To know where you are going, know where you came from

My reasons for diving into finding my genealogy has changed over the years. When I first discovered that a great-grandfather had researched one of our family lines, I was intrigued and curious. Later, I loved to share the family stories with my son, and eagerly sought out as much as I could. These days, I crave a connection to people who came before me, and am fascinated by the connections to history.

My mother occasionally told me family stories, but I have since found out that they were all wrong. Not one story was true. The actual stories are way more interesting. My grandmother had stories, but I was too young to remember them.

I yearn for a deeper connection to the past, to ancient traditions and values, and to know where I come from. Unlike those who have known since birth their identity and heritage, I felt like I was plucked out of space and put onto this planet. 

But now I know more.

It's a basic human need to want to know where you come from and who your people are - no matter what you find out. This is the same force that drives foundlings and adoptees to find their birth parents. It's a path to discovery about who you are and what is your heritage.

Another part of this journey is discovering traits of my ancestors that I find in myself. That's when you realize what part you play in the "nature vs nurture" argument. Occupations are revealed, validating interests, job choices, and hobbies. Health issues can often be realized upon discovering how some of your ancestors lived and met their end.

I have been able to pass on a legacy of family stories that are certainly more accurate, entertaining, and informative than those I received. This has become one of my life purposes, and is important for current and future generations.

I have been able to connect with extended family members that I never knew existed, albeit most of them virtually. My view on humankind has been expanded beyond my original nuclear family. I have been able to spiritually connect to my ancestors, imagining what advice they could give me and wondering what they would think of me and the world today.

I have also learned that we are all related, if we go back far enough. I have uncovered the basic values of living a worthwhile life: be honest, be compassionate, have integrity, don't kill, don't steal, don't gaslight, don't stop learning.

Castles in my Family - Hedingham Castle

Hedingham Castle, located in the charming village of Castle Hedingham in Essex, is considered the best-preserved Norman keep in England. The castle’s fortifications and outbuildings date back to around 1100, with the keep being built around 1140. Although most of the medieval structures have not survived, the keep remains mostly intact, missing only two turrets.

William the Conqueror awarded the manor of Hedingham to Aubrey de Vere I by 1086. The Domesday Book records that he held the manor of Hedingham by 1086, and he ordered that vineyards be planted. The de Vere family then built the castle in the late 11th and early 12th centuries, completing the keep in the 1130s and 1140s. To make space for the castle, a large ditch was cut through a natural spur extending westward into the Colne Valley, creating a ringwork and inner bailey. An outer bailey extended further into the valley, reaching what is now the modern village of Castle Hedingham. Today, the stone keep stands as the only surviving medieval structure.

See also https://www.hedinghamcastle.co.uk/.

Gateway Ancestors & the Relationship Tool

It's fun to find out you're descended from royalty, Mayflower passengers, Magna Carta barons, and other famous people.

To join a lineage society, you need to prove your ancestry. Gateway ancestors can cut this job in half.

A Gateway Ancestor is an accepted descendant from a famous person. So you only need to prove your relation to the gateway ancestor, because the ancestry from there is already proven.

Most genealogy sites have a Relationship tool that shows you a possible path to a famous person that is quick and easy to use.

I often use this tool in Wikitree (https://www.wikitree.com).

I entered my genealogy in Wikitree (it's free!) out to 6 generations. Of course, you can only enter what you know, but the more you can enter, the easier it is to link up to famous people.

When you find a famous person in Wikitree and it has a possible connection, a banner appears showing your connection. (You need to log in to see this.)

To see the path from you to the ancestor, scroll down to the bottom of the page, then click your genealogical relationship.

The list of ancestors appear.

Now the work begins.

All Mayflower passengers have gateways. In the case of Mary Chilton, her descendants have been proven down to 5 generations. You can find these in the book series "Mayflower Families Fifth Generation Descendants" (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2017). From Mayflower Families Through Five Generations: Descendants of the Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth, Mass., December 1620. Plymouth, MA: General Society of Mayflower Descendants, 1975-2015. https://www.americanancestors.org/DB2731/rd/59157/771-co1/1428910147).

Wikitree also has most of these descendants posted on their website.

In this case, Mary is proven down to Jacob Orcutt. So I only needed to prove from me to Jacob.

I had in my possession birth and marriage records from me to my 2nd great-grandparents (Henrietta Cousins Long). 

I went to FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/en/) to get the original documents I lacked (also free!).

I am now armed and ready to apply to a lineage society, such as, The General Society of Mayflower Descendants (https://themayflowersociety.org/). During my research, I found that Jacob Orcutt also qualifies me for the DAR (https://www.dar.org/).

Check Cyndi's List (https://www.cyndislist.com/societies/lineage/) for a comprehensive list of lineage societies you can consider.

A relationship tool is also on my website (https://olddeadrelatives.com). You can find the relationship between any two people that are on my website (related to me in some way). Navigate to a person, then select the Relationship tab. Find the second person, then click Calculate. 

The descendents show up. You can choose to show spouses (which I find helpful).

In Wikitree, you can also use the Relationship tool to see how you are connected to anyone else, such as U.S. Presidents. I am a cousin to over 20 presidents (with another 6 connections that are questionable), although I am not directly descended from any of them. They are still part of my heritage.

Often I find more than one way to connect to someone. If one path doesn't pan out, try a different one.

Sometimes the Relationship tool sees connections that aren't quite there, so you need to do your research and confirm the facts. But it's a great place to start to find out about your people and where you come from.

