Learning about 'family tree hints' at Ancestry.com and other genealogy web sites.

Well I am learning more about Ancestry.com and their family tree hints which at times lack good documenting resources beyond family lineage.  It appears that a family tree can be created and or lengthened without multiple information sources.  My initial desire to research our family was to find good documentation and facts supporting the linkage to our real ancestors.  I should add that lack of documentation or simple leaps to an assumed ancestor looks to occur more readily on other genealogy websites.  Some that I have in some instances relied upon.  So while I have gone ahead and built this substantial family tree, I am now going back and seeking to find more solid sourcing for each generational link.

I am not going to immediately delete those believed ancestors I have now have in our family tree that don't have perfect lineage sources, however I am going to code those that do lack good sourcing or in some instances where research has conflicting views by entering them as *name*.

Most notable in our family tree is first *Thomas Styner* understood as the father of Warren A Styner from solid marriage documents.  Though conflicting information may indicate his real name could have been Jacob Styner and that he possibly changed his name at some point to Thomas.  That is certainly speculation, but it's not unthinkable given that I found records of both a Thomas Styner and a Jacob Styner with the same exact 'DOB' date of birth in the same exact town in Iowa.  Certainly this seems very unusua, though records show along with passed down family information that Thomas was indeed a transient individual.   More research to do.

The next possible ancestor with real conflicting research and lack of good records is that of Samuel K Barlow's 2nd great grandfather *Thomas Barlow*.  Lots of research has been done on this with several possible Thomas Barlow's and it looks to be a pretty solid brick wall.  Another problematic link is further back to Arthur Balowe and his marriage to *Ann West* who beyond her it does have a solid family line going all the way back to England's Royal family and Henry III with actually very good documentation.  However the research I was following here looks to have significant conflicts, and suggests she may not have been his wife.  Again more research to do.

Arthur Barlowe: New World Explorer for Queen Elizabeth

So in my research to follow the Barlow family back to earlier ancestors (approx 7 generations from Samuel) I reached an ending point that was Arthur Barlow(e).  Initially in my research I did not find anything to suggest he was an individual with any historical information or significance.  Well that was my initial research!  Note the 'e' added to his name.  Finding it's not unusual for slight spelling changes to occur during these times and especially in England.

Well it turns out that Arthur Barlowe was indeed a significant and very historical individual.  He was one of the first explorers of to find land in North America to claim for Queen Elizabeth.  Before the Mayflower, and before the first colonists, both Captain Arthur Barlowe and Captain Philip Amadas led a voyage in 1584 to the coast of North America under the direction of Sir Walter Raleigh, each commanding a small vessel for the purpose of selecting a site for the establishment of Raleigh's proposed colony as requested from the Queen.  It was Barlowe's journal  (noted that he was handy with a pen) during this exploratory voyage, and his favorable reports that helped Raleigh select Roanoke Island, off North Carolina as a future site for English colonization. 


Arthur's personal life still remains difficult to follow especially after this voyage.  It is reported he kept residence with Sir Walter Raleigh.  His marriage to Ann West whose family line goes back to Henry III still remains a question with conflicting documentation.
  
Lots of links and supporting documentation: 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Barlowe
http://www.carolana.com/Carolina/Explorers/amadasandbarlowe.html
http://www.genealogy.com/users/p/a/r/Charles-E-Parker/BOOK-0001/0012-0001.html
http://docsouth.unc.edu/nc/barlowe/menu.html
http://www.swarthmore.edu/SocSci/bdorsey1/41docs/04-bar.html
http://beatl.barnard.columbia.edu/maritime/MaritimeNation/documents.html
http://beatl.barnard.columbia.edu/maritime/MaritimeNation/Documents/RoanokePassage.htm
http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Barlowe_Arthur_ca_1550-ca_1620
http://www.thelostcolony.org/education/Students/History/Elizabethan_Characters.htm
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-was-the-lost-colony.htm
http://jameslorenz.com/myfathersamerica/tag/arthur-barlowe/
http://docsouth.unc.edu/nc/barlowe/barlowe.html

See the updated family tree from Barlow to England's Royalty! Really?

As I had mentioned in my blog posting earlier this week ---- I am very surprised to have found a our Barlow family line to England's Nobility and Royalty of the 13th and 12th centuries.  However as one begins to truly research the Barlow surname and you see the amazing amount of research that has been done by many different researchers and you begin to understand these were probably not just ordinary folks.  No you realize the Barlow's lived in fairly prominent circles, and obviously married other prominent folks.  Okay reality is finding some lineage to royalty was far from any reasonable thought I ever had nor was it some kind of ultimate quest.  You simply follow the research where it takes you. 
 

So our Styner Family Tree online at Ancestry.com now follows our Barlow family connection of Caroline Barlow all the way back to Edward Barlow, Esq. b 1570 and Capt. Arthur Barlow(e) b 1550 (More on Arthur's just learned historical significance in a later posting).

If you get on the family tree I advise using the pedigree viewing option it's then pretty easy to follow the single Barlow surname.  Beyond that, surname changes occur because of both maternal and paternal links between the families of 'West', 'La Warre', 'Mowbary', on back to Joan of Lancaster, Earl of Lanacaster, Prince Edmund Crouchback then and King Henry III.  Again best to view it all in the pedigree view mode.    

