I had a couple friends with 4 kids. They had been doing research on their family backgrounds. After a few years searching and compiling they ended up at vital records. Turned out - they were brother and sister - they had been split up and adopted. What about the Bible Stories? Adam n Eve or Noah ! Dan M ----- Original Message ----- From: "Glee Krapf" <gleek@ptd.net> To: <CherokeeGene-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Wednesday, February 15, 2006 11:22 AM Subject: [CherokeeGeneCommunity] first cousins marrying > Is the above incest?

Here's something I find interesting on this topic. My husband said geneticists have found that when first cousins have children (or even half-siblings), that if the relationship is through the father, there are usually no problems healthwise with the kids. If the relationship is through the mother, that is when problems usually occur. Our ancestors prohibited marriage within the same clan, which was always determined by the mother --- not the father. Relationships with a father's clan did not prohibit marriage. So, our ancestors had good sound reasons for the matrilineal prohibition, long before the world had ever heard the word "gene". Carolyne