DNA matches & segment analysis

I checked my One-To-Many match listing at GEDmatch for the first time in about a week and found 2 new (above 30 cM) matches.   One 41.6 cM and the other 35.8 cM.  My normal practice is to click on the L of the match to take a look at their match list and use the CTRL + F function to find my email addy on the match list.  That gives me an idea of which of the tests other than mine this person matches.

The first kitt that I admin which is listed on their match list(abt 65 lines down) is my own kit followed shortly by my brother's test.   At this point, I'm thinking that the match is likely on Dad's side as my Mom tested and I haven't seen her name on the page.   After looking down 5 more lines I see another kit I admin.  This is a match that neither I nor my brother has any relation --my daughter's Paternal 2nd Great Aunt(a Mosley/Hogland connection?).  Clicking to the next found occurrence of my email addy(which is about one click of the Page Down button away)  I see that this person also shares DNA with my daughter's paternal Great Aunt(niece of previously mentioned 2ndGr Aunt). On to the next match for a kit I admin which is my Mom's kit,  followed shortly by my daughter's kit.   At this point, I'm thinking the match is on Mom's side.  But wait, there's more.   The last match is my Paternal Aunt.

I can't think of a better example to illustrate the importance of a chromosome browser to establish whether a match is Paternal, Maternal or in this case both.  Segment analysis is extremely important.

While both of my parents have early Tennessee ancestors, I've not found any In-Common ancestors and I have most of the lines back to 4th Greats.  Given that they are both heavily colonial there could likely be some connections once we are back in the 1600s.  Occasionally, I do find cousins that I have in common with both sides which is what is happening in this case.

From this new match's list, I selected each kit adminned by me, selected Visualization Options and then Chromosome Browser(2D Chr Browser).

Once I view the matches of this person to my adminned kits in the 2D Chromosome browser, I can see what is happening.  The image below shows the segments and is a table format I made using the information in the chromosome browser.

The Chromosome 5 segment is one that my brother and I got from our Mom.  I passed that segment on to my daughter.  The Chromosome 12 segment is one that my daughter didn't get but is somewhere down her Paternal Mosley/Hogland lines.  The Chromosome 17 segment is one that my brother and I received from our Dad(never tested)

What's my takeaway from this?

 I can never assume sides from the One To Many lists.  Dad didn't test and there is nothing to compare from his side unless by chance they also match his sister.

While segment analysis is a must,  it's not something we will ever be able to do at Ancestry in my opinion. This match tested at Ancestry which I can tell by the A at the beginning of his kit number.  .I haven't been able to find him in my matches at Ancestry, but at least I have info for the segments.  AncestryDNA match list could really use a reliable search function but that is something they need to work on site wide.  I am not sure if GEDmatch Genesis will allow for identification of where the Match tested.  There was a column for it in the early GEDmatch Genesis Beta but there doesn't appear to be a way to tell with the current display.  I guess we will know once they have combined the two GEDmatch databases

A quick check of my Visual Phasing of myself and my two siblings shows that the Chr 5 segment that my brother and I share is from our MGF and that our sister has a segment from our MGM at that portion of the Chr 5.  I've not finished my Chr 17 Visual Phasing so I can't compare that one yet.

So now I'm off to DNApainter to paint that segment of Chr. 5 as Maternal and the segment of Chr 17 as Paternal.  With any luck, they will overlap with segments of known cousins which I've already painted and perhaps I can narrow down the connection further.

Eliza Frances Jakes Burks--my 1C3R

Cousin:  Jakes/Harger 1st Cousin 3 times(generations) removed

Eliza Frances Jakes Burks(1853-1947)

Eliza F. Jakes was the daughter of John "Jack" Jakes and his 2nd wife Nancy Eoff Jakes.  She was born in Bedford County, Tennessee where she married on 24 July 1872 to Robert Lee Burks.  She and Robert had 3 children and were in Texas in October of 1880 when their middle child and only daughter, Ida Frances Burks was born.  The returned to Tennessee around 1885 according to the article about Robert Lee Burks' death(see below)  I have not found them in the 1880 census yet but hope to soon.  I know they were in TX by October but don't know if they were there earlier in the year.  They returned to Tennessee and lived in Livingston(Overton Co TN) from what I can tell.  That is where Eliza lived out the remainder of her life. Eliza's daughter died several years after Eliza's husband passed.  My own Jakes kin live a long life and Eliza is no exception.  She died 15 November 1947 from complications of pneumonia and a fractured left hip at the age of 94 and is buried in Breeding Cemetery in Overton County, Tennessee, USA.  The Breeding cemetery is likely the family graveyard of Eliza's son-in-law Dr. William Martin Breeding, husband of her daughter Ida Frances Burks Breeding.

