Paternal side DNA mapping progress (lack thereof) snapshot

Decided to stop work on the DNA matches temporarily and produce a snapshot of DNA segments (10cMs and above) identifiable as being Paternal (see embedded WikiTree Widget below for Dad's pedigree) and able to be allocated to a grandparent, or not as the case may be (see the Chromosome Map Key).

Way too many grey spaces as yet!

Update: I forgot to add the "why".
By identifying as finely as possible where each bit of my dna comes from, it gets much easier to slot new matches into place.
Those of them matching at a spot that therefore looks to be a hint to a brickwall ancestor is then a prime target for further investigation as to how our trees may connect, and/or for any commonality between the trees of the matches at that spot for further leads on the connections.

The prime paternal brickwall ancestors:
Archibald HENDERSON blacksmith at the Bridge of Allan married 1804 to Margaret McEWAN from the Drip Moss, Kincardine by Doune
Amelia MILLAR, born Kippen, Stirlingshire about 1815, mother supposedly Miss CHRYSTAL
John DAVIDSON born Chirnside, Berwickshire about 1817 mother Ann COLLINS .

Some day I'd also like to find out more about:
Jane WIGHT's WIGHT side, Jane being the wife of Peter SINTON
Ann ROBINSON, mother of Walter FAIRBAIRN

Click on the image to enlarge, and check below for an interactive pedigree overview linked to WikiTree

 Looks like I need to recruit more cousins back up from my paternal grandmother Agnes Manson DAVIDSON - ie my Caithness BAIN and MANSON etc lines, or more FAIRBAIRN/DAVIDSONs, where the latter are in rather short supply.
Good sale on at FamilyTreeDNA until the end of the month - give yourself, and me, a Christmas present-  FamilyFinder down to $59US - any takers?

Paternal Grandfather Archibald HENDERSON:

embeddable family tree updated live from WikiTree

Paternal Grandmother Agnes Manson DAVIDSON:

embeddable family tree updated live from WikiTree

Chromosome map update

Inspired by the GRAHAM dna story over the last two posts (and finally figuring out an easier way to produce the formatted data required), here's the current state of own chromosome maps.
I don't yet know whether any traces of this GRAHAM dna can be detected in my own genes (as opposed to my maternal aunts') as not all of those involved have uploaded to GEDMatch, yet, for the smaller segments to be checked.

The links to the respective surnames involved are to one of WikiTree's wonderful DNA features.
Just some of the more distant lines identified are added as labels on this post.

Paternal side map, ie my Dad's HENDERSON and DAVIDSON ancestry (Surnames involved):

Maternal side map, ie my Mum's ANDREWS and ROWE ancestry (Surnames involved):

Quite a few empty spots to go yet, not sure I'll live long enough to fill in all the gaps.

GRAHAMs of Cumberland (ENG) and Virginia (USA)

On the DNA lists, posts sometimes bemoan the lack of participants with UK ancestry, as, it has to be admitted, a lot of the test takers do indeed appear to have what is called deep US ancestry.

Which needs a lot of luck (translates to hard work) to determine where your match might be.

Recent re-examination of my maternal aunts' FamilyFinder results has led to an interesting set of matches, both having what looked like a piece of "sticky" DNA* on chromosome 5 with a heap of matches.  With two matches to one aunt predicted as 2nd to 4th cousins it seemed worth pursuing at least a little further.

Contact with both matches and examination of the shared trees made that relationship seem a tad optimistic, but we fairly quickly homed in on a particular GRAHAM family of Overton, TN (1820s+) via Augusta/Botetourt, VA (1750ish).

The progenitors were likely to have arrived by at least 1720, possibly via Delaware, from either Ireland or Cumberland, England or Canonbie, Dumfries-shire, Scotland  [...take your pick from a variety of trees here..].

My earliest Cumberland GRAHAM ancestor is an Andrew of Fauld, born abt 1660 - one of the earlier lines I've managed to trace.

Expanding my match searches beyond the 2nd to 4th cousins to find those shows as both In Common With (ICW) and on the chr 5 match list, I found another set on the same chr 5 spot predicted as 4th and 5th to remote, a niece/aunt combo descending from the same family.

We have not yet found the exact connection between the families either side of the pond so as to link them up in a family tree, and may never do so, but the message for those FamilyFinder test takers with UK ancestry, don't ignore those deep US ancestry trees, finds can be made, and an interest in early American emigration developed!

It would be great to explore further, so I would love to hear from any distant cousin in my tree who  shares my GRAHAM ancestral line to see what else we may learn.

Any descendants of Stephen GRAHAM and Jane BATY of Arthuret who might be interested? 
Say someone down from Andrew GRAHAM and Jane MOFFET,  Andrew's brother William, or sister Mary's son David?

On the US side, I'd love to hear from researchers of the following GRAHAM families:
William and Priscilla (ROBINSON) GRAHAM probably of Buffalo Creek, Roanake
and their children (or other lines) born Augusta Co., Virginia > Jefferson Co., Tennessee
Priscilla GRAHAM and Walter GREER
George & Elizabeth (TURNLEY) GRAHAM
and any other lines from the same families or any other GRAHAM families from these areas who may turn up as FamilyFinder matches.

I'm in heavy research catch up here to see which of the GRAHAM families in the areas involved are actually connected to each other, given trees online can be ever so slightly contradictory, so help would be apprectated.
It does look like dna might be able to help sort some of those tangles out.

-----

* a segment of DNA that has passed down unchanged through rather more generations than is usual

22nd: The MABON connection

Further to the happenstance a few years ago that found an Alison added into the tree of Walter and Agnes (ROBINSON) FAIRBAIRN, my FAIRBAIRN research into the family of John & Alice/Alison (AINSLIE) FAIRBAIRN of Swinton has just netted a connection to this latter family.
Alison's daughter Agnes STEWART married a Thomas MABON.
Likewise, Isabella FAIRBAIRN, a grand-daughter of Walter's contemporary, the above John FAIRBAIRN of Swinton, married Thomas MABON's brother James.
This isn't any evidence of a connection to John unfortunately, and may well be simply coincidence.

10th: Robertson or Robinson?

On reflection, I've decided to plump for ROBINSON for Agnes' name.
Reviewing which version (and excluding the slightly less commonly found ROBISON) was more frequently used when she herself could influence what was written down, ROBINSON wins.
So I've updated Agnes FAIRBAIRN nee ROBINSON's page slightly, and had another (brief) look to see if there's any obvious marriage floating around for her parents, cooper John ROBINSON and wife Ann. There's one in Berwick on Tweed, NBL that might fit the bill - and An(n) is a ROBSON !!!
Some day it will get investigated to see if there's something handy like John's occupation stated.

It's all Ed's fault, this bout of activity.
He asked what Agnes' name should be.
And reported that not only had he found John's Civil War Town Clerk's record, which showed his parents, but the same set of records had an entry for John's son Walter - recorded as Watkins FAIRBURNS no less, with New York paying a bounty of $600 for his service. Which seemed a lot, but a quick web search found an article discussing the draft, and indicates that it wasn't my misinterpreting a $6.00 sum at all.
Walter aka Watkins' record adds yet another birth date to his collection, 29 Mar 1843, as opposed to 31 Mar 1842 or about 1841.

Further to yesterday's post re Archibald MILLER & Margaret BAIN's family, I've now confirmed that both sons Archibald and William did indeed go to Canada, as did father Archibald, although he must have returned, given he died in Wick.

The ANDREWS descendant chart has been converted to the new interactive format now too.

8th: Never give up

Proof that you should never give up hope.
Email from Ed awaited me this morning. Short and to the point:
"Hallelujah, Proof positive at last"
Attached was an image of a "Record of Soldiers and Officers in the Military Service enlisted since Jul 1863 and credited to other places".
Second entry from the bottom was one FAIRBAIRN, John, of Hardenburg, born June 9, 1812, Scotland being discharged from service for being over age.
The miracle was that it stated his parents as Walter (FAIRBAIRN) and Agnes ROBINSON.
So, after 12+ years we have finally eliminated the other Walter, of an age and place, from being the Walter of Roxburghshire known to be John's father.

(this has been edited to show John's entry next to the headings)
Welcome, formally, to the family Ed, we always knew we were cousns, didn't we!

John and Walter have been updated on my web pages, and John updated on the DNA project.