2023 - A Year in Review

Another year is almost over and it’s time for me to reflect on my genealogy research from this past year and decided on some goals for the new year.

The year started off rocky because a new computer I purchased during a Black Friday deal in 2022 was starting to act on the fritz. I was turning on to a blue screen of death, stating that the hard drive was not found. After working with the computer company customer support and doing some tricks, I was able to reboot properly, however it would come back hours later or the next day to that Blue Screen. Anyway, I had to send it back, twice for repairs. Once in January and once in April. Good thing, I had my laptop as a backup. Knock on Wood, it appears to be all good now. Shhhhh, let’s not say that too loud.

I started the year with a new tool, I purchased a Clever Fox planner to keep track of my projects and such. It was undated and thus I had to enter the dates. It had a monthly at glance calendar and weekly pages where I could write in more detail. The planner was very useful, the lesson I learned, I need to fill out all the dates ahead of time, instead of waiting until the month started. Therefore, in my new 2024 journal, I have already done that. Thus, reviewing my genealogy research has been simplified because of this journal.

I started with five basic goals: 

1.) Participate in the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks created by Amy Johnson Crow. I wanted to do more post this past year than I did the previous year. Therefore, I needed to do 28 or more post in 2023 and I accomplished 35. What was really exciting, in the weekly email’s that Amy sends out, my blog post was spotlighted several times during the year. I wish I had noted which ones were spotlighted. If I had to guess, looking at the number of views for each post, I see that nine of them jumped into triple digits, while the rest remained under 50 views.

2.) Work on my Hiltz/Hilts Project. This project is for my maternal grandmother’s maiden name. I did start this project, I was working through a book that was published on the Canadian Hilts and I added them into my tree from this book, doing additional research as I went. This project wasn’t completed because I became sided tracked with my next goal.

3.) Work on the second edition of the Steffes Family book for my sister-in-law Jane. I hadn’t really planned on doing this into 2023, however, at a family reunion in August of 2022, Jane promised family members an update to the book I produced in 2022. I told her I wasn’t doing anymore updates after this edition. I also explained, that normally, I wouldn’t do an update this fast, I would give it 5 years for people to review the first book to find errors or omissions. I did complete this goal and sold about 13 books. I would have figured more, based on the size of this family, but I did learn a lot. I used Family Book Creator to create this book and it was very exciting.

4.) Clean up my paper files. I ended up instead shredding other paperwork that I ended up moving with because I didn’t have time to shred everything before moving from Arizona to Wisconsin in 2020. The boxes of paperwork, had been sitting in my daughter’s garage and I decided to take it home and shred this stuff. I could only do about an hour of shredding before the shredder became hot. But I managed to shred all the boxes. YAHOO!

5.) Slides Project – review, select and scan slides from my father’s collection. I quickly put this project on hold because of the scope of the project and the time I was spending on my sister-in-law’s book.

Other projects I started that I had not anticipated. I started a project to research, one of my 3rd great grandparent’s descendants. It was a branch that I hadn’t really looked at. I decided I wanted to do a book on the descendants, after doing the book for my sister-in-law. I found out quickly, that this family has lots of descendants. This project didn’t proceed as fast as I liked because one of my sister-in-law’s cousins wanted me to do a book on her family, similar to the Steffes family, which she is one of. 

Thus, this project was an experiment, to see if this is something I wanted to do as a side “hustle” to earn money. I am almost done with the project; I believe I can wrap it up in January of 2024. I realized that I would need to charge a hefty fee for this project. I started with a tree of about 700 people and ended up with a tree of more than 1500 people. Then she had lots of pictures to add, that I had to scan. Besides the main descendant book, she wanted me to do, two short additions/appendixes for two other lines that married into the main family, both are her direct ancestor’s lines. I learned, that I would have to charge at least $3,000 to take on such a project. I would need to define the scope from the beginning, since she expanded the scope with the two additional lines. When I sell the book, I will make some money back, but nothing close to the time I spent on this project. It was a good lesson to learn, I don’t regret this lesson. I learned even more about Family Book Creator that I can take into making my own book projects.

Looking ahead into 2024, I have some goals that I decided to set.

1.) I will participate in the 52 Ancestors in 52 weeks; however, I will not put so much pressure to get more posts than last year. Hopefully, it will just happen because of the habit I have of writing a weekly post.

2.) I am starting a daily genealogy tip post on my other blog “Out on a Limb Genealogy” based on an article in Family Tree Magazine, January/February 2024 issue. I will create the weeks’ worth of individual blog posts and schedule them to be released during the next week. I did a similar project back in 2012 and I really enjoyed it. Goal 1 and 2 can be done on the same day of the week.

3.) Finish the Jones Book for my sister-in-law’s cousin. I plan on finishing this in January, I am on the last step of combining the main section to the appendix sections. This might take a few tries to get it correct. I need to read up on how to do this in Word.  

4.) Continue the Goodwin Descendant project. This is the 3rd great grandparents that I started researching in 2023. After I finish the Jones book, I will go back to this project. This is my major research project for the year.  I want to find all the descendants that I can, then look at the DNA matches and see if I have them in the tree, if not, then research to add them. Finally create a descendant book where I identify my DNA matches. I want to create descendant books on all my immigrant ancestors as a way to preserve my research. If I can spend at least one day a week on this project, I should be accomplishing a lot. I probably can spend more than one day, but I am doing some home improvement projects too.

5.) Clean up my paper files. I need to really revisit this project, when I was reorganizing my office this past year, I came across these stacks of papers again. I need to do at least one hour of review, scan and shred or file papers before I start my genealogy research for the day. 

How did you do this past year? What are some goals for 2024?

Remember to have fun and Just Do Genealogy!  

Week 52: Me, Myself, and I (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - 2023 Version)

The last theme for 2023 is "Me, Myself, and I." You are a part of your own family history. This week, write something about yourself. What do you hope future generations will know about you? Click here to see all the past themes for 2023. Check out the upcoming themes for 2024.

It is difficult to talk about oneself. Plus, in this day an age, I don’t want to give out too much personal information about myself. This is one reason that genealogy sites like Ancestry, make living people private.

I am the youngest of nine children. I come from a blended family. My mother’s first husband died and left her a widow with six children. She married my dad and had three more, with me being the absolute youngest.

I remember in grade school; many people did not understand half-siblings and would try to correct me and tell me my siblings were my step-siblings. On TV, the only blended family I recall was the Brady Bunch and they were step-siblings. 

Anyway, I was born in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin and before turning two, my family moved to the nearby town of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin because Kiekhaefer Marine, which my father worked for, relocated from Beaver Dam to Fond du Lac. Kiekhaefer merged with the Brunswick Corporation and became known as Mercury Marine in 1972. 

My family took camping trips every summer for about 3 weeks. We traveled all over the United States and to Canada too. This is when I started to like history, especially the Civil War. My introduction to genealogy was from a middle school social studies class assignment. Shortly afterwards, the Roots mini series came on TV and I was fascinated on how he figured out his Roots.

