GENEALOGY DNA REPORT FOR JOSEPH PHILIP RHEIN
Some Background May Be Helpful.
Background
In the study of the ancient ancestry of humans, scientists focus on "haplogroups",
the classification of all humans into ancient family clans based on the unique
pattern of genetic markers called "SNPs" found in their DNA. SNPs are small
changes in the DNA which occur naturally over time. Once a SNP occurs, it
becomes a unique lineage marker that is passed down to all future generations.
Humans who have descended from the same ancient family clan will share the
same pattern of SNPs. Using SNPs, scientists have been able to plot the
haplogroups of all humans living today into a single phylogenetic tree of mankind
which shows how all humans are connected to each other in a complex
worldwide tree that stems from Africa over 150,000 years ago. Dozens of
haplogroups have been discovered to date, each haplogroup representing a major
branch in the phylogenetic tree of mankind.
Each haplogroup can be further refined into "subclades" (finer sub-branches of
the tree). As new SNPs are discovered, the phylogenetic tree becomes
increasingly detailed with finer branches and enhanced resolution. By testing
individuals from around the world and analyzing their precise placement in the
phylogenetic tree of mankind, scientists are attempting to piece together the
intricate puzzle of ancient human connections and migrations.
My Results
The results of my three DNA tests by Family Tree DNA ordered on December 28,
2013 follow. They are listed in order of their relevance for those who follow this
website.
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA)
This tests a man or woman along their direct maternal line. Known individuals in
the past five generations of my mother’s maternal (and mine) were born in the
Province of Pennsylvania in Colonial America or later in the United States. Their
forebears emigrated almost exclusively from Scotland, the north of Ireland, and
Germany. The seven are my mother, Mabel Florence McKinney (1901-1996), her
mother Rosa Linda Stewart (1868-1943), her mother Christena Hilliard (18401911), her mother Anna Maria Schick ( (1811-1869), her mother Anna Margaret
Mueller (1786-1817), her mother Susanna Lauback (1757-1837), and her mother
Margaretha Elizabeth Jansen (born 1730), my 5th great-grandmother.
My mtDNA Haplogroup is H5a1. There are three levels of matching along with the
number of matches that I have at each level.
Level
Matches
HVR1 - 52 generations about 1,300 years.
2,077
HVR2 – 28 generations about 700 years.
383
HVR1and2 and Coding Region – 5 generations about 125 years.
230
For the above match in each of the levels, I have the name of the individual and
his or her maternal forebear. Unfortunately the majority of these individuals do
not include any detailed information on the forebear nor do they post a GEDCOM
so I am unable generally to determine any specific relationship line.
In addition to the above I have listed these maternal forebears on several project
sites on Family Tree DNA with the following results.
German, listed in the name of my 5th great maternal grandmother, Margaretha
Elizabeth Jansen, born May 15, 1730 Danville, Province of Pennsylvania in Colonial
America. I have a direct match with Susannah Wheeler, born 1677 in Long
Compton, Warwick, Wickshire.
Ireland, I have direct matches with Almira Porter; Ellen Carol, born 1810; Mary
Manning, born 1873, County Cork, Ireland; and Keziah Campbell, born about
1755, North Carolina.
Stewart Clan Society of America listed in the name of my maternal grandmother,
Rosa Linda Stewart. There are no matches.
Autosomal (atMDA)
This tests a couple for all ancestry. It covers both the maternal and paternal sides
of the family tree, so it covers all lineages. It is the combined DNA ancestry of my
father, Joseph Peter Rhein and my mother Mabel Florence McKinney and their
forebears.
It has a feature called Family Finder that includes a component called Population
Finder. It applies principal component analysis to the same autosomal data to
conduct biogeographical analysis (BGA) of the autosomal DNA. The results of this
test provide percentages of a DNA associated with general regions or specific
ethnic groups (ex. Western Europe, Asia, Jewish, Native American, etc.). Unlike
some other testing companies, Family Tree DNA chose to strip out markers for
mendelian medical issues, mtDNA results, and Y-DNA SNP results. X-Chromosome
results are available for download, but are not used by Family Tree DNA's
matching program.
