I Just Love This Photo!

I'm busy working on a long blog post with the story of the Whetstone family but miss posting here, so thought that this might be a good time to share some of my favorite family pictures. You've see a lot of them but my thought is to select just one and then write everything I know about it and make some observations too. Might just make a game of it and play, What Do You See?

So here goes and the first one is a picture of my great grandfather's house. He was Daniel Williams and a recent blog post was the story of that family.

The Williams home, built about 1899, in Ocean Allegany, Maryland.

Pictured are:

Back row, left to right: William Williams (1884-1964 ), his wife Lillian "Lillie" (Merbaugh) (1884-1964 ), Tom Williams (1890-1951 ), and Jane (Price) Williams (1862-1939),

Front row, left to right: Cambria "Camey" Williams (1897-1960) my Grandfather, Joseph "Joe" Williams (1895-1948), Charles Williams (1899-1979) and Aunt Betty's father, a neighbor, and "Blackie" the dog on the fence post.

So there it is, and I dearly love this picture. Aunt Betty and Mom both have copies, and now I have this electronic copy. Aunty Betty says that the house was built by Daniel and Jane (James) Williams about 1899. Charles, Aunt Betty's father was the only child of Daniel and Jane born here, but many of the family lived there from time to time and so the next generation was also born there.

I see here a two story frame house with balanced and even architecture, painted to emphasize the trim and make the overall impression more decorative and appealing. There is pride even today when Mom and Aunt Betty talk about this old home place. And notice the contrasting painted brick-a-brack on the top of the porch posts. Someone took care with how this home presented itself.

I also like the front fence and the rambling garden with trees and perhaps climbing roses festooning the porch. If you click on the picture to enlarge it you'll see what might be some type of crisscross wire making a structure for the climbers growing up the front porch. And is that a fruit tree on the right side? It looks tidy and well kept. Aunt Betty's note on the file says that a street car ran right in front of the house. How proud the family must have been to ride it and see their house as it was undoubtedly admired by riders.

Aunt Betty tells an interesting story of life in this house. You see in these parts the mineral rights were not sold with the land so the mining company could dig a mine right under your home. Even today this practice continues. Some days, Aunt Betty said, you could hear the miners right below the house, talking, and digging away. At one point the activity was so energetic that it moved the house right off the foundation! Imagine!

Mom says that there was an outhouse down and the end of the yard but by the time she was a very little girl, about 1920, there was a regular bathroom in the house on the first floor. Her Grandfather Williams was very ill near the end of his life right about then and we speculated that perhaps the bathroom was added on the first floor to make it easier for him.

There was a natural cold spring that came out of the ground in the back yard. There were a lot of them then, Mom says. The water was cold the year round so the family kept butter and milk in the indentation in the earth where the spring came out. In the house between the dining room and kitchen was what we might call a pantry, a short hallway with shelves, That was where Mom went to check to see if there were any pies available.

Every time I go see Mom it's my intention to drive the short distance from Frostburg to what's left of the once prosperous coal mining community that was Ocean. Next time, for sure. I wonder where it got that name, because believe me, it's no where near any Ocean!


The URL for this post is: http://nutsfromthefamilytree.blogspot.com/2013/12/i-just-love-this-photo.html

Stories from Mom and Aunt Betty: Part 4, He bought two mines

This story was told to me in part by Mom and in greater detail by Aunt Betty. I just hope I get it all right but I'm sure that eventually I'll be corrected if need be. On one visit back east to see the family, I stopped by Aunt Betty's and we got to talking about the ancestors. "Daniel Williams, your great grandfather, owned two mines, a coal mine in Mt. Savage and a tin or silver mine in West Virginia," she said casually. WHAA? Oh, yes it's true, but the visions of him as a coal (or tin or silver) baron vanished when I learned the rest of the story. So here goes, and I'm going to give you the whole enchilada because it's a tasty one.

It all starts with my great grandfather, Daniel Williams (1852-1920) who was born in Wales to a coal miner father, Thomas Williams (1815-1868). Daniel's brothers are also listed as coal miners in the Wales Census records. Presumably, these men knew what they were doing when mining coal. They were multi-generational miners and learned from father to son and brother to brother. And none were lost in a mining disaster.

