Tag Archives: Genealogy

Genealogy Proof Series – Creating Genealogy Proof Tables

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This is the fifth article in the Genealogy Proof Series.

For maximum advantage, I recommend reading these articles in publication order.

In earlier articles, we’ve detailed how to gather resources for specific locations, how and where to search for surnames and the process of extracting and recording information from those sources.

Now, it’s time to use that information and assemble it in a logical way to provide “proof” that the person by the name of “John Smith,” or whoever you’re seeking, is actually YOUR John Smith.

I use a technique that I call Genealogy Proof Tables. We will cover two types here. You’ll need the first one to complete the second one.

Genealogy Proof Tables

Genealogy proof tables have two purposes:

  • Individual Proof Tables – For an individual ancestor, to compile the various pieces of evidence to prove a connection to their parent or parents and their child or children.
  • Lineage Proof Table – Evidence for an entire lineage, proving connections between all of the individuals in the lineage, one by one in both directions. For a lineage proof table we prove a connection to the parent and also to the descendant that is your ancestor for each generation.

Please note that sometimes you actually wind up disproving a relationship, or realizing you need more information, but that’s equally as important. Nothing worse than wasting time by barking up the wrong tree.

A genealogy proof table is a working document that can be used to focus on each ancestor in every ancestral line. What’s included in a proof table varies by which records are available, the timeframe and circumstances.

You may want to prepare proof tables to help yourself focus and evaluate your data. Proof tables can be sent to someone who asks questions like:

  • How do you know that?
  • What is your proof?
  • What are your sources to identify John as the son of George?

People should be asking those questions, and researchers should be able to answer them. You need to answer them for yourself for your own ancestors, even if no one asks.

The answer to these questions may well be that you’re still working on “proof,” but you’ll at least want to have documented everything available to date. For me, doing these exercises helps me think about what’s still missing and looking for additional sources if I actually don’t have “proof.”

Generally, I create a proof table for a specific ancestor, which I then roll up into a comprehensive proof table for the line. This approach helps me identify which pieces of evidence are conclusive and which ones are not.

The purpose of a proof table is to compile and rank information about that ancestor’s connection to their parents, including negative evidence. It’s not meant to be “everything I know” about that ancestor, just the things that relate to proving that this ancestor is in FACT the child of his parent or parents.

What is Proof?

Isn’t this the question of the ages for genealogists? I wrote an article, Ancestors: What Constitutes Proof?, here. In that article, I’ve provided a list of what isn’t proof and some challenges you may face.

Aside from what I’ll term normal genealogy roadblocks to be overcome, there are other challenges as well.

For example, you can have a birth certificate, a death certificate, a will, and personal knowledge that a person lived with their parents – but that child could have been adopted, or the father might not have been the biological father.

In this case, paper proof, no matter how compelling, isn’t actual proof. It can prove the identity of the person, but alone, cannot prove a biological relationship connection.

Sometimes, DNA evidence outweighs everything else, but without DNA evidence, paper proof is the closest we can get. The BCG defines the Genealogical Proof Standard, here.

We need our evidence to be as conclusive as possible.

What does Conclusive Mean?

Conclusive evidence means that any other evidence cannot reliably contradict it, or it’s so strong that it overbears any other evidence. (Thank you Bar Prep Hero.)

In a nutshell, that’s your goal – and all evidence is not created equal.

Evidence is Weighted

Some evidence is better or more solid than other evidence.

Furthermore, sometimes one single piece of evidence isn’t conclusive, but multiple pieces of evidence, taken together, create a body of work and are considered a “preponderance of evidence.” Having said that, I often cringe when I hear that term because sometimes it means there really isn’t good evidence or not enough research has been done.

How good is good enough? You can only work with what’s available and what you have. Unfortunately, one cannot unburn the courthouse!

Sometimes, you’ll need to use DNA evidence. From my perspective, you ALWAYS need to utilize DNA evidence to confirm at least the closest generations.

By closest, I mean that second cousins or closer always match, and you can often reliably use autosomal DNA within, minimally, 5 or 6 generations, but circumstances vary.

Many times I have solid matches to descendants of ancestors 9 or 10 generations in the past, but as you can see in this graphic created by Dr. Paul Maier at FamilyTreeDNA, beginning at eight generations, you may not inherit any DNA from a particular ancestor. Of course, to match someone else, you both need to have inherited the same DNA segment(s) from that ancestor.

You can almost always use Y-DNA to establish relationships beyond what autosomal can confirm, but with both Y-DNA and mitochondrial DNA, you need someone who is appropriately descended from the ancestor in question, as illustrated in this three-generation chart. Sometimes, you need two people descended from that ancestor, preferably through different children, because their Y-DNA or mitochondrial DNA needs to match.

Every situation is different.

How Much Evidence is Enough?

It depends.

Enough for what?

  • Enough to prove that your parent is the child of their parents?
  • Enough to prove to yourself that you’re searching in the right ancestral line?
  • Enough to prove that this John Doe is the same John Doe that moved from Virginia to someplace else, or conversely, the John Doe in Missouri is the one who moved from Virginia?
  • Enough to quality for a lineage society?

Again, from my perspective, enough is not enough until you have looked at every piece of evidence that even MIGHT be relevant for that ancestor.

Essentially, all of this is a bit fluid, so let’s look at an example.

Individual Proof Table

Let’s begin with a proof table for one person.

I’m going to create a proof table to attempt to prove that my paternal grandfather, William George Estes, is the son of Lazarus Estes and Elizabeth Vannoy.

I’ll be using actual documents and information from my files.

If you want to read my 52 Ancestors articles about these people, you can find William George Estes, here, Lazarus Estes, here, and Elizabeth Vannoy, here. I’m not specifically trying to prove that my father, William Sterling Estes, is the son of William George Estes, but some documents cover both men – plus, there’s the possibility of same-name confusion, given that both of their first names are William. I swear, every generation in this family has both Johns and Williams.

To begin, there are a few mandatory categories on every chart. For example, I always use the census when it’s available. You should include these categories even if you don’t have evidence for them, because it reminds you if you’ve searched and the search came up with nothing.

Some categories would be expanded, such as Organizational Societies. For example, if there’s a separate History and Genealogy Society for that county, you would want to check both, as well as the local library and regional or state organizations.

You’ll notice that I’ve assigned a weight to each piece of evidence. Weighting is subjective. Aunt Margaret was the daughter of Wiliam George Estes, so she should know – but often, she didn’t provide any source, like a document or Bible, and she was a bit “eccentric.” In some circumstances, I might weigh what she provided as a 5, but in the first item, I only gave it a 4 because she provided other dates that I found to be erroneous. Memories do fail people.

Red items are direct, confirming evidence of the relationship and that the William George Estes, my grandfather, is the same William George Estes who is the son of Lazarus Estes. Names are spelled or misspelled the way they are in the original source.

William George Estes Information Source Weight (1-5) Comments
Birth March 30, 1873 Aunt Margaret 4 Birth certificates not available in 1873
Father Lazarus Estes
Mother Elizabeth Vannoy
Identity of Parents From letters and discussions 1980s, 1990s Aunt Margaret, Aunt Minnie, children and grandchildren of William G. Estes 5 They knew their grandparents
1880 Census Wm. G. Estis age 7, listed with parents Lazarus and Elisibeth Estis, and siblings, including sister Cornie Claiborne County, TN Dist 8, page 107 on Ancestry 5 Family lives between William G.’s future wife’s uncles
1890 Census destroyed
Marriage Ollie Bolton, Sept 26, 1892. Claiborne County Marriage Index, page 382 5 No parents given
1900 census William G. age 27, with wife, Ollie, and two children Claiborne County, TN Dist 8, page 113 5 Lives next door to Lazarus and Elizabeth Estes and next to his sister Cornie and her husband
1910 census Age 38, with Ollie and two children, Estle and Robert Claiborne County, Civil Dist 4 5 Lives beside sister Cornie and her husband, three houses from Lazarus
Home Location – 1913 Family photos taken in 1913 and labeled “Fowler” Provided by Margaret 5 Written on the back of the family pictures
Home Location Fowler, Indiana Sept 1915 Newspaper article 5 Sons Wm. and Joe ran away and were returned to parents in Fowler
William G. Estes’s divorce from Ollie Fowler, Indiana Aunt Margaret 3 Ollie caught him cheating with her cousin Joyce Hatfield, who was visiting them in Indiana
Divorce from Ollie Unknown, maybe 1916 or 1917 Inferred
Children William S. and Joe “run away” to their grandparents 1915/1916 Fowler, Indiana to Claiborne County, TN Aunt Margaret’s letter, Uncle George, 1915 newspaper articles stated that they tried to run away but got caught 5 Margaret said that when William G. and Ollie divorced,  neither wanted sons Wm. and Joe, 13 and 11, and the boys jumped trains to make their way back to their grandparents, Lazarus and Elizabeth
William George returned to Claiborne County 1916/1917 ish Uncle George Estes, family historian 5 Lazarus was furious when William G. returned after cheating on Ollie and abandoning the boys and threw William G. out of Estes Holler
Move to Harlan County, KY After being thrown out of Estes Holler when he and Ollie divorced Uncle George, Aunt Margaret, Estel’s daughter 5 Settled in Harlan County, KY, just over the border from Claiborne Co., TN
Divorce from Ollie Unknown, about 1916/1917ish Fowler, Ind newspaper August 30, 1917 2 Ollie listed without Wm G and as visiting where she used to live
Marriage Joyce Hatfield, unknown if or when/where married Census, daughter Virginia’s birth Nov. 1918. 3 Inferred, no document found
Child Irene’s Death* August 1, 1916 – Irene Estes, mother Joyce Fury Shawnee, Claiborne Co., TN Informant of the death of daughter, Irenia.

*Please note that this has since been disproven. This William B. Estes who married Josie Fury is not our William G. Estes who married Joicie Hatfield.
Military/draft Registration – signed Sept. 12, 1918, gives birthdate as March 30, 1873 Tazewell, Claiborne County, TN 5 Wife is listed Joisce Estes.
1920 census Age 47, lives with Joise and daughter Virginia Claiborne Civil District 4 5 Future third wife, Crosha Brewer, and her child are living with them as lodgers
Divorce Joice Hatfield Unknown, approx 1921 or 1922 inferred Based on Crosha’s children’s ages
Son William S. Estes’s marriage to Martha Dodder Dec. 12, 1921 Calhoun County, MI 5 Parents are given as Ollie Estes and W. G. Estes
Wm G. Estes child with Croshia Brewer Josephine born March 19, 1923 Springdale, Arkansas 5 Birth certificate, death certificate, census
William George Estes Marriage Croshia Louise Brewer, Feb. 3, 1925, Wise County, VA VA Marriage Registers, page 171 5 Parents given as Lazarus & Elizabeth Estes
1930 census Cannot find the family
1940 census Age 67, living with Crochie and their 2 daughters Harlan Co., KY Lynch dist 5
1940s or 50s Photo with “his sister Cornie” and also one with “Worth Epperson” Claiborne County, TN 5 Photo is labeled and provided by Cornie’s family, who knew him
1950 census 76, lives with Crocie, daughter and boarder Harlan County, KY 5 My mother visited William G. and Crocie with my father in the 1950s.
Cornie Estes Epperson’s 1958 death certificate Born June 22, 1878 to Lazarus Estes and Betty Vannoy, age 79, died Feb. 18, 1958 Death Certificate 5 Correlates to census dates and other data indicating she is the daughter of Lazarus and sister of William G.
Cornie Epperson Obituary Gives Will Estes, of Lynch, KY as her brother. Newspaper clipping 4 Does not give her paents
William Sterling Estes obituary Aug. 28, 1963, Star Press in Muncie, Indiana, page 3 Residence Dunkirk, IN 4 Lists surviving father as W. G. Estes, Cumberland, KY
William George Estes’s death Nov 29, 1971, lived in Harlan Co., KY Kentucky Death Index 5 Parents not given
Obituary Parents not given, living children include Estil, Virginia, Margaret, and Minnie, their locations provided Nov. 30, 1971, Middlesboro Tribune 4 His nephew, Cornie Estes Epperson’s son, Kermit Epperson is a pallbearer
Social Security Claims Index for William G. Jan. 15, 1972 claim, birth 1873 Ancestry 5 SS # given, but no parents given
Social Security Claims Index for my father, William Sterling Estes No claim filed
Will No, rechecked film at FamilySearch 7-8-2024.
Legal No, checked court index in Harlan County
Land Tax No tax lists
Personal Tax No tax lists
Deeds Yes, 1915 deed from Lazarus to Cornie and Worth Epperson where they must pay his other heirs Claiborne County deed book, in person 5 Cornie Estes Epperson to pay William Estes $120
William George Estes signed receipt and release On July 22, 1957, Will signed on the edge of the above deed, releasing the claim on the deed and stating that the $120 had been paid. 5 Confirms his relationship to Lazarus Estes and Cornie Estes Epperson
Sibling Documents Have not looked extensively beyond Cornie
Newspapers Need to revisit when Claiborne County, TN newspapers are digitized
Organizational Searches such as Historical Societies Have not looked recently, need to recheck local libraries
DNA ThruLines to John Y. Estes, father of Lazarus Estes Ancestry 5 Proven via 35 cousin connections to Lazarus’s parents through 3 of John’s siblings
DNA Lazarus Estes ThruLines at Ancestry through Lazarus’s children Ancestry 5 20 matches, 9 through William George, 7 through Cornie, 5 through Charlie Thomas Estes
DNA at FamilyTreeDNA My autosomal matches to Buster Estes, Lazarus’s grandson FamilyTreeDNA 5 Including 556 matches in common and many triangulated segments to descendants of Wm. G., Lazarus, John Y. Estes and upstream ancestors
Other Relationship to wives and children Letters from Aunt Margaret 3 or 4 Clearly states relationship of William G. and Lazarus
Other Relationship to wives and children Letters from William G. to my father 3 or 4 Clearly states relationship of William G. with his siblings and family members

Some types of information are notably unreliable. For example, obituaries may omit people or confuse relationships. William George Estes’s obituary omits his daughter and incorrectly notes her husband, his son-in-law, as William’s child.

Death certificates often give parents incorrectly, especially the mother’s birth surname.

The names of parents in both obituaries and on death certificates are often third-hand information provided by people who are at least two generations removed and are under significant stress at that time. My mother’s obituary was republished two times due to errors made AFTER I provided correct information.

We have several pieces of information that strongly suggest that the William George Estes who was born to Lazarus Estes and Elizabeth Vannoy is the same William George Estes that married Ollie Bolton, but there’s more.

We know for sure that William Estes, who married Croshie/Crosha Brewer, is the same person because his parents are given in the county marriage record book. This is first-hand information and judged to be more reliable because we can reasonably expect that William George knew who his parents were, or at least who they were supposed to be.

If we discount entirely the fact that my aunts personally knew Lazarus as their grandfather, and look only at the paper evidence, we just need to tie William George in his later life to the same William George in his earlier life.

Here’s a photo passed from William George’s daughters to me. Cornie Epperson’s grandchildren had this same photo showing William George Estes with his sister, Cornie Epperson.

Here’s another with Will Estes and Cornie’s husband, Worth Epperson.

Cornie’s children told many stories about their Uncle Will, who rode the bus from Harlan County to Claiborne County, as he didn’t drive. The legendary favorite story was about the time that Will had a bullet in his shirt pocket. It accidentally got mixed into his pipe tobacco, which he put into his pipe and was smoking on the bus.

