Merry or Happy Whatever Holiday You Celebrate Near the Winter Solstice

Yes, I know 2020 has been hell on wheels. 2020 itself has become analogous with bad things and is sort of a defacto swear word.

You just say, “2020” and everyone knows exactly what you mean.

Thankfully, it’s almost over! The year anyway.

Today, of all days, I want to share a different flavor message with you.

A Perspective of Hope and Gratitude

I’m writing this in a home with no twinkling Christmas tree, with no family members visiting, no grandchildren chattering, no crinkling of wrapping paper, and fewer family members than we began with this year.

And yes, I miss my family and the holiday festivities and traditions desperately – BUT – and this is huge….

I’m safe.

You’re safe, or at least I hope you are.

I’m extremely, extremely fortunate to be in a house that IS safe.

In a location that IS safe.

I’m blessed to have the ability to stay home SAFE.

It’s not a violation of my rights, but a sacred privilege.

To have the luxury of making the safe decision to shelter at home is an opportunity denied to many.

I don’t have to face Covid and the possibility of getting infected myself in a hospital as a front-line medical worker. Or as an EMT, or public safety officer, grocery store worker or others who have no choice in the matter.

For many, it’s work or starve – literally – a choice they are also making for their other family members, including children.

Children.

Children in America with no food. Let that sink in for a minute.

Several of my family members, including my children and their spouses, don’t have the luxury of safety because of the nature of their jobs, and I’m desperately worried about them.

I’m not forced to face or deal with unmasked people risking the safety and very lives of others.

And while I’m unhappy and inconvenienced staying at home and missing out on the things I’d like to be doing – my level of frustration is extremely, extremely minor in the grand scheme of things. A minuscule tradeoff for the ability to protect myself and others, saving lives.

I’m not being evicted because I’ve lost my job and can’t pay my rent.

I have heat and water and light and food. My family members and pets have food too.

My Christmas tree isn’t put up because I didn’t feel festive – not because I lost it in an eviction or because I no longer have a home to put it in.

No photo description available.

This year’s tree will simply have to be a Facebook memory of my tree from a happier time. Reflecting on the past that I took for granted, but certainly don’t now, hoping for the future, and simply trying to be grateful for what I have today.

Sometimes it takes misfortune to really bring the message of gratitude home.

My house did not burn to the ground, in the midst of a pandemic, like my friend’s house did.

My kids and grandkids aren’t suffering.

We are all staying safe, separately, together.

I have seen them in parking lots and on outdoor hikes a few times this year and we’ve made memories, nonetheless. Differently, than we would have preferred, but safely. Responsibly. No one risked the health of anyone else.

It’s not the best of circumstances – but it’s far, far from the worst.

I have multiple friends and family members who have died from and others who are severely debilitated by Covid.

And through all of this, I can’t help but think of my ancestors who died young, during plagues, of infections and situations now preventable or treatable, particularly with the advent of antibiotics in the era of modern medicine.

How blessed they would view our lives – given that we DO have the ability to understand the source of this plague and CAN do something about it. Simple things really, wearing masks, staying home, washing our hands, and soon, to take vaccines.

We can wage this war without marching off, killing others, and destroying the countryside. Although, ironically, Covid has now killed more people than Vietnam, Korea, and WWI, combined and is approaching the mortality of WWII – yet we don’t think of Covid as a war. Nonetheless, it is.

Instead of fighting in mortal combat, all we need to do is simply stay at home. It’s that simple. What our ancestors would have given for this opportunity.

Instead, they died. The church records tell their story, along with that of their entire village.

They died in childbirth, died of infections, died in wave after wave of pandemics such as the Black Death and recurring illnesses like typhoid and smallpox that wiped out one third to one half of the population, over and over again.

Many people were blamed for bringing these plagues into their villages by “witchcraft.”

Ignorance, too, is deadly in more ways than one.

Those who moved away from the homeland were truly alone, never seeing or talking to their family again. If you moved away and your family or spouse died – unless you could find someone else to marry quickly, especially if you were a woman, you too were relegated to destitution, poverty, and death.

Even in this current “worst of times,” we are so much better off than our ancestors. 2020 has certainly provided me with a different perspective of their world.

We have so much to be thankful for – beginning with the opportunity and means to keep ourselves safe. Such simple things, really.

I’m incredibly grateful for Skype, Zoom, Facetime, and other technologies that make being together, safely-distanced, possible. Apart doesn’t necessarily mean disconnected now.

These apps may even be responsible for encouraging some people to stay home that would have otherwise risked traveling, exposing and infecting themselves and others.

Yes, while 2020 has been “difficult,” to put it mildly, and the first half of 2021 will likely be even worse while Covid continues to spike, those of us who can stay home and stay safe until it’s our turn for that life-saving vaccine are indeed the blessed, even if we are the unhappy, complaining and sometimes ungrateful blessed.

Having Said That…

I want to share my heartfelt condolences and concern for those who:

  • Have lost family members
  • Are truly alone
  • Aren’t safe
  • Don’t have enough food
  • Are suffering, either physically or mentally

Because there are many, many…so many.

We don’t necessarily know who they are, because sometimes suffering isn’t evident.

And sometimes, it is, especially if we are cognizant and look.

I hope we all take this time to reflect on others, notice their need, and reach out to help to relieve their suffering, as best we can.

  • Drop off food. Safely, on porches.
  • Reach out to say hello and convey that we care.
  • Help with technology. My husband is coordinating Zoom calls for families.
  • Provide supportive assistance to solve problems, such as suggesting and arranging for grocery or prescription pickup and delivery.
  • Provide other types of assistance, safely.
  • And the animals. Don’t forget the animals who are entirely dependent on people.

Additionally, we can contribute to organizations and reputable charities that work collectively to assist people in need. Food banks come to mind right now.

My “gifts” this year, with the exception of small things delivered by no-contact “porch Santas” to family members have all been in the form of donations of one flavor or another to assist those not so fortunate.

Light, Prayer, Hope

It is for all of us that I walk in the labyrinth this winter solstice – the longest, darkest day of the year, carrying this single candle of light.

Hope for the future

For light in our life

For brighter days

For 2021

For humanity

For all of us, collectively

And individually

For you…

Introducing Genetic Groups at MyHeritage

Click on all images to enlarge…

Happy Holidays from MyHeritage. The long-awaited Genetic Groups are here!!!

Woohoo!

MyHeritage has been working on this product for at least two years. Gilad mentioned it in Oslo two years ago this fall.

This project was massive in scope.

Genetic Groups are built upon the MyHeritage ethnicity estimates, adding another layer of specificity which is greatly improved. Yes, I know, their ethnicity estimates needed improvement and they are working on a 2021 update. However, Genetic Groups adds a great deal of dimension not able to be achieved with ethnicity alone.

I don’t want to give anything away…but MyHeritage absolutely NAILED IT with my Dutch ancestry, identifying a small Province in the Netherlands, Friesland, only about 20 miles by 20 miles.

How is that even possible???

I can’t wait to show you!

Are you ready to take a tour? I suggest reading through this article once first, then utilizing these handy step-by-step instructions after you get the lay of the land.

If you need to quickly upload a DNA kit to MyHeritage from another vendor, you can do that now, too, while you’re reading and digesting this article. File transfer Instructions here.

How Did They Do It?

The MyHeritage ethnicity estimates are built on the MyHeritage Founder Populations project, which you can read about here.

MyHeritage has the benefit of having more than 92 million members. Of course, not everyone has tested their DNA although I certainly wish they would!

For ethnicity estimates, MyHeritage focused on about 5000 people who have DNA tested and whose ancestors are from specific regions of the world. From those groups, they derived 42 founder populations from which they distilled their ethnicities.

Since then, they have continued to target-test specific populations, such as the Yemenites and people from Greece, among others.

For the record, the ethnicity estimates themselves have not changed today, although they received a facelift, but the new Genetic Groups enhance ethnicity regions substantially.

This is my original ethnicity – the new one is more robust and includes diaspora regions in the US.

Light gray regions are defined regions, but where I have no reported ethnicity.

Ethnicity tells you where your base population DNA is found in the highest frequency.

Genetic Groups Are Different Than Ethnicity

Genetic Groups tell you about how you relate to the people in certain regions, as determined by a combination of DNA PLUS common genealogy that together form Genetic Groups.

99% of people who have DNA tested do have at least one Genetic Group. I have 10.

Genetic Groups were created in two steps:

  • MyHeritage ran a massive supercluster of sorts of all of their customers who have taken or transferred DNA tests to create genetic clusters. As you might imagine, all those tests created thousands of clusters.
  • Then, MyHeritage used artificial intelligence to search for location commonalities of the direct ancestors in the trees of people in each genetic cluster.

If you are a MyHeritage member, then you’re part of this research!

If you have DNA tested, but not uploaded or created a tree, please do so. Trees help you and others too.

More than 2100 Genetic Groups

One of the reasons Genetic Groups took so long in development is because MyHeritage discovered thousands upon thousands of discrete and overlapping clusters. They whittled that list down to just over 2100 Genetic Groups, both large and small, evaluating the trees of the people in the cluster. If a substantial number showed a direct ancestor with that specific region, then the Genetic Group was “valid” and could be included in the final product.

Every Genetic Group has its own individual story, written after analyzing the group members, their distribution and their trees.

You’ll find your Genetic Groups underneath your Ethnicity Estimate tab.

Confidence Levels

All Genetic Groups are not created equal, nor are all Genetic Groups large. Confidence bands were assigned to help customers evaluate their Genetic Groups.

You can see that in my case, at the highest confidence level, which is the default, only 4 genetic groups are displayed, but I have a total of 10 genetic groups.

If I move the confidence bar to medium, then low, smaller groups, subgroups or groups with a lower confidence factor are displayed.

Clicking on the information “i” displays this information about confidence levels.

I’m excited to see two Dutch Genetic Groups.

I have several lines from the Netherlands – some from the 1600s into New Netherlands and some from the mid-1800s into Indiana.

Selecting Your Clusters

To find your Genetic Groups, click either on the Genetic Group from the list to the left, beneath your ethnicities, or click on the outlined region on the map.

Before going further, you’ll want to enable Family Tree Events to make the experience much more meaningful to your own genealogy.

Family Tree Events

Enabling family tree events drops pins on the map where a significant event occurred in your ancestors’ lives, based on your tree.

Checking the “events” box on the right side of your map drops pins on the map from your ancestors in your tree both on your ethnicity-only map, and on the Genetic Groups map, separately.

I checked the box, and now you can see my family events overlayed over the ethnicity circles.

Here, the same pins, but with both ethnicity and Genetic Groups included.

It’s a good idea to do this periodically and take a look. I discovered an issue – but the issue is mine, not theirs.

If you see something that looks odd, click on the pin. I knew immediately what had happened when I saw the ancestors involved.

