June 29, 2008
Rebuilding The Family Tree
Lesley Stahl Reports On The Hopes And Limitations Of Genetic Genealogy
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Play CBS Video Video Finding One's Roots Lesley Stahl reports on the new field of genetic genealogy, which uses DNA to trace ancestry back hundreds of years. (This story was first broadcast on Oct. 7, 2007.)
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Marion West, left, and Vy Higgensen. (CBS)
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Interactive Genetic Journey Using DNA samples, the Genographic Project tries to map humanity's trip through the ages.
Genealogy -- researching family history -- is one of the most popular hobbies in this country, right up there with gardening. A nation of immigrants, we almost all come from somewhere else we wish we knew more about, so searching for our roots holds tremendous appeal. And today there is an exciting new addition to the genealogists' tool kit: genetic genealogy.
As correspondent Lesley Stahl first reported last fall, it turns out that inside each one of us, within every cell of our bodies, is information about who our ancestors were, where they lived, and who we're related to today. Our DNA contains hidden stories about our pasts, and scientists, together with businessmen, are now offering ways to help us read them.
Vy Higginsen is the founder and director of the Mama Foundation for the Arts in Harlem. She believes it's crucial for African-Americans to know and celebrate their heritage. But for most of her life, she knew virtually nothing about her own.
"It happened when my grandmother died. When I saw her laying in the casket, and I realized I didn't know who she was," she explains.
She started researching her family tree, but could only get as far back as her grandmother's father, Robert West. Then she heard about a company that could explore her great grandfather's ancestry, using DNA from a direct male descendent. So she called her cousin James West and asked if she could come swab his cheek.
"So we go down to Washington D.C. We take the test and he's all excited. And we send it back. And, bam, there's a hit," Vy Higgensen remembers.
There was a match between cousin James' DNA and that of several other men whose last name was also West. That means that James, and therefore Vy, are related to all these men, who sent their DNA to the same company, also looking for matches.
Vy was reeling from that information, when she received a phone call from halfway across the country. "And he said, 'Hello. My name is Marion West. And I'm a cattle rancher from Poplar Bluff, Missouri. And I understand we're cousins," Vy, who is African-American, remembers.
Out of the blue, Marion West, who is white, had picked up the phone and reached out to his newfound DNA cousin. "I picked up the phone and dialed her," he tells Stahl.
"You probably never had a cousin that sounded like that before," Stahl remarks.
"No," Vy says. "Not even close. I mean I didn't see a cow 'til I was 22."
And she wasn't exactly what he’d been expecting either: he had tried DNA testing to prove a family story that his bloodline traced back to British royalty.
"You had this sense that your family was pure English, pure blood. Blue blood," Stahl says.
"Oh yeah, 100 percent," Marion West says.
Marion West and Vy's cousin James West are related through the tiny "Y" chromosome, which men pass down unchanged to their sons, so it traces an unbroken line from generation to generation. It was the "Y" chromosome that allowed family members of Sally Hemings to prove they descended from Thomas Jefferson, or at least from one of his male relatives.
Now if you want to find out about your ancestry, there are at least a dozen different companies offering to analyze DNA for prices ranging from $100 to $400 a test.
The company Marion and Vy chose, Family Tree DNA, is one of the largest. They say the DNA proves that Marion and Vy share a common male ancestor, probably within the last 100 to 300 years. And that common ancestor was Caucasian.
Marion says up to that point, it had never before occurred to him that he had a branch of the family that was African-American.
"How did you feel about the prospect of having black relatives?" Stahl asks.
"Well, you know, I really, to tell you the truth, it's just life. I didn't doubt it a bit," he says.
Produced By Shari Finkelstein
© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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See all 82 CommentsI couldn''t tell from what you wrote whether Harold L. West is your brother. If he%u2019s already been tested, you can learn something about your family''s origins by comparing it with other Wests. If there is a match, you will know that you share some family history with them. You%u2019ll be able to see whether your West line matches any of the 28 West families that have been identified, or with one that hasn''t yet found a match, on this West surname project page: http://web.utk.edu/~corn/westdna/west5.htm
The test they%u2019re using to look at the West surname is the Y chromosome, which is found only in males and is passed down father-to-son. It won%u2019t be possible to use it to learn about your maternal ancestors using the Y chromosome.
You could find out about the maternal lines by having someone test mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). If you could find someone who descends directly from mother to daughter from the possible Native American ancestor, then the result should tell you whether the person in question really was Native American or not.
The price of these tests starts at about $99. To get more useful info you might need to spend a little more. Why don''t you first see if any male relatives in your West family have already been tested, and if not, whether they would like to be. Maybe they%u2019ll even pay for it! You can get more information from the administrator of the West DNA project here:http://web.utk.edu/~corn/westdna/
Good luck!
I couldn''t tell from what you wrote whether Harold L. West is your brother. If he%u2019s already been tested, you can learn something about your family''s origins by comparing it with other Wests. If there is a match, you will know that you share some family history with them. You%u2019ll be able to see whether your West line matches any of the 28 West families that have been identified, or with one that hasn''t yet found a match, on this West surname project page: http://web.utk.edu/~corn/westdna/west5.htm
The test they%u2019re using to look at the West surname is the Y chromosome, which is found only in males and is passed down father-to-son. It won%u2019t be possible to use it to learn about your maternal ancestors using the Y chromosome.
