One problem with mtDNA....maternal DNA...is that it doesn't help much with genealogy. I had mine done, and I discovered that my earliest female ancestor lived in Syria 5000 years ago. While I have had a few people contact me, there have been no connections as we could be kin thousands of years ago. There is a book entitled* The Seven Daughters of Eve* which is very interesting as it explains the seven divisions in which mtDNA is categorized. My purpose in taking the test was to determine if I had Native American heritage which I did not....at least not from the data that ftDNA has. I also took 23andme and did not discover Native American ancestry there either. The test did give me a long list of diseases to which I might be genetically predisposed. I am the kind of person who doesn't get bent out of shape about this kind of info, but it could be upsetting to some. Also, the report that I was NOT predisposed to breast cancer and the fact that not only I have had it but my mother and paternal aunt as well, served to make me doubt the results. I was flooded with emails from people with whom I matched, but the process of figuring out how and reading the dna results were overwhelming. I turned my results over to a surname researcher of one of my family names and haven't heard a word since. If I had to do it over, I would not have done 23andme. The outfit also charges nine dollars a month to monitor my matches. While I have read that there have been amazing matches with 23andme, it did not work for me. It was more technical than I was willing to deal with...might work for others. The info presented here might be old, and there might be upgrades or discoveries of which I am not aware...just my experience. Overall, I was fascinated that a female born in Syria had a daughter who had a daughter who had a daughter...so forth..until I was born, another daughter, and we all had the same mtDNA. I do not have a daughter, but my female line is not dead for the fact that my first cousin has a daughter who has a daughter...so the line lives. Because our mothers were sisters, they had the same mtDNA as our grandmother and her mother and her mother.......Linda Wilson On Fri, Jan 13, 2012 at 4:09 PM, Jan Ashford <jan@theashfords.org> wrote: > Your father's mDNA came from his mother. Your's came from your mother. > Your mother's came from her mother. Your mother's father's came from > his mother, but he did not pass it on to anyone. I think is gets > confusing because the surnames change. You are quite right, your > father's sample is no help at all on your mother's lines. I hope this > helps a little. > > > On 01/13/2012 03:21 PM, roberta hall wrote: > > Again, sorry still not clear.....the Estes sample is that of my father's > (I > > have not supplied a sample) what information would it have of my mother, > > his wife? > > You also mention both sons and daughters receive the mDNA so would that > mean > > that both his father (an Estes YDNA) and his mother (the Wilson mDNA) > would > > be in the same sample? As the granddaughter of this pair I can see how my > > mDNA profile would be of my mother's side and would not work. My father > was > > one of 4 boys my grandparents had my grandmother being the only direct > line > > Wilson female in the family. > > Wait I think a light bulb just went off....(mother to mother) my > grandmother > > born a Wilson sur-name of her father but her mother was a Mullen so my > > father would have the Mullen mDNA and nothing of the Wilson line...is > that > > correct? Or would he indeed have the Wilson mDNA factor given to him by > his > > mother? > > > > Help > > Roberta > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: wilson-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:wilson-bounces@rootsweb.com] > On > > Behalf Of Jan Ashford > > Sent: Friday, January 13, 2012 11:33 AM > > To: wilson@rootsweb.com > > Subject: Re: [WILSON] clarify for me please....it's been a while > > > > The mDNA is mother to mother all the way back. That means that the > surname > > changes every generation. However both sons and daughters receive mDNA > from > > the mother. The son's just don't pass their's on to their children. The > > daughter's do. You can use the Estes sample to test for your mother, her > > mother, etc. but not for the Wilson surname because that comes from your > > mom's father and she would have received her mDNA from her mother, not > her > > father. > > > > On 01/13/2012 09:39 AM, roberta hall wrote: > >> It's been a while since I've had any new clues on my Wilson line. My > >> father can't get his cousin to agree to the test (afraid of the gov. > >> is his response). I have heard about the mDNA test but need > >> clarification..My father a Estes by birth (male line) his mother was a > >> Wilson..can I use the same DNA sample that was used to test his Estes > >> lineage to also test his Wilson line or does that have to come from a > >> female like myself who would actually be the granddaughter of the Wilson > > line? > >> As a