My Living DNA Has Been Updated!

Yesterday I received an email from Living DNA announcing that a free update was available for my 2017 ancestry results.* So I followed the link, requested my update and was told that it was in process and would be complete in less than 48 hours. The confirming email arrived early this morning.

And here it is:**

[Living DNA Recent Ancestry]

According to their data, my recent DNA heritage is 100% European--5.7% from my 2X great grandmother Delilah Grove (1845-1925) and the remaining 94.3% Great Britain and Ireland from everyone else.

[Living DNA Recent Ancestry]

Of the more exotic traces claimed by my previous results only Orkney remains (with the addition of the Shetland Islands). My alleged connections to the Iberian Peninsula, Scandinavia, and the Kurds and Pashtuns have disappeared.



*See my previous results here.
**Sadly the company has chosen to show everything in a low contrast format so you may find it hard to read.. And I've emailed them about that.


© 2020 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

New Ethnicity Breakdowns at 23andMe: Some New Leads for My Dad

Varmland, Sweden, and County Wexford, Ireland.  Possible leads for Gustav Andersson and Hester Patterson?

Two of my dad's recent ancestors (Dad's great grandfather Gustav Andersson, c. 1850 - ?, and also Dad's 2nd great grandmother Hester Patterson, abt 1800 - 1856) have been brickwalls for me for a long time.

Gustav Andersson (as Andersson Bergstrom) and Hester Patterson in situ on my father's tree.

Gustav Andersson Bergstrom

According to Dad's grandmother Mette Karine "Mary's" birth record, her father was railworker/roadworker Gustav Andersson Bergstrom (Andersson Bergstrom in the image above) from Lidkoping, Sweden.

Counties to focus on for Dad's great grandfather Gustav Andersson Bergstrom.  I have already been following some promising leads in Varmland and Vastra Gotaland counties in DNA matches.

Hester (Patterson) Rittgers

As for Hester Patterson, I've only been able to determine that she had a few Patterson siblings who had descedants that Dad matches to on Ancestry.  There was a Samuel Patterson in 1820 in the Fairfield County, Ohio area where Hester married and was living in 1830, and her first son with Jake Rittgers was Samuel Rittgers (oldest brother of Esther Loretta Rittgers, who was my grandfather George Hartley's grandmother).  Maybe Samuel Patterson was her father??

Hester Patterson's children who lived to the 1880 US Census and beyond put the following as mother's place of birth (note that her husband Jake Rittgers (the "father" in the following list) was definitely born in Virginia):


Daughter Esther Loretta:

1880: Father--PA, Mother--Virginia


Son Samuel G. S. Rittgers:

1880: Father--PA, Mother--England
1900: Father--VA, Mother--Ireland


Son John A. Rittgers:

1880: Father--PA, Mother--Ohio


Son Israel Patterson Rittgers:

1880: Father--PA, Mother--Ohio


Daughter Margaret Rittgers:

1880: Both parents from Ohio
1900: Father--Ohio, Mother--Ireland
1910: Both parents from Ohio


Son Jacob R. Rittgers:

1880: Father--PA, Mother--VA
1910: Both parents from Germany
1920: Father--PA, Mother from Ireland


Son Eli D. Rittgers:

1880: Both parents from VA
1900: Father--PA, Mother from England


Son Perry C. Rittgers:

1880: Both parents from Pennsylvania
1900: Father--PA, Mother--Scotland


Daughter Sarah Rittgers:

1880: Father--VA, Mother--PA
1900: Father--Ohio, Mother--PA
1910: Both parents from Virginia


Son Peter M. Rittgers:

1880: Father--PA, Mother--??
1900: Father--PA, Mother--Ireland
1910: Father--PA, Mother--Ireland
1920: Father--PA, Mother--Ireland


Son Henry Charles Rittgers:

1880: Father--PA, Mother--Ohio
1900: Father--VA, Mother--Ohio
1905: Father--Germany, Mother--Ireland
1920: Father--Germany, Mother--Ireland
1930: Both parents from VA


On the 1850 Census Hester (Patterson) Rittgers was listed as born in Maryland lol

From all this I gather that Hester was likely at least somewhat Irish, and may have been born in the East (Maryland or Pennsylvania) or was born in Ireland (or possibly England).

23andMe estimated that Dad has ancestry in the past 200 years from only one county in Ireland (County Wexford).  Dad has only one known suspected Irish ancestor in the past 200 years, Hester Patterson.  Could this be a big clue for Hester's origin??  I hope so.

