Twelve Children of George and Margaret Lysle ~ 52 Ancestors #41

I was looking for the most children in one family for this week's theme and without going back to colonial New England, I think that my third great-grandparents, George Lysle and Margaret McIlwaine had the most children of any ancestor in the past 200 years or so.

George Lysle, Sr.

Margaret (McIlwaine) Lysle

The very basic information about the family comes from a printed family tree from the late 1930s that has been passed down in the family which I shared in May 2013.

Maiden Aunts Carrie and Eliza Lysle ~ 52 Ancestors #26

A newspaper's social column in newspapers a hundred years ago was how you knew who was in town and who was traveling to visit family.

"The Misses Lysle Visit Here," Pittsburgh Post Gazette (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania),
2 April 1913, p. 16, col. 3; digital images, Newspapers.com.

The Misses Lysle Visit Here

   Miss Caroline and Miss Eliza Lysle, of Washington, D. C., are at the Hotel Schenley. The Misses Lysle have spent the winter at the Chalfonte, Atlantic City, and are in Pittsburgh for a fortnight, before returning to Washington to re-open their apartments for the spring season.

Technology: George Lysle Had an Early Telephone ~ 52 Ancestors #12

My second great-grandfather, George Lysle, was a coal merchant in Pittsburgh. A family story says that in the 1880s, George Lysle's office had one of the earliest telephones in Pittsburgh.

This is either George Lysle, Jr. (1845-1900) or his father George Lysle (1800-1877)

 

George's daughter, Marguerite, was born in 1876 and was not quite nine years old when her mother, Marion, died in 1885. At some point in the 1880s, her father George, who was the owner of George Lysle & Sons Coal Merchants and was briefly on the Pittsburgh School Committee, had a telephone installed in his office. 

Marguerite remembered visiting her father's office and seeing this new contraption and being fascinated by it and by watching her father speak into the device to another person in another location. This was a significant enough memory for her that she shared it with her granddaughter (my mother) sixty-some years later. And thirty or thirty-five years after that, my mother shared this story with me.

Counting Third Cousins

Summer 1982; see
Throwback Thursday-Cousins Day

My current project (which I have spent many months on) has been to identify all the descendants of my eight sets of second great-grandparents. This is to help me identify my DNA matches on the several genetic genealogy testing sites where my results connect me to cousins. Smaller amounts of shared DNA suggests more distant relationships and knowing my third cousins might help identify those relationships.

I have identified 49 second cousins and over 180 third cousins. Note that on my father's mother's side (Adsit-Ashby), I have no known first cousins, second cousins, or third cousins. This makes it difficult to confirm more distant, colonial New England cousins on this side because I've got lots of other colonial New England in other ancestral lines.

Some families were more difficult to track forward than others; it depended on where they lived and whether I could find useful obituaries in online newspapers (among other resources). Then there are families with common names: Bailey, Hunter, Murphy, Smith, Walsh, as well as branches of cousins who moved abroad, making it harder to find them.

Notes:
* The couple's name in bold are my second great-grandparents.
*  In many cases, the number of third cousins is an estimate (especially McAlpin-Rose, Greeley half-third cousins, and Hunter-Freeland).
*  I refer to 3 siblings under my maternal lines and 4 siblings under my paternal lines as I have one sibling with whom I share my father and not my mother.
*  The colors are based on my long-time color-coding system.

PATERNAL-PATERNAL
James Pyle (1823-1900) and Esther Abigail Whitman (1828-1921) had:
   7 children (only 2 had children)
   9 grandchildren
  10 great-grandchildren
  40 great-great-grandchildren (me, my 4 siblings, no first cousins, my 31 second cousins, and 4 third cousins)

David Hunter McAlpin (1816-1901) and Frances Adelaide Rose (1829-1870) had:
  10 children
  23 grandchildren
  48 great-grandchildren
(at least) 139 great-great-grandchildren (me, my 4 siblings, no first cousins, my 31 second cousins, and (at least) 103 third cousins)


