Michael John Neill's Genealogy Website
I’ve used the dots to help with some visual sorting of my DNA matches at AncestryDNA. Various shades of yellow/red/orange were used to “tag” shared matches I had with matches who were known descendants of John Neill of Drumachose Parish, County Derry, Ireland. A match having more dots does not mean that match is more […]
Agricultural census schedules are not always just about farming. They can also provide clues to what is in the population schedules as well. Finding Tamme Tammen in the 1885 population schedules for the Nebraska State Census proved to be somewhat difficult. Finding him in the agricultural census schedules (shown on the left hand side in […]
November 10th was always the day. The one day a year my great-grandparents, Mimka and Tjode (Goldenstein) Habben were the same age. Otherwise Mimka was one year older than Tjode. Mimka was born 11 November 1881 in Prairie Township, Hancock County, Illinois. Tjode was born on 10 November 1882 in Dawson County, Nebraska. The couple […]
I’m working on a man I’ll call Bubba Bartels who was born in the later 18th century in Massachusetts, spent most of his adult life in Vermont, and may have lived in a few other locations. Bubba’s in the big tree at FamilySearcch. That tree indicates that this Bubba died in Upcounty County, New York, […]
Apparently the “Big Tree” at AncestryDNA has pulled information from some interesting submissions for my Neill family. There are basically two problems with what’s in the “Big Tree:” John Neill (1774-1849) has left no documentary evidence to suggest he is the father of John Neill (my 3rd great-grandfather as shown in the illustration). The John […]
This complaint runs around the internet like the proverbial chicken with its head cut off. But it’s worth noting what can be stolen and what cannot as well as what can be copyrighted and what cannot. Facts cannot be copyrighted. I may spend a small fortune to discover that Johann George Trautvetter who was born […]
There’s a school of thought that says one should never share misconceptions or mistakes that one makes. I don’t attend that school. It seems to me that it’s instructive to share those mistakes or conclusions made to quickly to help others to not make them. Writing about those mistakes also helps me personally as it […]
We’ve discussed the Revolutionary War pension file of Elam/Alam Blaine before, but the testimony of Abraham Wickizer/Wickiser makes several key points about indirect proof and determining “why” that I thought I would discuss it again. [begin transcription]Also Abraham Wickiser of lawful age being first duly sworn by me as herein after certified deposes & says […]
