2025 in my photos

 

Instagram. Photos by Patrick Jones.

Each year I share a recap of photos and travels. Next week I'll have a companion piece on research reflections as I close out 2025 and look ahead to research in 2026. In the snapshot above from my Instagram feed, the bottom middle photo is from February in Los Angeles. The bottom left photo is from Rootstech (shared previously here). The left lower middle and middle middle are from our visit to Lake Murray, SC at the end of March. The left shot above the paddleboarding photo is from our June meeting in Prague, with the middle photo from the Urban Nation Street Art Museum in Berlin. The top row is from Belfast (left corner and top middle) and Dublin this June.

My January began with a visit to Los Angeles, with the city on fire as a I flew into LAX. I visited Campuzano cousins in Anaheim and avoided the smoke covering West LA.

In February I returned to LA, and Allison and I took time to go back to the then-Michelin 3-star Inn at Little Washington. Although it lost a star this year, it's still an incredible experience.

Allison at Inn at Little Washington. 7 Feb 2025.

In March I went to Rootstech on my way to my own meeting in Seattle, Washington. We closed out the month with a family visit to South Carolina.

In April I did a Spring time hike through Bath and the Cotswolds. This was an incredible trip and a highly recommended visit to the beautiful English countryside.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Near Bath, UK. 24 Apr 2025.

For May, we moved Sophia home for the summer and enjoyed some paddleboarding on the Potomac.

In June, I had a meeting in Prague and a bonus visit to Berlin prior to the meeting. The train from Berlin to Prague is also highly recommended. Sophia joined me in Prague and we had a really great time in Central Europe. I think we both agreed one of our favorite stops was the Mucha Museum in Prague.

Sophia & I. Prague. 12 Jun 2025.

At the end of June, I joined Allison and her choir on an epic tour of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland. I think Belfast is underrated as a city and is a surprisingly cool spot for street art, food and museums. The Titanic Museum is definitely worth visiting as it gives a solid understanding of the city's importance with the linen trade and ship building. We rode the ferry from Belfast to Scotland and then continued on to Edinburgh. I had some bonus time to visit the University of Edinburgh Archives and complete a hike of Arthur's Seat. Edinburgh was really great.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Choir at St. Giles, Edinburgh. 30 Jun 2025.

In August, we returned to NY. I visited the office in LA in September. October brought on our end of the year meeting in Dublin. For November I caught the train to Culpeper to reset the keys to the Internet.

Earlier in the month I had a stopover in London and a quick trip to Ghana.

Tomorrow we're heading down to Blacksburg, VA to catch some college basketball before visiting the family in South Carolina before Christmas. Virginia Tech is 10-2 and we hope to see some exciting basketball to kick off the holiday weekend.

This definitely doesn't capture all my best photos and recollections of the year, but it's a decent overview.

DNA in the news: Beachy Head Woman from Roman Britain

A new article in the Journal of Archaeological Science (17 December 2025) details new DNA findings on skeleton from Southern England that has been dated to 129-311 CE. It's an interesting publication showing how new DNA analysis techniques can challenge and change previous determinations. 

The skeleton was found in the collection of the Eastbourne Town Hall in 2012 (possibly moved there in 1959), and initially believed to be sub-Saharan African in origin. In 2024 an updated DNA method was used, and the researchers also used Unreal Engine (the same computer technology behind popular online games such as Fortnite) to generate a new digital likeness for the woman. Based on the new information, the researchers have determined that Beachy Head Woman came from Roman-era southern Britain.

Wrapped Season

 

Spotify. 2025 Wrapped logo.

Users of Spotify will notice an increase in copycat end of the year "wrapped" updates rolling out from various platforms. Everything from Duolingo to Uber Eats to even Ancestry is providing a Spotify Wrapped-style recap. (Ancestry's green also recalls Spotify's own Wrapped green).

Source: Ancestry.

As with prior years, I will soon have a year in photos and travel post and a review of my research progress, along with a look ahead to 2026. It is natural and quite useful to have these reflective posts in the last two weeks of the year. This month is racing forward and it's really hard to believe next week is Christmas.

A-File Request Received

I've received a reply from the National Archives at Kansas City in response to my request for a copy of the A-file for Trinidad Leyva. I should receive additional information in the next week or so, and I am really curious to see if the file includes some hints of a connection to a branch on our Sonoran or Arizona side of the tree.

London Christmas

 

Photo by Patrick Jones. London. 6 Dec 2025.

Mariana

 

FamilySearch. Hermosillo Baptisms. 31 Jul 1848.

Something tells me Mariana Portillo might have a link to my 3rd-great-grandfather Manuel Portillo, and to the mystery Guerrero-Leyva matches. Mariana was the first wife of Ygnacio Campuzano. Above is a snapshot of her baptism record from Hermosillo, Sonora. This lists her parents as Jose de la Luz Portillo and Juana Vidal. Jose was born about 1828, which could make him a brother of Manuel.

