Self Documentation - County Birth Certificate

 The next piece of evidence in my quest to make sure that I had documented my own existence and was able to link back through each generation was a copy of my birth certificate provided by the local county Health Department.

The scanned copy of the certificate indicated it was issued back in 1985, so this document was requested by my parents for some official purpose and ended up in my possession.  The heading on the document indicates the name of the county Board of Health and titles the document as a Certificate of Birth Registration.

The certificate gives the city and date of my birth, and lists both of my parents by their first, middle and last names - but again it does not list my mother's maiden name.

The birthplace of both of my parents is listed on this certificate.  Both of them were born in Indiana, and it gives the exact certificate number, as well as the book and page where the document is maintained.

Once again, regarding the proof standard - this document provides original, direct evidence of my parent's names - but it does not list the maiden name of my mother.  The document does, however, list the middle names of both of my parents.

My RootsMagic database has been updated with this source information and the type (original, primary, direct) in relationship to the birth fact.

For many years, this document was the extent of my self-documentation, and it would only be when I began validating my line with an eye towards joining a lineage society, did I realize that my data was incomplete.  

Earlier posts on this topic include Documenting Myself and Even Weak Evidence Can Teach.

Self Documentation - Hospital Birth Certificate

 It has been over a year since I'd posted any updates on my quest to begin making sure I had adequate documentation of each generation, starting with myself.  Building out a timeline of each event and keeping a research log, the objective of my first report was "to identify the parentage of Travis LeMaster, born [redacted] in [redacted], Indiana."

One of my first pieces of evidence that I examined in my possession was a copy of my birth certificate.  I had two versions - one provided by the hospital itself and one that came from the county Health Department.

The scanned copy of the hospital birth certificate in my collection is not an official, legal document, but rather a ceremonial one provided by the hospital to new parents.  I can remember growing up that this birth certificate was used to verify my age during Little League baseball and other sports teams.  I doubt that it would pass muster in today's world.

The certificate is embossed with the logo of the hospital

The certificate states my full name : first, middle and surname and states the day of the week I was born (Tuesday) as well as the time of birth - 12:50 a.m.  The certificate is signed by the hospital administrator and lists the name of the attending physician, Dr. Paul E. Jarrett, M.D.

Regarding the proof standard, this document provides original direct evidence of my parents, but it does not list the maiden name of my mother.

In order to prove the link between myself and my parents, I would need additional evidence that would list my mother's maiden name.

Earlier posts on this topic include Documenting Myself and Even Weak Evidence Can Teach.

Locality Guide Planning

Writing out locality guides as an aid for future research projects has been another project goal for my genealogy research this year.  Using a locality guide to document where a particular record set exists not only helps keep you on track but also can point to potential new sources.

Excellent resources for building a locality guide can be found at FamilyLocket or GenealogyPants.  

I started out by taking my pedigree chart and making a Google sheet of my surnames, their location (county/state), year settled, any notes and an indicator of whether or not I'd created a guide.  My paternal LeMaster line, for example, starts with me currently residing in Grant County since 2001.  Prior to that, my direct line had been in Madison County since 1968, was in Delaware County in 1967, and Jay County since 1854.  My maternal Wright line has been in Madison County since 1867. Anywhere it was possible to have created genealogical records should have a research guide.  

My Indiana roots go back quite a ways, particularly on the maternal side, but as I chart out these localities that I can use for later research, it didn't take long to list out places in Ohio, Virginia, New Jersey, etc.  The great thing about the locality guides is by understanding the history of the local area you can get a better feel for where your ancestors lived and what records they might have created.

Even those counties where there was not much family activity will have locality guides because eventually they might come in handy when a new branch is discovered or when I've helping someone else out research a particular area.

I'm modifying the templates and suggestions used by others to make the locality guides relevant.  Including maps of the townships and neighboring counties has been helpful in getting a sense of how the area was settled. Documenting the hours and locations of the libraries and archives will make my future research trip planning easier and not such a 'shotgun' approach.

Noting any record loss that occurred in the county will be quite helpful in understanding limitations on research in those counties.  

