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Breaking Down Brick Walls with Limited DNA Evidence

Genealogy researchers run into dead-ends from time to time, especially when there is a limit to what information DNA testing can provide. When you have exhausted the obvious possibilities, it can be helpful to have patience and create a convincing web of evidence. Legacy Tree Genealogists’ Carolyn Tolman provides specific examples of how she used limited DNA and documentary evidence together to break down a brick wall in her family.

Even professional genealogists have “brick walls” in their family trees – those seemingly unsolvable gaps for which there are no records available to break through to the earlier generation.

In my tree, it is my father’s early Kentucky ancestors who seem to have appeared out of nowhere and left no trace of their origins. After decades of scouring census, land, probate, court, and tax records in several central-Kentucky counties, I had resigned myself to the idea that these blank spots in my tree would probably never be filled.

Brick Wall Caused by Limited DNA EvidenceUsing Limited DNA and Documentary Evidence

With the advent and evolution of genealogical DNA evidence, I hoped that some of my father’s matches’ trees might reveal the missing link. For several years, I have carefully grouped my genetic cousins, who I know descend from my brick-wall ancestors, and then studied our shared matches, building out their trees, and looking for common ancestral couples whose close relatives might be my missing ancestors.

When working in the realm of 4th-6th cousins with low amounts of shared DNA, this is a slow, time-consuming process that yields such tiny pieces of evidence that we must gather many different pieces (a preponderance of evidence) before we can come to any conclusions. The same is true for documentary evidence from the early American frontier period, before births, marriages, and deaths were registered with government or church authorities. Rarely do we find “smoking gun” documents naming a person’s birth date and parents from this era, so we must gather clues from indirect sources such as land, tax, and court records.

Given the limitations of DNA evidence and documentary evidence for our 4th-6th generation American ancestors, it is critical that we combine the two methodologies so that one can inform the other and vice versa. In my own case, this patient and comprehensive approach has yielded some surprising breakthroughs!

My dad’s great-great-grandfather was Alexander Green, born on 13 May 1813 and died on 13 May 1889, according to his headstone in the Frankfort, Kentucky Cemetery. He married Nancy Ann Wallace on 11 January 1841 in Jessamine County, Kentucky, and we have good records detailing the rest of his life.

Unfortunately, none of those records told me who his parents were. The best leads were his 1840 census entry in Mercer County, and one land deed in neighboring Jessamine County in which he sold land to his mother-in-law (confirming this was the correct Alexander), and to a Henry Green, the only other Green named in Alexander’s records.

Continuing my years-long swim through my father’s many Green family line DNA matches, I realized I had multiple hits on a common ancestral couple whose names were Llewellyn Martin (1770-1844) and Elizabeth Pantier (1772-1845). They were married in Mercer County, Kentucky in 1792. Matching descendants of more than one of this couple’s children was a significant sign that I had a viable new lead. Subsequent research revealed that Llewellyn was born in Chester County, Pennsylvania, an interesting clue that later became a golden link in my search.

Taking Time to Find the Golden Link

Although I had scoured Mercer County records many times before, I realized I had not taken the time to go page-by-page through an unindexed court minute book spanning the years 1789-1833.

Back in the days of having to go to the Family History Library in person to scroll through microfilm, it was never practical to use up my whole research day going through this old book of chicken scratch when there seemed to be little chance of success. But in this pandemic age of online research from home, I realized I could search a few pages at a time whenever I had an hour to spare.

Of course, I decided the best place to start would be around the year 1813 since I would need Alexander’s name to recognize any ancestral entries. Lo and behold, I soon came upon this entry dated 7 February 1814.[1]

Polly Martin alias (Green) to show cause if any she has why Hiram, Joel, Peter, Anne, Rachel, Henry, Charity & Alexander Green, orphans of Henry Green…should not be bound out as the law directs

“…Polly Martin alias (Green) to show cause if any she has why Hiram, Joel, Peter, Anne, Rachel, Henry, Charity & Alexander Green, orphans of Henry Green…should not be bound out as the law directs.”

There he was, my third-great-grandfather, with his seven siblings, being “bound out” to the community upon the passing of his father Henry Green. How did I know this was actually my ancestor? I had several small pieces of evidence tied together in this one record:

  1. The date of 7 February 1814 fit with Alexander being named the last of his siblings, usually reflecting age order since he would have been about nine months old.
  2. It took place in Mercer County, the first place Alexander appeared as an adult in the 1840 census.
  3. There was a Polly Martin associated with these children, echoing the DNA clue I had recently discovered.
  4. Alexander had a brother named Henry Green who was probably the associate named in the Jessamine County land deed.
  5. Having lost his parents as an infant, it made sense why Alexander would never have named them in his records.

But did Alexander really lose his mother as an infant? Henry Green’s name is followed by “& Lavina Nation,” who I assumed was the deceased mother of the children, but I have since learned that she was another orphan, likely a cousin of the Green children.

Who was this Polly Martin (alias Green) who was taking care of the orphans? I assumed she must have been an aunt or other close relative.

Continuing to Collect Small Clues

Subsequent research of Alexander’s siblings revealed some of their marriage and death records, including Joel’s death from typhoid fever on 4 October 1858 in Pleasant Hill, Mercer County. His parents were named in the county death register as Harvy and Mary Green. Harvy was a common variation of Henry, and I noted that a common nickname for Mary would be Polly. Was it possible that Polly Martin (alias Green) was the children’s mother who could not afford to care for them after her husband’s death?

I have continued to go page-by-page through the 1150 images of the Mercer County court book, gathering other small clues about this family. One day, my usual website link to the court book was not working, so I decided to go through the Family History Library Catalog. On the Mercer County page, I noticed that there were some records specifically for Pleasant Hill, where Joel died.

Uncovering Records that Changed Everything

The Pleasant Hill records turned out to be a register of Shakers from the Shaker village at Pleasant Hill, known today as Shakertown, Kentucky. Lo and behold, there were all of Alexander’s siblings, living among the Shakers since 1814.[2]

Gone to the World

From “Gone to the World: Vital Statistics on Individuals in the Shaker Community at Pleasant Hill, Kentucky,” p.18.

At first, I didn’t see Alexander there, but upon closer inspection, I realized he must be “Eli” with a birth date of 8 May 1813, five days earlier than the birth date on his headstone.

Next, I noticed “Mary, Sr.” with a birth date of 22 March 1772, old enough to be the Green children’s mother. Her arrival date with the children in 1814 and her death there on 11 August 1835 support my hunch that she was the same as Polly Martin (alias Green) who took her children to live with the Shakers, who were noted for taking in widows and orphans to compensate for their celibate lifestyle.[3]

There the children would have been well cared for, fed, and educated until they turned 21, at which time they could choose to stay and sign the Shaker covenant or leave to go out to “the world,” which Alexander and four of his siblings did. Anna died young in another Shaker community, and Joel and Charity remained “true Shakers” at Pleasant Hill until they died in late adulthood.

I have been thrilled to learn that the Shakers were excellent record keepers, with repositories at the historical societies in Harrodsburg, Louisville, and the University of Kentucky. I am now in the process of gathering more biographical details about each member of this family with the help of onsite researchers in Kentucky.

Creating a Convincing Collection of Evidence

One final detail that brings us full circle in this story is that Mary Sr. was born in Chester County, Pennsylvania, and was of the age to have been a sister to my DNA relative Llewellyn Martin, opening another avenue of future research for me.

This further testifies that while limited DNA clues and limited documentary clues are relatively weak standing alone, they create a convincing web of evidence when gathered together that tells me I’m on the right track and urges me onward.

Until recently, finding the birth family of my family’s Alexander Green was a brick wall that seemed I would never breakthrough. But with persistence and patience, carefully gathering and pondering every little piece of evidence, the seemingly impossible dream has become reality.

Do you need help chipping away at your own brick wall because of a lack of DNA evidence? Let us apply our skill and passion to solving your genealogical problems. Even with professional help, most brick walls take time and effort to break down as we gradually gather evidence. But with your trust and patience and our team approach, we can make progress that you may not have made on your own. Please contact us for a free estimate on research. We look forward to working with you!

 

[1] Mercer County, Kentucky, Court Minute Book (1789-1833), page 314, Family History Library microfilm #7901429, image 395 of 1150, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS4T-64QD?cat=134893, accessed December 2021.

