Collateral genealogy: A case study

Tucked away in an 1867 Blackfriars edition of Shakespeare’s complete works, I discovered an old photograph of a man holding a young child. The book’s provenance, the photo’s time period, and the man’s cheekbones suggest that he could be grand-uncle John. Since John died in 1941, my aunt didn’t remember anything about him except that he drowned. Her cousin Florence’s neatly drawn family chart, however, indicated that John had married Mae and had a son William who died as an infant.

Over the years I have pieced together some of John’s life, except his marriage. Mae was only a name, no details, not even dates. I decided to spend a few hours online, using Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org, to see how much I could learn about grand-uncle John’s mysterious wife and marriage.

The first step was to find a marriage certificate at FamilySearch.org. In 1912, a few days shy of his 24th birthday, John married 17-year-old “Mary” in a Catholic church in his hometown. With her parents’ full names and her approximate birth year, I tried to find Mary’s birth certificate, but had no luck. The details were not specific enough, since I didn’t know where she was born. But I did find her parents’ marriage record in Boston, showing John S. was from western Massachusetts while Bridget was an immigrant from Ireland. Could it be the same family?

Then I found an Ancestry.com Member Tree with a “Mary Agnes” born in 1895 to a John and Bridget. Mary Agnes and her siblings have no data beyond the 1900 and 1910 census—except for the youngest sister who marries into the main branch of the poster’s family tree. The mother, Bridget, didn’t have a maiden name in the tree, but the attached 1910 census, two years before John and Mae marry, is in the correct town. I think I have a match.

With the first flush of success, I excitedly send an email to the tree poster, asking if she has more details on Mary Agnes. I mention that I think she married my grand-uncle. But the poster only says, “No, sorry I don’t. Good luck.”

Making Sense of the Census

I follow my hunch that Mae and Mary Agnes are one and the same, figuring I would track down the clues from Mary Agnes’ family in the censuses until either the data proved or disproved that she married my John. 

The 1900 census shows Mary Agnes’ father John was born in Massachusetts, her mother Bridget in Ireland, agreeing with the Boston marriage certificate. Her three older brothers were born in Rhode Island, while Mary Agnes and her younger sister were born in Connecticut. Since the 1900 census asked for month and year of birth, I know Mary Agnes was born in December of 1895. Although the earliest vital records for Connecticut start in the 1630s, statewide registration started in 1897 (two years after Mary Agnes’ birth) and was not fully implemented until 1915. It’s possible that Mary Agnes and her younger sister were born in the same Connecticut town where they are listed in the 1900 census.

By 1910, Mary Agnes is 15 and living in the same New Jersey neighborhood where she’ll marry her future husband two years later. By 1920, I don’t find John and Mae in the census. (My family, I already know, evaded the census taker that year. I have searched page by page and tried all sorts of name configurations—but only John’s married sister shows up.) In the 1930 census, John is living with his parents, married but with no wife listed in the household. At this point, I’m suspecting cousin Florence’s inkling of a divorce in the family may be correct.

Tracking the Collateral Lines

Since I couldn’t find Mary Agnes in the 1920 and 1930 censuses, I started to track down her siblings, one by one. From the 1900 census, I knew the three older brothers’ birth months and years, and all three were born in Rhode Island. It wasn’t difficult finding their draft registration cards—all were born in Pawtucket, but now I had street addresses and occupations.

At Ancestry.com, I do a general search on oldest brother John, and find a Michigan death and burial index that not only matches his birth date but agrees with the parents’ names on Mary’s 1912 marriage certificate. I trace him through the censuses, unsuccessfully search for a marriage or obituary, and find no sign of a sister Mary.

So I continue with the next brother. I find Thomas and his wife, in Pennsylvania, living with his widowed mother Bridget and sister “May,” age 24, single (and using maiden name) in the 1920 census. By 1930, Bridget is living with her third son Thomas in the same town where John and Mae married, but Mae is missing.

Widening the Search

Using her birth year, birth place, and parents’ names in the Ancestry.com search engine, I come across a Mary Agnes who died in 1982 in California. Could it be my John’s wife remarried? I couldn’t find an obituary and I only had the city and a new last name as found on the California Death Indexes and Social Security Death Indexes. But it was worth investigating.

On the 1940 California census, I found a Mary Agnes with her husband Frank, two sons, and Irish-born mother Bridget—all the details fit, including her 1895 birth in Connecticut. But here was the clincher: Mary and her family lived in Long Beach in 1935, but her mother Bridget lived in New Jersey in 1935, in the same town where daughter Mae married my John 23 years before.

