2018 Family History Highlights

Happy New Year!

As was head into 2019 – I wanted to pause and highlight some of my favorite family history experiences from my family history journey over the last year.

MB Boutiques Family History Consulting Services

Last fall I had the opportunity to provide family history consulting services for an adopted individual. Using DNA results, the individual's non-identifying adoption paperwork and traditional research methods I identified the individual’s birth parents. It was a very rewarding experience to help someone learn more about their family history. I really enjoyed working on this project and currently have openings to take on new family history research, genetic genealogy and adoption clients in 2019.

Vising Florida for Christmas

In December my husband and I stayed in New Smyrna, Beach Florida for a few weeks before heading to Davenport, Florida to spend Christmas with my father. Families are often spread far and wide in our modern world - so it was really nice to spend time with family members we don't get to see very often.

New Smyrna Beach, Florida
Photo Credit: Bob Davis, MB Boutiques

It was a lovely vacation – the ocean is one of my favorite places to visit. If you would like to view the other amazing photographs my husband took in New Smyrna Beach you can visit the MB Boutiques New Smyrna Beach photo gallery.

While in Florida, we also had the opportunity to visit with my Great Aunt Dorothy Elizabeth McDonald Davies and Great Uncle William Loraine McDonald - the siblings of my paternal grandmother Mary Eugenia McDonald. We had a wonderful visit and took several photographs to highlight the occasion!

McDonald Siblings William Loraine McDonald & Dorothy Elizabeth McDonald Davies
Photo Credit: Bob Davis, MB Boutiques

McDonald Siblings William Loraine McDonald & Dorothy Elizabeth McDonald Davies 
photographed with their nephew David Anthony Murosky
Photo Credit: Bob Davis, MB Boutiques

McDonald Siblings William Loraine McDonald & Dorothy Elizabeth McDonald Davies 
photographed with their great niece Michelle Marie Murosky
Photo Credit: Bob Davis, MB Boutiques

Dorothy Elizabeth McDonald Davies photographed with her great niece Michelle Marie Murosky 
and her daughter Kerri Davies 
Photo Credit: Bob Davis, MB Boutiques

Dorothy Elizabeth McDonald Davies photographed with her daughter Kerri Davies 
Photo Credit: Bob Davis, MB Boutiques

Research highlights from 2018: 

There were twenty five articles posted at the research site last year. Many of these articles were wedding announcements located for members of the Selker family. There were also old family photographs shared and other research articles.

Guth Research Update: Anton Guth & Theresia Rösch Family 

The third post in the Guth Research Update Series was shared last year. The series is focused on the ancestors of two German born brothers – Francis Xavier and Leopold Guth who settled in Clarion County, Pennsylvania in the mid 1800's. Over a two year period the family was extensively researched with the assistance of Ute Brandenburg the owner of German Script Experts. I am thrilled to finally share the validation of the original research completed by Jr. Janet Staab many years ago. The Guth Research Update Series will also feature previously unknown Guth family members.

Wedding Announcement: Joseph William Selker & Frances Philomena Guth 

The wedding announcement for the couple was published in The Clarion Democrat on Thursday, November 6, 1890 - Page 5:

The Clarion Democrat
Thursday, November 6, 1890 - Page 5

Wedding Photos: Frederick William Selker & Eleanor E. Herman 

A cousin graciously shared a photograph from the wedding of Frederick William Selker & Eleanor E. Herman. This photograph helped to identify a previously an unknown wedding snapshot that was also from the wedding of Frederick William Selker & Eleanor E. Herman.

1933 - Wedding of  Frederick William Selker & Eleanor E. Herman
Left to Right: Ambrose John Selker (Best Man, Brother of the Groom), Naomi Herman (Maid of Honor, Sister of the Bride), Frederick William Selker (Groom) and Eleanor E. Herman (Bride).

1945 - McDonald Family Gathering

The photographs from a McDonald family gathering in 1945 are some of my favorites. The photographs feature three generations of the McDonald family.

1945 - The McDonald Family
(Left to Right): Kathryn Joan McDonald, Mary Eugenia McDonald holding her son James Arthur Murosky, Barbara Jean Murosky, Charles Eugene McDonald, Eleanor Lucille McDonald holding Mary Helen Murosky.

