The following story was among the papers sent to my by my cousin-in-law in Freetown, IN, Phyllis Loper.

After a most pleasant reunion of the SMITH-WHEELER families at Freetown on Sunday, Jul 27, at which it was stated during the program given in the afternoon, that the president J.[ames] B.[laine] Smith in company with Robert Smith would take a day off in which a search would be made to locate the burial place of some of our ancestors, particularly that of Isaac (?) Smith, great-grandfather of the two undertaking the search.

The search embraced cemeteries in two counties, and an interview with Mr. Levi Bridgewaters at his residence in Bartholomew county. The trip was made on July 29, 1941.

It was a warm day, and we found Mr. Bridgewaters, a hale old gentleman of seventy-eight years, sitting on the front porch of his residence in old Mt. Healthy. When in conversation with him we complimented him on his apparent health of mind and body, he commented that it was a simple matter with him as had access to “The Fountain of Youth” – in fact was the owner of it. When we expressed an interest in this heretofore mythical fountain, he led us a short distance to the foot of the hill on the road to Columbus where was a cement house in which was a pump that yielded an excellent mineral water of which we drank freely.

Mr. Bridgewaters is an affable gentleman, free to answer our questions, and to volunteer information concerning our family, some of which surprised us very much as it was not known before. Mr. B was speaking from the vantage point of being the grandson of Joseph Bridgewaters, the second husband [of] great-grandmother Smith whose first husband was our great-grandfather, whose name [was] supposed to be “Isaac” Smith. To establish the certainty that “Isaac” was his christian name was one of the objects of our search.

In answer to the first question[1], he stated that the maiden name of our great-grandmother was Nancy White. He then volunteered the statement that she had a sister “Ibby” White, who married James White. (When asked whether this was “Kentucky Jim” of whom I had heard my father, James W. Smith speak, he was unable to say.) One of the sons born to Ibby and James White, he stated, was Coleman White; that this Coleman White married Mary (Polly) Smith, his cousin[2]. He stated that Great-Grandmother Smith-Bridgewaters was buried in a burying ground at Buffalo, Brown Co. which statement proved to be erroneous[3]. He stated that one of her sons, Isaac Smith[4], was killed in the Civil War; that Belle (White) Smith [5], his widow, married one Sam Kline[6]. (I have spelled the name phonetically: it may be [spelled] quite differently.) He also stated that our great-uncle, Thomas Smith, married in Brown County, a daughter of William Holmes[7]. Another statement was that Joseph Marion Smith, who was a son of Great-Uncle William Smith[8], married a Miss Romine, daughter of Steve Romine. He said, “I lived for a time in J. Marion Smith’s home near Arcola, Ill., and near Tuscola, Ill.”

[1] a written note on the document I have says “This is where the “White” get started, alluding to the incorrectly dispersed name of Nancy Hendricks Smith Bridgewater[s].
[2] I believe the kinship is via the Coonrod Hendricks m. Julia Ann Rice family. Need to prove it out.
[3] In hindsight, Mr. Levi Bridgewaters was spot on. I will omit the details why until the end of the story.
[4] Isaac Smith “Jr.” died after 1863.
[5] Isabell White married Isaac Smith “Jr.” 9 Oct 1858.
[6] Per her obit, a daughter of “Mrs. Isabell Cline” married John Goley. Her son James T. Smith lived in Sanford, IL.
[7] Thomas J. Smith married Catherine Holmes. Thomas Smith and Thomas Hill were among the first Smiths to migrate to southern Illinois.
[8] I’m not sure who this was. William B. Smith, brother to James W. and Isaac S. Smith, married Sarah Adaline Spurgeon. Samuel R. Smith did have a brother William, however. He married an Elizabeth White 20 Jun 1830 in Lawrence Co, IN. I’m not sure what family is being discussed here.

The statement by Mr. Bridgewater that both surprised and enchanted us was that Isaac and Nancy Smith had a daughter named Elizabeth, who became the child wife of Frederick Waggoner; that Elizabeth died at the age of seventeen, leaving a daughter, Judy Ann, who married Isaac Jones. Neither Cousin Jim [9] nor I had known that we possessed this great aunt and this cousin (cousin, once removed).

