From Oxford Ancestors I received this certificate from Oxford Ancestors in October 2007. It shows descent from “Mitochondrial Eve” (bottom left) and the relationship among the major world haplogroups (“clan”). I belong to Haplogroup V, shown top left as “Velda.
Category: Genetics
Haplogroup R
Haplogroup R1a This lineage is believed to have originated in the Eurasian steppes north of the Black and Caspian Seas, perhaps in a population of the Kurgan culture. The Kurgans were known for the domestication of the horse (approximately 3000 BCE). They are believed to have been the first speakers of an Indo-European language. This…
Famous Studies
There have been many studies using yDNA analysis to answer historical questions. Here are a three of the most famous. Sykes Study Dr. Bryan Sykes, a geneticist at Oxford University tested men all over England who have the surname Sykes and variants. Genealogists had theorized that the surname Sykes was used by dozens of unrelated…
Frame mtDNA
Limits of Paper Genealogy From doing paper genealogy, I know that my female line (mother to daughter) goes back to Margaret, wife of John Frame. Margaret’s maiden name is unknown. She was probably born about 1725, but there is no record of her until 1742, when she and her husband were living in Augusta County,…
mtDNA
Each cell of the human body contains organelles called mitochondria. Mitochondria were probably originally parasitic bacteria. Through evolution they became symbiotic with human cells, and finally an integral part of the cell. They help cells use oxygen. The DNA in mitochondria is separate from the DNA in the nucleus of the cell. The DNA in the…