Fascinating where a posting on my guestbook can lead.
Bronwyn left a query asking if I had any clues about her children's 3greats grandmother Catherine SINTON.
Most definitely.
We have now both solved mysteries.
I now know both who the mysterious Catherine in Alford Forest was, and what happened to Catherine in my SINTON tree - one and the same person, or at least I strongly suspect so.
Then a day or so later, Bronwyn casually mentions that she thought Catherine's sister had also emigrated and settled in Alford Forest.
And so it turned out.
There are an awful lot of GRIEVEs to sort out, so anyone interested in helping with who belongs to which GRIEVE family around the Alford Forest/Methven/Rakaia area, please do get in touch.
A few more pins have been placed on the SINTON map.
Friday, 23 May 2014
Monday, 19 May 2014
Familton/Hamilton
As I'm addicted to genetic genealogy, in case readers hadn't guessed by now, a while ago I succumbed to an ancestry.com sale and added one of their dna kits to my sum of knowledge.
Although I now see firsthand how woeful their tools are for actually confirming their suggested matches, I do have to report a success.
Using the search by location for Roxburghshire, Scotland over my suggested matches brought up several trees of interest.
One of particular interest showed an end of line HAMILTON as Archibald HAMILTON and Isabella HEN(D)RY whom I know to be of the Abbey Hotel, Melrose (father George appears on my webpages complete with photo).
Our DNA match was predicted as confidence "very low", and I strongly suspect that FamilyTree DNA wouldn't even show it as a match, but nonetheless, having confirmed sufficient of the papertrail shown, I believe we are 7th cousins!
This is somewhat beyond the normal range of autosomal dna testing for a great deal of confidence, so maybe there's a closer papertrail in there somewhere, but for now I'm happy to have found a Californian branch of my FAMILTONs.
However, the next step is to try and verify which segment of my dna can be tracked back to our shared ancestors, William FAMILTON and Elizabeth WILSON (which descendant chart now has at least some of the newfound (to me) line appearing on it).
This couple are the parents of the Bessy FAMILTON who married John RUNCIMAN and we have several descendants with detectable matches back to at least the next generation down.
With a lot of luck and co-operation with the ancestry match we should be able to use the wonderful third party tools at GEDMatch.com to see if the shared segment is detectable in some of those.
Any other FAMILTON/HAMILTON descendants out there wanting to try their luck at a detectable match via this tree, do join my FamilyFinder project FFLornaHen and order a FamilyFinder test. I'll happily help you through the maze of results.
Although I now see firsthand how woeful their tools are for actually confirming their suggested matches, I do have to report a success.
Using the search by location for Roxburghshire, Scotland over my suggested matches brought up several trees of interest.
One of particular interest showed an end of line HAMILTON as Archibald HAMILTON and Isabella HEN(D)RY whom I know to be of the Abbey Hotel, Melrose (father George appears on my webpages complete with photo).
Our DNA match was predicted as confidence "very low", and I strongly suspect that FamilyTree DNA wouldn't even show it as a match, but nonetheless, having confirmed sufficient of the papertrail shown, I believe we are 7th cousins!
This is somewhat beyond the normal range of autosomal dna testing for a great deal of confidence, so maybe there's a closer papertrail in there somewhere, but for now I'm happy to have found a Californian branch of my FAMILTONs.
However, the next step is to try and verify which segment of my dna can be tracked back to our shared ancestors, William FAMILTON and Elizabeth WILSON (which descendant chart now has at least some of the newfound (to me) line appearing on it).
This couple are the parents of the Bessy FAMILTON who married John RUNCIMAN and we have several descendants with detectable matches back to at least the next generation down.
With a lot of luck and co-operation with the ancestry match we should be able to use the wonderful third party tools at GEDMatch.com to see if the shared segment is detectable in some of those.
Any other FAMILTON/HAMILTON descendants out there wanting to try their luck at a detectable match via this tree, do join my FamilyFinder project FFLornaHen and order a FamilyFinder test. I'll happily help you through the maze of results.
Sunday, 13 April 2014
WorldConnect - BDM data redux
As per yesterday's post, my updates continue.
WorldConnect database LornaHenderson has been refreshed.
In addition to both LornaPotential and LornaHenderson being on RootsWeb for posterity, both have been uploaded to my Henderson Web Site on MyHeritage.
This time I have hopes that the latter will continue to be able to be synchronised with my desktop, never having been able to do so up till now for reasons they've not been able to fathom.
With the changes to MyHeritage over the last while, records found in their searches can now be attached to trees, much like Ancestry, but I have to confess the latter impinges on my consciousness more than MyHeritage does, so my trees there, although incomplete, are more actively worked on.
MyHeritage's strength, for me, remains the smartmatch facility I've found useful since GenCircles days.
Regardless of which site, contact from relatives, however distant, is welcome.
WorldConnect database LornaHenderson has been refreshed.
