My DNA Journey ... Bringing Together the atDNA and the mtDNA

I have written about my frustration trying to figure out DNA test results, but not the full story.  This is how my journey has been going.

We had my cousin do her mtDNA through Ancestry.com.  She was our best hope to go through the mtDNA to reach our objective as it was my dad’s sister. Even his YDNA, if he was alive would not have helped.   I, being inexperienced, was clueless what to do with it when it came back.  The only thing I found on Ancestry was a sparse Origin evaluation and matches somewhat based on the origins and somewhat on our family trees.  It did confirm several times a connection with our David Burleson and Ursula Weatherford ancestor line.  Which was the one with the family lore of Native American that appears to be based on a cousin who was ½ Creek, but not the same mothers or related mothers. It was HIS mother who was Creek. 

I talked with a few friends that done DNA testing and they suggested I do the Family Tree DNA autosomal test.  It would me by having a spectrum of my DNA from both the paternal and maternal sides.  It was a long wait to get the results. First there was human error in the lab, the results were thrown out and I had to redo it again, resulting in a 5 month wait.  I will praise Family Tree though, they gave me the test free since it was their fault and the wait was so long, and I love their tools.

When my results came back, once again, I had the 95.33% Western Europe (basically the British Isles) and 4.6% Middle East. both with a disclaimer of +/- 1.38%  and no Native American shown.  The Middle East included populations in Palestine, Bedouin, Iran, and Jewish and Mazobite areas that matched my DNA... Now that I have done the full sequence mtDNA also, that looks like my mom's side which matches Sephardic, Ashkenazim, German, Mizrachi in Vienna, and Armenian populations among others.

I reached out to Heather our Board Member at Montgomery County Historical Commission and Genealogy and Local History Librarian at Montgomery County Memorial Library System.  She also has a blog, The Geneabrarian Reference Desk.  She suggested that I try utilizing Gedmatch.com and try their admix utilities, as well as others.  Her husband’s DNA had not shown Native American on FTDNA, but she found it on there.  I was game.  Gedmatch, I said, “Here I come!” 

I downloaded the raw data for both my cousin and myself.  Then uploaded to Gedmatch.  I was able to compare her DNA and mine. The results were Largest segment = 55.7 cM Total of segments > 3 cM = 796.6 cM Estimated number of generations to MRCA = 2.1… That was good, we are definitely cousins. J  Now, I needed to figure out which admix to use, and how.

I began looking closer at Roberta Jestes blog DNAeXplained – Genetic Genealogy.  I found her autosomal series and began there.  Part 7 – “The Autosomal Me – Start, Stop, Go – Identifying Native Chromosomal Segments” had some great helps.  I tried the same chromosome 2 she had.  On the comparison she used, my cousin and I had Native American segments at the same place, 10M and 160M.  It appears we match as cousins for Native American which would be for my dad’s side.  Now, I have to find the family connection on paper and with others to prove it.

Admixture Eurogenes EUtest V2 K15 - Compare a single chromosome

The light lavender is American Indian. They are layered because I could not get the whole thing together. The top is myself, second my cousin, and so forth. 

I also did the oracle for both.

Our major Ethnicity is North Atlantic, but we both have a trace amount of Native American.  Janice’s is a little larger than mine but it is to be expected since we were looking down the maternal line which we did for her and mine test is autosomal just picking up part of my dad’s DNA.  Surprising how much came through.

admixture Eurogenes K13

I am not as knowledgeable nor am I a skilled as Roberta at creating examples, but I hope you can see what I am trying to show.  I will share with you any successes I experience, as well any failures too.  

Post Christmas Whew... Finally Some DNA Responses.

This year was another hard one.  You would think after 5 years it would be easier at Christmas not having the Hero with me. I guess not, because I really wasn't motivated to put up the tree. On the other hand I had fun Christmas Eve putting the tree up and decorating it when my son came over.  I have to wonder how my grandmothers felt each year after the death of their spouses. Especially my mom's mom who still had 6 children to raise at home and had a need to make holidays as normal as possible.

