Two Faces in the Mirror

So, I had this great idea of a post, and well, I realized it was not entirely going to work out the way I wanted, but here it goes.

These are two of my eight great great grandmothers. I had planned on saying I chose them because they represented two of the families I have researched the most, my favorites as you will, and then I realized, oops, one of them was the wife of the one family. (My bad.)

The top picture is on my paternal side, she was born Plina Pauline McCurdy, and she married Archie Bald Pyburn (my most researched and favorite family on Dad's side). The bottom picture is from my maternal side, she was born Margaret Trahern, the wife of Jason Adams.

Plina was born in 1878 and died in 1940 and Margaret was born in 1880 and died in 1955. Of a similar age the women had far more differences than similarities. While Margaret married at age 19 and remained married to Jason until he died, Plina had four husbands, and  (I hope) three divorces. Margaret had 9 children with 7 living to adulthood. Plina had only three that I know of. (I know of no stillbirths). Margaret was an avid church goer and was revered and well loved by her children and grandchildren. Plina is rumored to have assisted her sister with running a whore house and was resented by her eldest daughter.

On the surface, it surely seems like two women of an age where women had little to no voice were vastly different. They both had challenges in their lives. Margaret was born in the Choctaw nation, her father ran around with other women and boot legged alcohol, and was supposed to have been murdered in 1899. Margaret's mother died when she was 12-13 years old, she and her elder sister had to raise the younger children, including the youngest only 1 year old. When her father died, Margaret quickly married Jason. He seemed like he was a pretty good guy, but he had a horrible head for business. He lost his son's allotments over a bribe to clear charges for bootlegging, and he mortgaged Margaret's Dawes allotment which then was foreclosed on. Of course Jason didn't have that great of a childhood either. Margaret ended up raising three of her grandchildren because her daughters were a little wild too.

Plina was one of 14 children by her father's first marriage. By the time her father had married his third wife and began having another 14 children, Plina had married and was not that far from leaving her first husband, Archie Bald Pyburn. Archie was I believe abusive, and sometime before 1908 when he was out of town, Plina left her children (somewhere between 1-2 yrs old, 8-9 years old and 10-11 years old) with her sister and ran off to New Orleans. In 1908 she married George Bilbo, the brother of the Governor of Mississippi Bilbo's. They didn't remain married all that long, and by 1919 she married Harry Bodin, and finally in 1929ish Andrew Svedson. Growing up I am sure times were hard financially, her father farmed and ran a ferry across the river to Alabama, and with all of the other siblings, it's quite likely money was tight.

Where Margaret was reserved and quietly went about her life as a mother, it seems like Plina was quite the opposite. She spent time in Pensacola, New Orleans and  New York, dressed well for her time, and well, allegedly participated in running a New Orleans bordello. Plina's eldest daughter Lula didn't care much for her mother, but Plina bought her a fancy dining room table set, and her grandchildren, they adored her. The few pictures I have show one a women dressed in home sewn gowns who rarely smiles  and the other dressed in finery with a great big smile.

If our ancestors are part of our faces in the mirror, these are two of mine. Despite the differences, both women had courage. They faced hardships in a time when women legally owned no property in most states, when they couldn't even have their own bank account. Margaret faced discrimination because she was 3/4 Choctaw, and ensured her children grew up being able to survive in a white world, but all of her children left home early, because with so many kids, the expectation was by age 13 or so you went to work. She raised her grandchildren with food subsidies during the depression, until she had to go live with relatives, and I guess their mom's took the kids, at least some of the time. Plina, faced an abusive husband. And while I really don't know that I like where she got the money to have her style, but she sure made the most of her independence when she got it. She had gumption, and I admire that.

These women are special for what they represent to me. Margaret Trahern was the reason I started genealogy in the first place. It was a sentence in a book that made me go, well that can't be right, and made me want to find out the answers. And what a journey it has been. I have so many people I have researched in the Choctaw nation who aren't my relatives, looking to confirm the maiden name of Margaret's mother, and that journey, that Choctaw research has lead me on some wonderful friendships with other researchers and the opportunity to assist grad students on Choctaw history.

