AncestryDNA to the Rescue...

I am so excited!!! I was able to track back a connection with a cousin listed on my Ancestry DNA results.  I found the surname "Hoare" on his family tree which i recognized from researching my father's family.  I checked back in my notes and the answer was there!  Bridget Hoare was the daughter of Daniel Hoare and Bridget McHugh (a name i didn't have on my tree).  When i researched Bridget McHugh, i found the common connection.  Bridget was actually the sister of my great grandfather Michael McHugh.  Their parents were Owen McHugh and Ann Brown.

There is still a mystery of an additional brother named Owen that i am trying to verify.  I'm hoping with this new resource from the DNA results, i can use the connections' trees to provide some information and unlock a few key facts. 

The DNA results have given me a great new tool.  The test was worth every penny!

                                         (Bridget McHugh and grandchild in Roosky, Ireland c. 1915)

A bit of fun....

The Next Generation....backwards...

My eyes are red.  I've got a headache from looking at this screen for over 6 hours and the ringing in my ears has now become more of a persistent hum.  But it was worth it!  I found records opening another generation further back! 

Going over my DNA results, i found a lot of common surnames to check on and realized i still had a lot of holes in my research.  Especially on my father's side.  So,  I started delving into it and seeing what i could find and confirm.  I already had information on my father's grandfather Michael McHugh.  Michael married Anne O'Neil in 1887 in Kilglass, Co. Roscommon, Ireland.  Anne's father was listed as Bernard O'Neil from Knockhall.  When i researched Bernard O'Neil, I found his marriage record to Ellen Maxwell, still from the Roscommon area.  The big clue that document gave me though was Bernard's father's name - Arthur O'Neil - my great, great, great grandfather.

Amazed by my find, i thought i wouldn't have much more luck finding any records on him.  To my suprise, i found a registry entry for Arthur's marriage to Margaret Hobson. I also found baptism records for their children.  At that time, they lived in Moy, Co. Tyrone in Northern Ireland (about 100 miles northeast of where they settled in Roscommon).

While i still have a lot of corroborating evidence to gather, some of the hints from the trees of my newly found cousins (via the DNA test), have proven invaluable.