[2] Rhorer, Marc Alan, ‘Gone to the World’: Vital Statistics on Individuals in the Shaker Community at Pleasant Hill, Kentucky, p. 18, FamilySearch Books, https://familysearch.org/library/books, accessed December 2021.

[3] “Mercer County Kentucky Shakers,” Southern Indiana Genealogical Society Vol. XXIII, July 2002, Kentucky Genealogy Trails, http://genealogytrails.com/ken/mercer/shakers.html, accessed December 2021.

 

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Setting the Record Straight: 6 Common Myths About Hiring a Professional Genealogist

One of our genealogists breaks down some of the myths about genealogical research and provides valuable insight into the process of hiring a professional. This article may answer some of the questions you have about hiring a genealogist to research your family’s history.

Setting the Record Straight

As professional genealogists, genealogy is our passion as much as it is our profession. We love nothing more than to sink our teeth into a juicy ancestral mystery, gather up all available evidence, and piece together the truth, however surprising (or mundane) the truth might be.

We understand that when you hire a professional genealogist, you are placing your hopes and dreams of discovering your heritage in our hands. Connecting with your ancestors is intensely personal and meaningful, and there are strong emotions involved for you and for us. We take the trust you place in us to discover your personal family history very seriously and are committed to providing each client with the exceptional research experience that has made Legacy Tree the world’s highest-rated genealogy research firm. Part of creating an exceptional research experience is managing client expectations. To that end, I’d like to share 6 common “myths” we’ve heard from clients—and set the record straight on what professional genealogists can and can’t do.

Myth #1: “You have access to records that I don’t.”

YES – We have subscriptions to all the major (and minor) genealogical repositories on the internet. These include MyHeritage, Ancestry, FamilySearch (free), Findmypast, Fold3, American Ancestors, Newspapers.com, and many more. Just like many of you, we rely on these online archives to efficiently gather primary original records (birth, marriage, death, census, social security, naturalization, immigration, etc.) about your ancestors. If you would rather not pay for so many subscriptions on your own, then YES, we have access to records that you don’t. We also team up with Private Investigators as needed to access additional records.

NO – We do not have access to an exclusive database with “all the correct answers” that you don’t have access to. Such a database does not exist. The closest thing to it exists in the form of compiled family trees such as the tree at FamilySearch.org, which is free to the public. This is a crowd-sourced database that may provide a general consensus of what is known or assumed about a particular ancestor. However, there are many mistakes perpetuated by this tree. It is only as accurate as each individual record that is attached to each ancestor. We may start there, but we must follow up by making sure each fact is supported by one or more documents. This means researching each ancestor one record at a time rather than quickly assimilating an entire line or an entire seven-generation tree.

There is no exclusive database with “all the correct answers.”

YES – We are headquartered near the famous Family History Library, housing the most massive collection of genealogical records in the world gathered by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (often called the “Mormon Church”). Although more and more of the resources from this repository is being digitized, indexed, and made freely available at FamilySearch.org, there are still many microfilms that can only be accessed in person at the brick-and-mortar library in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA (as indicated in the free online catalog).) If you would rather not come to the library in person, then YES, we have access to records that you don’t. But…

NO – The offline microfilms at the Family History Library do not hold all the answers, including your own accurate family tree. They consist of the same types of records commonly found on major genealogical websites and must be researched one by one, focusing on one individual or nuclear family at a time.

YES – We have a network of on-the-ground genealogists all over the world who can visit brick-and-mortar archives for us. Many archives around the world are in the process of digitizing their records and making them available on the internet. We use your project time most effectively by first assessing what is available online, then confirming what is only available at an archive, and only then arranging for a researcher to visit that archive. This initial assessment process does take project time, but it is a necessary part of effective research.

NO – We do not have special privileges for accessing government records from civil registration offices. In many cases, vital records for recently deceased people (usually within the last 50–100 years or so) are restricted by privacy laws and may only be requested by close relatives. Sometimes, having you sign a power of attorney granting us permission to access records on your behalf will meet this requirement.

Myth #2: “I have put together a big family tree based on other family trees I found online.”

“I have put together a big family tree based on other family trees I found online. You should be able to quickly verify the accuracy of my tree and recognize/fix the mistakes.”

YES – We, too, could quickly assess other family trees online and compare your particular ancestral lines to theirs. However, a family tree is only as accurate as each individual primary record attached to it, and (perhaps even more importantly) whether proper analysis of those records has been performed. Although there are some well-researched, sourced, and trustworthy family trees out there, the vast majority of them tend to be unsourced and based on assumptions, likelihoods, and family stories. These types of trees are anathema to professional genealogists because it could take far more time to untangle their messes than it would to create an accurate, sourced tree from scratch. This brings us back to …

Giant Family Tree – Source Wikimedia Commons

NO – We don’t have an exclusive, authoritative “master family tree” that has been fully researched and certified to be accurate, which we might use to quickly validate your own tree. We are duty-bound to follow the Genealogical Proof Standard, which requires that we search out and find at least two primary sources if possible for each vital event in each ancestor’s life (birth/marriage/death). Multiply this process by the potentially hundreds of direct-line ancestors in your tree, and you will realize how much time it could take to verify it, or to redo it if we find mistakes. If you have a large family tree it is best to have a professional focus on only one line at a time, starting with a specific ancestor and working back as far as available records allow in the allotted time.

Myth #3: “You are professionals, so you should be able to work much faster than I can.”

YES – We are accustomed to this work. We know where to look for a particular kind of record and quickly glean the important genealogical details from it. We know how to analyze and evaluate the genealogical data to recognize clues that will point us in the right direction to find additional records. We seek out online sources first in order to use your project time most efficiently. On the other hand …

Given enough time, we may be able to successfully accomplish these goals.


NO – While we do guarantee efficient and effective use of your valuable project time, and we love to find as much information as is humanly possible, we can never guarantee what or how much will be found in the course of our research. We may encounter challenges such as missing records (destroyed or never created in the first place), contradictory evidence which must be sorted out, and surprising results which must be double-checked or which may require us to go back to square one. These scenarios happen all the time, often because most people hire us to work on tough problems. Even professional genealogists need time to break through brick walls, especially if you have been working on yours for thirty years. If we don’t achieve a breakthrough within the allotted project time, we hope our professional perspective will help you to recognize new leads and start on a more accurate path toward achieving your goal. Our reports always include specific recommendations for future research, whether you pursue them yourself or we do it for you in a new project.

Myth #4: “You are professionals so you are obligated to find the records I cannot find.” 

YES – Perhaps there is a clue you missed in your own research that will lead us to a place you have not looked for a particular record. Perhaps you have not invested the time to study all of your ancestor’s friends, associates, and neighbors to gather enough circumstantial evidence to adequately link an ancestor to the previous generation. Given enough time, we may be able to successfully accomplish these goals. But … 

NO – There is a possibility that the record or DNA match we need to prove a genealogical connection no longer exists or was never created in the first place. Despite our greatest wishes as professional genealogists, we cannot will a record or a helpful DNA match into existence. We can and do take the time to “leave no stone unturned” in our search for evidence, but when our allotted time is up, we must acknowledge the results of our search may be “nil,” keeping in mind that even from a negative search we still learn something valuable.  Remember, you have paid us for our time and skill in searching, not for a guaranteed outcome. 

Myth #5: “DNA results are guaranteed to reveal my unknown ancestor.” 

YES – DNA results are an incredibly valuable tool in any genealogist’s toolbox. They can help to bridge record gaps and reveal biological truths that documents and family stories have obscured. However, the key word here is “can;” successful breakthroughs always depend on the number and quality of matches (cousins who share a portion of your DNA) you have on the line of interest. But keep in mind … 

NO – If you don’t have enough close matches on the relevant lines, you can choose to wait for them to show up on their own as more people test, or you can find and recruit likely matches by researching the descendants of key ancestors. Our DNA research team is very adept at searching out candidate testers to help prove the identity of your unknown ancestor. But be mindful—this process takes time, first to do the descendancy research and recruit testers, and then to wait for their test results to be posted (typically six to eight weeks after samples are sent in). Even then, theories may be proven wrong and we may need to move to Plan B. Also remember that traditional document research is required to support and explain DNA evidence. 

Myth #6: “I’ll receive frequent updates from my researcher as discoveries are made.” 

