Monthly Archives: February 2017

People have been studying genealogy for about as long as there have been people remember all those begats in the Bible? but these days something has been added: Genetics.

The sharp fall in cost and rise in effectiveness of genetic testing, an increase in our understanding of humanitys genetic history, and the spread of online databases and commercial sites allowing easy comparison has expanded the search for ancestors way beyond dusty books and records. So we wondered: How has this affected what sometimes is called Americas most popular hobby?

The answer: A lot, but also a lot less than youd think.

It has had a huge effect, particularly on forensic work, said Diane Florence Gravel, a genealogist who is president of the New Hampshire Genealogical Society. I think it really started being accepted as a supportive aspect of genealogy maybe 3 to 4 years ago. It was kind of slow to really take off, but now its routinely used in a lot of the articles the National Genealogical Society publishes.

Gravel just got back from a class about what genealogical research can and cannot do with various types of material, such as Y-chromosome (men only), mitochondrial DNA (women only) and autosomal DNA (both sexes, but tricky to interpret).

At the amateur level, the appeal of genetic genealogy is the same as the appeal of most new technology: It promises to do things more quickly and more exactly, drawing in folks who wouldnt otherwise be interested.

It even got my husband interested in it. He just glazes over when I talk about it, until he got his own DNA results; now hes interested, Gravel said.

Uploading results to online databases is particularly exciting because it lets people find connections they didnt know existed, perhaps to a second cousin nearby. And sometimes it debunks connections.

My grandmother always said that we had Indian blood, but every time you asked her it was a different tribe were Seminole, Creek, Cherokee so I wondered about it, Gravel said. The result from her own genetic testing? There is not a single drop of it in me.

Genetics, as Im sure you know, is the biochemical mechanism that provides the blueprint for who we are. (Only a general blueprint, however. Other biochemical processes, notably the complex way that genes turn on and off and produce the proteins which do the work, as well as a myriad of environmental factors, make at least as much of a difference.)

The components of the genome are shuffled between parents during sex, and a mixture is passed down to children. The promise of DNA testing is that it can pinpoint specific bits of the genome that get passed down from parent to child unchanged, and use them to backtrack through history, making a connection to past generations.

Improvements in genetic testing have spawned several companies. Their claims for individuals may be overblown at times I saw them described on one medical website as genetic astrology but they can provide valuable information for more recent family connections, as well as spur interest.

Not that New Hampshire needs much spurring of genealogical interest. We already have a lot here, both inside and outside our borders. Thats partly because were wonderful people, of course, but mostly its because of history. Many, if not most, Americans with any ancestors from Britain or some northern European countries can trace their family tree back hereabouts.

We have about 400 members, and theyre from all over the country; so many people have New England roots, Gravel said.

In Concord, you can see that interest at 71 S. Fruit St., in the nondescript building that houses the New Hampshire Department of Archives. Inside, the surprisingly handsome research room is often bustling with people hunting down connections with people long gone.

We get very sophisticated amateur genealogists here. This is a Mecca for them, because lots of people whose families are now in Omaha, or Sacramento, or Portland, Ore., started here, said Michael York, the state librarian and acting commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Cultural Resources.

Theres a lot of material here, York said. Weve got a very solid collection, good collection, of family histories, town histories, a lot of tools for checking ones history.

Which means that theyve seen a big uptick in interest since Ancestry.com and the like started blitzing us with advertisements and shows like Finding Your Roots and History Detectives filled the airwaves. Right?

Not really.

I anticipated the question and asked the staff, and they dont see any difference, York said. They say we get a few people who say, I just went onto Ancestry.com and did their DNA test and I found X but thats rare.

The reading room with its extensive computer-supported data (the state library and archives have been going digital for more than 30 years) are no more crowded these days than theyve always been.

This answer surprised me, I admit. So far as I can figure, it may indicate that people who take the effort to come to the archives building are so far along in their research that theyre beyond the effect TV shows and print-outs produced by cheek swabs.

And it may say something about this new fad. If more folks brought into genealogy by new-fangled advances arent graduating to archives-level research, then maybe technology can only take you so far.

In other words, genetics is an aid to genealogical research, not a replacement for it.

Its used as a validation tool. You still have to have the paperwork, the actual in-the-trenches research, Gravel said. If somebody came in with (genetic tests) saying Im related to George Washington! I would want more than just that.

So before you mail off a cheek swab and a check to determine whether youre a descendant of Charlemagne (dont get excited its amazing how many people are told they are a descendant of Charlemagne) talk to your parents, your cousins, uncles and aunts, record their stories and their memories, find out what they know about earlier generations. Head to town halls or the county courthouses, try online searches through newspapers archives and cemetery databases, and generally poke around.

You may find new connections or you may not, but youll almost certainly be surprised by something. And thats better than a high-tech printout any day.

(David Brooks can be reached at 369-3313 or dbrooks@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @GraniteGeek.)

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DNA technology has changed genealogy a lot but also not much - Concord Monitor

More than 2,000 people convicted of crimes, including those imprisoned for murder and rape, will be notified by Texas prosecutors about the possibility of defective forensic evidence in their cases because of faulty DNA testing by Austin cops.

Letters from Travis County prosecutors will be sent to 642 people with recently verified addresses, while another 1,559 defendants will be notified as soon as they are located and the letters will notify them that they may be entitled to an appeal, the Austin American-Statesman reports.

