...
Genea-blogger John Newmark (who writes the excellent TransylvanianDutch blog) started a Monday blog theme many months ago called Amanuensis Monday. What does "amanuensis" mean? John offers this definition:
"A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another."
The subject today is an interesting newspaper article, published in the New York Times newspaper on 8 February 1889 (accessed on the New York Times archive site, which provides no page number). The transcription of the article is:
"FREEMASONS RULED OUT
"A COMPLICATION WHICH DELAYED T. MORTIMER SEAVER'S FUNERAL
"The funeral of T. Mortimer Seaver, the well-known member of the Produce Exchange, and equally prominent as a Freemason, which took place from the Church of the Blessed Sacrament yesterday, was attended with a decidedly unpleasant complication which did as much as anything has within the last few years to define the opposition of the Roman Catholic Church to Freemasonry. Mr. Seaver, until about a month ago, was a Universalist by inclination, but even to this belief he was not a devotee, his friends declare, the merchant not identifying himself with any congregation. Mrs. Seaver was a Roman Catholic, and when she learned that her husband's disease was necessarily fatal within a very short time, she south for one of Mr. Seaver's friends, a priest of the Community of St. Paul, whose house is in Fifty-ninth-street, near Ninth avenue.
"This priest was Father Clarence E. Woodman. Mr. Seaver had known him for a long time before he was ordained and maintained social relations with him after he had become a member of the Paulist Order. Upon Mr. Seaver being informed he had little longer to live, Father Woodman began instructing him and finally baptized him and admitted the sick man into the church. Before he was admitted in full communion, however, Mr. Seaver was obliged, according to the regulations of the church, to disown all connection with the Freemasons and declare that he no longer recognized their ritual. Mr. Seaver died Monday after receiving the blessed sacrament from the hands of his friend and confessor, Father Woodman. It was designed to hold the funeral last Wednesday from the Church of the Paulist Fathers, but as the interior was undergoing extensive alterations, and the only available place was the Sunday school room in the basement, Mrs. Seaver took Father Woodman's advice, and arranged for funeral services to be held in the next parish, that of the Church of the Blessed Sacrament, at Seventy-first-street and the Boulevard.
"Funeral notices to this effect were published in all of the newspapers. The following day the members of Kane Lodge, No. 454, of which Mr. Seaver was a member, saw the notice, and that night Master R.M. Morgan and Secretary H. V. Penoyer, called on the widow and offered her their brotherly assistance. Mrs. Seaver apparently forgot to tell of her husband's conversion, and the next morning the regular notice of the lodge, signed with the Master's and Secretary's names, appeared appended to the regular notice, declared that Mr. Seaver's funeral would occur in Father Taylor's church, and inviting members to be present.
"Father Taylor saw this and at once called upon Mrs. Seaver and informed her that under no circumstances should the funeral take place from his church if the dead were regarded as a departed Freemason, and that the members of the lodge, as suck, could not take part in the services. He, however, made this provision: He would officiate at the services if he received written permission from Archbishop Corrigan that he could do so, but not otherwise. A relative of the family at once went to the Archbishop's palace, but that church dignitary was out of town. He then called upon Vicar-General Donnelly and placed the case before him, promising that the Freemasons should not participate in the funeral. Mgr. Donnelly accompanied the relative to Father Taylor and gave him permission to proceed. The services after considerable delay, therefore, took place yesterday.
"There were representatives of the Produce, Consolidated, and Mercantile Exchanges, the New York Athletic Club, the Union Boat Club, Kane Lodge, and various other organizations, but the Freemasons entered the church by twos and threes. At the solemn mass of requiem which was held Father Taylor was celebrant. He was assisted by Fathers James H. McGeau of St. Peter's Church and James T. Byrnes of the Church of the Blessed Sacrament. The burial was in Calvary Cemetery. Father Taylor alluded to the episode from the pulpit during the services. He said that Mr. Seaver had become a member of the Roman Catholic Church before his death, and that therefore he had been obliged to "sever himself from many of the societies to which he formerly belonged." Thus no one in the audience, save the family and the Freemasons present, were aware of the narrow escape the funeral had of being indefinitely delayed. The Kane Lodge is one of the largest and most influential in the city. It has a membership of nearly 1,200."
The information in this article interested me, since I know very little about Freemasonry or the Roman Catholic Church. The article was apparently published because of the difficulty in getting a funeral conducted because of a conflict between the two organizations.
Interestingly, I could find no obituary of this man, T[rue] Mortimer Seaver (1839-1889), a son of True Worthy and Mary (Murphy) Seaver, husband of Jane A. --?--, and father of Francis M. Seaver and Arthur Harlan Seaver. I found a notice for the funeral, and a mortuary notice, on GenealogyBank dated 6 February 1889, but I found no obituary with information about the family on Google News Archive, Chronicling America, Ancestry.com or GenealogyBank. There may be an obituary in the local and regional newspapers that are not yet digitized.
My interest in True Mortimer Seaver is esoteric - he is a Seaver from New England, and I collect information about Seavers from New England. His grandfather was, apparently, Elliott Seaver (ca 1795 - after 1850), who married Sarah Payne before 18185, probably in New Hampshire. I don't know who the parents of Elliott Seaver are, and am curious!
The URL for this post is http://www.geneamusings.com/2011/06/amanuensis-monday.html
(c) 2011. Randall J. Seaver. All Rights Reserved. If you wish to re-publish my content, please contact me for permission, which I will usually grant. If you are reading this on any other genealogy website, then they have stolen my work.
Monday, June 20, 2011
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Jamboree Geneabloggers - MyHeritage Free PremiumPlus Membership is Valid until 20 June
...
I finally took some time to dig through the Geneabloggers and SCGS Jamboree Welcome Bags on Friday, and found the MyHeritage Family Tree Builder 5.0 software gift included a Free one-year PremiumPlus Membership on the www.MyHeritage.com website. There is a "gift code" on the CDROM case for you to enter when you create, or upgrade (if you already have) your MyHeritage account.
The Free PremiumPlus Membership offer expires on Monday, 20 June 2011 (I'm not sure if that is Israel time or your home time). If you want to take advantage of this free gift, I suggest that you pursue it quickly!
I went to www.MyHeritage.com and easily upgraded my "Seaver Web Site" to the PremiumPlus Membership using the gift code. My home page indicated that I had a PremiumPlus membership. A PremiumPlus membership entitles a user to an unlimited number of persons in their tree.
I installed Family Tree Builder 5.0 from the CDROM on my desktop computer, and it upgraded the version to 5.1.0.5209, released in May 2011.
The major new feature added to Version 5.1 over Version 5.0 is:
* The program's file importer was enhanced. In addition to importing GEDCOM files and Family Tree Legends (FTL) files, you can now directly import family tree files from 4 additional genealogy programs. This allows you to move over family tree data with photos from other programs directly to Family Tree Builder without losing information or going through GEDCOM export/import. This is especially useful if you no longer have or are no longer using the software used to produce the family tree files.
