Genea-Musings: 01/08/17

Saturday, January 14, 2017

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun -- Your Best Find of 2016, and Research Challenge for 2017

It's Saturday Night -

time for more Genealogy Fun!

Your mission, should you decide to accept it (cue the Mission Impossible! music) is to:1) What was your best research achievement in 2016? Tell us - show us a document, or tell us a story, or display a photograph. Brag a bit! You've earned it!

2) We all have elusive ancestors. What research problem do you want to work on in 2017? Tell us where you want to research and what you hope to find.

3) Put the answers in your own blog post, in a comment to this blog post, or in a Facebook or Google+ post.

Here's mine:

1) My best research achievement in 2016 was finding many of the extended family members of Elizabeth Auble (1814-1899) after receiving her will in an Ancestry Hint. She was the sister of my 2nd great-grandfather, David Auble, and through this will I added four more siblings to my database, and identified many Auble line relatives. I wrote about this in a series of blog posts:

* Making Progress on My Auble Cousins - Post 1: Finding Elizabeth's Will (25 April 2016).
* Making Progress on My Auble Cousins - Post 2: Transcription of Elizabeth Auble's Will (28 April 2016)
* Making Progress on My Auble Cousins - Post 3: Identifying Elizabeth Auble's Heirs (29 April 2016)
* Making Progress on My Auble Cousins -- Post 4: The William Auble Challenges (3 May 2016)
* Making Progress on My Auble Cousins -- Post 5: The Sophia Auble Challenges Part 1 (5 May 2016)
* Making Progress on My Auble Cousins -- Post 6: Solving the William Auble Challenge (6 May 2016)
* Making Progress on My Auble Cousins - Post 7: Sophia Auble's Descendants (10 May 2016)
* Making Progress on My Auble Cousins - Post 8: Nathan Auble's Descendants (17 May 2016)
* Making Progress on My Auble Cousins - Post 9: Was Sarah Auble Elizabeth's Sister? (24 May 2016)
* Making Progress on My Auble Cousins - Post 10: The Strubles (10 June 2016).

2) For 2017, I anticipate adding to my RootsMagic database using information found online and at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City in February. In the process, I may get a breakthrough on a brickwall ancestor, or perhaps another researcher will find my blog posts and be able to extend one or more lines.

I don't anticipate being able to travel much to do onsite research in 2017 due to my and Linda's health and mobility limitations. We will go to RootsTech in Salt Lake City in February and to the Genealogy Jamboree in Burbank in June, and perhaps fit in a cruise in the fall.

In the future, I want to return to Massachusetts again to do onsite research, especially at the NEHGS and in local libraries, historical societies and cemeteries. I want to go to southern Ontario to do onsite research on my Kemp and related lines. I also want to visit northern New Jersey to try to find information about my Auble and Knapp and related lines.

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The URL for this post is: http://www.geneamusings.com/2017/01/saturday-night-genealogy-fun-your-best.html

Copyright (c) 2017, Randall J. Seaver

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Surname Saturday -- LNU (married Greenman, England to colonial New England)

It's Surname Saturday, and I'm "counting down" my Ancestral Name List each week.

I am in the 8th great-grandmothers and I'm up to Ancestor #1517, who is Mary LNU (1628-????) [Note: the earlier great-grandmothers and 8th great-grandfathers have been covered in earlier posts].

My ancestral line back through one generation of this LNU family line is:

1. Randall J. Seaver (1943-????)

2. Frederick Walton Seaver (1911-1983)
3. Betty Virginia Carringer (1919-2002)

4. Frederick Walton Seaver (1876-1942)
5. Alma Bessie Richmond (1882-1962)

10. Thomas Richmond (1848-1917)
11. Julia E. White (1848-1913)

22. Henry Arnold White (1824-1885)
23. Amy Frances Oatley (1826-1864)

46. Jonathan Oatley (1790-1872)
47. Amy Champlin (1798-1865)

94. Joseph Champlin (1758-1850)
95. Nancy Kenyon (1765-????)

188. Elijah Champlin (1730-1779)
189. Phoebe Card (1730-1787)

378. Job Card (1690-1760)
379. Judith Greenman (1694-1786)

758. Thomas Greenman (1669-1728)
759. Mary Weeden (1673-1743)

1516. Edward Greenman, born about 1626 in England; died 1688 in Newport, Newport, Rhode Island, United States. He was the son of 3032. John Greenman. He married 1661 in Newport, Newport, Rhode Island, United States.
1517. Mary LNU, born about 1628 in England.

