Famous DNA

The ISOGG site has a page of DNA results for various famous and infamous people. Do you match anyone there?

International Society of Genetic Genealogy

The International Society of Genetic Genealogy (ISOGG)is an association of genetic genealogists with a goal of explaining and promoting Genetic Genealogy. Their web site has tutorials, success stories, and a speakers bureau. It is well worth the time to browse and read the articles.

NPR page with DNA audio programs

NPR has a web page with a number of links to audio programs dealing with DNA topics. In a recent program, Bennett Greenspan of Family Tree DNA is interviewed.

Updated Y DNA Comparison Utility

"I've upgraded the Y-DNA Comparison Utility, http://www.mymcgee.com/tools/yutility.html , to generate TITLE attributes to each data cell in the generated haplotype tables. This feature can be enabled or disabled by a checkbox on the utility." -Dean McGee

PBS program: African American Lives

Premiering in February 2006, PBS will televise a four-hour program on African American Lives, using genealogy and DNA to trace African American genetic history. The program is hosted by Dr Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

Whit Athey expands his Y Haplogroup predictor to 63 markers

Continuing his work on predicting the Y haplogroup from the Y haplotype, Whit Athey has expanded the predictor to consider up to 63 markers in it's calculations.

New Journal: Journal of Genetic Genealogy

The Journal of Genetic Genealogy has started publishing. A project of several genealogists interested in genetics and genealogy, it is hosted by the World Families Network. (In the interest of full disclosure, this writer is a member of the Editorial Board.)

New DNA testing company: DNA Fingerprint GbR

BIOTIX has spun off it's genealogical DNA testing service as DNA Fingerprint GbR, http://www.dna-fingerprint.com/ and will concentrate it's paternity testing business at BIOTIX.

Some articles on DNA and Genealogy

New England Ancestors, published 5 times per year has been publishing articles on DNA and genealogy for the past 3 years. The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record has published several such articles in the same time period. All the articles found in each journal are listed below. Please let me know of any other genealogical journals or publications that have used DNA results in genealogical studies.

New England Ancestors
Summer 2005
vol. 6, no. 3
Genetics & Genealogy
The Y-DNA Signature of Edward Riggs 
of Roxbury
Alvy Ray Smith

New England Ancestors
Spring 2005
vol. 6, no. 2
Genetics & Genealogy 
DNA Testing Results Settle a 
Long-Standing Question 
in the Seeley Family
Frederick C. Hart, Jr., and 
Anita A. Lustenberger

New England Ancestors
Winter 2005
vol. 6, no.1
Genetics & Genealogy 
Cobb Family Genetics Study: A Case 
Study Using DNA
Hubert F. Cobb

New England Ancestors
Holiday 2004
vol. 5, no. 5
Genetics & Genealogy 
Using Mitochondrial DNA in Genealogy
Anita A. Lustenberger

New England Ancestors
Fall 2004
vol. 5, no. 4
Genetics & Genealogy 
The Origins of Samuel Rose of 
Manchester, Vermont
David W. Brown and Kathleen C. Rose

New England Ancestors
Summer 2004
vol. 5, no.3

From the Cover: What do you need 
to know about genetics?

Molecular Genealogy: The Birth of 
a New Discipline
Thomas Shawker

An Insider’s Look at the Genealogy 
DNA Field
Bennett Greenspan 

Genetics & Genealogy
Desperately Seeking Sloans!
Susan Sloan

New England Ancestors
Spring 2004
vol. 5, no. 1
Genetics & Genealogy
The Bassetts of New England
Jeffrey N. Bassett

New England Ancestors
Winter 2004
vol. 5, no. 1
Genetics & Genealogy
Y-DNA Instigated a Search for a 
Royce Father and Reveals Many 
Different Rice or Royce Families
Robert V. Rice and John F. Chandler

New England Ancestors
Holiday 2003
vol. 4, no. 5
Genetics & Genealogy
DNA Corroborates a Mills Family 
Hypothesis
Helen Schatvet Ullmann

New England Ancestors
Fall 2003
vol. 4, no. 4
Genetics & Genealogy
Anthony and Giles Slocum Have the 
Same Y-DNA Pattern 
Judy L. Slocum and Melville C. Brown 

New England Ancestors
Summer 2003
vol. 4, no. 3
Genetics & Genealogy
Was “Woburn John” Comins Kin of 
Isaac1 Cummings?
David Butler Cummings

New England Ancestors
Spring 2003 
vol. 4, no. 2
Genetics & Genealogy 
Early Rockwell Settlers of Connecticut: 
DNA Analysis 
Shows a Relationship
Kenneth W. Rockwell

New England Ancestors
Winter 2003
vol. 4, no. 1

Genetics & Genealogy 
A Clough/Cluff/Clow Study
Sheila D. Anderson 

New England Ancestors
Holiday 2002
vol. 3, no. 5 

Genetics & Genealogy
The Ancestry of Jason Howell of 
Islip, New York 
Jean R. Howell

New England Ancestors
Fall 2002
vol. 3, no. 4 

Genetics & Genealogy
DNA Analyses of Y-Chromosomes Show 
Only One of Three Sons of Gershom3 
Rice to be a Descendant of Edmund1 Rice 
Robert V. Rice and John F. Chandler 

New England Ancestors
vol. 2, no. 3 Summer 2001
Focus on Genetics and Genealogy:

Genealogy and Genetics: Discovering 
the Future in the Past  11
     Kyle J. Betit and Loni Gardner  

Add Genetics to Your Genealogy 15
     Anita A. Lustenberger

DNA: Linking Past and Future  17
     Edwin M. Knights, Jr.


