Y-DNA Test Results – Post 3: The Howell Test & Results

Posted on December 6, 2012 by Don Taylor

Previous Y-DNA Post: Post 2: The Test, Results, & Roberts Connection

After the success I had with my Y-DNA test, my wife was excited to find what she could. I explained to her that we could only do a mitochondrial test on her. It would give a broad brushstroke of her maternal line; we knew that her great-grandmother emigrated from Switzerland around 1903 and not much more. She was interested in her paternal side; family tradition held they come from Wales; however, there was no proof. Anyway, we convinced her brother to take the test. Mother was a little upset and concerned. She thought we were accusing her of a dalliance with the milkman and questioning her virtue. We finally convinced her that we were only looking for what we might find several generations in the past.

Ancestry's map of Europe showing the range of "The Stonemasons."

Ancestry’s map of Europe shows the range of “The Stonemasons.”

Brother Jerome took the test, and after what seemed an interminable amount of time, the results came back — Haplogroup I1, what Ancestry calls “The Stonemasons.” It is sort of an odd combination of Scandinavians and Mediterranean people. The map Ancestry provides the people coming out of Africa to Scandinavia, then to the Mediterranean, and then back to Scandinavia. All that is well and good, but the real purpose of taking the test is to find a close match – and there was. A person with the same last name showed up with a most recent common ancestor (MRCA) in only six generations. So the search was on for the common ancestor. Unfortunately, it was not an easy task. The tree I have for my wife’s line traces ancestors into the early 1800s. The cousin’s tree goes back to the mid-1700s. Ancestors from both trees (Jerome’s and the match’s) were in Virginia in the early 1800s. I found no matches between the trees on first names, though.

I worked on pushing my wife’s family history back another generation. I do not know a name yet, but I am getting close. A couple more bits of information to sort out and ensure which one of several Howell family heads is my wife’s 4th great-grandfather. What I do know is.

Unknown Howell
Born:  Unknown.
He died about 1817 in Buckingham County, Virginia
In 1805, he lived in Charlotte County, Virginia
He had at least four children, a girl, and three boys. The daughter married (1819-1820) a man whose last name was “Holman,” and they moved to Alabama about 1821.

We know Mr. Howell was not religious, so he is unlikely to appear in any Bible or church records.
Trying to track him down among all the Howells in the Virginia counties during the times is grueling work.

However, once I find that common ancestor, I will have a new tree of descendants to explore. The cousin does not appear to have anyone in his tree that died in 1817. I have looked carefully at the match’s tree and our tree, and there is no possibility of a common ancestor in seven generations on his tree and six generations on our tree.

I have not been particularly pleased with the MRCA generation suggestion by Ancestry. In the cases where I have been able to trace back the number of generations suggested, none of them have been verifiable. Admittedly, it is only three connections, but I expect an 87.5% likelihood of a match within the suggested MRCA generations. I guess her family is in that remaining 12.5%. I will see what turns up when I have another DNA hit.

Update: Reformatted and gently edited in October 2022.

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Robert Harry Darling

Posted on November 12, 2012 by Don Taylor

Darling Research

Robert Harry Darling, Circa 1932

“Harry” was born on 18 August 1907 and was the second of two children of Rufus Harry and Hannah [Anna] (McAlister) Darling.  It appears that Rufus and Anna separated shortly after Harry’s birth.  In any event, in 1910, Robert was living with his mother and sister, Elizabeth Grace Darling, at 2219 Ward Street, Pittsburgh, PA, with Robert & Emma Hennig and their three children.

Anna died in 1913 when Harry was only five years old, and his father was absent, so his grandmother, Margaret McAllister, took the two children in to raise them.  In August 1915, it was necessary for Margaret to return to Cumberland County, England, to settle a family estate issue. However, the family story is that Margaret was determined to see Rufus’ children civilized by an extended stay in her home country.  She and the two children traveled aboard the SS New York, which was an American Line ship. Transatlantic passage was very dangerous in those days; it was only three years after the Titanic’s ill-fated maiden voyage.  World War I had already begun in Europe, and German U-Boats were on the prowl. The sinking of the RMS Lusitania occurred three months before this journey so there was a great concern for their safety.  The three travelers remained in England for over a year, so Harry and Elizabeth attended school while there were there.  They returned safely to the States in December of 1916, intending to live in the Brookline neighborhood of Pittsburgh.

Any hopes Harry & Elizabeth may have had of reuniting with their father were dashed when, in June of 1917, their father, Rufus, died. Elizabeth’s (Betty’s) memories of her father were vague at best. He was away on “business” most of the time but remembered lots of presents when he returned.

