Jamboree Cousin Connections: Check Those Name Badges!

Picture this:

You're at the Genetic Genealogy Conference in Burbank, California. It's a hot, sunny June Thursday, and you're grateful to be indoors where the air is cool and the atmosphere is charged with excitement.

You're in a room full of strangers. No, not really strangers... this is your tribe, the people who share your passion for genealogy and family history.

You smile, say hello, and make small talk with those around you.

But do you look at the name tags?  Do you actually take the time to read that person's name and what is printed on their badge?

You should. 

You just never know.... you may be talking to a cousin you never even knew you had!

Cousin Connections.

They happen year after year at Jamboree and at the Genetic Genealogy Conference.  

Here's a Cousin Connection from 2015:

At Thursday's (fabulous!!!!) DNA day, I saw a woman with the same middle

name as me.

Sure enough--we are both ORDWAY's !! Both descend from a "famous" witch in

the family & now connect on Facebook and she has me in an Ordway group on

Facebook.

Haven't had time to do any more work on our shared lines yet, but we did

invite to Ancestry trees and will be in touch, I am sure.

Cool, huh?

Christine ORDWAY Klukkert

Who met

Jane ORDWAY Carmen

We can't wait to hear about the Cousin Connections at Jamboree 2016!

"The Future of the Past: Genetic Genealogy 2016"
Genetic Genealogy - Thursday, June 2, 2016

Southern California Genealogy Jamboree
Friday - Sunday, June 3-5, 2016

www.genealogyjamboree.com
jamboree@scgsgenealogy.com
818.843.7247

Cousin Connection at Jamboree - A Speaker Connection

We've seen serendipity at work at Jamboree many times. Countless stories of cousin connections have been shared with the Jamboree teams over the past years.  

Here's a great connection that was shared at Jamboree 2015, and continues to evolve.

From Deborah (Rupp) Volper, SCGS Member, and Jamboree Volunteer:

This story is about my Cousin Connection to David R. Dowell. I got to meet David for the first time on DNA Day at Jamboree 2015.  It was a wonderful experience to meet and get to know each other there. My mother was Ruby (Dowell) Rupp. In my Dowell lineage, there is a brick wall with my fourth great grandfather Martin Dowell, born about 1803, who married Mary Hall in 1830 in Montgomery County, Ohio.

My third cousin Pamela and I have been searching for answers concerning this brick wall. We had both taken autosomal DNA tests but found no Dowell surname matches. My mother's brother and her two sisters also agreed to take the autosomal test. Again, no Dowell surname matches.

Next, my uncle and Pamela's father (Dowell 2nd cousins) agreed to take the yDNA test at Family Tree DNA. The tests were ordered and we joined the Dowell DNA Surname Project administered by David Dowell.

Lo and behold, my uncle's 67-marker test and Pamela's father's 37-marker test match David exactly. So, we now know that our Dowell family line extends to the Maryland Dowell family of Philip Dowell (b: about 1673 in Maryland).

We still have to find the parents and possible siblings of our Martin to be able to connect him to his line. The results of our testing have given us hope that we will be able to find the missing links.

David and I also found a connection through our respective Richardson family lines. David is an 8th cousin twice removed to Pamela and me in this line. He is expecting our Dowell family connection to be closer.

2016 update from David Dowell:  Just this week Deborah got back from the FTDNA lab a more extensive test report on her uncle’s yDNA. He is an exact 111 marker match for me AND for the hypothesized 111 markers of my 6th great-grandfather who died in 1733. So far Deborah’s uncle is the only cousin who has been an exact match for me and for our North American founder.

It just goes to show that at Jamboree, you really can make connections and important discoveries that can help solve family mysteries and break down those pesky brick walls!

We look forward to hearing about all kinds of cousin connections at Jamboree 2016!

See you there!

Thank you to Deborah Volper and David Dowell for sharing their connection with Jamboree. 

Cousin Connections at Genealogy Jamboree

You might be wondering "What are the odds of finding a cousin in the crowd at a genealogy conference?"

The answer - pretty darn good!

Over the years, Jamboree has been witness to many serendipitous connections.

You just never know...the person sitting next to you or smiling at you as you are walking down the hall just might be relative.

It just proves that at Jamboree, you are among family.
So take the opportunity to say hello. Introduce yourself.
Look at name badges.
There might be a surname or two you recognize from your family tree!

At Jamboree 2015 SCGS Volunteers Janice Noyes Atha and Lynne Parmenter discovered they shared common roots in a Puritan village in Massachusetts.

As Lynne stated, "we may be cousins 12 generations and many "removed" apart, but we found each other! No matter how far apart, it's always thrilling to make that connection, share research and ultimately attach new cousins to your family tree."

Cousin Connections.

They happen year after year at Jamboree.

We can't wait to hear about the cousin connections that will be made this year!

"The Future of the Past: Genetic Genealogy 2016"
Genetic Genealogy - Thursday, June 2, 2016

Southern California Genealogy Jamboree
Friday - Sunday, June 3-5, 2016

www.genealogyjamboree.com
jamboree@scgsgenealogy.com
818.843.7247