Friday, February 17, 2017

This Week's We're Related Relationships - 17 February 2017

I received 15 new cousin relationships on the We're Related mobile app over the last two weeks, which is based on Ancestry Member Trees.  The new relationships, and my initial evaluation of them, are:

1)  Norma Talmadge -- Actress, 9th cousin, common ancestor is Joanna Kitchell (1637-1711).

The app has added 5 generations of ancestors to my 3rd great-grandfather William Knapp (1775-1856), and I am fairly sure that the app is wrong.  My judgment is that this relationship is Very Unlikely.

2)  Karen Leverich -- Facebook friend, 8th cousin 1x removed, common ancestor is Robert Kemp (1649-1702).

The app has added 3 generations of ancestors to my 5th great-grandfather, John Kemp (1723-1795).  I am fairly sure that the app is wrong because it has the father of my John Kemp as Thomas Kemp (1710-1719).  Note that my John was born in 1723, supposedly to a father born 13 years earlier who died 4 years before John's birth.  My judgment is that this relationship is Very Unlikely.

3)  Marlon Brando -- Actor, 8th cousin 2x removed, common ancestor is Edward Thurston (1618-1706).

My line to Edward Thurston goes through daughter Mary Thurston (1656-1732) who married Ebenezer Slocum.  Marlon's line goes through Content Thurston (1667-1728), who married Thomas Wood.  I have Content in my tree, and she did have a son William Wood.  My judgment is that this relationship is Likely.

4)  Thomas Jones - Facebook friend, 9th cousin, common ancestor is Elizabeth (1673-????) (wife of Samuel Ayers (1669-1740) of Woodbridge, N.J.  My line goes through James Ayers (1716-1794).  The app shows Thomas's line going through daughter Rhoda Ayers (1700-1809), who had a child Michael Ayers (1748-1796).  The latter is suspicious unless Rhoda married an Ayers or had Michael out of wedlock.  My judgment is that this relationship is Unlikely.

5)  Robert E. Lee - Historical figure, 5th cousin 6x removed, common ancestor is John Bland (1572-1668).

My line to John Bland goes through Daniel Smith (1606-1660).  I don't know parents names for Daniel Smith - it may be John Smith alias Bland (1572-1668).  Robert Lee's line goes through Theodorick Bland (1629-1671).  My judgment is that this relationship is Unlikely.

6)  Brandt Gibson -- Facebook friend, 8th cousin 3x removed, common ancestor is Deliverance Cleveland (1684-1744).

My line to Deliverance Cleveland goes through Deliverance (1700-1734) who married Jonathan Oatley (1689-1755).  I don't know that Deliverance Cleveland is the father of Deliverance, although many online trees have that relationship.  Brandt's line goes through Josiah Cleveland (1706-1752).  My judgment is that this relationship is Possible.

7)  Paris Hilton -- Entertainer, 8th cousin 2x removed, common ancestor is John Chase (1655-1733).

On the app, my line to John Chase goes through daughter Mary Chase (1694-1732) who married Thomas Horton (1696-1796).  The problem is that my Mary Chase is the daughter of Thomas Chase (1654-1734), brother of John Chase (1655-1733).  Paris's line goes through Abraham Chase (1694-1770), perhaps the son of John Chase.  Therefore, our common ancestor should be Aquila Chase (1626-1670).  So Paris and I are 9th cousins 2x removed.  My judgment is that this relationship is Likely.

8)  James Bernard Bullock -- Facebook friend, 9th cousin, common ancestor is Francis West (1640-1692).

My line to Francis West is through daughter Susannah West (1666-1756) who married Moses Barber.  James's line goes through John West (1658-1737).  I have a John West (1672-????) in my database, but no John born in 1658 to Francis and Susanna (Soule) West.  My judgment is that this relationship is Possible.  

9)  Doris Haskell -- Facebook friend, 8th cousin 2x removed, common ancestor is Suster Bouts (1650-1683).

The app says my line to Suster Bouts goes through Mary Bell (1805-1865), the adoptive mother of my 2nd great-grandfather Devier J. Smith.  Therefore, Suster Bouts is not a direct line ancestor of mine.  My judgment is that this relationship is Highly Unlikely.

10)  Ring Lardner -- Author, 7th cousin 2x removed, common ancestor is John Freeman (1626-1719).

My line to John Freeman is through his daughter Bennett Freeman (1671-1716).  Ring's line goes through Thomas Freeman (1653-1716), brother to my Bennett Freeman.  My judgment is that this relationship is Very Likely.

11)  Kristine Hurd -- Facebook friend, 8th cousin 1x removed, common ancestor is Simon Gates (1667-1752).

My line to this Simon Gates is through his son Amos Gates (1706-1783).  Kristine's line goes through Susannah Gates (1709-1748), sister to my Amos Gates, who married John Fitch.   My judgment is that this relationship is Likely.

12)  D. Sue Kissel - Facebook friend, 8th cousin 1x removed, common ancestor is Sarah (1654-1727) (who married Joseph Hartshorn (1652-1727)).

My line to Sarah goes through Mehitable Hartshorn (1683-1771), who married Nathaniel Guild (1678-1774).  Sue's line goes through Ebenezer Hartshorn (1697-1742), who is in my database as Mehitable's brother.  My judgment is that this relationship is Likely.

13)  Calvin Coolidge -- U.S. President, 6th cousin 2x removed, common ancestor is Andrew Phillips (1661-1717):

My line to Andrew goes through his son, Ebenezer Phillips (1695-1746).  Cal's line goes through Joanna Phillips (1697-1726), sister of my Ebenezer Phillips.  My judgment is that this relationship is Likely.

14)  Toni Carrier -- Facebook friend, 8th cousin 2x removed, common ancestor is Samuel Fletcher (1657-1744).

My line back to Samuel Fletcher goes through his son John Fletcher (1692-1749).  Toni's line goes through son Joseph Fletcher (1686-1746), brother of my John Fletcher.  My judgment is that this relationship is Likely.

15)  Elizabeth Monroe -- U.S. First Lady, 4th cousin 5x removed, common ancestor is Teuwis Abrahamsen Van Duersen (1631-1692).

The app has added 5 generations of ancestors to Mary Bell (1805-1865), the adoptivem other of my 2nd great-grandfather, Devier J. Smith (1839-1894).  Because of this, my judgment is that this relationship is Very Unlikely.

My count is up to 159 famous or Facebook cousins provided by the app.  This week, my judgment is that only 7 of the 15 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 Drew Smith line.

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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