Author: lauriekearney

I am a historian, a genealogist and an educator

Making Timelines and Charts and Dive Deeper into History –

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            I am a visual person. Sometimes when I am researching someone, whether it is a genealogical search or a historical search, I find it can be extremely helpful to make a timeline or some sort of chart to help me with my search. When you lay out the events and facts of someone’s life, without the clutter of your writing or notation of your sources, you can see the simplicity of someone’s life, and that may lead you to finding more information on that person.

This chart incucludes events for Loyd’s life as well as historical event and a spot for his daughter to add memories

            Recently, I went to the movies with a bunch of friends to see The Boys in the Boat, which was about the University of Washington’s rowing team during the depression. So many of these young men came from families that were especially struggling during this era. Some came on scholarships, some worked to pay for their education, but through their participation in the crew, they found themselves on an equal playing field…or river in there case! This story really got me thinking about my friend’s father Loyd. During the depression, his family also struggled, he went on to work in the CCC, and eventually took those skills to Washington, where he put them to use. I thought Loyd might be a good subject to write about. I filled out the tree I had on my friend’s family, paying careful attention to her dad, trying to find as much documentation as I could on his life. As you build a tree on Ancestry, a timeline is created on the profile page, but as I looked at it, I could not clearly see the story I was hoping to tell. So I opened a new Microsoft word document, and began to create my own timeline on Loyd. By considering some to the events that happened in his parents and sibling’s lives and knowing Loyd was living with his family, I was able to add new events to his life. One of the things I see missing was his voice. I sent my timeline to my friend, leaving a column for my friend to enter her dad’s stories.

A section of Mrs. Simons’ obituary, naming her children (who I knew) and her brother (his name here proved this line)

            Another time I found making charts helpful was trying to work out the life of my husband’s great-great-grandmother, Mary Ellen. She was someone who had been a brick wall in my family research for almost twenty years. This was a woman who came to California as a new bride, leaving her history (and family) behind in Ohio. My husband’s Granny knew more about her grandmother’s life in California, but did not know anything about the family she left behind. She had a few stories to tell that I thought might lead to a familial find. The turning point for this search occurred with a distant cousin posted images of the family bible on line. This posting started to pull the pieces of Granny’s stories together with primary sources I had found. I made several charts that compared and contrasted the information I had. Through this process I could clearly see the family connections and was able to draft, I thought, a rather compelling argument as to who was Mary Ellen’s Ohio family. Approximately two years after I felt I found Mary Ellen’s family. One of the historical newspapers I subscribe to, digitized a newspaper with Mary Ellen’s obituary, which named her siblings….and by golly, I was right!

Time line for Hannah, a free woman of color who lived in Walpole a long time ago.

            Recently, I was looking for information on how my town handled their indigent population around 1800. As I was going through town records, and recording my findings in a chart, which I intend to use for comparing and contrasting the towns management of their poor, I found information regarding a person I had previously studied. She was a free person of color who married a formerly enslaved man and lived in my town. Church records and town records mention her from time to time, and local history books give her a passing mention. I decided to put all the primary sources into a chart (town and church), and what that chart showed me was that this woman lived here for many years and was frequently harassed by the town fathers. Shameful.

            Graphing the fact you find on your ancestors can be extremely helpful with your genealogical researching. Give it a try. I think you will like it!

FamilySearch FamilyTrees

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            FamilySearch is one of the best sites out there for researching genealogy. They came online almost twenty-five years ago, with a simple format that basically coughed up lists. Originally this included some census records, a couple of databases and their International Genealogy Index (IGI), which is a database that included many primary records as well as many undocumented sources. Over the years, they have continued to update and improve their website eventually doing away with the IGI and now offering digitized records. About eleven years ago, they added a family tree component to their page, which is basically a crowd-sourced tree. So if you realize that the tree you are adding to is NOT your tree and that anyone can add whatever they like to the tree….even if it is not accurate information about your grandfather – Then go ahead and add to it!

A section of my family tree fan chart on FamilySearch

            I initially was apprehensive about contributing to the tree. So apprehensive in fact, that I did not even look at it for almost ten years, mostly because wrong information drives me wacky! I can fix it of course…but someone can fix it back too. But eventually I thought why not. At least I could enter the information that pertains directly to me. I’ve added picture of ancestors, and some stories too, I have even added to branches of family lines to the tree that I am researching.

The tools FamilySearch has to help edit, merge and attach sources to your tree

            If you do not want to buy an Ancestry membership, then I would recommend keeping your tree on your computer, so do not rely on the FamilySearch tree to keep your research; mostly because someone can change it. Consider the FamilySearch tree as a clue and not fact. Do your own research and find your own documents (proof). The FamilySearch tree initially seems easy to use, first you will have to sign up for a membership. It’s free (I love free!), and therefore, they will not ask you for a credit card. The tree also has ways of attaching sources to it, which is nice as it helps prove the line. There is also a way to change information, delete people (or move them to another branch), and merge duplicate records, but I admit it is tricky to do. The learning curve is huge, and you will make mistakes. When I get stuck, I stop trying to fix it and hope someone will come along who knows how to fix my errors…I also imagine them cursing me out!

            I think the FamilySearch tree is worth a try. It is a great source that can point you in a new direction…or confirm you are on the right track. But keep in mind just as easily it can be right…it can be wrong! Think of it as a clue and not fact…it is just another tool in you toolkit.

