Several of us were tweeting at the conference despite intermittent wifi (check the hashtag #FTDNA2011.  I tweet as @luxegen).  My computer ran out of juice about 2 talks from the end which brought my tweets to a halt.

Especially heartwarming was Richard Hill’s story as an adoptee finding his birth parents.

Archives.com and FTDNA announced they are partnering together.

Bennett Greenspan of FTDNA announced a sale on DNA testing is coming up (we’ll hear more this week).  This sale will extend through the holidays.

Several bloggers have shared excellent notes and comments on the conference which Debbie Kennett has summarized —> Cruwys news: FTDNA Group Administrator Conference

Did you find additional reports?  If so let me know and I’ll post them here.

Roll and Win

Music to a genetic genealogist’s ears is the ding of an email that says “You have a match!” 

My husband recently tested with Family Tree DNA’s autosomal DNA service (Family Finder).  Within minutes of the first results being posted he heard the ding.

We’ve got a match!

I’m the genealogist so hubby fires the email off to me to handle.

By now, I’ve got this genetic genealogy inquiry sequence down to an art.  No time wasted here.

I have a web page listing our surnames and locations.  I refer Mr. or Ms. Match to this page and point them to either group 1 or 2 for my side of the family or group 3 or 4 for hubby’s side of the family.  My ancestry is homogenous UK with a smidgeon of French.  Hubby’s ancestors are mostly American with Dutch roots.

In this case Mr. Match answers back promptly.  “That was easy”, he says.  “I’m related to your husband on the Isaac ESTEY/Mary TOWNE line and here’s how”…upon which he elaborates the connection.  (Mary Towne Estey is our Salem witch.)

I love genetic genealogy matches that are sorted out so quickly.

Double Sixes – what are the chances?

THEN Mr. Match says he thinks he is ALSO related to ME!

REALLY??   Yes, Really!

It turns out Mr. Match is 1/4 French Canadian and has the name LEMOINE in his family tree.  My Lemoines are the Ottawa Valley Lemoines, originally from Quebec and all the descendents of Francoise Lemoine, one of the “Filles du Roi” (Daughters of the King) sent over to populate New France back in the 1600s.  His ancestor is also Francoise Lemoine.

We both go back to FTDNA to see if he and I have a DNA match in Family Finder.

Sure enough Mr. Match finds we share ‘shreds’ of DNA.  We are distant cousins.   (I haven’t found it yet but will look again).

The moral of this little story? 

Share all of your surnames…I mean ALL (both sides of the family, husband and wife) on your webpage or in your email. 

That next ‘ding’ in the mailbox might be genetic genealogy double sixes!

Introduction

In the last ten years, genetic genealogy (DNA for genealogy) has provided the family historian and genealogist with another tool in which to find and make connections with previously unknown ‘cousins’.  This tool can help prove the paper trail and  lead one’s research off in directions not previously considered. The task of the genetic genealogist is to figure out where and when two individuals share a common ancestor.

This post begins a series of posts sharing our genetic genealogy process and findings to date.  I do this for three reasons – one, to bring all the information together in one place;  two to share with the world in the hope that others will find the process useful and finally to make more cousin connections.

Background

Members of our family have tested at two genetic genealogy companies located in the USA.  These are 23andme.com and Family Tree DNA.  Not surprisingly we’ve had the most success with my husband’s side of the family.

Why?  Because my husband’s ancestral background is predominately American and presumably more Americans have tested at these two American companies thus making it more likely we will find matches, which certainly seems to be the case.  Secondly, we have more family tree information on his side of the family and can more easily match the paper trail to sort out the DNA connections we receive.

Our HILLMAN DNA Match

One of the most exciting matches was found in June of this year through the RELATIVE FINDER autosomal DNA testing at 23andme.   Relative Finder identifies regions of DNA in common on the 22 pairs of autosomal chromosomes and the X chromosome.  One typically shares 50% DNA with each parent, 25% with each grandparent and 50% with siblings.  Cousins, depending on the degree of relationship share lesser amounts of DNA.

We received notification that my husband RWM matched at the second to third cousin level with a person with initials of CW.

The match was 1.80% shared DNA in 9 different segments and a total of 135 centiMorgans (cM)*. 

This is a significant match.

