DNA and Dumplings

Am I Irish? AncestryDNA says I am 31%, although I suspect some of that Western Europe may be a bit of Irish too.

Some of my known Irish ancestors from my paternal side are:

James McGowan born 1833. He immigrated to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania July 18, 1850 aboard the Barque Creole, and settled in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He died there March 18, 1889.

Bridget Conlon born May 18, 1837. Her parents were Michael and Ellen per her death certificate. On the 1900 census, she states she immigrated in 1855. She married James McGowan. After his death she moved to Birmingham, Alabama with her son Patrick.

Archibald McKenzie christened October 11, 1818 in Macroom, Cork, Ireland. He was the son of Murdock and Sarah McKenzie. He immigrated about 1863 and settled in Beaver Falls, Beaver, Pennsylvania.

Jane McKenzie born on Saint Patrick's Day, March 17, 1842, probably in Macroom, Cork. She was the daughter of Archibald McKenzie and Elizabeth Brown. She immigrated to New York June 23, 1864 on the Ship Marianne Nottebohm.

Daniel McNamara born March, 1841, possibly in Cork. He immigrated to New York December 28, 1863 aboard the ship Universe. He married Jane McKenzie and settled in Universal, Pennsylvania. Their daughter Lizzie married Patrick McGowan.

My maternal side also has Irish surnames, but they have all been in the US much longer than my paternal side. I have not been able to trace most of them back to Ireland yet. Some of those are:

William McCullough born 1793 in South Carolina.

Daniel Gibson born about 1680 in Augusta, Virginia.

Samuel Cargo born about 1745 in Augusta, Virginia.

James McDole or McDowell was born in Ireland about 1745 and died November 6, 1840 in Laurens, South Carolina.

I also have the Warnick surname on my maternal line. I haven't been able to determine for certain if it's an Irish or German line. Warnock is Irish, and Warnecke is German. Online trees have my Warnick line connected to Ireland, but I'm not entirely sure that's correct. There are some gaps in the paper trail. Oral history of this family line says they are German. Hopefully DNA will provide further clues....and then there are the chicken and dumplings. My mom's recipe handed down from the women in her family were the German style, made like fist sized simmered biscuits, and not the rolled out noodle style.. maybe there's a clue in that?

I'd love to hear the origins of dumplings in your family...which type and family origins.

Less than #52Ancestors-My DNA Matches #46

I sent off my DNA test to AncestryDNA about a month ago, and have been awaiting the results. They came back yesterday. I was EXCITED (to say the least).

My Ethnicity was no surprise.

My dad's side is Irish-Italian, my mom's is English-German-Irish. I would have thought the Italian would have been more than 16% though.

What I'm really looking for is some link to my roots that I don't have. Scrolling on down the page I found my DNA Circles. This shows the link between me and other AncestryDNA participants through a common ancestor.

Hmmm, one set of grandparents to start, and the rest are singles. I wonder where their spouses are? And all are from my mom's side of the family.

I have one second cousin that I've been in contact with for years. There are 93 others that are fourth to sixth cousins. Of those 94 people, 63 have a tree that I can view..if I pay $49 for the Ancestry Insights subscription. It does let me send a message to those contacts for free. I've tried a few, hopefully I'll hear back soon.

Actually the most interesting leads seem to be in the matches I have that are NOT in the DNA circles. In sifting through those, I see some very interesting links to some brick wall ancestors.

There are at least other things to try. Family Tree DNA lets you import your Ancestry results to their database free. The catch is that I need 2 more people need to transfer with the above link before all my matches are unlocked for free, or I can pay $39. It appears I have about 20 second to fourth cousin matches there. There is pretty much nothing I can do with them until one of those two things happen.

But wait...there's more!
GED Match will also let you upload your Ancestry results free...really free. The website is not as slick looking as the others, but it appears really powerful. I had no problem uploading my DNA or my tree. It took a few days for my DNA is to process, but in viewing matches to other trees, it looks promising. I can use DNA in combination with my family tree to find matches...and contact them free!

My GEDMatch ID is A065731.

I've also joined Wikitree, which is free. They let you link your Ancestry and GEDmatch results. Hopefully I'll get some hits there.

My WikiTree ID is McGowan-470

If you can think of anything else I can do with these results, let me know.

Wish me luck!

