Cousins Mack Danner and his sister, Henrietta Danner Bacon, two of the five children born to my
great-grandmother’s brother, Alexander K. Danner (1865-1905), and his wife, Lou
Anna Brunt Danner of Panola County, Mississippi
Many
of us genealogy hobbyists and genealogists warn people about the
"mulatto" notation in the censuses. It doesn't automatically mean
that the person had a parent of a different race. Most times, the census-taker
saw a person who wasn't racially "pure." Check out this case.
Uncle
Jack, the oldest of my great-great-grandparents' 12 children, who was born in
slavery c. 1846, was consistently reported as "mulatto" in the 1870
and 1880 censuses. The rest of his household were noted as "Black".
Also, the rest of the 12 children were always reported as "Black" in
the censuses.
Many
of us probably have family cases where the oldest child (or not the oldest) was fathered by a white
man, but the mother's husband raised that child as his child, too. Thus, that
"mulatto" child took the stepfather's surname. Was this the case with
Uncle Jack? Let's see. This is the evidence at hand:
(1)
Oral history, that was told by family elders in the 1970s and recorded in the family
reunion booklets, noted Uncle Jack as one of my great-great-grandparents'
children.
(2)
None of the family elders living within the past 15 years ever said anything
about Uncle Jack not being the biological son of my great-great-grandfather.
(3)
DNA: At least 5 great-great-grandchildren of Uncle Jack took an autosomal DNA
test. All of them match my father, from 60 cM/6 segments to 149 cM/9
segments. Uncle Jack and my father's grandmother were siblings, therefore they are my father's second cousins twice removed (2C2R). According
to ISOGG, the average amount of DNA for 2C2R is 53 cM, the same as 3rd cousins. So the average
for half 2C2R would be 26.5 cM. Therefore, the DNA sharing amounts with these
cousins don't suggest a half relationship with Uncle Jack.
(4)
DNA: A "father-to-son" great-grandson of Uncle Jack's younger brother
took the 23andMe test, which provides a paternal haplogroup that is passed down
from father to son for many generations. His paternal haplogroup is E-M54
(African), which would be my great-great-grandfather's paternal haplogroup.
Recently, a "father-to-son" great-great-grandson of Uncle Jack took
the 23andMe test. His paternal haplogroup is also E-M54.
(5)
DNA: My great-great-grandfather was taken away from Nash County, North Carolina
and brought to Mississippi. It is clear that he left behind close kin in N.C.
My father is sharing very good amounts of DNA (119 cM, highest amount) with
people from Nash County. Those N.C. DNA cousins are also sharing DNA with Uncle
Jack's descendants.
(6)
DNA: Although my great-great-grandfather had at least 12 children with his
wife, my great-great-grandmother, he also fathered children by other women
during slavery. Descendants from those children have also taken an autosomal
DNA test. Most of them are sharing DNA with Uncle Jack's descendants. There is
even the phenomena of overlapping DNA segments (triangulation) with both
groups, which indicates descendancy from a common ancestor. (Will show this in a future blog post.)
Conclusion:
I haven't gotten a Y-DNA test done on the two male cousins mentioned in No. 4,
and that would serve as the ultimate DNA proof. However, the evidence at hand very
strongly indicates that Uncle Jack was simply much lighter-complexioned than
the rest of his younger siblings and was my great-great-grandfather's biological son. (Note: European ancestry has been
detected in my great-great-grandmother's lineage).