Walking Tours – Takin’ it to the Streets

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An announcement card for the Walk Around the Park, Nowood, MA

            I apologize if now you have the Doobie Brothers stuck in your head, and well this discussion has nothing to do with the Doobie Brothers, and everything to do with developing walking tours. Finding and creating an informal ways to share local history can and will attract participants and draw attention to you local historical society can be challenging. One program that many people seem to enjoy are walking tours. I have been lucky enough to research, write and offer several walking tours for a local church and a couple of local historical societies. All tours were well received and many people have asked if they will be run again as they either want an encore presentation or were unable to make the scheduled tour.

A snapshot of the Swedeville walking tour, Norwood, MA

            In the summer of 2022, the town of Norwood celebrated their 150th anniversary. A celebration committee was formed a couple of years in advance, and had planned some amazing year-long activities. Our historical society also wanted to offer opportunities to celebrate this anniversary, and we decided to offer several walking tours focusing on some of the ethnic neighborhoods that helped the town grow. These neighborhoods were established around 1900, and were home to so many people who came to Norwood in search is good jobs. A sort of chain migration occurred, as they told friends and family members of the wonderful opportunities Norwood had to offer. As I was researching these neighborhoods, I found it so fascinating how these new Americans shared their culture with their children in a variety of social organizations, churches, and celebrations. We offered seven tours over seven weeks over the summer on Tuesday nights. Every Tuesday, the number of attendees grew as people began talking about our tours. The last tours we gave had 50 to 60 participants!

A brochure was made of the History of Slavery in Wapole for people who would want to take a walking tour by themselves.

            A couple of years ago a local church began to explore the history of slavery in their church, with an eye towards reparations. I was asked to research a man who was enslaved in their town. This research led me to ask myself who else was enslaved there and what did their lives looks like during their enslavement and after (assuming they experienced freedom). First I had to identify people who had been enslaved in town, but the enslaved traditionally do not leave a lot of records behind. So I started with looking for wealthly residents and pulled wills, deeds and local published histories. As I was finding these people and the people they enslaved, I realized they all lived in walking distance of one another. I automatically thought writing and giving a walking tour about this history might be well received by the church and other interested people, but more importantly, I thought it was a wonderful way for people to learn about this history.

            Currently, my hometown is celebrating its 300th anniversary. A friend, who is a member the Board of Directors of our historical society, and I are planning to present six walking tours of our local cemeteries over the course of the year. I’ve been working on the research part and I think we have selected several great topics. So instead of giving a similar tour of each cemetery, we have selected an over arching theme for each tour. Some themes we will be discussing are founding families, early industries and wars that have affected Americans. By taking these themes and tying them into people who are buried in the cemetery we will create a walking tour that is more than “here is a grave of a person….AND here is another grave of a person,” hopefully it will be a tour that presents local history in a unique way.

The Rural Cemetery, Walpole, MA. Theme will be early industries in Walpole

            Some of my take-ways from the tours I have given, is to try to keep it around 1 hour to 1½ hours long. If they are too long, you will loose people. I have a couple of tours I know if are offered again, need to be edited. Also, have an idea regarding the physical length of the tour. If you cover a lot of area, let people know, that way they can judge if it is the right tour for them. It is also important to do a dry run of your tour, think of it as a dress rehearsal. On my slavery tour I just walked it, and I found the non-stop walk was about 55 minutes. I lopped off one stop on the tour, which gained be 15 minutes, and I shorten my talks at a couple of stops and hoped I was in the 1½ hour range. The other part I think is important is to share the presentation with another presenter. With the neighborhood tours, I had someone else helping me. One tour was of a swanky neighborhood filled with beautiful Victorian homes, my co-presenter was an architectural historian who offered a perspective that was not in my wheelhouse. In another neighborhood tour my co-presenter was someone who’s grandparents came to Norwood and helped established this neighborhood, her parents grew up there and she did too! She offered personal stories about the lives of the neighborhood residents, which sparked a great deal of conversation among our attendees.

            Walking tours are a wonderful casual way to share local history. It is through this kinds of low-key presentations, that will engage participants. They often feel free to ask questions or share memories. Walking tours are really an enjoyable way to teach local history!

Using Census Records to Maximize your Genealogical Research

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Census records are extremely helpful went researching your family. The census has been taken in the United States every ten years since 1790, and they contain a wealth of information. When I first started using online databases to help in my genealogical research, I loved census records, especially the 1850 census and those that followed it! This is because they list every one in the home. The more I delved into my genealogy I felt it was important to assemble the whole family, not just my direct ancestors.  I have discovered that sometimes documentation does not add new information regarding a direct ancestor, but knowing your direct ancestor’s siblings may lead to the clue that opens up an ancestral line. Also, in the home may have extended family, grandparents, aunt and uncles, as well as cousins, all of these connections can be the clue you need to find more information on your line.

However, there are pit falls you need to watch out for, such as inconsistencies that may occur from census to census. These can include misspellings of the surname. This does not mean that your family changed the spelling of the name, but it is most likely it is how the census taker thought the name was spelled. Often, you will see a change in the place of birth column. One year you find your ancestor shows they were born in Vermont and ten years later it notes New York, or fluctuating age can be another problem with census records. These errors can be contributed to whoever provided the answers to the census taker, and they may or may not necessarily known the correct answer and simply guessed. In the case of countries, one year might say “Ireland” and in the following census “Scotland” or “England” might be recorded. This fluctuation can most likely be caulked up to the notion that people from certain countries of origins often experienced prejudice, and listing a more acceptable country of origin may have made things easier.

One sage genealogist once pointed out to me not to assume all the children in the home belonged to the two adults listed. So if four-year-old Tom Lynch is in the home of John & Sarah Lynch, who appears ten years later and ten years after that, it would be safe to think he was John & Sarah’s son, but when you pull the death certificate for Tom and discover the names of his parents were George & Abigail! After some research, you discover George and Abigail died before little Tom was two-years-old, you realize Tom was raised by his uncle and aunt! So be aware of these inconsistencies and your tree will be built on accurate information.

Useful information collected and noted in these census records, can lead to finding further information on your ancestors; this may include parents place of birth, language spoken in the home, number of years married, number of children born and number of children alive (today), and (if born in another country) when arrived in US, are they naturalized & year. This information can point you to ship manifests, naturalization records and more. In the case of the 1900 census, it can help to assemble a family, because the 1890 was destroyed, so there is a 20 year span between censuses, and if you see four children in the 1900 home and the mother states she gave birth to 10 children and six are alive, you may want to begin searching for birth and death records of the missing children.

Between 1790 and 1840 the US census record forms were more a check-off format. The form looks life graph paper or an excel spreadsheet. The rows contain ages (ex. Males 5-10, females 20-30), the first column was reserved to list the head of household. This is the only name listed and following that name, would be the number of people in each row category….2 males 5-10 and 1 female 20-30. It is just as important to study the information on these censuses as it is in the later censuses because they contain a wealth of information…but of course it can be a bit more tricky.

First locate your ancestor in the census and make a note of the number of people recorded in the home and where the family is living. If they never leave a particular town, well that is easy to follow, but if they move around, check maps and make sure the moves make sense. For demonstration purposes, we will study David Jordon of Maine. He was born about 1760 and died 30 May 1847 in Waterford, ME. He married twice, once in 1782 and again in 1785. Not all the names of all of his children are known. By studing the censuses we may be able to figure out how many children he had, total amount as well as number of boys and girls.

With this information, we can start to develop a skeleton outline of children born to David Jordan and his wives. Once a visual outline with number of children and their sexes is developed with these census records, we can start to search for records to fill in the blanks. David and his wives had:

By creating such a chart, we have an idea that we are looking for about 14 children born to David Jordan. Now we need to change “boy, born b/w 1782 &1790” to a name of a son. However, there are not any vital record entries for this family in either Gray or Albany, Maine, searching for documentation in less obvious places is required; published genealogies found on Google books, probate records and pension applications provided a source of information on this family. Then it was important to look at all these possible children to see if they note their parent’s names in their marriage and death records, and to check Find A Grave (.com) for gravestones to figure out birth order.

Documentation:

  • David applied for a pension (in 1820). Lists himself at 59, wife Temperance 57, children: Jefferson 16, Buckman 14, and Phebe 11.
  • Ruth (Jordan) Abbott’s death record list names of parents
  • Wales is noted as son in Proctor genealogy
  • Lydia (Jordan) LeBarron & Joanna (Jordan) LeBarron are noted in LeBarron genealogy
  • Afidavit filed to the Oxford County Probate Court 24 Aug 1847 by Obed Abbot (husband of Ruth) States David died 30 May 1847, leaving no widow, but these surviving children: Elijah Jordan, David Jordan, Calvin Jordan, Ruth Abbot, Jefferson Jordan, James Jordan, Wales Jordan, Russell Jordan, Lydia LaBaron and Joan LaBaron.
Page from David Jordan’s pension application naming the family he had living with him at that time.

Now with this information and the outline we created we can develop David’s family:

Children of David & first wife are:

  1. David Jordan, born abt 1783 in Grey, ME; died 1868 Denmark, ME
  2. Elijah Jordan, born 1785 in Grey, ME; died Oct 1860 Paris, ME.

Children of David & second wife are:

  1. Calvin Jordan, born 1787; died 20 Dec 1859 Portland, ME
  2. son Jordan, born abt 1789; died young
  3. Ruth Jordan, born 1791; died 29 Nov 1865 Albany, ME.
  4. son, born about 1793; died bef 1810
  5. Wales Jordan, born 9 Dec 1794; died 30 Jul 1877 Albany, ME.
  6. Temperance, born abt 1796; died 1842.
  7. Lydia Jordan, born 1798; died 8 Jan 1855 Harrison, ME.
  8. James R Jordan, born 1800; died in Chicago.
  9. Joanna Jordan, born 1801; died 18 Sept 1856 Lovell, ME.
  10. Thomas Jefferson Jordan, born 9 Oct 1803;
  11. Russell Buckman Jordan, born Aug 1806; died 5 Dec 1875 Andover, MA
  12. Phebe Jordan, born 1809; died bef 1847.

Locating the probate record was a wonderful find! It confirmed what the various genealogies had to say and made it very easy to fill in the blanks. Knowing how to best utilize and analyze census records and then taking the kernals of information they provide and knowing where to look for new information may lead to answers. However, it make take years of searching to find missing ancestors, but don’t give up!

More Breaking Down Brick Walls: Where to Look Next

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Historical hunting!

So you think you have searched just about everywhere to find an elusive document that will prove a family connection. You know they come from a particular town in a particular state. You have searched every online database you could find, you’ve written to the town clerk and local historical society and you have not had any luck. Now you are totally frustrated and do not know where to turn next. I would suggest you take a break from your genealogy hunt and start a history hunt!

Having a working knowledge of the history of a certain area, immigration patterns, naming conventions, etc., can help you to break down a brick wall, or at the very least, it will help you to understand why your ancestors did what they did as well as put them into historical context. Having a better understanding of the big picture, can point you in a new direction to research, or to the archive that may have that elusive document in their collection.

