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 the first time. Both he and his brother were delighted to learn of a sister they never knew they had. I’m told an introduction of spouses, nephews and nieces will soon follow in a face-to-face meeting later this month.

Here’s to happy endings and happier beginnings.

I’ve taken a bit of a hiatus from genealogy. A bout with food poisoning, allergies and an ulcer (ouch) kept me preoccupied. But it’s back to work now… there are more ancestors to discover and cousins to find.

Kenfolk: Tranthams
Relation: 4th cousin
Common ancestors: William Barnett Sims and Clarinda Susan Rust

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 of his heirs. Martin Goodger, my 5th great grandfather, was one of two men who witnessed the will. Thus, my distant cousins surmised that Stephen’s daughter Elizabeth must surely have been Martin’s wife, Elizabeth Goodger.

I can certainly understand why they drew this conclusion. But it doesn’t make sense within the context of the rest of the will. The problem is twofold. First, Stephen’s will also introduces us to a daughter named Temperance who was married at the time. In the will, she’s identified as “Temperance Fowler”. Had Elizabeth been married to Martin Goodger when the will was drawn up, logically she would have appeared as “Elizabeth Goodger”. That didn’t happen. Second, Temperance’s inheritance was much smaller than the inheritances of her unmarried and, I suspect, underage siblings. As was custom, wills tended to favor the younger children who were not yet able to fend for themselves. Most of Stephen’s estate was earmarked to support “my wife and children, except Temperance”.

And then there’s the complete lack of Pankey DNA matches – folks who descend from members of the Pankey family. Nada.

Stephen Pankey, Jr. would have been a fantastic 6th great grandfather. A prominent citizen of Virginia, he represented Chesterfield County when delegates from across the state were called upon to ratify the Constitution of the fledgling United States. For the record, his father, Stephen Pankey, Sr., would have been an equally interesting 7th great grandfather.

Disproving an ancestral relationship is certainly not as fun as proving one. But, it’s an important part of the journey nonetheless.

Kenfolk: Tranthams
Relation: 5th great grandmother
Common ancestors: Not sure but it’s not the Pankeys

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 to meet any of the living ones, I’ll be ready.

On Saturday I received an email from a women who is helping her mother-in-law find her birth mother’s family. She knew from Ancestry.com’s DNA test results that her mother-in-law was probably a 3rd or 4th cousin to me and my father. She only had fragments of information. Her mother-in-law was adopted as a baby. The birth mother was a teenager. She had what she believed was the birth mother’s real name and a place of birth. This was important to her because her mother-in-law had recently overcome of serious, life-threatening illness. Would I consider helping her?

As I was about to leave Richmond, I knew I had about two hours of drive time to fret over the email. How could I not help her? But I have thousands of DNA matches on Ancestry.com and I’ve only positively identified common ancestors on about 200 of them. I desperately wanted to help the woman but experience has shown me that this was probably going to be difficult to figure out. I pulled over for gas about 30 miles down the road and replied to the woman’s email. I would do whatever I could.

When I arrived home I jumped on the computer and quickly found her mother-in-law’s DNA match “profile” on Ancestry.com. It took me all of three minutes tops to figure out that she was a fellow descendant of William Barnett Sims and Clarinda Susan Rust, my 3rd great grandparents. She obviously matched my father, his sister and 1st cousins; but more importantly she also matched about a dozen other folks who I had already identified as Sims descendants. This was too easy.

I then turned to my family tree and plugged in the name of her birth mother. Had I come across this person while researching the Sims family? Yes. The name of her birth mother popped up instantly. She had used her real name when signing the adoption papers. And her mother was a Sims. In the 1940 census her birth mother was 10 years old. She would have been 19 when she gave birth to my DNA match.

By midnight, I had emailed the woman the names of her mother-in-law’s deceased maternal grandparents and uncle. I am pretty good at this genealogy thing. Maybe too good. From public records, I also knew that her birth mother had married a man after 1950 who’d given her two sons – they would be her mother-in-law’s half-brothers. In 1980, they were living in Mesquite, Texas.

