Archive for August, 2010

News from around the web.
Go to Source
—

The August
round of Family Tree University courses began yesterday, but there’s still time
to sign up for this session! Of particular interest is Exploring
City Directories: How to Trace Your Family in Yesterday’s Yellow Pages. Course
instructor Patricia Van Skaik is the genealogy department director of the Public
Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, so she really knows her stuff. Read
this excerpt of a case study from the class to see for yourself:

The 1846 Cincinnati city directory reveals that photographer Charles Fontayne
operated a business in Cincinnati in 1845. In fact, in the 1840s and early 1850s he
did not live in Cincinnati, but instead one mile across the river in Newport, Kentucky.
However, he did not appear in any US federal census schedules until 1860. 

William S. Porter’s family knew he moved to Cincinnati by 1850, but knew little about
him before then, including his reason for migrating to Cincinnati. The 1849 directory
reveals his arrival about a year after Fontayne’s and shows Porter becoming Fontayne’s
business partner. The photographic method of the time, the daguerreotype, was extraordinarily
expensive and could only be supported by a large and prosperous city.

Cincinnati was the sixth largest city in the United States, just behind Baltimore,
and very cosmopolitan as revealed through the wide range of products, including luxury
goods, advertised in the directories. Photographers were an elite group with only
eight listed in the 1850 Cincinnati directory.

Applying the cluster strategy to the business associates led to looking for connections
between Fontayne and Porter before their partnership in Cincinnati. Baltimore city
directories from the early 1840s show Fontayne and Porter as business partners there.
We can conclude that Porter followed Fontayne to continue the business, a successful
endeavor as demonstrated by their ornate advertisement.

The Fontayne and Porter case study illustrates several of key concepts of delving
deeper into city directories:

• Use the cluster strategy with co-workers. Business associates may have worked together
  elsewhere prior to their arrival in their current city.
• Chain migration — one individual traveling ahead to be joined later by another –
  can apply to occupational groups.
• Business location is important and strategically chosen.
• Business owners may have lived in a different city or state.
• Read between the years and compare information about the industry and your ancestor.
• Look to advertisements for further information about the ancestor or company, including
  its target audience and prosperity.
• Identification in a city directory points to new leads for genealogical sources.

You can see
the Exploring City Directories syllabus here, and sign
up for the course here! (Note: If you use the coupon code SCHOOL20, you’ll get
$20 off this course or any other this month!)

News from around the web.
Go to Source
—

This morning, a single tweet sent me on a 2-hour tour (more, if you count drafting this post!) of my genome.

In the tweet, Mary Carmichael expressed interest in a potential book regarding the orchid/dandelion theory recently described in a December 2009 article in The Atlantic “The Science of Success.”  Before this morning, I was not familiar with either the article or the theory.

The introduction to the article, reproduced below, does a good job of summarizing the main thrust of the very long (but extremely interested and worthwhile) report:

“Most of us have genes that make us as hardy as dandelions: able to take root and survive almost anywhere.  A few of us, however, are more like the orchid: fragile and fickle, but capable of blooming spectacularly if given greenhouse care.  So holds a provocative new theory of genetics, which asserts that the very genes that give us the most trouble as a species, causing behaviors that are self-destructive and antisocial, also underlie humankind’s phenomenal adaptability and evolutionary success.  With a bad environment and poor parenting, orchid children can end up depressed, drug-addicted, or in jail—but with the right environment and good parenting, they can grow up to be society’s most creative, successful, and happy people.”

As the introduction suggests, the article examines the complicated interaction between environment and genetics and suggests that while genetics can present hurdles in life, environmental factors can increase or perhaps even eradicate those hurdles.

Nature v. Nurture

The article begins with a discussion of complex behavioral science experiments using humans or monkeys before bringing in recent studies of genetics that tie into these experiments.  For example, the author mentions the 5-HHTLR gene, which is involved in serotonin processing:

“As I researched this story, I thought about such questions a lot, including how they pertained to my own temperament and genetic makeup. Having felt the black dog’s teeth a few times over the years, I’d considered many times having one of my own genes assayed—specifically, the serotonin-transporter gene, also called the SERT gene, or 5-HTTLPR. This gene helps regulate the processing of serotonin, a chemical messenger crucial to mood, among other things. The two shorter, less efficient versions of the gene’s three forms, known as short/short and short/long (or S/S and S/L), greatly magnify your risk of serious depression—if you hit enough rough road. The gene’s long/long form, on the other hand, appears to be protective.”