The Establishment of States, Counties and Towns

Massachusetts State Archives, Boston, MA

I live outside of Boston, Massachusetts. Records here go way back, which is awesome, but knowing where to find them can be tricky! For instance, Norfolk County was established in 1793, being “set off” from Suffolk County. So if you are looking for land deeds, probate records or any other legal document for someone who lived in Norfolk County pre-1793, you will find it in Suffolk County. Then there is the added confusion of an old Norfolk County in Massachusetts. It was established in 1643 and was what is today New Hampshire’s seacoast. Records from this old county, which ceased to exist when New Hampshire was established in the early 1690s can be found in the Essex County Registry or Deeds in Salem, Massachusetts. The town of Norwood was established in 1872, for almost 150 years it had been the Village of South Dedham, which was a precinct of the town of Dedham. Records regarding people who lived in Norwood/South Dedham before 1872 can be found in the town of Dedham. Have you done research in the state of Maine? Knowing that it was established in 1820, being set off from Massachusetts, will point you to the Massachusetts State Archives to find documents on Maine pre-1820. Out west, many counties were established from larger counties, and much of Arizona, New Mexico, California and Texas at one time were part of Mexico. So it is important to learn about these geographical changes in order to find information.

The New York State Dutch

New York State Archives, Albany, NY

The Dutch settled in New York State. We know the original name of Manhattan was New Amsterdam, which was a city within the colony of New Netherlands. This colony encompassed parts of modern day New Jersey, parts of coastal Delaware and stretched as far north as Schenectady and into parts of New England and was originally settled in the early 1600s and by 1700, it became part of the English colonies. Some Records from New Netherlands can be found at the New York State Archives and records from the Dutch India Company can be found at the National Archives in The Hague, in the Netherlands. Most of these records are in Dutch, so a translator may be necessary. When researching New York Dutch it is important to keep in mind that when they came to the east coast of North America, they brought with them their Dutch customs. One of these customs was their patriarchal naming custom. In other words their surname was their father’s first name with “son” or “daughter” following (ex. Jansson or Jansdotter) by the mid-1700s they began to adopt the family name custom, their English neighbors had been using for hundreds of years.

Immigration Patterns

Knowing the paths immigrants took as they moved across North America is important, as well as knowing why they moved. I have run across records where someone recorded a New England groom marrying a Virginia bride in the early 1700s, and then of course this error is repeated and repeated in dozens of trees. Sure, there is a possibility this could have happened, but it is more likely there was a woman from New England who had the same name, and some researcher just clicked and accepted the name. With research, you can confirm these connections, some make sense and others do not. I had a family I was working on who lived outside of Boston, then someone shows they had a son move to New Jersey in the late 1700s. I thought this was an error, as most New Englanders either relocated to other New England states, or just kept pushing west through New York. With some study, I discovered this fellow indeed went to New Jersey. I tracked another New Englander from Vermont, through New York and finally Ohio over the course of thirty years. Many online trees had him coming from New Jersey. That is because his third (possibly fourth wife) Sabra (Mount) Vorhees (Look! There is one of those Dutch surnames!) was from New Jersey. Then he joins up with the Mormons and I further track him to a variety of Mormon settlements. Through careful study all his relocations make sense. Further, they can help confirm other familial relationships.

It is in the history of an area answers to genealogical questions can be found. So do not give up your genealogical searches….instead switch it up and look for the history. You never know what you will find!

Genealogy Conferences – a Gift you Give Yourself

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         I think as learners we all get to a place where we need to turn to someone for help. There are plenty of online sites that have information that may hold the key to your questions – Facebook, YouTube, and blog posts are just a few that come to mind, and they may indeed have the answer you are looking for….but they can just as easily give you what you think is the answer, but it only confuses you more. As genealogical researcher, your questions may go from what does this word mean? To how do I break down a brick wall? And pretty much everything in between. The very best thing for you to do is to consider attending a genealogical club or conference to teach YOU how to do something new, instead of relying on input from a stranger. Over the years I have attended many genealogical conferences that not only simply educated me on a new technique or showed me a better way to find records, but these conference presentations fortified my research skills and has continued to assist me as a researcher, because I know what I am looking at.

            When DNA first came on the scene as a way to find wayward ancestors, I was not interested. I had a friend who was lovin’ it! And even she could not convince me to give it a whirl. Then one weekend I found my schedule was free AND my husband was willing to hang out with the kids, so I went to nearby Genealogy Conference….it was being held at a facility less then an hour from my home. I showed up as a walk in. There were booths to peruse, and books for sale, but best of all there were programs to attend. I decided to take in the DNA presentation, which was a two-part presentation.

            The presenter really started with the basics, starting with the vocabulary and then moved into using that vocabulary to explain what a DNA report was showing, and how to use that information to find family connections. She had a family mystery she was hoping to solve. She took us through her search step by step, showing us the breadcrumbs she discovered along the way. As her presentation progressed, she began to show us how she then put these pieces together to find her answer. I walked away with a new appreciation of DNA and how it can be used to break down a brick wall. I played with it for a couple of years, before I decided I needed to attend another conference. This was a week long one, and sadly because of COVID, I ended up attending it from the comfort of my own couch. We had presentations from several genealogical DNA rock stars. Their information added to my DNA tool kit, giving me a deeper understanding, as well as some new techniques that strengthened my skills.

