My DNA Christmas wish list

Dear Santa,

I’ve been good.

Really good.

I mean, seriously, really good.

Okay, so I didn’t get caught.

But you’re still going to at least consider my Christmas wish list, right? Especially if I don’t ask for too much?

Because there are seriously just a few things I would love to have this year. Starting with DNA. Not too very much. Just from specific target families.

Here’s what I’d really like you to deliver, Santa. One person — just one person — from each of these lines:

• The Faures of Manakin Town, Virginia (YDNA): My third great grandfather Jesse Fore may well be a descendant of the Widow Faure and her children who were part of the Huguenot migration to the New World in the very early days of the 18th century.¹ We have lots of YDNA samples linking a group together… but haven’t yet located a documented direct line male descendant of the Manakin Town Faures to test against.

Truly, Santa, I would happily — happily — pick up the tab for YDNA testing for any candidate who fits the bill here: a direct line male descendant of the Manakin Town Faure family, surnamed Faure, Fore, Ford or some variant.

• Matthew Johnson (YDNA, autosomal): Jesse Fore’s daughter Mary “Polly” Fore married Matthew Johnson in Union County, Georgia, in 1839. From the tax and census records, we have reason to believe that Matthew was born in Virginia around 1813, he was a shoemaker by trade, he fathered eight known children — and he died somewhere in 1863 or 1864 in Pulaski County, Kentucky.² And that’s it. That’s all we know. Not even a hint as to his parents — and with the name of Johnson and not even a county in Virginia to focus on, well, we don’t have much to go on.

Since I descend from a daughter, my folks’ YDNA won’t help here. So, Santa, a documented direct line male descendant of Matthew’s would be awfully nice to find under my tree. Matthew’s sons included Napoleon Bonaparte, James and William Johnson and they all settled in Parker County, Texas, by 1870. A grandson was Texas Ranger Captain Frank Johnson. And since an older descendant might be close enough to match, I’ll not only pick up the tab on a YDNA test — but an autosomal test as well.

• Philip Shew (YDNA): My fifth great grandfather Phillip Shew (c1750 – 1832) is another bit of mystery. We don’t know where he was born and only really pick up his trail once he settled in Guilford County North Carolina in the 1770s. He was recorded on the Guilford County census in 1790³ and 1800⁴ and the Wilkes County, North Carolina, census in 1810,⁵ 1820⁶ and 1830.⁷ His will was proved in the Wilkes County court in the October term 1832.⁸

From the name and other evidence of the language spoken at home, we’re pretty sure Philip was German — the last name may well have originally been Schuh — and we’d love to have a documented male descendant to YDNA test. I know I’ve got a kazillion Shew cousins out there — so, Santa, please… just one who’s willing to test?

• Daniel Shew (autosomal): Fast forwarding two generations from Phillip, my third great grandfather Daniel Shew settled in Cherokee County, Alabama, where he was a landowner in the 1850s but died likely before 1860, leaving his wife and three children, two sons — William Washington and Gilford — and one daughter, my 2nd great grandmother Martha Louise.⁹

Since it really helps in working with autosomal results to be able to identify which parts of your DNA come from which ancestors, I’d really love it, Santa, if some of the oldest descendants of William or Gilford would be under my tree this Christmas, to be tested against Martha Louise’s descendants.

• Ann Jacobs (mtDNA): And while we’re talking about Cherokee County, I still have that issue with Daniel’s wife Margaret Battles and her parentage. See, the guy I have pegged as Margaret’s father — William Battles — was married twice, once to Kiziah Wright in Georgia and a second time to Ann Jacobs in Alabama. (We won’t mention the fact that Kiziah sued William for divorce on account of his running off with Ann, or the fact that within six months of William’s and Ann’s marriage after Kiziah’s death, they were on the 1830 census with — count ’em — five children.)¹⁰

Now Margaret — born, we think, in the interim between William running off with Ann and their marriage — may well be Ann’s daughter. But to prove it, Santa, I need a direct female line descendant of just one of Ann’s known daughters (Samantha, Julia and Charlsey) to be under my tree. A daughter of a daughter of a daughter, Santa.

• The Cottrells of Madison County KY (YDNA): Last but not least, Santa, my Cottrells. Now, Santa, you know that I’m not sure there ever were any Cottrells in Madison County, Kentucky. But you know my second-great-grandfather-nemesis George Washington Cottrell said he was born there in 1821.¹¹ So if there really was such a family in that county at that time, and there’s a living breathing male with the Cottrell name in the direct male line from that family, I’d happily pay for a YDNA test (and probably an autosomal test too).

I’m willing to pay for it, Santa. Oh, not with good behavior. You know me better than that. But for the testing, okay? Seriously. If you could just find me one person in each of these categories, I’ll pay for the test — all the person has to do is comment below or email me.

C’mon, Santa.

I’ve been good.

Well… good enough, right?

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