Genealogy Project, Introduction ...
Besides drawing and painting, I have quite a few hobbies including collecting coins, stamps, and original handbills and concert posters from the 1960's. Genealogy - "the study of the history of the past and present members of a family" - is also one of my hobbies, and is perhaps, my favourite.
Genealogical research is tedious and time-consuming, but is also very rewarding. One can learn a lot about history by simply exploring ones own lineage. One can also learn about oneself. Our interests, preferences, occupations - are we more like one ancestor over another? Are we repeating history by our choices?
When done properly genealogy is an expensive hobby. One has to purchase not only subscriptions to genealogical societies and websites, but also vital records, genealogical books and resources, and other documents, to substantiate and authenticate ones lineage. DNA has only recently become a genealogical tool. A combination of DNA and documentation is the only manner by which a correct family line can be established.
Genealogy has become somewhat of a fad in recent years as many companies push the autosomal DNA tests. An increase in the public's desire to know our origins - where we come from, what's our heritage, our ancestors - what are their names? - have sparked a public interest in this subject. I'm the family genealogist. Every family has one. I hang onto the coat-tails of my great-grandaunt and my research begins where she left off. I dedicate the majority of my free time searching for records on dead people. When I took an interest in it as a teenager, genealogy was a hobby only suitable for nerds. Times have changed.
Genealogical research is tedious and time-consuming, but is also very rewarding. One can learn a lot about history by simply exploring ones own lineage. One can also learn about oneself. Our interests, preferences, occupations - are we more like one ancestor over another? Are we repeating history by our choices?
When done properly genealogy is an expensive hobby. One has to purchase not only subscriptions to genealogical societies and websites, but also vital records, genealogical books and resources, and other documents, to substantiate and authenticate ones lineage. DNA has only recently become a genealogical tool. A combination of DNA and documentation is the only manner by which a correct family line can be established.
Genealogy has become somewhat of a fad in recent years as many companies push the autosomal DNA tests. An increase in the public's desire to know our origins - where we come from, what's our heritage, our ancestors - what are their names? - have sparked a public interest in this subject. I'm the family genealogist. Every family has one. I hang onto the coat-tails of my great-grandaunt and my research begins where she left off. I dedicate the majority of my free time searching for records on dead people. When I took an interest in it as a teenager, genealogy was a hobby only suitable for nerds. Times have changed.
In my over twenty years of genealogical research (I picked up the hobby while in High School), there have been ups and downs. I've learned a lot along the way. I've made interesting discoveries, as well as been disappointed once or twice when stories that I had been told by family members produced no historical evidence to support it.
The truth is, that a proper pedigree isn't about collecting names on a piece of paper, it's about the history that can be accurately assigned to the people in your past. In my opinion, there's no joy in a fake family tree. Whether my ancestors were kings or slaves, I want to know who they were. I want to know their names, their culture, their struggles and their victories.
There are a plethora of websites that allow for one to both create a family tree as well as submit an autosomal DNA test. Ancestry.com, MyHeritage, FindMyPast, 23andMe, LivingDNA, are just a few.
The truth is, that a proper pedigree isn't about collecting names on a piece of paper, it's about the history that can be accurately assigned to the people in your past. In my opinion, there's no joy in a fake family tree. Whether my ancestors were kings or slaves, I want to know who they were. I want to know their names, their culture, their struggles and their victories.
There are a plethora of websites that allow for one to both create a family tree as well as submit an autosomal DNA test. Ancestry.com, MyHeritage, FindMyPast, 23andMe, LivingDNA, are just a few.
There are also a variety of valuable resources to assist with DNA research as it pertains to the subject of genealogy, such as, GEDmatch, and DNAPainter, For research purposes, National Genealogical Society, AmericanAncestors, InternetArchive, FamilySearch, FindAGrave, NYG&B, IGG, and Antenati (if one has Italian heritage), are also invaluable. The most intrinsically valuable resources, however, are local libraries, state archives, county clerks and vital records offices. These are where you will find accurate records that historians and professional genealogists will approve of.
I had begun a project several years ago in regard to my DNA results in juxtaposition to the paper trail that I had created in regard to my heritage. My goal was to test with several autosomal DNA tests and compare results. I had to take a pause, however, as it gets expensive, and my hobby isn't a financial priority. I hope to be able to pick up where I left off shortly after the pandemic. (I will be creating a separate post on this very subject.) I have yet to test with 23andMe, but it's on my list. I love Ancestry's interface, but their DNA platform results only allows for nine total regions. Every time they do an update, I lose percentages and ethnic regions.
There are a lot of very interesting people in my family tree. On my mother's side, there's the Mayflower and American History. On my father's side, there's the Mafia, and Italian History. There's a long list of people from every socioeconomic class. There's everyone from farmers and housekeepers to Royals and indentured servants. Each one has a story.
