WikiTree Challenge 6: Judy Russell [closed]

Question

Hi WikiTreers! 

The sixth week of the WikiTree Challenge has begun. It features Judy Russell, "The Legal Genealogist." Our challenge is to make her ancestry on WikiTree more accurate and complete than it is anywhere else.

It's too late to formally register for a February challenge team, but we need every WikiTreer's help to make this a success, so please join in. You can also register now for a March team.

This week will end officially at 8pm (EST) on Wednesday, February 17.

How to Participate

If you are registered, your name appears on this Google Docs spreadsheet. Please add the profile you are working on next to your name. When done, or taking a break, remove it and add Research Notes to the profile if you have any notes for the next person.

You can add also notes or comments below the answer for the appropriate great-grandparent below.

For live chat we are using Discord. Contact your captain if you need access.

Points and Scoring

Here are the current scores.

If you have bounty points to claim, post a comment below the answer for the appropriate great-grandparent below.

Comments

Here's the link to the February 10th live cast on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5yZiThWAng

Judy's interview starts at the beginning of the live cast.

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The WikiTree Challenge Week 6 Highlights

Answer 1

Comment here if you break a brick wall or find mistakes in the tree of Judy's great-grandfather Hermann Eduard Geissler. You can also ask questions or add research notes on this line. 

Comparison Tree (Ancestry image)

Comments

Johann Gottfried Geissler is a good example of our collaboration. Great team work guys!!

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Dieter Lewerenz added a new father for Johanna Sophia (Schumannn) Geissler!  Welcome to the family, Elias Schumann!

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Thanks Steven, I know we have been keeping Frank and Dieter busy with it all! If anyone else is good with German history, it would be much appreciated if you could go through and correct our locations! I did send a message to Jelena Eckstadt to see if she can work on that for us.

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Just a message for all the German profiles: Germans don't have middle names. We put all names in the First Name field and write (when we know it) the name a person is called by in the Preferred Name field.

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Steven, there was the German Confederation (Deutscher Bund) founded in 1815. This was actually the first time a German state was created. Up til then there were the little duchies and counties and so forth, and the time when Napoleon created a Satellite State in Germany. But the first German state was started in 1815.

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I will start a little bit earlier:

Since the late 15th century, the Holy Roman Empire was officially called the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation.

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But before 1815 there were a zillion of little princedoms and counties and whatever, and every state had its custom borders. In the area of the German Confederation were over 1700 custom borders.Those were eliminated by the contract of the German Confederation and effectively only when the German Customs Union in 1832 was founded. So the German National State actually started in 1815.

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Understood on that. Just "Germany" shouldn't be utilized for that time frame as far as I'm aware.

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The time between 1815 and 1867 is German Confederation. From 1867 through 1870 it's Northgerman Confederation. There were no Bavaria, Württemberg and Baden in that one. From 1871 on German Empire.

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The German territorial structure in the course of history seems to be a bigger problem.

Since one of my favorite hobbies is German history, I'm going to create a Free Space page as a link from my profile, listing the territorial divisions of Germany.
I will first list only the top level of government with the direct subdivisions.
Problem will be the Holy Roman Empire and the time of National Socialism.
I will start with today's structure and then go backwards; my idea is to include the respective flags and coats of arms.
When the basic structure is up, I will link it, this will probably take one to two weeks; the whole project probably several months (just for these two levels).
I will post it in the G2G when I have created and linked it with the first basic structure.

Answer 2

Comment here if you break a brick wall or find mistakes in the tree of Judy's great-grandmother Emma Louisa (Graumuller) Geissler. You can also ask questions or add research notes on this line. 

Comparison Tree (Ancestry image)

Comments

Re: the research note about the marriage register of Rüdersdorf at Johann Christoph Graumüller. The register you linked is not the register of the needed Rüdersdorf. There are two, one near Berlin (which is the one of the register you linked) and one around 300km away towards south west of the "Berlin Rüdersdorf".

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Thanks again for the geography help, Jelena! Did you update the information on the profile?

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I did. At least those that were created until last night in Europe.

Answer 3

Comment here if you break a brick wall or find mistakes in the tree of Judy's great-grandfather Carsten Hinrich Wilhelm Nuckel. You can also ask questions or add research notes on this line. 

Comparison Tree (Ancestry image)

Comments

I have added the parents for Nuckel-8 and think i might have got passed a brick wall. Sievers-645 (Nickel-8's mother) has no parents on Geni but it seems they were Carsten Hinrich Wilhelm Sievers and Metta Huthoff https://www.familysearch.org/tree/pedigree/landscape/9VDD-DKB

I have just created Hutoff-1 and Sievers-646 on wikitree. but maybe they were not a brick wall because although I could not find them on geni, which i thought was the comparison tree, they are in the family tree link called ancestery image.

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It was determined that the Geni tree had too many errors, so the Ancestry tree is the comparison tree. The images are at the top of the thread for people who don't have access to Ancestry.

