The use of DNA analysis in genealogy is a relatively new but rapidly growing feature in this field.

Bill and Thea Weedman contacted us and advised they wanted to pursue DNA testing. They decided to test for both the paternal and maternal sides (both for male and only maternal for female). DNA service www.familytreedna.com was selected.

That prompted a deeper look into the possibility of DNA testing for genealogical purposes and I am convinced this could be an excellent tool in our pursuit of our ancestry.

Here are some objectives that could be pursued with such a project:

  1. Determine if the Christian Weedman, Sr. line has any relationship with the Florida Weedman line. We know where the Florida line originated in Germany and if we establish there is a common male ancestor within a reasonable number of generations, we might gain insights of our origins. The preliminary indication is there is no recent relationship between the two lines as a result of the test results from Earl Joseph Weedman.
  2. Determine if the three apparent Swedish Weedman lines do indeed have a common ancestor. There were three brothers who came to this country from Sweden, but proof they were siblings has not been established. There may not be male descendants of each of the three brothers but there are from two.
  3. Determine if the Christian Weedman, Sr. line has a common male ancestor with the Swedish lines.
  4. Determine if the Christian Weedman, Sr. line has a common male ancestor with the Swedish lines.
  5. Determine if the Widman(n) family and the Christian Weedman, Sr. lines share a common male ancestor. If this proves correct, it may show that the original spelling of our surname was in fact, Widman or Widmann.
  6. Determine if the Weidman family which has numerous connections in Lancaster County, PA is closely related to the Christian Weedman, Sr. family.
  7. Prove the relationship between the lines of Philip Weedman, Sr. and Barnard Wiedeman who arrived on the same ship (the Commerce) in 1803. We are seeking a participant volunteer from the line of Barnard Wiedeman.

This project has begun! We currently have ten participants who have submitted their test and received results. More participants are needed. We are highly encouraged with these results and they motivate us to pursue the Weedman, Widmann, Weidman and Widman potential connections. Other variant spellings are welcome.

DNA Project Participants

Bill Weedman, mentioned above, of Encinitas, CA and Nick Weedman of Flat Rock, NC have test results that are an exact match.

According to Family Tree DNA, since the 12 sites tested are a perfect match we share a common surname there is a 99.9% chance we share a common ancestor. Bill and Nick both descend from Christian Weedman, Jr. and Christian is considered our most recent common ancestor. Our haplotype indicates our origin was in Northern Africa with a likely migration to Europe.

Freeman Jesse (Colonel Jim) Weedman of Omaha, NE has been tested and matches the results of Bill and Nick Weedman with a couple of minor exceptions. Where exceptions were noted were on sites that have a tendency to mutate thus giving minor variations in the results.

Earl Joseph Weedman, who descends from Philip William Weedman who was the patriarch of what we often refer to as the Florida Weedman line has also received his results. The test results do not match with those of Bill and Nick Weedman. Accordingly, it appears we do not share a common male ancestor for hundreds of years

As disappointing as it was to learn that Earl Weedman’s line and those of Christian Weedman, Jr. don’t share a common ancestor, learning this does fulfill one of our objectives which was to learn if the Florida Weedman line was related to the Christian Weedman, Sr. line.

Robert Harold Widmann of New York joined our group and the results of his tests show a reasonably close match to those of Bill Weedman, Colonel Jim Weedman, and Nick Weedman. It will take someone with greater knowledge of DNA testing than we have to determine if the results match close enough to say there is a relationship. Our analysis shows that the variations are again on sites that tend to mutate.

The common haplogroup of Robert Widmann, Bill Weedman, Colonel Jim Weedman and Nick Weedman is E1b1b1. The haplogroup for Earl Joseph Weedman and our sixth group member, Leon Weedman Myers of Tennessee, is R1b1a2.

Next Steps…

We are extremely pleased with the initial participation and encourage more family members to join. A larger data base will add credence to the results of the project.

Read the F&A page for more information on participation in the Weedman Family DNA Project.

One of the 50+ matches shared by Bill Colonel Jim and Nick Weedman is Curtis Loftin who has created a web site that is superb in explaining the basics of DNA testing and discusses the matches we all share. To see his site, click here.

There is an excellent article in the November/December issue of AARP, The magazine. If you do not receive the magazine, you can check out www.aarpmagazine.org.