A Wrong Turn Led Me Down the Right Path
Last month, I was working on descendancy research for a DNA validation project. I often use ThruLines on Ancestry.com as a starting point. As you likely know, the system wiil suggest a relationship to a Most Common Recent Ancestor (MCRA) between myself and a DNA Match. I like this approach because it allows me to research both down the tree (descendancy from the MCRA) and up the tree (starting from the DNA match and tracing the line backwards using traditional genealogy).
I wanted to validate a relationship with at least one descendant from my 5th great-uncle, William Weeks (born abt. 1815, likely in SC and d. abt. 1854 in Hillsborough County, Florida) and his second wife, Roxy Ann Platt, whom he married on December 23, 1847. His probate documents showed three living children with Roxy Ann: Jane E, Peter, and Thomas J. However, when I checked ThruLines for proposed descendants of William Weeks, I found none for Jane E or Thomas J, but two matches were suggested to be descended from his son “Peter Platt Weeks”.
A quick review of the sources linking these DNA matches to Peter Weeks showed they were descendants of a man named “Carey Peter Weeks “and his wife, Oregon Parker. There was no indication that Carey Peter Weeks was my Peter Weeks, son of William Weeks, so these matches didn’t pass my "sniff test." To be sure of my analysis, I needed to find the real Peter Weeks.
Though I haven't located Peter Weeks in the 1870 Federal Census, he appears in the 1880–1920 Federal Censuses and the 1885 Florida State Census in Sumter County, Florida. He lived with his wife, Mary J “Polly” m. Mainer m. Weeks, but no children are listed with them. However, his step-sons appear either in the household or nearby in the censuses.
"United States Census, 1880", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MNZC-WQT : Tue Jul 09 09:24:42 UTC 2024), Entry for Peter Weeks and Polly Weeks, 1880.
"Florida State Census, 1885", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MNJ8-R77 : Fri Mar 08 01:59:07 UTC 2024), Entry for Peter Weeks and Mary J Weeks, 1885.
"United States Census, 1900", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M366-R3Q : Thu Apr 11 18:50:43 UTC 2024), Entry for Peter P Weeks and Mary J Weeks, 1900.
"United States Census, 1910", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MVKL-K2K : Sat Jul 06 14:25:00 UTC 2024), Entry for Peter P Weeks and Mary Weeks, 1910.
"United States Census, 1920", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MNB8-RZQ : Thu Mar 07 21:27:55 UTC 2024), Entry for Peter P Weeks, 1920.
Peter P Weeks’ probate is handled by a man named Henry Cason. But finding Peter P Weeks’ death certificate was the item that pulled everything together and gave me the clue that led me down the correct (and very fruitful!) path.
"Florida Deaths, 1877-1939", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FP96-5PY : Sat Mar 09 16:30:09 UTC 2024), Entry for Peter P. Weeks and Wm Weeks, 6 January 1922.
On his death certificate, he is noted as being widowed. His father is listed as William Weeks born in Soth Carolina and his mother is listed as Roxann Platt born in Georgia. But here is the real magic: the informant is what looks to be “F J Weeks” of “Lithia Fla”. Peter passed away in January of 1922, so I then searched for any Weeks living in Lithia, FL on the 1920 Federal Census. Well y’all - I never did find an “F T” Weeks living in Lithia in 1920, but you know who I did find? “Thomas J” Weeks.
"United States Census, 1920", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MNYR-F4V : Wed Mar 06 16:46:05 UTC 2024), Entry for Thomas J Weeks and Martha Weeks, 1920.
And looking more closely at the signature on the death certificate, we can see where that is actually a “T” instead of an “F”.
I started researching Thomas J Weeks of Lithia, Florida and I was confused! He had a whole passle of kids! Granted, literature searches provided me with clues that he and his wife adopted some of their children, but not all of them. I should have some DNA matches that descend from his union with his wife, Martha “Granny” Shavers. And listen — this woman is well researched! She was supposedly 112 when she passed away (though my research disputes this) and she was the step-daughter of Juan “John” Gomez for whom a book was written called “The Last Pirate.” I just couldn’t figure out for the life of me why I didn’t have DNA matches descending from this-well-documented couple!
Looking at multiple online family trees, I noticed that none had parents listed for Thomas J. Weeks! And admittedly, there are at least half a millon Thomas Weeks in Florida. And another half million men named John Weeks. And about a quarter million men named William Weeks. They were all cousins and used the same naming conventions. To seperate these men has certainly been a challenge, but it’s one that I have taken on with zeal. And it’s only because I know who each “Thomas” and “John” and “William” Weeks were that I can seperate out their identities. Couple this with the realization that Peter P. Weeks had no living children, and thus no direct descendants researching his branch of the family. He moved away from Hillsborough County, and thus “got lost” as he was not easy to find by conveniently living next to his other siblings. So, no one had ever found his death certificate and put it together that the Peter P Weeks of Sumter County and the Thomas J Weeks of Lithia, Hillisborough County were brothers.
Once I added all this research to my tree and gave the ancestry.com algorithm 24 hours to refresh, guess what? There were DNA matches showing up as descendants of Thomas J Weeks, son of William Weeks and Roxy Ann Platt! A broken branch had been mended!
What began as a straightforward attempt to validate descendants of Peter P. Weeks quickly turned into a deeper exploration that uncovered hidden connections. The discovery of Thomas J. Weeks as Peter’s brother, and the subsequent DNA matches, reinforces the importance of persistence, critical analysis, and the willingness to look beyond initial assumptions. Every record, every signature, and every relationship has the potential to open doors in our research. Each document and detail has to be reviewed independently as well as in conjuction with all other surviving documents in order to see the full picture. Even the most obscure ancestors can leave behind valuable clues for those who are determined to find them.
