Scattering Breadcrumbs – Your 2016 Genetic Genealogy Goal

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Consider this an invitation to be messy.

Yep, I’m asking you to scatter some bread crumbs.

As I look at each new year, I try to focus on something I can finish or at least make progress with.

I’m inviting you to do the same.

In 2016, what is your most pressing genetic genealogy goal? Or maybe your most important genealogy goal that DNA might be able to help you with?

Limit yourself to one ancestor or couple, please, and list their name first so it’s easy for people to see. Be specific so that someone who sees the breadcrumbs can follow them and can determine whether or not they are from the right family line to help you.

Here’s my example.

My 2016 Brick Wall That Needs to Fall

I am brick walled on my Moore line.

James Moore, born about 1721, was first found in Amelia County, Virginia in 1742 on the tax lists. That part of Amelia would later become Prince Edward County, Virginia.  He was a neighbor to Joseph and Rachel Rice and married their daughter, Mary, around 1745.  James Moore is mentioned in Joseph Rice’s will in 1766 as his son-in-law.  By 1770, James and Mary Rice Moore are living in Halifax County, VA, where they live for the rest of their lives.  James and Mary’s death dates are uncertain and there is no will.  Their children are:

  • James (marries Susanna and believed moved to Stokes Co., NC)
  • William (Methodist minister, marries Lucy, stays in Halifax Co.)
  • Lydia (unproven, marries Edward Henderson, stays in Halifax Co.)
  • Mackness (marries Sarah Thompson, moves to Grainger Co., TN)
  • Rice (Methodist minister, marries Elizabeth Madison, moves to Grainger Co., TN)
  • Thomas (unproven, married Polly Baker, dead by 1804 in Halifax leaving 2 orphans)
  • Sally (marries Martin Stubblefield, moves to Grainger/Hawkins Co., TN)
  • Mary (marries Richard Thompson)

We do have Y DNA samples from three of James’ sons’ lines, so we know what his Y DNA looks like. But we cannot find any matches to any Moores other than the Moore men that we know and love as cousins or who are also disconnected at a later date.

My shout-out is this. If you’re a Moore male whose early lineage comes from Virginia or even Pennsylvania, and your line hasn’t been Y DNA tested, please, PLEASE Y DNA test at Family Tree DNA. The only way we’re ever going to connect James with an ancestral line is through Y DNA testing.  I’ve already combed the records of relevant and even just potential feeder counties with no luck.  Many records have burned.

There is a wonderful Moore DNA project that helps people connect with their Moore line.  So whether you connect to my Moore line or not, you’ll likely connect to some line.

Also, if anyone is descended from James Moore’s children’s lines, please take the autosomal Family Finder test at Family Tree DNA or contact me if you already have tested at Family Tree DNA or elsewhere.

Your Turn

Please feel free to list your 2016 genetic genealogy goal in the comments section. You don’t know who is going to read your goal and be or know the right person to solve your problem.  People Google 24X7, and yes, my blog shows up in google search results.  As I used to tell my kids, “If you don’t ask, the answer is no.”

So….ask away and scatter a few breadcrumbs. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.  You just never know what wonderful discovery may be waiting in the shadows, or who is going to find your breadcrumbs.  As you can see, someone already found mine and it didn’t take long at all!

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173 thoughts on “Scattering Breadcrumbs – Your 2016 Genetic Genealogy Goal”

  1. My 2016 Brick Wall That Needs to Fall

    I am brick walled on my Cannon line.

    I have traced my Cannon family back to John Canon (Cannon), born 11/5/1792 NC, died 1/5/1865 TN. (You will notice the one “n” in the name. This is the way that it appears on his tombstone.) He was my great, great, great grandfather. I have been unable to discover the name of his parents or siblings or the exact location of his birth. I know that he moved to Rutherford County, Tennessee, at the age of 11, whom with I do not know. He later married Elizabeth Dickson who was born in North Carolina or possibly South Carolina and died September 1, 1874 at the age of 72 years, 11 months, 22 days (making her birth date September 9, 1801). The family moved to Henry County, Tennessee in 1832 and five years later moved to Carroll County. They had eight children:

    • My great, great grandfather, Ephraim Martin Cannon (two “n”s on the tombstone) who was born in Rutherford County, Tennessee on June 1, 1826 and died August 30, 1914 in Carroll County, Tennessee. On January 25, 1849 he married Elizabeth Ann Beard Hamilton, a native of Carroll County, born November 9, 1823 and died May 30, 1893, the daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Hamilton.
    • I believe Socrates S. Cannon who was born on January 24, 1824, in Rutherford County Tennessee, was his brother. He married Nancy Hooker and they had seven children together. He then married Rachael Irvin on October 1, 1876, in Gibson, Tennessee. He died on January 16, 1905, in Tennessee, having lived a long life of 80 years, and was buried in Atwood, Tennessee.
    • I believe William C Canon who was born on February 19, 1832, in Rutherford County, Tennessee, was another brother. He married Kate E McFarland on October 16, 1860, in Independence County, Arkansas. They had two children during their marriage. He died in 1893 in Independence County, Arkansas, at the age of 61.
    • I have no information on the other five children

    I have taken both the Y-DNA111 and the Big Y. Through Y-DNA37, Y-DNA67 and Y-DNA111 I have four matches with Cannons who we believe are descended from Cannons in the Fanad Peninsula, County Donegal, Ireland. (SNP testing in progress or hopefully in the future). We are all R-L226 or Irish Type III. Big Y testing has convinced me that I have located my possible sixth cousin who still lives in Ireland and owns property in the Fanad Peninsula.

    My shout-out is this. If you’re a Cannon male whose early lineage comes from North Carolina, Tennessee or Ireland, and your line hasn’t been Y DNA tested, please, PLEASE Y DNA test at Family Tree DNA. The only way we’re ever going to connect John with an ancestral line is through Y DNA testing.

    Also, if anyone is descended from John Canon’s (Cannon’s) children’s lines, please take the autosomal Family Finder test at Family Tree DNA or contact me if you already have tested at Family Tree DNA or elsewhere.

