Closing the Circle

A few months ago, there was a special offer from Ancestry. They were getting into the DNA testing business, and as an introductory offer they had a certain number of DNA tests they were offering for free to their subscribers. I clicked on the button to reply that I was interested, and sometime later got the white cardboard packet in the mail. There was a business reply envelope, addressed to Ancestry's laboratory with a barcode on the back, and instructions about how to link my samples to my Ancestry account, and three cotton-tipped swabs in a smaller white envelope. I followed all the instructions, took my samples as directed, and dropped it in the mail. They said it would be a while, and I haven't heard anything back yet.

It is stunning, really, what DNA testing technology is now available to consumers. In 2007, New York Times reporter Amy Harmon wrote a series on new developments in genetics; there was one story about families with children with rare genetic abnormalities that now -- following genetic testing -- find each other through genetic counselors, or through the internet. 23andMe has been offering genetic testing to consumers for several years, and costs have dropped rapidly; they have a growing subscriber base, and for $99 and a $9 a month subscription, you can join. 23andMe also offers the opportunity to participate in research studies to their subscribers, and many of them do participate; although it is still in the developmental stage, this kind of research, based on volunteer participants who offer their genetic data, is exciting and potentially transformational.

Another of Amy Harmon's stories was about her own experience of looking at her own genome, through 23andMe. She wrote about not wanting to test her 3 year old daughter, who she didn't want to feel limited by her genetics at such a young age, but not feeling any such reluctance about testing herself. "Whatever was lurking in my genes had been there my entire life. Not looking would be like rejecting some fundamental part of myself." Yes. Exactly.

So the Ancestry offer got me thinking about my maternal inheritance, and what I might learn. Having no Y chromosome for testing (that's only in men), the focus would be on the maternally-inherited mitochondrial DNA. I knew that my great-great-grandmother was Mary Caroline Hall. She was said to be born in North Carolina in 1839, probably in the part of Rutherford County that later became part of Polk County. Her mother was said to be Sarah Green, and I found supportive evidence for that name on the death certificate for one of Mary Caroline's sisters. Sarah Green is said to have been born in 1822 to Henry and Sarah Green, but I've found little evidence to substantiate who her parents were or where they come from. County boundaries have changed, and Rutherford County is on the North Carolina-South Carolina border; there seems to have been a lot of movement back and forth between Rutherford County and what became Spartanburg County, South Carolina. I don't know that it will be possible to find much more; there may not be any documentation, anywhere, and I may never know more about my great-great-great-great-grandmother, whose name may have been Sarah, and whose last name is unknown.

Having spent a fair amount of time over the last couple of months, trying to sort through Halls and Greens along the North Carolina-South Carolina border, suddenly I am really curious about what the DNA test will show. My mitochondrial DNA came from these women whose names I can't even find, and then from their maternal ancestors before them. So, we'll see. I'm not expecting much; all I may find out is that they were from northern Europe. I think that maternal ancestor was Scotch-Irish, and probably emigrated before the American Revolution. But maybe I fill find something out that surprises me.

But all of this has already led to one good thing. My daughter Sarah was named after an ancestor, Sarah Berryhill, who turns out -- apparently -- not to exist. At least we don't have to change her name.