So, as you all know I’ve been on the hunt for alias John Wallace, my mother’s and aunt’s Grandfather, for a while. Below is the possible picture of alias John Wallace. The only true way I was ever going to find out his true name was if I found a first or second cousin due to the fact he was of Jewish descent. They needed to have at least 150cM to even be considered being looked at. That wasn’t happening for the longest time. Finally, this past July I found a 1st – 2nd cousin match on Ancestry, but with no family tree. This meant I had to write a message without scary this person. Nervous as anything I contacted CeCe Moore and she provided a little coaching, which was greatly appreciated. I sent the message and the next day I get this message, “who is yr mother and aunt?”. I told this cousin match the names. The response back was “I don’t think I’d know them. Sorry”. Cece informed me that if this cousin match wanted to speak with her, they could easily look her up on Facebook and send a message to her. I sent a few more messages trying to keep the communication going. But they weren’t having any of it. The only thing I had was a name of this 1st – 2nd cousin. On Aug 4th my mother passed away with never truly knowing her true maiden name. I did tell her about my encounter with this person and what their last name was and that it could be hers too but I wasn’t sure. I decided to put genealogy away for a bit. October came and the spark for the hunt again perked up again when Cece Moore spoke at the Benton Event Center in Benton, Arkansas. I began researching this DNA match like crazy. It felt as though I was stocking them. Facebook was of little to no help because they kept everything private. It didn’t help that this person was born after 1940 and with the name Karish, which was a dime a dozen around the Brooklyn, New York area. So, I decided to transfer my mother’s and aunt’s raw AncestryDNA to MyHeritage DNA. I had already had my mother and aunt do the 23andme, FTDNA and Ancestry. Why not MyHeritage DNA? Well that was the best decision I made. I found another 1st cousin 2 x removed – 2nd cousin 1 x removed cousin match. The best part was that they had put the names of their parents. Nothing else but at least their parents. Just what I needed. Once again I started a family tree for this cousin match and decided not to send any messages till, I could pin point how we are related. I have been able to build a tree going back to this person’s Great Grandparents. The down side is I only found 3 siblings of their Grandmother Regina Karash. The oldest child being born in 1867 and the youngest beginning born in 1888. I figure with that wide of a spread of a time period surely there are more siblings. Some could have stayed back in Poland. Or others could have come to America and I just haven’t found the connection. After utilizing everything I could possibly get my hands on from google to beenverified to newspaper articles, I was able to build a tree. I notice that in 1918 one of the siblings changed their surname from Kaiser to Karash, the siblings followed suit. They changed the name due to the ridicule and harassment of others. Others connected the name of Kaiser to the Kaiser of Germany. One of the brothers that came in 1911 to America and was living in Washington and then moved down to Monroe, Louisiana for one reason or another. But less then a month after he signed the draft registration card, he died from pneumonia. His family was not able to come till 3 years later after WWI. With a short little blurb in a newspaper in Bellingham, Washington of a girl by the name of Rose Karash visiting her aunts and uncles I was able to connect her with her father, the one that moved to Monroe, Louisiana. Once I made that connection, I found her sister and brother and mother. Her brother changed his name from Karash to Karish. Omg! Was this the connection to the other DNA match that wouldn’t share anything or speak? I found a child for Rose’s brother that changed his name from Karash to Karish, just by chance. So, I started pouring my time into investigating her and her immediate family. There is a ton of stuff about her husband. I was 100% sure of the connection, it was just more of a gut feeling. I decided to go on to mylife.com. It provides a short summary of the person. And low and behold it connected this person to their mother, which was the wife of the Rose’s brother. I decided to call this person and they answered and I ask if so and so what their sibling and they confirmed it. The DNA match that wouldn’t speak has a sibling that was so generous with information. We spoke for a long time. I confirmed what they new of and added a lot more details for them. I now have two cousins who are connected by the name of Kaiser. My job now is to learn to read Polish. What I always wanted to learn. I don’t want to say that “this person” is John Wallace yet. I have one person in mind that seems to have many similarities but I have to check for other siblings before I become 100% assured. I want to find all siblings and trace their tracks. My new best cousin is the person I spoke with yesterday. They were so kind as to send a picture of their Grandfather who came to America in 1911. They gave me permission to share it in hopes that if anyone else recognizes him (the man on the left.) than maybe they will contact us and we'll have even a bigger family. Off I go to learn another language and find Polish records.
