Author: Blaine Bettinger

Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation First to Adopt Genetic Genealogy’s New Industry Standard for Reporting Y-DNA Profiles

Blaine Bettinger 1 Comment

Today, the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation (SMGF) reported that they are adopting a standardized Y-STR reporting system proposed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) of the U.S. Dept. of Commerce and supported by the International Society of Genetic Genealogy (ISOGG).

The standardized system was first published in the Fall 2008 issue (pdf) of the Journal of Genetic Genealogy (JoGG).

First, let me add a note of caution – this change ONLY represents a change in how results are REPORTED.  Even though companies report results differently, this does not mean that the actual DNA testing results are wrong or different!  This shift is NOT to correct errors in testing results; it is only to standardize reporting. ... Click to read more!

Who Is The Oldest Relative You Remember Meeting?

Blaine Bettinger 16 Comments

The Evansville Courier & Press has a great article – “At 97, life is worth a big fuss: Six generations gathered at matriach’s birthday party” – which contains a picture of six generations of the Moore Family of Indiana.  The picture shows a newborn and 5 generations of her ancestors; her mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, great-great-grandfather, and great-great-great-grandmother!  It is truly amazing and I highly recommend clicking over to the article to see it.

My Mother’s Mother’s Mother’s Father’s Mother (whew!)

The picture led me to wonder who was my mother’s mother’s mother’s father’s mother (following the same lineage in the article’s picture), and whether I ever met her.  After consulting my family tree software (maybe I could have done it from memory, but I thought I’d save some time!), I discovered that her name was Jemima Cooper.  I never had the opportunity to meet Jemima because she died 53 years before my birth.  She would be 118 years old today. ... Click to read more!

Using DNA to Explore the Scottish Roots of the Haley Family

Blaine Bettinger 2 Comments

Ancestry Magazine has a new article by Megan Smolenyak about the use of Y-DNA testing to examine the origins of the Haley maternal line.

Chris Haley, nephew of Roots author Alex Haley, underwent Y-DNA testing.  After receiving the results which showed European origin (Haplogroup R1b), the results sat in the database for 18 months before a match was found.  Many of us have similar experience; our results are recorded and available but are waiting for the day we find a match.

Haley was lucky, however, and he was soon in contact with the family.  From the article:

Thomas [Baff, the individual that Haley tried to contact] turned out to be June Baff Black, Thomas’s daughter, who responded (she was thrilled!). June’s parents had researched the family back in the 1980s; June’s own involvement had started while watching an episode of Who Do You Think You Are? She’d been fascinated by Colin Jackson’s DNA test, ordered a test for her father, her Y-DNA stand-in, and mailed if off only a few weeks before hearing back from Chris. ... Click to read more!

Dick Eastman Uses DNA To Prove His Family Tree Connection

Blaine Bettinger 1 Comment

“I must admit that I have always been a bit embarrassed to admit that I cannot prove the origins of my own surname. I have been researching my family tree for more than thirty years and have found most of my ancestors back into the 1700s with quite a few families traced even further back. Yet there has always been one glaring exception: the origins of my EASTMAN ancestors.”

So begins this interesting article by Dick Eastman (of Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter fame). Dick had researched the brick wall in his paternal line for years without much luck, but recently peered through the brick wall with the help of genetic genealogy.  The answer to his mystery was hiding in every cell of his body.

After learning of Dick’s brick wall, Katherine Hope Borges of ISOGG volunteered to start the Eastman DNA Project to help him and others learn more about the surname. Through that project, Dick learned that he is related to “the others who are known descendants of Roger Eastman, the 1638 immigrant.” Although the exact line of descent is unclear, he is now able to focus his research to save both time and money. ... Click to read more!

GeoGene Goes Out of Business

Blaine Bettinger

I just received word that the genetic ancestry testing company Geogene has gone out of business. From the website:

1 OCTOBER 2008: We are very sorry to announce that, due to ongoing technical issues and increasing competition from National Geographic’s similar ‘Genographic Project’, GeoGene is unable to continue trading. If you are interested in finding out about your genetic ancestry, we recommend you use National Genographic’s service instead.