PATERNAL-MATERNAL
James Monroe Adsit (1809-1894) and Susan Arville Chapin (1820-1906) had:
   7 children
   4 grandchildren
   1 great-grandson (my dad)
   5 great-great-grandchildren (me, my 4 siblings, no first cousins, second cousins, or third cousins)

Daniel Morgan Ashby (1828-1907) and Mary Elizabeth Gorin (1833-1891) had:
   6 children
   3 grandchildren
   1 great-grandson (my dad)
   5 great-great-grandchildren (me, my 4 siblings, no first cousins, second cousins, or third cousins)


MATERNAL-PATERNAL
Henry Clay Copeland (1832-1912) and Sarah Lowell (1833-1916) had:
   3 children
   6 grandchildren
   7 great-grandchildren
  20 great-great-grandchildren (me, my 3 siblings, my 5 first cousins, my 11 second cousins, no third cousins)

Samuel Sewall Greeley (1824-1916) and his first wife Anne Morris Larned (1828-1864) had:
   4 children
  10 grandchildren
  27 great-grandchildren
  (at least) 57 great-great-grandchildren (my half-third cousins)

Samuel Sewall Greeley (1824-1916) and his second wife Eliza May Wells (1839-1880) had:
   5 children
   3 grandchildren
   7 great-grandchildren
  20 great-great-grandchildren (me, my 3 siblings, my 5 first cousins, my 11 second cousins, no third cousins)


MATERNAL-MATERNAL
James Hunter (1844-1902) and Mary Freeland (1850-1902) had:
  10 children
  10 grandchildren
  16 great-grandchildren
  (at least) 28 great-great-grandchildren (me, my 3 siblings, my 5 first cousins, my 7 second cousins, my (at least) 12 third cousins)  (Some with the surname Hunter are very difficult to trace, as the names are somewhat common.)

George Lysle, Jr. (1845-1900) and his first wife Marion Helen Alston (1850-1885) had:
   2 children
   7 grandchildren
   7 great-grandchildren
   21 great-great-grandchildren (me, my 3 siblings, my 5 first cousins, my 7 second cousins, my 5 third cousins)

George Lysle, Jr. (1845-1900) and his second wife Edith O. Hadly (1869-1933) had:
   2 children. One son died young and the other married, but didn't have any children. No half-third cousins here.

I have added these third cousins to my tree in Family Tree Maker and plan to upload it to Ancestry, MyHeritage (and perhaps other sites) to help connect me to more cousins. I have added many surnames to my tree and have already identified several cousins on the DNA testing sites while doing this project.

Tombstone Tuesday ~ Lysle Plot at Union Dale Cemetery Pittsburgh

The last plot we visited during our August 2017 visit to Union Dale Cemetery in Pittsburgh was the Lysle family plot, burial location for yet another pair of second-great-grandparents, a pair of third-great-grandparents, and a fourth-great-grandmother.

In the middle of the obelisk is the name Lysle:

The plot has nineteen gravestones.

Percy and Marguerite Going to the Chapel ~ 52 Ancestors #23

I am participating in this year's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks writing challenge from Amy Johnson Crow. Each week has an optional writing prompt and this week's writing prompt is Going to the Chapel.

My great-grandparents, Percy Earle Hunter and Marguerite Lysle were married in Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, on 21 October 1897.

Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Clerks of Orphans' Courts, Pennsylvania County Marriage Records, 1885-1950, FHL Film 878632, p 49, no. 13646, digital image, FamilySearch.org (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-DY8Q-7CL : accessed 25 January 2012), citing marriage record for Percy E. Hunter and Marguerite Lysle, 21 October 1897.

George Lysle's Will Mentions Both Wives ~ 52 Ancestors #9

I am participating in this year's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks writing challenge from Amy Johnson Crow. Each week has an optional writing prompt and this week's writing prompt is Where There's A Will.

Following is a transcription of the will of my second great-grandfather, George Lysle, Jr.

