My Quest When Tracing MY Family Tree

Tracing one’s family tree is a personal history. This is commonly referred to as Genealogy and usually takes in one’s past ancestors, as far back as one can go.

History tells us we started back thousands of years ago, and it is said we all came out of Africa. Now, it would be impossible to trace our own family tree back that far, as the written word did not exist that far back. Instead we do have within our makeup our DNA, which has changed very little over that time.

The changes that have occurred are the blood type, according to where we located to around the world; and a few mutations within the Y-DNA and MtDNA. The latter has come from certain women back in time and can be read about from the books of Bryan SYKES of Oxford University in England. Three of his books are The Seven Daughters of Eve,   Adam’s Curse, and The Blood of the Isles.  All extremely interesting books. So, reality is, your MtDNA comes from seven main women back in time and is carried to you from your mother.

Male children cannot pass their MtDNA on; and that becomes the end of that DNA….passed on, only by the female children, when they give birth to their children. As far as genealogy is concerned though, it is the Y-DNA that assists in the genetic makeup of past ancestors. Might I suggest reading the book, Trace Your Roots With DNA by Megan SMOLENYAK and Ann TURNER.

These Y-DNA haplogroups have been created over thousands of years as man migrates from one area to another, much like the blood groups formed. The older haplogroups have become rare, until now the most common groups are the R1 and I haplogroups. It has become the done thing to have all the males of the family trees do their Y-DNA, either as a participant, or by his female relatives sponsoring him for the test.

Frequently the participant does the 12 marker in the beginning, but really, this only tells a person which haplogroup he belongs to. There are so many matches with this….many other surnames …… that there is no way to determine if any of them are related to you. It would be better to consider the next  test up the ladder….. the 25 Marker Test.

Familytreedna.com have stated that if two participants have the exact same 25 marker match then they both had the exact same ancestor sometime after 1066AD, regardless of surname, as back then not everyone had a surname. In attempting to trace your family tree you will find both ups and downs.

Some times it seems you have found your ancestor, only to discover that it is not all that simple. Your Polly POWER turns out to be really called Mary POWER, and in turn you discover there are three Polly’s to choose from. But do not despair….there are various websites to aid you now.

But before you begin you need to collect all the information you can on your Polly POWER. When was she born? Who were her parents? What was her husband’s name? Did she have any children? When did she die?  All these questions and any others that come to mind should be written down. Do you have any background on her? Ask your old Aunts if they have any stories on her….they usually do. Write down each story…do not rely upon your memory as later on you cannot go back to your Aunt if she has died in the meantime.

Collecting information on Polly will inevitably bring up other names too.  Write them down! Include any dates that come with the story. If possible draw a family tree with what you have obtained and study it. Now is the time to start looking on the internet.

Take a quick trip to google.com  and put in Polly POWER and see if anything comes up. You may get lucky here and find some kind soul (SKS) had already done the leg work…may even be a distant cousin. Didn’t come up?  No matter, you can now consider the well developed genealogy sites.

First to come to mind is Familysearch.org, created by the Latter Day Saints (Mormon) Church. They have collected an enormous amount of information from all the various Record Offices around the world and put them into microfiche and microfilm. They have a site that you may visit and search at your leisure. This gives a lot of information but sometimes you will need to take it further and will have to go to the local Mormon (LDS) Church to order a film. This can be done by asking the Librarian to help you order the film and ask which microfilm/microfiche you think is best for you. She/he will assist you to determine this, and show you how to access the film ordering site.

If you feel confident in ordering it yourself you can do it at home on your own computer, but must view the film at your local LDS Library. Go to http://film.familysearch.org and register your name and password, and then you can order the film. Be aware you need to know what the film number is, and therefore this is the reason for visiting your local Latterday Saint’s (LDS) Library first. They will not only help you determine what film you need but will give you the number of their Library to be entered on the request form.

These film(s) are brought in from Salt Lake City and you pay a minimal cost for them. You have three months in which to pour over their contents before it is returned to Salt Lake. On ordering a film it takes up to eight weeks to arrive so remember this when you need to order more than one film and stretch out the ordering time to allow yourself to read one film before the next one arrives. Now you may wish to look at other sites to clarify what you have found to date.

Another site to consider is Ancestry.com. They have a similar amount of information as the Mormans but seem to have a lot more people dealing with them, and therefore, there is a much better chance of finding a cousin out there….or at least other people researching your Polly.

To make use of www.ancestry.com you really need to join their site. At times they allow a free view for a fortnight but otherwise it costs money to belong. This will depend upon where you are researching too, as if you are in America you will find you have access to all the Censuses they have there. Not as good for other countries though. If you happen to look when the free offer is there take it, and check for yourself.

Be aware, though, as they ask you for your credit card particulars and before the time is up you need to cancel your free look before the two weeks are up or they will take a further month’s worth off your credit card. If you have decided you need to view more of their information then it would not matter so much, as you would then be required to pay for it. Another site to consider, if you are searching in the British Isles is http://www.freebmd.org.uk/ as this allows you to search for your ancestor’s birth, marriage or death. That is assuming you know their name and possible time frame that they were around.

