A few weeks ago, the 4th annual ‘Roots Tech’ conference was held. It was the largest gathering of its kind in North America and if you include the 622 remote broadcast locations, it became the largest gathering of its kind in the world. The sponsoring websites Continue reading
Monthly Archives: February 2014
Gleaning DNA Testing
You may have received several posts with the same video clip about DNA testing. All you need is one clip (I’m experiencing a learning curve today) and it is well worth watching to better understand all the tests available. Jim Rader presented at the latest Roots Tech Conference:
DNA Revelations
Image courtesy of Dan FreeDigitalPhotos.net
It would be really cool to have a crystal ball to tell us what we don’t know about our heritage. DNA testing is probably as close as we’ll come.
What can you learn by sending spit and money to a laboratory? The first thing is finding out where your ancestors originated from, about 500 years ago before the age of travel. The second is to find clues to certain health predispositions that are happily waiting for an opportunity to show themselves in your body. There is more to learn from DNA testing but it may take a degree in DNAology to understand it.
The science of knowing about ourselves through genetic composition continues to develop.
Recently two kindred family members sent DNA to be tested by the company ’23And Me’.
If you descend from Charles Eugene HOPKINS you will share a bit of what a grandchild learned from the testing.
Basically, you are 99% European. Within that percentage, you are about 28% British & Irish, 1.2% French & German, about 60% Northern European, and about 9.8% Nonspecific European.
The remaining 1% that is not European interestingly enough has .4% West Africa, .1% Oceanian (Australia area), and .4% unassigned. There was no American Indian found in this DNA.
If you descend from Evelyn Roberta Barker DEAN and Brad DEAN:
You are 99.7% European. The other .3% is unassigned. The breakdown on your mostly European heritage is 22.7% British & Irish, 1.2% French & German, .5% Scandinavian, 46.7% Nonspecific North European, 11.3% Ashkenazi, 17.2% Nonspecific European. Again, no American Indian.
Elsberry B JACKSON and Christmas Day
Elsberry B. JACKSON was born on Christmas day about 1859 * in Georgia.
He married his first wife Mary (Mollie) J. COKER on Christmas Day in 1879. The 25th of December was a special day. 
He and Mollie had the following children:
- Alma Josephine – born 9 July 1882 (mother of Eula Mae HOLDER LINN)
- Manson T. – born Aug 1885
- William Grady – born Jan 1890
- Lillian Amelia – born 1891
The Way Things Were
According to the census records, Elsberry never learned to read or write. It’s hard to imagine not being able to read a street sign, a letter, the Bible, a novel, directions; never expressing your thoughts in a journal or letter.
From the book Race and Schooling in the South 1880-1950 by Robert Margo (Un. of Chicago Press) come the following statistics of those who were illiterate:
- Year Blacks Whites
- 1880 76% 21.5%
- 1930 19.7% 3.8%
Elsberry fell into a pretty exclusive percentage of less than 4% by the year 1930. It’s amazing to see how much work was done to educate people, especially blacks during this time period. Before emancipation, it was illegal to teach slaves to read or write.
Family story indicates that E.B. had some type of walking disability as well. Still, he was able to work as a farm laborer in his early years and when in his 60’s ran an elevator, probably at the local cotton mill. Near the JACKSON family in Henry County was the WEEM Plantation. The largest slave burial site in Georgia was discovered there in 2011. The 4000 acre farm estate, established in 1848 by Samuel WEEMS is now part subdivision and woods. Click HERE to read more about the cemetery.
Mary (Mollie) J. COKER died in Jun 1891. Seven years later, he married another Mary J. who’s last name was CROWELL.
Mary Jane CROWELL JACKSON (sitting) with daughters Luvene and Emmie
They married in March instead of December. Together they had three children:
- Raymond – born July 1901
- Luvene – born Sep 1905
- Emmie – born abt 1912
My Kindred Tree 