Category: Ancestor Sketch

Research into the four family Lines, Roberts, Brown, Howell, and Darling.

ThruLines – William Henry Brown – Part 4

ThruLines Thursday
Brown
DNA
By Don Taylor

Photo of Don Taylor with cat Nasi.

In Part 4 of my ThruLinestm analysis of my 2nd great-grandfather, William Henry Brown, I’m looking closely at the matches descended from Edward Waberton Brown. Ed was born in Dakota Territory in 1884 shortly after his parents moved from Saline, Michigan to the Dakota Territory. North Dakota became a state five years later, in 1889. Edward married Dertha Merkel on 3 November 1901. The two had 13 (or 14) children. Five of those children have descendants that have tested with Ancestry. I was surprised to learn that all five were females. Three of the individuals are 2nd cousins once removed (105, 97, & 70 cM shared), one is a 3rd cousin (37 cM shared), and one is a 3rd cousin once removed (18 cM shared). All five share an amount of DNA with me that I would expect based upon the relationship.[i]

Cousin via Lenora B. Brown

“CJ” has minimal tree on Ancestry. It does provide his/her parents names and his or her maternal grandmother’s name which links him to Edward Warberton Brown. There were no new facts regarding “CJ’s” ancestors nor sources for the facts held. As such, I was only able to add him to my list of cousins (with a note of the amount of DNA we share).

Cousin via Edna Winnifred Brown

“JC” has a very minimal tree on Ancestry. It does provide his/her parents names and his maternal grandfather’s name. There were no sources for any of his/her facts. As such, I was only able to add him to my list of cousins.

Cousin via Virginia M. Brown

“BP” has a nice tree that clearly connected to Virginia Marion Brown to Edward Waberton Brown, and to Henry William Brown. Thanks to the tree of “BP” I was able to identify three new cousins, including “BP.”

Cousin via Ada Brown

“GH” is a 3rd cousin, with whom I share 37 cM across 4 segments, is a double cousin.  We share William Henry and Marion (Sanford) Brown; we also share Enoch and Minerva Ann (Tolliver) Mannin (my 2nd great-grandparents). These lines are not related to each other, but many of their descendants are related to both. “GH” was the only cousin I was able to add to my tree.

Cousin via Emma Cecelia Brown

“AD” is a 3rd cousin, once removed, with whom I share 18 cM on one segment of DNA. I had much of this person’s tree already as I had researched some of this line previously. It is another case where two brothers (Harry and Floyd) married two sisters (Emma and Ruth Brown) and I had reviewed Floyd and Ruth previously. I was able to follow this line down to “AD” and add 12 new cousins to my tree, including “AD.”

Conclusion

If you are a descendant of Edward Warberton Brown (ca. 1884-1965) please consider testing with Ancestry DNA; it is an excellent genealogical resource and can help you broaden your tree too. I’d love to learn how we are related.

All of my ThruLines posts are listed under the ThruLines Thursday category. Continue reading “ThruLines – William Henry Brown – Part 4”

Andrew J Hailey and the 1850 Census

Census Sunday
Roberts-Scott-Haley
By Don Taylor

Photo of Don Taylor with cat Nasi.Sometimes it takes a leap to find an ancestor in the census records. Such is the case for my third-great-grandfather, Andrew J. Hailey.

Finding Andrew in the 1850 Census has been a challenge. Some facts that I think I  know:

  • Andrew was born in Tennessee in 1836.
  • Andrew’s parents were born in Tennessee.[i]
  • Andrew married Martha Melinda Montgomery in Manchester, Coffee, Tennessee in 1857.[ii]
  • Andrew and Martha lived in Manchester, Coffee County, Tennessee in 1860.[iii]

The 1850 Census indicated one Haily family in Coffee County with children in the proper age group. It has two children, Charles & James, born in 1836 plus/minus a year. Neither seems to be a candidate for my Andrew.

However, in Bedford County, (next to Coffee County) there was a Madison Hailey family with a male in the household of the right age named “Anderson.” Also, both apparent parents were born in Tennessee as I would expect.[iv] Could this “Anderson” by my Andrew?

Anderson or Andrew?

A close look at the census image doesn’t either confirm or refute it. Indeed, what the enumerator wrote looks more like “Anderson” than “Andrew,” but it is so poorly written, it is difficult to tell, it could be “Andrew.”

The 1850 Census doesn’t provide relationships; however, the household looks like it might be a typical family unit with Madison and Anney Hailey as the apparent parents of six children.

