Autosomal DNA tests for genetic genealogy
This is another post in a series on genetic genealogy. So far, I’ve written about the general topic, and the use of Y-DNA and mtDNA to trace back either a paternal or maternal line. These testing methods are great, and can take you back even tens of thousands of years in terms of very deep ancestral origins. However, neither one can tell you about closer-in family relationships, like your mother’s father’s brother’s children. This is where autosomal DNA tests for genetic genealogy can play a role. As we’ve mentioned before, we humans have chromosomal DNA in the...
Read MoremtDNA testing for genetic genealogy
Considering mtDNA testing for genetic genealogy? Here’s our next post in our tour through the use of DNA testing for genealogy. This time the focus is on matrilineal researches using mitochondrial DNA aka M-DNA aka mtDNA. As we mentioned before, the mitochondria is a so-called “organelle” that resides within the our cells, and those of other animals. It is the engine that provides us all with our cells’ metabolic energy. There is a theory that these mitochondria were once independent creatures, but that somewhere in the mists of time, a symbiotic relationship...
Read MoreY-DNA testing for genetic genealogy
Considering Y-DNA testing for genetic genealogy? In my last post, I introduced the topic of DNA testing for genetic genealogy. In this post, I’m going to delve further into Y-DNA testing. First, I should point out that since the Y-chromosome is what will express the “maleness” of a man, that DNA in it will encode for these masculine attributes. However, it is not these parts of the DNA that are of interest in genetic testing. Instead, the focus is on what’s called noncoding or “junk” DNA. In the human genome, as much as 98% of DNA does not actually encode...
Read MoreResearching your Genetic Genealogy
Researching your Genetic Genealogy At a particular point in my researches using traditional approaches, I ran into a brick wall. In going back on my Scottish side, that brick wall was the aftermath of the Jacobite Rebellion in 1745. In going back on my German-Russian side, it was the origins of my ancestors in Germany before they moved to South Russia in the late 1700s. It occurred to me that DNA testing might provide some answers. This was back in 2003 or 2004 or so. Over the years since then, this approach has expanded in surprising ways; even though it is still in what is likely to be its...
Read MoreResearching Scottish Genealogy
Researching Scottish Genealogy So, in my last post I regaled you with resources for tracking down German-Russian genealogy. Now, I’m turning my personal focus over to my Scottish side, thanks to my father and his ancestors. I mean, with the surname Angus, what did you expect? Again, we can consider Ancestry.com and Cyndi’s List as good beginning points with the same provisos as I stated before. In the case of German-Russians in the US and Canada, we found a number of local organizations dedicated to preserving that ethnic history. In the case of Scottish folk, there are similar...
Read MoreResearching German-Russian Genealogy
Researching German-Russian Genealogy Lo and behold, I never even knew that I had a German-Russian background until around 2006 or so. To be a bit more precise, I didn’t know what “German-Russian” meant. For those not in the know, as I was, the term refers to colonies of ethnic Germans who were invited to move into parts of “South Russia” in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The Russians had defeated the Ottoman Turks and displaced them from areas to the north of the Black Sea, the Crimea, the Volga and so on. Since Catherine the Great was of German...
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