UPDATE: We have a winner! The father of the baby born January 22, 1963, in Los Angeles was Raymond Wallace HOOKER (1936-2000).

DNA can sometimes prove what no document can prove, and autosomal DNA is proving that Elizabeth HUFFORD who was born in 1851 in Carroll County, Indiana, has a previously unknown great-great granddaughter who was born in January 1963 in Los Angeles, California.

Elizabeth Hufford was the daughter of Andrew, who was the son of Abraham, who was the son of Casper, who was the son of Christian Hoffarth b. 1716.

Elizabeth was my great-great grandmother. She was a straight-laced German Baptist Brethren farm girl who married a Catholic man who was a veteran of the Civil War. She, her husband, and their nine children are pictured on page 81 of the 1909 HUFFORD FAMILY HISTORY.

Of all of my ancestral lines, it is the HUFFORD line that I have worked the hardest and the longest for 30 years. And of my eight sets of great-great grandparents, it is Elizabeth HUFFORD and George HOOKER‘s descendants whom I have worked most at tracking.

In 2014, I first stepped into the world of tying DNA to documentary genealogical research. Most of my work has involved autosomal DNA testing, and, for me, all of it on the HUFFORDs has involved autosomal DNA testing. These are direct-to-consumer spit tests that cost about $100 per test kit. The results and the accuracy are almost unbelievable, but it is all legit and for-real.

On October 17, 2017, a new match showed for me at ancestry.com:
“30.0 centimorgans (cM) shared across 3 DNA segments.”
That is not much, but it was enough for me to click one button: “SHARED MATCHES.” That click made clear that this is another HUFFORD descendant.

Immediately I saw that this woman shares DNA with four of my 2nd cousins once-removed, with one of my 3rd cousins, and with several more-distant HUFFORD cousins. Even at first glance, my assumption was that the woman descended from Elizabeth Hufford and George Hooker. (NOTE: How did I know that it was a woman? Because DNA does not lie and is not delusional.)

I sent her a message: “Hi! We’re both HUFFORD descendants. I’m from Elizabeth on page 81 of the Hufford book, and it looks as if you are also from Elizabeth. What’s your line? I’d like to add you to my tree.” The answer came back that she did not know her father; the truth of who her father was had been hidden from her, and her mother had died in 1988. I said, “Well, I know who your great-great-grandparents were. I’ll do my best to help you figure out who your birth father was.”

And that is what this blog post is about — trying to figure out who is this woman’s biological father and how the suspects were able to be narrowed down.

These were the certainties as the search began for my newly found cousin’s father:
(1) Her date of birth: 22-Jan-1963
(2) Her place of birth: Los Angeles, CA
(3) Her mother’s date of birth: 7-Jul-1936
(4) Her mother’s home at time of conception: East Los Angeles/Montebello area
(5) She definitely was not a hospital-switch: Her autosomal DNA test and the autosomal test of a son her mother birthed in 1964 show that the two share 1,436 centimorgans of DNA: absolutely NOT full-siblings, but absolutely the same mother.

Question: “Who’s her daddy?”

MAJOR UPDATE! 23-Nov-2017, Thanksgiving Day:
In addition to sharing DNA with a massive number of identified HUFFORD, CRIPE, and McMASTER descendants, and having two large shares with ID’d descendants of George Hooker and Elizabeth Hufford’s son James Burton Hooker, my newly found cousin also shares DNA (107 centimorgans) with a woman who descends from the grandfather of Thelma Margretta Dorene Hutchinson. Who was Thelma Hutchinson? Thelma was the wife of Lawrence Hooker, who was the son of James Burton Hooker (son of George Hooker and Elizabeth Hufford). Lawrence and Thelma had two sons who reached maturity. Nine months before my newly found cousin was born in Los Angeles near Montebello, both of Lawrence and Thelma’s sons were living in the Montebello, California, area. One was 26 and divorced; the other was 23 and married. Without DNA from a descendant of one of those two men, it’s unknown which one deserved the cigar. 

To start solving the puzzle, I needed good information about the descendants of Elizabeth HUFFORD and her husband George HUFFORD. Second, I needed DNA from several of those descendants. All of the DNA information came from one of the three companies that sell direct-to-consumer autosomal DNA testing: ancestry.com, 23andMe.com, or familyTreeDNA.com. Most of the information was found at ancestry.com; some was found at gedMatch.com, a free website where people who have tested with one of the three testing companies can upload their raw date to be compared with raw data uploaded by others.

