Recent discoveries
Misidentified Death: Proving Hannah Hawley Lived Past 1757
For over a century, genealogical databases recorded the death of Hannah Hawley around 1757, cutting her life story in half. Discover how original 18th-century Durham and Middletown probate, land, and dower records untangled a long-standing identity swap—and proved she actually lived on to marry Capt. William Ward and secure her place in Connecticut history.
Chasing Shadows in Sheffield, MA: The Search for the origins of Elizabeth Clark
Uncovering the identity of Elizabeth (b. 1746-d. 1782) wife of David Clark Jr., of Sheffield, MA. Examining the primary land records, eliminating false leads, and using autosomal DNA clusters to solve a colonial brick wall.
The Two Rebeccas: Proving the Parentage of Rebecca Sears Eastman
Disentangling two women with the exact same name who both married men named Eli is a classic genealogical puzzle. Here is how primary records resolved a 200-year-old case of mistaken identity.
Reconstructing Lucia Babb Bronson: Solving a 19th-Century Identity Mystery
Discover how indirect primary records and DNA analysis debunked a published 1818 genealogy error to restore Lucia Babb Bronson to her CT family tree.
Reconstructing Sarah Morley: How Primary Records Corrected a Colonial Timeline
Discover how 18th-century Connecticut probate records and land deeds uncovered the real timeline and story of Sarah Morley (b. 1720) after her husband's death.
Unmasking Ann Kellogg: How a CT Gravestone Exposed a Decades-Old Identity Mix-Up
Norwalk, CT probate records for Ann Scudder Kellogg
Untangling the Three Sarahs: How I Solved an 18th-Century Massachusetts Identity Crisis
Plan of Northampton made by John G. Hales, dated 1831