I George Lysle Jr of the city of Pittsburgh and state of Pa being of sound mind and disposing memory and in good Health do make and publish and declare this my last will and testament and give Bequeath and devise my estate in manner following. First I will that all my just debts and Funeral Expenses be by my Executors hereinafter mentioned fully met and paid as soon after my decease as may be convenient to them. 2nd I give and Bequeath to my Son George B. Lysle the sum of Ten Thousand (#10,000 xx) Dollars for and on account of the assistance and comfort that He has given me in my Buisness [sic] in the past three years. 3rd I direct that the balance and residue of my Estate be divided into Four (4) equal parts one part to my wife Edith O Lysle one part to my Daughter Marguerite L. Hunter one part to my Son George B. Lysle and one part to my son Chas H. Lysle share and share alike. should my wife bare [sic] me other children one or more then the balance and residue of the Estate shall be divided into five (5) parts and so on according to the number of children 4th I direct that the Union Trust Co of the City of Pittsburgh take charge of my son Chas H. Lysles part and hold it in trust for Him until He is 25 years of age should my son Charles die before He comes

of age or any other children I may have die before coming of age I direct that their share or shares be divided among the surviving children share and share alike 5th I direct that my Executors shall have full Power to dispose of any real Estate I may be possessed of or Bonds or stocks also to carry out to the full any option or options that I may have given either as an Individual or as a Member of any of the Firms I am connected with for the sale or consolidation in any way of my Coal Interests 6th I direct that my Executors shall not be required to give any security or Bond 7th It is my Express wish and desire that my body be Cremated and the ashes placed alonside [sic] of my wife Marion Alston and desire that my Executors see that my wishes in this matter are carried out to the letter and charge them not to be turned from it by the opposition of any member of my family and lastly I hereby nominate and appoint my son Geo B. Lysle and my soninlaw [sic] Percy E. Hunter to be the executors of this my last will and testament [I] have subscribed my name and affixed my seal this fourth (4th) Day of October one thousand Eight Hundred and Ninety Nine (1899).
Witness: Addison Lysle [George's brother]
Signed: George Lysle Jr.

This will can be found at Ancestry.com [Ancestry.com, Pennsylvania, Wills and Probate Records, 1683-1993 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015), Ancestry.com, Will Packets Or Files, 1789-1917; Author: Allegheny County (Pennsylvania). Register of Wills; Probate Place: Allegheny, Pennsylvania; Will Packets, Vol. 62; Case Number: 207. Record for George Lysle Jr.; Probate Date: 26 May 1900.] 

Valentine from Marguerite to Percy ~ 52 Ancestors #7

I am participating in this year's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks writing challenge from Amy Johnson Crow. Each week has an optional writing prompt and this week's writing prompt is Valentine.

My great grandparents, Percy Earle Hunter and Marguerite Lysle, were very happily married. This is the couple whose photograph I shared at 52 Ancestors #2: Favorite Photo.

In my collection of family memorabilia, I have the following valentine, sent from Marguerite to Percy for Valentine's Day, 1923.

The envelope was addressed to Mr. P. E. Hunter, 836 North Highland Avenue, Pittsburgh, which was where the family lived during the 1920s and 1930s.

Different Names and Ages In the Census ~ 52 Ancestors #5

I am participating in this year's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks writing challenge from Amy Johnson Crow. Each week has an optional writing prompt and this week's writing prompt is In the Census.

I have several great great grand-aunts who didn't age ten years between the ten years of federal census records.

I also have one whose name is different in every census record I can find her in!

Second great grand-aunt, Isabelle Lysle, was born 7 March 1840, in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania, according to an 1889 passport application, but she had to have been born before 1840 based on census records. She married James S. Whigham sometime in the 1860s and he died in 1886. They had no children and she is later found living with and traveling with her unmarried sisters. She died in May 1924 in Manhattan, New York.

