A New U.S. Budget Blueprint May Affect Genealogists [Chronicling America and other sites/programs]

From Genealogical Insider blog: This blog is written by guest blogger and Associate Editor of Family Tree Magazine, Madge Maril

The new administration’s federal budget blueprint—a sort of planning document in the budgeting process—would eliminate the National Endowment for the Humanities. If this line item manages to make it through to the final budget for fiscal year 2018, its genealogical impact might surprise you.
. . .
The NEH’s grants also support historical records digitization and access projects including the free Chronicling America newspaper search website. Chronicling America was sparked by The United States Newspaper Project, which microfilmed and cataloged 63.3 million pages of American newspapers. Chronicling America lets you search and view digitized American newspaper pages from 1789 to 1924, as well as a directory of all U.S. Newspapers published from 1690 to present.

http://blog.familytreemagazine.com/insider/2017/01/24/ANewUSBudgetBlueprintMayAffectGenealogists.aspx

272 Slaves Were Sold to Save Georgetown [University]. What Does It Owe Their Descendants?

In 1838, the Jesuit priests who ran the country’s top Catholic university needed money to keep it alive. Now comes the task of making amends.

By RACHEL L. SWARNSAPRIL 16, 2016 Continued here 
and here 

Do You Think You Might Have a Connection to the 1838 Slave Sale that Kept Georgetown Afloat?

In fall 1838, 272 men, women and children who belonged to the nation’s most prominent Jesuit priests were sold as slaves to help secure the future of Georgetown University.

Now, genealogists are trying to find out what happened to them, and The New York Times wants to hear from their descendants. If you have researched your family history and have found connections to either these enslaved African-Americans or to the priests who owned and sold them, please let us know by completing the form below.

If you know of someone else with that lineage, we’d like to hear about that, too. Times reporters may follow up with you to learn more about your story.

Number of 23andme matches of my 29 known GGG Grandparent surnames

I currently have 3108 matches at 23andme. I decided to look at the known surnames of my 32 GGGGrandparents, pedigree numbers 32-63, to see how many matches I have for each surname:

pedigree # Surname number of matches 
32 Perkins 30
33 Unknown 
34 Shepard 145
35 Smith 164
36 Creekmore 13
37 Porch 1
38 Campbell 35
39 Unknown
40 Walker 38
41 Bishop 18
42 Wiatt/Wyatt 4
43 Sullivan 12
44 Manning 18
45 Anderson 50
46 Moses 9
47 Richardson 15
48 Ball 67
49 May 69
50 Phipps 5
51 Davenport 9
52 Strunk 15
53 Pennington 15
54 Davis 80
55 Creekmore 13
56 Swain 8
57 Unknown
58 Ball 67
59 May 69
60 Kidd 9
61 Bagley/Begley 4
62 Stephens 38
63 Hayes/Hays 22

My 64 GGGG Grand Parents

This post will be at this blog and at my genetic genealogy blog. I have been doing autosomal DNA testing of my 22 non-sex chromosomes and my 2 sex-based chromosomes at Family Tree DNA, the Family Finder test; at 23andme, the Relative Finder test, and at AncestryDNA. These tests can help you find relatives related to you from the first degree, parents, siblings, grandparents, through 5 or 6th cousins. In order to do that more easily it is a good idea to have an extensive pedigree of your direct ancestors and of their descendants. People who share a GGGG Grandparent with you are 5th cousins. So in order to alert my 5th cousins to our possible DNA match, here is a list of my known GGGG Grandparents:

