A couple of years ago, a friend asked me to answer a genealogical question. She wanted to know the identity of her birth grandfather. Her dad, at that time was in his 80s, and had been curious about his birth father on and off over the years. Kathy provided me with as much detail as she knew, and hoped I would be able to figure this family question out by following the paper trail. She knew when and where her father was born. She was not so sure if her grandmother married this mystery man, and she believed he was in town while working on a CCC project….oh yeah, she also had his name! Unfortunately it was a rather generic name, not one that was unusual. There were at least five candidates, who had that name and of the right age to have been in the CCC at that time. With several CCC camps located within a relatively short distance from grandma’s home, it would not have been worth it to ask the National Archives to search for this mystery man. The paper trail was a dead end.
Ancestry DNA test kit
I suggested Kathy take a DNA test. Perhaps that would hold the answer. A couple of years passed, and finally Kathy decided to take an Ancestry DNA test. I happen to like Ancestry as they have a large database of DNA results and family trees. While we waited for the results to come in, I began to build out Kathy’s tree. Knowing that we would get a large number of first to fourth cousins (because they are the ones alive today to be able to take a test), and I wanted to have a good idea how they all fit into Kathy’s family. Also, back when I was searching the paper trail, I did not look at Kathy’s mom’s side. That needed to be added into the tree too, as most certainly there would be DNA matches on her side too. Plus, by building out Kathy’s tree, I was reacquainting myself with her family.
Finally the test came in! One of the first things I did was to make a Leeds Chart. By considering close matches, those with a high number of shared centi-Morgans (cM), I would be able to identify descendants of the four grandparents. Then I could narrow down my search and focus on Kathy’s paternal grandfather’s line. Out of 38 close cousins, 30 of them were all from one branch of the family! Leaving 8 other cousins from the remaining three branches of the family! And only one of these was from Kathy’s paternal grandfather’s line! The amount of cM this person shared with Kathy indicted that they were a half niece/nephew! Which obviously indicated Kathy’s dad had half-siblings! And to make it worse, this person had a private tree! Luckily, this person named their test kit using (what appeared to be) their first initial and their surname followed by a series of numbers. At least I had a clue to follow.
A peek at Kathy’s :eeds Chart.
I used Google to see if I could find a person with the surname I was seeing, who was related to Kathy’s surname. Bingo! I found the obituary of one of Kathy’s half-uncles who had a granddaughter whose name started with the first initial….and had the same surname as the test taker. I sent Kathy an email with the obituary linked in the text, saying meet your uncle! When Kathy called me their first comment was how much of a family resemblance there was, between this uncle and her Dad (and siblings).
With this clue, I was able to begin to build out a tree with this branch of the family to see were they intersect with Kathy’s branch. Turns out the half uncle’s father had the same name as Kathy’s birth grandfather. As I worked my way through a tree with this side of the family, what became clear was that Kathy’s birth grandfather was a local boy, not someone who was stationed in town working with the CCC. In the 1930 census, census takers recorded the street address of the respondents. Using that information, I entered both grandma and birth grandfather’s 1930 addresses into a online map program….and well, they lived about 18 blocks apart from each other. The census further indicated that birth grandpa was married at that time, to the half uncle’s mother. This census, certainly begins to show why this man had been a mystery to Kathy’s family.
Suddenly, Kathy’s dad went from being an only child, to being a middle child, as records show, the birth grandpa had two sons, one older and one younger than Kathy’s dad. So I must say hanging all your research on only one DNA cousin, it well tricky and certainly leaves room for errors. But as I was researching this family, another DNA half-niece popped up in Kathy’s DNA family list! This person named their kit using their first and surname, and wouldn’t you know, she too is a granddaughter of the same half-uncle. So the DNA and paper records show, the same name for birth-grandpa as half-uncle dad’s name, plus 1930 locality would indicate that both grandma and birth-grandpa could have met either social functions or through work, and with now two DNA half-nieces, indicates this mystery man is no longer a mystery!
Please note, I used a made up name for my friend. As you can see, this is an extremely personal story. One that Kathy is planning on telling her dad in time, if he is comfortable hearing, as he is now in his nineties!
