Help me find this Soldiers family...

 I am looking for help finding who this young soldier (Left) is and to what family he belongs.  The two picture were given to me years ago with the information that both pictures were George H. Leaman of Turtle Creek, Albert Co, New Brunswick.  I have had many people look at them over the years and I believe George (Right) and the picture Left are not the same person.

This young man (Left) is most likely part of the Price family of Westmorland Co, New Brunswick or the Leaman/Leeman family of Albert Co, New Brunswick.  He is in a Canada uniform from the World War One era.  

The picture on the right is Driver George Herbert Leaman b. 14 Jul 1892 in Turtle Creek, Albert Co, New Brunswick and was killed in action 8 Nov 1916 near Courcelette, Somme, Picardie, France.  George was my Great Great Uncle.  I will be doing a full piece on him in the near future.

I do not believe that one is a younger version as George has dark hair and eyes and the young soldier on the left has light hair and light eyes. However the ears and lips are almost the same.

I would love for everyone to compare the two photo and let me know what you think.  

Looking froward to hearing your opinion, 
Michele

for 

Military Monday

Whats going on this week...

The passed few weeks I have benn working on the Hovey's and connecting families in Northumberland Co, New Brunswick. 

I hope that Rootsweb.com will at some point fix their issues so I can update the One Big Circle site with all the great new information.  (3 1/2 weeks, 4 e-mails, no response)

I am a Hovey descendant but I descended from James Hovey b. 1650, brother of John, the ancestor of the group in New Brunswick. Our common ancestor would be Daniel Hovey, 1618 and Abigail Andrews, abt 1621.
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Patrick O'Donnell b abt. 1797 in County Limerick, Ireland arrived in New Brunswick in August of 1820 per the 1851 Census record and was a Lumberman and Farmer. His wife Lydia Woods Susannah Price was born in abt. 1808 in Ludlow, New Brunswick, she was the daughter of Capt. John Price (a 3rd Price family) and Mary Hovey (a descendant of Edmund Price and Jane Webb).

Date July 1 1823

County York

Place Fredericton

Newspaper: The New Brunswick Royal Gazette

m. 26th inst., Patrick O'DONNELL / Lydia Woods eldest d/o Capt. John PRICE, all of Ludlow, North Co.

I have looked over the information available and found some issues with the death dates of the two people above. 

Census information found in 1871 shows wife Lydia, a widow, living with her children and no listing for Patrick could be found.  I believe that the death dates are either swapped or wrong.  

1851 New Brunswick, Canada Census
Patrick O'Donnell age 53                 abt 1798/99  
Lydia O'Donnell age 43                    abt 1708/09

1861 New Brunswick, Canada Census  
Patrick O'Donnell age   64               abt 1797  
Lydia O'Donnell age    54                 abt 1807

1871 New Brunswick, Canada Census
Lydia O'Donnell age     63                abt 1808   

If Lydia died in 1870 as grave shows at age 66, that would have her born in 1804 but if it is Patrick that died in 1870 his age 74 that would be 1796.  Lydia on the other hand if died 1880 at age 66 would have been born 1814.

Confused? So am I but that is what genealogy is all about.  

I am also looking for any descendants of Patrick O'donnell, Jr b 1834 and his wife Gracia Ann Lyons.  Mainly information on their daughters Leona and Charlotte.

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Patrick and Lydia had 11 known children, all but one married and had children, creating a large O'Donnell line in New Brunswick.  Although I am almost done with the group I know I am missing some of the current families.  Feel free to contact me and add, correct or help with the above date issue.

Take Care,

Michele

Love..Love...PANB

Yes, I am in love with something besides my husband, I will gladly admit it, and my husband is even okay with it!

My love affair with the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick (PANB) is nothing new. When I was just starting out I would make the 2 hour drive to Fredericton, New Brunswick from Maine and spend my vacation time in the research room of the old brick building. The staff was always helpful, even when I didn't know what I was looking for or when I would bring my husband along and assign him to just copy things I handed him.

I took my mother with me on one trip. She had no real interest in genealogy and I had to make up nicknames for her to remember who people were. I referred to her 2rd great grandfather William Price, Jr as "William the missing", because at the time I had not found his parents, I still call him by title to this day.

We lived in Waterbury, Vermont for three years in the 1990's and I made two 8 hour (one way) trips to the archives just to research a new person.