Plina, well she isn't a Pyburn by birth, but I have spent a lot of time on the McCurdy's too, and well, yes, the Pyburn family is the one I am the most proud of. Like the Trahern family, I have developed a large group of fellow researchers for my panhandle families, but with the Pyburn's, a lot of the ground breaking work, well that's all my own discoveries. Finding them in Tensaw, finding the baptism records in Mobile, tracing the sister of Jacob Pyburn's family (very interesting in that line), and finally finding all of the girls, who they married and tracing their families. If the Choctaw research has me proud, so does the Pyburn. It's not to say I don't try as hard on every family, but in regards to time, well these two have taken a lot of my time over the last 18 years.

Two steps forward, one step back

Elijah McCurdy has been stumping researchers of the family since the 1970's. I have written about him before, so I am glad to report we have made progress, but not as much as we would like.

A great grandson of Elijah through William M. McCurdy tested YDNA several years ago. He was disgusted because he didn't match any of the other McCurdy's. So another great grandson, through George Washington McCurdy recently tested. The good news, they have a genetic distance of  0. Meaning that both of Elijah's sons down the YDNA is intact.

The results of the second tester were shared with me. The highest match is a genetic distance of  2. This family line goes back to a William L. McConnell born in 1842 and died in 1877. On ancestry the trees go back further to a Samuel McConnell born in South Carolina around 1780.

The second highest match is a genetic distance of 3. This family line goes back to (wait for it), James W. McConnell, a descendant of Joseph McConnell and Mary McCurdy. James McConnell was born in 1795 in likely Elbert County, Georgia. The last match, a genetic distance of 4 is to a Connelly.

Awesome news, right, we have a direct match to a couple that multiple (at least 10 that I know of) also have autosomal DNA matching, Joseph McConnell and Mary McCurdy. Let's not get too excited though because what we have left is a monumental task. The matches we have with autosomal DNA do appear to indicate we share DNA with the Pennsylvania McCurdy's, thus giving us the theory that Elijah McCurdy is an illegitimate son of a McConnell and a McCurdy.

There are multiple trees for both the McCurdy's and the McConnell's. Some say they couple came from Ireland, some say Mary is the daughter of  John McCurdy and Mary Fox (and thus an Aunt to the Elijah McCurdy born in 1796 in SC and  who died Dekalb county, AL). But here is where it get's tricky, first of all, the more you look, the more it is clear that there is a lot of conjecture on the 18th century McCurdy's in Pennsylvania.

I can find no estate information confirming the names of the 12 children of John and Mary, despite what has been published. The only concrete proof is the biography of Elisha McCurdy that tells where his parents lived, how many children they had, and that an elder brother (Elijah) moved south and never returned. Estates of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania appear to give some of his brothers, but as for females there is not one bit of data. The female grandchildren through a McCurdy of John and Mary McCurdy are too young to be a mother of Elijah at this point. So if his mother was a daughter we have nothing to go on yet.

Of the South Carolina McCurdy's, John and Robert were immigrants, and there is not enough data on how they are related, though it is conceivable that they, as with most of the immigrant McCurdy's in Pennsylvania and Maine, are cousins to some degree. But if you do read the biographical data on most of the lines, every one says they are from immigrants, not a help let me tell you.

There does appear to be two to three clusters of McCurdy's in Pennsylvania arriving at different times. There were McCurdy's around Chester county for at least a short period of time. I found unconfirmed information that one of the Georgia McConnell's may have came from Chester county, PA to Elbert County, GA, the same place where the Joseph McConnell line we match lived. Then there are McCurdy's around Cumberland county, and finally in Westmoreland (to include nearby Alleghany and Indiana counties).

What we need to do now is a two fold process. We need to see what we can dig up on the Joseph McConnell family (who some say immigrated to the U.S. and some say didn't) and his relatives. Then we need to come up with a database of McCurdy's, one that includes source material (deeds, biographical accounts (some may have errors), and probate) for Pennsylvania, Georgia and South Carolina. Once we do that, maybe we can puzzle out how both of Elijah's parents are related to Joseph McConnell and Mary McCurdy.

There is a John McConnell Sr in Elbert county, Georgia who none of the trees claim is a relative to Joseph but easily could be a possible relative if the Joseph McConnell who lived in Franklin County, Georgia (nearby Elbert prior to the establishment of Henry County, Georgia in 1822 which came from Creek lands.) is the same as the one we match is.  Henry County, Georgia is the last place Joseph McConnell and his wife Mary are found in the 1830  census.

For my fellow researchers, let's all work together and see what we can come up with.

