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Case study for Y-DNA testing in NGSQ
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On 20 October 2009, this column addressed the topic of Y-DNA testing for genealogical purposes. This relatively new development in science holds revolutionary potential for genealogy, especially African-American research. The most recent issue of the National Genealogical Society Quarterly (Sep 2009) contains the case study of an African-American family where Y-DNA testing revealed direct male line European ancestry.[1]
“Virginia Pughs and North Carolina Wests: A Genetic Link from Slavery in Kentucky,” by Daniela Moneta, cg, explores the case of a former slave in Christian Co., Kentucky. Paul West was born of a slave mother between 1842 and 1848 in North Carolina. Nothing more was known of his ancestry. As conventional, documentary research did not yield an identification of his last slave owner, making further progress impossible, Ms. Moneta considered Y-DNA testing as an option.
Four male-line descendants of Paul West approached Ms. Moneta after having their Y-DNA tested through Family Tree DNA. Their samples did not match any other members of the WEST DNA surname project, but were surprisingly close genetic matches to several members of the PUGH DNA surname project. Ms. Moneta explores the scientific evidence of this connection, and several potential scenarios based on mutation patterns between the African-American Paul West descendants, of North Carolina and Kentucky, and the European-American Pugh descendants, of Virginia. Definitive results are still not possible, however, unless additional subjects in the two lines, representing branches not already participating, consent to Y-DNA testing.
In this case, the use of Y-DNA has revealed a connection that would not have otherwise become clear. By identifying the most recent common ancestor (MRCA) of the matching Pugh descendants, Ms. Moneta recounts the search for documentary evidence that might link the two families. She has been able to narrow down the potential Pugh line to a few contemporary members of the family, using the records in Virginia, North Carolina, and Kentucky. Overall, this case study represents precisely the sort of groundbreaking work that is now possible through the use of Y-DNA testing.
The National Genealogical Society Quarterly is a nationally-recognized academic, peer-reviewed journal, one of the benefits of membership in the National Genealogical Society. Four times a year this journal publishes genealogical case studies that illustrate sound methodology, and, as in this case, cutting-edge approaches to genealogical research problems. For more information on membership, visit the National Genealogical Society website.
This article has been posted on November 4, in response to the NaBloPoMo challenge of posting one article every day throughout the month of November.
[1] Moneta, Daniela, “Virginia Pughs and North Carolina Wests: A Genetic Link from Slavery in Kentucky,” National Genealogical Society Quarterly, Vol. 97:179-194 (Sep 2009).
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