WikiTree Blog

Hi WikiTreers,

Welcome to a new installment of “Meet our Members.” It’s time to get to know another awesome member of our community: Meet Don.

Don Howard became a WikiTreer in April 2019.  He loves finding new cousins and is active as a Sourcerer and in our Germany and Notables projects.

What are some of the surnames you are researching?

Howard, Dorsey, Goodnight, Loving, Turnbough, Dugger, Lopez, and Ranalli.

What are some of the locations you are researching?

Maryland (Colonial times), Deep South, Kentucky, Missouri, Nuevo Leon (Mexico) and Abruzzo, Italy.

When and how did you get interested in genealogy and family history?

In the early 1990s, genealogy became a special hobby that I shared with my mother. She worked on her side and my father’s side;  I worked on my daughter’s mother’s side. That was in the days of having to go to libraries, and searching through microfilm. And studying paperwork. Living in Nashville, TN, I spent a lot of time in the state museum there.

Who’s your favorite ancestor and why?

My favorite ancestor is Matthew Howard (1609-1659), my 9th great-grandfather. He is my direct male-to-male immigrant ancestor. Matthew and his sons have been written about by the well-known authors, J.D. Warfield, and Harry Newman. In those books, he was said to have been descended from the English Norfolk dukes. That claim has since been refuted, and his parentage is now considered unknown. I do find it interesting that some of his sons used wax seals that portrayed the Royal Norfolk Howard crest.

Regardless of Matthew Howard’s parentage, he and his sons were among the most prominent of the founders of Anne Arundel and Howard Counties, Maryland; an interesting family with noted friends and neighbors. I have had my Y-DNA tested to be sure about my lineage, and have been placed in the Matthew group, at FTDNA’s Howard Project.

Tell us about a brick wall you were able to break down or one you hope to bust through.

Finding proof that my 3rd great-grandfather, Henry Howard, was the father of my 4th great-grandfather, John Beale Howard Jr. was difficult, as the son had moved from Kentucky to Missouri. Census reports didn’t give children’s names during the times that I needed. Eventually, I found the son in the father’s will that was indexed with a misspelling, and hard to find. Also, my DNA matches all point to both families.

My most frustrating ongoing brick wall is my wife’s great-grandparents, whose children immigrated to America from Italy. There are few indexed Italian sources for the names that I need. Italian handwritten cursive records are problematic. And her DNA matches stop at 2nd cousins, and start again with 4th cousins or higher.

If you could pick one person in history to be related to, who would it be and why?

Johann Sebastian Bach, of course! I am a retired touring musician and public school teacher. Currently, I teach piano part-time. On my father’s side, I have quite a bit of German. Goodnight (Gutknecht), Young (Jung), Turnbeaugh, and more.

What are some of your interests outside of genealogy?

Just music; classical and jazz. And family (my descendants).

How long have you been on WikiTree and what do you spend the most time doing?

I joined WikiTree on April 1, 2019. Just over a year ago. Lately, I spend a lot of my time checking my email activity feed for possible cousins (by using the relationship finder, and checking gedmatch kits). I have a Facebook group, Howard And Allied Families, with over 400 kinfolk from all sides of my tree. Several members have been found on WikiTree. Also, I participate in the Clean-A-Thons.  I enjoy the group activities, and plan to get involved in more of them.

What brought you to WikiTree?

A DNA 9th cousin match (found on Ancestry.com) told me about WikiTree. His name is James Stratman (Stratman-17), a good genealogist. And now, a special friend.

What is your favorite thing about WikiTree?

I like WikiTree because high standards of sourcing is promoted, and there are a lot of group activities.

If you could improve one thing about WikiTree, what would it be?

It would be nice if there was something quick you could do about a profile that is flawed, and the manager is unable to be contacted. Also, something to do about profiles that are orphaned, horribly flawed, unconnected, and abandoned.

What is an example of how WikiTree has helped you with your genealogy?

WikiTree has helped me become more disciplined about having proper sources.

