DNA - Genealem's Genetic Genealogy

Family Tree DNA Allows Transfers of 23andMe Test Results

2012-01-31T16:12:00.000-08:00

Today, Family Tree DNA opens the door to 23andMe customers! Those who tested with the V3 (Illumnia OmniExpress chip) may upload their results file to FTDNA for a one-time fee. Those who tested with the lower resolution V2 chip will have the option to retest with FTDNA at a discounted rate!

FTDNA is the largest testing company for genealogists and have allowed testers from several other companies to transfer their results to them, including the buy-out of DNA Heritage. This 23andMe customers will soon discover is because the personal webpages (myFTDNA) are loaded with information and the project administrators and community support are invaluable to the serious genealogist using DNA.

You can transfer test results if you are the owner or primary kit manager of a 23andMe test. Your options depend upon the test you took at 23andMe. If you took the "V2" test, you can order a new Family Finder test kit at a discount. If you took the "V3" test that uses the Illumina OmniExpress chip, you can import your results into the Family Tree DNA database. You can transfer test results if you are the owner or primary kit manager of a 23andMe test.

There are several options, all allowing you to be a member of a project:

Option............................................Price....................Matching
FTDNA Kit Import (V2)............$50+$109 = $159........Retest
FTDNA Kit Import (V3)............$50..............................Database Import
New Customer Transfer (V2)....$50+$109 = $159........Retest
New Customer Transfer (V3)...$50...............................Database Import

See the FAQs on how to transfer your test result whether you have a current test account with FTDNA or not.

What are the advantages?

1. No monthly or annual fee
2. You can contact your matches directly by e-mail.
3. Your matches are active genealogists, not medical study participants.
4. You continue to receive matches with the arrival of any future tests.
5. You receive the same options to upgrading as other customers, but if you are a new customer, you need to submit a DNA sample with your first order. Family Tree will only receive your test results and not the original sample you gave to 23andMe.
6. You can remove your test results any time; it is your DNA.

Enjoy,
Emily

DNA - Genealem's Genetic Genealogy

2011-12-16T02:51:00.000-08:00

DNA - Genealem's Genetic Genealogy

Archives.com and Family Tree DNA

2011-12-16T02:15:00.000-08:00

Archives.com Partners with Family Tree DNA

In late September 2011, Bennett Greenspan and Max Blankfeld, founders of Family Tree DNA, called to ask if I would review a database company called Archives.com as FTDNA was creating a partnership with Archives to sell their DNA tests. I groused that I had run into that website more times than I liked since it is a paid site and seemed to have itself connected to many counties I was researching. I just didn’t want to get involved with another paid site. There are many costly databases for genealogists to use, and I feared this one was too expensive as I had found it everywhere. As I was able to explore the site without paying and was asked to give my honest opinion, I agreed.

I was introduced to Julie Hill, Product Manager, and John Spottiswood, Vice President of Business Development who answered any questions I had and requested any feedback I wish to send. Julie spent time showing me around the site, and later I spoke with the director of acquisitions which, to my pleasure, was a certified genealogist.

Background:
Archives.com was launched in July 2009 and has its headquarters in Redwood City, California. This budding company’s goal is to make records available to genealogists at an affordable price. As Julie Hill stated:

At Archives.com we’re extremely proud of our accomplishments this past year adding substantial value for members, and securing a number of fantastic partnerships. We look forward to adding millions of records, bringing the 1940 Census online, and other exciting enhancements in 2012.

Archives.com contracts with many companies and develops partnerships to allow customers to access various databases at one location. The database is updated weekly, and some content is not available elsewhere.

The company’s focus for historical records acquisition is primarily US based, though they do plan to integrate a number of new international collections. They are adding vital and census records whenever possible, but are interested in any records valuable for family history research. These include immigration, military, obituary, newspaper and others.. So it’s a wide variety!

Archives.com has
...Over 1.6 billion historical records and counting.
...18 of the 20 top records collections of the nearest competitor
...Over 4 million unique visitors monthly.

Family Tree DNA Partnership:
Archives is running the same sale that Family Tree DNA is having until December 31 with kits up to 30% off. Just go to the site to order your test.

Archives.com Features

Original Hard-Copy Certificates:
Birth, death, marriage and divorce records are obtainable through Archives.com.

Digitized Historical Newspapers:
This large collection does not focus only on obituaries, but encourages the researcher to look for other topics such as birth and wedding announcements, professional achievements and volunteer work of your ancestors. You can also look up historical events or learn more about the period your ancestor lived and even the prices they paid for products. All genealogists know how the local news can enhance the knowledge of our ancestors’ lives.

On-site County Records Research:
This feature allows you to request a person to search any court, criminal, or civil records in the US, saving you the time and expense of travel. This feature is especially helpful in researching more current records and does require additional cost.

Roots & Branches:
...Partnership between Archives.com and the National Archives to provide the 1940 Federal Census to the public. This is free access to browse, view and download images from the census and will be available April 2, 2012 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time. See www.archives.com/1940census for more details on the census.
...Contest to win a trip to reunite with a long lost relative for the holiday season through a partnership with WhitePages.com. The deadline is December 19th to submit your favorite memory about a lost relative you would like to locate. See: http://www.archives.com/blog/miscellaneous/win-a-trip-to-reunite-with-a-relative.html
...Partnership with Family Tree DNA, the world leader in genetic genealogy, to sell their tests on Archives.com, giving their customers the opportunity to find historical records and explore their genetic genealogy in one location.

My Tree:
This feature allow you to build a family tree, upload an existing Gedcom, add records, images, and notes from the Archives.com database and share it in email, video, and on social media forums such as Facebook. You can add family members from those social networks and share your lineage with them.

Learn:
Under this heading you can view several topics, and with each you can visit several resources to help you with each section, including watching webinars, downloading various guides, and reading articles from experts.

Grow Your Tree:
This section is wonderful for beginners and allows you to start building your tree. It explains how you should be a detective and offers the ability to set up an alert for information on an ancestor. This alert will notify you when data has been found about an ancestor you seek.

How to Search:
This section provides tips and ideas on searching the databases.

Expert Articles:
This is a wonderful section! There are many articles on a large variety of topics from many well-known experts in the field of genealogy. I have had the pleasure to meet several of them and can vouch for their expertise. Everyone can learn from this feature.

Video Tutorials:
Brick wall Strategies, Finding Your Family in Old Newspapers, Online Immigration Records, Online Census Secrets, and Vital Records are currently listed with more to come. These Webinars can be downloaded or viewed online.

Member Forums:
Here you can ask research questions, help others and get help for yourself.

AND, your membership includes a free copy of Family Tree Magazine.

A year’s membership is $39.95, but some features require additional payments which are cheaper than using other companies or traveling yourself. A comparison of Archives.com to their nearest competitor may be viewed at: http://www.archives.com/compare

The Good:
I found the site easy to maneuver. If your search does not give you enough examples, Archives, provides suggestions and possibilities. You can choose to search on the exact given and/or surname or not. The result of a search is given according to databases (i.e., census, newspapers, obituaries, etc.) with the number of entries allowing you to choose the area of interest or you can view all the entries at once. It is easy to alter your search without going to a separate page. I often find on the right of the search page a list of newspapers containing the name I am searching. This list gives the date, name of newspaper and city and state so you can determine if it could be your person without viewing the entire article.

Archives.com has retained the Social Security Death Index as that is a current controversy. From that search I am able to locate the last known residence on a map link and often a listing of cemeteries in the county. However, the word county isn’t indicated and that needs correcting as it can be confusing to the novice. For example: Paul Ogan last resided in Kansas City, MO. There are 72 listings for Jackson, MO. That should read Jackson Co, MO. I know that Kansas City is in Jackson County, but I wouldn’t know the county name for many smaller towns.

The obituaries can be seen in full and are easily printed. I found a few which were poorly transcribed, but that is a result of the organization that partnered with Archives. What was very helpful is that every location mention is linked to a map which shows you the locations of family members. This source is invaluable for genealogists seeking family members that may still be living as well as clues for relationships.

All of the census images will be ready by the end of 2011 and they are working on the 1940 census to have it ready soon after it is available in April 2012 with all its indexing ready a few months after that.

I also found that John and Julie were very helpful and listened to my comments. I was told they listen to their customers, and I find that is true as they have already implemented some of my suggestions and have put others in the queue for IT to repair.

The Bad:
Like most database companies, Archives.com relies on other companies and volunteers to transcribe and index data, and results in errors. All genealogists know how frustrating it can be when those volunteers do not know how to read the old handwriting, do not take the time to match difficult to read letters with other examples on the page or nearby pages, or do not clarify the difference between towns and counties clearly. In other databases, I have seen the surname Talley spelled by indexers as: Lalley, Salley, Falley and more. One only needs to compare the handwriting with other names (in this case, Lawrence, Sally, Franklin, and Thomas) to determine the correct letter. Every database has these problems, but I want to see less errors. It may be extremely difficult to correct once the material is uploaded, but as I have been researching for the last forty years, it is very worrisome that, with the advent of the computer, we are seeing more and more people take what they read online as gospel and not use multiple sources to double check facts. For this reason it is imperative that a company demand their workers and clients produce the most accurate product possible.

The Best:
Besides all the features above, the pace at which this company’s database is growing, and their willingness to listen to customers, it is wonderful to have a business give the other huge database companies a run for their money and to do so by not taking all of ours! The subscription is only $39.95 per year, quite affordable for anyone and well worth the cost.

The generosity of this company towards its Family Tree DNA partner is wonderful. Attendees at the FTDNA conference last November heard the first public announcement of this partnership. Those near me were very pleased with what they saw from Archives even before Archives announced that all present would receive a year’s subscription free. FTDNA has formed a committee, under Katherine Borges, Director of the International Society of Genetic Genealogy (ISOGG), for feedback to Archives, and I look forward to their growth and partnership with FTDNA.

Pitts Project DNA Success Story

2011-11-18T10:03:00.000-08:00

DNA testing for the use of genealogy has produced many success stories over the years. Genealogy research will always have a dead-end where DNA testing can give you matches with cousins when the connection is current to hundreds or thousands of years old, depending upon the test taken. Many of these stories can be seen under Success Stories for the ISOGG (International Society of Genetic Genealogy) website. Many stories have not been printed anywhere. David has three such stories on the Pitts website, but the one below is the most current.

In the past I have posted some of the success stories for my projects and have found that others recognize the names, so more cousins were located and more genealogy shared. If you would like your DNA Success story posted here, email me.

The particular story is a result of testing Family Tree DNA's Family Finder test, an autosomal test which gives the testers matches anywhere in their lineages back to 5-6 generations, and allows you to compare shared segments on each of our 22 pairs of chromosomes. There are exceptions that give matches farther back. For example, if an ancestor married his or her cousin, the descendants would inherit more autosomal DNA from that couple than from others in their lineage. For this reason, a predicted match of a 3-4 cousin could be a 6-7 cousin or so in reality. The Family Finder test can also help adoptees find more recent cousins who may know more than they about their lineage.

Family Tree DNA has many of their tests and upgrades to tests on sale now through the end of December so take advantage of the most accurate tool a genealogist has. See the post prior to this one for details of the sale.

Family Finder DNA Success Story for Group 1 of the Pitts DNA Project

We had long suspected that Mary Lenora Pitts was a daughter of Pitman Pitts (b. 1784 VA) and Mary C. Andrews Pitts. This was, in part, due to the 1860 census showing Mary Lenora and another girl (possibly granddaughters) living with Mary C. Andrews Pitts. We had tried for several years to figure out a way to test this hypothesis using mtDNA by testing the descendants of Mary Lenora Pitts to a living person who was in a direct female line. But the other two daughters of Mary C. did not produce viable direct female lines.

The autosomal Family Finder test, however, made testing this hypothesis easy since the lines could be mixtures of males and females.

I matched Nancy (the descendant of Mary Lenora) on chromosome 3 and my sister Imogene matched her on a slightly larger segment in the same area on chromosome 3 (both with the Affymetrix and Illumina chips). My 3rd cousin once removed (Sue, verified by both Family Finder and Y-dna with her brother at 67 markers exact) matched Nancy on Chromosome 5 with the Affymetrix chip but not with the Illumina chip. My 1st cousin once removed, Celestine, however, did not match Nancy with the Affymetrix chip, but did match her on chromosome 16 with the Illumina chip. So all four of us that tested matched Nancy. We are fourth cousins with our most recent common ancestors being Pitman Pitts and Mary C. Andrews Pitts.

David Pitts
Pitts DNA Project co-administrator

Enjoy,
Emily Aulicino, 18 Nov 2011

Family Tree DNA SALE

2011-11-15T13:08:00.000-08:00

Dear Project Administrator,
As we approach the holiday season, we feel having one BIG promotion for a sufficient amount of time best supports our volunteer Administrators, in their effort to recruit new members. Current members will also benefit by having simultaneously reduced prices for upgrades.
Effective immediately this promotion will end on December 31, 2011.
We hope that this will give a big boost to your projects!

New Kits

	Current Group Price	SALE PRICE
Y-DNA 37	$149	$119
Y-DNA 67	$239	$199
mtFullSequence	$299	$239
SuperDNA (Y-DNA67 and FMS)	$518	$438
Family Finder	$289	$199
Family Finder + mtPlus	$438	$318
Family Finder + FMS	$559	$439
Family Finder+ Y-DNA37	$438	$318
Comprehensive (FF + FMS + Y-67)	$797	$627

Upgrades
12-25 Marker	$49	$35
12-37 Marker	$99	$69
12-67 Marker	$189	$148
25-37 Marker	$49	$35
25-67 Marker	$148	$114
37-67 Marker	$99	$79
Family Finder	$289	$199
mtHVR1toMega	$269	$229
mtHVR2toMega	$239	$209

ALL ORDERS MUST BE PLACED AND PAID FOR BY MIDNIGHT DECEMBER 31st 2011 TO RECEIVE THE SALE PRICES. THIS PROMOTION IS NOT VALID IN CONJUNCTION WITH ANY OTHER PROMOTIONS OR COUPONS.
AT THIS TIME, WE WILL NOT BE OFFERING DISCOUNTS FOR THE Y-DNA111, NEW KITS OR UPGRADES. THOSE MAY BE OFFERED AT A LATER TIME PENDING THE LAB VOLUMES WITH THE TESTS UNDER PROMOTION.
Log in to place your order You are welcome to share this information with the members of your groups.

As always, we appreciate your continued support.
Family Tree DNA
www.familytreedna.com

DNA and Social Networking by Debbie Kennett

2011-11-09T00:07:00.000-08:00

DNA and Social Networking: A guide to genealogy in the twenty-first century
by Debbie Kennett

The History Press, The Mill, Brimscombe Port Stroud, Gloucestershire, gl5 2qg (www.thehistorypress.co.uk), 2011.

I must admit that I personally know Debbie Kennett as we both attend the Who Do You Think You Are? Conference in London every year. She is a delight and a go-getter when it comes to genealogy and genetic genealogy. Debbie has written several wonderful articles for genealogical magazines in the UK, and I’m pleased to see she has published a very timely book.

Few books have been published by genetic genealogists in the United Kingdom; however, Ms. Kennett’s book not only addresses the basics of using DNA testing to assist genealogists but the advantages of social networking. Although written for the British population with examples from her own project, there are many methods and suggestions that are applicable for any family historian and/or any genetic genealogy researcher.

The book is divided into two sections: The Genetic Genealogy Revolution and The Social Networking Revolution. The forward is written by Chris Pomery, author of two DNA books.

The Genetic Genealogy section gives an overview of the basics of DNA testing, the three major tests for the genealogy research with their uses and limitations clearly explained, and suggestions on establishing and running a DNA project. Several charts and screen shots enhance this section.

This is the first known book to address the new autosomal testing done by Family Tree DNA and 23andMe. I was pleased to see the chart on the average percent of autosomal DNA shared with close relatives as well as a chart for the inheritance of the X chromosome.

The Social Networking section of the book covers a large variety of areas where genealogist converse directly with other genealogists or can gain a wealth of information using the web.

Ms. Kennett reviews traditional networking methods including family history centers, journals, e-mailing lists, message boards and forums. Of course, depending upon when a family historian began researching and the fact that the internet was not accessible to the general public until the 1990s*, some of these resources may not be viewed as traditional by everyone. But perhaps they are traditional methods when considering the recent interest in and advancement of social networking for genealogy and the speed with which it has grown.

For genealogy networking sites, Ms. Kennett includes various paid and free genealogical websites which go beyond mere conversations with other genealogists. These sites offer the ability to establish online family pedigree charts as well as obtain genealogical data and converse with other genealogists. Features vary with each site.

The use of current social networking systems such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+ and others has greatly increased contact with people around the world who are not necessarily genealogists, but who may have an interest in their ancestors. Ms. Kennett discusses how genealogists use these forums to reach possible relatives for either sharing genealogy or for genetic testing to prove relationships.

Another portion addresses Blogs which range from personal online diaries to information on a variety of topics on researching, resources, and DNA testing for genealogy. Ms. Kennett offers information about RSS Feeds to easily monitor all the blogs you wish to read. She also gives advice on free blog sites, and on writing and advertising your own blog.

Wikis, online collaborative encyclopedias, cover a myriad of topics, and as Ms. Kennett has helped establish the International Society of Genetic Genealogy (ISOGG)’s Wiki, her knowledge is invaluable.

The Multimedia section explores several sites that allow users to share photo with others. Projects have been established for entire countries with the goal to upload photographs of people and tombstones throughout the country. Videos on various genealogy subjects have been added to the web through RootsWebTV. Genealogy companies have shared information through YouTube. Various Podcasts allow researchers to download topical information on various subjects and interviews with knowledgeable personalities. Webcasts allow the attendee to stream the presentation live through the internet. Some webcasts are free; others are not. Webinars, similar to Webcasts, differ in that they allow the audience to give feedback. Online storage and sharing devices such as Google Docs can be a boon to genealogists who need to share or store large files.

Over time any genealogist has hundreds of bookmarks saved as “favorites”, but if you use more than one computer or wish to share any of these with researchers, you need to export those bookmarks. Few browsers can do this, but Ms. Kennett’s book offers a solution through the use of social bookmarking websites that allow you to store all your bookmarks online and share them easily.

The Voice and Video Chat section provides several resources such as Skype which allows the researcher several options: to make free phone calls with or without the addition of live viewing, to type messages similar to Instant Messaging or Chat in other programs, and to share files much faster than regular email.

Appendixes provide a selection of DNA websites, Testing companies, DNA projects, Surname Resources, a Glossary, and a Bibliography.

One topic of great interest to me, as it has been one of my “soap-boxes”, is what happens to your DNA tests after your death. Who manages it? I have had several testers in my DNA projects die, and in most cases, I found out months later while checking the Social Security Death Index. Humans procrastinate when it comes to our own mortality, but as an administrator of several DNA projects, I find this most important for us to consider. Ms. Kennett takes this a step further, asking who will care of all your online activities.

Although she says the easiest solution is to leave written instructions in your will regarding your online presence, she offers several online sites that deal with these issues. Every genealogist wants their work to be preserved, if not continued, and our future generations need to know our wishes.

In conclusion, it is wonderful to see that a book for genetic genealogists not only touches on the newer autosomal tests, but that it focuses on helping the genealogist and genetic genealogist get the most out of the social networking system.

I am always excited to see another book being published for the genetic genealogist, and to have one that brings the researcher into the twenty-first century is wonderful!

Excellent work, Debbie!

*The first commercial dial-up ISP was established in 1990 and the first webpage was created in 1991. The first email was sent in 1971, but the general public began using it until much later. RootsWeb.com was established in February 1996 by two genealogists in a mountainside cabin, creating the beginning of online genealogy!

The book is currently available in the United Kingdom and will be available in the US in a few months through Amazon.com.

Enjoy,
Emily
9 Nov 2011

7th Annual Family Tree DNA International Conference, part 2

2011-11-08T22:31:00.000-08:00

ISOGG hosted a reception Saturday night with food and drinks as usual. Many gathered to share opinons aobut the day's presentations as well as rekindle friendships and meet new attendees. Bennett and Max had opened Saturday morning with statements that the first word in the name of the company was family and that they considered all of us family. Having time to share our lives with each other does strengthen our bonds beyond our hobby and does make us sort of a family. I know many have established some great freindships. We look forward to this gathering every year, but it often means the end is near. Although there is excitement about the presentations for Sunday, there is thoughts of packing, printing boarding passes, getting the hotel bill paid, catching a flight ... and a pang of sadness. Most of us do not see each other but once a year, and many of us have to leave before the last word is spoken on Sunday. Sadly, I was one. When you live at the edge of the earth, few flights are available when you want them. For this reason, the last Q & A is very short, and I'm sure other bloggers can fill in the gaps.

Sunday:

ISOGG (International Society of Genetic Genealogy) met.

· Katherine Borges recognized the June death of Kenny Hedgpath who was one if the founders of ISOGG and the November death of David Brown of the Rose Y-DNA Project. Both are greatly missed.

· Create A Book at the ISOGG Wiki site. This allows you to create material for your projects, for a speaking engagement or any other use where you need to share material using pages from the ISOGG Wiki.

· Alice Fairhurst spoke about the Y-DNA Phylogenetic Tree. She heads the committee to keep it current. She reports that they have had 1,000 hits on that site by academics and students as well as from genetic genealogists. The site is within the YCC guidelines. The site incorporates all known SNPs and is growing so quickly that it is a struggle to keep updated. Alice requests that you forward her any academic papers regarding SNPs.

· Katherine spoke about the ISOGG PAC which is a political action committee with no money behind it as ISOGG is a non-profit. However, those who wish to join may and help with writing campaigns, etc. to be a voice for genetic genealogists in the academic world with regard to federal and state regulations which are under consideration.

Elliott Greenspan, head of the IT department at FTDNA, presented on IT Roadmap 2011: The Year in Review and Looking Ahead.

There have been may changes over the last year, including new GAP pages, updating the FAQs, and now new personal pages which will be viewed by administrators this week and released to the public after they are beta tested for a few weeks. A very interesting note is that FTDNA is looking at an event-based model rather than using Genetic Distance since multiple differences on one marker are often one event. This will make matches more realistic and not so distant in some apparently quickly mutating family groups.

There is a new advanced matching which combines the Y-DNA, mtDNA, and Family Finder for matching. EX: If you compare all three with a person you match, you may discover that in FF you are a match and are also in Y-DNA, so you know the match is on your all male line. What a wonderful new tool!

We viewed the SNP Map, and it will be a great new tool! It shows where in the world all the testers are for certain SNP which allows us to see where there is concentration of this of this marker.

Dr. Michael Hammer, FTDNA's Chief Scientist, and member of the Scientific Advisory Board. Dr. Hammer is a Biotechnology Research Scientist at the University of Arizona. He co-authored the first paper showing that present-day Cohanim are descended from a single male ancestor.

His presentation on Neandertals in our Midst: Just How Modern is our Genome? was very interesting. He said that there are at least three instances of humans interbreeding with archaic species: once in Africa, with the Neanderthals in the Middle East, and with the Deniosvans in Southeast Asia between.

Peter Biggins spoke on the DNA of the Three Collas
In his review of the Clan Colla Null 425 project, he mentioned that it is believed that the clan is descended from three Colla brothers who lived ca 400 AD in Ireland. This clan encompasses many different Irish surnames, and all members of this project are R-L21+. Every member who has tested has also been discovered to be R-DF21+. The work of groups like this is surely narrowing the field for those who have lost their ancestors’ connections to the homeland due to the diaspora.

Jessica L. Roberts, formerly an Associate-in-Law at Columbia Law School and an Adjunct Professor of Disability Studies at the City University of New York, has joined the faculty of the University of Houston Law Center as an Assistant Professor of Law where she teaches Introduction to Health Law, Disabilities and the Law, and Genetics and the Law. She is currently focusing on the theoretically implications of health-care reform, implications of genetic identity, and antidiscrimination protection of health-related information.

In her presentation DNA Tests and the Law: Pitential Use of Ancestry Tests for Immigration, explained how DNA Ancestry testing has advantages and disadvantages at this time. There are issues in determining specific groups (cultural, religious, ethnicity, political, etc.) by DNA testing and the government usually wants to know what group the immigrant is. Those entering from another country are not allowed lawyers so who would advocate for them regarding DNA testing. At this point in time, using DNA does not seem feasible.

Richard Hill, an FTDNA Administrator, spoke about his search for his biological parents in An Adoptee’s Journey to His Ancestral Surname.

Richard was adopted, but wasn’t told until he was in college ... and not by his parents. Upon visiting a doctor who wasn't finding a reason for his symptoms asked how Richard felt about being adopted. No doubt an amazing shock.

Richard took us through his journey which was seemingly rather easy on the surface. Using clues he followed the path to a man named as his father in his birth certificate, but after a paternity test, Richard realized he was not. More clues lead him to a man with four brothers, any of which could be his father. With DNA testing at Family Tree DNA and some good genealogical sleuthing, he actually determined who his biological parents were.
Not everyone who has been adopted wants to find their parents. Not all parents want to be found. At Family Tree DNA, about 40-60% of those who test do discover their ancestry.
Richard has an excellent website for learning the basics of DNA testing. You can download a free booklet on understanding DNA testing as well as some great tutorials. He also has information regarding adoption and much more. Richard is available for presentations. Contact them through his website.

Announcements:
* Bennett states that the micro-alleles have been recorded for all who have tested since 2001 and will now be reported in the GAP charts and incorporated into matching.
* The “in common” feature on Family Finder can only be applied to confirmed relatives due to privacy issues.
* There will be a sale from FTDNA probably starting at the end of this week which will go through the end of Dec. It is not know what will be for sale.

Watch this blog for the announcement of the sale coming later this week. Be ready to order your test or upgrade.

Now to start thinking about Who Do You Think You Are? Live and London, February 2012!

Enjoy,
Emily
8 Nov 2011

7th Annuall FTDNA International Conference - Nov 2011

2011-11-07T19:01:00.000-08:00

The Family Tree DNA 2011 International Conference started with a bang! Once again, administrators gathered at the SheridanNorth in Houston, Texas for two days of knowledgeable speakers on various DNA subjects. The conference started with the usual Friday night no-host bar where the FTDNA staff, speakers, and administrators renewed acquaintances and chatted away. It is always wonderful to see friends and many new faces!

