Love the research!

Maybe I should have been a detective!

Since retiring from teaching eight years ago, I have started to organize my family history research more carefully. This is mainly because of the DNA tests I have requested from members of my family. I am having to keep better records of what I have done and who are matches to all the people I have had tested. Thanks to UTAS for the Diploma of Family History which I have completed since retirement. They helped with the organizing and planning for my research.

At the moment I am working with an as yet unknown 4th cousin with username wollen100. She matches my mother, my brother and me with DNA . It is only  a small amount about 21cMs for each of us. But we think it might come down through the BOYD side of the tree.

Me, daughter of my mother, daughter of Hannah DAVEY, daughter of Martha COLGRAVE, daughter of Susan BOYD, daughter of John Henry or Holliday BOYD and Martha BOYD , was Virco/Vico nee HEARN.

Birth certificate of Harriet where father is noted as John Holliday Boyd

On two birth certificates for John’s children he is mentioned as John Holliday Boyd. Looking on Ancestry, most public trees have his parents as William and Ann Boyd from Ireland. But I think that name Holliday must be significant. Also I noted that John had no children with the name of William. Perhaps a clue that William is not his father.

John was a convict tried at the Central Criminal Court in London and sent to Van Diemens Land (Tasmania) in the 1830s. But on the convict conduct record it says his native place was Plymouth which is in Devon in England. I have found a John Holliday Boyd born in 1809 in Maker, Cornwall which is across the river from Plymouth. Parents were Robert Boyd and Nancy Holliday and their marriage was in 1797 in Devon. Maybe these are the couple I need to concentrate on to find that connection to my 4th cousin.

She has a lot of ancestors in the Plymouth area of Devon with surnames VEALE, WYATT, ELLIOTT, PRIDEUX, WEST, SWAIN and WICKETT. So more research needed to connect my Boyds to one of these names on my cousins tree.   I have found an Ann Boyd marrying a Richard Wyatt in 1793 at Ivybridge in Devon. Maybe Ann and Robert are siblings!

Come on Sue, get on with that research!!

6 thoughts on “Love the research!

  1. Hi Sue

    I am related to Boyd’s also from Devon/Cornwall.The parish of Maker encompasses part of Devon and part of Cornwall,so you can be born in one county and baptised in the other.Parish boundaries ignore County lines .I am sure Robert and Nancy are the parents of John Holiday Boyd. He also had a sister Susana Holliday Boyd.

  2. Hi Sue I have sent you an email. I have had my DNA tested but we don’t match.
    It doesn’t necessarily mean we are not related.
    I have a 3rd cousin and we are both on gedmatch and we don’t share one iota of DNA even when I lowered the cM to one. Goes to show.

    Best Wishes

    Rob

  3. Hi Sue,
    I see you have written to me on My Heritage and perhaps here as well, I have answered, but as of today still haven’t heard back from you. We are dna related cousins on our mothers side, mine being Maisie Davey. I don’t want to go into detail here but if you read the emails it would be good if we could connect.

    Best regards

    Diane Stafford

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