*A centiMorgan (cM) is a unit of genetic distance along a chromosome that takes into account how often recombination occurs in that region. A region with few cM undergoes relatively less recombination. Closer relationships tend to have longer segments because there have been fewer opportunities for recombination to occur.

Here is what I do STEP by STEP when we get a match at 23andme.com

1. I take a quick glance at the person’s profile to determine if we both share surnames and geographic interests in common.   Unfortunately not everyone will have this information in their profile. 

2.  I then send a message to the match with our surnames and geographic interests along with a request to share genomes at the BASIC LEVEL ONLY.  Basic level shares only genetic genealogy information and not health information. Messages can be sent via the internal message system in 23andme.  Email addresses are not shared unless you give your email to the other person in a message.

Some individuals will share basic genomes right away and others will want more information.  Messaging back and forth can establish a common bond to proceed to sharing at the basic level.  It helps to point out that no health information is shared at this level. 

Note – don’t be discouraged if the match never answers.  Many people test for health reasons only and are not interested in genealogy…Imagine!

I will also note the person’s haplogroup more for interest’s sake although this knowledge can be useful in some cases.  (More on this in another post).

3.  Once we are sharing genomes at the basic level I go to ANCESTRY LABS/FAMILY INHERITANCE ADVANCED in the 23andme dashboard and compare just where on the chromosomes we have a match.   There are drop down menus that allow you to choose the individuals you wish to compare, in this case CW vs RWM.

Screenshot of the Family Inheritance Tool (23andme.com)

The results appear in two forms – a schematic as below and  numerical values in a table which you can view or download as an excel spreadsheet.

Autosomal DNA match CW vs RWM 9 segments 135cM - Source 23andme.com

Reading the schematic

Take a look at the blue section shown on the chromosome 5 near the top of the picture.   The blue section is a DNA segment that both my husband and CW share in common.  This means they both have exactly the same DNA sequence in that region which indicates a DNA match.  Another example – A smaller blue piece is seen on chromosome 7 and  a slightly larger one on chromosome 8 and so on.  Every blue piece is another match between CW and RWM. 

NINE segments in all for a total of 135 cM!  This means CW and RWM share a common ancestor and this ancestor was probably in the not so distant past.  Our daughter HM also matched CW on a 16 cM segment located on chromosome 9.

Below is the table of the data which shows the numeric position of the matches on each chromosome, the start and end points, how large the segment is (genetic distance) and how many SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms).

Comparison Chromosome Start point End point Genetic distance # SNPs
CW vs. RWM 5 115000000 126000000 13.0 cM 2425
CW  vs. RWM 7 101000000 105000000 5.0 cM 932
CW vs. RWM 8 1 8000000 19.5 cM 3708
CW vs. RWM 9 70000000 81000000 14.0 cM 2573
CW vs. RWM 10 19000000 34000000 18.0 cM 3251
CW vs. RWM 13 72000000 99000000 25.5 cM 5535
CW vs. RWM 17 21000000 32000000 12.0 cM 1750
CW vs. RWM 18 13000000 36000000 20.0 cM 4080
CW vs. RWM 18 42000000 46000000 5.5 cM 1017

UPDATE – CW vs our daughter HM.

CW vs. HM 9 70000000 81000000 15.5 cM 2648  (only one segment in common)

CW and I were excitedly messaging back and forth comparing family trees. We quickly found a name in common (HILLMAN) and noted that the geographical region matched my husband’s father’s side of the family  – New Brunswick.

My Family Tree database showed the following HILLMANS:

Edmond Hillman married to Jerusha Dow (my husband’s great grandparents).  Their children were:

• Mary Ann “Annie” Hillman
• Isabella Belle Hillman
• George Nelson Hillman
• Moses Hillman
• Horace Greeley Hillman
• Cora J Hillman married to Ward Beecher Miller of Royalton, New Brunswick (my husband’s grandparents)
• Elsie Hillman
• Jasper Hillman
• Judson Hillman
• Sylvia B Hillman

CW had a Thelma Hillman in her direct lineage.  No Thelma in our list, but as we discussed this further CW thought that the name “Judson” rang a bell.  She hurried off to consult with other family members. A day later we had our answer.

BINGO!

