It's Raining Relatives ~ But the Brick Wall Still Stands

 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2023: Week 8 (I CAN IDENTIFY)

This month I have been busy connecting with relatives via the RootsTech Relative Finder. 

At the beginning of the month I had a few hundred matches. On February 12th that number jumped to 1,154 relatives. 

They are sorted in order of closeness.

My closest relatives are three 5th cousin X1 removed. 

One is in California & one in Virginia via my mother's maternal line.

One is my father's maternal line in England.

My most intriguing relative is via my mother's paternal line - My 7th cousin X2 removed lines in Vanuatu - a country in the pacific ocean made up of islands that I had never heard of before clicking that connection. 

RootsTech Relative Finder is very similar to ThruLines on Ancestry. It depends on the accuracy of open sourced trees.

The difference between them lies with the Family Search Tree that is sourcing RootsTech Family Finder.

I attended RootsTech 2022 due to the ease of attending virtually. 

That year I hadn't worked on our Bramble Bush on FamilySearch so my Relative Finders was a bit disappointing even with 11034 matches because they were all on my mother's maternal line which is a well researched line. 

My goal at the end of RootsTech 2022 was to connect our lines to the main tree so that 2023 would provide better matching results.

I also joined the Are We Related RootsTech Facebook Page. In this group my relatives range from 9th cousin X2 removed to 15th cousin. 

By adding a link to your profile others in the Facebook group can click it, and discover if they are related & exactly how. 

This week I discovered I get a message every time someone clicks to see if they are related that tells me if they are related. 

In looking at the shared matches I can identify all but my father's paternal line. 

My mother's paternal line doesn't go back as far as I would like. This is the line I expect to find the most assistance with via open source trees.

In my quick looking this week I discovered a potential crossover with my mother's paternal line & my father's maternal line. This is the first time I have had to be cautious working on my side of the Bramble Bush. It's a common occurrence on my husband's side of our Bramble Bush. 

The tool at RootsTech Relative Finder lets you filter by relative. Of the 1154 relatives 39 are via my dad. None are via his paternal line - my brick wall. I know this because the same 39 relatives appear when I filter by my paternal grandmother (his mother). 

Last year's planning for this event didn't do anything for our brick wall. Then again RootsTech doesn't officially start until March 2nd so there is still time for more matches to appear. 

RootsTech Relative Finder 2023 will end on March 31st, and then I will have a whole year to work on the Brick Walls to make 2024 more productive.

I have future plans to attend RootsTech in Salt Lake City in the future, but for now attending virtually is an amazing opportunity.

When you find a windfall of relatives, but your brick wall still stands!!! 

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:

RootsTech 2023 by Family Search 
https://www.familysearch.org/rootstech/event/rt2023

Links:

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

If you reference or use my blog posts in any way please

include a link to the specific blog and

credit http://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/

My blogs are ©Deborah Buchner, 2014 forward.

All rights reserved.

Please & Thank you!

______________________________________________________________

O U T C A S T ~ When the Letters Make a Family

 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2023: Week 7 (OUTCAST)

We have just returned from Ontario where we attended a funeral for my husband's grandfather & a graveside memorial to inter his father's ashes.

His Grandfather died January 29th at the age of 96. His father died February 6th 2021 at the age of 74. His dad's death occurred in Mexico hence the delay in interment. 

It was a very emotional 3 nights & 4 days with extended family. 

Shared grief is an amazing thing. 

The attachment & bonding that occurred this week left me reluctant to focus on anything to do with distance, estrangement, or outcasts.

Instead I decided to use the letters as my guide to feature family names I may not have written about previously using the letters O U T C A S T 

Looking at out Bramble Bush I was intrigued to find a grandmother for each of the letters except U, and then I discovered UNKNOWN. 

I now had a grandmother via the same family line for each letter. 

It's often easy to overlook the maiden name for the females in our trees when focusing on direct lines. 

I was surprised to realize how many grandmother's belong to one family line - specifically the Bayes/Merrill line is this week's focus.

I decided it's time to focus on my grandmothers & their family names.

