Maternal

Photo of the Day – May 26, 2015

joelowry1982 1940s, Maternal, POTD
Here’s a photo of my grandmother Barbara Wolford and her sister Betty from 1941. The twins were about 10 years old when this photo was taken. This was around the time they were living with their parents in Denver, Colorado. I will need to ask my grandmother where specifically this photo was taken.

Source:
Barbara Jean Wolford and Betty Jean Wolford, photograph, taken in unknown location (possibly Denver) in 1941; digital image, photocopy of original, scanned by Joseph Lowry; privately held by Rebecca Lowry, [address for private use], Poland, Ohio. Two young girls standing in front of a bird bath with trees in background. Provenance is Rebecca Lowry to Joseph Lowry.

Photo of the Day – May 25, 2015

joelowry1982 1890s, Maternal, POTD, Witt

I’m going to get back into the swing of posting here, I promise. I actually enjoy sharing my family discoveries and have been quite active in my genealogy work. I just haven’t been posting anything to the blog. I hope to change that in the coming days and weeks. You can certainly expect some great daily photos in the very near future. Mary Catherine Sanders (nee Witt) provided me some amazing photos of my 2nd great grandfather and his family that I can’t wait to scan and share. I’ve also made some discoveries involving Civil War records and closed a very big loop regarding Edward Lowry, my 2nd great grand uncle from Washington state. So stay tuned, there’s more to come!

Today’s photo of the day is the wedding photo of John Albert Witt and Johanna Thaner. They were married on 22 May 1890 in Saint Mary’s Church in Pittsburgh. John is the brother of my 2nd great-grandfather Joseph Witt. I’ve written about John’s unfortunate death here.

Source:
John Albert Witt (1863-1942) and Johanna Thaner Witt (1862-1949), photograph, taken in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on 22 May 1890; digital image, photocopy of original, scanned by Mary Mathewson; privately held by Mary Mathewson, [address for private use], Rocky River, Ohio. Man seated in suit and woman standing in wedding gown. Provenance is Mary Mathewson to Joseph Lowry.

My DNA Says I Am From Where?!

joelowry1982 A message from the blogger..., DNA, Maternal, Paternal
DNA tests can reveal new ancestors, show your ethnic breakdown and solve genealogical mysteries that would otherwise go unanswered. A problem arises when the same genetic material gives you two different answers to one question:
Where Am I From?
Trying to figure you where you came from historically and genetically is much simpler than it was a decade ago. Several companies offer DNA tests that include ethnicity estimates. These estimates are created by analyzing your genetic material (just a small amount of saliva) and comparing it to thousands of others. While realizing they are only estimates, they provide a little more truth to statements such as, “I’m 50% Irish, 30% German and 20% English,” or whatever you’ve always believed your ethnic breakdown to be. Keeping in mind that these are estimates and that Europe is as much of a melting pot as America can lead to some interesting statistics.
I wrote about a DNA test that my father took a few months ago through Family Tree DNA. I recently took a DNA test of my own through AncestryDNA, another company that offers tests as part of their genealogical product offering (the parent is Ancestry.com). Included in my results was the ethnicity estimate. AncestryDNA writes that they calculate their ethnicity estimates this way:

We create estimates for your genetic ethnicity by comparing your DNA to the DNA of other people who are native to a region. The AncestryDNA reference panel (version 2.0) contains 3,000 DNA samples from people in 26 global regions. 

We build the reference panel from a larger reference collection of 4,245 DNA samples collected from people whose genealogy suggests they are native to one region. The images below show the process of gathering local samples from various parts of the world. 

Each panel member’s genealogy is documented so we can be confident that their family is representative of people with a long history (hundreds of years) in that region.
Each volunteer’s DNA sample from a given region is then tested and compared to all others to construct the AncestryDNA reference panel. In the end, 3,000 of 4,245 individuals are chosen for the AncestryDNA reference panel (version 2.0). These individuals make up 26 global regions.

We then compare your DNA to the DNA in the reference panel to see which regions your DNA is most like. The ethnicity estimate you see on the web site is the result of this comparison. When we calculate your estimate for each ethnicity region, we run forty separate analyses. Each of the forty analyses gives an independent estimate of your ethnicity, and each one is done with randomly selected portions of your DNA. Your genetic ethnicity estimates and likely ranges for these estimates come from these forty analyses.[1]

With all of that in mind, I was excited to see my breakdown and learn if it matched my research. That research would indicate that I’m at last 60% German, 25% Irish, and 15% English. Keep in mind this is only going back 5 generations on average; going back any further is rather complicated because of the number of grandparents and the gaps in research. Much to my surprise, it was nowhere close!
My AncestryDNA estimate indicates that I am 62% descended from Great Britain, 20% Ireland and only 5% from Western Europe. WHAT?! Where are my Germans?! I have German surnames including Bahle, Witt, Bixler, Governor, Porubsky, Schulmeister, and Pepperney (Anglicized in a few cases) in my family history and they are getting almost no recognition by my saliva!
My ethnic matches from AncestryDNA’s autosomal DNA test. (click to enlarge.)
I was a bit stunned by the results but realize that over centuries people move. These results aren’t meant to capture a single moment in time but ancestral makeups throughout history.
Once I had my AncestryDNA results, I actually transferred my raw DNA data to Family Tree DNA. They have a service that takes the raw data from another company and uses their algorithms to produce an ethnicity report. After only a few days (since they only had to analyze the data and not test saliva), I had my results based on their algorithm.
According to Family Tree DNA, they calculate their estimates based on the following, in part, and with a bit more science in the explanation:

We assembled a large number of candidate reference populations which were relatively unadmixed and sampled widely in terms of geography. From these we removed related or outlier individuals with the Plink software, utilizing identity-by-descent (IBD) analysis and visually inspecting multi-dimensional scaling plots (MDS). Further visualization established that the reference population sets were indeed genetically distinct from each other. We also ran Admixture and MDS with specific populations to asses if any individuals were outliers or exhibited notable gene flow from other reference groups, removing these. Admixture was run on an inter and intra-continental scale to establish a plausible number of K values utilizing the cross-validation method [Alexander2011]. After removing markers which were missing in more than 5 percent of loci and those with minor allele frequencies below 1 percent, the total intersection of SNPs across the pooled data set was 290,874. The final number of individuals in was 1,353. 

To validate our Reference Population set we tested them against a list of well studied benchmark groups whose ancestral background in the literature has been well attested. Additionally we also cross-checked against individuals with attested provenance within the GeneByGene DNA database.[2]

So both companies test their results against certain population groups who they believe have remained relatively static over time. Still, once I checked my result, I was again surprised and this time for entirely different reasons.

My ethnic makeup according to Family Tree DNA. (click to enlarge.)
My Family Tree DNA estimate indicates I am 42% British Isles (Great Britain and Ireland), 30% Scandanavian, and 26% from Southern Europe. A mere 2% Central Asian is a statistical anomaly that I discount. So what does this imply? It’s certainly very different from my AncestryDNA results. It too fails to properly represent my presumed Germanic background. Neither result indicates anything close to the percentages I had assumed based on my research.
This raises so many more questions than it answered. It is forcing me to dig deeper and cast a wider net than I previously imagined in search of the truth of where I come from. I also realize these are simply estimates based on a small bit of saliva. If the tests were run again, the results could be slightly different. Genetic genealogy is a new field for me, and one that I am eager to continue exploring. I plan to share more of these discoveries in future posts!

Sources:
Ball, Catherine A., Mathew J. Barber, Jake K. Byrnes, Josh Calloway, Kenneth G. Chahine, Ross E. Curtis, Kenneth Freestone, Julie M. Granka, Natalie M. Myres, Keith Noto, Yong Wang, and Scott R. Woodward. “Ethnicity Estimate White Paper.” Ancestry.com (2013): n. pag. 30 Oct. 2013. Web. 17 Feb. 2015.

Khan, Razib, and Rui H. “MyOrigins Methodology Whitepaper – FTDNA Learning Center.” FTDNA Learning Center. Family Treee DNA, 8 May 2014. Web. 17 Feb. 2015.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun – Shared Birthdays

joelowry1982 Maternal, Saturday Genealogy Fun

For this edition of Saturday Genealogy Fun, it was proposed to identify ancestors with whom you share a birthday. I’ve identified exactly one ancestor born on my birthday, March 11. My sixth great grandfather Gottfried Wohlfarth (Wolford) was born on 11 Mar 1738 in Breitenfürst, Rems-Murr-Kreis, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany. He died in 1828 in Belmont, Belmont, Ohio, United States.

Relation To Me:
Gottfried Wohlfarth (1738-1828)
father of:
Moses Wolford (1777-1845)
father of:
Mathias Wolford (1821-1876)
father of:
James Mathias Wolford (1846-1905)
father of:
Stanton M Wolford (1864-1946)
father of:
Raymond Hudson Wolford (1909-1970)
father of:
Barbara Jean Wolford Witt Viti
mother of:
Rebecca Witt Lowry
mother of:
Joseph Patrick Lowry

Photo of the Day – January 29, 2015

joelowry1982 1980s, Lowry, Maternal, POTD, Sofranko, Witt
My sister Caroline had to be only a few weeks old when this photo was taken in June 1983. I believe this was my Witt grandparents’ living room at 330 Fairgreen Avenue in Youngstown. My mom is holding me while my cousin Jacob Sofranko holds Caroline. John Sofranko is to the left of my mom and their mother (and my godmother) Julie Sofranko is on the right.
Source:
John Sofranko, Joseph Lowry, Rebecca Witt Lowry, Jacob Sofranko, Caroline Lowry, Julie Sofranko, photograph, taken on Fairgreen Avenue, in about 1983; digital image, photocopy of original, scanned in 2013 by Joseph Lowry; privately held by Rebecca Lowry, [address for private use], Poland, Ohio. Two mothers surrounded by four children. Provenance is Rebecca Lowry to Joseph Lowry.

