A DNA journey – KINdling

Finding my Collman family part 8 – Sydney Collman – late of Mungindi, Culcairn and Marrickville

I knew it wasn’t going to be easy but honestly, researching these Collmans is getting me nowhere. I have researched up and down, back and forth, sideways, and round and round. So far, I haven’t ruled any of them out, and I haven’t made any real breakthrough either. I’m down to the last of the…

Finding my Collman family part 5 – George Charles Percival Collman

Down near picturesque Lake Jindabyne, at the feet of the majestic Snowy Mountains, lies the grave of a man who could be my Mystery Great Grandfather, aka MG. But is he MG? Is he my grandmother’s birth father? That’s the six million dollar DNA question. George Collman was born just before Christmas 1877 on the…

Finding my Collman family, part 4 – Robert

Shortly before Christmas, 1908. That’s as precise as I can be about the moment that my great grandmother, Miriam, had a dalliance with a man named Collman. My ancestry DNA results don’t tell me his name but they do indicate that my grandmother’s father descended from a man named Collman and a woman named Weston….

Finding my Collman family Part 3 – Charles and Louisa

In my hunt for my mysterious MG, my Mystery Great grandfather, I haven’t yet spent a single minute researching this Collman-Weston couple. Perhaps that’s because I have convinced myself that Thomas Collman and Augusta Weston are the right Collman-Weston couple. But what if I’m wrong? What if Charles Collman and Louisa Weston are actually my…

Finding my Collman family Part 1 – A Party of Five

Over the past two years I have been on a magical mystery tour trying to work out whose blood is running through my veins. My DNA results have revealed that my grandmother – Edna – was raised by a family that she had no biological connection with. Through my Edna blog series I worked out…

Finding my Collman family Part 2 – Fine Beans

Searching for MG is a slow process of sifting through records and waiting for DNA matches to appear. One day someone will take a DNA test that magically unlocks the mystery. I’m not the type to sit quietly waiting, doing nothing, so while I wait for that magical DNA match I’m running a magnifying glass…

The Willocks, a family divided? Edna, part 13

You guessed it, I’m still waiting for the missing link. New DNA matches come and go, but none of any significance in the hunt for my Mystery Great Grandfather, dear old MG. Not yet. In the meantime I haven’t been resting on my Christmas derriere, no no no, I’ve been working quite hard – in…

What are the odds? (an Edna Extra)

I have a new DNA toy! What are the odds? It is a tool inside a website called DNA Painter. The tool is called WATO or What Are The Odds. You can register at DNA Painter for free and there are two versions of WATO, I’ve used version 2 beta. WATO calculates how you might…

Trait vs Fate – Edna, part 12

I’m waiting for something. Or someone. Someone to open up the Willock world and reveal their family stories to me. Or someone to tie the Willocks to the Collmans with certainty, but the something or someone doesn’t seem to be coming. I’m willing to wait – what else can I do? Today I heard from…

The Collmans – Edna, part 11

My DNA is linking me to the Collmans. Some of the connections are strong enough that I think I’m on the trail of Edna’s father, Mystery Great Grandaddy – dear old MG. All roads are leading to Thomas William Collman and Augusta Weston. Who were they? Thomas Collman was born in 1858 near the town…