Ancestry's Ancestral Regions

 Ancestry's Ancestral Regions 

Recently, Ancestry updated their ethnicity estimates.  Ancestry claimed it is their biggest update ever.  Their new name for ethnicity estimates is Ancestral Regions.  Ancestral regions show where ancestors likely lived 1,000 years ago.  The new name for Ancestry's former communities is now Ancestral Journeys.  Ancestral journeys are where ancestors likely lived and moved in the past 300 years.

Ancestral Regions 2024

Below is a comparison between my new 2024 Ancestral Regions and the former 2023 ethnicity estimate.  All of the Sweden & Denmark was taken away.  Since I could never find any connection to either of those Scandinavian countries, I'm glad that percentage is gone.  My Germanic increased 11%.  Since my paternal grandfather was German, I knew I should be about 25%.  I must have more Germans hiding in my ancestors somewhere. 

Ancestral Regions by Parent

 

Comparison of each region inherited from parents

Ancestral Journeys 2024

The only two ancestral journeys shown are for my maternal lines and none are given for my paternal lines.  I have three times more matches on my maternal lines than I do on my paternal lines.  The two maternal ancestral journeys shown are spot on.  Since my two maternal grandparents were born in Texas, that is where a lot of my DNA matches come from. Over the years, I have made many trips to Texas, Oklahoma, and Tennessee to research and visit family.  

Chromosome Painter 

Ancestry "paints" our chromosomes with the regions our ancestors were associated with.  The  Maternal or Paternal tabs at the top can be clicked to see who passed down which chromosomes.  On the left side, you have the option of clicking on one region and only that region will show on the browser.

Note: Click on above images to make them larger.

Previous Posts about Ethnicity Estimates: 

2013 Ethnicity Estimates 

2022 Estimate Comparison by Company 

2022 Ancestry New Ethnicity Inheritance 

10 Years Later

 DNA and Me - 10 years later

Ten years ago I posted an article called, "DNA and Me".  You can read about it here.   In the article, I chronicled the start of my journey into Genetic Genealogy. 

I was a lot hopeful and a little naive when I first started testing DNA.   I thought DNA would automatically break down all my brick walls and, as a bonus, prove the Native American stories in our family.  Ten years later, I still have brick walls, and I doubt there is any truth to the "Indian Grandma" stories.😒

So after ten years, has DNA been worth the time, effort, and money???  
The answer to that is YES!!!😎😍  


DNA has Solved Mysteries

DNA has filled in my tree by finding missing relatives, and DNA has solved several mysteries.  Read a few stories about finding family with DNA:

• Finding Family with DNA
• Finding More Family with DNA
• DNA Solved Another Family Mystery 

In addition to the posts in the above links, DNA has filled in my family tree.  One example is that DNA has proven my 3rd great-grandfather, John Sadler, was the brother of William Sadler.  Their probable parents are John William and Elizabeth Sadler.  Both John and William were early settlers in Texas; John lived in Limestone County and William lived in Frio County.  While there is no document or paper trail to prove their relationship, DNA matches between descendants of both men does prove their relationship.  

FamilySearch has an excellent blog post about Overcoming Brick Walls in Your Family Tree with DNA.  Click here to read

DNA Confirms Family Tree Research

DNA has substantiated years of genealogical research.  For the last forty-plus years I have been researching my family tree.  Through DNA I know that most of my researched and documented family lines are indeed my biological lines.  My Quaker lines, with good sources and documentation, are definitely my biological lines - no surprises there.  I could probably do without some of the outlaw lines but according to the DNA (and the research) they are also part of my family tree.  My southern family lines are still a little sketchy -- Not very many records and lots of DNA matches with no trees.  My German lines have a good base both in records and DNA.  Just don't have a lot of German DNA matches from Germany.

DNA has definitely added family to my tree and it has also taken away (in a biological sense).  With the help of DNA, a cousin knows that the rumors he heard about being adopted from within the family are true.  So, even though he was adopted into the family, he is also biologically related to the family.  Another cousin who took a DNA test out of curiosity, found out he is not biologically related to the family.  Still very much a part of the family, just has different DNA than the rest of us.  

