Genetic Genealogy

There is much confusion in the minds of many genealogy enthusiasts as to exactly what a centiMorgans (cM) is. About the time one sort of grasps what a cM is, then the question arises as to how cM’s tell us how much we are related to various kin folk.  If you are a novice in this field, try to decipher the following definition of a centiMorgan.  “A centiMorgan is the distance between chromosome positions (also termed loci or markers) for which the expected average number of intervening chromosomal crossovers in a single generation is 0.01” (see International Society of Genetic Genealogy in Sources).

Prologue: After receiving an Ancestry DNA kit as a Christmas present in 2018, I finally took the DNA test in February of 2019 and mailed it in. My main reason for taking the test was to find out where my ancestors came from in order to see if the test results matched family lore about our ancestry. About a year later, I received a phone call from someone who had been adopted as an infant and was trying to locate her blood relatives. She said that, based on our DNA tests, we were very close kin and could be half-siblings, or perhaps I could be her uncle. For the first time since taking the DNA test, I looked at my DNA matches on the AncestryDNA website and found six close kinsmen on my mother's side and seven on my father's side who had also taken the test. Furthermore, these same people showed up in the DNA matches of the person claiming to be my relative. The amount of DNA shared with each kinsman closely matched the degree of kinship predicted by the test. For example, I had about twice as much matching DNA with a full first cousin than I did with each of three half first cousins. The way I wound up with half first cousins is that my grandfather was married twice, his first wife having died relatively young. The grandchildren of the first wife, therefore, were half first cousins to the grandchildren of the second wife. Another way of stating the relationship is that the children of half-siblings are half first cousins. All this data which I had never looked at before convinced me that the person who called me was indeed a close relative especially since we share about 31% of our DNA. It is striking that nature loves the base-2 number system, that is, it loves doubling and halving. Consider that out bodies display bilateral symmetry with each half being a mirror image of the other. We have two eyes, ears, nostrils, arms, legs, lungs, kidneys, gonads, a brain with two hemispheres. Furthermore, we have 23 pairs of chromosomes, the double helix structure of chromosomes, and myriad pairs of genes which are doubled in mitosis (non sex-cell division) and halved in meiosis (sex-cell division). This secrets of genetics lit a fire in my mind, and I became intrigued with the mystery of nature's life code which was only recently deciphered by the human genome project and Watson and Crick's discovery of the chemistry of DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid)-the sugars, bases and proteins that life is made of.

Almost all Arab tribes are divided into two genealogical groups, the ʿAdnānīyūn, claimed descendants of Adnan, and the Qaḥṭānīyūn, claimed descendants of Qaḥṭān. A neighbour-joining algorithm was used to reconstruct the phylogenies of 550 J1 Arab tribal members, divided across 14 ʿAdnānī and 9 Qaḥṭānī genetically homogenous tribes. Modal haplotypes and common haplogroups of tribes were obtained and then passed to the neighbour-joining algorithm. Phylogenetic subdivisions were then compared to traditional lineages, revealing subdivisions matching Muḍarī (a subgroup of the ʿAdnānīyūn) and Ilyāsī (a subgroup of Muḍarīyūn) lineages. All the Muḍarī tribes sampled belonged to the Y5324 haplogroup. The Ilyāsī tribes sampled belonged to the Y9272 haplogroup. The Qaḥṭānīyūn were the most genetically diverse, with no subdivisions having been found to match Ḥimyarī and Kaḥlānī (two main subgroups of Qaḥṭānīyūn) lineages.

In this chapter I use the metaphor of the triptych to tell a story about race, gender, and science. The triptych is a threefold, and it is a work of art to narrate stories that do not hang together in a straightforward way, in which time and place relate in nonlinear ways: The three panels of the triptych can be folded and unfolded, superimposing historically remote moments in time or setting them apart. Taking the folding-effect of the triptych seriously the stories in this chapter are not written in a chronological order but jump back and forth in time.

Each of the panels in this chapter focuses on DNA and its relation to race and the female body. In each subsequent panel we will zoom in further on the crucial role of gender in the production of race. The first panel sketches the use of DNA in “root-seeking practices” (Nelson 2008). In this panel I show how the attempt to restore genealogies comes with the price of fixating African-ness and representing an archaic image thereof. The second panel takes us to the field of population genetics and drafts the genetic out-of-Africa story, also called the Mitochondrial Eve theory. Starting with a seminal paper published in 1987, I examine how it un/doesrace by situating it in a longer history of racial science and attend to the crucial role of gender therein. The third panel zooms further in on genetics, focusing on one key technology, a DNA reference sequence, on which all research discussed here is based. Unraveling the history of the sequence shows how it folds in itself histories of race and racism, as well as misogyny, such as the history of Henrietta Lacks.

