Hi everyone!
It's time to get to know another one of our wonderful WikiTreers. This week's member is Robert Teague.
Robert became a Wiki Genealogist in December 2015. He is the Project Coordinator for the Native AmericanProject.
When did you get interested in family history?
My initial interests were sparked almost 40 years ago with the discovery that I was a lineal descendant of the“Absentee or Citizen Wyandotte Indians.”This revelation generated the two broad questions that continue to drive my family history research: “why didn’t we know about this history growing up?” and “how come we know so much about this or that family, and not so much about the others?” Rather than stew about why we never learned or talked much about ‘that side’ of our family, in 2012 I decided in earnest to write my family history and bring these families’ stories to life.
The Wyandot discovery also led to a decades-long search for an evidentiary document known as the “Olive Roll,” which finally paid off in 2022 (thank you, National Archives!) Since then I’ve identified 184 of the 202 people listed on the Olive Roll, and have created or connected WikiTree profiles for 178 of them.
What are some of your interests outside of genealogy?
I love to read and am a library geek. So I do love the pursuit of sources! I like spending time at the nearby Family History Library as well as the UC Berkeley Libraries, including the Bancroft, which is known for its Western Americana collection. Tangential to genealogy, I enjoy transcribing documents from the National Archives as aNARA Citizen Archivist.
Beyond genealogy I enjoy home cooking, especially Mediterranean cuisine and sourdough baking; running and trail hiking; exploring wine country and coastal park areas; and leisurely learning Italian.
What is your genealogical research focus?
My main focus is rooted in family history writing. In addition to Wyandot families, I focus a lot on ancestors within my CC7 connection count, especially the families within earlier degrees whose stories are less known or documented.
Are you interested in certain surnames or locations?
I love to follow the migration patterns of certain family groups, such as:
- Wyandot and other “emigrant tribe” families with origins in Canada and the Great Lakes regions who migrated to the Ohio Valley, then Kansas, and ultimately to Indian Territory/Oklahoma (Armstrong, Zane)
- Missouri pioneer families from Virginia/Kentucky (Gregory, Withers)
- Quaker families who migrated from North Carolina to Ohio & Indiana (Teague, Irwin, Logue/Melogue)
- The “Catholic League of Families” from Maryland who migrated to Kentucky & Missouri (Wheeler, Wathen, Medley, Fenwick)
- Irish Potato Famine immigrants (Martin).
I also like to explore “geographic genealogy” by mapping out my fantasy road trip. It turns out my family migration patterns roughly follow US Route 50 from Maryland to California, with some interesting or significant spurs along the way.
Do you have a favorite ancestor?
Topping the list of my favorite groups of ancestors are the women of my ancestral families, starting with my two grandmothers and two aunts who were the preservers of their own family histories. I’m very lucky to now possess much of their early work and many of their artifacts like tintype photographs.
Also the women pioneers, who “traveled in the company of other women similarly occupied, in a train of horseback riders, carriages, and wagons with other pioneer families who would be as safe and resourceful as always.” The quote is from the unpublished memoirs of my grandmotherMargaret Withers Teague(who once worked as the cataloger for Thomas Gilcrease’s Western Americana collection), describing the journey of her great grandmother, who emigrated from Kentucky to Missouri overland by horse and buggy in 1834. “Grandmargaret” (a moniker I apparently bestowed upon her when I was a child, to “distinguish her from my other grandmother”) was a prolific storyteller, and her parents were also historians in Clay County, Missouri. Their work on Withers family history, and Grandmargaret’s dedication to the tradition of “continuity of family and farm” that roots her own unpublished memoirs inspired my family history writing project.
Do you have a favorite genealogical discovery?
My most favorite genealogical discoveries include images of the ship’s manifest showing the family of 3rd-ggfThomas Martinimmigrating from Ireland in 1849, and a collection of early photographs of the Martin family that was handed down to me a few years ago. The photo collection was originally given to my grandmother Helen Gregory Wheeler by her grandmother,Oletha Jeanette (“Nettie”) Bedell, who was the wife of Thomas Martin’s son William. So the albums include early tintypes and other photos of some of the Bedells, as well as the children of William and Nettie Martin. Their daughter was my great-grandmother Maude Martin Gregory, and I have another album of early photographs from the Gregory side of my family. Related to that is one of my other favorite finds: a copy of a handwritten autobiography of my great-great grandmotherJalia (Gregory) Wood.
