About My Site

Hello visitor! If you're a returning visitor - welcome back! This site is a redesign of one I had a few years back. Hackers got into the that one and I had to recreate from scratch. I also used to have a separate site for http://www.braniffs.ws - although I haven't done much in the way …

Tracing Canadian Vanderport

Back about 15 years ago when my maternal grandmother was clearing out photo albums, prepping for her move into a senior's care centre, she pulled out a photo of a man and handed it to my aunt. My aunt, her daughter, passed it along to me along with the note that he was grandma's biological …

Hosmer genealogy FB group

Earlier this week I was contacted by a previously unknown Hosmer cousin. It turns out she's from my 3rd great-grandfather John Hosmer's first marriage to Sarah Maliss Green. After exchanging a bit of info on FB Messenger, I decided to create a new FB group that will allow us and other cousins interested in the …

Website plans

I'm slowly working on design changes for my genealogy database website. Progress is slow due to the facts that I've been busy building a website for a client, plus my gardening & yard work. I did inherit some of my parents, grandparents, great GPS talent for gardening. I'd say my thumb is semi-green as I'm …

Estacaille submission to 23andMe DNA

I took advantage of the recent Fathers Day sale at 23andMe.com to order another DNA kit, to give it a spin. I just submitted it this week my mail, and will post an update here and on my Facebook group once I see the results. I did order the ancestry & health reports kit, out …

More DNA tests

Two weeks ago, my parents DNA tests results were finally active on Ancestry. I find it takes about 6 weeks from the time it's mailed before results are available. Anyway, I spent part of my Sunday evening logging into their accounts, printing the reports and connecting their profiles to the tree I have built of …

Family connections: July 12-25

A bit of family news this past week or so. I received in the mail earlier this month a nice letter from a Hosmer cousin, Sharon. We hadn't corresponded before, but I have exchanged letters in the past with her mom who due to health issues no longer writes. I've written back by snail mail …

Lost family discovered by DNA

A few months prior to my adopted brother's death, I had purchased a DNA kit for him as an early birthday gift. He got to see the results of that kit just a month prior to the accident that contributed to his death. Fortunately in 1997 he had written to the BC Ministry of Social …