the tree of Lydia Powell, another line to George Washington

my fourth great grandmother, Lydia, married William Judson Bartlett. her mother was Ann West, daughter of John West and Margaret Pearson. well according to Family search any way. FS says that Margaret Pearson was the daughter of Simon Pearson and Hannah Ball, the aunt of George Washington. But was she? sources say that Hannah Ball was Simon's second wife and Margaret's stepmother. so not exactly a bloodline connection there, if so. 

but wait, there's more. Hannah Ball may not be Margaret's biological mother, but she may not be biologically related to George either. a lot of chatter and debating about this as is often the case in famous family trees, but who was Hannah Ball's mother? 

FS says that Hannah's mother is Mary Bennett. other sources say her maiden name is unknown. while all seem to agree that her name was Mary and that she married Col. Joseph Ball, some believe that Mary was not the first wife of Joseph or the mother of Hannah. while Mary is still considered the mother of Mary Ball Washington, there is much debate over her maiden name. Mary Ball 1665 is the mother of Mary Ball Washington and the grandmother of George, but her maiden name is in dispute. 

so there are two step mothers in the line between Lydia Powell Bartlett and George Washington, but hey if you count them, George is my first cousin eight times removed.  technically, by marriage, I guess, but still. 

any way, George is still the great Grandson of my ninth great grandfather, John, and still my second cousin eight times removed, but that was an interesting find. and we are both related through Col. Joseph Ball, so that's cool.  

#30DaysOfGenealogy A favorite ancestor. Eve.

 A favorite ancestor. Mitochondrial Eve. Without which we would not be here. She was the next step in the evolution of Mankind. the mother of us all. her DNA mutated creating a new species of primate. a mutant species we call the brotherhood of Man. I suppose that's a good reason to favorite her. 

as her descendants we are all mutants and the mutations didn't stop there. every now and then DNA mutates and creates a new bloodline. my ydna matches at one level do not match at a higher level because the bloodlines mutate or evolve to another line from time to time. 

although I have DNA matches at lower levels with the same name, we do not match at higher levels because the DNA changes and our common ancestor is actually from an earlier bloodline. 

in fact, we are all kind of X-Men carrying some genes that some of our ancestors may not have had. we are all different because of the mutations of our DNA. now if only I could get one of those super powers. help me Charles Xavier, you're my only hope. 

sources matter. do the homework. always.

 my kids were never interested in my family History stories so I launched some blogs to tell them because some of them are just so interesting and I wanted to share them with someone who would have a passion for history like me. 

I have joined some family History groups online to share my tales and findings, and some of them are interested, but to children, I guess it's all just "bla bla bla". when I talk to them I guess I sound like the teacher from peanuts. my grandson listens tho so that's good. I think heritage is important and History too. and as a family historian I want to get the family tree right so that future generations won't be misled by faulty incorrect info in the trees. not all trees out there are right. I have found mistakes along the journey and some of which only I can correct. DNA evidence was used to connect many of the members of the family where records were wrong. as I once heard it said on TV, History is important to me, and so I do my part to try and get the family tree right. 

sometimes on coop trees, some one will come behind you and undo all the work you did and put people you descend from with the wrong people. it's important to do your own thing where no one can screw it up. not all trees are right and not all researchers are good at making trees. some jump to conclusions and make a mess of things and then others follow their work and create inaccurate trees by not doing the work. never take someone else's word for family History without a care. sources matter. 

keep seeking the truth even if it looks like it might be right.