Support was added for importing Family Tree Maker files (FTW, FTM or FTMB file extensions), Personal Ancestral File files (PAF extension), Legacy files (FDB extension) and The Master Genealogist projects (TMG, PJC or VER extensions). Importing family tree files directly from other programs is based on GenBridge(tm) technology under license from Wholly Genes, Inc. This new functionality is available from the "Import GEDCOM or genealogy file" entry in the File menu
* New super-fast scan tool was added for finding lost genealogy files on your computer. Also available from the "Import GEDCOM or genealogy file" entry in the File menu, you can have Family Tree Builder scan your computer for all family tree files (of different programs) and then select which one to import into Family Tree Builder
Since I had my most recent database in RootsMagic 4, I imported a GEDCOM file into Family Tree Builder. That occurred easily, and I tested a few features.
After I did that, I wanted to export my tree from Family Tree Builder 5.1 on my desktop to the MyHeritage website. My understanding was that I could do that from within Family Tree Builder 5.1. I went to Publishing > Publish Now in FTB, and the upload of the file started quickly. However, after a few seconds, I got a popup window titled "Family Site Tree Quota" that noted that I had more than 2,500 persons in my FTB database and I needed to Upgrade my family site to enable loading all 39,904 persons in my database.
I cancelled the upload, and wondered if I really had a PremiumPlus membership.
Plan B was to upload the same GEDCOM file directly into the MyHeritage website. I did that, and all 39,904 persons uploaded fairly quickly. So it is a PremiumPlus membership, but an apparent glitch in the interface between Family Tree Builder and the website.
I'll report more on both Family Tree Builder 5.1 software and the MyHeritage website as time permits. The software has some interesting features, including, apparently, a synchronization between the software and the website. I am especially interested in how the software treats sources, and how the website treats sources, especially those transferred via a GEDCOM upload.
Thank you to the MyHeritage team for the gift PremiumPlus one-year membership and for the free Family Tree Builder 5.1 software.
Disclosure: I received no remuneration for writing this post. I did receive a fee PremiumPlus one-year membership, and a Family Tree Builder 5.0 software CDROM, as part of the Geneabloggers Welcome Gift Bag at the SCGS Jamboree.
The URL for this post is http://www.geneamusings.com/2011/06/jamboree-geneabloggers-myheritage-free.html
(c) 2011. Randall J. Seaver. All Rights Reserved. If you wish to re-publish my content, please contact me for permission, which I will usually grant. If you are reading this on any other genealogy website, then they have stolen my work (RSS feed readers excepted).
I finally took some time to dig through the Geneabloggers and SCGS Jamboree Welcome Bags on Friday, and found the MyHeritage Family Tree Builder 5.0 software gift included a Free one-year PremiumPlus Membership on the www.MyHeritage.com website. There is a "gift code" on the CDROM case for you to enter when you create, or upgrade (if you already have) your MyHeritage account.
The Free PremiumPlus Membership offer expires on Monday, 20 June 2011 (I'm not sure if that is Israel time or your home time). If you want to take advantage of this free gift, I suggest that you pursue it quickly!
I went to www.MyHeritage.com and easily upgraded my "Seaver Web Site" to the PremiumPlus Membership using the gift code. My home page indicated that I had a PremiumPlus membership. A PremiumPlus membership entitles a user to an unlimited number of persons in their tree.
I installed Family Tree Builder 5.0 from the CDROM on my desktop computer, and it upgraded the version to 5.1.0.5209, released in May 2011.
The major new feature added to Version 5.1 over Version 5.0 is:
* The program's file importer was enhanced. In addition to importing GEDCOM files and Family Tree Legends (FTL) files, you can now directly import family tree files from 4 additional genealogy programs. This allows you to move over family tree data with photos from other programs directly to Family Tree Builder without losing information or going through GEDCOM export/import. This is especially useful if you no longer have or are no longer using the software used to produce the family tree files.
Support was added for importing Family Tree Maker files (FTW, FTM or FTMB file extensions), Personal Ancestral File files (PAF extension), Legacy files (FDB extension) and The Master Genealogist projects (TMG, PJC or VER extensions). Importing family tree files directly from other programs is based on GenBridge(tm) technology under license from Wholly Genes, Inc. This new functionality is available from the "Import GEDCOM or genealogy file" entry in the File menu
* New super-fast scan tool was added for finding lost genealogy files on your computer. Also available from the "Import GEDCOM or genealogy file" entry in the File menu, you can have Family Tree Builder scan your computer for all family tree files (of different programs) and then select which one to import into Family Tree Builder
Since I had my most recent database in RootsMagic 4, I imported a GEDCOM file into Family Tree Builder. That occurred easily, and I tested a few features.
After I did that, I wanted to export my tree from Family Tree Builder 5.1 on my desktop to the MyHeritage website. My understanding was that I could do that from within Family Tree Builder 5.1. I went to Publishing > Publish Now in FTB, and the upload of the file started quickly. However, after a few seconds, I got a popup window titled "Family Site Tree Quota" that noted that I had more than 2,500 persons in my FTB database and I needed to Upgrade my family site to enable loading all 39,904 persons in my database.
I cancelled the upload, and wondered if I really had a PremiumPlus membership.
Plan B was to upload the same GEDCOM file directly into the MyHeritage website. I did that, and all 39,904 persons uploaded fairly quickly. So it is a PremiumPlus membership, but an apparent glitch in the interface between Family Tree Builder and the website.
I'll report more on both Family Tree Builder 5.1 software and the MyHeritage website as time permits. The software has some interesting features, including, apparently, a synchronization between the software and the website. I am especially interested in how the software treats sources, and how the website treats sources, especially those transferred via a GEDCOM upload.
Thank you to the MyHeritage team for the gift PremiumPlus one-year membership and for the free Family Tree Builder 5.1 software.
Disclosure: I received no remuneration for writing this post. I did receive a fee PremiumPlus one-year membership, and a Family Tree Builder 5.0 software CDROM, as part of the Geneabloggers Welcome Gift Bag at the SCGS Jamboree.
The URL for this post is http://www.geneamusings.com/2011/06/jamboree-geneabloggers-myheritage-free.html
(c) 2011. Randall J. Seaver. All Rights Reserved. If you wish to re-publish my content, please contact me for permission, which I will usually grant. If you are reading this on any other genealogy website, then they have stolen my work (RSS feed readers excepted).
Best of the Genea-Blogs - 12 to 18 June 2011
...
Hundreds of genealogy and family history bloggers write thousands of posts every week about their research, their families, and their interests. I appreciate each one of them and their efforts.
My criteria for "Best of ..." are pretty simple - I pick posts that advance knowledge about genealogy and family history, address current genealogy issues, provide personal family history, are funny or are poignant. I don't list posts destined for the genealogy carnivals, or other meme submissions (but I do include summaries of them), or my own posts.
Here are my picks for great reads from the genealogy blogs for this past week:
* Genealogy Software Devs: It's MY Data! by Daniel Dillman on the Indiana Dillmans blog. Daniel wants to share his family data with cousins. He wrote a letter to software developers asking them to make it easier to do.
* Anticipating DNA Results by Kathy Reed on the Family Matters blog. I love the graphic that Kathy posted, and her explanation of the autosomal DNA test results are clear and concise.
* Citations unveiled, Some more thoughts on citations in genealogy, To Cite or not to Cite, That is the Question, and Citations pro and con, by James Tanner on the Genealogy's Star blog. James ponders census citations and their format...good stuff!