New York Genealogical and 
Biographical Record

April 2005 (Vol. 136, No. 2)

Using DNA to Distinguish Between 
Two 17th Century Decker Families of 
Kingston, New York 

January 2004 (Vol. 135, No. 1)

Using DNA to Establish the Paternity 
of Two Undocumented Sons of Jan 
Broersen Decker of Kingston, New York 

New DNA testing company

A new genetic genealogy DNA testing company, Ethnoancestry, has entered the genetic genealogy field. Founded by David K.W. Faux, MD, and Dr James Wilson, it is offering Y DNA and mtDNA testing and is developing a biogeographic test.

FTDNA announces full mtDNA testing

Item 2 in the "In the News" section of Facts and Genes, the FTDNA newsletter, announces a new test of the entire mtDNA sequence. As this includes the coding regions, this test will give you knowledge of know medical conditions. It is assumed that persons interested in genetic genealogy will continue to order tests of the hyper-variable regions, I, II, and III, since they relate to ancestry and not to medical conditions. The cost is $895.00 for the complete mtDNA sequence.

2nd International Conference on Genetic Genealogy

The 2nd International Conference on Genetic Genealogy will be held in Washington, D.C., Nov 4-5, 2005, at the National Geographic Society, reflecting Family Tree DNA's status as the testing company for the public members of the Genographic Project of the NGS.

Indigeneous organization opposes Genographic Project

Reaction from the Indigenous Peoples Council on Biocolonialism to the Genographic Project. They are equating it to the Human Genome Diversity Project, http://www.stanford.edu/group/morrinst/hgdp.html due to the overlap in participants and stated goals focusing on indigenous peoples.

Genographic Project

The National Geographic Society has developed a new DNA project to map human migration patterns by DNA typing indigenous people throughout the world. The goal is to collect 100,000 DNA samples and type the Y chromosome DNA and the mitochondrial DNA.

A public project will allow individuals to purchase a test kit from Family Tree DNA, http://www.ftdna.com/ Proceeds from the public testing will be used to partially finance the Genographic Project. It is assumed that public participants will be able to join on-going surname studies already in place at FTDNA. Public participants will get the results of their tests.

The actual analysis of the indigenous samples will be done at 10 scientific laboratories located throughout the world.

The Genographic Project is directed by Dr Spencer Wells, and has a board consisting of many of the prominent geneticists who were part of the Human Genome Diversity Project.

The Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation, http://www.smgf.org/ has a similar project that accepts participants from throughout the world. SGMF has collected over 47,000 genealogies and DNA samples. Testing by Sorenson is free, but participants do not get any results except where their results are entered into the SMGF databases.

Anglo-Saxon , Norman, Viking, or Celt?

Anglo-Saxon, Norman, Viking, Celt? At this time, it is not possible to absolutely differentiate between the Anglo-Saxons and the Scandinavian and Norman Vikings through DNA analysis, although the following articles make a start in that direction using Haplogroups of selected markers.See,: Helgason, etc., "Estimating Scandinavian and Gaelic Ancestry in the Male Settlers of Iceland", Am. J. Hum. Genet., 67:697-717,(2000);and, this article:Wilson, J. F., Weiss, D. A., Richards, M., Thomas, M. G., Bradman, N., Goldstein, D. B. "Genetic evidence for different male and female roles during cultural transitions in the British Isles". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A., vol 98 (9) p5078 (2001)", contains evidence for the following preliminary table of Y DNA markers for Celtic/Basque, Anglo Saxon and Norwegian ancestry:

DYS19/ DYS388-DYS393-DYS392-DYS394-DYS390-DYS391

Celtic/Basque: 12------13-----13-----14-----24-----11

Anglo Saxon: 14------13-----11-----14-----22-----10

Norwegian: 12------13-----11-----16-----25-----11

------------------------------------------------------

Other Y DNA marker sets:

DYS19/ DYS388-DYS393-DYS392-DYS394-DYS390-DYS391

Atlantic MH* 12 13 13 14 24 11

Cohen MH 16 12 11 14 23 10

*=Celtic/Basque MH=Modal Haplotype

Preliminary results from a more recent study are reported in this article from the BBC:Nicola Cook, "Viking Genetics Survey Results", reporting on a study done by Prof. David B. Goldstein at University College London. Once Dr Goldstein's results are published, a link will be made to the paper.