This is perhaps one of the most difficult myths to resolve when it comes to working with a professional genealogist. We understand—you have paid good money to have professional genealogists research your family tree, and you want to be as involved in the process as possible!  

The time you purchase is extremely valuable and we are committed to using it in the most efficient and effective way possible. This means that we strive to spend the majority of project time researching and writing, citing and documenting the professional report that you will receive as the final deliverable. Especially with our small projects, taking project time to give you frequent updates is not practical; in fact, there is a risk that conclusions may change as research progresses and is reviewed by multiple genealogists.  

NO – As much as you may enjoy the idea of collaborating with us, simultaneously researching the same ancestors you have paid us to research creates a great risk that we will simultaneously make the same discoveries as you. Even if you beat us to it, the new information you send in the middle of a project may require us to spend extra time evaluating it, possibly dismissing it, or possibly changing the direction of our research. This is best done at the beginning of a project, which is why we ask that you provide all background information before research begins.  

YES – With all of this said, we do often reach out to clients during the research process if an update is needed to make a certain decision, or if we need clarification that only you can provide. DNA projects tend to be more interactive because we may need you to identify or communicate with close matches. Large projects (75-100 hours) do allow for more frequent midpoint communication. Every project is different, but we hope you trust that your research is in good hands even if you haven’t heard from us in a while. 

Is Hiring a Professional Right for You?

We love building beautifully sourced family trees. We love to make discoveries and help you learn about your ancestors. We really love happy clients and will go above and beyond to ensure we have considered every angle of a tough problem. You can always count on us to give each research project our very best effort, leaving no stone unturned in the quest to find answers for our clients. We hope debunking these common client myths will help you feel empowered to make the determination if hiring a professional genealogist is right for you.  If it is right for you, contact us!

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Tying the Knot: Ancestral Marriage Records and Where You Might Find Them

Marriage records are a major source of genealogical information since they mark the merging of two families and provide what may be the only source of a married woman’s maiden surname. Searching for maiden names in marriage records is one of the first priorities of all genealogy research. One maiden name brings a whole new set of ancestors and their stories into play.

Marriage has always been a very public covenant, since two people were vowing to care for each other and their children, ideally preventing single parents and orphans from relying on public charity. In the United States, counties have been recording marriages for much longer than they have been recording births and deaths. Even if the county records are otherwise very sparse, you can usually expect to find a collection of early marriage records. Whether a civil or church authority performed the ceremony, local laws usually required that the marriage be recorded in civil records. Traditionally, marriages were performed in the bride’s hometown.

What information can I find in a marriage record?

Depending on the locality, the era, the institution, the clerk, and the informant, you may find the following information in a marriage record:

  • Full names of bride and groom
  • Date and/or place of birth for bride and groom
  • Age at time of marriage
  • Church of marriage ceremony
  • County where the marriage took place
  • Date of the marriage
  • Name of minister or priest
  • Names and birthplaces of the bride’s and groom’s parents
  • Names of the witnesses to the marriage, often relatives
  • Occupations
  • Residences of the parties
  • Whether single, widowed, or divorced

Types of marriage records in genealogy research

Civil marriage records can take several different forms, most often a register, a license, or a certificate. In addition to a church record of a marriage, you might find a recording of the banns. Banns were public announcements made by the church of the impending marriage, giving members of the community an opportunity to make known any impediments to the union, such as a close cousin relationship or an existing spouse. Keep in mind that a license, engagement announcement, or banns prove that the couple planned to marry, but they do not necessarily prove the actual date of the marriage, or even that it took place at all.

Where can I find marriage records?

In addition to civil and church records, you may find a record of a marriage in newspapers (including obituaries), family Bibles and personal histories, or compiled genealogies, either online or in print (be careful to check their sources!). Google Books, MyHeritage, Ancestry, FamilySearch, and FindMyPast are all online sources for marriage records.

Still can’t find that marriage record? Maybe a “Gretna Green” marriage is the reason!

If you have tried all these places and still cannot find the marriage of your ancestors, consider the possibility that they went to a “Gretna Green” to get married. A Gretna Green marriage is when a couple elopes or otherwise chooses to marry away from their hometown(s) and families. They might do this to take advantage of laxer marriage laws that allow them to marry without the consent of their parents, at younger ages, for less money, or without a prescribed waiting period. These marriages were less likely to be publicly announced, and sometimes the only record created was a line in the officiant’s account book.

Where did the term “Gretna Green” originate?

Gretna Green is a town in Scotland, just over the border from England, where couples fled to take advantage of Scotland’s less restrictive marriage laws as early as the mid-1700s. You may recall that in Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice, it was feared that 16-year-old Lydia Bennett and George Wickham had run off to Gretna Green to marry against the wishes of Lydia’s family. In Scotland, anyone, even the local blacksmith, could perform a marriage ceremony, as long as there were at least two witnesses and the couple declared there were no impediments. Grooms had to be at least 14 years old and brides at least 12. Over time, any place that became known as a “runaway wedding” haven came to be categorized as a “Gretna Green.”

ancestral marriage records

Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

In the United States, Gretna Greens can be found in the border towns of states with relatively lax marriage laws. Military posts along the frontier, towns along the Canadian and Mexican borders, and river towns along the Ohio, Mississippi, Missouri, and Hudson Rivers are other likely Gretna Greens.

If you are searching for your ancestors’ marriage, consider the following well-known Gretna Greens in the United States:

  • Port Orchard, Washington
  • Clark County, Washington
  • Skamania County, Washington
  • Coeur d’Alene, Idaho
  • Payette, Idaho
  • Weiser, Idaho
  • Bear Lake, Idaho
  • Evanston, Wyoming
  • Omaha, Nebraska
  • Farmington, Utah
  • Las Vegas, Nevada
  • Winnemucca, Nevada
  • West Wendover, Nevada
  • Elko, Nevada
  • Reno, Nevada
  • Yuma, Arizona
  • Raton, New Mexico
  • Richmond and Rosenburg, Texas
  • Liberty, Texas
  • Orange County, Texas
  • Norton County, Kansas
  • Texarkana, Arkansas
  • Tishomingo County, Mississippi
  • Keokuk, Iowa
  • Crown Point, Indiana
  • South Bend, Indiana
  • Angola, Indiana
  • Clark County, Indiana
  • Evansville, Indiana
  • Chicago, Illinois
  • Cincinnati, Ohio
  • Aberdeen, Ohio
  • Port Huron, Michigan
  • Joseph, Michigan
  • Pike County, Kentucky
  • Maysville, Kentucky
  • South Point, Tennessee
  • Rome, Georgia
  • Airy, North Carolina
  • West Alexander, West Virginia
  • Point Pleasant, West Virginia
  • Manassas, Virginia
  • Fredericksburg, Virginia
  • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • West Alexander, Pennsylvania
  • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • Reading, Pennsylvania
  • Westminster, Maryland
  • Howard County, Maryland
  • Elkton, Maryland
  • Niagara Falls, New York (and Niagara Falls, Ontario)
  • Ogdensburg, New York
  • Crown Point, New York
  • New York City, New York
  • Kings County, New York
  • Buffalo, New York
  • Groton, Connecticut
  • Thompson, Connecticut
  • Lowell, Massachusetts

At Legacy Tree Genealogists, we leave no stone unturned when searching for the marriage of an elusive ancestor or clues to any other unsolved mystery. Leave the sleuthing to us and let us discover and preserve your family stories! Contact us today to request a free quote.

Sources:

https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Gretna_Greens_in_the_United_States

Arline Eakle, „Have you searched and searched for the marriage without finding it?”

http://www.arleneeakle.com/wordpress/2007/02/19/have-you-searched-and-searched-for-the-marriage-without-finding-it/

https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/United_States_Marriage_Records

https://www.usgenweb.org

Marriage records are an important source of genealogical information, often providing the only source of a woman’s maiden surname. Learn where to find marriage records for your ancestors! #genealogy #familyhistory #marriagerecords #ancestry #familytree #genealogists #legacytree

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Will the Real Frank Stanley Please Stand Up? How to Confirm Genealogy Research with DNA

A case study that demonstrates how to use DNA evidence in conjunction with document evidence to confirm genealogy research.

My husband’s second great-grandfather, Frank M. Stanley, was a prominent Seattle real estate man who played a significant role in rebuilding the city after the Great Fire of 1889. He built, owned and operated several large apartment buildings including the Lenawee Apartments, the Barbara Frietchie Apartments, the Summit Vista Apartments, and the Stanley Apartments, staying active in the business community until his death in 1940.

