52 Ancestors - Coat-12

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: [unknown]

52 Ancestors for Veronica Williams

This page has been designed to keep track of ancestors I have documented as part of the 52 Ancestors challenge. In the list below, the first link for each ancestor will take you to their Wikitree profile, the second link to my blog post about them.

In 2014, I excitedly signed up late to the 52 Ancestors challenge and created my own blog site. I called it genemonkey25 - Starting small in the 52 ancestors challenge. Unfortunately I never got past that and didn't make any posts at all, full of good intentions.

By November 2016, I started to get my act together and decided to resurrect my blog and start writing about my ancestors. It was at this time that I decided to change the focus of my blog to blogging with a genetic twist! My first post was about confirming 52 Ancestors through DNA. You can read more up to date information about my DNA Research here.

By April 2017, I set about starting to write about them.

• 1. Catherine Britton, my maternal 3rd great grandmother: Meet Catherine Britton thanks to the X chromosome. Ancestor #1.

• 2. Stephen Cassidy, my maternal 3rd great grandfather: Stephen Cassidy or Captain Rock?. Ancestor #2.

Now in 2018, we have another official challenge - so I'm trying to be 100% committed this year! Halfway through the year and I'm already failing miserably, but hope to catch up!

• Week 1 - 'Start'. Arthur George Courtney, my maternal second great grandfather. The mysterious Mr Courtenay?. Ancestor #3.

• Week 2 - 'Favourite photo'. My unknown paternal great grandfather. Which Noll is it?. Ancestor #4.

• Week 3 - 'Longevity'. Mary Sweeney, my maternal second great grandmother. The Cassidy Matriarch. Ancestor #5.

• Week 4 - 'Invite to Dinner'. Thomas Cassidy, my maternal second great grandfather. Blog post - coming soon.

• Week 5 - 'In the Census'. Edward Roberts, my maternal great grandfather. Edward Roberts - born in England or India? Fact or fancy? Ancestor #6.

• Week 6 - 'Favourite Name'. Edward Cassidy, my maternal 3rd great uncle. Blog post - coming soon.

• Week 7 - 'Valentine'. Florence Whight Warrell. My husbands 2nd great grandmother. It was always said she died of a broken heart.

• Week 8 - ‘Heirloom’ - Charles Murphy, my great uncle. Passed on a gold nugget tie pin. (Photo of nugget yet to be added to profile).

• Week 13 'The Old Homestead'. Josiah Coates

• Week 14 - 'The Maiden Aunt'. Gertrude Mary Murphy. My great aunt, it was said she lost her sweetheart in the war and never married.

• Week 17 - 'Cemetery' - LIonel Gilbert, OAM. My uncle. An historian, botanist and genealogist who wrote several books on Australian cemeteries. His first notably 'A grave look at history'.

• Week 31 (July 30-August 5): Oldest - Aunty Veronica

• Week 32 (August 6-12): Youngest - Uncle Laurie

• Week 33 - Family Legend - Stephen Cassidy, my maternal 3rd great grandfather: Stephen Cassidy or Captain Rock?. Ancestor #2.

• Week 45 (November 5-11): Bearded - John Murphy

It's now 2019! After my dear Uncle Johnny died in 2017, I felt a great loss. However 2018 brought the death of my mother, on my birthday, practically at the exact time of my birth. As a result, it's been hard to pick up the pieces, I miss Mum dreadfully. She was an avid fan of all the ancestor stories. So, this project has taken a back seat but I do intend to get back to it! I'll try and fill in the gaps from the 2018 prompts. You never know I may get 52 ancestors done one day!

What happened to 2020? The year that everyone will remember as the year of Covid-19. I did get a couple of posts in!

• #7. Patriarch Britton, my maternal 4th great grandparents: Reuniting the Britton family. An Irish DNA research project. Ancestor #7.

• #8. John Coat, my paternal 2nd great grandfather: Our South Australian Immigrant ancestor, arrived 1848 aboard Princess Royale. Ancestor #8.

Lots of things took a back seat this year, but whilst genealogy time did seem to increase I must have been focussed on webinars and other DNA related activities as not much has been done on this project. There's always next year!

As at end 2020, 52 Ancestors 'remembered' count:

• My family on my DNA blog - 8
• My family on Wikitree - 3
• Ray's family on Wikitree - 1

2021 is here and I'm going to try (once again) to remember my ancestors. This year Wikitree is promoting '52 Weeks of Accuracy' - time to try and improve 52 profiles throughout the year. I'm also participating in the 'PIP Voyage" (Project Improvement Project) so hoping this may help with the two projects working together to keep me motivated! Covid is still causing us to stay at home so there is no excuse!

• Week 1: First - Rebecca Cassidy, my maternal great grandmother. My first profile to be completed under the PIP Voyage.
• Week 2: Family Legend - Henry Bateman, my 3GGF. Possibly an Irish or English sea captain? Is it true that he took up with a governess on the estate (believed to be Spanish Mary Alphoso who may have been a child's nurse) and whisked her off!
• Week 3: Namesake - Edward and Veronica??
• Week 4: Favourite Photo - Given I am still searching, I couldn't help myself and gave my paternal great grandfather. Which Noll is it? story another run! Doesn't help my blogging tally overall but it may be cousin bait!

• #9. Thomas Paice My maternal 6th great grandfather - Somehow we are related to Silas Cole b1821, a convict transported from Australia to Van Diemen's Land. How are we connected? See my Wordpress blog. First published 1 March 2021. Ancestor #9.

• #10. John Sweeney, my 3rd great grandfather. Finally following up on my 2017 visit to Ireland and in particular information provided by the Clare Family History Centre. Establishing the origins of my Sweeney family. John Sweeney of Rathclooney. First published 17 Sep 2021. Ancestor #10.

• #11. Miss MacNamara, my 4th great grandmother. The follow up about the John's family - is his mother a MacNamara? Finally, I Think I'm a MacNamara! First published 9 Dec 2021. Ancestor #11.

2021, 52 Ancestors 'remembered' count so far:

• My family on my DNA blog - 11
• My family on Wikitree - 6
• Ray's family on Wikitree - 1

Life is starting to get back to normal after Covid and blog production has slowed down.

• #12. Edmund Dye. My new ancestor, speculative (?) 2nd great grandfather What is the family name - Roberts, Baker or Dye? First published 11 Dec 2022. Ancestor #12.

• #13. Ted Roberts , my grandfather. For years I have been trying to work out where he started his life in Australia. How a 6cMs match helped confirmed where my Roberts family spent their early years in Queensland. First published 8 Mar 2023. Ancestor #13.