Previously,, we looked at an orphaned genealogy profile I found (and adopted) on WikiTree. The poor man's tree didn't even exist really - just his name (Luther Cogwell Whittlesey) and dates and those of his wife. I planned to fix this.
Last time, I took you part of the process of using Family Search to find records and adding them to the WikiTree profile page.
The family tree of Luther was already looking much better...
This time, I'm going to look at further search results on Ancestry and see if we can cement Luther's ties from Texas eastward. I also need to look at his wife's records, though that may be reserved for another part if we're lucky.
Ancestry search results
Remember what I was looking for? I was looking for census records - well, here they are! Plus, we have a disagreement regarding Luther's birth year. Findagrave uses 1858, not 1856. This requires further investigation. But, at least we have some more information. I'm now about 90% certain he's related to me.
We will start with the census records. I think I will be adding a few more people.
Here is the first census result which firmly connects Luther to his parents. He goes by his initials, but we also have some of his already-established siblings, so I'm confident that this is our Whittlesey family and we now have his parents' names.
Here is what I had after going through the ancestry results - and before tackling the Findagrave results.
Since we have his parents now...
I now feel comfortable hitting Findagrave to see if we can find the link to my Whittlesey line.
Findagrave
I absolutely love Findagrave! However, even they can have errors in reporting. Remember, that it's not the person themselves reporting, but a loved one (in a state of grief) - so details like mother's name or birth date can be incorrectly remembered. I suspect that's the case for Luther. Findagrave reported his death in 1858, but the 1870 census record I've used indicates 1856 is correct. In this case, I will trust the parents reporting over the distant memory of a grandchild.
Here is Luther's entry in Findagrave
I would call this a gold mine. I'm going to finish adding in all of Luther's children and his siblings... Then, I will see where I go with his parents... Will it connect him with my Connecticut Whittleseys?
Results - for now...
After exhausting the Whittleseys on Findagrave, Luther's profile looks like this:
And his descendants are numerous...
His ancestors are growing in number as well...
Lineages Connected
I did manage to prove that Luther is my 4th cousin, 3x removed (or the 4th degree cousin of my great-grandmother... i.e. I'm 7th cousins to Luther's great-grandchildren.) BUT, there's another connection expected as the Cogswells and Whittleseys are intertwined there in New England for about 100 years or so... so, I need to take Sarah Cogswell's line back to join mine.
I also intend to push each of his ancestral lines back to another well-researched one on WikiTree - or to Europe, whichever comes first. (And I haven't even begun to research his wife's family.) But this will be all for this part!
Cover image from PxHere. Screen shots taken from my own research.
Past Issues of Records & Reason
| Issue No. | Subject |
|---|---|
| # 1 | Why do Genealogy? |
| # 2 | What to do or not do in your genealogy & a note about literacy |
| # 3 | Sweden: patronymic names and church books |
| # 4 | Happy-go-clicky - Just say NO!!! |
| # 5 | Records - Not Created Equal |
Family History Tutorials - How to Do-it-Yourself
| Issue No. | Subject |
|---|---|
| 1 | Using WikiTree, part 1 , part 2 , [part 3]( |
Lori Svensen
author/designer at A'mara Books
photographer/graphic artist for Viking Visual
(Buy my work at RedBubble, TeePublic, PicFair and DeviantArt.)
verified author on Goodreads
(Buy my books at Books2Read and at LBRY)
find me on Twitter