[9] James B. Smith, son of Isaac S. Smith, son of Samuel R. Smith

When in almost midafternoon, we had thanked Mr. Bridgewaters for his courtesy and bidden him good-bye, Cousin James drove to the Christianburg Cemetery, the cemetery in which he had expressed himself as being most confident great-grandfather’s grave would be found, if found at all. But a careful search did not reveal it. In this cemetery, however, we viewed a rather large monument marked: -Daniel Webseter Berry – 1859 – 1921; Sarah Adaline Berry – 1860 – 1925. (Also we noted one: Amos W. Carmichael – 1832 – 1907. and Peter Greathouse – 1837 – 1906). From here we drove to Buffalo Cemetery, a cemetery overgrown with weeds and briers. Here we noted a gravestone: -Mary, wife of W.B. Holmes, Died Mch, 1, 1852, age 38 years. Also in the graveyard was a tombstone, Marked, Martha A. Holmes, Died 1832.

In rather drooping spirits, we drove to the Urmy (?) cemetery, or Lutes Cemetery as it is not generally called, which we regarded as a forlorn hope.

But the “hope that springs eternal,” urged us on. We had entered this somewhat unkempt “city of the dead,” from the west, and had gone only a few paces into it, when Cousin Jim, stooping low before a native sandstone grave marker, called me. With pencil and note-book in hand, I was soon stooping with him, my gaze directed with his through the parted weeds before the stone. There, legibly scratched on the stone were the words: –

IN MEMERY
OF
IAASC SMITH
DIED 1852.

The crude lettering and the evidence illiteracy of the one whose hand had traced the record [did not disturb the] but expressed my incredulity in the words: “Maybe this is not the grave of our ancestor after all; there are so many Smiths.” But Cousin Jim did not manifest any doubts; he was exultant; and my skepticism was joyously dispelled when on a near-by stone – a marble slab – the product of one adept in such work – we read:-

NANCY
Wife of
ISAAC SMITH
and of JOSEPH BRIDGEWATERS
Died
Dec. 10, 1876, Aged
82 years, 11 mos., 13 da.

And in confirmation of what Mr. Bridgewaters had told us, we read on another tombstone: –

ELIZABETH
Consort of
FREDERIC WAGGONER
Who died Dec. 24, 1845
In her 17th Year.

A little farther away was a rather neat stone marked: –

JUDY ANN JONES
Daughter of
F&E WAGGONER [Frederic and Elizabeth]
Born 1845 – Died 1868
Aged 23 years.

Near Judy Ann’s grave was Isaac Jones’s grave with a stone marked: –

ISAAC JONES
Born
June 15, 1832
Died
Dec.12, 1895.

The story of Elizabeth Smith Waggoner as told by Mr. Bridgewaters concerning Elizabeth Smith Waggoner, and her daughter, Judy Ann, was corroborated by Mrs. Lafe McKain, who being a half-sister of Judy Ann, could dwell upon and enlarge the story. She related that Judy Ann’s marriage to Mr. Jones was an unhappy union that resulted in her death at the age of twenty-three; that afterwards Jones married Miss Mahala Miller.

The following day, July 30, Cousin James and I made another trip to the Lutes Cemetery, this time having a camera with which [I] took some snapshots in the cemetery. On this visit, we noted a stone that was marked: –

Elizabeth Smith
wife of
William Smith
Born June 30, 1808
Died Jan. 14, 1846

And another marble slab that had falled down was marked: –

Abram Smith
Born
Apr. 19, 1837
Died
June 23, 1862

Directly after my arrival at Freetown, a few days before the Smith-Wheeler Family Reunion, on July 27, I heard the story that “Little Jim”, as he was familiarly spoken of to distinguish him from another “James” in the family, had met death by his own hand, more than a decade ago at his place of residence in Illinois. Mrs. Cora George, widow of Cousin A. Jeff. George, told the story as told to her by a Mrs. Greathouse who lives on the creed on State Route 135, south of the White Schoolhouse. As Cousin Jim and I were on our return home from the trip to the cemeteries on July 29, 1941, we stopped at the Greathouse home, to find Mrs. [?] at the back of the house with a milk pail in her hand, it being evening chore time. When interrogated about the story, she repeated the story as Mrs. George had related it, which was that “Little Jim” lived near them in the country near Stanford, Ill., and that the community was stirred by the tragedy of his killing his wife while she slept and then killing himself. I think she said a revolver was used. He left a note, Mrs. G said, explaining that he killed his wife because he did not wish her ever to be in want. This was about the year 1932 Mrs. G. thought; and she also said that “Little Jim” had come there from Warren County, Ind.

