Aug/Sep 2018 Biography Builders - Great-Great-Great-Grandparents

+26 votes
1.6k views

This month's theme will be profiles for Great-Great-Great-Grandparents.

We all have 32 great great great grandparents. Our significant others have 32 great great grandparents. This month's theme will be profiles for our own great great great grandparents. How many of the possible 64 can you do?

Biography Builders Goal: To make profiles as complete as possible with well-written biographies and sources. You should research as much as you can find on a person, writing the information onto the profiles to create as complete a life story as you can for that person. Sourcing should be full citations. This includes adding categories and links to events and people connected to that profile and citing all those additions. See the first month for examples of how to participate.

Here's our checklist:

Data Section:

  • birth date/place
  • names of parents
  • marriage date/place and spouse name
  • death date/place

Biography Section:

  • Written (full) sentences stating the facts above, adding inline sources to each fact.
  • Is the profile '''Genealogically Defined?'''
  • As a general rule biographies should be in your own words. Paraphrase and rewrite, don't copy/paste.
  • Baptism, burial, military, and other life events with inline sources.
  • Something to "humanize" the person, such as career or avocation with sources.
  • List of children with at least one pertinent fact.
  • One of the suggestions was siblings. I think this takes up real estate.
  • Explanatory remarks, if needed (e.g. disputed persons information, Research Notes, whatever needs extra explaining).
  • Photos or pictures, background. Not a must, but nice (you need to own the copyright unless they are in the public domain).
  • Categories/Projects.
  • Connection to the Global Tree.
  • All duplicates merged or initiated.
  • Links to persons and events, perhaps from Wikipedia.
  • Historical context as related to the person's life.
  • Sources, Sources, Sources.

You can see some ideas on where to find some of this information on the Biography Builders space page, linked below.

Use "comments" below to ask questions.

NOTE: Biography Builders will not show on the tracker. Please add a list to your answer.

WikiTree profile: Space:Biography_Builders

in Requests for Project Volunteers by Bob Keniston G2G6 Pilot (260k points)
edited by Bob Keniston
hmm, been working on much older profiles myself, filling in bios and linking to sources etc, anything I can find on them.  Why ggg-grands?
Because that was the theme that was chosen at random for Aug/Sep. Next time it will be a different theme.
Ooh... I've got most of mine handled, but this will make for a good double-check. And I have several in this category I do not yet know-- i.e., brick walls.  I think this is a great idea.

I'm not usually a challenge participant, but I like this one. I may play. ;-)
I am in for this
Still 10 to go, 22 are already with profile.
Could you please explain the "connection to the global tree" entry above?  Does this mean how does this person connect into it, or their connection to some notable person?  

Although I would love to do this, I am in the midst of adding new folks to the tree.  I am working to do this all as I go, to "finish" each person as I add them.  Not always doable, since some of my lines end abruptly.  Cannot wait until I get my two big lines done (Starbird and Rawson) that extend back the furthest, but were largely unmapped.
If a profile connects to a Notable, say Queen Victoria, it is connected to the global tree.
Is it something we add and if so, how does one do it?
Usually connection to the global tree means that a person is not loose and orphaned, there is lineage going up which ties into the rest of the tree and thence connections can be calculated.  so-and-so son of X son of Y son of Z..... is related to A through marriage of B son of C son of D son of Z.  That sort of thing.
If I'm connected to the global tree and my great great great grandparents are connected to me, shouldn't they also be connected to the global tree?
Yes, they would be connected. If you connected them less than 24 hours ago, they won’t show as connected. The system only checks for connections once a day.
Ah, they are connected...was looking for the picture with the connectors on the bottom, no pictures just text...thanks Bob.
I have Coons Coonce relatives. Maybe there is some connection.

Anything is possible smiley

Update: Anonymous Helderman, we are 18th cousins four times removed, according to the WikiTree Relationship Finder, though no Coons, Coonce, Counce, Kuntz are on the list of ancestors.

26 Answers

+10 votes

New month again?

I think I have pretty comprehensive Bios for all of my great great great grandparents, so I will probably work on my children's paternal great great great grandparents.

1) Alfred Morris

2) Harriet Ann Diplock

3) George Miles found a great source for information for George.