As I began working the information, it quickly was apparent that the woman’s DNA also showed that she is a McMASTER descendant. Two of Elizabeth HUFFORD’s sons married McMASTER women (who were 1st cousins). So, after filling in and working the descendants of Elizabeth HUFFORD, I had to do the same for the McMasters. The two lists below are long and detailed. The first is the most detailed and the most nearly complete: It shows all known descendants of Elizabeth HUFFORD and George HOOKER through their great-great-grandchildren. Where my newly found cousin has a DNA match with one of Elizabeth Hufford and George Hooker’s descendants, that information is behind the name. First names of the living are omitted; however, if you are family or a competent genealogist, you can figure out who the living people are.

Descendants of George HOOKER & Elizabeth HUFFORD:
1– George HOOKER (1844-1921)
sp-Elizabeth HUFFORD (1851-1929)
…..2– Sarah Catherine HOOKER (1871-1952) (m. BEARD)
……….3– John Moore BEARD (1891-1979)
……….3– Marvin Earl BEARD (1893-1972)
……………4– Russell Edward BEARD (1915-2006)
………………..5– Living BEARD female (1943-) (m. 1st GOCHENOUR; m. 2nd GOOD)
………………..5– Living BEARD female (1949-) (m. STRANG)
……………4– Glen Earl “Dutch” BEARD (1917-1947)
………………..5– Living BEARD male (1945-)
………………..5– Living BEARD male (1947-)
……………4– Robert Jesse BEARD (1920-2010)
………………..5– Living BEARD male (1946-)
………………..5– Living BEARD male (1948-) (Shares 67 cM.)
………………..5– Living BEARD female (1952-)
………………..5– Living BEARD female (1956-) (m. HOSFIELD)
……………4– Roberta Fern BEARD (1920-2003) (m. SHEPARD)
………………..5– Living SHEPARD male (1944-)
………………..5– Living SHEPARD female (1947-) (m. WOLF)
………………..5– Living SHEPARD female (1952-) (m. NEAL)
……….3– George Irvin BEARD (1897-1965)
……………4– Miles Griffith BEARD (1918-2006)
………………..5– Alice Marie BEARD (1950-) (Shares 30 cM.)
………………..5– Living BEARD male (1955-)
………………..5– Living BEARD male (1954-)
………………..5– Living BEARD male (1959-)
……………4– Max Irvin BEARD (1920-1988)
………………..5– Mary Frances BEARD (1944-2009) (m. STEVENS)
………………..5– Living BEARD male (1948-)
……………4– Bruce Williard BEARD (1921-1990)
………………..5– Living BEARD female (1951-)
………………..5– Living BEARD female (1954-) (m. MILLER)
………………..5– Living BEARD male (1959-)
………………..5– Living BEARD male (1968-)
……….3– Edith Eve BEARD (1902-1978) (m. GRIFFITH)
……………4– Living GRIFFITH (1943-)
………………..5– Living GRIFFITH male (1966-)
………………..5– Living GRIFFITH male (1968-)
………………..5– Living GRIFFITH female (1974-) (m. REELSEN)
…..2– Mary Elizabeth HOOKER (1873-1963) (m. HAZLETT)
……….3– Essie Fern HAZLETT (1893-1981) (m. SHEARER)
……………4– Evelyn Janet SHEARER (1921-2003) (m. SHANK)
………………..5– Richard Paul SHANK (1949-2014)
……………4– Living SHEARER (1925; alive in 2003) (m. KEEN)
………………..5– Living KEEN female (1954-)  (m. 1st BYLER; m. 2nd HOWERTON) (Shares 40 cM.)
……….3– Glenn HAZLETT (1894-bef 1910)
…..2– Rosa Ellen HOOKER (1874-1962) (m. HURLEY)
……….3– Ruth Perrin HURLEY (1893-1967) (m. KRAMER)
……………4– Mary Katherine KRAMER (1918-2008) (m. BECKETT)
………………..5– Robert Byron BECKETT, Jr. (1942-2016)
………………..5– Living BECKETT male (1947-)
………………..5– Living BECKETT male (1950-)
……….3– Mabel Elizabeth HURLEY (1904-1965) (m. RUCH)
……………4– Rose Mary RUCH (1925-2011) (m. HARRISON)
………………..5– Living HARRISON female (1946-) (m. BYRKETT)
………………..5– James Dale HARRISON (1949-2012)
………………..5– Living HARRISON male (1958-) (Shares 34 cM.)
…………………….6– Living HARRISON female (1988-) (m. CATRAMBONE) (Shares 31 cM.)
………………..5– Living HARRISON female (1964) (m. GRICE)
……………4– Ruth Mary RUCH (1927-2013) (m. KUIPERS)
………………..5– Living KUIPERS female (1947-) (m. EBY)
………………..5– Robert Alan KUIPERS (1951-1972)
………………..5– Living KUIPERS female (1953-) (m. 1st MANNES; m. 2nd BAAS)
………………..5– Living KUIPERS female (1960-) (m. MOLENAAR)
……………4– Richard Hurley RUCH (1930-2016)
………………..5– Living RUCH male (1949-)
…………………….6– Living RUCH male (Shares 6.9 cM.)
………………..5– Christina Mary RUCH (1952-2000) (m. SLIGH)
………………..5– Living RUCH male (1953-)
………………..5– Living RUCH male (1959-) (Shares 20.5 cM.)
………………..5– Matthew John RUCH (1970-1979)
…..2– George Washington HOOKER (1877-1947) (m. Amanda McMASTER)
……….3– Robert J. HOOKER (1905-1977)
……………4– Elsie Irene HOOKER (1922-1973) (m. GOLCHUK)
……………4– Gladys May HOOKER (1924-2015) (m. MELVIN)
………………..5– Living MELVIN female (m. GORUK)
………………..5– Living MELVIN male (abt 1951-)
………………..5– Living MELVIN male
………………..5– Living MELVIN male
………………..5– Living MELVIN female
………………..5– Living MELVIN male
………………..5– Living MELVIN female (m. HORECHKA)
……………4– Clifford J. HOOKER (1925-1981)
……………4– Living HOOKER female (abt 1940-) (m. BODGER)
………………..5– Living BODGER male (1954-)
………………..5– Allen Lee BODGER (1956-1993)
………………..5– Living BODGER male (1957-)
………………..5– Catherine Ardeen BODGER (1958-2002) (m. 1st STORALE; m. 2nd QUIROZ)
……………4– William George “Bill” HOOKER (1941-)
………………..5– Living HOOKER male (1961-)
………………5– Living HOOKER female (1962) (m. SPICER) (Shares 41 cM.)
………………..5– Living HOOKER male (1965-)
……….3– Dora Rosella HOOKER (1908-1984) (m. JACKSON)
……………4– Living JACKSON male (1941-) (Shares 114 cM.)
………………..5– Living JACKSON female (1965-)
………………..5– Living JACKSON male (1967-)
……………4– David Charles JACKSON (1942-1944)
……………4– Living JACKSON female (1944-) (m. RAEBURN)
………………..5– Living RAEBURN male (1969-)
………………..5– Living RAEBURN male (1971-)
………………..5– Living RAEBURN male (1973-)
……………4– Stephen David JACKSON (1946-2005)
………………..5– Living JACKSON female (m. BEBEE)
……………4– Living JACKSON male (1950-)
……….3– James Benjamin HOOKER (1910-1984)
……………4– Donald James HOOKER (1938-1938)
……………4– James Murray HOOKER (1941-2016)
………………..5– Living HOOKER male (1977-)
………………..5– Living HOOKER male (1980-)
……………4– Living HOOKER female (1943-) (m. BODNAR)
………………..5– Living BODNAR male (1972-)
………………..5– Living BODNAR male (twin) (1975-)
………………..5– Living BODNAR female (twin) (1975-)
……………4– Living HOOKER male (1946-)
………………..5– Living HOOKER male (1987-)
……….3– Douglas Berdet “Bud” HOOKER (1914-1957)
……………4– Helen TOPPING (1937-2007) (m. WHIFFIN) (b. Margaret Eliza. MERCY)
………………..5– Andrew Scott Gordon WHIFFIN (1962-1984)
………………..5– Living WHIFFIN female (1963-) (m. PINCKSTON) (Shares 83 cM.)
………………..5– Living WHIFFIN male (1967-)
………………..5– Living WHIFFIN male (1970-)
……………4– Living HOOKER male (1941-)
………………..5– Living HOOKER female
………………..5– Living HOOKER female (m. MONTAGUE)
………………..5– Living HOOKER female
……………4– Lloyd Douglas HOOKER (1943-2009)
………………..5– Living HOOKER female (abt 1972) (m. MOORE)
………………..5– Living HOOKER male (aft 1972)
……………4– Living HOOKER female (1949-) (m. REIMAN) (Shares 46 cM.)
………………..5– Living  male SWENSON (1965-)
………………..5– Living  male REIMAN (1968-)
……………4– Roger John HOOKER (1953-1955)
……………4– William Richard “Rick” HOOKER (1958-1976)
……….3– Herbert Henry HOOKER (1920-1967)
……………4– Living HOOKER male (aft 1945-)
…..2– William Edward HOOKER (1879-1950)
……….3– Estella Leona HOOKER (1904-)
……….3– William Edward HOOKER (1927-1999)
……………4– Living HOOKER female (1953-) (m. GADDIS)
………………..5– Living GADDIS female (1972-) (m. HEATH)
………………..5– Living GADDIS male (1973-)
……………4– Living HOOKER male (1954-) (Shares 258 cM.)
………………..5– Living HOOKER male (1986-) (Shares 99 cM.)
………………..5– Living HOOKER male (1989-) (Shares 90 cM.)
……………4– Living HOOKER female (1957-) (m. 1st WALIA; m. 2nd LARSON)
………………..5– Living WALIA female (1981-)
………………..5– Living WALIA female (1985-)
………………..5– Living WALIA female (1987-)