* Genealogy Serendipity Moments - The Unvarnished Truth by Susan LeBlanc on the Gopher Genealogy blog. Susan shares some experiences about some of her research, and thinks it's best to report the truth about sensitive matters.
* Emphasize the Source You Used Over the Source of the Source by the writer of The Ancestry Insider blog. I agree!
* Ghosts and House History Research by Marian Pierre-Louis on The New England House Historian blog. Marian wants ghost in the house stories - can you oblige?
* Things That Go Bump In The Night: A Family Story by Mel Wolfgang on the Mnemosyne's Magic Mirror blog. Mel has an interesting story about a family home and the ghosts it doesn't have, at least that he knew about!
* Helps for Translating That Old German Handwriting by Nancy on the My Ancestors and Me blog. Nancy reviews the helps available for reading and translating German handwriting. A wonderful post!
* Genealogy Round Up, June 16 by Megan Smolenyak on the Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak Roots World blog.
* Genealogy News Corral, June 13-17 by Diane Haddad on The Genealogy Insider blog.
I encourage readers to go to the blogs listed above and read their articles, and add their blogs to your Favorites, Google Reader, RSS feed or email if you like what you read. Please make a comment to them also - all bloggers appreciate feedback on what they write.
Did I miss a great genealogy blog post? Tell me! I am currently reading posts from over 920 genealogy bloggers using Google Reader, but I still miss quite a few it seems.
Read past Best of the Genea-Blogs posts here.
The URL for this post is http://www.geneamusings.com/2011/06/best-of-genea-blogs-12-to-18-june-2011.html
(c) 2011. Randall J. Seaver. All Rights Reserved. If you wish to re-publish my content, please contact me for permission, which I will usually grant. If you are reading this on any other genealogy website, then they have stolen my work.
Hundreds of genealogy and family history bloggers write thousands of posts every week about their research, their families, and their interests. I appreciate each one of them and their efforts.
My criteria for "Best of ..." are pretty simple - I pick posts that advance knowledge about genealogy and family history, address current genealogy issues, provide personal family history, are funny or are poignant. I don't list posts destined for the genealogy carnivals, or other meme submissions (but I do include summaries of them), or my own posts.
Here are my picks for great reads from the genealogy blogs for this past week:
* Genealogy Software Devs: It's MY Data! by Daniel Dillman on the Indiana Dillmans blog. Daniel wants to share his family data with cousins. He wrote a letter to software developers asking them to make it easier to do.
* Anticipating DNA Results by Kathy Reed on the Family Matters blog. I love the graphic that Kathy posted, and her explanation of the autosomal DNA test results are clear and concise.
* Citations unveiled, Some more thoughts on citations in genealogy, To Cite or not to Cite, That is the Question, and Citations pro and con, by James Tanner on the Genealogy's Star blog. James ponders census citations and their format...good stuff!
* Genealogy Serendipity Moments - The Unvarnished Truth by Susan LeBlanc on the Gopher Genealogy blog. Susan shares some experiences about some of her research, and thinks it's best to report the truth about sensitive matters.
* Emphasize the Source You Used Over the Source of the Source by the writer of The Ancestry Insider blog. I agree!
* Ghosts and House History Research by Marian Pierre-Louis on The New England House Historian blog. Marian wants ghost in the house stories - can you oblige?
* Things That Go Bump In The Night: A Family Story by Mel Wolfgang on the Mnemosyne's Magic Mirror blog. Mel has an interesting story about a family home and the ghosts it doesn't have, at least that he knew about!
* Helps for Translating That Old German Handwriting by Nancy on the My Ancestors and Me blog. Nancy reviews the helps available for reading and translating German handwriting. A wonderful post!
* Sheriff William Preston's identity crisis Part 2.1 of 3, Sheriff William Preston's identity crisis Part 2.2 of 3, Sheriff William Preston's identity crisis Part 2.3 of 3, Sheriff William Preston's identity crisis Part 2.4 of 3, Sheriff William Preston's identity crisis Part 2.5 of 3 by GeneJ on the They Came Before blog. GeneJ's research series is very detailed and complete - read them in order! But the story is not finished - stay tuned!
* GEDCOM Standards: Is an Update Coming? by Lorelle Van Fossen on the Family History blog. I hope so! Lorelle has an excellent summary of the status of GEDCOM. Check out the graphic too.
All Of My Ancestors Have Been Found! by Lee Drew on the Family History with the LineageKeeper blog. Lee has great advice for the folks that say this.
Several genea-bloggers wrote weekly pick posts and news summary posts this week, including:
* Follow Friday: This Week’s Favorite Finds by Jen on the Climbing My Family Tree blog.
* Follow Friday Newsletter: 17 June 2011 by Greta Koehl on the Greta's Genealogy Bog blog.
* Monday Recap for June 13th, 2011 by Grant Brunner on the Geni.com Blog.
* GEDCOM Standards: Is an Update Coming? by Lorelle Van Fossen on the Family History blog. I hope so! Lorelle has an excellent summary of the status of GEDCOM. Check out the graphic too.
All Of My Ancestors Have Been Found! by Lee Drew on the Family History with the LineageKeeper blog. Lee has great advice for the folks that say this.
Several genea-bloggers wrote weekly pick posts and news summary posts this week, including:
* Follow Friday: This Week’s Favorite Finds by Jen on the Climbing My Family Tree blog.
* Follow Friday Newsletter: 17 June 2011 by Greta Koehl on the Greta's Genealogy Bog blog.
* Monday Recap for June 13th, 2011 by Grant Brunner on the Geni.com Blog.
* Genealogy Round Up, June 16 by Megan Smolenyak on the Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak Roots World blog.
* Genealogy News Corral, June 13-17 by Diane Haddad on The Genealogy Insider blog.
I encourage readers to go to the blogs listed above and read their articles, and add their blogs to your Favorites, Google Reader, RSS feed or email if you like what you read. Please make a comment to them also - all bloggers appreciate feedback on what they write.
Did I miss a great genealogy blog post? Tell me! I am currently reading posts from over 920 genealogy bloggers using Google Reader, but I still miss quite a few it seems.
Read past Best of the Genea-Blogs posts here.
The URL for this post is http://www.geneamusings.com/2011/06/best-of-genea-blogs-12-to-18-june-2011.html
(c) 2011. Randall J. Seaver. All Rights Reserved. If you wish to re-publish my content, please contact me for permission, which I will usually grant. If you are reading this on any other genealogy website, then they have stolen my work.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
My daughter's Father's Day Facebook photo
...
There is this meme status line going around Facebook this week:
"
Here is the one I'm using:
There is this meme status line going around Facebook this week:
"
Here is the one I'm using:
That;s my father, not my daughter's father!
Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Who is Your Most Recent Unknown Ancestor?
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Hey geneaphiles, it's Saturday Night again - time for more Genealogy Fun!!
Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to:
1) Determine who your most recent unknown ancestor is - the one that you don't even know his or her name.
2) Summarize what you know about his or her family, including resources that you have searched and the resources you should search but haven't searched yet.
3) Tell us about it in your own blog post, in a comment to this post, or in a status on Facebook.
