MYSTIC VOYAGE YOUTUBE STATION : DNA AND ETHNICTY

My number three choice of YouTube Channels of interest to the genealogist-historian is MYSTIC VOYAGE.

MYSTIC VOYAGE YOUTUBE CHANNEL - DNA GENETICS / ETHNICITY

Persian? Siberian? Mexican? Jewish?  and many more...  CAN DNA SURVIVE WAR? FORCED RELOCATION? World War II?

I'm linking to one about the origins of the Poles because it takes into consideration language as well as extensive DNA research reports taken from burials of ancient peoples.

SCIENTISTS REVEAL SURPRISING ORIGINS OF THE POLISH PEOPLE : MYSTIC VOYAGE

Posts like this one can be found by clicking on the label YouTube Station Recommend

TRUE CRIME and DNA FOR SOLVING CRIMES : DNA and THE BRYAN KOHBERGER - IDAHO FOUR CASE : WHEN THE NIGHT COMES FALLING BOOK BY HOWARD BLUM

I'm not a devotee of True Crime, however, I got hooked on the Bryan Kohberger - Idaho Four murder case back when it happened. I recall it was Covid-19 closure time. I was home listening to the radio while doing some crocheting and was stunned to hear the news that four college students had been found murdered in their off campus rental house. 

It was a party house. A house where other students were drinking and who knows what else even when not one of the renters was actually home. That was dangerous. It was also dangerous, in my opinion, that all four were members of hard-partying sororities and fraternities; I dare say the word alcoholism seemed to have been censored from reportage. Excessive drinking to the point of beyond a little lit was going on. Also dangerous, in my opinion, was the social networking and postings that the girls did, in particular the two blondes, who posed adorably but also just within the limits of modern modesty. Did the whole world have to know how much fun they were having? Did they really need to give off so much personal information? Perhaps this was the relative naivety of Idaho and a small college-student reliant town? Or maybe I'm just too old to get it?

Strangely, the photos of the house that made it seem rather rural didn't show that they were actually right next to an apartment house and other houses.

Perhaps this particular crime story especially caught my interest because I had my own college experience living on a campus while trying to find off-campus housing. That experience of mine also made me furious when I heard some professionals, such as people who worked as detectives or for the FBI say some things about the suspect who'd been arrested, Bryan Kohberger, that was just stupid, such as that he majored in Criminal Justice to learn how to murder. I was once surrounded by grad students and these opinionated guests seemed to be without understanding of the demands of graduate work or the fact that many a grad student works as a TA - Teaching Assistant - and some of them are not great at teaching or reasonable on how they grade. This is especially true when a TA does not want to teach after they get their Phd.

Some podcasters and newscasters would talk about how Kohberger had failed to commit the perfect crime and get away with it and was actually dumb. Or he was accused of intellectual arrogance and was actually too smart. 

His right to be assumed guilty was over quickly. I didn't believe he could get a fair trial. 

Then, in July 2025, the man admitted he did commit the murders. I'm sure some of the investigators - as well as the taxpayers - were happy they had the right guy all along especially because millions had been spent. He got a plea deal that means he will not be executed by firing squad but spend his life in prison.

Back in 2022, I started searching for more information and I started to listen to YouTube videos - podcasts - about the murders, the investigation, the arrest, and all things Kohberger and the Idaho Four. When I heard that the whole case was circumstantial - though videos, cell phones, and other new technologies had been applied - it seemed that "touch DNA" in the metal button of the knife sheath was the most important thing connecting the man to the crime.

When The Night Comes Falling is the book I read recently with an eagerness to know more than I had heard on YouTube podcasts, having listened to an easy hundred hours of discussion, speculation, or reportage, of these since the murders, November 13, 2022.

So yes, there were a few things in Howard Blum's book that I had not heard before. 

Blum intimates that Bryan's father had grown suspicious that his son had become a murderer - but that was unthinkable. Another is that that DNA Bryan was packing up in little plastic bags and taking to the neighbor's trash cans in the middle of the night was his dad's not his. And that some other relative of theirs had posted on a genealogy database that lead to the dad. 

I also was amazed that touch DNA is based on a very small number of skin cells, especially considering that we're shedding skin cells wherever we go. Honestly, a speck of dandruff has more than the shed of a quick touch of finger! 

Kaylee was only home for a visit and had already moved out. She wanted to see friends and party and perhaps also reignite her on and off relationship with a boyfriend that she had ended. They still shared a dog but she was going to travel in Europe and then take a job in another state. Jack was a suspect and went through some investigation but was quickly considered innocent of any involvement.

Maddy was the target and there's a question as to when Bryan began to fixate on her but maybe he did eat at the Mad Greek where she waitressed once though no one remembers that. 

