DNA Helps Break Down Irish Brick Wall
An autosomal DNA test leads to a breakthrough which strongly suggested that the speaker's wife’s Woods ancestry lay in Portglenone, County Antrim.
Following the genealogical trail of his wife’s GG GF, James Woods, born in 1845, Colin hit a brick wall. The record of his marriage in Roxbury, MA in 1867 showed only that his parents were Patrick and Mary Woods and that his wife, Bridget Cummings was from Skyrne in County Meath. Colin still did not know where James Woods was from and could not find convincing baptismal records that would yield such information.
Finally, a FTDNA autosomal DNA test taken by his daughter led to a breakthrough which strongly suggested that his wife’s Woods ancestry lay in Portglenone, County Antrim. Colin will tell us all about it!
Please note that, unfortunately, the beginning of this talk was not recorded. The recording commences about 15 minutes into the talk. The start of the talk consisted of a preamble setting the scene for the use of DNA in Colin's research into his late wife's Irish ancestry. The portion that was recorded caught all of the DNA usage aspect of the presentation however. It is hoped that the recorded portion will be useful to members.
About Colin Whitney
Born and raised in England, Colin Whitney emigrated to the USA in 1962 after which he studied physics at MIT where he secured his Doctorate in 1970.
He is the Education Director of the San Diego Genealogical Society and currently leads its California Pioneer Certificate Program. He teaches genealogy at the Society’s Special Interest Groups and throughout the community. His main foci are Britain and Ireland and DNA.
The talk was originally presented to the Ireland Branch of the Society in January 2024. It is now released for all members to view by kind permission of the author and speaker.
You must be a logged on paid up member to view the recording. The link to it can be found under the Members heading above.
