Weekly Genealogy Picks

Highlights from news stories and blog posts I have read in the past week that deal with my overlapping interests in Genealogy, History, Heritage, and Technology.

• Maureen Taylor at Photo Detective provides some tips on Colorizing Old Photos 
• James Tanner at Genealogy's Star discusses why Locations Are the Keys to Finding Genealogical Records
• Amy Johnson Crow lists 3 Practical Strategies for Finding Female Ancestors
• Philip J. Heijmans in The Tablet reports Schindler's Czech Factory to Become a Museum 
• Christopher Klein at History shares the story of The Thanksgiving Raccoon That Became a Presidential Pet

Lathrops, Scudders and Stoughtons (oh my!)

Gary Boyd Roberts (GBR), NEHGS researcher, in his article, #22 Royal Descents, Notable Kin, and Printed Sources: Notable Descendants of the Immigrant Stoughton Siblings of Massachusetts writes:

[Referring to Samuel Lathrop, 1623-1700]

Samuel’s first wife, the mother of his children, was Elizabeth Scudder, a sister of John Scudder of Barnstable, and known through the will of an English divine to be related somehow to the Scudders of Long Island. The new discoveries and immigrant kinsmen that vastly expand this clan are through Elizabeth Scudder, and the initial report of these discoveries appeared in the 75th anniversary issue of The American Genealogist (October 1997) in an article by Register editor Jane Fletcher Fiske.… 

Jane Fiske discovered from Strood, Kent parish registers, the will of Reverend Henry Scudder, a marriage record of John Scudder and Elizabeth Stoughton, and other sources, some already published in TAG or in publications of the Scudder Family Association, that Elizabeth Scudder, wife of Samuel Lathrop, was the daughter of the above John Scudder and Elizabeth Stoughton, a sister of Thomas and Israel Stoughton of Dorchester, Mass.

I have traced my ancestry back to Rev. Thomas Stoughton and his wife Katherine, parents of Thomas, Israel, and Elizabeth above.

Rev. Thomas Stoughton's daughter, Elizabeth, had two husbands:
1) John Scudder
2) Robert Chamberlayne

I am descended from Elizabeth and Robert Chamberlayne

All of Samuel and Elizabeth (Scudder) Lathrop's descendants are kin to me through her mother, Elizabeth Stoughton Scudder Chamberlayne.

I have been unable to prove my Ancestry We're Related mobile app alleged connection with Samuel Lathrop's father, John Lathrop. However, for those celebrities with whom I'm alleged to share him as our common ancestor - if Samuel is their ancestor - I know I would also share the ancestor, Elizabeth Stoughton. The same distance. (Though some could argue we don't share the same husband of Elizabeth so it isn't exactly the same relationship. But I think #Cousin xRemoved stays the same.)

This could also explain why Ancestry is giving me the Lathrop connection (which I can't confirm), and not the Stoughton connection (which I can).

So far, according to Ancestry's mobile app, I am kin in this manner to Edgar Allan Poe, Carrie Underwood, George HW Bush, and his offspring. However, William Addams Reitwiesner, and GBR's Ancestry of American Presidents (2009), indicate George HW Bush's ancestor wasn't Samuel Lathrop, but his brother, Thomas. So Ancestry's mobile app is wrong, and I wouldn't be related to the Bushes unless John Lathrop were my ancestor. I am uncertain about Edgar Allan Poe or Carrie Underwood.

Embedding Google Drive Documents into your Blog or Website

 Do you have a document in Google Drive (such as a spreadsheet) you would like to embed into your blog or website?

By doing so, whenever you updated the document in Google Drive, it would automatically update on your blog/website.

Within the document, go to the File menu

Select "Publish to the web..."

• Select "Embed"
• If it's a spreadsheet, you'll have the option of choosing between "Entire Document" or an individual "Sheet."
• Then click "Publish" 

You will be shown some html to copy/paste into your webpage or blog post

Examples:

• I have transferred the ahnentafel I created back in 2010 to a spreadsheet and created a new page accessible at the top of the blog.
• I have also created a page for Notable Kin which currently consists of the table I began a week ago containing the alleged celebrities Ancestry's new mobile app has suggested.

Alas, A Different Secondhand Shop

I discovered the below photograph in a newspaper article about the community where my paternal ancestors lived. I wondered if it could be my second great grandfather, Moshe Leyb Cruvant and his children. He did own a secondhand shop at the time.

There were definitely some facial similarities with known photographs in my collection.

I decided I really needed to find a photograph of my great grandmother's brother, Sol, at a much younger age. (Or a photograph of my second great grandfather a little bit younger.)

Today I received several documents including this photograph. My second great grandmother, Minnie (Mojsabovsky) Cruvant, her three daughters Bertha, Stella and Flora, and two sons. That's either David or Ben at the top, and Sol at the bottom.

As much as I'd like it to be a match, the boys don't look the same.
And I don't think it's just a matter of adding a few years onto his age.

But I love this photograph.

Update: I've been reminded that we are only identifying individuals by their similarity in appearance to other known photos. The only faces that we are pretty certain about are in the top row: my second great grandmother, Minnie, and my great grandmother, Bertha, And in the middle row, right, Stella. My cousin who provided the photo doesn't think the other woman in the middle looks close enough to Flora, and she can't identify either of the males. Assuming it is a family photo and everyone should be a member of the family can lead to inaccurate conclusions.

Weekly Genealogy Picks

Highlights from news stories and blog posts I have read in the past week that deal with my overlapping interests in Genealogy, History, Heritage, and Technology.

• Petition for Universal Suffrage, Signed by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony and others - Document of the Day at the National Archives November 12th
• Gena Philibert-Ortega at GenealogyBank discusses Discovering the Work Your Female Ancestors Did
• MyHeritage has announced that they are entering the Autosomal DNA testing arena, and their CEO responds to several questions.
• David S. Ferriero, National Archives Archivist, at the AOTUS Blog  outlines The Role of the National Archives in the Presidential Transition
• Christopher Klein at History discusses America's First UFO Sighting

Veterans Day/Remembrance Day 2016

Caption for photo to left: Human Statue of Liberty. 18,000 Officers and Men at Camp Dodge, Des Moines, Iowa. Colonel William Newman, Commanding. Colonel Rush S. Wells, Directing. Mole & Thomas, 09/1918. (source)

November 11 is Veterans Day in the US, and Remembrance Day in the UK, Canada, Australia, France and Belgium. In Poland it is celebrated as National Independence Day.