Eliza Frances Jakes Burks at FindaGrave

Regarding Eliza's year of birth, 

1860 Census lists her in her parents household age 8(1852)

1870 Census lists her in her parents household age 14(1856)

1900 Census lists her with her husband  at age 45 (1855 July)

1910 Census lists her with her husband at age 54(1856)

1920 Census lists her with her husband at age 65 (1855)

1930 Census lists her as a boarder at age 75 (1855)

1940 Census lists her as a boarder at age 86 (1854)

Death Certificate listed her DOB on 26 July 1853(her youngest son R. R. Burks is the informant)

On Robert Ray Burks' SAR application papers(from 1922) her year of birth is given as 1854

The year of birth on her gravestone is 1853

The Tennessean(Nashville, Tennessee)   

Fri, Dec 4, 1925 pg 28
www.newspapers.com

This family is interesting and has several doctors and pharmacists.   I hope to do profiles on the families of each of their 3 children.

Questions:   

Where was the family in the 1880 census?  I know they should be in Texas somewhere unless they were missed.

There were many Tennesseans who went to TX during the period from 1880-1900 but I'd like to know why they went?  Also, what brought them back?

MarieB's Genealogy Blog Turns 14!

Today marks this blog's 14th year.  In keeping with my purpose of the blog, I'm listing in no particular order my 14 favorites databases, tools, websites etc. that I find helpful in my research.  I've written a description of how each of them can be used but please check out the link for more info on each of the resources. Please remember to check with and support your local libraries, county archives, and area genealogy & historical societies.  They have many items you won't find online and they need your help to thrive.

14 of My Favorite Databases, Tools, and Websites

1.  U.S. Special Census on Deaf Family Marriages and Hearing Relatives, 1888-1895
https://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1582
You will need to be subscribed to Ancestry's US Records or access from a library which has a subscription.  I have found a wealth of information on collateral lines in this database which has led me to other records for my direct lines.

2.  U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995
https://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=2469
You will need to be subscribed to Ancestry's US Records or access from a library which has a subscription.  Often overlooked by many, City Directories offer an insight into the lives of townspeople.  See my previous blog post--In Praise of City Directories.

3.  U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918
https://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=6482
You will need to be subscribed to Ancestry's US Records or access from a library which has a subscription.

4.  Famly Search Catalog Search for Area of Interest  County Records available online

Make sure you are logged on to the FamilySearch website.  Enter your Location(Country, State, County--for the US) in Place Search and select Online Availability option.

5.  AncestryDNA--the largest autosomal DNA database.  Once you receive your results, you can download your raw data and upload to other sites such as MyHeritage, FTDNA, and GEDmatch to compare with others who have uploaded or tested there.  Be sure to read each site's User Policy/Terms of Service.  AncestryDNA is the site I recommend testing at especially if you are an adoptee or have unknown direct ancestors at the parent or grandparent level.   

6.  GEDmatch-Free to use site with an upload.  Is not a testing site but rather a site where results can be uploaded and compared to others who have tested at any of the major DNA testing sites and uploaded to GEDmatch. Tier 1 DNA analysis tools available at $10 a month but subscribing is not necessary for use of the majority of the tools.

7.  DNAgedcom-- available as a client software for retrieval of match info from the other testing sites and also web-based analysis. See the website for more info on its current offerings and price.

8.  Interactive Shared cM Project with Relationship Probabilities--the latest version of a helpful interactive tool by Jonny Perl using Blaine Bettinger's Shared cM Project info and the probability chart by TheDNAGeek.

9.  DNA Painter--Jonny Perl's tool for Chromosome Painting.

10. & 11.  Chrome Browser Extensions--There are two browser extensions for Chrome Browser that I use to help sort and identify my AncestryDNA matches:  AncestryDNA Helper and MedBetterDNA. You can find those at Google Chrome's Webstore using the search option.