                                                                                                                                         

Mattie Roberts Whitson 1930

Lenorah Gildon Langley 1958

There were a couple of unexpected Christmas presents.  Two responses to my DNA tests.  
One was from Gedmatch.com that still has me wondering.  "I notice on Gedmatch that your DNA matches my three kits (F#, F#, and F#) on Chromosome 14 between about 69 and 80.  The segment is of particular interest to me because the admixture tool Dodecad World9 shows that it contains Native American ethnicity."  I can not find the person on Gedmatch myself, nor any information about this statement.
This has been a hope of mine to prove Native American ancestry or disprove it. This is my William B and Mary Burleson Self line.  Mary's father is Moses Burleson and his mother's line Weatherford are supposed to of Native American ancestry.  Some debate going on here.  Then there is William B Self''s mother who is said to be of Native American Indian ancestry... No proofs found here, that I can see.  Wish a gene Fairy would come along with real source.  Sigh.
The second response was much clearer. A solid match for William Hatcher b 1680 in Virginia .
Both are on my dad's side.  Hmmm looks like DNA maybe heavier on the dad's side... or just no one doing my mom's side; time will tell.
Learning about the searches, and different areas of DNA research is a Big learning curve.
Let you know if anything comes forth.

Blog Caroling -- "While Shepherd Watch Their Flocks"

This year I am learning.  I have picked a hymn to share in a version I had not heard before.  I just learned my Gildon family came from the Yorkshire area of England.  In my search for a hymn about the Shepherds, I remembered a hymn often sung at our LDS ward meetings at Christmas time, and discovered it has a 300 year history of being sung in Yorkshire... 'While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks'.  The words are attributed to words attributed to Irish hymnist, lyricist and England's Poet Laureate, Nahum Tate (1652-1715). The Music is an Yorkshire carol (ca. 1800).

It has been set to numerous other tunes, but I have chose the YouTube English version from Yorkshire.
"While Shepherds Watched - The Yorkshire Version by Stamford Bridge Singers"
They make it an exciting time. The Wikipedia has more information if you would like to read.

This is a meme that Footnote Maven does every year.  She has been a wonderful example of hope, and joy in the midst of her own challenges this year. I can't say enough to praise for her magazine, "Shaded of the Departed" and her personal outlook on life. Thanks Footnote Maven for being the kind of person you are.
If you want to participate hurry on over to her blog for the instructions. http://www.footnotemaven.com/2013/12/fms-tradition-of-blog-caroling.html

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories - Christmas Trees

 One year, our story was not so much about the decorating of the tree it was more about the change it made in what kind of tree we would get in future years.

We had obtained a pine tree from the local store this time.  The kids had had wonderful time with the Hero decorating and playing while decorating.  It was a beautiful tree. 

It had been a cool year and we had the fireplace going.  When it was time to take the tree down, the Hero decided to be efficient and burn the limbs in the fireplace. Sounded good.

When he put the first branch in the fireplace (it was a large stone fireplace), there was a loud roar, and the whole house shook. We all came running to see what had happened.  The Hero looked pale, but it was not because of the house shaking, it was because he had thought of where the tree had been sitting.  The first words out of his mouth were “It was sitting under the girls’ bedroom.  If it had caught fire, we would not have been able to save them, if this is what one branch will do.”  He disposed of the rest of the tree outside.

In the coming years, we had an artificial tree that was flame retardant, underlined by the fact that we moved to a house we heated with a wood stove. 

The new artificial tree.

We missed the smell of the fresh cut trees, but it was worth the sacrifice to have a tree we felt would keep our children safe. 

Private Harry O. Whitson, Company B 38th Infantry Battalion, Philippines War

This is my journey of discovering my Grandfather Harry O Whitson’s military years. 

It started with finding his pension in the Civil War Files.  He served in the Philippines War in 1899, but they have their pension indexes mixed in with the Civil War indexes.  This discovery was on Fold3. I now knew that he was in Company B of the 38^th Infantry Battalion.  I also had his muster in and muster out dates, as well as his death date. My mom said he died when she was 2 months old and so he did.

On Ancestry.com, I found him and his 2 brothers, Robert C Whitson, and Oscar Whitson on the 1900 US Federal Census at Battalion at Batangas, Philippine Islands, Military and Naval Forces in the same battalion. 

The next process was to go to GenealogyBank.com and search the newspapers of that time to see what was being said.  Sad to say, the press was very negative about this war and coverage wasn't great, but the political cartoons were rampant.  The worse was to see about a battalion being charged with atrocities. I breathed a sigh of relief that my grandfather was not in that battalion.  His service summary card said service Honest and Faithful.  A description I would not mind to have. Finally I found an article that told of the end of the volunteer army. It described when they would come home, and the transports that would be involved. 

