Y-DNA or Who’s My Daddy?

By Emily Aulicino

In the past I have posted information about the various tests on this blog.  However, when I was approached my my local genealogical society, I submitted several articles to help members of the society with DNA testing.  I am most grateful to all those who helped compile many of the coming articles and who edited my work.  A special thanks to Laurel Smith, our current president, for pushing me to do this and for all her help.

In the coming weeks, I will cover mitochondrial testing in two parts, autosomal testing, SNP testing and a few other topics.  You may email me directly if there is a topic you would like clarified and posted here.  Do not post to the blog, but to me directly:  aulicino@hevanet.com

The following questions or goals may be addressed with the Y-DNA test. 

Although there are no guarantees of success, this is the mostly logical path to try. Each of these will be considered here:   

•     Proving if a person is my father
•     Finding biological father’s (grandfather’s, etc.) surname (adopted or not)
•     Proving two of same surname living in adjoining towns are related
•     Y-line brick wall, hoping to jump the brick wall
•     Tracing mother’s father’s line back to a known immigrant

FIRST LET’S REVIEW WHAT THE Y-DNA TEST CAN DO AND WHO CAN TAKE IT.

The Y-chromosome is passed from father to son virtually unchanged since mankind began. The small changes (mutations) that can take place help determine the closeness of a relationship and help place people into family groups. These mutations are random and can happen at any time. That is, a father could give one son a certain DNA result and another son the same, but perhaps with one mutation. Consequently once a mutation occurs it is passed to the next generation of sons from the father who received it.

As the Y-chromosome is only inherited by men, this test can be taken only by men. It tests the top line of a pedigree chart for a male tester. However, the results does not really belong to or indicate a particular male as all the males in the family and everywhere along a direct line of descent can have the exact same Y-DNA results. That is, a great-great-grandfather gives a copy of his Y-chromosome to all his sons, but so do that great-great-grandfather’s brothers give it to their sons. For this reason, it tests more than just the direct line of male descent, but all the direct male lines of that progenitor.

The result of a Y-chromosome DNA test yields a number for each marker. That number depends upon the number of times four chemical bases (adenine, cytosine, guanine, and thymine) repeat themselves in a short pattern. These patterns must repeat themselves right next to each other or in tandem and are referred to as an STR or short tandem repeat. For example a marker could have a pattern of AGAT or some other combination, and the number of times it repeats itself in sequence; for example, AGATAGATAGAT would result in the number for that marker. In this example, the result would be a 3. The result of a marker is called an allele. The entire test result is referred to as a haplotype. In the example below marker DYS393 has 13 STRs.

The alleles (marker results) are compared with those of other testers to give an indication how closely related they could be, but as DNA does not tell you the name of a common ancestor, you still need to do your genealogy. DNA testing can help you get through a brick wall, determine the surname of a person who is adopted, and prove that two males do or do not have a common ancestor in genealogical time. DNA testing gives you the names and from some companies the emails of the people with whom you share a common ancestor. This allows you to contact the matches and share genealogies. The more wide-spread your records are, the easier it is to find the common ancestor. That is, do not research just your direct lines, but everyone’s children, grandchildren, etc.

SO LET’S MOVE ON TO SOLVING SOME OF THE PROBLEMS ABOVE.

If you are a woman, you need to have a male in your father’s all male line do the testing; otherwise a man can test for his father’s line as I have said.

To prove if your father is your father, you should test yourself and your suspected father. If that cannot be done for some reason, test yourself and a male that either descends from your suspected father or from one of his brothers, given that you are certain of those relationships.

To obtain a man’s biological surname, just test the man and see what surname is most frequent among the matches. The odds are this would be the testers’ surname, barring any NPE (non-paternal event or any event that would result in a non-biological surname such as an adoption, illegitimate birth or a name change for any reason).

To determine a paternal great-grandfather (adopted or not), without knowing which of two people that could be, I’ll address both. If the paternal great-grandfather is your paternal grandfather’s father, then test yourself, if you are male, and see whom you match to get a surname. If the paternal great-grandfather is your paternal grandmother's father, then you need to find a brother of your paternal grandmother and bring his line down to the present in an all-male line. If this is confusing, look at a pedigree chart. The same system can be applied to the comment above about finding a great-great-grandfather.

Proving that two men with the same surname and living in nearby towns are related can be easily done. Just bring to the present the all-male lines from each of your target people. Test one person each and see if their test result matches. However, finding a viable candidate is often the problem. For this reason bring all the male lines to the present as some lines may “daughter-out” or some men may refuse to test or cannot be located.

Jumping a brick wall can be done, but there are different methods. One is to test a male and contact the matches, hoping someone has more information than you do. Another way is to check the area where your trail went cold to see if there are others in that area who may be related whom you cannot fit into your pedigree. Bring an all-male line to the present and test that living person. If there is a match, perhaps they know something you do not or together you and your match can research the line to see if you can track it back farther. Sometimes distant cousins leave better paper trails than your direct line. Lastly, you can triangulate a line. This method is a bit longer to explain, and will be covered in another lesson.

And for the last problem above, tracing mother's father’s line back to a known immigrant, use the Y-chromosome test. You must go back to the moth­er’s father, bring an all-male line to the present, and test that person. Then you must bring an all-male line from the known immigrant to the present and test them. This method was actually used to prove a Mayflower descendant a few years ago.

As you can see from all these examples there is great similarity in how to use the Y-chromosome DNA test. BUT, which Y-chromosome test? I recommend at least 37 markers as that number of markers puts your matches within genealogical time. After all, you need to have a paper trail along with the DNA to really prove your lineage. Of course, testing more markers is just fine, as well. Some people choose to start out with a 37 marker and upgrade later while others test the 67 or 111 initially. The cost of upgrading is a bit more than the difference between the two tests you choose. This is because the company has to locate your sample in their vaults.

