Childhood Greeting Cards 1960s

 

Me sometime in the 1960s. Probably taken at JC Penney in El Monte California.

Going through some old boxes of stuff I found some old greeting cards from the 1960s. I was born in 1963. 

The earliest of my cards was congratulating my parents on my birth in 1963. 

A 1964 1rst Birthday Cards from my parents, and another from an aunt, uncle, and cousin:

A card from my Aunt Grace who was also my godmother:

A 1966 3rd Birthday Card from neighbor children:

Some 4th Birthday Cards from 1967:

A Valentine from my maternal grandparents Charles and Graciela Forgey:

A season appropriate card. An Easter Card from my maternal grandparents. My grandmother Graciela was Nicaraguan. English being her 2nd language she had a little problem spelling grandfather:

The Puzzling DNA Genetic Communities/ Now you see them now you don't

 When the DNA communities first came out I was a little disappointed I had so few. I'm still disappointed. As a matter of fact I lost a community that was accurate for me, as did my mother. 

AncestryDNA, MyHeritage, and 23andMe have these genetic communities. I haven't been checking them so I didn't know my mother's, or mine had changed at AncestryDNA. 

These were our communities at AncestryDNA in March of 2017:

These are our current Genetic Communities at AncestryDNA:

Were the changes for the better? 

No. I lost the Connacht Community which was accurate for me. Evidently my connection wasn't strong enough. My great-grandmother Helen Mullen-Mason was born in Connacht, Galway, Ireland, so that was correct. 

I've gained, along with my mother, a large Upper Midwest & Western Settlers Community, which generally doesn't relate to our ancestry. Only one of our ancestors, Anderson Wray, lived on the fringe of the community in south east Kansas. He migrated there in middle age from Indiana without his late wife, our ancestor, and his daughter Elizabeth, also our ancestor. So we have only one direct ancestor who lived in that area. We do have many cousins who lived or currently live in the Upper Midwest & West. We have many relatives from all over the United States. I would say the Upper Midwest & Western US Settlers community doesn't reflect our ancestry very well. I would rather have communities that reflect our actual direct ancestry. 

According to AncestryDNA's Genetic communities I have Upper Midwest & Western US Settlers from both my mother and father's side. I'm not aware of any of my father's ancestors in that area? All of my close matches are in that community also. It's a way to vague, and broad, a community to be meaningful at all. It's also inaccurate. 

I've marked all of the counties my direct paternal ancestors lived in on the map below. You can see how there are no ancestors living in the community area. 

The first communities, still vague, were better reflections of our actual direct ancestry. My mother's earliest communities included Virginia and parts of Tennessee where many of her paternal ancestors lived. Below is a map of the counties my mother's ancestors lived in. 

I suppose it depends on where you live as far as how useful the communities are. For Americans a broad community in a foreign country is helpful. Connecting to another country is helpful. Broad genetic communities in the United States aren't very useful for Americans. We are a very mobile country, while some families have stayed in the same areas for generations, most Americans have genetic cousins all over the country making broad communities not very helpful. 

My broad Nicaraguan community would be helpful for an American cousin unaware of their connection to that country. My Quebec, Canada community is accurate. My great-grandfather Pierre Masson's family came from the Trois-Rivieres, and Maskinongé area of Quebec (oddly, I have no French admixture at AncestryDNA even though I'm in a French Canadian community there?). 

My Aunt's Burgenland community at MyHeritage is very helpful for cousins unaware of this connection. 

I would say that only fairly accurately pinpointed genetic communities in the United States are helpful for genealogists. At this point in time, for someone like me, their genetic communities only show a limited picture of our ancestry. I only have 3 genetic communities, only one inaccurate one covering the western United States. As you see in the map below my ancestors were from a different area in the United States than the Upper Midwest & Western Settlers group would indicate. 

Personally I have a good idea regarding where my family came from. I've been researching my family for over 20 years so I should. So far I haven't found any non paternity events DNA testing. I really don't need the communities. It is interesting, however, to see how they evolve, and how close they are to reflecting our true ancestry. If at some point these communities pinpoint my mother's family in Jackson County, Indiana, where our Forgey ancestors lived for generations, I would say they are now very accurate and useful for our American ancestry. 

Why A Chromosome Browser Is Necessary To Prove Distant Ancestry

My mother's father's fan chart showing the problem lines

I'll outline my problem and why the lack of a chromosome browser prevents me from confirming, or disproving a theory. My brickwall is on the line of a 3rd great-grandmother. I'm using my mother's test, at Ancestry, to try to find her parents, with no documentation other than a couple census records from her children stating she was born in Tennessee. 

My 3rd great-grandmother's name was Sarah or Sally Campbell, she married in Indiana. She died young, and before the 1850 Census, so I don't have any information about her place of birth from a census when she was living. There was only one Campbell neighbor named James Trigg Campbell. There isn't much on him either. I assume they are somehow related? 

