Barking Up the Wrong Tree

31 August 2012

My DNA Results

I considered writing an overview of Ancestry.com's new autosomal DNA test but the Legal Genealogist already has an excellent write up. I highly recommend reading her post if you're interested in the autosomal test.

As of March 2012 the categories for Ancestry.com's results were as follows:

British Isles
Central European
East Asia (includes Siberia, China & Southeast Asia)
Eastern European
Finnish/Volga-Ural
French/Swiss
German
Jewish
Middle Eastern
Native North American
Native South American
North African
Russian/Persian/Turkish
Scandinavian
Southern European

As you'll see from my results at least one of those categories, Russian/Persian/Turkish, has changed since March. Also, I have yet to hear of anyone having "German" as a result. That may have been a result that was not as clearly defined as they initially thought. As Ancestry gets more input during this BETA phase of testing the categories, and thus everyone's results, may change a bit.
One thing to keep in mind is that a country's borders are the results of politics not biology and they vary widely over the course of history. If you have any ancestors from "Bohemia" I'm sure you are already keenly aware of this.
My results after the jump.

Warning: Sarcasm Ahead >>

28 August 2012

DNA Will Solve Everything

Ancestry.com has a contest running on their Facebook page. The prize being their new autosomal DNA test. Every time they start a thread encouraging people to enter the prompt is something along the lines of, "What are you looking to discover with an AncestryDNA test?" The comments are, um,...unrealistic. There are a few people who post who, though careless with grammar, have some common sense.

seeing everyones answer reminds me of Henry Louis Gates Jr. and how he jokes about everyones claim to be Indian/Native American. Someone asked earlier how many people are actually likely to be Native American. 1/3 of caucasians in the USA claim Native ancestry, but less than 5% actaully have it.

My DNA may help sort out various family stories and narrow the search to a smaller area. I really do not want to say my heritage until after the test results. I am really not expecting it will help solve my impossible brick wall. This brick wall has been attempted by many in the family since 1900. Not expecting any miracles. Just blessed I am able to get the kit and give it a try.

Of course the rational is not what this blog focuses on. So after the jump you know what you'll find ;-)

Warning: Sarcasm Ahead >>

24 August 2012

Multiple Birth World Record Part 2

This is a continuation of Tuesday's post.

US census records attached to profile for SARAH ELLEN WINTERS.

Surnames on all are "Green." Information listed:

Year
Place of residence
Race
Names, ages, birthplaces of household members
In bold is the record attached to Sarah's profile.

Comments after the jump.

1880
Barber, KS
White
Norman 31, AR; Sarah E 21, MO
Martin L 2, KS; Elmer 1, KS

1900
Wood, OK
White
Sarah 41, MO
John R 19, KS; Alice A 17, KS; Freddie F 15, KS; William O 13, KS;
Lattie E 10, KS; Iva M 8, KS; Nellie E 6, KS; Oliver N 5, KS; Giles C 3, KS

1900
Choctaw Indian Territory
White
Walter P 28, AL; Annie E 27, TN
Jeanett 8, TX; Homer P 6, TX; Grace V 4, TX; Lattie R 2, TX; Willie L 8/12, TX

1900
Bastrop, TX
Black
Saul 40, TX; Sarah 29, TX
Edgar 9, TX; Claud 8, TX; Bulez 3, TX; Latie 2, TX

1910
Major, OK
White
Sarah E 51, MO
John R 29, KS; Fred F 25, KS; Lattie E 20, KS; Iva M 18, KS;
Nellie E 16, KS; Oliver N 15, KS; Giles C 12, KS;

1910
Bastrop, TX
Black
Dub 47, TX; Sarah 40, TX
Edgar 19, TX; Claud 18, TX; Ruby 13, TX; Lattie 12, TX; Godfrey 10, TX;
Dub Jr 8, TX; Charlie 7, TX; Rivers 4, TX; Otho 1, TX

1920
Baca, CO
White
Sarah E 61, MO
John R 30, KS; Oliver 24, KS; Giles 22, KS; Nellie 26, KS

1920
Bastrop, TX
Mulatto
Dub 61, TX
Sarah 29, TX; Lattie 22, TX; Dub Jr 17, TX; Charles 15, TX;
William H 13, TX; Other 11, TX; Roscorn 7, TX; Irene 7/12, TX

Warning: Sarcasm Ahead >>

21 August 2012

Multiple Birth World Record

SARAH ELLEN WINTERS

B: 11 Sep 1858 in Barton, Missouri

M: 23 Nov 1875 to Norman Franklin Green

D: 19 Aug 1937 in Amtrix, Colorado

Children with Norman Franklin Green (1848-1898)