A Google search using the names of the transports gave me the dates and places that they arrived in. I also found the book AnnualReport of the Secretary of War, Volume 1, Part 3 US Gov. 1901.  In there was the chart that gave the exact ship ‘Thyna’ that his battalion came home on, the date in port and the date they were discharged on which matched his pension card.  Someone (there wasn't a name) had transcribed 2 Oregonian Daily articles that included the arrival of the ship.

THE MORNING OREGONIAN, THURSDAY, JUNE 13, 1901.

Thyna And KINTUCK.

Two Big Transports Will Return to Portland From Manila.

“The United States transports Thyra and  Kintuck will both return to Portland

from Manila, and the former has already sailed for Portland with a company of

volunteers, which will be mustered out in San Francisco. The Thyra was turned over

to the Government in this city, and It is supposed that she Is coming back to Port,

land to be returned to her owners. Otherwise, she would probably go direct to

San Francisco with the troops. Just why the troops should not be mustered out In

Portland is a matter which is not easily explained, except that the San Francisco

pull is heavier than that of Portland. The Kintuck will probably bring a few

soldiers when she returns. She had excellent luck with her outward cargo of

horses and mules from Portland, losing but four animals on the voyage.”

THE SUNDAY OREGONIAN, PORTLAND, JUNE 30, 1901.

ASTORIA:  June 29. Arrived at 8:50 A.M. and left up at 12:30 P. M.

 Norwegian steamer Thyra, from Manila. From San Francisco.

“The Norwegian steamship Thyra, which has been In the Government transport

service for several months, arrived at Astoria yesterday morning, and after a

short stay at quarantine, proceeded up the river. She brings 237 passengers,

nearly all, of them returning volunteer Infantrymen. The officers on board were

Captain D. F. Allen, Captain Ross A. Nichols, First Lieutenant A. J. Brown,

Second Lieutenant A. C. Davis, First Lieutenant S. Friedman and Captain W.

G. Fleischhauer. The present trip of the Thyra will be her last

 in the Government service, and she will probably drift back

into the merchant service.”

From this, I was able to see they had a long hard trip aboard a steamer.  They had to wait another

month before they were discharged to go home.  It was amazing to see they were transported to the upper North West of the United States to be able to get back to their homes.  The newspaper article said they still had to wait for their last 5 days of pay because of not being mustered out until 5 days after the expiration of the time the congress had set for the volunteer army.  

I hope they got it.

These men did not get a ticker tape parade or a pat on the back.  I know from my great uncle, and what my mother said that my grandfather volunteered because he wanted to serve his country. During WWI, he couldn’t volunteer to go serve as a soldier, so he went and volunteered to drive a taxi at Fort Sill, Oklahoma to help the soldiers.  He apparently kept hitting his knee on the door. When his knee hurt enough, he went in to the doctors and they discovered he had cancer in his knee.  His service days were over. According to his Pension Index card, it was the 19^th of June 1920 that they deemed him to be sufficiently handicapped to receive his military pension.  My grandmother, continued to receive, thankfully, as a widow, since they lost everything because of medical bills.

I close saying that I am grateful my grandfather was a man who stood for his country and desired to serve to help other’s be free.  He was a good man.  I made a scrapbook page to depict his military journey, from where he lived when he volunteered to where he returned to the United States.  

Created by Fran Ellsworth

FamilySearch Has Added More Than 1.1 Million Images fromAustria, England, Ivory Coast, Mexico, Peru, Portugal, and the United States

FamilySearch Adds More Than 1.1 Million Images from Austria, England, Ivory Coast, Mexico, Peru, Portugal, and the United States
FamilySearch has recently added more than 1.1 million images from Austria, England, Ivory Coast, Mexico, Peru, Portugal, and the United States. Notable collection updates include the 96,841 images from the new U.S., New Hampshire, Cheshire County, Probate Estate Files, 1886-1900, collection, the 60,505 index records and images from the England, Cheshire Non-conformist Records, 1671-1900, collection, and the 21,650 index records and images from the new U.S., Wisconsin, State Census, 1865, collection. See the table below for the full list of updates. Search these diverse collections and more than 3.5 billion other records for free at FamilySearch.org.