I like a quote from Judy Russell, The Legal Genealogist: "DNA can tell us how we are biologically related to each other.  DNA doesn't - and can't - tell us how families are formed."  

DNA Ethnicity

While DNA has cleared up some mysteries, DNA has also created some mysteries in my family tree.  According to my ethnicity (and that of my family), I have about 6% of my DNA from Denmark/Sweden.  If I look at a comparison chart of my maternal Baldwin aunts and uncle, I see a very clear pattern of Scandinavian ethnicity.  My problem with this is I have not found any hint of Denmark/Sweden ethnicity in my genealogical research.  Which ancestor(s) did it come from?? 

Below is a comparison chart of five Baldwin siblings showing their ethnicities.  Highlighted in yellow is their Denmark/Sweden ethnicity ranging from 12% to 17%.   Again, which ancestor(s) did it come from??

Below are links to previous DNA ethnicity posts:

•  Ancestry's New Ethnicity July 2022 
• DNA Ethnicity Feb 2022
• Updated DNA Ethnicity Estimates 2013  
• DNA Communities 2022

National DNA Day 2023

 

National DNA Day 2023 will commemorate two special milestones: 

The 20th anniversary of the mapping the human genome (Human Genome Project) in 2003 and the 70th anniversary of the discovery of the DNA double helix by James Watson and Francis Crick in 1953.

National DNA Day is officially celebrated on April 25th and began after the first session of the 108th Congress passed concurrent resolutions designating the day in 2003. This annual celebration offers students, teachers and the public many exciting opportunities to learn about the latest advances in genomic research and explore what they may mean for their lives.

Ancestry's New Ethnicity Inheritance

 In February 2022, I posted an article comparing my DNA Ethnicity Estimates from the different DNA companies I have tested with.  To see that post, click here.  I mentioned I was puzzled about AncestryDNA not showing any German ethnicity, in spite of the fact that my paternal grandfather was German.  

Not long after I made that post, AncestryDNA revised it's Ethnicity Estimates in April 2022.  Their new ethnicity inheritance feature separates the two sides (paternal/maternal) of one's family.  AncestryDNA  can do this without testing the parents.  This information comes from the tester's DNA results - not from the parents’ DNA.  

The top image is my NEW Ethnicity Estimate from AncestryDNA  (April 2022), and below that is my old estimate from February (although it was last updated the previous September 2021).  As you can see, I went from 0% German to 22% German.  The 22% German is right in the range where it should be.  Not sure why the German never showed up before, because I have many AncestryDNA matches with other descendants of my German immigrant ancestors and my tree shows all of my German lines back to the 1600's.  But whatever the reason for it not showing up before, my German ethnicity is now showing up - so happy about that😊😊

Ancestry.com Ethnicity Estimate April 2022
German Ethnicity Showing

Ancestry.com Ethnicity Estimate September 2021
No German Ethnicity Shows Up

Your Ethnicity Inheritance by Parent

On the Ethnicity Inheritance page, AncestryDNA shows which parent one gets their inheritance from, as shown below.  I love this feature because it may help me eventually break through some brickwalls and figure out which ancestors came from Scandinavia (Sweden & Denmark) or Wales. Since both of my parents tested at AncestryDNA, I can also look at their ethnicity inheritance to see which ethnicities each of their parents (my grandparents) passed down to them.  Awesome😍

Parent 1 is my maternal line and Parent 2 is my paternal line.  I know this because Parent 2 shows German Ethnicity and the German is from my father's side.  Ancestry lets you assign a side as your paternal or maternal side, which I have since done.  Just to the right of the Detailed Comparison is a Edit Parents button.  Click that to label Parent sides as maternal or paternal.  