Ethan and Xana were likely as unexpected in the house as Kaylee was but then at least one of them went to see what the noise was. 

Two of the victims fought for their lives - Kaylee and Xana. 

The FBI had a small airplane following Bryan and his dad as they traveled back to Pennsylvania in his car during what was to be a month long school break. Bryan left before the letter stating that he had been let go as a TA was received so he didn't know that yet, and he talked to his dad about some difficulties and said no way would the university be able to just let him go. The FBI did not tell the other investigative entities such as the police know they were leading the case. It was the Indiana traffic stops that made the FBI think another investigate entity had come to the same conclusion they had. His dad had driven out with him in the first place. (I never thought having a companion for a long drive was a bad idea.)

Of course, the gag order has been lifted since Kohberger admitted he was the murderer. This means that some of the speculation will end because more facts will come out but I wonder, because so this case has spawned so much news when it will actually fade away. It seems to me that a lot of podcasters will have to move on to other murders. I sometimes wonder what will be as compelling to their listeners.

My curiosity about how our legal system works - or how it does not - will continue, as will my interest in how investigations are conducted.

***

TRUE CRIME : My number one favorite is/was Surviving the Survivor. I also listened to Grizzly True Crime, which is probably my number two. I listened to Harsh Reality, one of the stations that maintained some doubt or questioning about Bryan Kohberger being the murderer. I have to warn you that a turn off is the hosts use of foul language.

THE INDIAN CARD : OTHER CRITERIA FOR TRIBAL ENROLLMENT? DNA TESTS?

THE INDIAN CARD by CARRIE LOWRY SCHUETTPELZ

Excerpt page 24 : In addition to lineage and blood quantum, some Tribes add other criteria to the mix.  Some have requirements around culture and tradition - my own Tribe, the Lumbee, for example, now requires completion of that Lumbee history class before someone can enroll. A handful of Tribes take into consideration which side of your family your Native ancestry is on. Some Tribes require applicants to enroll within a certain period after their birth.  Some maintain a residency requirement: the applicant must have been born or currently reside on the Tribe's lands.

... In recent years, and with the advent of consumer ancestry tests, a misconception has emerged that DNA spit tests can be used to gain Tribal enrollment.  That's not quite true.  No federally recognized Tribe in the United States allows someone to apply for enrollment using just their 23andMe report. Tribes that use DNA tests in their enrollment processes generally do so for maternity or paternity purposes - that is, to determine a person's biological parentage.

(For people were not born in or residing in their Tribal Community. (I note, in common language, "on the reservation" do an enrollment application.) ... Usually an extensive family tree must be filled out usually, historical birth certificates of ancestors must be submitted. Often the process must be completed in person. ...

Excerpt page 25 : ... One of the biggest obstacles people face with Tribal enrollment is verifying their ancestry. It is generally the case that Tribes don't release their historical rolls to the public. Certainly, from a sovereignty perspective, this makes sense. After all, the U.S. government doesn't maintain a public-facing list of all its current citizens. I can think of  a hundred reasons this sort of public cataloguing would be problematic. The same goes for Tribes.

Lesson: For Native American Tribes, citizenship is never geographical.  It's always relational.

PUBLIC NATIVE AMERICAN ROLES (Commonly called THE FIVE CIVILIZED TRIBES)

Cherokee Nation

Chickasaw Nation

Seminole of Oklahoma

Choctow of Oklahoma

Muscokee (Creek) Nation

According to an expert of the Chickasaw Nation, the further from these roles (called The Dawes Rolls) they get, the harder it is to prove Native Tribal affiliation.... And some people with common names erroneously "prove" they are not

Notes:  Author Carrie Lowry Schuettpelz also discusses the founding of the United States census and the evolution of questions asked. Until the 1850 census race was not asked. She explores the question of dismissiveness and also racism. She brings up the Nazi's and extermination of a people, her visit to the Holocaust Museum in Washington, dealing with National Archives and Record Administration.  She explores treaties and agreements between tribes and government and also individuals.  

Again, I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in the history or the genealogy!

C 2025  Ancestry Worship - Genealogy BlogSpot

Book Review and Excerpt selections

All Rights reserved including Internet and International Rights

23ANDME DNA TESTS and WARNING ABOUT PRIVACY : DELETE YOUR INFORMATION NOW

CLICK ON THE LABEL 23andme to bring up previous posts that include this topic.

23andMe has gone bankrupt and your personal privacy and that of your children - relatives - is at risk. This could effect 15 million people. Since the company is up for sale, it's reasonable to think that your DNA is what would make it interesting to a buyer...

