Week 17 DNA

I felt connected to the mother of my husband. I felt more than just a liking for her as a person or loving her as an extension of my husband. Rose Foster resembled my husband, Craig, in many ways. Both were shy and brave, had dark good looks, loved and worked with numbers. Concise, efficient, self-controlled and kind-hearted described them. Even though Rose and I did not share DNA, I had a kinship with her.

Both Rose and her sister, Elizabeth Coursen, carried mitochondrial DNA that their family traced back to Jeanette Keeler Ferguson. The mitochondrial DNA is inherited only from the mother. It is passed down from mother to daughter through the egg cell during fertilization. Rose and Betty (Elizabeth) were the daughters of Frances Cabell.  Frances was the daughter of Bessie Reynolds. Bessie was the daughter of Margaret Ferguson. Margaret was the daughter of Jeannette Keeler. Frances Cabell’s scrapbook held mementos and memories of all these women.  Here is a photo of Betty’s daughter, Betty, Rose, Frances and Bessie. Five carriers of Jeannette Keeler’s mitochondrial DNA and four generations are pictured here.

I happened to be pregnant with my first child when my husband and Rose’s oldest son, Craig Foster, was sent to serve a tour of duty on a small island. Shemya, Alaska, located 1,200 miles southwest of Anchorage, is 2 miles wide and 4 miles long. It is mostly runway. Some liken it to a prison without walls. More known as an Air Force base, army personnel also served there. Craig served in the Army Security Agency.

Shemya is 280 miles from a Russia-owned island and is almost touching the International Date Line. Craig said from Shemya he saw tomorrow.

Husband on Shemya, Me with Relatives

Husband on Shemya, Me with Relatives

When my husband was away and I was pregnant, I drove between my parent’s house in Seattle and my husband’s parents in Portland. My OB doctor had his practice in Portland. This was early in our marriage, and I hadn’t quite left the nest.

I talked Rose into taking La Maze birthing classes with me and being my coach when I had the baby. We would pant and breathe together through the labor pains. She would be in the delivery room for birth.  Fifty years ago, having family in the delivery room was beginning to be in style. It was mostly for the fathers.

Rose and I followed the plan. I presented our family with a beautiful baby girl. Rose and my father-in-law, Howard Foster, did not stop smiling. We called Craig in Shemya and talked. Then the crabby night nurse sent my family home. She was out of sorts for being told by my doctor that Rose was to be allowed in the delivery room. She was still muttering about that as she sent Rose and Howard home. The hospital did allow my daughter to be in my room in a bassinet by my bed.

I loved the fact that these people were contributing DNA to Craig’s and my daughter.

My Mitochondrial DNA

I can confirm my mitochondrial DNA from my daughter back to my great great grandmother, Johanne Catherine Rasmusdatter. through cousins on ancestry.com. Here are some family photos. My daughter and I at on the top right. My mother, Helen Wolfe Lonski, and I are on the top left.

My grandmother Edna (Dagny Oldsdatter) Wolfe and Helen show on the bottom left. Her mother, Elen Jacobsdatter, is on the bottom right. This last photo was taken in 1885 at Rövig in Hansel, Norway.