P.S. those of you who have our Elijah as the son of Elijah McCurdy and Ann Handy Harris may want to change that.

Nature vs. Nurture - DNA and genetic predisposition

This is a bit off of my normal topics, however since a large portion of those who are undergoing autosomal testing are doing so for ancestry composition results or health results, I think it may be of interest to those who read my blog.

First, with a lot of the SNP's identified as increased risk if they are abnormal (polymorphic), it is important to actually look at what the studies tell you. Often it is only a slightly higher risk for a condition, such as some of the markers for gluten intolerance. Having an abnormal marker increases your risk of, but does not necessarily guarantee there is something wrong.

That said, I have a little bit of a rant on one subject. For those of you not scientifically inclined on DNA, SNP's are identified markers on our DNA. Those listed on the various health sites (such as livewello, 23andme, and promethease) have been studied. You can have one of three results on these markers. Normal, (having the normal markers), Heterozygous (one abnormal, one normal marker, means a mixed result) and homozygous (both abnormal). I hate to say Normal is good and homozygous is bad, because even if you are homozygous it doesn't always mean bad. But we tend to think in black and white, so then heterozygous is somewhat in between. Not good, not bad, but a mixture of the two.

There is a plethora of studies out there showing cardiovascular disease is in fact caused from inflammation, most specifically linked to elevated homocysteine levels. These elevated homocysteine levels come from the methylation cycle within our cells. Elevated homocysteine is also linked to Alzheimers and some cancers in research.

You may see something like the MTFHR gene mentioned by some who have done their DNA. It is one gene in the cycle of methylation that focuses on a cause for elevated homocysteine levels. This particular gene affects how our bodies metabolize folic acid. A person with a heterozygous result can metabolize some folic acid (in supplement not natural form). A person with a homozygous metabolizes very little folic acid (in supplement not natural form). It is important to note that estimations are around 40-50% of the population is heterozygous, and around 25% is homozygous for this gene.

However this is just one gene in a cycle that has several steps. The methylation cycle is one of the most important microbiological processes in our cells. By definition methylation is the process of a molecule bonding to a methyl group (a single carbon with 3 hydrogens attached). The methyl group changes the shape and function of that molecule and gives the molecule a new job. A pretty good explanation of it can be found here.

The later pathway of this cycle leads to the production of neurotransmitters (such as serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, and epinephrine).  One of the by products is homocysteine, which has gene markers also that have to do with how our body handles it. Homocysteine is a normal by product that the body breaks down when everything is working normally. It is elevated homocysteine levels that cause the inflammation and cellular breakdown linked to many diseases in research.

So what is my rant. Despite knowing inflammation causes heart disease, and despite questionable research on the problems with statins (can cause diabetes, can cause liver problems and not well researched for women. See more here. ) we haven't changed a thing about reducing the inflammation and the cause of the inflammation in our treatment.

Studies about MTFHR specifically have been published for at least 15 years. Yet nothing in healthcare in the United States addresses treatment for abnormalities in this cycle. If it's true as the nutrigenomic proposers state that you can negate some of the effects of these abnormal genes then why hasn't it been addressed? Is it because as a society our medical professionals look down on vitamin supplements as a cure? Is it because in the trend of health care we treat conditions with pathways that are not individualized to the patient?

Now I don't know for a fact, but I suspect many doctors would roll their eyes if someone took their DNA results with their abnormal markers in and asked them about it. It would be one up on the google doctor syndrome that they detest. However, unlike some of the other markers, this specific area, the effects of these genes has been studied pretty significantly, but health care providers aren't trained to interpret these results or offer solutions.

I don't believe that all diseases are strictly nature or strictly nurture. I do think that a little of both is pretty much in play for most conditions. Yet if we are as a profession encouraging patients to eat right, exercise and be proactive in their health, why would we ignore a potential pathway to improving their overall health throughout their lifetime?

DNA statistics part 2- Maternal side

Mom's DNA results are challenging. About 80 % of my ancestry results are paternal. Mom's grandmother was a first generation American and we don't have a lot of matches from those lines, same for her Choctaw side. That said she has clusters of matches for some groups.

Note: I share 50 percent of my DNA with my parents and my daughter. On Gedmatch that number varies in cM from 3549 for Mom, 3552 for Dad and 3581 for my daughter using my 23andme test. Dad and mom are both on 23andme and my daughter is on Ancestry. For an average I am using 3560 cM as marker for 50%.  Differences are likely due to unreadable (no call) areas from the samples.

