DNA Testing AND THE PRUITTS
In December 2015, my daughter’s four grandparents took autosomal DNA tests from Ancestry. I was hopeful that my dad’s test results might help us find some answers about his paternal grandfather, John Ambors Bocook, and who John’s father might have been.
To give you some background, when I first became interested in genealogy and started talking to family members, I had no idea that my dad’s father, John Bert Dugan, was not the biological son of Michael Francis Dugan. In researching my dad’s parents, I learned a great deal about the Sundin side (his mother’s) of the family, but not nearly as much about the Dugan side (his father’s). I knew that his dad’s mother was Mahala Henderson and that she was from Carter County, Kentucky. I knew that John Bert Dugan had been born in Olive Hill, Kentucky. And over time, I learned that Michael Francis Dugan was NOT the biological father of John Bert Dugan. In fact, his father’s name was John Bocook.
So, I started researching to find more about John Bocook. And found that he was not actually a Bocook, but like his son, had taken HIS stepfather’s surname as his own. Samuel Vinton Bocook had married John Ambors Bocook’s mother, Amanda Bryant, in 1895, several years after the birth of John in 1889.
To give you some background, when I first became interested in genealogy and started talking to family members, I had no idea that my dad’s father, John Bert Dugan, was not the biological son of Michael Francis Dugan. In researching my dad’s parents, I learned a great deal about the Sundin side (his mother’s) of the family, but not nearly as much about the Dugan side (his father’s). I knew that his dad’s mother was Mahala Henderson and that she was from Carter County, Kentucky. I knew that John Bert Dugan had been born in Olive Hill, Kentucky. And over time, I learned that Michael Francis Dugan was NOT the biological father of John Bert Dugan. In fact, his father’s name was John Bocook.
So, I started researching to find more about John Bocook. And found that he was not actually a Bocook, but like his son, had taken HIS stepfather’s surname as his own. Samuel Vinton Bocook had married John Ambors Bocook’s mother, Amanda Bryant, in 1895, several years after the birth of John in 1889.
After years of intensive research and following every lead or possibility, the identity of the father of John Ambors Bocook remained a mystery. My hope was that DNA testing might give me a better clue, and possibly even an answer, to who this might be.
Trying to change my way of thinking from being research-focused to understanding and applying the science of DNA testing to genealogy was challenging to me, to say the least. It has taken me years to feel comfortable navigating through the different tests and results. Learning about this is an ongoing process and I spend a good deal of time studying it, reading about it, using the different tools being developed, and attending seminars. Last year (2019), I attended two talks by Blaine Bettinger and CeCe Moore, both of whom are pioneers in the field of DNA and genealogy, and each considered an expert in their respective areas. The timing was right, as I not only (finally) understood everything they talked about, but left each seminar with the knowledge that I was heading in the right direction and with a solid set of further steps to take in my quest. One of those steps is to share what I have found thus far.
Getting back to the DNA testing done on my dad, in addition to having him do the autosomal test at Ancestry, in late 2016, I also had him do a Y-DNA-111 test at FamilyTreeDNA. Y-DNA is specific to the male line and ONLY the male line. If you are interested in learning more about Y-DNA, you can find it here:
https://isogg.org/wiki/Y_chromosome_DNA_tests
https://support.ancestry.com/s/article/Y-DNA-mtDNA-and-Autosomal-DNA-Test
Trying to change my way of thinking from being research-focused to understanding and applying the science of DNA testing to genealogy was challenging to me, to say the least. It has taken me years to feel comfortable navigating through the different tests and results. Learning about this is an ongoing process and I spend a good deal of time studying it, reading about it, using the different tools being developed, and attending seminars. Last year (2019), I attended two talks by Blaine Bettinger and CeCe Moore, both of whom are pioneers in the field of DNA and genealogy, and each considered an expert in their respective areas. The timing was right, as I not only (finally) understood everything they talked about, but left each seminar with the knowledge that I was heading in the right direction and with a solid set of further steps to take in my quest. One of those steps is to share what I have found thus far.
