I just recently got involved with a few more Jamesons that have created a project webpage and are trying to get as many YDNA testing results as possible to link up various Jameson lines. YDNA is the dna passed from father to son throughout the generations down to present day and can be so helpful to have someone that you can test. Unfortunately some of my other lines I am researching, like my Pierce line, do not have any male descendants with the Pierce name left in my family (that I know of). But Lynda's story below is why it is so important to try to get several people from a line to test so that you can establish the true YDNA of the line. It could be that her progenitor way back was not the father of this one son, or it could mean that some where along that sons passing down of YDNA that a male in that line was not the son of a Jameson father too. So it is always good to get as many from each of the progenitor's descendant lines to test as you can. I am anxiously awaiting who I believe to be a cousin's YDNA results to come in. If their's is the same as my brother's, then I'll know that my research back to that progenitor of her line (the progenitor's son William) and of my line (the progenitor's son George) should be correct. If not, then I am back to the drawing board and trying to figure out where the research went wrong. On another note, research has shown that my Jameson line is cousins with the Green B. Jameson of the Alamo's line that came out of Barren Co., KY. My 3rd great grandfather's (George Jameson) older brother William M. Jameson was married to Green's sister Gillian Jameson. An affidavit from a nephew to Gillian on her side of the family stated in 1900 the names of the heirs/family of Green B. Jameson. In the affidavit he writes that his aunt Gilly Ann Jameson was married to a cousin of the same name (William M. Jameson) and then goes on to name their children, which I already had. So not just oral tradition, but then the affidavit too. So I had been talking with one descendant from this Barren Co. Jameson line and he finally agreed to take a YDNA test. And guess what? He totally matched my brother's YDNA. So now I know the oral tradition to be true. Just have to figure out exactly how that line ties in with mine. I have my theories. But at least it it proven, now I just have to try to figure out how. I do all of my YDNA testing stuff with FamilyTreeDNA.com. I recently however did the AncestryDNA test with Ancestry.com. Those results are more confusing to me. You are supposed to be able to figure out how you are related to the people they match your DNA with. So say they tell me I am a 4th cousin to this other person, this I think I have this right, I should be able to find the connection to me about 6 generations back. They say if you can't find that then your research must be all wrong. I haven't had hardly any luck figuring out how any of them are related to me. If they have a tree on Ancestry, then they will show you which surnames your trees have in common which could help you to determine maybe how you link up. But if you are like me and have a couple of lines that are total brick walls, then it could be that maybe they belong to one of those brick wall lines? I don't know. Or they will have a ton of surnames in common with mine that are probably common with the whole world practically like Smith, Brown, Jones, Davis, etc. So so far I haven't seen a huge benefit with that testing as of yet. On FamilyTreeDNA.com it is called the Family Finder test. I was 68% Central European/20% British Isles/12% Scandinavian. I had my daughter's dna tested and she came up as 42% British Isles/42% Scandinavian/13% Southern European/3% Unknown. Of course I have no idea what all my ex-husband is, but I have done a lot of research on his line and haven't found anyone from Spain/Italy/Portugal which would be the Southern European definition according to Ancestry. I mean I guess there could've been someone back there with that lineage. I thought for sure she would have some Central European (Austria, Belgium, Frace, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Luxembourg, Lichtenstein) since I had 68%. But according to ancestry, although you inherit 50% of your dna from each of your parents, it does not mean that you will inherit a little of every part of their dna. So evidently she did not inherit any Central European (German) from her dad or myself as we both have various lines from there. The 3% Unknown could be the Chickasaw Indian that is supposed to be in her dad's family. Her dad definitely has several lines that came out of Denmark, so I can see why her Scandinavian dna from both of us makes that a larger number. So my luck with this test is still to be determined as far as its usefulness. I did have a couple of 3rd cousins that tested and came back as 3rd cousin matches, so the test works. I just don't understand how I can't figure out how I'm related to the other 200+ matches that should be showing up in my tree about 6-10 generations ago and just aren't. With this same test, I had a lady that we both thought was a Clay cousin to me, but she doesn't have the paperwork to link up to my tree. So she did the test thinking that she would at least be able to establish we are related. What is weird is that she came back as a match to one of my 3rd Jameson cousins, but not to me. And she doesn't have any Jameson blood at all. My Clay line married into my Jameson line. She would be a possible descendant of a brother to my 5th great grandpa. I've been told too that if it goes back too many generations that the dna on this test can get muddled and it may not show up as a match. It is really to determine closer relationships. But what I don't get is that if she linked up as a cousin to this other Jameson cousin of mine I would think she would've showed up as a cousin to me. What are the odds that she would link up to some other line of that Jameson cousin when they are from 2 completely different parts of the country. But I suppose it is possible one of her other lines links to her. Just some of my thoughts and experiences on the dna tests out there. Patty (Jamerson) Archer On 1/18/13 7:58 PM, "Lynda Moreau" <[email protected]> wrote: >My two cents about DNA testing - I descend from a Virginia line that has >been pretty well documented. The progenitor was a man of means, and a >member of the House of Burgesses - he left a fair amount of records. He >had >at least 5-6 sons, and some daughters, who all lived to adulthood - most >of >their lines comes down to the present day. Anyway, we have a family >association - one of our officers is a certified genealogist - and we >decided to do a DNA project. Well, it all hit the fan when it was proven >( >we reran the test to make sure) that one of this man's "sons" could not >possibly be his son. He was fathered by someone else. Now, this kid was >named in the will and everything! Thankfully, it wasn't the son I am >descended from - hahahahah. Anyway, a story was quickly concocted that he >must have been a son of the wife from a "previous marriage" and just >raised >by this man as his son. Of course, no proof has ever surfaced of a >"previous >marriage." I think you can all guess where I'm going with this. To sum >up: DNA tests are great, just be prepared for anything. And....lineage >societies do not accept them as proof - yet. > >Lynda Moreau >New Orleans > >In Scott County - researching AYDELOTT, HELTON, LOFTIS