Much of what you need to know is on my blog in the older sections. There are many articles you can skip as they are about my antics at conferences or on past sales. Also understand that over the years genetics has evolved so some things that were thought to be true a few years ago may be understood differently now, but the basics are the same.

I urge all of you who have not tested to write me before you order. I will ask you what problem you are trying to solve so I can be sure that the test and the company you choose will serve you well. I have had several emails from people who bought first and then inquired. They are not happy. Remember that DNA testing is becoming very popular and as a result there are many companies who want a slice of the pie, but they do not offer all the services that others do. It is wiser to not let price be your guide in most cases. Variety of testing, service, storage of your sample so you can upgrade later, etc. are only a few of the important features.

One last reminder: DNA testing does not have all the answers for you. Not every brick wall can be demolished; there will always be brick walls. Not every person you need to test can be found or, if so, they may elect not to test. Not every person you match will know as much as you. With luck, some will know more.

One last hope: DNA testing is the most accurate resource we have as genealogists. By testing you will have an opportunity to learn more about your ancestry. More people are learning about DNA testing for genealogy daily. More people test all the time so in the future you may find the person and connection you need. Doing nothing gets you nowhere.

Written for the GFO DNA Special Interest Group, 29 Jan 2013 and appeared in the GFO Bulletin, Volume 63, No. 3, Mar 2014. 

GFO is the Genealogical Forum of Oregon in Portland Oregon.  See their website:  www.gfo.org

Thank you,

Emily

Brick Wall Success with 67 marker Y-DNA Test

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!

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

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.

Why Test 67 Markers?

People who wish to test their Ydna often ask which test its best. First you have to determine what your goal is and then find the test that best meets it.

As genealogists, we want our test to further our research; therefore, it is imperative that the test be helpful within a genealogical time frame. The following numbers of markers that are tested give results which are and are not within genealogical time. Although the following are the tests provided by Family Tree DNA, any testing company using about that number of markers will produce a similar result. However, note that at this time, no other company tests 67 markers on the Y chromosome, except Family Tree DNA.

Thus chart indicates the time frame for a match within a set of markers.

DNA TMRCA (Time to the Most Recent Common Ancestor) and Probability to the Most Recent Common Ancestor (MRCA)

12 marker Ydna test tells you only about your most ancient ancestry....over 600 yrs ago and before surnames. The Genographic Project uses only the 12 marker for males as they are only interested in tracking the migration pattern of our most ancient ancestors. Their project is an anthropological study; not a genealogical one, but in time their data will help us.

25 marker match gives you a 95% probability of having a common ancestor within the last 600 yrs.

37 marker match gives you a 95% probability of having a common ancestor within the last 300 yrs.

67 marker match gives you a 95% probability of having a common ancestor within the last 150-200 yrs.


This means that the 37 marker and the 67 marker are the genealogists’ best choices as they fall withing a genealogical time frame. Prior to 600 years ago some cultures did not establish surnames. Actually, the Irish were probably the oldest culture and they began around 1000 years ago. However, the Welsh, the Jews and many others hae only had surnames for the last few hundred hears..

Although one can order the lesser number of markers (37) and upgrade at any time to a 67 marker test, the cost is a bit more than the difference between the two. There are also good reasons to update to a 67 marker and, in cases, reasons not to bother, at least until it is necessary.

So why upgrade to a 67 marker?

The following information will help the tester determine if a 67 marker is important to your goals.

It is important to know that a Ydna 67 marker test can:

* further refine the estimate of how closely related two individuals are.

* help groups of related testers find mutations which identify sub-branches in the family.


The following scenarios are good reasons to upgrade to a 67 marker:

If you are a member of a group of closely related testers with a good 37 marker match, but there is no paper trial to connect the croup, it may be wise to upgrade as:

* More mutations can result, giving you the opportunity to further subdivide the large group and look for more recent common ancestors.
(See Talley Project at www.familytreedna.com/puiblic/Talley-Tally)

If you are a member of a group with many mutations (more than the usually number…i.e., more than 3 with a 37 marker) and you think you are closely related with the paper trail.

* The marker increase may not increase the mutations.

* The marker mutations may increase, pushing the common ancestor too far away from the group.

* The marker mutations may help bridge the mutations within the group. Often this happens when you find a family who has many mutations and the paper trail supports a good connection. Some families do mutate more often than others. Finding more testers for the family may bridge the gap between those who have greater genetic differences. A 67 marker may also show the testers re closely related as the markers from 38-67 have few to no mutations. The more markers tested the greater number of genetic differences can be accepted for still being a close relationship.

www.familytreedna.com/public/Talley-Tally
http://www.boltancestry.com/boltdnamystery.htm

Probability for Most Recent Common Ancestor
(MRCA)

The following times back to the MRCA when ALL the markers match are based in the latest results of the mutation rate study conducted by the University of Arizona.

For example, with 37/37 match there is a 50% probability that the MRCA was no longer than 2 generations, and a 90% probability that the MRCA was within the last 5 generations.

Compare these with 25 and 12 -- with 25 markers, there is a 50% probability that the MRCA was within the last 3 generations, while with 12 markers, there is a 50% probability that the MRCA was within the last 7 generations.

For a chart showing the Probability for Most Recent Common Ancestor (MRCA), see: http://www.familytreedna.com/faq2.html

SO, in conclusion, if your test results fits within one of the above scenarios, it may be advantageous to upgrade to a 67 marker.

In time, there may be an increase in available markers to test so upgrading to a 67 marker may be only a step to the future and not the end.

©aulcino@hevanet.com, 1 Nov 2008