Of all the names that occupy a space on my family tree, Ursula Liptrot is perhaps my favorite. She is my 6th great grandmother according to multiple family trees posted across the Internet. Her granddaughter’s granddaughter was Isadora Sims who married Campbell Jackson Trantham, my 2nd great grandfather. Nothing much is known about Ursula beyond the names of her immediate family and that she lived in Virginia where she married her husband and my ancestor, John Jordan.

The Liptrots are connected to royalty but no one seems to recall how. That’s not something I can use but I cleverly managed to slip it into the post nonetheless. Perhaps they were enemies of the state who escaped to the New World. Perhaps they were chambermaids. Perhaps I’ll never know.

As I do with all ancestral names, I turn to my DNA matches for supporting evidence: do any of my DNA cousins have Liptrots as direct ancestors? Yes. My father and aunt do as well. But here’s the deal: I have Liptrot matches who are NOT matches to my father. Anyone who matches me must match him unless… one of them, as it happens, is a known distant cousin to my mother. “Known” because we know how we’re related. This DNA match is also a descendant of a Liptrot – Ursula’s sister, Elizabeth. So we potentially share DNA from two sets of great grandies.

It’s all very confusing I realize but it’s set me on a course to find the 10th instance of a distant cousin on my mother’s side marrying a distant cousin of my father’s. A blizzard is headed my way. Guess I know how I’ll be spending my weekend as long as I have power.

Kenfolk: Tranthams
Relation: 6th great grandmother
Common ancestors: Ursulas’ parents were reportedly Edmond and Rachel (Ladd) Liptrot, my 7th great grandparents. And don’t even get me started on the Ladds. Some industrious person has traced Rachel’s line back to 1420!!