Making a Descendant's Chart using RootsMagic 6

I received a question in email from a correspondent last week about making a Descendant's Chart using genealogy software, and so I set out to look at how to do this in the three major software programs I have.

She specifically wanted a chart that showed a set of parents, and then their children with their spouses (all of them), and all on one sheet of paper.  She had 10 children to show...so the one sheet of paper might be a problem, unless their boxes are very narrow.

This post uses RootsMagic 6, and I'll do posts on Legacy Family Tree 7.5 and family Tree Maker 2014 also.  Maybe I'll learn something in the process too.

1)  In the RootsMagic 6 Family View, I clicked on the "Reports" menu item and selected "Charts" and then "Wall Chart:"

2)  The "Wall Chart" dialog box has several options.  I added a chart Title, chose 1 Ancestor generation, and 2 Descendant generations, and checked "Print color coding," made the box size, and chose background colors:

I also clicked on the "Data to include" button on the screen above, and selected to show birth, death and marriage dates, but not places or values, and selected word wrap and include photos:

3)  I clicked OK on that screen, and then "Generate Report" on the "Wall Chart" dialog box, and saw my chart:

This chart is 25 inches wide and 7 inches high.

My ancestors are shown with a red background because I chose to show the color coding.

Spouses of the persons in the children's generation are shown, but the spouses of the grandchildren are not shown.

The oldest generation (my great-grandparents) are shown on the right-hand side of the chart for some reason.  I have tried to center all of the generations without success.  Is there a secret code used here, or is this how it was designed, or have I totally messed something up? [Note, I vote for the latter...]

Here is another version with the word wrap unchecked, the boxes widened a bit and the background color changed:

This chart is 30 inches wide and 7.5 inches high.  I like it better than the first chart.

A chart with one generation of descendants looks like this:

This chart is 10 inches wide and 6.5 inches high, so it would fit on one page.  But there are no spouses for the children.

What if I do the chart from left to right?  Here's what it looks like (zoomed to fit):

That chart is 21 inches high and 12 inches wide.  It still has the parents at one end of the chart instead of in the center of the page vertically, and it doesn't show the spouses of the grandchildren.

4)  I've seen charts that have the children and their spouses on two different lines - like children 1, 3 and 5 (and their spouses) on the second line down and children 2, 4 and 6 (and their spouses) on the third line down.  That would save space, and might permit a family with say six children to be on one sheet of 8.5 x 11 page.

My conclusion is that RootsMagic 6 won't satisfy my correspondent's wishes.  Unless there is more magic that I haven't found yet in the chart options.

UPDATED:  18 September:  Reader Geolover suggested how to move the generations around on the screen, so I tried it - here is the result:

I could only save the modified image  above as an .rmc file (RootsMagic proprietary format), so I used the Windows Snipping Tool to save the portion of the image with content:

The problem with the snipping tool generated image is that the resolution is not great.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/09/making-descendants-chart-using.html

Copyright (c) 2013, Randall J. Seaver

Genealogy Rock Star Poll Results

John D. Reid hosted a Genealogy Rock Star poll last week on his Anglo-Celtic Connections blog. There were 784 entrants who voted for their choices in all categories, without a limit on the number of votes cast.  However, voters could submit only one list.  There were four categories.

John's criteria included:

"...those who give ‘must attend’ presentations at family history conferences or at webinars. Who, when you see a new family history article or publication by that person, makes it a must buy. Who is it that you hang on their every word on a blog, podcast or newsgroup, or follow avidly on Facebook or Twitter?”

John announced the results yesterday in two posts:

*  Rock Star Genealogists: Silver and Bronze Medalists
*  Rock Star Genealogists: Gold Medalists
*  Rock Star Genealogists 2013: Australia and New Zealand
*  Rock Star Genealogists 2013: Canada
*  Rock Star Genealogists 2013: UK and Ireland
*  Rock Star Genealogists 2013: United States

John released the Top Ten for each category (Australia/New Zealand, Canada, UK/Ireland and USA) over the rest of the week.  I added the links to the list above as they occurred.

There are a fair number of geneabloggers on the winners lists.

