52 Ancestors Challenge 2015: Week 6 Recap

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52ancestors-2015-06We are into a new month of themes in the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge! The optional weekly theme for Week 6 was “So Far Away.” Considering that many of us are away at the RootsTech and FGS conferences right now, it seems to be an appropriate theme.

Chriss Coleman of Curating Kin tells about Harriet Bolt, who was essentially a single mother because her husband was so far away. Patricia Rohn at Shaking the Tree wondered why her 3rd-great-grandfather Reuben Keiper was so far away — and ended up getting a break in a brick wall. Cindi at My Moynahan Genealogy Blog opted to forgo the weekly theme, and told the story of her relative Patrick Moynahan and shares some wonderful examples of records.

My contribution this week was about my ancestor John Douglass, who was far away from me (he was from England), died far from where his family ended up, and for whom I found his marriage record when I was far away from home. (On a side note, finding his marriage record at the Family History Library was a great way to start FGS/RootsTech week!)

Don’t forget to take a look at the entries from Week 5. There were lots of great examples of “plowing through”!

week6-twitterUpcoming Themes:

  • Week 7 (Feb 12-18) – Love
  • Week 8 (Feb 19-25) – Good Deeds
  • Week 9 (Feb 26 – Mar 4) – Close to Home

75 thoughts on “52 Ancestors Challenge 2015: Week 6 Recap”

  13. Amy Kelly

    Jean RODRIGUE (born João RODRIGUES), circa 1641-1720 – http://shaketree.blogspot.com/2015/02/jean-rodrigue-52-ancestors-in-52-weeks.html. He is my maternal 9th great-grandfather who was “so far away” from me in generations, physical distance, and family legend. Jean immigrated from Portugal to New France (Québec) circa 1668. The Rodrigue family and their descendants became prominent in both Canada and Louisiana, to which many of them later migrated. I went searching my Rodrigue(z) line thinking it was likely Portuguese, becoming convinced it was actually French, and then finding out that my family’s long-told oral history of Portuguese origins was, indeed, correct!

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    1. Joanne Barnard

      Hollie, I enjoyed your story and commiserate with your frustration about finding a maiden name for Elizabeth. I wish you much luck in your ongoing search – something will turn up!

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  15. labwriter

    52 Ancestors: 6/52–The “Greats” of the Netherlands, So Far Away. That’s the theme for this week–so far away. Half of my DNA (paternal) comes from northern Netherlands, mainly the province of Friesland. I’ve tended to avoid this group, not only because they’re far away geographically, but also because the language difference (both Dutch and Fries) makes them seem even farther than my mother’s English/Irish ancestors. It’s time to learn how to use the Dutch records and learn more about my far-away great grandparents. I’m working with 56 paternal ancestors here (going back to my 4x great grandparents), so this might take more than one week–ha.

    https://roordawrite.wordpress.com/2015/02/02/52-ancestors-6-of-52-the-greats-of-the-netherlands-so-far-away/

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  17. Dana Leeds, The Enthusiastic Genealogist

    My daughter had surgery and I think that’s why I’m a week off on the themes! My 5th great grandfather, Cornelius Vincent, was marched to Canada as a prisoner during the Revolutionary War. His wife probably thought she’d never see him again. And then, one day, a “roughly dressed stranger” entered into her life…

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  23. pen4hire

    I’m a week ahead on the theme because my parents love story demands to be told on the 9th of the month. So last Monday, I wrote about…

    PAUL and HARRIETTE ANDERSON KASER
    Love Letters and the Course of True Love
    http://ancestorsinaprons.com/2015/02/52-ancestors-love-letters/

    As a bonus, because some of the letters came from mother on a road trip, I also wrote this week about our family members who visited World Fairs–over a period of 70 years. And my recipe offering is recreating one of the things they ate when they were poor newlyweds in 1938. Depression Era Soup.

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  36. Wendy Negley

    Bartolomeo Stefani is the earliest I’ve found in a line of 11 Generations of Stefani men who all lived in the tiny town of Sporminore in the Italian Tyrol. He is far away in generations, years (born about 1540) and miles.

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  45. Plc718

    LYFORD, Rev. John – the first husband of Sarah, who married Edmund Hobart (my 11th great-grandfather). Rev. Lyford tried to outrun his past, but it caught up with him in the colonies.

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  59. Patti Di Loreto

    Thank you Lynda! I know I’m a bit of an “oddity” here since I don’t have a blog, but I appreciate the compliment. I’ve enjoyed reading through your blog and love what you did for week 7!

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