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Ron Williams Genealogy Memoirs

Discovering the Stories in Our People & Our Places

THE LOST FIFTY-SEVEN: AVAILABLE NOW!

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Background

WELCOME

The DNA trail that led to an unknown grandfather (pt. iI)

In my last blog, I shared thoughts as I began what I considered a “deep-dig” into both my own and my father’s DNA results.  It was a task I described as “daunting,” but certainly one that was essential to discovering the mysterious identity of my 2x great grandfather. I began with a few of the excellent DNA videos available online, and soon I feel well equipped to begin.  With the knowledge my father had completed Ancestry DNA while I had done 23andMe DNA, I felt good knowing I had two of the largest sources covered. I first want to establish…

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The DNA trail that led to an unknown grandfather (pt. i)

In the complicated genealogical puzzles we struggle to complete, there are bound to be some missing pieces.  Of course, that doesn’t mean we don’t continually and enthusiastically strive to discover these missing pieces or people.  Afterall, that’s part of the fun. The fact that my 2x great grandfather was unknown may not seem that big of concern.  To be sure, the relationship is four generations removed from myself.  However, I soon learned, that in the genealogy DNA world, such an omission can cause problems in identifying third, second and even first cousin matches.  Simply put, the omission was making it…

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PT. II – ERHARDT EXPOSED

In my last entry, I shared details of my grandfather’s short, rather sad marriage to one Bertha Erhardt.  I ended on a sympathetic note towards my one-time, “sort-of,” step-grandmother. Documents show Bertha, born in 1889, was wife to my grandfather from 1915 to 1922.  However, despite being separated for well over a decade, it was not until 1938 when she was almost fifty that she made the divorce final, relying on legal aid to assist with costs.  I suppose she lacked the desire and/or financial means to officially end the union sooner.  This final detail seemed to paint a picture…

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Pt. i – My Own “erhardt” mystery

Many of us are privy to the long-standing mystery of Amelia Erhardt and her final flight.  In an earlier blog entry here I shared that the story of the pioneering female pilot was one of the tales that sparked my life-long interest in the mysterious and unexplained.  While I cannot boast any personal connection to the iconic but tragic figure, I do have my very own Erhardt mystery that I’m keen to share. Soon after discovering my grandfather’s strange alias – Gordon Roy Hammond – I became privy to a number of documents and newspaper announcements outlining the details of…

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The Mysterious William Edward Turley

For us long-suffering family history buffs, we take solace in the warm comfort that we can consistently rely on a few safe, user-friendly sources that placate our demonic addiction.  For me, one such source has been the wonderful, online service named appropriately as newspapers.com. Ah yes, newspapers.com, that wonderful resource that not only offers a plethora of small market and larger market newspaper archives but seems to consistently add more and more for us desperate family historians always hungry for a new nugget of information. An intrinsic benefit to newspapers.com is that any match contains – well – a newspaper…

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A Family put back together

(Previously shared on http://www.family-wise.co.uk) Genealogy, as well all know, is a magical tool to discover the rich, mysterious and sometimes scandalous lives of your ancestors.  If you’re willing to dig, possibilities can be endless, the stories – sometimes – worthy of a Hollywood script. But what about the other benefit of genealogy?  I’m talking about connecting with our long-lost relatives who are, well, living.  In my short, modest experience as a genealogical hobbyist, I’ve been fortunate to discover unknown cousins all over the place.  In my case, “all over the place” basically means England, which is particularly enticing if for no other…

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Will the Real Roy Hammond Please Stand Up?

(Previously shared on http://www.family-wise.co.uk) In the sometimes-cruel world that is family research, records can be elusive and messy with information not always directly available or forthcoming.  For researchers such as us, the result can be frustration, despair, or even anger. Enter, the census report.  To family historians, the census report offers a safe guidepost, a dependable edifice upon which we may reasonably expect to discover pertinent and useful information.  Well, I believed I was the fortunate recipient of such information when I turned to the United States Federal Census to learn about my grandfather’s mysterious past before he settled in…

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Score Another One for the Unfocused

Upon sharing some recent success in cracking a long-held family mystery, I was told that my work seemed to follow the “scattergun approach” to research.  My immediate reaction was, in this case, whole-hearted agreement.  My research path was certainly not entirely planned, organized or systematic.  While my acceptance of this descriptor was both immediate and painless, it did cause some personal consternation. Why did I seem to favour this approach?  For those who don’t know me personally, I pride myself to be a fairly organized, focused adult.  (My wife wouldn’t necessarily call that a good thing, by the way.)  So…

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Who Doesn’t love a mystery?

Who amongst us doesn’t love a good mystery?  The correct answer, of course, is “no one.”  I do wonder, however, what your personal favourites may be.  Below are some “real-life” mysteries that have enthralled me fully over the years. DB Cooper: Possibly my all-time fave.  The simple fact that the suspect has never been identified or caught only adds to my interest.  If you’re not familiar, this is the 1971 story of a man who boarded a “Thanksgiving Eve” commercial flight in Portland, Oregon bound for Seattle, Washington.  Soon after the very short flight began, the man handed the flight…

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