Phyllis Grace Geake, nee Weaver
It's hard to believe we lost my Granny Geake 14 years ago today. I still miss her loads.


Grave plaque at Drake Memorial Park, Plymstock

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Edward Carlyle Savory
Honouring my Great-Uncle, Edward Carlyle Savory, who was in the US 29th Division Artillery HQ Bty on D-Day, arriving on Omaha Beach at 14:10 hours on the afternoon of 6th June.

After the war, Uncle Eddie married my Great-Aunt, Eileen Geake, having met her in Tavistock, Devon, where he had been stationed for some time before crossing the Channel.


General Eisenhower inspecting the US troops in front of St Eustachius Church in Tavistock

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Following on from a previous post where I explained that my patrilineal line doesn't match the Hibbitt haplogroup, I am now giving an update for those called Hibbitt or a variant of the name.

We now have four people called either Hibbitt, Hibbett or Hibbit sharing the Z2534 haplogroup. At least two descend from John Hybot and Ann Tubbs who married in Exton, Rutland, in 1732, through their son, Matthew, who married Frances Penruddock. A third person could either descend from Matthew and Frances or Matthew's brother, William, who married Elizabeth Skillet. Either way, John Hybot and Ann Tubbs would be this person's forebears too.

The final Z2534 result came from a descendant of a John Hibbit who married Mary Toft in London in 1770. This then, would point to a connection back to either John Hybot or, quite probably, an ancestor of his, how far back we cannot know without specific Y-DNA testing.

Three of the results were obtained when testers ran their AncestryDNA raw data files through the Morley Y-SNP Subclade Predictor Tool at https://ytree.morleydna.com/extractFromAutosomal

The fourth person in this Z2534 group tested with Living DNA which gave a more recent haplogroup than Z2534. The haplogroup was Z2189. The R Z2534 DNA project suggests that the people they have in their project who are positive for the Z2189 SNP have Iberian ancestry.

The Ancestry and Living DNA tests are not dedicated Y DNA tests, instead they are autosomal DNA tests with a small amount of Y-DNA data included. The YTree at YFull shows various testers who've taken the Big Y test at FTDNA or similar and who come under Z2534: https://www.yfull.com/tree/R-Z2534/. The ancestry of those in the Z2189 group includes places such as Spain, Portugal, Mexico and Puerto Rico. It's curious then, how the Hybot family came to be in England but it needs to be noted that the Z2189 haplogroup was formed about 4000 years ago.


The R Z2189 Haplogroup on the YTree
If anyone in the Hibbitt etc. group was to take a Big Y test and upload to YFull, it would be interesting to see whether they were a match to any of the existing subclades of Z2189 or whether they would eventually form a brand new branch if a closer DNA match also tested.

As for my line, with every result that comes in at Z2534, it confirms that I am not a 'real' Hibbitt after all. My Dad's haplogroup is Z36747 which separated from the Z2534 haplogroup at DF13, which is a couple of clades above Z2534, and therefore further back in time. I still have no idea what my maiden name should have been but I believe that it's either my great-grandfather or his father who had a father who wasn't a Hibbitt. This is contrary to what the records say so no clues so far.

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Ancestry has recently completed its Irish ethnicity regions update and now offers 92 distinct regions in Ireland. This has resulted in my being able to identify some areas on my maternal grandfather's side. My mum, aunt and two of their first cousins have tested at Ancestry and here are the findings.


My Mum's Irish Ethnicity Results


My Aunt's Irish Ethnicity Results


Cousin 1's Irish Ethnicity Results


Cousin 2's Irish Ethnicity Results
Note: The Scottish connection is because Cousin 2's mother was Scottish

Here are maps of the regions:


Connacht with sub-regions of North East Mayo & North West Sligo, North Connacht and North Mayo


Central Ireland with sub-regions of North Leinster & East Connacht and North Leitrim & East Sligo

The region known as North East Mayo & North West Sligo shows up in all of the cousins' results and yet I cannot trace an ancestor from this region. The only Irish connection I have is currently tenuous - one of the cousins' shared great-grandmothers married their great-grandfather in Shanagolden, Limerick, in 1871. Her maiden name might have been Burgoyne or Congdon and I cannot be certain that she was definitely Irish. Her husband, John Gale Hellier, was in the Royal Navy and was from Tavistock in Devon - www.hibbitt.org.uk/familytree/fam1847.html.