The Obstacle: Conflicting Information in Genealogy Records

Several biographical sketches of Frank M. Stanley said he was born in New York and arrived in Seattle in 1887. The census reports from 1900 to 1940 agree he was born between 1853 and 1855, but provided conflicting information, reporting birthplaces as New York, Michigan, and Maine. Though he was married three times, to Jennie Alice Myers in about 1888, Bessie Mable Blake in 1905, and Mable M. Foor in 1912, none of his marriage records or any other Seattle records offer the names of his parents or his specific birthplace. His death certificate shows “unknown” for his birthplace and parents, but it does give a specific birth date of 29 March 1855.

Systematically Narrowing Down the Candidates

For years, I tried repeatedly to search for Frank M. Stanley in New York in the 1860, 1870, and 1880 censuses, but his common name and dubious birth place meant there were too many candidates and not enough information to easily distinguish the right one. Using the concepts of “time and place” discussed in a previous article, I focused on New York as his likely birth state, and took the time to do a systematic study of each of the many possible Frank/Franklin/Francis Stanleys in New York, starting with the 1860 census, since he should have been a small boy living with his parents. It took some time, but one by one, I eliminated most by tracing them to their marriages and deaths, until I zeroed in on one good candidate: Francis/Frank M. Stanley, son of Adams E. Stanley and Ellen Beebe of McDonough, Chenango County, New York.

Confirm genealogy research
Adams E. Stanley household in the 1860 U.S. Census, McDonough, Chenango, New York. MyHeritage.com.

Context and Circumstantial Evidence

By 1880, both of this Frank’s parents and two of his three brothers were deceased, and he was living in a boarding house working as a restaurant clerk in Winchendon, Massachusetts. Surely the lure of a new life in the West appealed to this young man who had lost most of his family. No other records were found for him after 1880 in New York or Massachusetts, supporting my theory that he was our Frank who showed up in Seattle in 1887.

Digging in and Building Out: Family Tree Research

I proceeded to build out the ancestry of this Frank’s parents, Adams E. Stanley and Ellen Beebe, and saw that three generations of Stanleys and one generation of Yeardleys lived in Dublin, Cheshire, New Hampshire; four generations of Beebes lived in Waterford, New London County, Connecticut; and four generations of Twitchells lived in Sherborn, Middlesex County, Massachusetts. But how do I confirm this genealogy research is accurate?

Confirming Genealogy Research with DNA

Armed with these unique surnames and specific places, I then performed targeted searches of my husband’s autosomal DNA matches. Using the DNA & Relationship chart below, I calculated that descendants of Frank’s siblings would be fourth cousins, while the descendants of Frank’s parents’ siblings would be fifth cousins. Does figuring out cousin relationships leave your head spinning? Check our our helpful guide to consanguinity!

Eventually, I found an estimated fourth to sixth cousin match descended from the Beebes of Waterford, New London, Connecticut; an estimated fifth to eighth cousin match descended from the Yeardleys of Dublin, Cheshire, New Hampshire; and a fifth to eighth cousin match descended from the Twitchells of Sherborn, Middlesex, Massachusetts. I carefully built out each of their trees until I found the connection to our Frank Stanley’s ancestry. Over time, more matches like these have appeared, and I will continue to watch for more as time goes on. Since they are so distantly related, most of these matches have no other shared matches to my husband, but the few who do are related to closer cousins who also descend from Frank Stanley. All by themselves, each match is not strong enough to provide conclusive proof that we have the correct Frank Stanley, but multiple matches connecting to these unique New England families, taken together, do provide a preponderance of evidence that I have made the right connection.

Better Together: Combining Document Research and DNA

This case study is a classic example of how traditional documentary evidence can be combined with DNA evidence to establish sufficient proof of ancestral relationships and help you overcome genealogy “brick walls”. On their own, neither documents nor DNA would have been enough, but together, they form a convincing argument that will likely grow stronger as more relevant DNA matches appear.

DNA is now considered an essential tool in any genealogist’s tool box, but it does not trump all other tools. At Legacy Tree Genealogists, we understand that, as powerful as DNA can be in identifying ancestors, it is only effective when combined with traditional document research. We look forward to using all of our tools to help you build your family tree! Contact us today to get started.

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Kosekis from Gotō: Japanese Genealogy Explained

*This article is shared with client permission. Names have been changed to protect client privacy.

Requests for Japanese genealogy research are less frequent than other areas of the world, so we were excited to have the opportunity to study the ancestry of Fumiko Matsu, who was born in the early 1930s in Kishiku, Japan and later immigrated to the United States.

Surnames in Japanese Genealogy

The most important thing to understand about Japanese genealogy is that until the Meiji era (1868-1912), ordinary people did not have surnames. Rather, surnames were only used by people in positions of power, nobility, or great artistic ability. The Meiji era was one of tremendous social and cultural revolution. No longer an isolated island avoiding trade or communication with the outside world, Japan’s new leaders pushed their country into the modern world, striving to compete with rival Western innovations and thinking. Accordingly, all commoners were required to choose and register a family name for themselves.

What is the Koseki?

During this same revolutionary period, The Japanese civil registration record, known as koseki, was created in 1872, containing information about birth, marriage, death, adoption, and divorce of people in the same household. Persons were stricken from the record in the case of death, marriage, divorce, adoption, forfeiture of citizenship, or leaving home by other means to establish an independent household.

These two great changes in Japanese social history are the reason that most modern Japanese families can only trace their lineage back to the early 1800s using civil registration records. (Although this form of record keeping started in 1872, the birth dates of elderly family members can extend genealogies back several decades earlier.)

Overcoming Privacy Laws to Extend Japanese Genealogy

Due to strict privacy laws in Japan, only direct descendants with proof of lineage can access the koseki of their direct ancestors. With assistance from one of our native Japanese researcher with connections to several important archives, we were fortunate to successfully obtain all of the existing kosekis for the client’s direct ancestors, extending her pedigree three generations and learning several interesting stories.

Japanese genealogy

A small portion of a Japanese family koseki obtained and translated by Legacy Tree Genealogists.

Japanese Genealogy: The Importance of Historical Context

The islands of Gotō, the ancestral home of Fumiko Matsu, have a unique history in Japan. Due to its location, Gotō was a trading post between Japan, China, and Korea for hundreds of years but was also the site of the birth of the “hidden Christian” movement, highlighted in the critically acclaimed novel Silence, by Shusaku Endo. From the sixteenth to the nineteenth century, Christians from the mainland of Japan would flee to Gotō to escape persecution and hide among the inhabitants. Freedom of religion was not introduced in Japan until the Meiji era, when over fifty churches were built in Gotō and can be visited today. It was not apparent whether the Omaki and Matsu families were part of this movement, but they most likely knew people within their community who were involved.

Adoption in Japanese Culture

There were two cases of adoption on the family record. In Japanese culture, adoption does not necessarily mean a child was an orphan, unwanted, or not cared for by the biological parents, as it would in Western cultures. It was common practice for a family with more than one son to transfer a son to another family in the community who were childless or had only daughters. In this way, one family could assist in maintaining the legacy of the other. In the case of the Matsu family registration, Fumiko’s grandfather, Genjuro Matsu, born as Genjuro Omaki, was the third son of Matakichi Omaki, but was adopted at age 16 by Sakujiro Matsu, most likely to carry on the Matsu name. Another example showed Fumiko Matsu’s brother, Satoru Matsu, second son of Sakujuro and Nao Matsu, was adopted out at age eight to Rikiko Omaki, after which his biological parents had three more sons.

Using Records to Uncover Details of our Ancestors’ Lives

Two more interesting stories were discovered. Yoshio Matsu died at the age of 16 in Osaka. His death was reported by the Osaka Chief of Police. Cause of death cannot be determined on a Japanese family register, but as the police were involved, he may have died by accident or crime. Finally, we learned that Tsuma Omaki was Kichitaro’s fifth and last wife; he had divorced his previous four wives.

Japanese genealogy researchIf the family can learn which Buddhist temple their ancestors attended, it is possible to contact that temple to obtain an ancestor’s kakocho, or death record. The kakocho contains information such as gender, birth order, dates of birth, and death. Also, Nagasaki Prefectural Archives might have a file on the ancestral family. In Japan, beginning in the 1960s, any family can store genealogical documents in their respective Prefectural Archives at no cost. These documents are available for research and are open to the public unless requested to be closed by the donating family.

