I took this picture of a huge spider web in a crabapple tree outside the bedroom window several years ago. I liked the way it looked and thought it looked cool. This is about the size of the tangled mess the Adkins family tree is, and just as intricately woven.
About four years ago, I took a DNA test using Family Tree DNA, and more recently using MyHeritage. I uploaded the Family Tree DNA results to MyHeritage, as well as it being on the FT website, to see if I could get more hits and find more family members, which I did. Of course, MyHertiage DNA kit automatically uploaded to their website, but I guess none of this makes a difference, just giving a little background, but I digress, so now I'll move on.
A couple years ago, MyHeritage started doing what they call "theory of relativity" in which they take your DNA matches and show you how you are or possibly related to your matches. I now use these solely, as I feel I am likely to get more accurate information and I can quickly see if there is a true family match or not.
So yesterday, I was going through my theory matches and was able to quickly ascertain the first couple I looked at were not matches. The third match held out much hope. The match was to a Mark Baldwin. He matches through Daddy's side, going from Bennett to Adkins. There is where the tangled web started.
There were five paths, which means different trees compared to mine and connecting at different people. I was a 100% match on the first tree compared to mine up to my Great-grandfather William Bennett. Well, actually it would have been up to my Great-great-grandmother Nancy if I had her on my tree in MyHeritage. I don't have a paid subscription anymore, so am limited as to how many members can be on my tree. Again, I digress. After my great-great-grandmother, things go a little sideways.
Since I started researching my family tree, I was always told, and have found information stating that my Great-great-grandmother Nancy was the daughter of Parker and Mary "Jane" LaFon Adkins. Not so on these family trees I looked at. According to some of the family trees, Nancy is the daughter of Hezekiah and Mary Levon, as her surname appeared in some trees, or LaFon, as it appeared in one.
It gets worse. I found some of the trees, have Nancy the daughter of Hezekiah and Mary Blue Sky Cornstalk Adkins. In my past research, I have found Parker V. Adkins married a Shawnee named Mary Blue sky (or Bluesky) Cornstalk, but he is not Nancy's father, or at least she was not among the children listed as his issue.
I don't know how well these tree owners vet their information. There was a lot of duplicates, inconsistencies and overall mass confusion on some of these trees.
Of course this is where being anal and wanting control kicks in. I created a separate tree with all the information from these seven trees, including all the conflicting information, inconsistencies, etc. I am now tasked with pulling the right thread to untangle this massive web.
I find the Adkins branch of the family very confusing. There are like a gazillion Parker, Jacob, Larkin Adkins, just to name a few. I know FamilySearch has dozen of corrections probably made daily on the Parker Vincent Adkins. I get weekly updates of changes made to records of people I am watching, and he is ALWAYS on there. I am to the point where I don't even look at his record anymore. I have no way of knowing if the correct information is being assigned to the correct Parker. But I guess this is the chance you take when dealing with community trees.
