My Quest For DAR Membership

Sorry it’s been awhile since I posted anything. I guess I didn’t think I had anything important to blog about. You know how life seems to get in the way.

Since my last blog in May 2015 I have been researching and trying to get all the documentation on my Revolutionary Soldier Jonathan Treadway and his descendants.

I will write more on my ups and downs a little later, but right now I want to tell the world that I was successful.

Ginger Carter, Registrar for the Colonel Timothy Bigelow DAR Chapter, Worcester, Massachusetts has been my hero. Without all her wonderful help and assistance I do not think I could have become a DAR Member. 

The following is a chronological list of my quest for DAR membership.

1)   End of April 2015 after talking to a CT DAR member at their booth at the NERGC (New England Regional Genealogical Conference) held in Providence, RI I decided to reach out to Ginger Carter a member of the Worcester DAR Chapter.

i)      She sent me an application form. Also she gave me all the guidelines and what I needed to send in with my application form. We were in  contact via e-mail.She was there when I needed her.

2)   Kept in touch and kept sending her my documents.

3)   October 9, 2015-met with Ginger at “the Oaks” the Worcester Chapter Dar's meeting house in Worcester, MA. and went through what I had for documentation. Ginger wanted to check just one thing with the MA DAR Registrar.

4)   October 17, 2017-Ginger stated that my application was ready to go as soon as I sent my application fee.

5)   November 12, 2015-Ginger notified me that my application was posted as being received at the DAR headquarters in Washington, DC and we just had to wait while they verified it. I took this as a good sign as it was my Mom’s birthday (she would have been 101).

6)   January 10, 2016-Ginger notified  that DC had verified my application and I would be voted in as a DAR member at the National Board of Management in DC on February 5, 2016.

7)   January 5, 2016- I was voted in and given my own national DAR number. Ginger notified me.

  

8)   February13, 2016-I was sworn in as an official member of the Colonel Timothy Bigelow DAR Chapter and received my DAR pin. and yearbook. Also received my new member’s packet and certificate in the mail.

DNA-Treadway of Vermont, New York, Connecticut

When I received an e-mail from David & Marcia Treadway that according to FTDNA (family tree DNA) we are 1st -2nd cousins, I was elated. Turns out he is my 1st cousin once removed. Little did I realize where this information would lead me to. As I wrote before (see post 4/3/2015) David is trying to become a member of SAR (Sons of the American Revolution).

Magnolia tree- finding relatives through DNA

David and Marcia then put me in touch with Kathie Sutherland. Katie e-mailed me on April 4, 2015 and announced that her and David are third cousins once removed, which in turn makes us Katie and I 4th, cousins. She and David have a small DNA match but Katie and I don't have any DNA match, but 4th cousins only have a 50% change of matching.  Of course, the absence of ICW (in common with) DNA doesn't mean Katie and I aren't related since DNA separating and recombining are done quite randomly. Needless to say we have a strong ancestor paper trail match. David, Katie, and I all have the American Revolutionary soldier Jonathan Treadway and his wife Hannah Rood's as our ancestor. Rumor has it that he was with General Washington during his crossing of the Delaware River on the night before the Battle of Trenton.

It turns out that Kathie is a physician and the Medical Director for the Genomics at her Hospital. Also she is a proclaimed "DNA Junkie ." She has had her DNA tested with all the major companies and encouraged me to put my DNA results on  www.dnagedcom.com.
She explained that it was a very important tool to understanding how the different segments  of DNA match up. Another words if 2 or more people that share the same segment of DNA are certain of their common ancestor, then others who have the DNA in common with them (ICW) should be somewhere along the branch in that tree. That is why it is very important to have public family trees or at least give permission to the person that is testing (ICW) with you to view your tree. I hope I explained it in simple and correct terms,

After putting my DNA results on dnagedcom.com I can see which segments of DNA David and I have in common and think I have a more clear understanding of DNA matches. Still have a long way to go, believe me. I keep going to presentations about it. Maybe some day it will click. Putting the information on dnagedcom.com was quite easy.  All you really have to know is your kit number. The website does all the rest. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

If you want further information on DNA please go to the following You Tube Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVo6835ht0I
with Lisa Louise Cooke interviewing Diahan Southard  (who was a Rootstech 2015 presenter).  I found her presentation the most down to earth that I have heard and quite easy to understand.

DNA, genealogy confernces

I really wanted to blog about my new experiences with my DNA results and what I have discovered through meeting" living cousins," but I ran out of time. So I will have to do it next time. You see I'm going to the NERGC conference in Providence, Rhode Island April 15-18. For more information use the following link:
http://www.nergc.org/E-zine_11_2015.pdf
I have been busier than usual as I went to the New England Family History Conference last Saturday April 11, 2015 held in Franklin, Massachusetts. This is a free genealogy conference put on by the  Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints which just celebrated 40 years of conferences this year. For further information please go to the following link: 
www.nefamilyhistory.com
D. Joshua Taylor was the Keynote Speaker this year, and was excellent as always. There were a few local people presenting-Sandra Goodwin, Seema Kenney, Michael Brophy, and Marjorie Turner Hollman to name a few.

I also was getting my tablet ready for use at the conference for the first time. It will be an experiment for me and hopefully a wonderful experience as I'm not taking my computer this year. I will let you know how this works out on a future blog. Wish me a lot of luck. Thanks for following me and I will be in touch soon.