Friday, February 24, 2017

This Week's We're Related Relationships - 24 February 2017

I received 10 new cousin relationships on the We're Related mobile app over the last week, which is based on Ancestry Member Trees.  The new relationships, and my initial evaluation of them, are:

1)  Diane Boumenot -- Facebook friend, 8th cousin 1x removed, common ancestor is Jacob Warren (1642-1722).

Jacob Warren (1642-1722) is not my ancestor.  My line on the app goes through Abigail "Warren" (1714-????) and her daughter, Hannah Colby.  There has always been confusion over Abigail's maiden name - I believe that it was Worthen, not Warren.  She was the daughter of Ezekiel Worthen (1672-1755) and Abigail Carter, and she married Joseph Colby (1707-1768).  

Diane's line goes through Abigail Warren (1682-1768), who married a Spaulding.  My judgment is that this relationship is Very Unlikely.  

2)  Alec Baldwin - Actor, 9th cousin, common ancestor is Mary Felt (1669-1753).



The app thinks that Mary Felt was the mother of Josiah Wood (1687-1753).  My research indicates that Josiah Wood's parents are Josiah Wood (1658-1741) and Abigail Bacon (1667-1743) of Woburn, Mass.

Alec's line is through James Wood (1695-1799), son of Josih Wood and Mary Felt of Connecticut.  There was more than one contenporaaneous Josiah Woods in New England.  My judgment is that this relationship is Very Unlikely.

3)  Lana Leggett Kealey -- Facebook friend, 7th cousin 2x removed, common ancestor is Anna Maria Newin (1687-1727).

The app has Anna Newin as the mother of Henry Carringer (????-????) and the grandmother of my 4th great-grandfather, Martin Carringer.  I have no proof that Henry is the father of Martin yet after 29 years of searching.  I have seen records that Henry's parents were Emig Geringer and Anna Newin.

Lana's line goes back to Anna Newin through Anna Barbara Kiesel (1707-1770); Anna apparently married George Friedrich Kiesel (1679-1762).  My judgment is that this relationship is Unlikely.

4)  Linda Little - Facebook friend, 9th cousin, common ancestor is Francis West (1640-1692).

My line to Francis West goes through Susanna West (1666-1756), who married Moses Barber.  Linda's line to Francis West goes through Martha West (1675-1764), who married Jeremiah Fones.  I have Martha's marriage in my database.  My judgment is that this relationship is Very Likely.

5)  Peggy Baldwin -- Facebook friend, 9th cousin, common ancestor is Teuwis Abrahamsen Van Duersen (1631-1692).

My line to the Van Duersen line goes through my 2nd great-grandfather, Devier James Lamphier Smith (1839-1894) who was adopted, and I don't know his birth parents.  My judgment is that this relationship is Very Unlikely.

6)  Hugh Hefner -- Playboy, 8th cousin 2x removed, common ancestor is Mary Gibson (1625-1658).



My line to Mary Gibson goes through Sarah Woodward (1643-1706), daughter of George Woodward (1619-1676) of Watertown, Mass.  Hugh's line goes through Daniel Woodward (1653-1713), son of George Woodward and Mary Gibson, and brother to my Sarah.  My judgment is that this relationship is Very Likely.

7)  Kelvin Meyers - Facebook friend, 9th cousin, common ancestor is Mercy Prence (1631-1711).

My line to Mercy Prence goes through Bennett Freeman (1671-1716), daughter of Mercy and John Freeman (1626-1719).  Kelvin's line goes through Nathaniel Freeman (1669-1760), son of John and Mercy (Prence) Freeman, and bortyher to my Bennett Freeman.  My judgment is that this relationship is Very Likely.

8)  Laura Lorenzana -- Facebook friend, 8th cousin, common ancestor is Abraham Tucker (1653-1725).

My line to Abraham Tucker goes through Content Tucker (1695-1738), wife of Benjamin Wing.  Laura's line to Abraham goes though Mary Tucker (1684-1769), who married Joseph Russell.  Mary and Content had different mothers.  My judgment is that this relationship is Very Likely.

9)  Jo Ann Bonner -- Facebook friend, 9th cousin, common ancestor is Susannah Waters (1630-1725).

My line on the app goes through John Terrell (1680-1748) of Somerset, England.  I don't know who his parents are, but I know that Susannah Waters was born in Virginia, and she is probably not John's mother.  Jo Ann's line goes through Timothy Terrell (1705-1763), apparently born in Virginia.  In addition, for the line to be correct on the app, Susannah Waters would have been age 75 when Timothy was born.  My judgment is that this relationship is Very Unlikely.  

10)  Blake Lively -- Actress, 9th cousin, common ancestor is William Terrell (1659-1743).

My line on the app goes through John Terrell (1680-1748) of Somerset, England. (see above!).  Blake's line goes through Anne Elizabeth Terrell (1687-1734), born and died in Virginia, daughter of William Terrell and Susannah Waters, who married a Lewis.  My judgement is that this relationship is Very Unlikely.

My count is up to 169 famous or Facebook cousins provided by the app.  This week, my judgment is that only 4 of the 10 cousin relationships are Likely or better.

I will say it again:  My biggest problem with this We're Related app is that it thinks it knows my ancestral lines better than I do, and adds one to five generations to some of my end-of-line ancestors.  The second biggest problem is that many of the lines of the famous or Facebook persons have colonial lines that jump from one region to another, as with the Terrell lines.

The app may be right -- I don't know for sure -- and I can't really find out because the app provides no source material to back up their assertions.  If there was authoritative information for my end-of-line ancestors, I would add it.  None of the "Unlikely" or "Wrong" relationships have been convincing to me yet.



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Copyright (c) 2017, Randall J. Seaver


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