Subscribe to this blog via email.
Join 501 other subscribersSearch
Contact Me
Categories
Archives
Subscribe to Don Taylor Genealogy
Search Don Taylor Genealogy
Calendar
March 2024 S M T W T F S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Subscribe to Blog via Email
Join 501 other subscribers
Molly, Jack, & Larry – A DNA Success Story.
[This week guest blogger, Carol Katzenmeyer, is sharing one of her DNA successes. Carol and I are both researching Darling ancestors in Michigan and New York.]
In the early 1950’s a man named Fritz and a woman named Margie had an affair. When it was over, Fritz moved to Alaska. Margie lingered awhile, then moved to southern California…..
* * *
After my husband, Larry, passed away I became serious about my long-time interest in genealogy. I subscribed to Ancestry.comand spent long hours “entering and searching.” Soon, I had my DNA tested. In early 2013 I decided to have my children’s DNA done so I could derive my husband’s DNA also.
My daughter’s results arrived first and there was an immediate close match, a first cousin. Now, I have been in this family for over 55 years and I know all the cousins! This was not one that I knew of.
I looked at her tree and saw that she had been born in Roseburg, Oregon, in 1954. Her parents had been married in Roseburg and her father died there also.
Larry and I were attending Roseburg High School during 1954 and Larry’s brother, Jack, was in his first year at the University of Oregon.
I pondered…….
I remembered when we were first married, I overheard my mother-in-law tell Larry that her estranged husband, Larry and Jack’s father, “had a woman friend uptown.” The rumor was that Larry had a little sister. We shrugged it off at the time and I don’t remember that we ever talked about it again.
Now, all these years later – could it be?
Her name is Molly. I was surprised because my father-in-law’s mother is named Molly and two of her grandchildren are named Molly.
I contacted new cousin Molly via email, I mentioned many of the family names and places. She responded right away and indicated she did not recognize any of the names. We emailed back and forth a few times, exchanging information. Nothing clicked.
Soooo…… I said that I did not want to offend her, but I told her the story of Larry’s father’s woman-friend. She answered immediately. She was not offended, rather she was very much interested. Her father was Italian, but her DNA showed no Italian. She had wondered….
We continued to exchange information over the next few days .
I decided to talk to Larry’s brother, Jack. I asked him if he had heard the story about the woman friend and the little sister. He exclaimed, “that’s a new one on me!”. We discussed it for a few minutes and he said that he guessed it was time for him to have his DNA tested.
I ordered an autosomal DNA kit from Ancestry and we impatiently waited for the results.
The results show a close family match with Molly! Jack, Larry and Molly are siblings. Molly is a half sister. We shared all of this back and forth and spent some time getting used to the idea.
Finally, in June 2015, Molly and her husband Randy came to Roseburg to meet us! Eight months later, Jack and his wife Pat went to southern California to visit Molly and Randy.
What wonderful people! I am so happy Molly submitted her DNA so we could connect! Welcoming our new sister into the family has filled both our families with love and joy.
– Carol Katzenmeyer
27 March 2016
———- DISCLAIMER ———-
Determining Cousins – My Formula/Process
Determining Cousins
I was recently asked by a family member how to figure out cousins, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and so forth and what “removed” means. What makes someone a first cousin once removed, and so forth.
First, there are many charts on the Internet that show how to figure out the relationships. I have pinned several of them to my “Genealogy – Cool stuff I find” board on Pinterest.
When I use a chart, I use Blaine T. Bettenger’s chart most often. Not only does it show the cousin relationships, it also shows the average number of centimorgans of DNA you would expect from a particular relationship and a range matching to show relationships. I like this one because it shows the DNA amounts for various relations. My link to it is via the DNA Testing Advisor.com page on DNA Relationship Data. (By the way, I’m very excited to be seeing Blaine Bettenger, Ph.D., J.D. speak at the Maine Genealogical Society’s 2016 Spring Workshop this April 23.)
My Formula/Process
I don’t think I’ve seen this method anyplace, but it is the method I use and it works really well for me.
First, determine the common ancestor two people
share. Second, count the number of generations to the common
ancestor for person number 1. (For example, it is 4 generations to my 2nd
great grandparent.) Third, count the number of generations to the same common ancestor for person number
2. (for example, 5 generations to the same
person.) Take the smaller number and subtract one. That gives
the cousin number. (for example, above person #1 is 4 generations to a
common ancestor, subtract 1. Whoever I
share that common ancestor with is a 3rd cousin.
Finally, take the larger generation number and
subtract the smaller number. That defines the “removed” number. (In the
above example, the larger number was 5 generations, minus 4 generations, equals
1, or once removed.
So, if Marion (Sanford) Brown is my 2nd great grandmother and Marion (Sanford) Brown is your 3rd great grandmother, we are third cousins once removed.
Try it a couple times and you will find it works really easy. It is how I do it and it works well for me.
So, cousins are defined by who you share a common ancestor with, removed is defined by the generational difference between you and a cousin.
– Don Taylor
———- DISCLAIMER ———-
It is all the rage – Birthplace Charts
By Don Taylor
It has become all the rage. Doing a birthplace chart. I understand that J. Paul Hawthorne started the idea on Facebook of doing a simple pedigree chart indicating where your ancestors came from. It has been picked up by many others, including Judy Russell, in her blog, The Legal Genealogist. It was also suggested in Randy Seaver’s Genea-Musings blog, so I just had to jump on the bandwagon and give it a try.