You could find out about the maternal lines by having someone test mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). If you could find someone who descends directly from mother to daughter from the possible Native American ancestor, then the result should tell you whether the person in question really was Native American or not.
The price of these tests starts at about $99. To get more useful info you might need to spend a little more. Why don''t you first see if any male relatives in your West family have already been tested, and if not, whether they would like to be. Maybe they%u2019ll even pay for it! You can get more information from the administrator of the West DNA project here:http://web.utk.edu/~corn/westdna/
Good luck!
I couldn''t tell from what you wrote whether Harold L. West is your brother. If he%u2019s already been tested, you can learn something about your family''s origins by comparing it with other Wests. If there is a match, you will know that you share some family history with them. You%u2019ll be able to see whether your West line matches any of the 28 West families that have been identified, or with one that hasn''t yet found a match, on this West surname project page: http://web.utk.edu/~corn/westdna/west5.htm
The test they%u2019re using to look at the West surname is the Y chromosome, which is found only in males and is passed down father-to-son. It won%u2019t be possible to use it to learn about your maternal ancestors using the Y chromosome.
You could find out about the maternal lines by having someone test mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). If you could find someone who descends directly from mother to daughter from the possible Native American ancestor, then the result should tell you whether the person in question really was Native American or not.
The price of these tests starts at about $99. To get more useful info you might need to spend a little more. Why don''t you first see if any male relatives in your West family have already been tested, and if not, whether they would like to be. Maybe they%u2019ll even pay for it! You can get more information from the administrator of the West DNA project here:http://web.utk.edu/~corn/westdna/
Good luck!
I couldn''t tell from what you wrote whether Harold L. West is your brother. If he%u2019s already been tested, you can learn something about your family''s origins by comparing it with other Wests. If there is a match, you will know that you share some family history with them. You%u2019ll be able to see whether your West line matches any of the 28 West families that have been identified, or with one that hasn''t yet found a match, on this West surname project page: http://web.utk.edu/~corn/westdna/west5.htm
The test they%u2019re using to look at the West surname is the Y chromosome, which is found only in males and is passed down father-to-son. It won%u2019t be possible to use it to learn about your maternal ancestors using the Y chromosome.
You could find out about the maternal lines by having someone test mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). If you could find someone who descends directly from mother to daughter from the possible Native American ancestor, then the result should tell you whether the person in question really was Native American or not.
The price of these tests starts at about $99. To get more useful info you might need to spend a little more. Why don''t you first see if any male relatives in your West family have already been tested, and if not, whether they would like to be. Maybe they%u2019ll even pay for it! You can get more information from the administrator of the West DNA project here:http://web.utk.edu/~corn/westdna/
Good luck!
DNA DID NOT prove Thomas Jefferson to be the father of Sally Hemings''s children. I assisted Dr. Foster with the test.
The problem: He tested a known Sally Hemings male line descendant of Eston Hemings whose family had ALWAYS claimed descend from a "Jefferson uncle" meaning Randolph Jefferson, the Presidents brother. Dr Foster failed to notify Nature Journal, Monmticello or other researchers and thus there was surprise when the DNA''s matched. Having been forwarned they could only assume that the result would naturally happen because of thje long family claims. There was no match of Jefferson-Woodson, a long held family claim. Final analysis: NOTHING proves that TJ fathered Hemings children. Be careful of your own DNA studies and gather ALL family history.
Herb Barger
Jefferson Family Historian
you easily go into the trillions.
Charles
I was watching the newscast about tracing your family roots. I saw the story of "Vi Higginson", and tracing her family tree to "Marion West". My last name is West also. I know that I have "Blackfoot Indian" in my family tree. I know that my Great Grandmothers name was "Addie Howell". She lived in the Tennesse area. Around Knoxville, Danveridge, New Market, and Nashville area. I have been trying to tace my roots through "Ancestory.com", but that has been taking forever. I also noticed that the names on the paper that was shown contained a name of a living sibling of mine, by the name of "Harold L. West", which showed he has the "Y25" cromosone to trace male decendents. Is there any type of help anyone can give me to help in my quest to find my heritage? Money is a big obstacle for me at this time. I have been laid-off since February of 2008. Dispite the obstacle, I would still like to find my roots no matter how minut it may seem to some. PLEASE HELP!!
If you had done your homework you would have mentioned that the reason it is so hard for for women to match is because each generation we have a different female. And when we get an X chromozone a women does not know which X chromozone she is getting from her mother. She could be getting her 6th great-grandmother''s chromozone or she could be getting her 12th great-grandmother''s X chromozone. In any case it gets confusing.
Men are lucky they don''t have this problem.
I thought the report was good, but it did not account for the history of the African American slave story. I thought it would have been a better presentation if it had included some perspectives of history. We do know that everything, to include science, has limitations. Next time, Including some historical explanations can give us a better picture of what DNA science concluded.
This is like finding in a DNA of a french citizen from Marseille that he has italian, greck, spanish portuguese ,syrian and algerian ancestry in his DNA.In that case, we will have heard in the same time that it is normal because so and so. But when an African-American has multiple encestries on her DNA ,no one seems to know why.
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