Genealogy

Paternal

Maternal

Notes

I plan to store all of my family history research on this web site. The site will be instrumental in satisfying my goals of organizing my research, and sharing what I've learned with anyone who's interested and/or happens to have stumbled across this page.

Who were my ancestors, how did they think and feel, what kind of experiences and hardships did they endure, where did they live? I feel a deep nostalgia for people, times and places, and the knowledge that they are gone forever saddens me.

I must also admit that the thrill of the chase, with trails that went cold decades or centuries ago, is part of the appeal of genealogy. Crunching data, seeing patterns and finding answers are tasks that all appeal to my analytical nature. And don’t let me kid myself… much of this is rooted in a deep curiosity, some might say an obsession, and the need to answer the question "Where did I come from?".

In the last year or so, I have become increasingly curious about my "deep" origins. This curiosity can be satisfied, at least on a crude scale, via DNA studies such as the National Geographic’s genographic project. Current theories, based on analyses of the Y chromosome and mitochondrial DNA indicate that everyone alive on the planet today can trace their origins to a single male who lived in Africa some 60,000 years ago. Of course there were other humans living at the time, but it is only the one individual’s tree that has survived over some 2,500 generations to the present day. "Molecular geneticists" also believe that we can trace our maternal line to a single female who also lived in Africa, but much earlier, around 125,000 years ago.

After submitting my own DNA, and paying for incrementally more detailed analyses over the past few years, I now believe that my paternal line arrived in what is now the British Isles some time after the last ice age about 12,000 years ago. In genetic terms, the 67 key markers of my Y chromosome fit the pattern of the I2a1 British Isles clade. An earlier, less precise test identified my Y chromosome as belonging to the "I" haplogroup. The deeper history of this haplogroup may push my paternal ancestry back to what is now the Balkans, approximately 20,000 years ago.

I’m aware that much of the content of this site is of no relevance to the majority of people who stumble across it. I find it useful, however, to be able to access my information from anywhere there is a connection to the Internet. The site also helps me organize my thoughts and, very occasionally, a distant relative connects with me through Google or other search engines.

Last updated May 1, 2010 12:07:52 PM