Communication Preferences:
I am interested in communicating with
anyone who shares the same ancestors.
Here is my family tree.
I'm interested in connecting with new family members and figuring out our family tree.
Full Sequence mtDNA Haplogroup T2b4f
Olive Thompson Earliest Known Ancestor
Brittney (Smith) Mckenzie-Smith is a member of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas.
Brittney (Smith) Mckenzie-Smith is a Texan.
Brittney (Smith) Mckenzie-Smith is a descendant of a Texas First Family who settled in the Republic of Texas before February 19, 1846.
Brittney (Smith) Mckenzie-Smith is a Project Member of the Texas Project.
My name is Brittney Mckenzie-Smith. I was born the 8 Dec 1973 in Plainview, Hale, Texas. In fact, I still live in Texas and have lived here my whole life.
I'm married to the most amazing husband, Jason Mckenzie-Smith. We were married the 6 Oct 2009 in New Orleans, Orleans, Louisiana. We have 3 children:
I went to Baylor University, but did not graduate from there. I instead went and got my Esthetician license.
I'm not exactly sure when I became interested in researching my family history. But, I have always been curious about where my family came from and who they were. As I started researching and finding things out about my family, my dad became very interested in Genealogy. It became our thing to do together. And, together we were able to prove my ancestors, on my dad's side, got to Texas before it became part of the U.S. Here's a little info. on the First Families Certificate.
The Texas State Genealogical Society has several certificate programs for proving lineage and when our ancestors came to Texas. To qualify for the certificate, applicants must prove direct or collateral descent from an ancestor who settled in Texas or served the Republic of Texas before February 19, 1846, the day of the ceremony on which the Republic of Texas formally relinquished its sovereignty to the United States government. And, I was able to prove Stephen Allred Sr. resided in Texas before 1846. His certificate #6423 issued 29 Jun 2022.
I also was able to get into the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, or DRT, using my direct descent from Stephen Allred Sr. Unfortunately, my dad passed this year, 4 months before I was accepted into the DRT.
I still have a lot of work ahead of me but, I love it. I do have several brick walls, and I'm going to be very honest, researching the SMITH surname is so frustrating, confusing, and makes me crazy!!! So, if ANYONE has any info. on my particular Smith lines, please feel free to email me.
So according to ftDNA Big Y-700 Test Results, Olin, my father, is a direct descendant of Walter (Stewart) 3rd High Steward of Scotland. So, now, how do I figure out when and who changed their name from Stewart to Smith.
Sorry for not replying earlier but, I had to take a break from here. I messed up in a profile, which I corrected right away. But, I got over 7 emails, some not so nice, advising me of the rules. I don't mind people letting me know of my mistakes. But, it made me nervous to do anything on here and so I just took a break.....I'm back. But, thank you for welcoming me and I look forward to any advice you could give me.
Hi Gillian, I just recently got into the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, or DRT. And, I wanted to put a sticker on my profile, but, I can't seem to find how to do that. I know how to put stickers on but just not for the above society.
Hello Brittney, I'm not to active in the forum but noticed your reference to the Tuthills. My grandmother was a Tuthill and Ive been able to trace back to the town in Norfolk England where the first Tuthill (John) came from then to the town his ancestors (mine too and probably yours) lived for several generation, also in Norfolk. This link might be interesting:
P.S. I saw you question about having someone to check up with - there's no specific protocol or anything, but we're all here for you.
If you want to be a little more proactive, there's a link under "My WikiTree" at the very top of your profile - go down to "Suggestions." It will list a bunch of things that need to be tidied up. Again, shoot one of us a question if something says "Advanced" or isn't clear.
Also, the Watchlist shows you all the profiles you're watching or managing. Another great place to check.
Pre-1700 ancestors can be shared by many descendants, so collaboration is essential. You can learn more about joining the community in How To #3 and in the Project FAQ.
I’m going to suggest that the US Southern Colonies project might fit your current research focus. If not, use the Pre-1700 Projects list to find other possibilities. Review the project page to learn about resources and guidelines as well as how to collaborate with the project members.