These are my Acadian ancestors. Apparently, (my bad,) I had used the term broadly – Acadia – as a location.

While Acadia is a historical location, geo-coding today recognized the current location of Acadia Valley in Saskatchewan, Canada.

I need to clean this up and at least reflect Nova Scotia.

Ok, now I’m ready to drill down in a Genetic Group.

Select A Genetic Group

Keep in mind that Friesland is only about 20 by 20 miles, so a relatively small spot on the globe. Truthfully, I was skeptical that any genetic genealogy company could be this specific – accurately. There’s absolutely no question in my mind that there’s no way to be this specific using ethnicity alone.

I want to view the Genetic Group from the Friesland region of the Netherlands, so I clicked on that group name.

This group is low confidence for some reason, but that doesn’t mean it’s not relevant for me. Let’s take a look. (Remember to click to enlarge images.)

The heat map shows me where people from Friesland have immigrated.

The group information tells me the number of kits used to form the group – 2349, and the DNA kits linked to family trees – 1267. Based on the MyHeritage criteria, I know that many of these do in fact have a family connection to Friesland.

The default timeline displayed is 1900-1950. Each group includes different time periods, and information for each time period on the slider bar to the left.

I want to view the map from 1850-1900 when my Ferverda family immigrated to Indiana.

I didn’t realize that people from Friesland immigrated so widely.

My family event pins don’t mean that all of these people are associated with the Netherlands – they just provide clues to me about what might be a correlation between Friesland immigration and where my ancestors lived.

Genetic Group Information

Within each group, you can take a look at the:

  • Top places for each time period
  • Common surnames
  • Common given names
  • Common ethnicities
  • Related groups

Let’s take a look at the Friesland information.

Indeed, I do have ancestors from both Leeuwarden and Sneek, about 15 miles apart, plus other places in Friesland.

And yes, I have two of those surnames too.

I think I have all of these given names, but then again, they are quite common, and I have all 3 of those ethnicities.

Scandinavian has always baffled me, but this may actually help solve the riddle of why I continue to have Scandinavian ethnicity results. The Dutch people from this region tend to group with Scandinavians, which does make at least some sense given the location of my ancestors in the maritime Province of Friesland.

A picture is worth a thousand words. Several of my families are from the barrier islands off the coast too, which would be perfect stopovers for sailors and ships from throughout the region.

There’s more than one way to view your results.

Viewing in “All Available Regions”

If you scroll all the way to the bottom of your ethnicity results, below your last Genetic Group, you’ll see “Show all available regions.”

Click on this arrow to display differently, with the Genetic Groups clustered by ethnicity. If you’re wondering how to display your family tree events on your ethnicity-only map, you’ll find that functionality here, again, at the far right of your screen.

You can see my Genetic Groups clustered beneath their corresponding ethnicity.

This allows you to view which Genetic Groups have common ethnicities.

In other words, I can click on Scandinavian ethnicity and see which Genetic Groups fall into that category.

Remember, the first step of forming a Genetic Group is a genetic cluster, followed by confirming family trees. This provides us with the information that many of the people from Friesland have a significant amount of DNA that clusters with Scandinavian.

How does this stack up against my actual genealogy?

Looking at my genealogy, 14% of my ancestry comes from the Netherlands. Of course, we know that our ancestor’s DNA is not passed to us in 50% divisions every generation (except we do inherit 50% of each parents’ autosomal DNA from chromosomes 1-22.) However, I would expect more than 3.5% of my total DNA to be from these ancestors. This could be because the people in Friesland are themselves a mixture of Scandinavian and other regional ethnicities, such as North and West European which might translate to a more specific Genetic Group.

It’s worth a look to see what other groups might be found in this region, even if I’m not identified as a member. (Yes, I know I do have a second Dutch Genetic Group – I’m showing this as a research example.) Worst case, you’ve learned something about how ethnicities and Genetic Groups interact, even if they aren’t yours.

Exploring Genetic Groups Within Ethnicity Regions

By mousing over each Genetic Group, you can see the outline of the genetic group overlayed onto the map, along with the ethnicity.

You can see that the “Germany (Lower Saxony), Sweden, Denmark and Netherlands” Genetic Group overlaps with both the Scandinavian ethnicity blue region, and where my ancestors are found in the Netherlands. I think I’d like to explore that a little more.

Select the genetic group of your choice by clicking on the group name.

Let’s check on those ancestors who immigrated from Friesland to Indiana in the 1860s.

The first thing you’ll see is information about the group itself. Remember, this is not a group assigned to me by MyHeritage, but additional spelunking I’m doing on my own.

257 DNA kits were used to form this group, and of those, 103 have trees linked to this Genetic Group’s region, meaning “Germany (Lower Saxony), Sweden, Denmark and Netherlands.”

For each location, you will see a dropdown box of time periods. In this case, we’re looking at 1900-1950, but there are other time ranges available.

Timelines and Additional Information

All Genetic Groups have a timeline. By dropping down and looking at the timeline, you can view the heat map migration patterns observed in the timeframe for the ancestors of people in that particular group.

While these places “fit,” they aren’t nearly as close as the Friesland Genetic Group. Anderson is the English version of one of my surnames from the 1600s into the New Netherlands.

I do have some of these surnames, but these have been Anglicized and mine aren’t.

Scrolling on down shows related Genetic Groups.

This group seems to be very closely affiliated genetically with Scandinavia.

Music and Description

While you’re visiting your ethnicity, be sure to take time to read the description about your ethnicity regions and listen to a music sample.

In my case, the Dutch are conveniently located adjacent Scandinavia, the North Sea and share borders with Germany, so it makes sense that I would have both Scandinavian, Germanic and Northwest Europe ethnic heritage.

Furthermore, these regions overlap. Of course, people have migrated and milled around Europe for millennia.

Matches and More

While you can’t match to other people by Genetic Group, at least not yet (hint, hint MyHeritage,) you can sort your matches by a combination of both the tester’s location and ethnicity, combined.

I have a total of 12,838 matches.

If I filter my results by my Scandinavian ethnicity, I have 5,138 matches.

However, if I add a location filter of the Netherlands, I now have a total of 210 matches which is a lot more manageable and relevant.

Remember that the location is the current location of the tester themselves, not the location of their ancestors in their tree. I would love to be able to filter by ancestral location too (another hint, MyHeritage😊.)

Comparing those 210 matches against my mother and known maternal line cousins tells me immediately if this match is valid, and on which side.

I can tell you without looking further that this is a Ferverda line match, and yes, from Bauke Hendrik Ferverda (Ferwerda) who immigrated with his second wife and children in the 1860s, settling in northern Indiana. His first wife, my ancestor, Geertje Harmens de Jong had died in the Netherlands.

Of course, now I want to know how these matches match me and from which ancestor upsteam of Bauke and Geertje.

I do have one Theory of Family Relativity triangulated match with a 5th cousin and our common ancestors are indeed from Friesland.

I think I’ll run an AutoCluster now and see if known cousins and any of these matches are included in clusters which would provide additional hints for me to work with.

Genetic Groups and You

If you have not yet DNA tested at or transferred to MyHeritage, now’s the time.

You can order a kit, at this link, or better yet, if you have already tested elsewhere, you can upload your DNA file from that other vendor to MyHeritage right now, at this link.

The transfer is free, but you will need to pay the $29 unlock fee for the advanced tools. Transferring is cheaper than retesting, provides immediate gratification (hours as compared to weeks) and you can start right now.

If you need download instructions from other vendors, and upload instructions at MyHeritage, that’s right here.

Have fun and let me know what you find!

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Disclosure

I receive a small contribution when you click on some of the links to vendors in my articles. This does NOT increase the price you pay but helps me to keep the lights on and this informational blog free for everyone. Please click on the links in the articles or to the vendors below if you are purchasing products or DNA testing.

Thank you so much.

DNA Purchases and Free Transfers

Genealogy Products and Services

Genealogy Research

Books

  • com – lots of wonderful genealogy research books

Bryan Sykes Finally Meets Eve’s 7 Daughters

Professor Bryan Sykes who studied Otzi the Iceman in 1994 and would go on to author the first genetics book written for public consumption, The Seven Daughters of Eve, passed away on December 10 at age 73. You can read his obituary here.

In 1994, Dr. Bryan Sykes worked on the frozen mummy in the Otztal Alps on the Austrian/Swiss border who would become affectionately known as Otzi.

Sykes initially identified Otzi’s mitochondrial DNA as a member of base haplogroup K. Sykes then identified a living Irish lady with the same sequence. Now we know that while base haplogroup K isn’t terribly common, it’s also not rare and millions of people share haplogroup K, upstream of Otzi.

At that time, however, Sykes suggested Otzi might have been a wayward Irishman. Science has advanced substantially since then and we’ve learned an incredible amount.

Eventually, scientists would determine that Otzi was actually haplogroup K1o, where the “o” stands for Otzi, whose line appears to now be extinct. You can read more, here.

Sykes’ first book, The Seven Daughters of Eve, published in 2001 was followed by other books, none of which garnered the mass appeal of The Seven Daughters book which captured our imaginations. Sykes described 7 European haplogroups and wrote a fictional storyline about how each one exited Africa, what they experienced, and how they migrated to Europe.

This was ground-breaking work at the time.

Ironically, Sykes never named or described haplogroup L or subclades, the true mother lineages in Africa, nor haplogroups M or N, daughters of haplogroup L3 from which all other non-L haplogroups spring.

He initially described and named:

  • Ursula – haplogroup U
  • Xenia – haplogroup X
  • Helena – haplogroup H
  • Velda – haplogroup V
  • Tara – haplogroup T
  • Katrine – haplogroup K
  • Jasmine – haplogroup J

We were captivated by not only their stories, but the fact that they had names and our ancestors seemed to come alive. At that point in time, Sykes believed that these 7 haplogroups were the foundation from which all other haplogroups sprang.

click to enlarge

Phylotree Build 17 published in 2016 shows just how far science has progressed since that time. The Million Mito Project is working to update the tree today.

Although eventually, many of Bryan’s early theories were disproven, his work provided a foundation on which future discoveries were built and the field evolved. All scientists, especially early innovators have to be willing to be “wrong” and have their work improved upon. It’s part of the deal and doesn’t take away from Bryan’s legacy of innovation and inspiration.

My Introduction to Consumer Genetics

I studied genetics in college as part of a science curriculum, but never really connected the dots to either genealogy or ever thought of testing myself for fun. Consumer genetics had not yet been born, and even medical genetics was in its infancy.

Eve’s 7 daughters hadn’t yet been defined or named, and genetics was disconnected from me or anyone I knew, except for peas, cats’ and dogs’ coat and eye color, and humans that had a mutation that caused a significant issue.