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Waiting for a one on one meeting with a DNA Expert was exciting and thrilling. I was anticipating the best of things and the worst of things. What could she tell me? Did she find any major clues that I hadn't? Or was this a dead-end road? I needed answers if not hope. The DNA expert, Diahan Southard, had previously asked for access from all 3 major DNA companies websites that my mother and aunt had done their DNA testing with, as well as Gedmatch. She wanted to review everything that I had noted as well as look at the results. Thursday was the day. We reviewed what my goal was from this meeting. My goal is to find methods to use with the DNA test results in finding out what the real surname is of my mother's and aunt's Paternal Grandfather (Alias - John Wallace), who was Jewish. She then asked me to confirm the relationships of all the people that were tested. My mother and my aunt, of course. My mother's and aunt's 1/2 1st cousin. This cousin's mother was a half-sister to their father. Finally, a 2nd Cousin from their Paternal Grandmother's family line. Diahan then introduced me to the Origins Page of FamilyTreeDNA. On this page, the Jewish Diaspora will break down to the percentage of Ashkenazi and Sephardic that a one has inherited. The page shows that my mother inherited 23% and all was Ashkenazi. Ancestry also stating that my mother inherited 25% European Jewish. Both together confirming that Alias John Wallace was Jewish. On AncestryDNA there is a section titled Genetic Communities. We looked at which communities that my mother belongs to, in hopes that it could provide any clues. Genetic communities are pools of AncestryDNA subscribers who are linked through DNA likely because they are the offspring from a community of common ancestors, despite the fact if they no longer live in the area where their ancestors once lived. Approximately 7,000,000 people, according to an AncestryDNA representative, have tested their DNA to form the different pools that AncestryDNA has found. Even though so many people have tested and my mother's Jewish genetic inheritance is high, she has not connected with any Jewish community(ies). The only communities she does connect with are from her Paternal Grandmother's side that is French Canadian, and her maternal side which is Slovenian and includes a region which was once known as Gottschee, in the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. One thing that makes the connection to a Jewish community hard is that Germany has yet to agree to DNA testing in that area based on the reasoning that if you ask someone from Germany "would you like to do DNA testing?", there would be several that say "no" because they already know their history. Families in Germany, where alias John Wallace is believed to have been from, are reluctant since they have lived in the same community as their ancestors before them have done for generations upon generations. If and once Germany accepts the opportunity for their communities to connect through DNA testing to others that have left those communities, then there could be a possibility of connecting with relatives using the information provided in the Genetic Communities section. So, as these Jewish Genetic Communities expand and get more refined then I should be able to see my mother in a Jewish Genetic Community. This will enable me to gather matches, as the example above with the South Slavs community has done. It narrows down the pool of matches that likely share this common heritage with my mother. It's just one more way to find my mother's best matches. So as more people are tested and as Ancestry improves their algorithm there is a possibility that my mother could become a part of a Jewish Genetic Community. Will need to review this section occasionally to check for updates. Back on the FamilyTreeDNA website my mother has a list of DNA matches. Looking at the Shared Centimorgans and the Longest Block / Segment columns we want to look at the relationship between my mother and her half 1st Cousin, M.L. M.L and my mother share a total of 394 cM and the longest block is 71 cM long. When dealing with an endogamous population such as Canadian French or European Jewish, you cannot always trust the shared amount of centimorgans (cM). The total shared centimorgans (cM) is just another way of saying total amount of shared DNA. Taking that number, in our case 394 cM, and take into the Shared cM Project chart, initiated by Blaine Bettinger. A number of people reported the actual amount of shared cM between people of proven relationships. This enables others to get a better understanding of how to use these numbers when it comes to analyzing the relationship between the DNA kit owned / administered by yourself and a DNA match. As in the case of M.L. and my mother, we know the exact relationship is that they are half 1st cousins. So, looking at the chart listed above its states that relationships that are considered Endogamy have a minimum of 458.91 total cM shared and a maximum of 1194.37 total cM shared. The total cM shared between the two cousins doesn't fit within these parameters. That is okay, because when we look in the category of ALL the minimum for a half 1st cousin is 261.76. In which case, the 394 total cM shared is well above. Since the Shared cM cannot be trust fully when dealing with endogamous populations, looking at the Longest Segment (cM) is required. The longest segment (piece of DNA) that M.L. and my mother share is 71 cM. Comparing the 71 (cM) to the Half 1C on the chart within the Endogamy section, M.L.'s and my mother's longest segment of 71 cM fits perfectly within the range