Last Updated:  21 September 2013

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/09/genealogy-rock-star-poll-results.html

Copyright (c) 2013, Randall J. Seaver

P.S.  See, I can write a relatively short post!

Tuesday's Tip - Finding FamilySearch's New or Updated Record Collections

This week's Tuesday's Tip is to:  Quickly Determine the New or Updated FamilySearch Record Collections.  

How do you keep track of the new or updated record collections added by FamilySearch.org almost every day.  They are adding 20 to 50 new record collections every month.

There are two ways to do this:

1)  Start on the FamilySearch.org Home Page (https://familysearch.org):

Click on either of the "Search" buttons (circled in red above).  That opens the "Records" tab with search fields that you can search collections with:

However, remember that only indexed collections are searched; browse-only collections are not indexed.  If you are using only this search screen, then you are missing many useful record collections.

You can see a list of all of the Record Collections available on Family Search by clicking on the "Browse All Published Collections" link circled in red on the screen above (you may have to scroll down to see it).

When you click that link, then the list of all published Record Collections appears:

The list above is in alphabetical order, so Alabama is always on top of the list (at least until they get a collection form Afghanistan).

If you click on the "Last Updated" link, circled in red on the screen above, you can see the published Record Collections ordered by the date of the last update:

It took four screens, some scrolling and four clicks to get to this point.  I am quite sure that many researchers NEVER find this page, which is the most useful of the FamilySearch pages.

From this page, a user can search for record collections for a particular country, state or county.  I'll deal with that next week.

2)  The second method of finding the list of new or updated record collections is easier, by far, than Method 1.  It is to save this URL in your browser Bookmarks or Favorites list, or on your Bookmarks bar in Chrome:

https://familysearch.org/search/collection/list

That takes you to the third screen above, and you need only one more click (on the "Last Updated" link) to get to the list of collections ordered by the date updated.

I use this Method 2, and recommend it to all users.  I start my searches from the list of record collections (third screen above) rather than the search screen (second screen above).

3)  I fear that many users are not taking full advantage of the FamilySearch browsable record collections because it is too complicated to find.

I recommend that FamilySearch modify their starting screen to add a link directly to the list of record collections.  As it is, the list of record collections is fairly well hidden from users now.  It shouldn't be.

I also recommend that FamilySearch make the page ordered by date updated a separate URL so that when I go Back-Back-Back to use another database, I get to the Last Updated page rather than the useless Alphabetical page.  Or make the Last Updated page the page first seen by the user.  The Alphabetical page is pretty useless now, in my opinion.

Then there is the issue of determining what is New or only Updated.  A collection that has been added to the collection list could have an indicator that indicates it is newly added in, say, the last month.  An update to a previously added collection should have a different indicator.  Currently, the list has an asterisk for a collection that is either new or updated.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/09/tuesdays-tip-finding-familysearchs-new.html

Copyright (c) 2013, Randall J. Seaver

First Look at Family Tree Maker 2014 - Post 4: Finding and Replacing Information

Family Tree Maker announced their impending release of Family Tree Maker 2014 genealogy software three weeks ago - I covered it in Family Tree Maker 2014 Software Announced - 30% Discount (or more) (posted 26 August 2013).  

I ordered it and downloaded it, and imported a recent GEDCOM file created in RootsMagic 6.  

As I noted in First Look at Family Tree Maker 2014 - Mea Culpa! Looking Again at the Person Migration Map in the Places Workspace, the Migration Map only works if a user has "resolved" the place names involved.  

Since all of my place names in my RootsMagic file and the GEDCOM file used "United States," I have to change those to "USA" to meet the Family Tree Maker 2014 standard place names.  

In a comment on my post Follow-Up Friday - Helpful and Interesting Reader Comments, Elizabeth H. said:

"There is a Find and Replace function in Family Tree Maker. Under Edit, one of the choices is "Find and Replace." When you select this, it gives you the option of which items to search in. You can select from Facts, Notes, Sources, Media, Tasks, Places. (But I would suggest choosing one, depending on what you're looking for.) You can try searching for United States, replacing with USA, and search only in Places. I tried it, but didn't have any, as that's one item I'm careful to correct to USA when United States comes over from a merged fact. Hope this is helpful."