4) David Joseph "Tinker" Thompson Done as much as I can on this one 

5) William Henry Smith

6) Kate Budd

7) James Crawford Wallace - also added DNA information, added parent's profiles and adding brother's line

8) Emily Annie Perry

9) Charles Linington

10) Ellen Mitchell

11) Alfred Driver

12) Alice Teague

13) Thomas Cousins

14) Emily Watson Took a while to figure out her children!

15) Francis Alfred Turner

16) Kate Farrow

17) John Hayes

18) Mary Ann Coomes 

19) James Cox An interesting character who had no children by his first wife of 40 years, then married his servant 40 years his junior and went on to have 8 children in his riper years!

20) Hester Jane White

21) Thomas Smith

22) Sarah Scarth

23) Robert Samuel Claxton

24) Christiana Watling

25) James Stephen Roye

26) Susannah Hopper

27) Annie Hill I'm still trying to fathom out her true parentage - a bit of a puzzle at the moment - finally found her baptism - corrected last name to Powell - now have a copy of her birth confirming she was born as Ann Powell.

Having completed the basic biographies, I will go back to each profile and see if I can add any DNA data 

by Michelle Wilkes G2G6 Pilot (167k points)
edited by Michelle Wilkes

Still 3 weeks to go, I''m going to have to expand my remit - so I'll do my step-3x great grandparents next.

just double checking my own 3x great grandparents first

28) George Smith Tabulated census data and added links to census. Added categories

29) Rebecca Saunders Added census details with links, added research notes explaining how parents were determined in the absence of baptism. Added categories

30) John Munday Tabulated census details

31) Jane Robinson Tabulated census details

32) Charles Dennison Tabulated census details, added list of children, added death details and categories

33) Mary Elizabeth Brown Tabulated census details, added list of children

34) Ellen Nunn  Finished added census and tabulated census details 

35) John Johnson Finished added census and tabulated census details 

36) Robert Owers Tabulated census and added categories

37) Sarah Green Finished tabulating census details, added categories

38) Thomas Curnick Finished tabulating census - added description of the area where he grew up and lived at the time. Added Autosomal  DNA match data

39) Lavinia Lucy Lacy Finished adding census and tabulated. Added removal application details and categories

40) John Nott Tabulated census details - added sources for birth years of children

50) Ann Maria Pope Tabulated census details - added sources for birth years of children

51) Jane Harding Tabulated census details

52) Cuthbert Fenwick Tabulated census details

53) Dorothy Burn Tabulated census details

I am new and slow going. I feel like I am doing everything at once ie building my tree, writing bios, sourcing, learning my way around etc.

I only really have one thorough ggg, so far. This is a maternal one.

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Swan-2370

Incidentally I found that both sides of my family link to the Swanns in Virginia colony. And I am having a nightmare of sorting out similar names on ancestry. I fear I will never untangle all the knots and get it all sourced properly.

+10 votes

I'll give it a try!

  1. Per Johan Björkgren - still needs a lot of work but I'll need help with the Swedish records. At least I cleaned up what little I had. I didn't add his wife since I'm not sure of her LNAB.
  2. William Wells - could use better sources but I haven't found any yet.
  3. Nancy Blount Wells - William's wife.
  4. Johanna Dorothy Bell - immigrant ancestor.
  5. John Jacob Mingus Jr.
  6. Sarah Maude Seabolt
  7. Rebecca Erwin
  8. Nancy Thompson - short-lived first wife of my ancestor, technically not a blood relation, but she deserved some cleaning up.
  9. Jacob Voltz - German immigrant
  10. Marie Devirginie Bergeron - added birth and connected to parents, and cleaned up her profile.
by Joyce Rivette G2G6 Pilot (178k points)
edited by Joyce Rivette
+9 votes

I think I'll give this a go.

Of course the first profile (Désiré Morier) I picked to work on has at least 16 children to find sources for.  Turns out I made a mistake and Désiré is actually my 4x great grandparent - oops!

1) Samuel Bailey - This is one of my favorite ancestors - he was in a train wreck and subsequently saved another train, witnessed an accidental shooting, and had his house burn down while he was away, probably at the Centennial Exhibition of 1876.

