DNA – The hereditary material in humans
I remember when I first started hearing about DNA testing for genealogy purposes. That was well over 20 years ago and prohibitively expensive. By the time I took my first of six tests in 2012, the price was under $200, now you can test for as little as $49. In a few short weeks you can be viewing matches to your genetic make up from databases with tens of millions of testers.
It’s taken me ten years to get a decent handle on understanding the different tests and the results that I received. For years I wasn’t getting the most from my results, but that’s finally starting to change as I’ve taken classes and watched webinars that explain how I inherited 50% of Momma’s DNA and 50% of Daddy’s and how the same holds true for each of them and their parents, so with each generation certain genetics are lost.
There’s a saying that even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in awhile. Well, that’s kind of what happened in 2016.
Momma had passed before testing was readily available and affordable to the consumer, and I almost waited too long to get Daddy to do it. In April I had him do a 23andMe® test. We had a fun time collecting his spit sample since he had extreme dry mouth, but he was a trooper. We sent in the sample and waited. While we waited, he talked. Daddy had never been much to talk about family history. Any time I made a new discovery on his line he was politely interested and that was about it. Maybe the fact that he was dying made him open up, who knows. He told me about places he had lived, about his mother’s second husband and how they had “hoed cotton so she could divorce him” and how she remarried him five days later. We looked at the few pictures I have of his ancestors and discussed who looked alike and which ones we favored.
Finally, the results came in and I was puzzled and confused. Daddy got a “match” that he had a 1st cousin, what confused me is that I got the same match on my test, also as a first cousin.
So there’s a cool little tool that helps you figure out possible relationships based on the amount of DNA you share with a person.
| Daddy | Susan |
| 1064 cM | 611 cM |
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I thought I knew all of Daddy’s nieces and nephews and my first cousins, there weren’t that many, but here was a flashing neon sign saying I was wrong. So, I sent a message and waited for 13 LONG days for this reply, “I was surprised that we could be 1st cousin’s! I’m wondering if it could be from my dad’s side, of which I know nothing, as he was adopted.”
We quickly exchanged several more messages and then – “I’m scanning some newspaper clippings and found a letter that had my dad’s mother’s name listed…Edna Hamill. She was a cotton picker, 19 years old. Does that sound familiar?”
Twelve short days before he passed away, Daddy discovered he had an older brother. Nineteen year-old Edna Hamil, her mother and 14 year-old sister were picking cotton, 200 miles from home. Edna gave birth to George whom she gave the name, Ben Milam. Thirteen days later, Edna left her baby on a doorstep just 19 miles from where she lived with her family. Ninety-one years later, DNA revealed one of the many skeletons in my grandmother’s closet. Sadly, George had passed away eight years prior to me finding him.
Daddy was able to speak to his newly found niece, by phone, before he died and I got to meet my new cousin a couple of days later. The week after we discovered George was one of the most enlightening times of my life. For the first time since I had started researching his family, Daddy talked, a lot.
I believe that George was waiting to welcome his little brother when Daddy passed over. What a reunion that must have been.
I encourage anyone who is thinking about taking a DNA test to do so, quickly. Sure you may have unexpected results, but who cares. It’s all about finding out who you are and who else shares a part of that.
Unlike my Grandma Edna, my MamMaw was very open and willing to tell me everything she knew about the family. She always told me that it didn’t matter what anyone had done who came before, that wasn’t on me. I did however need to know all about my kinfolk because each and every one of them made me who I am.
No matter how hard you try to keep the door closed, sooner or later those “family skeletons” will come tumbling out of the closet. I’ve seen over and over where a “closely guarded” secret was actually a matter of public record.
Don’t miss out on opportunities to know your family. You may not have a single surprise, but then again, you may have a glorious adventure waiting just a “spit” away.
AncestryDNA® – my recommendation if you’re only going to take one
FamlyTreeDNA – the only company that offers mtDNA (maternal) and Y-DNA (paternal) as well as atDNA (autosomal – your family DNA in general)