Narrowing a Time Frame

Not surprisingly, I didn’t find a divorce record for John and Mae online. Nor did I find a marriage record for Mae and her second husband Frank. Checking the city directories, published every two years, I followed both John and Mae’s families from 1911 to 1931. In 1917, “Mrs. John” is listed separately from John, who lived a few blocks away. In the 1919 directory, his mother-in-law “Bridget, wid[ow of] John” removed to another city 80 miles away, probably taking Mae with her. Based on the 1940 census, Frank and Mary Agnes’ son was born in 1932 in the same state where Mae lived with her brother in 1920. So she probably didn’t return to the old neighborhood. Mae packed up her bags and headed west.

And as for baby William in cousin Florence’s family tree? Well, there’s only so much research you can do online before needing to visit record repositories and relatives.

For privacy reasons, no surnames were used in this case study. All of the data mentioned has been cited in my database. Ancestry.com is a subscription-based web site while FamilySearch.org offers free access to genealogy records.

Sharing your family health history at the doctor’s office

Yassine Mrabet, Wikimedia Commons under public domain

When you’re collecting your genealogy information, it’s also important to learn your family’s health histories. Your doctor can use that data to uncover hereditary health problems and how they may affect you and your family.

To start, you want to create health portraits for yourself, your children, siblings, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Some of the basic data you should collect include: ethnic and racial background; major illnesses and chronic health problems; surgeries and hospitalizations; medications, immunizations; lifestyle habits (diet, weight, exercise, smoking and other addictions); emotional and behavioral problems; and cause of death. It’s also important to add birth and death dates as well as age at onset or diagnosis for each health event.

Some genealogy software programs track medical conditions and DNA results, such as Legacy Family Tree, RootsMagic, and Family Tree Maker. In addition, you can use:

• Cleveland Clinic’s Health & Your Family Tree, a simple form to fill out for members of your family
• The Surgeon General’s My Family Health Portrait tool
• Genetic Alliance’s Does It Run In the Family tool
• GenoPro, a family tree software program that specializes in medical history and genograms. Instead of basic pedigree charts, GenoPro creates genograms, with detailed health histories, emotional relationships, social relationships, even household configurations. For fun, check out Harry Potter’s tree, based on the J.K. Rowling book series.

Combining genealogy with genetic research

Courtesy of Jcmorin

Sitting down with a genetic counselor is much like speaking to a genealogist with a medical degree. After all, a genetic counselor works  with charts that resemble pedigrees and family trees, though without names, just squares for males and circles for females, with lines connecting relationships. Genetic counselors can help map out the likelihood of being a carrier or being infected by certain inherited traits and diseases.

In much the same way, DNA research has shown specific markers carry a higher probability of certain inherited diseases. For example, actress Angelina Jolie learned she had the BRCA1 gene, making her at high risk for breast and ovarian cancer. Coupled with her family’s history of cancer, Jolie opted for a preventive double mastectomy. (See "My Medical Choice," New York Times, 14 May 2013.)

In another case, Janine Jagger, Professor of Medicine at the University of Virginia, had several years of abdominal pain and fevers with no known cause. Another doctor suggested she could have familial Mediterranean fever (FMF), which is typically found in people of Middle Eastern descent—though none appear on Jagger's known family tree. Oddly enough, she discovered in an old newspaper that one of her ancestors, Captain William Smith Young (b. 1829), was "attacked with fever and ague to which he is subject." He was a steamboat captain of the ill-fated Narragansett, which hit another steamboat in 1880. The crash, which made front-page news across the country, caused the deaths of 50 passengers. During the formal inquiry, the captain's testimony was reported verbatim in the New York Times, including the passage that he was unable to attend a court appearance due to symptoms similar to Jagger's. Since finding the newspaper account, she has connected to other Young descendants and found a pattern of FMF. (See "All I Want for Ramadan Is My Own Mutation," Huffington Post, 8 November 2013.)

So, when you’re typing data into your genealogy database, don’t overlook the medical fields such as cause of death, hospitalization, or illness. Seeing patterns recorded in death certificates, medical reports, and obituaries or having first-hand knowledge or hearing family stories of a medical nature may increase your awareness of risk factors and prevention for possible diseases, such as certain cancers, heart disease, substance abuse, diabetes, and depression.

You may not need a genetic counselor, but if you're like me, you'll bring your family tree charts to your doctor to discuss your deep medical history. Genealogy not only keeps your mind busy, it can help you live longer and better.

Finding romance in genealogy

Do you know your parents’ or grandparents’ love story? How they met and where and when? Did they ever take you on side trips to show you the memorable places and events in their lives, such as where they went on a first date, where they became engaged, where they were married, where they first lived as newlyweds?

To me, it’s a mystery how my parents met, since my father was a few years older and they attended high schools in different towns. Although I don’t know the stories, I have snapshots and memorabilia from those early days, lovingly placed in a scrapbook my mother made. The Broadway playbills, the cocktail napkins from jazz clubs, the movie tickets, even a bar of soap from their honeymoon hotel—all of these cherished items create almost a timeline of their first years together. Flipping through the pages gives me a totally romantic, even glamorous vision of their lives, before children came into the picture.

