Cine Con Cultura

A proud Dad moment with S prominently featured in this article on the Cine Con Cultura film festival that concluded last week in Ithaca, NY. The festival ran 14 Sept-21 October for Hispanic Heritage Month. 2026 marked the 12th anniversary of the film festival. She has a great quote at the end of the article, and it's super cool to see this.

In all directions

Photo by Patrick Jones. Bali. 15 Oct 2026.

 

Lucas Museum visit

Photo by Patrick Jones. Lucas Museum. 12 Oct 2026.

Earlier in the month I had a 12 hour layover in Los Angeles en route to Indonesia. I used part of the time to visit the new Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. I expected to see a lot of props and art inspired by the films of George Lucas, and came away impressed with the extensive collection of other works ranging from Rockwell to street art (Banksy, JR, etc) to comics to Frida Kahlo and more. The gardens have a growing sculpture collection, and the whole complex sits in Exposition Park next to the University of Southern California and Memorial Stadium.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Star Wars props.

Narsiso Martinez. Philosophy in the Fields.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Lucas Museum.

Back on the West Coast

As I type this I am sitting at LAX after long flights from Indonesia, with one more flight to go. I’m glad to have escaped the edge of Typhoon Champi, one of the strongest storms of 2026, as it passed by Taipei. I’ve been in Bali, Indonesia for our annual general meeting since my last post. Photos to follow separately from this return trip to Indonesia after my first visit 13 years ago.

My journey to the Pacific included a stopover visit to the new Lucas Museum for Narrative Art about 10 days ago. The Lucas Museum is super cool and that visit also deserves its own post.

There’s a lot of catching up to do. Regular posts on DNA and family history research soon.   

Java and Bali

 

Boston Public Library. 

Maternal side Ancestry Origins update 20206

AncestryDNA update 2026 for BAJ.

Compared to last year, my Mom's AncestryDNA regions only grew by one from eighteen to nineteen, but behind the numbers there's a different story. As I can see across her sisters' DNA updates and with known cousins from this side of the tree, there are some fascinating patterns underway. It's helpful to look first at the six main macro-regions:

• England 40%
• Iberian Peninsula 35%
• Indigenous Americas - Sonoran Desert & Gulf Coast 11%
• Celtic & Gaelic 9%
• Sephardic Jews in the Eastern Mediterranean 3%
• Western Europe 3%

Some groups completely disappeared: 

• Northwestern Italy (previously 5%)
• Azores (previously 4%)

In their place, Canary Islands is 3%, Portugal went up to 3% from 1%, Madeira held steady at 2%. Spain and Northern Spain both increased, and Indigenous Americas - Mexico dropped by 1% with the new name to Sonoran Desert and Gulf Coast (Mexico and USA). Canary Islands is a fascinating new addition to the regions, and it appears to show up prominently across the known cousin results from the Mexican side of the tree. New regions also appeared for Belgium and Switzerland at 1% each.

On the England results, East Midlands and Yorkshire went up to 8%, Southeastern England dropped to 14%, and new regions were added for Northern England, West Midlands (both 7%) and Devon and Somerset 3%.

Looking at Patty and Linda's results, they have 20 and 19 regions, not too different from last year. The big shifts were with Azores swapping for Canary Islands; North Africa, Indigenous Americas - Bolivia & Peru and Yucatan dropping away; new Denmark and Belgium.

Paternal side Ancestry Origins 2026

Ancestry Origins for KDJ. Oct 2026.

As with last year, I'm separating my review of the annual AncestryDNA update into several posts. Looking at my Dad's 2026 update in comparison with last year's nine regions, his results now show 21, a dramatic difference from 2024 when the results shows just four regions. His macro-regions cover the following areas for 2026:

• England 37%
• Celtic/Gaelic 35%
• Western Europe 27%
• French Canada (New) 1%

French Canada is a surprise, and yet we have a brick wall on my Dad's maternal side in my 4th-great-grandfather Asa Putnam Smith. He was born in Nova Scotia in 1783. When I look at my Dad's current maternal line journeys in common with closest matches, I see one for Montérégie, Quebec and Northern Vermont French Settlers. Very interesting.

