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Archiver > GENEALOGY-DNA > 2011-12 > 1322875523


From: Sonia <>
Subject: Re: [DNA] No matching segments
Date: Fri, 02 Dec 2011 19:25:23 -0600 (CST)


It's clear that people come at atDNA testing for many reasons. I would
encourage those who don't want "cold invites" (shared surnames, but not
found through RF), don't want to find cousins because they're more
interested in documenting their ancient ancestors, or don't want to help
those who are less knowledgeable (novice researchers, adoptees who can't
offer you anything, those probably coming NPE created situation, etc. to put
that on your profiles. No sense in getting anyone's hopes up :-)
I've been rather fortunate to encounter folks on 23andMe who share a
miniscule amount of DNA or sometimes just a shared geographic area that have
been quite generous in their attempts at filling in possibilities. I am
grateful to them. I learned a very valuable lesson with atDNA and the
random nature of how segments are passed on. Sappy, long story to follow.
Feel free to delete now
After our 1994 "restart" Foote reunion and finding that my ancestors only
started with my great-grandmother, Leah. I heard the voice of the Chief who
flagged me down on a road in then Zaire in 1984. "You cannot have a tongue
of the wind with our language unless it was a gift of the ancestors. Who
was taken from here?" I was taken aback then because most people could not
tell that I was of African descent without seeing pictures of my extended
family. He couldn't believe that we had lost the knowledge of where our
ancestors were from. A full 10 years had passed and I hadn't done anything.
Too many libraries had burned in that time with the passing of each elder
into Glory. Still, a question as simple as, "Gram how are you and Cousin E
related?" got a response of "Oh, even though we're Footes, we're probably
just country cousins (not really related). The old people didn't talk about
those things and we didn't ask."
Between 1994 and 2005 I made the great leap of gr-Grandma Leah's birth ca
1866 to her probable parents and grandparents, b. ca 1800. It seemed as if
her Dad Isaac Jr had a brother Wade who had Wade, who had Wade, who had E
and two other daughters, one J, who had been unknown until after her death
in 2003. We've found a few documents besides death certificates and
censuses. Even a few slave holders listed people in family groups in will
inventories. You can check an entire 1870 census the county for families
with the same 5 given names, find only your family with those names, and
still only arrive at "it's probable that the 5 people listed in a family
group in X's Will appear to be our family" based on oral traditions of
children fathered by slave holders (& their descendants after slavery
ended), and residence after slavery, and locations of burials, etc." And
yet, it's such an amazing blessing to feel that much closer, to celebrate
our reunion in 2000 down home where an 1870 census listed Isaac Sr.'s birth
as 1800. Our family was now 200 years old.
In 2005 I was thrilled to be contacted by J's son, P. Even more thrilled
that he took a 23&Me test. As my mother's 3rd cousin once removed they
shared 0.52%, 39cM, and 3 segments. She passed all 3 of those segments to
my brother, 2 to me (0.19%, 14cM, & 2 segments), and zero, zip, tshianana
with my sister, and 0.15%, 11cM. He also shared 1 segment with the grandson
of one of Gram's sister's on another chromosome. Those are remnants of our
common ancestors and help to confirm a lost connection that was pieced
together from documents. This is another reason why some choose atDNA
testing. I'm really glad Mom was still here for testing and wish Gram was.
Imagine if I'd only had my sister tested - no common segments, yet she is
just as much P's cousin as we are! So, in this American season of
Thanksgiving, I am thankful to each 23andMe'er who accepts basic sharing and
gives it ago, knowing that we face a mountain of uncertainty with admixture
before, during, and after enslavement - and well into the 20th century.
It's a nice way of honoring the lives of our common ancestors - sort of like
finding one page, unburned from the libraries called our ancestors. Who
knows, maybe one day they'll get more DNA samples from the DRC and I'll have
a full mtDNA match there!
Sonia

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