Finding More Family with DNA

Using DNA to Find "F C Tucker"

Sometimes a DNA match will give just the right push in the right direction to help break down a stubborn brick wall.

Last year, a Box family mystery was solved using DNA and the newly launched Oklahoma Death Index.  After researching a DNA match I had received on 23andme.com, I was able to finally figure out who the 10 year old granddaughter “F M Tucker” was in an 1880 census for my 2^nd great-grandmother, Roenna Box.

Clip of 1880 US Federal Census, Jack County, Texas, page 34

Roenna’s daughter and son-in-law, S A (Susan) and John Tucker, were listed in Roenna’s household with their two young daughters, enumerated only by their initials.  Click HERE to read about solving that mystery and figuring out who F M Tucker was.  The F M Tucker from the census record was our Florida Melissa Tucker (Stanford Leffel).  Florida is connected to our family two ways: 1) through her mother Susan Box, sister to our Caldona Jane Box, and 2) through her 2nd husband, George Leffel, brother to our Charles Leffel.  But, Florida only shares DNA with us from our common ancestors, Grief J Box and Roenna Johnson Box.

The F M Tucker puzzle was solved, but there was still the problem of the other daughter, listed only as 13 year old F C Tucker in the 1880 census record.  

So, who was F C Tucker, what was her name, and what happened to her??

About the time that Florida Tucker married Rufus Stanford in Wichita County, Texas, there was another Wichita County, Texas marriage record -- Fannie Tucker married to James Saunders in 1884. 

Could the Fannie Tucker in that 1884 marriage record be the missing F C Tucker, I wondered??  I could find no further records for a James and Fannie Saunders to support this theory -- no census records, vital records, newspapers -- nothing.  Another dead-end...

Using AncestryDNA Matches to Solve a Mystery

Last week while looking through my DNA matches on Ancestry.com, I noticed one of my matches had a tree that included a Fannie Tucker married to a James Sanders with a father, John Tucker.  The tree had no facts or identifying information for Fannie, husband James Sanders, nor for her father John Tucker – no dates, no places, only their names.  And, the James was a Sanders NOT a Saunders. So, could this be the right family??  I did not see any other way I could be sharing DNA with the the owner of the tree, so I needed to investigate.🕵️‍♀️

DNA match tree with Fannie Tucker (and John Tucker as a father)
 with husband James Sanders.

When I clicked on the shared matches tab, all of the known shared matches were cousins on the Box family line.  So, that told me that this match with the tree that included Fannie Tucker (with father John Tucker and married to a James Sanders) was sharing DNA with me from my Box family line.

I went back to look at the original 1884 Wichita County marriage record for the Fannie Tucker to James Saunders and I noticed something funny.  James Saunders name was spelled two different ways on the original certificate – Saunders on the license section on top and Sanders on the marriage portion on the bottom.  

So, which was right - Saunders or Sanders?
Could it be possible that this new DNA match with James Sanders and Fannie Tucker turn out to be the answer to the F C Tucker mystery??

Wichita County, Texas, Marriage Record, Book 1, Page 14

It appears that the spelling of Saunders on the top half of the marriage record was wrong and that the correct spelling was Sanders.  With that new information, I found a cemetery record for a James Sanders who died in 1891.  But if James died in 1891, what happened to Fannie and their children after his death and where did she go?  I could not find her or any of their children in the 1900 census.

The DNA match only had one child listed for James Sanders and Fannie Tucker, a child named Lee Elmer Sanders (see above pedigree).  So I started researching him.  I was able to put together a family of his parents and three other siblings.  But I could not find any of them in the 1900 census -- why?? 

Several of the death certificates for the siblings of Lee Elmer Sanders list their mother’s name as Fannie Caroline Tucker.  This looking more and more like my lost “F C Tucker” from the 1880 census. 

I continued to research the DNA match ancestor Lee Elmer Sanders and found his obituary that listed half-siblings.  That meant his mother Fannie had married again.  

Siblings listed from the Obituary of L E Sanders
Notice the half brothers and half sister.

I did a search for the names of the half-siblings and found the family in the 1900 census.  It appears that Fannie Tucker Sanders married again in 1899 to Thomas Kirkham, and so in the 1900 census, she and all of her Sanders children are listed with her new husband’s surname -- Kirkham.  

