Tuesday's Tip: Set Out Some Cousin Bait

With Steven and Carl in Wales

Last summer, I wrote about my fantastic trip to Cardiff to meet my cousins, Steven and Carl, and explore my roots around the border of Wales and Herefordshire, England. I still think of that amazing adventure often, and how it came to be.

It all started with private Facebook message a couple of years earlier from a man saying that he thought we might be related. Apparently, he found my information on a message board where I had posted looking for information on my Bartram family in England and Wales. I immediately replied to Steven that we certainly are related: we are both descended from my great great grandparents, John Bartram and Esther Meredith. Turns out message boards are a great place to lay some cousin bait...

During the last few years, I've received several such messages from people who have stumbled across my public tree on Ancestry.com, unearthed old message board posts with pleas from me to anyone who might have needed information, or found this blog via a random, or well-thought-out, Google search. Some of the people who have contacted me have turned out to not be related at all, but I'm amazed at the number of actual cousins -- LIVE cousins -- with whom I've connected and shared both information and adventures. And, all because they had the hunch, the whim, the guts, to send me a note saying, "I think we might be related...".

In addition to Steven and Carl in Wales, here are some of the cousins I've nabbed with my virtual bait (or, have they nabbed me?):

Sarah Meredith

• Michelle, who shares with me our great great grandparents, William Calhoun Hunt and George Frances Ann Purser, and who actually got know to my very own beloved Grandma Edith (Hunt) Brittain when she'd travel to Oklahoma to visit her cousin (and Michelle's grandpa), Fritz. Michelle was my first cousin to take the Ancestry bait about four years ago, and I'm now Facebook friends with her, her sisters, and a few other welcoming Oklahoma cousins. 
• Alan, who found me last year right here on this blog, and who shares with me TWO sets of third great grandparents: Samuel and Harriett (Boast) Bartram from Kelsale, Suffolk, England, and Samuel and Sarah Meredith from Monmouthshire, Wales. That means that we're double fourth cousins. The Bartram sons (John and William) moved from Suffolk to Wales in the 1840s and married Meredith sisters (Esther and Mary). Alan now lives in Canada, and I've had the great pleasure of video Skyping with him as well as several other of my Canadian cousins. He's shared some fantastic information with me about our ancestors, including a photo of our great great great grandmother, Sarah Meredith.
  
• 

  Leah and her brother, George, with
  my cousins, Debbie and Wanda

  Leah, who also found my blog and is a distant cousin via my Harriman and Veale line. The two of us had to work to figure out just how we were related because the Harrimans and Veales also stuck close to each other (lots of brothers marrying sisters from the other family), and they had the annoying habit of recycling first names: Clara, George, Elmer, George Elmer -- you get the idea. As it turned out, Leah also knew a couple of my mom's first cousins in Kansas and was looking to reconnect with them. I was happy to oblige, and when they got together later that year, they sent photos of their fun day as well as of my great great grandparents' graves and even a wonderful photo of my great great grandmother Margaret Harriman Veale!
  
  
• Bob, who found my tree on Ancestry.com and shares with Alan and me Samuel and Harriet Boast as our third great grandparents. It turns out Bob lives in Reno, NV, which isn't all that far from Oakland, CA. I went up to Reno one weekend this past October to work on President Obama's re-election campaign, and Bob graciously invited my friends and me to meet him at his home. We had so much fun with him and his roommates that evening. It's amazing how quickly we connected with each other over our shared family ties. We're still sharing information and pictures with each other (I see three new emails from him in my inbox right now), and I can't wait for our next visit!
  

  

  With my cousin, Bob, in Reno!

• Reva, who's great grandfather, Arthur Bartram, was the nephew of my great grandfather, Joseph Bartram. Arthur was the oldest son of Joseph's oldest sister, Louisa, who was also the great grandmother of my Welsh cousin, Carl, and the great great grandmother of Carl's son, Steven (from my Cardiff trip, above). It really is a small world! Reva emailed me the first photos of my great Grandpa Joseph that I had ever seen, and I'll always treasure those. We're also both trying to solve the mystery of the story about how Joseph's (and Louisa's) father, John Bartram, may have died at sea. 
• Jennifer, my fifth cousin on my Brittain line, is a cousin that I actually reached out to in my quest to document my Revolutionary War patriot, Nathaniel Brittain, for my DAR application. She's the cousin who originally inspired me to write this blog. Jennifer writes two excellent blogs that you should visit right now: Climbing My Family Tree (excellent cousin bait!) and Sergeant Major Mom. 
• Susan is a first cousin who was looking for information about her mom's biological father, and found him right here on this blog. I don't want to spoil the surprises in this very personal story, so look for it in another blog post (probably later this week).

And, there's more where that came from! All because I laid out a bit of "bait" -- in the form of information and queries -- on the internet. 