I married two years after high school and started my family. After two children, I enrolled into the local Technical College, gave birth to my third child and graduated with honors with an associate degree in Computer Programming. It was at this time, that I actually started doing genealogy research, obtained my first computer and was on the hunt for the perfect genealogy software package. I realized, that no program would have everything I needed, so I had to find something that checked off most of the boxes. I finally saved up and purchased Family Tree Maker. Ten years after the birth of my third child, I gave birth to my fourth and final child. Nine months later, one of my sisters lost her battle with breast cancer.

In 1999, we moved to Lake Havasu City, Arizona, where my parents retired to in 1989. I worked for the local phone company as a customer representative for several years. During this time, my mother passed away. Then, I finally landed a job at a local Community College, working in the Enrollment department. It was a job I truly enjoyed. My first and only grandchild was born. 

I quit my job after seven years, when my father died since I was left to be the caregiver of my two sisters who have intellectual disabilities. I joined the local genealogical society, taught genealogy classes at the local Community College and began researching on a full-time basis. This is when I started my yearly subscription to Ancestry. 

In 2012, I purchased a second home in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin to spend my summers with my two sisters. The town was a familiar place for them to take walks, go to the mall and reconnect with some of their friends. Plus, I was able to do more in-person research for genealogy.

In 2020, my husband retired and we decided to move back to Wisconsin. I moved my sisters into their own apartment so that my husband and I could have our first alone time. We sold the Fond du Lac home and purchased a home in Plymouth, Wisconsin. Located only 23 miles east of Fond du Lac. In 2021, my oldest brother lost his battle with cancer.

Three of my adult children also moved back to Wisconsin, my daughter and granddaughter live in Fond du Lac, my oldest son in Sheboygan, Wisconsin and my youngest daughter lives in the Milwaukee Area. My other son, after spending eight years with the U.S. Navy, relocated to Colorado and currently lives in Wyoming. 

I relocated my sisters from Fond du Lac to a place in Plymouth, so it would be easier for me to tend to their needs, visit them and invite them over to my home to watch movies.

What I hope future generations to know about me, besides these facts is that I love to crochet. Planting, harvesting and canning my vegetable garden brings me much joy and pride. I love playing board games, and I own over 30 different versions of Monopoly. 

My husband asks me every morning what are my plans for today, and my reply is always “Genealogy”. I don’t get or want to do genealogy every day, but being trapped in the house because of Covid, Snow storms or other bad weather is not punishment, it means I can Do Genealogy.

Remember to have fun and Just Do Genealogy!

Week 51: Cousins (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – 2023 Version)

The theme for Week 51 is "Cousins." The neat thing about this theme is that we genealogists know that everyone is our cousin! That definitely opens up the possibilities for who to write about! Whether you focus on a close one or someone who is barely attached to your family tree, share the story of one of your cousins this week. (Click here to check out all the Themes from 2023.)

Cousins, we sure have lots of them! The realization of the extensive network of cousins becomes apparent as I delve into my DNA Matches. Examining my AncestryDNA test results reveals an impressive count of 1052 close matches, encompassing 4th cousins or closer, exhibiting a shared centimorgan range between 20 and 3,490. This figure includes not only my siblings, nieces, nephews, grandnieces, and grandnephews but also extends to a broader familial scope. Subtracting these nine close relatives, I am left with 1043 connections. Additionally, I've identified 21,961 distant matches within the 6 to 20 centimorgan range, bringing the grand total of matches to 23,004. Regrettably, I've only been able to pinpoint 123 of these connections.

Within my family tree, approximately 226 DNA Matches have been identified. It's noteworthy that I underwent testing with multiple DNA companies, having results at 23 & Me, with subsequent transfers to myHeritage and FTDNA.

In my genealogy program, I introduced a dedicated field labeled "DNA" featuring four possible values: blank, DNA Match, DNA Connection, or Common Ancestor. Following a DNA Match or DNA Connection, I diligently input the Common Ancestor's name. This structure enables the generation of various reports to assess Common Ancestors with the most matches.

Upon scrutinizing a recent report and comparing it with flagged entries on Ancestry's side, I contemplated distinguishing between DNA Matches originating from Ancestry versus those from other platforms. Realizing the need for precision, I intend to update my verbiage from "DNA Match" to "Ancestry DNA Match," "23 & Me DNA Match," or "FTDNA Match" to enhance the report's usefulness.

Why does the testing company matter? It becomes crucial when concentrating on a specific lineage, as it allows me to identify the testing company with the most matches for that lineage. That company may be the place I start a project identifying more matches.

Consequently, a new project emerges: reviewing and appropriately labeling all DNA Matches in my genealogy program based on the testing company. This meticulous approach facilitates the identification of individuals who may have undergone testing with more than one company. It also necessitates cross-verification of labels on the testing site; for instance, on AncestryDNA, a color-coded group labeled "Confirmed DNA Match – entered into FTM" is established, while on other platforms, the notes field serves to record their presence in my family tree.

In conclusion, the journey of genealogy is not only about discovering connections (cousins) but also about organizing and optimizing the wealth of information gleaned from our DNA Cousin Matches. So, onwards with the project.

Remember to have fun and Just Do Genealogy!

Week 50: You Wouldn’t Believe It (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – 2023 Version)

The theme for Week 50 is "You Wouldn't Believe It." Sometimes in our family history journey, we discover things that surprise or amaze us, things that almost seem unreal. There are also times in our research that we're amazed at *how* we found something. Share a surprising tale this week. Click here to check out all the themes for 2023.

One revelation that truly astonished me was the discovery that my mother's third cousin was none other than Donna Reed, originally Donna Bell Mullenger. In 2013, the revelation came to light that my mother's biological father differed from the one she had grown up with. Her parents being wed in 1929, while my mother was born in 1927. This revelation led to confirming that her biological father wasn’t the man who raised her.

Initially convinced that I had thoroughly traced her father's ancestry, the realization that it was her adopted father's line dealt a surprising blow. Suddenly, an entire branch of my family tree remained unexplored. Through the use of DNA testing, I successfully identified her biological father and delved into researching that previously unknown side of the family.

Donna Reed marks the first "celebrity" figure within my family tree, making the discovery particularly thrilling. Sharing this remarkable news with my skeptical siblings became a joy, especially after substantiating the relationship with evidence.

The excitement is amplified during this time of the year, particularly when indulging in holiday classics like "It's a Wonderful Life." Watching reruns of the Donna Reed show takes on a humorous twist, knowing that she is a relative of mine. Despite years of genealogical research, seeing a distant relative come to life beyond mere photographs is truly exhilarating.

Have you experienced any "You Wouldn't Believe It" moments in your own genealogical journey? It's worth sharing these stories with family, even if they aren't deeply interested in genealogy; they might find the discoveries just as captivating.

Remember to have fun and Just Do Genealogy!

Week 43: Dig a Little Deeper (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – 2023 Version)

The theme for Week 43 is "Dig a Little Deeper." Answers don't always come easily in genealogy. This week, what is something you had to dig a little deeper than usual to find? Click here to check out all of the themes for 2023.