Within the macro-regions, there's some new areas. Switzerland, not a surprise, is new at 12%. We have several documented Swiss lines on his side of the tree. Central Scotland and Northern Ireland have been split into Ulster, Ireland and Scottish Lowlands and Central Belt. North East Scotland now appears as 2% (that's John McIntosh). Dad's 5% Belgium could be the Du Trieux line. Leinster, Ireland went up from 8% to 17%. Connacht, Ireland is new at 2%. Northwestern Italy at 1% is a bit of an odd sight in his results, but perhaps proximity of this area to Switzerland accounts for some of this connection. France and Brittany are in at 1% each.

Comparing the 2026 DNA update with prior years

My AncestryDNA 2026 update.

Ancestry's 2026 DNA release is out, and while we're still waiting on Regions by Grandparent, it's time to dive into the comparison with prior years. Last year I had 11 regions, so this year's 22 regions is pretty cool. It is helpful to see how much as improved when I look back at the 2023 and 2022 updates, the new regions might be more actionable now, especially when paired with Shared Matches of Matches and seeing the regions of known cousins.

This year Ancestry is launching SideView 2.0 with the Regions by Grandparent feature. The original SideView appeared in the 2022 update.

I am disappointed some long standing trace percentages have dropped off (Nigeria, North Africa for me, our Indigenous Andes for Bolivia & Peru, Indigenous Mexico - Yucatan). In their place, the strengthened Sephardic Jews in the Eastern Mediterranean is represented equally across the kits for my Mom and her sisters. It is nice to see Spain is back in my results again (12%, plus an additional 3% Northern Spain). Madeira and Northwestern Italy have dropped away. Switzerland is new at 6%, and that makes sense as my 4th-great-grandmother Ursula Fellme was fully Swiss, and our Lamon branch descending from Rudolph Lehman was Swiss.

Indigenous Americas - Mexico is now Sonoran Desert & Gulf Coast (Mexico & USA) at 5%. While the name is new, the percentage is about the same as prior years. I had expected to see more sub-regions in Mexico across the kits I manage. Fortunately shared matches of matches allows me to see the sub-regions of known cousins. For example, my cousin Catherine has Gulf of California (Mexico), which is not surprising, and I am hoping these appear in the Regions by Grandparent feature launching soon. 

First glance, a little disappointing

AncestryDNA. Journeys, Sonora & Southern Arizona.

At first glance, I'm a bit disappointed with the 2026 AncestryDNA update. For months this has been hyped as a big improvement for those with ancestry from Mexico and the Americas. Above is a screenshot from my Mom's Journeys for Sonora and Southern Arizona, unchanged since 2025. Knowing what I know about the Mexican branches of the tree, and our extended Chilean branches from my 3rd-great-grandfather Gabriel Vasquez, I was really expecting an explosion of new sub-regions for Mexico and the Americas. So far, there's only one, and it looks like the image below. :(

Ancestry. 2026 DNA Update for Sonoran Desert & Gulf Coast.

Yeah. This is something...perhaps there are more updates coming. Or the still pending Regions by Grandparent will give more insight. For someone with a long and deep detailed Mexican heritage with records, I expected a bit more. And so far, Chile and Indigenous Americas - Andes has dropped away for our 2026 update, which is really disappointing.

There are some positives...but only because I have Shared Matches of Matches with ProTools and can see known cousins I've already documented how they connect with our lines. I can see their updated DNA regions, and can see some patterns not obvious if I was only looking at my results. So my usual snap DNA analysis of the DNA changes is taking a bit longer. There's a lot more data to consider for the kits I manage, and a lot of nuance in the differences. Some new regions for 2026 directly relate to my current research questions. The Canary Islands were already on my travel bucket list and now more so. 

I will have a few more posts on the 2026 update before travel demands take over and I'll be catching up later in the month.

Coming soon: Ancestry regions by grandparent

AncestryDNA. 2026 update.

Ancestry is in the process of rolling out the 2026 DNA update. I'll have a separate in-depth post looking at the changes across the kits I manage. In the meantime, a new feature I'm still waiting to receive is regions by grandparent. When I click on the image above, I see my updated 2026 regions divided by parents, with a green box for "Coming Soon: Regions by Grandparent".

