Friday, 28 November 2008

"Another American dear"

Contact from a 7th cousin once removed on the KING branch. Dennis posted a comment on my GenBlog, which nicely sent me an email to say so, unlike the Guestbook, which relies on my remembering to check it.
His gt grandparents, Charles and Bessie TOZER emigrated to Oregon, Wisconsin in 1912. His guestbook entry tells me I'd written to a cousin of his who couldn't read my writing, which puzzle as to whoever it was, and why handwritten, will no doubt be resolved in due course (I usually type my letters, for that very reason!)

Anyone curious why the title? One of my enduring memories of a trip to England was turning up in a farmyard nr Longtown and asking if we might look around the farm yard "as my x greats grandfather had been a carpenter here". Accent recognition wasn't one of the farmer's strong points as he turned back to someone inside the house and said "It's just some more of those Americans dear".
So I couldn't resist it as a title to finding I've another American cousin.

Fully replublished the Originals subsite of Big Brother. That should tidy up a few missing links that Google Web developer tells me I had, but I've also consistently added the link back to further info on Big Brother where appropriate (which is why it looked like I'd been particularly busy on the 22nd Nov if you go by 'recent changes').

DNA Wanted! Sintons

Continuing the SINTON review. Remembered about the family of James & Isabella (FLEMING) SINTON with their Southdean connections (well was prompted to do so by Margaret).
I've added them to the dna Wanted! SINTONs list, and to LornaPotential (or at least will do so, next update).

Wednesday, 26 November 2008

Projects Portal RUNCIMANs updated

DNA Surnames has had several lineages, dna participants, links etc added to it, mainly for the missing RUNCIM(e)N data.
More to come.

If you have bookmarked some of the underlying pages, the links may have changed as I reviewe/revise the database that drives these pages. Other than around the Haplogroup area, they shouldn't change after this, but no guarantees!

25th: Remember to review your data!

Always good practice to review your data. One thing all these DNA studies have done is cause me to look at a heap of relations that I've not re-examined evidence for their assorted events in a long time.
The latest has resulted in a webpage comment being added about the James WIGHT/Isabella HALL couple, as working back the estimated ages/dates you get to a potentially rather young Mum for Isabella. They aren't outrageously out, just a bit tight, and do assume that Jane STEVENSON did get her correct age on her headstone.

More FAIRBAIRN DNA Results in, still showing a good match between the James & Helen (GOODFELLOW) and the Trotter & Jane (FAIRBAIRN) FAIRBAIRN lines of Spencerville, Ontario and Sunderland, Durham, respectively, and still a match, although less strong, to the others assumed to be down from John & Bessie (FFLINT) FAIRBAIRN.

Thursday, 20 November 2008

Made it - at last

Check out the new SINTON page, and the recent changes.

In addition my main online BDM only database LornaHenderson has also been updated with the last month+ changes, including claiming a few more of the SINTON tribes, moving them in from LornaPotential.

The ROWE chart also now includes a few of the newfound Australian branch of James & Mary Anne (JESSOP) HAMLEY.

19th: ?another Canadian SINTON?

Still getting sidetracked from publishing the SINTON (and ROWE and HAMLEY) updates.
Everytime I think I'm nearly ready, I find something else to check.
In the SINTON case the latest was re-checking the dth cert of James, son of Peter and Janet (DONALDSON) SINTON to make sure that son John really was shown as alive in 1855 when James died.
He was, but where was he? There's a likely looking candidate in Lancaster, Glengarry Co, Ontario, married to a Jane.
I had noted this couple before but dismissed them as unlikely to be "my" lot with a dtr Sarah and son George (1851 census). Maybe I'd better review that. Anyone know anything about this family?
And of course in checking this John and Jane I found a Jane and a Robert SINTON (Turnberry, Huron Co) that piqued my interest (to no avail, couldn't immediately find them in earlier census data).

All that aside, the ROWE descendants chart has been updated to include a very few of the newfound Australian branch, many more to come when time permits. Many thanks for sharing them Jenny.

Wednesday, 19 November 2008

18th: Check originals!

It really does pays to check originals! In my SINTON data review I've been checking what original baptisms I can find on the OPRs, and as a result, corrected a couple of the Southdean places. Margaret, bless her cotton socks, had transcribed a couple of places as ending in ...head, eg Strangeburnfoothead etc. The actual entries, in both cases found, were headless, eg Strangeburnfoot (as in x at y had a son baptized).

Rash of new DNA results in today:
Further markers in for Doug, the representative of the James and Helen (GOODFELLOW) FAIRBAIRN line - see the FAIRBAIRN DNA Project and the blog for details on the matches (yes he matches Lineage 1, that of John FAIRBAIRN and Bessie FLINT et al, but it looks like things might get a bit complicated with different markers involved).
Also results starting to come in for the Peruvian contingent of the RUNCIMAN DNA Project. Again, see the both the project files, and the blog for more details, but basically, even at 12 markers, yes he matches the James & Agnes (HERIOT) RUNCIMAN lineage.
(And yes, I know that Google have put warnings on both of the blogs above that they are potentially spam, I have applied to get that designation lifted - yet again!)

Can anyone claim a James SINTON of Woodfield? William, son of James was buried Southdean 1814.
Still trying to get my updated webpages out there, with all the new SINTON connections documented.
This update will bring several lines into the SINTON charts shown on my web pages (eg the outline one on the Research logs portion of my site, and the fuller one under Big Brother, anyone interested in them needs to be aware that although I've done some work on the other lines, there are likely to be huge gaps in the families.
Even if someone is shown on a descendant chart on my web pages, they wont necessarily appear in my WorldConnect databases, as I only gradually add people to that as I check off BDM data where I can and set them to "publish".