Baker-Dorng Berry-Miller DNA Genealogy Hedgecoe-McKenna Update

Sugar! Hitchcocks and a long overdue update.

Well.  In finally renewing our Ancestry subscription and trying to dip our toes into the pond of getting started on updating some of these trees, I made the huge discovery that we’d been missing the ‘Comments’ from this site – I’m not even sure which of us was getting the e-mails.  Mark’s going to check into where they might have wandered off to in the morning.  Sugar is what I’m going to exclaim loudly, verses any other really creative words I can come up with!  In the mean time, I have lots of comments to go through and respond to – To anyone who wrote and didn’t get an immediate response, so sorry!  Life is busy, the server needed replacing and we’ve been doing less of the endless genealogy questing.

So, lets see.  We’ve begun adding information to the website, looking into adding all sorts of new transcriptions.  We’re still not to the point of loading documents, although Mark did put up a picture of Milburn Henry Berry that he discovered.  It’s one of three known photographs of him still in existence.

Updates should be seen in all trees over the next month.  We’re considering upgrading to the latest TNG software, if that upgrade occurs someone will make a post, because it’ll likely interfere with what information is available.

DNA results for Dorng and Larson trees are due in this month, and will be added to GEDMatch.com and reviewed.  I already know there’s a pile of new information coming from those results, all very exciting.  We’re expecting some great breakthroughs in those lines.

Additionally a cousin from the McKenna side named Bill has been in touch, sending us an email seeking a connection with Patrick McKenna of Rhode Island, US.  Bill is a genetic match for us, leading me to believe that his ancestor Patrick was one of the sons of Margaret Moynaugh and Thomas McKenna of Emyvale, Monaghan, Ireland.

This family is connected to the McCusker and McCabe families of Pawtucket, Rhode Island.  Research and postings to come.

Darling cousin Marilyn has a lead on the marriage record of Mary Wolfenden Scott and Arthur Walker.  Although the family seems to have spent nearly a generation in Ireland, we still think their origins are Western Scotland, as is supported by DNA results.

As always, one of our most popular posts has been Kankakee State Hospital – For obvious reasons, it’s still one of the scariest and most emotional things I, personally, have ever researched.  I will be making an up coming post about the Protestant Hospital for the Insane in Montreal, Quebec after having discovered that Matilda Nickle, daughter of Mary Ann Nelson and Andrew Nickle originally of Ireland was held there for treatment for at least a decade.  We are still searching for where Matilda might have been buried, as all of our research so far has not indicated she was placed in Mount Royal with her family.  Look for that post within the next week.

And then, the Hitchcock Family.  Rumour has it that England’s General Register Office is going to be offering .pdf file copies of records for an amazing £6 instead of the normal £9.25 – Plus shipping and handling for those of us out here in the colonies!  I might have to break down and order a few things.  If anyone’s seeking a late birthday gift for me, on the top of my list is the original birth records for Annie Margaret Stone and Louisa Booth Peers, and then I really think the only answer to solving the mystery about who John Hitchcock’s actual parents are can be solved by ordering his Marriage record.

To clarify problem with John Hitchcock – Despite that our initial research suggesting that his parents were Elizabeth and John Hitchcock of Chelmarsh, Shropshire, England – There is actually the option of his parents being Maria and Richard Hitchcock, or Elizabeth and James Hitchcock.  I don’t have maiden names for any of the potential mothers at this point.  Research in England after 1841 without the guide of Census records is always a challenge for me.

We’ve found records of Baptism for both potential Fathers Richard and James:

Hitchcock-Richard Hitchcock-James

But none for the potential Father of John who married Elizabeth.  And yet in the 1841 Census, the only family with a suitably aged son named John in residence is John Hitchcock, born 1828 in Stottesden, Chelmarsh, Shropshire, England who’s living with his parents Elizabeth and John Hitchcock – Who were our originally believed parents, family and ancestors.  Their 1841 Census is directly below.  John and Richard are obviously related, most likely brothers, but you can also see there is no son of Richard named John on this record.

1841Census-Elizabeth-JohnHitchcock

Upon further poking about, I discovered a young John Hitchcock working as a Servant (At the tender age of 13) for Henry Scottham also in Stottesden, Chelmarsh, Shropshire, England.  A young girl, Mary Beatley (13), was also serving the household.  I believe this is the son of Maria and Richard Hitchcock.  I’ll paste the Census records below.

1841Census-JohnHitchcock1 1841Census-JohnHitchcock2

Which of these is OUR John Hitchcock?  Well that’s something I believe only his marriage record will answer for – As it should have his Father’s name, and therefore indicate which of these lines we should potentially be chasing.

Naturally that chasing will happen after we’ve caught up with the ever-long list of things to do, including answering comments and making the additional promised posts, sent e-mails and and and…  We thank everyone for their support and their patience and wish you all well!

Jenn
Always one for making things pretty, Jenn is our resident artist. Métis, British Home Child Descendant, family historian and genealogist, she is always looking into some new branch of research and encourages historical preservation and education.

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