In 1920, Harry and his sister lived with his grandmother, his uncle John W. McAllister, along with his wife and two daughters 411 Arlington Avenue, in the Mount Oliver neighborhood of Pittsburgh. Also living there was his uncle, John Darling, and his wife, Emma, and their two children,  *Cousin 1 and *Cousin 2. Today, that area is a rugged, unbuildable, embankment above the railroad tracks just a few blocks from the river and the steel factories of the day.
On August 10, 1926, eighteen-year-old Harry married Nora Adaline Glies in a ceremony performed by Edward Carter, who was a Baptist minister, in Wellsburg, Brook County. West Virginia. Wellsburg is a small town on the Ohio River about forty-five miles west of Pittsburgh.  Both Harry and Nora lied about their ages and indicated that they were twenty-one on their marriage license.  At that time, West Virginia required a parent to pay the Marriage Bond for parties marrying under the age of twenty-one.  That marriage didn’t last long and they divorced sometime in 1927.
Harry and Florence were married sometime in 1929 and in 1930 lived in a $60/month four-plex at 110 North Fremont Street, Ross, PA.  With them was a boarder named William Doll.  During that time, Harry worked as an automobile salesman.  In July 1930, Florence gave birth to a daughter, *Girl 1.  Florence passed away in 1934.  Family history indicates that Elizabeth was living with them at that time.

In September 1938, Harry and Mae Reno were married by a minister by the name of Charles Smith. This union produced three children, *Girl 2, born in 1939; Robert Harry, born in 1940; and *Girl 3, born in 1941.  Family history says that sometime during this period, he fathered a child with a nightclub singer and had a child named “*Girl 4.”  No information has been discovered at this time.

It appears that Harry and Mae were divorced in 1942, so Harry became eligible for the draft. He enlisted in the Navy on 23 November 1943. He did not see combat, only serving at the Naval Hospital in San Diego.  He was discharged on 8 September 1944, before VE and VJ days.  It is understood that he was discharged due to a mental breakdown; however, his discharge papers indicated that his discharge was honorable and that he was eligible for reenlistment.  His physical description at discharge was 6’0″, 155lbs, Blue eyes, brown hair, ruddy complexion, and a birthmark on his upper left breast.

It is not clear when, where, or how Harry met Florence Drexl, but by 1945, they had a daughter, *Girl 5, who was followed by a son, *Boy 2, in 1946.
Video: Memorial Day 2016 and added to this post on 9 Jun 2016

Harry died on 22 January 1969 and is buried in Cadillac Memorial Gardens, East. Mt. Clemens, Michigan, which is about 25 miles north by northeast of Detroit.

* Mentions of “Cousin”, “Girl”, and “Boy” refer to living individuals.
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Mom crewed on the S.S. Milwaukee Clipper.

Posted on November 5, 2012 by Don Taylor

Matrilineal Monday
Maritime Monday
By Don Taylor

Photo of Don Taylor with cat Nasi.I was recently reading one of my favorite blogs, Marian’s Roots and Rambles. Her article was about “Any Sailors in the Family.”  I was a sailor and did 10 years of active duty in the US Navy, but more interesting, I learned recently that my mother was a sailor as well.  She mentioned that somewhere or another she had gotten “seaman’s papers.” (I’ll have to look and see if I can figure out how to get a copy of them.)  She worked on a ferry boat on the Great Lakes.  In the early 1950’s she cooked aboard the SS Milwaukee Clipper. The ‘Clipper was an auto/train car (and passenger) ferry that ran between Muskegon, Michigan, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She cooked and baked in the bread department and lived shipboard a season.  Of course, I was astonished and amazed.  It provided her with a place to stay (albeit cramped), meals, and money to send back to her mother to support me.  I had no idea.

S. S. Milwaukee Clipper passing sand dunes at entrance to the harbor, Muskegon, Michigan.
By Boston Public Library [Public domain],
via Wikimedia Commons

I went on to find out that the S. S. Milwaukee Clipper is still in existence. The ‘Clipper is a National Historic Landmark and dockside in Muskegon, Michigan. Their website explains a lot about the ship and its history. Built in 1904 as the Junita she was sold and completely overhauled in 1940, where a new steel superstructure was installed, she was fireproofed, had AC installed to the staterooms, and other comforts were added. I am sure that the crew quarters were tight.

Anyway, it was a fascinating side trip into a bit of my mother’s history that I had no idea about.

