In the last several months, Kathy and I have been doing some additional research and collation of family information, including updating the family tree. Although we started this to research my mother's family, the urge to dig and dig in this world of online resources becomes very addictive. Along the way, we found a DNA project that is tracking people with the Walker surname and attempting to correlate current people with common ancestors through DNA matches.
You can view the information at http://www.familytreedna.com/. In order to participate, you have to be a male with the Walker name. The common genes are passed from male to male.
So take a look. Once my results are complete, I will post information on which group we seem to fall into. If you are interested in participating, you can find the instructions on the website.
One observation when looking back through generations that really amazes me, is the time our ancestors have been in the US. I have yet to find an ancestor of mine that came to this country after 1800. We believe we descend from a Robert Walker who came from Scotland in the mid-1700's.
Lastly, I think back to warm Sunday afternoons in Albright Church at the Walker reunion, with H. Ray at the microphone, explaining what he had found through his research. I didn't appreciate the work he did, but it is the basis of so much of what we now know of our past.
4 comments:
Pretty Cool Craig! I did some research a couple of years ago that led me to the Ulster Scots as to our origin. I didn't have any concrete proof, but the years and international circustances matched the family data. Maybe science can take some of the guesswork out of it!
There was a Robert Walker family from NC that moved to Richmond Indiana around 1820. They are believed to be from Virginia or Penn. These are from H. Ray and are unpublished as yet. Perhaps you need info from them. I did listen to H. Ray at the Mic and found it fascinating.
My Dad would rise from the grave if he knew the DNA process exists. No more travels to look up courthouse records. No more visits to cemeterys to collect information from gravestones. No one will ever know the hours he put into his projects. And to thinkhow little I appreciated them. I checked out the DNA website. Absolutely amazing!
I used to listen to Uncle Ray and even had other talks with him about such things as history of Mishawaka. For example he told me about the committee that named the N-S streets off of Mishawaka Ave to trees, girls they liked or their wives, and famous citizens. Charlotte was one of the girls.
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