I have 340 matches, generally 2nd to 5th cousins. None of these appear to be on
my paternal side.
My mix is as follows:
British Isles 40%
Scandinavia 28%
Southern Europe 19%
Eastern Europe 6%
Middle eastern Asia Minor 4%
Again, the majority of these individuals do not include any detailed information
on the forebear nor do they post a GEDCOM so I am unable to determine any
specific relationship line. My guess is that they have not done a significant
amount of research on their genealogy lines and are looking direct match.
Y- Chromosome (Y-DNA) Genealogy
This tests a male along his direct paternal line. It requires a male sample provider.
My Y-DNA Haplogroup is E-M96. This line originated in Africa or Asia over 60,000
years ago and the successor groups were later in what are now the Balkans,
Middle East and Southern France 22,000 to 18,000 years before current time. I
have indentified three individuals in Haplogroup E whose early forebear has the
same first twelve markers as my forebear but that relationship dates back at most
a few thousand years and there is no other information. The predecessor or
ancestor Haplogroups are DE the D then E1 – M96.
The chart on the St.Clair/Sinclair web site following illustrates the movement of
Haplogroups DE, then successor D, then successor E, E1-M96, E1a, E1a1 my line. .
Note the migration of the R groups principally to Europe, Scandanavia and Britain.
http://www.stclairresearch.com/images/ChartPath-F.jpg
I have listed my DNA results on the following projects at Family Tree Maker DNA.
Project
Website
http://www.familytreedna.com/public/Alsace/
Alsace
Approximately 18 individuals. I am in E with one other individual
E-V13. Other groups are G with 1, I with 4, J with 1, Q with 1, R 1b1a2 with 8,
One individual ungrouped. R1b1a2 that include three individuals who
married a Herman, Frey, and Gross surnames married to Rheins in
Herrlisheim..
http://www.familytreedna.com/public/e1a1/default.aspx/
E1a1
This is my preferred group. Doug Phelps.
http://www.familytreedna.com/public/frenchheritage/
French_Heritage_DNA
Germany-YDNA
Approximately 2,500 individuals. Primary group is R. Also shown
are E-M78, EL117,E-M34, E-M183, E-V13, and E-CTS6143. I am ungrouped at
E-M96 along with E-M2 and E-M35.
http://www.familytreedna.com/public/germany/
Approximately 3,000 individuals, principally R, G and I. E-M34,
E-M35, E-M78, E-M81, E-V13, and E-V22 are also represented.
I am ungroped at E-M96 along with-L117.
http://www.familytreedna.com/public/HaplogroupE1andE/
E1a-(M33, M132)
Approximately 96 individuals. I am in E1a1 with Moses Yoemans
and others from our group.
http://www.worldfamilies.net/surnames/rinehart/
Rinehart
Approximately 30 individuals. Majority in R1b. I am in E along with
With E-M78 – E1b1b1a.
Switzerland
http://www.familytreedna.com/public/switzerland/
Project
Website
Approximately 200 individuals, principally R. There are some
E-M34, E-M35, E-M84, and E-V13. I am ungrouped along with a
E-L117.
I am not registered on the site for Greece. They show eight individuals with E;
L117 (3), M78 (2), L542 (2) , and DE-M145.
Recently in Ergolding, Bavaria, Germany, not too far Southeast of Alsace, an
archaeological dig by the Bavarian State Department of Monuments and Sights
revealed more than 440 graves. So far, DNA analysis of six of the men of early
adult age was performed.
“These six men were buried together in a wooden chamber, a grave identified as
#244. The individuals were marked as 244A to 244F. Individuals found in the
western part of the chamber (244A, 244B, and 244C) lied straight on the back,
body-by-body, and all 3 men were buried with swords, spears, shields, and spurs,
like heavily armored mounted warriors. Historic value of the artifacts found in the
grave 244 makes this place one of the richest Bavarian burial sites from the lateMerowig period. Grave 244 dates to the period around 670 AD. The eastern part
of the burial chamber with the individuals 244D, 244E, and 244F was robbed and
therefore no valuable artifacts were found. Of the six skeletons tested, four were
of the R1b Haplogroup. Two were of the G2a Haplogroup. It’s unusual to find this
later group in this part of Europe, but it may match up with the Sarmatians, of
Persian nomadic tribes, which moved gradually from the Caspian plains to Eastern
Europe. They lived on the plains between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea,
north of the Caucasus. These people of the Steppes, with their horsemanship,
armor, and female warriors, were early precursors of the knights of the middle
ages. This seems to fit with the fact that three of these skeletons were found with
swords, spears, shields, and spurs. The archaeologists said they appeared to be
heavily armored warriors.”
Twenty four Y-chromosome haplotypes were obtained for most of the men. The
estimated haplogroup for four of the men is R1b and for the other two is G2a. I
matched seven of the markers for the Rb1 men and six for the G2a men, not
enough for anything conclusive. I mention this as an example of the sort of
investigative work that needs to be done in pursuing your Y-DNA.
The R1b Haplogroup is the dominant paternal lineage marker of Western Europe.
It is the dominate marker for the Y-DNA German Project that contains
approximately 3,000 individuals. G2a is also frequently listed. There are a
number of males with the E haplogroup ( including mine) also listed but no
matches.
It is the dominate marker for the Y-DNA Alsace Project that contains 28
individuals. I am listed with one other individual in the E haplogroup but no
matches.
A number of the forebears of Germans and French that have been Y-DNA tested
appear to have left Africa going farther North to Persia, then later to what is now
present day Kazakhstan and later to Europe; the Visigoths, the Alemanni, the
Huns, the Anglo(Angles)-Saxon Invaders, etc. A number later went to Scandinavia,
the Vikings, following the end of the Ice Age some 18,000 to 8,000 years before
current time. And, there are those who came to Gaul and to Britain with the
Roman Legions, some remaining there.
Some Limited Background On My Paternal Forebears
I am the 8th great-grandson of Johann Gaspard Rhein, born 1595 in low Alsace in
the jurisdiction of Hannau-Lichtenberg, the House of Hesse-Darmstadt, the Holy
Roman Empire, later Bas-Rhin, France, later Alsace-Lorraine, Germany, and again
later Bas-Rhin, France. My grandfather, Joseph Rhein, born 1866 in Herrlisheim,
Alsace-Lorraine, immigrated to the United States in 1890 following his military
service in the German Army. On the basis of the research I have done over the
past 45 years (none of it resulting from DNA testing) my grandfather appears to
be the only male descendant of Johann Gaspard Rhein that immigrated to the
United States. I have been unable to locate a living male descendant of Johann
Gaspard Rhein in Europe.
I have a paternal web site at
http://www.rheinandlaeng.net/index3.html that contains 1,178 individuals –
there are no living persons listed on the site.
Some of the early settlers in Herrlisheim in low Alace may have been there in the
year 743 AD when it was conveyed to the Abbey of Wissembourg under the
name of Hariolfesvilla, the farm of Hariolf (Harold). In 1251, the village is the
property of the Counts of Oetigen, landowners of low Alsace who ceded it to
the lords of Lichtenberg in 1332. In 1480 with the death of Jacques de
Lichtenberg the heritage is divided between Phillipe de Hanau and Simon
Wecker the Count of Two-Bridge-Biche. The village is incorporated in 1570 with
the property of Hanau-Lichtenberg with the extinction of Two-Bridge-Biche. On
September 17, 1570, Phillipe IV of Hanau-Lichtenberg, one of the largest
jurisdictions in low Alsace, orders the prohibition of Mass and imposes
Protestant religion in the area. This was known as "cujus regio, ejus religio"
("whose religion, his religion"); that is the religion of the prince is the religion
of the land. The former Roman Catholic church buildings and benefices were
taken over by Protestant Churches. Subsequent to 1570, Hanau-Lichtenberg
became a part of the house of Hesse-Darmstadt. In December 1621 and
January 1622 during the Thirty Years War, Mansfeld's mercenaries raze the
area and the inhabitants of Herrlisheim and Drusenheim take refuge in tents
on the islands of the Rhein River. In the year 1681, Herrlisheim was converted
by force from Protestantism to Catholicism. Herrlisheim lies on a fertile plain
between the Vosges and the Rhine River.
