Genealogy and DNA

Y-DNA, mtDNA, autosomal-DNA, SNPs, STRs, Haplogroups, Clades.... Is there no end to this, and what on earth are they! Join me on the search for elucidation.

The Journey

As a newcomer to this aspect of genealogy, my aim is to take you on my "warts and all" journey from first considering DNA testing to wherever it may lead. I am writing in real time, I have had one test, and am awaiting the results of another, and will never be more than one step ahead of my reports.

Hopefully during this process you will learn as I do, and avoid making some of the mistakes which I shall undoubtedly make during the process - So here we go!

whY-DNA

Like most of us, I have been aware of the possibility of  DNA testing for a number of years, but did not consider I had a need to undergo testing. I had no known living direct line family from another branch of my tree to prove an ancestral connection, and to determine where in the world my genes originated was not a major concern. However, last year I found my 5th Great Grandfather, Samual Furgison (sic) who married in Pardshaw, Cumberland, England in 1756; where he was from, and when he was born are two big unknowns.

Our family gossip has it that we came from Scotland, in particular Dumfries, but, for me, 250 years and 5 generations seems to be too long a time for much reliance to be placed on this 'Source'. So how did Sam get to Pardshaw? Time to think of DNA! Just where did my Fergusons come from?

As my name correctly indicates, I am male, and was already aware that men have Y and X chromosomes whilst women have two Xs, so clearly for the male line the Y chromosome needs to be analysed. If my sisters wished to have their paternal line tested then they would have to get me to test mine, or if they didn't have a brother, then a male 1st cousin, or other male descendant from the grandfather's line, to test their's.

The Test

The selection of the testing company was the easy bit. FamilyTreeDNA has the largest number of  published individual results and, therefore, the widest number of comparisons which one can make. The next question is how many markers to have tested.  These are Short Tandem Repeats (STR) variations in which can help determine whether or not there may be a relationship between individuals. Historically 12 markers were tested, but this is now considered too small, 37 is the most common, 67 rapidly growing in selection, and 111 the latest. I selected the 37 marker, although I would now select the 67, and am awaiting the results of the upgrade.

Collectively the markers are used to specify, or imply, the Haplogroup. So, what did my 37 marker test show, am I really of Scots descent, or Irish where many Fergies originate. My results show that my haplogroup is R1a1a, I'm a 100% Norse, a what?? a Viking!!!

Disclaimer: Other than paying them hard cash, I have no connection with FamilyTreeDNA!

© Ron Ferguson 2012

Genealogy Searches - What Now?

The publishing of the complete England/Welsh 1851 census by Findmypast.com raises the interesting question as to whether to subscribe to that site or Ancestry.co.uk, particularly since the former includes the English/Welsh 1911 census. I hope that the following may help you decide (For England, in the table, please read England/Wales - with apologies).

Comparison Table

For the purpose of this comparison I have chosen to compare the Ancestry Premium subscription with the Findmypast Explorer.

Description	Ancestry	Findmypast
Full English Censuses	NO	YES
Complete BMD's	YES	YES*
Family Trees	YES	YES
Parish Records	YES	YES
Irish Records	YES	NO
Scottish Records	YES**	NO+
Full WW1 Records	YES	NO
Other UK Military Records	NO	YES
Complete Eng. Emigration Records	NO	YES
Annual Cost UKPs++	£107.40++	£149.90***

Notes

Ancestry does not include the 1911 census
* Not directly searchable before 1984
** transcript only
+ Scotlands People is a sister site to Findmypast
++ Ancestry Essentials subscription at £84.40 excludes Parish and Irish Records
*** Findmypast Explorer costs £89.95 but excludes the 1911 census (available [you've guessed!] at £59.95/annum)

Both companies offer vouchers, but, as might be expected, comparison is not easy! Ancestry offer 12 record views for £6.95. valid 14 days, and Findmypast 60 credits also at £6.95 valid 90 days. It should be noted that to view a Findmypast image usually costs up to 10 credits, although the top rate is for the 1911 census - 10 credits to view the transcript, but a massive 30 credits to view the image!

I know that the above will not answer the question as to which is the most appropriate, and it is clear that the choice will depend on your particular circumstances. It seems that it would be best to take out a subscription with the company which has the majority of searches which you will need, and buy vouchers for the other - but note Ancestry's very short life-span.

The assessments which I have given are based on my own use of these sites, rather than on the owners' blurbs, and I have only included their major databases. Both sites have other data of more specialist interest.

© Ron Ferguson 2009

Of this Parish...

In England and Wales, Parish Registrations of births, marriages and deaths started in 1538, prior to that date details were kept on sheets of paper, and 13 years later in 1531 for Scotland. Civil Registrations were not introduced in England and Wales until 1837 and 1854 in Scotland.