Based on the unrealistic 50 % DNA from each parent in each generation, this is what the contributed DNA “should” be for my parents, me and my daughter if every generation was inherited equally at 25 % for each grandparent’s DNA contribution.

Relationship to my Mom/Dad	Percentage	Dad/Mom’s estimated cM	My estimated cM	My daughters estimated cM
Grandparent	25 %	1780 cM	890 cM	445 cM
Great Grandparent	12.5%	890 cM	445 cM	222.5 cM
G.G. grandparent	6.25%	445 cM	222.5 cM	111.3 cM
G.G.G. grandparent	3.125%	222.5 cM	111.3 cM	55.6 cM
GGGG grandparent	1.563 %	111.3 cM	55.6 cM	27.81 cM
GGGGG grandparent	0.781 %	55.6 cM	27.81 cM	13.9 cM

My parents are only on 23andme and Gedmatch, where I am on Ancestry, 23andme and Gedmatch and my daughter is on Ancestry and Gedmatch only. (I am not using FTDNA or my heritage matches for this table.)  Since most “in common” identified matches will go back to a common ancestor pair (or double the DNA from the above table as “possible”) I wanted to look at the highest match to a known DNA pair for my parents, myself and my daughter. 

Results for my mother’s family are below.

Surname Pair	Relationship to Mom	Mom’s estimated Cm	Mom’s highest match	My estimated Cm	My highest match	My daughters estimated Cm	My daughters highest match
Hager/Adams	Grandparents	3560	NA	1780	NA	890	NA
Hinds/Timmins	Grandparents	3560	2006.1 Aunt	1780	1229	890	609
Hager/Collins	G Grandparents	1780	590.6 ½ 1c	890	218	445	35.1
Adams/Trahern	G grandparents	1780	580.4 1C1R	890	232.5	445	91.8
Hinds/Paxton	G grandparents	1780	43.8	890	100	445	NA
Timmins/ Brampton	G grandparents	1780	300	890	175	445	NA
Hager/Barnett	GG grandparents	890	146	445	42	222.5	25.2
Collins/ Mangum	GG Grandparents	890	37.2	445	15	222.5	NA
Hinds/Crawford	GG grandparents	890	NA	445	28.4	222.5	11.2
Paxton/Douglas	GG grandparents	890	NA	445	NA	222.5	NA
Adams/Rogers	GG grandparents	890	NA	445	NA	222.5	NA
Trahern/ Gardner	GG grandparents	890	NA	445	NA	222.5	NA
Timmins/Phillips	GG grandparents	890	NA	445	NA	222.5	NA
Brampton/ Spicer	GG grandparents	890	NA	445	NA	222.5	NA
Hager/Whitley	GGG grandparents	445	NA	222.5	23.9	111.3	NA
Barnett/ Bagwell	GGG grandparents	445	97.3	222.5	NA	111.3	NA
Adams/ Unknown	GGG grandparents	445	NA	222.5	NA	111.3	NA
Rogers/ Rodgers	GGG grandparents	445	174	222.5	48	111.3	24.5
Trahern/ Hall	GGG grandparents	445	NA	222.5	N	111.3	NA
Gardner/ Unknown	GGG grandparents	445	NA	222.5	NA	111.3	NA
Collins/Adams	GGG grandparents	445	45.1	222.5	18.3	111.3	19.4
Mangum/ Unknown	GGG grandparents	445	NA	222.5	NA	111.3	NA
Hinds/ Bent	GGG grandparents	445	NA	222.5	28.3	111.3	NA
Crawford/ Wheeler	GGG grandparents	445	NA	222.5	NA	111.3	NA
Paxton/ Brown	GGG grandparents	445	NA	222.5	NA	111.3	NA
Douglas/ Unknown	GGG grandparents	445	NA	222.5	NA	111.3	NA
Timmins/ Hale	GGG grandparents	445	NA	222.5	NA	111.3	NA
Phillips/ Castle	GGG grandparents	445	NA	222.5	NA	111.3	NA
Brampton/ Unknown	GGG grandparents	445	NA	222.5	NA	111.3	NA
Spicer/ Haywood	GGG grandparents	445	NA	222.5	NA	111.3	NA