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Late last week I found two different DNA matches on AncestryDNA who are direct descendants of Pocahontas through her son Thomas Rolfe. They both share a common Bollings line. Yesterday, I found a third match on AncestryDNA with this same line of descent from Pocahontas. I’m adopted and my birth family is mixed-race African American {Highland Scots/African on my birth father’s side and English/African on my birth mother’s side} I do know I have Native American on both sides but have been unable to confirm a tribe as of yet {I have 3 out of 4 Native American markers on my 18 Marker Ethnic Panel provided by DNA Consultants. My birth father’s family came from the North {Pennsylvania and Delaware} and Georgia while my birth mother’s family mostly came from Virginia.
It’s funny, but my birth mother’s aunt claimed our family was descended from Pocahontas down in Virginia. She said we have “Powhatan” ancestry. She told me this through interviews on phone and email. I didn’t believe her but now I think there might be something to this after all. I sent messages to these three matches and I look forward from hearing from them! There may be a small chance my great-aunt was right.
I haven’t heard back from any of the matches yet but I should hear back any day now. I just wanted to ask anyone here what they think on this potential connection. I have not been able to view the segment/s we all match on yet but based on the information given above, what does anyone here think? What should I do with this information and how should I interpret it for now?
battyboy12;38493 wrote: Late last week I found two different DNA matches on AncestryDNA who are direct descendants of Pocahontas through her son Thomas Rolfe. They both share a common Bollings line. Yesterday, I found a third match on AncestryDNA with this same line of descent from Pocahontas. I’m adopted and my birth family is mixed-race African American {Highland Scots/African on my birth father’s side and English/African on my birth mother’s side} I do know I have Native American on both sides but have been unable to confirm a tribe as of yet {I have 3 out of 4 Native American markers on my 18 Marker Ethnic Panel provided by DNA Consultants. My birth father’s family came from the North {Pennsylvania and Delaware} and Georgia while my birth mother’s family mostly came from Virginia.
It’s funny, but my birth mother’s aunt claimed our family was descended from Pocahontas down in Virginia. She said we have “Powhatan” ancestry. She told me this through interviews on phone and email. I didn’t believe her but now I think there might be something to this after all. I sent messages to these three matches and I look forward from hearing from them! There may be a small chance my great-aunt was right.
I haven’t heard back from any of the matches yet but I should hear back any day now. I just wanted to ask anyone here what they think on this potential connection. I have not been able to view the segment/s we all match on yet but based on the information given above, what does anyone here think? What should I do with this information and how should I interpret it for now?
A little skepticism is healthy. Although over the years I’ve found out that family stories I used to be skeptical of turned out to be more true than I could have guessed. DNA results were one of the things that showed me this. Looking at those matches I think you would have to know what part of their DNA is tied specifically to the Rolfe line. Without knowing that the relation could be through a different ancestor.
MarcSnelling;38494 wrote: A little skepticism is healthy. Although over the years I’ve found out that family stories I used to be skeptical of turned out to be more true than I could have guessed. DNA results were one of the things that showed me this. Looking at those matches I think you would have to know what part of their DNA is tied specifically to the Rolfe line. Without knowing that the relation could be through a different ancestor.
Of course. I have reached out to them and asked them to upload to Gedmatch to compare on where we match.
When we did the FTDNA mtDNA test it came up with about 15 matches for my mother’s H1as haplogroup. One of those is a present-day Rolfe.
Can you share the GedMatch kit IDs of these matches you mention?
I am also seeing Rolfe-Bolling lines among our DNA cousins. A540385 for one.
This line has Robert Bolling 1646-1709 m. Jane Rolfe 1650-1676. This line later marries into Sizemore descending from George Edward Sizemore 1750-1822 and Anna Elizabeth Hart 1751-1814.
Hannah Rebecca Nikitie Arthur 1731-1834 and Martha Rebecca ‘Patsy’ Arthur 1751-1840 are also in this line, listed as Cherokee.
I’m not sure where the match is to our lines as there are a few name/location possibilities; Bailey, Smith and Lester of NC/VA/WV. The Smith ancestor in this tree follows the same pattern in ours – showing up in the early 1800s with a birthplace of VA and no other info:
Mary Polly Smith 1827-1881 marrying Thomas Mastin ‘Chet’ Lester) 1815-1884 having daughter Nichatie Cherokee Lester 1853-1940.
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