Monthly Archives: January 2024

Pedigree Collapse and DNA – Plus an Easy-Peasy Shortcut

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Pedigree collapse can be responsible for you sharing more DNA than expected with another person.

What is pedigree collapse?

Pedigree collapse occurs when you descend from the same ancestor(s) through more than one path. In other words, you descend from those ancestors through two different children. Therefore, when matching with someone else who descends through those ancestors, you may share more DNA than would be expected from that level of relationship on the surface, meaning without pedigree collapse.

Endogamy is different and means that you descend from a community of ancestors who descend from the same group of ancestors. Often out-marriage is discouraged or otherwise impossible, so all of the group of people share common ancestors, which means they often match on segments without sharing close ancestors. Examples of descent from endogamous populations are Jewish, Amish, Brethren, Acadian, Native Hawaiian, Māori, and Native American people, among others.

I wrote about the difference between pedigree collapse and endogamy in the article, What’s the Difference Between Pedigree Collapse and Endogamy?

I’ve also written about endogamy in the following articles:

Degrees of Consanguinity

If you’re a genealogist, and especially if you’ve worked with Catholic church records, you’ve probably heard of “degrees of sanguinity,” which are prohibited blood relationships in marriage. For example, siblings are prohibited from marrying because they are too closely related, according to church doctrine.

By SVG remake by WClarke based on original by User:Sg647112c – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=54804980

Today, we think of the genetic results of inbreeding, but originally, relationships (and consanguinity) also had to do with inheritance.

Essentially, marriages are prohibited by degree of sanguinity, and that degree is calculated based on this relationship chart. Prohibited degrees of consanguinity changed over time. Sometimes, a priest granted dispensation for a couple to wed who was of a prohibited degree of sanguinity. That’s a genealogy goldmine because it tells you where to look for common ancestors. It also tells you something else – that you may share more DNA with other descendants of that couple than one would otherwise expect.

More Than You Ever Expected

Recently, I’ve been working with an academic research team on a very interesting ancient DNA case that involves pedigree collapse. Doing the genealogy and genetic work on how much DNA was expected in a match without pedigree collapse, and how much was expected with pedigree collapse, was very interesting.

The team was working to confirm relationships between people in a cemetery. The burials shared more DNA than anticipated for who the people were believed to be. Enter pedigree collapse.

I can’t disclose the circumstances just yet – but I will as soon as possible. It’s an extremely interesting story.

We needed to ensure that readers, both academic and more generally understood pedigree collapse and our calculations. Why did burials share higher than expected DNA than indicated by the expected relationships? This puzzle becomes much more interesting when you add in pedigree collapse.

Academic researchers and scientists have access to models and mathematical algorithms that normal air-breathing humans don’t have easy access to.
So, what do you do if you and a match have a known pedigree collapse in your tree? How much DNA can you expect to share, and how do you calculate that?

These are all great questions, so let’s take a look.

I’m sharing the PowerPoint slides I prepared for our team on this topic. I’ve removed anything that would identify or even hint at the project and modified the slides slightly for easier consumption.

This presentation has never been given publicly, so you’re first! It seemed a waste to do this work and not share it!

Pedigree Collapse and DNA

Pedigree collapse occurs when you share an ancestor or ancestors through different pathways. In this case, the person at the bottom is the child of parents who were third cousins, but the father’s grandparents were also first cousins.

First cousin marriages were common in the not-too-distant past. Today, you could easily marry your third or fourth cousin and not even realize it unless someone in your family just happened to be a genealogist.

Genealogists use various tools to calculate the expected amount of shared DNA in relationships – first cousins, siblings, or half-siblings, for example. Both the Shared cM Project at DNAPainter and SegcM at DNA-Sci Tools provide tools.

Take a look at the article, DNA: In Search of…Full and Half-Siblings, for some great examples.

First cousins share common grandparents. Their child inherits DNA from two paths that lead back to the same ancestors. Some of that DNA will be the same, meaning the child will or can inherit the same ancestral segment from both parents, and some will be different segments from those ancestors that the parents do not share with each other.

Inheritance – How It Works

Let’s look at inheritance to see how this happens.

Let’s start with full and half-siblings.

Each child inherits half of their DNA from each parent, but not entirely the same half (unless they are identical twins.)

Therefore, full siblings will match on about 50% of their DNA, which is illustrated by the segments on the chromosome browser. However, and this will be important in a minute, about 25% of their DNA is exactly the same, when compared to each other, on the chromosome inherited from their father and mother at the same location.

On the chromosome browser, you can see that three siblings do match. One sibling (the grey background chromosomes) is the person both other full siblings are being compared to, in the example above.

What you can’t determine is whether they share the exact same DNA on both their mother and father’s Chromosome 1, where the matches overlap, for example. We know they both match their sibling, but the top person could match the sibling due to a match from their paternal chromosome in that location, and the bottom person could match due to their maternal chromosome. There’s no way to know, at least not from that view.

The areas where the siblings share exactly the same DNA on both their maternal and paternal chromosome, both, with each other are called Fully Identical REgions (FIR), as compared to Half Identical Regions (HIR) where the siblings match on either their maternal or paternal copy of the chromosome, but not both.

23andMe used to provide a tool that displayed both types of matches.

Since the data exposure incident at 23andMe, they no longer provide this lovely tool, and since that help page is now gone as well, I doubt this view will ever be returned. Fortunately, I grabbed a screenshot previously.

The dark purple segments are fully identical, meaning that these two full siblings match on both their maternal and paternal chromosomes in that location. The magenta are half identical, which means they match on EITHER the maternal or paternal chromosome in that location but not on both chromosomes. Of course, no color (light grey) means there is no match at that location.

Please note that because 23andMe counts fully identical regions (FIR) twice, their total matching cMs are elevated. The other companies do NOT count those regions twice.
GEDmatch also shows both full and half-identical regions as described more fully, here.

In this full-sibling example from GEDmatch, the green segments are fully identical regions across both the maternal and paternal chromosomes.

The definition of FIR is that two people match on both their mother’s and father’s DNA on the same chromosome. Therefore, in following generations, there technically should not be FIR matches, but in some instances we do find FIR matches outside of full siblings.

Moving down another generation, first cousins may share SOME fully identical DNA, especially if they are from an endogamous population or their mothers are related, but less, and it’s generally scattered.

Here’s my Mom’s GEDmatch comparison to her first cousin. The purple-legend segment shows a match, and the green within that match shows fully identical locations.

You can easily see that these are very scattered, probably representing “chance” or population-based fully identical matching locations within a segment. Comparatively, the green FIR segments for full siblings are dense and compact, indicating a segment that is fully identical.

Evaluating matches for dense FIR segments (known as runs of homozygosity – ROH) is a good indicator of parental relatedness.

Double Cousins

Of course, if these people were double first cousins, where the wives of the siblings were sisters to each other – the first cousins would have large patches of dense green FIR segments.

First cousins share grandparents.

Double first cousins occur when two people share both sets of grandparents, meaning that brothers marry sisters. Normal first cousins share about 12.5% of their DNA, but double first cousins share about 25% of their DNA.

In this case, Sharon and Donna descend from two brothers, James and Henry, who were sons of Joseph and Jane. In this scenario, James and Henry married unrelated women, so Sharon and Donna are first cousins to each other.

Double first cousins share both sets of grandparents so they would inherit FIR from both sets of siblings.

You need to be aware of this, but for now, let’s stick with non-double relationships. You’re welcome!

DNA Inheritance

Here’s a different example of DNA inheritance between two siblings.

  1. You can see that in the first 50 cM segment, both siblings inherited the same DNA from both parents, so they match on both their mother’s and father’s chromosomes. They match on both the 50 cM green and 50 cM pink segments. 23andMe would count that as 100 cMs, but other vendors only count a segment IF it matches, NOT if it matches twice. So, other vendors count this as a 50 cM match.
  2. In column two, these two people don’t match at all because they inherited different DNA from each parent. In this example, Person 1 inherited their maternal grandmother’s segment, and Person 2 inherited their maternal grandfather’s segment.
  3. In column three, our siblings match on their paternal grandmother’s segment.
  4. In column four, no match again.

How much can we expect to inherit at different levels – on average?

Different tools differ slightly, and all tools provide ranges. In our example, I’ve labeled the generations and how much shared DNA we would expect – WITHOUT pedigree collapse.

Ancestral couple Inherited cM Inherited %
Gen 1 – Their children 3500 cM 50
Gen 2 – Grandchildren 1750 cM 25
Gen 3 – Great-Grandchildren 875 cM 12.5
Gen 4 – GG-Grandchildren 437.5 6.25
Gen 5 – GGG-Grandchildren 218.75 3.125
Gen 6 – GGGG-Grandchildren 109.375 1.5625
Gen 7 – GGGG-Grandchildren 54.6875 .078125

Please note that this is inherited DNA, not shared (matching) DNA with another person.

Adding in pedigree collapse, you can see that we have three Gen 1 people involved, three Gen 2 descendants, and two Gen 3 and Gen 4 people.

Each of those people inherit and pass on segments from our original couple at the top.
We have three distinct inheritance paths leading from our original couple to Gen 5.
We have a first cousin marriage at Gen 2, at left, which means that their child, Gen 3, will have an elevated amount of the DNA of their common ancestors.

In Gen 4, two people marry who both descend from a common couple, meaning their child, Gen 5, descends from that couple in three different ways.

Did your eyes just glaze over? Well, mine did, too, which is why I had to draw all of this out on paper before putting it into PowerPoint.

The Gen 5 child inherits DNA from the ancestral couple via three pathways.
The next thing to keep in mind is that just because you inherit the DNA from an ancestor does not mean you match another descendant. Inheritance is not matching.

You must inherit before you can match, but just because you and someone else have inherited a DNA segment from a common ancestor does not guarantee a match. Those segments could be in different locations.

Categories of DNA

When dealing with inheritance and descent, we discuss four categories of DNA.

  • In the first generation, full siblings will, in about 25% of their locations, share the same DNA that has been inherited from both parents on the same chromosome. In other words, they match each other both maternally and paternally at that location. Those are FIR.
  • The DNA you inherit from an ancestor.
  • The DNA that both you and your cousin(s) inherit from a common ancestor and match on the same location. This is shared DNA.
  • The DNA that both you and your cousin(s) inherit from a common ancestor, but it’s not in the same location, so you do not match each other on that segment. Just because you inherit DNA from that ancestor does not necessarily mean that your cousin has the same DNA from that ancestor. This is inherited but not shared.

Inheritance is Not The Same as Matching

Inheritance is not the same thing as matching.

Inheriting our ancestor’s DNA isn’t enough. We need to match someone else who inherited that same segment in order to attribute the segment to that specific ancestor.

Depending on how close or distant the relationship, two people may share a lot of DNA (like full siblings), or one segment in more distant matches, or sometimes none at all. As we reach further back in time, we inherit less and less of our increasingly distant ancestors’ DNA, which means we match increasingly fewer of their descendants. I wrote about determining ancestral percentages in the article,  Ancestral Percentages – How Much of Them is in You?

Based on how much DNA we share with other known relatives, we can estimate relationships.

Pedigree collapse, where one descends from common ancestors more than once, increases the expected amount of inherited DNA, which in turn increases the probability of a shared match with other descendants.

Ancestral Couple Matching Between Shared DNA ~cM Shared DNA ~% Range (Shared cM Project) FIR – Identical DNA
Generation 1 Full Siblings 2600 50 1613-3488 25%
Generation 2 First Cousins 866 12.5 396-1397 0
Generation 3 Second Cousins 229 3.125 41-592 0
Generation 4 Third Cousins 73 0.78125 0-234 0

Here’s an example through third cousins, including expected FIR, fully identical regions where full siblings match each other on both their maternal and paternal chromosomes in the same location.

I provided a larger summary chart incorporating the information from public sources, here, minus FIR.

Of course, double cousins, where two pairs of siblings marry each other, represent another separate level of complexity. DNA-Sci’s Double Cousin Orogen explains this here and also provides a tool.

Double cousins, meaning when two pairs of siblings marry each other, are different from doubly related.

Doubly related means that two people descend from common ancestors through multiple paths, meaning multiple lines of descent. Doubly related is pedigree collapse. Double cousins is pedigree collapse on steroids.

Pedigree Collapse, aka Doubly Related

Calculating expected inherited DNA from multiple lines of descent is a bit more challenging.

A handy-dandy chart isn’t going to help with multiple relationships because the amount of expected shared DNA is based on the number of and distance of relationships.

Please note that this discussion excludes X-DNA matching which has its own inheritance path.

It’s time for math – but I promise I’ll make this relatively easy – pardon the pun.

What’s Behind the Math?

So, here’s the deal. I want you to understand why and how this works. You may not need this information today, but eventually, you probably will. This is one of those “refer back to it” articles for your personal library. Read this once as a conceptual overview, then read it again if you need to work through the relationships.

This is easy if you take it one step at a time.

First, we calculate each path separately.

In the first generation, full siblings inherit identical (FIR) DNA on both their mother’s and father’s chromosomes.

In the second generation, the male inherits the maternal segment, and the female inherits the paternal segment.

In the third generation, their child inherits those segments intact from both of their parents. The child inherits from the ancestral couple twice – once through each parent.

In generation 1, those two segments were FIR, fully identical regions. Both of those men married unrelated wives. When their children, Gen 2, were born, they had either the maternal or paternal segment from their father because they had an entirely different segment in that location from their mother.

However, the child in Gen 3 inherited the original green segment from their father and the original pink segment from their mother – reuniting those FIR segments in later generations.

First Cousin’s Child

Let’s calculate the inheritance for the child of those two first cousins who married.

Ancestral couple Inherited cM Inherited %
Gen 3 – Great-Grandchildren 875 cM 12.5
Gen 3 – Great-Grandchildren 875 cM 12.5
Total 1750 cM 25

Normally, a Gen 3 person inherits roughly 875 cM, or 12.5% of their great-grandparent’s DNA. However, since their grandparents were first cousins, they inherit about twice that amount, or 1750 cM.

While a Gen 3 person inherits as much as a grandchild (25%) normally would from the original couple, they won’t match on all of that DNA. When matching, we need to subtract some of that DNA out of the equation for two reasons:

  • In the first generation, between siblings, some of their DNA was fully identical and cannot be identified as such.
  • In the second generation, they will each have some parts of the ancestral couple’s DNA that will not match the other person. So, they inherit the same amounts from their common ancestors, but they can only be expected to match on about 25% of that amount two generations later.

However, the child of first cousins who marry inherits more DNA of the common ancestors than they would if their parents weren’t related. It’s just that some of that DNA is the same, potentially on the maternal and paternal chromosomes again, and some won’t match at all.

While matching DNA is the whole point of autosomal DNA testing, fully identical DNA matching regions (FIR) cannot be identified that way. For the most part, other than identifying full and half-siblings, sometimes pedigree collapse, and parent-relatedness, fully identical DNA isn’t terribly useful for genealogy. However, we still need to understand how this works.

It’s OK if you just want to say, “I know we’ll share more DNA due to pedigree collapse,” but if you want to know how much more to expect, keep reading. I’d really like for you to understand use cases and be able to track those segments.

Remember, we will learn a super-easy shortcut at the end, so for now, just read. It’s important to understand why the shortcut works.

Sibling Inheritance Versus Matching

In order to compare apples to apples, sometimes we need to remove some portion of DNA in our calculations.

Remember story problems where you had to “show your work”?

Calculating Expected DNA

Here’s the step-by-step logic.

Ancestral couple Inherited Non-Identical cM Inherited %
Gen 1 first son 3500 50
Gen 1 second son 3500 50
Less identical segments (FIR) -1750 (subtracted from one child for illustration) 25
Gen 2 son 1750 25
Gen 2 daughter married Gen 2 son 875 12.5
Gen 3 – Their child path through Gen 2 son 875 cM 12.5
Gen 3 – Their child path through Gen 2 mother 437.5 cM 6.25
Their child total without removing identical segments 1750 cM 25
Their child total after removing identical segments 1312.5 18.75

Category cMs Most Probable Degree Relationship
No Pedigree Collapse 875 98% Great grandparent or great-grandchild, great or half aunt/uncle, great or half niece/nephew, 1C 3
Pedigree Collapse without identical segment removal 1750 100% Grandparent, grandchild, aunt/uncle, half-sibling, niece/nephew 2
Pedigree Collapse after identical segment removal 1312.5 56% grandparent, grandchild, aunt/uncle, niece/nephew, half-sibling 2

Just because you HAVE this much shared (and/or identical) DNA doesn’t mean you’ll match on that DNA.