In addition to both LornaPotential and LornaHenderson being on RootsWeb for posterity, both have been uploaded to my Henderson Web Site on MyHeritage.
This time I have hopes that the latter will continue to be able to be synchronised with my desktop, never having been able to do so up till now for reasons they've not been able to fathom.
With the changes to MyHeritage over the last while, records found in their searches can now be attached to trees, much like Ancestry, but I have to confess the latter impinges on my consciousness more than MyHeritage does, so my trees there, although incomplete, are more actively worked on.
MyHeritage's strength, for me, remains the smartmatch facility I've found useful since GenCircles days.
Regardless of which site, contact from relatives, however distant, is welcome.
Saturday, 12 April 2014
WorldConnect - BDM data
The next of my updates to my assorted online sites was to be to my WorldConnect database LornaPotential, ie those people I've researched as possibly related.
BUT using my normal link, that on my web pages sidebar, in Firefox, I was taken to a general ancestry search form for the public member trees.
A bit of digging in the ancestry forums led to this thread which explains that there is a problem, that is browser dependent.
For me, FireFox doesn't work to access http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ but chrome does (I don't have Internet Explorer loaded, so haven't checked that).
I'm guessing that this is related to the browser issues that stopped many of us from accessing the source images - the images being covered by big orange bordered boxes with assorted messages that stopped you seeing the actual image.
Switching browsers sometimes worked, sometimes not, as did a forced refresh of the page (Firefox hold shift and hit F5). That has now been resolved, at least for me.
All that aside, LornaPotential has now been refreshed.
Many that were in this database have now been transferred into my main database LornaHenderson (to be updated next).
LornaHenderson database contains basic BDM data on all my researched relations AND their connections. Everyone in there, with about 50 exceptions, can be navigated to/from someone who is related to me and mine.
LornaPotential database contains those I've researched because of potential connections.
Increasingly this latter category includes the lines of dna matches that look most likely to be where the connection lies.
If you are a descendant of anyone in either database I'd love to hear from you, particularly if you have the missing links, or further information AND/OR would be willing to explore potential connections by using an appropriate genetic genealogy test, such as FamilyFinder.
Some of the people mentioned will have a personal page on my webpages with further information.
BUT using my normal link, that on my web pages sidebar, in Firefox, I was taken to a general ancestry search form for the public member trees.
A bit of digging in the ancestry forums led to this thread which explains that there is a problem, that is browser dependent.
For me, FireFox doesn't work to access http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ but chrome does (I don't have Internet Explorer loaded, so haven't checked that).
I'm guessing that this is related to the browser issues that stopped many of us from accessing the source images - the images being covered by big orange bordered boxes with assorted messages that stopped you seeing the actual image.
Switching browsers sometimes worked, sometimes not, as did a forced refresh of the page (Firefox hold shift and hit F5). That has now been resolved, at least for me.
All that aside, LornaPotential has now been refreshed.
Many that were in this database have now been transferred into my main database LornaHenderson (to be updated next).
LornaHenderson database contains basic BDM data on all my researched relations AND their connections. Everyone in there, with about 50 exceptions, can be navigated to/from someone who is related to me and mine.
LornaPotential database contains those I've researched because of potential connections.
Increasingly this latter category includes the lines of dna matches that look most likely to be where the connection lies.
If you are a descendant of anyone in either database I'd love to hear from you, particularly if you have the missing links, or further information AND/OR would be willing to explore potential connections by using an appropriate genetic genealogy test, such as FamilyFinder.
Some of the people mentioned will have a personal page on my webpages with further information.
Monday, 31 March 2014
Lack of activity
The more observant of you may have noticed a decided lack of updates on my assorted sites over the last few months.
Three main reasons:
1) Back in December I foolishly wasn't taking enough regular backups and when I had a database crash I thought I'd lost rather a lot of work.
I'd always been able to simply re-open and carry on after a crash before!
WhollyGenes came to the party and returned a restored database to me, but I then had to work through and merge all the data between the one I carried on working with, and the one returned with the missing data in it. Finally completed in March.
Backup NOW, and regularly.
2) Back in January my lovely cat Zula died aged 17 (& four months for accuracy's sake).
3) I've now acquired two new kittens. The initial requirement was that they like each other, but so far, that looks to be problematic even though they are supposedly siblings and come from the same rescue shelter.
( The green eyes of jealousy are apt, but are actually the result of the flash rather than reality.)
Normal services should resume soon-ish!
Three main reasons:
1) Back in December I foolishly wasn't taking enough regular backups and when I had a database crash I thought I'd lost rather a lot of work.
I'd always been able to simply re-open and carry on after a crash before!
WhollyGenes came to the party and returned a restored database to me, but I then had to work through and merge all the data between the one I carried on working with, and the one returned with the missing data in it. Finally completed in March.
Backup NOW, and regularly.