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Thanks for letting me know, Unfortunately whoever determined that also determined that I (and I would imagine there are plenty like me) that can not current;y afford an ancestry subscription cannot fully participate in the challenge. Most of the reference trees are Ancestry so I am delighted when I see a rare one that is not. Are you able to pass on my disappointment to those that made this determination?

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Andy, did you see that above is an *Ancestry image*? If you click on that, there comes up an image with the lines Judy already has in her tree.

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I may have found an entry on an passenger list for Metta Hutoff (aka Margarethe Uthoff). I don't know though, if she emigrated to the USA.

"United States Germans to America Index, 1850-1897," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KDWX-CM5 : 27 December 2014), Margar. Uthoff, 30 Sep 1853; citing Germans to America Passenger Data file, 1850-1897, Ship Elisabeth, departed from Bremen, arrived in New York, New York, New York, United States, NAID identifier 1746067, National Archives at College Park, Maryland.

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Concerning the source on Johann Nuckels (Nuckel-10) profile and the same source on ancestry the name is Johanne. Therefore it must be a female. I will change it and add the second source.

I created also a in 1866 stillborn sister of Johanne.

Answer 4

Comment here if you break a brick wall or find mistakes in the tree of Judy's great-grandmother Juliane Margarethe (Smidt) Nuckel. You can also ask questions or add research notes on this line. 

Comparison Tree (Ancestry image)

Comments

I've found a little bit of information on Judy's oldest ancestor in this line. Heinrich Hüneke's marriage date is noted as being in 1802 per the database. I've found three additional children for him: Johann Wilhelm, Anna Catharina, and Carl Heinrich. Heinrich was born in Ristedt (It is a questionable place on Ancestry). 

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Mindy, the Ortsfamilienbücher are the Online Heritage Books of the respective parish. They are hosted by the German "Verein für Computergenealogie", in English that corresponds to a "Club for Computer(ized) Genealogy". I work a lot with the Online Heritage books, they are transcriptions of the church book entries for the respective persons.

Usually those entries are very reliable. Yes, there can happen transcription errors, yes, it can happen, that a double entry exists (this usually happens when a nuclear family exists in several OHBs that are quite nearby.) It can also happen that a user has additional info for an entry. But there is a link where you can reach out to the manager of the OHB, and this is really rewarding.

Now to Ristedt. It is a village that is about 50km away from the part of Bremen where the OHB is from. So yes, a move to the bigger city of Bremen is possible, especially as Bremen was a rising boom town in the mid 1800s.

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Thanks Jelena!

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I am just reading through the Wikipedia-entry of Bremen to find out how to localize it in the respective timeframes needed for the Nuckel/Smidt family. And there is talk of the Bremen Mayor from 1821 to 1852, who is called Johann Smidt. Maybe there is a connection to Judy's Smidt's.

Answer 5

Comment here if you break a brick wall or find mistakes in the tree of Judy's great-grandfather Martin Gilbert Cottrell. You can also ask questions or add research notes on this line.  

Comparison Tree (Ancestry image 1) & (Ancestry image 2)

Comments

good job Nancy.

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Nancy, when I looked at the census, I also looked below the the census at the image information, and there it shows that she was a widow.  It may be that the enumerator took the information incorrectly.

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Am working on George Washington Cottrell. 2/12/2021. Thanks

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I have fixed a mistake in our tree by removing the incorrect parents of Judy's 10th grandfather, Samuel Pettypool and replacing them with John Petipool and Elizabeth Strondall. If this earns bounty points, can I please share them with Elizabeth who worked on this with me.

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Added Second wife for Martin Gilbert Cottrell,  Lucia (Lokey) Cottrell.

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Any Idea who M. G. Cottrell is? I found a FindAGrave Reference that does not match the person I am working on or Martin Cottrell. he or she died in Mar 1912 in Tillman Oklahoma. I know his wife lived there for awhile.

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 14 February 2021), memorial page for M. G. Cottrell (unknown–Mar 1912), Find a Grave Memorial no. 112088786, citing Frederick Memorial Cemetery, Frederick, Tillman County, Oklahoma, USA ; Maintained by Cokeman2 (contributor 47080869) .

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I may have found the answer - the 1880 census shows: M.e. Cottrell: Daughter F 4 Texas, United States - This is for Martin & Martha Cottrell.  M.E. Cottrell's real name is Effalie.

Effalie Cottrell Snoddy has a FAG that shows she was born 6 Nov 1875 but doesn't give a death date. M.E. Cottrell has a death date, but no birth date.  I wonder if these two are one in the same.

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I wanted to make sure that Judy knows about this page. I think it is something she would feature on a blog if she liked it. I based it on a newspaper article about a cousin's engagement.

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:Ruby_Hodges_engagement_party

I have been working on Clay Cottrell's siblings. I will try to finish the basic info. Last time I looked some of them were still GEDCOM profiles.

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Effalie reportedly died before 1900 according to the 1900 census where here husband is listed as a widower and according to Judy's blog.

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Here is a last minute mystery.

