#y-dna

[throughthetreesblog]

Just Say No: African Ancestry’s DNA Tests

I cannot recommend African Ancestry’s DNA tests. African Ancestry, Inc., a genetic testing company targeting consumers of African descent, claims to use “the world’s largest database of African DNA lineages to determine your country and ethnic group of origin, all with a simple swab of your cheek.” But the truth is not so simple.

Ethnicity is a complex concept, a concept not as rooted in genetics as it is in sociopolitical and cultural constructs. There is no DNA test that can assign anyone to an African ethnic group or what some refer to as an "African tribe."

Secondly, African Ancestry tests too few DNA markers to determine much of anything, much less substantiate their marketing claims. African Ancestry tests 8 Y-chromosome DNA STRs and about 350-370 mitochondrial DNA markers. That number of markers is insufficient for delivering the level of specificity that the marketing promises.

Moreover, the tests, which cost far more than their value, sell on the basis of deceptive and disturbing promotion practices. An effective marketing machine reliant on half-truths, celebrity reveals, and the lack of genetic literacy and critical thinking among the general public has made this company profitable. Notice how African Ancestry discusses none of the scientific details of their analysis on their website. In misleading advertisements declaring themselves better, bolder, and “blacker” than other direct-to-consumer DNA test companies, African Ancestry reminds prospective customers that the “100% black owned” firm “destroys all genetic information” and enables users to reverse “the original identity theft,” trading on feelings of racial dissension and mistrust among some members of the African American community. The results from African Ancestry consist largely of a certificate claiming that one "shares ancestry with" one or more African ethnic groups from whom the company has received DNA samples.

What African Ancestry marketing literature has historically failed to explain is that, in the vast majority of cases, no single African ethnic group has a monopoly on a genetic signature. African Ancestry avoids explaining that the results of their low resolution tests should show that one "shares ancestry with" many different ethnic groups across the continent. African Ancestry has evaded discussions of how some Africans enslaved and transported to the Americas during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries came from ethnic groups that do not exist now as they did then. African Ancestry, by virtue of omitting these caveats to their overhyped, overrated, and overpriced results, has earned the "scam" moniker among experienced genetic genealogists.

Over the years, African Ancestry customers have delivered testimony expressing disappointment, embarrassment, anger, and family humiliation after receiving less than accurate results. The most common word in these negative reactions: useless. African Ancestry offers no DNA matches and little to no historical context for the results. One cannot use these results to advance genealogical research.

African Ancestry customers previously did not even receive haplogroup determinations with their results; customers had to struggle with rude service to get the haplogroup assignment from the company. That haplogroup assignment African Ancestry delivered was often far less precise than that supplied by other companies who charge far less. In some cases, the African Ancestry haplogroup assignment or the interpretation of that assignment was completely erroneous. Some of the company's customers were told that they could not get an African ethnicity report because their Y-DNA or mtDNA was not of African origin. Those same customers would test with other companies that test more Y-DNA and mtDNA markers than African Ancestry and learn that their Y-DNA or mtDNA was, in fact, African. For this level of service, customers should not pay anything, much less premium prices.

Professor Henry Louis Gates Junior's misinterpreted results rank among the most disconcerting examples of African Ancestry's low quality analysis. African Ancestry's Rick Kittles told Professor Gates his Y-DNA signature was Egyptian. However, more comprehensive Y-DNA testing revealed Professor Gates had the same Y-DNA haplogroup as Niall of the Nine Hostages, suggesting European ancestry on his direct paternal line. This discrepancy inspired Professor Gates to partner with Family Tree DNA to start African DNA, a company that would provide higher resolution DNA testing for African Americans and include DNA relatives - the most accurate and useful data in genetic genealogy.

Ironically, Gates never used nor promoted his own company, African DNA, on any of his genealogy television programs. Instead, Gates continued to use and promote African Ancestry's inferior products, before finally shuttering African DNA several months ago. African Ancestry continues to survive, despite the spurious results of their tests, because many who recognize the company's questionable tactics and the products' lack of efficacy remain silent and demand silence from others. Now, the industry has lost a far more affordable, more valuable alternative in African DNA. Far too many will fall prey to the marketing messages that have become African Ancestry's siren song and waste time and resources on a test of no utility or value.

