Adventures in DNA

Betsey Elizabeth Marshall Patterson Grant (1818-1912), circa 1904.

I recently had my DNA tested in order to help with genealogical research.

The impetus for this decision started when I was contacted through this blog—click to read the specific post—by a woman possibly related to my Marshall line. She has the text of a will made by her earlier relative Seth F. Marshall.  Mentioned in the will are the names George Marshall, Nathan Marshall, Silas Marshall, and Betsey Grant.

I got excited. Betsey Elizabeth Marshall Patterson Grant (1818-1912) was my great-great-great-grandmother. George, Nathan (1823-after 1900), and Silas (1828-1907) were her brothers. I had never heard of Seth F. Marshall (1823-1856) before, but if he mentioned my Marshall relatives in his will, there was a good chance of his being my relative, too.

The relative who contacted me wondered if I could provide any assistance in learning who the parents of Seth F. Marshall were.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t help. I have plenty of information on Betsey Marshall Grant’s mother, Polly Rider Marshall (1793-1870), and her ancestors. But information on Betsey Marshall Grant’s father, William Obadiah Marshall (1784-1854), is scarce. What little there is remains difficult to verify.

But the probable connection between Seth F. Marshall and my Marshall line was too tantalizing to let rest. The contacting relative and I proposed the possibility that Seth was a first cousin to Betsey and her brothers, that Betsey’s father William was a brother to Seth’s father (name uncertain but possibly John or Charles). But we had no proof of this and no way to test the hypothesis. The contacting relative and I each had pieces of the puzzle. How could we fit the pieces together?

One possibility was DNA testing. The contacting relative has DNA information from a 92-year-old cousin. If someone descended in my Marshall line turned out to be a DNA match to that cousin in her Marshall line, then that would support the family connection implied by Seth F. Marshall’s will. And who knew how many other questions might be answered by DNA?

I’d previously considered having my DNA tested, but since I didn’t have much concept of what the results might be and because none of the tests are particularly cheap, I hadn’t bothered. But now here was a solid reason to take the test. I realized the results might not answer our questions about our Marshall relatives. But even if they didn’t, the results might give me answers to other family research questions beyond the Marshalls.

So I took the test. The one I chose was the autosomal DNA test offered by Ancestry.com since the contacting relative’s DNA info was all through Ancestry.com and she would be able to view my results there.

The test isn’t difficult. I ordered the simple kit from Ancestry.com. When the kit arrived I spit into the tube, mailed it back, and waited about six weeks for results.

The results were not everything the contacting relative and I hoped they would be.  Ancestry.com reported hundreds of matches between my DNA and the DNA of others. Ancestry.com gives a very general range of relationship, but figuring out my exact lines of connection to those others is up to me. It’s time consuming, sometimes frustrating, and often fruitless. I have to search family trees of the reported DNA matches to find names that might also be in my family tree. Many times there are no matches—either because our areas of research are different or because the genealogical information gathered by either side is wrong. Yet I’ve found enough connections to DNA matches that I think the autosomal DNA test was worth doing.

But what about the Marshall connection? Well, the DNA test did not find a match to the DNA of the 92-year-old cousin of the contacting relative. But the DNA results of another Marshall cousin of hers showed up as a match to me. I don’t know why my results didn’t match her 92-year-old relative, but the one successful match was exciting news.

So great! We have some scientific supporting evidence that she and I are related through the Marshalls. I just don’t know where to go now with that information. We still don’t know who Seth F. Marshall’s parents were or exactly how Seth was related to Betsey and her brothers.

A Rider from Revolution to Rest

Deacon Benjamin Rider and Sally Pratt Rider, about 1852.

My great-great-great-great-great-grandfather, Benjamin Rider (1761-1854), was born in Provincetown, Massachusetts, on December 1, 1761, the second of at least six children. His father, also named Benjamin Rider (1725-1811), was at sea much of the time, so to ease the burden on his mother, Achsah Crosbe Rider (abt 1737-1780), young Benjamin was placed with another family to bring up.