When incorporating DNA into my genealogical research, I often find myself delving deeper to uncover the elusive clues I'm searching for. DNA serves as a valuable tool that can both open doors and validate existing research. I initially turned to DNA analysis to unravel the identity of my biological maternal grandfather. Yet, diving headfirst into the world of genetic genealogy left me more bewildered than enlightened. I soon realized the importance of educating myself about DNA methods and strategies, such as the Leeds Method, which are instrumental in organizing and interpreting DNA matches. My quest for knowledge also involved watching informative shows that demonstrated how DNA can be employed to reunite adoptees with their long-lost family members.

Embracing the Leeds Method, I focused my attention on a cluster of "unknown" DNA matches, aiming to unearth a shared ancestral connection among them. After scrutinizing the family trees of matches with more extensive genealogical records, I finally discerned what seemed to be a common ancestor within the realm of second to third cousins. It's worth noting that this involved an extensive review of numerous family trees, and it took weeks of dedicated research to pinpoint this shared lineage. Informed by their age, I hypothesized that these individuals were likely the great-grandparents of my maternal grandfather. This couple had only six offspring, I attempted to trace their descendants. I identify the specific branches leading to my DNA Matches and my focus fell on their male great-grandchildren, as I believed one could potentially be my grandfather. I diligently examined the life histories of each candidate, seeking anyone who might have resided in the right place at the right time for my mother's conception.

This exploration led me to a family of brothers, but it appeared that only one of them had lived in Wisconsin; the rest had resided in Iowa. My research efforts centered on this individual, and I uncovered details about his children. Regrettably, I reached a point where I couldn't definitively confirm any further connections along this branch due to the absence of close DNA matches.

Then, one fateful day, a known maternal cousin from my maternal grandmother’s side emerged as a DNA match, specifically at the second cousin level. On that very day, another "unknown" individual also appeared as a second cousin level match also on my maternal side. Intriguingly, these two individuals did not share any DNA connections with each other. As per my research, second cousins should always be connected through shared DNA, implying that if one match is related to my maternal grandmother's side, the other must be tied to my maternal grandfather's side.

Upon scrutinizing the match who had a family tree with only seven individuals (six of whom were still living and marked as "private"), I identified a key piece of information. Among those seven individuals, one was marked as deceased, and I could discern her name. Remarkably, this person was one of the children of the man who had resided in Wisconsin and was a likely candidate to be my maternal grandfather. Further examination of our shared matches confirmed a substantial overlap with this man and his ancestors on both sides of his family tree.

By persistently digging deeper into my DNA matches and untangling the web of connections, I was able to confidently declare that this man was indeed my long-lost grandfather. This conviction was ultimately solidified a few years later when his sole surviving child underwent DNA testing, revealing her as my half-aunt. The joy of unraveling this longstanding mystery was indescribable. Without the aid of DNA analysis, I doubt I would have ever succeeded in solving this intricate puzzle.

Remember to have fun and Just Do Genealogy!

 

Week 41: Travel (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – 2023 Version)

The theme for Week 41 is "Travel." Travel impacted our ancestors in numerous ways, including migrating, traveling as part of a job, and traveling for vacation. What about any genealogical travels that you've taken? Click here to check out all of the themes for 2023.

When I started my genealogy research back in the early 1980’s, traveling to do research was a must. The internet was a thing of the future. My ancestors lived in neighboring Wisconsin counties, and thus visiting courthouses, libraries and cemeteries was the extent of my travels. I even took isolated one-day vacation days from work so that I could spend the day doing research.

I think about those early days of researching and how I wasn’t very organized and my trips could have been a little more fruitful. I didn’t record where I didn’t find something, and I am sure I revisited places looking for the same information. Once I started recorded what I didn’t find, my research became more fruitful. I started creating research to-do folders for certain courthouses, libraries and cemeteries. 

However, when we moved to Arizona in 1999, I was lucky that the internet was starting to have more and more items online. Those research to-do folders became even more important for my trips back to my home state, so I could do a little in person research.

Even though I do a majority of my research on-line today, there is still so much to be found that isn’t on line. When my son was in the Navy, he was stationed in Ballston Spa, New York where he was attending Navy School, I had just started researching my maternal grandmother’s maiden name family of Hiltz/Hilts. They had lived in the Little Falls, NY area. While sightseeing in New York State, I made plans to spend a day in Little Falls. The public library is located inside a historic home and I found so many books about my Hiltz/Hilts family. I hadn’t planned enough time to do proper research, I did manage to write down a list of books that I found that talked about the family. I took pictures with my phone of pages.

When I returned to my Arizona home, my local genealogy library had a few of the books that I wrote down. I never realized these books were in their library. I even volunteered there and I didn’t realize the goldmine in the library. I am lucky that I even managed to obtain some of the books for my own library collection when duplicates were donated to the library.

I still enjoy travelling to cemeteries, courthouses and libraries. I now always have a plan on what I am going to research. I have my priority list, the items I will look for first. These items I am very confident will be found here. I have second list of items if time permits that I could look up. These are items that might be found at the location. Finally, I have a third list, because sometimes, you don’t always find items from the first two lists, and since I made the trip, I will see if I can find anything. This list is usually just surnames to see if I can find anyone with that surname in the area. Then I might try to see if they are related to my people.

Why do I still travel for my genealogical research? Because everything really isn’t on-line. Just because you don’t find it online doesn’t mean it isn’t somewhere. Good luck in your genealogy travels!

Remember to have fun and Just Do Genealogy!

Week 40: Longevity (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – 2023 Version)

The theme for Week 40 is "Longevity." Longevity doesn't have to be about someone who lived a long time. It could be anything that lasted longer than usual, such as a family business or a marriage Be creative with the prompt! Click here to check out all of the theme for 2023.

My father had two aunts who lived to be over 100 years old. 

Elsie Dorothea Crinion was born on Oct 5, 1898 in Columbia County, Wisconsin, USA. She died Mar 17 1999 at the age of 100. Elsie was married on Apr 29, 1918 in Beaver Dam, Dodge County, Wisconsin to Lawrence William Leech. Lawrence was born on Mar 17, 1896 and died at the age of 46 on Mar 18, 1942. They had three children, Helen born Sep 19, 1922, Ruby born Sep 1 1925 and Lawrence born Oct 19, 1926 all in Beaver Dam, Dodge County, Wisconsin. Lawrence sadly died shortly after birth. Helen died at the age of 88 on Oct 28, 2010 and her sister Ruby died at the age of 81 on Apr 12, 2007. 

Elsie’s sister, Marie Elizabeth Crinion was born Aug 14, 1905 and died Sep 11, 2004 at the age of 101. Marie was married on Aug 15 1931 in Grand Rapids, Kent County, Michigan to Arthur G Dewar. Arthur was born on Nov 20 1902 in Indiana and died July 1957 at the age of 54. They had two children, Susan born about 1936 and John born about 1940, both in Michigan. 

Elsie and Marie’s grandfather, James Crinion lived until he was 91. He was born on Feb 2, 1832 in Ireland and died Feb 25, 1923 in Fountain Prairie, Columbia County, Wisconsin. 