© 2019 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

And Now for Something Totally Different: Inside the Denisova Cave

In 2010 DNA sequencing of a young girl's tiny finger bone from this Siberian cave proved to be from an individual who was neither a Neandertal nor a modern human. Since then more discoveries* have been made and this extinct line of ancient humans has been named Denisovan in reference to the location where their traces were found.

Several days ago a new discovery was announced: A woolly mammoth tusk “tiara” that could have been worn by a Denisovan man. The Siberian Times has an extensive article about the find and they also provided a video of a visit to the cave which made me realize I had no idea of what the region looks like.

[Warning: this video's sound is very loud, be prepared to turn down your speakers.]

Oh, and that "tiara"? Here's The Siberian Times' graphic:

[Source: The Siberian Times]

Hat tip to The History Blog.


*Including a female (nicknamed Denny) whose DNA is a mixture from her Neandertal mother and Denisovan father.

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Fantastic Find: Irish "DNA Atlas"

A year ago The Irish Times published an article about "a new Irish DNA atlas" derived using "DNA samples collected from 196 Irish people whose eight great-grandparents were born within 50 km of each other in Ireland." Here's the project's map as published in the newspaper:

[Thirty genetic clusters have been identified from 2,103 Irish and British individuals. The map shows the geographic origin of 192 Atlas Irish individuals and 1,611 British individuals from the Peoples of the British Isles project, labelled according to the geographic origin of their DNA. Source: The Irish Times]

The study has discovered that "before the mass migration of people in recent decades, there were at least 10 distinct genetic clusters across the country, roughly aligned with the ancient provinces or kingdoms of Ireland." And for the first time genetic evidence of Viking settlement in Ireland was confirmed.

It is hoped that data from the project will improve the diagnosis of genetic diseases, "particularly for illnesses that are prevalent among people with Irish ancestry, including multiple sclerosis, cystic fibrosis and celiac disease."

The article included a link to the original study which was published by the journal Scientific Reports.

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Fantastic Find: The Irish DNA Registry on Facebook

If you have Irish roots, have done DNA testing for your genealogy and uploaded the results to GEDMatch, this closed Facebook group could be very helpful.

[From their Facebook page]

Here's how they describe themselves:

We are a group to assist you with researching those links with DNA matches who share Irish Ancestry. We have a comparison tool called Matchbox which allows you to compare our database of member against your GEDMatch one to many match data.

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

LESS than 25 DAYS for the next i4GG (Institute for Genetic Genealogy) 2018 Conference!

Now only 24 days away!:

2018 i4GG registration Now Open!
Just since our last conference the popularity and public interest in Genetic Genealogy has seen a formidable explosion. Data bases have mushroomed as Genetic Genealogy has gone from exclusive or elite, to mainstream. This begs the question; what will the next 12 months hold for Genetic Genealogy? How are the testing companies preparing for continued explosive growth? How can we stay on top of the latest advancements in this field, including the most comprehensive and most effective  techniques for the successful application of DNA testing to genealogy available now? This and so much more will be the theme of i4GG 2018.

Hosted by CeCe Moore’s DNA Detectives the i4GG 2.5 day Genetic Genealogy conference will kick off with a “company” day Friday December 7 when the major DNA testing companies will own the stage. This is followed by two full days December 8 and 9, 2018 in San Diego CA. As is i4GG tradition, the conference will cover the most cutting edge Genetic Genealogy methodologies for any genealogy application, including unknown parentage.

The talks at i4GG will be professionally video recorded and be provided free of charge to those who purchase tickets for both (2.5) days. For those who opt for one day only, the recordings will be available for purchase at $99 for all videos, or $10 for purchase of individual video recordings.

Newbie or Pro, makes no difference, at i4GG there is something for everyone. i4GG has been called “the most important DNA conference in America” and we will strive to live up to this esteemed repute.

One of my goals this year is to learn more about DNA, obviously.  But another goal is to be as comfortable as possible (I find all-day meetings like this physically excruciating, despite my interest in the subject).

I hope to see some of your there!



© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

A Job Taylor DNA Circle has Formed

Just noticed this.  My confidence that I am a descendant of Job Taylor continues to increase.  From my AncestryDNA Circles.

I goofed up when I originally worked on my 2nd great grandmother Rufina Tomlinson Slater's Taylor upline, so it is reassuring whenever the evidence that Job Taylor is my ancestor continues to build.

