When a Surrogate is not YOUR Surrogate

For more than a decade we have been using surrogates to help us explore our family histories. We use surrogates to discover DNA information passed down from our ancestors that was not passed down to us. The first major application of this technique was when women solicited close male relatives -- fathers, brothers, nephews or cousins to take yDNA tests to establish the DNA signatures their paternal surname lines.

More recently we have become more creative in the use of surrogates. Almost four years ago I first blogged about using a female first cousin as a surrogate to help me discover information about my paternal grandmother's mtDNA. By so doing I discovered the ethnicity of the female ancestral line of my sixth-great grandmother.

Since then I have used surrogates in other ways.

• I have tested a male first cousin -- once removed to discover the haplogroup of my maternal grandfather.
• I have tested a male second cousin to discover the haplogroup of one of my maternal great-grandfathers.
• I have tested a male third cousin -- once removed to verify the paper trail of an eighth great-grandfather.  

In these each of these instances I was making assumptions that later turned out to be correct. Each of these surrogates were actually related to me in the way I thought they were. By assuming these relations were correct, I was skating on thin ice. I was also violating Dr. D's Rule #1: 

• Rule 1. Start with what you know (yourself) and build back to what you don’t know—step-by-step. Don’t skip steps!!

That means what you really know from your own experience. It does not mean things you have heard about as they passed down through the family second or third hand. 

Crash Course in Genealogy (2011), pp. 15-16. 

Continued violation of this rule will jump up and bite you sooner or later as I discovered in the last month. 

Back in 2007 I had helped a female extended family member select a male first cousin -- once removed to test as a surrogate to try to establish where her ancestors might have lived before immigrating to the US in the late 19th century. That original 37 marker yDNA test was followed by a Deep Clade-R test in 2009, and three single SNP tests -- one each in 2010, 2011 and 2012 as we attempted to narrow down the genetic migration trail. Last month during the FTDNA Holiday Sale, a decision was made to bite the bullet and order a BIG Y test for this surrogate to further clarify his haplogroup. As sort of an afterthought a Family Finder test was also ordered. 

The whole house of cards suddenly collapsed. The surrogate did not match his supposed first cousin -- once removed. He also did not match her sister or brother who also were supposed to be first cousins -- once removed of the surrogate. Seven tests and the seventh one under cut usefulness of the other six. 

Lesson to be learned: the FIRST test you should invest in when using a surrogate should be an atDNA test like Family Finder to verify that your supposed close relative is really YOUR close biological relative.

Dr D & Bernice Bennett to talk Genetic Genealogy

Please join Dr D and Bernice Bennett on Thursday night, January 29th, at 9:00 PM Eastern time as we talk about genetic genealogy on blog talk radio over the internet. Bernice is the host of the show "Research at the National Archives and Beyond". Here is what she has to say about her show:

Welcome to Research at the National Archives and Beyond! This show will provide individuals interested in genealogy and history an opportunity to listen, learn and take action. You can join me every Thursday at 9 pm Eastern, 8 pm Central, 7pm Mountain and 6 pm Pacific where I will have a wonderful line up of experts who will share resources, stories and answer your burning genealogy questions. All of my guests share a deep passion and knowledge of genealogy and history. My goal is to reach individuals who are thinking about tracing their family roots; beginners who have already started and others who believe that continuous learning is the key to finding answers. "Remember, your ancestors left footprints".

This week's show focuses on genetic genealogy:

What do you know about DNA?  Have you had your DNA tested and still have questions about your results?

Join David Dowell for a discussion about DNA and his new book NextGen Genealogy: The DNA Connection.

 

David Dowell was an academic librarian for 35 years. He has 2 degrees in history and 2 in library science. He has researched family histories since the 1960s. He is an ethicist, lecturer and author whose two most recent books are Crash Course in Genealogy (2011) and NextGen Genealogy: The DNA Connection (2014). He formerly taught “Genealogy Research” and “Ethics in the Information Age” at Cuesta College and chaired the Genealogy Committee and the Committee on Professional Ethics of the American Library Association. He blogs on genealogical topics as “Dr. D Digs Up Ancestors” at http://blog.ddowell.com. He coordinates two surname and one haplogroup DNA research projects. Dr. Dowell has taught library science courses face-to-face and online for 15 years and made presentations to local, regional and national library groups. He has taught genealogy research classes in both California and Tennessee and made presentations on genetic genealogy to community groups and local genealogy societies in California, Illinois and Tennessee. He is currently lecturing on genealogy research for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Vanderbilt University.

Chat and call-in questions and comments will be accepted from the audience. The show will be available for streaming for those unable to listen to it live.


UPCOMING BROADCASTS 

African Americans in 19th Century Alexandria with Char McCargo Bah

Gather at the Table Revisited with Sharon Morgan and Thomas Norman Dewolf

Did AncestryDNA quietly become more expensive?

Many of us die hard genetic genealogists who are seriously addicted to family history research may not have noticed, but AncestryDNA seems to have become more expensive for the casual DNA test taker. In a notice last updated on January 12th in the Help section of its site, Ancestry differentiated what is available to those who order an autosomal DNA (atDNA) test and those who order an atDNA test AND a database subscription. 

