Five Steps to Genealogical Success

Posted on April 3, 2016 by Don Taylor

Complete genealogical foundations help answer family questions 

A Case Study: D’Amico

By Don Taylor

A friend was telling me that his wife knew her ancestors, the D’Amico side, were Italian, but didn’t know where in Italy they were from. He also told me he didn’t have any idea where to start. He said they had poked around Ellis Island records but found nothing. He provided me very little information, just the parents names, grandmother’s name.  He mentioned they settled in New England (Mass. & Maine) and one key bit of information, her father died in 1959 at the age of 43.
As a former Project Manager, I really believe in the process. My process is to always enter what I think I know into a family tree program.  I currently use Heredis 2015 World (Mac) [By the way, Heredis is running a 50% off sale which ends today.]  as my preferred genealogy organization software, but I could as easily other software or even paper. The process is the same either way.
1.  Enter what you think you know.
a.     Enter the known relationships and any known vital facts. In this case, there wasn’t much to begin with, but entered it and started.
Starting point for D’Amico Project.
2.  My next goal is to find the family unit in at least two censuses and make sure that I have a family unit understood.  I typically use Family Search for my initial start.  I like Family Search particularly because I like their “copy” feature. It provides an easy way to copy all of the data of the record plus the source citation in a single click so I can easily paste it into a source record in my software. I also like to confirm any of the seed facts from step 1.

a.     I then created a source entry and pasted the information into it. I saved that and then created the facts I wish, and drag and drop my source to the fact I’ve entered. In this case the month and place of death as well as the birthdate. 

b.     1940 Census, 23 year-old Michael with wife and daughter living in Maine.[i] 

c.     (1935 Living at Same Place)[ii] 

d.     1930 Census, 13 year-old Michael living with his widowed mother, Margaret, and four siblings in Franklin, Norfolk Co., MA. It also indicated her grandmother was born in Italy immigrated in 1900, and was naturalized.[iii]

I was fairly certain that this 1930 Census record was the correct family but wanted to be absolutely certain. I contacted my friend to have him ask his wife if her father grew up in Franklin, MA, and did she have an aunt Elinora and uncles, Frank, Joseph, and Victor. She responded that she did, so I knew I was with the right family.

3.  My next process is to follow the individual through all the censuses of his or her life. I found him in the 1920 Census with his father, Michael (new name) his mother, and his four siblings. The census reported that the father, Michael, was born in Italy, immigrated in 1890, and was naturalized in 1900.[iv] That finished all of the census records for the Michael the son. 
Next, a quick check found Michael’s birth registration which yielded the maiden name for his mother, Marguerita Melano.[v]
Now on to follow Michael the father through more census records; he should be listed in 1910 and 1900. 
The 1910 Census finds Michael in Franklin, MA with his wife and three children. His oldest child, Donato is 4 years old doesn’t show up in the 1920 census, so I suspect something happened to him. It also indicated that he immigrated in 1886 and is naturalized. This broadens his immigration date to between 1886 and 1890 for future searches. It also indicates that Marguerita immigrated in 1904.[vi]
1920 Census
1910 Census
Michael Immigration
1890
1896
Michael Naturalization
1900
Na.
Marguerita Immigration
1904
1904
Marguerita Naturalization
1904
*
* Note: Before the 19th Amendment women took the citizenship of their husbands upon marriage.
I wasn’t successful in quickly finding Michael D’Amico nor Marguerita Melano in the 1900 Census but I decided to continue on anyway and see if I could answer the questions.
Switching to Ancestry.com I searched Immigration & Travel for Margherita Melano arriving in 1904.
Searched Immigration & Travel for Margherita Melano.
There she was in the New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957 arriving on 23 Jul 1904 aboard the Citta Di Torino sailing from Napoli (Naples). Her “race or peoples” is listed at So Italian and her last Residence was Caserta.  We don’t know for certain if that is Caserta the city or Caserta the province. Caserta (the city) is only about 15 miles north of Naples, so it makes sense that she would take a ship out of Naples to America.[vii] 
Using the information, I had regarding Michael, I didn’t find anything in Immigration & Travel that seemed to fit him. Then I searched the Birth, Marriage & Death records for Michael D’Amico born in Italy 1864. Up came an index record for Michele D’Amico, Baptized 1 May 1864 in Civile, Casalvecchio Di Puglia, Foggia, Italy.  Father Donato D’ Amico and Mother Eleonora Rossacci.[viii]  That must be him. Michael’s first son was named Donato and his first daughter was named Elenora clearly after his parents. The age was right. Casalvecchio Di Puglia is about 100 miles northeast of Naples.
I know that it is a leap to ascribe the Baptism record of Michele D’Amico of Casalvecchio Di Puglia to Michael D’Amico, the grandfather of my subject individual, but because of the expected birth date and the parents’ names (as they relate to the grandfather’s children’s names) I believe it is a good fit. So tentatively, I have him with that baptism and birth location.
According to The Statue of Liberty – Ellis Island Foundation, Inc. website, there was a Michele D’Amico who arrived in 1899 aboard the SS EMS whose last address was Cercemaggiore, which is about 35 miles from Casalvecchio Di Puglia. That is his likely immigration, however, I can’t prove it and it will take a bunch more research to prove it.
But going back to the process:
1.     Start a tree. Fill in what you think you know.
2.     Confirm what you think you know with evidence.
3.     Find the individual in every census.
4.     Find the individual’s vital (birth, marriage, death) information.
5.     Seek answers to specific questions in appropriate locations.
Move on to another ancestor.
In this case, I believe that Michael D’Amico was born in Casalvecchio De Puglia and possibly lived in Cercemaggiore.  I also believe that Marguerita Melano was from Caserta. Both were from southern Italy within 100 miles of Naples.