Searchable historic records are made available on FamilySearch.org through the help of thousands of volunteers from around the world. These volunteers transcribe (index) information from digital copies of handwritten records to make them easily searchable online. More volunteers are needed (particularly those who can read foreign languages) to keep pace with the large number of digital images being published online at FamilySearch.org. Learn more about volunteering to help provide free access to the world�s historic genealogical records online at FamilySearch.org.


FamilySearch is the largest genealogy organization in the world. FamilySearch is a nonprofit, volunteer-driven organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Millions of people use FamilySearch records, resources, and services to learn more about their family history. To help in this great pursuit, FamilySearch and its predecessors have been actively gathering, preserving, and sharing genealogical records worldwide for over 100 years. Patrons may access FamilySearch services and resources for free at FamilySearch.org or through more than 4,600 family history centers in 132 countries, including the main Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.


 


Collection
Indexed Records
Digital Images
Comments




Austria, Seigniorial Records, 1537-1888
0
143,341
Added images to an existing collection.


England, Cheshire Non-conformist Records, 1671-1900
32,282
28,223
Added index records and images to an existing collection.


Ivory Coast, Civil Registration, 1920-2012

Sentimental Sunday: How Decisions Shape Our Lives

Here I sit in the wee hours of the morning at the computer.  I was awakened in the dead of night with this Hero story going through my head, knowing I have to write it now. There is only one other person alive who knows this story besides myself. 

The Hero and I were deeply in love. We had our lives planned out. I was on the brink of becoming a Registered Nurse with a degree and he was attending school to finish his degree in Business and working at the same time.  A dilemma came into our well planned out future, or so we thought.  I was pregnant.  We talked with our enlightened friends about this and they were adamant that we should have an abortion, that it (they didn't use the word child) would ruin our careers and future.  I will digress here and remind you, the Hero was agnostic; I was the only believer in Christ in the group.

I found myself in the middle of our queen size bed hugging myself, crying and praying while the Hero went to talk with a friend who was a nurse to find out where to go to have an abortion.  This was before Planned Parenthood.  I did not want this, but the peer pressure was so great, I did not feel the strength to go against so many who were positive this was right.  I reached out to the only understanding friend I could.   I prayed to Christ to not let this happen.  He had the strength I did not.  “Please don’t let this happen.”  Tears streamed down my face as I hugged myself into a ball rocking back and forth and pleading this over and over.  I felt an unexplained peace in my heart that it would not happen, but could not quit pleading. 

I heard the key in the door.  The Hero paused at the doorway.  I looked up. He had the most compassionate loving look on his face.  He came over and took me in his arms, and said “We are not doing this. I don’t want you to hate me.  We can overcome the challenges.”  My heart exploded with love for him, and I thanked God that He had spared me and my child. 

Years later, as a Public Health Nurse, I found myself across a desk from many young women who were discussing having an abortion.  Most were acting on the advice of friends, and many did not have a faith to fall back on.  My advice to them was to talk with their parents or ministers who cared about them and their well being.  I told them not to rely on people who had no investment in them or their future.  I don’t know how many listened, but I tried, because I had knowledge of what that choice meant.

I know without a doubt, had my sweet, beautiful daughter not been born, our family would not have been.  The Hero would not have made the step to find Christ back in his life, and I would not have survived.  Such a thin thread, but so very strong.  I continue daily to Thank God for his tender mercies and his being mindful of my needs. 

I am not sure why the urgency to write this came tonight, but I hope if someone who might be thinking of having an abortion reads this, it will help.  You may not want a child, but that child is wanted by others who, for reasons beyond their control, may not be able to have a child.  I personally wanted my funny face and love her deeply and for always.  

Finding and Proving who was the son of Charles Gildon Jr

I received this request made by John T Gildon, great, great grandson of Charles Rawles Gildon II. 

“I was wondering if you have any records of what happened to U.M. Gildon, first son of Charles Gildon and Elizabeth Massey?  One record by you states that he was a medical doctor in Henderson County, Texas. Also, Georgia death records state that his twin brother died at birth.  Is this correct?”

Only known published information on U. M. Gilden connecting him to Charles Gildon was by Judy Self Yegee[1].  “Now, again little nuggets, on the 1870 Henderson County Texas census I found U. M. Gilden, 28 years old, physician, born Georgia in 1842.  In the same household there was an A.P. Gilden born Georgia 1851, a retail grocer.”  In an addendum to the book she concludes this was the son of Charles Gildon left in Georgia. 