• FNU=first name unknown
• LNU=last name unnown
• ?=uncertain of that element

64. Timothy Perkins, b New Haven, CT, died during the Revolutionary War in VA or NC or SC. He and his brother Joseph were Loyalists.
65. Miriam Sperry, b 1743 in Wallingford, New Haven Co, Ct, died after 1780 in North Carolina.
66. Unknown
67. Unknown
68. William Shepard, b ???, d before 1790 in Virginia or North Carolina.
69. Elizabeth, LNU,
70. James Smith, 1752, VA, d 1833, Holston, Scott, VA, USA.
71. Nancy Mulkey, d after 1795, VA, or Sauta Cave, Alabama?
72. Robert Creekmore, b 1760, Norfolk, VA, d 1824, Whitley Co., KY (Will Bk 1, p 10).
73. Elizabeth Batchelor, b 1761, VA, d Nov 1829, Whitley Co., KY (Will Bk 1, pp 29-30 Probate Sale).
74. Henry Porch, b 1758, Abingdon, Gloucester Co., VA, d 1849, Whitley Co., KY (Served in Revolutionary War, 1778-79 Capt. Wm Allen Green; 1781 Capt Sharp's Co., NC Service. Pension, W9234, BLWt 57777-160-55).
75. Rebecca P. Denton or Benton, before 1755, NC, d 1866, Pulaski Co., KY.
76. James Campbell, b 1763, NC, d 1829-1831, Whitley Co., KY (Will Bk 1, pp 37-38).
77. Anna Osburn, b 1764, PA, d 1852, Whitley Co., KY.
78. Unknown.
79. Unknown.
80. Renelder Walker, b about 1748, probably Frederick Co.,MD, d after 1826 in Knox or Whitley Co., KY or MO (Renalder was named nearest of kin in his [father's estate] inventory, 16 June 1766, Frederick County, Md. Prerogative Court, MD, (Inventories) 90, pp. 148-150). Marriage bond 27 Nov 1778, Wilkes Co., NC.
81. Mary Wilcoxon, b 1760 Rowan Co., NC, d 1830, Lafayette Co., MO. (Niece of Daniel Boone. Daughter of his elder sister, Sarah.).
82. William Bishop, b 1755-1760, PA, d 1834 Whitley Co., KY (Will Bk 1, p 54, Inventory). Served in Rev War, Capt John Rice's Co., Col Adam Stephens' Rgmt, Gen Daniel Morgan's Brigade. Was at Battles of the Brandywine and Germantown. Discharged at White Marsh, Pension Application, Whitley Co., KY Circuit Court Order Book A-B-C, p. 54, 18 July 1820.
83. Jane Tuggle, b d 1840?, Whitley Co., KY (Buried Wolf Creek Baptist Church Cemetery).
84. Samuel Wiatt, b about 1745 VA, d 1835 Knox Co., KY (Rev. War veteran, N.C. Militia Species pay Certificate No. 603, dated 12 Jun. 1783). Will Knox Co., KY 1835.
85. Rebecca Bennett, b 1763 Greenbrier Co., VA, d 1837 Knox Co., KY.
86. Rev James Sullivan, b before 1765 Northumberland Co., VA d 1817-18, Williamsburg, Knox Co., KY (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). Served in 1st VA State Rgmt., Rev War. In Yellow Springs Hospital at Valley Forge, 4 Apr 1778. Methodist Minister. Ordained by Bishop Asberry in Knoxville, TN in 1793. School teacher at Carrol School on Cumberland River and Clear Fork Creek.
87. Eleanor Wilson, b 1769, d 1834, Williamsburg, Knox Co., KY.
88. William Manning, b 1775, VA, d 1867 Whitley Co., KY. He was a blacksmith.
89. Nancy Whitecotton, b 1780-1785, VA, d 1852, Whitley Co., KY. (2nd wife).
90. Jacob Anderson, b about 1779, VA, d 1850-1860, Whitely Co., KY.
91. Nancy Anne Richardson, b about 1771, d between 1820-25, Whitley Co., KY.
92. Rev John Moses, b about 1772, NC, d after 1860, McNairy Co., TN (Old Style Baptist Minister).
93. Mary "Polly" Richmond.
94. John Richardson, b 1765, VA? d 1840, Whitley Co., KY.
95. Elizabeth Davis, b 1778, d after 1860, Whitley Co., KY.
96. George Ball, b 1751-52, Fairfax Co., VA, d 1825, Russell Co., VA
97. Elizabeth Tunnell, b 1756, Stafford Co., VA, d Russell Co., VA?
98. James Harvey May, b 1739, England, d between 1830 and 1840, Pike Co., KY. Transported as a prisoner from Middlesex Gaol, 1774, on the Ship Justitia, to Baltimore, MD. Alias of Emmanuel Mills. He may have been a Loyalist in Rev War. (Buried in John Runyan Cemetery, Pike Co., KY).
99. Elizabeth "Betsy" King, d before 1840, Pike Co., KY. (Buried in John Runyan Cemetery, Pike Co., KY).
100. Joshua Phipps, b about 1765, VA, d after 1850, Cheriton, Randolph Co., MO?
101. Elizabeth Rice, b 1770, VA, D 1830, Green Co., KY.
102. John Davenport, b 1770, VA, d unknown. 1830 dismissal from Concord Baptist Church, Wayne Co., KY. May have gone to Indiana. Married in 1796 in Patrick Co., VA. Maybe a son of Elisha Davenport, aged 80-90 in 1830 Wayne Co., KY Census.
103. Nancy Burnett, b 1772, VA, d unknown. 1830 dismissal from Concord Baptist Church, Wayne Co., KY.
104. Daniel Strunk, abt 1775, PA, MD, VA? d 1852, Whitley Co., KY. Constable of Ashe Co., NC 1806 and 1814. Moved to Whitley Co., KY by 1820 Census. At least four wives and 30+ children.
105. Margaret "Peggy" Williams?, abt 1780, NC, d aft 1860 Census Cumberland Co., KY. Granted divorce from Daniel 1821 in Whitley Co., KY. Named as Margareta in Divorce Decree.
106. FNU Pennington, unknown father of Abigail Pennington, 2nd wife of Abraham Strunk. See Abraham Strunk Divorce.
107. Unknown mother of Abigail Pennington, 2nd wife of Abraham Strunk. See above.
108. FNU Davis, unknown father of John Davis.
109. Unknown, unknown mother of John Davis.
110. Ballentine Creekmore, b 1750-60, d between 1830 and 1840, Whitley Co., KY. In Nash Co., NC in 1790 and 1800 Censuses, in Knox Co., KY in 1810 Census, and in Whitley Co., KY, in 1820 and 1830 Censuses. Age recorded as between 60 and 69 in 1830.
111. Barsheba Batchelor, b 1766 Norfolk, Norfolk, VA, or Nash Co., NC, d before 1840, Whitley Co., KY.
112. FNU Swain, unknown father of John DeSwain, or John D. Swain, from VA to Whitley Co., KY.
113. Unknown
114. Unknown
115. Unknown
116. George Ball, See above #96.
117. Elizabeth Tunnel/l, See above #97.
118. James Harvey May, See above #98.
119. Elizabeth "Betsy" King, See above #99.
120. William Kidd, b aft 1737, VA?, d between 1801 and 1821, Tazewell Co., VA or Wayne Co., KY (date of brother Samuel Kidd's estate in Fluvanna Co., VA). William was sometime of Albemarle Co., VA. Named in his father Aaron Kidd's will in Albemarle Co., VA, in 1775.
121. Unknown
122. FNU Bagley or Begley, possibly of Tazewell Co., VA.
123. Unknown
124. Thomas Stephens, b abt 1750, (VA or NC) d abt 1836, Fentress Co., TN. Rev War.
125. Sarah Miller, b 12 March 1747 or 57, (possibly in England) d bef 1836, Fentress Co., TN.
126. FNU Hays or Hayes
127. Unknown

