Genea-Musings: Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Your Paternal Grandmother's Patrilineal Line

    

     This is my first time on Saturday Night Genealogy Fun. I have been spending the last week unloading my step mothers apartment and could use a little relaxation. Now that I think about it, a male cousin through the VanGilder line contacted me a couple of years ago saying that he was having his Y-DNA tested. When he received his results it only lead to puzzlement. He found he had Native American genetics.

Genea-Musings: Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Your Paternal Grandmother's Patrilineal Line 

Provide a list of your paternal grandmother's patrilineal line. Answer these questions:

What was your father's mother's maiden name?

Sarah Margaret VanGilder born March 2, 1898 in Morgantown, West Virginia 

What was your father's mother's father's name? 

George Ethelbert VanGilder born January 27, 1861 in Morgantown, West Virginia 

What is your father's mother's father's patrilineal line? That is, his father's father's father's ... back to the most distant male ancestor in that line?

 

-John Oliphant VanGilder born February 22, 1849 in Monongalia County (West) Virginia. 

-Jacob VanGilder born January 20, 1797 in Frederick County, Maryland.

-Jacob VanGilder born May 13, 1752 in the Netherlands.  

This has been disproved through DNA.  The VanGilder line descends from Native Americans.  When family members, who were interested in genealogy back in the early 1900's, particularly women interested in joining the DAR through Jacob's service, they assumed that with the surname VanGilder, that he would naturally have come from the Netherlands.  NOT SO.

Can you identify male sibling(s) of your father's mother, and any living male descendants from those male sibling(s)? 

My grandmother, Sarah Margaret VanGilder Hughes did not have any brothers. 

If so, you have a candidate to do a Y-DNA test on that patrilineal line. If not, you may have to find male siblings, and their descendants, of the next generation back, or even further. 

That would be the brothers of George Ethelbert VanGilder and their sons since George had four daughters. 

-Jacob Young VanGilder--his 3 sons are all deceased and their sons are, too.

 

-Joseph Hill VanGilder--One of his great grandsons did the DNA test and was surprised to find that he had a Native American gene and we couldn't figure out where it came from.

The Native American Link

     When Ancestry began the option for DNA testing, there was a page of VanGilder tests of male descendants of Jacob VanGilder.  All had a Native American Y-DNA.  A VanGilder cousin of mine, Drew Blattner, has done much research in this area.  His research and story, New VanGilder Branch Confirmed by Y-DNA Testing, was featured on Debra Winchell's blog.

     When I was transferring my genealogy home page from the defunct geocities site, I added some information regarding the Native American link on Jacob VanGilder's story.  At that time, the thought was that Jacob descended from a New York Native American named Toanunck.  

Other Websites regarding the VanGilder DNA

VanGilder Dutch or Mohican? from Famiy Tree DNA

The Origins of the VanGuilders by Debra Winchell

The VanGilder Surname Project   IGENA Project

Updated September 2022

I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU. All comments are welcome; however, if they are inappropriate, they will not be published.    PLEASE post your e-mail in the comment section if you would like to network about a particular surname or topic. I will capture it for my use only and not include it when I publish your comment.

© 2009, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser