Amanuensis Monday: Zachariah O'Neal of Johnston County, North Carolina, 1796

Transylvanian Dutch blog author John Newmark started the Monday blog theme called Amanuensis Monday. According to John, “amanuensis” means:  "A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another."

For this week's Amanuensis Monday post, I have focused on the will of ZACHARIAH O'NEAL of Johnston County, North Carolina, written 20 March 1796. [1] Zachariah was a farmer, as you will be able to tell from the 400 Acres of Land, stock (animals), and working tools listed in his will below. 

He had a wife named Annie and at least eight children: 

1) Thomas Oneale

2) Winney Oneale

3) Creasey Oneale

4) Edee Oneale

5) Lodowick Oneale

6) Stephen Oneale

7) Micajah Oneale

8) Aley Houst

I like this particular will because it contains information about the land that Zachariah owned and where he got it from and the 3 negros he owned by name - Dick, Jinny, & Peter. Details like this help us to track and prove his children in subsequent generations. 

A little bit more about Zachariah O'Neal: 

He was listed in Captain Houlder's Company in Johnston County, North Carolina in 1787 as having 1 male 21-60 years old, 2 males under 21 and above 60, 5 white females, and 1 black between the age of 12 and 50. [2]

He was also listed on the 1790 Johnston County, North Carolina census with 4 white males under 16 years old, 2 white males over 16 years old, 6 white females, and 1 slave. 

Zachariah wrote his will on March 20th, 1796, giving most everything to his wife, Annie, and then after her death, to his children. 

I do not know when his will was proved. But his wife Annie wrote her will on August 17th, 1829 and it was proved Feb 1835. Annie only mentioned 2 or 3 of her children in her will; I'm guessing that her older children moved away from the area and that is why they were not mentioned in her will. 

Here are the images of Zachariah O'Neal's will. You can click on the image to make it bigger. A transcript of the entire will is below. 

Zachariah O'Neal's will, Johnston Co., NC, 1796, p. 1

Zachariah O'Neal's will, Johnston Co., NC, 1796, p. 2

Zachariah O'Neal's will, Johnston Co., NC, 1796, p. 3

Zachariah O'Neal's will, Johnston Co., NC, 1796, p. 4

The last will and testament of Zacharias O'Neal, Johnston Co., NC [1]

Written 20 Mar 1796

In the name of God Amen the 20th day of March 1796

I Zacharias Oneale of Johnston County in the

State of North Carolina being very sick and weak

in Body but of perfect mind and memory thanks

be given to God for the same and calling to mind

the mortality of my body and knowing that I 

have once to die do make and ordain this my last

will and testament as touching my worldly Estate

wherewith it hath pleased god to bless me with 

in this life I give and demise in the following

manner and form...

Impremis. I give and Bequeath to my loving

son Thomas Oneale four hundred acres of land

in this county being the land I purchased of

Meed Gulley and took a title in my said son 

Thomas Oneals name for the same I give to him

his heirs and assigns for ever he first paying and 

taking up my obligation of one Hundred Dollars

given Meed Gulley for a last payment of said 

land also I give to my said son Thomas Oneal

one Maire of a Sorrel collar and one shot 

gun also the household furniture that I have

given him heretofore in his possession. 

Item, I give and bequeath to my loving friend John 

Ogbon one Sorrel Mair with a saddle and bridle

Item, I give to my loving wife three worke horses

two saddles and bridles also six cows and 

their calves also four head of sheep also one

feather bed and furniture during her life time

Item, I give and bequeath to my loving daughter

Winn Oneale, two cows and calves two head of sheep

also one feather bed and furniture also six heads of 

hogs freely to be by her possessed.

Item, I give and bequeath to my loving daughter

Creasey Oneale two cows and yearlings one

feather bed and furniture six head of 

hogs two sheep freely by her to be possessed

Item, I give and bequeath to my loving daughter 

Edee Oneale two cows and yearlings one feather

bed and furniture six head of hogs two sheep 

freely to be by her to be possessed. 

