And More Results...

Last time I blogged about my son's autosomal dna results being returned so quickly from Ancestry.  Minutes after I finished that blog, 23andMe sent me an email that my results were back.  We're still waiting for hubby's results from 23andMe.  All three kits were mailed at the exact same time.  I'm not complaining about 23andMe, my results were returned 2 weeks to the day they received them and the original information said results would be back in 4-6 weeks.

Like me son, there was no startling surprises.  Instead, it confirmed that I have quite a bit of neanderthal dna which my mom swore we did.  I gasped when I saw the numbers.  Don't you hate it when your parents were right?!  I wish my mom was alive to see those findings.  When I told hubby he was stunned.  "How did your mom know that?"  he asked.  She was always fascinated with them and read anything she could.  Back in the day, the thought was there was none of their dna surviving.  I would tell my mom that and she would counter that science will find out the truth.  Geez!  I always thought my mom was interested because most of the excavated sites were in northern Croatia where her parents had been born.  She also swore her slightly extended jaw was a carry over from them.  Now I have a cave visit on my bucket list.

The rest of the results were exactly as I had expected.  Lots of French/German and Eastern European.   Those early Persian-Greek roots show up supporting my grandmother's stories and my grandfather's gypsy heritage also is visible.  I'm so glad I listened when they told those tales.  I admit I didn't believe them 100% in my youth.  Seriously, how many families could pass down stories from 2000 years ago but they proved to be correct.

Since I'm an only child and there are no males that could test on my father's line for 3 generations back, I never had any results on his side.  The autosomal gave me that.  It's a no brainer to figure out from where my Great Britain, Scandinavian and French/German was received.

I'm not greatly impressed with 23andMe's connections to other test takers.  I preferred Ancestry's which shows clearly if another tester had uploaded a tree, how many were in the tree, if the tree was private or public and if a match from my uploaded tree to another tester was found via a shaky leaf.  I discovered that most of 23andMe's matches to myself were recorded as Anonymous and were so old that they don't even use the site any longer.  There was really no one to share a tree with as all were 3-4 or more cousins apart from me.  Since I tested my son through Ancestry I could use that feature to make connections which I did.

I created a database in Excel and made the following headings:
Message to
Common Ancestor
Descended Through (this is where the other person was descended and not me)
Date (I sent the email)
Relationship Estimate (such as 3-4 cousin)
Comments (if no tree, how I deduced where the relationship was)

I sent out 50 brief emails to relatives and recorded who I sent a message to on the database.  Within 12 hours I'd heard from 25%.  I've heard complaints that Ancestry's system is useless since many people do not upload a tree or have a minimal one, at best.  I didn't find this to be a problem for me as I have a very large tree and recognized many unique surnames.  Of the first 50 cousins given, only 3 do I not find a connection.  Two of the 3 wrote back immediately and we're exploring relationships now.  I could see how this would be a problem if someone was adopted and had no parental knowledge.  On a side note, I attended a training in the past week where the presenter made a catty remark about large trees.  The trainer felt it was a "waste of time accumulating people."  I agree just trying to collect names isn't productive but if a surname study was done with citations to prove relationship then accumulating the data is beneficial to making connections.

The coolest thing about my results was reconnecting with people who have emailed me over the last 22 years since I first posted a public tree online.  My 4th cousin on the Bollenbacher line and my 3rd cousin on the Leininger side had tested and sure enough, we're related exactly how we thought.  They made those predictions 10 years ago.  It's nice to know that the paper trail matched the science.

The 23andMe result interpretation again mentions Marie Antoinette as my old Ancestry mtDNA had mentioned years ago.  Not relevant to me but does correlate with the other test.  The new results added Copernicus in the same haplogroup.  My son liked that.  Since I'm now working in a STEM school I thought that was appropriate.

Now we wait for hubby's results.  In the meantime, I uploaded my raw data to FTDNA and MyHeritage.  I'm going to upload my sons and my results to gedmatch, too.  Stay tuned.

The Results Are In!