recap..My Wilson line currently is in Boone Co., Arkansas. My > >> grandmother was born in Stilwell, Ok. But this is not the home > >> location of her father's (my great grandfather's) line. My great > >> grandfather was actually born in Manchester, Scott County, Illinois as > >> was his father. Now my Wilson line going back to my 4x's great > >> grandfather or from 1839 ish > >> -1900 lived on the family farm in Manchester, Scott Co., Illinois. My > >> line moved to Webb City, Jasper County, Missouri around the 1890's. > >> > >> Prior to moving to the Manchester, Scott County, Illinois my 4 x's > >> great grandfather is known to have been born in Kentucky..location > >> currently unknown. I however have one clue in that his wife (lucky for > >> me came from a family who has been documented in books) she was Keziah > >> Tunnell, hers mother's maiden name was Money. Keziah Money Tunnell is > >> said to have been born near Elizabethtown, Kentucky, her family > >> settled near Murrayville, Kentucky in 1829. I'm hoping to find > >> evidence that my Wilson line may have been in this same vicinity and is > > where my 4 x's great grandparents met. > >> 1839 is when the two married in Illinois and settled in Manchester, > >> Illinois. > >> > >> So if anyone has any clues for this line of Wilson's I would love to > >> hear from you, I know there are a lot of new members out there looking > >> to learn where they came from..I've been around for a while but am > > currently stuck. > >> Also if someone can clarify the mDNA testing as it would pertain to my > >> father's sample I would appreciate that. > >> > >> > >> > >> Roberta Estes Hall > >> > >> p.s. my husband's Hall line is from Switzerland Co., Indiana so it was > >> fun to see that location pop up as I have been there in my past > > adventures. > >> > >> ------------------------------- > >> To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > >> WILSON-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > >> quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > ------------------------------- > > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > > WILSON-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes > > in the subject and the body of the message > > > > > > > > ------------------------------- > > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > WILSON-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > WILSON-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message > -- Linda Miller Wilson P. O. Box 129 Pettigrew, AR 72752 479-677-2681 **

Linda - beautifully written.  Too many of us have thought that these DNA tests advertised will help us locate some of our more immediate ancestors...and that's not the way it works, as you explained so well.  Also, most of us tend to believe that ALL of our ancestors had white skin and blue eyes...and that our great grandmother told the truth when she said that the child that was born after only 7 months of marriage was truly the biological child of the man she married.  Again, a beautiful assumption, but that's not the way it always works. We truly are a mix of many, many "mothers" sifted down thru time.  Our ancestry search can only lead us a few hundred years back, then it becomes a lot of "guesswork", a lot of "assuming".  Who are we to say who actually mated to become our parents 1000 years ago?  We are fortunate to obtain "proof" (?) of our lineage for more than two generations.  DNA is really the ONLY proof.  That is why many of us trace our lineage even though we know, or have suspicions, that our true parentage may never be known.  It's fascinating to "DO" genealogy....of anyone's ancestors! ________________________________ From: Linda Miller Wilson <lindamiller.wilson129@gmail.com> To: wilson@rootsweb.com Sent: Fri, January 13, 2012 5:59:07 PM Subject: Re: [WILSON] clarify for me please....it's been a while One problem with mtDNA....maternal DNA...is that it doesn't help much with genealogy.  I had mine done, and I discovered that my earliest female ancestor lived in Syria 5000 years ago.  While I have had a few people contact me, there have been no connections as we could be kin thousands of years ago.  There is a book entitled* The Seven Daughters of Eve* which is very interesting as it explains the seven divisions in which mtDNA is categorized.  My purpose in taking the test was to determine if I had Native American heritage which I did not....at least not from the data that ftDNA has.  I also took 23andme and did not discover Native American ancestry there either.  The test did give me a long list of diseases to which I might be genetically predisposed.  I am the kind of person who doesn't get bent out of shape about this kind of info, but it could be upsetting to some.  Also, the report that I was NOT predisposed to breast cancer and the fact that not only I have had it but my mother and paternal aunt as well, served to make me doubt the results.  I was flooded with emails from people with whom I matched, but the process of figuring out how and reading the dna results were overwhelming.  