How Many Presidents? - Saturday Night Genealogy Fun

Thank you to Randy Seaver on Geneamusings for his weekly prompt. 

1)  Which U.S. Presidents have held the office in your lifetime?  Your parents lifetimes?  Your grandparents lifetimes?  How many generations do you need to cover all of them?

2)  A list of the U.S. Presidents is in http://www.presidentsusa.net/presvplist.html to help you out.

President Kennedy

In my lifetime: Pam Carter (1963-???) - Eleven so far
35. John F. Kennedy                                                              
36. Lyndon B. Johnson
37. Richard M. Nixon
38. Gerald R. Ford
39. James E. Carter

President F. D. Roosevelt

40. Ronald Reagan
41. George H. W. Bush
42. William J. Clinton
43. George W. Bush
44. Barack H. Obama
45. Donald J. Trump



My mother and father were both born in 1939 and are still living. - 14 so far
32. Franklin D. Roosevelt                                 
33. Harry S. Truman
34. Dwight D. Eisenhower

My maternal grandmother, Linona Alice Yates (1920-???) - 18 so far! 
28. T. Woodrow Wilson       

President T. Roosevelt

29. Warren G. Harding
30. Calvin Coolidge
31. Herbert Hoover

My maternal grandfather, Clayton Leonard Blake (1904-1979)
26. Theodore Roosevelt             
27. William H. Taft
28. T. Woodrow Wilson
29. Warren G. Harding
30. Calvin G. Coolidge
31. Herbert H. Hoover
32. Franklin D. Roosevelt
33.  Harry S. Truman
34.  Dwight D. Eisenhower
35.  John F. Kennedy
36. Lyndon B. Johnson
37. Richard M. Nixon
38. Gerald R. Ford
39. James E. Carter

President Coolidge 

My paternal grandmother, Fern Lyndell Cotton (1920-2002)
30. Calvin G. Coolidge
31. Herbert H. Hoover
32. Franklin D. Roosevelt                                              
33.  Harry S. Truman
34.  Dwight D. Eisenhower
35.  John F. Kennedy
36. Lyndon B. Johnson
37. Richard M. Nixon
38. Gerald R. Ford
39. James E. Carter
40. Ronald Reagan
41. George H. W. Bush
42. William J. Clinton
43. George W. Bush

President Wilson

My paternal grandfather, T. Richard Carter (1914-2005)

27. William H. Taft
28. T. Woodrow Wilson    
29. Warren G. Harding
30. Calvin G. Coolidge
31. Herbert H. Hoover
32. Franklin D. Roosevelt
33.  Harry S. Truman
34.  Dwight D. Eisenhower
35.  John F. Kennedy
36. Lyndon B. Johnson
37. Richard M. Nixon
38. Gerald R. Ford
39. James E. Carter
40. Ronald Reagan
41. George H. W. Bush
42. William J. Clinton

President Arthur

43. George W. Bush

I knew three of my great-grandparents, Estes & Eva (Hayes) Yates and Annie F. (Gibbs) Cotton. 
Estes Yates (1884-1977)
Eva Hayes (1897-1982)
Annie F. Gibbs (1892-1987)

This would take it back to the 21st president, Chester A. Arthur. 


I have to go back six generations to cover all the presidents. 

President Washington

Direct ancestors living when George Washington took the oath of office were: 
Paternal:
4th great-grandparents: Aaron Abbott Jr. & Sally Abbott
4th great-grandparents: Thomas Capen & Mary Abbott
4th great-grandparents: Dr. Timothy Carter & Frances Freeland
4th great-grandparents: John Williamson & Ann McClure (alive but not living in the United States)
4th great-grandparents: Enoch Spurr & Abigail Wight
5th great-grandparents: Dr. James Freeland & Mehitable Mellen
5th great-grandparents: Edward Abbott & Deborah Stevens
5th great-grandparents: John W. Ellingwood, Jr. & Zerviah Abbott
5th great-grandmother: Elizabeth "Betsey" Clark
5th great-grandmother: Hannah Keene
5th great-grandfather: Joseph Spurr
5th great-grandparents: David Philbrick & Ann "Nancy" Lyford
5th great-grandparents: Thomas Edgecomb & Hannah Prescott
5th great-grandmother: Margaret Flett Green
5th great-grandparents: Joseph Wight & Abigail Ware
6th great-grandfather: Snow Keene
6th great-grandparents: Gibbins Edgecomb & Rhoda Elwell
6th great-grandfather: Joshua Brooks
7th great-grandparents: Patten Simpson & Jane McClure

Maternal:
4th great-grandparents: William Yates & Martha Morgan
4th great-grandfather: Eliakim Emmons
4th great-grandparents: Micajah Blake & Nancy Ripley
4th great-grandparents: Rev. Edward Whittle & Elizabeth Higgins
5th great-grandparents: Josiah Churchill & Lydia Orr
5th great-grandparents: Joshua Ripley & Lydia Bartlett
5th great-grandparents: Samuel Morgan & Judith Dennen
6th great-grandparents: Samuel Dennen & Keziah Bray
6th great-grandmother: Alice (Briggs) Churchill
6th great-grandparents: Diman Perry & Susannah Lincoln
6th great-grandfather: Daniel Messer
6th great-grandfather: Thomas Shepard
6th great-grandparents: William Swan & Lucy Robbins
7th great-grandfather: Josiah Churchill
7th great-grandfather: Joshua Emerson

Don't Be a Sloppy Genealogist

I remember the early days of searching for my ancestors. I used Ancestry before there were shaky leaves. About 12 years ago, there were still some really poorly constructed trees. However, most were at least close (the dates and names made sense) even if they were linked without sources. As I researched further, I've been had to correct a number of wrong turns from my early days. Even careful genealogists can make mistakes.

