Six degrees of separation is the theory
that everyone and everything is six or fewer steps away, by way of
introduction, from any other person in the world, so that a chain of "a friend of a friend" statements can be made to connect any two people in a maximum of six steps.
I doubt that anyone who isn't interested in genealogy or family history reads my blog. But just in case, have you ever noticed someone on Facebook is friends with one of your friends and you have no idea how they know each other? If you haven't noticed, try lurking some of your friends list. You may be surprised at what you find.
Anyone over the age of 25 will tell you it is a different world than the one we were born into. Texting. Instagram. Bluetooth. Facebook. Technology connects us in a way that we never imagined. As much as it has connected us, it has changed us. The good, the bad and the ugly is instantly at our fingertips. We see posts asking for prayers, protesting one thing or another, touting political ideals. We laugh, we cry, and we get angry. Yet as connected as we are, we are disconnected from human conversation and contact. Rarely do we, I think, stop and look around and realize what a small world we live in.
Last week I got a text on my phone asking "how are you related to my husband?" In just a few minutes I found out that my charge nurse's husband is my fifth cousin. "Wow, isn't that weird" she said. "No, nothing surprises me anymore when it comes to genealogy" I replied.
I have been corresponding on the computer via email, mail groups, message boards and now Facebook for the last 16 years. My genealogy buddies, family really, include people I have known for 16 years to people I "met" last week. Sometimes I have to ask, remind me again how we connect, because even before Facebook notifications flooded my inbox, I got a lot of email.
Here are just a few of those "six degrees" that have popped up. HF one of my long time maternal line correspondents was listed on the DNA matches of two of my Dad's Hardy cousins. HHA not only went to high school with my father's older Barnes cousins, but tonight she discovered that her lifetime best friend is her second cousin, and that one of the other Hardy testers great grandma was her grandma's sister. SNV discovered not just her new cousins by DNA, but that one of our Pyburn cousins through her grandmother is also a cousin through her grandfather. The former archivist of the diocese of Mobile was related to two of the families that married into my line sharing mutual relatives with not just me and my father, but with my mother's cousins as well.
When I talk to anyone about my Panhandle family connections, it almost always ends up being a multiple connection. In an area that is not small by any accounts, I often say I am related to half the county. Which is why CRB and SFM went to high school together and never knew they were 3rd cousins, or why RFM a younger sister of SFM went to school with my cousins and never knew they were related. Deep roots make for deep connections. And don't even get me started on the Choctaw families.
My mother and daughter, heck, my family roll their eyes and I am sure think I am crazy when it comes to genealogy. They don't get it, it's just not their thing, and they think that I spend far too much time looking into the past. To the rest of the world, a second cousin isn't really a cousin, so why am I worried about third, fourth and fifth cousins, not to mention those removed.
Maybe they are right, but let me tell you what genealogy has taught me.
In a world that seems more dangerous, and sometimes frightening, finding connections whether on paper in genealogy or by identifying DNA lets me know how small the world is. It takes this big bad world and makes it smaller because it opens up the realization at how interconnected we are. C, T, A, G the abbreviations for four nucleotides that make up every cell arrange and they connect us. We carry bits and pieces of our past with us, and in us, and what is really cool, is our friend, our neighbor, our coworker just may carry that same bit in them.
Suddenly the world isn't so big and scary after all.
Friday, October 9, 2015
Wednesday, October 7, 2015
Found and Confirmed Robert H. Hardy
Several years ago I began a correspondence with descendants of a Robert Hardy who had a family in Biloxi, Mississippi. I was sure because he named his son Sheppard Hardy that this Robert Hardy was the same as the Robert Hardy who was my ancestor's brother. I was also sure that this Robert Hardy was the father of George Gardner Hardy, a son of one of my Pyburn relatives. This week DNA proved that was indeed true. I would like to take the time to highlight what we know about Robert Hardy.
Robert H. Hardy was born about 1847 in Northern Santa Rosa County. From all appearances the family lived east of the Coonhill area, likely near to Munson. He was the second of three sons born to Gardner Hardy and his wife Harriet. We find Robert on the 1850 census with his parents and in 1860 he is living with his mother.
Like his brother, Robert enlisted in the Civil War. Unlike his brother though, Robert is shown on rolls for both sides. He is shown as age 18 enlisting for the Union on March 23, 1864. The record states he was born in Santa Rosa County, that he was 5 foot 3, had grey eyes and light hair and was fair complected. He was a bugler in company B of the 1st infantry. He served until May 30, 1865 where he was listed as deserting. He was tried for stealing a horse and equipment and imprisoned in Fort Pickens on Aug 23, 1865 from which he escaped on September 12, 1865. What Robert didn't tell them was that he had already served for the Confederacy. On July 6, 1863 he enlisted in the 6th regiment of the Alabama Calvary. Only one muster roll is present for October 1863 where he is listed as present and from Santa Rosa County, Florida. Before that he enlisted alongside his brother in a unit that was 6th Infantry, Norwoods Battalion which would become the 55th Alabama infantry and then would be known as Co E of the 42nd Tennessee Infantry on September 11, 1861. He was discharged for being underage on January 10, 1862. His brother William Shepard Hardy would go on to the Co C of the 40th Tennessee Infantry also known as the 5th confederate Volunteers and would be captured in 1862 and sent to Island no. 9.
