DNA

What is a Haplogroup and What Can It Tell You About Your Family Tree?

What-is-a-Haplogroup-and-What-Can-It-Tell-You-About-Your-Family-Tree

If you get your DNA tested, chances are you will come across the term “haplogroup.” What is a haplogroup and how does it pertain to your family history? At its essence, a haplogroup is an ancestral clan. Some clans are the Vikings, Native Americans (all tribes), Celts, Aborignal Australians, and other such groups. Your haplogroup tells you where your ancestors came from deep back in time.

There are also male and female haplogroups, so you can see where your male and female sides of the family originated back in pre-historic times. As with Y-DNA (which traces the male line from father to son) and mtDNA (which traces the female line from mother to daughter), haplogroups also follow straight male and female descendancy lines.

Your haplogroup’s point of origin is usually shown on maps at the various DNA companies that do testing. Your haplogroup will appear in the area your clan was located when it split off from the original African family to which we all belong.

Initially, there was only one haplogroup, and it was in Africa. As African tribes moved off the continent and went to various other places on the planet, their DNA mutated and the number of haplogroups increased. New haplogroups are formed even today, when a gene mutation occurs in someone from a particular ancestral clan. However, it takes generations for enough people to carry the mutation for it to be prevalent enough for it to be considered a haplogroup. Therefore, any haplogroups that start forming today will not be recognized as new ones for centuries, or even millennia. The haplogroups that form today will eventually be able to be traced back to the earliest known person to carry the mutation, just as today’s known haplogroups can be traced back to the earliest known person to carry it in the distant past (though we don’t know the names of these people, we do know they existed and approximately where they lived and when).

Just as new haplogroups are being formed today, many have died out over the course of human history. The haplogroups that exist today originated with people whose descendants were very successful at reproducing in large families.

Haplogroups today are divided into four main ones: European, African, Native American, and Asian. Within these haplogroups are many sub-haplogroups that further define where a person’s earliest known non-African ancestor on the male and female sides of their family originated and when. Most haplogroup sub-groups are plentiful. The only group with less than three sub-groups is the Native American male group, which only has two sub-groups.

Basically, haplogroups chart the clans from which the modern human race originated. Haplogroups are names alphabetically in order of discovery. So don’t assume a haplogroup of A means African or E is European, because this is not true. The sub-groups of haplogroups are named with letter and number combinations indicating where and when in time they were discovered, which main haplogroup they descend from, and sometimes even the very specific small geographical area where their earliest members lived.

The more letters and numbers in your haplogroup’s sub-group, the more likely you are to be able to pinpoint an exact region, and maybe even a county or town. Some haplogroup sub-groups can even be traced back to named individuals if the mutation that created them originated in the more recent past. For example, the infamous Celt, Niall of the Nine Hostages, is known to be the originator of a sub-group of a haplogroup within the past 1500 years, and some people can use their sub-group to prove their descent from him. However, haplogroups are not normally used to prove descent from any one person, just to show you where your “out of Africa” ancestors originated and when.

Right now, haplogroups are the only way to trace your family tree back to the time before surnames were invented. You can take your last known ancestor in a particular direct male or direct female line and connect them to a larger clan in the more distant past, knowing that their ancestors, the ones you can’t identify and trace, wound back through time to the time and place where the known ancestor’s haplogroup and sub-group originated. For example, there is a known haplogroup of people who originated in France, and who are widely believed to be the people who made the famous cave paintings in the French town of Chauvet. You can look at a maternal or paternal haplogroup and sub-group and see if it matches with the haplogroup and sub-group of the cave painters. If it does, you know you are descended from this illustrious and famous group of people.

If you are interested at all in where your family originated deep in time, before the age of records, then haplogroups should be of great fascination for you. While you can’t use a haplogroup to connect to individual people in most cases, you can use them to get deep into history with your family tree. This is something that was not possible before the age of DNA testing.

