Owutatangledweb
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The article from the New Zealand paper has a lot of information. I would say they're probably struggling. It seems to be a very difficult case.
Is there anything we can do besides try to spread the word?
The most obvious thing that occurs to me (I know absolutely nothing about genealogy) is that they need to figure out which one of Mr and Mrs Vanstone's kids Annie is descended from, ie. they need to figure out which branch of the Vanstone family Annie hails from.
In other words, this is a case for Kiwi genealogists, for now at least.
I'm also wondering why they have released so much info. Possibly because they've realised the NZ press is excited about this, and they want the publicity (not a bad thing! Publicity means donations and donations means more cases being taken on!) or maybe because they're hoping this will encourage more people in NZ to upload to GEDmatch and therefore might help to identify Annie Doe. There are lots of possibilities. I'm hoping it's not because they're struggling with her. MOO.
Yikes, are you able to fill in the dates and blocked info because I won't pay for these ancestor sites
19th century Canterbury couple could help solve US body mystery
“The DNA Doe Project researchers have found two of the New Zealand matches shared DNA with each other. Their common ancestors were Canterbury couple Richard James Vanstone and Harriet Ellen Vanstone, whose maiden name was Williams. Richard was born in Devonport, England in 1832 and died in Little River, Canterbury in 1900. Harriet was born in Akaroa in 1861 and died in Little River in 1948.“
Well, that's... fifty shades of eerieOk now this is a weird little - unrelated - coincidence and probably too off topic to post here but it's so odd that I had to...
Little River is in a small and fairly low population area called Banks Peninsula. Googling the Vanstones of Banks Peninsula came up with this guy Graham Vanstone who went missing in 1999 never to be seen again.
Banks Peninsula vineyards prove their worth
Where are they?
Given the size of the area and the fact it's a less common surname, I would be pretty confident that Graham is a descendant of Richard and Harriet.
Ok now this is a weird little - unrelated - coincidence and probably too off topic to post here but it's so odd that I had to...
Little River is in a small and fairly low population area called Banks Peninsula. Googling the Vanstones of Banks Peninsula came up with this guy Graham Vanstone who went missing in 1999 never to be seen again.
Banks Peninsula vineyards prove their worth
Where are they?
Given the size of the area and the fact it's a less common surname, I would be pretty confident that Graham is a descendant of Richard and Harriet.
Ok now this is a weird little - unrelated - coincidence and probably too off topic to post here but it's so odd that I had to...
Little River is in a small and fairly low population area called Banks Peninsula. Googling the Vanstones of Banks Peninsula came up with this guy Graham Vanstone who went missing in 1999 never to be seen again.
Banks Peninsula vineyards prove their worth
Where are they?
Given the size of the area and the fact it's a less common surname, I would be pretty confident that Graham is a descendant of Richard and Harriet.
I didn't but I will do that now. ThanksWow, great find. I'm working on the Vanstone family tree in my spare time (which is not much this week as Thanksgiving is approaching). I'm going to see if I can connect him to Richard and Harriet. Did you send that to DNA Doe Project? (they probably know but just in case)
Wow, great find. I'm working on the Vanstone family tree in my spare time (which is not much this week as Thanksgiving is approaching). I'm going to see if I can connect him to Richard and Harriet. Did you send that to DNA Doe Project? (they probably know but just in case)
This is so interesting.I have found the connection. The missing Graham John Vanstone is a Great Grandson of Richard and Harriet (I won't post any other names but the link is easy to find in public family trees). He disappeared in 1999 on Father's day at the age of 49. He had two sons (see MSM articles on his thread). I don't believe Graham is old enough to be Annie Doe's father-- if my math is right they would have been close in age. I wonder if perhaps Graham's sons or grandchildren have contributed their DNA to GedMatch hoping to find Graham? Just speculating that that may be why DDP was able to make a connection to the family line. If they have not uploaded their DNA, this may be another mystery that could be solved if they did. I hope his family would consider it if they have not already. JMO.
I found quite a few Vanstones in Ontario, Canada, especially Toronto - Bowmanville area. Great Lakes, anyone..?There are Vanstones in Boston US, Alberta Canada, and one who appears to have been a Scotland Yard detective A Man in Plain Clothes by Charles Vanstone Ex Detective Superintendent - AbeBooks
Update: Managed to get a hold of that PDF, and the last chapter deals with Richard James and Harriet Ellen Vanstone from page 58 and forward. It mentions their daughters, but stops there (I suppose it's because of privacy protections). Do you think DDP is aware of Carol Bell? She's the author of this text.There used to be a called vanstoneweb.co.uk , but unfortunately it's no longer operational. I did, however, manage to open various screenshots of that page on Wayback, and there's a seven part PDF named A History of The Vanstones of New Zealand by Carol Bell (see link below) That would be an interesting read...
The Vanstone Web
Edit: Carol Bell seem to be a person of interest when it comes to genealogy and the Vanstone family in NZ (she is a descendant). Her name comes up quite often in forums.
Information on more recent generations may be available to family members and can be obtained from carolbel@es.co.nz