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  2. Brick wall 1. Henry Tischer age 33 in the 1880 census Harrison, Jewell County, Kansas, birthplace Ohio. Wife Lizzie (Mary Elizabeth Tischer born March 4, 1839 according to findagrave, age 31) birthplace Ohio. Daughter Eva L Tischer. Henry fell off the face of the earth. Lizzie also files “intent to marry” M. W. Tisher in Morrow County, Ohio in 1880. Mikal (M. W. Tisher) was at that time living in Calaveras County, California. Lizzie and Eva came to CA about 1879. Lizzie and Michael lived out their lives in Calaveras County. I would love to find how Henry and M. W. (Mikal/Michael) tie together. Lizzie’s parents are said to have been born in Pennsylvania. I have no maiden name for her.
    Brick wall 2. Carmelita Gomas/Gomez/Gomes. Died Nov. 3, 1896, Calaveras County, California. Born approximately 1834 Mexico (California). 1856-1860 tax records show Carmelita Gomez (aka Carmel Gomez) owned property in Mokelumne Hill, Calaveras County, CA. In 1860 census she’s listed in the record for Andrew P. Jordan (saloon keeper) Murphys, Calaveras County, California 34 of Maine wife Fable/Sable 27, born in Mexico. Carmelita is also listed on the same census record. Listed as 28 years old. Carmelita is the one who is listed as the owner on tax records. She is buried as Carmelita Gomez, children; Andrew F. Jordan, Melitiah Jordan & Helen Dolores Jordan Cooke.

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  3. Looking for more info on the ancestors of my wife’s mother, Evelyn Johnson, born 19 Aug 1910 in Speedwell, Claiborne, Tennessee, USA. Her ancestors include surnames Johnson, Adams, Mink, Jordan, Adkins, Taylor, Long. All lived in Claiborne or Campbell counties in TN. All born in Virginia or Tennessee as far as we know now. Do have some of their ancestors, will share.

    See Gedmatch Kit # F317418 to check for a DNA match with my wife. Her mtDNA haplogroup is K1a3a3 per FamilyTreeDNA.com

    Our direct line ancestors only data on Ancestry.com can be seen at http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/77201604/family My wife’s parents were Evelyn Johnson and Marcel Petrie.

    Also see Gedmatch.com, GEDCOM Resources number 1468251. This only includes 7 Generations

    Jay Ingalls

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  4. John Kilby, born about 1710 in unknown, died 1772 in Culpeper, Virginia

    Speaking for many Kilby ancestors, our brick wall is with John Kilby, my 4X great grandfather. John was a colonist and 1747 land patent grantee of Lord Fairfax. We Kilby genealogist cannot identify his parents or birth location. Some believe John emigrated from England. Others think perhaps he descended from a branch of New England Kilbys dating to the seventeenth century. So far there is no hard evidence for either case. The trail was cold, but maybe DNA offers a breakthrough.

    This past year my Big Y DNA data revealed a genetic exact match to someone with a different surname and a paper trail to Kilby Parish, Leicestershire, England in the late 1600s. That’s the very place some with our surname have been suggesting was the origin of our Kilby ancestors, perhaps even John Kilby. Contacting my Big Y genetic match, we find that SNPs match with no differences, however there is too great a mismatch in STR markers to pass the threshold as a match. A NPE around that time was first suggested, but the STR non-match may rule that out. These facts suggests that our most recent common ancestor lived more than 800 years ago. Of course it is easy for me to misinterpret what the numbers are really saying. What is the significance of the match’s paper trail leading to a geographic location believed to be a Kilby surname origin? Is it pure coincidence? What are the data telling us?

    For 2016 a group of Kilby genealogist would like to finally resolve questions of John Kilby’s parentage and birth, and we would like to establish genealogical links with early English ancestors. What a gift that would be!

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  5. My genetic genealogy goal for 2016 is to make progress on my Henson brick wall.

    John Henson, b. 1797 (per the age given on his death record) in Virginia, d. 1878 in Clinton, De Witt County, Illinois, is a ggg-gfather of mine. Some internet trees give his parents as John Henson and Phoebe Maxey, progenitors of a family in Hensons in Putnam County, WV, but I think that John and Phoebe’s son John is already accounted for and was still in Virginia in 1850 when my John was already in Illinois. Other internet sources list a birth date after 1800 and a birthplace of Botetourt County, VA, but I am unsure of the source or accuracy of that information.

    “My” John Henson is not to be confused with John D. Henson (1808, KY-1887, De Witt County, IL), who is said to have been born in Kentucky, lost his father while quite young, was taken to Ohio by his mother, and married Rebecca Mathews in Pike County, Ohio in 1830. Some internet trees give “D” as a middle initial to the John Henson who died in 1878, but as far as I know that is a mistake, and my John Henson did not use a middle initial.

    My John Henson was married twice: first in Kentucky to an unknown first wife, and then in 1842 to Martha Jane Fruit (1826-1910, d/o Thomas Clark Fruit and Elizabeth Thompson). The hypothesis has been put forth that my John Henson lived in Christian County, KY, where his second wife’s family lived, before he came to Illinois, and that his first wife was Elizabeth Gillihan, who married a John Henson in Christian County in 1815, but I find that hypothesis doubtful, because the John Henson on the 1820 census in Christian County was too old and already had too many children to be the same one. My John Henson is said to have had four children by his first wife and to have had the occupation of driving horses to market (sometimes as far south as New Orleans) when he lived in Kentucky, where he may have been taken as a small child by his parents and was probably still living in 1840, because he is not enumerated on the 1840 census in Illinois. After he married Martha Jane Fruit he farmed in Tunbridge Township, in the southwest part of De Witt County, near Macon County, and ran a butcher shop in Clinton, the county seat of De Witt County.

    His known children who lived to adulthood are Artemesia (c. 1835-1890, m. Martin Shelton); Edmund or Edward (c. 1843-1885, married Sarah Clemons); Phoebe Elizabeth (1845-1911, m. Joseph Stevenson McCoid); Henry Clay (1847-1908, m. Mary Willey); Thomas Jefferson (1847-1908, m. [1] Mary Bennett and [2] Lydia Leeds); Zachariah Taylor (c. 1849-not found by me after 1860, but not presumed dead in a secondary source dating from the 1880s); Samuel Thomas (1854-1930, m. Roxie Anna Carlock); Victoria Matilda (1857-1910, m. William McCoid); and William L. (1861-1937, m. [1] Margaret Cravens and [2] Margaret Daly). There were also at least two children from the second marriage who died as children and three children from the first marriage whose names are unknown to me and may have lived to adulthood. My line of descent is through Victoria Matilda Henson and William McCoid.

    Before I did autosomal DNA testing, I came up with the hypothesis that his parents were Joseph Pace Henson and Jemima Evans of Amherst County, VA and Casey County, KY. That couple is said to have had a son named John, but some of the internet information proffered about him seems unreliable (e.g., that he died on the same day and in the same location as his older brother Elisha), and although descendants of a John Henson who died in Missouri in 1865 had claimed him as a son of Joseph and Jemima, subsequent Y-DNA testing ruled out that hypothesis. So the fate of Joseph and Jemima’s son John seemed open in my mind. In addition, there was a lot of migration between Casey County, KY and the southwestern part of De Witt County, IL during the relevant time period, including some descendants of Joseph and Jemima. More particularly, Robert Henson (1802-1880), a son of Joseph and Jemima, was enumerated in De Witt County in 1840 and in a nearby part of Macon County in 1850, and his second wife was Susan[nah West] Fruit, a sister of Martha Jane Fruit. Robert Henson was a Separate Baptist minister who later became part of the Illinois Eldership of the Church of God. The marriage between Artemesia Henson and Martin Shelton was conducted by a minister of that conference in Macon County in 1858. But I have been unable to find a document that says that John and Robert were brothers, not just brothers-in-law.

