This is one of the coolest things that's happened to me, personally, through my participation on WikiTree.
I just got the news that I'm a 37 of 37 marker Y-chromosome DNA match with a Mr. Keith Whitten.
Keith and I met through WikiTree a few months ago. He found one of my profiles (cousin bait in action) and sent me a private message saying that we might be distant cousins.
Keith said he thought that my brickwall Whitten ancestor, Samuel H. Whitten, was the brother of his ancestor, Richard Eli Whitten.
Honestly, I was a little skeptical about our connection. Keith's sources were second and third-hand family genealogies. I'd done as much research as I could years ago and couldn't find any record of Samuel Whitten's parents. Frank Gill and others even helped here on G2G and couldn't break through the brickwall.
I asked Keith if he'd be willing to take a Y-chromosome DNA test and he readily agreed. Over the weekend the results came back and like I said, we're a perfect match. Yay!
What makes this especially cool is that behind my brickwall was a Revolutionary War veteran, Richard Whitten (1763-1845).
Mags helped dig up solid sources for him, including his pension application:
Richard Whitten, aged 57, of Cornish, July 5, 1820. Private in Capt. Williams's Co., Col. Sprout's Regt., Mass. line. Original declaration made Apr. 13, 1818. Pension No. 7,468. Affirmed. Family: Mercy, wife, aged 55; Richard, son, aged 16; Samuel, son, aged 14; Mary, daughter, aged 12.
Happy Fourth of July to me!
Chris
