After 20 years, I
finally confirmed a connection, and it was through DNA technology! Uniting
genealogy research with DNA technology yields an indelible marriage! Let me take you back two decades ago. I
really can’t believe that it has been that long! My father’s birth mother Gertrude Belton was
born in 1908 in Warren County, Mississippi.
Before she died in 1983 in Harvey, Illinois, we never garnered any
family history information from her. Besides, I was so young and really didn’t
care about genealogy at the time. When
my interest surfaced ten years later, I started researching her family with
only scant information. Her obituary, as
well as her Social Security application, revealed her parents’ names, Peter
(Pete) Belton & Angeline Bass. Therefore,
I had a starting point but without any oral history accounts. Not being able to
get confirmations and information from older kin stymied the research to a good
degree but not totally. Circumstances did not afford my father a chance to meet
any Beltons personally from her father’s family.
Now, here is where
things could not get any more worse for a researcher. I found Peter Belton Jr.
in the 1900 Warren County, Mississippi Census. 20-year-old Peter Jr. and others
were living with a white Austin Family. He married my great-grandmother
Angeline Bass on October 22, 1901. Then, in 1910, Angeline Belton was the head
of household with my grandmother and her older brother Jake in the house. She was
reported as being a widow, so I figured that Peter Jr. had died right after
1908, the year my grandmother was born. That alleviated the chance of finding a
death certificate for him, since Mississippi death certificates started in
1912. But, that’s not all. It gets worse, and more hair-pulling is involved!
Peter Junior’s
birthdate was reported as March 1880. Because an elder Peter Belton also
resided in the same area, I ascertained that the elder Peter was likely his
father, since he was the only Belton in Warren County in 1870. Also, a woman named Martha Belton was also in
the area in 1900 with five other children in her household. She was born around 1855/1860. Well, two marriage records were found for
Peter Sr. He married Esther Friar on April 8, 1871, and then he married Mrs.
Martha Wilkins on March 23, 1880 in Warren County. Remember, Pete Junior’s
birthdate was reported as March 1880, the same month Peter Sr. and Martha
married. I also had to consider that Peter Junior’s reported birthdate may or
may not have been accurate. Well, who
was his mother, Esther or Martha? My bet was on Martha.
Well, things get even
worse, unfortunately. I could not find the Beltons in the 1880 census. At all.
This left a huge gap in my research for years.
Since I suspected that Martha was Peter Junior’s mother, I ordered her
son William Belton’s Social Security application. I wanted to know her maiden
name, since Wilkins appeared to have been her married name from a previous
marriage (I never found a marriage record for that marriage). William reported that his father’s name was
Peter Belton and his mother’s maiden name was Martha Miller. However, with
the absence of Peter Jr. in her household in 1900, I was still never for sure
if she was his mother.
William Belton's Social Security application that was filed in 1937.
I continued on with
researching Martha, but the records did not want to cooperate with me! Living near Martha Belton in 1900 were Frederick
(Fred) & Hannah Miller, an elderly couple who were old enough to be her
parents. Hannah was reported as being the mother of 18 children with 13 living;
only 5 children were in the house in 1900. Martha named one of her sons Fred Belton, and
her other sons had the same first names as some of the sons of Fred &
Hannah. Naming patterns were indicating a connection to Fred & Hannah! However,
Martha was not in Fred & Hannah’s household in 1870. To add to this
hair-puller, Fred & Hannah were reported under the surname Neely in 1870 and 1880. Martha was nowhere to be found. Nevertheless, I figured that there's still a
good chance that Fred & Hannah were her parents, since Hannah had a lot of children. But, again, is Martha
truly the mother of Peter Jr., which made Fred & Hannah Miller additionally
questionable for being my ancestors.