In 2001, I lay in bed one night reading the ads in the back of Science News, a weekly news magazine, when I saw the ad for Sykes book that promised to reveal the paths of Eve’s daughters out of Africa. I ordered the book right away and stayed up all night reading when it arrived. It was that good!

I was hooked.

The Seven Daughters of Eve

The Seven Daughters of Eve merged science, my family, and storytelling. All three of which were my loves and manifested themselves in genealogy. Not only was I hooked, but I desperately wanted to know to which clan I belonged. This was genealogy on steroids!

So, apparently, did a lot of other people, because that narrative was something every single person reading the book could relate to.

At the back of each of the Seven Daughters books, readers could tear out a page and send a check for roughly $800 US with the promise of receiving an envelope a few weeks later with a genetic map identifying your clan – meaning which of Eve’s daughters was your “mother.”

I ripped that page out of the back and wrote a check – only to have my husband inform me that he, too, wanted to know his clan. I couldn’t then, and still can’t believe I spent that much money on a “frivolous” DNA test. Little did I know that was just the beginning😊.

Just before the launch of his book, Sykes founded Oxford Ancestors, one of the first companies to test the mitochondrial, and some years later the Y DNA of consumers who could then see who they matched. Oxford Ancestors still exists but has struggled over the years. (I do not recommend them today.)

About 3 months later, I received a single sheet of paper in an envelope, signed by Dr. Sykes at the University of Oxford, and I was THRILLED to learn that I was in Jasmine’s clan. I opened the book and read that section again – because now that was MY story. Of course, today I know it wasn’t exactly accurate but no one knew that then.

I called my Mom. It was her story too. She called my brother. It’s his story too. I told both of my children, who didn’t care one iota – but it’s their story too and hope springs eternal.

Today, I can purchase about 6 full-sequence mitochondrial DNA tests that test 16,569 locations for the cost of a test that at that time only revealed my base haplogroup, “J,” by testing 400 locations.

Still, I was overjoyed and connected to the past across the bridge of time in a place and time that genealogy could never reach. Or so I thought. Clearly, genetic testing has improved immensely and genetics doesn’t just reach across that bridge today, genetics and genealogy are completely intertwined.

Bryan’s book was my initial inspiration – he lured many of the early genealogists and science buffs into the genetics spiderweb where we have gratefully been living ever since. Genetics has done more to unveil my ancestors and their past than any other tool. Bryan turned that tap on with a tiny drip-drip, which, by comparison, today is a tsunami of millions of testers across several major testing companies taking autosomal tests in addition to mitochondrial and Y DNA.

While paper-trail evidence reaches back a few hundred years, assuming the records still exist, DNA in its various forms reaches back hundreds, then thousands, then tens of thousands of years – connecting us to the rest of humanity by following a breadcrumb trail of mutations back in time.

Sykes’ Later Years

In 2013 and 2014, Sykes analyzed residue from creatures purported to be the Yeti and Bigfoot in his Oxford lab. He attributed the samples to bears and other primates on BBC News. Other researchers disagreed with his analysis, and with each other, and the topic became controversial.

Bryan relished publicity and was never afraid of leading and sometimes bleeding-edge research. In order to succeed, one must be willing to take risks, and Dr. Sykes clearly did. It was his vivre la vie and contagious excitement that inspired others to begin their own journeys of discovery.

While many people don’t know of or about Bryan Sykes today, in the early days, few people didn’t feel strongly about Bryan’s work, one way or the other. Bryan was simply glad that people were talking about genetics. Lots of consumers became enamored and curious and the earliest seeds of the direct-to-consumer genetics industry were planted.

Now that Bryan has progressed to the other side, I’m sure that he is quizzing all of the daughters of Eve about how they are related to each other, where they lived, when they moved, to where, who they married, and is asking everyone to DNA test. Bryan, I have a few requests if you meet up with my ancestors…

Go with the flow Bryan, and thank you.

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Disclosure

I receive a small contribution when you click on some of the links to vendors in my articles. This does NOT increase the price you pay but helps me to keep the lights on and this informational blog free for everyone. Please click on the links in the articles or to the vendors below if you are purchasing products or DNA testing.

Thank you so much.

DNA Purchases and Free Transfers

Genealogy Products and Services

Genealogy Research

Books

Phebe Crumley’s Mother Really IS Lydia Brown (c1781-c1830) – 52 Ancestors #318

This day took its sweet time arriving!

And yes, I’ve used DNA evidence along with every other shred of traditional evidence that I could dig up about either Lydia Brown or her husband, William Crumley. I’ve been trying to prove that the William Crumley who was the father of Phebe (Phoebe) Crumley either WAS or WAS NOT the William Crumley that married Elizabeth “Betsy” Johnson in October of 1817, just months before Phebe’s birth on March 24, 1818, as recorded on her gravestone.

Of course, we all know that gravestones can be wrong.

Mitochondrial DNA testing told me that the mitochondrial DNA of the daughter, Clarissa, born on October 10th, 1817 to William Crumley and his wife, just a few months before some William Crumley married Betsy Johnson, matched the mitochondrial DNA of Phebe.

For good measure, the mitochondrial DNA of the daughter, Belinda “Melinda” Crumley born on April 1, 1820, also matches both Clarissa and Phebe. But again, we know that birth dates have been known to be wrong by several years – not to mention that there’s a possibility that the two women, Lydia Brown and Elizabeth “Betsy” Johnson, could have been related. Nothing is ever simple, it seems.

A group of families including Crumley, Johnson, Cooper and Brown had traveled together for at least a couple of generations and we are unable to document these lines very well.

I even analyzed the handwriting of the various William Crumleys, and of course, there were several.

If you’d like to read the articles about this extremely difficult family to unravel, here’s a list along with a cheat sheet of who was whom. Yes, you need a dance card to keep track of this family.

Phebe’s father was William Crumley (the third) and either Lydia Brown or Elizabeth “Betsy” Johnson was her mother.

This William is the grandfather to Phebe and appears to be who married Elizabeth “Betsy” Johnson. He was the father of William Crumley (the third.)

William Crumley the third married Lydia Brown. The question has always been whether Lydia Brown died in 1817 after the birth of Clarissa, followed by William marrying Elizabeth “Betsy” Johnson who gave birth to Phebe a few months later.

So, was Lydia dead, or wasn’t she?

Mitochondrial DNA results of the three daughters of William Crumley all match each other. I wish those early records hadn’t been so sparse. Unfortunately, the Hancock County, TN records have twice burned.

I think I’ve solved it – finally – based on the signatures of William Crumley.

Jotham Brown is the father of Lydia Brown.

Of course, if Phebe’s mother was NOT Lydia Brown, then Lydia’s parents don’t matter in my tree.

Angst

I’ve spent years going through twister-like perturbations trying to identify which William Crumley married Betsy Johnson. Whichever woman gave birth to Phebe in 1818 was my ancestor. Obviously, which William Crumley married Betsey Johnson makes a huge difference in my tree. I mean, I think I have it nailed down, but with this family, I’m never sure. Given all that, I’m sure you’ll understand my angst when an e-mail arrived this week.

When I saw the topic was this family again, I didn’t know whether to be hopeful or cringe.

Marlene, an unpaid volunteer was attempting to help a lady prove that Jotham Brown, Lydia Brown’s father, was a patriot through the Frederick County, VA tax lists.

Marlene, who is very nice, explained:

This is relevant because the revenue from 1782 and 1783 taxes were partly used to fund supplies to support the Revolution, so [Jotham Brown] appearing on the tax list may be considered patriotic service.

Do you have a copy of or a link to this 1782 tax list, in which Jotham Brown appears?

Any assistance you are able and willing to provide is VERY much appreciated!

When I wrote Jotham Brown’s story, I was only looking to place him in Frederick County. It never occurred to me that Jotham might be determined to be a Patriot in the DAR sense because he was on a tax list.

I didn’t need the original tax list, so I utilized a transcribed version of the 1782 Virginia census, provided by another researcher. Marlene reports that Binns Genealogy doesn’t show him on their lists.

A cousin found the Frederick County personal property tax lists for 1782, here, and there is no Jotham Brown in either 1782 or 1783 on the actual tax list. I read page by page.

A couple of days later, I heard from Marlene again about Phebe’s brother, Aaron Crumley.

Aaron

I just read your 29 Jun 2019 blog about County Formation Petitions and found it very interesting. Your conclusions about which William Crumley married who and when made me wonder if you have looked at the marriage records of Aaron F. Crumley. Since the lady I’m trying to help descends from Aaron F. Crumley [and his 2nd wife] I’ve spent some time on this and note that when Aaron married for the 4th time, at age 63 [2 May 1886], the record in Miami County, Kansas indicated that his parents were William Crumley and [no first name listed] Brown. This leads me to the conclusion that Lydia Brown lived until at least 1823 when Aaron F. Crumley was born, so it must have been a different William Crumley who married Betsy Johnson.

Glory be. Marlene had just found what neither I, nor any of the other Crumley researchers had been able to find for decades. And, she very kindly shared. Thank you Marlene!

Truthfully, I didn’t know that Aaron had married a fourth time.

I showed Aaron’s birth occurring about 1821. The 1850 census Hancock County, TN shows him as age 29, so born in 1821. Other census records show him born in 1822, 1823, or 1824. Regardless of whether Aaron was born in 1821 or as late as 1824, all those years are after the births of all three daughters whose mitochondrial DNA matches each other, including Phebe who was born in 1818.

Aaron’s marriage record shows exactly what Marlene said.

Aaron’s age on May 2, 1886, was given, by him, as age 63, meaning he was born in 1823 or perhaps 1822 if he had not yet had his birthday for 1886. His Civil War draft registration from 1863 shows the same information.

Aaron married Mary Murry, age 32, which makes me wonder if he has previously unknown children from this fourth marriage. Mary’s FindAGrave entry, plus additional information indicates that yes, they did have children.

In 1913, Mary Crumley, widow of Aaron F, is living in Portland Oregon with Fred, Frank, and J. Harvey Crumley.

In 1909, in Spokane, we find Frank, Fred, and James K, a blacksmith all living at 2024 Augusta Avenue.

I do think Mary did have children, because the 1910 census shows Mary Crumley living in Spokane, Washington, age 54, widowed, married for 6 years, had 4 children, 2 living. She is living with sons Frank Crumley and Fred Crumley, ages 24 and 21, both born in Kansas.

Mary’s 1910 census entry, of course, tells us that Aaron Crumley died in 1892 at age 69.

While Aaron’s information is interesting, the real gold nugget here, for me, is that marriage entry for Aaron F. Crumley where he gives his mother’s maiden name as Brown.

Not Johnson.

Of course, this makes me wonder why her first name wasn’t recorded as Lydia. Other mothers in these records had first names. But then again, some mothers had no name.

Clearly, Aaron provided this information himself, because no one else would have been applying for his marriage license. He knew who his mother was – this is first-hand information. Thank goodness the clerk wrote SOMETHING down.