I had planned on simply writing about one person, but I couldn't decide on which one, so I'm going to highlight a few of them here.
I had planned on simply writing about one person, but I couldn't decide on which one, so I'm going to highlight a few of them here.
On my mother's grandfather's side, I'm a Mayflower Descendant, being able to trace my lineage to several Mayflower passengers. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are an estimated 7.9 billion people in the world. Only an approximate 35 million people worldwide are Mayflower Descendants. There are roughly 334.2 million people in the United States. While there is only approximately 10 million living Mayflower Descendants. That's roughly 2.9 % of the U.S. Population. I'm a minority.
John Howland, is just one of my Mayflower ancestors. He's famous for falling off of the boat and nearly drowning. He married Elizabeth Tilley, another Mayflower passenger. Both of her parents (John and Joan Hurst Tilley, also Mayflower passengers) died the first winter at Plymouth. Then there's John Alden and Priscilla Mullins. They were immortalized by author Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in his fictional poem, "The Courtship of Miles Standish." Besides Priscilla's parents William and Alice, there's several more, including Richard Warren and Resolved White.
This makes me of blood relation by several degrees of separation to several former U.S. Presidents, including, but not limited to: both Presidents Adams, both Presidents Roosevelt, and both Presidents Bush; more than a handful of famous authors, like Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Laura Ingalls Wilder, and Ernest Hemingway, to name a few. I have more than a handful of very historically interesting "some kind of cousins."
Due to their beginnings in New England, I have quite a few ancestors that took part in the war for American Independence, i.e., The Revolutionary War. (1774-1783). Most were militiamen. Some took part in the Battles of Lexington and Concord.
Thomas Bent, my seventh great-grandfather, was nearly seventy years of age in 1775. When hearing the news that a battle had commenced, he jumped onto his horse and headed straight for the battlefield. While en route, he was shot in his leg. He later died of his injuries. His wife, Mary Stone, died the same day as he.
Benjamin Jenkins, another seventh great-grandfather, was also near seventy years of age at the start of the war. He saw limited time on the battlefield, but is most remembered for his service on the committee to execute the Concord Resolves, which essentially "recommended a constitutional convention as the only proper body to frame a constitution." The resolutions declared "... a constitution is intended to secure the people in their rights against the government; the body that forms a constitution has the power to alter it; a constitution alterable by the legislature is "no security at all" against the government's encroachment on the rights of the people." There were many others whose service varied.
Thomas Bent, my seventh great-grandfather, was nearly seventy years of age in 1775. When hearing the news that a battle had commenced, he jumped onto his horse and headed straight for the battlefield. While en route, he was shot in his leg. He later died of his injuries. His wife, Mary Stone, died the same day as he.
Benjamin Jenkins, another seventh great-grandfather, was also near seventy years of age at the start of the war. He saw limited time on the battlefield, but is most remembered for his service on the committee to execute the Concord Resolves, which essentially "recommended a constitutional convention as the only proper body to frame a constitution." The resolutions declared "... a constitution is intended to secure the people in their rights against the government; the body that forms a constitution has the power to alter it; a constitution alterable by the legislature is "no security at all" against the government's encroachment on the rights of the people." There were many others whose service varied.
Sylvanus G. Deeth, the brother of my fourth great-grandfather, Lyman Deeth, was a book collector and helped to contribute to the very first White House Library. He collected a variety of books and communications of historical value. He even retained the Adams papers. He once wrote an angry letter to then President Millard Fillmore in regard to a Presidential discount that was applied to the sale of his books without his consent. President Fillmore wrote back and insisted that he paid more than the asking price. Later that same year, Sylvanus even visited the White House to speak with the President in regard to a position securing more books for the library. I don't think that he got the job.
Lyman's second great-grandfather, Robert Murdock, was a Scotsman from Stirling who immigrated to the United States about 1688 and settled in Plymouth. He became a respected member of the community.
Lyman's second great-grandfather, Robert Murdock, was a Scotsman from Stirling who immigrated to the United States about 1688 and settled in Plymouth. He became a respected member of the community.
My sixth great-grandmother on my mother's grandmother's side, Fanny Dickenson Scott Johnson, was taken prisoner during an Indian raid on her homestead. She escaped and spent the duration of about a months' time in the Kentucky wilderness before finally reaching safety. She made headlines across the country and has a commemorative historical marker near her place of burial. After her ordeal, she married my sixth great-grandfather, Thomas Johnson. He has a county in Tennessee named after him.