The 1867 census shows Robert Hardy in Santa Rosa with a wife, presumably it is Elizabeth Fleming, a daughter of George Andrew Fleming and his wife Nicy Pyburn as a son George Gardner Hardy was born to the couple on July 4, 1868. George had a sister. Lena D. Hardy born in 1872. Within 2 years though Robert Hardy had left Elizabeth and was married to or living with Laura Ovean Hawkins.
This begins a period where we don't find Robert in records. In fact, he is never again in a census. It is only from newspaper articles from Biloxi that we find he was arrested and went to prison in 1898 for molesting his daughter Balma Agnes Della Hardy who was then 16. I did find a filing of habeus corpus in Baldwin county probate records from 1896 involving Robert and his sons over an arrest for a stolen wagon. This was not the first time Robert had been involved with the law if you believe even part of what R.W. Brooks wrote of him in 1931. *article found here
"Bob Hardy was one of the toughest characters I ever knew. He could drink more whiskey and carry it, talk bigger, and swear the loudest, and tell more smutty yarns than any man Ie ver came in contact with. He was born and reared in Santa Rosa County, Florida and his holding out place was where the beautiful town of Jay is now located. Stealing hogs was most of his business and patronizing saloons kept him busy."
Now Mr. Brooks claimed Bob was hung in Texas, but we know he wasn't. Whether he died in prison, for natural or unnatural causes, his family has him listed as dying on December 22, 1901. As late as 1899 I found an article indicating he was in prison, but I was unable to find him in the census of 1900. Given the escapades his son's had with the law, I would say Robert Hardy probably taught them well, likely what he learned from his father, Gardner who was accused of an attempt to commit murder in 1843. Gardner never stood trial though, he left the state with his family and hid out in Alabama for a few years before moving to Santa Rosa County.
Robert Hardy and his wife Laura Hawkins had the following children, Willie H Hardy, Shepard A Hardy, James Oscar Hardy, Balma Agnes Della Hardy, Walter Henry Hardy, Robert Hardy, Charles Austin Hardy, Albert E. Hardy and Joseph Hardy. Neither the descendants of George Gardner or Robert's second family ever knew about the other. Where George lived in northern Escambia County, the second family resided in Mississipi near Biloxi, New Orleans and Mobile.
One of Robert's descendants sent me these pictures several years ago. They aren't labeled, but they are of the Hardy boys and their sister.
Robert H. Hardy was born about 1847 in Northern Santa Rosa County. From all appearances the family lived east of the Coonhill area, likely near to Munson. He was the second of three sons born to Gardner Hardy and his wife Harriet. We find Robert on the 1850 census with his parents and in 1860 he is living with his mother.
Like his brother, Robert enlisted in the Civil War. Unlike his brother though, Robert is shown on rolls for both sides. He is shown as age 18 enlisting for the Union on March 23, 1864. The record states he was born in Santa Rosa County, that he was 5 foot 3, had grey eyes and light hair and was fair complected. He was a bugler in company B of the 1st infantry. He served until May 30, 1865 where he was listed as deserting. He was tried for stealing a horse and equipment and imprisoned in Fort Pickens on Aug 23, 1865 from which he escaped on September 12, 1865. What Robert didn't tell them was that he had already served for the Confederacy. On July 6, 1863 he enlisted in the 6th regiment of the Alabama Calvary. Only one muster roll is present for October 1863 where he is listed as present and from Santa Rosa County, Florida. Before that he enlisted alongside his brother in a unit that was 6th Infantry, Norwoods Battalion which would become the 55th Alabama infantry and then would be known as Co E of the 42nd Tennessee Infantry on September 11, 1861. He was discharged for being underage on January 10, 1862. His brother William Shepard Hardy would go on to the Co C of the 40th Tennessee Infantry also known as the 5th confederate Volunteers and would be captured in 1862 and sent to Island no. 9.
The 1867 census shows Robert Hardy in Santa Rosa with a wife, presumably it is Elizabeth Fleming, a daughter of George Andrew Fleming and his wife Nicy Pyburn as a son George Gardner Hardy was born to the couple on July 4, 1868. George had a sister. Lena D. Hardy born in 1872. Within 2 years though Robert Hardy had left Elizabeth and was married to or living with Laura Ovean Hawkins.
This begins a period where we don't find Robert in records. In fact, he is never again in a census. It is only from newspaper articles from Biloxi that we find he was arrested and went to prison in 1898 for molesting his daughter Balma Agnes Della Hardy who was then 16. I did find a filing of habeus corpus in Baldwin county probate records from 1896 involving Robert and his sons over an arrest for a stolen wagon. This was not the first time Robert had been involved with the law if you believe even part of what R.W. Brooks wrote of him in 1931. *article found here
"Bob Hardy was one of the toughest characters I ever knew. He could drink more whiskey and carry it, talk bigger, and swear the loudest, and tell more smutty yarns than any man Ie ver came in contact with. He was born and reared in Santa Rosa County, Florida and his holding out place was where the beautiful town of Jay is now located. Stealing hogs was most of his business and patronizing saloons kept him busy."
Now Mr. Brooks claimed Bob was hung in Texas, but we know he wasn't. Whether he died in prison, for natural or unnatural causes, his family has him listed as dying on December 22, 1901. As late as 1899 I found an article indicating he was in prison, but I was unable to find him in the census of 1900. Given the escapades his son's had with the law, I would say Robert Hardy probably taught them well, likely what he learned from his father, Gardner who was accused of an attempt to commit murder in 1843. Gardner never stood trial though, he left the state with his family and hid out in Alabama for a few years before moving to Santa Rosa County.
