Oh Joy Unbounded!

I have often talked about my “Palin Guru” before and have bemoaned the fact that we have never been able to find the Palin link to connect his branch to mine.  I have my suspicions on who the link maybe – but we want more proof.

Bob Palin just had his DNA tested with ancestry and shared the results with me.  There was not a match between us.  While checking his matches with mine and my mothers and coming up empty handed, I stumbled upon something very exciting!

Annus Horribilis

Annus horribilis, a horrible year, when everything that could go wrong does and then it when you think it can’t get any worse, it does.   The only saving grace it normally does not last more than a year.  We all have had them and if you don't know what I am talking about,  count your blessings.

I came across some articles that by themselves are not great – but when you add them all together I think you will agree this Palin family had an annus horribilis.

AGRICULTURAL MEDALS

I have written about my great great Grandfather, William Palin, and about his being an esteemed farmer, but never in detail.  Today I want to expand on some of the prizes that he has won at Agricultural shows.   It is amazing to find newspaper articles that list every prize that was awarded at the shows.  

I would not have been able to do this with out the help of cousin, Elizabeth, who painstakingly went over each medal and transcribed the writing on each.  Thank you Elizabeth!

Sad Northwich Case

Last year I wrote about a very tragic story about Elizabeth Ann Palin (nee Williams) that ended up dying after being taken prisoner for public drunkenness.  The poor woman had lost four of her six children at a young age and I had wondered if that might have been a reason why she drank herself to death.

I strongly encourage you to familiarize with that blog before you continue reading on. 

Spare the rod.....

I am still going through the Northwich Guardian looking for mentions of our Palins.  There are quite a few articles that mention where a Palin has won an award for best flowers, best pie or something at school.  I have also come across articles where a Palin has been fined for being drunk or for swearing.  There was even a charge for not having a licence for a dog!

Unsung Hero

So many times in life we see a young person's life has been cut short.  I find this a lot while researching the family tree.  Accidents, disease or war have been attributing factors to their deaths.

I have also read in fictional books many times where one might contemplate why they were born or the purpose of their life.

These two thoughts came together today like fast speeding trains heading for a collision.

DEATH OF AN OLD NORTHWICHIAN

Very exciting news today – findmypast has just uploaded The Northwich Guardian newspaper.  We have many Palins that lived in that surrounding area in our family tree.   There were 1378 articles listed when I did a general Palin search, so who knows what I may come across.

Today’s article comes from May 19, 1910.  I have uploaded a scanned image of the article, but it is hard to read and so the transcript follows.

Palin deaths in Hindley Green

About three weeks ago I posted a blog entitled "Epidemic or ?" and that was about deaths in Barnton in 1852 and 1853.  I was unable to verify the exact cause of deaths of that Palin family there but had medical reports stating that the fevers were on the rise.

It was no surprise then to find another article regarding diseases, but this new article specifically mentions the Palin name but this time in Hindley Green in 1880.

Is there a Palin Family Crest?

Today I received an email from someone researching the Palin family and inquired about a coat of arms or a family crest.  I wrote her a lengthy reply trying to educate her about family crests and it dawned on me that not only was it blog worthy but also a good idea to have all the resources in one location.

Epidemic or ?

I have been currently work on a branch of the family in around Barnton, Cheshire.  The men all seemed to gravitate toward the occupation of working on the canals.  As I input the the people's vital information I noticed a trend.  There were quite a few in that family that all died within a couple of years.

What killed them?  Was there an epidemic at the time?

Surprising DNA Match

It has been a very busy couple of months trying to make sense of the DNA matches which all seem to be on my paternal side - not the Palin side.  I was advised to upload the raw DNA data to GEDmatch and when I did that I found another confirmed connection but again on the paternal side.

For those of you not familiar with GEDmatch, it is a 3rd party company that you upload your raw DNA data to and then it looks for matches in its data base.  The GREATEST thing about GEDmatch is that a match maybe from someone who did their DNA test with any other company and it is FREE!  My kit number is A756830.  Let me know if we match!

Why do a DNA test?

So today's blog really has nothing to do with the Palin family research but more to try to explain why researching the family tree was so important to me and my family.

I have a humdinger of a story to tell regarding my paternal family research.