Tracing the lineage of Thomas Johnston has proved to be a laborious task and has led to one rabbit hole after another. My family always believed that our set of Johnstons were Irish, but my DNA results and the research is leading towards Scotland - specifically, to a group of Lairds. Well, that's certainly not a claim that can come without proof, so I have been determined to find the documentation to support it - whichever way it turns out - that Thomas was descendant from lords or labourers. There's practically an entire library of books on the Baronage of Scotland; but if my sixth great-grandfather is of lineal descent from any established line, either current or defunct, then there will be more than just books to substantiate that. There will be a paper trail in the form of vital records. I've read many books on the subject of the Baronage but have found discrepancies in the timeline for when the first Johnston of each Scottish clan made his way into the American Colonies. I've read lots of books on various Johnson genealogies, and none of them have produced my specific Thomas Johnston. Other records, however, have proved themselves to be positive leads. My ancestor Thomas Johnston was thrice married, and I discovered two genuine records for him in which his surname is recorded with the spelling of the added letter "T" which sometimes is a variant of the absolute Scots' spelling of "Johnstone." The Irish/English variant of the surname lacks both the letters "T" and "E." While this is merely circumstantial evidences of his ethnic origins, I feel as though it is a breadcrumb that I may follow along the path to locating additional vital records for him.
While I have made progress by process of elimination, history has continued to provide me with multiple challenges. Several wars, county court house fires, and the fact that genealogical records were not kept as well in the southern states as they were in the northern states, have proved to be stumbling blocks for me, so that I have yet to find a record of birth for my sixth great-grandfather.
I have, however, located a few miscellaneous records in regard to land deeds and census information which have proved as potentially credible leads. It is at this point in which I feel as though autosomal DNA tests will prove useful. Ancestry has provided me with DNA matches in the form of second to fourth cousins, and, utilizing the information in their family trees, their ethnic heritage results, and their American regions of lineal descent (i.e., where they "grew up" and from where their parents were born) have been of great assistance to me in locating additional records that will potentially lead to the correct documentation.
While I have made progress by process of elimination, history has continued to provide me with multiple challenges. Several wars, county court house fires, and the fact that genealogical records were not kept as well in the southern states as they were in the northern states, have proved to be stumbling blocks for me, so that I have yet to find a record of birth for my sixth great-grandfather.
I have, however, located a few miscellaneous records in regard to land deeds and census information which have proved as potentially credible leads. It is at this point in which I feel as though autosomal DNA tests will prove useful. Ancestry has provided me with DNA matches in the form of second to fourth cousins, and, utilizing the information in their family trees, their ethnic heritage results, and their American regions of lineal descent (i.e., where they "grew up" and from where their parents were born) have been of great assistance to me in locating additional records that will potentially lead to the correct documentation.
My matrilineal second-great grandmother, Myrtle Lee, was a descendant of Thomas. She married my second-great grandfather, Edwin McQueen. Edwin was a descendant of Samuel McQueen - my sixth great-grandfather - and a bonafide Scots descendant by perhaps only one or two generations. Samuel, has proved to be as historically elusive as is Thomas. One theory as to the McQueen origins in this country is that he was a descendant of a Jacobite, and that the McQueens immigrated to the American Colonies against their own free will. I found quite a few McQueens on lists of prisoners of war subsequent the rebellions.
A second alternative, is that they were participants in Argyll's Rising - described by the University of Manchester as "the short and militarily inglorious rebellion launched in May 1685 by Archibald Campbell, 9th earl of Argyll against the regime of James II and VII." Argyll's Rising (or Rebellion) predates the Jacobian Rebellions by about thirty years, with the later taking place in 1715, 1719, and 1745.
My great-grandmother's niece actually wrote a book on the McQueen family line. I read it shortly after publication. Years later, I have found no additional information in regard to the parentage of Samuel, but I have high expectations due to the increase in the digitizing of vital records. It is plausible that Thomas and Samuel were both Scots, and perhaps, both descendant from religious rebels. The two families seemed to have resided in close proximity to one another before their arrival in Tennessee.
Another interesting bit, is that Samuel is believed to have been one of the Overmountain Men that took part in the battle at King's Mountain, on October 7, 1780. Historically, he is seen in connection with a great many men who were also participants, however, tracking down that one piece of information to solidify his presence at , what Thomas Jefferson referred to as, "the turn of the tide of success," has been a challenge. The Battle of King's Mountain was unique in that it was fought between Americans - Patriots and Loyalists.
Although it's been a challenge to locate Samuel on records of militiamen who were present, he is, however, documented with his friend and fellow solider, Benjamin Greer - in the story of the capture, and rescue, of Col. Benjamin Cleveland in 1781.
Although it's been a challenge to locate Samuel on records of militiamen who were present, he is, however, documented with his friend and fellow solider, Benjamin Greer - in the story of the capture, and rescue, of Col. Benjamin Cleveland in 1781.
Both families also seemed to have historical connections to Daniel Boone and his travels along the Wilderness Road. The Dickenson family, from whom produced the previously mentioned Fanny Scott, interacted with Daniel Boone for many years in a variety of Frontier Wars. Fanny's brother Henry, knew him well. The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography has an interesting article, "The Frontier at Castle's Woods, 1969-1786" in which minor connections are mentioned. I remain hopeful that I will soon locate the proper records wherewith to accurately document these family lines.
