Final DNA Results

Sorry again for the long delay but we did get the final DNA results in. We tested 37 markers and no one matches Wendell's DNA exactly. We identified one person in the Family Tree DNA databases, with the last name Stewart, who is only one marker off. This Steward line can be traced back to central North Carolina but dead ends after 6 generations. No Allens that have submitted their DNA were close matches.

So what does all of this mean? Well, it's hard to say. There are several scenarios that would explain the results. In no particular order, they are...
1. The Carroll County Allen(s) that have submitted their DNA to the site are not truly related to the family of Andrew Jackson Allen. Perhaps there was a disconnect in their male line.
2. There is a disconnect in one of Andrew Jackson Allen's male ancestors. Perhaps his father was not truly Carr Allen, or Carr Allen was not truly the son of William Allen.
3. John William Allen's father was a different Andrew Jackson Allen, perhaps from another Allen family in Virginia.
4. Frances Shiflett was with another man around the time she was with Andrew Jackson Allen and that man is the father.
5. The DNA results are incorrect.
6. Wendell's DNA has mutated more than would be expected, thus skewing the results.

Concerning items 3 and 4, we do know that Frances Shiflett told her son that Jackson Allen was his father. John changed his name from Shiflett to Allen when he registered to vote and we are told he was in touch with Allens from Carroll County. He also listed Jackson Allen as his father on his marriage certificate. Everyone involved truly believed that Jackson Allen from the Carroll County Allen family was John William's father. Despite the results, I still have no reason to doubt this history at this time.

One other note concerning the Stewart family match. There were Stewart/Stuarts in Carroll County. Jackson Allen's paternal grandmother was a Stuart. Also, the most distantly traced Stewart of our match comes from Rowan County, NC. This County is about 80 miles due South of Carroll County, VA.