2) John Whitman - He still needs some work sourcing children, but the main biography is "built" to the extent that I am able.

3) Stephen Clement Eastman - I might have more to add, but bio has been created.

4) Samuel Estabrooks

5) Joseph Elie Morier

6) Arsène Descoteaux

7) Ferdinand Boutin

8) Pierre Couture - Orphaned at 9 years old, 16 children with some interesting names.

9) Louis Payant dit St. Onge - Still needs US Civil War service detailed out, but basic bio created.

10) Milo Lackie

11) John Quincy Amadon - Still needs work regarding US Civil War service, records for children are rather sparse at the moment - I know I have more info buried away somewhere.

by Brian Lamothe G2G6 Mach 4 (43.0k points)
edited by Brian Lamothe
+8 votes

51 Bios done! I created new bios (or expanded existing bios), added new inline sources and categories and, where needed, created and attached new profiles for the parents, siblings, and children (and all of their spouses) of my GGG Grandparents:

  1. Henning D. A. Thiessen
  2. Margaretha Ehlers
  3. Juergen Kloppenburg
  4. Gretje Margaretha Hoelck
  5. Hans Junge
  6. Gesche Dolling
  7. Carl/Charles Menge
  8. Maria (Mary) Knoeppel
  9. Henry A Crawford
  10. Sarah Ann Coon
  11. Eleazer Crandall
  12. Minerva Jane Lacock
  13. Luther Perkins
  14. Sally Durell
  15. Daniel Leatherman
  16. Mary Castleton Wilson
  17. James Bradley
  18. Jane Raines
  19. Richard Hind
  20. Lucy Crooks
  21. Uriah Miell
  22. Ann Smith Rose
  23. Anton Rayman
  24. Anna Pesinova
  25. Joseph Konicek
  26. Helena Janda/Yanda
  27. Frantisek Musil
  28. Marie Zika
  29. Josef Cihak
  30. Anna Novak
  31. No father for Mary Brown (brick wall)
  32. No mother for Mary Brown (brick wall)

None of my husband's family was on Wikitree. I started working on them, but didn't get to a whole branch on his mom's side:

The following are not GGG grandparents (not part of this challenge), but I did significant work writing bios for them as well:

  1. Charles R Crawford
  2. Samuel Durell
  3. Phyllis E Crawford
  4. Richard Dean Miell
  5. Lucy Leatherman
  6. Joshua Perkins
  7. Castleton Wilson
  8. Lucy Wyatt
  9. Kathryn Chihak
  10. Gesche Butenop Kloppenburg
  11. Detlef Kloppenburg
  12. August Elker
  13. Bertha Lipke
by Traci Thiessen G2G6 Pilot (293k points)
edited by Traci Thiessen
+8 votes

This week, I created the profiles of  my 3GGP on my father's side. William Phillips (yesterday) and  Sarah Ann Singmaster Phillips Vermillion (Monday, the 13th). Since working on this couple also involves their son-in-law, William T Phillips, I'll be working on the other pair of grandparents of Alonzo SummersCharles Summers and Belinda (Kimberlin) Summers. There'll be an untangling of many families and marriages since there are several having two or three marriages apiece. I'm glad this is Biography Builders and not Biography Completers.

1. Belinda Kimberlin Summers.

2. Sarah Ann Singmaster Phillips Vermillion 

3. William T Phillips

4. Charles William Summers

by Pat Credit G2G6 Pilot (183k points)
edited by Pat Credit
How big is the map for all those people?

Bob,

Mostly between Missouri and Iowa but each started from either Pennsylvania, Kentucky or Indiana or Missouri. Do you have any suggestions?

I'm starting by adding children/ sources for Alonzo Summers and then for his parents and grandparents.

Depending on the time period, census records might be the best source.
+8 votes

6 of my GGGparents are already completed.

5 I'm just stuck.

8 are going to be close to impossible to complete as Prussian records are hard to find.

I'll work on the rest after I finish this one July Birthday profile that I started a day late (after I forgot to look at the calendar).

