Roots, shoots and stories

 I can't remember exactly when I first had my DNA tested. Initially it was with Ancestry and later with 23andme. I did it out of curiosity - not for my ethnicity results, which frankly turn out to be so boring - nor to find an unknown close relative - but mainly to find out what 'cousins' are out there and if the DNA matches I get help corroborate the genealogical research I have done. I thought I would find the results interesting. What I didn't realise was analysing my DNA matches and the DNA we shared from a common set of ancestors would turn into an obsession! :) I was lucky to be in at almost the start of DNA analysis and was able to pick up new techniques and make use of new developments provided by the testing companies and others as I went along. I also studied a few courses on genetic genealogy with the University of Strathclyde. So what have I been doing with all this 'knowledge' over the years? Personally, I have managed to confirm the ancestors I hav...

 To be Swedes or not to be? That is the question! My husband Martin grew up with the family story, that the Stepeks, although for centuries living in Poland, originated in Sweden. The name Stepek is an uncommon one, even in Poland, until the 20th century being confined to the far south-east, predominantly in the small town of Haczow. The meaning of the name could be one of a couple of possibilities. Historically people had moved into what is Poland from the east from the Steppes - the name could be derived from that. Or the -ek suffix means 'little' or even 'son of', so could be something like 'Little Steve or Steph' or son of Steve/Steph. Our research has the Stepek line going back to the mid 1700s, all in the same town of Haczow, but were they always there or did they come from elsewhere? So is there any evidence for the family story that the Stepeks came from Sweden??  Martin's Aunt Danka (Danuta Stepek) said that her father had told her that most of the ...

Looking at my DNA matches over various platforms and my family tree research, it is obvious to me that my paternal grandmother's line - the Walkers - are the line which have the most descendants (or at least the most descendants who have tested) and who have spread out furthest over the world. My great great grandparents James Walker (1777-1862) and Ellen Muir (1790-1866) from Linlithgow in Scotland had ten children - eight boys and two girls. Such large families were not uncommon in those times. Two of the boys never married, but between them the other eight siblings produced at least 52 grandchildren! The eldest of the siblings, George Walker was, however,  the only one of the children to ever leave Scotland and that was later in life, when he followed his son John, a miner, over to the USA. It is, however, many of the grandchildren of James and Ellen who decide to leave their homeland for the USA and for Australia. Their USA destinations included Kansas, Colorado, Ohio and Maryl...

My husband's father, Jan Stepek,  was born in 1922 in Maczkowce, in what is now western Ukraine but in those days was part of Poland. His father, Wladyslaw Stepek was born in the village of Haczow in Podkarpacie in south-east Poland. Our research has validated the story that these Stepeks had been in Haczow for hundreds of years, as Martin's Stepek line has been traced there back to Wojciech Stepek, Martin's 4 x great grandfather, born around 1768. Photo from Wikipedia As a family, we visited Haczow in 2010 and were able to go inside the UNESCO World Heritage wooden church where Martin's ancestors were baptised and married in the 18th and 19th centuries. Martin has also revisited Haczow with his cousin Chris and met up with local people who share their interest in genealogy and the history of the now small town and who have been very helpful in translating documents and visiting archive centres on our behalf. One of these even proved to be a distant relative - although...

Occasionally when you are researching one thing, you come across something or someone you didn't expect.  I am still trying to pin down how I am related to the huge group of Mormon matches I wrote about in Week 23. (https://rootsshootsandstories.blogspot.com/2023/06/week-23-so-many-descendants.html).  I know they are connected to my maternal side and, with that in mind, I was reviewing the DNA matches of my maternal first cousin, Karen. Karen's dad David was my mum's brother. Looking through her paternal matches, I hoped to find someone who might link to research I had already done on my matches. So... imagine my surprise when I saw a name I recognised! The name of this match was familiar to me, not because I had come across it in my own list of matches, but because it was the name of someone I personally know, a lady named Tracey. I know her because I was her French teacher and years later we became teaching colleagues!! So, now I have another puzzle to research - finding ...

 Much of the time I spend on genealogy involves me working on my DNA matches to find out how we are related.  It is something I take a great deal of pleasure in and find really rewarding. Among the many thousands of matches I have, I have been able to identify hundreds of them - assigning them initially as a paternal or maternal line match, then to a specific line: ... and hopefully then on to the common ancestor or ancestral couple. But there is one group which eludes me - for the moment! - since, as yet, I have been unable to find how my tree links into the common ancestors they all share. This is the group whose common ancestral couple have left so many descendants and there is a very good reason for that. So far, as you can see, I have identified 77 of my matches on Ancestry as belonging to this group, but there are many, many more. I managed to work out that these people match me on the maternal side of my family. Have I managed to find out which line yet? No. Have I mana...

 As a woman, the onset of baldness is something I won't have to deal with. The men in my family haven't been as fortunate. Being a 'late' baby, (my dad was 43 when I was born) I never knew my dad when he had a full head of hair. In fact, as far as I was concerned, he always had grey hair. My dad and me (2 years old) He must have started going bald in his 20s as his wedding photo below in 1940 shows. Beside him is his brother, George, who, at four years older than him, is also starting to lose his hair. George is also showing the same balding pattern, receding from the sides, then the centre. This pattern was also shared by his older brothers, Jim and Will, so I'd surmise this is the family balding pattern. Jim and his wife Agnes, Will and his wife Inez The genetics of balding is very complex. However, research suggests that the X chromosome plays an important part. Given that a male only has one X chromosome and that he inherits it from his mother has led to the ide...

 DNA testing is now immensely popular and programmes such as "Who Do You Think You Are?" on BBC,  "DNA Journey" on STV and "Finding your Roots" on PBS are bringing it more to the fore. Companies such as Ancestry, 23andme, My Heritage and Family Tree DNA all offer the opportunity to have your DNA tested and have a variety of tests on offer. The 'normal' DNA test is called an autosomal test. The process is simple - you spit into a tube, post the test back and a few weeks later you get your results. Then the fun begins! But firstly - why would anyone want to do a DNA test? Many people are interested in what their DNA can tell them about their ethnicity. Some are seeking information about their genetic health (only 23and me provide this). Others are seeking to find answers about family that DNA could provide - adoptees seeking to find their parents, people wanting to identify an 'unknown' parent/grandparent. DNA is a powerful tool in those situ...