Online Trees

Is organization one of your 2020 goals? If so, have you been following the tips in The Genealogy Guys Blog? Today's post, 'Organizing Your Online Trees,' is a challenge for me.

It is a challenge since I never considered having to 'keep  them up to date.'

For years, I have shared my work with others either thru a website, thru my Ancestry tree or thru a gedcom file. Since having my DNA tested, I have used gedcom files to share my tree with the various sites where my DNA data has been uploaded.

Thanks to hosting site and software changes, some of my early attempts at sharing are no longer easily accessed. This would include my original website hosted on GeoCities. About the time GeoCities was being discontinued, I had transitioned to using The Master Genealogist for my genealogy research. Thus, I was able to take advantage of John Cardinal's software, Second Site and his hosting service to continue sharing my work online.

When support for The Master Genealogist was discontinued, I converted my data to RootsMagic. One of the 'selling' points for RootsMagic was the ability to publish my data online. Thus, I switched my online file from Second Site to RootsMagic's.

Since the release of RootsMagic's TreeShare, I have had my RootsMagic data connected to my Ancestry Tree. I've also been taking advantage of the ability to connect individuals in my RM data to Family Search.

Thus, my primary online trees include

• Heartland Genealogy on Ancestry
• FamilySearch tree
• RootsMagic Online data

For DNA purposes, I do have some of my data on the following sites:

• My Heritage
• FamilyTree DNA
• GedMatch

Since my GedCom has been shared in many ways, I don't have a complete list of where my data may be available online. Thus, the challenge!

Since most of my current research has not involved new DNA ancestors, I don't feel a lot of pressure to update my GedCom data on My Heritage, FamilyTree DNA or GedMatch.

In terms of updating online trees, my focus will be on my Ancestry tree, my ancestors on FamilySearch and my RootsMagic online data. Thank you 'The Genealogy Guys' for the challenge!

Member Search

Have you seen it? Ancestry recently released an improvement to their 'Member Search'.

I played around with it a little yesterday, and this feature has a lot of potential. However, I think a better understanding of how the search works is needed before I can use it effectively.

To access the 'Member Search' feature, pull down the SEARCH menu on Ancestry's screen.

Click on MEMBER SEARCH at the bottom of that menu. The Member Search screen will open with the default search for a member by their name or user ID.

In the past, one had to pretty much know the exact name or user id in order to locate that user. This is one of the areas that has been improved. Instead of needed to know the exact name, one can search for part of their name.

Fabulous Find

Do you use Ancestry.com in your genealogy research? If so, have you checked out one of their newest sources of shaky leaf hints: Newspapers.com Obituary Index, 1800s-current? Randy Searver's instructions on how to access just the hints from this one source in his Using the 'Mining Ancestry.com Hints from a Specific Collection' Tool makes it easy to pull these hints. 

Message Boards

Do you use Ancestry's Message Boards? What about the mailing lists hosted by RootsWeb? Or, do you remember the forums on Genealogy.com?

These tools used to be a regular part of my genealogy arsenal. Unfortunately, my usage has been rare since returning to my genealogy research. However, I'm finding that even though these tools don't provide much interaction, they do contain a wealth of information. And I'm just 'stumbling' across it.

I recently did a simple Google search for 'Whitley genealogy Miller' in hopes of locating a family history. Granted this wasn't a well defined search and I didn't find exactly what I was looking for. However, I did find a major hint about Elizabeth Whitley Miller in an old message posted on Genealogy.com.

Media Issues

Have you seen DearMyrtle's challenge?

When I first saw the challenge, I thought I should be in pretty good shape. After all, I scanned the family photos and attached them in my The Master Genealogist software several years ago. Since I've worked my way thru 5 generations of data review, I figured I should be set.

That was until yesterday when I was verifying descendants for a thru-lines DNA match on Ancestry. As I was working with a known first cousin twice removed, I decided to check FamilySearch to see if there were any additional sources attached to this cousin.

To my surprise, I found a slightly different set of parents than expected. I expected to find John Frederick Mentzer and Anna Wells Mentzer as the parents of a family of 8 children, including Mildred Mabel Mentzer. Instead, I found Fred Mentzer and Anna Wells Mentzer as the parents of one child, Mildred Mentzer. After digging thru my Mentzer records to verify that John and Anna did have a daughter named Mildred and that said daughter was married to a VanValkenburg, I merged Mildred and the two sets of parents.