It’s a Wrap

We now have genetic evidence with three mitochondrial DNA tests, evidence based on the various William Crumleys’ locations and signatures, and finally, first-person evidence with Aaron providing the maiden name of his mother.

We now know that Lydia Brown lived at least past Aaron’s birth. Aaron appears to be the last child born, or at least the last one we know about.

From this information, we can estimate Lydia’s birth year.

If Aaron was born in 1822 and Lydia was age 41, that would put her birth about 1781.

We know Lydia married in 1806, so she would have been perhaps 21 at the time, putting her birth at about 1785.

I would say it’s safe to bracket her birth between 1781 and 1785, give or take another year or so in either direction.

We know for a fact, based on the 1850 census that says William had been married within the year, that William did marry in 1849 or 1850 before the census to a woman named Pya or Pequa.

The 1830 and 1840 census are inconclusive, although William is shown with a female the right age to be Lydia in 1830. In 1840, William, age 50-60 has no female his own age in the household, but is living with a female aged 60-70 which could be his step-mother, Betsy Johnson, after his father’s death.

The best evidence we have is that Lydia Brown lived beyond Aaron’s birth and probably beyond 1830, passing away sometime between 1830 and 1840 in Claiborne County, TN, likely living near what is now Turner Hollow Road, near Littleton Brooks and Eli Davis. We know from previous research that was where William lived.

One of William’s daughters married a Davis, one married a Walker from down Mulberry Gap Road, and Phebe married a Vannoy who lived nearby. Clarissa and William both went back to Greene County, TN, and married. The children seem to have scattered a bit, possibly after their mother’s death – so maybe Lydia’s death was closer to 1830 than 1840.

Crumley Cemetery

Today, there’s a Crumley cemetery on Burchett Hollow Road in Hancock County, the portion that was previously Claiborne, although Findagrave doesn’t show a mapped location.

Several years ago, my cousin provided a map of the Josiah Ramsey land division. Eli Davis lived near what today seems to be the Burchett Hollow land.

Overlaying that map with this map, today, and following Burchett Hollow to the end, I can see something that very much looks like a fenced cemetery with a few headstones.

The children of Aaron’s brother, John, and their descendants are buried in the Crumley Cemetery.

In the 1840 census, William and his son, John Crumley, are living side by side, between Eli Davis and Littleton Brooks.

I would wager that this land was indeed where the Crumley family lived – and where Lydia died when she was about 50 years old, then buried in a long-lost grave, probably marked with a fieldstone.

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Disclosure

I receive a small contribution when you click on some of the links to vendors in my articles. This does NOT increase the price you pay but helps me to keep the lights on and this informational blog free for everyone. Please click on the links in the articles or to the vendors below if you are purchasing products or DNA testing.

Thank you so much.

DNA Purchases and Free Transfers

Genealogy Products and Services

Genealogy Research

Books

Triangulation Resources In One Place

I’ve written a number of articles about autosomal DNA triangulation.

I’ve created this repository to provide gather various resources all in one place to make it easier for you to find what you need.

Triangulation Concepts and Tools

What is triangulation, why it is important for genealogy, and how does one go about triangulating? More importantly, why do genealogists care?

In a nutshell, triangulation allows you to discover or confirm your ancestors or ancestral lines when:

  • You match at least two other people (who are not close relatives) on the same reasonably sized segment of DNA.
  • Those matches also match each other on a reasonably sized portion of the same DNA segment where you match both of them.
  • You identify a common ancestor or ancestral couple who passed that segment to all of the people who match on that segment of DNA.
Recently, one of my readers asked why we can’t or shouldn’t use close relatives for triangulation. Another explained that she was just sure she had proof that DNA skipped generations and was appalled that I said it doesn’t. (It doesn’t.) 
Using lots of graphics, I’ve explained why you really can’t use close relatives for reliable triangulation, how you can use their results successfully, and why that reader might have thought DNA skipped a generation. Yes, there is a potential reason why she might think that – and you might find yourself in that same situation too.
 
I compiled everything at the end into a Triangulation Checklist that you can use to make sure you’ve thought of everything, that people are matching in reasonable ways, and to at least consider reasons for anomalies that might drag you down that rabbit hole.
I’ve written two articles that explain chromosome matching, triangulation, and how to use a chromosome browser.

This article explains chromosome matching and triangulation step-by-step to help you sort through your matches.

A chromosome browser is essential to genetic genealogy and specifically, to triangulation, allowing you to visualize your DNA matches on your chromosomes. This article starts at the beginning with what a chromosome browser looks like and explains each step along the way.

It’s important to understand that some people will match you, but won’t match either of your parents, or wouldn’t if your parents were both available to test. The technique of triangulation removes the issue of “false matches” which aren’t identical by descent, because you inherited that DNA segment from an ancestor through one of your parents, but are instead “identical by chance.”

If you’d like to utilize X matching, you’ll want to read this article. The X chromosome has a unique inheritance path, is treated differently by various vendors and you’ll need to evaluate X matches differently.

Genetic Affairs has numerous tools that facilitate and assist with different aspects of triangulation including their AutoClusters, AutoTree, AutoPedigree, AutoSegment and AutoKinship features in addition to their AutoSegment Cluster Tool at GEDmatch.

How to Triangulate?

Each of the major vendors, except Ancestry, provides a chromosome browser along with some type of triangulation tool. Additionally, third parties who do not perform DNA testing offer great supplemental tools. GEDmatch and DNAPainter both provide triangulation tools, allowing you to take advantage of matches from multiple vendors.

I’ve written step-by-step articles detailing how to utilize triangulation at each vendor:

FamilyTreeDNA is the only vendor that provides built-in parental phasing, even if your own parents haven’t tested. You’ll want to either test at or transfer your DNA file (free) to Family Tree DNA, then pay the $19 unlock for advanced tools. As an added benefit, you can also test and obtain matches to your Y DNA (paternal or surname line) if you’re a male and mitochondrial DNA (mother’s matrilineal line) for either sex in order to further your genealogical research.

MyHeritage is the only vendor to incorporate a triangulation tool with shared matches and AutoClusters into their solution. Of course, MyHeritage also provides traditional genealogical research records that they combine with DNA matches and trees in their Theories of Family Relativity feature, showing potential tree connections between you and your matches to common ancestors. You’ll want to either test at or transfer your DNA file to MyHeritage (free), then pay the $29 unlock for advanced tools.

23andMe doesn’t call triangulation by that name, but they provide the functionality, nonetheless. While 23andMe doesn’t support trees in the normal genealogical manner, they are the only vendor who has created a sort of genetic tree, giving you an idea of how your closest matches may fit into a family tree positionally. You can’t transfer files to 23andMe, so if you want to be in their database, you’ll need to test there.

In the late fall or winter of 2020/2021, 23andMe made changes that broke triangulation the way it previously worked.

This article details the problem and provides step-by-step instructions for the workaround

GEDmatch does not provide DNA testing, but they do provide additional tools. You will find a number of people who have tested at Ancestry and other vendors, then transferred to GEDmatch to use their chromosome browser and other tools to obtain additional matches. GEDmatch is the only vendor who triangulates all of your matches at one time – providing a comprehensive report. You’ll want to transfer your DNA kit to GEDmatch (free) and subscribe to their Tier1 Level to utilize their advanced tools.

DNAPainter doesn’t provide DNA testing but does provide a critical service by facilitating the painting of your DNA matches on your chromosomes, identified by ancestor. This allows you to “walk the segment back in time,” meaning to identify the oldest ancestor to whom you can identify a specific segment. I utilize DNAPainter as a central location to house all of my identified segments from all vendors. You can get started by checking out the DNAPainter Instructions and Resources, here.

Testing and Transferring

It’s important to identify as many triangulated segments as possible, which means it‘s crucial to be in all the databases that support triangulation and provide tools.

All major vendors allow you to download your DNA raw data file once you’ve tested, but not all vendors support uploading other vendors’ files instead of purchasing their test.

You can upload (at least) recent versions of other vendors DNA data files to:

The following vendors do NOT support uploads, but you can download your DNA file from these vendors and upload to the vendors above:

I wrote step-by-step instructions about how to download your files from each vendor and uploading them to vendors who accept uploads in the article, DNA File Upload-Download and Transfer Instructions to and from DNA Testing Companies.

Up your genealogy game by transferring and triangulating.

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Disclosure

I receive a small contribution when you click on some of the links to vendors in my articles. This does NOT increase the price you pay but helps me to keep the lights on and this informational blog free for everyone. Please click on the links in the articles or to the vendors below if you are purchasing products or DNA testing.

Thank you so much.

DNA Purchases and Free Transfers

Genealogy Products and Services

Genealogy Research

Books

Pandemic Journal: Vaccine Day!!! – The Beginning of the End

WooooHoooooo!!!!!

A vaccine! The beginning of the end of Covid. Thank God. But it’s only the very beginning and we have a long, treacherous road to the end. Thankfully, there’s a map.

This is really all I want – ever. I’ll trade all current and future Christmas and birthday gifts for this one thing.

That long-awaited (has this only been 9 months?) life-saving vaccine is on the way.

V Day – A Vaccine Arrives!

On December 5th, the first Covid19 vaccine was administered to a 90 year old grandma in the UK. On Friday, the FDA approved emergency use in the US, and today (December 13th) the first trucks departed the Pfizer plant in Portage, Michigan, under guard, carrying that life-saving elixir.

I surely hope this vaccine works as anticipated, and:

  • We can produce enough vaccines AND get them into people, not just here in the US but worldwide.
  • We can get enough vaccines into enough arms to stop the burn of Covid through the population.
  • The immunity lasts long enough for everyone to get the first doses before it begins to wear off the earliest people to get the vaccine. Otherwise, the infections won’t stop. (Yes, you can get Covid twice.)

And the most important one:

  • PEOPLE STILL NEED TO TAKE PRECAUTIONS TO PREVENT COVID. Just because the vaccine is now approved for emergency use does NOT mean that we can lessen our guard. Full stop.

If you’d like to read a great article about how the Covid vaccines were developed, including about mRNA, messenger mRNA, click here.

One hospital has produced a great FAQ about Covid vaccines, who will receive them in what priority order, and their development, here.

Dr. Fauci’s Message About Immunity

Dr Fauci says that herd immunity is possible by fall, and “normality” by the end of 2121, here.

Yes, that’s longer than I had hoped, BUT, this IS hope and we can survive this. It’s not forever and we are not condemned to Covid.

While I’m thrilled about the speed with which the vaccine was developed and is beginning to ship – I’m also very concerned that some people will let their guard down – on top of the people who are already not taking precautions to protect themselves and others.

As Dr. Fauci says, vaccines are NOT a substitution for public health measures – they are a compliment to those measures until we reach herd immunity – hopefully with a minimum of new infections and deaths.