Ethnicity Inheritance by Parent

Maternal and Paternal Sides Labeled 

Chromosome Painter

Next - AncestryDNA "paints" our chromosomes with the regions associated with our ethnicity estimate.  How cool is that😊😊   The Chromosome Painter is found by clicking the tab "Explore now" in the bottom right hand corner of the Ethnicity Inheritance page.  If you use the tabs at the top of the Chromosome Painter, you have the option of viewing only one side such as Parent 1 or Parent 2 (maternal or paternal).  On the left side, you have the option of clicking on one region and only that region will show on the browser.  

My cousin's Chromosome Painter is much more colorful than mine.  In addition to our shared UK and European ancestry, he has Mexican ancestry which includes Spain, Basque, and Indigenous Americas.

Cousin's Chromosome Painter

Question of the day:  If AncestryDNA can give us a Chromosome Painter, why can’t AncestryDNA give us a Chromosome Browser to use with our DNA matches?😮?

DNA Communities

 According to AncestryDNA, a DNA community is a "group of people who share DNA because their relatives recently lived in the same place at the same time."  Whereas ethnicity regions (shown in previous post) go back 500 years or more, DNA communities are more recent - 50-300 years.  MyHeritageDNA also offers something similar called "Additional Genetic Groups".  Both AncestryDNA Communities and MyHeritageDNA Genetic Groups align with my known ancestral locations.

AncestryDNA Communities

MyHeritageDNA Additional Genetic Groups 

Since most of my ancestors have been in this country for 200-300 years, these Communities/Genetic Groups represent places my ancestors lived once they were in America.  In 2017, I compiled a list of my known immigrant ancestors and where they were from.  My ancestors who came over in the 1600s came mainly from England and settled in New England.  By the early 1700s, they were also immigrating from Ireland. A lot of those ancestors settled in Pennsylvania.  Then all of those early New England ancestors started moving south and west during the later part of the 1700s.  During the 1700s, a second wave of immigrant ancestors started arriving in Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.  This last group then moved into Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Kentucky, and Mississippi.  

The following pedigree is of the birth places for four generations of my ancestors.  Most of my ancestors in the fourth generation back (excluding my German lines) were born in the southern states during the first half of the 1800s.  One generation farther back (not shown on the pedigree), most of the ancestors were from Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee. 

4 Generations of Birth Locations of Ancestors

Related Posts:

2013 Ethnicity Estimates

2022 Ethnicity Estimates 

Our 'First Families' in America 

DNA Ethnicity Estimates 2022

 Back in 2012 I started testing my DNA at AncestryDNA, FamilyTreeDNA, and 23&MeDNA.  In a 2013 post, I compared the ethnicity estimates given by the three companies.  Click here to view the 2013 post.  Since those initial results, my ethnicity results have changed a little but not much.  Below are my current estimates given by the four major DNA companies that I now work with.

AncestryDNA Ethnicity Estimate

Last Updated September 2021

Family Tree DNA myOrigins 

23&Me Ancestry Composition

MyHeritage Ethnicity Estimate

As seen in the ethnicity estimates from the four DNA companies, I am basically 100% European.  Each DNA company breaks the ethnicity percentages down a little differently.  AncestryDNA combines England and Northwestern Europe, but has separate percentages for Scotland, Ireland, and Wales.  FamilyTreeDNA combines England, Wales, and Scotland into one percentage.  23&MeDNA combines England (including Scotland) and Ireland.  Then MyHeritageDNA separates England but then combines Ireland, Scotland, and Wales into one percentage.  A majority of my DNA is from the United Kingdom: England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales.  

I know who some my English, Scottish, Irish, and German ancestors are, and have a pretty good guess which of my ancestors came from Wales. Although I know where a few of my other immigrant families came from, most of my ancestors are still stuck in North Carolina, South Carolina, or Virginia in the early 1700's, Northwest Territory in the late 1700's, or east Tennessee in the early 1800's.😞😞  HELP WANTED -- Get me across the pond!

