Kris Hocker

AncestryDNA Updates Ethnicity Estimates

Kris Hocker on 12 Sep 2018

If you’ve been reading the genealogy blogs today, you probably already know. Ancestry updated their AncestryDNA ethnicity estimates. It is based on a significantly larger reference population (3,000 -> 16,000 samples) and includes more regions (26 -> 43) and subregions (363 -> 380). You can see Ancestry’s announcement on their blog.

Currently—and for a limited time, you can compare your old results to the new ones on the map. The ethnicity estimate percentages also provide the specific, numerical changes for each region. Here is my original map.

2017 Ancestry Ethnicity Map

It included:

63% Europe West
16% Ireland/Scotland/Wales
5% Scandinavia

There were also a number of low confidence regions, including the Iberian Peninsula (4%), Great Britain (4%), Caucasus (4%), Europe South (2%), European Jewish (<1%), and Asia South (<1%).

And here’s my new ethnicity map.

2018 Ancestry Ethnicity Map

Not only have the amounts changed, but the way the areas are grouped has changed, as well. For instance, England/Wales/Northwestern Europe (yellow) is now one category. 61% of my DNA is from the areas it encompasses. Ireland/Scotland (green) is now 18%. Germanic Europe (teal), once part of Europe West, is now it’s own category and 18% of my ethnic makeup. Previously, Scandinavia was one block, now it is two categories: Norway and Sweden. I’m apparently 5% Norwegian. Additionally, I am now 1% Eastern European/Russian and 1% Greece/Balkans. The last two are really the only categories I could question.

If you look at my estimates from my paper trail versus Ancestry’s estimates, it breaks down like this:

Region	Pedigree	Ancestry 2017	Ancestry 2018
Western Europe	72.82%	63%	61%
Germanic Europe	(see W. Europe)	(see W. Europe)	13%
Ireland/Scotland	14.04%	16%	18%
Scandinavia	3.12%	5%	6% (Norway)
England/Wales	3.12%	4%	(see W. Europe)
Italy/Greece	—	2%	1%
Iberian Peninsula	—	4%	—
European Jewish	—	<1%	—
Unknown	6.24%	—	—
Caucasus	—	4%	—
Eastern Europe/Russia	—	—	1%

Once you get past the organizational changes, you can that, in reality, not much has changed at all in how my ethnicity is classified. I’m still an American mutt of largely Western European—Germanic and British—descent.

In fact, the interesting bits have disappeared, meaning that unknown 6.24% is most likely from the same areas in Western Europe as the majority of my other ancestors.

To read more about today’s changes, check out these blog posts.

The DNA Geek: Major Enhancement to AncestryDNA’s Ethnicity Estimates
Genetic Genealogist: AncestryDNA Revises Ethnicity Estimates
Legal Genealogist: AncestryDNA Ethnicity Estimates Updated
Ancestry’s white paper: Ethnicity Estimate 2018 White Paper

Bill & Ruth’s Excellent Adventure

Kris Hocker on 5 Sep 2018

On 24 September 1941, William “Bill” Hocker Jr. married Ruth Hoover at Olivet Presbyterian Church in Harrisburg.

Anna Hocker, Ruth (Hoover) Hocker, William Hocker, Don Hoover outside Olivet Presbyterian Church

William’s sister Anna stood up with the couple, as did Ruth’s brother Don. Anna later married another of Ruth’s brothers, Willard “Boots” Hoover, almost a year later in 1942. Bill and Ruth were married for 66 years—a most excellent adventure.

Reunion: Finding A Couple’s Descendants Who Are Your DNA Matches Search Tip for Reunion Users

Kris Hocker on 28 Aug 2018

I’ve been a bit frustrated in my attempt to use Reunion to track my DNA matches. The problem? Trying to locate DNA matches in the database who descend from a specific couple. I’m pleased to say I found a solution, but also a bit embarrassed about how easy it turned out to be.

