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:
* [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).
Last Modified