My paternal grandfather was German - 100% German. Or, so I have always believed and the research supports. My grandfather's father was born in Germany and his mother was born in America to German immigrants.  The genealogical records for both of my Grandfather's lines can be traced through parish records in Germany back to the 1600's. So basically my DNA should show German Ethnicity at about 25% (+/- a few %).  My German ethnicity shows up at both FamilyTreeDNA (35%) and 23&MeDNA (53.9%), but not at AncestryDNA or MyHeritageDNA.  Why the discrepancies??  My Dad should show 50% German at Ancestry but he only shows 34%.  It's puzzling to me just why my ethnicity does not show any German!?!?

Another one of my more puzzling ethnicities is Scandinavian - mainly Sweden. I show anywhere from 18% at AncestryDNA down to 5.40% at MyHeritageDNA.  I have no clue which of my ancestors may have come from Sweden/Scandinavia.  Hopefully someday I will find this mysterious Scandinavian ancestor(s).😉

***UPDATE: AncestryDNA New Ethnicity Inheritance April 2022***

Related Posts:

2013 Ethnicity Estimates

Our 'First Families' in America 

AncestryDNA New Ethnicity Inheritance April 2022

DNA Solved Another Family Mystery

Our family tree is filled with brick walls, dead ends, and unsolved mysteries.  There are several unsolved mysteries just in the Michael and Susannah West family - our third great-grandparents.  Recently one of the West family mysteries was solved with the help of DNA. 

The Michael and Susannah West family has been written about previously in this blog.  To read about the family click here.  Michael and Susannah were the parents of nine children: Mary Ann, John Wesley, Susan Emeline, Joseph Jackson, James Harvey, Rebecca Jane, Michael Perry, Elizabeth, and Louisa.  We descend through daughter Susan Emeline West Leffel.

Most of the children in the Michael West family have been researched by using traditional genealogical research methods and then substantiated with DNA.  That is all but the youngest daughter, Louisa, who has been a major mystery.  Louisa and her family completely disappeared during or right after the civil war - no records, headstones, nothing.  I have often wondered if Louisa along with her entire family died from disease/influenza, were killed by outlaws/Indians, or moved away to some unknown location???  

The Louisa West Thomas Family

Louisa West, the youngest child of Michael and Susannah West, was born about 1833 in Champaign County, Ohio.  She had eight older siblings. Louisa's mother died around 1845 while the family was still living in Ohio.  A few years later, when Louisa was about 15 years old, her father moved the family to Grayson County, Texas (1848).  Michael had received land through the Peter's Colony.  His land patent states that Michael West, a widower, came to Texas with two girls (Elizabeth and Louisa) and a boy (Michael Perry).  Louisa’s oldest brother John had previously moved to Texas.  

Shortly after arriving in Texas, Louisa met Jesse Thomas, a land-owner who had also obtained land in Grayson county through the Peters Colony.

Louisa and Jesse were married 14 July 1849 in Grayson County.  Their marriage record can found in Grayson County, Texas Marriage records, Vol A, page 43. 

Grayson County, Texas Marriage Record for
Jesse Thomas and Louisa West
19 July 1849

Jesse gave his occupation as a farmer when young couple was enumerated in the 1850 Federal Census.  

1850 Federal Census, Grayson County, Texas

Louisa's brother, Michael Perry West, mysteriously died in 1853, when he was only 26 years old.  Her father, Michael, died five years later in 1858. Michael specified in his will that his estate would be divided between his living children, prompting daughter Susan Leffel and family to move to Texas from Ohio.  To read Michael's will, click here.   

Louisa and Jesse Thomas were still living in Grayson County when enumerated for 1860 Federal Census.  By that time, three children were added to the Thomas family: Mary S. born about 1852, John E. born about 1856, and Rebecca E born about 1858.  Also living in the household is 13 year old Sarah Massey (relationship unknown).

1860 Federal Census, Grayson County, Texas

The 1860’s in Texas would prove to be harsh years for the West and Thomas families.  1861 was the beginning of political unrest for Texas as well as the whole country.  Texas would eventually secede from the Union and join the Confederacy.  Those in Texas who considered themselves citizens of the United States and were loyal to the Union, suffered the most during the Civil War in Texas. 