NPR ORG : HOW TO DELETE YOUR 23ANDME GENETIC INFORMATION
Steps to delete are at the link above.

Excerpt: Bonta also provided this advice for destroying your test sample and revoking permission for genetic data to be used for research :

If you previously opted to have your saliva sample and DNA stored by 23andMe, but want to change that preference, you can do so from your account settings page, under "Preferences."

If you previously consented to 23andMe and third-party researchers to use your genetic data and sample for research, you may withdraw consent from the account settings page, under "Research and Product Consents."

SMITHSONIAN ON THE LATEST - NEANDERTHALS and DENISONVANS

SMITHSONIAN : HUMAN ORIGINS: NEANDERTHAL DNA  a full and excellent article that provides information also on blood type evolution, the perception of bitter taste, dental enamel, immune response, 

Excerpt:   

Clotting, Depression, and Allergies

While many of the genes that we retain for generations are either beneficial or neutral, there are some that have become deleterious in our new, modern lives. There are several genes that our Neanderthal relatives have contributed to our genome that were once beneficial in the past but can now cause health-related problems (Simonti et al 2016). One of these genes allows our blood to coagulate (or clot) quickly, a useful adaptation in creatures who were often injured while hunting. However, in modern people who live longer lives, this same trait of quick-clotting blood can cause harmful blood clots to form in the body later in life. Researchers found another gene that can cause depression and other neurological disorders and is triggered by disturbances in circadian rhythms. Since it is unlikely that Neanderthals experienced such disturbances to their natural sleep cycles, they may never have expressed this gene, but in modern humans who can control our climate and for whom our lifestyle often disrupts our circadian rhythms, this gene is expressed more frequently.

AMAZING RECONSTUCTION OF SHANIDAR NEADERTHAL WOMAN'S FACE

BBC NEWS : FACE OF 75,000 YEAR OLD NEANDERTHAL WOMAN 

The skull was smashed flat.  In this story of cutting edge Archaeology and Science, despite the many pieces being soft, the skull was reconstructed, the "fat" and "muscles" added in the right places, and the face came forth.

Excerpt:

The rebuilt skull was then surface-scanned and a 3D print given to Dutch artists Adrie and Alfons Kennis, who are renowned for their skill in creating anatomically faithful representations of ancient people from their bone and fossil remains.

YOU DON'T DESCEND FROM ALL YOUR ANCESTORS : USING KING CHARLES III AS AN EXAMPLE

 

YouTube station Marcus Gallo

GENETIC MEMORY? LISTEN TO THIS PODCAST: DOCTOR ODED RECHAVI on HUBER LAB PRODCAST

Dr. Oded Rechavi: Genes & the Inheritance of Memories Across Generations | Huberman Lab Podcast

What is the science behind the notion that our memories are not entirely about our own experience?  Do the hopes and desires of our grandparents within us?  

I'll admit that this requires attentive listening and is not on a 101 level of education, but if you're interested, give it a try!

DNA GENEALOGY and THE BRYAN KOHBERGER MURDER CASE : IS THE DNA ENOUGH? CAUTIONS ON THE USE OF DNA SERVICES

DAILY MAIL UK - KOHBERGER IDAHO TRIAL UPDATE 

I've been following this murder case, perhaps uncharacteristically so, since the four college students in Idaho were found stabbed to death in their close-to-campus rental house late last fall.  Bryan Kohberger, a graduate student in criminology at another university across state lines but only about 20 minutes away by vehicle, was arrested as the only suspect about a month later.  The crime-investigation buffs all over the world, including several who run crime-oriented YouTube channels immediately got interested in the case. My concern was and is that almost everything I have heard and read has him guilty before being proven so.  Can he get a truly fair trial?  I read that there have been over 40,000 articles and videos about him and even those that have people who should know better - such as FBI agents and police detectives - talk about him as if this were so.

It's IMPORTANT.  Any of us could be arrested for a crime we did not commit and lack the resources for our legal defense.  Any of us could be falsely accused of anything. So this is a test case for what happens in today's world of easy information and world wide coverage.

Meanwhile there are literally many thousands of unsolved murders in the United States that get no attention. 

Bit by bit his defense attorney or his defense has provided information that would indicate that Kohberger may very well be innocent of the crimes. Seems as if a tiny bit of DNA that was taken off the metal button of a knife sheath left at the scene is now being refuted.  The party house, one in which parties went on when none of the renters were there to host or keep control, was one in which strangers could easily attend. DNA from others was found there. In addition, there was reported (and i can't verify) that despite what was said to be an extremely bloody scene, no blood evidence was found in Kohberger's apartment, car, or parent's house...

In the article above, which I'll excerpt from below, the difficulty of being sure of results is stressed.