I have 11 great (plus) grandfathers in Alsace whose male descendant married a
female descendant of Johann Gaspard Rhein so my y-DNA or mtDNA testing is not
applicable for these lines.
Some background on the area now known as the Balkans.
Archaeological evidence indicates that the area in what is now the Balkans was
populated well before the Neolithic Period(New Stone Age; about 10,000 years
ago). At the dawn of recorded history, two Indo-European peoples dominated the
area: the Illyrians to the west and the Thracians to the east of the great historical
divide defined by the Morava and Vardar river valleys. The Thracians were
advanced in metalworking and in horsemanship. They intermingled with
the Greeks and gave them the Dionysian and Orphean cults, which later became
so important in classical Greek literature. The Illyrians were more exclusive, their
mountainous terrain keeping them separate from the Greeks and Thracians.
Thracian society was tribal in structure, with little inclination toward political
cohesion. In what was to become a persistent phenomenon in Balkan history,
unity was brought about mostly by external pressure. The Persian invasions of the
6th and 5th centuries BCE brought the Thracian tribes together in the Odrysian
kingdom, which fell under Macedonian influence in the 4th century BCE. The
Illyrians, ethnically akin to the Thracians, originally inhabited a large area from the
Istrian peninsula to northern Greece and as far inland as the Morava River. During
the 4th century BCE they were pushed southward by Celtic invasions, and
thereafter their territory did not extend much farther north than the Drin River.
Illyrian society, like that of the Thracians, was organized around tribal groups who
often fought wars with one another and with outsiders. Under the Celtic threat
they established a coherent political entity, but this too was destroyed by
Macedonia. Thereafter the Illyrians were known mainly as pirates who disturbed
the trade of many Greek settlements on the Adriatic coast. The Romans were also
affected and took police action, annexing much of Illyrian territory in the early 3rd
century BCE. An Illyrian kingdom based in modern-day Shkodër, Albania, remained
an important factor until its liquidation by Roman armies in 168 BCE.
The Romans were different from other major conquerors of the Balkans in that
they first arrived in the west. Later attacks were launched from the southeast as
well, so that by the 1st century CE the entire peninsula was under Roman
control. At the height of Roman power, the Balkan peoples were the most
united of any time in their history, with a common legal system, a single
ultimate arbiter of political power, and absolute military security. In addition, a
vibrant commerce was conducted along the Via Egnatia, a great east-west land
route that led from Dyrrhachium (modernDurrës, Albania) through Macedonia
to Thessalonica (modern Thessaloníki, Greece) and on to Thrace. The
northwestern part of the peninsula, including Dalmatia along the Adriatic coast
as well asPannonia around the Danube and Sava rivers, became the province
of Illyricum. What is now eastern Serbia was incorporated into Moesia, which
reached farther eastward between the Balkan Mountains and the Danube all
the way to the Black Sea. The southeastern part of the peninsula was ruled
as Thrace, and the southern part was brought into Macedonia.