Judson Hillman is CW’s great grandfather!  Judson and his wife had a daughter Thelma who married Clarence Rideout (CW’s grandparents)

(RIDEOUT rings a bell for me.  My mother in law has letters in the old trunk from “Rideout cousins” of my father in law. Note to self – check out those letters! )

Summary

 Hubby’s grandmother Cora Hillman was the sister of CW’s great grandfather Judson Hillman.  RWM and CW’s most recent common ancestors (TMRCA) were Cora and Judson’s parents -  Edmond Hillman and Jerusha DOW.

From the paper trail we have this:

Jerusha Dow was born the 08 March 1843 in Dowville,York County, New Brunswick. She married Edmond HILLMAN on the 19 Jul 1863 in Southhampton, York County, New Brunswick. She died on the 21 April 1922. Her husband Edmond HILLMAN (1831 – 1914) was born on the 10 Nov 1831 in Canterbury, NB. He died the 30 March 1914** in Greenbush, NB  (Source – The Book of Dow, more information here.) 

[**UPDATE - Edmond HILLMAN died 23 March 1914 as noted on an online tombstone transcription - research of Calvin Miller.  Edmond Hillman was the son of George HILLMAN and Mary "Polly" MILLER.]

Degree of Relationship

The software at 23andme predicted my husband RWM and his DNA match CW were second to third cousins which indeed is the case.  According to my family tree program RWM and CW are second cousins twice removed.

[UPDATE - the relationship is second cousin once removed (not twice as my family tree program indicated).   The actual percentage 1.80% matches the predicted (1.563%) confirming that this match is probably second cousin once removed.  Thanks CeCe Moore for catching that.]

 Here is a picture of Cora Hillman Miller who was my husband’s grandmother and CW’s great grand-aunt. I’m on a mission to find photos of her parents Edmond Hillman and Jerusha DOW.   If you can help please leave a comment below.

Cora Hillman b. 1874 New Brunswick. This is my husband's grandmother. (Copy of a photo originally obtained by Crawford cousins from Dorothy Hillman. Received in 1992. Reference - Scan0231.jpg. )

So there you have it.   We determined our connection based on DNA evidence and the paper trail in only 2 days!

How’s that for a good Genealogy DNA match?

–

Connections, photos?  Please comment below.

Is your last name Aumack, Amak, Aumick, Aumock, Omick or some variation?

If so please consider participating in the Aumack Y-DNA Surname Project.

Overview

The goal of the Aumack Y-DNA Surname Project is find genetic matches to you or your family members in order to advance your family tree research.  Y-DNA testing will verify if an individual shares a surname or a paternal line.

Why choose this test?

• Choose this test if you wish to search the paternal surname line (father’s father’s father’s line).  (In this case for surnames Aumack, Amak, Aumick, Aumock, Omick)

• Choose this test if you are searching for direct paternal connections between men with different surnames (but have a connection to the Aumack and variants surnames) – examples: adoption, name changes, illegitimacy, fostering

• Choose this test if searching for clues to paternal geographic or deep ancestry of your Aumack (and variants) surname.
  

Who to test?

A male carrying the paternal surname. Women can ask a male relative carrying the paternal surname to take the Y‐DNA test.

How many markers?

Family Tree DNA (FTDNA) offers Y-DNA 12, 25, 37, 67 and 111‐marker tests.  Males are advised to test at either Y-DNA37 or Y-DNA67.

How to Join the Project

>>>Visit the Aumack YDNA Surname Project

Questions?

Please leave a comment below or contact me here.  If using the contact form please put  “Aumack Y-DNA Project” in the subject line.   I’m the project administrator and would be delighted to answer any questions.

That link again:

Aumack Y-DNA Surname Project – http://www.familytreedna.com/group-join.aspx?Group=Aumack

This continues my series on Rootstech 2011 Takeaway messages.

Genetic genealogy is one of my interests.  I retired from a long career in medical research (genetics and autoimmunity) and  enjoy using DNA to complement traditional search methods.  I was fortunate to be able to attend two DNA presentations at Rootstech 2011.

Schelly Talalay Dardashti presented:  It’s in Our Genes:  Revealing History Via Technology (A DNA Project Case Study). 

Schelly Talalay Dardashti has tracked her family history through Belarus, Russia, Lithuania, Spain, Iran and elsewhere. A journalist, her articles on genealogy have been widely published. In addition to genealogy blogging (since 2006), she speaks at Jewish and general genealogy conferences.

While I don’t have an ounce of Jewish blood (my loss), I was interested in the process Schelly et al used for the project case study.

Why use DNA?

• provide evidence where no paper trail
• confirm or disprove a relationship or story
• cut across history/geography lines
• blood doesn’t lie
• results may point to better traditional methodology and resources by pinpointing details you may not have had before.

The Process

• Determine what you want to prove
• Determine your goals
• Find participants

The Iberian Ashkenaz DNA project was designed to prove genetic matches for Eastern European Jews – Sephardic, Hispanic, Latino.  They had a specific goal (find the matches) and a secondary goal of looking at geographic location and surname variants.

This YDNA project was started in March of 2007 and they already have 251 participants.

Schelly spoke about the migrations of this group (using haplogroup maps)  and the results they obtained.   This study has helped her find more information in her Talalay line and has given her new avenues to explore.

She suggested that anyone participating in a DNA study be opened minded enough to understand that results you get might not be what you are expected.

Also one needs to be able to explain the results to people in your group with self conceived self identities.

She said Family Tree DNA  has a larger database than the other companies.   It is preferable to test against the largest database available.  She also said FTDNA is a good place for Jewish matches  because it has the largest database.  Over 92% people in the database at Family Tree DNA are likely Sephardic. 

For more information about this study or to participate, please contact Schelly Talalay Dardashtiat at the Tracing the Tribe Blog.

–

Steve Morse spoke on “From DNA to Genetic Genealogy: Everything You Wanted to Know But were Afraid to Ask.

Dr. Morse is an academic, engineer and the father of the 8086 processor, who taught himself all about DNA and decided to teach others.  He is also known for his One Step Search engines.  (see my pre Rootstech  interview with Dr. Steve Morse).

This talk was DNA 101.

What it is, what it does, what are SNPs and STRs.  How we can use DNA in our family tree research.

I won’t duplicate it here because his entire DNA talk is on his webpage along with a lot of other useful information. 

He too mentioned that we should test with the company that has the largest database.  He didn’t mention company names as he said it was up to us to figure that out (see Schelly’s comment above – FTDNA has the largest database.)

I enjoyed the examples he used and his sense of humour. 

Both talks were thoroughly enjoyable and educational.   DNA is an useful adjunct in helping unravel the story of one’s family tree.

—-

[Disclosure - I was selected as an Official Rootstech Blogger and received perks such as free registration]

I have 527 cousin matches in the database.  Most show as fourth or fifth cousins although this is just a range which could vary from 3rd to 7th cousin.

Yesterday I excitably compared notes with 2 cousins to see where we connect.  Today, there are two more notes from even more cousins.

These matches are from autosomal DNA testing which means it could be from any one of the surnames in my family tree, not just on direct maternal or paternal lines.

At the 5th cousin level we have 64 ancestors (and 64 surnames). You can appreciate the challenges this will be at sorting out where the connection will be.

The most promising DNA match is with 3 individuals representing 3 generations – a grandmother, her son, and his daughter

It is important to note we can’t see the other person’s raw data or medical genes.  This is comparison at the basic level only and protects the privacy of our DNA sequence.

Using the Family Inheritance – Advanced Tool provided by 23andme.com we determine the size of our match in centiMorgans.  A centiMorgan (cM) is a unit of genetic distance along a chromosome that takes into account how often recombination occurs in that region. A region with few cM undergoes relatively less recombination. 

Closer relationships tend to have longer segments because there have been fewer opportunities for recombination to occur.

[The Family Inheritance - Advanced Tool can be found under Ancestry Labs by Lawrence Hon on the 23andme.com website.  You need to be logged in to view]

Our match is on Chromosome 7 and is a good chunk of DNA – 16 cM

(The blue area in graph above and the numerical results below show the match)

Comparison – Chromosome – Start point – End point – Genetic distance – # SNPs

Joan Miller vs. Cousin Connection 1 – grandmother 7 37000000 52000000 16.0 cM 3183
Joan Miller vs. Cousin Connection 2 – Son 7 37000000 52000000 16.0 cM 3139
Joan Miller vs. Cousin Connection 3 – daughter of above individual 7 40000000 52000000 13.0 cM 2487

Note that their names have been removed to protect their privacy.