So, why would you want to set out your own cousin bait? Because getting to know live cousins not only helps us to flesh out the details and solve the mysteries of our ancestors, but it lets us really feel like we are part of a larger world family. It inspires us to think about our immediate family as well as our ancestors in new ways. It connects us in ways that we could never imagine, no matter how far apart we might live. 

So, my challenge to all you family historians out there: take a chance and reach out to someone who just might be one of your distant cousins. Comment on a blog post that you found interesting. Post a burning question on a family search message board. Send a message to a potential distant cousin via Ancestry. Start your own blog about your family research. Strike up a conversation! You never know who might be able to help you break through a brick wall in your research. And, more importantly, you might meet some really cool cousins that also end up being life-long friends. =)

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: My 16 Great Great Grandparents

Randy Seaver at Genea-Musings offers this mission for some Saturday Night Genealogy Fun:

1)  List your 16 great-great-grandparents with their birth, death and marriage data (dates and places).  [Hint - you might use an Ancestral Name List from your software for this.]

2)  Determine the countries (or states) that these ancestors lived in at their birth and at their death.

3)  For extra credit, go make a "Heritage Pie" chart for the country of origin (birth place) for these 16 ancestors. [Hint: you could use the  chart generator from Kid Zone for this.] [Note: Thank you to Sheri Fenley for the "Heritage Pie" chart idea.]

Since my sweetie is away for the weekend, and I'm on my own this Saturday night, I thought it would be fun to play along! I went one step further and, where available, added photos for each set of great-greats.

My 16 great-great grandparents are:

1. Frederick Harmon Brittain, son of Milton Price Brittain and Nancy Garriott, was born on 20 January 1859 in Keokuk County, Iowa, USA. He died on 6 February 1921 in Van Buren County, Arkansas, USA. He married Mary Jane Rooks on 14 September 1879 in Lowery City, St. Clair County, Missouri, USA.

2. Mary Jane Rooks, daughter of Thomas J. Rooks and Serena Jane Ishmael, was born on 3 March 1862, in Grundy County Missouri, USA. She died on 28 March 1904 in Lincoln County, Oklahoma, USA.

Frederick and Mary Jane Brittain

3. William Leroy Halstead, Jr., son of William Leroy Halstead and Ann Dobson, was born on 6 March 1859 in Pocahontas, Pocahontas County, Iowa, USA. He died on 27 November 1944 in Avery, Lincoln County, Oklahoma, USA. He married Nancy Catherine Campbell in 1880 in Missouri, USA.

4. Nancy Catherine Campbell, daughter of George Thomas Campbell and Mary Jane Carter, was born on 13 November 1856 in Palo Alto County, Iowa, USA. She died on 14 March 1940 in Avery, Lincoln County, Oklahoma, USA.

William and Nancy Halstead

5. William Calhoun Hunt, son of James Sanders Hunt and, possibly, Arnetta Sellers, was born on 9 September 1870 in Prentiss County, Mississippi, USA. He died on 26 March 1915 in Jackson, Coal County, Oklahoma, USA. He married Georgia Frances Ann Purser on 4 March 1891 in Lee County, Texas, USA.

6. Georgia Frances Ann Purser, daughter of James Monroe Purser and Nancy Susan Hodge, was born on 7 October 1871 in Searcy, White County, Arkansas, USA. She died on 14 July 1956 in Henderson, Rusk County, Texas, USA. 

William and Georgia Hunt and their family

7. Riley Harrison Martindale, believed to be son of James Jancey Martindale and Sarah ____, was born in 1876 in Sebastian County, Arkansas, USA. He died on 17 April 1899 in Canadian, Pittsburg County, Oklahoma, USA. He married Nancy Dezina Jaggers on 19 February 1896 in Pittsburg County, Oklahoma, USA.

8. Nancy Dezina Jaggers, daughter of Jessie James Jaggers and Louiza Jane Turman, was born on 1 September 1877 in Sulligent, Lamar County, Alabama, USA. She died on 14 September 1944 in Vinita, Craig County, Oklahoma, USA.  

Nancy Dezina Jaggers Martindale with her daughter, Ethel

9. John Bartrem, son of Samuel Bartram and Harriet Boste, was born in 1815 in Kelsale, Suffolk County, England. He died about 1882 at sea (en route from England to USA). He married Esther Meredith on 12 July 1846 in Welsh Newton, Herefordshire, England.  

10. Esther Meredith, daughter of Joseph Meredith and Sarah ___, was born in 1814 in Welsh Newton, Herefordshire County, England. She died in March 1888 in Monmouthshire County, Wales.