Objectives: We describe a method to identify human remains excavated from unmarked graves in historical Québec cemeteries by combining parental-lineage genetic markers with the whole-population genealogy of Québec contained in the BALSAC database. Materials and methods: The remains of six men were exhumed from four historical cemeteries in the province of Québec, Canada. DNA was extracted from the remains and genotyped to reveal their mitochondrial and Y-chromosome haplotypes, which were compared to a collection of haplotypes of genealogically-anchored modern volunteers. Maternal and paternal genealogies were searched in the BALSAC genealogi-cal record for parental couples matching the mitochondrial and the Y-chromosome haplotypic signatures, to identify candidate sons from whom the remains could have originated. Results: Analysis of the matching genealogies identified the parents of one man inhumed in the cemetery of the investigated parish during its operating time. The candidate individual died in 1833 at the age of 58, a plausible age at death in light of osteological analysis of the remains.

El libro actualiza los resultados de 14 meses de investigación genealógica, rastreando únicamente el "trronco" del árbol genealógico de 16 apellidos de los tres Gamboa Rocha en 2011 a 2015.  Es decr, el seguimiento fue realizado, de hijo a padre, empezando en la actualidad.  Solo por excepción, se hizo el trazado de otros integrantes de la famlia:  madre, hijas y otros parientes.  El método construído permite hacerlo de manera extensiva;  sólo que no se tuvo la energía ni el tiempo requerido para cubrir, también, ramas secundarias y follaje del árbol genalógico.
Se presenta la estructura general de la familia investigada, en dos grandes periodos:
i)desde 1870 hasta 2015;
ii)Desde los Siglos XII y XIII,  hasta 1870.
Para el primer periodo,  el estudio genealógico recurrió de manera sistemática , principalmente, a fuentes primarias de información.  Del 2006 al 2015, lo que aquí se expone fue resultado de la aplicación de entrevistas estructuradas y abiertas a integrantes de la familia.  Contiene datos de ascendientes ly descendientes, hasta la generación de los 4 abuelos (por el lado Gamboa) y 4 abuelos (por el lado Rocha).  Los apellidos, entónces, son 16. 
Para el segundo periodo, para cada uno de estos 16 apellidos, también se utilizaron fuentes primarias de datos, sólo que ahora representados en su mayor parte por registros civiles o parroquial-eclesiásticos ( en México, el Registro Civil funcionó realmente a partir del censo general de población de 1930).  Para ello, fue vital el intyenso uso que se hizo, de registros contenidaos en la ENORME base de datos, en línea y gratuitos, de https://www.familysearch.org/es/ 
Para los dos periodos, se echó mano de fuentes secundarias de información, básicamente para elaborar panorámicas; sobre todo cuando hubo insuficiencia de fuentes primarias.  De manera que, a partir de aquí, se podrá rastrear las biografías de cada uno de los integrantes de esta estructura, con lo que se espera que integrantes de la propia familia investigada pueda iniciar un sistema de monitoreo permanente del quehacer de cada uno de sus integrantes.
El primer conjuto de resutados se publilcó en una página wb (http://www.galeon.com).  En 2016, privilegiando elaspecto metodológico, se publico en academia . Edu, en el año 2015.  A finales de enero del 2020, recibí ntificación de que la página web de galeon.com dejaría de funcionar.  Asi que, bajo los auspicios del CEPROS AC sí me puse a rescatarla con carácter emergente.  Lo logré apenitas, ya que sólo tuve tres días para ello.  Una vez en mi servidor, decidía presentar toda la información, actuaizada y mejorada, ahora bajo la forma de forma de libro, contando con la promesa de publicación del mencionado CEPROS AC.
La presente edición 2020 ,en efecto, recoge y reorganiza todo lo anterior.  Además incluye un voluminoso material de anexos, en que se transcriben los datos registrales de iglesias y parroquias.  Principalmente registros de bautizos y matrimonios;  eventualmente, se recurrió a los de defunciones. A pesar de estar disponibles, no se incluyeron aquí fotgrarías de microfilmes y libretas manuscritas, por motivos de espacio.

