This project was what it was, plain and simple. A study of Y DNA and mt DNA of a select group from a select area. Not that hard to understand.
There were some descendants that didn’t fit the bill because their lines weren’t direct lines, via DNA. That doesn’t mean they weren’t descendants. There were other collateral lines that didn’t fit the bill either, again that doesn’t mean they weren’t kin.
As far as the AP news story, it was pure Yellow Journalism. No fault of the writer, she was paid to write a news story that would sell.
No way she could have become an instant expert on both the Melungins and Genetic Genealogy . Both are extremely complicated subjects. But bless her heart in her attempt to write a good article.
The newer DNA Test, atDNA, like FTDNA’s Family finder are not showing anything different than the Melungeon Project did, still no Native American DNA.
Below is a snip of my Family Finder ‘myOrigins’, even though my Y Haplogroup is African, atDNA is showing a much bigger story:
Below are two snips of Family Finder matches I have, both are descendants of the mixed bloods of Newman Ridge Tennessee. The first one is from a 2nd to 4th cousin who self identifies as ‘Cherokee’, his Y haplogroup is European R1b, but as you can see he is showing a higher % of African than I have. 95 % European, 5% African.
The second is from a female, also a 2nd to 4th cousin, with a much higher % of African than me, 89% European,11% African. Both are Gibson/ Collins descendants:
I’ve downloaded my raw data from Family Finder to GEDmatch, and it is showing a very small amount of Native American DNA. I’ve also just ordered the National Geographic Geno 2.0 test to see what else I might find.
In conclusion, I haven't seen any criticism of this study from anyone in the Genetic Genealogy community, in fact the opposite. As far as the uneducated critics, well bless their hearts, someday they will be asking:
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