What is your toughest brick wall currently?
The parents of my 3rd great grandfatherJoshua Teague. My Teague trail goes completely cold beyond Joshua. The strongest hunch is that he is “of Irish forebears” and his ancestors could have been Irish Quaker immigrants. I can definitely connect him to his descendants but have had no luck confirming his parentage.
How long have you been on WikiTree?
I first stumbled onto WikiTree about nine years ago, when profiles kept turning up in my online search results for Kansas Wyandots and my Missouri pioneer families. A lot of them had limited biographical details or source information so I initially decided to use WT as a tool for helping with my writing project. A few years later, after looking at other collaborative genealogy sites, I decided to start putting most of my research here on WikiTree. The quest to have profiles for every Absentee Wyandotte really jump-started it!
What do you spend the most time doing on WikiTree?
It’s pretty random, actually. I try to spend about half of my devoted WikiTree time working on biographies and sourcing profiles of people in my family history, and the other half on Native American “emigrant tribes”-related research. I broadly try to devote half of my “genealogy time” to research, and the other half to writing. It generally works out that way and when it doesn’t, I don’t worry too much about it. I don’t mind going off-course to chase down new leads or people, as long as I remember how to get back on the main road!
Which project are you most involved in?
I recently became a project coordinator for the Native Americans Project. I focus mostly on helping to grow and develop different Tribes & Nations teams and encouraging volunteers to help reactivate or invigorate teams that have been dormant for a while. I also work on project and team resource pages, where I can share potential sources from tribal communities, the National Archives Catalog, libraries and museums, and other research organizations focused on Native Americans.
How can others help that project?
Generally speaking I’d say the most helpful thing anyone can do is to help with sourcing Native American profiles as solidly as possible. And it’s always great to have more volunteer researchers who are affiliated with tribal communities participating on the.
Do you consider your work here to be part of your legacy?
I do consider it to be part of my legacy. Even if I never publish my family history project, the stories of my families will live on through the work I’ve done here more than any other genealogy site.
Hopefully someone down the line or from another tree branch will also be inspired to contribute to the “continuity of family,” as Grandmargaret would’ve said.
What is your favorite feature or function on WikiTree?
On the platform side my most favorite things are the emphasis on biographies and sources, and the ability to categorize groups of individuals. For me WikiTree turned out to be the best place to integrate my online research. For example, I became a Cemeterist so I could work on linking profiles of people buried in theHuron Indian Cemetery(aka Wyandot National Burying Ground) in Kansas City. I also love working with the WikiTree Browser Extension and WikiTree Apps for sourcing.
On the community side, my most favorite features are the communication tools and protocols for collaboration, such as the Honor Code, ability to make Comments on profiles, and the G2G discussion forum. To me this level of engagement is what sets WikiTree apart from other collaborative genealogy sites.
What feature or function would you most like to see added or improved?
I would love the ability to edit the layout of person profile pages to make use of the entire page space. That said, I also appreciate that my old-school style preferences are not always compatible with the needs and desires of a global user base!
Do you have a story about how someone was helped through your participation on WikiTree?
Sort of! A few years ago I was contacted by a graduate student in historical preservation who sent me a private message from one of my ancestor’s profiles that I manage. The student was working on a report about the history and significance of a property once owned by my 2nd great granduncleWill H. WHeelerin Cape Girardeau, MO. It turns out the information I supplied regarding Uncle Will’s business ventures informed the student’s reporting on the business and transportation development of “the Cape” during the late 19th century. I was so honored to receive a final copy of the student’s report - hopefully they got a good grade on it! It was also nice to have Uncle Will memorialized in such an unexpected way.
Do you have a story about how you were helped through the work of others on WikiTree?
Honestly, I’ve been most helped by WikiTree-ers who have pointed out flaws or inconsistencies in my research. The ability to collaborate with more experienced genealogists and researchers in a community forum is definitely a highlight of working on WikiTree.
Do you have any tips for someone who wants to get more involved in our community?
Appreciate and embrace both the advantages and limitations of working on genealogy in a collaborative wiki environment. Be open to questioning. As others have pointed out, participate at your own comfort level. And become active in G2G! As we say, “we’re a friendly community and we help each other!”