They lived for who knows how many generations in Strata Florida, near Tregaron, in the county of Ceredigion or Cardiganshire in Wales. There were tin mines in the area and we wonder if the Williams men once worked there. Mining skills are relatively similar for the various materials taken in Wales so it would have been no problem for them to be mining tin and then move to coal and end up in shale, which were all plentiful in Wales at the time.

Mom went there and stood in the ruins of the big Abbey at Strata Florida soaking in what was left of the memories and dust of the ancestors. Buried there is Dafydd ap Gwilym (c. 1315/1320 – c. 1350/1370), which might be translated into present day English as David Williams, who was one of the leading poets of the Middle Ages, certainly of Wales and all of Europe. He possibly died of the Black Death. Mom claims him as our own, baring solid evidence to the contrary, which we're hoping we never find.

Strata Florida Abbey

Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Old Thomas who was born about 1815, married Jane James in 1841, and his sons started arriving right after. By then, even the once bountiful southern coal fields in Wales were starting to get mined out. There was too little work for too many men so wages were on a downward slide. (The Academy Award winning film "How Green Was My Valley" depicts a typical Welsh mining town and it's trails, and is worth a viewing if this interests you.)

Old Thomas died around 1868 in Tregeron, and afterward his family moved from Cardiganshire to Breckonshire. Just about that time the Consolidation Coal Company, with offices in Baltimore, Maryland and London, had its eye on the Western Maryland coal fields with their rich and mostly untouched big veins, began recruiting in Wales. Daniel Williams must have been ready to jump at a new opportunity because that's just what he did. Sometime about 1872 or 1873 (I'm confused about this) he sailed to America.

At the Consolidation Mine Company in Ocean, Allegany, Maryland he put down roots, and married Miss Jane Price (1862-1939) of Wellersburg, Pennsylvania on 28 October, 1878. In the 1880 US Census Daniel is listed as working as a coal miner, with wife Jane and son James just a year old. And so family life began in earnest.

Jane (Price) Williams and Daniel Williams.

Possibly their wedding portrait.

He built a career working for the mining company and was a solid member of the community and a home owner. Here's what Aunt Betty has to say about him from her notes:

Notes on Daniel Williams

As far as we know, Daniel lived in Midland and Ocean, MD after he arrived in the United States. He was Foreman of Mine No. 16, Consolidation Coal Company. He was a member of the George’s Creek Valley Lodge of Masons in Lonanconing, Maryland. He was selected to take a large lump of coal from Ocean Mines, Maryland to the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893. He was elected as a Trustee in the Ocean School District #18 on June 22, 1907.

I see two sentences and glean some further information about Daniel from Aunt Betty's write up. He was an Ocean School District Trustee. I knew that he valued education and was willing to save and pay for it because he paid for his son Joe Williams to attend the Peabody Institute of Music in Baltimore. So I'm guessing he was also a saver.

And then there's the trip to the Chicago World's Fair in 1893 to take the large lump of coal to be displayed. I keep searching the Frostburg Mining Journal, a true treasure trove if you have ancestors in the area, but as of yet not met with luck: there are a lot of pages and the text is small. That must have been quite an honor for him and surely covered by the local weekly newspaper that loved to trumpet about the accomplishments of its citizenry. I need to keep looking for that article!

One by one, his seven sons grew and had the opportunity to go work in the mine with him. Joe went to study music. Jimmy, the oldest, was a minor league baseball player and ended up in Texas. My Grandfather Camey disliked working in the mines and made his career elsewhere. The rest of the boys worked in the Ocean Mine Number 16 if they wanted. It was one of the safer mines and the "black car" visited there much less often than it did to the mine in Lonaconing where it went just about every day to remove a body to the undertaker.

Aunt Betty and her parents, Charles and Bronwyn, lived with her grandparents, Daniel and Jane, in their home in Ocean, which is about a 10 - 15 minute drive from Frostburg. After Daniel died in 1920 and Jane followed him in 1939, Aunt Betty and her parents continued to reside in the home.