John T Gildon wants to know if there are any records of what happened to U. M. Gildon. 

The problem no research had been done confirming the relationship.

Limitations of the research many records are not online. 

The following records were found online on Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.com, and Fold3:

Census Records:  Ancestry and Fold3

Confederate Soldier Records:  FamilySearch and Fold3

Death Records:  FamilySearch.

Based on the census records, marriage records, and death records which are all written as Gilder and the location of J. P. Gilder, born 1817 Georgia, head of household in 1850 and 1860, it is unlikely this person is related to Charles Gildon born Connecticut, lived Chatham, Jones, and Twiggs counties. 

There are no early marriages listed for Twiggs County, Georgia on FamilySearch.org the records start at 1845 too late for Charles Gildon and Frances Elizabeth Massey.

An excerpt in the Southern Recorder gives this:  Mrs. Frances Gildon consort of Charles Gildon died September 27, 1841 in Twiggs County at her father’s, Daniel Massey, residence. 

From an article in the Macon Weekly: In Feb 15 1842, Mr. Gildon was reported as a missing man form Macon Georgia.  The article says he had been married, but his wife died shortly after giving birth to a son, for whom he continued to express the warmest attachment to.  This lets us know he did have a son before 27 September 1841, and he was still living 15 February 1842.  Research has not found this child in the 1850 census.  The family did not have knowledge of this marriage or birth until research in newspapers uncovered it. 

There isn't any evidence to link Uriah Mitchell (U.M.); born July 1841 Georgia as the son of Charles Gildon.  It would appear that Judy Yegee assumed they had misspelled Gildon as Gilden, thinking that the r was an n.  The name was always spelled Gilder.

The first search was be made to confirm the assertion of Ms Yegge that U. M. was in Henderson, Texas in 1870.  Once this fact is confirmed, the next step was to find him in previous and subsequent United States Federal Censuses, and other pertinent documents.

U. M. Gilden was found on the Texas 1870 United States Federal Census in Rusk, Precinct 5,

P. O. Box Henderson.  It is difficult to make out the spelling of the last of the name here.  His last name was indexed as Gilder. He was a physician and does have A.P. Gilder with him.

U. M. Gilden was on the Texas 1860 United States Federal Census in Tyler, Smith County with a J. P. Gilder as head of the household.  They were from Georgia, and A.P. Gilder was in the household. They were indexed as Gilder.  U.M. is 17 years of age and born in Georgia.

In the Civil War Soldier Service Records on Fold3 there are 14 records of U. M. Gilder as a Confederate Soldier in Texas with the 1^st Texas Infantry from 1861 to 1864. The 14^th card is the record of an injury in battle in Georgia, ‘minnie ball passed through the forearm between the bones’.  This caused paralysis.

U. M. Gilden was on the Georgia 1850 United States Federal Census in Fayette County, the 29^th District with J. P. Gilder as head of the household. U. M. is recorded as Uriah M. age 9 years of age born in Georgia.

J.P. Gilder could be the Jacob P. Guilder who married Aletha A. L. Ponder in Monroe County Georgia. Found on FamilySearch.org.  This would match the J. P. and L.A.L. Gilder of the 1860 census in Texas.  L could be for Letha, she is also enumerated as Lucinda.  Jacob P. Gilder is on the 1840 census in Fayette County, Capt. Simmons District, Georgia.  They have a daughter, and are near U. M. Gilder in Fayette.  U.M. is also in the 1860 census in Tyler County Texas. He is the same age as Jacob.

Found on Ancestry.com, Texas Marriage Collection, 1814-1909 and 1966-2002: 

Name: Dr. U. M. Gilder, Gender: Male, Marriage Date: 21 Dec 1871, Spouse: Mrs. Mattie E. Deston, Marriage City: Rusk, Marriage State: Texas, Source: Texas Marriages, 1851-1900

Uriah M Gilder is found on the 1880 United States Federal Census in Coryell County, Gatesville page 423. Uriah is married to a Martha.

There is a Uriah M Gilder was on the 1900 United States Federal Census in Ellis County, 0023 Justice Precinct 3 (northwest part), image 2.  He is head of household, born July 1841, married 17 years, wife Eva, they have 1 child. The other child with them would be from Martha. He is listed as a farmer.