That sounded very useful - thanks, Elizabeth!!

So, here's how I did it:

1)  I was in the "People" Workspace when I clicked the "Edit" menu link, and selected "Find and Replace" from the dropdown menu.  That opened the "Find and Replace" dialog box:  I put the term "United States" in the "Find" field, put "USA" in the "Replace with" field, clicked on the Option to find whole words only, and "Facts" only in the "Search in" list.

2)  I clicked on the "Find" button and the system started working:

This took some time - I estimate about 30 minutes - to find and replace 4500 instances of "United States" with "USA" in the "Fact" category:

3)  When it was completed, I clicked the "Replace All" button and after a short while (I estimate less than a minute), the index reformed.  I looked at the "Places" Workspace and saw:

Yep, all of the "United States" in the Place list are replaced by "USA."  

Note that I haven't Resolved all of the Place Names yet...Russ Worthington recommended against doing that using the Tools menu and picking "Resolve all place names."  He recommends doing them one place at a time.

I have many instances of farm villages in Norway, county names in Canada, and town names in the USA that are NOT in the standard place list on Family Tree Maker 2014 (and I'm guessing in Bing maps).  So I probably won't resolve all place names automatically.  

Note:  While I'm doing these posts on an occasional basis, Russ Wortthington is showing the new features of FTM 2014 in an organized way on his Family Tree Maker User blog.  Click on the "FTM 2014" page to see links to all of his posts about FTM 2014.

The URL for this post is:

Copyright (c) 2013, Randall J. Seaver

MyHeritage Record Detective Attaches Search Results to Tree Profiles

The MyHeritage Blog has a post today titled New Feature: Save Records to Your Tree which details the process to search for records of a person in your MyHeritage Family Tree and then attach them to that person's profile in the Tree.  Please read their post for all of the details - it's well done with lots of graphics.

I decided to see how this worked, so I used my aunt's husband, James Remley (1912-2007) as my example.  Here's my process:

1)  From the profile for James Remley in my tree, I clicked on the "Research this person" link in the Research box (top right of the screen).  The results I received are:

There are over 360,000 matches for James Remley, but only the first five matches seem to be for him (the SSDI, the 1930 Census, and 3 newspaper articles).

2)  I chose the first match - the Social Security Death Index entry for James Remley.  I clicked on the SSDI entry:

3)  I want to Save this record to the profile for James Remley, so I clicked the light green "Save record"button.  When I did that, a dialog box opened identifying persons in my tree(s) that fit the information in the record:

If the record was not for the person listed, I could click on the "Select someone else" link and identify the right person in my tree.

4)  I clicked on the light green "Save" button to Save the record.  A dialog box opened noting that the record was saved:

The dialog box above tells me that I can now extract information from this record to my family tree.

5)  I clicked on the light green "Continue" button to extract information to my tree (2 screens):

On the screens above, there is information for the record on the left, and information for the person's profile in the tree on the right.  There are arrows between the two panels.  If I want to extract information from the record on the left to the person profile on the right, I can click on the arrows.  I did that for the Last Residence fact in the record, and added it to the profile in my family tree.  I also made sure that the "Add Source citation" box was checked.

There is a link to "Show more options" above the "Your family tree" panel on the screen above, and lcicking that opens up several more fields on the screen:

I could add a source citation for his birth, his death, his residence, add a biography, etc.  The source citation for the "Residence" Fact, from the SSDI entry, is also shown.

6)  I clicked on the light green "OK" button at the bottom of the "Your Family Tree" panel, and saw the

7)  To go back to the person profile, I can click on the link for his name at the bottom of the "Your Family Tree" panel.  Here is the profile in my tree for James Remley:

As you can see, the Social Security Death Index record is attach in the "Records" category on the profile.

8)  Some comments:

*  A researcher can start from the "Research" tab in the top menu to search for a name with other fields if desired.  The process is the same.  However, using the "Research" tab to do this, there is no link to go back to the search results - you have to do the search again after clicking on "Research."  There really should be a "Go back to Search Results" link or button on the pages, rather than having to use the Back button 6 or 8 times.

