Category: 52 Ancestors Page 2 of 4

I’m a bit late on my 52 Ancestors post! It has been a busy last two weeks. Better late than never though, so here is my Week 9 post!

When I was younger, I heard many rumors about my maiden name Witherell and where it came from and what it meant. The most frequent one told to me was that Witherell’s were shepherds and were named after the ‘weather-all’ they created for shelter in the fields. The rumor said they were from the England/Scotland border. So, one of the things I’ve always wanted to find out is how true all of that is!

Which means, of course, that I hit my Witherell brick wall in the early 1800s, still in the United States. I have confirmed my 4x great-grandfather and who he was: David Witherell, born in 1813 in New York and died in 1862 in Michigan. He is the beginning of my Witherells in Michigan and although he died in Genesee County, his wife and children moved to Saginaw shortly thereafter. His descendants have lived in Saginaw, Michigan since 1866 – which means that line of family has been in the same area for over 150 years ((Martha Curtis Obituary, Saginaw Daily News (Saginaw, Michigan), 14 January 1911, page 2.)). I think that’s pretty amazing.

It’s his parents where I hit a wall. David married a woman named Martha Wolcott, who has a family book where she is mentioned. In that book, it states that David is the son of John and Juda (Bullard) Witherell of Richmond, NY ((Wolcott Genealogy The Family of Henry Wolcott (Rochester, NY: Genese Press, 1912), page 212.)) .

My search on John Witherell didn’t lead to much, but Juda (or Judith) Bullard had more information. Her parents are David and Elizabeth (Hadley) Bullard ((Arad Thomas, Pioneer History of Orleans County, New York (Bowie, Maryland: Heritage Books, INC, 1871 Reprint 1998), page 231.)). With that, I began to hunt for information on David, hoping he may have left a will that mentions his daughter or grandchildren.

I found a general index on FamilySearch.org for Orleans County, New York from 1825-1926 that showed David Bullard DID have a probate record. I then contacted the County Courthouse in Orleans County and they sent me along to the Orleans County Genealogical Society – my heroes for this post!

I gave them the box and file number and asked if the files still existed and if there was a way to get more information about this record.

By the end of that day, they had emailed me the ENTIRE file (it wasn’t large, thankfully)! I cannot stress how absolutely amazing this group is for doing something like this! I would have paid for the information as well and sent them a donation for doing such an amazing thing. Seriously, genealogy societies have gold mines of information!

The record did not have a will, sadly, but there was a lot of fun information:

These records do not specifically say if any of the names are his children or how they are related (if at all) to David. ((Orleans County, New York, David Bullard probate file, box 6, file 779; Orleans County Genealogical Society, Albion New York.)). That is usually the case though, and I have seen the name of Ransom Bullard in connection with a possible sibling of David. So it’s another link, albeit indirectly (and it needs more), but a link. Nonetheless, the generosity of the Orleans Genealogical Society brought me such a gift and I hold this probate record in high value!

Never underestimate the records of local groups!

52 Ancestors Week 8: Heirloom

By Nichelle Barra

On 26 February 2018

In 52 Ancestors, DNA

This week’s topic had me grasping for an idea. I do have some things from my ancestors, but they are more recent: my grandmother’ diary, her hope chest, and LOTS of pictures (which I put into it’s own category instead of heirloom).

However, those don’t seem to really grasp the word heirloom to me. An heirloom is something passed on for several generations. There are items in our family like that, but nothing that I actually possess at the moment, nor know enough about really (but this brings up the fact that I should ask for the stories about them and get pictures…).

So what do I have? DNA! That is definitely something that has been passed down through the generations.

Keeping in mind that ethnicity estimates are estimates, here’s the breakdown for my DNA from AncestryDNA:

From FamilyTreeDNA:

And from MyHeritageDNA:

There are a number of rather large differences there and always something to keep in mind with your ethnicity results for these tests. You are being compared to reference groups that each company has created. To get a better idea, you’ll want to read more about how countries are grouped for each company (for example, Ireland is separate for AncestryDNA and MyHeritageDNA, but not FamilyTreeDNA) and how many people have been tested in those reference groups. That will make a difference and you’ll notice your percentages will change as more and more people are tested.

Really, for me, those are good fun and make for interesting conversation. It’s interesting to see how I compare to family members but I understand that this is still a new science and not as exact as people may expect or hope for.

With DNA testing, I have been able to test both my maternal grandparents. My paternal grandparents are no longer here, but I have tested my dad and my paternal grandfather’s sister. So when I match with someone, I can at least see which line we are likely to be connected.

I’ve become interested in DNApainter.com as well. If you haven’t tried this yet, you should! It’s a lot of fun and for visual people like myself, it’s SO neat to see where your chromosomes come from. I won’t go into too much detail here, but you can take your chromosome matches from a site like FamilyTreeDNA and put them into DNApainter to “paint” your chromosomes that are from specific ancestors or lines. To show you, here are my chromosomes showing what chromosomes I get from my maternal grandparents (the bottom chromosome, two shades of pink) and from my paternal great-aunt (dark color on the top chromosome), and then my dad, which I don’t have highlighted below as it overlaps with his aunt.

So the top part of each chromosome comes from my dad. When someone matches me, I can usually break it down to one of my four lines by seeing if someone also matches either of my grandparents, my aunt, or my dad. Obviously, my grandpa does have a different DNA combination than his sister, which my dad could have inherited, and therefore I could have inherited. So I can’t say for sure that if someone doesn’t match my aunt, but matches my dad and I, that they are part of his mom’s side. However, this still gives me a pretty solid starting point in figuring out where someone may match with me in my ancestry.

Side note: RootsTech is happening this week! You can watch from home too, which is what I’ll be doing. Here is the streaming schedule for you: RootsTech Live Stream Schedule

52 Ancestors Week 7: Valentine

By Nichelle Barra

On 14 February 2018

In 52 Ancestors

Happy Valentine’s Day to those of you who celebrate 🙂

The topic for this week is very fitting for some lovely treasures I inherited after my grandfather passed away: his mother’s school Valentine’s! I love vintage Valentine’s and absolutely adore that she kept these cards all of her life! I swear, that woman knew that one day someone like me would come along and want them.

Here are my great-grandmother’s Valentine’s Day cards from the 1910’s. Enjoy your day!

52 Ancestors Week 6: Favorite Name

By Nichelle Barra

On 11 February 2018

In 52 Ancestors

Favorite names! Personally, my favorite name is one that is unique and the person used it in all their records instead of a nickname. This is a feeling I’m sure most genealogists share! (Although there is something satisfying about being able to correctly identify which John Smith is your John Smith.)

Unique names is something I am familiar with, given my own name. I get lots of comments about my own name – and LOTS of corrections throughout my life. Lots of people would correct it for me, assuming my mother or I had spelled it wrong. No, thank you. It is Nichelle. Just like Michelle, but with an N. There’s a whole spiel that goes with giving someone my name. And although my mom has watched a lot of Star Trek (I got my nerd genes from her, which I am very proud of), I am sadly not named after Nichelle Nichols. I once had someone (a complete stranger) insist that I was, which was interesting. But in reality, my mom had a friend who used Nichelle as a middle name for her daughter and my mom thought it was pretty. That’s the story!

Several of my favorite names in my family tree turn out to be Biblical names, but such ones that go beyond the Mary and Joseph – Hezekiah is an example. Another is the subject for this post: Tryphena (Hockey) Stock, my 4th great-grandmother.

I had to look up how to pronounce it even, just to be certain!

A quick Google search shows that Tryphena is a Biblical name from Romans 16:12 and it was about two women who worked hard in the name of God. I am completely unfamiliar with that story/reference, so feel free to correct me or give more details!

Tryphena is also my last English immigrant. Well, technically her daughter, Hannah (my 3rd great-grandmother) would be considered that, but they all came to America as a family.

