DNA is useful in genealogy. From adding previously unknown relatives to your family tree, to making new discoveries not mentioned in the written record, to breaking through family tree brick walls, DNA research is a great addition to a family historian’s toolkit. I described my genealogy breakthroughs in my book Discover Your Roots! How I found my North American and Revolutionary War Ancestors. Some of … Continue reading DNA Genealogy
Family history facts get lost. Some things like war experiences may not be spoken of. Hard times that people experience may never be shared. Divorce and early deaths sever family history pipelines. Family history may be gilded over, forgotten or swept under the rug. Time and time again genealogy and family history discoveries are made that have an emotional impact. I visited the Gettysburg Civil … Continue reading Rediscovering the Travis Family in the Civil War
Who were the parents of Lewis Travis? A genealogy conundrum appears in my Travis line in the late 1700’s. Lewis Travis my 3rd great-grandfather was born in Yorktown NY about 1796. His death record in 1881 Greenville Michigan states that his father’s name was Annanias and his mother’s name was Jemima.[1] That should end the question of parentage. However, the conundrum appears in the written family history written … Continue reading A Memorial Day Remembrance -Who Were the Parents of Lewis Travis?
June 2nd to Jun 6th – We picked up our boat from storage in Northport and got her ready for the trip. She sat in storage over the pandemic of 2020 and so cleaning was more extensive than it was in prior years and took several days. Once cleaned and rigged she was ready to set sail, but we were one crew member short. June 6th – … Continue reading June 2021 – Northport Michigan to Erie Pennsylvania, Home of Commodore Perry’s War of 1812 Fleet
Who were the parents of Marietta Williams Church? I’ve traced many branches of my family tree but the Marietta Williams branch has eluded me, left a large gap in my family tree, and prompted a lengthy search for the identity of her parents. BACKGROUND Isaac Church Sr. is listed in his obituary as having moved to Michigan in 1846 and his wife is listed as … Continue reading Can DNA Reveal the Identity of the Parents of Marietta Williams?
WEDNESDAY, 5 MAY 2021 The Boating Genealogists trip to Wethersfield Connecticut was a pilgrimage of sorts. I wrote in my book Discover Your Roots! How I found My North American and Revolutionary War Ancestors that I traced my Wright family ancestry back to Thomas Wright, one of the first settlers of Wethersfield, and several of the Ten Adventurers, Robert Seeley, Nathaniel Foote, Robert Rose, William Swayne, and possibly John … Continue reading A Genealogy Visit to Connecticut During the Waning Days of the Covid Pandemic
This is an account of two early Petoskey Michigan settlers, Charles Nahum Shaw and his wife Emma Eliza (Shattuck) Shaw. Charles Nahum Shaw was born in 1836. His family moved from Massachusetts to Camden, Michigan by the time Charles was 7 years old. Similarly Emma’s family moved from New York in the late 1840s, first to Sylvania Ohio where Emma was born, and then to … Continue reading Early Petoskey Settlers, The Shaws
The 1600’s were an age of almost constant warfare between North American Colonists and hostile Indian tribes. Discover the early New York and New England Indian Wars as described by the people that lived through them. Follow the author as he rediscovers his family in this forgotten era of American History and the extraordinary settlers and heroes that played such an important part in the … Continue reading Rediscovering the New England and New Netherlands Indian War Heroes, 1636 – 1698
Follow the author’s journey as he breaks through two Morrell and Hendrick genealogical brick walls and finds his Van Deusen and Brown family ancestors. Read about Charles Nahum Shaw a Civil War veteran, an inventor, and a very early settler of Petoskey Michigan. Book excerpt — This is an account of two early Petoskey Michigan settlers, Charles Nahum Shaw and his wife Emma Eliza Shaw, … Continue reading Discover Your Roots!, Part 2
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In 1854 Robert Hopkins and family immigrated from England to the Old Mission Peninsula, Michigan. This is the Hopkins family story — before, during and directly after immigration pieced together from historic records. Continue reading Hopkins Family Story: Immigrating to America
The Boating Genealogists 