Wedding Snapshots: Arthur Murosky & Mary Eugenia McDonald

My grandparents Arthur Murosky and Mary Eugenia McDonald were married on August 9, 1941. In addition to the formal portraits taken to commemorate the event - family members took snapshots the day of the wedding. The grouping of snapshots includes individuals from both sides of the family.

Flower Girls Marian Elaine Murosky and Dorothy Elizabeth McDonald

Wedding Portrait: Mary Selker & Bernard Martin Browsky

The formal wedding portrait of Mary Selker & Bernard Martin Browsky was an unknown portrait for several years. The portrait was from the Frances Philomena Selker Collection and the original is 8x10 – so I suspected this portrait was most likely a family member of Frances Philomena Selker.

The Matron of Honor, Anna Gertrude Selker, was the first individual identified. Last summer the Best Man, Frederick William Selker, was also identified. Last fall the wedding announcement for Mary Selker & Bernard Martin Browsky was located. From the wedding announcement: The bride was attended by her sister, Mrs. Ann Shannon of Brookville, and her brother, Frederick Selker, of Clarion, was Mr. Browsky's best man.

1932 - Wedding of Mary Selker & ernard Martin Browsky
Left to Right: Bernard Martin Browsky (Groom), Frederick William Selker (Best Man), Rev. A.A. Fisher, Anna Gertrude Selker (Matron of Honor). The Bride, Mary Selker, is seated.

Locating the wedding announcement solved the mystery of who the bride and groom were in the mystery wedding portrait and offered context to why Frances Philomena Selker had a copy of the portrait  – Mary Selker is her sister.

Unknown Photo Gallery - Additional Photographs Added 

The unknown Photo Gallery was updated with additional images. Each image has a caption that can be viewed in the individual page view. The caption will include any known details about the image. There are navigation arrows to the far left and right in the individual page view. When viewed from a computer - each image has a unique website address. That website address can be used to share a direct link to the image.

A sampling of photographs from the Unknown Collection:

Unknown Child
Cabinet Card

Unknown Girls
Photo may have been taken in Clarion, Clarion County, Pennsylvania

Unknown Girls Formal Portrait 
Weber Studios - Erie, PA

Unknown Couple
Label on Back: "This picture was taken in Meyersdale"

Unknown Girl

The family history research site has surpassed 125,000 page views! Thank you so much for Reading!

-Michelle

Bridge to the Past - DNA Testing Our Oldest Living Family Member

This spring my paternal grandfather had a milestone birthday – 95 years old. All four of his grandparents were immigrants who arrived in the United States in the 1890s.  His paternal grandparents, Anthony Murosky, Sr. and Eva Zielinski, arrived separately from Lithuania. The couple met in Forest City, Pennsylvania and were married.

His maternal grandparents, Vincent Bukowski and Franciska Kwiatkowski, came from Poland with three young children. These four individuals are currently the oldest known ancestors on his side of the family. These families unfortunately did not leave many clues behind. At this time there are no definitive information on what cities they were living in before departing for the United States.

The Test

In attempt to learn more about these families I tested my grandfather with the AncestryDNA kit. This DNA test looks at an individuals’ autosomal DNA. The autosomal DNA provides an understanding of the individual’s inheritance as it will show DNA inherited from their mother and father. 

My grandfather is the oldest living person in the family on his paternal and maternal sides. He is the closest link to the oldest known ancestors. When evaluating his results there are only four starting variables - making it plausible to learn more about each of the four lines he descends from.

The AncestryDNA test kit arrived shortly after ordering by mail. The instructions are easy to follow. The kit arrives with a bar code, which needs to be activated online. A saliva sample is collected from the test individual. The sample is then placed in the pre-paid mailer provided in the kit. Simply place the sample in the mailer and take it to the post office to send it in. The test lab uses the activated bar code and never knows the name of the individual tested .  The bar code system is one of the methods AncestryDNA uses to protect the identity of individuals tested.  To learn more about the AncestryDNA privacy policies please visit this link. Once the sample is received at the laboratory for processing Ancestry.com (Ancestry) will send you a notification.