Yes, the bullet blew up. No one was hurt, and miraculously, the driver didn’t crash. Nevertheless, Will was banished from riding the bus forever thereafter.

That story alone connects the William George Estes living in Lynch, in Harlan County, as the same person, as do his children from all three wives. So do letters from my aunt to family members discussing several people involved, and letters from Will himself in the early 1960s detailing some pretty spicy antics.

However, we’re looking for more than oral history. What other documents do we have?

The Smoking Deed

This deed serves, in essence, as the will of Lazarus Estes and his wife, both of whom conveyed this deed.

Thankfully, it identifies both Cornie and William as their heirs, along with several other children, although it never actually states that the people mentioned are their children. The census confirms that these people, Cornie and William George, along with Martha (Estes) Norris, Charlie Estes, and Lum (James Columbus) Estes mentioned, are their children.

If you’re still wondering if William George Estes is their son, notice the release of lien, stamped on the upper left-hand side of the page decades later, in 1957, with his signature.

This signature matches Will’s other handwriting on letters that he sent in the 1960s, in my possession, and on my father’s delayed birth certificate signed in 1952.

This document provides their relationship, the type of evidence submitted, and both of their addresses and signatures. Evidence doesn’t get much better than this.

For additional signature confirmation, William G. signed his 1918 draft registration in Claiborne County. In Harlan County, KY, in 1957, he signed the delayed birth certificate for his son, Estle, who was born in Springdale, Arkansas, in November of 1894.

When Evidence Isn’t Conclusive

Unfortunately, this situation happens often, especially with generations further back in time where less information is available. Let’s look at an example.

Genealogists tried for years, decades actually, to identify the parents of John R. Estes.

His son was named John Y. Estes.

No one knew what the R. stood for, nor what the Y. stood for. Truthfully, we still don’t, at least not for sure.

Here’s what was said:

  • John R. Estes’s mother was Mary Younger, who was married to George Estes. This claim was made because John R.’s son was named John Y. Estes, the Y. standing for “Younger.” That was the hypothesis, but it was stated as fact.
  • The middle initial R in John R. Estes stands for Regan or Reagan because his grandson, John Reagan Estes, son of John Y. Estes, was “named for his grandfather.” This was told to me by his grandchildren who were living in the early 1990s, as information they were told.

I fully understand why one would think those are possibilities or why conclusions might be drawn. They are clearly possibilities, but without additional evidence, that’s all they are. Eventually, that possibility begins to be passed along as a fact. Then, people don’t want to question what was passed down from “people who should know.”

So, let me play devil’s advocate here.

The Y in John Y. could stand for any number of things. For example, the surname Yancey is also found in Halifax County, Virginia. Y could have come from anyplace. At that point in time, we were searching for the parents of John R. Estes, so Mary Younger seemed to make sense.

Having said that, we now know that John Y. Estes’s grandmother WAS Mary Younger, BUT, that does NOT mean that the Y. stands for Younger, nor does it serve as any kind of concrete evidence.

Might it stand for Younger? Yes, of course. But the Y itself serves only as a potential hint.

Can you use it for evidence? Nope, not without more information. I’ve searched high and low, so if you find “Younger” in a reliable record for this man, by all means, let me know. While confirmation would be wonderful, we really don’t NEED to know like we do with Reagan.

John Reagan Estes (1871-1960), the son of John Y. Estes, could well have been named for his grandfather, John R. Estes (1787-1885). John was his father’s first name as well as his grandfather’s. That does NOT mean that that Reagan was John R. Estes’s middle name. We have no idea where Reagan comes from. If I had a letter from John Reagan’s mother or sister, for example, saying John Reagan was named for his grandpa Estes, who was also named John Reagan, that would be evidence because we have a contemporaneous source and know the information wasn’t assumed or constructed later to “fit” the question about John R. Estes’s middle name.

I have dug for years for any Reagan connection to the Estes line, or to the wives’ lines in upstream generations in Virginia, hoping to prove that Reagan genealogical connection. I have never found it, although that clearly doesn’t mean it’s not there. For all we know, Reagan could have been the name of the preacher or the doctor who delivered someone. It may or may not have anything to do with John R. Estes, and even if it does, Reagan may not be an ancestral surname.

So, if you’re taking yourself down the path of ascribing too much weight to information that may or may not be evidence – don’t. What you can do that’s beneficial is more research. If you think the Y or the R might be a hint, DIG!!! You just might find that evidence. If you haven’t utilized the new FamilySearch full-text AI search, by all means, do. These are the perfect types of situations to research using this amazing tool.

Treat everything as a hint, but it’s not evidence until it’s confirmed.

While we’ve since proven that, indeed, John R. Estes is the son of Mary Younger using other types of evidence, the middle initial R. and the middle name Reagan two generations later still is and may remain a mystery.

In the Weeds

At this point, you might be thinking that we are SO FAR DOWN IN THE WEEDS, and you’d be right, but the answers to our specific question are found here.

Our original goal was to prove that William George Estes was the son of Lazarus Estes and Elizabeth Vannoy.

The items bolded in red in the Individual Proof Table for William George Estes, above, individually and certainly cumulatively “prove” that relationship, as far as a paper trail can go.

The other information, especially taken together, supports that and, more importantly, does not dispute or provide contradictory or conflicting evidence about any of the other evidence. In other words, we have concensus.

Lineage Proof Table

The table below is designed to document the proof that the individual listed under the name column is, in fact, the child of the father and mother below. Other information from the Individual Proof Table that we completed above is omitted because it’s not needed in a Lineage Proof Table.

The Proof rows between the child and their parents are the proof, or the best evidence we have, that connects the child conclusively to the parent or parents. Sometimes that proof can arrive indirectly, such as a sibling’s obituary that lists your ancestor as their sibling – allowing you to connect the sibling who died and your ancestor both to their parents through the census or other documents.

Proof listed will vary and could be personal knowledge (someone you knew within your lifetime), a Bible, a will, a deed, an obituary, a church baptismal document, a pension application, census records, and more.

The best proof, of course, is multiple contemporaneous pieces of evidence.

Proof can also be negative proof. For example, if there was a will but this person was missing, that should be noted. However, that alone is NOT negative proof, as sometimes a child who had already received their inheritance was not mentioned. It does need to be listed because, when combined with other evidence, it may become very important. So is the wording of the will. For example, does it say “all my children,” but omit the person you’re searching for?

Proofs also must take into consideration things like individuals with the same name. In other words, we need to prove that THAT particular John was the son of THAT particular George.

There are times when one must dig deeply as well as far and wide, using siblings and the FAN (friends and neighbors) methodology to reveal a nugget or put enough information together from multiple sources to prove a relationship collectively. For example, I have found proof two generations downstream in Virginia chancery suits that detail the descendants of someone who died and left a will two or three generations earlier.

If this Lineage Proof Table was for my own use, I would utilize a spreadsheet, and I would provide links and more detailed information. For ease of use in this article, I’ve constructed a chart here.

The entire purpose of this lineage document is to unquestionably connect the generations. If these proofs are strong and unquestionable, the only piece of evidence that could upend all of them, together, is an unknown DNA event where a parent or parents are not the individuals reflected in the non-genetic proofs.

Name Birth & Loc Death & Loc Father Mother DNA Confirmed
Me William Sterling Estes Separate lineage proof for mother’s line Father confirmed via paternal half-sister’s children and cousins’ autosomal DNA matches..
Proof My birth certificate, newspaper announcements
Proof Father’s obituary
Proof Social Security application after my father’s death
Proof Personal knowledge, photos, and memories
Proof DNA match at the expected level to my half-sister’s descendants and our upstream Estes relatives
William Sterling Estes Oct. 1, 1902 or 3, Tazewell, TN Aug. 27, 1963, Jay County, IN William George Estes 1873-1971 Ollie Bolton 1874-1955 Autosomal DNA matches to multiple Estes cousins & half-sister’s children
Proof Census and newspaper articles identifying my father as his parents’ child
Proof My father’s marriage license, personal knowledge, and his delayed birth certificate
Proof Death certificate and obituary
Proof Aunts’ knowledge and family letters
William George Estes March 30, 1873, Tazewell, TN Nov. 29, 1971, Harlan Co., KY Lazarus Estes 1845-1916/1918 Elizabeth Vannoy 1846-1918 Autosomal DNA triangulated to multiple descendants of both Lazarus Estes and Elizabeth Vannoy.
Proof Deed to Worth and Cornie Epperson where Lazarus lists William George Estes as one of his heirs – Claiborne Co., Deed Book M2, page 371.
Proof Various censuses showing parents and siblings, including sister Cornie Estes Epperson
Proof Marriage license to Crocie Brewer lists his parents
Proof Cousin George Estes knew these people and was at the funeral of Lazarus when he was a child, plus Aunt Margaret’s letters
Lazarus Estes May 1845, Claiborne Co., TN 1916-1918, Claiborne Co., TN John Y. Estes 1818-1895 Rutha Dodson 1820-1903 Y-DNA confirmed to haplogroup of Moses Estes, autosomal triangulated to descendants of Lazarus and Elizabeth and upstream ancestors through multiple matches.
Proof 1850 and 1860 census with his parents, 1870 census where he lives one house from parents with wife and children, 1880 census where his wife is still living a few houses from his parents, with their children, and John is found in Montague Co., TX
Proof October 1865 deed where John Y. Estes deeds all his possessions to his eldest son, Lazarus. Claiborne Co., Deed book B1, page 37
John Y. Estes December 29, 1818, Halifax Co., VA Sept. 19, 1895, Montague Co., TX John R. Estes 1785/88-1885 Nancy Ann Moore c 1785-1860/1870 Y-DNA confirmed through multiple sons. Autosomal triangulates to several descendants through multiple lines of other children.
Proof Personal written knowledge of Claiborne County attorney, P. G. Fulkerson, published in the local newspaper who listed parents, wife, siblings, and children of John Y. Estes and wife and children of John R. Estes
Proof John R. Estes signed as a witness for John Y. Estes in 1865 when he deeded goods to son Lazarus “for natural love and affection.” In 1850 census John R. Estes lives near sons Jechonias and John Y. Estes
Proof John Y. Estes’s and John R. Estes’s death conveyed in letters between family in Claiborne County, TN, Texas, and Oklahoma
John R. Estes 1785-1788, Halifax Co., VA May 1885, Claiborne Co., TN George Estes 1763-1869 Mary Younger  ~1775-1820/1830 Y-DNA confirmed through multiple lines. Autosomal confirmed triangulation of multiple lines of his children and his ancestors. Descendants’ DNA triangulates to that of Nancy Ann Moore’s ancestors.
Proof Halifax County 1812 personal property tax list where John R. Estes is listed as the son of George Estes and lives next to him.
Proof Halifax Co., VA chancery suit dealing with property of Moses Estes, father of George Estes, lists John R. and his wife’s name and location in Tennessee as Moses’s descendants.
Proof War of 1812 pension application
George Estes Feb. 3, 1763, Amelia Co., VA July 1859, Halifax Co., VA Moses Estes Jr. 1742-1813 Luremia Combs c1742-1820/1830 Y-DNA haplogroup descended from Moses Estes Sr. 1711-1787 and autosomal from his maternal and paternal lines, both.

I’ll stop here because you clearly understand the process. If I were applying for membership in a lineage society, I would simply continue this chart until I reached the individual in question. In this example, George Estes is a Revolutionary War soldier, so I could apply for DAR membership, assuming I meet their various criteria.

Another aid in documenting your ancestors is lineage organizations and their records, but keep in mind that their evidence, especially that submitted decades ago, may not be sufficient today.

DNA Confirmation

DNA can either confirm this relationship, even without a paper trail, or conversely, it can burn it all down.

The closer in time a DNA relationship is, the more likely you’ll be able to confirm it using autosomal DNA.

Sometimes, Y-DNA is a consideration, and it certainly would be in this circumstance, except that I’m not a male, and we don’t have a living Estes male descended directly from William George Estes (through all males) to test.

Mitochondrial DNA can’t be used in this circumstance either since William George Estes’s children have their mother’s mitochondrial DNA, not his.

For the purposes of today’s proof, I used the Family Finder autosomal DNA test.

Buster Estes, now deceased, grandson of Lazarus Estes through his son Charlie Tomas Estes, is my 1C1R, (first cousin once removed). He tested both his Y-DNA and took the autosomal  Family Finder test for me many years ago.

Additionally, Cornie Epperson’s grandchild and great-grandchild, my second cousin and 2C1R, agreed to autosomal DNA testing for me as well. Cornie’s grandchild agreed to test their mitochondrial DNA, which descends from Elizabeth Vannoy – for which I remain immensely grateful.

All of these cousins match me, as well as each other, appropriately, as would be expected for their respective relationships to me and to each other.

Since then, additional descendants of Lazarus Estes and Elizabeth Vannoy have tested and match others at the appropriate, expected level.

I also match other descendants of Elizabeth Vannoy’s parents, as do my cousins, so I can literally walk both Estes and Vannoy segments back in time.

In this case, NOT matching close Estes relatives would conclusively prove that I’m NOT related to the more distant Estes family.

However, if I didn’t match, it’s also possible that my father would not have matched those people either. I don’t have a full sibling through my father, but I do have a half-sibling whose descendants I match appropriately for the expected relationship. That proves that I’m my father’s biological child.

My half-sister died before DNA testing. NOT matching my sister’s descendants would confirm that we were not sisters, meaning we did not share the same father. One or the other of us would probably match Estes descendants, such as our second cousins. Fortunately, we match each other and Estes descendants.

Unfortunately, my half-brother Dave did not match me, nor any Estes family members, providing that we did not share a biological father – a heartbreaking discovery. He’s still my brother though, just not biologically, and I loved him dearly. (For the record, I found Dave’s father and his family after his death.)

I can prove that my father descends from his father because I also match the descendants of my father’s paternal half-siblings, as expected.

I also match (and triangulate with) the descendants of my grandfather’s sibling, Cornie Epperson, as expected, which proves my connection back to Lazarus and, therefore, my father and grandfather’s connection to Lazarus, too.

By the time we reach John R. Estes, son of George Estes, we can also use Y-DNA. While I personally can’t test for the Estes Y-DNA, a descendant of John R. Estes has taken the Big Y-700 test, needed for this level of detail, and they match the unique mutation (R-ZS3700) that occurred between Abraham Estes and his son Moses Estes Sr., then descended through Moses Jr. to George to John R., then on to our tester, confirming this paternal lineage.

Furthermore, I and other descendants of Lazarus Estes autosomally match Y-DNA descendants of John R. Estes as would be expected of 3rd or 4th cousins.

Therefore, by proxy, using both Y-DNA and Family Finder, we are all confirmed to descend from this entire Estes lineage, to and including Lazarus Estes and his son, William George Estes, through my father to me.

Whew!!!

Summary

Yes, it was a long, detailed path to get here using both traditional genealogical research and DNA results, but we did, and that’s really all that matters. I probably provided more examples than I really needed to, but I’m trying to answer as many “what about this” questions as I can, in advance. The Proof Table methodology isn’t cast in concrete and is easy to replicate and adapt based on your situation and the records at hand.

My final word of caution would be to make sure you don’t discount or omit negative evidence inadvertently. I made that mistake when I was less experienced because I didn’t realize the importance of negative evidence.

I’ve seen situations where a resource was not recorded because there “was nothing there,” when the fact that “nothing was there” is in itself important negative evidence that needs to be weighed and considered.