Perhaps you are into Ireland and wish to look at sites there. One that has just changed over to Face Book is www.facebook.com/waterfordcountymuseum which as you can see is the Waterford Museum. You will find all the County’s also have sites to allow you to request information on your ancestors in Ireland. The main collections, though, are to be found in Belfast and Dublin. Simply google for the National Archives etc. Expect to pay money for all information attained in Ireland.

Perhaps you are interested in Australia or New Zealand. One excellent site is http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~ourstuff . This shows ships travelling into New Zealand and also has passenger lists. Whilst we are about it I should mention the various Mailing Lists that allow you to ask about your ancestors in the different countries, states and surname lists.

The best place to choose which of these is suitable for you would be www.rootsweb.com . Here you will also find a Message Board where you can look at your chosen surname to see if there is a cousin there. Also try ancestry.com or www.genealogy.com for both message boards and family trees.

So, let’s take a closer look at www.familysearch.org . On the home page it invites you to input a search for your ancestor, using his name and a time span, according to how much you want of his life. This includes a heading Life Events, the possible year of the event with a year range to allow you to cover possible years if you are unsure.

Let’s take a look for our ancestor, assuming he was a Mariner. To do this, look at the above Tabs to where it says Library. Click on this and choose the title Library Catalogue.This brings up a number of subjects; choose Film/Fiche Search and click on it. You will then have a window to input the number of your search. We are looking for the Seamen Crew Lists so input the number 866666 and this will show you the full name of Agreements between 1747 and 1856. Click on this heading and then on the next page the word Here at the bottom of the page. This then brings up all the Ports in the British Isles that they have kept records for. Having said this, note that you do not always find the ship you are looking for in that Port.Perhaps there were too many records for them to copy. At the bottom of each page is the words Next Film Notes, click on this for the following page. These microfilm will give you the ship and the seamen on it, signed every six months around the coast; or once a year on overseas ships. It also tells you the ship your ancestor was on prior to that ship. This is how I discovered there were ships missing, for the time frame.

OK….so you have searched and found most of the ships your ancestor was on. Now you have become curious to know more about this guy. What did he look like? Where did he live? You realise you need to find his Seaman Ticket Number to find this information out. The BT98s will have given you a fair idea when he was at sea and so you will know which Series you need to consult. In my case I had three men to consider. The father, Mathew, and his two sons, Austin and Thomas. That meant looking at each series to find them. I found both Mathew and Austin in the Series One BT120/4. The film for this was 1483221 and is the number you input to check it out before ordering the film from LDS. Mathew’s ticket number was 7526 and Austin’s 8696. The year this Series One was available was 1835-36; and the information was very little. It told me that Mathew was 55 on the 9 April 1836. It gave the ship(s) they were on, and where they were born. In this case Mathew was born in Waterford Ireland whilst Austin was born in Plymouth England. Fortunately it was decided to start the Series again and Series Two runs between 1836 to 1844 and all the Series One seamen were added to this one. This time we had Mathew as ticket number 5132 and Austin as 36973. These were found on the BT119 index using the number 1483310. And the BT 112 gave the film number 1502120. It showed that Austin was 27 on the 9 March 1843. Now….moving to the 1845 -1854 Series, BT114/16, input the film number 1502076. This is the index to the BT113. We find Austin under the ticket numbers 75597 and 254720. Go to the BT113 using the number 1482532 and 1483087. I ordered these two microfilm and waited. Seems to take about eight weeks to arrive, although this depends on how many people have ordered it before you. When it arrives you get to keep it for three months, if necessary.  When I looked at the both of them I found them to belong to the same Austin. His year of birth had changed between the Series One and this one, and both had the exact same birth date of 12 March 1818. One ticket was issued in Glasgow and the other in Plymouth. The Glasgow ticket stated he lived at 30 Cornwall Street Plymouth whilst the Plymouth ticket just had written down Cornwall Street. It also stated he was a Mate and could write. Both indicated he was born in Plymouth and first went to sea in 1833 as a boy. The Glasgow ticket was issued on the 3 February 1845 and the Plymouth ticket on the 3 May 1845. One discrepancy is they say he was 27 in February and 27 in May….and yet his birth date was the 12 March. Then came his description. This was the same but different….sound Irish? Glasgow wrote Austin down as height 5’ 6”; complexion Ruddy; hair Black; eyes Hazel. Plymouth had him down as 5’ 6” tall; complexion Ruddy; hair Brown; eyes Blue. A slight change but basically the same I guess.

Knowing that my three men became Master Mariners I ordered two film on Masters. They were 1562764 and 847934. They were very interesting but neither had my guys in it. Next I tried the Trinity Pensions. The microfilm were numbers 950874 and 395593. Once again they were interesting and it showed life in those times as it was but still nothing on my three guys. And so that is how it stands at present.

