Wednesday, December 19, 2018

AncestryDNA Match List Stats--Then and Now

I was reviewing one of my blog posts from last year-- DNA Randomness: Siblings and noticed I had included some stats for our AncestryDNA match lists from that date---August 25, 2017, comparing the number of AncestryDNA matches in various categories of the DNA match lists of my sister, and myself.  I wondered how this year's stats would compare so I have included the ones from August of 2017( reformated for comparison purposes) in a table along with the stats I collected today







Clarke Street Neighbors(Part 2)--Old Hickory, TN 1923-1946

This post continues me gathering more information about the Old Hickory residents who lived near my paternal grandparents.  My grandparents lived at 1009 Clarke Street in Old Hickory until some time between the latter part of 1927 and 1930.  They moved from Clarke Street to 911 Dodson Street.  I'm attempting to identify neighbors who might be the "unknowns" in pictures that my grandmother had which are from this time period.  As I mentioned in the previous post(see link below), I will be adding these neighbors to the neighborhood tree database at Ancestry.  Hopefully, this will help me to find the family of the "not yet identified" persons in these pictures.


Map of the area of Clarke Street
Showing my notes of the residents from 1930 Census entries

1930 US Federal Census Davidson Co. TN; District 4; Enum. Dist.: 0244; Page: 47B; FHL microfilm: 2341977. Ancestry.com images; image 91 & 92 of 105.

1000 Clark Street Rent $18[Appears to be "Haskell" model]
Frank E Diehl--head--31 yrs old--mar at 23 TN KY OH Foreman in Chemical Blding Rayon Mills
Sarah B Diehl--wife--28 yrs old--mar at 21 TN TN TN
Sarah M Diehl--dau--5 yrs old--single TN TN TN
Emily J Diehl--dau--4 3/12 yrs old--single TN TN TN
Harold Fykes--lodger--26 yrs old--single AL TN TN Carpenter Building Construction Company

1002 Clark Street Rent $23 [Appears to be "Georgia" model]
Charles R. O'Brien--head--35 yrs old--mar at 22 PA PA PA Supervisor Spinning Room Rayon Mills
Leah M O'Brien-wife--33 yrs old--mar at 20 NJ PA GA
Robert J. O'Brien-son--12 yrs old--single  NJ PA NJ
Charles Jr. O'Brien-son--7 yrs old--single--NJ PA NJ

1004 Clark Street Rent $18 [Appears to be "Haskell" model]
John Rudd--head--43 yrs old--mar at 20 KY KY KY Deputy Sheriff Village
Azalee Rudd--wife--42 yrs old--mar at 19 TN TN TN clerk Grocery
James Rudd--son--18 yrs old--single KY KY TN
Callie W Stigall--nephew--32 yrs old--mar at 24 KY KY KY Slitting Machine Operator Cellophane Plant
Mary Stigall--niece--24 yrs old mar at 16 KY KY KY
Callie Stigall Jr.--son--7 yrs old--single KY KY KY
Mildred L. Stigall--daughter-- 1 10/12 yrs old--single KY KY KY
Frank Power--boarder--42 yrs old--mar at 41 KY KY KY mechanic Cellophane Plant
Mary Power--boarder--26 yrs old--mar at 25 TN TN TN
Jim Pendleton--boarder--31 yrs old--single  KY KY KY mechanic Rayon Mills

1006 Clark Street $18 [Appears to be "Haskell" model]
Nellie Hambaugh--head--70 yrs old--widow--TN TN KY--None
Eddie Burgdorf--daughter--41 yrs old--widow--TN TN TN Clerk in Accounting Dept Rayon Mills

1008 Clark Street Rent $23 [Appears to be "Georgia" model]
Rosco Savage-head--24 yrs old--mar at 21 TN TN TN Painter Building Construction Co.
Minnie Savage-wife--21 yrs old--mar at 18 TN TN TN Misc Worker Rayon Mills
Carrie N Halloman--boarder-- 24 yrs old--TN TN TN Laboratory Worker Rayon Mills 

1010 Clark Street Rent $18 [Appears to be "Haskell" model]
Harry F Nees-head--26 yrs old--mar at 23 TN TN TN Manager Theater
Mary Nees-wife--21 yrs old--mar at 18 KY KY KY
Bettie Nees-daughter--1 yr old--single TN TN KY
Bertha Bright-MIL-51 yrs old-wd  TN TN TN
Hattie Bright-SIL--19--single KY KY TN cone inspector Rayon Mills
John Bright-BIL--13 yrs old--single TN KY TN
Jackson Miller --lodger--17 yrs old--single TN TN TN clerk gasoline filling station




Taken abt 1926
L-R Back Row Unknown Female, Magnus Cooke, Unknown Female Viola Cooke
L-R Front Row Unknown Child, June Cooke, Tomie D Cooke
This picture isn't very clear but it is a good picture of the houses.  The persons in the picture are L-R
Viola Cooke and the same girl who is the first person on the Left of the Back Row in the above picture.
Unknown Female might be a Clarke Street Neighbor
or someone from Dodson Street(the # 1931 is written on the back
along with the # 11)



Monday, December 17, 2018

Clarke Street Neighbors Old Hickory, TN 1923-1946

[Edited 12/20/2018 to include a link to Part 2 at end of this post]

In February of 1927, my grandparents were living at 1009 Clarke Street in Old Hickory, Tennessee when their oldest son died of scarlet fever.   His name was Thomas D. Cooke Jr and his parents and siblings always called him Tomie D.  I have several pictures of him with friends and family that I have published on my webpage, in my tree at Ancestry, and here on my blog.  My grandmother had pictures of him and his sisters with children from the neighborhood where they lived which came into my possession as the family historian.  I can identify my aunts, and Tomie D. in the pictures but do not know who the other children are.  Presumably, they would be children who lived near them on Clarke Street or the surrounding streets.  I thought it might be good to review the area and look at the folks who were living there during 1927 but so far I have been unable to find a city directory for that area.  My grandparents moved to 911 Dodson Street(Old Hickory) shortly after Tomie D.'s passing but I wanted to see who all was living in that area of Clarke Street in 1930.  Maybe eventually I'll be able to find some sort of listing.  Old Hickory was a company town at least prior to 1945/46 so all residents on that street were renters.  I've contacted TN State Archives and the Nashville Library and neither know of a directory for that area covering the time period.  For the time being, I'm studying the 1930 census and hoping to learn more.  I"ve started a research tree on Ancestry for those who lived in that area and have begun researching the families and the houses.  The houses, which were Sears Modern Homes, are just as interesting as the people.  Looking at Google's street view I was able to see how they look present day.  As you might imagine, some have been modified, but they still retain enough of the features to allow for identification.  The styles on Clarke Street both on the north side(odd house numbers) and the south side(even house numbers) seem to be either a Georgia model or a Haskell model home.



Tomie D Cooke(on right) and friend
circa 1925
I'd love to know the identity of the other boy in the picture.  I would guess they are about the same age.  Also, I'd love to hear from other descendants of people who lived on Clarke Street or Dodson St in Old Hickory Tennessee between 1923-1946.


Map of the area of Clarke Street
Showing my notes of the residents from 1930 Census entries
Below is a little bit of the household information I was able to gather from the 1930 census as well as my additional comments on the house style from viewing them on Google Maps.  I'll post some more pictures and additional households for the south portion of Clarke Street in a future blog post.

1930 US Federal Census Davidson Co. TN; District 4; Enum. Dist.: 0244; Page: 47B; FHL microfilm: 2341977. Ancestry.com images; image 94 of 105.

1001 Clark Street (Rent $23)[Appears to be "Georgia" model]
Lenard N. Roaden--Head--age 40- --mar at 26 TN TN TN Spinning Room Belt man Rayon Plant
Alma Roaden--wife--age 37--mar at 25 TN TN TN 
James A Roaden--son--age 4 4/12 single TN TN TN
Lenard M Roaden--son--age 3/12 single TN TN TN

1003 Clark Street (Rent $18)[Appears to be "Haskell" model]
Howard D Bowman--head--age 26 mar at 22 TN TN TN Foreman in Spinnerette Lab Rayon Mills
Aileen Bowman--wife--age 21 mar at 17 TN TN TN
John H. Bowman--son--age 1 8/12 -single--TN TN TN 

1005 Clark Street (Rent $18)[Appears to be "Haskell" model]
Wilburn R Hunt --head--age 37 mar at 21 TN TN TN Fire Dept. Chief --Village
Mattie N. Hunt--wife--age 36 mar at 20 TN TN TN
Blanche Hunt--daughter--age 14 single TN TN TN
Elizabeth Hunt--daughter--age 13  single TN TN TN
John W(est) Hunt--son--age 10 single TN TN TN
Howard L. Hunt--son--age 10  single TN TN TN
Joe M. Hunt--son--age 8 single TN TN TN
Wilburn E Hunt--son--age 4 6/12 single TN TN TN
Kenneth R Hunt--son--age 1 4/12 single TN TN TN

1007 Clark Street Rent $18[Appears to be "Haskell" model]
Douglas Cone Jr.--head--age 26 mar at 20 TN TN TN Foreman in Spinning Room Rayon Mills
Mattie W. Cone--wife--age 26 mar at 20 MS MS MS
Douglas Cone III--son--age 4 3/12 single TN TN MS

1009 Clark Street Rent $18[Appears to be "Haskell" model]
Henry Powell--head--age 27 mar at 26 TN TN TN Foreman in Spinning Room Rayon Mills
Mildred Powell--wife--age 26 mar at 25 TN TN TN Forelady in Reeling Room Rayon Mills
Howard McKibbon--boarder--age 29 mar at 29 TN TN TN Foreman in Spinning Room Rayon Mill
Bessie McKibbon--boarder--age 23 mar at 23 TN TN TN

1011 Clark Street Rent $23[Appears to be "Georgia" model]
Arthur L. Snyder--head--age 32 mar at 29 Can.(Eng) Can.(Eng) Can.(Eng) Sales Serviceman Rayon Mills
Dora Snyder--wife--age 23 mar at 20 KY KY KY
John Snyder--son--age 1 8/12--single--MN Can.(Eng) KY
John S Fonda--boarder--age 29 mar at 27 NY NY NY Research Chemist Rayon Mills
Marion G Fonda--boarder--age 30 mar at 28 NY NY NY 



Thursday, December 06, 2018

Tinkering with the latest genetic networks tool from Genetic Affairs


An amazing new Auto-Clustering tool from Genetic Affairs is the latest tool available to aid genetic genealogist in building genetic networks.  The leaders in Genetic Genealogy have all been blogging about it.  If you're interested in learning more about it, check out the links included at the end of this post.

This tool allows me to "drill down" in my matches at Ancestry where I have over 2500 4th  cousins or closer.  I've run several reports using varied settings.  The example shown below was done with the settings at option A and amounts 40cM-15cM.  It's having timing out issues right now due to size and my double colonial ancestry but this is really great output despite that.  Below is an annotated screenshot of the output.  I've not included the DNA Matches names which run across the top and down the left margin of the report.  This is just the top portion of this particular report.  There are a total of 68 clusters in this report.




The report also includes a match data table that is very helpful.  If you keep good notes you will have a much easier time figuring out what groups each cluster represents.  For the last few years, I have been sorting my AncestryDNA matches and attributing them to one of my 4 grandparents(noting PGF, PGM, MGF, or MGM in the Notes).  This has helped me tremendously.  Below is an example of the table data for my Cluster 14(not shown in the chart above)


I believe that each person's results will vary depending not only on their settings but also on their family dynamics and the number of family members(both close & distant) who have tested. 

Relevant Links:




Monday, December 03, 2018

A Christmas Card from Granny's Paper Collection: Card 2


Another Christmas Card from my Paternal Grandmother's collection.
This one is also from Granny Pearl Jakes Cooke's brother, Will B Jakes and his wife Georgia.


Front of Card --Still has a great deal of Glitter



Inside of Card


There isn't a logo of any sort on the back of the card.  The bottom left corner has P-5 and the bottom right corner 124-2 (beneath that in tinier letters is Litho in U.S.A.)

Do you mail out cards during the holidays?  Did your family mail out cards?   Did any family members save cards they have received?

Tuesday, November 27, 2018

A Christmas Card from Granny's Paper Collection:




I've spent the last week getting my Christmas cards ready to mail.  Not an easy task with my reduced visual field but it's one of the traditions I'll continue as long as my eyes let me.  Blogger  Chris Otto posted on his Papergreat blog, about a vintage Christmas card by Hawthorne-Sommerfield that he has.  I found one of their cards among my grandmother's papers.  It was a Christmas card she received from her brother, Will B. Jakes and his wife Georgia.  There wasn't an envelope with it so I have no idea what year it was made or received.

Inside of the card & the signature



The bottom portion of the back of the card and the only info on the card.