Here's mine:
#76 on my ancestor list is the father of Thomas J. Newton (ca 1795 - after 1834). Thomas J. Newton married before 1832 to Sophia (Buck) Brigham (1979-1882, widow of Lambert Brigham (died 1830). Thomas J. and Sophia (Buck) (Brigham) Newton had two children, Thomas J. Newton (1832-1915) and Sophia Newton (1834-1923). The marriage records for the two children say that their father was born in Maine, and that they were born in Cambridge, Vermont (presumably the one in Lamoille County).
There were two known Newton families in Maine before 1800 -
1) Nathan and Anna (Brigham) Newton who moved from Northborough MA in 1794 to Andover, Oxford County, ME. They had a son Lambert Newton and a daughter Sophia Newton. The Brigham, Lambert and Sophia names coincide with those found in the family of Sophia Newton's mother. In addition, Sophia Buck's first husband was named Lambert Brigham. The known children of this family appear in the Sudbury MA town records. Anna (Brigham) Newton died in 1794, and Nathan married Dorothy Wood soon after, and she bore him nine more children, five of whom are in the Andover ME town records.
2) Levi and Elizabeth (Woodward) Newton moved from Sutton MA in about 1786 and settled in Dixfield, Oxford County, Maine. They had seven children between 1770 and 1787, including five sons who had children in Dixfield. almost all of the births of the children of the five sons are recorded in the Dixfield town records from 1802 onwards. One of the sons, Jacob Newton, had a son Thomas J. Newton born in 18i08, who died in 1852 in Reading MA. I don't think that this is the Thomas J. Newton that married Sophia (Buck) Brigham before 1832.
Of course, there may be other Newton families in Maine in the 1800 time frame!
I have searched Maine records, Vermont records, Massachusetts records and New Hampshire records (Vital Records, census, some land and probate records, Newton family books, town histories, etc) for Thomas J. Newton. There is not a clear record for Thomas J. Newton in the 1830 or 1840 census for Massachusetts, Vermont or Maine.
The "Newton Genealogy" by Ermina Newton Leonard has been perused for hours, trying to link Thomas J. Newton with a Maine, Vermont or Massachusetts family, with no success.
There is more information about Thomas J. Newton in Mystery Monday - Thomas J. Newton of Maine (19th century), Using the FAN Club Principle - Thomas J. Newton, Father of Sophia Newton (1834-1923) - Post 1 and - Post 2.
l suggestions are welcome!
Hey geneaphiles, it's Saturday Night again - time for more Genealogy Fun!!
Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to:
1) Determine who your most recent unknown ancestor is - the one that you don't even know his or her name.
2) Summarize what you know about his or her family, including resources that you have searched and the resources you should search but haven't searched yet.
3) Tell us about it in your own blog post, in a comment to this post, or in a status on Facebook.
Here's mine:
#76 on my ancestor list is the father of Thomas J. Newton (ca 1795 - after 1834). Thomas J. Newton married before 1832 to Sophia (Buck) Brigham (1979-1882, widow of Lambert Brigham (died 1830). Thomas J. and Sophia (Buck) (Brigham) Newton had two children, Thomas J. Newton (1832-1915) and Sophia Newton (1834-1923). The marriage records for the two children say that their father was born in Maine, and that they were born in Cambridge, Vermont (presumably the one in Lamoille County).
There were two known Newton families in Maine before 1800 -
1) Nathan and Anna (Brigham) Newton who moved from Northborough MA in 1794 to Andover, Oxford County, ME. They had a son Lambert Newton and a daughter Sophia Newton. The Brigham, Lambert and Sophia names coincide with those found in the family of Sophia Newton's mother. In addition, Sophia Buck's first husband was named Lambert Brigham. The known children of this family appear in the Sudbury MA town records. Anna (Brigham) Newton died in 1794, and Nathan married Dorothy Wood soon after, and she bore him nine more children, five of whom are in the Andover ME town records.
2) Levi and Elizabeth (Woodward) Newton moved from Sutton MA in about 1786 and settled in Dixfield, Oxford County, Maine. They had seven children between 1770 and 1787, including five sons who had children in Dixfield. almost all of the births of the children of the five sons are recorded in the Dixfield town records from 1802 onwards. One of the sons, Jacob Newton, had a son Thomas J. Newton born in 18i08, who died in 1852 in Reading MA. I don't think that this is the Thomas J. Newton that married Sophia (Buck) Brigham before 1832.
Of course, there may be other Newton families in Maine in the 1800 time frame!
I have searched Maine records, Vermont records, Massachusetts records and New Hampshire records (Vital Records, census, some land and probate records, Newton family books, town histories, etc) for Thomas J. Newton. There is not a clear record for Thomas J. Newton in the 1830 or 1840 census for Massachusetts, Vermont or Maine.
The "Newton Genealogy" by Ermina Newton Leonard has been perused for hours, trying to link Thomas J. Newton with a Maine, Vermont or Massachusetts family, with no success.
There is more information about Thomas J. Newton in Mystery Monday - Thomas J. Newton of Maine (19th century), Using the FAN Club Principle - Thomas J. Newton, Father of Sophia Newton (1834-1923) - Post 1 and - Post 2.
l suggestions are welcome!
Surname Saturday - PICKLE/BEUCHEL - Germany > NJ)
...
It's Surname Saturday, and I'm "counting down" my Ancestral Name List each week. I am up to number 245, who is the unknown grandmother of #61 Sarah Sephrona Fletcher (1802-after 1861). #247 is the other unknown grandmother of #61, Sarah Sephrona Fletcher. That brings us to #249, who is Elizabeth PICKLE (1764-1849), another of my 5th-great-grandmothers. [Note: The 5th great-grandfathers have been covered in earlier posts].
My ancestral line back to Elizabeth Pickle is:
1. Randall Jeffrey Seaver (1943-....)
2. Frederick Walton Seaver (1911-1983)
3. Betty Virginia Carringer (1919-2002)
6. Lyle Lawrence Carringer (1891-1976)
7. Emily Kemp Auble (1899-1977)
14. Charles Auble (1849-1916)
15. Georgianna Kemp (1868-1952)
30. James Abram Kemp (1831-1902)
31. Mary Jane Sovereen (1841-1874)
62. Alexander Sovereen (1814-1907)
63. Eliza Putman (1820-1895)
124. Frederick Sovereign, born 14 February 1786 in New Germantown, Hunterdon, New Jersey, United States; died 14 June 1875 in Middleton, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada. He married 17 May 1810 in London, Ontario, Canada.
125. Mary Jane Hutchison, born 22 January 1792 in Pleasant Valley, New Brunswick, Canada, and died 16 April 1868 in Delhi, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada. She was the daughter of 250. William Hutchinson and 251. Catherine Lewis.
248. Jacob Sovereign, born 06 November 1759 in Schooleys Mountain, Morris, New Jersey, United States; died 1845 in Charlotteville, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada. He was the son of 496. Frederick Zavering and 497. Ann Waldruff. He married 01 March 1781 in Oldwick, Hunterdon, New Jersey, United States.
249. Elizabeth Pickle, born 03 November 1764 in Hunterdon, New Jersey, United States; died 02 January 1849 in Delhi, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada.
Children of Jacob Sovereign and Elizabeth Pickle are:
* Elisabeth Sovereign, born 15 December 1783 in New Germantown, Hunterdon, New Jersey, United States; married Jonathan Wade 17 November 1799 in London, Ontario, Canada; born 1767 in Somerset, England.