As I could write a blog for each speaker, below is a short version of Friday evening and Saturday only. Sunday will follow.

I do want to thank many of you who followed me and others on Twitter, but to explain there were technical difficulties. We were trying to use one private Wifi entry and as many people in the room were accessing the link for Internet and also following the tweets. It was a case of overload. I wasn’t able to post the tweets quickly and there was a big backlog. Most of us were just knocked off the system the afternoon of the first day with more problems on Sunday. For this reason, blogging is the way to learn more. BUT, I suggest more of the administrators try to come next year and those who aren’t administrators of a DNA project, become one and join us!

Friday Evening:

Family Tree provided a room for a no-host bar at 7 p.m. Many who had arrived gathered to meet old friends and see new faces. Photos were taken; old times revisited. I had Dr. Wells autograph a couple of his books.

Dr. Spencer Wells

When speaking to Dr. Wells at the Friday night reception, he praised the Family Tree DNA community (we genetic genealogists) for our contributions and impressive knowledge. I turned the praise to him and the National Geographic Society for the Genographic Project which gave us more DNA matches throughout the world, showed us the importance of developing more DNA projects, and enhanced our knowledge of ancient populations and their migration. Dr. Wells used a term which was repeated several times throughout the conference and which impressed many attendees with whom I spoke. He called us Citizen Scientists. When I questioned him about that term, he sincerely expressed that our group was very knowledgeable about genetics. He mentioned his surprise of our knowledge when he first attended his first FTDNA conference a few years ago and that our knowledge and understanding has grown from there. We have seemingly impressed him.

Saturday:

The morning began with Bennett Greenspan and Max Blankfield, owners of Family Tree DNA, expressing their sincere thanks to all of us. We learned that FTDNA has tested over 600,000 people, has the largest number of mtDNA and SNPs, and has the largest Y panel with 111 markers.

We also learned that Archives.com is partnering with Family Tree DNA to sell its tests. John Spottiswood and Julie Hill attended the conference for the announcement and gave us an overview. Archives.com started in November 2009, but has quickly added vast numbers of records, with their newspaper collection being larger than their nearest competitor (Ancestry.com). I was asked to review the site a few weeks ago and found it easy to maneuver. I also found that John and Julie were very helpful and listened to my suggestions. I was told they listen to their customers and find that is true as they have already implemented some of my suggestions.

Archives.com has 18 of 20 of their nearest competitor’s (Ancestry.com) top databases and will soon have the top 20. All of the census images will be ready by the end of 2011, and they are working on the 1940 census to have it ready soon after it is available in April 2012 with all its indexing ready a few months after that.

Besides the databases, the company has available tools to create a family tree and share it in email, video, and on social media forums such as Facebook. Their Expert Series contains quality articles and tutorials on various topics. Another feature allows you to order copies of particular court records (for more recent years) from "on the ground" researchers.

Attendees near me were very pleased with what they saw from Archives.com even before Archives announced that all present would receive a year’s subscription free. The subscription is only $39.95 per year, quite affordable for anyone and well worth the cost. FTDNA is forming a committee, under the direction of Katherine Borges, for feedback to Archives. You can email me with your suggestions as I am part of that committee.

FTDNA also announced that for those who tested for 23andMe with the v3 chip, they can convert their result to FTDNA in about 6-8 weeks for about $50. There is also discussion at the company that those who tested with 23andMe and who did not upgrade to the v3 will get a discount on FTDNA’s Family Finder test. This is wonderful news as it will be easier to view all our matches in one spot and to use the Family Finder Tools. The FAQs have been updated recently to make the pages more understandable for those who are new to this test.

AND…another great announcement was that the personal webpages for FTDNA testers have been rewritten and the 2.0 version will be viewable by GAPs (Group Project Administrators) will be available for viewing about Tuesday of this week. Testers will be able to use the new pages in a few weeks after this beta testing is over. The pages are easy to use, cleaner, and there is a wonderful tutorial to walk you through each section.

Dr. Spencer Wells, geneticist and anthropologist, and an Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society, leads The Genographic Project which through genetic testing of indigenous people around the world intends to show the migration pattern of out most ancient ancestors and how they populated the world. He is the author of The Journey of Man: A Genetic Odyssey(2002), which explains how genetic data has been used to trace human migrations over the past 50,000 years, when modern humans first migrated outside of Africa. He also wrote and presented the PBS/National Geographic documentary by the same name. Dr. Well’s book, Pandora's Seed: The Unforeseen Cost of Civilization, (2010, Random House) addresses early man's transition from hunter-gatherer to an agricultural basis during the Neolithic revolution (10,000 years ago) and its impact on today’s civilization and problems.

Dr. Wells' presentation Genographic Project Update: News from the Field, tells us that National Genographic is wrapping up phase 1 and is transitioning to phase 2. We received a review of the project and the three levels: testing of indigenous peoples throughout the world, public participation and the Legacy Fund.

When the Genographic Project started there was a small ($20) bet at the Society that the project wouldn’t sell 10,000 tests. That number was sold the first day! To date, Genographic has sold over 420,000 kits and has raised 3 to 3 ½ million in Legacy Grants. Those grants are going to several cultures to help preserve their way of life. Dr. Wells stated that the world loses one language every two weeks and that cultural diversity is what has allowed our success as humans. Fifty-two grants have been issued so far, and one grant was given to save the Yagnobi language which was the language spoken along the Silk Road of Asia. Another was to save an Aboriginal dance while another is helping with the knowledge and preservation of medicinal plants. Anciently used medicinal plants are still a basis of today’s medicine.

Dr. Wells stated there is a strong correlation between Genealogy and Language clusters. Between the more recent time for genealogies and the periods of more ancient ancestry, there is a large gap. Scientists are not yet sure if Genealogy-Language model will be more helpful for that gap or archeological model. That is now of interest.

Interestingly, Dr. Wells mentioned recombination as a new type of genetic marker with the goal of moving beyond the Y and mtDNA testing and initially into the X chromosome. There is more focus on the SNP markers and their break points. There is software to infer connections for this, and he used the term Reco-Type DNA. We all know from a recent survey that something is in the works at the Genographic Project. Is this is?

Regarding R1b, our currently largest Y-DNA haplogroup, Dr. Wells thinks that R1b arrived during the Paleolithic period, but using Y is not going to be the answer for the R1b originator.

Many papers from the Genographic Project will be published soon with two regarding the Basque culture due this week with many more to follow.
　
Dr. Bruce Walsh, FTDNA's chief Population Geneticist is an expert on population genetics and has authored many leading texts on the subject.

Dr. Bruce Walsh

Dr. Walsh covered the basics of DNA referring to his talks as DNA Boot Camp. He covered the weaknesses and strengths of Y-DNA, mtDNA and autosomal testing. The Y-DNA is excellent for determining matches along the all male line within genealogical time, depending upon the markers tested (more markers; closer time frame). The mtDNA is good for the all female line; however, is it is slow to mutate, any matches could still be out of the genealogical time frame. For finding matches in the last 5-6 generations, the Family Finder test, which uses autosomal DNA, is best.

He stated that testing the autosomes gets you around broken lineages, but that our autosomal DNA is not passed intact. It is recombined with each conception. This means that each sibling has a different combination of autosomal results. He urges that we look for blocks of matching segments which are larger in size (around 10 cM+). Dr. Walsh reminded us that one centimorga (cM) represents roughly 1 million DNA basepairs, and that our entire genome contains ~3000 cM. The smaller cMs lean toward "noise" in the system, but they could be either real matches or false positives. Using smaller cMs he likened to deepsea fishing to find your common ancestor.
　

Two Breakout Sessions:

Dr. David Pike holds a PhD. in Discrete Mathematics from Auburn University (Alabama) and is currently a Professor in the department of Mathematics and Statistics at Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada.

Presenting on Phasing and Other Analysis of Family Finder Results, Dr. Pike clearly explains that "Phasing entails separating the alleles of a person so that those inherited from the mother are distinguished form those inherited from the father." This works best by testing many siblings and even better if you have data from one or both parents. For example, with the raw data if a child has a GG (G is the chemical base Guanine) then naturally the child received one from mom and one from dad. However, if a child has an AG (Adenine and Guanine), you don’t know which was received from which parent unless you test one or both parents. If mom has GG in this location and dad has AG, you know that the A for the child was from dad and the G from mom. This is a simplification of Phasing as there are other situations which make it a bit more complicated.

He stated that regarding small blocks (cMs) if you do not Phase the data you cannot be sure if there is inherited false matches. By phasing you can rebuilt the DNA of a dead parent. By Phasing you can infer where a match is in your pedigree. See Dr. Pike’s tools for Phasing at the ISOGG Wiki. Click on the Autosomal Tests (AtDNA) link and then to the Autosomal DNA link. Click here to see his tools.

For more on Phasing, Dr. Pike referred us to Whit Athey’s Fall 2010 article in the Journal of Genetic Genalogy
　

Dr. Krahn, courtesy of FTDNA

Thomas Krahn is the Technical Laboratory Manager of FTDNA's Genomics Research Center in Houston. He graduated from the Technical University of Berlin in biotechnology and genetics. His interests lie in resolving questions in biological heritage.

In Dr. Krahn's presentation Walk Through the Y Update, he states that to date there are 366 participants in Walk Through the Y (WTY) with 125.8 million basepairs sequenced and 458 undocumented Y-SNPs found! Of the total number of testers, 167 did not find a new SNP in their DNA. Some of these testers are very knowledgeable and actively seen other participants who are likely to add to the project. New SNPs from this are prefaced with the letter Z. Click here to view his presentation.

Peter Hrechdakian, born in Aleppo, he grew up in Lebanon before immigrating to the US in 1975 where he attened college, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Philosophy form Cornell University (Ithaca, NY) and a Masters in Business Administrtion from Harvard Business School in Boston. He currently lives with his family in Brussels, Belgium.

Peter spoke about The Armenian DNA Project stating that over 600 Armenians have been tested since 2009. Armenians are a very diverse population with 14 major haplogroups which provide 80 distinct Y-DNA subclades and 13 major mtDNA haplogroups with 67 subclades. The Armenians and Assyrians have similar Y-DNA and mtDNA…amazingly similar from the charts! Thirteen project members have tested in WTY with 10 new SNPs found.

There were 2 million Armenia’s before World War I, but about 1 ½ million were killed by the Turks through acts of genocide from 1915-1923. As a result the Houshamadyan Project documenting various aspects of Armenia life village by village.
　

Dr. Steve Morse

　Dr. Steve Morse, author of the website "One Step Pages", hold a degree in electrical engineering and is the architect of the Intel 8086, predecessor of today's Pentium processor. He has written numerous technical papers as well as four textbooks, and holds three patents. Genealogy is now his passion and he has developed a webpage

Dr. Morse gave two presentation, one each day. He walked us through various aspects of his website which can be quite useful for those wishing to find Ellis Island ancestors, locate census more easily than using other companies, accessing census through street addressed or Enumeration Districts, finding information on immigration, passenger ships and much more. On Sunday he showed his DNA tools allowing someone to update their marker result to Ysearch and his colorization charts for Ysearch, FTDNA results or for any spread sheet. Family Tree DNA has used his colorized charts as an option for test results for administrators for years. Other tools help you with having your personal bookmarks available for any computer, various calendars (although I see that the Old Style calendar is missing), finding rual areas in census, and much more.

I have used his site to view the census at Ancestry.com and find it most helpful. You only need to enter the data on an ancestor and then change the census year field to view subsequent censuses for that ancestor.
　

At the end of each day, Family Tree DNA there is a Q & A session. Some short answers:

* Family Finder is only reasonably reliable back to the third cousin, although in some circumstances one can find a common ancestor farther back, as in the instance of an ancestor who married a cousin. In this case you typically have more DNA from that ancestor than normally.

* Possible results for parts of the Geneographic project could be available about March or April 2012.Possible results for parts of the Geneographic project could be available about March or April 2012.

* Samples at Genographic will probably be discarded in 2012, but it could take a year to do so.Samples at Genographic will probably be discarded in 2012, but it could take a year to do so.

* Some presentations will be uploaded to FTDNA and availableSome presentations will be uploaded to FTDNA and available

* There are no STRs on the mitochondria, although there could be one, but it is questionable. The mtDNA is paced with genes and is small.There are no STRs on the mitochondria, although there could be one, but it is questionable. The mtDNA is paced with genes and is small.

* For testers who have died, if they have given relatives permission to manage their test results, FTDNA will honor that. (BTW, email me if you would like a form for that purpose so it is in writing.)For testers who have died, if they have given relatives permission to manage their test results, FTDNA will honor that. (BTW, email me if you would like a form for that purpose so it is in writing.)

* With 8 year old test samples some work; some do not. Using old samples with the illumine test work about 90% of the time. (My suggestion: upgrade NOW)With 8 year old test samples some work; some do not. Using old samples with the illumine test work about 90% of the time. (My suggestion: upgrade NOW)

* Storage of DNA samples may be extended from 25 to 50 years.Storage of DNA samples may be extended from 25 to 50 years.

* FTDNA has a Facebook page where they have sales on tests when their "likes" reach a certain number. Their largest promotion to date occurred just a few months ago. Presently they have 16,000 Facebook members hitting "like" for the site.FTDNA has a Facebook page where they have sales on tests when their "likes" reach a certain number. Their largest promotion to date occurred just a few months ago. Presently they have 16,000 Facebook members hitting "like" for the site.

Order a DNA test through FTDNA. If you have questions regarding which test fits your needs, email me.

Sundays sessions to follow.

Enjoy,
Emily
7 Nov 2011

Family Tree DNA 36-Hour Sale!

2011-09-26T10:26:00.000-07:00

Take advantage of this sale..Only 36 hrs!

Family Tree DNA writes:

Thank you for helping us reach 15,000 LIKES on our Facebook page! To show how much we like you too, we're offering a 36-HOUR SALE!
START: Monday, September 26 (TODAY) at 12:00pm CDT
END: Tuesday, September 27 at 11:59pm CDT

For NEW customers:
Y-DNA 12 . . . $59 (was $99)
mtDNA . . . $59 (was $99)
Y-DNA 37 . . . $129 (was $149)
Family Finder . . . $199 (was $289)
mtFullSequence (FGS) . . . $229 (was $299)
Y-DNA 12 + mtDNA . . . $118 (was $179)
Family Finder + Y-DNA 12 . . . $248 (was $339)
Family Finder + mtDNA . . . $248 (was $339)
Family Finder + Y-DNA 37 . . . $328 (was $438)
Family Finder + mtFullSequence . . . $398 (was $559)
Comprehensive Genome (Family Finder + mtFullSequence + Y-DNA67) . . . $597 (was $797)

Upgrades & Add-Ons:
mtDNA add-on $59 . . . (was $89)
mtFullSequence upgrade (HVR1 to Mega) . . . $199 (was $269)
mtFullSequence upgrade (HVR2 to Mega) . . . $199 (was $239)
mtFullSequence add-on . . . $219 (was $289)
Family Finder add-on . . . $199 (was $289)

Prices will be automatically adjusted on the Family Tree DNA website -- no coupon code needed! Important: Promotional orders need to be paid for by the end of this sale. Visit us at http://www.familytreedna.com/ to order now.

We hope this limited-time sale will give you yet another reason to "LIKE" us!
Thank you for your support!
Family Tree DNA
http://www.familytreedna.com/

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This offer ends TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27th, 2011 11:59pm CDT.
*You do not need to be a member of Facebook to take advantage of this offer. Payment must be received at the time of your order. Valid only on products listed. No substitutions. No adjustments will be made on previous purchases. This promotion is not valid in combination with any other promotions. Family Tree DNA reserves the right to cancel any order due to unauthorized or ineligible use of discounts and to modify or cancel these promotional discounts due to system error or unforeseen problems. Subject to change without notice.

© All Contents Copyright 2001-2010 Genealogy by Genetics, Ltd.

Family Tree DNA Confirms Two NFL Players are Half-Siblings

2011-08-31T16:48:00.000-07:00

Family Tree DNA, the first and larget DNA testing company for genelaogy has just announced that their Family Finder provided "conclusive proof that two NFL players are half-siblings."

The press release continues:

"Until a few months ago, Xavier Omon, from the San Francisco 49ers and Ogemdi Nwagbuo from the San Diego Chargers did not have a clue that they were related. Early August, at the request of ESPN, Family Tree DNA performed the Family Finder test on both, and the result was unequivocal: definaely half-siblings. More of the story can be found at the ESPN website under the "Brthoer's Tale" story.

"The Family Finder test allows connecting with family members across all ancestral lines. While the Y-DNA atches men with a specific paternal line and the mtDNA finds potential relatives only along the maternal line, Family Finder can look for close relationships along all ancestral lines. Anyone, regardless of their gender, may confidently match to male and female cousins from any of their family lines in the past five generations. The science is based on linked blocks of DNA across the 22 autosomal chromosomes that are matched between two people. Based on this concept, Family Tree DNA bioinformatics team has worked extensively to develop the calculations that would yield the closeness of the relationship.

The possiblities to find matches abound: grandparents, aunts, and uncles; half-siblings; first, second, third and fourth cousins; and, more tenetatively, fifths cousins."

Order your test from Family Tree DNA, today!

Family Tree DNA Now Offering Webinars!

2011-08-25T15:02:00.000-07:00

The following announcement was posted in Family Tree DNA's newsletter Facts & Genes, Vol. 9, Issue 3, Summer 2011.

Family Tree DNA has partnered with Relative Roots to offer quality, convenient and affordable Genetic Genealogy education to Family Tree DNA customers! We're now offering webinars (web-based seminars) as an option for our customers to learn more about our tests and your own results.

How it Works

Attend our live or on-demand webinars (web-based seminars) from the comfort of your own home! You'll view the presentation using your own computer and listen to the presenter using your computer speakers or telephone. Attendees of our live webinars are able to ask questions just as if you were attending a presentation in-person. Registrants of our on-demand webinars can access a recording of our live webinars at a time that is convenient for you. Each webinar session lasts 60-90 minutes.

Topics

We're launching our webinars with four topics:

Beginner:

Introduction to Genetic Genealogy at Family Tree DNA

Intermediate:

Genetic Genealogy Demystified: Reading and Understanding Your Family Tree DNA Results, Part 1: Y-DNA

Genetic Genealogy Demystified: Reading and Understanding Your Family Tree DNA Results, Part 2: mtDNA
Genetic Genealogy Demystified: Reading and Understanding Your Family Tree DNA Results, Part 3: Family Finder

Stay tuned for more topics to be added to the schedule in the coming months!

Cost

Introduction to Genetic Genealogy - FREE!All others - $10 each, or 3 for $25

Webinar Discount

For a limited time, register for all three Genetic Genealogy Demystified webinars for only $20! Simply add all 3 webinars to the shopping cart to get the 3/$25 special, then also enter coupon code RRW5GGD3FGA for an additional $5 discount. Offer expires September 15, 2011.

Family Tree DNA Discount

Webinar attendees will receive a limited-time discount on select new tests and upgrades to help offset the cost of attending the webinar. A coupon code will be provided at the end of each live webinar and will also be available to those who view the on-demand recordings.

Webinar Schedule

Our core webinars are currently repeated every month. Following is the webinar schedule for August:

August 25 - Genetic Genealogy Demystified: Reading and Understanding Your Family Tree DNA Results, Part 2: mtDNA

August 30 - Genetic Genealogy Demystified: Reading and Understanding Your Family Tree DNA Results, Part 3: Family Finder

September Schedule:

September 6 - Introduction to Genetic Genealogy at Family Tree DNA

September 15 - Genetic Genealogy Demystified: Reading and Understanding Your Family Tree DNA Results, Part 1: Y-DNA

September 20 - Genetic Genealogy Demystified: Reading and Understanding Your Family Tree DNA Results, Part 2: mtDNA

September 27 - Genetic Genealogy Demystified: Reading and Understanding Your Family Tree DNA Results, Part 3: Family Finder

Register Today!

For registration, more details about each of the webinars and schedule updates, please visit: http://www.relativeroots.net/webinars/ftdna/

About Relative Roots

Relative Roots is a Florida-based genealogy consulting and education company, owned and operated by Elise Friedman. Elise became a Family Tree DNA customer in 2005 while working on her own genealogy brick walls. She quickly became a proponent of genetic genealogy as a tool for genealogists, and today she's a volunteer administrator for several surname, geographical and haplogroup projects at Family Tree DNA. Over the years, she has given presentations on genetic genealogy at a variety of genealogy society meetings and genealogy conferences. Then earlier this year, Elise took her presentations online and began offering genetic genealogy webinars through her company, Relative Roots. Family Tree DNA is very pleased to now have Elise as our education partner so we can offer this new educational opportunity to our customers.

Testimony: I personally know Elise Friedman. She is very knowledgeable and offers a quality product. No doubt participating in her Webinars will be most helpful for the public's understanding of Genetic Genealogy. --- Emily Aulicino

Family Tree DNA Allows Transfers from SMGF, GeneTree and Ancestry.com

2011-08-05T09:44:00.000-07:00

Family Tree DNA (FTDNA) has completed the process to allow customers from Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation (SMGF), GeneTree and Ancestry.com to transfer their test results to FTDNA. This option began when DNA Heritage (DNAH) ceased operations on April 19, 2011 and transferred their results to Family Tree DNA; however, FTDNA decided to expand the format of accepting DNAH’s result to include anyone who tested at SMGF, GeneTree and Ancestry.com, thus given thousands of people the opportunity to join the largest DNA database for genealogy.

The transfer options are:
1. Transfer Y-DNA33 or Y-DNA46 marker test for $19 and join a Project
2. Transfer Y-DNA33 marker test and purchase an FTDNA Y-DNA 25 marker test for $58 to join a Project, receive a Haplogroup prediction and receive matches in the FTDNA database.

3. Transfer Y-DNA 46 marker test and purchase an FTDNA37 marker test for $58 to join a Project, receive a Haplogroup prediction and receive matches in the FTDNA database.

You may take part in the Family Tree DNA Y-DNA Transfer program by following these steps.

1. Go to the Y-DNA Transfer page, http://www.familytreedna.com/landing/ydna-transfer.aspx.
2. Select the transfer package that is right for you, and click on the Order Now button beside it.
3. Click the Next button and complete the Contact Information form.
4. Click the Next button and complete the Shipping and Billing form.
5. Review and complete your order.

For non-DNA H transfers, testers will need to both enter their lab values and submit a screen shot of their results.

See the FAQ for more inforamtion.

In summary

Testers from the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation (SMGF), GeneTree and Ancestry.com may transfer their Y-DNA results to Family Tree DNA.

For a small fee testers can receive the full benefits offered to all Family Tree DNA customers which included, in part:
* Sample storage
* Testing upgrades
* Haplogroup predictions
* Project membership
* Availability to the largest database solely for genealogists
* Comparison to the entire database every time test results are received
* Notification of matches via email
* Personal webpages
* No monthly fees

Emily
aulicino, 4 Aug 2011

Family Tree DNA Summer Sale 2011

2011-07-15T14:53:00.000-07:00

This email has just arrived from Family Tree DNA. The sale doesn't start for another hour, but only lasts a week...

Dear Project Administrator,
Last summer, we offered special pricing to attract new members to your projects. This was the most successful offering of its type in our company's history. Our project administrators that got behind the recruitment efforts saw their projects grow, and, thus, our database also grew. With this in mind, we'd like to offer a summer special again this year.

Y-DNA37 for $119 (Regular price would be $149)
Y-DNA67 for $199 (Regular price would be $239)

Family Finder for $199 (Regular price would be $289)
Family Finder + Y-DNA37 for $318 (Regular price would be $438)
Family Finder + mtDNAPlus for $318 (Regular Price would be $438)
mtDNA Full Sequence for $219 (Regular Price would be $299)
SuperDNA for $418 (Regular Price would be $518, includes Y-DNA67 and mtFullSequence)
Comprehensive Genome for $617 (Regular Price would be $797, includes Y-DNA67, mtFullSequence and Family Finder)
In addition, existing Family Tree DNA customers may order the Family Finder add-on for $199
The promotion will start today, Friday the 15th at 6PM CST and will end Thursday, July 21, 11:59PM CST.

Kits need to be paid for by the end of the promotion.
As always, thank you for your continued support.

Best wishes,
Emily
Email me if you need help with understanding DNA testing or have questions on what test to purchase. You can also click on the FTDNA icon to the right to order.
aulicino@hevanet.com

Family Tree DNA Announces DNA Heritage Transfers

2011-07-01T09:45:00.000-07:00

Family Tree DNA (FTDNA) is now allowing customers from DNA Heritage to transfer their test results to FTDNA. This option began when DNA Heritage (DNAH) ceased operations on April 19, 2011 and transferred their results to FTDNA.

Please note that you can only transfer Y-DNA results from DNA Heritage as they used the Sorenson Lab who does not use the same mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) panels that FTDNA uses.

Two Options

FTDNA now allows DNAH customers to transfer their Y-DNA results with two different options.

In the first option, a customer may transfer their DNA Heritage Y-DNA46 marker test to FTDNA free of charge and would be able to join various Projects. This conversion will have a 25 marker match. See the FAQ below for more detail.

However, with the second option, a DNAH customer may transfer their Y-DNA46 marker test and for $39 US order FTDNA’s 37 marker test. Since DNAH’s 46-marker test does not completely coincide with FTDNA’s 37-marker test, purchasing this test is a wise decision on many levels. As with the first option, you can join various DNA projects, but with the purchase of the 37-marker test, you can match others in the FTDNA database. You can then purchase any of the Family Tree DNA tests in the future. See the FAQ below for more detail.

Given that FTDNA focuses on genealogy, has the largest database for genealogists, offers more types of tests than other companies offer, and stores your test sample (DNAH did not store it), $39 for a 37-marker test is a STEAL! Normally one would pay $149!

According to FTDNA’s FAQs, the owner or primary kit manager for a DNAH Y-DNA sample can opt-in using the following link https://www.familytreedna/landing/dna-heritage.aspx.

