June 29, 2008
Rebuilding The Family Tree
Lesley Stahl Reports On The Hopes And Limitations Of Genetic Genealogy
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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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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 Commentslesley,
your piece was great. I do not however think that its inconsistent that we have DNA''s from different parts of the world given the migration of people. The lady that came from the mende tribe of Sierra Leone for example...if you look at the history of the mendes, you would find out that they are all along the coastal countries of Africa even though their base is in Sierra Leone. I believe if you take a closer look at the DNA''s you can find more than relatives but about migration patterns of people world wide. I hope someone will take your story further, and help that lady locate her ancestors. It is a very interesting story.
Rhonda Hardy
Chicago, IL
In the story about %u201CReconstructing The Family Tree%u201D you noted that for each generation you go back you double the number of your ancestors eventually leading to millions of great grandparents. But if you go back far enough in time, all of humanity should all be linked to the same %u201Cgreat grandparents%u201D perhaps even a single couple? So how does our expanding ancestor tree end up with a single origin of all of humanity%u2019s accentors?
Or, you could have mentioned the fact that there are NO walls in Africa and just because one ethnic group is now separated from the other and they go by different ethnic names, that didn''t mean that they may have been apart of one larger group at some point in their history. They are indigenous to the continent. Being nomadic at some point and moving to different areas. Why they more than likely intermarried as well. In modern times, the land boundaries of present day Africa were determined by European elites, at the Berlin Conference of 1884 (CE). Of course, I''m sure you wanted to mention that. And what do you know; they didn''t mention to Mr. Marion West, that British bloodlines are not and were not "pure" in the first place. It''s make-believe! They did mention that European Americans are not "pure," but they made sure not to mention that many of them have some "African bloodlines." Now isn''t that scary. This was a feel good story to show how great a "white" man; Mr. Marion West is, by accepting this "Black" (social color caste system) woman in his family tree without being upset about it. Look how we are making progress in this country! Here is the lesson for the public watching these "Yellow Journalism" mainstream media shows. They will always seek to do what is in their best interest, period. They are maintaining social, political and economic privilege for this so-called whiteness social construct. Forget about the truth. Why, that may empower the wrong people.
The biggest mistake that the gentleman from AfricanAncestry.com made was to play a part in this show. He was fooled into believing that the show was about an African American making an DNA connection with their ancestors, and what he and the rest of us found out, was how important it was for us to know that we are so "lucky" to have some so-called "white" blood. Lesley Stahl did what her programming leads her to do. Do what is in her "best" interest by teaching all of us, African Americans your interest in your ancient ancestor was unimportant and not very accurate. But just look how lucky you are to know that you have this magical "white" blood.
Now if this was a real story meant to educate, Lesley, (I hope you don''t mind me calling you, Lesley) would have told the public that African Americans are fully aware that their African ancestors were enslaved, and most of the women were raped by white males and in most cases their wives were fully aware of what their husbands were doing. Of course, I''m sure you wanted to mention that.
oikn - a follow up story might be a good idea to show the interconnectedness he speaks of. I would love to see more.
And of course Ms. Higginson has different tribal matches, did they expect that all of her cousins would inter-marry within one tribe? Its not as if all of her WEST cousin matches live in the same town either.
As for the DNA companies, is it reasonable to expect that they would plaster such advertising like "Discover your ancestral slave owner" or "What secret did Granny try to hide?" on the front page of their websites? The information is there, its just not in the banner ads.
While the show may leave a lot to be desired, there''s no denying the success of DNA testing for Ms. Higginson and Mr. West.
Justin Ryan
Public Relations
International Society of Genetic Genealogy (ISOGG)
http://www.isogg.org/
And of course Ms. Higginson has different tribal matches, did they expect that all of her cousins would inter-marry within one tribe? Its not as if all of her WEST cousin matches live in the same town either.
As for the DNA companies, is it reasonable to expect that they would plaster such advertising like "Discover your ancestral slave owner" or "What secret did Granny try to hide?" on the front page of their websites? The information is there, its just not in the banner ads.
While the show may leave a lot to be desired, there''s no denying the success of DNA testing for Ms. Higginson and Mr. West.
Justin Ryan
Public Relations
International Society of Genetic Genealogy (ISOGG)
http://www.isogg.org/
Steven Horwitz
The global benefits of saving water, using fluorescent light bulbs, using a hybrid car, etc., are pretty much wiped out by having more than one child. The largest carbon footprint come from a big family.
I am a long-time genealogist and project administrator for one of the largest surname-based DNA projects in the world. I eagerly awaited this segment, expecting a great story about this fantastic genealogical tool. With just a glancing touch of the capabilities with Vy and Marion%u2019s great match, the story crossed to the dark side. Afterwards, and after getting my jaw off the floor, I wondered what happened to ethics in reporting.
The segment really had nothing to do with genealogy. It didn%u2019t explain how it%u2019s used in genealogy and it didn%u2019t include any commentary from a genetic genealogist. Ever see a space shuttle story that didn%u2019t mention astronauts?
No, it''s more sensational to have Hank Greely suggesting testing companies are barely treading above water in the pool of integrity. And Lesley, although only contributing 1.5% of my overall ancestry, my 4th-great-grandfather is still my 4th-great-grandfather.
The near-slanderous "fraud" comment crossed the line of reckless reporting. Most labs go to great lengths to ensure that people understand exactly what the testing will and will not do. Interestingly, this same DNA testing is good enough for the folks at National Geographic for determining human migrations and ancestry.
What you showed tonight might save lives of people in similar positions as the one I was in. Thank you for your story.
