DNA Tests in Tracing African-American Genealogy
In 1998, DNA tests showed that Thomas Jefferson, one of America’s founding fathers, most likely had a son by his slave, Sally Hemings. Examining 19 genetic markers on the Y chromosomes of 14 men who were related either by marriage or blood, studies found that Sally Hemings’ youngest son, Eston Hemings, was most likely fathered by a Jefferson, most likely Thomas Jefferson. (Report of the Research Committee on Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings, Assessment of DNA Study, January 2000)
For many years, African-American descendents of slaves have used plantation records and ship manifests in the attempt to trace their genealogy. The New York Times reports that the first wave of interest in African-American genealogy was in the 1970’s after the publication of Alex Haley’s books, Roots and a second wave is occurring now with the easy availability of DNA tests.
I’ve written before about the limited information these types of DNA tests can offer. But many black DNA test takers, including Oprah Winfrey, still think the information is valuable even if it points to a relationship with contemporary Africans rather than ancestors from the time of slavery.
Another interesting use of DNA testing by some African-Americans is asking white acquaintances who they think might be related to get their DNA tested too.
Charles Larkins, whose great-grandmother was a slave, says proving or disproving his suspicion that her owner was his great-grandfather would be cathartic.
Larkins recently e-mailed Hayes Larkins, the slave owner’s white great-grandson, to ask whether he would take the DNA test.
“I’m not going to be like the Jefferson descendants, denying anything happened,” Hayes Larkins said.
Others have not found a sense of closure even after repeated DNA tests.
Lisa Lee, a computer programmer in Oakland, Calif., was sure she would find a link to Madagascar when she submitted her father’s DNA for testing. But after tests at three companies, the results stubbornly reported he shared genetic ancestry with Native Americans, Chinese and Sardinians — but no one in Africa.
“Who am I then?” said Lee, who has long been an activist in black political movements. “Am I Sardinian? Am I Chinese? Well, that doesn’t mean anything to me. It doesn’t feel right.”
Sadly, a painful history of slavery and discrimination will most likely not be made any better with DNA testing.
The 1998 DNA study does not say Thomas Jefferson most likely had a son by his slave, Sally Hemings. An exact match of 19 markers with other Jefferson men only means that the single Hemings male had about a 70% chance of sharing a common male ancestor within 7 generations. Nowhere is Thomas Jefferson included in the scientific study.
He is only implicated by ownership and proximity.
Eston Hemings’ father could have been a mulatto or mixed race slave owned by Thomas Jefferson that shared the Jefferson y-chromosome from an earlier Jefferson male. Do you wonder why no one pursued that obvious line of research? What we have here is failure to communicate. Oh and a desire to attack a great man that one doesn’t agree with. So keep on removing Washington’s and Jefferson’s names from schools left to rot under African American run city governments like New Orleans. Adams once said if the facts are against you argue the law, if the law is against you argue the facts and if both the facts and the law are against you argue against the other man.