    As to his first marriage, my speculation has centered on John Henson who married Polly Strange in 1820 in Shelby County, Kentucky (a portion of which was later split off to form part of Spencer County). Joseph Pace Henson named one of his sons James Strange Henson; John Strange, nonagenarian who made a will in Spencer County, Kentucky in 1841, named grandchildren including Artemissa Kurtz and Polly Henson; the John Henson who was enumerated in Spencer County, Kentucky in the 1840 census had the right number of children, including a youngest daughter who could be Artemesia; and land records show that John Henson left Spencer County sometime around 1840-1842, abandoning land that was sold to cover debts. But I have been unable to find a primary source document that says where the Spencer County John Henson was said to have gone (he may not have wanted anyone to know at that point in his life!) or where in Kentucky my John Henson was said to have come from.

    Autosomal DNA suggests that I’m on the right track but has not yielded anything definitive. I (and my paternal aunt, who also descends from this line) have distant matches to descendants of Joseph Pace Henson and Jemima Evans, including one that may triangulate with a descendant of the Pace family of Goochland County, VA (whence Joseph’s middle name). But I also have an apparently triangulating match with two descendants (who are fifth cousins of each other) of William Henson (1763? or 1772?, VA-after 1860, Knox County, TN) and Charity (maiden name unknown). William and Charity did have a son named John of about the right age, but he is already accounted for. Another match who overlaps the same segment that the William & Charity Henson descendants match on is a descendant of a female Henson from Putnam County, WV whose parents are unknown. Geographic proximity suggests that she may be a descendant of John Henson and Phoebe Maxey, but an unusual name of one of her sons suggests that she is possibly a descendant of Murray Henson, brother of Joseph Pace Henson, who also had descendants who moved into a nearby area of what became WV.

    What would really move the research forward would be a Y-DNA tester. Both Joseph Pace Henson and the William Henson who m. Charity are Q haplogroup Hensons. However, for a man who had seven sons, my John Henson had surprisingly few all-male-line great-grandsons that I can find in censuses, and I have not been able to identify any living appropriate Y-DNA tester. Some of the bearers of my John Henson’s Y chromosome disappeared from my view in the early 20th century, so a qualified Y-DNA tester descended from my John Henson may yet exist.

    It would also be helpful if representatives of the following Henson lines would do Y-DNA testing, even though they may or may not be connected to my John:

    (1) All-male-line descendants of John Henson and Phoebe Maxey of Putnam County, VA/WV. If they are also Q-haplogroup Hensons, then the autosomal triangulation between a Putnam County Henson descendant, two descendants of William & Charity, and a possible descendant of Joseph & Jemima seems easy to explain (although it’s not proven that the autosomal match is through the Y-line). If they are not also Q-haplogroup Hensons, then some other explanation of how the Putnam County Henson descendant matches all those people is required.

    (2) Male-line relatives of state senator James Atlas Henson of Decatur, Illinois (1874-1935). The obituary of Henry Clay Henson, one of my John Henson’s sons, who was sheriff, city marshal, and alderman, said that he was a “cousin of Sen. Henson of Decatur.” It’s hard to know how authoritative such a statement is or what degree of cousinship is implied. James Atlas Henson’s father was James Henson (1816-1899), said to have been from Kentucky, who m. Julia Keen and lived in Shelby County, Illinois.

    In the meantime, I plan to contact first and second cousins of my father to see if they are willing to do autosomal testing.

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    • Pretty wild that I found this post. I am also a descendant of William and Victoria Matilda Henson McCoid. I decided to do some research and chose Victoria because I have 2 nieces with that name and I was intrigued by her mothers maiden name of Fruit. That being said my Mother is Faye Preston DeWall, my grandmother was Leah Landgraf Preston and her mother Cora McCoid Landgraf with Victoria being her mother, I think, whew. How does your lineage work ?

      My mom unfortunately is very confused at a relatively young age of 84 but if you just need a cheek swab I could do that. If that would help your search.

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      • Just saw this reply now, over 3 months later! Yes, your mother is a first cousin once removed of mine. Would love to send a kit. I’m also interested in doing a mitochondrial test for her, since she has Mary Reader/Reeder Thompson’s mitochondrial DNA. E-mail me at kaencat@sbcglobal.net.

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      • I have no idea if there’s a connection, but I have my own Henson brick wall. My great-great-grandfather is John Henson, who fathered John William Henson in Brown Co. Indiana in 1877. John W’s mother was Anna Honora Roll. By the 1880 census, Anna was married to a William Shipley, and John W was listed as his stepson, with no indication of what happened to John Henson Sr. I have been trying to track down any info on great-great-grandfather John Henson, but to no avail. I find some indication of early Henson settlers in southern Indiana but nothing to corroborate a connection to my line. I’d be interested in participating in the DNA test. I have done the Ancestry DNA, which corroborates many of my other lineages but has not proven much help with this line.

        ~Jon Henson jhenson@neiep.org

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    • I have an Esther Maxey b. 1706 in Exter, Mass. Collateral names after 1706 would be Ward, Cooke, Clark, Saunders. I don’t have siblings for Esther Maxey.

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    • My husbands family is supposedly related to James (2) father in James Atlas on your list. Henson genealogy is quite difficult!

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    • I ran across your article while trying to sort my autosomal DNA matches into groups. I am matching a few people who have nebulous ties to Joseph Pace Henson & Jemima Evans. If I read your post correctly you are speculating that this couple might be the parents of your John Henson. Where have you tested? I tried to find you on Ancestry but could not. I copied your post and put it with my info on this family in case I need to refer to it again.

      I am probably not going to be of much help to you as I match lots of big groups of Henson/Hanson/Hinson families. The earliest & largest is out of Maryland & Stafford VA. However I have large groups of matches with other early Henson families in NC that are supposedly not related to the previous group.

      Good Luck! Let me know if I can answer any questions.

