Mystery Cousin

A close genetic match has appeared in my Relative Finder at 23andme.  He matches 5% over 15 segments, which indicates that he is somewhere between a 1st and a 2nd cousin.  (For reference, I share 50% with each parent over 24 segments.)

This is very exciting- BUT this person has not responded to requests for communication!

All I can see about him is that he reported that he lives in the United States.  His haplogroups tell me that he is not a direct descendant on my father's strict paternal and maternal lines and not a direct descendant on my mother's direct maternal line.  I cannot tell which parent he matches because he is too close a relation (1st cousin or closer) to be revealed in the corresponding account.  His account should have an icon for him to press to reveal his close relation.

This is frustrating and disappointing.  This person may be from an entirely unknown branch.  Genetic databases such as the one at 23andme hold the promise of uniting lost family members.  The downside is that most people in the database, for whatever reason, do not participate in the communication necessary to uncover the connections.  My father has 540 genetic relatives in the database.  Contact has been requested of all of them, but 415 have not responded.

I can submit DNA specimens for more relatives under separate accounts and see who else he matches.  There is a cost factor involved with this method, and he still may remain a mystery.

Free DNA testing for 10,000 African Americans?

I'm seeing online mentions of an initiative to increase DNA testing of African Americans by 23andme.  The homepage does not mention this program, so here is the link.  It would seem that the testing, which is not available yet, is free of charge.  I don't know how much genealogical service is included with the free service, such as Relative Finder and notification of new matches.  I submitted an email address to be notified of developments.

Persistence

Keep checking familysearch.org.  New records (actually old records, aren't they?) are appearing online and are indexed.  I just found records for Springfield, Hampden County, Massachusetts that will help me document my pre-Revolutionary War Brewers.

I found not only the notice of intent that Solomon Brewer and Martha Smith were to be married, but the actual notice of marriage as well.  This is a great find in any family.

The Local History Room

Today I had the opportunity to visit the Albert Wisner Public Library in Warwick, Orange County, New York.  I was researching an event that took place in Warwick- that post is forthcoming.  The staff was helpful and knowledgeable.  (And so were the other patrons with directions!)  I made use of the local history room.  I recommend asking for and visiting such a room whenever you visit a library.  You never know what you may find.  I found a 1924 book with grave inscriptions from Dutchess County, New York.  You probably would not expect to find Dutchess County material in Orange County, but that is why I recommend browsing the "local" history collection yourself.

I found a listing for a small, private cemetery in Pawling for the Campbell family.  This may or may not be the same Campbell family that I am following in Dutchess County, but now the possibility has entered my mind and can be explored further.  A check of findagrave reveals that someone else has already ventured through the vegetation and photographed these stones, saving me from adding this cemetery to my ever-growing to-do list.  In due time I may have come across this cemetery through other means, but that is true of so many of the treasures that we find.  So check those local history rooms!

I take these pictures with an iPhone.  This enables me to go paperless.  I have boxes of genealogical papers and welcome not having to add to the overflow as more and more genealogical resources become available.  I also tend to copy more items.  It's free and saves me the hassle of requesting permission to photocopy, locating a working copier, and finding change or acquiring a copy machine card.  Once saved on my computer, I can easily search for files instead of rummaging through boxes.  I can also email an image immediately if the find is so wonderful that it needs to be shared quickly.

DNA matching with a third cousin

A known third cousin of my father submitted his DNA for analysis at 23andme.  He and my father share a pair of great great grandparents, Calvin Cook and Mary Neil.  This couple was married in Morris County, New Jersey in 1847.

23andme correctly predicted the relationship of 3rd cousins.

My father and his third cousin share 0.93% of their DNA over two segments.  This is within the amount of shared DNA that we would expect third cousins to share.  The International Society of Genetic Genealogy proposes that third cousins share an average of 0.781% of their DNA.  To visualize the parameters, second cousins would share about 3.125% and fourth cousins would share about 0.195%.  So these third cousins are right on target with their 0.93% of shared DNA.

I am this man's third cousin, once removed because I am in the next generation.  (I am a fourth cousin of his children.)  Yet he and I do not share any DNA.  That is how random inheritance is.

So what do we do with this information when we are done congratulating ourselves for accurately tracing a few generations?  We see who else in the DNA database matches this known third cousin along the same segments that he shares with my father.

The third cousin and my father match along chromosomes 13 and 21.  At this time, my father has no other matches in the database in this area of chromosome 21.  (I do, but I know that the matches come from my mother and not from my father.)  My father does have two other matches along the same area of chromosome 13.  You have two sides to each chromosome, one from each parent.  When someone matches you in the genetic database, you do not know which parent's side the match is on, unless your parents are also in the database.  My grandparents are not in the database (and will not be because they are dead).  It is not likely that you will be digging up dead ancestors to retrieve DNA specimens.  What you can do instead is have known (living) cousins from different branches submit their specimens.  The third cousin is related through my father's mother.  The two other people who match my father on the same area of chromosome 13 are related through my father's father because they do not match the known third cousin on this area.  We still don't know the relation of these other two people, but we have narrowed down the prospects.