As explained in the previous blog (MRCA), for the top matches with a score of just under 4, the common ancestor should be a great, great grandparent. The top match (MRCA=3.81) has a comprehensive tree containing a lot of information. There are a number of ancestors with roots in Ireland. Much of this information comes…
All posts by Keith Stanley
MRCA
When I first started work, MRCA stood for Multi Role Combat Aircraft. (I am showing my age!) It was subsequently called Tornado. In the world of genealogy, MRCA stands for Most Recent Common Ancestor. And that is the meaning that applies here. Gedmatch produces an estimate of how far back I must look to find…
Bridging the gap
The conventional starting point for genealogists is with the immediate family. We then work backwards. Step by step. Generation by generation. At some point, maybe two or three generations back, we tend to hit a metaphorical ‘brick wall’. There are many possible reasons for this. Not all records can be found. Records may no longer…
Perceptions
One of the (many) things that I find difficult is attempting to see events from the perspective of my ancestors. Historians have the benefit of hindsight. We have access to an internet full of information. We know what is going to happen. We know which natural disasters affected which location on a particular date. We…
We have a problem
“Houston, we’ve had a problem.” The words of Jim Lovell, Mission Commander on Apollo 13 in April 1970. A masterful understatement! Similar words are used frequently in documentaries in an effort to introduce tension into the narrative. On an almost trivial level, I too have a problem. For some years, I have been struggling to…
More digging in the graveyard (3)
As recorded in ‘More digging in the graveyard (1)’, John J McHugh married Anna (or Annie) Devereaux in November 1878. Mrs Rose Devereaux and her daughter Beatrice are listed as attending Susan (Kelly) Cronin’s funeral. What is the connection? The American custom of showing a wife’s maiden name on burial records is extremely helpful. Among…
More digging in the graveyard (2)
In Part 1, I looked at John J McHugh, an attendee at the funeral of Susan Kelly Cronin. It is now time to look at Barney McHugh. It was his wife who was present at the funeral. His proper name was Bernard. The death certificate records his date of birth as 7 June 1842. He…
More digging in the graveyard (1)
Apologies for the pun! One of the mourners at Susan (Kelly) Cronin’s funeral was John J McHugh. It has been relatively simple to trace him through the records. The comprehensive nature of records in Michigan and neighbouring Illinois is a great help in this respect. He died in Chicago, Illinois in 1918. He was born…
Obituaries: a good source of information
It seems that name-checking a lot of people helps to sell newspapers. As mentioned in “Benefits of sharing” the article in the Marshall Daily News reporting the death of Susan (Kelly) Cronin in 1907 contained information on her place of birth. The article on her funeral has a list of some of the mourners. They…
Still seeking John Kelly
There is a wonderful piece of dialogue from a radio programme broadcast on the BBC in 1972. Neddie: [on discovering Eccles in the coal cellar] What are you doing here? Eccles: Everybody’s gotta be somewhere… Quite so, Eccles. Everybody does have to be somewhere. But where? I am still trying to discover more information about…