This family has KERRs and CARRs in their family tree!  (my maiden name is KERR).

My newly found cousin speculated that while we might both be related to some of these Kerr ancestors, our connection to these Kerr’s is too far back to explain the large size of our match.

He has sent me the family tree of his mother’s mother’s family which I’m reviewing for possible connections.

What fun!  This takes the detective game to a whole new level.

Distribution of Haplogroup H1 - Source 23andme.com

Helena’s descendents

#DNA 

She lived about 13,000 years ago, not long after the Ice Age ended.   The DNA within her carried a mutation (also called a marker)  that would be passed down to her offspring through the maternal line to me.       

Me, my mother, grandmother and g.g.g.g.grandmothers all carry a genetic marker that defines this mutation. My siblings and my children also have this marker.

What is it? 

It is the genetic marker M52 and it defines my maternal haplogroup of H1. 

[Note for the relatives - This mutation (marker) is simply a slight change in the DNA sequence that defines a movement of people thousands of years ago.   The maternal haploGROUP has no significance to our family tree other than to show anthropologists the migrations of people out of Africa.   There is no stigma or bad thing associated with this or with any haplogroup.]

Origins of Haplogroup H1

Helena, one of the “Seven Daughters of Eve“, was the progenitor of my H1 maternal haplogroup.  According to Wikipedia, Haplogroup H likely orginated in Southwest Asia/Middle East 25,000-30,000 YBP (years before present). 

Thomas MacEntee at Geneabloggers has asked readers to comment on genealogy industry predictions for 2011.  He links to a previous post with several predictions.

My prediction for 2011 is an increased growth in genetic genealogy.  Here are my thoughts – do you agree?

• More and more genealogists will use DNA not only to break down brick walls but to verify the paper trail.

• Interest in one’s personal genome will continue to be a hot topic. People ordering tests for medical reasons at companies such as 23andme.com will become interested in their family history when their non medical genetic profiles match those of genealogists using DNA to make cousin connections.

• Family Tree DNA will see an increased growth in the number of participants signing up for their new Family Finder Autosomal DNA testing.  Y-DNA surname studies will continue to remain popular and will become even more useful for genealogists as the number of participants increase.   More and more people will order mtDNA testing in order to learn the secrets of their deep ancestry.  FTDNA will continue to lead the industry as the company most chosen by genealogists for DNA testing.

• The cost of DNA testing for genetic genealogy purposes will continue to decrease as new technologies come on board and the economies of increased scale come into play.  Case in point – 23andme.com‘s introduction of a new chip/microarray that can test up to one million SNPs, thus doubling their previous capacity.   Launch level pricing at $99 (now $199) makes it more affordable for those testing for both medical and genealogy reasons.

• The genetic genealogy world will develop more functional analysis and reporting tools for autosomal DNA.

• And my final prediction -  the scientists on the Genealogy-DNA Rootsweb forum will continue their heated and valuable discussions thus advancing the field of genetic genealogy for the benefit of us all.

What are your predictions for 2011? Please comment below.

© 2011 copyright, B. Joan Miller

—

Related Links:

International Society of Genetic Genealogy

Goal of our YDNA project

GOAL:  My ongoing goal is to make KERR connections that would take our KERR genealogy research out of Quebec and back to a specific place in Ireland.  The Ultimate Goal is to get those Irish Kerrs back to the border region of Scotland…. but one step at a time.  I use genetic genealogy along with traditional methods to research.  (Researching with DNA appeals to the geek in me having retired from a medical research genetics lab)

Testing

In 2005, we tested my brother’s YDNA for genetic genealogy purposes.  Why test my brother and not me?  The reason is because I don’t have a Y chromosome being female.  Females have two X chromosomes.

The YDNA is passed from father to son over the ages on the sex linked Y chromosome.   Unless there is a non-paternal event such as an adoption, surname change or someone in the woodpile, the YDNA should be much the same generation to generation (barring a mutation or two).  Thanks to my brother we could follow the YDNA along the Kerr line as illustrated in my graphic below.

Results to Date

My brother participated in the KERR/CARR surname project at Family Tree DNA.  We first tested for 25 markers then upgraded in 2009 to 67 markers.