In 1861, Louisa's oldest brother John died, leaving behind a wife and daughter. Cause of his death is unknown.  During the next year 1862, two of Louisa's sisters lost their husbands during the "Great Hanging" in neighboring Cooke County, Texas.  Sister Susan's husband, David Miller Leffel, was hanged along with 40 other men for their Union sentiments by an extra-legal "Citizens Court".   Sister Elizabeth's husband, William Boyles, was wounded by Confederates and died from pneumonia while hiding out in the Timbers. Sister Rebecca's husband, John Haning, was conscripted into the Confederacy.  Texas had passed a conscription law requiring all men to fight for the Confederacy or be hanged.  

Was there division of loyalty even within the West Family?  Louisa's niece, Sarah Ann West, was married to Calvin Dale.  Dale's obituary referred to him as a "True Southern" and that "no man ever wore the gray more loyally."  Wonder if that is why Sarah divorced in 1862?  Two of Sarah’s uncles were killed by the confederates and yet her husband "wore the gray" loyally.  That could cause some family friction.

Louisa's husband, Jesse Thomas, was also conscripted into Confederate service in 1864.  A year later on 13 Feb 1865,  J.F. Thomas (4 in family) is listed on the Indigent family list for Grayson County, Texas.  The Texas Legislature had passed a resolution stating that the government pledged support and maintenance of "families, widows, and dependents of soldiers currently serving in State or Confederate forces, or of soldiers killed or disabled in service."  Not sure if the listing referred to Louisa and their three children while Jesse was still away fighting; or if Jesse was disabled/wounded and the indigent listing included him and three other family members with one of the family members being previously deceased??

The above mentioned Indigent Family List was the last record found for the Jesse and Louisa Thomas family.  After that, the family disappeared, vanished, faded into the unknown history hole.  They are not found in the 1870 Federal Census.  Jesse is not listed in the 1867 Voter Registration list for Grayson County - at least there is no Jesse Thomas or J.F. Thomas.

Much was unknown about Thomas Family: Did Jesse died while fighting for the confederacy?  Did Jesse come back wounded and die soon afterwards? Did Louisa die while Jesse was away fighting? What happened to all the children?  Where was this missing family??

DNA Solves Part of the Louisa West Thomas Family Mystery

Image my surprise when I recently noticed a DNA match on my Ancestry.com ThruLine for Michael West from a descendant of Louisa West Thomas.  I was cautiously optimistic as I looked at the match information.  There have been plenty of matches for the other Michael West children, but never one for Louisa. After checking out the new Louisa descendant match, it appeared to be legitimate with documentation, research, and DNA.  The match is through Louisa's daughter Mary Susan Thomas.  

ThruLine for Michael West 
116 Matches
28 Oct 2010

The genealogical records for Mary Susan Thomas match up, although there is no record that specifically names her parents.  But, there are plenty of DNA shared matches who are descendants of Michael and Susannah West.  This new match also has a close family member with an unlinked tree who shares DNA with all of the other descendants of Michael and Susannah West. So we actually have two DNA matches from the Louisa West Thomas line - plus there may be many more matches that have no tree, incomplete tree, unlinked tree, or have private trees.

Grayson County, Texas Marriage Record
J. H. Jones and Mary S. Thomas
6 Feb 1876

Mary Susan Thomas, the daughter of Louisa West and Jesse Thomas, married in Grayson County, Texas on 6 Feb 1876 to John Henry Jones.  The Mary and John Jones family added two children, Oliver and Grace, by the time they were enumerated on the 1880 Federal Census for Grayson County.  Two more children were born in Texas, Frances Belle and Lillian.  The family was living in Arkansas by 1889 when son John was born.  Son, Paul Edwin, was also born in Arkansas in 1895. By 1898 the family was living in Kay County, Oklahoma when the youngest son, Harold was born. Son Charlie (born 1892) died in 1899 in Kildare, Kay, Oklahoma.  In the 1900 Federal Census, Mary and the children are still living in Kildare, Kay County, Oklahoma.  Mary is the head of household and states she is married, but husband John Henry is not living in the household. By 1910, the Jones family was together again and living in Mason, Yell, Arkansas. Mary Susan Thomas Jones died on the 8th of November 1910 in Birta, Yell, Arkansas.