Next, let’s look at Gen 5 child who inherited three ways from the ancestors.

If you think, “This will never happen,” remember that it did, which is why I was working through this story problem. It’s not uncommon for families to live in the same area for generations. You married who you saw – generally, your family and neighbors, who were likely also family.

Let’s take a look at that 5th generation child.

The more distantly related, the less pedigree collapse affects matching DNA. That’s not to say we can ignore it.

Here’s our work product. See, this isn’t difficult when you take it step by step, one at a time.

Ancestral couple Inherited Non-Identical cM Inherited %
Gen 3 Child total after removing identical segments 1312.5 18.75
Gen 4 father – half of Gen 3 father 656.25 9.375
Gen 5 child – half of Gen 4 father 328.125 4.6875
Gen 5 child – mother’s side calculated from ancestral couple normally 218.75 3.125
Total for Gen 5 Child 546.875 7.8125

Inheritance Ranges

Lots of factors can affect how much DNA a person in any given generation inherits from an ancestor. The same is true with multiple paths from that same ancestor. How do we calculate multiple path inheritance ranges?

As with any relationship, we find a range, or combined set of ranges for Gen 5 Child based on the multiple pathways back to the common ancestors.

Gen 5 Child Inherited Non-Identical cM Inherited %
Without removing either paternal or maternal identical cMs 656.25 9.375
After removing paternal identical cMs only 546.875 7.8125

 
After removing maternal cMs only 546.875 7.8125

 
After removing both paternal and maternal identical cMs 362.50 6.25
Normal Gen 5 no pedigree collapse 218 3.125

What About Matching?

Inheritance and matching are different. Most of the time, two people are unlikely to share all of the DNA they inherited from a particular ancestor. Of course, inheriting through multiple paths increases the likelihood that at least some DNA from that ancestor is preserved and that it’s shared with other descendants.

Two people aren’t expected to match on all of the segments of DNA that they inherit from a particular ancestor. The closer in time the relationship, the more segments they will inherit from that ancestor, which increases the chances of matching on at least one or some segments.

Clearly, pedigree collapse affects matching. It’s most pronounced in closer relationships, but it may also be the only thing that has preserved that ONE matching segment in a more distant relationship.

So, how does pedigree collapse actually affect the likelihood of matching? What can we actually expect to see? Is there a name for this and a mathematical model to assist with calculations?

I’m so glad you asked! It’s called Coefficient of Relationship.

Coefficent of Relationship

My colleague, Diahan Southard, a scientist who writes at YourDNAGuide has authored two wonderful articles about calculating the statistical effects of pedigree collapse.

You can also read another article about the methodology of calculating coefficient of relationship, here, on WaybackMachine.

Diahan is a math whiz. I’m not, so I needed to devise something “quick and dirty” for my own personal use. I promised you a “cheat sheet,” so here’s the methodology.

Two Inheritance Paths – First and Third Cousins

Let’s look at an example where two people are both first cousins and third cousins because their grandparents were also first cousins.

Let’s calculate how these two people are related. They are first cousins and also third cousins.

When calculating the effects of pedigree collapse, we calculate the first relationship normally, then calculate the second relationship and add a portion of the result.

Here’s the math.

Using the Shared cM Project for the expected amount of shared DNA for both relationships, we’ve calculated the expected range for this pedigree collapse relationship.

Tying this back to degrees of relatedness.

Let’s look at ways to do Quick Calculations using the publicly available Shared cM charts and my composite tables, here.

Using Average Shared DNA

This first methodology uses average expected amount of shared, meaning matching, DNA. Please note, I’m not necessarily expecting you to DO this now, just read to follow.

Using Average Inherited DNA

Here’s a second method using average inherited DNA, meaning people wouldn’t be expected to match on all of the inherited DNA – just a portion.

You can’t always use the shared cM charts because all relationships aren’t represented, so you may need to use the amount of expected inherited DNA instead of shared DNA amounts.

Methodology Differences

Remember, none of these methodologies are foolproof because DNA inheritance is random. You may also have additional relationships that you’re aware of.

So, what’s the easiest method? Neither, actually. I’ve found an even easier method based on these proven methodologies.

Easy-Peasy Pedigree Collapse Shortcut Range Calculation in 4 Steps

Now that you understand the science and reasoning behind all of this, you can choose from multiple calculation methodologies after drawing a picture of the relevant tree.

You’re probably wondering, “What’s the easiest way to do this?”

  • These quick calculation methods are the easiest to work with for non-scientists and non-math whizzes. These are the calculations I use because, taking into account random recombination, you can’t do any better than get close.
  • Also, remember, if you’re dealing with double relationships, meaning double first cousins, you’ll need to take that into consideration, too.
  • If endogamy is involved, your matches will be higher yet, and you should use the highest calculations below because you need to be on the highest end of the range – and that may still not be high enough.

In these Easy-Peasy calculations, you calculate for the lowest, then the highest, and that’s your range. Please note that these are options, and truly, one size does not fit all.

  1. For the lowest end of the range, simply use the average of the highest relationship. In this case, that would be 1C, which is 866 cM. Remember that you may not share DNA with third cousins. 10% of third cousins don’t share any DNA, and 50% of fourth cousins don’t.
  2. For the highest end of the range, find the second relationship in the Shared cM chart, divide the average by half, and add to the value from the closest relationship. In this case, half of the 3C value of 76 is 38.
  3. Add 38 to 866 for the highest end of the range of 904.
  4. If there’s yet another path to ANY shared ancestor, add half that amount too to calculate the high end of the range – unless it’s 4C or more distant, then don’t add anything.

You can see that this easy-peasy range calculation for pedigree collapse compares very well to the more complex but still easy calculations.

  • Easy-peasy calculation: 866-904
  • Other calculation methods: 850-903
  • For this same relationship combination, Diahan’s statistical calculation was 850 cM.

Back to Genealogy

What’s the short story about how pedigree collapse affects genealogy?

Essentially, in close generations, meaning within a few generations of two first cousins marrying, descendants can expect to inherit and share significantly more DNA of the common ancestors, but not double the amount. As we move further away from those marriages in time, the effect becomes less pronounced and more difficult to detect. You can see that effect when calculating multiple paths where at the fourth cousin level, or more distant, those cousins have a 50% or greater possibility of not sharing DNA segments.

Of course, with multiple paths to the same ancestor, your chances of inheriting at least some segments from the common ancestor are increased because their DNA descends through multiple paths.

Today, close marriages are much less common and have been for several generations in many cultures, so we see fewer instances where pedigree collapse makes a significant difference.

Within a population or group of people, if pedigree collapse becomes common, meaning that there are multiple paths leading back to common ancestors, like our three-path example, DNA segments from the common ancestors are found among many people. Significant pedigree collapse becomes endogamy, especially if marriage outside of the group is difficult, impossible, or discouraged.

Normally, pedigree collapse is not recorded in actual records. It’s left to genealogists to discover those connections.

The exception, of course, is those wonderful Catholic parish records where the priest granted dispensations. Sometimes, that’s our only hint to earlier genealogy. In the case of the marriage of Marie-Josesphe LePrince to Jacques Forest, the priest wrote “dispense 3-3 consanguinity,” which tells us that they shared great-grandparents. It also tells us that their grandparents were siblings, that the bride and groom were second cousins, and that their children and descendants inherited an extra dose of DNA from their common great-grandparents.

How does that affect me today? Given that I’m their seventh-generation descendant – probably not at all. Of course, they are Acadian, and the Acadians are highly endogamous, which means I match many Acadians because all Acadians share the DNA of just a few founders, making it almost impossible to track segments to any particular ancestor. If it weren’t for endogamy, I would probably match few, if any, of their descendants.

Now, when you see those Catholic church dispensations or otherwise discover pedigree collapse, you can be really excited, because you understand the effects of pedigree collapse and how to calculate resulting matches! You might, just might, have retained a DNA segment from those ancestors because you inherited segments through multiple paths – increasing the probability that one survived.

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Stop Risking Your Information: Facebook Games, Public Posts, Friend Lists & Hackers

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Are you unwittingly exposing yourself and risking your information on Facebook or other social media platforms?

Bad actors are becoming increasingly problematic on social media. There’s been a HUGE UPTICK recently, and we need to keep ourselves safe. Keeping yourself safe also helps keep your friends safe, and vice versa.

Please read this article and follow these steps. Share with your friends and family too.

Please don’t think you’re immune from this. You’re not. Everyone needs to do a checkup periodically.

Sometimes Facebook changes things, and hackers get more wily and cunning all the time. Bad actors are so deceptive now that you may not realize your choices and/or behavior have exposed your information.

Using lots of examples, here’s what this article will do for you:

  1. Identify and explain new threats and how they work.
  2. Show you how to modify your privacy settings to prevent unauthorized access.
  3. Determine if you’ve inadvertently let the bad guys in – and how to shut that door.
  4. Explain how to stop engaging in risky behavior that you don’t even realize is risky.

Risky behavior on social media is like the flu – people who don’t take proper precautions expose others.

You may think you’re already aware of what’s risky, and what isn’t. Hopefully, that’s true – but when the bad guys change their tactics, we all need to reevaluate accounts, settings, and behaviors.

How Does Exposure Happen

My friends, even friends who should know better, are exposing themselves on Facebook and other social media – and they don’t even realize it.

How?

Lax security settings, Facebook games, innocent-looking questions, and public posts combine to create a toxic slurry of exposure – and you have absolutely no idea that anything is going on beneath the water.

However, it’s absolutely infested with sharks!

Facebook games and questions ARE CRAFTED BY CYBERCRIMINALS.

FULL STOP!!!

You are the target, and your own emotions are the bait.

Yes, I mean you!

I’ve seen almost everyone fall victim to this in one form or another – so you’re not alone. We all learn – hopefully before we have or cause a bad experience.

Did you click on a link you shouldn’t have – before thinking? Have you ever answered any of these seemingly fun questions posted by someone you don’t personally know? Or, someone you DO know whose posting was public? Do you even know if the posting was public?

Here are some examples of bait questions?

  • How far away do you live from where you were born?
  • Name a song that takes you back to high school?
  • Where was your first job?
  • Your cowboy (rock star, stripper, animal, you get the idea) name is your middle name. (Then they show you a fun picture.)
  • Your first car.
  • Thirty random things about me.

If you enter any of that information, you’re doing multiple EXTREMELY RISKY and DANGEROUS THINGS!!!

  • Giving potential answers to security questions to cybercriminals who aggregate your data from many seemingly innocent questions.
  • Posting the results of those ” fun ” picture games gives cybercriminals access to your personal information, friends, and timeline.
  • Giving cybercriminals access to your friend list so they can be targeted too
  • Serving as bait for your friends who see your answers because Facebook shows you what your friends and family members answer.
  • Serving as bait for your friends who see your AI name or cowboy name or whatever “game” you’ve played. Facebook shows people that you’ve played this game, which serves as an endorsement, especially if people trust you.

Best case, you’re attracting attention to yourself as someone who is naïve and vulnerable. These bad actors are manipulating your emotions, which in turn leads to you oversharing.

You may be hacked, your account cloned, or even lost entirely, AND you’ll be responsible for your friends also engaging in risky behavior.

An even worse case scenario is identity theft.

Here’s the best article I know of that shows several examples. IF YOU DO NOTHING ELSE TODAY, READ THIS ARTICLE, PLEASE!!!

I can hear my mother saying to me, “If everyone else jumped off the bridge, would you too?”

This is the bridge, and I’ll show you why.

That Alluringly Dangerous Bridge

Let’s look at a couple of examples. Different scams work in different ways depending on the goal of the bad actor. We will look at a few so you’re aware.

First, they catch your attention and hope you click before you think.

DO NOT CLICK.

First, lots of professional criminals troll ANY PUBLIC ANSWER.

This post and all replies are public. That little globe means the world can see the post and any comments.

Second, if you click to take this seemingly fun test, you give them lots of information about you, and the results, which are always “wonderful”, post to your feed – which provides “positive feedback” to you and lures your friends. Let’s face it; they will never tell someone they are “below average” because who would play their data-gathering game?

How do they post results to your feed? You give them permission when you click to do the “test,” even though you don’t realize you did that.

Here’s another one.

This has nothing to do with AI. It’s all hooey! Don’t be a willing victim.

NameTests

One of the most popular “games” on Facebook is some derivative of Nametests.

Seriously, do you believe some application can tell you anything useful by selecting three colors? And, ask yourself why anyone would create these “games” and purchase Sponsored Facebook ads to do something “free” for everyone. There is no such thing as a free lunch.

If you’re thinking this is just harmless fun – it’s not.

Do yourself a favor.

Type this into Google: “What is nametests on Facebook?”

Read this article, courtesy of Comparitech, an identity theft prevention company to see what you just gave away. Literally, access to everything in your profile. And you did it willingly. They didn’t have to hack your account. They simply tricked you by luring you with something free that looked like fun.

Ok, now that you’ve done it, Nametests and other similar apps have access to your account, so you need to rescind that permission.

You Just Gave Them Access to Your Friends List

I’ll step you through how to remove anything like this at the end of this article. You’ll also want to change your password and possibly enable two-factor authentication (2FA). You’ve just given some scammer the keys to your kingdom – plus your friends’ too.

That’s not the end, either. In fact, it’s just the beginning.

There’s more.

Questions, Challenges, Feel-Good and Outrage Stories

Emotions are powerful. They cause you to want to comment – or click. You throw caution to the wind. Actually, you simply forget about caution altogether. That’s the goal.

What you need to do is put the brakes on and…

STOP!

Some fishing questions may make you want to reminisce and relive the good old days.

Some look like fun. But ask yourself – why does ANYONE care about that?

Some scare you and trick you into clicking before thinking. They create a sense of either tragedy or urgency.

“Look who died.” “I can’t believe he’s gone.” And before you think, you’ve reacted with “OMG” and clicked and literally given away the farm. Not just your Facebook farm, either. Here’s how this works, with a short video from the Indiana State Attorney General.

What does the Attorney General say? “I don’t click on anything.” Me either! If you see these frightening tagged links from a friend, it means that friend’s account has been hacked or cloned. Contact them but do not message or reply to the account that sent this because you’ll be talking directly to the hacker.

Nostalgic or Emotionally Motivational Postings

Some scams are wonderful stories that make you want to share something affirming.

Some make you nostalgic.

Some make you angry or sad.

Have you seen those found dog scams where the individual claims to have found an injured dog, taken it to the vet, are trying to find the owner and need assistance with the vet bills. There’s an entire Facebook group devoted to identifying fake “found dog” posts, here.

These posts are meant to evoke strong emotions that cause you to forget about safety and just react. It’s called motivation, and these criminals are pros.

Then, because you’re a good person, you share with your friends, or maybe they shared with you so that’s even more encouragement to engage.

Sometimes, the posts don’t even ask you anything directly.

This next post had been up for less than one day, and look how many shares and comments it had.

A couple of weeks later, it had more than 4000 likes, 884 comments, and 559 shares. Just think how many comments it actually has now, scattered around the internet on various people’s pages.

It looks so innocuous and safe, but it isn’t.

You’ve just given these people, whoever they are, an approximate age, and you’ve told them you’re vulnerable to this type of trickery. Hackers gather every tidbit they can about you so that you can be targeted on this and other platforms.

Everything on this account is public, which you can tell by the little globe, meaning everyone anywhere can see what you say and what everyone says.

The recent 23andMe data exposure is a good example of how information can be aggregated and used to breach other accounts. Furthermore, with your age and city location, which may well be available on your Facebook profile page, anyone can use standard internet search tools to find an address, a phone, family members’ names, and more. Much more!

Questions Lists

You may see these question lists posted by your friends and asked to be passed on “for fun.”

Just don’t!!! Remember, your friends and (sometimes) their friends can see responses too. You have NO IDEA who is consuming this information.

Many police organizations have warned against this. Here’s an article.

Anytime you see anything that sounds or smells like these types of posts, OR posts that are public, the first thing that should pop into your mind is STOP – in a bright red neon danger sign.

Yes, I’ve used this exact same image three times now, because you need to remember to STOP. Stop and think before doing anything.

I WANT YOU TO THINK ABOUT THIS IMAGE EVERY SINGLE TIME YOU SEE THINGS LIKE THIS ON FACEBOOK!