Item, I give and bequeath to my loving son Lodowick 

Oneale my lower land and plantation on

Little River in this county being the land & 

Plantation I purchased of Stephen Young to

him his heirs and assigns forever also two cows

and yearlings freely by him to be possessed. 

Item, I give to my aforesaid wife, Anne, all the

remainder of my stock of hogs besides that is not

heretofore willed also I give her all my corn and 

meete now laid up for her use to support my 

family on so long as the same will serve her also 

I give to my said wife Anney my negro man

named Dick during the time of her life time

or being my widow and after her death or marriage

I give the said Negro man Dick to my loving son 

Stephen Oneale to him and his heirs and assigns

forever...

Item, I give to my beloved wife Anne the use and 

service of my negro man Peter and negro woman

Jinney during the time of her natural life and 

after my said wifes death I give and bequeath 

to my loving son Micajah Oneale my aforesaid 

negroman Peter to him and his heirs and assigns 

forever. 

Item, I give and bequeath to my loving son Lodowick

Oneale after the death of said wife, my said negro

woman named Jinny to him and his heirs and assigns forever. 

Item, I give to my said wife Anney the use and Privilege

of my lands and plantation whereon we now live

during her natural life time and after the 

death of my said wife I give and bequeath the 

said land and plantation whereon we now live to 

my loving son Micajah Oneal to him his heirs and assigns forever. 

I also give to my said son Micajah Oneale two 

cows and yearlings freely to be by him possessed

I give to my loving wife Anney all the remainder

part of my cattle not before willed also I give 

to my said wife all my dwelling houses and 

kitchen furniture that I have not before 

willed to her during her natural life and 

after her death to be all except one feather bed 

and furniture to be equally to be divided between my 

daughters herenamed that is to say Aley Houst

Winney Oneale, Creasey Oneale, and Edee Oneale

freely to be by them possessed

Item, I give & bequeath to my loving son Stephen

Oneale after the death of my wife on feather bed and furniture

Item, I give and bequeath to my loving son Thomas 

Oneale, one cart and wheeles freeley to be by him possessed. 

Item, I give to my loving wife one cart and wheeles

I also give to my said wife all my working

tooles of every nature with all the residue of

my Estate

I also constitute and appoint my loving wife 

Anney Oneale and my loving son Thomas Oneale 

Execuutrix and Executor of this my last will 

testament revoking and disallowing other and

Former will or wills Executors or Executrixs ratifying

and confirming this and no other to be my 

last will and testament. 

In witness whereof I have herunto set my 

hand and seal the day and year above written

Signed sealed and pronounced to be the last 

will and testament of Zacharius Oneales in the presents of us

T Hollemon

Etheldred Price (his mark)

Sam Oneale (his mark)

                                                    Zacharius Oneale (his mark & seal)

If you descend from this family, I would love to hear from you. Please leave a comment below or email me directly. 

I have not yet determined if there is a connection between this Zachariah O'Neal and my Moses O'Neal who wrote a will in Johnston County in 1813. I would like to know more information about this Zachariah O'Neal. 

Additional Posts: 

Will of Annie O'Neal, Johnston Co., NC 1829, Wife of Zachariah O'Neal

Sources: 

[1] Johnston County, North Carolina, Original Will Records, Zacharias O'Neal, 1796, C.R. 056.801.8; North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, North Carolina, copied March 2014. 

[2] "State Census of North Carolina, 1784-1787," Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 30 Sep 2014), Zachariah O'Neal under Capt Houlder's Company, 1787. 

[3] 1790 US Federal Census, Johnston County, North Carolina, population schedule, Zachariah O'Neal; digital image, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 30 Sep 2014); NARA Film M637, Roll 7.

Two William Godwins

DNA is a wonderful thing. Family Tree DNA is for the self-starter who isn't afraid to get their hands dirty. AncestryDNA on the other hand, is geared more towards folks who want all the tiny leaves of their family tree to just fall into their lap. No shovel required.

