Beth is my father's second cousin. A couple of years ago, we didn't know that she existed--but then I matched her nephew Dave with an autosomal test, and we found that my grandfather's aunt didn't die in the Holocaust like we had thought. (You can read details of that story here.) Since Beth is a generation closer than Dave to our mutual ancestors, she was willing to do DNA testing--and they ran both autosomal and mtDNA tests, since her direct female line would bring her to Hinda Diamond, my great-great grandmother.
I expected to see multiple Jewish names in her list of matches.
The majority of Beth's mtDNA matches come from Scandinavia and England. Her only two exact matches have trees back to 1700 in England (and themselves have a common direct female ancestor). There are a few scattered Jewish names (such as Fruma, which I highlighted above), but they're far overshadowed by other surnames. Does this mean that Hinda's direct female line was Scandinavian?
Beth's ethnic makeup breakdown between her parents is easy to see--50% from her non-Jewish father and the rest (Jewish Diaspora with a bit of Middle Eastern) from her Jewish mother. Between the very close autosomal match to my immediate family and the ethnic breakdown, I'd expect to see a lot more Jewish names on her list.
Any ideas why this is the case? Suggestions welcome!
Note: I'm on Twitter. Follow me (@larasgenealogy).
I expected to see multiple Jewish names in her list of matches.
The majority of Beth's mtDNA matches come from Scandinavia and England. Her only two exact matches have trees back to 1700 in England (and themselves have a common direct female ancestor). There are a few scattered Jewish names (such as Fruma, which I highlighted above), but they're far overshadowed by other surnames. Does this mean that Hinda's direct female line was Scandinavian?
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| Beth's "My Origins" Ethnic Makeup |
Any ideas why this is the case? Suggestions welcome!
Note: I'm on Twitter. Follow me (@larasgenealogy).
Well, Hephzibah and Hannah are both Jewish names. But my theory is that if she went through the Holocaust, then maybe many of her mother's relatives did as well and didn't survive, so there are fewer family members living today on her mother's side than her father's side.
ReplyDeleteThe surnames for Hannah and Hephzibah weren't Jewish.
DeleteSince mtDNA mutates so slowly, I'd still assume that a reasonable number of 1-step matches would be Jewish despite the holocaust.
WoW. My mtDNA I take more from my Mother as well. This is fascinating. What was the Jewish Population in those areas at the time? Great Piece.
ReplyDeleteSmall. And I have the family in Ukraine. Weird.
DeleteIs the match list above composed only 0-step matches?
ReplyDeleteHer 2 0-step matches have extensive trees back to England. The rest are 1 step away.
DeleteMaybe all those matches married someone not Jewish and took their surname or their mothers did somewhere down the line?
ReplyDeleteCould be--but all of them?
DeletePerhaps all descended from the same couple? Or there just aren't any Jewish matches showing up?
DeleteThere are a couple but very few.
Delete0 step is still quite distant isn't it? On wikipedia it says that Charles XII of Sweden spent five years in Bender, Bessarabia now Moldova. He died 1718.
ReplyDelete0 could be distant, but it also could be recent (mutations have to have happened recently at some point).
DeleteOut of curiosity, what is the mtDNA haplogroup?
ReplyDeleteT1a1
DeleteNot everyone has had their DNA tested. Wait a while and more DNA connections may show up.
ReplyDelete