On Ancestry, using Shared Matches of Matches, I can see the matches in common with Eddie Campuzano, a great-grandson of Mariana Portillo. He's also a match to CH (164 cM), and several others who are part of the Guerrero-Leyva group.

Mariana married Ygnacio Campuzano in Hermosillo on 23 November 1866. Interestingly, witnesses were Francisco Calles and Maria Jesus Campuzano (she was the mother of Plutarco Elias Calles, future President of Mexico).

FamilySearch. Hermosillo Marriages, 1866.

They had at least eight children together, before Ygnacio started a second family with Dolores Preciado. Mariana appears in the 1910 US Census in Silverbell, Pima County, Arizona living with her daughter Maria Ysabel.

The trail points to Spain

 

Made in Ideogram. A pilgrim on the Camino.

Back in June 2015, I wrote about the two families of Vicente Antonio Campuzano (1810-1873). Thanks to cousin Greg, we now have an initial YDNA haplogroup for his line to Vicente through Ygnacio Campuzano. Below is a photo of Ygnacio with second wife Dolores Preciado, and two children (likely Jose, born March 1896 and sister Dolores born in 1897). Ygnacio was a half-brother of my 2nd-great-grandfather, Vicente Plutarco Campuzano.

Source: P. Rosas. Ygnacio, Dolores and children. 

The initial YDNA haplogroup is R-S3530. According to FamilyTreeDNA, the man who was the most recent common ancestor for this line was born about 1 BCE. Because this is so far back in time, I've upgraded the kit to Big Y700, in the hopes that this will provide a more recent haplogroup. The Big Y results probably won't be available for a while, likely into early 2026.

FTDNA Discover report for R-S3530.

There's more analysis to do. Thankfully there are some Y matches and very interesting autosomal matches to review.

A Visit to Spitalfields Market

 

Selfie at Old Spitalfields Market. 6 Dec 2025.

Last week's stopover in London provided an opportunity to visit the historic Spitalfields Market. Our Oyler side of the tree has a long connection to the market. Spitalfields is currently decorated for the holidays, and it has a happy, festive atmosphere. As I was staying in Shoreditch, I ended up visiting the market several times for food, browsing the vendors, and immersing myself in the surroundings that would have been the stomping grounds for the Potter Oyler Ltd fruit and produce vendors.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Spitalfields Market.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Spitalfields. 6 Dec 2025.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Festive decorations.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Old Spitalfields. 6 Dec 2025.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Spitalfields.

Happy Friday

 

Photo by Patrick Jones. Shoreditch, London. 6 Dec 2025.

Greetings, I'm back from my week in London and Accra, Ghana, and catching up on a lot that came through while I was on work travel. Our cousin Greg received his initial YDNA haplogroup through FTDNA. This deserves its own post. Another cousin's mtDNA kit has been received by FTDNA, which will give us a second tester on the maternal line for Maria Jesus Vasquez. There's more to cover, and writing will return to a more regular pace as the month picks up to the holiday break.

Ghana week

 

Photo by Patrick Jones. Accra, Ghana. 24 July 2023.

I'm back in Accra, Ghana for a series of events this week. Above is a painting that was in our hotel in the last Ghana meeting from 2023.

Art in the city

 

Photo by Patrick Jones. Edinburgh, 28 June 2025.

A painting in the lobby at the Old Town Chambers hotel in Edinburgh. We didn't stay at the hotel this summer but had dinner in their restaurant.

Christmas Decorations, 2014

 

Photo by Patrick Jones. The White House, 12 Dec 2014.

A throwback to a different time, showing some of the decorations at the now demolished East Wing of the White House in Washington DC. I have more photos from my visit on that day in 2014, which really feels like a moment in time now that the historic wing is no longer there.

Escolastico and Flora

FamilySearch. 19 Aug 1881. Mazatlan, Sinaloa, MX.

Last week I wrote about Trinidad Leyva, the mother of our mystery match CH. Her parents were Escolastico Leyva and Flora Escovar. They were married in Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico on 7 September 1881. The image above comes from their marriage intention document (Informacion Matrimonial) on 19 August 1881. This is a great record, as it states Escolastico was a twenty-six year old shoemaker (zapatero) from Culiacan, Sinaloa, and names his parents Juan Leyva and Carlota Rodriguez (both deceased). 

Flora was fourteen, from San Javier, Sinaloa, not far from the Sinaloa-Sonora border in the northern part of the state. She had been living in Mazatlan for twelve years, with her mother Maria Hernandez. Flora's father, Valentin Escovar, was deceased by the time this marriage intention was made in 1881.

