DNA Detective

I always feel guilty when I look at how long it has been since I posted here. Even though it's been a while, I am still researching, although not as obsessively as I have in the past. For example, I still check my ancestry dna matches every month.

So far most of my matches are distant but my maternal uncle who also took the test had a match that was close, a 3rd to 4th cousin. I checked out the match and looked at the 2x grandparents that my uncle may share with the match. One name stood out because of the location where this person lived. I had never heard this name before--Josiah Pridgen--but he died in Cherokee, Alabama.

My maternal 2xgrandmother Mary Jane Roberts Koonce was born in Alabama. The oral legend claimed that her father was white and her mother was native American-Cherokee. It also claimed that she and her mother came to Tennessee during the Trail of Tears.

That part about the Trail of Tears is wrong because she was born after that infamous trail.  But is it possible that the legend got twisted? Could she have actually lived in and/or be from Cherokee, Alabama?


I checked the 1860 slave schedule for Josiah and he had three slaves who matched my family's ages--
Julie, Jane and the oldest son Joseph--and they were all designated mulatto! Could Josiah be the missing link for the Roberts’ family?

I put it aside for a minute but today I checked my dna matches again. I searched Josiah Pridgen again. He was born in 1812 in North Carolina. His parents were Joel Pridgen and Elizabeth Richardson. In searching for Josiah, the name Zilly Pridgen and Reuben Bachelor were in the results. I searched my dna matches to see if Bachelor or Pridgen came up and hit pay dirt. Through deduction and dna matches, I am certain that Josiah Pridgen is my 3x great grandfather.

Add to that there is a resemblance between Josiah's son Milton and my grandmother Mary Jane especially around the noses.  Or is that just wishful thinking? Photos aside, according to the DNA, I am related to the Pridgen family.

It's Not Easy Being Green

When I was in school, it was the custom to pinch anyone not wearing green on St. Patrick's Day. It had nothing to do with being Irish. I attended a Black segregated public school. However, I would proudly tell my fellow classmates that I really was Irish. This was the oral legend of my family.

Now with the aid of science and DNA testing, I have proof of my Irish heritage. According to ancestry.com, I am a whopping 19% Irish. I still don't know how, when or where, but I am definitely descended from several persons from Ireland. And my Irish ancestors reside behind my brick wall.

I know most of my Black ancestors back to 1825. I only know one White ancestral line up to that date. That is my Featherston line. There may be Irish roots there. The Featherstons did come from England so there may be Irish ties somewhere in that family tree.

What is unique about my Featherston ties is that the interracial union of my great grandparents occurred right after slavery. Those other earlier couplings were, more than likely, forced and they definitely were not documented.

Irish immigrants didn't have it easy when they first arrived here in America. People looked down on  them, discriminated against them, called them "black" among other epitaphs. Some were even held as slaves. Of course, their road to equality cannot compare to Black American's tedious journey.

I'm not sure how I'm supposed to feel about my Irish heritage. I'm no longer that young naive child that gladly pronounced that she was Irish. I don't resent it either. My feelings, like Black genealogy, is complicated.

Brick Walls

I have been researching for nearly 20 years now. I have made great discoveries but I'm still stuck behind the proverbial brick wall. My brick wall is visual.

I know all my great grandparents' names. I even know most of my great-grandparents' names. And there it stops. Except for five names, I know little or nothing of my great great great grandparents. And therein lies my problem.

I was so excited when I got my DNA results back from Ancestry.com. I received all these wonderful matches. I even have two circles with shared ancestors. The problem was that those shared ancestors were already known to me. Yes, it did confirm that Charles Featherston was my great grandfather and that was nice. However, I was hoping for something more enlightening. And that won't come until I can figure out more about my great great great grandparents.

Unfortunately, the DNA results has also confirmed another assumption I had made. I am alone in my family when it comes to this pursuit. My closest relatives to have their DNA tested, except for my uncle, are distant 4th cousins. That means we share --you got it-- an unknown great great great grandparent.

