Going in Circles 24 Times

Because so many have tested on Ancestry DNA, Ancestry tells me that now (15 May 2017) I have over 950 4th cousins or closer in their database. They also inform me that I have 24 DNA Circles. Circles require that we each have a family tree posted at Ancestry, so I can see how each match is related to me, at least according to our respective trees.

So with 24 Circles, I began wondering just how many matches that included. A circle must have at least 3 people, so that requires at a minimum 2 matches per circle. It wasn't too hard to determine the number of matches that they had calculated, since at each circle it displays the number of members (not all member match me, but match people who do match me) and the number of matches. So all I had to do was add up those 24 numbers and it came to 144.

The ancestor who showed the most matches was on my paternal side: Stephen Hoggatt with 15, his wife Margaret Thornburg had 12. Stephen's grandson Francis Hockett (the name changed after they moved north) had 14 and his wife Rebecca Hartley also had 14. The ancestors with the smallest number were also on the paternal side: Timothy Chase and his wife Lucy Irene Howe each had 2 matches.

Then I wondered how many individuals were in that 144 since some people are in more than one of my circles, especially since often there is a circle for each one of a couple. This took a little more work, but I found it interesting to list who the individuals were and while I was at it, which circles they were in. I had already determined that my circles are divided half and half between paternal and maternal ancestors, 12 in each one. So it shouldn't have surprised me that my 1st cousin once removed on my maternal side is in all 12 circles for that side of the family. If I counted correctly, the number of different individuals totaled 63. Think of that, 63 cousins that I need to contact and then we can compare and share information. It looks like I need to get busy and send some messages.

Ancestor Birthday - April 17th - John Beals 1717-1796

It was just 300 years ago today that John Beals, my 6th great-grandfather, was born in Chester County, Pennsylvania to John and Sarah (Bowater) Beals. His birth was recorded at the New Garden Monthly Meeting there as his parents, as well as his grandparents, were Quakers. Because 1717 was before the calendar change in 1752 and Quakers used numbers for months his birth is recorded as the 2nd month. Since March was the 1st month then, naturally the 2nd month is April.

As John had numerous descendants there are many writings out there about him. Because his father was named John as well as his grandfather, it is important to be careful about which John is being referred to. It does help that his grandmother was Mary and his mother was Sarah and he married Margaret Hunt. It is probable that John married Margaret at the Hopewell Monthly Meeting in Frederick County, Virginia about 1738. It is regrettable that the minutes there were lost due to a fire, so we can't be sure of the date.

We do know that the New Garden Monthly Meeting in Rowan County (now Guilford County) North Carolina recorded that John was received by certificate there 27 May 1758 from the Hopewell Meeting in Virginia which was dated 14 Apr 1758. Between 1760 and 1769 their 5 children were married there, including my 5th great-grandmother Hannah Beals who married William Hoggatt.

Some writers state that John and Margaret lived with their daughter Hannah in the southern part of Guilford County, near Polecat Creek. I wonder if they came to help her after her husband died in 1771 and she had small children. This was in the area for Center Monthly Meeting. The records from that meeting show that John died on his birthday, 17 Apr 1796, in his 80th year, and he was buried at New Garden. I guess that on your 79th birthday, you are beginning your 80th year. His wife Margaret also died in 1796 and was buried at New Garden.

If John and Margaret were living with Hannah, they would have known their grandchildren quite well, which would include my 4th great-grandfather Stephen Hoggatt. They would have been alive when Stephen was married in 1786 and were still living when my 3rd great-grandfather, their great-grandson, Isaac Hoggatt was born in 1791. Isaac would have been 5 years old when they died, so I hope they had a chance to play with him and the other children in the family.

Ancestor Birthday - April 6th - Stephen Hockett 1767 - 1839

Stephen is another one of my 4th great-grandfathers. I wrote about his wife, Margaret Thornburg on 10 Jan 2017. They were Quakers and movers.

Stephen was the son of William and Hannah (Beals) Hoggatt, born 6 Apr 1767 in North Carolina. Some of the records declare that he was born in Chatham County. However that county was not formed until 1770/71. From the location of his father's land, I believe it is more probable that Stephen was born in Rowan County, in the section that became Guilford County in 1770/71. In North Carolina the family tended to use the Hoggatt name, with various spellings. After Stephen and his family went to Ohio they began to use the Hockett name quite frequently (again with a variety of spellings). Then when they went to Indiana Stephen entered and purchased government land in Randolph County and used the spelling Hocket.

I just realized that when Stephen's father died in late 1771, Stephen would have been less than 5 years old. He had 2 older brothers and a younger sister who lived to adulthood. His youngest brother died only a few months after William. Stephen's mother did not remarry until after 1800, so I wonder how the family coped during those 30 years. Stephen married Margaret 8 Mar 1786, about a month before his 19th birthday. His next older brother Joseph had married Margaret's sister Ann 2 years before at age 19. Their oldest brother William did not marry until age 28, so maybe he was acting as the head of the family.

If you read my post of 17 Jan 2017 about Isaac Hockett, the son of Stephen who was my ancestor, you would know that 3 of Stephen's children married 3 Frazier siblings. So that makes it possible for me to have some double cousins. On Ancestry DNA there is a DNA circle for Stephen with 51 people and 13 matches to me. Four of the matches are also descendants of Isaac and my 2nd great-grandfather Francis. Of the remaining 9, there are 5 who are my double cousins, both Hockett and Frazier.

Stephen lived to be age 72 as he died 26 Jun 1839 in Salem Township, Henry County, Iowa. It is uncertain which cemetery has his grave, as it is unmarked.

Ancestor Birthday - January 10th - Margaret Thornburg 1767-1843

Margaret was my 4th great-grandmother. She was the daughter of Quakers Joseph Thornburg and Ann Armfield. The spelling of her surname seemed to depend on who was recording it. The clerks at some of the Quaker monthly meetings in North Carolina in the late 1700s used various spellings:

• Cane Creek: Thornburg, Thornbrugh, Thornborough
• Center: Thornbrough, Thornberry
• New Garden: Thornbrug, Thornbrugh, Thornburgh, Thornbrough, Thornburg, Thornbury

Her father's will was recorded in 1800 in Guilford County, North Carolina with the name Thornburg, so this is the spelling I use in my compiled records.

Many researchers have stated that her ancestry can be traced many generations back to noble lines in England. It may be true, but I don't have any proficiency in that type of research, so won't speculate.

I do know that Margaret was one of my "moving ancestors." She was born in 10 Jan 1767 in Guilford County, North Carolina; moved to Highland County, Ohio with her husband Stephen Hoggatt/Hockett and family in 1805; then they moved to Hancock County, Indiana in 1817; and finally with most of their married children moved to Henry County, Iowa in the 1830s. It was there that Margaret died in 1843, after her husband of 53 years had died in 1839.

Margaret is one of my DNA circles on Ancestry DNA. As of today, 10 Jan 2017, my DNA matches 21 individuals whose paper trail would include Margaret as an ancestor. I am amused that Ancestry gives a brief summary of her life with the DNA Circle and they state that she had 12 sons and 8 daughters. She did have a large family, but my research shows she had 6 sons and 5 daughters for a total of 11. They all lived to marry and she had at least 100 grandchildren. So using conservative sizes for families we could estimate there would be thousands of descendants alive today, so naturally some of them have tested their DNA.

See Margaret on my website:http://www.joanneskelton.com/p18.htm#i434