Escolastico and Flora had at least the following children:

• Antonio Leyva (June 1882-1883)
• Ysabel Leyva (1887-1904)
• Enriqueta Leyva (1889-1889)
• Trinidad Leyva (1892-?)
• Juan Leyva (1897-1947)

Escolastico died in 1902 in Sinaloa. Flora lived until 1934 and moved from Sinaloa to Nogales, Sonora.

There's more in the Mexican records on FamilySearch. Somewhere on either Escolastico or Flora's line is our connection to this group of mystery matches. I'm parking this here for now, and will pick up this path later next week.

New look to Ancestry's ThruLines tool

 

Ancestry's ThruLines for KDJ. Dec 2025.

Over the weekend, Ancestry rolled out a new interface for ThruLines, integrating DNA matches into a family tree view. You can then click on any person in the tree, expand backward on a line and see how many DNA matches Ancestry thinks are descending from a person. As an example below, when I am in my Dad's results and click on Robert Thomas Jones Sr, the image shows his children and the path for the DNA matches connected to them.

Ancestry's ThruLines.

The old ThruLines view is still an option, and I think both are useful. I also haven't tested this yet with my iPad, but I think the tree graphics might work better on a screen that I can pinch and expand easily. The new tree graphic is pretty small.

Another cool feature is if you click on an ancestor, you see a right-side profile pop-up which shows how many DNA matches you have and pulls some detail from your tree such as facts from their timeline.

Ancestry. ThruLines profile.

As others I follow have shared, it is good to see Ancestry continuing to innovate and evolve these tools, and I am looking forward to using these to make more connections.

Applications for Citizenship

An article published today in the English version of the Spanish newspaper El País indicates over 2 million descendants of Spanish exiles had applied for citizenship under the Democratic Memory Law. This shows the interest is high in descendants of Spaniards to obtain citizenship.

An earlier article from August describes how grandchildren of Spanish emigrants in Latin America are seeking to restore their citizenship and return to Spain.

Research Progress December 2025

This month has a few updates. Changes are coming in January for the various research questions I've been tracking since the previous progress report. It's also worth comparing against my research questions from a year ago.

Paternal side research

1 - Identifying the parents of Bridget, my Irish 3rd-great-grandmother. This one needs more time, but I am aiming for another extensive post by mid-month, once I'm back from international travel. Looking back at where I was a year ago with this question, it feels like I've made little progress, but I am narrowing the focus and having a specific location to target is helpful.

2 - O'Brien DNA matches. This research question is evolving from the earlier one targeting the generation of connection with the Pennsylvania O'Briens.

3 - Analyzing mtDNA connections in the maternal line path of Sarah Westall and Elizabeth Thornhill Jones. This one is pending a follow-up from test holder Lynn.

4 - Jones YDNA. Pending finding another Jones male to take a YDNA test.

5 - Guthrie DNA group project.

6 - Cleaning up the Thomas Jones and Nancy Tucker research. This one has had a lot of progress behind the scenes, working with Mary from the DAR and distant Tucker and Jones cousins. More to follow later in the month.

Maternal side research

1 - Identifying possible siblings of my 3rd-great-grandfather Gabriel Vasquez. Again, not much movement here, but I think with xDNA analysis (see number 8 below), there's an intriguing match in Argentina who may connect to this line.

2 - Working with DNA matches on the Amado side of the tree. Not much different from last month, but I think the Campuzano YDNA and autosomal result will help here once it arrives on FTDNA.

3 - Analyzing mtDNA matches in the maternal line path of Maria Jesus Vasquez. For this one I am building a spreadsheet to analyze my cousin Catherine's matches, and I think this will pay off a bit later in the month.

4 - Guerrero-Leyva mystery matches. There's some progress here as I have more information on how these people connect to each other. I still don't get the generation of connection, but it feels like it will be on one of the gaps in my Portillo side of the tree. I think this one may benefit from an expert consultation.

5 - Resolving descendancy from the daughters of John Carter (1715-1783). Pending a follow-up with the Carter Society.

6 - Identifying a direct maternal line ancestor of Mary Alice Cain Read to encourage to take a mtDNA test. Nothing new since last month.

7 - Campuzano YDNA. This one we're waiting on the results of the YDNA test for our Campuzano cousin, and perhaps in early 2026 we'll have some exciting updates.

8 - [New] xDNA analysis using FTDNA's tools. I've built a spreadsheet with all of the xDNA matches in common with my Mom and Catherine. More to do but I've set things up for after my international trip.

Over the holiday break, I may add some DNA research questions for Allison's side of the tree. These would be new queries to follow depending on testing and analysis with the existing kits we can access on Ancestry.

December in London

 

London Transport Museum. 1951.

As the calendar turns to December, I'm looking ahead to a quick stopover in London before transiting to a warmer climate in the second week of the month. There are a few places high on my list, including a visit to Old Spitalfields Market, Covent Garden, the London Transport Museum, Brick Lane and Shoreditch.