A Tree Grew in Oakland

Louis Comfort Tiffany is reported to be my 5th cousin, 4 times removed, through our MRCA, Elizabeth Baker (1645-1708), the grandmother of Dinah Harris (1702-1796), my 6 times great grandmother and the furthest documented ancestor I have in that lineage.  From Grandmother Baker, Louis’ lineage is a straight line down the Tiffany males.  The oddity is that Grandmother Baker’s children have different last names:  Tiffany and King.   This is an item for the TO DO List!

The above was report # 412.   Months ago, We’re Related also informed me in report # 179, that Louis and I were 7th cousins, 4 times removed, through our MRCA, Thomas Clarke (1570-1627), the 4 times great grandfather of Mary Summers (1773-1860), my 4 times great grandmother and the furthest documented ancestor I have in that lineage.  It is a bit off putting that in the midst of the lineage I have not documented there appears an entry of PRIVATE (xxxx-xxxx) who would have to have lived in the 1600s.  Really?  Private?  For Louis, this report climbs his mother’s lineage.

So, I may investigate # 412, and really dim out # 179.

We’re Related notice # 410 seems to be unable to find a photograph of #38!  That is VERY STRANGE!

Anyway, it reports that we are 8th cousins, twice removed through our MRCA, Mary Raymond (1629-1724), the mother of Hannah Betts (1652-1688), my 8th great grandmother and my furthest documented ancestor in that lineage.  OK, this goes on the TO DO list:  Find The Mother of HANNAH BETTS!

Now, in report # 165, We’re Related had us again as 8th cousins, twice removed, through a MRCA, Joseph Baldwin (1609-1684).  Unfortunately, my lineage is not through Joseph.  They have Hannah Baldwin as my Linkage, but there is a bit more to it.  Joseph and Timothy are brothers and both have daughters names Hannah.  It really looks like #165 has spun the branches of this tree as if it were a Weeping Willow in the wind and called it an Oak.

We’re Related # 408 shows J. Paul Getty as my 7th cousin, 3 times removed, through our MRCA, Johann Christ (1610-1674), the 5 times great grandfather of my great great grandmother, Mary Ann Allen, the brick wall in that lineage documentation.  Earlier, in report # 160, our MRCA was declared to be the son of Johann, Hans Christ (1638-1690).  Both reports repeat the lower lines, there is just disagreement as to whether Adam Christ (1668-1754) in J. Paul Getty’s lineage is the son of Heinrich Christ, the brother of Hans, or the actual son of Hans.  Obviously, someone had issues in reading the German church records and defining who was who or the issue of the first name versus the call name.   Either way, I was not named in the will, so I will just back burner this on my list of things TO DO.

Bucky really appears to be my 6th cousin, three times removed through our MRCA, Hannah Baldwin (1644-1691), my 8 times great grandmother.  At least in Report # 409 from We’re Related.   I can say, the lineage reported for me is accurate and well documented through to grandmother Hannah.

Now, many months ago, We’re Related decided that Buckminster (I use his full name here since the relationship is a bit more sketchy) and I were 7th cousins, twice removed, through a different MRCA, Hannah Chapman (1644-1719), the grandmother of Moses Hitchcock (1717-1768), my 6 times great grandfather and the furthest documented ancestor I have in that lineage.  This was notice # 164.

For my lineage, the two cross at my great great grandparents, Charles Norton Lee (#164) and Esther Jenks (#409).  For Buckminster, the crossing is at his great grandparents, Susan Blinn (#409) and Christopher Columbus Wolcott (#164).

Pedigrees are very confusing and the further you go back the more they seem to cross over.   Maybe Kevin Bacon was right his theory of Six Degrees of Separation…

Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of the Christian Science movement, is reported to be my 6th cousin, 4 times removed in # 407 through our MRCA, Elizabeth Dunckley (1576-1657), the 3 times great grandmother of Esther Clark, my 4 times great grandmother and the furthest documented ancestor I have in that lineage.    Many months ago, in # 161, We’re Related showed Mary as my 7th cousin, 4 times removed, through our MRCA, John Baker (1576-1594), the great great grandfather of Dinah Harris (1702-1796), my 6 times great grandmother and the furthest documented ancestor I have in that lineage.  For Mary, both lines trace up through her father (#161 is a straight paternal Baker line) and #407 merges at Mary’s great grandparents: Hannah Lovewell (1721-1790)-Joseph Baker (1714-1771) and then follows Hannah’s lineage up.  Either way, there is a lot more research to make this connection.

Thomas Wolfe, my projected 5th cousin, three times remove, through our MRCA, Anna Schumacher (1654-1724), the grandmother of John Shaul (xxxx-1790), my 5 times great grandfather and the furthest documented ancestor in that lineage.  Since the SH construction is not a German construct, the name was changed by John from the original Schall — not sure why he would have done this and gone Biblical, but he did.

Of interest is that We’re Related also calls out Anna as the MRCA in defining my 8th cousin, twice removed relation to President Barak Obama.

Notice # 405 from We’re Related tells me that Anthony Perkins is my 8th cousin, twice removed, through our MRCA, Lot Conant (1624-1674), the proposed great great grandfather of my 5 times great grandmother, Thankful Isham (1752-1834), the furthest documented ancestor I have in this lineage.  Now, besides the great names: my all time favorite, Thankful, and now a new one Lot, there is a lot of work to prove this connection.  And with Lot at the top of the heap, I would be concerned with turning back once I started.  We know what happened to Lot’s wife!!!

Speaking of Lot’s wife (not the Biblical one, the one in #405), she was reported as the MRCA in Notice # 139 a number of months ago.   Elizabeth Walton (1629-1674) is assumed to have been married to Lot Conant.  The lineages reported for both Anthony and me are identical in both reports.

At least the two reports agree with each other.  That is progress.  And the research has more connections now that I have both Lot and Elizabeth!!