Benjamin grew to dislike the way his foster family treated him. So when he was about fourteen, he ran away. He joined the Massachusetts Colonial Navy, which had recently been founded by the Massachusetts legislature on December 29, 1775, in response to the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War. The legislature authorized the construction of ten ships. One of these, the sloop Freedom set sail in September 1776. The Freedom was later converted to a brigantine under the command of Captain John Clouston. Benjamin Rider served on board as a Boy, then as a Seaman, from August 29, 1777.

After Benjamin had been on the ship for sixteen days, the British Navy captured the Freedom in mid-September 1777. Benjamin was among the crew taken to the prison ships in Wallabout Bay, Long Island. He seems not to have been released from captivity until 1780 or 1781.

On June 13, 1781, at nineteen years old, Benjamin enlisted as a private in the Continental Army and served with the 1^st Massachusetts regiment under Colonel Joseph Vose. Benjamin served for over two years before the Revolution ended. 

Family tradition records a charming story. Near the end of the war the army roll call was being read. An older captain of the 4^th Plymouth Company approached Benjamin. The captain introduced himself as Benjamin’s father. He had heard Benjamin’s name during roll call and sought him out. It was the first reunion of father and son in many years.

With the war over, Benjamin’s regiment was disbanded at West Point, New York, on November 3, 1783. He was twenty-six years old when he married twenty-three year old Sarah “Sally” Pratt (1764-1860) on April 10, 1788, in Massachusetts. Sally was the daughter of Rufus Pratt (1738-1777), who had fought in the Revolutionary War and died from wounds sustained at the Battle of Bennington.

Benjamin's daughter Hannah Rider Gorman, circa 1870s.

Benjamin and Sally settled in Greenwich, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, where their eldest child, Crosby Rider (1789-1845), was born on March 19, 1789. Eight more children followed—Benjamin (1791-1878), my great-great-great-great-grandmother Polly Rider Marshall (1793-1870), Rufus (1795-1870), Nancy (1797-1817), Isaiah (1799-1886), Samuel (1801-unk), Hannah Rider Gorman (1804-1879), and Lucy (1809-1892).

In 1816 Benjamin and his eldest son Crosby became pioneers. They set out westward and ended up in Chardon, a town in Geauga County in northeastern Ohio. Benjamin bought an 800-acre tract of land for $4 per acre. There he and Crosby cleared timber, built a log house, and planted wheat. Benjamin returned to Massachusetts to get the rest of the family. In June 1817 they all arrived in Chardon to take up permanent residence.

Gravestone of Deacon Benjamin Rider.

As a devout leader in the church, Benjamin became known as “Deacon” Rider. In his later years, he and his wife Sally moved to nearby Painesville, Lake County, Ohio, and into the home of their son Reverend Isaiah Rider, the founding minister of the Baptist church in Chardon.

Benjamin died at his son Isaiah’s home on March 20, 1854, at the age of ninety-one. He was buried in Chardon’s Rider Cemetery on land that was part of his original tract. His gravestone can still be seen in that small cemetery on North Street, not far from Chardon’s town square. His wife, Sally, who died in 1860, lies beside him where they are surrounded by the graves of many of their children and grandchildren.

Gathered Grants

A large gathering of my Grant relatives had a group photograph taken in the summer of 1904 in Geauga County, Ohio. I first saw this photo on the genealogy site of Rick and Becky Johnson, who are my distant cousins related by several marriages along various family branches. I was excited to see the faces of so many relations that I’d never seen before.

Later I found the same photo printed in the book Geauga County, Ohio: A Pictorial History by James J. Anderson and Jeannette Grosvenor, originally published in 1989. I have the 2006 printing by The Donning Company. The book gives information about the photo, but that information has several problems.

The book proposes that the photo was taken at the Chardon, Ohio, home of Leonard and Betsey Grant, the couple sitting on the right side of the middle row. But I think that the photo was more likely taken at the home—probably also in Chardon—of Leonard and Betsey’s son Charles and his wife Arletta, who are sitting at the left side of the middle row. That’s because most of the Grants in the photo are sons and grandchildren of Charles and Arletta. The only two children of Leonard and Betsey in the photo are Charles himself and Leonard, Jr. The rest of Leonard and Betsey’s children—including Mary Elizabeth Grant McNaughton, my great-great-grandmother—are absent.