Photo of the Day – January 28, 2015

joelowry1982 1990s, Lowry, Maternal, Paternal, POTD, Witt
The family consensus is that we have no idea where this photo was taken. I do think it was taken sometime around 1991 as my sister Colleen was born in 1988 and appears to be about 3 years old. Wearing her watermelon shirt, she’s pretty content hanging out with my dad.
Source:
Patrick Lowry and daughter Colleen Lowry, photograph, taken at unknown location, in about 1991; digital image, photocopy of original, scanned in 2013 by Joseph Lowry; privately held by Patrick Lowry, [address for private use], Poland, Ohio. Daughter sitting on father’s lap at table. Provenance is Patrick Lowry to Joseph Lowry.

Photo of the Day – January 25, 2015

joelowry1982 1990s, Maternal, POTD, Witt
If I had to guess, I would place this photo in the summer of 1991. In the photo are grandmother Barb Viti and five of her grandchildren, (l to r) Mark Witt in her arms (I presume based on the age and others in the photo), Christian Witt, Melanie Witt, Michelle Dockry and Danny Witt. This may have been taken at the home of my uncle Charlie Witt near Pope Air Force Base in North Carolina. Can someone confirm that for me?
Source:
Barbara Wolford Witt Viti, Mark Witt, Christian Witt, Melanie Witt, Michelle Dockry and Daniel Witt., photograph, taken at unknown location, in about 1991; digital image, photocopy of original, scanned in 2013 by Joseph Lowry; privately held by Marie Dockry, [address for private use], Austintown, Ohio. Grandmother holding one grandchild and surrounded by four more. Provenance is Marie Dockry to Joseph Lowry.

Death Certificate of Elisabeth Louise Kreher Witt

joelowry1982 1930s, Death Certificate, Kreher, Maternal, Witt
Click to enlarge.
Elizabeth Louise Kreher Witt, or as it appears on the above, Mrs. Elizabeth Witt, is my 3rd great grandmother. She was born on 22 March 1840 in Herman Township, Butler, Pennsylvania and died at the age of 89 (or specifically, 89 years, 9 months and 15 days) on 13 January 1930 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Her husband Martin preceded her in death by nine years.
From this death certificate, we know that her father was Chris Kreher and her mother was Anna Hause, both born in Germany. She died from arteriosclerosis, having been under a doctor’s care for the last few days of her life. Her son Martin Witt served as the informant of her death and McCabe Brothers Funeral Home handled the arrangements. (They remain a Pittsburgh-area funeral home however their location at 3520 Butler Street is no more.) Elizabeth was buried on 15 January 1930 at Mount Carmel Cemetery in the Penn Hills neighborhood of Pittsburgh.

Source:
“Pennsylvania Death Certificates, 1906 – 1963,” index and images, Ancestry.com, accessed 18 Jan 2015, Elizabeth Witt, 1930; citing reference Pennsylvania (State). Death certificates, 1906–1963. Series 11.90 (1,905 cartons). Records of the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Record Group 11. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/.

What’s My Ancestor Score?

joelowry1982 A message from the blogger..., Maternal, Paternal

If you scored 14% on a test, most people would consider that a failure. I see it as showing room for improvement. I recently tried to determine my ‘ancestor score’ and it turned out to be 14%. An ancestor score is the percentage of ancestors in 10 generations that I have identified.

Last Saturday, Randy Seaver of the Genea-Musings blog asked his readers to determine their ancestor score so I played along. In 10 generations, a person will have 1,022 direct ancestors. This starts with your parents and walks through grandparents, great grandparents, etc. Once you add yourself, you have 1,023 people.

I had no problem counting the people in my family tree through the 6th generation, but after that, it becomes difficult to count everyone. After all, a person has 64 4x great grandparents. To ease the burden, I created what is called an Ahnentafel Report. An Ahnentafel Report can be created in most genealogy software programs and places all of the direct ancestors of a particular person (in this case me) in numeric order. It becomes very easy to determine how many ancestors of each generation you have.

You can see my results below. Overall, I don’t consider my score to be horrendous as I have 100% of my ancestors identified through 6 generations and 75% identified through 7 generations. For most people, the 7th generation leads back to the early 1800’s. So I don’t consider this to be a poor score; it just means that I have much more research to do!

Click to enlarge.