Research and DNA tests uncovers the unanswered questions of two Kokomo residents – Kokomo Tribune

KOKOMO -- Barbara Trice hit a wall.

It was the wall of 1860, as she calls it, because she was unable to uncover historical information on her family prior to that year.

I started asking questions and I wrote some things down and I remembered some things as a teenager, Trice said of her research that has spanned years.

As a teenager living with her grandparents, she developed an interest in her ancestry. But it wasnt until five years ago that she decided to really take steps toward uncovering her past.

And it wasnt until June of 2016 the Kokomo-Howard County Public Library was able to assist Trice with her research.

Barbara had a lot of information and I used what she had to start because she knew her family and I didnt, said Amy Russell, head of the librarys Genealogy & Local History Department. And by taking the names that she had, we just took off and ran with it and did the research.

Russell was able to go back six generations in Trices familial history with research and uncovering census data. All of that information was presented Friday evening at the KHCPLs Exploring Your Story, DNA and genealogy research event.

The two-day event presented the genealogical research of two Kokomo residents, Trice and WWKI radio personality Tammy Lively.

For the last nine months, researchers at the library have been uncovering stories from the two womens past. The big reveal Friday showed the women a deeper look into their history, primarily focusing on their paternal sides.

DNA tests that they had taken months prior were also reveled to show their ethnic makeup and origins.

Each woman took two different DNA tests, while Trice took an additional test that was more advanced because of her African heritage.

Because slaves were property, and because they were property they werent recorded, Russell said about Trices need to take a more advanced DNA test.

For African Americans with slave ancestry, it is more difficult to locate documentation that traces a person back to their roots, which is why Trice hit a figurative wall in her own research.

Their names werent recorded, Russell said. With a white family the names keep going on and on, with an African American family at some point, it stops.

But Russell was able to uncover that Trices great-great-great grandfather on her mothers side, Ceasar Wilkerson, was a slave born in 1825 in Virginia. Research also showed that Wilkerson probably served in the U.S. colored troupes in the Civil War.

Like Trice, Lively had also been gathering information on her ancestry for years.

Her mother and grandmother would visit Indianapolis to do research, Lively recalls, resulting in a box full of information she was able to present to researchers.

I had a lot of information for them to start with, but I had barely any information about my fathers side of the family, Lively said.

She imagined that she could be related to royalty, and developed a fascination with the idea.

Ive always been fascinated by all things royal, Lively said. My husband teases me, and the big joke in country radio is [that] Im the queen of my double wide trailer.

But after revealing that her ancestry does in fact include the lineage of England Aristocrats, her jokes can now be backed by facts.

Ive always been fascinated with it, but I never ever dreamed that there was any connection, Lively said in awe following Fridays big reveal.

Research shows that on Livelys fathers side there are connections linking the family to King Henry VIII, who had many wives. From that lineage, a connection to Elizabeth I of England, daughter of Anne Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry VII, is made.

Discovering that she is a distant cousin to Elizabeth I of England left Lively awestruck. Not to mention, uncovering that somewhere down the line Vice President Dick Cheney is also related to Elizabeth I of England, making Lively and Cheney distantly related as well, proved to be the most surprising outcome of the night, Lively admitted.

I feel really compelled to just learn more and more about all the rest of my family, not just the fascinating things I found out about my fathers side today, but my mothers side, Lively said. Its just like an adventure now.

Both Lively and Trice also had their DNA results revealed by genealogy expert Michael Lacopo.

Lively learned she was 27 percent Irish, and also a bit Scandinavian. It was revealed that Trice was 37 percent Ghanaian, also with a sprinkle of Scandinavia.

But that breakdown should not be taken at face value, Lacopo explains, since there are still improvements to be made with ethnic DNA tests.

I always tell people, Ethnic breakdowns are dinner conversation, he said. Theyre interesting, they hold some truth, but they re not hard science.

Because ethnic DNA testing from Ancestry.com, 23andme and a rising number of genomics and biotechnology companies only test from a small database of DNA, its hard to accurately link people to a specific ethnic makeup that would be completely accurate.

The database for Ancestry.com only tests against 3000 people, Lacopo said, and thats not including the DNA of people who lived over 200 years ago.

So theres always going to be fault in those ethnic calculators, Lacopo said.

Going forward, he expects better developments in science. As more people continue to test their biological makeup, databases will increase allowing for more accurate matches, he added.

But the first step in uncovering your history isnt collecting a DNA sample or even searching online. Its talking to the eldest members of your family and collecting all of the historical data you can.

People are not renewable resources, Lacopo said. When they go, theyre gone. So ask lots of questions. Dig through their attics, find all the good stuff.

He added, Its like mining all of the information out of their heads. Heads first, computers second.

And now that Trice and Lively have both experienced how DNA and some research can uncover years of untold stories, they both hope to continue their research because the history never quite ends.

I am so elated, Trice said. I went through an up and a down through the period of time that they were looking because I know how hard it is to break the wall of 1860. But I had decided no matter how little they found or how much they found, that I would be happy with that.

For Lively, this is just the start of her adventure. She hopes others attempt to embark on the same journey.

We should know who we are, she said. It doesnt change my life in any tangible way, but its those wonderful stories that I can pass on to my own granddaughter now. I want her to know her family history.

Correction: An earlier edit identified King Henry VII as having many wives. It has been corrected to King Henry VIII.

Follow this link:
Research and DNA tests uncovers the unanswered questions of two Kokomo residents - Kokomo Tribune