Below are the names of ancestors, and their siblings, who I know served their nation's military, either in a time of war, or in a time of peace. I am including my Loyalist ancestors; their nation was Great Britain. Canada became their country after the war. I am including my Confederate ancestors too, despite their desire to form a separate nation. I am also including a Conscientious Objector ancestor since the DAR counts him as a Patriot.

Fifth Great Grandfathers
McGregory Van Every (1723-1786) Loyalist/Butler's Rangers
Michael Showers (1733-1796) Loyalist/Butler's Rangers
Mark Fretz (1750-1840) Patriot (Inactive Duty) Pennsylvania militia

Fourth Great Grandfather
David Van Every (1757-1820) Loyalist/Butler's Rangers (served briefly as a Patriot in the NY militia)

Fifth Great Uncle
Benjamin Van Every (1759-1795) Loyalist/Butler's Rangers (served briefly as a Patriot in the NY militia)
William Van Every (1765-1832) Loyalist/Butler's Rangers
Peter Van Every (1771-bef 1816) Loyalist/Fifth Lincoln and Second York regiments (War of 1812)

Fourth Great Uncles
David Van Every Jr. (1782-1847) Loyalist/Second York regiment (War of 1812)
Michael Van Every (1790-?) Loyalist/Fifth Lincoln and Second York regiments (War of 1812)

Second Great Grandfather
Ebenezer Denyer (1828-1872) (Mexican-American War) (Confederate Army)

Third Great Uncles
Samuel Jennings Denyer (1822-1861) (Gonzales County Minute Men - Republic of Texas -1841)
Samuel T Hartley (1830-1920) (Confederate Army)

Great Grandfather
Samuel Deutsch (1861-1938) (Franz Josef's Austro-Hungarian Army)

Second Great Uncle
Nelson D Van Every (1845-1926) (Union Army)

Grandfathers
Melvin L Newmark (1912-1992), WWII
Martin J Deutsch (1907-1991), WWII

Great Uncles
Jerry Deutsch (1909-1950), WWII
Allen Deutsch (1914-1988), WWII
Harold Newmark (1915-2003), WWII
Mandell Newmark (1923-1945), WWII (DOI)
Bernard Feinstin (1913-1968), WWII
Seymour Feinstein (1917-1999), WWII

Uncle
Stevan J Newmark (1942-1997) Army Reserves

Photographs of those who served in World War II

My grandfathers Melvin Newmark (1912-1992) and Martin Deutsch (1907-1991)


Allen Deutsch (1914-1988) and Maurice "Jerry" Deutsch (1909-1950).


Harold Newmark (1915-2003) and Mandell Newmark (1923-1945).


Bernard "Benny" Feinstein (1913-1968) and Seymour "Babe" Feinstein (1917-1999)

Who I Am

I’m an American.
I have immigrant ancestors from the following geographies:

• Netherlands
• Germany
• Poland
• Great Britain
• Canada
• Lithuania
• Transylvania
• Volhynia.

My most recent immigrant ancestor was my maternal grandfather, who was born in Transylvania and immigrated to America in 1913 at age 6.

The earliest immigrant ancestors I have confirmed arrived in Massachusetts on the Swallow circa 1630-1635. If Ancestry Family Trees are correct, I have an ancestor, Thomas Clarke, who came aboard the Anna in 1623.

My maternal grandfather's family were almost deported.
My early maternal immigrant ancestors meet the definition of undocumented aliens.
Most of my paternal immigrant ancestors arrived in the US without knowing English.

I’m Jewish
I have ancestors and 3rd cousins (or closer) who are/were of the following faiths:

• Jewish
• Methodist Episcopalian
• Mennonite
• Pilgrim/Puritan Separatist
• Lutheran
• Christian Scientist
• Catholic
• Sikh
• (and possibly Choctaw)

I'm a cisgendered heterosexual, though I've recorded multiple single-sex marriages in my family database. I have a third cousin who was likely murdered due to his sexual preference.

I agree with the famous words of Pastor Martin Niemoller (1892-1984)

Ancestry We're Related Famous Kin

I have created a table containing the celebrities that Ancestry's We're Related app has told me might be kin, including the alleged shared ancestor, alleged relationship, and whether I have confirmed my half of the ancestry, disproven my half, or more research is needed. (I have no desire to spend time researching the ancestry of celebrities just to see if they share my ancestors. However, I do find it worthwhile to research my own ancestors and see if what Ancestry family trees suggest might be accurate.) 

Celebrity	Alleged Shared Ancestor	Alleged Relationship	Y/N/?
Warren Buffett	Swazey, Jospeh 1653-1717	8th Cousin 2x Removed	Y
Mark Twain	Betts, Capt. Richard 1613-1713	6th Cousin 3x Removed	Y
Johnny Depp	Betts, Capt. Richard 1613-1713	9th Cousin 2x Removed	Y
Marilyn Monroe	Burgess, Thomas 1601-1685	9th Cousin 1x Removed	?
Winston Churchill	Clark, James 1608-1674	8th Cousin, 1x Removed	?
Matt Damon	Clark, James 1608-1674	9th Cousin 1x Removed	?
Thomas Paine	Clarke, Katherine 1515-1553	7th Cousin 6x Removed	?
John Kerry	Clarke, Thomas 1570-1627	9th Cousin 1x Removed	?
Henry David Thoreau	Clarke, William 1553-1624	8th Cousin 3x Removed	?
Ronald Reagan	Constable, Thomasine 1605-1682	10th Cousin	?
Ralph Waldo Emerson	Durrant, Mary 1599-1631	6th Cousin 4x Removed	?
Bill Gates	Hinckley, Susannah 1625-1675	9th Cousin 2x Removed	?
Helen Keller	Jewell, Thomas 1608-1654	8th Cousin 3x Removed	?
Walt Disney	Kerrich, Rose 1572-1627	9th Cousin 1x Removed	?
Carrie Underwood	Lathrop, John 1584-1653	9th Cousin 2x Removed	?
Meghan Trainor	Lathrop, John 1584-1653	9th Cousin 2x Removed	?
Lady Gaga	Mapes, Thomas 1628-1687	10th Cousin	?
Benjamin Franklin	Nevill, Cecilia 1488-1573	6th Cousin 7x Removed	?
Kate Upton	Pierce, Timothy 1673-1748	8th Cousin 3x Removed	?
Kevin Bacon	Smith, Samuel 1644-1719	7th Cousin 1x Removed	?
Justin Bieber	Smith, John 1614-1710	9th Cousin 2x Removed	?
Britney Spears	Smith, John 1614-1710	9th Cousin 2x Removed	?
Abraham Lincoln	Taylor, Thomas 1574-1618	8th Cousin 2x Removed	?
Zachary Taylor	Taylor, Thomas 1574-1618	4th Cousin 6x Removed	?
Jessica Simpson	Wheldon, Gabriel 1600-1655	10th Cousin	?
Christina Aguilera	Wines, Barnabas 1600-1679	10th Cousin	?

