ThruLines Improves My Common Ancestor DNA Matches

AncestryDNA's ThruLines feature, introduced earlier this year, has been a game changer for my research. It's not perfect (and I'll be writing about that separately), but it's allowed me to better see my common ancestor matches much better.

So I did some crunching this morning, and here are my top five most common ancestor matches, who all settled in Nova Scotia, on my paternal side:

1. My ancestors with the most matches are my 4x great grandparents Samuel A. Fisher (1758-1812) and and Mary Tupper (1766-1812). I have a whopping 41 confirmed matches with others who descend from Samuel and Mary.
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2. I have 23 confirmed matches with other descendants of my 5x great grandparents, Timothy O'Brien (1725-1777) and Margaret Gilmore (1727-1803). Timothy was born in Ireland, Margaret was born in Scotland. They settled in Nova Scotia.

3. I share DNA matches with 22 other descendants of my 4x great grandparents, Alexander Nelson (abt 1737-1803)and Margaret Robinson (1735-1823), both born in Scotland.

4.  I share my 5x great grandparents, Hugh Moor (abt 1705-between 1753 and 29 Mar 1758) and Jennet Morison (abt 1705 - after 1760) with 19 other of their descendants. Hugh died in New Hampshire, before several of his sons and his widow migrated to Nova Scotia.

5. Rounding out the top five most AncestryDNA matches on my father's side are my 5th great grandparents, Jonathan Godfrey (1739-1826) and Lucy Calkin (1740-1825), with 13 common ancestor matches. Jonathan and Lucy came separately from New England to Nova Scotia. It is through Jonathan that I trace my ancestry to Stephen Hopkins, the Mayflower passenger.

Moving to my maternal side, here are my top five most common ancestor matches (spoiler alert: they're all of Scottish origin):

1. I share my 4x great grandparents Hendry Weatherburn (1777-1858) and Agnes Melvin (1776-1832) with six other people.

2. This is a tie between my great grandparents, Frank Gillanders Matheson (1833-1909) and Annie Ross (1849-1922) and yet another set of 4x great grandparents, William Young (1760-1846) and Alison Spears (1764-1841). In both cases, I share matches with four other distant DNA cousins.

3. I have three confirmed matches with other descendants of James Knox (1756-1848) and Elizabeth Clark (1762-?)

4. A three-way tie for 4th spot with two confirmed matches with two sets of 2x great grandparents, Donald Matheson (abt 1794-1859) and Margaret McKenzie (abt 1798-1865), Alexander Ross (abt 1816-1853) and Isabella Smith (1817-1915) and with 3x great grandparents James Weatherburn (abt 1798-1849),son of Hendry and Agnes, and Margaret Edminson (1792-1879)

The fifth spot is hardly top five-worthy -- it is just one match with another person who descends from a set of 3x great grandparents.

You noticed the much lower matches on my mother's side, right? It could be the thousands of people who've done AncestryDNA tests just to find out their ethnicity, with absolutely zero interest in genealogy (I know! I can't believe it either!), or, and I think this is more likely, many people in the United Kingdom who still haven't tested because they're just not at all interested. No, don't get me started about how frustrating this is.

But more and more people are embarking on testing their DNA with companies like AncestryDNA. And so,

The never ending story continues....




© Margaret Dougherty 2016-2019 All rights reserved

That time in 1983 that Nelson descendants gathered in Old Barns

On 10 July 1983, many of Alexander Nelson's Nova Scotia-based descendants (well, there many thousands of descendants today across North America and beyond), together with descendants of his great friend, James Yuill, gathered to celebrate their Scots heritage in Old Barns in Colchester, Nova Scotia.

Nelson - Yuill reunion newsletter snip

Planning for the event was led by an eight-member committee of Nelsons and Yuills. News about it even made the Halifax Chronicle newspaper on 3 May 1983.

The committee chair, another distant cousin, Brenton E. Nelson, self-published a book, Descendants of Alexander Nelson. I'm not sure if this was before or after the 1983 reunion. The Colchester Historeum in Truro, Nova Scotia has a copy of Brent's book, but does not sell copies.

Perhaps someone reading this will have a copy they may be willing to share or loan me this book.

Lots of research seemed to have been shared with family in advance of the gathering. A cousin has recently shared some of that with me. It has made for great reading.

People were invited to spread the news about the event, to attend, to meet cousins and to share their lines of descent. A genealogist's idea of a perfect, perfect day.

The organizers hoped to establish a log book to catalogue Nelson/Yuill heirlooms: maps, pictures, implements, furniture that belonged to ancestors. I wonder if this catalogue came to fruition. What a fascinating read it must be.

Keep in mind that this was before the internet. Old fashioned networking by phone calls and letters were the key organizing tools. Newsletters and programs were typed on manual typewriters. Copies of the newsletters were available at the Colchester Historerum. Someone's Gestetner (the forerunner of the photocopier) got quite a workout. I wonder how many Nelsons from outside Nova Scotia knew about this event. In my own research, I've found Nelson descendants across North America.

The day's program included self-directed tours. At the left is a list of places of interest compiled as a handout. It was accompanied by a corresponding map to find these places of interest.

All in all, the day sounded fabulous. But I do wonder how many Nelsons from outside Nova Scotia knew about this event. How I wish we'd known about this reunion back in 1983. We would have connected far earlier with our Nelson and other Nova Scotia cousins.

All the images above are courtesy of Karen Nelson.








The never ending story continues....





