My Trails into the Past

I have completed fifty-nine (59) weeks of semi- “lock down” due to Covid-19. This past week, I taught at the Adult School, picked up internet order from JC Penney, volunteered at the History Center twice, went to the meadow for phenology, hiked with two vaccinated friends, visited with brother-in-law’s family, and went to Home Depot. Other than that, I stayed home and worked on the computer. I guess I really wasn’t that locked down this week! Genealogy Blog Writing : Week 17: Favorite Place—The Creek I wrote about our adventures at Las Trampas Creek, located at the end of the street where I grew up. Saturday Night Genealogy Fun – Are Your Top Autosomal DNA Matches in Your Tree? I listed those matches that I knew where in my tree from Ancestry, FamilyTree DNA, MyHeritage, 23andMe, and LivingDNA. O nline Study Groups & Meetings Attended:  I met with Jacqueline on Tuesday, the CGS Desk Duty meeting on Thursday, and attended Book Club on Sunday, where we discussed The Gl...

One of my favorite places to hang out while growing up was The Creek. It wasn’t until much later that I learned the creek was called Las Trampas Creek. Its source starts in Lafayette where Happy Valley Creek, Lafayette Creek, and Old Jonas Creek come together. The creek then travels east towards the city of Walnut Creek until it joins the San Ramon Creek to form Walnut Creek. Some parts of the creek have been channeled in downtown Walnut Creek, some parts have been “tamed” with small dams and concrete banks (riprap), and some parts still appear natural, though watershed maps indicate our area was earth constructed. To us, the creek upstream from the dam was pretty wild with tall trees and deep pools. At the end of our street, Paulson Lane, there was a small diversion dam. In the winter, water flowed over the dam and spilled into a widen plain. In the summer, only a small portion flowed through openings below the top of the dam. The dam top was wide enough that we could walk across. W...

Calling all Genea-Musings Fans: It's  Saturday Night  again - Time for some more  Genealogy Fun!! Here is this week’s assignment from Randy Seaver of Genea-Musing : 1)  Have you done an autosomal DNA test?  If so, which testing company/ies?   2)  Of your Top 10 DNA matches on any site, how many are a known relative, and are they in your family tree?  No names...but give a known relationship if possible. 3)  Tell us about it in your own blog post, in a comment to this post, or in a Facebook Status post.  Please leave a link in a comment to this post . Here's mine. I have listed only those I knew who they are: At Ancestry, I have 36,703 matches, many of which I have not even investigated. I do have close matches: Daughter, 3484 cM Brother, 2666 cM First cousin, once removed, paternal side, 507 cM First cousin, once removed, maternal side, 429 cM First cousin, once removed, maternal side, 364 cM First cousi...

I have completed fifty-eight (58) weeks of semi- “lock down” due to Covid-19. This past week, I taught at the Adult School, volunteered at the History Center, went to the meadow for phenology, and picked up tea lattes at Starbucks twice. Other than that, I stayed home and worked on the computer, writing lessons and Zoom practicing for our model railroad convention on Saturday. Genealogy Blog Writing : Week 16: DNA—What I’ve Done and Not Yet Done I have not solved any genealogical problems using DNA but have tested several people. Saturday Night Genealogy Fun – Tell Us About One of Your Elusive Ancestors . I wrote about Benjamin W. Jones of Rankin Co, Mississippi. I know nothing of his origins except he was born about 1822 in Virginia. My goal is to research the other Jones men in the county and see if I find a connection. O nline Study Groups & Meetings Attended:  Jacqueline & I met on Tuesday and talked about citations and three of the Amigos met on Wednesday a...

Calling all Genea-Musings Fans: It's  Saturday Night  again - Time for some more  Genealogy Fun!! Here is our assignment from Randy Seaver of Genea-Musing : 1)  We all have "elusive ancestors" that we cannot find a name for, or one that absolutely eludes us, but we know some details about their spouse and/or children. 2)  Tell us about one of them - how are you related?  What do you know about them? Where did they live? etc. 3)  Tell us about it in your own blog post, in a comment to this post, or in a Facebook Status post.  Please leave a link in a comment to this post. Here’s mine: I do not know the parents of my 3x-great-grandfather, Benjamin W. Jones, who married Amanda A. Haley 26 Jun 1845 in Rankin County, Mississippi. [1] Census records in Rankin County show Benjamin was born in Virginia about 1822. [2] He first appeared in Rankin County in the 1845 state census and 1845 tax list. These show Benjamin as a sing...

I have not solved any genealogical mysteries with DNA (yet). I do have burning questions that I would love to answer, but haven’t found the right people to test. Who Has Tested I have tested at Ancestry, 23andMe, and Living DNA. I have uploaded my Ancestry DNA to FamilyTree DNA and MyHeritage. So, I feel I’m doing the right thing and are prepared to solved problems. I have asked some family members to test. My maternal grandmother first tested mitochondria DNA at FamilyTree DNA when that was the only test available for women. Later, when autosomal was available, we upgraded to that test. Here is the projected ancestry for my grandmother, which agrees with what I have researched so far. Her ancestry is deep in the South and I haven't yet found an immigrant except on the Lancaster line. I also asked my paternal aunt to test the mitochondria DNA at Family Tree DNA and, when available, we upgraded with the autosomal test. Having both my maternal grandmother and paternal aunt teste...

I have completed fifty-seven (57) weeks of semi- “lock down” due to Covid-19. This past week, I taught at the Adult School, volunteered at the History Center, went to the meadow for phenology, and picked up tea lattes at Starbucks twice. I also got a haircut—wasn’t so bad, just the one stylist there. I also rode my bike downtown with my husband. I went to my bank to deposit some checks and he went to both the post office and our bank. Genealogy Blog Writing : Week 15: Brick Wall—Tools to Help Solve Tough Problems I gave a few tips with examples that have helped me with research brick walls. Saturday Night Genealogy Fun – My Best Genealogy Vacation . I wrote about the trip I took with my daughters to Idaho, Wyoming and Montana with side trips to conduct some genealogy research. O nline Study Groups & Meetings Attended:  I met with Jacqueline on Tuesday, Cert Discussion Group and Amigos on Wednesday, and Cert Peer group on Friday. I attended the CCCHS board meeting on...