Exciting DNA Match

You will all probably get tired of hearing me go on and on about the DNA results - but everyday there is something new.  Some days it is nothing exciting and other days it can just lead to more questions.

Today's find will keep me busy for quite some time and I am sure it will make a lot of Palins from the USA very excited.

Alfred Palin- Convicted Felon 1878

It amazes me the things that are available online.  Long gone are the days when the only genealogy information  to be found was making a trip to the local Family History Library.

I just saw a blurb on facebook from findmypast stating that they have photographs online and they can be found in hospital and prison records; passport applications; business directories; military records and off course newspapers.  So I select the first one - hospital and prison records and did a search for Palin.

Ancestry's Genetic Communities

Last week ancestry.com came out with a new tool in conjunction with the DNA test - Genetic Communities.  In summarizing, this is where it looks at all the millions of DNA samples and finds where there are geographically lots that match.  It does not look at the names in the accompanying family trees of the DNA samples only the locations from roughly 1800-1850.

To understand the concept of the communities I did a one and a half hour webinar (free till April 6 2017) and then went to explore my communities.

Is she or isn't she our Phyllis Palin?

As I have mentioned before every time findmypast adds a new newspaper I will do a quick general search for the name Palin.  If I am lucky I will find a new article about someone in our family tree.  A lot of the time I will find either an article I already have or it is about a Palin that is not in our Tree. But every once in a while I will feel like I have hit that jack pot and find an article about a member in our tree along with a picture of that person.

This may or may not be one of those times!

Soap Box Rant with a Twist of Egg in my Face

I could not begin to tell you how many times in the past I would write to people online to advise them that they had some wrong information in their family tree.  Did I ever hear back from them - no.  Did they change their tree - no.  Did I give up trying - yes.  I hate to admit it, but yes I finally gave up.  I thought the most I could do was to make my tree open to the public and site sources and then any researcher doing their due diligence would find the tree and the sources.

So many times I have found the infamous "Portrait Palins" being the parents of people born in Staffordshire, and Shropshire and we all know that the children were born in Cheshire and baptised in Aldford.  Was it because of the "portraits" that people wanted to claim them as their own?

Never in my wildest imagination would a DNA test pick up a match with an incorrect tree!  This is what I got this week.

DNA Match Puzzler

In the previous blog I shared my DNA results and lack of  confirmed matches.  On Monday there were 67 4th cousins and now three days later there are 69.  As more and more people have the test done, these numbers have the potential to grow.

I am not willing to wait for anything to fall in my lap and decided to start to analyze those matches that are deemed as "Possible range: 4th - 6th cousins".

DNA Results

So after a bit of time the long awaited results are finally in.  I can say that there were no great surprises or shocks.  There is a wee bit of disappointment, but I will get into that later.

 

I have been researching my family lines for over 20 years and was pretty confident that I was a UK kid, just like my Nana told me.  Realizing that the UK history shows that the Romans were there pre 400 ad and then the Germanic tribes started to infiltrate and the vikings, I was expecting some European DNA - but from where was the question.

Protestation Returns of 1641–1642

I have just learned about a potential new database that may become available in the future - the Protestation Returns of 1641–1642.

James Palin and Martha Boffey

Don’t you just love it when it all comes together so neatly?  This does not happen too often when researching a family tree but every once in a while another piece of information or a document that proves a connection just falls into your lap.

I have written before about which James Palin married Martha Boffey in 1788 in Wrenbury/Bunbury.  (the marriage was recorded in both places)  There are many family trees on line that still show this James Palin was the son of Thomas Palin and Elizabeth Smythe born in Aldford in 1758. 

Well another piece of information just came to my attention today that helps prove that James Palin that married Martha Boffey was not the son of Thomas Palin and Elizabeth Smythe.  And the unexpected document really has nothing to do with James, but with a Phoebe Palin! 

Alfred Palin 1918-1940

War is not pretty.  It never has been and it never will be.  We have lost too many people on both sides due to the ravages of war. 

I have wondered if I could do it – I mean kill a person.  We have been raised as Christian people and the 7 commandment is “Thou shall not kill”.  In boot camp they advise the young soldiers not to think of this because the other side will shoot you first if they have the opportunity, so better them, than you.  But what happens to that young soldier after the battle, after the killing is over?