How does this toxic material spread like wildfire anyway?

Public Posts Paint a Target on You

The most common danger is fully public posts. Hackers take advantage of public posts when unwary people post or reply publicly.

Public posts, identified by the little globe, open the post up for the entire world to see.

It also opens you up to friend requests and comments from anyone, anyplace.

Scammers troll for anything public and scrape the contents into huge databases organized by name. They know that if you’re naive enough to fall for one scam, you might well be naive enough to fall for another. They’re hoping, anyway.

Not all public posts are scams, but replying to public posts makes you a target.

Here’s an example.

My friend, Sam, reposted this link on his page to be helpful and made it public, meaning everyone can see it from any place. Sam has his security set to “require one friend in common” before you can send them a friend request. Clearly, “Shirley” doesn’t have a friend in common with Sam, so “Shirley” can’t send Sam a friend request. So “Shirley” replied with something “nice,” hoping to entice Sam into sending “Shirley” a friend request so they can gain access to Sam’s account info and friend list.

“Shirley,” who is scantily clad, isn’t “Shirley” at all, but someone trying to gain access to as many people and profiles as possible to scam people.

Comments on Public Posts

I have adopted the policy that I DO NOT, EVER comment on or reply to public posts – even if they’re posted by my friends. Here’s why.

One of my friends has a wonderful history page where he makes several public postings daily. Unfailingly, every single person who replies to his post has one of two things happen:

  • If the people who reply or comment (Linda and Douglas here) accept friend requests without a common friend, or if they have a common friend, they get friend requests from scammers (Holman and Amanda here).

If you automatically think you’re safe to accept a friend request if the requester shares a friend with you – think again. Maybe your friend has fallen victim and doesn’t realize it. It can happen to anyone.

  • If the commenter does not accept friend requests unless the requester (scammer) and commenter (i.e., the target) have a common friend, then scammers replies to their posting with a compliment and invitation to friend them.

DO NOT REPLY or add them as a friend, and DO BLOCK these people immediately.

Here are some clues to spot fake accounts:

  • Extremely attractive or enticing photos
  • Single or divorced
  • Professional, military or wealthy-looking if male
  • Sexualized or seductive if female
  • No friends or scads of friends
  • Non-substantive public posts
  • New account
  • Pictures with puppies or animals
  • Things to instill confidence – like references to God

Hackers are so “Helpful”

My friend, Pam, had her Instagram Account “hacked” and announced that to the world in a public post on Facebook. She meant to warn her friends, of course.

Truth be told, Pam had not actually been hacked, as her password would (probably) have been changed if she were truly hacked. This recently happened to another friend and he lost his entire Facebook account, including all photos accumulated over more than a dozen years.

Pam’s password was not changed, because she could sign into her account. Her account was actually cloned, meaning a second account was set up using her profile information that looked exactly like her original profile. Then her friends were messaged from the cloned account with links to click that led to malware. Her friends also received friend requests from the cloned “fake Pam” cloned account.

Unfortunately, cloning is very easy to do. Facebook photos are, by default, public. So the bad actor takes your photo, sets up a second account that “looks like you” and then sends your friends friend requests and malicious links. Your friends accept your friend request, not realizing it’s a fraud.

I wonder how a scammer might have obtained access to Pam’s friends’ profile information to determine whom to target.

Any ideas, anyone?

Let’s see:

  • Maybe public posts.
  • Maybe games
  • Maybe answering “questions”
  • Maybe Pam’s friend doing one of those things and exposing Pam’s information, too
  • Maybe accepting a friend request she shouldn’t have
  • Maybe making “too much” public, including her friends list

Let’s see what happened when Pam publicly informed the world that her Instagram account had been hacked! Just in case you think this might be no big deal.

ALL 64 REPLIES WERE FROM HACKERS!

In fact, it’s possible that the original hacker is one of those who responded, offering to “help.”

Here’s the list of all 64 comments, with my commentary in red. Notice that all 64 arrived within two hours. Many of these profiles may, in fact, be the same bad actor.

She went to work and didn’t notice any of this. However, everyone else in the world had the opportunity to reply to one of these hackers, seeking “help,” and her friends might have been lured.

If you comment, you’re at risk too.

Then, someone with a name that includes the word Cyberspy messaged my friend directly.

Oh yeah, this instills confidence, alright.

Unknown people may directly message (DM) you.

Do not reply.

BLOCK THEM ALL!!!

If someone you know messages you with a link, DO NOT CLICK ON IT. Verify another way that they actually sent you something – meaning that their account has not been cloned or hacked. Regardless, I still don’t click on unsolicited links.

Reporting to Facebook

If you know that your friend’s account has been cloned, report to Facebook by clicking on the little three dots on the cloned profile, then “Find support or report.”

Unfortunately, there’s little to be done about the hacker/scammer replies and postings. Reporting any of these fraudulent accounts to Facebook (Meta) is worse than useless – and Facebook is the only one who can take care of it. I have yet to see them take any of these accounts down.

Block all scammers or shady postings or replies.

Your best bet is to NOT fall for any of this.

Bait

This is supposedly a food page, but if you look at the postings, they are all “bait” of one sort or another.

That bait is for you – you’re what they are hoping to snag.

First of all, this post has nothing to do with food. Several posts are of the “who remembers this” type of nostalgia bait, which is particularly attractive to older people who may be less tech-savvy.

Second, they try to make you feel guilty if you’re a grandparent and DON’T “let the world know.”

Third, they are clearly targeting older people, and if you share or post on this, you’ve given them information. Some people actually said how many grandchildren they have and where they live.

Sometimes, older people are more susceptible to scams because they are more trusting.

Stop and Think!

  • Why would anyone you don’t know be interested in this information about you?
  • Why would you willingly give something this information?

Anyone hear of grandparent call scams? “I’m in trouble. Send money.” Some even go so far as to say they’ve been kidnapped. Here’s what the FCC says about “grandparent scams.”

Scammers who gain access to consumers’ personal information – by mining social media or purchasing data from cyber thieves – can create storylines to prey on the fears of grandparents.

Often the imposter claims to have been in an accident or arrested. The scammer may ask the grandparent “please don’t let mom and dad know,” and may hand the phone over to someone posing as a lawyer seeking immediate payment.

Unfortunately, according to a recent Washington Post article, bad actors can now use artificial intelligence technology “to mimic voices, convincing people, often the elderly, that their loved ones are in distress”.

The article reports that scammers can replicate a voice from just a short audio sample and then use AI tools to hold a conversation in that voice, which “speaks” whatever the imposter types.

I know someone who was targeted this way. They said they could barely understand their granddaughter because she was both crying uncontrollably and hysterical. My friend could make out the word rape. It was terrifying and paralyzing at the same time. Fortunately, her granddaughter happened to walk into the front door as this call was taking place.

What Have You Done?

Are you wondering if you have inadvertently given access to your Facebook page to scammers without realizing it?

You need to check.

Here’s how, step-by-step!

Start by clicking your profile picture, then Settings and Privacy, then Settings, then Apps and Websites – as outlined above and detailed below.

On the left, you’ll see this menu. Scroll towards the bottom.

You can click any image to enlarge.

You’ll see this information at the top, with the following apps that you’ve given access to below.

Click on “remove” to remove unwanted apps. I clicked on “Remove” for Yelp, which displayed additional information. You can remove future access, but you can’t remove any information already shared with the other application.

When you look at an app and see the ability to log in through Facebook, this is actually what you’re doing – sharing a variety of information with that application.

Under “Preferences,” disable the ability to use Facebook to log into third-party apps.

What does signing in through Facebook or Google do? How does it work?

What actually happens when you sign in using Google or Facebook? It’s convenient, but you’re giving away data about yourself that you’re unaware of.

Here’s what LifeLock has to say.

Here’s a list of Facebook privacy settings that you should change now.

Whatever you did in the past can’t be undone, but you can remove the access and prevent anything in the future.

Stop the Thieves – Lock It Down

If you’ve done something risky, you’ll need to take additional precautions.

  • Change your password. Don’t reuse passwords.
  • If your account has been cloned, change your profile photo so your friends know which account is actually yours.
  • Restrict postings to friends only.
  • Check for and disable any applications, including games like Nametest.
  • Consider implementing 2FA. It’s under “How to keep your account secure” in the Privacy Checkup.

What are your settings?

Let’s check and see.

Privacy Checkup

Facebook makes it easy to do a Privacy Checkup.

Just click on your profile photo, then “Settings and Privacy” and “Privacy Checkup.”

I recommend stepping through every one of these topics and adjusting your permissions.

I recommend locking everything down on your profile.

Begin with “Who can see what you share”.

Scroll to the bottom, where you see “Friends and following.”

CRITICAL

To protect your friends list, and disable anyone else from seeing it, select ONLY ME.

Your next selection under “Who can see what you share” selects the default audience for your Facebook posts, Stories, and limits who can see past posts. This is a critical selection because it determines who can view your posts unless you change this setting on individual posts.

Step through each of the “Privacy Checkup” tabs and do the same for People, Pages and Lists you follow.

Next, check “Profile and Tagging” under the Settings and Privacy Menu on the left-hand side.

Step through each of these sections, especially Posts and Stories, and adjust your privacy.

It’s VERY important to prevent others from viewing your friends list which you’ll find under “Profile and Tagging.”

Some people don’t let anyone post on their profile. I currently do let my friends post, or tag me, but I’m also torn about this setting.

Next, select who can see what others post on your profile?

Make sure to check the rest of the information and if it’s displayed.

I don’t provide any information, such as where I live or went to college – nor do I display my phone number. I get enough spam calls the way it is!

See What They See

Check to be sure your account displays only as much as you want.

On the dropdown menu from your profile picture, go to the Privacy Center and Click on “Manage Your Accounts,” then select “How to clean up your profile.”

Click on “View as” to see your account as someone who is not your friend. Ensure everything is locked down, and you’re not providing information to unknown people.

Best Practices for Safety

Two types of actions are necessary to keep your Facebook account and your friends safe. Both are important – some are account settings, and others are behavioral.

Think of this like driving a car. You need safety equipment like brakes – but you must also know when, where, and how to apply them to keep from crashing.

One alone is insufficient. You need both. You also need to stop and think.

  • Lock your account down so that people you don’t know can’t see your information.
  • Lock it down so that others can’t see your friend list, so you’re not inadvertently making your friends targets.
  • Do not accept friend requests from people you don’t know.
  • View everything skeptically.
  • STOP every single time you even think about replying to something. Stop, then think. Is the post public? Who wants to know this information, and why would I give it to them?
  • If it’s public, DON’T REPLY.

Selecting Privacy for Your Posts

You select a default privacy setting for your own posts. You can also override the default and select a different privacy setting for each post if it differs from your default.

Default settings are found in the “Privacy Checkup,” under “Who can see what you share.”

You can change the privacy selection on each post as you create them. You can also change them later.

Facebook used to retain your selection for the next post, but I don’t think they do that anymore. For example, if I lost my mind for some reason and selected “public,” for this post, the default would have been “public” for subsequent posts too.

I tested this, and it appears that’s no longer the case today. That’s a good thing! You can change any individual post, but your selected default remains in effect.

It’s Time for Spring Cleaning

If your friends have their friend list exposed, they are exposing you to hackers who may want to target you. If your friend’s account is cloned, this is exactly how bad actors know to target you next.

It’s time for spring cleaning on your friend list. Let’s take stock and evaluate.

  • Are they your actual friend?
  • Why are they on your friend list?
  • If you’re undecided, check to see if their friend list is exposed. That’s the tie-breaker. If it is, they are exposing you.
  • If someone you know and care about is exposing their friend list, please send them a link to this article.

Let’s Practice

You notice a question on your friend’s feed about the name of your first-grade teacher.

You smile with warm remembrance.

What’s the first thing you’re going to do?

STOP!

THINK!

Public – Look to see if your friend’s posting is public.

If the answer is yes, STOP.

If you answer, you just gave someone information about you that can be combined and aggregated with other information from all of those types of questions you’ve inadvertently answered. Many are security questions and can lead to identity theft.

Games – Next, look to see if it’s one of those games.

If the answer is yes, STOP.

Groups – Next, check to see if the posting is from within a group that you’ve joined. If the the posting is within a restricted group or a non-public Facebook page or group, that may be a more controlled environment, depending on the join criteria and how closely the group is monitored by administrators. I do participate in several closed groups.

Non-public groups are designated by an icon of three people.

Friends Only – If the posting is “friends” only, the two-person icon, the threat is reduced, unless, of course, your friend has inadvertently given access to one of those scam games and, in doing so, has granted access to their entire profile. There’s no way to know. I evaluate the friend and the topic at hand when deciding to reply.

My “go to” response now, on social media, is simply “don’t reply,” unless someone has asked me a direct, non-public, question that makes sense and doesn’t relay any information that even might be useful.

So, if your friend who visited last week asks for a pudding recipe that you made for dessert, and the posting isn’t public, that’s probably just fine.

If your cousin can’t remember your daughter’s middle name and wants it for genealogy, I’m sure that’s fine to answer too, just not in any kind of a public forum. To some degree, Facebook is always public. It’s social media, after all. Message, email or call your cousin with the answer. Don’t post it.

Vigilance as a Way of Life

I know you’re going to hate me for a bit when you see that red STOP as you scroll through your Facebook feed. Right about now, you’re saying, “Roberta, please stop!”

That’s OK. Getting you to see and do that is my entire reason for writing this article. I want it to pop into your mind! I’d rather you be irritated with me than have your account compromised or lost entirely and expose your loved ones in the process. 😊

We must be ever more vigilant as scams and scammers become increasingly sophisticated. Your “scam antennae” should always be up and on high alert.

And yes, I know some of you will tell me that you don’t want to live like that. I understand. Neither do I, but if you want to stay safe – and for your friends and family to remain safe, too – you must be ever-vigilant, alert, and chronically suspicious.

If you see family members acting unsafely on social media, they probably aren’t aware, so please feel free to share this article.

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Anne Charlotte Girouard (c1660-1742), Tenacious Acadian Octogenarian

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Charlotte Girouard, also known as Anne, and in one case, Anne-Charlotte, was probably born in France about 1659 or 1660. Although, she may have been born after her parents arrived on the shores of Acadia, the place that would one day become Nova Scotia.

We really don’t know which of her names is technically accurate. One was probably her first name, and the second was a middle name. I suspect, based on the fact that she was buried under Anne, and she is recorded as Godmother for a granddaughter named Anne, clearly named after her, that her official name was actually Anne, but that she was called Charlotte much of the time. It’s worth noting that none of her children or grandchildren were named Charlotte. I’ll call her both here, as dictated by the documents where she was mentioned.

Our first record of Anne is found in the 1671 Acadian census, transcribed courtesy of Lucie LeBlanc Consentino, where Anne is listed with her parents, Francois Girouard, a laborer, age 50, and Jeanne Aucoin, age 40. Three of their children are married: Jacob, 23, Marie, 20, and Marie Magdaleine, 17. Children not married include Germain, 14, and Anne, 12. The family has 10 cattle and 12 sheep.

The first question this raises is why the youngest child in the family is age 12, and Jeanne Aucoin is only 40. She was born about 1631. Did she really stop having children at age 28, or did every child born between Anne in about 1659/1660 and the 1671 census die? That would have been at least five children, if not more.

Anne’s mother, Jean Aucoin, was born in La Rochelle, France. We know that in 1665, a ship, Le Saint-Sébastien, sailed from La Rochelle. The Girouard family may have been aboard or on other ships that sailed around the same time.

Per Karen Theriot Reader, a  contingent of colonists was among the 1651 “200 Elite Men” of Jacques de Poix, Sieur de Saint-Mas. I can’t find anything more about these colonists.

The Acadian colonists’ lives consisted of terrifying events alternately interwoven with the normal, mundane events that happen in most human lives. Births, baptisms, marriages, raising food, family gatherings, church services, and, eventually, funerals. Those events that make us all human and give our lives meaning. The Acadians withstood many more challenges than most. We all encounter difficult times and are incredibly grateful when those times have passed. However, for the Acadian families – they never ended.

The battle for Acadia, including the Acadians, raged for more than a century. The Acadian people were caught in the vortex and were collateral damage in a war betwen mighty monarchies.

From 1654 to 1667, Acadia, meaning the area surrounding Port Royal and La Hève, was under English control, not French.