Prior to the above dates Wales was using the patronymic system of naming, eg. Evan Ab Evan (Evan the son of Evan, or "vench" meaning daughter of). Whilst the lowlands of Scotland used recognisable surnames before the 16c, it was not until the 16c - 17c that most highlanders adopted the name of their clan chief. However, it would be quite wrong to think that we have a guaranteed way of tracing or ancestors back to the 16c, I wish!

Unfortunately, the Scottish showed their admirable resistance to "government interference" and most of their 900 parishes kept, at best, only partial records until just before 1854. These may be found at Scotlands People. In England between 1653 and 1660 the keeping of records was transferred from the churches to a civil office, confusingly, also know as the "Parish Register". Suffice to say that few of these records exist - who said that governments losing data is a new thing :-). The full timeline for registration law can be found on my website.

It is only since 1992 that all birth and baptism records over 150 years old have had to be kept safe, usually in County Record Offices, so many of the older registers are damaged and difficult to read, and before the 17c - 18c are often in Latin! The parish priests were, from 1598, obliged to compile records to send to their bishop, known as "Bishops Transcripts", but these are incomplete and transcription errors common.

In the south of England the ecclesiastic parishes are usually coterminous with the civil parishes, but this is much less true in the north where the former could encompass a number of townships, each of which, or a combination of them, were later to become civil parishes. If an entry cannot be found where expected, do look in adjacent parishes since there was quite a high, but local, migration.

All transcriptions, whilst welcome, cannot beat reading the original. Apart from transcription errors, much is often omitted; names of putative fathers; occupations; and especially odd comments from the vicar immediately come to mind. Finally, do not ignore the records post 1837 in England and Wales (1854, Scotland) because: registration was voluntary before 1875 in England and Wales, they can contain details omitted from the certificate, and will resolve incorrect copying of the register which may be found in the certificate. Yes, it does happen!

Websites

The best website for finding where a parish register is likely to be stored is probably the Society of Genealogists. Not many parishes have published their record details, but it is always worth trying Google. A growing collection of sites which should not be ignored is the on-line Parish Clerk which for a number of counties offers transcripts of the parish registers. Last, but not least is the IGI at Family Search.

© Ron Ferguson

Location, Location, Location and the UK

I am British, it is difficult to describe myself otherwise as my father is descended from Scottish ancestors, my mother from Welsh and I was born in England. It may be because of this hybrid background that I am sensitive to the way in which UK locations are entered in genealogy reports.

Let us start with the meaning of the UK; it is (now) the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, but prior to the establishment of the Republic of Ireland in 1922 it included the whole of Ireland. This, of course, leads to the question as to what is Great Britain; put simply, it is the largest island within the British Isles the latter being merely a geographical description which also includes, the whole of Ireland and the Isle of Man. Often the Channel Isles are included as well but this is not strictly accurate. Great Britain comprises the countries of Scotland, England and Wales. The first two are Kingdoms and the latter a principality - but never suggest to the Welsh that Wales is not a country, it is :-).

Northern Ireland is a province of the UK, created from 6 counties in 1922, and is not the same as Ulster which contains two additional counties, now in the Republic. The Isle of Man and the Channel Isles are not, and never have been, part of the UK, but are Crown Dependencies. The former having the oldest parliament in the world, The Tynwald. The Channel Isles has two separate states, Jersey and Guernsey with their own governments, and the other islands are dependencies of Guernsey.

For further information please refer to The British Isles and all That.

After only a short time studying genealogy one meets the "four field convention" for naming locations. Let us be perfectly clear - this does not work for UK locations. To start with we do not have states, and England, Scotland and Wales are countries not states of the UK or GB. The correct description of location in these three countries would basically be: Parish/County/Country or Parish/Town/County/Country. There are variations, but these are the basic formats.

Thus, the correct location of Southampton is "Southampton, Hampshire, England", and not as I have recently seen "Southampton, ,Hampshire, Engand". There is not another tier between Southampton and Hampshire. We never add "UK" or "GB" to the end of a location, in particular, the latter is simply wrong and the former unacceptable. Arguably it could be said that "Northern Ireland, UK" is correct, although I would not include "UK".

Ouch! I hear, the Geolocation finders no longer work, well they don't, they were designed to fit the four field system, which doesn't work for us (and much of the world outside of America for that matter). I would suggest that accuracy should come before convenience and where I need to use the locator (rarely) I first enter the data incorrectly so that it fits the four field system, get the latitude and longitude, and then correct the location fields. A little more trouble, yes, but at least the output is accurate.

For further information on the history of English locations you are referred to English Counties, Parish, etc. for Genealogists.

In conclusion, for me, to expect a system of naming which has developed over nearly 2000 years to fit a convention developed only in the 20c is beyond my comprehension, and I look forward to the day when we will see our locations accurately reported.

© Ron Ferguson