I was really hyped for the potential of the 2026 regions update. Looking at the data, I have mixed feelings. I've lost some small percentages for regions that I've had for a while. Some old areas that had disappeared for me are now back, and a few new regional surprises. I now have the benefit of comparing the changes across a bigger set and with shared matches, and some of the lost regions still appear in these cousins. 

Anticipation

Ancestry's 2026 DNA update drops tomorrow. I'm very curious to see what changes, how the update differs from previous versions, and compares with similar results on 23&Me. 

A few areas I'll be looking closely into:

• SideView 2.0
• Journeys by grandparent
• Improved regions for Mexico and the Americas 

RootsTech 2027 session summaries

Summary descriptions of 276 class sessions for RootsTech 2027 are available on the RootsTech website. The page says the list changes frequently and attendees may be able to plan schedules for sessions to watch in January 2027.

From the initial descriptions, there are many that jump out, so I'll need to prioritize those I can see live vs watch later.

A complicated genetic map

When I last looked at the Guerrero-Leyva connections in January, I considered the possibility this mystery branch could be connected through Alejandro Portillo, a half-brother or potentially a full brother of my 2nd-great-grandfather Manuel Portillo. Using the approach from successfully knocking down the brick wall on Bridget Gannon, I've been building a genetic map for the Portillo side and chromosome mapping on DNAPainter.

There are potential multiple relationships, previously missed half-relationships and some gaps in the records that require careful attention. I need to look again at Escolastico Leyva and Flora Escovar in the records, and for additional DNA matches descending from them. There's also some new to me options on Gedmatch for a couple of matches to the Guerrero-Leyvas, Portillo and Diaz sides.

Research Progress October 2026

September included a rare mid-month research progress update with the findings of the likely parents of my 4th-great-grandfather William Free, the DNA breakthroughs on the Free line, and additional paper trail discoveries on Nicholas and Caty Free in Pittsylvania County, Virginia. 

A big focus for September was continuing with the DNA Skills workshop, which is wrapping up in the next two weeks. I've been really pleased with the format, the coaching and tools provided by the YourDNAGuide team. It's been worth it. I can honestly say I would not have been able to work through the brick wall challenges on my Dad's side to discover the parents of Bridget Gannon, or the bonus work on the parents of William Free on my Mom's side. I'm looking forward to putting these improved skills to work on the Guerrero-Leyva matches in October and November.

My Paternal Side

I'm continuing to build out trees for matches connected to the Gannons and Hanleys, particularly those Australian and New Zealand matches who tie back to Bridget's Roscommon roots. I'm also adding to the chromosome mapping and have a status update on that work coming up.

Also on my Dad's side of the tree, I'm attempting to identify the parents of my 4th-great-grandfather Thomas Green, using the same approach that worked on my Mom's side for William Free's parents. A longer term project is to find additional testers for my Jones YDNA. Both questions may pick up more in December.

My Maternal Side

It's time to return to some of the questions I was working in June:

1. Portillo DNA matches & the Guerrero-Leyva matches
2. Amado DNA matches and building a genetic map for the Amado side of the tree
3. Campuzano YDNA

Exploring Ancestry's 2026 DNA Update

The AncestryDNA 2026 update will heavily feature in my posts, including observations on changes in my ancestral origins for my kit and the ones I manage, SideView 2.0 and journeys by grandparents, and other discoveries. Mark your calendar for 8 October if you have DNA results with Ancestry. There's a lot of amazing information I'm anticipating to see in the 2026 update.

On the map

Derrymoylin townland. IrishRoots.ie.

The map above overlaps one I shared last month for the parish of Termonbarry, Roscommon. The townland of Derrymoylin was home to the Dooner family before they left Ireland for America. We don't know for certain when Patrick and Bridget Dooner made the journey from Roscommon to Ireland, but they were in La Salle in 1849, when Patrick, his two sons Hugh and John, and Patrick's father Hugh died from cholera. Patrick's brother Owen was in La Salle at least by 1846. This gives another area to mine for information about Bridget before her departure for a new life. The location is close to Strokestown Park and the Irish National Famine Museum.