That’s one reason why preparing a list of all the resources in a particular area is so important. When you discover new resources or they become available, be sure to record and check those resources. For example, if a tax list for a particular county or district is uncovered, record that resource, even if the person you’re seeking isn’t listed there. The next question to ask is why they would not be listed, which may lead you to seek out or perhaps reevaluate other information.

Future Topics

I have three more articles planned in this series and expect to publish the next one in the winter.

  • DNA as Proof – or Not
  • Leveling up
  • Writing it Up

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East Coast Genetic Genealogy Conference, October 4-6, Virtual or In-Person

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I hope you’ll join us for the East Coast Genetic Genealogy Conference at the Maritime Conference Center in Linthicum Heights, Maryland, just a shuttle ride from the Baltimore airport.

I just love conferences that specialize in genetic genealogy. The East Coast Genetic Genealogy Conference does precisely that, featuring 25 experts with a wide variety of expertise.

Take a look at the lineup, here and the sessions, here.

I can hardly wait!!!

You can register here to attend either virtually or in person, but hurry because the early bird discount is only in effect until September 15th.

My Presentations

I’m honored to present two sessions with Janine Cloud.

For those who don’t know, Janine is a registered member of the Cherokee Tribe and we both love talking about researching Native American heritage using DNA.

Janine manages the group projects for FamilyTreeDNA, so she is uniquely qualified to explain how they work and how you can make them work better for you.

One of the very cool new tools is the Group Time Tree. We’ll explain how to use the tree as a group administrator’s tool in addition to being a fantastic problem-solver for genealogists.

DNA Academy

Several years ago, a small group of genetic genealogists discussed creating a DNA Academy where experts offer advanced topics. Mags Gaulden will share more about that fateful discussion.

The manifestation of our dream will take place for the third time at the ECCGC on October 5th, from 6-8, virtually or in person, with five guest speakers.

Book Signing

Genealogical.com will have a booth at ECCGCs and will be selling both of my books, in addition to others.

I don’t have the book signing schedule yet, but it will be displayed in the booth.

Please come by and say hello.

Hope to see you at ECCGCs!

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Y-DNA Highways of History: Fleshing Out Your Ancestors Using Discover Case Studies – Webinar Free for 7 Days!!

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I’m so very pleased to announce with Legacy Family Tree Webinars, that we are offering a special midsummer surprise webinar – and it’s FREE through August 1st, here.

Thank you, Legacy Family Tree Webinars, for making this webinar free!

We are using FamilyTreeDNA’s free Discover tool to reveal our ancestors’ past and their path through history.

This webinar features fun ”how-to” case studies. Who doesn’t love a good story – especially ones that you can put to use in your own genealogy right away?

We begin with an overview.

  • What are reasonable testing goals for Y-DNA?
  • Why do we want to take Y-DNA tests anyway?
  • What can we discover when we test, and when we encourage our cousins to test?
  • Where and how do we find those cousins?

If you ladies are thinking, I WISH I had a Y chromosome to test, cheer up, because one of the topics I cover is how to find relevant family members, even distant members, who can test for your male ancestral lines.

History Revealed

Genealogists always want every piece of available information. Y-DNA testing does just that and reaches beyond the barrier of surnames. In fact, it reaches beyond the possibility of genealogical research with only one test.

There’s so much to learn.

Who were my ancestors, and where did they come from? How are they related to other people, including ancient burials and notable people who lived more recently?

I’m sharing several case studies from my own genealogy. Come join me on my journey.

  • I discovered that my ancestor is related to a burial along the old Roman Road in France. He lived there before the Romans arrived. What does that mean to me today, and how can I find out?
  • I’ll also share with you how I solved an adoption case within a generation with JUST Y-DNA, and then how I used autosomal DNA matches to augment and refine that information.
  • In another case, we learned something VERY interesting and quite unexpected, revealing either a secret or information that was never passed to contemporary family researchers. Y-DNA testing is the only way this would EVER have been revealed.
  • Another ancestor appears to have been a retired Roman soldier in England. How did I figure this out? I’ll show you.
  • My Jewish friend famously said “My ancestors are in my soul. I can’t get them out of my mind.” Can you relate? The Big Y-700 test proved that his ancestors settled in Spain and exactly when they migrated to Eastern Europe using a very unconventional approach that you can utilize too.
  • Another tester discovered that he and a famous lineage match. You’ll probably recognize this historical person and you might even be related yourself. Their ancestors are found in the baptismal records of the same church in England, but their common ancestor reaches back to the people buried beneath the Saxon tombstones outside.

How did we discover all of this???

Big Y-700 testing at FamilyTreeDNA, combined with the Discover tool, sprinkled from time to time with some old-fashioned genealogy.

Once you engage in Y-DNA testing, you’ll have fascinating success stories of your own to share too.

Collect the Full Set

There’s so much to be learned about our ancestors.

I “collect” Y-DNA haplogroups from testers in each of my ancestral lines to reveal their history that has been obscured by time – and to assure my recent genealogy is accurate.

Every one of these haplogroups on my family tree, such as R-ZS3700, looks like just letters and numbers, but they aren’t. They are the keys that easily unlock that ancestor’s paternal family story, previously hidden behind history’s misty curtains. Now, they’ve been revealed! You can do exactly the same thing!

All you need to do is enter your Y-DNA haplogroup into Discover or just click through directly from your results page at FamilyTreeDNA.

Which ancestors are waiting for you?

Please enjoy this webinar. Don’t forget it’s only free for a week, so check it out now.

There’s More

Take a look at the other webinars I’ve recorded for Legacy Family Tree Webinars. (Hint – there are more coming very soon!!)

You can always access this and any of more than 2200 webinars in the library by subscribing to Legacy Family Tree Webinars, here.

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Great News – Both e-Pub and Print Version of “The Complete Guide to FamilyTreeDNA” Now Available Worldwide  

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  • Anyone, anyplace, can order the full-color, searchable, e-pub version of The Complete Guide to FamilyTreeDNA – Y-DNA, Mitochondrial, Autosomal and X-DNA from the publisher, Genealogical.com, here.
  • Customers within the US can order the black and white print book from the publisher, here.
  • Customers outside the US can order the print book from their country’s Amazon website. The publisher does not ship print books outside the US due to customs, shipping costs, and associated delays. They arranged to have the book printed by an international printer so that it can be shipped directly to Amazon for order fulfillment without international customers incurring additional expenses and delays. If you ordered the book previously from Amazon and a long delivery time was projected, that should be resolved now and your book should be arriving soon.

Comprehensive

This book is truly comprehensive and includes:

  • 247 pages
  • More than 267 images
  • 288 footnotes
  • 12 charts
  • 68 tips
  • Plus, an 18-page glossary

To view the table of contents, click here. To order, click here.

Thank you, everyone, for your patience and your support.

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Complete Guide to FamilyTreeDNA Released in Hardcopy

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Just what many of you have been waiting for! The hardcopy print version of the Complete Guide to FamilyTreeDNA has just been released.

As shown in the table of contents below, The Complete Guide to FamilyTreeDNA contains lots of logically organized information! It includes basic education about genetic genealogy and how it works, instructions on using the FamilyTreeDNA tests and tools, plus an extensive glossary.

Enjoy!

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

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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.

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Genealogy Proof Series: Gathering Location Resources

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This is the first article in the Genealogy Proof Series.

Most genealogists, even if they don’t realize they are genealogists yet, begin by creating a small tree of their known ancestors. Most people know who their grandparents are, and by asking a few questions, can probably complete another generation or two.

If your parents were born in 1950, your grandparents would have been born about 1920, and your great-grandparents may have been born around 1890. You probably have concrete facts about your parents. Their birthdates, birth location, marriage location, and so forth. They probably have the same information about their parents. However, with each generation reaching back in time, the information becomes less precise and less reliable. Memories fail people, and the information they were provided may not have been accurate in the first place.

For example, my mother told me what she knew about her maternal grandfather, which wasn’t much. He died when my grandmother was 20, several years before my mother was born.

As the information becomes thinner, the need for additional information and confirmation of facts becomes crucial. Furthermore, when utilizing new resources, you may discover information not previously known about close generations. One of the best resources for that is old newspapers.

Our ancestors are more than birth and death dates. I like to piece their life together, complete with historical events, both national and local, and how they influenced and affected their lives.

This first article explains how I gather and utilize location resources for each ancestor.

Before we start, let’s talk for a minute about where we are going and how this series will be organized.

The Genealogy Proof Series Roadmap

It’s difficult to put the steps in a specific order because often, I get very distracted and go right down a rabbit hole.

In other words, I’ll be working on gathering resources for a specific county, but then I find a listing for what I think is my ancestor, and before you know it, I’m off on the chase. I really, really try NOT to do that because it’s actually very distracting to the process as a whole.

It’s also difficult for me to select an order to write these articles. For example, do I write about Leveling Up, determining what you need for each ancestor, first or last?

I’ve chosen to write about that topic last because I want to step through how to gather and use the resources before we get distracted by what you need to do with individuals in your tree. It’s way too easy to go after that bright, shiny object:)

Gathering and Organizing Location Resources: This article is about how to find location resources for the area where your ancestor(s) lived. I suggest starting at the beginning, meaning your closest ancestors. You know where your parents and grandparents lived, so start there.

If you think there’s nothing there that matters because you know everything about your family – I guarantee you surprises are waiting. They may surprise you, touch your heart, or even shock you, and they are just waiting to be discovered. But before you can logically extract everything to do with your family and surname, you need a comprehensive list of what is available for your county and region.

You’ll also need to keep a record of what you looked for in that county, and when, because you may very well need to go back and access those records again in the future.

Recording Your Data: After you have a list of what’s available for your specific counties, in the next article, we’re going to talk about extracting information and recording it in a spreadsheet. If you don’t like spreadsheets, you can do the same thing in a table. But it’s critical that you record it someplace.

You’ll also index and transcribe it as you go so you can reasonably retrieve it. This is why I utilize spreadsheets – they are made for filtering and sorting.

Surname Searching: You’ve found location resources, but where do you find surname resources? For example, what about books written about the Estes surname, or internet resources? Some will be in books or webpages about the location, but certainly not everything.

How do you find additional resources?

Proof Table: Now that you HAVE data about all the people in a region or regions where your ancestors lived, how do you prove that the Moses Estes or George Estes in Halifax County, Virginia is YOUR Moses or George Estes? What about men with the same name? What if there is no definitive proof in ONE document?

We will discuss the Genealogy Proof Standard and create a proof table for every single generation because you need proof for every single generation.

Including DNA.

(If you’re beginning to think you might dislike me by the time this series is finished – I fully understand. If it helps any, some days I’m tired and mad at myself.)

DNA: How and when can you use DNA as part of your proof argument? What about the different types of DNA? When are they useful? Are they conclusive? How do they bolster or refute other evidence?

Can you resolve conflicts between DNA and a paper trail, and if so, how?

Leveling Up: Leveling up is a methodology of determining where you are in the process of evaluating EVERY PIECE OF EVIDENCE available about each ancestor.

You don’t know what you don’t know.

For those of us who have been working on genealogy for a long time, it’s easy not to think about using new resources when they become available. For example, the 1940 and 1950 census, new full-text AI from FamilySearch, and new newspaper resources like OldNews.

What do you need to do yet for each ancestor to bring them to current?

Writing It Up: Now that you HAVE this information assembled, what will you do with it? I fervently hope you’re going to write or record it for posterity. I’ve chosen the 52 Ancestors series that I’ve been writing weekly for several years, but there are other ways, too. Genealogy is about resurrecting and honoring the lives of our ancestors. The more factual information you can saturate the airwaves and internet with, the less “bad information” can take hold. Genealogy is a team sport.

Gathering and Organizing Location Resources

This article is focused on gathering and organizing resources for where your ancestor lived, NOT on retrieving the records in those resources for your ancestor and their surname. The next article will cover retrieving and recording the data using a consistent methodology.

If you’ve followed my blog for some time, you’ll know that I’m a spreadsheet person, but I also use MSWord documents to organize and utilize resources from time to time, especially if the text is long. I have one Word document for every ancestor.

I’m going to use a chart as an example, understanding that you will create your own resource-tracking tool that you’re most comfortable with.

The first consideration is that you probably have at least three ancestors in any specific location. By that, I mean at least two parents and one child. You may have significantly more ancestors and family members from that location.

Conversely, those same ancestors may have moved from location to location – even state to state or cross-country, so you may have multiple locations for the same ancestor(s).

In my family, I have clusters of ancestors in the same county. For example, my early Estes line, along with their wives’ lines including Combs, Younger and Moore, resided in Halifax County, Virginia for about 4 generations or more than 50 years. The first generation, Moses Estes (1711-1787) who moved to Halifax County by 1771 came from someplace else, and the last generation, John R. Estes (1787-1885), moved to Claiborne County, TN about 1820, not long after his marriage.

I searched Halifax County records for at least four surnames and multiple generations.

This means I needed to compile the various resources for Halifax County across a significant amount of time.

Resources for Resources

There are multiple places to find available resources for a specific county and state.

We will use these to complete our own research list by county. In the next article, we’ll be checking each one of these resources for surnames.

FamilySearch Wiki

The first thing I do when beginning to compile resources is check the FamilySearch wiki.

Googling “Halifax County, Virginia FamilySearch wiki” brings up a lovely compilation of resources.

You’ll find general information by category, followed by very specific information and multiple resources for each category.

Click on any image to enlarge

Also note that the county website link is given, along with the county formation history further down the page. Don’t neglect to check each county’s individual resources and parent county, if relevant.

If you’ve checked the wiki, or any resource list before, check back often because things change.

I enter each of the resources into a spreadsheet for that county. This is NOT the same thing as making a list of information discovered for an individual ancestor or surname. We’ll get to that later.

Don’t limit yourself to just the years that you know your ancestor was living in that county because records pertaining to that family may exist before your ancestor arrived and long after they left. Other family members may have preceded them, while lawsuits, deeds, and other records may refer to them decades after they left or died.

Here’s the beginning of a list for Halifax County,

Resource State County Link Year Range Surnames Findings
Virginia Bible Records Virginia Halifax http://usgwarchives.net/va/halifax.htm Estes, Younger, Combs, Moore One was donated by the Tune family.
Halifax Biographies Virginia Halifax http://usgwarchives.net/va/halifax.htm Estes, Younger, Combs, Moore
1782 tax list Virginia Halifax http://usgwarchives.net/va/halifax.htm, http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/halifax/census/1782/1782tax.txt 1782 Estes, Younger, Combs, Moore 5 Estes, 1 Combs, 2 Younger 6 Moore
Slave Draft for Defense of Richmond Virginia Halifax http://usgwarchives.net/va/halifax.htm

http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/halifax/court/1862slavedraft.txt

 1862 Estes, Younger, Combs, Moore 2 Younger, 2 Moore

I enter the county and state in two fields, so it’s sortable. If I’m checking multiple counties using the same resource, I enter the resource twice, one for each county and the surnames in that county that I searched for.

For example, this link for Virginia Bible records takes you to a link for Halifax County Bible records on the USGenWeb site. I listed the surnames I checked for. I also noted the Tune donation because I know from prior research that the Tune home is on the old Marcus Younger land and the families intermarried. When you search any county for another surname, be sure to add it to the list so you don’t have to wonder later if you checked for that surname.

For county histories and biographies, check to see if they are available digitally. In the next article, you’ll want to search for and record all instances of your surname, even if it’s NOT your ancestor, because of the FAN club, Friends and Neighbors (thank you ,Elizabeth Shown Mills). Those people may or will help you identify which ancestors are yours. Not to mention fleshing out their lives.

