Do you try and build out trees for DNA matches? I know that Your DNA Guide, Diahan Southard talks about creating ‘quick and dirty’ trees. While I understand the concept behind a ‘quick and dirty’ tree, my process is not as quick and hopefully only partially ‘dirty.’
I’m currently working on potential matches on ThruLines for my ancestor, James Barr. Records are suggesting that he had at least two daughters: my ancestor Hannah Barr along with Elizabeth Barr. Thus, I’m trying to build out my tree to hopefully find more support for Elizabeth Barr Steele being the daughter of James Barr.
For the ‘quick’ part of my process, I use the ability of RootsMagic to import people from the FamilySearch tree. Since the FamilySearch tree is a collaborative tree, I’m hoping that it is fairly correct. After importing the family into my RootsMagic file, I then use RootsMagic to add this new family to my Ancestry tree. Once on Ancestry, I can take advantage of Ancestry’s leafy tree hints. Using these hints, I add events and sources to my RootsMagic file and save those souces to my Ancestry tree. This is the ‘not so quick’ part of my process. Since I’m adding sources, it also isn’t a ‘dirty’ tree. However, I’m not doing an exhaustive search of sources. This lack of an exhaustive search is why I consider it ‘partially dirty.’
For the most part, this process works and I can either verify the tree suggested by ThruLines or prove it incorrect. However, while researching the family of James Scott Steele some of his hints were for a family that did not match what I had from FamilySearch. I started working with the hint for the Find a Grave record and since the birthdates agreed I was about to add the memorial as a source in RootsMagic. As I continued to analyze all of the information in the Find a Grave record, I realized that the death date did not match, nor did the family structure agree with what I had.
This raised a red flag along with the question as to whether the FamilySearch tree was incorrect. A search of the sources attached to James Scott Steele on FamilySearch revealed a different Find a Grave record. While this second Find a Grave record did not link to any family members, the death date agrees with the date I downloaded from the FamilySearch tree.
Now I have two different men named James Steel and need to figure out which one is the son of James and Sarah Jane (Reeves) Steele. Thankfully, another hint was helpful in figuring out whether the FS tree was faulty. This clue was for a Kansas marriage record of the daughter, Jennie Steele. This 1888 record not only identified her parents as James Steele and Margaret Maller but also suggested a move to Kansas from Indiana.
Since the FS tree indicated that James’ wife, Lydia Margaret Waller died in Kansas in 1919, I decided to take advantage of the Kansas newspapers to see what I could find. That search on Newspapers.com found three articles that provide details about the life of Lydia Margaret Waller and her husbands, James Scott Steele and Daniel William Thompson.
DEATH CLAIMS A GOOD WOMAN
Mrs. D. W. Thompson Passes Away After an illness of Several Years.
Mrs. Daniel W. Thompson, who had been a resident of Halstead for thirty-four years answered the final summons at the Halstead Hospital Friday morning. She had been taken there but a few days previous in hopes that medical and surgical skill might prolong her life, but her ailment had became beyond human aid and she quietly passed into the great beyond.
Lydia M. Waller was born in Fayette county, Ill, March 10,1845, and was married to James S. Steele on July 25, 1865. To this union seven children were born, five of whom are still living, Benton Steele of Larned, Kans., Jennie F. Cutter of Watonga, Okla., John M. Steele, Ara H. Steele and Mattie Bell Viersen of Halstead, Kans. She came to Kansas in 1885 after having been left a widow in the year 1880 . She was married to D. W. Thompson Dec. 21, 1893.
The funeral was held Sunday afternoon from the late home and was largely attended by those who had known of the excellent traits of character and pureness of heart of this good woman. One of the striking features of the funeral was the service as pallbearers by six step-sons who had known to love and respect her as they would have their own mother.
Rev. R. A. Adamson of LeRoy, who was her pastor here many years ago when the Christian Church organization in this city was in a flourishing condition, was here to conduct the service. Interment was made in the City Cemetery. We are promised a more extended obituary for our next issue.
“Death Claims a Good Woman,” Halstead Independent (Halstead, Kansas), 18 September 1919, page 1; digital images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : viewed online 6 March 2024).
HALSTEAD AND VICINITY
“Halstead and Vicinity,” The Newton Journal (Newton, Kansas), 6 September 1919, page 6; digital images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : viewed online 6 March 2024).
Mrs. Daniel W. Thompson died at
the hospital Friday morning Sept. 12, 1919 Lydia Waller was born in Ill. March 10, 1845 and was married to James Steele July 25, 1865. To this union seven children were born, five are still living, who are Benton Steele, of Larned, Kansas, Jennie Cutter of Okla. John, and Ara Steele and Mrs. Claude Viersen of Halstead, Ks. She was left a widow in 1880 and in 1893 was married to D. W. Thompson.
