Have you wondered how DNA segment data could help with a research project? I have been working on a chromosome map in DNA Painter for several years and gradually added matches that I’ve identified descending from one of my ancestral couples. For my Cline DNA research project, I’m seeking genetic evidence confirming my hypothesis that John C. Cline is the father of Clemsy (Cline) Weatherford. Using the segment tools that are part of GEDmatch’s Tier 1, I found a DNA segment I inherited from one of my 3rd great-grandparents, Clemsy Cline and Henderson Weatherford. The next step will be researching other DNA matches who also inherited that segment to see if it could have come from John C. Cline.
The Cline Project: Who Was the Father of Clemsy Cline?
We all have brick-wall ancestors, and Clemsy Cline is one of mine. She was born about 1820 in Alabama and first appears in the records in the 1850 census in Morgan County, Missouri. Clemsy had married Henderson Weatherford about 1838, but no marriage record has surfaced. A marriage record typically will give the bride’s maiden name and a location to start looking for her family. Without a marriage record, how did I discover Clemsy’s maiden name? I researched her children and found two with death certificates naming her as a Cline.
Of interest was the 1850 census of Morgan County, Missouri, where two Cline children lived with Clemsy and Henderson Weatherford.
• Henderson Wetherford 35 Tennessee, farmer, $300 real estate
• Clemsy Wetherford 30 Alabama
• Eliza Jane Wetherford 10 Arkansas
• Mary Ann Wetherford 6 Arkansas
• John W Wetherford 4 Arkansas
• Clemsy D Wetherford 2 Arkansas
• Telitha Cline 10 Arkansas
• John Cline 8 Arkansas
On the same census page, we find another Cline family.
Jacob Cline 39 Virginia, farmer,$300 real estate
• Telitha Cline 43 Kentucky
• Reuben Cline 13 Kentucky
• John M Cline 12 Kentucky
• Elizabeth Cline 11 Missouri
• Jacob Cline 7 Missouri
• Basil Cline 2 Missouri
• Mahala Cline 22 Alabama
• Robert Cline 5 Arkansas
For many years, I wondered how these Clines connected, but it wasn’t until I did two focused research projects that I actually came up with a good hypothesis for Clemsy’s family. A key locality was Izard County, Arkansas, where Clemsy’s husband, Henderson Weatherford, paid a tax in 1839 and 1841. Also in Izard County were a father candidate, John C. Cline, and two sibling candidates, Mahala Cline and John Cline Jr.
Between the Morgan County, Missouri, and Izard County, Arkansas, research, I settled on John C. Cline as the father of these four Clines: Jacob Cline, John Cline, Jr., Clemsy Cline, and Mahala Cline. I discovered through tax records that John Jr. had died by 1850 and hypothesized that the three children found in the 1850 Morgan County census were his children. I found his likely widow, Sarah, paying taxes on his land in 1852 and living in her probable father’s household in 1850 with two-year-old twin sons. When their father died, Telitha, John, and Robert probably moved north to Missouri with their aunts, Clemsy and Mahala.
I also found John C. Cline residing in Fulton County, Arkansas, in 1850 with a wife and four children. These could be half-siblings to Clemsy and add important evidence to my hypothesis that John was her father.
Previous reports on Clemsy:
Phase 1: Clemsy Cline Research Report
Phase 2: Clemsy Cline Report
Phase 3 Objective: Adding DNA Evidence
With a probable family discovered for Clemsy, could DNA add evidence? I set the following objective for my DNA project.
Using DNA evidence and documentary research, this project aims to test the hypothesis that John C. Cline was the biological father of Clemsy (Cline) Weatherford. John was born in 1785 in Pennsylvania or Virginia and died after 1860, possibly in Fulton County, Texas. He appears in tax and land records in Izard and Fulton Counties, Arkansas, between 1830 and 1850. Clemsy (Cline) Weatherford was born about 1817 in Alabama and died after 1880 in Texas. Clemsy married Henderson Weatherford in about 1838 in Izard County, Arkansas.
Identifying a Cline Network
I identified a network of Ancestry DNA matches connected to the Cline and Weatherford families and started diagramming their connections. Many of them descended through Clemsy’s children, but I did find some that descended through her proposed siblings and half-siblings. A network of shared DNA matches is good evidence, but could I find any segment data?
I started a chromosome map on DNA Painter several years ago but had not identified any specific segments coming from Clemsy Cline and Henderson Weatherford. As part of this project, I hoped to find some of my Cline Ancestry DNA matches on a website with a chromosome browser such as MyHeritage or GEDmatch. Then, I could paint those segments on my chromosome map.
In the image below, you can see that I have about half of my genome painted. I’ve identified many of the colored segments, but some are still mystery matches.
GEDMatch Tier 1 Tools
GEDmatch is a website where you can upload your raw DNA from any of the testing companies and compare it to others. I found a match I’ll call Jane, who was also a descendant of Clemsy Cline, through her oldest daughter, Eliza Jane Weatherford. I had identified Jane on Ancestry, where she had a tree.
I then used two segment tools to make more discoveries—the segment search and triangulation. These are both Tier 1 tools, which means you must subscribe to access them. I just subscribed for one month and did as much work as I could on my project.
During the segment search, you enter the kit numbers that you’re researching. I entered mine, my 1C1R, and Jane, my 4C1R. I found that the three of us shared a 17 cM segment on chromosome 22. I had previously only identified this segment as coming through my great-grandparents, but now, with this 4C1R, I could identify it as a Cline/Weatherford segment.
I then ran the triangulation tool on GEDmatch and looked specifically at chromosome 22. I found several other DNA matches sharing DNA there. I could now explore them and see if any trees point to shared Cline ancestry.
I painted Jane’s DNA in my DNA Painter chromosome map and saw that a mystery match also shares DNA on that specific segment. Before finding Jane, I only knew that the mystery match(yellow) shared DNA on my paternal line. Now I know that this is a Cline-Weatherford match.
Tips for using GEDmatch® Segment tools
- Set an objective for the research
- Create a genetic network for the ancestor or ancestral couple
- Track matches from DNA testing companies in a research log
- Diagram DNA matches from the testing companies
- Use GEDmatch segment search and triangulation tools to find additional DNA matches for the ancestral couple
- Paint the segment data into your chromosome map on DNA Painter
To learn more about using segment tools, see my video below.
Best of luck in all your genealogical endeavors!
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Thanks for the note!