Please Don’t Let Your Guard Down

In the US, by the time this article is published, we’ll have hit 300,000 deaths and will be well over 3,000 new deaths per day.

The daily new confirmed infections are going straight up, vertically, in the US, which means the deaths will follow. New milestones are being toppled daily.

I’m sure you haven’t missed the news that the US is continuing to set infection milestones, hospitalization milestones, and death milestones.

Every.

Single.

Day.

With the toll of Thanksgiving travel not yet behind us and the specter of holiday gatherings in front of us, December, January, and probably into February promise to be the darkest, most deadly days we have ever had to deal with in our lifetimes. I can’t help but think of my ancestors who lived during the plague, the Black Death that wiped out between one-third and half of the European population.

The CDC, here, predicts that the US will report between 332K and 362K deaths by January 1st, but truthfully, I fear that might be low, in part because this prediction data is from December 9th and we’re already at 300,000 just a few days later.

The good news is that we, personally, do not have to become victims. Unlike victims of the Black Death, today, we do understand how to protect ourselves even though we may have pandemic-fatigue. Fatigue is far better than death.

The great news is that because of the vaccine, sheltering safely in place is NOT endless now, nor is catching Covid just a matter of time, nor is it inevitable as long as we take proper precautions.

Safety and outsmarting this virus means protecting ourselves (and others) until we can get vaccinated, then waiting for the vaccine to become effective. The CDC offers holiday guidelines here.

If someone in your home contracts Covid, here’s a checklist and how to minimize the risk of caregivers and other family members becoming ill too.

We Must Protect Ourselves

We MUST protect ourselves by staying away from other people outside our home and masking when we can’t in order to emerge on the other side of this ordeal, whole, alive, and not being one of the 10% or so of people infected with Covid who become long-haulers, unable to recover.

Long-haulers aren’t “just tired” – many have significant lung damage and some have irreversible heart damage that is probably life-long. Not just “old people” either – many are younger and were otherwise previously perfectly healthy. And yes, I know some personally. You probably do too, and almost everyone knows someone or has a family member who has died of Covid now.

However, we CAN stop Covid in its tracks!

Yes – I know the holidays are going to be disappointing without family gatherings – but think of it this way…isolating now means no one will die because of a well-intentioned but ill-advised gathering, allowing us to celebrate in 2021 – with everyone present.

Physical distance does not equal to “apart” or disconnected. Here’s a heart-warming article about how Philippino families, scattered across the globe, address the challenge of gathering remotely.

If you’re wondering how perfectly intelligent people can take themselves down the path of longing to see relatives, miscalculating the Covid risk followed by making risky and deadly decisions, I found this article to be very enlightening. And yes, I see myself here with the temptation and you’ll probably be able to relate, too. I want desperately to see my kids and grandkids, but I know better. Logic and emotion are having the battle-of-the-ages in my head. It’s actually a relief to understand that other people are dealing with exactly the same emotions.

However, I have a terrible example to learn from.

My extended family is now dealing with the results of this very situation following an “immediate-family-only gathering.” One not-old, previously-healthy person is dead, the family is devastated, and ripped in half. The solitary person who refused to wear a mask and infected everyone else is unapologetic. Part of the rest of the family is supporting them but many are blaming them for the death of the family member – and a couple of people (but not the bare-faced person who had Covid and didn’t know it yet) are blaming themselves and suffering excruciating, debilitating guilt. Plus, the person who died did so in agony. While their agony is over, it has only begun for those left behind.

Let’s face it, had the gathering not occurred at all, none of this would be happening – and for the record – you can’t eat/drink with masks on no matter what. How many family gatherings have you been to where no one ate or drank anything? Yea, me neither. And now this family heads into the miserable holidays – probably the first of many. It’s doubtful that this family will ever gather again and they will certainly never be whole.

Please don’t let this be your story too.

I’m not seeing my family and friends now so that I can see them in the future.

1 in 20 People Has Tested Positive – Covid’s Everyplace Now

Covid is so prevalent now that it’s literally every place you’re going to go. One of every 20 people has tested positive in the US since the pandemic began, according to Johns Hopkins data – and it’s getting worse every day.

Not only that, but many people don’t get tested, so the percentage and numbers, both, are actually significantly higher. Think of it this way. If there are 100 people living on your street (4 to a house- 25 houses), chances are 5 of them have tested positive. Their families are exposed and many of them are going to test positive too – or be silent asymptomatic spreaders. They are going to the grocery store, holiday shopping, to restaurants, etc., before they realize they are positive. Assuming they ever know they are positive.

You’re going to those same places in your community – just to pick up a couple of things from the grocery store. How dangerous can that be? You’ve done it lots of times and been fine, right?

Covid is in the air you will be breathing and on the surfaces you’re touching. You’re playing Russian roulette with a virus and given enough opportunities, the virus will infect you and win.

The only escape now is to stay home until the vaccine has the opportunity to work, not just on you, but on the rest of our herd too.

The Vaccine is not the Door in the Escape Room – Yet

Let’s not allow our joyful relief at the vaccine which marks the beginning of the end cause us to let our collective guard down.

We are so close now. We just have to wait to get vaccinated and get through the next few months to come out the other side safely. Those months will be painful, inside that dark and dangerous tunnel, but now we know there’s a path to emerge and there’s a map to get there.

Train, Tunnel, Fall, Jersey, Transportation, Railway

Let’s protect ourselves and each other so that EVERYONE emerges, safe and sound.

We aren’t out of the woods quite yet – but there IS a path, it’s illuminated and that light is not a train! It’s an exit.

Let’s all cooperate so that at the end of this pandemic, that day we can rip those pesky masks off our faces forever, we’re all here to cross the finish line together.

Celebrate (at home) today with wild abandon, but don’t abandon safety measures!

This vaccine is a great holiday gift from the scientists to all of humanity – a gift that will end this plague – and it comes pre-packaged with an early New Year’s Resolution to stay safe.

We can do this!

You’ve got this!

Johann Georg Lenz (1674-1758), Stones Fell on His Body and Back – 52 Ancestors #317

Johann Georg Lenz, known as Jerg, was born on February 21, 1674 in the beautiful wine-region village of Beutelsbach, Germany to Hans Lenz and Barbara Sing.

Martin Goll, the local historian has kindly documented the various families Beutelsbach, here.

Martin, through a German to English automatic translator, provides the following information about Johann Georg Lenz:

Can read and write. Has always stayed with his parents. Has had to be sent to the field 5 times, and has had to endure a few months each time. He was unlucky several times while breaking stones, when stones fell on his body and back.

Cause of death: Old age

Occupation: Vinedresser

Let’s look at what each one of those statements tells us about Johann Georg Lenz, known as Jerg in the village.

If he can read and write, that tells us that Jerg went to school which would likely have been associated with the local church.

“He has always stayed with his parents,” would suggest that he never married, but that isn’t the case. I do wonder if this means that Jerg always lived in his parents’ homeplace, both before and after their deaths. Or perhaps it means stayed in the local village.

Martin Goll located and documented the Hans Lenz home in Beutelsbach. Whether or not Jerg lived here as an adult, he assuredly was raised here.

Homes of the farmers and vinedressers were located in the village, and the men walked up to the vineyards on the hillsides every day.

These vineyards had been long established when Jerg worked those vines, beneath the ever-watchful sentry-like ruins of the castle, here. Today, those same vineyards line the hillsides surrounding Beutelsbach, creating artistic flowing designs.

I wonder about the commentary, “sent to the field 5 times.” Based on mandatory military service required for males, I would suspect that’s what this is referencing – not the literal fields where he went to work daily, probably from the time he was a small child, toddling along beside his father and the other village men as they manicured the vines.

1674, the year Jerg was born was after the Thirty Years’ War which had ended in 1648, although peace, such as it was, was short-lived in Germany.

Jerg’s younger brother served in the military at various times, including 1705, and it’s likely Jerg did as well.

Jerg’s occupation is given as that of a Weingärtner, the same as his father and generations of his descendants to follow.

A weingartner is a vine tender in the vineyards, literally a vine gardener or wine grower.

Given his occupation, passed down for generations, it’s unlikely that Jerg would be “breaking stones” in the vineyards, which had already been established for centuries by this time, so I suspect that his wounds from breaking stones would have occurred during his time “in the field” in military service, or perhaps elsewhere.

Photo courtesy of Sharon Hockensmith.

This ancient building in Beutelsbach assuredly stood when Jerg lived there and shows  squared stones used for the first story. Those would have had to be gathered or quarried, and cut and chiseled to shape.

I feel Jerg’s pain though. Having suffered a back injury in my 20s, I can vouch for the fact that while you may heal somewhat, your back is never the same again and you never recover completely. It reminds you exactly who is in charge every single day.

Chronic pain at some level was probably just a fact of Jerg’s life. At least the vineyards were beautiful and peaceful, even if you did have to climb up to them. Beutelsbach is in the valley along the river.

Photo courtesy of Sharon Hockensmith.

Blog reader, Sharon, attended college in Beutelsbach when Stanford rented part of an estate, now the Hotel Landgut Burg, high above Beutelsbach. She returned for a reunion, and was kind enough to share her photos with me and allow me to share them with you.

As steep as this hillside is, I hope Jerg tended the lower regions or rode in the cart or on the wagon.

You can see more photos of Beutelsbach, here.

Photo courtesy of Sharon Hockensmith.

This photo was taken by Sharon from the top of one of those hillside vineyard rows. I can’t help but wonder if any of those vines were tended by Jerg. Probably not, given that grapevines appear to live 100-120 years at the top end – but hey – maybe these vines are the descendants of those earlier vines just like I’m Jerg’s descendant.

You can see the incredibly beautiful vineyards above Beutelsbach, with wildflowers planted between the rows, here. They will take your breath away.

Warfare

Germany, located in a strategically important location with the Rhine River at its east border, and also bordering France, was anything but a peaceful location.

By Ssch – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=350991

Wurttemberg, located mostly east of the Rhine except where it bordered the Rhine on its south was positioned in the center of Europe which is on the way to and from almost everyplace. A crossroads that almost every army seemed to tromp through, if not attack. Some of the most chronic offenders were the French although they certainly didn’t have a monopoly on attacking the area that is today modern Germany.

In 1688, 1703 and 1707, the French entered the Duchy of Wurttemberg and inflicted brutalities and suffering upon the inhabitants.

Jerg was born in 1674, so in 1688, he would have only been 14 years old, not old enough to serve in a war.

However, in 1703, he would have been 29, and 33 in 1707, a prime age to defend Wurttemberg.

It’s likely then that he would have been called into the military “field” and was breaking boulders when injured.

I would think for a back injury to be significant enough to warrant a legacy, the injury would have had to be substantial.

Yet, he died of old age, at age 84. His back didn’t kill him, although it may have felt like it was trying.

