Hutterite Cousins Possible?

23andme sent me an automated email today, saying my daughter had fifteen new cousins. 

I have ceased actively trying to make new genetic connections, since the searching is often futile and I am not sure what my real objective in looking is, or should be. 

However, I found something interesting in the new cousins which I am not going to use to make grandiose religious genealogies.  It's just cool to learn about new people. 

Anyhoo, some of these new cousins have the rare mitochondrial DNA of X2C1. I found out this gene, which is rare in Europeans is found commonly in the friendly-sounding German religion known as Hutterites. Apparently they are Anabaptists and as such have a link to the Amish and the Mennonites. 

23andme article can be found here.

 

I think this is most likely a link to my husband.  He has members in his family tree who were Amish or Mennonite.   At some point at least one, maybe more, became Mormon.  Also this individual has J man-DNA. Which is interesting since I have also heard there may be a Jewish link to Mennonites. ( Need more sources.)

Confusingly, the J grandpa is an adoptive grandparent. So we aren't sure if my husband has a genetic link to the Anabaptists or not. 

Maybe this piece of information indicates that he does.  Or maybe it is just a fun and fabulous coincidence, further illustrating the connectivity of the human family. 

William Wines Phelps --

One thing I did like growing up in the LDS church was the music.  I enjoyed singing with a group and the feeling of belonging that brings.  I am sure many people stay in their respective churches more from the spiritual feeling you get from singing as part of a group than from the rhetoric and tall tales you are expected to digest as reality.  I think I probably stayed in church longer than most persons with a similar agnostic bent, because I accompanied the singing on the piano frequently during various church meetings.

One of the songs I actually really liked that my husband informed me just now is "creepy" is one of the songs written by William Wines Phelps,  a man with a pretty interesting life story, who went in and out of allegiance to Mormonism.  (I still like the song and do not feel it is at all dogmatic -- just full of friendly wonder.)

The song is called "If You Could Hie to Kolob".  Kolob being the planet God lives on, according to Mormon theology as dictated by Joseph Smith.  Rereading the lyrics while thinking about the possible genetic origins of  Mormons gave new life to the tune for me:

There is no end to matter

There is no end to space

There is no end to spirit

There is no end to race. 

There is no end to glory

There is no end to love

There is no end to being

There is no death above


Husband thinks I am reading too much into the "race", and must think that means we are all little hamsters on our running wheel, forever trying to get ahead of everyone else.  Well, Mormonism sometimes feels like that, but I don't think that's what the line means.

Here's a photo of the author of those lines:

I am interested in his pheno-genotype just based on his picture, and also on his biography.  I was chatting with a poster on a 23andme forum with a fellow of mostly British origins who studied genealogy and DNA for a career, and who lives in Canada with the Mohawk nation.  While I was wildly speculating about the genetic origins of Mormons, I brought up a photo of W.W. Phelps.  He informed me that there was an individual by the last name of Phelps who temporarily joined the Mohawks in Canada, but then returned to English society in America.  Whether there is a true link there or not, I do not know.  But, I can tell you some interesting facts I learned about him reading Wikipedia.

Born in Hanover Township, New Jersey, his father Enon Phelps and mother Mehitable Goldsmith moved the family to Homer, New York, in 1800. 

In 1827 he relocated to Canandaigua, New York, where he began publishing and edited the anti-Masonic newspaper Ontario Phoenix through 1828. Phelps has been referred to by Dean Jessee as "one of [the] founders" of the anti-Masonic movement in New York.<sup>[1]:650-51

(Interesting that he is anti-Masonic, given the presumed Masonic bent of the Mormon faith.)

 a I suppose I am just highlighting these facts and omitting other details because they hint more at ideological, political, genetic and religious identity.  I am interested in the synergistic nature of Mormonism, and I believe that can be evidenced through struggles between conflicting ideology.  I'm curious about the name Goldsmith.  I wonder why he's Anti-Masonic.  I know he has mostly English heritage.  And I am continuing to explore the tension that gives rise to the formation of a "new race", if such a thing is possible, or was desired by early Mormon pioneers.  Curious why people feel the need to break away, and why others decide to join them......</sup>

Photo-- Almira Mack Scobey Covey

This is my 4th great grandmother, Almira Mack.  She was Joseph Smith's first cousin.  

23andMe Voted me off the Native American Island

So, I first got tested with 23 and Me.

I am happy with their service, for all the information I learned from a very talented and informed group of commenters in their community forums.  I still would recommend them, despite the fact that they appeared to make a decision, based on my chatter on aforementioned forums about the possibility of Native ancestry for Joseph Smith.  There could be some other explanation, but since they didn't provide me with one, I'm not going to bother to have them explain themselves.

They originally assigned me a Native American segment on chromosome 17.  The same segment appears on my dad's Doug McDonald painting.  It also appears on my daughter's 23 and Me painting.

So they assigned it to me, and then they took it away, and I have screenshots to prove it.    I do feel I was targeted, since they failed to remove it from my daughter.  It seems pretty silly, because I am asking these questions out of genuine curiosity, motivated by questions brought up from growing up Mormon, and not out of disrespect for anyone.  I know there could be some other explanation, but if the other explanation is about new information found, then they are a bit remiss in their thoroughness.  To wit, my daughter's DNA.

Original painting --

New chromosome painting, no longer showing 0.1% Native American:

It looks like I now have more Scandinavian.....They also seem less certain about my Southern European.  Maybe they were trying to give me credit somehow for what I found out about my dad's 8th chromosome being Finnish.  The problem is, I was talking about the 8th chromosome segment on my dad who was tested with Family Tree DNA, not the segment three generations share on chromosome 17 that has yet to be fully explored.

