Connection Combat #1: Paul Revere

Question

What is Connection Combat?

Our newest game! Twice a month, participants "battle" to verify their connection path to a specific notable while knocking out pesky WikiTree Weevils at the same time.

What's a WikiTree Weevil?

They are the nuisances we sometimes find: GEDCOM junk, blank dates, empty locations, or no sources. Help defeat these troublemaking twig eaters!

How It Works:

On the 1st and 15th of each month, we will post in G2G like this to announce the challenge.

To play, first post an answer below to say you're participating.

Second, use the Connection Finder to find your connection path to the specified notable (or the Relationship Finder if you prefer to keep your path biological, without connections through marriage).

Third, do all of the following for each person that connects you to the notable:

• Clean up any GEDCOM junk on their profile ...
• make sure the profile has at least one date (birth, death, or marriage) ...
• at least one location (birth, death, or marriage) ... 
• at least a short bio (a few sentences) ...
• and, most importantly, at least one source confirming the connection between that profile and the next one on the connection path.

Fourth, when you've verified the connection path based on the list above, reply to your answer below letting us know that you've finished the battle and how many degrees are between you and the notable.

How To Win:

There are three ways to win:

1. The first winner is the first person with a verified connection path that meets the standards set out above.
2. The second winner is the person with the longest verified connection path that meets the standards set out above.
3. The third winner is the person with the shortest verified connection path that meets the standards above.

Bonus Winner: There's also an opportunity for a bonus winner each battle. That would be the person who helps the most participants get unstuck when they ask for help

Winners will receive a Connection Combat winner badge and be entered in the Hall of Fame.

Weevil Wrangler of 2024

You can use the participation sticker to help you keep track of how many weevils you wrangle this year. At the end of the year we will ask everyone to share their totals. The person with the most will become the Weevil Wrangler of 2024.

Connection Combat #1:

This week's combat connection is Paul Revere, best known for his midnight ride to alert the colonial militia in April 1775 to the approach of British forces before the battles of Lexington and Concord.

Let the battle begin!

Comments

What If You Get Stuck?

It's possible that you may run into a hard time finding a source for the connection between two profiles. If that happens, we created the Connection Combat Aid Station where you can possibly get some help! Post about your situation there and hopefully another WikiTreer can help you wrangle that weevil.

What If You Want to Help Others?

If you have finished verifying your connection path or just want to help others, check out the Connection Combat Aid Station where you can possibly provide some help! Other participants will post there when they get stuck and maybe you can help them combat those pesky weevils.

Real Time Chat

There is also a Discord channel where you can chat in real-time with other participants. This is another great place to ask questions or get some help if you get stuck on a source. You can join in that channel here.

Participation Sticker

There is also a sticker for participants! You can use this as bling on your profile but also as a tracker for how many weevils you've wrangled during Connection Combat.

Here's the code for the sticker: {{Community Event |image=Social_Media_Images-9.png |text=wrangled __ weevils |event=Connection Combat }}

You can earn one weevil for each profile in the connection path that you've verified. For example, if your connection was 19 degrees from a Notable and you verified the whole path, then you wrangled 19 weevils. If you verified 10 profiles in the next combat, you'd change that number to 29.

Keep track throughout the year and you might be our overall Weevil Wrangler at the end of 2024.

Note: The idea for this challenge stemmed from Greg Slade's suggestion here.  Thank you, Greg!

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WINNERS:

• Shortest Verified: Mary Jenkins (13)
• Longest Verified: Feargal Hennigan (30)

Answer 1

• Winner: Mary Jenkins (8)
• Longest Verified Connection: Feargal Hennigan (30)

Answer 2

I'm excited to give this one a go! :)

Comments

I definitely want in on this one!!!!!

Answer 3

Can't wait to get started on this new event!

Comments

And, trying another path as the last one had to prune a profile from the wrong parents!

0. Paul Revere→√
1. John Revere(his son)→√
2. Lydia Goodwin(his wife)→√
3. Lucy Goodwin(her sister)→√
4. Henry Gurley(her husband)→√
5. John Gurley(his father)→√
6. Samuel Gurley(his father)→√
7. Hannah Walker(his wife)→√ added sources, bio cleanup (dup bio and source headers)
8. Jemima Ward(her mother)→√
9. Gamaliel Ward(her brother)→√
10. Ruth Ward(his daughter)→√
11. Elihu Phelps(her son)→√
12. Amanda Phelps(his daughter)→√
13. William Jones(her son)→√
14. Lucy Jones(his daughter)→√
15. Alice Harrison(her daughter)→√
16. Frances Peasley(her daughter)→√
17. Azure Robinson(her daughter)√

Trying a different route as i hit a brick wall on the other!