…..2– Theodore John Wesley HOOKER (1882-1957)
…..2– James Burton HOOKER (1884-1955) (m. Adeline McMASTER)
……….3– Mabel Elizabeth HOOKER (1910-1910)
……….3– Lawrence James HOOKER (1911-2001) (m. Thelma HUTCHINSON) 
……………4– Elwood Wayne HOOKER (1934-1937)
……………4– Raymond Wallace HOOKER (1936-2000)
………………..5– Living HOOKER/McNABB female (1960-) (m. RELPH)
…………………….6– Living RELPH male (1984-)
…………………….6– Living RELPH male (1991-)
………………..5– Living HOOKER male (1963-)
………………..5– Living HOOKER male (1967-)
………………..5– Living HOOKER male (1970-)
………………..5– Living HOOKER female (1972-)
……………4– Doris May HOOKER (1939-1980)
……………4– Edward Keith HOOKER (1940-2017)
………………..5– Living HOOKER male (1960-)
…………………….6– Living HOOKER female (abt 2003-)
………………..5– Living HOOKER female (1963-) (Shares 1,070 cM; largest share)
…………………….6– Living GRAY female (1988-) (Shares 551 cM.)
……….3– Ruth Sybil HOOKER (1914-1979) (m. 1st GANTON; m. 3rd HARDIN)
……………4– Joyce Maureen GANTON (1932-1949)
……………4– Fay L. GANTON (1933-2014) (m. MIERA)
………………..5– Living MIERA male (1962-) (Shares 152 cM.)
…………………….6– Living MIERA male (1988-) (Shares 129 cM.)
…………………….6– Living MIERA male (1993-) (Shares 23.4 cM.)
…………………….6– Living MIERA female (1995-) (Shares 60 cM.)
……………4– Gwendolyn Joan GANTON (1938-1987) (m. THOMAS)
………………..5– Living THOMAS female (1956-) (m. JOHNSON)
………………..5– Living THOMAS male (1957-)
………………..5– Living THOMAS female (1963-) (m. m. HAYES)
………………..5– Living THOMAS female (1964-) (m. BRUSS) (Shares 217 cM.)
………………..5– Living THOMAS female (1967-)
………………..5– Living THOMAS female (1973-) (m. TAORMINA)
……………4– Sharon GANTON (1940-1988) (m. 1st SMITH; m. 2nd HART)
………………..5– Living SMITH male (aft 1960-)
………………..5– Living SMITH female (aft 1960-) (m. MEITHER)
………………..5– Living SMITH female (aft 1960-bef 2017) (m. KNITSCH)
………………..5– Living HART female (aft 1970-)
………………..5– Living HART female (aft 1970-)
………………..5– Living HART female (aft 1970-) (m. MOORE)
……………4– Living GANTON male (1942-) (Shares 574 cM)
………………..5– Gary Steven GANTON, Jr. (1968-2000)
…………………….6– Living GANTON female (1987-) (Shares 72 cM)
………………..5– Living GANTON male (1970-)
………………..5– Living GANTON female (1975-) (m. 1st SNODGRASS; m. 2nd WILLIAMS)
……….3– George Edward HOOKER (1915-1936)
……….3– Glen Burton HOOKER (1922-2010)
……………4– Henry HOOKER (abt 1950-)
……………4– Donald Guy HOOKER (1953-2009)
………………..5– Living HOOKER male (1975-)
………………..5– Living HOOKER female (1982-) (m. MacLEAN)
………………..5– Living HOOKER female (1986-)
……………4– Tina Louise HOOKER (abt 1958-1989) (m. WRIGHT)
……………4– Living HOOKER male (1962-)
………………..5– Living HOOKER male (abt 1985-)
………………..5– Living HOOKER female (2004-)
……………4– Glenda Rose HOOKER (1964-2008) (m. 1st JECK; m. 2nd MOLENDYK)
………………..5– Living JECK male (1982-)
………………..5– Living JECK female (1984-) (m. LITTLECHILD)
………………..5– Living JECK female (1987-) (m. WALLIS)
……………4– Living HOOKER male (1970-)
………………..5– Living HOOKER male (abt 1991-)
………………..5– Living HOOKER female (1994-)
……….3– Marion Margaret HOOKER (1924-2002) (m. CHAMBERS)
……………4– Living JACKSON female (1945-) (m. 1st DICK; m. 2nd MORROW)
………………..5– Living DICK male
………………..5– Living MORROW female
……………4– Living CHAMBERS female (1947-) (m. GELLNER)
………………..5– Living CHAMBERS male
………………..5– Living GELLNER female (m. SOMERVILLE)
………………..5– Living GELLNER male
……………4– Living CHAMBERS female (1948-) (m. 1st GOSS; m. 2nd MUENCH; m. 3rd BORROWS)
………………..5–
………………..5– Living GOSS female (1968-) (m. 1st SARGENT; m. 2nd HAWKINS) (Shares 309 cM.)
………………..5– Tyson Lorrie MUENCH (1976-2009)
……………4– Living CHAMBERS female (1955-) (m. HILL)
………………..5– Living HILL male (abt 1980-)
………………..5– Living HILL female (m. CAVALIERE)