1 June 1850 U.S. Census record: Isabella Lysle, age 13 (born 1836-1837)
1 June 1860 U.S. Census record: Bell Lysle, age 22 (born 1837-1838)
1 June 1870 U.S. Census record: Isabelle Whigham, age 30 (born 1839-1840)
1 June 1880 U.S. Census record: Bella Whigham, age 38 (born 1841-1842)
1 June 1900 U.S. Census record: Isabella Wigham, age 48 (specifically reported born March 1851)

Although I have found her sisters, Eliza and Caroline, in Washington, D.C. in 1910, I have not been able to find Isabelle in the 1910 or 1920 federal censuses, or the New York 1905 or 1915 censuses, but I did find a death notice telling me that Isabel Lysle Whigham died in May 1924 in Manhattan (which is why I looked at the state censuses). (Her sister Caroline died in Washington, D.C., in 1914, and sister Eliza died in Pittsburgh in 1928.)

In October 1889, when she applied for a passport, she signed her application as Isabella Whigham and reported her birth date as 7th day of March 1840.

From U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925,
Roll#341: 16 Oct 1889-30 Nov 1889 at Ancestry.com.

Isabella / Isabelle / Belle is described in her passport application as follows:
Age: 49 years
Stature: 5 feet, 3 1/2 inches
Forehead: oval
Eyes: gray
Nose: straight
Mouth: medium
Chin: pointed (I think)
Hair: brown
Complexion: medium
Face: square

She applied for the passport in the fall of 1889 along with her two sisters, Eliza and Caroline. According to their passport applications, they were planning to travel for about a year. The identification section which is an affidavit that the person applying for the passport is who she says she is, is signed by her brother, George Lysle, Jr.

This application has the signature of my second great-grandfather and his sister, my second great grand-aunt, Isabella. (Same on the applications for Eliza's and Caroline's passports.)

Her gravestone in Union Dale Cemetery, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was engraved with yet another name: Isabel L. Whigham and dates of 1836 - 1924.

Union Dale Cemetery (Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania), Isabel L. Whigham marker,
Lot 32; Range 1; Section A; Division 3; personally read, 29 August 2017.
(Photograph taken by the author.)

A cautionary tale about not trusting any one source for a person's name or age.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Census sources:
1850 U.S. census, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Allegheny City, p. 192 (stamped), dwelling 335, family 367, Isabella Lysle in George Lysle household; image, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 24 January 2010); citing NARA microfilm publication M432, roll 744.

1860 U.S. census, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, population schedule, McKeesport, p. 413 (stamped), dwelling 756, family 775, Bell Lysle in George Lysle household; image, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com: accessed 2 January 2010); citing NARA microfilm publication M653, roll 1063.

1870 U.S. census, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Mifflin Township, p. 15 (penned), dwelling 107, family 118, Isabelle Whigham in James Whigham household; image, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com: accessed 27 December 2009); citing NARA microfilm publication M593, roll 1294.

1880 U.S. census, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, population schedule, [City/Town], enumeration district (ED) 69, p. 420A (stamped), dwelling 29, family 36, Bella Whigham in James Whigham household; image, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com: accessed 27 December 2009); citing NARA microfilm publication T9, roll 1090.

1900 U.S. census, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Pittsburgh, enumeration district (ED) 232, p. 14 (penned), dwelling 231, family 249, Isabella Wigham in Caroline Lysle household; image, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com: accessed 4 October 2009); citing NARA microfilm publication T623, roll 1362.

Favorite Photo of Percy and Marguerite ~ 52 Ancestors #2

I am participating in this year's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks writing challenge from Amy Johnson Crow. Each week has an optional writing prompt and this week's writing prompt is Favorite Photo.

I have shared many favorite photos on this blog (the tag Wordless Wednesday brings up those posts). Today's photo is of my great-grandparents, Percy Earle Hunter and his wife Marguerite Lysle.

Ya gotta love that hat! I wonder how heavy it was.

This was taken while they were vacationing in Atlantic City. (They lived in Pittsburgh with five daughters who were born between 1899 and 1907.)

The photographer was Myers-Cope Co., 1635 & 1521 Boardwalk, Atlantic City. By exploring the Atlantic City directories at Ancestry.com, I can narrow down the dates that this photograph was taken to between 1909 and 1913. (In 1908 and in 1914, Myers-Cope Co. was at only 1635 Boardwalk.)