The main problem with Job is that I have no idea who his parents were, or what his wife Betsey's maiden name was.  Apparently no one else seems to know yet either.  But we know we are related!


© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

i4gg DNA Conference in San Diego in Only 38 Days and Counting!

Now only 38 days away!:

2018 i4GG registration Now Open!
Just since our last conference the popularity and public interest in Genetic Genealogy has seen a formidable explosion. Data bases have mushroomed as Genetic Genealogy has gone from exclusive or elite, to mainstream. This begs the question; what will the next 12 months hold for Genetic Genealogy? How are the testing companies preparing for continued explosive growth? How can we stay on top of the latest advancements in this field, including the most comprehensive and most effective  techniques for the successful application of DNA testing to genealogy available now? This and so much more will be the theme of i4GG 2018.

Hosted by CeCe Moore’s DNA Detectives the i4GG 2.5 day Genetic Genealogy conference will kick off with a “company” day Friday December 7 when the major DNA testing companies will own the stage. This is followed by two full days December 8 and 9, 2018 in San Diego CA. As is i4GG tradition, the conference will cover the most cutting edge Genetic Genealogy methodologies for any genealogy application, including unknown parentage.

The talks at i4GG will be professionally video recorded and be provided free of charge to those who purchase tickets for both (2.5) days. For those who opt for one day only, the recordings will be available for purchase at $99 for all videos, or $10 for purchase of individual video recordings.

Newbie or Pro, makes no difference, at i4GG there is something for everyone. i4GG has been called “the most important DNA conference in America” and we will strive to live up to this esteemed repute.

One of my goals this year is to learn more about DNA, obviously.  But another goal is to be as comfortable as possible (I find all-day meetings like this physically excruciating, despite my interest in the subject).



© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

More New Features at AncestryDNA

My son's view of his matches.  There are THREE new features at AncestryDNA.

What I missed in my post on Tuesday (1: "AncestryDNA Now Includes Automatic Display of Amount DNA Shared in Matching Lists") is that there two other new features to play with at AncestryDNA.



2: Matches Map (Beta)

My son's matches (4th cousin and closer) that Marc has in living Southern California.  My mom and I are at bottom.  These locations are not historical.

You are mapped if you volunteer your location.

3: Compare

My son's view of his grandmother Pat's profile.

What ethnicities he shares with his grandmother.

People my son and grandmother Pat have in common (there is a link to more matches if that applies). The presentation of this information set  reminds me a little of 23andme.

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

AncestryDNA Now Includes Automatic Display of Amount DNA Shared in Matching Lists

"Shared DNA:..." now shows at a glancethe amount of DNA shared with cousin matches.

For years now I've been methodically going through DNA matches and adding the amount DNA shared in the notes section of each match, but now it shows up as part of the results list.  One less step to do!


© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Too Funny: Elizabeth Warren's DNA Test

Comic from Dana Summers.

Welcome to the noise-level Native American DNA club, Elizabeth Warren!  My father gets a consistently tiny reading in most ethnicity calculators of Native American/Amerindian, and if real (which is unlikely) it is due to an ancestor from the 1700s.  Although it seems that the ethnicity estimates seem to point to some Arctic origin, possibly Greenland or Siberia, and possibly Saami.

These DNA tests are quite something. pic.twitter.com/tCHmW7pJbj

— Senator Hatch Office (@senorrinhatch) October 15, 2018

I think Roberta Estes has the most thorough discussion on the topic.


© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

i4GG Conference Coming Up Fast!

I posted about this conference in June.  Now it is only 66 days away!:

2018 i4GG registration Now Open!
Just since our last conference the popularity and public interest in Genetic Genealogy has seen a formidable explosion. Data bases have mushroomed as Genetic Genealogy has gone from exclusive or elite, to mainstream. This begs the question; what will the next 12 months hold for Genetic Genealogy? How are the testing companies preparing for continued explosive growth? How can we stay on top of the latest advancements in this field, including the most comprehensive and most effective  techniques for the successful application of DNA testing to genealogy available now? This and so much more will be the theme of i4GG 2018.

Hosted by CeCe Moore’s DNA Detectives the i4GG 2.5 day Genetic Genealogy conference will kick off with a “company” day Friday December 7 when the major DNA testing companies will own the stage. This is followed by two full days December 8 and 9, 2018 in San Diego CA. As is i4GG tradition, the conference will cover the most cutting edge Genetic Genealogy methodologies for any genealogy application, including unknown parentage.