This is fine and dandy, but some of those leaves are falling from the wrong tree if you get my drift.

One of the issues that my Godwin surname project is having is trying to go through page after page of matches to Godwins from the South East, particularly, GA, FL, and AL. We're talking upwards of three to four hundred matches, just on the Godwins alone. It seems this SE group of Godwins were a prolific bunch! Oh, and guess what? They liked to marry their cousins too, making it even more difficult to sort through their matches.

But, I digress. As I was saying... If you have taken the AncestryDNA test, then you know that many of your matches have a tree uploaded to their profile that you, as their match, have access to. Unfortunately, as you are probably aware if you've ever tried to do any research with Ancestry.com, many of those trees are WRONG!

The two biggest errors I am finding in these Godwins trees are:

1. Everyone descends from James Godwin and Mary Parker - who IS this couple anyways? There were several message board posts and articles written in the "Huckleberry Historian" AKA the Sampson Co., NC newsletter that said so and so Godwin was the son of this couple, reference X deed. Let me tell you, this X deed does NOT exist. When I queried the author of these articles and posts, he could not procure the deed. I actually found a copy of the deed he cited and there is absolutely NO reference to any family members at all whatsoever. When I queried him further about the deed he stopped answering my emails. Typical.

2. William Godwin who married Pheriby and died in Conecuh Co., AL between 1840-1850 and William Godwin who married Winnefred and died in Johnston Co., NC in 1845 are one in the same person and they both are the sons of James Godwin and Elizabeth Dawson. This is the problem I would like to address in this post.

There are actually two William Godwins. 

Any genealogist would know this if they did the research.

William Godwin # 1:
There is a William Godwin who lives in GA and AL who is married to a woman named Pheriby. No one knows her last name. That's ok. This William Godwin died in Conecuh Co (now Escambia Co) Alabama in the mid 1840s. His parents are UNKNOWN at this time. We are trying to use DNA analysis to determine who his parents might have been.

William Godwin # 2:
There is also a William Godwin who lives in Johnston Co., NC who is married to a woman name Winnefred. Again, no one knows her last name either. That's ok too. This William Godwin died in Johnston Co., NC on 24 Jul 1845 (actually I'm not sure where this date came from, but it's "accepted."). This William Godwin did not leave a will, but there are estate files pertaining to his death on file in Johnston Co., NC from 1847. His parents were James Godwin and Elizabeth _____ [Dawson?].

If you descend from either of these two families, please correct your trees with the above information. I would like to prevent this mistake from being copied over and over again. If we can set the record straight, then maybe the CORRECT information will start to be copied.

If you would like documentation for the above information, please email me.

New Family Tree Settings for ftDNA

A couple of weeks ago, FamilyTreeDNA (ftDNA) revamped their family tree tool on their website. You can access your family tree by clicking on the "Family Tree" button in the middle of your profile page.

The new family tree tool has the same search functions, but is supposed to be more interactive. Supposedly you can upload a GEDcom that contains collateral lines in addition to your direct line ancestors, which might be helpful in determining where your matches fit into your tree. You can also add people to your tree from within the Family Tree tool.

These are all good improvements.

However, there is one thing you should be aware of: Your tree now comes with a default setting of showing people born in the last 100 years as "Private." I can understand showing living people as "Private," but why people born within the last 100 years? Who decided this new rule? Has there been anything in the genealogy news about privacy for people born in the last 100 years? Maybe.

By itself, this is not a huge issue. However, if you look at the trees of some of your matches, you will find that a LOT of their ancestors are "Private." People born in the 1700s are listed as "Private." So what is the problem? I don't have an answer. From what I can tell by looking at the trees of people before they were upgraded and comparing to their trees after they were upgraded, that many of the ancestors listed as "Private" have no death dates. It is possible this new default setting is being applied to other "null" values as well. We just don't know yet.

So, until we get this figured out, my advice is to change your default settings for people born in the last 100 years from "Private" to "Public" or "Matches." There's another unanswered question - what is the difference between "Public" and "Matches?" I don't know that either. We are still trying to figure that out. There seems to be a lot of bugs....or something. The best I can tell is that "Public" means the project administrator can see your ancestor in addition to your matches seeing them.

This is how you make these changes:

1.  Click on your name in the upper right hand corner

2.  Then click on the genealogy tab

3.  Then click the public radio button next to "Deceased people born in the last 100 years." Make sure the "Deceased people born 100+ years ago" is also set to public. 

4.  Make sure you click the Save button. 

Additional Resources: 

ftDNA webinar: Introduction of the new Family Tree Tool

ftDNA has a set of instructions for use of the new Family Tree Tool here.

There is a new thread to discuss the new Family Tree tool at ftDNA. Please feel free to join the discussion by leaving comments and suggestions here.

Additional GenealogyByGinger Posts:

The New Family Tree Tool for ftDNA - a look at the new Family Tree tool on ftDNA

How to upload a GEDcom to the new Family Tree Tool - if you don't have a GEDcom uploaded to your ftDNA profile, please do so because it helps your matches find connections

New Family Tree Tool for ftDNA

A couple of weeks ago, FamilyTreeDNA (ftDNA) revamped their family tree tool on their website. You can access your family tree by clicking on the "Family Tree" button in the middle of your profile page.

The new family tree tool has the same search functions, but is supposed to be more interactive. You can now upload a GEDcom that contains collateral lines in addition to your direct line ancestors, which might be helpful in determining where your matches fit into your tree. You can also add people to your tree from within the Family Tree tool.

These are all good improvements. But there are some limitations with this new tool.

Here's a look at the new Family Tree tool on ftDNA:

You can see me in the center and my parents above linked to me. I have uploaded a profile photo, so you can see that too.

When I click on my photo I get two options: 1) to add a relationship and 2) to view profile.

If I click on Add a Relationship, I am given the option to add a Spouse, Sibling, Son, or Daughter or to Go Back. I don't have anyone to add at this time, so I will click the Go Back button.

If I click on the View Profile link, it opens a box with information about me including my most distant ancestors, surnames, and ethnic profile (called "Shared Origins" here). There is an envelop icon used to email me.

I can click the edit link above this box to edit my profile. I added my place of birth to my profile. Then I clicked the Save button.

I can add notes to the Story box of my profile as well.

If you have other relatives who tested with ftDNA, and they are a match to you, and they are listed in your Family Tree, there will be a little pink or purple link icon beside their name. You can click on that icon to link that relative to your Family Tree.

Click the Link button to link that relative to your tree.  You will get a message telling you that linking to this person's profile will update their biographical information and you will be asked to proceed. Click the Link Button.

My mother is now linked to my Family Tree. My mother's circle now has the blue Family Finder box filled in.

You can also click on the little link icon on the bottom right of your page for other possible matches. The system found additional matches to my father and his parents. I think this feature is still being worked on because nothing happened when I clicked on their name.

The new Family Tree Tool is still pretty quirky and ftDNA is doing their best to make it an exceptional experience for their users. I have included some informative links below as well as information on how to upload your GEDcom and how to change your privacy settings.

Additional Resources: 

ftDNA webinar: Introduction of the new Family Tree Tool

ftDNA has a set of instructions for use of the new Family Tree Tool here.

There is a new thread to discuss the new Family Tree tool at ftDNA. Please feel free to join the discussion by leaving comments and suggestions here.

Additional GenealogyByGinger Posts:

How to upload a GEDcom to the new Family Tree Tool - if you don't have a GEDcom uploaded to your ftDNA profile, please do so because it helps your matches find connections

New Family Tree Settings for ftDNA - the default setting for your tree now is to hide all persons born in the last 100 years!!! - Please follow these quick steps to change this default setting.

Uploading Gedcom to Family Tree DNA Profile

Last week ftDNA released a new version of their new Family Tree tool. This new Family Tree replaces the old system which displayed only the direct line GEDCOM. The best feature of this new Family Tree is the ability to attach your matches to your tree! If you already had a GEDCOM uploaded to your ftDNA previously, then it has just been converted to the new Family Tree display. If you did not yet have a GEDCOM uploaded, you can do so now following these instructions. I recommend starting with a direct line ancestor GEDCOM for now. Collateral lines can be added at a later time.

Uploading a GEDCOM to your Family Tree DNA Profile

Log in to your ftDNA homepage with the kit id and password you got when you ordered your kit

From the home page, click on the "Family Tree" button

In the lower right hand corner of the page, click the gear icon next to the red box that says "Have a GEDCOM? click to upload it now."

Select "Upload a GEDCOM" from the drop down box

You will be asked if you want to overwrite your current family tree - Click the upload button.

Select the GEDCOM you want to upload.

Select your name from the drop down box of the newly uploaded GEDCOM

Then click the "This is Me!" button. 

A message will appear saying this GEDCOM is being processed and might take a few minutes.

After it's uploaded, look through your Family Tree to make sure it uploaded ok.

If you have other relatives who tested with ftDNA, and they are a match to you, and they are listed in your Family Tree, there will be a little pink or purple link icon beside their name. You can click on that icon to link that relative to your Family Tree. In this picture, the GEDCOM is for my mother, and it is asking if I want to link my profile to hers.

Click the Link button to link that relative to your tree.

A message will appear telling you that linking to this person's profile will update their biographical information and do you want to proceed?

Click the Link button to continue.[1]

That's it! You're done!

You can then adjust your settings for who can view your tree by clicking on your name in the upper right hand corner, then clicking on the genealogy tab.

Notes:

We do not yet know exactly how this linking system works. We think Family Tree is still working out the bugs. You might get links for matches who don't even have a family tree uploaded. In that case, it might be that you have a surname in common. If you figure it out, please let us know either in a comment below or email me.

Additional Resources: 

ftDNA webinar: Introduction of the new Family Tree Tool

ftDNA has a set of instructions for use of the new Family Tree Tool here.

There is a new thread to discuss the new Family Tree tool at ftDNA. Please feel free to join the discussion by leaving comments and suggestions here.

Additional GenealogyByGinger Posts:

The New Family Tree Tool for ftDNA - a look at the new Family Tree tool on ftDNA

New Family Tree Settings for ftDNA - the default setting for your tree now is to hide all persons born in the last 100 years!!! - Please follow these quick steps to change this default setting.

How my AncestryDNA Match stands up in Gedmatch

In my last post, I evaluated one of my "shaky leaf" matches whom AncestryDNA predicted would have a shared ancestor with me. We compared our online family trees and determined that we were connected via the Long/Lang line of Jasper County, Georgia. This match was instrumental in both of our research efforts because conflicting documentation regarding the Long/Lang surname had made it difficult to place our ancestors with the correct set of parents. This DNA match allowed us to confidently place our ancestors within the same family of John and Margaret Lang.

I have to admit, by the time I finished writing this last post, I was pretty hooked with using AncestryDNA. But I know when something seems too good to be true, it usually is. I knew there were going to be limitations with the AncestryDNA service going in to it. And I wanted to put this to the test. Unfortunately, my suspicions were confirmed:  My AncestryDNA match and I were not really connected, genetically speaking,  via the Lang/Long line!

My Pedigree:

My descent from John and Margaret Lang is as follows:
Basheba Long & Washington Phelps
Lucinda S Phelps & Burwell Binns
Milton A Binns & Susan Ann Dupree
John Milton Binns & Perthinia "Pert" Brooks
John Brooks Binns & Blanche Kathryn Hill
B Binns and D Smith - my grandparents
T Smith & M Godwin - my parents
Ginger Smith - me

I have tested myself, both of my parents, and 3 of my 4 grandparents to date. If I received any DNA from my Lang / Long ancestors, I would have inherited it from my Father, who inherited it from his mother, my grandmother, B. Binns. However I tested all of us at FamilyTreeDNA and tested only myself at Ancestry.com. In order to compare any DNA results from AncestryDNA to results from FamilyTreeDNA, they must first be uploaded to a 3rd party website called Gedmatch.com. GedMatch allows you to compare autosomal DNA across all 3 testing companies - Ancestry.com, 23AndMe, and FamilyTreeDNA. It's FREE and easy to use!

What I Did:

I convinced my match to upload her AncestryDNA results to Gedmatch.com. Once uploaded, I compared her results to my grandmother, B. Binns, who descends from our Lang / Long ancestors. I expected to see a good match since my grandmother is closer to the shared ancestor than I am. Surprisingly, there was NO MATCH. Not only was there no match, but my match did not share the same segments of DNA with my grandmother that she shared with me.

Here is a list of segments S.A.T. shares with me:

Chr	Start Location	End Location	Centimorgans (cM)	SNPs
3	25052678	30683436	7.2	1487
7	88445250	91973622	3.0	731
7	117280746	123629411	3.5	933
13	66743336	69809017	1.9	739
18	22684849	25803725	3.3	977

Largest segment = 7.2 cM

Total of segments > 1 cM = 18.9 cM

Estimated number of generations to MRCA = 6.8

Here is a list of segments S.A.T. shares with my grandmother:

Chr	Start Location	End Location	Centimorgans (cM)	SNPs
1	95871096	98378320	1.6	970
2	34843826	37164843	2.6	705
3	47546444	53219643	1.0	801
10	73326487	77694862	2.8	759
12	20794787	22833572	3.1	812

Largest segment = 3.1 cM
Total of segments > 1 cM = 11.1 cM
Estimated number of generations to MRCA = 7.2

There are no overlaps between where she matches my grandmother and where she matches me.


Is this For Real?

If you look at how S.A.T. matches to me, you will see that the MOST that we match on is 7.2 cM on ch 3. Our total matching segments are only 18.9 cM. This is a very low resolution match in my opinion. In order for someone to be considered a "match" in FamilyTreeDNA, they have to share at least one segment of DNA that is 7 cM long - this requirement IS met in this example. The 2nd requirement by FamilyTreeDNA is to have a minimum of 20 cM total DNA shared between two people to be considered a match. S.A.T. and I only share a total of 18.9 cM, so this would not fulfill the requirement to be considered a match in the FamilyTreeDNA system. So is this a real match or not?

Not Maternal..., so Paternal?

Although I was discouraged, I did not let this set back keep me from looking at my match more closely. Although she wasn't a match to my grandmother as I expected, I then compared her to the rest of my family members, including my grandfather and my mother and her father. She DID come back as a match to my paternal grandfather.

Here is a list of common chromosome segments between my match and my grandfather:

Chr	Start Location	End Location	Centimorgans (cM)	SNPs
3	25052678	30677144	7.2	1475
5	50991761	54288881	2.9	846
6	151277980	153997386	4.8	924

Largest segment = 7.2 cM
Total of segments > 1 cM = 14.9 cM
Estimated number of generations to MRCA = 7.0

Here is a list of common chromosome segments between my match and me:

Chr	Start Location	End Location	Centimorgans (cM)	SNPs
3	25052678	30683436	7.2	1487
7	88445250	91973622	3.0	731
7	117280746	123629411	3.5	933
13	66743336	69809017	1.9	739
18	22684849	25803725	3.3	977

Largest segment = 7.2 cM

Total of segments > 1 cM = 18.9 cM

Estimated number of generations to MRCA = 6.8

You can see that my match shares the SAME chromosome segment on ch 3 from 25052678 to 30683436 with me that she shares with my grandfather. That segment is 7.2 cM long. This means that our genetic connection came down to me through my grandfather, not my grandmother, and that our common ancestors ACCORDING TO THE DNA, are not the Langs or Longs, but a different set of ancestors shared on my grandfather's side.