On Amazon Prime Day, I purchased 3 autosomal DNA kits - two from 23andMe and 1 from Ancestry.  Seven years ago, hubby and I tested through Ancestry.  He completed mt and y; obviously I just could do mt.  Ancestry has long since stopped supporting those test results although they are still available to view on their site.  Back in those days, I never connected with anyone.  My "closest" match was Marie Antoinette of  "let them eat cake" fame.  I was so unimpressed I decided not to upgrade when autosomal became available.

A second cousin of mine reconnected with me via Find-A-Grave and in our back and forth emails, had tested with National Geographic.  We compared maternal Hapogroup and not surprisingly, were the same.

The more I read about dna, which was my genealogy goal this year, and since I am an only child I thought I could gain some additional info on my paternal side by taking an autosomal test.  I also was interested in comparing my husband and his sister and then to our children.  My plan was to purchase 5 autosomal kits.  Sales had come and gone earlier this year - DNA Day in April, Mothers Day in May, Fathers Day in June.  Due to our major remodel I figured I'd wait til November and give the kits as Christmas presents, thinking they'd be on sale.  You can just imagine the excitement of my family members when I told them this was my plan. (I'm being facetious).

When I saw the price for 23andMe on Amazon Prime Day I decided I'd buy 2 kits for hubby and me since I had read it's a good practice to compare results from different companies.  I had wanted to do the full health tests but they were sold out.  Later that day, Ancestry's kits went on sale with a limit of 1 so I purchased it and offered it to my kids.  My son lost the rock-paper-scissors (I am not making this up) so he took the test.

Two days after purchasing, the Ancestry kit arrived and son completed it the following day.  The 23andMe kits arrived three days after purchase and my husband and I completed them immediately.  Hubby took them all off to be mailed at the same time.

All of these kits were spit kits;  our older tests had been cheek swabs.  Personally, I like the cheek swabs more as they were quicker to complete.

On Thursday, Ancestry emailed that our son's results were ready.  Although the instructions said it could take as long as 6 weeks, the results were back in less than 2 weeks.  I was quite impressed!

The results were interesting but not startling.  Now I always knew he was our biological child so I didn't anticipate any conflicts there.  He had a unique look at birth so I knew he hadn't been switched by the hospital.  I just didn't know if our ancestors had been faithful.  I know that sounds awful but I always had a funny feeling that something was not quite right with a family member's tale.  One of my direct line ancestors had gone out west for 6 months.  I personally felt that there was a child born out of wedlock but no one would ever confess to knowing more.  Reading so many books and journal and newspaper articles lately about DNA surprises I thought I may have one of my own.  If my hunch is correct the test results didn't reveal it, possibly because no one has yet taken a test.

What we found interesting in the results was that it made our son eager to learn about his heritage.  My kids grew up visiting cemeteries and old houses that ancestors had lived in long ago.  We have many customs and foods that have been handed down, along with things that belonged to those long gone.  None of that interests either one of my kids.  What hit him was the DNA Matches.  The closest match stating it was a 1st or 2nd cousin was his godfather's brother.  He recognized the name immediately and said, "Wow, now I know why you picked such a close family member."  The results were accurate - the individual was his 2nd cousin and we've always said our son favors that side of the family more than any other.  It's not just how he looks, it's what he like and how he acts.  He grew up far away from anyone on that side and only knows about them from occasional holiday notes.  He is more open to learning about that line now that he has the results.  Why?  Because he's the kind of person who is logical, analytical and very scientific oriented and the results proved what I've said for years.

The next closest matches were for two other second cousins on his dad's side.  Surnames of third cousin matches were also familiar and a mix of both my sides and his dads.  He recognized the names and just kept saying, "Wow."

The only Community Circle that he had was Pennsylvania which would be his dad's side.  You know I've blogged extensively about the Harbaughs and that would be them.  Those lines came in the mid-1700's and intermarried for several generations.  It wasn't until 1869 that they relocated from Pennsylvania to Indiana.

I should have expected the percentages of ancestry to be what they were - predominately Great Britain with lesser amounts of Scandinavia and Eastern European.  Back in the day my husband's results on his y included Chad but our son's results did not.  My husband's old mt also showed Asian ethnicity and again, this didn't show up in our son.  We're thinking that was the reference groups that had been used that are more refined now.  Also, my husband's haplogroups did have lines going from those areas.