To request the Y-DNA37 marker test, you will have to submit a DNA sample as DNAH does not store DNA samples. Of course, by providing a new sample you will have a stored sample for future upgrades.

To see a sample of the FTDNA webpages for individual testers see:
myFTDNA User Guide, http://www.familytreedna.com/faq/answers/36.aspx.

Project Administrators at DNAH

Project Administrators for DNAH will share a project with the FTDNA administrator, if FTDNA has an existing project. If there is no existing project, the administrator from DNAH can establish one through FTDNA.

This is definately a plus as any administrator needs to have a co-partner to help when one is on vacation, ill, or decides to retire from the job.

To see the administrator pages at FTDNA, check the following:

Check the Group Administrator Pages (GAP) Reference FAQ, http://www.familytreedna.com/faq/answers/default.aspx?faqid=7

Group Administrator Pages (GAP) How To FAQ, http://www.familytreedna.com/faq/answers/default.aspx?faqid=20

Read More in the FAQ, http://www.familytreedna.com/faq/answers.aspx?id=40

In summary

Testers from DNA Heritage may transfer their Y-DNA results to FTDNA.

For a small fee, testers can receive the full benefits offered to all FTDNA customers, which include:
Sample storage
Testing upgrades
Haplogroup predictions
Project membership
Availability to the largest database solely for genealogists
Comparison to the entire database every time FTDNA adds test results to the database.
Notification of matches via email
Personal webpages
No monthly fees

FTDNA and DNAH Administrators will partner if the DNA Project already exists. If not, a new one will be created.

Emily
©Aulicino, 29 Jun 2011

Family Tree DNA Summer Sale

2011-06-15T18:43:00.000-07:00

Family Tree DNA is repeating last summer's upgrade sale as it was such a huge success.

As testers upgrade, the resolution of results and comparisons greatly improves. So, please spread the word and we'll make this year's upgrade sale even bigger!

From June 15, 2011 through June 22, 2011, we will reduce the following prices.

Summer Upgrade Sale
Family Finder ...Was $289... Now $199
Y-DNA 12 to 25 ....Was $49.... Now $35
Y-DNA 12 to 37 ....Was $99.... Now $69
Y-DNA 12 to 67 ....Was $189.... Now $148
Y-DNA 25 to 37 ....Was $49.... Now $35
Y-DNA 25 to 67 ....Was $148.... Now $114
Y-DNA 37 to 67 ....Was $99.... Now $79
mt to FMS ....Was $269.... Now $229
mtPlus to FMS ....Was $239 ....Now $199

To order an upgrade at these special prices ...

1. Log into your personal pages with your kit number and password.

2. Click on the "Special Offers" link found on the left-hand navigation bar.

ALL ORDERS MUST BE PLACED AND PAID FOR BY MIDNIGHT, JUNE 22, 2011, TO RECEIVE THE SALE PRICE.

False Holocaust Memoir

2011-05-19T14:31:00.000-07:00

This story has been repeated on several blogs today, but is important enough to share again as each blog has different audiences.

Forensic genealogist Dr. Colleen Fitzpatrick is featured in an Australian story concerning allegations that a wartime memoir is false.

The Herald Sun story on Alex Kurzem, 75, who authored an international best-selling book ("The Mascot") describes the investigation by Fitzpatrick and her team.

She was instrumental in exposing Holocaust fakes Misha Defonseca and Herman Rosenblat some three years ago. Defonseca was forced to admit that "Surviving with Wolves" was false, and Rosenblat confessed he made up much of his "Angel at the Fence."

Kurzem has refused the newspaper's offer "to organise and pay for medical and DNA tests to help prove his identity and whether or not he is Jewish." He has refused unless he is paid $100,000 to undergo those tests.

His book allegedly describes his life as a Russian Jewish child, age 5, who survived the Holocaust by becoming the mascot of a Latvian military unit. The story was an award-winning 2004 ABC documentary and a movie about his life is being made by a French company.

According to the news story, Dr. Fitzpatrick's team also includes Melbourne Holocaust Centre senior staff and US psychologist Dr. Barry Resnick. Their files detail doubt about Kurzem, which has sparked three investigations by the Jewish Claims Conference, the German government compensation and pension department and the US Attorney's office.

Kurzem claims he watched his Jewish mother and siblings executed by the Nazis.

Read the complete story at the link above.

Family Tree DNA takes over DNAHeritage

2011-04-19T16:29:00.000-07:00

DNAHeritage is GONE!

The following message from this URL just crossed my desk and is directly quoted below:

http://www.dnaheritage.com/default.asp

As of April 19 2011, DNA Heritage has ceased its operations and is in the process of transferring the domains DNAHeritage.com and Ybase.org to Family Tree DNA.

All the tests in progress will be processed by our current lab and the results will be delivered to our customers.

In order to ensure the continuity of the existing surname projects Family Tree DNA will study the best options to integrate our customers' results into their database.

Once Family Tree DNA decides on the option(s), our customers will be given the opportunity to opt-in to their database.

If you have questions about the transition or

need to place an order please check:

http://www.familytreedna.com/landing/dna-heritage.aspx

Family Tree DNA 36-Hour Sale for DNA Day

2011-04-13T23:16:00.000-07:00

National DNA Day, April 15, 2011 commemorates the completion of the Human Genome Project in April 2003 and the discovery of the Double Helix in 1953 by Watson and Crick.

In honor of DNA Day, April 15th, Family Tree DNA just announced on Facebook their latest sale!

This is only posted on Facebook and you need the code to get the sale prices:

Coupon Code: DNADAY2011
Share: Public Event

Starting noon today this sale will last only 36 hours, so order now!

The following tests and prices are currently available:

Y-DNA12 marker Test for $59 (Reg. $99 via a project*)

mtDNA (HVR1) $59

Y-DNA37 marker Test for $129 (Reg. $149 via a project*; $169 without a project)

Family Finder Test for $199 (Reg. $289)

Family Finder Test plus a Y-DNA 12 marker for $258 (Reg. $299)

Family Finder Test plus mtDNA for $258

Family Finder plus mtFull Sequence plus Y-DNA 67 for $657

*If there is no project for your surname, put GFO in the search box and join there for a project price. I am the administrator and can continue to help you. You may join any relevant project later without further cost. Click on the FTDNA icon on this page (lower right) to order or go to the Family Tree DNA website.

For those new to DNA testing for genealogy, check this blog's archives for more details.

For this sale, I would highly recommend both the Y-DNA37 marker test and the Family Finder Test. These are two of my favorite tests.

The Y-DNA37 Test gives you matches along the top line of a pedigree chart, essentially, the all male line. Only males can take this test so women have to find a male for the surname they wish to test. As the Y-chromosome is passed from father to son virtually unchanged since mankind began, you can find matches going back many, many generations in your genealogy. A 37-marker test gives you matches within a genealogical time frame.

The Family Finder Test gives you a lot for your money. Both males and females can take this autosomal test and match each other. This test provides matches anywhere on your pedigree chart for six generations. You may think you know all your living cousins, but this test will give you more! Join together to continue researching your lineage.

The beauty of Family Tree DNA, besides their excellent customer service and being the oldest company and largest database for genealogy, is that when you test you get your own personal webpages and your test results is compared against the entire database. This means that every week when new results arrive, you have the opportunity to find more genealogical cousins. You receive their name and their email so you can write quickly and begin comparing information to find your common ancestor.

If you are a Facebook member, join the Family Tree DNA Group.

I also urge you to join the International Society of Genetic Genealogists. Check their website for DNA Success Stories, Famous DNA, and explore the ISOGG Wiki to find answers to many of your questions. You can also join the Newbie Email list and ask any question there (no question is too basic) and receive replies from experienced project administrators. If you manage a DNA project, join the Admin Email List.

Order your test today. I'm anxious to see if we are cousins!
Emily
15 Apr 2011

Family Tree DNA Y-DNA 111 Markers

2011-04-05T15:18:00.000-07:00

Greetings!

This announcement just arrived from Family Tree DNA

Dear Group Administrator,

We are excited to announce the launch of our new Y-DNA111 test! This test includes a panel of 111 Y chromosome Short Tandem Repeat (STR) markers.* With 44 additional markers, Y-DNA111 is the highest resolution Y-DNA test offered by any company in the world.

The Y-DNA111 test is recommended for customers who already have close matches at the 67 marker level and are looking to tighten the calculation for the time to Most Recent Common Ancestor (tMRCA). ** Due to the specialized nature of this test and in order to evaluate the potential benefit of this type of upgrade, we ask that customers with Y-DNA12, 25, or 37 results upgrade to 67 markers first before considering the 111 marker test.

With that in mind, this new test is now available as an upgrade for customers with existing Y-DNA67 results and also as a standalone test for individuals looking to prove a close relationship on the direct paternal line:

Y Refine 67 to 111 (Upgrade) $101
Y-DNA111 $339

View our FAQ section to learn more about this new test.

Thank you,
Family Tree DNA

*This figure is based on the typical number of allele values we see for multi-copy markers. The number of allele values we observe and report for these markers may vary.
**Please note, both test-takers must have the 111 marker test to be compared at this level.

Who Do You Think You Are? Live in London

2011-03-11T11:41:00.000-08:00

Although attendance at the Fifth Annual Who Do You Think You Are? Live conference in London at the end of February was not the record-breaking venue of 2010, there was a steady stream of attendees.

Family Tree DNA had a larger lecture hall and filled it with three days of presentations. Each day at the opening presentation, Max Blankfeld asked the group who had tested. The vast majority had not which shows the interest as well as the work to still be done on getting more people from the UK to test.

It has been said by some friends I know in England that one reason the English are not as enthusiastic about DNA testing is because they know from where they came. Although it tends to be true that most English have not ventured as far and wide as their counterparts in American, I have found that in the last three years that I have attended that the interest in DNA testing focuses greatly on learning if perceived cousins are truly cousins, if uncles and nephews are related by blood and all sorts of relationship issues. There are also cases of a person with a unique surname wishing to know if he or she is related to a person in another country with the same unique name. Those issues surfaced in people I tested both last year and this year.

Whatever the case may be, the majority of helpers at the booth this year felt that the level of knowledge among those electing to test had risen since last year. I had two people who had flyers from last year as they were hesitant then to test, but needed no convincing this year. I also noticed that I swabbed more people requesting the Family Finder test than any of the others.

There were many, many presentations (149 in three days!) on various aspects of genealogy geared to the novice as well as for the well-seasoned researcher. Many addressed a range of topics on DNA. Besides Bennett Greenspan and Max Blankfeld of Family Tree DNA providing information on the basics of DNA testing for genealogy, the National Geographic’s DNA project, how we have migrated around the world, and the new frontiers of DNA with the Family Finder test, the following presentations were given.

Geoff Swinfield, Professional Genealogist and Family History Researcher, provided insight into finding our ancestors with his presentation I’m stuck! How can I find my lost ancestors?

Chris Pomery, published author, addressed the use of DNA for genealogy in his presentation Combining traditional and genetic genealogy: lessons from leading surname projects.

Brian Swann, the European Coordinator for England and Wales for the International Society of Genetic Genealogists (ISOGG), covered DNA recruiting and testing on both sides of the Pond and 21st century tools for the genealogist.

Katherine Borges, director of the International Society of Genetic Genealogists, covered DNA Success Stories.

Dr. Turi King, from the Department of Genetics at the University of Leicester, spoke on Surnames, DNA and Family History, addressing, among other things, the Viking influence upon the genetic make-up of the British Isles.
..............................................................................................Dr. Turi King

Most of the handouts can be downloaded from the Society of Genealogist (SoG)’s site.

The booths numbered 138 and included some major UK groups such as the Society of Genealogists (SoG), FindMyPast, Ancestry.com, the Public Record Office (PRO) of Northern Ireland, the Irish Family History Foundation, Association of Family History Societies of Wales, Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain (JGSGB) and other ethnic groups, various county societies, used books, photograph services. Maureen Taylor, The Photo Detective (left), teamed with James Morley of What’s That Picture to provided photo dating and identification services. Their wonderful timeline display of photographs form the 1840s to the early twentieth century was a delight.

(Courtesy of Maureen Taylor)

This year, a smaller group from the US attended, but we all enjoyed spending some time with our British friends and seeing more of the sights of London. As usually, our group arrived at various times on Wednesday and after checking into our B&B which is in walking distances of Olympia (Kensington) where the convention is held, we hit the road running. As usual some of the group went one direction while others another. Often we would meet up for a common adventure.

Since I did not wish to repeat some of the same tourist attractions that I had seen in past years, Thursday a few of us visited the local Family History Society where I was able to glean data for my Ogan One-Name Study and my Talley DNA Project. The group split up and some went to the Science Museum to see the DNA display for a couple of our members’ DNA in their Who Am I? exhibit which will be displayed for the next ten years. Others visited the London Museum and learned more about the archeology of the area, the Great London Fire, and more.

On Friday, the conference opened at 10:00 and this year we did not stand in the long queue outside, but were able to go through the vendors’ door, thanks to passed from Family Tree DNA and ISOGG since all of us were helping at one booth or the other. As usual, some of us helped swab testers at the Family Tree DNA booth while others manned the ISOGG booth (International Society of Genetic Genealogy). Again this year, the ISOGG booth organized free testing for males with a specific surname. Family Tree DNA administrators who wished to test people for their projects were willingly pay for a 12 or 37 marker test for men who have the surname that fit their project. This year 115 surnames were made available which was many more than last year. Free tests were given to males with the surnames SPEARMAN, PHILLIPS, TOWNSEND, AND 2 (two) MCDONALDs thanks to the administrators of those projects. I was pleased to find the Townsend tester who was much surprised when I asked him his name and told him to wait a minute while I checked with ISOGG (just across the aisle) as I thought that name was among the list. I was beaming from ear to ear when I returned.

...............................................................................Mr. Thompson

Friday was a busy day, and I recall the same last year. Every year we spend Friday night dinner together at the Pizza Express, attached to the convention center.

Saturday and Sunday was more of the same. I find it very hard to get away to view the convention as meeting the potential testers is a great joy for me.

Saturday night many of our group attended the play We Will Rock You, music of Queen, organized by Brian Swann. Sunday night many of us had dinner across from the Olympia hall at a Persian restaurant.

Monday many of us took a taxi to Hampton Court Palace, the home of many kings including Henry VIII. Monday night I and Katherine Borges and Linda Magellan had dinner at the home of a distant cousin on my Talley line. They live in a condo that used to be Bryant and May Match Factory, the oldest and largest match factory in London, a beautiful complex of brick buildings. We had a lovely time sharing dinner and our lives with each other.

Tuesday found us at the Society of Genealogists with our personal guide for the second year in a row, Geoff Swinfield, where we explored three floors of genealogy records. At least this year we found the place easily and didn’t get lost!

About 3:00 p.m. we took the tube to meet Chris Pomery at St. John’s Woods as I wanted to recreate the Beatles' Abbey Road album cover, complete with similar clothing. Chris was to be our photographer. Katherine Borges was John, Cynthia Wells was Ringo, Linda Magellan was George, and Emily was Paul. It was getting late and was cold (at least my bare feet told me that!), so after the second shot, we called it good. It was amazing to see how many people were constantly crossing the street for a photo and the poses they did. We were the only ones like the album cover. Naturally, we all took a shot in front of the Abbey Roads Studio and wrote our names on the wall. It’s traditional and white-washed from time to time so we took a photo of our graffiti!

Linda, Emily, Cynthia, and Katherine
(Thank you ladies...and Chris!)

There were more events and adventures, but you now understand how much some of us try to cram into our week. Each year, many of us go our own ways in small groups and my goal is to always do a couple of things (or more) different from the previous year. There is so much to see and do in London!

Hopefully, by now you are looking forward to next year’s production of Who Do You Think You Are? Live and are vowing to join the group for a week of wonderful genealogical opportunities, great fun, and camaraderie. We have made many friends among the genealogists in the UK and look forward to visiting with them every year. After all, NETWORKING is the buzz word of the twenty-first century!

I look forward to seeing you there!

Remember to see the American version of Who Do You Think You Are? Friday nights on NBC

Emily
copyright 11 Mar 2011

Y Chromosome Phylogenetic Tree Update

2011-03-04T18:36:00.000-08:00

The following was sent today by Family Tree DNA to all their administrators. If you notice that your Y-DNA haplogroup (twig on the world family tree) has been altered on your personal webpages, this is the reason. Note that haplogroups will be changed over time as more and more people test and the branches and twigs of the phylogenetic tree (world's family tree) is updated.

Dear Group Administrator,

We are excited to announce that we have updated our Y Chromosome Phylogenetic Tree to reflect new haplogroup sub-branches!

Family Tree DNA, in partnership with the YCC, periodically reviews known SNPs in order to evaluate those that meet the requirements to be added to the haplotree. The SNPs that passed this review are now included in the haplotree and considered for deep clade testing.

Along with this update to the tree, we have implemented some changes in the ordering process for deep clade and SNP testing:

We now offer a universal deep clade test for $89. This will identify a customer’s terminal SNP for any haplogroup.
If a customer has pending results for a deep clade test, they will automatically be tested according to the new tree.
If a customer has never ordered a deep clade test, they will have the option either to order the universal deep clade for $89 or order individual SNPs from the tree.

We will no longer be offering a deep clade extension product. For customers interested in upgrading to the new tree, it may be more economical to order the universal deep clade for $89 if there are 4 or more new SNPs available to them (each SNP is $29 individually). If there are less than 4 new SNPs available for a customer, they will not be offered the universal deep clade test and should order the SNPs individually from the tree since this is the most cost-effective option. Newly available SNPs are shown on the haplotree in orange.

Family Tree DNA

© 2011 Genealogy by Genetics. Privacy Unsubscribe

Family Tree DNA Sale - Walk Through the Y

2011-02-21T13:52:00.000-08:00

Another SALE at Family Tree DNA.....

This message was sent to all the Haplogroup Administrators today....♠

Dear Haplogroup Project Administrator,

Family Tree DNA is excited to announce our Walk Through the Y sale! Based on recent improvements in our testing capabilities, and in order to spearhead further research in our field, we are pleased to offer our first discount on Walk Through the Y.

This test will be offered for a very limited time to approved applicants for $500 (normally $750). Please note, this special pricing will only be available to customers who elect to have their results made public.

Walk Through the Y is an advanced sequencing test focused on the discovery of new haplogroup-defining SNPs (Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms) on the Y chromosome. Walk Through the Y goes beyond the scope of deep clade testing, offering customers the opportunity to participate in testing at the forefront of Y chromosome DNA research. This research can expedite the discovery of SNPs that help subdivide haplogroups, information that is fundamental to the continued success of our Y-DNA haplogroup projects.

Due to the advanced nature of this test, Walk Through the Y is by application only. Interested members can fill out application form here.

To read more about Walk Through the Y, including information about who to test, please read through our frequently asked questions.

See: Family Tree DNA

© 2011 Genealogy by Genetics.

Family Tree DNA Announces New Illumina Omni Platform!

2011-02-10T10:41:00.000-08:00

Family Tree DNA just announced:

Dear Customer,

Family Tree DNA is pleased to announce a new and exciting development!

Family Tree DNA is changing our Family Finder test to the Illumina Omni platform.

This new platform will allow us better opportunities for upgrades in the future. For this platform change to occur, we must retest your sample using our new Illumina OmniExpress system.

Because your kit 175114, has previously tested with Family Finder, you are eligible for a FREE early Family Finder conversion to the new system. Beginning with those who sign up first, the entire Family Finder database will be converted. Follow these steps to sign up now:

1. Go to www.familytreedna.com
2. Log in to your personal page with your kit number and password
3. Click on the alert box at the top of the page
4. Follow the "Click here" link to sign up

Those who sign up by Wednesday, February 16th, can expect results from the conversion within 2 to 3 weeks. We expect our entire Family Finder database to be converted in approximately 6 to 8 weeks. Your existing Family Finder results will continue to be available in your account until the everyone has been converted.

Do I need to submit more DNA? In most cases, we have enough DNA remaining from your initial Family Finder test. If we do not, we will send you a new collection kit.

How will this affect my Family Finder results? There will be little to no effect on the results of your Family Finder test. The testing platform change will allow us to offer more options for future testing.

What if I don't sign up? Your results will still be rerun using the new Illumina platform. However, you will be retested only after those who have signed up for the conversion.

What if my results have not come in yet? If your results are pending then your test is already being run using the new Illumina platform.

May I sign up for someone else? Yes, if you are the primary account manager for the kit. However, project administrators may not sign up on behalf of a project member without the member's permission.

For other questions or more details about the Family Finder test, please see our Family Finder FAQ

© 2011 Genealogy by Genetics. Privacy Unsubscribe

Brick Wall Success with 67 marker Y-DNA Test

2011-01-17T15:55:00.000-08:00

Randy Majors recently shared his website and this story with me. It's a wonderful story that shows the qualities of good genealogical research, perseverance, and how together with DNA testing you can break those brick walls. I urge you to read the entire journey on his website as this is only a summary. Congratulations Randy and thank you for sharing with all of us!

He writes:

I recently wrote a narrative about how I broke through a long-time brick wall using a combination of traditional genealogical research methods and genetic genealogy. It's about my great great-grandfather John Charles Brown, or at least that's who we thought he was...

For 130 years – from 1880 to 2010 – John Charles Brown’s past was hidden in veils of secrecy. John’s children and grandchildren didn’t know who his parents or siblings were. It was the proverbial genealogical brick wall. Therefore, since this was one of my most difficult family lines I could research, I researched it.

The basic problem is that we didn't have any confirmed record of John's existence for the first 28 years of his life...from his birth in December 1858 to his marriage in April 1887. Birth certificates were not required in Illinois in 1858, so that simpler approach to determining his parents was not possible. But in that time-frame, John should have appeared in the 1860, 1870, and 1880 census at a minimum, as well as perhaps a state census or two...and that could have led to whom his parents were. And it did, eventually, but not how you might expect!

In summary, the steps I took over the last few years are these:

--- I researched all the traditional genealogical resources I could find (e.g. census records, vital records, church records, newspapers, and so on)

--- I talked with family members to find any information they had on John, and importantly, any stories or memories they recalled. I found it was critical to talk with the older living relatives who were alive at the time when John was still alive; he died in 1928, so there were still at least a couple of grandchildren living.

--- After hitting a brick wall on anybody knowing who John's parents or siblings were, I then dug deeper on trying to find additional sources including church records from where he was born, land and legal records from around the time of his marriage, newspaper clippings, and so on.

--- After uncovering plenty records since the 1887 marriage, but lots of nothing before that, I went back to the basics of what I knew or thought I knew. There were a few clues in the oral traditions from older family members so, on a hunch, I reduced the name searches in census records to first names and did some wildcard clues that used elements of the locations, occupations, birthplace of parents, etc., previously found. This led me to a specific family that I suspected could be John's family. (There is much more detail on this in my full narrative.)

The problem was that the family I found in 1860 and 1870 census records had a totally different surname. So continuing, I tried to disprove that this candidate-family with the different surname was in fact John and his family, but I couldn't disprove it. This compelled me that much more to try to turn my hypothesis into a certainty. I recalled that there was a direct male descendant of John Charles Brown whom I had made contact with earlier that year. He too knew nothing of John's parents or siblings and was equally baffled. After some time, he decided to have a 67-marker y-DNA test performed at Family Tree DNA. And the rest is history.

Check out the full narrative and what was ultimately discovered here:
http://randymajors.com/2010/12/man-who-wasnt-john-charles-brown.html

Hopefully, this story offers some ideas that others may try on their brick wall ancestors!

mtDNA Success Story at Family Tree DNA

2011-01-11T09:06:00.000-08:00

Any DNA success story is a success for all of us! Each one shows us a way to use testing to help our brick walls. Each step in discovering how we can test to get beyond those blocked paper trails is one for our side: Score one for the genealogists!

Thank you Joy for your story...

mtDNA SUCCESS STORY

My genealogy interest began in my single-digit years. Grandpapa Eldred Lowe would come from the island of Abaco, Bahamas to the capital city Nassau on business. He stayed with us. After supper my parents sat with him to relax and converse. I’d hide behind the sofa, shy and out of sight, to listen. Even though I did not know the persons they spoke of, the fact that they were our family intrigued me.

In my teen years, I visited Abaco and met our family. I liked them, and wanted to learn more. Life opened a distant trail to me. After marriage to an Oregonian, there I transplanted. The move in 1964 motivated the start of a paper collection of my people in the Bahamas. Dad lived 90 years, sharp to the end. After mother died, I began to record the historical family stories that poured from him. The collection grew to an enjoyable hobby for a senior—genealogy and writing dad’s family stories for our grandchildren.

A genealogy program on the computer manages the data, while the internet links the Bahamas Genealogy Group researchers. Here I learned of the Bahamas DNA Project. Peter J. Roberts is the volunteer leader. I wrote to Peter, provided my maternal ancestry for four generations, then an unknown blank, a mother who had lived in Abaco, Bahamas about 1800.

For Christmas 2006, I gave myself the gift of doing the mtDNA test. I had no expectation, no idea what this might reveal.

What a surprise when the results came. I MATCHED Anita Laurie Albury, who still lives at Abaco, Bahamas. Anita, and I had NO knowledge that our maternal families connected. Peter pointed us to the uncommon name of both grandmothers: Anita’s Amana Roberts, and my Amana Russell, both born at Cherokee Sound, Abaco. Plus the fact that I wear the middle name Amana.

I never knew my maternal grandmother. She died four years before my birth. But I did know Anita’s grandmother, Ms. Mana. A widow, she worked in Nassau during the 1950s. We have the paper trail for both AMANA grandmothers, and back to their grandmothers, a Lenora Pinder for Anita’s line, and her sister Frances Pinder of my line.

A recent—2009—mtDNA test has a third match with us—another sister of Lenora and Frances—Sarah Jane, who moved to Key West, Florida after marriage. So far, we do not know their parents’ names. A clue may come from a note in my mother’s journal that speaks of “Grandma Charity”. We watch and wait for verification.

The small girl no longer hides—she sits comfortable and confident in an interview. Still intrigued, and curious, she listens and shares in order to learn.

©Joy A Lowe Jossi, 202 SW 14^th St, Gresham OR 97080 joyjos@juno.com 3 Apr 2009

Family Finder Success Story For Pitts DNA Project

2011-01-09T14:06:00.000-08:00

For the next few posts, I will include various success stories that have been shared with me by the administrators of a DNA project. They varying in nature and will allow the reader to see how DNA testing can help with genealogy.

Posting success stories can lead others interested in the same surname to your project. If you have other stories you would like posted, please email me at: aulicino@hevanet.com

Family Finder is an autosomal test taken through Family Tree DNA. This test allows both males and females to find matches with each other back four generations, at least. Read my previous posts on this test for more detail.

Family Finder Success Story for Group 1 on the Pitts DNA Project

We had long suspected that Mary Lenora Pitts was a daughter of Pitman Pitts and Mary C. Andrews. This was, in part, due to the 1860 census showing Mary and another girl (we think granddaughters) living with Mary C. Andrews Pitts. We had tried for several years to figure out a way to test this hypothesis using mtDNA by testing the descendants of Mary Lenora Pitts to a living person was a direct female line. But the other two daughters of Mary C. did not produce a viable direct female line.

The autosomal Family Finder test, however, made testing this hypothesis easy since the lines could be mixtures of males and females. We matched on chromosome 3 and my sister matched on a slightly larger segment in the same area on chromosome 3. My 3rd cousin once removed (verified by both Family Finder and Y-DNA 67 markers exact) matched the descendant of Mary Lenora on Chromosome 5. My 1st cousin once removed, however, did not match. But failure to match with autosomal DNA does not preclude a relationship. We believe that three out of four possible matches is sufficient. We are fourth cousins.

David Pitts
Pitts DNA Project co-admin

If you are a male Pitts or have the Pitts surname in your lineage, contact the Pitts DNA Project.

Family Tree DNA Holiday Sale

2010-12-11T22:54:00.000-08:00

Greetings!

A quick reminder of the Family Tree DNA Sale for the Holidays! Family Finder is at a good sale price! This could be rare, so consider getting it while you can at this price.

Until December 31st Family Tree DNA will reduce the price of their YDNA37, YDNA67, mtDNAPlus, and Family Finder tests. See my blog posts for details on each test.

Price for NEW KITS:
........................Regular Price........Promotional Price
YDNA37 ..................$149 ........................$119
YDNA67 ..................$239 ........................$199
mtDNAPlus .............$159 .........................$129
Family Finder ..........$289 ........................$249

Orders must be in and paid for by Dec. 31, 2010, to receive this offer. Using a credit card is considered payment, although you won't have to actually pay for a while.

People tend to put off buying until the end of the sale and sometimes overlook the ending date due to the holidays. This sale will NOT be extended, so don't miss out!

Best wishes,
Emily

Family Tree DNA Holiday Sale - One Week ONLY

2010-11-24T15:04:00.000-08:00

The following message just arrived....

I would strongly guess that this will not be the December Holiday Sale, so grab this one now!

ALSO...understand that a 37 marker test gives you matches within good genealogical time (within about 350 yrs on the average), while anything below that puts the time to a common ancestor beyond genealogy records (600 yrs or longer ago).

FTDNA says:

As we enter Thanksgiving weekend, we would like to extend to you a one-week promotion for upgrades:

..............Current Group Price........SALE PRICE
Y12-37.........$99.................................$69

Y12-67.........$189...............................$149

Y25-6..........$148...............................$109

Y37-67........$99.................................$79

To order this special offer, log in to your personal page and click on the special offers link in the left hand navigation bar. A link to the login page is provided below. ALL ORDERS MUST BE PLACED AND PAID FOR BY MIDNIGHT DECEMBER♠ 1st 2010 TO RECEIVE THE SALE PRICES.

To Login, Click: Family Tree

Family Tree DNA's 6th International Conference, part 2

2010-11-20T12:24:00.000-08:00

Sunday, October 31, 201

ISOGG met at 8:30 a.m. Katherine Borges, director of ISOGG, gave a presentation on the organization and its history. This non-profit society started in 2005 by a handful of people and without any funding. No dues are required and the only goal is to spread the word about Genetic Genealogy.

ISOGG recently developed the ISOGG wiki page and has many topics to assist researcher of all levels.

The ISOGG newsletter is distributed to about 4,400 members.

Several members staffed the booth last February at the Who Do You Think You Are? Conference in London, the largest genealogy convention in the world. Nearly 20,000 people attended that conference. Some administrators offered free DNA tests for anyone at the conference who was a male with the desired surname. At least five people received free tests. ISOGG will be manning a booth again this coming year. (February 25-27, 2011)

Dr. Bruce Walsh, Professor of Ecology and Evoluntionary Biology at the University of Arizona, presented The Math Behind Family Finder. Dr. Walsh uses the phrase “incorrectly ascertained paternity” instead of NPE (Non-parental event) which is more correct, actually.

He explained that one chromosome is contributed by each parent, but that chromosome is a combination of both of their parents. He states that autosomal DNA is sliced and diced, but the Y-chromosome does not recombine as there are never two copies in the cell. However, recombination of the X chromosome does occur because there are two copies. Since men have an X and a Y there is no recombination, but of course their X was a recombination of their mother’s two X chromosomes. The Mitochondrial DNA does not recombine, but is passed on as an identical block, except for random mutations.

Dr. Walsh also believes that the autosomal chips will have more than a million markers in 2-3 years. Current technology is about 500,000 markers.

The Family Finder test can reliably predict relationships for three generations (to the 3rd cousin level). However, fourth and fifth cousins are possible, but not as reliable. Each generation only gets 50% of the previous generations’ autosomal DNA. This means that that in only a few generations there is little to now autosomal DNA from the ancestors.

Bennett Greenspan, President and CEO of FTDNA, spoke on Reading Family Finder Results. He demonstrated how to use Family Finder test results to solve a 30-year mystery in his lineage. He used the chromosome browser portion of Family Finder to triangulate and determine whether a match is on the maternal or paternal side. Doing so does entail testing the correct level of family members. By testing close family members you can compare them with distant family members to see how where and how much the data overlaps. If you test a close on your paternal side and a close relative on your maternal side, you can compare a distant cousin to each and determine which side they are related.

He further explained that small block lengths (or centimorgans, aka cM) means that there is a more distant relationship even if the totally number of matching SNPs is large.

He clarified homozygosis and heterozygosis. Our DNA contains four chemical bases (adenine, cytosine, guanine, and thymine or ACGT). There are a pair of these bases at each location along the chromosome, but Family Finder cannot distinguish between them so you see two letters which are always given in alphabetical order. When looking at the raw data and comparing one person to another, the AA from one person matches an AT from another person and a TT matches an AT, but the AA does not match a TT. Therefore, if a person has the same chemical basis (i.e., AA or TT), this is called homozygous, and if the pair differ (i.e., AT) it is called heterozygous. If a person is heterozygous in an area they will tend to match more people, but if those people are homozygous, they will not match each other. That is, if you have an AT at a location and you match two people who are AA and TT, the people who are AA and TT will not match each other. This means you will have matches on your family Finder and those matches will not match each other if you are the one who heterozygous. These matches are usually on smaller segments of the DNA, but get everyone excited in that they are hoping that if everyone matched everyone, they could triangulate the lineages to more easily discover the common ancestor.

Bennett mentioned that the X-chromosome browser is being developed and may be available in March 2011.

Dr. Charmaine Royal’s, the lead author of the ASHG (American Society of Human Genetics) white paper entitled Inferring Genetic Ancestry: Opportunities, Challenges, and Implications. She is an Associate Research Professor in the Institute for Genome Sciences and Policy and the Department of African and African American Studies at Duke University. She stated that the reference populations in commercial databases are usually proprietary and pretty much unverifiable by other researchers. Therefore, a prediction by one company may be at odds with another and there is no way of understanding which information is correct since the databases are not public. She believes the term ancestry has multi definitions, that consumers and researchers are interested in genetic ancestry for a variety of reasons; that knowledge about human genetic diversity is incomplete; that various tools for assessing genetic and genomic ancestry, but provide limited information on origins of one’s ancestors; and that interpretation of individual DNA ancestry estimates by both scientists and consumers is sometimes unclear. There was more, but these seem to be general statements that assume the genetic genealogists in the group (some of which are scientists) do not understand that genetic diversity is incomplete; that limited information is provided, and there is a limit to information on origins. Let alone genetics, that is so in genealogy! All of this is on-going with only some of it easily predicted.

She was concerned that some people testing will not be prepared for the results or will become very concerned and emotional with unexpected results. Everyone in that room is beyond those issues and administrators do explain the possibilities of testing to customers…at least, those I know.

Members of the conference as well as Dr. Royal do agree that some companies are making poor predictions based on incomplete research. This hurts everyone and gives a bad name to companies who sell directly to consumers. She stated that the Food and Drug Administration doesn’t have enough time to do its current job, so she didn’t believe that they would place regulations on DTC (Direct To Consumer) testing.

She closed with some picky remarks regarding the Family Tree DNA website, stating that it is “one of best.” (As I have not seen one better, I beg her to show me THE best!) She called for a search engine which appears to be something that has been considered. There were minor wording changes she proposed to clarify information to customers who may have little knowledge of the subject.

I have a difficult time with someone standing in judgment of genetic testing when that person has not tested her genome. She seems to have no knowledge of how it does help genealogy and has helped many people find not only their ancestors, but their biological parents.

Elliott Greenspan in his presentation IT Roadmap gave us the future of Information Technology at FTDNA. He stated that they process about 1 terabyte per hour for customer support and analysis. By next year he forecasts that they will be processing 3.8 Petabytes (A Petabyte is one million Gigabytes). Mine boggling!

A new Gedcom viewer as well as new web pages for administrators, termed GAP 2.0, have been implemented. (GAP stands for Group Administrator Pages). GAP 2.1 will be available Spring 2011. These new pages give administrators much more flexibility in manipulating the information in a project.

Among other things there will be 110 markers available for testing on the Y-chromosome.

Thomas Krahn, Technical Laboratory Manager of Family Tree DNA’s Genomics Research Center in Houston, in his Walk through the Y Update, explained that this is a research program to find new SNPs on the Y-chromosome. At the cost of $750 per sample, they have processed 178 samples so far. In order to get this test now, you must be approved (i.e., be from an unusual haplogroup), and you must know the paternal county of origin. Ninety-six of the participants did not find a new SNP in their DNA, but 137 previously undocumented Y-SNP markers were found for G2, J1, Q, I, and R. Many “private” SNPs have been found at the family or genealogy level.

FTDNA has purchased the expensive “next generation” 454 sequencer which will allow a nearly full sequence of the Y.

Dr. Krahn suggested that one should do the Deep Clade test before doing the Walk Through the Y.

Dr. Krahn gave these SNP locations for various haplogroups:
1. The Irish Type III SNP is R-L226
2. L140 and L141 defines major branches in the G2 haplogroup
3. L222 is fond among Arab J1 groups
4. L161 is a significant branch downstream from I-M423
5. L245 defines a major branch downstream of Q-M378
6. L257 is the fourth largest branch below R-U106 and next to R-L8, R-L1 and R-U198

At the end of his presentation, Dr. Krahn raffled 18 mouse pads printed with the Yq11 Palindromic Region. I was a lucky recipient!

Again, there was a closing Panel for Questions and Answers.

Each participant received a new version of the Y-DNA Phylogenetic Tree.

With the 6th Annual International Family Tree DNA Conference at a close, everyone dispersed and many chattering about plans to attend the Who Do You Think You Are? Conference in London at the end of February.

Photos of Dr. Walsh and Dr. Krahn, courtesy of Family Tree DNA
Thanks to David Pitts for sharing his notes.

Emily
copyright November 2011

Family Tree DNA's 6th International Conference

2010-11-20T12:06:00.000-08:00

6th International Conference on Genetic Genealogy
Houston, Texas
October 30-31, 2010

Once again Family Tree DNA held a very informative conference for its administrators. Although the size is always limited to about 200 participants or less, it becomes more and more International each year. This year representatives outside of the United States, included Canada, Belgium, The Netherlands, and Russia. It was wonderful to meet these International administrators and thank them for their dedication in promoting DNA testing for genealogy. AND, of course, it was grand seeing all those who have attended in past years. It is much like a family reunion.

Surprisingly, this year there were more new attendees than anyone had seen in recent years. This is absolutely wonderful, as it indicates our field is growing. On behalf of all Genetic Genealogists, I thank all of you for coming. The focus on genetic testing for genealogy grows by the grass root efforts of many individuals as well as the hard work of the members of the In ternational Society of Genetic Genealogy (ISOGG) in promoting this level of genealogy proof.

Friday night began with the usual Family Tree DNA hospitality suite. This year Alice Fairchild provided her wonderful Double Helix necklaces to many. I supplied some entertainment in honor of Halloween by creating a DNA Trick or Treat game. Attendees were asked to draw a number which corresponded to a sheet of questions. After answering the question, or attempting to do so (This is a teaching moment.), the person received a small chocolate bar of choice and a DNA Trick or Treat sticker. It was amazing to see how many could answer and who was struggling. These questions did pave the way for some of the topics being covered at the conference, so hopefully, the introduction to some of the terms lead the newbies to focus on the presentations even more. I hope everyone found it more fun than intimidating…everyone won. Emily and Elise

Registration began at 8:00 a.m. Saturday. We received a nice FTDNA bag, T-shirt and bag. After grabbing coffee, tea, and water, we found a spot at the tables where we would spend the next two days. Pads of papers allowed us to write our questions and suggestions which were collected after each presentation. If time ran out, those questions were answered in a Q and A period at the end of the day.

Max Blankfeld, Vice-President, welcomed us with some statistics on attendance ♠and asked for a show of hands for those who are new and those who have attended all six conferences. Each was well represented. Max introduced Bennett Greenspan, President and CEO, who added more facts and thanked us all as without us the company would not be where it is today.

As Charmaine Royal, PhD from the American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) would be speaking on Sunday regarding the ASHG white paper Inferring Genetic Ancestry: Opportunities, Challenges, and Implications, Matt Kaplan, Project Lead of the Human Origins Genotyping Laboratory, and Taylor Edwards, an Assistant Staff Scientists, both at the University of Arizona reviewed the paper and the implications for Genetic Genealogy. We learned there is currently over forty companies doing testing, and that there are about 200,000 Y-DNA samples at the University of Arizona with 42,000 of them being at a 67 marker level. Interestingly, there are rare cases of where men have two X chromosomes and no Y, yet they are still men, and in this case a Y-chromosome cannot be tested, of course. Conversely, a woman could have a Y-chromosome. For more information on this situation see: Does having a Y chromosome make someone a man? (http://www.isna.org/faq/y_chromosome)

Matt and Taylor explained that customers and scientists have different goals regarding genetic ancestry. For the consumer, ethical issues of unresolved paternity, consent for testing, uncovering genetic disorders, and unexpected ancestry can affect a person, and we as advocates need to clarify this to a customer, but that customers have an obligation to understand the possible outcomes of their testing. They reminded us that the tools for genealogy testing came from population genetics and that many Direct To Consumer (DTC) customers are interested in extending and confirming their family genealogy, and for those who are looking for health information really need to be tested for health markers. Family Tree DNA focuses on genealogy.

Matt and Taylor also reiterated that …
1. if anyone is concerned with identity (i.e., illegitimate births), you may not wish to test. Unexpected ancestry can affect some people.
2. nuances of ancestry will dispel the notion of race and the practice of equating race with ancestry.
3. inferring information from a population that has not been well sampled is not safe (i.e., determination of a tribe for a Native American ancestor).
4. testing with a company for genealogical purposes may give you some unique results, such as men with no Y-chromosome; women with a Y-chromosome, Nulls (absence of marker result), etc., but for interpretation of these one might wish to consult a genetic counselor.

Dr. Michael Hammer, Biotechnology Research Scientist at the University of Arizona, spoke of building genome-wide SNP (Single Nucleotide Polymorphism) databases and methods to predict individual ancestry from these databases.

SNPs are used to determine haplogroups as they mutate once whereas STRs (Short Tandem Repeats) can multiply at random. The stability of testing SNPs allows the determination of haplogroups for various populations. When testing the Y-chromosome, the result is reported for STRs. A separate SNP test will determine your deep ancestry and link you to the Phylogenetic Tree (World Family Tree) which can then show you the migration pattern out of Africa.

Dr. Hammer stated that it is possible to predict ethnic and geographical groups and that the information collected from the extreme populations around the world is easier to predict, but that prediction gets more blurry as you test the non-extreme populations. Ethnic origins in some areas are not highly predictable, especially in some areas of the Middle East. Isolation, genetic drift, or low number of tested samples could be the issue in some areas.

This is a reason why testing does not give you as much accuracy below the Continental level. That is, there is high accuracy for assigning haplogroups for the Y-chromosome testing for these continental groups: Sub-Sahara, Oceania, Europe, East Asia and the Americas. Databases are being developed to deal with the interior of continental groups to create a regional population database.

A few interesting statistics from his presentation:
1. There are 3 billion base pairs in the entire genome and 99.9 % of them are identical.
2. There are 3 million SNPs per person.
3. Taking the HVR1 test for the mitochondrial DNA has a low accuracy rate for determining haplogroups. The Full Genome Sequence (FGS) test is highly accurate depending upon sample size. In this case you can get a longer string of letters and numbers for your haplogroup as in U5a1a). If you belong to a haplogroup which has few testers at this time, the details of the haplogroup are not as accurate; therefore, you may only receive a short haplogroup designation (i.e., HV).

Doron Behar, MD, PhD spoke on Summarizing and Anticipation the Next Decade with NRY, mtDNA and Autosomal DNA. He reviewed some history of the DNA molecule which was discovered in 1944. The double helix was discovered in 1953, and the first human genome project was completed after 13 years of research in 2003. In 2009 a complete genome analysis cost about $70,000. Dr. Behar thinks that the price may be reduced to $1,700. In 2004 the National Human Genome Research Institute issued a request entitled "Revolutionary Genome Sequencing Technologies: The $1,000 Genome for any interested company to sequence the entire genome for $1,000.

He clearly stated that although we have a common ancestor with the PAN chimps (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimpanzee), we did not derive from them and gave us the following reminder that in 1987 the mitochondrial DNA from 147 testers form five geographic populations were analyzed. The conclusion was that all of these results came from one woman who is to have lived about 200,000 years ago, probably in Africa.

Just after lunch there were several breakout sessions where I desired to have several clones of me to attend. As my Talley DNA Project Co-administrator Cynthia Wells was conducting one on how Family Finder can assist Y-DNA Projects, I joined her to help explain what we have discovered in our project and to clarify information on heterozygosis and homozygosis, at least on the basic level. David Pitts, Administrator of the Pitt Y-DNA Project and member of my Talley DNA email list attended Whit Athey’s presentation on “Phasing of the Chromosomes of a Family Group.” Whit states using the raw data from Family Finder for at least three children can allow most of the autosomal raw data for both parents to be determined. Having one parent with the children is best. In some cases, data from a cousin can help, and he demonstrated how using this data can help determine on whether the match is on the maternal or paternal side. He mentioned that each SNP in Family Finder’s raw data is reported in alphabetical order.

Next Katherine Borges spoke on behalf of Susan Meates of the Guild of One Name Studies (GOONS). The presentation covered the origin of names which included toponymic (place), occupational, topographic, and physical appearance. Name changes occurred for a variety of reasons, including a change of clergy, the Great Vowel Shift, personal preferences and in some countries, like Ireland, families took in orphaned children who were given the families’ surname.

As usual a Question and Answer Panel was held the last hour of the day. What questions were not answered after each presentation were covered at this time. Of these,

1. Doug McDonald re-evaluated the 23andMe percentages for categorizing populations and improved on them. FTDNA bought the rights to his work for Population Finder.
2. The cost of the Family Finder test was due to the high cost of the Affy chip which is made only one company and who did not give Family Tree DNA a cost-break at this time.
3. For Family Finder, if you manage to keep the end blocks of a chromosome the odds are the segment will be larger.
4. Reconstructing the DNA of parents is possible IF there are enough children, but it can still be difficult.
5. FTDNA says that Family Finder is highly reliable up to the 3rd Great-Grandparents or five generations or about 125 years.

The conference ended around 5:00 p.m., but at 7:00 p.m. everyone started gathering in one of the executive meeting rooms for ISOGG’s hospitality suite. Everyone was invited and from the looks of the crowd most everyone came. There was more food and drink than all of us could consume and hours were spent talking about the day’s activities as well as catching up on what friends had been doing for the past year. I was able to meet three attendees who are matches with me on Family Finder. As I had brought my charts with me, we perused them for any clues of a connection without luck. Most of the speakers and FTDNA staff were on hand to chat as well. The room was overflowing onto the mezzanine and down the hall. This was definitely the largest ISOGG gathering to date at the yearly conferences.

Part 2 for Sunday's activities.
Thanks to David Pitts for his notes as well.

Emily
copyright November 2010

Family Tree DNA Test Sale

2010-10-20T16:14:00.000-07:00

Greetings!

Today Family Tree DNA announced a sale on their Family Finder Test for new testers along with a Y-DNA or an mtDNA test. The email states that it is a limited time offer, but does not give an ending date.

Family Finder + Y-DNA 12 marker test is regularly $388, but the Introductory Price is $299

Family Finder + mtDNA (HVR1) marker test is regularly $388, but the Introductory price is $299.

REMEMBER: This is only for NEW customers and is available for a LIMITED time.

Only credit card payments are accepted for this.

For those of you who do not know much about these tests (Family Finder, Y-DNA, or mtDNA), please see prior postings for this blog or email me at aulicino@hevanet.com

Emily
copyright 20 Oct 2010

Family Tree DNA Announcement on Family Finder

2010-09-27T10:30:00.000-07:00

Dear Family Tree DNA Customer,

By now you may have already heard of our newest test, which has received substantial exposure in the press: the Family Finder test.

Since several people who have seen the news about this test have approached us for more information, allow me to briefly give you the key elements of the Family Finder test:

You may find relatives on any of your lines within the past 5 generations!

It doesn't matter if you are male or female; your results will be compared to anyone who has taken Family Finder!*

You can test “suspected relatives” including aunts, uncles, parents, half-siblings, or cousins.

By ordering the Family Finder test, you will receive the new Population Finder test at no additional charge.

Population Finder determines the percentages of different ancestries that comprise your genetics by matching your DNA data from the Family Finder test against data from multiple populations from around the world**. Based on your DNA, Population Finder will assign your sample to 1-4 population groups, giving the corresponding percentages of your genetic makeup.

The Family Finder Test lets you:

	Sort your matches by degree of relationships.
	View the names of your matches and communicate via e-mail.
	Share genealogical information with ease.
	See the “location” on your chromosomes where you match and compare your matches with each other!
	Determine the percentages of different ancestries that comprise your genetics by matching your autosomal DNA against data from multiple populations.

Special Note: The Family Finder test requires an untouched vial of DNA. If your kit does not have an extra vial on file, we will mail a collection kit for a new DNA extraction. After ordering you will be notified by email whether we are able to use a stored vial or will be mailing a new collection kit.

*Family Finder results can only be compared with other Family Finder results. The Family Finder test uses autosomal DNA which is different from Y-DNA or mtDNA.

**You will be able to see your basic ethnic makeup, broken down by percentage. This test is based on a comparison of your Family Finder sequences to data collected by population geneticists. Populations studies consist of a number of representative populations including: European, Native American, Asian, African, etc.

Comparing Family Finder and Relative Finder

2010-09-22T21:49:00.000-07:00

Family Tree DNA and 23andMe are the major players in autosomal testing that helps genealogists. In many ways their features are very similar, but they are also greatly different. Most genealogists will tell you that if money is not an issue, you should test with both companies. However, you do need to know which company fits your goals, if you choose to test with only one.

My earlier post on how to choose a DNA testing company applies here as well. Please reread that article entitled Which DNA Company Fits Your Needs (May 2009).

I have tested with both companies, and without getting into the technical arena, the following may help you understand which testing company better suits your needs. Understand that each company uses a different chip to test your genes so there is an overlap, but not an exact comparison between the two sets of raw data. Each company scans around a half million locations in your genome. This, along with the fact that the clientele for each company differs, provides a different set of matches.

Background

Family Tree DNA’s Family Finder

• Founded in 1999; services open to the public in 2000

• Primary focus: Genealogy

• FAQ focuses on using Family Finder exclusively and provides other FAQs for other tests and general information.

• Tests - Cheek swab
........Family Finder $289
Provides maternal, paternal, and autosomal (chromosomes 1-22) ancestry information. You can compare DNA information to other Family Finder customers. Currently Population Finder has been added, and in the future separate web pages for the X chromosome will be available.

Shipping and handling is $4 for the US and $6 Internationally, and you pay about $1 to $1.50 postage in the US to return the sample. If a former testing sample is on file and a complete vial is available, that vial can be used without you providing another sample. If there is not a complete vial, the company then sends you a kit for a new sample at no additional cost.

• The raw data can be downloaded. Family Tree DNA excludes scientifically known health markers in testing, so the data is basically free of health information.

23andMe

• Founded in 2006; services were opened to the public in 2007.

• The primary focus: health related information; September 2009 they incorporated a genealogy aspect. The primary clientele are persons who tested to discover more about their medical aspects.

• FAQ leans toward health information.

• Tests - Saliva sample needed.
........23andMe Health Edition - $429
Provides information on genetic variations and mutations that may influence your risk for various conditions or affect how you react to certain medications. There are currently more than 150 reports available, and our scientists are adding new information all the time.
........23andMe Ancestry Edition - $399
Provides maternal, paternal and autosomal (chromosomes 1-22) ancestry information. Through Relative Finder you can compare DNA information to other 23andMe customers.
........23andMe Complete Edition - $499
Provides both the Health and Ancestry Editions, along with the ability to browse and download all of your genetic information.

Shipping and handling fees apply to each Edition. The cost is $14.95 for the US and $70.00 for International. This includes the cost to return the sample. If you purchase the Health or Ancestry Edition and find that you would like to learn even more about your DNA, you can upgrade to the Complete Edition for an additional fee ($100 to upgrade from the Health Edition, $150 to upgrade from the Ancestry Edition). A second saliva sample will not be necessary.