It's remarkable that such a lot of Irish DNA has filtered down through the generations considering the three other shared great-grandparents were all Devonians and having only Devon ancestry going further back in time. The cousins' other known family lines do not involve Ireland and so it cannot be easily explained.

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London Gazette Issue 31046 Supplement Page 14320
100 years ago, Harvey's Grandad's award of the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) appeared in the London Gazette as follows..

14320 SUPPLEMENT TO THE LONDON GAZETTE, 3 DECEMBER, 1918

Lieut. Cyril Norman Ellen.
(Sea Patrol, MEDITERRANEAN)
A keen and exceptionally able observer who for over a year has performed most valuable service in photographic flights at low altitudes and at times under very difficult conditions.

Cyril Ellen was stationed in Stavros on the border between Greece and Bulgaria from November 1917 to November 1918. His profession in civilian life had been in photography and this is perhaps why he was so good at his job. The 'very difficult conditions' included some hairy moments. His pilot on one occasion, Frank Marlowe, wrote in his diary on 14th July 1918...

A near disaster for me this morning on dawn patrol. Just as I was taking off the engine revs dropped, there was vibration and nasty noises coming from the engine and I immediately throttled down. Then I saw that I was approaching the end of the aerodrome where I would crash into ditches, wooden buildings, etc and my only chance was to try to lift over them and try to land among scrub and bushes on the other side. I gingerly opened up the engine and in spite of the awful clattering noise it kept going enough to get me off the ground and keep me up while I made a wide sweep just above the surface of the sea and back to the aerodrome where I landed with a sigh of relief. Ellen, behind me, had the wind up badly and so did I. Everyone had turned out of their beds awakened by the noise my engine was making and they all thought it would end in a crash. I then took Jakie's DH4 instead which ran perfectly. Slater says he can do nothing with the engine and it will have to be sent to Mudros.

And again, Marlowe's diary entry for 26th May 1918...

While spotting with Ellen yesterday for a monitor shelling enemy gun positions we flew through the smoke of an A/A explosion and while I was doing 'evasive action' Ellen nearly fell out. He had to hold on to his gun mounting to save himself. I suppose you can overdo things.

On another occasion Cyril was in the air with Marlowe when the pilot wrote...

Just as I was leaving to do some spotting over the lines Dunfee, who was to have come with me in his Camel sideslipped into the ground after taking off when his engine failed. He was killed instantly. I carry on and do the spotting for the monitor M22 shelling gun positions. Saw Dunfee's Camel when we got back - a horrible sight with blood and brains spread all over the wreckage.

These young men were literally taking their lives into their hands every time they attempted to fly and that was even before they got down to the task in hand. They were very brave people indeed.

THE DFC

The Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers, and since 1993 to other ranks, of the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and other services, and formerly to officers of other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations against the enemy".

The award was established on 3 June 1918, shortly after the formation of the Royal Air Force (RAF), with the Royal Warrant published on 5 December 1919. It was originally awarded to RAF commissioned and warrant officers, including officers in Commonwealth and allied forces.

Since the 1993 review of the honours system as part of the drive to remove distinctions of rank in bravery awards, all ranks of all arms of the Armed Forces have been eligible, and the Distinguished Flying Medal, which had until then been awarded to other ranks, was discontinued.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distinguished_Flying_Cross_(United_Kingdom)

There were 1045 DFC's issued for World War 1 compared to more than 20,000 issued for World War 2, a reflection of how the air force had grown in that time.

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Postcard written in 1909 by my great-grandmother, Florence Smale, to her sister's sister-in-law, Edith Browning, nee Martin
EXTRACTING GENEALOGICAL DNA FROM ENVELOPES AND STAMPS

A few months ago Living DNA announced they had successfully extracted DNA from a stamp on an old envelope which enabled a person who was abandoned as a baby to identify her father.