Bali Sunrise

 

Photo by Patrick Jones. Bali, 25 Oct 2013.

This sunrise photo of a fisherman and child I've shared before, after returning from a conference in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia in October 2013. In a few weeks I'll be back in the same spot, as our October meeting will be there.

2026 Ancestry Origins Coming Soon

Ancestry Blog. 24 Sept 2026.

Ancestry teased the upcoming release of the 2026 AncestryDNA update in a blog published earlier today. The update includes SideView 2.0, a larger reference panel, and new region assignment algorithm. There will be new regional and cultural specificity for Mexico and Central America, which is very exciting for my Mom's side of the tree. There may also be ancestral journeys by grandparents included in the release.

The new update is likely to launch in early October, perhaps in the next two weeks.

RootsTech 2027 registration is open

Registration is now open for RootsTech 2027, the world's largest family history conference. RootsTech will be at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, 4-6 March 2027. Online registration is free! In person registration is $99 for a three day pass or $69 a day for individual days. While I wasn't selected as a speaker for RootsTech, I'll be going in person.

From past experience and knowing how schedules for large events come together, it will be a few months before the session schedule is released. Even if you follow online, there's always a ton of great talks and new information. For those going in person (see my posts from RootsTech 2025, here and here), RootsTech is an amazing event. 

What's in a Name

A helpful new video on YouTube from the International Institute of Genealogical Studies titled Irish Research: What's in a Name by Samantha John. The video is 22 minutes long, and provides some practical guidance on dealing with name changes across Irish, English and Latin in researching families in Ireland. I'm finding these tips really useful as I continue the dive through the Irish records on my branches in Roscommon and Longford. 

DNA in the news: History by a Hair

There's a new book out today on the DNA analysis of Thomas Jefferson's hair, definitively linking him to the children of his slave, Sally Hemings. The book is called History by a Hair, from Smithsonian scholar Richard Kurin. See this article in the New Yorker (21 Sept 2026) titled the Lost Descendants of Thomas Jefferson, and this one from NPR today.

The connection between Jefferson and Hemings is not new, going back to when Jefferson was alive. I am interested in the genetics, DNA analysis, and the subject is timely and fascinating.  

From the Rockville Charitable Loans, 1840

Ancestry. Rockville Charitable Loans. Ireland. 1840.

The image above comes from the Ireland, Sustainability Loan Fund, 1812-1868 file (Rockville Security Notebook 1838-1842). Either this shows my 3rd-great-grandmother Bridget Gannon, borrowing 3 pounds in September 1840, or her aunt Bridget Hanley Gannon. The first security is Daniel Dominic Gannon, Bridget's father (or if this is for Bridget Hanley Gannon, her brother-in-law). Bridget would have been 16 then. A young, unmarried woman could borrow in her name during this time, but the loan needed to be for an income generating purpose, such as buying a spinning wheel, flax, wool, or hens or a pig to raise for market.

If the borrower was Bridget Hanley Gannon, she was a sister of Maria Hanley (my 4th-great-grandmother), who married Daniel's brother Michael Gannon in Roscommon on 25 February 1824.

The Rockville Charitable Loans was one of many Irish loan funds established to provide micro-credit loans. Roscommon is one of the key counties covered by the fund. 

According to the Internet, £3 in 1840 could have bought the following:

• A milk cow
• A pig
• A few sheep
• Raw wool, flax for spinning and weaving to sell
• Rent on a small plot of land
• Passage to North America

Daniel appears in the Rockville loan notebook as a security grantor throughout this 1837-1845 period, and received several loans himself.

I do not know which year Bridget arrived in America, or her port of entry. This advertisement from 1841 shows a £3 fare for steerage from Liverpool to New York.

Drogehda Argus, 3 Apr 1841.

Mary Polly and George

I previously wrote about Mary Polly Free, daughter of Nicholas Free, who married George Miller in Adair County, Kentucky on 22 November 1819. George and Polly moved to Illinois, and can be seen in the 1840 and 1850 US Census in Menard County, north of Springfield in the central part of the state.

Ancestry. 1850 US Census. Menard County, IL.

George died about October 1857, and Polly can be seen as the executor of his estate in the Menard County records via FamilySearch Full Text Search.