I had a hard time finding Tryphena in the 1841 census for England. I believe she is the child called Mary found in the household of Job and Jane Hockey. ((“1841 England Census,” database, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 11 Feb 2018), entry for Job Hockey (age 35), Westbury, Somerset; citing the National Archives, class HO107, piece 962, book 12, folio 10, page 15; Wetbury Parish, ED 21.))

That Mary matches what I do have – she’d be about 13 at that time and she’s in the same area I find her later. There is also a baptism record for a “Iziphena” Hockey, which is likely a transcription error for Tryphena. There it states she was baptized 28 Oct 1827 and was born 4 Sept 1827 to parents Job and Jane Hockey in Shepton Mallet. ((FreeBMD, “Basic Search,” database, FreeREG (http://www.freereg.org.uk : accessed 11 Feb 2018), parish register baptism entry for Iziphena Hockey, 28 Oct 1827, Shepton Mallet, Somerset; citing St. Peter and Paul, reg no. 1768. )) So perhaps her middle name was Mary? Maybe that was easier than her name? I can understand if that was the case!

Then there is her marriage in the England & Wales Marriage Index. She married Forest Stock in Wells, Somerset County, England by 1849. ((“England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1837-1915,” database, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 11 Feb 2018), marriage entry for Tryphena Hockey [groom not identified]; citing Somerset County, Fourth Quarter 1849. vol. 10, page 793. Also see “England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1837-1915,” database, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 11 Feb 2018), marriage entry for Forest Stock [bride not identified]; citing Somerset County, Fourth Quarter 1849. vol. 10, page 793.)).

Although the index doesn’t indicate who they are marrying, the fact that they have the same volume and page number is a good sign. That and the fact that they are together in the 1851 census for England in Westbury, with their daughter Hannah (my 3x great-grandmother). There, Tryphena is indicated as being born in Shepton Mallet in Somerset, which is less than 6 miles away from Wells, where the two married (I had to Google that). ((“1851 England Census,” database, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 11 Feb 2018), entry for Tryphena Stock (age 23), Westbury, Somerset; citing The National Archives, class HO107, piece 1934, folio 90, page 14; Wells registration district, ED 5, household 59.))

By 1860, the family has moved to Michigan, and from their five year son William who was born in Michigan, they had been there since 1855 at the latest. Why they came is still a bit of a mystery. I haven’t really noticed any family around, but I haven’t searched that hard for siblings at this point either. ((1860 U.S. Census, Macomb County, Michigan, population schedule, Clinton, page no. 383, dwelling 2787, family 2917, Forest Stock and family; image, Ancestry.com(http:www.ancestry.com : accessed 11 Feb 2018); citing NARA microfilm publication M653, roll 553.))

She was just 32 in 1860. A few years later, with the start of the Civil War, Forest joins to fight with Michigan.

Never to return.

Which is a story for another time. But for Tryphena, she’s now a widow at 37. I turn 36 this year and that is a haunting reality for me. I don’t have children and couldn’t imagine suddenly be the sole provider for 6 children, all under 16.

She never remarries either. She was still a young woman (in my eyes at least), and a husband probably would have helped. I still need to research her siblings to see if any of them followed her to America, but it could be that there wasn’t family around. Just her and her kids.

By 1873, at the age of 46, she passed away. She died in Lenox, Macomb County, Michigan. ((“Michigan, Deaths and Burials Index, 1867-1995,” database, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 11 Feb 2018), entry for Mary Stock, 30 May 1873; Family History Library “Michigan Deaths and Burials, 1800-1995,” FHL Film Number 979574. )) There’s so much more to her story that I still want to find out! What happened to her siblings, why the move to Michigan, and then what did she do after Forest’s death?

Category: 52 Ancestors Page 2 of 4

52 Ancestors Week 9 : Where There’s a Will…

52 Ancestors Week 8: Heirloom

52 Ancestors Week 7: Valentine

52 Ancestors Week 6: Favorite Name