Duncan Stewart - Captured in Battle and Indentured in America

Duncan STEWART [Dunkin Steward, Stuart] was the son of a local Scottish lord, Duncan Stewart, and his wife, Helen Margaret Campbell. Born in Kilmadock, Perthshire, Scotland about 1623, his life was one of privilege, but not idle wealth. He and his brother, Alexander, became skilled in the fighting arts, and so were ready to defend King Charles II against the notorious Oliver Cromwell.

The Battle of Dunbar

Scotland declared Charles II as King of all Britain on 1 May 1650. A call was made to all Scotsmen to support him, and to build an army to defend him. Cromwell brought his army of 16,000 into Scotland on 22 July, against the Scottish force of over 22,000.

Indentured Servant

The British had so many prisoners, all young, strapping men, that they couldn't find room to keep them. So, they sold them to businessmen in America. The prisoners were forced to work without pay for a specified period of time (usually 7 years), with no rights or privileges. At the end of their contract, they would be free.

Duncan and Alexander were both transported to Ipswich, Massachusetts as indentured servants to George Hadley, shipbuilder.

Marriage and Family

Duncan met Ann Winchurst [Winehurst], another indentured servant, and (according to Torrey) they married around April of 1654, probably in Ipswich. Sometime before they were married, they were whipped for fornication by order of the church. 

In Jun 1657, their first child, Catherine, was born.

Farmer

In 1659, they moved to Newbury, Massachusetts, where they bought a farm and lived for about 30 years.

Castles in My Family - Bletsoe Castle

 

 Bletsoe Castle was built by John Pateshull, who got permission to fortify an existing manor house on the east side of Bletsoe in 1327. Pateshull had owned the manor of Bletsoe since 1313, but after his mother passed away in 1324, he inherited more land, which allowed him to get the permission he needed to fortify the property.

In 1421, the house was inherited by Margaret Beauchamp, who married Sir Oliver St John. After his death in 1437, she married John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset, and they had a daughter, Margaret Beaufort. Margaret, who was born in the house on May 31st, was later known as the Countess of Richmond and Derby. Although there's some debate about whether she was born in 1441 or 1443, Margaret Beaufort went on to become the mother of Henry VII of England.

 

Castles in my Family - Berkeley Castle

Berkeley Castle (pronounced "BARK-lee") is a historic castle located in the town of Berkeley, Gloucestershire, England. Dating back to the 11th century it's recognized as a Grade I-listed building by English Heritage.

This castle is famously associated with the murder of King Edward II in 1327. The Berkeley family, who rebuilt it in the 12th century, have owned the castle for most of its history, with the exception of a period of royal ownership during the Tudor era.

In 1882, the Berkeley barony split from the earldom, and the 8th and last Earl of Berkeley (1865–1942) passed the castle down to his 13th cousin, Captain Robert Berkeley of Spetchley Park, Worcestershire (1898–1969). His grandson, Charles Berkeley (born 1968), who served as High Sheriff of Gloucestershire for 2019/20, inherited the castle and estate from his father, Major John Berkeley (1931–2017).

You can visit the castle today. See https://www.berkeley-castle.com/ .

How I use Cemeteries in TNG

The documentation on cemeteries in TNG confuses me. I am currently using v13.

After much experimentation and adjusting, I have settled on a way that I like to use cemeteries.

My objectives are:

1. I only want to track burial places of my direct ancestors, although others can get swept in.
2. I don't want to showcase every cemetery from my database.
3. I don't want to replace or replicate FindaGrave, BillionGraves, Internment.net, ObitsArchive, Obituary Daily Times, or any other like-minded website. While I often search these sites to find clues to my ancestors, they do a better job at what they do than I could ever hope for. They absolutely suppleement my research.

The parts to Cemeteries in TNG are:

• Cemeteries - of course
• People - who is supposedly buried (or honored) at the cemetery.
• Media - photos of the cemetery uploaded to your server
• Headstones - media files attached to people

Cemeteries

The fun part.

After you have imported people with burial places, you can create a cemetery.

1. In admin mode, go to Cemeteries, then click Add New.
   
   
   
   
   
2. In the Associated Place field, enter the first few letters of the cemetery name, then click the Find icon. TNG will search Places for items matching your cemetery name. Pick the one you want from the list. If it's not there, create a new Place (in Admin mode), then try again.
3. Click Fill Place. The data automatically enters into the fields.
   Any field that isn't included might not populate correctly. For example, if you don't have a county in your place name, your info might be shifted or missing altogether.
• Be sure to create State and Country field data before you import. For example, if you are missing the state of Connecticut from your list, any Cemeteries in Connecticut might not auto-fill. Click Add New.
4. Check the information in the other fields. You can modify the data in any field, but leave the Associated Place info as it is, so the burials can be found.
5. If you have a Google Maps API key, you can link to a map location. See https://tng.lythgoes.net/wiki/index.php/Google_Maps_-_Getting_Started
6. Click Save & Exit. 

People

Be sure the Burial field is spelled exactly correctly. And extra space or punctuation could cause linking failure. All people having that exact Cemetery name in the Burial field will automatically show up in the Cemeteries section of the public site.

Media

While in Admin mode, upload any cemetery photos you have and save them in the Headstone collection. You don't need cemetery photos to create a Cemetery.

Headstones

This one is tricky. Save your headstone photos in the Headstones collection and link them to the appropriate person.

The Headstones collection has some options not available to other media. These are the settings I use:

The Title and Description show up in the Person record:

Once a cemetery has been created, you can link to it from the drop down list.

This shows up in the Cemetery public listing:

Click the cemetery name in the public version to see all the burials you have for this cemetery:

For more details on the other options, see https://tng.lythgoes.net/wiki/index.php/Cemeteries