DNA – Genealogist on a Journey

Family Lore – Following the Path to the Truth

Rebecca Walbecq — Tue, 27 Mar 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Most of the time every family story has a kernel of truth, even if it is the smallest crumb. The trick is following the trail of crumbs to the truth. Below are a few steps that I have used in the past to help me find and follow the crumbs of family lore...

Ask family

Family gatherings (Reunions, Holidays, Visits with Parents or Grandparents)

Use the internet

Personal family history website
Genealogy message boards
Internet Searches

Social Media

Facebook groups for a shared surname or location

Find it on your own

Take a look at an ancestor that has an interesting gap in his or her timeline or did something that just didn't make sense. Research it. You may discover a very interesting story.

Keep in mind:

Make it fun for your family to share the story
Don't discount any story, even the wild ones. Sometimes they turn out to be true

Here are a few examples of stories I have discovered, investigated or verified after talking with family members

Start with the key information from the story, even if it doesn't seem possible. Uncle George may have lived in Tibet where he met his 6th wife, you never know...

Create a timeline

Start your timeline based on the story you were told
Fill in details that you already know from your genealogy research (Birth, marriage, census dates, children's births, death, etc..)
Add in historic events that could have affected the person or location in the story
I have found it helpful in the past to create a comparison timeline in cases where I was comparing two individuals

Start analyzing

Find the holes in the story (missing dates or dates that don't make sense, duplicate events or locations)
Write down your questions about the story

Here are a few examples of stories I have discovered, investigated or verified using timelines:

Look for records that can prove or disprove the family story.

Create a list

Create a simple list of records that may prove or disprove the story
This may include census records, birth records, marriage records, death records, newspapers, written accounts, or county histories
Focus on the holes in the story and the questions you came up with in the previous step

Analyze the records you find

Look closely
Question everything
Don't assume the details are wrong because they don't match previous research (that one detail could break the case)
Compare the information you find to the information you already have
Ask yourself, does this prove or disprove the story? Why?
Write everything down

Update your timeline

Update your timeline with the new information you have found
Add the contradicting information in, keep it there until you can disprove it
If needed, create a comparison timeline

Update your list of questions
Hopefully, your list of questions is shrinking, but if your research is anything like mine, it is only growing

Update or add clarification to existing questions
Add new questions

Branch out your research to those that lived with or around, worked with and associated with the main character(s) of your story. Researching the lives of our ancestor's family, friends, neighbors and business associates can lead to a more complete and accurate picture of their life. Your ancestors did not live in a bubble. They went to school, work, church, block parties, and other events, and this is where cluster research comes into play.

Family

Family stuck together
- Siblings struck out to new locations together or followed a sibling that had already immigrated or relocated.
- Children moved to take care of elderly parents
- Parents moved closer to children to help out when a new baby was born or when a spouse passed away
Looking at your ancestor's sibling can provide missing information, such as:
- Parent's names
- A woman's maiden name
- Possible birth location

Cluster genealogy is a research technique employed by genealogists to learn more about an ancestor by examining records left by the ancestor's cluster. A person's cluster consists of the extended family, friends, neighbors, and other associates such as business partners.

Naming patterns

- While certain names are popular in different areas at different times in history, the repetition could represent a pattern. Many cultures believe in honoring their elders and do so by naming children after them
- This could help you discover the name of a parent or grandparent

Friends

Look at baptism, marriage, naturalization, and probate records. Who were the witnesses? How are they connected? Even when there is no obvious connection to the witnesses, you can gain information. Why didn't they have a close friend or family member witness the event?
Look for the church they attended and those they worshiped with

Neighbors

Look at census records and land maps
- I have found several examples of neighbors being family or otherwise connected to an ancestor
- If your ancestor was not living with their family, at an age where you would expect them to, ask "Why?"
Being near family, friends, and neighbors when immigrating or relocating often provided a sense of security and stability
Family that lived near each other, especially in rural communities, often inter-married. If was very common to marry the girl/boy next door.
The lines between friends and family can become blurred. “Uncle” Charlie or "Aunt" Molly might not be blood-related at all, but instead an honorary member of the family, or a second or third cousin that is referred to as Aunt or Uncle
Look at newspapers for local events.
- Even if you don't find your ancestor, you may find a clue to an event that may have affected your ancestor or influenced a decision they made that didn't originally make sense to you.