Children of Edward Greenman and Mary are:
* Edward Greenman (1663-1749), married 1688 Margaret Garthrot (1662-1739).
* John Greenman (1666-1727), married 1690 Elizabeth LNU (1664-1755).
* Mary Greenman (1667-1747), married 1706 Adam Casey (1667-1765).
* Thomas Greenman (1669-1728), married 1690 Mary Weeden (1673-1743).
* William Greenman (1671-1732), married 1697 Anne Clarke (1675-1732).

Information about the Greenman family was obtained from:

* Peter Holden Greenman, The Greenman Family in America (Greenman Family Association, 1988).

There is no information about Mary LNU Greenman, the wife of Edward Greenman.

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The URL for this post is: http://www.geneamusings.com/2017/01/surname-saturday-lnu-married-greenman.html

Friday, January 13, 2017

This Week's We're Related Relationships - 13 January 2017

I received 8 new cousin relationships on the We're Related mobile app this week, which is based on Ancestry Member Trees. The new relationships, and my initial evaluation of them, are:

1) Colleen Willis -- Facebook friend, 8th cousin 2x removed, common ancestor is Elizabeth Mott (1659-1723).

My line is through Elizabeth's son Benjamin Wing by her second husband, Matthew Wing. Colleen's line is through her son William Ricketson by her first husband, William Ricketson. I have not traced Colleen's line further. My judgment is that this relationship is Likely.

2) Wanda Ross -- Facebook friend, 8th cousin 1x removed, common ancestor is Mehitable Fish. (1647-1697).

My line is through Mehitable's daughter, Mary Tripp who married Thomas Waite, while Wanda's line is through Mehitable's son James Tripp. I have not traced Wanda's line further. My judgment is that this relationship is Likely.

3) Beverly Harrison -- Facebook friend, 8th cousin 1x removed, common ancestor is Daniel Pierce (1640-1723).

My line is through Martha Pierce (1681-1759), who married William Whitney. My research indicates that Martha Pierce was the daughter of Joseph Pierce (1647-1713) and Martha --?--. Beverly's line is through Mary Pierce (1685-1762), who married an Allen. Since my Joseph Pierce and Beverly's Daniel Pierce are brothers, sons of Anthony Pierce (1611-1678), the relationship is actually 9th cousin 1x removed. My judgment is that the latter relationship is Likely.

4) John Adams -- U.S. President, 4th cousin 7x removed, common ancestor is George Alden (1575-1620).

My line back to George Alden goes through an unknown person who was the mother of Ruth Chandler (1627-1694), who married Daniel Cole (1614-1694). My research does not show a maiden name or parents for Ruth "Chandler" and then her mother is not known, but is a daughter of George Alden? Huh? How do they know? Does George Alden name his granddaughter Ruth Chandler in a will? John Adams line goes through John Alden (1599-1687), the Mayflower passenger, son of George Alden. My judgment is that this particular relationship is Unlikely. However, I am descended from Henry Adams (1583-1646), as is John Adams. So John Adams and I are 3rd cousins 8x removed by this relationship. I have no clue why the app, and all of the AMTs it uses, did not find this relationship, since I have President John Adams in my own tree.

5) Edward Hopper -- Actor, 7th cousin 3x removed, common ancestor is Helena Roberts (1635-1681).

