Adventures in DNA - A Journey of Revelations and Caution

My Ethnic "Percentages" broken down from 23andMe

A recent article  by  Nicka Smith about DNA and a conversation with her about our experiences has prompted me to write an article about my own experiences with DNA testing as well.

Several years ago, I took the first of several DNA tests. I tested with the National Genographic Project and was delighted to learn about that my maternal line reflects HaploGroup L3. Over time that has morphed into L3e2b.

National Genographic Project illustration of L3 haplogroup

I then upgraded and took the FamilyTreeDNA test and was thrilled to find DNA "matches" both high and low resolution. (HVR1 and HVR2) Being naturally curious about ties to Africa, I decided to take the African Ancestry DNA test which would follow one single line and provide a glimpse into the origin of my maternal line, thus taking the mtDNA test. I was excited to learn about a line that possibly extends to the Yoruba/Fulani people of Nigeria and Niger. And yes, I also took the favorite test that would provide some percentages of one's ethnic makeup, so 23andMe was taken and over the past 2-3 years I have found a large number of "matches".

But when I am asked if DNA has helped me genealogically I answer the following questions:

With all of those tests taken, has the new information opened doors in a genealogical sense? No.

Have I had new breakthroughs in my genealogy because of DNA? No.

Have I been able to solve any puzzles by finding a common ancestor with a stranger? No.

Have a I found a common ancestor with any of the DNA matches? No.

Now, I belong to a number of communities some of which include DNA discussions, and I am always happy for those persons who have met an unknown 2nd or 3rd cousin and they have been able to determine who the common ancestor was. I am excited when I see that they find so many matches on multiple segments.

However, my matches are not close cousins, and a majority of my matches are described as "4th to distant" cousins. I have not found any "new cousins" that I can prove with any documentation and I feel that there are several critical reasons for this.

1) Many if not most of the "DNA Matches" fall outside of an easily solvable research range. A person who is 4th or 5th cousin or even higher means that we have a common ancestor--but pretty far back.  I have documented several of my lines fairly well, and of course am always looking for more data. But also note that researching ancestors who were enslaved, does bring challenges---many of the names are not always known and not easily found.

So far, I have identified:
2 of 2 parents
4 of 4 grandparents
6 of 8 gr. grandparents
8 of 16 gr. gr. grandparents
6 of 32 gr. gr. gr. grandparents.

And all of this has been done with pure research. DNA testing has not taken me back any further.

2) Many of the common ancestors I share with my DNA matches are also unknown to my DNA matches. Many of the individuals with whom I share a very slight overlap in DNA have not done much family history research. I know this because I have communicated with those who are interested. In addition, the most that has emerged has been speculative, and not definitive.

3) Many of the common ancestors that I share with my matches are possibly unknown white ancestors, never to be revealed.
It is understood that during the slavery era that existed for more than 240 years, there were many children fathered by Caucasian men. Some were slave holders, some were overseers, some were other laborers who had access. So this is no surprise to learn that I have almost 20% European ancestry. (see chart at the top of this post)

But often during conversations with DNA matches even with African American matches, the search often involves looking for the common black ancestor when in reality we could also share a common white ancestor, name unknown and unspoken for generations. And there are many DNA matches in my lists of matches who are Caucasian. They may or may not be aware that there are ancestors who had children with enslaved women, and therefore have black cousins. And--it must be remembered--they do have the same number of ancestors. Which of their 32 gr. gr. gr. grandparents might be the common ancestor that we share? Or which of their 64 gr. gr. gr. gr. grandparents might match one of my unknown 64 gr. gr. gr. gr. grandparents?

And with some my African American matches, there is a possibility that our common ancestor may also be white as well.  In my own case, I have close to 20% DNA that is European. There is a strong possibility that many of the matches on my list of 900+ could be through an unknown and unidentified white forbear. So when that person is unknown to two black people who descend from the same white person unknown to both, and never named, the discovery  of a common and unknown white ancestor is slim.

4)  Construction of one's pedigree is an ongoing process, so asking a stranger to hand it over because you are suddenly "cousins" is not going to take place.

Now, I do believe in having a dialogue and with sharing information. I have had several good interactions, emails, and conversations with persons with whom I have learned that we match. We have chatted and asked questions of each other, and once we realized that our own lines have little documented overlap with the data that is known, we have politely wished each other well and moved on.

But, there has been one DNA match who simply thinks that by handing over my carefully researched data that they will be able to "figure it out". But must all be wise---a new name on a chart is still a stranger. Having a new DNA match does not mean that you are going to be unlocking genealogy doors!

A year or two ago, when I did not eagerly hand over my pedigree chart to a stranger, one of my DNA matches went out of their way to even dig up some of my online writings in order to construct my pedigree for their own use, just to "figure it out", since I did not readily hand it over. (I refrained from pointing out some of the errors that were made in their construction, and I have maintained a polite distance from this person, preferring to stick to research. Part of my hesitancy was based on the fact that there was no seeming connection to their published profile of their ancestral history.) And, the assumption that having a match means that we are now "fast family"---well, it is simply not wise in my opinion and could, in fact be a dangerous practice. How ironic it was to learn that others in my genealogy circle have had the same experience with the same DNA match.

But giving it all much though, here are a few guidelines for behavior that I propose:

1) Understand that people take DNA tests for different reasons. Some don't want to find a new cousin.
2) Refrain from asking for detailed research data from  new "distant cousin" matches, at least until some kind of rapport has been established. A new contact is still a stranger.
3) If someone clearly wishes to share limited data accept their caution and do not pry.
4) Do not try to construct a DNA cousin match's family history without him/her giving you permission. Avoid being a DNA "stalker".

If there is a DNA match that appears to be close: (1st to 3rd cousins) I suggest the following:

1) By all means reach out and see if that person wishes to share genomes and data and more.
2) If there is a connection that one is seeking and the other party wishes to help, then proceed.
3) If there is a case of adoption where an adoptee is finding matches and reaching out, proceed with caution in case the birth parent has concerns or does not wish to be contacted. All parties should be respected.

This is a new world for many of us. I have enjoyed examining the data that I have received, however, nothing has been able to top old fashioned research, and documentation for me.  DNA is an interesting tool, but it has yet to take me back one generation further, or to connect me to an individual who has been able to take me to a new person on any line.

We should all tread with caution with DNA. I have enjoyed the journey and have enjoyed the data on my deep ancestral history that has emerged. But DNA does not provide shortcuts to the genealogical process. Have fun with DNA, but also continue full speed ahead with our research.

* * * * *

"Yet Still, like Dust, We Rise"! Many Rivers To Cross Final Episode

The Final episode of the PBS Series The African Americans. Many Rivers to Cross took the viewers through several decades very quickly and the times were full of contrasts from confusion to cohesion, from powerlessness to empowerment, from war, to peace and back again.

The 1960s brought about so much change--the signing of the 1964 Civil Rights Act by President Lyndon Johnson, started the nation down a new path, towards a new beginning. But the times were not without pain and hardship along the way. Many people paved the way, and they were men and women of true courage and conviction. And I was a young adolescent watching and asking why. Some of these people still stand out in my mind, as they became my heroes.

One of the most heartfelt heroes voices was a poor woman, from Mississippi. Working most of her life on a plantation, she came alive when the voter rights movement took hold. And she fell victim to horrific police brutality in a Mississippi jail, for only fighting for that right to vote. But the beating in jail did not silence her. In fact, she dared to tell her story to the world. This woman told her story at the Democratic Nation Convention in 1964. I was about 12 years old that summer and I sat there listening to this woman tell her story. Oh the horror! Her name was Fannie Lou Hamer and she became my hero.

She had the nation mesmerized as she told the nation about her treatment in Winona Mississippi---a vicious town with cruel law enforcement officers. But yet, they could not beat her spirit---because she told her story. And she told it to the world. For daring to register to vote, she was falsely arrested, then beaten mercilessly in a Winona Mississippi Jail. And she was told by the sheriff that they would make her wish she was dead. But as they made other prisoners beat her, they never broke her spirit. It took weeks to recover from this ordeal, but she made it to Washington, and the law enforcement policies of Winona were exposed to the nation, and to the world. As hard as they tried, they could never beat the spirit of this amazingly brave woman.

Hear this brave woman tell her story.

Fannie Lou Hamer speech at the Democratic National Convention 1964

She ended her speech with the statement of why so much had happened to her:

"All of this is on account we want to register [sic], to become first-class citizens, and if the Freedom Democratic Party is not seated now, I question America. Is this America, the land of the free and the home of the brave where we have to sleep with our telephones off the hooks because our lives be threatened daily because we want to live as decent human beings - in America?"

* * * * *

The passing years brought about change, but it did not come easily. More violence, more terror was in store for people who dared to take a stand. And more blood was shed. With time, the movement evolved from one exclusively of race, but also of class. And in 1968, when Dr. Martin Luther King traveled to Memphis to stand with the garbage workers, his fate was sealed with an assassin's bullet as he emerged from the modest Lorraine Motel. 

And like the funeral of JFK, we were glued to the face of his beautiful wife Coretta as she and the rest of the world watched the funeral services. I was by that time in high school, and I felt so empty as once again, one who stood up for something was taken. I stared at the face of Coretta, his widow and I thought about his children, some of whom were close in age to me. They had lost a husband and father. I had lost a hero.