Do you have Japanese ancestors you’d like to know more about? We would love to help you obtain their koseki and discover your family’s story. Contact us today to request your free consultation!

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The Wrights in America: Tracing Immigrant Ancestors

*This story of tracing immigrant ancestors is shared with client permission. Names have been changed to protect privacy.

At Legacy Tree Genealogists we enjoy working with clients from all over the world, especially as they trace their immigrant ancestors through multiple countries. We were especially intrigued when a recent Brazilian client explained that in the process of immigrating from Yugoslavia to Brazil, her great-grandparents, Joseph Wright and Emily Horvay, had spent several years in the United States. In fact, her grandfather, Joseph Wright, had been born in Racine, Wisconsin, during that time period. We were asked to gather as much information as possible about the time they spent in the United States as well as their early years in Yugoslavia (now Croatia). We were fortunate to find many interesting records about this family.

Census

Joseph Wright and his wife Emily lived in Racine, Wisconsin, for much of their time in the United States. According to the 1920 census, Joseph and Emily lived at 1044 Franklin Street in Racine that year with their four children: William, 5; Elizabeth, 4; Joseph, 2 years and eight months; and James, 5 months. Joseph owned the home with a mortgage and rented parts of the home to two other unrelated families, probably as an additional source of income.

Immigration

Joseph Wright had arrived in New York City, New York, nine years earlier on 7 July 1911 aboard the ship S.S. Adriatic. The Adriatic had left Southampton, England, just nine days earlier. On the passenger list, he reported that he was Croatian from the town of Mlinska, Austria-Hungary, and that his birth was in Austria. His nearest living relative was his wife, Emily Wright, in Mlinska, meaning that Joseph married Emily Horvat before he came to the United States. By the time Emily Wright arrived on the S.S. Franconia from Liverpool, England, in Boston, Massachusetts two years later on 24 October 1913, Joseph had moved to Racine, Wisconsin.

Despite thorough searching, we were unable to find any naturalization documents for Joseph Wright. It is possible that he never naturalized, particularly if he only lived in the United States for a short time. It may be that Joseph began the process but never completed it. We also found that when Joseph and Emily left the United States, they did not fill out passport applications—an indication that they were not U.S. citizens.

Vital Records

Vital records were ordered from the Register of Deeds in Racine. Joseph and Emily’s immigration papers implied that they were already married before they came to America, so no marriage certificate was on file in Wisconsin records. We did, however, obtain the birth record of Joseph Wright for 2 May 1917 in Racine, Wisconsin. His parents, Joseph Wright and Emily Horvat, lived at 1620 Hamilton Avenue, Racine. Joseph’s birthplace was listed as Hungary, and Emily’s as Austria. The birth record accounted for two older siblings for Joseph.

Birth certificates were also ordered for Joseph’s three Wisconsin-born siblings. Several new facts were learned about the family from these records. For example, we know that Joseph and Emily Horvat had five children, but one died before their son William’s birth in 1914, because all of the birth certificates except Joseph’s mentioned a deceased child. Perhaps Emily was pregnant or already had a child when Joseph immigrated to the United States. It also became clear that the family moved around frequently, never living in the same home for two consecutive births.

Church Records

Church records for Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, and Racine County, Wisconsin were searched for Joseph’s family. According to the client, Joseph Wright was baptized in the First Lutheran Church of Racine. The church was built at 700 Villa Street in Racine in 1849, and the sanctuary where Joseph and his family likely worshiped was dedicated in 1897.

tracing immigrant ancestors

First Evangelical Lutheran Church, Racine. Courtesy of FirstRacine.org.

We searched the 1918 Racine city directory for a list of contemporary churches, and contacted the First Evangelical Lutheran Church of Racine to request the Wright family records and were generously provided with the birth records of Joseph and his three siblings.

tracing immigrant ancestors

Baptism entry for Joseph Wright. Identifying information redacted.

 

City Directories

City directories help pinpoint a person within a certain place and time and include useful information about nearby churches, cemeteries, and municipalities, as well as other same-named individuals in the vicinity. The table below is a compilation of the Wright family’s known addresses during their time in Racine, gathered from a variety of sources including city directories.

Known Addresses of Joseph Wright in Racine, Wisconsin
19131321 11 Street, RacineEmily’s passenger list entry
19141437 Racine StreetWright’s Directory of Racine for 1914
19141945 Phillips Avenue StreetBirth certificate of William Wright
19151624 Hamilton AvenueBirth certificate of Elizabeth Wright
19171620 Hamilton AvenueWorld War I Draft Registration card & Joseph’s birth certificate
1919Village of CorlissBirth certificate of James Wright
19201044 Franklin Street1920 U.S. Census and Wright’s Directory for 1920

Military

A World War I draft card was found for Joseph Wright living in Racine at 1620 Hamilton Avenue. He reported that he had declared his intention to become a citizen, that he had been born in Germany, and that he was currently a citizen of Germany. Joseph’s occupation was a machinist at Mitchell Motor Co., by which he supported his wife and three children. Later known as the Mitchell-Lewis Motor Car Company, a custom automobile manufacturer, Mitchell built everything except for the wheels, tires, and electrical equipment. The company closed down after a period of disastrous model specifications, poor publicity, and World War I.

tracing immigrant ancestors

Mitchell Automobile Company-made car, ca. 1911 postcard. Courtesy of Wikipedia.

A physical description of Joseph was also provided on the second page of the registration; he was medium height and build, with brown eyes and dark brown hair and suffered from no disabilities. Although his nationality and the spelling of his surname differed from most other records, the street address, number of children, and employer of this Joseph were perfect matches.

Joseph’s signature from his World War I draft registration card. Identifying information redacted.

Newspapers and Employment

The Racine Daily Journal published an article in 1917 that listed Joseph Wright and other “Mitchell Workers” as purchasers of $100 of liberty bonds. During World War I, the United States Treasury Secretary encouraged all Americans to purchase government bonds called Liberty Loans. Well-known graphic artists created advertising. The posters rarely used the word “war,” and war bonds were always called Liberty Loans or Liberty Bonds. Bond purchasers could redeem the bonds at 3.5% interest later, while furnishing the government with cash necessary to the war effort in the present.

A Brief History of Mlinska

According to passenger lists, both Joseph and Emily were from Mlinska, specified in Emily’s record as part of Croatia. Mlinska was a village near the town of Hravostac, Croatia. In 1865, the landowner in Daruvar, Baron Tikery, needed some cash, so he had an old oak forest cleared and taken to the nearest train station. Thousands of acres around Daruvar and Pakrac were now useless, so Baron Tikery divided the land into village lots. His estate administrator found purchasers, mainly the sons and daughters of ethnic German settlers in Hungary. Thousands of settlers rushed to the newly opened area, eager to leave the ravages of the Thirty Years War in central Europe. The village was called Hrastovac, and small neighboring villages (including the Lutheran village of Mlinska) were established at the same time according to religious beliefs. The geopolitical context of frequently changing boundaries in Europe during this era explains why the Wrights were sometimes referred to in American records as German, Hungarian, and Austrian, and how all three can technically be correct.

After the First World War, many families, including the Wrights and the Horvats, left Mlinska and emigrated to North and South America. They were fortunate, as World War II was a terrible turning point for the Danube Swabians living in the Kingdom of Hungary. Even though they had lived for over 200 hundred years in their adopted homeland of Hungary, the hatred of other Hungarians towards Hitler’s regime “spilled viciously over them” as ethnic Germans. The village of Mlinska was attacked by Partisans in 1942, and many people were killed or shipped off to “starvation camps.”