My line to Helena Roberts is through my second great-grandfather, Devier J. Lamphier Smith, who was adopted by Ranslow and Mary (Bell) Smith. My AMT probably has the adoptive parents and therefore the app may be correct. My judgment is that this relationship is Very Unlikely.

6) Ruth Himan -- Facebook friend, 8th cousin, common ancestor is Ruth Collins (1685-1715).

My line from Ruth (Collins) Graves is through daughter Ruth Graves, while Ruth's line goes through Sarah Graves (1715-1773) who married a Newton. I don't have Sarah as a daughter of Ruth (Collins) Graves. Most trees say that Sarah Graves was the daughter of Samuel Graves and Elizabeth Lewis. This line also goes down to North Carolina in the 1750s, which makes me suspect. My judgment is that this relationship is Unlikely.

7) Teri Allred -- Facebook friend, 8th cousin 1x removed, common ancestor is Sarah Nutting (1663-????).

My line from Sarah Nutting is through James Stone (1702-1783), son of her second husband, John Stone (1658-1735). Teri's line is through Matthias Farnsworth (1690-????), son of her first husband, Matthis Farnsworth (1650-1693). I have not traced Teri's line further. My judgment is that this relationship is Possible.

8) Lana Porter -- Facebook friend, 8th cousin 2x removed, common ancestor is Moses Barber (1652-1733).

My line to Moses Barber is through his last child, Anna Barber (1717-1800), who married Sylvester Kenyon (1714-1800). Lana's line is through Moses Barber's fifth child, Thomas Barber (1699-1762). I have not traced Lana's line further. My judgment is that this relationship is Likely.

My count is up to 121 famous or Facebook cousins provided by the app. This week, my judgment is that only four of the 8 cousin relationships are Likely or better, and one more is Possible

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 Ruth Himan line.

They may be right -- I don't know -- and I can't really find out because they provide 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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The URL for this post is: http://www.geneamusings.com/2017/01/this-weeks-were-related-relationships.html

New Records Available To Search This Findmypast Friday, 13 January 2017

I received this information from Findmypast this morning:

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New Records Available To Search This Findmypast Friday

Over 1.5 million new records and newspaper articles are available to search this Findmypast Friday, including;

Yorkshire & Derbyshire Methodist Baptisms

Yorkshire & Derbyshire Methodist Baptisms contains over 42,000 records that will allow you to see if your ancestor was baptised in a Methodist Church between 1795 and 1997. The collection covers the densely populated Sheffield district. Sheffield is located in South Yorkshire, traditionally part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and many of its suburbs stretch into Derbyshire.

Each record will provide you with a transcript created from original church records by the Sheffield & District Family History Society. The details in each record will vary, but most will include your ancestor's name, birth year, baptism date, denomination, chapel, place, parent's name and county.

Yorkshire & Derbyshire Methodist Marriages

Yorkshire & Derbyshire Methodist Marriages contains over 22,000 records. These records also cover the Sheffield district from the early years of the church until the 21st century. Within the collection, you will find records from eight branches of the Methodist Church: Free Methodist, Methodist, Methodist New Connection, Primitive Methodist, United Free Methodist, United Methodist, Wesleyan Methodist, and Wesleyan Reform Methodist.

Within the collection, you will find records from eight branches of the Methodist Church: Free Methodist, Methodist, Methodist New Connection, Primitive Methodist, United Free Methodist, United Methodist, Wesleyan Methodist, and Wesleyan Reform Methodist.

British Newspapers

Over 1.5 million new articles have been added to our collection of historic British Newspapers. Three brand new titles have also been added; the Cricket and Football Field, Lloyd's List and the Homeward Mail from India, China and the East.

Lloyd's List is one of the world's oldest continuously running journals, having provided weekly shipping news in London as early as 1734. Known simply as The List, it was begun by the proprietor of Lloyd's Coffee House in the City of London, England as a reliable and concise source of information for the merchants' agents and insurance underwriters who met regularly in his establishment in Lombard Street to negotiate insurance coverage for trading vessels. The Homeward Mail from India China and the East will be a huge boon for those researching the history of empire, or for those with British or Irish ancestors who lived in India.