Yesterday I uploaded the results to FTDNA and MyHeritage.  It takes 24-48 hours to get matches there so I'll write more if anything exciting is discovered.

Was spending $49 worth it?  You bet!  I'm looking forward to receiving my results soon.  

Must Reads

Still catching up from my recent vacations and would like to pass on some awesome articles I've just read:

Ancient DNA solves the mystery of the Canaanites (Washington Post)

She thought she was Irish... (Washington Post)

How a rare skin disease links SA to an 18th century Frenchman (The Conversation Africa)

Save the Census (New York Times)

Plus, just announced, Legacy Family Tree will merge with MyHeritage.  Special deals coming soon!

Small, Small World

Disney is right - it's a small world after all!  Just back from my travels through the jungles of Central America with a family member and the similarities I've encountered were quite interesting.

First stop was Grand Cayman; our driver gave us historical insights as he took us around the island.  The cemeteries, above ground, reminded my of New Orleans.  It doesn't take a genius to figure out if you can't go down you go up!  The colorful island flowers left on graves was a custom that I've found everywhere.  It's nice to see the commonality of remembering our ancestors.

Next we visited Honduras which reminded me of the West Tampa neighborhood.  At the beach we met a local who told us about his educational journey from the island to the mainland for high school.  He received a technical degree in air conditioning but was unable to find work so he returned to his birth island.  Sure, wars, religious persecution, natural disasters and limited marriage opportunity influence migration but I've found with my own ancestors, it was mostly the desire to find work that created wanderlust.  I truly believe that Maslow should have put work as a basic need on his hierarchy.  We, as genealogists, need to keep in mind occupation as an important factor for movement.

I love Belize!  Any country that only has 5 working stoplights  and people with a warm and funny attitude is my kind of place.  It was in the jungle, however, where I met 3 guides that shared their love of genealogy.  All had had their DNA done.  Two were 100% Mayan and one was 1/3 Mayan, Spanish and African.  In a remote jungle would be the last place on earth I think I would be talking DNA with someone I met but well, it happened.  Their genealogy is oral which is probably wise since we all know what happens when computers crash. In their case, there isn't electricity close.  I wish I could have the capacity to remember my maternal and paternal lines as well as they do.

Our last stop was an adventure at Tulum, Mexico and spending half a day on Mayan land.  We had authentic lunches in both Belize and in Mexico and I had to laugh at the staple similarities - chicken, beans, rice, and fruit with slight variations in preparation - different seasonings.  When I came back and spoke with family, friends and colleagues I got similar comments which applies to my own family.  If your grandmother was known for a specific dish and your mom and you tried repeatedly to replicate it with no success, well, that seems to be a worldwide commonality.  I cannot for the life of me make my mother's flaky apple turnovers.  She came up with her recipe because she couldn't make her mother's to die for apple strudel.  A friend told me she has given up making her mom's fruit iced tea because she can't get it right, even with her mom standing over her.  The patient guide in Belize gave me the recipe but I bet when I make it, it will not taste as delicious.  Guess I'm just going to have to go back!

Genealogical Kindness Needed

Seriously, folks, I've had my fill this week of dealing with difficult people.  IMHO, life's too short for bad manners.

I have a very large online public tree on several sites.  The reason it's large is because I've done surname studies over the last 20+ years for several lines with unique names - Duer, Harbaugh and Leininger.  Taking the last family history book published, that would be 1947 for the Harbaughs and 1973 for the Leiningers, I've add all the info into the tree from those sources and then tried to prove the info was correct by adding additional citations.  I then tried to update the original works going forward so that family could reconnect.  The Duer information was unpublished; I received it from a family historian about 2010.

The gateway ancestor's for all of these lines died in the 19th century or earlier so some of those included in the tree are far removed from my direct line.  I don't personally know these people.  I made the tree public to help reconnect and aid in correcting any errors.

Three times this week I have heard from distant relatives and the comments/emails were rude.  One woman told me my tree was confusing her.  I offered to help but needed to know what was confusing about it.  She said I had no pictures for a person she was interested in.  Huh?  I understand visual learning but really, you're complaining because there was no picture.