Sticking To A Schedule

 As I continue to work on the family genealogy research, a schedule was needed to keep me on track.  Usually, I'm working on the family in the early mornings (5am-7am) with a cup of coffee in hand and a quiet house.

Below is the schedule by day that I'm trying my best to keep on track with, in order to keep me focussed.  

Sunday - DNA

Monday - 1940 Census

Tuesday - Research Projects

Wednesay - 1940 Census

Thursday -  Research Projects

Friday - 1940 Census

Saturday - Hereditary Society

I'm telling myself that if I stick to this schedule, I can continue to meet my goals of joinging hereditary societies and still continue my project of updating my database for all individuals who were enumerated in the 1940 census.

I'm finding that the 1940 census is a bit addictive - in the "S" section now - and I've already decided that once I'm done with 1940 I will jump back to the 1880 census.

Still Plugging Along

Well I've not done a great job of keeping up with this blog, though it doesn't mean I haven't been working on my genealogy.

Work and summer activities have kept me busy, but one project I've spent an inordinant amount of time on has been the updating of the census records in my database for the 1940 census.  Finding records in 1940 and sourcing them in my RootsMagic database has added a few newly found family members.  Updating the tree at Ancestry allows for additional connections to DNA matches.

I'm working through the alphabet, and am currently in the letter "S", so hope to have the 1940 project wrapped up soon.  My next census project will be the 1880 census - the first one to give relationships to the head of household - and make sure that I have a record for everyone alive at the time of the 1880 census.

Working on some family projects and lineage society applications as well - more to come on those.  

Cross-Referencing Timelines

 As I continue to update and document the sources in the timeline for myself and my immediate family, I'm also taking the time to add the relevant facts and information to my parents and other family members as well.

For instance, timeline facts about my birth and those of my siblings can also be added to my parents timeline to give them additional data points and avenues for research.

Technically, only the mother can be certain to be at the locality of a birth, but assuming the father is in the area as well will give another place to locate additional records for them.

Working through these timelines on my own life and those of my close immediate family members will give me the practice that will be needed when I'm dealing with the more distant ancestors.

Even Weak Evidence Can Teach

Earlier I posted that the only fact cited for my birth in my Rootsmagic database was from a published genealogy of nearly 50 years ago.  While this source wouldn't be one I would hang my hat on as definitive evidence of my birth, the fact is not without use in my research.

Rummel, Merle & Madelaine Olt, comp., "Three Sons of Steffan Petry, 1729-1977", Gateway Press, Baltimore, MD, 1977, p. 401.

Working with this citation in my timeline for the research question of , "The objective of this research project is to identify the parentage of Travis LeMaster, born [redacted] in [redacted], Indiana."  

There are a number of things I can extract from this source, even though it isn't the best.

The source gives an exact date of birth, though it does not list a place.

The source is not an original record, but an authored narrative.  It is unknown who was the source of the information, but my assumption is that my father was likely contacted by the compilers of the genealogy and provided the information about our family group.

Because I cannot determine who the source of the information presented was, this information is neither primary or secondary, but is of an undetermined nature.

Is the evidence direct or indirect?  It is direct because it answers the question of who my parents are.

So I've listed the date of birth fact in my timeline, without a place, and noted on my timeline that the source is Authored, of Undetermined Information, and provides Direct Evidence of answering the research question.

In the comments section of my timeline, I've indicated that the source is a compiled genealogy, my assumption that my purported father was the source of the information, and that I am listed as the oldest child of the family group.

Now I'm on to the next source, citing the information, and building evidence to answer my research question.

 

Documenting Myself

Building out a timeline for myself, I noticed that the fact of my birth only contains one source listed in my RootsMagic database, and it's not something that would hold up to any sort of scrutiny.

Rummel, Merle & Madelaine Olt, comp., "Three Sons of Steffan Petry, 1729-1977", Gateway Press, Baltimore, MD, 1977, p. 401.

While I have primary sources for my birth scattered among my digital genealogy files, apparently I'd never taken the time to actually examine those sources and update documentation in my database.

In today's era of no privacy, where there are enough public records out in cyberspace for someone who wanted to know my birthdate could find it out, I'm sure the young folks today would be surprised to know that there are also bound genealogies in libraries that have some of the same data printed less than 50 years ago.

