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Archiver > WILLIAMS-DNA > 2009-02 > 1233867820


From:
Subject: Re: [WILLIAMS-DNA] Learning all you can about your ancestors
Date: Thu, 05 Feb 2009 15:03:40 -0600
References: <c0b.500118b1.36bc8c3b@aol.com><000e01c987c8$bd11a930$3734fb90$@net>
In-Reply-To: <000e01c987c8$bd11a930$3734fb90$@net>


Good info string.

My input to reinforce some of the discussion and add other info:

I. My experience in documenting available info and graveyard searches
of 11 blood lines of mine and my wife's ancestors is that too many of
the old generations claimed no kin because
1. beyond 2nd cousin was considered NO KIN. This still exists in one
of my wife's lines. When I show that two folks are for example 3rd
cousins, they say "that's no kin".
2. differences developed between families that lead to no talking
thus no interfacing and eventually the NO KIN. This happened in my
Williams line in the late 1800s. I was told there are two not kin
Williams lines in the county until a distant cousin wrote a genealogy
book "Williams of Elmore County" that even with its many errors
revealed the other line to be kin and was clarified after I raised the
issue at our annual reunion.
I then learned the story of disagreement that lead to the no kin. And
the distance by horse or mule prevented the family members who did not
have any disagreement from developing a closer relationship.
3. Some folks were not honest -- thieves and others were murderers,
thus no kin.
4. Family members change names or parts of names so far as to place
names on their parents and grandparents graves different than the name
with which they were born. My wife's father's sisters did this.

II. I was told by some engineers from Ireland in 2002 that the
Williamses have no problem tracing their records, because Charlemagne
the King destroyed all records except the Williams records in all of
Great Britian. How true this is I do not know. I know that many
Williamses fought in the American Revolution War with 178 William
Williams listed as serving on the American side. We have to break
through that level to get to Northern Scotland where many of the
Williams were part of either Clan Gunn or Clan McKay. Of course, most
of that area was settled by folks from the Nordic countries where the
records before 800 are skimpy.

III. Many of the widows and widowers had large families for many
reasons that resulted in men and women marrying that brought various
children into a marriage who were not kin but the children of the new
marriage were kin to all.
This happened in my Jackson line. Many children were given the last
name of the new father. Other children were raised by families not
kin to them when one or both parents died, abandon them, or were ruled
unfit.

I hope this helps someone.

Woodrow (Woody) A. Williams


Quoting Randy <>:

> Nyla,
>
> Thanks for your very good posting and positive attitude. You have clarified
> one Williams line for me. I had thought that I might be connected to the
> Jeremiah Williams line from Giles County, VA. If they are Group 60 then I do
> not connect as I am in Group 27 (I think). But then again, I may go back to
> a Williams woman who gave her kids the Williams name and did not identify
> the father. My DNA matches the Martins. The Williams and Martins seem to be
> mixed up in Giles County. If anyone out there has Martins and Williams mixed
> up together, let me know. Mine were in Russell and Scott and Washington
> County, VA. in the 1790's.
>
> Thanks,
> Randy Williams
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From:
> [mailto:] On Behalf Of
> Sent: Thursday, February 05, 2009 1:39 PM
> To:
> Subject: [WILLIAMS-DNA] Learning all you can about your ancestors
>
>
> To those who are discouraged or disappointed: Hang in there. Things
> will
> get better.
>
> To those who have been encouraging the rest of us. Thank you so much. A
>
> couple of times, I've been ready to throw in the towel with this DNA stuff,
>
> but I'm learning more, even though it is slow coming.
>
> I have a success story with the Williams DNA that I can share. If you find
>
> it boring, just delete it. Maybe it will encourage someone else, if not
> you.
>
> I've been doing genealogy for about 30 years. In the area of southern WV
> where I grew up, there were lots of Williams families. Several families
> lived
> in my hometown. We weren't related according to my grandmother. When I
> started doing genealogy, I agreed with my grandmother. There wasn't
> enough
> information in my little database to make a connection. I started making
> contact with other Williams descendents interested in the genealogy of
> their
> ancestors from the same area. Information was exchanged and lines started
> connecting. And eventually, we determined that the Williamses who were in
> my home
> county about 1840-1850 were related. Well, the majority of the Williamses
>
> were from three men who were brothers and sons of Jeremiah Williams of
> Giles
> County,VA. I had another Jeremiah in my line, so I added "the Elder" to
> the
> senior Jeremiah's name. Years went by and I'd hear about someone else
> researching their Williams family in my home county. I'd try to get as
> much
> information from this as they were willing to share.
>
> And, then along came DNA. The possibilities were so exciting. So, I got
> involved with my own surname--not the Williams surname, which is my
> mother's
> maiden name. I really wanted to prove that some of the early settlelrs in
>
> Virginia whose surname was CREED were related. I recruited three males to
>
> participate in the CREED DNA project. And, it turned out that two of these
> three
> males matched. Later, more CREED males joined the project. And a third
> match was soon learned. One match was in NC, one in MO, and one in WV.
> Although
> they had never met, they were aware of each other's genealogy based on the
> paper trail. For me, it was so exciting to know that eight or more
> generations back that we shared an ancestor. Our CREED DNA Project has
> about 13
> participants. It is a very small group. Yet, we have made other matches,
> as
> well.
>
> Now, take a look at the Williams numbers. Seems like I recall 600 plus
> participants. How can one person handle that much information? Adrian
> has
> done a fantastic job with the Williams website. However, he is not able
> to
> be completely involved currently. Based on his last email, it sounds like
> things are looking better for him. In the meantime, maybe some of us can
> encourage newbies and encourage each other and Adrian so that we can get
> through
> this and learn more about our Williams family along the way.
>
> If this is boring to you, delete.
>
> Back to the Williams DNA. One day, someone contacted me by email. He had
> seen my website and saw that I traced my genealogy back to Jeremiah
> Williams,
> the Elder. He told me that there was a member of Group 60 who was also a
> descendent of the same Jeremiah. Would I be able to get someone from my
> line to
> participate in the project was his question to me. I learned the
> participant was from one of the three brothers that had came from Giles
> County, VA. I
> also learned that there were others members of Group 60 who did not
> descend
> through Jeremiah. How do they connect? I don't know. Perhaps someone
> else does, but I've not learned yet. So, my uncle agreef to be tested.
> After what seemed like forever, we learn he is a match to the other person
> who
> descends from Jeremiah.
>
> And, then I hear from a Williams whose family lived in the same little
> community where I grew up. He agrees to participate in the Williams DNA
> project.
> This is great news to me since he descends through the third brother who
> were sons of Jeremiah. And, yes, he is also a match. Now, did I learn
> anything new about my Williams line? Not really. But it confirms that
> our
> paperwork trail for all three lines was correct. And that is good news to
> me.
> And it proves to me that, at some point of time, events occur, time passes,
> and we no longer know who all our ancestors and cousins are. However, when
> we
> are able to reconnect, it is a joyous and happy occasion.
>
> Thank you for listening. Good luck in your research. May you find many
> new
> family members.
>
> Nyla
> **************Great Deals on Dell Laptops. Starting at $499.
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>
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