Most recently for Version 95, AJB, an expert on the Washbourne family, provided me with the correct pedigree for that old family.
For Version 94, Christoph Graf von Polier generously supplied information from his huge database, regarding the de Polier and de Goumoeens families and their kin. This filled a number of holes in my database. The Goumoeens family traces itself all the way back to the 11th century, yet seems to be missing from most databases.
Recently (December 2018) I received an e-mail from Janell R. Duxbury, who's researching the Hudsons of Boone County, Indiana. She found Andrew Hudson's obituary and in his listing in the 1840 census (as "A. Hutchin"). With these confirmations I can finally say that my personal list of gt-gt-gt-grandparents is complete: I have names and dates for all Thirty-two of my gt-gt-gt-grandparents!
I thank Ricardo Canedo below, but let me repeat that here. The list of genealogists who have spent many many hours providing corrections and additions for me is a lengthy list, but Ricardo stands at the very top of that list. Thank you! And Bravo!!
Very special thanks to Ricardo Canedo, an amateur genealogist who has taken the time to scrutinize my medieval links and compare with the latest expert opinions. The remaining errors in my database are mine, but many of the correct links are due to Ricardo.
A big belated Thank You to Darryl Lundy's ThePeerage.com, which has become my go-to site for accessing the pedigrees of British nobility.
I've also found that the Baronetcy Books at Google Books provide many pedigrees missing from other sites -- I now have a huge number of Baronets in my database. Another reference with lots of genealogical information issing from the usual sources is ... Wikipedia!
Recently a Swedish genealogist, Catharina Lind, was kind enough to send me a genealogy for my uterine gt-gt grandmoather. Thanks, Catharina!
I've taken information from such a huge number of on-line genealogies that I no longer attempt to acknowledge them individually, but I do have to give special thanks to Richard Henri Remmé, whose on-line genealogy fills an enormous number of holes, especially in the pedigrees of France, Burgundy, Holland, etc. I've added many recent Dutch and French nobles thanks to his database and, tracing back, amendd and added to more ancient French pedigrees as well.
Let me call attention to Dienekes' Anthropology Blog. If the topic of inferring human prehistory from DNA evidence interests you, the wealth of information and links at Dienekes' site will amaze.
Very special thanks to Dim I Nticoudis and Simon Young. I asked them to comment on their wonderful efforts, but with their usual modesty they asked me just to mention some of their own favorite sources. Here are Dim's:
I am simply an avid reader of historical works and less than pleased with how obscure they tend to be in the general public. I see genealogy as one way to connect the dots between seemingly distant historical traditions, scientific theories on the origins of human populations and the relatively well-known history of the last 500 years. I always enjoy the way you make easily readable information that often takes me hours to locate, comprehend and put into perspective.
So many many of you have contributed to this site over the years, but Dim's personal contribution definitely puts him in "First Place." Sometimes I think out of fairness to Dim I should rename the Website: "Dim and Jamie's Fabulous Pedigree". He's provided many detailed and interesting historical notes; unfortunately I can't keep up with him, and have not yet added all these notes to this website.
J. Clive Perkins has provided several new connections, especially some descents from Stephen Bachilor that I was missing. I want to thank all the many other fine amateur genealogists who have helped me assemble my family tree. This is all their work, not mine; I've just tried to create an index to my own ancestors.
Let me start by singling out a few important sources I've relied on for many of my recent additions:
I mention several of the most important contributors on this page, but need to apologize because I'm sure I've inadvertantly neglected to mention many others.
A big special thank you for genealogists who took time to help me personally:
My list of ALLENs and their early history also benefited from reading
Also deserving special mention are some genealogists who took the time to provide me with free information on more ancient relations:
I hope no one mistakes my meager efforts for the hard work of the fine professional and amateur genealogists who have placed their results on the Internet. It will be easy to see which is the ``original:'' Their works give references; mine doesn't. I have borrowed from too many sources to name them all, but I should give special tribute to a few of the finest public-access Internet genealogies:
I highly recommend these sites, whose data is much more reliable and comprehensive than mine, if my site whets your interest in ancient genealogy.
For the most ancient genealogies, I have amalgamated many sources and many of the most important are mentioned on this page. Although I've not used Christian Settipani as a direct source, many of my sources cite him. He seems to be the premier researcher of ancient genealogies.
I also want to thank the many providers of free genealogical services on the Internet which I have used, including:
i've consulted some books that may be of interest to those interested in medieval history, although only a small part of my genealogic data came from them. these include Catastrophe: an investigation into the origins of the modern world by David Keys, and A History of the English-speaking Peoples by Winston Churchill.
Some websites I've credited are no longer on-line. These include
This last-named site no longer serves an important purpose now that Ancestry.com has the entire available U.S. census on-line, but there is another reason that I retract my recommendation:
At first Censuslinks.com provided useful links and URLs to on-line census data. The last time I visited the site, however, those direct links had been replaced with executable URL's internal to the Censuslinks.com site! I don't know why, but this seems to be the trend. Presumably Censuslinks.com wanted to monitor my keystrokes or present me with advertisements. They deserve a source of revenue but it made the site unusable -- I waited a very long time for Censuslinks.com to respond to my selection click, but gave up after several minutes. I have better things to do with my time than wait while every Tom_Dick_andHarry.com puts me a queue to read their commercials.