I am happy to have connected with my match on the Lang / Long line, and to have extended my tree out further with the addition of her line; However, I can no longer conclude that "DNA proves that my Basheba Long was the daughter of John Lang" ...because I am a DNA match to other descendants of John Lang....

This is where we have to draw the line between DNA testing and genealogy and make distinctions about what each one can do. My mantra has always been, "If you're going to do it, then do it right!" The bottom line is that you can't really use one research method independent of the other. You can't rely solely on the DNA to give you answers and sometimes the paper trail just isn't enough.

Conclusion:

AncestryDNA is a good tool to use to find connections and to expand your paper trail or family tree. However, its usefulness is limited with regards to DNA because the chromosome data is not made available to the testee. In this example, I found a connection with my DNA match via our online trees and genealogical paper trails. However, when I input the raw DNA data into Gedmatch.com, I realized that the DNA connection, represented by the DNA that is shared between us, was not carried down to me from my Lang or Long ancestors like the paper trail suggested. A side by side comparison of the segments my match shared with me to the ones she shared with my grandmother clearly showed that I did not receive the segments that I shared with this match from my grandmother who is a direct descendant of the Langs/Longs. Additionally, when I compared my match to my grandfather, it was clearly apparent that the segments I shared with my match were carried down to me through my grandfather because he, too, shared those same segments with my match.

Now, who's going to break it to my match that we have to go back to the drawing board and start over???

Related Posts: 

My AncestryDNA Test, part 1 - A look at the Closest Matches

My AncestryDNA Test, Part 2, The Shaky Leafs

My AncestryDNA Test, Part 2, The Shaky Leafs

FGS Report of my Lang Ancestors

This is the second post in a series about my AncestryDNA results. In Part 1, I discussed a 3rd cousin match I had found. I found him by looking at my top matches and clicking on one. He was one of two 3rd cousin matches. I clicked on his name, glanced at his tree which contained only 9 people, and immediately identified the connection. Even though I knew right off the bat what our connection was, AncestryDNA did not provide a Shaky Leaf "Hint" because he had not added enough people to his tree (remember I said he had only 9 people in it?). I'm sure that once he starts adding people to his tree, including his 1st, 2nd, and 3rd great-grandparents, whose names I gave to him, a shaky leaf will eventually appear.


The Shaky Leaf and How I found My Next Match

My DNA matches are sorted by relationship by default, with the closest relationships at the top of the list. Although a relationship is predicted, it is not guaranteed that a connection will be found and I will be able to place my match on my family tree. Another way to look at my valuable matches, is to sort by "Hints" represented by, you guessed it, those shaky leafs! In order to see my "Hints" I clicked on the "Hint" filter at the top of the page. This resulted in two pages of matches - about 100 total matches. I found my match to S.A.T. on page 2.


The Relationship Report

When I clicked on S.A.T.'s name, I got a report that told me the following:

• Our predicted relationship was Distant Cousins
• There was a Possible Range of 5th - 8th cousins
• There was a Confidence of Very Low

This looked pretty dreary at first. But then I scrolled down. This is where the Ancestor "Hint" came in. I was presented with a Relationship Report showing me how I was related to my match and who our common ancestor was based on that relationship. According to this relationship report, our common ancestor was John Lang, my 6th Great-Grandfather.

This comparison was run by the Ancestry.com servers (in the background - Ancestry.com people say it's an algorithm). For every match that has a tree, the servers run a side by side comparison between their tree and mine and when they find someone in both trees that looks like the same person and it is a direct ancestor of both people, they determine it to be a "shared ancestor."

Relationship Report with Ginger Smith on the left and my Match S.A.T. on the right

Finding DNA evidence linking my 5th great-grandmother to John Lang has been pretty instrumental to my research. And evidently, it was instrumental to my match's research as well, so she was pretty excited to learn of the match. We both had conflicting evidence about our Lang/Long ancestors that had yet to be resolved.