*** 

Excerpt:

A poor quality kit might have too few matches or it just might have phantom matches that are not real measures of relationship,' the document reads.

Larkin notes that sites such as AncestryDNA, 23ndme and MyHeritage prohibit forensic/investigative genetic genealogy in their databases, but there isn't really a way to enforce it.

'In the absence of effective oversight, forensic genetic genealogists are on an 'honor system' to obey the Terms of Services and the Department of Justice Interim Policy on forensic genetic genealogy.'

Larkin explains that the science used by these sites is not perfect, and 'any given centimorgan amount can represent more than one possible relationship.'

She notes one example that has nearly 20 possible relationship lines listed for a match - and says that's considered a close match.

Larkin points out that unlike DNA tests that find an individual, which are standard forensic STR tests, genetic genealogy testing identifies possible relatives.

She then goes on to note cases she's allegedly aware of where genetic genealogy has been wrong, as well as cases where the databases were used improperly by authorities.

C 2023  Ancestry Worship - Genealogy All Rights Reserved including Internet and International Rights

NATIVE AMERICAN DNA TEST? SOME ADVICE !

YOUTUBE : JOE ROGAN SHOW -NATIVE AMERICAN DNA 

American Heritage with Shannon O' Loughlin....

***

She's Polish and Indian - the legal word for Native American - and asshe tells it tribal membership is not just about DNA...

A CIGARETTE BUTT - DNA - FACE REVEAL - PRIVACY

An arrest?  Social Justice?  Disability?  Privacy?  

SHOULD YOU USE A DNA TEST ? ADOPTION SEARCH FRUSTRATIONS and DNA TESTING - CENTIMORGANS

Recently I advised someone I'll call Monica, who was doing an adoption search for her elderly mother and was feeling frustrated with traditional genealogy, to do the paper-trail genealogy anyway because even if a DNA database offered some matches, she and the other party were still going to have to figure out the relationships. Taking a DNA test doesn't mean you won't need to do the genealogy.

Basically, and perhaps simplistically, because scientists are working on it but do not know for sure how all our DNA is moved along each generation and know there are mutations and changes, it goes like this: We have two parents (each giving us 50% of our genetics), four grandparents (each giving us 25% of our genetics), eight great grandparents (each giving us 12.5%...) We also share percentages with cousins, second cousins, and so on 

Monica is only 1/4th genetically related to her unknown grandparents on her mother's side who are very likely not alive to do any DNA testing.  And she says she is only getting into this because her mother doesn't want to die not knowing who her people are. Monica herself says she knows who her parents are and isn't interested in being tested.

People get really confused by their test results when it comes to how related they are to someone else. The measurement of relatedness is called a CENTIMORGAN and is defined as how much you're related, not just by percentage but by which strand of DNA you and another person share.  The higher the shared centimorgan, the closer the genetic relationship. But when it comes to a database match, you could share that 12.5 percent with a cousin who is alive and tested rather than a great grandparent who is long ago deceased.

Monica's mother, in her 80's now, can submit her DNA for testing through one or more companies and approve that she wants to be informed if there are any matches. To find her parents, just using a DNA test and database, a full or half sibling, likely in Europe, must also test, and then tell her who they are. Full or half siblings may not know they have a full or half sibling in America. A question she should ask the various DNA companies is if they have a comprehensive database full of customers in Slovakia, Poland and Hungary.

Other persons Monica's mother is genetically related to will have to also pick the same company and give this approval. Then they will both be told via e-mail what the relationship is via percentages of relatedness, which usually translate to sibling, cousin, etc. She and/her mom are not going to get a message that says "your mother was _________, your father was ____________," and provide a genealogy chart.  No, at that point she and the other person will need to share knowledge and research.

Since Monica is an only child, she would not get any sibling matches if she did test. She might get some cousin matches, or second or third cousin matches. However, the best case scenario for her mother is a sibling match. Though in her 80's, if her parents went back to Europe and had more children, there could be people in their 60's alive there who are her siblings.  It's worth a try.  

But let's look at the cousin thing.

From my own research, I would say that I'm likely related to a huge number of people whose ancestry comes from a certain town in Europe, people who lived there in the 1800's. Why?  While my own chart reflects the straight lines of parent to grandparents and so on, I have very many family group sheets too. Two binders worth. If I include my grandparent's parents siblings and half siblings, and their parent's siblings, I can connect genetically with dozens of surnames in the 1880's, perhaps every surname in the town. I might even share genetics in some way with thousand of people by following back and forward to a great great grandfather's siblings, ten of them, who they married, and their children, who were marrying in another town in the early 1800's. However, if I took the DNA test I would only be united with those who also took the DNA test for the same company. Even with all the charts I've made, I might have to make new charts to find the way we link.  In my case when it comes to learning about people who lived before the records available for those towns, I would have to link up with someone who is the keeper of the family archive. Rumors and stories are interesting but no archival documents means it's not genealogy. My best hope when it comes to records going back past about 1800 there would be if the family was nobility. Then the family records might be held in an actual archive.

