DNA

The Small family had the first meeting of our DNA Focus group at Willandra on 9th November 2019. Details of the event are in the 2020 Newsletter.

In 2019 a spreadsheet was set up for members of the Small Family who are showing up as DNA matches to the family. There were at least 116 people who have been DNA tested and are showing up as descendants of John Small and Mary Parker on Ancestry. These people have been followed up with email contact for those who we do not have currently on our mailing list that are in fact “Smalls”. As a result we have added many people to our email list. We now have about 250 people who link to members of the family.

A DNA focus group facebook page was established and can be joined at DNA Focus Group

One of the success stories connected with DNA has been Roger Pearson from Bendigo. You may like to read the 2020 Newsletter to find out more.

Another example of a recent DNA connection that we did not have in our database involved an illegitimate birth in the 1890’s. The DNA showed strong connection to the Small family and Ancestry used a range of trees to point out the connection using ThruLines. The single mother between 1891 and 1895, sought financial support for the child and there were numerous court appearances requesting financial recompense from the father. Paternity was finally admitted. Therefore the DNA match to the Small family was able to be confirmed using newspaper articles from the time and we have been able to add the DNA match to our mailing list and at least 20 people to our database. 

We are continuing to work with several people who have DNA matches to the Small family to help them find their biological families.