……….3– Elizabeth Rose “Betty” HOOKER (1925-) (m. 1st WINTERS; m. 2nd KERR)
……………4– Living WINTERS male (abt 1947-)
………………..5– Living WINTERS male
……………4– Murray H. “Mo” WINTERS (abt 1949-bef 2016)
………………..5– Living WINTERS female
……………4– Karen WINTERS (abt 1951-bef 2016)
………………..5– Living female
……………4– Living WINTERS female (abt 1952-)
………………..5– Living child
………………..5– Living child
……….3– Living HOOKER male (1927-)
……………4– Living HOOKER female
……………4– Kenneth Wayne HOOKER (1959-1993)
……….3– Clifford Arthur HOOKER (1930-1947)
……….3– Clarence C. “Catsy” HOOKER (1932-1993)
……………4– Living HOOKER male (aft 1954-)
………………..5– Living HOOKER male (abt 1985-)
……………4– Clarice Adeline HOOKER (aft 1954-1999)
……………4– Living HOOKER female (abt 1957-) (m. LEA)
………………..5– Living LEA female (aft 1987-)
………………..5– Living LEA male (aft 1991-)
……………4– Living HOOKER female (abt 1959-) (m. SPELLER)
………………..5– Living SPELLER female (abt 1995-)
……………4– Living MORRIS male (abt 1962-)
………………..5– Living MORRIS male (1990-) (Shares 139 cM)
……………4– Living HOOKER female (abt 1965-)
……….3– Theodore Wentworth “Teddy” HOOKER (1936-1937)
…..2– Dora Leona HOOKER, R.N. (1886-1974) (m. MALONEY)
……….3– Challence Auburn MALONEY (1922-1968)
……………4– Living MALONEY female (1951-)
……………4– Living MALONEY female (1954-) (m. MAUSHUND)
………………..5– Living MAUSHUND female (1978-) (m. MORICE)
………………..5– Living MAUSHUND female (1983-) (m. COCHRAN)
……….3– Sarah Catherine MALONEY (1926-1993) (m. GENSEMER)
……………4– Living GENSEMER male (1952-)
………………..5– Living GENSEMER male (1988-)
………………..5– Living GENSEMER female (1990-)
……………4– Living GENSEMER female (1956-) (m. FINK) (Shares 146 cM.)
………………..5– Living FINK female (1987-)
……….3– George F. MALONEY (1927-2005)
……………4– Living MALONEY male (1952-)
………………..5– Living MALONEY male (1985-)
………………..5– Living MALONEY female (1987-)
……………4– Living MALONEY male (1954-)
………………..5– Living MALONEY female (1985-)
………………..5– Living MALONEY female (1987-)
………………..5– Living MALONEY female (1988-)
…..2– Challence Oscar “C.O.” HOOKER (1889-1957)
……….3– Thomas George HOOKER (1922-2006)
……………4– Living HOOKER female (1954-) (m. HASKINS)
………………..5– Living HASKINS male (1981-)
………………..5– Living HASKINS male (1983-)
……………4– Living HOOKER male (1955-) (Shares 172 cM.)
………………..5– Living HOOKER female (1982-) (m. LARSON)
………………..5– Living HOOKER female (1985-) (m. GLINIANY)
………………..5– Living HOOKER male (1987-)
……………4– Living HOOKER female (1958-) (m. GALZKI)
………………..5– Living GALZKI male (1983-)
………………..5– Living GALZKI male (1985-) (Shares 119 cM.)
………………..5– Living GALZKI female (1988-) (m. DILEY)
……………4– Living HOOKER female (1962-) (m. DUNN)
………………..5– Living DUNN female (1992-)
………………..5– Living DUNN male (1997-)
………………..5– Living DUNN female (1999-)
……….3– Theodore Challence HOOKER, M.D. (1924-2008)
……………4– Living HOOKER male (1950-) (Shares 156 cM.)
………………..5– Living HOOKER female (1987-)
………………..5– Living HOOKER male (1990-)
……………4– Living HOOKER female (1953-) (m. CASEBOLT)
………………..5– Living CASEBOLT female (1984-) (m. CUGA)
………………..5– Living CASEBOLT male (1989-)
……………4– Living HOOKER female (1964-) (m. O’DAY)
………………..5– Living O’DAY male (1997-)
………………..5– Living O’DAY male (2000-)
……….3– Joan Elizabeth HOOKER (1936-2010) (m. NEUMANN)
……………4– Living NEUMANN male (1959) (Shares 218 cM.)
………………..5– Living NEUMANN female (1990-)
………………..5– Living NEUMANN male (1992-)
……………4– Living NEUMANN male (1960-)
………………..5– Living NEUMANN male (1995-)
………………..5– Living NEUMANN female (1997-)
……………4– Living NEUMANN male (1961-)
………………..5– Living NEUMANN male (1999-)
………………..5– Living NEUMANN male (2005-)
……………4– Living NEUMANN female (1964-) (m. NEESON)
………………..5– Living NEESON male (1992-)
………………..5– Living NEESON female (1994-)
………………..5– Living NEESON female (1999-)