The Problem

I do most of my work identifying relationships with my DNA matches in Google Sheets. I have a master list and additional spreadsheets with subsets of individuals who form clusters for which I’m trying to identify our shared ancestor.

I build out pedigrees for my matches in Reunion. That way I can attach them to the correct ancestor once I get back far enough in their tree. The assumption, of course, is that I will actually get back to that shared ancestor. That’s not always the case, but I remain hopeful and keep trying.

The problem arises when I want to find those cousins who I’ve traced to a specific couple. Unless there’s only one of them, it can be confusing trying to descend the family tree. I wanted a quick way to see if I have added an individual to the database.¹

The Solution

When I add my DNA matches in to Reunion, I tag them in two ways. First I check a “Flag” that I added—“DNA Match.” The flag will show if I’m looking at a person’s record in Reunion. Secondly, I select a “Child Status” that I created—“DNA Match.” This status I can see if I’m looking at their parents. Additionally, I add the match details into the notes field

I can easily find all my DNA matches in the database by selecting either of the tags in a search. What I was missing was a way to narrow it down to only those descended from a specific couple.

The solution, it turns out, was so simple, it made me feel stupid.

I usually keep all my direct ancestors “marked” in the database. It makes it easy to identify them out of a list of similarly named people without having to remember birth and death dates. The answer to my problem involved using marking a bit differently.

In order to find DNA matches who are descendants of a specific couple, the first step is to mark all their descendants in the Reunion database.

Mark descendants

When you are on the page of the couple you’ve chosen, go to Mark Groups. Select “Mark” as your action and “Descendants of” as your target group. Be sure to check “Unmark everybody first” to limit your search group to just this subset of the database. Click “Mark.”

Now that you have selected a target group to search, go to “Find.”

Look for marked DNA matches

To set your search parameters, first select “Person Marked” under “Attributes” in the conditions pop-up, then select “Yes” in the second menu. This will find all people who are checked in the database.

Add another condition by checking the “And” box. The operator menu allows you to flip this check box between “And” and “Or.” If you want both parameters to be true, then use “and.” If either conditions should be true, use “or.”

Choose “Child Status” from “Attributes,” then either “Contains” or “Is” in the second menu and type your status in the text box. If you choose “Is” make sure to type in the exact text of the child status. Alternately, I could select “DNA Match checked” from “Flags” or search for text in a notes field. Use whatever method you’re using to tag your DNA matches.

Click “Find” to start the search. The results will appear in the sidebar.

And there it is. The remarkably simple answer to a problem that’s been plaguing me for a while. Why didn’t I think of it sooner?!

Hope this tip helps some of you Reunion users out there.

Jacob Schneider’s Timeline

Kris Hocker on 19 Aug 2018

Last week I wrote about using tax records to fill in the details of Jacob Schneider’s life. I wrote about what I found; now I want to show you how I organized it.

Timelines are an invaluable tool for genealogical research. Not only do they help you organize what you’ve found and see what may be missing, they can also show you inconsistencies and overlaps that can point to potential identification mistakes.

There are three places I have created time-based lists of events: 1) in the miscellaneous notes field in Reunion, 2) Evernote and 3) Google Sheets (spreadsheet). Any one of these—or a combination of them—may work for you.

Reunion is my goto for any information pertaining to an individual; everything I find goes there.

I use Evernote when I want to be more organized and structure my research. I found a template from Colleen Greene that includes sections for biographical information, clues, tasks, and a research log. I added a timeline to the template and use it to keep myself focused during research, to try to adhere to standards.

My Google Sheets timelines I use for collecting data from specific sources. It allows me to compare data—census, tax, etc.—for a specific location or surname through time. I also use it to create compact timelines, a simplified version of my Evernote timelines. These are really helpful when trying to distinguish between multiple individuals with the same name in a given location.

Here is Jacob Schneider’s timeline from my Google spreadsheet.