Notes

1) All of the above alleged shared ancestors are ancestors through my maternal grandmother, Myrtle Vanevery, and all but two are ancestors through my second great grandmother, Abigail Stuart, who was the second wife of Samuel Vanevery. Timothy Pierce (my shared ancestor with Kate Upton) and Thomas Jewell (my shared ancestor with Helen Keller) are alleged ancestors of my 4th great grandmother Sarah Showers, who married David Vanevery.

2) Perhaps more interesting to me than the links that have been provided are the links that haven't yet been provided. I have long known I am related to several celebrities through my Stoughton ancestry. (Also ancestors of Abigail Stuart) The Stoughtons are in my database. But none of these celebrities have appeared. (John Kerry has, but through a different alleged shared ancestor.)

3) I'm sure I have famous kin through the lines of my other three grandparents, but the documents necessary to trace my (and their) ancestry back far enough is currently undiscovered in Eastern Europe, if not completely lost. I know of three paternal cousins with Wikipedia pages, though not quite with the name recognition of the individuals above. Two more are already mentioned several times on Wikipedia, and separate bio pages could probably be written by someone, and not be deleted.

Weekly Genealogy Picks

Highlights from news stories and blog posts I have read in the past week that deal with my overlapping interests in Genealogy, History, Heritage, and Technology.

• Diane Haddad at Genealogy Insider suggests How To Learn What Your Ancestors Life Was Really Like
• Jason Daley at The Smithsonian asks: Are You Descended from Witches? New Digital Document Could Help You Find Out
• Since I have Hungarian ancestors named Weiss, as a kid I liked to imagine that I was related to escape artist Harry Houdini (Erich Weiss). Evan Andrews at History in the Headlines asks, What Killed Harry Houdini?
• A Cubs fan travelled to an Indiana cemetery to listen to the 7th game of the World Series with his father
• The cemetery in Rochester NY where Susan B Anthony is buried is extending its hours on Election Day
• In Discovering Afghanistan's 1,000-Year-Old Jewish Life Sara Y. Aharon at the Jerusalem Post discusses medieval documents unearthed in Afghanistan

If you are registered to vote in the U.S., Schrödinger the Cat urges you to vote on Election Day, Tuesday November 8th. He's not allowed to vote, but if you are, do so.

Schrödinger the Cat's Election Theorem: You can’t know whether your candidate has won or lost until the votes are counted. Until that moment, your candidate is half a winner, and half a loser.

The Possibility of a Van Every Surname Non-Paternity Event (NPE)

A Non-Paternity Event in genetic genealogy is

"any event which has caused a break in the link between an hereditary surname and the Y-chromosome resulting in a son using a different surname from that of his biological father" (Source)

When Selig and Julius, the sons of my ancestor, Samuel Dudelczak, immigrated to America and changed their surnames to Feinstein and Odelsohn, these were Non-Paternity Events. But that's not usually what is thought of when one hears the term.

In her Records of the Van Every Family, 1947, Mary Blackadar Piersol theorized that McGregory Van Every might be the son of Martin Van Iveren and an unidentified McGregory. Later researchers have wondered if it is equally possible that he could have been the son of a McGregory male and an unidentified Van Every female.

First, here is a transcription of relevant passages from Piersol's work indicating her sources (and lack thereof).

No entry has been found of the names of McGregory's parents due, probably, to gaps in the records of several of the churches of the Hudson Vallley. Indirect evidence, however suggests that his father was Martin Van Every and his mother possibly a member of the MacGregory family. His first children were named Francis and Patrick, the former a name from the Jaycocks family, the latter a favourite in that of the Colonel. Moreover with McGregory a significant change occurs in Van Every names. Previously they had all been Dutch but his is of Scotch derivation and among his sons we find such Scotch names as David, William, Peter and Andrew. Moreover one line of the Van Every family in Canada holds strongly the tradition that it has in its ancestry "a Scottish officer by the name of MacGregory." The wording is that of Anne Laurence Van Every, great-granddaughter of McGregory Van Every. (Piersol, p.98) 

There is evidence of intimate acquaintance in later years between the descendants of the Colonel and those of Burger Van Iveren … Not only did they live in the same general locality, Ulster and Orange Counties, NY., but their names appear in the records of the same churches and are linked by the same documents. When the Colonel’s son, Patrick, made his will, Francis Jaycocks signed as witness. The records of the Zion Lutheran Church at Lunenburg, now Athens, show that the Colonel’s grandson, also named Patrick, witnessed the baptism of Maria Jaycocks, and the banns for her marriage to McGregory Van Every were recorded by the Dutch Reformed Church at Poughkeepsie, N.Y. (Piersol, p. 97-98) 

As there is at present no documentary evidence as to the exact relationship I should hesitate to affirm it. But, as it was common knowledge of my Mother, and her Father, I would equally hesitate to deny it. The widow of Wm. Van Every lived with her son Joseph until her death, and my Mother, born in 1839, remembered her well. The legend is not without foundation as Dr. Piersol’s research shows. There was intimacy more than usual, which strongly suggests relationship, such as witnessing the will of the Colonel’s son, etc. The period to which it relates is not so remote as to be beyond the age of credible tradition. – J.J. Charteris-Thomson (Piersol, p.98-99)

As can be seen, her conclusions weren't based on solid documents. I have had my DNA tested at both Ancestry and FamilyTreeDNA. Of all matches that have Van Every ancestors in their known tree (that is, a tree they have made available), all are descendants of David Van Every and Sarah Showers, David being one of McGregory Van Every's sons. Cousins of my generation, with whom David and Sarah are my most recent common ancestors, are my fifth cousins. Both websites indicate 5th-8th degree cousins. There are matches that I have confirmed are 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th cousins through my Van Every lines. And then it stops.