I could never recommend testing with African Ancestry; their racial marketing practices, low resolution products, and high prices raise ethical questions.

Anyone seeking to investigate their Y-DNA or mitochondrial DNA for genealogical research ought to respectively pursue Y-DNA (at least 37 markers) or full mitochondrial sequence testing at Family Tree DNA, join relevant haplogroup projects on Family Tree DNA, and research one’s results in academic literature.

My advice on African Ancestry: Steer clear.

[alix-universe]

Tracing My Y-DNA Ancestry - Last Blog

It's been a difficult quest to trace my paternal ancestry as I explained in my 1st blog. Since Tracing My Paternal Y-DNA through my cousins only provides a partial view of half my DNA mapping. Because, I am a woman and I don't carry the Y chromosome then I have to extract those haplogroups from the haplogroups of my relatives and find common ancestral connections. That means I can only trace my grandmother's ancestry from my paternal side. Since the X chromosome I have, comes from his mother.

It sounds simple but it isn't. The rule is: sharing a haplogroup with an ancestor of a famous person suggests a distant relationship, that could potentially go back hundreds or thousands of years. It means you both descend from a common ancestor who lived in the past and carried the same genetic markers defining in your haplogroup. However, this doesn't necessarily imply a close, recent family connection.

So are we related? If we match to the exact haplogroup there is big maybe, to yes, we are potentially related.

E-M34 Haplogroup

I did a few mistaken searches due to typos and had to delete them. However, I had one interesting result with E-M34 haplogroup that is connected as a common ancestor from 500 CE with Napoleon Bonaparte, so when I plugged that haplogroup it linked it to a distant but more detailed haplogroup E-BY36878... and that one is the Napoleon Haplogroup which only 3 people apparently have it. There are no direct living descendants of Napoleon only descendants from his brother. E-M34 didn't result in any direct ancestry since I am only 1% Ashkenazim Jewish and that was the result of this experimental example. I share that haplogroup with a few 3rd and 5th cousins, so I can say, I am related to them only.

Also, France is not listed in my DNA results. So that means I am not French. Period. I do see a big 50% Spain 🇪🇸 or Spanish in my DNA. Spain and France share borders therefore they may have haplogroups that share similar migration paths. But that doesn't make me French.

Now, I cannot attest the same about my relatives since their DNA results may show different connections even if we are related, we have different results. However, E-M34 is prevalent among Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews so that could explain the small 1% Ashkenazi DNA percentage in my DNA result.

Anyway, I did have a few surprising discovery like finding out that there is a big possibility my 3rd-grandmother up to my 5th-grandmother were certainly of Scottish-Irish-Welsh descent based on the many haplogroups I see in my DNA pool, which are shared among my closest cousins up to my most distant 10th cousins which provide the oldest ancestry in my DNA.

Getting a bit more personal, I can say I was very close to my Grandmother who was born around 1893. My grandfather died of sadness months after she passed away. He was around the same age 99 - 100 years old. She was a caring grandmother to me. And I also knew my great-grandmother who died around the age of 112 years-old. Calculating the time of her death, she was probably born around 1871 and peacefully passed away when I was just a toddler. I have a vague memory of her of course, we visited often and I had the chance to talk to her, but she wasn't speaking or walking anymore. I never met my Great-grandfather but they were married until he passed away at a younger age.

In my previous blog I talked about all the different haplogroups I found mostly in that region. Including a close ancestry with Robert Burns from the R-CTS278 Haplogroup, which gets me to the closest Scottish ancestry from someone who was alive at some point in history. A very rare connection that only 1 in 5,500 people or 127 people have been identified to be closely related to the former poet. I am not claiming direct family lineage of course but clearly we share ancestry.

Another interesting and rare connection is that I was able to trace Celtic ancestry from both my maternal haplogroup U and H and my paternal Y-DNA haplogroup R-M222.