12.  Visual Phasing Spreadsheet--Visual Phasing an autosomal DNA analysis technique where you use chromosome comparison of 3 full siblings' atDNA results to find which segments came from each of their 4 grandparents  This is particularly helpful when trying to determine which lines you share with a DNA match.  You can find the Visual Phasing Spreadsheet by Steven Fox in the Files section of the Visual Phasing Working Group at Facebook. Members of that group are very helpful. Also more information about visual phasing in the series Visual Phasing: An Example(part 1 of 5) on Blaine Bettinger's blog.

13. Legacy Family Tree Webinars--educational webinars covering a wide variety of research topics and techniques.  You can register to attend webinars which are free for a limited time after broadcast or you can subscribe to have access to the entire webinar library. This is an EXTREMELY valuable resource.

14.  Google Docs/Sheets/Slides--The Google office products which help me to organize share and make notes and charts of my research analysis.

Happy Birthday to Who?

My paternal grandparents and their children are mentioned in the Tennesseans' Old Hickory News column a number of times during the 25+ years in which they lived in Old Hickory Tennessee.  While searching at Newspapers.com for my aunt Viola Cook, I noticed a paper from the day my Dad, her youngest brother, was born.  The search result from that edition pointed to a notice of members of the Sunset Club who were having birthdays on that day.  Among those listed was a Viola Cook of Old Hickory who was celebrating her 16th birthday.  Wait a minute... My Aunt Viola would turn 15 in 1930, not 16.  Not only that, but her birthday was on June 12th.  Could this be my Aunt Vi or another Viola Cook?  I've searched the census records for 1930 to try and locate another Viola Cook in Old Hickory Tennessee who was that age.  I did find one in Davidson County but not in Old Hickory community.  A check of that Viola's records revealed that while she was born in the right year to be the one mentioned in the article, her birth month was February.  I may never know why her name is listed or if that is MY Viola Cook.  If it is Aunt Vi, I'm sure there is a very interesting story behind all of this.

www.newspapers.com

The Tennessean (Nashville, Tennessee)

Sunday 05 Oct 1930

Page 6 Column 2

"Twins in Sunset List of 66 Have Birthday Today"

Changes to Account Settings & Preferences at FamilyTreeDNA

Earlier today I received notification via email that FamilyTreeDNA has made some changes that will bring them in compliance with the new European data protection law known as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).  If you have an account or accounts with them you should have received this notice.  Check your Spam folder or filters if you haven't received a copy.

Changes to these settings will take effect May 28, 2018.  

Includes Changes to the Following:

• Privacy & Sharing--The ability to opt out of match email notification but still participate in matching.
• Project Preferences--The ability to select an access level for each individual Group Administrator.
• Email Notifications--Same as mentioned under Privacy & Sharing
• Updates to Account Information, and Genealogy sections of the My Profile page.

While you are logged on checking out the settings, you might as well make sure you have assigned a beneficiary for your account.  Also, please fill in the info for your earliest known ancestor if you can and make sure you are using the correct ancestors.  See my previous blog post on this topic.  

A match with Shared Matches from both sides of my family.

When sorting thru DNA matches at AncestryDNA, I like to note the connection for each of my matches as being thru the ancestors of one of my four Grandparents.  Both my parents have ancestors who were in Tennessee in the early 1800s. Most of the time I will only be connected to the match on one side.  There a few times when I will have multiple connections.  See the example below with Bill who shares matches with me who are from my PGF's Mom(King/Manire) and my MGF's Mom(Pittman/Adcock)  He has no tree and trying to figure this one out will take seeing the segments in a chromosome browser. 

Thru my admin and shared links, I can tell how much DNA Bill shares with Me, my sister, and my mother.  Unfortunately, we did not begin DNA testing until after my Dad had passed so he was never tested.

Bill's match with Me

Shared matches only show those in common who share at a 4th cousin level(Ancestry's minimum for 4th cousins is 20 cMs)  I noticed that my Mom isn't listed as a shared match.

Bill's match with my Mom

After looking at Mom's amount of shared DNA with Bill, I'm really hoping I will be able to check this match in a chromosome browser so I can identify the grandparent(s) who passed on the 2 segments I received.  On checking Bill's match with my sister's test it appears they do not share any DNA within the range that Ancestry would report.  This is a good example of randomness of DNA inheritance.   I've written to Bill and asked if he was planning on uploading to GEDmatch, MyHeritage or FTDNA.  Hopefully, I will get the opportunity to view the segments in a chromosome browser and see what occurred.  

Bill's match(or lack of) with my Sister