* Frederick Sovereign, born 14 February 1786 in New Germantown, Hunterdon, New Jersey, United States; died 14 June 1875 in Middleton, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada; married Mary Jane Hutchison 17 May 1810 in London, Ontario, Canada.
* Henry Baltis Sovereign, born 30 August 1787 in New Germantown, Hunterdon, New Jersey, United States; died 23 July 1878 in Fredericksburgh, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada; married Margaret Brown 04 January 1815 in Charlotteville, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada; born 08 April 1793 in Ontario, Canada; died 02 February 1877 in Fredericksburgh, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada.
498. Henry Pickel, born 15 February 1728/29 in Hunterdon, New Jersey, United States; died 05 December 1765 in Oldwick, Hunterdon, New Jersey, United States. He married before 1760 in New Jersey, United States.
499. Elizabeth, born about 1731 in New Jersey, United States.
Children of Henry Pickel and Elizabeth are:
* Baltus Pickle, born 1760 in Hunterdon, New Jersey, United States; died 18 March 1760 in Hunterdon, New Jersey, United States.
* Gertraut Pickle, born about 1762 in Hunterdon, New Jersey, United States.
* Elizabeth Pickle, born 03 November 1764 in Hunterdon, New Jersey, United States; died 02 January 1849 in Delhi, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada; married Jacob Sovereign 01 March 1781 in Oldwick, Hunterdon, New Jersey, United States.
* Henry Baltus Pickle, born 05 November 1765 in Hunterdon, New Jersey, United States; died 02 November 1833 in Old Trumansburgh, Tompkins, New York, United States; married Maria Schmidt before 1784 in New Jersey, United States; born 1764; died 11 March 1834 in Old Trumansburgh, Tompkins, New York, United States.
996. Johann Balthasar Pickel, born 1687 in Hartenburg, Germany; died 05 December 1765 in Oldwick, Hunterdon, New Jersey, United States. He married 16 August 1718 in New York, United States.
997. Anna Gertrude Reiterin, born about 1684 in Germany; died 04 December 1761 in Hunterdon, New Jersey, United States.
Children of Johann Pickel and Anna Reiterin are:
* Maria Catherina Pickel, born 15 July 1719 in Somerset, New Jersey, United States; died 1744 in Hunterdon, New Jersey, United States.
* Balthazar Pickel, born 08 September 1720 in Somerset, New Jersey, United States; died 25 November 1786 in New Germantown, Hunterdon, New Jersey, United States; married (1) Sophia Van Horne 10 November 1746 in Hunterdon, New Jersey, United States; born 07 November 1726; died 17 May 1764 in Trenton, Mercer, New Jersey, United States; married (2) Anna Gerhart 02 March 1766 in New Jersey, United States.
* Anna Eva Pickel, born about 1723 in Somerset, New Jersey, United States; married Johannes Helfrich Schaum.
* Henry Pickel, born 15 February 1728/29 in Hunterdon, New Jersey, United States; died 05 December 1765 in Oldwick, Hunterdon, New Jersey, United States; married Elizabeth before 1760 in New Jersey, United States.
1992. Balthazar Beuchel, born 1656 in Hartenburg, Germany; died 1703 in Bad-Durkheim, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. He married 22 January 1677/78 in Germany.
1993. Anna Eva Mullier
Children of Balthazar Beuchel and Anna Mullier are:
* Anna Magdalena Pickel, born 1679 in Rhineland-Palatinate, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany; died in ; married Johan Peter Appleman.
* Johannes Michel Pickel, born 01 June 1681 in Rhineland-Palatinate, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany; married Maria Catherina 13 June 1703 in Rhineland-Palatinate, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany.
* Johan Niclaus Pickel, born 1683 in Rhineland-Palatinate, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany; died 1774 in Hunterdon
* Maria Catherina Pickel, born 1685 in Rhineland-Palatinate, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany.
* Johan Conrad Pickel, born 1687 in Rhineland-Palatinate, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany; died 11 December 1689 in Rhineland-Palatinate, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany.
* Johann Balthasar Pickel, born 1687 in Hartenburg, Germany; died 05 December 1765 in Oldwick, Hunterdon, New Jersey, United States; married Anna Gertrude Reiterin 16 August 1718 in New York, United States.
* Franz Wilhelm Pickel, born about 1690 in Rhineland-Palatinate, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany.
The resource with the most complete information about the earliest generations of this family is the website "Descendants of Balthasar Pickel" (http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~katy/pickel/) by Kay Haden.
I have done no original research on this family.
The URL for this post is
(c) 2011. Randall J. Seaver. All Rights Reserved. If you wish to re-publish my content, please contact me for permission, which I will usually grant. If you are reading this on any other genealogy website, then they have stolen my work (RSS feed readers excepted).
It's Surname Saturday, and I'm "counting down" my Ancestral Name List each week. I am up to number 245, who is the unknown grandmother of #61 Sarah Sephrona Fletcher (1802-after 1861). #247 is the other unknown grandmother of #61, Sarah Sephrona Fletcher. That brings us to #249, who is Elizabeth PICKLE (1764-1849), another of my 5th-great-grandmothers. [Note: The 5th great-grandfathers have been covered in earlier posts].
My ancestral line back to Elizabeth Pickle is:
1. Randall Jeffrey Seaver (1943-....)
2. Frederick Walton Seaver (1911-1983)
3. Betty Virginia Carringer (1919-2002)
6. Lyle Lawrence Carringer (1891-1976)
7. Emily Kemp Auble (1899-1977)
14. Charles Auble (1849-1916)
15. Georgianna Kemp (1868-1952)
30. James Abram Kemp (1831-1902)
31. Mary Jane Sovereen (1841-1874)
62. Alexander Sovereen (1814-1907)
63. Eliza Putman (1820-1895)
124. Frederick Sovereign, born 14 February 1786 in New Germantown, Hunterdon, New Jersey, United States; died 14 June 1875 in Middleton, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada. He married 17 May 1810 in London, Ontario, Canada.
125. Mary Jane Hutchison, born 22 January 1792 in Pleasant Valley, New Brunswick, Canada, and died 16 April 1868 in Delhi, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada. She was the daughter of 250. William Hutchinson and 251. Catherine Lewis.
248. Jacob Sovereign, born 06 November 1759 in Schooleys Mountain, Morris, New Jersey, United States; died 1845 in Charlotteville, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada. He was the son of 496. Frederick Zavering and 497. Ann Waldruff. He married 01 March 1781 in Oldwick, Hunterdon, New Jersey, United States.
249. Elizabeth Pickle, born 03 November 1764 in Hunterdon, New Jersey, United States; died 02 January 1849 in Delhi, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada.
Children of Jacob Sovereign and Elizabeth Pickle are:
* Elisabeth Sovereign, born 15 December 1783 in New Germantown, Hunterdon, New Jersey, United States; married Jonathan Wade 17 November 1799 in London, Ontario, Canada; born 1767 in Somerset, England.
* Frederick Sovereign, born 14 February 1786 in New Germantown, Hunterdon, New Jersey, United States; died 14 June 1875 in Middleton, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada; married Mary Jane Hutchison 17 May 1810 in London, Ontario, Canada.
