DNA helps build a tree

When records are searched and family trees are built, there can still be doubts about whether the person and family found is correct. A family tree is constructed by available records and often anecdotal evidence from descendants who are told about their family and where they came from.

Records rely on the informant to provide the correct information to the authorities and there are many reasons why the information may be incorrect. These reasons could be that the informant simply doesn’t know, or they are deliberately providing information that is incorrect to create the appearance of legitimacy or to meet societal norms.

The Family Search website discusses how genealogists can break through brick walls using DNA. DNA matches can help prove relationships and therefore connections on the family tree. To solve a brick wall, traditional research is used to hypothesize a potential relationship. This includes using official records such as births, deaths, marriages, with evidence from cemeteries, newspapers, land titles and other government documents. If a high enough percentage of the descendants share the predicted amount of DNA, a brick wall may be solved.

DNA matches assist in confirming the tree is correct and provides another layer of proof to confirm the branch is correct. For example, my 3x great-grandfather, William Fox had two children with my 3x great-grandmother Margaret Wogan, however there is no evidence they ever married. Before he met Margaret, records show a William Fox married Mary McGrath, and they had four children. There were many males in the colony at the time by the name of William Fox so is he the correct William Fox?

Evidence is required to link William Fox to his two relationships to confirm he is the same person. The evidence available came from the birth certificates of his children. They all show consistent details that William was born in Dublin around 1812. William and Mary’s marriage record has no helpful information. We know they resided in the gold fields near Young before her death. This is confirmed in newspaper reports and birth records. After Mary’s death, William and Margaret’s first child Eliza was born in Hovells Creek, another gold field, 80klms from Young. It was not unusual for families to move from gold field to gold field as discoveries were made but could this be another William Fox from Dublin who made his way to the area to make his fortune?

Confirming they are the same William Fox was assisted by DNA. Matches appeared on my Ancestry account who were descended from William Fox through three of the children of his first wife. We shared DNA of around 25 centimorgans, indicating a 4th – 6th cousin relationship which fits with the relationship we have on the family tree. This was able to prove the connection and the theory William Fox was the same person as theorised through the records.

Another issue is whether Bridget, the second child of William and Margaret, was fathered by William. William disappeared a few years after Bridget’s birth then Margaret married Martin Gill. William registered the birth so it is likely he is the father but to be certain I can check my matches. I went through my list of matches with Bridget’s descendants and found a fourth cousin with shared matches with the cousins descended from Williams first marriage. We all share a piece of DNA from William. He is the father of Eliza and Bridget.

A DNA match received from DNA testing and the shared matches, along with official records and documents, can assist to confirm a theory and prove a connection.

Grave Tales – Old Dubbo Cemetery

The tale of a journalist and writer turned man of religion is one of following passions and a true path. Frederick Sydney Wilson was a successful writer and editor of a Sydney newspaper before he turned his back on city life to join religion in the western towns of New South Wales.

Frederick was born on 30 December 1839 in Sydney, New South Wales. His father was the successful engraver, William Wilson. His father and mother Elizabeth were English-born and emigrated with their three youngest children in 1828.

After his education Frederick commenced work as a mercantile clerk but started writing poetry and short stories. His poem, Stars of the Heavens was first published in the Sydney paper, The Empire in 1860.

Over eighty poems and short stories written by Frederick Wilson were published in Sydney newspapers and journals between 1860 and 1872. His journalism appeared in the Illustrated Sydney News, The Empire and the Illawarra Mercury.  He wrote regular sketches about the people and places of Sydney for The Australian Journal, which later became The Colonial Monthly. 

On 23 August 1865, at Sydney, he married Caroline Jemima Robinson, daughter of Frederick Robinson, ironmonger and known for his involvement in the Deaf and Dumb and Blind Institution.

In 1870 Frederick Wilson published a book, Australian Songs and Poems. It included poetry published in newspapers and journals of the previous ten years. The book was met with mixed reviews stating his early works ‘struck off from time to time, apparently without much preparation, or without effort.’ Then stating his later work as ‘beautiful’ and ‘Mr Wilson could stake his claim to be considered a poet in the full sense of the word.’ Another review stating, ‘many of his poems display great carelessness in their construction but when his heart is thoroughly attuned to his subject his pathos is evidenced in the most touching and exquisite language.’