For those of us who regularly research family history, we subscribe to Ancestry.com for the billions of records in historical databases. If we throw in an atDNA test; we get the full matching information at no extra charge except for the modest, one-time, cost of the test (currently $99). However, the current pricing structure as described above, makes one wonder if the price of the test is considered to be a loss leader to sell subscriptions to databases. If so it is understandable why Ancestry often offers the test at flash sale prices of $89, $69 and even $49.

Many of you will remember that Ancestry announced last summer that it was no longer testing yDNA and mtDNA. They really had not been active in this marketplace for some time when this announcement was made. 

What then do persons get if they do not also subscribe to the databases? Ancestry says:

An AncestryDNA test without an Ancestry subscription includes:

§     One of the most technologically advanced autosomal DNA tests available, that looks at over 700,000 markers across your entire genome.
  §     You’ll have access to your personal online DNA results, on Ancestry.com at all times.
  §     Your DNA results include your full genetic ethnicity breakdown. So for instance, you can quickly discover if you’re part Scandinavian, North African, European Jewish—AncestryDNA reports on 26 different regions from around the world.
  §     Receive updates to your ethnicity over time as we roll out new findings.
  §     Your DNA results also include a dynamic list of DNA member matches to help you find potential new relatives. This is continually updated and includes everything from immediate and close family to 4th-5th cousins.
  §     Manage multiple AncestryDNA tests in one account.
  §     Keep your DNA results stored securely with your family history research on Ancestry.com, all in one place.

The first four items above have to do with ethnicity testing. This would seem to be the main benefit for someone who tests but does not want to subscribe to database access. This is a prime motivation for many people to test. It swells the size of the database of tested individuals and provides more matches for all of us. 

For those of us who consider ourselves to be serious genetic genealogists, the ethnicity results are the softest part of the "science" of DNA testing for family history. The accuracy of the DNA testing is not in question. However, our knowledge of the GPS locations of specific populations 500 to a 1,000 or more years ago is far from settled science. 

Hard core genetic genealogists are after the matching relatives. We are also interested in the details of how and where theses matches occur. We have been frustrated by Ancestry's unwillingness to provide such details since it got into atDNA testing almost three years ago. It does not look like relief is on the way. 

It is unclear to Dr. D what exactly customers are being offered in the 5th bulleted item above:

 §     Your DNA results also include a dynamic list of DNA member matches to help you find potential new relatives. This is continually updated and includes everything from immediate and close family to 4th-5th cousins.

It appears that the list of close matches will be updated and continue to be available even if one does not opt to subscribe to Ancestry's database. What is not clear is whether such individuals will be able to see the pedigree charts of those matches. Without the pedigree charts, such matches are essentially useless genealogically speaking.

I hope someone from Ancestry will be able to clear this up for us. 

Extend your 37 marker yDNA test to ??

On Facebook and in other genetic genealogy forums the question is often asked if it would be useful to extend a yDNA test. The conventional wisdom seems to be that mismatches occur in a symmetrical manner. According to that scenario, two men who mismatch by zero or 1 on a 12 marker test are likely to have 1 or 2 mismatches over 25 markers. If the test were to be extended to 37 markers, 2 or 3 mismatches might be expected. If the test were extended to 67 markers, 3 or 4 mismatches might be expected. Finally, if the tests were upgraded to 111 markers, one might expect to find 5 to 7 mismatches. The underlying assumption is that mismatches occur in a predictable manner.

However, DNA is not inherited in such an orderly way. At least we have yet to discover laws of inheritance that guide us to what to expect. RANDOM seems to be the controlling factor. If two men have 3 mismatches over 111 markers, it is possible that all 3 of them will occur in the first 12 markers. It is also possible that all three will occur between markers 99 and 111. Neither of these distributions is likely, but they are both possible.   

I have a 6th cousin -- once removed with whom I mismatch on ySTR marker #1 and also on marker #18. I have no other mismatches with him on markers #19 through #111. This cousin is the fourth man listed below in my baker's dozen of my matches over 111 markers. The two cousins listed just above him, are 110/111 matches. One is a mismatch on the 79th marker and the other is a mismatch on marker 100. Both are one generation closer to me than the cousin with whom I am a 109/111 match. Another 6th cousin -- once removed is an 11/12, 24/25, 34/37, 63/67 and 105/111 match.  

Y-DNA  12	Y-DNA 25	Y-DNA   37	Y-DNA 67	Y-DNA 111
0	0	1	2	6
0	0	0	0	1
0	0	0	0	1
1	2	2	2	2
1	1	2	4	7
0	0	2	2	3
0	0	1	1	2
1	1	1	2	6
1	1	2	3	9
1	1	2	3	10
1	1	3	4	6
1	1	2	4	7
1	1	2	5	10

Random reigns! The results from the first 12, 25 or 37 STR markers are not indicators of what the next 30 or 74 STRs may tell us. You won't know unless you test. 

Of course you may find out all you need to know to answer your genealogical question(s) without testing 111 markers.