[[Cottrell-672|Willie  Cottrell (1895-1896)]] was born in Utah, and died a year later. He was  supposedly the child of Martin and Martha Cottrell. But, I don't see any record of them living in Utah. This child is listed on Judy's webpage with the same information.

Answer 6

Comment here if you break a brick wall or find mistakes in the tree of Judy's great-grandmother Martha H (Johnson) Cotrell. You can also ask questions or add research notes on this line. 

Comparison Tree (Ancestry image)

Comments

For anyone working on Martha "Mattie" Cottrell and her children, just want you to know that in the 1910 Census, Mattie is shown as living in Frederick, Oklahoma, with some of their children. If you look at the Census record it shows her as a widow. But when Mattie dies, her obituary mentions her husband, Gilbert Cottrell.

Just an fyi.

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I find myself concentrating on an ancestor who is not on the direct line and finding interesting items. newspapers.com is great.

So Martin and Martha's daughter, Theodora  married a man who worked in a cotton gin factory in Elk City, (Cottrell-680) Texas. They had 2 daughters before he died in 1923. One daughter, Ruby, had her engagement announced at a bridge party hosted by her sister in 1937. Her picture and wedding date were on the tally cards. She was married less than a month later.

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I have been writing (or adding to) biographies for a few members of the Fore and Johnson families.

I have not succeeded in finding the evidence that Mathew Johnson had a middle initial of M (as his profile indicates), nor that he died near 1863 (as his profile indicates) or 1865 (as found on an Ancestry Family Tree).

• I think the middle initial of M. might be derived from a Civil War (Union Army) service record for a Mathew M. Johnson that I found linked on an Ancestry Tree, but that is a different man. This Mathew was too old by the time of the Civil War to be enlisting as a private, and Mathew M. Johnson filed for a pension in 1891, more than 2 decades after this Mathew died (which was before 1870). Added: This Mathew M. Johnson record is at https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/4654/images/32959_032910-03828 . The man in this record served in E. 71 Ill. Infantry and filed for a pension as an invalid on 3 Jan 1891. Different person!
• As for the death date, it is clear to me that he died before the 1870 census, but does somebody have evidence for one of the  specific dates cited above?

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If I do not see evidence soon, I will remove the middle initial of M and revise the death info in the profile.

I also question the indication of a nickname of John (no evidence seen) and I think the record of a military enlistment in the 1830s should be identified only as a record that possibly could be his. Mathew Johnson is not a unique name...

It appears to me that the enlistment record is the only source for the claim that he was born in Southampton, Virginia. Unless someone knows of other evidence, I believe that his birthplace should be revised to Virginia (no Southampton).

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I have made the changes to the Mathew Johnson profile that I proposed here.

Additionally, in Judy's blog I found her analysis indicating that the Johnson child born in 1857 and recorded as Mathew was in fact Mattie (Martha), so I revised the profiles for Mathew and Martha to indicate this. I left Mathew as Uncertain Existence.

Answer 7

Comment here if you break a brick wall or find mistakes in the tree of Judy's great-grandfather Jasper Carlton Robertson. You can also ask questions or add research notes on this line. 

Comparison Tree (Ancestry image)

Comments

This line has been identified by Judy as having major issues that need to be cleaned up. Most of the errors are connected with his father, Gustavus.

Also, Gustavus appears to have been a slave holder of 2 females, Mary and I think Anna. They seemed to have also moved from Mississippi to Texas. Judy would like to know what became of them.

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Ana and Mary Robertson are added to Gustavus' research notes and created profiles for both of them, which are all linked.

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I am not registered for the challenge but would like to work on this profile, specifically for the grandfather, William M. Robertson. I noticed that parents for Joseph C. Robertson have not been added yet. Is that something that will happen at some point?

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Jasper Robertson's Findagrave:  https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/86684190/jasper-carlton-robertson

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Working on Gustavus's children.  Wrote bios for his daughter Mary and Mary's husband and added six of their children (two more died at birth/in infancy).  Interestingly, on the 1910 census, Mary says she is the mother of an unknown number of children, but only six were living.

Answer 8

Comment here if you break a brick wall or find mistakes in the tree of Judy's great-grandmother Eula Lee Baird. You can also ask questions or add research notes on this line. 

Comparison Tree (Ancestry image)

Comments

The interview LIVE with Judy & Henry was fabulous. You all are amazing.

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Working on adding parents for Margaret Shew, referencing the research done and published by Judy.

https://www.legalgenealogist.com/2021/01/31/finding-margarets-mother-the-end/

Her DNA research depended on family lines drawn from her potential parents to modern DNA takers via other children.  It would be nice if some of these lines could be added to Wikitree.

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So nominal profiles for her parents already exist in Wikitree (I only discovered this after creating duplicate profile for her father).  However they link to other profiles that are not well sourced.  Some checking needed on this bit of the tree.

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I've cleaned up through Margaret's parents, where her tree now ends. Did some clearing up of other profiles that looked similar or had been crossed into her family line.