Allies: Pacific by Avalon Hill
	Risk 2210 A.D. by Avalon Hill
	History of the World by Avalon Hill
	Stratego Legends by Avalon Hill
	Die Siedler von Catan: Historische Szenarien (Settlers of Catan: Historical Scenarios)
	Die Siedler von Catan: Historische Szenarien II (Settlers of Catan: Historical Scenarios II)
	Settlers of Catan Card Game
	Settlers of Catan Card Game Expansions
	Starship Catan
	Space Beans
	Emira
	Ghost Chase in Canterville Castle
	That's Life
	flowerpower
	Torres (Winner Spiel des Jahres)
	Vino
	Nur Peanuts!
	Princes of Florence
	Vinci: The Rise and Fall of Civilizations
	Manara Hard Game (Adult)
	Tigris & Euphrates by Reiner Knizia
	Samurai by Reiner Knizia
	Africa by Reiner Knizia
	Modern Art by Reiner Knizia
	Cosmic Encounter
	Acquire
	Junta
	Kremlin
	Empires in Arms
	Stalingrad
	Tenjo
	Meander
	eBay The Card Game
	Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
	Survivor
	Dungeon & Dragons Dungeon Tiles DT1

Gen Con 2006

2006-08-15T03:35:00.000-04:00

I just returned from my annual trip to Gen Con Indy, the best four days in gaming. I have uploaded several pictures to gallery.usticke.org.

gallery.usticke.org

2006-07-23T00:59:00.000-04:00

We added a new family image gallery at gallery.usticke.org.

Tornado

2006-07-12T19:35:00.000-04:00

We got hit with a tornado this afternoon. Everyone is fine, but the trees didn't fare too well.

Update 23 July 2006: More pictures at gallery.usticke.org.

Happy New Year

2006-01-06T23:15:00.000-05:00

Web sites

2006-01-06T22:27:00.000-05:00

Family
www.usticke.org
Web log: blog.usticke.org
Infantile Hemangioendothelioma mailing list: health.groups.yahoo.com/group/hemangioendothelioma/

Star Wars
www.uncleowen.org
America Online Star Wars Fan Club Expatriates mailing list: movies.groups.yahoo.com/group/aolswfc/

Westchester (NY) Gaming Group
www.westchestergaming.org
WGG mailing list: games.groups.yahoo.com/group/westchester_gaming_group/

Neverwinter Nights
Neverwinter Nights Wiki: www.nwnwiki.org
Neverwinter Nights 2 Wiki: www.nwn2wiki.org
Bastions of War team PvP arena server: www.bastionsofwar.com
BoW guild (forum): forum.bastionsofwar.com

Gordon Usticke

2005-06-05T05:00:00.000-04:00

Today would have been my father's 70th birthday.

Star Wars Fan in Denial

2005-05-17T17:42:00.000-04:00

Alec was quoted in a small article in the May issue of Westchester Magazine.