Sunday, August 19, 2018

Hawkins DNA family group #2

We just had a new match to family group #2.  He is husband to Lynn Hawkins who is the researcher connected to this kit.  Our new participant has excellent paper trail to Jehu Dyer Hawkins:

Jehu Dyer Hawkins b 1756, Henry George Hawkins b 1790, Samuel James Hawkins b 1821, Jehu / John Blookfield Hawkins b 1858, Fred Lamberth Hawkins, Robert Leeland Hawkins, then my husband Thomas Ralph Hawkins.


Tuesday, July 31, 2018

Hawkins family #6

Our project has been going through much confusion as FTDNA instituted new privacy efforts to comply with the EEA  requirements.  My theory is that we will come out stronger from this confusion as we work to fix the things that need to be fixed.  Today's blog post is an example in how we actually get better as we work to put things back to normal.  The first of the co-adminstrators that I have reinstated is Cherie Ohlsson.  The choice to ask Cherie first was serendipity.  We were chatting about something else.  Cherie contacted each of her participants in group #6 asking them to give her access to her kit results and asking other questions as well.  She copied me to all of the correspondence.

Chuck's reply caused me to decide that we needed to work on a blog post.  And here it is!  What made me particularly interested in Chuck's reply was the fact that his autosomal test with Ancestry connected him to the Bickford family in Dover, New Hampshire.  This connection would never have been found through his yDNA test since it is a ?-gr-grandmother who was a Bickford....not a ?-gr-grandfather.

Here is some of the information that Chuck has sharedwith Cherie and me.

I’ve also done the DNA test at Ancestry.  An interesting link that came up there was to the Bickfords of NH and VT.  That further cements my link to Stephen Hawkins, because Elizabeth Bickford was the spouse of William Hawkins (1757), son of Stephen Hawkins.  My gg-grandfather was Luther Hawkins, last child of William and Elizabeth.

and


Here is Elizabeth's “life story” from Ancestry

"When Elizabeth Bickford was born on February 2, 1757, in Dover, New Hampshire, her father, John, was 27, and her mother, Lydia, was 32. Elizabeth married William Hawkins and they had 14 children together. She also had one child from another relationship. She died in 1810 at the age of 53.”

Some info there that I didn’t know—that she died in 1810 or had that many children.  I thought there were 14—have to check my info again!  Regardless of how many there were, Luther, was the last, born in 1805.

 Cherie's reply to Chuck was:  Her David Hawkins had following information:   David's family ended up in Michigan around the same time as some in Chuck's tree went there.  Chuck's immigrant George Hawkins stated he was going to meet a Mrs Hawkins on his entry documents and ended up in Michigan.  So I think it is possible that at least people in the Stephen branch were keeping contact with extended family in England, which helped influence David's branch into coming over.  David's branch goes back for many generations in the same place in Hampshire, England, which must be where Chuck's immigrant Stephen (and perhaps the rest of our branches) may have come from.  I looked into the history of New Hampshire, where Chuck's original Stephen (1685-1720) died.  Since New Hampshire was only settled and named in 1622, we will have to read more on its historic settlers.  There must be more information on the Hawkins who were original immigrants.



Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, the former capital city of England.

As I pushed the button to publish this, I had the nagging thought that I had looked at this area before.  And I had! I had worked with another family group #6 member to write an earlier blog post:


http://hawkinsdna.blogspot.com/2017/11/family-group-6.html






Friday, March 16, 2018

Family Group #1

Bret Hawkins who is a family group #1 participant, had a question about whether his 3-gr-grandfather was Joseph Hawkins married to Charity Miller or John Hawkins married to Mary/Polly Tinney.  The two men were brothers. The traditional methods of research had not shown Bret which man was his 3-gr-grandfather and which man was his 3-gr-uncle.

Bret turned to a professional genealogist to get help solving the puzzle using autosomal DNA.  The genealogist is Nicole Meruvia.  Nicole@genealogybynicole.com

Her website can be found at:  https://www.genealogybynicole.com

Bret shared the report that she created for him and Nicole gave me permission to share it on the Hawkins DNA blog site.  I think that the method that she used is an inspiration to me to work on some of my own brick walls with my own autosomal DNA tests!  And anyone reading this during the weekend of St Patrick Day 2018 can take advantage of FTDNA's St Patrick's day sale.  The family finder test is $20 cheaper than normal:  $59!

https://www.familytreedna.com

Here is the report from Nicole:

I have finished my research on both of your projects!  I enjoyed researching both of these and learning more about middle Tennessee history! 
 