FamilySearch. Menard County, IL. 24 Nov 1857.

Polly appears in the 1860 and 1870 US Census in Menard County, and there are several records on the family in Menard County records on FamilySearch. According to this entry on Findagrave, Mary Polly Free Miller died on 22 August 1878 in Menard County and is buried in the family cemetery.

Our DNA matches from the Miller line descend from three of Polly's sons - Alfred, Robert and Lemuel. I am not certain if Polly was a full or half sister of William, but these DNA matches are quite small.

I believe Polly, Milly and George Free were children from an earlier marriage of Nicholas Free, half-siblings with William.

From the Robert Wilson Account Books

A key primary source collection for understanding daily life in Pittsylvania County, Virginia in the 1790s to early 1800s comes from the Robert Wilson Account Books. Three generations of Wilsons, starting with Col. John Wilson (1740-1820), kept business records from their general store at Dan's Hill (later Danville, Virginia). The general store was the primary commercial hub for the area in this time, acting as store, bank, craft workshop and community crossroads.

The collection is located at the University of North Carolina and searchable on FamilySearch, containing 80 volumes of daybooks, ledgers and shop accounts. Nicholas Free appears throughout the ledgers, and some examples are below, such as a November 1811 purchase of spectacles and a case.

FamilySearch. 4 Nov 1811.

In 1805, it looks like Nicholas sold John Wilson tobacco for the Danville store.

FamilySearch. 7 Dec 1805.

In June 1816, Wilson made three payments to Nicholas from cash for rent, again a payment in December 1816, and one in June 1817. It is unclear to me if this was cash to Nicholas so he could pay rent, or the other way around. Nicholas bought ginger in August 1816.

In May 1817, it looks like Nicholas sold Wilson a barrel of corn and two bushels of wheat.

FamilySearch. 24 May 1817.

FamilySearch. 3 Nov 1817.

On 3 November 1817, Nicholas sold a steer of beef for the store. 

Nicholas in Pittsylvania County

FamilySearch. Pittsylvania County, VA. 25 Nov 1814.

The record above was found using FamilySearch Full Text Search, showing Nicholas and Caty Free conveying 100 acres of land in November 1814. Directly above this notation mentioning Caty, is a signature mark by Nicholas. The following page shows Caty was acknowledged as the wife of Nicholas

FamilySearch. Pittsylvania County, VA.

Nicholas appears in a variety of Pittsylvania records from as early as 1796, including tax records, court records appointing him as part of a land surveyor group (1804) and responsible for roads, jury service (1803), laboring tithes and land transfers.

In 1810, he is shown with taxable property in the South District of Pittsylvania as Nicholas Free and son.

FamilySearch. Pittsylvania, VA. 1810 tax record.

Based on the headings from earlier pages (shown above), Nicholas had one son of 16 years in the household in 1810, and was taxed on owning one horse. He had no slaves.

In June 1811, Nicholas Free is listed in the Camden Parish records for the Episcopal Church in Pittsylvania County as keeping the "bastard child of Elizabeth Nelson, named Joel Nelson".

There is no marriage record for Nicholas to Caty (or Catherine), but it's possible they were married after 1811, before the 1814 entry shown at the top of the post.

On 7 November 1810, Nicholas signed a marriage bond for daughter Milly to Anguish Shaw.

FamilySearch. Pittsylvania County, VA.

My Mom and her sisters have at least 50 DNA matches descending from Milly.

A path from Virginia to Kentucky

Google Maps. Pittsylvania County, VA to Adair County, KY.

In January 1819, Nicholas Free might have made the journey from Pittsylvania County, Virginia to the developing lands of Adair County, Kentucky, along the Crocus Creek tributary of the Cumberland River. By 1819, the main route west through the mountains was well established, but at 400-450 miles it was still an arduous overland trek potentially through mud, ice, snow and freezing river crossings. This may have been a three to five week journey.

Traveling from Pittsylvania County, Nicholas and companions would have followed early local wagon trails to Big Lick (modern day Roanoke), then picking up the great wagon road heading southwest into the Great Valley of Virginia. He would have continued along the road to Abingdon, continuing into East Tennessee (the stomping grounds of my Jones family line).