Tax lists are often used to replace or supplement the census. You should be able to determine if the lists are recorded in procession order or alphabetical order. Clearly, procession order is much more relevant because it shows who lives nearby or are neighbors. This may help you identify specific individuals, especially when there are multiple people with the same name. In the case of John Estes in Halifax County, Virginia, the tax list placed “my” John by his father, George, which was a huge clue. Eventually, on a tax list that was stuffed in the back of a deed book in the Clerk’s Office, I found another tax list with the note, “S. G.” by my John’s name, and another note on the “other” John that lived in the north end of the county. “S.G.” meant son of George, as that designation had been used and spelled out for other people elsewhere in the same tax list. I’ve never been so grateful to the taxman in my life!

The Slave Draft for the Defense of Richmond is a fascinating document transcribed by a volunteer from the court minute book.

From Minute Book 20 page 169 Halifax County, Va

At a Court Held for Halifax County on Monday the 4th day of April 1862. Present Beverly Sydnor, Howell Chastain, John M. Craddock, William Moorewell, James Kent, Henry C. Logan, James Richardson, E. A. Coleman, Archer A. Farmer

The court in consideration of the Draft from the Governor of the Commonwealth for laborers on the Public Defense near Richmond do order and direct that the Sheriff of this County do proceed for ___ to require the following named persons to deliver to him the said Sheriff at News Ferry Depot, Boston Depot, Clover Depot and as may be convenient to the parties on ___ the day of ___ at such see hours as he may designate the Slaves between the ages of eighteen and fifty five years directed to be furnished by each person in the said following list and proceed with them to the City of Richmond and deliver them to the Agent of the Confederate Government and take receipt for the Slaves furnished by each person.

Then, by district, the name of the owner, and the number of enslaved persons sent.

This information may provide insight into who enslaved others at that time, which may provide insight into families that were slaveholders historically. Additionally, it may provide important hints and clues for African American researchers who seek their family and may have adopted the surname of their former enslaver after the war.

Also, please note that these records may not be entirely accurate. For example, there’s a list of ministers who performed marriages, and my Rev. William Moore is not listed, but I actually have the list of his marriages, returns made in his own handwriting obtained in the courthouse in Halifax County.

If you remember, I found my way to GenWeb through the FamilySearch Wiki. When I finish listing the GenWeb resources, I need to return to the FamilySearch wiki to list any further resources.

You may find lists of out-of-print books for land and property records and other record types. I sometimes find out-of-print books for sale at www.bookfinder.com.

If you own the book, note that it’s in your own library.

To locate books, check the WorldCat entry, but also check both the FamilySearch Catalog by county, the Fort Wayne Public Library and other book resources as well.

Surnames

While the goal of this exercise is to document and record location resources, if you stumble across surname resources, certainly don’t ignore them and think you’ll find them later – you might not.

I suggest starting either a second spreadsheet, or new tab on this spreadsheet for each surname.

I maintain a separate spreadsheet for each location and one for each surname or group of surnames on the same migration path. For example, my Combs, Estes, Moore, and Younger families are migrating from the Virginia Colony into the new frontiers, so I track them together from Amelia and Prince Edward Counties, where they are first found through Halifax County.

Ok, back to searching for our county resources.

FamilySearch Catalog

To search the FamilySearch Catalog by county, sign in and then click on Search, Catalog, and Place.

I was given the choice of British Colonial America or the United States. I’ll check both to be sure I have all available resources.

Selecting “Land and Property,” one of the items displayed is the Antrim Parish Vestry book. By clicking on that entry, you can see that it’s available in the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City. Maybe it’s available elsewhere too. I’ll check in a bit.

I build research lists from these resources routinely.

The entry for deed books shows that some are available online only at either the FamilySearch Library or a Family History Center (camera with key), which may be located near you. Other images are available online with no location requirement, indicated by the camera without a key, just by clicking.

These may or may not be indexed, and an index may be available elsewhere or by using the new FamilySearch Labs AI full text transcription tool. AI is not available for all records yet.

FamilySearch Labs

Next, try FamilySearch labs for additional assistance. I wrote about this new AI full text transcription tool, here.

You’ll see two features which may help you.

Using the “Find Help with AI Search” feature, type in what you’re searching for. I find the Full Text Search” to be much more helpful.

Click on “Go to Experiment.”

Typing “Halifax County, VA” into the search box returns resources from unexpected places. For example, county histories from elsewhere that reference Halifax County, or a Divorce degree, or a deed book from another county.

These are unexpected gold mines that you’d never find otherwise.

Note that this search is literally an exact match, so Halifax County, VA, is NOT the same as Halifax County, Virginia.

However, adding a surname to the location narrows the results substantially.

While normal deed and other books are indexed by the grantor and grantee, the FamilySearch full text search reveals EVERY instance of that name, including when referenced in another document. This feature is an absolute game-changer!

I can hardly wait to revisit my earlier work to see what’s new, but that’s part of the Level Up process.

It’s important to note that FamilySearch is adding new types of records to the AI collection almost daily, so check back often. Not everything uses the full-text transcription feature today, and while it’s quite accurate, it’s not 100%, so read carefully for yourself.

FamilySearch Book Search

You can also search for books by location or surname.

Allen County Public Library

The Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana is one of the largest genealogy libraries in the US. You can search their site for locations, keywords, or surnames, here.

While these resources are generally not available online at this library, they alert you that they exist, and you may be able to find them elsewhere.

The one HUGE exception is the one-of-a-kind PERSI index.

PERSI

The PERSI, or Periodical Source Index is maintained by the Allen County Public Library as well, here.

You can search by location.

Click on a category that displays the results.

At the bottom of each page, you can open a form to request a copy of the article.

Ancestry.com Card Catalog

At Ancestry.com, you can search their Card Catalog by title or location.

Be sure to try different spellings and abbreviations, like VA for Virginia, or remove the word county, etc.

The results display a list of records for Halifax County in their collection.

You can click on the link to this book to search by surname or keyword.

These local histories are wonderful tools for fleshing out your ancestor’s stories because they tell us what was happening in their community during different time periods that would have affected and influenced their lives.

For example, in one of these histories, I discovered that one of the Revolutionary War generals and his troops marched right down the road in front of my ancestor’s home. It’s no wonder that he “contributed” brandy, food, and fodder for their horses.

Newspaper Sites

At Newspapers.com, you can see which papers were available and when.

You can also add a surname or first and last name.

Unless there’s a story about someone’s ancestors, there’s no point in looking for people who lived there in the 1700s and early 1800s. These are the publication dates, so an earlier ancestor could have been included in a 25 or 50-year history column in the local paper.

This same technique works with other genealogy Newspaper sites, too, including MyHeritage with a subscription and separately, their new OldNews site which contains newspapers not included in the MyHeritage subscription.

Also check out the Library of Congress digitized newspaper collection, here.

Newspaper Archive is available with an NGS membership, here.

Fulton County (not limited to Fulton County) and GenealogyBank are two additional newspaper resources.

MyHeritage

At MyHeritage, you can search by location or Newspapers as well.

MyHeritage has one book about Halifax County.

By clicking on the book, you can add additional search criteria.

Estes is mentioned 16 times in this book.

Library of Congress

Don’t forget about the Library of Congress, which has its own Historical Newspapers section, here.

You can also search by county or surname in the search box at the top. The images are all copyright-free.

State Archives

Don’t forget about your state archives.

Most have wonderful search capabilities and specific collections.

For example, the Library of Virginia has been indexing individual county chancery records dating back to the county’s formation. Chancery suits are where you find all the juicy stuff because people are asking for remediation and explaining why.

The index is here, and you can search by a combination of county and surname.

There are 59 records in Halifax County fitting this description, mentioning Estes in any capacity, reaching back as far as 1795.

Don’t neglect later cases because many times later cases tend to be lawsuits filed about much earlier estates and property divisions. They also tend to provide relationships in their narrative.

You’ll also notice that often, the plaintiff and defendant aren’t Estes, but they are clearly mentioned somewhere in that case, perhaps in a deposition.

Clicking on “View Details” displays the entire case file.

The resources at each state library are different and vast, so take a look and check back for new offerings and features.

Google is Your Friend

Google can turn up amazing resources, but it can also lead to some unsafe sites, so be careful and don’t just click without thinking.

Google “Halifax County Virginia genealogy society.” You’ll receive eight results that may have databases, members, or donated materials, but these resources may not be complete. For example, I wrote and donated a Moore genealogy to the local museum, which doubled as a genealogy society, and that “book” isn’t listed anywhere in any resource list.

You’ll often find multiple groups focused on the county of interest. These groups will likely have dedicated and interested volunteers and other researchers.

RootsWeb

Ancestry shut down the RootsWeb mailing lists, but they are still out there even though you can no longer add information.

If you Google “Halifax County, Virginia Rootsweb,” you’ll be shown several pages and entries, some of which may or may not be useful to you.

One link provides a list of the 1860 slaveholders compared to the 1870 African Americans on the census. This could be extremely useful!

Google Books

Another underutilized tool is Google books, found here.

Some of these resources you’ll not find elsewhere.

Also, check out the other Google features, such as Images, Maps, and more, which may lead you to other resources.

I love old maps where sometimes you’ll find old stream names, landmarks, or even settlers’ homes with their name.

Project Gutenberg

Project Gutenberg is an initiative found at the Internet Archive to digitize out-of-copyright books for public consumption.

You can read more here.

Genealogical.com and American Ancestors

Don’t forget about book publishers that specialize in genealogy books like Genealogical.com and American Ancestors. Both are searchable, offer both hardcopy and e-books, and American Ancestors sells used books too.

Facebook

Last but not least, Facebook has many groups, including county-focused genealogy groups.

Sign in to Facebook and then use the Facebook search for the county you want.

Some groups maintain a list of resources.

Be sure to check both “Files” and “Features,” then use the Facebook search function to search for your surname(s) or other relevant locations or keywords in the Discussions.

In Summary

As you step through this process, it’s easiest if you include links to the various sites so that you can extract names in the next step. Links make it easy to return in the future and quickly review to see if anything has been added.

Even if you don’t find anything relevant at the site, be sure to NOTE THAT. That way, you never have to wonder and replow that same infertile ground. For example, if you determine that none of your four surnames are in a book written in 1937, they will never be in that book. If you don’t record that you looked, you’ll be left to wonder a few years from now and you’ll find yourself looking again.

However, a new book about that county might be written in the future, so it’s important to continue to look for new resources.

It’s also important to know that you searched for Estes, Moore, Younger, and Combs in Halifax County because you might, someday in the future, need to search for a new surname, like Hart. This way, you know what you did and did not search for in the past.

Why might you need to search for a new surname? Brick walls fall. Sometimes, the FAN Club turns out to be an important key to unlocking relationships that may extend back in time to earlier locations. People did not live or move in a vacuum.

I’ve made every one of these mistakes and nothing makes me unhappier than having to look something up, AGAIN, because I failed to record what I did.

The same advice holds for hard-copy books in research libraries. If nothing else, I take a picture of the front or inside cover and the index so I know what to record and that nothing was found. I wish I had done that from the beginning. Live and learn.

The biggest lie I’ve ever told myself is, “Of course I’ll remember that!”

Your Turn

It’s your turn now. Happy hunting!

Our next articles in this series will discuss how to record data from these resources so that it is both useful and findable again.

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Announcing: The Complete Guide to FamilyTreeDNA; Y-DNA, Mitochondrial, Autosomal and X-DNA

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I’m so very pleased to announce the publication of my new book, The Complete Guide to FamilyTreeDNA – Y-DNA, Mitochondrial, Autosomal and X-DNA.

For the first time, the publisher, Genealogical.com, is making the full-color, searchable e-book version available before the hardcopy print version, here. The e-book version can be read using your favorite e-book reader such as Kindle or iBooks.

Update: The hardcopy version was released at the end of May and is available from the publisher in the US and from Amazon internationally.

This book is about more than how to use the FamilyTreeDNA products and interpreting their genealogical meaning, it’s also a primer on the four different types of DNA used for genealogy and how they work:

  • Autosomal DNA
  • Mitochondrial DNA
  • Y-DNA
  • X-DNA

There’s a LOT here, as shown by the table of contents, below

This book is chocked full of great information in one place. As an added bonus, the DNA glossary is 18 pages long.

I really hope you enjoy my new book, in whatever format you prefer.

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Why Don’t Our Y-DNA Haplogroups Match?

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I’ve been asked this question several times recently, and the answer is resoundingly, “it depends.” There are several reasons why Y-DNA haplogroups might not match and most of them aren’t “bad.”

How Haplogroups Work

Haplogroups are the 79,000+ branches of the Y-DNA phylogenetic tree which you can view here, along with countries where those haplogroups are found. You can think of haplogroups as genetic clans of either closely or distantly related men. Major haplogroup branches have unique letters assigned. Downstream or younger haplogroups are designated by a letter-number sequence that is always preceded by the main haplogroup letter.

Image courtesy FamilyTreeDNA

Major haplogroups were formed tens of thousands of years ago, with more recent haplogroups added as they’ve been discovered. Haplogroups are discovered and added every day thanks to the Big Y-700 test. You can read more about that process, here.

As you look at the pie chart above, you’ll notice that haplogroup R represents about half the men who have tested and has several major subbranches. Every haplogroup R man belongs to all of the branches above his own that lead back to the root of haplogroup R.

Using haplogroup R, which is R-M207, its identifying SNP, as an example, it immediately splits into two branches: R-M173, which has 37,000+ more branches, and R-M479, which has 313 branches. My Estes men fall into a haplogroup several steps beneath R-M173, but they are still members of haplogroups R-M173 and R-M207, even though their descendant haplogroup is R-BY490, which was formed by a mutation that occurred 20,000 years later.

Haplogroup R-M173, then, in turn, leads back to Y-Adam, the first man to have lived and has descendants today.

As we approach the question of why haplogroups of two men might differ, we will review tools to use and how to interpret your findings to reach the appropriate answer for your situation.

What is Your Goal?

You may be looking for a very specific answer, or this may be a more general question.

  • If you’re evaluating closely related men who have different haplogroup assignments, not matching can be very disconcerting. Breathe. There are several perfectly legitimate reasons why they may not match, and we have easy, free analysis tools.
  • If you’re looking at your Y-DNA match list at FamilyTreeDNA, you may or may not match other men closely, but you do “match” at some level if they are on your match list. You may see several different haplogroups in your match list. How closely you match those men is a different question.
  • If you’re looking at autosomal results at FamilyTreeDNA, you may see haplogroups listed for males. You may or may not “match” the haplogroup of men with the same surname. What does this mean, and why don’t you match? Your autosomal match may have nothing to do with your paternal line, or it may be because of your paternal line.

We will cover all of these scenarios.

Where Did You Both Test?

  • Are you comparing apples and apples?
  • Did you both test at the same company?
  • Did you both take the same type or level of test?

These factors all make a difference.

Which Test Did You Take?

There are four types of tests that will provide males with some level of Y-DNA haplogroup.

Autosomal Tests – Some companies include a few Y-DNA location probes in their autosomal test, meaning that they test a few haplogroup-specific Y-DNA locations. LivingDNA, 23andMe, and FamilyTreeDNA’s Family Finder test provide a mid-level Y-DNA haplogroup to customers. The haplogroup that can be determined from these tests depends on a variety of factors, including the vendor, the probes they selected for their chip, the test version, and if that location is successfully read in the test.

Note that FamilyTreeDNA supports autosomal uploads from MyHeritage and Ancestry who do not provide Y-DNA haplogroups to customers, but who do test some Y-DNA locations. Therefore you can upload your autosomal test from those companies to FamilyTreeDNA for free and receive at least a cursory Y-DNA haplogroup.

FamilyTreeDNA is currently processing all of its Family Finder tests, followed by tests uploaded from other vendors, to provide all genetic male testers with a Y-DNA haplogroup at some level. Different vendors and test versions test different Y-DNA SNPs, so your mileage may vary. Y-DNA haplogroups are a free benefit at FamilyTreeDNA.

STR Tests – At FamilyTreeDNA, you can purchase both Y-37 and Y-111 STR (short tandem repeat) Y-DNA tests that provide matching at the number of locations you purchased, plus a predicted haplogroup based on those results. These haplogroup predictions are accurate but are often relatively far back in time.

If you match someone on STR tests, your match may be very recent or before the advent of surnames. For a more specific haplogroup, you need to purchase the Big Y-700 test, which provides at least 700 STR match locations but, more importantly, sequences the entire gold-standard region of the Y-chromosome for the most precise haplogroup and matching possible.

  • When viewing matches of two men who ONLY took STR tests, STR marker matches are more important for genealogy than haplogroups because the haplogroups were formed thousands of years ago.
  • When viewing matches on the Big Y-700 test, haplogroup matching is much more specific and reliable than STR matches because the mutations (SNPs – single nucleotide polymorphisms) that form haplogroups are much more stable than STRs which mutate unpredictably, including back mutations.

SNP Confirmation Tests – Historically, FamilyTreeDNA customers could purchase individual SNPs to confirm a haplogroup, or SNP packs or bundles to do the same for a group of SNPs. With the advent of both the Family Finder haplogroup assignments, and the Big Y-700, these individual tests are no longer necessary or advantageous and are being discontinued.

Big Y-700 Test – At FamilyTreeDNA, the Big Y-700 test provides the most granular and specific haplogroup possible, most often well within a genealogical timeframe. You may be able to tell, based on previously undiscovered mutations, that two people are brothers or father and son, or, depending on who else has tested and when mutations formed, testers may match further back in time. Here’s an example of using the results from multiple testers in the Estes DNA Surname Project.

You can also match men who took the Big Y-500 test which is less specific than the Big Y-700. In the now-obsolete Big Y-500 test, a smaller portion of the Y chromosome was sequenced and testers only received about 500 STR locations. The Big Y-700 test has been enriched to provide a wider range of more specific information. Men who originally took the Big Y-500, then upgraded to the Big Y-700, will very probably have a new haplogroup assignment based on the expanded coverage and increased resolution of the Big Y-700 test. The Big Y-700 ferrets out lineages that the Big Y-500 simply could not, and continues to provide additional value as more men test, which facilitates the formation of new haplogroups.

What Do You Mean by Match?

Matching doesn’t mean you have to have the exact same haplogroup. A perfectly valid match can have a different haplogroup because one haplogroup is more specific or refined than the other. Matching exactly as a result of a predicted STR haplogroup is much less useful than matching closely on a much more recent Big Y-700 haplogroup.

Not all haplogroups are created equal.

I know this is a bit confusing, so let’s look at real-life examples to clarify.

STR to STR or Autosomal to Autosomal Haplogroup Match

Two males might match exactly on a mid-range Family Finder autosomal haplogroup or on a STR-predicted haplogroup like R-M269, which is about 6350 years old.

This haplogroup “match,” even though it might be exact, does not confirm a close match and really only serves to eliminate some other haplogroups and confirm that a closer match is possible. For example, R-M269 men don’t match someone in haplogroup J or E. You may or may not share a surname. You may or may not still “match” if you both upgrade to the Big Y-700.

In this case, a father/son pair would match exactly, as would two men with different surnames whose common ancestor lived 6000 years ago.

Note that if you’re comparing autosomal-derived haplogroups across different vendor platforms, or even different DNA testing chip versions on the same platform, you may see two different haplogroups. Different vendors test different locations. Please note that second cousins and closer will always match on autosomal DNA, but relationships further back than that may not. Y-DNA very reliably reaches far beyond the capabilities of autosomal DNA due to the fact that it is never mixed with the DNA of the other parent – so it never divides or is watered down in time. When comparing two autosomally-generated haplogroups of men who are supposed to be closely related, always check their autosomal match results too.

Use the free Discover Tool to find various categories of information about any haplogroup, including its age. Take a look at R-M269 here.

Using Discover to Compare Haplogroups

You can always use the Discover tool to compare two haplogroups.

Go to Discover (or click through if you’re signed on to your FamilyTreeDNA Y-DNA page), then enter the first haplogroup you’d like to compare.

Click search to view information about that haplogroup.

On the menu bar, at left, click on Compare.

Add the second haplogroup.

I’m selecting E-M35, a completely different branch of the phylogenetic tree.

R-M269 was formed about 6350 years ago, while E-M35 was formed about 25,000 years ago. Their common ancestor was formed about 65,000 years ago. Clearly, these two paternal lineages are not related in anything close to a genealogical timeframe.

These two men would never match on an STR test, but could easily match on an autosomal test on any line OTHER than their direct paternal line.

Now let’s compare two haplogroups that are more closely related.

Haplogroup R-M222 is very common in Ireland, so let’s see how closely related it is to R-M269 which is very common in western Europe.

We see that R-M222 descends from R-M269, so there is no “other haplogroup” involved.

R-M222 was formed about 2100 years ago, around 4250 years after R-M269 was formed.

There are 17 steps between R-M222 and R-M269.

The bottom block shows the lineage from R-M269 back to Y-Adam.

How cool is this??!!

Big Y-700 to Autosomal or STR Haplogroup Comparison

Joe took the Big Y-700 test and discovered that he’s haplogroup R-BY177080.

Joe noticed that his son, who had initially taken an STR test, had been assigned haplogroup R-M269. Then, his son took a Family Finder test and his haplogroup changed to R-FGC8601.

Joe was confused about why he and his son’s haplogroups didn’t match.

First, let’s check Family Finder to confirm the parent/child relationship. Joe’s son is clearly his son.

So why doesn’t Joe’s son’s haplogroup match Joe’s haplogroup? And why did Joe’s son’s haplogroup change?

Joe’s son had not taken a Big Y-700 DNA test, so Joe’s son’s R-M269 haplogroup was initially predicted from his STR test.

Joe’s son’s updated haplogroup, R-FGC8601 was generated by the Family Finder test. Think of this as a bonus. If you’re a male and haven’t yet, you’ll soon receive an email telling you that you’ve received a Family Finder Y-DNA haplogroup. It’s your lucky day!

Family Finder haplogroups always replace STR predicted haplogroups since they are always more specific than predicted STR haplogroups. Big Y-700 haplogroups always replace STR-generated haplogroup predictions and Family Finder haplogroups because they are the most specific.

Let’s compare these results using Discover.

Joe’s son’s original predicted haplogroup was R-M269.

Discover Compare shows us that Joe’s Big Y-700 Haplogroup, R-BY177080, is a descendant of R-M269.

So, they actually do “match,” just several branches further up the tree

Joe’s son’s more precise Family Finder haplogroup was assigned as R-FGC8601.

Discover Compare shows us that Joe’s Big Y-700 haplogroup also descends from R-FGC8601.

You can see that the haplogroup generated by Family Finder is more precise by about 4700 years and improves that comparison.

R-M269 was formed about 6350 years ago, but R-FGC8601 was formed about 1700 years ago.

Joe’s Big Y-700 haplogroup, R-BY177080 was formed about the year 1900, improving the family haplogroup by another 1600 years or so.

Joe’s son’s Family Finder haplogroup moved down the haplotree 21 branches and 4650 years, for free! If Joe’s son were to upgrade to the Big Y-700, they might very well be assigned a new haplogroup that, for the time being, only they share.

Of course, Family Finder doesn’t provide Y-DNA matching so you still need the Y-DNA tests for that important aspect of genealogy.

Big Y to Big Y Comparison

In our next example, a group of men, including a father and son or other very close relative may take the Big Y-700 test and have different haplogroups. If you’re saying, “Whoa Nelly,” hear me out.

George took a Big Y-700 test and discovered that he is haplogroup R-FGC43597. His son and grandsons tested, and they are haplogroup R-FTC50269. What happened? Shouldn’t they all match George?

On George’s Big Y-700 block tree, you can see that a mutation, R-FTC50269, occurred between George and his son. George doesn’t have it, but his son does.

A haplogroup isn’t “named” until there are two men with the same mutation in the same lineage. Therefore, when George’s son initially tested, he would have been assigned to the same haplogroup as George, R-FGC43697, but with one extra variant, or mutation.

Of course, that extra mutation was passed from George’s son to both of his grandsons, so when the first grandson tested, the new haplogroup, R-FTC50269 was assigned as a result of that mutation. Now, George has one haplogroup and his son and grandsons have a different haplogroup, one branch downstream.

Using Discover to check the haplogroup ages and path, we find that indeed, these haplogroups are only one step apart.

Checking Family Finder results can always verify that the match is close or as close as you expected.

Haplogroup Assignments

Haplogroup assignments range from good to better to best.

Good Better Best
STR predicted Yes – but further back in time
SNP Packs (now obsolete) Between good and better
Family Finder autosomal Yes – generally midrange between STR predicted and the Big Y-700
Big Y-500 (need to upgrade) Usually between better and best
Big Y-700 The best – usually within a genealogically relevant timeframe unless your DNA is rare

Where Are You?

Older haplogroups, such as the STR-predicted haplogroups are useful for:

  • Eliminating some potential matches
  • Identifying where that haplogroup originated at that specific point in time. In other words, where your ancestor lived when that haplogroup was born.

If your Y-DNA matches another Y-DNA tester at FamilyTreeDNA, your haplogroups will fall someplace on the same haplogroup branch, although they may be thousands of years apart. STR-predicted haplogroups are “older,” meaning they range in age from about 6500 years to tens of thousands of years ago. They can tell you where the haplogroup originated at that time.

Autosomal haplogroups will be newer, or more recent, than STR-predicted haplogroups, but still (sometimes significantly) older than the Big Y-700 haplogroups..

FamilyTreeDNA provides Y-DNA haplogroups for free for every biological male who either takes the FamilyTreeDNA Family Finder test or uploads an autosomal result from either Ancestry or MyHeritage. Soon, 23andMe uploads will be resumed as well. This means that you will be able to view other men with a similar surname in your Family Finder results and:

  • Rule them out as a paternal line match.
  • Check your STR matches if they have taken a Y-DNA test
  • Check your Big Y-700 test for matches if both men have taken a Big Y test.
  • Encourage your matches to take a Big Y-700 test so you can see how closely you match on your paternal line.
  • Use the Discover Compare and other tools to reveal more information.

Family Finder haplogroups are relatively new, so currently, all new Family Finder testers are receiving haplogroups. Older Family Finder tests are being processed and will be followed by autosomal tests uploaded from other vendors. Haplogroups from autosomal tests are confirmed and will be newer, or more recent, than STR-predicted haplogroups.

The only test that can bring your haplogroup to current, meaning the most refined, recent, personal haplogroup, is the Big Y-700 test. Without taking the Big Y-700 test, you’ll forever be stuck with an older, less informative haplogroup branch. The Big Y-700 allows us to reliably sort families into lineages based on branching mutations.

The Big Y-700 haplogroup is:

  • The most detailed and granular possible.
  • Determined by sequencing the Y chromosome.
  • A test of discovery that continues to provide additional value as more men test and new haplogroups are formed.

Big Y-700 haplogroups generally fall into a genealogically useful timeframe and can be very recent.

The Discover tool and Time Tree provide a wealth of information about your ancestors, including locations, migration paths, ancient DNA, and more.

You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know

Now that you understand how to compare and interpret haplogroup matches, what additional information can you learn?

I always encourage Y-DNA matches to upgrade to the Big Y-700. Why? You don’t know what you don’t know. The article, Bennett Greenspan: Meet My Extended Family & Discover Extraordinary Deep Heritage illustrates the benefits of the Big Y-700 for all matches. Upgrading 12-marker matches is exactly how he made his big breakthrough.

The Big Y-700 test answers many questions beyond simply matching by using Discover and the Group Time Tree.

  • Where were your ancestors?
  • Who do you match, and who were their ancestors?
  • Genetically and genealogically, how do your surname matches fit together?
  • Where were your matches’ ancestors, and when?
  • Which ancient DNA results do you match, and where were they located?
  • What is the history of locations where your ancestors were found along their journey?
  • How closely or distantly are you related to other Big Y-700 matches?
  • Can your matches’ information break down your paternal line brick wall, or at least move it back a few generations?

Where are your Y-DNA results along the spectrum of useful haplogroup information? Do you or your matches need to upgrade? Click here to upgrade or order a Big Y-700 test.

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Acadian Ancestors and Their DNA

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Recently, I’ve been focused on writing about my Acadian ancestors, and I’ve come across new, never-before-published information. When writing my ancestor articles, it’s always easiest to work my way up the tree, from child to parents. This article includes a summary of each Acadian line, with informational links.

My mother’s grandfather was half-Acadian, so I have a LOT of Acadian ancestors. That’s also why I’m one of the volunteer administrators for the Acadian AmerIndian DNA Project at FamilyTreeDNA. Many Acadian families have intermixed European and Mi’kmaq lineages. Our project celebrates both and welcomes all.

We are working hard to obtain at least two Big Y-700 tests for each paternal surname line and each maternal mitochondrial DNA line.

Why is that important?

Different DNA Tests Tell Us Different Things

Y-DNA descends through all males to only males, so men have their father’s and grandfather’s Y-DNA, on up that line. The Y chromosome is what makes males male. In the Western world, it’s the paternal surname line. You can view the Acadian AmerIndian project’s Y-DNA test results here.

Everyone has mitochondrial DNA, which is passed from female ancestors to both sexes of their children, but only females pass it on. If your direct matrilineal ancestor (you to mother to mother, etc., on up the tree) is Acadian, then you have Acadian mitochondrial DNA. You can view the project’s mitochondrial DNA test results here.

Additionally, we welcome all Acadian descendants who have taken an autosomal DNA test, meaning the Family Finder test at FamilyTreeDNA, or who have uploaded a DNA file from either Ancestry or MyHeritage. (23andMe DNA file uploads have been paused following the 23andMe data compromise, but will resume soon.) You can find upload/download instructions, here.

I encourage anyone who descends from any Acadian, Mi’kmaq, or Atlantic Maritime Native ancestor to join the Acadian AmerIndian DNA Project. We’ve been working on our genealogy together for 18 years, and we love to welcome new cousins!

Acadian Descendants are “All” Related

When I first discovered my Acadian heritage, my now-deceased cousin Paul LeBlanc told me that if you’re related to one Acadian, you’re related to all Acadians. I thought he was being facetious, but when he sent me a list of 137 ways we were related, I quickly realized how intermarried this isolated group of people had been.

The Acadians were French settlers who established homes in Nova Scotia beginning in the early 1600s and stayed until their forced removal by the English in 1755.

Click to enlarge any image.

Shiploads of people, after being stripped of all their belongings, were forcibly relocated elsewhere – locations that included various English colonies along the eastern seaboard, Caribbean islands, the Falkland Islands, South America, and France.

Some managed to return to Nova Scotia years later, but many either stayed where they wound up or made their way to Quebec sometime after 1766. A large number eventually relocated to the Louisiana area, where they are known as Cajuns today.