The rest of this story is not my own. I hope this turns out well for the woman’s mother-in-law should they decide to reach out to the folks I helped them identify. At the very least, her mother-in-law now has an extended family member – a 4th “birth” cousin she never knew she had – me.

Kenfolk: Tranthams
Relation: 4th cousin
Common ancestors: William Barnett Sims and Clarinda Susan Rust

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. Late in the day, I got so tired of carrying armfuls of books back to my table, I decided it would be simpler if I just pulled my chair up to the bookshelves. So that’s what I did. No one seemed to mind as we were all doing the same thing: find a book covering a place where your ancestor lived, flip to the index in the back of the book and hold your breath. You could always tell when someone found something relevant as the sound of “shutters” opening and closing on iPhone and iPad cameras quietly signaled that a genealogical gem had been unearthed.

My day started in the microfilm section. I recently learned in a book about Revolutionary War veterans who settled in Kentucky that one of the Martin Tranthams served in the “Illinois Regiment” under George Rogers Clark. (My mother would have gone ga-ga over this revelation – more on that later.) I have very strong opinions about which Martin Trantham took up arms during and after our fight for independence. There were three men named Martin Trantham living at this time – father, son and grandson. I believe it was the grandson, my 5th great grandfather, who enlisted as a young man and continued serving after the war. This theory of mine is supported by Lewis Peach’s infamous 1884 letter in which he identified the “grandson” as the Revolutionary War soldier. It doesn’t make sense to me that the father and son, who were running plantations at the time, dropped everything to become soldiers. But I digress.

A few weeks ago, I emailed an archivist at the Library of Virginia and asked if they had any information about Clark’s “Illinois Regiment” which came out of Virginia. Surely, the list of soldiers that appeared in the book had to have been sourced from original documents. An archivist responded the same day letting me know that those documents were available on microfilm.

Document 28 on “miscellaneous” reel 1384 revealed that Private Martin Trantham served for a period of 14 months and 15 days commencing on April 29, 1779. For his service, he was compensated 29 pounds in “Virginia Currency”.  He was discharged at the end of his service. That’s important to note because there are really only three outcomes – discharged, deserted or death.

I had a few serendipitous moments while researching Private Martin. First, my mother’s mother was a “Clark” whose ancestors came from Virginia. George Rogers Clark, also from Virginia, might be a relative. George’s younger brother was the “Clark” of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. One of the members of the expedition was Charles Floyd. A fellow Trantham researcher believes he might also be related and the inspiration behind the “Floyd” name given to her ancestor and to my 3rd great grandfather, Robert Floyd Trantham. Second, speaking of names, I have often wondered why Martin Trantham might have named his son and my 4th great grandfather, “Jesse”. Did this name have significance? Maybe so.

Document 28 contains the payroll records of the soldiers who served under the direct command of Captain Jesse Evans. Perhaps this officer made a lasting impression on the young soldier who was my ancestor.

Kenfolk: Tranthams
Relation: Ancestor
Common ancestors: Yes

“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 Palatines – a group of German immigrants who came to America by way of England. They had gone to England to escape the unrest and turmoil of their homeland – the “Palatinate” region. (Thus, they name.) In doing so, they became England’s immigration problem which they solved by shipping the Palatines to the American colonies. Many of them died living in squalid conditions; some of them prospered. It’s a fascinating and disturbing historical period for sure.

In any event, I was a bit jealous learning that her German ancestors were here long before mine. Most of mine arrived in Missouri in the mid-19th century – 100 years after the Palatines. But it got me thinking about my other German ancestors – the ones who were living in North Carolina around 1750. Could there be a connection between them and the Palatines?

The answer is “yes”. It turns out that the Proprietors of North Carolina – the governing body at the time – got wind of the immigration “solution” that was happening further north and decided they could also use some of those skilled Germans to populate their growing colony. The Palatines usually farmed the taxable land which they would then own over time. So that’s what happened. North Carolina had its own mini Palatine “movement”.