Household                              Sex      Age      Birthplace

Madison L Hailey                    M         33        Tennessee

Anney Hailey                            F          35        Tennessee

Anderson J Hailey                  M        16        Tennessee

James C Hailey                         M         12        Tennessee

Elizabeth M Hailey                  F          10        Tennessee

Mary Ann Hailey                     F          8          Tennessee

Hester Ann Hailey                   F          7          Tennessee

John R Hailey                           M         3          Tennessee

If this “Anderson” is my Andrew, and my Andrew was living in Coffee County with his wife, I would expect I can’t find Anderson in any census. The 1840 Census doesn’t have names except for the head of the household. Going back to the 1860 Census, I have scoured the 1860 Census and have been unable to find an Anderson Hailey anywhere. So, I believe that either Anderson died or Anderson J. Hailey is Andrew J. Hailey.

I am going to take the leap and ascribe Anderson as Andrew and Madison and Anney as his parents in my records tentatively. I’ll be able to back it out at any time. In the meanwhile, I’ll continue searching for information to corroborate or refute this tentative association.

Continue reading “Andrew J Hailey and the 1850 Census”

ThruLines – William Henry Brown – Part 3

ThruLines Thursday
Brown
DNA

In this look at my ThruLinestm results, I’m looking closer at matches, who I have in common with my great-great-grandparents’, William Henry & Marion (Sanford) Brown’s son, Clyde Hewett Brown. Clyde was born in April 1877 in Michigan, he married Phoebe Jane Manning in 1898 and they had two children. He died sometime before 1903. Clyde was the brother of my great-grandfather, Arthur, and Phoebe was the sister of my great-grandmother, Mary. So, this is a case where two brothers married two sisters.

Clyde and Phoebe had two children. Estella May Brown and Henry L. Brown. Estella married Zachariah Ariah Barnett and they had six children. Three of those children have descendants that have tested with Ancestry and have connected themselves to an Ancestry Tree—Mildred, Hazel, and Phoebe.

Analysis

The trees of each of these individuals are consistent with I have from my own sources. As such, all three appear to be third cousins, one twice removed and two once removed.

Mildred Merie Barnett (1917-2003) – Identical to my records.
TW[i] is a 3rd cousin, once removed, who shares 37 cM on two segments. My records already had her, her parents, and her grandparents, from another source. Looking at TW’s tree I found nothing new, however, the shared DNA confirms the relationship.

Hazel Idella Barnett (1922-2001) – Identical to my records.
JH is a 3rd cousin, twice removed, who shares 29 cM on three segments. Additionally, I have JH’s grandfather’s information. I don’t know who JH’s father is, but I can add him as a Living Unknown to my tree and then JH as a DNA Match.

Phebe E Barnet (____-____) – Similar to my Phoebe Elizabeth Barnett (1933-2007)
LI is a 3rd cousin, once removed, with whom I share 56 cM on 4 segments. LI has the same name for her grandmother, but has no new information regarding Phoebe nor her descendants. There is no way to determine who which of the five children I know about for Phoebe, so I don’t know how this match connects exactly. I’ve messaged LI to ask about which of the children of Phoebe is LI’s mother.

Conclusion

Thanks to ThruLines, I’ve been able to add 2 new third cousins, which broadens my tree.

Afterword

If you are a descendant of Clifford Gerome Brown, please consider testing with Ancestry DNA; it is an excellent genealogical resource and can help you broaden your tree too. If you have tested with Ancestry, but haven’t linked yourself to an Ancestry tree, please do so. I’d love to learn how we are related.

All of my ThruLines posts are listed under the ThruLines Thursday category. Continue reading “ThruLines – William Henry Brown – Part 3”

ThruLines – William Henry Brown – Part 2

ThruLines Thursday
Brown
DNA

In this look at my ThruLinestm results, I’m looking closer at matches, who I have in common with my great-great-grandparents’, William Henry & Marion (Sanford) Brown’s son, Clifford Gerome Brown. Clifford was born about 1873 in Michigan, he married Louella Lillian Bean in 1894 and they had eight children. He died in 1958 in Eugene Oregon.

Three of Clifford’s children have descendants that have tested with Ancestry and have connected themselves to an Ancestry Tree—Harriet, Arthur, and Delilah.

Analysis

Harriet Irene Brown (1896-1981) – 3 matches.

“LP[i]” is a 3rd cousin who shares 27 cM of DNA across 3 segments. I have been in contact with “LP” previously.

“QP” and “AP” are descendants of a previously unknown son of Harriet. They are father & son and both share 36 cM of DNA across 3 segments with me.

Arthur A. Brown (1902-1978) – 2 matches.


“JB1” is a grandson of Arthur A. Brown and a here-to-fore unknown 3rd cousin. I had his father in my records but not him. He and I share 124 cM of DNA across 5 segments, quite a bit for 3rd cousins.

