African Ancestored Genealogy

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Comment by Shannon Stewart Christmas on October 12, 2011 at 9:00pm

In the Jefferson-Hemings case, researchers compared the Y-chromosome DNA of male line descendants of Thomas Jefferson's uncle, Field Jefferson, with male line descendants of Eston Hemings, Thomas Woodson, and Jefferson's nephews, Peter Carr and Samuel Carr.

Since the Y-chromosome DNA undergoes little to no change from one generation to the next, it is very useful for establishing paternity. In the Jefferson-Hemings case, the Y-chromosome DNA of Eston Hemings' great-great-grandson, John Weeks Jefferson, matched that of Field Jefferson's descendants, eliminating both of the Carr Brothers as the fathers of Eston Hemings. The results also indicated that the living male-line Thomas Woodson descendants did not match the Jefferson men.

No living, confirmed male-line descendant of Madison Hemings was found for testing.

The DNA results provided additional evidence for the claim that Thomas Jefferson fathered the children of Sally Hemings.

Here is a more recent story involving the Jefferson-Hemings affair and autosomal DNA: http://www.yourgeneticgenealogist.com/search/label/Hemings

Notice in the linked story that autosomal DNA merely pointed toward a wrinkle in one's ancestry and that the genealogical paper trail confirmed descent from Madison Hemings.

Comment by Beverly J Gray on October 12, 2011 at 6:52pm

Hey Art I suspected  that it couldn't  trace back to a specific individual as the genealogist is claiming.  The other interesting thing is the genetic info on TJ was on Eston , now if the markers proved positive the individual could in claim back to a Hemings, since Eston and MAdison were Brothers, however but NOT to a specific  person again as is being claimed.  Interestingly no line of descendancy  - names- has been cited.

Comment by Anita Wills on October 12, 2011 at 6:42pm

Beverly,

My racial mixture was 87% European, 8% Native, and 5% African. This is on my mother's straight maternal line. It did not surprise me since most of the connections I made in Virginia were Mulatto, or Free Black. However, the paternal test taken by my brother did surprise us. His test was taken through Howard University and we thought there would be an African connection, but it was Native American. Our surprise is that there is no admixture it is just 100% Native. My paternal ancestors are a mixture of African and Native who were slaves in South Carolina. Family Tree DNA provides a site where DNA Cousins can connect and I have met DNA Cousins who are mostly from Europe or the Southern United States. There is so much more work to do!

Comment by Art Thomas on October 12, 2011 at 6:17pm

Hi Bev,

I have had autosmal testing done by Family Tree DNA (FTDNA)  &  23andme. It doesn't prove 'direct ancestry' back to a particular individual. It does prove  genetic lineal heritage.  The Hemmings/Jefferson testing proved that 1. Madison Hemmings had the same Y-DNA Haplotype as TJ proving the Hemmings male descendants were from the same "group" as the male Jeffersons. 2. The genetic markers compared between the direct line Jefferson male descendants and the direct line Hemmings male descendants had enough 'matching segments" to determine that they were with a 98+%  degree of certainty descended from a "common male ancestor" within 3-4 generations. The DNA tesing DID NOT prove paternity. I believe it was the 'other' evidence surrounding time & place that in addition to the DNA testing allowed for the conclusion of TJ being the father of the Hemmings children.  I don't recall whether autosomal DNA testing was done between the Hemmings and Jefferson descendants.

Comment by Beverly J Gray on October 12, 2011 at 6:02pm

Thanks Anita, I too had the  maternal DNA which traced to eastern Europe, slavic etc.  The genealogical work however shows a mixture of  African, Native American--Seminole and Cherokee-- and caucasian .  I know some DNA can show the ethnic markers, my issue is that I wonder how  the autosomal   DNA traced spefically to one individual, especially since there are no DNA  sampling for that person.

Comment by Anita Wills on October 12, 2011 at 2:56pm

I have not taken the autosomal test but it sounds interesting. The test I took was my straight maternal line which was 87% European. By the time I took my test I had proven lines to several prominent white families in Virginia. Family Tree DNA sent me the results and also the countries (mostly in Europe), where my female ancestors resided. It was interesting to see them leaving north Africa, traversing Europe and entering America. I know that my maternal ancestors lines trace back to the Welsh Lewis (Llewelyn) lines in Wales. My brother took a paternal line DNA test and it came back 100% Native American from Columbia. If they can do more than I have already done, I would be interested.

Comment by Beverly J Gray on October 12, 2011 at 12:33pm

Does anyone have information of, experiece with, or suggestions about the autosomal DNA testing?   I know it is being offered on ancestry.com. and genealogists are using it to "prove" direct ancestry back four and five generations.  I was made aware of it as it was used recently  to :prove ancestry of an African American to Thomas Jefferson through one of TJ's sons, Madison..  However, the direct name linkage is missing...  You folks are smarter than I am so perhaps you  can explain how DNA can be matched to an individual such as Madison without  his or his offspring's  DNA  sample.  Looks like markers from  his DNA would be needed with which to compare a modern sample.  Enlighten me please!!!!!

Comment by George Geder on October 12, 2011 at 10:53am

Dear Peeps... Increasingly, you will find me and my posts at http://gplus.to/gedergenealogy  Yes, that's Google+. Check it out!

Comment by George Geder on October 6, 2011 at 9:42pm

National Black Genealogy Summit - African Diaspora: Awakening Our Legacy. October 20 - 22, 2011 Details at http://bit.ly/o76hZi

Comment by George Geder on October 3, 2011 at 8:32pm

Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans; by Kadir Nelson http://bit.ly/rfeI5D

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