With Mathew POWER (Master Mariner) I now have the idea he was born in 1781 and not 1787 like I first thought, from the BT98s. Because Ireland lost a lot of records in the 1922 Fire of Dublin I am unable to follow up his parents and siblings. And to date, the date of 9 April 1836 is the latest I have him down as….for now.

OK…. so your ancestor wasn’t a Mariner but you do know where he was born. Or at least a fair idea of the area. I would suggest you consider Hugh WALLIS’ site at http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~hughwallis . It has all the Parish Batch Numbers and by clicking on the Birth/Marriage/Death numbers next to the Parish name it takes you to the next page. Here you will find the words, Specify Your Search Criteria. To the right of this is a window in which you place the surname you are looking for. Click submit Query at the left bottom.

This will take you to Familysearch to the IGI section according to the batch number you clicked on. If your surname was within that Parish, and therefore that batch number then the results will give you a list of all those born there with that surname. However, if there are no people with that surname at the Parish then the result will display the words  International Genealogical Index/British Isles (No Matches). So now you have a fair idea of how to search for your ancestors. You have searched all the sites and gleaned what you can on your family. However, you have got to a certain stage where your ancestor has become a “brick wall”. By this it is meant you have found as much as you can on your ancestor but are unable to go back any further in his life, because of possible lack of records and the like. No one else appears to be researching him.

This is when you realise there is only one other avenue to take. The Y-DNA course. If you are a male you simply join the Project that has your surname. If you are a female it is a wee bit harder as you have to find a male 1^st cousin, your father, brother, or even an Uncle with the surname that you are researching. Be aware that some people are very private people and might not be willing to agree to doing the Y-DNA Test.

In theory your Y-DNA will be the same as your ancestor’s Y-DNA. In practise it may not be that easy. From time to time it has been found there have been extramarital times and the father of a child may not be the biological  father. In this case there is nothing that can be done for genealogy. Still looking to compare your Y-DNA with other like surname people you decide to do the Y-DNA Test. You go to www.familytreedna.com . On this page you see in the right hand top corner a window in which you can put your surname to find if there is a Project for that name. Follow this through and it will take you to another page where you can see the surname Project and click on this.

Now you will see the prices of each available Test.  On this page is also the Project’s website link for you to look at what they have and see what the result page has. Of course this will not be of any help to you until you have done your own Y-DNA so you can compare, but expect to find a page that will coach you through the procedure of taking your own samples. Now the costs for these tests, at present (1 June 2010), are $US124.00 for the 25 marker; $US149.00 for the 37 marker; and $US239.00 for the 67 marker. You can update to the next Test simply by paying for the next test….i.e. $US49.00 for the 37 marker or $US99.00 for the 67 marker…..or $US148.00 to go straight from the 25 marker to the 67 marker.

As stated before, the 12 marker of $US99.00 is not useful whatsoever. It only indicates what haplogroup you would be long to. On top of these prices is the postage cost of $US4.00 in America; and $US6.00 for the rest of the World. Let’s take a look at the procedure of giving your Y-DNA. First off it is not a matter of giving a blood sample. It is much the same as you have observed on the TV series such as CSI and Law & Order. The Test Kit has two small toothbrush affairs, two containers with preservative in them. You need to take two samples, at least eight hours apart. I would suggest taking them first thing in the morning before breakfast so food does not contaminate the sample. Simply place the brush inside your mouth and swab around the inner cheeks for a full two minutes. You will know when you have completed the time as your cheeks will feel especially clean.

Now, having taken the lid off one sample container, and marked the time and date on the outside, simply place the head of the toothbrush into the container. Very gently press the opposite end of the toothbrush as it is inclined to fly off at a great rate of knots and if you are not careful may land on the floor, contaminating the sample. Next secure the lid back on and keep it in the refrigerator until ready to send it back to the Lab. The next morning, first thing, do the second sample. The Lab has provided a return address so it is then a simply matter of packing it all up again and returning it to the Lab that day.

You can expect to receive the first results back in about five to eight weeks. Unless something goes wrong the result will be back in about five weeks time.  Also, you have the option of paying by credit card or paypal; or they will send you an invoice. I would suggest the Credit card or Paypal as the site is a very secure one and I do not know of anyone having lost by this process. On the other hand by doing the invoice you then have to send the money to them later on and they will not start to process the sample until they receive the money.

This could take a number of weeks to sort out. While I am about it …… if you are unable to find a surname Project I would suggest you start one yourself or find a Project that is geographically similar to yours. The reasoning here is if you decide to go it alone you pay more for the tests than if you join a Project. An example of this is the 12 Marker. Go it alone and you pay $US149.00; join a Project and you pay $US99.00. I know I would be looking for a suitable Project to join up to, and save all those dollars for something else. I hope this has been of some value to you and it will not be long before I see you on the Mailing Lists and Message Boards.

Good Luck in your endeavours.