Although we haven't heard any more from Living DNA about when this may become generally available, there is a company in Australia which is now offering a similar service called totheletter DNA - www.totheletterdna.com

MyHeritage also recently announced...

"MyHeritage will soon be able, through a partnership with a specialist company, to process the DNA from stamps and old envelopes and then link the DNA to the ancestor, providing you with DNA results for your deceased ancestors, right on MyHeritage."

It remains to be seen if their partner is totheletter DNA.

CONSIDERATIONS TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT

The totheletter DNA service is expensive ($781.50 AUD, approximately £445 for each artifact). If enough DNA is not available after the extraction process has taken place, a large proportion of the fee is refundable: https://www.totheletterdna.com/buy/find-dna.

However, cost and the possibility of the lack of a useable sample aren't the only factors to take into consideration. Here are some other things to think about...

• Currently the DNA raw data file can only be uploaded to GEDmatch Genesis for comparison with others who have tested their DNA. This may well change in the future if artifact testing becomes more popular.


• So far, the service is limited to items which would have been licked such as envelopes with the seal intact and stamps.


• The DNA might not belong to the person you expect. The sender of the letter may have asked the post master or a friend to lick the item.


• There may be no DNA on the item if a sponge was used to wet the stamp or envelope.


• The envelope or stamp you send in cannot be used a second time so you may want to wait a while to see how the technology develops before submitting that one and only postcard you have which your great-grandmother sent to her friend.


• Scan your item before sending it as it won't be returned to you in the same condition.

IDENTIFY AND PRESERVE YOUR ARTIFACTS NOW

There are potentially exciting times ahead. If the cost reduces in the future and the technology proves successful then we need to be identifying and preserving our artifacts right now.

Denise May Levenick, aka The Family Curator, makes the following recommendations on her blog (https://thefamilycurator.com/how-to-preserve-and-test-old-letters-for-grandmas-dna/)...

• Identify potential items for DNA testing and isolate from other items. Wear white cotton or nitrile gloves to avoid further contamination.


• Place the individual item in an acid-free paper folder or envelope. Avoid plastic.


• If possible, store this envelope inside an archival box or a metal file drawer to further protect from handling and temperature fluctuations. This location should be inside your home where temperature and humidity doesn't change dramatically. Keep dry.

Avoid

• Handling and cross-contamination.


• Freezing.


• Moisture.


• Heat.

TIP: If you don't have an archival folder or envelope, sandwich the letter and envelope between two sheets of acid-free resume paper (available at most office-supply stores). Place everything in a standard file folder or large envelope and store as directed above.

I DON'T HAVE ANY ARTIFACTS SUITABLE FOR TESTING, WHAT NOW?

You may not think you have any viable items from your ancestors but it's worth getting in touch with your known relatives to see whether they are sitting on a letter or postcard written by your mutual great-grandfather. The DNA of a full sibling of your direct ancestor is equally as useful as that of your own direct relative as their parents would still be your direct ancestors.

If you know of anyone to whom your ancestor may have written, then you might try to contact their living relatives to see whether they have any correspondence from your ancestor.

Another strategy is to look up family trees online to see whether you can identify descendants of a mutual ancestor. It may be that they have a suitable artifact they'd be willing to have tested. You might also consider sharing the cost between interested relatives who would benefit from the extracted DNA.

IF YOU CAN HELP, PLEASE CONTACT ME

If you're reading this and you are in possession of an item which may be suitable for genealogical DNA testing and which may have been sent by one of my (and perhaps your) relatives, please preserve the item as best you can and do get in touch with me. I have no immediate plans to test at the current prices but it might be something to look into in the future.

If nothing else, it's always interesting to discover personal family items which you didn't know existed so I'd like to take this opportunity to say if you have any correspondence, documents, photographs or objects connected to my family, I'd love to see (and, if possible, scan or photograph) them so please do contact me. It doesn't matter if they can't be used for DNA extraction, it all adds to the story of the family and that's a good enough reason in itself.