2) Back in January my lovely cat Zula died aged 17 (& four months for accuracy's sake).
3) I've now acquired two new kittens. The initial requirement was that they like each other, but so far, that looks to be problematic even though they are supposedly siblings and come from the same rescue shelter.
Normal services should resume soon-ish!
Thursday, 13 March 2014
Chromosome map update
The reason for this update is the small orange segment of dna on chromosome 15, a newly detected, triangulated match* between myself, two maternal aunts and Richard, my 6th cousin once removed.
I and the aunts descend from Elizabeth ALGAR and Richard PEEK, Richard descends from Elizabeth's brother Samuel ALGAR of Yealmpton, Devon.
Their parents, Samuel ALGAR & Sarah LOWRY married in 1720, at Yealmpton.
There aren't quite as many unmapped areas as all the grey indicates on the above, I've simply left off the match segments from the very close relations where there is insufficient information on matches to enable segments to be tied to specific earlier ancestors.
To identify more of the grey bits, and thus help break through some of the brick walls, I would particularly love to hear from descendants of the following of my ancestral lines who may be interested in exploring their genetic heritage, and thus help pinpoint where some of the many matches "fit":
- William CLINTON & Jemima PARKER
- Robert TURNBULL & Eleanor SCOTT
- Andrew GRAHAM & Jane GRAHAM
- William BATY & Sarah BATY
- John DAVIDSON & Agnes FAIRBAIRN
Check out my FamilyFinder project FFLornaHen, and the FAQs about FamilyTree DNA's FamilyFinder test, and if willing to help, please contact me (details on footer of most of my webpages)
* for an explanation on mapping and triangulation, see this article in Roberta Estes' DNAeXplained blog
Monday, 10 February 2014
When is a son not a son?
No, not an existential question, just a comment on the sometimes idiosyncratic indexing of census "families" on ancestry.
The 1881 census for Maryhill, Lanarkshire includes the military Barracks there.
In residence were William PAXTON, wife Mary PAXTON (formerly RUNCIMAN, nee DOUGAN/DUGGAN), John, Frances and Norman, her children from her previous marriage to George RUNCIMAN, and Mary, her daughter with William.
How do (John,) Frances and Norman appear on ancestry?
As children of William and Bridget REYNOLDS:
William Reynolds 36 Head Soldier b(orn) East Indies
Bridget Reynolds 33 Wife b. Ireland
John Runciman 15 Soldier b. Ireland
Francis Runciman 8 Daughter Scholar b. Gibraltar
Norman Runciman 4 Son b. Malta
FindMyPast shows each of the family members individually (ie not listed as a family, but reported as head, wife, son..., my regrouping):
PAXTON, William Head Married M(ale) 34 1847 Soldier (born) England
PAXTON, Mary Wife Married F 31 1850 Lemerick
RUNCIMAN, John M 15 1866 Soldier Ireland
RUNCIMAN, Francis Daughter F 8 1873 Scholar Malta
RUNCIMAN, Norman Son M 4 1877 Malta
PAXTON, Mary Daughter F 2 1879 Hongkong
I confess to not having checked the original record, but do have sufficient evidence from other records for my conclusions.
A number of family trees on ancestry have come to a dead end on their ancestors as a result of not checking further, and assuming William & Bridget REYNOLDS are their ancestors.
For those interested, this family is included in the RUNCIMAN One Name Study.
The 1881 census for Maryhill, Lanarkshire includes the military Barracks there.
In residence were William PAXTON, wife Mary PAXTON (formerly RUNCIMAN, nee DOUGAN/DUGGAN), John, Frances and Norman, her children from her previous marriage to George RUNCIMAN, and Mary, her daughter with William.
How do (John,) Frances and Norman appear on ancestry?
As children of William and Bridget REYNOLDS:
William Reynolds 36 Head Soldier b(orn) East Indies
Bridget Reynolds 33 Wife b. Ireland
John Runciman 15 Soldier b. Ireland
Francis Runciman 8 Daughter Scholar b. Gibraltar
Norman Runciman 4 Son b. Malta
FindMyPast shows each of the family members individually (ie not listed as a family, but reported as head, wife, son..., my regrouping):
PAXTON, William Head Married M(ale) 34 1847 Soldier (born) England
PAXTON, Mary Wife Married F 31 1850 Lemerick
RUNCIMAN, John M 15 1866 Soldier Ireland
RUNCIMAN, Francis Daughter F 8 1873 Scholar Malta
RUNCIMAN, Norman Son M 4 1877 Malta
PAXTON, Mary Daughter F 2 1879 Hongkong
I confess to not having checked the original record, but do have sufficient evidence from other records for my conclusions.
A number of family trees on ancestry have come to a dead end on their ancestors as a result of not checking further, and assuming William & Bridget REYNOLDS are their ancestors.
For those interested, this family is included in the RUNCIMAN One Name Study.
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