dna putting the genes into genealogy...dna} putting the genes into genealogy dna testing can help...

DNA testing for genealogy hasbeen available since 2000,and provides many benefits

for your family tree research orsurname study. There has been steadygrowth in the field every year, withmore people taking a DNA test. As aresult, the databases of results havegrown significantly.

The test with the longest trackrecord is a Y-DNA test. Each of us has23 pairs of chromosomes, with 22 ofthose pairs known as autosomes, andthe 23rd pair is the sex chromosomes.If you have XX for your sexchromosomes, you are a female. Ifyou have XY, you are a male.

The Y-chromosome is passed fromfather to son, typically unchanged. Inmost cultures, surnames follow thisroute. This combination of thesurname and the Y-chromosometravelling the same path is whatmakes this DNA test so powerful forgenealogy. Of course, there are someexceptions, such as voluntary namechange, adoption or an illegitimatemale who takes the mother’s surname.

Surname projectsY-DNA testing is typically organisedin surname projects, which cover asurname and its associated variants.

Some projects also includeexploratory surnames, which are onesthe researchers think may be variants,but they aren’t sure.

A surname project typically has anadministrator, and usually co-admin-istrators to help with the various tasksinvolved. These people are volunteers,and have a wide range of reasons forstarting or joining a project in anadministrator capacity. For example,they may have started the project touse Y-DNA testing to help with abrick wall, or to sort out various treesof the surname in a location wherethe records do not give a definitiveanswer; or perhaps they were curiousto determine if everyone with thesurname is related. Most projects havemultiple goals.

Surname projects are verybeneficial, since they group togetherall those with the surname and itsvariants.

The Ricketts surname project, forexample, was established in 2009,with multiple goals, including tryingto find the surname origin for eachgroup of trees that match.

Ricketts is a multiple-originsurname, which means it came aboutat multiple locations at differenttimes. Most surnames are of this

www.discoveryourancestors.co.uk | DISCOVER YOUR ANCESTORS 82

Katie Edwards / Alamy

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Putting thegenes intogenealogyDNA testing can help find lostbranches of your family tree. Susan C Meates describes howDNA surname projects work

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kind. This means that there will bemultiple different Y-DNA results.Since the genealogical component ofY-DNA covers the time period fromthe adoption of surnames to today,you typically have groups ofdocumented trees which match.Sometimes you can’t find theconnection, since the trees are relatedin the time period between theadoption of surnames and the start ofthe documented trees, where insuffi-cient or no records exist.

The Ricketts surname project is aglobal project, encouraging andrecruiting participants worldwide.One issue that makes the projectdifficult is the frequency of thesurname, with approximately 30,000Ricketts and close variants worldwide.

The Ricketts Family History Project(see box on p86) collaborates with theRicketts surname study, run by Salli(née Ricketts) Dyson of London, andregistered with the Guild of One-Name Studies based in the UK.

Recruiting participants: CanadaDavid Ricketts in Ontario came acrossthe Ricketts project on the internet.From his family history research, heknew his tree connected to theRicketts tree which had been inJamaica from the 1600s until the1800s. Three men from this tree hadalready tested, with each man repre-senting a son of a Ricketts of this tree,born c1680. All three men hadmatched, validating these threebranches of a tree that spannedmultiple centuries. Unfortunately,David’s participation wasn’t needed,since his branch had tested. Even so,David was willing to contact anotherRicketts he knew in Ontario to see ifhis friend would participate.Although they knew each other, theydidn’t know of any connection – DNAwould tell them if they were related.

At this point, the other man,Charles Ricketts in Ontario, hadresearched his tree from Ontario toQuebec to Kent, England, and needed

DISCOVER YOUR ANCESTORS | www.discoveryourancestors.co.uk 83

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to dig out some old records to see ifthe tree could be documented furtherback in time.

Recruiting participants: New ZealandA key element of a surname project isrecruiting participants. Each oneoffers potential for either a match or anew DNA result, providing anopportunity for discoveries andinteresting information.

The Ricketts Family History Project

has taken a very proactive recruitingapproach, mailing letters to Ricketts invarious countries around the world and,if a response isn’t received, following upwith a phone call to explain thediscoveries the male can make and thebenefits to their family history research.In addition, the male Ricketts areinformed about how their participationwill result in a contribution to theknowledge about the surname.

Geoffrey Ricketts in New Zealand

received a letter from the project. Forhim, the letter was intriguing, sinceGeoff had researched his family tree,taking his Ricketts line back to 1790,and had also visited the ancestralhomeland, the parish of East Knoyle inWiltshire. He hadn’t heard of Y-DNAtesting – but was willing to give it a try.