0. Paul Revere→ Joseph Revere(his son)→ Mary Robbins(his wife)→ Elizabeth Robbins(her sister)→ pruned from parents Adam Wheelock(her husband)→√ Calvin Wheelock(his father)→√ Silas Wheelock(his father)→√added source Huldah Wheelock(his sister)→√added source  Mary Sanford(her daughter)→√gedcom junk, added sources Martha Stone(her daughter)→√gedcom junk, added sources Levi Chapin(her son)→√gedcom junk, added sources Joseph Chapin(his son)→√gedcom junk, added sources Monte Chapin(his son)→ √gedcom junk, added sources, added death location Beulah Peasley(his wife)→√ Vernon Peasley(her brother)→√ Frank Peasley(his son)→√ Frances Peasley(his daughter)→√ Azure Robinson

16 degrees!

0. Paul Revere→  Thomas Revere→ Marcy Churchill→ Sarah Harlow→ Mercy Rider→ Samuel Rider→ Mariah Rider→ Consider Fuller→ Sarah Fuller→ John Belcher→ Hannah Belcher→  Francis Messenger→ √ Emma Messenger→ √ Vernon Peasley→ √ Frank Peasley→ √ mom --> √ me

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Love your little linky doodad here, Azure!! :-D

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How do you present them like this, Azure?

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I want to know how you did this, too!

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Oh! Thanks! Highlighted my connection path, right-click to copy, click answer on this post, right-click to paste into the new answer. Last, deleted the image and x. that's it :) az

Answer 4

I'm not sure whether this question belongs here or at the Aid Station, but is it possible to participate if your connection path includes connections to people with locked profiles and/or living people? 

Comments

Yes, good questions. For living people, just do the best you can with those. For locked profiles, we can take a look and see if they could possibly be opened. Post about those in the Aid Station and we can help

Answer 5

Hi!  I would like to participate.

Comments

Awesome! Let us know if you have any questions.

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I had a good time today working on my 18 degree connection path.  It went: Paul Revere-1, Deborah Revere-50, Amos Lincoln-1314, Enoch Lincoln-1722, Jebediah Lincoln-379, Lydia Lincoln-357, John Joy-101, David Joy-70, Obadiah Joy-69, Moses Joy-90, Cromwell Joy-155, Stephen Joy-2687, Lee Joy-3072, Mabel Joy-2399, Andrew Sørenson-5061, Ane Marie Andersen-8423, Otto Andersen-8312, and Georgeson-129 (my mom/private). Went all the way to Denmark and back... lol.  It was really interesting and I learned new things, including how to make a    ø character on here.

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Amos is on my connection as well.  My 1st 4 steps, of 12, had been taken care of by the time the announcement arrived.

Answer 6

I will try.

I checked the suggestion list for every 7th profile along the connection path and solved a few 591-593 and 131-134 suggestions. Brought a few branches closer together.

Comments

Even on Paul Revere’s suggestion list there are solvable 131-134 suggestions and I did one 591-592 suggestion (most have too early date that I don’t feel comfortable doing)

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Could someone from Team Italy review this profile (cc5 from Paul) https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Gardner-11676  and his wife. I put dates on the profile from a web page in Italian. He Was appointed as US Consul to Sicily in 1819.

More info from the Italian web site could be transferred to surrounding profiles, but i leave this to someone who can read Italian 

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Paul’s cc7 just increased by about 2,000 from dating an undated profile and attaching her to her parents.

Answer 7

I am tentatively joining in -- tentative not because I don't think it's an absolutely fun and fabulous thing to do, but tentative because I have a lot of things going on right now. :-D

I do love this idea and can't wait to see how it pans out! (And the dang weevils are so cute!)

Comments

Me too Julie. I am hoping that maybe I can at least participate some. I figure, every little bit that I participate, improves my profiles. Good way to motivate me.

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Thanks to Azure for the clever checklist idea

1. Paul Revere →
2. Deborah Hitchbourn
3. Frances Pattishall
4. Abigail Pattishall →
5. John Turner→
6. Ezekiel Turner→
7. Elizabeth Turner→
8. Thomas Hazen →
9. Ezekiel Hazen →
10. Eleanor Coursen →
11. Isaac Coursen→
12. Benjamin Corson →
13. Isaac Courson ✓
14. Benjamin Courson ✓
15. Andrew Courson ✓
16. Noah Courson ✓
17. Lillie Courson  ✓
18. Robert Fiscus ✓
19. Me ✓

Answer 8

OK, I'll give it a try. (I cheated though - I already know that there are no clearly dubious connections on the path).