R-M222 Haplogroup 🕈🧬

Celtic Mystery Ancestor 🧬 350 BCE - 250 CE. The Celts were a collection of tribes with origins in central Europe during the Iron Age, that shared a similar language, religious beliefs, traditions and culture. They originated from central Europe and spread throughout the continent, including the British Isles, Ireland, Scotland and Spain, and even parts of Anatolia.

Several tribes made up the larger population of the Celtic people. The Gaels, Gauls, Britons, Irish which are mostly my paternal haplogroups and the The Galatians who populated mostly the Asturias region of what is now Northern Spain, which were mostly predominant in a few of my maternal mtDNA haplogroups' H. The Galatians settled as far as regions like Anatolia and Rome and you can see traces of their culture around Europe, predominantly in ancient architecture and traces of the Celtics Religion and Sacred sites.

Haplogroup R-M222 is linked to Niall of the Nine Hostages and indicates direct ancestry to him from that haplogroup.

R-M222 and R-A260 Haplogroup

In the same Haplogroup is the O'Conor House 👑 1088 CE. The O’Conor family was one of the most distinguished and powerful royal houses in Ireland, ruling the Kingdom of Connacht for centuries up until 1475. His son Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair (1116–1198) was the last High King of Ireland.

1 in 411 or only 1,678 people are this closely related to O'Conor House👑

And the Uí Briúin Dynasty 👑 250 CE. The Uí Briúins (pronounced ee brew-in) ruled the kingdom of Connacht in western Ireland from the 5th to the 15th centuries.

There isn't a lot of data around the Uí Briúins except that Brión, the ancestor of the Uí Briúin, was a half-brother of Niall of The Nine Hostages; meaning they shared a common parent, Eochaid Mugmedon, but their mothers were different.

If you have Haplogroup R-A259 is direct ancestry to the Uí Briúin Dynasty.

1 in 411 or only 1,678 people have been identified to be this closely related to Uí Briúin dynasty.

G-P15 Haplogroup

Yuya 🛕📜Unknown - 1374 BCE. Was a powerful Egyptian courtier man in the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt. He served as a key adviser for Amenhotep III and carried many titles such as "King’s Lieutenant" and "Master of the Horses."

He married the Egyptian noblewoman Thuya and was the great-grandfather of Tutankhamun through their daughter Tiye, who was the Great Royal Wife of Amenhotep III, the ninth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty.

This is to me, a real archaeological discovery that left me speechless. It's very very very distant ancestry shared mostly with a few 7th, 8th cousins. It's a very rare ancestry.

I do have 3% Northern African in my DNA, which means it could be divided between my parents. It's a very very small percentage but I am guessing on my mother's side it is either Turkish or Algerian, based on the haplogroups I'm researching.

R-CTS4528 Haplogroup

Slonk Hill man 391 - 203 BCE, he lived around 300 BCE during the Late Iron Age in Great Britain. His remains were found in an Iron Age burial near Brighton, England, dating back to between 2,400 and 2,200 years ago. He was discovered in 1968 during an archaeological digging. He likely had light skin, brown or black hair, and brown eyes.  His direct maternal line belonged to mtDNA haplogroup H1.

This is considered an Ancient Connection from my haplogroups.

1 in 295 or only 2,341 people have been identified to be this closely related to Slonk Hill man.

This concludes my research on my paternal ancestry.

I found through my discoveries many inconclusive haplogroups and that's mostly because my biological father and mother didn't have a son. In the absence of a biological brother from their marriage, I can only access a partial map of my Y-DNA. Like for instance I found haplogroups from Hungary and America but they were not fully detailed. And asking my biological father for a DNA test is out of the question; plus the subject of paternity has never been a concern.

My biological father and I don't have any communication, we are very distant and it is better that way, and not the subject of this blog. My paternal Y-DNA research is mostly for closure and to finally find conclusions to my questions around the other half of my DNA.

Another reason was to find distant and unknown relatives that I found during my research. Also more importantly to make a public fact, that I Do Not Have A Missing Brother from either my mother or my father's side.

Also that I am not someone else. I am one person. My names are mine, my current or any former legal identity I had are all mine and my genetic information is mine and not someone else's. I own them all unquestionably and irrevocably.