1) H- Adam "Kuntz" Counce-added new found info and references

2) W- Mary Elizabeth (Davis) Counce-completed bio add new found info and references

3) H-David Pringle-completed bio, added references (W completed last year)

4) H-Samuel Potter-completed bio, added references

5) W-Ruth Ann (Willis) Potter-completed bio, added references

6) H-Johann Johann B. Andres-added a little more to the bio but don't have any new references as noted in the note on the top. Update: changed death info, change note at the top, added research note in death section.

7) W-Helena (Friesen) Andres-added a little more to the bio but same problem as with husband (Russian/Ukraine records are hard to get): change date of death, location, change note at the top, change death part of bio.

by T Counce G2G6 Mach 7 (73.0k points)
edited by T Counce
The Prussian/Mennonite side of my 3G Grandparents may not get finished...I don't have all of the 2G Grandparents in yet and I'm getting confused trying to get them in. There are not a lot of records available for them that far back due to the situations they were in while in the Chortitza Colony of what was then, to them, South Russia. I have no access to the GRANDMA database at the moment and may not have the money for the subscription to it before this challenge is over.

UPDATE: Got the subscription, just can't use it until they add me into the system and some are saying it could take a week.
+10 votes
I will give it a try!

Having to first add some other persons to reach the great-great-great grandparents, I will first focus on the main data, add sources and add some additional information. Furthermore, My wife's family is not on WikiTree, so I will focus on my "half".

Now (Sept. 26) I have finished my aim of this challenge, i.e. finding the main data for my (32) great-great-great grandparents (see list below). This was for me a very good challenge since it meant both to find completely new information and to make sure to have sources for both existing and new information.

1. (32) Carl Petersson

2. (33) Margareta Jonasdotter

3. (34) Eric Carlsson Klint

4. (35) Johanna Andersdotter

5. (36) Johannes Petersson

6. (37) Catharina Petersson

7. (38) Jonas Peter Jonsson

8. (39) Christina Maria Pettersdotter

9. (40) Sven Jönsson

10. (41) Johanna Svensdotter

11. (42) Måns Jönsson

12. (43) Elin Carlsdotter

13. (44) Jöns Olsson

14. (45) Kerstin Pehrsdotter

15. (46) Johan Jonsson

16. (47)  Gunnild Jonasdotter

17. (48) Jan Larsson

18. (49) Greta Jonsdotter

19. (50) Eric Larsson

20. (51) Brita Ersdotter Lindstedt

21. (52) Olof Eriksson

22. (53) Margareta Persdotter

23. (54) Eric Jansson

24. (55) Brita Kajsa Olsdotter

25. (56) Anders Eskilsson

26. (57) Stina Månsdotter

27. (58) Jonas Nilsson

28. (59) Anna Stina Bengtsdotter

29. (60) Andreas Larsson

30. (61) Maria Lena Larsdotter

31. (62) Carl Olofsson

32. (63) Anna Lisa Larsdotter
by Anders Lönnermark G2G6 Mach 1 (17.3k points)
edited by Anders Lönnermark
+9 votes
I'm in! I'll probably be focusing on my husband's family.
by Katie Goodwin G2G6 Mach 3 (37.1k points)
+9 votes
I'll be doing some. Some of mine already have biographies, but there is still some left to do. If I get all mine done I may do some of my husbands.

1. John Mandeville 1790. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Mandeville-586 This one caused me a few problems, I had him married to the wrong person. and had to work through 4 other John Mandervilles to sort him out. But I have now added his father and grandfather, and need to do more work on this line.
2. Abraham Gyte 1764-1836. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Gyte-15 Sourced burial.
3. Thomas Spencer 1774-1854 https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Spencer-17060
4. Frances Hall 1784-1861 https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Hall-35255
5. George Malkin 1785-1868 https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Malkin-84
6. Elizabeth Theaker 1778-1847 https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Theaker-19
7. Eleanor Williams https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Williams-67017 Added Eleanor, but I have very little information and do not think I have much hope of taking this line further back.
8. Thomas Orwin 1794-1874 https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Orwin-38 Sourced christening and marriage and added census information.
9. Ann Lawrence 1798-1871 https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Lawrence-11239 Sourced marriage and found last name at birth.

I have found 22 of them, but the rest have biographies already. I have 10 to find. Going to do my husbands now.

10. Rose Crossley 1779-1856 https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Crossley-650 Did more research and discovered that I had had her married to her step son. Discovered that she had a child before she married. More work to do on this line, as I have discovered that her husband had two previous marriages. I have ordered a CD of Otley Parish Records to help me sort out the rest of the family.
11. William Whitaker 1770-1834 https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Whitaker-4472 Sourced his christening and added his father. Found three wives, added two of them and discovered that I had his third wife attached to his son. Corrected that mistake. Adder another eight of his children and sorted out the relationship of the four children already on WikiTree. A very satisfying piece of work.
12. Mary Catherine Jackson 1812-1892 https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Jackson-21248 Only done a bit of tidying up work and added some links. It has a nice family story.
13. Thomas Ellerington 1810-1864 https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Ellerington-17
14. Elizabeth Smith 1814-1898  https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Smith-154306
15. Thomas Winder 1794-1861 https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Winder-455
16. Elizabeth Truelove 1793-1860 https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Truelove-133

We have found 26 of them, but all the rest already have biographies. That me done for this month unless I happen to find any of the missing Great-Great-Great-Grandparents
by Joan Whitaker G2G6 Pilot (168k points)
edited by Joan Whitaker
+7 votes

I'll work on some of my GGG Grandparents. I'll start with the Millard cousins. Timothy Millard, Sarah Millard, and Nancy Hicks all grandchildren of Samuel and Rebecca Henton Millard.

1. Timothy Millard (1811-bef 1870)

by Emily Holmberg G2G6 Pilot (153k points)
edited by Emily Holmberg
+6 votes
Well I have Fourteen - the others I do not know - I do not do my husband's stuff it has been done by cousins so the kids do have it - but I do not have my dads side that far yet - may just stick to the ones I have now - getting them better sourced and bio all nice
by Navarro Mariott G2G6 Pilot (165k points)
+4 votes
I am for this.
by Living Barnett G2G6 Pilot (500k points)
+5 votes
I am in for this month as several need updating.

1 Joseph Finch-2948

2 Susanna Nicoll-493

3. Richard Franklyn-81

4. Harriet Cartwright-2072

5. Charles Pratt-6877

6.Elizabeth Small-6152

7.Soloman Hicks-8936

8.Ruth Buckingham-1105
by Valerie Crowley G2G6 Mach 1 (17.3k points)
+6 votes

My third great grands have been sorely neglected!  I completed a few of them in previous challenges, but there are a few others I hope to get to during this challenge. 

  1. George Rustay
  2. Elizabeth Sorber Rustay
by Star Kline G2G6 Pilot (715k points)
edited by Star Kline
+6 votes
I have been working on building biographies all summer. I just learned of the challenge. Here are some of my g-g-g's:

1 https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Grant-6336

2 https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Grant-6406

3 https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Rhodes-3384

4 https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Rhoads-183

5 https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Freeman-2304

6 https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Emrich-31

7 https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Scaer-4

Oh, I have been building bios further back in the tree also:

8 https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Stockett-74

9 https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Stockett-17

10 https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Aylesworth-61

11https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Swanson-188

12 https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Wells-1574

13 https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Wells-1559

14 https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Wells-1560

15 https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Wells-3927

16 https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Freeman-3783

I really didn't realize that there was a biography challenge. I just have had time to work on the tree this summer.
by Beth Stephenson G2G6 Mach 6 (68.1k points)
I will work on adding pertinent facts for each child. That might be a tough one!
+5 votes
Sounds like a great time! Count me in.
by Doris Miller G2G6 Mach 1 (11.1k points)
+5 votes
I am in. I'm not even sure if I have all of my husband's and my ggg entered yet. Good way to keep me focused on something and try not to get distracted.
by Louann Halpin G2G6 Mach 7 (70.8k points)
+5 votes
“Great” suggestion.  I would have said all mine were up to snuff, but when I re-checked there were some who needed help.  This inspired me to improve bios and sources and to add more images, both of the people and of documents and family Bible pages.
by Kathie Forbes G2G6 Pilot (842k points)

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