James and Esther Meridith and their family

11. George Elmer Veale, son of Andrew Jackson Veale and Elizabeth Miller, was born on 5 August 1850 in Pike County, Indiana, USA. He died on 20 September 1928 in Emporia, Lyon County, Kansas, USA. He married Margaret Harriman on 7 February 1872 in Daviess County, Indiana, USA.

12. Margaret Harriman, daughter of Jacob Harryman and Catherine LeFevre, was born on 12 November 1850 in Indiana, USA. She died on 23 January 1932 in Richmond, Contra Costa County, California, USA (while visiting family). 

Margaret Harriman Veale in 1931

13. Laurits Hansen Madsen, sone of Hans Madsen and Sidsel Marie Christensen, was born on 21 May 1839 in Risemark, Ærø, Denmark. He died on 1 October 1934 in Risemark, Ærø, Denmark. He married Kristen Kristen Terkelsen on 1 April 1869 in Risemark, Ærø, Denmark. 

14. Kristen Terkelsen, daughter of Hans Terkelsen and Kirsten Christensen, was born in 1850 in Graasten, Denmark. She died in 1925 in Risemark, Ærø, Denmark.

Laurits and Kristen Madsen and their family in Denmark

15. Johann Bruhns, son of Frederich Bruhns and Marguerite ____, was born on 20 July 1848 in Holstein, Germany. He died on 24 July 1934 in Tracy, San Joaquin County, California, USA. He married Christina Marguerita Schlichtmann, on 3 November 1881 in San Francisco, San Francisco County, California, USA.

16. Christina Marguerita Schlichtmann, daughter of Claus Schlichtmann and Anna Sophie Vanderleith, was born on 20 March 1862 in Hannover, Stadt Hannover, Niedersachsen, Germany.  1 December 1952 in Tracy, San Joaquin County, California, USA.

Wedding photo of John and Christina Bruhns

 
The birthplaces of my 16 great-great-grandparents are:

*  USA - 10 (3 in IA, 2 in AR, 2 in IN, 1 in AL, 1 in MO, 1 in MS)

*  England - 2

*  Denmark - 2

*  Germany - 2

Here is my "Heritage Pie" chart:

 Well, that WAS fun! Thanks, Randy, for the inspiration!!

Tombstone Tuesday: George Elmer and Margaret Harriman Veale

One of the great things about writing this blog is that I've come in contact with cousins I never knew I had! One such cousin, Leah, found me a few months ago and wrote to tell me that she thought we were related. Not only are we cousins, but she'd already met some of my known (and loved) cousins in Kansas and was looking to reunite with them. I was happy to help her make that connection, and have reaped many rewards in return!

Leah and I both hail from the Veale and Harriman/Harryman side of my family. My maternal GG grandfather, George Elmer Veale, married Margaret Harriman. George's sister, Clara Veale, married one of Margaret's cousins, William Bowles Harriman. Both George and Clara Veale were children of my 3rd great grandparents, Andrew Jackson Veale and Elizabeth Miller Veale, who migrated from Daviess County, Indiana, to Wabaunsee County, Kansas, in the late 1800s.

Earlier this year, Leah got together with our cousins Wanda and Debbie, and drove out to the Old Stone Church in Maple Hill, Kansas, where several of our relatives are buried. Leah sent me pictures from their escapade, including this photo of George and Margaret's grave, as well as some of the church and grounds. 

Old Stone Church, Maple Hill, Kansas

Leah also sent me some more old photos of the Veales and Harrimans, including this wonderful photo of my GG grandmother, Margaret Harriman Veale. She looks feisty, doesn't she!

Margaret Harriman Veale - 1850-1932

You know, I initially started writing this blog as a way to get my thoughts and family stories out of my head and into print so that I could better share them with the relatives I already know. I had no idea how many new cousins would start popping into my life to say hello and help me flesh out our larger family history. I'm having so much fun getting to know Leah! We're putting our heads together to prove a relationship in our Veale line that will help Leah join Daughters of the American Revolution (and give me a supplemental patriot on my mom's side of the family). She's a tenacious researcher, and I think we're learning from each other as we tear down some bricks in our wall. I'm so tickled that she found me, and I look forward to meeting her in person and continuing our new friendship!

Leah (2nd from left) with her brother, George, and our cousins, Debbie and Wanda

 Here's how I'm related to George Elmer Veale and Margaret A. Harriman:

George Elmer Veale (1850-1928) m. Margaret A. Harriman (1850-1932) in 1872 >
Alice A. Veale (1872-1954) m. Joseph Bartram (1860-1930) in 1891 >
John Bartram (1911-1987) m. Donna Marie Madsen (1919-1966) in 1938 >
Rebecca Elizabeth Bartram (living) m. William Lee Brittain (1942-2003) in 1964 >
Me!

CORRECTION: I had mistakenly included the wrong picture of Leah, George, Debbie and Wanda. The photo, above, is the correct photo (sorry, Leah!).