Even though I find that these and others lived well into their 80’s and older, I also found many who died young. Thus, I decided to run a Family Book on James Crinion and his descendants using the plugin Family Book Creator, which has a statistics paragraph.

This document reports the details of 307 individuals, of whom 156 are male and 151 are female. Of the 91 individuals with recorded birth and death dates, the average lifespan was 60.1 years. Of these, 47 males averaged 59.8 years, and 44 females averaged 60.4 years. The longest living male was William Joseph Linder (1915–2010), who died aged 94. The longest living female was Marie Elizabeth Crinion (1903–2004), who died aged 101. 

William Linder is not a blood relative but a spouse of one of my 2nd cousins once removed. Thus, I wish this wasn’t used in the calculation. Plus, I have no way of knowing of those with no death dates, if they are still living, how old are they and wouldn’t this change the average lifespan of the males and females. With the female average lifespan of 60.4 years, it is an eye opener for me, since I just turned 60 this year. YIKES.

Remember to have fun and Just Do Genealogy!

Week 39: Surprise (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – 2023 Version)

The theme for Week 39 is "Surprise." Genealogy can be filled with surprises, both good and bad. This week, write about something that was surprising to you or that would have been surprising to your ancestors. Click here to check out all of the themes for 2023.

Discovering surprises is what keeps me engaged in genealogy. It's what makes this pursuit endlessly fascinating. Over four decades of research, I've encountered numerous surprises, some more remarkable than others. Here, I share my top five, though they're just a glimpse of the astonishing tales hidden in my family history.

The most astonishing revelation came when I learned that my maternal grandparents were wed in 1929, contrary to the 1926 date that their daughters had been told and that had been reported in their obituaries. The truth was concealed to protect my mother, the eldest, from knowing she was born out of wedlock, and that her biological father was not the man she believed him to be.

Another jaw-dropping moment was when I uncovered evidence of a third child born to my 2nd great-grandparents. While searching for my great-grandfather's birth record, I stumbled upon a birth certificate for a younger sibling born ten years later. This mysterious child was never named, and further information about their fate eluded me. There's no mention of this enigmatic family member in any family references.

My father's paternal grandparents held their own surprise. My father had always been under the impression that they had only one child who died young. However, during my research for his birth or death certificate, I discovered that their youngest daughter had passed away at just eight months old. My father initially questioned the accuracy of my findings, but I presented both the birth and death records, both of which confirmed his grandparents as the parents.

Yet another revelation reshaped the family legend surrounding my father’s paternal grandmother. It was widely believed that she had run away with another man, only to be dragged back home by her daughters. The actual story, revealed by historical records, was quite different. She and her husband had divorced in 1924. She supposedly lived with another man afterward (though I couldn't locate a marriage record for them). Tragically, that man passed away. Surprisingly, my father's grandparents reunited and remarried in 1936. Their marriage certificate not only validated their reunion but also divulged that their first marriage occurred on November 6, 1895, their divorce on November 6, 1924, and that they had only been married to each other.

Rounding out my top five astonishments involves my 3rd great-grandmother. When I obtained her husband's Civil War pension records, I discovered that she had been collecting his death benefit while he resided in a veterans' home. It wasn't until he applied for disability benefits that her payments were halted, with the disability benefit awarded to him. But the intrigue didn't end there; I stumbled upon a hint suggesting a second marriage between my 3rd great-grandmother and her 2nd cousin on her mother's side. This union occurred after her pension payments were stopped, and her 2nd cousin began receiving Civil War pension benefits. When they married, she received some money from that pension. Later, after her first husband's death, she reapplied for his death benefit. When asked if she had remarried after her husband's death, she truthfully answered no because, in fact, she had remarried before his passing. This twist revealed how cunningly my 3rd great-grandmother had navigated the system.

What surprises have you encountered in your own genealogy research? If you've yet to stumble upon any, my hunch is that you're not digging deep enough. (Ha ha ha).

Remember to have fun and Just Do Genealogy!

Week 35: Disaster (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – 2023 Version)

The theme for Week 35 is "Disaster." (I want to point out that this theme was chosen long before any of the catastrophic events that we've seen in the past few weeks.) Disasters come in many forms. They can be personal or they can affect an entire community. You can also have a disaster in your research. Click here to check out all of themes for 2023.

The current surge of both natural and not so natural disasters unfolding around the globe prompts my reflection regarding the safeguards in place for my extensive genealogical research.

This topic resonates strongly within the genealogy Facebook groups I’m part of , where the practice to establish backups in triplicate is heard consistently. Many years ago, I initiated a practice of monthly backup onto an external drive of all my files, both genealogy and not genealogy related.  Although my academic background in computer programming taught me the significance of data preservation, my adherence to diligent backup practices left much to be desired.

The lesson of backup’s importance was learned in the must grueling manner. A fateful day brought forth the dreaded “Blue Screen of Death,” an indicator of impending doom. Ultimately, my only recourse laid in reinstalling the operating system and all software, a process that regrettably carried the weight of a six-month-old data backup. The toll encompassed half a year’s worth of genealogical exploration. While not conducting research on a daily or even weekly basis at the time, relinquishing six months of meticulous work was an arduous blow.

In the aftermath, I embarked on an expedition to explore online backup systems. Selecting a suitable candidate amongst the many options available, I adopted a regimen where my computer automatically underwent nightly backups. The initial instance backed up the entire system, tailored to the specific folders earmarked for preservation. Subsequent nightly backups exclusively encompassed files that had undergone modification or were newly added. 

My exploration also led me to embrace “Dropbox”. This service enabled access to essential files not just from my desktop, but my laptop or any computer that has internet access.  My online backup system extends its protective service over my “Dropbox” folder. 

Despite these measures, I persist in a monthly backup of my genealogical materials onto a portable hard drive. This precautionary action stands as a defense against the improbable event of the sudden disappearance of my online backup solution. Though the likelihood appears remote, caution compels this redundancy.

Occasions demanded retrieval from the online backup system; instances where accidental deletion led to the realization that the file held value, or when computer malfunctions intervened. The failure of a portable hard drive necessitated the acquisition of a secondary unit. Presently, rotation approach has been established; two portable hard drives, interchanged bi-monthly to encompass monthly backups. 

Even, my physical genealogical records have undergone scrutiny. Scanning and incorporation into the computer genealogy folders has been the primary directive. Although significant strides have been made, a backlog of unscanned documents remains. Paper readily accessible online, is selectively discarded after scanning. For example, a newspaper obituary clipping involves seeking the digital version, which is subsequently preserved along with it’s web address, allowing the disposal of the original print version. In instances where online versions are elusive, a scan secures their representation with the digital folders and the original is manually filed into the appropriate paper file folder.

Preparedness for an array of disasters is a must. While the hope is to evade catastrophic occurrences, the readying oneself is paramount. Personal experience has borne witness to the ramifications of faulty portable drives, system crashes or the inadvertent deletion of invaluable files. 

Recommendation is to initiate proactive disaster preparedness over lessons learn the hard way.

Remember to have fun and Just Do Genealogy!

 

Week 34: Newest Discovery (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – 2023 Version)

The theme for Week 34 is "Newest Disovery." What is the newest discovery you've made in your family history? Click here to check out all of the themes for 2023.