The following paragraph was prepared many years ago. I can't keep updating to thank the many hundreds of genealogists who've helped me since.
Some other web resources I found most useful include the soc.genealogy.medieval newsgroup, its archives, and especially its helpful participants like John Higgins, Douglas Richardson, John Ravilious, Leo van de Pas, Todd A. Farmerie, Ed Mann, Kay Allen, Alan B. Wilson, Suzanne Doig, Brad Verity, Matthew Rockefeller, William Addams Reitwiesner, Kelsey J. Williams (who provided the ancient Assyrian lineage) and many others; several websites with Welsh or other Celtic genealogies including David Ford's, Stewart Baldwin's, Robert Brian Stewart's, and the Hynes family at www.hynes.net; Reed M. W. Wurts' on-line data; Stephen M. Lawson's on-line information about the Spencer family; and especially the many WorldConnect and World Tree contributers at Rootsweb.com and Ancestry.com. There are so, SO, many great contributers to World Connect whose work I have copied that I cannot mention even most of them. Instead I'll mention some of the major contributers during the earliest years of my database preparation: Alan Freer, Alexander F McQuaid, Alexander Waugh, Aline Bergemann, Allison Ellibee, alturas1 at pacbell.net, Amy Estes, Andrew Bols, Andrew Kingdom, Andrew Millie, Anne (starr460 at home.com), Anthony W. McPherson, Arthur E Turner-Thomas, Becky Thill, Ben Williamson, Benjamin Stuart Rockwell, Bernard Serin, Bess Jones, Bill Marshall, Bob Furtaw, Brandy M. Miller, Brea Mefford, brent ruesch, Brock Henderson, Brooke Ozenne, Bruce D. Johnson, c trier, Carl Hollister, Carol Wilkerson, Carolyn Clark Campbell, Carolyn Proffitt Winch, Cecilia Chausse, Charity Wilson-Hansberry, Charles Cassidy, Charles Dohogne, Charles Goodwin, Charles Wesley Smith, Charlie Michaels, Cheralynn Wilson, Cheri Daniels, Cheryl Varner, Cindy Young, Cory Stimpson, Courtney L. Caldwell, Craig Sharrow, Cynthia Rosenberry, Dave Anthes, Dave Ross, Dave Utzinger, David Buchroeder, David Porter, David Weaver, Deanna Warren, Deborah Bowman, Denise Volzka, Diane Wolford Sheppard, Dianne Monreal, Dirk Peters, dirk zimmermann, Don Smith, Donald Manning, Doris Ross Johnston, Edward Harrison, Eileen McKinnon-Suggs, Elizabeth Aarhus, Erin Anderson, Ernie Grubb, Errol Bevan, Ethan Allen, R. R. Flank, Frederick Morin, Gary Lewis, Gary Silverstein, Gaylene Bartlett, George Hibben, George Larsen II, gerda dybro, Giveans Research (giveansresearch at yahoo.com), Glass Genealogist, Glen E. Carter, Gloria Clough, Godert van Rennes, Greg Vaut, Hal Bradley, Hamish Maclaren, Helen Morcom, Ingolf Vogel, Ivar Bent Laursen, J H Garner, J. K. Loren, Jack Magee, Jackie Ginn, James Best, James H. Maloney, James Michael MIKE Herod, James Oberacker, James R. Hancock, James S. Mills, Jamie Vans, Jan Eurenius, Jean-Herve Favre, Jeanette Jahnz, Jeannine Montgomery, Jennifer Reeder, Jennifer Zunker, Jenny Kaczorowski, Jenny S Smith, Jim Cowan, Jim Weber, Joan Hackett, Joan Zupan, joanne Feldman, Jochen Rolcke, John G. Wierdsma, Johnnie W. Brown, Judith Campbell, June Ferguson, Justin Swanstrom, Karstein Rossavik, Ken Stelmaszek, Kenneth Russell, kenneth williams, Kevin Bradford, Kevin Greer, Kim's Brownlees of Torfoot, Kirk Larson, Kylie Duncombe, Larry Crawford, Larry Overmire, Laverne Edward Olney, Leana Randall, Leon Rowland Moore, Levi Stebbins, Linda Long, Linda Runyon, Lisa Wallendorf Scarola, Lois and Dave Stephens, Marie Rebeille-Borgella, Marilyn Larson, Marion Lynne Hindman, mark at davisfamily.org, Mark Stiles, Mark Willis Ballard, Marten Ritsma, Martha Irwin, Mary Shaffer, Maureen Thomas, Maurita Lord, Merrilyn Blue, MGisi, Michael Cooper, Michael Lowry, Michael McNaught, Michael Mooney, michael rugg, Michael Synge, Michael Thissen, Mike Stephenson, Mitchell Adams, NancyAnn Norman, P. J. Autry, Pablo Mera Gadea, Pat Curtis, Patrick de Sercey, Patrik Ringborg, Paul K Davis, Penni Thomas, Peter Gibson, Polly Quinn, Randy Jones, Ray Montgomery, Ray Novak, Rebecca Fox Shewmake, Rebekah, regivens at mediaone.net, Rex McLaurin, Richard Hodgson, Richard Ludwig, Richard Medders, Richard Switzer, Richard Tarr, Rick Whitson, Rob Gomes, Robert A. Benedict, Robert Finnigan, Robert Gordon Wilson, Robert Lord, Robert M. Sanders, Robert Nelson, Robert Salzman, Roger Tansey, Ronald Carlton, Ronald E. Boyd, Ronald Gene Custer, Rosemary West, Ryan Pemble, Sally Six, Sam Sloan, Sarah Hazel, Shannon Knapp, Sherry Huggins, Shirley Graham, Shirley Self, Shivas-Thompson Geneology, Stef Paryski-Van Reeth, Steve Davis, Sue Engels Ream, Susan Cary, Susan Johanson, Susan Lautenschlager, Terrance Richard Mills, Terry Walters, Thomas Mebane LeGrande, Thomas Moody, Tim Chew, Todd Galbraith, Valeria J. Duffy, Valerie Pippi, Vicki Daughton, Vivien van Kruining, Waldemar O. Wensell, Walker Dix, Wayne Iverson, Will Johnson, William Henry Roll, and William R. Ferris, Jr.. But I have used so many generous WorldConnect contributers over the years, I can no longer keep up with giving credit even to the major contributers.