The Grant Family, 1904.

The photo's caption in the book identifies the people like this:

Top row, left to right: John Grant with son Glen “Chicken” Grant and John’s wife Grace Armena “Minnie” Alderman Hubbard Grant; William L. Grant with daughter Mabeletta Grant and William’s wife Noma A. Trask Grant; Leonard Grant, Jr.; Carrie Beach Grant and daughter Myrtle Grant with Carrie’s husband Orie Grant.

Middle row, left to right: Arletta Fox Grant and husband Charles Grant; Leonard Grant, Sr., and wife Betsey Marshall Patterson Grant.

Front row, left to right: Edward Grant, Charles “Dick” Grant, Lloyd W. Grant, Roy Robert Grant, Florence Hubbard, and Clarence Hubbard.

But whoever wrote this caption didn't pay attention to the ages of the kids, who are all my cousins. Some of these identifications are decidedly odd—assuming the date of the photo is indeed the summer of 1904. I think it is 1904, and, as I indicated in a post of a couple weeks ago, based on the children's ages I believe that the names assigned to many of them are incorrect.

Let’s take a closer look at the people in this photo. I’m going to assign what I believe to be the correct name to each. I’ll also discuss a little history where I know it.

(If you want to see a larger version of the photo, just click on it and a larger version will open in your browser window. By the way, the same thing will happen to all other photos posted to Several Times Removed.)

Here are my name assignments:

Top Row, Left to Right:

John Grant (1870-1915), the eldest child of Arletta and Charles W. Grant, who are the lefthand couple in the middle row. John was thirty-four here.

Edward Louis Grant (1903-1988), the second child of John, who's holding Edward, and Minnie, who's standing just to the right of Edward. Geauga County, Ohio: A Pictorial History identifies this little boy as Glen Newton “Chicken” Grant (1914-1972). But if this photo was taken in 1904, this can’t be Chicken Grant, because he wouldn’t be born for another ten years. Edward Louis was just one year old in July 1904, about the time this photo was taken, and this child certainly looks that age.

Grace Armenia “Minnie” Alderman Hubbard Grant (1870-1922) was the granddaughter of Jarvis Alderman (1803-1857) and Charlotte Grant Alderman (abt 1804-1903). An online posting here claims that Charlotte Alderman's Grant forebears are connected to the family of Minnie’s husband, John Grant. I haven’t found any verification that these two Grant branches are connected, although I’d certainly like to find some. Charlotte Grant Alderman was a direct descendant of Matthew Grant (1601-1645) and Priscilla Grey (1600-1644), immigrants from England in 1630 on the ship John and Mary. That makes Charlotte and her granddaughter Minnie (and Minnie's children) blood relations to US Civil War Union General and later US President Ulysses S. Grant. Minnie’s first husband was Eldredge Hubbard, and in this photo she was thirty-four.

William L. Grant (1873-1960), the second son of Arletta and Charles W. Grant. He was twenty-nine here.

Mabeletta Grant Mumford (1903-?), held by her father, William. Geauga County, Ohio: A Pictorial History correctly identifies this child who grew up to marry Otto Elmer Mumford (1907-?). Mabeletta was less than a year old in the photo.

Noma Amelia Trask Grant (1875-1950), wife of William L. Grant and mother of Mabeletta. Noma was twenty-eight.

Leonard E. Grant, Jr. (1857-1923), sixth child of Leonard and Betsey Grant, the couple seated on the righthand side of the middle row. Leonard, Jr., standing right behind his father, Leonard, Sr., is also the youngest brother of Charles W., seated just to the left in the middle row. Sometime between 1900 and 1920 Leonard, Jr., divorced his wife Emma E. (last name unknown). Emma isn’t in this photo. Maybe they’re already divorced and that’s why Leonard, Jr., is at this gathering at his brother Charles’s place. If Leonard had left his wife by 1904 and was living either with his parents—Leonard, Sr., and Betsey—or possibly living with his brother Charles and family, that could account for Leonard, Jr.’s presence. Or maybe Leonard and Emma were just having marital problems at this point and she refused to either be in the photo or attend the family gathering. They had no children that I’m aware of—maybe the reasons for that were a factor in their divorce. But that’s mere speculation. Leonard, Jr., was forty-six.