The talks at i4GG will be professionally video recorded and be provided free of charge to those who purchase tickets for both (2.5) days. For those who opt for one day only, the recordings will be available for purchase at $99 for all videos, or $10 for purchase of individual video recordings.

Newbie or Pro, makes no difference, at i4GG there is something for everyone. i4GG has been called “the most important DNA conference in America” and we will strive to live up to this esteemed repute.

One of my goals this year is to learn more about DNA, obviously.  But another goal is to be as comfortable as possible (I find all-day meetings like this physically excruciating, despite my interest in the subject).



© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Marc's Updated Ethnicity Estimate at AncestryDNA

My son's updated ethnicity estimate at AncestryDNA.

My son Marc's updated ethnicity estimate changed a bit.  It seems accurated based on the paper trail.

Updated Estimate

Germanic Europe 31%
Refined from:
Europe West 34%

Norway 27%
Refined from:
Scandinavia 18%

Ireland and Scotland 13%
Increased by 9%

Baltic States 12%
Refined from:
Europe East 25%

England, Wales & Northwestern Europe 11%
Decreased by 3%

Eastern Europe and Russia 6%
Refined from:
Europe East 25%


Migrations
Pennsylvania, Ohio & Indiana Settlers
Western Norway
Hordaland & Rogaland


No Longer in Estimate
Iberian Peninsula 2%
Finland/Northwest Russia 1%
Europe South less than 1%
Asia South less than 1%




© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

My Updated DNA Results Summary at AncestryDNA

My updated AncestryDNA results.

My updated AncestryDNA ethnicity admixture results weren't very dramatic, although I think that it better reflected my Norwegian great grandparents.

The estimate with the information on what it was updated from:

England, Wales & Northwestern Europe: 41%
Decreased by 30%


Norway: 39%
Refined from: Scandinavia 17%


Ireland and Scotland: 12%
Increased by 12%


Sweden: 8%
Refined from: Scandinavia 17%


Migrations
Western Norway
Hordaland & Rogaland
Ohio River Valley, Indiana, Illinois & Iowa Settlers
Pennsylvania, Ohio & Indiana Settlers


No Longer in Estimate
Europe West 9%
Europe East less than 1%
Caucasus less than 1%




This update features:
16,000 reference samples (13,000 more)
380 possible regions (17 additional)

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

DNA Match Linking a Speculative Hartley Relative to Solomon Hartley's Brother George

Any kind of breakthrough on my Hartley side is always exciting because my earliest known Hartley ancestor (4th great grandfather Solomon Hartley 1775-1815) has proven to be especially difficult to figure out.

For a long time I have speculatively linked George Hartley (1763-1824, rigger in Philadelphia and likely brother of my Solomon Hartley) to George's possible son Samuel, whose descendants lived in Rappahannock/Page counties in Virginia and later in West Virginia.

Today I checked for DNA matches for Hartleys in Virginia and West Virginia.  My dad has 2 DNA matches to Samuel Hartley's descendants, who also share/match known or suspected Hartley matches on AncestryDNA.  I consulted the shared cM chart and the amounts shared was reasonable given the relationships--respectively, 5th cousin (20 cM shared) and 5th 1x removed cousin (10.9 cM shared).

Will this help me figure out Solomon and George's ancestry?  I don't know.  But how cool that I was able to expand the Hartley clan through autosomal DNA and move the relationship from speculative to likely.



© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

A Helpful DNA Relationship Chart (Especially for AncestryDNA Users) - Shared cM Project Chart, Version 3.0

Blaine Bettinger's "Shared cM Project - Version 3.0."  

One of my most viewed posts last year was about version 2.0 of Blaine Bettinger's Shared cM Project. When I went over to the Autosomal DNA statistics at the ISOGG wiki I was pleased to see he had updated his chart.


© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

i4GG Conference Registration is Open

I'm going to the i4GG conference again:

2018 i4GG registration Now Open!
Just since our last conference the popularity and public interest in Genetic Genealogy has seen a formidable explosion. Data bases have mushroomed as Genetic Genealogy has gone from exclusive or elite, to mainstream. This begs the question; what will the next 12 months hold for Genetic Genealogy? How are the testing companies preparing for continued explosive growth? How can we stay on top of the latest advancements in this field, including the most comprehensive and most effective  techniques for the successful application of DNA testing to genealogy available now? This and so much more will be the theme of i4GG 2018.