Business associates

Look at land and business records
- Who did your ancestor sell land to or buy land from? Could these people be family?
- Who did your ancestor go into business with or have the same profession as? It could be a family trade or an apprenticeship.

Here are a few examples of stories I have discovered, investigated or verified using cluster research

Genealogy research can often seem like a solitary hobby, but there is power in numbers.

Look for research already started

Ask around, you may discover a treasure trove of research that has already been compiled by a family member.
Expand beyond immediate family to inquire about research
If you find a hidden treasure, keep this in mind
- Be respectful, this research could represent years of your family members time, energy and passion. Treat the document, book, pictures, etc with care. If you disagree with a previous finding share your thoughts but don't discount the work previously completed.
- Don't just take the resource and move on. Take the time to talk to the person that did the research, if you are able. There is most likely research tips, evidence, references and stories that weren't written down or recorded
- Look for sources, not all family histories will be sourced and cited, use the information as a starting point but verify it yourself
- Looking online is not always the best option, most likely the research will be in paper format

Look for groups that are researching the same surname or location

Check out local historical society in the location you are researching
Look for message boards (Rootsweb, Ancestry, Family Search, etc.)
Look for family history websites
Look for groups on social media. Facebook groups related to genealogy have become very popular. I belong to several and have found it very helpful.
Check online family trees. Although online family trees can be inaccurate, you may find a story, photo or other research attached that will help

When you feel that you have searched and analyzed all the records you can, DNA might be the next step. DNA research can help you:

Confirm a connection that you have already discovered by following the paper trail
Find new possible connections when the paper trail runs dry
Prove an NPE (Nonpaternal event) that is suspected, but can't be proved through traditional methods. This becomes especially important when researching ancestors who were born before the 20th century.
Connect with family members, both closely related and distant to collaborate and share information

Here are a few examples of stories I have discovered, investigated or verified using cluster DNA

The hardest part of this journey, at least for me, is getting to a point where I am comfortable and confident in my own conclusion. As soon as I feel I have a solid conclusion about what really happened, I start to second guess myself. What I have learned is that you have to start somewhere. Write out your conclusion and run with it. I typically try to include outstanding questions, concerns or doubts in my conclusion. This provides a place to go back to when you find a new clue or piece of information.

Write it Out and Share

So you have written your conclusion. Hopefully, you are a 100% confidence that you are correct, or maybe you still have some doubts. Either way, share what you have found. There are several ways to do this:

Some examples include:

Write a blog post - This has been the method I have found the most helpful. Writing the blog post accomplishes several things;
- Allows me to verbally think through my conclusion and understand how others may read and understand it
- Creating a blog post allows for a larger audience to read and share your conclusion
- A blog post will allow other researchers and family members to interact with you through blog comments and email. This can lead to new and interesting discoveries
Share your story or conclusion using an online family tree. Several family tree sites allow you to upload stories, memories, and documents that can be attached to one or more members of your family tree
Share it with family or fellow researchers.
- This can be a short document shared by mail, email, or online storage sites. It could be a single word processing document or a collection of documents and stories put together in a binder. It doesn't have to be extravagant or professionally bound to be worth sharing
- You can create a book using genealogy software like FamilyTree Maker, RootsMagic, Legacy, etc
- You can create a book using online software such as Blurb.com, Snapfish.com, or Mycanvas.com

