In that time, I have expanded my family tree through collaboration with others, improved research skills, and online access to images of previously unattainable records.
In the past year, some of the more notable progress:
- Discovered the town of origin in Germany for a great great grandfather, Hermann Lutter
- Established contact with a descendant of the sister of the immigrating ODonnell ancestor
- Found a picture of a great great grandfather, Abraham Brewer Duryea, whose face I had never seen
- Obtained divorce records for a set of great grandparents, Howard Lutter and Ethel Laurel Winterton
- Visited cemeteries in Monmouth County, New Jersey to further research on my Winterton, Walling, Dunlop, and Dunn ancestors
- Found the death certificate to match the family story of my mother's uncle dropping dead while playing golf
- Y-DNA tests done for Duryea, ODonnell, and Winterton lines
- Expanded an Irish branch by finding a cousin through DNA
- Found a newspaper article confirming a family story that a great-great-great grandmother, Mary Campbell, was able to save the baby in her arms before she herself was killed by a train
- Found a newspaper marriage notice for a set of great-great-great grandparents, Stephen C Duryea and Mary Ann Evenshirer, the only piece of evidence for this date
- Contacted by my father's third cousin from the Uhl and Patschke branch, provided family heirlooms, and added him to the family DNA collaboration
- Researched Irish records online for the first time when the town, Skull in County Cork, was provided via a DNA match
- Acquired a picture of Duryea cousins circa 1905
- Visited the New Jersey State Archives six times in the past year
I hope that the next year of research will further expand my family trees through research and DNA.
