Where did Mom's German go?

My Mom recently submitted her DNA sample for testing with FamilyTreeDNA. The results were... more than surprising. 

Let me start with this: I have a lot to learn about the world of DNA and genealogy. I am just getting started in this excitng new field, but I have a few questions that I felt like DNA could help me.

So when I asked my Mom to submit her sample to FamilyTreeDNA, I didn't really set up any expectations for the results. I had a general idea: we would certainly see some Irish and German, and I thought there might be a chance of either Native American or African, based on family oral history and theories presented by cousins.

I couldn't have been more surprised at the results.

What happened to Germany? 

I can trace my maternal line straight back to Germany - I know the ship the original immigrants arrived on, and I know the family they left behind. I know the two brothers who came over together, and each of their recorded descendants. I've connected with a "cousin" who is still in Germany that can trace back several more generations. There has never been any doubt that my mother has German heritage. Um... what happened to Germany?

And Turkey? Where did that come from?

Oh boy.

I've got work to do.

Mom's results

For reference, Mom's surname is HEERTEN. There are very few of us in the U.S., so if you have that name in your tree, we're related... so PLEASE CONTACT ME. :)

My First Look at DNA

It came! It came!

The results from my father’s AncestryDNA test came back, and I was ever so excited to see it. Here is how the Brown family breaks down in terms of genetic ethnicity:

• British Isles: 43%
• Eastern European: 25%
• Central European: 23%
• Scandinavian: 9%

I like how the DNA results compare to the family tree information I currently have on the site in my personal research. When comparing the DNA results to what I have in my database, you can see there are some gaps and some consistencies. The birth locations I have in my family tree currently break down like this:

• USA 34%
• Sweden 30%
• Poland 15%
• Russia 15%
• Other 6%

Essentially, I feel really good about how the results came back, because it confirms most of my research on a certain level. It tells me I’m on the right path to finding more clues on my ancestors, and that confirmation is nice to have. No surprises, and although at first I was admittedly a tad disappointed, after some contemplation time, I can see how much positive information I can gain from this evaluation.

The big question for me was this: can DNA help me learn more about my brick wall ancestor, Oscar F. Brown. He was born in New York, but I have not been able to confirm the identity of his parents. (Read all about Oscar here!)  The answer? Yes, I think it will help. I know that I need to continue to focus my search in the same ways that I have been. With a name like Oscar Brown, I have always had in the back of my mind that his origins go back to Central Europe, and the DNA test seems to support that to a degree. The test supports my research plan as it is currently laid out.

Sarah (Evans) Lawrence, presumably
with one of her children.
Photo: Personal Collection of Author

So far, I have been able to find one positive match – a new 4th cousin through my great grandaunt, Mary Josephine Lawrence (sister to Oscar’s wife, Frances E Lawrence). I’m excited to connect with this researcher and learn more about their side of the family, see if they have any new clues on Mary and Frances’ parents: John Horatio Lawrence and Sarah Evans. I have had the pleasure of meeting other descendants from the Lawrence side, and have always had very positive experiences. I hope this turns out the same!

What’s next?

My maternal side. I had one of my Uncles – my Mom’s brother – take a test as well. For him, we utilized a different service, so I could compare notes on the pros/cons of how two of the major players in the DNA game work. Of course, the sale price from FamilyTreeDNA helped convince him. Actually, he was pretty willing from the first moment we asked, and has been very open to the idea. I am hoping to learn more about my Irish heritage with this test, as I have at least one line that can be traced back to the Emerald Isle. My 2nd great-grandfather, Patrick Henry McGowan (1854-1924) and his mother, Bridget (father unknown) were both born there, we think. I’m also hoping to be able to explore more of the German side of the family:  Although I know quite a bit about the Heerten side of the family, all my knowledge begins when they step foot for the first time in the U.S. Before that, I pretty much just have “Germany” and that’s where it stops.  

Perhaps too much to expect from one little test? 

While I wait, I shall read. I have been slowly trying to grasp the major concepts behind the DNA study as it relates to genealogy, and I will continue to do so. I’m looking forward to a DNA session or two at the NGS Conference in Vegas, also.

The only thing so far in this experience that has been negative is the quantity of emails I have been receiving from other AncestryDNA customers. There are as many reasons to take a test like this as there are researchers, so please, stop sending me generic emails telling me to make my family tree on Ancestry.com public (vs the private setting I have now). I have a whole list of reasons to keep it private, and DNA will not change that! I’m more than willing to compare notes to see if there is a connection; I love finding new cousins! But you have to say “please” and “thank you” just like my four year old does. Sorry, that’s just how I roll.

After that, I really want my husband to do a test. We know very little of his birth father, and literally nothing of his paternal history.  I think he might have a bit of Italian in him, so I'm incredibly curious to see what that might tell us. 

What's on your DNA to-do list? Have any awesome websites or learning resources to share? I'd love to see them. 

The Adams Family

Buried together in a small corner of the Valley Brook Cemetery in Breckenridge, Colorado, sits the Adams Family: Josie, Marie Therese (mother), Paul G., and Philip P., (father). Little Josie caught my interest first, as early deaths are wont to do, and tucked on my maternal heart strings. Today I got the chance to take a look at her family in a more structured and intentional way. 

Adams Family Plot

Josie Adams did not survive for long in the sometimes extreme environment of Summit County, Colorado. Born in September, she lived just over a year.

According to the 1900 and 1910 census records for Summit County, Philip was born in Germany, and arrived in the United States in 1880. The State of Colorado Historical Records Index Search (http://www.colorado.gov) revealed nothing, neither did the Bureau of Land Management General Land Office Records database (http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/default.aspx). Since both of these are initial search resources for me, I had to dig a little deeper. The 1920 census reveals that Philip became a Naturalized Citizen in 1894, but does not mention the still living Marie in the same household, though it does say that Philip is still married.

Census records tell me that Marie was born in Wisconsin. The 1900 Federal Census provides a marriage date of 1883, and I was able to locate a marriage record in the BYU Idaho Special Collections & Family History (http://abish.byui.edu) system for Philip Adams of Breckenridge and Threasa KLANKA of Breckenridge, 24 May 1884 (Western States Marriage Record Index, ID 349647, Vol. A, Page 21). The marriage took place in Breckenridge, so this is more than likely the correct Philip and Therese.  Using the spelling of her first name provided by the headstone, rather than the alternate on the marriage index, searching for Therese Klanka born in Wisconsin in 1859 on FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org) gives me the following result:
1870 Federal Census, Therese KLENKE, born 1859, Wisconsin. Daughter of Anton and Dore, sister to Herman and Carl. Residing in the Town of Herman, Sheboygan County, about 65 miles north of Wisconsin, just inland from the shore of Lake Michigan.

From what I have already collected, the Adams also had children Dora, Agnes and Clara, all born in Colorado. So what happened to them? Since they all survived at least long enough to be recorded in the 1900 Census, they probably married and moved on with their new families.

Paul G. Adams, born Sept. 13, 1885, is also buried in Valley Brook next to his parents and baby sister. The General Land Office Records database (see above link) tells us that he obtained property in Baca County, Colorado in 1920; but the 1930 census has him back in Breckenridge. Where will he be in 1940, I wonder? Guess I still have a few days before that information becomes available... (see the 1940 U.S. Census Project for more information!)

If I had the inclination and time, I would order Philip's naturalization papers to see what else I could learn. However, for the purpose of this summary, I believe I have said enough. Please note all of the above resources were accessed on 25 Mar 2012, and a FindAGrave memorial has been created for Philip Adams (www.findagrave.com, memorial # 87354918); I would imagine the rest of the headstones will be added to the site before the end of the day. The research done for the purpose of this blog was also conducted and completed on 25 Mar 2012, and is stored in the personal files of Jen Baldwin, Ancestral Journeys, author. A full genealogical report will be posted on the Summit County Trails to the Past website in the near future (http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cosummtp/).

Tombstone Tuesday: Eilert & Anna Heerten

Eilert and Anna Heerten are buried in the Ainsworth Cemetery, Ainsworth, Brown County, Nebraska.

Eilert was born in Hanover, Germany, 21 Jan 1846 or 1847, and in 1869 he came to the United States as a stowaway on board the vessel "New York", which sailed out of Bremen. Son of Silas Heerten, who remained in Germany, we know that he had at least one brother remaining in that country at the time of his death in 1929.  Originally settling in Pettersburg, Illinois, he also lived in Woodford and Mason counties, and could be found in Illinois at least through 1890.  On 7 Dec 1874, he married Amke "Anna" Dirks Rademacher in Tazewell County, Illinois, the daughter of Dirk Harms Rademacher and Aaltje Frerichs Buhr. She was born 30 Oct 18 in Zwischenbergen, Hanover, Germany, and arrived through Baltimore on 28 Oct 1867. By 1868, the family had settled in Pettersburg, Illionis.

In the 1900 census, he was listed as a farmer in Keya Paha County, Nebraska, and that is where he remained. His descendants can now boast a long line of residency in that county.  He appears in Keya Paha County as early as 1885. Having moved to Nebraska with three children, they spent their first winter in a 12x14 sod house shared with two other families: the Olaf Nelson family and the Frank Dixon family. Over the course of the summer months, three frame houses were built, and each family claimed their homestead.

Well known in the community, and seemingly hard working farmers, the Heerten's were the first to purchase a steam engine and threshing machine in the area, from J.I. Case Company. They would eventually hire son John as a traveling repair man, and he gained quite a reputation as an unmarried good looking fellow. He did eventually marry at the age of 41 to Emma Anna Koehnken of Natrona, Illinois. On 18 April 1913, a dark grey horse was foaled and named "Patsy." This animal is listed in The National Register of French Draft Horses (#26156), and was owned by Eilert Heerten of Norden, Nebraska.

Eilert and Anna had seven children through their married life; John, Dick, Annie, Herman, Frank, Edward and Bessie, most of which remained in Nebraska. Ed was a veteran of WWI.

Eilert died in 1929 and Anna in 1928, her death coming after an extended illness. The family oral history tells us they had a good and happy marriage, and their children and grandchildren remembered them fondly.

Wordless Wednesday

The New York... mode of transport for Eilert Heerten. 

First of the family to come to the U.S. from Germany and a stowaway!