Jacob Schneider timeline

This spreadsheet only includes records for Jacob Schneider and his presumed family members. I used color to differentiate between people, baby blue being for Jacob himself. Samuel Snyder’s entries are not colored in order to highlight them as I wrote up my proof argument for why I believed him to be Jacob Schneider’s son and Judith Ann Wolf’s husband.

I wouldn’t consider this timeline complete. The tax records need more specific dates and I’m still looking for additional records. For example, Henry received communion at New Goshenhoppen, so he had to have been baptized and confirmed. I’m hoping to find record of that for him and his siblings. Baptism sponsors—especially for the eldest children—can help find additional family members and identify parentage for Jacob and Catharine.

When I examined the records for Conrad and Jacob Nuss in conjunction with this timeline, it became clear that Jacob Schneider was likely working with Jacob Nuss as a saddler. They were both in Upper Hanover Township from 1791 through 1801. Conrad Nuss, Jacob’s presumed father-in-law only overlaps in Upper Hanover with Jacob in 1791 and 1793. Jacob Schneider, like Conrad, is later found in Hereford between 1805 and 1808.

I really like the way a narrative starts to appear when you examine these records. Jacob likely met Catharine while he was apprenticing, learning the saddler trade, and married his boss’s niece! I wouldn’t have thought of this scenario without seeing the occupations in the tax record and the location overlaps in the timeline.

TBT: Using Online Land Office Records at the PA Archives

Kris Hocker on 16 Aug 2018

Way back in 2012 I wrote a post entitled How to Use the Online Land Records at the PA State Archives. This post explained the process of land rights passing from William Penn to colonists through the Land Office in colonial Pennsylvania. If you’re researching a Pennsylvania immigrant—or even a first generation colonist—these records can be invaluable.

How to Use the Online Land Records at the PA State Archives

After this post I used Jacob Huber of Lancaster County’s records to illustrate the resources created during this process:

Jacob Hoober 1733 Warrant

Jacob Hoober’s 1733 Survey

Jacob Hoober’s 1736 Land Patent

For additional resources to find your ancestors land, check out the Warrantee Township maps:

Pennsylvania Warrant Township Maps

and also the Genealogical Map of the Counties:

Pennsylvania Genealogical County Map

Hope you’ve enjoyed this Throwback Thursday post.

Building a Timeline for Jacob Schneider Clues from Tax Records Help to Build a Life Story

Kris Hocker on 13 Aug 2018

Based on my genetic genealogy research and the paper trail I’ve built for Jacob & Catharine (___) Schneider, I’m fairly certain that they are the parents of my 4x great grandfather Henry Schneider. I’m also pretty certain that Catharina’s parents were Conrad and Anna Margaretha (Roeder) Nuss. But that hasn’t stopped the search for additional evidence. After all, I would like to know who Jacob’s parents were.

Tax Records

I was combing through Montgomery County tax records for other research when I decided to look for Jacob and Henry in the records. Tax records may not provide a lot of genealogical information, but they can give you residency for a person between census years.

They can also be matched up with other records for verification or provide information when those other records are lacking. For instance, many times our ancestors did not record deeds with the county recorder. It wasn’t required and it cost money. Having a deed for yourself was enough to prove ownership, so that’s all they did. Tax records can fill in that evidentiary hole when you don’t have the deed. They can tell you if your ancestor owned land, when they owned it, how much they owned, and what it was worth.

Jacob Schneider

In Jacob’s case, I have a deed, but it’s the years before his purchase I want to know more about. He first appeared in Upper Hanover Township tax records in 1791¹ as a single man.² He continuously appears in the available records, taxed on his occupation and 1 or 2 cows (his only property), through 1804 when his name was crossed out.³ At that point, I know he’s still alive, so he must have moved out of the township.

