I received a Facebook message from one of my Dad's Fox cousins yesterday morning saying that she was willing to test for me! We're working out the details now, but we should be able to get her test going in the next few weeks, because she is willing to pay for her own test.
This is fantastic news, because Dad's cousins are the only way we're going to be able to discern which of Dad's matches are paternal (Fox) and which are maternal grandfather (Perry). Dad's maternal grandmother's matches are easy to spot, because they're Norwegian! :) The other three lines are mostly English, though there IS a Dutch connection way back on one of the branches on the Fox side.
Tuesday, April 21, 2015
Sunday, April 19, 2015
An exciting update!
I talked to my first cousin, twice removed, tonight. He's agreed to test for me, for both autosomal and YDNA. This will help us find Peter Klassen's family. It probably won't bring us to a 100% conclusion, but it will certainly help us in determining which Klassen group we belong to. There are three, apparently.
We're running the autosomal test first. This will help us determine which of Grandma's matches are Klassen matches, and which are definitely Petkau matches. There will probably be some matches we can't make any conclusions about, simply because they don't match Ralph in the right places.
So... onward and upward! In about a month and a half, I should have enough saved up to order the YDNA test. :)
We're running the autosomal test first. This will help us determine which of Grandma's matches are Klassen matches, and which are definitely Petkau matches. There will probably be some matches we can't make any conclusions about, simply because they don't match Ralph in the right places.
So... onward and upward! In about a month and a half, I should have enough saved up to order the YDNA test. :)
Peter Klassen's current family tree
Saturday, March 14, 2015
Getting closer!
Hi all,
It's been a few weeks, so I thought I should update. Unfortunately, I don't have anything very exciting to report for the LOEWEN/PETKAU line.
I'm getting closer to being able to afford to test a KLASSEN cousin, and that is exciting. :) I'm very hopeful that we'll be able to locate Peter Klassen's family. Peter was my maternal grandmother's maternal grandfather. I'm very hopeful that we'll be able to find his family.
If you're interested in reading more about what's being done in the field of Mennonite genealogy, do check out www.mennonitedna.org. It's a pretty cool project!
While you're here, be sure to check the list of people I'm looking to test, as well as the fundraising page! In order to find Peter's family, I'm going to need all the help I can get!
Do leave me a comment and let me know you stopped by! Is there a specific ancestor you're interested in knowing more about?
It's been a few weeks, so I thought I should update. Unfortunately, I don't have anything very exciting to report for the LOEWEN/PETKAU line.
I'm getting closer to being able to afford to test a KLASSEN cousin, and that is exciting. :) I'm very hopeful that we'll be able to locate Peter Klassen's family. Peter was my maternal grandmother's maternal grandfather. I'm very hopeful that we'll be able to find his family.
If you're interested in reading more about what's being done in the field of Mennonite genealogy, do check out www.mennonitedna.org. It's a pretty cool project!
While you're here, be sure to check the list of people I'm looking to test, as well as the fundraising page! In order to find Peter's family, I'm going to need all the help I can get!
Do leave me a comment and let me know you stopped by! Is there a specific ancestor you're interested in knowing more about?
Sunday, February 22, 2015
A Short Introduction to Genetic Genealogy
Thanks for stopping by!
Genetic genealogy can be confusing, so let me see if I can break it down and simplify it for you.
Everyone gets half of their DNA from their mother, and half of their DNA from their father. Following that, grandchildren get about 25% of their DNA from each grandparent. Each generation further back contributes 50% less. So:
50% from parents
25% from grandparents
12.5% from great-grandparents
6.25% from great-great-grandparents, etc.
You'll also share certain amounts of DNA with living relatives. These average amounts can be used to predict relationships between two people.
50% with full siblings
25% with grandfathers, grandmothers, aunts, uncles, half-siblings, double first cousins
12.5% with great-grandparents, first cousins, great-uncles, great-aunts, half-aunts/uncles, half-nephews/nieces
Here is a picture of the DNA that I share with my father (green), my mother (blue), and my maternal grandmother (purple). As you can see, the green and blue lines cover all my genes, and the purple one has some breaks in it. This is because each of my parents contributed 50% of my DNA, but I received only 23.3% of my DNA from my maternal grandmother.
By comparing DNA with people, you can confirm how you are related to someone, or figure out how you are related to someone based on how much and where they share with you. By testing known relatives who are more and more distantly related to you (ie, parents, cousins, grandparents, second cousins, etc), you can begin to see where certain segments of your DNA came from. This can lead to helping adoptees find their birth families, or finding common ancestors with other people you share DNA with.
Just for grins and giggles, here's the same picture as above, with my maternal grandfather's first cousin (orange) thrown in. Our common ancestors are my great-great-grandparents Johann Loewen and Katharina Epp. As you can see, for the most part, purple (my maternal grandmother) and orange (maternal grandfather's first cousin) do NOT overlap. This is because one is from my mother's maternal side (purple) and one is from my mother's paternal side (orange). There is one small segment on chromosome 3 though, that does overlap, which indicates that somewhere back in the family tree, my maternal grandmother and my maternal grandfather's first cousin share a common ancestor.
Do you have any questions so far? (Note: I am planning to add some fancy graphics to this post to demonstrate DNA segments.)
Genetic genealogy can be confusing, so let me see if I can break it down and simplify it for you.