Queridas amigas, queridos amigos:
Nos complace enormemente anunciar la VI edición del Curso de Experto en Genealogía y Archivos (GENEARCH) de la Universidad de Córdoba, una vez más, bajo la dirección del profesor Enrique Soria Mesa, catedrático de Historia Moderna y director del Laboratorio de Estudios Judeoconversos.
Actualizando los contenidos de ediciones anteriores, nuestro objetivo sigue siendo ofrecer una formación de postgrado, bajo el aval de la Universidad de Córdoba, integrando unos contenidos que pocos títulos reúnen en un mismo programa de estudios: los estudios genealógicos, el mundo de los archivos y las escrituras antiguas.
Como en años anteriores, ofertamos dos planes de estudio: la modalidad de Experto, para aquellos interesados que dispongan de titulación universitaria oficial (grado, diplomatura, licenciatura, ingeniería, etc.), y la de Extensión universitaria, para los amantes de la genealogía y los archivos que no los tengan. Ambas modalidades con idéntico contenido, desarrollo, profesorado y duración, cambiando únicamente el certificado expedido a final de curso.
Un título universitario que cuenta con un total de 22 créditos ECTS, los cuales equivalen a 550 horas teórico-prácticas, más el correspondiente Trabajo Fin de Curso (7 créditos ECTS). Su carácter eminentemente práctico, gracias a la docencia virtual, hace que sea un programa de estudios accesible a interesados de todo el mundo, independientemente de husos horarios y lugares de residencia.
La duración de GENEARCH es de nueve meses. Comenzará el 1 de marzo de 2020 y finalizará el 1 de diciembre del mismo año. Los plazos de matriculación constarán de dos periodos obligatorios:
• Un espacio de preinscripción entre el 1 de diciembre de 2019 y el 15 febrero de 2020, ambos inclusive.
• Y un periodo de matriculación que discurrirá desde el 8 de enero de 2020 al 28 de febrero del mismo año, ambos inclusive.
El precio de dicha titulación (ambas modalidades) es de 650 euros, los cuales pueden abonarse de manera fraccionada hasta en dos plazos. Esto significa que el valor de cada crédito ECTS es de 29,54 euros.
Para saber más acerca de dicho programa de estudios:
https://genearch.wordpress.com/
Para proceder a realizar la preinscripción y matrícula en el Curso de Experto/Extensión universitaria en Genealogía y Archivos de la Universidad de Córdoba:
https://www.uco.es/idep/menu-formacion-permanente/informacion-para-estudiantes

What is it about Jewish genealogy that makes it so challenging and difficult?  Why do so few Ashkenazi Jews have family trees and paper trails?  Are autosomal DNA and Y-DNA tests as useful for tracing Jewish ancestry as for other groups?

As someone who has been successful at tracing his family’s Jewish ancestry back to the Middle Ages, and has conducted numerous Y-DNA studies of rabbinical lineages, while encountering his share of genealogical challenges along the way, I thought that it would be useful to share some of my experiences and insights regarding these very important questions.

In this article, the main factors that are responsible for making Jewish genealogy so challenging are divided into ten main categories: (1) the destruction of Jewish records; (2) the difficulty in finding surviving Jewish documents; (3) language barriers; (4) the history of Jewish surname adoption; (5) the nature of the Jewish surname adoption process; (6) the Americanization of Jewish surnames; (7) Jewish endogamy; (8) the historical lack of family trees and paper trails; (9) the Holocaust; and (10) the Jewish immigrant experience in America.

It is only by fully understanding the challenges, problems, and difficulties faced by Jewish genealogists that effective strategies can be devised to deal with these issues and to find solutions.