Death Certificate found on FamilySearch.com did not yield parents, name. He had committed suicide with a gun.  Data on the certificate was sparse.

Found on Ancestry.com, Directory of Deceased American Physicians, Birth Date: 1841, Death Date: 6 Nov 1916, Death Place: Gatesville, TX Type Practice: Allopath, Practice Specialties: Gatesville, TX, Feb 16, 1915, Practice Dates Places: Gatesville, TX, Feb 16, 1915, Medical School: New Orleans School of Medicine, 1869, (G)

Found on Ancestry.com, U.S. Veterans Gravesites, ca.1775-2006: Name: Uriah Mitchell Gilder, Service: Confederate States Army, Birth Date: 16 Jul 1841, Death Date: 6 Mar 1916, Cemetery: Odd Fellows Cemetery, Cemetery Address: Gatesville, TX 76528

There are some trees on Ancestry.com that take his line back to Jacob Gilder in Fayette, Georgia.

My Conclusion was U M Glidner is not the son of Charles Gildon, however, further information was needed.

Once again, an old newspaper held the answer.  

Searching on Twiggs County, Ga. American History and Genealogy Project , I came across what I thought, at first, was repeat of the obituary for Charles wife, Frances Massey Gildon.  Instead,  it was the obituary of Charles's 9 month old son, Francis Massey Gildon. He died 4 months after Charles arrived in Nacogdoches, Texas.

The long mystery of what happened to Charles Gildon Jr.'s son has been laid to rest.  I am glad that we have the correct child with Charles and Frances Gildon.

 Sources:

1840 Census: Year:   Ancestry.com. 1840 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Citation: 1840; Census Place: Capt Simmons District, Fayette, Georgia; Roll: 41; Page: 231; Image: 486; Family History Library Film: 0007043.

1850 Census:  "U.S. Census Population Schedule, 1850” ([http://www.familysearch.org]accessed July 2011) entry for U.M. Gilder, age 9; citing Census Records, Georgia; from United States Census Office. 7th Census. National Archives, Washington, D.C... FHL microfilm. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah. Film number: 7065

1860 Census:  "Unites States Census, 1860." index and images,  FamilySearch(https://www.familysearch.org]: accessed July 2011). entry for U.M. Gilder, age 17; citing Census Records, Texas; United States Census Office, National Archives, Washington, D.C. FHL microfilm 805306. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.

1870 Census:  Year: 1870; Census Place: Precinct 5, Rusk, Texas; Roll: M593_1603; Page: 481B; Image: 382; Family History Library Film: 553102.  Ancestry.com. 1870 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.

1880 Census:  Year: 1880; Census Place: Coryell, Texas; Roll: 1298; Family History Film: 1255298; Page: 423C; Enumeration District: 23; Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1880 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010.

1900 Census: Source Citation: Year: 1900; Census Place: Justice Precinct 3, Ellis, Texas; Roll: T623_1630; Page: 1B; Enumeration District: 23. Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.

Civil War Service:  "Texas, Civil War Service Record of Confederate Soldiers,1861-1865: index and images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org: entry for U. M. Gilder age 20; citing Civil War Records, NARA publication M323, NARA roll 10-10; War Department Collection of Confederate Records, Orem, Utah, United States.

Marriage: Ancestry.com. Texas Marriage Collection, 1814-1909 and 1966-2002 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005.

Burial:  Ancestry.com:  National Cemetery Administration. U.S. Veterans Gravesites, ca.1775-2006 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.  Original data: National Cemetery Administration. Nationwide Gravesite Locator

Ancestry.com. Directory of Deceased American Physicians, 1804-1929 [database online]. Provo, Utah: MyFamily.com, Inc., 2004. Original data: Hafner, Arthur Wayne, ed. Directory of Deceased American Physicians, 1804-1929: a genealogical guide to over 149,000 medical practitioners providing brief biographical sketches drawn from the American Medical Association's Deceased Physician Masterfile. Chicago: American Medical Association, 1993.

Death of Frances Elizabeth Massey connecting as wife of Charles Gildon:  Genealogybank.com, “Mortuary Notice”, Macon Weekly Telegraph, Oct. 26, 1841, page 3

“The Missing Man” giving gender for Charles and Frances Gildon child:  Genealogybank.com, “The Missing Man”, News Article, Macon Weekly Telegraph, Feb. 15, 1842, page 2.