  1. Determining 3rd great grandfather Hawkins.  My approach and the only definitive way to prove direct relation to one brother over the another is to look for common ancestors between you and the spouses of each of the brothers.  After lots of searching I was not able to determine who Charity Miller or Mary Polly Tinney’s parents were to assist with this analysis.  However, If you do a search against your DNA matches on Ancestry.com for “Tinney” you do get several results.  Let’s examine them:
    1. After searching for “Tinney” scroll to match, “lindoncreak”.  Her Tinney line is the best documented of the others in your DNA match list.  She descends from a Nathanael Tinney born in VA in 1765.  He is the son of Daniel Tenney b. 1721.  Note the change in spelling to Tenney with an “e”. 
    2. Now if you do a search for the new spelling “Tenney” you get even more DNA matches with this name in their tree.  If you click on the closest match, “mc_kcer”.  She descends from a James Tenney and Thankful Shippee through their son Peter.  Let’s see if we can find a connection through Thankful Shippee’s ancestors….
    3. Search for the name Shippee against  your Ancestry DNA matches.  Click on match, “TL12866”, click on “Shippee” in his surname list, now click on his ancestor Joseph Shippee, then his father Thomas b. 1675.  Now click on Thomas’ son Peter and you will see Thankful Shippee!  We have confirmed DNA triangulation with the Shippee line. 
    4. Now let’s see if we can confirm even more by connecting James Tenney with another DNA match.  DNA match, “B.K., managed by Marc Lough” also descends from James Tenney and Thankful Shippee through their son, Samuel.  That’s a different son and therefore another triangulation to confirm!  Her tree traces the Tenney line all the way to Daniel Tenney born 1652 in Rowley, Essex, Massahusetts.  She also shows the same Daniel Tenney from letter a. above in her tree as a descendant of the same Daniel Tenney born 1652 (need to open her tree and the search for Daniel Tenney).
    5. If you browse the rest of your DNA matches who have the surname Tenney, you will see their lines all trace to Massachusetts. (those who have well documented lineage on the Tenney line) 
    6. Conclusion: John is your 3rd great grandfather based on the number of DNA matches who share his wife’s surname – Tinney/Tenney and their connections to each other as outlined above. 
Thank you again for allowing me to work on these projects!  Let me know what questions you have or how I can be of further assistance!
 
Nicole
Professional Genealogist/Lecturer


For more information on Bret's Hawkins line try the following posts:









Saturday, March 10, 2018

Gardner Hawkins

Gardner Hawkins has been associated with the Hawkins DNA project for many years.  Gardner's son, Gerry, shared death information for our group's friend and associate:

Hi,
I’m sorry to let you know of the recent death of my father, Gardner Perry “Pete” Hawkins (II), in Olympia, Washington. A full obituary is available on Legacy.com. He was the son of Gardner P. (“Doc”) Hawkins and Hallie Gertrude Chapman. The elder Gardner P. Hawkins (1861-1949) was the son of William S. (Strother?) Hawkins (~1815-1869) of McLean County, Illinois, born in or near Owen County, KY. Our DNA line is Hawkins Group #1. Here is a picture of my dad [standing] with his late sister and younger brother.




His son, Gerry, is the researcher who is connected to Gardner's yDNA results.  So while Gardner is now deceased, his genealogy is alive and well.  Here is a link to some information from Jerry about Gardner:

http://hawkinsdna.blogspot.com/2014/05/hawkins-dna-group-1-new-match.html

And here is the link to the obit on Legacy:

http://www.legacy.com/search?countryId=366899&countryUrl=united-states-of-america&dateRange=2010-2017&firstName=Gardner&lastName=Hawkins&stateAbbrev=WA&stateId=366872&stateUrl=washington

Monday, January 29, 2018

Hawkins in Pike County, Missouri

I heard from Willetta Heising this morning telling me a bit about her Hawkins ancestors.  Willetta has done a good deal of autosomal DNA testing and has joined out autosomal group.  Here is her note:

Marsha,

So happy to hear from you. I've printed a copy of your message and will follow those instructions tomorrow. Meanwhile, my HAWKINS line is fairly brief at present. My maternal great-grandmother is Beulah Belle HAWKINS (1882-1959). Her parents were John M. HAWKINS (1854-1922) and Amelia SHUTT (1862-after 1922). John M's parents were John R. HAWKINS (born 1801 KY) and Harriet HARDIN (1802-1870). Pike County, Missouri figures prominently in this line. Beulah Belle was born there and her parents were married there.

This is the first surname project I have joined. I have taken the autosomal test at Ancestry and 23 and Me, along with the mtDNA test at Family Tree.......
Thanks again for reaching out. .....

Best,
Willetta Heising

Friday, January 19, 2018

Hawkins Family Group #1 autosomal Match

When it rains, it pours!  Very happy autosomal match that led to a connection between the Short Mountain subgroup of Family Group #1 and a Hawkins group in Illinois!