In 1810, he reappeared in Upper Hanover, taxed on 85 acres of land, 1 horse, 2 cows, and a dog.⁴ His occupation was listed as a saddler. Records show him in the township through 1829 when an entry consistent with prior records is attributed to “Jacob and Samuel.”⁵ This is consistent with the deed record which shows he purchased 85 acres from Henry Roeder on 2 April 1810.⁶ Jacob died sometime before 24 October 1829.⁷ His administrators, Henry and Catharine Schneider, reported to the Orphans Court during the January 1830 session that they sold Jacob’s land to Michael Gery and, indeed, Michael Gery was taxed on 85 acres in that year.⁸

So, Jacob Schneider worked as a saddler, even after he purchased his land in 1810. In order to learn this trade, he likely apprenticed as a young man with a saddler. Do you know who was also listed as a saddler in tax records?

His presumed father-in-law Conrad Nuss!

I found both Conrad and his brother Jacob listed in various tax records in Upper Hanover from 1774⁹ through 1793.¹⁰ Curious about the years Jacob was missing from Upper Hanover, I checked Hereford Township records in Berks County where Conrad wrote his last will & testament in 1808. I found Jacob Snyder (“sadler”) in Hereford from 1805 through 1809 and Conrad from 1806 through 1808.¹¹ It doesn’t seem like much of a stretch to argue that Jacob learned the saddler’s trade from one (or both) of the Nuss brothers and married Conrad’s daughter.

My 4x great grandfather Henry Schneider was taxed in Upper Hanover, too. He first appears in the records at age 25, taxed as a single man in 1817.¹² He was taxed on his occupation—cordweiner, aka shoemaker—and his property—one or two cows—until he purchased land from his father-in-law’s estate in 1830.¹³ Henry’s mother and siblings show up in the records, too:

mother Catharine in 1832-1834¹⁴
sister Catharine in 1831-1834¹⁵
Elizabeth in 1830 and 1832¹⁶
Jacob in 1819 and 1829¹⁷
Samuel in 1826-1840¹⁸
Daniel in 1831-1837¹⁹
Michael in 1832²⁰
John in 1832-1837²¹

Only Sarah and Jonas do not appear in the tax record, perhaps because they were too young for the records I looked at or they moved out of the township while still minors.

Conclusions

It seems to me that these records support the hypothesis that Henry was the son of Jacob and Catharine. The overlap in the tax record—at a time when there doesn’t appear to be another Snyder family living in the township—between Jacob and persons with the names of his children, each appearing shortly after they would have presumably come of age, is consistent with a familial relationship.

Several of these individuals also had money “at interest” according to the records in the early 1830s. This is consistent with payouts from an estate settlement. Henry and Catharine submitted their administration account of Jacob’s estate on 13 April 1831.²² There was a balance $1,232.21 to pay the heirs. Catharine would have received a third—$410, and the ten children would have divided the remaining $822.

The records also support my hypothesis that the Samuel Snyder who married Judith Ann Wolf, daughter of my 4x great grandparents Jacob and Magdalena (Brey) Wolfe, was the son of Jacob and Catharine (Nuss) Schneider. These tax records place Jacob’s son Samuel in the same location as the Wolfe family both directly before and after the marriage to Judith Wolf. They also note that he was a single man through 1831, but not after 1832, just about the time Samuel and Judith likely married.²³

All in all, these tax records improve my understanding of Jacob Schneider’s life and family and add evidence to the argument that he and Catharine are my 5x great grandparents and the descendant of Samuel and Judith (Wolf) Snyder, their descendants, too.

By the Railroad Tracks

Kris Hocker on 1 Aug 2018

In honor of the recent Hoover family reunion, here’s a family photo from about 90 (wow!) or so years ago. I love the candid family photos. Here the family members are sitting by railroad tracks, possibly above a creek, near a railroad marker (C 34).

Aunt Annie Houdeshell, Peg, Don, Bob, Ruth Hoover

Peg, Don, Bob, and Ruth Hoover

My grandmother identified this photo as being “Aunt Annie, Peg, Don, Bob, and Ruth.” However, Aunt Annie—Anne Belle Houdeshell—died in 1924. Bob was born the following year.

I’m terrible at estimating children’s ages, but I’d guess the youngest child in the photo to be around two years old. I’m pretty sure Grandma could recognize herself and her siblings, so that places this photo around 1927 or 1928, give or take. The trees are bare, but the family is not bundled up. I’d guess spring or a warm fall day.

I wonder what they’re all looking at.

One Small Step for a Man

Kris Hocker on 4 Jul 2018

Here’s an almost Wordless Wednesday post in honor of the moon landing which happened 49 years ago this month.

Photo of the televised 21 Jun 1969 moon walk by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin (photo by my dad)

In July 1969, I was still a baby, so I don’t remember this at all. At the time, my family was living at Patrick Air Force Base in Florida. We got to see the launch of the Apollo 11 rocket at the Kennedy Space Center and watched the landing on television. My father took this picture from that broadcast.

Climbing Esther’s Family Tree

Kris Hocker on 30 Jun 2018

Research has added a couple more generations of Schneiders to my family tree. And, no, they are not related—as far as I know—to the Jacob Schneider who married Catharina Nuss, father of my four times great grandfather Henry Snyder.

Up until recently I’ve had three known ancestors who were Schneiders and “tree-tops”¹ for their respective lines:

Jacob Schneider (ca 1756-1765–1829) who married Catharina Nuss
Eva Elisabetha (Schneider) Jäger (1728–1804) wife of Johannes Jäger (1721–1796), ancestors of my fifth great grandmother Eva (Yeager) Strassburger, wife of Johann Andreas Strassburger (1754–1825)
Esther (Schneider) Person (1801–1867), wife of Abraham Person (1797–1876) and mother of my three times great grandmother Helena (Person) Dillinger (1829–1894), wife of William Dillinger (1825–1896)

Recently, I decided to see what I could find on Abraham Person and his wife Esther Schneider now that deed records are online on FamilySearch. I got lucky and found Esther’s parents, grandparents, great grandparents, and great great grandparents.

Esther’s Parents

On 29 March 1861, “Anna Maria Schnyder, widow and relict of Jacob Snyder late of Upper Saucon township…, who died intestate, Samuel Snyder of Upper Milford Township…a son of said deceased and Catharine his wife, Abraham Person of Salisbury Township…and Esther his wife, who is a daughter of said deceased, Jacob Snyder of Lower Saucon township…another son of said deceased and Elisabeth his wife, and William Snyder of Warren County in the Commonwealth of New Jersey, another son… and Lydia his wife” sold 115 acres 10 perches in Upper Saucon Township to David Snyder (another son).²

Jacob Schneider was born 29 June 1778 and died 9 December 1860 in Upper Saucon Township.³ He was buried in Friedensville Cemetery. He married Anna Maria Shaffer, born 16 September 1780 and died 11 November 1863.⁴

The couple had five children:

Esther Schneider was born 21 September 1801 and died 14 January 1867, Allentown, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania;⁵ she married Abraham Person.⁶ Abraham was born 9 March 1797 and died 26 April 1876.⁷ He, too, is buried in the Union-West End Cemetery in Allentown.
William Schneider was born 30 March 1804 and died 1 July 1880, Washington Township, Warren County, New Jersey;⁸ he married Lydia Bogert.⁹
David Schneider was born about 1810.¹⁰ He married Sarah (___).¹¹
Samuel Schneider was likely born 17 September 1812 and died 8 May 1891 in Emmaus Borough.¹² He married Catharine (___).¹³
Jacob Schneider Jr. was possibly born 25 April 1816 and died 15 June 1905 in Hellertown.¹⁴ He married Elizabeth (___).¹⁵

Esther’s Grandparents

According to the deeds, Jacob Snyder received 48 acres of his father’s land from Henry Egner, and his wife Catharine, and John Snyder on 3 May 1813. This land had been left by David Schneider to his heirs: Jacob Schneider, Catharina Schneider wife of Henry Egner, and John Schneider.¹⁶

David Schnyder’s will named his wife Esther and children Jacob, Catharine, and John.¹⁷ His executors were Abraham Snyder and John Geisinger.