Not only the foregoing story, but much more of what I learned was a revelation to me and there is much more to be revealed. Even those from whom we sought information, who kindly gave us much, can no doubt give more. The mind becomes pregnant with interrogations. Where was Isaac Smith, our oldest known ancestor born and his sire? Someone told me many years ago that the Smiths were immigrants from the South. I shall not cease diligently to search for historical facts regarding out Smith ancestors. It may be that a professional in tracing genealogies might now be profitably employed, if that be within our means. As long as I live, I shall not be satisfied with the meager knowledge we have of the origin of our branch of the Smiths. It freezes one’s soul to think of the record as forever sealed.

As we stood beside the graves of our people, in the silence of those eternal Salt Creek hills, we thought of the lines of the immortal Elegy in a Country Graveyard –

Oft did the harvest to their sickle yield.
Their furrow oft the stubborn glebe has broke;
How jocund did they drive their teams afield;
How bowed the woods beneath their sturdy stroke;

And looking on the crude but venerated stone at Grandfather’s grave, this from the same elegy, came, –

Their name, their years, spelt by th’ unlettered Muse,
The place of fame and elegy supply:
And many a holy text around she strews,
That teach the rustic moralist to die.

When again the Smith-Wheeler Reunion is held back in the homeland – the 1942 meeting being planned for Cami, Ill. – Cousin Jim and I have in mind as part of the program , a Pilgrimage, – a motorcade – to the Lutes Cemetery where is the grave of our oldest Smith ancestor and a number of our other relatives.

– By R. M. Smith

P.S. I am enclosing a snapshot of Grandfather’s gravestone and one- Elizabeth Smith Waggoner’s
– R. M. S.

P.S. 2nd . Uncle Hiram, you may find some glaring lack of knowledge of the family in this account, but it was a great satisfaction to me to get my mind straightened out on some things, that may seem simply to you. As Mrs. L. McKain said, “I knew where those graves were, and about most of what you have learned, all this time”, may be so with you. But I had not known them. Jim, however, was of the opinion Mrs. McKain knew only “after he had told her.” If there is anything you would like to add in the way of information I would be glad to have it. I mean to go ahead till I know all that I can learn about the family and complete the genealogy if possible. -R.

This post may strike a dissonant chord with the companies and groups that I am going to mention, but I feel that the state of the volunteer yDNA research projects, as handled by FamilyTreeDNA, has gotten out of hand. The issues do not stem from the surname project admins (though I have found one to be of specific concern), but rather the information provided by the yDNA testers who join the projects.

Further, it is not all of the participants who are the issue, only those who make unsubstantiated claims of having identified yDNA that originates from a person from very far back in history that gave rise to large populations.

When one takes a yDNA test at FamilyTreeDNA, an option is provided to document your earliest documented ancestor on your male line:

Here we see that, if so desired, anyone can enter anything in these fields.

Motivation to make this post partly came from the recent discovery of kit “364732”.

They appear to make a claim of being descended from the “Butlers of Ormond”. On their part, I know this is not a true statement.

A quick search of Google yields that the person who manages this kit has published this claim in nearly every surname project at FamilyTreeDNA.

It should be very obvious the damage a situation like this can do to the genetic genealogical research efforts.

From what I know about the story behind “364732”, they do not have any paper records to support their claim of descent from the “Butlers of Ormond”. They have also demonstrated a lack of solid understanding of yDNA inheritance.

An inquiry into the Butler Surname Project at FamilyTreeDNA resulted in me being told that the kit manager was advised to reach out to me directly to resolve this matter. While, by proxy, I have provided them my name, e-mail address, and links to my blog and WikiTree project, I have yet to hear from them or see that their information has been corrected.

