I recently got my results back from AncestryDNA. I have a lot of distant cousin matches, and one 1st cousin match who doesn’t have a tree and doesn’t appear to be active on Ancestry. I’m searching for my bio dad, but I was recently told who he might be, so now I’m trying to “confirm” parentage. Using names from an obituary of my presumed dad’s mother, I typed in my presumed great grandmother’s name in the search box, and found her name in a large public tree. When I clicked on the tree owner’s name it says that we have shared DNA: 17cM across 2 segments, a possible 5th-8th cousin. Additionall ..read more

Documentation shows that both women have the same name, but that's all I have for the person in the left side photo. Based on other evidence (date on original photograph of person on the left, and info from confirmed granddaughter of person on the right) I know that they were about the same age, if not actually the same person. What do you think? https://imgur.com/a/2urD9Nj ​ submitted by /u/KryptosBC [visit reddit] [comments ..read more

Hey everyone, In my personal crusade to double check my entire family tree, I come across a sketchy case, and I am not having a great time fixing it. My oldest reliable source I have is a passenger list from 1857, there I can find the 4 people that emigrated to Brazil. Johann Henkes, the head of the family, which I don't precisely know when he was born, and only know he was already dead in 1892, when his wife died. Maria Thome, who died in 1892 with 69 years Anna Maria Henkes, born in about 1845 (probably 18 of November 1845) . Johann Henkes, born in about 1847 (not sure were this date came ..read more

Quick backstory: I'm polish with a strong german background, and I started my family tree research in december last year, and since then I'm not able to find any generations above my paternal great-grandfather's generation (barely 1900s). All I know is the name of his dad, and the maiden name of his mother. The worst part is, this is the ancestor whose name I hold now, so this line is kind of the most important to me, yet I can't find anything about them! I searched on FamilySearch, MyHeritage, Ancestry (even though the paywall stopped me much), and other polish-german sites like szukajwarchi ..read more

I have a question / rant. What to do about a user going around adding 'Mr.' and 'Mrs.' to the title in the name of a bunch of people you are working on in the global FamilySearch tree? ​ These people are not well-known or famous they are just normal people. Is there anything I can do apart from changing it back and leaving a note saying this is not necessary and just clutters the name? I have mostly chosen to ignore it if I'm honest and I have my own private trees which is where I actually keep all my work. It is just mildly annoying each time I check some profiles and once again that same us ..read more

I don't want to post his DD214 for obvious reasons, but I was wondering if anyone could tell what his reason for discharge means. ​ BPM ART-10305 BUPERS LTR PERS B2221 JHD OF 16 MAY 60 ​ It states that he had an honorable discharge. But it also states that a DD217N was issued, though what I received from the archives after requesting his records was a single DD214. His last duty assignment was USS Tawakoni (ATF 114)- No clue what the ATF 114 means. Any help would be appreciated. submitted by /u/_Tootiredtothink_ [visit reddit] [comments ..read more

TL;DR - Is there a best practice standard for identifying a spousal relationship on an Ancestry tree between two biological parents who appear to not have had any type of formal relationship? ---DETAILS--- I am adding newly identified parents for a deceased person that was adopted in 1938. As best as we can tell his biological parents never had a formal relationship. Is there a standard/best way to record the relationships between this child and his two biological parents. We have added the two identified individuals as alternate parents to the adopted child classifying them as the Biological ..read more

My family and I think they probably are, but wanted to get other opinions: https://imgur.com/a/PpLmF7H submitted by /u/genealogistsupreme [visit reddit] [comments ..read more

I need help finding my ancestors parents. My 3x great grandfather William Belcher was born 17 April 1842 in Stoddardsville, Luzerne, Pennsylvania. He served in the civil war in the 67th PA Infantry. I have his obituary and death certificate as well as military documents. His death certificate lists his father as William but no mother. His pension record also says William with Polly as his mother. The father William is listed in the 1870 census living with his son Louis in Bear Creek, Luzerne, Pa. Trying to find the father in 1860 I have William and Elizabeth living in Buck Township, Luzerne ..read more

I’ve hit a brick wall with some family members since I can’t find any sources on them before they moved to the UK from Poland in the mid-1800s. The info I have on them so far is: - Philip Hyams (b. circa 1840 in Poland, d. April 1891 in the UK) - His wife, Amelia Franklin (b. circa 1840 in Poland, d. 1903 in London) And another couple I’ve hit a dead end with for the same reasons are: - Isaac Marks (b. circa 1828 in Poland, d. December 1867 in Birmingham) - Emma Myers (b. circa 1836 in Poland, d. 1905 in London) If anyone has any sources or places to research Jewish and Polish genealogy, espe ..read more