Yesterday, for the fifth of those Twelve Most Wanted ancestors I'll be researching next year, I mentioned I chose to tidy up my mother-in-law's Metzger family tree because of so many fascinating—but unfinished—features of that line. It was really a toss-up between that branch of the family and another branch, the Gordon line, so I had a hard time choosing.
But why choose? (You knew that other shoe was going to drop at some point.)
For the sixth month of the upcoming research year, I'll go ahead and focus on the DNA matches leading me to my mother-in-law's Gordon line. And why not? That line alone probably accounts for more DNA matches in my husband's DNA results than any other of his maternal family lines. And that is just looking at one testing company for only his results. That's not to mention his two sisters' test results, plus his account at the other four major DNA testing companies. There are more Gordon descendants out there to find, and I may as well become diligent in matching up our lines with these distant Gordon cousins.
My mother-in-law's Gordon ancestors stretch back to the colonial days in Maryland, then lead us on an immigrant trail through Pennsylvania, eventually landing in Perry County, Ohio, where I've found many Gordons to research. But the Gordon family didn't stop there. This was the line I've pursued since the early days of Internet genealogy, when I made the online acquaintance of a persistent Gordon researcher whose branch of the family landed her in Michigan. Other descendants from that line have moved far beyond those midwestern locations. I've still got a long way to go before I can say I've found all the Gordon descendants.
The goal with this final selection for my mother-in-law's ancestors to research in 2022 is to connect as many Gordon DNA matches with the branches of her family tree as possible. I know there are many more branches of this surname which need more work, and next June will be my chance to do some spring cleaning on the Gordon line.
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