Artemissa (nee Merrill) Bayes

Artemissa (Artimissia) Merrill
BIRTH 1 JUN 1842 • Cramahe township, Ontario, Canada
DEATH 14 NOV 1936 • Cambellford, Northumberland, Ontario, Canada
married
Solomon Bayes
BIRTH 31 AUG 1845 • Campbellford, Northumberland, Ontario, Canada
DEATH 16 SEP 1907 • Campbellford, Northumberland, Ontario, Canada

Here are 7 ancestors of my X3 great grandmother, Artemissa above


Osborne

My 10th great-grandmother
Sarah Osborne
BIRTH 1584 • Halstead, Kent, England
DEATH 1642 • Hartford, Hartford County, Connecticut, United States of America
married
Richard Lyman
BIRTH 30 OCT 1580 • High Ongar, Essex, England
DEATH SEP 1640 • Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut, USA

Unknown

My 11th great-grandmother
Eveffa Unknown
BIRTH 1599 • Chilmark, Dukes County, MA, USA
DEATH Unknown
married
Edward Hillman
BIRTH 1591 • Chilmark, Dukes County, MA, USA
DEATH Unknown

Taylor

My 8th great-grandmother
Mary Miriam Taylor
BIRTH 14 MAR 1688 • Westfield, Hampden, Massachusetts, United States
DEATH 13 JUL 1752 • Westfield, Massachusetts Bay, British America
married
Ebenezer Bush
BIRTH 24 JUL 1687 • Westfield, Hampden, Massachusetts, United States
DEATH 10 NOV 1757 • Westfield, Hampden, Massachusetts, United States

Charde

My 10th great-grandmother
Elizabeth Charde
BIRTH 1589 • Thorncombe, Bridgeport, Dorsetshire, England
DEATH 18 APR 1643 • Windsor, Hartford, Colony of Connecticut, British Colonial America
married
Thomas Ford
BIRTH 6 JAN 1589 • Powerstock, Dorset, England, United Kingdom
DEATH 28 NOV 1676 • Northampton, Hampshire, Massachusetts, USA

Axtell

My 10th great-grandmother
Mary Axtell
BIRTH 25 SEP 1639 • Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England
DEATH 14 APR 1704 • Sudbury, Middlesex County, Massachusetts
married
John Goodenow
BIRTH JAN 1634 • Donhead St Andrew, Wiltshire, England
DEATH 6 AUG 1721 • Wayland, Massachusetts, USA

Scarlett

My 12th great-grandmother
Jane Scarlett
BIRTH London, Middlex, England, United Kingdom
DEATH 1650 • Scituate, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA
married
William Dennis
BIRTH MAY 1593 • Kent, England, United Kingdom
DEATH 16 FEB 1649 • Scituate, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

Treat 

My 9th great-grandmother
Susanna Treat
BIRTH 8 OCT 1629 • Weathersfield, Hartford, Connecticut, USA
DEATH 19 NOV 1705 • Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut, USA
married
Robert Webster 
BIRTH 17 NOV 1619 • Cossington, Charnwood, Leicestershire, England
DEATH 1676 • Hartford, Hartford County, Connecticut, US

Give me an O, Give me a U, Give me a T, Give me a C, Give me an A, Give me an S, Give me a T - Whatta ya got?  

FAMILY!!! 

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***

Links:

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

If you reference or use my blog posts in any way please

include a link to the specific blog and

credit http://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/

My blogs are ©Deborah Buchner, 2014 forward.

All rights reserved.

Please & Thank you!

______________________________________________________________

Social Media ~ Personal Information EVERYWHERE!

 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2023: Week 6 (SOCIAL MEDIA)

Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines social media as

"forms of electronic communication (such as websites for social networking and microblogging) through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content (such as videos)" 1

I'm old enough to remember when you didn't use your own name for email addresses. It was important to protect your private information on the internet.

When our children started school we were asked to sign the form giving permission for their name and photo to be posted. We recorded yes, but .. either their photo or their name - not both together. 

In the years since the expectation of privacy online has changed. 

When I find a new DNA match on Ancestry or 23&Me that I can't figure out how we are related I immediately look to Facebook to see what information I can find. 

It surprises me how much private information folks have publicly available on their Facebook feeds. 

These are people I am not friends with so shouldn't be able to see too much, but I often have no problems adding details such as birthdates (or at least years) along with the names of partners, children, siblings, or extended family members. 

Sometimes it's the clickable relatives that provide the details. 

Not everyone I see has a page or details available, but there are a shocking number of folks that have way too much information available.

My purposes are simple. I want to fill in the blanks on our Bramble Bush. 

BUT - do I really need to add the mother-in-law of the husband of my 4th cousin 8X removed?

Maybe the folks I have added to our Bramble Bush don't really want to be there, and I have given them no choice.

Instead of just harvesting their information I could have messaged seeking permission, but...

The first time I discovered how much information was available I immediately went to our Facebook accounts to see how much information was available to strangers & fixed what needed fixing. 

Others searching for me on Facebook will have to work for the information they seek. They will have to inbox me.