One could attribute it to the difficulty of tracing one's lineage that far back. David Van Every served in the American Revolution. Except, Piersol's work has been available since 1947 to genealogists researching the surname, and her research documented several other branches.

The absence of a 6th cousin Van Every match, or greater, doesn't mean one doesn't exist. And it certainly doesn't prove an NPE. Perhaps I don't have enough DNA from McGregory. Even if there is an NPE, since I don't have any matches with descendants of David's siblings, the NPE could easily be with David and not McGregory. (Or both.)

Unless another descendant of David and Sarah [Showers] Van Every has had a different experience with DNA cousin-matching, the only way to resolve the question is for a group of Van Every males of varying descent to take the Y Surname test. I have no ability to make this happen beyond bringing the issue up.

Weekly Genealogy Picks

Highlights from news stories and blog posts I have read in the past week that deal with my overlapping interests in Genealogy, History, Heritage, and Technology.

• Diane Haddad at Genealogy Insider provides Nine Kinds of Ancestor Death Records You Should Look For
• Thomas Jay Kemp at GenealogyBank discusses a census that actually contained images of the people
• Melissa Barker at GeneaBloggers shares what to do about brown spots on genealogy records
• ABCNews offers a Tour of the Congressional Cemetery in Washington, DC (Video)
• Erik Klemetti at WIRED suggests: Want Your Tombstone to Last Forever: Make it out of Quartzite

November Holidays and Observances

(See bottom of post for sources and notes)

November Holidays and Observances

Month-long observances (US)

• Native American Heritage Month 
• National Adoption Month
• Military Family Month
• National Entrepreneurship Month
• National Diabetes Awareness Month
• National College Application Month
• National Alzheimer's Disease Month
• National Family Caregivers Month
• National Novel Writing Month

1

• All Saints Day (Christian)
• Birth of the Bab (Baha'i) [Begins at sunset on Oct 31]
• Birth of Baha'u'llah (Baha'i) [Begins at sunset on Nov 1]
• Bai Phonta (Bengali Hindu)
• Bhau-beej (Hindu)
• Samhain (Neo-Pagan) [Begins at sunset on Oct 31]
• Day of the Innocents (Mexico, Haiti)

2

• All Souls Day (Catholic Christian)
• International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists (UN)
• Day of the Dead (Mexico)
• The coronation of Haile Selassie (Rastafari)

5

• Sooranporu (Hindu)
• World Tsunami Awareness Day (UN)
• Guy Fawkes Night (UK)

6

• Chhath (Hindu)
• International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflicts (UN)
• Daylight Savings Time ends (US)

7

• International Week of Science and Peace begins (UN)

8

• Election Day (US)
• Intersex Solidarity Day

9

• Schicksalstag (Germany)
• International Day Against Fascism and Antisemitism (EU)
• World Freedom Day (US)

10

• World Science Day for Peace and Development (UN)

11

• Veterans Day (US) / Armistice Day (EU)

12

• Tulsi Vivah (Hindu)
• Yitzhak Rabin Memorial (Israel) [Begins at sunset Nov 12]

13

• Remembrance Sunday (UK)
• Anti-Bullying Week begins (UK)

14

• Karthik Purnima (Hindu)
• Birthday of Guru Nanak Dev Sahib (Sikh)
• World Diabetes Day (UN)
• Get Smart About Antibiotics Week begins (US)
• American Education Week begins (US)
• National Apprenticeship Week begins (US)

15

• Shichigosan (Shinto)
• Nativity Fast/Winter Lent begins - ends Dec. 24 (Orthodox Christian)
• America Recycles Day (US)

16

• International Day for Tolerance (UN)

17

• World Philosophy Day (UN)
• Great American Smokeout (US)

19

• National Adoption Day (US)
• National Child's Day (US)
• World Toilet Day (UN)

20

• Christ the King (Christian)
• Africa Industrialization Day (UN)
• Universal Children's Day (UN)
• Transgender Day of Remembrance

21

• Bhairava Ashtami (Hindu)
• World Television Day (UN)

23

• Niiname-sai (Shinto)

24

• Martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur (Sikh)
• Day of the Covenant (Baha'i) [Begins at sunset Nov 24]
• Thanksgiving (US)

25

• International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (UN)
• Native American Heritage Day (US)

27

• Advent Sunday (Christian)
• Mitzvah Day International (UK)

29

• Sigd (Ethiopian Jewish) [Begins at sunset Nov 29]
• International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People (UN)

30

• St. Andrew's Day (Christian/Scotland)

Sources

1. Huffington Post Interfaith Calendar

2. Interfaithcalendar.org

3. Center for Spiritual and Ethical Education

4. Feast Days and Holy Days of the New Baha'i Calendar

5. United Nations Observances

6. US Presidential Proclamations

7. Wikipedia - November

Notes

1)  This calendar focuses on Religious Holidays, International Observances as declared by the United Nations, and United States Observances as declared by the White House. I add a few extra observances of my own choosing.

2) As a family historian - what holidays might my ancestors have observed? What holidays do my current kin observe? I am unable to find an individual website with all of the days above listed. Which is one reason I find the process useful, for me, and perhaps useful for others. Wikipedia, as one might guess, comes closest, though in addition to not being complete (which I could fix) they have a lot of what I consider flotsam and jetsam. The calendar above consolidates and filters the information from a variety of sources.

3) I do not include weekly or monthly religious observances. By that I mean, many religions observe a weekly day as a holy day. Many religions also observe the first and/or last day of every month as a holy day. These days I have not included in the calendar. I also have not included the numerous Saints Days on the Catholic calendar, unless they are highlighted on one of the interfaith calendars I reference. 

4) Please let me know if you spot any errors, or if you have suggestions for additions.

More Thoughts on Ancestry's We're Related App

Since downloading Ancestry's We're Related App, and receiving an initial list of a handful of famous kin, almost once a day I get notified of one new relative.

I wonder how long they can keep this up.

Am I being too cynical?

As I mentioned in an earlier post, if I am descended from Rev. John Smith of Barnstable, I am certainly cousins with President Obama. (With my cited sources being two highly respected genealogists.) We're Related hasn't mentioned Obama yet to me. I find it very difficult to believe that he isn't in their initial list of celebrity genealogies. On day one they whetted my taste with five celebrity kin. I have no clue how the coding in the software works, but it seems to me if they can connect me with Celebrity X through Ancestor Y, any other Celebrity with Ancestor Y could be instantly revealed to me.