Her six stepsons who have known to love and respect her as a mother were pallbearers who were, W. D., Elmer, James, George, Clarence, and John Thompson. Their brother Andrew Thompson of Liberal could not be present.
The funeral was conducted by Rev. R. A. Adamson of LeRoy pastor of Christian church. Interment was made in the City cemetery.
A TRIBUTE
TO MOTHERBrief Review of the Good Works Done By the Late Mrs. D. W. Thompson.
On the banks of the beautiful Kaskaskia river which winds its way through the rugged, tree-clad hills of southern Illinois, back in the early spring of 1884, Lydia M. Waller was ushered into a life cruelly beset with sorrow and tribulation. Left in early infancy without a mother’s loving care; tossed about among strangers, she faced the inevitable tragedies so common among the struggling pioneers of early days. Denied the advantages of school, she learned only by toil and experience. However, through the mysterious workings of providence, a foundation for upright character was laid and upon attaining the age of accountability, joined the Christian Church to which organization she remained steadfastly loyal the remainder of her life, though never too selfish, or narrow, to attend and affiliate with other denominations.
Mother Thompson’s life was ever in tuneful harmony with nature and nature’s God. She often remarked to the writer that her sincere belief in immortality was founded upon the manifestations of God, through natural laws. Mother was a born philosopher and to every phase of life applied the principle of philosophic reasoning which must account for that perfect praise and dignity which characterized her long and useful life.
July 25,1865 she was united in marriage with James S Steele. The happy young pair left immediately for the little inland village of Warrington, Ind., where brushy swamps and wooded knolls spread many, many miles in every direction. In a little round-log cabin on the banks of Riley’s famous Brandywine, the hopeful young couple started life. Children soon came to fulfil the instinct of parental desire, seven in number, five boys and two girls, coming in the following order: Benton, Henry S., Amanda Jane, John M., Ara H. and Perry T., twins, and Mattie Bell. Henry S. was called away at the age of six years, Perry T. survived for only a few weeks. In the meantime, disease had overtaken Father Steele which left an unusually heavy burden upon Mother, as the children were small and no visible means of support except hard manual labor in the green woods, the little home being several miles from the town of Warrington and nothing but a winding road of corduroy through the swamps to civilization. Death relieved Father of his suffering on March 7, 1880, leaving Mother and the young children to face the great tragedy practically alone. With what little assistance an invalid father could render, our means of a living had been a rented farm, which occupation was continued for a time under great difficulties as the writer was not yet thirteen years of age when deprived of a father’s council and help. In the summer of 1885 the little farming outfit was disposed of and Mother and the four younger children came to Kansas to help make a home for William Waller, Mother’s elder brother, who had been left a widower only a short time before. This arrangement continued for a short time when Mother bought a modest home in Halstead and removed thereto. On Dec. 21, 1893, Mother and Daniel W. Thompson were married, after she had lived as a widow for thirteen years,
Fifteen children now having been joined together, presented new and strange difficulties, but through the tact and natural diplomacy of the mother, aided by an impartial and devoted father, the joint family lived in peace and beautiful harmony to the satisfaction and everlasting glory of our sainted mother.
Many months previous to Mother’s passing away, she had carefully made arrangements for the disposition of her large collection of precious mementoes, thoughtfully considering each child in an impartial manner with some precious keep sake.
Mother will be sadly missed but more especially at the holiday season, as it had been her custom for years to give presents and tokens of love to each of her children and grand-children. Mother Thompson, as she was familiarly spoken of, left tangible evidences of devotion in almost every family of her extensive acquaintance.
Mother has gone, but her dear memory will ever abide. Her precept and example is our heritage. The reality of God’s creative and providential genius has another unimpeachable witness for we cannot doubt the truth of immortality, or scoff at the Christian’s hope. In Mother’s temporary absence we can but say: Peace to her dust and repose for her soul.
“A Tribute to Mother,” Halstead Independent (Halstead, Kansas), 25 September 1919, page 1; digital images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : viewed online 6 March 2024).
-BENTON.
Thanks to these three articles, I have verification that the Find A Grave record for the James Steele who died in 1880 is the correct record for this family.
In hopes of preventing the incorrect Find a Grave hint from being suggested to others, I located the ignored hint and answered the question, Why did you ignore this hint?
I will also upload these three sources to both Ancestry and FamilySearch to share with others.