Hi folks,
I'm descended from a "rogue" Cates line. Not many Cates/Kates seem to be
related to my group! My line comes out of Edgefield, Sc amd moves on to AL and
then TX. ..
There is a way to tie our Cates line--or separate them--definitively! I'm
using a wonderful new tool with genealogical DNA to sort out ancestry lines in
several of my ancestral lines. What we're doing is testing "junk" DNA in
several markers that are useful really only for genealogy (not something "big
brother" can use). The field is new and the information is complicated (I'm no
scientist but have been working on learning this stuff for a year or so) but--in
various lines-- I've found some stuff that just confirms my paper trail, but
other stuff that was revelatory! One line didn't match anyone I'd looked at
as possibilities (I've been looking for this guy for years!) but I now have 5
exact matches in DNA! Happy to share stories but don't want to overwhelm this
mailing...
Anyway, I just opened a Cates surname study for anyone who wants to take
part! This would be for Cates, Cate, Kates, Kate surnames... Happy to answer any
questions & I hope this will help us all define our Cates lines. There are
many on this list that I've corresponded with before--most of them female.
Unfortunately, we must use males carrying the Cates surname for this test. (We
females can sponsor males, of course). I can explain this (males carry the
Y-genes which is the surname... ask me if you need more).
You can learn alot about the process thru Family Tree DNA ( I'm not related
to them in any way)
http://www.familytreedna.com/ and there's a very useful
group at GENEALOGY-DNA-L(a)rootsweb.com (this is the group I've been learning from,
but they're too smart for me most of the time)... Please let me know if
you're interested--yes, there is a cost but when you think about all the time and
money you spend doing this... (again, this is nothing I gain from
financially--but I's love to see if MY Cates relate to OUR Cates...)
Hope to hear from you!
Cyndi Rutledge in Baltimore