Hosted by CeCe Moore’s DNA Detectives the i4GG 2.5 day Genetic Genealogy conference will kick off with a “company” day Friday December 7 when the major DNA testing companies will own the stage. This is followed by two full days December 8 and 9, 2018 in San Diego CA. As is i4GG tradition, the conference will cover the most cutting edge Genetic Genealogy methodologies for any genealogy application, including unknown parentage.

The talks at i4GG will be professionally video recorded and be provided free of charge to those who purchase tickets for both (2.5) days. For those who opt for one day only, the recordings will be available for purchase at $99 for all videos, or $10 for purchase of individual video recordings.

Newbie or Pro, makes no difference, at i4GG there is something for everyone. i4GG has been called “the most important DNA conference in America” and we will strive to live up to this esteemed repute.

One of my goals this year is to learn more about DNA, obviously.  But another goal is to be as comfortable as possible (I find all-day meetings like this physically excruciating, despite my interest in the subject).


© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Limited Time Free Webinar: "Better Together: Making Your Case with Documents and DNA" by Patti Lee Hobbs

You've taken one or more DNA tests.  Now what do you do with that information?  Let Patti Lee Hobbs, CG show you some of the ways that professional genealogists use the results of DNA tests in her webinar "Better Together: Making Your Case with Documents and DNA:"

The genealogical proof standard requires reasonably exhaustive research in solving ancestral-identity problems. DNA evidence is now often part of that research. Even the best DNA evidence must be combined with some traditional research. This webinar will show different ways that genealogical problems have been solved by integrating DNA evidence with the paper trail.

Runs 1 hour 28 minutes
Free to non-subscribers through April 24



© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Updated 23andMe Ethnicity Estimates for Me and My Immediate Family

Sorry about the blurry words, I struggled to get reasonable screen captures, but the map shows the general idea.  Here is my estimate:  British and Irish (United Kingdom) is 50.1 percent; Scandinavian (Norway) is 19.5 percent; French and German (Germany) is 8.3 percent; Eastern European is 1.2 percent; Finnish is 0.2 percent; Ashkenazi Jewish is 0.1 percent; Broadly Northwestern European is 19.0 percent; and Broadly European is 1.5 percent.

I feel more comfortable with these 23andMe ethnicity estimates than the previous ones.  I'll never know exactly where my ancestors were from, but this seems to closely follow what I find in the paper trail.

One thing I noticed was that it assigned Norway to my father and I, as I would expect (my dad's grandparents were from Norway), but my mom's Scandinavian was further refined to Denmark.  Also, her "French and German" was further refined to Netherlands (she has known Netherlands, albeit quite a ways back, but she also does have German and likely French).

Steve's AncestryDNA pointed to a tiny amount of Nigerian, so the West African blip in the 23andMe makes me think that it might actually be real.  Some in his Murphy line have claimed Native American ancestry, but I think I've seen white people who sometimes claim Native American ancestry have African ancestry instead.  Maybe that is the case in this instance.

My mother's updated 23andMe estimate: British and Irish (United Kingdom) is 61.4 percent; French and German (Netherlands) is 13.8 percent; Scandinavian (Denmark) is 2.6 percent; Broadly Northwestern European is 19.4 percent; Broadly Southern European is 0.9 percent; and Broadly European is 1.8 percent.

My Dad's updated ethnicity results: Scandinavian (Norway) is 42.2 percent; British and Irish (United Kingdom) is 19.2 percent; French and Germany (Germany) is 1.9 percent; Balkan is 0.5 percent; Finnish is 0.2 percent; Ashkenazi Jewish is 0.1 percent; Broadly Northwestern European is 30.8 percent; Broadly Southern European is 1.1 percent; and Broadly European is 3.8 percent. 

My husband's updated ethnicity results: Eastern European (Poland) is 30.8 percent; French and Germany (Germany) is 12.7 percent; British and Irish (United Kingdom) is 4.4 percent; Balkan is 0.7 percent, Finnish is 0.7 percent; Iberian is 0.7 percent; Ashkenazi Jewish is 0.3 percent; Broadly Northwestern European is 22 percent; Broadly Southern European is 2.5 percent; Broadly European is 16.1 percent. East Asian and Native American (Broadly East Asian) is 0.1 percent; and Sub-Saharan African (West African) is 0.1 percent.

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

I'm a whopping less-than-1-percent Irish/Scotland/Wales (my dad has 2 percent and my mom has 7 percent, so I don't think it is just noise).  Thanks to my husband's contribution my son has 4 percent.

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.