From 1666 to about 1670, France stopped sending settlers to New France for fear of depopulating the homeland. Therefore, it’s extremely unlikely that the Girouard family arrived between 1654 and 1670. In 1670, the French regained control of Acadia from the English, and several colonists arrived. Based on the 1671 census, we know that the Girouard family was there by that time, but we don’t know when they arrived. If Anne was born in Acadia around 1660, her parents would have been some of the earliest immigrants, probably arriving prior to 1654.

In 1667, France recovered Acadia by treaty, but the English didn’t actually leave until 1670. During this time, another 30 soldiers and 60 settlers were dispatched with orders to restore French authority and keep those English OUT.

In 1671, the census revealed that Acadia had a very small population with less than 400 non-Native residents in about 70 households, distributed along the 5 or 6 miles of the Rivière Dauphin above Port Royal.

Based on the following census, we know that Charlotte married Jullien Lor (Lore, L’Or, Lord, Laure) about 1675 in Acadia – probably joined in matrimony by the parish priest in the church in Port Royal.

Their first child, Alexander, blessed their marriage in 1676.

In the 1678 census, Francois Girouer and Jeanne Aucoin are shown with 15 acres and 18 cattle, along with Germain Girouer, age 22, but nothing more is listed.

Julien Lore is missing from this census, by any name, which has fueled speculation that he might have been one of the English soldiers, and not French. However, given that he signed the 1690 loyalty oath to the English, that’s unlikely. If he was an English citizen, he would not have needed to sign that oath to the British crown. Only the French needed to sign.

Government officials came and went in Acadia with an alarming frequency. The area was anything but stable. In 1684, a new governor was appointed, who described the Acadians as living simply and pastorally. He claimed they lived better than Canadians, never lacking meat or bread, but weren’t as industrious. He said they never put anything away for a bad year, and their dowries were small – a few francs and a cow in calf, a ewe, and a sow. Some wealthy families even had a feather bed.

Charlotte and her family certainly weren’t wealthy and probably slept on straw pallets.

Before the next census, both sons Jacques and Pierre Lord were born, along with at least two and probably three children who perished. Marie was born in 1685.

In the 1686 census, in Port Royal, Julien Lord is shown as age 33, Charlotte as age 26, Alexander, 10, Jacques, 8, Pierre, 5, and Marie, 1. Given this information, Charlotte was born about 1660 and therefore married about age 15. They are living beside her parents. Her father Francois Girouard is 70, and her mother, Jeanne Aucoin, is 55. Julien and Charlotte do not have any land or livestock, but her parents farm 5 arpents of land and own 13 cattle, 16 sheep, 8 hogs, and 1 gun, suggesting that Julien and Charlotte live in a separate house, but farm her parents’ land.

By this time, most of Charlotte’s siblings have settled in Beaubassin, but Charlotte’s brother, Jacob/Jacques, is living several houses away.

Daughter Anne, named for her mother, was born about 1687.

In 1688, the Acadians who were draining the marshes to obtain recoverable farmland were experiencing a labor and manure shortage. Long hours for everyone – sunup to sundown.

Two more children were probably born and died during this time.

On May 9, 1690, the Acadians were brutally attacked once again by the English. Their farms were torched and their homes plundered – for days on end. The mill and some upriver farms were spared, but we don’t know which ones. The Acadians were forced to swear an oath of allegiance.

English pirates followed, taking anything that was left and killing any remaining livestock for sport. Pure cruelty.

Life was hell. Based on the next census, I suspect that their homes didn’t survive. Anne’s father has died, and they are now living with her mother.

In 1692, daughter Magdelaine was born.

In the 1693 census, Charlotte, age 33, is shown with husband Julien Lord, age 43, living with Charlotte’s mother, Jeanne Aucoin, age 60, widow of Francois Girouard, in or near Port Royal. They have son Alexander, 17, Jacque, 14, Pierre, 12, Marie, 6 and Magdeleine, 1. They own 20 cattle, 40 sheep, 10 hogs, and 2 guns and farm 20 arpents of land.

This puts Charlotte’s birth year at about 1660 and confirms her marriage date at about age 15 in about 1675.

They are also shown one house away from Charlotte’s brother, Jacob. Discrepancies in various census documents about how closely they live to him probably stem from either a difference in the census taker’s path, or recording the results out of order.

Another child probably died, then son Louis or Jean-Baptiste, based on different census records, was born about 1695. He (or they?) probably died too, but not as an infant.

In 1696, the English attacked – again burning and slaughtering animals. This time, however, they also ruined the dykes so the Acadians couldn’t plant crops.

Another nameless child died.

In 1697, Acadia was returned to the French by treaty. Life should be better now!

In the 1698 census, Charlotte is shown in the Port Royal census, age 38, as the wife of Julien Lord, age 46. They have several children: a son, Jacques 20, Marie 18, Pierre 16, Anne 11, and Jean-Baptiste 3. Julien has done well. They have 20 sheep, 12 hogs, 21 arpents of land, 6 fruit trees and 1 gun.

I can see Charlotte picking apples, at least eventually, as soon as they are large enough to bear fruit.

Their eldest child, Alexander, is missing from the census, and daughter Marguerite was born the same year.

Charlotte’s age indicates that she was born in 1660.

The 1700 census lists Charlotte’s mother, Jeanne Aucoin, widow of Francois Girouard, age 87, as the head of household. Clearly, Julien Lord, age 48, noted as her son-in-law, and Charlotte, age 40, were living with her mother and farming the farm, an arrangement that assuredly benefited everyone. Their children were listed as Alexandre, 24, Jacques, 21, Pierre, 18, Louis, 5, Madelaine, 8, and Marguerite, 2. Charlotte’s age indicates that she was born in 1660 and was married in about 1675.

The population has grown to about 2000 Acadians, four or five times what it was 29 years earlier.

Of course, the question is, whose farm was it, and where was it located? We know where Julien Lord’s children lived, and we know where Charlotte’s brother who established the Girouard Village lived. We also know where the wife of Charlotte’s youngest brother, Marie Bourgeois, lived – just upstream from the Girouard Village.

The Bourgeois and Girouard families lived about a mile and a half apart, as the crow flies, and the Girouard Village was about 6 miles as the crow flies from Julien Lord. Of course, the river was a winding route, so slightly longer by batteau or canoe. However,  Charlotte’s brother, Germaine, clearly married the Bourgeois neighbor girl. One saw their neighbors more often than they saw anyone else.

The location is further hinted at by the fact that Jeanne Aucoin and Charlotte Girouard Lor’s neighbor in 1700 was Charlotte’s brother, Jacob (Jacques) Girouard, age 53, with his wife Marguerite Goutrot.

The wonderful GIS maps at Map Annapolis show us where they lived and provide additional information.

Clearly, they lived very close to Jacques Girouard.

In 1701, Anne’s age is given as 41, so she would have been born about 1660. They have 17 cattle, 15 sheep, 12 hogs and live on 10 arpents of land in or near Port Royal. They also have two guns.

While Anne’s youngest children are still being born, her eldest are beginning to marry. Anne’s son, Alexandre, married Marie Francoise Barrieau not long before the remaining Catholic parish records began in 1702. 

In the 1703 census, no ages are given for residents other than the head of household, and Julien’s wife is not listed by name, nor are their 4 boys and 4 girls. There are 4 arms-bearers within the family, and they live in or near Port Royal.

Based on the census, it looks like a female child was born after 1703, and a male between 1701 and 1702 who died before 1707.

Son Charles was born in 1703 or 1704

One final daughter may have been born after Charles.

Attacks were launched by the English again in 1704. Settlements and churches were looted, and dams were “dug down” and destroyed.

In the 1704 census, the family is listed only under the dit name “La Montagne.” Is there a reason for this?

Anne stood up as godmother for her namesake granddaughter, Anne Lore born to son Alexander on April 5th, 1705. That must have been a glorious day of celebration.

The 1707 census does not show Julien and Charlotte’s family at all.

Peace, such as it was, was short-lived. Anticipating more conflict, Fort Anne was expanded with a new powder magazine and barracks.

Amidst this unfolding disaster, on November 19, 1708, Jacques married Angelique Comeau. I hate to say life went on like normal, because I’m sure nothing was “normal,” or maybe normal had become living under a cloud of constant fear.

In 1708 and 1709, escaped prisoners from English corsairs reported that the English were planning to attack – soon.

The long-anticipated and much-dreaded assault came on September 24, 1710, heralded by five warships carrying 3,400 troops. The Acadians, with 300 soldiers, stood no chance of successful resistance. Now, the only question was one of survival.

Anne, at age 51, must have been terrified for her husband, her sons, and her family in general. Did she take her children up the mountain behind their home and join the Mi’kmaq people there?

Cannons boomed, echoing up and down the river, the sounds of war reaching even the most distant homesteads with their ominous warning. The meager band of Acadians attempted to defend themselves. The fort was under siege.

A lost cause, the Acadians relented and pledged allegiance to the Queen of England. Port Royal was renamed Annapolis Royal. England was now in charge.

Amazingly, the local Acadian men were allowed to leave the fort with at least a few shreds of dignity and not slaughtered.

In 1711, the local priest was captured by the English and taken to Boston.

Anne’s daughter-in-law, Angelique Comeau, died not long after the birth of her second child, who was born on September 22, 1711. Her son, Jacques, wouldn’t remarry for a decade, so it’s certainly possible that Anne raised, or at least assisted with raising, those children.

Church services weren’t held during this time because baptisms weren’t recorded until months later, in February 1712.

Daughter Anne married Mathieu Doucet a few weeks later on June 15, 1712.

At first, the English tried to force the Acadians to leave and relocate elsewhere. However, about the time the Acadians decided they actually wanted to leave, the British soldiers realized they couldn’t survive without the Acadians to feed them. Then, the Acadians were forbidden to leave, which had the effect of making them want to leave all the more.

France ceded Acadia to England with all her residents in April of 1713 – a dark day indeed. France abandoned Acadia and decided to focus on Louisiana instead. One source reported that in the last 100 years, France had sent less than 200 colonists to Acadia. It’s truly amazing that any survived.

At this point, the Acadians decided they wanted to leave and join other French families in other parts of New France. Enough is enough.

On January 16, 1714, daughter Magdelaine married.

In 1714, in the only English census, Julien is recorded in the census only by his “dit name,” or nickname, “La Montagne,” along with his wife, 3 sons, and 2 daughters living “near the fort” in Port Royal.

Unfortunately, the censuses ceased at this point in time.

On June 17, 1715, son Pierre Lore married Jeanne Doucet.

The English shut the gates to the fort, prohibiting trade with both the soldiers and the Native people. Boats were seized. Now, the Acadians were being held hostage in their own land.

In 1717, the Acadians, under significant duress, relented and decided to stay under peaceful terms, which upset their allies and kin, the Mi’kmaq, who were afraid the Acadians would “sell out” to the English.

What a mess!

Daughter Marguerite married Joseph Amiraux on January 30, 1718.

The “stay or go” and under what conditions yo-yo continued through 1720. I can only imagine the constant frustration and upheaval in the Acadian community. Those neighborly discussions must have been plenty heated!

The English continued to pressure the Acadians to take a new loyalty oath, and the Acadians continued to refuse. The Acadians, unable to travel by water, begin to carve out a cart road to Minas, determined to walk away, literally. The governor caught wind of that plan and stopped all work, prohibiting all moves.

The Acadians were declared to be both ungovernable and stubborn – which makes me laugh right out loud. That’s a heritable trait!

Anne’s son Jacque married for a second time in 1721 to Charlotte Bonnevie.

Julien died in 1724, leaving Anne-Charlotte a widow at about 64 years of age. His death and burial entry were never completed in the church records, which makes me wonder about “the rest of the story.”

How did she survive after that? According to the best information we can squeeze out of existing records, and sometimes the absence of records, Charlotte would have had one unmarried daughter and one unmarried son remaining at home. Charles married two years after his father died, so he may have already been managing the farm by that time. Unfortunately, without a census, we really have no idea about the household structure.

It’s probably safe to say that Anne lived with her children and helped however she could. There was always food preparation, making clothes, bathing children, and a myriad of chores to be completed within the home.

Life went on – it had to. There were chores to do if anyone wanted to eat.

Anne’s youngest child, Charles, married Marie-Josephte Doucet on February 19, 1726. I hope this brought the family at least some joy – at least for a few days.

Children

Anne or Charlotte had several confirmed children, some known by name and some only by their presence in a later census. Based on “blank spaces,” she probably gave birth to several others as well.

  • Alexandre Lord (1676-1740) married Marie Francoise Barrieau before 1702, when existing parish records began.
  • Possibly a child that died
  • Jacques Lord 1679-died circa 1742, married Angelique Comeau in 1708 and then Charlotte Bonnevie in 1721.
  • Probably a child that died
  • Pierre Lord 1682-1738 married Jeanne Doucet in 1715
  • Possibly a child that died
  • Marie Lord 1684/1687-died after 1733 when a Marie witnessed a baptism, if this was her.
  • Anne Lord 1687-1770 died in Trois Rivieres, Quebec, married Mathieu Doucet in 1712
  • Probably two children that died.
  • Madeleine Lord 1692-1780 married Francois Amiraut in 1714
  • Probably a child that died
  • Louis Lord also recorded as Jean-Baptiste Lord 1695-died sometime after 1714
  • Marguerite LORD 1695/1698-died before Nov. 1768, married Joseph Amiraux in 1718
  • Probably two children based on the census – a female who died after 1703 and a male born 1701/1702 and died before 1707
  • Charles Lore 1703/1704-1776 died in Varennes, Quebec, married Marie-Josephte Doucet in 1726
  • One daughter found on the census

Charlotte’s children are very difficult to sort out, in part because of the censuses that recorded the number of children, but no names.

Charlotte probably brought at least 17 and possibly 18 children into the world, and buried at least 9 of them as children. It’s agonizing to bury a child, but I suspect it’s even more heart-wrenching to bury your adult child. We know that Charlotte did exactly that, at least five times.

Nine of her children lived to adulthood, but only four outlived Charlotte.

Daughter Marie appears to have never married and died sometime after 1733.

Pierre died on January 17, 1738, leaving a wife and eight children.

Alexandre died on October 5, 1740, leaving a wife and 13 children. Anne would have been 80 sometime that year.

Her son, Jacques, died sometime around 1742, so it’s hard to say whether he outlived his mother. He left a wife and nine living children.

Some of Anne’s children, like Louis, Jean-Baptiste, and Marie, simply disappear from the records, a silent testimony to their demise. Before 1702, no church records remain, and even after 1702, we know that many are incomplete.

And, of course, Charlotte probably buried many of her grandchildren who were born before her death, too.

The grim reaper was a regular visitor, and the Catholic cemetery beside the St-Jean-Baptiste church near the fort was a busy place indeed.

Infant deaths and stillbirths often weren’t recorded, so we don’t really know how many grandchildren Anne had. We know that some lived into adulthood, but others are questionable, or we know that they died before Anne.

Child # of Known Children Questionable or Died Comment
Alexander 12 2 ?
Jacques 10 5 ?
Pierre 7 1 died in Le Havre, Normandy
Marie 0
Anne 7 1 died in Le Havre, France
Madeleine 4 4 ?
Louis 0
Marguerite 9 2 ?
Charles 5 1 died
Total 54

The good news is that four of Anne’s children survived the deportation in 1755 and died in Quebec. Let’s hope that many of the questionable individuals survived and we simply lost track of them in the deportation. Anne had only been deceased for 13 years by the time that occurred. It’s also interesting that two of her grandchildren were deported back to France, landing in Le Havre. Those families eventually provided depositions about Anne-Charlotte’s parents.

We don’t know what caused the deaths of Anne’s children. For those who do have death records, no cause of death is provided. Something may have happened in 1742 because Anne, one of her children, and one of her adult grandchildren died within a short span of time.

One thing is for sure: Acadia was anything but peaceful. Warfare was nearly constant, with the English attempting to burn or starve the Acadians out over and over again.

It’s absolutely amazing that Anne survived 80+ years in that environment. She also lived there for most of the century or so that Acadia was actually a viable colony. It’s nothing short of luck that they weren’t simply wiped off the map. Call it stubbornness if you want – I’ll call it tenacious.

Anne Finally Rests

Anne’s death was recorded in the parish register as Anne Girouard dit la Montagne. She died on January 10th, 1742, at about 80 years of age, the widow of Julien Lor dit La Montagne.

Anne’s original death record is found in the Nova Scotia archives, here.

