When I look back on my 2016 accomplishments, helping my DNA match find her birth family will be at the top of the list. Fortune smiled upon her. The brothers I helped identify from public records were correct. Carefully penned letters were sent and received. A few days later a phone call from one of the brothers united the siblings for… More →
Author: K Trantham
Hanky, No Pankey
Grab your handkerchiefs. Elizabeth Goodger‘s maiden name was probably not “Pankey” as I had hoped. Boo hoo. I came to this sad conclusion about my 5th great grandmother during my recent visit to the Library of Virginia. Other family researchers cite Stephen Pankey, Jr.’s 1790 will as the source of her maiden name. A daughter named “Elizabeth” was indeed listed as one… More →
Birth Cousin
People often ask me why I am so obsessed with genealogy. It’s a fair question considering my family tree is approaching 39,000 relatives. I have never met nor will I likely meet 99.9% of them. Most of them are dead, so the good Lord willing, I won’t be meeting any of them any time soon. But should I ever happen… More →
Private Martin
Summing up my visit to the Library of Virginia in Richmond yesterday is easy: it was like unleashing an unsupervised child in a candy store for eight sugar-coma-inducing solid hours. Frankly, I think I was discovering new information about every 5 to 10 minutes as I worked my way around the local history and genealogical section of the 2nd floor.… More →
Cousins marrying cousins – Unlucky 13
It’s been a while since I’ve posted one of these so here goes. My mother’s 4th cousin, 2x removed, Charles Calvin (“C. C.”) Reynolds, married Mary Elizabeth McCracken, my father’s 4th cousin, 3x removed – earning them the 13th spot on my list of cousins marrying cousins. Unfortunately for both C. C. and Mary Elizabeth, their marriage did not end well. In… More →
Be My Palatine
“Tangent” or “Distraction” should have been my middle name. Almost every week, a dear friend and I catch up on the week’s events. We’ve been doing this for 15 years or more. Our conversations usually turn to genealogy since we’re both hobbyists. Recently, she started telling me about her German ancestors who were living in New England in the 1700s. They were part of the… More →
Martin and Tiller Indeed!
An over-sized envelope arrived this week from Mississippi. Its content – photocopies of deeds recorded in Old Tishomingo County between 1845 and 1857. I am on the trail of my Goodger ancestors who lived in Old Tishomingo before it was divided into the counties of Alcorn, Prentiss and (new) Tishomingo. I had hopes that one of these deeds might reveal a familial relationship… More →
Liar, Liar, DNA on Fire
DNA doesn’t lie but I’ve learned that it doesn’t always tell the complete truth. In last year’s DNA testing frenzy, I uploaded my autosomal DNA results onto several websites including one called Gedmatch.com. One of their cool tools tells you whether or not your parents are related. According to this tool, my parents are not related. LIAR! They may not have DNA in common… More →
The Other Martin and Elizabeth
Martin Trentham, Jr. and Elizabeth Martinleer Eppinger, my 6th great grandparents, have been the subject of many posts on this blog – with good reason. A rascally couple, they show up in documents found in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Mississippi for more than 80 years They were on the move and mischievous for sure – stealing horses, claiming land they never… More →
The Hudson Bait
About once a month I’m contacted by a DNA-matched distant cousin who, like me, is trying to connect the DNA dots and figure out how we’re related. This month one of my Y-DNA “matches” made contact. I haven’t heard from many of these men-folk and there’s a good reason for that. You’ll recall that only men carry a Y chromosome and… More →