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      • I’m on Family Tree DNA and GEDMatch, but not on Ancestry. E-mail me at kaencat@sbcglobal.net if you want my kit number. BTW, some more descendants of Joseph Pace Henson and Jemima Evans tested within the past year, and I now have triangulations among their descendants in two locations. 🙂

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    • Our Henson’s are R- Haplogroup ( We are from the John Henson born 1795 maybe South Carolina, married first to Cynthia Street and then to Manirva Haines – died in Howell County, Missouri) and thus are not of the Q-Haplogroup belonging to Joseph Pace Henson.
      Both my father and uncle have Y-tested and are R Haplogroup.
      We are having a VERY hard time finding out who our John Hensons’s father was – you seem to be knowledgeable on various Henson lines in terms of Paternal Haplogroup…would you have ANY guesses, based upon R-haplogroup, of which Henson family/families we belong?
      Thank you,
      Jeannie Henson Wenzel
      jeanniecan@hotmail.com

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  6. McDowell Brick wall Great great grandfather James (NMN) McDowell born in Va 1776 per later census possible Amelia Co VA James was a blacksmith who married Elizabeth Unknown ~1812 Moved to Rutherford co TN ~1821 with 3 daughters and one son.
    Son James William McDowell b VA 1821 also blacksmith moves to Hickman co KY 1840 joining sister Martha McDowell Waller family. John had wives (1) Kiziah (6 children) and (2) Nancy Via (one son) Son Lemuel Lafayette b 1874 Ky m Nell Mobley , son William L McDowell SR b Hickman co Ky . Family tree Y-DNA and Family Finder for William L McDowell Jr and MtDNA& FF for D Jean Ray, sister Primary family genealogy contact Rayjean65@yahoo.com

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  7. Desire to find information on my Native American ancestors. Direct ancestor (7 generations) my fathers fathers mothers

    ancestor line: info others research has found: born 1767 St Louis (1767 Territory Wisconsin) Catherine [Pokoupee-Renard

    (Lalander, Laplander)] possible Mesquakie/Fox Indian. Cathrine Died: 1817 Prairie Du Chien, Crawford, Wisconsin, United

    States.

    Married: Pierre Pellitier dit Antaya Born:1750 Montreal Canada or Prairie du Chien, Crawford, Wisconsin, United States. Died: 1805 Prairie Du Chien, Crawford, Wisconsin, United

    States.
    They had 9 children. One child born 1790: Marie Pelletier dit Antaya (married Pierre La Pointe) [my Direct 6 generations ancestor].

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  8. Desire to find information on my Native American ancestors. Direct ancestor (6 generations) my fathers fathers mothers

    fathers ancestor line: info others research has found: Julie Sauvagesse (Bonet dit Bonneau dit Bonin born: ? 1751, 1749 /

    1779 Red River of the North.
    Married: Francois Bonneau (Bonin) born: 1772 French Canada.

    They had 2 daughters. My ancestor: Josephine Francoise Bonneau (Bonin). Born: 1801 Red River Settlement, Minnesota, United

    States. (married: Charles Latranche, Sr. (Tranchemontagne); had 9 children). Died: Jan 20 1872. Found statement saying

    she was Pembina Band of Ojibwa/Chippewa Native American.

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    • Bonnie,

      If you can send me a gedcom file of your ancestors, I can compare it to our data for my wife’s French Canadian ancestors, and possibly expand your data and ours. We have data on some of my wife’s Bonneau ancestors from the same time period. You can write to me directly at jay_ingalls@pipeline.com

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  9. Looking for descendants of Aaron Lake, born about 1775

    Aaron Lake lived in Breckinridge County, Kentucky, at the time of the 1820 census.
    Is he the same Aaron Lake who lived in Perry County, Indiana during the 1820 census?
    Was he the man enumerated in Washington County, Pennsylvania in the 1810 census?
    Did he pay taxes in Washington County, Pennsylvania in 1800?
    Did he marry and have children in Hunterdon County, New Jersey?
    Was he the same Aaron Lake who died in Morgan County, Illinois, on July 6, 1835?
    Which man, if any, is my ancestor?

    Researchers have shared this tidbit online: Mary Ann Lake (daughter of Aaron Lake) was born about 1794, in Hunterdon County, New Jersey. She died in 1852, in Leopold, Perry County, Indiana, where she was buried in the St. Augustine’s Catholic Church Cemetery. She married John Baptist Alvey on June 8, 1813, in Breckinridge County, Kentucky.

    My ancestor, Lindsay Lake, was born in Breckinridge County on May 5, 1813. He named his eldest son Aaron. Lindsay died in Morgan County, Illinois on August 19, 1876. Lindsay has the dubious distinction of my ancestor who married the most times. His son said it had been seven times, though it may have been eight. Son Aaron, born in 1835, is my ancestor.

    An Illinois neighbor, Israel Lake, provides additional clues. He was born in Pennsylvania about 1809 and married in Perry County, Indiana, in 1829. One of his descendants and I have an autosomal DNA match at the 5th-8th cousin level. Israel’s death is unknown, but was after 1880 and most likely was in either Cass County or adjoining Morgan County, Illinois.

    William Lake was born December, 1800, in Pennsylvania. He married in Perry County, Indiana, in 1824, and died in Vermillion County, Indiana, on Aug 27, 1868. His probate mentions Linzey Lake, likely my ancestor. I have a trace autosomal DNA match to a descendant of William Lake. William named his eldest son Aaron and another son Israel.

    Lord Harrison Lake was born in Pennsylvania before 1800, married in Perry County, Indiana, in 1822, and died in Cass County, Illinois about 1846.

    Both Y-DNA and autosomal DNA can help with this relationship puzzle. If you are a male Lake descendant, with all male Lake ancestors back to any of these men, please join the Lake surname project at FamilyTreeDNA. If, like me, your Lake ancestry wanders between males and females, your autosomal DNA can help. Consider testing with the FamilyTreeDNA Family Finder or with Ancestry DNA. Also be sure to upload the results to GedMatch.com. Please let me know via a private comment at my blog (scrappinmyhistory.blogspot.com), if you do one of these tests.

    Lindsay Lake had a mix of step and natural children. Obviously, we need DNA from only his natural children. Fortunately for us, his heirs had a court battle over his estate. His named heirs, all believed to be natural children are: Aaron Lake, Cynthiana Lake Fanning, John L. Lake, Susan Lake, Josephine Lake, George B. Lake, and Isaac H. Lake. I have a 4th-6th cousin match with a descendant of Cynthiana.

    The minor children of the Aaron Lake who died in Morgan County in 1835 were named in his probate:
    Angeline married George Sibert
    Rebecca married Edward Hardy

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  10. Thanks for this opportunity.

    My brick wall: the parents of James Campbell, born 03 Aug 1789, in either Kentucky or maybe Culpeper, Virginia. According to his son, Alfred Campbell, who wrote in a county history for Decatur, Indiana, “my father came, to Mason County, Kentucky as a small boy with his father from Culpeper, Virginia.” Alfred did not state the first name of father’s father. So far, I have not been able to find any James Campbell with that birth date listed for any Campbell family coming from Virginia.