Posted via web from Blaine Bettinger’s Lifestream

Pathway Genomics Officially Launches

Blaine Bettinger 3 Comments

imageIn March I announced the unofficial launch of Pathway Genomics, a new company offering genome SNP tests (Note: I am a consultant for Pathway Genomics).  Today the company officially launched, and their press release is below.  There is also an article at Bio-IT World (“Pathway Genomics Joins the Direct-to-Consumer Genomics Parade”).

Press Release:

Pathway Genomics Brings Together Renowned Team of Entrepreneurs, Scientists, Physicians, and a Government Certified Lab to Offer Personal Genetics Services

San Diego, Calif., July 15, 2009—Pathway Genomics, a privately held, venture‐backed company, today announced its launch, including the company’s web site, www.pathway.com. Pathway Genomics offers affordable genetic tests for under $250, enabling consumers to confidentially learn about their risk for various diseases, adverse drug responses, carrier status, and ancestral history. Leveraging customized and highly innovative DNA genotyping technologies, Pathway Genomics generates the most extensive analysis of an individual’s risk for disease and can trace the path of a person’s maternal and paternal ancestry back more than 150,000 years. ... Click to read more!

Using mtDNA to Suggest Kinship – A Case Example Involving Lucille Ball

Blaine Bettinger 13 Comments
Cropped version of :Image:Lucille Ball - YankA...

Image via Wikipedia

There is an article in yesterday’s Greenwich Times entitled “Woman out to prove kinship to Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz” about Cassandria Carlson, a woman from Schaumburg, Ill. who believes she is the granddaughter of Lucille Ball.

According to Carlson, her mother was born to Lucille Ball in 1947 and was then put up for adoption “because her very existence would have interfered with Ball’s career.”  Among her evidence, Carlson cites a 1946 newspaper clipping which described Ball as pregnant as well as her mother Madeline Jane Dee’s memories of a red-headed woman named “Mrs. Morton” bringing her to the playground as a child (Ball’s second married was to a Gary Morton).  Unfortunately, Ms. Dee died just a few years ago. ... Click to read more!

Gwilym of the Many Conquests and the Smooth-Talking Gene

Blaine Bettinger 2 Comments

[PLEASE NOTE:  The Onion is a satirical site meant for ENTERTAINMENT and social commentary purposes only.  The following study is NOT real!]

The Onion, an infamous mock news site has a (surprisingly intelligent) article today entitled “7 Million People Direct Descendants Of Single Smooth-Talking Ancestor” about a “study” that has found that millions of people around the world have a genetic marker that links them to “a single smooth-talking common ancestor.”

Randy Seaver of Genea-Musings brings the article to my attention (thank you Randy!):

The headline screams “7 Million People Direct Descendants of Smooth-Talking Ancestor” — see the article here in the Science and Technology section of The Onion. It sounds right up the genetic genealogy alley, doesn’t it? Megan, Blaine, Emily – why haven’t you written about this guy? Are 7 million descendants not enough? ... Click to read more!

Ancestry.com’s Genetic Genealogy Webinar

Blaine Bettinger

On July 8th, Ancestry.com hosted a webinar called “Genetic Genealogy Made Easy.”  The webinar is now posted and can be accessed at any time.  One great thing about a webinar is that it can be multimedia; indeed, this webinar uses both slides and video.

The presentation is pretty basic, but a good source of information for people who are new to genetic genealogy.  The following topics are covered, according to the site:

– DNA testing for genealogy works–in easy terms.
– To understand and apply your results to grow your tree.
– Ancestry.com DNA testing can continue to pay off for years.
– Women can benefit from a paternal lineage test.
– To use Ancestry.com DNA features: Groups, Transfer to Tree, and Ancient Ancestry. ... Click to read more!