Robert Hardy and his wife Laura Hawkins had the following children, Willie H Hardy, Shepard A Hardy, James Oscar Hardy, Balma Agnes Della Hardy, Walter Henry Hardy, Robert Hardy, Charles Austin Hardy, Albert E. Hardy and Joseph Hardy. Neither the descendants of George Gardner or Robert's second family ever knew about the other. Where George lived in northern Escambia County, the second family resided in Mississipi near Biloxi, New Orleans and Mobile.
One of Robert's descendants sent me these pictures several years ago. They aren't labeled, but they are of the Hardy boys and their sister.
Tuesday, October 6, 2015
Wanted information on Elijah M. McCurdy
This is Elijah M. McCurdy. He is one of the most difficult dead ends we have . If you are a McCurdy researcher, and you have tested DNA we have over 14 descendants and counting who have tested. We really want to link Elijah to his family.
image colorized from tintype by Margaret Harkness
Elijah M. McCurdy was born in 1793. According to his enlistment in the Army in 1813 he was born in Abbeville, SC. On his pension he states it was in Chester, SC. We have been unable to find a family in South Carolina in which he fits. I have a theory that his father had died by 1800 and his mother had remarried.
Elijah enlisted in the Army November 22, 1813 at Chester, South Carolina. He was discharged from Fort Marks, Florida on December 5, 1818. He was 5 foot 10 with dark hair and blue eyes. His occupation was listed as a farmer.
Elijah married Martha "Mattie" Bowen the daughter of American Revolutionary War vet Joel Bowen in March 1819. He is found on the Spanish Census of Pensacola in 1820 and is listed in the American State Papers as a resident there in 1821. Along with Elijah there is a William H. McCurdy, who was born in 1786. We think that William is his brother.
Elijah and Martha Bowen had two children, Joseph C. McCurdy and Mary Anna McCurdy (on her marriage record only she's listed as Mary). The family lived near the state line between Santa Rosa County, Florida and Conecuh County, Alabama (which would become Escambia many years later.).
We think that Nancy who married Joshua Bowen, Mattie's brother may be a sibling of Elijah and William H. McCurdy because in 1870 she is living with Thomas Sunday and his wife Anna McCurdy.
In 1830 we do not find Elijah as a head of household. It does appear that he could be in the household of Joshua Bowen. William H. McCurdy is listed as living in Conecuh county with a female child 5-10 who is most likely Abasheba McCurdy who married Reuben Ard. For years everyone thought she was Elijah's daughter and that Anna was William's. Death records for Abasheba name her father as William though, and DNA seems to support that Anna was Elijah's daughter.
By September 18, 1831, Martha had died and Elijah married Barsheba or Barbara Sunday whose name is listed as Sundike on her marriage. She was the daughter of John Sunday and Barsheba Collins. Though Elijah had received a bounty land warrant, he doesn't ever appear to be prosperous. His father in law on the other hand owned several slaves. About 1830 he began a relationship with one of them, a slave woman named Ginny whom he later freed along with her children.
John Sunday was murdered by his slave Adam in 1839 under questionable circumstances (a Sunday descendant suggests that he was put up to it by Elijah or W. "Pink" Owens.) Both Elijah and Pink Owens were the administrators for his estate, which I have still not seen. From the census of 1840 it appears that Elijah has some of the younger Sunday children in his home, he is found in Conecuh County, Alabama, living next door to Cleopatra Brewer Jones and her husband Willis Jones.
I had always thought he had lived nearer to Coon Hill, but now I am not so sure. I think he actually resided very near the state line either north of Jay or northwest of Jay, since aside from his son Joseph all the family resides near Century, Florida. The 1850 census shows Elijah in Santa Rosa County, Florida with his wife Barbara, sons George W., John, Elijah, Francis and Thomas, and daughters Charlotte, Barbara, Cornelia, Julie Ann and Elizabeth.
In 1860 John McCurdy died, as he is found in the mortality schedule for the 1860 census, and son Elijah died sometime before the 1860 census. In 1860 Elijah is again living in Santa Rosa County, Florida. He is found with the following family wife Barbara, and children Marion F (Francis), Thomas J., Cornelia, Julia Ann, Elizabeth, William and Reuben. For some reason, though we have DNA to prove it, his daughter Mary Evaline is not found in his home. Elijah's sons Joseph, Francis, George, and Thomas all enlisted in the civil war. Son William claimed, and received a pension for service in the local home guard. Sadly his sons Joseph and Thomas perished in the war and son George was wounded severely.
The 1867 state census of Santa Rosa County, Florida gives us the following information one male over 21, 2 males under 21 (William M. and Reuben), and two females under 18. Note there is no female over 18 indicating Barbara had died. Elijah isn't found in the 1870 census, but we know that portions of Santa Rosa county aren't enumerated that year (and some also in 1880). The next record we find for him is his pension for service in the war of 1812. It is from this record we get his death date of Feb 22, 1876. His son Francis was his executor. If he has an estate, I haven't been able to locate it.
There are several rumors that have been floating around for decades. One is that he was the guardian of the 13 year old Barbara and sneaked off to marry her and left his first wife in Alabama. At this point, I think this is entirely untrue. He was much older than Barbara, but there was no reason her father wouldn't have custody of her, she was older than stated, and it really does appear that Mattie had died. Another is that he lost his eye in the Indian Wars. Except he's not listed on any roster in the Indian wars. I am not sure if he was wounded during the war of 1812, but I think losing an eye even then would have gotten you discharged.