Erin e-mailed me that detective work on an ancestor named Mary/Polly Tinney who married a John Hawkins led to discovery of an autosomal match on Ancestry which connected her results to a Hawkins male's kit in Illinois.  This led Erin to do some research that clarifies many questions about the Hawkins family that is found in Madison County, Kentucky after the Revolutionary War.  The family moves to Warren County, TN between 1807 and 1810 where some of them are still living to this day.  However part of them moved instead to Illinois.

Here are two older blog posts that I wrote last year with the help of several of the Short Mountain TN subgroup of Family Group #1:

http://hawkinsdna.blogspot.com/2017/01/family-group-1-short-mountain-subgroup.html

http://hawkinsdna.blogspot.pe/2017/01/hawkins-autosomal-dna-matches-in-family.html


The following is information sent to Erin by her autosomal matches' wife:

The HAWKINS Journey
This was a very complicated journey and I want to walk you through it the best that I can.

We knew that John Hawkins children: Reuben T, Griffith T, John D, Joshua and Bathsheba were born in Tennessee but where?
Several years ago I took a blank 1820 and 1830 census form and filled them out with John and his children. Then I checked the whole state of TN for a John and family that would fit. I only found 2 and they were both in Warren Co., TN. I looked at the 1820 first and they could fit in with both John’s but in the 1830 census they could only fit with one and almost perfect except we are missing one son.
I started checking this John out and found that he was born in Virginia and moved to Madison Co., Kentucky and then moved to Warren Co., TN with his Mother, brother’s and sister’s between 1807 and 1810. They were all there by 1812. I think they moved in two groups.
His father Joseph SR was born in 1747 in Spotsylvania, VA. and died in 1803 in Madison Co., KY.
I have a copy of his will.
His mother Susannah Petty born 1848 and died May 1823 in TN
Children:
Martha Patsy 1772-1845 md Richard Boucher (Butcher)
John 1771-1840’s md Polly Tinney
Joseph JR 1773-1820 md Charity Miller 



Susannah 1775-1853 md William Campbell
Sarah 1781-1830 md John Pitts​
Reuben 1785-1851 never married
They were all married in Madison Co., KY.
They all appear in the census records for Warren and Cannon Co’s. , TN. I don’t think that they moved, the boundaries just changed. Cannon was formed in 1836 from Warren and other counties.
I could not find any more about John and his family so I just put everything away. I was sure that I had the right family but could not prove it.
I decided to go back and do more research on the Moore line. Mary Elizabeth Moore is the grandmother of Ida Mae Beach Hawkins who married William Rasmus Hawkins 2 Dec 1903. I was checking the information about her brother, Emery G Moore 1833-1912.
His second marriage was to a Elizabeth Williams (Maiden name Biggs) born 1836 in Illinois.
I remembered that John Dillard Hawkins ( Griffith’s brother) in the 1850 census had some Biggs children living with him. Jonathan 19 born 1831, Elizabeth 13 born 1837 and Sarah Ann 11 born 1839. I always wondered who they belong to.
I found out that their father was Bennett Biggs 1793-1849
Mother was Elizabeth Hawkins born 3 Nov 1802 Kentucky - died 16 Oct 1846 Fayette Co., IL. Buried in the Pratt Cemetery. She was from Warren County, Tenn. and her father’s name was John Hawkins.
I had just found another daughter for our John, his first child Elizabeth, who married Bennett Biggs in Warren Co., TN. probably about 1820 or 1821.

Bennett Biggs was the key that opened the door.
He lived by Richard Butcher, William Campbell and John Hawkins in 1830 in Warren Co., TN census.
He moved with John Hawkins and family to Clinton Co., IL about 1833.
He married Reuben T Hawkins in 1834 in Clinton Co., IL*****
He married Griffith T Hawkins in 1834 in Clinton Co., IL******
He lived next to Joshua Hawkins and Griffith Hawkins in the 1840 Fayette Co., IL Census.
( I think that the male living with Joshua (70-80) is our John Hawkins)
He died 30 Oct. 1849 Fayette Co., IL. Buried in Pratt Cemetery, Fayette Co., IL
His 3 children went to live with their Uncle John Dillard Hawkins
I told Karen, my niece, what I had found and we started looking again. There were 3 John Hawkins in Madison Co., KY at the same time. One was married to a Polly Finney 12 Mar. 1801 but we did not know if this was the right one or not. We ruled out the one married to a Rhoda Crook.
One day I was looking through the Land Records again for Griffith T Hawkins in Fayette Co., IL and I saw in the 1840 and the 1844 record’s they have his name as Griffith Tinney Hawkins . I had always thought this just was a mistake. In rechecking I thought, the Land records should be correct and they both were showing the same thing 4 years apart. I told Karen that Tinney and Finney were really close. As I was talking to Karen I was going through a folder and a found a record from Family Search that had a John Hawkins and a Polly Turner married 11 Mar 1801 in Madison Co., KY. I told her that I had checked this Polly Turner out and did not find anything. Karen went on Family Search and put in John Hawkins and Polly Tinney and there was their marriage record showing they got married Mar 12, 1801 in Madison Co., KY.
We believe that Griffith’s middle name was Tinney and not Tomey and that he was named after his mother Mary (Polly) Tinney. We know that she was still alive in 1834 when Reuben was married by Bennett Biggs because she gave her consent.
We feel that all this proves at long last, that John Hawkins and Polly Carney who were married in Maury Co., TN in 1816 and had one child in the 1820 Maury Co., TN census is not our John, the father of our Reuben T, Griffith T, John D, Joshua, and Bathsheba. 
We are still missing 4 sons and maybe 1 daughter from the 1820 Warren Co., TN census
If you are having trouble following all this just imagine trying to find it all.
Have fun looking all this up and see what your conclusions are.

