Captain John Morgan

Well, it looks like I've already gotten a confirmed, but NOT triangulated segment from my aunt's results!

Captain John Morgan would be my 9th great grandfather.  He was born 30 March 1645 in Roxbury, Suffolk, Massachusetts.  He died in Groton, New London, Connecticut 12 February 1711.  He married Rachel Deming (sometimes Dymond or Dymon), and they had one child, my 8th great-grandfather, John Morgan Jr. The rest of the pedigree goes something like this:

9th great-grandfather: Captain John Morgan I
8th great-grandfather: John Morgan II
7th great-grandfather: John Morgan III
6th great-grandfather: Thomas Morgan
5th great-grandfather: Jedidiah Morgan
4th great-grandfather: Jedidiah S Morgan
3rd great-grandmother: Nancy Morgan
2nd great-grandfather: Edwin Morgan Marvin
Great-grandmother: Gladys Ellen Marvin
Grandfather
Father
Me!  :)

Having an idea where this segment came from will prove very helpful.  We know that my Dad matches my aunt along the portion of DNA where my aunt has this segment.  However... I do NOT match my aunt along this segment.  If we can eventually figure out if Dad shares this MORGAN segment with his sister, that will tell us which side of the family MY matches come from (whether that be Grandpa's paternal side, or my grandmother's side).  We already know that my matches on this segment cannot come from Grandpa's maternal side, or I would match my aunt.

Some shared segments

Here's a graphic that shows all the shared segments between my aunt and her uncle (my great-uncle).   Even though I'm still unable to compare my father to my aunt directly, I can already see that there are a number of spots where my dad, my aunt, and my great-uncle all match each other.  This may sound like it would be helpful, but it's actually not!  Too much overlap between my father's DNA and his siblings' DNA makes it that much more difficult to re-build my grandmother's DNA (which is what we need to do to figure out some brick walls).

However, what IS exciting is that I'm finding people on my aunt's match list who don't match my great-uncle.  This could indicate that they are from my aunt's and my dad's paternal side.  I have one solid lead on a family tree with major links to the Maritime provinces of Canada, which is one place where our PERRY branch hits a bunch of brick walls.

Almost there!!

The FOX/PERRY results are IN!  Well.... mostly.  We have matches, and we can download those matches to GenomeMate, which is a great help, but we're still waiting on raw data and myOrigins.  I don't really care about the myOrigins too much, but I'm anxious to get the raw data so that we can upload that to GEDmatch.

However, there's still lots to be done with the information we have right now.  Since my great-uncle had previously tested with FTDNA, we can now compare him to my aunt (this test that just finished) and see where they match.  We can also compare that information to where Dad and my great-uncle (his uncle) match, and possibly make some conclusions there.  But the real fun will come when I can get my aunt onto GEDmatch.

Hmmmm.... did it, or didn't it?

I logged in this morning to check on the FOX/PERRY test that was due back in August and failed twice.  Guess what?  The dates shifted again.  I immediately fired off an email to FTDNA's support desk.  They got back to me quite quickly saying that it was still being tested and didn't look like it had failed.  I also posted to the International Society of Genetic Genealogists group on Facebook and tagged an FTDNA employee there asking if she could check, and she's saying it passed.  I'm still seeing the delayed dates when I log in though.

I've seen this before, where the dates get shifted, but within hours results come in, so I'm content to just wait it out for a day or two.  If we don't have results by Monday, I'll get a little bit more pushy, but I'm hoping that the info I got on Facebook was solid and that we'll have results really soon!  Finding out where my aunt matches my dad and my great-uncle will be a big, big help!!

Frustration...

Still waiting on the results of the FOX/PERRY kit currently undergoing processing.  It's been delayed.  Again.  :(  Really hoping it didn't fail, and that it was a lab issue that caused it to be delayed, but the lab isn't showing any delays for Family Finder tests (like this one) so that's not boding well for our test.  :(  I have someone checking on it now, so hopefully we'll know what happened in a day or two.