Joining a Surname Study: Where to Find Them and What You Can Get Out of Them

Joining-a-Surname-Study-Where-to-Find-Them-and-What-You-Can-Get-Out-of-Them

Surname studies are some of the most basic of genealogical study groups. They have been around for at least a century, and maybe more. The purpose of a surname study group is to get people together who have the same surname (or have direct ancestors with the same surname) and allow them to share genealogical information on their families. The aim is for people involved in the study to gain more insights into their own family trees and connect with genetic cousins or long lost relatives through the information that is shared. You can find out a lot about your ancestors of a particular surname through a surname study.

In the age of DNA, there is so much more to be discovered from surname studies than in the past. In the past, only written records and oral histories could be shared, and sometimes the information was not correct, with no way to prove it one way or the other. With DNA, people can clearly find out if the are genetically related to other members or not. This is why most surname study groups are DNA-based in the modern age. It is the only sure way of proving a genetic relationship. Once the relationship is confirmed, then oral histories and written records can be shared to determine a common ancestor. Surname study groups today may use Y-DNA only (so only direct male line members of the surname can submit DNA to be tested), while others use autosomal DNA, so anyone with relatives with that surname can participate with their own DNA and not a male relative’s.

You can find surname study groups by doing Google searches online. Just type in the surname with “genealogical study group” or “surname study group” in quotation marks to find one or more surname study groups of your own surname. You can also look into surname study groups in the various DNA testing companies. Whichever company you use to get your DNA tested, check to see if they have a surname study group going on for the surname you want to study. When you find a surname study group you want to join, send a message to the group’s coordinator and request membership, being sure to give the reasons why you want to join and what your connection is to this surname/

If you can’t find a surname study group for the surname you are interested in, consider starting one of your own. You can start one within your DNA testing company’s platform, if the company hosts surname study groups. You can also start one by building your own website and going on social media and/or genealogical websites to recruit members. You may have to offer to pay for the DNA tests of the first few members to get things going, or get members of your immediate family to join so you have members right away. Groups with members are more attractive to others and so more likely to get members. Keep everyone’s information organized, set up a DNA matching feature, and allow communication between members, with your moderation.

Soon, you will be helping others learn more about this surname, while learning more about it and your relatives who bore it yourself. Whether you join one or start one, being a member of a surname study group, especially one for a surname you lack the appropriate records to trace, is very rewarding.

How To Solve The Biggest Problems In Your Genealogy Research

How To Solve The Biggest Problems In Your Genealogy Research

Every genealogist will eventually encounter a particularly troublesome problem in their research. In genealogical circles, this is called the brick wall. It is when you reach a point in your research where you are out of available or known records to search, you’ve made all of the reasonable assumptions about your problem that you can with the information you have available, and you still can’t come up with even a theoretical solution that would pass the genealogical proof standard test. Brick walls are the nemeses of genealogists. However, they can be as challenging and exciting as they are frustrating, because one thing we genealogists love is solving a good mystery. Most genealogists can’t stand to just sit there staring at the brick wall. They’re determined to bring it down one way or the other, even if it takes decades (and sometimes it does!).

If you are facing a genealogy brick wall that seems unscalable, here are some tips to get you around, over, or through it more quickly than you imagined possible.

 

1. Try DNA

DNA testing is becoming the go-to solution for solving many of genealogy’s brick walls these days. It has really only been available and affordable to the general public for the past few years, but it is proving to be very useful in solving long-standing genealogical mysteries. You can use it, too. It might solve a mystery outright. More often, though, it will give you the clues and family connections you need to do further research that will lead you to your solution.

You can get your DNA tested at a number of popular and trusted companies, such as Ancestry.com, Family Tree DNA, and 23andMe.com. Once your DNA is tested, you will be matched with other people in the database of those companies who share all or some of your DNA profile. You will be given an estimated relationship with those people, as well.

While Y-DNA (which only traces the father’s side) and mtDNA (which only traces the mother’s side) were popular in the past, now most companies use autosomal DNA, which looks at relatives on both sides of your family. Once you find a match that looks like the person could have a connection to the family where your brick wall is, contact them through the DNA site and see if they will exchange information. If they will, you can work together to find out if the family connection is where you think it is, and discover what they know about the brick wall branch of your family.

