James Jakes, but which James Jakes?

Is this my Paternal Great Grandfather James Jakes among the 37 persons drawn to serve as jurors for the April 1880  term of the United States Circuit Court. It is not his grandfather, James Jakes as he passed in 1847.  It could be his uncle James Jakes.  His Uncle James Jakes also married a daughter of James Morrow & Margaret Sutton. The children of this Uncle were my Great Grandfather, James Jakes' Double 1st Cousins.

The Tennessean, 18 Mar 1880, Thu, Page 4 (www.newspapers.com)

My Gr Grandfather, James Jakes(b. 1857) was not yet married and was boarding with the Armstrong family in 1880 in Dist 1 of Bedford Co TN which contains Fairfield.

1880 US Federal Census, Tennessee, Bedford County, Dist 1(Fairfield) pg 20D

(Click on Image to Enlarge)

This Uncle James Jakes(b. 1825) had been living in Coffee Co TN in the previous census years.  However, in 1880, he too is in Dist 1 of Bedford Co TN with his family.

1880 US Federal Census, Tennessee, Bedford County, Dist 1(Fairfield) pg 9A

(Click on Image to Enlarge)

Nothing conclusive so far.  Could be either of them.  Records of the US Circuit Court Middle District of TN for the April 1880 Term would be where I'd need to check.  Surely he would have had to give identification.  The age would be the telling factor.  Better yet, if for some reason he could not serve.there would be more paperwork no doubt.  Now to see if I can locate where any of those records would be housed, if there is access to them and record of those called to serve.

Williams Family Land from original North Carolina Land Grant

The land mentioned is in Davidson County, Tennessee

The Tennessean, 12 Jul 1910, Tue, Page 10  www.newspapers.com

The snippet below is from the will of Dr. William Williams who is mentioned in the above article.  Dr. Williams' wife was Elizabeth Branch Donelson.  Another familiar name in Tennessee history.  Dr. William Williams is buried in Spring Hill Cemetery.

Ancestry.com. Tennessee, Wills and Probate Records, 1779-2008 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.
Original data: Tennessee County, District and Probate Courts.

Wills; Author: Tennessee County Court (Davidson County); Probate Place: Davidson, Tennessee Wills, Vol 29, 1886-1888 pg. 539

DNA Randomness: Siblings

If you have been researching genetic genealogy for any length of time and I guess more so if you have also taken courses or attended webinars,  you have heard about the randomness of DNA as it pertains to autosomal DNA inheritance.  While we each get 50% of our DNA from our father and 50% from our mother,  the 50% that we get from each parent is not the same 50% when comparing to other siblings(unless you are comparing Identical Twins).  I have 4 full siblings, only one of which has tested.   Even with just one having tested I can see that is true in comparing our matches and the amounts she and I match them.  Our Mother has tested also, so I have phased kits created at GEDmatch using her results in comparison with mine and also phased kits comparing her results to my sister's results.  These are very useful.

Ancestry has a phase filter which you can use if one or both parents have also tested at AncestryDNA.  Since I only have one parent that was able to test, that tool lets me see a listing of matches who are also a match to my Mother.  Keep in mind the match range is similar to Shared Matches tool in that it only includes 4th cousin and closer matches---not Distant Cousins.  It would be nice if they could do a list of 4C or closer who DO NOT MATCH when there is only one parent who has tested.

The chart below compares my match list with that of my full sister.  I did not include our Mother's results for our maternal matches nor the matches of my daughter.  I may do that in a future post  Those covered are matches who Ancestry DNA estimated were in 3rd cousin range for at least me OR my sister.

The RED border is around those who were in my list at 3rd Cousin or above.
The VIOLET border is around those who were in my sister's list at 3rd Cousin level.who were ranked as 4th cousins by Ancestry in my list.

Average Difference 65 cM
Total-M(Marie)
Total-B(Becca)

Notes:  Both of our parents have Colonial American Ancestry.  Pretty much all of our ancestors were in the US before 1800.
Our Distant Cousin matches Start on:
Page 41 of 876 (Becca)---- 30 matches which are 3rd Cousin or closer
Page 38 of 908 (Marie)-----26 matches which are 3rd Cousin or closer
Marie:  1873 4th cousin or closer matches
Becca:  2007 4th cousin or closer matches

GEDmatch comparison:  Marie and Becca
Largest segment = 145.6 cM

Total of segments > 7 cM = 2,507.6 cM
51 matching segments
Estimated number of generations to MRCA = 1.3
Six of my matches that were estimated 3rd cousin were in the 4th cousin range for my sister.  Eight of my sister's matches that were estimated 3rd cousin were in the 4th cousin range for me. There was one match who was on the low end of a 3rd cousin match for my sister who was in my Distant Cousin match.



Ancestry's Cousin Categories
From the Hyperlinked "What does this mean?" in the Amount of Shared DNA info box





A bit confusing I guess as there is a gap between categories. I did check for ours that fell
in the gap(195 cM) and it was noted as a 3rd cousin.

Hide and Seek in the US Federal Census

I was looking for a census entry for the Waynick family and found this entry which is an excellent example of why we should always check the census images AND surrounding households.

The census entry as it is indexed makes it appear that 5 year old Dillard is living in the household of John Jordan. If you look at the image below, you will see what has happened. The census taker M.F. Shelton has realized that he omitted Dillard.  He has added Dillard at the bottom of the page in the middle of another household entry.  The 9 year old twins are on the next page.  Yes the census taker does note that Nancy and Missouri Lee are twins.  I wondered if they were actually supposed to be in the Jordan household.  Who knows.....No notation is shown beside their names other than noting that they are twins.

The household # 47 where Dillard belongs is shown below

This entry is from 1860 Federal Census Middle District of Dickson County Tennessee.

I would also like to add that it is good to check the very last page of each District in which you have an ancestor.  This is especially true if someone isn't in the census and you think they should be there.  Several times I've found that the enumerators listed folks that hey had omitted from the household.  I've also found several mothers who list all of their married adult children as still living at home.  Duplicate entries can also occur with people listed in different districts and when a person is living/working in homes other than that of their parents.  Does this hold true in your census research as well?

Call for Bids--Dekalb County TN courthouse & jail

The call for bids to build the courthouse and jail in Smithville.  Dekalb County Tennessee was formed in 1837 but not officially organized til March of 1838.  

The Tennessean (Nashville, Tennessee)  07 Jul 1838, Sat  • Page 2
Available at https://www.newspapers.com

If you build it: Connecting AncestryDNA matches

Researchers who are using autosomal DNA testing know the importance of testing as many of your known relatives as possible, especially the elders of the family.  I love it when a 2nd cousin shows up among my matches because that can help in sorting.  I don't know about you, but I don't have a money tree.  In the absence of unlimited funds to purchase atDNA tests, something that I have had success with is finding those 2C1R, 2C2R, 3C, 3C1R and so on that I do not know who have tested.  After my grandparents passed we did not have the family gatherings every few years so I haven't kept up with my cousins who are spread across the US.  With the over abundance of testers with very small trees in my matches, the odds are in my favor that there are those among my matches who aren't showing up in the AncestryDNA circles because their tree isn't built out far enough.  I think this is one of the times when having Colonial American lines really makes things easier.  This process will not work if you have only a handful of 4th or closer cousins.  If that is the case for you I would suggest working the first few pages of your Distant Cousins to see which of the 4th cousins are SHARED for you and that Distant Cousin.

My Cook lines and also my Jakes/Harger lines(both paternal) are ones I have been focusing on lately.  I have a lot of genealogical questions for which I'd like to find answers. The steps are pretty much the same regardless of which group I choose.

• Select a Focus Group(ex. my Jakes/Frizzell Great Grandparents)
• Find a close cousin among the matches who is in the Focus group(you can do this by choosing one of your matches from the DNA circle if you have those)
• Browse thru the Shared Matches that you share with that cousin.  Pick a few that have the smaller trees to build out in search of the MRCA.  
• Don't ignore the larger trees.  Look at all the ones that aren't in the circle to see if they have a path that might lead to the Focus Ancestor.  I've found many who were only a generation away from the MRCA which would have put them in the circle.
• Contact the match with any knew information you find and ask them to consider uploading to GEDmatch.  It's always nice to get a message from someone who can extend your family tree.

Utilize the NOTES feature on your match's page.  Connections lead to more connections as each of you may have documents, pictures or stories that would help the other in their research.  I guess this is why it upsets me a great deal when I cross paths with a researcher who is only researching his or her direct line. Don't be someone who misses out on finding that extra something just because you are only interested in your direct line.