Please take your time. Accuracy is so much more important than speed on WikiTree. And please add locations, dates, and at least one reliable source to each profile, particularly any pre-1700s profile, before you leave it. (See: Pre-1700 Reliable Sources).
Have questions? Ask in the comments section of my profile.
Thank you for you suggestions. I wish everyone was as sweet as you. I'm going by my 3rd Great Grandmother's Bible. She was a Smith. I will definitely be researching some more before I put anything else. I feel like I got into trouble yesterday!!!!!!! LOL.... And, I didn't even realize Mary Beverley Chew was a pre-1700 until I tried to change something. I will definitely be reading and slowing down. And, I'm going to scan my family Bible so I can use as a reference. Not an original or primary. But, atleast people won't think I'm just adding stuff. Again, thank you so much for being so sweet to me. I really appreciate it. I'm here to learn. And, I want to do everything RIGHT!!!!!! Also, if you need anything from me please don't hesitate to ask. I'm new at this but, I love to help.
Do not worry about it, Brittney. We're all amateurs here, and we're all learning as we go.
The Family Bible is a great place to start. In some cases, it's the only source there is. I had family in some of the territories where children's births and deaths were recorded years later when they could get to "civilization."
When you have, say, six months of experience, remind me of this conversation. We are always looking for friendly people to be greeters and such. We're all volunteers.
I tried to reply to you yesterday from my phone but I am not sure the message sent. Once you have sourced a profile, you can just removed the Unsourced sticker. To do this, either while you are still in Edit view or go back to edit and look just above the =Biography= heading. The unsourced sticker appears like this: {{ }} with Unsourced between the brackets. Just highlight and backspace over it to remove it. Be sure to Save and the big yellow banner will be gone.
Thanks for your message and I am glad to hear that you are enjoying your WikiTree experience. Please feel free to ask when you have more questions.
Thank you for joining us! I wanted to check in with you to see how things are going. How do you like WikiTree so far? Have the tips in the New Member How To Pages been helpful or have they left you with questions?
Please let me know if you have any questions about WikiTree. To contact me, log in to WikiTree and go to your profile. Use the ‘Reply’ link below my comment to be sure that I will be notified. You can also click my name to send a private message, or post a comment on my profile page. It's really great to have you on board.
Cheryl ~ WikiTree Messenger *¨*•☆♥☆♥•*¨*
P.S. To find reliable sources for your profiles, go to the Family Tree & Tools tab; select Genealogy Research and scroll down near the bottom of that list and select Research with RootsSearch. There are over 20 websites to access from there.
Thank you for the info on RootsSearch. It's been somewhat helpful. I'm still really new at all this family history. If you have any other suggestions or anything I'm all ears. I'm here to learn. But, thank you again for the help and checking on me.
The GEDCOMpare process guide has tips on how to use the data in your file most efficiently.
For those using Chrome or Opera browsers, there is a tool that can help with the formatting of profiles which have been created through GEDCOM, so that you can concentrate on the research. You can read more about it in the WikiTree AGC FAQ.
If you have any questions about how WikiTree works, let me know. To contact me, please log in to WikiTree and go to your profile. Use the ‘Reply’ link below my comment to be sure I will be notified. You can also click my name to send a private message, or post a comment, on my profile page.
Thank you Pam. I really appreciate any advice or help. The GEDCOMpare is very confusing!!!!! But, yesterday, was my very first day on WikiTree so hopefully I can figure out more today. Thank you so much!
A lot of people get stuck with GEDcom's at the point where they need to compare ALL suggestions by either matching or rejecting before the system adds the "add" button. If you get stuck at any point please don't hesitate to contact me.
Thanks for signing the Honor Code! Here are a few additional tips to help you get started!
If you need help finding reliable information for your family members, the easiest way to find info and sources is to use the handy RootsSearch link on the right side of any profile. Use your WikiTree login to access over 20 websites. Once you find a correct source, copy and paste the citation info and add it to the profile. Learn more about sources here.