Little Ice Age

All of Europe suffered during the 1690s from failed harvests due to a Little Ice Age in which growing seasons were significantly shortened. The result was smaller harvests, less food, and in some locations, starvation, and depopulation.

Massive eruptions of volcanoes in Iceland in 1693 followed by two different volcanoes in Indonesia in 1693 and 1695 likely caused or contributed to these crop failures which continued to some extent through 1699.

One of the worst famines in the seventeenth century occurred in this part of Europe due to the failed harvest of 1693. Millions of people in France, Germany, and surrounding countries were killed. The effect of the Little Ice Age on Swiss farms was severe. Due to the cooler climate, snow covered the ground deep into spring. A parasite, known as Fusarium nivale, which thrives under snow cover, devastated crops. Additionally, due to the increased number of days of snow cover, the stocks of hay for the animals ran out so livestock was fed on straw and pine branches. Many cows had to be slaughtered.

This time of famine also led to economic strife, which in turn led to aggressive behavior of countries towards each other in an attempt to obtain scarce commodities.

Johann George Lenz Marries

People will be people, no matter what. In the midst of the famine and food shortage, Johann Georg Lenz got married.

On January 9, 1698, in the Grossheppach church book, we discover the entry for the marriage of Sybilla Mullers and Hanss Jerg Lentz, short for Johann Georg Lenz/Lentz, of course.

My friend and cousin, Tom, translates:

1st Sunday after Epiphany in the local church was proclaimed, Hanss Jerg Lentz, legitimate son of Hanss Lentz, citizen in Beutelsbach and Sibylla, surviving, legitimate daughter of the late Hanss Rudolph Muller, citizen and smith here; were married in Beutelsbach on the 2nd of February (1698).

Wait?

What?

This entry says they were married the week before in a church in another village? It’s not like Beutelsbach was far away either – just a mile and a half and a thirty-minute walk. If someone was hoping to “live in sin” in one village claiming they had been married in the other – rest assured that everyone would have known in BOTH villages.

Typically, a marriage was only recorded in the church books where the marriage occurred, by that minister.

Interestingly, this marriage seems to have been recorded in both churches, the home church of both the bride and groom, a week apart, something I haven’t seen before. I can’t help but wonder why.

Beutelsbach record, below, also translated by Tom:

The Purification (of Mary) (February 2nd), (married):

Hanss Georg Lentrz, legitimate son of Hanss Lentz, ciitizen and vinedresser from here and Sibilla, legitimate, surviving daughter of the late Johann Rudolph Müller, former smith from Hoppach (Grossheppach).

Why was this marriage recorded in both churches? Maybe to give genealogists twice the opportunity to find it some 322 years later😊.

The timing of the marriage in terms of the “Little Ice Age” may explain, at least in part, why the newly-married couple might well simply have joined his parents in their home. Houses couldn’t just be built willy-nilly either, so the “best” solution for everyone was likely to combine households.

However, that might not have been the only reason.

Jerg’s Mother Dies

1686 was a terrible year. The preceding ones hadn’t been much better.

Jerg’s parents, Hans and Barbara were married in January 1669, and like normal, their first child followed a few months later, a month before their first Christmas as a married couple. What a joyous Christmas that must have been.

Their next two children were born in 1671 and 1672, and both died within two days of each other in July 1678, at 6 and 7 years of age. I can only imagine their parents’ heartbreak. Something was probably contagious in the village and there was likely much more death too. It may not be a coincidence that while the plague was smoldering throughout Europe during this time, 1679 would see a massive outbreak.

Of course, right now I can certainly identify with that.

Johann George, Jerg, was their first son, born in 1674, followed by Daniel in 1675.

Elisabetha was born in 1677, and nothing else is known so it’s presumed that she must have died.

Anna Maria was born in December of 1678, 5 months after her sisters died, followed by Johann Jacob in 1680 and Philipp in 1681.

Additionally, Martin born in 1683 died 17 days later.

In April 1684, Jerg’s maternal grandparents both died. That’s 6 deaths if you’re counting, in less than a decade.

Finally, there was Barbara Lenz who was born on July 2nd, 1686. This must have been a difficult delivery, because Barbara, the baby’s mother, died 8 days later, on July 10th. The baby, Barbara, died 17 days after her mother.

Barbara’s daughters who died in 1678 had died on July 11th and 13th. This entire family must have dreaded every July which was probably remembered as a month of death.

Jerg was 12 years old when his mother died. At that time, he had 4 younger siblings ranging in age from 11 years on down to 20 months.

What were they to do?

The Burial

You can see a drawing of the church in Beutelsbach in 1883 with the adjacent cemetery, here. The description reads, “View over the fortified cemetery to the church with its half-timbered house.”

Sharon’s photo shows that same area today – and it’s almost exactly the same except the stream is now a street. Jerg would have walked up those steps many, many times.

Jerg might have vague memories of burying his sisters two days apart in 1678, when he was 4 years old.

He might have remembered burying his sister, Elisabetha, depending on when she died.

Jerg would have remembered burying his younger brother, Martin when he was 9 years old in 1684.

Jerg would have remembered burying both of his maternal grandparents in this same cemetery,11 days apart, in April of 1684 when he was 10 years old. His mother must have been horribly distraught. I wonder if whatever took them is the same thing that took both daughters two days apart in 1678.

In July of 1686, with the birth of Barbara, Jerg’s mother must have suffered terribly. Who knows what went wrong, but something very clearly did. Barbara died 8 days after giving birth and followed her parents into the cemetery just 27 months later.

Then, 17 days later, yet another funeral for the baby named after her mother.

Whatever happened during that birth, it likely affected both mother and child. In a German village, had the child been alright, a wetnurse could certainly have been found.

In addition to Jerg having suffered an incredible amount of grief in his short 12 years, his father, Hans, would have been grief-stricken too.

Worse yet, how was Hans supposed to go and work in the fields without a wife to care for the household and children? He did have a daughter who was 17, but she couldn’t keep house and take care of all those children herself. She needed to attend school and prepare for her own married life.

Life After 1686

I’d wager that Hans and his children banded together as best they could, with the help of their relatives who, of course, were their neighbors in this village – at least for the next 13 months until Jerg’s father did what any sane German man did under those circumstances. He remarried to a widow.

Jerg gained a step-mother and perhaps step-siblings. His step-mother would go on to “mother” him for 17 years, 5 years longer than his biological mother had been able to do.

Marriage

When Jerg married Sybilla Muller in 1698, a few days before his 24th birthday, there would have still been three of his siblings living at home. His oldest sister had married 5 years earlier.

Daniel, at 22, would have been quite valuable as a hand in the vineyards where his “stupid eyes,” probably meaning crossed eyes or eyes that don’t look the same direction at the same time wouldn’t have prevented him from working with the vines. Daniel was unable to learn to read. Jerg’s father was in his mid-50s by then, and probably couldn’t work as hard as he used to. He was likely very grateful for both Jerg and Daniel.

Anna Maria who at age 20 was being courted by suitors, or at least one suitor, would marry later that year.

Johann Jakob at 18 and Philipp at 17 would have worked shoulder by shoulder with their father and their brothers, Jerg and Daniel, in the vineyards. All 4 boys spent their life as vinedressers and vintners. Neither of these younger brothers would marry until 1716 and 1717, although Daniel married in 1702.

Daniel, according to Martin Goll, spent most of his life with his parents too, except for a year that he spent working on field walls in Bittenfeld, 10 miles up the road.

It’s this note about Daniel that might, indeed, shed light upon why his brother, Jerg, was breaking stones, if not due to serving in the military. Field walls. While the fields today above Beutelsbach don’t appear to have walls, some fields did and do have walls. In some locations, hillsides had to be reinforced and on others, vines grew up walls.

We won’t ever know what Jerg was doing when he injured his back so severely, or why those stones fell on him, but we do know that he managed to work throughout his life in spite of his disability, dying on April 7, 1758 in Beutelsbach, beneath his much-loved vineyards, as an 84 year-old man.

He joined both his first and second wife, along with his parents and all but one of his siblings, Daniel, in the cemetery – although Daniel followed just 7 months later. Six of his own children awaited him there as well. Jerg only outlived two of his children and his third wife.

Life was harsh, hard and often devastating. Very hard. While our current pandemic is a once-in-a-hundred-years event – the plague festered, ebbed and emerged continuously in Europe. Losing children today to death is the exception rather than the rule, while for them, losing half their children to death before adulthood was “normal.” Death, warfare, and often hunger was their nearly constant companion.

Yet, somehow, Jerg mustered his strength and courage to survive all of those challenges.

It makes me feel good to know that my ancestor overcame a chronic back issue too, one severe enough to be recorded for posterity, becoming part of his legacy. Jerg gives me hope and inspiration to persevere. If Jerg can do this, before the days of physical therapy, hot baths, ice packs, and Tylenol while laboring long hours in the vineyard – so can I.

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Disclosure

I receive a small contribution when you click on some of the links to vendors in my articles. This does NOT increase the price you pay but helps me to keep the lights on and this informational blog free for everyone. Please click on the links in the articles or to the vendors below if you are purchasing products or DNA testing.

Thank you so much.

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New Discoveries Shed Light on Out of Africa Theory, and Beyond

For many years, the accepted out-of-Africa Y DNA tree branches and calibration, meaning when that exit occurred, have focused on the exit of a single African lineage, CT-M168 which then, after leaving Africa, was believed to have split into three distinct branches:

  • C-M130 – exclusively non-African
  • DE-M145
  • FT-M89 – exclusively non-African (became F-M89)

Not long after, DE split into:

  • D-M174 – exclusively non-African
  • E-M96 – largely African

Obviously, if CT-M168 exited Africa and then branched into the other branches after its exit, either some branches had to have migrated back to Africa, or, there was something we didn’t know.

Turns out, there were multiple “somethings” we didn’t know.

D Divides – Thanks to Men in Nigeria

In August 2019, the paper A Rare Deep-Rooting D0 African Y-Chromosomal Haplogroup and Its Implications for the Expansion of Modern Humans Out of Africa was authored by Haber et al.

I wrote about the haplogroup D split in the article Exciting New Y DNA Haplogroup D Discoveries. 