I will call out any attempts from scammers, criminals or anyone else trying to steal my identities since I have dual citizenship. Or anyone trying to steal my genetic information or alter my ancestry, or to represent me as someone else I am not. And I will take legal actions against anyone trying to use it in any form or anyway. That includes false or malicious attempts to change my Personal Identifiable Information, Legal Identity, ethnicity or genetic information in any way, for any reason. I choose what I decide to disclose and no one else.

It goes beyond that. Since we are now living in the age of digital crimes and scamming. I have to say, I think about the multiple scammers fabricating the impostors pretending to be that fake brother named Chris who is allegedly living in Texas or that other one named Christopher... I don't have any brothers in Texas. There was another one named Christian from Mexico who claimed to be my brother and wanted to collect money for "medical reasons".

Also that my mother or my father are Black or of African descent... No, they are both Caucasian/Hispanics. Or that I'm French, or have lived in France or that I have family in France. All False. I have never even visited the country of France. I can read French, but no one in my immediate including myself speaks French... Also we are not from Mexico either or of Mexican descent. It is All False.

Or that other false claim from another scammer claiming, he and I were separated at birth... I Do Not Have a Twin Brother or Sister. And with this, I rest my case.

This concludes the Y-DNA blog. I have more to write about my mtDNA. So I am not done yet.

[alix-universe]

Tracing My Y-DNA Ancestry - Part I

I have to admit, since I am a woman, extracting DNA from my paternal side hasn't been a simple task.

My mother and my father didn't produce a son. So I had to dig into my cousin and distant relatives' DNA to find the closest haplogroup that can provide more information about my ancestry from my biological father's side.

In simple words, I don't have all DNA sequences with their respective mutations to establish full ancestry in some instances.

In the absence of an biological brother from my mother's and father's union, I had to resource into comparing my closest relatives' relationships on my paternal side. Meaning I extracted it from the mutual and closest DNA haplogrupos from my 1st to 3rd cousins to the 5th to 6th cousins.

Anything beyond that, are distant relatives that just provide a partial relationship to my Y-DNA. Important DNA relationships, but less likely to give me a full map of half my DNA. Since the further you go away from your biological Maternal and Paternal DNA sequences who are shared among my siblings, the further away I get to an accurate mapping.

The rule is: First cousins share grandparents, counting back two generations to their shared ancestors. Second cousins count back three generations to their great-grandparents. Third cousins count back four generations to their great-great-grandparents. Anything beyond the 5th cousin is relevant but they're considered very distant relatives; unless you find a living relative or someone who lived in the same timeline or century that shares the exact same haplogroup ... then, they're related by ancestry.

I don't carry the Y Chromosome in my DNA since I was born a female or woman; I only have one X chromosome from my biological mother and one X chromosome from my biological father, which means I got only my father's mother chromosome (or my paternal grandmother). It's complicated but it's how nature designed it. In this case my biological grandfather doesn't count to trace ancestry even if he is biologically related to me, like all of his children.

In the absence of a brother, my male cousins are the ones carrying the paternal X chromosomes (or my paternal grandmother chromosome). In my case, there are more males on my father's side than on my mother's side so basically they are like "half brothers" (twice removed from my paternal Y-DNA) sort of speaking. This article from 23andMe explains the percentage and predictability of your shared DNA based on the family relationship. It's incredible, only identical twins share 100% of their DNA relationship in the sibling chart. Yes, your identical twin is your natural clone. Any other sibling brothers or sisters, only gets 50% of your shared DNA. Thank God I am not a twin.

Even my biological sister and I share only 50% of our parents' DNA. So technically our DNA sequences are not probably similar.

That's why it is so difficult to insert a fake sibling into someone's DNA pool. No matter if you use a similar last name, you can only be related through DNA. For instance in the US, I legally changed my name and removed my father's last name by choice and adopted a different family last name that is from my maternal ancestry, my mother raised me with my stepdad, she was mom and dad after they divorced when I was 10 years old; however I am still genetically related to my biological father.

And in my opinion that's why DNA should be protected by law at the federal level to prevent people from trying to snatch your DNA since altering physical appearance can be use as a disguised to impersonate you, if the intention is to cause any harm. Also, there are a lot of scary things that can happen if we don't protect our rights to retain our DNA data.

