Question of the Week: What is a brickwall you are working on?

Question

What is a brick wall you are currently working on?

Share the related profile(s) in your post and maybe a wonderful WikiTreer can help you break through!

Comments

McDermott, Ottawa and Michigan caught my eye. My great-G+ Henry (Harry) McDermott (1845-1931) left Glasgow Scotland, arrived in Canada 1868. Married Anna Ferns in Ottawa 1869.

1910 Iron Mountain Ward 3, Dickinson, Michigan (prior, he seemed to go back and forth from Canada to Mich.)

Harry had at least 7 siblings, including a brother, Patrick (1858- ) and an unknown brother born 17 May 1864.

Don't know if there's a connection?  Harry's parents were from Ireland and went to Port Glasgow, somewhere between 1821-1843.

Maybe check out Scotland baptismal records.

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Mary,

Do you know what year he immigrated to the USA?  From what port in Europe?

I had much the same situation with my German grandfather.  All the family knew was that he came from "East Prussia."  There was a photo sent to him by his sister showing his son in uniform.  I sent a copy to a group in Germany which identified the uniform.

Using the given name "Johann" certainly sounds like he was German.  Are you familiar with the history of the lands bordering the Baltic Sea?  In the 19th century, the countries (Poland, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia) were  (at times) part of Prussia.  Following WWII there was a huge diaspora of Germans to the west which ended sadly for them.

I would enjoy hearing more about your brick wall.

Best wishes,

C.

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Jenny,

Thanks for the info. I hadn't even looked at Scotland because the censustakers were usually pretty good at differentiating between McDermid for the Scots and McDermott for the Irish, but it's probably worth a look. The Michigan connection is interesting too. Do you know if your folks had any family who came to Canada or Michigan before them or were they the pioneers in the family?

Chris

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I am totally stumped trying to find the parents of my Great Grandfather.

They are (according to his birth certificate) Albert and Rega Faber from Holland.  They had 4 children 2 born in Holland - Margaretha in 1880 and Albert in 1881.  They then have two children born in Buffalo, NY David in 1883 and John in 1885.  In 1892 all four children show up in a census at the St. Johns Children's home in West Seneca NY.  I cannot find anything about their immigration or deaths.  I know Margaretha passes away in a fire at the children's home in 1897 and my GGF lived until 1962.  His parents are a mystery.

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Harry McDermott kept a diary (how lucky for us) and did not mention that anyone went before him. He also wrote that he stowed away on a ship.

what about records from; Ontario, Canada, Catholic Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1802-1967

Ottawa St Patrick 1858-1868

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Hi Karen [[Nielsen-6435]], I have a lot of Pedersdatter's on my Dad's side of the family, all who came to America from Norway. There are several Christine/Christina/Kristine's in the family, too. I know that most of them came over from Olso (Kristiana), Norway in 1843.  I will search for your GG, in my family line.  If I can be of any help to you, please let me know. Jennifer Olmstead [[Olmstead-2793]].

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The Maryland State Archives sent a notice this morning to their newsletter subscribers announcing a brick wall session on 3 May 2019.

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My brick wall is my grandfather, my mother's father I have no information on, even his correct name, his parents, his death date. All I know is he married my grandmother (Maude Denbo born 1888 in Posey Co) they were divorced when heir 2 kids were small and I know nothing else. How can I get by that road block

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My brickwall is my Great Great Grandfather's family. John Glynn.

https://www.wikitree.com/index.php?title=Glynn-633&public=1

I have who he married & his children & so forth.

Actually it was my mothers brickwall for nearly 30yrs until she sadly passed away a few months ago & now I'm attempting to learn about family research etc - my biggest hope is to break this wall and carry on searching this line as she has done so much for the other branches. 

So I know she's done everything imaginable she can to break this wall. I asked the National Library in Canberra as well. 

She even had her brothers Y-DNA tested (i believe the Y111 test), but she didn't live to see the results & unfortunately the results are way over my head and no one seems to be searching this John Glynn.

Also I apogise to any one who goes to his profile - I haven't really set out & fixed his bio page. It's still all the information that was in the gedcom file. Though maybe that will help in this situation. 

To any one who can break this wall for me - I'll give you my first born ;) He's a great kid & comes with his own wife & kids so he's house trained ;)

Thanks, Kylie :)

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The biggest brick wall I am working on isn't so much a wall as a couple of weak links.

Alford (maybe Alfred) Wightman [[Wightman-516|Alford Wightman]] is my GGGFather. He is the son of [[Wightman-517|Amos Wightman]] and [[Whipple-1676|Lucretia Whipple]]. He was born before 1796 in Bozrah, New London, CT. I have his estimated death before 1899.

