Tree Tuesday: The Colonel

What is intriguing about researching a family tree is all the life stories you stumble upon. Some are happy stories...and others make you cry...as I've gone through my family branches, I realize how short life used to be. Most of the men on my tree died well before they were 50! The death of children appeared to be a normal part of life. 

Some parts of the tree resemble an ancient soap opera. Others appear to be parts of a fairy tale. Whether it is drama or sweetness, every branch has their own story to tell. 

A couple weeks ago, I was revisiting a particular branch of the tree- my  2nd great grandfather, Thomas Jefferson Buzzard. I had never given his name much thought....but you see this is why all clues count...this time when I looked over his siblings, I noted his brother's name was "George Washington Buzzard"-- hmmm...what a patriotic family, I thought...then I decided to climb higher up the tree. With the help of ancestry.com, I manage to discover more links in my tree.

I went up via my 3rd great grandmother's line...Elizabeth Gilpin...and oh my- as I went up higher...things became clearer. Col. George Gilpin- my 6th great grandfather, was the aide to George Washington during the American Revolution. After the war, Col. George Gilpin was made surveyor of the Potomac and did many public improvements. It is said, he was one of the pall bearers at George Washington's funeral. He married two sisters- one after each other- they were said to have been Martha Washington's cousins- however, although I've read this in various research documents- I cannot find the proof of it yet. 


I later discovered that George was related to the Washingtons of Westmoreland, England- and this is why there was a close connection between he and George Washington. My 15th great grandmother was Elizabeth Washington- who is somehow related to George Washington. I've yet to figure out the exact relation-- something like a gr-gr aunt.

For someone, like me, who was not born in the US and until recently had very little connection with this country- I have found it amazing to see different connections which tie me to this place. Branches which come from Ellis Island (my other gr-grandfather was an Ellis)- branches spreading all the way from the Mayflower- the Winthrop ships- the civil war and now the Revolution. 

The tree doesn't just stand in this country- it spreads its branches across Europe. Each branch tells a story of those who went before me with courage and strength. I will continue to climb through the mass of branches, some broken, and see what new life stories I can find.

Memory Monday: Murky Soup- Part I

My husband and I stumbled into the complex world of DNA and Genes in the year 2009. We were sent a labyrinth of funny symbols and numbers leading us to an elusive truth and more questions than answers. How did we embark on this amazing quest? It actually started long before we ever sent in the cheek swab to the DNA testing lab.

Daniel grew up in a Chinese home in Malaysia, but he always suspected his dad was not fully Chinese. His grandparents were Chinese and all his aunts and uncles on his dad's side were also Chinese- but his father was the odd duck in the mix. Rumors circulated in the town about some mysterious man who might have been his actual father. Anytime we tried to ask Daniel's grandmother anything she would retort with, "I nursed him for 8 years" or "A coconut tree fell on me when he was in my belly and I gave birth under the tree" All useless bits of information which were meant to stop any future questions.

Over the years, we joked about trying to find out the real story behind Daniel's father's origins. We were convinced that at least he was 1/2 Chinese, as we assumed his mother was his biological mother. We thought of exploring the possibilities of what his father's father could have been. When DNA testing became more prevalent, we toyed with the idea of having a test done. The cost and the fact we were living in Ghana at the time hindered us from going through with the test.

In 2009, we had settled here in the US and it just seemed the right time to send in the for a Y-chromosome test. This is a test which only traces from father to son- with no mixtures from the female line. To be honest, when we sent the test in we were sure the results would come back saying Daniel's paternal line contained some North Indian DNA. What a shock to all of us when we opened the results and read that his paternal line was most definitely Caucasian in nature! 

Neisha, Sean and Daniel's Dad

First, we reacted with confusion.  In fact, Daniel came to me and said, "The results are in."  I was excited and asked him what they were. He couldn't even tell me, he said, "You have to see for yourself."  When I read the results I said, "This can't be right! They've made a mistake."

The confusion turned to outrage.  Our initial thought was, "The lab must have made a mistake!!"  I even wrote a very strong email to the company we had tested with telling them I was not happy with the way they had messed up our test results.  They sent me an expert to communicate with. After conferring with the expert in the field, it was decided this might not be a mistake but rather a very possible scenario. Daniel's dad was born in Oct 1946- the British army returned to Malaya in September 1945. There was a British encampment near his home town from 1945 to 1946, thus making his DNA findings believable. 



Now Daniel was scratching his head...he was wondering who he really was (biologically). The expert we contacted suggested we do a Y-DNA test on Daniel's father to verify the original results...and to make sure we were totally satisfied, we should use a different company. If the Y-DNA results came back the same, then we would know they had to be correct. Then Daniel decided he also needed to do a Maternal line test on his father, as by this time he suspected there was more to the story than he could find out via normal means. His grandparents were dead, so there was no way for us to ask them for information, we had to rely on the DNA tests to give us answers. 


Cheeks were swabbed. Cotton swabs were sent across oceans. We waited patiently for the results of the already murky DNA soup. We were to find out more surprises and more questions...for isn't this the fascinating world of DNA? 

....to be continued....