 

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Mom’s Memories

Posted on October 31, 2012 by Don Taylor

Sometimes talking with elderly family members can yield lots of information that is confusing and difficult to figure out.  There are nuggets of really interesting information that can make the family history interesting; but, the places or times aren’t quite right.

I was talking with my mother some time ago, and she mentioned that back in the early 50’s she worked at “Kreskee’s” at 5th and Marquette in Minneapolis. After a little bit of searching and some memory work of my own, I figured out she worked at S. S. Kresge’s which was at 6th, and Nicollet (2 blocks away).  Kresge’s was known for it’s “donut counter” which is where my mother worked. At the time I was an infant staying with my grandmother up at Little Rock Lake. My mother would hitchhike to the city about 80 miles away. Work in the city during the week and then return on the weekends.

I can’t tell if it is the same building with a total facelift or if it is a new building.  I suspect it is the same building with a major facelift. I found it really interesting to learn that S.S. Kresge was the predecessor of K-Mart. Some of the Kresge stores became “Jupiter Discount Stores” and others converted to K-Mart. I guess I had thought Kresge had just vanished.
She also worked at Woolworths in St. Cloud (which apparently no longer exists). I need to do some more research on it.
She mentioned working at a restaurant in downtown Minneapolis. She remembered that it was a long and deep restaurant next door on the right of the movie theater. She said she couldn’t remember the name of either the theater or the restaurant.  In follow-up discussions with her, she recalled that the theater was on the left as you headed towards the river, was at about 4th and Hennepin.  A bit of research and I figured that it must have been the Palace Theater. I found a photo of the Palace Theater but can’t quite make out the name of the restaurant. It appears that the theater and the restaurant were torn down about 1953, “to make way for a parking lot.”
Surprisingly the Brass Rail is still there, and the parking lot is there today.
Beyond it, you can see the “Gay 90s.”  I mentioned it as potentially being the restaurant she worked at, but she indicated that wasn’t it.
She didn’t work at Kresge’s or that restaurant long, but she did work to earn money to support me, even if it meant being absent for a while. I am really proud of her and the efforts she took.
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The Life and Travels of Peter Howell by Himself

Posted on October 19, 2012 by Don Taylor

This week I began research on the Howell Family Tree (my wife’s).  I had very little on her grandfather, a bit more on his father (who was in the Civil War) and very little about his father Peter Howell.

Peter M. Howell abt 1849
Source: The Life and Travels of Peter Howell

Unfortunately, or fortunately, as it turned out, her grandfather, went by his initials most of the time. I knew he was a Baptist preacher in North Carolina. So I started searching Baptist records in North Carolina just searching for “Howell” and not his first name, nor his initials, just “Howell.”  Suddenly a WOW!  Up popped a book, “The Life and Travels of Peter Howell”.  My wife’s great and her 2nd great grandfathers were both named Peter Howell.  Could this be the same Peter Howell?  Found the book at a library in the Raleigh reference section.  I then searched around for the title elsewhere and found it at archive.org, which is a must-site for your searches.  I downloaded the files and began to read.  It was the right one, born in 1805, married to Caroline Pankey, and lived in Virginia…. it was the right Peter Howell.

The first page was a bit of a disappointment, he mentions his birthdate (which we didn’t have before) but not his parents’ names.  He spent his adult life as an itinerant preacher. He traveled from town to town preaching in people’s homes, at court houses, at Methodist and Baptist churches, and even on occasion at quaker meeting halls, masonic temples, and a Catholic Church. He walked almost everywhere putting on over two thousand miles walking in one year preaching at hundreds of places.  He describes towns, and buildings, such as the Virginia and North Carolina State Houses, as well as places like Kitty Hawk and Kill Devil Hills.  He mentions churches,  and most importantly people throughout his travels. Sadly, he mentions very little about his personal life or his family, but the book does provide a wonderful insight into the life of a itinerate preacher of the 1840s.

He seldom ever mentions his two daughters.  He does correct one name Lousianna (I had Laurana previously) but never mentions the name of his second son or his second daughter. He confirmed the name of his first son and, in the book, corrects the name I had for his youngest child.  More importantly, he provides county information for his parents, marriage information for a sister and the names and living locations of a couple of brothers that I had no information about.

It took many hours to go through the book, determine genealogically interesting information, and incorporate them and the source references into my tree.

Of course one of the greatest finds in the book was a drawing of the author, Peter Howell (b. 1805).

Check it out, The Life and Travels of Peter Howell.
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