                                        



Then they started an online site, it grew slowly into what it is today, probably the best archive website I have ever used.http://archives.gnb.ca/archives/default.aspx?culture=en-CA

I research and write allot about New Brunswick but I have researched all over the US and Canada as well as a few foreign countries. The PANB has records online from 1800-1962 most of them with the original scanned document . Last month they added a Federated Database Search that allows you to search most of the online records at once. 

Birth (to 1917), Marriage and Death (both to 1962) records are easy to search. You can search by just last name or even the first three letters of the surname. 

http://archives.gnb.ca/Search/VISSE/?culture=en-CA

The PANB added an area dedicated to Irish research a few years ago.

http://archives.gnb.ca/Irish/exhibits_en.html

It allows you to search arrivals, census and even people who resided at the St. John's Almshouse. Even if you do not have Irish roots you may find your ancestor in some these records.  Added last year was some of the work of R.Wallace Hale. I own the Early Probate book and have used it for years. It was wonderful to see the archives add it as a searchable database.

Early New Brunswick (Canada) Probate Records 1785-1835

http://archives.gnb.ca/Search/MC3706/Default.aspx?culture=en-CA


The Fort Havoc site below contains many records, most pertaining to Loyalist. I holds great historic information.

http://archives.gnb.ca/Exhibits/FortHavoc/Default.aspx?culture=en-CA

Often overlooked guide to family history is a small database of the books, documents for family histories on file at the archives. You can e-mail the archives to see how to obtain a copy.
http://archives.gnb.ca/ResearchTools/GuideToFamilyHistories/?culture=en-CA

Wondering about a Town or City and what county it is in?

http://archives.gnb.ca/Exhibits/Communities/Home.aspx?culture=en-CA


My favorite page overall is the New Brunswick Vital Statistics from Newspapers 1784-1896  transcribed and collected by Daniel F. Johnson (1958-2005). It can be found as a set of 102 books in many libraries around the U.S. and Canada. This database has contributed more to my search than any other I can think of. It has most of the major Newspapers in New Brunswick and is transcribed images (not a view of the orginal). You can search by family name or by a word or place. You will find Births, Marriages and Death as in any newspapers of their time but also the day to day lives of the people of New Brunswick.

http://archives.gnb.ca/Search/NewspaperVitalStats/NameIndex.aspx?culture=en-CA

When I needed to take a break one day I typed in Murder and was amazed at the stories and information in the article that came up. I then did the same with Hanging (morbid I know but I was curious) and then Fire. It was a great way to learn more about the area I spend so much time researching. 

Example:

Date December 22 1869 
County Saint John 
Place Saint John 
Newspaper Morning News 

The language of the text is the original used in the newspaper entry and as transcribed by Daniel F. Johnson. Records acquired by the Provincial Archives are not translated from the language in which they originate. 

MUNROE-VAIL Murder - Judge ALLEN then rose and with much feeling said "You stand convicted of the murder of Sarah Margaret VAIL ... The sentence of the Court is that you (John A. MUNROE) be conducted to the place from whence you came, and thence on Tuesday, 15th day of February next, to the place of execution, there to be hanged by the neck, until you are dead and may God have mercy on your soul" (see original)

If you look to the top right of the database you will see "Full-Text Search" if you click on it, it will take you to a box where you can search for words as individual or combinations. When searching always remember that spelling can be off on surnames as well as regular words. I was searching for an article I had read and I knew it contained the word Polygamy. It didn't come up so I searched by the name and when I found the article the word was spelled polygomy.   Also for those of us from "The States" keep in mind that words differ in spelling between Canada (British English) and the U.S., like Colour and Color.  I found a good site on the some of differences.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_and_British_English_spelling_differences

I hope this will be of some help in your search and that you enjoy your trip through the records of one of my favorite places.  Take the time to click on each link on the toolbar at the top of the PANB site it will take you to many more options that I have listed here.  

**Are you working on a family that I have listed marked with a * , + or *+ in the name on my Rootsweb page and want to know more?  Let me know I may have notes available that I don't show online.  I can also make it into a blog if I have enough on the group.**

Take care,

Michele

My Trip through Genetealogy...

In 2011 I asked my husband and children for DNA tests for Christmas. Sound strange? Not if you know me and my genealogy obsession. I received three DNA tests and excitedly order the first test and waited for it to arrive. Genetic Genealogy or Genetealogy as it is being called is a great tool when you are trying to crack a brickwalls or to find if your research is correct.

I started to read everything I could get my hands on to educated myself. What I would tell you is education first then order a test. I am not going to go into a long explanation about the companies available and which one is best. I choose Family Tree DNA http://www.familytreedna.com/ for two of the test and 23 and Me https://www.23andme.com/ for one. I will explain why later.