One researcher had a list of names for siblings, and stated they all lived nearby. Well, not only have we never found them in any records by those names (like Bruce) but only one sibling seems apparent. William H Mccurdy is in Sumter County, Alabama in 1840 and then he dies. It is about that time that his daughter marries Reuben Ard.
Latest gleanings from DNA
The first three of my four tests from ancestry DNA resulted today. Was happy to see that my Dad's second cousin once removed matched him so well (for a total of 105.6 cM). Looking at her matches I found one of the things that I had hoped. We confirmed that Robert Hardy who died in Biloxi, Mississippi and had a son named Shephard Hardy was the same Robert Hardy who is a brother of William Shepard Hardy Sr and is also the father of George Gardner Hardy.
Have found several matches for Dad now with Daniel Brunson and Mary Platt, but none yet for the Franklin/Brunson line. The Merrill's haven't been an issue at all. Makes me wonder if we have a non parental event.
Working on my cousin's ancestry results to contact the multiple McCurdy's they match. Looks like we can connect Elijah by DNA to the five brothers, just not on paper.
Any and all McCurdy's or Brunson's who have tested, Dad's kit is on gedmatch and I would love to see if we can make a connection to one of the cousins.
On my mom's side, it is more than apparent that Doswell Roger's wife is a Blevins based on the 11th chromosomal matches with both Rogers and Blevin's descendants. However, my mother has several matches with another Wallen family group, who had ydna connection to Elisha Wallen, but not a trail to connect him. Funny part is the matches on one chromosome, the 12th, I know relate to Susanna rumored to be Shue and of Anderson descent by x chromosome. (Mom matches same family members here and on the x chromosome). So I got to thinking, and looking. It appears that Thomas Wallen born 1818 in Virginia and died in Texas, whose wife was Nancy Pollock just may be the son I could not identify in the household of James Wallen and the aforementioned Susannah. To top it off, Thomas Wallen is living in Carroll County, Georgia in 1844 along with Edley H. Rogers and Henry Rogers and the family of Louisa Rogers Davis, his assumed half siblings. My mother is matching descendants of Thomas through his son James Bowden Wallen and Tennessee Scot at the 3-4th degree level.
Been looking at my mom's early colonial roots in Massachusetts as well. I had no idea her family was so entwined in the early colonial period. Matches for these families are appearing larger as well.
Taking a look at my parents grandparents here is where we stand.
Dad's Paternal
John Lunsford Barnes - we have had one match from a sibling and one from the Owens family.
Margaret Eleanor Baker- several from Abner Baker's immediate family but none thus far from Bakers in SC or from the Copelands or the Vaughan (and their related families).
Jacob Barnett Franklin- No matches to the Franklin/Brunson side at all, though we do have matches to the Merrill family. Makes me wonder if he;s a non parental event.
Amanda Octavia Thomas- several from her siblings or siblings of her mother Sarah Martha Brunson. No matches yet on the Thomas side.
Dad does share a lot of DNA with a double cousin who shares all four of these ancestors. I haven't been able to identify the majority of those segments though.
Dad's Maternal
William Shepard Hardy Jr.- no matches, that's why I tested the three Hardy's.
Talula Johnson- no matches, though I found another Hardy who tested from this line on my ancestry tests, hopefully she will do gedmatch.
Archibald Pyburn- no matches at all on the Pyburn but some on the Chitty, which is why I tested the two Pyburn/Hardy's. One only matches on the Hardy side though. The other has multiple segments I hope to identify.
Plina McCurdy- we have tons of matches on Plina's McCurdy/Sunday side but have been unable to identify the Beck DNA shared with some of them.
Dad shares almost as much DNA with his second cousin as he does with his double cousin. Which means I have 8 segments that can come from either the Hardy or Pyburn lines. Since it just resulted today, it is too soon to tell.
Mom's Paternal
John S. Hager - several matches to his sister's line and a few I know are to the Burnett family but none to further back Hager's.
Martha Collins- matches to the Collin line and only one to the Mangum.
Jason Adams - we have identified close and distant Rogers matches but aside from clues on Susannah (rumored to be Shue), we have had no breakthrough on the Adams or other Rodgers lines.
Margaret Trahern- we have had four small Choctaw only matches. Only one can be traced on paper and it is appropriate for the relationship.
To help with these matches I have tested my mother's half first cousin (Hager/Collins) and my grandfather's first cousin (Adams/Trahern).
Mom's Maternal
Francis Marion Hinds- we have had three or four of his colonial lines show up as results, much higher of course than normal.
Emma Paxton- nothing other than a descendant of her and her husband.
George Timmins- matches to his brother and his son's lines only.
Sarah Brampton- none have been identified.
Again, mom shares larger amounts of DNA with matches who are close (from the Timmins and Hinds lines) and from her colonial lines. Identifying other matches though to these has been problematic.
Have found several matches for Dad now with Daniel Brunson and Mary Platt, but none yet for the Franklin/Brunson line. The Merrill's haven't been an issue at all. Makes me wonder if we have a non parental event.
Working on my cousin's ancestry results to contact the multiple McCurdy's they match. Looks like we can connect Elijah by DNA to the five brothers, just not on paper.
Any and all McCurdy's or Brunson's who have tested, Dad's kit is on gedmatch and I would love to see if we can make a connection to one of the cousins.