*  If the researcher uses the "Research this person" link on a person profile, there is no way to go back to the search results.  A "Go back to Search Results" link or button would be very helpful here also.

*  With this new feature, MyHeritage has joined the limited number of online family tree sites that are able to search for records for a person from within the profile for the person in the tree, and then attach records to a person in the tree.  The others, to my knowledge, are Ancestry.com and FamilySearch Family Tree.  This is a significant feature for MyHeritage.

*  To make full use of this record search and attachment feature, a researcher needs to have a Data subscription.  Some collections, like the Social Security Death Index and Find A Grave, are free, but the newspaper collection and other records are not free.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/09/myheritage-record-detective-attaches.html

Copyright (c) 2013, Randall J. Seaver

Disclosure:  I am not an employee of MyHeritage and have received no remuneration for writing this post.  I currently have a complimentary Premium Plus subscription to the MyHeritage tree, but not a data subscription, although I have had a complimentary data subscription in the past.

Amanuensis Monday - Post 189: Deed of Luke Bigelow to Isaac Seaver 3d in Westminster, Mass.

Genea-blogger John Newmark (who writes the excellent TransylvanianDutch blog) started his own 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 a deed in Worcester County, Massachusetts dated 16 June 1858, from Luke Bigelow to Isaac Seaver 3rd (my great-great-grandfather):

Know all men by these presents, that I, Luke Bigelow, of Westminster, in the County of Worcester and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, yeoman, in consideration of Twenty-five dollars, paid by Isaac Seaver 3d of Westminster, County and Commonwealth aforesaid, the receipt whereof I do hereby acknowledge, do hereby give, grant, sell and convey, unto the said Isaac Seaver 3d his heirs and assigns, a certain piece of land, situated on the road leading to Ashburnham, and adjoining said Seaver land, bounded as follows.  Beginning on the line of said Seavers line, by said road, and running south by said road, six rods; thence west by land of said Luke Bigelow five rods; thence north by said Bigelows land, six rods to said Seavers land; thence east by said Seavers land, five rods to the first mentioned bound, by the road.  One condition in the conveyance of the above-named land, is that said Seaver shall build and forever keep in repair, a good and sufficient fence on said described line between our lands.  To have and to hold the afore-granted premises to the said Isaac Seaver 3d, his heirs and assigns, to his and their use and behoof forever.  And I do for myself, my heirs, executors and administrators, covenant with the said Isaac Seaver 3d his heirs and assigns, that I am lawfully seized in fee of the afore-granted premises, that they are free of all incumbrances; that I have good right to sell and convey the same to the said Isaac Seaver 3d and that I will and my heirs shall warrant and defend the same premises, to the said Isaac Seaver 3d his heirs and assigns forever against the lawful claims and demands of all persons.

In witness whereof, I the said Luke Bigelow have hereunto set my hand and seal this sixteenth day of June, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifty eight.

Signed, sealed and delivered                                  Luke Bigelow        {seal}
in presence of
Samuel L. Bridge
S.G. Kendall

Worcester ss June 16th 1858  Then the abovenamed Luke Bigelow acknowledged the above instrument to be his free act and deed.
G.M. Whitnman, Jus. Of Peace


Rec^d June 26th 1858 at 8^h40^m A.M. Ent'd & Ex'd By Alex. H. Wilder, Reg^r.

The source citation for this deed is:

"Massachusetts, Land Records, 1620-1986," digital images, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 28 May 2013) , Worcester County, "Deeds 1858, Vol. 595-596," image 538 of 681, in Volume 596, Page 382, Luke Bigelow to Isaac Seaver 3d deed, land in Westminster, Mass., dated 16 June 1858, recorded 26 June 1858.

This parcel, which apparently adjoined Isaac Seaver's land in Westminster, was only 6 rods (99 feet) by 5 rods (82.5 feet); The plot is only 0.19 acres.  Isaac bought it for $25.  