Everyone gets half of their DNA from their mother, and half of their DNA from their father. Following that, grandchildren get about 25% of their DNA from each grandparent. Each generation further back contributes 50% less. So:
50% from parents
25% from grandparents
12.5% from great-grandparents
6.25% from great-great-grandparents, etc.
You'll also share certain amounts of DNA with living relatives. These average amounts can be used to predict relationships between two people.
50% with full siblings
25% with grandfathers, grandmothers, aunts, uncles, half-siblings, double first cousins
12.5% with great-grandparents, first cousins, great-uncles, great-aunts, half-aunts/uncles, half-nephews/nieces
Here is a picture of the DNA that I share with my father (green), my mother (blue), and my maternal grandmother (purple). As you can see, the green and blue lines cover all my genes, and the purple one has some breaks in it. This is because each of my parents contributed 50% of my DNA, but I received only 23.3% of my DNA from my maternal grandmother.
By comparing DNA with people, you can confirm how you are related to someone, or figure out how you are related to someone based on how much and where they share with you. By testing known relatives who are more and more distantly related to you (ie, parents, cousins, grandparents, second cousins, etc), you can begin to see where certain segments of your DNA came from. This can lead to helping adoptees find their birth families, or finding common ancestors with other people you share DNA with.
Just for grins and giggles, here's the same picture as above, with my maternal grandfather's first cousin (orange) thrown in. Our common ancestors are my great-great-grandparents Johann Loewen and Katharina Epp. As you can see, for the most part, purple (my maternal grandmother) and orange (maternal grandfather's first cousin) do NOT overlap. This is because one is from my mother's maternal side (purple) and one is from my mother's paternal side (orange). There is one small segment on chromosome 3 though, that does overlap, which indicates that somewhere back in the family tree, my maternal grandmother and my maternal grandfather's first cousin share a common ancestor.
Do you have any questions so far? (Note: I am planning to add some fancy graphics to this post to demonstrate DNA segments.)
An Introduction
Thank you for visiting my blog. I'm hoping that this will be a space where I can keep family updated on my progress of confirming paper trails via DNA. Both sides of my family already have fairly good family trees back to my great-great-grandparents. However, that is where I start hitting brick walls. I'm hoping through DNA testing, we can break some of these walls down.
I have started testing family members. So far, I have tested:
Dad's side (Fox/Perry):
Dad
Mom's side (Loewen/Petkau):
Mom
Maternal grandmother
People I would like to test on the Fox/Perry side:
Autosomal--At least one or two of Dad's siblings
Autosomal--At least one cousin from the Perry side, and at least one cousin from the Fox side
YDNA--A Perry descendant
YDNA--Dad
People I would like to test on the Loewen/Petkau side:
Autosomal--A known Klassen cousin
Autosomal--At least one of Grandpa Loewen's siblings
Autosomal--At least one of Grandpa Loewen's cousins (hoping for one from his Franz side)
YDNA--A known Klassen cousin
People I am looking for on the Fox side:
Edwin B. Marvin--My great-great-great-grandfather. So far, all I know is that he was born in 1822.
People I am looking for on the Perry side:
Samuel Perry--Also my great-great-great-grandfather. I believe he was born in 1825 in England.
Mary Davis--My great-great-great-grandmother. May have been born in 1831.
People I am looking for on the Loewen side:
Katharina Epp--My great-great-grandmother. I know who her father was, but her mother is unknown.
David Franz--My great-great-grandfather. No idea who his parents were.
Maria Fast--My great-great-grandmother. No idea who her parents were.
People I am looking for on the Petkau side:
Justina ______--My great-great-great-great-grandmother. No idea what her maiden name was.
Julius Willms--My great-great-great-grandfather. No idea who his parents were.
Maria Willms--My great-great-great-grandmother. Julius was her father, but I do not know who her mother was.
Peter Klassen--My great-great-grandfather. No idea who his parents were.
I have started testing family members. So far, I have tested:
Dad's side (Fox/Perry):
Dad
Mom's side (Loewen/Petkau):
Mom
Maternal grandmother
People I would like to test on the Fox/Perry side:
Autosomal--At least one or two of Dad's siblings
Autosomal--At least one cousin from the Perry side, and at least one cousin from the Fox side
YDNA--A Perry descendant
YDNA--Dad
People I would like to test on the Loewen/Petkau side:
Autosomal--A known Klassen cousin
Autosomal--At least one of Grandpa Loewen's siblings
Autosomal--At least one of Grandpa Loewen's cousins (hoping for one from his Franz side)
YDNA--A known Klassen cousin
People I am looking for on the Fox side:
Edwin B. Marvin--My great-great-great-grandfather. So far, all I know is that he was born in 1822.
People I am looking for on the Perry side:
Samuel Perry--Also my great-great-great-grandfather. I believe he was born in 1825 in England.
Mary Davis--My great-great-great-grandmother. May have been born in 1831.
People I am looking for on the Loewen side:
Katharina Epp--My great-great-grandmother. I know who her father was, but her mother is unknown.
David Franz--My great-great-grandfather. No idea who his parents were.
Maria Fast--My great-great-grandmother. No idea who her parents were.
People I am looking for on the Petkau side:
Justina ______--My great-great-great-great-grandmother. No idea what her maiden name was.
Julius Willms--My great-great-great-grandfather. No idea who his parents were.
Maria Willms--My great-great-great-grandmother. Julius was her father, but I do not know who her mother was.
Peter Klassen--My great-great-grandfather. No idea who his parents were.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)