Hrastovac Church Records

Transcribed Croatian church records provided further proof that Joseph Wright and Emily Horvat were from the village of Mlinska, near Hrastovac. The passenger list for Emily Horvat Wright reported her father as Edvard Horvat. Emily’s baptism was then discovered in the transcribed parish records. She was born 16 December 1892 in Mlinska to Edvard Horvat and Emily Broz and baptized four days later on the 20th by Mihaly Grbics, a Greek Catholic priest from Pasian. Mlinska and Hrastovac were small villages that lacked resident priests. The villagers would have their children baptized by whichever religious authority was in the area, regardless of the denomination of the priest in question. The Evangelical Lutheran parish records indicate that Mihaly Grbics performed all of the christenings between August and December 1892, suggesting that the regular Lutheran priests were away or ill at the time. Emily’s parents, Edvard Horvat and Emily Broz were marked “Evang,” confirming that they were not Greek Catholic.

tracing immigrant ancestorsAlthough our allotted research time came to an end at this point, there are still many records available to continue tracing the Wright and Horvat families back in time. We were pleased to have learned so much about this family during their time in the United States through a variety of records such as census, immigration, newspaper, military, and church records. They are representative of a unique group of people who, though ethnically German, had followed economic opportunity and fled oppression through several countries before settling in South America. Our client shared: “When I started reading the first line of my family report I was not able to stop. I was so excited reading my own family history and many details that I didn’t know about. Thank you for the good job and a very professional and organized report.“

Do you have multicultural immigrant families in your family tree? Let us help you bring their stories to life! Contact us today for a free quote.

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Holiday Traditions from Ancestors Around the World

Holiday Sale

Holiday traditions can be simple or intricate, but when passed down through generations they become sweeter and help shed light on the way our ancestors lived and celebrated. 

holiday traditions around the world

It is the stories and traditions of our ancestors that turn our hearts to them and help us feel we are part of something greater than our individual selves. For many families the most enduring traditions have been made and kept around the holiday season — especially Christmas.

Out of my eight great-grandparents, seven of them had parents or grandparents who came to the United States after 1850—from England, Wales, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Germany. However, very few of their distinctive cultural traditions have been handed down to my generation, perhaps because they were eager to blend in to American culture.

Integrating Holiday Traditions

In an attempt to bring some of their cultures back into our family holiday traditions, we now choose an ancestral country to celebrate for our Christmas Eve dinner. We eat their traditional food, dress like them as much as possible, and tell their stories to our children. This adds to the wonderful festive spirit of the evening and has made for some great memories.

Where are your ancestors from? Does your family still carry on some of their distinctive cultural holiday traditions? Perhaps this year is the time to begin. Below are traditional holiday practices from around the world that give you a glimpse into your family history.

Netherlands Traditions

In the Netherlands, Sinterklaas arrives on the evening of December 5th. Children leave a shoe out by the fireplace or windowsill and sing Sinterklaas songs in the hope that he will fill them with presents. They also leave some hay and carrots in their shoes for Sinterklaas’ horse. They’re told that, during the night, Sinterklaas rides on the roofs on his horse and that a ‘Zwarte Piet’ (“Black Peter,” like an elf) will then climb down the chimney (or through a window) and put the treats in their shoes.

holiday traditions from around the world

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Icelandic Traditions

In Iceland, In the 13 days leading up to Christmas, 13 mischievous trolls called Yule Lads (jólasveinar in Icelandic) come out to play. For each night of Yuletide, children place their best shoes by the window and a different Yule Lad visits, leaving gifts for nice girls and boys and rotten potatoes for the naughty ones. Clad in traditional Icelandic costume, their names reflect the trouble they like to cause: Stekkjastaur (Sheep-Cote Clod), Giljagaur (Gully Gawk), Stúfur (Stubby), Þvörusleikir (Spoon-Licker), Pottaskefill (Pot-Scraper), Askasleikir (Bowl-Licker), Hurðaskellir (Door-Slammer), Skyrgámur (Skyr-Gobbler), Bjúgnakrækir (Sausage-Swiper), Gluggagægir (Window-Peeper), Gáttaþefur (Doorway-Sniffer), Ketkrókur (Meat-Hook), and Kertasníkir (Candle-Stealer).

Venezuelan Traditions

In Caracas, Venezuela, every Christmas Eve, the city’s residents head to church in the early morning — on roller-skates! This unique holiday tradition is so popular that roads across the city are closed to cars so that people can skate to church in safety before heading home for a traditional Christmas dinner of hot tamales.

Colombian Traditions

Little Candles’ Day (Día de las Velitas) marks the start of the Christmas season across Colombia. In honor of the Virgin Mary and the Immaculate Conception, people place candles and paper lanterns in their windows, balconies, and front yards. Entire towns and cities across the country are lit up with elaborate displays, and neighborhoods compete to see who can create the most impressive arrangement.

holiday traditions from around the world

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Italian Traditions

In Italy, children sing carols while playing shepherds’ pipes and wearing shepherds’ sandals and hats. On Epiphany night, children believe that an old lady called ‘Befana’ brings presents for them. Children put stockings up by the fireplace for Befana to fill. For many Italian-American families a big Christmas Eve meal of different fish dishes is now a very popular holiday tradition. This meal is known as The Feast of the Seven Fishes (‘Esta dei Sette Pesci’). The feast originated in southern Italy and was brought over to the United States by Italian immigrants in the 1800s.

French Traditions

In France, triangular Nativity scenes called “cribs” are very popular. French cribs have clay figures depicting the traditional Holy Family, shepherds, and wise men, but they also have whimsical figures such as a Butcher, a Baker, a Policeman, and a Priest. Yule Logs made out of Cherry Wood are often burned in French homes. The log is carried into the home on Christmas Eve and sprinkled with red wine to make the log smell nice when it is burning. The log and candles are often left burning all night with refreshments left out in case Mary and the baby Jesus come to visit during the night.

German Traditions

St. Nicholas’ Day in Germany is celebrated on December 6th. Not to be confused with Weihnachtsmann (Father Christmas), Nikolaus travels by donkey in the middle of the night and leaves little treats like coins, chocolate, oranges, and toys in the shoes of good children all over Germany, particularly in Bavaria. In exchange for the gifts, each child must recite a poem, sing a song, or draw a picture. St. Nick also brings along Knecht Ruprecht, a devil-like character dressed in dark clothes covered with bells and a dirty beard. He carries a stick or a small whip in hand to punish any children who misbehave.

Norwegian Traditions

In Norway, people hide their brooms on Christmas Eve. It’s a holiday tradition that dates back centuries to when people believed that witches and evil spirits came out on Christmas Eve looking for brooms to ride on. To this day many people still hide their brooms in the safest place in the house to stop them from being ‘stolen’.

Ghanaian Traditions

Christmas Eve in Ghana starts with Church services that have drumming and dancing. Children often put on a Nativity play and then come out in front of the priests to dance. Choirs sing in many of the 66 languages of Ghana. Singing in their own unique language makes them feel that God speaks their language. Sometimes these services and dancing go on all night long.

holiday traditions from around the world

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Australian Traditions

Since it is the middle of summer in Australia at Christmastime, the lyrics to carols about snow and cold weather are usually replaced by words about sunshine and hot weather. There are also some original Australian Carols. Many Australians hold “Carols by Candlelight” services with local bands and choirs. When Santa Claus gets to Australia, he gives his reindeer a rest and uses kangaroos or ‘six white boomers’ (a popular Australian Christmas song). He also wears clothes more suited to the hot weather. A typical Australian Christmas feast is a seafood barbecue at the beach.

Indian Traditions

Christians in India celebrate Christmas Eve by walking to Midnight Mass as a family. The churches are decorated with poinsettias and candles. Afterwards, they return home to a massive feast of different curry delicacies and the giving and receiving of presents. Instead of decorating traditional fir Christmas trees, Indians use banana or mango trees. Christians also put small oil burning clay lamps on the flat roofs of their homes to show their neighbors that Jesus is the light of the world.

Swedish Traditions

One of the biggest holiday traditions in Sweden is St. Lucia’s Day on December 13th. The celebration comes from stories that were told by Monks who first brought Christianity to Sweden. St. Lucia was a young girl in ancient Rome who would secretly bring food to the persecuted Christians who lived in hiding in the catacombs under the city. She would wear candles on her head so she had both her hands free to carry things. St. Lucia is depicted by a girl in a white dress with a red sash round her waist and a lingonberry crown of candles on her head. St. Lucia leads a procession of children singing carols in churches, schools, hospitals, and rest homes, handing out ‘Pepparkakor’, or ginger snap biscuits.

holiday traditions from around the world

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

In a sense, we are all the result of the legacy that has been passed down to us. Carrying on family holiday traditions and passing them on to our children is part of our legacy, and a way of celebrating the traditions of our ancestors.

What tradition will you implement in our family this year to bring you closer to your roots?

No matter how much you already know about your heritage, there is always more you can learn. Let us at Legacy Tree Genealogists help you make these discoveries and perhaps create some new family traditions that reflect your collective past. Contact us today to discuss how we can help you.