DNA resultsThe result for Charles came back fromthe lab, and he didn’t have any


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Y-DNA resultsTree Result10 13 24 14 10 11 14 12 12 12 13 12 29 17 9 9 11 11 25 15 19 29 15 16 16 17 11 11 19 23 15 15 18 16 39 39 12 1210 13 24 14 10 11 14 12 12 12 13 12 29 17 9 9 11 11 25 15 19 29 15 16 16 17 11 11 19 23 15 15 18 16 39 39 12 1212 13 24 14 10 11 14 12 12 12 13 12 29 17 9 9 11 11 25 15 19 29 15 16 16 17 11 11 19 23 15 15 18 16 39 39 12 1217 13 24 14 10 11 14 12 12 12 13 12 29 17 9 9 11 12 25 15 19 29 15 16 16 17 11 11 19 23 15 15 18 16 39 39 12 1217 13 24 14 10 11 14 12 12 12 13 12 29 17 9 9 11 11 25 15 19 29 15 16 16 17 11 11 19 23 15 15 18 16 39 39 12 12

24 13 24 14 10 11 14 12 12 12 13 12 29 17 9 9 11 11 25 15 19 29 15 16 16 17 11 11 19 23 15 15 18 16 39 39 12 1241 13 24 14 10 11 14 12 12 12 13 12 29 17 9 9 11 11 25 15 19 29 15 16 16 17 11 11 19 23 15 15 18 16 3940 12 1241 13 24 14 10 11 14 12 12 12 13 12 29 17 9 9 11 11 25 15 19 29 15 16 16 17 11 11 19 23 15 15 18 16 3940 12 12

This chart shows Y-DNA results for a group of family trees that match. The red marker(s) are the mutations that have occurred.A mutation is nothing negative, simply the scientist’s name for a change, which happens randomly. These men share a commonancestor between the adoption of surnames and the start of the documented trees, since they share a surname, and nodocumented connection can be found between the trees. Most trees end, going back, in the 1800s or 1700s, and some endearlier in time. The adoption of surnames was a process that occurred from 1250-1450 in England, so Y-DNA also spans the timeperiod from the adoption of the surname to the start of the documented trees, a period of hundreds of years.

Eventually, as a DNA surname study becomes more comprehensive, it becomes possible to link up more and more family treeswith the same surname (although with multiple-origin names some connections may never be found). Pictured here arevarious well-known people with the surname Ricketts, who may or may not be related! From left: British illustrator Charles deSousy Ricketts (1866 – 1931); Claude Vernon Ricketts (1906 - 1964), an admiral in the United States Navy; American marinebiologist Edward Flanders Robb Ricketts (1897 – 1948); Howard Taylor Ricketts (1871 – 1910), an American pathologist; JamesBrewerton Ricketts (1817 – 1887), a Union Army general during the American Civil War; Milton Ernest Ricketts (1913 – 1942),recipient of the US Medal of Honor for his actions in World War Two; Thomas Ricketts (1901 – 1967), a Newfoundlander soldierand recipient of the Victoria Cross

37-marker DNA results for the two Ricketts men13 24 14 11 11-14 12 12 12 13 13 29 16 9-10 11 11 25 15 20 29 15-15-15-17 11 11 19-23 15 16 19 17 38-40 12 1213 24 14 11 11-14 12 12 12 13 13 29 16 9-10 11 11 25 15 20 29 15-15-15-17 11 11 19-23 15 16 19 17 39-40 12 12

These results show a 36/37 match, known as a genetic distance of 1 (the non-matching marker is indicated in red)


Ricketts matches at 37 markers,which is the minimum level requiredfor a genealogical time-frame. He didhave some matches at 12 markerswhich didn’t remain matches at 25 or37 markers. This happens. These 12-marker matches represent ananthropological time frame, and it isjust a coincidence that the men havethe same surname.

Although it was disappointing notto have any genealogical matches,Charles understood that this happenswith a multiple-origin surname, untilthere is a large number of participantsrepresenting most of the family trees.As more people were tested, he wouldmost likely have a match or multiplematches in the future.

The results from Geoffrey in NewZealand came back from the lab, andhe matched Charles in Ontario,Canada. This was quite exciting foreveryone. The two men were a 36/37match (see p84).

East KnoyleCharles had luck when looking in anold trunk and found a copy of adistant Ricketts ancestor’s marriagecertificate from 1846. This ancestorwas married in the parish church ofEast Knoyle. Coincidentally, the New

Zealand man’s tree went back to1790 – also in East Knoyle.

Neither Charles nor Geoff knew ofeach other, or about the commonancestor, or this other branch of theirfamily tree.

Extensive further research wasperformed by the Ricketts FamilyHistory Project, focusing on theparish registers of East Knoyle, whichshowed that both men were in thesame documented family tree. Theircommon ancestor is John Ricketts,baptised in 1766. Each man descendsfrom a different son of John. Agenetic distance of 1, or a 36/37match, is very reasonable for a rela-tionship in this time frame of over250 years. Random mutations or


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� St Mary the Virgin parish church, East Knoyle. Inset: the East Knoyleparish register showing the baptism of Robert Ricketts in 1584

Christopher Wren Senior, rector ofEast Knoyle when Geoffrey andCharles Ricketts’ ancestors wouldhave lived there

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changes occur, typically where amarker increases or decreases by one.We can see the difference of 1 in thetwo markers in their results. We donot know which man represents theancestral result. Further males on thistree would need to be tested todetermine the result for the commonancestor John.