On my mom's side, it is more than apparent that Doswell Roger's wife is a Blevins based on the 11th chromosomal matches with both Rogers and Blevin's descendants. However, my mother has several matches with another Wallen family group, who had ydna connection to Elisha Wallen, but not a trail to connect him. Funny part is the matches on one chromosome, the 12th, I know relate to Susanna rumored to be Shue and of Anderson descent by x chromosome. (Mom matches same family members here and on the x chromosome). So I got to thinking, and looking. It appears that Thomas Wallen born 1818 in Virginia and died in Texas, whose wife was Nancy Pollock just may be the son I could not identify in the household of James Wallen and the aforementioned Susannah. To top it off, Thomas Wallen is living in Carroll County, Georgia in 1844 along with Edley H. Rogers and Henry Rogers and the family of Louisa Rogers Davis, his assumed half siblings. My mother is matching descendants of Thomas through his son James Bowden Wallen and Tennessee Scot at the 3-4th degree level.
Been looking at my mom's early colonial roots in Massachusetts as well. I had no idea her family was so entwined in the early colonial period. Matches for these families are appearing larger as well.
Taking a look at my parents grandparents here is where we stand.
Dad's Paternal
John Lunsford Barnes - we have had one match from a sibling and one from the Owens family.
Margaret Eleanor Baker- several from Abner Baker's immediate family but none thus far from Bakers in SC or from the Copelands or the Vaughan (and their related families).
Jacob Barnett Franklin- No matches to the Franklin/Brunson side at all, though we do have matches to the Merrill family. Makes me wonder if he;s a non parental event.
Amanda Octavia Thomas- several from her siblings or siblings of her mother Sarah Martha Brunson. No matches yet on the Thomas side.
Dad does share a lot of DNA with a double cousin who shares all four of these ancestors. I haven't been able to identify the majority of those segments though.
Dad's Maternal
William Shepard Hardy Jr.- no matches, that's why I tested the three Hardy's.
Talula Johnson- no matches, though I found another Hardy who tested from this line on my ancestry tests, hopefully she will do gedmatch.
Archibald Pyburn- no matches at all on the Pyburn but some on the Chitty, which is why I tested the two Pyburn/Hardy's. One only matches on the Hardy side though. The other has multiple segments I hope to identify.
Plina McCurdy- we have tons of matches on Plina's McCurdy/Sunday side but have been unable to identify the Beck DNA shared with some of them.
Dad shares almost as much DNA with his second cousin as he does with his double cousin. Which means I have 8 segments that can come from either the Hardy or Pyburn lines. Since it just resulted today, it is too soon to tell.
Mom's Paternal
John S. Hager - several matches to his sister's line and a few I know are to the Burnett family but none to further back Hager's.
Martha Collins- matches to the Collin line and only one to the Mangum.
Jason Adams - we have identified close and distant Rogers matches but aside from clues on Susannah (rumored to be Shue), we have had no breakthrough on the Adams or other Rodgers lines.
Margaret Trahern- we have had four small Choctaw only matches. Only one can be traced on paper and it is appropriate for the relationship.
To help with these matches I have tested my mother's half first cousin (Hager/Collins) and my grandfather's first cousin (Adams/Trahern).
Mom's Maternal
Francis Marion Hinds- we have had three or four of his colonial lines show up as results, much higher of course than normal.
Emma Paxton- nothing other than a descendant of her and her husband.
George Timmins- matches to his brother and his son's lines only.
Sarah Brampton- none have been identified.
Again, mom shares larger amounts of DNA with matches who are close (from the Timmins and Hinds lines) and from her colonial lines. Identifying other matches though to these has been problematic.
Thursday, September 17, 2015
A response to The View #nursesunite
So why am I upset over the View co-hosts comment?
Miss Colorado's choice for the talent competition was unique. She stood up and told the world about being a nurse. In a world that values the outside, in a pageant that for all points and appearances values the outside, she spoke of what is inside. She spoke of what every nurse or health professional knows. The value of what we do. We all have that one patient or several patients we won't forget.
The truth is, unless you are welcoming a baby into this world, chances are, you don't want to see us. We take care of you when you are sick, injured, and dying, situations that everyone pretty much doesn't want to have. You don't want to see me walking in your room in my scrubs with a stethoscope. I know that, we all, nurses, respiratory therapists, doctors, physical therapists, nursing assistants know this.
When you see us you are vulnerable. Your world is not your own, you are lacking control over things that no one wants to lack control over. You are in pain. You are scared. You feel like crap. Worse of all, you are often dependent on your healthcare team to perform the most basic functions. Who wants to have to ask for help to use the bathroom for Christ sakes?
We know this. And if we are good at our job, we will make it as easy as it can be, and it is not easy to be a patient. But it is even harder to be a nurse. It's hard to watch someone die. It's hard to break ribs doing CPR. It's hard to fight a losing battle. And we all have those days when that is what we are doing.
We may pour all our energy into doing everything we can do to keep someone alive, knowing that it is a futile battle. But still we do it. We do it because it's more than just our job. It's part of who we are. When I was in the Marines, we said "once a Marine always a Marine." Being a nurse is just like that. It forever changes you.
Miss Colorado did what we want every Miss America contestant to do, she stood up, and was a role model. A positive role model. Her talent performance did not deserve ridicule. There was nothing ridiculous about it. It was touching, it was moving. So when you bashed her for performing it, of course you angered 3 million nurses. Your apologies fell flat. I hope you realize that. You have done nothing but antagonize us even more. One day, you will see a nurse walking into a room where you or a loved one needs their care. And you will be grateful that they are there. But you will not, I think, ever understand what it is you did wrong.