You will often be surprised at how much other people know about lines that are brick walls to you. The more people you can find who share your brick wall family line, the more opportunities you have to piece together the family tree and solve the mystery.

 

2. Take a Road Trip

Not every record is online. Real genealogy still requires some in the field work. You can get a good start online, but if you run out of records to search there, don’t think you no longer have a paper trail to follow. There is a wealth of information just waiting to be discovered in courthouses, town halls, city and state archives, and historical societies all across the country.

If you know where your brick wall ancestors lived, take a trip there in person. If they moved from one place to another, go to every place you know they lived. Explore the local record sources and repositories. You will be surprised at what you may uncover. Many genealogical mysteries have been solved by a trip in person to an ancestor’s home town and the discovery in a dusty archive of a document no one has seen or touched in a couple of centuries (or even more!).

 

3. Look Through Old Newspapers

Old newspapers are a treasure trove of genealogical information. You can find them in many places online, like GenealogyBank.com, Ancestry.com, Newspapers.com, and more. They are also often available on microfilm at local libraries in the places where your ancestors lived (these will be local papers, and more likely to have mentions of your mysterious ancestors).

If you’re searching using an online database, search by your ancestor’s name and place of residence. If you know the approximate range of dates of their life, search within those parameters, too. You will often find little tidbits of information on them that will give you just the clues you need to either solve the mystery or continue your research through other, newly discovered potential record sources. If you’re searching in person on microfilm, you’ll need to know the town and date range you need to search, and then scan hundreds of pages carefully for your ancestor’s name. It can be time-consuming, but the rewards are worth it.

Genealogy brick walls are not impenetrable. You can get through most of them with just a little extra work and a lot of determination. Use these suggestions to get you going on that mystery line again, and you are much more likely to find the answers you seek than you imagine.

How Given Names Can Help You Identify Your Ancestor

How Given Names Can Help You Identify Your Ancestor

Are you stuck in your genealogy research? You are probably looking for clues as to the parentage of a particular ancestor and have hit the infamous genealogy brick wall. Or, you could be trying to figure out how someone in your family tree is related to someone else. You know they must be related… all of the clues are there. You just don’t have the exact evidence you need to prove they are related, or how they are related. It can be frustrating, especially when you believe you have exhausted all possible clues and gone through every conceivable record source. Don’t give up, though! There are still clues to be found in the most obvious, and yet overlooked, of places. Take a look at your ancestors’ first names.

 

Why Are First Names Important in Genealogy?

When you are doing your genealogy, you probably concentrate a lot on last names. This is good to a certain extent. Last names connect generations on the male side. They can help you when researching your father’s side of the family, or any other branch of the family where a particular last name is your target. However, they can only take you so far. When the records run out (at least the obvious and available ones), you may be left wondering how certain people of the same last name are related… or IF they are related at all (especially if the last name is a common one).

First names can help you figure out the relationships between people in your family tree. Whether it is trying to decide if someone with the same last name as your ancestor is related (or how they are related), or attempting to determine the unknown maiden name of a female ancestor, first names can offer all kinds of amazing clues to follow.

 

First Names Connect Families

First names can connect families just as much as last names can… sometimes more. They are often passed down through generation after generation. Other times, they are used to ensure a mother’s maiden name lives on in some way. It isn’t unusual for a person to be given the mother’s maiden name as a first name (or as a middle name… don’t forget to look at middle names, too).

Here is a way first names can be useful, taken from my own genealogy research. A client had hit a brick wall with a particular branch of their family. They had the family traced back to their great-great-great-great grandfather, but did not know his wife’s name or maiden name. The courthouse in the count in which the lived burned long ago, taking all potentially useful records with it, and the census records in which the family appeared were all pre-1850, so only the head of household was listed.

First names offered a clue as to the missing wife’s origins. The great-great-great-great grandfather had a son named Mathew Albritton Johnson. The first name was spelled with only one “t” in “Mathew,” instead of the normal two “t’s.” The middle name “Albritton” was also a clue. Mathew Albritton Johnson had a son of his own, also called Mathew (with just one “t”). A brother of Mathew Albritton Johnson had a son named George Albritton Johnson, and a grandson named Nathaniel Mathew Johnson. So Mathew’s brother used both Albritton and the one “t” Mathew in his own family. Therefore, the names Mathew (with one “t”) and Albritton are both clues.

