Saturday Fun Challenge- 20 Questions Part 1

From Randy Seaver and GeneaMusings: Here is your assignment if you choose to play along (cue the Mission Impossible music, please!):

1)  Ellen Thompson-Jennings posted 20 questions on her blog this week - see Even More Questions About Your Ancestors and Maybe A Few About You (posted 27 June).

2)  We will do these five at a time - Questions 1 to 5 tonight.


1.  Which ancestor had the most children? It can be a couple or a single person.

I’m not sure, but I know my great-grandparents William and Sarah (Damery) Jennings had a dozen children. This is after William’s first wife, Margaret (Wilson) Jennings died the same year as her sixth child, son, William was born, perhaps dying from childbirth. I would say that 18 total children would have to be close to the record.

Another possibility is that of Bridget (Bailey) Tifft Coon. This 4-great grandmother had four known children by first husband, Robert Tifft and four known children by her second husband, Nathan Coon. However, in many write-ups found about her youngest son, Adelbert “Amos” Coon, it states that he was the youngest and 21st child of his mother! I’m not sure I believe this, especially since I haven’t found any evidence of children beyond the eight, but it’s possible I haven’t found the rest yet.

2.  How many years have you been working on your genealogy/family history?

Many would say too many! I remember an assignment in high school that involved creating a family tree. That was 10th grade when I would have been 15. The following summer, my Mom took me to a couple bookstores looking for books about genealogy. My parents weren’t interested, but did share stories and help me find local cemeteries, thus adding to the genealogy while I was still in high school. Thus, I have been working on it for the last 38 years.

3.  Do you collaborate with other genealogists on your family history?

I try to when I can. Most of the family isn’t interested. I have worked with cousins over the years putting information together, but the others lose interest and drift away. I also work with others in a more general fashion to find information, such as repositories and new records to search. I’m always happy to help others and perhaps find a “partner in crime” for some of the family history!


4.  Have you hired a professional genealogist to work on your family history? Even if it was just a small branch of the family.

Many years ago, I paid a researcher in England to look for information on my Ward family. Unfortunately, it is a common name and I only had a general sense of locale, so that didn’t yield much information. In recent times, I haven’t, but have paid for others to retrieve distant records for me.

5.  If you have family heirlooms what’s your plan for their future?

I am still hoping to find that younger family member that is interested in the family heirlooms— or at least some of them. Failing that, I intend to donate them to a historical society that would be interested.