Getting back to the DNA testing done on my dad, in addition to having him do the autosomal test at Ancestry, in late 2016, I also had him do a Y-DNA-111 test at FamilyTreeDNA. Y-DNA is specific to the male line and ONLY the male line. If you are interested in learning more about Y-DNA, you can find it here:
https://isogg.org/wiki/Y_chromosome_DNA_tests
https://support.ancestry.com/s/article/Y-DNA-mtDNA-and-Autosomal-DNA-Test
Y-DNA Patrilineal Ancestors shown in blue. Image from Ancestry.com.
When Dad’s results came back, it showed him to be in Haplogroup I-M253. He had no close matches at the 111-marker level, but one at the 67-marker level surprised me because it came back showing a Genetic Distance of 0, meaning this man and my dad were an EXACT match on all 67 markers. And I had no idea who this man was. To confuse matters even more, the surnames in the list of matches, which should have all been the same (ideally), were all over the map:
Genetic Distance Match Names (as of Jan 2017)
0 A. Pruitt
2 G. Muck
2 R. Pruitt
2 E. Pruitt
3 J. Morton
5 J. Naylor
5 S. Morton
5 B. Morton
6 L. West
7 B. Gallagher
7 K. West
7 B. Price
Of these, all had tested at a level of 67 markers, except J. Morton, who matched at 111, but with 6 differences in the markers; B. Morton, who matched at 111, but with 9 differences in the markers; and B. Price, who did not match at 111, meaning there were enough differences that they did not consider him to be a match at that level.
ALL these matches share a male ancestor at some point in time. But more differences in the markers means the common ancestor is further back in time, and with some of these, that could be hundreds or thousands of years.
Matching someone at a Genetic Distance of 0 is uncommon, and there were other Pruitts in the list. I added Dad’s results to the Pruett / Pruitt / Prewitt Family DNA Project on FamilyTreeDNA and learned there were a handful of proven Pruitt patriarchs. Dad was in Group D, so our patriarch looked to be Joseph Pruitt, Sr., born in 1722 in Virginia. Research on every branch of this group began in my quest to find where a Pruitt had entered our family tree.
The Pruett / Pruitt / Prewitt Family DNA Project link:
https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/pruitt/about
In the meantime, I also recruited one of my dad’s brothers to do a DNA test, and he agreed to do both an autosomal test at Ancestry and a Y-DNA-111 test at FamilyTreeDNA. His results came back in June 2017. To lock things down a little more, another of my dad’s brothers did an autosomal test at Ancestry in October 2018. We now have 3 of the 4 sons of John Bert Dugan tested (the other brother passed away in 2010).
Looking at the list of matches on Ancestry.com, I concentrated on finding a male match with the Pruitt surname. Luckily, I found one who matched Dad at a level of 156 cM across 3 segments. Ancestry listed Calvin Pruitt in the 3rd-4th cousin range, but there were some other possibilities for a match of this amount. DNA Painter Shared cM Project (an online tool) predicts the following, using the abbreviations of C for cousin and R for removed.
There is a 53.45% chance they are:
Half 2C
2C1R
Half 1C2R
1C3R
There is a 26.30% chance they are
Half GG-Uncle
2C
Half 1C1R
1C2R
Half GG-Nephew
There is a 15.17% chance they are:
3C
Half 2C1R
Half 1C3R
There is a 5.04% chance they are:
Half 3C
3C1R
Half 2C2R
*Removed means there is a generational difference. Please see chart below from familysearch.org:
Genetic Distance Match Names (as of Jan 2017)
0 A. Pruitt
2 G. Muck
2 R. Pruitt
2 E. Pruitt
3 J. Morton
5 J. Naylor
5 S. Morton
5 B. Morton
6 L. West
7 B. Gallagher
7 K. West
7 B. Price
Of these, all had tested at a level of 67 markers, except J. Morton, who matched at 111, but with 6 differences in the markers; B. Morton, who matched at 111, but with 9 differences in the markers; and B. Price, who did not match at 111, meaning there were enough differences that they did not consider him to be a match at that level.
ALL these matches share a male ancestor at some point in time. But more differences in the markers means the common ancestor is further back in time, and with some of these, that could be hundreds or thousands of years.