However, since I know that they were in California in 1912, when they were listed in the California Voter Registrations for that year, why they were in California, and also that they were back in Pittsburgh by the fall of 1913, I believe this photo was taken between 1909 and 1911.

Photo Collage for Facebook

Several months ago, I updated the cover photo on my Facebook page.

There have been a couple of questions about who are in the photos, so here are the answers. If I have blogged about the photo previously, I include a link to that post.

These photographs come from all branches of my ancestry and from the 1850s to 1928.

Top row left is Hunter Sisters 1911. My maternal grandmother is the youngest one standing on something in the back.

Top row middle is second great grand uncle James M. Lysle, a soldier who died in the Civil War.

At right is my father in a wagon with his pet goat. I'm guessing about 1928.

Bottom row left is an ambrotype of my third great grandfather, Thomas Jefferson Gorin.

Next is my second great grandmother, Susan Arville (Chapin) Adsit.

Next is a third great aunt Caroline (Carrie) Lysle (1841-1914).

Next is my great-grandmother, Marguerite Lysle (1876-1967).

Second from right is my great grandmother, Mary Bowman (Ashby) Adsit (1863-1956).

Bottom row right is a portrait of my paternal grandmother, Elizabeth Adsit with my dad on her lap.

By the way, I used BeFunky's Collage Maker to create this. If you search for "Facebook cover photo collage" or something equivalent, you will find all sorts of websites that will help you create a collage for your Facebook cover. (The white space at the bottom left is where my profile photo covers this collage.)

George Lysle Jr. - 52 Ancestors #39

While writing about my great-grandmother, Marguerite Lysle last week, I realized that I had not written much about her father, George Lysle, Jr.

For this week's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks writing challenge from blogger Amy Crow Johnson of No Story Too Small, the theme is "Unusual" and if you read through, you'll find a somewhat unusual request made in the will of my second great-grandfather, George Lysle, Jr.

He was born in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania, on the last day of February 1845, the youngest son and second-to-youngest child of George Lysle and Margaret McIlwaine. He lived his entire life in Allegheny or Pittsburgh working as a coal merchant.

He married Marion Helen Alston on October 13, 1875. See their beautiful wedding invitation. Their two children were Marguerite and George Barton. Sadly, Marion died in 1885.

He is mentioned in my Surname Saturday ~ Lysle of Pennsylvania post. I have shared his family's 1880 census record. I also have shared newspapers notices of his civic participation on a local school board and a brief death notice.

On June 11, 1889, George, age 44, married Edith O. Hadly, less than half his age at 20.

June 13, 1889, page 5, column 2. George Lysle-Edith Hadly wedding. http://www.newspapers.com/image/86437291/, Pittsburgh Daily Post, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, online images (http://www.newspapers.com).

MARRIED.

LYSLE-HADLY - On Tuesday, June 11, 1889,

at the residence of the bride's parents, by

Rev. T. J. Leak, George Lisle [sic], Jr., and

Miss Edith O. Hadly, both of Allegheny.

That summer, Marguerite turned 13 years old and George Barton turned 11. As I have noted before, Marguerite never spoke about her step-mother.

Wordless Wednesday ~ Marguerite Lysle

I shared stories about the life of my great grandmother yesterday. (She was born in 1876.)

Today I want to share some photographs I have of her. Some are undated.

1891

Marguerite Lysle of Allegheny City - 52 Ancestors #38

For this week's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks writing challenge from blogger Amy Crow Johnson of No Story Too Small, the theme is Favorite Place: What has been your favorite place to research? Which ancestor came from there?

Although it can be challenging, my favorite place to research is Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, specifically Allegheny City, which, in 1907, became the "North Side" of Pittsburgh. (Read about Allegheny City at Wikipedia.) I enjoy this area because I have a group of maternal ancestors who lived there for several generations.

I previously blogged about the burial locations for four generations of my maternal grandmother's family. I now see why my mother feels such a connection to Pittsburgh, although she hasn't lived there in decades.

My mother was very close to her maternal grandmother, Marguerite Lysle, and has shared many stories and photographs of her. However, in my research, I have found out a few things about Marguerite that my mother never knew.