I turned my results over to a surname researcher of one of my family names and haven't heard a word since.  If I had to do it over, I would not have done 23andme.  The outfit also charges nine dollars a month to monitor my matches.  While I have read that there have been amazing matches with 23andme, it did not work for me. It was more technical than I was willing to deal with...might work for others.   The info presented here might be old, and there might be upgrades or discoveries of which I am not aware...just my experience.  Overall, I was fascinated that a female born in Syria had a daughter who had a daughter who had a daughter...so forth..until I was born, another daughter, and we all had the same mtDNA. I do not have a daughter, but  my female line is not dead for the fact that my first cousin has a daughter who has a daughter...so the line lives.  Because our mothers were sisters, they had the same mtDNA as our grandmother and her mother and her mother.......Linda Wilson On Fri, Jan 13, 2012 at 4:09 PM, Jan Ashford <jan@theashfords.org> wrote: > Your father's mDNA came from his mother.  Your's came from your mother. > Your mother's came from her mother.  Your mother's father's came from > his mother, but he did not pass it on to anyone.  I think is gets > confusing because the surnames change.  You are quite right, your > father's sample is no help at all on your mother's lines.  I hope this > helps a little. > > > On 01/13/2012 03:21 PM, roberta hall wrote: > > Again, sorry still not clear.....the Estes sample is that of my father's > (I > > have not supplied a sample)  what information would it have of my mother, > > his wife? > > You also mention both sons and daughters receive the mDNA so would that > mean > > that both his father (an Estes YDNA) and his mother (the Wilson mDNA) > would > > be in the same sample? As the granddaughter of this pair I can see how my > > mDNA profile would be of my mother's side and would not work. My father > was > > one of 4 boys my grandparents had my grandmother being the only direct > line > > Wilson female in the family. > > Wait I think a light bulb just went off....(mother to mother) my > grandmother > > born a Wilson sur-name of her father but her mother was a Mullen so my > > father would have the Mullen mDNA and nothing of the Wilson line...is > that > > correct? Or would he indeed have the Wilson mDNA factor given to him by > his > > mother? > > > > Help > > Roberta > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: wilson-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:wilson-bounces@rootsweb.com] > On > > Behalf Of Jan Ashford > > Sent: Friday, January 13, 2012 11:33 AM > > To: wilson@rootsweb.com > > Subject: Re: [WILSON] clarify for me please....it's been a while > > > > The mDNA is mother to mother all the way back.  That means that the > surname > > changes every generation.  However both sons and daughters receive mDNA > from > > the mother.  The son's just don't pass their's on to their children.  The > > daughter's do.  You can use the Estes sample to test for your mother, her > > mother, etc. but not for the Wilson surname because that comes from your > > mom's father and she would have received her mDNA from her mother, not > her > > father. > > > > On 01/13/2012 09:39 AM, roberta hall wrote: > >> It's been a while since I've had any new clues on my Wilson line. My > >> father can't get his cousin to agree to the test (afraid of the gov. > >> is his response). I have heard about the mDNA test but need > >> clarification..My father a Estes by birth (male line) his mother was a > >> Wilson..can I use the same DNA sample that was used to test his Estes > >> lineage to also test his Wilson line or does that have to come from a > >> female like myself who would actually be the granddaughter of the Wilson > > line? > >> As a recap..My Wilson line currently is in Boone Co., Arkansas. My > >> grandmother was born in Stilwell, Ok. But this is not the home > >> location of her father's (my great grandfather's) line. My great > >> grandfather was actually born in Manchester, Scott County, Illinois as > >> was his father. Now my Wilson line going back to my 4x's great > >> grandfather or from 1839 ish > >> -1900 lived on the family farm in Manchester, Scott Co., Illinois. My > >> line moved to Webb City, Jasper County, Missouri around the 1890's. > >> > >> Prior to moving to the Manchester, Scott County, Illinois my 4 x's > >> great grandfather is known to have been born in Kentucky..location > >> currently unknown. I however have one clue in that his wife (lucky for > >> me came from a family who has been documented in books) she was Keziah > >> Tunnell, hers mother's maiden name was Money.  