If you have already done the testing you will probably not learn anything new here but if you are just starting or even thinking about testing there are a few things you must know first.

Find a good book, there are many that are recommended but if you have just started, I recommend, "DNA & Genealogy" by Colleen Fitzpatrick and Andrew Yeiser, It is basic and easy to understand. I have also heard good things about "Trace Your Roots with DNA: Use Your DNA to Complete Your Family Tree" by Megan Smolenya and Ann Turner. However good these books are they were published over 5 years ago and in Genealogy things can change daily.

I just started reading, "DNA and Social Networking: A Guide to Genealogy in the Twenty-first Century" by Debbie Kennett's, it gives more information about autosomal DNA and using online sources in your research.

Another recommendation is The International Society of Genetic Genealogy found at http://www.isogg.org/ . Their Newbies section will give you everything you need to know to find the right test and even after to help with your results. There is also a Newbies DNA group on Yahoo http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/DNA-Testing/ . You can join both webpages.

Understanding that learning about DNA is just like learning a new language will help you in your journey. At some points I was pretty sure my head would explode with all the new terms and information. I took Biology 1,2 & 3 in High School and even Bio classes in College, although I was a History Major, I understand how it works, that was not the problem. The issue is trying to understanding what your results mean and when you ask for help the answers that you receive will just lead to more question. I found that anyone who has been doing this for a while cant or wont explain things simply. They expect you to already know what they know. If you take this into account and keep asking and searching you will find the answers.


So now you have read and re-read everything and you now have to test someone, it might be easy, like my first test I chose my husband. His Daniels ancestry was one of my brickwalls. Males carry the Y-DNA from their fathers and the MtDNA which is from the mother. Females only carry the MtDNA from their maternal ancestors. Then there is Autosomal DNA which basically allows you to find relatives but no proof of your common ancestor. A good explaination can be found here. http://www.dnainheritance.kahikatea.net/autosomal.html

Remember to keep and open mind and make sure your research will stand up to review. You may find out things you had no idea existed or disprove thing you thought you knew.

Testing will depend on what you are looking for. I was stuck on his ancestor Christopher Columbus Daniels b 1832 Virginia and lived in Ohio. He fought in the Civil War but all but a few pension records are missing. He is found in 1850 Ohio census with his mother and stepfather.

Once you chose your "subject" and the company you want to use, check the surname to see if there is a DNA project for that name. Some offer free or discounted testing.


I also contacted several Daniel, Daniels and even Danielson DNA groups online. The one that had the best information was the Daniel Family of Middlesex County, Virginia http://www.pamiller.net/genealogy/docs/danielmiddlesex/danieldna/index.htm

                     



My first try at DNA testing would be a textbook case of what you want to have happen.

I had a 37 marker test done with Family Tree DNA and the results come back in sections. When the first 12 markers came back much to my luck it was a 12 for 12 match to over 150 people that were tested. The good thing 15 of those were to the Daniel's of Middlesex group. The admin of the group was a wonderful woman named Joyce and I credit her with how easy my first experience with DNA research was. Then the next section came in and the next. My husband and another man in Texas were a full match. It helped prove that a mutation that man carried was specific to one ancestor and we could then track from the original William Daniel b abt 1638 through his son William Jr and to William Jr's son Obadiah. Following each know person down the trail until we found the only person left that could be my husbands ancestor.
After years of searching in only 7 weeks the misery was solved and over 200 years of missing genealogy was discovered.
For those who understand the breakdown, my husband is an I1 which is of Scandinavia ancestry. 


This Daniel's family is a good example of how DNA can change everything you know about your ancestor. William Daniel b 1638 had 4 known sons who lived to adulthood. The oldest two William Jr and Robert are from a unknown 1st wife and James and Richard were thought to be from his 2nd marriage to a Jachebed. What DNA proved is that the 3rd son James was in no way related to William Daniel Sr. His DNA is matched to a Davis family. We will probably never know if William knew that James was not his biological son.


                                                             
My next test was for me through 23 and Me, although they offer autosomal Testing, I was more interested in their health testing. I could have tested my MtDNA that would be my mothers, mothers, mother, ext. My furthers known maternal Mtdna ancestor was Hanna Sofia Conge born 1737 in Germany.  At this point I am not interested in researching her line. 

I have had some matches from my test for family members but in the 20 people I contact I heard back from 5 and we have never been able to find the connection. I am an H and 100% European ancestry.