Matching someone at a Genetic Distance of 0 is uncommon, and there were other Pruitts in the list. I added Dad’s results to the Pruett / Pruitt / Prewitt Family DNA Project on FamilyTreeDNA and learned there were a handful of proven Pruitt patriarchs. Dad was in Group D, so our patriarch looked to be Joseph Pruitt, Sr., born in 1722 in Virginia. Research on every branch of this group began in my quest to find where a Pruitt had entered our family tree.
The Pruett / Pruitt / Prewitt Family DNA Project link:
https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/pruitt/about
In the meantime, I also recruited one of my dad’s brothers to do a DNA test, and he agreed to do both an autosomal test at Ancestry and a Y-DNA-111 test at FamilyTreeDNA. His results came back in June 2017. To lock things down a little more, another of my dad’s brothers did an autosomal test at Ancestry in October 2018. We now have 3 of the 4 sons of John Bert Dugan tested (the other brother passed away in 2010).
Looking at the list of matches on Ancestry.com, I concentrated on finding a male match with the Pruitt surname. Luckily, I found one who matched Dad at a level of 156 cM across 3 segments. Ancestry listed Calvin Pruitt in the 3rd-4th cousin range, but there were some other possibilities for a match of this amount. DNA Painter Shared cM Project (an online tool) predicts the following, using the abbreviations of C for cousin and R for removed.
There is a 53.45% chance they are:
Half 2C
2C1R
Half 1C2R
1C3R
There is a 26.30% chance they are
Half GG-Uncle
2C
Half 1C1R
1C2R
Half GG-Nephew
There is a 15.17% chance they are:
3C
Half 2C1R
Half 1C3R
There is a 5.04% chance they are:
Half 3C
3C1R
Half 2C2R
*Removed means there is a generational difference. Please see chart below from familysearch.org:
While there is a possibility that John Ambors Bocook is NOT the father of John Bert Dugan, there is a high probability that he is. The match list shows many matches on the Henderson side of the family and all fall within the expected range. Which means we are very confident about that part of the tree:
To our knowledge, John Ambors Bocook never had any other children, which means we do not expect to find any 1st cousin matches to my dad or his brothers on that side. There are none that we cannot trace back to one of the other lines.
John Ambors Bocook is the son of Mr. Y (my name for my unknown GGreat Grandfather) and Amanda Bryant. We show many matches to Bryants, which makes me feel confident there is a connection there. But nothing is ever simple, and this is one of those times.
Hallie was never married to John Ambors Bocook, but 18 Jan 1907, she DID marry John Ambors Bocook’s first cousin, Cleveland Harmey Bryant. Technically, they were married when my grandfather was born in 1910 or 1911 (records show conflicting dates), although Cleve seems to have moved to Scioto County, Ohio, sometime before then. Hallie filed for divorce from him in 1912 and married another man in July of that year.
So, Cleve COULD be the father of John Bert Dugan. Cleveland Harmey Bryant is the son of Joseph H. Bryant, brother to Amanda Bryant. To my knowledge, Cleve had one son who survived to adulthood, married, and had children of his own. If Cleve is the father of John Bert Dugan, we should show as close DNA matches to any of his descendants. At this time, none are on the list of matches, which indicates that they either do NOT match or they have not taken a test yet. The search continues to find one who would be willing to take the test and make this theory conclusive.
But, if Cleve is the father of John Bert Dugan, where do these Pruitt matches come in? More reason to think that John Ambors Bocook has that unknown father Mr. Y that somehow connects these families.
John Ambors Bocook is the son of Mr. Y (my name for my unknown GGreat Grandfather) and Amanda Bryant. We show many matches to Bryants, which makes me feel confident there is a connection there. But nothing is ever simple, and this is one of those times.
Hallie was never married to John Ambors Bocook, but 18 Jan 1907, she DID marry John Ambors Bocook’s first cousin, Cleveland Harmey Bryant. Technically, they were married when my grandfather was born in 1910 or 1911 (records show conflicting dates), although Cleve seems to have moved to Scioto County, Ohio, sometime before then. Hallie filed for divorce from him in 1912 and married another man in July of that year.
