I enjoyed the 52 Ancestor’s Challenge last year.  I’m looking forward to writing blog entries again this year.  I’m going to be traveling much of January and February, and still want to participate in the challenge again this year. I found it one way to keep myself engaged in other aspects of genealogy, outside of client and personal research.

Week one is about Family Lore. I feel this is something every family has – a story that may or may not be true, that may be partially based on fact.

A friend of mine has a story that her ancestor, Sir John Gates, was a consort of the last Queen of Ireland. (If you are not familiar with his story – google it. History does not look at him as a good man, and that he met the end he deserved).

My stories of family lore are much less interesting. One is, like many families, that we have Native American ancestry. It is possible as two branches of my family immigrated to North America in the 1600’s. If it’s true, it’s so far back it doesn’t show in my DNA results. I also have found no evidence in the records that would substantiate this claim.

The other is that we are descended from the daughter of the first Dutch settler in Connecticut. This is a rumor that may be true. My immigrant ancestor, Thomas Barber, immigrated to Windsor, Connecticut, arriving in 1637. He married a woman named Jane or Joan Coggins. I’ve not yet personally confirmed her name or parentage. Again, I do not have any Dutch ancestry according to my DNA. But that doesn’t mean the story isn’t true. It’s another one of the mysteries I still must solve.

Week Two’s topic will be “Origins”. Until then, Happy New Year, and have a wonderful week!