    James married Sarah Mcclure on 9 August 1809 in Mason Co. Ky. James moved to Jefferson County, Indiana around 1816 and then to Ripley, Co. Indiana in 1828. He died in 1829 in Ripley, Indiana.

    They had ten children: Nancy Evaline (1811-1886), Sarah “Sally” Ann (1812-1902), James Orville (1813-1896), Elizabeth Jane (1816-1870), William Oliver (1817-1837), Alfred (1819-1895), Amanda (1824-1901), Milford C. Campbell (1826-1870), Clarissa “Mary” (1827) and my ancestor, Francis Marion (1828-1905).

    Any help would be appreciated beyond words.

    Sue Hassenmiller

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  11. Any suggestions an to go go about staring a family genealogy book? I have all this genealogical information I have accumulated the past three years that Inwould live to put into some short of “book” format. Thanks

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    • I have done it two ways. I think I like the individual way better. I’ve been writing a story about one ancestor every week now for 2 years. You can see them on the blog. Just search for the words “52 ancestors”. I think this is easier and it’s complete for each ancestor. The other way I’ve done it is to start with my grandparent and just take the “book” up that line through the different branches. It wasn’t too difficult for the lines I did that way, because I only had a few generations at the time. Today, I have quite a few more which is why I think the 52 Ancestors way is better for me.

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      • Because it never fits on a page…
        There are many ways to tackle the issue, but I found the genealogy book formats did not appeal to me. Instead, for my mother’s 90th, I used a picture book that allowed me to put a mixture of text and pictures – people, houses, maybe the church of the village. For the tree itself, I cut it up in 4-5 generations chunks and made screen prints of the computer display. I made a special page of showing relationships, such as how my son and his wife are related at the 8th generation. Finally I wrote about “famous” or noteworthy people in my ancestors.
        This mix seemed to please most people in the family, knowing not all of them are genealogists…the pictures really help.
        But it is very much a personal project. Enjoy!

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    • You can add data to genealogy programs like Legacy, then print ancestor or descendant books, pedigree charts, etc., for anyone in the data base. You can also edit the file created using a word processing program. The “books” from Legacy will not look as great as Roberta’s, but useful.

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  12. I’ve been looking for parents of William Scott Bailey b. abt Peacham, Groton, VT. He married Laura Ann McCauley abt. 1822 in NY. Their first known child, Alonzo Moody Bailey, was b. 1823 Wilmington, Essex, NY. Then Lyman Watson, 1825 Williamsport, NY. I think this should be Wilmington, NY. Lovinna, 1827 Wilmington, NY. Jane 1832 NY or Virginia. William Lambert 1833 Ohio. William Scott Bailey died to the best I can find, 1834 and was buried in Phellis Cemetery, Rosedale, Madison Co., OH

    His widow, Laura Ann McCauley Bailey, married Spencer Holycross in Madison, OH 1836. Spencer had 2 children by his 1st wife and 3 known with Laura. They were Henry Clay Holycross b. 1839, Mary 1841 possibly b. Virginia, Susannah b. 1847 Virginia or Ohio.

    Laura and Spencer are in the 1860 Ohio census and then nothing. Zip. Zero. Nada. I have history for all of the children but Laura and Spencer have fallen off the edge of the earth. I would like to find Laura’s death.

    A Bible owned by a Bailey cousin says Laura Bailey died 1864 but no location. Since she was called Bailey I suspect the Bailey people had lost track of her. I would have expected her to be called Holycross. Remarriage was so common, “everybody” was married more than once. The published McCauley family has Laura and her sister Abigail swapped. Laura married the Holycross, Abigail married the Miller.

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  13. I am Jan Bailey Lamphere. I cannot find parents for my gggrandfather, William Welsh. Supposedly he was born in Pittsburg PA in about 1838. He served in the Civil War. His parents are listed as being born in Ireland in the censuses. He married Julia Rosenett in Illinois and had 4 children with her. He died in Muscatine IO. His children are George, Francis, Anna, and Emma. Thank you for any help.

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  14. Probably my most annoying brick wall is my great-grandmother, Sarah King born ca. 1818 in New York or Vermont. According to her death certificate, her parents were James and Susan King.
    She (hopefully) married Robert Emmet Hastings, an immigrant from County Monaghan, Ireland, whose 1822 naturalization petition says he was born March 6, 1806, and he is consistent with that birthdate in every census, which I find astonishing.
    All of their children but one appear to have been born in Ontario County, NY, but they moved west and are in the Verona, Dane County Census, in 1855, and in Olmsted County, Minnesota, by 1870
    Mary Jane b about 1835 married Briggs
    Hannah born about 1836 disappears after 1850 censuses
    Susan Hastings born ca. 1838, married William Scidmore in Wisconsin. The C in that name is silent, making for an astonishing variety of misspellings.
    Robert E. born March 28, 1840, married Ann Sherer Shuman, a Civil War widow.
    James Dean, born 28 July 1842 married Hannah Rosetta Scherer, the sister of the Ann above
    Sarah born about 1844 and disappears after the 1860 census
    Seth born about 1845, died in a Cairo, Illinois army camp of disaeas
    Franklin born March 1848 married Ida Perry, and moved to Oregon. She died and he then married Lizzie Huggard
    Margaret Ann, my great grandmother born June 1850, married Asa Wallace Little in Byron, MN, and then moved to Lake Benton, Mn, where she died in 1923 She lied in every census denying the Irish origins of her father.
    Mortica born about 1853 married Sarah Belle Burgess. He died in Mason City, Iowa in 1902.
    Ellen May was born in Wisconsin, 1855, married Amon Morrill and died in 1881
    Hugh died was born in Wisconsin about 1857 and disappears after leaving his Methodist church in Byron, Minnesota in August 1871
    Frances Elizabeth “Fanny” born in Wisconsin in 1860, marries Richard Heritage, is widowed and remarries Valentine Bishop Harris, dies in Spokane in 1937

    I have been to the place where they lived in Canadaigua three times. I have done research at the Ontario County Historical Society. I hired a local researcher and paid her $1000 and she found only that Robert E. Hastings had been fined $200 for inciting a riot in 1852, but could not find what the riot was about. She found no information.
    I have made spreadsheets of all of the neighbors in every location in which there was a census and never found one match. I have connected with other descendants, and no one knows anything. I also made spreadsheets of all of the James and Susan Kings in New York and Vermont and some other states. I have been to Dane County, Wisconsin, and gone through extensive Methodist church records in Byron, Olmsted, Minnesota.
    These people have basically driven me mad since I started my genealogical research in 2007. I do have a Master’s Degree in Library Science, so good grief, why can’t I find this?
    kathybaxter@gmail.com

