DNA : My Top Ten Matches at 23andMe

Here is a screenshot of the top ten DNA matches for me at 23andMe.  My parents are my closest matches.  Because I was fortunate enough to be able to have them tested, all of my other matches show whether they are paternal or maternal matches by the "P" or "M" displayed after their names.  For privacy reasons, I've erased the last names of public matches.

My next closest match is on my paternal side, William, who I've already contacted and determined that we are third cousins through common ancestors of Luman Walker Lemasters Jr. and Mary Keziah Chew.

The next closest public match is on my maternal side, Ellen. We've corresponded but have not made the connection.  She has not yet shared a family tree, but states she has many Quaker ancestors, so that gives me a starting point to searh on my maternal side.  She is predicted to be a 3rd to 5th cousin, which means we could share 2nd-great through 4th-great grandparents.  

I have reached out with introductions to the remaining matches and hope that they eventually respond.

Photograph : Luman Walker LeMasters Jr. & Mary Keziah (Chew) LeMasters

Luman Walker LeMasters Jr. & Mary Keziah (Chew) LeMasters

How appropriate that on Memorial Day weekend I would receive a blessing in my email inbox from cousin Jill - a photograph of Civil War veteran Luman Walker LeMasters Jr. (1842-1931) and his wife Mary Keziah (Chew) LeMasters (1847-1927).  They are my 2nd-great grandparents.

I noticed in the photograph that Luman is wearing a medal signifying he was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic.  Luman served in Company C, 39th Regiment of Indiana Volunteers, enlisting in July 1861.  The unit was later reclassified as the 8th Indiana Mounted Infantry.  

It was a part of the mounted infantry on 3 July 1863 that he was wounded at Decherd's Ford, near Winchester, Tennessee.  He was shot through the left breast.  He spent time in the hospital in Nashville and Louisville before being discharged with 1/2 disability on February 27, 1864.  The notes of his injuries state: Gun shot wound of the chest.  The ball entered between the first and second ribs (left side) and lodged within the thorax.

He came home and married Mary Keziah Chew, daughter of Dr. Ezekiel Cooper Chew, on October 2, 1864 in Versailles, Darke County, Ohio.  I've often wondered if Dr. Chew was helping treat his wounds, and that is how he met Mary.  Either way, as the ancestor of the LeMaster families of Jay County, Indiana, had he not survived the war, we wouldn't be here.

DNA Match : Cousin Lila

Made a DNA connection at 23andMe with cousin Lila, who shares 1 segment of DNA with my mother.  None of that DNA passed to me, at least not enough for Lila to show up as a match on my DNA relatives.

Lila and my mother match on chromosome 19:

Comparison	Chromosome	Start point	End point	Genetic distance	# SNPs
Lila vs. Gloria	19	1000000	11000000	25.4 cM	1957

We've been trading messages back and forth, and by looking at her family tree I was able to find the connection - through the Hadley family.  This is one of the Quaker lines that stretches pretty far back.

Lila  and Travis

1. Sixth cousin 3 times removed (common ancestor: Joshua Hadley & Patience Brown)

2. Eighth cousin twice removed (common ancestor: James Brown & Honour Clayton)

3. Ninth cousin twice removed (common ancestor: Richard Brown & Mary [brown])

4. Ninth cousin twice removed (common ancestor: Richard Brown & Mary [brown])

5. Ninth cousin twice removed (common ancestor: William Clayton & Prudence Lanckford)

6. Ninth cousin twice removed (common ancestor: William Clayton & Prudence Lanckford)

Joshua Hadley (1703-c1760) and wife Patience Brown (1712-1783) were our common ancestors.  Lila descends from son Simon (1737-1803), while I descend from daughter Mary (1739-1810).

The Hadley Society has a searchable database at WorldConnect.