FamilySearch shows a different record, though. This copy looks to be a recopied or transcribed version. Note the word “Lord” in this copy but not in the left-hand margin of the original document.

 

Anne or Charlotte, or whatever combination of those names, would have been given a Catholic burial and then interred in the same cemetery as her husband, parents, children, and other relatives. A white wooden cross probably marked her final resting place. Her family would have visited from time to time, and thought of her each Sunday as they arrived to worship. Right up until no Acadians could worship there anymore.

Anne would have heard the distant mass for another 23 years until the church was silent and the Acadians were no more.

Now, no markers remain, and the exact location of these graves has been lost to time. We simply know they are there. The graves were destroyed during the forced deportation of the Acadians in 1755 – one last insult. The English attempted to remove even the final vestiges of the Acadian families. Today, known as the Garrison Graveyard, the Acadian section is marked only by grass. A place of reflection and reverence for those brave Acadians who settled and tamed these wild shores.

I doubt the Acadian settlers ever dreamed that the Indians and wild beasts were much less dangerous than the wrath and greed of the vengeful English.

Anne’s life was difficult – incredibly difficult, beyond something I can even imagine. She lived her entire life under the constant threat of warfare on the horizon. Sometimes, it wasn’t just a threat – it rolled over them like one devastating storm after another. I wonder how many homes were burned and how many family members died at the hands of the English.

I’ve long suspected, but will never know, that both her father, Francois, and husband, Julien met their deaths in some kind of accident or skirmish. Her father was elderly, but Julien was not – and warfare was unrelenting and ever-present.

Grand-maman

Anne lived her life surrounded by her 54 known grandchildren and at least 33 great-grandchildren who were born in her golden years. That had to bring her joy.

When Anne reached the age where she was unable to help with the hard work in the fields or patching the dikes, she assuredly could assist by watching over her brood of grandchildren, regaling them with stories of far-away France, a trip in a sailing ship across the wild sea, and a grandfather, or great-grandfather named Julien who was an oh-so-brave soldier.

How I yearn for the chance to sit quietly at her feet, unnoticed among the others, absorbing her captivating stories. I can close my eyes and hear her voice…

_____________________________________________________________

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Bennett Greenspan: Meet My Extended Family & Discover Extraordinary Deep Heritage

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“My ancestors are in my soul. I can’t get them out of my mind.”

Bennett Greenspan

“And yes, I brake for cemeteries.”

Bennett Greenspan gave an incredibly interesting presentation at the 15th International Genetic Genealogy Conference held by FamilyTreeDNA in November 2023. Since his retirement in January 2021, he has been able to focus on his genealogy. Once a genealogist, always a genealogist.

Bennett said some things I hadn’t thought about, and now I’m viewing Y-DNA matches with a different perspective – based on how he’s using his results.

Ever since I met him, Bennett’s focus has been to use genetics to unravel his complex Jewish heritage.

The questions that drive Bennett are the same ones that motivate most genealogists:

  1. Who are we?
  2. Where did we come from?
  3. Where were we before we were there?
  4. How did my ancestors get there?

Bennett “lost his family lines” before the mid-1800s due to his Jewish heritage, exacerbated in the 1930s by the devastation wrought by the Holocaust. Families were either killed or scattered to survive. It has been through Y-DNA in particular that he has been able to establish unquestionable and confirmed connections with other Greenspan men, sometimes by similar but different surnames, like Green, and sometimes with other surnames entirely.

When Bennett first started down this path, he tested more than 62 men before actually finding one a decade later that matched his Y-DNA. Bennet commented that it was “a little frustrating.”

Persistence is the key, and sometimes, genealogy is a waiting game, but that’s small comfort to genealogists during that unproductive waiting period.

Eventually, Bennett reassembled his family, at least somewhat, but it was a long journey. Here’s Bennett’s incredible story, including surprises, as he tells it.

Bennett discovered genealogy at age 12 and, like many genealogists, created a pedigree chart by talking to his family.

I love the mark-outs. How many of us still have our first chart with its edits?

This is the young Bennett Greenspan, whose interest in genealogy would one day unlock secrets for all of us!

It was a long way from a decade with no matches to finding his genetic kin in Ukraine.

The Big Y-700 Time Tree shows Bennett’s lineage in Ukraine, but stepping back in time, some descendants of his ancestors are found in adjacent locations.

Bennett was passionately discussing his matches on the time tree and in the Greenspan project, so I visited the Greenspan DNA Project, where the earliest known ancestors of Bennett’s Big Y matches are shown on the Group Time Tree.

Bennett’s closest matches are shown as descendants of haplogroup J-ZS1718. He has additional matches who are not in the Greenspan project. Since this is the Group Time Tree, it only displays the people in that project, along with their earliest known ancestors, Isaac and Usher Greenspan.

12-Marker Matches

Bennett never fails to amaze me. He said something very important and profound about 12-marker matches that I really hadn’t thought about – at least not this way.

As a community, we are often guilty of discounting 12-marker matches, those that don’t match us at 25-markers or above, or with different surnames, as “too far back in time” or otherwise irrelevant. I always look at the names and earliest known ancestors of 12-marker matches, because that person may have tested back in the day when fewer markers were available. But if I don’t recognize something, I move on.

However, Bennett said that, ”Y-12 matches reach back to a common ancestor. 12-marker matches are not a quirk. They are related to you, just further back in time. You share a common ancestor with them, someplace. They may be more distant, but they are still your close matches.”

I’ve been in too much of a hurry for a quick win, and ignoring the (apparently not so) obvious.

Determining when and where their ancestors lived also paves the way to discover yours. Your Y-DNA and theirs were in the same place at the same time.

Of Bennett’s 171 12-marker matches, 107 have upgraded to the Big Y, probably mostly due to his encouragement. This benefits both them and Bennett by fleshing out the history of that entire group of men, including how they got to where they are found in the first available records. The Time Tree shows when Big Y testers shared a common ancestor, and based on Earliest Known Ancestor (EKA) locations, where. This provides further information about the lives of ancestors before contemporary records – in other words – people that we can never identify by name. It’s a window into ancestors before surnames.

Bennett notes that testers need to know their ancestral village or location to be most useful within the project, and of course, they need to enter their EKA information. Location information is how the Migration Map, Matches Map, and Discover tools, including the Time Tree, are built.

What Happened in Spain?

Bennett’s ancestors and those of his 12-marker matches are found in Spain, and as Bennett says, “One son stayed and one left about the year 296.”

While we have no idea of their names, based on the Time Tree combined with the cluster of earliest known ancestors, we know that they were in Spain, and when.

Their family story is revealed in the bifurcation of the tree found beneath haplogroup J-L823, formed about 296 CE. One line stayed in Spain, and Bennett’s line migrated to eastern Europe where that man’s descendants, including Bennett’s family, are found in the Russian Federation, Belarus, Poland, Lithuania, Sweden, Slovakia, Ukraine, Germany, Romania, the Czech Republic, and other eastern European locations. The closer to you in the tree and in time, the more relevant to your more recent ancestral story.

However, Bennett’s deeper ancestry, the migration of his ancestors to Spain, was only revealed by testing those more distantly related men. Those same men could well have been ignored entirely because they only matched at 12 markers.

According to Bennett, “Y-12 markers are important because these are the men most closely related to you in a database of 1 million men.”

How incredibly profound. How much have I been cavalierly overlooking?

How does this actually apply to Bennett’s results?

Bennett’s Spanish Matches

Bennett has the following STR panel matches who indicate that their EKA are from Spain. You can see that they match Bennett on a variety of panels.

  • X = yes, match
  • No = no match
  • Blank = not tested at that level.

In the Big Y GD column, the genetic distance (GD) is displayed as 15/660 where 15 is the number of mismatches, or the cumulative genetic distance ABOVE the 111 panel, and 660 is the number of STR markers above 111 with results.

The Big Y-500 test guaranteed a minimum of 500 total STR markers, and the Big Y-700 guarantees a minimum of 700 total STR markers, plus multiple scans of the balance of the Y chromosome for SNP mutations that define haplogroups. Testers don’t receive the same number of markers because the scan technology sometimes doesn’t read a specific location.

Tester 12 25 37 67 111 Big Y Test Big Y GD Big Y Match Haplogroup
AA X X X No No Yes 15/660 No J-FTD8826
DT X X No No X Yes 17/664 No J-FTE50318
JG X X No No
AR No No X X No No
ELR X X X No No
EL X X Yes 17/666 No J-FTE50318
GC X X X X No No
JC X No No
JLG X X No No No Yes 14/662 No J-FTE23540
MF X X No X No Yes 15/665 No J-FTD91126
MT X X X X No No
BE X X X X X Yes 20/664 No J-BY1795
DR X X X X X Yes 16/660 No J-FTC87344
EC X X X X X Yes 15/665 No J-FTC87344
GM X X No No No Yes 16/650 No J-FTD28153
GM X X X X No Yes 17/664 No J-FTD11019
LS X X No No No Yes 18/666 No J-FTD28153
NE X X X X X Yes 23/597 No J-BY1795
NC X No No
RR X X X No X Yes 22/659 No J-BY1795
TT X X X X X Yes 16/647 No J-FTC87344
XG X X X No No Yes 17/523 No J-BY167283
JA X X No No No Yes 15/646 No J-FTD11019

Of those 23 Spanish matches, sixteen have upgraded to Big Y tests, 14 of which are Big Y-700s, resulting in nine different haplogroups, all of which are descendants of Haplogroup J-L823. How cool is that?

The “Nos” in the Big Y Match Column aren’t mistakes. That’s right – none of these men match Bennett on the Big Y test, meaning they had more than a 30 mutation difference between them and Bennett on the Big Y test.

At first glance, you’d think that Bennett would have been disappointed, but that’s not the case at all! In fact, it was the information provided by these distant Spanish matches that provided Bennett with the information that his line had split sometime around the year 296 CE, with one branch remaining in Spain and his branch migrating to Eastern Europe, where he has lots of matches.

DNA Plus History

What was happening in Spain or the Iberian peninsula that involved the Jewish people about that time? Historical records exist of Jews living in that region before the fall of the Second Temple in about 70 CE, including records of Jews being expelled from Rome in 139 for their “corrupting influence.”

Furthermore, the Ancient DNA Connections for haplogroup J-L823, the most recent common ancestor (MRCA) for all of those branches, includes connections to multiple burials from:

  • Lebanon
  • Iran
  • Rome (from 1-400 CE)
  • Turkey
  • Jordan

Clearly, Bennett’s ancestor was in the Iberian peninsula around or before 296 CE. One branch stayed, winding up in Spain, and one headed for Europe.

Without these matches, some who didn’t match above the 12 or 25 marker level, how would Bennett have EVER known that his Jewish ancestors left the Middle East for Spain in the early years? How would he have known they migrated from Spain to Eastern Europe, and how would he have known that his line did not migrate directly from the Levant to Eastern Europe in the 9th century?

Big Y matches are typically within about 1500 years, but non-matches are still INCREDIBLY valuable. Without them, you can’t completely assemble your family story.

I noticed on the Time Tree that in Bennett’s Eastern European line, one of his ancestor’s brother lineages includes the Katzenellenbogen Rabbinic Lineage derived from ancient DNA samples.

Bennett’s successes have resulted from contacting his matches and encouraging upgrades. So how did he do it? What’s the magic sauce?

Contacting Matches

How to contact matches successfully is a question I see often. In fact, FamilyTreeDNA recently wrote about that in an article, here.

Bennett’s methodology for contacting his matches to encourage an upgrade is that he sends an email explaining why he’s encouraging them to upgrade, followed by a 2nd email three days later.

Bennett tells the recipient that we are at an inflection point in time. “It’s winter, the wind is blowing hard, and many of the leaves are gone.”

In other words, we need to cast the net wider and capture what we can, while we can. Unfortunately, many early testers have died, and with them, chapters of history are perishing.

Collaboration is key. In addition to encouraging upgrades, Bennett also offers Zoom calls to these groups of men to explain the results if they are interested.

What a GREAT idea! I need to begin offering that as well.

Upgrade Request

Bennett reaches out to his matches at various levels, but he expects his closer STR matches, meaning at the 67 and 111 marker level with the fewest mismatches, to match him on a Big Y-700 test and connect someplace between 300-600 years ago, which helps everyone flesh out their tree.

Bennett’s email:

Hello <name>,

Since you have already made a sizable investment in your Y-DNA, you now know that we come from the dominant male Middle Eastern group (Haplogroup J) of men who <subject here>.

What’s really neat is that our Y-DNA has recently been found in an archaeological site in Northwestern Jordan dated to about 4200 years ago. I know this because I upgraded to the Big Y, which tests SNPs, looking at several million locations on the Y chromosome of each man.

One academic customer recently compared this new technology as the difference between looking into space with binoculars versus the Hubble Telescope.

I don’t know if you are familiar with your list of matches at the highest level you’ve tested for, either Y-67 or Y-111. If you are, you should recognize my name and the names of others who have taken the Big Y test.

You’ll see what you’ll gain by letting me upgrade your test for you and determining whether you are related to my line – probably between about 200 years and 500 years.

This might be the second time that I have written to you on this matter; can I presume if I don’t hear from you that you’re not really interested in the Y-DNA subject anymore?

Can I run the test so that I can see how closely we are related – at my expense? (Of course, you get to see how closely related we are, too).

Please reply to me and say “yes.” You don’t even have to put a 🙂 if you don’t want to.

I started this company and this industry over 20 years ago. I predict that you will be happy with the history of YOU that this upgrade will uncover.

Best,

Bennett Greenspan

As you can see, this email can easily be personalized further and adapted to matches at the 37, 25, and 12 marker levels – or even Family Finder matches, now that intermediate-range haplogroups are being reported.

What’s Next?

I’m going back to every one of the kits I sponsored or that represent descendants of one of my ancestors to review their matches again – focusing not just on the closest matches with common surnames, but also on locations – and specifically at lower matching levels. I’ll also be checking their Family Finder matches for male surname matches, or similar surnames.

As is evident from Bennett’s tests, an entire mine of diamonds is out there, just waiting to be unearthed by a Big Y test.

And to think that some people have been advising people to ignore 12-marker matches out-of-hand because they are “entirely irrelevant.” They aren’t – for two reasons.

  1. First, some early testers only tested to that level
  2. Second, because of the deeper history that Big Y tests from those matches will uncover

You can view your Y-DNA matches, upgrade your own Y-DNA test, or order a Big Y-700 test if you haven’t yet tested by clicking here. What’s your next step?

_____________________________________________________________

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Miss Connie – Quilt Sister, Angel of Mercy, Legacy of Hope

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Miss Connie concluded her earthly journey last night, slipping peacefully away in the early hours, just before dawn. Her life was a cherished gift to us for a time, and now she has returned to the embrace of the cosmos.

Today, I’m both wracked with grief and overcome with gratitude.

This is a love story like none you’ve ever heard, enveloping both of our families, binding us together like twine. It’s an incredible testimony of inspiration too, a triumph of the human spirit. Connie set the bar high – very high.

This is a long article, so consider this the “get your cup of tea and Kleenex warning.”

The Accidental Meeting

Connie and I didn’t start out knowing each other. We didn’t begin our lives as family.

In fact, we didn’t meet until after both of us had experienced devastating personal losses. Maybe it was because of those events that our lives intertwined. They certainly propelled us on the journey towards that intersection. It’s like fate was trying to introduce us, but we weren’t cooperating.

We literally saved each other – and were thereby bonded into eternity as sisters.

I’m not being facetious. Continue reading →

Honoré Lore or Lord’s 1818 Estate Inventory Provides a Window Into His Life

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Honoré Lore, or Lord (1742-1818) lived an incredibly interesting life. He was born near Annapolis Royal in Nova Scotia, survived the Acadian exile, and served in the Revolutionary War at Fort Albany in New York before settling in Quebec in the late 1780s.

Honoré outlived two wives, Appoline Garceau and Suzanne Lafaille, having seven children with each. He married Marguerite Babin when he was 61 years old and brought forth eight more children with her. Marguerite was his wife at his death in 1818 at the age of 76.

After publishing Honore’s life story, two readers contacted me with additional information.

Justine and Suzanne located and transcribed Honoré’s estate inventory and other documents, each contributing different pieces of the pie. I didn’t realize Honoré had an inventory, and not speaking French or being familiar with French-Canadian documents, I was absolutely over the moon and oh so grateful to both Suzanne and Justine. I can’t thank these ladies enough.

From Suzanne Lesage:

I was curious of how Justine got to the inventories. Last fall, BAnQ totally revamped their website and have improved a lot the accessibility of the documents with genealogists in mind. Going back to the page she mentions, I did a search all “Lord” in the Montreal area and got a list of 6, with this one on top. The good news is there was indeed an inventory for Honoré who died in 1818 – the bad news is that it is not yet available on-line at BAnQ…

1 – Honoré Lord & Marguerite Babin

Notaires

Titre de l’instrument : Inventaires après décès de la région de Montréal, 1791-1840 (2003) Détails

Nom du défunt : Lord

Préonom du défunt : Honoré

Nom du conjoint : Babin

Prénom du conjoint : Marguerite

Profession :

Résidence : Saint-Luc

Nom du notaire : Dandurand, Roger-François Année de l’acte : 1818 Date de l’acte : 1818-09-22 Remarque :

Source : Archives nationales à Montréal, CN601,S107, disponible sur microfilm

But FamilySearch comes to the rescue…

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHV-L3V7-L97Q?i=136&cat=675092

Image 137

The script is quite good, so transcription should not be too difficult. Any details you are interested in? It seems he had a will (name of notaries Edm Henry &  RF Dandurand?) where his children were the heirs, but his widow could stay put until her death.

Suzanne Lesage GFA

GFA stands for Généalogiste de filiation agréée and is the first level of formal recognition for genealogists in Quebec.

I explained to Suzanne that essentially, I can’t transcribe the documents because unless you know the language, and know what to expect, transcribing handwriting is almost impossible – at least for me.

If I had French text, as in typed out, I could do the translation using online tools. Thankfully, Suzanne took pity on me.

Poor Roberta … Ok then – let’s start with who was there.

Between Suzanne and Justine, we wound up with a reasonable transcription to contemporary French, which I then translated using Google translate. Not everything translated perfectly, of course, and I’m more than happy to make corrections.

Le 22 septembre 1818 inventaire des biens qui étaient communs entre Honoré Lord, défunt et Marguerite Babin sa veuve

Translation:

September 22, 1818 inventory of property that was common between Honoré Lord, deceased, and Marguerite Babin, his widow

Image 138

L’an 1818 le 22e jour du mois de septembre à midi à la requête de Marguerite Babin veuve de Honoré Lord demeurant en la paroisse de Saint-Luc, tant en son propre nom comme commune en biens avec son défunt mari qu’en celui comme tutrice à Rose, Augustin, Claire, Maryse (or Moyse for Moise), Catherine et Modeste Lord enfants encore mineurs issus du dit mariage.

En présence de Jean Lord, leur frère consanguin, subrogé tuteur des dits mineurs.

Plus de François Lafaye, oncle maternel et tuteur et Julien Lord frère et subrogé tuteur de Jacques Lord, enfant encore mineur issu du 2nd mariage du dit défunt Honoré Lord et défunte Suzanne Lafaye.

English translation:

The year 1818 on the 22nd day of September at noon at the request of Marguerite Babin, widow of Honoré Lord, residing in the parish of Saint-Luc, both in her own name as common property with her late husband and in that as guardian to Rose, Augustin, Claire, Maryse, Catherine and Modeste Lord, still minor children from the said marriage.

In the presence of Jean Lord, their consanguineous brother, subrogated guardian of said minors.

Plus François Lafaye, maternal uncle and guardian and Julien Lord brother and subrogated guardian of Jacques Lord, still minor child from the 2nd marriage of the said deceased Honoré Lord and the deceased Suzanne Lafaye.

Image 138 Second Half

En plus la dite veuve comme tutrice à ses dits enfants, Jean Lord comme subrogé tuteur, François Lafaye comme tuteur de Jacques Lord et Julien Lord comme son subrogé tuteur par avis de testament homologué en justice.

Pour la conservation des biens et droits des susdites parties et de tous autres qu’il appartiendra, par les notaires soussignés, va être procédé à l’inventaire exact de tous les biens demeurés après le décès dudit Honoré Lord, trouvés en

la maison où il est décédé, située en ladite

English translation:

In addition the said widow as guardian of her said children, Jean Lord as subrogated guardian, François Lafaye as guardian of Jacques Lord and Julien Lord as his subrogated guardian by notice of will approved in court.

For the conservation of property and rights of the above-mentioned parties and all others he will belong, by the undersigned notaries, an exact inventory will be carried out of all property remaining after the death of the said Honoré Lord, found in the house where he died, located in the said

Image 139

ladite paroisse et à nous montrés et enseignés par lad. Marguerite Babin, après erment par elle tout présentement entre nos mains prêté de tout montrer et enseigner, sans en cacher ni détourner aucunes choses, se soumettant où il se trouverait le contraire aux peines en tels cas introduites qui lui ont été expliquées par nous notaires qu’elle a dit bien savoir. Les biens sujets à prisée estimés par Les sieurs Victor Girouard et Denis Loupris notables de ladite paroisse St Luc, priseurs choisis par les susdites parties, lesquels à ce présents ont promis le tout priser et estimer dans sa juste valeur, suivant le meilleur de leur connaissance, eu égard au tems présent, la criée non comprise attendu que les parties sont d’accord de les faire vendre publiquement dès jeudy prochain. Fait et passé maison dudit défunt, en ladite paroisse St Luc, les jour et an que dessus et ont François Lafaye et Denis Loupris signé avec les notaires, quant aux autres parties et l’autre des priseurs ont déclaré ne savoir signer de ce enquis, ont fait leurs marques.

English Translation:

said parish and showed and taught us by lad. Marguerite Babin, after oath by her now in our hands ready to show and teach everything, without hide or divert anything, submitting where he would be contrary to the penalties in such cases introduced which were explained to him by we notaries that she said she knew well. Goods subject to price estimated by Mr. Victor Girouard and Denis Loupris notables of the said St Luc parish, auctioneers chosen by the above-mentioned parties, which at this present have promised to take it all and estimate in its fair value, following the best of their knowledge, having regard in the present tense, the auction not included whereas the parties agree to have them sold publicly as soon as next Thursday.

Made and passed in the house of the said deceased, in the said St Luc parish, the day and year above and have François Lafaye and Denis Loupris signed with the notaries, as for the others parties and the other of the auctioneers declared not know how to sign this inquiry, have made their brands.

Suzanne’s Quick translate – the widow for herself and as tutor of her minor children, and Jean Lord their brother (subrogé tuteur = deputy guardian according to Google). And François Lafaye, uncle of Jacques Lord, who was there for the interest of Jacques the minor child of the first wife – Suzanne – apparently the will had to be probated.

Image 140 Signatures

Marques lecture faite: Marguerite Babin/sa marque

Jean Lord/ sa marque                     Julien Lord/sa marque

Victor Girouard/sa marque François Lafay [signature]

Du Loupret [signature]

Dandurand [signature notaire]

This seems like a very complex situation, yet probably not that unusual. Indeed Roberta, you will beg for a computer!

You can be very glad for these inventories. Can you imagine nowadays someone going through your house listing everything down to the pillowcases and the forks, and not only listing them, but appraising their quality and pricing them?

An interesting fact is that although Quebec had been under British rule for more than 50 years, they allowed the French legal system in Quebec and Louisiana (still is to this day). Sometimes we hate the French for their lengthy papers, but this document is a goldmine to reconstruct the life of our ancestors.

I was going to suggest using “transkribus” and decided to give it a try for page 2 of the “Inventaire”

Text Recognition powered by transkribus.ai

lade srarisse a à nous montrez eten seignes par lade. Mangurité s’Dabine cepris derment parelle taut présentement entre nos mains preté de tout mantrer chenacienes, aans en cacher ni deteurner aucunes choses se commettent où il se trouverait le contraire aux feines en tels cas introduites qui lui ont été expliquées par nous snataires qu’elle a etit bien davoir Les 1 diens sujets à finisée, estimés par les Srs Victoy Girouna Denes confires, chotables de lad. Banoisse & sue presente choisis par les auso. pranties, lesquels ce ci présents ont paromes détant finiser à eatimes sans sa Luste valeur suivant le meilleur de leur Connaissance en égard au tems présent La bénüe non comprise attendu que les parties dont d’accond de les faize vendre publiquement des Veudy Brochain etait a preché maison desd. defeunt en lad paaroise dt duc, les Lour et an que depus et ent Fmançais Pafaire damis confirêt signé avec les notaires; quent aux autres parlies d l’autre des pniseurs cnt déclaré ne savoir signer, de ce onques ent fait leurs Marques

Which I correct to:

la dite paroisse à nous montre et enseigner par la dte Marguerite Babin après serment par elle tout présentement entre nos mains preté de tout montrer et enseigner, sans en cacher ni detourner aucunes choses de soummettre où il se trouverait le contraire aux peines en tels cas introduites qui lui ont été expliquées par nous notaires qu’elle a dit bien savoir Les d Biens sujets à prisés estimés par les Srs Victor Girouard & Denis Lonprêt, notables de lad. paroisse St Luc priseurs, choisis par les sudtes parties lesquels ici présents ont promis le tout priser a estimers dans sa juste valeur suivant le meilleur de leur Connaissance en égard au tems présent La Criée non comprise attendu que les parties sont d’accord de les faire vendre publiquement dès Jeudy prochain Fait a (Marché?) maison dudt défunt en lad.

paroisse StLuc, les saux etanque dessus et ont François Lafaye & Denis Lonprêt signé avec les notaires; quant aux autres Parties & l’autre priseur ont déclaré ne savoir signer, de ce enquis ont fait leurs marques.

I am not convinced yet…I think this is what Ancestry uses to transcribe the Canadian Census.

Suzanne’s Quick translate:

The widow swears she is not hiding anything – they hire, chosen by the heirs, two appraisers – one of whom cannot sign – and announce that there will be a public auction the following Thursday.

Public Sale

This may finish you… After the inventory, the next act is the public sale of all the goods and farm animals with the names of those who bought them! The widow got to bid on her own things to buy them back from the inheritance! If I understand correctly, two men – the local Innkeeper and a neighboring farmer were to bid on her behalf.

The actual inventory begins with image 140 and continues through image 169. The first portion is the inventory or items, and the later part details who purchased what.

This estate is quite large.

Roberta’s note – This is gold to me. I can hardly wait. I couldn’t sleep.

Image 140 Part 2

Premièrement dans la maison s’est Trouvé et a été prisé et estimé aux livres et Sols ancien cours, savoir

English translation using Google:

First in the house was found and was prized and esteemed in books and old course floors, know.

Note – the list of inventory items begins here. French is in the left column, and English is in the right. There are several items that didn’t translate well, so if anyone has any corrections or explanations, please let me know by referencing the image number.

Une petite marmitte de fonte prisée 2 livres 8 sols A small, prized cast iron pot 2 livres 8 sols 2£ 8s
Item une moyenne ditto et

Son couvercle 48 sols

 Item an average ditto and

Its lid 48 sols 2£ 8s

 2£ 8s
Item un canard de fonte

30 sols

 Item a cast iron duck

30 sols 1£ 10s

 1£ 10s
Item une grande marmitte

3 livres

 Item a large pot

3 pounds £3

 3£
Item un fanat/favat de fer blanc

24 sols

 Item a tin fanat/favat

24 sols 1£ 4s

 1£ 4s
Item une paire fers à repasser

48 sols

 Item a pair irons

48 sols 2£ 8s

 2£ 8s
Item un antonnoir et un

moule à chandelle fer blanc

15 sols

 Item a funnel and a

tinplate candle mold

15 sols 15s

 15s
Item quatre faucilles 40s Item four sickles 40s £2 2£
Item deux haches 40s

chaque

 Item two axes 40s

each £4

 4£
Item deux grattes 20s

chaque

 Item two  scrapers

each £2

 2£

Image 141 Page 4

Item une équerre de fer et une

egolline 4£

 Item an iron square and a

egolline £4

 4£
Item une poële à frire 3£ Item a frying pan £3 3£
Item un demi minot 4

livres

 Item half a pound £4 4£
Item 6 bouteilles 20s Item 6 bottles 20s 1£
Item 2 bouteilles et une

cruche 20s

 Item 2 bottles and one

Jug 20s

 1£
Item 10 assiettes de fayence

30s

 Item 10 earthenware plates

30s

 1£ 10s
Item 4 tasses et 4

cuillers à thé 15s

 Item 4 cups and 4

teaspoons 15s

 15s
Item une vieille theyère d’étain

et 2 goblets de crystal 20 sols

 Item an old tin sheera

and 2 goblets of crystal 20 sols

 1£
Item un chandellier de fer et

un poids de plomb d’une livre

20s

 Item an iron candlestick and

a lead weight of one pound

20s

 1£
Item 9 cuillers d’étain, 4

fourchettes et 2 couteaux

avec une paire 30s

 Item 9 pewter spoons, 4

forks and 2 knives

with a pair 30s

 1£ 10s
Item une herminette 3£ Item an adze £3 3£
Item une ferée 30s Item a fairy 30s 1£ 10s
Item une fourche de fer

40s

 Item an iron fork

40s

 2£
Item 4 bizeaux 48s Item 4 wedges 48s 2£ 8s
Item un gros sarrière/tarrière 15s Item a big quarry / quarrier 15s 15s
Item un compas et une petite

lime 20s

 Item a compass and a small

lime 20s

 1£
Item une tinette et des ferailles

4£

 Item a tin and scraps

£4

 4£

Image 141 Page 5

Item une paire de traits de fer

3£

 Item a pair of iron bolts

£3

 3£
Item un lot de tuilles faulx

30s

 Item a lot of faux tiles

30s

 1£ 10s
Item 3 manches et 2 faulx

30s

 Item 3 sleeves and 2 scythes

30s

 1£ 10s
Item un vieu quart rempli

de divers articles 30s

 Item an old quarter filled

various items 30s

 1£ 10s
Item 2 paires baiches

et chaines 40s chaque

 Item 2 pairs of basins

and chains 40s each

 4£
Item un petit baril 20s Item a small barrel 20s 1£
Item une vieille baratte et du

sel 15s

 Item an old churn and some

salt 15s

 15s
Item 2 paniers 6s

chaque

 Item 2 baskets 6s

each

 12s
Item des membres de sleigh et

un morceau de bois de noyer

24s

 Item members of sleigh and

a piece of walnut wood

24s

 1£ 4s
Item 5 poches 100s Item 5 pockets 100s 5£
Item 6 dittos 6£ Item 6 dittos £6 6£
Item un vieu sac 5s Item an old bag 5s 5s
Item un collier et une paire de

traits 6£

 Item a necklace and a pair of

features £6

 6£
Item un vieu harnois et un

vieu collier 6£

 Item an old harness and a

old necklace £6

 6£
Item un ditto et ditto 9£ Item one ditto and ditto £9 9£
Item 2 peaux de vau

30s

 Item 2 cowhides

30s

 1£ 10s
Item un petit rouet 6£ Item a small spinning wheel £6 6£
Item un dévidoir 10s Item a dispenser 10s 10s
Item un filet à sauntes

40s

 Item un filet à sauntes 40s 2£

Image 143 Page 6

Item un lot de fève en gousse

40s

 Item a batch of bean pods

40s

 2£
Item un vieu quart et de la

plume 40s

 Item an old quarter and

feather 40s

 2£
Item 2 manteaux 30s Item 2 coats 30s 1£ 10s
Item un seau feré et un goblet

30s

 Item a bucket and a goblet

30s

 1£ 10s
Item une huche 3£ Item a hutch £3 3£
Item un coffre 3£ Item a chest £3 3£
Item 4 vieilles chaises 40s Item 4 old chairs 40s 2£
Item un lot de 6 fioles 6s Item a batch of 6 vials 6s 6s
Item un miroir la glasse fendue

en deux 3£

 Item a mirror with split glass

in two £3

 3£
Item une armoire 18£ Item a wardrobe £18 18£
Item un dressoir 40s Item a 40s dresser 2£
Item un vieux poële de fonte à fourneau et 4 feuilles de tuyau 90£ Item an old cast iron stove and 4 sheets of pipe £90 90£
Item une table 30s Item a table 30s 1£ 10s
Item une vieille ditto 10s Item an old ditto 10s 10s
Item 2 barils 40s

chaque

 Item 2 barrels 40s each

 

