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Archiver > GENEALOGY-DNA > 2002-02 > 1012585489


From: "James Hull" <>
Subject: Re: [DNA] Self-fulfilling prophecies
Date: Fri, 1 Feb 2002 10:44:49 -0700
References: <110.c98feb1.298c232e@aol.com>


Hi Barbara,

Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts about "Why I Do The Things I DO."
with the rest of us who also are hard at work on those "boring old
ancestors." Having done my share of research in dusty court houses, wet and
damp basements, even in the attic of one building looking for old records, I
will continue doing so as long as I'm upright and taking in air! Aside from
not understanding much more about DNA and all of its details, I welcome the
new technology as a way of identifying unaccounted for and undetermined
family lines and persons. There is power in numbers!

I find this new technology exciting, and I'm sure you agree there are lots
of corrections and suggestions that will be forth coming, as in any new
process. Those of us who love the excitement of finding information, or
having a clue solidified, or finding a long lost cousin, will do as we have
always done - asking Who, What, When, and Where - the corner stones of
traditional genealogy and, I believe, genetic genealogy.

Thanks for saying it like it is for many of us.

Jim Hull
----- Original Message -----
From: <>
To: <>
Sent: Friday, February 01, 2002 9:58 AM
Subject: Re: [DNA] Self-fulfilling prophecies


>
> In a message dated 1/31/02 11:48:12 PM, writes:
>
> << There is
> nothing wrong with starting up DNA testing, anything more than there was
in
> beginning to transcribe census lists. But expectations of the former are
> unfounded, as they would have been for the latter at its inception. Until
a
> lot of information is available from a source, no matter what it is, there
> will be little found. And my last remark refers to the relative
unimportance
> of searching for the dead when the problems of the living are so extreme.
I
> think it's a pleasant thing to do, but not to get too preoccupied with. >>
>
> I don't think that expectations of the helpfulness of DNA testing are
> unfounded. If there is "a lot of information available from a source" but
no
> concrete documentation to prove it, the DNA testing can reveal either a
match
> at some point in the past between two persons, or more revealing, no match
at
> all. The Walker DNA project, small as it is at present, has solidified
one
> large (at least to us it is large) haplogroup of related Walkers in VA;
has
> matched several Walkers to each other who were previously unknown to each
> other; and has identified some matches that are presently no where in
> finding where or when they might have been descended from the same
ancestor.
> In each of these cases, however, there are possible paths to research
that
> will be more productive than blind looking for Walker ancestors with no
clues.
>
> The value of genealogy research is far more than just wishful looking for
> dead ancestors. It provides a healthy hobby for scores of "elderly" and
> others, who stay more alert and occupied in having something to occupy
their
> time. I have discovered many researchers who are housebound for many
> reasons, and genealogy provides an outlet that keeps their minds more
alert
> and functioning. For myself, "finding dead ancestors" has also brought a
> more knowledgeable view of past history and has led me to explore medieval
> and colonial history which before was of little interest to me. It has
also
> broadened my knowledge of my still living "computer cousins" who I would
> never have known existed, and I have made some wonderful friends in the
> course of the research.
>
> It can be a helpful momentary escape from the problems of the day, which
> would tend to overwhelm us if we dwelt on them 24 hours a day. Heaven
knows,
> we need a little respite.
>
> Barbara Walker Good
>
> Check out the Walker Surname DNA Project Results
> http://JamesDavidWalker.com/dna.htm
>
>
> ==============================
> To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records,
go to:
> http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237
>

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