• The raw data can be downloaded only if you have purchased the Health Edition. Purchasing the Ancestry Edition does not allow for you to download the raw data. Any download would include your health issues.

Test Processing Time

The standard sample processing time is up to 4 weeks for either company under normal circumstances. Of course the time depends upon any increase in demand for the service. Samples are processed in the order in which they are received.

Customer Service

23andMe does currently have the larger database, but that is a result of several factors. They have been offering this type of testing longer and they target various groups to obtain result for their health testing. Family Tree DNA, on the other hand, started their Family Finder testing in March 2009 and is geared toward genealogists.

Family Tree DNA rates higher in customer service in every way. It is easy to discover how to contact them. Their response time for inquires is within a day or two at the most. They listen to the customer and make service a priority.

On Family Tree DNA's home page in the upper right under Contact Us on their website, you will find:

Family Tree DNA
Genealogy by Genetics, Ltd.

World Headquarters
1445 North Loop West, Suite 820 Houston, Texas 77008, USA
Phone: (713) 868-1438
Fax : (832) 201-7147
corporate@familytreedna.com
media@familytreedna.com

The same page has a form to report problems or make suggestions.

At the bottom of any page click on Sitemap to see every aspect of the website.

On 23andMe's home page I do not see any way of contacting them. I found a couple of emails for various portions of their website.

Under Privacy Statement I found:

"How to Contact Us
Questions about this Summary, our Privacy Statement, or about 23andMe's handling of your Personal Information may be emailed to privacy@23andme.com, or sent to:

Privacy Administrator
23andMe, Inc.
1390 Shorebird Way
Mountain View, CA 94043"

AND, on the same web page, I found...

"Account Closure and Correction of Personal Information
If you no longer wish to participate in our Services, you may close your account by sending a request to Customer Support at help@23andme.com."

Under Consent Document, I found:

"How do I withdraw from this study?
At any time, you may choose to withdraw all or some of your Genetic & Self-Reported Information from 23andWe research by sending a request to the Human Protections Administrator at hpa@23andme.com."

And…

"You may also discontinue participation by closing your Personal Genome Service(TM) account, as described in the Terms of Service. Requests for account closure must be made in writing to Customer Service at help@23andme.com."

These emails were not easy to find, and as a customer, I am unsure about using these emails to ask most questions. However, in desperation, I would use any and all emails to get a reply. I was told when I wrote the company that customers can contact them at: help@23andMe.com

That is good to know, but why isn’t it on the home page clearly posted?

In the past I have written both Family Tree DNA and 23andMe regarding their testing and found a much faster reply from Family Tree DNA on repeated occasions. In some cases, I never heard from 23andMe. I also know that the staff at 23andMe was reduced about a year ago and that could be the problem. Hopefully the customer service issue will be corrected.

Contacting Matches

For Family Finder, you receive the email and names of your matches whenever a match occurs as the database is updated daily. You can see on what part of which chromosome you share genomes with any of your matches. You simply email the match and discuss your lineages.

You can add your surnames and locations to your profile. Those surnames are automatically compared to those whom match you. If you and a person have the same surname, you will find that surname in bold. List variant spellings separately.

Relative Finder requires that you send an invitation to no more than five matches per day to request contact and to share genomes. The match could elect to decline your invitation or to make contact with or without sharing genomes. You have three opportunities to send invitations to each match. All correspondence goes through the website unless your matches wish to share their personal emails.

If your match chooses to share genomes, there are two levels: Basic and Extended. Basic allows you to see on what part of a chromosome you match a person. Extended allows you to see their health information. Basic is all that is needed for genealogy.

In a new feature you can make your profile public so others can see the surnames you have added to your profile.

Remember:
DNA does not give you the name of the common ancestor nor when or where that ancestor lived. Contacting the match and sharing genealogical data is the only way to determine the common ancestor.

FAQs

For Family Tree DNA, their Family Finder FAQ is quite extensive with charts and examples to explain the system and how it relates to genealogy.

For 23andMe, the FAQ focuses on explanations of various parts of the website. If you are interested in how to use the test results for genealogy, other than finding matches and comparing the various matching segments, the FAQ will not help you. I suggest that you read my blog and others like it which explains how to use this test for genealogy

The company encourages you to sign up for their free demo account to get a first-hand look at our service. The demo account contains both health and ancestry data for the sample family, The Mendels are the “fake family” you can explore to help you understand what this test can tell you.

Choose with Knowledge

We know that both of these databases will grow over time, and if money is no object, you can find different matches from each company. If genealogy is your interest and you can only afford on of these tests, you may wish to go with Family Tree DNA whose focus is genealogy as your matches would be other genealogists.

Regardless of your choice, understand the nature of this test before you buy. No genetic genealogist wants disgruntled customers, and with the various articles posted on this blog in the last three month, you should get a good understanding of how this test can help your lineage. Before you buy, write the companies with your concerns and join the International Society of Genetic Genealogists (ISOGG) and subscribe to the Newbie Email list. That group can answer questions on any DNA testing for you.

Enjoy,
Emily Aulicino
© 22 Sept 2010

Population Finder from Family Tree DNA

2010-09-17T10:26:00.000-07:00

Do you know your ancestry? Are you Irish? Jewish? Japanese? African? Native American? It is possible that you do know, but our ancestors have traveled far and wide to bring us to where we are. You may be totally correct, but then you may be surprised at what you can discover with Family Tree DNA’s new addition to its Family Finde r test called Population Finder.

Most of us determine our heritage based upon our knowledge handed down from the family. If our known ancestors lived in Ireland, we must be Irish. That is not always the case. Even those who feel they are totally European may not be. Those who are adopted may not have any idea of their heritage. Our ancestors’ migration has been immense over the last few hundred to a thousand years.

Population Finder compares your autosomal DNA results with populations from around the world and shows you the amount of shared ancestry you have with one to four of those populations. Family Tree DNA uses various populations based upon published scientific studies. This database will naturally grow over time so the information you receive now may vary and become more refined in the future. A list of the current populations and their subgroups can be found in the Population Finder FAQ .

As political boundaries do not determine genetic populations, Population Finder cannot determine in which country your ancestors lived. For example, Sicily was settled by at least twelve different cultures prior to it becoming part of Italy, and as this area was on a major trade route, there were other cultures that passed though, leaving a bit of their DNA among the locals. Anyone testing from that region could show a large variety of autosomal DNA from Africa, the Middle East, Europe, or other locations. Populations are determined to be in locations based on their frequency, and those locations do not have specific country names.

My husband would refer to himself as totally Italian. All four of his grandparents were born in either Italy or Sicily. Of the lines currently known, everyone lived in these areas. His Y-chromosome is R1b, and his mtDNA is HV. Both of these indicate Western Europe. However, remember that only the autosomal result is used for Population Finder and not the Y-DNA or mtDNA.

When viewing his autosomal results in either Population Finder's bar or pie graph option, we discover that he has 28.39% of his DNA matching populations from the Middle East and the rest from Southern Europe. That’s quite a bit from the Middle East for an all-Italian guy!

Interestingly, I have 100% European matches. All my known lines (in many cases back to the 1600s) are from Ireland, Wales, Scotland, England, and Germany. Although a bit boring as a graph, this large percentage indicates that my ancestors lived in these areas for a long time.

Our son Jason has 29.91% from the Middle East and the rest from Europe. (Well, I have made the comment that he is his father’s son!) To explain Jason having a higher percentage from the Middle East than Gary, Rebekah A. Canada, Genetic Genealogist and Graduate Student in Bioinformatics, states that “Southern Europe and Middle Eastern are very close. Some of the ancestry from Gary's Southern European ancestry is being picked up as Middle Eastern in Jason.”

The margin of error in Jason’s calculations is +/-17. 08% whereas Gary’s is +/-8.95% and mine is +/-0.01%. Family Tree DNA indicates that a high margin of error (+/-15%) exists when two populations are very close. This high margin of error indicates that Population Finder is not able to distinguish between two populations with great confidence, and this makes perfect sense as the history of this area is known to draw many diverse populations.

If your result has a high margin of error, you are asked to take the Population Finder Survey. It helps reduce the margin of error in your related populations. If you are uncertain of your ancestral origins, perhaps you are adopted or do not know among a couple of possibilities, you can choose None of the Above.

Gary and Jason fell into the rare 0.4% of participants who needed to take the survey. Rebekah A. Canada indicates Gary and Jason’s margin of errors remained higher because None of the Above was the option chosen since Italian is not a selection as you can see from the survey options below.

Gary's choices:
Middle Eastern
Middle Eastern/North African
None of the above

Jason's choices:
Jewish
Russian/Caucusus
Iranian
Middle Eastern
None of the above

After the common R1b Western European haplogroup and with the additional resource of Population Finder, I have a genetically exotic husband after all! ...And he has a very ethnically stable wife!

So…how does this help the genealogist?

Any genealogist who faces a brick wall within the most recent five to six generations and whose ancestry is likely to cross ethnic groups can benefit. Adoptees who are uncertain of their ethnic origins can find Population Finder helpful. In my opinion, any resource which provides new clues can be the one that helps us through those brick walls.

Population Finder is currently in Open Beta, meaning that if you have tested with Family Finder, you can experience this feature first hand before the general public.

More additions to Family Finder are being developed, so watch this blog for the latest.

Emily Aulicino
© 17 Sept 2010

Creating a Family Finder Project

2010-08-09T10:01:00.000-07:00

The idea of Family Finder Projects is being tossed around in genetic genealogy circles to determine how a Family Finder project could best serve the genealogy community. Some projects already exist. As I have said, we are in the pioneering stages with autosomal DNA testing, and the path not taken may be a great opportunity lost.

Although Family Finder test results can be incorporated in several DNA projects as mentioned in the previous blog, Family Finder projects are, by nature, family projects. They focus on particular families. A Family Finder Project focuses on the descendants of one set of ancestors. To ensure that many testers have relevant matches within the project, you should choose a couple no more than eight generations back.

Getting Started

A pedigree chart of known descendants should be posted on the project website or if there is a separate genealogy site for this information, post the link instead. The descendant chart should be continually updated as more information is available. The administrator would then seek eligible descendants to test from the known pedigree. Keep in mind that beyond second cousins it is reasonably possible that some known relatives will not share enough DNA to be detected by Family Finder. As more descendant lines are tested, the number of matches between cousins will increase.

Join Requests

As the common connection between project members is shared genealogical ancestry, a JOIN REQUEST would be required as well as a documented pedigree to the targeted ancestors for those who test independently of the project. Such a request is available for all Family Tree DNA projects and is merely a request to join the project. This gives the administrator control over the membership and surety that the members are related.

Suggested Descendant Project Goals

1. To gather all the descendants of the targeted ancestors.
2. To find cousins for the purpose of furthering this family’s lineages by combining research efforts.

Scope

We each have many ancestral couples five, six, seven, and eight generations back. Indeed, six generations back we have sixty-four great grandparents or thirty-two ancestral couples … too many couples to create projects for each. Not to become overwhelmed by project administration, it is important to select a couple that is of particular interest in your genealogical research and to recruit other Family Historians and Genealogists to help administrate the project. Those who face a road block more recently than five generations may wish to run a project on more recent generations.

To order a Family Finder test or create a project contact Family Tree DNA

Thank you Rebecca Canada for rewriting this topic to the point of authorship! You help and insight has been invaluable.

Emily
© Aulicino, 22 July 2010

Autosomal Testing Helps Traditional DNA Projects

2010-07-29T17:31:00.000-07:00

Many DNA administrators are looking at how to use new autosomal DNA (atDNA) testing products in their current projects. These projects include Y-DNA, Haplogroup, Geographic, Ethnic, and Adoption. But can they help and, if so, how?

Keep in mind the lack of resolution from current atDNA tests beyond the fifth cousin level as well as the possibility of pedigree collapse as you apply atDNA test results to various established DNA projects. See my former blogs for more details on these.

Surname (Y-DNA Based) Projects

The greatest advantage for Y-DNA projects having Family Finder testers involved is that women and men who do not carry a surname for a project can match those in the Y-DNA projects. All parties must have the Family Finder test, of course, but through atDNA testing women and the men with a different surname who cannot find a male surrogate to test can prove their connection to the Y-DNA project’s surname. It may also help those Y-DNA testers who cannot trace back to the common ancestor of their group to find new avenues for their research.

Four men in my Talley Y-DNA project recently tested with Family Finder as did four women and another male with a different surname. We knew that all had the surname Talley in their pedigrees except one woman whose male Y-DNA tester does not carry the Talley surname and he has not tested with Family Finder. This male tester matches the Talley surname, but has a known non-parental event (NPE), and does not match anyone with his surname at this time. Clearly, he is a Talley, and her testing reinforced his previous match with the Talley men.

In the first Talley group of testers, one Y-DNA tester traces his line to John Talley who died in Amelia County, Virginia. The other two men in the Y-DNA project have brick walls, but by comparing lineages with the women, they now have other counties to search.

From the second Talley group of testers, a man who carries a non-Talley surname matched a tested Talley. Their known lineage traced back to a common Talley ancestor. This confirms the Talley lineage of this man.

Thus, testing lines with an atDNA test expands the matching possibilities of a traditionally Y-DNA based project by allowing additional representatives (males without the surname and females) to participate.

Haplogroup Projects

Haplogroup projects are established for male haplogroups, female haplogroups, or maternal (mtDNA) lineages. These projects typically wish to explore the ancient history of the haplogroup and find differences within the group in order to discover new subclades. A few projects focus on the full genome sequence of the mitochrondria (Maternal Lineage Projects) and wish to determine if the members are closely enough related in genealogical time to locate a common ancestor. Family Finder testing can help in these situations.

For example, if an administrator has three identical genome results which have a new mutation not seen before, it is possibly a new subclade. However, one does not want to declare a new subclade based on what could be a genealogically (100 to 200 years) related group. By testing the autosomal lines through Family Finder the administrator can have more confidence these lines are not closely related before considering a new sublcade.

For those mtDNA projects that focus on the full genome sequence, administrators may wish to determine the closeness of the members to determine if the common ancestor could be found within genealogical time. For example, if two people share a mitochondria DNA (mtDNA) line, by taking the Family Finder test they may refine the time to common ancestor calculations. The match could be a 2nd or 4th cousin, thus making the connection since 1800.

My haplogroup is U5a1a1, and in my project by that name, ten of us match on the full genome sequence (entire mtDNA). Although we shared our lineages and many of us help the others, we have not been able to determine a common ancestor within genealogical time so far. Project members have begun testing with Family Finder to see if recent relationships are indicated. If Family Finder does not give us matches within our group, we know that the common ancestor may be prior to the fourth great-grandparents or too far back for genealogical purposes. However, it is possible that some group members may find matches in Family Finder even if they are not on the all female line. This could help testers research in new areas which could lead to finding the common ancestor. In time, as more people test both the full mtDNA and Family Finder, the likelihood increases that a common ancestor will be found within our group for some of the matches.

Geographic Projects

A Geographic Project focuses on location, and as it is often difficult for testers to find connections along the Y-DNA lineage or the mtDNA lines, many testers turn to this type of project hoping to find some additional clues. They know their family lived in the area and often there were name changes that are not apparent or easy to determine. The Family Finder test can help.

As many families live in the same region for years, they may be related along other lines of the pedigree. Having the geographical participants match each other using the Family Finder test, provides more information on related families within the geographic region.

Geographic projects have testers with a variety of surnames. Scotland, Ireland, Portugal, and Wales are a few countries with cultures that have unique surname patterns. Following the genealogy of these groups can be very difficult of not impossible, but by testing with Family Finder, more recent matches can be found and matches with others in the project. For example, if two men with a 67/67 match have different surnames they could match with Family Finder as 3rd cousins. This would allow them to look at 3rd gr-grandfather for their common ancestor.

Ethnic Projects

Some ethnic projects can have various levels of cousinship if the ethnic community married within their group based on social or ethnic norms, such as the Jewish, Mennonite, or Native American populations. Testing with Family Finder could help determine matches that are not apparent with other tests.

Adoption Projects

Family Finder can help locate close cousins who may have additional information for the adoptee either with a paper trail or through oral history. The matching person may have clues which can help the adoptee determine the missing pieces of the pedigree.

Numerous children were products of unwed mothers forced to give up their child by family and/or social services. In many cases both the parent and the child would like to find each other. Children often need to know their health history and many just want to know their roots. If the parents and grandparents of adopted children were encouraged to test and join the adoptees in a project, these families could be more easily reunited.

In Summary

Every way Family Finder can help projects has not been determined at this early stage. Some of the ideas presented here may not prove to be as useful as other suggestions, but as more administrators experiment, discover, and verify how this type of test can help their projects, the advantages of Family Finder will become more apparent, benefiting us all.

Family Finder can ...
1. Allow women and men with out the Y project surname to join Y-DNA Projects.
2. Help Haplogroup Projects administrators determine if those with a common haplotype are too closely related to declare a new subclade or not.
3. Determine if the time to the common ancestor for the full genome sequence in mtDNA Projects is within the 5th cousin range.
4. Assist Geographical Projects in finding connections between their members other than on the Y-DNA or mtDNA lines.
5. Assist Ethnic Projects in finding matches on autosomal lines.
6. Help adoptees find close family.
7. Help family members relocate adoptees.

If you find other ways autosomal testing helps DNA projects, contact me.

Emily
©Aulicino, 22 July 2010

FAMILY TREE DNA UPGRADE SALE!!!!

2010-07-08T15:42:00.000-07:00

WOW....what a sale! I had to interrupt my series on Family Finder for this sale!!!

Family Tree DNA just posted this upgrade sale to the Administrators and current customers, and I must share it with you! This is the best upgrade sale I have seen, so if you had planned on testing more markers, this sale is for YOU!

Remember that any match you have on a
Y-DNA 12 test places your common ancestor before 600 yrs ago
Y-DNA 25 test places your common ancestor within the last 600 years
Y-DNA 37 test places your common ancestor within the last 300 years
Y-DNA 67 test places your common ancestor within the last 150-200 years

These time frames are based on an average probability and your particular family may be before or after that period. As an Administrator for several DNA projects, the best minimum test is the 37 marker, in my opinion. There are some good reasons to upgrade to the 67 marker and if money is not terribly important that would be good to do as we never know if or when another upgrade sale will happen.

Family Tree DNA's sale runs from July 8 to July 19, 2010.

Prices:
Y12 to 25 Current Group Project Price $49; Sale Price $35
Y12 to 37 Current Group Project Price $99; Sale Price $69
Y12 to 67 Current Group Project Price $189; Sale Price $149
Y25 to 37 Current Group Project Price $49; Sale Price $35
Y25 to 67 Current Group Project Price $148; Sale Price $109
Y37 to 67 Current Group Project Price $99; Sale Price $79

To order, log in to your personal page and click on the SPECIAL OFFERS link in left hand navigation bar. Click on the login page below.

ALL ORDERS MUST BE PLACED AN PAID FOR BY MIDNIGHT JULY 19th TO RECEIVE THE SALE PRICE. A credit card for your purchase constitutes a paid account, even if you don't pay the bill for a month.

www.familytreedna.com/login/aspx

Enjoy!
Emily
copyright E. Aulicino, 8 July 2010

Family Finder Testing Series: Expanding the matches; narrowing the search

2010-07-07T17:33:00.000-07:00

Testing with the Family Finder test or other similar autosomal test can easily lead to hundreds of matches, giving us a multitude of cousins. However, with this test, the difficulty lies in finding where the common ancestor is on our pedigree chart. Although this type of testing is in its infancy, genealogists are greatly interested in increasing the number of matches, and they are scrambling to find easy ways of locating the common ancestor. Over time, more methods may develop, but for now, these can help.

Expanding the number of matches

As genealogists, we know that the more people you contact, the more likely you are to find someone with the information you are missing. The more cousins you match, the greater the possibility of adding more generations to your lineage. However, there are only two ways to expand the number of matches you have; either have people in your family test or wait for matches to appear on your website. The greater advantage is to have family members test.

Since each person inherits a different mix of DNA from their ancestors and since a minimum length of DNA is required to determine a match, testing more family members will result in more cousin matches. Many of your cousins may have already tested, but as you did not inherit enough of the same DNA segment, you will not match them. Your relatives may, however.

All of us are not fortunate enough to have the following list of relatives to test, but for each that you can test you are more likely to find additional matches. Every family member has inherited different DNA from the ancestors and will, therefore, match other testers.

· Parents and grandparents.
· Siblings of the parents and grandparents.
· Your siblings.
· First, second, and third cousins.

Not only will the above list increase the number of matches you can have on Family Finder, but testing these relatives will also help you more easily locate the common ancestor between you and your match.

Narrowing the search for the common ancestor

Finding a common ancestor given all the thousands of names we may have in our database can be daunting. Where do you begin? How can the hunt be narrowed to something manageable?

After determining the time period or range of ancestors where you are most likely to match your new cousin as outlined in the previous article Sharing Your Genealogy Research, you may wish to take an additional approach to reduce the amount of searching required in order to find that common ancestor. As each of us inherits different lengths of DNA segments from our ancestors, testing multiple family members can help you focus on which lineages you may have in common with a match. Although nothing is fool-proof, these ideas that can help you determine where to begin looking and improve your success rate for finding the common ancestor.

Testing Older Generations

Testing older generations is helpful because it narrows your search to fewer branches of your tree. When you and a grandparent match the same person you narrow your genealogical search to that grandparent’s line.

When your parents and grandparents are not available you may also test their siblings. Unlike testing your direct line though, you cannot use an aunt, uncle, great aunt, or great uncle to rule out a line. This is because they may have inherited different DNA from their parents.

Testing the older generations means you can find matches farther back on your lines as parents and grandparents have longer segments of ancestral DNA. A match with a grandparent will help you focus on particular lines to find the common ancestor. Again, these family members would have longer links than you would have for older generations, and the siblings would have inherited different mixes of the ancestors’ DNA, giving you other matches.

Testing Cousins

Testing cousins is a way to clarify which side of your family you share with your match. Unlike testing older generations it cannot be used to exclude a line, however. When you match someone, but a tested cousin does not, you may or may not be able to rule out that line for reasons beyond the scope of this article, but know that if your match matches a cousin you can narrow your search to that those related lines.

Testing first cousins on your father’s line as well as your mother’s line could determine which half of your lineage is related to your match. If your match shares a DNA segment with your maternal cousin, then all three of you share ancestry from your maternal line.

If you can only test one of the cousins, for example a son of your father’s brother, you can still benefit. If that cousin, you, and your match share the same DNA segment in the same location on the same chromosome, then the common ancestor is on your father’s line.

Again, the opposite is not always true. If your match does not have the same DNA segment with your paternal cousin, the possibility is that either the common ancestor is on your maternal side or your paternal cousin did not inherit enough DNA to be above the minimum amount needed to be declared a cousin. This can happen if the match is more distant than a first or second cousin. In these cases, the match could actually be on either parent’s line. Testing additional cousins may help as other cousins could have inherited enough of the DNA from that ancestor.

Testing second and third cousins is greatly beneficial as these relatives give you DNA segments you may not have. You can also narrow your search based on how those cousins are related to you.

In summary

1. Test older generations to include or exclude the main branches of your tree.
2. Test cousins on your paternal and maternal sides to determine which half of your lineage could hold the common ancestor.
3. Remember that if a relative does not match your matches, it means they did not inherit a long enough segment of the common ancestor’s DNA.

In posting my success stories for DNA testing on this blog and in discussions with others I know who have tested with Family Finder, I have found cousins who do not match me on my autosomal test. As stated, this is because both of us did not inherit enough of the same DNA segment. We have the same lineages and those lineages have been confirmed as accurate since other cousins did match me on those lines. In this way, autosomal testing gives great confidence to our genealogical paper trails as well as help us find new cousins with whom to research.

Emily
copyright: E. Aulicino, July 2010
Thank you R.

Family Finder Testing Series: Sharing your genealogy research

2010-06-29T11:34:00.000-07:00

I’ve tested with Family Finder…now what?

With the advent of Family Finder (FF) by Family Tree DNA, many genetic genealogists are scrambling to understand how to use this new test, how to locate cousins, how it can help their existing projects, and how to build Family Finder-specific projects. Those genealogists who are also interested in statistics and the genetics behind this powerful test are building databases to map who is on which chromosome as well as creating many other useful tools to compare the raw data.

Given that, it is important to clarify how this test can be helpful to the average genealogist as well as to project administrators. The following categories will be addressed in this series:

....Sharing your genealogy research
....Expanding matches; narrowing the search
....What is the advantage to Chromosome Mapping for the average genetic genealogist? For an Administrator? How necessary is it?
....How does Family Finder help projects?
....Creating a Family Finder project

Testing with Family Finder or with other autosomal tests designed to find cousin matches throughout your pedigree can be daunting to those of us who have come to rely on the ease and consistency of the Y-chromosome. It is time though to examine how to effectively use our genealogy to locate the common ancestor.

This type of test focuses on immediate family and back to fifth cousins, although more distant cousins can be located. Just what is a fifth cousin?

A Fifth cousin is seven generations from yourself, taking you back to your fourth great-grandparents. You have 64 fourth great-grandparents. Not many of us can claim that we know all of them. Also, there is the situation known as pedigree collapse as I mentioned in the previous article. That is, you are related to yourself on more than one set of grand-parents. Somewhere in your line you may have a connection to a set of grand-parents twice. This is the case when cousins marry each other so you do not have different people filling the roles of all the ancestors.

· Siblings have the same parents. (2)
· First cousins have the same grandparents. (4)
· Second cousins have the same great-grandparents. (8)
· Third cousins have the same great-great-grandparents. (16)
· Fourth cousins have the same great-great-great-grandparents. (32)
· Fifth cousins have the same great-great-great-great-grandparents. (64)

In autosomal testing, you receive a match at a certain cousin level. It is important to understand that the designated level is based on the amount of DNA you share with your match. As we know, each person inherits a mixture of DNA from his or her ancestors and as that mixture is unique to each person, the level of cousin-ship is more likely a range in reality. That is, the genealogical paper trail will indicate more accurately the cousin-ship, and it can be either side of the suggested cousin-ship. The listed cousin-ship is a good basis for determining where to begin sharing your lineage.

I have a match who was declared a third cousin, but is, in reality, a seventh cousin. The reason for this suggested match being so recent, but in actuality so far back, is that my great-grandparents were first cousins. I inherited more DNA on that mutual line than one would normally. It makes me appear closer than I really am.

On my other matches where a common ancestor has been found, I was listed as probably fifth to seventh cousins. Those matches proved to be ninth and tenth cousins.

When the reliability of the test requires that cousin-ship be listed as fifth to distant cousins, and the likelihood of finding that cousin is a low percentage, how is it that I have the common ancestor for four matches? The answer is simple. My matches and I inherited large enough segments of DNA from our distant ancestors, and our paper trails along the ancestral lines are very wide.

Sharing your genealogy research

Is your data deep and wide?

Deep? Yes. Do you have seven or more generations back from you on all your lines? Do you know all of your thirty-two fourth great-grandparents? Most people do not, but the farther back your lines reach, it is more likely you will find your common ancestor.
Wide? Yes. The more names (including spouses), dates, and places you have for the direct line, the siblings of the direct ancestors, and their children and grandchildren, the more likely you will find the common ancestor. A major reason I found my common ancestors is that not only did I have the lineage back to the late 1600s, but I had many descendants of the siblings of my direct line. In some cases, I have tried to bring the lines down to the present.

Share your data effectively.

After contacting your match, it is extremely important to share as much data as you can, but many people have thousands of names in their database. For this reason, it is wise to use some strategies to effectively target where the match could be.

After looking for surnames you may have in common, check locations. It is very possible that their ancestor married a sister or cousin of your ancestor, thus the surnames would be different until both lines work back to the common ancestor. A location may provide a clue to which lines could relate.

Compare your data in the range where you could share a common ancestor in actuality. That is, if you are slated as a 5th cousin, share lineage from your 3rd great-grandparents back to the 6th or 7th at least.

Sharing your data efficiently.

There are several ways to share your genealogy efficiently. Family Tree DNA allows you to upload your GEDCOM and/or list on your personal Family Finder pages your surnames with a location. It is important to list variations of the surname separately as the program is designed to highlight in bold print the surnames you have in common with your matches. Many people, however, are using the location area to list dates and details of that country or state. Remember testing is international and those you match outside of your country may not know where towns are or state codes.

Your own personal website is a great way to share your data. Send the URL to those you match for them to locate common names or places. Some people choose to create their own websites either through various genealogical sites which offer space for free or to pay for their own site. Some use Ancestry.com to post their information.

Additionally, using your genealogy program, you can compile a series of descendant reports of your fourth great-grandparents and store them either in your email program’s draft section or in your word processor. These can be easily sent to those you match.

Suggest and request that your matches send you the same information.

Personally, I find it easier to scan the information in an outline form rather than click on multiple “boxes” of some online pedigrees or GEDCOMs.

In summary:

1. Do your genealogy as far back as you can, and bring down as many of the siblings along those ancestral lines (siblings of your direct line, their children, etc.) closer to the present. Cover the time frame from 3rd cousins-10th cousins with these details. Do not forget spouses and the dates and locations of all events.

2. Use a website to post the information you wish to share, or prepare various descendant charts for major parts of your line that you can forward to your matches.

3. When you write your matches, send the info in #2 and ask if any names or places are shared.

4. Realize ... and let your matches know ... that the connection may not be on your direct lines; therefore, the marriages of children, their children and grandchildren are important as those are surnames that could trigger a starting point for finding the common ancestor.

5. Realize that if you look at your lineage at the 5th cousin level (7 generations back from you; 4th gr-grandparents), you or your match may have a lot of gaps. This is a major reason why you cannot locate the common ancestor.

6. Realize that the current technology has given us this tool to help with our family search, but there are no guarantees of easy or great success. Like any other DNA test, the paper trail is most important.

7. Realize that in time, we will work out how best to do this, just as we did when DNA testing for genealogy was first born. We are pioneers again, and sharing ideas is the way to conquer this task.

8. Understand that Family Tree DNA and 23andMe do not have the space to post large chunks of our lineage. Their purpose is to find us matches. I'm only speculating, but the arrangements for sharing lineage on FF (surname lists and/or your GEDCOM) could get tweaked at some point, or we could get more creative with how we use it. For example: List your surnames under SURNAME; give your URL for the chart of that line under COUNTRY. People who do name searches will look at the URL out of curiosity and find many more names there.

9. Share the above information with people you match. This is a new tool for genealogists and most are still learning what to do.

10. Have fun!

Emily
©Aulicino, 21 Jun 2010
Thank you R.

Three DNA Tests for Genealogists, part 3 Autosomal

2010-06-17T14:59:00.000-07:00

Family Finder Testing

This test by Family Tree DNA focuses on autosomal DNA (atDNA). Autosomal DNA is found in our 22 pairs of non-sex chromosomes. The atDNA represents the accumulated DNA inheritance from your ancestors. You inherit approximately fifty percent of your genes from your mother and the remainder from your father. In turn, each of them inherited about fifty percent from each of their parents, and so on. Autosomal markers recombine or restructure themselves differently for every person at conception. In other words, these are the markers which make you look like your family, but not exactly…unless you have an identical twin. These markers make you a unique individual. They give you your mother’s high cheek bones, your father’s nose, etc.

Family Finder tests SNPs (Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms), for over 500,000 autosomal points.

Both men and woman can test their atDNA. This test finds matches for any of your cousins on your pedigree chart between the top line of the pedigree chart (Y-DNA) and the bottom line (mtDNA). However, the test has limitations as it requires a certain length of DNA in a continuous sequence to be handed down from the ancestor in order to match another tester with enough mathematical certainty to determine a level of cousin-ship. The longer the segments are that match a person, the closer the relationship. In the case of children, half-siblings, parents, uncles, aunts, first cousins, and other close relatives, there will be multiple long segments of matching DNA. With more distant cousins, those segments are much shorter. The test is most accurate in determining relationships up to the fifth cousin level. This does not mean you can only find fifth cousins or less. I have found seventh, ninth, and tenth cousins, but finding the common ancestor can be extremely difficult unless you and your match have extensive information on your lineage and not just for the direct line.

The determination of a cousin-ship is built on the amount of DNA inherited from your ancestors. As we all can inherit a different amount from each ancestor, the calculations are only mathematical probabilities which can give you a range of relationship. That is, your match may be listed as a fourth cousin, but in reality, the paper trail could show the match to be anywhere from a 3rd cousin once removed to a 6th cousin or more. The reason for this is multi-faceted, but, in general, it depends upon the amount of DNA inherited, the generational “half-steps” of being once or twice removed as well as a possibility of pedigree collapse.

Since each person inherits a different combination of their ancestors’ DNA, it can be prudent to have your parents, grandparents and cousins tested, as well. This will definitely help you narrow connection possibilities with matches. Testing the older generations will also help you find matches farther back in your lineage. As the test is able to confirm an approximate fifth cousin match, a fifth cousin for your parent or grandparent takes you farther back in time than a test for yourself. BUT, as we all inherit different amounts of autosomal DNA, you may have matches your sibling or cousin does not have. Testing more people in your extended family means a great chance for some different matches.

As all my parents and grandparents are dead, I tested myself, my son, and my paternal first cousin. The chart to the left is where my son (green) and my cousin (blue) match me. The dark sections are where no matches occurred as well as segments of the chromosomes which are not relevant to testing for genealogists.

If my cousin and I both match someone, I know the connection is on my father’s side. If only my son and I match someone, it is more likely that either the connection is on my mother’s line or that my cousin did not inherit enough of the DNA to connect with the match. Using your relatives in such a manner can narrow the hunt for your common ancestor.

However, just because you do not have a match with someone does not suggest you are not related. Gene segments recombine at random, and this means if you do not match a person you can still be related. You or your cousin did not inherited a large enough DNA segment in the same location to meet the minimum threshold to determine cousin-ship. For this reason, you will not be a genetic match to all of your genealogical cousins, should they test.

Family Finder (atDNA) summary:
· Males and females can test their atDNA in portions of the 22 pairs of chromosomes.
· The test gives matches anywhere on your pedigree chart.
· Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) are tested.
· The larger the segment you share with someone the closer your common ancestor.

In conclusion, it is clear that each type of test helps genealogy. Relatives can be located with any of them, but how those relatives are related to us depends upon which test is used. The Y-DNA test finds matches to the all male line which is usually the surname in most cultures. The mtDNA test finds cousins along the all female line, but is more informative about our ancient culture. The Family Finder test locates cousins everywhere else on our pedigree charts, but with confidence back to the fifth cousin although connections can be found beyond that.

With DNA testing, the genealogist can prove and disprove their paper trail, find cousins they have never met, share genealogies with the hope that the new cousins have more information, and gain new research partners. Finding genealogical cousins is the best reason to DNA test family members!

The next article will provide ideas on how best to locate the common ancestor for those you match.

Emily
copyright 17 Jun 2010, E. Aulicino
Thank you, R.

Three DNA Tests for Genealogy, part 2 Y-DNA & mtDNA

2010-06-17T14:57:00.001-07:00

Y-DNA Testing

The Y-chromosome has been passed down from father to son virtually unchanged since mankind began. The small changes in that Y-chromosome help us separate people into family units. This test gives results for the all male line, the top line of a pedigree chart, when the male tester is number one on that chart. See SUCCESS STORIES at www.isogg.org for Y-DNA testing used to break through a dead-end paper trail.

For genealogy, particular markers are tested on the Y-chromosome as they provide a mix of slowly and quickly mutating samples. This helps find which men are more closely related than others. If all the markers used were slow to mutate more people would appear to be closely related. If most markers were quick to mutate most people who are related would appear not to be. The geneticists and mathematicians collaborate to get the correct mix.

Each marker is tested for short tandem repeats (STRs). Our DNA, in part, is made up of four chemical bases: Adenine (A), Guanine (G), Thymine (T), Cytosine (C). These chemical bases form short patterns (AGAT) which appear side by side (in tandem), hence Short Tandem Repeat. The STRs are counted, and this count is the result given for a particular marker. For example, if the STR marker DYS393 repeated its AGAT sequence fourteen times, the result for that marker would be a 14. Different markers have different chemical patterns, but in each tested marker you receive your results as the number of times the pattern is repeated.

The result of testing is a series of numbers called a haplotype. (DYS393 is 14; DYS390 is 22; DYS19 is 15, etc.) This is your DNA signature. However, it is not just your signature, but it is that of all the males on your all male line. Of course, there could be a mutation at any time in that male lineage which would change how many times the repeat is seen, but you are still closely related.

A test for 12, 25, 37, or 67 STR markers can be ordered. The more markers you match with others the closer the common ancestor is. For example, if you take three traits you have (eye color, shape of your ears, skin tone) and compare only those three with your friends and neighbors, you are likely to match several people. If you now add ten more traits, you narrow that pool of matches. It is the same idea between testing twelve markers as opposed to thirty-seven or more.

For a close match you can have the exact same markers as another tester or a few differences. The number of differences allowed to still remain a good match is determined by the number of markers you test and the testing company’s prediction to the closest common ancestor. These predictions for the closest common ancestor are based on mathematical probability.

Y-DNA summary: · Only males can test their Y-DNA.
· The test gives matches for the all male line.
· Short Tandem Repeats (STRs) are recorded as the result of testing.
· The more STR marker results you share with someone the closer your common ancestor.

mtDNA Testing

The mitochondria is outside the cell’s nucleus. It is not the sex chromosome like the Y is. This genome is inherited by men and women from their mothers. Mothers have passed their mtDNA from mother to all their children virtually unchanged since womankind began. The mitochondria is very slow in mutating so it is more useful for ancient ancestry or to help with a specific problem where good testing candidates are available. This test gives result for the all female line, the bottom line of a pedigree chart, when the male or female tester is number one on that chart. See SUCCESS STORIES at www.isogg.org for several ways mtDNA has been used to break through a brick wall.

There are three mtDNA tests at Family Tree DNA: HVR1 (Hyperveritable region 1), HVR2 Hyperveritable region 2) and the FGS (Full Genomic Sequence). The first two are parts of the mitochondria while the last is the entire mitochondria.

This test looks at Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs). A SNP (pronounced SNiP) is a change in a single letter of our genetic code (A, G, T, C). For mtDNA tests, results are compared against the Cambridge Reference System (CRS). You are given only the differences your results from the CRS as the FGS contains 16,568 markers. No one wants to put all that on a website or frame-able certificate! Examples of mtDNA marker results are: 16256T; 16399G; 315.1C. The numbers in this case are the names of the markers. The letter after the number is the chemical base (Thymine, Guanine, Cytosine) that differs from the CRS.

For a match, you need to have the exact markers as someone else. Even then, the time to the common ancestor could be before surnames and before recorded genealogical data.

mtDNA summary:
· Males and females can test their mtDNA.
· The test gives matches for the all female line.
· Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) are tested and compared against the CRS (Cambridge Reference System).
· The more markers you share with someone the closer your common ancestor, but given the slowness in mutating that match could still be hundreds to thousands of years ago.

Next, Autosomal Testing, a new breakthrough in genetic genealogy!

Emily
copyright 17 Jun 2010, E. Aulicino
Thank you R.

Three DNA Tests for Genealogy, part 1 Overview

2010-06-17T14:42:00.000-07:00

Over the course of the next few weeks, my posts will be a series on the new austosomal testing for genealogy. The first three parts in this series reviews some basic facts and clarifies the three types of testing for genealogy. The next section will explore the various aspects of autosomal testing for Family Tree DNA's Family Finder. Much of this information applies to any autosomal testing for genealogy; however, company offerings do vary and that topic will conclude this massive series.

These articles are meant for the Newbies and those interested in a basic understanding. They will not get over technical.

All material is under copyright. Please write directly for permission to use any information. Email: aulicino@hevanet.com

Part 1:
Overview - Historical background and a few facts

Family Tree DNA pioneered DNA testing for genealogy in 2000, bringing the power of DNA tests to family historians. In the years since, family history researchers who use DNA tests have become known as genetic genealogists. These dedicated researchers understand the value of DNA testing as being the most accurate tool available.

The first years saw rapid changes in our understanding of the science and improvements in the power of available tests. In early years, only a few Y-chromosome STR (short tandem repeat) markers were available. Today it is routine to test with 67 STR markers. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) started with the humble HVR1 test. Now the entire gene sequence is standard.

It looked as if little more could be done for family researchers, as early autosomal testing was neither accurate nor reliable enough for genealogy. That has changed. We are embarking on a new adventure, a new stage in DNA testing, and once again we have become the pioneers for this new generation of DNA testing.

However, I find that many genealogists and other interested parties, as well as some genetic genealogists, are confused about the three types of tests: Y-DNA STR, mtDNA full genomic sequence, and autosomal microarray. Simply put, the Y-DNA test gives you results along the very top line of your pedigree chart, the mtDNA gives you results along the very bottom line and your chart, and now the autosomal test gives you matches on all the lines between the top and bottom. Each test is important for different reasons, and this series will help you understand all three by comparing their basic concepts.

The Facts

We know that all of mankind is closely related. With each generation we double our ancestors, giving us a billion ancestors in thirty generations. The population of the earth thirty generations ago was no where near a billion people; therefore, we are related to ourselves many times over due to what is called pedigree collapse. Pedigree collapse is the reduction of ancestors given that cousins marry; that is, if two first cousins married, they would only have six grandparents and not eight. The farther you go back in time, given that people tended to remain in one area, more and more cousins married. We may have a billion ancestors in thirty generations, but they are not a billion different people.

We share 99.9% of our genome with all other humans. We have about 3 billion base pairs in our genome, and about 98% of those are loosely called Junk DNA as scientists have yet to discover their purpose.

We have 22 pairs of chromosomes and the sex chromosomes (Y and X). Men inherit the Y-chromosome from their fathers and one X chromosome from their mothers. Women inherit an X from each parent.

We know that every DNA test provides you with a set of numbers or numbers and letters, giving you a DNA signature (your results). Those testers who match your signature are related to you at some level.

We know that any DNA test will not tell you the name of a common ancestor or when and where that ancestor lived. It is up to good genealogical research to make that determination.

As genealogists, we know to use the right source or sources to find an ancestor's information. If we are looking for an ancestor in Britain, we do not search the US census. When we are looking for that ancestor's married name, we know that the census will not help. We know instead to consult vital and church records according to the time and place. We use the sources that may provide the information we need. The same is true for using DNA for genealogy. The three types of DNA most commonly used are the Y-chromosome DNA (Y-DNA), mitochondria DNA (mtDNA), and autosomal DNA (atDNA). Each is used to find others who are related to us, but each one is used to find matches in different parts of our pedigree chart.

Before we move forward, we must understand each test's strengths and weaknesses. The next article in this series will explain the difference between the Y-DNA & mtDNA test.

Emily
copyright 17 Jun 2010, E. Aulicino
Thanks to R for editing assistance.

Jammin' at Jamboree

2010-06-17T11:44:00.000-07:00

The Southern California Genealogical Society (SCGS) held their Jamboree June 11-13, 2010 at the Marriott Hotel in Burbank. My understanding is that this is the third largest gathering of genealogists, behind NGS and FGS. That is prestigious! Attendance was estimated at 1700, the largest gathering for the festivities yet.

This was my first Jamboree. On Thursday, I hit the ground running. Katherine Borges and Linda Magellan picked me up at the airport and after dropping my luggage at the hotel. Upon leaving the hotel we ran into George Valko who was invited to join us on our next adventure. The four of us drove to the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana to see the Secrets of the Silk Road: Mystery Mummies of China. There we met Kenny Hedgepath and began our self-guided tour.

And why did a group of genetic genealogist drive nearly an hour to see some mummies? These were no ordinary mummies, and we are no ordinary tourists. The mummies had been DNA tested, and we are addicted genetic genealogists! How could we miss this one!

The mummies, found in the Tarim Basin in the far Western Xinjiang Uyghur region of China, proved to have Western DNA. The Silk Road passed through this arid region, and we all know traders used this road connecting the Eastern and the Western cultures. However, one cannot help but speculate how the women and babies came to this location in the second millennium BC, let alone die here.

One of the most striking mummies is of a beautiful young woman with petite features and long curly auburn hair, dubbed the "Beauty of Xiaohe" by the archeologists. Other artifacts clearly appeared to be from a Western culture with one tapestry displaying an man who appears to have been Greek or Roman. It would seem there was a complete village of for Westerners in this region of China thousands of years ago. The exhibit was fascinating.

The display travels to Houston and then to Philadelphia. You can see a video clip from MSNBC's Nightly News with Brian Williams.

On Friday, the Jamboree began at noon, but at 8 a.m. on the other days. I helped at the Family Tree DNA table, explaining the tests and swabbing customers. To my surprise and pleasure, a member of my Lamson DNA Project visited the booth as did a new Lambson tester … every project manager’s dream! Even the wife of my Ogan genealogical cousin found me! She and I had traveled to Wales for a couple of weeks, hunting ancestors. It was old home week ... or perhaps the gathering of the clans (clans of genealogists, genetic genealogists, and ISOGG members) ... as there were people I knew from home, some I had met in London, and others I see yearly at the FTDNA conference in Houston. It was great to see everyone again!

Saturday evening Alice Fairhurst hosted a panel discussion of ISOGG members to answer questions regarding the new autosomal tests for genealogists.

Bennett Greenspan of Family Tree DNA announced several new features coming to their Family Finder test in the next few weeks to few months. He demonstrated how you can use the smaller segments, e.g.. 1 cM in size to figure out which side of the family a person probably matches on FF. This, of course, is based on testing relevant members of your family. For example, I have tested my son and paternal first cousin. If the match is with my cousin, I know the connection is on my father’s line.

Other highlights for Family Finder include Third Party uploads available the first week in July, Ancestry Painting coming soon, and the X Chromosome pages will be completed by the end for the summer. A surprise tool is in the wings for the Administrators and will be revealed in the last quarter of the year.

There were many celebrities in the crowd, namely, Dick Eastman (Eastman's Online Genealogical Newsletter), Katherine Borges (founder and director of ISOGG), Megan Smolenyak (author, speaker, creator of Roots TV and much more), and Chris Haley (Director of the Study of the Legacy of Slavery in Maryland and nephew of the late Alex Haley). Maureen Taylor (the Photo Detective), Pat Richley (DearMYRTLE), Schelly Talalay Dardashti (Tracing the Tribe), and many more notables spoke and had booths. With all the speakers, genealogists, companies, and even with groups meeting in the lobby or bar, everyone was truly "pressing the flesh," and this was very much a Jammin' Jamboree!

No doubt everyone is looking forward to next year's Jamboree!

Many thanks to the organizers whose wonderful talents made this a great event!

Emily
copyright: 17 Jun 2010 E. Aulicino
Photo courtesy of K. Borges

FAMILY TREE DNA's SUMMER SALE!

2010-06-05T22:16:00.000-07:00

Today Family Tree DNA announced their summer sale.

Here is a wonderful time to get your friends and family tested from the oldest, most reliable, customer-service-oriented DNA company existing. Family Tree DNA has the largest database for genealogy testing and was the first company to offer DNA testing to the public, exclusively for the purpose of genealogy.

Order several tests today. Test the surnames on your chart. Take them to your family reunions this summer! Raffle them at your genealogical seminars! Give them as birthday or father's day presents! What better way to honor someone than to ask them to leave a bit of themselves behind forever!

The test will keep for months, even years, if you do not have it near heat (Don't leave it in the trunk of your car as you travel to that reunion!) Having tests on-hand allows you to swab a relative at a moments notice in less than five minutes*; no chance for them to back down or put it aside.

The sale begins today June 5, 2010 and will end June 25, 2010. Kits much be paid by June 30, 2010. A credit card at the time of the order is considered on-time payment. If you order on invoice be sure your payment reaches the office in Houston before June 30th.

The following tests are on sale:

The Y-DNA 37 marker test is now $119 (Reg $149)
The Y-DNA 67 marker test is now $199 (Reg @239)
The Y-DNA 37+mtDNA test is now $159 (This combined test would cost $238)

Anyone can order by clicking on the FTDNA icon on this blog. If you do not find a surname project for your name, join the society project I have created that will take any tester. You do not have to be a member of the society, and by being in my project, I can help you understand your test results. ALSO, you can join any relevant project in the future at the click of a button and at no cost so you do not have to remain in my society project.

The steps to order via my blog:

1. Click on the icon in the lower right of this blog.
2. Where it says SEARCH on the right side of the FTDNA homepage, type in Genealogical Forum (GFO may work, also) ...or you can type in your male tester's surname to locate an existing project for our surname. If there is none, use the GFO one.
3. On the next page, click on the GFO project or the appropriate surname project
4. Complete the form and scorll to the bottom of the page to click JOIN.

Join the exciting world of genetic genealogy!

Email me at aulicino@hevanet.com if you have questions or do not see the icon on this page.

*To take a DNA test in five minutes or less follow these steps.
(This works and is done at conferences.)

1. Do not have anything to eat or drink an hour before taking the test.
2. Use one swab to scrape the inside of one cheek in long up and down motions for a minute.
3. Firmly push the plunger-like handle to release the cotton brush into the vial and close the cap (Be careful not to spill the liquid inside).
4. Use the next swab for the other cheek and the third for the roof of your mouth.
5. Sign the green form to allow people who match you to see that they match. Enclose payment if you didn't order with your credit card.
6. Mail the samples to FTDNA in the enclosed envelop.

The hardest part is waiting 5-6 weeks for the results!

Have fun,
Emily

Blood of the Isles - DVD Press Release

2010-03-12T12:50:00.000-08:00

DVD RELEASE OUT ON 12 MARCH 2010

WINNER OF 2010 IRISH FILM AND TELEVISION AWARDS

BEST DOCUMENTARY SERIES

'Blood of the Irish'
by Crossing the Line Films

Crossing The Line Films are delighted to announce the release of the IFTA winning documentary series 'Blood of the Irish', a 2 hour documentary that seeks the truth about the origins of Irish people.

Broadcaster Diarmuid Gavin travels to the heart of Africa and beyond in a quest to find the very origins of the Irish people. Who are the Irish and whose blood flows in our veins? A landmark series for RTÉ, Blood of the Irish explores the most fundamental questions about the Irish population; who were the first people to settle here and where did they come from? Why are the oldest Irish human remains less than 10,000 years old when just 100 kms away in Britain, human traces go back 700,000 years? Did the first Irish arrive overland on an ice bridge, or on a small fragile boat blown ashore by the winds of chance?

Produced by Crossing the Line Films, a veteran production company skilled at documentaries exploring history, science and adventure, the documentary is full of spectacular landscapes, cutting edge DNA studies, computer graphics, latest archaeology and prominent academic contributors. It also includes ordinary Irish people and their own quest for their origins – including even an appearance by Daniel O'Donnell.

For all those with an interest in Irish history and prehistory, geneaology, genetics, archaeology and general Irish studies, 'Blood of the Irish' is a showpiece documentary which offers an educational and approachable view into one of the great mysteries of Irish people. Who are we; and where do we come from?

Out on 12 March 2010 in retailers nationwide (in Ireland)
and available region-free (for out of country purchases) through website www.ctlfilms.com
PG rated
RRP: 17.99 euro
copies available for DVD reviewers

CONTACT:

Crossing The Line Films
Barr an Uisce, Killincarrig Road
Greystones, Co Wicklow
www.ctlfilms.com
tel: (01) 287 5394

Who Do You Think You Are 2010 in London

2010-03-07T10:54:00.000-08:00

WDYTYA 2010

Who Do You Think You Are (WDYTYA) 2010, the world’s largest genealogy conference, was a wonderful success. Like last year, the line at the door started early and stretched for several blocks. But the crowds were definitely larger every day, and the traffic was much heavier on Sunday than in the previous year. Most of the same booths appeared with a few noticeably missing, however.