Oh well.....I don't suppose any of this is "gospel" just yet....that includes all of my speculation and all of theirs.  This was the "speculative" view.

Photo -- Another Smith

JFS

Photo - John Smith

Photo of John Smith, son of Asael Smith

Photo - George A. Smith

George A. Smith, son of John Smith

Photo -- Solomon Mack III

Grandson of Solomon Mack -- Solomon Mack III

Photo -- Chilion Mack

Chilion Mack -- Grandson of Solomon Mack

Book of Mormon Intro -- Jews, Gentiles, Lamanites

 The intro to the Book of Mormon is part of what makes me curious about Joseph Smith's racial identity.  It appears that this book is supposed to be designed to bring harmony to a racially divided world, although the solution proposed is to make everyone conform to one worldview only.  I think most would agree to that.  

Clearly I haven't read the Book of Mormon in a while, and my reasons for reading previously were not really interest-driven.  But I, like the Eco Kosher Rabbe,  had the impression that Mormons were claiming some kind of kinship to the Jews.  And also claiming that Native Americans are the descendants of Jews.  So I looked up the introduction to the Book of Mormon, to look at it a little closer. 

This is the paragraph I am interested in:

Written to the Lamanites, who are a remnant of the house of Israel and also to Jew and Gentile—Written by way of commandment, and also by the spirit of prophecy and of revelation—Written and sealed up, and hid up unto the Lord, that they might not be destroyed—To come forth by the gift and power of God unto the interpretation thereof—Sealed by the hand of Moroni, and hid up unto the Lord, to come forth in due time by way of the Gentile—

So here, clearly it looks like Joseph Smith has what I think history has proven to be a friendly, if perhaps patronizing attitude towards both Jews and Native Americans.  And he's not really calling himself a Jew here or a "Lamanite".  He is obviously the Gentile, whose job it is to bring the book to the modern world.  It is interesting that he isn't referred to as  a Christian, though.  He is still using a Jewish moniker to describe his identity.

Joseph Smith's Maternal Line

In many ways, what I am proposing about Joseph Smith having Amerindian ancestry is likely to ruffle some feathers, because so much is already known about his ancestry.  Mormons are famous for doing genealogy; it would be somewhat astonishing to not know such an essential fact about its leader's history.  Or more interestingly, to know and keep it secret....

Anyway, to kind of keep myself in check, and to find out more about what is known, I went to the library and found a book called "Joseph Smith's New England Heritage" by Richard Lloyd Anderson.  I'm mostly skimming the book to find more strictly biographical details.

Here is a pedigree chart from the book, detailing Joseph Smith's maternal line:

Nothing particularly native sounding.  "Mack" is said to trace to Scotland on his paternal side.  Some of the information here is a little on the sketchy side, as in the trail ends sooner than on other lines.  I have seen one forum commenter on a genealogy board stating something about Solomon Mack being secretive about his genealogy, but she did not elaborate.  I have yet to figure out what she was referring to.

Ebenezer Mack's mother, Sarah Bagley  (1663-1720), has very early Massachusetts ancestry, but it all appears to originate in England.  My records (pilfered as they are) suggest some members of this line in Massachussets in the early 1600's -- well before America was an independent country.

The Hannah Huntley line appears to be mostly English in origin as well, although she does have a Balthasar DeWolf in her line who came from either Poland or Germany, and he at least may have been Jewish.  More on that later (a lot more!).  Lots of Connecticut and Massachusetts.

I have less information on the Lydia Gates line, but much of what I have states it again traces to England.  A few lines dead end for me in  Massachussetts and Connecticut, but names seem to suggest more of the same -- England.

So, if we are to suppose that it is possible that Joseph Smith had some kind of Amerindian ancestry through his mother, the most likely candidate for that position would be Ebenezer Mack.  None of the other lines appear likely to have any Native ancestry for any reason, if the records are accurate.  Even if they did, it would be very difficult to measure with any accuracy through DNA testing where it is now, since autosomal DNA signals are not as strong after about five generations.  Plus DNA testing has no easy way now of separating your ancestors to find out who contributed what. 

 It is more like me without my glasses trying to guess who a person approaching me is and making multiple simplified guesses.  It gives an interesting idea of who I am and who I am like, but really isn't that great for teasing out single ancestors from multiple generations back.  Although you can find people who match you on certain segments of DNA, and if those people are willing to respond to you AND they really know their family history well, you may be able to make some stronger conclusions.  

"Audacious Women: Early British Mormon Immigrants"

I found a new book to explore when I get some free time.  It's called "Audacious Women: Early British Mormon Immigrants"

Of course I like the female take -- about women, written by a female author, who of course is likely motivated to write the thing based on her own family background -- kind of like why I am writing this thing.

Also, while reading it, I realized that the collective visage of the Mormon woman was much disparaged during the Victorian era.  I'm getting the impression that persons like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle & Mark Twain were perpetuating the idea that my feminine ancestors were hideous ogres.  Which is funny because I previously read blogger Joanna Brooks refuting a more current notion that all Mormon women are smokin' hot.  I believe she said something along the lines of -- 'Anyone who thinks all Mormons are beautiful hasn't met enough Mormons.'

I do want to know more about these women who left their native land and what the impetus was for doing so.  The review gets the impression that others of British society would have looked down on them for leaving and joining a new religion that was getting some bad press.

I'm including some photos of my British ancestresses that I think are quite fetching, as well as one of my husband's Irish grandmothers.  I have some other photos which are much less flattering to other family members, and I won't be including them in this post.  Out of respect for the dead, really.  Also, I really hate it when people tag unflattering pictures of me on Facebook, and as a living person I have some control over what others will see.  These women do not.