 

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Finding Your Heritage in Unexpected Places

**Note: The details from this French-Canadian genealogy research project are shared with permission from our client. 

Recently we were contacted by a client who requested we begin researching her direct paternal ancestor. This ancestor was named John Lucy, of Ontario, Canada, and was allegedly of Irish heritage. Our client explained that her father had recently died and that he would have loved to know the history of his name. She had been trying to trace the Lucy line herself and was not having success. Though she wished she had begun the research before he passed, she felt this was a way for her to honor her father’s life. She was also planning a trip to Ireland soon and hoped to visit her ancestral towns. She said “I would be so happy to just make the first connection back to the UK. That is what my father always wanted to know.”

A survey of Canadian censuses between 1871 and 1901 established that John Lucy was born in Cumberland, Ontario in the early 1840s, and was Wesleyan Methodist by way of religion. However, neither John Lucy nor any of his children appeared in the Wesleyan Methodist baptism records in the Cumberland area. At this point, research temporarily halted as we had reached the end of a project.

In the meantime, the client located a Wesleyan Methodist marriage index entry for a John Lussiers and Ann Hannah who married in Cumberland on 22 August 1864, and she requested that we recommence researching the Lucy family. In the marriage record, John was reportedly born in Cumberland and was the son of “E[xe]brus and Delia Lussiers.” The name “E[xe]brus” was obviously a poor transcription of an unknown name, as we knew these marriage registers were the result of several subsequent handwritten copies. An immediate concern with correlating John Lucy and John Lussiers was the apparent French spelling of his surname. We knew from previous research that John Lucy’s ethnicity was consistently identified as Irish after 1871. However, learning this new possible spelling and ethnicity led us to recognize John in the 1861 census:

French-Canadian genealogy research

John Lucier enumerated in Cumberland, Ontario in 1861

14-year-old John Lucier lived in the R.P. Lindsay household.[1] They lived in Cumberland – the same place John Lussiers listed in his marriage record. We were surprised to see that John Lucier was identified as Roman Catholic, unlikely for someone who would only three years later be married in a Wesleyan Methodist Church. Upon closer inspection, we developed a hypothesis which would explain the apparent conflict. John was listed as one of three non-family members in the household of a Church of Scotland minister. This young boy may have been taken in by Rev. Lindsay when his parents died or were otherwise unable to care for him. So, although John Lucier was a baptized Roman Catholic, he was living in a house where everyone else was a member of the Church of Scotland. He would have become familiar with – and was probably following – the Presbyterian tradition.

John may have had mixed ancestry, with his father having been French and his mother Irish. He may have then chosen to more closely identify with his Irish roots, particularly since his wife was Irish. To test this hypothesis, we turned to John Lucy’s children and found that they indeed frequently identified themselves as having French lineage. By analyzing the later records concerning two of John Lucy’s children, we gathered evidence that the family likely had both French and Irish heritage. This supported our hypothesis that John Lucy was also known as John Lussiers and that he married Ann Hannah in 1864.

A search for John Lucy/Lussiers in the 1851 census did not yield any positive results, most likely because the surviving 1851 census is not complete, so we returned to the 1861 census for more clues. Interestingly, there were two Lucier families in 1861 in Cumberland. The families of Frances Lucier and Baptist Lucier appear next to each other in the census. Of note, Frances Lucier’s wife was named Adelaide and they had a daughter, Delia.[2] The similarity of Adelaide to John’s mother’s name – Delia – was compelling. Moving to French Catholic parish records, we discovered the baptismal record for a John Lucier, son of Francis Lucier and Adelaide Dirmont/Diamond, born in Cumberland on 30 August 1844 and baptized on 12 November 1844 at the parish St. Gregoire-de-Nazianze in Buckingham, which is just across the river from Cumberland.[3]

French-Canadian genealogy research

Baptismal record of John Lucier 12 November 1844 at the parish St. Gregoire-de-Nazianze.

The Catholic Church records of Quebec and some areas of Ontario are a fantastic collection. The French-Canadian church records served as civil registration records until the beginning of the twentieth century. Copies of all the church records were thus sent annually to the appropriate courthouse. In the 1940s, L’Institut Généalogique Drouin (The Drouin Genealogical Institute) microfilmed these records at courthouses across Quebec and in other areas with high French-Canadian populations, and can prove a valuable resource in French-Canadian genealogy.

In addition to this Drouin collection, an extensive, seven-volume genealogical reference was developed by Father Cyprien Tanguay in the late nineteenth century. The Genealogical Dictionary of Canadian Families from the Foundation of the Colony to the Present Day, also known as the Tanguay Collection, is considered one of the most comprehensive resources for French-Canadian genealogy.

Using these excellent resources we were quickly able to track John Lucy’s paternal line back 200 years to the immigrant ancestor, Jacques Lussier, son of Jacques and Marguerite (Darmine) Lussyé of St. Eustache, Paris, France, who married Catherine Clerice (also born in Paris) on 12 October 1671 at Notre Dame du Quebec, Quebec City, Quebec.

Our client was thrilled. Of her father, she said “I know he would be ecstatic.” She continued, “I am so impressed with the level of work that you have done. That cannot have been easy at all but it looks like we made a breakthrough this time. That is so exciting.”

There is nothing more satisfying than breaking through genealogical brick walls and helping our clients realize their heritage, perhaps especially when it is different than the family always believed. Our client may not be able to visit the Lucy ancestral village in Ireland this summer, but they may now be considering adding a stop in Paris!

If you have a brick wall ancestor that has you stumped, our professionals can help. With genealogists specializing in all different types of research and onsite agents worldwide, we can help you track down those elusive records that might provide the clue(s) needed to extend your family line. Contact us today to discuss which of our projects would work best for you.

 

[1] 1861 Canada Census (population schedule), Cumberland, Russell, Ontario, ED 1, p. 12, [R.P.] Lindsay household, http://myheritage.com, subscription database, accessed January 2017.

[2] 1861 Canada Census (population schedule), Cumberland, Russell, Ontario, ED 1, p. 7, Francis Lucier household, http://myheritage.com, subscription database, accessed January 2017.

[3] Quebec, Canada, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1968 (index and image), baptism of John Lucier, 10 November 1844, Buckingham and Grenville, Québec, http://ancestry.com, subscription database, accessed January 2017.

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Time Out! Why Even Long-Time Genealogists Need a Break

Why even long-time genealogists need a breakBrick Walls. We all have them somewhere in our family tree–places in our pedigree where we cannot find the names and dates we need to continue tracing the ancestral line. Sometimes all it takes is time and patience sorting through unindexed records or tracing each of several same-named persons until we find the right one. Many of us have spent years—decades even—doing just that, but without success. This can be frustrating for genealogists of all levels, and stepping away from the struggle and experiencing success for a while may just be the solution. Here are some tips and tricks for taking a break from your discouraging research roadblock.

  1. Collateral research on spouses and siblings. Many aspiring genealogists are so intent on extending their direct lines as far back as possible that they neglect spouses and siblings. Every spouse has ancestors and many siblings have descendants that are “ripe for the picking” genealogically speaking. Furthermore, studying these collateral lines often leads to breakthroughs on your direct lines, especially if they lived in the same area at the same time. Your own direct ancestor may not have named their parents, but their siblings or cousins may have done just that. You’ll have the satisfaction of gathering their records plus possibly the joy of discovering more about your direct line.
  2. Fill in the details on known ancestors. We all know genealogy is never “done.” You may think you’ve gathered all there is to be found on an ancestor, but new records are constantly being digitized and put online that were inaccessible and unknown only a few years ago. Newspapers and photos are a great example of this modern phenomenon. MyHeritage has hundreds of millions of newspaper pages from many countries and is adding to them all the time. They have also made finding photos incredibly easy with Photo Discoveries™ which uses Instant Discoveries™ search technology to find photos of our ancestors that have been shared by distant cousins. Take some refreshing time to find newly-available newspaper articles and photos and “flesh out” those names and dates on your pedigree.
  3. Volunteer with genealogy problem solving groups. There are plenty to choose from, but one interesting option is the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) Unclaimed Persons Database (https://www.claimus.org/). “The UnClaimed Persons database (UCP) contains information about deceased persons who have been identified by name, but for whom no next of kin or family member has been identified or located to claim the body for burial or other disposition. Only medical examiners and coroners may enter cases in the UCP database. However, the database is searchable by the public using a missing person’s name and year of birth.” What a meaningful way for genealogists to use their skills to serve others. Perhaps you’ll end up claiming one of your own distant cousins.
  4. Help a beginner pick the “low-lying fruit” of abundantly available records and build a basic pedigree. There’s nothing more invigorating to a genealogist than having plenty of informative documents available for the picking. All it takes is some very rewarding time pulling them together and organizing accurate, complete family groups. Seeing your friend feel that natural high of meeting their ancestors for the first time is priceless.
  5. Explore your DNA matches. If you’ve never used this increasingly valuable genealogical tool, DNA testing could help you discover a gold mine of matches (cousins) who claim descent from ancestors who turn out to be siblings of your own brick-wall ancestor. Just as we mentioned with collateral research, your own progenitor may not have left a record of their parents, but one of their siblings might have. There might not be documents proving those siblings were related, but a preponderance of DNA matches can bridge the records gap and give genealogists the proof needed to tap into several more generations of a known family. Even if you’ve already tried DNA and found your match list unhelpful, come back to it regularly. New matches are being added all the time as testing becomes more popular, and new, user-friendly analytical tools are being rapidly developed.
  6. Hire a fresh pair of eyes. Legacy Tree Genealogists offers a team approach to tackling genealogy problems. Perhaps you’ve been staring at your brick wall so long that you’ve overlooked some valuable clues. Having the fresh perspective of another long-time genealogist with a unique set of skills could provide the breakthrough you’ve been dreaming of. Keep in mind that professional genealogists are not privy to a mythical, exclusive database with “all the answers”–nor can we make nonexistent records magically appear–but we do offer the advantage of having multiple experienced genealogists and DNA specialists review your case. We also have a worldwide network of onsite genealogy researchers who can access archives which have not yet digitized their collections, the largest of which is the Family History Library, just down the street from our main office in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.

It is amazing the effect that taking a break can have for a genealogist when it comes to tackling brick walls. You’ll have a renewed focus and better perspective when you come back to it, and hopefully your new skills or newly-available records and tools will make all the difference.

If you have a brick wall you need helping breaking down, we would love to help! Whether it’s just reviewing what you’ve done and offering suggestions for you to continue yourself, or picking up where you left off and continuing the research for you, our expert genealogists are ready to assist you. Contact us today to discuss which of our project options works best for your case!

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Offering Hope for Father’s Day: A Client Reunion Success Story

This reunion between biological father and daughter is shared with permission from our client. *Names have been changed to protect privacy.

Father’s Day in the United States is celebrated on the third Sunday in June—a day filled with honoring and cherishing the special men in our lives. However, for those who feel the aching emptiness of never having known their biological father, it can be a difficult 24-hours cognizant of the void felt far too often throughout the year—a painful reminder of the ever-present absence in their lives.

reuniting with biological fatherAt Legacy Tree Genealogists, we are often contacted by individuals seeking assistance in finding information regarding biological family members. Utilizing advancements in genetic genealogy and thorough genealogical research, we have helped many clients find closure. Recently we helped client Lisa McArthur* locate her biological father, and so for the first time in her life, this Father’s Day is a momentous occasion she looks forward to—the first celebrated with her biological father.

Lisa McArthur of Fort Worth, Texas, USA, hired us to help her find her Jamaican biological father and half-brother. She knew only their names, and did not know their whereabouts or even whether they were still living. She hoped we could use DNA to identify her father’s Clarke ancestors in Jamaica and then trace their descendants until we found someone who could tell us more about him.

Lisa had already taken autosomal DNA tests at Family Tree DNA, 23andMe and Ancestry.com. She had corresponded with several genetic cousins at Ancestry.com and 23andMe who are likely related to her through the Clarke family, but she had not been able to figure out how.

We reviewed Lisa’s ethnicity admixture results at 23andMe. Through this review we determined that both of her parents had predominantly African ancestry and that her biological father was likely Afro-Caribbean, just as she reported.

We then reviewed Lisa’s closest genetic cousins at the various testing companies, paying particular attention to those genetic cousins from Jamaica. One of them, a confirmed second cousin [Cousin 1], the client already knew was the grandson of Elmer Clarke. We searched for information on Elmer Clarke and soon found his birth record showing he was the son of Leslie George Clarke and Anne Dixon.

FathersDay1

Birth Record of {name removed for privacy}. Obtained from FamilySearch.org.

By carefully evaluating the shared centiMorgans between Lisa and Cousin 1, we determined that her biological father may have been a grandson of Leslie George Clarke and Anne Dixon.

We found another close match at 23andMe [Cousin 2] who was likely a third cousin to Lisa. Based on her previous correspondence with him, we knew that Cousin 2’s great-grandparents were Roland Lee, Hermina Murry, Obadiah Brown, Juliet Higgins, Henry/William Dennis, Ida Thomas, Basil Hamilton and Ira Thomas/Barrett, all predominantly from Jamaica.

We reviewed the DNA that Cousin 2 shares in common with Lisa and discovered that two of the three segments where he overlaps with her are also shared in common with another match [Cousin 3], creating triangulated segments. When two individuals match a test subject and each other on the same segments of DNA, the segments are considered to be triangulated. This means that the common ancestor between Cousin 2 and Cousin 3 is also one of Lisa’s ancestors.

Through standard genealogical research, we found that Juliet Higgins (the great-grandmother of Cousin 2), from Saint Andrew, Jamaica, was allegedly the daughter of John Higgins, although we could not find a birth record to prove it. We also confirmed that Cousin 3 was the granddaughter of John Higgins and Charlotte V. Graham of Saint Andrew, Jamaica. Additional research yielded convincing evidence that the great-grandfather of Cousin 2 was the same John Higgins as the grandfather of Cousin 3. Correspondence with the son of Cousin 3 indicated that John Higgins was “a ladies’ man who had many children” with multiple women.

Since Cousins 2 and 3 both reported a common ancestor with the Higgins surname from Saint Andrew, Jamaica, we expected that Lisa also had a Higgins ancestor from the same place, perhaps even the same John Higgins.

We hypothesized that Lisa’s biological father was a nephew of Elmer Clarke, the grandfather of Cousin 1. Through previous research, Lisa had already identified four brothers of Elmer: Geoff Adolphus Clarke, Neil Clarke, Douglas Alexander Clarke, and Lane George Clarke. Through careful genealogical research we were able to eliminate all but Douglas Alexander Clarke as Lisa’s likely grandfather. Douglas married Angeline Higgins on 21 August 1935 in Holy Cross Church, Saint Andrew, Jamaica. Angeline Higgins was reported to be the 20-year-old daughter of Samuel Higgins and was a resident of Story Hill, Cavaliers, Saint Andrew, Jamaica. Based on the amount of DNA that Lisa shares in common with Cousins 2 and 3, we might expect that Angeline’s father, Samuel, may have been another son of John Higgins with an unidentified mother.

biological father and daughter reunion success story

Marriage of {names removed for privacy}. Obtained from FamilySearch.org.

Given that the marriage of Douglas Alexander Clarke and Angeline Higgins represents a union between the Clarke family and the Higgins family, both of Saint Andrew, Jamaica, we proposed that they were the most likely grandparents of Lisa.

Through additional family collaboration, Lisa was able to learn that her father is still living, just eight hours away from where she lives, and that she has five other siblings including the half-brother she had heard about. Furthermore, Lisa was able to confirm that our DNA research was exactly right, since her father’s mother, Angeline Higgins, is still living at the age of 102!

Of her experience, Lisa shared the following feedback:

“I’ve had an awesome experience working with Legacy Tree. They were able to confirm some of the questions I had about my family history. They are so professional, Carolyn Tolman is a sweetheart that helped me all the way through the process with any questions I had before my project was complete, and even after my project was complete she still gave me direction on the next step to take. Paul was the genealogist that worked on my project…What can I say about Paul except…Paul you rock!!! He figured out who my paternal grandparents were…. I will certainly be using Legacy Tree for my upcoming projects. Thanks Carolyn, Paul and the Legacy Tree team.”

If you’re looking for answers to questions about your family – whether it’s identifying and finding biological family members who are still living, or breaking down a brick wall you’re been working on for years – our experts have the knowledge and expertise to walk you through the process every step of the way. Contact us today for a free consultation.