Death of Francis Massey Gildon connecting as son of Charles Gildon, Twiggs County, Georgia, American History and Genealogy Project, Excerpt extracted from Federal Union newspaper.

[1] Judy Self Yegge, Our Deep Roots and Tangled Branches, n.d.,  self published and printed as

requested. 

Still Loving Old Newspapers

This morning I should have been doing dishes and then my bills, but since I woke up tired, I sat down with the computer and explored a bit on the new Virginia Memory: Lost Records .   I was disappointed when nothing turned up, then got distracted by the Chronicling of America link.  I love old newspapers as they have helped me find the Hero's family so many times.  I first experimented to see if there was anything new on my 4th great grandfather.  Nothing came up, so I decided to experiment and search for the Hero's 3rd great grandfather. As the page begin to show results, I fought to not be too excited as John Wells isn't an uncommon name.  I clicked on the first result and WOW there was John listed as the volunteer in the Old '96 Volunteers for the Mexican War.  Confirmation.  The second was the source of the transcription for his death that I had found in a book of the History Of Edgefield, South Carolina. It gave an exact date which was actually 8 Jun 1847. but had been reported in an 1848 in the Newspaper and had been transcribed as such. Another testimony for look at the original source.

http://1.usa.gov/195i5OX

I was doing the happy dance. 

The third, oh wonder of wonders, I was transported back to a meeting room in South Carolina in 1846 where the men had gathered to hear the news and pleas of those rallying around to support the President of the United States in the decision to declare war on Mexico.  You could feel the excitement the writer imparted of the music, the leader's impassioned speeches.  It was no wonder John Wells joined, but that was not all.  Why did he join? It was because his brother Augustus jumped up and volunteered, John following suit. Can't you feel the adrenaline that must have been pumping in that room.

http://1.usa.gov/10ep1Ix

 It is so sad the way it ended.

Now the task of finding who the parents are. Still looking for court records or probate records for the 4 small children  after John died.  I did find a Chesley applying for administrator of a John Wells estate in 1851.  Wondering about the 1851 time period.  In 1855, John's children moved to Henry, Alabama; another long story and lots of speculation.

FamilySearch Genealogy Help

Fran Jensen talked about her interest list called 'FamilySearch Genealogy Help' on Facebook in her #RootsTech presentation. The following link is that list. You can follow. It will then show in your interest lists. 

FamilySearch Icon on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/lists/3115004271540   

Fran has listed all of the 118 pages that FamilySearch has developed to allow researchers to participate in a community.  The Communities are for asking questions, helping others find answers, and share what you know about researching those areas.
As you know, I have been helping with these pages for some time.  It is an awesome place to drop by and see if anyone is a cousin, or if you can help someone else or get help yourself.  Such nice people participating.

Come by, introduce yourself, and in the words of the Hummer (me) "come play with us on our genealogy playground".

Joseph Peter Heimbach: Background

Joseph Peter Heimbach was born in Losheim, Prussia. in 1838,  He lived in Prussia during a time of political unrest and 3 rulers, Fredrick William III, Fredrick William IV, and William I.  In his youth, the country was embroiled in The First Schleswig War and The Second Schleswig War then the Austro-Prussian War was ended when he left for the United States. Looking at the pictures drawn to depict the wars, one is left wondering, did he fight in any of the wars?  Did he take his family and leave in the hopes of peace and prosperity in another land? I may be able to find out about the military, but his motives will remain unanswered.

The land he grew up in is beautiful.  Some places that were in his time are still there.  We were not blessed with pictures of Joseph from any time period.  This website has some great pictures of Germany including some historical pictures. German Picture of the Day   Losheim is a picturesque area.  We are blessed to have access to old newspapers that describe the time period from men and women who traveled there.  I was amazed to find that it was an extremely ordered society.  Coaches if early could not enter a city except at a specific time as shown in an article I found on GenealogyBank.com.  When I started using this site, it was to find specific information on ancestors and I was not disappointed.  Now I am finding a way to make the life experience of an ancestor real.

Date: Saturday, July 28, 1849   Paper: Alexandria Gazette (Alexandria, VA)   Page: 4                                                                                         This entire product and/or portions thereof are copyrighted by NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004.