But that's not happening.
One celebrity a day.
I'm wondering how long they can keep this up.

Don't get me wrong. I completely understand.

If I got a list of 100 celebrities on Day 1, and no new celebrities for several months, I'd lose interest in the app. It makes perfect sense. From a marketing perspective.

I am not as negative against the app as some. While the accuracy of the relationships is as reliable as the accuracy of information in online family trees in general - not so much without sources - it does provide the family historian potential end-of-line research hints. Yes, many will input the information into their family trees without additional research. This already happens with the online family trees that Ancestry has mined for this app. But for the careful genealogist, this isn't an issue, and for the careless genealogist, they're going to be careless anyway.

I also think the truly beneficial use of this app is the 'Nearby' function allowing you to see who is related to you within 500 feet. This could be used at genealogical society meetings and conferences to quickly find cousins who are researching the same ancestors.

Weekly Genealogy Picks

Highlights from news stories and blog posts I have read in the past week that deal with my overlapping interests in Genealogy, History, Heritage, and Technology.

• James Tanner at Genealogy's Star provides a list of resources on Guidelines for Digitizing Manuscripts and Photos
• In Making Lemonade on the iPad Denise Olson at Moultrie Creek Gazette illustrates how she retouched a photograph, turning it into a work of art.
• Randy Seaver at Genea-Musings re-shares some advice on Mining Ancestry.com Hints by Specific Record Collection
• Rivka Schiller at Annette Gendler writes about A Visit to the Warsaw Jewish Cemetery
• In Sweden: The country’s first cemetery with no religious symbols allowed 
• Two WWI soldiers discovered buried in incorrectly marked graves and correctly identified through DNA.

Descendants of Rev John Smith of Barnstable

Yesterday I mentioned that Ancestry's new app We're Related said Rev. John Smith of Barnstable was my ancestor, along with being the ancestor of Justin Bieber and Britney Spears.

A little research today found another potential cousin.  (Three if we go back another generation to Rev John Smith's inlaws, Samuel and Sarah Soole Hinckley.)

The source is Ancestors of American Presidents, Gary Boyd Roberts, 2009 edition. Gary Boyd Roberts is a senior research scholar for the New England Historic Genealogical Society, and is highly trusted in the field. So I feel comfortable saying, if I can prove my descent from John Smith, I'm cousin to President Obama. (As well as to the individuals in the left-hand column.)

[If I do the math correctly: President Obama's 8th great-grandparents are my 7th great-grandparents, so we're 8th cousins once removed, and my sons would be 9th cousins. George HW's 9th great-grandparents are my 9th great-grandparents, so we would be 10th cousins.]

William Addams Reitwiesner was also a highly respected researcher. He passed away in 2010, but also conducted some research on Obama. He stated that Samuel Smith and Elizabeth Pierce had other descendants:

Samuel Smith m. Elizabeth Peirce
.Susannah Smith m. James Pitney
 .Benjamin Pitney m. Abigail Byram
 |.Sarah Pitney m. Mahlon Pitney (below)
 | .Mahlon Pitney m. Lucetta Banks Cooper
 |  .Henry Cooper Pitney m. Sarah Louisa Halstead
 |   .MAHLON PITNEY (1858-1924), US Supreme Court Justice, m. Florence Theodora Shelton
 |    .Beatrice Louise Pitney m. Horace Rand Lamb
 |     .Barbara Pitney Lamb m. Franklin D'Olier Reeve
 |      .CHRISTOPHER REEVE (1952-2004), actor
 .Elizabeth Pitney m. Caleb Swayze
 |.Daniel Swayze m. Bethia Horton
 | .Mehitable Swayze m. John Leonard Sliker
 |  .John Leonard Sliker m. Nancy Johnson
 |   .Renzila Sliker m. Alfred Allen Seguine
 |    .Margaret Seguine m. Benjamin Kinsey
 |     .Alfred Seguine Kinsey m. Sarah Ann Charles
 |      .ALFRED CHARLES KINSEY (1894-1956), entomologist

I already considered Kinsey a cousin through my Stoughton descent, but Reeve is new information.

All the links in my ascent from Mary [Pitney] Swayze to Rev. John Smith of Barnstable are confirmed by Roberts and Reitwiesner except the initial link - that Mary Pitney was the daughter of Susannah and James Pitney.

Susannah and James' daughter Elizabeth married Caleb Swayze, a brother of Israel Swayze, Mary's husband. I'd say the odds are good, but I don't have a source to cite yet besides a few online sites I've found which all cite in turn the generic 'Online Family Trees.'

But this is a link I definitely want to be true.

Ancestry says I'm Related. Am I?

Randy Seaver at Genea-Musings and DearMyrtle have both discussed Ancestry.com's new mobile app - We're Related.

The website states:

Find the fame in the fam. 

Are you related to someone famous or one of your closest friends? We’re Related can show you the surprising, significant, or boast-worthy connections in your tree. Your coworker could be your cousin. Or your cousin could be an icon.

As Randy suggested, it certainly sounds at first like they've resurrected their old One World Tree, which I wrote much about in past years. One World Tree did claim that Chaucer was my 18th Great Grandfather, but unfortunately I was able to disprove the relationship.

Of course I downloaded the app to see who they found.

1) You don't sign in with your Ancestry account. You don't need one. You sign in with your Facebook account. If you don't have an Ancestry account, by checking who you've indicated on Facebook relationships as parents, siblings, cousins, etc, it probably tries to find you in their public trees. I'm unsure how successful they are, because naturally, they quickly figured out my Ancestry account userid, and I checked that they were correct.

2) I then selected one of my trees to use to find famous relatives, and once I did that, it stated that it was searching all of their Public Trees. I think their old One World Tree was at least partially based on their Public Tree database, but I also think there were other trees involved.

Who did they find?

First: They didn't find Chaucer. Nor did they find any descendants of my ancestor, Thomas Stoughton. Stoughton is in my public tree, so I am somewhat surprised that none of my famous Stoughton cousins are yet in their database. (e.g. FDR, Grant, Romney, Palin, Kerry) Maybe these relatives will turn up later.