Our Kerrs (white marker in Quebec) show a 25 marker match with Kerr in England (yellow marker). This Kerr is the same person with whom my brother matches 63/67 markers. They also share the exact same name including middle name. All testing was done at FTDNA. Source of graphic: FTDNA.

The results were excellent.  The match was 63 out of 67 markers.  The other fellow had the exact same name as my brother…right down to the middle name.  Talk about serendipity!

“That’s about as good as it gets.” Bennett Greenspan, the CEO and president of FTDNA told me at the SCGS Jamboree in Burbank, California this past June.

The most recent common ancestor (TMRCA) was probably only 3 or 4 generations back (at the very most 5 generations).  (See these links for more information on genetic distance and TMRCA calculations).

I compared notes with my brother’s namesake a few years ago and recently reconnected to catch up with his research.   We swapped data and I’m actively researching his line.  I’m also researching another 37 marker match, a CARR.  So far we haven’t found our mutual ancestor but we are working on it.

I’ve checked my brother’s results versus the YDNA databases at Ancestry.com and the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundaton (SMGF) database.  Ancestry has one match (although more distant than our FTDNA matches).  I didn’t find any close matches at SMGF.

Ysearch.org is another database sponsored by FTDNA.  The only match I found at Ysearch was the same fellow that matched 63 out of 67 markers above.  At least I assume it is him, as this individual had the same genetic profile as my brother’s match at FTDNA.  (To protect privacy, no names appear on open websites.)

We used genetic genealogy to rule out another group of Quebec KERRs that I had been trying to connect with for at least ten years.   Negative results are important too and can save one research time.

Haplogroup I1

Haplogroups show your deepest ancestral orgins dating back thousands of years.

Haplogroup I1 - SNP M253 migration Source: The Genographic Project via Wikipedia. Click on the picture to learn more.

My brother’s Haplogroup is I1, based on the presence of the SNP M253.  SNP is an acronym for “single nucleotide polymorphism”.   This is a single change in the DNA nucleotide sequence.     (see FTDNA’s GLOSSARY)

Haplogroup I1 is a Y chromosome haplogroup occuring in the greatest frequency in Scandinavia which fits with the story of the KERR/CARR/Kjarrs (and other name variations) which are thought to have orginated with the Vikings, then moved down through France then up into the UK.

(Note – to follow active discussions about the latest SNPs associated with various haplogroups, check out the genealogy-DNA list or the medical literature at pubmed).

We have autosomal and mitochondrial DNA testing in the works to add to the YDNA story.   More on that later.  Genetic DNA testing has given us new avenues to explore and we hope to make more cousin connections.

So….Y DNA?  Y Not?

Why do YDNA testing, well why not? It can save you research time and perhaps break down that brickwall.  You too might find that serendipitious match.

==> To Visit Family Tree DNA

—

An Open Message (my plea) to any KERRS, CARRS, and  surname variants:  Please take a YDNA test at Family Tree DNA to learn more about your ancestors.  In doing so you may find cousin connections that you may not even known existed.   We may be cousins.  Visit the KERR/CARR YDNA surname study for more information.

© Copyright 2010 Joan Miller

What started out as a simple conversation on Facebook about sales on DNA testing for genealogy ended up in three of us participating in 23andme.com’s sale on their new array/chip which tests over a million SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms).  The price is excellent  and we’ll have fun comparing notes as we analyse our results.

My DNA testing buddies are Susan Petersen of Long Lost Relatives and Carole Riley of Carole’s Canvas.  Carole has a blog post up already about her venture into genetic genealogy.

I’ve blogged about our family’s serendipitous findings with DNA before.  We are part of the KERR/CARR DNA surname study.  (At least my brother is as I’m missing that all important Y chromosome).   I also have autosomal and mitochondrial testing at FTDNA.  (Call me an addict.  I didn’t need more testing but I couldn’t resist the 23andme’s offer of over a million SNPs.  I’m interested in the medical info as well as genetic genealogy).

I’m looking forward to comparing notes with my DNA Testing Buddies as we continue our genetic genealogy journey together.

Stay tuned for the spitting contests!

P.S. Susan has added her post – Jumping Into the DNA Gene Pool