Miss Colorado's choice for the talent competition was unique. She stood up and told the world about being a nurse. In a world that values the outside, in a pageant that for all points and appearances values the outside, she spoke of what is inside. She spoke of what every nurse or health professional knows. The value of what we do. We all have that one patient or several patients we won't forget.
The truth is, unless you are welcoming a baby into this world, chances are, you don't want to see us. We take care of you when you are sick, injured, and dying, situations that everyone pretty much doesn't want to have. You don't want to see me walking in your room in my scrubs with a stethoscope. I know that, we all, nurses, respiratory therapists, doctors, physical therapists, nursing assistants know this.
When you see us you are vulnerable. Your world is not your own, you are lacking control over things that no one wants to lack control over. You are in pain. You are scared. You feel like crap. Worse of all, you are often dependent on your healthcare team to perform the most basic functions. Who wants to have to ask for help to use the bathroom for Christ sakes?
We know this. And if we are good at our job, we will make it as easy as it can be, and it is not easy to be a patient. But it is even harder to be a nurse. It's hard to watch someone die. It's hard to break ribs doing CPR. It's hard to fight a losing battle. And we all have those days when that is what we are doing.
We may pour all our energy into doing everything we can do to keep someone alive, knowing that it is a futile battle. But still we do it. We do it because it's more than just our job. It's part of who we are. When I was in the Marines, we said "once a Marine always a Marine." Being a nurse is just like that. It forever changes you.
Miss Colorado did what we want every Miss America contestant to do, she stood up, and was a role model. A positive role model. Her talent performance did not deserve ridicule. There was nothing ridiculous about it. It was touching, it was moving. So when you bashed her for performing it, of course you angered 3 million nurses. Your apologies fell flat. I hope you realize that. You have done nothing but antagonize us even more. One day, you will see a nurse walking into a room where you or a loved one needs their care. And you will be grateful that they are there. But you will not, I think, ever understand what it is you did wrong.
Thursday, September 3, 2015
So how much DNA do I get from my 5th great grandfather anyway?
Autosomal DNA is supposed to, unlike X chromosomal DNA be passed down evenly. I say supposed to because some of my mom's results sure have me wondering when I get much larger than normal matches that go back to a 6th great grandfather.
So according to all the tables it should go roughly like this.
You get 50 percent DNA from each parent, made up of 25 percent DNA from each grandparent.
That means that each great grandparent contributes 12.5 percent to your DNA.
Each 2nd great grandparent contributes 6.25 percent to your DNA.
Each 3rd great grandparent contributes 3.125 percent to your DNA.
Each 4th great grandparent contributes 1.5625 percent to your DNA.
Each 5th great grandparent contributes 0.78125 percent to your DNA.
Each 6th great grandparent contributes 0.390625 percent to your DNA.
Each 7th great grandparent contributes 0.1953125 percent to your DNA.
And so on.
We measure matches in genetic distance (cM's) and the number of SNPs they contain. To be valid a match should contain 700 snps and be at least 7 cM long. Some of us when we are working with a known match will consider smaller matches (for me it's 5-7 cM if the number of SNP's remains high) but the odds of a match being IBS (identical by segment) is much greater than it being IBD (identical by descent). What is the difference? IBS is random and IBD is passed down.
They also have tables you can view online that give you the amount of DNA on average shared between different relatives in both percent and in cM's. Such as this one here.
According to this chart a sixth cousin on average would share 0.0122 percent of their DNA.
Observing my mother's matches, because most of my Dad's larger matches have double connections I have observed the following. She shares 0.5 percent more with her one second cousin once removed. The chart states third cousins share 0.78 percent on average, but mom's ranges go from 1.7-1.9 percent and her second cousin once removed is 2.05 percent shared. Her 3rd cousins once removed range from 0.66 percent to 1.71 percent compared to the average of 0.39 percent. Her two second twice removed matches of 0.62 percent is slightly lower than the expected 0.78 percent. She shares a whopping 0.56 percent with a Colonial 6th cousin yet only 0.52 percent with another third cousin once removed. Oddly enough on this family line, her half first cousin shares much larger matches and has smaller ones on my mother's larger ones. She also shares a whopping 0.38 percent with her 5th cousin on the 11th (see blog) with ranges on that particular match on the larger matches being from 0.38- 1.0 percent DNA that is no closer than her 6th grandfather.
So what am I implying?
I am implying that we don't get exactly half of each grandparent's DNA. That just like X DNA it mixed together on each chromosome so that it is possible to share almost 1 percent DNA with a 6th cousin that shares only one set of MCA. (which according to how DNA is passed down is impossible). It doesn't mean you don't get a bit of DNA from each line, you just get uneven bits of DNA I think, which is why mom's Collins matches are small and her Hager matches are larger for her and vice versa for her Hager cousin.
No proof, just my observations, and maybe some food for thought.
So according to all the tables it should go roughly like this.
You get 50 percent DNA from each parent, made up of 25 percent DNA from each grandparent.
That means that each great grandparent contributes 12.5 percent to your DNA.
Each 2nd great grandparent contributes 6.25 percent to your DNA.
Each 3rd great grandparent contributes 3.125 percent to your DNA.