Now before I go any further I need to point I am stunned by the very strong and consistent documentation sources I have found for this recent journey, the Barlow line is very solid however there is one controversial ancestor link.  That is **Anne West of 1540 who is not agreed upon by all research as Arthur Barlowe's wife or even Leonard West's daughter.  My initial research included this marriage  documentation and also this Link documenting Anne as the child of Sir Leonard West and Baroness Barbara Gascoigne thus continuing the family lineage.  Still more research will be needed on this ancestral link. Past Sir Leonard West the line has extremely solid documentation back to King Henry III.
 

Below I have posted the updated relationship view based on the research I have done to date. 

Henry III King of England (1206 - 1272)

is your 22nd great grandfather

Edmund "Crouchback" Prince of England (1244 - 1295)

Son of Henry III

Sir Henry Plantagenet 3rd Earl of Lancaster (1281 - 1345)

Son of Edmund "Crouchback"

Lady Joan of Lancaster Plantagenet Baroness deMowbray (1312 - 1349)

Daughter of Sir Henry

Alianore (Eleanor) de Mowbray, (Lady) Baroness de la Warre,19th GGM (1342 - 1387)

Daughter of Lady Joan of Lancaster

Joan de la Warre (Lady) Baroness West GGM (1367 - 1404)

Daughter of Alianore (Eleanor)

Reginald de West (Sir) 6th Baron de Le' Warre, 3rd Baron West (1395 - 1450)

Son of Joan

Richard West (Sir) 7th Baron de la Warre (1430 - 1476)

Son of Reginald

Thomas West (Sir) (1457 - 1525)

Son of Richard

Leonard West (1505 - 1578)

Son of Thomas

**Anne West (1540 - )

Daughter of Leonard

Edward Barlow, Esq. (1570 - 1619)

Son of Anne

Henry Barlow (1601 - 1657)

Son of Edward

Thomas BARLOW (1635 - 1679)

Son of Henry

George Barlow (1670 - 1718)

Son of Thomas

Thomas Barlow (1700 - 1778)

Son of George

Thomas Barlow (1730 - 1808)

Son of Thomas

William Henry Harris Barlow (1765 - 1837)

Son of Thomas

Samuel Kimbrough Barlow (1795 - 1867)

Son of William Henry Harris

James K Barlow (1826 - 1866)

Son of Samuel Kimbrough

Caroline F Barlow (aka Callie & Carrie) (1850 - 1920)

Daughter of James K

Effie Adams (1878 - )

Daughter of Caroline F

Warren Alexander Styner (1899 - 1987)

Son of Effie

Stanley Joseph Styner (1924 - 2009)

Son of Warren Alexander

Susan L Styner, Jon C Styner and Mark A Styner

Children of Stanley Joseph

First day blogging

So this is my venture into documenting and sharing my research and the process of uncovering information regarding our family history.  Specifically with current family members and little ones that might find the information interesting in the future, and those whom we may learn are connected through our ancestors including family friends that might be simply interested in the research and the process.  My initial focus to follow our Styner family name and find confirming documentation to make the link to Samuel K Barlow a well known pioneer of the Oregon Trail and the Barlow Road.  I have never really had an interest in genealogy and this research into my family's history had just all come about earlier this summer after a fun weekend at our family beach house in Tokeland at the north end of Willapa Bay with our neighbor friends the Merz's.

Bringing friends to the Tokeland peninsula that are not from the area it's always very easy to get into some conversation about the history of the area, the amazing erosion that has occurred at Washaway Beach, the many different stages and stories about the beach house, and also our family history ties to Aberdeen, Astoria and back to the Oregon Trail itself.  It is that discussion that prompted me upon returning home to get on the computer and do a simple Google search of a name that has been passed down and understood for years as our 4th great grandfather, Samuel Kimbrough Barlow, and that simple act brought about both more information but also some serious questions as well.   

Looking a little further into Samuel K Barlow I learned that a good deal of research had been done about him and the Barlow surname, and that further there was really a lot more about this compelling man that I had not fully understood.  Yes, he was a well known Oregon pioneer that had a trail named after him but beyond that I new little.  Like Samuel's father William Henry Harrison Barlow following the trail of 'Danial Boone' into the wilds of Kentucky or Samuel's open challenge to British authority prior to the Revolutionary War was fascinating to learn.  Although I'll admit I was very drawn in when I read that Samuel was personal friends of statesman Henry Clay the former Congressman, House Speaker, Senator, and Secretary of State that was a presidential candidate in 1844, and that Samuel reportedly took to the stump in support of.  Although when Clay lost the election to James K Polk it was the deciding factor for Samuel to declare his intention of never living under his administration in which he immediately offered his farm for sale and decided to head west "where at least the isolation and obscurity of it would be some palliation for the offence under which he and his party were suffering."

So my quest to both learn more and also properly document this passed down assumption of a family lineage to Samuel Kimbrough Barlow had begun.  Little did I know there was so much more to learn beyond S.K. Barlow.   A very simple family tree had been jotted down onto some note paper years ago but it wasn't fully complete and certainly didn't provide any documentation that is so amazingly accessible today via the internet.  So this journey began; to learn, to verify and document our family history starting with our link to S.K. Barlow.  So far it has brought some frustration when road blocks occur but absolute exhilaration when a new research tactic has uncovered more documentation of our family history.

My first real genealogy challenge was when looking at this very basic family tree that I had been given, was understanding who the heck 'Ellie' Barlow was.  Listed as a 2nd great grandmother, why were there no records of her anywhere?  Or any records linking her to us or the Barlow family.  Was this just a tall tale that we'd bought into?  The research began in earnest.