Haber et al Paper

Abstract from the Haber paper:

Present-day humans outside Africa descend mainly from a single expansion out ∼50,000-70,000 years ago, but many details of this expansion remain unclear, including the history of the male-specific Y chromosome at this time. Here, we reinvestigate a rare deep-rooting African Y-chromosomal lineage by sequencing the whole genomes of three Nigerian men described in 2003 as carrying haplogroup DE* Y chromosomes, and analyzing them in the context of a calibrated worldwide Y-chromosomal phylogeny. We confirm that these three chromosomes do represent a deep-rooting DE lineage, branching close to the DE bifurcation, but place them on the D branch as an outgroup to all other known D chromosomes, and designate the new lineage D0. We consider three models for the expansion of Y lineages out of Africa ∼50,000-100,000 years ago, incorporating migration back to Africa where necessary to explain present-day Y-lineage distributions. Considering both the Y-chromosomal phylogenetic structure incorporating the D0 lineage, and published evidence for modern humans outside Africa, the most favored model involves an origin of the DE lineage within Africa with D0 and E remaining there, and migration out of the three lineages (C, D, and FT) that now form the vast majority of non-African Y chromosomes. The exit took place 50,300-81,000 years ago (latest date for FT lineage expansion outside Africa – earliest date for the D/D0 lineage split inside Africa), and most likely 50,300-59,400 years ago (considering Neanderthal admixture). This work resolves a long-running debate about Y-chromosomal out-of-Africa/back-to-Africa migrations, and provides insights into the out-of-Africa expansion more generally.

In 2003, five Nigerian men were sequenced yielding haplogroup DE, but the sequencing technology since that time has improved dramatically. In 2019, those early samples were resequenced by Haber and analyzed in combination with information not available in 2003.

Resequencing yielded a new ancient clade, branching from the DE lineage close to the divergence of the D and E split. The lineage formed by the Nigerian sample was named D0 (D zero) by the authors to avoid needing to rename the downstream branches. It should be noted that the authors used the older letter-number-letter naming method coined as “nomenclature by lineage” from the first YCC paper, rather than the SNP naming method called “Nomenclature by mutation,” aks shorthand – hence their concern about renaming branches. Having said that, typically the base branch names are retained for reference, regardless, and D0 is clearly a base haplogroup.

The Nigerian samples were narrowed from 5 to 3 quality samples. Those three samples had been collected from unrelated men in different villages from different cultures who spoke different languages. Their Y DNA estimated date of convergence, meaning their most recent common ancestor (MRCA,) is about 2500 years ago.

The results of full genome sequencing are far more robust today and the theories about the exit of mankind from Africa are informed by Neanderthal genomic information. All people worldwide have about 2% Neanderthal genome, but African peoples do not – other than the North African region where back-migration has occurred.

This split in the tree increases the early lineages from 4 to 5 with DE now including the following three branches:

  • D0 – exclusively African (became D2-FT75)
  • E – mainly African
  • D – exclusively non-African (became D1-M174)

Out of Africa Theories

The three out of Africa theories proposed by Haber are illustrated below with Figure 2 from their paper. Please note that dates are estimates and different calculation methodologies produce different date ranges.

click to enlarge

Haber et al put forth the above three theories in their paper.

You’ll note that:

  • Option B shows haplogroup CT exiting Africa as was originally believed, but with D0 and E back-migrating, and E-M35 eventually leaving again, with other E haplogroups remaining.
  • Option C shows CT splitting in Africa with C, DE and FT exiting Africa about the same time, with D0 and E back migrating and E-M35 leaving again.
  • Option D shows CT and DE both splitting in Africa, with only C, D and FT exiting out of Africa initially, together, in one single event, with E-M35 following later.

Option D, of the above options, is the most parsimonious model, meaning the fewest amount of complex items needs to occur and is, therefore, most likely to have actually happened. Option D does not include or require any back-migration to occur and accommodates all of the haplogroups found exclusively in Africa along with those found only outside of Africa.

Dr. Miguel Vilar, anthropologist and former Lead Scientist for National Geographic’s Genographic Project provides the following comment about Option D and introduces Option E.

  • Option E – Haplogroup CT splits into two branches CF and DE within Africa, then haplogroups D and E split followed by CF and D leaving Africa. However, this requires C and F to split after D and E have already split, which is not the current calculated sequence of events. This sequence would constitute a new Option E scenario, where haplogroups CF and D (or pre-D1) leave Africa, with E following later.

Neanderthal

It turns out that the sequencing of the Neanderthal genome appears to be the tie-breaker between scenarios B, C, and D.

All non-Africans carry about 2% Neanderthal in their genomes, worldwide. This means that the Neanderthal had to have interbred with the migrants who left Africa before they dispersed widely. They carried that Neanderthal DNA with them as they dispersed throughout the world, indicating that the entire population that existed at that time, shortly after the exit from Africa, and survived, was intermixed between the two populations.

African peoples do not carry Neanderthal admixture. Therefore, had there been back-migration of haplogroups D0 and E, African peoples would also carry some Neanderthal, and they do not which effectively removes the options of B and C.

To date, scenario D, which also includes other archaeological evidence, is the best fit between the three Haber models, plus Dr. Vilar’s Option E. The Haber paper is short and a good read.

Y Haplotree Updates

FamilyTreeDNA included the changes to haplogroup D, incorporating their own findings.

Michael Sager, the phylogeneticist at Family Tree DNA who is responsible for the Y DNA tree gave a great presentation in early 2020 at Genetic Genealogy Ireland, which you can view here.

The latest tree at Family Tree DNA looks like this, with haplogroup D split into Asian and African lineages.

New Haplogroup F Lineages

So where did the haplogroup F lineage go after having left Africa? New discoveries at FamilyTreeDNA provide some clues.

Before the new haplogroup F branches were added, the haplogroup F tree looked like this. There were known basal F lineages, but FamilyTreeDNA did not have any Big Y testers that belonged to those branches of haplogroup F and were not at that time making use of NGS results from academic studies to define tree branches.

Since then, among the thousands of new Big Y test results, a few haplogroup F lineages have been identified.

click to enlarge

The view of the Y DNA tree at FamilyTreeDNA shows the locations of the various test results. Please note that people in the F-M89 haplogroup may simply have not tested beyond that level today, and would benefit from the Big Y test.

The Y tree now includes the new branch F-F15527 (F1) with four immediate subclades with samples from Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, and the southern border of China, as shown on this map.

What Does This Mean???

Goran Runfeldt, the head of Research and Development at Family Tree DNA says:

Finding F1 exclusively in Southeast Asia is significant because it represents the first split of haplogroup F.

Additionally, it gives some clues about where haplogroup F was before it split between F1 and GHIJK, which represents all the haplogroups F through T.

It is also significant that they all belong to different branches, four immediate subclades of F1, dated to circa 48,000 years ago. This shows a rapid expansion where several lineages quickly diverged then and survived for tens of thousands of years until present day. It is very likely that we will discover other ancient lineages in this part of the tree as more people from this part of the world take a high coverage Y-DNA test.

Michael Sager adds:

We have many distinct lineages close to the root of F (F1a, F1b, F1c, F1d, G, H, IJK.) All of these (and more) arose within a couple thousand years. All of these descendants in conjunction provide excellent support for the theory that F was long out of Africa. We did not have that clear support for haplogroup D as we had a ~20ky bottleneck to account for as well as Ds closest relative, E, being in Africa.

I asked Dr. Vilar for his opinion about the expansion of haplogroup F.

The discovery of new F1 lineages in Southeast Asia suggests that there was both a rapid and a broad expansion of paternal lineages across Eurasia some 55,000 years ago. Rapid because we see F lineages in China and Southeast Asia shortly after modern humans leave Africa some 60,000 years ago.

The pattern in haplogroup F is similar to that of its “cousin lineages” in haplogroup C, which likely moved through South Asia to Southeast Asia and even Australia shortly after its exodus from Africa.

Unlike F, haplogroup C is also found in Central Asia and the Americas, so the two paths may not have been exactly the same.

However, the range of F was also broad, since it gave rise to an older son (GHIJK) years earlier, and much further west. GHIJK likely arose in western Asia, where descendants G, H, and IJ were all born in the following millennia.

Acknowledgments

Thank you to the following individuals for their review of and input to this article:

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Disclosure

I receive a small contribution when you click on some of the links to vendors in my articles. This does NOT increase the price you pay but helps me to keep the lights on and this informational blog free for everyone. Please click on the links in the articles or to the vendors below if you are purchasing products or DNA testing.

Thank you so much.

DNA Purchases and Free Transfers

Genealogy Products and Services

Genealogy Research

Books

Great Holiday Ideas for Genetic Genealogists

Each year I look for gift ideas for genealogists, and in particular those working with genetic genealogy. I’m publishing one article a week during the month of December and the great news is that you can shop right from home. No need to go anyplace.

I’m only featuring products that I use because there is so much out there today that’s downright scammy. You’re safe with these.

You’ll notice I’m including small businesses, many of whom depend heavily on genealogy conferences. Obviously, conferences aren’t in-person this year and I’m trying to support those folks and do my part to keep them in business until we can all meet again and greet each other with big hugs. How I long for that day!

These items are great gifts to give, to send to someone as a hint for yourself, or to even buy for yourself. Hey, it’s been a tough year. You’re deserving. I’m buying a t-shirt from BlingGenealogy and upgrading some DNA tests.

Some of these products are affiliate links and others are not. If there is an affiliate linked item, I always appreciate the click-through. I receive a small commission and it doesn’t cost you any more. It’s also how I keep this blog free for everyone.

This week, I’m writing about things from vendors that need to be shipped while there’s still time; DNA kits, of course, and goodies from BlingGenealogy!

DNA Test Sales

DNA kits are the first item because, without DNA tests, none of the rest of genetic genealogy is possible.

I would encourage you to think about which close relatives in your family have not yet tested. The closer, the better, including any upstream relative or their children if they aren’t available for testing. For example, if your uncle or great-uncle is deceased, test as many of his children as possible.

Testing your children won’t help your genealogy, and neither will your siblings if BOTH of your parents have tested. Otherwise, test your siblings too. They inherited DNA from your parents that you didn’t which is every bit as important to your genealogy as your own DNA.

Prices are at a seasonal low right now. If you and your closest relatives are not in every database, there’s no better time.

FamilyTreeDNA

    1. Family Finder autosomal test for $59, click here
    2. Y DNA (direct paternal, males only) begins at $99, click here
    3. Mitochondrial full sequence (direct maternal, both sexes) is on sale for $139, click here

You can also purchase upgrades for kits that have already taken one type of test by clicking here to sign on and then viewing the “Add Ons and Upgrades” link at the top of your page.

One thing I noticed this week is that lots of people have taken the Family Finder autosomal test, but not the Y DNA or mitochondrial DNA tests. I was searching for a specific surname line and very few of the men who match in Family Finder had taken a Y DNA test. Please consider those tests as Add Ons. They will help you connect with family members and jump-start your genealogy.

The flip side is true too – if you’ve taken the Y DNA or mitochondrial, but not the Family Finder test. please do!

Everything’s on sale as shown in the chart below.

MyHeritage, Ancestry and 23andMe

Other vendors’ DNA kits are on sale too:

Bling Genealogy

Jeannette, known affectionately as the Genealogy Bling Lady creates handmade genealogy items. Yes, they really are hand made by her and her mother.