I immediately suspected that the missing wife’s maiden name may have been Albritton, since that is a surname that appeared on several early census records in the area where this family originated. Its use within the Johnson family as a middle name indicated it had some meaning to them. The name Mathew (with one “t”) also indicated meaning within this particular branch of the Johnson family.

Looking at census records for the generation of the missing wife’s parents, there was a Mathew Albritton living in the area, and could have easily been her father. However, this was not enough to provide concrete proof. A look at the records of the state archives showed some old land maps that did not go down with the burned courthouse, since they were kept by the state. These maps showed Mathew Albritton living next door to the Johnson family I was researching.

They were neighbors at the time when their children would have been growing up and getting to know each other. It was normal to marry neighbors in rural areas such as where this family lived. Mathew Albritton living right next door was the closest proof I could get (so far) to showing the missing wife’s maiden name was Albritton and that Mathew Albritton was her father. Additional research into Mathew Albritton may reveal his children’s names and who they married. DNA tests with members of the Albritton family may also show a genetic connection.

 

This is just one example of how first names can be used to identify ancestors. The continued use of the unusually spelled Mathew and the name Albritton in this family provided clues to a missing great-great-great-great grandmother’s maiden name and heritage. When you are looking for relationships within families, look at the use of first names and middle names across the generations. Consider where those names originated. Search for their origins if you have to. Then, use the origin of the names, as well as how they were used in subsequent generations of the family (even sometimes to the present day, where their origins have temporarily been lost until you start researching them) to give you the clues you need to put family relationships that have been lost to history back together.

Finding Family: My Search for Roots and the Secrets in My DNA

Finding Family: My Search for Roots and the Secrets in My DNA
Finding Family: My Search for Roots and the Secrets in My DNA

Genealogy Book Club Recommendation:

Finding Family: My Search for Roots and the Secrets in My DNA is Richard Hill’s true and intensely personal story of how he pieced together the long-kept secret of his own origins. This highly suspenseful book is a page-turning saga of personal detective work that will appeal to anyone who loves a good mystery.

But this isn’t fiction. It’s an engrossing account of an adoptee trying to reclaim the biological family denied him by sealed birth records. This fascinating quest, including the author’s landmark use of DNA testing, takes readers on an exhilarating roller-coaster ride and concludes with a twist that rivals anything Hollywood has to offer.

Easy to read and hard to put down, Finding Family is the first book to chronicle the paradigm-shifting application of genetic genealogy to adoption search. Whether you’re searching for your own roots or just craving a darn good read, Finding Family is a book you will likely devour in one sitting…and wholeheartedly recommend to others.

In the vein of a classic mystery, Hill gathers the seemingly scant evidence surrounding the circumstances of his birth. At his adoptive father’s deathbed, he discovers shocking information that leads him to methodically chase down leads, which sometimes yield poignant glimpses of his birth parents, sometimes garner resistance, and as frequently flat-line in disappointment.

As his resolve shores up, the author also avails of new friends, genealogists, the Internet, and the latest DNA tests in the new field of genetic genealogy. As he closes in on the truth of his ancestry, he is able to construct a living, breathing portrait of the young woman who was faced with the decision to forsake her rights to her child, and ultimately the man whose identity had remained hidden for decades.

During the course of Hill’s mission, Finding Family offers guidance, insight, and motivation for anyone engaged in a similar mission, from ways to obtain information to the many networks that can facilitate adoption searches. Best of all, the author demystifies how DNA and genetic genealogy can produce irrefutable results in determining genetic connections. In an intimate, personal voice, Hill sheds light on this new science that is helping adoptees bypass sealed records and similar stumbling blocks. It is certain to inspire those who are in search of their birth parents as well as others who are uncertain of their biological ancestry.