I've also seen it happen where the dates get moved, and then results pop up within 24 hours, so maybe that's what will happen here, but I'm not holding my breath.

One week to go... and another delay. :(

One week until I can order the KLASSEN YDNA.  It looks like YDNA tests are taking about 9-10 weeks right now, which means we could have results by December 9th.  Results on this test by Christmas would make me so happy!

The FOX/PERRY test has been delayed (again) to October 7-October 21.

Call rate failure! :(

I received word tonight that the FOX/PERRY test currently in the pipeline didn't pass the call rate, and is being re-run.  They haven't adjusted the estimated completion date, so I'm still expecting it sometime between 9/23 and 10/7.

The call rate is the expected number of single nucleotide polymorphisms in a sample.  Of the 700,000 SNPs tested for, in order to pass, 97% have to be present.  So, even a sample with 96.5% present will fail.  I don't know what percentage were present in our sample, so it's just a waiting game right now.

Some movement, but mostly still waiting

Let's see... right now we have five tests in some state of waiting...

1)  The first LOEWEN/FRANZ test results are due sometime between now and September 21st.

2)  The second FOX/PERRY test results are also due sometime between now and September 21st.

3)  The second LOEWEN/FRANZ test has been taken, and is back in the mail.  Current location is "being forwarded to destination country".  I'm doubtful it will make it back to Texas by Wednesday, so best case scenario for that one would be batching on Wednesday, September 23.  Probably Batch 641 if I was to guess.

4)  The second PETKAU/KLASSSEN test appears to be stuck at the destination post office.  Intended pick up was Saturday.

5)  We have $103.77 of the $139 we need to order the KLASSEN YDNA which will aid us in our search for Peter Klassen's family.  Target date for ordering that test is still September 30th.  Only 17 days to go!  With current wait times, these results should be in shortly before Christmas.

Long term plan:
-  Run KLASSEN YDNA on September 30th.
-  Commence saving for tests on second LOEWEN/FRANZ test & second PETKAU/KLASSEN test. We should have enough for one on November 25th, and the other on January 20th.
-  Somewhere in there I also want to swab several more of my grandparents' siblings (for inclusion purposes) as well as my great-grandmother's half-siblings (for exclusion purposes).

Some news from Family Tree DNA

This was posted by someone affiliated with FTDNA to Facebook about 7 hours ago:

"Family Tree DNA has worked hard to ensure that the standards for Family Finder results delivery are within 3-4 weeks. An unforeseen complication with one of our suppliers has taken them longer to resolve than we would have hoped. We expect to be back to normal operations and have all outstanding Family Finder results delivered within the next 10 business days.

We apologize for any inconvenience and will continue to deliver the quality that our customers deserve. Thank you for your patience."

Our tests in this batch are the FOX/PERRY test and the LOEWEN/FRANZ test.  If all goes as expected, we should have results on both tests by September 21st.

Delayed again!

The FOX/PERRY test and the LOEWEN/FRANZ test have both been delayed again.  They're now both due between September 23 and October 7.

Delays, Purchases, and more Delays!

Here's a quick update about where we're at with our project.

1)  The FOX/PERRY test that was batched a couple weeks ago has been delayed.  Results are now expected between September 9 and September 23.  This delay is no fault of ours.  The lab had some processing issues a few weeks ago and they're still working their way through the back log.  I'll still keep checking though, just in case it comes in before the 9th.

2)  There is currently no delay on the LOEWEN/FRANZ test that was done at the same time.  That one is still expected between September 9 and September 23.

3)  I finally purchased the second PETKAU/KLASSEN test, and the second LOEWEN/FRANZ test.  They have not shipped yet, but I'm hoping they will ship by the end of the week.  They're both going to Canada, so I'm not expecting results on them until at least mid to late-October.

4)  The KLASSEN YDNA test slated for September 30th has been delayed until October 13th due to lack of funds.  If anyone would like to donate toward a test, please let me know!  We're about $10.23USD short of being able to purchase the test on September 30th.

Batched again!

We now have the FOX/PERRY kit with results expected between September 2 and September 16, and the (first of many) LOEWEN/FRANZ kit with results expected between September 9 and September 23.

Batched!

Here's a small update:

1)  The FOX/PERRY test did indeed batch on Wednesday.  We're in batch 635, and results are expected somewhere between September 2 and September 16, so possibly a week earlier than I expected.

2)  The LOEWEN test has been received in the States, so it should be back to the lab by next Wednesday, but I'm keeping an eye on it anyway.

3)  I still need to order the LOEWEN and PETKAU swabs.  MUST do that today!

4)  Our first FOX/MARVIN test is scheduled for October!  Thanks to my dad's first cousin who agreed to test, and offered to pay for it.

Update!

1)  The FOX/PERRY test previously mentioned has made it back to the lab.  I'm hoping that the batch number will pop up later this afternoon or tomorrow so we know that it is processing.  I'm expecting results between September 9 and 16.

2)  The LOEWEN test has been mailed back, and last I saw it was in Richmond, BC, being transferred back to the US.

3)  We have a PETKAU volunteer and another LOEWEN volunteer, but I still need to order their swabs (tomorrow)!

4)  We have about $30 saved for the KLASSEN YDNA test.  This will be the next test I run, and the target date for the purchase of that test is September 30th. Donations happily accepted!  :D

The latest

Here's the latest on the two tests we have ordered and out right now:

1)  The LOEWEN test was ordered as previously mentioned.  It has shipped, and has cleared Canadian customs (as of August 2).  Hopefully it will be delivered by Friday.  The earliest we could possibly have results on this test would be early October.

2)  There's another FOX/PERRY test in the pipeline!  I apparently forgot to post when I ordered this one, for my aunt.  She's already received it, and mailed it back, so I'm hoping it will batch next week, and we'll have results from that one sometime around September 9-16.

In other news, I've recruited my grandmother (PETKAU) to help me recruit her siblings, and it sounds like one of her brothers is willing to test.  Family Tree DNA will ship swabs out for $9.95, so I'm planning to ship a swab out to him.  My Grandpa LOEWEN's oldest living sister also agreed to test, so I'll be shipping her a swab as well.

Right now the short term plan is to order those two swabs & then save for the KLASSEN YDNA test ($139).  That should happen at the end of September.  I'm hoping to get those results around Christmas.

After the KLASSEN YDNA test has been ordered, I'll run the autosomal tests for the LOEWEN and PETKAU swabs.  I'm not sure on the timing of those tests, it will depend on how many more of my grandparents' siblings have decided to join in the fun, since I really want to order those swabs as soon as I can, but not have them waiting at the lab for more than a year (because the sample may begin to degrade).

Matching segments!

Here is a map of all the confirmed segments in my dad's DNA.  :)

You can see the legend down in the lower right hand corner, but here's the explanation of what you're seeing:

1)  The dark aqua bars.  These bars are 2 generations back from my father, and show all the places where my dad matches his uncle.  They actually share a little more DNA than expected, so that is GREAT news for us!

2)  The bright aqua bar on X: This bar is 1 generation back from my father, and shows a place where my dad matches his niece.  We know that Dad could only have gotten X from his mother, so the common ancestor between my dad and his niece on that segment is Dad's mother, who is his niece's maternal grandmother.

3)  The blue bar on Chromosome 4: This bar is 6 generations back from my father.  You'll notice that this bar overlaps with the dark aqua bar below it.  This indicates that the two bars represent two different sides of my dad's chromosome.  If I was to compare Dad's uncle with the family represented by the blue bar, they should NOT match.  The blue bar is assumed to be from Dad's paternal side, and the aqua bar is known to be from his maternal side.