 4£
Item une baratte 30s Item a churn 30s 1£ 10s
Item une chaudière et un coudoir

30s

 Item a boiler and an elbow rest

30s

 1£
Item une ditto seule 20s Item a single ditto 20s 1£
Item 20 terrines 24s Item 20 terrines 24s 1£ 4s
Item 10 ( 6 ?) plats prisés 20s Item 10 (6?) popular dishes 20s 1£
Item un grand plat 10s Item a large dish 10s 10s
Item 3 dittos 20s Item 3 dittos 20s 1£

Image 144 Page 7

Item une grande charrette et une paire

de roues 18£

 Item a large cart and a pair of wheels £18 18£
Item une petite ditto et ses roues 36£ Item a small ditto and its wheels £36 36£
Item un vieu tombereau 30s Item an old dumper 30s 1£ 10s
Item une charrue et ses ferrements

12£

 Item a plow and its fittings

£12

 12£
Item un grand auge 10s Item a large trough 10s 10s
Item 12 poteaux et une sablière

12£

 Item 12 posts and a sand pit

£12

 12£
Item 3 herses de bois 10s

chaque

 Item 3 wooden harrows 10s

each

 1£ 10s
Item une traine et son travail

12£

 Item a train and its work

£12

 12£
Item une vieille ditto 9£ Item an old ditto £9 9£
Item 26 bottes de lin 12£ Item 26 bales of linen £12 12£
Item une vieille calèche 24£ Item an old carriage £24 24£
Item une tasserie de pois en gousse

120£

 Item a cup of peas in pods

£120

 120£
Item 200 gerbes d’avoine

18£ le cent

 Item 200 sheaves of oats

£18 per cent

 36£
Item 1000 gerbes de bled

30£ le cent

 Item 1000 sheaves of corn

£30 per cent

 300£
Item 600 bottes de foin à

18£ le cent

 Item 600 bales of hay

£18 per cent

 108£

Les animaux et bestiaux

Animals and livestock

18 poules 9£ 18 hens £9 9£
Item 9 couples de dinde

48s le couple

 Item 9 pairs of turkey

48s the couple

 10£ 16s
Item 6 jeunes cochons 6£

chaque

 Item 6 young pigs £6

each

 36£

Image 145 Page 8

Item 3 vieux cochons 18£

chaque

 Item 3 old pigs £18

each

 54£
Item un cochon à l’engrais 36£ Item a fattening pig £36 36£
Item 8 vieux moutons 12£

chaque

 Item 8 old sheep £12

each

 96£
Item 5 jeunes dittos 6£

chaque

 Item 5 young dittos £6

each

 30£
Item 3 chevaux dont un

blanc, le second noir et le dernier

gris, 108£ chaque

 Item 3 horses including one

white, the second black and the last

grey, £108 each

 324£
Item une vache, une corne cassée

60£

 Item a cow, a broken horn

60£

 60£
Item une brune nez noir

54£

 Item a brunette black nose

£54

 54£
Item une ditto rouge

48£

 Item a red ditto

£48

 48£
Item une ditto brune

48£

 Item a brown ditto

£48

 48£
Item une ditto roux et blanc

36£

 Item a red and white ditto

£36

 36£
Item une taure rouge

24£

 Item a red heifer

£24

 24£
Item une taure caille

18£

 Item a quail heifer

£18

 18£
Item 2 vaux de l’année

24£

 Item 2 worth of the year £24 24£
Item une génisse 9£ Item a heifer £9 9£
Item une paire de bœufs

120£

 Item a pair of oxen

£120

 120£

Encore dans la maison

Still in the house

Un lit de plume, une paillasse,

Un traversin, 2 oreillers

2 drapes et une courtepointe

Et couchette 48£

 A feather bed, a pallet,

A bolster, 2 pillows

2 drapes and a quilt

And berth £48

 48£

Image 146 Page 9

Item une boete et une paillasse

et un drap, 4£

 Item a box and a pallet

and a sheet, £4

 4£
Item un autre lit de plume

30£

 Item another feather bed

£30

 30£
Item 4 nappes de toile

du pays, 30s chaque

 Item 4 canvas tablecloths

of the country, 30s each

 6£
Item un drap de laine et une

vieille courtepointe d’indienne

3£

 Item a woolen cloth and a

old Indian quilt

£3

 3£
Item une bouteille et un verre

10s

 Item a bottle and a glass

10s

 10s

Ce fait ayant vaqué sans interruption jusqu’à 4h de relevée, la vacation a cessé et adjournée sine die par rapport aux dettes actives, celles passives, les immeubles et papiers – Et tout le contenu ci-dessus du consentement des parties intéressées a été laissé en la garde et possession de ladite veuve qui s’en est volontairement chargée pour le représenter toutes fois quantes et à qui il appartiendra.Fait et passé maison dudit défunt, les jour et an que dessus et ont comme ci-devant signé – lecture faite.

English Translation:

This fact having continued without interruption up to 4 hours off, the session ceased and adjourned sine die in relation to active debts, passive debts, buildings and papers – And all the above contents of the consent of interested parties was left in the custody and possession of the said widow who voluntarily took charge to represent it all times as and to who it will belong to. Made and passed in the house of the said deceased, the days and year that above and have as above signed – reading done.

Jean Lord (sa marque)                    Marguerite Babin (sa marque)

Victor Girouard (sa marque)           Julien Lord (sa marque

François Lafay [signature]  Du Loupret [signature]

Dandurand [signature notaire]

Image 147 Page 10

L’an 1818, le 26 du mois de septembre à 10 heures du matin, à la requête de Marguerite Babin veuve d’Honoré Lord et tutrice aux 6 enfants issus de sondit mariage, en présence de Jean Lord subrogé tuteur desdits mineurs, plus de François Lafaye comme tuteur et Julien Lord comme subrogé tuteur de Jacques Lord, enfant encore mineur issu du mariage dudit Honoré Lord et défunte Suzanne Lafaye, par les notaires soussignés va être procédé à la continuation de l’inventaire ci-dessus conformément à l’adjournement donnée le 22 du mois courant, au bas du procès-verbal de la précédente vacation – comme suit, savoir

Les dettes actives

Ladite veuve déclare qu’il est du à ladite communauté par Joseph Boudreau pour reliquat du prix de vente d’une terre que ledit défunt lui a vendue 300£ ancien cours de cette province

English Translation:

The year 1818, the 26th of month of September at 10 a.m., at the request of widow Marguerite Babin of Honoré Lord and guardian of the 6 children born of his said marriage, in the presence of Jean Lord subrogated guardian of said minors, more of François Lafaye as tutor and Julien Lord as substitute guardian of Jacques Lord, still a minor child born of the marriage of the said Honoré Lord and late Suzanne Lafaye, by the undersigned notaries will be carried out to the continuation of the inventory above in accordance with the adjournment given the 22nd of the current month, at the bottom of the minutes of the previous vacation – as follows, know

Active debts

The said widow declares that it is due to the said community by Joseph Boudreau for remainder of the sale price of land that the said deceased sold to him 300£ old price of this province

300£

Ensuivent les dettes passives

Passive debts follow

Ladite veuve déclare que ladite communauté doit, savoir A M. Richard Wheeler par

compte

 The said widow declares that the said community must, know To Mr. Richard Wheeler by account 30£ 19s

 

Item au docteur Léonard Pour médicaments durant La maladie du défunt et par Compte Item to Doctor Leonard For medications during The illness of the deceased and Account 39£

Image 148 Page 11

Item à M. JM Raymond marchand pour ballance de compte de marchandises Item to Mr. JM Raymond merchant for balance of merchandise account 88£ 13s
Item à la fabrique de la paroisse St Luc pour reliquat de vente d’un banc dans l’église Item at the parish factory St Luc for remaining sales from a bench in the church 2£ 8s
Item au Docteur Doucet par compte de médicaments durant la maladie du défunt cent trente trois [sic] livres 8s

 

 Item to Doctor Doucet per medication count during the illness of the deceased one hundred and thirty three [sic] pounds 8s 153£ 8s [sic]
Item à Jean Lord Item to Jean Lord 24£ 2s
Item encore à la fabrique de la paroisse St Luc pour enterrement

et frais funéraires dudit défunt

 Item still in the factory St Luc parish for burial and funeral expenses of said deceased

 

 27£
Item à M. Jourdain LaBrosse Par compte de marchandises Item to Mr. Jourdain LaBrosse By merchandise account

 

 19£
384£ 10s

 

Ensuivent les immeubles

Seulement une seixième partie indivise [ajout en marge : dans la moitié aussi indivise] d’une terre de 3 arpents de front sur 30 arpents de profondeur, située dans la seigneurie de la Prairie La Madeleine, tenant par devant au chemin qui conduit à St Jean, en profondeur en représentant Pierre Noël Terrien, d’un côté à la veuve François Brosseau et d’autre côté à Victor Girouard, et une pareille partie des bâtiments dessus construits Quant au restant de la terre [en marge: et bâtiments une moitié desdits bâtiments et cinq sixèmes d’iceux], un arpent et demi de large sur sa profondeur est propre audit défunt, ainsi que 5 sixièmes de l’autre arpent et demi sur sa profondeur

Se trouvent conquets de la seconde communauté

English Translation

Next are the buildings

Only an undivided sixth part [marginal addition: in the equally undivided half] of a land of 3 acres of frontage out of 30 acres of depth, located in the lordship de la Prairie La Madeleine, holding from the front to the path which leads to St Jean, in depth by representing Pierre Noël Terrien, on one side to the widow François Brosseau and on the other hand to Victor Girouard, and a similar part of the buildings built on it As for the rest of the land [in the margin: and buildings one half of the said buildings and five sixths of them], one acre and a half wide by its depth is own deceased audit, as well as 5 sixths of the other acre and a half on its depth. They find themselves conquered by the second community.

I’d love to know where this land was located.

Image 149 Page 12

de biens dudit défunt Honoré Lord et Suzanne Lafaye – les bâtiments désignés en l’inventaire des biens de la communauté dudit Honoré Lord et Suzanne Lafaye

Il y a encore une terre conquit de la communauté de biens dudit Honoré Lord et ladit Suzanne Lafaye située audit lieu de la paroisse St Luc, à l’Est du chemin qui conduit à St Jean, y tenant par devant, par derrière et d’un côté à Denis Laupret et d’autre côté à

[blanc] sur laquelle se trouve une grange construite – et laquelle grange a été construite par amême et des deniers de la communauté dudit défunt Honoré Lord et sa présente veuve – même qu’il a été mis et fait de plus sur ladite terre durant ladite dernière communauté 200 perches et les piquets pour les employer et 4 arpents de fossé. Pour constater la valeur du tout, les susdites parties ont choisi et nommé les sieurs Victor Girard et Denis Louprit personnes expertes qui ont évalué,

Savoir

English Transation:

property of the said deceased Honoré Lord and Suzanne Lafaye – the buildings designated in the inventory of the property of the community of the said Honoré Lord and Suzanne Lafaye. There is still a land conquered by the community property of the said Honoré Lord and the said Suzanne Lafaye located at the said place of the parish of St Luc, to the East of the path which leads to St Jean, holding there from the front, from behind and on one side to Denis Laupret and on the other side to [white] on which there is a barn built – and which barn was built by himself and with money from the community of the said deceased Honoré Lord and his present widow – even though he was put and made more on said land during said last community 200 poles and the stakes to use them and 4 acres of ditch. To see the value of the whole, the above-mentioned parties have chosen and named the gentlemen Victor Girard and Denis Louprit expert people who evaluated,

Know

La grange 600£ The barn £600 600£
Item les perches et piquets Item poles and stakes 36£
Item les 4 arpents de fossés

12£

 Item the 4 acres of ditches

£12

 12£
648£

Il faut encore observer que pendant cette dernière communauté audit Honoré Lord et sa présente veuve [en marge : il a été paié] savoir à Henry Lord pour ses droits mobiliers au chef de feue Suzanne Lafaye sa mère de principal 515£ 18s 9 deniers, et d’intérêt sur cette somme 135£ fesant 650£ 18s 9d – 650 £ 18s 9d

English Translation

It must also be observed that during this last community audit Honoré Lord and his present widow [in the margin: it was paid] know to Henry Lord for his movable rights to the head of the fire Suzanne Lafaye, her principal’s mother 515£ 18s 9 pence, and interest on this sum 135£ costing £650 18s 9d – £650 18s 9d

1298£ 18s 9d

Image 150 Page 13

Rapport des sommes à rembourser à ladite Dernière communauté ci

English Translation

Report of the sums to be reimbursed to the said

Last community here

1298£ 18s 9d

 

Item à Louise Lord femme de Pierre Babin pour ses droits du chef de Suzanne Lafaille sa mère, de capital Pareille somme de 515£ 18s 9 deniers, Et d’intérêt durant 11 années 340£ 9s 10 deniers, fesant 856£ 8s 9d

 

 Item to Louise Lord, wife of Pierre Babin for his rights as head of Suzanne Lafaille her mother, capital Same sum of £515 18s 9 pence, And interest for 11 years £340 9s 10 pence, weighing £856 8s 9d 856£ 8s 9d
Item à Julien Lord ses droits Mobiliers aussi échus du chef De feue Suzanne Lafaye sa Mère, de capital même somme De 515£ 18s 9d, et l’intérêt à constater

 

 Item to Julien Lord his rights Furniture also from the chef From the late Suzanne Lafaye

Mother, same capital Of £515 18s 9d, and the interest to be noted

 515£ 18s 9d
Item enfin à Charles Hissiau et [blanc] Lorde sa femme Du chef de ladite Suzanne Lafaye Mère de ladite [blanc] Lord en Acompte des droits mobiliers Qu’elle a recevoir Item finally to Charles Hissiau and [blank] Lorde his wife From the head of the said Suzanne Lafaye Mother of the said [blank] Lord in Deposit of movable rights That she received

 

 240£
Il faudra encore observer En partage que durant cette communauté Ledit défunt Honoré Lord a vendu Une terre qui lui étoit propre à Jean Baptiste Sire pour la somme de 1800£ de 20s cours ancien

 

 It will still be necessary to observe Sharing only during this community The said  deceased Honoré Lord sold A land that was his own Jean Baptiste Sire for the sum of

1800£ of 20s old course

 

 2 955£ 6s 1d

 

1800£

Image 151 Page 14

S’ensuivent les titres Primo, l’expédition du contrat de mariage entre Honoré Lord et Marguerite Babin devant Maître Pinsonant/Pinsonaut et son confrère notaires le 11 du mois de février 1804 Inventorié et cotté – 1

Secondement l’inventaire des biens qui ont été communs entre Honoré Lord et Suzanne Lafaye sa défunte femme fait par les mêmes notaires le 3 de février 1804 – inventorié et cotté 2

Troisièmement le procès-verbal de la vente publique des effets mobiliers communs

entre Honoré Laure et feue Suzanne Lafaye dressé par les mêmes notaires le 10 février 1804 Inventorié et cotté trois – 3

Quatrièmement partage d’une terre entre Honoré Lord et ses enfants, devant Maître

Décoigne notaire le 7 de août 1810 inventorié et cotté – 4

Cinquièmement vente de droits successifs immobiliers maternels par Jean Baptiste

Lord à Honoré Lord son père devant Maître Demetot notaire, le 2 janvier 1815 inventorié – 5

Sixièmement vente de portion de terre par Marie Charlotte Laure à Honoré Lord son père devant Maître Pinsonaut notaire le 1er juillet 1802 Inventorié et cotté – 6

Septièmement vente par Pierre Dussault et Marguerite Laure son épouse à Honoré

Laure frère (ou père ???) et beau-frère (ou beau-père ???) devant Maître

English Translation:

The titles follow

First, sending the marriage contract between Honoré Lord and Marguerite Babin

in front of Maître Pinsonant/Pinsonaut and his fellow notary on February 11, 1804

Inventoried and listed – 1

Secondly, the inventory of goods which were common between Honoré Lord and Suzanne Lafaye his late wife made by the same notaries on the 3rd of February 1804 – inventoried and side 2

(RJE – Can we find this document and the following two?)