Later that day, someone posted a comment that they were sure I was wrong about a gateway ancestor because they had their Y-DNA done.  I responded to please share and I'd be happy to look further.  No response.  I wouldn't have been concerned if the individual had emailed me privately but to post a comment and then not respond when someone is willing to check further is wrong.

That evening, I hit the trifecta when someone commented on another line that he was certain "you must have made this up."  I was taken aback.  Did you not look at the citations?  Did you not see my comment that mentioned I concurred with other researchers that it was possible two brothers were confused so I included both names as the possible father?

 The old adage we can choose our friends but not our relatives applies here!  That last comment ticked me off so much that I considered making my tree private.  I haven't done so because I think the good outweighs the few thoughtless individuals.

Thanks, dear readers, for reading my rant.  Please help me spread genealogical kindness this week.  It's sorely needed.

I will be taking a much needed vacation so will not have a blog post until I return the end of July.

Artifacts on eBay - A Must Read

I recently read a fascinating story in The Weekly Genealogist, the online edition published by AmericanAncestors.org about stolen artifacts being sold on eBay.  The blog, Rare Colonial Documents Found on eBay, originally published by the Smithsonian, is a must read if you search for documents on eBay as I do.

Although I knew that each state has laws regarding record retention, it never occurred to me to search them when I discovered something that just wasn't quite right.  I assumed (ahem, wrongly!) that the document must not be an original or had been disposed by the government and some nice person saved it from a dumpster.

I discovered my several times great grandfather's indenture records on eBay a few years ago.  There were other individuals listed on what appeared to be a court ledger page.  The price was steep and I didn't buy it.  I did cite where and when I found it and using the snipping tool, saved a picture of it.  The seller was overseas and it never dawned on me to report him/her. Now I know better.

Goodbye, FHL Microfilm Rental!

So another technology bites the dust...

If you haven't seen the latest news about renting microfilm for use at local Family History Libraries, then you need to check out this link NOW.

I don't rent as much as I used to because the records for the areas where I do the most research are online at FamilySearch or it just never will be and I've had to rely on methods other than microfilm.  My last film request was in March and I've been going through my pending projects  to see if there's any films I'll need soon. Of course, I can't predict the need of the next Client.  Genealogy Murphy's Law will result in a new Client meeting on September 1st for a microfilm need that I wouldn't be able to obtain.

My advice if you're planning to rent is don't delay - you've only got 2 months left and  most likely will be a flurry of activity on the shipping side.  After you get the email from Salt Lake that your films have shipped, make a note to call your local library a few days later to verify the films have been received.

A colleague has concerns that not everything will be available online due to legal agreements previously made with the record holders.  That means, waiting patiently until 2020 will still not allow you to view the films online.  In those cases, you'll have to either travel to Salt Lake or hire someone local to do a look up for you because those films will not be shipped locally any longer.  If your research is extensive and you're on a budget, it would probably be best for you to do the research in person.  My favorite time to go is late winter into early spring as it's not so busy.  I'm thinking I may skip the NGS Conference next year and travel to Salt Lake instead.

If you can't make a trip and need to hire someone, I'd highly recommend asking your local genealogical society for referrals.  If they haven't used anyone, then check out the Association of Professional Genealogist's site.  APG members sign an ethics agreement and in the unlikely event your have a problem, you can reach out to APG for assistance.

I have such mixed emotions about the end of microfilm.  I'm not sure what my attachment is; I sure didn't shed a tear when the world moved from Beta, 8 tracks, my Garmond GPS, or hardwired phones.  Maybe it's because I have so many memories of so many places and so many finds that make me a tad sad about the demise.  Perhaps it's becoming one with the record in a dimly lit room and the comforting whirring sound of the machine as I rewind it speedily.  I'll miss sharing in a happy dance when the stranger sitting next to me makes a phenomenal find.

Of course, there's so many reasons why this move is a good thing.  It's just, well, like the old song says, "Breaking up is hard to do..."  RIP Microfilm Distribution.  1859* - 31 Aug 2017.

*Based on the first patent issued to Rene Dagron