I have concerns for Monica and her mom - who could have started this quest years ago by using Adoption Registries - even before there was DNA testing - for other reasons.

Because all that her mother was told or remembers is considered "known facts" when there is no proof, it might be that genealogy myopia is wrongly focusing the research.  There is no original birth certificate, which even then might not be 100% true, since some birth mothers lied about not knowing who the father was or gave a fake name or gave the name of an ex husband, such as in the case of Marilyn Monroe, where does this leave her?  The search is for the truth, right? Yet rarely is it "just the facts." However. as this is all she has to go on, Monica is focused on Chicago.

In looking at some adoption records available through FamilySearch for Chicago I noted that while sometimes both parents were named, often just the mother was named. Implied is that the babies were born in Chicago, I noted that marital status was not mentioned. That what is available there is not very useful.

The story goes that her mother's parents "went back" to a European country after leaving her mother for adoption in Chicago. This was between World War I and World War II and during the Great Depression. Two surnames came forth with an oral history somewhere along the line but while one may check out because it's fairly common, the other seems to not be spelled or pronounced right. It would probably be spinning the wheels to look at immigration records for the common surname just to see if there was some trend of immigration, some town or country consistently mentioned for the common name.

As for the surname that seems false, there are rare surnames but frankly with so much on the Internet, if you put in a search in Google for that name, and it is not coming up any which way and no suggestions are coming up either, well, maybe it's never been a surname. I tried some variations and maybe if we knew for sure what the ethnicity was, we might be able to find someone native in that language and see what they know. We might be able to find surname lists and see if there is any name that is close.The Soundex used on Slavic names is German and that's not a match, sorry. Wish there were a Soundex for Slavic names!

My feeling is that this would be putting the cart before the horse.

The story went that in the late 1930's this immigrant couple had this child and gave it up before returning to their home country.  It happened, but there is no proof they were married. It's not certain then that they were immigrants who were simply too impoverished or ill to make it in America... There's no proof they were immigrants.  There's no proof they went back anywhere.  

Any situation could have been the reality. The woman could have been raped. She could have had an affair. They could have had very many children already.  (I once met a man whose parents had 13 children.They kept the first ten and adopted out the last three, he being one of them.) However, if they were a young married immigrant couple and had this one child, a first child who was healthy, it's my feeling that in their culture, unless they were both without family themselves, very likely by returning to Europe with the baby, they could have had family support there. The steamship ticket back to Europe cost some money, even for steerage/3rd class and I don't think there was an extra charge for an infant. But OK, they thought giving the baby up was the only thing to do. 

Ah well, we know it is all speculation. Speculation as well as understanding what was happening in the time and place that all these things happened can sometimes get us to where we want to go with research.

Now, this is where the paper trail genealogy for the family that adopted Monica's mother is also important.  Based on Monica's testimony about where her mother was raised, where her mother went to live after both of these adoptive parents died, we did some research. 

(Note added February 16th.  Please read this carefully.  The following is about Monica's mother who is in her 80's and wants to know who her people are and what we learned about the people who adopted her...)

We learned that her mother's adoptive parents died, one after another and not long after she turned 18, something Monica did not know and had not been told. Certainly her mother knew that. Where her (adoptive) mother took Monica to live after she was alone in raising her, connected to her (adoptive) mother's side of the family. Yet Monica had never met any relatives! Whatever happened, her mother did not keep or have these connections for long enough for Monica to connect with them.  Perhaps they too heard some stories?

I discovered the adoptive family had relatives in other states but not that the adoptive parents ever lived or worked in Chicago during the census periods. Based on the adoptive father's profession on the census, I could imagine he could have gotten work there, maybe even gone to school there, and then moved home.  How is it that a woman from Pennsylvania married a man from Kansas? Knowing where the adoptive couple met and where they married, what church perhaps, would allow for some questioning and clues. It appears that the adoptive parents started out life in two different states and went to live closer to the father's side. 

The very large city of Chicago was very likely a hub for parents who wanted to surrender their new born baby for adoption though they came from elsewhere or were just passing through. It could be traveled to from many parts of the country due to outstanding train services. Couples who wanted to adopt from all over could go to Chicago to find a baby. For a mother or parents who wanted a baby to get a good home, or who wanted to not be local to the adoption, a big city might be the answer. But Chicago was certainly not the only place a baby up for adoption could be found in the 1930's. Finding an original birth certificate for Monica's mother issued in Chicago, Cook County, or in Illinois is the logical step.

