St Andrew's Church, Curry Rivel.
My latest breakthrough has come via DNA testing. For some time now I have known my 5 x great-grandmother was called Anne Twogood/Toogood. She married my 5 x great-grandfather, Robert Weaver snr., in Curry Rivel, Somerset, in 1779 but I had nothing else to go on. There were no suitable baptisms in the village and I didn't know when she was born.

Then last week I received an email from a person matching my maternal aunt's DNA and I immediately noticed the name, Toogood, in his tree. It turns out this person is descended from Anne's brother, James Toogood, and so, through parish records, I was able to ascertain that my 6 x great-grandparents were Robert Toogood and Elizabeth Ostler.

Robert Toogood was baptized in nearby Aller and this is where he married Elizabeth. I went on to discover that Elizabeth's family were from Curry Rivel and so my association with this village on this line dates back to at least the early 18th century when my 7 x great-grandparents, Edward Ostler and Mary Rich, married there in 1724 and had a total of eleven children. Sadly, so many of them died as infants or children, two of them being buried within a week of each other.

Because of the random nature of DNA, it's interesting to note that my mum didn't share any DNA with this match so, not surprisingly, neither did I. This is why it's great to have other family members tested.

[Why Church Record Sunday? This phrase has been included in the title in order to take part in Daily Blogging Prompts at Geneabloggers]

[Note: All content on the Hibbitt & Barnes Family History website and blog is copyrighted. Click here for conditions of use.]

I have today launched a new page on my website briefly outlining a few suggestions for people who match our families' DNA.

There are plenty of resources on the internet offering detailed information about the subject of genealogical DNA. Rather than reinventing the wheel, my page is a starter for anyone who thinks they may be related to me or Harvey and would like to know where we tested and what else they can do with their DNA results in order to carry out deeper analysis.

Topics include: 'Cousins, please consider testing', 'What is the AncestryDNA test' and 'Upload your raw data to GEDmatch'.

Click to view my Genealogical DNA web page.

[Note: All content on the Hibbitt & Barnes Family History website and blog is copyrighted. Click here for conditions of use.]

My paternal grandmother, Ivy Alice Hibbitt, nee Dando.
Remembering my Granny Hibbitt (Ivy Alice Hibbitt, nee Dando) today on the 24th anniversary of her death.

[Why Sympathy Saturday? This phrase has been included in the title in order to take part in Daily Blogging Prompts at Geneabloggers]

[Note: All content on the Hibbitt & Barnes Family History website and blog is copyrighted. Click here for conditions of use.]