Alford's siblings were Isaac Wightman (1790-?), Amos Wightman (~1792-Jan 1813), Susannah Wightman Wager (~1794-?) and Clarissa Wightman Cone (1800-1888).

Alford married Martha Unknown [[Unknown-396322|Martha Unknown]] before 1829. The marriage lasted until after 1834. Alford and Martha had two children Amanda and Amos (my GGF).

Martha had been married before to a Crandall and had five children: James, William, Lansen, Emily and Rachel. After Alford she married a Dodge.

I have possibly found her living near her son Amos Wightman in the 1850 census as Martha Crandall. I next find her in the 1870 and 1880 census as Martha Dodge living with her daughter Amanda Wightman Young.

I would love to find Martha's maiden name, birth and death dates along with Alford's actual birth date and death date and locations for both.

Thanks!

Answer 1

Last year around this time, I busted a long-standing brick wall in my family tree by making a concrete goal to focus my DNA research efforts on solving this one mystery ancestor. The paper trail had been cold for two decades until DNA matches opened new doors.

So this year, I am going to try and match that success by focusing my DNA research once again on a single ancestor: Sarah Tuttle, wife of Philip Hess Bender, Sr., from Philadelphia. The paper trail for Sarah (Tuttle) Bender has also been ice cold for 25 years... 

My aunt and I both had our DNA tested via FamilyTreeDNA and uploaded the raw data to Gedmatch and MyHeritage. And unfortunately in my own family, my aunt is the sole oldest living descendant.

Very very few descendants of Philip and Sarah (Tuttle) Bender have DNA tested, and of the few who have only two (besides my aunt and myself) have uploaded also to Gedmatch (one of whom is an adoptee). 

I have found one more descendant of Philip and Sarah (Tuttle) Bender who is actually one generation older than my aunt - perhaps the last alive of that generation. She tested via AncestryDNA but hasn't yet uploaded to any other third party site.

This past Valentine's Day sale, I ordered an AncestryDNA test for my aunt just to see if we could find more matches. 

Philip and Sarah had six children who all had families of their own - some quite large - so I feel like surely there should be others out there. And hopefully, Sarah Tuttle had siblings or cousins who left descendants and eventually I can triangulate the matches to make another breakthrough.

Answer 2

Mine is Irish great grandparents line as many records 1800-1864 were either destroyed or not kept due to British Rule.

Can't find birth or marriage for John Duffy 1801 born Bekan/Aghamore Tomboholla area Ireland. He had 6 children and moved to Hull Yorkshire about 1852. His father was Martin Duffy & Mother Brigit Lyons no dates. He married Harriet equally difficult 15 years trying to find her surname.

Massive brick wall

Duffy/Lowery/Godfrey family names

Answer 3

Scots/Irish Hamilton and Craig families in Belfast and Hollywood mid 1800's. Ireland is frustrating! Another one is the Charles Walker family from Huntingdon England, before 1800. Daughter Emma married John Beverley Robinson of Toronto. AND a 3rd brick wall, an ancestor of JBR's - Alexander Lister...origins? (born early Virginia, parents from England??)

Answer 4

My biggest brick wall is the married couple Franz Obrikat and Elisabeth Flötemeier. They are paternal G-grandparents. There is a heavily documented Franz Obrikat who came from the right region at a close-enough time to be the same person, but his records tell a different story.  I can find almost nothing for Flötemeiers.

Answer 5

My great great grandfather William Thomas Stewart, 1852-1914, and figuring out who his parents were has been difficult. 

There some suggestion his father was Frances Stewart, but the evidence is conflicting and DNA analysis hasn’t helped yet. Having a last name as common as Stewart doesn’t help either. 

Answer 6

John Stevens 1865 (Ireland) -1896 (South Boston, Massachusetts)

was married to Mary J Fitzsimmons 

had 5 children

**family story has it that he died in an unexpected grizzly accident**

Looking for information about the truth of the story and his family.

Comments

What an interesting - and gruesome - story! I checked out the Boston Globe issues online but couldn't find anything relevant. No death record on FamilySearch either. Sorry I couldn't be of help - good luck solving this mystery someday! :)

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Very few grizzly bears in 1896 Massachusetts, although I suppose he could've fallen into a zoo enclosure! Or do you mean a grisly accident?

Answer 7

My 3rd great grandfather, Adam (HAY-1323) is the dead end of my direct paternal line.

I have two Marriage documents for a booking and a proclamation 5 June 1790, in Paisley Parish, Renfrewshire, Scotland.

His wife, Agnes Pinkerton, was from Neilston, Renfrewshire, Scotland.

He is named as the father on 10 birth records of his children from 1790 to 1811. All these births were listed in records of Abbey, (Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland.

