MICHIGAN FAMILY TRAILS

Sunday, January 24, 2021

ON THIS DATE ~ It’s my nephew’s birthday today–he is turning 30–let’s see who else in our family tree shares January 24th as a significant event

My nephew turns 30 today. Those years certainly flew by. My niece and nephew have been very important to me ever since the day they were born. In honor of Joshua’s 30th birthday, let’s see who else shares January 24th as an event date – birth, marriage or death.

I used the Legacy Search function to quickly create my list. Search>Find>Detailed search. Then I set 3 conditions as seen in the screen shot below. Under “how to look” it is generally better to use “contains” rather than “equal to.” Just in case you have a typo or other error.

My list was created with the click of a mouse. There are 23 individuals on the list. How are they connected to me? Let’s find out.

BIRTHS

FAUST, Mary – 24 Jan 1890 - my husband’s 1st cousin twice removed’s wife

GOULD, Joshua – 24 Jan 1991 – my nephew to whom I’ve dedicated this post

GOULD, Nina Laura – 24 Jan 1877 - an unlinked individual added in my search for my paternal 3rd great grandparents

HANSHAW, Gary King – 24 Jan 1927 - 1st husband of my maternal 3rd cousin twice removed

HART, Henry – 24 Jan 1795 - my paternal 3rd great grandfather

LYONS, Jane Anne – 24 Jan 1926 - she is listed in my maternal grandmother’s journal and I have not yet determined if she is related to us or not

MILNE, Henry – 24 Jan 1856 - my maternal great granduncle’s wife’s brother

ORR, Fred Calvin – 24 Jan 1867 - relationship to me unknown, part of my search for my paternal 3rd great grandparents

MARRIAGES

BOWEN, Peggy to Abram BRIGHT on 24 Jan 1833 – my maternal 1st cousin 5 times removed

CORNELIUS, Joseph Edward to Carolyn GEORGE on 24 Jan 1958 – my stepfather’s marriage to his 2nd wife

HART, Leslie G. to Johanna TAGLAUER on 24 Jan 1918 – my paternal 2nd cousin twice removed

LUNSFORD, Andrew J. to Martha E. VERMILLION on 24 Jan 1856 – my maternal 3rd great granduncle

DEATHS

BURRELL, Isaac Jr. – 24 Jan 1863 – relationship to me unknown, part of my search for my paternal 3rd great grandparents

DECLUTE, George – 24 Jan 1926 – paternal 1st cousin 3 times removed’s wife’s husband

GILLESPIE, Louise – 24 Jan 1950 – my maternal great grandaunt

GOULD, Martha E. – 24 Jan 1883 - relationship to me unknown, part of my search for my paternal 3rd great grandparents

HALL, Jeremiah Jr. – 24 Jan 1776 – my husband’s paternal 1st cousin 5 times removed

INGRAHAM, Elizabeth – 24 Jan 1911 – my paternal 2nd great grandaunt’s husband’s sister

McTAGGART, Angus – 24 Jan 1874 – my Dad’s first wife’s great grandfather

The earliest January 24th date is Jeremiah Hall, Jr.’s death in 1776. The most recent is my nephew’s birthday in 1991.

I always enjoy looking at a particular date in my family tree. Do you ever do something like this? You could use your own birthday or someone else’s. Or your marriage date. There are all sorts of possibilities.

The bonus to doing this is taking a look at various individuals whom you may not recently have been researching. In fact, in my case there were a couple for whom I had research notes from 2009 and nothing since. It would behoove me to return to those ancestors or potential ancestors and conduct more research.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Wednesday, January 13, 2021

WEDDING WEDNESDAY ~ The marriages of my great grandaunt’s husband, William James Clifford Beechey (1860-1915), England

My maternal great grandaunt, Margaret Ewen MILNE was 29 when she married William James Beechey. They were married 10 Feb 1879 in London, England. Together this couple had two daughters, Margaret Ann Beechey born 2 Apr 1880 in Aboyne, Aberdeen, Scotland and Emma Agnes Beechey born 30 Apr 1885 in Bow Common, St. Paul, England.

