Some changes at the UK National Archive catalog site

The following notice may be of interest to online UK archives searchers: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/news/952.htm

Other UK archives information is on the News page: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/news/newsarchive2014.htm

Rediscovered Headstones Hold Clues To Calif. Quake: [the Gilliam-Sullivan Cemetery]

This is a program on NPR about the Gilliam Cemetery of Sevastopol, Sonoma County, California. In 1852, my 3rd great-granduncle and his wife, Mary Gilliam, buried their still born child there to start the cemetery. Isaac Sullivan was a wagon train drover and explorer.

His parents were James Sullivan and Eleanor Wilson. James was a Revolutionary War veteran and Methodist circuit rider in Kentucky and Tennessee. Served in 1st VA State Rgmt., Rev War. In Yellow Springs Hospital at Valley Forge, 4 Apr 1778. He was Ordained by Bishop Asberry in Knoxville, TN in 1793. School teacher at Carrol School on Cumberland River and Clear Fork Creek.

[Whitley Co., KY, Will Bk 1, p25, made 9 Feb 1817 or 18? Nuncupative will on deathbed. recorded July 20,1818, Book 1 Page 25. See, History and Families, Whitley Co., KY, 1818-1993, page 325.]

Isaac appears in the 1860, 1870, and 1880 censuses of Annaly, Sonoma Co., California. He has not been found in 1850. They had the following children:

• J W Sullivan 53 KY
• Mary Sullivan 26 MO
• James M Sullivan 7 CA
• John W Sullivan 5 CA
• Cornelius G Sullivan 4 CA
• Minerva A Sullivan 2 CA
• Nancy A Sullivan 1 CA

The following children first appeared in the 1870 census:

• Sophrona C Sullivan 9
• Charles C Sullivan 7
• Letha Sullivan 5
• Asa I Sullivan 3
• Amanda J Sullivan 4/12

In 1880 a last son shows up:

• Jabez B. Sullivan 7

James and Isaac Sullivan were descendants of Peter Sullivan or O'Sullivan and Emma Craven of Northumberland, Virginia. See these wills:

• Will of Peter Sullivan, Northumberland Co., VA, Record Book 1743- 49, pp 227a-228. Will dated 15 April 1746, proved 10 Aug 1747.
• Will of Charles Swillivan of Wiccocomoco Parish, Northumberland Co., Virginia, will made 19 March 1767, will proved 11 May 1767, Record Book 7, p. 77. Abstract printed in Lewis, Wills and Administrations of Northumberland Co., VA, vol.1, p. 132.

For more information of Col. Isaac Sullivan and Mary Gilliam and their descendants, see, The Patriarch of the Valley: Col Isaac Wilson Sullivan by Emma A. Street-Hively.

Ancestry.com Site Updates from the FGS breakfast

Ancestry Blog post on new features announced at the Ancestry Breakfast at the FGS conference in Fort Wayne: Exciting Ancestry Site Updates!

Battle of Gettysburg, First Day, 1 July 1863

One hundred and fifty years ago today was the start of the three-day long, Battle of Gettysburgh. Gettysburgh was the 12th bloodiest battle of the US Civil War.

Wikipedia has a good article on the first day and Michael J. Leclerc has a good overview article for the entire Battle of Gettysburg.

As far as I know none of my ancestors or their siblings fought at Gettysburg. Did any of yours do so?

Meanings of names in Canada, the United States and Northern Mexico

Slate has an article with the meaning of names in much of North America. It is very interesting to see how familiar places once had a real meaning to their names:

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/map_of_the_week/2013/06/literal_meanings_of_places_in_the_u_s_map.html

My Paternal Line Ancestry

Since it is Father's Day in the USA I thought I post my paternal line ancestry.

1. a)
   
   Denval Perkins, 1921, Whitley Co., KY - 1976, Hamilton Co., OH, buried Xenia, Illinois. He served in the US Navy during WWII and the Korean War. He married 1st Mary Ruth Ball and 2nd Joyce Anderson Monk;
   
   
   




2. b)
   
   Henry Franklin Perkins, 1882, Whitley Co., KY - 1963, McCreary Co., buried KY. He married Elanor "Nellie" Walker Inman;
   
   
3. c)
   
   Jesse Perkins, 1840, Whitley Co., KY - 1894, Whitley Co. KY, buried Whitley Co., KY. He served in the KY 49th Mounted Infantry and the 7th Kentucky Cavalry during the US Civil War. He married Elizabeth Jane Creekmore;
   