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My Grandpa Hibbitt (Charles George Hibbitt) died this day in 1972. I was nine years old and I remember the last time I saw him when I waved goodbye to him in the hospital. Instinctively, I remember thinking this would be the last time I would see him and I was right. He was so weak and frail standing there in his red dressing gown waving to his family. He must have felt so sad.

The photo is of him in happier times with my Gran, my Dad, my elder brother and me outside my grandparents' cottage in East Allington, Devon. Taken on my fifth birthday.


Hibbitt Family - 1968
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Phyllis Weaver aged 5 or 6
It would have been my Granny Geake's (Phyllis Grace Geake, nee Weaver) birthday today. She was born on 18th September 1916 and family oral history suggests the news of her father's death in WWI, which occurred ten days before, arrived in Tavistock the day she was born. Her mother wasn't told of it for another ten days.

This photograph of her as a young child was Gran's favourite.

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The Weaver/Street Family Bible
An amazing thing happened to me today. I was united with an old Family Bible which I hadn't known existed until recently. Three days ago, a lady emailed me through my website, having matched up some of my ancestral names to the names written in a Bible which she'd had in her possession for over 25 years. The book was originally discovered in a loft when she moved into a house in Plymouth in 1993. How and why it was there is a complete mystery.

The first few unprinted pages contain the names and dates of birth (and even times of birth) of the children of my 4 x great-grandparents, Robert Weaver and Sarah Street, together with the birth dates and parents' names of Robert and Sarah themselves. Discovering that Sarah's father and mother were John and Betty Streett was news to me and I was struck by the spelling of their surname with two t's at the end of Streett.


The Weaver/Street Family Bible
Robert and Sarah had eleven children but Jane, their eldest daughter who was born in about 1822 and died aged about six months, was not listed. Another daughter, Elizabeth, who was born in 1829 and died two years later, was named amongst the ten children.


Pages from the Weaver/Street Family Bible
Click the image for a larger version.

Pages from the Weaver/Street Family Bible
Click the image for a larger version.
It's some coincidence that the book should have turned up in Plymouth, where I live, when the Weaver family resided in the Somerset village of Curry Rivel. I doubt it would have come down to my maternal grandmother, Phyllis Grace Geake nee Weaver, who was born in Tavistock, Devon, because she lost touch with her father's family after being orphaned at a young age. She visited members of her family just before the Second World War but I feel certain that she would not have given the book away or sold it if it had been handed to her as an adult. I'm not currently aware of any other family links down this way either.

The Bible was printed in 1831 for the British and Foreign Bible Society and there is a handwritten note inside the cover as follows, "Langport Ladies Bible Association". Langport is the nearest town to Curry Rivel and the Ladies Bible Association would have been part of the Bible Society. I am speculating that either the Bible was purchased direct from the Langport division of the Society or offered back to this organisation at some stage.


Langport Ladies Bible Association Inscription
I feel so privileged to be in possession of such a treasure and I am so grateful to Denise who has been a worthy custodian of the book in recent years and took the trouble to return it to a family member who I can guarantee will definitely appreciate it.


The Weaver/Street Family Bible
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George Harvey (1884-1918)
On the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the Battle of Amiens, we remember Harvey's great-grandfather, George Harvey, who was wounded on 8th August 1918.

He was a Sapper in B Company, 9th Battalion, Canadian Engineers and received a gunshot wound to the shoulder whilst the '3rd Canadian Division successfully attacked the enemy positions between the Andrea Ravine and Hangard, inclusive, at 4.20am. During the course of the operations, Lieut. Byron, and 4 O.R.s [Other Ranks] who were with a party, under command of Lieut. Jones, were wounded.'

George was taken to No. 9 General Hospital at Rouen where he succumbed to his wounds and died on 10th August. He is buried in St Sever Cemetery Extension in Rouen.


The Headstone of George Harvey in St Sever Cemetery Extension, Rouen, France
George is commemorated on the War Memorial in his home town of Newlyn in Cornwall and is also memorialized on a stone in the wall of the Centenary Primitive Methodist Church, which is situated at the top of Boase Street where he lived in 1909.


The Stone laid in Memory of George Harvey in the Wall of the Centenary Primitive Methodist Church in Newlyn
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