Each 4th great grandparent contributes 1.5625 percent to your DNA.
Each 5th great grandparent contributes 0.78125 percent to your DNA.
Each 6th great grandparent contributes 0.390625 percent to your DNA.
Each 7th great grandparent contributes 0.1953125 percent to your DNA.
And so on.
We measure matches in genetic distance (cM's) and the number of SNPs they contain. To be valid a match should contain 700 snps and be at least 7 cM long. Some of us when we are working with a known match will consider smaller matches (for me it's 5-7 cM if the number of SNP's remains high) but the odds of a match being IBS (identical by segment) is much greater than it being IBD (identical by descent). What is the difference? IBS is random and IBD is passed down.
They also have tables you can view online that give you the amount of DNA on average shared between different relatives in both percent and in cM's. Such as this one here.
According to this chart a sixth cousin on average would share 0.0122 percent of their DNA.
Observing my mother's matches, because most of my Dad's larger matches have double connections I have observed the following. She shares 0.5 percent more with her one second cousin once removed. The chart states third cousins share 0.78 percent on average, but mom's ranges go from 1.7-1.9 percent and her second cousin once removed is 2.05 percent shared. Her 3rd cousins once removed range from 0.66 percent to 1.71 percent compared to the average of 0.39 percent. Her two second twice removed matches of 0.62 percent is slightly lower than the expected 0.78 percent. She shares a whopping 0.56 percent with a Colonial 6th cousin yet only 0.52 percent with another third cousin once removed. Oddly enough on this family line, her half first cousin shares much larger matches and has smaller ones on my mother's larger ones. She also shares a whopping 0.38 percent with her 5th cousin on the 11th (see blog) with ranges on that particular match on the larger matches being from 0.38- 1.0 percent DNA that is no closer than her 6th grandfather.
So what am I implying?
I am implying that we don't get exactly half of each grandparent's DNA. That just like X DNA it mixed together on each chromosome so that it is possible to share almost 1 percent DNA with a 6th cousin that shares only one set of MCA. (which according to how DNA is passed down is impossible). It doesn't mean you don't get a bit of DNA from each line, you just get uneven bits of DNA I think, which is why mom's Collins matches are small and her Hager matches are larger for her and vice versa for her Hager cousin.
No proof, just my observations, and maybe some food for thought.
Hardy and Pyburn DNA what I hope to learn
Today I sent off four kits for autosomal DNA. Three of the tester's are descendants of a Hardy, Pyburn or both. This time I used Ancestrydna, mainly because it was on sale, and if I need to I can transfer tests to FTDNA an option no longer available for 23andme. (Though I hope it will be again someday). I know I want to send the fourth test off there, because it's my maternal grandfather's first cousin and is Choctaw DNA that I would like to get some more matches for.
Note to protect the privacy of individuals I am using the following format, their names are abbreviated to initials, first maiden married names. Thus if I were talking about my grandmother, Evelyne Hardy Barnes she would be EHB.
The tester's I am testing all descend from Gardner Hardy and his wife Harriet, last name unknown. We have some small matches presently with my father and fourth cousins, descendants of their daughter Rebecca. This time I am testing two descendants of William Shepard "Shep" Hardy Sr and one from Robert Hardy. The first tester, MWE is a great granddaughter of Robert Hardy via his son George Gardner Hardy. MWE is also a descendant of the Pyburn's as George Gardner's maternal grandmother was Nicy Pyburn, a sister of my ancestor Benjamin Jacob Pyburn. The second tester, CPB is a great granddaughter of Benjamin Jacob Pyburn through her paternal grandfather and through her paternal grandmother she is a great great granddaughter of Shep Hardy Sr. There is more to why she's an invaluable tester, but as for my father's dna, her father was his grandmother's half brother, so they should have a good chunk of Pyburn DNA in common. The third tester, HHA is a great granddaughter of Shep Hardy Sr.
Note to protect the privacy of individuals I am using the following format, their names are abbreviated to initials, first maiden married names. Thus if I were talking about my grandmother, Evelyne Hardy Barnes she would be EHB.
The tester's I am testing all descend from Gardner Hardy and his wife Harriet, last name unknown. We have some small matches presently with my father and fourth cousins, descendants of their daughter Rebecca. This time I am testing two descendants of William Shepard "Shep" Hardy Sr and one from Robert Hardy. The first tester, MWE is a great granddaughter of Robert Hardy via his son George Gardner Hardy. MWE is also a descendant of the Pyburn's as George Gardner's maternal grandmother was Nicy Pyburn, a sister of my ancestor Benjamin Jacob Pyburn. The second tester, CPB is a great granddaughter of Benjamin Jacob Pyburn through her paternal grandfather and through her paternal grandmother she is a great great granddaughter of Shep Hardy Sr. There is more to why she's an invaluable tester, but as for my father's dna, her father was his grandmother's half brother, so they should have a good chunk of Pyburn DNA in common. The third tester, HHA is a great granddaughter of Shep Hardy Sr.
Tester
|
Siblings
|
Sibs/1st
|
1st/2nd
|
2nd/3rd
|
Once removed
|
HHA
|
Shep Hardy Sr
|
Robert Hardy
|
WS Hardy
|
HHA
|
|
CPR
|
Shep Hardy Sr
|
Rebecca Hardy
|
Hattie Campbell
|
Carlton Pyburn
|
CPR
|
JRB
|
Shep Hardy SR
|
WS Hardy Jr
|
Robert Hardy
|
Evelyne Hardy
|
JRB
|
MWE
|
Robert Hardy
|
George G Hardy
|
Mattie Hardy
|
MWE
|
Thus in the above table HHA and MWE are third cousins, HHA
and CPR and my father 2nd cousins once removed, and MWE and CPR and
my father are 3rd cousins once removed. It is important to note that
genetic distance for a second cousin once removed and 3rd cousin as
for percent shared is in the same range.