In the early 1870’s Frederick Wilson took on a career change and began studies at Moore College, Liverpool to become a minister of the Church of England. In 1874 he was ordained as a minister by Bishop Samuel Marsden at the Holy Trinity Church Kelso, New South Wales. Soon after he was appointed minister for the Holy Trinity Church in Grenfell, New South Wales.

In 1877 tenders were called to build a new church for the Grenfell residents to replace the inadequate wooden structure. Reverend Wilson was chair of the committee to oversee the construction. The foundation stone was laid on 24 May 1877. The official opening occurred on 2 February 1879 by the Bishop of Bathurst, the Right Reverend Dr Samuel Marsden.

On 27 September 1881 Frederick Wilson was promoted to the ministry at the Holy Trinity Church in Dubbo. During his time in Dubbo, he organised building of the new rectory and the Sunday School Hall. The Sunday School Hall was built with most of the cost met by gifts from the parishioners. He orchestrated reduction of the church debt by over £1,000 in a time of economic depression and the onset of drought. In 1888 he was promoted to the position of Archdeacon of Dubbo and two years later travelled to England for further study.

He was referred to as having great intellectual power and whose light ‘shone before men.’ He was noted to be a lovable man who radiated goodness and tenderly controlled his flock. His services were evangelical, and he never raised his voice in a rant.

He closed one of his last sermons with, ‘I hope to meet Death as I have met Life – bravely.’ His last service was the marriage of his daughter Eva to the bank manager, Percival Smith. Archdeacon Wilson died on 25 March 1901. The funeral was the biggest seen in Dubbo at the time with over sixty vehicles in the procession. He is buried in the Old Dubbo Cemetery. He was survived by his wife, three daughters and two sons with a daughter having died in 1878.

Photo of Frederick Sydney Wilson from the newspaper.

Redacted on the 1939 register

There is often confusion about the English 1939 register and whether it is a regular census. The 1939 register is not a census, but a register collated in September, just after the start of World War Two. It is not covered by the Census Act 1920, so not subject to the 100 year closure rule which is why we already have access to it.

The register is a snapshot of England on the eve of war. Children had been evacuated, but conscription hadn’t started. It is the only listing of the population between 1921 and 1951. The 1941census did not go ahead due to war and the 1931 census was destroyed by fire in 1942. The records are contained in 7000 volumes.

The big difference between the register and a census is the purpose. The census is a big market research study of the population. There are no relationships or birthplaces on the 1939 register, but it has full dates of birth which are not found in the census.

The register was needed to get everyone listed at a point in time so they could get a National Identity card and a ration book. It was used to direct labour and monitor and control the movement of the population caused by evacuation. In later years of the war it was used for conscription.

The form was left with every household on registration night and then collected a few days later. Despite taking a full register of the population in 1939, the government still intended to go ahead with the 1941 census and used many of the enumerators employed to complete the census and employed many more than was required for a census. Districts were smaller so extra enumerators could get around easier and complete the process in a shorter timeframe.

The picture above shows the record for Wilfred Roy Parker aged eleven. He is from Essex and has been evacuated to Somerset to live with a family and three other boys his age. A record on the page is redacted with a thick black line. The record of anyone born less than 100 years ago is closed unless they are known to have died. Records can be opened on request however a volume number is needed. This can be difficult if they are not living with known family and almost impossible to find someone across 7000 volumes if they had been evacuated or living in a different area away from family.

Another benefit of the register is they were annotated for 60 years after the register was taken. Annotations were made on the register for a change of name which could be due to marriage or the correction of an error. Some notations also included a date which was the date the change was notified. The notation is often in red which makes it easier to spot.

It must have been a scary experience for the children of England to leave their parents and be sent to the country with strangers. There are still some people I haven’t found on the register because of redaction. Redactions are being removed regularly so I suggest you keep going back and doing another check. You never know when someone will appear.