There are several templates available, both Judy and Randy suggested one at on Google Drives. I used it and filled in my entries with my own colors.
My Birthplace Chart
It is clear, Michigan (light blue), with seven ancestors, is the most common state where my ancestors were born. Next most common was Illinois (brown), with five ancestors born there.
There is a little bit of the Western Movement showing up in my chart. New York to Indiana, Ohio to Indiana, but more so, I think, a northern movement shows up with Tennessee to Illinois to Michigan and Kentucky and Michigan to North Dakota. The unknown birth location for my maternal, great-grandfather’s parents jumps out like a sore thumb. Trying to figure out those ancestors names and birth places is high on my list of tasks for my Brown/Montran research.
Rather than just saying England, I added the flag to show the birthplace of my 2nd great grandmother, my only known immigrant ancestor in four generations.
My wife’s Birthplace Chart |
Then I got to thinking, I really couldn’t do one of these charts without doing one for my wife’s family. We went to Easter dinner yesterday at one of niece’s homes. We enjoyed conversation with several family members. Needles-to-say, at some point anytime there is a family get together somehow the conversation turns to genealogy. Anyway, I just happened to bring a hard copy of my wife’s birthplace chart. It would be identical for her brother, except for the place of birth. Her brother, “J,” loved the chart and took it with him.
I have really enjoyed the Saturday Night Genealogy Fun activity. Thanks for sharing the idea. Both my wife’s and my Birthplace charts are interesting to look at; they provide a visual representation of family lines and allows me to see things and notice things I might not otherwise notice. Thank you J. Paul Hawthorn for the idea and thanks to Judy Russell and Randy Seaver for promoting it to be “all the rage.”
Posted in Brown, Darling, Howell, Roberts, Saturday Night Genealogy Fun
Tagged Birthplace Chart
1 Comment
100 Years ago – Elizabeth Grace Darling – (1906-1987)
Today is a great day to remember Elizabeth Grace Darling, “Aunt Betty,” because today would be her 110th birthday if she were still living. Betty is my wife’s great-aunt; the sister of my wife’s grandfather. I have written about my wife’s grandfather several times, See:
Robert Harry Darling (1907-1969)
100 Years Ago – Robert Harry Darling – (1907-1969)
Elizabeth Grace Darling – (1906-1987)
Elizabeth Grace Darling was born on March 22, 1906, in Pittsburgh, PA. Her mother died in 1913 and she went to live with her grandmother, Margaret Lamb McAllister. In 1915 there was a family issue that required Margaret to return to her native England. So, in August, 1915, she took her two grandchildren, Elizabeth and Robert Harry, with her to England. Family oral history says she took the children to England so they could be “properly civilized.”
So, little Elizabeth would have spent her 10th birthday celebration in England, apparently in the Lakes Region, probably Appleby (Now Appleby-in-Westmorland), Cumbria, in North West England.
Elizabeth would have been hearing news about the war in Europe. The Russians were having success against the Germans in the north taking the Dneister Bridgehead and also defeating the Austrians in the south. She probably didn’t know that the US was fighting its own war. General Funston was asking for more troops to send into Mexico to assist General Pershing against Francisco Villa. This was really important because General Pershing telegraph communications had been cut off.[1]
Elizabeth Grace Darling Gwyer c. 1939 |
Margaret and the two children remained in England until December of 1916 when they returned to the United States aboard the SS Philadelphia, then locating in the Mount Oliver area of Pittsburgh, PA. Their return was just in time. Betty’s father, Rufus Harry Darling died just two weeks later, on 5 January 1917.
Later in January, 1917, Germany invited Mexico to join them as an ally against the United States. Germany said they would finance Mexico’s war to recover the territories of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona.[2] Mexico declined, but America was not pleased about Germany trying to bring the Great War to American soil. The United States declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917.[3]
On 10 May 1927, Elizabeth married William Otis Gwyer. They would later divorce.
On 11 October 1947, Elizabeth married Frank Howell Kemon in the chapel of Mount Vernon Methodist Church, Washington, DC with Rev. John Rustin officiating.[4]
Kemon – Glenwood Cemetery, Washington DC. Betty Darling – Frank Howell 1906-1987 – 1906-1973 |
Elizabeth’s husband Frank Kemon died in 1973. In the 1980s, Aunt Betty came to live with her niece and family in Bridgton, Maine.
Elizabeth died on 10 June 1987 at her niece’s home in Bridgton. She was buried at Glenwood Cemetery, Section K, Lot 69, Site 2585 in Washington, DC next to her husband Frank Howell Kemon.[5]
ENDNOTES
[1] The Washington Post, Wednesday, March 22, 1916, Front Page via Newspapers.com
[2] Wikipedia – World War I – Entry of the United States
[3] Wikipedia – American entry into World War I
[4] Historical Newspapers, Birth, Marriage, & Death Announcements, 1851-2003 – The Washington Post, October 1947, Ancestry.com
[5] Find a Grave – Elizabeth Darling “Betty” Gwyer Kemon – Memorial# 133079409
———- DISCLAIMER ———-
Posted in Darling
Tagged 100 Years ago, Elizabeth Grace Darling, Maine, Pennsylvania, Washington DC
1 Comment