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  15. My brick wall is my husband’s grandfather, Fred (middle initial A. maybe) Hendricks. All information I have before 1918 is unverified.
    He lived in Council Bluffs (Pottawattamie County), IA and Ainsworth (Brown) and (mostly) Omaha (Douglas), NE.
    He was born November 8 or December 8, 1880 or 1883 in “Delfzijl Holland in the North and Frisian Islands of the Netherlands” and lived in Emden, Germany which is very close to Delfzijl.
    His father was Herman or Christian, Hendricks, who was born 1859 in Germany. His mother was Elizabeth Free, who was born in 1858 in France or Alsace-Lorraine.
    His father was a jeweler. Fred was an only child. He worked for the monks at a monastery and was thrown out of school for fencing without the proper equipment. He finished college by 16, studying criminal justice. He left home at 16 by stowing away on a ship, possibly the German Loyd, where they made him a cook to pay his way. He traveled all over the world including Africa as a cook on ships. He came to San Francisco where he lived with his uncles (I have no names for them).
    Fred was married July 12, 1919 to Edna Fay McGrath in Garner, Hancock, IA. Edna was from Britt, Hancock, IA.
    I have a WWI draft card: dated September 12, 1918 for a Fred A. Hendricks which is probably him since the employer address matches a 1922 Council Bluffs, IA city directory employer address which is definitely him since he is then with his wife, Edna.
    He died August 24, 1947 in Omaha, Douglas, NE.
    Fred’s immigration dates from censuses but I can’t find him on any ships:
    1920 US census: Omaha, NE: 1903 (Pa, applied for papers)
    1925 Iowa census: Council Bluffs, IA: 1898
    1930 US census: Ainsworth, NE: 1901 (Alien) (definitely him)
    1930 US census: Omaha, NE: 1897 (Pa) (listed as Fred Hendrick but seems to be him too)
    1940 US census: Omaha, NE: Al
    He applied for citizenship in San Francisco but lost his papers in the earthquake in 1906 and never bothered to reapply.
    He worked in Death Valley and Texas, possibly in the oil industry. He also worked at the Waldorf in New York City (I contacted the Waldorf and they have no employment records that old).
    There is a 1901 Portland, OR crimping case which involves a Fred Hendricks but I don’t have enough evidence to decide whether this is the right Fred or not. The sailor profession, location, and date make it possible that it’s him.

    Thanks so much for the opportunity to post my brick wall here. I am really at a dead end.

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  16. William Saunders was born about 1835 in Pennsylvania. I need to find his father. His mother was born Sarah Owens, daughter of Ishmael Owens and Catherine Stem; she was born in Chester County, PA.

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  17. I am brick walled on my McLain line.
    James McClane, born 1777. was first found in the Index of North Carolina Marriage Bonds on 8 Apr 1801with his wife, Rebecca Kachelriess (sometimes listed as Cockelreese and other variations). They are also listed as communicants of the Friedens Lutheran Church in Orange County, North Carolina on 12 Jun 1814. By 1830 they have moved to Bond County, Illinois. 1840 they are in Jasper County, Illinois. James died in Jefferson County, Illinois circa 1849 and Rebecca died in Jefferson County in 1855.
    Their children are:

    · Margaretha (married Job Allen, had one child and moved to Tennessee)
    · Elizabeth (unmarried, son John Wesley Copeland McLain) lived in Illinois
    · Jacob (married Hannah Boykin, had 9 children and lived in Illinois)
    · John (married Betty, surname unknown, had 3 children, lived in Illinois)
    · Mary (married Augustus Talley first. Married Nathaniel Wigginton after Augustus death; had 8 children; lived in Illinois.
    · David (married Manerva Wigginton first and had 8 children. Married Grace Turnbo after Manerva’s death. Lived and died in Texas.)
    · Joseph Joel (married Sarah Wigginton and had 5 children. Married Mary Elizabeth Hatchett after Sarah’s death. Lived and died in Illinois.)
    · James (married Mary Murkrain and had 6 children. Married Sidney Sowers after Mary’s death. Lived in Illinois.)

    We have the Y-DNA sample from one of James’ lines.

    My shout-out is this: If you’re a McLain/MacLean/MacLaine and variations whose early lineage comes from North Carolina, Tennessee or Illinois, and your line hasn’t been Y DNA tested, please, PLEASE Y DNA test at Family Tree DNA.
    There is a Clan MacLean/MacLaine Project with a great chart of connections. Whether you connect to my McLain line or not, you’ll likely connect to some line.
    Please contact me if anyone is descended from James McClain’s children’s lines, please take the autosomal Family Finder test at Family Tree DNA or contact me if you already have tested at Family Tree DNA or contact me if you already have tested at Family Tree DNA or elsewhere.

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  18. I have a brick wall ancestress named Mary WHITAKER from Rowan County, North Carolina. She is my direct maternal ancestor, with haplogroup proposed subclade U5a1i1a1. Her husband was Strangeman JOHNSON.

    I wrote about some of the search on this page: https://digginupgraves.wordpress.com/2014/11/04/finding-mary-whitaker-part-1-of-mtdna-u5a1i1a1-52-ancestors/.

    There is some evidence that her sister was a Patience WHITAKER who married Elijah MARLOW.

    Strangeman JOHNSON and most, if not all, of his family migrated from North Carolina to Henry County, Indiana, between 1830 and 1840.

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    • William Whitaker and Elizabeth Carleton are my 7th great grandparents. William was born in England; Elizabeth in Ireland. About 1720, William came with his widowed mother, two brothers and a sister to Philadelphia. They settled in Chester County, PA, where William and Elizabeth were married in 1722. In 1751, they requested a Certificate of Removel from the Bradford (Chester County) Monthly Meeting to go to North Carolina. They may have stayed briefly in VA or MD, but were in Rowan County, NC (the part that is now Davidson County) by 1755. The Certificate was never presented to another church and the family became Baptist in NC.

      This is my MTDNA line. I have two zero distance matches. One who also traces her ancestry to Elizabeth Carleton. The other one only traces back to the 1880s and doesn’t reply to email. I’m sure she would also trace to Elizabeth (or to one of Elizabeth’s ancestors). My descent is through William and Elizabeth’s daughter, Susannah, who married Hugh McCrary.

      When I read your post, I thought … yes, finally someone I can help :-)! You must descend from one of these Marys in my tree with no known spouse … at least not known to me! However, my haplogroup is H7a1c. You’re right … this is never easy. But, William had two brothers (Peter and Robert) who came with him, at least as far as PA. I’ve done lots of research on William and Elizabeth’s descendants, but none on those of the brothers. Quite possibly, they went to NC, as well. If you are descended from one of the brothers, your haplogroup would come from the wife of the brother, so could be different than mine. Our common ancestors would be the parents of William and the brother. I don’t have a Patience in my database, but if she descends from one of the brothers, I wouldn’t. I do have Marlows, but they are in Iredell/Alexander/Wilkes Counties, and not connected to Whitakers.