Knowing that someone could object to this merger and undo the merge, I wanted to add supporting documentation to support the merge. Thus, I (thought I) added an image of the obituary for Fred Mentzer. The obituary clearly indicated that Fred Mentzer was also known as John Frederick Mentzer. It also listed the children and their residency at the time of Fred's death. I also added a page from a Woodson County Historical Society publication that included a picture of the family when the children were young and a list of the children and their spouses.

Since my attempt to create an image of the obituary from a PDF file, did not include the entire obituary that attempt was a failure. Thankfully, I discovered the problem and have since uploaded an image showing the entire obituary.

Sub-Clustering

I just watched Blaine Bettinger's video, Sub-Clustering Shared Matches. As I was following the video, I was also trying to do this with my brother's DNA matches.

The match I started with is listed on my match page as a second cousin. In reality, she is a first cousin once removed. Our common ancestors are Judson Crawford and Josie Hammond.

Her shared match list contained 157 matches. I marked them all with a yellow dot labeled: ICW EB.

Which James Is the Son of Alexander?

Do you ever look at someone else's tree? Do you trust other trees? Do the number of sources attached to the tree matter? Do you trust Ancestry public member trees more than the global tree on FamilySearch?

For the most part, I look at trees and I use them for hints. I prefer trees with sources other than other trees but will look at any tree that seems to match what I know about a family. I also use the tree on FamilySearch for hints.

Recently, I've been frustrated when looking at trees for any of the James Crawford families with roots in early Kentucky. For some reason, many of them seem to lead back to Alexander Crawford and Mary McPheeters as parents.

To see if my impression was wrong, I decided to do a search of Ancestry's public member trees for a James Crawford with parents of Alexander Crawford and Mary McPheeters. My search turned up 50 trees.

Assuming I counted correctly, I found the following:

• 12 trees showing a James Crawford who died in 1803 in Fayette County, KY
• 3 trees showing a James Crawford born in 1752 and dying in 1753
• 3 trees showing a James Crawford who married Jean and died in 1791
• 1 tree showing a James Crawford who married a Llewellyn and died in 1847
• 9 trees showing a James Crawford who married Rebecca Anderson and died in 1836
• 1 tree showing a James Crawford who married a Vansandt and died in 1836
• 6 trees showing a James Crawford who married a Frazier and died in 1811
• 2 trees showing a James Crawford born in 1748
• 3 trees showing a James Crawford born in 1735 and dying in 1825

Working with Land Records

Have you discovered all of the resources available on the FamilySearch website? If so, then you know how they can provide that little 'nugget' of information that leads to major breakthroughs in one's genealogical research. If not, then you are missing out on some very valuable resources.

My favorite group of sources is the land records. As a U.S. researcher whose various family lines moved across the country, these records help me place someone in a specific time and place and sometimes help me connect family members.

When I login to FamilySearch (accounts are free), the menu gives me several options. The Wiki is a fantastic resource to learn about records available in a community. I often use the Wiki, but the Catalog is my 'go to' resource.

On the CATALOG screen, I type in the name of the county and then select the one I wish to work with from the suggested list.

Scroll, Click, Connect

Do you ever look at other trees on Ancestry? I know I do. I use them for hints. I also attach them as 'sources' so that I can get back to trees that match my ancestors.

However, I try not to add 'new people' from those trees to my tree. I also try to add additional sources to support the information in my tree. Some of those sources are obtained thru Ancestry and the hinting system.

However, some of my sources come from outside of Ancestry. Thus, when you search Ancestry's Public Member Trees for someone in my tree, the number of sources attached to the individual will be shown.

DNA Stats

Have you been keeping track of your DNA statistics? I know I keep track of my DNA statistics. Prior to Roots Tech 2019, I tracked the number of pages of Ancestry matches.

Thanks to Ancestry updates, I can more easily track this information.

When I add in my mother's DNA, I have over 350,000 DNA matches. Buried in all of this DNA data may be a clue to break thru my brick walls. Now, I just need time to work thru at least some of this data.

Ancestry Hints - New Beta

Have you been frustrated by Ancestry hints that seem illogical? I know I have. I seem to get hints for records from England when my ancestor was born, lived and died in the states. That's why I'm excited about the new 'beta' tool to report those bad hints to Ancestry. Not only can I report 'bad' hints, but I can report 'duplicate' photos and explain why a hint is valid.

To enable this new feature, I had to 'turn it on'. This is done by opening the EXTRAS menu

and pick ANCESTRY LAB from the bottom of the menu.

The HINTS FEEDBACK is the new feature. To make it work, click on ENABLE.

Reporting Census Extraction Issue

Do you just rely on Ancestry's record information for census records prior to 1850? Or do you locate an extraction form for the census year to verify the interpretation of the check marks?

