Serena Windham and Beth Ruyle: 2010

10/20/10

Oldest Known Maternal Line Ancestor

The oldest known maternal line ancestor was Elisabeth Godwin. She married Amos Smith.

A file contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Lori and David Godwin GodwinGA@aol.com FAMILY RECORD - MARRIAGES (Page 677 of Bible) indicates that an Amos Smith and Elisabeth Godwin was Married January the 1st 1824. This may be the Young and Barrow cousins ancestor.

Elizabeth Godwin (War Widow with land grant in Smithville, GA)

Martha “Mattie” Carolyn Smith b. May 16, 1847, d. Dec 20, 1891 (Smithville, GA named for her). She married John Thomas "Jack" Barrow, born July 22, 1847 in Morgan County, d May 1924, buried at Mt. Zion Methodist Church, Smithville, Ga.

Mable (Mae) Barrow b Oct 19, 1882; married Charles Oscar (Charlie) Young on March 20, 1901; Young born February 22, 1864, lived in Lee County, Georgia.

Mable Young b Jul 17, 1924 d Nov 20, 2003

All daughters of daughters of Elisabeth Godwin share the same or very similar mtDNA Haplogroup, explained in the entries below.
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No one knows the true relationship of the current Godwins to the famous Godwins of England, but it is fun to speculate that our women are direct descendants of this famous family. Too bad William the Conqueror won over Harold Godwin in 1966.

"Godwin, Earl of Wessex (Old English: Gōdwine) (990 – 15 April 1053), was one of the most powerful lords in England under theDanish king Cnut the Great and his successors. Cnut made him the first Earl of Wessex. Godwin was the father of KingHarold Godwinson and Edith of Wessex, wife of King Edward the Confessor.

More on the links below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin,_Earl_of_Wessex

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin_family_tree

Location of Godwins in England

DNA

More about Beth's DNA at:

ruyledna.blogspot.com

In October 2010 Beth Ruyle took a genetic test to determine the mtDNA haplogroup for her and all the females in her maternal line. Her mtDNA type is J. All of Beth's relatives in the female line will have an identical or very similar J Haplogroup.

DNA theory posits that all people are descended from one woman. This woman lived in Africa. Each woman passes on her mtDNA to her children. Each one of her daughters pass on this mtDNA to her children.

Over time there are small changes to the mtDNA. These divisions enable us to follow the migrations of different groups of individuals by their mtDNA.

There are seven founding female mtDNA lineages in Europe. J is one of those founding lineages. Brian Sykes is a genetics expert and author who dramatizes the journey by giving the haplogroup a name - in our case J = Jasmine.

"When Jasmine’s clan formed, the Last Ice Age was at an end. Jasmine’s clan lived in permanent quarters and began to plant seeds, raise crops, and herd animals. Today, 17 percent of Europeans are in the clan of Jasmine. One group followed the Mediterranean coast and found its way to the west of Britain, and is common in Cornwall, Wales, and the west of Scotland. The other is common in the central portion of northern Europe."

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Brian Sykes in "The Seven Daughters of Eve" dramatizes and discusses the founding genetic lineages of Europe.

The information below is provided the review below written on Oct 21, 2008 by Sara E. Lewis.