DNA and Me

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In 2000 or so, my Executive Secretary stuck her head in my office.  "Someone on the 'phone says he is Giles Derrick, for you.  Do you know him?"

"No, but I'll take it," I said, bored with whatever I'd been working on.  Using my official's voice, I said: "Hello? This is Byron Derrick."

The voice on the other end of the line said: "Are you the Byron Derrick whose father was Walter George Derrick?"

I am indeed, but I didn't have time to decide whether I wanted to tell some stranger this fact.

"Because if you are, then I think I may be related to you."

I was still quiet.

"And I hope you will take a DNA test so we can tell, for sure!"


So we talked for a while, and Giles managed to convince me that he was doing genealogical research only.  He had a low-cost DNA test sent to me.  I paid $75, I believe, for the test and sure enough, the results showed that Giles and I were distantly related.

My dad had been an orphan, and his father had abandoned his mother in Savannah before Dad had even been born.  Dad didn't know anything at all about his father's parents or ancestors.  Giles Derrick and his other distant cousin Gale Reddick, on the other hand, had lots of information about our ancestors.  Perfect!

As I learned, Johann Darik and his family had arrived in Savannah from Germany on The Three Sisters in 1737.  Johann had three sons with him: Peter, Michael, and Johann II.

According to Giles, Gale, Giles himself, and I were all descended from Johann II's son Jacob, our g-g-g-grandfather.  Giles and Gale were descended from one of Jacob's sons, while I was descended from another.  

This DNA approach to ordinary family history obviously had some real advantages.

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