As of yet, there is no additional information for Mary's parents, Louisa West and Jesse Thomas, or her two siblings, John E Thomas and Rebecca E. Thomas.  But, I am more than delighted to add Mary's information to the family tree🌳 

It's always nice to find a missing branch of the family tree😊😊

WEST FAMILY BLOG POSTS:

Michael and Susannah West Family

Michael West Land in Grayson County, Texas
Will of Michael West
Susan West Leffel: "Left me in a sad and mornful condition."
John and Rebecca West Haning of Grayson County, Texas
William and Elizabeth West Boyles
Mysterious Death of Michael Perry West

Finding Family With DNA

Finding More Family With DNA

Painting My Chromosomes

In order to come up with "just the right" paint colors for the home🏠 we're building, I've been spending a lot of time at the Sherwin-Williams paint store, or online at Houzz, or with the designers.  There are over a 100 shades of white paint alone!  It's all very overwhelming.  

But, on the happier side, there is one paint job I have been enjoying... 

Painting My Chromosomes.  

Recently I started using a free online DNA tool for chromosome mapping called DNA Painter.

DNA painter helps you map or “paint” your chromosomes to find out which ancestors belong to your specific segments of your DNA.  I only paint segments of a match when I am certain of the common ancestral couple we both descend from and received our common DNA from.  In the past, I have kept spread sheets of my matches but I think I like using DNA Painter better.  And, it’s much more fun to “paint” 🎨 a match than it is to add them to a spreadsheet. 

My chromosomes (all 23 of them) are 55% painted and I could probably have closer to 80-90% painted if Ancestry.com had a chromosome browser showing segments matching.  I have found DNA matches with paintable segments at FamilyTreeDNA, MyHeritage, 23andme, and GedMatch.  Each of the aforementioned companies have a chromosome browser and I just copy the information and paste it into DNA Painter.  But, I have more matches on AncestryDNA than anywhere else.  In order to add my Ancestry.com matches, the Ancestry match  would need to download their raw DNA data from Ancestry and transfer to one of the vendors which accepts downloads - such as FamilyTreeDNA, MyHeritage, and/or GedMatch.  For information on how to transfer DNA files, click here.

For each numbered chromosome (1 through 23), the top pale blue line represents the DNA  received from my father, and the bottom pale pink line represents the DNA that came from my mother.  My DNA matches from common ancestors are painted on top of each paternal or maternal line.

I made two separate profiles for my own matches, the top profile image showing my four grandparent lines, and one bottom one showing all identified common ancestors.  I have also created a profile for each parent (both of my parents have tested their DNA).  Also, I have created profiles for my brick-wall lines.

This first image shows my four grandparent lines.  I created this profile to visually see which of my grandparent lines were more complete.  The 23 chromosomes are listed on the left.  My paternal grandparents are shown in blue and green on the top pale blue paternal line of each chromosome.   The blue represents all my matches on my Martin-Weiss family lines, which are my German lines.  My German lines will always be the least complete because there are only three generations here in the United States.  My Wilson-Hatfield family lines are represented by green. 

Pink and yellow represents my maternal grandparent lines: Baldwin-Stewart family lines are pink, Leffel-Box family lines are yellow.

The next profile I created for my DNA shows all of my ancestors who have been identified with segment matching information.  I have 28 ancestral couples whose segments have been identified.  I have not added close family matches (siblings, 1st cousins, aunts & uncles) because I would not know which of our shared matches came from which of our shared grandparents.  So, I started with matches who are 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc cousins.  All of my great-grandparents and 2nd great-grandparents are represented, as well as many of the 3rd-4th-5th great-grandparents.   The program allows me to click on any of the colored segments to see which ancestral couple gave me that segment.  My favorite is to click on the ancestral couple in the chart on the right to see all the segments identified as coming from them. 

Click on above images to view larger.