provided and meets the average amount as well. Thus, confirming my mother's and M. L's relationship of half 1st cousin. This knowledge now provides a basis to compare other results to. Going back to the FamilyTreeDNA matches the closest approximation that FamilyTreeDNA provides is 2nd - 4th Cousin for my mother. When looking for a close DNA match, to find relatives with alias names or in cases of adoptions, you want the best of the best. One way to do that is to find one of the matches that has a large number for Shared (cM). This lead to C. J. that had a Shared (cM) of 84. C. J. also had one of the highest, if not the highest, Longest Block / Segments of 24 (cM). Based on those two numbers compared to the charts above C. J is approximately a 3rd Cousin or 3rd Cousin 1x removed. The other people that have large numbers for Shared (cM) but low Longest Block / Segments are not the best of the best. They are most likely to be 5th or 6th or further distant cousins. Skip those people for now. Majority of people, who are looking for their alias relatives or biological parents, want closer matches than a 3rd Cousins. Unfortunately, in this case my mother does not know if her alias Grandfather remarried and had more children other than her father. Another mystery is: did Alias John Wallace go back to Germany or not? Thus, bringing up the problem that currently in Germany, DNA testing has not begun. Our best is a 3rd Cousin or 3rd Cousin 1x removed till better clues appear. Now that C.J. had been determined to be the closest match at 3rd Cousin or 3rd Cousin 1x removed, the next step was to find C.J.'s matches that were In Common With. Once those matches came up the majority expect one, I. R., were not close matches. I. R. has a Shared (cM) of 77 and a Longest Block / Segment (cM) of 26. Thus, giving my mother only 2 descent matches on FamilyTreeDNA.
My job now becomes communicating with C. J. and I. R. and try to figure out their connection by comparing surnames in order to make the connection quicker. Also, I will need to find out their Shared (cM) and Longest Block / Segment (cM) that they share. Another key question is: who in their trees are from Germany. Otherwise I will be drawing out their entire family trees and work it till I find a clue. C. J. and I. R. can be related in more than one way, so I'll need to pay close attention. I pray all this information will help those that are struggling to find their true heritage. I'll keep everyone updated when and if I find a major clue. For more information about Diahan Southard visit Your DNA Guide As some of you may already know I have been on a quest for sometime to find my mother's and aunt's Paternal Grandfather John Wallace's true identity. A man of intrigue. Where did he go? And better yet, why did he use an alias name? The hunt begins. I will be taking you with me on a journey to tie genealogical evidence with genetic evidence to find my Jewish ancestors, hopefully. Beth, my cousin, had been researching the family history for sometime. In her research she was able to located the baptismal record of our Grandfather. But unfamiliar to me was the name of John Ed. Wallace and J. Wallace. Who were these people? Come to find out our Grandfather Jack Rose, as I was raised to know him, had changed his named from John Edward Wallace. I knew this was his baptismal record because I recognized my Great Grandmother Clara Brusoe's sister's name, Jennie Brousseau. But then the question of why. Why did my Grandfather change his name? Beth then went on to find the marriage record between this mysterious man, J. Wallace, and our Great Grandmother Clara Brusoe (Brousseau). Since our Great Grandparents were married in the same church as they had baptized their child, the church provided Beth with the marriage record. The marriage record stated the full name of the groom, "John Wallace" and the bride as Clara Brusoe (Brousseau). It also stated that John Wallace's parents were John and Anna. Yet, no last names provided. But if you look to the right, there is a dispensation. What is a dispensation, you ask? And why would a couple need one? A dispensation is a exemption to a rule or a requirement. In this case, my Great Grandparents were required to obtain a dispensation from Bishop Nicholas Chrysostom Matz. When getting married, a person has to have been baptized within a Christian religion in order to be married in the Catholic Church. Otherwise if a person is of pagan, Mohammedan, (or) Jewish religion a dispensation was required. The dispensation on John Wallace and Clara Brusoe's marriage record stated that there was a "great difference" of religion. Thus requiring special permission. So which religion did John Wallace practice? So where did they meet? John Wallace was found in the 1899 Albuquerque, New Mexico City Directory as a Day Engineer for the Sante Fe Pacific Shops. However, he was not found in the 1898 City Directory so he must of got to Albuquerque in the late 1898 or early 1899 to be put into the City Directory. The Brusoe's family had just moved down to the Albuquerque area from Colorado Springs, Colorado area in 1899. They were found to be on the Albuquerque, New Mexico U.S. Census in 1900 The next stop was to Trinidad, Colorado to find the legal marriage records in the court house. Several calls to no avail in finding the marriage records had been made. With the help of a good friends, from Facebook, a few documents but not the Marriage License was located. Then another good friend came to help and she surprised all that she was the one that organized the marriage records in the Las Animas County. So with her help the Marriage License was located. However, the marriage application