Small DNA Matches ~ Breaking Through Brick Walls

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: 2020 Week 32 (SMALL)

Recently Ancestry announced that matches who share less than 8cMs will be removed from the results. This have resulted in quite a bit of discussion about the pros and cons. It seems many have strong feelings for or against.


My feelings are conflicted regarding the change. When searching on brick wall lines those small matches have occasionally been the breakthrough I needed to get back a generation or two. The small matches have also caused confusion due to Pedigree Collapse. Many areas of my husband's side of the tree have intertwined lines. He has brothers marrying sisters and distant cousins marrying. With the crossovers between his maternal and paternal lines the small matches often offer confusion over clarity.


For this week's blog I decided to go back a bit further on my husband's Vannatter line. Ancestry's ThruLines offered a grouping of small matches that provided clarity for not just one generation back, but I was able to go back 3 generations on a line that I hadn't spent much time on. 

These small matches brought about exciting news. 


My husband is related to Santa Claus!!!

His 4th great grandmother

Mary Claus

BIRTH 1806 • Bayham, Elgin, Ontario, Canada

DEATH 19 MAY 1879 • Bayham, Elgin County, Ontario, Canada

married to

Isaac Williams

BIRTH 19 MAY 1802 • New York, United States

DEATH 19 MAR 1868 • Bayham, Elgin Co, Ontario, Canada

My husband descends through their son (his 3rd great grandfather)

Robert Henry Williams

BIRTH 31 MAR 1831 • Ontario

DEATH 12 FEB 1896 • Bayham, Elgin Co, Ontario, Canada

I also discovered there is a Claus Cemetery in Ontario where these three (and many more relatives) are buried.

I will have to spend more time researching this Claus line. It seems they may have been one of the first Loyalists to settle in what would become Ontario, Canada.

Returning to the subject of Ancestry's upcoming change I was left wondering if I would have found the family connection to dear old Santa had I not spent time searching before the change went into effect. 

Separating fact from fiction!







This is why I search - 



Cause ... 





You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!
















***Any errors are my own. Please send me any updates or corrections via the comments at the bottom of this blog post***











Sources:

Claus Cemetery, Find A Grave, Retrieved August 8th 2020 from

https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2486237/claus-cemetery

Family Photos, Ancestry.ca, Retrieved August 8th 2020


Cemetery Photo, Find A Grave, Retrieved August 8th 2020


Historical Niagara Family Cemeteries. Paterson, Catherine. McMaster University, April 2013, Retrieved August 8th 2020 from 

file:///C:/Users/Debs/Downloads/fulltext.pdf

THE LOYALIST REFUGEE EXPERIENCE IN CANADA. Cain, Alexander. JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. January 26,  2015, Retrieved August 8th 2020

https://allthingsliberty.com/2015/01/the-loyalist-refugee-experience-in-canada/

Links:

Amy Johnson Crow, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/

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