For research help, probably the best way to find others searching for your family is the G2G forum. There you could create a new post to introduce yourself and tell others about your quest.
You can also add your surname and other surnames/locations you are researching to your tags, you can connect to other members researching those names/places. The more of these clickable tags you add (20 max.) the more connections you will make and maybe find a few cousins! To add tags, use this link. This page will help you learn more about tags.
Please feel free to drop me (or Ginny) a note if you have questions along the way!
We are so happy to have you here in the WikiTree community! Your contributions will go a long way towards joining the world together.
Please start with our Member How-To pages. They will save you time and energy as you add profiles and there is some great information in those pages.
Thank you for adding your DNA to WikiTree. Getting the Best from DNA will tell you more about how DNA kits are used on WikiTree.
If you have questions about how WikiTree works, let me know. You can use the "reply" link under this comment or click my name, then ask in the comment section of my page. I hope you enjoy your WikiTree journey.
Thank you so much for the Hello. I do have a question for you. Yesterday, was my very first day on WikiTree. I was building my tree and realized that several family members that I have, already have a profile created by someone else. Now, I read the policy and didn't create a duplicate and I emailed or messaged the people that managed the profiles. But, I'm confused on access to profiles that someone else makes. Will I be able to add my own information to these profiles? How long do I have to wait for them to respond? On one of the profiles, I noticed on the home page, the person that manages the profile has Parkinson's and doesn't get on WikiTree as much. I'm worried that person might take a while to get back to me. Which is fine, but then I'm stuck. Any advice on building my tree while waiting for someone to give me access to the profiles???? Sorry, for the long response. I just want to make sure I'm doing everything correctly and I'm trying to be patient in building my family tree.
Hello again Brittney and thanks for the question! If the profiles that are already here on WikiTree are Open, you can just connect to them and add your information. In that case, you can contact the profile manager and tell them you are related and that you have information to add. If, however, the profile has a higher privacy, then you contact the profile manager and explain that you are related and you want to add information. If you do not hear back within about a week, you can file an "Unresponsive Profile Manager" form and explain that this person is in your ancestral line and you want to connect and add info. Below is the form and information for that.
This is just a note to say hello and to let you know that I am available to answer questions about WikiTree.
To contact me, please log in to WikiTree and go to your profile. Use the ‘Reply’ link below my comment to be sure I will be notified. You can also click my name to send a private message, or post a comment, on my profile page.
I hope you and your family are doing well. I really hope you don't mind that I ask you another question?? My question is, I'm adding sources to all my profiles. Most of them say, this profile lacks sources, please add sources. I updated a few profiles yesterday with several sources and the big yellow box is still there saying that the profile lacks sources. How do I get rid of the BIG yellow box? I will be adding more sources to the rest of my profiles today and probably all weekend. I just want my profiles to look nice and neat!!!!! So, thank you in advance for all your help and advice. I really, really, really appreciate it.
This week's featured connections gave
Famous Speeches:
Brittney is
14 degrees from Abraham Lincoln, 19 degrees from Winston Churchill, 24 degrees from Charles de Gaulle, 19 degrees from Vida Goldstein, 14 degrees from Patrick Henry, 19 degrees from John Kennedy, 23 degrees from Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt Nez Perce, 16 degrees from Louis Riel, 17 degrees from Eleanor Roosevelt, 23 degrees from Sojourner Truth, 25 degrees from Richard von Weizsäcker and 20 degrees from William Wilberforce
on our single family tree.
Login to see how you relate to 33 million family members.
Your profile displays the Texas Managed_Project category which indicates the project box is in your Biography.
The Texas Project does not manage living persons. Please remove both.
If you are trying to identify as a member of the Texas Project, please enter "Texas_Project" and/or "Texas" in your Tags section.
Texas is a sub-project under United States Project and WikiTree does not allow project badges for sub-projects.
Stuart Awbrey, Texas Project Co-Coordinator
Sorry for not replying earlier but, I had to take a break from here. I messed up in a profile, which I corrected right away. But, I got over 7 emails, some not so nice, advising me of the rules. I don't mind people letting me know of my mistakes. But, it made me nervous to do anything on here and so I just took a break.....I'm back. But, thank you for welcoming me and I look forward to any advice you could give me.