            These conferences have been very helpful to me! Plus, hanging out with a bunch of Genealogists for a couple of days is fun! Imagine talking to someone who shares your enthusiasm! My poor husband has listened me, trying to be excited for my discoveries, but I know he is not. The conference that kicked off my DNA journey is only one of many conferences I have attended. I have taken in an all day “how to search and find Irish records,” a program I though would be helpful finding my husband’s Kearney ancestors. Another presentation I took in was “how to use ArkivDigital” Sweden’s Archives, which I figured would be helpful researching my grandmother’s line.

            As genealogists, we need to think of ourselves as life long learners. The more you learn….the better genealogist you will become!

(NOTE: All pictures are from RootsTech. A large in person/virtual Genealogy Conference. It happens every year in Frebrary. Some day I plan to go!)

Searching for Kearneys

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I married into the Kearney family almost thirty years ago, and since that time, I have been researching this family. Let me tell you it has been very slow going! First of all, my husband did not know his Kearney side of the family. This was due to the fact that his parents separated when he was an infant, and the adults involved in this generation basically had nothing to do with each other. As a child, my husband asked questions, but sensed it was a painful time in his mother’s life that she did not want to discuss. Enter the genealogist.

Marrying into the Kearney family…Rich and me on our wedding day

My mother-in-law knew how much I enjoyed family research. Over the years she would tell me stories about her family, so she was not taken aback when I asked about the Kearneys. And seeing as over thirty years had passed, she was ready to tell me what she knew…which honestly was not a lot; his parent’s first names (but not grandma’s maiden name) and the state where her ex-husband was born. However, as I was asking questions, she remembered that a few months after she and her husband separated, his father died and she attended the funeral. So she knew exactly where his family was buried. A phone call to the cemetery gave me the full names and birth/death dates of my husband’s grandparents. Folks I knew I could find in censuses! Woohoo!

Back then genealogical databases did not have a lot of information and often were rather clunky to use. Bit by bit, and over many years, I pieced together a rather full tree for the Kearneys, but knew very little about their life before they came to the US from Ireland in the late 1800s. Obituaries in Chicago newspapers filled in some of the siblings of my husband’s great-grandfather, Cornelius Kearney. It seemed they came from County Kerry as it appeared there are baptism records (and digitized on FamilySearch), but some of the dates were off. This lead me to question what I was finding, plus in all the United States records where Cornelius Kearney appears he says he was from County Cork. Within the last year or so, I not only found through document research, more of Cornelius’s siblings…. the ones who either died young, or never relocated to the United States, but I found Irish census records that show the family in County Cork. Cornelius’ youngest sibling was born there when Cornelius was about ten years old. Which means that when Cornelius was asked where he came from…. he said correctly, he came from County Cork.

Irish research is tricky. I am extremely lucky to have found records on this family. Lack of Irish records is largely due to Ireland’s Civil War, as the country’s archives were destroyed. This means Irish records are spotty, and often a researcher must rely on records at the village/city or county level; records like land records, dog license applications, etc.

Very recently, I decided to look at DNA to see if I could expand the Kearney line. Both my sons have taken Ancestry DNA and my husband 23 and Me DNA.  Looking at their matches and figuring out how they fit into the family tree, I’ve been able to learn more about Cornelius’ siblings who stayed in Ireland…marriage, children (‘cause they are the DNA descendants who took a test) and from their trees I found the death date for some of these siblings. I should note that originally I found Cornelius was one of five siblings who came to the United States. Kerry church records show he was one of twelve children, one who died young.

a peek at Kearney relations

The DNA also showed me a genealogical match to a Kearney branch who moved to New Zealand. Interestingly, someone from this branch reached out to me a few years ago. She had a theory that her great-uncle Patrick Kearney, married his cousin, Anna Kearney (Cornelius’ sister). She wondered what I had on my branch and if there was any truth that could prove her theory. Today I know that answer. My sons share DNA with this woman…. as well as another woman who is a second cousin to the lady from New Zealand. This shows that Patrick Kearney and Anna Kearney were cousins! When Patrick’s father married a second time, he listed the name of his father as Patrick…and Cornelius and Anna also have a brother Patrick. Further exploration is need with this line. One technique I did was to make a spreadsheet to record all the baptisms of Cornelius and his siblings, but I included the names of all the sponsors, hoping this will give some clues to other family members.

Kearney DNA is also showing me relatives to Cornelius’ mother, Catherine Curtin’s family. Although I have not proven any line, it appears Catherine has relatives…either brothers or a father named Cornelius Curtin and Laurence Curtin. Catherine named two of her sons: Cornelius Curtin Kearney (my husband’s great grandfather) and Laurence Curtin Kearney.

You can see that by using DNA records one can grow a family tree, and not just find a missing DNA relative. I can see this is the start of something promising, but it is going to need a lot more research to prove anything. But I am up to it!

Learning about Leeds Charts

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This is not a “how-to” discussion, as I am a newbie to this technique. Plus, there are so many wonderful how-to videos on this topic, AND the person who created this technique has their own blog page (here). Who better to learn this method from than the person who developed it!

I had read on several genealogical DNA Facebook pages where I am a member, about how helpful Dana Leeds’ technique was for organizing DNA matches. Bonus, it is a color-coding technique and I am a person who finds visual practices very helpful to understand, or to “see” a new concept. Admittedly, I tend not to fortify my mind before I research. Sometimes I like to delve in and see where my research takes me, and learn as I go along.