Engaging in daily genealogy research constantly reveals new and exciting insights. Recently, I stumbled upon an innovative approach to genealogy called the AncestryDNA Dot System, devised by Diahan Southard.

During a recent live webinar, which a similar one is  accessible on YouTube through the above provided link, Diahan Southard made a compelling statement: we should embrace the idea of erasing our prior dots without fear. This notion had always been daunting to me. Yet, during the live session, numerous participants inquired about the process of dot removal. I discovered that the procedure is quite straightforward.

Upon opening the DNA Matches list, a plethora of "Filter By" options come into view. Selecting the "Groups" option opens the door to crafting custom groups and subsequently reviewing them. While deletion is impossible from this interface, a simple route exists. 

Navigating to the first match, one can click on "Add/Edit Groups." Adjacent to the existing groups, a pencil icon is situated. 

Upon selecting this icon, the option to delete a group surfaces. 

Executing this process across all groups effectively eradicates the dots. Following this, the canvas is clear to adopt the new dot system outlined in Diahan's tutorial.

Diahan Southard emphasized in the live webinar that she frequently adds and removes groups according to her current genealogical focus. A crucial tool that shouldn't be overlooked is the note field, where annotations and comments can be added. Upon establishing the Most Recent Common Ancestor(s), I compose a note such as "MRCA James Crinion and Mary Ann McMahon; 2C2x," a concise way to denote a second cousin, twice removed.

Ancestry offers an array of 24 color dots. I prefer reserving the initial two yellow dots for flagging important entries. A vibrant yellow hue signifies "Need to enter – Research." Occasionally, while watching TV, I review matches on my phone, or tablet. I leave myself a brief note and the match flagged with this hue indicate a promising connection to explore later on my desktop computer. The subsequent yellow dot I've labeled as "Confirmed DNA Match – enter into FTM." This serves as a reminder that not only have I verified the match, but it's also entered into my Family Tree Maker tree. My Starred Matches are those I am unsure of our relationship because I don't have enough to figure out the relationship. I replace the star with the confirmed DNA Match dot after resolving these matters. Your use of stars and dots can be tailored to your personal preferences.

Essentially, my journey with the Leeds Method of Clustering DNA Matches by Dana Leeds prompted me to seek a more in-depth approach. The Dot System emerged as a valuable asset in this endeavor. I envision my DNA Matches as gateways to potential breakthroughs in my genealogical exploration. They could unveil unknown branches or offspring of my ancestors. Likewise, they might facilitate progress in traversing another generation back to unveil the parents and siblings of my known ancestor.

To me, genealogy means that I will never stop learning new skills to help me discover new things about my family.. 

Remember to have fun and Just Do Genealogy!

Week 31: Flew the Coop (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – 2023 Version)

The theme for Week 31 is "Flew the Coop." The phrase "flew the coop" means to have escaped or run away. It can also refer to someone when they leave their parents' home. Or it can be chickens. Take your pick. Click here to check out all the themes for 2023.

When I think of the phrase "Flew the Coop," my mind conjures up images of elusive relatives who seem to vanish from our lives. These are the ones who are present during census records, but as soon as they come of age or get married (especially for women, whose names may change), they become hard to track down. Even young men tend to go their own way, and we are left wondering where they have ventured off to.

However, there are several options available to find these elusive individuals. Sometimes, we can discover valuable information in obituaries, where people may list their siblings' names, including the married names of women. This can lead to new leads and "locations" to search for their whereabouts.

Another helpful tool is DNA testing and matching. Platforms like Ancestry's Thrulines allow us to select our ancestors and explore potential descendants. It's possible that our matches have built out their family tree from one of those relatives who seemed to disappear. Additionally, the Shared Matches tool can reveal relatives who may not have an extensive family tree but could be connected to the elusive ones. By expanding their family trees, we might find a path back to the missing relatives.

Once we successfully locate these individuals who have "Flew the Coop," the feeling of gratification is indeed quick and rewarding. It brings a sense of completeness to our family history, knowing that we have reconnected with these previously hidden branches of our family tree.

Remember to have fun and Just Do Genealogy!

Week 30: In the News (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – 2023 Version)

The theme for Week 30 is "In the News." Have you found an ancestor in the newspaper? (I sure hope so -- newspapers are wonderful resources!) Another possibility for this theme is to consider what historical/newsworthy events an ancestor witnessed or would have read about in the newspaper. Click here to check out all of the themes for 2023!

I remember the days when I used to sit in the library, scrolling through microfilm on a reader, meticulously flipping through page after page, all in the hope of finding some mention of a relative. Thankfully, in today's digital age, many old newspapers have been digitized and made available online. With just a few keystrokes, you can input a search term, a date, and a location, and like magic, you are presented with options. Admittedly, the technology isn't always flawless, but it does serve as a fantastic starting point. Nevertheless, not all newspapers have been digitized, and there might still be instances where a trip to the library is in my future.

For me, one of the most significant uses of newspapers is searching for obituaries. They often contain valuable information about family members, such as the names of spouses, parents, siblings, and children. Another delightful discovery is stumbling upon engagement or marriage announcements, which often provide details about the parents of the couple and even the names of their siblings. Additionally, finding birth announcements that include both parents' names is like uncovering a hidden gem. However, the true treasures lie in stumbling upon your relatives' names in other significant events.

I have a particularly poignant memory surrounding my mother's first husband, Quentin McAbee. He tragically passed away in a work-related accident, falling 540 feet from a skyscraper in the Chicago area. His story made the front page, and it was heart-wrenching for my mother, especially since she had just discovered she was pregnant with their sixth child. She had to raise her children without her life partner by her side. I later discovered that my mother had filed a lawsuit seeking damages for herself and the children. Although I never found an article that listed the outcome of the lawsuit, I do know that she was awarded some compensation, and each of the children received a trust in their name on their 18th birthday.

While searching for more information on this tragic event, I stumbled upon another accident that Quentin had been involved in during World War II. This bus accident had almost slipped from my memory until I stumbled upon the old newspaper articles. Initially, I had been told that Quentin rescued some people during the accident, but the truth was far different.

Quentin himself had suffered severe injuries in the bus accident, and when I think about how fortunate he was to survive it, I can't help but feel grateful. If he hadn't made it through, my siblings wouldn't exist, and it leads me to contemplate the "butterfly effect" of how our lives are interconnected. My mother's second husband, my father, was introduced to her through her sister's husband. If she hadn't married Quentin and become a widow, who knows if she would have ever crossed paths with my father. It's truly astounding to think about the chain of events that led to my existence.

Now, let's take a look at the news article that appeared in Quentin's local newspaper about that fateful night. Green Bay Press-Gazette; Green Bay, Wisconsin; Tuesday, November 18, 1941, Page 7.

Remember to have fun and Just Do Genealogy! 

Week 29: Birthdays (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – 2023 Version)

The theme for Week 29 is "Birthdays." Is there an ancestor with whom you share a birthday? (My dad and his sister shared a birthday -- and, no, they weren't twins!) You could write about an ancestor that had a lot of birthdays or a memorable birthday party. Don't forget newspapers. Small-town newspapers especially would have stories about birthday parties or "milestone" birthdays. Click here to check out all of the themes for 2023.

