Help with my genetic genealogy journey

 

                                                                  Richard III lying in state in Leicester Cathedral

It's strange how things come to you when you state an intention. A few days ago I walked into a book store (that's not an unusual occurrence). Heading to the left after I entered the store I saw a book on the top shelf facing out to entice shoppers. It was about DNA, entitled The Secrets of Our DNA: How Genetics Has Changed the World. One of the shop employees asked if I needed help - of course I did, it was on a high shelf. When it was in hand I realized the author's name rang a bell.

The name was Turi King, and that brought me back. Remember all the excitement about the discovery and identification of Richard III's remains? I do. In fact, I made a side trip to Leicester to see for myself what the fuss was about. Turi King was one of the people involved with IDing the skeleton they'd unearthed. The collaborative Richard III project is one of the subjects she talks about in the book. She also covers many other DNA related subjects. There's even a chapter about epigenetics, I checked. What's more, the book was published in 2026, a plus in the ever evolving world of genetic discoveries and genealogy.

Sources:

King, Turi, The Secrets of Our DNA: How Genetics Has Changed the World, Doubleday Canada, Toronto, 2026 

Time to find out more about epigenetics

 

                                                                          Some of my books about Epigenetics

I've been researching my family's history for many, many years now. My quest began so long ago that I can remember ordering films from the LDS church in Salt Lake City through my local Family History Centre, then waiting weeks for them to come in. Finding genealogical links was a lot slower in those days.

When I think back to why I started on my genealogical journey though, it was the stories that intrigued me. I've always had a thing for mystery stories; devouring Agatha Christies in my early teens. But even more intriguing were the mysteries involving my own family many of which I half overheard when my mother was chatting with her mother.

It's those stories that told me what my ancestors were made of and the consequences of their actions, many of which would be far reaching. What was even more intriguing was when genealogy became enhanced by DNA testing and eventually connection was made between our genetic inheritance and those stories. It showed how our genetic makeup influences how we react and what paths we take. It's a fascinating subject I want to know more about. Looks like it's time to actually read those books about epigenetics that I've collected. 

Checking misinformation on public family trees

 

                                                  The children of Samuel Tripp as determined by my research

I received an email from FamilySearch about ancestors' weddings in this month and signed in to the website. Their interface has changed a lot and there is now a box encouraging you to build your family tree. Clicking around, I happened on a tree that included my great grandmother, Charlotte Tripp only her name was spelt Sharlot. Looking into the information on the tree further, I saw that Sharlot was listed as the eldest child of Samuel Charles Tripp and Mary Ann Roden, on the FamilySearch tree. Well, the father was correct but not the mother. Samuel Tripp had at least one child with Catherine Matheson, my 2 x great grandmother. I'm not sure which woman was the mother of Samuel's second child, Sarah May. The mother could have been Catherine, perhaps she died in childbirth, or Sarah May could have been the first child born to Samuel and Mary Ann.

It seems likely that the source for information on the family could have been the 1871 census for Fenelon, Victoria North, Ontario. The information on the entry for the Trips (sp) shows Samuel, wife Ann, daughters Sharlott age 5, Sarah age 2 and Mary 9/12. Sharlott disappeared by the 1881 census but there were more children to take her place. It would be easy to infer that Sharlott had died. But Sharlott, or more properly, Charlotte (often called Lottie) happened to be recorded twice in the 1871 census. She was also living with her grandfather, Keneth Mathison, in Fenelon, Victoria North, Ontario. Her uncle Angus (written as Agness) and aunt Heneretta Mathison were also part of the household. By the time the 1881 census was taken, Charlotte Tripp and her aunt, Henrietta Matheson, were living with the Thompson (sp) family, with another of Charlotte's aunts, Margaret Thomson.

It was a confusing situation to parse out originally and I was happy to see the family situation playing out in the official records. Now it appears that I will need to keep an eye on the information put on the FamilySearch tree so that misinformation doesn't take over the legitimate facts. Maybe it's time to check out WikiTree more fully too to make sure there is no more misinformation being entered about this family line.