Immortal Saint

Comments after the jump.
Spouses are in bold with children listed below each.

 SIGRADE DE ALSACE
 Born: Moselle, Lorraine, France
 Death: Metz, Moselle, Lorraine, France

 Bodilon De Bourgogne
 Adele deTreves
 Count Warinus
 Gunza Treves
 Gunza Kunza Metz
 Kunza Metz
 Warinus Guerin Bourgogne
 WARINUS, W G DE BOURGOGNE, DE POITIERS, B: 638
 Guerin Warin Warinus Poitiers, B: 1853

 Bodilon DeTreves
 Adele DePoitiers
 Guerin DePoitiers
 Kunza DeTreves
 Warinus Franks Burgundy
 Guerin Warin, B: 1150
 Guerin Warin Warinus Poitiers, B: 1853

 Bodilon de Pointers, D: 2000
 Guerin de Autun
 Warinus de Autun Poitiers
 Guerin Warin Warinus Poitiers, B: 1853

 Chlodulf StCloud Bishop Metz
 Alberic d Aquitaine
 Guerin de Autun
 GUNZA DeTREVES
 Kunza DeTreves DeMetz Countess Paris
 Kunza Gunza de Metz
 Kunza Gunza deTreves
 Guerin Warin Warinus Poitiers, B: 1853

 Bodilon Boditon Franks Burgundy
 Adele deTreves
 Immachilde Hymnegilde
 Imnichilde DeSwabia
 Leger Bishop
 Guerin Warin Warinus Poitiers, B: 1853

Downward Spiral

Even the so-called professionals have jumped on the royalty bandwagon. To hell with records and verification, let's take money from those who don't know any better and annoy those who do, all in one fell swoop!
Recently The Daily Mail (for those in the US think 'supermarket tabloid') published My Ancestor - The Queen. The article claims to be "the final part of [their] genealogy series" but I could only find one other genealogy related article, How to Trace Your Family Tree. Two articles is a series? Comments are still open on the tracing your tree article but are closed on "My Ancestor - The Queen" which is more recent. Odd. Could it be because people found flaws in the article's premise? Read the comments, check out Diane Gow's research, and judge for yourself. My guess is that these articles clothed as human interest pieces are actually adverts for Find My Past. This is a social network promotion that came out at about the same time:

Earlier this year Ancestry.com posted a link to this story (link goes to YouTube) on their Facebook page. It's about a man, Mr. Tucker, who "traces" his tree back to Charlemagne. Ancestry.com also added it to their YouTube channel. Mr. Tucker trusted Ancestry.com to be a "reliable source" and then the video shows him connecting to other trees. This could have been a great opportunity for Ancestry to discuss the reliability of other trees or to talk about the chances you have of actually connecting to Charlemagne. Instead they look like the huckster selling a cure-all tonic. "Come one, come all! Trace your family to Charlemagne!"
These companies seem to be going for the short term sell rather than cultivating long term customers. Maybe they know that the long term customers are dedicated researchers, see the value of their product, and aren't going anywhere. We aren't going anywhere until they drive us off which they seem to be attempting. They are actively luring people who will click away during the 14 day free trial in an attempt to get back to royalty or Biblical figures as quickly as possible. Those same people will then abandon their tree, which is just another copy of other polluted trees, all of which should be thrown onto the trash heap.
I am curious to know what percentage of these quick to click newbies stay on to become serious hobbyists and/or researchers. It must be a significant percentage if these companies continue to encourage this behavior.
What do you think? Is this what these companies need to do to survive? Are there options for preventing these trees from becoming a dense forest? Right now it seems like they're bamboo - fast growth spurt early on and impossible to get rid of - and they're taking over our forest.


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In Three Places at Once

Comments after the jump.

 Mary Jane Madison Johnson
 Born: 13 May 1836

 1880 Census
 (date, residence, family surname; head of household, spouse, and children)
    
 June 7, Polk GA, Johnson; William 40, Mary J 43, Andrew J 15, Mattie 14, Lou Ella 11, Lara 9, Rosa 5

 June 18, Paulding GA, Walker; William 53, Mary 46, Margaret 24, Hillyard 13, Robert G 6

 June 28, Lincoln LA, Walker; Mary J 44, Wid. or Div., John R 22, Drucilla 14, Nannie L 12, Mary E 10, William M 8

My Father, My Husband

The next time you think you’re having a bad day, image how Valerie Spruill felt when she discovered that her husband and her father are the same person.

That is the beginning of an article [link below] about one woman's real life. 
On this blog I make fun of those trees that unintentionally turn their ancestors into zombies, bigamists and victims/perpetrators of incest. Except for the zombies those things happen in real life. It is never my intent to make light of those situations but to reinforce the idea that our ancestors should be respected. You will most likely find skeletons in the family closet. There is no need to make them up.
With distant ancestors it may be easier to be accepting or forgiving of their faults and actions. The times they lived in were drastically different and we didn't know them personally. For older generations we may have known, even briefly, digging up those skeletons can give us a better perspective on their personalities and maybe help us empathize. In a few cases we won't find a reason for their actions and will just have to live with the fact that the person was a horrible human being. Whatever the case, if it weren't for them we wouldn't be here so our goal should be to find the truth.
The bravery it took for Valerie Spruill to search out the truth should be applauded. She knew this outcome was a possibility and went forward anyway. Many others would have ignored their suspicions or swept the results under the rug. May she continue to be strong for her entire family.   

One Twisted Family Tree - woman finds out late husband was also her father  
by Beacon Journal Columnist Bob Dyer

Valerie Spruill, Ohio Woman, Finds Out Husband Was Her Father  
by Cazan Sieczkowski at The Huffington Post


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NEXT POST: In Three Places at Once

Not Dead Yet

Spouses are listed at the top. All children are color coded to their mother,
have the Walker surname and are listed by their birth year.

Comments after the jump.

 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN WALKER

 Maria Pennie Hickman (1840-1910) Children born in Illinois
 Harriet (1830-????) Children born in Tennessee
 Mary Elizabeth Fulwood (1864-1947) Children born in Florida
 Ollie Mae Carr (1878-1956) Children born in Illinois
 Emily Clemence Buchman (1886-1958) Children born in Texas
 Emily McGill (1887-????) Children born in Texas
 Lillie Viola Murvin (1888-1962) Children born in Idaho and Utah
 Sallie J (1861-1885) No children

 TIMELINE
  
 1860  BENJAMIN FRANKLIN WALKER is born.
 1860  Viola
 1860  Viola
 1863  James Daniel
 1864  Sherman, Henry
 1864  Sherman
 1866  Wyley
 1867  George Hickman
 1868  Frank
 1869  Maggie
 1869  Maggie
 1870  Susie
 1871  Cora D
 1871  Cora D
 1872  William
 1873  John R
 1873  John R
 1878  Mary E
 1878  Mary E
 1879  Ella
 1883  MARRIAGE to MARY ELIZABETH FULWOOD
 1885  Bertha Edith
 1886  William Albert
 1886  Nora Edna
 1889  Robert Archibald
 1893  Mattie Rose
 1896  Grace Myrtle
 1896  BENJAMIN FRANKLIN WALKER DIES.
 1898  MARRIAGE to Ollie Mae Carr
 1900  Glen, Clyne
 1902  Bonnie Mae, MARRIAGE to Emily Clemence Buchman
 1902  Mary Julie Ann
 1903  Mary
 1906  Beryl
 1907  Lucile
 1908  James
 1909  Hilda Beth
 1910  Benjamin
 1911  Roxy LouDean
 1912  Lydia
 1913  Theadore Franklin
 1915  William Reagan
 1921  Steve Abraham