Which leads me to the question - what if we really can't validate a connection, what if, in short, it's probably spurious?

Comments

If you get really stuck then I'd say either skip that one and see if you can validate more up the line or maybe start from the other end and work backwards. That may bring clues to help break the stubborn one.

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If it's really impossible, in the connection display you can x it out (little x in the corner of the box) and that will remove them from your path, and give you a new path through someone else, if possible.  Probably longer, but hopefully more easy to verify.

Answer 9

Will give this one a go

Started at 17th degree and No relationship

Finished

Paul Revere, John Revere, Lydia Lebaron Goodwin, John Goodwin, Lydia LeBaron, Lydia Bartlett, Lydia Griswold, Joseph Bradford, Joseph Bradford, Henry Swift Bradford, Priscilla Bradford, Nathaniel Clark, Philo Clark, Carlton Bryon Clark, Harvey Leroy Clark, Amy Esther Clark, Dad, Me

Answer 10

Sounds like fun - will try to devote some time to this! Am fairly certain my first six connecting profiles are already pretty solid!

Answer 11

Interested in joining this. I am 18 degrees from Paul Revere which goes through another Notable of Joseph Rudyard Kipling writer of The Jungle Book.

Answer 12

Not sure how this works (I will read properly) but I will give it ago

Comments

Let us know if you have any questions!

Answer 13

I will give this a try as I have other things going on right now.

Answer 14

Sign me up on this one. I might be able to verify the Connection.
Paul Revere is 16 degrees from me and I know that at least half that is already verified.

Comments

Ok, out of 16 degrees, I only have one link that doesn't have sources. All others verified. Time to dig in.

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Ok, there's enough sources to tie everything together. It needs some biographical work now. I'll work on that tomorrow.

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Ok, completed. 16 degrees:

0. Paul Revere

1. Deborah Revere (his daughter)

2. Amos Lincoln (her husband)

3. Enoch Lincoln (his father)

4. William Lincoln (his brother)

5. Otis Lincoln (his son)

6. Elizabeth Thompson (his wife)

7. Martha Robinson (her mother)

8. Gain Robinson (her brother)

9. Increase Robinson (his son)

10. Gain Robinson (his son)

11. Gain Robinson (his son)

12. Cyrus Robinson (his son)

13. Harvey Robinson (his son)

14. Ramona Robinson (his daughter)

15. Jennifer Rodewald (her daughter)

16. Eric Weddington (her husband)

Answer 15

I am willing to give it a go.

Answer 16

15 degrees away and the half that is my family I entered and am familiar with, so that part should be easy even if I was new/lazy when I entered it. We'll see about the rest, since I haven't researched much before 1800.

Answer 17

I will try to pop-in and have a go as time permits, notquite sure about the counting etc.. but can see it as incenctive to work on own path/tree

25 degrees from Paul  and it goes through Roosevelt.. I'll be concentrating on my closer links first :D

What happens if you improve your own local connections and then hit a path that is already improved/cleaned/sourced..

just for example If I worked on/checked 10 and the other 15 were already done, what would be the count, and where do you put the Weevil sticker, cos it is really cute!

Comments

Hi Claire! You can put the sticker on your profile. And yes, the ones that are done would count.

Answer 18

Fine I will do it, but I have a long line of Americans that I am no really good at sourcing.

Comments

Got stuck on the Beckwith family. It is a mess. Looks like the Beckwith I was connected via was one of a duplicate so I requested a merge. Then it turns out that he is connected to the wrong father so corrected that and found another duplicate. Then it got real murky with Elijah Beckwith, seems to have been two, with the same birth info, but different deaths and different wives. On FamilySearch he is connected to both women and had children with both at the same time, so one wife is probably wrong on FS but I wont be able to fix that mess, luckily my path changed a step below and went via Hannah York a descendant of the Mayflower. These all seem to be sourced and okay looking but I am not American and not comfortable sourcing these old profiles, so I am calling it a day. Did not manage to find birth records for all people so I cannot confirm the path is 100% correct, but I did fix the faulty connection as best I could. Good luck guys.

Answer 19

This sounds interesting! I'm in.

Comments

I hit a snafu and after talking with the profile manager, he disconnected the parents of the profile and now I have a much longer path to work. What is the timeframe for completing this?

The good news: WT is more accurate for this one connection. Sorry Paul, you lost some CC7 connections on this one.

Answer 20

Ok you all need to stop being brilliant because I am TOTALLY in for adding this to my list of Things To Do!!!

What a great challenge!!

Comments

17 degrees!!