52 Ancestors Week 51: Future

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:

Future

From Amy Johnson Crow:

Although we spend most of our genealogy time looking back, we should also look ahead. Week 51's theme is "Future." Who or what do you want to find next year? Which family member do you think will pick up the family history and carry it forward? Another way to think of it is to think of an ancestor who seemed to be "ahead of their time."

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. 

Comments

Just one more week to go!

---

The future I hope fo in the next year is that I will complete and share with family the research I have worked on for so long on the ancestors of my husband, Bill Chidlow. I want them to know the vast history of their forbears, the Chidlow farmers who lived along the English/Wales borders, the lives of the Frohbergers in the Eastern parts of Germany or Prussia or whatever their country was called in their lifetimes, the Pozzi immigrants to Scotland whose immigrant story can only be lightly understood and whose children then became immigrants in Canada themselves, and the Dinsmores who survived the massive shift from weaving trades to merchantile success in Canada.

Yes, I do want to share my passion for the wonder of our past and how it shapes our future, the understanding of human challenges and failures that comes from knowing of our family's past, and the joy in facing our own future strengthened by knowledge of our past.

Answer 1

The future for genealogical research is DNA.  My two lines blocked in 19th c. Ireland have both gotten new research possibilities this year because of autosomal dna.  In one case, I have been able to find the name of the immigrant, his origin in Ireland and where he resided in Canada thanks to a hitherto unknown cousin, who similarly had been blocked.  Together, with different sides to the story, we could find documentation.  As our understanding of DNA genealogy, and its acceptance increases, we will have new access to genealogical data and new discoveries in the future.

Comments

How right you are Carolyn.  I just ordered a test for my father and FTDNA emailed me over the weekend that it had been received 

---

Couldn't agree more.

Answer 2

The farthest I can reach back in my Cobb line is Thomas Cobb who was born likely born before 1764 in Virginia.  Male Cobb cousins match to other Cobb family members who are descended from an older line of Cobbs.  I have not yet made a paper connection between the two families.  My future plans are to thoroughly research these lines.

Comments

Sounds like a fun rabbit hole to dig through. Good luck!

---

Go for the gold, SJ!

Answer 3

This is an easy topic to answer - I hope to get back to my Ewing/McKelvey line from my G3 grandparents John Ewing and Mary McKelvey.  I have some intriguing but ambiguous sources for McKelveys and so far they have remained an enigma.  A couple of months ago I was in the middle of exchanging messages with fifth cousins when I got side-tracked on a completely different part of my tree, which had been a brick wall, so too tempting to put to one side.

I have so many threads in so many branches now the big win in 2020 would be to organise my 'to do' list and work through it systematically without getting distracted.   McKelvey investigation would be near the top of that list!

Answer 4

Hard to say if anyone if my family will pickup my research.  I sure hope so but I haven't found a candidate yet that is willing and able. 

I am looking forward to 2020 and what I can discover about many of my family lines.  I would really like to learn the origins of my 4x great grandfather William Carleton who was a Virginian and veteran of the American Revolution.  I have a few clues but I would like to be able to prove his parents and grow the tree.

Comments

I suppose that this is an upside to WikiTree and assuming that it will be around in 100 years:

If you just write your famiily tree and post it to your own website, long after you die, it could fall off and be lost.  Grandchildren of your cousins, 2nd cousins - 10th cousins can find your research and learn and build from it.

Answer 5

I would love to get all the Eckstädts connected, that are flying around the big tree but are not there yet. Especially for one cluster I know how they are connected to me, but I don't have the documentation for the early part of that branch (end of 17th century to mid of 19th century).

Answer 6

My fifth great grandfather is Asa Wilson; he served as a private in the Revolutionary War in the New Jersey Militia. He enlisted when he was only 15. In 1776 Asa was captured by the British and held as a prisoner for 6 years on Staten Island. He was only released at the end of the war in 1782. I have a packet of about 50 different documents that I have gotten together that I need to get to the Daughters of the American Revolution, and I will have him as my DAR patriot. I have procrastinated for two years, and this year I will get these materials together, so that he will be honored in the future the way he should be. He is an ancestor of my paternal grandmother, and she would certainly want him honored.

Comments

I think he is an ancestor of your paternal grandmother. ;)

---

Thank you Jelena. I need a proof reader for my writing, since I see an error every week.

---

No time like now to get it done.  I turned in my docs a year ago and we were missing a few.  I turned those in 3 months ago and came up short on one doc.  Ordered it from the state but put the maiden name not the married name, they couldn't find it.  Fast forward two more months and we're re-applying for the certificate.  My last one piece of paperwork holding me from admission to NSSAR.  Start chipping away at it!

