New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) WikiTree Challenge Highlights

Question

Hello WikiTreers!

WikiTree Challenge #7 is now complete. We spent a fun and collaborative week working together to build up a massive list of ancestors based on the seven starting people chosen by the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS). We were challenged with finding New England ancestors, with some very challenging brick walls scattered throughout the branches. Once again, our group of researchers did a fantastic job of tracking down family members and documenting them on WikiTree.

In a record breaking week, our challenge participants added or connected more than 24,130 relatives within seven degrees for the seven starting people! The highest amount of people were added to the lines for Lemuel Shattuck, who gained 6,325 relatives in one week! All seven of the lines were connected in unique ways to the global tree, with some being connected through multiple branches. 

Altogether, more than 117 WikiTreers made 14,826 edits to connected profiles. Groups were quickly formed to tackle the more difficult lines, with emphasis on birth, census, and probate records. Several United States Black Heritage (USBH) Project members stepped in to help with Kenneth Alford's enslaved ancestors. His family's record collection plays a big part in Massachusetts education.

MVP: Margaret Meredith

Top Bounty Hunters: Margaret Meredith, Homer Thiel, Chris O'Connell, Cheryl Hess, & M. Cole

Team Captain: Karen Lowe

All contributors ● Scoring explanation ● Research resources ● Connections to all contributors 

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Our seven starting profiles: 

1. Charles Ewer  gained 4,122 new relatives, bringing his CC7 (connection count within seven degrees) to 6,627.
2. Lemuel Shattuck gained 6,325 relatives, bringing his CC7 to 22,132.
3. Gov. John Albion Andrew gained 3,551, bringing his CC7 to 11,323.
4. Mary Martha Corinne “Cokie” (Boggs) Roberts gained 579, bringing her CC7 to 1,764.
5. Kenneth Alford gained 307, bringing his CC7 to 310.
6. Lucy (Hall) Greenlaw gained 5,352, bringing her CC7 to 5,355.
7. Julia E. (Winter) Folsom gained 3,894 new relatives, bringing her CC7 to 3,895.

Comments

Interesting Connections:

This year, 2023, is our "Year of Community Connections." So, we're looking for interesting connections between our starting people, and utilizing MyConnections, between starting people and others in their community. (Any time you are on a category page, you'll see a green MyConnections button in the corner. Click it to see how you are related to everyone in the category.)

Here are some of the connections we found this week:

• General Michael Davison entered command during World War II. In 1963 he was commandant of cadets at West Point. In 1970 he commanded the United States Second Field Force. In 1971 he planned and carried out the highly controversial invasion of Cambodia. From 1971–1975 he was Commander-in-Chief, US Army, Europe (CINC, USAREUR). He is six degrees from Julia Elizabeth (Winter) Folsom through his second wife's ex-husband, having married as a widower in his retirement.
• Caroline Frances (Gibson) Jones (1824-1914) was the daughter, mother, wife, and mother of physicians. Caroline is 12 generations from John Albion Andrew, being his 5th cousin.
• Joseph Augustus Gibson (1812-1875) is listed as a painter in the 1850 and 1860 censuses. The Historical Society of Early American Decoration has a collection of stencils that he used to decorate homes in the New Ipswich, New Hampshire area. Joseph is 12 generations from Governor John Albion Andrew, being his 5th cousin.
• Lewis Robertson Butt Cunningham aka Barrett, Meyer became an owner and publisher of a significant newspaper (Birmingham Age-Herald) when her second husband died in 1922. Her son, Edward Ware Barrett graduated from Princeton University in 1932 and had a remarkable life as a journalist and dean of Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, plus more. Lewis' second husband, Edward Barrett, was also a journalist and was the owner of the Birmingham Age-Herald. Her third husband, Robert Randolph Meyer was an entrepreneur, who built and owned many hotels. Between his obituary and his findagrave profile, he was quite the businessman as well as a philanthropist. Lewis is 6 degrees from Cokie Roberts.
• Rev. Thomas F. Benbury (1854-1943) and his wife Dora Clifton (Small) Benbury (1859-1945) received a gold purse on their 50th wedding anniversary in 1932. Thomas had worked his way up from being a janitor to becoming the African-American pastor of the Morgan Methodist Church of All Nations in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Thomas was the grandfather of Kenneth Alford.

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More Interesting Discoveries:

• Charlotte Hall (Kirby) Dickinson (1831-1913), when 16, was the subject of a painting by Shepard Alonzo Mount, dated 1848. It portrays Charlotte shortly before her marriage to James Church Loder (1827-).
• Isaac Frank Dobson (1828-1914) and his family, including his daughter Clara Bertha Dobson (1858-1941) from his first marriage, were living in a household of 24 people as listed in the 1870 Census. The relationships are not immediately clear (Frank is not the head) but included several domestic servants. Isaac was the son-in-law of Lemuel Shattuck.
• Adeline Ripley (abt.1829-1903) is a triplet. The doctor who delivered the triplets strongly encouraged the parents to name the triplets after himself, his wife and her sister. Ripley is 7 degrees from John Albion Andrew (1818-1867).
• Thomas Alford went to the Freedmen's Bureau in December 1865 in Robeson County, North Carolina, asking them to order Zachariah Cade Fulmore to allow his family to leave. Analysis of the 1850 and 1860 Slave Schedule reveals that Fulmore had enslaved the Alford family. In 1870 the Alfords lived next door to Fulmore.
• Adolf (Martinsen) Gundersen (1865-1938) was the founder of the Norwegian Lutheran Hospital in La Crosse, Wisconsin (Now called Gundersen Lutheran Health Systems of Wisconsin and he received a Knighthood of the Royal Norwegian Order of St Olav, 1st class from King Haakon in 1926.

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Watch the reveal on YouTube! 

Answer 1

Wow! wow wow wow!

Comments

I agree Clifford! WikiTreers are a magical thing!!