LOC.gov. Abraham Bradley's 1812-1821 Post Road map.

LOC.gov. 

By this time those moving to south-central Kentucky continued on trails following along the Cumberland River.

Nicholas and family settled on a corner of Adair County, along the Crocus Creek, which later became part of Russell County, Kentucky in 1825. The copy isn't great, but the 1861 Metcalfe County marriage entry for my 3rd-great-grandmother Martha Jane Free lists her father William's birthplace as Russell County.

Ancestry. Metcalfe County, KY. 27 June 1861.

How do I know Nicholas Free came from Pittsylvania County, Virginia? I'll pick this up in the next post, thanks once again to FamilySearch Full Text Search.
 

Thrulines for Nicholas Free

Ancestry. Thrulines.

With a current hypothesis that Nicholas Free is the father of William Free, I've put this into Ancestry's Thrulines tool to see what it shows for DNA matches descending from Nicholas. There are definitely DNA matches to explore. Some of these I stumbled across while doing the hard work of digging through my network of matches descending from William Matthews and Martha Jane Free, separating off the Matthews side from the Free side, and then looking for "leftovers" or ungrouped matches who might point to the parents of William Free.

These people are low matches, in the 4th to 5th cousin range, sharing small centimorgans with my Mom and her sisters. Due to multiple relationships and endogamy among the population of settlers in this part of Kentucky and colonial Virginia, there are additional challenges and there are a lot of overlaps with the Gibson and Flatt families in Adair, Barren and Metcalfe counties.

Additional complications include:

• The 50 acres patented by Nicholas Free in 1819 in Adair County became part of Russell County when it was formed in 1825.
• There does not appear to be an estate record formally acknowledging the land transfer from Nicholas to Caty and George, but the Adair County tax records seem to indicate that happened.
• There's no guardian record in Adair or Russell County as far as I can tell, naming William after the death of Nicholas around 1822.
• William does not appear in George Free's household in 1830 or 1840.
• William is in the 1845 and 1847 Barren County tax records for his own household.
• There's no marriage record for William Free and Nancy Clark from about 1841-1842, but William does appear on the 1842 Barren County tax record.
• William's son, William Jacob Free, did not have children, so there's no possible YDNA testers to test descending from his line. I am not sure if male direct descendants of George Free exist for YDNA testing either.

This brings me back to Mary Polly Free and Milly Free, sisters (or more likely half-sisters) of William. There are at least 57 DNA matches or more descending from them, giving me some confidence I'm on the right track in pursuing Nicholas Free.

In the Adair County Tax Records

FamilySearch. Adair County, KY. 1824.

The image above shows an 1824 tax record in Adair County, Kentucky for Caty Free on 50 acres, originally patented by N. Free. She had two horses. Further down the page is an entry for George Free, who was at least 21 years old then.

In February 1819, Nicholas Free patented 50 acres of land in Adair County. He appears on the Adair County tax list for 1819 (on FamilySearch see entry) with two horses.

Nicholas appears in the 1820 US Census in Adair County, as seen below, and on the Adair tax list (see on FamilySearch here).

Ancestry. 1820 US Census. Adair County, KY.

Reading the tick marks on the entry can be a bit of a challenge, but I believe it shows Nicholas in his household as a male over 45, and with a male child between 10-16, a daughter under 10, another female in the household between 16-26, and two over 45.

George Miller and Polly Free were married in Adair County on 22 November 1819. I'll be returning to this couple in another post. I think Polly was a daughter of Nicholas Free, and I'm seeing some DNA matches descending from her.

I think Nicholas died before 1824, possibly 1822. George Free is listed on the 50 acres of land in the 14th District of Adair in 1822, but not Nicholas. George is shown with 3 horses. In 1823, Catherine Free appears on the 50 acres of land with two horses.

George and Catherine Free appear on the Russell County, Kentucky tax record for 1829. Catherine's name appears for 50 acres originally patented by N. Free on Sand Lick Creek. I think George is a son of Nicholas Free, and Catherine is Nicholas' widow. By 1837, George Free is associated with the 50 acre plot in Russell County.