So I will continue to scour the records as I try to chip away at that wall and I will continue to pray that more of my cousins, closer cousins, catch this genealogy bug. It could happen.

A little faith. A lot of looking up

Since taking the DNA test, I have become completely hooked in using it to find my ancestors. Ancestry.com sent back hundreds of matches. Gedmatch.com, a wonderful utility site, has given me dozens of matches. And still I am no closer to discovering my roots. However, it is giving me hope.

I look at the matches. I look at their family trees, at least, the ones that have submitted trees, and most of them have names I don't recognize. I have deduced, since so many on the trees were born in Virginia or North Carolina, that these matches were made in slavery. Therein lies my dilemma. Slaves had no surnames. I only know three slave owner names for sure and they are definitely not my progenitors.  I am not including Charles Featherston in that group. The dna results have proved he is my great great grandfather and he was not a slave owner.

But there is a silver lining. I am closer to learning some of my ancestors' surnames. I just have to go through every family tree, find the names that are mentioned the most and contact the tree owners. Of course, that will be tedious and many tree owners have that annoying habit of not replying to my emails. But if it was easy, would I be so obsessed?

Fun with DNA

I have been skeptical and more than a little paranoid about DNA testing. I wasn't willing to give up my spit if the answers from the database were skewed by too small a sampling. Then out of the blue my maternal uncle took the test. I didn't even know he was that interested. My aunt said  he was trying to keep up with me. Well, he one upped me when he got his DNA tested.

His results fascinated me. His DNA was 68% African, 30% European. The breakdown is as follows:

Cameroon/Congo 21%                                                                      

Benin/Togo 17%                                                                                 

Mali 9%                                                                                                 

Ivory Coast/Ghana 8%                                                                       

Senegal 4%                                                                                           

Nigeria 2%                                                                                            

Africa North 1%

Africa Southeastern Bantu 5% and a little Africa South-Central Hunter-Gatherers

        Ireland 17%

       Great Britain 5%

       European trace regions 8% including Scandinavian and Iberian penisula

       Amerindian  less than 1%

       Asia Central less than 1%

       

Okay. Now I'm curious. What do we share? So I took the Ancestry DNA test. My results were similar but different. My DNA was 71% African and 27% European. The breakdown for me is as follows:

        Cameroon/Congo  5%

        Benin/Togo 10%

        Mali 3%

        Ivory Coast/Ghana 10%

        Africa Southeastern Bantu 14%

        Senegal 5%

        Nigeria  26%

        Africa South-Central Hunter-Gatherers   1%

        Ireland 19%

        Great Britain 6%

        West Europe 2%

        Amerindian  less than 1%

        Asia Central 1%

Lots of numbers and regions but what do they mean and how can they help me figure out my ancestors? Now "the game's afoot." This has renewed my enthusiasm. I want to know more. 

"Mississippi to Africa" Book Signing

Saturday was an inspirational day as far as my genealogical journey is concerned. I went to Chicago for a book signing. The author is Melvin Collier. The book is Mississippi to Africa."

I met Melvin on Facebook. He mistakenly thought I was a cousin but he was correct in identifying my obsession for genealogy. I have decided I want to be him when I grow up. First, he was able to trace some of his ancestors back to Africa. That is monumental and downright impossible for many Black Americans. Secondly, he has been able to distribute and sell his book all over the country. Although my book is finished, I have only sold a few copies to relatives. He sold out of copies at the Chicago book signing so I haven't been able to read it yet. I want to find out more about how he was able to trace his ancestors so far back even though my Mississippi relatives come from a different part of the state.

At the signing was Dr. Rick Kittles of African Ancestry DNA. Dr. Kittles wrote the forward to Melvin's book and was instrumental is narrowing down where Melvin's ancestors came from in Africa. Although I am skeptical whether the genetic database of the company is large enough for accurate testing, Dr. Skittles insists that the database is large enough. The price is hefty too. He quoted me $275 but I have noted that the fee can go over $300.
What was most impressive for me at the book signing though was the number of people attending and the great enthusiasm for information. It made me feel like I was a "cousin" after all.