After deportation, all the Acadians had, literally, was each other, so they tried to stick together as best they could. Families were split as people were herded onto ships that were intentionally sent to different destinations. Most Acadians didn’t speak the language where they were exiled. They were also Catholics in an English world where Catholicism was often illegal. This meant that they remained in communities and intermarried with whatever other Acadians happened to have been herded into the same ship when the deportation occurred.

After at least a decade in exile, some Acadian families reunited in Louisiana, Quebec, or Nova Scotia, where they established communities.

It’s no wonder that today’s Acadian family trees are interwoven, and their DNA shows a significant amount of pedigree collapse and endogamy.  So, not only are all Acadians related on paper, but many share some DNA with each other, too.

DNA Testing – You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know

Almost everyone is familiar with the benefits of autosomal DNA testing. You match lots of cousins with whom you can collaborate and confirm ancestors across multiple lines in a variety of ways. It’s like a big jigsaw puzzle.

Not everyone understands why we need to do Y-DNA and mitochondrial DNA testing for each of our Acadian ancestors and ancestral lines.

Put simply, you don’t know what you don’t know. Y-DNA and mitochondrial DNA provide additional tools, and you know exactly which line they pertain to. Unlike with autosomal DNA, you’re not limited to “maybe” matching someone with whom you shared an ancestor just a few generations ago. Y-DNA and mitochondrial DNA are direct, targeted lineage tests that break through barriers.

Ideally, we need to test the following:

  • Males directly descended through all males for each line to confirm there is no biological break in the line. Preferably a Big Y-700 test.
  • At least one Big Y-700 tester from each of two sons of the original ancestor to confirm that ancestor’s Y-DNA signature.
  • At least two people who descend from each female ancestor through all females to the current generation, which can be male, to confirm that ancestor’s mitochondrial signature
  • At least one mitochondrial tester from each of the original ancestor’s female children to confirm that all of the children attributed to her are her children.

Big Y-700 tests and mtFull (full sequence mitochondrial DNA tests) provide a smorgasbord of information, including:

  • Continental-level ethnicities for that ancestral line including European, African, Asian, Native American, and Jewish.
  • Highly detailed migration paths with Globetrekker and the Discover tools.
  • Time ranges when the various mutations occurred forming lineages which can be critical for determining relationships and timelines.
  • Matching with ancient DNA samples, which informs us of history beyond surnames.
  • Sometimes literally a village or a very specific location in a country where other testers’ ancestors are from.

I can’t tell you how many brick walls have fallen, including several Acadian lineages that, without Y-DNA and mitochondrial DNA testing, we would never have been able to unravel.

The more people who test, the more refined the results, and the more information that becomes available for all of us. Since DNA testing is illegal in France, it’s up to the descendants of those who emigrated elsewhere to step up and fill the void.

Acadian Genealogy Trees

As with any genealogy, sometimes it’s challenging to sort the wheat from the chaff when it comes to genealogical information. Often, DNA testing and other resources add to the library of knowledge that we have, correcting and refining what was previously believed.

Genealogy is a team sport, and future research, both for us and new researchers to follow, is built on the foundation of those who have come before us and continue to contribute.

I encourage Acadian researchers to utilize two of my favorite sources in addition to DNA testing.

  • Karen Theriot Reader is a professional genealogist whose family is Acadian. You can access her free tree with sources, here. Thank you, Karen.
  • WikiTree is a free one-world tree that utilizes specialized volunteer teams that focus on accuracy and, when needed, dispute resolution. You can find the WikiTree Acadian project here, and I encourage you to add your lineage.

My Trees

I’ve uploaded trees everywhere I’ve DNA tested, and I also have public trees available for viewing.

Ancestors

It’s difficult to decide how best to organize these ancestors, so I’ve chosen alphabetical groupings with explanations.

Please note that I haven’t yet written a comprehensive article about each ancestor. I’ll be updating this page as I add articles. Right now, I’m adding articles every week or so in anticipation of a trip to Nova Scotia to visit where they lived.

You’re going to see some new Acadian surnames here. That’s because we recently discovered records that were previously buried in France.

Aucoin Family

Last First Birth Death Spouse mtDNA Y-DNA
Aucoin Jeanne 1630 1718 Francois Girouard H
Aucoin Martin c 1595 Bef 1671 Barbe Minguet I-FTC21121

Origins

The Aucoin family originated in LaRochelle, France, where Martin Aucoin was married in 1632. Jeanne Aucoin was baptized there on November 26, 1630.

Roberta’s Articles

I have not written any articles about these ancestors yet, although they may be mentioned in others. You can search for the surname by entering the surname in the search box at my blog.

The Project

You can purchase an autosomal Family Finder DNA test here or upload a DNA file from another testing company. Then, join the Acadian AmerIndian project by clicking on “Group Projects” at the top of the page after you sign in.

In addition to the autosomal test:

Aucoin Links

Blanchard Family

Click to enlarge trees.

Last First Birth Death Spouse mtDNA Y-DNA
Blanchard Jeanne c 1675 Jean LePrince HV4a1a4
Blanchard Guillaume c 1650 1715/1717 Huguette Gougeon X2b4 I-M253 need Big Y-700 test
Blanchard Madelaine c 1643 Michael Richard X2b4
Blanchard Jean c 1611 Radegonde Lambert I-M253 need Big Y-700 test

Roberta’s Articles

I have not written any articles about these ancestors yet, although they may be mentioned in others. You can search for the surname by entering the surname in the search box at my blog.

The Project

You can purchase an autosomal Family Finder DNA test here or upload a DNA file from another testing company. Then, join the Acadian AmerIndian project by clicking on “Group Projects” at the top of the page after you sign in.

In addition to the autosomal test:

Blanchard DNA Needed – Can You Help?

  • We need at least two Blanchard males from both Guillaume Blanchard and Jeanne Blanchard’s lines to take or upgrade to the Big Y-700 test. We don’t actually know if those two men are related.

Blanchard Links

 Bonnevie Family

Last First Birth Death Spouse mtDNA Y-DNA
Bonnevie Marie Charlotte c 1703 After 1742 Jacques Lore/Lord X2a2
Bonnevie Jacques c 1660 1733 Francoise Mius I-Y21507

 Origins

Jacques Bonnevie was reported by Father Clarence d’Entremont to have been a conscripted soldier born in Paris, France.

Roberta’s Articles

The Project

You can purchase an autosomal Family Finder DNA test here or upload a DNA file from another testing company. Then, join the Acadian AmerIndian project by clicking on “Group Projects” at the top of the page after you sign in.

In addition to the autosomal test:

Bonnevie DNA Needed – Can You Help?

  • We need at least two Bonnevie males to take or upgrade to the Big Y-700 test.
  • We need mitochondrial DNA testers that descend from each of Marie Charlotte Bonnevie’s sisters to prove beyond a doubt that they share a mother. If you descend from Marie Charlotte or her female siblings through all females to the current generation, please take a mitochondrial DNA test.

Bonnevie Links

Bourg Family

Last First Birth Death Spouse mtDNA Y-DNA
Bourg Perrine c 1626 After 1693 Simon Pelletret H14b1

Roberta’s Articles

I have not written any articles about these ancestors yet, although they may be mentioned in others. You can search for the surname by entering the surname in the search box at my blog.

The Project

You can purchase an autosomal Family Finder DNA test here or upload a DNA file from another testing company. Then, join the Acadian AmerIndian project by clicking on “Group Projects” at the top of the page after you sign in.

In addition to the autosomal test:

Bourg DNA Needed – Can You Help?

Bourg Links

Bourgeois Family

Last First Birth Death Spouse mtDNA Y-DNA
Bourgeois Marie Francoise 1659 Before 1697 Claude Dugas H1ag1
Bourgeois Jacques dit Jacob 1618/1621 1698/1700 Jeanne Trahan R-FTC6661

Roberta’s Articles

I have not written any articles about these ancestors yet, although they may be mentioned in others. You can search for the surname by entering the surname in the search box at my blog.

The Project

You can purchase an autosomal Family Finder DNA test here or upload a DNA file from another testing company. Then, join the Acadian AmerIndian project by clicking on “Group Projects” at the top of the page after you sign in.

In addition to the autosomal test:

Bourgeois DNA Needed – Can You Help?

Bourgeois Links

 Broussard Family

Last First Birth Death Spouse mtDNA Y-DNA
Broussard Marie Anne 1686 Rene Doucet X2b4
Broussard Francois c 1653 1716 Catherine Richard R-FT282415

Roberta’s Articles

I have not written any articles about these ancestors yet, although they may be mentioned in others. You can search for the surname by entering the surname in the search box at my blog.

The Project

You can purchase an autosomal Family Finder DNA test here or upload a DNA file from another testing company. Then, join the Acadian AmerIndian project by clicking on “Group Projects” at the top of the page after you sign in.

In addition to the autosomal test:

Broussard Links

 Chaumoret Family

Last First Birth Death Spouse mtDNA Y-DNA
Chaumoret Francoise c 1605 Before 1650 Antoine Chebrat HV4a1a4
Chaumoret Vincent Before 1585 Need Big Y-700 test

Origins

Francoise Chaumoret’s husband, Antoine Chebrat, is found operating a mill in La Chaussee, Poitou, France, in 1650.

Roberta’s Articles

I have not written any articles about these ancestors yet, although they may be mentioned in others. You can search for the surname by entering the surname in the search box at my blog.

The Project

You can purchase an autosomal Family Finder DNA test here or upload a DNA file from another testing company. Then, join the Acadian AmerIndian project by clicking on “Group Projects” at the top of the page after you sign in.

In addition to the autosomal test:

Chaumoret DNA Needed – Can You Help?

Chaumoret Links

Chebrat Family

Last First Birth Death Spouse mtDNA Y-DNA
Chebrat Jeanne c 1626 After 1677 Antoine Gougeon HV4a1a4
Chebrat Antoine Before 1662 Need Big Y-700 test

Origins

Antoine Chebrat is found operating a mill in La Chaussee, Poitou, France in 1650.

Roberta’s Articles

I have not written any articles about these ancestors yet, although they may be mentioned in others. You can search for the surname by entering the surname in the search box at my blog.

The Project

You can purchase an autosomal Family Finder DNA test here or upload a DNA file from another testing company. Then, join the Acadian AmerIndian project by clicking on “Group Projects” at the top of the page after you sign in.

In addition to the autosomal test:

Chebrat DNA Needed – Can You Help?

Chebrat Links

Corbineau or Charbonneau Family

Last First Birth Death Spouse mtDNA Y-DNA
Corbineau, Charbonneau Francoise C 1605 Before 1666 Guillaume Trahan H1ag1

Origins

Francoise Corbineau was born in St. Etienne Parish in Chinon, Indre-et-Loire, Touraine, France, and was of de la Paroisse St-Etienne when she married Guillaume Trahan in 1627.

Francoise Charbonnier, born in 1599, may be this person, but additional research is needed.

Roberta’s Articles

I have not written any articles about these ancestors yet, although they may be mentioned in others. You can search for the surname by entering the surname in the search box at my blog.

The Project

You can purchase an autosomal Family Finder DNA test here or upload a DNA file from another testing company. Then, join the Acadian AmerIndian project by clicking on “Group Projects” at the top of the page after you sign in.

In addition to the autosomal test:

Corbineau or Charbonneau DNA Needed – Can You Help?

Corbineau Links

Cousin Family

Last First Birth Death Spouse mtDNA Y-DNA
Cousin Marie c 1667 After 1710 Nicholas Goicheau Need mitochondrial DNA

Origins

Jacquette Soulard was married on July 2, 1685 to Pierre Garceau in Saint-Marsault, Deux-Sèvres, France, about 55 miles northwest of La Rochelle. From Filae, “Pierre Goicheau, age 33, laboureur, père Nicolas Goicheau, mère Marie Cousin; Jacquette Soulard, age 18, père Jacque Soulard, mère Perrine Estancheau.” Hat tip to cousin Mark for deep–diving and finding this extremely elusive record.

Roberta’s Articles

I have not written any articles about these ancestors yet, although they may be mentioned in others. You can search for the surname by entering the surname in the search box at my blog.

The Project

You can purchase an autosomal Family Finder DNA test here or upload a DNA file from another testing company. Then, join the Acadian AmerIndian project by clicking on “Group Projects” at the top of the page after you sign in.

In addition to the autosomal test:

Cousin DNA Needed – Can You Help?

  • We need any Cousin male or similarly spelled surname from this line or this region to take or upgrade to the Big Y-700 test.
  • Additional children would certainly have been born to this couple. If you descend from Marie Cousin through all females to the current generation, which can be male, please purchase a mitochondrial DNA test.

d’Azy Family – see Mius

d’Entremont Family – see Mius

DeForest, Forest, de Forest, Foret or La Foret Family

Last First Birth Death Spouse mtDNA Y-DNA
DeForest Marguerite 1747 1819 Francois Lafalle HV41a14
DeForest Jacques 1707 Marie Josephe LePrince H1ag1 R-FT146490
DeForest Rene 1670 1751 Francoise Dugas J1b2 R-FT146490
DeForest Michel Before 1691 Marie Hebert R-FT146490

Origins

Please note that Y-DNA testing has proven that this is NOT the Gereyt deForest line from Leyden, Holland.

Roberta’s Articles

The Project

You can purchase an autosomal Family Finder DNA test here or upload a DNA file from another testing company. Then, join the Acadian AmerIndian project by clicking on “Group Projects” at the top of the page after you sign in.

In addition to the autosomal test:

DeForest Links

Desloges or Deloges Family

Last First Birth Death Spouse mtDNA Y-DNA
Desloges Renee c 1570 Before 1632 Nicholas Trahan Need mitochondrial DNA

Origins

Two of Renee Desloges’s children were baptized at Montreuil-Bellay, France in 1601 and 1614.

Roberta’s Articles

I have not written any articles about these ancestors yet, although they may be mentioned in others. You can search for the surname by entering the surname in the search box at my blog.

The Project

You can purchase an autosomal Family Finder DNA test here or upload a DNA file from another testing company. Then, join the Acadian AmerIndian project by clicking on “Group Projects” at the top of the page after you sign in.

In addition to the autosomal test:

Desloges or Deloges DNA Needed – Can You Help?

Desloges Links

Doucet Family

Last First Birth Death Spouse mtDNA Y-DNA
Doucet Anne 1713 1791 Daniel Garceau X2b4
Doucet Rene C 1678 After 1701 Marie Anne Broussard H14b1 R-FT413594
Doucet Pierre C 1621 1713 Henriette Pelletret T2b7a2 R-FT413594
Doucet Marguerite aka Marie Judith? 1625 1732 Abraham Dugas T2b7a2

Marguerite’s parents are unknown. She is the sister of Pierre.

Origins

Germaine Doucet, the uncle of Pierre and Marguerite, was born in Couperoue en Brye (or Coupri en Brie), today Coupru in the department of Haunts-de-France region, Picardie, France, about 20 miles northeast of Paris.

Roberta’s Articles

I have not written any articles about these ancestors yet, although they may be mentioned in others. You can search for the surname by entering the surname in the search box at my blog.

The Project

You can purchase an autosomal Family Finder DNA test here or upload a DNA file from another testing company. Then, join the Acadian AmerIndian project by clicking on “Group Projects” at the top of the page after you sign in.

In addition to the autosomal test:

Doucet DNA Needed – Can You Help?