I also benefited from many contributers to my-ged.com, such as Steve Hill (stoddard), Stuart Wright and Jennifer Johnson, and and many personal correspondents including Barb Boese and Joyce Selix (blucricket at humboldt.net).
Information on the ancient Pollock lineage was taken from the 90-year old Memoirs of Mary Jones Polk Branch (on-line thanks to the University of North Carolina), and from a webpage authored by Tom Stevenson. A special thank you to the University of Kansas for placing a 120-year old history book online and thereby unlocking the ancestry of my great great grandmother, Annetta J. Allen (nee Wiley).
There were many others; apologies if I haven't mentioned you or your site (some webpages I'd like to credit had no authorship information).
I have merged information from multiple sources and made my own guesses where data was in conflict, so although I want to give credit to these sources, I certainly don't want to blame them for the (doubtless many) errors I have introduced! If you find that you share an ancestor with me, you may still find my work of use despite its incompleteness and flaws -- you can use it as an ``index'' to indicate which people have Internet info and which are likely to be dead-ends.
Long before there was a Web I had parts of my family tree traced back to the 17th century. This seemed pretty ``neat'' but this ``pre-Internet'' data now comprise less than 1% of my present database; the other 99% comes from genealogical data found on the Web.
Almost all this Internet data was available free of charge; at first I didn't subscribe to any paid services. Genealogy people are generous. It is a pleasure to get involved, and a happy change from the commercial world.
Eventually I did dabble with two paid services. Ancestry.com is worthwhile even if you just access the census images and index; I also benefited from its database of the Daughters of the American Revolution. (Of course much of my effort has been focussed on the descendants of several soldiers in the Continental Army: Robert and John Allen, John Brown, William Gipson. Others might have little use for DAR data, but find other helpful databases at Ancestry.)
I guess Genealogy.com also has broad databases like Ancestry, but I found their interface so sadistically painful, I abandoned it quickly.
Services like Ancestry.com or Genealogy.com may be relatively inexpensive for what you get, but I had to draw the line somewhere. For example, the Hudson/Hutson Family Association wrote to tell me that they knew the ancestry of my 3-great grandfather Andrew Hudson, and would divulge it for $20. I suppose I could afford that, but I couldn't pay $20 for each of my 3-great grandparents, and having traced so many lineages for free it seemed a shame to ``spoil the record'' just for the Hudsons. I think members of the Hudson/Hutson Family Association would be interested to know about an Indiana branch of their tree that produced a U. S. Congressman. Of course they are welcome to my data free of charge, but they'll have to consult their own confidential records for Andrew Hudson's pedigree.
Sorry for the many, many errors. Please send me some e-mail and I'll try to incorporate your corrections and suggestions. Just listing the different types of error in this family tree would take a lot of space, but I'll make a few comments.
I took sources at face value and generally tried to maximize the size of the tree. Sometimes the dates don't make sense but I've left the impossible reconstruction intact because I don't know whether it is the date or the link that is wrong and both might be ``almost'' right. I've included pedigrees which were probably fabricated in the Middle Ages, in part because there's no proof that they're wrong; in part because such ancient fabrications seem interesting on their own account. Similarly, I often don't comment when historical lineages drift into mythical ancestors: one may not be sure precisely where fact turns to fiction.
In addition to errors I introduced accidentally, or copied unknowingly from other sources, there are some spelling deviations I introduce deliberately.
Sorry for the lack of references: Many of my sources didn't have references either. It would have taken me several more years to build a pedigree of this size if I tried to do it right, and I certainly do not claim to be a professional genealogist.