Maybe you don’t have a scrapbook that tells the story. But if you cannot ask the actual couple—or the people who knew them—look for other sources. Maybe you’ll find a stack of Valentine’s Day, holiday, anniversary, or birthday cards wrapped in a ribbon. Or, better yet, old letters. John Adams (1735-1826) and his wife Abigail (Smith) Adams (1744-1818) wrote more than a thousand letters to each other. You can read them on the Massachusetts Historical Society web site. Even if you’re not related to the president’s family, you can glean much about family life, politics, history, and amour of the times.

If you or your relatives don’t possess the actual pages, you can look for letters, day books, journals, diaries, postcards, photographs, ephemera—even oral histories—at libraries, historical societies, museums, private collections, and even eBay.

Sometimes, romantic or familial thoughts come when envelopes and stationary are not available. One of my collateral great greats wrote a short family history in his old account book, the text of which appeared in the History of the Town of New Marlborough, Massachusetts by Harry D. Sisson (1937). Apparently, in 1859 his aunt was visiting from Michigan and Noah Gibson wanted to scribble her stories somewhere handy before he forgot. Unfortunately, Aunt Alice gave a romantic twist to the family history, turning my 6th great grandfather into an immigrant sea captain (two things he was not) and his son into a minuteman tragically dying at the Battle of Lexington (he died a few years earlier, in 1757 to be exact).

Don’t overlook the possibility that someone published something your ancestors wrote. For instance, when Judge Samuel Sewall (1652-1730) wrote in his diaries, he had no idea people would be reading them hundreds of years later. His writings say much about his love for his family and the little details that made up their everyday life. As a widower, he even shared in his diary his attempts to woo a lady—and her eventual rejection.

People don’t have to be famous to be published either. Soldiers from Massachusetts who fought in the Civil War often had their letters to parents, siblings, sweethearts, and wives published in the local newspaper, The Quincy Patriot. Numerous soldier letters have been printed or are available online.

Speaking of newspapers, you may find a treasure trove of love stories, from golden anniversary articles, mentions in the local gossip column, and obituaries to letters, poetry, and stories. And if you descend from high school or college sweethearts, look for yearbooks and alumni publications.

A short history of Plymouth Rock

John O'Neill (jjron)

Recently, vandals painted the renowned Plymouth Rock with one word: “LIES.” A symbol of the Pilgrims landing in 1620, Plymouth Rock was once part of a much larger rock formation, but it was broken, and over time, chipped away by collectors and treasure hunters. Located on the shoreline within Pilgrim Memorial State Park, what’s left of Plymouth Rock is now surrounded by a fence and viewed from a platform above. To look at this artifact nestled in the sand leaves one unimpressed by its supposed historic significance. After all, it’s a rock. And it’s not a geologically impressive one either.

Plymouth Rock through the Ages

Let's use a timeline, one of the great tools for genealogy, to backfill the history of Plymouth Rock.

• 1620: The Mayflower lands in Plymouth Harbor.
• 1623: Thomas Faunce’s father John arrives in Plymouth Colony onboard the Anne.
• 1647: Thomas Faunce is born in Plymouth Colony.
• 1715: A “great rock” is mentioned in the town boundary records.
• 1741: Plans begin for building a wharf at Plymouth Harbor. Thomas Faunce, a 94-year-old church elder, identifies a large rock as the place where the Pilgrims disembarked, claiming his father and some original Mayflower passengers told him so. Despite his claim, a solid-fill wharf is built, with just part of the rock showing.
• 1774: The rock breaks in two when patriotic efforts were made to relocate it to the town square, next to the Liberty Pole. The lower half is left behind at the wharf.
• 1834: The rock is moved from the town square to Pilgrim Hall, built 10 years earlier. During its travels, the rock breaks in two again.
• 1859-1867: The Pilgrim Society builds a Victorian canopy over the lower half of the rock left at the wharf.
• 1880: The upper half of the rock is taken from Pilgrim Hall and reattached to the lower half. The date 1620 is inscribed on the rock.
• 1920: The rock is placed at sea level and a Doric portico is built over it in honor of the 300th anniversary of the arrival of the Pilgrims.

Perhaps the vandals were pointing out the flaws of historic recollection and national remembrance, of turning a historic moment into a tangible object. After all, no contemporary account mentions a rock on which the Pilgrims stepped foot. Although just hearsay, the rock landing could have been an oral tradition within the Faunce family. Or perhaps Faunce was making an analogy between Plymouth Rock and the Bible verse: "You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18). It could be an old man was trying to instill upon the younger generations the veneration he had for the Pilgrims and their achievements, in a time when the founding fathers’ beliefs and traditions were being washed away. 