About 1863 (I am still looking through records to find a marriage record) he married Anna Maria Oswald.  This information was derived from the Familienbuch der Pfarrei Kisgeun 1729-1899 and  Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s  on Ancestry.  The story of obtaining the Familienbuch der Pfarrei Kisgen is a story in itself.   They had at least one child, Nicholas, in Prussia before leaving for America.
Once again, the imagination kicks in.  Did they live in town or in the countryside?  What did Joseph do for a living?  What type of home did they have?  These are all hopefully future finds as I leave the United States to explore more.

The first clue was family stores of the Ellsworth family that Frances Ellsworth shared with the Hero saying that Helena was from Germany (she was not)  and that she had been lost on the streets of Chicago during the Chicago Fire (maybe).

Helena Heimbach Ellsworth picture owned by Fran Ellworth 

The second Clue that Joseph and Anna were immigrants was the 1870 census that gave their place of birth as Prussia.

The third clue was the transcribed records of St. Michael's Catholic Church, Chicago (Cleveland Avenue) German-speaking parish in Chicago, Illinois, USA.  This Church survived the Chicago Fire.

I have only found transcribed records so far, but am making my plans for finding the ship records if possible.  The hope here is to find if there was a family member already in the United States or if they originally planned on staying in the East.

There you have it.  The beginning.

Joseph Peter Heimbach and Anna Oswald... The beginning

My first encounter with Joseph Peter Heimbach was a letter from a distant cousin saying Helena Heimbach Ellsworth's death certificate identified her father as Peter Heimbach.  Armed with that information, I found him on the 1870 census.  This was before digital records were online in the late 1980s.  I loved scrolling though the films.
No one in the family had any inkling about the family other than they lived in Chicago during the Chicago Fire of 1871 and that Helena married Edward Ellworth in Chicago about 1890.  No clue as to how they met.

From the 1870 census, I learned they were from Prussia. Their oldest child Nicholas, was born in Prussia too.
Then I found an index done by someone on Rootsweb of St Michael's Catholic Church in Chicago.  There was Joseph and Anna and the third daughter Margarurite.  The blessing was, the priest had them write their birth place also.  I spent some time searching but to no avail.  It would be 8 years later, I met a man in the Family History Center I worked in that had the family genealogy book from Losheim, Germany where they were from.  He loaded me the book and it had both families back to 1800.

I will begin the journey of this story with Joseph Peter, his birth and the events around his birth.
I love this family; they are so interesting.
My internet is so incredibly slow tonight I can not upload anything.  More later.

Sentimental Sunday 'A Moment in Time'... A Hero memory

As we began the drive into town, my son popped a cd in to the cd player.  Little did he know that with first strain of music, I was transported back to 2002.



The road faded away, and I saw the Hero's office. There was the deep green carpet, the sun streaming through the open room with the Hero sitting at his desk. He turned around when he heard the door opening and a smile spread from his eyes to his lips when he saw it was me.
"Hi, honey.  I'll be done in a minute and we can go to lunch."
I grinned for I knew that meant another 30 minutes.
Not to be deterred from what I had been planning, I walked over behind him an said "I heard a song today that reminded me of  us.  Give me a second and ..." With that I reached past him, and popped my CD into his CD drive on his laptop.
As the music pulsed into the room, I couldn't help myself (I love to dance); I began to tap my foot and then to sway back and forth. He laughed, got up, took me in his arms and we danced around the room.
The music stopped on my car player, but the intense feelings of love and happiness continued, letting me know I needed to write this story.
How nice to have lovely moments in time be triggered in our minds.
The music was a song by Celine Dion.  "I'm Alive"

Writing Family History

I have been slacking as of late and have been trying to get myself motivated again.  In answer to my need, enters Lynn Palermo of The Armchair Genealogist returning with the Family History Writing Challenge .
This is a great!  Just the push I needed.  Well, that along with the fact I am helping my cousins family motivate their mother to write her stories.  I know, that is a bit selfish on my part too, as she is the last person old enough to remember my gr grandmother, who heard her stories.
If you have been in a slump, or over technicalized or thinking about writing your family history, this is a great motivation blog to assist you.  Lynn has many writing helps on her blog.
Thanks Lynn for caring to share and motivate others!
The Hummer is motivated, now I have to start writing again.  Hmmmm...  which line of genealogy shall I start on.  Watch for a new Hero post on Sunday, already have that scheduled.  Get Ready... Go!

Missouri family collage and resources for research