Mark Lee Green, B. 1876

Elmer Cison or Olson or Cleon Green, B. 1878

Martin L. "Mark" Green, B. 1878

Mark Green, B. 1880

John Ross Green, B. 1881

John Ross "johnnie" Green, B. 1881

Anna Alice Green, B. 1882

Alice Green, B. 1884

Fred Franklin Green, B. 1885

Fred Franklin "Freddie" Green, B. 1885

Nellie Green, B. 1886

William Otto Green, B. 1887

Lattie Elbert Green, B. 1889

Lottie Elebert Green, B. 1889

Fred Green, B. 1890

Edgar Green, B. 1891

Iva Mabel Green, B. 1891

Iva/Eva Mabel Green, B. 1891

Edgar Green, B. 1891

Claude Green, B. 1892

Lottie Green, B. 1892

Lottie Green, B. 1892
Nellie Ellen Green, B. 1893
Nellie Ellen Green, B. 1893
Nellie Ellen Green, B. 1893
Ivy Green, B. 1894
Ivy Green, B. 1894
Oliver Nickerson/Norman Green, B. 1895
Oliver Nickerson/Norman Green, B. 1895
Oliver Nickerson/Norman Green, B. 1895
Oliver Nickerson/Norman Green, B. 1895
Nellie Green, B. 1896
Buley Green, B. 1897
Giles Clarence Green, B. 1897
Ruby Green, B. 1897
Latie Green, B. 1898
Lattie Green, B. 1898
Oliver Green, B. 1898
Godfrey Green, B. 1900
Dub Green, B. 1902
Duff Green, B. 1902
Charlie Green, B. 1903
Charles Green, B. 1905
Rino Green, B. 1906
William H Green, B. 1907
Ethel Green, B. 1909
Giles Green, B. 1909

Comments and MORE children after the jump.

Warning: Sarcasm Ahead >>

17 August 2012

Force Fit

The information is from US census records attached only to Henrich's profile.
Comments after the jump.

FAMILY INFORMATION from profiles

Henrich Elicker B. 15 Sep 1791

Katerine Hoffman B. 6 Feb 1809

Margaret Eliker B. 1835

Caatherine Eliker B. 13 Jul 1837

Solomon Eliker B. 24 Oct 1837

George Eliker B. 1843

RECORDS
1850 York, PA Eliker Family: Henry 58, Catherine 41, Margaret 15, Catherine 1, Solomon 14, George 7
1860 Fairfield, OH Elliker Family: Henry 67, Sarah 59, Lydia 22, Christiana 17, John 16, Diana 14
1870 York, PA Ellicker Family: Henry 79, Catharine 62, Margaret 36, Catherine 20, George 27

Warning: Sarcasm Ahead >>

Blog Reviews

Barking has been "deemed offensive to [Ancestry.com's] brand" and is banned from their Facebook pages. In Ancestry's "Community" comments with links to Barking are censored.
Dear Emma, Hannah, Jemima, Mary Jane, and all of her other personalities agree that I use "the banner of 'education' to actually mock, deride and laugh at [Ancestry's] own customers" and I "can make [my] point concerning tree inaccuracies & cock-ups and their effect on our 'hints' system without being downright unpleasant and sarcastic about it."
Allen says, “your cute little blog is a waste of bandwidth at best”
Ann thinks I'm "...copying and pasting mistakes on trees and calling it a blog" and that my readers are "mean-spirited people...who like to have a laugh at the expense of others."
Sue was really offended by the “...continual stream of sarcasm and constant poking fun...What a nasty taste in my mouth your blog left me with. Unpleasant, sarcastic and jeering at people who you obviously see as your intellectual inferiors. Won't be reading that again.”
And finally from Les, "You truly are a horrible woman, pointing out mistakes is one thing but blatantly laughing and taking the p is completely out of order."

Why?

Researching our family histories we are bound to make mistakes. Hopefully we are quick to correct them. Unfortunately some people refuse to read or think before adding information to their family trees. Some trees have been abandoned so the errors are there for eternity. Here we will laugh, mock and shake our heads at the carelessness, stupidity and/or ignorance of those errors.
All examples are taken from trees published online.
I'll also post tips occasionally, though the messed up trees are a great example of what NOT to do.
If you have an online tree to suggest for a future post please send me a link: buwtree(at)gmail(dot)com

The Fine Print

1. Copyright: Barking Up the Wrong Tree is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License and is owned and administered by Loretta Gillespie.

2. Content: Barking Up the Wrong Tree is responsible for the content of this site, not including visitor comments. Barking Up the Wrong Tree reflects the personal views and opinions of Loretta Gillespie.

3. Credit: Credit is not given to tree owners to protect the clueless. A tree owner who discovers their tree on this site should correct their mistakes so no one else realizes they were once a clickophile.

4. Accuracy and Validity: While there are helpful pointers on Barking Up the Wrong Tree a majority of posts are intended to be humorous. The disastrous trees are copied exactly as they appear on Ancestry.com. These trees are being used to show others what NOT to do.

5. Images: Attempts are made to source images used despite the fact that the trees they are taken from do not include source information.

6. Comments: Barking Up the Wrong Tree will exercise its right to delete comments which are deemed to be spam, offensive, childish or just plain stupid.

7. Liability: The content at Barking Up the Wrong Tree is not to be taken as fact nor absolute. Barking Up the Wrong Tree contains posts that are humorous and posts that are research tips. Barking Up the Wrong Tree is not responsible for anyone who cannot tell the difference between the two. The sites that Barking Up the Wrong Tree links to via hyperlinks are not under its control. Those sites are responsible for the content of those sites. If you do not find the humor on Barking Up the Wrong Tree to your taste then stop reading. If you choose instead to send an email to the owner it may be published on Barking Up the Wrong Tree and mocked publicly.

Thanks to Thomas MacEntee for allowing the use of the GeneaBloggers terms as a template.