Be Open to Feedback

Most importantly, be open to feedback and comments about your conclusion. Anyone that has taken the time to research and document their family history develops a sense of ownership over their research. This is natural, just keep in mind that not everyone understands the trials and tribulations of researching your family history. Nor do they have a clue as to the number of hours spent in libraries and courthouses, or late nights researching online. However, sometimes the most amazing and helpful information you can receive is from other's who have either no connection to your family, but have dealt with similar situations in their own research or those family members that have no real interest in genealogy, but have that one little tidbit of knowledge that might break the case wide open. Accept all input, feedback, and suggestions with an open mind and a researcher's curiosity. Be gracious when you receive feedback and thank the person providing it. This will create a relationship that may prove to be very beneficial in the future.

Disclaimer

I am not a professionally accredited genealogist, nor do I believe that this post covers all possible methods of researching or sharing your family stories. However, these are some of the tips and tricks that have worked for me over the last 15 years. As I try to take my own advice, I welcome any feedback, suggestions or input regarding tips and tricks that have worked for you. Thank you for taking the time to read this post. I look forward to hearing about your own research methods when following your journey to discover your ancestors.

Charles at Large: Another Mystery Solved with DNA

Rebecca Walbecq — Wed, 17 May 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Background

In My last blog post, Charles at Large: The Search for Charles Hawley, I wrote about my great granduncle Charles Hawley and his disappearing act in the summer of 1910.

As I have written about before, I have been doing significant research into Hawley DNA connections. This research has led to the discovery of my 3rd great grandparents, Daniel Hawley and Sarah Sally Huff. You can read more about this discovery in my blog post; Parents of William Hawley... Proven Through DNA...?

The DNA Connection

As part of this continued research, I frequently check my DNA connections on Ancestry.com for the surname Hawley. Recently I found two new connections. Both of these connections had one name in common, Charles Hawley.

The first connection, we will call her J.M., is the 2nd great granddaughter of Charles Hawley and Sarah Flewelling. The second connection that I found, we will call her, J.H.B., was a shared connection with J.M.

J.H.B. also had a Charles Hawley in her tree, who was her great-grandfather. This man also had a son by the name of George Russell Hawley and lived in California. All seemed to be fitting into place very well. I was starting to get excited.

Let me break down some of the DNA results for you. Hopefully, this will help you to understand my excitement.

We already know that J.H.B. was connected to J.M., the 2nd great granddaughter of Charles Hawley and Sarah Flewelling. She is also connected to another direct descendant of Charles's, Charon Hawley. Charon Hawley is the great granddaughter of Charles Hawley and Sarah Flewelling. In fact, J.H.B. and Charon share a very strong DNA connection (279 cm over 10 different segments). To further prove J.H.B.'s connection to the Hawley family, she is also connected to me (Rebecca (McKenzie) Walbecq, my paternal uncle Robert McKenzie and my paternal aunt Betty (McKenzie) Krzewinski.

I have access to the detailed DNA results for myself, Robert, Betty, and Charon. You can see below the assumed relationship, predicted DNA relationship based on the amount of shared DNA and the proposed most recent common ancestor (MRCA), as well as, the amount of DNA shared.

J.H.B. also shares DNA with the following other members of the Hawley family. I have also included the assumed relationship and proposed MRCA for each of these connections below.

Based on the DNA evidence, there didn't seem to be any doubt that J.H.B. was a descendant of Charles Hawley.

However, anyone that does genealogy and especially those that work with DNA results know, it is NEVER that easy!

Confusion

Therein begins the confusion and the journey to determine if two men, with two different families, could be the same person. To make my comparisons easier to understand, I will refer to my great granduncle as Charles 1 and the great grandfather of J.H.B. as Charles 2. You will see why this is needed shortly.

The first thing I realized was that the great grandfather of J.H.B., Charles Henry Hawley (Charles 2), was quite a bit younger than my great granduncle Charles (Charles 1).