[Side note: No documentated cases of identity theft have ever been proven to be caused by genealogical research - I'll recommend you read this excellent post from James Tanner.]

For the purpose of this project my research question is stated thusly, "The objective of this research project is to identify the parentage of Travis LeMaster, born [redacted] in [redacted], Indiana."

Because this phase of the research involves living people, I will not post the particulars.

Building the Timeline - Initial steps

Whether you utilize the built-in features of your genealogy software or use Excel or Google Sheets to build out a timeline - the bottom line is to "just do it."

There are many examples of how to build a timeline on the web or in Facebook groups for genealogy.  Please take the time to find one that seems to fit your needs and begin using it.  So many times I've forgotten that this no one 'right way' to do this, ie. 2+2=4 but so does 3+1.

Since my Rootsmagic software already has a built in timeline, it wasn't hard to take the information the software presented and add that to my working timeline for my research question

While my research question objective is defined at the top of the sheet, the timeline can include all relevant fact events as I document them.

For my identity question, I began with the Birth fact as the Event, then added the date, place and what the source for the fact.  This will eventually be done for every fact that I have in my database.  

Each source that is listed can then be examined and categorized as to the origin of the source, whether primary or secondary, and ultimately whether the source provided directly or indirectly answered the research question.

Beginnings : Building A Timeline

Begin with the beginning.  Work from what you know to what you don't know.  

How many times have I heard or read regarding the genealogical journey?

As I begin to re-examine my previous work to make sure that I'm leaving the best documentation behind for future generations, I'm discovering some anomolies.  Facts missing documentation or gaps in the timelines.

My family tree data is kept offline in Rootsmagic, and variations of my tree are shared online at Ancestry and other sites.  When I look at an example of a Rootsmagic timeline for an ancestor, I can quickly see not only items that have missing sources (green check marks), but also notice substantial gaps in years that might suggest further avenues of research.

Settling on a research question wasn't hard in this case, although there are so many I want to explore.  For now, it will start with a question of identity - myself.

Lineage Society - SUVCW

In what seems like an eon ago, back in January 2020 (before the pandemic), I posted about how I had attended my first meeting of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War and postulated that perhaps 2020 would be the year that I finally get around to preserving my research and joining those lineage societies.

I can report that in 2020 I did join the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War through the service of my paternal 2nd-great grandfather, Pvt. Luman Walker Lemasters (1842-1931), who served with Company C of the 39th Indiana Infantry (later 8th Indiana Cavalry).  Luman is just one of six direct line ancestors who served during the Civil War.  Four are on the paternal side, and two on the maternal side.

The Civil War has always interested me, ever since I was a youngster and we visited the many battlefields in Tennessee and Georgia while on vacation.  Knowing that my ancestors fought in these places makes me want to get back there as an adult now that I'm studying the family history.

Not only have I enjoyed being a member of the organization, but I was named as Camp Commander for 2021 of the Orlando A Somers Camp # 1 which meets in Kokomo, Indiana.

It has been a challenge to meet and grow the local camp during the midst of a pandemic, but we are still able to meet in person.  In 2020 I attended the National Encampment virtually through Zoom, and the Department of Indiana's recent Mid-Winter Encampment was held via Zoom as well.  Technology is allowing the larger organization to meet, while fortunately our local meeting space has been open for business and allowed us to meet.

We are looking forward to a COVID-free spring and have plans to complete a Last Soldier project in Tipton County as well as other projects to keep the memory alive of the Boys in Blue.

File Naming Structure Addendum - Maiden Names, etc.

As I mentioned in the last post, I've been renaming my digital files (both photos and documents) in an effort to reorganize and make sense of my Genealogy Files in my Dropbox account.

At the base level, the file name is SURNAME First Name Middle Name Date of Birth Description Place.  So for example: WHATEVER Samuel b 1840 1870 Census Madison County Indiana.

How to file the documents left by our female ancestors and relatives has always presented a conundrum.  In many records, women get "lost" in the identities of their husbands and those with multiple marriages makes it difficult to keep track of what item goes with whom.