From Aunt Betty's photo collection.

So Aunt Betty and I are sitting in her cozy living room chatting about Daniel and his life and times and she wonders out loud where he got all the money to purchase the land and coal mine in Mount Savage (which is near Frostburg) and the property in West Virginia that contained the tin or silver mine. Indeed, where did he get that money?

Let's start with the Mount Savage property because I just realized something about it. Aunt  Betty is a good researcher and an excellent organizer. Below, is the text of her transcription of the ownership of the Mt. Savage lots which she took from the deeds, and I'll point out two things after.

WILLIAMS  FARM, MT SAVAGE, MARYLAND

DEED: December 11, 1854

By and between FRANCE HENRY KRIEGBAUM , Executor of FRANCIS DEAN to MARTIN CLARK.

DEED: June 8, 1869

By and between MARTIN CLARK and TIM CLARK

DEED: December 9, 1893

By and between WILLIAM J. CRUMP and GEORGE CRUMP of Allegany County, Maryland for the sum of Fifteen Hundred dollars ($1,500.00) land known as the CRUMP FARM containing 75 acres.

DEED: March 20, 1912
By and between GEORGE CRUMP and ANNIE MARGARET CRUMP his wife to HENRY WESLOW and JULIA WESLOW, his wife by deed in the land records of Allegany County, Maryland.

DEED: October 12, 1914

By and between JULIA WESLOW of Allegany County, Maryland and DANIEL WILLIAMS AND JANE WILLIAMS, his wife for the sum of Two Thousand Dollars ($2,000.00) the land known as the “CRUMP FARM” composed of lots No. 3369 and No. 3370 containing 75 acres more or less.

DANIEL WILLIAMS predeceased his wife leaving the title to the above described property to JANE WILLIAMS, his wife and JANE WILLIAMS having died in February of 1939 and devised the aforesaid property unto CHARLES WILLIAMS, WILLIAM D. WILLIAMS, THOMAS WILLIAMS, CAMBRIA WILLIAMS and JOSEPH WILLIAMS by will probated February 21, 1939, and recorded in the Orphans Court for Allegany County, Maryland.

To have and to hold the above described property unto the said WILLIAM D. WILLIAMS and LILLIAN WILLIAMS, his wife, as tenants of the entireties, their heirs and assigns, in fee simple forever.

DEED: November 13, 1941

By and between JOSEPH WILLIAMS and HELEN G. WILLIAMS, his wife to WILLIAM  D. WILLIAMS and LILLIAN WILLIAMS, his wife for the sum of Ten Dollars ($10.00) the land known as the “CRUMP FARM” composed of lots No. 3369 and No. 3370.

DEED: November 13, 1941

By and between CHARLES WILLIAMS and BRONWYN WILLIAMS, his wife, THOMAS D. WILLIAMS and ISABELLA R. WILLIAMS, his wife, CAMBRIA WILLIAMS and EMMA WILLIAMS, his wife for the sum of Ten Dollars ($10.00) the land known as the “CRUMP FARM”
composed of lots No. 3369 and No. 3370.

 

Well, look at that will ya?! My own grandfather, Cambria Williams (1897-1960) was mentioned twice in these transactions, first as part of the estate of Jane, his mother, in which the property was transferred to all the boys, and then in 1941 when his share in the title was sold for $10. But that's not the eye-popper.

When Aunt Betty and I were chatting about this, we were wondering exactly where the property was. She had a pretty good idea about it's general location but the area had become overgrown and now it was practically impossible to determine any boundaries, at least by us. Then I noticed that the property was continually referred to as the Crump Farm and Lots No. 3369 and 3370. I got super excited. Off to check the Military Lots map put out by the Evergreen Heritage Center and Frostburg State University!

You can see below a section of that map and now it's pretty easy to find the location of lots 3369 and 3370. This land was awarded to Andrew Bruce for service in the Revolutionary War. We know where this is and it's right down the hill from Mom's house! I just love this map because it thoughtfully includes present day landmarks and roads. Mom lives on Route 36.