© Margaret Dougherty 2016-2019 All rights reserved

Alexander Nelson (1737-1803), pioneer of Old Barns

Updated 16 July 2019

I first mentioned my 4x great grandfather, Alexander Nelson (abt 1837-1803) in this early blog post. Alexander settled in Old Barns, which was in Truro Township, Nova Scotia, having received a Crown land grant.

Among the files I've received recently from a new-found cousin is this extract of an article written by Rev John W. Nelson in about 1900 (I'm probably related to him, but that is research that remains to be done), that was part of a larger manuscript now in the Nova Scotia Archives (and I absolutely want to know more that manuscript). It tells more about Alexander and his wife, my 4x great grandmother, Margaret Robinson (1735-1823). I am especially pleased with what I take as official, albeit still anecdotal, confirmation of Alexander's service under General Wolfe at the Plains of Abraham in 1759, which comes from his grandson, who "was positive" about that fact. See the second paragraph here:

courtesy of Karen Nelson

This extract tells us for the first time that Alexander had at least two brothers who also came from Scotland to New England. This will open up new research for Alexander's parentage in Scotland, not to mention his brothers who joined him in America.

The extract also gives us insight into Alexander as a man.

The Miller book mentioned in the extract refers to the 1873 book by Thomas Miller, First Settlers of Colchester County (N.S.) Below the title is added: down to the present time. Compiled from the most authentic sources. Chapter 12 of the book is about the Nelson family.

In the early 2000s, I provided my own family's descent from Alexander and Margaret to a Colchester historian, Jane Wile, who self-published Descendants of Alexander Nelson & Margaret Robinson of Truro Township, Nova Scotia in 2006. Jane begins her compilation with this:

I have seen unsupported references online suggesting that Alexander Nelson was at the second siege of Louisbourg on Cape Breton in 1758. The Fortress of Louisbourg confirmed to me recently that their historian has no record of an Alexander Nelson at that event.

Alexander received his Old Barns land grant in 1761. He returned to Massachusetts over that winter, and in the spring, married Margaret. Did he know her before he went to Nova Scotia? Or did they meet when he returned from there?

from Old Barns, Clifton and Princeport area by Eda M. Nelson, 1908

I've found supporting sources for Alexander and Margaret's Massachusetts marriage on 15 Apr 1762, which was recorded in town registers of Milton, where Alexander lived, and Dunstable, where Margaret lived. I think that soon after they married, Alexander and Margaret made their way to their Crown land grant in Truro Township, Nova Scotia.

Massachusetts, Town Vital Collections, 1620-1988

All of their 13 children were born in Nova Scotia:

• Elizabeth 1763-
• William Montague 1765-1842
• Agnes 1767-1805
• Archibald 1768-1861
• Charles 1771-1847
• John 1772-1857
• James 1773-1858
• Robinson 1774-1850
• Jane 1775
• Margaret 1779-1826
• Alexander 1781-1839
• Elias 1783-1871 (my 3x great grandfather)
• Alice 1785-
• Rebecca 1787-1818

Initially, I wrote that they had at least 12 children. Since starting my blog, I've found a confirmed 13th child. As you can imagine, Alexander and Margaret had many, many, many grandchildren.

The never ending story continues....

© Margaret Dougherty 2016-2019 All rights reserved

'The Deserted Village' and the St. Lawrence Seaway

Like any avid genealogist, I often turn to newspaper archives seeking birth, marriage and death announcements, along with anything really, that is relevant to my family. Or not. Especially the to'ing and fro'ing reported in the 'social notes' -- these columns were definitely a precursor to today's social media, gossip websites, blogs and print magazines. Time can pass so quickly when you get lost in the whole 'just one more click' world of trolling old newspapers.

Recently, in one of those research kicks, I came across a lengthy letter to the editor written by my father's older brother.

Montreal Gazette, 3 Mar 1956

This is a truly excellent and insightful letter. Construction of the St Lawrence Seaway and its future impact was evidently causing great consternation for Montrealers and others living along what would become its path, between Montreal and Lake Ontario.

My uncle died in 1962, six years after writing this letter, leaving a widow and five children, ranging in age from 11 to 18. I was so pleased to share this gem with my cousins, who never got to know and interact with their father as adults. Marcus' reference in his letter to the Oliver Goldsmith poem, The Deserted Village, first published in 1770, especially impressed one of his sons. Reading this epic poem, I think that Marcus' reference to it is spot on. Have a read.

The St Lawrence Seaway opened in 1959. While I don't believe Marcus' letter had any effect on its engineering and construction, certainly his linking of its effect to Goldsmith's poem was inspired, and I suspect sent many Montreal Gazette editorial page readers hunting for their books of poetry (this was decades before Google searches, after all).

The never ending story continues....




© Margaret Dougherty 2016-2019 All rights reserved

How Old Barns got its name

Old Barns, where my paternal 4th great grandfather, Alexander Nelson (abt 1737-1803), settled in Colchester, Nova Scotia, was originally farmland of Acadians expelled from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick beginning in 1755.

The area is described vividly in this extract from an unknown source:

Nelson family papers from Nova Scotia Archives

Nelson family papers from Nova Scotia Archives

Those barns were all that remained of Acadian families' farm fields and structures, which were burned by the British. Among my great aunt Letitia Nelson's possessions found after her death in 1941 was a copy of a painting of Evangeline, the fictional heroine of William Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, Evangeline, A Tale of Acadie, written in 1847. The painting is still in Nelson family hands today.




The never ending story continues....




© Margaret Dougherty 2016-2019 All rights reserved