Regarding the file structures, for example, do I file the death record of my grandmother under her married name at the the time of death (Wright) or under her maiden name (Lambertson)?   While I will always know whose record it was, someone coming behind me might not make the immediate connection.

The consensus in the field is to file documents for women under their maiden names in order to maintain consistency, so that is what I'm trying to do.  In the file naming structure it looks like : WHATEVER Fanny b 1840 m_1 JOHNSON Death Certificate 1900 Cook County Illinois.  

I'm using the m_1 SURNAME of spouse to add to the identifiers.  Multiple marriages look like m_1 JOHNSON m_2 SMITH.   This can lead to some rather long file names.

However, by adding the surnames of the spouses and naming the file under the maiden name I can harness the power of the computer to search for the file and find it whether or not I'm searching for records under the maiden or married name.

While I'm trying to utilize full names including maiden names on all of the files, for those that end up being a bit long, I've dropped the middle name down to an initial for identification purposes.  Some of my families really enjoyed using the same naming patterns over and over again.

File Naming Structure

 Ask any two genealogists how they structure the file names of their digital files, and you'll probably get three different answers.  I imagine that determining a proper file naming convention is what trips up most researchers and keeps them from becoming better organized.  I know that I've struggled off and on with how to name my files.

All of my Genealogy files, whether documents, photographs or other images, are stored in Dropbox so they can be accessed across multiple devices.  As I begin to get organized with this new attitude of making sure that my research is up-to-date to pass on to the next generation, I've had to settle on a file naming convention.

My first pass has been in using this file structure to rename the files that are currently in my Genealogy files with names such as "DSC12395.jpg" or whatever the camera or iPhone decided to name them.  Once renamed with a meaningful name, each of these files will be filed under their own Surname file in Dropbox.

After much deliberation and reading about how others name their files, I think I've settled on the following:  Surname First Name birth date Description Place. 

For example - WHATEVER John b 1865 1910 Census Madison County Indiana. 

This way I can differentiate between multiple people who have the same first name and surname.  If I don't know the birthdate, I'll use an estimate or perhaps the death date.  The point is to get like images with like images.

Many of my files had already been named, so I won't go back and rename them just yet - my focus will be on getting the unidentified and unnamed files named and sorted first. Then, once I begin to work systematically up my family tree, I can update the naming conventions on any of the other files.

In going through images stored in my Genealogy folder, I've not only gone down memory lane - I've also found items that had nothing to do with genealogy that were just lumped into the digital pile.  Those items have been either deleted or filed accordingly in another Dropbox folder.

Research Update - January 2021

Hard to believe that the first month of the new year is almost over.  The beginning of the year is usually the time where one makes resolutions or states research goals.

2020 was a crazy year with a lot of changes.  Working remote with the pandemic, I thought I'd have more time to dedicate to my genealogical research, but instead I had less. Making sure the job was getting done lead to some long hours and my energy level to write blog posts was non-existent. Shame on me for not keeping a journal of all of the thoughts and feelings we've dealt with during this time.

If you look at this blog, you'll notice I didn't post nearly as much as I had in the past.  That didn't mean I didn't do any research, I just couldn't muster the desire to write posts.

My morning routine through most of 2020 was to work on adding burial locations from Find-A-Grave in to my Rootsmagic database before work. This led to me adding a lot of individual facts, but not really any true research.  Part of the year I posted the journals of my maternal great-aunt Vera - a project that didn't get completed.

Though I'm not going to call it a resolution - I do have a goal in 2021 - and that is to get organized.  I've studied methods such as the Genealogy Do-Over or Research Like A Pro before but never taken the plunge.

With goals of passing the research on to the next generation and joining lineage societies, I've decided to spend my January getting orginized - starting with my digital files.  Though I have Dropbox folders to segment most of my files, so many recent Camera Uploads and miscellaneous files have no identification other than the file names created by the scanner or iPhone.

Each morning I've been slowly working to label the images and get them sorted into my main Genealogy files in Dropbox.  So far the progress has been good, but it's daunting.  Finding duplicate files, misnamed as well as the unnamed ones.  I'd better get them labelled before something happens to me and the information is lost.