My first experience was working with my college roommates DNA to answer a genealogical question: who was her birthfather? Like so many people, when the results first came in, I did not know where or how to start. What I was looking at was somewhat over whelming. I clicked on many of the matches and looked at their trees (if they had them). I googled for information on some of the matches, hoping I would discover a clue…or two, that might help. Finally, I turned to YouTube for guidance and learned about mirror trees. Actually not a technique that would be helpful in this case, but I liked the idea of building a tree that would contain the matches. Perhaps that might lead me to this elusive birthfather. I learned as I went along and was eventually able to figure out how my friend fit into this genetic tree.

From experiencing some success, I wanted to have more opportunities to use DNA in genealogical research. A couple of summers back, I took a DNA class (online because of the pandemic) at the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh (GRIP), where one of the presenters was none other than Dana Leeds! She lead us through her method step by step, then gave us a homework assignment to try it on our own. Now, not having a lot of DNA in my account to work with, I thought I would use my college roommate’s DNA results, as I already knew what the answers should be. I thought this would be a self-correcting way of using the Leeds Method. If I did not fully understand this technique, then my chart would be wrong, and then I could go back and re-try this method to get it right.

Basically, you consider a small subset of DNA matches, people with whom the test taker shares approximately 400cM to 90cMs with; their second and third cousins. Using a spreadsheet to record your matches, you click on the 1st second cousin in the list who shares about 400cMs with your test taker, then you click on “Shared Matches.” That is the list you record in your spreadsheet, assigning all those in this column a certain color. Arrow out. Then click on the next cousin (who you have not entered into you spreadsheet), then click on “Shared Matches” and record that list assigning them another color. Work you way through the cousin list until you get to your last cousin with whom the test taker shares 90cMs with. You will end up with at least four columns…and sometimes more, but don’t panic. With is information you will discover the surnames of the test takers grandparents. (If this technique intrigues you, I would encourage you to find another site that can explain it better!)

This is an excellent place to start your research. It gives you a snapshot of the test takers family. Basically you know the surnames of the grandparents. The next thing I do is build family trees using the trees the shared matches built and building them out to include siblings and cross referencing them to primary documents. If I am lucky, I will find a marriage of two people with the grandparents surnames…perhaps THE grandparents, but it could be another couple with the same names….so check and double check your research!

I love the Leeds Method and highly encourage people to learn more about it!

My DNA Journey: The Gift that keeps on giving!

lauriekearney

Having had several positive outcomes using DNA to solve genealogical questions, I felt empowered, but I knew I needed more experience using it. Enter my friend Tracy. She was adopted. She “met” her birth mother’s family many years earlier, but did not know any thing about her birth father’s family…. and her birth mom was not giving up the information. It was a question she pondered about, but had no burning desire to know more. When I asked her if she was willing to take a DNA test for me so I could figure out this question, she graciously accepted.

I asked Tracy not to give me any information about her birth family. Knowing that many adoptees do not have any information on their birth families, I thought having empty slate, would be an excellent challenge for me. Now, I have known Tracy for approximately twenty years now; our children grew up together. So I remembered a few bits of information, like she had occasional phone visits with a half-sister named Rhoda, who lived in another state…but that was all I basically recalled, and it was not enough information to attempt a Google search.

It took a while for the results to come in, as the first test failed and Tracy had to send another sample. When she received the results, she shared them to my Ancestry account…and I was off and running! I thought I would resolve familial questions quickly, but that was not the case. The very first thing I did was to make a Leeds Chart. This technique should yield the surnames of the grandparents of the test taker, which ultimately it did…but it also created a few questions for me!

Who was Tracy’s birth father? Well seeing as his brother and daughter had taken Ancestry DNA tests, I figured out who he was very quickly. In fact, it was so quick, that I actually second-guessed myself and dug a little deeper. I spent a few more hours on this question, and confirmed the bio-dad’s identity to my satisfaction. Tracy’s birth mom told Tracy stories about him, and the only thing that appeared to be true, was he had served in the military.

OK, now on to the identity of Tracy’s bio-mom. For some reason, I thought this would be the easiest question for me to answer. I don’t know why. Perhaps it was because I had the notion that Tracy already knew the answer. I know that doesn’t make sense, because not knowing, is not knowing, even if some else has the answer. Tracy had a lot of DNA test takers on her maternal side. So I started building a family tree based on the trees these test takers had started to build, carefully linking everyone together. As the tree grew and grew, I did not feel I was getting any closer to figuring out her bio-mom’s identity. It was SO frustrating!

The paper trail was not leading me to a bio-trail. I posted questions on a Facebook genealogical DNA site I belong to, hoping for guidance. I was certainly given feedback, which I took to heart. Taking these suggestions, I worked the tree, referring back to the DNA results, but I was not getting any closer to an answer. Finally, I had to call “uncle” and ask Tracy for the answer. She told me the name of her bio-mom. Turns out I had her in the tree, but I was nowhere near discovering she was the bio-mom.

This is where Tracy’s DNA branches get all twisty (hence my confusion). Turns out, Tracy’s bio-maternal grandfather was illegitimate and was raised by his grandparents. So he carried his mother’s maiden name. She went on to marry and have more nine children, and both her maiden name and her married name were in my Leeds Chart. I should be note that discovering “just” the four surnames of grandparent is the Leeds Chart is not a given…. usually you end up with several more surnames, but if you look carefully for commonalities, your results can be narrowed down to four surnames. In this case, many descendants of bio-grandpa’s half-siblings, as well as his aunts & uncles had taken DNA tests, but by looking carefully at the family tree, I saw how I got confused as these families all twisted together!