In addition to the shares with descendants of Elizabeth Hufford and George Hooker, the newly found cousin also has the following shares with a large number of descendants of Elizabeth’s ancestors and with one descendant of George’s ancestors:
60 cM: three-greats-grandson of David CRIPE and Jane F. DANIELS (maternal grandparents of Elizabeth HUFFORD). Descent is from that couple’s daughter Lucy’s daughter Lydia’s daughter Eve Lucille’s son John’s son.
57 cM: two-greats-granddaughter of David CRIPE and Jane F. DANIELS (maternal grandparents of Elizabeth HUFFORD). Descent is from that couple’s daughter Lucy’s daughter Lydia’s daughter Eve who was born in 1898.
48 cM: three-greats-granddaughter of Andrew HUFFORD and Sarah CRIPE (parents of Elizabeth HUFFORD). Descent is from that couple’s son John’s daughter Edna’s daughter Clara’s daughter Jane’s daughter.
41 cM: two-greats-granddaughter of David CRIPE and Jane F. DANIELS (maternal grandparents of Elizabeth HUFFORD). Descent is from that couple’s daughter Lucy’s daughter Lydia’s daughter Eve Lucille’s daughter who was born in 1923.
33 cM: two-greats-granddaughter of Andrew HUFFORD and Sarah CRIPE (parents of Elizabeth HUFFORD). Descent is from that couple’s son David’s son Walter’s son Robert’s daughter.
31 cM: two-greats-grandson of John HOCKERTS and Margaretha HAMMES (parents of George HOOKER). Descent is from that couple’s son Theodore’s son Clarence’s son Charles’ son who was born in 1945.
30 cM: two-greats-granddaughter of Andrew HUFFORD and Sarah CRIPE (parents of Elizabeth HUFFORD). Descent is from that couple’s son John’s daughter Edna’s daughter Lucile’s daughter who was born in 1944.
29 cM: two-greats-granddaughter of Andrew HUFFORD and Sarah CRIPE (parents of Elizabeth HUFFORD). Descent is from that couple’s son John’s daughter Ruth’s daughter Patricia’s daughter.
26 cM: two-greats-grandson of Andrew HUFFORD and Sarah CRIPE (parents of Elizabeth HUFFORD). Descent is from that couple’s son John’s daughter Edna’s daughter Lucile’s son.