Birthdays in my family meant, the birthday person was able to choose the type of cake they wanted. With 11 in our family, it also meant the birthday person got two pieces of cake, that was our present.

Anyway, I have two sisters born on the same day, five years apart. They have different fathers too. My mom’s first husband died and thus one is his child while the other is my father’s first-born child. She was born on my father's first Father’s Day too. 

One of my brothers, the youngest of the oldest six, was born after his father passed. He was born on my mother and her first husband’s wedding anniversary. Ironically, my brother's son is born on his wedding anniversary. I have two siblings whose birthdays are next to each other, one on the 13th and the other on the 14th. Between August 7th and September 7th, 6 of us have a birthday. My father and his two siblings all had a child born on September 7th. 

My paternal grandfather may or may not share a birthday with his mother. He never would tell anyone his exact birthday and celebrated it both on Aug 21st and Aug 23rd. His mother’s birthday was Aug 21st.  When my mother was pregnant with me, her ninth and last child, I was due on July 22nd and when August 1st came around, my mother still haven’t given birth, my grandfather asked her if she was waiting for his birthday. My mom, playing along said sure, when is it, he said Aug 21st. My mom replied that she would then have me on that day. But he said his birthday was really Aug 23rd. My mom replied that she would have me on the 23rd. After going back and forth between the two days, my mom finally stated, enough, I will have it on August 22nd. Since this is my birthday, I guess I had the final laugh. My grandfather’s World War I Registration Card states his birthday is Aug 23, 1899 while his tombstone shows Aug 21, 1900. 

I ran a filter on my family tree and found 38 people who share my birthday of August 22nd, one is born the same year as me. My 2nd great grandfather, the father of my paternal grandfather’s mother is also born Aug 22nd. This might be the reason my grandfather picked the 23rd as another birthday, since he appeared to not want to share his birthday. However, his birthday could be the 23rd. I don’t know because sadly he passed when I was only five. He has no actual birth record or baptism record that I can find. 

Anyway, who shares your birthday in your family tree?

Remember to have fun and Just Do Genealogy!

Week 28: Random (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – 2023 Version)

The theme for Week 28 is "Random." Sometimes we find the most random things about our ancestors. For me, it was discovering that my great-grandfather had a tattoo on his upper arm. You could also pick a random ancestor and write about him or her this week. Have fun with this theme! Click here to check out all of the themes for 2023.

I decided to write about my 2nd great grandfather, Myron O’Brion. This man was just another name on my tree, I never thought very much about him. Then one day, a distant cousin wrote me and told be more about Myron O’Brion.

Myron was born in 1835 in New York, the son of John O’Brion and Jane Margaret Kress. After spending much of his childhood days in Dodge County, he married Mary Goodwin about 1859 in Fox Lake, Dodge County, Wisconsin, USA. Mary was born January 1, 1839, the daughter of Thomas Goodwin and Jane Burns. After marriage, they moved to a new home in Fountain Prairie, Columbia County, Wisconsin, USA. The farm was located one and one-half miles northwest of Fall River. After living there twelve years, they moved to a farm in the Lost Lake area of Dodge County. I have identified 7 of their 8 children. Per the 1900 US Census, Mary had 8 children, and 7 are still living. Myron lived there until his death on November 19, 1883, Mary also lived on the farm until her death on March 18, 1910. 

As Paul Harvey would say… “the rest of the story”

SUICIDE. - On Tuesday p.m. last Justice Calkins, of this place, was called to hold a coroner's inquest upon the body of Myron O'Brien, found dead by the road side some four miles from his residence, in the town of Westford. The justice, accompanied by Dr. Bliss, went to O'Brien's house and a jury was convened the same evening, which rendered a verdict that the deceased came to his death from poison administered by his own hand. The facts as developed at the inquest are as follows: Mr. O'Brien left his home on Monday, on foot, stating that he was going to Columbus, and that his family would not see him again alive. His son accompanied him a mile or so, vainly trying to persuade him to return home. He arrived at Columbus and had his will drawn up by a lawyer, signed and duly attested. On Tuesday morning after procuring a bottle of whisky and a vial of strychnine, he started for home on foot. When found, the whisky bottle in his overcoat pocket was nearly empty and the strychnine bottle duly labeled was found in his bootleg, with about a teaspoonful of the powder taken out. The presumption is that on his way he had drank enough of the whisky to nerve himself up or case him then added the strychnine and taken a last and fatal drink.   Mr. O'Brien was a farmer, some 60 years of age, supposed to be well to do and not a man of sufficiently in temperate habits to impel the commission of the act. He had been in a depressed mental condition for some days, induced, it is said by some temporary pecuniary trouble and a difference of religious views between himself and the family, they being Catholics, while he, we believe, was not a member of any church. His suicide is doubtless attributable to the combination of these causes.

“Now you know…the rest of the story,”

One final thing to note: most of the family spelt their name O’Brion not O’Brien. This does help with genealogy, because when I come across the spelling of O’Brion, most likely they fall into this branch, somewhere.

Remember to have fun and Just Do Genealogy!

July Theme’s and Week 27: The Great Outdoors (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks)

The theme for Week 27 is "The Great Outdoors." (It's ironic that's the theme this week, considering I've had to stay inside most of the time due to smoke from the Canadian wildfires. Yes, I'm in Ohio.) Has your family enjoyed hunting, fishing, camping, or hiking? Or maybe their experiences with nature weren't so pleasant. Either way, this is the week to write about it. Click here to check out all the themes for 2023.

This week, I am writing my story for “The Great Outdoors”. As a child, my family went on 3-week camping trips during the summer, mostly in the month of July. My father, as a bachelor married a widow with six children and then had three more. I am the youngest.

Anyway, when I was about 4 or 5, my parents borrowed my aunt and uncle’s camper to see if they would like camping. I don’t remember much of that trip. We went down to New Orleans; I have a few memories of that city. I remember eating at a restaurant, which is something we rarely did with a family of eleven. I remember the hamburger I got was the size of the plate, at least that is how I remembered it. Story has it that a hurricane hit the area shortly after we left the area.

The camping trip must have been a success because my parents bought a pop-up camper that had an awning room addition, where my parent’s slept on cots. I can tell you; those cots were not comfortable; I don’t know how my parent’s survived. Well, they only did that a few years, because soon, the oldest kids had moved out of the house and they slept in the camper. I mostly remember camping with my three sisters and one or two brothers.

We traveled all over the United States and Canada over the years. By the time I was 18, there was only about 2 states I hadn’t visited, Alaska and Hawaii. I finally visited Alaska in May of 2022. I went to Hawaii in 1997 and in 2002, I will be going this October to celebrate my 40th wedding anniversary.

My love for history was developed during those trips, we visited many historical homes and sites. I was amazed how our ancestors lived. I learned how to read a map, because lucky me, I got motion sickness and was delegated to the front seat, between my parents. I would follow our route on the map, learned about how highways were numbered, how mile markers work while traveling through the states. 

