The "Lost" 1800 Census of Louisa County, Virginia
Back in November, I posted the following on the Free Persons of Color Forum on the AfriGeneas website. I thought it might be of interest for those of you with Louisa County roots. TLS The loss of...
View ArticleFree White Names from the 1800 Louisa County Census
Below are some of the other heads of household named in the 1800 census for Louisa County, Virginia. I’ve chosen individuals who may or may not have something to do with our Vinton County Group. You...
View ArticleOur Civil War Men
As you may know, I have been working on a list of those men affliliated with the Vinton County Group who enlisted during the Civil War. I have already spotlighted the sons of Edwill Thacker (those in...
View ArticleDNA, Genealogy, and Me
What I know about DNA could fit into a thimble. But a couple of summers ago I was lamenting to my father that I could not find proof that my grandfather (the handsome fellow in the picture over to the...
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Update (Or Lack of Update) on Ancestry.com’s New Autosomal Test
In case anyone out there is burning up with curiosity on what’s happening with the Autosomal DNA test that I submitted to Ancestry.com the answer is – NOTHING (much.) On the first of March I received...
View ArticleAncestry Autosomal DNA Beta – The Saga Continues
Right before Easter, I received a notice from Ancestry telling me that they could not get a decent sample from the swabs that I sent to them last November. The next day, April 5th, Ancestry sent me an...
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Good News, Bad News - The Results of My Ancestry Autosomal DNA Test
Okay, so the good news is I received the results from Ancestry's autosomal test. The bad news is my results don't give us a clue to the Thacker clan's mixed racial identity.I made a prediction of my...
View Article“I don’t know nothin’ ‘bout understandin’ no DNA" - Autosomal DNA
When it comes to DNA, many of you, like me, might be scratching your head and saying (to paraphrase Prissie in Gone with the Wind), “I don’t know nothin’ ‘bout understandin’ no DNA.” Boy, do I wish I...
View ArticleAnnouncing (I hope) The Vinton County DNA Project
Okay, this is a little premature, but I have applied to Family Tree DNA to do a geographic project for The Vinton County Group. We will be looking at YDNA and mtDNA of the original members of the...
View ArticleWHY DO THE Y (DNA)?
While I am still waiting to hear back from Family Tree DNA, I thought now might be a good time to point out the benefit for the Vinton County Group in having YDNA tests done. NAPPERSIf you are one of...
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It's Official - We Have A DNA Project!
Okay, it's pretty exciting - Family Tree DNA has given us the green light to go ahead with our Dual Geographic Project. We have three participants already signed up! All three are testing the...
View ArticleFamily Tree DNA Sale and DNA Results
Okay, if you have thought about getting your mtDNA tested or getting your very own Family Finder (autosomal) test taken, this is the weekend to do IT! I received the following notice from Family Tree...
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Family Tree DNA Sale!!!!!!!!
I received the following message fromFamily Tree DNA:(My note: You can order by clicking this link: LINK to Family Tree DNA page.)As we ended our 8th Annual Genetic Genealogy Conference, several...
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My Autosomal DNA and Gedmatch
Okay, the truth is I’ve been meaning to write some posts about my experience with using Ancestry’s autosomal DNA test. But whoa, new information keeps being tossed my way, and like the little pin ball...
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Every Picture Tells a Story - Chromosome Painting
One of the things that has fascinated me right from the beginning was the mixed racial aspect of my Thacker branch of the family tree. But I am seven generations removed from David Thacker and his wife...
View ArticleInteresting Article on Racial Origins of Melungeons and oh, yes - probably...
One of my Internet friends (and also as it happens, a distant, distant, distant cousin) sent me a link to an article written in October of 2002 by a George R. Gibson entitled "Mellungeons and Myth."...
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New Ethnicity Estimates from Ancestry.com
You'll remember that when Ancestry came out with their predictions of my ancestry, I wasn't all that impressed.Below is a look at what they said my ethnicity was:Today, some lucky Ancestry DNA...
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Vinton County Newspapers included in Chronicling America Series
If you haven't checked it out, the Library of Congress program, "Chronicling America" has included images from Vinton County newspapers. Digitized newspapers include: The McArthur Democrat - January 5,...
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Figuring Out an Individual's mtDNA Ancestral Line
Below I am using my own pedigree to illustrate the line of an individual's mitochondrial DNA. If you have access to someone's pedigree chart you can easily see their mitochondrial line. Mitochondrial...
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David (NO M) Thacker - or Why you should always look at source material...
Okay, a couple of years ago I went on a disciplined rant to the tune of six separate posts on why Nimrod Nicholas Thacker's wife was Frances J. Thacker and not Mary Frances Grover (or Frances Mary...
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The Death of Wed Napper, Malachi Dorton, and Dennison McGinnis
The following brief account of the death of Wed Napper, Malachi Dorton and Dennison McGinnis appears in Volume 1 of A Standard History of the Hanging Rock Iron Region of Ohio: “Among the early...
View ArticlePension File Stories: What we can learn from Joseph Thacker's Pension File
Joseph Thacker enlisted with Ohio 56th Infantry on October 31, 1861 and was part of Company I. His enlistment papers, found in Joseph’s compiled military file, give the following details:Height: 5...
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