A Providence Family Connection Through DNA

I am excited to report that I recently discovered a DNA match who is likely kin to me on my PROVIDENCE family line. My PROVIDENCE ancestry comes through a great-great grandmother, Ersie Jane PROVIDENCE ROBINSON (abt. 1850-bef. 1910) on my father's side. Grandma Ersie Jane lived in Greensville County, Virginia. She married my great-great grandfather Joshua ROBINSON in Greensville County, Virginia on June 9, 1867. Discovering more about my PROVIDENCE ancestry has been achieved by a combination of oral history, document research, and now DNA. 

ORAL HISTORY
I initially learned of Grandma Ersie Jane through oral history in 1995 and 1996 which came from conversations with four siblings of my paternal grandmother Hattie MOORE PAIR (1902-1956): Samuel "Channie" MOORE, Charlie "Jack" MOORE, Washington MOORE, and Della MOORE RICHARDSON. During my initial conversations with my great aunt and three great uncles, who were born between 1900 and 1917, they gave me names of both sets of grandparents and other family members. They did not know Grandma Ersie, but heard about her from their parents and others. Later,I also had conversations with other grandchildren of Grandma Ersie Jane and Grandpa Joshua and gathered and wrote their memories of their grandparents. 

I don't remember if any of the grandchildren recalled that Grandma Ersie Jane's maiden name was PROVIDENCE. I think that the first time I learned her maiden name was when I discovered her 1867 marriage license to Joshua Robinson. After learning Grandma Ersie Jane's maiden name, I began asking if any of the grandchildren remembered her kinfolks. It was probably my great aunt Della and her first cousin Rozella, who told me that Grandma Ersie Jane had a sister named "Lucretia" who was married to Grandpa Joshua's brother Aaron GREENAWAY. None of the grandchildren remembered any other kinfolks of their grandmother. Research of Lucretia provided invaluable information on Grandma Ersie Jane's family and will be discussed further in a separate blog posting.


DOCUMENT RESEARCH 
After gathering oral history from my great aunt, great uncles, and other grandchildren of Joshua and Ersie Jane PROVIDENCE ROBINSON, I began searching documents such as marriage licenses, death certificates, and the census on the people they named. 

Research of documents can verify or dispute oral history as well provide new ancestral information. Much of this research was done in the late 1990s when there were not many resources on the Internet. I spent many hours gathering family history documents the old school way at libraries and courthouses. As I gathered documents on my family, I shared my findings with Grandma Ersie Jane's grandchildren and other family members through conversations as well as in the writing of letters, newsletters, and family reunion books.


DNA
My recently discovered PROVIDENCE DNA match and I both took autosomal DNA tests through Ancestry DNA.  This test analyzed the 22 pairs of chromosomes we inherited from each of our our parents. The results according to Ancestry DNA indicate that we share 27.5 centimorgans across two DNA segments and that we are fourth cousins. It helps to possibly make some type of definite family connection if both parties know names of their ancestors. Since my PROVIDENCE DNA match has a family tree on the the Ancestry DNA website, it enabled me to see that the PROVIDENCE surname is common in both our our ancestral lines. 

Ancestry DNA results for my PROVIDENCE DNA match and I

The DNA kit of this new match is being managed by her son and I sent him a message via Ancestry's site earlier this week. Thankfully he responded and I look forward to our journey together to piece together our family history. 

Genealogy is a continual process of working from the known to the unknown. The known for me through oral history and document research is that I had a great-great grandmother named Ersie Jane PROVIDENCE ROBINSON of Greensville County, Virginia, the daughter of John and Eliza PROVIDENCE. John and Eliza had at least two other children: Lucretia and Matthew. Matthew PROVIDENCE had least two sons: John and William. Matthew's son John was born around 1897 in North Carolina and died in 1952 in Portsmouth, Virginia. 

The known of the family tree of my PROVIDENCE DNA match indicates that the maiden name of her maternal grandmother Gentelia was PROVIDENCE and that Gentelia's father was named John PROVIDENCE who was born around 1904 and lived in Southampton County, Virginia in 1930.

It does not appear that John, the son of Matthew and the John PROVIDENCE ancestor of my DNA match were the same person. However, there are numerous other men named "John PROVIDENCE" living in Virginia and North Carolina during the same time as the other two Johns mentioned above.

FINAL THOUGHTS
Genealogy is a continual process of working from the known to the unknown and I look forward to discovering more about my PROVIDENCE ancestry and making family connections with living descendants through oral history, document research, and DNA.
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Church Homecomings

Next weekend, I plan to attend a church homecoming at Antioch Baptist Church in Skippers, VA which is located in the county of Greensville. This will not be my first time attending this church because I have attended other homecomings as well as family funerals. Antioch is the church once attended by my paternal grandmother Hattie Moore Pair (1902-1956) and her maternal ancestors the Robinsons of Skippers, VA. Several living family members are still members of this church and I look forwarding to seeing them as well as meeting new family members.

Success in Attending Church Reunions
I have had much genealogical success with attending church reunions because it has enabled me to connect with living descendants of my ancestors as well as others who knew them.

Visiting Family Cemetery
Besides meeting family, I hope to also have time to visit the Robinson Family Cemetery which is adjacent to the church where several of my family members are buried including my paternal grandparents Matthew and Hattie Moore Pair and Robert and Mary Eliza Robinson Moore, who were the parents of my paternal grandmother.

Finding DNA Candidates
I also hope to find DNA candidates to test the 1) maternal and paternal ancestry of my great-great grandfather Joshua Robinson (abt. 1846-1935); and 2) maternal ancestry of Lucretia Providence Cook Greenway (abt. 1855-?)., who is believed to be a sister of my great-great grandmother, Ersie Jane Providence Robinson (abt. 1850-aft. 1900). Grandma Ersie’s maternal DNA has been tested twice; the results match the U6a1 Haplogroup, which is European.

DNA results from Grandpa Joshua’s maternal ancestry will provide more information into the heritage of his mother Maria Morgan Greenaway (abt. 1809-aft. 1900) and her mother, Lizzey Morgan, who was a slave freed in the will of Dr. James Greenway of Dinwiddie County, VA around 1795. As a result of her mother’s freedom by Dr. Greenway, Maria was born free in Virginia. At the time of Grandma Maria’s birth, if a mother was free, her children were born free. The status of the father did not matter according to this law.

Grandpa Joshua’s 1935 death certificate gives the name of his father as Moses Robinson. This is all I know about Grandpa Moses; therefore DNA results may give some clue as to his ethnicity. On several documents, Grandpa Joshua was listed as a “Mulatto.” Some of his grandchildren remember that he was very “light skinned’ in complexion. Therefore, it is possible that he had a European paternal ancestry.

If Grandma Ersie Jane Providence Robinson and Lucretia Providence Cook Greenway were sisters as was told to me by a granddaughter of Grandma Ersie, then the maternal DNA results should match. No written documentation has been found to indicate that these two women were sisters. They did, however, have the same maiden name, but Grandma Ersie’s marriage license does not name her parents. Lucretia’s marriage license names her parents as John and Eliza Providence.