Lady Gaga is my 10th Cousin? Cool! It says our shared ancestor is a Thomas Mapes, born in 1628. Apparently, his daughter, Mary Mapes, my ancestor, was born in 1638. Hmm. This is reminiscent of One World Tree. Maybe both of these years of birth are estimates, and Thomas really is the father of Mary. Or, maybe not. How common is/was the Mapes surname? Perhaps, with a little bit of research, I might discover she isn't my 10th cousin, but 11th, or 12th.



Britney Spears and Justin Bieber?! This doesn't really excite me, but perhaps it will excite some in my family. It also appears Britney and Justin are cousins.

It's important to note that the John Smith in question is not the Mayflower passenger. The Mayflower landed in 1620, and this John Smith was born in 1614. I believe it's Rev. John Smith of Barnstable

Am I really a descendant?

I don't have parents for Mary Pitney in my database.

Is Susannah, Samuel and John Smith accurate? Perhaps. Definitely worth researching. Smith is a much more common surname than Mapes.



For Matt Damon to be confirmed as my 9th cousin 1x removed, I'd need to confirm Abigail Clark's father, grandfather, and great-grandfather.

Finally, the only individual they found for whom the shared ancestor is currently in my databsase:

Not Bad. And our shared ancestor is a Captain (though likely not a pirate.) Of course, I don't know if Depp's ancestry is correct.

Perhaps the best part of the app (like One World Tree) is that it provides suggestions for research.

Another feature of the app, which does sound intriguing, is you can get together with friends who have the app, press a button, and see if anyone within 500 feet is related to you.

That could be great fun at genealogy conferences, or at genealogical society meetings.

Update 10/20: Just realized that if I can confirm that Mary Pitney is the daughter of Susanna Smith, according to William Addams Reitwiesner (whose research I trust), I am descended from John Smith of Barnstable, and furthermore, I'm cousins with President Obama.

Am I Prescient?

Back in 2007 I asked the question

What to expect when your favorite genealogical conference merges with a local SF convention.

I missed an opportunity then to look extremely prescient, but I didn't miss it in 2012, when I updated the list.

3) Media Guest of Honor: LeVar Burton - (Geordie LaForge on ST:TNG; Kunta Kinte on Alex Haley's Roots)

LeVar Burton will be Keynote Speaker at RootsTech 2017

Unfortunately, I don't think I will be able to make it.

Fossils and Genealogy

Today's webcomic from XKCD

Just like fossil evidence might give scientists of the future an incomplete picture of spiders, genealogists have to remember to ask ourselves what's missing, when looking at documents we find in archives. There could be important information about our ancestors (such as spider webs) that hasn't been preserved.

Weekly Genealogy Picks and Calendar

Highlights from news stories and blog posts I have read in the past week that deal with my overlapping interests in Genealogy, History, Heritage, and Technology.

• Randy Seaver at Genea-Musings noticed that his "New Ancestor Discoveries" at AncestryDNA have disappeared. [Mine are gone, too.] Back in June Ancestry.com indicated they were changing the algorithm to increase its accuracy. This could be related.
• Janice Brown at CowHampshire discusses click-bait in 10 Ways Marketers at Making You Addicted to Genealogy
• Tamura Jones at Modern Software Experience describes how he found Johanna Kwik's Birth Record, even though no such birth record exists.
• The US Army is banning cyclists from Arlington National Cemetery unless they are visiting a gravesite.

Upcoming holidays - religious and secular, national and international - for the next two weeks

• October 16
• Sukkot Oct 16-23 (Jewish) [Begins at sunset]
• World Food Day (UN)
• October 17
• International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (UN)
• Boss's Day (US/Canada)
• October 18
• St. Luke, Apostle and Evangelist (Christian)
• Persons Day (Canada)
• October 20
• Birth of the Báb (Baha'i)
• Installation of Scriptures as Guru Granth (Sikh)
• World Statistics Day (UN)
• October 21
• Trafalgar Day (UK)
• October 23
• Shemini Atzeret (Jewish) [Begins at Sunset]
• Mole Day (Geek) [Celebrated at 6:02]
• October 24
• Simchat Torah (Jewish) [Begins at Sunset]
• United Nations Day (UN)
• World Development Information Day (UN)
• October 27
• World Day for Audiovisual Heritage (UN)
• October 30
• Diwali - Deepavali (Hindu/Sikh/Jain)
• October 31
• All Hallows Eve/Halloween (Christian)
• Reformation Day (Protestant Christian)
• New Year (Jain)
• World Cities Day (UN)

Amanuensis Monday: Samuel and Rose Newmark's 59th Wedding Anniversary

Amanuensis: A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another.

I continue my project to transcribe family letters, journals, newspaper articles, audiotapes, and other historical artifacts. Not only do the documents contain genealogical information, the words breathe life into kin - some I never met - others I see a time in their life before I knew them.

---

Below I transcribe a newspaper article from the St. Louis Star and Times mentioning my great great grandparents, Samuel and Rose Newmark.

---

St. Louis Star and Times 
Dec 13, 1939, page 27

'Round the Town with Regan

...When Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Newmark, of 1364 Hodiamont avenue, staged a fifty-ninth anniversary party at their home last Sunday they were one week ahead of themselves, advises their son, "Buddy," who declares the wedding celebration was pushed ahead that it might include out-of-town relatives who were in the city last week-end. The actual date falls on next Sunday, he states, when a second edition of anniversary merriment will be presented...

---

Notes:

1. This article was found in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch archives.  I have no official record of marriage from Poland of my second great grandparents. This is the only indication I have seen of the date. This article places it on December 17, 1880.

2. "Buddy" (Israel David), Sam and Rose's youngest child, would have been 36 in 1939.

3. The reason behind observing a 59th wedding anniversary with a huge family gathering may have been an expectation that there wouldn't be a 60th.

It appears a month earlier, in November, Samuel had begun selling off his tailoring equipment.

November 12, 1939.
St. Louis Post Dispatch

In June the reason is specifically stated.

June 2, 1940.
St. Louis Post Dispatch

On July 20, 1940, Samuel died from cancer of the liver and stomach. Age 78.

July 28, 1940.
St. Louis Post Dispatch

Weekly Genealogy Picks and Calendar

Highlights from news stories and blog posts I have read in the past week that deal with my overlapping interests in Genealogy, History, Heritage, and Technology.

