DNA, The Wonder of Science and Genealogy

DNA, The Wonder of Science and Genealogy

Having used DNA as a tool in my genealogy, I thought I might give you
an update on my efforts.

Some of you are familiar with my quest, but for the others I’ll provide a
little background:

My great-grandfather Hopewell U. Carter Sr. was an illegitimate child, son
of Elizabeth Carty, who changed her name to Carter around the time that she
relocated from Caroline County, MD (where Hopewell was born) to Kent
County, DE.

The family stories always stated that his biological father
was “a wealthy Dr. Hardcastle” in Caroline County, and there were continued
connections with the family for several years afterward. One story
mentioned how my Great Aunt Agnes named one of her daughters Doris after a
Hardcastle family member.

Another story told of a family member who had
joined the service, only to be disheartened and desiring to leave, and the
family implored upon the Hardcastle family’s connections to successfully
achieve the serviceman’s discharge. (I have never been able to determine
who this serviceman was).

There were also tales of a connection to the
Boggs family in the Cheswold area (the family from which J. Caleb Boggs
hailed from, former U.S. Senator and Governor of Delaware), and research
showed that J. Caleb Boggs’ paternal grandmother had been a Hardcastle
prior to her marriage, and that she was indeed descended from the same
Hardcastle family of Caroline County, MD.

Anyway, I learned of these stories in the mid-late 1970’s when I first
began my genealogy, and by 1990, when I finally got around to ordering
Hopewell Sr’s death certificate, the story seemed to be slightly
substantiated by its listing his father as “Alexander Carter.” By this
time, I had long since discovered a Dr. Alexander Hardcastle in close
proximity to the Carty / Carter residence in Caroline County, MD, and had
already suspected him as being Hopewell’s biological father. My suspicion
as to why the father was listed as “Alexander Carter” on the death
certificate instead of “Alexander Hardcastle” was: 1) the family
informant(s) gave the last name of Carter to avoid the stigma of his having
been illegitimate, or 2) upon being questioned for the father’s name the
informant(s) simply replied “Alexander” and the note-taker assumed the
surname would be Carter.

At any rate, it seemed clear that Dr. Alexander Hardcastle must have been
the “culprit.” For many years I had worked on researching the Hardcastle
family and had corresponded with other Hardcastle researchers, always
feeling an absence or a loss that I had no proof of this connection,
although the family stories seemed to make it true. This particular line
in my genealogy always seemed to be an extra burden to me, as it was my
paternal line (my father’s father’s father, etc), and that my own last name
might have been Hardcastle under other circumstances. If only there were a
way to prove the connection. Little did I know that one day science would
come up with a method which might be used to bridge the gap!

That method was DNA testing.

Some of you may be familiar with the story of Thomas Jefferson’s purported
offspring borne by the family servant Sally Hemmings, and how the Hemmings
family descendants had long sought acceptance by the Jefferson Society as
being true descendants of Thomas Jefferson, over the objections of
detracting members. Eventually, DNA testing was called upon in an effort
to try to resolve the controversy.

During the mid-1990’s another fellow Hardcastle researcher (named Tom
Hardcastle) and I had discussed the story, and wondered whether such a test
might eventually be available (and affordable) to the general public, and
whether we might employ such a test in my efforts to prove that Hopewell
Carter, Sr. was indeed the son of Dr. Alexander Hardcastle.

The type of DNA test conducted on the Jefferson – Hemmings descendants is
called a Y-chromosome test. The Y-chromosome is carried down by males,
only, and such a test can only be used when the desired path is through a
“male line” in a family (such as from great-grandfather to grandfather to
father to son, for example). Examining the DNA in the Y-chromosome in two
male subjects can show whether the two are descended from a common male
ancestor, and can estimate the number of generations that separate the
connection between the two. Since my fellow Hardcastle researcher was both
a male and a Hardcastle (i.e., he had Hardcastle as a surname, indicating
he is the son of a Hardcastle who was the son of a Hardcastle who was the
son of a Hardcastle who was the son of Hardcastle, etc, etc), and since we
knew the exact purported connection (common male ancestor) between his
branch of the Hardcastles and mine, we would be ideal subjects for a
Y-chromosome test. Thus, it just became a matter of finding a lab to
conduct the test.

(Or so we thought). Early inquiries to genetic laboratories, even as
recent as a year and a half ago, proved to be disappointing, as the costs
were upward of $400 per sample to conduct such a test. As eager as I was
to find proof of the connection, this was just too expensive for my budget!
(Also, I had told my “cousin” Tom that if we ever found a lab to perform
the tests that I would pay for them, since it was MY branch which needed
substantiating, not his). Then, last January, I heard (and it was
discussed on this list) about the BYU (Brigham Young University) project
entitled Molecular Genealogy, and how they were collecting DNA samples on
an enormous scale, making stops in particular cities and locations all over
the world, and taking samples from volunteers. One of the stops was near
me in Florida, and others were in the Philadelphia and Maryland areas,
prompting the list discussion last Winter/Spring. The project was detailed
in an article in my local newspaper, in a weekly genealogy column. BYU’s
eventual goal was to collect enough samples to be able to study worldwide
migration patterns, and work toward methods of further using DNA to trace
genetic ancestry, beyond the Y-chromosome DNA method (and the Mitochondrial
DNA method*).