Carrie Beach Grant (1882-1960), wife of Orris Grant. Carrie was twenty-two.

Myrtle Grant (1903-?), daughter of Carrie and Orris Grant. Myrtle was a little over a year old here.

Orris H. “Orie” Grant (1879-1953), fourth and youngest child of Arletta and Charles W. Grant, the lefthand couple in the middle row. Orie was twenty-four or twenty-five.

Middle Row, Left to Right:

Arletta S. Fox Grant (1851-1919), wife of Charles W. Grant, and mother of John E., William L., and Orris H., who are all standing in the back row. Arletta and Charles also had a daughter, Millie S. Grant (1876-?), who isn’t in the photo—maybe she died before 1904. At the time of this photo Arletta was fifty-two.

Charles William Grant (1846-1937), Arletta's husband and eldest child of Leonard and Betsey Grant, who are seated to the right of Charles in the middle row. Charles was fifty-eight when the photo was taken.

Leonard E. Grant, Sr. (1823-1911), was my great-great-great-grandfather and the husband of Betsey who's to the right of him in the photo. Leonard's father was born in Connecticut according to the 1900 US Federal Census, although I also have a reference that says his father was born in New York. I prefer Connecticut. His father may have been named Leonard, too, but that’s questionable. I’ve looked for Leonard Grant, Sr.’s ancestors, but with no luck. There are a slew of Grants in eighteenth century and nineteenth century Connecticut. Which of them might be the right Grants I’ve found impossible to determine. Early Ohio Grants don't tie definitively to Leonard either. As Geauga County, Ohio: A Pictorial History says (and I'll have to trust the book on this), Grant Street, which runs between North Hambden and South Hambden, Geauga County, Ohio, was named after Leonard Grant. The street is also the dividing line between Chardon Village and Hambden Township. Leonard was eighty in this photo.

Betsey Elizabeth Marshall Patterson Grant (1818-1912) was my great-great-great-grandmother and Leonard Grant, Sr.’s wife. Leonard and Betsey were the parents of Charles W., also sitting in the middle row, and Leonard, Jr., standing just behind Leonard, Sr. They had other children who aren’t in the photo: Abby Rosette Grant Conley (1849-1931), John Grant (1851-1853) who died as a child, Sarah M. Grant (1853-?), Mary Elizabeth Grant McNaughton (1856-1946) who was my great-great-grandmother, and Emerette Anna Grant Zorn (1861-1926). The absence of these other children is what leads me to strongly suspect this photo was taken at Charles and Arletta's place. Betsey Grant was married previously to Alonzo Patterson and had four children with him: Edna Maria Patterson, Persis Ellen Patterson (1840-?), George B. Patterson (1842-1916), and James O. Patterson (1846-?). Betsey’s parents were William Obadiah Marshall (1784-1854) and Polly Rider (1793-1870), a daughter of “Deacon” Benjamin Rider (1761-1854), whose gravestone I posted a picture of a couple weeks ago and whose branch of the family goes back to Samuel Rider (1601-1679) and Anne Gamlett (1605-1695) who immigrated by 1638 to Plymouth, Massachusetts, from Northampton, England. At eighty-five years old, Betsey was the oldest person in this photo.

Bottom Row, Left to Right:

Charles Elwood Grant (1900-1945), eldest son of John and Minnie Grant. Geauga County, Ohio: A Pictorial History says this is Edward Grant, Charles Elwood Grant’s younger brother and second son of John and Minnie. But Edward was born in 1903, the year before this photo is supposed to have been taken, and I think that's Edward in his father's arms in the top row. The child pictured sitting here is certainly more than a year old. Charles Elwood would have been four years old in the summer of 1904, and this child looks about four years old, so I think it’s reasonable to conclude this is Charles Elwood Grant. Charles would grow up to marry Helene Thelma Stafford (1902-1985), descendant of Richard Warren of the ship Mayflower, as I mentioned a couple weeks ago.