From SNPedia:

“5-HTTLPR (serotonin-transporter-linked polymorphic region) is a degenerate repeat polymorphic region in SLC6A4, the gene that codes for the serotonin transporter. It has been extensively investigated in connection with the behavioral, psychiatric, pharmacogenetic aspects of neuropsychiatric disorders.  In contrast to earlier reports, a June 2009 article in JAMA showed no association between 5-HTTLPR genotype and depression.”

My 5-HTTLPR Status

Perhaps not surprisingly for anyone who has read The Genetic Genealogist, I was immediately interested in determining my own 5-HTTLPR status.  Based solely on my personal history (for example, I’ve never been overly prone to depression) and family history, I quickly predicted that my status would be S/L.

The author of The Atlantic article was also interested in his 5-HTTLPR status and sent away a saliva sample to a researcher she knew for analysis.  You can read the article to learn his status in the last few terrific paragraphs.

However, being one of the most extensively genotyped people in the world (which still doesn’t require much genotyping; I’ve had whole-genome scans performed by two different companies, along with Y-DNA and mtDNA testing), I turned to the results I already had in hand.

Unfortunately, the main SNPs used to examine the S or L version of 5-HTTLPR are not examined by 23andMe.  However, there has been extensive discussion of the gene in the 23andMe forums, and one member pointed out (here) that a 2009 study associated the CA haplotype of SNPs rs4251417 and rs2020934 is coupled with the short allele of 5-HTTLPR (although not perfectly, with r(2) = .72).

Of these “surrogate SNPs,” 23andMe only tests rs4251417.  A quick glance at my results revealed that I am C/C homozygous at rs4251417, suggesting that I might be 5-HTTLPR S/S, not S/L as I had predicted.  (I should note here that with just the rs4251417 allele and with a combined r(2) of 0.72, it is not clear how well the rs4251417 allele alone predicts 5-HTTLPR status despite the discussions found in the 23andMe forums).

There are a myriad of articles examining the S/L alleles, including research regarding their effect on stress (“We found that the s allele of 5-HTTLPR was associated with depression and perceived stress in patients with coronary disease.”); aggressive behavior in alcoholics (“Data suggests that the presence of s allele may confer a genetic vulnerability factor to the development of aggressive behaviour in alcohol dependent subjects, specially, in interaction with acute alcohol consumption stage”); and my favorite, financial risk (“We find that the 5-HTTLPR s/s allele carriers take 28% less [financial] risk than those carrying the s/l or l/l alleles of the gene.”).  Interestingly, it appears that none of this research considered the environmental factors that appear to be so influential on the 5-HHTLPR genotype, something that is undoubtedly endemic to genotype/phenotype studies.

The Future

Now that my wife has had her genome analyzed, I can do something that I couldn’t do with my results alone; I can predict the possible 5-HTTLR genotypes of our offspring.

This is, of course, tricky business.  I’m still not sure how I feel about purchasing genetic testing for my children, but this is a far cry from buying them a test.  I’m simply using basic genetic techniques to predict possible genotype outcomes, something that high school biology students have been doing for decades (determining the % of blue vs. brown eyed-children using various parental genotypes, for example).

Although an interesting exercise (and one that I’ve been performing often), given the state of the 5-HHTLR science I don’t believe that I’ve gained any useful or actionable information from an estimate of my children’s genotype.  Of course, I’m not even sure exactly how strong the research would have to be to make almost any genotype actionable!

Caveats

This discussion and analysis is for my personal interest only.  Specifically, I’m intrigued by the (as-of-yet unregulated) ability to check my own genotype against the results of new research.  I do not plan to make any lifestyle or parenting changes based on the results discussed in this post, and I do not suggest that you should do so either.  I simply examined my genetic code to determine my allele status and then examined the primary research to review the discussion of that allele status in the literature.  And I certainly hope I will be able to continue to do this in the future.

Edit Before Posting:

I was finally able to obtain a copy of the 2009 study that associated the CA haplotype of SNPs rs4251417 and rs2020934 is coupled with the short allele of 5-HTTLPR.  The authors include the following in their analysis, revealing that the rs4251417 SNP is not a useful proxy for determining your 5-HTTLPR status:

“Unfortunately, rs2020934 has not been genotyped as part of the HapMap project and has not been included on any of the genome-wide SNP platforms.  SNP rs4251417 is included on the Illumina 610K and 1M chips, but on its own, it is not a useful proxy for 5HTTLPR (r2 = .06).”

While this means that the above analysis was not fruitful, it emphasizes three very important points regarding personal genomics: (1) people will increasingly turn to their personal genotype as they read new research; (2) be sure to confirm everything for yourself; and (3) at this stage of the game, you should be prepared for everything you’ve discovered and/or concluded to be turned on its head with new research.