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/09/amanuensis-monday-post-189-deed-of-luke.html

Copyright (c) 2013, Randall J. Seaver

Best of the Genea-Blogs - 8 to 14 September 2013

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 daily blog prompts or 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:

*  Review of Midwest Family History Expo, and Day 2 by Beth on Beth's Genealogy Blog.  Beth highlights her experiences at this regional conference.

*  Pack Rat Solutions - Financial Advisors vs. Genealogists by John D. Tew on the Filiopietism Prism blog.  John saves a lot of stuff, and he decided to save some of the financial records he has accumulated for posterity.

*  Finding the Source Title of Images at FamilySearch - Tuesday's Tip by Nancy on the My Ancestors and Me blog.  Nancy works on adding a better source citation for a FamilySearch record collection, and succeeds.  Excellent tip!

*  Extracting Data by Michele Simmons Lewis on Ancestoring's Ask a Genealogist blog.  Michele provides examples of her genealogy fun doing data extraction from records, and then analyzing the records.

*  AncestryDNA Begins Rollout of Update by Judy G. Russell on The Legal Genealogist blog.  Judy reviews highlights of a presentation by AncestryDNA about their enhanced autosomal DNA results.

*  Put Some Heart Into It - How to Share Your Family History Stories by Valerie Elkins on the Family Cherished blog.  Valerie has suggestions on how to do this.

*  Google Earth and Time Travel by Dayna on the On Granny's Trail blog.  Dayna downloaded state maps over time and used Google Earth to show county boundary changes over time.

*  The Cemetery Santa by Jen Baldwin on the Ancestral Breezes blog.  Jen had an educational day at the cemetery.

*  AncestryDNA Launches New Ethnicity Estimate by Blaine Bettinger on The Genetic Genealogist blog.  Blaine shows more of the AncestryDNA material and highlights his own AncestryDNA results.

*  A Bigger Challenge by James Tanner on the Genealogy's Star blog.  James meets many beginners and experienced researchers, and knows what the biggest challenge is.

*  Why DNA Test? by Roberta J. Estes on the DNAExplained - Genetic Genealogy blog. Roberta has 15 answers listed here; excellent post!

These genea-bloggers wrote weekly pick posts and news summary posts this week:

*  12 Genealogy Things You Should Know This Morning, September 14, 2013 by Caroline J. Pointer on the 4YourFamilyStory blog.  Caroline has daily roundups of things you should know.

*  Genealogy Blogs, News and Tidbits, #7 by Deb Ruth on the Adventures in Genealogy blog.

*  Follow Friday - Favorites for September 13, 2013 by Heather Kuhn Roelker on the Leaves For Trees blog.

*  Upfront Mini Bytes - Gesher Galicia, Boer War, WW I Wills, Digital Preservation, Hathi Trust, Maps, Scottish Records, Brooklyn, ... by Diane L. Richard on the Upfront With NGS blog.

*  Follow Friday ~ Fab Finds for September 13, 2013 by Jana Last on Jana's Genealogy and Family History Blog.

*  Friday Finds ~ 09/13/13 by Julie Cahill Tarr on Julie's Genealogy & Family History Hub blog.

*  News Stories for Genealogists, September 13, 2013 by Michael Leclerc on the Mocavo Genealogy Blog.

*  Saturday Serendipity (September 14, 2013) by John D. Tew on the Filiopietism Prism blog.

Readers are encouraged to go to the blogs listed above and read their articles, and add their blogs to your Favorites, Feedly, another 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 1400 genealogy bloggers using Feedly, 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/2013/09/best-of-genea-blogs-8-to-14-september.html

Copyright(c) 2012, Randall J. Seaver 

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Do Some Semi-Random Research

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)  We're going to do a little bit of Semi-Random Research tonight...what is your first name? [This is the easy part!]

2)  Go to your family tree database of choice (you know, like RootsMagic, Reunion, Ancestry Member Tree), and determine who the first person in your alphabetical name index is with a surname starting with the first two letters of your first name (e.g., my first name is RAndall, so I'm looking for the first person with a surname starting with RA).  [If there are no surnames with those first two letters, take the surname after that letter combination.]

