Anybody know anything about DNA testing re genealogy?

[marions ghost]

There is a debate among descendants in my family about our common ancestor who came to America in the early 1600's. Some say he came from Scotland, some say England. There are very few records and anecdotal evidence. What little there is-- is inconclusive as he was a political/religious exile from the post-Reformation era who took pains to hide his origins. He may well have been a Scot hiding in England. Someone suggested DNA testing might be a way to prove this once and for all, as there are some present-day descendants in Scotland where he is supposed to have originated, who would perhaps be interested in participating. There is no problem identifying the lineage in Scotland nor the lineage in America--it's just that one link--the guy who "disappeared" that is the problem.

So does anybody know how to go about such DNA testing? What might it cost? How many descendants need to be included? Is this kind of testing conclusive? Do you need to draw blood--or is saliva or hair good enough? Is this link too long ago and would descendants be too diluted? Any thoughts appreciated. mg

[Rhiannon12866]

1. I don't know, since this is usually a police matter, but I do know

That blood, hair and saliva testing is equally conclusive, for DNA testing. But I'm kicking this hoping somebody knows more than me. Best of luck.:-)

[fudge stripe cookays]

2. I have heard....

something about having to have sons of sons of sons....directly through the male ancestors.

There's something about mitochondrial (maternal) DNA not being as good for this purpose. But don't pay any attention to me. I've only read parts of articles here and there about it.

It bugs me because in my family, my father's dead, his 2 brothers are dead, and my brother and I are estranged. So I'm effectively stuck at a brickwall if I wanted to pursue this.

Good luck!
FSC

[Spider Jerusalem]

3. I think it's Y-chromosome testing you're thinking of.

The Y-chromosome is passed along the male line virtually unaltered, so it's excellent for purposes of genealogical study. Here's an article that may help: http://genealogy.about.com/library/authors/ucroderick1e.htm

[Cooley Hurd]

4. They used DNA to try to prove an affair between Thomas Jefferson...

...and Sally Hemmings, one of his slaves. Evidently, they found some Jefferson genes in one of Hemmings' descendants:

http://www.people.virginia.edu/~rjh9u/tomsally.html



An article in the November 5, 1998, edition of Nature provides DNA evidence that Thomas Jefferson or some other male Jefferson such as Randolph, the brother of Thomas, could have been the father of one of the sons of Sally Hemings, who was a slave at Jefferson's Monticello. The technique relies on the fact that the human Y-chromosome is handed down directly from father to son and that all paternally related males will have the same Y-chromosome. Although Thomas Jefferson did not have any sons who survived to produce children, his father's brother, Field Jefferson, did have sons and it has been possible to locate 5 descendants of Field Jefferson who are in a direct male-line of descent. Thus, these individuals (descendants of Field Jefferson) should have the same Y-chromosome DNA as the Y-chromosome DNA of Thomas Jefferson and any male-line descendant of his.
The male-line descendants of two of Sally Hemmings sons were located and their Y-chromosome DNA was examined for comparison to the Y-chromosome DNA of Field Jefferson's descendants. The DNA from the five male-line descendants of Thomas Woodson, oldest son of Sally Hemings, did not match the Jefferson DNA. In fact, one of Woodson's descendants did not match well with the other four. However, the DNA from the one descendant of Eston Hemings, youngest son of Sally Hemings, did match the Jefferson DNA.
This lends credence to the supposition that Thomas Jefferson may have been the father of Eston Hemings. However, historian Williard S. Randall, notes, "There were 25 men within 20 miles of Monticello who were all Jeffersons and had the same Y chromosome. And 23 of them were younger than Jefferson, who was 65 years old when Eston was conceived." Randall, wrote a 1993 biography of Jefferson, titled, Thomas Jefferson: A Life. More detailed information is available. Three different authors provide some perspective on Jefferson and Hemings in The Nation. Finally, the The Jefferson-Hemings Scholars Commission concluded that Randolph Jefferson, Thomas' brother, was more likely to have fathered Eston Hemings.

[fudge stripe cookays]

6. When we looked at our house before we bought...

the black family that was living in it had a book on this, "Jefferson's Children", as their coffee table book, so I began leafing through it. Absolutely fascinating! I had to buy my own copy.

One of the younger black descendants had managed to contact quite a few of the other descendants, and it tracked their stories. Some were very black, others could pass for white, and others-- you couldn't tell their family mix had ever had a drop of black in it.

It detailed a reunion of the black and white Jefferson descendants, including the grandson of General Lucian Truscott.

I hadn't heard about Jefferson's brother being Eston's possible father, but I guess that makes more sense if he was younger.

FSC

[jwirr]

12. Do you have the circumstantial evidence that would indicate that

Randolph rather than Thomas fathered the children? I know that he moved and died in another area of Virginia so I think it is a stretch to assume that every time she got pregnant he was a visitor. There is evidence that Thomas was in residence each time.

[IA_Seth]

5. Quick Help

Sorry for not being overly detailed, but I am late for a meeting and don't have enough time to get it all in...

Do a search on "Moomey Mumma DNA" and you should pull a page on the Mumma DNA project...they did some quite extensive DNA testing to see if various surnames were in fact corruptions of the same line..

I will check in later!

[applegrove]

7. Contact National Geographic Magazine. They are up to something

DNA wise.

[mtnester]

8. There are many DNA projects going on right now...head for Family Tree DNA

and search your surname

http://www.familytreedna.com/surname.asp

Our family is preparing to do this.

[marions ghost]

10. thank you

n/t

[LaurenG]

9. I talked my father into doing this

and we have gotten some information from others who share ancestry with us. I ordered the twelve for him but recently ordered a more complex test. It is interesting as my father died shortly after he sent in his original test, we were trying to tie his line in with a suspected branch of his surname. I will get the results back from the expanded test in April and will let you know if we tie in names. The original 12 was $99.00. The one I just ordered was an additional $145.00. I will let you know the outcome if you would like.

[sybylla]

11. Just remember what kind of eggs you might be cracking

I've seen studies like the one in this article (though I can't find them at the moment) that suggest the father on the birth certificate, the one everyone thought was the father, will not always be the father. DNA is only as fool proof as we are. I've even heard numbers on more recent studies that suggest the rate of nonfatherhood is higher - more like 10-15% rather than the 4% suggested in the article below.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4137506.stm
One in 25 fathers 'not the daddy'

Up to one in 25 dads could unknowingly be raising another man's child, UK health researchers estimate.

Increasing use of genetic testing for medical and legal reasons means more couples are discovering the biological proof of who fathered the child.

The Liverpool John Moores University team reached its estimate based on research findings published between 1950 and 2004.

The study appears in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

<snip>

Whether it's as close as your father or as distant as your 4th great grandfather, what will you do with the information that comes back if it says you don't "belong"? How certain will you be that it means anything to your family history. Without further testing, you can't know what generation your family diverged from the tree. Will you care?

I've found a family association that has been working to find volunteers for y-chromasome DNA. Based on the results of one test, they have decided my ancestor isn't descended from the family it's always thought he was descended from. What that means is that until more testing is done, the whole tree is up in the air.

I only say this to warn you to be careful what you wish for.