DNA updates

My mother's partial results have appeared at 23andme.com.  These are the health traits, such as risk for various diseases, based on her genetic profile.  The turn around time was about four weeks from receipt of the specimen.  Although the relative matches are not available yet, I can compare my profile with hers.  I have roughly half of her genetic make-up, which is exactly how the results should read.

The dark blue segments indicate identical segments of DNA.

For comparison, my closest relation (besides Mom) in the database shares the above three segments with me.

I can compare my genetic traits with my mom.  She is a little shorter than I am, and the following inheritance pattern could explain why.

23andme DNA update

I am slowly sifting through the relative matches at 23andme.com.  Most of the relations are predicted to be quite distant.  In spite of some extensive documentation on some lines, I have not established a common ancestor for any of these genetic matches.  Some matches also have extensive paper-based genealogies, but most do not, which makes this process more challenging.

One hundred of my distant genetic relatives with no contact exchanged.

You can click on an icon to reveal limited information about a genetic match.
You may contact up to five people a day in this way.

This profile looks a little more promising.  This person has updated her profile to include genealogical information, which could indicate that she is interested in trying to establish a common ancestor.

The results of my parents are not processed yet.  I hope that their results will add a new dimension to this matching game.

Changing landscapes

I research Bishop and variant spellings in Morris County and Newark, New Jersey.  I came across this article about Frederick and Henry Bischof eating poisonous plants in woods by Woodland Cemetery in Newark in 1895.  [Hence the name Woodland?]  Over 100 years later, I document graves at Woodland Cemetery.  Lewis Street was northeast of the cemetery and ran from West Kinney Street to 17th Avenue.  The area was redeveloped into housing and the current streets do not bear the name Lewis.  The woods are also gone.

Original immigrants, documents, and place names

Patrick Frances O'Donnell was born around 1856 in Ireland.  In the 1900 United States federal census, he is living with his wife, Delia Joyce, and six children in Bayonne, Hudson County, New Jersey, with an immigration date of 1880.  I was working under the theory that he was the original immigrant- the first in that family to come to the United States.

While playing around at the website familysearch.org, I came across the following record.

pilot.familysearch.org

According to the death certificate for Patrick O'Donnell, his parents were Peter O'Donnell and Margaret Gallagher.

This was a great find.  Rose O'Donnell could be the sister of Patrick O'Donnell, indicating that Patrick came over with family.  I neeeded to find the original marriage document, so I went to the archives in Trenton.

Rose O'Donnell married James Kenny in Bergen Point, New Jersey in 1883.  She was the daughter of Peter O'Donnell and Margaret Gallagher.  But, Patrick and his family lived in Bayonne.  What of the Bergen Point location?  I immediately thought of Bergen County, New Jersey.  I did some searching online and came up with an answer:  Bergen Point is a southern location within Bayonne.  Now it looks as if I have found a sister for the original O'Donnell immigrant.

Bergen Point, Bayonne, Hudson County, New Jersey
mapquest.com

Drowning

The Preston family had many misfortunes and many family stories about these tragedies told through the years.  In addition to deaths by train, there were deaths by "drowning in the bay."  I have uncovered records that shed light on one such drowning.

John Preston, his wife, Bridget, and their ever-growing family moved to Bayonne, Hudson County, New Jersey around 1901.  They had previously resided in Warren County, New Jersey and before that, Dutchess County, New York.  Tragedy struck when their son, Edward, almost 18 years old, drowned in New York Bay.  The story is that he dove in and never came back up.  According to the newspaper account, Edward came back up to call for help, but drowned before his body was found.

Edward was buried at Holy Name Cemetery in Jersey City.  I have a listing of Preston burials at this cemetery, so I easily located Edward's death certificate.  The cause of death promised an explanation in a local paper.

Preston deaths in New Jersey for the year 1903, all counties.
The death indexes for years 1901, 1902, and 1903 are on one microfilm reel.
The number next to a name is the death certificate number.