This process is specifically intended to identify a situation where an innocent person was wrongly convicted because of DNA evidence, Travis County District Attorney Margaret Moore said Thursday. We are looking at a very small population, if any, but that is the point of this process.

The 2,201 cases which date back to 2004 and include convictions as recent as last year are significantly fewer than the initial estimate of about 3,600 cases that may have required an additional review of DNA evidence. The Austin Police Departments DNA lab was closed in June after a state audit found staffers there were using outdated and incorrect procedures while processing DNA evidence.

If we have someone who is convicted on DNA evidence that isnt reliable, and it played a material role in their conviction, our duty is to see that justice is done to correct that, said Assistant District Attorney Dexter Gilford, who supervises the agencys conviction integrity unit.

The Travis County District Attorneys Office announced in late 2015 that it found concerns involving the historical interpretation of DNA results. Then-District Attorney Rosemary Lehberg said in a statement at the time that the potential impact of the issues was still unknown, but acknowledged it could have a material impact on some criminal cases.

The step of notifying defendants in writing marks the biggest development in the larger effort to locate and identify anyone wrongfully convicted as a result of faulty work at the DNA lab, which remains closed and could ultimately become privatized, the Austin American-Statesman reports.

Using information from Austin police, prosecutors had been working for weeks to identify defendants whose cases included DNA evidence.

We are trying to identify anyone who suffered an adverse consequence, and DNA was material to that consequence, Gilford said.

The letters will include information for defendants on what they can do if they want their cases reviewing, including the hiring of private defense attorneys or lawyers from the Capital Area Private Defender Service.

The notices are just the first step, Gilford said.

Meanwhile, a police officer in Temple about 70 miles north of Austin was fired earlier this week after investigators determined he improperly stored some DNA samples and other evidence for years, the Associated Press reported.

Officer Jayson Jordan was indefinitely suspended from the Temple Police Department for violating procedures from 2012 through last year, including failure to properly recover, document and store items like DNA evidence, drugs and a gun. Prosecutors are now working with the department to determine how the issues could affect cases.

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Thousands of convicts told that cops mishandled DNA evidence ... - New York Post

STEPHANIE Davis appears to have deleted the statement she released on Twitter slamming her ex Jeremy McConnell for taking a DNA test on live TV.

Irish model Jeremy, 26, appeared on This Morning Thursday, where heprovided a swab to find out if hes the father of Stephs newborn baby, Caben-Albi.

OK! Magazine

Ruckas

Shortly after the segment, ex-Hollyoaks star Steph posted a lengthy response, beginning: Stephanie has felt humiliated by Jeremy denying his own son and foolishly announcing publicly his request for a DNA test.

Jeremy has caused Stephanie massive amount of stress, pressure and upset throughout her pregnancy, ruining what for most women is one of the most special times of their lives.

Now the tweet containing the statement has vanished from Stephanies timeline, as well as screen grabs shed posted of tweets by Jeremy denying he was the babys father.

Instagram

Stephanie has felt humiliated by Jeremy denying his own son and foolishly announcing publicly his request for a DNA test.

Jeremy has caused Stephanie massive amount of stress, pressure and upset throughout her pregnancy, ruining what for most women is one of the most special times of their lives.

Jeremy has at no point throughout the pregnancy or after the birth been in contact directly with Stephanie. Jeremy was categorically not banned from the birth, nor did he ever ask to attend.

Stephanie confirmed to Jeremy that she was pregnant 10 days after they split, any suggestion that she was unfaithful to him is to detract away from his numerous infidelities whilst in the relationship.

Jeremy has been given the option at all times to take part in a DNA test, because of past behaviour Stephanie has requested that this is handled via the correct channels and managed by her solicitor.

Jeremy to date has continually refused the terms of the agreement that Stephanie has proposed, which he was given the right to make his own amendments to suit him.

This confidentiality agreement was made to ensure privacy and protect Caben-Albi.

Stephanie as a single mother reserves the right to undertake any work she sees fit to provide for their son, her priority.

It is upsetting to think that Jeremy would stoop so low to challenge the mother of his child to a DNA test live on TV when it was already in hand.This shows how little concern he has for Caben and this is already being dealt with privately.

Caben and Stephanie have only been out of hospital for a few weeks, however after spending 9 months denying that he is the babies father, we cannot believe that Jeremy has the audacity to turn the situation around and bring all of this very much into a media circus, on his terms only.

Twitter

Fans who have been following the saga of Steph and Jeremy who embarked on a tumultuous on-off romance after meeting in the Celebrity Big Brother house last year were quick to notice the statement had been taken down.

A rep for Stephanietold The Sun Online she had no comment regarding the removal of the statement.

Fame Flynet

Meanwhile the new mumappears to be focusing on the positive, tweeting messages of thanks to those who have offered gifts and well wishes forher month-old tot.

A tweet pinned to the top of her timeline reads simply: So very thankful, while her latest Instagram snapshowsa pile of childrens booksnext to Cabens feet,captioned: Ending the day with hugs from this little one. The best feeling in the world.

OK Magazine

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Stephanie Davis deletes her emotional Jeremy McConnell statement slamming him for taking DNA test on live TV - The Sun