As any normal child, I didn’t appreciate the trips when they happened, being away from my friends for 3 weeks every summer seemed like a life time. Plus, it was usually during the county fair, and I only managed to see maybe two when growing up. I even missed going to my friend’s wedding during my 17th summer, after graduation because we were camping.

My parents did trade in the pop-up camper for an Argosy trailer (a painted Airstream) when I was in sixth or seventh grade. I felt like we were in luxury. It had a TV, bathroom, A/C and heat. My parent’s slept on the pull-out sofa and my three siblings and I slept on bunks that folded down to couches that faced each other. My parents sold that camper a few years after I got married. It was easier for them to just get hotel rooms for vacation. 

I tried tent camping a few times with my husband and children. However, my husband never enjoyed camping, being a farmer boy, he just didn’t get the thrill of being that close to nature. I still long for camping and I would love to have a small Class C RV so that I could travel with my cats and not worry about finding someone to come and feed them. 

I think a Class C RV would come in handy for genealogy road trips. I could bring all my necessary supplies. How convenient it would be when visiting those remote cemeteries and you need a potty break. Plus, I could park at the cemetery and make a day of it and still have all the amenities of home. My husband could stay in the Camper in the parking lot while I was researching in a courthouse, library, or other repository. He could always explore the area too, no more worrying about finding a place to eat.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

Week 26: Slow (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – 2023 Version)

The theme for Week 26 is "Slow." We living in a rapid world. Everything seems instantaneous. What is something an ancestor did that would seem slow by today's standards? (Farming and laundry come to my mind.) What about a line that has been slow for you to research? Click here to check out all of the themes for 2023.

Last week I talked about how Genealogy is not Fast, but some things with Genealogy seem to take forever. I remember when I started my Genealogy journey back when I was 20 years old, that was forty years ago. Anyway, if we couldn’t visit the repository, we might have to write for information. 

I kept a correspondence log to record my outgoing correspondence and then would patiently, or not so patiently, wait for a response. It wasn’t uncommon for months and even years to go by before hearing anything back. My mailbox became my wishing well.

I would write to older family members, introducing myself by giving my parent’s names and ask specific questions, such as “Do you know who your maternal or paternal (depending on which side I was needing) grandparents were?” I would send them a pedigree chart, and many didn’t know how to fill it out, so I made sure I would start with the information I had about them, their parents and ask for the next few generations. Whatever they knew. I even sent family group sheets to know more about them and their children.

I had people write back and attach their own hand-drawn charts that I didn’t know what I was looking at. It didn’t matter, they replied. Many didn’t. I even had a reply many years later, when a spouse was going through her deceased husband’s files and found my letter. It arrived when he was alive, but he set it aside. Oh, the information that was lost when he died.

I still have the treasured letters, I have scanned them and placed them into my computer, however, I have also kept the originals. They seem too valuable to just toss after I scanned them. These are one-of-a-kind letters, with valuable family information, I will never throw them away.

Talk about slow, scanning all my documents from pre-computer days, I purchased my first computer back in 1988. But scanning didn’t really become affordable or easy until about the early 2000’s. I had a hand-held scanner before that, but for big scans, you had to scan sections and piece them together. Plus, you had to be smooth with your movement. Later I purchased a flat-bed scanner and just placed the sheet on the scanner. It did an okay job, but still it was a lot of work sometimes just to get my computer to talk to the scanner. Plus, it took up so much space, I had my hubby create a small roll out table that stored underneath my desk when not in use. Now I have an all-in-one printer, that prints, faxes, scans, copies, and web. Even though I don’t fax because I don’t have a landline, I can fax by scanning and sending it through a special online website. Anyway, the scans are so much nicer and in color. Plus, with smart phones, we have scanners on our phones, just take a picture, send it to our email and like magic, we have a scan or copy of whatever we want!

Now the only thing slow might be my internet connection. If I am on the road and want to look something up, my bandwidth might be slow or not found. Then I would have to wait until I was in a better reception area. 

Since, not everything is available on-line, many aspects of Genealogy can be slow. It might be months before I am able to take a short road trip to the desired courthouse to view records in person. Or if I send for a request, it might take a while before I hear anything back. Anyone who has sent a request to the state of New York, will tell you that they may still be waiting for over two years. Plus, when Covid reared its ugly head, Genealogy requests took a back burner to all other requests.

I am a firm believer that all good things come to those that wait. But why do we Genealogist have to wait so long.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

Week 25: Fast (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – 2023 Version)

The theme for Week 25 is "Fast." I feel the need... the need for speed! (Yeah, the coffee has kicked in.) This theme might make you think of cars or horses, but it could also be an ancestor who didn't take long to find. Don't forget about names like Quick and Race! Have fun with this theme! Click here to check out all of the themes for 2023.

When I think of Genealogy, Fast is not the first thing that comes to mind. Many years ago, an acquaintance made the following statement “I don’t know why you say Genealogy takes so long, last weekend I went to do my family history and I traced it back to the 1700s. I just went online and found my tree.” My response to her was “How do you know it’s correct? Did you verify everything? Other people’s trees can have errors in them? Are you sure it was really your family?”. She gave me a blank puzzled look. You know the deer in the headlights look. 

Anyway, Genealogy isn’t fast. You might get lucky and find lots of information on a person you are looking for. You know those “green leaves” from Ancestry. Those hints. I had to remind a genealogy friend, a beginner that those Ancestry green leaves are just hints. They have not been verified; they just match your search criteria. A look of horror came over her face as she said, “I just have been accepting all those hints because I thought they were for my person.”

I have also reminded people that Ancestry trees have not been verified by Ancestry or by any employee of Ancestry. That those trees are only as reliable as the person who is doing the research. I stated that I could put anything in my tree, a TV family, a made-up family, just random records that I attach to people in my tree. I am amazed by how many people never stopped to think about this. 

I have gotten some things “Fast” in genealogy. For example, an obituary can provide lots of details about a person, their parents, their spouse, their children, their siblings and in-laws, their grandchildren, and so on. Now usually in an obituary, it just a matter of gathering names and perhaps places where the survivors are currently living or who preceded the person in death. However, with that information, I can usually find more records to expand on the names, birth dates, marriage dates, death dates. But is it fast? Not really, researching the people from an obituary can take me anywhere from an hour to several days. 

Have you followed a line through Find A Grave, you know the links to the parents, siblings, children, and so forth. Keep in mind, that those links are only suggestions from other people. Also, those people who create memorials from obituaries of strangers might even have them listed in the wrong cemetery. This happened when my brother died, someone created a Memorial and placed him in the wrong cemetery. A cemetery by the same name, located near the proper cemetery, but still the wrong cemetery. Plus, obituaries might have wrong information because in my mom’s obituary it listed this same brother as Tom when his name was Tim. A typo can really change everything. Even if there is a picture of the stone, the stone could be wrong. My paternal grandfather has the wrong year of birth on his stone. How do I know, because I did research and found out that he was born in 1899 and not 1900. He was born in Aug of 1899 and appears on a census record for April of 1900. His World War I draft card has Aug 1899 written on it. Thus, I know the 1900 date on his gravestone isn't correct.