So, Cleve COULD be the father of John Bert Dugan. Cleveland Harmey Bryant is the son of Joseph H. Bryant, brother to Amanda Bryant. To my knowledge, Cleve had one son who survived to adulthood, married, and had children of his own. If Cleve is the father of John Bert Dugan, we should show as close DNA matches to any of his descendants. At this time, none are on the list of matches, which indicates that they either do NOT match or they have not taken a test yet. The search continues to find one who would be willing to take the test and make this theory conclusive.
But, if Cleve is the father of John Bert Dugan, where do these Pruitt matches come in? More reason to think that John Ambors Bocook has that unknown father Mr. Y that somehow connects these families.
Calvin
After contacting Calvin and explaining what I was trying to do, he put me in contact with his older brother, Bob, who is the one in his family interested in genealogy. The three of us have conference-called a number of times and I enjoy talking to them immensely! Calvin agreed to do the Y-DNA testing at FamilyTreeDNA at the 37-marker level, which we later upgraded to the 67-marker level.
Not surprisingly, Calvin matches Dad and my uncle at the 67-marker level with only 1 marker different. FamilyTreeDNA estimates there is a 95.18% chance that they share a common ancestor within the last 8 generations and a 99.3% chance within the last 12 generations. He actually matches Dad closer than his own brother does! This is possible because of what genes get passed down and it is different for every kid in a family. You can find more information about that here:
https://blogs.ancestry.com/ancestry/2014/03/05/understanding-patterns-of-inheirtance-where-did-my-dna-come-from-and-why-it-matters/?fbclid=IwAR1eRMSHV83TMyLQytnswU1TqHpDwR8CS6AlgK66KrYA9I7O6rMmBOaqHcA
With the help of Bob and Calvin, I began working backwards on their family tree, trying to find where it connects with the bigger Pruitt tree I was building for the descendants of Joseph Pruitt, Sr. That has proven to have its own set of challenges, as the patriarch for their Pruitt group, Thomas R. Pruitt, has been difficult to trace.
Not surprisingly, Calvin matches Dad and my uncle at the 67-marker level with only 1 marker different. FamilyTreeDNA estimates there is a 95.18% chance that they share a common ancestor within the last 8 generations and a 99.3% chance within the last 12 generations. He actually matches Dad closer than his own brother does! This is possible because of what genes get passed down and it is different for every kid in a family. You can find more information about that here:
https://blogs.ancestry.com/ancestry/2014/03/05/understanding-patterns-of-inheirtance-where-did-my-dna-come-from-and-why-it-matters/?fbclid=IwAR1eRMSHV83TMyLQytnswU1TqHpDwR8CS6AlgK66KrYA9I7O6rMmBOaqHcA
With the help of Bob and Calvin, I began working backwards on their family tree, trying to find where it connects with the bigger Pruitt tree I was building for the descendants of Joseph Pruitt, Sr. That has proven to have its own set of challenges, as the patriarch for their Pruitt group, Thomas R. Pruitt, has been difficult to trace.
Clicking this button will take you to the page on this website for more information about Thomas R. Pruitt and his family.
Dad and Calvin share 244 matches on Ancestry.com. They both have matches that connect back to the bigger Pruitt tree in addition to the Pruitt family group descending from Thomas R. Pruitt.
Link to Joseph Pruitt, Jr., on my Ancestry.com public tree:
https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/162438148/person/302117890012/facts
Link to Thomas R. Pruitt on my Ancestry.com public tree:
https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/162438148/person/302117882482/facts
Link to Joseph Pruitt, Jr., on my Ancestry.com public tree:
https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/162438148/person/302117890012/facts
Link to Thomas R. Pruitt on my Ancestry.com public tree:
https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/162438148/person/302117882482/facts
cURRENT sITUATION
We know that Calvin and Dad share a common male ancestor. If that common male ancestor is the father of John Ambors Bocook, it would mean they are half cousins of some sort. Using that logic, we can eliminate the relationships that are not half. Based on the strength of the DNA matches from Calvin to all three Dugan brothers, there is no evidence that they share a grandparent, so we can also eliminate 1C matches. Given the generational differences that would have to be present, we can also eliminate the GG-Uncle and GG-Nephew possibilities. The eliminated matches are now in red and bold text indicates the possibilities that remain.
