Don't Make Me Explain It

The company that did the DNA testing sent the names of two people that they determine are paternally related to me within 10 generations. This is good news since I am able to trace back 5 generations already. If the results are correct - and who wants to argue with DNA? - then I calculate that the two people and I share a common ancestor circa the mid-17th century. Sounds like leads worth pursuing! After all, we've just celebrated Thanksgiving and the Pilgrims are a full 13 generations back in my lineage. Ten generations sounds doable indeed.

For the sake of anonymity let's say that my maiden name is "Smith." One of the things that I was hoping to accomplish was to determine the etymology of said name. It is either originally English like I inherited it or an Anglicized version of its German equivalent of "Schmidt." People of both surnames lived in Virginia where my earliest known "Smith" ancestor lived.

The surnames of the two close matches were neither "Smith" nor "Schmidt." They were more like "Jones" and "Heinz." Not even close. I decided to contact the two gentlemen anyway.

Mr. Heinz did not respond. Mr. Jones responded immediately but was of no help whatsoever. Not only does he live smack-dab in the middle of England but he is incredulous that he could possibly be related to anyone in America today! Never mind the fact that I live in America and my dad's DNA is an almost identical match to his own!

Then there is that little matter of the difference between the Smith and Jones surnames. He asked me, "How could this have happened?!"

As the mother of four, I've answered my fair share of embarrassing questions concerning human reproduction, but suffice it to say that I am not about to start explaining such things to someone no more closely related than 10 generations! Do you think he'd understand what is meant by a "non-paternal" event? Probably not. If Brits in boats boggle his mind one can only imagine what birds and bees would do to him!