Keziah Money Tunnell is > >> said to have been born near Elizabethtown, Kentucky, her family > >> settled near Murrayville, Kentucky in 1829. I'm hoping to find > >> evidence that my Wilson line may have been in this same vicinity and is > > where my 4 x's great grandparents met. > >> 1839 is when the two married in Illinois and settled in Manchester, > >> Illinois. > >> > >> So if anyone has any clues for this line of Wilson's I would love to > >> hear from you, I know there are a lot of new members out there looking > >> to learn where they came from..I've been around for a while but am > > currently stuck. > >> Also if someone can clarify the mDNA testing as it would pertain to my > >> father's sample I would appreciate that. > >> > >> > >> > >> Roberta Estes Hall > >> > >> p.s. my husband's Hall line is from Switzerland Co., Indiana so it was > >> fun to see that location pop up as I have been there in my past > > adventures. > >> > >> ------------------------------- > >> To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > >> WILSON-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > >> quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > ------------------------------- > > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > > WILSON-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes > > in the subject and the body of the message > > > > > > > > ------------------------------- > > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > WILSON-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > WILSON-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message > -- Linda Miller Wilson P. O. Box 129 Pettigrew, AR 72752 479-677-2681 ** ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to WILSON-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Thank you. The study of DNA is the wave of the future in genealogy as far as I am concerned..at least for men! I love the paper trail and will never give it up, but DNA studies uncover so many things that the paper trail does not reveal. It has provided two wonderful connections for my family that we would have been able to find had it not been for this science. I have a third DNA study that has not had one single perfect match in over five years. There have been two partial matches which gives us a clue, but I am waiting for thrill of the day when we get that exact hit...maybe with a mutation or two. On Fri, Jan 13, 2012 at 6:22 PM, Donna Mariner <oldsalty99@att.net> wrote: > Linda - beautifully written. Too many of us have thought that these DNA > tests > advertised will help us locate some of our more immediate ancestors...and > that's > not the way it works, as you explained so well. Also, most of us tend to > believe that ALL of our ancestors had white skin and blue eyes...and that > our > great grandmother told the truth when she said that the child that was born > after only 7 months of marriage was truly the biological child of the man > she > married. Again, a beautiful assumption, but that's not the way it always > works. > We truly are a mix of many, many "mothers" sifted down thru time. Our > ancestry > search can only lead us a few hundred years back, then it becomes a lot of > "guesswork", a lot of "assuming". Who are we to say who actually mated to > become our parents 1000 years ago? We are fortunate to obtain "proof" (?) > of > our lineage for more than two generations. DNA is really the ONLY proof. > That > is why many of us trace our lineage even though we know, or have > suspicions, > that our true parentage may never be known. It's fascinating to "DO" > genealogy....of anyone's ancestors! > > > > > ________________________________ > From: Linda Miller Wilson <lindamiller.wilson129@gmail.com> > To: wilson@rootsweb.com > Sent: Fri, January 13, 2012 5:59:07 PM > Subject: Re: [WILSON] clarify for me please....it's been a while > > One problem with mtDNA....maternal DNA...is that it doesn't help much with > genealogy. I had mine done, and I discovered that my earliest female > ancestor lived in Syria 5000 years ago. While I have had a few people > contact me, there have been no connections as we could be kin thousands of > years ago. There is a book entitled* The Seven Daughters of Eve* which is > very interesting as it explains the seven divisions in which mtDNA is > categorized. My purpose in taking the test was to determine if I had > Native American heritage which I did not....at least not from the data that > ftDNA has. I also took 23andme and did not discover Native American > ancestry there either. The test did give me a long list of diseases to > which I might be genetically predisposed. I am the kind of person who > doesn't get bent out of shape about this kind of info, but it could be > upsetting to some. Also, the report that I was NOT predisposed to breast > cancer and the fact that not only I have had it but my mother and paternal > aunt as well, served to make me doubt the results. I was flooded with > emails from people with whom I matched, but the process of figuring out how > and reading the dna results were overwhelming. I turned my results over to > a surname researcher of one of my family names and haven't heard a word > since. If I had to do it over, I would not have done 23andme. The outfit > also charges nine dollars a month to monitor my matches. While I have read > that there have been amazing matches with 23andme, it did not work for me. > It was more technical than I was willing to deal with...might work for > others. > > The info presented here might be old, and there might be upgrades or > discoveries of which I am not aware...just my experience. Overall, I was > fascinated that a female born in Syria had a daughter who had a daughter > who had a daughter...so forth..until I was born, another daughter, and we > all had the same mtDNA. I do not have a daughter, but my female line is > not dead for the fact that my first cousin has a daughter who has a > daughter...so the line lives. Because our mothers were sisters, they had > the same mtDNA as our grandmother and her mother and her mother.......Linda > Wilson > > On Fri, Jan 13, 2012 at 4:09 PM, Jan Ashford <jan@theashfords.org> wrote: > > > Your father's mDNA came from his mother. Your's came from your mother. > > Your mother's came from her mother. Your mother's father's came from > > his mother, but he did not pass it on to anyone. I think is gets > > confusing because the surnames change. You are quite right, your > > father's sample is no help at all on your mother's lines. I hope this > > helps a little. > > > > > > On 01/13/2012 03:21 PM, roberta hall wrote: > > > Again, sorry still not clear.....the Estes sample is that of my > father's > > (I > > > have not supplied a sample) what information would it have of my > mother, > > > his wife? > > > You also mention both sons and daughters receive the mDNA so would that > > mean > > > that both his father (an Estes YDNA) and his mother (the Wilson mDNA) > > would > > > be in the same sample? As the granddaughter of this pair I can see how > my > > > mDNA profile would be of my mother's side and would not work. My father > > was > > > one of 4 boys my grandparents had my grandmother being the only direct > > line > > > Wilson female in the family. > > > Wait I think a light bulb just went off....(mother to mother) my > > grandmother > > > born a Wilson sur-name of her father but her mother was a Mullen so my > > > father would have the Mullen mDNA and nothing of the Wilson line...is > > that > > > correct? Or would he indeed have the Wilson mDNA factor given to him by > > his > > > mother? > > > > > > Help > > > Roberta > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > > From: wilson-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:wilson-bounces@rootsweb.com] > > On > > > Behalf Of Jan Ashford > > > Sent: Friday, January 13, 2012 11:33 AM > > > To: wilson@rootsweb.com > > > Subject: Re: [WILSON] clarify for me please....it's been a while > > > > > > The mDNA is mother to mother all the way back. That means that the > > surname > > > changes every generation. However both sons and daughters receive mDNA > > from > > > the mother. The son's just don't pass their's on to their children. > The > > > daughter's do. You can use the Estes sample to test for your mother, > her > > > mother, etc. but not for the Wilson surname because that comes from > your > > > mom's father and she would have received her mDNA from her mother, not > > her > > > father. > > > > > > On 01/13/2012 09:39 AM, roberta hall wrote: > > >> It's been a while since I've had any new clues on my Wilson line. My > > >> father can't get his cousin to agree to the test (afraid of the gov. > > >> is his response). I have heard about the mDNA test but need > > >> clarification..My father a Estes by birth (male line) his mother was a > > >> Wilson..can I use the same DNA sample that was used to test his Estes > > >> lineage to also test his Wilson line or does that have to come from a > > >> female like myself who would actually be the granddaughter of the > Wilson > > > line? > > >> As a recap..My Wilson line currently is in Boone Co., Arkansas. My > > >> grandmother was born in Stilwell, Ok. But this is not the home > > >> location of her father's (my great grandfather's) line. My great > > >> grandfather was actually born in Manchester, Scott County, Illinois as > > >> was his father. Now my Wilson line going back to my 4x's great > > >> grandfather or from 1839 ish > > >> -1900 lived on the family farm in Manchester, Scott Co., Illinois. My > > >> line moved to Webb City, Jasper County, Missouri around the 1890's. > > >> > > >> Prior to moving to the Manchester, Scott County, Illinois my 4 x's > > >> great grandfather is known to have been born in Kentucky..location > > >> currently unknown. I however have one clue in that his wife (lucky for > > >> me came from a family who has been documented in books) she was Keziah > > >> Tunnell, hers mother's maiden name was Money. Keziah Money Tunnell is > > >> said to have been born near Elizabethtown, Kentucky, her family > > >> settled near Murrayville, Kentucky in 1829. I'm hoping to find > > >> evidence that my Wilson line may have been in this same vicinity and > is > > > where my 4 x's great grandparents met. > > >> 