No, not the 80's rock band from Manchester. The Smiths, as in the ancestral brick wall I can't seem to break through. After taking a few weeks off from weekly posts, I'm happy to say I'm making progress figuring out family connections for my Irish 3rd great grandfather, William Smith (1818-1894). I resolved to find his roots in Ireland this year. It took some time and serendipity to get to this point in the Smith branch of my tree. I was stuck with my paternal 2nd great grandmother Mary Ann Smith for years. I posted a copy of her husband, my 2nd great grandfather, Francis Button Marr's will on ancestry which led to the breakthrough. Read how that fluke happened here. This is why I always make any information I have public. I understand others may have their reasons for keeping information to themselves, but I think they're selling themselves short hoarding secrets.
I resolve to get this posted within the last 12 hours of 2018! While accepting this challenge has been a lot of fun, I am going to take this coming year off. I'll dedicate 2019 to following up on some of the ancestors I have discovered. Like all genealogists, I've got some brick walls I am determined to break through. More of my family members gave each other DNA testing kits for Christmas, so their results will add to the tapestry of our story. Very excited about that.
I remembered seeing a family who gave every one of the children Goodman for a middle name. Male and female. The prompt "Nice" led me to Goodman. A bit of a stretch, but it really paid off. I found out about the family and also took a detour into American history. They are my maternal ancestors. I wrote about my 1st cousin 5x removed Edward Maw here. Keziah Miles Goodman Warner (1834 - 1914) was his fourth wife. In succession, not as a polygamist! They were amongst the earliest Mormons who joined Brigham Young in settling Salt Lake City, Utah.
