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Archiver > GENEALOGY-DNA > 2003-03 > 1046752107


From: "Lowe DNA" <>
Subject: FW: [DNA] Re: mt DNA Results for a 103 Year Old Woman
Date: Mon, 3 Mar 2003 22:28:55 -0600


-----Original Message-----
From: [mailto:]
Sent: Monday, March 03, 2003 4:05 PM
Subject: Re: [DNA] Re: mt DNA Results for a 103 Year Old Woman


I very much appreciate David and Bill's commentary on the Melungeons. I
do
not think it will be long, maybe one or two years at the most, before we
have
definitive genetic, genealogical and historic identification for this ethnic
group. And, as Bill notes, I also believe that some of these persons were
here in North America well before Jamestown.
Because American culture is now so Anglicized, we tend to forget that the
Spanish (among whom there were many Converso Christians who were formerly
both Jewish and Muslim) settled the coastal areas of Florida and the
Carolinas as early as 1527. It is my belief that the Melungeons originated
from these settlers, but were later supplemented by additional
political/religious refugees (primarily Jews and Muslims hounded by the
Inquisition) who arrived from the early 1600's onward.
Somehow these families were able to communicate with one another even in
distant countries. For example, in my own ancestry (and that of my
co-researcher Donald Panther-Yates) I have four sets of DNA data that match
12/12. Each of these ancestors carried a different surname, but all had the
same scores which are now centered in Iberia. In my father's case, three of
these men entered my ancestry within three generations of each other; in Don
Panther-Yate's case, he not only matched these three men with his own
paternal DNA, but also matched the paternal DNA of his wife Teresa.
Admittedly, this is a common DNA haplotype, but I have to think that the
odds
of it being carried by five different persons coming from four different
countries (England, France (2), Scotland, and Germany) , all of whom moved
to
within 200 miles of one another in the rural Appalachians have got to be
stunningly low.
What has made it possible for us to move so quickly in this research
stream are two technologies which did not even exist until a decade or less
ago -- the Internet and DNA testing. The internet has made it possible for
us
to communicate in real time with other Melungeon researchers, to access
genealogies and census data, to gain access to historical documents and even
photographs, which previously would have taken years to acquire or even been
impossible to view.
DNA testing has made it possible for us to confirm or disconfirm the
ancestry of not only specific lineages, but also sample entire groups of
people settling in given areas (e.g., the Melungeons). Further, we are able
to access in seconds the genetic results for persons in specific populations
around the world for purposes of comparison. Because of this, hypotheses can
be evaluated within days or weeks, rather than months or years.
These are extrordinary gifts for those of us who are interested in our
past, our ancestors and our origins. This knowledge is growing at a
geometric
rate, and I beleive that several long-standing historical traditions
regarding colonial migration and ethnicity will soon be successfully
challenged. Thanks again! Beth



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