* Henry Baltis Sovereign, born 30 August 1787 in New Germantown, Hunterdon, New Jersey, United States; died 23 July 1878 in Fredericksburgh, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada; married Margaret Brown 04 January 1815 in Charlotteville, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada; born 08 April 1793 in Ontario, Canada; died 02 February 1877 in Fredericksburgh, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada.
498. Henry Pickel, born 15 February 1728/29 in Hunterdon, New Jersey, United States; died 05 December 1765 in Oldwick, Hunterdon, New Jersey, United States. He married before 1760 in New Jersey, United States.
499. Elizabeth, born about 1731 in New Jersey, United States.
Children of Henry Pickel and Elizabeth are:
* Baltus Pickle, born 1760 in Hunterdon, New Jersey, United States; died 18 March 1760 in Hunterdon, New Jersey, United States.
* Gertraut Pickle, born about 1762 in Hunterdon, New Jersey, United States.
* Elizabeth Pickle, born 03 November 1764 in Hunterdon, New Jersey, United States; died 02 January 1849 in Delhi, Norfolk, Ontario, Canada; married Jacob Sovereign 01 March 1781 in Oldwick, Hunterdon, New Jersey, United States.
* Henry Baltus Pickle, born 05 November 1765 in Hunterdon, New Jersey, United States; died 02 November 1833 in Old Trumansburgh, Tompkins, New York, United States; married Maria Schmidt before 1784 in New Jersey, United States; born 1764; died 11 March 1834 in Old Trumansburgh, Tompkins, New York, United States.
996. Johann Balthasar Pickel, born 1687 in Hartenburg, Germany; died 05 December 1765 in Oldwick, Hunterdon, New Jersey, United States. He married 16 August 1718 in New York, United States.
997. Anna Gertrude Reiterin, born about 1684 in Germany; died 04 December 1761 in Hunterdon, New Jersey, United States.
Children of Johann Pickel and Anna Reiterin are:
* Maria Catherina Pickel, born 15 July 1719 in Somerset, New Jersey, United States; died 1744 in Hunterdon, New Jersey, United States.
* Balthazar Pickel, born 08 September 1720 in Somerset, New Jersey, United States; died 25 November 1786 in New Germantown, Hunterdon, New Jersey, United States; married (1) Sophia Van Horne 10 November 1746 in Hunterdon, New Jersey, United States; born 07 November 1726; died 17 May 1764 in Trenton, Mercer, New Jersey, United States; married (2) Anna Gerhart 02 March 1766 in New Jersey, United States.
* Anna Eva Pickel, born about 1723 in Somerset, New Jersey, United States; married Johannes Helfrich Schaum.
* Henry Pickel, born 15 February 1728/29 in Hunterdon, New Jersey, United States; died 05 December 1765 in Oldwick, Hunterdon, New Jersey, United States; married Elizabeth before 1760 in New Jersey, United States.
1992. Balthazar Beuchel, born 1656 in Hartenburg, Germany; died 1703 in Bad-Durkheim, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. He married 22 January 1677/78 in Germany.
1993. Anna Eva Mullier
Children of Balthazar Beuchel and Anna Mullier are:
* Anna Magdalena Pickel, born 1679 in Rhineland-Palatinate, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany; died in ; married Johan Peter Appleman.
* Johannes Michel Pickel, born 01 June 1681 in Rhineland-Palatinate, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany; married Maria Catherina 13 June 1703 in Rhineland-Palatinate, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany.
* Johan Niclaus Pickel, born 1683 in Rhineland-Palatinate, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany; died 1774 in Hunterdon
* Maria Catherina Pickel, born 1685 in Rhineland-Palatinate, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany.
* Johan Conrad Pickel, born 1687 in Rhineland-Palatinate, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany; died 11 December 1689 in Rhineland-Palatinate, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany.
* Johann Balthasar Pickel, born 1687 in Hartenburg, Germany; died 05 December 1765 in Oldwick, Hunterdon, New Jersey, United States; married Anna Gertrude Reiterin 16 August 1718 in New York, United States.
* Franz Wilhelm Pickel, born about 1690 in Rhineland-Palatinate, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany.
The resource with the most complete information about the earliest generations of this family is the website "Descendants of Balthasar Pickel" (http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~katy/pickel/) by Kay Haden.
I have done no original research on this family.
The URL for this post is
(c) 2011. Randall J. Seaver. All Rights Reserved. If you wish to re-publish my content, please contact me for permission, which I will usually grant. If you are reading this on any other genealogy website, then they have stolen my work (RSS feed readers excepted).
Friday, June 17, 2011
Genealogy Radio Shows and Webinars this weekend
...
I try to keep up with the genealogy-oriented radio shows and webinars, but there are usually schedule conflicts. As a reminder to me (mostly), here are the imminent events this weekend:
* Geneabloggers Radio on Friday night, 17 June, at 10 p.m. Eastern, 9 p.m. Central, 8 p.m. Mountain and 7 p.m. Pacific. This is usually a 90 minute show hosted by Thomas MacEntee. This week, the topic is A Juneteenth Celebration – Emancipation Records & Genealogy. The guests are Angela Walton-Raji and Shelley Murphy.
* FGS Radio - My Society on Saturday, 18 June, at 2 p.m. Eastern, 1 p.m. Central, 12 noon Mountain and 11 a.m. Pacific. This is a 60 minute show, hosted this week by Thomas MacEntee. This week the topic is FGS 2011 Conference Highlights. The guests are D. Joshua Taylor, Paula Stuart-Warren and J. Mark Lowe.
* FGS Webinar: Josh Taylor - Your Society's Next Generation: Reaching Out to New Communities, on Saturday, 18 June, at 4 p.m. Eastern, 3 p.m. Central, 2 p.m. Mountain and 1 p.m. Pacific. This is a 90 minute webinar targetting genealogical society leaders.
I hope to listen to the Friday radio show (and participate in the chat board), but will have to catch the MySociety radio show later due to the CGSSD meeting on Saturday morning here. If my granddaughters cooperate, I'll be able to participate in the webinar on Saturday too.
If these events fit your schedule, I encourage you to participate in them.
The URL for this post is http://www.geneamusings.com/2011/06/genealogy-radio-shows-and-webinars-this.html
(c) 2011. Randall J. Seaver. All Rights Reserved. If you wish to re-publish my content, please contact me for permission, which I will usually grant. If you are reading this on any other genealogy website, then they have stolen my work.
I try to keep up with the genealogy-oriented radio shows and webinars, but there are usually schedule conflicts. As a reminder to me (mostly), here are the imminent events this weekend:
* Geneabloggers Radio on Friday night, 17 June, at 10 p.m. Eastern, 9 p.m. Central, 8 p.m. Mountain and 7 p.m. Pacific. This is usually a 90 minute show hosted by Thomas MacEntee. This week, the topic is A Juneteenth Celebration – Emancipation Records & Genealogy. The guests are Angela Walton-Raji and Shelley Murphy.
* FGS Radio - My Society on Saturday, 18 June, at 2 p.m. Eastern, 1 p.m. Central, 12 noon Mountain and 11 a.m. Pacific. This is a 60 minute show, hosted this week by Thomas MacEntee. This week the topic is FGS 2011 Conference Highlights. The guests are D. Joshua Taylor, Paula Stuart-Warren and J. Mark Lowe.