The Romans largely regarded the Danube River as their northern frontier, but in
the 2nd and 3rd centuries their authority was extended northward into Dacia, in
what is now western Romania. Dacia had been the home of a people closely
related to the Thracians. The Dacians had suffered invasion by a number of
peoples, including the Scythians, a mysterious people probably of Iranian origin
who were absorbed into the resident population. In the 3rd century BCE they
managed to contain Macedonian pressure from the south, but in later years they
were much less able to fend off Celtic invaders from the northwest. By the 1st
century CE a substantial Dacian state extended as far west as Moravia and
threatened Roman command of the Danube in the Balkans. The extension of the
Dacian state and Dacian raids across the river into Moesia prompted the
emperor Trajan in the first decade of the 2nd century to march into Dacia,
obliterate the Dacian state and Dacian society, and establish a Roman colony that
lasted until barbarian incursions forced a withdrawal back across the Danube
beginning in 271.
Christendom
The abandonment of Dacia in the second half of the 3rd century was a symptom
of Rome’s decline, leading to major changes in the 4th century. In 330 the
imperial capital was moved to Byzantium, so that any tribe intent on attacking the
seat of Roman power and opulence would thenceforth move through the Balkans
rather than into Italy. In 391 Christianity became the official religion, and in 395
the empire was divided in two. The dividing line ran through the Balkans: Illyricum
went to the western sector under Rome; the remainder went to the eastern half
and was ruled from Byzantium (by this time named Constantinople). This deep
and long-lasting division did little to alleviate the barbarian incursions of the
times. The 5th century saw devastation by, among others, the Alani, the Goths,
and the Huns. Most of these invaders soon left or were assimilated, but such was
not to be the case with the Slavs, who first arrived in the 6th century.
The Slavs were settlers and cultivators rather than plunderers and within 100
years had become a powerful factor in the region. They separated into four main
groups: Slovenes, Croats, Serbs, and Bulgarians (the last being a Turkic tribe,
the Bulgars, that was eventually absorbed by Slavs who had already settled in the
eastern Balkans). Although in 681 the Bulgars established their own state, the
Slavs acknowledged the suzerainty of the emperor in Constantinople.
In the second half of the 9th century, Christianity was adopted by the Bulgarians
and the Serbs, both of whom chose the Byzantine rather than Roman variant of
the new religion. To the north of the Danube, the Romanians, though not Slav,
made the same choice, while the Croats, together with most of the rest of what
had been Rome’s section of the divided empire, became part of the western
Christian community. The Albanians, isolated behind their mountain chains, were
not much affected by either branch of Christianity. The divisions and competition
between Rome and Constantinople intensified, with the two communities
separating irrevocably in 1054. The dividing line of 395 was thus reinforced: the
Croats and Slovenes became an integral part of Roman Catholic Europe, with its
Latin script and culture, and the Serbs, Bulgarians, and Romanians joined the
Greeks in their allegiance to Eastern Orthodoxy.
Conclusion
Of the many genealogy DNA software packages on the market today, Family Tree
DNA, in my view, has the most features and functionally and offers access to
many surname and geographically project sites. I encourage those of you on the
list to do some research on the benefits and limitations before ordering any DNA
testing to make sure it meets your needs. The price differential can be significant.
Genealogy DNA has come a long way but it is not quite the exact science that it
would appear. It is an evolving work. The hundreds of thousands of individuals
who have been tested have overwhelmed the limited resources of companies in
this field who analyze and categorize the results. The results should improve in
the coming years as the technology gets better.
For those of you who may be interested, I use Family Tree Maker software,
currently year 2014, Version 22.0.0.120. I have 9,954 individuals listed, including
the family of a daughter-in-law and the family of a son-in-law.
Sarasota, Florida
July 28th, 2014
Addendum
Haplotree and SNPs (Single-nucleotide polymorphism)
My predicited haplogroup is E-M96:
M96
L504
L507
L614
P29
L339
L537
SRY4064
M40P150
P152
P154
P155
P156
P162
P168
P169
P170
P171
P172
P173
P174
P175
P176
CTS124
PF1459
PF1462
PF1473
PF1477
PF1490
PF1495
PF1501
PF1545
PF1552
PF1554
PF1555
PF1561
PF1563
PF1564
PF1567
PF1608
PF1576
P1583
CS4685
CTS5316
CTS6513
PF1553
CTS1075