Faces of America

Faces of America

with
Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. is now running the series Faces of America on PBS. The Harvard scholar turns to the latest tools of genealogy and genetics to explore the family histories of 12 renowned Americans. Family histories range from Meryl Streep's eighth great-grandfather, who fought in Metacom's War (an English-American Indian conflict in 1675-76) to today's figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi.

The Promise of America

Feb 10th - Feb 16th


Utilizing genealogical and genetic tools, Henry Louis Gates Jr. unearths the family histories of 12 prominent Americans in this series, beginning with cellist Yo-Yo Ma, director Mike Nichols and figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi.







The first episode is also now available on line:

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/facesofamerica/video/episode-1-our-american-stories/190/

Becoming American

Feb 17th - Feb 23rd

The many pathways to America are explored via the ancestral stories of Stephen Colbert, chef Mario Batali, Jordan's Queen Noor and figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi.

Making America

Wednesday, February 24 — Mar 2nd

The peopling of the New World is recalled via the ancestral stories of Meryl Streep and Eva Longoria. Included: Streep's eighth great-grandfather, who fought in Metacom's War (an English-American Indian conflict in 1675-76).

The Record Within

Mar 3rd - Mar 9th


Combining the documented stories of some of the guests' last known ancestors with DNA evidence, the series travels backward through time to reveal both distant relatives and surprising shared ancestral connections.












PBS website: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/facesofamerica/

Local Listings: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/facesofamerica/schedule/

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Charles Darwin Y-DNA

The Y-DNA of Charles Darwin

Deep Ancestry Analyzed

The Genographic Project analyzed the DNA of Charles Darwin (1809-1882). Darwin wrote "On the Origin of Species," the first authoritative work on evolution, following Jean Baptiste de Lamarck (1774-1829).





According to the project director Spencer Wells, Darwin's great-great-grandson tested for deep ancestry at the Genographic Project. G-G-Grandson Chris Darwin migrated from England to Australia in 1986, and now lives near Sydney. (Charles Darwin was from Shropshire in southern England.)

A panel of Genographic scientists gave a public presentation on the results at the Australian Museum in Sydney which included Dr. Spencer Wells, Dr. Ajay Royyuru, Dr. John Mitchell, and Dr. Simon Longstaff.

The complete article at the Genographic Project "news" area is no longer available, but Dienekes' blog reveals that Darwin was Haplotype R1b:

http://dienekes.blogspot.com/2010/02/charles-darwin-belonged-to-y-chromosome.html

More on Darwin:


Story from The Telegraph
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Darwin


Tourist Guide to Darwin's home:

http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/home-of-charles-darwin-down-house/things-to-do/

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Somerset and Dorset Family History Society

Somerset and Dorset Family History Society
A Decade of DNA Testing

The Greenwood Tree, the journal of the Somerset and Dorset Family History Society, has published their February issue. In it, Debbie Kennett wrote a brief article on DNA testing, which mentioned the HAM DNA Project. ("A Decade of DNA Testing," published in "Greenwood Tree.")


The journal is distributed to those who are researching family history in the counties of Somerset and Dorset.


In "A Decade of DNA Testing," Debbie explains that Y-DNA has been used as a tool to confirm documentary research about a surname. She wrote on the subject of DNA testing, and notes that the editor only wanted a short article.

Quote from the article:


"The HAM(M) project will provide 50% of the cost of a test. Other projects will no doubt have similar offers."


O.K., not quite clear there. The editors probably kept the article too brief. The HAM DNA Project can provide 50% of the cost of the test for individuals with financial difficulties, and only if the funds are available within the HAM DNA General Fund. A number of Y-DNA Projects have similar offers.


Thanks Debbie, it is good to seen the HAM DNA Project mentioned in a local journal.



Debbie writes:

"Circulation of the journal is quite small (probably just a few thousand) so there is no guarantee that anyone with your surname will actually read the article."

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If you would like to subscribe to the journal, more information can be found below.

Somerset & Dorset Family History Society
PO Box 4502
Sherborne DT9 6YL, England


The Greenwood Tree web site is located at:

http://www.sdfhs.org/

Magazine can be purchased from the web site.


More information participating in the HAM DNA Project can be found at:

http://www.familytreedna.com


http://ham-country.com/HamCountry/HAM_DNA_Project/HAM_DNA_Project.html

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