Any tips for someone just starting out on WikiTree?

Check the Style rules, and study them really good. Don’t be afraid to ask others. Go slow and sure. Don’t leave so many unfinished profiles, that you can’t remember them all.

Hi WikiTreers,

Welcome to a new installment of “Meet our Members.” It’s time to get to know another awesome member of our community: Meet Katie.

Katie Goodwin became a WikiTreer in February of 2018.  She really enjoys working on profiles of her direct ancestors and is also one of our Rangers. Twice a week she takes a shift to help protect our shared tree!  If you are attending RootsTech this year, come and meet Katie at our booth!

What are some of the surnames you are researching? 

Murray, Goodwin, Chamberlain, Wilson, Barnes, Mason, Shields

What are some of the locations you are researching? 

Various areas in north Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee; Wood County, Ohio; Isle of Wight, England

When and how did you get interested in genealogy and family history?

In 2009, I was in my fourth year of college and decided to procrastinate by building my family tree. I was lucky to have several living grandparents and a great-grandmother to help me get started. My great-grandmother in particular had a lot of interesting stories and photos to share. I was hooked in no time!

Who’s your favorite ancestor and why?

I don’t think I can pick an overall favorite! My favorite person to research has been my husband’s great-great grandmother, Alice Augusta (Newbery) Goodwin, a British Home Child. She’s interesting to me because she was a recent immigrant – rare in our families – and involved in a lesser-known and tragic piece of history. I finally saw a photo of her last year and it was a very special moment.

Tell us about a brick wall you were able to break down or one you hope to bust through.

Currently working on a very stubborn brick wall. George E. Murray from northeastern Alabama/northwestern Georgia was supposedly orphaned around the time of the Civil War. My friend, Jen, and I are hoping DNA can point us in the right direction.

What are some of your interests outside of genealogy?

I really like to bake and take nice photos. 

How long have you been on WikiTree and what do you spend the most time doing? 

I’ve been a member for almost two years. Currently, most of my time is spent improving and adding profiles of my direct ancestors. I am a Ranger so I have two shifts a week that I really enjoy. It’s always fun to spot unusual names in the activity feeds!

What brought you to WikiTree?

I was searching for 1) a free site 2) where people could see my work without logging in and 3) looked like it was going to be around for a long time. I also liked the biography section and the focus on sources.

What is your favorite thing about WikiTree, or which feature(s) do you like the most?

I love the community! I have encountered so many generous and knowledgeable WikiTreers. The quarterly community challenges are some of my favorite weekends of the year.

As for features, I think the Relationship Finder is a really powerful tool. I wish more people knew about the “Explore More” feature.

If you could improve one thing about WikiTree, what would it be?

I’d LOVE to be able to reorder photos on the sidebar! To use Alice as an example, I want to see her lovely face at the top instead of the death certificate and funeral card I uploaded earlier.

What is an example of how WikiTree has helped you with your genealogy or how you’ve helped genealogy with WikiTree?

It’s been a great help to see how others tackle tough research problems and brick walls. Joining WikiTree really inspired me to improve my skills.

Any tips for someone just starting out on WikiTree?

Take it slow. Read the New Member How-To pages. Start by adding a few family profiles manually, and get comfortable with how sources are handled. Look around at a variety of profiles and be inspired by what’s possible on WikiTree. If you ever need help, don’t hesitate to ask on G2G!

Hi WikiTreers,

Welcome to a new installment of “Meet our Members.” It’s time to get to know another awesome member of our community: Meet Walter.

Walter Howe became a WikiTreer in February of 2015.  He is a dedicated researcher of the Howe surname and participates as a Ranger, Data Doctor and Connector.

What are some of the surnames you are researching?

Howe and the many family names that link to it.

What are some of the locations you are researching?

My immediate male family line lived near Boston, Massachusetts for about 380 years. But other branches moved all over the United States, and I will follow them anywhere. On the other hand, my mother’s family came from Norway about 1900, and I have much to learn about researching Norwegian genealogy.

