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Archiver > GENEALOGY-DNA > 2003-05 > 1052093141


From: "Steve Williamson" <>
Subject: Re: [DNA] Truce!
Date: Sun, 4 May 2003 19:06:12 -0500
References: <8039-3EB5A108-7@storefull-2174.public.lawson.webtv.net>


Tom wrote:
> Steve has a similar experience. He says he can't document any Indian
ancestors.<

Yes, it's true I can't DOCUMENT Indian ancestry, though there is a fairly
consistent pattern of proximity & probable relation to "mulatto" families
ancestral to the "Melungeons."

However, a number of my ancestral families maintained insistent traditions
of "Cherokee," "Black Dutch," or "Indian" ancestry, even down to which
particular persons had been "Indian." I discounted the oral traditions UNTIL
I saw the DNA Print results - that's what tipped the scales for me. It also
made me review the evidence, and I began to see patterns that I had not
noticed before. I took the % with a grain of salt, simply that the test was
saying 'there's a very good chance I have SOME Native American ancestry,
more than 0, but less than, say, 20%. That plus the oral tradition was
enough to convince me. Given how long my family's been in America, it would
be surprising if I DIDN'T have any Native American, whether from North,
Central, or South America.

Steve W.

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