Wife, Agnes, was on the 1841 census in Johnstone, Renfrewshire, living in Houston Square, but he was not listed.

His burial record from Johnstone High Church from 30 May 1825 states he was a Tailor.

That is all the info I've found on him over the years.

I have found his wife's birth and Baptism with the names of my 4th great grandparents on the Pinkerton line.

How I wish I could find another generation from Adam.

Answer 8

My gg grandmother Sarah (Heath) Boreham  (abt. 1846 - abt. 1914).

According to several censuses and her death record she was born in 1846, in Shoreditch, Middlesex (London). I have found a couple of Sarah Heaths born in the area in 1847, but nothing convincing.

I must have her mitochondrial DNA, so I'd really like to do a mtDNA test, but they are not that helpful for genealogy, as I understand it. And they are a bit expensive 

Comments

23andme does the mtdna along with the dna analysis and it's  affordable.

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Have you ordered a copy of her marriage certificate? Her father's name and profession, and her last address, should be on it.

Answer 9

Once again, the parents and ancestral birthplace of my two 2nd Great-grandmothers who were both from county Kerry, Ireland and they were both named Helen Sullivan! 

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Sullivan-1823

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Sullivan-1822

Answer 10

Harmon Griffin born 1794, North Carolina.  I believe he was born in what became Tennessee, but never could prove who his Father was.  I have Harmon being married in 1817 Jefferson CO, TN.  After that it could follow him forward..  But who was his Father?  There were Griffin's in Grainger CO,TN , and one, William Griffin, disappears from there and a William Griffin shows up in Carter Co,, TN in 1810.  By 1830 a William Griffin b abt 1760 shows up in Jefferson Co, TN and one William Griffin in Grainger. No census records for Grainger or Jefferson CO, TN, until 1830, so what I have is from land deeds and a few marriage records.  I have not found wills, or probate records for either of these Griffin's.

Brothers YDNA has not helped on this yet.

Comments

How about Harmon Griffin b. 1794 North Carolina.d. 1866 Roane, Tennessee

Married Anne Hensley (1797–1850) 22 Dec 1817 • Jefferson, Tennessee, USA

His 2nd wife Eliza Parker (1816- )14 Dec 1851 • Roane, Tennessee, USA

His father,  Captain John Lott Griffin (1752-1829)

His mother, Sarah Jane Tinnin (1760-1840)

They married 2 Nov 1785 • Orange, North Carolina, United States

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Louise, That is the Harmon Griffin that I am working on. I will research a bit  on  captain John Lott Griffin.  Thanks

Answer 11

I'm working on the maternal grandfather of my surnamesake-greatgrandfather. The mother of my ggrandfather was born illegitimately and baptism records of her siblings say that all of them (five or six) were born illegitimately. I am quite sure she lived with a man, only didn't marry him. In the sponsors of her children there are often named her relatives, but in all but one also a woman who has a surname I still cannot connect. Her surname might be a hint to the elusive man who didn't appear in the records.

Answer 12

Ugh! Where should I start! lol

Walker-6742 His parents are a mystery and have been shown as  Jacob Walker and Courtenay Tucker erroneously due to an old post at http://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/walker/30175/

He's also been linked to Moore Carter of NC's son Jacob. I am 99% certain that is not right either.

The problem with this ancestor is the scarcity of records at the time and the fact that he was supposedly born in an area that was very remote. The original profile manager has visited the state archives in SC and gathered every document she could find for this person. No luck on determining anything further since the records date to about 30-40 after his birth.

His wife's parents are also a big mystery and even more laughable at the people that have been thrown out at her mother and father (dates).

The internet has numerous FALSE genealogies on these two and people have taken the false unsourced info and exaserbated the problem.

Sigh

On my mothers side it would be Schmidt-10560. I have searched for hours every way I can think of on ancestry and other German related sites, to no avail, for more info on her. 

Answer 13

My brickwall is my 8th ggrandfather, [[Youngblood-66|Thomas Youngblood]] who first appears in a 1702 Maryland tax list.  He has lots of well-documented descendants, a good DNA trail, but when and where he was born and who his parents are is a mystery.  The Internet keeps attaching him to an earlier New Netherlands family called Jongbloedt, but their descendants are well documented and he isn’t one of them. He married a woman named Mary Miles, had a son named John Miles Youngblood, and died before 1711 all in the same place near Baltimore.  I hired a researcher who found nothing that I hadn’t found.  My two theories are that 1) he had just arrived in 1702, or 2) he came earlier as an indentured servant and came off his indenture in 1701.  Not a shred of evidencve for either, but there are enough records for that location to suggest that he (or his parents) would show up in earlier records if he lived there all his life.