They are amazing too – both the ladies and their creations.

I always look forward to visiting the BlingGenealogy booth. I’ve purchased jewelry, t-shirts, denim shirts with DNA double helixes and haplogroups, double helix zipper pulls, facemasks, and other goodies.

If you look across the top tab on the BlingGenealogy website, you’ll notice categories for Clothing, Masks, DNA, American history, Jewelry, and more.

This year to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower landing and my two Mayflower ancestors, I’m going to purchase a Mayflower rhinestone bling t-shirt.

Jeannette will add your Mayflower ancestor’s name if you include the “Mayflower Name Listing” item in your shopping cart. Take a look, here or at her main site, here.

You don’t need to have a Mayflower descendant to love this shirt – if your ancestors sailed on any ship, it honors their passage and I know Jeannette will work with you to replace the word Mayflower with another ship name, a surname or just a few waves.

Oh, and look, there’s a limited edition Mayflower Broach too.

Hmmm, I’ve been really, really good this year. 😉

Don’t think there are only items for gals here – lots for guys too. Browse around.

Jeannette is offering 25% off of all jewelry, free shipping, and unlimited use of a coupon code exclusively for DNAeXplain customers. You must use the checkout promo code: DNAeXplainedWinter

Enjoy!

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Disclosure

I receive a small contribution when you click on some of the links to vendors in my articles. This does NOT increase the price you pay but helps me to keep the lights on and this informational blog free for everyone. Please click on the links in the articles or to the vendors below if you are purchasing products or DNA testing.

Thank you so much.

DNA Purchases and Free Transfers

Genealogy Products and Services

Genealogy Research

Books

DNA Tidbit #5: What’s Your Goal?

You probably see this all the time on social media:

“I just got my DNA results. Now what?”

No further information is given.

The answer is, “What is your goal?”

Why did they test and what are they hoping to learn?

DNA Tidbit Challenge: Define goals for answering genealogy questions, allowing you to focus your efforts.

Your DNA testing goal depends on a number of factors including:

  • What test you took, meaning Y DNA, mitochondrial or autosomal.
  • Where you tested and the tools they offer.
  • What you’re hoping to achieve. In other words, why did you test in the first place?

For a short article about the difference between Y, mitochondrial, and autosomal DNA, please click here.

For more seasoned genealogists, we may have taken all the tests and answered many questions already, but still, our research needs to be guided by goals.

I regularly check my matches. I still think I may have had a half-sibling that is yet to be located. After I confirm that no, I don’t have any new close matches, I then look at the rest, making notes where appropriate.

Recently, late one night, I thought to myself, “why am I doing this?” Endlessly scrolling through new matches and randomly seeing if I can figure out where they fit or which ancestor we share.

But why?

Originally, I had two broad goals.

  • I wanted to find Y line males in each line and other males from the same supposed line to confirm that indeed the ancestral line is what the paper trail had identified.
  • To confirm that I am indeed descended from the ancestral lines I think I am, meaning no NPEs. As a genealogist, the only thing I’d hate worse than discovering that I’ve been researching the wrong line for all these years is to keep doing so.

Given that I’ve confirmed my connection to ancestors on most lines back several generations now, what are my goals?

Broad and Deep

I’ve realized over the years that goals are both broad and deep.

Broad goals are as I described above, in essence, spanning the entire tree.

My broad goals have changed a bit over time. I’ve located and tested descendants of many Y lines, but I’m still working on a few. I’ve confirmed most of my lineage back several generations by matching the DNA from other children of the same ancestor and using tools like triangulation and DNAPainter to confirm the segment is actually from the ancestral couple I think it is.

I’ve added the goal of breaking down brick walls.

This means that I need to look deep instead of broad.

Deep means that I need to focus on and formulate a plan for each line.

Looking Deep

I’ve identified three specific deep goals and put together a plan with action steps to achieve those goals.

  • Deep Goal #1 – Collecting and Using Y and Mitochondrial DNA

I like to “collect” the Y DNA and mitochondrial DNA results/haplogroups of my ancestors for different reasons. First, I’ve discovered surprises in where their DNA originated. For both Y DNA and mitochondrial DNA, you can identify their continent of origin as well as confirm ancestors or break down brick walls for that one specific line through matches and other tools at Family Tree DNA.

Looking at my tree, my closest ancestor whose Y DNA or mtDNA I don’t have is my great-grandmother, Evaline Miller (1857-1939) who had 4 daughters who all had daughters. You wouldn’t think it would be this difficult to find someone who descends to current through all daughters.

How do I go about achieving this goal? What are some alternatives?

  • Track and ask family members, if possible.
  • Find descendants using MyHeritage, Ancestry and Geneanet (especially in Europe) trees. Bonus – they may also have photos or information that I don’t, especially since this isn’t a distant ancestor.

click to enlarge

Ancestry’s ThruLines shows your matches by ancestor, so long as the connection can be made through trees. Unfortunately, in this case, no one descends correctly for mitochondrial DNA, meaning through all females to the current generation which can be male. BUT, they might have an aunt or uncle who does, so it’s certainly worth making a contact attempt.

  • I can also use WikiTree to see if someone has already tested in her line. Unfortunately, no.

However, I don’t know the profile manager so maybe I should click and see how we might be related. You never know and the answer is no if you don’t ask😊

Deep Goal #2 – Confirming a Specific Ancestor

I want to confirm that a specific ancestor is my ancestor, or as close as I can get.

What do I mean by that?

In the first couple of close generations, using autosomal DNA, we can confirm ancestral lines and parentage. We can confirm our parents and our grandparents, but further back in that, we have to use a combination of our tree and other tools to confirm our paper genealogy.

For example, as we move further back in time, we can’t confirm that one particular son was the father as opposed to his brother. In closer generations, autosomal DNA might help, but not beyond the first couple of generations. Second cousins always match autosomally, but beyond that, not so much.

Using Y DNA, if we can find a suitable candidate, I can confirm that my Estes ancestor actually does descend through the Estes line indicated by my paper trail.

I need to find someone in my line either to test or who has already tested, of course.

click to enlarge

If they do test and share their match information with me, and others from that same line have tested, I can see their earliest known ancestors on their Y DNA match page.

If someone from that line has already tested and has joined a surname project, you can see their results on the public project page if they have authorized public project display.

click to enlarge

This is also one way of determining whether or not your line has already tested, especially if you have no Y DNA matches to the expected surname and ancestor. If others have tested from that ancestor, and you don’t match them, there’s a mystery to be unraveled.

To see if projects exist for your surnames, you can click here and scroll down to the search box, below.

Please note that if someone else in your family takes the Y DNA test, that doesn’t guarantee that you descend from that ancestor too unless that person is a reasonably close relative and you match them autosomally in the expected way.

Confirmation of a specific ancestor requires two things without Y DNA testing:

  • Sharing autosomal matches, and preferably triangulated segments, with others who descend from that ancestor (or ancestral couple) through another child.
  • Eliminating other common ancestors.

Of course, Ancestry’s ThruLines are useful for this purpose as are MyHeritage’s Theories of Family Relativity, but that only works if people have linked their DNA results to a tree.

My favorite tool for ancestor confirmation is DNAPainter where you can paint your segments from FamilyTreeDNA, 23andMe, MyHeritage and GEDmatch, either individually or in bulk. You can’t use Ancestry DNA information for this purpose, but you can transfer your Ancestry DNA file to those other vendors (except 23andMe) for free, and search for matches without retesting. (Step-by-step transfer instructions are found here.)

Here’s an example of a group of my matches from various companies painted on one of my chromosomes at DNAPainter. You can read all about how to use DNAPainter, here.

I identify every match that I can and paint those segments to that ancestor. Ancestors are identified by color that I’ve assigned.

In this case, I have identified several people who descend from ancestors through my paternal grandmother’s side going back four generations. We have a total of 12 descendants of the couple Henry Bolton and Nancy Mann (burgundy), even though initially I can only identify some people back to either my grandparents (mustard color) or my grandmother’s parents (grey) or her grandparents (blue). The fact that several people descend from Henry and Nancy, through multiple children, confirms this segment back to that couple. Of course, we don’t know which person of that couple until we find people matching from upstream ancestors.

What about that purple person? I don’t know how they match to me – meaning through which ancestor based on genealogy. However, I know for sure at least part of that matching segment, the burgundy portion, is through Henry Bolton and Nancy Mann, or their ancestors.

Deep Goal #3 – Breaking Down a Brick Wall

Of course, the nature of your brick wall may vary, but I’ll use the example of not being able to find the parents of an ancestral couple.

In the above example, I mentioned that each segment goes back to a couple. Clearly, in the next generation, that segment either comes from either the father or mother, or parts from both perhaps. In this case, that oldest burgundy segment originated with either Henry Bolton or Nancy Mann.

In other words, in the next generation upstream, that segment can be assigned to another couple.

Even if we don’t know who that couple is, it’s still their DNA and other people may have inherited that very same segment.

What we need to know is if the people who share that segment with us and each other also have people in their trees in common with each other that we don’t have in our trees.

Does that make sense? I’m looking for commonality between other testers in their trees that might allow me to connect back another generation.

That common couple in their trees may be the key to unlocking the next generation.

Caveat – please note that people they have in common that we don’t may also be wives of their ancestors downstream of our common ancestor. Just keep that in mind.

Let’s shift away from that Bolton example and look at another way to identify clusters of people and common ancestors.

In order to identify clusters of people who match me and each other, I utilize Genetic Affairs autocluster, or the AutoCluster features incorporated into MyHeritage or the Tier 1 “Clusters” option at GEDmatch.

Based on the ancestors of people in this red cluster that I CAN identify, I know it’s a Crumley cluster. The wife of my William Crumley (1767/8 – 1837/40) has never been identified. I looked at the trees of the people in this cluster that I don’t know and can’t identify a common ancestor, and I discovered at least two people have a Babb family in their tree.

Babb was a near neighbor to William Crumley’s family, but I’ve also noticed that Babb married into this line downstream another 3 generations in Iowa. These families migrated from Frederick County, VA to Greene County, TN and on, together – so I’ll need to be very careful. However, I can’t help but wonder if my William’s wife was a Babb.

I need to see if any of my other matches have Babb as a common name. Now, I can search for Babb at any of the testing vendors to see what, if anything, I can discover.

Genetic Affairs has a combined AutoCluster and AutoTree/AutoPedigree function that compares and combines the trees of cluster members for you, here.

Goals Summary

Now, it’s your turn.

  • What are your genealogy goals that DNA can assist with?
  • Are those goals broad or deep?
  • What kind of DNA test can answer or help answer those questions?
  • What tools and research techniques fit the quandary at hand?

I suggest that you look at each ancestor, and in particular each end-of-line ancestor thinking about where you can focus to obtain answers and reveal new ancestors.

Happy ancestor hunting!

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