I can be found on other social media sites that have direct messaging if they want current information, but historical information is available for them to find all over the internet with a simple web search.

Personal Information is everywhere!!! 

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***

Footnotes:

1   Social Media definition. Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Retrieved January 19th 2023 from 
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/social%20media

Photos:

Don't get in a car with a stranger. Boldomatic.  Retrieved January 19th 2023 from https://boldomatic.com/p/3-buXw/1998-don-t-get-in-car-with-strangers-2008-don-t-meet-people-from-the-internet-al

Facebook profile public. SomeeCards. Quotes Gram. Retrieved January 19th 2023 from https://quotesgram.com/facebook-stalker-quotes/

Not a stalker. Rotten eCards. Quotes Gram. Retrieved January 19th 2023 from https://quotesgram.com/facebook-stalker-quotes/

Personal

Links:

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

If you reference or use my blog posts in any way please

include a link to the specific blog and

credit http://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/

My blogs are ©Deborah Buchner, 2014 forward.

All rights reserved.

Please & Thank you!

______________________________________________________________

Copyright Violations ~ When the Oops Is Not A Mistake

 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2023: Week 5 (OOPS)

Mistakes happen in researching family history all the time. 

Censored by me before publishing!

When I first wrote this blog it featured a comic that I found super amusing. It showed an angel in front of a man saying that he was this guys' 6th great grandfather who had been connected to the wrong spouse and now the woman had moved in with them.

I found it super funny, and wanted to use it as the visual for OOPS!

To include it in my blog I went looking for sources for the comic. I assumed I could post it on my blog with the appropriate sourcing since it is all over online genealogy pages.  

When I found the author's site I discovered all the comics he creates can be used for a fee. I couldn't find the comic I was looking for, but I did find the drawing with different words completely unrelated to genealogy. 

I did a web search for the comic, and discovered a genealogy blog where the exact comic I was looking for appears to originate. The page includes information about crediting this author as the adapter of the comic. 

I was very confused, and reached out the original author via email.

In the end I couldn't use the actual comic because it is not one available from the original comic creator since it was adapted. 

The adaptor does not get to take ownership because his is in copyright violation. 

If you want to visit the original author or see the adapted copyright violation check sources below.

I could have started a new blog, but I thought this OOPS was a pretty big oops in the world of online copyright violation. 

When using digital images from the internet many have copyright making them NOT free to use even if you say where it came from.

The adapting of copyright material is never okay.

There are many who believe that if it's on the internet it's fair game.

That is far from true. 

Photos and graphics belong to the artist or creator unless they make them 'public domain' allowing others to use them. 

If you want to use copyrighted images then you must have their permission which may involve paying a fee. 

There are many public domain & free to use images available on Google Images, but you must search for them via TOOLS for the appropriate usage rights.

Now back to our Bramble Bush in relation to the amusing comic about attaching the wrong wife. 

No one intentionally makes mistakes when researching their tree. 

Once a mistake is entered into a public tree it gets copied over and over again into other trees. Before you know it families that are not connected become intertwined so completely it's difficult to unravel the mess.

This happened to me when I started my first tree on Ancestry. I was careful with the common names in our tree. 

I wasn't so careful with what I viewed as unique names. 

Turns out what I viewed as unique names were not unique. 

In the years I have been researching I have discovered there are multiple (hundreds & thousands) of people with the same name making careful looks at the details before adding is critical.

One example of this was when I found cousins named Ann(e) Kirk Graham. 

One of the cousins had an E on her birth registry, and the other did not. That didn't fully help though because they both had or didn't have an E in many of the records over their lifetimes. 

They were born 3 years apart which helped a little. 

They were named after their paternal grandmother. 

I am unsure if I found all the children for my 5th great grandparents, Peter & Ann (nee Kirk) Graham,  which means I will have to carefully tread in the future. 

While writing this I realized I could use this information to search for a child born that might be another granddaughter of Ann Kirk. I discovered there is more for me to research on this brick wall.

When your oops gives a clue to future research!!! 

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:

6th great grandfather. Randy Glasbergen. Adapted by Genealogy Trot. Retrieved January 19th 2023 from Genealogy Trot Facebook Page
https://www.facebook.com/groups/genealogytrot/permalink/6022337397777865
Original copyright belongs to Randy Glasbergen
https://www.glasbergen.com/

Links:

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

If you reference or use my blog posts in any way please

include a link to the specific blog and

credit http://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/

My blogs are ©Deborah Buchner, 2014 forward.

All rights reserved.

Please & Thank you!

______________________________________________________________