Info on Genetics and Genealogy Lecture

As mentioned in a previous blog, I was fortunate in having attended a lecture by Judy G. Russell, JD., CG, CGL at Burlington County Historical Society.

For my birthday a couple of years ago, I had my dna tested through a special sale offered at the Ancestry.com convention in Philadelphia.  They offered a reduced rate of either $69 or $89, I can't remember which, but it was usually $100, so I stood in the long long line and bought it.

the Ancestry test required a cheek swab.  Some require deposit of saliva into a tube.  All of these are noninvasive.  My results were puzzling to me as I had done quite a bit of work on my own by then and I KNEW for a fact that my mother was half Irish - the McQuiston family (Scots Irish to be precise) and English (Garwood).  My father was half German (the Sandman family andd the Jung family) and half English (presumably - Wright).  I had traced the Wrights back to 1810 on the Indiana border with the Ohio River, and I had traced the German contingent back to 1820.  The McQuiston's appeared in Pennsylvania in the late 1700's.  I was astonished when my results gave me 17% Scandinavian and 27% Eastern European.  My final conclusion was the one of the German greats had come from Jutland, the peninsula that connects Germany with Denmark.  It had changed hands many times, and I had found a Danish Great great grandmother. 

Friends who had taken the test also had surprising percentages and we were all wondering what this was about.

Ms. Russell clearly explained to us the difference between the 3 main types of dna tests used for genealogy, Ydna, MitochondrialDna and autosomal.  Amazon does autosomal.  I can convey to you all she taught us, it was a 2 hour workshop.  But I can tell you that amazon.com does autosomal and they link you with family trees and other people who have taken the test and match with you.  Family Tree DNA, which she recommended because they promise to hold your dna test for 25 years, is the other most well known representative in this field, and the third has just come back after a tussel with the federal government over releasing medical information to customers.  That one is 23 and Me.  They cost the most.  

For more information you can go to Beginners Guide to Gnetic Gneealogy https://goo.gl/LjOsmx or www.legalgenealogist.com.  Or call the Burlington County Historical Society in Burlington City.  

The families I have been researching in New Jersey are Cheesman and Garwood in the Turnersville/Blackwood area.  The Cheesman family, in particular are interesting because they had several mills along the Big Timber Creek and there was even a small hamlet challed Cheesmanville at one time.  William C. Garwood, who married Rachel Cheesman, only daughter of renowned Major Peter T. Cheesman, was postmaster and schoolteacher at Turnersville.  During his school teaching years he boarded with the Cheesman family and met Rachel.  She died young, and her son, William C. Garwood, was raised by his grandfather, of the same name until he went to Philadelphia and joined the Merchant Marines to see the world. I discovered a year or so ago, that the C. stands for Collins, apparently a surname from the female ancestry.

Happy Trails!
Jo Ann