In the 1830 US Census in Russell County, George Free and family are living with a woman who was between 60 and 70, this is probably Catherine. She is not listed in George's household in the 1840 US Census.

I'm not certain yet that Nicholas Free was the father of William, but I'm leaning in that direction. There are several interesting DNA matches to consider, and I'll take that up in another post.

An overlap in journeys

AncestryDNA. 

Earlier in the month I had a post on my Dad's Ancestral Journeys showing Central Ireland. Above is an image from a portion of my Mom's Ancestral Journeys showing an overlap in Kentucky. In particular I'm looking at Barren to Adair and Upper Cumberland County, Kentucky Settlers; Eastern Pennyroyal Settlers; Upper Cumberland Plateau Settlers; and Southern Midwestern Settlers.

There's a big group of family lines who settled in these areas, but for the current research I'm looking at the Free family. The paper trail shows the family moving to Adair County, Kentucky in 1819, and in tax and land records in Adair, Barren, Metcalfe and Russell Counties. Some related lines were also in Cumberland County, Kentucky.

Mid-month Progress

I don't usually have a mid-month research progress post, but this month the updates are hitting quickly. I've had another expert consultation through YourDNAGuide as part of the DNA Skills Workshop, and I'm pleased to see I'm very much on target with my hypothesis around the parents of Bridget Gannon. I have some good next steps for strengthening this case further, including a dive toward the present on the siblings of Bridget. Until recently I had no idea Bridget had siblings, but it looks like she did. This may give some new DNA matches to explore.

Looking into the parents of my 4th-great-grandfather William Free, using my Mom's DNA results, I may have found his parents through a combination of analyzing DNA matches and doing the genealogy. This needs some careful review, but the suggestion looks very promising so far. Signs point to Milly Free as a sister or half-sister of William.

It may be time again to pick up the search on the Guerrero-Leyva branch to the Portillos, now that I have some new skills in the genetic toolkit.

I'm continuing to add to the chromosome mapping on DNAPainter, so a longer recap is coming on where things stand across my kit, my Mom's and Dad's.

Finally, any day now through the rest of September into mid October, Ancestry will be rolling out the 2026 update to their DNA results, promising more refined ancestral journeys, new regions, and potentially regions by grandparent. As always, it will be fascinating to compare the changes over time with prior AncestryDNA updates.

Hispanic Heritage Month 2026

LACMA. Photo from 9 Aug 2026.

Hispanic Heritage Month runs from 15 September to 15 October each year. Most years I have a post associated with my connection to the culture (see 15 Sept 2025). This year I'm highlighting two art pieces that are near each other at the new David Geffen Galleries at LACMA, one a painting of an indigenous woman with marigolds from 1876, and a photo by George Rodriguez titled Boyle Heights from 1970.

George Rodriguez. Boyle Heights, 1970.

There's a strong juxtaposition between the two even though these are not placed in the same room in the museum, these are near enough, and my mind instantly linked the two. The painting depicts a pregnant indigenous woman, perhaps not unlike an early ancestor from the colonial period, and in the photo, the woman is wearing bullets next to a Viva La Raza poster. I see the photo, and my mind goes to Liga Protectora Latina, the organization my 2nd-great-grandfather Vicente Campuzano was part of in 1915. I'd like to think the girl in the photo is a two or three times great-granddaughter of the woman in the painting. They are not, but seeing the two closely sets up Hispanic Heritage Month.

Lucy

Ancestry. Kentucky Marriages. Barren County, KY. 1847.

In June 1847, a younger sister of Nancy Hayden Clark Free, Lucy Ann Clark, married James Shaw in Barren County, Kentucky. Lucy and James moved to neighboring Metcalfe County by 1860, appearing in East Fork, the same district where William Free and older sister Nancy were living. James' mother was Milly Free.

I have not yet determined the connection between William and Milly, but it seems like this could be more than a coincidence.

In my Mom's DNA matches, there's an 18 cM match whose 3xgreat-grandfather was a brother of James Shaw, descending from Milly. There are two siblings, one a 25 cM match, the other 14 cM, who also descend from Milly. There's a bit of work to do in order to determine if Milly and William Free are siblings or cousins.