The Process

Ancestry has developed 26 ethnicity regions.  Each of these regions has a DNA reference panel. Ancestry sequences the DNA sample and runs numerous separate analyses to compare the sample to reference panels for each of the 26 regions. The goal of the analysis is to identify how the sample compares to the typical person living in the regions. The results determine which combination of the ethnicity regions makes up the DNA of the test individual.

The Results

The results indicate that my grandfather is 100% Eastern European. A 100% match to one region is rare but occasionally occurs. The results suggest that his ancestors lived in the same location for several generations.

The countries in the Ancestry Eastern European Group include:  Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Austria, Russia, Hungary, Slovenia, Romania, Serbia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Lithuania, Latvia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia.

Linking Family

After DNA for an individual is tested, AncestryDNA begins to search the DNA database (which grows each day) to identify other individuals with similar genetic markers. These individuals may be parents, grandparents or cousins. The process used will attempt to predict the relationship between the individual tested and the DNA match.

It is highly recommended that the DNA sample be linked to an individual in a family tree. Using data from the family trees it is possible to identify the common ancestor between the individual tested and the match. In some cases the common ancestor may be unknown. Working together the researcher and match may be able to identify the ancestral line and/or the common ancestor that links the two individuals together.

Making Connections

After reviewing the results the next step is to begin to review the AncestryDNA matches to determine if it is possible to identify the ancestral line and/or the common ancestor between the tested individual and the match. What is very exciting is my grandfather has several matches – meaning he shares a common ancestor with other individuals that have been tested.

2nd cousins

In my grandfather's results the first grouping of matches identifies 2nd cousins. The current results have identified two second cousin's with my grandfather. In this example Vincent Bukowski and Franciska Kwiatkowski are the common ancestors. The two cousins are descendants of Catherine Bukowski - my grandfather's aunt.

4th cousins

The next grouping of matches in my grandfather's results identifies potential 4th cousins. This grouping is very interesting as it identifies a relationship between one of my grandfather's unknown ancestors and the individual with the match.  The common ancestor could be my grandfather's 3rd great grandparent or 4th great grandparents who was most likely in Lithuania or Poland (but could also have been living in one of the other countries in the Eastern European group).

This example of a 4th cousin match is best illustrated by the graphic below. The green boxes represent known information:  my grandfather, his parents and his grandparents. The white boxes represent my grandfather’s unknown ancestor’s line. The red box represents the ancestor that is the link between the test individual and the match.  The grey boxes represent the connections between the common ancestor and the match. The blue box represents the match. In some cases the match may know the names of the individual who populate the grey boxes and possibly the red box. In other cases they may not.

 

I am currently working with some of these 4th cousin matches in attempt determine which of the four lines the match occurs on. These matches may provide some insight into what regions the families may be from. In time these matches could also uncover additional ancestors.

It should also be noted that the match could be another variation which places the test individual and the match the same number of degrees away from each other. Fourth cousins are 10 degrees apart. What do the degrees mean? The degrees compared to the graphic above are listed below.

• Individual Tested - 0 degrees
• Parent - 1 degree
• Grandparent - 2 degrees
• Great-grandparent - 3 degrees
• Great-great grandparent - 4 degrees
• Great-great-great-grandparent - 5 degrees [The common ancestor]
• Great-great grand (Aunt or Uncle) - 6 degrees
• 1st cousin (3x removed) - 7 degrees
• 2nd cousin (2x removed) - 8 degrees
• 3rd cousin (1x removed) - 9 degrees
• The Match - 10 degrees.

Other relationship types that are 10 degrees apart include: 3rd cousin (2x removed) and 2nd cousin (4x removed). The match could also be to a 5th cousin. To lean more about cousin relationships view the blog post First Cousin 2x Removed, Second Cousin - What does it mean?

Distant cousins

The third grouping is for matches that may be 5th cousins or greater. For individuals with tree details for several generations it might be possible to identify the common ancestor. In my grandfather's case, with limited knowledge, it may be difficult to understand the common ancestor or line.

To learn more about the Ancestry.com DNA test works please visit this link.