52 Ancestors Week 30: Easy

Question

Time for the next 52 Ancestors challenge!

Please share with us a profile of an ancestor or relative who matches this week's theme:

Easy

From Amy Johnson Crow:

Not all ancestors are tough to research. This week, who has been easier to research than others?

Share below!

Participants who share every week can earn badges. If this is your first time participating and you don't have the participation badge, or if you pass a milestone (13 in 13, 26 in 26, 52 in 52) let us know here. Click here for more about the challenge. 

Answer 1

It was pretty easy putting together some of my Mother's side, regards Aunts and cousins (some of whom I cannot yet add because they are living).

What has been less easy is separating "what we have always known/been told" from the facts.

Some of the easier stuff for the cousins was when I got to certain records it was a case of "Oooooh, I know that name!" and I sorted out from that which name I already knew and just WHERE they connected in.  (Like cousin Sandy (actually Alexander).  Related twice over as two siblings of one family married two siblings in another .. so double-cousins!  Again.)  This'd be my Grand-Aunt Daisy and family.  Playing join the dots is SUCH fun! 

.

Week 30, 30th week participating.  (Edited to fix a 2 that should have been a 3.)

Answer 2

I'm gonna take the easy way out this week. My "easy" ancestor was, no doubt, my Grandmother Lucile Raynor Hildreth. We spent a lot of time together through the years and she loved to talk about family. She kept scrapbooks of photographs (which, unfortunately, I didn't get when she passed) and would go through them with me when I visited. 

Answer 3

I had an easy time researching my grandma's Wintermute line because Jacob Perry Wintermute (and the Windemuth Family Organization) had already done all the legwork.  Sometimes I wish all my other lines had been so well documented and researched, but then I remind myself that there would be nothing for me to do if that was the case.

Answer 4

My paternal grandfather's family was easy because a complete genealogy was published in 1890.    There is a Space on Wikitree about the book-  https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:The_Descendants_of_Richard_Sares_%28Sears%29_of_Yarmouth%2C_Mass.%2C_1638-1888

and  we recently uploaded the author's personal copy of the book with his notes to:  https://archive.org/details/SearsGenealogy/page/n817

Answer 5

Easy!!   William Obediah Wood   https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Wood-3158 my 6 great grandfather..... only easy because the Marion County, Arkansas Genealogy Society wrote numerous articles on Bill and his descendants. Family Search Records to back up the stories fell into place.  The not so easy part is finding his parents.   It's been told his father's name was William Tilden Wood,  but that's all I know beyond he would have lived in Wake County, North Carolina, in 1759 when William Obediah Wood was born.

Answer 6

My maternal grandfather and his family because his sister wrote a lot of the family information down and sent it to me before she passed away

Answer 7

My "Easy" is the great head-start my mother gave me in the "Search for Truth"!!!

My mother, Ruth Ann Rammel-Sims (1918-2006) began the family history search ... this was before the age of computer technology ... lots of visits and letters to libraries, newspapers, Court Houses and potential relatives ...

She made several visits to Salt Lake City ... going thru the many rolls of microfilm contained in the very large Family History Data depository there.

She, unfortunately, contracted macular degeneration and was legally blind in about 1985 ... thus, the end of her research ... her stuff was all boxed up and stored in her garage.

Not long after her death the family wasn't sure what to do with all the stuff ... my sister first took it ... then it went to my daughter ... due to other demands on their time and priorities, they did a little, but not too much with it.

Finally, in late 2012 the stuff ended up in my garage ... about a year later I opened one of the boxes ... I begin looking at all the great information she had gathered ... and my sister and daughter had added.

Thus, I got the "Bug" ... and with today's technology I have since scanned 1,000s of document, letters, and 10,000s of photos.

I have identified 13 ancestors that served in the Revolutionary war ... 3 of them have been submitted to SAR and approved ... will likely submit several more in the future.

I am also a member of the Mayflower Society ... I am a descendant of Richard Warren.

I am now 78 ... so hope to have a few more years to continue to expand what my mother started ... and hope someone in the family will get the "bug" and continue the "Search for Truth!"

Answer 8

One of the easiest for me was my ancestor Sir Anthony Deane, MP, (Deane-808) whose profile was already mostly finished. His life was already documented so I did not need to do much.

Answer 9

The Hake family line on my maternal side, because they were the first settlers of Superior, Colorado.  In the museum in Superior, there is a wealth of information on that branch of the family.