Doucet Links

Dugas Family

Last First Birth Death Spouse mtDNA Y-DNA
Dugas Francoise 1678 After 1723 Rene DeForest H1ag1
Dugas Claude 1652 1732 Francoise Bourgeois T2b7a2 J-FT168292
Dugas Abraham 1616 1693/1700 Marguerite Doucet J-FT168292

Roberta’s Articles

I have not written any articles about these ancestors yet, although they may be mentioned in others. You can search for the surname by entering the surname in the search box at my blog.

The Project

You can purchase an autosomal Family Finder DNA test here or upload a DNA file from another testing company. Then, join the Acadian AmerIndian project by clicking on “Group Projects” at the top of the page after you sign in.

In addition to the autosomal test:

Dugas Links

Estancheau Family

Last First Birth Death Spouse mtDNA Y-DNA
Estancheau Perrine Before 1647 Jacque Soulard Need mitochondrial DNA

Origins

Jacquette was married on July 2, 1685, to Pierre Garceau in Saint-Marsault, Deux-Sèvres, France, about 55 miles northwest of La Rochelle. From Filae, “Pierre Goicheau, age 33, laboureur, père Nicolas Goicheau, mère Marie Cousin; Jacquette Soulard, age 18, père Jacque Soulard, mère Perrine Estancheau.” Hat tip to cousin Mark for deep-diving and finding this extremely elusive record.

Roberta’s Articles

I have not written any articles about these ancestors yet, although they may be mentioned in others. You can search for the surname by entering the surname in the search box at my blog.

The Project

You can purchase an autosomal Family Finder DNA test here or upload a DNA file from another testing company. Then, join the Acadian AmerIndian project by clicking on “Group Projects” at the top of the page after you sign in.

In addition to the autosomal test:

Estancheau DNA Needed – Can You Help?

  • We need any Estancheau male or similarly spelled surname from this line or this region to take or upgrade to the Big Y-700 test.
  • Additional children would certainly have been born to this couple. If you descend from Perrine Estancheau through all females to the current generation, which can be male, please purchase a mitochondrial DNA test.

Garceau, Garsseault or Goicheau Family

Last First Birth Death Spouse mtDNA Y-DNA
Garceau Appoline 1742 1788 Honore Lore X2b4
Garceau Daniel 1707 1772 Anne Doucet U6a7a1a Need Big Y-700 test
Garceau Jean c 1675 1707 Marie Levron Need Big Y-700 test
Garceau Pierre c 1652 Jacquette Soulard Need Big Y-700 test
Garceau Nicolas Before 1632 Marie Cousin Need Big Y-700 test

Origins

Pierre Garceau married Jacquette Soulard in 1685 in Saint-Marsault, part of La Foret-sur-Sevres, about 55 miles northwest of La Rochelle. From Filae, “Pierre Goicheau, age 33, laboureur, père Nicolas Goicheau, mère Marie Cousin; Jacquette Soulard, age 18, père Jacque Soulard, mère Perrine Estancheau.” Hat tip to cousin Mark for deep-diving and finding this extremely elusive record.

Roberta’s Articles

I have not written any articles about these ancestors yet, although they may be mentioned in others. You can search for the surname by entering the surname in the search box at my blog.

The Project

You can purchase an autosomal Family Finder DNA test here or upload a DNA file from another testing company. Then, join the Acadian AmerIndian project by clicking on “Group Projects” at the top of the page after you sign in.

In addition to the autosomal test:

Garceau, Garsseault or Goicheau DNA Needed – Can You Help?

  • We need any Garceau or Goicheau male or similarly spelled surname from this line or this region to take or upgrade to the Big Y-700 test.
  • We need anyone who descends from Jacquette Soulard through all females to the current generation to test for her mitochondrial DNA. At this point, we know of no female children born to Pierre and Jacquette. If you discover those records, please reach out.

Garceau Links

Gaudet Family

Last First Birth Death Spouse mtDNA Y-DNA
Gaudet Marie c 1633 1710 Etienne Hebert J1b2
Gaudet Jean C 1575 1671/1678 G-YP786

Origins

Historian Geneviève Massignon believed that the Acadian Gaudet, Hebert, and LeBlanc families were already allied in France. Jean Gaudet, was censistaire (paid quit-rent to a feudal Lord) in 1634 on land at Martaizé (Vienne) in the Seigneurie d’Aulnay. D’Aulnay arranged for some of the people from this region to settle in Acadia. Massignon did not find baptismal or marriage records, although I’m unclear how much research was done.

Roberta’s Articles

The Project

You can purchase an autosomal Family Finder DNA test here or upload a DNA file from another testing company. Then, join the Acadian AmerIndian project by clicking on “Group Projects” at the top of the page after you sign in.

In addition to the autosomal test:

Gaudet DNA Needed – Can You Help?

Gaudet Links

Girouard or Gerard Family

Last First Birth Death Spouse mtDNA Y-DNA
Girouard Charlotte Anne 1659 1742 Jullien Lord/Lore H
Girouard Francois 1640/1651 1686/1690 Jeanne Aucoin Need Big Y-700 test

Roberta’s Articles

The Project

You can purchase an autosomal Family Finder DNA test here or upload a DNA file from another testing company. Then, join the Acadian AmerIndian project by clicking on “Group Projects” at the top of the page after you sign in.

In addition to the autosomal test:

Girouard DNA Needed – Can You Help?

Girouard Links

Gougeon Family

Last First Birth Death Spouse mtDNA Y-DNA
Gougeon Huguette 1647/1655 1717 Guillaume Blanchard HV4a1a4
Gougeon Antoine c 1626 Before 1679 Jeanne Chebrat Need Big Y-700 test

Huguette Gougeon’s mother’s first husband was Jean Poirier, so there is some confusion that Huguette was a Poirier, but she was the child of her mother’s second husband, Antoine Gougeon.

Roberta’s Articles

I have not written any articles about these ancestors yet, although they may be mentioned in others. You can search for the surname by entering the surname in the search box at my blog.

The Project

You can purchase an autosomal Family Finder DNA test here or upload a DNA file from another testing company. Then, join the Acadian AmerIndian project by clicking on “Group Projects” at the top of the page after you sign in.

In addition to the autosomal test:

Gougeon DNA Needed – Can You Help?

Gougeon Links

Hebert Family

Last First Birth Death Spouse mtDNA Y-DNA
Hebert Marie c 1651 1677 Michel DeForest J1b2
Hebert Marguerite c 1652 After 1715 Jacques LePrince J1b2
Hebert Etienne c 1625 1669/1671 Marie Gaudet R-BY31006

Marie and Marguerite Hebert are sisters.

Roberta’s Articles

The Project

You can purchase an autosomal Family Finder DNA test here or upload a DNA file from another testing company. Then, join the Acadian AmerIndian project by clicking on “Group Projects” at the top of the page after you sign in.

In addition to the autosomal test:

Hebert Links

Helie Family

Last First Birth Death Spouse mtDNA Y-DNA
Helie Madeleine C 1626 Before 1678 Philippe Mius I J – partial haplogroup – need mtFull test

Madeleine Helie’s parents are unknown. Her surname is spelled variably as Elie, Ellie, d’Elie, and E’Lie

Roberta’s Articles

I have not written any articles about these ancestors yet, although they may be mentioned in others. You can search for the surname by entering the surname in the search box at my blog.

The Project

You can purchase an autosomal Family Finder DNA test here or upload a DNA file from another testing company. Then, join the Acadian AmerIndian project by clicking on “Group Projects” at the top of the page after you sign in.

In addition to the autosomal test:

Helie DNA Needed – Can You Help?

Helie Links

LaFaille, Lafay, or Lafaye Family

Last First Birth Death Spouse mtDNA Y-DNA
Lafay, Lafaille Marie 1767 1836 Honore Lore HV4a1a4
Lafay, Lafaille Francois 1744 1824 Marguerite DeForest Need Big Y-700 test

Origins

Francois Lafaye, Lafay or Lafaille, was a French sailor whose parents may have been Joseph Lafay and Francoise Germon from Bordeaux, France.

Roberta’s Articles

The Project

You can purchase an autosomal Family Finder DNA test here or upload a DNA file from another testing company. Then, join the Acadian AmerIndian project by clicking on “Group Projects” at the top of the page after you sign in.

In addition to the autosomal test:

Lafaille, Lafay, or Lafaye DNA Needed – Can You Help?

  • We need any Lafaille, Lafaye or Lafay male or similarly spelled surname from this line or whose ancestors descend from from Bordeaux to take the Big Y-700 test.

LaFailly or Lafay Links

Lambert Family

Last First Birth Death Spouse mtDNA Y-DNA
Lambert Radegonde c 1621 1686/1693 Jean Blanchard X2b4

Origins

Radegonde’s parents are unknown, but there has been speculation for years that Jean Lambert, the only male in Acadia at that time with the Lambert surname was her father. It’s currently believed that she married and arrived with Jean Blanchard. Her mitochondrial DNA proves beyond a doubt that she is not Native.

Roberta’s Articles

The Project

You can purchase an autosomal Family Finder DNA test here or upload a DNA file from another testing company. Then, join the Acadian AmerIndian project by clicking on “Group Projects” at the top of the page after you sign in.

In addition to the autosomal test:

Lambert DNA Needed – Can You Help?

Lambert Links

LeJeune Family

Last First Birth Death Spouse mtDNA Y-DNA
LeJeune Catherine 1633 c 1678 Francois Savoie U6a7a1a

There may have been three LeJeune siblings in early Acadia, but no definitive information or consensus has been reached. At this point, Catherine LeJeune’s parents are unknown.

Roberta’s Articles

I have not written any articles about these ancestors yet, although they may be mentioned in others. You can search for the surname by entering the surname in the search box at my blog.

The Project

You can purchase an autosomal Family Finder DNA test here or upload a DNA file from another testing company. Then, join the Acadian AmerIndian project by clicking on “Group Projects” at the top of the page after you sign in..

In addition to the autosomal test:

LeJeune DNA Needed – Can You Help?

LeJeune Links

LePrince or Le Prince Family

Last First Birth Death Spouse mtDNA Y-DNA
LePrince Marie Josephe 1715 After 1748 Jacques DeForest HV4a1a4
LePrince Jean c 1692 After 1752 Jeanne Blanchard J1b2 Need Big Y-700 test
LePrince Jacques c 1646 1692/1693 Marguerite Hebert Need Big Y-700 test

Roberta’s Articles

I have not written any articles about these ancestors yet, although they may be mentioned in others. You can search for the surname by entering the surname in the search box at my blog.

The Project

You can purchase an autosomal Family Finder DNA test here or upload a DNA file from another testing company. Then, join the Acadian AmerIndian project by clicking on “Group Projects” at the top of the page after you sign in.

In addition to the autosomal test:

LePrince DNA Needed – Can You Help?

LePrince Links

Levron Family

Last First Birth Death Spouse mtDNA Y-DNA
Levron Marie c 1686 1727 Jean Garceau U6a7a1a
Levron Francois c 1651 1714 Catherine Savoie Need Big Y-700 test

Origins

Francois Levron’s dit name is Nantois, which may be the source of his origins being placed in Nantes. Additionally, other Acadians came from there as well. To date, we need confirmation.

Roberta’s Articles

I have not written any articles about these ancestors yet, although they may be mentioned in others. You can search for the surname by entering the surname in the search box at my blog.

The Project

You can purchase an autosomal Family Finder DNA test here or upload a DNA file from another testing company. Then, join the Acadian AmerIndian project by clicking on “Group Projects” at the top of the page after you sign in.

In addition to the autosomal test:

Levron DNA Needed – Can You Help?

Levron Links

Lord, Lore, Lor, L’Or, Laur, or Laure Family

Last First Birth Death Spouse mtDNA Y-DNA
Lore Antoine 1805 1862/1868 Rachel Hill HV4a1a4 R-BY93943
Lore Honore 1768 1834 Marie Lafay X2b4 R-BY93943
Lore Honore 1742 1818 Appoline Garceau X2a2 R-BY93943
Lor/Lord/Lore Jacques 1679 1786 Marie Charlotte Bonnevie H R-BY93943
LorLord/Lore Julien 1653 1724 Anne Charlotte Girouard R-BY93943

Julien’s dit name is LaMontagne, which was used as a surname at least once.

Roberta’s Articles

The Project

You can purchase an autosomal Family Finder DNA test here or upload a DNA file from another testing company. Then, join the Acadian AmerIndian project by clicking on “Group Projects” at the top of the page after you sign in.

In addition to the autosomal test:

Lord/Lore Links

Minguet Family

Last First Birth Death Spouse mtDNA Y-DNA
Minguet Barbe C 1600 After 1630 Martin Aucoin H

Origins

The Aucoin family was from LaRochelle, France, so it stands to reason that the Minguet family was also from that area.

Roberta’s Articles

I have not written any articles about these ancestors yet, although they may be mentioned in others. You can search for the surname by entering the surname in the search box at my blog.

The Project

You can purchase an autosomal Family Finder DNA test here or upload a DNA file from another testing company. Then, join the Acadian AmerIndian project by clicking on “Group Projects” at the top of the page after you sign in.

In addition to the autosomal test:

Minguet DNA Needed – Can You Help?

Minguet Links

Mius, Muis, Miuse, Muise, Mews, d’Azy, or d’Entremont Family

Last First Birth Death Spouse mtDNA Y-DNA
Mius Francoise c 1683 1515/1517 Jacques Bonnevie X2a2
Mius Philippe II 1660/1662 After 1726 Unknown Mi’kmaq J E-V13, need Big Y tester
Mius Philippe I c 1609 1700 Madelaine Helie E-V13, need Big Y tester

Roberta’s Articles

The Project

You can purchase an autosomal Family Finder DNA test here or upload a DNA file from another testing company. Then, join the Acadian AmerIndian project by clicking on “Group Projects” at the top of the page after you sign in.

In addition to the autosomal test:

Mius, d’Azy, or d’Entremont DNA Needed – Can You Help?

  • We need any Mius, d’Azy, or d’Entremont male or similarly spelled surname from this line to take or upgrade to the Big Y-700 test.
  • We need at least one person who descends through all females from each one of Francoise Mius’s sisters to the current generation, which can be male, to take a mitochondrial DNA test. We need to verify which siblings share the same mother. Her father, Philippe Mius, is known to have had one Native wife, is believed to have had two, and could have had more.

Mius Links

Pelletret, Pelletrot, or Peltret Family

Last First Birth Death Spouse mtDNA Y-DNA
Pelletret Henriette c 1541 1686/1693 Pierre Doucet H14b1
Pelletret Simon c 1616 1643/1645 Perrine Bourg Need Y-DNA tester

Roberta’s Articles

I have not written any articles about these ancestors yet, although they may be mentioned in others. You can search for the surname by entering the surname in the search box at my blog.

The Project

You can purchase an autosomal Family Finder DNA test here or upload a DNA file from another testing company. Then, join the Acadian AmerIndian project by clicking on “Group Projects” at the top of the page after you sign in.

In addition to the autosomal test:

Pelletret DNA Needed – Can You Help?

Pelletret Links

Richard Family

Last First Birth Death Spouse mtDNA Y-DNA
Richard Catherine 1663 1716 Francois Broussard X2b4
Richard Michel c 1630 1686/1689 Madeleine Blanchard R-FT137222

Roberta’s Articles

I have not written any articles about these ancestors yet, although they may be mentioned in others. You can search for the surname by entering the surname in the search box at my blog.

The Project

You can purchase an autosomal Family Finder DNA test here or upload a DNA file from another testing company. Then, join the Acadian AmerIndian project by clicking on “Group Projects” at the top of the page after you sign in.