Well, my father’s DNA
results from 23andMe started rolling in during the first week in
September. His fifth highest match was someone
named Delia Payne. She shares 39 cM (0.53%) across 3 segments, and the
predicted relationship is 3rd cousin, which is pretty close. She lists 6
surnames and 5 states in her profile. One of the surnames is Miller, and one of her states is Mississippi. Delia accepted my sharing invitation,
and of course, I inquired about her Millers, wondering if they were from
Mississippi.
Thankfully, Delia responded to my message this week. She revealed that
her mother's maternal grandfather was named Wade Miller. He was the son of
Henry & Mary Miller from Warren County (Vicksburg), Mississippi! Born Oct. 1899, Wade was in their household
in 1900. He and his wife Delia had moved to Alton, Illinois after 1920. I
checked the censuses, and low and behold, Fred & Hannah Miller had a son
named Henry! Henry Miller was born in Nov. 1866, according to the 1900 census,
and a 15-year-old son named Henry was reported in Fred and Hannah’s household
in 1880. Close enough! To add, Martha Belton named one of her sons Henry. This DNA match has confirmed
that (1) Martha Miller Belton was indeed my father’s great-grandmother, and (2) Fred
& Hannah Miller were her parents – my great-great-great-grandparents! Henry Miller was Martha Belton's brother. Sharing the same great-great-grandparents, Delia’s
mother and my father are 3rd cousins. This makes Delia a 3rd cousin-once
removed to my father, so 23andMe’s prediction was on the money! A longtime mystery
has been solved! (Doing a happy
dance….the Carlton Banks Dance. LOL)
Update (03/20/14): Henry Miller also relocated to Alton,
Illinois, where his son, Wade Miller,
and his family lived. Henry Miller's Illinois death certificate was found on
ancestry.com. He had died on Sept. 4, 1936 in Alton at the age of 72. His death
certificate reported that his father's name is Fred Miller! Hooray!
Update (06/27/14): A new DNA cousin,
Michael Miller, appeared in my and my father's database this week. He's a
grandson of Wade Miller, the son of Henry Miller. This is how much DNA my father shares with Michael and Delia, further confirming that
Henry Miller and Martha Miller Belton were siblings and the children of Fred
& Hannah Miller. Michael and my father are third cousins.
That's Awesome! Your first "confirmed" DNA connection...can't wait to get there too!
ReplyDeleteAwesome! Research and DNA made a beautiful result.
ReplyDeleteI love the ending! Ha! Love the Carlton Banks dance clip. This is wonderful. Like LindaRe said research and DNA made a beautiful result.
ReplyDeleteThanks! You have to combine the two!
DeleteExcellent. DNA is finally bearing fruit. I know some Millers from the area near Alton.... will have to inquire if they have Mississippi Roots, and loving the Carlton dance.
DeleteI have DNA matches but cannot get anyone to respond who are my exact genetic matches with common ancestors within 500 years and by the way I am of Jewish Sephardic Ancestry as well as having 8 genetic matches in Guinea Bissau and 7 in Cape Verde. All I know is the possible names is Rubio/Ruby and Moreno/Monroe on the maternal side of the family...Do you have any advice??
ReplyDeleteCongratulations!
ReplyDeleteCongrats! Now will you remove that fool's meme from this blog?
ReplyDeleteBrother your stories are truly alive! ) Duly noted two important pieces of information revealed for my edification: "Mississippi death certificates started in 1912" and to order Social Security application records. The ultimate find for those of us on the trail bridging Science, Technology and Spirit! ~Thank you (p.s. the infamous Carlton Banks dance - hilarious.)
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your find, Melvin. I want to be like u when I grow up :>)
ReplyDeleteI'm hoping my 23andMe experience gets me over at least one brick wall. You are inspiring me to take another look at my 3d cousins.
This deserves a world dance, great news Melvin, Congratulations on your new information and finding your new cousin. Enjoyed reading your hair raising story also..lol
ReplyDeleteI shout "Hooray" for you!
ReplyDeleteThat's great Melvin! I love it when the DNA helps confirm what the research is pointing to. I've experienced that once, myself.
ReplyDelete