Based on the Ancestry.com tree of J.H.B., Charles 2, was born on October 21, 1875, in New York. He married Hattie Josephine Schunk in about 1910. They had two children; George Russell Hawley (Born in 1913 in Bellflower, Los Angeles, California) and Violet Audrey Hawley (born in 1914 in Buena Park, Orange, California). He died in October of 1975 in Downey, Los Angeles, California.

Well, that did not match what I knew about my great granduncle Charles 1. Based on my records, Charles 1 was born in March of 1859, most likely in Nunda, Livingston, New York. This was a 16 year age gap.

At this point in my post, it may be helpful to read my last post, Charles at Large: The Search for Charles Hawley, if you haven't done so already.

In the case, that you have read my last post, but could use a little refresher, I will provide a brief summary of the life of Charles 1.

Charles 1 was born in March of 1859 to William Hawley and Mercy Brown. He had two siblings; an older brother Frank and a younger sister Minnie Bell. Charles 1 moved to Long Rapids, Alpena, Michigan in about 1866. He married Sarah Flewelling in about 1885. They lived in Ogemaw County and had eight children. The youngest being George Russell Hawley, born on July 29th, 1902 in Cumming, Ogemaw, Michigan.
Sometime between 1902 and 1910, Charles 1 seems to have left his wife and children and moved to California. Sometime between 1910 and 1920, Charles 1 and Sarah are divorced and we know that he was living in Buena Park, Orange, California on August 28th, 1914. This folks has always been the end of the story, as we knew it, for Charles 1.

So, how could Charles 2, the great grandfather of J.H.B., be the same man as Charles 1? They were born 16 years apart from one another. No one could get away with pretending to be 16 years younger for so many years, or so I thought.

I could have given up right then, and if it hadn't had been for such a strong DNA connection, I may have. But somewhere deep in my gut, I just had a feeling that these two men were one and the same.

In the next section, I will walk you through a comparison of the lives of Charles 1 and Charles 2, so that you can see the similarities

Comparison

We know that Charles 1 left for California sometime between 1902 and 1910. We also know that he returned back to the home of his father and stepmother in Ossineke, Alpena, Michigan on June 9th, 1910 to be with his ailing step-brother George. We know that his father William and stepmother Sarah must have returned to California with him because William died in Bellflower, Los Angeles, California on August 28th, 1914.

This is where it gets interesting. As I mentioned before, Charles 2 married Hattie Josephine Schunk around 1910. I know this based on the 1920 census.

As any genealogist should do, I started to research Hattie. It turns out that Hattie Schunk was born on March 21st, 1893 in Saint Clair, Saint Clair, Michigan to Jacob August Schunk and Minnie P. Bugermeister. The Michigan connection was interesting, so I researched further.

My next step was to determine where and when Charles 2 and Hattie were married. If I could prove that they met and married at a time and place that Charles 1 could not have been, then my theory would be disproved. Just the opposite happened.

Hattie was living with her parents and two siblings; Daisy and Herbert, in Ossineke, Alpena, Michigan in 1900 and 1910. So now we know that Hattie is living in Ossineke, right around the same time that Charles 1 returned from California to visit his ailing brother. Could they have met during that summer of 1910? It seems very possible. Ossineke was and still is a small community and the Hawley family was, by all accounts, well know and well liked.

Now that I know there is a possibility that Charles 1 and Hattie could have met in Ossineke, I wanted to move my research to California and the life of Charles 2 and Hattie there.

The first thing I looked at was the birth of the children of Charles 2 and Hattie. Their first child George Russell Hawley was born on April 11, 1913, in Bellflower, Los Angeles, California. This is confirmed based on the marriage record for George.

So it seems that the father of Charles 1, William Hawley, and Charles 2 and Hattie were both living in Bellflower, Los Angeles, California in 1913.

There is one thing that still confuses me a little bit about the birth of George Russell Hawley, the son of Charles 2 and Hattie. If you remember Charles 1 and Sarah Flewelling also had a son named George Russell Hawley, who was born on July 29th, 1902 in Cumming, Ogemaw, Michigan.