   
   
   
   
4. d) William Perkins 1801, probably Grayson Co., VA - 1864, Whitley Co., KY. He married 1st, Peggy McKee, and 2nd, Rebecca Shepard;
5. e) Jabez Perkins, 1766?, New Haven?, CT - 1836. Will made 27 Dec 1835, probated Feb term 1836, Whitley Co., KY. He married Nancy Ann ????? (sometimes thought to be a Creekmore but no known contemporary proof). He may have married 2nd, Nancy White, 27 Dec 1835 (said to be a marriage certificate at KY State Archives, not seen by this researcher);
6. f) Timothy Perkins, 1736, New Haven, CT - abt 1782, NC (possibly after the Battle of King's Mountain. He was a Loyalist serving in several South Carolina militia organizations with his brother Joseph (Murtie June Clark, Loyalists in the Southern Campaign of the Revolutionary War). He married Miriam Sperry;
7. g) Joseph Perkins, 1701, New Haven, CT - abt 1776, CT or NC. He married Phebe Moulthrop;
8. h) Stephen Perkins, 1680, New Haven CT - 1753, New Haven, CT. He married 1st, Elizabeth Ford, and 2nd, Anne Howe;
9. i) John Perkins, 1651, New Haven, CT - abt 1726-27, CT. He married 1st, Mary ?????, and 2nd, Rebecca Thompson.
10. j) Edward Perkins, abt 1623, London, England - died before 1690 (date of recordation of deeds to his three sons). He took the Oath of Fidelity 18 October 1648 in New Haven Colony. He may be the Edward Perkins, son of William Perkins, Merchant Tailor of Abbots Salford and Saint Dunstan in the West, London, and his 2nd wife, Mary Purchas. If true he was a half-brother to Rev/Capt. William Perkins of Topsfield. Edward married Elizabeth Butcher.

My Y DNA haplogroup is R1a1h [R-L176.1] at FTDNA. This has been confirmed by testing at 23andme and the Genographic Project. It is mainly found in Scotland, England and Norway. A 37 marker match has been found with a Perkins family in England from Berkshire. Edward Perkins had 3 known sons and descendants of two have been traced to the early 20th Century and then lost. The descendants of John Perkins are this line and, so far, everyone expected to match has matched. However, because we don't have descendants of the other brothers to test, we only consider this Y line proved back to Joseph Perkins, born 1701. Descendants of two of his sons have been tested and match at 37 markers and higher. See the Parkins and Perkins Y DNA study. We are looking for a descendant of Rev William Perkins of Topsfield to test to see if the Y DNA matches.
My Y DNA is a close match to the Y DNA of the Chiefs of Clan Donald, purportedly descendants of Somerled, King of Mann and Lord of the Isles, who was killed in 1164 during the Battle of Renfew. There were Scottish rebels surnamed McDonald sent to New England in the 1600s after their defeat at the hands of the English.
Thanks to Randy Seaver of Genea-Musings blog for the idea for this post. I will continue with my maternal line and with the paternal or maternal lines of other grandparents.

The Reverend Stephen R. Davenport Symposium: 375th anniversary of the English settlement of New Haven, 13 April 2013

Exploring the Early Years of New Haven

John Davenport’s ambition brought 500 settlers to the New Haven Colony in 1638. Early on, Puritan traditions took root in the Colony, shaping everyday life, education and religious toleration. To celebrate the 375th anniversary of the English settlement of New Haven in 1638, the New Haven Museum presents The Reverend Stephen R. Davenport Symposium on Saturday, April 13 from 9:30 am to 4:00 pm, with support from the Davenport family and the Jonathan Edwards Center at Yale University. Four distinguished scholars of early American history will reveal the social impact of women’s roles, the desire for education and the importance of religion in the Puritan culture of the New Haven Colony. Lunch on your own from 12:00 noon to 2:00 pm. During the lunch break, the Symposium will feature a self-guided walking tour of the New Haven Green or a special teacher workshop for educators interested in integrating primary resources and early New Haven history into their teaching. Admission is free, but registration is required. To register or for more information, contact Michelle Cheng at (203) 562-4183 x11 or education@newhavenmuseum.org.