My Research Problem - the Lang/Long Conundrum

My 4th great-grandmother, Lucinda Phelps, and her husband, Burwell Binns, moved with their families from Talbot County, Georgia to Drew County, Arkansas about 1856. Lucinda's mother, Basheba Lang/Long and step-father, Green Berry Jackson also moved with them. Burwell died there in 1866 and his wife Lucinda died shortly after in 1870. Both Burwell and Lucinda were buried in Beulah Cemetery in Veasey, Drew County, Arkansas on land they donated to the Beulah Baptist Church.

Basheba and Green Berry died after Lucinda and Burwell, however, their final burial place is unknown at this time, but presumed to also be in the Beulah Church Cemetery. There is a piece of paper that someone tacked up behind the glass at the Beulah Church Cemetery entrance that talks about Lucinda's parents, including her mother, Basheba LONG:

Here is a transcript of this informative paper:

"Basheba LONG married Washington Phelps 21 April 1816 at Randolph GA. We have knowledge of one daughter, Lucinda Phelps, being born to them. 

I. Lucinda Phelps (born 22 Oct 1818 in Jasper Co GA) Lucinda married Burwell Binns II in GA on 29 Oct 1835. The had ten children and this is the Binns family who settled in the Beulah Community of Drew County. The children were: Milton, Sarah, Elizabeth, Lucinda, Matilda, Edna, Mary Jane, Christopher, and Burwell III.

Basheba Phelps married Green Berry (sometimes called Greenberry) Jackson 21 March 1823 in Jasper Co GA. Court records show Green Berry Jackson as being appointed guardian of Lucinda Phelps (dau of Washington Phelps) sometime after 1823. We have knowledge of 4 children belonging to Green Berry and Basheba Jackson and the names of 3. By the time Green Berry and Basheba Jackson got to Arkansas, Basheba was spelling her name Barshaby. We don't know when this family arrived in Drew County; but they were here by 1857. Children of Green Berry and Barshaby Jackson are: ...."

In this write up, Basheba's last name is "LONG." However, on Basheba and Washington's marriage record recorded in Jasper County, Georgia, she is listed as Basheba LANG.

Washington Phelps & Basheba LANG Marriage Record Jasper Co GA, 1816

Here is the transcript of the marriage record filed in Jasper Co., Georgia:

Georgia       ))

Jasper County ))

     I certify the within named persons Washington Phelps and Bersheba Lang were duly Solemnized in the holy bond of wedlock by me this 21st day of April 1816. 

                                                              Luke Williams, J. P.

Robert Robey, C.C.O

So far, we now have two conflicting pieces of documentation for Basheba's surname. The paper posted at the cemetery said her last name was LONG and the marriage record said her last name was LANG.

But I wasn't the only one with conflicting documentation. My match had run into similar issues with her family.

My Match Has the Same Lang/Long Conundrum

According to my match, her 2nd great-grandmother was Temperance Lang who was born 1850 in Stone Mountain, DeKalb Co., GA and died 1928 in DeKalb Co., GA. On her death certificate, the informant listed her father's name as John C. LONG, however, on every other record she encountered, including the death certificates of Temperance's siblings, her father's name was listed as John C. LANG.

With DNA testing, we were able to confirm that our two lines were related and that her John C. LANG was the sibling of my Basheba LONG. I had previously connected to another sibling, Lydia Lang via a DNA match as well, so I knew we were on the right path.

In this case, DNA helped to solve two mysteries and hopefully put the Lang/Long conundrum to rest.

As you can guess, I will be looking for additional documentation on my Basheba Long/Lang in order to determine if she changed her name, went by both names, or just didn't bother correcting the county clerks who wrote up various documents for her.

I would love to hear if DNA has helped to resolve any of your name conflicts. Please leave a comment below or email me directly.