However since the shaky leaves came into existence, I'm seeing more and more obviously incorrect trees. These have links that are laughable because they defy the laws of nature. I understand the impulse to quickly fill out your family lines. I was once one of those overly excited to merge information without doing even a cursory investigation.

This week's "We're Related" app potential relatives provided an example of the sloppiest trees. See if you can catch it.  My famous possible relative is county music singer, Luke Bryan. My line according to the information Ancestry has compiled (not from my own research and tree) is:

Lott Whiddon (1729-1784) - Common connection with Luke Bryan - father of James W. Whiddon
James W. Whiddon (1770-1845) - father of James W. Whiddon
James W. Whiddon, Jr. (1790-1869) - father of Nancy Whiddon
Nancy Whidden (1830-1908) - mother of Robert G. Goff
Robert G. Goff (1853-1924) - father of William Yates
William Yates (1774-1868) - father of Moses Yates
Moses Yates (1805-1890) - father of Gilbert William Yates
Gilbert William Yates (1835-1925) - father of Estes Gilbert Yates
Estes Gilbert Yates (1884-1977) - father of Linona A. Yates
Linona A. Yates - my grandmother - the line from her to William Yates is correct according to my research. Did you catch the obvious error?

I don't think it's physically possible for Robert G. Goff, born in 1853, to be the father of William Yates, born in 1774!  Furthermore, despite the efforts of many researchers, the origins of William Yates are not known. He is possibly from Scotland, possibly from England and he either came to New Hampshire at a young age as an indentured servant or he came with his parents and was then indentured. Although his name is spelled two different ways, Yeats and Yates; it has never been Goff!

We're Related (Maybe)

The We're Related app from Ancestry.com is fun and interesting. It's not to be taken seriously though. I'm investigating some of the connections it's found that look promising. However, I've found almost an equal number of suggested connections that are implausible or impossible.

For me, the biggest frustration comes from incorrect lines where the mother of my great-grandfather, Ray Everett Cotton, is listed as Lillie Esther Shaw. I admit that I thought she was his mother for a long time before I figured out the truth. His mother was Lizzie Philbrick. She was only married to his father, Francis Llewellyn Cotton, for about two years before she divorced him for keeping company of "certain lewd women."

Other issues occur when the line has the child born after a parent is dead or born when the parents were much too young. Some go into the 16th century and I don't trust the "across-the-pond" connections.

One thing I'll explore this year with some of my blog posts are these POSSIBLE connections to famous people. Perhaps you'll recognize an ancestor of yours and we'll find a cousin connection!

2017 Genealogy Goals

Time to do a reboot! My blogging really declined last year. I focused more on researching and didn't get much of it written into blog posts. I also did a lot more with helping other people, especially my students, with their research. I feel like I lost a bit of my passion for the writing part and I'm going to try to recapture it for 2017.

Last year, I only had 41 posts. This is in comparison to 109 in 2015, 79 in 2014, 76 in 2013, and 77 in 2012.  I may have had a bit of burnout after 2015.

Some highlights of 2016 were

• My trips to the New England Genealogical and Historical Society for research 
• My trips to the Maine State Library in Augusta. 
• Renewed my membership in the Maine Genealogical Society AND attended two special events where I got to hear Joshua Taylor and Judy Russell impart their wisdom. I strengthened my connections with other Maine genealogists. I still haven't made it to a monthly meeting of the Greater Portland Chapter but perhaps I can do that at least a few times this year. 
• Went to more cemeteries than any previous year, created Findagrave memorials for my ancestors and others and filled some photo requests. 
• Took over as treasurer of the Middle Intervale Cemetery Association. This cemetery has many of my ancestors including 5 direct line generations of Carters. 
• Two other events kept me busy this year will be of interest to future generations - my son, Josh, got married in June and my second grandson, Andrew Elias Taylor, was born in August. 

Goals:

1. 80 blog posts
2. Attend more genealogy events, including monthly meetings of the local Maine chapter
3. Continue to travel to cemeteries and photograph for myself and others
4. Go to NEHGS several times for research
5. Go to the Maine State Library several times for research
6. Continue to add citations to my database 
7. Learn more about DNA and its use in genealogy
8. Get a genealogy club going at the high school/continue to help others learn about genealogy

Of course, I need to fit this all in around my work demands. That is definitely what puts the biggest obstacles up for me! 

Check out some posts that I didn't promote on Facebook because I got sidetracked and wasn't paying attention to my blog.

Ouch!

Rev. Thomas Carter 

Middle Generations - The Middle Children of Genealogy?

A Carter Family Portrait