Genetic Genealogy in Practice: Chapter Two

 Chapter 2 Exercises

1. The goal is to determine when Isaac Ryan first bought land in what is now Jackson County, Mississippi. Can DNA evidence help achieve this goal? If so, how. 

No. However, if could help provide more evidence that the tester is related to this Isaac Ryan if preliminary family tree research makes a clear and proven case that the tester is descended from this man. DNA provides no evidence that could help with a date of land purchase.

2. The goal is to determine whether the Isaac Ryan who first bought land in 1798 what is now Jackson County, Mississippi, is the ancestor of Jonathan Ryan. Can DNA evidence help achieve this goal? If so, how. 

Again, if there is a complete family tree built and proof given with other evidence, DNA can provide *more* evidence of the descendancy. Y DNA can prove or disprove a shared male line. It cannot, however, prove parentage. Neither autosomal nor mitchondrial DNA would have any use here.

3. Nathan suspects that Ethan Kilgore disinherited his sons Hugh and Philip just before his death in 1861 because, according to family legend, Ethan's wife informed him in a fit of rage that they weren't actually his children. Instead, the legend goes, they were the children of a former neighbor called Simon or Samuel Smith. Research in census records reveals a Samuel Simons living next door in 1820 and 1830, years that bookend the decade during which Hugh and Philip were born. Can DNA evidence be utilized to examine the question of why Ethan Kilgore disinherited his sons?

Not directly. However, DNA evidence could shed light on whether or not Hugh and/or Philip were full or half siblings to the rest of the children of the couple. If there are male descendants of some of the male children and of Hugh and Philip, and those male descendants are willing to test, some light could be shown on the male lines and whether or not they are a close match. Of course, more research would have to be done on the possible bio-father of Hugh and Philip; he possibly shared a paternal line with Ethan, and this must be ruled out. Possibly he had male issue whose male-line descendants could be tested. It would be unusual for autosomal DNA to be useful in such an old case and of course mitchondrial DNA in this case would shed no light at all. 

4. Henry has been a professional genealogist for 25 years and is well-versed in every record by that could be utilized for this project. However, Henry is skeptical of DNA testing, and has never used or explored it in his or his clients' research. Can Henry's research satisfy the GPS for this project if he intentionally doesn't consider DNA because he doesn't believe it is accurate?

No. We would not think that it was acceptable to disregard land or tax records, for instance, if they would be useful to answer the research question. We should never rule out possible sources because they can be untrustworthy at times -- all sources can be partly or wholly problematic but we must nevertheless seek them out and properly evaluate them on their merits.

5. Henry decides to inform his client that Y-DNA or atDNA testing could potentially shed light on the question, but that he is not educated on the subject. Henry suggests that he or the client contact another genealogist who is well-versed in the use of DNA. The client informs Henry that he isn't interested in that option. Can Henry complete the assigned project with any confidence, and can the project satisfy the GPS?

He can complete the job, certainly. Genealogists can be hired for tiny jobs such as fetching a document from a repository. There is no expectation that completing every job will satisfy the GPS. This assignment cannot, since some of the evidence will not be provided or even sought.

6. After extensive research Julianna discovers that the first Wilcox family, descended from Thomas Wilcox, has thousands of descendants but no direct-line male descendants. If Y-DNA testing of the Thomas Wilcox line is impossible, and atDNA is not possible for various other reasons, can Julianna's research satisfy the GPS when analyzing whether Thomas Wilcox was the son of Benjamin Wilcox?

Of course. The GPS does not require us to conjure sources out of the ether. The above description describes two sources which are unavailable, like a will which was destroyed. 

7. Some years later, Julianna learns that before he died the last man with Thomas Wilcox's Y-DNA had a son that the family didn't know about. This living son is in fact the last-known male with Thomas Wilcox's Y-DNA. When Julianna contacts him, he refuses to undergo any type of DNA testing. If DNA testing of the Thomas Wilcox line is possible but cannot be performed due to refusal by the last living direct-line male, can Julianna's research satisfy the GPS when analyzing whether Thomas Wilcox was the son of Benjamin Wilcox?

Same answer as above. No one has the right to another person's DNA. If a source exists but is unavailable to the researcher, then it cannot be had. "Exhaustive" does not mean changing the facts on the ground.

8. [Brenda] submits the KDP without any Y-DNA evidence, even though it is technically available to her.... Has she failed to conduct thorough research that considers all sources?

Much the same as the previous two questions, if it is not possible to *ethically* obtain the sample, it is unavailable. 

9. ... Brenda has reservations about using the results without her father's explicit authorization.... Can her KDP satisfy the GPS or has she failed to conduct thorough research that considers all sources?

Again, the GPS or any of its parts cannot outweigh our own ethics or judgement. We cannot do the impossible or the unethical.