News from around the web.
Go to Source
—

A couple of photos for you from the Federation
of Genealogical Societies conference in Knoxville, Tenn:

Terry Nicholson (right), a fellow Ohioan, was the lucky winner of our door prize,
our 10
Years of Family Tree Magazine DVD. That’s Family
Tree Magazine publisher and editorial director Allison Stacy congratulating
her.

Four of our Family Tree University instructors
gathered at our booth yesterday for a meet-and-greet with FTU students and prospective
students. There was even some “FTU!” chanting, led by Find
Your German Roots instructor James M. Beidler (second from right). The others
pictured are (left to right) Tim Pinnick, instructor of Finding
African-American Ancestors in Newspapers; Jana Sloan Broglin, Finding
Ancestors in the US Census; and Diana Crisman Smith, US
Military Records and Land
Records 101.

You can read
all about FTU instructors at FamilyTreeUniversity.com.

Surname Forum Activity
———————-

I have been searching old messages and sure would like DTremblay to get in touch with me
at jgculp@ecity.net
Go to Source

Surname Forum Activity
———————-

If you are looking for more information on this individual, please visit http://www.thepetmenagerie.com/dna/?p=1133#comment-3
Go to Source

Surname Forum Activity
———————-

william d manley was my great grandfather married martha e floyd,franklin georgia.his father was william grancer manley.wiliam d’s daughter(minnie lee manley)was my mother’s mother.she married albert alonzo hunnicutt also franklin georgia.do you have any info on any of these?would like to hear from you.christine (earle)carver,anderson sc.i am trying to do a tree and do not have a lot of info.
Go to Source

Surname Forum Activity
———————-

william d manley was my great grandfather married martha e floyd,franklin georgia.his father was william grancer manley.wiliam d’s daughter(minnie lee manley)was my mother’s mother.she married albert alonzo hunnicutt also franklin georgia.do you have any info on any of these?would like to hear from you.christine (earle)carver,anderson sc.i am trying to do a tree and do not have a lot of info.
Go to Source

News from around the web.
Go to Source
—

From a Press Release issued by Family Tree DNA on August 11, 2010:

FAMILY TREE DNA’S 6^th INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON GENETIC GENEALOGY FOR GROUP ADMINISTRATORS TO BE HELD OCTOBER 30 & 31, 2010 IN HOUSTON

HOUSTON, (August 11, 2010) — Family Tree DNA, the world leader in genetic genealogy, will host its 6th International Conference on Genetic Genealogy on October 30-31, 2010, at the Sheraton North Houston in Houston, Texas. Each year, world renowned experts in genetics and science present cutting-edge developments and exciting new applications at this two-day educational forum which draws attendees from Family Tree DNA’s Group Administrators from around the world. This year’s conference will focus on the new Family Finder test which allows customers to find relatives across all ancestral lines.

Founded in April 2000, Family Tree DNA was the first company to develop the commercial application of DNA testing for genealogical purposes. Previously, this type of testing had only been available for academic and scientific research. Almost a decade later, the Houston-based company continues to establish standards and create new milestones in the increasingly popular and rapidly growing field of genetic genealogy.

Today – with over 300,000 individual records – Family Tree DNA has the largest DNA databases in genetic genealogy, a number that makes it the prime source for anyone researching recent and distant family ties. Family Tree DNA’s database also encompasses over 95,000 unique surnames and nearly 6,000 lineage and geographic projects.

In 2005, Family Tree DNA was selected by National Geographic and IBM as the designated DNA testing company for their Genographic Project, a history-making study of the migrations of mankind. To date, the company has processed more than 300,000 Genographic Project DNA tests. Family Tree DNA’s own laboratory-the Genomics Research Center-participated in the Genographic Project’s first published paper and other scientific papers.

Offering the most popular and wide-ranging DNA-testing service in the field of genetic genealogy, Family Tree DNA prides itself on its commitment to the practice of solid, ethical science. Since its beginnings, the company has associated itself with leading researchers and scientists in the field, many of whom will be speaking at this year’s conference. Among these prominent names are Dr. Michael Hammer, Dr. Doron Behar, and Thomas Krahn. Family Tree DNA has also been involved with several scientific papers and has provided assistance in updating the YCC Y-Chromosome Phylogenetic Tree.