1900 US Federal Census, Jack County, Texas, page 82A, sheet 2
Fannie and her Sanders children enumerated with surname Kirkham.

Notice in the above census who is next door to Fannie and her husband, Thomas Kirkham.  It is Fannie's grandmother, Roenna Box!  It appears that Fannie had a close relationship with her grandmother Roenna -- she was living with her grandmother in the 1880 census and in 1900 she was living next to her.  Fannie may have lived with her grandmother after her first husband died in 1891.  

Once I had the information from the 1900 census, I was able to put Fannie's  family together quite easily.  Fannie had four more children with her 2nd husband, Thomas W Kirkham.  The Kirkham family moved to Oklahoma about 1904.  Fannie died on 16 Jan 1944 and is buried in the Sunny Lane Cemetery in Del City, Oklahoma.  I've updated all my trees and the family can now be found on my Ancestry tree, as well as on FamilySearch and on Find a Grave.

I was even able to find a newspaper clipping that connects Fannie (Mrs T W Kirkham) to her sister, Florida (Mrs G L Leffel).  Florida went to visit Fannie in 1915.

Marlow Review (Marlow, Oklahoma), 5 Aug 1915

I am sure Fannie knew all of her Box relatives, especially since she lived with or next to her grandma Roenna Box for a lot of her life.  But present day family trees listed in online databases did not reflect those connections.  So, Welcome back to the Family, Fannie Caroline Tucker (Sanders Kirkham), daughter of Susan Ann Box and John Tucker, and granddaughter of Grief Johnson Box and Roenna Johnson.  

She fits into the family tree as shown:

Benefits of Knowing Your DNA Matches

When looking at the shared matches on Ancestry with my original Fannie Tucker descendant match, I can now figure out many more of my previously unknown DNA matches.  Most of my matches on AncestryDNA do not have a tree, or do not have more than one or two generations filled out in their tree.  But, because of the additional information I found on Fannie’s descendants (surnames & locations) I can now figure who many of the previously unknown DNA matches are.

Thanks to DNA, my tree is becoming more complete as I find more descendant lines.

Both DNA analysis and traditional genealogical research into historical records were required to solve this puzzle.  It could not have been done without the DNA or the research into original records.  

The DNA matches used for this post were found on AncestryDNA.  Sadly AncestryDNA does not provide a chromosome browser, so the shared DNA between the descendants of Fannie and the descendants of her cousins have not been triangulated.😒  Descendants of Fannie should share DNA with other descendants of Grief J Box and Roenna Johnson.

At the present time, there are 51 members in the AncestryDNA Circles for Grief J Box and for Roenna Johnson.  If you have taken Ancestry's DNA test and descend from the Box family and want to be included in their AncestryDNA Circle, extend your family tree back to include Grief J Box and Roenna Johnson.  

If tested at AncestryDNA, consider transferring the raw DNA to FamilyTreeDNA, MyHertiage, and/or GedMatch. Each of these companies provide a chromosome browser and many other tools.

Related blog posts and links:

Box Family Mystery Solved 

Roenna Box  
Fannie C Tucker Ancestry Profile (must have Ancestry membership to view)

Finding Family with DNA 

DNA Solved Another Family Mystery

How to Transfer Your AncestryDNA Test to Other Databases  

Genetic Genealogy and Triangulation

Finding Family with DNA

Finding Family with DNA

This will be the first of several posts about using DNA to find family.  Sometimes with the help of DNA, we can put a few cracks in our family history brick-walls and our family tree begins to blossom.🌼🌼

Discovering Martha Baldwin's Family

Recently while looking through the Ancestry.com "shared matches" of a known Baldwin 2nd cousin, I found a shared Baldwin match with a decent sized family tree.  A rare treat because most Ancestry.com matches do not have trees attached or have private trees😒.  Although the match tree did not contain one of our Baldwin’s, I saw a James Jutson.  I knew that a Baldwin 3rd great-aunt Martha Baldwin had married a James Jutson.  The match tree James Jutson had the right birth and death years and was from Texas, but he (the match) was not married to my Baldwin 3rd great-aunt like he should have been.  Instead the match tree showed him married to a woman named Nancy.  Our James Jutson supposedly married a second wife Nancy after Martha died.  I was confused because I should not be sharing any DNA with anyone who descended from James Jutson and his second wife.

