Using Y-DNA to Uncover Cumbo Connections

Author’s Note:  All  All living males born with the last name Cumbo (or its derivatives) who have Y-DNA tested are invited to join our Cumbo US South Y-DNA project which can be found here –  https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/cumbo-us-south/about

My 5th great grandfather was Britton Cumbo Sr., a free man of color born circa 1776-1794 and lived in Northampton County, North Carolina.  I’ve spent years researching who his parents and immediate family might have been.  I would like to share how I leveraged Y-DNA testing to learn more about my fifth great grandfather’s paternal Cumbo ancestry.

Here’s the earliest document I’ve uncovered on Britain [Britton] Cumbo Sr. and his family, an 1820 census record for a free colored household in Northampton County. 

Cluster Analysis.  Through cluster analysis— a research approach in which you look for as much documentation as possible on families in a particular area who share a last name (Cumbo) with the hope to find clues that will reveal ancestry — I formed a theory that Britton Cumbo’s father was Matthew Cumbo and that Britton’s brother was David Cumbo, both free men of color living in neighboring Hertford County, North Carolina.

Here is a county map of North Carolina.  Northampton County, home of Britton Cumbo Sr. sits adjacent to Hertford County, North Carolina, home of Matthew Cumbo and David Cumbo.

 Here’s a mapping of the free colored population for North Carolina in 1830 according to John Hope Franklin’s book The Free Negro in North Carolina.  As you can see in 1830, Northampton and Hertford Counties had the largest concentration of free people of color of any other county in the state.  The rationale for looking at neighboring counties for Cumbo connectinos is that land was scarce, so while family members might have wanted to live next to each other, they may have had to settle for living in neighboring counties.

Here’s the earliest document I’ve uncovered on Matthew Cumbo and his family, an 1800 census record for a free colored household in Hertford County. 

Here’s the earliest document I’ve uncovered on David Cumbo and his family, an 1830 census record for a free colored household in Hertford County. 

Gathering DNA Clues.  In addition to clues gleaned from my cluster analysis, I identified multiple autosomal DNA clues generated by my family that supported the connection.  As an example my mother generated a DNA match who was a direct descendant of David Cumbo.  A quick search of her match list using the surname Cumbo resulted in 9 matches – 5 descended from Britton Cumbo Sr. and 4 descended from David Cumbo.  These results supported my hypothesis that Britton and David were brothers because she matched descendants from both men.

Here are the results from my “Cumbo” surname search of my mother’s David Cumbo descended AncestryDNA match.

Y-DNA testing.  To validate that Britton and David were brothers, possibly sons of Matthew, I created a Y-DNA test plan.  Y-DNA testing analyzes the DNA markers a father passes down to his sons through the Y chromosome. To successfully use Y-DNA testing to prove their connection I first identified two direct paternal descendants of Britton Cumbo – C. Cumbo and M. Cumbo – for testing.  I approached two as an insurance against the potential of an unexpected non-paternity event.  I then identified a direct paternal descendant of David Cumbo – A. Combo –through a mutual cousin and fellow researcher Dr. Warren Milteer.  All three agreed to test.

The moment of truth.  Britton Cumbo’s descendants – C. Cumbo and M. Cumbo – both matched each other and their results came back haplogroup E-M2 which dates back 20,000 years to a common ancestor in Sub Saharan Africa. David Cumbo’s descendant – A. Combo – did not match either C. Cumbo or M. Cumbo. A. Combo’s results came back haplogroup R-M269 with origins closer to 5-10,000 years ago in Neolithic Europe.  I was excited to see C. Cumbo and M. Cumbo’s results trace back to an African origin haplotype, confirming  that my Cumbo family branch originated in Africa. But I was also disappointed that the Britton Cumbo direct paternal descendants did not match A. Combo.

Here is a summary of my Cumbo Y-DNA testing results.

This unfortunately means, assuming no unexpected surprises in the direct paternal lineages of my testers, that David Cumbo and Britton Cumbo were not full brothers or even half-brothers through a common father. The inconclusive results also leave open the question – since Matthew was not the father of both Britton and David – whether he could have been the father of one of them and if so which one?

Genealogy is challenging.  After a year of researching and testing, I did not achieve the outcome I was anticipating. With this said, I firmly believe that there is value in sharing genealogy case studies with unexpected outcomes, they don’t all have to offer neat resolutions. One lesson here is that all we control as genealogists is the objectivity, rigor, reasoning and research approach we apply to solving our family mysteries.

Where do I go from here? My plan is to establish a Cumbo Y-DNA project and encourage all direct paternal Cumbos with ancestry rooted in the U.S. South to Y-DNA test to look for Cumbo family connections.  I will also continue to encourage both my Britton David Cumbo descended DNA matches to upload their results to Gedmatch so I can do more detailed segmentation analysis of our shared connection and hopefully better understand how we all connect since Britton and David don’t share paternal ancestry.  Finally, I plan to extend my cluster research leveraging court records, estate records and private manuscripts in the hopes that I will uncover documentation that will reveal Britton Cumbo’s parentage and immediate family.

What are your experiences leveraging Y-DNA testing to t clarify family connections?

Hezekiah [Tom] Cumbo (b. 1858-1892) with an unidentified boy, of Kirby, Northampton, North Carolina.  Photo courtesy of Ashley Taylor Crum.

Cornelius [Neal] Cumbo 1877-1942 son of Hezekiah Cumbo of Rich Square, Northampton County, North Carolina.  Photo courtesy of Myra Warren.

The seven sons of Cornelius and Lela George Cumbo at the Funeral of Cornelius, May 1942, Rich Square, North Carolina. Frank (back), Jesse, Willie Morris, Herbert, Luther Ed (Middle), John, Robert (Front).  Photo courtesy of Myra Warren.

Jordan Cumbo (1881-1964) of Jackson, Northampton County, North Carolina.  Photo courtesy of Aleathea Cumbo.

William [Sam] Cumbo (1913-1999), son of Jordan Cumbo, of Portsmouth, Virginia.  Photo courtesy of Carolyn Cumbo.

Y-DNA Hapolgroup descriptions.