The first stop for religious people to adopt a child was often an agency or organization run by the very church they were members of. That's why I want to know if the couple married in a Church, what religion. It might lead me to a care home for babies or an orphanage. This adoption through a Church run place was once considered very important. Still is to some people. So Catholics might go to a Catholic orphanage. But if you were not religious, not affiliated with any church, then you would likely go to a county or other agency. A couple could also do a private adoption in which a doctor or lawyer might find you a child, usually one of their patients or clients who presented that possibility.

By doing the paper trail genealogy, the traditional way, we were able to find some interesting truths about Monica's mother's life that she had not mentioned. Monica's mother never said that her adoptive parents both died or why or how and so soon after she turned 18. Death certificates could be compelling. Monica's mother never mentioned an early marriage not long after she turned 18. Or a divorce. She has only admitted to two marriages and two divorces. However, it appears that, after her parent's death, relatives on both her adoptive mother's side and adoptive father's side must have been concerned for her and that she might have lived with them a while before that first marriage, based on locality. Perhaps, as was the case again with Marilyn Monroe, this early marriage might have been considered the best case scenario for her, an arrangement that proved to be based on desperation.

Everyone is entitled to their privacy, their secrets. Monica's mother might have deep emotions she felt best to bury when raising Monica. However, that she kept some of these secrets does make me wonder about the information she's provided in hopes of finding her heritage.

I advised Monica that there are different DNA tests for different purposes and the one her mother took a few years ago was only for ethnicity. I urged her to continue with the other options such as putting herself and her mother on adoption registries and to continue her Chicago based research, as some new options have opened up in Illinois.

Note: In order to keep the privacy of the individuals in this genealogy case which is presented here for educational purposes, some changes have been made.

C 2023 Ancestry Worship - Genealogy BlogSpot

You can bring up my adoption posts here at Ancestry Worship - Genealogy BlogSpot by clicking on the label 'Adoption" or for the series  Adoption Strategies - AWG. 

A DISCUSSION ABOUT DNA PRIVACY (THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO BE FAMILY)

The arrest of the man alleged to have murdered the four Idaho college students is said to have been achieved through, among other things, DNA testing. I would love to know which DNA testing databases sold for GENEALOGY purposes were used to identify his DNA at the crime scene. Although we like the fact that DNA can free someone who is not guilty but sentenced and imprisoned, or because of arrest and imprisonment, not commit a crime again, this is a discussion we need to have.

I'm often asked if I have done DNA genealogy for myself and family.  The answer is no.  I'm satisfied with what genealogy research tells me at this point.  

Thinking about the reveals that various people have told me (not a huge poll, I realize) when they hear I'm a genealogist, I would say about half have had some mind-challenging result, from discovering one was adopted and not actually blood-line wise, Native American, to that grandma had an affair and the family genetically belongs to a different Scottish clan.

Let's pause a moment and think about WHAT CREATES A FAMILY.  And for some of us it's about CHOICE.  There are many people who have not or will not marry and have children, and these people in the past were often not included on genealogy charts because - well - they had not reproduced.

Also for me, I knew that my family was ethnically mixed while still in Europe and if you find that your family came from the noble or aristocratic class back in the day the chances are greater that your ancestors traveled far for marriages.  

We must also look at the fact that countries and borders that are in place now, were not always.  People identified themselves as belonging to an ethic group or a locality group and there were disputes.  An area that is mostly Germany but with a high population of French.  An area that is now in Romania where most people are Hungarian.  An area that was once Hungary is now Slovakia.  A small portion of Poland that was Hungary.  And so on.  

I realize that when you're hooked on genealogy, you really don't want to quit and DNA may have some answers for you...  I understand, totally, for I too have hit the end of the road on many of my lines.  But in the end, it probably does not matter.

Perhaps one of the reasons I feel this way is that, although I don't know how it works, I am partial to the recycling of souls called "reincarnation."  Perhaps we have the experience of many cultures over time.  I'm also interested in "genetic memory" and the idea that we retain something of our parents and grandparents life experience.

These are my thoughts as we head into 2023...

If this is your first stop to ANCESTRY WORSHIP, welcome!

C 2023 Ancestry Worship - Genealogy BlogSpot

A TIME TO QUESTION DNA USES and PRIVACY - DNA FOR ADOPTIONS and OTHER PURPOSES SUCH AS CRIMINAL PROFILING

DNA and GENEALOGY....