For many years now I have canned pickles, relishes, jams and jellies. Taking full advantage of the bounty of my gardens, and saving its summer goodness for consumption later in the year. It got me to thinking that it would be wonderful if we could can our memories, to share with others. One way to actively engage people of all ages to participate in and value local history, is finding a way to make history personal. I have often found that the number one topic everyone loves to discuss, are themselves and their memories.
When I was casting about for a project to do for my Master’s in Public History, I reached out to my local historical society to see they might have a project for me. What they proposed was for me to transcribe taped interviews from the 1970s. The tapes were conversations with older residents discussing their memories of the town. The historical society also had some written memories done by people in the 1920s. I thought doing something with these taped and written memories could potentially become a project for me to do. However, I also wanted to come up with a way to include today’s residents in a memory project, and thought memory jars might just be the ticket!
Crafty Kids
I thought it might be fun and engaging to ask people to make a memory jar. I envisioned giving participants a mason jar and a tag, then asking them to fill it with their memories. In this case I want memories of our hometown. Maybe their memory is about their school days, or the teams they played on, or splashing at the center pool on a hot summer day, or perhaps their memory was about the large Christmas tree on the common that changed color. Then they have to find something small that will fit in their mason jar that represents their memory. On the tag they write a few words about their memory. I thought it would then be fun to then display all these memories in our library. In sort of a memory open house. That way everyone can see other people’s memories, and discuss them too. I think folks, young and old, would find this a fun activity to do. The final piece would be photographing each jar and its corresponding tag so that the historical society will have these memories in their archive, before the exhibit is over and people take their memory jars home.
Mason Jars filled with memories
I truly believe that the best way to teach (and in this case, history), is to provide hands on activities, which make learning fun! For children, this activity can also be used in scouts or school, it may ask children to present a memory jar that highlights a memory from last summer. Now they really got to think creatively. First they have to recall a memory, then they need to find an item that represents that memory, and finally they need to write a little something about that memory. If done at the senior center, this activity will spark ideas and memories and conversations. Give the seniors their assignments before they come to the center, that way they have their memory and something to represent the memory in hand, and if they find the assembly is physically difficult, there are volunteers ready to lend a hand. This activity is also a great one to do as a family, and most definitely will spark great conversations!
Unfortunately my professor did not think this this was a good project for my master’s, so I went in another direction….but I still think it is a good idea. Hopefully some day I will get to do it! I think hosting a canning your memories event, has the potential for participants to have fun, and if sponsored by a local historical society, it actually is an interesting way for them to collect town histories!
So you’ve taken a DNA test, mailed it off and now you wait. Sometimes that six-week wait seems like a lifetime, especially if you are hoping to solve a family mystery. The thing is you want to be prepared when those results are in your in-box. You are going to end up with a long list of cousins. Those that you share a higher cM with are most likely going to be people you actually know, and when you get into the third or fourth cousin realm, well, they will be people that you don’t know. So you are going to want to be ready to recognize who these cousins are and how they fit into your tree.
I believe that when someone is new to genealogy, they build a rather skinny tree. Basically, self, parents, grandparents, great-grandparents and so on; perhaps with a goal to see how far they can go back. So thinking about your DNA results are going to give you a list of people who are here now….kind of like a family tree in reverse. So it is time to fill out your skinny tree and make it as robust as you possibly can!
A graphic showing an upside down family tree.
Starting with you, add in your siblings and their children. Then go to your parents and add in all your aunts & uncles and (your first) cousins, and their (your first cousins once removed) children. Then go to your grandparents, add their siblings, and their children, and their children’s children (your second cousins), and their children (your second cousins once removed). Go back for several generations, bringing each line forward, so your third cousins and fourth cousins are now in your tree. Look at the records you are using to fill out your tree. Primary sources are key to having an accurate tree. Don’t accept someone else’s tree…they just may have some errors in their tree that will infect your growing tree. If you get stuck, well that is OK. Don’t enter wrong information. Stop there and start growing another branch. If you have a question, like “who is my birth grandfather?”- there will be a branch in your tree that has not sprouted yet, and that is fine. Once you have filled out all these new branches, it will help you feel knowledgeable about the some of the matches you see when your results come in.
My son’s matches. His 2 grandmothes, a couple of great-uncles and a 2 first cousins once removed. Note: “David” has a little logo on his name. he has been attached to my tree.