Margaret McIlwaine Had Twelve Children - 52 Ancestors #37

For this week's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks writing challenge from blogger Amy Crow Johnson of No Story Too Small, the theme is Large Family.

I have plenty of ancestors with large families, which I think of as a dozen or more children. (Of course, I'm thinking pre-twentieth century families.)

My third great grandmother, Margaret McIlwaine, of Allegheny, Pennsylvania, had twelve children. What I know about her is mostly from census records. Her name is also on the 1937-38 printed Lysle Family Tree of which I have several copies.

I find Margaret in the U.S. Federal census for each of 1850, 1860, 1870, and 1880. She was the wife of George Lysle, whom I wrote about here. I wrote about her husband's 1877 death in a train accident here.

In the 1880 U.S. Census, "Margret Lysle" was a widow:

1880 U.S. Census. Place: Allegheny, Allegheny, Pennsylvania; Roll: T9_1087;
Page: 382.2; E.D.: 14; Line: 15: Household of Margaret Lysle

She lived at 76 Washington Street, Allegheny City, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, with three unmarried daughters: Mary Ann, Caroline, and Elizabeth (Eliza). Also living in the household was her youngest son, the namesake of her husband, George, and his family: Mary H. (Marion Helen), and two grandchildren: Margret (Marguerite) and George B. There were also three servants.

George, Jr. is a coal merchant, as was his father (and many others in the family).

The 1880 census is great for the information it provides. Looking closely, you'll see that there is a tick mark before her occupation of "Keeping House" - this is in the column for "widowed (or divorced D)." Further along the row, there is another tick mark. This column is entitled: "Maimed, Crippled, Bedridden, or otherwise disabled." I don't know what Margaret's disability was but it possibly contributed to her cause of death; she died six months after this census was taken.

Heirlooms from Marion Alston (d. 1885) - 52 Ancestors #24

For this week's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks writing challenge from blogger Amy Crow Johnson of No Story Too Small, the theme is Heirloom.

I have many family heirlooms and I am lucky that I have ancestors who saved treasures and passed them down. A little over a year ago, I received the following small box from my mother.

Fittings off Mother's Glasses.

On this small box is the handwriting of my great-grandmother, Marguerite (Lysle) Hunter (1876-1967), referring to her mother, Marion Helen (Alston) Lysle, who died in May of 1885, in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania, when Marguerite was not quite nine years old and her brother, George Barton Lysle, was not quite seven.

George Lysle - Favorite Photo - 52 Ancestors #14

For this week's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks writing challenge from blogger Amy Crow Johnson of No Story Too Small, the theme is "Favorite Photo."

I have shared many favorite photos in this blog. See all posts with the Wordless Wednesday label HERE.

I included the following picture in a post from 2011 about my third great grandfather, George Lysle.

The reason I like this picture is that it is probably the oldest photo I have that shows one of my ancestors "at work" rather than sitting for a portrait. I am guessing that the trolley cars are carrying coal.

It is believed that the man in the top hat is George Lysle, who was born in Pennsylvania in 1799 or 1800. He was in Allegheny County by the 1840 U.S. Census and became extremely successful in the coal industry in Allegheny County and beyond, as his coal barges traveled the Allegheny River, the Monongahela River, and the Ohio River, all major trading routes from Pittsburgh.

Wordless Wednesday ~ Your Picture in an Automobile

Dick Eastman just shared a blog post Your Picture in an Automobile (do go read this for another way to look at your photos from the first decade of the last century) and it made me think of the following picture that I have had in my collection for years.

The back of this photo post card has 1907 in handwriting that is either my grandmother's or my great-grandmother's. The rest is in my mother's handwriting:
3d seat
Marion Lysle Hunter
Eliza Lysle
(Aunt Lyde)

Marion Lysle Hunter was the oldest of the five Hunter sisters, of which my grandmother was the youngest. (See a photo of the five sisters here.) Marion died in 1913.

I don't know anyone else in the photo.