Then there's one of my twelfth great-grandfathers on my maternal great-grandfather's mother's side, the Reverend Stephen Bachiler. An advocate for the separation of church and state, this man was a piece of work. A traveling preacher, he had four wives and lived to be nearly a hundred years of age. His fourth wife, Mary Beedle, is believed by many historians to be the inspiration for the character of Hester Prynne in Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter." As the story goes, while in Maine, the Reverend met and married a young widow named Mary Beedle. She had an affair with a man named George Rogers. The Reverend, by order of the court, had her sentenced to wear the scarlet letter "A" sewn into her garments. He then had her publicly whipped, divorced her, and went back to England. What a guy.
I have been working on locating additional records on the patrilineal descent of my great-grandfather, from whom most good things seem to come. This particular family line is only moderately documented at present. As it stands, John Death, my ninth great-grandfather, immigrated from Kent, England, as a child after the death of his father. John's second great-grandfather (and my thirteenth great-grandfather) was William D'Aeth - a lawyer of Staple Inn and co-founder of Dartford Grammer School, in Kent.
William Vaughan, his father-in-law and another co-founder is also my fourteenth great-grandfather. He was "... one of the yeoman to King Henry VIII and to Queen Elizabeth I." I wonder if Dartford sends out letters like Hogwarts?
William Vaughan, his father-in-law and another co-founder is also my fourteenth great-grandfather. He was "... one of the yeoman to King Henry VIII and to Queen Elizabeth I." I wonder if Dartford sends out letters like Hogwarts?
On my father's side, my great-grandfather was a Calabrian immigrant who left Italy in the late 1800's in hope of a better life. He made his own wine and owned a small store in East Harlem. His son, my grandfather Donato, was in the business of organized crime, but never on a level of great importance. He worked alongside Frank Costello, in Frank's early years bootlegging liquor during prohibition. Who recruited whom is still a matter of debate, since my grandfather was several years older than Frank. Frank was officially enlisted by Joe "The Boss" Masseria, along with other notable figures of the Mafia, like Lucky Luciano, Vito Genovese, and Al Capone. When Frank Costello changed his surname from Castiglia to Costello, my grandfather and his brother did also. My granduncle did so permanently but my grandfather merely used it as an alias. "Costello" is on his death certificate, crossed out, and his actual name listed underneath.
My grandad got whacked, but the specifics of the "who, what, when, where, why, and how" are currently hidden in history. I have been unable to find any type of documentation to support or refute claims made by family members. Also, since my grandad and his siblings had frequent interactions with some of history's most notorious and well-remembered Mafiosi, it is surprising to me that I have been unable to locate any information regarding this in declassified FBI files. I have rumours. I have leads. I want facts. I suppose this will take a little more time to sort out.
Of all of the interesting stories that my lineage provides to me, I enjoy most the historical sketches of the average person because their lives put things into perspective. My fourth great-grandmother, Elizabeth C. Prentice Spooner, only lived until about forty years of age. Due to a variety of pandemics sweeping through the New England States, most of her children died young. She lost several on Christmas Day. Only two of her children - my third great-grandmother and one of her brothers - lived past the age of forty. She didn't retain any notoriety during her lifetime, but her life is one that impressed upon me greatly.
There are so many stories that one discovers when researching ones own lineage. Some people don't care much about the subject, and I can't comprehend why. I feel that it is a disservice to ones ancestors to be indifferent about their lives, their names, and their history. Regardless of their achievements, We Are because they were.
I am planning on revisiting some of my previously halted research to see where it leads me. However, I love assisting others with their research also. To have a name, and in some instances a face - and a story behind ones second or third or fourth great-grandparent, is in my opinion, very exciting. I am also hoping to complete my DNA project sometime in the near future.
There are so many stories that one discovers when researching ones own lineage. Some people don't care much about the subject, and I can't comprehend why. I feel that it is a disservice to ones ancestors to be indifferent about their lives, their names, and their history. Regardless of their achievements, We Are because they were.
I am planning on revisiting some of my previously halted research to see where it leads me. However, I love assisting others with their research also. To have a name, and in some instances a face - and a story behind ones second or third or fourth great-grandparent, is in my opinion, very exciting. I am also hoping to complete my DNA project sometime in the near future.
I have a lot of really neat people in my family tree. Personally, I think that in comparison to them, I'm kind of boring. I like books and cats, chess and puzzles, hiking and history, and ... Silence. I am like the song by Sly & the Family Stone, and am just a plain-Jane, ordinary, "Everyday People" kind of a person, who enjoys research, history, genealogies, and fun with family trees. I'm okay with that.
originally published June 4th, 2023.