3)  What do you know about this person based on your research?  It's OK to do more if you need to - in fact, it's encouraged!

4)  How are you related to this person, and why is s/he in your family tree?

5)  Tell us about it in a blog post of your own, in a comment to this blog post, or in a Facebook Status post or Google+ Stream post.

Here's mine:

1)  My first name is RAndall.

2)  The first person in my database of over 42,000 persons with a surname starting with RA is William Raby.  

3)  I don't know his birth, marriage or death dates or places at this time.  He married Alice Seaver (born 1858 in Scipio, Hillsdale, Michigan).  That's all I know, and I don't know why I know it (perhaps from correspondence from a Seaver person).

I checked the 1880 U.S. Census on Ancestry.com, and found a William (age 28, born in England) and Alice (age 22, born in Michigan) Raby in Homer, Calhoun, Michigan.  

In the 1900 U.S. Census on Ancestry.com, William (born Mar 1856 in England) and Alice (born May 1858 in Michigan) resided in Homer, Calhoun, Michigan.  They had been married 25 years, and Alice had had no children.  William had immigrated in 1857 and was a naturalized citizen.  They had a niece, Edna Amy, born July 1896 born in Michigan, residing with them.

The 1910 and 1920 U.S. Census records on Ancestry.com supported the 1900 data, but the 1910 and 1920 Census data indicated that William Raby immigrated in 1847 and was a naturalized citizen (the date must be a mistake if he was born in 1856).

An entry in the Michigan Deaths and Burials Index, 1867-1995 on Ancestry.com has a listing for William Raby, born about 1857, died 16 May 1923 in Homer, Calhoun, Michigan, and lists his parents as William Mary (Sweeth) Raby.

An entry in the index for Michigan Death Certificates, 1921-1952 on FamilySearch provides a birth date of 11 March 1857 in England and the death date of 16 May 1923.

A Find A Grave entry for William Raby has a gravestone photograph that says 1856-1923, and he is buried in Fairview Cemetery, Homer, Calhoun, Michigan.  They also had an entry for Alice A. Raby (1862-1920) with a death certificate image attached, which said her husband was William Raby.  

So in about 20 minutes online at Ancestry, FamilySearch and Find A Grave, I was able to find a birth date and place for William Raby, an approximate marriage date, and information about his spouse also.  All of that enriches my database.  

4)  I am not related to William Raby.  I am related to his wife, Alice (Seaver) Raby who is my 4th cousin 4 times removed (our common Seaver ancestor is Joseph Seaver (1674-1754), my 7th great-grandfather).  They are in my database because I "collect" Seaver persons, and their spouses and children, in my Seaver one-name study.  The sources are not original sources, but they are derivative sources based on official records. That's "good enough for me" for the purposes of my one-name study.

5)  I just did!

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/09/saturday-night-genealogy-fun-do-some.html

Copyright (c) 2013, Randall J. Seaver

Surname Saturday - GIFFORD (England > colonial Massachusetts)

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

I am in the 7th great-grandmothers and I'm up to Ancestor #717, who is Rebecca GIFFORD (1689-1747) [Note: the earlier great-grandmothers and 7th great-grandfathers have been covered in earlier posts].

My ancestral line back through three generations in this GIFFORD family line is:

1.  Randall J. Seaver (1943-living)

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 White (1848-1913)

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

44.  Jonathan White (1806-1850)
45.  Miranda Wade (1804-1850)

88.  Humphrey White (1758-1814)
89.  Sybil Kirby (1764-1848)

178.  David Kirby (1740-1832)
179.  Martha Soule (1743-1828)

358.  Benjamin Soule (1719-1803)
359.  Meribah Waite (1720-1803)

716.  Jacob Soule, born about 1687 in Dartmouth, Bristol, Massachusetts, United States; died Abt. February 1747 in Dartmouth, Bristol, Massachusetts, United States.  He was the son of 1432. Nathaniel Soule and 1433. Rose Thorn.  He married 22 January 1710 in Dartmouth, Bristol, Massachusetts, United States.
717.  Rebecca Gifford, born 1689 in Dartmouth, Bristol, Massachusetts, United States; died Bef. 1747 in Dartmouth, Bristol, Massachusetts, United States.  

Children of Jacob Soule and Rebecca Gifford are:
*  Joseph Soule (1711-1793), married (1) 1736 Mary Davis (1710-????); (2) 1758 Dinah Tripp (1716-????).
*  Elizabeth Soule (1712-1781), married 1735 Caleb Tripp (1714-1781)
*  Oliver Soule (1714-1715).
*  Rebecca Soule (1715-1747), married 1735 Reuben Waite (1713-1754).
*  Nathaniel Soule (1718-1769), married 1741 Jane Potter (1717-1807).
*  Benjamin Soule (1719-1803), married 1742 Meribah Waite (1720-1803)
*  Rosamond soule (1723-1801), married 1744 Nathaniel Potter (1719-1801).
*  Stephen Soule (1727-1789), married 1746 Sarah Potter (1724-1789).

1434.  Robert Gifford, born 1660 in Sandwich, Barnstable, Massachusetts, United States; died before 04 April 1730 in Dartmouth, Bristol, Massachusetts, United States. He married July 1680 in Sandwich, Barnstable, Massachusetts, United States.
1435.  Sarah Wing, born 05 February 1659 in Sandwich, Barnstable, Massachusetts, United States; died 26 August 1720 in Dartmouth, Bristol, Massachusetts, United States.  She was the daughter of 2870. Stephen Wing and 2871. Sarah Briggs.

Children of Robert Gifford and Sarah Wing are:
*  Jeremiah Gifford (1681-1771), married 1703 Mary Wright (1683-????).
*  Marcy Gifford (1683-1772), married 1704 Nathan Soule (1677-1736).
*  Benjamin Gifford (1685-1754), married Sarah Tompkins (1689-????).
*  Stephen Gifford (1687-1748), married 1711 Mary --?-- (1690-????)
*  Rebecca Gifford (1689-1747), married 1710 Jacob Soule (1687-1747)
*  Timothy Gifford (1691-1780), married 1717 Hannah Tompkins (1695-1773)
*  Ann Gifford (1693-????0, married 1717 William Swan.
*  Lydia Gifford (1695-????0, married 1723 Nathaniel Soule.
*  Simeon Gifford (1697-1749), married 1725 Susannah Jenkins (1695-1749).

2868.  William Gifford, born about 1620 in England; died before 30 January 1688 in Sandwich, Barnstable, Massachusetts, United States.  He married before 1640 in England.
2869.  unknown, born about 1620 in England; died before 1683 in probably Sandwich, Barnstable, Massachusetts, United States.

Children of William Gifford and unknown are:
*  John Gifford (1642-1708), married 1665 Elishua Crowell (1643-1708).
*  Patience Gifford (1644-1674), married 1665 Richard Kirby (1633-1720).
*  Hananiah Gifford (1646-1709), married Elizabeth --?-- (1646-1729).
*  William Gifford (1655-1738), married (1) 1675 Hannah --?-- (????-1711), (2) 1711 Lydia Hatch (1685-????).
*  Christopher Gifford (1658-1748), married (1) Meribah --?-- (????-1684); (2) 1684 Deborah Perry (1665-1724).
*  Robert Gifford (1660-1730), married (1) 1680 Sarah Wing (1659-1720); (2) 1720 Elizabeth Cornell.

Published resources available for the researcher on this Gifford family include:

1)  Almon E. Daniels and MacLean W. MacLean, "William Gifford of Sandwich, Mass. (d. 1687)," The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Volume 128, Number 4 (October 1974).

2)  Raymond L. Olson, Ancestors of Elihu B. Gifford and Catherine Sandow Barrows (Baltimore, Md. : Gateway Press, Inc., 1989)

3)  Carl Boyer 3rd, Ancestral Lines, Third Edition (Santa Clarita, Calif. : the author, 1998).

The URL for this post is:

Copyright (c) 2013, Randall J. Seaver

First Look at my AncestryDNA Ethnicity Update - Post 2: More DNA Results

After I wrote First Look at my AncestryDNA Ethnicity Update yesterday, I listened to and watched a presentation by AncestryDNA for several genealogy communicators.  Jusy G. Russell has summarized that presentation and information in AncestryDNA Begins Rollout of Update on The Legal Genealogist blog.  I hope that the DNA specialists in the genealogy world will also comment extensively on the new AncestryDNA analysis and presentation.

I didn't have time or knowledge of more details yesterday on my post, but I learned a lot during the presentation.  There is a LOT more information available for each reference population as AncestryDNA attempts to explain the medieval populations that our genes came from.

For reference purposes, here is my own estimated ethnicity based on my genealogical research, assuming geographic locations in about 1600 AD:

*  68%  British Isles
*  24%  Germany
*  1%  Holland
*  1%  France
*  6%  Unknown (perhaps some are French, some are English)

Here is more detail about my own DNA origins:

1)  On the "New Ethnicity Estimate Preview" page (available at this time to a limited number, perhaps 6,000 testers) are these charts and text (with the Europe West sub-region selected):

For each Reference Population (i.e., Europe West, Ireland, Great Britain, Scandinavia, Italy/Greece, and Iberian Peninsula for the Europe region), AncestryDNA provides a percentage for my deep DNA ancestry, including a range determined by analysis of the 40 different marker selections.  As you can see, I have (according to AncestryDNA) about 66% Europe West, with a range from 37% to 94%.

Further down the page for Europe West are two bar graphs that show my DNA percentage compared to other populations.  The first bar graph (in gold) compare my Europe West DNA with that of a typical current Europe West resident:

The lower graph on the screen above, in blue, provides examples of DNA percentage for people native to Europe West (apparently, native means all great-grandparents resided there).  As you can see, my average DNA from Europe West (66%) exceeds that of the typical native (48%).

Further down the web page is another bar graph that indicates other regions that commonly have people "native" to Europe West:

Finally, the web page provides a short and concise history of migrations of the region (in this case Europe West) beginning in the BCE (Before the Common Era) time period, 2,000 to 3,000 years ago:

All of that is very helpful and interesting.

2)  Here is the map and gold bar chart for my DNA percentage for Ireland:

I have 18% DNA from Ireland, with a range from 3% to 32%.  Since I have no known ancestors from Ireland based on my genealogy research to date (there may be one or two 8th great-grandparents, but that's in the unknown category in my list), I'm guessing that a significant number of Ireland "natives" have British ancestry.

3)  Here is the map and the gold bar chart for Great Britain:

According to AncestryDNA, I have 9% of my DNA from Great Britain, with a range from 0% to 31%.

The migration maps that they show for Great Britain describes the invasions of the Jutes, Angles, Saxons and Normans in medieval times that may explain some of my differences between genealogical and AncestryDNA percentages (including the Scandinavian 3%)..

3)  So why does my "genealogical ancestry" and my "DNA ancestry according to AncestryDNA" differ so much?  AncestryDNA says that it may be due to:

*  the genetic influence of neighboring regions,
*  the estimates are on the edge of their predicted range,
*  the random nature of genetic inheritance,
*  ethnicity estimation is still an unknown problem.

They provide a chart showing the average admixture between European sub-region in each sub-region:

For instance, persons identified as "native" to Great Britain have (approximately):

*  60% from Great Britain
*  13% from Europe West
*  10% from Ireland
*  8% from Scandinavia
*  2% from Iberian Peninsula
*  1% Italy/Greece
*  3%  Unknown.

I'm still surprised by how high my Europe West (66%) percentage is relative to Great Britain and Ireland (27%).  There are three possibilities here:

*  The AncestryDNA estimates are correct, within the ranges shown.
*  My genealogical research is incomplete and perhaps a significant part is wrong (it would take only one grandparent to completely disrupt my percentages!)
*  The AncestryDNA estimates need further refinement.

I hope that other geneabloggers will post their AncestryDNA results when they receive them.

4)  There is a lot more information on the AncestryDNA web pages - be sure to go explore when you have access to this Enhanced Ethnicity Estimate.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/09/first-look-at-my-ancestrydna-ethnicity_13.html

Copyright (c) 2013, Randall J. Seaver