Nancy Courtney Allen Billingsley 1783-1843 #52Ancestors #38

I recently ordered a DNA test for myself from AncestryDNA's flash sale. While awaiting the results I figured I had best get my direct maternal line in order.

I've always had a problem with Nancy Courtney Allen. I have found no documentation for her whatsoever. I've seen her on the internet and in books, but none have sources.

This is a press photograph from the National Photo Company Collection at the Library of Congress. According to the library, there are no known restrictions on the use of these photos.

Per these few resources, I'll share what I've found, but please keep in mind, none of it is verified.

Nancy Courtney Allen was born about 1783 in North Carolina to unknown parents.
She married Thomas Billingsley May 1801 in Sullivan County,  Tennessee.

Their oldest child, Nancy, was born February 1802 in Sullivan County, Tennessee.
Samuel was born September 21, 1803 in Sullivan County, Tennessee.
James was born September 21, 1803 in Sullivan County, Tennessee.
Thomas was born 1805 in Sullivan County, Tennessee.
Edward Council was born April 4, 1811 in Cumberland County, Kentucky. (have also seen Jan 1809)
Sarah was born 1812 in Sullivan County, Tennessee.
Mary Eliza was born 1813 in Sullivan County, Tennessee.
Barton was born May 1815 in Sullivan County, Tennessee.
Elizabeth was born August 1816 in Sullivan County, Tennessee.
Catherine was born 1818 in Sullivan County, Tennessee.
Rebecca Courtney was born March 1820 in Sullivan County, Tennessee.
William G was born April 19, 1822 in Blount County, Alabama.

The family moved to Morgan County, Alabama at some point, where Nancy supposedly died in 1843.

From the book The Billingsley Family in America by Harry Alexander Davis (1936)
{Thomas Billingsley} Born in ­Onslow County; North Carolina 30 December 1782, moved to Sullivan County, Tennessee with his parents. He married in May 1801 Nancy Courtney Allen, born in North Carolina in 1783. They resided in East Tennessee to about 1807 then moved to Cumberland County, Kentucky where they resided to 1811 then returned to Tennessee. In 1821‑22 they moved to Blount County, Alabama. He was granted 80, 12/100 acres of land on 30 November 1825, certificate No. 1868. Resided in Blount County to about 1837 then moved to Morgan County, Alabama where Nancy died in 1843. He survived her a few years, moved to Pontotoc County, Mississippi with his son, William, and died in 1849.
Unfortunately, the book is unsourced.

This I do know, Thomas Billingsley's wife (Nancy or not) died before the 1850 census, as Thomas is found with his daughter Nancy's family in the 1850 census in Blount County, Alabama, and not dead in Mississippi as stated in the above book.

Name: Thos Billingsly
Event Type: Census
Event Year: 1850
Event Place: Blout county, Blount, Alabama, United States
Gender: Male
Age: 78
Race: White
Race (Original):
Birth Year (Estimated): 1772
Birthplace: Virginia
Household ID: 133
House Number: 132
Line Number: 4
Affiliate Name: The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)
Affiliate Publication Number: M432
Affiliate Film Number: 2
GS Film Number: 2344
Digital Folder Number: 004187292
Image Number: 00265

Household Role Gender Age Birthplace
John Yielding  M 57 North Carolina
Nancy Yielding  F 48 Louisiana (transcribed incorrectly, shows Ten)
Joseph Yielding  M 17 Alabama
Mary Zielding  F 15 Alabama
Samuel Yielding  M 14 Alabama
Nancy Yielding  F 8 Alabama
Thos Billingsly  M 78 Virginia?

Citing this Record:
"United States Census, 1850," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MHPR-R5K : accessed 19 Oct 2014), Thos Billingsly in household of John Yielding, Blout county, Blount, Alabama, United States; citing family 133, NARA microfilm publication M432.

In 1840, Thomas is found in Morgan County, Alabama, but there are no females in the household. James lives close by, but the only female is his wife, age 30-40.
I think Nancy died before 1840.

One of the other mistakes I've found in the above book also says this about daughter Nancy:

Nancy: b Feb. 1802. She m Henry C. Jones, b S. C. 1800, both were living in 1870, resided Blount Co., Ala. No children.

I am unable to find a Henry Jones residing in Blount County, Alabama in 1870, and no record of a Nancy Billingsley marrying a Henry Jones.

I haven't given up searching for Nancy Courtney Allen. If you have any information to share, I would love to hear from you!