The land in West Virginia was not as exciting to me as this property. Oh, sure, it held promise of tin and silver but after Daniel's death, the family lost it to back taxes during the Great Depression. I don't find any evidence that Daniel and the boys actually worked the West Virginia property.

The Mt. Savage property was another story. Daniel and the boys possibly had hopes of a big pay day as they watched coal prices rise to new heights due to the demand for coal during WWI. Notice that Daniel purchased the property in October of 1914 and the war began in July. They felt that there was coal on that land, no doubt, and did something there, but exactly what we don't know. It's said in the family that he wanted to mine with his sons, all accomplished coal miners (except my Grandfather Camey) and most likely thought of this as his legacy to them. Theoretically, if the mine hit a big vein the boys would all be rich beyond measure. Today some of that same property is still owned by a descendant of Daniel Williams.

When I think of the great narrative saga of Daniel William's life, from the coal mines of Wales and unfortunate times to taking a chance on a better future, then to a Western Maryland home and land ownership, I can't help but be impressed. Daniel's vision for mineral wealth seems unbound, even though it was unfulfilled, but is admirable to me. Everyone needs a big dream. It is, after all, the American way.

And where did he get the money to buy all that land? He earned it.

Now I can't help but wonder if this photo was taken on his own land and was to document the start of a mining adventure. It was taken in 1915, the year after he purchased the land in Mt. Savage.

The URL for this post is: http://nutsfromthefamilytree.blogspot.com/2013/12/stories-from-mom-and-aunt-betty-part-4.html

 

Stories by Mom: Part 1, Those were the days, my friend, we thought they'd never end.

Those were the days my friend, I thought they’d never end!

By Virginia Williams Kelly

I love to walk. I have walked all my life. I used to walk three miles every morning, seven days a week not for my health but simply because I loved to do it and I got such a ‘high’ from just strolling along that I wanted  to walk and walk. But everything comes to an end eventually. 

My journey into my childhood started when I was about six years old and this story is part of it.

I was born on 29 July, 1918 into what Tom Brokaw called the Greatest Generation and if you were that lucky then you have seen almost all life has to offer, both good and bad.

My earliest memory was at age two. It was of my grandfather Williams (Daniel Williams, 1852 – 1920) who ask me to pass him his spittoon since he was chewing tobacco. I did not know of course that he was dying of kidney failure. He died on 19 April, 1920.  I can picture very vividly the room he was in, the couch in the corner and the wall telephone by the window next to the couch. That old telephone always fascinated me.

Daniel Williams (1852 – 1920), about 1919

My memories at about age three were the worst of my life and I think it set a pattern for the way I viewed many other things. We were living with my maternal grandparents (Joseph H. Whetstone and Catherine Elizabeth House Whetstone) and I had two uncles only seven and 13 years older than myself. They were always playing tricks on me. They loved to sit my little backside on the scrub brush, bristles up so that I could not get down and to leave me crying for my mother. They loved to torment me in every way their devious little minds could think of.

Me with a hair bow and the three “evil” uncles: Left to right: George, Leslie Lawrence, and Joseph Edward.

I also had a big old rooster attack me and since his feathers flew everywhere I was afraid of feathers. The uncles would put feathers all around the porch so I couldn't even play on the porch which was the only place I was allowed to play.

I also disliked open umbrellas for some reason and they always had an open umbrella on the porch. I think I had developed many phobias by the time I was three because of these incidents and many more. I did get back at them later when they hid their candy bars under the dining room table and I was small enough to reach them and eat them, and they were delicious too.

 

The Whetstones with some of their grandchildren:

Joseph Hampton Whetstone (1858 – 1939), Catherine Elizabeth House Whetstone (1865 – 1947). That’s me in the big hair bow, third child from the left.

The children are, left to right: Gene Knowles, my sister Dot, me, Chuck Knowles and Sandy Whetstone.

 

Times and daily life were very different then. Two things happened at that time that left scars. The most horrendous one was to see my Dad shoot his hunting dog. No one ever explained to me that the dog had distemper and had to be put down because there were no treatments or cures for it. So this led to my championing of all animals especially dogs.