The Symposium will open with an introduction by Dr. John Demos, Samuel Knight Professor Emeritus of History at Yale University, leading into the following lectures:

• · “Building a Perimeter Fence: Toleration in Early New Haven” by Dr. Francis J. Bremer, Professor Emeritus of History at Millersville University
• · “The Strange History of the Tuttles, A New Haven Family” by Dr. Ava Chamberlain, Professor of History at Wright State University
• · “Women and Domestic Life in John Davenport’s New Haven” by Dr. Rebecca Tannenbaum, Senior Lecturer in History at Yale University
• · “Education and the Struggle for a College in Early New Haven” by Dr. Kenneth P. Minkema, Director of the Jonathan Edwards Center at Yale University

Additional support for The Reverend Stephen R. Davenport Symposium by The Woman’s Seamen’s Friend Society of Connecticut, Inc. and NewAlliance Foundation.

The New Haven Museum, founded in 1862 as the New Haven Colony Historical Society, is located in downtown New Haven at 114 Whitney Avenue. The Museum is currently celebrating 150 years of collecting, preserving and interpreting the history and heritage of Greater New Haven. Through its collections, exhibitions, programs and outreach, the Museum brings 375 years of New Haven history to life. For more information, contact Michelle Cheng, Director of Education, at (203) 562-4183 ext. 11 or education@newhavenmuseum.org.

Dr D Digs Up Ancestors: The DNA Dilemma

Dr D Digs Up Ancestors: The DNA Dilemma @David Dowell, PhD, a frequent blogger on genetic genealogy and a former professor of librarianship has written a Letter to the Editor in response to the current Time Magazine cover story “The DNA Dilemma: A Test That Could Change Your Life”. As usual it is a thoughtful response that deserves your time to read with the article.

More BAD Genealogy on the Washington-Ball family

Today I got the following email from Geni.com:

The world's largest family tree

Dear Stiofan,

Did you know that you and George Washington, 1st President of the USA are related? George Washington, 1st President of the USA is your second cousin 7 times removed! Click on the link below to see your relationship path to George Washington, 1st President of the USA for FREE!

Click here to see how you're related to George Washington, 1st President of the USA![link removed]

On December 14, 1799, George Washington died in Mount Vernon, Virginia. Washington served as the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War and presided over the drafting of the American Constitution. Widely regarded as the "father of the country," Washington also served as the first president of the United States. After retiring from the presidency, he returned to his home in Mount Vernon to attend to his plantation. Upon his death, Washington freed all of his slaves in his will. George Washington is connected to over 66 million people in Geni's World Family Tree. How are you related?

View George Washington's Geni Profile[link removed]

- The Geni Team

The link they site is to John Ball of Stafford and Fairfax counties Virginia via Richard Ball of Maryland, son of Col. William Ball. This link is WRONG. This is shown by the article by Christopher Johnston, "A Forgotten Member of the Ball Family", serialised in The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, vol. VII, pp. 440-441 and vol. VIII, pp. 80-83 (1900), reprinted in Genealogies of Virginia Families, vol. 1, pp. 23-27 (1981), recounts how court records show Col. William Ball went to Maryland and probated the estate of his son Richard Ball. Richard had one daughter and NO OTHER CHILDREN.

Others have put forward Richard Ball and Elizabeth Linton as the parents of John Ball. The father of Elizabeth Linton was a Moses Linton of Lower Norfolk Co., VA. Richard Ball and Elizabeth with several Lintons moved to the Fairfax-Stafford county area from Norfolk Co. At this time, there is no known record evidence which links Richard Ball and Elizabeth Linton with John Ball.

In their book The Ball Family of the Potomac, 1654-2004, by Doris LeClerc Ball, Ph.D. George L. Ball, M.S., it is shown that DNA studies link John Ball of Stafford Co with a James Ball of Maryland.

The Ball DNA study has two descendants of Col William Ball in haplogroup I, kit #112926 and kit #13692. I have traced them back to a son of Col. William Ball using census, probate and land records. The descendants of John Ball are in Haplogroup R1b. They are NOT related.

The National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections and ArchiveGrid

Often when doing genealogical or family history research in the United States you want to know if there are manuscript materials available. In the past this was done using the National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections in a printed series of several hundred volumes or by going to the online site at http://www.loc.gov/coll/nucmc/

OCLC has now opened up one of it's proprietary databases, ArchiveGrid, to the public, http://beta.worldcat.org/archivegrid/

With ArchiveGrid you can share your location with OCLC and it can pinpoint archive collections near you.  You can also enter the location details or the postal zip code for a location to get  links to archives in an area of interest to your genealogy.

Hopefully this will remain a free resource after it exits beta testing.

Persons with ancestry in the United Kingdom can use the Access to Archives, A2A, site at https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/