 |
 |
|
|
|
| 
The following is a chapter from:
Trace Your Roots with DNA
by Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak and Ann Turner
(reprinted with permission)
With all the data she had gathered from the paper trail, Stacy hit the Internet. By searching the names of both of the brothers as well as their wives and children, she stumbled across the obituary of Harry's wife, which conveniently furnished the names of his now grown and married children as of 1992. Not having as much luck with Steve's family, she searched the newspapers in Scranton and found one with a Web site. A search of the newspaper's archives turned up a handful of articles with additional family details from the past decade or so, including a mention or two of the brothers' grandchildren.
Combining information from all these sources - census records, death certificates, naturalization records, Social Security applications, probate packets, and obituaries and other articles - Stacy was able to construct the third (and part of the fourth) generation of her descendancy chart (see the lower rows of Figure 8-2). Steve apparently had five sons and four daughters, while Harry had two sons and three daughters - meaning that there were plenty of Y-DNA lines to follow!
Stacy now turned to an online phone directory and began searching for the names of the most recent two generations of her chart. As expected, some of the people were not publicly listed, but several others were. She selected a daughter of Harry's and picked up the phone: "Hi, my name is Stacy. You don't know me, but I think we're cousins. My great-grandmother was your aunt Mary..."
An enjoyable half an hour on the phone later (those first calls can sometimes open the floodgates!)
CANDIDATE TIE-BREAKERS
In the Lucas case (see Figure 8-2), there are at least six candidates for testing. Should all six get tested? No. While it would be smart to get someone from both Harry's and Steve's lines tested to rule out non-paternity events, testing beyond that would be redundant, not to mention expensive! Barring any non-paternity events or recent mutations, the DNA test results of all of these men would be identical. In such situations, when you have more than one candidate, here are some tie-breakers for selecting the best one:
- A descendant who bears the surname of interest (e.g., not his stepfather's), because it will be easier to explain results
- The person who has the most close relatives, because that will provide a better cost-sharing opportunity
- The person who's most interested and enthusiastic
|
Stacy could flesh out her chart with more names as well as slashes to indicate those who had passed away. From Harry's line, she had five DNA candidates, and from Steve's, she had at least one for comparison's sake, with the prospect of four other lines that could be pursued if necessary. She also had the pleasure of making the acquaintances of a delightful first cousin twice removed and an invitation to visit and see photos of her ancestor of interest, her great-great-grandfather Phillip Lucas - a nice bonus for her sleuthing efforts!
|
| |
|
|
|
North American office: P.O. Box 160, Carmine, TX 78932-0160 USA tel/fax: Toll free 866-7-DNA-DNA |
European office: 40 Preston Road, Weymouth, Dorset,
DT3 6PZ, UK tel:+44 (0) 1305 834936 fax:+44 (0)
1305 835925 |
|
|