In addition to the autosomal test:

Richard DNA Needed – Can You Help?

  • We need any Richard male from this line or this region to take or upgrade to the Big Y-700 test. Please note that several men with the surname Robichaud match the Richard line. These men are also invited to upgrade.

Richard Links

Savoie Family

Last First Birth Death Spouse mtDNA Y-DNA
Savoie Catherine c 1659 1701/1703 Francois Levron U6a7a1a
Savoie Francois c 1621 Before 1679 Catherine LeJeune R-FT397291

Origins

The Savoie family origins are uncertain, but Bona Arsenault cites Massignon and states that they are, “Doubtlessly originally from Martaize, department of Vienne, France.” Additional research is needed.

Roberta’s Articles

I have not written any articles about these ancestors yet, although they may be mentioned in others. You can search for the surname by entering the surname in the search box at my blog.

The Project

You can purchase an autosomal Family Finder DNA test here or upload a DNA file from another testing company. Then, join the Acadian AmerIndian project by clicking on “Group Projects” at the top of the page after you sign in.

In addition to the autosomal test:

Savoie DNA Needed – Can You Help?

Savoie Links

Soulard Family

Last First Birth Death Spouse mtDNA Y-DNA
Soulard Jacquette c 1667 After 1710 Pierre Garceau Need mitochondrial DNA
Soulard Jacque Before 1647 Perrine Estancheau Need Big Y-700 test

Origins

Jacquette married Pierre Garceau on July 2, 1685, in Saint-Marsault, Deux-Sèvres, France, about 55 miles northwest of La Rochelle. From Filae, “Pierre Goicheau, age 33, laboureur, père Nicolas Goicheau, mère Marie Cousin; Jacquette Soulard, age 18, père Jacque Soulard, mère Perrine Estancheau.” Hat tip to my cousin Mark who did the deep-diving and found this extremely elusive record.

Roberta’s Articles

I have not written any articles about these ancestors yet, although they may be mentioned in others. You can search for the surname by entering the surname in the search box at my blog.

The Project

You can purchase an autosomal Family Finder DNA test here or upload a DNA file from another testing company. Then, join the Acadian AmerIndian project by clicking on “Group Projects” at the top of the page after you sign in.

In addition to the autosomal test:

Soulard DNA Needed – Can You Help?

  • We need any Soulard or Foulard male or similarly spelled surname from this line or this region to take or upgrade to the Big Y-700 test.
  • Additional children would certainly have been born to this couple. If you descend from Jacquette Soulard or Perrine Estancheau through all females to the current generation, which can be male, please purchase a mitochondrial DNA test.

Soulard Links

 Trahan Family

Last First Birth Death Spouse mtDNA Y-DNA
Trahan Jeanne c 1629 1698-1700 Jacques Bourgeois H1ag1
Trahan Guillaume c 1601 1684 Francoise Corbineau R-BY34988
Trahan Nicolas 1570/1580 After 1627 Renee Desloges R-BY34988

Origins

Guillaume Trahan was born in Montreuil-Bellay, Maine-et-Loire, Anjou, France.

Roberta’s Articles

I have not written any articles about these ancestors yet, although they may be mentioned in others. You can search for the surname by entering the surname in the search box at my blog.

The Project

You can purchase an autosomal Family Finder DNA test here or upload a DNA file from another testing company. Then, join the Acadian AmerIndian project by clicking on “Group Projects” at the top of the page after you sign in.

In addition to the autosomal test:

Trahan Links

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RootsTech 2024 – MyHeritage is ON FIRE with 13 Announcements

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I’ve got to tell you, MyHeritage has outdone themselves.

I had a hard time just keeping track of their announcements, which totaled 13 – a baker’s dozen.

You can watch the MyHeritage RootsTech keynote by Aaron Godfrey, here.

However, there are a few things not in the video, so let’s take a look at a quick summary of what’s new.

DNA Uploads with Free Advanced Tools Forever Extended Until March 10th

MyHeritage just extended their DNA upload that includes ALL ADVANCED TOOLS FOR FREE, forever, to March 10th so click here now to upload every kit you manage. This is a great deal. Hint – new ethnicity results are coming soon and you’ll be saving $29 on each kit you upload.

20+ Billion Records

MyHeritage has just passed the 20 billion record mark and is continuing to add. That’s billion, with a B. These records are available to customers with a MyHeritage subscription. If you don’t have a subscription, you can try a MyHeritage Subscription with a Free Trial, here.,

Additionally, right now, subscriptions are 50% off, but I don’t know how long that price lasts.

I love my MyHeritage subscription, and if you try it and don’t like yours, you can cancel and be charged nothing during the 14-day trial period.

I particularly like that the local newspaper where my grandparents lived is available on MyHeritage, and no place else. In addition, MyHeritage has integrated with FamilySearch, which is digitizing and indexing records like wildfire. That collaboration has provided me with information from European sources, including archives.

MyHeritage Wiki

MyHeritage has been working on their new Wiki, a community encyclopedia for genealogy and DNA, for almost a year now, although it was only recently released.

Photo courtesy of MyHeritage

I’ve been honored to write several articles for the newly announced MyHeritage Wiki, including the definition of DNA itself:

Take a look at the new Wiki, here.

You can filter in a number of ways, and you can even sign up to be a contributor.

Check out their blog article, here.

AI Record Finder

The AI Record Finder is the world’s first AI chat-based search engine for historical records.

I should probably tell you that, at this point in time, I do use AI, such as ChatGPT, very cautiously, and I’m inherently suspicious because AI tools sometimes hallucinate. It’s a new technology with lots of glitches and unknowns, so let’s see how MyHeritage is using this tool. It should be much more reliable since it’s in a controlled environment. I need to be convinced. 😊

The AI Record Finder is under the Research Menu. Just type your question about your ancestor.

I’m cheating and giving MyHeritage a tough one. I typed, “Please tell me about Solomon Ferwerda, who died in 1768 in Groningen, the Netherlands.”

MyHeritage returned three possibilities in their database, including their affiliated databases. One is a MyHeritage tree and two are records from FamilySearch.

Don’t limit yourself at this point.

I happen to know “my” Solomon is the first person, but I played around a bit before selecting the “right” Solomon. Why? Because there’s a lot that I don’t know about his life. It’s possible that the second and third records are ALSO the right person, so be sure to review everything.

Clicking on the middle or right record for Solomon shows that, indeed, this record from FamilySearch comes from the Dutch Archival Indexes, so it’s not “just someone’s tree.”

We do know the Ferwerda family is from Leeuwarden, but we don’t know when Solomon was born, nor if he was married twice. I only have the name of his second wife and one child, Jan, who was born the year he died.

The two FamilySearch Dutch archive records are from Leeuwarden, so maybe, just maybe, I’ve discovered something new about Solomon. How exciting!

I need to click through and check this out further.

I didn’t expect to like this tool, but so far, I really do. But wait – there’s more.

AI Ancestor Bio

You can click to have MyHeritage generate an AI bio of an ancestor for you.

The bio takes a few minutes to generate and will be available for download in the chat and will also be emailed to you. You can easily share with others. Getting other people interested in genealogy often encourages them to take a DNA test. DNA tests are still on sale for $39, here.

Solomon Ferwerda’s AI bio was completed quickly and arrived in pdf format. We know so little about him, I knew it would be short. I must say, I really enjoyed the “Historical Context” section that discussed the surrounding events that would have affected his life. That’s incredibly important and would have or could have influenced the decisions he made. Maybe the warfare and political unrest caused him to move from Leeuwarden to Groningen for some reason, where he died the year his son was born.

Here’s Solomon’s bio.

Here’s a link to the RootsTech lecture about the MyHeritage AI tools by Ran Snir, the VP of Product.

MyHeritage blog links for AI Record finder are here and here.

You can watch Telling Your Family’s Story with MyHeritage’s AI Features by Janna Helshtein at Legacy Family Tree Webinars, here.

I can’t wait to play with the MyHeritage AI tools more.

Updated Ethnicity Coming Soon

This is going to make a lot of people happy!

MyHeritage is in the process of updating their ethnicity results, increasing their regions from 42 to 80, with significantly optimized granularity in Europe. I initially misunderstood and thought the new results were available now, but they won’t arrive until summer.

I understand from talking to a Jewish friend involved in MyHeritage’s R&D effort that their own results are substantially improved and that they have now been placed in Armenia where their ancestors are from. They are no longer generically “Jewish.”

New Profile Pages with Hints

Daniel Horowitz said that everyone calls Smart Matches and Record Matches hints, so now MyHeritage has updated profile pages and is adding them to the profile page and officially calling them Hints.

You can still find Smart Matches and Record Matches listed separately under Discoveries, but on everyone’s profile, they are called Hints.

On Solomon’s profile page, scroll down to view his journey based on the information you’ve entered or accepted into your tree.

I did not yet add Leeuwarden, because I’m yet positive those records in Leewarden are his, but if I had, Leeuwarden would also be shown on his journey map. I’ll be incorporating these into my 52 Ancestors stories. I love maps! Maybe I can find old maps to include too,

You can read more about the new profiles and hints, here.

Tree Collaboration with FamilyTreeDNA

Aaron Godfrey announced tree collaboration with FamilyTreeDNA who pre-announced this at their conference in November.

I don’t have specific details about how it works, as this won’t happen for a few months yet, but FamilyTreeDNA customers will port their trees to MyHeritage which allows them to take advantage of MyHeritage’s record collections and such. Existing MyHeritage customers will simply connect their FamilyTreeDNA test to their MyHeritage tree.

FamilyTreeDNA has never been a “tree” company, so this means that users will have one less tree to maintain independently, and they can augment their research with records from MyHeritage.

I talked to Katy Rowe-Schurwanz, the Product Manager at FamilyTreeDNA to confirm that this is NOT a DNA transfer. FamilyTreeDNA matches still occur in the FamilyTreeDNA database, just like always, and MyHeritage matches still occur in the MyHeritage database. If you want matching in both databases, you still have to upload to or test at both. Only the trees are integrated, meaning when you click on a tree at  FamilyTreeDNA, you’ll see the tree displayed on MyHeritage.

The great news is that FamilyTreeDNA features such as Family Matching (bucketing) where you link your DNA matches at FamilyTreeDNA to their profile cards so that maternal/paternal bucketing occurs will still work the same way. The only difference will be that your tree will actually reside at MyHeritage and not at FamilyTreeDNA.

You’ll be able to enjoy the best of both worlds.

We will know more in a few months, and I’ll provide more details when I have them.

Invite Another MyHeritage User to View Your DNA Results

Aaron Godfrey said in the keynote that 2FA (two-factor authentication) at MyHeritage will become mandatory later this month, and with it, MyHeritage is adding the feature of being able to invite another MyHeritage user to view your DNA results. This allows people to collaborate more easily, especially if a different person is managing someone else’s DNA test.

Reimagine Multi-Photo Scanner App

This photo-scanning innovation is for your phone and allows you to scan photos and entire photo album pages – automatically separating and improving the photos. Then, of course, you just tag them to the proper person in your tree like any other photo.

Oh, and did I mention that Reimagine is free? I expected to have to pay when I downloaded the app, but I didn’t, probably because I have a full subscription.

Based on this article, Reimagine is not meant for other types of images, like pages of text or albums of clipped newspaper articles. But guess what? I downloaded the app, and it works just fine for those items! Hallelujah. How I wish I had this last week at the FamilySearch Library when I was finding pages in books I wanted to associate with a specific ancestor.

If you have album pages of photos to scan, this is golden and integrates with the profiles of people into your MyHeritage tree.

I really, really like the idea of having the ability to scan in the palm of my hand. That way if someone has a photo, you don’t have to try to take a photo of it. Gone are the days of literally dragging a laptop and scanner around with me when I’m traveling – just in case. Yes, I actually did and now I don’t have to anymore.

I cringe to think how many opportunities were lost to me before the days of laptops – but not now.

Thank you – THANK YOU, MyHeritage. What a great gift!

You can find the QR code to download the app, here.

OldNews is New News

MyHeritage has introduced a new website for old newspapers called OldNews which you can find here.

This addition doubles the number of newspapers previously available on MyHeritage.

Users can also subscribe separately to Old News for about $99/year.

MyHeritage customers use their normal credentials to sign in to either site, but accessing newspapers not previously integrated into MyHeritage will require an OldNews subscription too.

I had to try it. I entered my mother’s name.

Look, my Mom had a tonsillectomy. I never knew that. It was just a couple of months after she graduated from high school.

I didn’t know Mom spent the summer in Philadelphia, either. She was 19 at that time, and I had heard rumblings that she studied with a “prima ballerina” at the School of American Ballet. Guess where that is? Yep, Philly.

My Mom was a professional tap and ballet dancer before she became my Mom.

Understanding that Mom spent the summer of 1942 on the east coast sheds new light on this and a few other photos in Mom’s photo album, which I can now scan.

Ok, I can’t help myself. I have to enhance this photo at MyHeritage.

Much better. Another tiny piece of Mom’s life brought into focus.

I wonder what else is in OldNews that I don’t know about. Hmmmm…

You can read about OldNews here.

New All-Inclusive Omni Subscription

MyHeritage is launching a new Omni all-inclusive subscription plan that includes most of the MyHeritage products and tools, except for Filae, unless I’m missing something. Omni reportedly costs less than half the price if you were to subscribe to all of these individually. I’ve asked for a comparison chart which I don’t have yet, but I’m told will be coming soon.

Here’s what’s included:

Additionally, I asked MyHeritage about whether or not the advanced DNA tools are included with Omni, and they are. So, add advanced DNA tools to that list.

The following information about the Omni Plan is a screenshot from the MyHeritage blog article, here.

I have not been able to determine the price of an Omni subscription. At RootsTech, you were interested in the Omni plan, you submitted a Google form and a day or so later, you received this email.

I suspect MyHeritage needs to talk to you because how much it costs initially depends on your existing subscriptions, and how much time is left on those.

I reached out to MyHeritage and asked when Omni will be available to purchase, and the answer is “soon.” You can’t sign up just yet.

I have never subscribed to Legacy Family Tree Webinars, even though I’m a webinar presenter and have several webinars available there. My gift to myself is going to be Omni when it’s available because I want Legacy Family Tree Webinars, and I’d love a subscription to OldNews. I already have a full subscription to MyHeritage, and I’d probably use Geni more than I do as a casual user if I had the Omni subscription.

Artifact Testing – Maybe

Unfortunately, I was not able to attend CEO Gilad Japhet’s RootsTech session because his session and mine were at exactly the same time.

However, I asked Aaron Godfrey after Gilad’s session what I had missed that was not in Aaron’s keynote, other than Gilad’s wonderful stories.

Aaron and others told me that Gilad stated that he was personally submitting personal artifacts, such as stamps, to a third-party lab once again, to test the waters to see if DNA can now be extracted from artifacts successfully.

MyHeritage tried this a few years ago, ultimately unsuccessfully. Perhaps this time will be different, but I would not hold my breath, truthfully. Degraded DNA has quality issues, not to mention that the DNA extracted might not be the DNA of the person expected.

I would personally love this, but I am also skeptical at this point. Kudos to Gilad for trying again with his own personal items.

MyHeritage Online RootsTech Booth

MyHeritage has provided several educational videos in their online RootsTech booth, at this link. Be sure to take advantage of this free resource.

Whew, I’m finally done! I told you that MyHeritage had been very, very busy, and I wasn’t kidding. I hope I didn’t miss anything.

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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 e-mail 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

Genealogy Books

Genealogy Research