Whatever the vandals were trying to say, their act reminds us how important it is to understand our history—and its embellishments.

Preserving keepsake memories

A cherished ornament.

Whether they have pride of place on your mantle or are tucked away in a drawer out of sight, all of us have keepsakes or even family heirlooms with stories to tell. As genealogists, we focus on people, places, events, and relationships. Objects have history too.

For example, you have an old Punch and Judy tea set. Your mother’s uncle owned a storage and moving company. After a family didn’t pick up the tea set, the uncle gave it to your mother. The tea spout has been imperfectly glued back together and the old-fashioned pattern doesn’t appeal to kids these days, but its charm is that your mother played with it as a girl. You can tuck the story of its provenance inside that teapot.

Your grandfather built dollhouse furniture for all of his grandchildren, or at least for all of the girls. Your grandmother painted all the pieces, from beds and dressers to tables, rocking chairs, and grandfather clocks. Although the dollhouse didn’t survive and some of the furniture has broken or gone missing, what remains are pieces of your childhood. Look through your photo albums for pictures of you playing with the dollhouse. You may be able to date when the furniture was made by looking at pictures, but at least you’ll be able to pass on who made it and why. Write a note and attach a photo to place in one of the drawers.

If you collect Christmas ornaments, you can photograph them as you’re taking down the tree. Use one of the online photo gift companies such as Shutterfly to create a photo book. You can include captions under each picture, telling about the special memories attached to each ornament. 

Paper Goods

If you collect postcards, you can write something on the back about the place, why it was special, and the date you visited. If you keep holiday newsletters written by family members (or yourself), you can compile them in a three-ring binder, putting the individual pages in sheet protectors back to back so you can read it like a book. If you save greeting cards, you can group ones that match a theme (say, Valentine’s Day, summer, or cards from Germany), then mount and frame them. If you hold onto holiday photo cards, you can store them in a box, using dividers to separate the years. And, it goes without saying, if you have photographs, label them all!

Giving thanks genealogy style

Etiquette experts often provide tipping guides during the holidays and throughout the year. Let’s take that idea and use it year-round to show appreciation for all the people who have helped our genealogy research. 

Recently, I requested obituaries from the Worcester Public Library, which has an online form for submitting obituary requests. The search, photocopying, and mailing are free for Massachusetts residents, but you can donate money to support this great service. The Salem Public Library and many others also help with similar services—just don’t expect them to do your research for you.

My public library is part of a consortium of public and academic libraries in the area, making it easy to do interlibrary loans. It provides a wide array of online databases, including newspapers, Ancestry.com, HeritageQuest, and WorldCat. It offers museum passes for JFK Library & Museum and the Peabody Essex Museum. It also maintains its own local archives. I’ve used all these services and I must admit I have “donated” to the library through late-book fees, but I also donate books for the book sales held by the friends of the library, a group of people who support the library by raising funds for services and programs beyond the library’s budget.

As an almost 20-year member of the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS), I have spent days browsing the stacks, checked precious manuscripts for clues, scrolled through microfilm, received advice from staff members, taken classes, read its publications cover to cover, and spent many hours using the online resources. As a nonprofit member organization, NEHGS accepts cash donations and gifts of stock; offers premium membership benefits and volunteer opportunities; and provides a home for donated genealogical materials. 

I consider Plimoth Plantation a top-notch living history museum, well worth visiting even if you only have Puritans in your family tree (like me). It immerses you in the life of the 17th century, from buildings, food, and clothing to artisan crafts and farming techniques. Plimoth has unique gifting opportunities, from providing feed money for rare animal breeds to helping restore the Mayflower II before the 400th anniversary of the pilgrims’ voyage.

Other nonprofits, such as historical societies and museums, provide similar thanks-giving opportunities. Nonprofit cemeteries and churches (where you’ve found family graves and records) usually accept donations. Check with government-run entities to see if you can give a gift or donation.

Payback

You also can pay back your genealogical successes without providing a dime. I use FamilySearch frequently to access vital records, censuses, wills, passenger lists, draft cards, and so much more. Its web site grows frequently, thanks to thousands of volunteers who index records. I have transcribed records from Texas to New York, regardless whether or not I have any genealogical interest in the area. I figure it’s good karma to help others. I keep hoping another volunteer will come across the ship manifest listing my great-great-grandmother. 

Typically, I read blogs to stay up-to-date on genealogy news, research suggestions, technology issues, legal conundrums, case studies, and DNA. If you’ve read a particularly good blog or one that’s useful to your research, consider commenting on it or sharing it on Facebook, Google+, Twitter, LinkedIn, other social media platforms, or email. Writers like feedback and they like knowing they’re being read by someone other than their mothers. 

Support the genealogy community and others who help your family research by “tipping” to show your appreciation.