Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter

Tougher Controls Sought For DNA Ancestry Testing

As the popularity of take-home DNA kits to trace ancestry or calculate the risk for serious medical conditions grows, there is an increasingly critical need for federal oversight of "direct-to consumer" genetic testing, as well as of the use of DNA samples for research, according to researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, and several other academic institutions.

Family Petitions Town to Dig Up War of 1812 Hero

About 200 people, all a part of a group called the Pike Family Association, are looking for answers about their most famous namesake.

Brigadier General Zebulon Pike was a War of 1812 hero who discovered the famous Pike's Peak in Colorado. His grave sits in Sackets Harbor, New York, at the Military Cemetery, but a recent study showed that officials are not 100 percent sure it's actually Pike's body in the grave. They're hoping for closure.

"When we found out that the Army wasn't totally sure who was buried in the grave, we said DNA can answer that question,” said Stu Pike of the Pike Family Association.

So, the Pike Family Association is asking the Village of Sackets Harbor for permission to dig up the grave and test any DNA.

The Life-Saving Secrets in Your Family Tree

The Wall Street Journal has a great story that tells how genealogists can even save or prolong the lives of the people that mean the most: their loved ones.

In the article, Anna Wilde Mathews writes:

Sorenson Suspends Most Free DNA Testing

From the SMGF "How to get Involved" page:

Thank you for your interest in the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation research project! For nearly ten years we have collected DNA samples and pedigree information from generous volunteers around the world. We have recently reached our original collection goal of 100,000 participants and we have now transitioned into the next phase of our project. This next phase consists of targeting specific populations and lineages which are under-represented in the current data, continuing the analysis of samples already collected, and developing applications for genetic genealogy research.

DNA Study to Identify World War II Marine Buried in China?

New England Cable News has an interesting story about the use of both genealogy and DNA to be used to identify the remains of a World War II U.S. Marine who is believed to be buried in Manchuria, the northeastern corner of China.

Sgt. William Lynch of Dorchester, Massachusetts disappeared in World War II when his unit surrendered to the Japanese. He was known to be a prisoner of war but his family never heard from him again. Of the 1,500 US Marines captured together, Sgt. Lynch is the only one who has not been identified and his fate is not known.

GeneTree and Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation to Offer Reduced Prices

The following announcement was written by GeneTree and the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation:

GeneTree and Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation Team Up to Offer Y-DNA Participants of SMGF Database a Greatly Reduced Price on Genetic Profile

• Offer Extends to 50,000 Men Who Donated Y-DNA and Pedigree Information To Non-Profit Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation's Database.
• Participants Receive Their Y-DNA Profile Through GeneTree Web Site With Its Powerful Family Tree-Building Tools Linked to World's Most Comprehensive Genetic Genealogy Database.

CARTaGENE Seeks 20,000 People in Quebec

"For CARTaGENE to be a success, it must recruit 20,000 people between 40 and 69 years of age." -- Dr. Claude Laberge

CARTaGENE seeks to build a genetic map of Quebec. The following announcement was written by the CARTaGENE Project:

Montreal, May 18th 2009 – The CARTaGENE Project, one of the largest health and genomics projects ever carried out in Quebec, seeks to recruit 20,000 people to participate in Phase A of its wide-ranging study on the determinants of health (lifestyles, genetics, environment and nutrition) of Quebecers.

Museum Delays DNA testing of Lincoln Artifact

On April 13, 2009, I wrote about a proposal to have a pillowcase at a Philadelphia museum tested for Abraham Lincoln's DNA. It is the pillowcase he was lying on when he died and it contains dried drops of his blood. John Sotos, cardiologist and consultant for the television series House, asked to test the artifact to prove Lincoln had a rare genetic cancer syndrome called multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2B (MEN2B).  You can read my earlier story and the many readers' comments at http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2009/04/lincolns-dna.html.

Last night, the members of the board of the Grand Army of the Republic Museum and Library in Philadelphia's Frankford section decided to not allow testing of the artifact.

Authorities Hope to Identify Remains of 400 British and Australian Soldiers

An operation to recover and identify the remains of about 400 British and Australian soldiers killed during a WWI battle in Northern France is to begin. It follows the discovery of several unmarked mass graves in a field on the outskirts of the village of Fromelles.

What You Inherited from Your Ancestors: Rotator Cuff Disease

I know that we all inherit many medical problems from our ancestors but this one surprised me: the Risk of Rotator Cuff Disease?

Writing in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (American). Robert Z. Tashjian, MD, James M. Farnham, MS, Frederick S. Albright, PhD, Craig C. Teerlink, MS and Lisa A. Cannon-Albright, PhD wrote:

Native Americans Descended From a Single Ancestral Group, DNA Study Confirms

For two decades, researchers have been using a growing volume of genetic data to debate whether ancestors of Native Americans emigrated to the New World in one wave or successive waves, or from one ancestral Asian population or a number of different populations.

Now, after painstakingly comparing DNA samples from people in dozens of modern-day Native American and Eurasian groups, an international team of scientists thinks it can put the matter to rest: Virtually without exception the new evidence supports the single ancestral population theory.