Middlesex Monumental Inscriptions 1485-2014

Over 12,000 records of monumental inscriptions from St Nicholas Church, Chiswick, have been added to our collection of Middlesex Monumental Inscriptions. The records cover the years 1485 to 2014 and includes transcripts for each entry. While the amount of available information will vary from transcript to transcript, most will include a combination of your ancestors name, birth year, death year, dedication, place, monument type and inscription.

Inscriptions may include the names of others buried in that plot as well as more specific details regarding age and birth and death dates. This can be incredibly helpful as it can provide you with the names and dates of your ancestor's next of kin. Links you to a PDF document that includes histories, images, and burial ground plans for the churches represented in this collection are also included.

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Disclosure: I am a Findmypast Ambassador, and receive a complimentary Findmypast subscription.

The URL for this post is: http://www.geneamusings.com/2017/01/new-records-available-to-search-this_13.html

52 Ancestors - Week 159: #224 Michel Abel (1719-1791) of New Jersey

Here is my 52 Ancestors biography for week #159:

Michel Abel (1719-1791) is #224 on my Ahnentafel List, my 5th great-grandfather, who married #225 Christina --?-- (1730-1804) in about 1755, probably in New Jersey.

I am descended through:

* their son, #112 Johannes Able (1758-1818), who married #113 Sophia Trimmer (1755-1811) in 1777.

* their son, #56 John Able (1780-1831), who married #57 Mary Row (1787-1863) in 1804.

* their son, #28 David Auble (1817-1894), who married #29 Sarah Knapp (1818-????) in 1844.

* their son, #14 Charles Able (1849-1916), who married #15 Georgianna Kemp (1858-1952) in 1898.

* their daughter #7 Emily Kemp Auble (1899-1977) who married #6 Lyle Lawrence Carringer (1891-1976) in 1918.

* their daughter #3 Betty Virginia Carringer (1919-2002), who married #2 Frederick Walton Seaver (1911-1983), in 1942.

* their son #1 Randall J. Seaver (1943-....)

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1) PERSON (with source citations as indicated in brackets):

* Name: Michel Abel[1–2]

* Alternate Name: Michel Aubel[3]

* Alternate Name: Michael Able[1]

* Sex Male

* Father: Andreas Abel (1690-1751)

* Mother: Maria --?-- (1693-1771)

2) INDIVIDUAL EVENTS (with source citations as indicated in brackets):

* Birth: 1719, Germany[1,3]

* Death: 3 February 1791 (about age 72), Tewksbury, Hunterdon, New Jersey, United States[1,3]

* Burial: after 26 February 1791 (after about age 72), Zion Lutheran Church Cemetery, Oldwick, Hunterdon, New Jersey, United States[1,3]

3) SHARED EVENTS (with source citations as indicated in brackets):

* Spouse 1: Christina (1730-1804)

* Marriage: about 1755 (about age 36), New Jersey, United States[1]

* Child 1: Andreas Able (1757-1830)

* Child 2: Johannes Able (1758-1818)

* Child 3: Matthias Able (1759-1826)

* Child 4: Mary Able (1760-1829)

* Child 5: Jacob Able (1763-1816)

* Child 6: Anna Elisabeth Able (1765-1815)

* Child 7: Catharine Able (1767- )

* Child 8: Eva Able (1769- )

* Child 9: Christina Able (1771-1855)

4) NOTES (with source citations as indicated in brackets):

The information on this Abel family was obtained from the book Early Germans of New Jersey by Chambers[2] and the book The Able Aubles by Juanita Hayter Crampton[1].

Michel Abel was born in about 1719 in an unknown German state (perhaps Hessen), the son of Andreas and Maria (--?--) Abel. His father was probably the Andreas Ablin who was on a list of thirty Palatines who, with their families, left the port of Portsmouth, England on 22 June 1728 bound for America on the ship "Albany", master Lazarus Oxman from Rotterdam. This ship landed in Philadelphia on 4 September 1728[1].

