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Archiver > GENEALOGY-DNA > 2002-04 > 1017674501


From: "Charles Vanorsdale" <>
Subject: [DNA] Genetic Point of Origin
Date: Mon, 1 Apr 2002 09:21:41 -0600
References: <200205160500.g4G50eI07661@lists5.rootsweb.com>


Hello, I am new to the list and to researching "genetic genealogy". I
research the "Van Arsdale" surname and its variants. Everyone in the U.S.
and Canada with a surname remotely similar to "Van Arsdale" can trace their
ancestry back to one man who emigrated in 1653. The surname has been traced
back another 300 years or so in Belgium. However, there has been some
research and/or speculation that our origins may actually lie in Switzerland
or on a Danish island in the Baltic Sea.

My question is this: Is there any significant difference between the genetic
signatures of the groups we call Swiss, Scandinavians, and Belgians to help
identify a family's geographic point of origin?

I guess this actually raises another question: Is there any real point of
origin?

Many thanks,
Charles R. Vanorsdale

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