Once upon a time, I drew that colorful – {both literally and figuratively} – flowchart. I wrote about the matrimonial messiness in this part of my tree. I followed that up with a post about Arthur Hyde who seemed to have left a family in England and then married his widowed sister-in-law while still being married to his wife back home. That was followed by a post about the incestuous relationship between uncle and niece – Robert & Rosey Hyde. Then there was the follow-up post reminding readers that we need to always click to the next image because I found even more details about that crazy mess up there on page 50 of a record.
This fascinating series of discoveries was capped off by a post all about Rosey’s Girls. I had learned so much since I drew that first flowchart that I had to update it.
The crazy, twisty, utterly shocking journey did not end there.
DNA connected me with two of Rosey’s living granddaughters. My finding-living-people-stalking skills led me to a direct descendant of Rose Elvera Hyde. And my cousin bait – namely this blog – brought a living descendant of Arthur Hyde to my digital door.
GUESS WHAT THAT ALL MEANS?!
That super colorful flowchart needs another update. A major update. So major in fact that I have to start from scratch. I thought that last post about Rosey’s Girls was hard to write. Ummm…these next ones are going to be even more complicated if you can believe that.
I just wanted to share a few tid-bit teasers and two BIG, FAT REMINDERS as a PSA to all my fellow genealogists.
Tid-bit Teaser #1
I wrote this about the men in Rosey’s life: “There are details that come from the nuances of the records that lead me to believe that Harry was the great love of her life, that Neil was a loving old age companion, and that Robert, well, Robert seems to be the villain. I don’t know if that’s fair, but that is who he is becoming in my mind.”
Well. I got that completely wrong. It turns out Harry is definitely the villain. So much so that Robert is starting to seem not so bad. How’s that for a turn of events?
Tid-bit Teaser #2
A very long time ago I wrote about my Grandma’s adopted first cousin Sherry Hunter. At the time I wrote about Sherry, I still didn’t know Rosey had any children. But it turns out that Sherry is a descendant of Rosey, adopted by her biological 1st cousin once removed. Sherry belongs to that crazy mess up there. I did not see that coming.
Tid-bit Teaser #3
This lovely photo made it’s way to me. That is Rosey’s daughter Muriel Grace. Isn’t she beautiful?
Now for the PSAs.
Big Fat Reminder/PSA #1
If you have not DNA tested – PLEASE DO IT! I cannot believe the wealth of information that has come my way as a result of DNA testing and transferring my results to two additional companies. Followed up by contacting my matches. In fact, I’ve gotten so caught up in the deluge, that I have lots of matches I haven’t had time to contact yet. What other goodies are waiting for me?
Big Fat Reminder/PSA #2
When you have a mystery, brick wall, dead end – write about it. Leave plenty of cousin bait. If you are a regular reader you have probably noticed that I mostly write about my questions and unsolved mysteries. In fact, if you aren’t paying close attention you might think I never solve anything. 😉 I am putting out massive amounts of cousin bait. And it works. People email me after finding something I wrote about a family member we have in common and they fill in details that ONLY THEY can share. Details that exist in photo albums or memories. Details that answer some of my most unanswerable questions. Like what the heck happened to Arthur Hyde and his first wife Mary? Did he really just leave her and the children behind in England and marry Alice? Why yes, yes he did.
Cousin bait is your friend. Make sure you are leaving it out to attract the cousins you need to find. Your beautifully researched, perfectly reasoned, tidy little genealogy stories will attract cousins too, but usually not the cousins who bring more toys to the party. You solved those ones. Go ahead and write them up, but don’t let your mysteries languish in a stack of notes. Those glittery little bits attract the distant cousins who just might answer some of your burning questions. You may not like the answers – after all, there is a reason you haven’t been able to solve it with traditional research – but they are usually very fascinating answers.
Are you excited for my new flowchart?
I am! Now, I just have to figure out how to fit all of the crazy connections on one page.
Maybe I need to go buy a posterboard…