Back to my research and why this is important to me. A year ago, I received a notice via text from a hospital in Tijuana, Mexico trying to claim that my brother was hospitalized in their facility and they were asking $10,000 to cover for medical bills and they sent me a picture of a heave weight Caucasian man intubated and connected to a respirator. They said his name was Christian and goes by Chris and he provided his sister's phone number to cover for his medical bills. They pleaded for me to reach out to the hospital over the phone so they can give me instructions on how to wire the money so they could continue with his medical treatment.

Yep, that story didn't fly with me. The same name has been used in the past to claim I have a brother from my mothers side named Christopher who was stolen from my mother at birth. I know with 100% certainty, that I do not have a maternal brother. None of my siblings have been separated from her. I told my mom the story and she thought that was crazy. Absolutely not possible. Especially because my mother always wanted a boy and she tried 3 times to have a boy and she couldn't.

She gave up after the 3rd child. And I know there is no possibility my mother had a son while she was in some sort of comma or that she gave away any of her children. She married young and had no illegitimate sons or daughters.

Clearly that was a scammer trying to collect ransom and in the other instance, my number was given to someone in Mexico in an attempt to phishing me into sending money. It's not the first time.

Anyway, back to my DNA tracing. My mother's family and my father's family are from two separate branches that in time, distant ancestors were all located in Europe. My mother is Caucasian and clearly closer to her Spanish, Italian, Scandinavian ancestry and I discovered her ancestry have several Royal Houses, a few American history personalities and most recently I also discovered I have Russian-Germanic ancestry too.

While my biological father who is olive skin Caucasian, his ancestry is closer to some of the British Isle: Scotland, Ireland and Wales and Arabian.

From my Y-DNA haplogroups the closest and oldest ones are all connected to British and Scottish clans. I am including only rare connections to be more precise as close as possible to my paternal Y-DNA, which is my maternal grandmother X chromosome. She was born around 1893 in my native country. My grandparents were married for more than 75 years until she passed away. Her mother or my great-grandmother apparently was also from the same maternal ancestry which I have sort of confirmed based on my DNA research.

More research to be done. I am primarily trying to find connections that indicate a shared ancestral line.

I-F1295, I-M26, I-PF4088, I-PF4189, I-Z125 Haplogroups

Clan Lindsay 1086 CE 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🗡️ is a Lowland Scottish clan, descends from Walter Lindsay of Lincoln who accompanied David of Huntingdon from England to Scotland before 1116. The Lindsays were found in both England and Scotland with Sir Baldric de Lindsay of Hemingby recorded as holding estates in Lindsey in the Domesday Book in 1086. 1 in 141 or 4,956 people have been identified to be this closely related to the Clan Lindsay.

I-Y3548, I-Z17855 Haplogroup

Martin Luther 483 - 1546 CE 🛐🙏 was a notable German theologian and catholic priest, author, and hymn writer. Martin Luther is remembered as the father of Protestantism and one of the most influential and important religious figures of his time.

His contributions as a writer and teacher drove the separation of Western Christianity into Protestants and Catholics.

Wars were waged based on his doctrines. He indirectly caused clashes between Christian theological doctrines that led to many medieval wars.

1 in 101 or only 6,850 people have been identified to be closely related to Martin Luther.

Me and Martin Luther share a common paternal line ancestor who lived around this time.

I-L1498 Haplogroup

Clan Munro 🇮🇪 🍀 1320 - 1369 CE. This Clan traditionally dates from their founder Donald Munro, who is said to have come from Ireland to serve King Malcolm II of Scotland in the 11th century.

1 in 387 only 1,778 people have been identified to be this closely related to Clan Munro.

Me and Clan Munro share a common paternal line ancestor who lived around this time.

Other famous people who are closer to same haplogroup are 5th US President and founding father James Monroe 📜 1758 CE who also was a direct descendant of Clan Munro.

R-CTS4179 Haplogroup 👑

Somerled 1110 - 1164 CE was a 12th-century Norse-Gaelic lord who forged the Kingdom of Argyll and the Isles. He is claimed as the patrilineal ancestor of Clan Donald, Clan MacDougall, Clan MacAlister, and other Scottish clans.

