Strange and Interesting Results

[rmm0484]

All;

A while ago, I was contacted by an Individual with the last name of Belanger, who said that FTDNA results indicated that we were closely related (second cousin) even though we did not have the same surname. However, that surname does show up in my mother's French Canadian/Ojibway line. Sure enough, I had him pegged as a third cousin, since we share the same great great grandfather on my mother's side.

Since he had given me access to his ftdna account to help with a Dr Mcdonald analysis, about a week or so ago I looked for his other matches, out of curiosity, and discovered that he also matched a number of the Chisholms. This was a great shock to me, since the Chisholms are extensively represented on my male cousin William Graham's paternal dna haplotype of I1d1. I downloaded his Y DNA matches, and compared them to William Graham's results, and they also match on a number of other families, but none so extensively as the Chisholms. BTW William does not match too many of the Grahams.

My research has so far brought me to the conclusion that these three families (Graham/Chisholm/Belanger) are related somewhere in Norman or Flemish Europe before the Norman Conquest of England. The Belanger line stayed in France/Normandy (and later migrated to Canada), while the de Graham/de Chesholm ancestors migrated to the UK with William I (and later migrated to the USA, Canada, AT and NZ).

There is anecdotal evidence that the Grahams and Chishoms are descended from noble lineage prior to the Conquest, possibly from Denmark, Normandy, or Belgium, but the jury is still out on that one. Although the Graham coat of arms is identical to the de Hesdin arms, there are competing theories about the origin of William de Graham, the first Graham recorded in the UK. See http://clan-graham-society.org/origins.html for more. There may be several unrelated branches of Grahams, and the 1Id1 line may represent the Norman/Flemish line.

What I do know is that the Flemish, Norman and Belgian nobility were very close and tended to marry and take care of each other. These lines pre-date Charlemagne, and it would be exciting to connect with them. If I am correct, those results will help with other families such as the Chisholms. However, I am proceeding with caution. Some of my early attempts at genealogy led to wild speculation, and I am trying to locate documented sources along with some dna conjecture.

The bottom line is that I am more closely related than I thought to an individual (maternal AND paternal), although deeply related on the paternal side. These deep relations may be an indication of the true origin of some ancient family lines.

[mollyblum]

I think you may be related to my father's half-brother. My father was given up for adoption and I found his birth mother and also a son that she had kept several years ago. His birth mother was in a coma and died 2 weeks later but his brother and he kept in contact.

His brother thought he knew who my fathers birth father was as he assumed they had the same father. He was married and apparently was rather prolific in his charms. Anyway, we all assumed they were full siblings and that they had several half-siblings from his birth father's marriage.

I had my brother take the Y-DNA 67 market test at Ancestry and our result came back as R1b with over 30 matches straight down the line (two within three generations) to men all with the last name of Eddy. This is not the last name of the man who was assumed to be the birth father of my father.

I had Ronald (my father's brother) take the Y-DNA test and his came back as I1(d1). He matches a Graham within 3 generations, someone named Belanger in 7 and then another named Chisolm. The Graham match told me that her info is problematic bc the male who could be a possible match was actually adopted or came from England and may not actually possess the last name of Graham. He was wild in his youth or some kind of story. Anyway, I believe it cannot be a coincidence that you share the same names as Ronald in your matches.

Perhaps you could email me and help me in trying to find out the name of his birth father? Perhaps it really is the man he believed it to be and there was a NPE.

Ronald and my father's birth mother was Beatrice Schanche who lived in Rochester NY and whose father was from Norway (Trondheim). She was born in North Dakota but spent the majority of her life in Rochester. Ronald was born in 1938 in Rochester, NY.

Thanks,
AB

[rmm0484]

"I had Ronald (my father's brother) take the Y-DNA test and his came back as I1(d1). He matches a Graham within 3 generations, someone named Belanger in 7 and then another named Chisolm. The Graham match told me that her info is problematic bc the male who could be a possible match was actually adopted or came from England and may not actually possess the last name of Graham. He was wild in his youth or some kind of story. Anyway, I believe it cannot be a coincidence that you share the same names as Ronald in your matches. "
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Actually, that was me, assuming that my grandfather William H. was adopted because he did not match the main Graham line DNA!! (But you know what happens to people who AssuMe....). William was supposedly born at Fall River,MA in 1878 (but they have no record of this birth under this name). Supposedly, he was sent to England after his parents died, about 1888 to 1895 (estimated). We show a picture of grandfather as a teen at Ashton under Lyne around that time.

Not sure of birth and death years of GGF William N. but can estimate that it was around 1845 to 1888 ( +/-5 years ). This man worked on the Chicago "L" as an engineer, so he lived in Chicago or thereabouts as well. William, my Grandfather was not wild in his youth, but I consider him to be a black sheep, since no one will say much about him.

I would be glad to help you connect the dots, it is a great mystery! You can PM me at connie_g at hotmail dot com.