4)  The brown bar on Chromosome 12: This bar is 9 generations back from my father.  I was really hoping that Dad's uncle would match on that segment too, but he doesn't.  However... he could end up matching the two families represented by the brown bar in another place, other than where Dad matches them, so the work is definitely not done yet.  :)

A quick update

In case anyone is waiting for an update explaining the segments that my great-uncle, my dad, and I share, I just wanted to post a quick update that the website I need to use for the comparison has been experiencing technical difficulties for the past two days, unbeknownst to them until I e-mailed them about it and brought the issues to their attention!  They've handled the issue now, and we're just waiting for the backlog of previously not deleted files to actually delete.  I should be able to upload my great-uncle's files on Monday morning, so I should be able to run the comparison between us and him sometime around lunchtime on Monday.

Another test ordered!

My dad's sister just sent a check for her test kit, which I just ordered! Hopefully it will ship early next week.  Who knows... we could have those results by the end of August!  :)

Some of you maybe wondering why I'm testing my dad's siblings.  Well, both of their parents have passed away, and my great-uncle who just tested is the only one left in my grandparents' generation on that side (my dad's).  So, in order to be able to figure out what DNA came from my grandpa, and what DNA came from my grandma, I have to test Dad's siblings to see where they match their great-uncle, both independently (do they have Norwegian matches in common with him?) and together (does one have Norwegian matches, and the other four have English matches on the same segment?).  From there, I can make conclusions about which parent their DNA came from.

I'm loving this adventure, and I'm so happy my aunt is now along for the ride.  She gave me some of the family tree I'm working from, so it will be fun to be able to tell her who contributed to her DNA!

Some confirmed Norwegian segments!

Well.  I really didn't expect to have such progress so quickly.  My great-uncle's results came in yesterday, so I immediately went to work browsing through trees, looking for common ancestors, and I got multiple hits for the same couple.

My great-great-great-great-grandparents were Askjeld Heljesen & Brytteva Andersdatter.  Askjeld was born in 1780 at Aarhus farm in Voss, Hordaland, Norway.  He died 16 November 1851 at Aarus farm, Evanger, Norway.

Brytteva was born in 1777 at Nedre Skierven farm, Voss, Hordaland, Norway.  I am not sure when or where she died.

They had two children: a daughter named Torbjorg Askjeldsdatter born in about 1820, and a son, Anders, born in Evanger, Hordaland, Norway.  We are descendants of Torbjorg, and the other family I connected with are descendants of her brother Anders.  The other family also tested an uncle, so my great-uncle, and their uncle are third cousins.  Their uncle is a third cousin, once removed to my dad, and third cousin, twice removed, to me.  The younger generation is third cousins, once removed to my great-uncle, fourth cousins with my dad, and fourth cousins, once removed with me.

The segments I've confirmed come from Askjeld and Brytteva.  Unfortunately, neither us, nor the other family have been able to build our trees back beyond this couple.  But, it's possible someone else who matches on one or more of the shared segments has, so we might still be able to break down this brick wall.

Because I found this connection on Family Tree DNA, I haven't been able to compare them to my father or myself to see if there are additional segments shared beyond what my great-uncle has.  I've asked the other family to upload to GEDmatch so that we can answer that question.

Here is a visual of the places where my great-uncle matches this family.  You should be able to click on it to get a better view.

False alarm!

I just checked again this morning, and the results of the first of two PERRY tests are in!  :)  I'm working on uploading them to GEDmatch now, so we can start comparing those of us who have already tested to this great-uncle!  :)

I took a peek at the PERRY test's top matches on FTDNA, and they do appear to be Norwegian (expected).  That's exciting!  :)  I'm looking forward to seeing if they will respond when we reach out to them.  Hopefully!

The second PERRY test I'm going to order is a YDNA test.  That's more expensive, and I have other autosomal tests I'd like to run first.  FTDNA is holding onto the extra samples we sent, so we can go back for that test whenever we want.

I also received word yesterday that one of my FOX aunts is planning to test for me.  We're just working out the details of ordering her test now.  I'm guessing it will be at least September before we have those results.