* FGS Webinar: Josh Taylor - Your Society's Next Generation: Reaching Out to New Communities, on Saturday, 18 June, at 4 p.m. Eastern, 3 p.m. Central, 2 p.m. Mountain and 1 p.m. Pacific. This is a 90 minute webinar targetting genealogical society leaders.
I hope to listen to the Friday radio show (and participate in the chat board), but will have to catch the MySociety radio show later due to the CGSSD meeting on Saturday morning here. If my granddaughters cooperate, I'll be able to participate in the webinar on Saturday too.
If these events fit your schedule, I encourage you to participate in them.
The URL for this post is http://www.geneamusings.com/2011/06/genealogy-radio-shows-and-webinars-this.html
(c) 2011. Randall J. Seaver. All Rights Reserved. If you wish to re-publish my content, please contact me for permission, which I will usually grant. If you are reading this on any other genealogy website, then they have stolen my work.
Dear Randy: Can you explain this Genealogical Paradox?
.....
Reader Bud wrote an email asking a question:
"You seem like a person who would be familiar with what I call the Genealogical Paradox. Hopefully, you can tell what others are calling it these days and the solution others have come up with.
nealogical Paradox: We can trace our roots back to a time when everyone in the world is our ancestor. Equally, we are all related! Although this is a possibility, it seems unlikely. Let me use the attached worksheet to outline the argument.
"First, I researched our scientist’s best estimates of the world’s population. E.g.http://www.scottmanning.com/content/year-by-year-world-population-estimates/
"Where I did not have estimates, I filled in a reasonably consistent manner. Now to Sheet 1. In columns E-J, I assumed various intervals between a child’s birth and his/her parents. I begin in 1954. In column K, I assumed that each ancestor child had distinct parents from all other ancestor children…each child is independent from all others….only children. In columns M-R, I looked up the population in millions for each year in columns E-J from Sheet2. In column S, I took the 25 year spacing and blew it out for comparability in column K.
All the estimates I found suggested that before the year (approx.) 1000, the world (not just Europe) had a population of 300 million or less. What it shows is that at my 30 generation, everyone in the world is my 30th great-grandparents!
"Ok. Absurd, yes. My “independence” assumption is NOT true. Because of the exponential affect, these exorbitant numbers are cut down a great deal.
However, unless the world had more than 300 million people at some points in time, it doesn’t change the conclusion; it defers the conclusion: At some point in time, everyone in the world is our ancestor.
"My problem is looking at the magnitude of the numbers. It explodes well before we get into B.C era. Any direction or insights would be appreciated. And if I am the only nut who thinks of such things, then please pray for me. I must have too much time on my hands."
Bud did a lot of work trying to figure out his paradox. Where are all of the missing ancestors? The spreadsheet was well done, and accurate, too.
I am not an expert at this, so my answer to Bud referred to more knowledgeable people than myself. Here is my response:
"The simple answer to your question is: Pedigree Collapse. Before 1800, people often married their cousins because of the limited "breeding stock" within walking distance, and because of familiarity with their family.
here are a number of excellent articles, with examples, at:
"* Pedigree Collapse -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedigree_collapse
"This article says:
'Since every person has two parents, the number of ancestors in each older generation can be calculated by multiplying by two again. So 2 parents in 2 generations = 2 x 2 = 4 ancestors (grandparents). 2 parents in 3 generations = 2 x 2 x 2 = 8 ancestors (great-grandparents). Going back 30 generations would mean 230, or a billion, ancestors. Few people have the same maternal and paternal grandfather, but many people have, for example, relatives who are both a great-grandfather and a great-great-grandfather — each through a different side of the family. This is because cousins — sometimes quite distant cousins — marry. So instead of a person having a billion distinct ancestors 30 generations ago, they are limited to a much smaller number, especially since historically many families lived in the same area for hundreds of years.'
* Pedigree Collapse -- http://www.generations.on.ca/genealogy/pedigree.htm
"This is an excellent article by John Becker, from the Ontario Genealogical Society Families periodical (Volume 38, Number 3, 1999) that explains it clearly, as in:
'We all are blessed with two parents, four grandparents, eight great grandparents and so on. If the average generation is twenty-five years, in 1200 years (back to 800 AD, the time of Charlemagne) each person has 281.5 trillion grandparents. That's the way geometric progressions work. The number of grandparents doubles every 25 years and in 1200 years or 48 generations, 281.5 trillion names would be on your pedigree.'
"* Pedigree Collapse -- http://www.isogg.org/wiki/Pedigree_collapse"
"This article is a bit more scientific, but the explanation is the same:
'Without pedigree collapse, a person's ancestor tree is a binary tree, formed by the person, the parents, grandparents, and so on. However, the number of individuals in such a tree grows exponentially and will eventually become impossibly high. For example, a single individual alive today would, over 30 generations going back to the High Middle Ages, have roughly a billion ancestors, more than the total world population at the time. This apparent paradox occurs because the individuals in the binary tree are not distinct: instead, a single individual may occupy multiple places in the binary tree. This typically happens when the parents of an ancestor are cousins (sometimes unbeknownst to themselves). For example, the offspring of two first cousins has at most only six great-grandparents instead of the normal eight. This reduction in the number of ancestors is pedigree collapse. It collapses the binary tree into a directed acyclic graph with two different, directed paths starting from the ancestor who in the binary tree would occupy two places.'
Does another reader have a better explanation, or better examples?
The URL for this post is http://www.geneamusings.com/2011/06/dear-randy-can-you-explain-this.html
(c) 2011. Randall J. Seaver. All Rights Reserved. If you wish to re-publish my content, please contact me for permission, which I will usually grant. If you are reading this on any other genealogy website, then they have stolen my work.
Reader Bud wrote an email asking a question:
"You seem like a person who would be familiar with what I call the Genealogical Paradox. Hopefully, you can tell what others are calling it these days and the solution others have come up with.
nealogical Paradox: We can trace our roots back to a time when everyone in the world is our ancestor. Equally, we are all related! Although this is a possibility, it seems unlikely. Let me use the attached worksheet to outline the argument.
"First, I researched our scientist’s best estimates of the world’s population. E.g.http://www.scottmanning.com/content/year-by-year-world-population-estimates/
"Where I did not have estimates, I filled in a reasonably consistent manner. Now to Sheet 1. In columns E-J, I assumed various intervals between a child’s birth and his/her parents. I begin in 1954. In column K, I assumed that each ancestor child had distinct parents from all other ancestor children…each child is independent from all others….only children. In columns M-R, I looked up the population in millions for each year in columns E-J from Sheet2. In column S, I took the 25 year spacing and blew it out for comparability in column K.
All the estimates I found suggested that before the year (approx.) 1000, the world (not just Europe) had a population of 300 million or less. What it shows is that at my 30 generation, everyone in the world is my 30th great-grandparents!
"Ok. Absurd, yes. My “independence” assumption is NOT true. Because of the exponential affect, these exorbitant numbers are cut down a great deal.
However, unless the world had more than 300 million people at some points in time, it doesn’t change the conclusion; it defers the conclusion: At some point in time, everyone in the world is our ancestor.