I have used several DNA sites and really like Ancestry the best. They encourage people to build trees, and they have a very large DNA database. So, you will get a ton of new cousins! Ancestry’s database + family trees + the tools they have, is fabulous for figuring out all these new cousins and how they are related to you! You can sort your matches, by parent, and then you can sort those matches again by surname, or if you have a shared ancestor, or by shared DNA. You can attach a (private) notes to these matches, (they cannot see it), you can color code matches. Play with the tools they have to offer, see how they work and what works best for you. There is a tool for you to identify your cousins (“do you recognize this person”) and attach them to your tree. You will defiantly have cousins you cannot figure out where they fit into your tree. If they have a family tree linked to their DNA kit, you can click on it and check for common ancestors…or common surnames.
Having such a robust family tree will certainly help you understand your family tree better, and bring a whole new level to the results you will get. Sure, it is fun to know about your ethnic percentages…. but having a tree with all these new cousins it can take your DNA findings to a whole other level!
Please note, If you are trying to find a mystery ancestor, there are many search angels out there who can help you find a missing family member and help you with the best way to approach them. Having an accurate robust family tree will help them with your search too! You can find a search angel on may Facebook DNA sites.
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!
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!
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!
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!!
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!
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!
Over the years I noticed patterns in New Englanders naming their children. Although these patterns may or may not hold true (note: I have not done the research on this idea), I have found this theory to be helpful to me as I search for missing family members. Even today we may choose a first name we love, then very often, we choose a family name for the middle name.
Understanding naming conventions over time can be very helpful in your research, what was a popular name at a certain time, and how and why people selected certain names, can be very assist you as your own family tree. For instance, when we think of Lindas, Donnas and Karens we know they were popular 1950s/1960s names, and Shirleys were from the 1930s, and who recalls the book Beyond Jennifer & Jason from the 1980s? (This Social Security site keeps track of these popular names). Yes, names come in and out of fashion, and knowing these fashionable names may help in pinpointing a relative.
Three hundred years ago, in New England (and perhaps other geographical areas) your first six children’s names had already been decided long before they were even born! They would have been named after parents (2) and grandparents (4), the following children could have been named after a parent’s sibling, or perhaps a nice Biblical name might have been chosen. It should also be noted that if a couple had a child that died, the next child may be given its dead sibling’s name, and if that child died, parents may name a third child with the same name.
Around 1800, people began to choose a popular name for their babies. “George Washington” was a very popular name at that time! Around 1830, giving your child a middle name became popular. Before this time, those children who received a middle name were often named after someone. In my family, Abby Butler Hubbard (1812-1898) was named after her mother Abigail Butler (1773-1862). Abigail Butler and her husband Zadoc Hubbard had ten children between 1795 and 1812, their first four did not have middle names and the other six were named after someone and therefore had middle names.
It is also important to have an understanding of nicknames. Sure we know names like Sue is a nickname for Susan, but so is Suky. Did you know Patty is a nickname for Martha? I bet you didn’t! I bet you thought is was for Patricia!
At one time, it was popular to play a rhyming name game….
William’s nickname was Will…then it was rhymed and became Bill
Robert’s nickname was Rob…then it was rhymed and became Bob
Mary’s nickname was Molly…then it was rhymed and became Polly
Martha’s nickname was Matty…then it was rhymed and became Patty
Hopefully, you can see how this sort of works (of course there are many nicknames that are simply are abbreviations of a longer name…Abigail -> Abby; Susan -> Sue; Etc) but if you are aware of these nicknames name changes, you may be able to locate Cate as Catherine.
And you should also beware that often when people came to the United States from other countries they changed their name to an American sounding one…Franz became Frank.
Keep your Spidey-sense up regarding naming conventions, patterns, nicknames and new American names, as you are building your family tree. It may help you to break down a brick wall!
Oh boy, Brick walls are frustrating! They often take years to resolve, and once resolved they often lead to another brick wall…or it may completely open up a new long genealogical line. Over the years, I have run headlong into several brick walls, and two took me about twenty years to find the answers.