I've encountered a lot of people lately who do not know the difference between GENETICS and GENEALOGY...  If I say I'm a genealogist, they think I'm a geneticist, in medicine.  People ask me about DNA companies and tests. I find myself having to explain, "I do research to trace a family heritage using archival documents. I don't recommend or advertise for any database company or DNA collection."

I tell everyone READ the FINE PRINT, especially to see if the company makes any statement/ contract about HOW LONG YOUR DNA PRIVACY and OWNERSHIP is granted, if at all. 

Also, I love those genealogy shows in which celebrities have their research done for them which sometimes go way back after the paper trail ends using DNA, but please realize that those shows often rely not on one genealogist but very many of them, many niche experts, and twenty minutes of show may be the results of thousands of hours of research.

I've been asked if I personally have done any DNA tests and the answer is no. I'm quite certain of my own heritage and also satisfied with my own, extensive, genealogy research, which has reached the end of paper trails on very many lines.

I also feel strongly that there are many ways to be part of a family, including choosing individuals who are not related to you by blood or marriage as a family of choice, which some people do in adulthood when their own heritage family has died or is no longer in their life.  A family of choice may have nothing to do with sex, sexuality, romantic love, pair bonding, parenting, or any of the usual, traditional ways of being or making family.  And if that sounds too futuristic, well, I've been reminded of this truth by someone I'm distantly related to who has fostered very many children as well as having adopted several.

Another big influence on my personal choice and advisement about DNA tests is that about half the people who have told me of their experience in the last year have gotten information that was unexpected, information that caused them to have to inform their entire family of "truths" about ancestors that was unexpected, if not life-changing, but did not challenge their notion of the family experience as they know it. How important is it if grandma had an affair, the Scottish clan you thought you belonged to was the wrong Scottish clan, or you're not really Native American, if you have had what really matters? What really matters is how you were raised, if you had loving parents, if you have had or have the experience of being part of a good family. (I won't get into genetics and DNA regarding medical conditions here but genetic tendencies don't always lead to manifesting a disease or a mental illness.)

Also I know people who have taken two or more tests with different companies meaning they felt they could not trust the results of one company, and they express confusion over differing test results as well as notifications that the results have changed. DNA TESTING COMPANIES FOR ETHNICITY USE A STATISTICAL ANALYSIS THAT CAN CHANGE AS MORE DATA IS TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION. So now they have their DNA out there in two or more databases which to me means it's ever more likely that their relatives, including those who come after them are also are potentially violated, even those not yet born to give any permission.

But also I have concerns about privacy in general. It seems a lot of people, especially those who were raised from childhood when Internet became the thing along with cell phone photography and social networking do not seem to have a clue about the importance of privacy, perhaps because they've never lived with it.  All these technological inventions are supposed to be TOOLS to make our lives better and easier, TOOLS we USE, with many choices to make, choices to be made with human considerations, not technologies to dominate or control our lives. 

So, while I do think you should have a CHOICE, until that choice and other issues are made more clear, I suggest you give a lot of thought to joining in. If you've already done so, reread the fine print, and stay up on any changes.  For instance, what happens if the company sells their DNA database?  What if they sell it to a company that is in medical research or the development of prescription drugs?  What does the company say about the use of their databases for the purposes of detective work beyond ethnicity or family heritage?  What happens if you step away, loose interest, don't monitor what's going on?

C 2023 Ancestry Worship - Genealogy BlogSpot

STOP GIVING AWAY YOUR DNA : AN OPINION BY NICK ESPINOSNA : ADVOCATING FOR DNA PRIVACY and QUESTIONS CELL PHONE DATA ?

Nick isn't the only person who has concerns that the privacy aspects of giving over your DNA need to be addressed.  

READ THE FINE PRINT before you take a DNA test.

DNA taken because of an arrest, even if that arrest proves to be an error, charges are dropped?

I think we all feel justice is served when DNA is used to locate a serial killer or a person on death row is released because the criminal who actually committed the crime is found... However, all you need to be falsely accused is to be in the wrong place at the right time.  I've been following the Murder of four college students who attended University of Idaho which happened November 13, 2022.  One neighbor who agreed to speak to the media soon had on-line crime speculations that he was the murderer.  So after three or four interviews, he went to the police station and gave over his DNA to eliminate himself as a suspect.  I feel certain that many people would prefer not to even chance talking to the media for reasons like this. Espinosa asks what about if you are on your cell phone within a mile area of a murder?

It's true that cell phones on you on the move keep pinging the towers and can be used to follow your moves.  For the person who gets lost on a hike, this can be a life saver, but really, the younger generations have no idea what PRIVACY actually feels like. Those of us who had it, or far more of it, are also having a more difficult time finding those precious moments in which we can be truly alone with ourselves and our thoughts.