So basically, I am saying Genealogy isn’t Fast, we might find an ancestor or relative fast, but seriously, was it fast? How long have you been doing genealogy? I might finally get the names of the next generation on a marriage record, but I might have been trying to figure out where and when they really got married to find that record. I have added 100 people to my tree in one day and on other days, only a handful. 

Seriously, if Genealogy was Fast, won’t everyone be doing it. I enjoy that it isn’t fast. That it is a big puzzle that I must take my time to make sure every piece fits. It not a race for me or to force the pieces to fit.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

June’s Theme and Week 23: So Many Descendants (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – 2023 Version)

The theme for Week 23 is "So Many Descendants." Sometimes when we're researching, we'll come across a set of ancestors who seem to have a gazillion descendants. Who is that in your family tree? Click here to check out all of the themes for 2023.

What I love the best about the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, is the fact it makes me look at my family tree with a new set of eyes. 

I decided to look at my DNA matches and which ancestor(s) seem to have the most descendants who have tested. I decided to look at AncestryDNA and use ThruLines. Now with my disclaimer: You get ThruLines when ancestors from your tree are also in a match’s tree. However, Ancestry will look at other peoples’ trees and build out your matches tree to find common ancestors. Therefore, your match must have a tree attached to their DNA results. Then common ancestors need to match, you might not get a match because they have a different birth, death, or marriage date for an ancestor. Perhaps you use the birth name of an ancestor and your DNA match uses a nickname. Thus, ThruLines are just hints, and I have found lots correct and a few incorrect things. However, the better your tree is built out, the better the ThruLines matches become.

I have a couple, my 4th great-grandparents through my maternal grandmother’s line, Lorentz Hilts (1782-1850) and Margaretha Wartenbach (1785-1850) which have 60 DNA matches. The Hilts/Hiltz line is quite huge. The immigrant ancestor, my 7th great-grandparents Christofel HÜLS and Eva Catherine Engel came to America in 1710. They have at least 10 children. They were the second group of Germans that England invited to populate the new World. However, the lineage between Lorentz and Christofel is not totally proven. It was given to me by a relative, however, I can’t absolutely prove each generation. At least to my satisfaction. 

ThruLines shows 6 descendants for the couple, I only have four of the 6 children. My ancestor has 20 matches, the next child has one that I need to evaluate, the third child has 17, the fourth has 15, the fifth has 5 and the last child has one that I need to evaluate. This branch of the family has a lot of descendants and with repeat names, children sometimes get attached to the wrong parents. This is why I need to evaluate James and Elizabeth. Also, even though it states that Susan needs to be evaluated, I already have Susan in my tree, so perhaps there is more to evaluate. 

I have a custom fact in my Family Tree Maker program for tracking my DNA matches. I noticed I only have 8 DNA matches documented. These are people that I can prove their line down from Lorentz and Margaretha. Therefore, I see another project in my future on verifying the DNA matches for this line. 

I decided to see how many descendants I have for Christofel and his wife Eva and when I export that branch of the family, I get 5362 people. This does include spouses of the descendants, still this is quite a large branch of the family.

If I check how big the export file would be if I choose Lorentz and Margaretha, I get 891 people. This is quite a drop of people. It just shows how quickly a family expands with each generation back we take our trees. 

Thus, if the set of your ancestors seem to have a gazillion descendants, is it because they are your 7th great-grandparents or more? 

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

Week 21: Brick Walls (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - 2023 Version)

The theme for Week 21 is "Brick Wall." Do you have an ancestor (or 4) who you can't seem to make any progress on in your research? This would be a good week to write about that ancestor and really think about what you know about that ancestor, how you know it, and where you might look to fill in the gaps. Writing is part of the research process! Click here to check out all the themes for 2023.

I am no exception, I have many “Brick Walls” or “Dead Ends” where my research ends and I am unable to get further back. When I look at my tree as a Fan and it is at my 3rd great grandparents where things start to end. I have all my 2nd great grandparents figured out. YEAH! That’s half the battle. 

My 2nd great grandfather, James Crinion (1832-1922) parents might be Patrick Crinion and Ann Dillon. That’s a big might be. I obtained these names many years ago from my great-aunts. Rumor has it that Patrick came to America with four of his children, who all settled in the Columbia County, Wisconsin area. I can’t find anything about Patrick in America. However, I do match a Crinion family in Ireland and the male Crinion and my father do have the same Y-DNA. Thus, his ancestors and my ancestors are most likely the same. I really need to get some more facts from her.

My 2nd great grandfather, William Gadow, (1844-1923) parents might be Gottfried Gadow and Anna Maria Rosenow. These names are suggested names via Ancestry’s Thrulines. To be honest, I just haven’t had the time to research this yet. Having the names is exciting, it gives me something to prove or disprove.

My 2nd great grandmother, Dorothea Wolter (1836-1897) wife of William Gadow, her father might be Johann Wolter. Her father’s name was on her death certificate and supplied by her husband. He might have known him, since they were married in Germany, but I don’t know where to start looking in Germany for more clues. I have no idea who her mother is.

My 2nd great grandfather, Michael McDonald (1827-1910) father might be Edward McDonald. Michael and his wife Catherine Quinn were married in Utica, Oneida County, New York, USA. I don’t know if Edward came to the America’s, or if Michael came with any siblings. Maybe DNA will give me some clues on the subject. I have no idea who his mother is.

My 2nd great grandfather, Seymour Hiltz (1850-1880) was born in Manilius, Onondaga County, New York, USA. I know his father is Lawrence Hilts and his mother is Nancy. I don’t have a maiden name for Nancy. Speculation is that she is also a Hilts because my DNA matches on the Hilts line are very strong, stronger than the relationship should be if using Lawrence’s line. However, if Nancy is a Hilts, then it would explain why we are such a close match to some of these Hiltses.

My 2nd great grandparents Timothy Obrien (1836-1914) and his wife Mary OReilly (1839-1901) father’s might be John O’Brien and James Reilly. This information was given on their death certificates. Tim and Mary were both born in Ireland and were married in Cook County, Illinois. I found their marriage record and it listed a Bridget Reilly as a witness and this might be a sister to Mary. I don’t know enough to make worthwhile searches. However, I have some promising DNA matches to review.  I have no idea who their mothers are.

As you can see, I have lots of dead ends. I am currently working on a different line, on a known 3rd great grandparents’ line, who I don’t know who their parent’s are. I am researching all their descendants for a book I want to publish. I also want to identify which DNA matches belong to this branch of the family. 

In the past, I would bounce from one “Brick Wall” to another, never really accomplishing anything meaningful. I have switch gears this year, I am concentrating on what I can figure out and I want to start creating books for branches of my family. I am getting older, turning 60 this year and I want to start preserving my research. I also want to identify as many DNA matches to those branches. Thus, I will be left with unknown matches that might help me with these “Brick Walls”. I have decided to approach the method a little different. It makes me think of Sherlock Holmes, "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." Thus, I will eliminate the known Matches and whatever remains, hopefully will match the Brick Wall lines.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!