Eliza Lysle (1845-1928), known as Aunt Lyde, was an unmarried great aunt of Marion's. They lived in Pittsburgh, so perhaps they had gone on a trip to Denver and posed for a photo in a new-fangled automobile, as was described in Dick Eastman's post.

Civil War Blogpost Challenge ~ Military Monday

For Bill West's Civil War Blogpost Challenge, I looked at my database to see which of my ancestors might have fought in the U.S. Civil War (150 years ago). I find that I can't add much more to what I have already shared about the service of my ancestors in the Civil War.

~~~~~~

My maternal grandmother's ancestors were in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. I have written about my second great grand uncle, James M. Lysle, who died in Virginia, serving for the 63rd Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers. I share his picture here again. His youngest brother, George Lysle, my second great-grandfather, was born in 1845, possibly too young to serve, but working in a coal company, perhaps he provided help in the war effort in other ways.

There were a few other Alstons and Lysles (great-uncles and/or distant cousins) who served from Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania, Veterans Burial Cards, 1777-1999, at Ancestry.com, is a good resource to determine Civil War service. I do not find my third great grandfather, James Freeland, who died on March 1, 1863, at about age 48, according to his gravestone (see his FindAGrave memorial) or my third great-grandfather, Samuel Hunter, who also died in 1863 at about age 49, in this database, or in Civil War records at Fold3.com, so it appears that they may not have fought, but perhaps served in other ways.

~~~~~~~

My maternal grandfather's father's family was in Maine (see second great-grandfather Henry Copeland's draft information here). It looks like he was exempted from service.

My maternal grandfather's mother's family was in Chicago. I wrote about what I could find about second great-grandfather Samuel S. Greeley's service (building sewers) here.

~~~~~~~

List Your Matrilineal Line - Update

Back in October 2011, I shared my matrilineal line - my mother, her mother, etc. back to the first identifiable mother. At that time, I only knew back five generations to my immigrant maternal ancestor, Lillias (Johnston) Alston.

I recently discovered indexes of Scotland Births and Scotland Marriages at FamilySearch.org, and have extended my matrilineal line by a couple more generations.

a) Elizabeth
b) My mother (still living) married Charles McAlpin Pyle, Jr.
c) Helen Lysle Hunter (1907 - 1990) married Lowell Townsend Copeland
d) Marguerite Lysle (1876 - 1967) married Percy Earle Hunter
e) Marion Helen Alston (1850 - 1885) married George Lysle, Jr.
f) Lillias Johnston (4 June 1806, Lesmahagow, Lanarkshire, Scotland - 3 Jan 1852, Allegheny, Pennsylvania) married John Alston on 28 June 1833, Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland.
g) Lilias Kennedy (27 December 1775, Douglas, Lanarkshire, Scotland - ????) married Robert Johnston, 22 November 1801, in either Douglas or Carmichael, Lanarkshire, Scotland.
h) Jean Grienshields [Greenshields] is listed as the mother on the index of the birth of Lilias Kennedy.

This line is how my mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) was passed to me. Since I originally shared this maternal line, I have had my mtDNA tested (with FamilyTree DNA) and I now know that I am in mtDNA haplogroup U5b2a1a1. A haplogroup is a personal DNA signature, which can be thought of as a branch in our common maternal lineage, which traces a branch back to a shared maternal ancestor in Africa. The U haplogroup is the major branch, and because I did a full mitochondrial sequence, I know the "smaller branch" of the haplogroup that I descend from.

Mitochondrial DNA is passed along from mother to child (son or daughter), so a son can be tested for his mtDNA. (Y-DNA is passed along from father to son, so only a son can be tested for his Y-DNA haplogroup.)

Going back thousands of years in the "maternal tree" (what FamilyTree DNA calls the "deep ancestral origin"), my branch's migration was from western Asia to northern Europe. When I look at my mtDNA matches in FTDNA, they are primarily in Norway, England, Scotland, and Germany.

For a more thorough  explanation of using DNA in genealogy, I recommend the blog, Your Genetic Genealogist, written by Cece Moore. Also, The Legal Genealogist, Judy G. Russell, wrote weekly posts about DNA last year, many of which explain DNA very well.