I have confirmed my connection to this couple via a DNA match to their granddaughter, Joy Margaret Levasseur Edwards. I am happily communicating with descendants from this line.

William Beechey was only married to Margaret Milne for 7 years, as she died in Mar 1886. She was only 36 years old at the time. I don’t have a cause of death for her, but there is a record of her burial in London, England, City of London and Tower Hamlets Cemetery Registers, 1841-1966.

This left William with two daughters to raise. The girls were only one and five at the time of their mother’s death.

On 27 Dec 1891, William married a second time to Mary Annie PORTER Lankes in St. Luke’s Church, Deptford, Lewisham, England.

London, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1932
Name    Mary Annie Lankes
Gender Female
Marriage Age 29
Record Type    Marriage
Birth Date 1862
Marriage Date 27 Dec 1891
Marriage Place St Luke, Deptford, Lewisham, England
Father    Thomas Porter
Spous     William James Clifford Buckey
Register Type Parish Register

(Please click on any image to enlarge it)

Marriage record - William James Clifford Beechey to Mary Annie Lankes - 27 Dec 1891

William & his second wife, Mary Annie had four children: Annie, Thomas, Emily and Theresa. Sadly, this second wife, Mary, died 4 Dec 1898, at age 34. Her cause of death indicates she likely died during or shortly after, childbirth.

England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1837-1915
Name: Mary Ann Beechey
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1864
Registration Year: 1898
Registration Quarter: Oct-Nov-Dec
Age at Death: 34
Registration District: St Olave Southwark
Parishes for this Registration District: View Ecclesiastical Parishes associated with this Registration District
Inferred County: London
Volume: 1d
Page: 164

Now it’s 1898 and William has children at home, ages 6, 4, 3 and 2 and probably his daughter Emma, age 13, from his first marriage. By now, his oldest daughter Margaret was out of the house and married. That’s a lot for a widower to handle. I know it was customary back then to have domestic help in the home, sometimes regardless of what your socio economic status was. Perhaps he had help? Did he get help from family?

William married a third time, 15 months after Mary’s death. He married Elizabeth Emma Frances STEVENS Porter on 15 Apr 1900 in Deptford, London, England.

Marriage record - William James Clifford Beechey to Elizabeth Emma Frances Porter - 15 Apr 1900

This new marriage to Elizabeth produced five more children for William; Claude, William Clifford, Elizabeth, Margaret and Helena, all born between 1900 and 1912.

That makes a total of 11 children born to William Beechey and his three wives. They didn’t all live to adulthood. In fact, there is a sad ending to this story. But, that is for another post, so stay tuned.

If you have any connection to the ancestors I’ve mentioned in this post, I’d love to hear from you. There have to be a lot of descendants out there, given there were so many children born to William and his 3 wives.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Tuesday, January 12, 2021

IT’S BLOGIVERSARY TIME ~ Celebrating 11 years of family finds and story telling

Who knew? Eleven years! I certainly never thought I’d still be sharing family stories and research tips for this many years.

It’s been fun and continues to be rewarding. Many cousin contacts have been made over these years. I hope with many more to come.

WHO IS TO BE CREDITED FOR MY SUCCESS? YOU!!!! And, I cannot thank you enough

Let’s take a quick look at some stats from my blog.

HOW MANY POSTS HAVE I WRITTEN & PUBLISHED?

639 – an average of 58 per year

HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE MADE COMMENTS ON MY POSTS?

2,130 – and I have responded to each and every one

HOW MANY HITS OR CLICKS ON MY PAGE HAVE THERE BEEN?

805,746 – an approximate average of 200 per day

Realistically knowing that not all of those hits are people coming to read my content. But, nonetheless a good indicator that I do have readers.

My goal is to write many more stories this year. Thank you all for your continued support.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Friday, January 1, 2021

HAPPY NEW YEAR ~ And WELCOME 2021–Here are my year end stats for 2020 and GOALS for the new year

Good riddance 2020 and hello 2021. May this be a much kinder and gentler year for all of us.

I always like to look back and see what’s changed in my Legacy tree.

How many new ancestors and/or collateral people have I added?
Have I kept up with my sourcing?
What else has changed in my tree?

Let’s take a look.