There is a 53.45% chance they are:
Half 2C
2C1R
Half 1C2R
1C3R
There is a 26.30% chance they are:
Half GG-Uncle
2C
Half 1C1R
1C2R
Half GG-Nephew
There is a 15.17% chance they are:
3C
Half 2C1R
Half 1C3R
There is a 5.04% chance they are:
Half 3C
3C1R
Half 2C2R
There is a 53.45% chance they are:
Half 2C
2C1R
Half 1C2R
1C3R
There is a 26.30% chance they are:
Half GG-Uncle
2C
Half 1C1R
1C2R
Half GG-Nephew
There is a 15.17% chance they are:
3C
Half 2C1R
Half 1C3R
There is a 5.04% chance they are:
Half 3C
3C1R
Half 2C2R
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To add to this already confusing enough pile of information, there is a possibility that Thomas R. Pruitt is not the father of Rolland Fitzroy Pruitt. Early records have that Rolland Fitzroy Pruitt was born in Arkansas in 1884. Later records show he was born in Tennessee – Memphis, specifically. His sister, Fannie Jane Pruitt, was reportedly born in Van Buren County, Arkansas, in 1888. The older siblings, William Hardin Pruitt b. 1874, Mary E. Pruitt b. 1875, and John Franklin Pruitt b. 1876, were all born in Kansas.
While Dad and Calvin have DNA matches to other descendants of Thomas R. Pruitt, all are from either Rolland Fitzroy Pruitt or Fannie Jane Pruitt. There are no matches to any descendants of the older three siblings. All research to this point shows that there are NO descendants of these older siblings. William Hardin Pruitt had a son, but he is reported to have been adopted. Mary E. Pruitt died in 1895 at the age of 19, unmarried. John Franklin Pruitt married and had a stepson, but does not appear to have had children of his own. There is no way to prove that all the children of Thomas R. Pruitt share the same father. From the DNA matches, we do know that Rolland Fitzroy Pruitt and Fannie Jane Pruitt share the same father, just not who that father is. Again, it could be Thomas R. Pruitt, we just can’t prove it yet.
While Dad and Calvin have DNA matches to other descendants of Thomas R. Pruitt, all are from either Rolland Fitzroy Pruitt or Fannie Jane Pruitt. There are no matches to any descendants of the older three siblings. All research to this point shows that there are NO descendants of these older siblings. William Hardin Pruitt had a son, but he is reported to have been adopted. Mary E. Pruitt died in 1895 at the age of 19, unmarried. John Franklin Pruitt married and had a stepson, but does not appear to have had children of his own. There is no way to prove that all the children of Thomas R. Pruitt share the same father. From the DNA matches, we do know that Rolland Fitzroy Pruitt and Fannie Jane Pruitt share the same father, just not who that father is. Again, it could be Thomas R. Pruitt, we just can’t prove it yet.
Final Thoughts
Calvin and Dad match many of the same people on their Y-DNA tests, but Calvin seems to have an additional marker variant with most of them.
