H11 Newsletter, Volume 1, Issue 4, 2017

H11 Newsletter
Volume 1, Issue 4, 2017
Table of Contents
1. FT DNA Project
2. Value of doing mtDNA
3. Path ahead

1. FT DNA Project and Project Statistics:
There are now 254 members in our H11 project. Full sequence results are completed on 224 members of the group. Interestingly 174 members of this group have also done Family Finder. Thus far 217 members have provided maternal ancestor information. Eighteen members have not permitted access to their full results resulting in their being placed in a folder “results are private.” In some cases even when the results are listed as private members could have been assigned to their subclade if it is a terminal subgroup.

2. Value of doing mtDNA
Generally when speakers discuss DNA they tend to place mtDNA last in terms of value. Most tend to stress the value in doing yDNA and Family Finder. YDNA certainly if you are looking at your surname male line name especially if you are brickwalled. Family Finder is quite rapidly coming into its own as the most valuable of all the DNA testing. However, my own experience with mtDNA has been handy in my research. My great grandmother (maternal line i.e. my mother's mother's mother) is a relative unknown. Her name, Ellen Taylor, has been known to me since childhood. Her place of birth according to the census is Birmingham England. Her marriage has not yet been located and that would yield the forename of her father. Her husband as known to me was Edwin Denner Buller and indeed on all of the birth registrations of Edwin's and Ellen's children they are recorded as Edwin Buller and Ellen Buller formerly Taylor. But who was Ellen Taylor. Purchasing all of the relevant birth registrations for Ellen Taylor in Birmingham has yielded one likely candidate daughter of Thomas Taylor and Ellen Roberts. But is it she? Her death registration has her age as 37 years (my grandmother said her mother was 37 when she passed away from pneumonia (my grandmother was eleven years of age) in 1897). That was my starting point and I bought all birth registrations, as mentioned, within two years of that date.

When I first tested my DNA at National Genographic in 2006 I had discovered that I was H11. Transferring my results into FT DNA and further testing revealed first of all that I had almost no matches (2 only HVRI and HVRII) although that has grown through the years to 18 one step away (Full Genetic Scan) and one match (my brother). Another discovery back in 2007 was the Blood of the Isles Database which yielded two matches at the HVRI and HVRII level (this database does not have full genetic scan results). These two matches were located in Ayrshire, Scotland.

As autosomal testing developed (Family Finder at FT DNA, DNA relatives at 23 and Me, AncestryDNA), my countries of origin slowly developed over these three companies but especially with my testing at Living DNA. Emerging from all of this testing was Northern Irish/Southern Scottish ancestry. Hence my H11 result was pointing to an ancestry unknown to me and I do know all of my lines back to my 3x great grandparents (and further) except for my strictly maternal line.

Family lore also came to mind as I recalled my mother talking about a possible Irish ancestry or Scot. Scot would not be surprising as my Routledge lines are definitely Scot but Irish I do not (and still do not have) any proven lines there but my mtDNA is pointing the way and over time I may yet discover this line hidden to me. I am a great believer in doing your full genetic scan for your mitochondrial DNA.

3. Path Ahead
An in depth look at the results of the H11 haplogroup study will occur in either the first or the second issue of volume 2 of the H11 Newsletter. I  have not yet heard any rumours of an update to the Phylo Tree but such an update would be most welcomed.

Any submissions to this newsletter can be submitted to Elizabeth Kipp (kippeeb@rogers.com).