Here is a side by side comparison created by Legacy

(Click on any image to enlarge it)

On the left are the stats from 2019 and on the right the stats from 2020

I appears that I’ve made steady progress consistent with previous years. That certainly makes me happy. My goal has never been to see how big I can make my tree, but rather, to add people that are well researched and confirmed. Speaking of goals. I shared my goals for 2020 in my first post last year. Let’s see how well I did.

Speaking of goals. I shared my goals for 2020 in my first post last year. Let’s see how well I did.

HERE WERE MY GENEALOGY GOALS FOR 2020

Continue to blog about our family and share their stories – DONE
To break down my two biggest, long standing brick walls – SADLY NOT DONE
To become better at reading DNA results and connecting the dots – SOME PROGRESS
To have a great time at Rootstech 2020 in February – ABSOLUTELY DONE!
To continue to occasionally teach classes and help others grow their family tree – DONE
To finish the small box of scanning that’s been in my office for several years – NOT DONE
To continue to enjoy what started as a hobby and has now become a passion for me – DONE

What were your goals for this past year? How did you do?

Here is my list for this coming year – writing them down helps motivate me

To break down my two biggest, long standing brick walls
To finish the small box of scanning that’s been in my office for several years
To do a better job of citing my sources. I was a bit lazy this past year
To connect with more cousins and exchange information
To continue to teach and help others
To get my blog post count back to where it was in previous years (before 2020)

That top goal is huge for me and my most urgent desire. What are your goals for the coming year? I’d love to hear about them in a comment or your own blog post.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Thursday, December 31, 2020

Year End Post ~ 2020 - A Look Back–What were the highlights of my family research?

This blurry image is kind of how I will look back at 2020

None of us will ever forget this year, will we? Nothing like we ever expected or ever thought of. I have to say that I wish I’d have kept a journal. If not a daily journal, at least a weekly one. It would have made great reading for future generations. Did any of you keep one?

As a blogger I have not written as many posts as I like to. When all of this began, I couldn’t concentrate and had no desire to write at all. I barely wanted to research. I think many of us were disconcerted and unsettled as all of this unfolded. At least I know I was.

Thus, I ended the year with my fewest posts since 2013. Only 56. But, I must think of it as 56 stories that might never have been told.

The first part of this year (before we were all staying home), I had such fun at Rootstech. My friend, Pam and I were in Salt Lake City for a week, from Feb 23 – Mar 1. About 30,000 people attended this conference and just two weeks later, we were all told to stay home and isolate. I’m so glad we got to go and cannot wait to go again.

Here’s a link to my summary of Rootstech

Here I am writing on the Rootstech Story Board

This was the 10th anniversary of my blog, or as we call them blogiversaries. I started the year by celebrating that milestone. Celebrating my 10th Blogiversary

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS FROM THIS YEAR WERE:

Some very interesting FRIDAY FINDS – included was the ever so elusive marriage record of my great grandparents, William V. Gould and May E. Thorp, The Hospital Register for Death of Volunteers in the Civil War, The 6th child of Rev. George Hall & his wife Almira
My journey to join the Mayflower Society. From FINALLY finding the record I needed for my 3rd great grandmother, Olive Doten Hart, linking her to her father, to my application process and finally receiving my certificate. It was a longtime dream of mine and to have finally “made it” was incredibly rewarding. My Mayflower Society Journey
And the final highlight from this year would be the incredible gift of receiving my husband Ron’s great grandmother’s scrapbook. A cousin sent this treasure to me for safe keeping. What a treasure it is. Here are the posts I’ve written so far, with many more to come Cora's Scrapbook. There are newspapers from 1800-1865, personal correspondence, a photo of a wedding cake from 1877 and so much more, so stay tuned.

I can see from writing this post, that, although it wasn’t my most prolific writing year, it was certainly one filled with many great finds and lots of family stories.

I hope you’ll all stay with me as we welcome 2021 and hope for a much better year for all of us.

THE VERY HAPPIEST AND HEALTHIEST OF NEW YEARS TO ALL OF YOU – Here’s to a great 2021!