The parish register of East Knoylestarted in 1538. A thorough review ofthe register shows the first Rickettsevent to be recorded was in 1584, withthe baptism of Robert, son ofThomas. The lack of any priorRicketts events indicates, but ofcourse doesn’t prove, that this Rickettstree migrated to East Knoyle by 1584.As more DNA testing is done, weshould find more matches, andperhaps clues about the situation.

Only one tree was present in EastKnoyle since 1584, except for amigration into the parish in the 1800swhere a removal order was thenissued. Unfortunately, there are noRicketts remaining in this parishtoday. Many lines daughtered out, andsome disappeared, and we have notyet found where they went.

The ancestors of Geoffrey andCharles are buried at East Knoyle.Various gravestones give tribute to theseancestors, though the moss is makingthe stones very hard to decipher.

Dr Christopher Wren wasappointed rector of East Knoyle in1623, and remained in that positionuntil 1646. Dr Wren (father of thearchitect of the same name) was laterDean of Windsor and Registrar of theOrder of the Garter. We can onlyimagine what impact Dr Wren had onthe Ricketts in his parish.

ConclusionDNA testing is a very powerful toolwhen combined with your familyhistory research.

It opens the door todiscoveries that can’t bemade from the paperrecords alone, plusprovides an opportunityto confirm research andenables you to sort outmultiple families in thesame location.

You may discover lostbranches of your familytree, and these maypoint you to a newlocation for research.For those who cannotmake a document-based connection totheir ancestralhomeland, DNA isinvaluable.


SUSAN C MEATES has over 20years’ experience in performing asurname study, which involvedextensive research in Ireland andEngland. She also started one of the

first 25 DNA projects in the world, recruiting over300 men in 17 countries, and made significantdiscoveries about her surname and variants.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

The Ricketts Family History Project collaborates with the Rickettssurname study run by Salli (née Ricketts) Dyson, and is registeredwith the Guild of One-Name Studies, London, England. Salli holdsrecords from over 40 years of research. The Ricketts Family HistoryProject combines genealogy research with DNA testing to make awide variety of discoveries, including but not limited to connectingbranches of family trees, sorting out various family trees in onelocation, making connections to the ancestral homeland, discoveriesabout the surname, migrations, surname evolution, connectinggroups of family trees who share a surname origin, and workingtowards discovering the various origins of the surname. Its goal is totest two distant males from each tree. Over 200 males, who live in avariety of countries, have tested. Testing is sponsored. Pleasecontact the project to participate or for additional information:

• Email: [email protected] • UK freephone: 0800 689 9949 (please leave a message)• All other countries: +1 303 422 9371 (GMT -7) – please reverse charges• Postal mail UK: The Ricketts Family History Project UK Office, 3Wintergreen Chilvester Park, Calne SN11 0RS UK• Postal Mail Australia: The Ricketts Family History Project AustraliaOffice, 22 Kirrawee Avenue, Kirrawee, New South Wales 2232Australia • Postal Mail USA: The Ricketts Family History Project PO Box 564,Wheat Ridge, CO 80034 USA

THE RICKETTS FAMILY HISTORY PROJECT

DNA}Some of the many Y-DNA resultsgathered together by the Rickettssurname project, which can be foundat www.familytreedna.com/public/Ricketts/



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Y-DNATests the Y-chromosome which is passed from fatherto son, typically unchanged. This test providesinformation about the direct male line, ie the male whotests, his father, his father’s father, and so on back intime. You must be a male to take this test, since onlymales have a Y-chromosome.The result for this test, combined with the surname,

provides matches in a genealogical time frame. Theresult will also supply anthropological information, andyour major population group.

mtDNAThis test, of mitochondrial DNA, provides informationabout the direct female line, ie the mother, themother’s mother, and so on. Both men and womeninherit the mtDNA of their mother, though onlyfemales pass it on. mtDNA is found in each of our cells.

There are specific instances where this test will helpgenealogy, and for those curious about their directfemale line, the anthropological information is veryinteresting. There are limited genealogical applica-tions, especially since females typically change theirsurname upon marriage.

Autosomal This DNA test looks at your autosomes, or the 22 pairsof non-sex chromosomes. Some vendors also provideinformation on the X and Y chromosomes. Vendorstypically state that this test has value about fivegenerations back. To get the most benefit from thistest, your tree should be well researched. The value of this test is in finding matches from any

branch of your tree, as a result of segments of DNApassed down to you by your ancestors. Often thesematches will help you overcome a brick wall.

MAJOR DNA TESTS FOR GENEALOGY


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