He began his career as a local lord in Argyll, a region on the west coast of Scotland. He gradually expanded his influence through military campaigns against the Norse, who had long controlled the Hebrides (the islands off Scotland's west coast).

Around 1140, he married Ragnhild, the daughter of Olaf I, the Norse King of Man and the Isles. This marriage gave him a legitimate claim to the Kingdom of the Isles and was a key factor in his rise to prominence.

Somerled's vast "kingdom" disintegrated after his death, but his three sons—Dugald, Ranald, and Angus— became the progenitors of the powerful and influential clans MacDougall and MacDonald, which would dominate the region for centuries.

R-CTS278, R-Z52, R-FGC22952 Haplogroup

Robert Burns, 1759 - 1796 CE 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 📖 was born in Alloway, Ayrshire Scotland. He was the eldest son of tenant farmers William Burnes and Agnes Broun. He became the most recognized Scottish poet and lyricist of his century to this point. Regarded as the national poet of Scotland.

1 in 5,500 or only 125 people have been identified to be this closely related to Robert Burns.

Me and Robert Burns share a common paternal line ancestor who lived around this time.

I-Z166 Haplogroup

Stephen F. Austin 1793 - 1836 CE, born in southwestern Virginia, is often called the Father of Texas. He can also be called the Father of Anglo-American Texas and the Texas Rangers as he founded the earliest precursor of the famous law enforcement organization.

Austin also helped to meddled the territory disputes between Texas and Mexico. Eventually after the negotiations failed, he led the Texan rebels to victory over Mexico and assisted in the creation of the independent Republic of Texas.

1 in 335, only 2,060 customers are this closely related to Stephen F. Austin.

Me and Stephen F. Austin share a common paternal line ancestor who lived around this time.

R-CTS4065 Haplogroup

President George H. W. Bush 1924 - 2018 CE 🇺🇲 and his son George Walker Bush (1946) were the father and son who served as United States Presidents, as the 41st and 43rd Presidents, respectively. They both started their careers in the United State Military, Navy and Air Force respectively.

Both father and son are prominent members of the Republican party.

I am not related to them directly of course. However, I can proudly say I was an employee that worked for a U.S Embassy during George W. Bush's 1st presidential term. And I personally admire him for his leadership and service to our country.

1 in 346 or only 1,989 people have been identified to be this closely related to George H. W. Bush.

Me and President George H. W. Bush share a common paternal line ancestor who lived around this time.

R-Z209 Haplogroup 👑

The  House of Burgh was founded by William de Burgh (1160–1206). A Norman knight, he arrived in Ireland in 1185 and was granted a significant amount of land by Prince John, the future King of England. He is considered the patriarch of the family's Irish line.

One of their most prominent members was Elizabeth de Burgh (c. 1289–1327): The daughter of Richard Óg de Burgh, she became Queen Consort of Scotland through her marriage to Robert the Bruce. Her father, Lord Ulster, was a close friend of King Edward I of England. Eventually after the marriage with Robert, the families' relationship evolved complicated when Robert The Bruce abandon his alliance with the English king and fought for his own claim to the throne of Scotland.

I share distant ancestry with William de Burgh.

Since this research is about my paternal Y-DNA and I have to rely on relatives to extract the correct haplogroups to uncover ancestry, I am going to omit some haplogroups that have minimal shared segments or those from far distant cousins with no direct connection. Since they don't provide accurate ancestry links. Again I don't carry the Y chromosome but I see theirs.

Also I seem to have a small percentage of Arabic ancestry in my Y-DNA however more research needs to be done to find the correct haplogroups and connections to the correct timeline.

Until the next blog.

[mapsontheweb]

Celtic Y-DNA in Europe

[mapsontheweb]

Countries by percentage of similarity to Y-DNA average of Europeans.

Austrians are the most typical Europeans. Finns are the most different.

by u/lieverturksdanpaaps

[mapsontheweb]

Map of Medieval Y-DNA Migrations

[mapsontheweb]

Y-DNA distribution across Europe and surrounding regions

[mapsontheweb]

Y-DNA similarity % between England and countries around