Finding George Courtney c1841

Can we find the identity of George's mother by analysing our 'X' DNA results? The 'X' chromosome has special inheritance properties and it is through matches on this chromosome that have given us hints on the identity of Georges mother.  Both my mother and her sister Margaret inherited an identical 'X' chromosome to their father Edward Arthur Roberts, from his mother, their paternal grandmother - Abigail Courtney b1871.   It was handed down 'in tact' from their father, as men do not recombine the 'X' when they pass it on to their daughters.  Given the properties of the 'X' chromosome Georges mother should be able to be identified from one of these groups provided Abigail's recombined ‘X’ chromosome contained both paternal and maternal segments.  So far, our analysis shows the following break up for Abigail's 'X' chromosome and by using other matching results for segments on chromosomes 1-22,  it has been concluded tha...

I’ve chased down every genetic clue I could find to find my elusive 2nd great grandfather, Arthur 'George' Courtney. The best so far has been a match on the ‘X’ chromosome, also known as Chromosome 23. The 'X' chromosome has special inheritance characteristics and can sometimes be easier to trace back in time. It was in 2018 that I first I discovered a large match sharing about 92cMs, with both my mother and her sister. Given its size, it was an exciting discovery as the special inheritance factors suggested it was a paternal segment for my Mum and her sister, probably inherited from George Courtney.  We also shared smaller autosomal matches with this match and other extended family members and I soon discovered many matches that all led back to the same person - Ada Williams, born about 1892 in Notting Hill. Imagine my surprise when my match told me - ‘that’s my Romany line!’ I've previously written about this match -  Could George be a Romany? Ada was the child of...

According to the records on Find My Past for the 1871 England Census there were 292 records for the name COURTNEY recorded at Middlesex.  This equates to ?? family groups.  Of these 47 were born in Ireland, and 151 Middlesex. Could George be related to one of them?  I am progressively adding links to these families at Wikitree.  The list below is by registration district, the first name mentioned in each entry reflects the head of the family.   This list remains a work in progress. Filling up the census paper.   Punch 1851 PD 1.  Bethnal Green (5)      * Eliza Courtney b1825 in Ireland.  Mother in law?  Jackson family?     * John Courtney b1800 Middlesex and family (wife Mary, daughter Lucy and grandaughter Eliza). 2.  Brentford (14)    * Henry FT Courtney b1813 Ireland.  Wife Ann.  Children: Henry TW, Ada and Charles F (5);   * David Courtney b1822 Ireland.  Wife Margaret,...

What's in a name?  Is it George or Arthur - George Arthur, Arthur George and for good measure and just to keep you on your toes, what about George William?     Courtney or Courtenay - so many possibilities....   This list is an attempt to list everyone I've looked at, those still in contention or if not, why not.  The Research Summary  is being continually updated and has more information on those still in contention.  This page is an attempt at a ready reckoner and to demonstrate my exhaustive research to find our mystery mans origins! Or, given the lack of DNA matching to the Courtney surname, should I be looking for someone else entirely?! Over the last couple of decades, I've looked for all possible candidates born between about 1830-1850.  My primary focus has been on candidates not recorded in the 1871 census, but this may not be a foolproof approach. Our George - is listed as Arthur George Courtenay in the 1871 census, b1841 Mar...

In the 1891 census Abigail describes herself as a widow, the census was recorded on the night of 5th April 1891.  We cannot find George, Abigail or their daughter Alberta in the 1881 census , where did they go after all living together in Woolwich in 1871?  What happened to George? I went in search of death records between the dates of these two censuses under various names, the following were extracted from FreeBMD UK for the period between 1871-1891.  Arthur 'George' indicated he was 30 years old at the time of the 1871 census, so if he died between 1871-1891 he would have been roughly between 30-50 years of age. Hans Christian Andersen's deathbed at Rolighed, Østerbro, Copenhagen (Wikimedia Commons) Arthur Courtney/Courteney/Courtenay/Courtny - all too young! * 1873 Arthur Baldwin Courtney, aged 0, St Thomas;  * 1877 Arthur Frederick Courtney, aged 3, Holbourn; * 1879 Arthur Courteney, aged 7, Camberwell; * 1885 Arthur Ernest Courtney, aged 0, Alderbury;...

  Whilst continuing my  genetic analysis   looking for potential segments inherited from George Courtney, I have discovered a number of groups that seem to suggest a connection to Norfolk, England.  Two  groups of particular interest have been identified as potential Courtney-Paice segments but are still being analysed to determine whether they were inherited from Abigail's mother Abigail Paice or her father  George Courtney  - our target ancestor.   C05_M_M205:  Courtney or Paice? In 2020 a small  triangulated group was identified on chromosome 5 at 23andme, consisting of 3 DNA matches to my family, all >20cMs and who shared the common ancestors of Glenn Oscar Rich and his wife Golda Emma Sweet, through two of their sons.  This suggested we  might  have a connection through an ancestor of either Glenn or Golda.  Most of their ancestors go back in the US for several generations.   On the Rich side, i...