I have to admit that I often just use the information provided by Ancestry. I'm not sure why I decided to locate an extraction form and record the census information for myself today. However, I'm glad I did since I think the Ancestry record had one piece of information incorrect.

I was researching Isaac Crawford of Jefferson County, Indiana. I suspected he was living in Jefferson County in 1820 but hadn't obtained a census record to support that suspicion. So, I searched Ancestry and was able to locate a record for Isaac Crawford in Jefferson County, Indiana.

DNA and Descendancy Research

Do you try and connect with other genealogists to pick up tips and tricks? Living in rural America, I rely on connections over the Internet to pick up many of those tips and tricks. I've recently been watching one of the Barefoot Genealogists' recent videos: Making Discoveries with the New and Improved AncestryDNA Match List.

Ancestry DNA Tips

This morning, I watched one of the Barefoot Genealogist''s new videos: What Are Ancestry ThruLines?

Even though I was already familiar with Ancestry's ThruLines - and appreciate how they are helping me with my DNA matches, I learned several things about how Ancestry's 'Common Ancestors' and 'ThruLines' work from this video.

How Many DNA ThruLines

Recently, Randy Seaver posted about the number of DNA ThruLines he had for each ancestor. Curious, I decided to check out my own ThruLines to see how many I have for each ancestor.

How Many DNA ThruLines do I have for each ancestor?

Grandparents:

• Leon Russel Crawford / Winnie Letha Currey - 2
• Edward Osmond Briles / Pauline Edith Mentzer - 7

Crawford ThruLInes Question

I like Ancestry's new ThruLines feature!

Unfortunately, it is pointing out one of my frustrations with my DNA results. I have several verified second and third cousin DNA matches on my Crawford line but we never got a DNA circle for my 3rd great grandfather, Nelson G. Crawford. When Ancestry released ThruLines, I was hoping to locate some fourth cousins thru one of Nelson's other children.

However, the ThruLines for Nelson G Crawford only includes DNA matches going thru my 2nd great grandfather, Washington Marion Crawford. It does not include any lines going thru the siblings of Washington Marion Crawford.

Tree Hint Issue

When working with Ancestry hints, do you look at the 'Member Tree' hints, or do you just ignore them? I look at them and often accept them without adding information to my tree. This creates a connection to other researchers that I can go back to.

While working with a non-ancestor, Rev. James Crawford (1752-1803), the suggested member trees really puzzled me. Many were trees for the James Crawford that married Rebecca Anderson. However, they also included the family information for the James Crawford that married Sarah VanSant

Re-Searching

Do you ever go back thru your research trying to use your older research to try and find new information? If so, that is what I'm working on with my James Crawford brick wall. As part of that process, I'm reviewing the other Crawford families I've identified and trying to prove/disprove a relationship with my ancestor, James Crawford.

Thus, I was looking at the James Crawford who was a Presbyterian minister at Walnut Hill Church outside of Lexington, Kentucky. Not only am I trying to find additional information, but I'm also trying to make sure I have good source citations for the information I have already located.

For Rev. James Crawford's death date, I had cited Kentucky Obituaries 1787-1854

Common Ancestor Puzzle

Do you ever participate in one of Blaine Bettinger's DNA quizzes? Or, do you ever see someone else's post about their DNA stats and decide to investigate your own? I know I often take the time to look at the data and see how my data compares.

That happened two days ago when someone (and unfortunately I don't know who and can't find the original post) posted about his Ancestry DNA Common ancestors. Basically, the poster indicated how many common ancestors he had at each cousin level and wondered how that compared to other testers.

Thus, I decided to look at mine:

• One 1st cousin
• Three 2nd cousins
• Five 3rd cousins

With over 3,000 4th cousin or closer DNA matches, I expected a lot of common ancestors at the 4th cousin level. Thus, I was shocked to only find EIGHT.

Out of curiosity, I looked at my incomplete ThruLines spreadsheets to see how many cousins I have identified so far.

DNA Stats

Randy Seaver of Genea-Musings is known for his Saturday Night Genealogy Fun challenges. His blog post, DNA Tests and Analysis Summary wasn't a Saturday Night Genealogy Fun challenge, but I decided that I needed to view it as a challenge to review my DNA results.

Gedmatch

• highest cM match - 387.2 cM
• # matches sharing 68 cM or more - 9
• # matches sharing 34 cM or more - 53

yDNA matches

• 18 at 111 markers with genetic distance of 6 or higher
• 52 at 67 markers with genetic distance of 1 or higher