John Martinleer, my 7th great grandfather, who was living in Cumberland County, North Carolina between 1750 and 1775, was likely of German descent. That’s what I contend. His surname was probably not “Martinleer” but rather “Lear” or “Lehr” and “Martin” was likely his middle name. His second wife, Sarah, signed her name on a deed “Sarah Lear” and not “Sarah Martinleer”. Voila. Barbara Blocker was John or Johann’s first wife. Her father was Michael Blocker, who was also living in Cumberland County around the same time. Another family researcher believes “Blocker” was probably “Plocher” in the original German.

Since the Palatines typically traveled and settled with people they knew, it got me to wondering if I could find any Plochers or Lehrs living in the Palatinate region before 1700. Oh, boy. Not only did I find them, I found a man named “Johann Martin Lehr” who was born in 1686 in Bavaria (which is in the Palatinate region!). Although he died in 1753, it’s possible that he’s related to my ancestor, John Martinleer. The Germans loved to recycle names within families. I also found several Plochers living in the same general area including a handful of Michael Plochers.

As distractions go, this is a whopper. Connecting the dots between the Martinleers and the Blockers of North Carolina and the Lehrs and the Plochers of the Palatinate region is going to take some doing. After all, they would have gone to England first becoming to America.

This is one rabbit hole I may have to avoid for a while. And for the record, if John’s middle name was indeed “Martin”, he’d be the 9th ancestor bearing that name. Too many Martins!

Kenfolk: Tranthams
Relation: 7th great grandfather
Common ancestors: Quite possibly the Lehrs of Bavaria!

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 and identify the parents of Matilda Jane Goodger, my 3rd great grandmother and the wife of Ulysses Goodger. It was not uncommon for family members to sell land to one another or witness deeds for each other, etc. So, perhaps I would get lucky.

Deeds are like scratch-off lottery tickets. Most of the time, you lose. However, every once in a while you might win another scratch-off ticket just to keep you scratching. That’s what happened.

I did not win the lottery with this batch of deeds. But I didn’t walk away completely empty-handed either. From one of the deeds, I learned that Matilda Jane’s nickname was “Tiller”. Okay, now that made me smile. I have a feeling that “Tiller” was not present the day Grandpa Ulysses signed the deed in court. She’s either “Matilda” or “Jane” in all of the others. Thus, she might not have been amused that her pet name was used in a legal document for all of eternity.

From another deed, I learned that Ulysses’ middle name was “Martin”. It was his grandfather’s name so that didn’t come as a surprise. It was a bit odd, though, that both he and “Tiller” appeared on this particular deed as “Martin” and “Jane”, both having used their middle names instead of their first names. Most likely, neither one of them could read so they didn’t pay attention to whatever the clerk wrote down.

Ulysses Martin is yet another “Martin” who appears in my family tree. It’s a bit uncanny that I keep finding ancestors named “Martin”. When I selected the name of this blog, I was simply giving a nod to my four Martin Trentham ancestors. In addition to these four Martins and Martin Joyce on my mother’s side, I’ve discovered three more “Martin” ancestors in the last year – Martin Goodger and his grandson, Ulysses Martin, and Martin Nalle.

Who knew?

Kenfolk: Tranthams
Relation: 3rd great grandmother
Common ancestors: Grrr

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 farmed, and living (allegedly) to be 150 years old.

Martin and Elizabeth were recently joined on my family tree by another couple named Martin and Elizabeth. Martin Goodger and his wife, Elizabeth (Pankey) Goodger, are my 5th great grandparents. I’ve only just started researching the Goodgers so my knowledge of this Martin and Elizabeth is emerging. For those close family members following this blog, Lula Betty Boren’s mother was Mary Emma Goodger. That’s our connection.

Martin and Elizabeth Goodger’s story is a tragic one. Martin died around 1799 in Chesterfield County, Virginia. He left behind his widow, Elizabeth, and several children – most of whom were minors. His death was likely not unexpected. They must have known it was coming because Martin had a will prepared naming all of the members of his young family. The land they lived on was not owned outright and this was a problem. A fellow Goodger researcher and distant cousin concluded that when Martin died, Elizabeth and her children were essentially “homeless”.