So the lesson I learned here was to look more closely at the documents. In the 1920 census, bio-grandpa was just a year old and living with his grandparents. This is the only time he is listed as their “grandson” in other censuses; he is listed as their son. These grandparents also raised another grandson as their “son,” after his mother (their daughter) died. Interestingly, this grandson’s known father appears to be (possibly) the brother of bio-grandpa’s dad…just to add further confusion to this family! As I dug deeper into bio-grandpa’s records, I found an image of his birth certificate online, and the name of his mother is listed…but not the dad.

This gave me a new DNA question of answer! Who was bio-grandpa’s birthfather? I knew who his family was, but candidates of the appropriate age were not indicating they were the father. Many descendants of these possible candidates had taken DNA tests. I expected to see a close-ish match…. like a first or second cousin (possibly or actually once removed). But the DNA numbers were showing a slightly more distant relationship. Rats! Once again, I turn for some guidance on a Facebook genealogical DNA page. There some one suggested I try WATO…. what? Turns out this is a new feature on the DNA Painter site, where you can build a scaled back tree to see if your familial hypothesis is correct. WATO, or What Are The Odds, is an interesting tool. After I gave it a try, it was clear I needed to learn more about how to use this tool.

So Tracy graciously allowed me to use her DNA as a learning experience. And boy did I learn a few things! And now I have more to learn!!! Tracy’s gift is definitely a gift that keeps on giving!!

Thank you Tracy!

My DNA Journey: A Journey of Discovery

lauriekearney

I’ve been dabbling in DNA to solve genealogical questions for a couple of years now. About 5 years ago, a fellow genie friend began using DNA in her searches, and she thought it was a wonderful tool. I remained skeptical and was unsure if I wanted to invest time and energy into learning how to use DNA to solve genealogical questions. Then in 2018, I attended an educational conference sponsored by the Massachusetts Genealogical Council, where Jennifer Zinck gave a wonderful presentation on using DNA. OK, now I’m intrigued.

I reached out to a dear friend from college who had always wanted to know the identity of her birthfather…. (Last name “Smith”…. oh, please!). I asked her if she would be willing to take a DNA test so that I could learn a new technique. She agreed and my education began. I read what I could find online and watched several “how-to” videos, and when the results were finally in I began creating a giant family tree of her matches…. well, its more like a blob because she comes from a relatively insular community where families intermarried. Eventually I had had this giant blobby family tree and still could not figure out where her birthfather fit in. Then I found a video by the Barefoot Genealogist (Christa Cowan) on making a simple chart to visually see how your genetic matches fit in (video is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VP8rUlZbmeA&t=1011s). Once I did this…. I solved my first DNA mystery. Boy did I feel empowered!

My Grammy, Hope at 6 years old….and her birth mother, Hilda.

Next, I used my son and mother’s DNA to begin solving a family mystery…. my grandmother (Hope) was adopted and as luck would have it, after good old fashioned sleuthing I believe I found her birth family…. a DNA test proved I found a ½ second Cousin! This cousin informed me that my grandmother’s birthmother (Hilda) was also adopted (oh boy). After a free weekend on AkivDigital, Sweden’s Archives, I found that the birth grandmother mother (Elda), who was born out of wedlock (on no!), but DNA helped me figure out who her birthfather was. However, as you can see there is still a lot to figure out in this line!

Cross section of a Leeds Chart

Then attended and week long (online…because, you know, pandemic) class on DNA led by Blaine Bettinger, with guest presenters Dana Leeds, Karen Stanbary and Paula Williams. By the end of the week, I knew I needed to “play” with more DNA, do a lot more studying and circle back for another class. I asked another friend if she would take a DNA test. She was adopted and had long ago met her birthmother and knew the name of her birthfather. She didn’t actually have any questions she wanted answered, but agreed to let me learn from her DNA. I knew quite a bit about her birth mom, so I asked my friend not to divulge any information on her birth dad to see if I could figure out who he was. When the DNA results rolled in, I first made a Leeds Chart…. a wonderful technique! If done correctly, you should discover the surnames of all four grandparents. I googled for the birth moms obituary, hoping that might lead to the names of her parents…. it did. Then I began building a family tree with this information and DNA matches. As my friend’s tree grew, possible birth father candidates emerged (three brothers). They grew up many states away from where my friend’s birth parents met. I needed to connect one of the brothers to a far away state from their home state. With the help of Google, and some primary documentation found on Ancestry, I was able to nail down the birth father. Because my friend knew his name, she was able to confirm I was correct! Woohoo!

With my objective solved, another by-product of this research emerged. As I was building my friends genetic family tree, a wonderful story about strength and perseverance emerged! Turns out her birth grandmother was widowed at twenty-seven and had two children under ten with one on the way. Within a couple of years she moved her family from a Southern State, clear across the county to the Northwest. She appears to have followed some of her siblings there. She remarried later in life; long after her children had grown. This means she was a single mother of three, working and raising her children during a time when the United States was trying to recover from a World War and from the after effects of the Great Depression. This was a wonderful story to tell my friend about her birth family.

It is interesting to think that by using DNA to answer a genealogical genetic question, you can also discover familial histories and stories!

Warning! DNA Results Ahead! Proceed with Caution!

lauriekearney

DNA is a wonderful tool, especially when used to answer genealogical questions. However, it should come with a warning label attached, because the test taker may uncover a long lost family secret, which may blow them and their family out of the water!

A couple of years ago Ancestry.com had an advertising campaign to sell their DNA kits. This advertisement they aired on webpages and in traditional media, had a man who was dressed in lederhosen, who said he was so proud of his German heritage. His DNA results showed he was Scottish and now he was embracing this “new” heritage. The ad ends showing the man wearing a kilt and holding a bagpipe. People were fascinated by the notion of learning more about their ethnic heritage and purchased DNA kits….in fact, for a while they were a very popular gift to give a loved one.

