Nailing Down The Origin of atDNA Segments

Nailing down exactly which ancestors passed down our DNA segments is challenging for those of us with early America ancestry. It's not that our trees always collapse, mine never has, instead we share an ancestor, or an ancestral couple, or several ancestral couples. To overcome this hurdle it's important to collect as many 2nd and 3rd cousins' segments as possible. These segments are most likely to be IBD, identical by descent.

This week I was able to add a third cousin to chromosome 20 on my mother's chart. This segment can now be named Forgey/Roller after the most recent ancestral couple they share, i.e. Andrew Forgey and Anna Roller.

Marking my well documented known lines helps to eliminate these chromosome regions as areas associated with my brickwall lines.

Right now I'm examining segments on chromosome 5 and 18 as possibly relating to my Campbell family brickwall. I'm looking for the names of the parents of Sarah Campbell, who married Anderson Wray 1833 Indiana, and her place of birth in Tennessee.

I've found the common ancestors for many of our predicted high quality matches at AncestryDNA. My mother and I have had a high quality match for years at Ancestry that I can't place. The fact this match has Campbell ancestors from Tennessee is a possible promising lead for my Sarah Campbell's family. Since this person recently uploaded their raw data to Family Tree DNA I've been able to compare her with others sharing segments on chromosome 5 and 18.

I've examined the trees of matches on Chromsome 5 and 18. I've determined that segments running up to the promising Campbell matches' segments on Chromosome 18 are most likely Wray family cousins. Several also share the Campbell surname, but several don't. Since they don't overlap these segments could come from different ancestors.

 I've found more Campbell descendants who share segments on both Chromosome 5 and 18.

Chromosome 5

Chromosome 18



I have found trees posted for some of these matches, and I researched matches myself to build trees out as far as I could. Everyone sharing overlapping segments on ch. 5 and 18 shares the same ancestral couple. They are descendants of  Reuben Ellis Morton 1856-1915, and his wife Mary A. Campbell 1859-1929, of Greene County, Tennessee. These matches are all 2nd or 3rd cousins to one another. I can't find another surname on these trees that would match with the names on my tree.

Paper trails and DNA don't always match up because there can be unknown adoptions, and affairs that no one is aware of. I have a Browning line that also traces back to Greene County, Tennessee. There would have to be some sort of unknown Browning blood relationship at the Reuben Morton and Mary Campbell generation, or before, for these segments to be Browning.

 

I'm doing some research in Greene County, Tennessee records to see if I can make a connection with the Campbell's in Indiana. There was a disagreement about who George Lafayette Campbell's parents are? I was able to find the documentation for his parents being James M. Campbell and Susannah. George Lafayette Campbell was baptized in the Sinking Springs Lutheran Church in Greene County, Tennessee.

 

George Lafayette Campbell would be in the age range to be Sarah Campbell-Wray's nephew. Could his father James be her brother? Not likely since I believe she may have had a brother named James T. Campbell? Unlikely they would name two children James? It's possible James could be Sarah's cousin?

Not being completely confident that these Campbell matches actually do match us through the surname Campbell I need to find more information to confirm or eliminate this line as contributing to this DNA. If more descendants of James Campbell and Susannah match us DNA wise that would strongly suggest Sarah Campbell-Wray's family originally came from Greene County, Tennessee. William M. Campbell is thought to be James' father.  He settled in Greene County, Tennessee very early. It would be helpful if matches other than one particular line matched us. So far I can't find any other matches with trees tracing back to this family, but I will continue to check for anyone posting such a tree, or testing in the future.

I plan on continuing to search records and check DNA matches, especially on chromosomes 5 and 18, in hopes of finally solving this Campbell mystery.