Next Steps on the Free Family

I am attempting to identify the parents of William Free, my 4th-great-grandfather, using my Mom's DNA matches on the various platforms. I had previously built a network of Matthews-Free matches descending from my 3rd-great-grandparents William Matthews and Martha Jane Free. A complication in looking for descendants of William Free and Nancy Hayden Clark, among their four children, only Martha Jane had children of her own. In order to separate out the matches who may descend from William's parents, I need to peel off all the Matthews matches from the Clark-Hensley matches. This should leave "leftovers" who descend from the families of William's parents.

This approach worked well to identify the parents of Bridget on my Dad's Irish side, so I'm attempting a similar method on my Mom's side of the tree, one generation back. Another challenge is the presence of multiple relationships and endogamy among these Kentucky-Virginia settlers. I can clearly see overlaps among my Mom's Whitley/Wheatley, Read/Cain/Gibson and Matthews branches.

Among the groups I'm building on Ancestry, there already over 1100 matches in the Matthews-Free group. I'm in the process of building out the Clark-Hensley group, and then need to separate off the Matthews side from the Free side. I am hoping to have another update later in the week on separating these groups and working with the mystery matches who might point to the Free network.

Rountree v Free

FamilySearch. Warren County, KY. 1 Nov 1900.

After the death of William Free, Pleasant P. Rountree brought a suit against William's heirs, Nancy Hayden Free (my 4th-great-grandmother), his daughter Elizabeth Clark Martin, and my 3rd-great-grandmother Martha Jane Free Matthews. Rountree later added to the lawsuit William Jacob Free, son of William and Nancy.

Rountree claimed William Free purchased a plot of 32 acres of land in Warren County from him in August 1879, and agreed to pay a promissory note over the years for the land. The heirs of William challenged the suit, denying the claims from Rountree.

It looks like the court ruled in favor of Rountree, and the property was sold in 1904 for $300.

William and Nancy

Before diving into the Warren County, Kentucky Court case involving my 4th-great-grandparents, William Free and Nancy Hayden Clark Free, I need to step back and properly introduce William and Nancy. William is currently a brick wall, I do not know his parents or where he came from in Kentucky. I do not have a marriage record for William and Nancy, but I do have the names of their children, and US Census entries in 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880 for William and Nancy together. Let's start there.

In the 1850 US Census, William and Nancy appear in Division 2, Barren County, Kentucky, living two houses down from Nancy's parents Jonathan and Martha Clark. My 3rd-great-grandmother Martha Jane Free is listed in the household with her older sister Elizabeth C. Free.

Ancestry. 1850 US Census. Barren County, KY.

By 1860, the family had moved to neighboring Metcalfe County with Nancy's mother, Martha Patsy Clark, and added a son, William Jacob Free.

Ancestry. 1860 US Census. Metcalfe County, KY.

Martha Jane married William Matthews on 27 June 1861 in Metcalfe County. My recap on the family of William and Martha Jane is here from 2017. The marriage entry lists Martha's parents as born in Russell County, Kentucky (for William Free) and Virginia (for Nancy). 

In the 1870 US Census, William Free, Nancy and son William appear in Glasgow, Barren County, Kentucky. Nancy is listed as cannot read or write.

Ancestry. 1870 US Census. Barren County, KY.

By 1880, the family is shown in Roseville, Barren County, Kentucky. The 1880 entry states William's father was born in Kentucky and mother in Virginia, so those are leads to pursue on another search.

Ancestry. 1880 US Census. Barren County, KY.

This exhausts the census records for William, who died before 16 June 1900. Nancy appears as a widow in the 1900 US Census in Elk Spring, Warren County, Kentucky, living with her daughter Elizabeth.

Ancestry. 1900 US Census. Warren County, KY.

The census entries provide some hints of where to look next using FamilySearch Full Text Search, for records involving William and Nancy in Barren, Metcalfe and Warren County, Kentucky.

Another source of information on William and Nancy may be found in the Civil War pension files. It looks like William H. Free enlisted in the Union Army, 15th Kentucky Cavalry. There is a pension card on Fold3, and another on Ancestry listing Nancy with a widow's pension file number.

Fold3. US Civil War pensions index.

Ancestry. General index to pension files.