Once I can get a handle on what I have, my next steps will be to systematically work through my lineage and make sure I have documentation to prove each generation.  Those lines that I already have enough documentation will be used to apply to lineage societies to preserve the work.  Additionally, I hope to share more photos and information via this blog and social media.

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step...."

The Not-So-Nice in Your Genealogy

So often we project that our ancestors were nice people.  But what do you do with the not-so-nice in your genealogy?

It's human nature to assume that others, including our ancestors, would think and act the way that we do.  Most people would say that they were a good person.  But human nature would also indicate that there are plenty of mean, nasty people in the world - and chances are that some of them were our ancestors, too.

Since most of what we know about them comes from newspaper accounts or governmental created records, we often have little to go on in deciding what they might have thought, or how they would have reacted to certain situations.  

Did they treat their spouse or children well?  Did they participate in their community?  Did the neighbors think they were someone who could be trusted? In the absence of evidence to the contrary, it is natural to assume only the most positive thoughts about an ancestor.

It is said that it only takes three (3) generations for a person to be forgottten.  You could argue that by the time you get to the great-grandparents level or even grandparents, much of the stories or folklore you know about them was handed down to you.  For instance, in my own lines, both of my grandfathers were gone before I was five (5) years old, so any stories/memories are heavily influenced by stories from my parents, aunts/uncles and older cousins.

Stories that are handed down about your ancestors can be heavily influenced by the perspective of the person tellling the story as well.  Think of the memories of an ancestor that a child would have versus the memories of an adult who know that ancestor for years.  Add a bit of distance and time, and each story has a bit of flavor that doesn't give you the full picture.

That's why it is always best to ask your older relatives about their memories of an ancestor, yet keep in perspective your relatives age and/or relationship with the ancestor at the time of the memory.  Someone who was only a child or rarely spent time with the ancestor would have a much different perspective than someone who visited them often.

As I am researching one particular ancestor, the terms "mean", "nasty" and "vile" keep being thrown about.  These stories are not just coming from one side of the family, but from multiple branches.  A few newspaper stories give some credence to how he treated his own family, and it's not pretty.  Part of me wants to try to understand why - so I'm collecting as many of these stories as I can.  

While I'll probably never know what really made this person act the way that he did, finding the documentation to back up the stories makes him more than just a name and some dates.

Genealogy Research Update

Haven't given an update on my research lately, I'd fallen off keeping up with the blog.  If it wasn't for having the diary entries from my great-aunt Vera, I'm not sure I would have even kept up with it.  But I have been doing some research that I have perkulating as potential future blog posts.

DNA

Autosomonal - Have encouraged a few more testers who descend from the Lambertson-Gilliland side to test with AncestryDNA.  Hoping to utilize the shared matching to solve the mystery of June's parentage.  Have made some progress and discovered an interesting cluster of matches that are pointing in one direction.

Y-DNA - I still owe a blog post on my LeMaster Y-37 DNA results.  Since then, I've upgraded my results twice, first to Y-67 and then Y-111.  Most fascinating stuff!  Additionally, my maternal cousin agreed to test his Y-DNA, so I will have Wright Y-37 DNA results to share as well.

Research Trips

I made a research trip back in September to Monroe County, Indiana that I need to write up.  Found some interesting land records and photographs at the Monroe County History Center.  Will definitely be making a return trip as this site had good information.

Additionally, made a trip to Fort Wayne in November and found some interesting things to write about.

Family Tree

I've been updating my RootsMagic database and slowly connecting the updates to my public Ancestry tree.  Currently working through adding burial locations by using the hints at FindAGrave.  Adding names to the database that should help identify some of those distant DNA matches.

Organization

Eileen bought me a nice scanner for Christmas, that I've been using to scan and digitize some documents and photos.  Need to continue working on eliminating paper and storing research in folders in Dropbox that make sense.  Too many times, I've looked for something I knew I had scanned in vain.

Cousin Bait

Created a couple of FaceBook groups that I'm hoping to use as cousin bait to continue to share information about extended family and photographs.  Will update in a future post.