Sneak Peek of new Ancestry features

Ancestry has a blog post out by Dan Lawyer is a Senior Director of Product at Ancestry, about a new page design and feature set they will introduce this year. You can read it here Sneak Peek. This looks like a very nice re-design of the pages and an interesting attempt to make the genealogy information more exciting to people who use the site. There is a link to add your name to the waiting list for the Beta test of the new site design.

Sometimes the answer is a tree in the forest: my paternal mtDNA - U5a1b

In order to find the mtDNA haplogroup of my deceased Father, Denval Perkins, I have been trying to get female line relatives of my Grandmother, Eleanor "Nellie" Walker Inman Perkins, to do either the autosomal test at 23andMe, because it also gives a limited mtDNA haplogroup, or an mtDNA test at Family Tree DNA. Because he and his half and full siblings are all deceased, I have asked his niece, but she has finally decided not to test. I then asked some of my Grandmother's sisters descendants but they also refused to test.

This week I used the Charting program in Legacy Family Tree to go back to my Grandmother's Grandmother, Mariah Moses Manning, and trace her mtDNA descendants. When I examined the chart I realized that two of those female line descendants had already tested at 23andMe and had the mtDNA haplogroup designation of U5a1b. This mtDNA haplogroup is considered one of the oldest European mtDNA haplogroups. It is currently concentrated in the Baltic and Scandinavian countries. This location ties into my Fathers's Y DNA haplogroup of R1a1a (R-176.1) which is mainly found in Scandinavia and Scotland.

My Father's known matriline:

1. Denval Perkins (1921-1974);
2. Eleanor "Nellie" Walker (1891-1965) - 1) Francis "Frank" Inman and 2) Henry Franklin Perkins;
3. Rutha Manning (1867-1928 - Andrew J. Walker;
4. Mariah Moses (1832-1873) - Jacob H Manning;
5. Martha Richardson (1814-1869) - 1)Edmund DeBerry Moses and 2) William Manning;
6. Elizabeth Davis (1778-1860-70) - John Richardson.

Locations covered are Whitley Co., KY and McCreary Co., KY. See the US Census reports for 1850 through 1930.

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?