---

SJ, you are right about no time like now. I am a member of DAR under a patriot with tons of members under him, and he is from my paternal grandfather and his sisters were DAR, so it was a no brainer. Asa has only had two people use him as their patriot, and they joined a long time ago, so it is more of a challenge and it would likely help others to join. Glad you are going to be a NSSAR.

Answer 7

My plans for 2020!

https://allroadhaverhill.blogspot.com/2019/12/52-ancestors-week-51-future.html

The future is whatever you make of it. So, make it a good one!

Answer 8

I have been putting off taking a DNA test and embracing DNA genealogy because I have been able to find plenty of interesting little projects to keep me busy working with records-based genealogy. However, I am finding it more difficult to make breakthroughs in my own family lines so 2020 will probably be the year I take the next step into DNA genealogy. Maybe that will help with a few of the more awkward brick walls.

Comments

I've found some amazing things from DNA!

Answer 9

Echoing other posters, I hope the future brings more DNA discoveries, especially with more and more people testing.  I tend to make serious progress on lines once every five or so years, so I'm due for a windfall.

Answer 10

I have no idea if anyone in my family will be willing to take this um…...?hobby? on in the future. If no one appears to have an obsession, I will leave it all to the Roseville Historical Society and it can live in the basement of the cute little Carnagie Library! Documents go back to early 1800s and photos 1870s, so someday maybe someone will appreciate the bonanza! This is only the part of it that fits in binders! As for the immediate future, I will keep on slogging on!! :)

Comments

I can certainly echo your comments. Local repositories and WikiTree hopefully will preserve what I post so that the unknown others may carry on and solve some of the puzzles. A picture of my bookcase would also echo yours.

---

Good for you, Lyn. This is a real gift!

---

Judith, I love looking at my shelf, especially since a year ago it was boxes from relatives, photos stuck in books, and little caches all over the place from my mom! AND when the kids come it's easy to show them a story or two!

---

Wow!  That is amazing.  I've already started programming my 5 year old daughter that this is an important family heirloom and she must cherish it.

Answer 11

The future I hope for in the next year is that I will complete and share with family my long time research into the ancestors of my husband, Bill Chidlow. I want them to know the vast history of their forbears, the Chidlow farmers who lived along the English/Wales borders, the lives of the Frohbergers in the Eastern parts of Germany or Prussia or whatever their country was called in their lifetimes, the Pozzi immigrants to Scotland whose immigrant story can only be lightly understood and whose children then became immigrants in Canada themselves, and the Dinsmores who survived the massive shift from weaving trades to merchantile success in Canada.

Yes, I do want to share my passion for the wonder of our past and how it shapes our future, the understanding of human challenges and failures that comes from knowing of our family's past, and the joy in facing our own future strengthened by knowledge of our past.

Answer 12

The future for me is 1) To finish and send my holiday letter with photos to family and friends sharing the family connections I've uncovered (the family gift that keeps on giving, and 2) To complete a genetic genealogy course that requires doing a DNA proof! I heard at class this past Saturday that organizations like the DAR, SAR, Mayflower Society and others will be requiring DNA in addition to sourced paper trail for eligibility! My focus for the future with DNA is to provide a genetic 'proof' of relationships for the Baldwins who migrated from England to the colonies. My brother and I submitted samples to FTDNA for mtDNA and Y700 to accomplish this. Stay tuned for future genealogy news!

Answer 13

Future genealogical endeavors -- more of the same. (I love what I'm doing.) It would be fun to find another correction or puzzle that I could write up and have published (my third).

But I take this opportunity to talk about the persons who aided my future as a genealogist. My older brother started this as a merit badge and passed on his information when I became interested. My grandmother, who proved to be a wonderful "sleuth" found lots of facts like births and deaths. She also helped him by contacting a cousin who was a member of the DAR. Fredericka Marie (Newell) McIlwain created the foundation work for several genealogical hobbyists. Besides my brother and I, she had a niece Jean Newell who did lots of research and wrote her college thesis on the Crofutt Family. Her trip to Salt Lake City broke a brick wall identifying several generations of Crofutts in Danbury, Connecticut, using probate records.

Then there were my parents. My mother had generations of ancestors "in her head." One year I gave them a skeleton genealogy of all the work I had done (a lot). They were retired and really had a lot of fun. They traveled around and hired genealogists. My dad made the Mayflower connection and really enjoyed tracking our Royal and Magna Carta ancestors . They both joined lots of groups and wrote small books on the ancestors. My father was even the President of the Soule Kindred for many years.

I'm still working on my ancestors and my husband's ancestors and at this point l'll work on anybody's ancestors. There are a lot of those here at Wikitree.

Answer 14

Well well. I hope my adopted son (if he should one day decide to research his genetic family) will feel relieved and glad, the way so many others like him have felt when they finally put a name or a face on their ancestors.

Answer 15

I am now 78 ... so hope to be able to carry on with the research for a while yet ... I know my daughter has an interest in the family history, but her work keeps her busy ...she is now 55 ... so maybe by the time I am gone or unable to continue, she will have the time to take over ... or maybe one of the grand kids or great grand kids will get the bug?  It is a never ending search for the truth!

As to next year ... I hope to find a better method of organizing all the stuff ... I have 1,000s of photo ... 1,000s of documents ... most have been scanned ... have them stored in various data files on the computer ... However, the volume is making my original methods of organization difficult.

I understand that WikiTree is not intended to be depository of such high volumes of photos or documents ... so I use the Cloud service provided by Dropbox.com ... this allows for all the family and friends who are interested to view all the stuff on my computer at their convenience ... it also provides for back-up of all the family history photos and documents for recovery or security purposes.

For the year of 2020 ... I have three ancestors who have been approved by the SAR and one from Mayflower Society ... I am almost finished gathering all the proof of bloodline documents to submit another 8 Patriots to the SAR ... then there are another 6 who I have identified, but not yet started gathering proof of bloodline documents ... my goal is to spend some time to get more approved in 2020.

Last, I plan to do more research on how to get the most out of DNA testing results ... a couple of years ago I  completed my and my wife's DNA testing ... but I haven't really used the results for research purposes ... I hope to look into this resource in 2020.

Answer 16

I guess that one could say, perhaps, all of my recent Ancestors were looking towards a better future, when each of them decided to emigrate alone, or with their family, to Australia in 1840, 1852, 1877, 1887, 1926 and 1928. 

Answer 17

52 Ancestors, 52 Different Surnames:

Just today I received an email from a fellow Wikitreer informing me that we have a common ancestor in Sir Walter Blount https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Blount-119.  

I had never heard of Sir Walter Blount.  The relationship finder finally showed me that this cousin and I are, as I was told, 18th cousins once removed, descended from him.

My daughter thinks it's SO COOL that we are descended from Sir Walter Blount!  His name definitely rang a bell with her since Shakespeare mentions him in Henry IV, Part 1.  She wants me to get a screen shot of my descent from him to post on her Facebook Plantagenet page.

In future I will pay more attention to these distant ancestors whom I have not researched myself.  I am thankful to all those with the skills to research pre-1500 profiles and this news will have an aura around it into the New Year.

Answer 18

Quite a question!  Well, I can say what I hope to do in the future on WikiTree -- in fact have already started.  I would like to continue with improving the profiles on my watchlist -- adding better biographies and sources.  I'd also like to continue with the cemetery project in my local area, adding new profiles to our Family Tree.  Getting better organized would be a boon to my work as well.

The one thing that would be very nice to have happen, would be to have a family member or two become interested in the work I have been doing.  At this point, there is little to no interest in this work among my relatives.  The good thing is that it's documented on WikiTree and will be there if someone else wants to join in and help.  For now, I'll continue on and enjoy being part of WikiTree.

Answer 19

I would in the future sometime  get DNA for the Barnett family side of my family and the Leonard family also. Since the future of genealogical research is DNA. It should help me a lot with the Barnett and Leonard family trees. Also want to really dig and research deeply on the Barnett and the Leonard family tree as much as I can before I die. But the DNA should help me a lot with my research.

Answer 20

What is the Future for me relative to genealogy?

First of all, it is my daughter, stepchildren, and their children. Even though in their thirties, none of my grandchildren have given me great-grandchildren yet, other than the dogs they claim.

Second, I am lucky in that while both my daughter and nephew are busy at the moment, both have expressed an interest in my genealogy work. So my job is to organize it and scan it to pass it on to them since neither wants my file cabinets full of papers.

Third, all my cousins have expressed an interest in my photo collection. Now I just need to finish scanning and organizing it, then I will make copies for everyone.  This isn't a small task since after scanning, I sort and file by family-individual and rename the photos by year-person(s)-event, so it isn't dependent on any software package and yet still identifies everyone.

Fourth, I've also been working DNA on as many lines as I could directly, getting named-cousins to donate to fill in for my grandparents. I have succeeded in identifying an offspring-cousin of a brother of my 12th great-grandfather in Norway. Too bad I haven't been as successful with my MtDNA, but maybe, for next year.  And I haven't even looked at autosomal test results

Fifth, I am still slogging away at the Rowley Family One Name Study that is documented on RowleyResearch.org. I've made arrangements for the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) to take it on when I pass. Also, they already have a LARGE amount of papers collected by Ernst Spencer and Tedd Rowley, with a little added by me. To top it off, my annuity will go to them for the publication of the Rowley Family Branches.. a series of books created from my database to assist in publication. Oh, I also have a Rowley Study on FamilyTreeDNA, but don't have a successor yet.

Sixth, I am trying to pass on my on-line presence on Rowley to a Rowley friend/Cousin.

Have I missed anything?