Happy Mother's Day - My Matrilineal Line Carrying Mitochondrial DNA inspired by Genea-Musings

My mitochondrial DNA haplogroup, according to ftDNA's new MitoTree

U5a1a1k'cc'cd+6425

The legacy DNA haplogroup is U5a1a1d

Two of my children could pass this Mitochondrial DNA down through their children.

Our matrilineal line:

1) Heather Lynn Drake (me!)

Two of my children could pass this Mitochondrial DNA down through their children.

2) Mother

I am my mother's only daughter. My brother shares this mitochondrial DNA but his daughter's received their mtDNA from their mother.

3) Grandmother Jean Shelvington PARNELL (1912 Montreal - 1991 Montreal)

My mother was her only daughter.

4) Great.Grandmother Harriet Maria CRESWICK (1882 Cheshire, England - 1981 Montreal)

She had three children. One son and two daughters. Only my grandmother passed down her mtDNA.

5) Gr.Gr.Grandmother Sarah Ann SHELVERTON (1856 Chelsea, England - 1908 Montreal)

Sarah had four sons and three daughters. Only my great-grandmother passed down her mtDNA.

6) 3rd Gr.Grandmother Harriet Flora MACKROW (1831 Chelsea, England - ? England)

Harriet had three daughters and two sons. Two of her daughters passed down her mtDNA - my ancestor Sarah Shelverton Creswick, and her beloved sister Elizabeth Shelverton Stevens. Elizabeth had two daughters, Lavinia and Alice to carry her mtDNA. 

7) 4th Gr.Grandmother Harriett BALDREY (1801 Geldeston, Norfolk - 1886 Kensington, Middlesex)

Harriett had one son and nine daughters. Only two of her daughters are known to have passed her mtDNA to their daughters.

8) 5th Gr.Grandmother Sarah FIELD (1775 Denton, Norfolk - 1843 Great Yarmouth, Norfolk)

Sarah had two sons and six daughters. At least one other daughter (Maria) passed her mtDNA  to a daughter.

9) 6th Gr.Grandmother Sarah SPURDENS (1746 Dickleburgh, Norfolk)

Sarah had two daughters and one son with husband Samuel Field, and another two daughters with husband Thomas Woods. There may be U5a1a1k' carriers from the other daughters.

10) 7th Gr.Grandmother Elizabeth TYLER (1711 Diss, Norfolk - 1753 Dickleburgh, Norfolk)

Elizabeth had two daughters and three sons. It is possible that there is another mtDNA carrier from her other daughter.

11) 8th Gr.Grandmother Mary GREENE (1685 Norfolk - 1757 Yaxley, Suffolk)

Mary had at least one other daughter who may have passed down her mtDNA.

12) 9th Gr.Grandmother - mother of Mary Greene

We may never know the name of Mary Greene's mother, or if she had other daughters. We do know she lived in Norfolk, England.

I would love to know if you share any of these ancestors - whether or not you share their mitochondrial DNA. 

Right now, we have 8 mitochondrial matches on ftDNA. Since this particular haplogroup branched off around the year 1150, we may not ever know our precise relationship. At the moment the testing pool is relatively small. 

I encourage everyone to discover their mitochondrial haplogroup. mtDNA tests are on sale for Mother's Day! 

How Many Autosomal DNA Matches Descend From My Eight 2nd-Great-Grandparent Couples?

 Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Inspired by Genea-Musings 

How Many Autosomal DNA Matches Descend From My Eight 2nd-Great-Grandparent Couples?

Let's find out!

1. Christen JENSEN (1839-1908) and Maren Margrethe HANSDATTER (1843-1902) have 0 DNA match descendants to my father.

 Our matches are from Christen's sisters:  Ane Margrethe Jensdatter (1835-1881),  Gjedske Kirstine Johansen (1825-1880), and Jensine Pedersdatter (1842-1913), and from Maren Margrethe's sister: Larsine Andrea Hansdatter (b 1847)

2. Christian Peter POULSEN (1843-1910) and Mathilde Marie Lorentzdatter (1847 -1916) have 12 - 8 matches from other lines, and 4 from my great-grandmother Anna Marie POULSEN (1883-1918)

3. Lars Peder PEDERSEN (1845-1939) and Maren Sofie PEDERSEN (1854-1908) have 4 DNA match descendants, from their children Maren Sofie Pedersen (1892-1972) and Johannes Pedersen (1896 ~1952)

4. Christian HANSEN (1848-1922) and Ane Birgitte HANSEN (1865-1918) have 0 DNA match descendents. My great-grandmother Ella Marie HANSEN (1890-1975) was an only child.

Our matches are from Christian's brothers: Jens Peder Hansen (1833-1905), Hans Jørgen Hansen (1837-1917) aka John Hanson of Michigan, and Jørgen Hansen (1840-1916) aka John Hanson of Maine, and from Ane Birgitte's sister Ella Annette Hansen (1881-1971) 

So 12 DNA matches descend from my paternal gr.gr.grandparents.

5. James ADAMS (1851-1913) and Emily BOUTCHER (1858-1942) have 12 DNA matches from other lines, 4 from my great-grandfather Llewellyn ADAMS (1881-1972)

6. William MERCER (1836-1903) and Hannah ROSE (1838-1921) have 5 DNA matches from other lines and 4 from my great-grandmother Hannah Rose (Annie) MERCER (1879-1960)

7. John Thomas PARNELL (1854-1916) and Jean Beveridge ALISON (1847-1920)  have 0 DNA match descendants to my mother.

Our matches are from Jean's siblings Margaret Alison (1849-1928), John Alison (1854-1900) and David Alison (1863-1885)

8. Charles Frederick CRESWICK (1845-1919) and Sarah Ann SHELVERTON (1856-1908) have 8 DNA matches from other lines

25 DNA matches from my maternal gr.gr.grandparents.

Fewer total matches than I expected. Much of my genealogy fun comes from placing more distant matches!

New Danish Relatives - December 2014

This month I have been playing with my father's Danish ancestry, trying to trace folks in the Census records in the hopes of finding them later in their lives or determining dates of death.

A side benefit of scrolling through census returns? New extended family members.

In Aalborg -

Børge Alfred Poulsen - born 1913, last seen in 1925 census (Aalborg)
Gerda Marie Poulsen - born 1915, last seen in 1925 census (Aalborg)


Karl Evald Poulsen - born October 1910, last seen in the 1921 census (Aalborg)


Another line, last seen in Øster Brønderslev, Hjørring, Denmark in 1860 census

Marthe Marie Jensen (born Marthe Marie Pedersdatter or Marthe Marie Pedersen 1821 in Hellevad)
husband Jens Christian Jensen (born 1819 Vrejlev)
son Jacob Jensen (born 1852 Dronninglund)

Where were they in 1870? 1880? When did they die?

DNA matches - does anyone know Deloris Edith Petersen?

DNA testing for genealogical purposes sounds fascinating. The reality, so far, for my father's side has not been as fruitful as I had hoped. He does have many, many matches. But we have not been able to prove them.

The closest match by far is found on the myFTDNA website. Deloris Edith Petersen is estimated to be my father's 2nd-4th cousin. A close second is Johnnie Dale Humphrey (3rd-5th cousin). Hooray!

But my elation turns to despair when I realize there is no contact information listed for either person. So here is hoping that the individual who submitted the samples to ftDNA sometime prior to us joining in May of 2012 will eventually google one of those names and wind up here.

Yes, we are related, I have a strong suspicion of which Danish branch is connected, and I would dearly love to share information with anyone related to either of my father's closest DNA cousins.

Johnnie Dale Humphrey's mother may have been Shirley Beatrice Petersen.

Thanks and happy sleuthing!

Happy Birthday Hans Peder LARSEN b. 2 Apr 1801 Udby, Stege, Præstø, Denmark

Hans Peder LARSEN was my father's gr-great-grandfather. He lived his life in Udby, Stege, Præstø, Denmark.

Looking at some of  their 10 children today, those who may have gone to America

1) Rasmus HANSEN 1830 Udby, Stege
m. Ane Marie Nielsdatter, emigrated to the US after 1857 marriage
5) Hans Jørgen Hansen 1837 Udby, Stege left after the 1855 census

I do not yet know what happened to these children
6) Jørgen Hansen 1840 Udby Stege (after 1860 census)
10) Bodil Kirstine Pedersen 1853 Udby, Stege (after 1890 census)
m. Niels Peder Andersen 1873

Any connections?

Looking for Jens Christian POULSEN, my great-grandmother's brother

I am currently researching Jens Christian Poulsen and his children, hoping to discover more information about his sister, my great-grandmother Anna Marie Poulsen (b. Aalborg 1883).

Jens Christian Poulsen was born 29 May 1879 in Nørre Tranders, Aalborg, Denmark. His parents (and my grandfather's grandparents) were Christian Peter Poulsen (1843-1910) and Mathilde Marie Lorentzdatter (1847-1916).

Jens Christian Poulsen married Marie Jensine Underberg 14 May 1901 in Copenhagen, Denmark. They had at least six children:

1. Poul Christian Peder Poulsen

2. Dagny Mathilde Marie Poulsen

3. Svend Aage Poulsen

4. Sigfred Jens Christian Poulsen

5. Viggo Jens Marinus Poulsen

6. Bent Alva Poulsen

I would love to connect with other researchers to share information. Currently, I am scrolling through census records. 

Other family members I am tracing:

Jens Christian's older sister Laura Marie Poulsen, b. Apr 1875 Aalborg and her son Carl Ejolf Poulsen

Anna Marie Poulsen, after the 1911 census I have uncorroborated information, looking for more details

Anna Marie's son Carl Ewald Poulsen b. Oct 1910 Aalborg

Tingsted, Maribo, Denmark - family of Hans Pedersen Kylling

Searching through Tingsted churchbooks and census records today. Dec 16, 1803 is my best choice for a marriage date of my 5th great-grandparents Hans Pedersen (Kylling) and Birthe Olesdatter, who were married in Systofte, Maribo, Denmark.

Today I am looking for other records.

Hans Pedersen Kylling was 67 years old in the 1840 census. His wife was a widow (Enke) in 1845. Searching the churchbook for 1824-1841, I found his death January 11, 1841 at the age of 68.

Checking for his wife Birthe's death 1858-1891 Tingsted, no luck



found him
- baps of children, especially Niels Hansen & Peder Hansen who appear in the census records but not on familysearch.org (only found  *Else, Kirsten & Ane Magreth)