A Great Grandfather Mystery (Help please)

[Cas (stallc)]

Only your DNA can give clues Ed, all else is speculation or assumption.

No real relationship to the Jones family until after he married. Maybe after years they thought of him as son and his children were a bonus, they were childless after all. Looks like he looked out for them when older and the boy they adopted.

If Betsy was his mother, she was only around 17/18 when he was born. It could be a childhood sweetheart or as you say someone from the pub.

Maybe build a separate tree for the Jenkins/Mansell family and pad out with extended family. Then go looking to see if any matches with your DNA.

I mentioned pro tools as just finished a month myself. Interesting how the small matches can help make sense of some family lines. Ancestry only show those shared matches 20cMs and above without it.

Good luck

Cas

[mr_edd]

I would like to thank Cas in particular for her fantastic help & thanks also to Ciderdrinker.

After 25 years of trying I now know who my Great Grandfather Edward Jones really was. He was born 22nd Feb 1855 in Oswestry Workhouse as Matthew Edward Jenkins, father unknown, Mother Elizabeth Jenkins born Oswestry 1838. Her parents were James Jenkins & Mary Mansell who ran the Albion on Church St in the 1840s.

Timeline 1855 born as Matthew Edward Jenkins
1861 Mathew E Jones
1871 Edward Jones
1876 marriage to Annie Williams in Morton, line through the father.

He was taken in by Joseph & Elizabeth Jones a childless couple & brought up as a Jones.

Elizabeth Jenkins married John Turner in Liverpool in 1863 & had a daughter Alice Turner 1866 Flint & Eleanor Turner 1869 Liverpool.

Alice married Joseph Baybut & Eleanor married Charles John Vernon. I have no idea if Edward & the two girls knew about one another or not.

Through building a tree out I have 4 DNA matches now.

One back to Elizabeth's brother James Jenkins Oswestry 1839, two from Alice through the Baybut's & one directly back to Elizabeth thanks to a lady no longer with us who put her DNA onto Ancestry when she was 81 years old!

I have now met her daughter & another match so far.

Thanks again for everyone's help

[Cas (stallc)]

Well done Ed, great result