Yesterday I wrote that I was having some "me research time" and looking at those little green leaves on Ancestry that I have been ignoring.
Well I didn't get past the first hint that was offered. For years I have wondered what happened to Ellen D'arcy, sister of my 2xGreat-Grandmother Elizabeth D'arcy. I knew that she married a Henry Holmes but that was all. My first green leaf directed me to a death notice for Helen Holmes (had I ever thought to search for a Helen?) which looked promising. I looked at the NSW BDM Indexes and found that the father mentioned in the index was named as Michael not John as expected but the deceased's age was close to the mark. I kept digging and found the marriage entry for Helen D'arcy and Henry Holmes. The time and location were right so I continued exploring in Ancestry, on Trove , Familysearch and the NSW BDM indexes. Yes, that little newspaper clipping was for my Ellen.
My explorations on Ancestry took me to a Holmes tree that, although it had a mistakes, listed a number of descendants for one line of Ellen and Henry's children, these clues were of great assistance. I have since spent a few hours adding descendants to Ellen's tree using the online resources at my disposal. As Irish Catholics they were prolific breeders so I have quote a task ahead of me.
I am thrilled to have located this line as, I know having a few more cousin surnames in my tree will help me solve some more of my DNA matches.
Call me a cynic but I think that was a "first time lucky" hint. I wonder what else Ancestry has in store for me!
Well I didn't get past the first hint that was offered. For years I have wondered what happened to Ellen D'arcy, sister of my 2xGreat-Grandmother Elizabeth D'arcy. I knew that she married a Henry Holmes but that was all. My first green leaf directed me to a death notice for Helen Holmes (had I ever thought to search for a Helen?) which looked promising. I looked at the NSW BDM Indexes and found that the father mentioned in the index was named as Michael not John as expected but the deceased's age was close to the mark. I kept digging and found the marriage entry for Helen D'arcy and Henry Holmes. The time and location were right so I continued exploring in Ancestry, on Trove , Familysearch and the NSW BDM indexes. Yes, that little newspaper clipping was for my Ellen.
 |
| 1903 'Family Notices', The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), 26 October, p. 6. , viewed 24 Feb 2018, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article14575312 |
My explorations on Ancestry took me to a Holmes tree that, although it had a mistakes, listed a number of descendants for one line of Ellen and Henry's children, these clues were of great assistance. I have since spent a few hours adding descendants to Ellen's tree using the online resources at my disposal. As Irish Catholics they were prolific breeders so I have quote a task ahead of me.
I am thrilled to have located this line as, I know having a few more cousin surnames in my tree will help me solve some more of my DNA matches.
Call me a cynic but I think that was a "first time lucky" hint. I wonder what else Ancestry has in store for me!
Right! Sometimes - sometimes - those green hints are the start of something wonderful, aren't they? They are at the very least, small clues. Congrats, Jill. G'day indeed!
ReplyDeleteExcellent. Yes hints, including of images saved to other people’s trees, plus of course research done by descendants can be extremely valuable even if it has errors. Your post highlights the benefits and that when pursuing a hint a lot of research is required to verify and get closer to the truth. The benefits of collaboration and using the excellent tools ancestry provides but sensibly.
ReplyDeleteAlways good to solve a puzzle! I’m learning that trees on Ancestry can be helpful..overcmng Pride and Prejudice.
ReplyDelete