Streszczenie W wyniku średniowiecznej ekspansji Słowianie zasiedlili 1/3 Europy. Geografia tego osad-nictwa i jego politycznej organizacji jest dobrze rozpoznana dla czasów środkowego i późne-go średniowiecza. Znacznie mniej wiadomo na temat pierwotnej ojczyzny Słowian, jak rów-nież przebiegu ich ekspansji we wczesnym średniowieczu. Jest to pożywka dla wielu, często wykluczających się, koncepcji. Rozwój poszczególnych dyscyplin badawczych (archeologia, językoznawstwo, genealogia genetyczna) przynosi jednak nowe możliwości poznawcze. Koncepcje allochtonistów i autochtonistów nie muszą być sprzeczne, lecz mogą przynosić uzupełniającą się wiedzę. Umieszczenie siedzib Prasłowian w dorzeczu Wisły i Odry wcale nie musi wykluczać ukształtowania podstaw słowiańskiego etosu w jego ostatecznej postaci w dorzeczach Prypeci, Bohu i Dniestru. Ta nowa jakość kulturowa mogła być jednak roz-przestrzeniania przy współudziale całej prasłowiańskiej ludności, a istotną rolę w tym proce-sie mogła również odegrać wtórna migracja niektórych plemion słowiańskich znad Dunaju. Abstract As a result of the medieval expansion, Slavs settled 1/3 of Europe. The geography of this settlement and its political organization is well known for the Middle and Late Middle Ages. Much less is known about the original homeland of Slavs, as well as the course of their expansion in the early Middle Ages. It is a medium for many concepts, often contradictory to each other. However, the development of individual research disciplines (archeology, lin

Over the past ten years, my research colleagues and I have been conducting pioneering Y-DNA research studies which utilize both traditional genealogical and current DNA methods and technology to identify the unique Y-DNA genetic signature  and ethnic origin of some of the world’s most esteemed and historically significant rabbinical lineages and dynasties, as well as one of America’s Founding Fathers.

Over the course of conducting these research studies, we have made observations regarding the nature of Y-DNA testing, and how the results of Y-DNA tests compare and vary between individuals and lineages. We have published articles which explain why Y-DNA results and Jewish surnames and paper trails sometimes don’t agree,  and how well current models predict the time-to-most recent common ancestor (TMRCA).

Like most scientific endeavors, genetic genealogy research is ongoing; it never truly “arrives” at an ultimate destination.  Over the past ten years, it has been our policy to publish our significant research findings in “pre-publication draft” form, to make the genetic genealogy community aware of new research findings as expeditiously as possible, and to encourage further research efforts.

In keeping with this long-standing policy, this research paper presents a potentially significant new finding regarding the results of Y-DNA testing, and how the typical number of genetic matches reported varies between Jewish and non-Jewish populations.

The most recent draft was posted 1 January 2020.  Be sure to check back frequently for updates.

On Dec. 9, 2019, genealogists using GEDmatch, a free online tool that compares DNA test results, were surprised to find out that the genealogy database had been bought by Verogen, a company that manufactures forensic lab instruments for law enforcement. GEDmatch founder Curt Rogers acknowledged, “that law enforcement use of genetic genealogy is here to stay and [Verogen] is in a better position to prevent abuses and protect privacy than GEDmatch ever could have done on its own.” As with all social media sites, genealogists and their family trees have become the product. Perhaps there are better ways to foster family this year than to gift away your genetic relatives, as criminal as you think they might be.

Twenty years ago, a haplogroup estimate of R-M343 or R-M269 was assumed to be a marker of non-Jewish paternal ancestry. With new scientific tools, we now know that, instead, it might indicate descendance from any number of known Jewish lineages, small and large, with probable ancient origins in the Middle East, western Asia, Africa, or the Mediterranean.  These geographic origins are all consistent with ancient Jewish history and migration, not indications of the large-scale introduction of recent northern or eastern European Y-DNA into the modern Jewish population.

"Családfa-kutatásaim során szükségszerűen felmerült az ötlet, hogy ezeket genetikai vizsgálatokkal kéne megtámogatnom. Egyrészt bizonyíthatom egy-egy ág hitelességét, másrészt a genetikai családfa tízezer évekre visszamenőleg megmutatja egy bizonyos ág földrajzi, történelmi eredetét is."

IAJGS Conference, Cleveland, 2019

When men of Ashkenazi descent from Eastern Europe tested their Y-chromosome DNA and were identified as belonging to haplogroup I2a, a predominantly Slavic haplogroup, the prevailing theory was that their lineage was the result of a Jewish woman being raped by a Cossack. Recent results from Next Generation Sequencing have shown this theory to be extremely unlikely, because the Ashkenazi men share a paternal ancestor 2,000 years ago with a group of non-Jewish men of unexpected ethnicity. This talk will demonstrate methods for tracing Jewish migration across the ancient world and tying DNA to Jewish history.