Hey, everyone!
A couple of things...
1. The people who contribute their DNA need to be reassured that this test
is used for the sole purpose of doing genealogical research, and is very
simple to take. No blood, as has been pointed out several times.
2. The DNA needs to come from a direct line Carter male. My son, for
example, is a Carter descendant (through me, a female), but was not able to give
his DNA because his father (my husband) is a Moore which makes my son a Moore,
and not a direct-line Carter. It has to be a straight line descendancy,
Carter male to Carter male.
3. Through a lot of tracking, I was able to find a distant Carter-cousin
male who was kind enough to agree to take this test, and I was a total stranger
to him at that time! I spoke to his wife about the test, and to his sister,
and they became very much interested in the project too. They were able to
provide me with new family information, and I was able to correct some of
their misconceptions.
I told them that I was more than happy to pay for the kit, and that all
Jerry had to do was swab. I did, he did, and we got our results! The entire
experiene has been very exciting, and my motivation to find a DNA sample caused
me to look much harder at my line. I had thought that there wasn't any
possibility of existing male cousins, but it turns out that there are quite a few.
My next step is to find, and then cold-call a second donor, just to be on
the safe side!!! I will tell you that the search for a DNA donor is very much
worth the hunt, even though I still don't have all of my answers, because it
really caused me to focus on possibilities that I hadn't seriously
considered before, and filled in a lot of blank spaces.
My Carters came from Virginia, moved through North Carolina, and ended up in
Tennessee. Some of them then moved to Missouri and Arkansas, but most of my
family remained in Tennessee. I'm interested in the fact that Caleb's
family seems to have done the same thing!
Happy hunting!
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