From Boston Herald: CUMBERLAND, Md. — Harvard University Professor Henry Louis “Skip” Gates Jr. is asking all residents of Allegany County, Maryland, who are of Irish descent to get their DNA tested to help solve a 150-year-old family mystery — who is Gates’ great-great grandfather?
Through genealogical records, the Gates family history can be traced back to Jane Gates, a slave who lived on Greene Street. Jane, who was born in 1819, had five children and took the name and identity of their father with her to the grave, according to Gates.
“All Jane told the kids was that they all had the same father,” said Gates in a phone interview with the Times-News. “I have a picture of Jane Gates and her sons and they all look white, including my great-grandfather, Edward Gates, who was born December 1857 in (Allegany County) Maryland. I’m looking to find my great-great-grandfather and I hope to find him using DNA analysis.”
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