At the time, land was not in short supply. Fortunately, the Native Americans had plenty to spare which they willingly shared with their European neighbors. Elizabeth and most of her children headed to Georgia where they were literally giving land away in lotteries. Elizabeth’s lucky number came up finally in 1821. By then the Goodgers were firmly rooted in Georgia. Elizabeth’s son Stephen, my 4th great grandfather, had already been married, widowed, and married again by 1820. Stephen and his second wife, Julia (Veazey) Goodger, left Georgia at some point after 1830 and headed to Mississippi – the future birthplace of my great grandmother, Lula Betty Boren.

I’ll be heading to the Library of Virginia in Richmond some time soon. Martin and Elizabeth’s presence in Chesterfield County, Virginia was captured on several historical documents that are held in their archives. What better excuse does one need to visit Richmond? Day trip!!!

Kenfolk: Tranthams
Relation: Emerging
Common ancestors: More Goodgers and Pankeys (who were FRENCH!) 

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 we get them from our fathers who got theirs from their fathers and so on and so forth. As such, the relationship between men who share Y-DNA in common can go back as far as 300,000 years. I have a handful of Y-DNA matches who share my last name. We kind of figure Martin Trentham is our common ancestor. But for most of my other Y-DNA matches, we’ll likely never figure out how we’re related and we simply have to accept that we’re cut from the same man-cloth.

That’s what makes the email I received this week so interesting. First off, it did not come from one of my Y-DNA matches – it came from the sister of one of my Y-DNA matches. As she explained in her email, she coerced her brother, whose last name is “Hudson”, into taking the Y-DNA test so that she could further her own genealogical ambitions. (I admired her from the start.) She went on to say that she had tried and failed to figure out we were related. Now, given what I thought I knew about Y-DNA, I actually heard my own eyes rolling when I finished reading her email. Why on Earth did she think she’d be able to solve this? I can’t even figure out one my 3rd great grandmothers much less a relationship that potentially goes back 300,000 years.

Except that it doesn’t. She pointed out in her email that the “genetic distance” between her brother and me was “1”. “What does that mean?” she asked. After all, that seems like we’d be pretty closely related, right?  Hmm. Maybe she’s onto something. So I logged into my FamilyTreeDNA account to take a closer look at my Y-DNA test results and this particular match that is her brother, Mr. Hudson. Although I read what I could about “genetic distance”, it sounded like a bunch of scientific mumbo jumbo. That concept is beyond me right now. But what is not beyond me is the concept of probability. That I understand.

Oh, boy. This might be as controversial as my post last year when I suggested my great grandmother Lula Betty might have been born “Lurah Elizabeth”. Here goes…

According to our Y-DNA test results, the probability that Mr. Hudson and I share a common male ancestor who is (only) 8 generations back is 95%. Inversely, that means there is only a 5% chance that our common ancestor was NOT 8 generations back. Do you follow?

Time for another list:

0. Me
1. My dad
2. My grandpa Basil Trantham
3. My great grandfather Lutiness Trantham
4. My 2x great grandfather Campbell Jackson Trantham
5. My 3x great grandfather Robert Floyd Trantham
6. My 4x great grandfather Martin Trantham of Williamson County, Tennessee
7. My 5x great grandfather Martin Trentham, Jr. who married Elizabeth Martinleer
8. My 6x great grandfather Martin Trentham, Sr. whose will appeared in 1783
9. My 7x great grandfather Martin Trentham – the Subsheriff of Somerset County, Maryland circa 1692

That’s NINE generations of Trantham males that I know of and Mr. Hudson and I likely share a 7th or 8th great grandfather.

It gets worse. My father has about 40 DNA matches on Ancestry.com who have a “Trantham” or “Trentham” ancestor in their family trees. He has about 200 DNA matches who have a “Hudson” ancestor in their family trees. You do the math. This begs the question that is now on my mind: was the father or grandfather of Martin Trentham (#9) a “Hudson”? Could he have been adopted? Did he change his name when he arrived in the New World? Was he abducted by a band of Trentham gypsies and raised as one of their own?

Anything’s possible I suppose. DNA doesn’t lie.

Kenfolk: Hudsons???
Relation: 8th or 9th great grandfather??
Common ancestors: Frankly, I’m a bit perplexed.