Abigail (Butler) Hubbard
Abigail (Butler) Hubbard is my 4x’s great-grandmother. She was the wife of Rev. Zaddock Hubbard. They came from Middletown, Connecticut, moved to Lenox, Massachusetts and finally to Moretown, Vermont. Two pieces of paper I found in Zaddock’s autobiography had Abigail’s birth date on them, as well as those of Zaddock and their children. Only problem was one listed Abigail’s birthdate as May 6, 1773 and the other had her birthdate as May 6, 1768. The Barber Collection had the baptism of an Abigail Butler in Middletown, but it listed her birthdate as May 6, 1774! Was this a clue? Was she possibly the daughter of Dorney Houghton Butler and his wife Mindwell Clark? Research on this line did not yield any answers, and I searched for years! There were no Butler friends or family that traveled with the Hubbards as they moved around New England, and there were no clues in the names Zaddock and Abigail chose for their children. Then about five years ago, Ancestry.com added “Connecticut Wills and Probate Records, 1609-1999” to their databases. Although Dorney did not leave a will, there was an administration of estate for Mindwell Butler’s, and lo and behold Abigail, wife of Zaddock Hubbard is mentioned in the estate! And just like that my brick wall was knocked down! Solving the mystery of Abigail (Butler) Hubbard ultimately took patience, because the answer was hiding in a document, I just had to wait for it to come online.
Solving the brick wall of another ancestor took perseverance and a lot of research. Mary [?] Simons, is my husband’s 3x’s great grandmother. She was the wife of Charles Rodney Simons, and as a young married couple, they came to Sacramento, California from Ohio in the late 1800s. The family knew very little about Mary and early research on my part did not produce any answers. Then a third cousin put up on his Ancestry family tree two scanned pages from the Simons family Bible. These pages gave me Mary’s maiden name (Bassett), the name of her first husband (James Malonee), and a notation that their daughter, Carrie Malonee, was born in Kirtland, Ohio.
Mary Ellen (Bassett) Malonee-Simons
Although this information did not immediately knock down the brick wall, it did give a place to begin searching – Kirtland Ohio. Looking for Mary Malonee and her baby daughter in the 1870 US federal census, a Mary & Carrie Malong (the “g” zoomed-in, is a “y”), was found in Kirtland. Taking a chance, I searched for a Mary Bassett in the 1850 US federal census, and a Mary “Balseth” (Bassett) was found with her parents, Harmon & Maria and a brother Oliver in Kirtland. Harmon, I love unusual names! Checking to see if another transcription error befell this family, a Google search for “Harmon Bassett” found a marriage record for Oliver Harmon Bassett and Marina Prior. A further Google search for this couple led to an online Bassett family tree listing tons of credible sources. However, this Bassett tree did not know what happened to Mary or her mother Marina.
Following Marina Bassett led to the discovery several remarriages. Her second husband was Leonard Rich. Leonard & Marina Rich’s family are in Kirtland (OH) in the 1860 census, and it indicated a third child, Sarah, from her pervious marriage to Oliver Harmon Bassett. Next marriage for Marina Rich was to Simeon Hall, then Marina Hall married Green Parker, and a Marina Parker’s death record is recorded as August 11, 1891 in Mentor, Ohio. (It should be noted the deaths of all Marina’s husbands can be found online, supporting the timeline of her marriages.) An old family story about a possible relationship to a James Flood, is the lynch pin in proving that Marina Prior is Mary’s mother, because Marina shares a cemetery plot with her daughter, Sarah (Bassett) Flood, and her husband, James Flood.
All of these informational pieces of Mary Ellen (Bassett) Malonee-Simons mother’s life come together to break down this brick wall. So if you are struggling with a brick wall, do not give up. You never know if the answer will be handed to you or through dogged research you find the answer yourself!
It was a hot Sunday in June and I was attempting to prepare my garden for the summer season, which entailed plenty of water breaks indoors in front of the air conditioner. Once I was nestled in my comfy chair in a cool room, with a glass of ice water in hand, I checked my computer for any news updates, emails or FaceBook posts. That Sunday I came across a post from the Boxford Historic Document Center requesting genealogical help. They posed the following on their FaceBook page.
This was the image the Boxford Historic Document Center included with their FaceBook request for help.
“I have a fun challenge for someone who has a really good Mayflower tree or a lot of time on their hands! I came across this wedding dress fragment in our collection that supposedly belonged to a Mayflower emigrant relative of Harriet “Hattie A. Pratt….Can anyone figure out which Mayflower relative this might have been?”
Now I had a decision to make….Go back to the hot garden, or stay in the cool house and build a family tree. Cool house/build tree won! In all honesty, it was not a difficult choice I really love building trees!