 

The other horrible event was to watch my grandfather kill chickens twice, once with a hatchet and once by wringing its neck. I know now that these things were common but that didn't help a three year old to understand them.

My younger sister, Evelyn, died at age three and I can still recall how pretty she was, always smiling but she got diphtheria and never got over it. I can still see her in Grandmother's cabinet pulling out the towels so she could lie down on the shelves.

I remember my Aunt Edna dying of tuberculosis, although I didn't know that it was happening, when I used to sit on her bed while she told me little stories. She died on 11 May, 1922. She gave me a paper doll which I still have.

Yes indeed, times and daily life were very different then.

 

Me with one of the many dogs in my life.

My sisters and I: left to right, Dorothy “Dot” (Williams) Conrad (1920 – 2007), Evelyn Marie (1921 – 1924), and me.

Tune in tomorrow for the next installment!

 

The URL for this post is: http://nutsfromthefamilytree.blogspot.com/2013/11/stories-by-mom-part-1-those-were-days.html

 



Surname Saturday: Ann, who married William Price, and that's all we know

I usually enjoy using one of my favorite blogging prompts from GeneaBloggers called Surname Saturday because I get to reacquaint myself with one part of the family tree and cover ground that's both familiar as well as unfamiliar. But this one and ones like it make me pensive and melancholy because my female ancestor, this great grandmother of mine, has no surname. Gotta say, I don't like it one bit.

We're back in the 3rd great grandmothers, having already covered the earlier grandmothers and a bunch of the grandfathers in previous posts. As the title states, we'll be looking at what's known about the wife of William Price, who also brings his own ball of yarn all tangled, when it comes to his pedigree. The man's heritage is not neat and tidy!


1. Diane Kelly Weintraub

2. Francis Patrick Kelly 1916 - 2007
3. Virginia Williams, living and loving it!

6. Cambria Williams 1897 - 1960
7. Emma Susan Whetstone 1897 - 1956

12. Daniel Williams 1852 - 1920
13. Jane Price 1862 - 1939

26. William Price 1829 - 1872
27. Diane Thomas about 1832 - 1871
William Jr. was born in Bedfordshire, England, why we do not know. He died in Aux Sable Township, Grundy County, Illinois. Our working theory is that they went west, possibly mining, and to be with family. He's listed in the 1841 English Census living with his mother, Ann who is a lace maker. In both the 1850 and 1870 US Census he is listed as a miner and then more specifically, a coal miner.
Williams' wife Diane was born in Wales. She died in Mount Savage, Allegany County, Maryland. Mom believes that she traveled back to where family was to have her last child and died in childbirth or shortly thereafter.
They had these children:
William Henry Price 1852 - 1910. William was born in Frostburg, Allegany, MD and died there. He married Julia Elizabeth Koegel.
Benjamin Price 1854 - 1906. He died in Streator IL.He married Hanna "Annie" ?.
Diane Price 1856 - ????. She married Charles Busch and they lived in Brooklyn, Kings, NY, and presumably died there.
13. Jane Price 1862 - 1939. She was born in Mount Savage, Allegany, Maryland and died just up the hill in Frostburg.
Ellen Nellie Price 1864 - ????. She married the musician Buford Alley, born in Indiana.
James H. Price 1856 - 1933. He married Elizabeth Hiller and died in Streator IL.
Mary Price 1869 - ????
Victoria Price 1871 - ????

52. William Price ???? - before 1860
53. Ann (Last Name Unknown) ???? - ????
William was born in Wales and died before 1860 in Annapolis, Maryland. We don't know a thing about Ann. Obviously we need to get going on this couple, and in particular, Ann!
Some preliminary work looks like Ann went to Illinois and that's why her son William went there and died there... but is it the same Ann Price, that's the question?
These are the children we've found so far:
26. William Price 1829 - 1872
John Price 1821 - ????

See what I mean? This line-up leaves me wanting more. It's not so very far back in the records that it won't be there, somewhere, some place. Perhaps the place to start is with the MSA, or Mayland State Archives. They have a nice selection of genealogy resources. So it's back to Maryland again for me!



