Family Finder Gift Just Keeps Giving

Some gifts just keep giving. My Family Finder match, the one from page 51 of my match list, Family Finder finds Family Bible, has really started something. As he has shown me the way to breaking through my brick wall, I have been simultaneously exhilarated and humbled by the responses of readers on Facebook. I think my colleague from across the Atlantic, Brian Swann, hit the right note to describe my feelings when he commented, "Napoleon said the quality he prized above all in his generals was to be lucky." 

My connection with my genealogical benefactor is extremely fortuitous and also illustrates the fickleness of atDNA matches. Two of my first cousins have more significant matches with my benefactor than do I. However, for a variety of reasons which I will try to analyze later, he contacted me. 

Not only did he send me scans from the family Bible of my 2nd great-grandfather, he told me where my 3rd great-grandparents were buried. FindaGrave provided tombstone images for John, Susannah and Thomas Adams. Based on the almost identical background in each of those images and the similarity of the style of the stones, one easily could be led to assume that Thomas had a close relationship with John and Susannah even though it appears that he was more than four decades older than John. 

John Adams (1789-1849)

Susannah Adams (1792-1834)

Thomas Adams (1743-1828)

I sent a link to my recent blog post yesterday to my newly discovered third cousin -- once removed. Almost immediately I received a return email with more goodies attached. These documents seem to solidify relationships of Thomas as the patriarch of this Adams family in Madison County, John as his son and Isaac as his grandson. Previous to last month Isaac was my earliest known Adams ancestor.

Inventory of estate of John Adams conducted by Isaac Adams.

Will of Thomas Adams (page 1) which lists 4 children including John.

Will of Thomas Adams (continued - page 2)

Thank you Family Finder even if you did bury our match information 51 pages into the results. And thank you cousin for finding it anyway. Also, thanks to you and your mom for collecting and preserving these treasures. Between the information "chiseled in stone" and that is in these estate papers, I can go back even one more generation than was recorded in the family Bible.