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 that all three Crane children are of same father.  On both Ancestry and 23andMe, I find several matches to descendants of Agnes Crane.  Agnes had nine children resulting in over twenty grand-children and a very robust roster of great grandchildren.  Suffice to say, the matches of second, third and fourth cousins is impressive.

Conclusions for William Crane would not be so forthcoming.  William had only one child, who in turn also had only one child.  The trend was soon bucked as William would enjoy not one but two great grandchildren who as far as I could tell produced a total of three great, great grandchildren.  By pure math alone, the likelihood of a current DNA match was les-likely.

To be sure, I do have a few mystery Crane matches in the DNA results…none that I can qualify as descendants of the original William Crane.  I am able to identify three ancestors on Facebook and send each a personal message.  All remain unreturned as of this date.

If I’m being pragmatic, I’d have to guess that William – the middle child – is of the same father as both his older and younger sisters.  It just makes sense and it becomes my working theory. With the assumption that all three Crane siblings share this mystery father, I return to Ancestry DNA results in an attempt to identify this absentee man.

According to several popular videos, the first step is creating subgroups of DNA matches.  Using my father’s DNA results, I click on “Paternal Matches” and get to work categorizing.  Category “A” would be my father’s grandparents, Emily Crane being the female.  Category “B” is my father’s great grandparents on the Williams side, well established in my family tree.

Category “C” features my father’s maternal grandmother, Matilda Crane and her mystery partner…the object of my curiosity.  I proceed to categorize as many matches as possible as Category “C” and then eliminate any from the Crane family.  The ones remaining would theoretically be from my mystery 2x great grandfather.

What followed was approximately one week of searchable trees and shared matches.  Finally, I’m able to make some ground and I identify several matches in group “C” that are no doubt descendants of my target.

Looking over the matches’ shareable trees, I zero in on two surnames which seem to “pop-up” consistently: Stanton and Potter.

Evelyn Winnifred Maud Potter (1907-1994) is a descendent of both families and seems to appear in most of the shareable trees.  I decide to use this unlikely woman as the basis for my tree.  Yes, my plan is to use Ms. Potter as the “home person” in a tree I am about to construct. 

In an activity that is partly enjoyable and partly frustrating, I spend the ensuing two weeks clicking hints, searching databases and connecting with other Ancestry users before finally constructing a one-hundred- and fifteen-person tree that I feel fairly confident with.  Fairly confident.

From there, I focus on males of approximately the same age who live in the vicinity of Matilda Crane during the six reproductive years.  And after a handful only of indulgent nights in front of the computer screen, one name sticks out: Joseph Potter.

Joseph Potter is born in 1831, four years prior to Matilda but in the same small village of Chaddesley Corbett.  In 1856 when my great-grandmother Emma Crane came into the world, Joseph is a twenty-five-year-old blacksmith, living with the woman who would soon be his wife, Sarah Smith, together raising their own son, Joseph Jr., also born in 1856.

I am struck by two facts.  First, if I have the correct match, Joseph has two children with two different women in the same year.  I have to wonder the fallout, if any.

Second, on William Crane’s marriage record, he lists his father as “Joseph” and occupation, “blacksmith,” the only difference being William uses his own surname “Crane” for his marriage license, which could have been of necessity, the foreign surname “Potter” likely arousing both confusion and suspicion.  Was William offering a clue as to the identity of his birth father?

While Joseph and his wife, Sarah, would produce no further offspring, if correct, Joseph would experience fatherhood two more time in the next six years with William, then Agnes.  Census records show Joseph continues cohabitating with his wife until middle age. 

The England Census of 1881 marks the final record I am able to discover; although, my search is definitely ongoing. 

Curiosities aside, it seems I may have identified my man.  When I map out further DNA matches under the Potter name, it all seems to fit.  At this point, I can say it’s more than likely I’ve found the true identity of my 2x great grandfather.

It’s with a mixture of satisfaction and regret that I identify a new handful of cousins.  Satisfaction because I consider myself successful in finding the correct puzzle piece.  Regret because I now require a new puzzle to keep me occupied.