My first thought was that these two men might be the same person, but after some research, this doesn't seem to be true.

Marriage certificate for George Russell Hawley and Mary Alice Heasley

Based on information found in other's family trees on Ancestry.com, Charles 2 and Hattie's daughter, Violet Audrey Hawley was born on November 19th, 1914 in Buena Park, Orange, California. We know that, based on the obituary of his father, Charles 1 is also living in Buena Park, Orange, California on August 28, 1914.

The graphic below shows a comparison of the lives of Charles A. Hawley (Charles 1) and Charles Henry Hawley (Charles 2). In the graphic, I show the known events for both men side by side. I have included their assumed ages at each event. I have also highlighted, in yellow, the years between 1910 and 1914, which show the overlap of locations for both men.

Family Stories

At this point in my research, I decided to reach out to other members of the Hawley family, including several descendants of Charles 1. I shared my finding thus far and the comparison graphic above. This sparked a lot of great conversation.

One very interesting piece of information that came from this discussion was a family story passed down to Charon Hawley, the great granddaughter of Charles 1 and Sarah Flewelling.

Below is the story shared by Charon Hawley in a Facebook group related to the Hawley family

What my father told me...a little sketchy at best...he said Charles was a strange bird...took off with namesake and the girl down the road? ...worked on the Hover Dam...stayed in California...left wife and rest of his kids in Michigan to fend for themselves...I asked him if he took the girl for himself or namesake...dad didn't know...

Jon Theodore "Ted" Hawley, the great grandson of Charles 1 and Sarah Flewelling, also shared a similar story

I asked my dad about it, he said "Uncle Charley ran off with a younger woman to Las Vegas and then moved to California". He said no-one mentioned him again that he remembers.

Charon makes mention of Charles 1 running off with his namesake. This would be Charles Alvin Hawley, born June 29th, 1889. Based on my research Charles Alvin Hawley was still living in Michigan in 1920. He was recorded on the 1920 census, as living in Grayling, Crawford, Michigan. Living with him were his mother Sarah and his little brother George Russell Hawley.

However, there is a piece of the story that seems to ring true. By April 9th, 1930 he was living in Hawthorne, Mineral, Nevada with his wife Golda and her three children; Richard, Dorothy, and Ethel. So it seems that Charles Alvin Hawley, the namesake of Charles 1, did move to Nevada. However, he didn't move until sometime in the 1920s. He continued living in Nevada, moving to Las Vegas, Clark, Nevada by April 1st, 1940. He lived there until his death on April 21st, 1958.

The Last Nail in the Coffin

There was one thing still bothering me, based on the family tree of J.H.B., Charles 2 passed away in October of 1975. If Charles 1 and Charles 2 were the same people, this would have made him 116 years old. However, Hattie, the wife of Charles 2, remarries to David Orvil Overstreet on January 1st, 1943. This leads me to believe that Charles 2 actually passed away sometime between April 4th, 1940 when he and Hattie were recorded on the 1940 census as living at 1015 N. Florence Ave. in Downey, Los Angeles, California, and January 1st, 1943 when Hattie remarried.

We do know that when Frank Hawley, the brother of Charles 1, passed away on July 23rd, 1943, Charles 1 is not listed as a living sibling in his obituary.

I started to search for a death record for Charles 2 in Los Angeles County. I found a record for a Charles A. Hawley who died on August 28th, 1941. I took a chance and ordered the death record.

Los Angeles County Death Certificate for Charles A. Hawley

Death Certificate for Charles A. Hawley. Born March 14th, 1873, Died August 28th, 1941

Portion of the death certificate showing his full name, number of years in California (36), Number of the community of Downey (28), Wife's name (Hattie Hawley), wife's age, and his current address (1015 N. Florence Ave. Downey, Los Angeles, California)

Portion of the death certificate that shows his place of birth (Rochester, New York), his father's name (William Hawley) and burial details.