Coretta Scott King, attending her husband's funeral

But 1968 was not over, because two months later, yet another man of the people was to be taken. Robert F. Kennedy was killed in June 1968 in Los Angeles California. I had been impressed with this young Senator and somehow had a sense of hope, but on that summer night in June, once again, I had lost a hero.

The feeling of sadness and emptiness and loss was expressed for me that year, by one song: 

Abraham, Martin, & John.

They say it is always the darkest before the dawn, and eventually the dawn did come. Those years when so much blood was shared by so many people, eventually gave way to new chances. The country somehow became a bit more tolerant and as the vote was finally extended to people some growth occurred and America took a breath and relieved itself of some of it's own misery by recognizing that there were others who were in their midst in the same country, and they too, could call the nation their own.

Other movements came and went. Some bypassed us completely. We never had chapters of the Black Panthers in my part of Arkansas. And the food programs, and health screenings that some people knew the Panthers for, were only learned about years later. Political battles were fought and won, and they were also fought and lost, but eventually change came. 

Racial stereotypes were removed from ads, and from cartoons, and the faces of color even on the TV screen became more than sporadic. We began to see ourselves in the media, and our music, once hidden as "race music" became accepted, and we found our way through the maze of 20th and 21st century society.

The most unbelievable happened in 2008 with the election of a man of color to the highest office in the land. And like all pioneers, he has had to endure indignities never offered to his white predecessors, but, like the elders and ancestors before us, he has endured. And he took the unbelievable had an encore performance---he won a second term. 

And while many of us shake our heads at the unending filibusters and extreme right efforts to render him powerless, he prevails and presides, nevertheless. 

We all know that the battle is not yet over, for it is known that a young man or young woman can be killed for playing music too loudly, or ringing a doorbell, or simply walking down the street with candy. These are the realities, but we know yet that in spite of it all, we rise.....yes, we survive, and we rise. 

Maya Angelou the poet described it so well........

Out of the huts of history's shame, I rise

Up from a past that's rooted in pain, I rise

I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide

Welling and swelling I bear in the tide

Leaving behind nights of terror and fear, I rise

Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear, I rise.

Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,

I am the dream and the hope of the slave.

I rise

I rise

I rise.

    ~Maya Angelou!  "And Still I Rise"

* * * * *

This post is the last of posts as part of  the African American Genealogy Blogging Circle project. This is a small group of African Ancestored Genealogists who have been watching the PBS Series: The African American. Many Rivers to Cross.  In response to each episode, the bloggers have been sharing history as they saw it, and they presented it through the lens of their own family history and personal experiences. The bloggers and their blogs.

Between the Gate Posts by Linda Durr Redd

Black and Red Journal by Terry Ligon

Finding Eliza by Kristin Cleage
Into The Light by Renate Yarborough Sanders

Mariah's Zepher by Vicki Daviss Mitchell

My Ancestor's Name by Angela Walton-Raji

Roots Revealed by Melvin J. Collier

Wanders, Wonders, Signs & Other Writings, by George Geder

Who is Nicka Smith by Nicka Sewell Smith

* * * * *

Looking at Many Rivers To Cross - Blogging Through the Series

Many Rivers to Cross

Many within the African American community have been awaiting the series "Many Rivers to Cross". A smaller group within the African American genealogy community has also been awaiting the same series, as we will be blogging our way through the series. 

Our goal is to put our own historical and genealogical spin on the story as well. We have therefore created a blogging circle in which we will share our own family saga in relation to the time periods reflected in each episode.

The series is divided into many six time periods:

Episode 1: The Black Atlantic  (1500-1800)

Episode 2: The Age of Slavery (1800 - 1860)

Episode 3: Into the Fire (1861 - 1896)

Episode 4: Making a Way Out of No Way  (1897-1940)

Episode: 5 Rise! (1940 - 1968)

Episode 6: It's Nation Time  (1968 - 2013)

We shall share pieces of our own histories in relation to the program and also give our own insights into our personal stories as we reflect upon our own family's journey through the American experience.

My fellow bloggers include:

*Melvin J. Collier, Blogger and Author of two books on his family history. His blog is: Roots Revealed.

*Vicky Daviss Mitchell, Genealogist and Blogger. Her blog is: Mariah's Zepher,

*George Geder, Activist and award winning blogger. His writings will appear on Medium.

*Terry Ligon, Genealogist and videographer Chickasaw Freedman researcher. His blog is Black And Red Journal.

*Drusilla Pair - Genealogist, University administrator and blogger. Her blog is Find Your Folks.

*Nicka Smith - Genealogist, Photographer, and Blogger. Her site is Who Is Nicka Smith?

*Angela Walton-Raji, Author, Genealogist, Blogger and Podcaster. The blog is My Ancestor's Name.

The first episode has just aired and in the following days, the relevant blog posts will be posted. Join us as we embark upon the same genealogical journey together.

The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross