This is part 2 of “In Search of the Little General.”  In case you missed part 1, it can be found here:

In Search of the Little General – UD Pride

My grandfather Royal Joseph Dasher’s record from the City of Boston birth registry is really difficult to read, but on line 57 next to his name and date of birth was the notation (Mul).  Robert Ankenbauer the genealogist later confirmed that this was the designation for “mulatto” which in those days simply meant that the person was of mixed race.

There was a lot of correspondence back and forth between me, my younger sister, the Elder Swampette and Robert about Royal’s parentage.  As near as he could figure, Bamp’s father Royal H. Dasher was born in Augusta, GA to Henry A. and Harriet Dasher, who may or may not have been a slave owned by Henry. 

The Elder Swampette joined Ancestry.com and found Bamp’s complete military enlistment record, including his pay records and the fact that he was wounded:

https://central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.item/?op=pdf&app=CEF&id=B2302-s031

Bamp had enlisted and fought in WW1…with the Canadians!

Royal obviously fibbed and said that he was born in Montreal, PQ. His complexion is described as “dark” and his hair as “black.” It turns out he had worked as a grinder machine operator for Gillette, according to a copy of their in-house newsletter The Gillette Blade. It appears a lot of his fellow Gillette workers also signed up to fight with the Canadians. 

Bamp had a wonky left eye and his military records indicate that he had a scarred cornea that he injured sometime in his youth. He measured all of 5’2” and 124 pounds when he enlisted at age 25.  No wonder Nana dubbed him “The Little General.” 

None of this came as any great surprise, because we all knew Bamp was of mixed origin, but the question still remained:  

What was his ethnic background?

The only thing left to do was for someone to take the DNA test to help determine the genetic makeup of “The Little General” and of all of us in my family, as well.  

(Raises hand)

***

The DNA test is really pretty simple.  Ancestry.com sends you a kit, you fill a small tube with your saliva and send it back to them.  Six to eight weeks later, presto, instant DNA results!  

The FAQ section provides some caveats:

What will my results tell me?

Your Ancestry DNA results include information about your ethnicity across 26 regions/ethnicities and identifies potential relatives through DNA matching to others who have taken the Ancestry DNA test. Your results are a great starting point for more family history research, 

Can Ancestry DNA tell me about my Native American ethnicity?

The Ancestry DNA test may predict if you are at least partly Native American, which includes some tribes that are indigenous to North America, including the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The results do not currently provide a specific tribal affiliation. (Please note that your Ancestry DNA ethnicity results cannot be used as a substitute for legal documentation.)

How large is the Ancestry DNA database?

Ancestry DNA is the leader in DNA testing for family history and includes more than 1.5 million people who have taken the Ancestry DNA test as well as the ability to access Ancestry, the world’s largest online family history resource, which includes millions of family trees and over 16 billion historical records.

I was so excited to find out at last what the missing link in our family heritage was.  I didn’t really care if Bamp was Black, Native American, Norwegian or Martian.  He was what he was; we can’t possibly change that now.  

Here we go!

Survey says:

What I am:

Asia

Asia East 11%

Asia Central 1%

Asia South 1%

Pacific Islander

Polynesia 2%

West Asia

Caucasus 2%

Europe

Great Britain 42%

Ireland 33%

Scandinavia   5%

Europe East   2%

European Jewish   1%

Europe West <1%

What I am not:

North America

Native American 0%

So much for the ‘family legend’ of Bamp being an adopted Native American, eh?

Looks like “The Little General” was not Indian at all but some mix of Asian and Polynesian.  As you can see, the vast majority of my DNA comes from Europe, which would include all of my Dad’s and half of my Mom’s genetic makeup.  

Mystery solved!

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to order some Pan-Asian takeout food.