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 challenging to identify a large portion of my matches.  Not good.

And so it was that a couple short months ago, I set my meager genealogical talents towards identifying this missing ancestor.

A little background: my great grandmother was Emma Crane, born 1856 in Chaddesley Corbett, a small village in Worcestershire, England.  In the 1861 England Census, Emma is living with her single mother, Matilda Crane, and her younger brother William, born 1858.  The trio are in the house of Matilda’s parents, Thomas and Mary Crane.  The absence of a husband to Matilda, as well as the fact that both Emma and William carry the surname, “Crane,” leads me to speculate my 2x great grandfather is not a part of their lives.

Further documents show a third, potentially “illegitimate” child, Agnes, born in 1862.

For those keeping track, that’s three illegitimate children in the span of six years: Emma (1856), William (1858), Agnes (1862).  All three taking their mother’s surname.

My first step in discovering any potential father for these three is to check birth, baptism, marriage and death records for mention of a father.  With three children in question, this yields twelve possible sources for a name.

In the case of Emma, no paternal information is offered in birth, baptism or death certificates.  In her 1880 marriage certificate for the section of father, she offers the name of “Thomas Crane,” her grandfather.  Hmm.

Moving to William, I again find blanks in birth, baptism and death records.  However, in his 1883 marriage, he lists Joseph Crane, “blacksmith” as his father.  I take note that “Joseph” happens to be the name of an uncle.

As for the youngest, Agnes, again I find nothing in records of birth or baptism.  In her marriage certificate, she lists “William Perry,” the man who would eventually marry Matilda and become stepfather to the three.  In Agnes’s death certificate the name “Richard Crane” is offered, the Christian name of a great uncle.  Maybe the man she considers her father.

My fantastical mind considers a “Crane” relative may just be father to these three.  I am certainly not privy to reproduction guidelines amongst distant cousins in the 1800s.  I also ponder that William Perry may have been the father all along, even though he was married to his first wife when all three Crane children were conceived.  Theories to be sure, but certainly unproven.

I admit that nothing definitive has been yielded from these documents, and I soon find myself ready to turn to DNA.  But where to begin?  I know next to nothing about DNA and the prospect of rolling up my sleeves and jumping in is just…daunting.

(Stay tuned for Part II coming soon.)