Ancestry DNA match issue

[Lisa in California]

My Wakefield ancestors (Jane, the daughter, and her siblings and their parents) arrived in America 1839 and lived in New Jersey.  She married John Ovens in 1842 in New Jersey.  They settled in Toronto, Canada c1852.  I cannot locate John between his possible baptism date to the 1840s.

Annie’s -Elizabeth Wakefield- was living with her family in the same New Jersey town at the same time.

I believe John Ovens had siblings named Alexander and Anne (I cannot verify that detail).  To my knowledge, Alexander and Anne remained in Ireland.

Perhaps John Ovens met someone in Elizabeth Wakefield’s family prior to (or during) his marriage to Jane Wakefield?  That is the only idea that I’ve come up with that could explain Annie having a Wakefield in her tree, and no Ovens, but yet be a shared match between Colleen and my family. 

Thank you again for your interest and help, 4b2. 

[4b2]

My Wakefield ancestors (Jane, the daughter, and her siblings and their parents) arrived in America 1839 and lived in New Jersey.  She married John Ovens in 1842 in New Jersey.  They settled in Toronto, Canada c1852.  I cannot locate John between his possible baptism date to the 1840s.

Annie’s -Elizabeth Wakefield- was living with her family in the same New Jersey town at the same time.

I believe John Ovens had siblings named Alexander and Anne (I cannot verify that detail).  To my knowledge, Alexander and Anne remained in Ireland.

Perhaps John Ovens met someone in Elizabeth Wakefield’s family prior to (or during) his marriage to Jane Wakefield?  That is the only idea that I’ve come up with that could explain Annie having a Wakefield in her tree, and no Ovens, but yet be a shared match between Colleen and my family. 

Thank you again for your interest and help, 4b2.

If you have a match with confirmed Ovens ancestors and then a shared match with a Wakefield ancestor of unknown connection, it makes sense that the common Wakfield's match is related to your Wakefield. At least if the confirmed Ovens match also has Wakefield ancestry.

What I do with my matches with small trees is I open the profiles for the dead-end ancestors. Press the [Search] button at the top-right near [Tools].



This will take you a search page that usually has a snippet of trees that person is in. If not select "family trees" on the left menu to go to trees.



Open the individual in a tree. You might need to look at a couple, as the trees might not have the full ancestry.

I do this for all my matches, systematically, until I find a link or if I can't see a link or where it may have slipped in via NPEs. And then I mark them as relationship found or note it as closed.

[Lisa in California]

Hi 4b2,

My mum’s uncle had the family bible (now lost).  Included in the bible was a list of Ovens names, birthdates, and mention of Co. Fermanagh, Ireland.  Also included was Jane Wakefield’s name (who married John Ovens in 1842).  Her birth was recorded as Tuam, Ireland.  I never saw the bible; I don’t know if other Wakefields were mentioned.

-At least one other RootsChatter has posted topics about the Ballinasloe, Galway Wakefields.  Ballinasloe was never mentioned in my mum’s family, only Tuam.
-Ancestry has images of a book, written by a Wakefield (published around 1900, I believe), that includes John Ovens and Jane Wakefield. [It’s been a long time since I read the book’s explanation, but I believe research was done by the author to gather facts from North American Wakefield families.]
-I have corresponded with two or three Ballinasloe Wakefield descendants (a couple are Wakefield DNA matches).
-While it is likely that our Wakefields are related, I’ve not yet found the connection.

Thank you for sharing your strategy (and posting images).  I am very technology-challenged, so your instructions are very helpful.    I will try your method tonight, when there are no interruptions.  Thank you, Lisa

Added: Over the years, I’ve posted (a number of) topics for Ovens and Wakefield.  I don’t want anyone to duplicate previous efforts and findings by RootsChatters, so this topic only pertains to the question of why a likely Wakefield match is a shared match with an Ovens descendant.   

[whoamitoday]

With regard to how a "Wakefield" family member might show as a shared match to descendants of "Ovens":
If I've understood correctly, your Mum and Colleen both descend from the couple John Ovens and Jane Wakefield. Their children would have carried BOTH of their parents DNA, i.e. their children were (genetically) equally "Ovens" and "Wakefield".
To repeat what 4b2 already said, but in a slightly different way, the DNA that connects your mother, Colleen and Annie, is likely to have been passed down from a more distant ancestor on Jane Wakefield's side, who was also an ancestor of Elizabeth Wakefield.
The good news is that this DNA link appears to support your theory that Jane and Elizabeth Wakefield were related, despite any lack of documentation to spell out the exact connection.
I don't know why Colleen doesn't show on a tree search for the Ovens name though.

[Lisa in California]

whoamitoday, I finally get it.    You and 4b2 are absolutely correct, in this case, we would all be related through Wakefields.  (How embarrassing that it took so long to sink in.)  Thank you very much for your help and comments.

I just resumed delving into my paternal Vaus branch.  When I need a break from that, I will spend time (once again) trying to find Jane Wakefield’s grandfather.  Prior to DNA testing, I found a couple of Wakefield descendants but Jane’s father just didn’t fit in with their research.  Of course, we’ve now found DNA matches with Ballinasloe Wakefields.

I just checked the Wakefield Memorial book (found on Ancestry, and I believe on the internet).  David Wakefield, who according to Colleen was her Elizabeth Wakefield’s great-grandfather, is shown as being my Jane Wakefield’s grandfather.  However, several years ago I noticed a few small errors in my Wakefield details (in the book), so I want proof before I accept the fact.

I don’t mind my original issue with Ovens not appearing when searching for it.  As a result of the issue, we found another Wakefield descendant and I have a renewed interest in this line.  Thank you all very much for your guidance and interest.  Lisa