Comments

Kathie, it sounds alsmost identical to the problem I am having. So frustrating! Good Luck with your search :)

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I also have John Miles Youngblood, son of Mary Miles and Thomas Jongbloedt according to Web: Netherlands GenealogieOnline on Ancestry.  Thomas is listed as the son of Abraham Andries Jongbloedt and Marjke Barnard.

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Not correct.  The New Netherlands Jongbloedts have nothing to do with Thomas in Maryland.

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So is Thomas Jongbloedt in Maryland not really a Jongbloedt?  Where are the Youngbloods from?

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Thomas Youngblood in Maryland has no known connection to the Jongbloedts in New Amsterdam.  His origins are unknown.  He probably came to Maryland as an indenturesd servant.

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I also have that problem and I'm afraid it's gotten worse. Seems like people don't even care whether they can document something these days....they don't even try.

Answer 14

I have a few, mostly mid-1800s.  

1.  Elizabeth Savage, ~1820-1879.  Georgia/South Carolina.  Can't find her pre-1850.  DNA matches suggest she could be a descendant of Jeremiah Savage, but I haven't been able to connect the dots yet.

2.  Anna Robertson, ~1829-1901.  Philadelphia.  Married in 1847; no records prior to that.  An old family letter says that her sister says their father was a British Admiral who died at sea, but I'm starting to think this is a cover story for something else.  The letter also ties her to the Heberton family in Philadelphia and some other evidence supports that, but again I haven't been able to connect the dots.

3.  Annie Killingsworth, ~1832-1886.  Delaware/Philly area.  No records prior to 1860.  Several lines of evidence indirectly suggest that her parents are Manlove Killingsworth and Mary Ann Cloward, but there's no clear paper trail.  If I'm right about it, my next brick wall is Manlove Killingsworth, and I'm just starting to work on him now.  A new distant DNA match has given me some ideas to pursue.

My other brick walls from this era are immigrants (Ireland, Canada, Germany), and I can't really call them brick walls because I haven't really tried to work on them yet.

Answer 15

I have a few but my most wanted completions are the following:

1. [[Smith-74848|Levicy Smith]] my 3xgreat grandmother. She was married to [[Fears-53|William Sadler Fears]] in Henry County Georgia.in 1828. The only record of her is in his Bible. She had three children and died in 1833. Cannot find her parents or any siblings.

2. [[O'Neal-1158|William Warren O'Neal]] was born in South Carolina abou 1810. Had first three children in Alabama (County unknown) and moved to Rapides Parish, Louisiana. I have all his information from 1840 onward. Have not been able to find his parents. I have a small DNA connection to an O'Neal family in Johnston County, North Carolina but have not been able to connect to a particular set of parents.

These are eternally on my wish list!!

Answer 16

Any assistance much appreciated on these brick wall ancestors:

18. John Christoper Boushon about 1839 - about 1879. The only mention of him is in a book about his wife's genealogy and his name on the death certificates for his two children. Also, think I found him in his intendeds grandfathers household the year before their 1871 marriage.

44. John Hoover Born 09 Feb 1812 - Died 10 Nov 1864.

45. Elizabeth Riddlemoser Born Maryland, United States abt 1816. Died 06 Jun 1879.

52. Alexander Hamilton Ames about 1826 - about 1855. Have a marriage record for him, he's in two censuses (1850 and 1855) and on two of his children's death certificates.

60. Nelson Jones about 1810. Another ancestor with just a mention of him in a book about his wife's genealogy and his son's marriage certificate.

Answer 17

My Brick wall is my Gr Grandfather John Bishop Wood. The family know very little about him only his name and the area he came from (Tiverton, Devonshire). He was born around 1876 but no one remembers his exact birthday. I'm determined to find him, nothing could be worse than being totally forgotten.

Answer 18

I am still working on Thomas and Jane Gray of Maryland 1670.   Jane first shows up in St. Mary’s as executor of the estate of Alexander Windsor who lived on the Paine estate as school master.   Can’t seem to get any farther back no matter where I look. Thomas May have died in England.

Answer 19

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Stults-209    James Stults

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Williams-43642    Harriet J. Williams

Answer 20

My brickwall is Felipe Moraga, born 1825 in Hermosillo, Mexico. His baptism records lists his mother as simply Petra. No father's name is given, and there are a multitude of Petras it could be. This is when my ancestors crossed from Mexico to the US, and the records kept in Mexico are less than ideal.

Comments

How sure are you that that is his baptism record, rather than that of another Felipe? I ask because his marriage record at Mission San Luis Obispo named his parents as Ignacio Moraga and Loreto Guerrero.

I'm curious about Felipe (I'm researching a different family in SLO), but not a descendant.