The Boxford Historic Document Center FaceBook page contained a few facts about Hattie. Her birth and death dates. The full name of her father. But only the first name of her mother. So first I needed to to confirm and identify both of Hattie’s parents. Hattie’s death certificate was easy to locate on FamilySearch. It confirmed her father’s name, Joshua Hall Pratt, but only listed her mother’s first name, “Elizabeth,” which matched the post from the Boxford Historic Document. I then turned to the vital records from Chelsea, which was Joshua H. Pratt’s hometown. I quickly found a marriage record, that showed Joshua married Elizabeth Pratt. Chelsea’s records had the births of all their children, including Hattie, and her birthdate also matched the Document Center’s information. Now with starting information confirmed, it was time to build a family tree!
Harriet A. Pratt’s death certificate “Massachusetts State Vital Records, 1841-1920,” Database with images, FamilySearch (FamilySearch.org: accessed 10 Jun 2020) Harriett A. Pratt, 15 Feb 1916 Boxford (MA), certificate no 2, citing Secretary of the Commonwealth, Massachusetts State Archives, Boston (MA)
I did not want to take a deep dive on this tree, but wanted to create one that was built quickly, building back to the generation of the person who could have owned the scrap of wedding dress fabric. This meant I needed to build Hattie’s tree back to people who were born about 1600, which was about six generations back.
Although I was moving quickly, I did not want to be careless with my research. I easily could have copied someone’s already built tree. But I knew there are a lot of trees out there that contain incorrect information. Thus, I thought it more important to start from scratch. Starting from Hattie’s parents and searching vital records, Hattie’s family tree began to grow. I also used Google searches to aid in this research. Google books had several genealogical books, written in the early 1900s, which were specific to Hattie’s family! These books were extremely helpful pointing out the next generation, and town’s vital records then confirmed each generation. Awesome find!!
As Hattie’s family tree grew, it was becoming apparent that most, if not all of her ancestors had settled in towns north of Boston. In other words, in the Massachusetts Bay Colony and not in the Plymouth Colony, which was south of Boston. A Pilgrim ancestor was not becoming evident. However, two possible candidates emerged, which required further review. Both candidates were in Hattie’s Wolcott line; Joanna Emerson wife of John Wolcott (III) and Experience Walker wife of John Wolcott (V).
The book, Wolcott immigrants: and their Early Descendants (The First Six Generations) states that Joanna Emerson, who married John Wolcott (III), was a descendent of a Pilgrim. Joanna Emerson was born about 1663 (according to her age at death) in Ipswich, Massachusetts. Her parents are believed to be Nathaniel Emerson and his wife Sarah. There are no birth registrations of children in vital records for this couple, nor did Nathaniel leave behind a will, which makes it difficult to prove any children for this couple. It cannot be disregarded that Joanna is not listed as a daughter of Nathaniel and Sarah in the book The Ipswich Emersons; A.D. 1638-1900. Joanna “Hannah” married John Wolcott 4 January 1684 in Newbury, Massachusetts. Nathaniel Emerson was the son of Thomas Emerson and his wife Elizabeth Brewster. Nathaniel is a proven son; he was baptized in 1630 in the church his parents married in and he is mentioned in his father’s will. It was thought Elizabeth Brewster was the daughter of Pilgrim William Brewster. There are many books published around 1900 with this notation. However, today the Mayflower Society does not recognize that Elizabeth Brewster, wife of Thomas Emerson is the daughter of Pilgrim William Brewster.
The other possible Mayflower connection is Experience Walker, who married John Wolcott (V), the grandson of John (III) and Joanna (Emerson) Wolcott. According to the book Wolcott Immigrants: and their Early Descendants (The First Six Generations), Experience was born in 1727. The book does not provide a death date nor the names of her parents. Checking vital records for Brookfield, Massachusetts, an Experience Walker was born there in the early 1730s to Benjamin and Experience (Hayward) Walker. This is the Experience Walker many assume is the woman who married John Wolcott. Although no published genealogy or other factual source indicated this possible relationship, many family trees on Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org illustrate this possible connection.