I love DNA Painter😍    If you want to join in the fun of painting chromosomes, just go to DNA Painter and start painting away.  But watch out -- it's very addicting!!

Instructions for using DNA Painter can be found on the DNAeXplained - Genetic Genealogy website:  DNAPainter Instructions and Resources 

Instructions for transferring DNA from one company to another can be found here: DNA file Upload-Download and Transfer Instructions to and from DNA Testing Companies.

DNA Posts on this Blog:
Finding Family with DNA
Finding More Family with DNA
FM Baldwin DNA Project

Finding More Family with DNA

Using DNA to Find "F C Tucker"

Sometimes a DNA match will give just the right push in the right direction to help break down a stubborn brick wall.

Last year, a Box family mystery was solved using DNA and the newly launched Oklahoma Death Index.  After researching a DNA match I had received on 23andme.com, I was able to finally figure out who the 10 year old granddaughter “F M Tucker” was in an 1880 census for my 2^nd great-grandmother, Roenna Box.

Clip of 1880 US Federal Census, Jack County, Texas, page 34

Roenna’s daughter and son-in-law, S A (Susan) and John Tucker, were listed in Roenna’s household with their two young daughters, enumerated only by their initials.  Click HERE to read about solving that mystery and figuring out who F M Tucker was.  The F M Tucker from the census record was our Florida Melissa Tucker (Stanford Leffel).  Florida is connected to our family two ways: 1) through her mother Susan Box, sister to our Caldona Jane Box, and 2) through her 2nd husband, George Leffel, brother to our Charles Leffel.  But, Florida only shares DNA with us from our common ancestors, Grief J Box and Roenna Johnson Box.

The F M Tucker puzzle was solved, but there was still the problem of the other daughter, listed only as 13 year old F C Tucker in the 1880 census record.  

So, who was F C Tucker, what was her name, and what happened to her??

About the time that Florida Tucker married Rufus Stanford in Wichita County, Texas, there was another Wichita County, Texas marriage record -- Fannie Tucker married to James Saunders in 1884. 

Could the Fannie Tucker in that 1884 marriage record be the missing F C Tucker, I wondered??  I could find no further records for a James and Fannie Saunders to support this theory -- no census records, vital records, newspapers -- nothing.  Another dead-end...

Using AncestryDNA Matches to Solve a Mystery

Last week while looking through my DNA matches on Ancestry.com, I noticed one of my matches had a tree that included a Fannie Tucker married to a James Sanders with a father, John Tucker.  The tree had no facts or identifying information for Fannie, husband James Sanders, nor for her father John Tucker – no dates, no places, only their names.  And, the James was a Sanders NOT a Saunders. So, could this be the right family??  I did not see any other way I could be sharing DNA with the the owner of the tree, so I needed to investigate.🕵️‍♀️

DNA match tree with Fannie Tucker (and John Tucker as a father)
 with husband James Sanders.

When I clicked on the shared matches tab, all of the known shared matches were cousins on the Box family line.  So, that told me that this match with the tree that included Fannie Tucker (with father John Tucker and married to a James Sanders) was sharing DNA with me from my Box family line.

I went back to look at the original 1884 Wichita County marriage record for the Fannie Tucker to James Saunders and I noticed something funny.  James Saunders name was spelled two different ways on the original certificate – Saunders on the license section on top and Sanders on the marriage portion on the bottom.  

So, which was right - Saunders or Sanders?
Could it be possible that this new DNA match with James Sanders and Fannie Tucker turn out to be the answer to the F C Tucker mystery??

Wichita County, Texas, Marriage Record, Book 1, Page 14

It appears that the spelling of Saunders on the top half of the marriage record was wrong and that the correct spelling was Sanders.  With that new information, I found a cemetery record for a James Sanders who died in 1891.  But if James died in 1891, what happened to Fannie and their children after his death and where did she go?  I could not find her or any of their children in the 1900 census.

The DNA match only had one child listed for James Sanders and Fannie Tucker, a child named Lee Elmer Sanders (see above pedigree).  So I started researching him.  I was able to put together a family of his parents and three other siblings.  But I could not find any of them in the 1900 census -- why?? 