DNA match tree with James Jutson married to Nancy Bailey
James' first wife was Martha Baldwin

I checked the "shared matches" tab of the owner of the above tree and more than a dozen known Baldwin cousins showed up.  So I knew that someone in this tree had to descend from common Baldwin ancestors.  And, none of us could share DNA with James Jutson’s descendants unless James had a child with his first wife, Aunt Martha Baldwin Jutson.  The DNA would need come through the Baldwin wife not the Bailey wife.  Since NO children were known to exist from the Baldwin/Jutson marriage, it was time to investigate!

My Mysterious Jane Baldwin Family

My Jane Baldwin family has always been and continues to be one of the biggest puzzles in my family tree.  Ever since I found that 1850 census record (30+ years ago) in Walker County, Texas, showing Jane as a widow with 12 children, I have been trying to discover more about her family.  Click HERE to read about discovering her husband William, who died in 1849.   But, what happened to most of Jane’s children still remains a mystery.  By 1870 only two of her thirteen children are known to be alive – Francis Marion and James.  The other eleven children were already deceased or their whereabouts unknown in 1870.  Only six of the thirteen children had descendants that were known about.  

So, it would be exciting to find another descendant line from Jane – that of her daughter Martha Baldwin.   Here is Martha's story.

Martha Baldwin

Not much is known about Martha Baldwin, the daughter of Jane and William Baldwin.  During her short life Martha appeared in only two records: the 1850 US Federal Census of Walker County, Texas and her 1853 marriage record from Walker County, Texas.  But, Martha may have left behind something just as important as records – her DNA.

According to the 1850 US Federal Census of Walker County, Texas, Martha Baldwin was born about 1834 in Illinois.  In that 1850 census, Martha was enumerated in the household of Jane Baldwin.  Martha, 16 years old at the time, was the third oldest child listed and appears to be the daughter of Jane, a widow and the mother of 12 children. 

1850 US Federal Census Walker County, Texas; pg 11-12
Jane Baldwin Family

Three years later, Martha Baldwin married James Jutson on February 3, 1853 in Walker County.  (James Jutson and Martha Baldwin, 03 Feb 1853; Walker County,Texas Marriage Records; FHL microfilm 1,034,889.)

Martha’s mother, Jane, moved from Walker County, Texas to Limestone County, Texas sometime in 1853.  Jane’s other children who were married by that time also made the move from Walker County to Limestone County, so it is highly likely that Martha and James made the move to Limestone County shortly after they were married. 

On July 16, 1860 James Jutson was living as a single man in Limestone County, Texas.  James was enumerated in the 1860 US Federal Census as a 30 year old “farm laborer” in the C W Nanny household, which was just next door to his mother-in-law Jane Baldwin and family.  As no Martha is listed in the 1860 census, she is presumably deceased. And, since no small "Jutson" children were living with James or next door with his mother-in-law Jane, it has also been presumed that Martha died without leaving any heirs. 

1860 US Federal Census Limestone County, Texas, pg 44
James Jutson, line 13

A week after the census was taken,  James Jutson married Nancy H Bailey on July 23, 1860 in Robertson County, Texas.  The following year on June 8, 1861 at Centerville, Leon County, Texas, James B Jutson enlisted in the Confederate Army – Co B(or H), 20^th Texas Cavalry.  James survived the war to come home to his family in Limestone County, Texas.  But, just 4 years later James died on November 2, 1868.  He left behind his wife Nancy and 4 children.

In the 1870 US Federal Census of Limestone County, Texas, James' widow Nancy Judson  was enumerated as a 40 year old single white female head-of-household with 4 children in the home:  Emerly Judson, age 16; Martha Judson, age 14; Nancy Judson, age 12; Ida Judson, age 5.  Note that the older children in the household would have been born before the marriage of Nancy and James in 1860.