could not be found. Comparing the questions on the application from another couple's marriage record to the list of questions written on the Marriage License, for John and Clara, they were the same. Yet no questions asked about where the bride and groom were born or baptized, nor parents names on the application from that time period. So with all of these documents one can assume that Clara must have been pregnant prior to applying for a marriage license on 6th Dec 1899. They married on 28th Dec 1899 at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Trinidad, Colorado. They filed the records on 17th Jan 1900. The 1900 -1901 Trinidad City Directory, which included surrounding areas, listed John Wallace as working for the C & S Railway. That was the last known company he worked for. C & S Railway was independently operated from 1898 - 1908. It was later absorbed through purchase by the Burlington Northern Railroad in 1981. The only records Burlington Northern Railroad has on file are old paystubs. Unfortunately, there was more than one John Wallace that worked for the railroads and there is no way of deciphering which paystub belongs to which John Wallace. In June of 1900 the U.S. Census was taken in Garcia, Colorado, right outside of Trinidad. John Wallace was believed to have been born in Feb 1871 in Germany. His parents as well were from Germany. According to the census John immigrated to the U.S. in 1885 and naturalized prior t o 1900. At that time he had been unemployed 3 months as a Locomotive Engineer. Yet renting a house. So times must have been hard. He could read, write and speak English. With times being hard and tempers flaring, alcoholism was rampant in the railroad industry. In Sept 1903 according to the divorce records, Clara Wallace vs John Wallace, Clara packed up and took their only child to safety. Soon after marriage John began abusing Clara and seriously wounded her. Within the divorce records it states that John Wallace did use an alias name and Clara was unable to recall the true name. John never went looking for Clara and his child after they left. So on 3rd Oct 1906 Clara filed for divorce, and on 24th Nov 1906 the divorce was granted. Clara didn't know John's whereabouts in Oct and Nov of 1906 but when she last heard about him, John was in Jerome, Arizona. A place known for it's corruption, Jerome was a mining community ripping at it's seams. This would be the perfect camouflage from society and being known. This was the hint of where John could have been. Unfortunately no records have been found in this area for John Wallace born around 1871 in Germany. The trail of John Wallace ran cold.
This is when DNA tests were taken at all three major companies; Ancestry, FamilyTreeDNA and 23andme. We didn't want any leaf unturned. Both my mother, J.R.R., and my aunt, D.E., took the tests. They were the only two children of Jack Rose, the granddaughters of Alias "John Wallace". What came back surprised both women. They had always been raised Catholic and no idea of any other heritage being part of their ancestral history. To their amazement they were showing 23.3% - 25% European Jewish / Ashkenazi Jew for J.R.R and 21.4% - 23% European Jewish / Ashkenazi Jew for D.E. Now that explains the exact reason why the dispensation was required when John and Clara were married in the Catholic Church. Yet there are so many other questions unanswered. After watching several webinars and videos from several different sources, putting together a list of the women's closest matches has been in the works. The ideal situation would be for a solid 2nd cousin to match. Unfortunately that has not been the case. The reason a person would need a solid 2nd cousin is because when dealing with an endogamy culture, one is dealing with the possibilities of IBD vs IBS. What is IBD? IBD stands for Identical By Decent. This concept is an expression used in genetic genealogy to indicate corresponding segment(s) of DNA shared by two or more people that has been genetically passed down from a recent common ancestor without any altering recombination. So the question then is: what is IBS? IBS stands for Identical By State. In this case the shared DNA was not passed down from a recent common ancestor. Rather it is due to the genetic genealogy that is shared among people within a geographical area. This type of results can lead to incorrect conclusions. With this knowledge, selective analyzation is of the utmost importance. And since I'm not an expert, by any stretch of the imagination, I am going to be picking the brain of an expert this coming week. They have been pouring and studying all that I have done: the genealogical information as well as genetic information I have put together. They will be sharing with me what I have right and or what I have done wrong. They will also teach me things that will hopefully provide another analyzation method(s) in order to finally identify Alias "John Wallace". Due to unfortunate circumstances the DNA expert was unable to meet with me. But I was blessed to find a book titled "The Family Tree Guide to DNA Testing and Genetic Genealogy" , written by Blaine T. Bettinger, at my local library. So while I wait till next week, beginning of May, to meet with the DNA specialist, I will be devouring every word in hopes it will enlighten me as well as help understand what the DNA specialist says when we meet. I'll be keeping everyone updated in hopes this information can help you as well. |
Penny Alvarez-KellerGraduated from Arkansas Tech University with a degree in Management / Marketing and a degree in Economics / Finance Archives
February 2023
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