Portion of the death certificate that shows the details of his death, including the date and cause of death.

So, this is what we learn from the death certificate:

His name is Charles A. Hawley
He was born March 14th, 1873 in Rochester, New York
His father's name is William Hawley
His wife's name is Hattie Hawley
They were living at 1015 N. Florence Ave. in Downey, Los Angeles, California
He passed away on August 28th, 1941
His cause of death was Hypertension and Chronic Myocarditis
He was buried in the Park Lawn Cemetery in Commerce, Los Angeles, California on August 30th, 1941

Conclusion

After reviewing all the evidence collected, both through the paper trail and DNA and comparing the lives of both men, I believe that Charles 1 and Charles 2 are the same man.

I have tried to put together all of the pieces that make up the life of Charles Hawley. The graphic below shows an updated timeline of his life. This includes the date of the event, the event description, the primary person or people affected by the event and the location of the event. I have also color coded the timeline by location.

I believe that Charles moved to California in about 1909, leaving his wife and Children in Michigan. He came back to visit in June of 1910 and met Miss Hattie Schunk in Ossineke, Michigan. Around the same time, he was also divorced from his first wife Sarah. After the death of his brother George and his sister Sadie, Charles moved back to California with his father William, stepmother Sarah and his new wife Hattie.

They lived in Bellflower, Los Angeles, California for a short time, where their son George Russell Hawley was born. Shortly before the death of his father in August of 1914, Charles and Hattie moved to Buena Park, Orange, California, where their daughter Violet Audrey Hawley was born.

Hattie's brother Herbert and sister Grace followed Charles and Hattie to California, making homes in the Los Angeles area.

Charles' son and namesake, Charles Alvin Hawley later also headed out west, settling in the Las Vegas, Nevada area.

For unknown reasons, Charles convinced people that he was 14 years younger then he was. This is a deception that he carried out until his death in 1941.

The fact that Charles named two of his children the same, is also a mystery to me.

Although I am confident that these two men are one and the same, I will continue to look for sources that may further prove or disprove my theory. In the meantime, I will proceed as if they are. Thank you for following me on this journey to solve the mystery of Charles Hawley and his very interesting life.

Surround Yourself in Green: My Irish Ancestors

Rebecca Walbecq — Fri, 17 Mar 2017 00:00:00 +0000

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, I wanted to share the ancestor's behind my Irish DNA.

Based on my Ancestry.com DNA results, I am 31%, Irish and Scottish.

To honor my Irish ancestors, let's start with a traditional Irish blessing

May the road rise to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face.
And rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.

I would like to introduce you to my Irish Ancestors:

Sarah Ann Healy - Paternal 2nd Great Grandmother

Sarah Healy was born in Ireland between January 1st and June 15th, 1851. She immigrated to the United States sometime been 1867 and 1871. Based on census records, both of Sarah's parents, my 3rd great grandparents were also born in Ireland.

Sarah Ann Healy (1851 - 1919_

Richard Watchorn and Elizabeth Howley - Maternal 3rd Great Grandparents

Wedding photo of Richard Watchorn and Elizabeth (Howley) Watchorn.

Richard Watchorn and Elizabeth Howley were both born in Ireland. Richard in 1824 and Elizabeth in 1825. They immigrated to Ontario, Canada sometime between 1841 and 1844.

Frank Faught and Bridget Fogarty - Paternal 4th Great Grandparents

Frank Faught and Bridgette Fogarty were born about 1790 in Ireland. They immigrated to New York sometime before 1832. I haven't yet found out where Frank or Bridgette's parents, my 5th great grandparents were born.

Since we started with an Irish blessing, we will end with one as well. So, to all my friend, whether Irish or not:

May your glass be ever full.
May the roof over your head be always strong.
And may you be in heaven half an hour before the devil knows you're dead.