      I spent a week last summer in Rowan/Davidson Counties. I have LOTS of documents that I copied and haven’t gotten to yet. I am pretty convinced that all the Whitakers in Rowan County (at least in the part that became Davidson, as Rowan County was huge then), who were there that early … are related.

      Would love to hear from you.

      Nancy Crane
      ncrane1126@sbcglobal.net

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  19. My son has an ancestral couple William L WALLEN and Mary Annie SAWYER. Both of them are brick walls. They were from Buncombe and Madison Counties, North Carolina.

    William WALLEN was b. c. 1815 in probably South Carolina, and he died in the U. S. Civil War on 13 March 1863, in Campbell County, Tennessee.

    Annie SAWYER was born in 1816 in South Carolina. and died 25 January 1882, most likely in North Carolina.

    I have written about this family at this link: https://digginupgraves.wordpress.com/2015/03/06/annie-wallen-and-the-cumberland-gap-too-far-from-family-too-close-to-home-52-ancestors-2015-9/.

    Y-DNA links a descendant of William WALLEN to Elisha WALLEN, the “Long Hunter.” At this time, there is not enough evidence to show whether he is a descendant or a cousin. Annie’s mother was probably named “Winney.”

    William and Annie (SAWYER) WALLEN had only sons – six of them. Archibald died at the legendarily horrendous Camp Douglas in Chicago. Ruben was at Camp Douglas at the same time as his brother, but he survived the conditions.

    The sons of William and Annie were as follows:

    1) Ruben Benjamin WALLEN, b. c. 1838, South Carolina, m. Lucinda Minerva PENLAND.
    2) Archibald T WALLEN, b. c. 1844, North Carolina, possibly married before he went to war, but information unknown.
    3) John F WALLEN, b. c. 1846, North Carolina, m. 1866, Mary ______.
    4) Isaac WALLEN, b. c. 1849, North Carolina, m. Harriett E ______.
    5) Hughey Columbus WALLEN, b. 4 July 1850, North Carolina, m. Harret J ______.
    6) Stephen Woodville WALLEN, b. 7 March 1851, North Carolina, m. 1871, Martha COLE.

    WALLEN has various spellings, including WALLING, WALLIN, and WALDEN.

    I am looking for any descendants or relatives.

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    • My family has gone under the surnames Calvert, Colvard, and Colbert since Christopher Calvert was transported to Accomack Co, VA in 1636. “Descendants of Virginia Calverts” by Ella Foy O’Gorman, pp. 585-591. y-DNA and autosomal testing indicates that descendants of Christopher Calvert include the families of William and Temperance Calvert/Colvard of Chesterfield Co, VA “Calverts of Virginia Calverts,” pp. 703-719; James Colbert of the Chickasaw Nations; and my family which moved from Plumtree (Mush) Island, Halifax Co, NC to Bute (Franklin/Warren) Co, NC in 1768.

      Information collected from FTDNA Family Finders also suggests that descendants of Benjamin Calvert/Colvard (son of William and Temperance Colvard) are also related to a daughter of Thomas Jefferson and Mary Heming of Monticello under the Colbert/Colvard name.

      I would like to find out more about the Jefferson/Heming connection.

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  21. My Brick wall; Greetings from Ireland. I am looking for Descendants of the relatives of Mrs E. J. Kennedy and Katherine Duffy don’t know if Mrs/Miss. The Obituary notice of their Cousin’s Funeral Rev Father Charles M. Degnan, This is part of the Obituary notice The funeral of Rev. Father Charles M. Degnan was held from SS. Peter and Paul’s Roman Catholic Church Jamestown NY. The sermon which was preached by Bishop Charles Henry Colton of Buffalo He then reviewed briefly the life of Father Degnan, who was born at Roscommon, Ireland, July 6, 1880, and came to this country with his parents at the early age of four years. His parents died shortly after his arrival in this country, since which time he made his residence with his uncle, Rev. Father Michael Flood of North Clarendon, Pa, now of McKean, Pa., until the time of his ordination, June 9, 1906. The relatives present .were: Katherine Degnan of New York, a sister; Miss Anna Noonan of McKean. pa., and Miss Katherine Noonan of New York, cousins were; Mrs. E, J. Kennedy of Erie. Pa., and Katherine Duffy of Bradford, Pa. Among the priests present was Bishop Charles Henry Colton of Buffalo, his uncle; Rev. Father Michael Flood of McKean, Pa.: This is the link to the full obituary; http://fultonhistory.com/Newspapers%2023/Jamestown%20NY%20Evening%20Journal/Jamestown%20NY%20Evening%20Journal%201910/Jamestown%20NY%20Evening%20Journal%201910%20-%200496.pdf (This is about Rev Fr. Charles Degnan’s sister Katherine Degnan). A Nun at Saint Mary’s, Notre Dame, Indiana emailed this information; Sister M. Ethna (Katherine Degnan) was born in New York City, New York, December 23, 1886, She died at Saint Mary’s Convent, April 29, 1982, the daughter of Dominic Degnan and Mary Kane. Both parents were born in Ireland. The cousins are: Mrs. E. J. Kennedy and Katherine Duffy. The document we have lists Miss Anna Noonan and Miss Katherine Noonan but does not explain their relationship to the family. The document states that when Charles and Katherine left St. Joseph’s Home of Peekskill, New York they went to live with their mother’s sister, Mrs. Anna McLaughlin in New York City.

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  22. my brick wall is my GGG GRANDFATHER, WILLIAM DUGGINS. He was born 10/31/1751 but limited info where, most info implies Cork, Ireland. Biographical accounts say he emigrated with his mother Alice (Ailce?), a widow, and arrived in Fredericksburg, VA around 1758. His mother remarried a Robert Wilkerson/Wilkinson and had 3 children with him. William was named guardian to his half brother George in Robert’s will. William served in the revolution and married Elizabeth Perkins and had 14 children. I can’t get past this road block & it’s driving me bonkers!

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    • If you test at AncestryDna, you have the trees of your matches which could give you some clarity, maybe. Regardless of those who criticize the ancestry trees, you can still possibly learn from them because many are well researched; and there are gracious people who are willing to share. I am still anxiously awaiting a few family Bibles to present themselves to help with my brick walls.

      Unfortunately, of late there are diminishing returns, because after this last debacle with changes at Ancestry, 70% of my matches are now presenting with Private or No trees (as compared to 50% previously); although the total number of matches is steadily increasing.

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  23. Our brick wall is to identify the mother of Anna Petronellia Sherman (1865-1961) who was born near Indianapolis.and died in Clinton, Missouri. Her father was Thomas Sherman (1841-1912); her mother is reported to have been his first wife, a German girl (Catherine?) who died shortly after Anna was born. I have been unable to locate a marriage record in Indiana or anywhere else. Anna Petronellia is known to have left female descendants through daughters Bertha and Viola Reed. It would be great if some of them could come forward to take a mitochondrial DNA test to help us move forward on this question.