For the Pyburn side we have the following
Tester
|
Siblings
|
Same/1st
|
Sibs/2nd
|
1sr/3rd
|
Once removed
|
CPR
|
Benjamin Jacob Pyburn
|
Archie Pyburn
|
Carlton Pyburn
|
CPR
|
|
JRB
|
Benjamin Jacob Pyburn
|
Archie Pyburn
|
Lula Pyburn
|
Evelyne Hardy
|
JRB
|
MWE
|
Nicy Pyburn
|
Elizabeth Fleming
|
George G Hardy
|
Mattie Hardy
|
MWE
|
So in the above table CPR and my father are half 1st cousins once removed and MWE and CPR are 3rd cousins once removed.
So what is it I hope to find out? Well for starter's, we need DNA to another Hardy group to link Gardner Hardy to his parents and we have no idea as to the maiden name of Harriet. I have a tree for Sally Nelson, but I am not sure of it, so links there will be beneficial as well. On the Pyburn side, the rumor that either the Pyburn's, the Chitty's or both are native American has been in the family for decades (and is much stronger in my humble opinion than that rumor associated with Barbara Sunday). CPR may in fact show a higher percentage of native ancestry than my father's modest 0.1 percent and help answer that question. It's a long shot for sure, as we are talking CPR's ggg grandmother, but we still have no idea who the mother of Jacob Pyburn 2 is, only that she is from the Tensaw area, but in theory 3 percent of CPR's dna comes from this woman, so maybe we will get an answer.
So what is it I hope to find out? Well for starter's, we need DNA to another Hardy group to link Gardner Hardy to his parents and we have no idea as to the maiden name of Harriet. I have a tree for Sally Nelson, but I am not sure of it, so links there will be beneficial as well. On the Pyburn side, the rumor that either the Pyburn's, the Chitty's or both are native American has been in the family for decades (and is much stronger in my humble opinion than that rumor associated with Barbara Sunday). CPR may in fact show a higher percentage of native ancestry than my father's modest 0.1 percent and help answer that question. It's a long shot for sure, as we are talking CPR's ggg grandmother, but we still have no idea who the mother of Jacob Pyburn 2 is, only that she is from the Tensaw area, but in theory 3 percent of CPR's dna comes from this woman, so maybe we will get an answer.
In addition however, Hattie Viola Campbell is the
granddaughter of Neil Campbell and Sarah Bowen. The common thought is that
Sarah’s mother Nancy is a McCurdy because in 1870 she is living with Thomas
Sunday and his wife, Anna McCurdy.
However we know believe that Anna is the daughter of Mattie Bowen and
Elijah McCurdy, and because of this, Nancy was the aunt by marriage of Anna
through her husband Joshua Bowen. The question remains still though, is Nancy a
McCurdy.
With the plethora of testers now available, I hope to find
out. We have enough double McCurdy’s running around that even a small amount of
DNA should match. However, it is also complicated. If CPR matches three of the
testers, SSM, CRB or PR then we can’t definitively say since all three descend
from Joseph McCurdy, Elijah’s son by Mattie Bowen. If however they match one of
the other (I believe we are at 10 or 11) testers, we can jump for joy, because
CPR’s mother is in no way connected to the Panhandle DNA, and I pretty much
have her paternal side nailed down.
To give you an idea on how the Bowen and the McCurdy side
works, I will give you tables for the Bowen connected, my father and the
doubles who share the most DNA with the other testers.
Tester
|
1st gen
|
2nd gen
|
3rd Gen
|
4th Gen
|
5th Gen
|
6th Gen
|
CPR
|
Joshua Bowen and Nancy McCurdy
|
Sarah Bowen
|
Wash Campbell
|
Hattie Campbell
|
Carlton Pyburn
|
CPR
|
SSM
|
Elijah McCurdy and Mattie Bowen
|
Anna McCurdy
|
Joseph Sunday
|
John Sunday
|
Sidney Sunday
|
SSM
|
CRB and her sister PR
|
Elijah McCurdy and Mattie Bowen
|
Joseph McCurdy
|
Anna McCurdy
|
Andrew Robinson
|
James Robinson
|
CRB and PR
|
JRB
|
Elijah McCurdy and Barbara Sunday
|
William McCurdy
|
Plina McCurdy
|
Lula Pyburn
|
Evelyne Hardy
|
JRB
|
SFM
|
Elijah McCurdy and Barbara Sunday
|
George W and William McCurdy
|
Charlotte McCurdy and Katie McCurdy
|
Florence McCurdy and
DMF
|
Katie McCurdy and
SFM
|
DMF
(SFM would be next box to right)
|
GPK
|
Elijah McCurdy and Barbara Sunday
|
George W McCurdy
|
Elizabeth and Charlotte McCurdy
|
Admiral and Ola Morris
|
Blanche Morris
|
GPK
|
JVM/VMM
|
Elijah McCurdy and Barbara Sunday
|
George and William McCurdy
|
Jack and Carrie McCurdy
|
Child
|
JVM/VMM
|
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