What was great about the testing is medically I know know what I carry and what I can pass on to my children. My maternal grandmother and my mother both died of breast cancer and one maternal and one paternal aunt have been diagnosed. I have had yearly mammograms since I was 34 years old but thanks to DNA testing I know I do not carry the BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation for early onset breast cancer. It does not mean I can stop being careful. The testing is a guide, something to add to your knowledge.


                         
The final test has been a wild and bumpy road. My great uncle was kind enough to allow me to have his DNA tested for one of my Price lines. At 89 he was excited to find out what answers his DNA could offer. Unfortunately he passed away just 4 days after the test was sent in.

When the test results came back it was determined that he was an R1b1a2 which is one of the most common European ancestries. Further testing found he was in a smaller group of R1b1a1a1a1b4 that breaks down into L21 (see all Greek!) . I am still working on this part trying to see if I want to break down the L21 into subgroups that are available or wait until more groups come available or more common descendants have test done.

The fun had just begun when I started to search my matches on Family Tree DNA and Ysearch (Free world wide DNA database) http://www.ysearch.org/ I found that my Price family matched no other Price's ever tested in the world. At 37 markers it was a full match to two tested men with the last name Williams and a 37/35 to another. Since the original test I upgraded to a 67 marker test. The Williams men went to 65 to 67 and another person has been tested at the same group. So now I have 4 men named Williams all out of Pee Dee, South Caroline that match my ancestor William Price Sr. (see previous blog) who I know has been in New Brunswick, Canada since 1783.

So far only more questions have arisen than answers and some family members just could not understand how we were not Price's. Very simply it all goes back to before there were surnames. Both families are Welsh and surnames did not come into steady practice until the 1600's (1800's in some rural areas). A full explanation can be found at http://www.terrynorm.ic24.net/welsh%20surnames.htm .

Now it will be a challenge to find when the line splits.


I have a few more DNA test to go, descendants of Peter Watson b. abt 1760 of Woodstock, New Brunswick next and Richard Flynn b. 1865 Ireland, lived Rhode Island and after that.  I am hoping to convince a distance Morton cousin to contribute his DNA to find our common ancestor Frances Morton b. 1803 possibly Nova Scotia.


The decision to test is up to you and how far you want to take the testing (and cost) as with the Daniel's I only need a 37 marker test to find what I needed. Unlike the Price's where I have upgraded twice and had tests done for more information on the SNP's. All I can do is re-emphasize educating yourself before you start and be willing to learn something new about your ancestry. 

If you have questions feel free to ask, I may not be an expert but I can point you in the right direction.  


Enjoy your hunt,
Michele

In the Beginning...

For the last 21 years I have been researching my family history and genealogy.  It has been an amazing journey and I have learned more about myself from finding my ancestors.  I wanted to create a webpage to keep updates and finds attached to my Rootweb.com site but found a Blog suited my need better.  I am hoping to do a blog a week on who I am researching, who I am looking for, and maybe even add some research tips.  I have done over 100 genealogies for others and I am always willing to help someone who is just starting out or has hit a brickwall.

The genealogies I have gathered can be found the link below. With almost 140,000 names compiled so far, I hope to have many more years to continue my search.

http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?db=mdaniels67


Descendants of William Price and Sally Mason of Kings Co, New Brunswick;

Descendants of Mariner Price 2001

William Price b abt 1750 poss Wales but was living in Pennsylvania just before 1774 and was in New Jersey   where he joined the NJ Volunteers a Loyalist unit in the Revolutionary War.  His father was possibly also named William Price, and he may have had a brother who served with him, Joseph Price.  He married Sally Mason who is said to have been born in England but I only have that as a side note, I have never found the source of that information.  He arrived with 4 children and his wife in Oct 1783 in New Brunswick, Canada.  Their children poss James and John, one of these men was either a sailor or a Ship Captain.  Edward Price was the 3rd born son and I have little on him but know he had a son named Edward Price, Jr and was alive in 1861 living in Kent Co, New Brunswick.  Margaret Price the only known daughter married John Coates.  The only children known to be born in New Brunswick were William and Tyler Price are all listed on my site above.

The given name Tyler or Tyle is used in many generations of this family. I expect someday I will find it is a Maiden name of an ancestor but no luck so far.

This family lived in Kings Co, New Brunswick, Canada per land grants. William and Sally both lived to be at least 90 years old and died in Kings Co, NB. After their deaths many of their descendants left Kings Co. William, Edward and Margaret went to Kent Co, NB and Tyler immigrated to Ontario with is family.  I find most people have Tyler born in New York but I have never found this, the sources found all show he was born in NB including the 1861 Ontario Census.