* The Mitochondrial DNA method is another form of DNA testing which is
also becoming more commonly used. Mitochondrial DNA is passed down from
mothers to all their children, but is only carried forward by daughters.
This type of testing can be used to test a strictly maternal line (such as
from great-grandmother to grandmother to mother to daughter/son, for
example). My understanding is that this type of testing is somewhat more
difficult (and perhaps more costly).

Anyway, upon learning that the BYU group would soon be in my local area
collecting samples for their project, I contacted members of their staff to
inquire whether they ever worked on individual test cases, and whether they
would consider taking on a personal case such as my own. They replied yes,
and when asked about costs, they replied theirs would be substantially
lower than the $400/sample cost I’d been quoted by the private labs. Even
though they hadn’t given me an exact price, I decided to go ahead and take
the leap! I contacted Tom Hardcastle, asked if he was still willing to
participate, and the ball was rolling!

The option was given as to whether we, as test subjects, would donate a
blood sample or a buccal sample (saliva sample via a mouth swab). I
donated a blood sample, and Tom submitted a buccal sample, as this was more
convenient and would not need to involve a doctor appointment to have the
blood drawn. The lab also requested that I get a first-cousin to
participate, as this would provide substantiating genetic markers to go
alongside mine in comparison against Tom’s, and would ensure further
validity of the test. My first-cousin David (again, through a male line,
being the son of my father’s brother) readily volunteered to join in the
quest, and he soon submitted a buccal sample as well.

I’ll leave out all the inconsequential details, but after submitting the
DNA samples the process became rather lengthy (from Feb to Oct). This was
due in no small part to the overwhelming response BYU apparently received,
and their involvement in numerous Special Cases as a result of their “world
tour” and others like myself who’d contacted them for individual testing.
Eventually, arrangements were made by BYU to “farm out” the Special Cases
to a private lab (Relative Genetics), staffed by some of the members who
had worked on the BYU project (and presumably who had since graduated from
BYU). As a consequence of this, many of the Special Cases were done at
little or no cost, and I was one of the lucky ones to fall into this
category. (Going forward, all such Special Cases are being handled by
Relative Genetics, and their cost is set at $130 per sample). (Also, they
now use only buccal samples, and no longer take blood samples for their
Special Cases).

In early October, I finally received the results. Alas, the outcome was
disappointing to say the least. Whereas the DNA showed a positive
first-cousin relationship between David and myself, it showed Tom to be not
connected to David and I within the purported six generations separating us
from our supposed common male ancestor. The results showed that the common
male ancestor between us was more likely somewhere between 27 and 113
generations removed, with an average likely separation of approximately 67
generations. After working on / researching the genealogy of the
Hardcastle family for over 20 years, one small step of science seemed to
rule out the family story altogether.

During this quest, I had stayed in touch with the reporter / genealogist
who had authored the article in the local paper last January (announcing
BYU’s original sample-collection project). She had asked whether she could
relate my story in an article once the results were complete. I agreed,
and she conducted an interview. The article came out in last Thursday’s
issue, and can be found at the following link:

http://www.sptimes.com/News/120601/Floridian/Genealogy__DNA_testin.shtml

(There is a typo in the first sentence of the article–which is my fault,
since she let me proofread the article before printing, and I missed it!
It should say “…prove his great-grandfather HOPEWELL Carter…,” not
“Alexander” Carter. But this will not change the effect of the story for
general readers).

In the meantime, however, I have decided not to give up right just yet.
Although the results of my DNA test indicated that Tom and I do not have a
common male ancestor within the purported six generations, the possibility
exists (albeit a slim one) that the “flaw” could be in his line, not mine.
In other words, if there were an “illegitimacy” anywhere in Tom’s paternal
(Hardcastle) line, this could also explain why we would show as not being
related within the six-generation span. The only way to “remove all doubt”
would be to find another male Hardcastle, whose branch tied into ours, and
who would volunteer to submit a DNA sample for comparison against both of
ours. I decided an extra $130 would be a small price to pay for another
sample to be tested, especially since my earlier tests fell into a “gray
area” in terms of costs. However, such a venture would not come without a
feeling of guilt, since if another Hardcastle descendant were to match my
DNA but not Tom’s, this would indicate that Tom was “not really a
Hardcastle.” This would be a heavy price to pay (learning your own surname
was “invalid”) by someone who was attempting in good faith to help me find
what MY surname “should” be….

However, Tom, being the good sport that he is, was willing to proceed.
And I have just recently found another test participant. A fellow
genealogist named Mike Hardcastle, who is a policeman living in Germany and
who is descended from a co-lateral Hardcastle branch (having a common male
ancestor with Tom and I, two generations further back), has agreed to
participate in the test, and just last week submitted a DNA sample to
Relative Genetics. The outcome of the test on his DNA will provide one of
three results:

1. If Mike matches Tom*, but not me, then this will–for all intents and
   purposes–“prove” that I am most likely not a biological Hardcastle.
2. If Mike matches me*, but not Tom, then it will indicate that Tom has
   an “illegitimacy” in his paternal line, and is likely not a biological
   Hardcastle.
3. If Mike matches neither me nor Tom*, then we’re back at square one,
   and the “illegitimacy” could have occurred in any one or more of all three
   of our lines. (And we would then need to get ANOTHER Hardcastle test
   subject for further comparison).

* [within the specified number of generations]

Relative Genetics has said that the latest results should be done in 4 to
6 weeks.

If anyone has any questions, please let me know.
I can also provide contact information for Relative Genetics, if anyone
wishes to contact them directly. (Or, info on how to contact them is
contained within the newspaper link above).

John Carter.