Answer 10

Most on my father's side were well educated, stable, employed, sometimes even prominent and some even notable, so much so I was totally blown away. These Canadian, American and English people have been a real pleasure and relatively easy to research. My mother's working class Scottish and Irish on the other hand, MUCH much harder!

Answer 11

My parents and grandparents because they are deceased and their records are available online. Also my siblings because I know their info!

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Marble-789

Answer 12

Week 30 Military and Namesakes

This Week 30 I am honoring https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Arthur-49|Chester Alan Arthur.  He was born in Fairfield, Vermont, grew up in upstate New York, and practiced law in New York City. He served as quartermaster general of the New York Militia during the American Civil War.  In 1880, Arthur was elected vice president.  Four months into his term, President James Garfield was shot by an assassin; he died 11 weeks later, and Arthur assumed the presidency. He presided over the rebirth of the United States Navy, which will be summarized below. One of my ancestors was named after Chester Alan Arthur.  He was my paternal grandfather https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Richards-12744|Arthur Richards who was born in 1881, the year Chester Arthur stepped into the presidency after President Garfield died.

The Navy Act of 1890 authorized building three battleships, USS Indiana, USS Massachusetts, and USS Oregon, followed by USS Iowa. By around the start of the 20th century, two Kearsarge-class battleships and three Illinois-class battleships were completed or under construction, which brought the U.S. Navy from twelfth place in 1870 to fifth place among the world's navies. Source: Wikipedia contributors, "Chester A. Arthur," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chester_A._Arthur&oldid=906301037.

The USS Kearsarge referred to above was commissioned in 1898, and was the second naval ship so named, which leads to another theme for this entry in this week's Military Challenge. The first USS Kearsarge was a Mohican-class sloop-of-war, best known for her defeat of the Confederate commerce raider CSS Alabama during the American Civil War.  After the end of the Civil War, then https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Dewey-5906|Lieutenant Commander George Dewey. served as Executive Officer on the first USS Kearsarge. Subsequent ships were later named Kearsarge in honor of this ship. Source: Wikipedia contributors, "USS Kearsarge (1861)," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=USS_Kearsarge_(1861)&oldid=901313685. 

The second USS KEARSARGE, a battleship, originally authorized by act of Congress to commemorate the famed sloop of war, was launched 24 March 1898.  USS KEARSARGE (BB-74) became the flagship of the North Atlantic Fleet cruising down the Atlantic seaboard and in the Caribbean.

An aircraft carrier CV-33, the third USS KEARSARGE, was authorized by act of Congress in 1942.  Her home port was Norfolk, VA and she was engaged in training operations and maneuvers along the East Coast and the Caribbean before joining the 6^th Fleet in the Mediterranean in June 1948. In 1950 the USS KEARSARGE was modernized to enable her to handle jet aircraft. The aircraft carrier KEARSARGE was decommissioned in 1970.

The Navy's newest ship is the fourth ship named USS Kearsarge. The mission of the USS KEARSARGE (LHD-3) is the embarkation, deployment, and support of a Marine Landing Force.  These new LHD multipurpose amphibious assault ships are designed to accommodate the Harrier II Short Take Off/Vertical Landing (STO/VL) jet aircraft and the Navy's air cushion landing craft (LCAC). The USS KEARSARGE is assigned for duty with the Atlantic Fleet with Norfolk, Virginia, as her home base.  My son, https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Richards-12892|Sgt. Campbell Richards of the United States Marine Corps was deployed on the USS Kearsarge (LHD-3) in Southwest Asia in 2013.

So to pull these threads together, Campbell Richards, is the great grandson of Arthur Richards, who was named after President Chester Arthur.  During his presidency the modern U.S. Navy was reborn, which resulted in the construction of three warships named USS Kearsarge, named after a Civil War battleship so named, and on which, George Dewey served as XO. Campbell Richards' maternal great grandfather https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Paul-5906|George Dewey Paul was named after the famous Admiral Dewey; and Sgt. Campbell Richards USMC deployed on the 4^th USS Kearsarge to Southwest Asia during his active duty tour in 2013.

Comments

What a small world David.  I put in a little time in on the Kearsarge during its deployment to Southwest Asia.  But in my case, almost a decade earlier than Campbell.  I came away with a huge respect for the Marines and Sailors who spend months at sea in such close quarters.

---

A small world indeed, and one large family!  Thank you for your service to our nation.