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Calvin’s Y-DNA Matches (67 Markers)
Genetic Distance Match Name 1 R. Dugan 1 A. Pruitt 2 T. Dugan 3 G. Muck 3 R. Pruitt 3 E. Pruitt 4 J. Morton 5 A. Morton 6 J. Naylor 6 S. Morton 6 B. Morton 7 D. Simoneaux 7 W. Simoneaux 7 L. West |
Dad's Y-DNA Matches (67 Markers)
Genetic Distance Match Name 0 A. Pruitt 1 C. Pruitt 1 T. Dugan 2 G. Muck 2 R. Pruitt 2 E. Pruitt 3 J. Morton 4 A. Morton 5 J. Naylor 5 S. Morton 5 B. Morton 6 L. West 7 J. Chisholm 7 P. Chisholm 7 J. Scott 7 J. Chisholm 7 B. Gallagher 7 K. West 7 B. Price |
There is an online tool available on DNAPainter.com called the “WATO” tool, which stands for “What Are the Odds.” It lets you enter information about known DNA matches and then plug in various theories to find the best odds for an unknown relationship. DNA matches lead us to the probability that we descend from:
Jeremiah Pruitt b. 1821 in Wilkes County, North Carolina, son of
Joel Pruitt b. abt. 1786 in Wilkes County, North Carolina, son of
Joseph Pruitt, Jr., b. 1755 in what is now Pittsylvania County, Virginia, son of
Joseph Pruitt, Sr., b. 1721-1724 in Virginia
We have many DNA matches to the descendants of Jeremiah Pruitt. By adding those matches to the WATO tool and plugging in my dad in the various positions that are possibilities, it tells us that the likelihood that Thomas R. Pruitt is the father of John Ambors Bocook is significantly higher than any other scenario.
Jeremiah Pruitt b. 1821 in Wilkes County, North Carolina, son of
Joel Pruitt b. abt. 1786 in Wilkes County, North Carolina, son of
Joseph Pruitt, Jr., b. 1755 in what is now Pittsylvania County, Virginia, son of
Joseph Pruitt, Sr., b. 1721-1724 in Virginia
We have many DNA matches to the descendants of Jeremiah Pruitt. By adding those matches to the WATO tool and plugging in my dad in the various positions that are possibilities, it tells us that the likelihood that Thomas R. Pruitt is the father of John Ambors Bocook is significantly higher than any other scenario.
They Say Location is Everything
So, if Thomas R. Pruitt and Amanda Bryant are our great-grandparents, it stands to reason that they had to be in the same place at the same time around August 1888 or August 1889 (records show conflicting dates of birth for John Ambors Bocook, either 30 Apr 1889 or 30 Apr 1890).
Rolland Fitzroy Pruitt was born 27 Feb 1884 in either Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee, or somewhere in Arkansas. Fannie Jane Pruitt was born 19 Feb 1888 in Van Buren County, Arkansas, meaning that Thomas R. Pruitt and Lydia Ellen Huff must have been in the same place around May 1887.
What happened between May 1887 and August 1888 / 1889? Thomas R. Pruitt has not been found in any records after the 1875 State Census for Kansas, and Lydia Ellen is not found again in any records until the 1895 State Census for Kansas. Amanda Bryant was born in 1867 in Kentucky, possibly in Morgan County, is living in Carter County in 1870, and was enumerated twice in 1880, once in Carter County with her parents and siblings, and once in Greenup County with her grandparents. Did Thomas R. Pruitt head east or did Amanda Bryant head west? Since John Ambors Bocook was born in Olive Hill, perhaps Thomas R. Pruitt headed east. Not impossible, and I have certainly seen stranger connections, but my gut tells me this isn’t it. We are missing something here and may have to wait for some additional DNA matches to turn up and help us solve this mystery.
Rolland Fitzroy Pruitt was born 27 Feb 1884 in either Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee, or somewhere in Arkansas. Fannie Jane Pruitt was born 19 Feb 1888 in Van Buren County, Arkansas, meaning that Thomas R. Pruitt and Lydia Ellen Huff must have been in the same place around May 1887.
What happened between May 1887 and August 1888 / 1889? Thomas R. Pruitt has not been found in any records after the 1875 State Census for Kansas, and Lydia Ellen is not found again in any records until the 1895 State Census for Kansas. Amanda Bryant was born in 1867 in Kentucky, possibly in Morgan County, is living in Carter County in 1870, and was enumerated twice in 1880, once in Carter County with her parents and siblings, and once in Greenup County with her grandparents. Did Thomas R. Pruitt head east or did Amanda Bryant head west? Since John Ambors Bocook was born in Olive Hill, perhaps Thomas R. Pruitt headed east. Not impossible, and I have certainly seen stranger connections, but my gut tells me this isn’t it. We are missing something here and may have to wait for some additional DNA matches to turn up and help us solve this mystery.