Brittney
Thank you, Brittney
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Long_Island#:~:text=Under%20the%20leadership%20of%20the,white%20settlement%20in%20eastern%20Long
If you want to be a little more proactive, there's a link under "My WikiTree" at the very top of your profile - go down to "Suggestions." It will list a bunch of things that need to be tidied up. Again, shoot one of us a question if something says "Advanced" or isn't clear.
Also, the Watchlist shows you all the profiles you're watching or managing. Another great place to check.
See you on the 'tree,
Claire
Thanks for taking the Pre-1700 Quiz!
Pre-1700 ancestors can be shared by many descendants, so collaboration is essential. You can learn more about joining the community in How To #3 and in the Project FAQ.
I’m going to suggest that the US Southern Colonies project might fit your current research focus. If not, use the Pre-1700 Projects list to find other possibilities. Review the project page to learn about resources and guidelines as well as how to collaborate with the project members.
Please take your time. Accuracy is so much more important than speed on WikiTree. And please add locations, dates, and at least one reliable source to each profile, particularly any pre-1700s profile, before you leave it. (See: Pre-1700 Reliable Sources).
Have questions? Ask in the comments section of my profile.
:)
Claire ~ Pre-1700 Greeter
Thank you for you suggestions. I wish everyone was as sweet as you. I'm going by my 3rd Great Grandmother's Bible. She was a Smith. I will definitely be researching some more before I put anything else. I feel like I got into trouble yesterday!!!!!!! LOL.... And, I didn't even realize Mary Beverley Chew was a pre-1700 until I tried to change something. I will definitely be reading and slowing down. And, I'm going to scan my family Bible so I can use as a reference. Not an original or primary. But, atleast people won't think I'm just adding stuff. Again, thank you so much for being so sweet to me. I really appreciate it. I'm here to learn. And, I want to do everything RIGHT!!!!!! Also, if you need anything from me please don't hesitate to ask. I'm new at this but, I love to help.
Brittney
The Family Bible is a great place to start. In some cases, it's the only source there is. I had family in some of the territories where children's births and deaths were recorded years later when they could get to "civilization."
When you have, say, six months of experience, remind me of this conversation. We are always looking for friendly people to be greeters and such. We're all volunteers.
:)
Claire
I tried to reply to you yesterday from my phone but I am not sure the message sent. Once you have sourced a profile, you can just removed the Unsourced sticker. To do this, either while you are still in Edit view or go back to edit and look just above the =Biography= heading. The unsourced sticker appears like this: {{ }} with Unsourced between the brackets. Just highlight and backspace over it to remove it. Be sure to Save and the big yellow banner will be gone.
Thanks for your message and I am glad to hear that you are enjoying your WikiTree experience. Please feel free to ask when you have more questions.
Ginny~WikiTree Greeter
edited by Virginia (Butter) Fields
Brittney
Thank you for joining us! I wanted to check in with you to see how things are going. How do you like WikiTree so far? Have the tips in the New Member How To Pages been helpful or have they left you with questions?
Please let me know if you have any questions about WikiTree. To contact me, log in to WikiTree and go to your profile. Use the ‘Reply’ link below my comment to be sure that I will be notified. You can also click my name to send a private message, or post a comment on my profile page. It's really great to have you on board.
Cheryl ~ WikiTree Messenger *¨*•☆♥☆♥•*¨*
P.S. To find reliable sources for your profiles, go to the Family Tree & Tools tab; select Genealogy Research and scroll down near the bottom of that list and select Research with RootsSearch. There are over 20 websites to access from there.
Thank you for the info on RootsSearch. It's been somewhat helpful. I'm still really new at all this family history. If you have any other suggestions or anything I'm all ears. I'm here to learn. But, thank you again for the help and checking on me.
Brittney
Thank you for signing the Honor Code.
The GEDCOMpare process guide has tips on how to use the data in your file most efficiently.