Richard Hill’s groundbreaking use of DNA testing in adoption search was featured on the front page of The Wall Street Journal. His DNA Testing Adviser web site makes genetic genealogy understandable to all. Now retired from careers in science and marketing, Richard serves on the Advisory Board of the Mixed Roots Foundation where he is Co-Director of the Global Adoptee Genealogy Project.

Read More

What’s the Deal With DNA? Using DNA to Trace Your Family History

Surname Studies: How They Can Help You Find Your Ancestors

Surname Studies: How They Can Help You Find Your Ancestors

Often, one of the first places people start looking when they begin their genealogy research is into their surnames. There seems to be a natural desire among beginning genealogists to discover more about their surnames, including their origins, and how many other people in the world share it. There is a common belief that those who share the same surname must surely also share a common ancestor somewhere. Of course, in reality, this is not always the case, especially with very common surnames. Plus, if you are only studying your surname, you are missing out on a lot of the rest of your family history. Your surname line is only one small part of it, and focusing solely on it cuts out your mother’s side of the family entirely, as well as your father’s mother’s side.

Still, there are genealogical benefits to studying surnames, enough that the practice can and should be a part of your genealogical adventure.  Just make sure it’s one part and not the only part, so you can have a complete picture of your entire family history.

 

How to Get Started Studying Your Surname

There are plenty of surname study groups online. In the past, people would join surname study groups by mail, but today, it is done almost entirely online. This allows a surname study group to reach far more people, which is beneficial in getting good results from the study. Just do a Google search online to see if your surname is involved in one or more surname studies, and then join that study. You may have to submit an application indicating why you want to join, but if you can show that you or someone in your immediate family has that surname, you will probably be accepted.

 

How Did Surname Study Groups Work in the Past?

Surname study groups work a little bit differently now than they did in the past. When groups were conducted by mail and were first being formed online, people of the same surname (or those with that surname in their immediate family history, such as their mother’s maiden name) would join together in these groups, share genealogical information from their family trees, and determine if any of them shared ancestors. Those who did would work to determine the earliest common ancestor they all shared. Those who did not share a common ancestor with others in the group would use this information to determine if their lineage was correct.

They may have had a non-paternity event in their family history (aka an out-of-wedlock birth where the supposed father wasn’t the biological father), they may have been adopted and not known it, or their particular family was not related to the others in the surname group (especially in the case of very common surnames). These groups were and are very useful for proving if you are indeed related to the line you thought you were related to, and in proving and disproving family legends.

 

How Do Most Surname Study Groups Work Today?

Today, surname groups work a little bit differently. The availability of inexpensive DNA tests has made it possible for practically anyone to test. In cases where someone can’t afford a DNA test, there are often people in the surname group who are willing to sponsor a test for one or more additional participants. People in surname study groups tend to be generous in this regard, because they want everyone to participate who can, as this leads to more accurate results and greater insights for everyone.

DNA testing is the basis of most surname study groups these days (though there may be a few exceptions). If your DNA results (or that of a relative you got tested on your behalf) match up closely to one or more people in the surname study group, you still get the same family history information you would have gotten from simply sharing genealogical information in the past. If they don’t match with anyone in the study, you can determine if you are really related to this line, or just from a branch of the family that is distant and hasn’t been tested yet.

With DNA, you can now be sure the results are accurate and not based on hearsay or rumor (or the belief you are biologically related to someone…some non-paternity events that were family secrets have been revealed by DNA testing). Another difference with DNA is that you get these results much more quickly than by comparing written research with other members.

Of course, you can still exchange genealogical research with members of a surname study. In fact, you will almost certainly want to if you discover you are an exact or partial match to one or more members of the group. Exchanging genealogical research information with each other can help all of you fill in the gaps on the details of your ancestors’ lives in your family trees. You may even discover other members who have photos of common ancestors they are willing to share, which is always a genealogical victory.

 

Joining a surname study group can be an important part of your genealogical research You should definitely explore it, especially the DNA component. It can open so many doors to new research and discoveries. Just make sure it isn’t the only thing you focus on in your genealogy. Look at your full family tree, so you can get the complete picture of the people who came together over the centuries to produce you.

