Photo Discovery: 3GG Nancy Wood (1810-1886)

Acquiring images of ancestors is an integral aspect of genealogy research.  Seeing a face speaks volumes about the personalities of our progenitors.

A Lukemire cousin recently forwarded an image of our mutual third great-grandmother (3GG) Rachel Nancy Wood (1810-1886).

We know very little about Nancy.  She was born 3 Mar 1810 in southwestern Ohio to Joseph Wood (1762-1849) and Phebe Waits (1767-1858).  I haven’t researched her fully and am likely missing some siblings, but one brother named John Wood, born 1818, is confirmed, and a Charles Wood, born 1824, may be a brother as well.  They were residents of Clermont County, Ohio.

Nancy married Joel Homan on 12 May 1832 in Brown County, Ohio, adjacent to Clermont County.  They resided in Williamsburg, Clermont, Ohio the rest of their lives.  Their daughter Kate Homan (1845-1912) married Civil War veteran Leonidas Lukemire (1843-1928) in 1865.  Leonidas and Kate are my 2GGs.

A genetic connection to Nancy is suggested by six DNA matches descended from two of her children: Ann Eliza Homan (1834-1912) and Joseph W. Homan (1841-1933).  She and Joel had at least seven children.

I now have photographs of all my grandparents and great-grandparents, plus images for 12 of my 16 second great-grandparents (2GGs) – 75%.  The percentage drops dramatically at the 3GG level, however, which makes sense because we’re talking about a generation that was born in the 1790s and early 1800s.  The number of 3GGs that our family has images of has increased from eight to nine.  That’s nine out of 32 (28%).

Nancy’s photograph is obviously not the finest quality.  I tried to enhance it on MyHeritage but the image is so murky that the result was worse than the original.  Her photograph is certainly not as illustrative as her husband’s wonderful image: