Family Finder DNA results

I wish I could get a handle on my results. I just don't quite grasp how to interpret or evaluate the information. I wonder about the accuracy of the results and I wonder about the statistical interpretation.

The traditional genealogy paper trail suggests my Dutch immigrant ancestor from the early 1600s was from southern Denmark or northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein), but I can't see how that would generate such a large Scandinavian percentage. The Southern Europe and Middle Eastern is a bit of a surprise, too. I wonder if those are just artifacts of my ancient ancestry.

Filling the gaps

I have wondered for some time how much my great-grandfather recalled from his childhood and how much contact he had with his siblings, if any.

Recently, some early issues of the Cameron County Press (PA) were digitized and made available through the Library of Congress project, Chronicling America. I did a few searches (okay, lots of searches because I have lots of family connections in Cameron County).

Among the items I found:

From 1902:

And from several months after his death in 1909:

So, in spite of receiving vague information back in 1976 about where Albert was born and who his parents were--eventually concluding he lost touch with his family--I now know he did have contact with at least his sister after lhe left NY when he was 21. Maybe there was a stronger family connection than I realized.

I wonder why, after 25 years, he went back to Auburn for a visit.  I wonder if the death of a daughter a few months before his trip motivated him to reconnect.

At any rate, digitized newspapers are a great resource. They help fill in the gaps with real life events and details. Can't wait for the next batch.

It's official-General Society of Mayflower Descendants

My application has been approved. I'm so excited to have my research validated. I first suspected the Mayflower connection two years ago. I wasn't interested in applying at the time, but as I gathered documents just for purposes of general family research, the case seemed to build itself.

My 10th great-grandfather was Stephen Hopkins, Mayflower passenger.