(Signature of author of above withheld until permission to use name)
Erin's Ancestry match's line:  Ronald Harold Hawkins, William Harold Hawkins, William Rasmus Hawkins, Lewis Foster Hawkins, Griffith Tinney Hawkins, John Hawkins, Joseph Hawkins , etc.

I would add that we have at least two yDNA participants who represent this Hawkins family line:  Bret Hawkins and Mike Hawkins (I paid for Mike's kit many years ago and he graciously did the test to prove that Elaine and I were looking at the same Hawkins family line).  Both are part of Hawkins yDNA family group #1.

Wednesday, January 17, 2018

Autosomal DNA match to Family Group #1

As luck would have it, the very week that I would work on trying to find a way to help Hawkins autosomal DNA matches make better use of their matches, I heard from Lena.  Lena has agreed to my making her information public.  I will add it to the Family Finder page today even though it is actually an Ancestry site kit.  She has also given me her gedmatch number.  Lena says that her Ancestry circle is  the Benjamin Hawkins and Hannah Chambers DNA Circle.

We know from yDNA results of the son of Dot Hawkins that Benjamin and Hannah Chambers Hawkins of Buncombe County, NC were a part of Family Group #1.  We think it likely that Benjamin descends from one of the orphans of John and Elizabeth Hawkins who died in Richmond County, Virginia in what was probably an epidemic.  Lucky for us John made a last minute will in which he named all six of his orphans:  William, Benjamin, John and James and two daughters Elizabeth and Sarah.  Dot's daughter has been working on proving the connection of her ancestor Benjamin of Buncombe to William Hawkins found in Bedford/Campbell County, Virginia and then back perhaps to the oldest of John and Elizabeth's orphans, William.  We in family group #1 have taken to call him William the plasterer because his father asks in his will for Henry Wood to teach him the trade of plasterer.  We have no reason to believe that he actually learned the trade nor practiced the trade in his adulthood.  But it is a way to sort this man out from all of the William Hawkins who existed in this time frame.  I don't know where Dot's daughter is in her research at this point.  I have sent out an e-mail asking Dot to put me in touch with her.

Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Autosomal DNA tests

I find that the Hawkins yDNA project has absolutely no way to help those of us who have taken the autosomal test at FTDNA (Family Finder) or Ancestry or any of the other companies that offer this test.  I should also mention Gedmatch.  So I am asking those of you who joined the Hawkins yDNA project but don't have a yDNA match to anyone with the Hawkins surname to go to the FTDNA site and Choose projects on one's sign in page.  Then choose manage projects from the pull down menu at the top of the page, and then beside the Hawkins project choice, choose Leave the project.  Then we as a group will try to find a way for the Hawkins DNA blog site (which is where you are right now) to work to help us all find our autosomal matches who have Hawkins connections.

I have some ideas on possibilities on how to do this, but I don't know if they will work until we try them.  I have added a tab at the top of this page that says:  Family Finder Participants.  However, I am happy to add all autosomal kit identifications that anyone wants to send me on any of the sites including Ancestry and Gedmatch.  If you don't mind sharing your contact information publicly, I will put it on the blog.  Then I will try to put links to blog posts on which we can discuss how we believe that we connect to each other.  Please only send me kit information for people who believe that they connect to a Hawkins family.  If you know which family group to which you connect, send me that as well.  If you don't know to which family group your Hawkins line connects, I'll put you in a unmatched group.  Please help me figure out the best way to make this work.  We'll chip away until we get something to work.

Ok I am updating this message a few days later.  A very nice man has left the project because he is not yDNA.  I want to write and thank him.  And I also want to see what I can do to help him with his autosomal matches with Hawkins connections.  What I forgot is that once he leaves the project I can no longer look up his e-mail.  So don't forget to e-mail me if you have any questions etc when you leave the project.