Endnotes

[i] 1940 Census; Michael A D’Amico – Ward 9, Portland, Portland City, Cumberland, Maine, United States; Family Search.
[ii] Ibid.
[iii] 1930 Census; Margaret Damico – Franklin, Norfolk, Massachusetts, District ED 52, Sheet 15A, Household 351, Line 27; Family Search
[iv] 1920 Census; Michael D’Amico – Franklin, Norfolk, Massachusetts; Sheet 5A, Household 82, Line 44; Family Search
[v] Massachusetts State Vital Records, 1841-1920; Michele Archangelo D’Amico – 1916 – Record #115; Family Search
[vi] 1910 Census; Michael D’Amico – Franklin, Norfolk, Massachusetts; Sheet 26A, Household 525; Family Search.
[vii] New York, Passenger Lists, 1820-1957; Margherita Melano – 1904 Arrival, New York, New York; Ancestry.com.
[viii] Italy, Select Births and Baptisms, 1806-1900; Michele D’Amico – Baptism Index; Ancestry.com. 

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Molly, Jack, & Larry – A DNA Success Story.

Posted on April 1, 2016 by Don Taylor
[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
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Determining Cousins – My Formula/Process

Posted on March 30, 2016 by Don Taylor

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
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It is all the rage – Birthplace Charts

Posted on March 28, 2016 by Don Taylor

By Don Taylor

Photo of Don Taylor with cat Nasi.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.
My Birthplace Chart

 

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-Montran, Darling-Huber, Howell-Hobbs, Genealogy Fun, Roberts-Barnes | Tagged | 1 Comment

William Henry Brown’s parents were not who most researchers indicate they were.