• Blaine Bettinger at The Genetic Genealogist discusses Second Cousins (or Closer) That Don't Share DNA
• Diane Haddad at Genealogy Insider lists Three Ways to Use GEDMatch in your DNA Research
• Arlene Eakle's Tennessee Blog shares Three Little Words genealogists need to master  
• Jonathan Bailey at Plagiarism Today explores The Gray Area of Plagiarism and how to avoid them.
• Catherine McKenzie guest column at The Writer's Dig discussing 10 Things Every Writer Should Know about Amazon Publishing may be of interest to those seeking to publish their family history.

Upcoming holidays - religious and secular, national and international - for the next two weeks

• October 9
• National Day of Commemorating the Holocaust (Romania)
• Beginning of National Fire Prevention Week (US/Canada)
• October 10
• Thanksgiving (Canada)
• October 11
• Dasara (Hindu)
• Ashura (Islam) [Begins at sunset]
• Yom Kippur (Jewish) [Begins at sunset]
• Old Michaelmas Day (Celtic)
• National Coming Out Day (US/UK/Switzerland)
• General Pulaski Memorial Day (US)
• International Day of the Girl Child (UN)
• October 12
• Columbus Day (US)
• October 13
• International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction (UN)
• October 15
• International Day of Rural Women (UN)
• October 16
• Sukkot Oct 16-23 (Jewish) [Begins at sunset]
• World Food Day (UN)
• October 17
• International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (UN)
• Boss's Day (US/Canada)
• October 18
• St. Luke, Apostle and Evangelist (Christian)
• Persons Day (Canada)
• October 20
• Birth of the Báb (Baha'i)
• Installation of Scriptures as Guru Granth (Sikh)
• World Statistics Day (UN)
• October 21
• Trafalgar Day (UK)

Amanuensis Monday: Myrtle Vanevery Deutsch and The Seekers

Amanuensis: A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another.

I continue my project to transcribe family letters, journals, newspaper articles, audiotapes, and other historical artifacts. Not only do the documents contain genealogical information, the words breathe life into kin - some I never met - others I see a time in their life before I knew them.

---

Below I transcribe a newspaper article from the St. Louis Star and Times mentioning my grandmother, Myrtle Vanevery Deutsch (1900-1951).

---

The St. Louis Star and Times
January 24, 1940, p. 21

The Seekers Club

"The Literature of the Old South" will be the subject of study at the meeting of The Seekers Club, tomorrow morning at the home of Mrs. C.B. Hamilton, 7148 Dartmouth road. Mrs. Martin L. Deutsch will review "In Old Virginia," by Thomas Nelson Page. Mrs. Harry Hughes will give "Col Carter of Cartersville," by F. Hopkinson Smith.

---

Notes:

1. This article was found in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch archives. I haven't found much information about The Seekers Club, though there are several articles describing various book review meetings, all on different themes, as well as other social gatherings. This is the only clipping I've found in which my grandmother is mentioned, so it's unclear for how long she was a member.

2) My grandfather's middle initial was 'J', but I have found incorrect middle initials to be a common newspaper error. There was only one Martin Deutsch in the St. Louis area.

Weekly Calendar

Highlights from news stories and blog posts I have read in the past week that deal with my overlapping interests in Genealogy, History, Heritage, and Technology.

Weekly Picks is taking a 1-week vacation.

Upcoming holidays - religious and secular, national and international - for the next two weeks

• October 1
• Navaratri Oct 1-10 (Hindu)
• Muharram - New Year (Islam) (starts at sunset)
• International Day of Older Persons (UN)
• October 2
• International Day of Non-Violence (UN)
• Rosh HaShanah - New Year (Jewish) (starts at sunset)
• October 3
• German Unity Day (Germany)
• October 4
• St. Francis Day (Catholic)
• Beginning of World Space Week (UN) (Oct 4-10)
• October 5
• World Teacher's Day (UN)
• October 6
• German American Day (US)
• October 9
• National Day of Commemorating the Holocaust (Romania)
• Beginning of National Fire Prevention Week (US/Canada)
• October 10
• Thanksgiving (Canada)
• October 11
• Dasara (Hindu)
• Ashura (Islam) [Begins at sunset]
• Yom Kippur (Jewish) [Begins at sunset]
• Old Michaelmas Day (Celtic)
• National Coming Out Day (US/UK/Switzerland)
• General Pulaski Memorial Day (US)
• International Day of the Girl Child (UN)
• October 12
• Columbus Day (US)
• October 13
• International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction (UN)

Amanuensis Monday: Myrtle Vanevery and Delta Sigma Sorority

Amanuensis: A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another.

I continue my project to transcribe family letters, journals, newspaper articles, audiotapes, and other historical artifacts. Not only do the documents contain genealogical information, the words breathe life into kin - some I never met - others I see a time in their life before I knew them.

---

Below I transcribe a couple newspaper articles from the St. Louis Star and Times mentioning my grandmother, Myrtle Vanevery Deutsch (1900-1951).

---

St. Louis Star and Times, June 26, 1933, p. 6.

DELTA SIGMA OFFICERS 

Miss Florence E. Slatery, 5879 Delor street (left), as national president, today opened the annual convention of the Delta Sigma Sorority at the Coronado Hotel. Above (right), is Mrs. David Campbell, 5927 Kingsbury avenue, national treasurer, and below is Miss Myrtle Van Every, chairman of the committee in charge of a bridge luncheon to be given tomorrow afternoon at the Glen Echo Country Club in honor of visiting delegates. The Delta Sigma is a national philanthropic organization. More than 200 delegates and local members are attending the convention, which will continue with business sessions and social entertainment until Thursday evening.

St. Louis Star and Times, Sept 13, 1933, p. 14

Sorority Has Rush Tea

Missouri Alpha Chapter, Delta Sigma Sorority, began its fall rush season Saturday with a tea at the home of Miss Florence Slatery, 5879 Delor street.

In the receiving line were: Miss Esther Linquist, national secretary of the organization, and Miss Myrtle Van Every, president of the local chapter. Chapter officers presided at the tea table, decorated in pink and lavender, sorority colors.

Invitations were issue to the following rushes: Misses Dorothy Burscheid, Naomi Burton, Inez Green, Mildred Johnson, Terrye Kuntzsch, Evelyn Leatherbury, Melba Proctor, Marle Townsend, Lillian Woodruff and Mrs. Richard Hauk.

---

Notes:

1. Both of these articles were found in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch archives There are actually four newspapers in the collection: St. Louis Post-Dispatch (1874-2016), St. Louis Star and Times (1910-1950), St. Louis News (1978),  St. Louis Times (1978-1979). When the archives were first released earlier this year, the Star and Times articles weren't searchable.

2) I'd seen references to her activity in the Delta Sigma sorority previously, but this is the first article that mentioned she was President of the local chapter. And this is also the first article that identifies Missouri as the Alpha Chapter.

Weekly Genealogy Picks and Calendar

Highlights from news stories and blog posts I have read in the past week that deal with my overlapping interests in Genealogy, History, Heritage, and Technology.

• Gena Philibert-Ortega at GenealogyBank Debunks Myths about Cemetery Research
• James Tanner at Genealogy's Star asks: Record Hints vs Manual Searching: Which Wins?
• Bill West at West in New England has announced submissions are open for the Eighth Annual Great Genealogy Poetry Challenge
• Examining mitochondrial DNA may help identify unknown ancestry that influences breast cancer risk (Source: Science Daily)
• A single migration from Africa populated the world (Source: NY Times)
• A Nazi Time Capsule Unearthed in Poland (Source: History.com) 
• Can Bats in a Cemetery Attract Wildlife? (Source: St. Louis Public Radio)

Upcoming holidays - religious and secular, national and international - for the next two weeks

• September 25
• Start of Banned Books Week (US)
• September 26
• European Day of Languages (EU)
• September 27
• World Tourism Day (UN)
• September 29
• Meskel (Ethiopian Orthodox/Eritrean Orthodox)
• Michaelmas (Christian)
• September 30
• International Translation Day (International Federation of Translators)
• October 1
• Navaratri Oct 1-10 (Hindu)
• Muharram - New Year (Islam) (starts at sunset)
• International Day of Older Persons (UN)
• October 2
• International Day of Non-Violence (UN)
• Rosh HaShanah - New Year (Jewish) (starts at sunset)
• October 3
• German Unity Day (Germany)
• October 4
• St. Francis Day (Catholic)
• Beginning of World Space Week (UN) (Oct 4-10)
• October 5
• World Teacher's Day (UN)
• October 6
• German American Day (US)
• October 9
• National Day of Commemorating the Holocaust (Romania)

George Washington Did Have Children. Two of them.

I have heard it repeated countless times by trustworthy genealogists that George Washington had no children. Today I found out that is untrue. After marrying Martha Dandridge Custis, he adopted two of her grandchildren from her first marriage.

A child by blood is not more of  a child than a child by law.

If I interpret the above link - Organizations Acknowledge George Washington's Biracial Family Tree - correctly, it is new information, or at least confirmed rumor, that Washington's adopted son had children with slaves. However, it isn't new information that the adopted son had children through marriage.

George Washington Parke Custis married Mary Fitzhugh in 1804, and their child, Mary Anna Randolph Custis, married Robert E Lee. Here's a chart of their descendants for three generations.

I first learned of this news story at: ExtremeGenes

Weekly Genealogy Picks and Calendar

Highlights from news stories and blog posts I have read in the past week that deal with my overlapping interests in Genealogy, History, Heritage, and Technology.

• Diane Haddad at Genealogy Insider provides 3 Tips for Choosing a DNA Relative to Test
• Natalie at Crestleaf offers Oral History Prompts to Get Your Older Relatives Talking
• In Get Your Chuckles Here Sheri Fenley, The Educated Genealogist lists her favorite sources for genealogy humor
• Tamura Jones at Modern Software Experience discusses software that refuses to let you enter same-sex marriages, and workarounds in Deliberately Limited Genealogy Programs
• Melissa Barker, A Genealogist in the Archives discusses Your Ancestors and their Signatures

Upcoming holidays - religious and secular, national and international - for the next two weeks

• September 18
• National HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day (US)
• September 19
• International Talk Like a Pirate Day (Geek)
• September 21
• International Day of Peace (United Nations)
• September 22
• New Years Day (French Republican Calendar)
• Equinox (Wicca/Pagan)
• Hobbit Day (Geek)
• September 26
• European Day of Languages (EU)
• September 27
• World Tourism Day (UN)
• September 29
• Meskel (Ethiopian Orthodox/Eritrean Orthodox)
• Michaelmas (Christian)
• September 30
• International Translation Day (International Federation of Translators)
• October 1
• Navaratri Oct 1-10 (Hindu)
• Muharram - New Year (Islam) (starts at sunset)
• International Day of Older Persons (UN)
• October 2
• International Day of Non-Violence (UN)

Be extra careful with geographical names

Just received a comment on an old post correcting an error I made several years ago.

I recorded a residence as "Houston, Texas" when the census record is for Houston County, Texas. The city of Houston is in Harris County. The county is about 100 miles north of the city. This is also a reminder that recording both City and County whenever possible is important.

I retrieved the census record in my early research and have never re-viewed it. I hope I wouldn't make that mistake today.

Updates to Family History Documents

I updated the Family History Documents page, adding a couple of new discoveries.

1) Mary Blackadar Piersol's book, Records of the Van Every Family; United Empire Loyalists (1947) is now available online. The copy that was scanned was a copy that the owner had handwritten a few notes, including additional names.

2) Sixty Years in Southern California (1853-1913), containing the reminiscences of Harris Newmark (1916) is also available online. [It's unclear if I am related to this family, however, a few individuals are mentioned in this work who were briefly in St. Louis, but left before my ancestors arrived.]

3) I updated the link to an article by Gary Boyd Roberts on Notable Descendants of the Immigrant Stoughton Siblings of Massachusetts. (I've updated this link a few times. The New England Historic Genealogical Society seems to have a habit of reorganizing their website.)

Pelion Van Every - Genealogy in the Comics

I wonder how I am related to the fictional character, Pelion Van Every, from the classic comic strip, "The Heart of Juliet Jones." The below strip appeared on November 28, 1961. [Source: St. Louis Post Dispatch Archives]

I like how this comic suggests not all family stories are accurate.

It's impossible to know where the cartoonist came up with the surname Van Every. He may have known someone with the surname, or have borrowed it from the famous historical novelist and Hollywood screenwriter, Dale Van Every.

The character Pelion Van Every appears to have only been a part of the strip between November 1961 and February 1962. Juliet Jones is researching the history of the fictional town of Devon, and seeking descendants of co-founders Pelion and Dundee. She ultimately introduces Pelion Van Every to Dundee Greer. And, well, I don't want to spoil what happens next.