Early Friday Morning at WDYTYA

The Society of Genealogists (SoG) has posted the handouts from the various lectures at: http://www.sog.org.uk /events/2010show.shtml

Family Tree DNA

Family Tree DNA has attended WDYTYA for the last two years due to the foresight of Geoff Swinfield, a geneticist, well-known at SoG (Society of Genealogists) and Brian Swann, ISOGG's European Coordinator for England and Wales. In a pub conversation two years ago, Geoff suggested the idea of bringing Family Tree DNA to London’s Who Do You Think You Are conference. Brian put this idea into action and last year was Family Tree DNA’s debut in London. Their success was met with an offer to attend The Gathering in Scotland in July 2009 and a desire to return to WDYTYA this year. This year, Family Tree DNA doubled
the size of its stall as well as its presentation area.

I had no time to explore as I helped at the Family Tree DNA booth all three days, and I was only able to attend two presentations, one by Bennett Greenspan on Family Finder and one by Geoff Swinfield entitled DNA for Family Historians, regarding his discovery of not being a Swinfield. I was busy explaining the various DNA tests and swabbing what seemed a continuous stream of customers. The hall was so busy and noisy that I felt as if we were shouting to hear each other. By Saturday afternoon I was beginning to lose my voice!

F-B: Kenny, Bennett, Emily, Katherine, Chris

(Photo courtesy of Kenny Hedgepath)

FTDNA Announces New Family Finder Test

This year FTDNA President Bennett Greenspan introduced the company’s new Family Finder test for the first time to the public. This tests the autosomal sections of all the chromosomes to determine matches by cousins on any line of the pedigree chart. FTDNA will not be releasing this test to the US public for another three weeks, and several Brits with whom I spoke were pleased to see they were first.

Learn more about this test at: http://www.fam ilytreedna.com/landing/family-finder.aspx
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) provides more details: http://www.familytreedna.com/faq/answers/17.aspx

The various types of DNA tests (Y-chromosome, mitochondria, and Family Finder tests) proved to be very helpful to WDYTYA participants. Each potential customer explained their goals for testing while the FTDNA volunteers help them determine which test best solves their problem. People who were adopted, those wishing to learn if their cousin was really their cousin, those wishing to break through their genealogical brick walls, and even those who were just curious received all the answers to their questions and a recommendation as to which test would help them.

ISOGG Debut

For the first time at this convention, the International Society of Genetic Genealogists (ISOGG) acquired a booth, thanks to Brian Swann. Members from both the UK and USA manned the booth, signing up new ISOGG members as well as giving away free DNA tests to those who qualified. ISOGG members who wished to gain testers for their particular Surname projects offered free tests for males who would qualify with the proper surname. The first test given away was on Friday for Cynthia Wells’ Wells Y-DNA Project. That was followed by someone qualifying for the Doug Miller’s Land Project. He has a second possibility as well. Then others were found for Cynthia’s for Lay Project and for Katherine Borges’McCallum-Macolm Project. A test was taken by a Graves for Kenneth Graves’ Ydna Project. People picked up flyers for Robert Sterry’s Sterry Project and Nancy Kiser’s Phillips Project as they who knew people with that surname. Katherine is pleased that two Fullers who are do not carry the Fullers’ surname are being tested with Family Finder. Much to Katherine’s pleasure, one also has a Lyon connection. The odds of finding attendees with the correct names visiting the booth are remarkable. The offer was deemed a success and will continue next year so be sure to stop by the ISOGG booth and see if your surname is among those the project managers need for their groups.

Debbie, Katherine, and Jill

(photo courtesy of Kenny Hedgepath)

Fun in the Pub

And there there was sight-seeing and great times in the pubs visiting with all the helpers and genetic genealogy speakers. We sure missed our local pub, however. The Crown and Sceptre, Kensington (now closed) was in the next block from the B & B and had wonderful food! But, this is London and we found a few others!

Kenny, Katherine, Bennett, Debbie

Ann, Emily, Katherine, Johanna (standing), Linda and John

The Players

Last year, four ISOGG (International Society of Genetic Genealogy) members attended from the US, but this year nine went. For the British, last year four attended that all of us knew, but this year there were eight. Doubling these numbers was wonderful and helped greatly with assisting both the FTDNA booth and the ISOGG booth. It was wonderful seeing all the friends from England again.

From the US:

Back: Kenny, Katherine, Terry, Marilyn, Linda

Front: Emily, Derrell, Cynthia, Johnna

From Britain:

Geoff.......................................Debbie................................Chris

Brian...........................................................Jill

Ann and John Blair

From FTDNA:

Bennett...........................................................Max

Michael

WDYTYA 2011

Everyone is already looking forward to WDYTYA 2011. Plans are already being made for a return and ISOGG members are even more committed to providing free tests to help their projects. Be sure to stop by the booth to see if your name qualities.

In the US we are excited about the American Version of Who Do You Think You Are on NBC each Friday night in hopes it will renew interest in genealogy. Check your local listings for the time in your area.

See you next year London!

Emily
March 2010

My 23andMe Success Stories #2 & #3

2010-02-18T14:04:00.000-08:00

I have successfully found common ancestors for two more of my 23andMe cousins. (See a previous blog for the first cousin found.) I am quite surprised to find my DNA still has enough of my ancestors genes from the 1600s to find matches!

As far as the actual markers are concerned, I share only on the Basic Genome level with my 23andMe cousins as it only tells you on which chromosome(s) we match; the starting and stopping points for the matching results; the length(s) of the segment; and the number of SNPs we share. No health issues are involved. The value of this information lies in the possibility that over time you will be sharing the same (or close to the same) segments with more than one person. If you can find the match with one person, then you know the match with the others is on the same lines. I have several 23andMe cousins matching me on the same segment, but we have yet to determine the common ancestor.

The key to determining a common ancestor really lies in good genealogy work. The more data (names, dates, and locations) you have for your ancestors, their siblings, grand children and great-grandchildren, the easier it is to find your common link. I’ve done genealogy for about forty years and tend to collect a lot of records of my family and ones to whom I think I am related. When others do the same, all of this is really easy.

Success #2: Bruce and Emily

Bruce and I are listed as probable 4th cousins with a cousinship range of 3rd to 7th. We share .21% of your tested genome.

Our paper trail indicates that we are 7th cousins once removed.

Descendants of Adam Hatfield
Adam Hatfield, (son of Jurian Hartsfelder and Margaret Unknown) b.ca 1655; m. Sarah Pauling were the parents of our common ancestor John Hatfield, below.

Bruce’s line:

1. John Hatfield, b: ca 1688 in Ulster Co, NY; m. Elizabeth/Jane Unknown, b: ca 1690
2. John Hatfield, b: ca 1717; m. Catherine Supplee
3. Adam Hatfield, b: 03 Nov 1741 in Montgomery Co, PA; m. Margaret Dilworth, b. ca 1750 in Lancaster, PA
4. Joseph Hatfield, b. 22 Jun 1790 in Westmoreland Co, PA; m. Phoebe Peppard , b. 11 Sep 1791 Ireland
5. Robert Marshall Hatfield, b. 29 Dec 1821 in Wayne Co, OH; m. Stuart, b. 02 Aug 1830 in Wayne Co, OH
6. Samuel Ruitherford Hatfield, b. 19 Feb 1852 in Ossian, Wells Co, IN; m. Durintha McCargar, b. 01 Jul 1857 Walcot Twp, Rice Co, MN
7. Mabel Roxanna Hatfield, b. 02 Jan 1880 in Fairbault, Rice Co, MN; m. John Edward (surname withheld), b. 28 Jan 1863 in Fairbault, Rice Co, MN
8. John Robert (surname withheld), b. 19 Oct 1909 in Fairbault, Rice Co, MN
9. Bruce

Emily’s line:

1. John Hatfield, b. ca 1688 in Ulster Co, NY; m. Elizabeth/Jane Unknown, b: ca 1690
2. Jane Hatfield, b. bet. 1720 - 1721 in Philadelphia Co, PA; m. James Cunrads, b. bet. 1722 - 1726 in Germantown, Philadelphia Co, PA
3. Elizabeth Ann Conard, b. bet. 1758 - 1761 in Montgomery Co, PA; m. Evan Jenkins, b: ca 1762
4. Jane Jenkins; m. Peter Ogan, b. ca 1784 in VA
5. Evan Ogan , b. 20 Nov 1802 in VA; m.Susan Wical, b. 20 Feb 1807 in OH/VA
6. Simon Peter Ogan, b. Aug 1826 OH; m. Emily Jane Studyvin
7. Mary Adeline Ogan, b. 11 Aug 1866 in Bureau Co, IL; m. Lowry Graham Gilmore, b. 14 Jun 1855 in Rochester, Monroe Co, NY
8. Emily Helen Gilmore, b. 14 Dec 1890 in Gray's Harbor, Gray's Harbor Co, WA
9. BJW
10. Emily (ME)

* * * * *

Success #3: Greg and Emily

Greg and I are listed at 23andMe with the probability of being 5th cousins and a range of cousinship being from 3rd to 10th cousin. Although we share only .11% of our genome that was tested, we have been able to find our common ancestor. Due to the detail work of both parties, I actually discovered that common ancestor before we even shared at the Basic Genome level.

Our paper work indicates we are 11th cousins.

Greg’s line:

1. Matthew Williams, b. ca 1606-1623 England; d. Bet. Jul 1659 - Nov 1665 CT; m. aft 1646 Wethersfield, Hartford Co, CT to Susanna Cole, dau of Samuel.
2. Amos Williams, b. 14 Mar 1645/46 Wethersfield, Hartford Co, CT; d. 20 Aug 1683 Wethersfield, Hartford Co, CT; m. 27 Jan 1669/70 to Elizabeth Rogers
3. Capt. Amos Williams, b. 17 Mar 1670/71 Wetherfield, Harford Co, CT; d. 19 Apr 1744 NJ; m. Johannah Wheeler, b. ca 1676; d. 13 Nov 1719
4. Samuel Williams, b. ca 1713 Newark, NJ; d. 01 Apr 1812 West Orange, NJ; m. Hannah Harrison
5. Jonathan Williams, b. ca 1747 West Orange, Essex Co, NJ; d. 15 Nov 1838 West Orange, Essex Co, NJ; m. ca 1771 Mary Squier
6. Nathan Williams, b. 12 Oct 1774 Orange, Essex Co, NJ; d. ca 1861; m. Catherine Wade
7. Jonathan Squier Williams, b. 11 Feb 1801 Mt. Pleasant Place, West Orange, Essex Co, NJ; d. 05 Aug 1875 Mt. Pleasant Place, West Orange, Essex Co, NJ; m. 22 Dec 1822 to Phoebe Perry.
8. Samuel Augustus Williams, b. 3 Sep 1824; d. Aug 1893; m. 30 Sep 1847 to Frances Harrison
9. Herbert Wallace Williams, b. ca 1862; d. ca 1944; m. Antoinetta Unknown
10. Helen Henrietta Williams, b. ca 1886 Orange, NJ; d. 14 Feb 1976 Grenada Hills, CA; m. 19 Jun 1912 Clifford Fowler Williams of Cleveland Ohio.
11. CEW
12. Greg

Emily’s line:

1. Matthew Williams, b. ca 1606-1623 England; d. Bet. Jul 1659 - Nov 1665 CT; m. aft 1646 Wethersfield, Hartford Co, CT to Susanna Cole, dau of Samuel.
2. Samuel Williams, b. 4 Jan 1653/54 Wetherssfield, Harford Co, CT; d. 8 May 1706 Elizabethwon, Essex Co, NJ; m. to Esther Wheeler, b. Milford, New Haven Co, CT
3. Nathaniel Williams, b. ca 1701 pos. Elizabethtown, Essex Co, NJ; d. 1764 Newark, NJ; m. Unknown
4. Esther Williams, m. ca 1730s to James Pierson, b. ca 1700 pos. Wales; d. ca 1761 Hanover Co, NJ
5. Hannah Pearson, b. ca 1736-37 Newark, Essex Co, NJ; d. aft 1785; m. ca 1758 Hanover Twp, Morris Co, NJ or Newark, NJ to Lemuel Bowers, b. ca 1709-12 Newark, NJ or Greenwich, CT; d. bef Apr 1785 Morris Co, NJ
6. Lemuel Bowers, b. ca 1761; d. 20 Sep 1830 Crown Point, Essex Co, NY; m. Oct 1780 Morristown, Morris Co, NJ to Sarah Mills, b. 1761 Hanover Twp, Litton, NJ
7. Hannah Bowers, b. ca 1792 NJ; d. Nov 1868 Jerseyville, Jersey Co, IL; m. Nov 1813 Bridport, Addison Co, VT to Charles Rufus Derby, b. ca 1795 VT; d. Sep ;1853 Jerseyville, Jersey Co, IL
8. Sarah Mills Derby, b. 24 Apr 1814 Bridport, Addison Co, VT; d. 12 Jun 1888 Fort Scott, Bourbon Co, KS; m. 17 Dec 1833 Bridport, Addison Co, VT to Lambson Williams, b. 28 Sept 1804, Bridport, Addison Co, VT, d. 20 Dec 1878 Marion twp, Bourbon Co, KS
9. John Joseph Williams, b. Jul 1851, Jerseyville, Jersey Co, IL; d. Aug 1946 Fort Scott, Bourbon Co, KS; m. Nov 1870 to Urvilla Victoria McCoon, b. Jun 1854 Dane Co, WI, d. Sep 1890 Fort Scott, Bourbon Co, KS
10. Clyde Mills Williams, b. Nov 1887 Fort Scott, Bourbon Co, KS, d. Aug 1957 Fort Scott, Bourbon Co, KS; m. 1921 Olathe, Johnson Co, KS to Emily Helen Gilmore, b. 1890 Gray's Harbor, WA, d. 1942 Fort Scott, Bourbon Co, KS
11. BJW
12. Emily (me)

SO…who will be my next discovery of a common ancestor?

PS: I just received a match on my X Chromosome so that should be an interesting story once that common ancestor is found as there are ways to determine exactly who contributed to the chromosome pairs. Women inherit two X chromosomes, one being received from the father and one from the mother. BUT...not everyone in those ancestries make up the X. Watch this blog for how to know what lines to compare.

Emily
aulicino@hevanet.com

Family Finder Test by Family Tree DNA Just Announced!

2010-02-16T10:08:00.000-08:00

No one disputes the fact that tracing women is by far one of the most difficult feats for a genealogist, especially before DNA testing existed. Lineages stop at women for several reasons. Prior to the
twentieth century it was a man’s world. By law and custom husbands controlled society: men purchased land, paid taxes, served in the military, and left wills; children carried the male surname to the next generation; and many genealogies neglected female lines. Fewer records recorded women’s actions and with their names change at each marriage, it is most difficult to follow their trail.

Ten years ago Family Tree DNA began genetic testing with the genealogist in mind. At first the Y-chromosome test for men was established and later the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) test for both men and women, but only for the HVR1 and HVR2 segments.

The advent of mitochondrial DNA testing has allowed women to join the world of DNA testing. Through mtDNA tests both men and women can find others who are related, even when the paper trail does not exist. A match on the HVR1 and HVR2 can be thousands of years ago, but through careful testing and good genealogical research, testers have found their common ancestor. The difficulty in finding cousins lies in the slow marker mutation of the mitochondria.

For the past several years, testing the full mitochondria (full genome sequence or FGS) has been more useful. This test can provide a genealogist with matches, even though the common ancestors for those matches could be a few hundred of years ago.

That can now change as genetic testing has progressed to a new level.

Just today Family Tree DNA announced its new Family Finder test. In their press release just hours ago, FTDNA stated:

“This is the most exciting genetic genealogy breakthrough since the company launched its Y-DNA test, which uncovered relatives in the direct paternal line”, says Bennett Greenspan, founder and President of Family Tree DNA.

Family Tree DNA is pleased to inform you of the pre-launch of our newest test: the autosomal-based Family Finder test. This pre-launch will progress in phases so that we do not exceed our lab’s capacity, and to ensure delivering results in a timely basis. A limited number of our customers are being offered the Family Finder Test during the prelaunch. We anticipate Family Finder will be offered for general release in the middle of March at the breakthrough price of $249.

Special Note: Since the Family Finder test requires an untouched vial of DNA, we cannot transfer DNA from Arizona to run the test. If a kit does not have an extra vial on file, we will mail a collection kit for a new FREE DNA extraction. After ordering, you will be notified whether we are able to use a stored vial or will be mailing a new collection kit.

This test analyzes your autosomal markers in all the chromosomes to determine shared blocks of markers with other testers. We inherit approximately 50% of our DNA from each of our parents as they did from their parents. In our autosomal markers that DNA mixes differently with each conception, therefore, different sections of the genes are passed along from generation to generation, picking up new segments from new family members. Mathematically, geneticists can determine possible sizes of shared segments with each generation at an accurate level for up to our fifth cousins. Thus, the size of the shared blocks of DNA helps determine the level of cousinship between two people. This autosomal test allows you to find people who are your fifth cousins or closer, thus putting a tighter, more exact genealogical time frame for matches.

The Family Finder test has many advantages for genealogy and for the genetic genealogy world.

I have thirteen DNA projects which include a haplogroup project, several surname projects, and three geographical projects. Within these projects there are people who do not know their biological surname due to an adoption, an illegitimate birth or some other surname change in the past. ALL of these projects will benefit from this new type of test.

For mitochondrial testing, a person can now determine if their matches are recent or more distant. I have six people who match me on the FGS. We cannot connect the paper trails and have no idea when the common ancestor lived. By all of us taking the Family Finder test, we can determine if the six of us are fifth cousins or less … or if we are more distant.

A group of people matching on their mtDNA can determine who in the group is more closely related with whom and who is more distantly related. Take the six of us. By everyone testing, we can determine if two or three of us are more closely related with each other than we are with some of the others.

With the result of the Family Finder test showing us who is closely related, we can begin to see the migration patterns of our collective line. This may help us track more ancestors.

For Surname groups, the new Family Finder test has wonderful opportunities to allow females to join the project. Women have long felt left out in Surname Projects, although many of them are the administrators or do most of the research for the project. Bringing more participants into the surname project creates more interest which can open avenues for research. With this test, a female does not have to locate a family member to do the testing for her, but still may. Females can find out how closely they are related to the men who have tested.

Some Surname Project members have tested fewer markers than others, leaving the administrator to wait until the test is upgraded before placing the tester in a particular group. There’s just not enough data to make the determination. However, with this test, I will be able to assign testers to the correct branch in a lineage even without the paper trail.

The Family Finder test helps determine whether the testers are closer or more distant cousins, thus better defining the branches in a family tree.

Many projects have groups who have a perfect or near-perfect match, but the common ancestor has not been located. With the Family Finder test those larger blocks of matches can be better defined, creating sub-branches of closer related members.

For example: In one of my projects I have several men who match perfectly on 37 markers and in some cases on 67 markers. However, with this autosomal test, I will be able to see who among them is more closely related. The size of the matching segments of DNA will vary with the testers and thus determine the cousinship probably.

Geographical Projects can be overwhelmingly large. Administrators are reduced to just maintaining the website, answering general questions, and watch for patterns that may indicate a certain haplotype location. The Family Finder test can uncover new clues to extended family groups among the members. This can bring more relevant lineages to the project and open up new avenues for research as new connections are discovered. Testers can explore the lost family connections behind migrations. Testers in other projects can find cousins in geographical projects, thus helping them find relatives in their homeland. Family Finder test can also break up large blocks of matches into more closely related groups as well as find connections between different surnames.

Adoptees can greatly benefit from the Family Finder test as any matches would be close matches. You can find aunts, uncles, half siblings, and recent cousins. The match would not be just on the unknown line, but anywhere in your lineage, thus you could connect with family members to find clues to help you trace your missing line.

How wonderful is this! A very useful test from a company who pioneered genetic genealogy!

NOW, I can have a central place to organize and track all my project participants.
NOW, I can find all those missing cousins and add new lines to my chart!
AND, it is so exciting that women and men can now be compared with equal status!

For more information on this test see: http://www.familytreedna.com/landing/family-finder.aspx

Emily
aulicino@hevanet.com

23andMe Success Story

2010-02-13T21:30:00.000-08:00

Joan gave permission to have her 23andMe success story posted on my blog. With every success story, interested genealogists can learn the importance of DNA testing and researching your lines in a wide path as you go back in time. Just knowing your direct line is not not very useful in finding cousins whether DNA testing or not.

I advise researchers to track their direct line to at least three generations on either side of it. That is, know the grandchildren of your ancestors as well as the spouses' parents and grandparents. It is a task, but greatly rewarding when you find common ancestors with complete strangers in the matter of hours.

Thank you Joan for sharing your story ... she wrote:

My closest match through the Relative Finder at 23andme is a probable 3rd cousin (no further back than 5th cousins) with whom I share a whopping 1.03% total DNA match. We've compared notes and proven that we are, indeed, 3rd cousins. Our great-grandmothers are sisters. Our match comes through channels that wouldn't have been findable through mtDNA or any other genealogical testing. The match is X and autosomal DNA.

What is really striking is that we share more than 90% of our X chromosomes. Our relationship is through his mother's father's mother and my father's mother's mother. These are lines not traceable through traditional genealogical DNA tests. We also share a segment of chromosome 2. Our match comes through the single X chromosome he inherited from his mother and the X chromosome I obviously inherited from my father.

What is also interesting is that we both have another unidentified (as yet) match with (apparently) the same other person who may turn out to be another match on the same line -- he hasn't come forward yet. This other person shares .78% DNA with me and is identified as a probable 3rd cousin and no further back than 4th cousin. The Relative Finder shows that we share FIVE half-identical segments!

Since we found each other we've been sharing family photos, and there is a great resemblance. His mother (who would be my 2nd cousin once removed) had no interest in all this when her son was originally tested with 23andme, but since we found each other she is now interested and has been tested -- should be interesting to see if we match even more closely when she gets her results.

We are building quite a little family here since I had already met another cousin (through traditional research) who descends from the same family -- another sister of my great-grandmother.

This was an interesting line to research and it is even more interesting to find proven DNA cousins in this line!

Joan
Dec, 2009

Two New TV Series Based on Genealogy and Genetic Genealogy

2010-02-01T19:50:00.000-08:00

Greetings,

There have been a lot of things happening with DNA testing these days and more yet to come so stay tuned to this blog. Currently, we have two new TV series focusing on genealogy in February and March.

Dr. Henry Lewis Gates, Jr. is the first African American to have his entire genome sequenced and analyzed. Knome, Inc. of Cambridge Mass did the testing and will be featured on Professor Gates' new TV series The Faces of America.

See: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/knome-featured-in-new-pbs-series-faces-of-america-with-henry-louis-gates-jr-83238922.html

February 10th begins a new PBS series called The Faces of America with Dr. Gates. The program is designed after his previous production entitled African American Lives, but this show will use the latest in genetic research. Those featured are: Yo-Yo Ma, Queen Noor, Meryl Streep, Stephen Colbert, Malcolm Gladwell, Eva Longoria Parker, Mike Nichols, Dr. Mehmet Oz, Louise Erdrich, Kristi Yamaguchi, Elizabeth Alexander, and Mario Batali.

See:
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/facesofamerica/

AND…we have waited two years for this event, but Who Do You Think You Are? Is finally scheduled to air on NBC March 5th. This is the American version styled after the British version and produced by Lisa Kudrow (Phoebe Buffay on the Friends series). Celebrities features are: Lisa Kudrow, Susan Sarandon, Emmitt Smith, Matthew Broderick, Sarah Jessica Parker, Brooke Shields, and Spike Lee. The site gives bios for all the stars by clicking on their name and then their photo.

General information on the British version:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_Do_You_Think_You_Are%3F

American version:
http://www.nbc.com/who-do-you-think-you-are/

I strongly encourage all of you to tune into these shows. Not only will you find them interesting, but it is important that they get the viewership so they will continue. Having them continue will spur more interest in genealogy and genetic genealogy. Hopeful, and with your help, this will be our modern-day Roots.

Thank you,
Emily

DNA Testing Solves Mysteries and Brings Family Together, part 2b

2010-01-11T13:33:00.000-08:00

Devine and O'Donoghue DNA Success

The following administrators offered these success stories for the Irish Roots magazine article. These examples show how relationships can be proved or disproved and how family oral history can be very helpful is providing clues. However, just as many times there is no oral history suggesting a surname change, but DNA testing can prove its existence.

Devine DNA Project

DNA testing has substantiated oral family history and given a clearer picture of the Devine families in Ireland. Project manager Donn Devine explains:

According to an oral tradition preserved by the Devine family of Kirkneedy, County Donegal, they descend from two brothers, Daniel and Hugh Devine, both born in the late 1700s. Recent Y-DNA tests from a descendant of Daniel, still living in that area, and from a descendant of Hugh who lives in the United States show only a one-step difference at 37 markers. Their distance from a common ancestor as known from the oral tradition — five generations — is confirmed by their close DNA match, which indicates a 90% probability that their common ancestor lived within the last five generations.

The results also show more distant relationships to Devine families in Counties Mayo and Galway, but the Kirkneedy Devines are unrelated to the nearby large cluster of Devine families centered around Strabane in County Tyrone, who have been shown by their DNA to be related to each other through a common ancestor of their own, since the time hereditary surnames have been in use.
---Donn Devine, 2009

O’Donoghue Success

Were we Irish? There were rumors of course. An infant adopted; family lore that may or may not be true; red hair and fair complexion. There can always be a grain of truth in any lore, but the question is how much? Were we really Irish?

Family lore held that our grandfather Harry Shepherd, born in 1884 in the state of West Virginia, USA, was actually born Harry Donahue. Following the death of his mother when he was but an infant, he was given to the Shepherd’s, neighbors of the Donahue’s, since the father could not care for all of the children. This story had been around long enough that I adopted it as true. About two years ago I began to read all things Donahue on line and discovered the O’Donoghue Society.

While visiting my family this past Christmas holiday, I mentioned the O’Donoghue Society and the YDNA Project to my sisters. They were thrilled at the opportunity to discover once and for all the truth. I was a little more hesitant for the simple fact that I liked being Irish. What if the test results were negative? Being Shepherd was fine but I would then forever loose my “Irishness” and become forever, well, English.

However I consented and we ordered our test kit and with great anticipation awaited its arrival. The kit arrived this past January, and I performed the necessary swabbing and with great trepidation posted the sample to Family Tree DNA. “Results forthcoming in March.” March? Great! Three months to continue wearing my Irish persona until the truth hit.