"My problem is looking at the magnitude of the numbers. It explodes well before we get into B.C era. Any direction or insights would be appreciated. And if I am the only nut who thinks of such things, then please pray for me. I must have too much time on my hands."
Bud did a lot of work trying to figure out his paradox. Where are all of the missing ancestors? The spreadsheet was well done, and accurate, too.
I am not an expert at this, so my answer to Bud referred to more knowledgeable people than myself. Here is my response:
"The simple answer to your question is: Pedigree Collapse. Before 1800, people often married their cousins because of the limited "breeding stock" within walking distance, and because of familiarity with their family.
here are a number of excellent articles, with examples, at:
"* Pedigree Collapse -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedigree_collapse
"This article says:
'Since every person has two parents, the number of ancestors in each older generation can be calculated by multiplying by two again. So 2 parents in 2 generations = 2 x 2 = 4 ancestors (grandparents). 2 parents in 3 generations = 2 x 2 x 2 = 8 ancestors (great-grandparents). Going back 30 generations would mean 230, or a billion, ancestors. Few people have the same maternal and paternal grandfather, but many people have, for example, relatives who are both a great-grandfather and a great-great-grandfather — each through a different side of the family. This is because cousins — sometimes quite distant cousins — marry. So instead of a person having a billion distinct ancestors 30 generations ago, they are limited to a much smaller number, especially since historically many families lived in the same area for hundreds of years.'
* Pedigree Collapse -- http://www.generations.on.ca/genealogy/pedigree.htm
"This is an excellent article by John Becker, from the Ontario Genealogical Society Families periodical (Volume 38, Number 3, 1999) that explains it clearly, as in:
'We all are blessed with two parents, four grandparents, eight great grandparents and so on. If the average generation is twenty-five years, in 1200 years (back to 800 AD, the time of Charlemagne) each person has 281.5 trillion grandparents. That's the way geometric progressions work. The number of grandparents doubles every 25 years and in 1200 years or 48 generations, 281.5 trillion names would be on your pedigree.'
"* Pedigree Collapse -- http://www.isogg.org/wiki/Pedigree_collapse"
"This article is a bit more scientific, but the explanation is the same:
'Without pedigree collapse, a person's ancestor tree is a binary tree, formed by the person, the parents, grandparents, and so on. However, the number of individuals in such a tree grows exponentially and will eventually become impossibly high. For example, a single individual alive today would, over 30 generations going back to the High Middle Ages, have roughly a billion ancestors, more than the total world population at the time. This apparent paradox occurs because the individuals in the binary tree are not distinct: instead, a single individual may occupy multiple places in the binary tree. This typically happens when the parents of an ancestor are cousins (sometimes unbeknownst to themselves). For example, the offspring of two first cousins has at most only six great-grandparents instead of the normal eight. This reduction in the number of ancestors is pedigree collapse. It collapses the binary tree into a directed acyclic graph with two different, directed paths starting from the ancestor who in the binary tree would occupy two places.'
Does another reader have a better explanation, or better examples?
The URL for this post is http://www.geneamusings.com/2011/06/dear-randy-can-you-explain-this.html
(c) 2011. Randall J. Seaver. All Rights Reserved. If you wish to re-publish my content, please contact me for permission, which I will usually grant. If you are reading this on any other genealogy website, then they have stolen my work.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Check Out my Wikid at WikiTree!
...
I just saw the press release about the Wikid Shareable Tree on GeneaPress, and thought that I would try it. Here's my Wikid tree:
I love it! It works best, I think, when there are pictures of your ancestors, and most of us have few, if any, pictures of our great-great-grandparents (I do have 9 out of 16).
The Wikid seems to be created only for the creator of the family tree on WikiTree. I tried to do one for my father and my mother and it created one for me.
This type of thing would be a great Christmas present for my siblings and my children - clip the image, print it out in color, put it in a frame and, voila, an instant and different family tree! Cheap, but useful!
Now I'm wondering why no one on my tree looks like me! Perhaps it's because of the age of the persons in the photos on the tree. I must have got my hair gene from Charley Auble!
The URL for this post is http://www.geneamusings.com/2011/06/check-out-my-wikid-at-wikitree.html
(c) 2011. Randall J. Seaver. All Rights Reserved. If you wish to re-publish my content, please contact me for permission, which I will usually grant. If you are reading this on any other genealogy website, then they have stolen my work.
I just saw the press release about the Wikid Shareable Tree on GeneaPress, and thought that I would try it. Here's my Wikid tree:
I love it! It works best, I think, when there are pictures of your ancestors, and most of us have few, if any, pictures of our great-great-grandparents (I do have 9 out of 16).
The Wikid seems to be created only for the creator of the family tree on WikiTree. I tried to do one for my father and my mother and it created one for me.
This type of thing would be a great Christmas present for my siblings and my children - clip the image, print it out in color, put it in a frame and, voila, an instant and different family tree! Cheap, but useful!
Now I'm wondering why no one on my tree looks like me! Perhaps it's because of the age of the persons in the photos on the tree. I must have got my hair gene from Charley Auble!
The URL for this post is http://www.geneamusings.com/2011/06/check-out-my-wikid-at-wikitree.html
(c) 2011. Randall J. Seaver. All Rights Reserved. If you wish to re-publish my content, please contact me for permission, which I will usually grant. If you are reading this on any other genealogy website, then they have stolen my work.
A Neat Genealogy DNA Story: Distant Cousins Meet at Jamboree
...
I missed meeting Dave Dowell (the Dr. D. Digs Up Ancestors blog), but I met CeCe Moore (the Your Genetic Genealogist blog) briefly, at the SCGS Genealogy Jamboree last weekend.
It turns out that Dave and CeCe are distant cousins through a mitochondrial DNA exact match. See the picture of the two and the details of the DNA match in Dave's post, Dr D finally meets Your Genetic Genealogist.
Amazing! Mitochondrial matches do occur, but to have two geneabloggers match (well, Dave's first cousin and CeCe) must be a relative rarity.
Funny, they don't look like cousins, do they? But then I don't look like some of mine either!
The URL for this post is http://www.geneamusings.com/2011/06/neat-genealogy-dna-story-distant.html
(c) 2011. Randall J. Seaver. All Rights Reserved. If you wish to re-publish my content, please contact me for permission, which I will usually grant. If you are reading this on any other genealogy website, then they have stolen my work.
I missed meeting Dave Dowell (the Dr. D. Digs Up Ancestors blog), but I met CeCe Moore (the Your Genetic Genealogist blog) briefly, at the SCGS Genealogy Jamboree last weekend.
It turns out that Dave and CeCe are distant cousins through a mitochondrial DNA exact match. See the picture of the two and the details of the DNA match in Dave's post, Dr D finally meets Your Genetic Genealogist.
Amazing! Mitochondrial matches do occur, but to have two geneabloggers match (well, Dave's first cousin and CeCe) must be a relative rarity.
Funny, they don't look like cousins, do they? But then I don't look like some of mine either!
The URL for this post is http://www.geneamusings.com/2011/06/neat-genealogy-dna-story-distant.html
(c) 2011. Randall J. Seaver. All Rights Reserved. If you wish to re-publish my content, please contact me for permission, which I will usually grant. If you are reading this on any other genealogy website, then they have stolen my work.
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