Edward wrote:
The loss of the church registers at Brigus was a great tragedy. Before 1825 Chapel's Cove was served from Harbour Grace and St. John's so the earliest references to your family would be in those places. You can circumvent your brick wall by visiting the Registry of Deeds, using probate records, and locating obituaries. Sometimes directories and voter's lists can provide a clue. A DNA test of a male descendant may also help.
I have had good success by analyzing the choice of Godparents and witnesses at marriages. Usually they tend to be close relatives.
Hi Edward, thank you for your response and I truly appreciate your feedback and direction.
My biggest hurdle is finding the connection of Peter Hawko to his siblings and parents. I need one or two sibling names and I’m off to the races. All my family members on the Hawco side that could give me that information are dead, unfortunately. As for DNA testing, I’m awaiting the results now. The only male Hawco link I have to do the YDNA test is my brother’s son and he has agreed to do the test for me. Once I have our DNA results, and assuming other Hawco memebers have done theirs too, I should get some solid results and feedback on our lineage.
The one good thing I have in my favour is the fact there are only few Peter Hawco’s born between 1830 and 1890, that’s a plus.