Answer 13

I was very fortunate at the beginning of my genealogical searches!  First, I had a distant cousin that my aunt suggested I get in touch with.  She had traced the family back to St. Mary's County, MD.  Lo, and behold, I was living there at the time, because my husband and I had been stationed in the area by the Navy!  I was able to find a lot of information she hadn't, since I had access to records and other materials right there!  What was especially great was being able to find the exact location of my ancestor's homes in both Maryland and Westmoreland Co., VA where they migrated later.  Thanks to Mildred, who helped me get an easy start on 30+ years of genealogical addiction!

Answer 14

A truth, not necessarily noble, is that nothing is ever easy; however, some activities relevant to genealogy are easier than others. I would define 'easy' in my case as to which of my parent's ancestors are easier to trace. The answer is my dad's paternal line. The surname is Baldwin. I started with trips to my grandfather's birthplace in 1976, then sent letters and made phone calls to records/deeds offices, etc. in NY, VT, CT and MA. During these years I joined the NEHGS, bought the Baldwin Genealogy 1881 along with other sources, used NEHGS and SLC records, and eventually got autosoman, then Y-DNA with FTDNA. Hence, my paternal line is fairly complete, sourced and accurate. Easy! Alternatively, my mum's line, both maternal and paternal are not at all easy. These ancestors emigrated to the US in the 1800s. When I first started on her line, I found that one needed a working knowledge of Latin, Polish, German and Italian. I connected with maternal line 'cousins' on Ancestry and FTDNA. This has been most helpful. Bottom line, my dad's English line that dates back to the PGM was extremely 'easy' compared to the very difficult time with my mum's side.

Answer 15

On my first trip to Salt Lake City in 1988, I was armed with a reference to my ancestor Catherine (Brown) Smith Wiseman

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Brown-38336  in a certain book.  I pulled down the book from the shelf and the whole Brown/Braun family back to Germany just about fell in my lap.  Call it beginner's luck.  I have not found such an easy breakthrough since.

The book is "The Ancestors and Descendants of Abraham (Braun) Brown, the Miller, and Jacob (Braun) Brown, the Wagonmaker," 1983, compiled and edited by John Burgess Fisher, Dorothy Brown Koller, and Margaret Brown Anderson. https://familysearch.org/eng/library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=titledetails&titleno=84277&disp

I made multiple photocopies and put them in a binder which I haven't been able to locate for years but at least now I have online access.

Answer 16

I have several easy one from my dad's side and one on my mother's side of the family.

On my dad's side is his grandmother whose name is Bessie Jane Honeycutt Barnett. Here is her profile https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Honeycutt-753 that I just started googling her long time ago and I came up with a load of stuff online about her and her family side.

My mother's side of the family is Amanda Emma (Fine) King who married a Leonard before she married a King. Here is her profile https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Fine-248. Her story is about the same with Bessie Jane (Honeycutt) Barnett. Plus I borrowed and now own from my mom's sister that is dead now some books. The title of the books are History of Washington County, Tennessee 1988 and the History of Rhea County, Tennessee where the Fines ended up in.

Answer 17

It became fairly easy to track down my great-grandfather's parents (he was born in Norwich, England and immigrated to New Zealand via a Royal Navy ship when he requested discharge in Wellington, NZ) after I found the records of his service in WWI in the New Zealand Expeditionary Corps. As it listed his actual birthdate, rather than an estimate, I was able to input the information into the GRO and from there I found his mother's maiden name. From there, it became as easy as searching for siblings with the same mother's maiden name and the parents' names and marriage.

Answer 18

My 'easy' profile would be my relative Francis Henderson. Due to the generosity of a very distant cousin, who had spent fifty years researching Hendersons, about twenty years ago I was able to obtain a paper family tree with many of my Henderson forebears and cousins already researched. This greatly simplified my work, and has been a great launching pad for my recent return to genealogy after a long gap.

Answer 19

Easy: Henry Rowley of Plymouth is well documented in most things in colonial records and, modernly, in Anderson's The Great Migration Begins. And leading back to him I had only one rough spot which was handled by a Rowley researcher, Ernst Spencer, who spent a lot of time traveling, transcribing, and analyzing Rowley records across the USA.

Answer 20

My answer is something that was surprisingly easy, rather than generally easy. When I discovered that my 3x great grandmother had the maiden name of Smith, I thought that her line would be difficult to trace. Not so, it turns out that this line only lived in two distinct places with their movements recorded consistently through the census, and parish records made it easy to tell individuals apart by recording the ages accurately. Therefore, I name Francis Smith as my example for this challenge as the fact I got as far back as him was surprisingly 'easy'.