Many weeks have passed since I discovered who my client’s mother was. I have been looking at the DNA matches which correlate with her paternal line in order to identify her father.
My research led me to a couple in Hardeman, Tennessee. William T. “Dee” Dunnahoe (1900-1958) and his wife, Vergie Cox (1906-1943.) Together they had nine children, three boys, and six girls. Virgie died in 1943, and Mr. Dunnahoe married Frances Williams (1922-2005.) Frances and Dee had seven children together.
My client was born in 1969, so I had to look closely at the children of Mr. Dunnahoe. Mr. Dunnahoe had two wives so I had to determine which wife I had to foccus on. I began looking at the parents and grandparents of both, Virgie and Frances.
My client had numerous matches to individuals who descended from Thomas Cox and/or Martha Hurst, Virgie’s parents. Thus, Dee Dunnahoe and Virgie Cox
My client’s closest match to this line was to a woman named Georgia Dunnahoe. Georgia was the youngest daughter of Virgie and Dee. My client and Georgia had 1969 shared centimorgans.
My client’s next closest match was to a man who is the grandson of Dee and Virgie.
It was the third match which helped me understand that I was looking at the wrong generation. I had been looking at the male children of Dee and Virgie and presumed one of their sons was my client’s father. If I had looked closer, I could have seen that several of their daughters were born in the 1930’s and one of their son’s could have been the father. My client had a match with the same amount of shared centimorgans to Dee’s grandson, yet she was a generation later.
The Key match was Dee and Virgie’s great-granddaughter. Her father/mother would have been my client’s half-uncle/aunt. Thus, her half-uncle is my client’s father.
Now we reach out, hope, and wait!
My mother is Georgia Dunnahoe.