Lineage Socities

Will this be the year I finally get those lineage society applications done?  Maybe.  I did just visit my first camp meeting at the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War.  Working on filing out the paperwork now.

Happy Hunting!

Researching Darke County, Ohio

Last Sunday I spent the day in Darke County, Ohio, researching my genealogy and getting a history lesson from my dad.  After our day in Jay County on Saturday, we headed out to Greenville, Ohio on Sunday.  My plan was to visit the Garst Museum and their genealogical library which had been on my "to-do" list for quite some time.

As we crossed over the state line, dad shared a few stories about his high school and college days and 3.2 beer.  Ohio allowed 18 year-olds to drink 3.2 beer, and since Jay County was just a few miles away, it was common for them to come over to Ohio.  When we arrived in Greenville, we drove around a bit and located the Triangle bar, where dad and friends from Ball State came down to dance.  It was closed, being a Sunday, but it was interesting to hear dad open up a little bit about his youth.

The first place we visited in the area was the Webster Cemetery (aka Dutch) in Allen Township.  I had previously visited this cemetery two years ago with Eileen.  We quickly located the graves of Nathaniel Chew (1786-1866), dad's 3rd-great grandfather, and Caroline Bishop (Woolston) Chew (1826-1879), dad's 2nd-great grandmother and the first wife of Ezekiel Cooper Chew.  These tombstones had definitely weathered since my last visit.  Also in the plot was the infant Phillip D. Lemasters (1869-1869), the younger brother of dad's grandfather.

This cemetery lies on the Lightsville-Rossburg Road, and I later found out that the former Methodist Episcopal Church that sat there was torn down in the 1890s.  

Waiting for the museum to open, we had to make a lunch stop at Maid-Rite, a Greenville tradition.  We were the second and third customer of the day, some local beat us in the door to be the first customer of the day.

After a bit to eat, we stopped by a pioneer cemetery that we noticed as we were driving around looking for the Triangle bar.  The grave markers of several War of 1812 veterans and other pioneer citizens are preserved there as well as a small stockade.

Always the history teacher, dad took me down to the site of Fort Jefferson.  After visiting the site of Fort Recovery on Saturday and learning more about St. Clair's Defeat and the history of military operations in Ohio in the early 1790s.

And then, the researching began.  The museum opened at 1 p.m., and after paying the admission fee, which allows you to tour the museum and use the genealogy library, I was ready to dig in.  The nice volunteer pointed me in the direction of the surname files.  With over 5000 surnames in its files, the library has quite an extension collection.  Planning for the trip, I had printed off a list of individuals who resided in Darke County before 1930.  Some of my paternal ancestry was briefly in the county, but even on my maternal side there were some collateral relatives who lived in the county as well.

I had great success in the surname files on my maternal lines - the Groendykes and the Lambertsons, and found some information on the Hummel collateral line of my paternal side.  In addition, I was able to find some records from the atlas regarding where the land my Chew family held, and likely where my LeMaster family resided.  Because my families were only in the county for a short period of time, I didn't find much on them in the more general interest books.   We only spent about two hours there, as we were getting tired, but it was definitely worth it.  It will definitely be on my list of places to return again to research, as they had so many family files to research.

We also took the time to explore the museum, including the Annie Oakley collection, and I must say it is one of the nicer small museums I have been in.  Their collections on local history, examples of pioneer life, farming, racing, etc. is definitely worth stopping by to see.

I will be sharing more about what I've found in future posts.

Geeking Out on Genetic Genealogy

Spent today combining my love of genealogy with interest in DNA by attending a great workshop put on by the Jay County Historical Society by Dr. Michael Lacopo.  Dr. Lacopo's presentation was split into two parts, with the introduction being hosted at the Jay County Public Library and the conclusion being held at the historical society.  Dad came with me, so I was able to spend some quality time with him as well and hear family history stories.

The fact that genetic genealogy has revolutionized genealogy research and brought about the marriage of science and family history is without dispute. Yet DNA testing is a tool that many have either not utilized or have been unsure of the science behind it.  You need not be "geeked out" on the science, but a basic understanding of the biology behind your chromosomes and genetic inheritance is essential to understanding how DNA testing can help with your research.

