I have my McConnel line all the way back to the mid 1800's, but, being female, do not know if it would work or not with the DNA. I do have a male relative whom I have forwarded the information to, but, either he didn't get it or he doesn't want to participate. Is there a way the females can give DNA to make the line more "friendly"? -- Margaret Sessions -------------- Original message -------------- From: mcconnell-request@rootsweb.com > > > When replying to a digest message, quote only the specific message to which you > are replying, removing the rest of the digest from your reply. Also, remember to > change the subject of your reply so that it coincides with the message subject > to which you are replying. > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation (gc-gateway@rootsweb.com) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Fri, 17 Aug 2007 23:47:43 -0000 > From: "gc-gateway@rootsweb.com" > Subject: [McConnell] Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation > To: > Message-ID: <1187394465.141047@rootsweb.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; > > This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. > > Author: ksaxe > Surnames: McConnell, McConnel, MacConnell > Classification: queries > > Message Board URL: > > http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.mcconnell/2470/mb.ashx > > Message Board Post: > > Another testing option and a database with McConnells and other Clan Donalds > > I recently learned more about an option for free DNA testing. This testing is > offered by the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation (SMGF), and most > genealogists would qualify to participate. This option has been around for a > while, but there has been a lot of confusion about it among genealogists who > might otherwise have participated, and many genealogists have probably never > even heard of Sorenson. > > Some of the confusion concerns the requirements for participation. In order > to participate, an individual must submit a four generation chart showing their > personal ancestry. The chart may have some blanks, as long as it includes all > information known to the submitter, but it MUST include information on some > individuals born before 1900. The information on the chart becomes a part of the > Sorenson database and remains in the database unless and until a participant > decides to leave the study. This is a public database posted on the internet, so > the information on individuals born after 1899 will not be posted. > > Second, SMGF does not report results directly to participants, but > participants and other interested individuals can extract them from the > database. This usually takes some guesswork, but it is not extremely difficult. > Smart people have thought about the number of possible sets of test results and > concluded that the process would be so time-consuming that it wouldn't be > practical, but because any correct guesses for individual markers are reported > as matches for those markers, it is possible to deduce the values for the > different markers individually. > > I recently extracted the test results for the two McConnell men in the > Sorenson database, and this probably took me more than two hours because I was > inexperienced. By thinking through the process, I learned some things that would > make it much easier for me to do the same thing again. If you are interested in > using the Sorenson database or just like puzzles, look for my follow-up post. > > What tests are performed by SMGF has also not always been clear to many of > us. Until recently, I thought that Sorenson was only testing Y-DNA for 12 > markers, because that is what another genealogist told me. SMGF uses all of the > Relative Genetics (RG) markers, because SMGF and Relative Genetics are both > connected with Sorenson Genomics, the lab owned by SMGF founder James Sorenson. > Currently, the SMGF web site says that SMGF is working to increase the number of > tested markers for Sorenson participants to 34 or more. This is good news, > because Sorenson counts some multiple site markers such as 464a, 464b, 464c, and > 464d as one marker. This reduces the set of 43 Relative Genetics markers to 37 > SMGF markers, so SMGF participants will have results for almost all of the 43 > Relative Genetics markers when this work is completed. > > Sorenson tends to process SMGF samples in batches testing a limited number of > markers at a time, and posts results as they become available. Sometimes the > time between updates of the database adding results for additional markers for > an individual is quite long. So some men's results have probably been posted for > 12 markers and further results weren't posted for a long time. Since the > Sorenson web site doesn't say very much about what markers are tested, many > people may have concluded that their Sorenson testing was complete before it > really was, and this has caused some confusion. Even if an individual noticed > that other men in the database had test results for more markers than they had > for themselves, they might have assumed that those men had paid for more markers > to be tested by Relative Genetics. Relative Genetics previously offered coupons > for reduced price reporting of results directly to SMGF participants, and this > contributed to the confusion. > > SMGF testing is not confined to the Y-chromosome used by the Clan Donald DNA > study. Men and women may both test through SMGF, which tests mitochondrial and > autosomal DNA for all participants and Y-DNA for men. Sorenson's mitochondrial > DNA database is quite large, and anyone with mitochondrial DNA results will want > to use it. Test results for autosomal DNA, which is DNA on chromosomes other > than the X and Y, will be entered into an upcoming Sorenson database. > > One big advantage of the use of free testing by Sorenson is that it allows > genealogists to contemplate testing for ourselves and many more relatives from > our brick wall families than most of us could afford to have tested at our own > expense. > > Are there disadvantages to this free testing? Yes, of course. Results > generally take at least nine months to be posted on the existing databases. > Often no results are posted for at least a year, and complete results may not be > posted for two years or more. If you're considering testing for yourself or a > family member who is patient and healthy, this may not be a great concern. If > you're trying to find out how you are related to a large number of families of > the same surname or geographic origin, this option may help you recruit members > of those families to test, but the discovery of any DNA matches which might lead > to further testing