Clarence Hubbard (1891-1973), son of Minnie Grant and her first husband Eldredge Hubbard. Geauga County, Ohio: A Pictorial History claims that this child is Charles “Dick” Grant, who I believe is the child sitting to the left of this one. This child is obviously much older than four-year-old Charles. Clarence Hubbard was thirteen years old in 1904, and this child could easily be thirteen. Also, look at his face—it's a bit rounder than all those long Grant faces. Compare his features to the girl sitting on the ground to the right. I know her features are a bit hard to distinguish, but what's visible closely matches this boy’s features. I conclude they’re brother and sister, Clarence and Florence Hubbard, Minnie’s children from her first marriage.

Lloyd William Grant (1895-1978), also known as William Lloyd Grant, eldest son of William L. and Noma Grant, who are standing in the center top of this photo holding their youngest child Mabeletta. Geauga County, Ohio: A Pictorial History got this one right in my estimation. Lloyd would marry Louise Marie Sturm (1895-1939), a marriage that connects me to Rick and Becky Johnson of the website mentioned in this post's first paragraph, the site where I first saw this photo. And through Lloyd's marriage, a further chain of marriages connects to Mayflower passenger Edward Doty. Lloyd was eight years old in summer 1904.

Roy Robert Grant (1897-1988), the middle child of William L. and Noma Grant. Geauga County, Ohio: A Pictorial History has this right, too. Roy would eventually marry Hilda Lucille Stafford (1898-1973), sister of the Helene Stafford who married Roy's cousin Charles Elwood, who's on the bottom far left, providing yet another family connection by marriage to Mayflower passenger Richard Warren. Roy was seven years old in this photo.

Florence Hubbard (1888-1972), daughter of Minnie Grant by her first husband, Eldredge Hubbard. Florence was sixteen years old here.

Now comes The Mystery. Geauga County, Ohio: A Pictorial History says this is Clarence Hubbard, brother of Florence, but I find that extremely difficult to believe. This young man looks much older than thirteen-year-old Clarence—he looks like he could be anywhere from sixteen to twenty-five. Compare his features to Florence beside him and to the second child from the left, the one I believe to actually be Clarence. This young man’s features are quite different from both. If you didn’t think the boy second from the left resembled Florence before, I’d be surprised if you don’t think so now in comparison to the mystery man. This young man is also sitting off to the side, out of the perimeter all the others have posed within, as though he doesn't quite belong. Could he be someone not related to the family? His long nose and narrow face resemble those of many of the Grant men in this photo—John in the upper left; both Charles and Leonard sitting in the center; Leonard, Jr., just behind Leonard, Sr. So I think he’s related by blood and belongs to this family, even though he’s off to one side. But there are no Grant children that were between sixteen and twenty-five years old in 1904, at least not that I know of. He could be an unrecorded Grant child. But notice that his features also resemble Betsey Grant’s. As I mentioned before, Betsey had four children with her first husband, Alonzo Patterson. One of these children, George Baker Patterson (1842-1916), and his wife Lois Francelia Watts Patterson (?-1916) had eight children. Their fifth child, Fred Patterson was born in 1881 and would have been twenty-two or twenty-three in the summer of 1904 when this picture was taken. Could this young man be Fred Patterson, Betsey’s grandson through her first marriage? I can't find a male Grant relative who fits better. So Fred Patterson (or another Patterson grandson—I don’t know of another close to the target age, but my Patterson research has holes, so there could be one) is my best guess for this guy’s identity.

Those are my revised identifications of the people in this photo. Of course, there’s always the chance the photo could have been taken at a time other than 1904. But except for the mystery man, I believe my revised list matches the faces and ages so closely that a date of 1904 is virtually confirmed.