WILL YOUR DNA BE USED TO MAKE BIOWEAPON THAT CAN KILL YOU or THE PEOPLE OF YOUR ETHNICITY

MSN - DAILY MAIL - HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE WARNS DNA BIOWEAPONS 

A frightening and important thing to know.  Your DNA submitted for medical testing or genealogy might end up being used against you.

Excerpt: The congressman said the development of the weapons is worrisome given the popularity of DNA testing services, where people willingly share their genetic mapping with businesses to gain insight on their genealogy and health.

'You can't have a discussion about this without talking about privacy and protection of commercial data because of expectations of privacy have degraded over the last 20 years.' the Democratic lawmaker said.

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BLACK DEATH PLAGUE - Worst Pandemic In History - ORIGIN SOLVED WITH DNA FROM EARLY 14th CENTURY

Reueters Lifestyle Science Ancient DNA Solves Black Death Mystery 

Excerpt: Researchers said on Wednesday they retrieved ancient DNA traces of the Yersinia pestis plague bacterium from the teeth of three women buried in a medieval Nestorian Christian community in Chu Valley near Lake Issyk Kul in the foothills of the Tian Shan mountains who perished in 1338-1339.  The earliest deaths documented elsewhere in the pandemic were in  1346.

Interesting article!  (That's Central Asia in norther Kyrgystan.)

MARILYN MONROE DNA : IRISH ANCESTRY and HER BIRTH FATHER REVEALED

Actress Marilyn Monroe's birth certificate says Mortensen, her mother's ex husband, is her father. However, she also went through live being called Norma Jeane Baker, Baker being the surname of her mother's first husband and that of her half siblings.

Some books suggest that the search for her birth father was ongoing in Marilyn's life others that her mother first revealed a photo of him to her daughter on her fifth birthday.  It turns that due to a DNA test in which strand's of Marilyn's hair from her mortician and the saliva of a great grand-daughter of a man named Charles Stanley Gifford are a match.  Gifford was for a time a supervisor at the company where Marilyn's mother was a film cutter, Consolidated fims. 

VARIETY : Documentary DNA Marilyn Monroe's Father Reveal  Francois Pomes is the documentarian. 

As this summer will be the 60th anniversary of Monroe's controversial death,  a number of books and films will be released. 

As for her Irish in Scotland ancestry, based on the name Monroe (so her mother's paternal line), the evidence has been in for a while.IRISH TIMES : MONROE ROOTS a THOUSAND YEARS and IRISH MUNRO's in SCOTLAND

CLAN MUNRO  Looking for Munro volunteers and funds to keep testing.

DNA WAS CONSIDERED IN FIGHT OVER PRINGLE OF STICHILL BARONETTE

DAILY MAIL : QUEEN DEMANDS DNA TEST TO DETERMINE BARONET TITLE by Martin Beckford 

I tripped across this old article about the fight over a Baronet Title. Excerpt:  Her Majesty personally ordered Lord Neuberger, Britain's most senior judge, and seix other justices of the Supreme Court to rule on a bitter family dispute over who is the rightful heir to an ancient baronetcy.

The feud was unexpectedly sparked by an innocent family tree project involving a distinguished lineage dating back to the 13th Century.

SO WHO WON?

BBC - PRINGLE OF STICHILL BARONETTE

BLACKSTONE BOUGHT ANCESTRY FOR NEAR FIVE BILLION DOLLARS : HOW PRIVATE IS YOUR DNA ?

LATIMES WHAT MIGHT Blackstone DO WITH ANCESTY'S DNA DATA 

The PAPER version of this article which appeared in the LA Times on April 13, 20121 by David Lazarus was called  "What Might Blackstone Do With Ancestry's DNA Data?"  On line, where it is showing up in Spanish, it is called  "Why Would A Company Invest Millions To Buy Ancestry, If It Is Not Interested In The DNA Data Of Its Users?"

Excerpt: He and other bioethicists were quick to note that existing federal medical privacu laws do not apply to genealogy sites.  These companies are basically free to do whatever they want with people's genetic data.

"A lot of these sites are bait and hoax," Caplan said.  "They offer interesting content, but what they're really looking for is your DNA."

So take the industry's genetic privacy guarantees with a grain of salt.  These companies operate largely in the shadows and their activities are limited almost exclusively by an honor system."

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But nearly every expert spoke with cited  the partnership  announced in 2018 between Ancestry rival 23andme and pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline.

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This is a very important article and if you have allowed your DNA to be submitted to ANY genealogy site, I agree with the journalist who wrote the article.  You have no protection and no company spends billions for data they are not going to use.

REMEMBER THAT GENEALOGY DOES NOT DEPEND ON YOUR DNA. Genealogy depends on DOCUMENTS.