Today Ancestry’s DNA database is one of the largest DNA databases out there. This is really awesome, especially if you are hoping to find birth parents or grandparents of an adopted person. However, it can be a shock to someone who had taken a DNA test a few years back to learn about their ethnic heritage, and now they are getting messages from a stranger saying DNA indicates you are my dad!

I belong to several DNA Facebook pages. Here people can ask for help understanding DNA results, discuss their DNA brick walls and ask how they should proceed with their research, or to find a Search Angel to help them. However, very often these sites are a place for people to share their experiences and surprises. Some are folks who took the test to hopefully discover their birth family, some are folks who just discovered their dad is not their dad, and others share their experiences reaching out and meeting long lost family. So many of these stories are heart wrenching, either because of a wonderful new connection or because of a horrible rejection.

When Ancestry.com began offering DNA test kits as a tool to learn about an ethnic background, or perhaps answer a genealogical question, or break down a brick wall, they may have not realized the possible can of worms they might open for their customers. A recent posting on at least two FaceBook pages that I belong to, was from a test taker who had been told long ago, they were not their father’s child. After dad’s death the test taker took a DNA test with their sibling and discovered they were 100% siblings! Hooray! Her dad WAS her dad! Dad may never know, but at least the family knows! Fast forward a few years and the test taker took an Ancestry DNA test to further their research….and guess what? None of the results showed a familiar paternal line, but listed a bunch of unknown surnames. Indicating that dad was not the birth dad. This meant that neither, the test taker nor their sibling were the children of the man that raised them. The test taker now had an interesting dilemma….tell mom and sib the truth….or keep it a secret, as they felt neither could handle the truth. Respondents on one page recommended they keep the secret, and those on another page felt is was more important to take a few more DNA tests (including other relatives) before they jumped to a possibly wrong conclusion.

If you are a genealogist suggesting a client take a DNA test to help further your research to answer your client’s research question, you should most definitely discuss all the possible implications of this test, as it may lead to surprise information that could be upsetting. If you are someone who wants to take a DNA test to confirm your ethnicity, be warned, you too may find an upsetting surprise. It could be anything from a new genetic relative who is searching for their birth family, to a whole new branch of your tree because a parent or grandparent is not the biological child of one of their parents!

WARNING: So if you are wanting to take a DNA test…..proceed with caution!

Where to Start, Where to Start?

lauriekearney

So, you think you would like to discover your roots and you don’t know where to start? Well that is easy! Start with yourself, your parents and your grandparents!  Jot down birthdates, marriage dates and death dates (if you know them!). Then have a conversation with the older generations in your family. Having all this personal first hand knowledge is a great place to start.

With your notes firmly in hand, you are ready to begin to search in earnest! I recommend starting the FamilySearch.org site. They will want you to sign up for a free account. They do not ask for any payment information (i.e. your credit card), and they do not flood your email account with unwanted emails. FamilySearch is owned and operated by the Latter Day Saints (the Mormons). Part of their belief system is that families are very important in this life as well as in the after life, and by finding (and baptizing them as Mormons) long dead relatives, they all will be reunited in heaven. The nice thing about their website is that they have imaged thousands of original documents (primary sources). It is these primary sources that prove your line, some secondary sources or a story passed down for a few generations may be false! My great-grandmother told my dad and his brothers we were related to Pocahontas. When I was little, I thought that was pretty cool, and indeed it was one of those facts I went searching for when I first started researching my family. It took a while, but I found my great-grandmother’s grandmother maiden name was “Rolfe.” That was clearly where the story came from, but my Rolfes were in no way related to the family into which Pocahontas married.

One of the most important things you can do is to keep accurate records. Notes of your conversations, family group sheets, pedigree charts, when and where you researched (so you do not repeat your searches!). You can keep these records in a binder or invest is some genealogy software. (There is free software out there, but I would research it before you download it!). I often start a new search by opening a Microsoft Word document, and take my notes there before I start making a tree. I can also cut and paste links in this document, so if I go back and revisit this family, I can re-visit the links!

It is very important to Document, Document, Document! Keep track of all your sources. By doing so you can show your proof, you can return to your searches if you need to re-evaluate the accuracy of your source, and it will also prevent you from doing the same searches over and over again. Once on a genealogy Facebook page (consider joining one!), I came across a fellow who posted that he had just started tracing his family tree and had already managed to trace back to Adam and Eve. He most likely copied someone else’s tree, who did not have any sources. Genealogists on the page had to gently explain to him that this was very unlikely.

Evaluate your sources for accuracy. Very often some sources are questionable. I have seen people document a marriage, which occurred in the 1600s between someone in New England and someone in Virginia…although in theory possible, the distance would have made it difficult. In tracking that pesky Rolfe line, I found a Rolfe raised in Massachusetts in the mid 1700s, relocated to New Jersey. I thought this maybe untrue, but the more I looked, the more primary sources I found, and it turned out to be true! So, double and triple the sources, especially if you found the information on someone else’s tree. If it does not make sense, it is probably wrong.

Genealogy is a fun pursuit. I love to untangle a historical question. Sometimes the information comes to you very easily and other times it may take years before you find the next generation, but don’t give up! 

So keep this in mind:
            Gather what you know.
            Research can begin.
            Accurate Records must be kept.
            Document your sources.
            Evaluate your sources for accuracy.
 
And you’ll have good GRADEs!