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Archiver > GERMANNA_COLONIES > 2002-09 > 1030966768


From: John Blankenbaker <>
Subject: [GERMANNA] (1462)Germanna Colonies, History of
Date: Mon, 02 Sep 2002 07:39:28 -0400


The fourteen hundred and sixty-second note in a series on the Germanna Colonies

A question was asked as to possible testing laboratories for DNA studies. I
cite some names from Doug Mumma's investigation and interested readers
should read his web page to be found at
www.mumma.org/dna.htm Two of the laboratories that he mentioned are
GeneTree, Inc. and Family Tree DNA, Inc. Both of these are now doing
genealogical testing. There are probably more.

Some workers in the field of Y chromosome research believe that the
mutation rate for one site on a Y-chromosome is about 0.2% or about once in
500 generations. If you test several factors or sites, say 12, the observed
rate of change would be much higher than this. There is a lot of stability
in the Y-chromosome.

Probably when man first migrated to Europe, say 50,000 to 100,000 years
ago, the Y-chromosomes were very similar for the migrants. They could be
said to have a common haplotype or "fingerprint." As time went by, groups
developed differences which are recognizable today. The group that first
moved to the British Isles was pushed to the north and the west by later
groups. This first group, now known as the Celts, has a characteristic
pattern that is different. If do your testing in Scotland or in Wales, you
will be much likely to find a different pattern than if you do your testing
south of London which even differs from the east coast of England.

Because these patterns are so slow to change, especially in comparison to
surnames, one will find that many surnames share the larger or broader
patterns even while the patterns maintain enough identity or similarity to
permit group identification.

This will introduce another element into genealogy, the identification of
groups and tribes as opposed to surname tracing. But we must remember in
doing this that we are tracing only the male line, not all of the lines.
For example, the group of my male descent might trace itself back through
Austria to even Turkey. But this is only a small fraction of my genetic
makeup. I could probably trace some mixed male-female lines back to every
group that ever existed in Europe. The techniques are not able to do this
just yet.

Doug Mumma comments that the origins of the Mumma family were not certain.
In the DNA study of the family, two German families matched the broader
American group. (Two Estonian Mumma families did not match at all.)
Depending on the history of these two German families, it might be evidence
that the Mumma family did originate in Germany.

This may be a valuable technique to sort out whether members of a
particular Thomas family (a family which is to be found in every
nationality) are English, German, Irish, or what have you. Or the Smiths or
the Durmans.

John Blankenbaker
http://www.germanna.com/
http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~george/johnsgermnotes/germhis1.html
http://www.germanna.net/


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