Waiting for a one on one meeting with a DNA Expert was exciting and thrilling. I was anticipating the best of things and the worst of things. What could she tell me? Did she find any major clues that I hadn't? Or was this a dead-end road? I needed answers if not hope. The DNA expert, Diahan Southard, had previously asked for access from all 3 major DNA companies websites that my mother and aunt had done their DNA testing with, as well as Gedmatch. She wanted to review everything that I had noted as well as look at the results. Thursday was the day. We reviewed what my goal was from this meeting. My goal is to find methods to use with the DNA test results in finding out what the real surname is of my mother's and aunt's Paternal Grandfather (Alias - John Wallace), who was Jewish. She then asked me to confirm the relationships of all the people that were tested. My mother and my aunt, of course. My mother's and aunt's 1/2 1st cousin. This cousin's mother was a half-sister to their father. Finally, a 2nd Cousin from their Paternal Grandmother's family line. Diahan then introduced me to the Origins Page of FamilyTreeDNA. On this page, the Jewish Diaspora will break down to the percentage of Ashkenazi and Sephardic that a one has inherited. The page shows that my mother inherited 23% and all was Ashkenazi. Ancestry also stating that my mother inherited 25% European Jewish. Both together confirming that Alias John Wallace was Jewish. On AncestryDNA there is a section titled Genetic Communities. We looked at which communities that my mother belongs to, in hopes that it could provide any clues. Genetic communities are pools of AncestryDNA subscribers who are linked through DNA likely because they are the offspring from a community of common ancestors, despite the fact if they no longer live in the area where their ancestors once lived. Approximately 7,000,000 people, according to an AncestryDNA representative, have tested their DNA to form the different pools that AncestryDNA has found. Even though so many people have tested and my mother's Jewish genetic inheritance is high, she has not connected with any Jewish community(ies). The only communities she does connect with are from her Paternal Grandmother's side that is French Canadian, and her maternal side which is Slovenian and includes a region which was once known as Gottschee, in the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. One thing that makes the connection to a Jewish community hard is that Germany has yet to agree to DNA testing in that area based on the reasoning that if you ask someone from Germany "would you like to do DNA testing?", there would be several that say "no" because they already know their history. Families in Germany, where alias John Wallace is believed to have been from, are reluctant since they have lived in the same community as their ancestors before them have done for generations upon generations. If and once Germany accepts the opportunity for their communities to connect through DNA testing to others that have left those communities, then there could be a possibility of connecting with relatives using the information provided in the Genetic Communities section. So, as these Jewish Genetic Communities expand and get more refined then I should be able to see my mother in a Jewish Genetic Community. This will enable me to gather matches, as the example above with the South Slavs community has done. It narrows down the pool of matches that likely share this common heritage with my mother. It's just one more way to find my mother's best matches. So as more people are tested and as Ancestry improves their algorithm there is a possibility that my mother could become a part of a Jewish Genetic Community. Will need to review this section occasionally to check for updates. Back on the FamilyTreeDNA website my mother has a list of DNA matches. Looking at the Shared Centimorgans and the Longest Block / Segment columns we want to look at the relationship between my mother and her half 1st Cousin, M.L. M.L and my mother share a total of 394 cM and the longest block is 71 cM long. When dealing with an endogamous population such as Canadian French or European Jewish, you cannot always trust the shared amount of centimorgans (cM). The total shared centimorgans (cM) is just another way of saying total amount of shared DNA. Taking that number, in our case 394 cM, and take into the Shared cM Project chart, initiated by Blaine Bettinger. A number of people reported the actual amount of shared cM between people of proven relationships. This enables others to get a better understanding of how to use these numbers when it comes to analyzing the relationship between the DNA kit owned / administered by yourself and a DNA match. As in the case of M.L. and my mother, we know the exact relationship is that they are half 1st cousins. So, looking at the chart listed above its states that relationships that are considered Endogamy have a minimum of 458.91 total cM shared and a maximum of 1194.37 total cM shared. The total cM shared between the two cousins doesn't fit within these parameters. That is okay, because when we look in the category of ALL the minimum for a half 1st cousin is 261.76. In which case, the 394 total cM shared is well above. Since the Shared cM cannot be trust fully when dealing with endogamous populations, looking at the Longest Segment (cM) is required. The longest segment (piece of DNA) that M.L. and my mother share is 71 cM. Comparing the 71 (cM) to the Half 1C on the chart within the Endogamy section, M.L.'s and my mother's longest segment of 71 cM fits perfectly within the range provided and meets the average amount as well. Thus, confirming my mother's and M. L's relationship of half 1st cousin. This knowledge now provides a basis to compare other results to. Going back to the FamilyTreeDNA matches the closest approximation that FamilyTreeDNA provides is 2nd - 4th Cousin for my mother. When looking for a close DNA match, to find relatives with alias names or in cases of adoptions, you want the best of the best. One way to do that is to find one of the matches that has a large number for Shared (cM). This lead to C. J. that had a Shared (cM) of 84. C. J. also had one of the highest, if not the highest, Longest Block / Segments of 24 (cM). Based on those two numbers compared to the charts above C. J is approximately a 3rd Cousin or 3rd Cousin 1x removed. The other people that have large numbers for Shared (cM) but low Longest Block / Segments are not the best of the best. They are most likely to be 5th or 6th or further distant cousins. Skip those people for now. Majority of people, who are looking for their alias relatives or biological parents, want closer matches than a 3rd Cousins. Unfortunately, in this case my mother does not know if her alias Grandfather remarried and had more children other than her father. Another mystery is: did Alias John Wallace go back to Germany or not? Thus, bringing up the problem that currently in Germany, DNA testing has not begun. Our best is a 3rd Cousin or 3rd Cousin 1x removed till better clues appear. Now that C.J. had been determined to be the closest match at 3rd Cousin or 3rd Cousin 1x removed, the next step was to find C.J.'s matches that were In Common With. Once those matches came up the majority expect one, I. R., were not close matches. I. R. has a Shared (cM) of 77 and a Longest Block / Segment (cM) of 26. Thus, giving my mother only 2 descent matches on FamilyTreeDNA.
My job now becomes communicating with C. J. and I. R. and try to figure out their connection by comparing surnames in order to make the connection quicker. Also, I will need to find out their Shared (cM) and Longest Block / Segment (cM) that they share. Another key question is: who in their trees are from Germany. Otherwise I will be drawing out their entire family trees and work it till I find a clue. C. J. and I. R. can be related in more than one way, so I'll need to pay close attention. I pray all this information will help those that are struggling to find their true heritage. I'll keep everyone updated when and if I find a major clue. For more information about Diahan Southard visit Your DNA Guide
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Penny Alvarez-KellerGraduated from Arkansas Tech University with a degree in Management / Marketing and a degree in Economics / Finance Archives
February 2023
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