GeniAus - #AtoZChallenge - U is for Unearthed by DNA

During April 2020 the month of this #AtoZChallenge I will be sharing short posts on some of the 2,000+ descendants I have identified of my 3x Great-Grandmother, Elizabeth Phipps. 

Elizabeth Phipps 1785-1869 was a convict who was transported from England to New South Wales in 1814 per Wanstead. 

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I have found most of my Phipps cousins by doing traditional research over a period of 30+ years but since I took the plunge and did my first DNA test about eight years ago (I've now done 5 with different companies) I have found more people who share Elizabeth Phipps as an ancestor.

It is gratifying when I find I have a match with someone who is already in my tree because that confirms the validity of my earlier research. When I am notified of other matches I check them out in traditional sources to see where they fit in and then add them to my tree.

Since going down the DNA path I've added several surnames to my cousin list. One of these names is Vidler. 

This fan chart shows Lillian's line back to Elizabeth Phipps.

After Lillian Jean Mahoney married Guy Hubert Stanley Vidler in 1940  a generation of three young Vidlers was added to my tree. One of those cousins was Guy Stanley Vidler (1942-2010, not yet added to my online tree ). As the other two cousins are living I will not identify them here but I must say it was pleasing to be able to correspond by email with the one who was my DNA match.

I enjoy finding and connecting with new cousins via DNA which is a most valuable source, it can be a bit awkward when we have a big match through DNA that can't be confirmed by other means as  Science doesn't lie. It just means that hanky panky was alive and well in earlier days.

I love to connect with cousins and fellow researchers. Should you find any errors in my post or have additional information please contact me.