'I have received my results of my DNA and find that you are one of the people (the other is my nephew) who is a match with me. I also have family named Eastland who lived in Kent.'This is an extract from an email which arrived out of the blue from a lady, previously unknown to me, named Su. So who was Su and how did she connect with me?
A long time ago I posted that I had taken a genetic genealogy test with Family Tree DNA (FTDNA). Events intervened and I was not able to progress the results for some time, so you can imagine my delight when I received this email. A quick look at my database - it's such a long time since I progressed that particular branch - and I found my EASTLANDs of Kent right out at the end of my maternal grandmother's line. Terminal twigs on the family tree!
There are three main genetic genealogy tests:
- Y-DNA, which traces back genetic changes passed down the male line and so goes back hundreds and thousands of years.
- Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), which traces back genetic changes passed down the female line and so also goes back hundreds and thousands of years.
- Autosomal DNA (atDNA) which shows how my DNA has been made up of a mixture of the DNA from my parents, their parents, their parents, and so on. As the DNA gets randomly diluted from generation to generation, atDNA is only useful to about 7 generations, say 200 years, back.
The test where Su and I matched was for autosomal DNA (FTDNA call it Family Finder) and my FTDNA results web page suggested that we were in the range 2nd - 4th Cousin. When it came to it they weren't far out!
No EASTLAND names matched initially but a day later and a few emails back and forth and we quickly established the connection. Su kindly sent a Family Group Sheet with both my ancestor Sarah EASTLAND and Sarah's brother Virgil EASTLAND and their parents. Another generation back - thanks, Su! - and the paper trail and the genetic genealogy results were both overlapping nicely showing that Su and I are fifth cousins.
Well, a lot more work would be needed on my part to bring the connection up to the full Genealogical Proof Standard - will I even manage it in my lifetime? The family history job list is quite long already and getting longer by the day. Every family historian will identify with that one and the need to prioritise! Never mind, the evidence looks pretty secure and, for the time being, I am content with that.
So, thanks to Su and my genetic genealogy DNA test I have found a new fifth cousin, extended a branch of my family tree by two generations, and proved to myself the effectiveness of this new tool in the family historian’s toolbox. Oh, and I've increased my score!
Thanks again, Su!
'The greatest history book ever written is the one hidden in our DNA.'
Dr. Spencer Wells