The URL for this post is: http://nutsfromthefamilytree.blogspot.com/2013/06/surname-saturday-ann-who-married.html

Surname Saturday: The Edwards Family from Wales

We're back in the 3rd great grandmothers, having already covered the earlier grandmothers and a bunch of the grandfathers in previous posts using one of my favorite blogging prompts from GeneaBloggers called Surname Saturday! I like this one because I get to reacquaint myself with one part of the family tree and cover ground that's both familiar as well as unfamiliar. I like that:)

This week we turn our attention to one of the families who had their roots deep in Wales, the Edwards people. And I have to say right at the top here, I don't know a thing about them except the names of all the children and we're lucky to have that only because Mom went to Wales years ago. But never mind because in posting this, I or you or a new-to-me cousin might have a thought that could help make connections. Ya' never know!


1. Diane Kelly Weintraub

2. Francis Patrick "Pat" Kelly (1916 - 2007)
3. Virginia Williams, living and loving it!

6. Cambria "Camey" Williams (1897 - 1960)
7. Emma Susan Whetstone (1897 - 1956)
They had 5 children in all:
3. Virginia, that's Mom
Dorothy Williams Conrad (1920 - 2007)
Evelyn Williams (1921 - 1924)
Margaret Williams (1926 - 1926)
Cambria Williams Jr. (1925 - 1997)

12. Daniel Williams (1852 - 1920)
13. Jane Price (1862 - 1939)
Daniel was born in Strata Florida, Cardigsnshire, Wales. He worked as a collier or coal miner, as his father had, in Wales, immigrated, then moved to the George's Creek Coal Mine Field in Western Maryland, one of the richest veins of coal at the time. Jane was born in Mount Savage, Allegany County, Maryland, just over the hill from where Daniel worked, but her family came from Wales as well. Daniel was a supervisor at the mines and well respected and elected to the school board.
They had 8 children:
James Henry Williams 1882 - 1936)
William Williams (1884 - 1964)
Benjamin Williams (1896 - 1896)
Thomas Williams (1890 - 1951)
Dianna Williams (1892 - 1893)
Joseph Williams (1895 - 1948)
6. Cambria Williams (1897 - 1960), that's Mom's Dad
Charles Williams (1899 - 1979), that's Aunt Betty's Dad

24. Thomas Williams (about 1815 - 1868?)
25. Jane James (about 1815 - ?)
Both Thomas and Jane were born in Strata Florida, Cardigsnshire, Wales. Thomas was a collier or coal miner as were a number of his sons. It is presumed that Thomas died about 1868, possibly in Lampiter, Cardiganshire, Wales. The death record is inconclusive as to confirming identity.
Jane is found in the 1870 Wales Census in Llangattock, Breckenshire, Wales. Interestingly, she's living next to a woman, a widow, by the name of Dianah James, a green grocer.
We have that mystery photo of Jane James Williams with her adult children taken by a photographer in Troy, New York... however, neither Mom nor Aunt Betty or silly me have been able to find a lick of a track of them in New York state! That's our brick wall.
They had 7 children:

Elizabeth Williams (24 Oct 1841-?)

David Williams (22 May 1844-?)

Jane Williams (4 Oct 1846-?)
Thomas Williams (25 Mar 1851-?)
12. Daniel Williams (1852 - 1920)
John Williams (Nov 1853-?)

William Williams (23 Jan 1865-?)

48. David Williams (?- 1838)
49. Rachel Edwards (dates not known to us)
Again, this family was born and died in Strata Florida, Cardigsnshire, Wales.
They had 6 children:
24. Thomas Williams (about 1815 - 1868?)
David Williams (1811 - ?)
Edward Williams (1814 - ?)
Elizabeth Williams (1816 - ?)
Catherine Williams (1819 - 1823)
Catherine Williams (1824 - ?)

There you have it, sadly. That's just about all we know about the end of the line. We're back in the late 1700s in Wales and good luck on that! It's on my bucket list to go to the National Archives and see what can be found. Some fine day:)


Photo taken at Troy NY. Can you help us match the names with the faces? Do you know of any of these people? Any guesses as to what year this was taken?

