Who Are You?

There is no bone in the chimpanzee body that I don’t share nor is there no known part of the immune system, digestive system, vascular system, lymph system or nervous system that I have and a chimpanzee does not and vice versa.  We are only 2-5% different in genetic structure from chimpanzees.²   I am who I am.  Who are you? 

The aged old debate goes on as to whether nature (genetics / heredity) is more significant than nurture (environment) in shaping who we become and are.  My life experiences suggest that the environment is crucial in the early developmental years…cultural adaptation, values formation, and behaviour patterns while hereditary influences include physicality, propensity for disease or illness, and intelligence that carry forward from cradle to grave.    

I recently started delving into my past to learn about my genetic past.  I took a long leap backward and participated in the National Geographic Genographic Project and submitted my DNA to see which group(s) my ancestor’s belonged to as they migrated out of Africa as far back as 60,000 years ago.  I ponied up the money for a dual report…maternal and paternal.   Only males can participate in getting both because of possessing the X & Y chromosomes.  It was not a big surprise that both sets of my ancestors trekked north to Europe. 

My wife’s maternal family tree is traced back to the 1600’s with origins in United Kingdom.  Her distant relatives were among the first Europeans to inhabit this great nation on the east coast.  Apparently the research related to this tree has been in the making for many years by a number a people.  The further you delve into the history of a family it becomes really interesting to see the linkages and how closely connected we are.  My wife has some kinship to the infamous Lizzie Borden in her tree, so I have learned to sleep even more lightly since I have learned that bit of information J.   I expect her father’s family to also have originated from the U.K. with a name like Blackford.  My son can be safe and secure wearing the England national team football jersey.

With the help of my cousin and his wife we were able to start piecing things together to get some sort of visualization of our family history on my father’s side.  It has been an interesting journey.  In my quest, I learned that my surname today is not spelled the same as it was yesterday.  For example, my last name is spelled La Combe, my grandfather’s native name was Lacome, but changed it to LaCombe circa 1943.  Records indicate his name was Lacome when he was elected to the Colorado State House of Representatives in the early 1940’s, but appears that he changed it soon thereafter. 

That has been one of many hurdles in my attempt to discover my ancestral history.   I recently finished a biography of a frontiersman who lived in the vicinity where my parents and grandparents lived which gave an accounting of life during the time Colorado was part of the New Mexico territory¹.  It was a raw, rugged and rough existence.  Survival in this land required courage to fend off threats from nature and other people.  As a consequence of the locale and times, there were untimely deaths that afforded more than one spouse during a lifetime and the adoption of children.  These events have created a challenge of ensuring relations in the attempt to complete the puzzle. Then there are a few whose names we know through oral history, but records of their existence are barely evident.  We’ve traced the Lacome name back to France, but the fathers before me with that name in the U.S. were given Spanish first names…Juan, Francisco, Guillermo.   Really?  Go figure.  My generation from the Lacome/LaCombe/La Combe family of whom I am associated with broke the Spanish first name tradition.  

For many families living in the San Luis Valley and north central New Mexico prior to the 20^th century most of the women were named Maria or Josefa and the boys were Juan, Joseph, Jesus or Jose.   We have found the middle names to be critical in identifying which Maria among 5 in a family was in fact my great great… grandmother.  I also found people from different clans with the same surname marrying each other.   One branch led to origins from Spain, which is perceived to be more prestigious than having origins from Mexico in some parts of the world.  That is just on my dad’s side.  I expect twists and turns on my mom’s side since some of her family moved often before finally establishing roots in Colorado.

I truly enjoy learning who my forefathers and foremothers were and finding that one bit of information that gets me to the next generation.  Once you get started it becomes addicting.  I can trace one branch of my family back at least 7 generations in this country to early 17^th century, or over 100 years before our independence.  In fact, one of my great…great grandfathers was a conquistador and one of the original settlers in New Mexico who was beheaded in 1643 because of his relationship with the Governor of the New Mexico.  I have found traces of Spanish, French, English, German, Dutch with probably some Mexican and Native American tossed in for good measure in my ancestry.  

In a multi-cultural world what does it mean to be Spanish, French, English, German, etc., beyond cultural and geographic differences?   As an American, does it matter where our ancestors originated?  Is there any cultural relevance from an ancestral group after being removed 3 generations or more?    In the end, the scientific reality is that we as a people began the journey of life in Africa starting with 2 people and that makes us all kin to one another…who knows, the person you marry may be your 13^th cousin…just as long as it not your first or second, even if it might be legal J. 

Sources:

1.     Perkins, J. E. (2005).  Tom Tobin: Frontiersman.  Adobe Press; Monte Vista, CO.

2.     Ridley, M.  (1999).  Genome:  The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters. Perennial Harper; New York.