Using my mother's DNA test at Ancestry the only Campbell matches that are promising descend from George Lafayette Campbell. My mother has a number of matches from his line. He wouldn't be the father of Sarah Campbell but could be a cousin? Researching his family and possible parents has gotten me nowhere. Not many records were kept in Tennessee in that time period. 

Below is a chart with some of the matches my mother has with descendants of George Lafayette Campbell, and the cMs my mother shares with them

George Lafayette Campbell lived in Greene County, Tennessee. Tennessee is where Sarah's children said she was from. It would seem like I have found the right Campbell family for Sarah Campbell. The problem is my mother has another family line from Greene County, TN. 

Below you see photos of William Wray Forgey, Isis Browning his wife, and Elizabeth Wray his mother. Elizabeth Wray's mother was Sarah Campbell, our brickwall. Isis Browning, Elizabeth Wray's daughter-in-law, also had family from Greene County, Tennessee. Isis Browning's grandfather Nathan was born in Tennessee. His father Roger Browning migrated to Tennessee sometime in the late 1700s, and settled in Greene County, Tennessee. His son Nathan migrated to Jackson County, Indiana. It appears there was a migration pattern from that part of Tennessee to Jackson County, Indiana where most of my grandfather's family lived. 

What is my problem? My problem arose when I discovered one of the George Lafayette Campbell matches also was related to the Browning family. Other matches don't appear to be? The theory that we are related to the matches through Campbell could still be correct. 

Precise segment data would help me build out my segment map. My mother has 3rd cousin matches with Browning descendants. The only way to be sure all of these matches match through Campbell would be to make sure they don't overlap with the Browning matches or any other family line matches. Actually I don't know who Nathan Browning's mother was so we could be related to this family through his mother? Or one of Roger Browning's children could have had a non paternity event? So we may not be related through Campbell at all. The only way to be sure of anything, when it comes to more distant matches, is to have a good chromosome map. You would then be able to clearly see if  theoretical matches overlap with the correct segments.

A chromosome map, built with strong 2nd and 3rd cousin matches, is the best way to confirm a relationship. Above you can see my mother's chromosome map, with many 2nd and 3rd cousin matches. I could even add more segments if AncestryDNA provided this data. Ancestry has the largest database which would make it the best company to build out a chromosome map with. There aren't many records surviving from the early 19th century in many places. To use DNA where records don't survive the best way is to build a good chromosome chart. You can't verify distant relationships based on names alone on a family tree because we don't know if there are NPEs? We don't know if there are other relationships? Therefore, I can't be sure I've found, at AncestryDNA, the correct Campbells. 

The Best of RootsTech 2024/from my online experience

I didn't attend RootsTech 2024 in person, I streamed many classes live, and watched some later. I chose what I watched based on the projects I'm currently working on. Lately I've been working with deeds, photos, and my DNA results. I don't have as much time to work on my family history as I had in the past so I'm also interested in AI, and how it can save me time. 

I heard that a favorite presentation on AI was an in person class presented by Steve Little. I looked for a Youtube video he may have presented on the subject to get an idea of what he presented at RootsTech. I found a presentation on Youtube he gave in 2023, which was very good! It's called  "Empowering Genealogists with Artificial Intelligence 6 September 2023" on YouTube. 

The best announcements at RootsTech 2024:

• The new Experimental Full Text search at FamilySearch
• Ancestry is going to allow you to view the shared cMs that your shared matches share with each other
• MyHeritage has a new Newspaper site called "Old News" which it introduced at Rootstech
• Recognize Ancestors is coming to Ancestry.com which will search their database of photos for possible matches to an unknown person in a photo
• New and expanded ethnicity estimates will be coming to MyHeritage this summer

My Favorite RootsTech 2024 presentations:

• You Can DO the DNA #1–Get Started (or Restarted) Diahan Southard
• FamilySearch Tech Forum Craig Miller Michelle Barber Todd Powell Sarah Hammon Bill Mangum
• AI and Genealogy: Trouble Ahead? Thomas MacEntee
• Brick Wall Ancestors Need a Search Party Diahan Southard Janet Hovorka Crista Cowan
• You Can DO the DNA #2–Get Your Best Ethnicity Estimate Diahan Southard
• You Can DO the DNA #3–Light Your DNA Match List on Fire! Diahan Southard
• Brick Walls! Real? or Created Through Faulty Research? Barbara Vines Little
• You Can DO the DNA #4–See What DNA Success Looks Like: Real Case Studies Diahan Southard
• Diseases our Ancestors Faced and How Those Illnesses Changed Our World Gregory C. Gardner
• Finding Milly: Tracing enslaved ancestors using Experimental Search Andre Kearns 
• What’s New at Ancestry® in 2024 Crista Cowan

I thought RootsTech 2024 was one of the best. There was more tech because of AI than in previous years. The shorter presentations, that were presented as a result of the COVID pandemic, weren't as detailed. The hour-long presentations were much better. The presentations I listed above will continue to be available to watch at the RootsTech site. 