will not come before results are posted. Since some lines > "daughter out" or die out, leaving nobody to test, there will probably be a few > cases where DNA results and other research lead to interest in the DNA of men > who might have participated, but died during the wait for results. > > For project administrators, inputting data from other companies may not allow > them to cut and paste the results into the project tables, which is what they > are usually able to do with results from FTDNA. This is not a big drawback, but > since Sorenson results often come in big batches, there may be some slight > delays in posting results to the project tables if a number of men are added > from the Sorenson database at the same time. In a few cases, it may be possible > for project administrators to extract some results, but individuals opting to > join projects using Sorenson results should try to extract results for > themselves or with the help of other contacts if at all possible. (Exception: > Administrators of some projects may be willing and able to help you with this > process, but you should not count on this until you have checked with them.) I > would be willing to help McConnells, McConnels, MacConnells, and as many others > interested in joining the Clan Donald project as I ha! > ve time to help with this process, but would hope that all individuals would > see how far they can get with the extraction before seeking assistance. > > As noted previously the set of markers used by Sorenson and Relative Genetics > is not identical to the standard set used by FTDNA, so some markers from the two > sets cannot be compared. There is a lot of overlap between the two sets of > markers, and in many cases, the common markers will be enough to answer > genealogists' questions. When more information is needed, FTDNA customers have > the option of testing for the missing Sorenson/RG markers through FTDNA's > advanced orders at a reasonable cost or by testing through SMGF or RG, and men > with Sorenson and RG test results have the option of testing with FTDNA to get > results for FTDNA markers not in the Sorenson set. Unfortunately, the testing > options that FTDNA and RG offer for those with results from their competitors > are nearly as expensive as their standard tests. In some cases, the use of SMGF > markers would answer questions that FTDNA's standard tests alone won't, and > participation of men tested with SMGF will be a real boon! > if it leads men who originally tested with FTDNA and would benefit from using > the Sorenson markers to discover them. > > Some individuals may not wish to share their pedigree charts for any number > of reasons that I think most of us already know, while others will find it > advantageous to have their DNA results and pedigree charts together online. I > recently saw a post to the Rootsweb DNA genealogy list from a person who was > anxious to have their pedigree and DNA results posted together in the SMGF > database because other researchers claiming common ancestry had results that > didn't match. This researcher was sure that the others had made mistakes and > wanted later researchers to be able to see good data along with the bad, giving > them a better chance of successfully tracking their lines. > > One other possible area of concern is easily addressed prior to the > submission of the pedigree chart and sample to SMGF. For you and your surname > project administrators to use your results with confidence, you must be able to > identify them in the Sorenson database. In many cases, this won't be a problem, > because you'll probably be the only person with an identical pedigree chart in > the database. However, if your brother also joins the Sorenson study, you will > need to be able to distinguish between his results and yours. If your father's > brother married one of your mother's sisters and you have a male cousin from > this line testing, then your posted pedigrees should be identical unless one of > your parents or his parents was born early enough for their first name to be > included in the database, and you will also have to do something to distinguish > your entries in the Sorenson database. It is unlikely, but possible, that your > posted pedigree in the database would match that o! > f a total stranger. If you have some uncommon surnames among grandparents and > great-grandparents born before 1900 in small towns, you probably don't need to > worry about this. But if your only great grandparents born before 1900 were a > John Smith and Mary Jones who were born in NY, you should take some precautions > to make your Sorenson pedigree identifiable. > > How would you make your Sorenson pedigree identifiable? Since your 4 > generation chart is supposed to be as complete as possible, it should have the > same information on your recent common ancestors as the charts of any relatives > who participate in the study, unless you have new or conflicting information > about your ancestry. However, Sorenson allows and encourages the submission of > information on the ancestry of the great grandparents of participants, and > includes this information in the database. By randomly selecting some, but not > all of these ancestors to include in your submitted information, you should be > able to make your Sorenson pedigree distinguishable from the rest. Just record > carefully the information you submit so that you may refer to it later. It may > be possible for those who have previously submitted their information to SMGF > and want to make it distinguishable to do so by submitting additional data, but > I have not researched this possibility. > > Testing through SMGF is a viable way to join the Clan Donald DNA project, > just as testing with for-profit companies is. Researchers interested in testing > will need to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of each of these options, > taking into account the information they have about their own situations. > > Important Note: > The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like > to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond > on the board. > > > > > > ------------------------------ > > To contact the MCCONNELL list administrator, send an email to > MCCONNELL-admin@rootsweb.com. > > To post a message to the MCCONNELL mailing list, send an email to > MCCONNELL@rootsweb.com. > > __________________________________________________________ > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > MCCONNELL-request@rootsweb.com > with the word "unsubscribe" without the quotes in the subject and the body of > the > email with no additional text. > > > End of MCCONNELL Digest, Vol 2, Issue 68 > ****************************************