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    • Yes and no. At first, I found someone to commiserate with. Like me she is French-Canadian with Catholic Scots in her lineage. It was a comment she made about the fact that the Scottish heritage family tree DNA site wasn’t anywhere as good as the French heritage one. This week for some reason (well, I saw a McKinnon born in PEI on the French Heritage list, just 10 names above my LeSage ancestor) I decided to look at the surname project of family tree DNA. McKinnon is the surname I was searching for – origin Isle of Eigg, Inner Hebrides, Scotland. And there it is, the McKinnons, inner and outer Hebrides, with amazingly similar DNA signatures. So while mine is not listed exactly, because we don’t know what happened to the male offspring, I have the Y-DNA to within one or two STRs ! What are they doing in the midst of French? My first reaction when I saw the Scottish name, was that this could be a non-documented adoption. But no, the McKinnon clan is consistent.
      They all are R-M269, and most to within one or two STR on 37 markers.

      This was one of those ahah moments!

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      • I’ve come full circle looking for my Ward family. I’ve got them back to PEI in 1800 so I thought Canadian, Irish, then Acadian, then after reading a bunch of books on line I thought Scotch. And now I don’t know. The DNA results aren’t working real well for me. The connections I have made are for the wrong branch. It’s the brick wall branch I’m looking for, not people who are already documented by every society who has an interest. Each new little clue gives me hope for a couple of days until I track them far enough to know they aren’t mine.

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        • My goodness! I don’t even remember this thread and yet, here I am! Lots has changed since 2016! I have Ebenezer Ward probably from Jew Jersey leaving in 1783 from NY, a Loyalist. He m. Margaret Peggy Clark PEI in 1792. Peggy was the daughter of Pvt. John Clark and his wife Dorothy. They came to the island when Holland surveyed in 1765. John got land from Holland in Lot 28. My John Clark lived in Tryon, was a soldier/carpenter. The Other John Clark was 20 years younger from Ireland, a cabinet maker living in Charlottetown. Almost all the trees at ancestry has the Irish John Clark’s wife married to the soldier John Clark.

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      • Two years later…
        Out of the blue, comes an e-mail, someone wants to share… and the brick wall just dropped several feet down.
        Today is an amazing good news day on my Scottish Ancestry front. One correspondent who shares Laughlin McKinnon as an ancestor found solid evidence (notaried petition to appoint curator for the estate at death) that he was the brother of Donald (the reformed soldier turned innkeeper, first seigneur of Matane, the Donald McKinnon married to Françoise Talon in Montréal in 1765). This means we now know who their parents were: Augustin (most likely Angus) McKinnon and Christine MacDonald of Kildonan (Eigg, Small Isles, Scotland). It also explains why he came to Matane.

        Bonus – I also found evidence of death and age at death (97 in 1834) for Laughlin. Therefore, from the census we can be quite certain that he is the fourth Laughlin McKinnon on the list, age 29, living with his mother Christine age 50 and either his wife or sister named Catherine age 21.

        I also now know that there were no male who had descendants for either brother – so I can stop looking.

        Just needed to share and thank Amélie Bernier…

        Roberta – you just know the feeling I am sure. Thanks for allowing us to post.

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        • This is for Suzanne Lesage. Lauchlin McKinnon of Matane did have children. I have tried to contact you before. Please contact me at “northernpiper@outlook.com” I live in Donald McKinnon’s former home in Montmagny. Thank you. Ewen Booth

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          • Not sure why you think I said Laughlin did not have children. No male descendants, but his daughters did marry and have children. My ancestor is Genevieve. I will contact you privately.

  25. I’m looking for Levi Moore born 1838 +who married Mary Melrose born Edwards ill. They lived in wayne co. Ill had daughter Lide Moore born1877+ who MARRIED in Edwards ill to THOMAS PINKNEY SKINNER BORN 1855. Lide moore Skinner, mother of letta skinner bor 1894,mother of Donald Charles straight father of 10 children in randolph co. Ill.
    Any help is appriciated….I think there is native american in this line and that could be the problem…Help! : )

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  26. My brick wall is Eli Davis. He was born around 1779. I would love to find out the parents or family that Eli came from. The earliest records show him listed on an 1804 tax list for Washington County, VA. He is then married in 1806 in Grayson County, VA to Martha Patsy Baker. She is the daughter of Rev. Andrew Baker. Interestingly, although the marriage was performed by her father, there was quite an age difference between the two. Eli was 26 and Martha was only 15, which leads us to believe that the families possibly knew each other. Andrew Baker sold land in TN to a William Davis from Ashe County, NC. In 1807, Eli Davis purchased land on the south fork of the Holston River. They sold the land to a William Davis a year later. Could these two William Davis’ be the same? Could they be related to Eli Davis? Eli Davis died in 1861 in Mulberry Gap, Hancock County, TN. We have done a 67 marker test on FTDNA and the haplogroup for our line is I-M253. If you are related to any Davis’ in this area, I would love to compare information to possibly find a match. Thanks.

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  27. So do you have a match to Emanuel Dees? My last mane is Dees an Emanuel Dees an his son Emanuel Dees Jr. in my line . If I can help let me know. Jerame David Dees

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    • Odd. I was just this second corresponding with someone who believes his line includes Emanuel. My post some time ago was on my ggm Rachel Dees, b 1835-1840 TN, supposedly an orphan. Don’t know if Dees is maiden name or not. Have lots of Dees matches, including ones who trace to Emanuel. Write me at jmurt AT comcast.net

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      • Hello, not sure what this post on Scattering breadcrumbs is , conversation ongoing, and it just arrived in my e-mail box. I’m slightly familiar with the Dees line as I did a bit of unsuccessful research trying to find a link to Dees from my Brown (aka Hicks) line. A Family Tree Y-DNA test recorded 110 exact markers out of 111 markers matching with Dees descendants. I also have a match with a Davis
        – my e-mail: mfearn@socal.rr.com

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    • Read your post on “Scattered Breadcrumbs” and wonder if you have any Brown or Hicks people in you Dees line in NC? My Y-DNA matches several Dees – 110 markers out of 111. My surname Brown was said by my Virginia grandfather to have originally been Hicks – changed to Brown – which proved true when I matched several Hicks in Stokes County, NC , then also matched several Dees (desceded from Emanuel). We’ve tested at Fam Tree (mfearn), Anc.com (#1 Southern Roots Branches & Twigs) and am on Ged Match (A370380 Margaret Brown Fearn). Still looking for both connections . . . Margaret, Southern Calif.

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