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Hemlocks & Oaks
"Your I1a haplogroup is not uncommon in Poland, but your DYS426=10
is highly unusual."
He invited us to join the Polish research group by allowing them to use our data...this may help us better understand our genetics and it may add to their data. I have joined the group and when I have time to spare, I'll try to better understand where we fit in...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I began to think of clearing the webpages on our genetic data when it occurred to me that we needed a page that stayed up over time and that proudly recognized what we are and from where we have come. So I decided to have a page dedicated to our family trees...
Why Hemlock and Oak you might ask? Well, these are the first trees that came to mind... Rayfactor loves hemlocks and since they are dying out, much like my mother's family seems to be disappearing, I figured that was a pretty good comparison.
Oaks seem pretty resilient and are found all over PA. the only thing that seems to be bothering them are the abundant deer, but other wise, "you can't kill them with a sledge hammer"...kudos Kashmir on the now famous quote...Grandma Elick kind of reflected this characteristic. Living to 94 years of age and undergoing all sorts of operations and enduring her own home remedies...the woman was a walking miracle...
So, Here it is...It will be long standing...not much will change on this page except perhaps changes or alterations that improve our knowledge of our family...I'll try to add links to our family trees as I find the time...I'd like you to be able to click on some element of the tree and be sent to a page that provides more info..it all takes time of course....
Here's the first installation...it follows six generations from Rayfactor's maternal side...Rayfactor has said that Harczon, Galicya, Austria/Poland may be Cracow, Poland...
I've debated what to do with the genetic information I 've recieved back from the National Genographic project. Should I try to explain it to you? I'm not sure that I can do that easily....So, I've decided to just put it out into the universe and allow you to digest it whatever way you wish....
Let me just make some comments before I do this...
Genes from John's and my cheek cells were sent to be analyzed by the National Genographic Project and IBM. I planned to use John to examine the pathernal side of our family- the Elicks, because 1) I don't have a Y chromosome and 2) he looks so different from each of us kids. I wanted to be included in the testing because I wanted to bring the test results into my class discussions on hominid evolution. So, because I had an X chromosome, I used my cells to track our maternal side....
so to summarize,
John- Elicks- Polish
Jennifer- Burns- Irish
What we've always known is that the Elicks were Polish when they came to the US....This fact, grandma told us, and the census documents I have examined while using ancestry.com show the Elicks, Elks, Illicks, etc coming from Austria-Hungary. Indeed, the census clip below, from 1910, shows our grandfather's nationality (Charlie- with an orange check next to his name), and Great grandfather Peter's, listed as Aust., Rus, Polish.
The reason for noting all of this is that John's Y chromosome tells another story of our background, one less black and white than previously thought. Sure our ancestors were from Poland, spoke Polish and made Polish foods, however...their genes were hardly Polish at all...
You can take it or leave it...I don't care...you may say there is a mistake in the testing...you may say that the tests aren't accurate...you may say that John wasn't the best candidate for the testing....but just remember, the Y chromosome is passed from father to son and every once in a while, mutations (see right) may occur that are passed on to the next generation. These mutations allow us to relate groups of indiviuals over time...and yes, John IS an Elick- I checked.....
To the left you will see the migratory pathway anticipated for the Elick side....yes, the Elick side...Where's Poland? John's Y chromosome suggests that the Elicks share some common mutations with Haplogroup I1a...which is chiefly considered from Northern France- possibly linked to Scandinavians/Vikings...These people emerged from Africa around 60,000 years ago or so...I sent John's genetic record on to another website, and they analyzed the short tandem repeats (STRs) or mutuations on his chromosomes to compare with different groups of people...
In short, John's genetics came back with a strong Northern French, German, England and Scottish relationships.
No Polish, No Austrian, and No Russian...
I don't want to make all of the conclusions and I certainly don't want to relate the entire genetic history here....what I will do is this...
Here is the first website from National Geographic...that will tell you about the testing and it's results:
https://www3.nationalgeographic.com/genographic/journey.html
The login for my brother's dna sample is FW4T86T663 (paternal line- Polish)
The logon for my dna sample is FW57S43HPP (maternal line- Irish/French)
For more information concerning our relatedness to different groups based on mutations, go to this second website...
https://www.familytreedna.com/
My brother's login & passwords are: FtDNA kit # (N57389) Password (E6468)
My sample login and passwords are: FtDNA kit # (N57371) and password (N9583)
Please do not contact the people listed as similar to us via dna unless you contact me first....
If you think that this is all bogus, consider that out maternal line worked out...It showed that we (the Burns side) have a leaning towards French and Irish....My dna sample shows a few odd mutations that are not very common at all...I've already contacted the representative from the company and they said "The fact that you have only four matches only indicates that your lineage is relatively rare and that we have not tested many people who descend from this particular lineage. Keep in mind that our database is constantly growing and that we will notify you byemail as we find new matches for your sample."
They made the identifications based on mutations alone...They did not know my name or the family name...they had no idea of our nationality....
so....with that, I'll let you figure out how you feel about the genetic test results....
Are we of Polish decent?
Are we more of a conquered people along a coast or highway system that was constantly invaded? Possibly by Vikings and German invaders?
Were some of the French who marched with Napolean across Europe responsible for giving us our DNA?
Are we related to migrating Jews? (I've already sent this question in to the service but I think I know the answer...we don't have the genetic mutations shared by European Jews)....
Study, Enjoy, Discuss....All in all, the testing cost me $129 per test...and as they provide us with interesting points of discussion and neat things to think about, I'd say it was all money well spent...
Here is the response to my question regarding Jewish decent from the service. It provides more info and a better interpretation than I can offer...PLEASE READ THIS!!!!
Jennifer,
Thanks for your email.
The test results indicate Northern European heritage. The results do not
suggest any Jewish ancestry on this particular line.
Firstly, haplogroup I1a is primarily found among Scandinavian populations,
although it does also occur in lower frequencies in Eastern Europe. The
genetic matches, however, have reported almost exclusively Northern European
heritage. This suggests that while your lineage could potentially have
originated in Poland thousands of years ago, your ancestors most likely
lived in Northern Europe within the last few hundred years. The recent
ancestral origins of this lineage are most likely in Denmark, the
Netherlands, Scandinavia, or Germany because this sample matched relatively
high percentages of members who reported ancestry within those areas.
If this lineage had Eastern European Jewish heritage, we would expect to see
high percentages of genetic matches who reported Jewish roots in countries
like Hungary, Belarus, and Poland.
Keep in mind that these results reflect only the direct paternal line, which
includes the father's father's father and so forth with no influence from
any women who married into this line. Also, keep in mind that we can only
provide a statistical analysis of the genetic matches for your lineage and
suggest the most likely geographical origins. Since there is only one exact
match at 12 markers, it is possible that we have not yet tested anyone who
descends from this lineage and who shares your Polish heritage. The only
exact match for this sample reported German heritage.
Please let me know if you have any questions or if there's anything else I
can do for you.
Thanks again,
Nick Maier
Family Tree DNA
www.familytreedna.com
713-868-1438
"History Unearthed Daily"