There are many, many other identified HUFFORD descendants who share autosomal DNA with my newly found cousin.

That she is a HUFFORD descendant is undeniable, and the large matches with descendants of Elizabeth HUFFORD and George HOOKER (584 cM, 309 cM, 218 cM, 217 cM) make it undeniable that she descends from them. A share of 425 cM is typically a 1st cousin once-removed. A share of 212 cM is typically a 2nd cousin or a 1st cousin twice-removed.

The chart below is copied from the International Society of Genetic Genealogy’s site. It provides information about how much DNA would be shared between various relatives if every genetic mix and re-mix were exact. The mixes and re-mixes, of course, are not exact, and the farther away the relationship is from parent and child, the more the numbers can vary.

Next it was necessary to do some work on McMASTER descendants. I won’t present a full list of descendants as I have for Elizabeth HUFFORD’s descendant, but I shall include enough information to allow for some understanding of relationships. Let’s begin with the fact that two sons of Elizabeth HUFFORD and George HOOKER married McMaster women who were 1st cousins:
(1) In 1904, in Turtle Mountain, Manitoba, Elizabeth and George’s son George Washington Hooker married Amanda McMaster, granddaughter of Reynolds McMASTER (1817-1896) and Amanda PERRY (1829-1883).
(2) Sometime before 1909, likely in Ward County, North Dakota, Elizabeth and George’s son James Burton Hooker married Adeline McMaster, granddaughter of Reynolds McMASTER and Amanda PERRY.
Amanda’s father (Ira, b. 1858) and Adeline’s father (Edward, b. 1855) were brothers, as shown on the descendants list below:

Descendants of Reynolds McMASTER & Amanda PERRY:
1– Reynolds McMASTER (1817-1896)
sp-Amanda E. PERRY (1829-1823)
…..2– Edward McMASTER (1855-1931)
……….3– George McMASTER (1886-)
……………4– John Thomas McMASTER (1925-2005)
………………..5– Living McMASTER female (1954-) (m. MILLER)
…………………….6– Living MILLER female (Shares 123 cM.)
……………4– Isabel Elizabeth McMASTER (1933-2017) (m. BOZEMAN) (Shares 447 cM.)
………………..5– Living BOZEMAN female (1954-) (m. 2nd HOLM) (Shares 255 cM.)
…………………….6– Living HOLM female (Shares 137 cM.)
………………..5– Living BOZEMAN female (1964-) (m. 2nd EVANS) (Shares 137 cM.)
……….3– Adeline McMASTER (1892-1979) (m. James Burton HOOKER)
……………4– Lawrence James HOOKER (1911-2001)
………………..5– Raymond Wallace HOOKER (1936-2000)
………………..5– Edward Keith HOOKER (1940-2017)
…………………….6– Living HOOKER female (1963-) (Shares 1,070 cM.)
……………4– Ruth Sybil HOOKER (1914-1979) (m. 1st HARDIN; m. 2nd GANTON)
………………..5– Gwendolyn Joan GANTON (1938-1987) (m. THOMAS)
…………………….6– Living THOMAS female (1964-) (Shares 217 cM.)
………………..5– Living GANTON male (1942) (Shares 584 cM.)
……………4– Marion Margaret HOOKER (1924-2002) (m. CHAMBERS)
………………..5– Living CHAMBERS female (abt 1949-) (m. MUENCH)
…………………….6– Living GOSS female (1968-) (Shares 309 cM.)
……………4– Living HOOKER female (1925-) (m. 1st WINTERS; m. 2nd KERR)
……………4– Living HOOKER male (1927-)
…..2– Ira McMASTER (1858-1926)
……….3– Andrew McMASTER (1880-1951) (m. George Washington HOOKER)
…………..4– Helen Margaret McMASTER (1902-1973) (m. O’DONNELL)
………………..5– Gerald Andrew “Jerry” O’DONNELL (1931-2011)
…………………….6– Living O’DONNELL male (aft 1954-) (Shares 72 cM.)
…………………….6– Living O’DONNELL female (aft 1954-) (Shares 102 cM.)
……….3– Amanda McMASTER (1887-1963) (m. George Washington HOOKER)
……………4– Douglas Berdet “Bud” HOOKER (1914-1957)
………………..5– Helen TOPPING (1937-2007) (m. WHIFFIN) (born Margaret MERCY)
…………………….6– Living WHIFFIN female (1963-) (m. PINCKSTON) (Shares 83 cM.)
………………..5– Living HOOKER female (1949-) (Shares 46 cM.)
……….3– Charles Abner McMASTER (1895-1961)
……………4– Charles Dean McMASTER (1927-1981)
………………..5– Living KLASSEN male (1955-) (Shares 66 cM.)
………………..5– Living McMASTER female (aft 1961-) (m. TANKERSLEY)
…………………….6– Living TANKERSLEY male (1984-) (Shares 25 cM.)

The DNA says that, absolutely, my newly found cousin descends from Elizabeth HUFFORD and George HOOKER. The DNA also says that my newly found cousin must descend from a pairing of one of Elizabeth and George’s descendants with one of Reynolds McMaster and Amanda Perry’s descendants.

But wait! There is more DNA information:
The woman also has a 47 centimorgan match with a two-greats-granddaughter of John STEWART (1814-1889) and Margaret McDOUGALL (1811-1897) (thru their son Daniel’s son Duncan), and she also has a 25.9 centimorgan match with a three-greats-grandson of John STEWART and Margaret McDOUGALL (thru their son Daniel’s son William). Who were John Stewart and Margaret McDougall? They were the maternal grandparents of Adeline McMaster, Mrs. James Burton Hooker.

In other words, the DNA says that the woman descends from James Burton Hooker and Adeline McMaster. And the reality of biology says that the biological father of the woman is a male who was old enough to sire a child in early 1962, and that he was in the area of Los Angeles, California, in early 1962.

The next step was to sort thru my cousin’s DNA matches — match by match. I was hunting for a match who does not share with her maternal half-brother, and who also does not share with the 584-centimorgan match who is a grandson of James B. Hooker, and who also does not share with the 447-centimorgan McMaster-only match (Isabel McMaster).

And then I found it:
She has a 107-centimorgan match who shares with only five other people. One is the son of my newly-found cousin; one is obviously the daughter of the 107-cM match, and three are much smaller matches with no other shares and no useful trees.

The 107-cM match has a tree, but it’s not the best, and some names are hidden. With perseverance, I figured out the hidden names and started mining for info in various corners of the internet. The 107-cM match’s tree had a HUTCHINSON grandmother: Alma Fern Hutchinson, b. 1907; m. 1925 in Prince George, British Columbia, d. 1984, Prince George, British Columbia, Canada. Right surname. Right time frame. Right place. Shared DNA.

With more hunting, I found that Alma had a sister named Violet May Hutchinson, who married on 18-May-1938 in Sinclair Mills, British Columbia, “at the home of “Mr. Hooker.” BC Vital Statistics #39-09-459832; #30695B. The only “Mr. Hooker” with a house in Sinclair Mills in 1938 was James Burton Hooker, father of Lawrence Hooker. Sinclair Mills is a small place; even in 2010, there were only 19 households in the place. And, some more looking found that Violet May Hutchinson named her first-born daughter “Thelma Dorene.” Violet May Hutchinson was born in 1918; Thelma Dorene Hutchinson was born in 1916. Both grew up in Prince George, British Columbia.

So, right surname, right time frame, right small rural place, marriage in the private house of James B. Hooker (Thelma Hutchinson’s father-in-law), and a baby who appears to have been named after Thelma Hutchinson (Mrs. Lawrence Hooker). All that plus 107 centimorgans of shared DNA. That’s just too much for “coincidence.”

But I could not find the match on the trees, even as I worked to extend the tree of this 107-cM match. Finally I figured out what was hiding: From “The Province” newspaper, Vancouver, British Columbia; February 8, 1934; page 13:

The wedding announcement for Lawrence HOOKER and Thelma HUTCHINSON clearly named Thelma as “the second daughter of Mr. and Mrs. E. F. Hutchinson.” Previously, I had mistakenly assigned Thelma as the daughter of E.F. Hutchinson’s paternal half-brother. The wedding announcement made clear who was Thelma’s father.

Descendants of Albert HUTCHINSON:
1– Albert HUTCHINSON (1848-1904)
sp-Lydia E. COLLINS (1854-1875) (1st wife of Albert HUTCHINSON)
…..2– Ernest Frank HUTCHINSON (1872-1941)
……….3– Alma Fern HUTCHINSON (1907-1984) (m. McDOUGALL)
……………4– Living McDOUGALL female (b. abt 1940) (m. ZAMNIUK)
………………..5– Living ZAMNIUK female (b. abt 1967) (Shares 107 cM.)
……….3– Morell HUTCHINSON (1910-)
……….3– Melville HUTCHINSON (1913-)
……….3– Edward HUTCHINSON (1915-)
……….3– Thelma Dorene “Dolly” HUTCHINSON (1916-1986) (m. Lawrence HOOKER)
……………4– Raymond Wallace HOOKER (1936-2000)
……………4– Edward Keith HOOKER (1940-2017)
………………..5– Living HOOKER female (1963-) (Shares 1,070 cM.)
……….3– Violet May HUTCHINSON (1918-1991) (m. SANDE)
…..2– Edgar Benjamin HUTCHINSON (1875-1952)
On January 20, 1875, Albert Hutchinson’s wife Lydia COLLINS died.
On May 4, 1878, Albert Hutchinson married Alberta Alice ESTEY:
sp-Alberta Alice ESTEY (1860-1929) (2nd wife of Albert HUTCHINSON)
…..2– Byron D. HUTCHINSON (1879-)
…..2– Beecher HUTCHINSON (1881-)
…..2– Maud A. HUTCHINSON (1882-)
…..2– Frank Leroy HUTCHINSON (1885-1967)
…..2– Frances Luella HUTCHINSON (1887-)
…..2– Raymond Theodore HUTCHINSON (1891-)
…..2– Randolph Albert HUTCHINSON (1893-)
…..2– Anna Theresa HUTCHINSON (1895-1955)
…..2– Lena M. HUTCHINSON (1898-)

The fact that my newly found cousin shares DNA with someone who descends from Alma Fern HUTCHINSON, the sister of Thelma Hutchinson (Mrs. Lawrence Hooker), makes clear where my new-found cousin fits in the HOOKER/HUFFORD house: She fits as a granddaughter of Lawrence James HOOKER (1911-2001) and Thelma Dorene HUTCHINSON (1916-1986), parents of Raymond and Edward. The final proof was DNA from Edward’s daughter, which proved that Edward’s daughter and my newly found cousin are first cousins, meaning that the father of my newly found cousin was Raymond.