The core of this problem arises from how the volunteer projects are populated with information. NPEs aside, anyone can make a claim of descent from any family and simply affix their yDNA to that claim, sans proof. Some projects do provide forums within which discussions can be had to further explore topics among group members, but that is not a standard, nor is engaging in discussion about one’s ancestry required if mentioned.

We now see how the system is flawed. Anyone can make a claim about their yDNA, and that claim can be widely published, all without supporting evidence. Essentially, anyone who takes a yDNA test can now attempt to misappropriate the story of the genetic origins of larger male populations. This can end up affecting the research of many families.

A simple fix for this could be to enforce data formatting constraints for the “Direct Paternal Ancestor” field in the FTDNA User Profile to limit values to a first, middle and last name with vital info in separate fields. As of now, it appears FTDNA simply accepts a generic string.

In inspecting SmithsWorldWide.org, we see this matter become even more complex. I have found about 7 or 8 groups who, when the claims of historical relevance of their yDNA to larger populations is examined, are found to be in conflict with each other. I will not go into those details here, but I can detail for you how peer review and challenges to published claims on their site are handled.

SmithsWorldWide.org provides a place where yDNA test takers, after already being matched to their cousins at FamilyTreeDNA, can begin archiving and organizing their Smith family research for their larger yDNA matched population. The main issues stem from how those groups are created and managed in the long-term.

The scenario I see happen frequently is that, in the early days of yDNA testing at FTDNA, some earnestly interested and knowledgeable family researchers organized yDNA studies for their larger populations. These people, usually much older in age, were the first to act as “group contacts” for their yDNA groups. Unfortunately, over time, these original resources pass away and the task of navigating and updating the information in the various groups falls on whomever is willing to take up that mantle. However, there are situations where not every group has someone willing and/or able to assume the role that is now left unmanned with the prior family researchers’ passing. Further, not everyone who is able to simply click on the “Join” button of the surname project is willing to learn how to work with the SmithsWorldWide.org application.

This can lead to a number of things happening. There can be data stagnation (nothing new is learned about the groups), there can be inability to correct bad information (the site admins refuse to examine trees, sources, and analyses for accuracy or get involved in challenges), and broader claims of understanding the ancestral origins of the yDNA lines may be incorrectly posted and unable to be challenged. To compound things, SmithsWorldWide.org does not require autosomal analyses to show two people were related, but they do allow atDNA kits, without analysis, to join the various groups. I have at least one case where a person related to my Smith group was added to an incorrect group. This is quite likely happening in other groups as well. How would you feel if you were told a group of people were related to you when, in fact, they were completely unrelated?

The main way group research is effectively coordinated on SmithsWorldWide.org is there are usually one or two group researchers who field all communication about their group’s story and information. Unfortunately, due to the aforementioned issue of “anyone can claim anything about their yDNA without proof”, we are left with the functional design of relying on trusting the yDNA group members and contacts/researchers (different from the surname project admins) to be capable of doing the necessary research, it being of sufficient quality, and to be working in good faith.

Effectively, if one were to challenge a yDNA group’s published claim at SmithsWorldWide.org, if the group contacts do not agree with you, even if you correct and have proof, they are under no obligation to correct their group’s errant published information.

With sites like SmithsWorldWide.org, while they are not a member as far as I am aware, the issue with “364732” is exacerbated. We now have a situation where, if challenged, even with evidence, unless the group contacts concede, corrected information will not make it’s way into their application. We should keep in mind that DNA testing can be used to test the validity of books and other sources.

SmithsWorldWide.org is largely viewed as a semi-authoritative source for the historical context of yDNA information. I have had other researchers cite their pages, which were in those instances incorrect, when discussing topics relevant to my research.

So what do we do then? We now approach a larger online system that suffers from, though likely not wide-spread, an effective removal of all checks, qualifications, and challenges on what information is attached to yDNA results, and relies solely, in some cases, on the good faith of yDNA test takers to populate their earliest direct paternal ancestor accurately and honestly in their FamilyTreeDNA profile and on family researchers to act in good faith.

This chain has a few weak links.

Thanks for reading,

Chris