EXTENDED: Special Offer for Newsletter Readers: Discover Your DNA with Familybuilder DNA

I earlier wrote about a special offer from Familybuilder DNA offering a low-cost DNA testing service at 10% off as a special price only for readers of this newsletter. I am told that the Familybuilder folks have been pleased with the response and have decided to extend the offer for a few more days until May 3rd. The offer will positively end on that date.

As I wrote earlier: Familybuilder DNA, the lowest priced genealogy DNA test kits on the planet, is now offering an even lower price exclusively to readers of Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter.

Familybuilder offers a YDNA test kit for males only, and an mtDNA test kit for both males and females. The regular prices for those two tests are $59.95 and $89.95 respectively. For the next few days, readers of this newsletter may order them for only $53.95 for the YDNA test kit for males only or $80.95 for the  mtDNA test kit for both males and females.

That's a savings of roughly 10% for each!

Inbreeding Was Major Cause Of Fall Of Spanish Habsburg Dynasty

The powerful Habsburg dynasty ruled Spain and its empire from 1516 to 1700 but when King Charles II died in 1700 without any children from his two marriages, the male line died out and the French Bourbon dynasty came to power in Spain.

Using genealogical information for Charles II and 3,000 of his relatives and ancestors across 16 generations, Gonzalo Alvarez and colleagues at the University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain have provided genetic evidence to support the historical evidence that the high frequency of inbreeding (mating between closely related individuals) within the dynasty was a major cause for the extinction of its male line.

Lincoln's DNA

One hundred and forty-four years ago tomorrow, Abraham Lincoln was watching a play at Ford's Theatre in Washington when John Wilkes Booth slipped into the president's box and shot him. Lincoln died the next morning, and now his blood and brain matter - on part of a pillowcase at a Philadelphia museum - are being sought for DNA testing that may definitely solve a medical mystery.

Was the 16th president dying of cancer at the time of the assassination?

DNA Testing: 'Roots' Author Haley Rooted in Scotland, Too

USA Today published a big article today, complete with pictures. No that's not one of the USA Today pictures to the left, that's a picture I took a few weeks ago in London of Chris Haley and his new-found cousin, June Baff Black. You can click on the image to see a larger version.

In the USA Today article, Rita Rubin, writes:

When Alex Haley's your uncle, people assume you know everything there is to know about your roots. But Roots, the Pulitzer Prize-winning book whose veracity has been challenged over the years, deals mainly with Alex Haley's mother's family.

Thanks to technology that became available after the author's death in 1992, nephew Chris Haley recently uncovered a new branch of his family tree that extends not from Africa but from Scotland, through Alex Haley's father's family. And it appears to confirm part of the Haley family history recounted in the novel Queen.

Fry Family's Inherited Cancer

When Mr. and Mrs. George Fry landed on the shores of Massachusetts not long after the Pilgrims, they carried with them a secret that remained hidden for nearly four centuries. Their genes harbored a quirk that would travel through 16 generations of Americans, leaving a legacy of colon cancer. Now a Utah scientist, herself a descendant of Mayflower voyagers and Benjamin Franklin, has discovered the Fry family history.

Working with both cancer records and genealogy records, researchers found a genetic mutation responsible for a rare form of colon cancer. Modern-day genetic fingerprinting identified far-flung relatives with this defect, and the team then traced the family tree back to Weymouth, Massachusetts. There, they found the Frys, who had decamped from their home in Somerset, England, sometime between 1624 and 1640, harboring hopes and the seeds of disease.

Pathway Genomics Announces New DNA Genealogy Testing Kit

The following was written by Pathway Genomics:

As DNA testing opened fascinating new discoveries about personal heritage, Pathway Genomics hired some of the world’s leading genetic genealogists to deliver more precise and detailed information than you ever thought possible.

Union of Genealogy and Genetics Saving Lives

The marriage of genealogy and genetics may be saving lives in two families – one in Utah and the other in New York – descended from the same colonial ancestor. And future research may help many more. Many living members of the affected families are separated by as many as 14 generations from English colonist George Fry and had no idea that they were at such a significant increased risk of cancer.

Last year, scientists at the Huntsman Cancer Institute announced they had discovered that the families carried the same genetic mutation, responsible for a 1,600 percent increased risk of colon cancer. They said that they hoped that, with education and screening, those who have the mutation could stop the cancer before it starts.

On Tuesday, study leader Deborah Neklason said that's just what has happened.

DNA Reveals Story of Dad's Disappearance

John Smithers of Raleigh, NC had spent more than six decades looking for clues about the father who abandoned him, his sister and their mother when he was just a baby. At 82, he had about given up on ever learning what happened to James William Smithers. He had long suspected his father got in trouble with the law and fled abroad. Decades ago, it was easy enough to disappear, and Smithers' father had seemingly vanished into thin air.

On the other side of the world, Lucinda Gray had always wondered what her father's life was like before he moved mysteriously from the United States to Australia. She had spent years just trying to find out his real name.

Video Interview with Chris Pomery

At the recent Who Do You Think You Are? LIVE! event held in London, I had a chance to talk with Chris Pomery, a genealogy and DNA expert. Chris talked about why DNA has recently become so important in genealogy research.

I was also pleased to announce that Chris will be writing articles in this newsletter.