The presentation was well attended, with a diverse group of genealogists, some of whom had done DNA testing and others had not.  Dr. Lacopo did a good job of explaining the science behind DNA testing and what the various companies that provide the testing offer without losing the audience with the science.  Based on the question and answer period, he also did a good job of relating what types of genealogical problems that DNA test can and cannot solve.

Though I have already tested my DNA at two of the three major providers and was familiar with triangulation, I was able to glean some ideas from this presentation.

I was particularly interested to hear him describe his method's of using DNA testing to solve brick wall problems.  I was familiar with his blog, but it was nice to hear him in person.  I kept hoping I would recognize one of the family names he would mention.

The best quote I heard from him was the maxim that "human beings are not renewable resources" in relationship to the fact that we need to gather DNA from older living relatives now before they are gone.  Their DNA might hold the keys to unlocking family mysteries you are trying to solve.  Dr. Lacopo stressed that genetic genealogy is a numbers game, the more people with known relationships you have tested the better.

Key takeaways from the presentation were:

• DNA testing is a numbers game; the higher the % of matching DNA, the more definitive the relationship
• Size does matter; the larger the segment of DNA you share with a match, the more likely you received the segment from a common ancestor
• More is better; the more people you test with a known relationship the better
• Triangulate and map; once you identify your most recent common ancestor (MRCA) and confirm with another that match on a particular segment

Dr. Lacopo gave some tips regarding the numbers game of DNA testing - that any match over 0.3% is a big deal and that any matching segment longer than 10 cM (centimorgans) has a 99% change of being identical-by-descent, meaning a definite match.  He suggested that you focus on those matches rather than the smaller matches, even thought the DNA testing companies pull in results as low as 7 cM.

The presentation inspired me to work anew on my DNA genealogy, and strive to map out the research plan for the problems I want to solve and seek out cousins to have tested.  I have started compiling my own spreadsheets of DNA matches, and was impressed to see his color-coded DNA segments that he had identified as belonging to certain family names.

This was my first interaction with one of the "rock star" genealogists, and I must say that I was impressed.  I would highly recommend attending one of Dr. Lacopo's presentations if you have the opportunity, and this was a great program put on on by the historical society.

A bonus was that one of the members of the society brought their pedigree fan chart to the presentation and by glancing at it, I noticed we have several points of connection on my mother's side.  I handed him my business card and hope we can begin corresponding soon.

Old Cousin Bait is Still Cousin Bait

You never know when "cousin bait" might be effective.  This week I received an email from a fellow Groendyke/Groenendyke researcher that stated the following:

I saw an old sept 15 1998 RootsWeb request from yourself for descendants of James Groenendyke and Barbara Buck . I will not go much further as this was an old request and I do not know if you are still out there.

I'm so glad that I posted to RootsWeb back in 1998 and also glad that this cousin had the persistence to find me and reach out.  Now that we have each other's email addresses, we can begin to share information.

This is a family line that I'm not aware of many others researching, so I'm hopeful that we can expand on each other's research.

Old cousin bait never gets stale, it's like a fine wine, better with age!

Research Notes : May 25, 2015

Research has been limited lately due to work commitments and working on the getting our house ready for market.  On this Memorial Day weekend, I spent more time outside on yard work and painting than doing much in the way of genealogical research.

• Explored how RootsMagic and FamilySearch work together by matching up those in my database with individuals already in FamilySearch.  Concentrating on those ancestors within four generations, have been adding to the information at FamilySearch from my RootsMagic database.  It will be interesting to see if by doing this, it generates more contacts and "cousin bait".

• Over the weekend, I updated how my Dropbox files, primarily family photographs and census images, are named.  My plan is to make sure that I have everything named in a sensible format, and then to make sure that I have taken the time to add these images to my RootsMagic database as well as to the tree I have at Ancestry.

• While cleaning out my garage and burning some old files (from 2006!), I came across some genealogical correspondence that I had misplaced regarding the Groenendyke and the Lambertson families.  Will be sorting through this hopefully in the next few weeks and adding the information to my database.

Somedays I find I spend more time organizing or cleaning up my database than I do in actually researching.