David granted his wife the right to remain on his property until his youngest child (John) was 21 years-old and to “take wheat Rye as much as she as she [sic] & my children shall want for their Died [sic]…four old hogs and four shoads [sic] and kitchen gardon [sic] as much she will take and she shall have the Hoise [sic] to choose three sheeps out of my stock for her use and she my said wife shall have her peacable abode on my Premises…”

David Schnyder (aka Taylor) wrote his last will & testament on 22 August 1785 and it was probated 1 October 1785. He most likely died sometime in September 1785. He left behind a wife and three underage children. On 16 June 1789, David’s uncle Abraham petitioned the Orphans Court for guardians to be appointed for his children: Jacob, Catharina, and John.¹⁸ Esther likely died sometime between David’s writing his will and her children dividing their father’s land in 1804.

David and Esther had children:

Jacob Schneider [see above]
Catharina Schneider was born 19 January 1780 and died 6 July 1861 in Upper Saucon Township.¹⁹ She married Henry Egner.²⁰ Some of Catharina’s children married into the same Wieder family that her brother Jacob’s great granddaughter Alavesta later joined. Their children were first and second cousins of Alavesta’s husband, E. J. Wieder.
John Schneider was born before 1783.

Esther’s Great Grandparents & Great Great Grandparents

On 25 June 1804, David’s children divided up between them the real estate that remained in his estate after the executors had sold a portion to pay his debts. Catharina and her husband received 65 acres of land as her full portion from the estate, Jacob received the rest of the remaining land, and John received £675.²¹

This deed records the history of the land from its first purchase from the Proprietaries of the province. The land was purchased by Heinrich Schneider on 20 June 1743, the patent recorded in Patent Book A11:187. ²² Henry Schneider and his wife Elizabeth granted the land to Mary Schneider, “widow the relict and administratrix… of there [sic] son Jacob Schneider late of the place abovesaid [Upper Saucon] yeoman deceased for the use of David Schneider and Elizabeth then a minor children under the age of twenty one years” on 18 May 1759.

Jacob Schneider and his wife Mary were both likely born sometime before 1738, possibly in Pennsylvania. Jacob died prior to 18 May 1759 and Mary sometime after that. More research is required to narrow those timeframes. Prior to his death, Jacob’s father sold 227 acres in Upper Saucon Township to him, but did not complete the deed. After his death, Heinrich and wife Elizabeth had the deed recorded and Mary gave them the second payment for the land.

Jacob and Mary had children:

David Schneider was born between 18 May 1738 and 1757 and died in September 1785.
Elizabeth Schneider was born between 18 May 1738 and 18 May 1759. No more is currently known.

Henry Schneider (aka Taylor) was living in Richland Township, Bucks County when he and his wife Elizabeth sold the land to their daughter-in-law Mary in 1759.²³ He patented the land on Saucon Creek on 20 June 1743 prior to the creation of Northampton County. The land adjoined that of Thomas Owen, Valentine Humil, Isaac Samuel, and John Pugh. He may have been the Henry Schneider who died 16 September 1761 and was buried in East Swamp Mennonite Cemetery in Quakertown.²⁴

Henry and his wife Elizabeth had at least two children:

Jacob Schneider [see above]
Abraham Schneider died after 16 June 1789. ²⁵

Esther (Schneider) Person’s ancestry

Based on this research Heinrich Schneider and his wife Elizabeth are my eight times great grandparents through their son Jacob and grandson David. Heinrich was most likely my immigrant ancestor on this line. Both Jacob and David died young, leaving behind widows with young children. Makes you wonder what their lives were like growing up.

Author: Kris Hocker