Thirdly the minutes of the public sale of common movable effects between Honoré Laure and the late Suzanne Lafaye drawn up by the same notaries February 10, 1804

Inventoried and rated three – 3

Fourth division of land between Honore Lord and his children, before Master Discoigne notary on August 7, 1810 inventoried and quoted – 4

Fifth sale of successive rights maternal real estate by Jean Baptiste Lord to Honoré Lord his father before Maître Demetot, notary, on 2 January 1815 inventoried – 5

Sixth sale of portion of land by Marie Charlotte Laure to Honoré Lord his father before Master Pinsonaut notary July 1, 1802 Inventoried and listed – 6

Seventh sale by Pierre Dussault and Marguerite Laure his wife to Honoré Laure brother (or father???) and brother-in-law (or father-in-law???) in front of Master

Image 152 Page 15

Maître Baussa notaire le 14 juin 1800

Inventorié et cotté – 8

Neuvièmement vente par Gabriel Christie écuyer d’une terre de 3 arpents

de front sur 30 arpents de profondeur à Thomas Donets devant Maître Lublin ( ?) notaire

le 28 septembre 1792 inventorié – 9

Vente par Ed. W. Gray écuyer Sheriff du district de Montreal au Général Christie, en date du 29 Juillet 1789, inventorié et cotté – 10

Ce fait ayant vaqué sans interruption jusqu’à 5h de relevée, ne s’étant plus rien trouvé à inventorier, la vacation a cessé et tout le contenu au présent, du consentement des parties, a été laissé en la garde et possession de ladite veuve qui s’en est volontairement chargée pour le représenter toutes fois, quantes et à qui il appartiendra Et attendu que par le testament solemnel dudit défunt Honoré Lord reçu par Edme Henry et R. H. Dandurand

notaires le [blanc] ,

ledit Honoré Lord auroit légué [en marge : la propriété de tous ses biens] aux enfants issus de son mariage avec sa présente veuve mais la jouissance et usufruit à sadite veuve durant sa viduité seulement, pour plus grande sûreté

English Translation

Maître Baussa notary on June 14, 1800

Inventoried and listed – 8

Ninth sale by Gabriel Christie Squire of a land of 3 acres front on 30 acres of depth to Thomas Donets before Master Lublin (?) notary September 28, 1792 inventoried – 9

Sale by Ed. W. Gray Esquire Sheriff of the Montreal district General Christie, dated 29

July 1789, inventoried and quoted – 10

This fact having passed without interruption up to 5 a.m. raised, having found nothing to be inventoried, the sale has ceased and all content in the present tense, from consent of the parties, was left in the custody and possession of the said widow who voluntarily took care of it to represent it all times, quantes and who it will belong to.

And expected that by the will solemn memorial of the said deceased Honoré Lord received by Edme Henry and R. H. Dandurand

notaries on [blank],

the said Honoré Lord would have bequeathed [in the margin: the ownership of all his property] to the children from his marriage to his present widow but enjoyment and usufruct to said widow during her viduality only, for greater safety

Image 153 Page 16

Sûreté de la conservation et entretien d’iceux, sont intervenus et furent présents devant les notaires soussignés les sieurs Richard Wheeler aubergiste, et Antoine Wheeler Brosseau cultivateur tous deux de la paroisse St Luc dans le comté de Huntingdon, dans le district de Montréal, lesquels se sont volontairement rendus pleiges et cautions pour ladite Marguerite Babin veuve, envers et au profit de sesdits auxquels ils ont conjointement et solidairement les uns pour les autres et un d’eux seuls pour tous, sans division, discussion ni fidéjussion à quoi ils renoncent, promis de bailler, payer et livrer quand dus seront tous et chacun les droits successifs, mobiliers et immobiliers afférants auxdits enfants du chef de leurdit défunt père et dont ladite veuve a droit de jouir durant sa viduité comme [en marge : dit est ci-devant] à titre d’usufruit et précaire par et en vertu du testament de leurdit défunt père sus-cité à peine etc.

Et pour sûreté lesdites cautions ainsi Que ladite veuve affectent et hipothèquent

Dis ce jour tous leurs biens immeubles présents et à venir.

Et pour l’exécution des présentes ont élu leurs domiciles irrévocables en leurs présentes demeures auxquels lieux veulent et consentent etc. Nonobstant etc. car ainsi etc. promettant etc.

English Translation

Safety of conservation and maintenance of these, intervened and were present before the undersigned notaries Richard Wheeler innkeeper, and Antoine Wheeler Brosseau cultivator both of the parish of St Luc in the county of Huntingdon, in the district of Montreal, who voluntarily surrendered pledges and deposits for the said Marguerite Babin widow, to and for the benefit of these to whom they jointly and in solidarity for each other and one of them alone for all, without division, discussion or discontent with what they give up, promise to yawn, pay and deliver when due everyone will have the rights successive, movable and immovable relating to the said children of the chief of their said late father and of whom the said widow has the right to enjoy during his widowhood as [in the margin: said is above] as usufruct and precarious by and under the will of their said late father mentioned above etc. And for safety the said sureties as well That the said widow affects and mortgages Tell this day all their real estate present and future.

And for the execution of these have elected their irrevocable domicile in their present homes to which places want and consent etc. Notwithstanding etc. because so etc. promising etc.

Image 154 Page 17

obligeant etc. renonçant etc.

Fait et passé maison dudit défunt en la paroisse St Luc les jour et an que dessus, et a ledit sieur Wheeler signé avec les notaires, quant audit Antoine Brosseau et ladite veuve, ainsi que ledit Jean Lord subrogé tuteur à ce présent, ont déclaré ne savoir signer de ce enquis ont fait leurs marques lecture faite.

Jean Lord (sa marque)        Marguerite Babin (sa marque)

Antoine Brosseau (sa marque)

Richard Wheeler [signature]

Dandurand [signature]

English Translation:

Page 17 (view 154)

obliging etc. renouncing etc.

Made and passed in the house of the said deceased in the parish of St Luc on the day and year that above, and has the said Mr. Wheeler signed with the notaries, as for audit Antoine Brosseau and the said widow, as well as the said John Lord subrogated guardian of this present, have declared not knowing how to sign this inquiry have made their mark reading done.

Jean Lord (his brand) Marguerite Babin (his brand)

Antoine Brosseau (his brand)

Richard Wheeler [signature]

Dandurand [signature]

The Sale

Image 155 

Le 24 et 25 septembre 1818

Vente publique des biens meubles de la communauté d’entre Marguerite Babin et Honoré Lords, son défunt mari

English Translation

September 24 and 25, 1818

Public sale of goods community furniture of among Marguerite Babin and Honoré Lords, her late husband.

Roberta’s note: What follows are the images of the record of the sale. Honore’s son, Honore, is my ancestor, and he apparently purchased three things. One is a box of « compiled items and two old sheep. Of course, based on the earlier information, it appears that he also wound up with either all of or part of the farm.

I can’t help but wonder if Marguerite remained there or exactly how that worked out. She purchased a great number of things from his estate. At that time, a man’s entire estate was put up for sale.

I remember my Dad’s sale, and even though we really didn’t want all that “stuff,” it was still an extremely emotional day, watching his life be disassembled in pieces and partitioned out to the highest bidder.

Thankfully, my Mom didn’t have to buy her things back, but there were still a significant number of hard feelings over events surrounding that sale.

Image 156

I do not speak fluent French anymore, but the text above states that this is the sale of Honoré Lord’s estate and that Jean Lord, son of Honoré is the brother of the six minor children.

Something about Francois Lafaye and Jacques Lord, minor child of Honore Lord and Suzanne Lafaye, also Julien Lord, his brother. I believe this means that Francois is essentially the guardian of these children. Francois is the uncle of Honoré’s children with Suzanne. In 1818, Jacques turned 19 in July, and Julien turned 23 in March.

At the end of this page, it says something about the door of the church.

Image 157

In various places in this document, Francoise Lafaye, free (brother), purchases items for the minor son. I don’t know why some names are struck through.

The word “veuve” means widow. She clearly bid on several items, but some items apparently were purchased by others whose names are struck through and veuve written in.

This must have been traumatic for Honoré’s wife and children.

Image 158

Image 159

Image 160

Image 161

Image 162

Image 163

Image 164

Image 165 

Total: 1838£ 5s

Image 166 :

Avenant le 25 septembre

Animaux

Animals

Image 167

Image 168

Image 169 :

Total : 1821£ 6s

I scanned through the names on these images, and one thing I found remarkable is that few, if any, of Honoré’s adult children purchased items from his estate. There are a couple of people with the Lafaye surname, his second wife’s family, also the family of his daughter-in-law, but not nearly as many as I would have expected.

This causes me to wonder if most people, those whose names were lined out, purchased on behalf of the widow to keep the items from the homestead within the family, for her use.

My friend, Justine, who is a native-French speaker took a look at the translations performed by Suzanne and attempted to find the referenced land records. I would LOVE to know where Honoré lived.

From Justine:

Since I had the time, I had a closer look at Honoré Lord’s inventory in 1818, especially the papers listed at the end.

I misspelled some of the notaries’ names and can’t find them on the BanQ website so I am afraid it is a dead end.

Here are my notes :

– Theophile Pinsonnault from La Prairie (Montreal) is not online on BanQ, but I have not checked FamilySearch. Those acts would be the most interesting for you: if you find them, do not hesitate to ask me for a transcription.

– several deeds are relating to a land in the « prairie de la Madeleine » :

7/08/1810 (notary Louis Decoigne, Lacadie district of Iberville): land sharing between the children and their father : https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHV-53LJ-Z9L3-M?cat=1215614 (several children mentioned)

28/09/1792 (notary Peter LUKIN, not Lublin, Montreal): sale of the same land by Gabriel Christie to Thomas Donets

https://numerique.banq.qc.ca/patrimoine/details/52327/4171362?docref=P7YPvKx5TbfhTdGJyzu8jA

Weirdly enough, the sale from Donets to Honoré is not mentioned.

The Deed

Honoré’s second wife, Suzanne Lafay (Lafaille) died on August 7, 1803 leaving children ranging in age from 12 to 4 years of age. Her two youngest children died in the last two years of her life.

Her children were Henri, Louise Marie married Peter Babin in 1803, Julien, Suzanne married Charles Ficiault in 1814, and Jacques Lord.

Honoré had five living children with his first wife, Appoline Garceau, who died in 1788. Those children are Honoré, Marie Anne who married Antoine Brousseau 1788, Francois, Charlotte “Marguerite” who married Pierre-Victor Dussault 1797, and Jean-Baptiste Lore (Lord).

On July 10, 1810, Honoré would have been 68 years old. He remarried Marguerite Babin in 1804, so this deed was not in response to his marriage.

And of course, I wonder how the children from his first marriage were provided for. When their mother died, Honoré was still getting settled in Canada after years of exile in the States and serving in the Revolutionary War in New York.

He wouldn’t have been terribly well off in the 1780s. I’m guessing he slowly amassed farm animals and perhaps property too, over the years.

I can’t help but wonder if his eldest son, Honoré, his namesake, wound up with his land. Someplace, there’s probably a clue.

On one hand, his eldest son, who was born in 1768, was not included in the deed above and was 50 years old by the time his father died. He was clearly already well established, had been married for 29 years, and had 15 children. It’s unlikely that he needed his father’s farm.

On the other hand, the eldest son traditionally inherited the land.

However, If Honoré’s son, Honoré, was provided for, what about the other 4 or 5 children from that marriage who were still living when their father died in 1818?

Image 1792 #777 page 1

Very rough translation limited to the names of the individuals involved:

Honoré Lord of St. Luc parish, father of Henry, Louise, Julien, Susanne, and Jaques Lord his minor children from his marriage with Susanne Lafaille, his deceased wife.

Image 1793, page 2

Image 1794, page 3

This document includes a bonus – the signature of Honoré. Apparently Honoré could not sign his name, so signed with a mark. In fact, only one of three men could, including Honoré’s brother-in-law, Francois Lafay.

Until this deed, we didn’t know if Honoré could sign his name or not. Honoré was born in Acadia, Nova Scotia, a dozen years before the removal. The Lord family lived upriver, so he probably spent his days working on the farm, not learning to read and write from the priest. Of course, that’s assuming any children were learning to read and write in that time and place – and I’m not sure that’s true.

The families were horrifically rounded up, forced onto ships, and deported to shores unknown in the winter of 1755. Clearly, all Honoré’s family could do was to survive. He never learned to read or write as an adult, but by then, he probably didn’t need to. The priests read the Bible and interpreted the results for their parishioners, notaries took care of anything legal, and Honoré spent his life working on his farm after he and Appoline arrived in Ste. Marguerite de Blairfindie with their children about 1787.

Inventory Provides Silent Testimony to a Successful Life

Honoré lived a long life and didn’t die suddenly, based on the sizeable medical bills owed to the local doctor. It’s remarkable that his youngest child was just two years and three weeks old at his death.

Based on the lengthy inventory of his estate, plus some telling items, Honoré was anything but poor. To his credit, in addition to the normally expected farm tools and pots and pans, he had a pair of oxen, an old carriage, 3 horses, 18 cows including one with a broken horn, sheep, pigs, hens, pairs of turkeys, tables, chairs, two feather beds, iron candlesticks, pewter silverware, 4 chairs, a hutch, chest, wardrobe, 11 dishes and a “small, prized cast iron stove.”

Items noted as still in the house, aside from the beds and barest of furniture included a spinning wheel, 2 coats, a pen and plume, a bolster, 2 pillows, quilt, 2 drapes (for the bed), a sheet, a mirror, a bottle, tablecloth, a quilt and lastly, specifically noted, “an old Indian quilt.”

What I wouldn’t give to know the story of that old quilt. Where did it come from?
What did it look like? Is there any possibility that it belonged to Honoré’s grandmother, Francoise d’Azy Mius, the daughter of an unnamed Mi’kmaq woman? Could it possibly have survived the Grand Dérangement?

All told, Honoré’s inventory tells the tale of a man who started with nothing and built a relatively comfortable life for the time and place in which he lived. He owned land and livestock and left an inheritance for his many children. Not bad for a man who was forcibly deported with his family at the age of 13 with nothing except their lives.

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What Subjects Should We Explore in 2024?

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DNA testing is all about solving genealogy puzzles!

After we test, we need to fully understand what those test results are telling us.

To help, I need to know about your genealogy dreams! Who are you dreaming of finding, and what tools do you need to understand better to achieve that goal?

I have some articles planned for 2024, but I’d like to know what topics you’d like to see covered.

Of course, I always cover “breaking news” in genetic genealogy. I’ll be covering RootsTech as well.

Here are a few articles that I have in the works for 2024.

  • DNA and Pedigree Collapse
  • Big Y March of the Ages, by Dr. Paul Maier from the FamilyTreeDNA Conference
  • Highlights from Ancient Connections, by Dr. Miguel Vilar from the FamilyTreeDNA Conference
  • Meet My Extended Family – Leveraging Y DNA Testing, by Bennett Greenspan from the FamilyTreeDNA Conference

Focus

To help focus my efforts, I made a list of my own “genealogy dreams” by reviewing each ancestor and asking myself what I need to know about their life. For example, do I have the Y-DNA and mitochondrial DNA haplogroups for each line? How can I figure out who their parents are? Do I have representatives of this line in every database? How can I address each of these things?

I’ve already started my 2024 research from a focus list I created. So far, I’ve:

  • Upgraded two cousins who took a Y-DNA test to the Family Finder, so I can use those two tests together. I need to know how closely related those two men might be, and who they match in common.
  • Upgraded a cousin to the Big Y-700 from a Y-67, hoping to discover when two lines from our common, unknown ancestor, split. That may help me know where to look, and when.
  • Encouraged a 95-year-old cousin to upload their Ancestry DNA test to FamilyTreeDNA and join the appropriate surname project. They did! Now we can compare their results within a project, which may very well solve a long-standing mystery of an unknown father all the way back in 1809! Fingers crossed!
  • Asked several cousins to also upload their DNA files to both FamilyTreeDNA and MyHeritage. You’ll find free step-by-step instructions for how to do that, here.

It’s Your Turn

What mysteries are you focused on solving using DNA? Who are you searching for in your tree?

Please note that already published articles are available by using the search function on the main DNAexplain blog page, here. Those articles may prove quite helpful.

What topics would you like to see covered in 2024 that will assist with your journey?

Here’s to a wonderful 2024 and finding lots of ancestors!

_____________________________________________________________

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Share the Love!

You’re always welcome to forward articles or links to friends and share on social media.

If you haven’t already subscribed (it’s free,) you can receive an email whenever I publish by clicking the “follow” button on the main blog page, here.

You Can Help Keep This Blog Free

I receive a small contribution when you click on some of the links to vendors in my articles. This does NOT increase your price but helps me keep the lights on and this informational blog free for everyone. Please click on the links in the articles or to the vendors below if you are purchasing products or DNA testing.

Thank you so much.

DNA Purchases and Free Uploads

Genealogy Products and Services

My Book

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