Joe Barber’s Column
Days are now shorter, there is a chill in the air and it is now time to think of more indoor type of activities such as family history.
One of the highlights of my summer was attending the 15th reunion of the Olmste(a)d Family Association (OFA) held at Fredericton, NB August 14-17. This was my first trip to the Maritime Provinces. They certainly have a different landscape from the flat, basically treeless prairies where I live. Nine other Jabez descendants also attended this reunion and with some spouses we were a group of fifteen. This reunion was an excellent opportunity to renew friendships, and to meet some new people. Hosts of the reunion were members of the Maritime Chapter of the OFA and they produced an interesting program.
During the reunion there were three presentation related to family history, however the highlight had to be a presentation by Barbara Taylor, OFA President on DNA testing for family history purposes. I’m sure we have all heard of the role of DNA testing in solving crimes but it is also being used to confirm the lineage of males. The test is Y-chromosome DNA, which is something only passed from father to son. I don’t under-stand the process completely but the theory is that test results for any male Olmstead of the Jabez line should match the test results for any other male Olmstead of the Jabez line. Two of our Jabez kin from ON, one descending from Jeremiah son of Jabez and the other descending from Moses son of Jabez have already been tested with the results showing a match. A third Jabez cousin has also been tested, however his results did not match the other two for unknown reasons. The challenge is out there I suppose for our male cousins who have the Olmstead name – do you want to prove your ancestry back to Jabez? There is a cost associated with the test, however the test itself is a simple cheek swab. Any inquiries can be directed to either Carl or myself.
Following the reunion, three cousins and myself rented a car to see some of the sites of the Maritimes. From my point of view the highlight was a half-day visit to Fort Louisbourg on Cape Breton Island. As I mentioned in our last newsletter, our ancestor Jabez was a Captain in the 4th Massachusetts Regiment which took part in the attach and capture of this fort from the French in 1745.
Happy ancestor hunting in the months ahead.
Joe Barber