1839 is when the two married in Illinois and settled in Manchester, > > >> Illinois. > > >> > > >> So if anyone has any clues for this line of Wilson's I would love to > > >> hear from you, I know there are a lot of new members out there looking > > >> to learn where they came from..I've been around for a while but am > > > currently stuck. > > >> Also if someone can clarify the mDNA testing as it would pertain to my > > >> father's sample I would appreciate that. > > >> > > >> > > >> > > >> Roberta Estes Hall > > >> > > >> p.s. my husband's Hall line is from Switzerland Co., Indiana so it was > > >> fun to see that location pop up as I have been there in my past > > > adventures. > > >> > > >> ------------------------------- > > >> To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > > >> WILSON-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > > >> quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > > ------------------------------- > > > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > > > WILSON-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > > quotes > > > in the subject and the body of the message > > > > > > > > > > > > ------------------------------- > > > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > > WILSON-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > > quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > > > ------------------------------- > > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > > WILSON-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > > quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > > > > > -- > Linda Miller Wilson > P. O. Box 129 > Pettigrew, AR 72752 > > 479-677-2681 > > ** > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > WILSON-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in > the subject and the body of the message > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > WILSON-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message > -- Linda Miller Wilson P. O. Box 129 Pettigrew, AR 72752 479-677-2681 **

Hi Donna, You are so right about not assuming your ancestors strayed from their spouses. My example: My grandfather, George B. Hart was the son of Servina Hurd & Lewis I. Hart, or so I thought. When I got into doing genealogy some 30+ years ago, I found out different. Servina Hurd & Lewis I. Hart had 5 children from 1873 to 1883. They divorced and he married Rosetta Conn in 1884 and my grandfather was born in 1886. The distance from where Lewis I. Hart lived & Servina Hurd lived, was across a county so a days ride by horse & buggy. Her name was still Hart and there were no birth certificates back then, so grandpa was given the name Hart. While digging and asking questions of my older relatives, I found out my grandfather's biological father was probably a Henninger. My grandfather had a bad childhood because he was a "bastard". His older brother, Samuel, and grandpa took trips to Burnside, KY to meet the Cumberland River, boat full of supplies. That was near where Lewis I. Hart and his second wife, Rosetta Conn, lived. The two would take 2 wagons & teams of horses to meet the boat and spend the night at their home. Samuel was treated with respect and ate and slept inside the house with the family. Grandpa on the other hand was brought food outside to eat and slept in the wagon or barn. As far as the genealogy is concerned, I have kept the name Hart but have a note attached to say his biological father is probaby a Henninger. A cousin offered to pay for a DNA test for my uncle, the only living male child, but he refused to take it. He said "dad went to his grave not telling and I'm not going to do it". So we will never know for sure. Betty Wade Putnam ----- Original Message ----- From: "Donna Mariner" <oldsalty99@att.net> To: <wilson@rootsweb.com> Sent: Friday, January 13, 2012 7:22 PM Subject: [WILSON] maternal DNA Linda - beautifully written. Too many of us have thought that these DNA tests advertised will help us locate some of our more immediate ancestors...and that's not the way it works, as you explained so well. Also, most of us tend to believe that ALL of our ancestors had white skin and blue eyes...and that our great grandmother told the truth when she said that the child that was born after only 7 months of marriage was truly the biological child of the man she married. Again, a beautiful assumption, but that's not the way it always works. We truly are a mix of many, many "mothers" sifted down thru time. Our ancestry search can only lead us a few hundred years back, then it becomes a lot of "guesswork", a lot of "assuming". Who are we to say who actually mated to become our parents 1000 years ago? We are fortunate to obtain "proof" (?) of our lineage for more than two generations. DNA is really the ONLY proof. That is why many of us trace our lineage even though we know, or have suspicions, that our true parentage may never be known. It's fascinating to "DO" genealogy....of anyone's ancestors! ________________________________