“JB2” is a great-granddaughter of Arthur A. Brown. I had her father’s basic information before and was able to add “JB2” to my tree. She and I share only 16 cM of DNA across 2 segments, just a little less than I would expect of a 3rd cousin, once removed.

Delilah Pearl Brown (1910-1995) – 2 matches.

“MR” is a granddaughter of Delilah Pearl Brown, thus we are 3rd cousins. We share 19 cM of DNA on 2 segments. She has 15 sources for her information on Clifford G. Brown, several of which I did not have. So, I have added her sources as hints of documents for me to look at carefully and incorporate as appropriate.

“AG” is another granddaughter of Delilah Pearl Brown, thus another 3rd cousin. We share 30 cM of DNA on 2 segments. A review of her on-line tree did not reveal any new information except for “AG”s name.

Conclusion

Thanks to ThruLines, I’ve been able to add 8 new second and third cousins, which broadened my tree. I’ve also learned many new, trusted, facts about my ancestors’ lives. Finally, I have received 14 source hints to review, that will add texture to my understanding of the Brown line. That makes for a good day.

Afterword

If you are a descendant of Clifford Gerome Brown, please consider testing with Ancestry DNA; it is an excellent genealogical resource and can help you broaden your tree too. If you have tested with Ancestry, but haven’t linked yourself to an Ancestry tree, please do so. I’d love to learn how we are related.

All of my ThruLines posts are listed under the ThruLines Thursday category.

Disclaimer

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[i] Note: Anyone who is living or is presumed to be living has their name either omitted or reduced to initials.  If you believe you are the person suggested and would like me to use your full name, let me know and I’ll update the article.

Ezra Sanford – Probate – Inventory – 2

Transcription Tuesday
Brown/Sanford
By Don Taylor

Photo of Don Taylor with cat Nasi.This week, for “Transcription Tuesday,” I am looking at the second part of the Inventory Papers of the Probate of Ezra Clugston Sanford (1763-1813)[i]. The Papers are images 10, 11, 12, and 13 of the 19 images contained in the probate file. Ezra and Mercy (Gay) Sanford are my 5th great-grandparents and are among my few known New England ancestors.

Image 397 – Inventory of estate (title)

Inventory of the estate of Ezra Sanford of Pawnal – Rec? Aug 2nd 1813Recorded Book, 5th Pages 354.526 by I. E. Robinson Reg.

Image 398 – Inventory of estate (description)

At a probate court held on Aug 2nd 1813.

The forgoing inventory was ???  approved & ordered to be recorded by Jonah Wright, P. Judge.

Image 400 – Inventory of estate (Page 1)

Page 1st

An Inventory of the estate of Ezra Sanford Late of Pownal Deceased taken the 12th day of July 1813. [ii]

1 – 48 Acres Land 2682
1 Cow called Hill Clean 15
1 ?yned Black Cow 17
1 Brindet Cow 16
1 Yellow Cow 17
1 ??end Cow 15
3 Two year old ?teass 30
2 Two year old heffers? 20
5 One year old ??? 27.50
5 ???? 15
1 Mare 25
2 Young horses 30
40 Sheap [sic] 40
5 goats 90 / 1 old lone 36/ 21
1 Waggon 30
1 Wood shed 75
PLUS 25 Lines of additional personal property[iii]
Carry over to page 2nd $3-176-12

Image 399 – Inventory of estate (Page 2)

Broat over from Page 1st $3-176-12
PLUS 37 Lines Of additional personal property[iv]
Pownal July the 12th 1813 $3-383-42

We your commissioners certify the above and forgoing is a true inventory of the estate of Ezra Sanford late of Pownal deceased sworn unto us by the Administrators of said estate attest

Obidiah Dunham   —  } Commissioners
Isaac Kimbill — }

Facts I learned

I learned that Ezra was pretty well to do. Although he only had 49 acres of land, he had five cows, 3 horses, 40 sheep, and lots of personal property, altogether totaling to over $3,300.

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NOTE:  The Cambridge Dictionary defines “transcribe” as to “make a complete written record of spoken or written words.” My transcriptions are seldom perfect but I do my best to convert handwritten documents into typed words for my genealogical purposes.  If you see anything that I have incorrect, please let me know your thoughts via the Contact Form at the bottom of the page.

Endnotes

[i] Author: Vermont. Probate Court (Bennington District); Probate Place: Bennington, Vermont – Ancestry.com. Vermont, Wills and Probate Records, 1749-1999 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.

[ii] The original document is handwritten with lines linking the individual items to the value. Rather then using lines like the originally, I’ve created a table to better display the information. I have also truncated the table to include his land and livestock leaving his personal property off.

[iii] Ibid.

[iv] Ibid.