Friday, December 14, 2012

Uh-oh Moments

One of the insurance or other companies offers AH HA Moment commercials; in genealogy I have "ah ha" and "uh oh" moments. I've been working on my girlfriend's paternal line off-and-on for awhile.

Her undocumented pedigree chart has seven generations of Murphys. James, Bartholomew M., William B., James N., Weeden B., Clyde W., her father and her. I had located a burial record for William B., which gave his parents as James and Lydia. I was scavenging for family records and let that slip by. I was thinking of the 1st James as the father. Has anyone seen my "uh oh" yet?

An old query in the International Genealogical Dictionary [1909] mentioned James' arrival from Dublin in Philly with wife and newborn son Bartholomew in 1774. That seems to be the origin of the lineage on the pedigree chart. The came my "uh oh!" moment - Bartholomew didn't fit.

It finally dawned on me that Bartholomew and the James given as William B.'s father were from the same generation! IF the immigrant James was the father of both, then things start making sense. The possible 1st four generations would have been James, James, William B. and James N.

Now all I have to do is prove my "uh oh" is now an "ah ha."

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