The Girls:

Elizabeth (24 Oct 1841-?) she's the oldest girl so is that her on the right, standing?

Jane (4 Oct 1846-?) is that her on the left in the fancy dress? Mom thinks that she is the wife of the man sitting to the left of her. What do you think?
 

The Boys, one is missing:
David (22 May 1844-?)

Thomas (25 MAR 1851-?)

John (Nov 1853-?)

William (23 Jan 1865-?)

Daniel my GGF (31 MAR 1852 - 19 APR 1920) is seated on the right
and his mother Jane Price Williams (1815-?) is seated to the left of him

The URL for this post is: http://nutsfromthefamilytree.blogspot.com/2013/06/surname-saturday-edwards-family-from.html

Wisdom Wednesday: Why Did I Not See That Before?

This week I'm feeling like I have on new glasses. Well, actually I do, so maybe that's why I'm drawn to this metaphor. I can see a couple of things more clearly now, beside the monitor and TV.

Maryland, My Maryland! (That's the title of the state song of Maryland.) It dawned on me that I am doing a lot of research in the state of Maryland. All, and I do mean all, of my ancestors going back at least the last three generations lived and worked in the state of Maryland, and some go back to my fourth or fifth great grands. That's a lot of Marylanders. I do have a couple of state guides for researching genealogy in Maryland, as well as West Virginia/Virginia, and Pennsylvania guides, but I need more than that. And I need it now. So my educational goal for April is to devote myself to all things Maryland. And I have people to help me. Mom, of course, has been guiding me along and she's born and bred in Maryland and still lives there and has been doing genealogy there sine the early 1970s. Plus, and this is a real blessing, I have a genea-pal who is willing to give me a tour of the Maryland State Archives online. She says it's a beast, but it's our beast:) Pass the Maryland crab cakes! (And I don't mean those weak imitations they offer on the appetizer menu here in San Diego! Yuck!)

Tree Sync. How, oh how, did my work habits get so bad in this one area? I have lost the sync feature between my Family Tree Maker (FTM) tree resident on the desktop computer (and safely backed up online) and my Ancestry Member Tree (AMT)! Discovered it quite a while back but have been ignoring this blister on my tree for too long. Those two buddies need to sync up! How did I not see that? Actually I did but ignored because I didn't know where to turn for answers... and now I do: the email group for Family Tree Maker!

And another thing I did not see before this week: have not updated either the FTM or the AFT with good info from member messages sent to me through Ancestry, after that new information is verified, of course. Remember, Mom started her Big Tree way back when and it's to be expected that there might be mistakes or updates and we find them all the time, some pointed out by other Ancestry members. We like that because those Ancestry members are probably looking at someone close to them but way out on a branch connected to another branch on our tree. Ya gotta love community:)

Cousins and such. Here's something else I've not been looking at: cousins and degrees and removals. Oh, I've known it in a general way so that if someone said, we're third cousins, I'd be looking at a shared great grandparent. And I did vaguely know that if there was a removal, it meant the cousin had kids who were removed down the line from us.
But the other day my laxity in this area stared me right in the face when I realized that my DNA matches on 23andMe who were 4th cousins shared a mutual ancestor not that far back and that for 4th cousins we should be looking at 3rd great grandparents. So the cousin who replied back to my inquiry and said that we probably shared an ancestor too far back to know about didn't have it right. Mom and I know who the 3rd great grandparents are... but maybe that cousin match doesn't.
Here's how I'm remembering it: whatever degree cousin we are, subtract one to find the degree of great grandparent. Example: 4th cousin = 3rd great grandparent. And for gosh sake, if this is wrong, wrong please tell me!! Remember, I'm slightly dyslexic and very math-challenged:)

Photo of the Day from Aunt Betty's Archive:

Jane Price Williams (1862 - 1939)

The URL for this post is: http://nutsfromthefamilytree.blogspot.com/2013/04/wisdom-wednesday-why-did-i-not-see-that.html