Several of the death certificates for the siblings of Lee Elmer Sanders list their mother’s name as Fannie Caroline Tucker.  This looking more and more like my lost “F C Tucker” from the 1880 census. 

I continued to research the DNA match ancestor Lee Elmer Sanders and found his obituary that listed half-siblings.  That meant his mother Fannie had married again.  

Siblings listed from the Obituary of L E Sanders
Notice the half brothers and half sister.

I did a search for the names of the half-siblings and found the family in the 1900 census.  It appears that Fannie Tucker Sanders married again in 1899 to Thomas Kirkham, and so in the 1900 census, she and all of her Sanders children are listed with her new husband’s surname -- Kirkham.  

1900 US Federal Census, Jack County, Texas, page 82A, sheet 2
Fannie and her Sanders children enumerated with surname Kirkham.

Notice in the above census who is next door to Fannie and her husband, Thomas Kirkham.  It is Fannie's grandmother, Roenna Box!  It appears that Fannie had a close relationship with her grandmother Roenna -- she was living with her grandmother in the 1880 census and in 1900 she was living next to her.  Fannie may have lived with her grandmother after her first husband died in 1891.  

Once I had the information from the 1900 census, I was able to put Fannie's  family together quite easily.  Fannie had four more children with her 2nd husband, Thomas W Kirkham.  The Kirkham family moved to Oklahoma about 1904.  Fannie died on 16 Jan 1944 and is buried in the Sunny Lane Cemetery in Del City, Oklahoma.  I've updated all my trees and the family can now be found on my Ancestry tree, as well as on FamilySearch and on Find a Grave.

I was even able to find a newspaper clipping that connects Fannie (Mrs T W Kirkham) to her sister, Florida (Mrs G L Leffel).  Florida went to visit Fannie in 1915.

Marlow Review (Marlow, Oklahoma), 5 Aug 1915

I am sure Fannie knew all of her Box relatives, especially since she lived with or next to her grandma Roenna Box for a lot of her life.  But present day family trees listed in online databases did not reflect those connections.  So, Welcome back to the Family, Fannie Caroline Tucker (Sanders Kirkham), daughter of Susan Ann Box and John Tucker, and granddaughter of Grief Johnson Box and Roenna Johnson.  

She fits into the family tree as shown:

Benefits of Knowing Your DNA Matches

When looking at the shared matches on Ancestry with my original Fannie Tucker descendant match, I can now figure out many more of my previously unknown DNA matches.  Most of my matches on AncestryDNA do not have a tree, or do not have more than one or two generations filled out in their tree.  But, because of the additional information I found on Fannie’s descendants (surnames & locations) I can now figure who many of the previously unknown DNA matches are.

Thanks to DNA, my tree is becoming more complete as I find more descendant lines.

Both DNA analysis and traditional genealogical research into historical records were required to solve this puzzle.  It could not have been done without the DNA or the research into original records.  

The DNA matches used for this post were found on AncestryDNA.  Sadly AncestryDNA does not provide a chromosome browser, so the shared DNA between the descendants of Fannie and the descendants of her cousins have not been triangulated.😒  Descendants of Fannie should share DNA with other descendants of Grief J Box and Roenna Johnson.

At the present time, there are 51 members in the AncestryDNA Circles for Grief J Box and for Roenna Johnson.  If you have taken Ancestry's DNA test and descend from the Box family and want to be included in their AncestryDNA Circle, extend your family tree back to include Grief J Box and Roenna Johnson.  

If tested at AncestryDNA, consider transferring the raw DNA to FamilyTreeDNA, MyHertiage, and/or GedMatch. Each of these companies provide a chromosome browser and many other tools.

Related blog posts and links:

Box Family Mystery Solved 

Roenna Box  
Fannie C Tucker Ancestry Profile (must have Ancestry membership to view)

Finding Family with DNA 

DNA Solved Another Family Mystery

How to Transfer Your AncestryDNA Test to Other Databases  

Genetic Genealogy and Triangulation