However, time does fly, and on March 16 of this year the results arrived. IRISH! Killarney! Sill, the biggest surprise was yet to arrive.

With the results came the news of a rarity. A complete 37 Marker DNA match with a living total stranger. I contacted the name supplied by Elizabeth O’Donoghue of The O’Donoghue Society, and we now have a new third cousin. He had previously done an extensive genealogical study on the family. On my fathers side our family history had gone no farther than his father, Harry. The new information supplied filled in the previously blank pages of our family history all the way back to 1750. Dion and I regularly correspond now, and he has provided pictures and history of ancestors many generations back.

Thanks to the YDNA project, and not only did we find new family, we discovered our true past.
---written by Elizabeth O’Donoghue for the Shepherd family, 2009

Lynne, Elaine, Greg, and their mother seated.
Courtesy of Greg Shepherd

A condensed version of these success stories appear in Irish Roots Magazine, 2009 Fourth Quarter, Issue 72, page 20.

Devine DNA Project:
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~devinedna/devdna/Devine.htm

O’Donoghue DNA Project:
http://www.odonoghue.co.uk/guests/projects/ydna_results.php

Ireland Y-DNA Project:
http://homepage.eircom.net/~ihdp/ihdp/index.htm

FTDNA site for the Ireland Y-DNA Project:
http://www.familytreedna.com/public/IrelandHeritage

You can find the Irish Roots magazine at some Barnes and Noble bookstores in the US, and this issue is on sale now.

To subscribe to Irish Roots in the US or Canada, telephone toll free: 1-877-363-1310
To subscribe by Fax in the US or Canada: 514-355-3332
To subscribe by mail for the US: write to Express Mag, PO Box 2769, Plattsburgh, NY 12901-0239
To subscribe by mail for Canada: Express Mag, 8155 Larrey Street, Anjou, Quebec, H1H 2L5

Email address: expsmag@espressmag.com

To see your DNA success story here, please e-mail me at: aulicino@hevanet.com
Photos are accepted with permission of the subjects involved.

Enjoy,
Emily
July 2009

DNA Testing Solves Mysteries and Brings Family Together, part 2a

2009-12-27T21:39:00.000-08:00

The following two articles (this one and the next one) are only a few of the many DNA Project success stories for those of Irish heritage. Success is often relevant to the tester and gaining any information or clues is a great relief when you are at a brick wall. These stories show a varying degree of success as more genealogy work is needed to find that common ancestor. Often, however, to find a location in Ireland for that search is a major break though that DNA testing can provide.

Tally DNA Success

My journey for my Irish roots began in my late teens, after my grandfather died. He was a man who I know had many of the answers to the questions I now have, however I was never interested enough to ask them while he was still alive. Terrence Tally, my namesake, was named after his father, Terrence John Tally, who sailed with his brother Peter from Belfast to New York City in 1856, finally settling and becoming the Sheriff of Virginia City, Nevada, the colorful, exciting and robust gold rush town of the American west.

I started asking my dad and grandmother questions about Terrence John, knowing only that he came from Ireland. All my grandmother knew about her father-in-law, who she never met, was that he came from County Tyrone in Northern Ireland. My dad knew no more. I started contacting distant cousins of mine, descendants of Terrence John, to see if they had any information either: specifically what town or village in Country Tyrone he was from, any information about his siblings, what his parents names were, etc. Other than some interesting stories of the Wild West and his position as Chief-of-Police in Virginia City and a few anecdotal recollections here and there, there was little light shed on Terrence John Tally. I continued my quest, but usually came up empty handed.

In the summer of 1981, while on business in New York City, I visited the genealogy section in the New York City Library. In my limited research that one morning I discovered several mentions of the name Tally in a few towns and villages in County Tyrone. Here, for the first time was a solid link to my past! Rather than do the sensible thing, looking them up and simply calling them, I took a cab to JFK airport and hopped on the first plane to Ireland. After landing at Shannon Airport in County Clair, I took trains to Belfast, rented a car, and braved driving on the left side of the road to Country Tyrone. While on this adventure I was stopped a couple of times by armed British soldiers asking for my passport, the purpose of my visit and what my destination was. This was in June1981 … during the heart of the Bobby Sands hunger strike when Catholic and Protestant turmoil was fierce and tourists were indeed rare.

One quaint village after another and several wonderful people led to my meeting a sweet elderly lady who told me of Tally’s Bar in Galbally, a small village not far from the town of Dungannon. Finding Galbally and Tally’s Bar was easy enough. I asked around and was introduced to a very fine man named Patrick Tally. Was he the long missing link I had traveled so far to meet? I told him I was a Tally from America hoping to find my great-grandfathers roots and wondered if they might have any genealogical information about the Tallys they could share. After some cautious questioning and uncertainty he decided I was for real and welcomed me into his home where I met his wonderful wife and five children. I soon met several other Tallys and was treated like a celebrity, especially, when the children from the area found out that I was employed in the film industry and had worked with Linda Carter, aka “Wonder Woman”, a very popular show at that time on Irish television.

One evening when many of the neighbors from Galbally came to meet me and “hear my accent”, the children all stood in line for my autograph because of my “Wonder Woman” connection. I, of course, happily obliged … you never know when you’re going to get asked for your autograph again. Everyone treated me wonderfully, and I felt like a long distant cousin regardless of our bloodline. While they had limited written family history documentation, I knew I was not far from my genealogical ground zero. Across the street from the Tally Bar and home was a cemetery with two tombstones with my first and last name on them.

Unfortunately, these distant and long forgotten relatives that I had a thousand questions for brought me no closer to discovering my missing link. The genealogy material that Patrick Tally provided and the people we queried still failed to fill in the blanks. I left Ireland a more complete soul but with no definite new leads to my lineage.

Many years passed with The California Tallys and the Galbally Tallys always staying in touch. We were visited on a couple of occasions by 2 of the daughters of Patrick’s while here on vacation. When I first met them in 1981 they were just little kids and my visit was one more story they heard about me rather than an actual memory.

Finally in the summer of 2008, I decided to take my wife and daughter to Galbally and revisit the Tallys. Again, we were treated like royalty. The years, however, have still failed to provide us with any new information that positively defined our relationship.

A few years ago, I heard about Emily Aulicino’s DNA projects and research and decided to take the DNA test to see what might transpire. I found the entire process fascinating and since I had still never determined that I was indeed in the same family tree as the Galbally Tally’s I proposed the idea of DNA testing to Patrick Tally’s only son, Patrick Jr. Sure enough he was open to the idea and did the test. We recently found a 37 marker match!

Paddy, mother Betty, Terrence, Patrick Sr., Catherine and Noeleen

Although we may never know our common Irish male ancestor, this has been a remarkable and wonderful tool. It confirmed my family history theory and filled in another blank in the search for my ancestors. I would certainly recommend this project to those who have embarked on a similar genealogical journey.

---Terrence Tally Los Angeles, California June, 2009

A condensed version of this success story appears in Irish Roots Magazine, 2009 Fourth Quarter, Issue 72, page 20.

Talley-Tally DNA Project: http://www.familytreedna.com/public/Talley-Tally

Enjoy,
Emily
July, 2009

DNA Testing Solves Mysteries and Brings Family Together, part 1

2009-12-27T21:15:00.000-08:00

DNA Testing solves mysteries ...

Although DNA Testing is beneficial to genealogists, others who have tested with the Genographic Project or have tested out of curiosity have become interested in their family history. Many mysteries have been solved through good genealogy research and DNA testing as well, including these with Irish connections:

In 1948 Northwest Flight 4422 crashed in the remote mountains of Alaska. In 1997 the wreckage was found and two years later, a frozen human arm was discovered. Through the use of written documentation, fingerprints, and DNA, the arm was identified out of the thirty sailors on the flight using mitochondrial DNA which is found in every person’s DNA given to them by their mother. Hence, an international investigation began in 2007 by Dr. Colleen Fitzpatrick to trace each of the thirty sailors though their female lines to find someone whose DNA would match that of the arm and thus identify the victim. She was able to locate Mr. Conway of Limerick whose mitochondrial DNA matched sailor Frances Joseph Van Zandt.

Thus a fifty year old mystery was solved, and Mr. Conway expressed his pleasure in being able to help and stated on the RTE news video: “I now know where I came from. I now know where I originated, and my, own family and my own children and my grandchildren will know in time where they came from as well.”

Frances Van Zandt Maurice Conway

Dr. Colleen Fitzpatrick has solved many other mysteries using DNA testing and forensic techniques. See her Wikipedia bio at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colleen_Fitzpatrick_%28forensic_genealogist%29

A shorten version of this story can be found in Irish Roots magazine, 2009, Fourth Quarter, Issue 72, page 20.
---------------------------------

Interested in doing a DNA test?

Before ordering a test, understand what DNA testing can and cannot do for you. The following resources are easily accessible and are designed for the beginner in mind.

Web Sites:

http://genealem-geneticgenealogy.blogspot.com/
Start reading at the beginning of the archives. This blog is designed for the beginner.
http://familytreedna.com
Click on TUTORIALS

www.familytreedna.com
Click TUTORIALS on the right
http://www.worldfamilies.net/
World Families Net - many topics

http://www.kerchner.com/dna-info.htm
Genetics & Genealogy - An Introduction
Genetic Genealogy DNA Testing Dictionary
Genetic Genealogy Glossary

http://www.thegeneticgenealogist.com/
The Genetic Genealogist...a blog to follow
Free booklet from Blaine T. Bettineger, Ph.D. (Click on icon to the right)

Wonderful beginners book on Genetic Genealogy:

Family History in the Genes by Chris Pomery
Trace Your Roots with DNA by Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak and Ann Turner
DNA and Genealogy by Colleen Fitzpatrick and Andrew Yeiser

Follow these easy steps to choosing the correct test.

1. Determine your goals. Are you just curious or are you testing for genealogical purposes? If you are only curious about your most ancient ancestry, order the cheapest test. If you plan to use the results for your genealogy, then order a 37 marker for Ydna and at least the HVR2 for mtDNA.

2. If you are a male you can test both your Y-chromosome dna (the top line; that is, the all male line of your pedigree chart if you are number one on that chart) and your mitochondrial dna (the bottom line or all female line of your pedigree chart). If you are a female you can only test your mitochondrial dna.

3. Matches when testing the Ydna are closer in time. By testing 37 markers, two people who match have a high probability of a common ancestor within the last 300 yrs. However, matches on the mitochondrial dna (mtDNA) can be up to thousands of years ago.

Sources:
Colleen Fitzpatrick www.forensicgenealogy.info
RTE Video on Flight 2244:
http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/0119/nationwide_av.html?2477134,null,228

Enjoy,
Emily
1 Jan 2010

Irish Roots Magazine, 2009 Fourth Quarter, Issue No. 72

2009-12-27T20:04:00.000-08:00

Irish Roots magazine is a must for those interested in Irish genealogy. What pleases me the most about it is that the term Irish Diaspora is commonly found among its pages. This is significant to the vast number of genealogists who claim Irish heritage and who are seeking to find their origins in Ireland. I am constantly impressed by the Ireland’s genuine interest in those who left Ireland over the centuries.

This recent publication features some wonderful articles including Tracing The Caledonia Irish, Irish Diaspora in Mexico, Clans of Ireland, and, of course the inclusion of genetic genealogy. DNA Testing - Solving Mysteries and Uniting Families was submitted by me, but those whose mysteries were aided by genetic testing actually did the writing while I organized and edited it. For this reason, I take no credit. My pride, however, is that the wonderful editors at Irish Roots asked me to do a DNA piece as they see value and interest in the topic. My hope is that articles such as this will inspire the Irish everywhere to test so they may learn where their cousins are and to locate their origins.

As each story was reduced to fit the magazine’s space, I will post them as originally written along with the related photos. Each one is unique, and each is considered a success of DNA testing by the participants.

You can find the Irish Roots magazine at some Barnes and Noble bookstores in the US, and this issue is on sale now.

To subscribe to Irish Roots in the US or Canada, telephone toll free: 1-877-363-1310
To subscribe by Fax in the US or Canada: 514-355-3332
To subscribe by mail for the US: write to Express Mag, PO Box 2769, Plattsburgh, NY 12901-0239
To subscribe by mail for Canada: Express Mag, 8155 Larrey Street, Anjou, Quebec, H1H 2L5

Email address: expsmag@espressmag.com
Payment method: American Express, Visa, Mastercard, check or money order

Enjoy,
Emily

Family Tree DNA Holiday Sale and Price Reduction

2009-12-23T11:54:00.000-08:00

Family Tree DNA just sent the following reminder for their Holiday Sale which ends December 31st. However, they also mentioned new price reductions! These are fantastic savings from the original prices...or from the prices just a year ago.

Take advantage of this wonderful offer.

Dear Project Administrator,

2009 is coming to a close and we're finishing it off with an end-of-the-year promotion!

First, though, let me thank you for helping us make our recent Full Mitochondria Sequence sale a resounding success. Despite the challenging economy this was the most successful promotion in our company’s history.

Our Holiday Season promotion will bring back the discount that we offered this summer for the Y-DNA37, since this has been requested by many of our project administrators.

Y-DNA37 – promotional price $119 (reg. price $149)
Y-DNA67 – promotional price $209 (reg. price $239)
mtDNAPlus – promotional price $139 (reg. price $149)
SuperDNA – promotional price $488 (reg. price $665)

Orders for the above tests need to be placed and paid for by December 31, 2009 to receive the sale price.

IMPORTANT: since this promotion will run through the months of November and December, we encourage you to spread the word starting now, as the natural tendency is for people to order at the last minute, and we will not extend it beyond 12/31/2009. You may use our bulk email feature to notify existing project members about this holiday sale.

In addition here are the newly released permanent prices for the Full Mitochondria Sequence:

New kit (mtDNA Full Sequence) … $279
Upgrade from HVR1 … $229
Upgrade from HVR2 … $209
mtDNA Full Sequence after testing Y-DNA … $249

Thank you for your continued support. We appreciate your contribution to the sustained growth of the Family Tree DNA matching database, the best genealogical matching tool of its kind.

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23andMe Success Story

2009-12-01T11:36:00.000-08:00

The new rage in DNA testing is with 23andMe. They test autosomal markers for ancestry and health purposes. This means for your genealogy you can now match testers who are not on just your Ydna or your mtDNA lines. You can match people who are anywhere in your pedigree charts.

This last October I ordered their Complete Edition which includes data for my health and for my ancestry. You can order these separately, getting only the Ancestry test, if you wish. This story, however, is about my genealogy.

With 23andMe, at the moment, testers need to "opt in" to communicate with other testers. Under their section Relative Finder, I see that I have 239 people who match me. However, only twenty-one of them have allowed communication with testers. Of those twenty-one, only eleven have actually made contact. I am waiting for the other ten to open their email and reply to my invitation to share, one way or another: Accept or Ignore.

The company lists the Predicted Relationship which can range from very closely related to distant cousin. I happen to have one 3rd cousin who, unfortunately, has not opted to converse with anyone as yet. Most others are 4th and 5th cousins. I have two listed as Distant Cousins. The probable rankings for cousins are given in a Relationship Range from 3rd cousin to 7th, 8th, 10th, etc., depending.

Columns also give you the % of DNA Shared and the # of Shared Segments. Of course, the higher the numbers for these two, the better. 23andMe only deals with matching information within certain parameters, so other people could match you that are not listed. It is understandable that they want to provide matches that are reasonable. Also, remember that this isn't a full genome test. It only covers a bit over a half million markers. More people could match you if all areas were tested, but most of us cannot afford that.

Lynleigh was listed as my 4th cousin with a relationship range from 3rd to 7th cousin. We shared .23% of our DNA. While that does not sound like much, you must consider that it is enough to determine relationships as the comparison is based on having a block of result which matches. We match on one DNA segment, Chromosome 20.

This match can be seen under the link Family Inheritance. Here you compare your genome result with that of another person. A blue section appears where the match is.

Both Lynleigh and I share the same haplogroup: U5a1. However, in this testing, unlike mtDNA (mitochondrial DNA), that is not important. The mtDNA test deals with the all female line (bottom line of a pedigree chart for the person who is number one on the chart). This is not where we match.

On November 12th, I sent her a message stating that 23andMe found we are related. After she accepted my invitation to connect, I sent her a list of surnames for my 4th great-grandparents on both sides of my family also including the states that were relevant for each. I then refined it to add my direct ancestors' full names, a date, and the county for each state, hoping that a county would help narrow the search.

She sent me her list, and I commented on those that were directly or indirectly related:

... Eads is connected to my Simpson line.
... Bowling to the Talley line.
... Roberson could be Robertson.
... Stokes were near Stokers in Southside VA and NC.
... Powell is connected to Talley.
... Rodgers could be Rogers.
... Shelton is connected to Doolin.
... Simms connected to Canterbury.

Then I suggested:

"Maybe we should share more detail on some lines. For example where were your Eads in VA ... and your Jenkins in PA? Although Jenkins is a Welsh name, it does not mean we can connect them even if they are neighborhood due to the naming patterns. Mine were in PA in the late 1600s...some may have stuck around. I think that some of the Watson line (from Albemarle Co, VA) did land in NC or SC, but they are not in my direct line. SO ... some of these may be worth checking, especially if you and I have sibling info. This will surely teach people not to do just their direct lines!"

On November 13th, Lynleigh asked to Genome Share. This can be done on a Basic or Extended level. The Basic level allows you to see which chromosome is matching. The Extended level allows you to share health information. We decided to do the Basic Sharing, and we learned that the matching result is on Chromosome 20.

November 28th, Lynleigh found our common ancestor! Actually, her husband Yasuyuki does the genealogy and found it. Since I had only sent my 4th great-grandparents, her husband had to do my genealogy to be certain. Without a dedicated researcher, we may still be searching. Sending more information would have helped more easily.

*** WE ARE 6TH COUSINS ONCE REMOVED! ***

23andMe predicted we are 3rd to 7th cousins, so they are pretty accurate.

Lynleigh's lineage:

1. William Simpson, b. 1750 Edgecombe Co, NC; d. 1813 Caldwell Co, KY
...+Mary UNKNOWN
2. Nancy Simpson, b. 1775 Caldwell/Livingston Co, KY; d. 1838 Gasconade Co, MO
...+John Eads, m. 1795 Caldwell Co, KY
3. William Eads, b. 1797 Christian Co, KY; d. 1846 Des Moines, IA
...+Rebecca A. Roberson, m. 1818 KY
4. Cyrene Eads, b. 1823 Gasconade Co, MO; d. 1906 Macoupin, IL
...+James E. Andrew, m. 1840 Des Moines, IA
5. Martha Leviscus Andrew, b. 1858 Macoupin Co, IL; d. 1940 Champaign Co, IL
...+Wililam Jackson Shelton, m. 1881 Macoupin Co, IL
6. Earnest Andrew Shelton, b. 1882 Macoupin Co, IL; d. 1955 Jersy Co, IL
...+Edna Alice Galloway, m. 1904 Macoupin Co, IL
7. James Glenn Shelton, b. 1917 Macoupin Co, IL; d. 1979 Champaign Co, IL
...+Marguerite Ann (surname withheld)
8. Lynleigh's parents
9. Lynleigh

My lineage:

1. William Simpson, b. 1750 Edgecombe Co, NC; d. 1813 Caldwell Co, KY
...+Mary UNKNOWN
2. Benjamin D. Simpson, b. 1777 Caldwell/Livingston Co, KY; d. 1853 Osage Co, MO
...+Mary (Polly) G. Roberson, m. 1808 KY
3. James Simpson, b. 1818 KY; d. 1849 en route to CA
...+Rebecca Syrene Miller, m. 1842 MO
4. Syrena Simpson, b. 1844
...+Henry Jefferson Williams, m. 1861 Osage Co, MO
5. Benjamin Franklin Williams, b. 1874 MO; d. 1952 MO
...+Tina Mae Simpson
6. Georgia Fay Williams, b. 1898 Pulaski Co, MO; d. 1980 Wyandotte Co, KS
...+Guy Franklin Doolin, m. 1918 Pulaski Co, MO
7. Emily's parents
8. Emily

Not only do I have a new cousin, I have a research partner!

In 23andMe results, you should consider all aspects of your genealogy. You must realize that any connection may be (and is more likely to be) through a line that crosses gender and/or from lines that branch off from any of your ancestor's siblings. As you can see from my connection with Lynleigh, each of us crosses gender in almost every generation.

From this experience I have learned a great deal. The following suggestions may assist you in finding your common ancestor more quickly:

1. If you have not done so, choose to correspond with those who match you on 23andMe. If you cannot find the link to "opt in" for corresponding, email the company at:
help(at sign)23andme.com

It is VERY important that everyone decides to correspond even if you are a novice at genealogy or DNA.

2. Research all aspects of your lineage, including the siblings of your direct ancestors and some of their descendants. I have always had the general rule of researching three generations either side of my direct line. You could connect anywhere along the lines and more likely along lines that branch off of your ancestor's siblings. All those descendants are important to finding the connection.

3. Set up a simple website with your lineage details or put them in a Word Document, including at least:

... a. Names, dates, and locations of all your direct ancestors and all their spouses.
... b. Surnames of all the children's spouses.
... c. If any of your lines have tested for DNA with other companies, refer to that project link.
... d. If you have found connections on lines through 23andMe, mention where those are in your lineage.

4. Write some details of your lineage in the Invitation. If you have set up a website, include the link.

5. Share as much detail as possible about your family either through your website or in a Word Document that you can copy and paste to the 23andMe messages you write to your cousins. At some point, everyone will be comfortable sharing personal emails.

6. Start searching and researching. DO NOT give up. The common ancestor is there!

Success is SWEET!

If you have any DNA success stories, email me so I can post them here. Perhaps another cousin is reading this blog!

Emily
29 Nov 2009
aulicino(at sign)hevanet.com

23andMe - Price and format change

2009-11-14T16:52:00.000-08:00

News has begun to travel around the genetic genealogy world that 23andMe is changing its prices ... a major increase...and splitting its health testing services from its genealogical/ancestry services. This more than disturbing to the genetic genealogy world ....

As a very active person in genetic genealogy and as a person who gives more presentations than any other person on DNA as used for genealogy, I am very disturbed by this move. (If anyone is in doubt of my claims to my level of interest and participation, l know multiple thousands of genealogists who are interested in DNA testing. One of my projects has over 3,000 members, and I belong to ISOGG (International Society of Genetic Genealogists: www.isogg.org), doing presentations on their behalf. The ISOGG membership is huge!)

I just gave a presentation that included info on 23andMe last Tuesday as I tested there during their recent sale. I was very excited about this new company as it could help genealogists find cousins in their lineages that were not strictly along the all female or all male lines. We can now use DNA to find cousins for all those in our ancestry between the top and bottom lines of a pedigree chart.

My enthusiasm has greatly waned since last Tuesday (Nov 10th). The reason: 23andMe is keeping their nearly $500 fee for testing (the regular price, not any sale price), but instead of getting information on your health issues AND their Relative Finder section which helps you locate others who have tested and with whom you share a common ancestor (grouping them by level of cousins...3rd, 4th, etc), after November 19th $399 for the Ancestry edition, OR $429 for the Health edition, OR $499 for the Complete edition. The price before November 19th is $399 for the Complete edition. That is a huge increase in price for the service. HUGE!

After my presentation, my group was very excited about 23andMe even though I did not mention price. Then, when all this happened (the announcement of the change), I emailed everyone in ALL of my DNA projects and in all my interest groups to tell them of my disappointment only because it will limit who is able to purchase this type of testing. I had not mentioned the previous prices at all, but did mention that maybe they would have a Holiday price as they did last year. Even if they do now, people will be quite hesitant to pay that much for half of what they will get from now to November 19th.

I will continue to recommend it for people who are interested in finding ancestors beyond the Ydna and mtDNA for sure, but all the time knowing that most of my audience, if not all of it, will not pay that price for either section of 23andMe.

23andMe has something good going, but as it stands, it may only be for the more affluent or the really obsessive genealogist. Many genealogists may not have the time, patience, or depth of research to hunt down the lines to find the common ancestor, but would have been willing at a better price. Now, they will see it as beyond them.

That's very, very sad for the world of genealogy and for genetic genealogists. I know I would have talked many people in my projects into it as they cannot find the paper connection although they have tested their Ydna. This would have helped them determine the possible generation by another means. It also would have helped those who are interested in our surname projects who do not carry the surname and who are women not able to test for a surname project. Currently, I am in conversation with a man who does not carry the Talley surname, but has several Talleys in his family. We think this could be the connection. As a woman who also can't test for the Talley surname, we may have never met. Now, I'm helping him trace his line back to see where we connect, and I think I have it. BUT...is that worth $500 ... not really; not even if I find many lines this way.

SO ... not only this move by 23andMe limits who will buy their tests, but it will limit information on all of our DNA projects. It is really sad. Had I any idea this would be their direction, I would have bought many test during the sale, giving them to my project members and those connected to the project who cannot test for the surname. Many of them cannot find the paper trail to each other and this could have helped. Many of them, like most genealogists, are retired on fixed incomes or have families and must limit their spending on this hobby.

I dearly hope 23andMe is not trying to be a mega company for the sake of gathering a fortune, but be more like those companies who are more (or at least equally) interested in the genealogy world along with their "bottom line." I hope this is not their "Waterloo," but they have just pushed away the largest part of the genealogy world. The average genealogist cannot afford this and will not spend the money on it.

We at ISOGG have tried so hard to get the general public to understand and accept DNA testing for genealogy, helping them with justifying the cost of the Ydna and mtDNA tests. How wonderful it would have been to have them see that more than these two lines of the lineage could be tested to find family. This is truly a step backward for us all.

IF anyone sees a window to better pricing with 23andMe at some time, please post. I am sure many of my project members and interested parties would be interested if the price is right.

just my opinion...
Emily
If you do not hear from me in a timely manner, just write again...I was buried in email. LOL
http://writingyourmemories.blogspot.com/
http://www.rootsweb.com/~orgco2/speaker/EmilyAulicino.html
http://genealem-geneticgenealogy.blogspot.com/
Northwest Regional Coordinator and Speaker for ISOGG (www.isogg.org)
Administrator for thirteen FTDNA DNA Projects