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Tuesday, December 29, 2020

TUESDAY’S TIPS ~ New cousin connections made from watching a 10 minute video

No matter how long we have been researching our ancestors, we are always learning something new. Whether we attend classes at our local society, read any of the wonderful blogs by my fellow bloggers (there are over 3,000 of them), get a tip from a fellow genealogist, watch webinars, learn from Facebook groups, or attend a conference in person (when that becomes possible again). There is no shortage of learning opportunities.

I decided to watch a quick 10 minute video offered by Legacy (the software program I’ve used for years). This was a short tutorial about how to make connections on the 23&Me website for DNA.

While my DNA and my mother’s are on that site, as we both tested there. I’ll admit to not using the site very often (I use the Ancestry DNA site all the time). All of us have our favorites. I’ve tested or have results uploaded to all the major DNA sites.

The tutorial I watched was called Connection Requests at 23andMe by Michelle Leonard M.A., PgCert. As I said before it is 10 minutes long and rated as Beginner. Click here for a link to the video.

After watching it, I went right to 23 & Me and began inviting some of my matches to share their DNA with me. Now, we all know that sending any kind of message to someone on any of the sites is a “longshot.” Will they respond? Did they even receive my message? The chances of getting a response are low (I speak from experience and information from others). But, I had not really sent requests for more than a handful of matches on 23 & Me over the past 7-8 years.

I wanted to try and make contact with some of the people in the DNA tree automatically built on the website. Knowing that some of the suggestions I’ve seen on that tree are quite accurate and others are not. I was going for the low hanging fruit. These are the people at the bottom of the tree created using my DNA. Here is an image showing how these people appear in the automatically created tree.

(Please click on any image to enlarge it) I have blurred the names for privacy

I sent 9 requests to connect, using the suggestions from the video. As suggested I kept it simple, no attached message, just a request to share DNA. This allows me to see the matches we share in common and to view the chromosome browser. Viewing the chromosome browser allows me to paint that match into DNA Painter.

How many would you expect to hear back from? I thought I’d be very fortunate if one person responded.

SURPRISE! I heard back from 3, accepting my invitation to share. They all responded within a day. None of the other 6 have responded...yet.

In the past few days I’ve been communicating with all 3 of those matches and have new cousins to add to my tree, as a result.

As a matter of fact I was so excited to figure out the match between me and a match named Cheryl, that I spent 4 hours building a tree on Ancestry, for her family. She only gave me 2 names to go on, Edward Riggs and Audrey Gerkin. No dates, no places. Using Blaine Bettinger’s Quick & Dirty trees idea, I began building. I used obituaries, census records, birth, marriage and death records to try and build this tree back several generations. We’ve all seen CeCe Moore and others go through this process to find unknown parentage and criminal suspects. I’ve built several of these kinds of trees before, but cannot claim much success.

NOTE: When you do build a Q&D tree it should be private AND UNsearchable. You don’t want anyone else to use it or take items from it since you are not conducting exhaustive research on each person and do not want to proliferate errors.

Within four hours of starting that Q&D tree, at 10:59 p.m. I located who I believed to be our Most Recent Common Ancestor! WOW! I was excited and very proud of myself.

Now what? Time to go down the descendant line from that common ancestor and really look closely to make sure I’m correct. This is where you slow down and look at all the records as in our regular, due diligence, research.

What was my conclusion? I was right on the money. Cheryl and I share my 3rd great grandparents, Monson THORP & Lany COOPER. They are my 3rd and her 4th great grandparents. She's a generation younger than I am. I also share DNA with her mother, a woman who’s name I have seen numerous times on various DNA sites and had no idea how we connected…..until now.

Here is an image of that Q&D tree

Now, Cheryl and I are talking back & forth and she told her mother about our discovery. There are things they didn’t know about some of the lines I have information about. We will talk more after the new year and they may have some photos and other information for me. I will gladly share anything I have with them.

On another note. One of the other matches and I have also been in touch and she actually lives in Detroit. We are also connected through the Thorp line, but via another route. She has all her parent’s family research and lots of information. We also plan to talk after the new year.

ALL of this from a 10 minute video. Never stop learning and never stop looking.

If you have any comments or you’ve had a similar experience, I’d love to hear about it.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl