Part 462s – Smith Robertson Genealogy – Possible mtDNA J1b1 Subclade – Abraham, Castex, Charbonnier, Chevalier, Clergeau, Clopath, Emery, July, Merle, Olton, Rénier, Smith, Titus, Vogt…

Good Afternoon,

ZC just received news from Administration of the J-mtDNA Group at Family Tree DNA.

The classification of Haplogroup J could, based on the results, be restated as J1b1.

“I see that they have classified you as Haplogroup J, but based on a quick review of your HVR1/HVR2 results, I believe you should more properly be classified as J1b1 and thus I have moved you into that subgroup within the project.”

What does this mean to our genealogy and search?

From Wikipedia - “A Haplogroup is a group of similar haplotypes that share a common ancestor with a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) mutation.”

The Subclade, J1b1 is “a term used to describe a subgroup of a subgenus or haplogroup.” (Wikipedia)

Here is an updated DNA Pedigree Chart, which does now include the tracing of the possible J1b1 mtDNA lineage.

See my Posts Part 456s, Part 450s, Part 449s, Part 448s, and Part 447s for my preceding discussion of our paternal grandmothers’ mtDNA.

To date our documented paper trail is to gg-grandmother Catherine Cora (née Merle) July who was born in France in 1836 and passed away in French Guiana in 1886. I do know the ggg-grandmother Jeanette Etienette (née Castex) Merle is also a part of this mtDNA lineage but I am yet to discover an physical evidence of her vital records.

The Cambridge Reference Sequence (CRS) differences for the HVR1 and HVR2 tests are, respectively: 16069T, 16126C, 16145A, 16172C, 16222T, 16261T, 16519C, and 73G, 242T, 263G, 295T, 315.1C, 462T, 489C. The inserted extract of the J1b1 subclade is from a paper by Mannis van Oven and Manfred Kayser.

To date the related surnames that I can include that may also be recipients (albeit owners) of this mtDNA classification include: Abraham, Castex, Charbonnier, Chevalier, Clergeau, Clopath, Emery, July, Merle, Olton, Rénier, Smith, Titus, Vogt. Please let me know if I have forgotten a surname which may also belong.

The following paragraph was found as an ancestry description of the J1b1 subclade.

J1b1: The mitochondrial haplogroup J contains several sub-lineages. The original haplogroup J originated in the Near East approximately 50,000 years ago. Within Europe, sub-lineages of haplogroup J have distinct and interesting distributions. Haplogroup J1b is found distributed in the Near East and southern Iberia, and may have been part of the original colonization wave of Neolithic settlers moving around the Mediterranean 6000 years ago or perhaps a lineage of Phoenician traders. Within haplogroup J1b, a derivative lineage haplogroup J1b1 has been found in Britain and another sub-lineage detected in Italy. Further research will better establish the relationship of these two geographically distant, yet evolutionarily related, haplogroups. Bryan Sykes in his Seven Daughters of Eve book named this mtDNA haplogroup Jasmine.

(See Charles Kerchner’s MtDNA Haplogroup Descriptions & Information Links).

That's it for now.

Enjoy,

Jim

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Part 450s – Smith Robertson Genealogy – Our mtDNA Results Lean To J1b

Afternoon,

Based on ZC’s present results, and the immediate differences results from the Cambridge Reference Sequence, (see Parts 448s and 449s), it may be possible to infer that the sequence may be classified as J1b. J1b is a subclade of the Haplogroup J.

I have highlighted the HVR1 results in the inserted 2004 Schematic Tree for European mtDNA Variation. This representation is from the thesis by Piia Serk, from the University of Tartu, in Estonia.

In my research of my genealogy and ancestry I am constantly “drilling-down” to locate more and more information. As discussed, my father’s maternal line mtDNA resulted in a J Haplogoup classification. This means that my father, Frederick Kenneth Lloyd Smith received his mtDNA from his mother, grandmother Jeanne Lucie Ernestine (née Abraham) Smith (and Mann). She received hers from her mother, my great-grandmother Catherine Marie Antoinette (née July) Abraham who in turn received hers from her mother, my great-great-grandmother Catherine Cora (née Merle) July.

My search and research, at presents stops at my great-great-great-grandmother Jeannette Etienette (née Castex) Merle. I have not found any information on my Castex line as I have not delved into those records as yet. All-things-being-equal those records and documents could begin in the vicinity of Bordeaux, in Gironde, France.

A geographic line of the passage of these J-mtDNA results would be from Bordeaux, France to Sénégal in West Africa, to Georgetown in British Guiana (now Guyana), to St. George, in Grenada. Other lines of transfer from Bordeaux to Sénégal, to Cayenne in French Guiana, to Paris and Brittany, France as well as from British Guiana to San Diego, in California, USA.

To date, the individuals in our Family Tree with the surnames who may be recipients of this J-mtDNA include: Abraham, Castex, Charbonnier, Chevalier, Clergeau, Clopath, Emery, July, Merle, Olton, Rénier, Smith, Titus, and Vogt.

Quite a bit to assimilate at one given time… but I’m getting there.

Enjoy,

Jim

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Part 448s – Smith Genealogy – J-mtDNA Results Again - Castex, Merle, Clergeau, Rénier, Chevalier, Clopath, Charbonnier

Morning,

In the pursuit of our genealogy, the J-mtDNA results, following up on Part 447s , are critical in determining a possible match which could lead to the discovery of a most common ancestor. Of the FamilyTree DNA accessible and open records, ZC’s mt-DNA results matched 13 High Resolution (HVR1 + HVR2) sets.

To date we have received four responses. All-things-being-equal there could be an ancestor-in-common in any one of these four matches but the documentary and paper trails currently do not provide the clues. Still nine more returned replies are in the works… hopefully.

The following are ZC’s J-Haplogroup differences relative to the Cambridge Reference Sequence (CRS). These are the differences that are used to match to possible corresponding others. A match means a possible connection. Per FamilyTree DNA, "A match on HVR1 and HVR2 has a 50% chance of a common ancestor within twenty-eight generations. That is about 700 years."

The immediate differences results from the Cambridge Reference Sequence are as follows:

HVR1 – 16069T; 16126C; 16145A; 16172C; 16222T; 16261T; and 16519C


HVR2 – 73G; 242T; 263G; 295T; 315.1C; 462T; and 489C

Based on the current results, and our documentation and paper trail we are able to get back on our grandmother Jeanne Lucie Ernestine (née Abraham) Smith/Mann’s maternal line to her great-grandmother, our great-great-great-grandmother Jeannette Etienette (née Castex) Merle. That is about back to, give-or-take a couple of years, 1810. That’s Two Centuries… of paper trails. There’s still quite a bit of searching left to be done…

But in the mean-time we can add some additional family members to this pool of J-mtDNA results. Yann and his siblings are also direct descendants of great-great-grandmother Catherine Cora (née Merle) July. Their great-grandmother Marie Eugéne Berthe (née July) Clergeau and Rénier was a younger sister to my great-grandmother Catherine Marie Antoinette (née July) Abraham.

Based on the mtDNA theory and application daughters and their children should also carry the J-mtDNA. This will add surnames, from the connected families – Castex, Merle, Clergeau, Rénier, Chevalier, Clopath, and Charbonnier.

The list of surnames included in this J-mtDNA grouping now includes - Abraham, Castex, Charbonnier, Chevalier, Clergeau, Clopath, Emery, July, Merle, Olton, Rénier, Smith, Titus, and Vogt.

A lot of food for thought,

Enjoy,

Jim

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