Posted on March 26, 2016 by Don Taylor
When a conflict arises regarding an individual’s parents, it is important for me to reset all my assumptions and start afresh. Such is the case with one my more frustrating areas of research, the Browns of Saline, Washtenaw County, Michigan. In a previous post, Henry Brown (c. 1843-c. 1888), I mentioned was not convinced that the Henry Brown that married Marion Sanford was the child of Benjamin Brown as most researchers have found.
In my continuing Brown research, my next research subject was going to be William Henry Brown’s father.  I began researching Benjamin Brown. I did a thorough look at his facts and determined that although Benjamin Brown did have a son named Henry, this Henry could not be the Henry Brown who married Marion Sanford, had 11+ children (Including my great-grandfather, Arthur Durwood Brown), and located to Dakota Territory about 1883.
To recap, I am certain of the information regarding William Henry Brown back to the 1870 Census. I then found William Henry Brown in the 1860 and 1850 Censuses always in Saline, Michigan.   
Henry Brown, son of Barney & Mary C. Brown
Year
Location
Event
Est Birth Yr.
1885
Dakota Territory
1885 Census[i] – W. H. Brown with wife Marion, and 11 children (Including Arthur).
1843
1884
Dakota Territory
Youngest son, Edward, born in Dakota Territory.
–
1882
Saline, Michigan
Youngest daughter, Adia born in Michigan.
–
1880
Saline, Michigan
1880 Census[ii] – Henry Brown (Age 37) with wife Marian & 8 children including Arthur
1843
1870
Saline, Michigan
1870 Census[iii] – Henry Brown (Age 25) with wife Marion & 2 children including Arthur.
1845*
1860
Saline, Michigan
1860 Census[iv] – Henry W Brown, (Age 17) in the household of Daney & Mary C. Brown with three siblings including Myron O Brown.
1843
1850
Saline, Michigan
1850 Census[v] – William H Brown, (Age 8) in the household of Barney & Mary C Brown with 1 sibling, Myron O. Brown.
1842
1842
Saline, Michigan
Birth?
(* Red indicates an outlier.)
Although William Henry Brown usually went by Henry, 1885, 1860, and 1850 Censuses, taken together, indicate why I believe his name to be William Henry Brown.
As I mentioned, many researchers have Henry Brown the son of Benjamin Brown and Eliza Fowler as the Henry who married Marion Sanford, etc. Following that Henry Brown, we see him in the 1850 and 1860 Census with Benj & Eliza, but in the 1870 Census, we find in living with William Brown (an apparent brother).
Henry Brown, Son of Benjamin & Eliza Fowler Brown
Year
Location
Event
Est Birth Yr.
1842
Michigan
Birth?
1850
Vernon, Mich.
1850 Census[vi] – Henry Brown, (Age 7) in the household with Benj. & Eliza Brown. Including William Brown (Age 10)
1843
1860
Vernon, Mich.
1860 Census[vii] – Henry Brown, (Age 16) in the household with Benjamin & Eliza Brown.
1844
1870
Vernon, Mich.
1870 Census[viii] – Henry Brown, (Age 28) living with William Brown (age 30)
1842
Clearly the [William] Henry Brown, who married Marion Sanford, and was the father of Arthur Durwood Brown, cannot be the same person as Henry Brown of Vernon.
I was pretty sure I needed to make this correction two years ago when I last looked at William Henry Brown’s life. Now, after reanalyzing the information I am certain.
In my research and records, I have corrected William Henry Brown’s parents to be Barney (Daney) and Mary C. Brown. I’ve also corrected my Brown/Montran Tree on Ancestry.com appropriately.

ENDNOTES

[i] 1885 Census Index – Dakota Territory; W. H. Brown – Census Records: page 44-018; NDSU Archives; https://library.ndsu.edu/db/census/family?ed=44-018-09.
[ii] 1880 Census; Henry Brown – Saline, Washtenaw, Michigan, ED 237, Page 21, Line 50; Ancestry.com.
[iii] 1870 Census; Henry Brown – Saline, Washtenaw, Michigan, Page 17, Line 18, Family 115; Ancestry.com.
[iv] 1860 Census; Daney (Barney) Brown – Saline, Washtenaw, Michigan, Line 34, Family 643; Family Search; https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MWDZ-DLM.
[v] 1850 Census; Barney Brown – Saline, Washtenaw, Michigan, citing family 185; Family Search; https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MF8P-F8S.
[vi] 1850 Census; Benjamin Brown – Michigan, Shiawassee, Vernon, (Image 14 of 16) Lines 29-38; Family Search; https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MF8G-92K.
[vii] 1860 Census; Benjamin Brown – Michigan, Shiawassee, Vernon Township, Page 55, Line 11; Family Search; https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MWDR-XSL.
[viii] 1870 Census; Ancestry.com.;  Census Place: Vernon, Shiawassee, Michigan; Roll: M593_704; Page: 459A; Image: 512; Family History Library Film: 552203
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