My Ancestor William Price, Jr and his wife Sarah Cushing lived in Washington Co, Maine in 1820 and had 1 female child with them.  I have no information on her or if she lived to adult hood. *Many have William Price, Jr b abt 1789 born in Cooper, Washington Co, Maine.  No where in my research other than living in Maine in 1820 did I find any support to this information.  He may have been living in Cooper when he married Sarah on 30 Mar 1819 in Shediac, Westmorland Co, New Brunswick but in every source he is listed as being born NB.  Sarah on the other hand we know was born in Pembroke, Washington Co, Maine.

William and Sarah had at least 11 children, possibly 12 or more, with the addition of Thomas Price who is in Kent Co, NB in 1853 when he married a Jane Jackson.  No other information has ever been found on Thomas at this time but I believe he is part of this group.  If he is not the son of William than he is the son of Edward Price.
William settled on the Mclaughlin Rd, Kent Co, New Brunswick, what is now Coates Mills, NB

Church and Graveyard at Coates Mills, New Brunswick

                                     

Elijah Price (William Jr, William,Sr) b abt 1821 in NB died before 1855 leaving a wife, Sarah Abrams/Abraham and several small children.  Sarah re-marries shortly after Elijah's death, Nathan Stiles, and it seems all of her children are living with other families.  Only a daughter Hannah Price is raised by a known family members as the adopted daughter of James William Bell and Hannah Price, Elijah's younger sister.  I believe I am missing several children from this family as they are married in 1841 and I only have 4 known children before Elijah's death.  Their children were Elizabeth Jane (Betsey), Joseph, Sarah Ann and Hannah.

Elizabeth and Joseph both went to Michigan, Joseph stayed but Elizabeth and her husband John Friars returned to New Brunswick.  Daughter Sarah Ann married her 2nd cousin John Edward Coates. Grandson of Margaret Price (William Sr) and John Coates

Another son, James Price marries Sarah Jane Morton (the sister of my ancestor, see below), very little is known about the family but then names of their children and a very interesting newspaper article from the Boston Herald that was picked up by the St. John Globe;


Date May 14 1884
County Saint John
Place Saint John
Newspaper Saint John Globe

Boston 'Herald' - James F. PRICE pleaded guilty to polygomy and was sentenced to the house of correction for seven months. Price who came from Dundas, N.B. stated to the court that his brother wrote to him that his first wife, whom he married in 1857, was dead, and acting on this information he married a second time, supposing that he was a free man.

I have very little doubt that this is the same James listed above.  He is not with his wife in 1891 New Brunswick and I believe I find him married in Massachusetts at one point.  I have spoken to the Archives in NB and they have no divorce listed for James and Sarah.  I was told it was very rare and expensive as it had to go before Parliament.  I also spoke to the Law Library in Massachusetts and they found no record of the trial. I will keep searching and have a few more options on the trail and jail information.

Lastly, my ancestor William Price b. abt 1829 in NB married Elizabeth Ann (Betsey) Morton. They had as many as 11 children but most likely more.  I only know of only 6 that lived to adulthood.  William died before 1881 as Elizabeth is remarried to a Jeremiah McRae in the census. In 1891 Elizabeth is a widow listed as Elizabeth Price. I have never found what happened to Jeremiah.  This family seems to have been very poor, their home is listed as a Shanty in the 1871 Moncton, NB census.  Elizabeth is said to have died in Boston, Massachusetts in or around 1929 but a search was made a few years ago and no one matching her information was found.  I think she may have died years before that because several of her children's death cerf she is only listed as Morton with no first name.  

No graves have been found for any of my direct Price ancestors.  There is a small graveyard on Rt. 126 in Gallagher Ridge, Westmorland Co, New Brunswick that some refer to the Old Price Cemetery.  There are no stones and no records that I can find.  It is possible that several generations are buried there.

The photo at the top is at a 2001 reunion of the descendants of Mariner J. Price and Sarah Jane Leaman.  Mariner was the son of Ephraim Price, son of William and Elizabeth (Morton) Price.  There were appx. 120 of us in this photo from just this one line.  Ephraim Price Married Sarah Elizabeth Price (surprisingly no relation).
In the next blog I will be adding information of the DNA testing that has been done on this line.  

If you have something to add or a question please feel free to contact me.  This is my first blog so if  grammar or typo are here please excuse it as I become more comfortable with this format.  

Happy New Year to all,

Michele