When and how did you get interested in genealogy and family history?

I am a fourth generation genealogist. My grandfather and great grandfather attended a Howe family gathering in Framingham, Massachusetts in 1871. All known Howes were invited, and asked to bring family records, and they gathered from all over the USA and Canada. This led to a Howe genealogy research project that lasted for years. My grandfather, Dr. Oliver Hunt Howe was one of the principal researchers, and his journals describe hitching up his horse and buggy and visiting towns all over New England to gather prime source records in the 1890s. There were no copying machines in those days, but he kept meticulous records written in his spidery hand, using every square inch of whatever paper he was writing on. The two-volume Howe genealogies that resulted were published by NEHGS (now American Ancestors) in Boston in 1929, fifty-eight years after the project started. The project was organized by Judge Daniel Wait Howe of Indiana, and many researchers contributed to the work. 

Who’s your favorite ancestor and why?

The aforementioned Dr. Oliver Hunt Howe. He worked in a town clerk’s office after High School for about three years before deciding to go to Harvard University Medical School. It gave him an excellent background to become a genealogist. He led a fascinating life, much of it captured in his daily journals. He was an early adopter of technology. As an example, he had phone number 14 in his town, and that was his basic number throughout his life, even though it expanded beyond two digits. He married Martha Dresser Paul, a Boston University graduate in 1889. His journal describes proposing to her in 1888 on September 6th. She then accepted his proposal on October 18th. Things were slower in those days!

What are some of your interests outside of genealogy?

I majored in mathematics in college and then spent three years in the Army as a cryptanalyst. After my enlistment, they hired me back as an Education Specialist and I worked for 32 years in Signals Intelligence. After retiring from that job, I moved on to work with community development on the Internet in its early public days, beginning in 1992. Throughout my life I have participated in music and theatre. I have particularly enjoyed Gilbert & Sullivan operas, and I have played the Mikado, the Major General (from Pirates of Penzance) and many more.

How long have you been on WikiTree and what do you spend the most time doing? If you’re involved in a project(s), tell us about how you participate in it.

I discovered WikiTree in 2015, and since then have made over 34,000 contributions. I have focused on entering the published Howe Genealogies, at the same time updating, correcting, extending, and better sourcing them. I am continually amazed how accurate and well-researched the original publication was. There are a few errors, of course, but remarkably few. Some Howe researchers traveled to England about 1900 to research local records from the 1500s there and documented them. The same records first appeared in online sources in the past five years.

What brought you to WikiTree? (In other words, how did you find us?)

Since I am always searching for good sources on the Internet, I was impressed when searches led me to WikiTree and family records with good sourcing. 

What is your favorite thing about WikiTree, or which feature(s) do you like the most?

The goal of a single, well-sourced tree appeals to me. I never take the view that I own my records. I want to share my work and do everything I can to make sure it is preserved after I am gone. Good research is swamped by bad research in places like Ancestry. I don’t expect my records on my computers or on paper will survive me very long. My records are basically digital, not primarily on paper, and the survival of digital records is a difficult goal to be sure of as technology changes and old media becomes obsolete. I am betting that WikiTree is so good that it will survive beyond its current owners, and if not, there is always the Internet Archive.

If you could improve one thing about WikiTree, what would it be?

Provide a utility that would convert a GEDCOM entry to a well written Profile. (Probably not achievable, but I can dream.)

What is an example of how WikiTree has helped you with your genealogy or how you’ve helped genealogy with WikiTree?

One thing I enjoy doing on WikiTree is finding a newly entered, unconnected Howe and then researching and linking the person to the greater tree. I always provide multiple sources when I do this.

Any tips for someone just starting out on WikiTree?

Provide sources for everything. Don’t make entries without sources, or at least good notes that explain where the information came from. Research notes can be used much more than they are now. Don’t be afraid to post information that is only probably, not proven, but then discuss the uncertainty in Research Notes.