Sue Waite-Langley over at Waite Genealogy is still administering the Waite DNA Project that I wrote about in August, and we’re still looking for participants!

The 37-marker test is normally $149 for our test group (and $169 if you’re flying solo), but for a [...]]]>

Good news!  Family Tree DNA has just put their DNA test kits on sale!  Yessss!!!

Sue Waite-Langley over at Waite Genealogy is still administering the Waite DNA Project that I wrote about in August, and we’re still looking for participants!

The 37-marker test is normally $149 for our test group (and $169 if you’re flying solo), but for a limited time it’s only $119!  This kit will get us in the door, so to speak.

The 67-marker test is normally $239 for our test group (and $298 if you’re flying solo), but it’s now only $209!  This kit is ideal for our test group, because it will show who the TOP ancestor is on the tree.

Don’t have the Y-chromosome?  Can’t afford to foot the entire bill?  Does cheek-swabbing creep you out?

Then Chip In!

Under my photo at the top left part of my site, you’ll see a tally of our donations thus far.  When you contribute to this cause, your donation will be sent to me via PayPal and will be earmarked for this project alone. I will update the meter as we progress to our goal.

FTDNA’s sale is going on through the end of the year.  Let’s raise $209 by New Year’s Eve and get the ball rolling! If 21 people donate $10 each, then we’re in!  That’s pretty painless.

Want to be part of the study?  Not afraid of swabs?  Contact Me and I’ll put you on the list of volunteers for this project.

If more than one person volunteers, we’ll pick the first participant at random.

Thank you in advance for your support!

Photo: F. S. Wood, date unknown. Digital image. Privately held by Kathy Wait Myers, (ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE), Nebraska, 2009. All rights reserved.

http://waitheritage.ning.com/

Over the last few months that I’ve been researching my WAIT roots, I’ve “met” probably a dozen people online who have also researched my line.  Through a series of emails and messages on Ancestry.com, I’ve learned a lot about where I come [...]]]>

I thought I’d let you all know about a genealogy group that I started.

http://waitheritage.ning.com/

Over the last few months that I’ve been researching my WAIT roots, I’ve “met” probably a dozen people online who have also researched my line.  Through a series of emails and messages on Ancestry.com, I’ve learned a lot about where I come from (and where I don’t)!  One of the things that bugged me about using this method was that all of that info was now tucked away in a private message, and I wondered who else I might meet if these discussions were out in the public eye.

So I had this idea to start a group where everyone could contribute what they know and we could get to know each other.   I searched around a bit and ended up modeling it after the Parker Heritage Group.

I started interest groups for each of the families in my line:

Frederick Hiram WAIT (1876-1955)

William H WAITS (1845-1927)

James G WAITS (1816-1880)

Charles Waits (1790-1868)

James WAITS (1760-1855)

John WAITS (1730-1791) (my brick wall WAITS)

I also started interest groups for each of the states they lived in:

NEBRASKA Genealogy

OHIO Genealogy

Along with that, there is a group for the DNA project:

Waite DNA Surname Project

I highly recommend that you take a look and join the groups that call to you.  You can add to discussions, start new ones, upload some photos, even have a blog!  Then keep checking back every week as new content is added and the site really starts to pick up momentum!  The more eyes we have on our history, the more we stand to learn!

My vision is to start a Wait Family Association that’s dedicated to preserving the heritage of the Wait family through education and genealogy.  I want to run it as a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization.  I’ve been doing some initial research for a couple of weeks and just this morning, I found another family to model the group after!

Towne Family Association

The Next Generation of Genealogy Software has been on my radar as an excellent way to share our trees, census forms, documents, and photos, so it’s pretty cool that they use that platform as well!

For those of you who were at the reunion this July, you’ll remember that in the land of Hunters and Farmers, I’m a Hunter.  I have a vision.  I have ideas.  I have passion.  i have social skills.  What I need are some more Hunters to collaborate with. And most importantly, some Farmers who are good at things like business practices, the law, accounting, and general stick-to-it-iveness.  People who are dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s.

If you think you’d be interested in helping with this project or know someone else who would be, please get in contact with me!

My 2nd great grandfather William H WAITS’ card was especially interesting because it mentioned his wife Elve’s first husband John PITT.

All I’ve been [...]]]>

I thought I’d check out Footnote.com today for something different.  Within 5 minutes, I located Civil War pension cards for several of my ancestors!

My 2nd great grandfather William H WAITS’ card was especially interesting because it mentioned his wife Elve’s first husband John PITT.

All I’ve been able to find on John PITT so far, was that he was married to Elve and was the father of Samuel M PITT. No census information, no date of birth, death, or burial information.  And yet here he is mentioned on WH’s pension card!  Apparently, he served during the Civil War in Co K 58th Indiana Infantry.

Naturally, I immediately looked his card up to see what other information they had on him!

Here it is!  But… I don’t get it.  It looks to me like he died Feb 1, 1928.  Could that be right?  I guess I’ve always assumed that she was a widow when she met William.  But if he was still living, then why would William be listed on his card?  There’s nothing filled in about his widow, and I’m not sure what the 1st line of remarks means, other than 718192 matches William’s certificate number.  It looks like he filed for benefits on Dec 7, 1885 five years before William did.

Can anyone shed some light on this?  I don’t get it.