What’s the Deal With DNA? Using DNA to Trace Your Family History

What's the Deal With DNA? Using DNA to Trace Your Family History

DNA is an important part of genealogy research these days. It can help confirm relationships, help you find new living relatives who may have information you don’t have (and are willing to share), and can help you discover new avenues of research for tough-to-trace family lines. If you haven’t yet explored DNA in your genealogy research, it’s time you did. Here is everything you need to know about DNA research in genealogy to get you started, including the different types and what it can help you find.

 

DNA Research: The Keys to the Genealogy Kingdom

Your DNA tells a lot about you. It lets you know what health conditions you are and are not susceptible to, determines the color of your eyes and hair, your ability to learn certain things easily (like math), and even your ability to smell or taste certain things. It also tells you about your ancestors, since they are the ones who passed down their DNA to you.

You have a 50% chance of inheriting any particular DNA trait from either parent. This means that if one parent carries the DNA for brown eyes and one carries the DNA for blue eyes, you have a 50% chance of inheriting either one. If you just happened to get the blue eye DNA and your sister got the brown eye DNA, that just means the genetic coin flip landed on one side for you and one side for her.

Your parents likewise each had a 50% chance of inheriting different types of DNA from each of their parents. Whatever they inherited, they have a 50% chance of handing down to you. This is how physical features and other family traits change (or sometimes stay the same) through the generations.

Your genes are located in your DNA. The more genes you share with someone, the closer you are related to them. If you aren’t sure of your relationship to someone, a DNA test done by both of you will tell you how you’re related. For example, full siblings share around 50% of their genes. Half-siblings share only about 25%. You also share about 25% with your aunts and uncles. First cousins share around 12%, second cousins share around 3%, and so on down the ancestral line.

However, relationships to living relatives are not all DNA research can reveal. It all depends on what type of DNA you have tested.

 

There are three types of DNA that are tested by the genealogical DNA testing companies:

YDNA: This type of DNA is only passed down from father to son. It goes in a direct male line from you (or your closest male ancestor) all the way down your male line deep into the past. It is often used in surname studies to prove relationships between people of the same surname who suspect they may share a common ancestor. It is an excellent tool to use if you are having trouble tracing your male line. Companies that test YDNA can match you with those who most closely share your particular YDNA sequence, and you can reach out to those people to see just where your family lines converge. It can answer a lot of male line ancestry questions.

mtDNA: This type of DNA is only passed down from mother to daughter. Sons inherit it, too (unlike YDNA, which daughters do not inherit), but cannot pass it on to their offspring. Only daughters can do that. Both men and women can use it to answer questions regarding their maternal line, similarly to the way YDNA is used to answer male line genealogy questions.

Autosomal DNA: This is often referred to as “junk” DNA, as it doesn’t seem to do anything specific in humans. It does, however, leave an ancestral trail to all branches of your family. Because of this, it is beginning to become the main type of DNA that DNA testing companies are using. It gives you a far broader picture of your family tree than YDNA or mtDNA. Autosomal DNA can match you with genetic relatives from either side of your family. To know which side, you’ll need to have at least one parent get tested, too.

You can reach out to these genetic relatives through the DNA company testing sites, and work out your common ancestors together, which often solves many genealogical mysteries. If you have a mystery you want to work on, you can even get people you know or suspect are related on your mystery line to test, and the autosomal results will tell you whether you all share a common ancestor or not. If you do, you can continue looking for more people to take the test until you’ve gathered enough family history information from known genetic relatives to determine the common ancestor and solve the mystery.

 

Companies Currently Doing Genealogical DNA Testing (and It’s More Affordable Than Ever!)

There are currently several companies doing DNA testing for genealogical purposes. It is much more affordable now than when it was new on the market a decade ago and still a novelty. Most anyone can afford it now. Many companies charge less than the major genealogical research sites charge for annual memberships. Some companies with good reputations you might want to consider include:

If you haven’t used DNA to explore your genealogy, you should. It is a wonderful adjunct to the traditional research methods you’re using. Even better, it has the potential to unlock genealogical mysteries when the paper trail ends. Use it, and discover your true roots.