Michel Abel is mentioned in his father's will in 1751. He and his brother Paul each received 120 acres and their mother 60 acres. This land was in the German Valley near Fox Hill in Morris County, New Jersey[1].

Michel Abel married Christina (perhaps Buhner (?)) in about 1755, and they had nine children between 1757 and 1771[1].

In June of 1762, Michael bought his brother's (Paul and wife Leany) share of 126 acres for 304 pounds sterling. On 29 March 1768 Michael Able gave a mortgage on 240 acres of this tract to Richard Stockton. On 1 June 1784 Michael gave a mortgage to John Striker of Somerset upon the whole original tract of 308 acres for 1,308 pounds in New York money[1].

Mary Tedrick, who is believed to be Michel's mother who married a Mr. Tedrick after her husband's death in 1751, died in January 1771. She left her 60 acres of land in Roxbury township, Morris County New Jersey to sons Michael and Andreas, and also left pewter basins each to Michael's daughters, Caty and Eve[1].

Michael Able died on 26 February 1791 in Roxbury township, Morris County, New Jersey[1,3]. The following notice from the Zion Lutheran Church records, translated from German, reads[1]:

"1791 -- We began this year with the funeral of a deceased daughter of Michael Able, ___ years old. On January 1, I admonished those present in the house concerning Isaiah 3:10. Her father, Michael Able soon followed her on February 26. I could not attend his funeral, as on that day it pleased the Lord to take my second helpmate, the former widow Baldwin from Beramos in Bergen County, born Anna Zaborowsky. According to her wishes, we took her pale body to Hackensack in order to bury her in the burial vault of her forefathers."

Both Michael and Christina Able are buried in the Zion Lutheran Church graveyard at Oldwick, Tewksbury township, Hunterdon, New Jersey[3]. The gravestone inscription for Michel Aubel is:

Here lies the body of

Michel Aubel who

departed this life

February the 3d 1791

in the 72 year of his

age.

5) SOURCES

1. Juanita Hayter Crampton, The Able Aubles (Utica, Kentucky: Mcdowell Publications, 1987), pages 29-31, Michael Able family sketch; digital image, FamilySearch Books (https://books.familysearch.org/)

2. Theodore Frelinghuysen Chambers, The Early Germans of New Jersey: their history, churches, and genealogies (Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1982), pages 227-228, Abel family sketch.

3. Jim Tipton, indexed database, Find A Grave (http://www.findagrave.com), Zion Lutheran Church Cemetery, Oldwick, N.J., Michel Aubel memorial #27122754.

NOTE: Amy Johnson Crow suggested a weekly blog theme of "52 Ancestors" in her blog post Challenge: 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks on the No Story Too Small blog. I have extended this theme in 2017 to 208 Ancestors in 208 Weeks.

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The URL for this post is: http://www.geneamusings.com/2017/01/52-ancestors-week-159-224-michel-abel.html

Thursday, January 12, 2017

Comparing My Living DNA Results With Other Autosomal DNA Tests

I wrote about my Living DNA autosomal test results in Received my Living DNA Autosomal Test Results - Post 2. It showed that I have:

* 86.2% British Isles
* 13.8% Europe

The British Isles numbers were further broken down as:

*** South Central England = 21.0% (orange)
*** Central England = 18.6% (blue)
*** South England = 18.5% (green)
*** East Anglia = 10.1% (red)
*** Devon = 8.5% (light blue)
*** Cumbria = 2.5% (brown)
*** Northumbria = 1.7% (teal)
*** Southeast England = 1.1% (purple)
*** Unassigned England = 4.1% (gray)

How does that compare to my perceived genealogical ancestry and the ethnicity estimates from autosomal DNA tests I've taken on AncestryDNA, FamilyTreeDNA and 23andMe and DNA.Land?

