DNA Seals the Deal? An Evans Family Connection

Have you taken a DNA test? If so, you’ve probably sorted your matches into people you know, people you don’t know but you do know how you’re related to them, and people for whom you strike out on both counts – you don’t know ‘em and you don’t know how you’re related to ‘em. The more distantly related you are – 3^rd and 4^th cousins and such – the harder it might be to know where and specifically through whom you connect, especially if you have enslaved ancestors. I’ve got more than a few DNA matches in this latter category. 

But I just moved one match out of this category, and, in doing so, I think I’ve made a DNA connection to Daniel Evans and Jennette (aka Anna Jane) Welch, the subjects of most of my recent posts.

The Many Names of Laura Ann Scruggs

In genealogical research, some names are more difficult to track than others. Unique names, ones with a variety of consonants, ones where spelling and pronunciation don’t necessarily seem to match. These all make sense – you’re probably going to have to be creative in your research techniques to find the person or people that you’re looking for. (See my maternal great-great-grandmother Scoatney (Scott) Cooper and her sister Masonia (Scott) Worthen for two examples.)

But I didn’t think “Scruggs” would be one of those names. Sure, maybe the “c” becomes a “k,” maybe there’s one “g” instead of two, maybe the “s” even becomes a “z,” or the “gg” becomes a “ck,” but none of those should make the name particularly difficult to research; how many different ways could people really hear or write the name?