Website Updated 8 May 2010

The website was updated today, Saturday 8 May, it includes information as detailed in the recent blogs:

• Descendants of William Henry & Mary Isabella Maguire née Pask
• Australia's Largest Online Memorial
• Lasting Tribute
• Descendants of Augustine Thomas& Jane Pask née Parry
• Descendants of Joshua & Jane Rebecca Pask née Harley 
• Charles & Esther Paske née Edwards of Monmouthshire
• Chart 19 merged with Chart 01 - DNA Evidence

In addition there are several updates relating to the descendants of Henry & Mary Ann Pask née Ruddock, including certificates, kindly provided by Yvonne Sumner from Australia.
 
There are 36 new narratives added, making a total of 8,420 detailed narratives now available on the website.
 
A full list of the recent changes to the narratives is available in the New or Changed Narratives section.

Family Finder DNA Results

This information relates to Chart 01, the descendants of William Paske, (c1695- ) who lived in Wellingore, Lincolnshire.

Yesterday Stuart received the results of his Family Finder DNA Test. This autosomal test matches with any cousin within five generations.

The FamilyTree DNA website explains:

The Family Finder test is designed to trace all of your ancestral lines (all 16 of your great-great grandparents) using your autosomal DNA in order to confidently identify relationships for five generations. This is different from our mtDNA and Y–chromosome DNA tests, which are intended to clearly trace exclusively the direct maternal or paternal lines.

While a Surname Project seeks to document the Y–chromosome DNA of males with a common surname, a Family Finder Project is focused on tracing the DNA of all descendants of a single ancestor or a single ancestral couple.

Stuart matched 11 people - all unknown. Unsure quite what this meant, I wrote to our friend Debbie Kennett, who is very experienced and knowledgeable on the subject of DNA. She replied:

I think with the Family Finder we are all going to end up with an awful lot of matches. We're matching on all lines, and we're nearly all descended from the same few million people who lived in the British Isles in the 1600s. Don't forget too that with the Y-DNA Stuart is quite a rare R1a haplogroup. With R1b12 and I1 people can sometimes have hundreds of matches, at least at 12-markers.

The Family Finder is going to be something of a long-term investment but it's quite exciting to see it from the beginning ..

If you are interested in doing an autosomal (applicable to be both males and females), or a Y-DNA test (males only), do contact us and we will help you through the process. Alternatively for more information see Family Tree DNA Family Finder FAQs.

Chart 19 merged with Chart 01 - DNA Evidence

This information relates to Chart 19, the descendants of William Paske, (c1695- ) who lived in Wellingore, Lincolnshire.
This information relates to one of the Lincolnshire main families - John Pask (1760-1826), and Alice Woodcock (Stuart's own ancestors) who lived in Great Gonerby, Lincolnshire.

Yesterday we received the 67-marker DNA test results for John Henry Pask and Stuart. The e-mail read:

You matched 63 out of 67 loci. This means that there is a 99% likelihood you share a common ancestor in a genealogical time frame.

On this basis, we looked again at John & Stuart's trees. John (Chart 19) has traced his family back to William & Susanna PASKE, who lived in Wellingore Lincolnshire in the 1720s. Stuart (Chart 01) has traced his family back to John Pask (1760-1826) of Great Gonerby, Lincolnshire.

In 2005, one of our longstanding researchers Eileen Flynn wrote: "As I looked through the Great Gonerby transcript and saw again the burial of Thomas Pask who was crushed by a wheel, 8 May 1829, aged 65 years, I felt strongly again that he could well be the Thomas Pask who was baptised in 1764 at Wellingore and that his brother John, baptised in 1755 at Wellingore, is our John. I know John's age at death was given as 66 in 1826, but we know how unreliable given death ages can be. It is interesting that at the time Pasks are moving away from Wellingore and disappearing from the records, our John and Alice are getting married at Wilsford just 8-9 miles south of Wellingore, and after having William at Ancaster, move south about 8 miles into Great Gonerby, presumably for better job prospects. We'll probably never be able to find out for sure, but it's interesting to imagine."

We think that Eileen's assumptions linked now with the DNA evidence confirms that John (1755- ) of Wellingore, and John (1760-1826) of Great Gonerby are the same person, and that his brother Thomas (1764- ) of Wellingore and Thomas (1767-1829) of Great Gonerby are the same person.

On this basis, John is Stuart's 6th cousin, once removed.

Subsequently Chart 19 has been merged with Chart 01. There are now 1010 people in Chart 01 spanning 11 generations. This will be reflected in the next website update.

Charles & Esther Paske née Edwards of Monmouthshire

This information relates to Chart 49: Charles PASK (1760-1833) who lived in Dingestow, and Cwmcarvan, Monmouthshire #8663. Charles married Esther EDWARDS in 1789. Their descendants span six generations.

Last Monday, Barbara Griffiths who also belongs to the Guild of One-Name Studies, and is studying the name of PARRY contacted me and wrote:

One of the researchers on the Monmouthshire List has just mentioned some photographs he took in 2008 of tombstones at Cwmcarvan & Trelleck. I notice that there are two Pask, husband and wife Charles & Esther.

Subsequently, I contacted Paul Berndt, who lives in Port Clinton, Ohilo on Sandusky Bay just off Lake Erie. Paul visited the churchyard on May 24, 2008. He took the photographs for a couple - he doesn't have their names, that were at the cemetery the same day. They said that they were involved in a large Pask(e) group.

He very kindly sent us eight photographs of the grave. These are now available in the web album Cwmcarvan, Monmouthshire.

Charles was born in 1760 in Monmouthshire - the actual place and his parents are not known. Charles married Esther Edwards on 27 May 1789 in Llanishen, Monmouthshire. His wife, Esther, was buried on 16 April 1821 in St. Catwyg, Cwmcarvan, Monmouthshire. Charles was buried on 11 January 1833 also in St. Catwyg, Cwmcarvan, Monmouthshire.

Their grave is inscribed:

Sacred to the Memory of Esther wife of Charles Paske of the parish of Dingestow who died 15 April 1821 aged 54 years

Also To the Memory of Charles Paske Widower of the aforesaid who departed this life 8th day of Jan A.D. 1833 aged 73.

Many thanks to Paul, and Barbara for providing this information.