1) Perceived Genealogical Ancestry

I estimated my perceived genealogical ancestry, based on where my ancestors in each line resided in 1500 CE (this had to be an educated guess!) in My Autosomal DNA Quandary Persists:

68% British Isles
24% Germany/Switzerland
1% Holland/Belgium
1% France
6% Unknown (perhaps some are French, Dutch, Scandinavian, Belgian, English, Native American, or other places)

2) AncestryDNA Autosomal DNA Ethnicity Estimate:

The AncestryDNA ethnicity estimate by sub-region is:

* 66% Europe West
* 18% Ireland
* 9% Great Britain
* 3% Scandinavian
* 1% Italy/Greece
* <1% Iberian Peninsula
* <1% Pacific Islander
* < !% Native-American

3) FamilyTreeDNA Autosomal DNA Estimate:

My FamilyTreeDNA ethnicity estimate by sub-region is:

* 45% Scandinavia
* 32% Western and Central Europe
* 19% Southern Europe
* 4% British Isles

4) 23andMe ethnicity estimate:

My 23andMe ethnicity estimate by sub-region is:

* 47.9% British & Irish
* 26.0% French and German
* 2.0% Scandinavian
* 21.0% Broadly Northwestern European
* 1.3% Southern European
* 1.1% Broadly European
* 0.5% East Asian and Native American
* 0.1% Middle Eastern and North African

5) DNA.land Ethnicity Estimate:

My DNA.land ethnicity estimate by sub-region is:

* 82% Northwest European
* 8.6% Balkan
* 1.6% Ambiguous South European
* 7.6% Ambiguous West Eurasian

6) Conclusions and Comments

a) All five DNA ethnicity estimates do not match one another. This is because they have different sub-regional groupings, and different reference groups (persons tested and assigned to each grouping), that they are basing their estimates on.

b) For those services that identified a sub-region of British Isles and Ireland, the results are:

** Living DNA: 86.2% British Isles
** AncestryDNA: 27% Ireland and great Britain
** FamilyTreeDNA: 4% British Isles
** 23andMe: 47.9% British and Irish

Compared to my perceived genealogical estimate of 68% for the British Isles (including Ireland), the Living DNA estimate overestimates the DNA contribution, while the other services underestimate the DNA contribution.

Obviously, the British Isles were a place where invasions from the Romans, the Angles, the Saxons, the Vikings, and the Normans have occurred over the past 2,000 years. I probably left some out.

c) The Living DNA sub-regions have South Central England with 21.0% (this includes most of Somerset and Wiltshire, I think). My great-grandfather, Thomas Richmond (1848-1917) was born in Wiltshire, and so were his known ancestors. So that's 12.5% of my DNA. My third-great-grandfather, Samuel Vaux (1815-1880) was born in Somerset, and so were his known ancestors. so that's another 3.1% of my DNA. That's 15.6% known for South Central England. The balance of my British Isles ancestry is from the hundreds of migrants in the 1600s, and it is impossible to estimate where the rest of my British Isles DNA is apportioned, since we don't know the origins for some of them.

d) Based on my perceived genealogical ethnicity, and the five DNA autosomal test service results, I still think that 23andMe provided the best ethnicity estimate. I may be wrong, of course!

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Disclosure: I purchased the 23andMe autosomal test. I received a complimentary test kit from AncestryDNA. I won a contest for the FamilyTreeDNA autosomal test kit. I used raw data from the 23andMe test for the DNA.Land and Living DNA test.

The URL for this post is: http://www.geneamusings.com/2017/01/comparing-my-living-dna-results-with.html

Pages

Saturday, January 14, 2017

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun -- Your Best Find of 2016, and Research Challenge for 2017

Surname Saturday -- LNU (married Greenman, England to colonial New England)

Friday, January 13, 2017

This Week's We're Related Relationships - 13 January 2017

New Records Available To Search This Findmypast Friday, 13 January 2017

52 Ancestors - Week 159: #224 Michel Abel (1719-1791) of New Jersey

Thursday, January 12, 2017

Comparing My Living DNA Results With Other Autosomal DNA Tests