HISTORY

"A people without  the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots"  ~ Marcus Garvey

I began my journey to identify and meet my living relatives in 1986, and thirty-five (35) years later I’m still on that journey.  Find living relatives meant I had to look for their ancestors and to find those ancestors required a lot of researching.  I’ve attended many lectures and classes over the years enhancing my knowledge on how to research, analyze, where to locate records, and how genetic DNA could aid my genealogical research as I looked for living relatives.

Understanding how we receive DNA from our parents and their parents is critical to how DNA testing assists us in finding and connecting families.  We receive 50% of our DNA from our parents (maternal for the female side, and paternal for the male side);  25% from our maternal and paternal grandparents, 12.5% from maternal and paternal great grandparents, and 6.25% from our great great grandparents.  That DNA is passed down randomly so the only siblings with the exact same DNA are identical twins because they came from the same egg. 

I've tested with three DNA testing companies, AncestryDNA, FamilyTreeDNA,  and 23andme, seeking unknown relatives, and to know my ethnic background. The tests has provided many DNA relatives of which some have trees on Ancestry, or I was able to build family trees for them.  Today, modern genealogy combines genetic genealogy with traditional genealogy to create biological relationships between or among individuals.  By using genealogical DNA testing, genetic genealogy can determine the levels and types of biological relationships between and among individuals.  This family tree is built using traditional genealogical research (e.g., census records, probate records, newspaper obituaries, oral history etc.) and DNA testing which has expanded my family beyond my wildest expectation.

My maternal and paternal ancestors were enslaved in Kershaw and Richland counties, South Carolina.  My parents were born in Camden, Kershaw County, South Carolina so researching family was made easier.  However, I immediately ran into an obstacle researching my paternal side.  My father knew very little about his father which included his father's name and that he was from Sumter SC, but nothing else.  I quickly discovered there were too many Scotts in South Carolina and no way to distinguish any relationships.  It was a genealogical brick wall I could not see myself overcoming.  Two decades later, genetic DNA became available, and I took my first test with a company, 23andme.  All DNA testing companies require individuals to purchase their kits to be tested, and the driving impetus for many people who tested was a desire to know their ethnicity and where their ancestors were from.  Some of us were also searching for a biological connection.