By 1880, the widow Nancy Jutson moved the family from Limestone County to Robertson County and was listed in Robertson County, Texas for the 1880 US Federal Census. Besides Nancy, three children are in the household: a daughter, Nancy A. Jutson, age 18; a daughter, Ida M Jutson, age 13; and a son, James M A Jutson, age 11.  The two older girls, Emily and Martha, from the 1870 census are not in the 1880 household.  Emily was married by then and Martha had disappeared from all records.

Emily Jutson, the “inferred” daughter of Nancy Jutson listed in the 1870 Census, married in about 1875 to James B Choate.  In 1880, Emily Choate, her husband James, and their three children are found in the US Federal Census for Limestone County.  Sometime before 1900, the Choate family had moved to the Fort Worth area in Tarrant County, Texas where they raised their family of nine children.  Emily continued to live in the Fort Worth area until her death on March 17, 1928.  
Emily’s death certificate gives the following information: Name: Mrs Emma Chote; Birth: 2 March 1855; Father: Jim Jadson; Mother: Nannie Jadson.

So, who was the mother of Emily Jutson Choate?  James’ first wife Martha Baldwin or his second wife Nancy Bailey?
Could Martha Baldwin be the mother of Emily Jutson Choate?

By just following the timeline of events and official records, it would appear that Emily was the daughter of James Jutson and his first wife Martha Baldwin.  
James and Martha married on 3 Feb 1853.  
Emily Jutson was born on 2 Mar 1855.  
Little Martha Jutson was born 1856-1857.  
Martha (Baldwin Jutson) most likely died around 1857-1859.  It is a possibility that Martha died giving birth to little Martha or shortly thereafter.  
James appeared to be single on the July 16, 1860 census record.  
A week after the census was taken, James married Nancy Bailey on July 23, 1860.  Emily, who was born in 1855, would have been about 5 years old when her father remarried and her sister, Martha would have been about 3 or 4 years old.   
Neither Emily nor Martha can be found in census records for 1860.  It is not known who was caring for them after their mother died.  
As soon as their father remarried, they would have been reunited in his household.  But by June 1861, James left to fight for the Confederate Army in the Civil War.  Emily and Martha would have been left in the care of their step-mother.
After their father James died in 1868, the Emily and Martha continued to live with their step-mother, Nancy.  They can be found living in her household in the 1870 census.  After their father died, there would have been no one in their lives to help keep the memory of their mother alive.  The only mother they could probably remember was their step-mother, Nancy.

DNA

DNA evidence supports the theory that Emily Jutson Choate is the daughter of Martha Baldwin.  Martha had three siblings (Arminda Baldwin Rose, Francis Marion Baldwin, and James M. Baldwin) who have descendants (12+ known Baldwin matches) who share DNA with descendants of Emily Jutson Choate.  The shared DNA evidence points to a relationship between the descendants of Martha Baldwin's siblings and the descendants of Emily Jutson Choate, and helps to prove that Emily was the daughter of Martha Baldwin Jutson.

Conclusion

By looking at the timeline of events, official records, and DNA evidence, it is safe to say that Emily Jutson Choate is the daughter of James Judson and his first wife, Martha Baldwin.

Tree showing Emily as the daughter of
Martha Baldwin & James Jutson

Note:

The DNA matches used for this conclusion were found on AncestryDNA.  Sadly😞 AncestryDNA does not provide a chromosome browser, so this shared DNA between the descendants of Emily Jutson Choate and Martha’s siblings has not been triangulated.  And, until the descendants of Emily Jutson Choate extend their tree to include Martha Baldwin and her parents (Jane & William Baldwin), they will not be included in the AncestryDNA Circle for Jane Baldwin.

All Choate descendants and Baldwin descendants are encouraged to have their DNA tested.  If tested at AncestryDNA, please consider transferring the raw DNA to FamilyTreeDNA, MyHeritage, or Gedmatch.

Related Posts and Links:

Mystery of Jane

FM Baldwin DNA Project

Francis Marion Baldwin

Finding More Family with DNA

DNA Solved Family Mystery 
Genetic Genealogy and Triangulation 

How to Transfer Your AncestryDNA Test to Other Databases
Emily Jutson Choate Ancestry.com profile page (must have a membership to Ancestry.com)