Jim George
jimgggg@aol.com
Marianne Dillow
Eric Dobbs
Eric Dobbs
I have completed numerous DNA test. These tests have been invaluable in my research of my family history. After viewing this program, do I now question my DNA results from National Geographic''s Genographic Project whose goal is to trace human migration?
Finally was Mr. Greeley, the lawyer who specializes in the legal implications of new biomedical technologies really the expert to use on this program?
These are stories about people who built families, and survived, against incredible odds. My genealogy and maternal and paternal DNA revealed three dozen African ethnic groups, one Middle Eastern and one European, yet reporters tell my European ancestors'' story in the most positive light -- despite the history of slavery. And few reporters other than CBS''s Russ Mitchell on the Evening News, Susan Saulny of the New York Times, and Alan Boyle of MSNBC.com, (which showed one of my Ghanaian cousins), have told the full African ancestry story, or the blended Colonial American ancestry story. I have to do that myself, and I am doing so in a book.
Financial Times, UK, Weekend Magazine -- First Person: Pearl Duncan -- "My Scottish ancestors were heroes"
By Sarah Ebner, Financial Times
Aug 18, 2007
When I started to look into my family tree, I couldn''t have imagined the conflict it would cause. I spent 10 years researching my ancestors, and a lot of people didn''t like what I had to say at the end of it. I''d tracked the cultural history that shaped my DNA in America, Europe and Africa, and discovered that not all white men in the British colonies who fathered children with black women in the 18th century were evil slavers. I found at least one ancestor who was an abolitionist and who did not abandon his children.
My family emigrated from Jamaica to New York when I was young, and I was always fascinated by where I had come from. My parents told me we were descended from the Maroons, or runaway slaves. Years later, when I went to our old family graves just outside Kingston, Jamaica, I couldn''t believe it when I found our birth and baptismal records dating back to the 1700s.
I now know that my roots are incredibly diverse: I am descended from slaves; from free people who worked and bought their freedom; from Maroon warriors who waged military rebellions in Jamaica against slavery; also from British merchants, and European and African nobility.
My Jamaican grandmother''s name was Rebecca Smellie and her ancestor was John Smellie, a Scottish merchant. In 1726 in Jamaica he had a child, George, with a "free negro" whose name was Ann Roberts. Even though there were penalties at that time - huge fines, deportation, imprisonment - for keeping records of black children, John Smellie left birth and baptism records with George''s name on them.
Three of John Smellie''s Scottish descendants settled in Jamaica on land he left them. One of them was called William Smellie and he died in 1800. He was an abolitionist, and when I found his will it showed that he left the maximum amount allowed under the slavery laws to his mixed-race children and their mother. Finding out about both these men changed everything for me. I had thought I was learning about the awful people who owned slaves, but instead I was discovering heroism, and people who stood up for what they thought was right.
I followed up these discoveries with research in Scotland, hiring Scottish genealogists and local historians. It turned out that John Smellie was of noble birth. I sent the records to the Court of The Lord Lyon, the heraldic authority for Scotland, which said I qualified for a coat of arms. I now have one that reflects the diversity of my ancestry.
My research also took me to Ghana. I tracked down dozens of ancestors and collected DNA from Ghanaian families whose names matched nicknames still used in my family. I spent a lot of time on the linguistic research, and DNA confirmed the connection. As far as I know, I was one of the first people in the world to use DNA in this way.
I''ve written a book about my research but publishers seem to think it''s too contentious to publish. Talking about black ancestors who rebelled apparently goes against how Americans see these people - slaves were victims, not rebels. Editors are happy to accept stories about slaves who escaped one at a time, but they don''t like the idea that they grouped together and stood up for themselves. That''s too threatening.
I''ve also learned that many black Americans are afraid, as I was initially, of finding a slave trader in their family tree, so they don''t really want to talk about their European ancestors. I got into trouble with my black friends for saying that John Smellie was a more caring man than many other colonials because he left a record of his child.
When you start looking into your genealogy, you have to come to terms with admirable and despicable behaviour, and that''s what I''ve done.
As told to Sarah Ebner.
That''s an important point, and applies to all ancestry, black, white, whatever.
These companies are pushing their services and databases to various family groups, and certain groups are using them to exclude rather than include family members. It''s a hot trend in genealogy, and like so many other things it''s prone to abuse and misrepresentation.
As it happens I have at least one black cousin, found the old fashioned way through documentation. Believe me, that''s fine - a cousin is a cousin. But as I hear more and more stories of people being told they "can''t" be related based on these services despite documented evidence to the contrary, I really question why these operators aren''t forced to disclose their limitations.
Don''t worry; I''m not calling for anything from whites. I only hope that the criminality of their distant ancestor has been sufficiently diluted. Maybe whites do as well.
I just hope that this story doesn''t make other people hesitant to participate with DNA Genealogy. For genealogists, we hope that other people will participate more and more. How else will we find a match? So far, I only have one match, but with time and more people every day having their DNA tested, I may eventually find more matches.
Yes, the mtDNA is a difficult test to interpret, however the Y-DNA test is a good indicator for the direct paternal line (your surname only). That brings up another point of the origin of surnames. When you go so far back, there weren''t surnames. But so far, this is what we have, and you have to take for what it''s worth.
I just hope this program doesn''t deter people from testing. I sure would like to discover more relatives.
Your story on Genealogy was very informative. We have no idea who we are related to in this world. It would be a wonderful world if we could all see each other as relatives. Showing kindness and respect towards one another.
Please keep the world informed on your show about genealogy and genetics. Maybe more people would show an interest in knowing where they come from and who they may be related to.
margaret
My question, does any of this offer valuable information to those of us who have been adopted?
Marianne Dillow
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