* * * * *

Online information and registration for the 2010 conference is available at: http://www.familytreedna.com/conference/

For registration information, please contact Jane Buck-tel: 713-868-1438; e-mail: info@familytreedna.com

Media contact for Family Tree DNA: Sharon Weisz, W3 Public Relations-tel: 323-934-2700; e-mail: Sharon@familytreedna.com

For media information on The Genographic Project, please contact Glynnis Breen at National Geographic-tel: 202-857-7481; e-mail: gbreen@ngs.org

News from around the web.
Go to Source
—

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be making a number of changes to the new search forms. We hope to make searches more flexible, and in response to your feedback we have improved some searches that were hard to do. You can get a sneak preview of some of these at the search update guided tour which you can find at Tour of Upcoming Changes.

This week, we’ve launched the first of these changes to the forms, which provides some new ways to enter details of family members into your search.

There are two main differences:

1. We’ve split the names from just one name box into two, supporting first name and last name.  This can be really important if you’re searching for a marriage record and don’t know the maiden name of the spouse.
2. We’ve added in the ability to simply add more relationships based on what you know, for example if you know multiple siblings – this helps to quickly create a really powerful search query.

One more thing. If you are using advanced search we’ll also allow you to select exact for either the first or last name of a mother or a father.

To find this, you need to click the “Tell us more to get better results” link at the bottom of the search form

If you click on that link, you will see under “Lived In (Residence) and Marriage Info, the Family Member section:

You will see that you can choose from Father, Mother, Spouse, Child or Sibling. To add more than one, click the “Add Row” box.

If you are in advanced search, you also can choose Exact Only on Father or Mother. Remember if you choose exact only, the record must have that value — so if a record doesn’t have a Father in it and you choose it as exact, then we won’t return it.

You will also find this update on all family member areas on category and data collection forms.
Vital Records

Vital Records often have wonderful relationship data in them — specifying family members in your search query will help us narrow down the results we give you.

Lets say you have one of those common ancestor names, William Smith, and you are trying to find out who he married. You start at the Birth, Marriage and Death form and you are in the advanced form, because you like to take advantage of our name filters.

You enter William as a first name, and set the filters to “exact, phonetic, similiar and initials” because you know William has a lot of variations.

You enter Smith as a last name, and set the filters to “exact, phonetic, and similiar”.

You also know that Williams father was named John and his mother’s name was Mary. So you scroll down to where you enter Family Members and enter that information. I recommend that you do not start with exact, you never know which pieces of information are recorded or indexed for family members and it’s a good idea to start with using this information as a way for us to rank records instead of excluding records.

Press “Search” and you’ll see records from everywhere, and over 800,000!

It’s a good time to refine your search and take advantage of our location filter. Press “r” on your keyboard for “refine search”, and let’s say you know William was probably married in Ohio..use the type ahead and start typing ohio:

Select Ohio, USA, then click on “Use default settings” and choose one of the filters, say “Restrict to this place exactly” and perform your search.

Now you have 83 records to look at, which is probably easier to handle. And if you want to drill down to Marriage records, click on the “Marriage & Divorce” link on the right and that is what we shall select for you to look at.

One important caveat here

When we used to search family members, we didn’t search last names, just first and middle names. So we are in the process of indexing all the family member last names on the site. We have over 4 billion records, so it may take us a week or two to get caught up. So if you type in a last name and choose exact and get no results, it means we haven’t indexed family member last names on that collection yet. I’ll let you know when we are caught up.

Happy Searching!

News from around the web.
Go to Source
—

AUTHORED BY RUSSELL JAMES (FROM ANCESTRY.CO.UK)

Ancestry.co.uk’s biggest release of the year officially went online. The National Probate Calendar will help you uncover details of your ancestors’ wealth, social standing and even their hobbies and interests, plus point you in the direction of further family members. It’s now available for everyone to search online for the first time.

We’ve put together a complete guide to using this comprehensive collection, complete with step-by-step instructions. However, I’ll sum up why it’s so important here.

Every time a person dies, a court appoints someone to distribute their property. This process is called probate, and since 1858 it has been the sole responsibility of the Principal Probate Registry.

For many years, the Registry kept summaries of all its cases in calendars. These calendars, for most years between 1861 and 1941, are the records that you can now search at our site. This means there’s an entry for the vast majority of people who died in that period.

Find an ancestor in these records, and you’ll discover their full name, their date and place of death, and the executor of their will – often another family member. Crucially, you’ll also find the value of their estate, revealing whether your family lived in luxury or squalor.

That’s not all. Once you’ve pinpointed a member of your family in the Calendar, you can use its information to order copies of all their other probate records, usually including a will, direct from the Probate Office. Find out more.

We’ll be interested to hear how you get on with the records – please let us know in the comments below. I found three of my ancestors within five minutes of logging on this morning – I’m now trying to work out where all the money listed in their wills has disappeared to!