The Experimental Search Is Back at FamilySearch! /How I use it to find everyone living on the same creek

 

Last July I wrote about the Experimental Search at FamilySearch, soon after that it no longer allowed non beta testers to use it. They have now opened it up for everyone again as announced at RootsTech 2024! It may not always be available to search as they stated. I'm definitely downloading everything I find. 

Right now the only US documents available for this every word search are online probate, deed records, and plantation records. Some are viewable from home, while others require you to view them at a Family History Center or Library. 

This is what the Experimental Search page looked like:

You'll find the new improved Experimental Search by clicking on FamilySearch Labs View Experiments (had to clear cookies to get to the new search because I had used the old one). 

This is where I found the link on my laptop. The link is on the FamilySearch homepage in the right column, on my laptop. I highlighted below where I found it.

Then you're taken to a page where you click "Expand your search with Full Text", 

I've used this search to find people using names, but at this point in my research searching for deeds using a creek name or landmark has been more useful. Researching people who lived on the same creek can help you find possible relatives also living in the same area. It's also helpful in collecting neighbors' names. Those names might be useful when it comes to migration patterns. 

Since I have not had access to the Experimental Search since July I have not been able to look for a new family creek location. I discovered I had the wrong creek location for my ancestor Moses Wray. I thought he lived on Maggoty Creek in Boones Mills, Franklin County, Virginia. No, he lived on a branch of that creek called White Oak Creek or White Oak Bottom Creek. When I asked about where the Wray land was when I visited the area around Maggoty Creek no one knew? If I asked around White Oak Creek they probably would have told me approximately where the Wrays lived. I'm hoping researching and plotting deeds will help me locate the precise location of the Wray land. 

After listening to a Legacy Webinar I decided to start plotting deeds again.

I've been using Sandy Knoll's Metes and Bounds Software to plot the deeds I have for my Wray ancestors on White Oak Creek. I've come up with many different geometric shapes. Moses Wray left portions of his land to his sons. I've been plotting those surveys. 

Here is a survey I created for one piece of their father, my ancestor, Moses Wray's land. 

One of my questions is where exactly on the White Oak Bottom Creek did the family live? 

Using the deeds I'm now collecting I'm sifting through them for clues to where I might find the land on a map. I might also be able to get enough information to trace land ownership to the present time so I can use a county assessor's map. 

The Franklin County Settlement map has a location called White Oak Bottom, but not creek, near the Blue Ridge mountains. Moses Ray is listed farther south. Going through a current parcel map for Franklin County online I found a man with the last name Wray is living on White Oak Creek road. His land is farther south than on the Settlement Map. So was the Wray land on the creek near the Blue Ridge mountains of farther south? What area does White Oak Creek Bottom encompass? 

I wondered if the Wray man was living on old Wray property. Doing some research it looks like he inherited land from his mother. His mother's family lived in the area for many generations just like the Ray family. This Wray man is a distant cousin of mine. I have not been in contact with him. 

I was paging through the books looking for people living on White Oak Creek, but that is very slow. Using the Experimental Search I've found a number of deeds for people on White Oak Creek. 

I found deeds for the family of my Wray cousin's mother's family on White Oak Creek Bottom. Measuring the distance from that land to the names on the Franklin County Settlement map their land is about two miles from White Oak Creek Bottom, and Moses Ray's land on the map. 

You can see the Wray man's land outlined in blue below. You can see where it is in relation to the northern county boundary. 

Yesterday I collected some of his ancestor's deeds. The deeds say his ancestor's land was on White Oak Bottom Creek. I was not sure if White Oak Bottom Creek was just the name of the bottom portion of the creek or the name of the actual creek. It appears the entire length of the creek may have been called White Oak Bottom.

The Wray man's maternal ancestor bought land on White Oak Creek in 1864. It appears to be the same land the family inherited. It also appears my Wray family land bordered the land of the Boitnott neighbors. They are not recorded as sharing a property line with this Boitnott family, but are with their neighbors. So they likely lived in that same area. 

I'm planning to continue to sift through all of the deeds recording the names of people living on the creek, plotting the deed surveys, and looking at clues in the deeds regarding land locations. One of a neighbor's deeds states his land was near a place called Mead Mill. Since Franklin County was carved out of many counties I need to research the same land in parent counties. 

I used "White Oak Bottom Creek" as the keywords when I searched. I then filtered the results for Virginia, by first clicking place as the United States, then clicking Virginia, and then Franklin County. Doing that I got 17 deed results. 

I will continue to sift the deeds for FAN club members (friends, associates, and neighbors) for land location clues, possible migration patterns, and family living in the same area. Experiment Search is a great time saving tool for researching deeds. Important information is buried in deeds nearly impossible to find without an every word search.