For those using Chrome or Opera browsers, there is a tool that can help with the formatting of profiles which have been created through GEDCOM, so that you can concentrate on the research. You can read more about it in the WikiTree AGC FAQ.
If you have any questions about how WikiTree works, let me know. To contact me, please log in to WikiTree and go to your profile. Use the ‘Reply’ link below my comment to be sure I will be notified. You can also click my name to send a private message, or post a comment, on my profile page.
Pam ~ WikiTree Greeter
Brittney
A lot of people get stuck with GEDcom's at the point where they need to compare ALL suggestions by either matching or rejecting before the system adds the "add" button. If you get stuck at any point please don't hesitate to contact me.
Good luck..and I hope you make many connections!
Thanks for signing the Honor Code! Here are a few additional tips to help you get started!
If you need help finding reliable information for your family members, the easiest way to find info and sources is to use the handy RootsSearch link on the right side of any profile. Use your WikiTree login to access over 20 websites. Once you find a correct source, copy and paste the citation info and add it to the profile. Learn more about sources here.
For research help, probably the best way to find others searching for your family is the G2G forum. There you could create a new post to introduce yourself and tell others about your quest.
You can also add your surname and other surnames/locations you are researching to your tags, you can connect to other members researching those names/places. The more of these clickable tags you add (20 max.) the more connections you will make and maybe find a few cousins! To add tags, use this link. This page will help you learn more about tags.
Please feel free to drop me (or Ginny) a note if you have questions along the way!
Peggy ~ WikiTree Greeter
Brittney
We are so happy to have you here in the WikiTree community! Your contributions will go a long way towards joining the world together.
Please start with our Member How-To pages. They will save you time and energy as you add profiles and there is some great information in those pages.
Thank you for adding your DNA to WikiTree. Getting the Best from DNA will tell you more about how DNA kits are used on WikiTree.
If you have questions about how WikiTree works, let me know. You can use the "reply" link under this comment or click my name, then ask in the comment section of my page. I hope you enjoy your WikiTree journey.
Ginny ~ WikiTree Greeter
Thank you so much for the Hello. I do have a question for you. Yesterday, was my very first day on WikiTree. I was building my tree and realized that several family members that I have, already have a profile created by someone else. Now, I read the policy and didn't create a duplicate and I emailed or messaged the people that managed the profiles. But, I'm confused on access to profiles that someone else makes. Will I be able to add my own information to these profiles? How long do I have to wait for them to respond? On one of the profiles, I noticed on the home page, the person that manages the profile has Parkinson's and doesn't get on WikiTree as much. I'm worried that person might take a while to get back to me. Which is fine, but then I'm stuck. Any advice on building my tree while waiting for someone to give me access to the profiles???? Sorry, for the long response. I just want to make sure I'm doing everything correctly and I'm trying to be patient in building my family tree.
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Help:Unresponsive_Profile_Managers
If you would like, you can send the WikiTree ID for one of the profiles in question to me and I will take a look to see what will be needed.
I hope this helps and thanks for contacting me. Ginny~WikiTree Greeter
This is just a note to say hello and to let you know that I am available to answer questions about WikiTree.
To contact me, please log in to WikiTree and go to your profile. Use the ‘Reply’ link below my comment to be sure I will be notified. You can also click my name to send a private message, or post a comment, on my profile page.
Ginny~ WikiTree Greeter
(AF | CS | DK | DE | ES | FI | FR | IT | NL | PT | RU | SV | UK | ZH)
I hope you and your family are doing well. I really hope you don't mind that I ask you another question?? My question is, I'm adding sources to all my profiles. Most of them say, this profile lacks sources, please add sources. I updated a few profiles yesterday with several sources and the big yellow box is still there saying that the profile lacks sources. How do I get rid of the BIG yellow box? I will be adding more sources to the rest of my profiles today and probably all weekend. I just want my profiles to look nice and neat!!!!! So, thank you in advance for all your help and advice. I really, really, really appreciate it.
Have a wonderful day, Brittney