Further research on the family of Benjamin and Experience (Hayward) Walker, identifies that Experience Hayward has a confirmed genealogy to a Mayflower ancestor. She is listed in the “Silver Books” a published series by General Society of Mayflower Descendants containing the approved lineages for Mayflower families. She was the daughter of George Hayward (1673-1725), granddaughter of Anna White (1649-1712), and great-granddaughter of Resolved White (1615-1687), who came to Plymouth with his parents William and Susanna (Jackson) White. However, according to Brookfield vital records, Benjamin and Experience (Hayward) Walker’s daughter Experience died in 1738 at the age of nine. She cannot be the wife of John Wolcott (V).
It appears that both Joanna Emerson and Experience Walker are dead ends, and unlikely to be the descendants of a Mayflower ancestor who owned the scrap of fabric that was thought to be part of a Pilgrim wedding dress.
Notation from The Ipswich Emersons; A.D. 1638-1900 indicating provenance of a family heirloom.
However, an interesting notation in The Ipswich Emersons; A.D. 1638-1900 regarding Elizabeth (Fuller) King, granddaughter of Thomas and Elizabeth [Brewster] Emerson, who owned a similar scrap of linen fabric, which the family preserved as an heirloom caught my attention. It tells how Elizabeth (Brewster) Emerson’s had descended from a respectable English family, and her mother had been given a piece of linen by Queen Elizabeth, (who reigned from 1558 to 1603), which the family had passed down as an heirloom. Could it be possible the Boxford Historic Document Center’s scrap of fabric is not from a Pilgrim’s wedding dress but from that original piece of linen?
It appears Harriet A. Pratt does not have a Mayflower ancestor, but when she was alive and for several decades after her death, it was believed her ancestor Elizabeth (Brewster) Emerson, was the daughter of the Pilgrim William Brewster.
The notion of having a special dress to get married in did not develop until the mid-1800s, so this scrap of fabric may not have come from a wedding dress. The scrap of fabric, that is part of the collection of the Boxford Historic Document Center, appears to be linen with a damask pattern. A piece of linen is documented in the Emerson Genealogy, that was gifted to the family from Queen Elizabeth I, as having come through Elizabeth (Brewster) Emerson, and is noted the family considers it an heirloom. It is very possible the piece of linen was cut into smaller pieces so several branches of the family could each have a piece of this heirloom, and Hattie was the person who ended up with her branch’s piece.
In summary, I believe that Hattie Pratt does not have a Mayflower ancestor and it is highly likely this scrap of fabric is from the gift of Queen Elizabeth to Elizabeth (Brewster) Emerson.
Mystery solved.
Bibliography:
Appleton, William Sumner. Record of the Descendants of William Sumner, of Dorchester, Mass., 1636. Boston (MA): David Clapp & Son, Printer, 1879.
Bond, Henry. Family Memorials and Genealogies of the Families and Descendants of the Early Settlers of Watertown, Massachusetts. Boston (MA): Little, Brown, and Company, 1885.
Cox, John Hosmer. New England Cox Families: A Series of Genealogical Papers, Vol. 5. Lexington (MA): 1890.
Chamberlain, George Walter. The Spragues of Malden, Massachusetts. Boston (MA): Privately printed, 1923.
Chamberlain, George Walter (ed). “Early Settlers Before 1665,” Proceedings of the Hundred Seventy-Fifth Anniversary of Malden, Massachusetts, 1924.
Emerson, Benjamin Kendall. The Ipswich Emersons; A.D. 1638-1900. Boston (MA): David Clapp & Son, 1900.
Fuller, Arthur Buckminister. Historical Notes of Thomas Fuller and his Descendants: With A Genealogy of the Fuller Family, 1638-1902. Cambridge (MA): 1902.
Garrity, Robert M. “Concord’s First Settlers, 1636-1640,” yankeeancestry.tripod.com. Acton, Massachusetts: 2006. accessed 20 jun 2020
Sewall, Samuel. The History of Woburn, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, “Genealogical Notices of the Earliest Inhabitants of Woburn, and Their Families” Boston (MA): Wiggin & Lunt Publishers, 1868.
Wakefield, Robert S. (ed). Mayflower Families Through Five Generations: William White, third edition, Vol 13. Plymouth (MA): General Society of Mayflower Descendants, 2006.
Wolcott, John Benjamin, Charles V. Wald. Wolcott immigrants: and their Early Descendants (The First Six Generations). Rochester: Gorham Printing, 2002.
Laurie L. Kearney 