About us
The objectives of this project are:
1. To test the assumption that all U.S. Albros are descendants of John Albro of Portsmouth.
2. To determine whether specific haplotypes identify specific lines of descent from John Albro.
3. To find related individuals in England, which may allow us to connect John Albro to his ancestors.
Most attempts of Albros to trace their family trees are based on the assumption that they should be able to trace their line back to John Albro, who emigrated from England to Boston in 1634 and who was one of the founders of Portsmouth, Rhode Island in 1638. Many find themselves at dead ends, unable to make the connection. Both 1. and 2. above, if accomplished, would help those researchers break their brick walls. On the other hand those researchers who have successfully traced the path from themselves back to John Albro of Portsmouth can not presently trace the line any further back, since we do not know who John Albro's parents were. Objective 3. above addresses this problem.
To accomplish objective number one will require a large number of Albros representing as many lines of descent as possible. This is primarily a statistical study; that is, the more participants whose haplotypes are consistent with a common ancestor, the higher the probability that the assumption is correct. Objective number two can have partial answers depending on the number of lines represented, and the number of individuals in each line. Objective number three, obviously, will only be achievable if the project receives participants in England who have known antecedents.
Simply developing a significant database of Albro haplotypes may make it possible to answer other questions for the participants. For example:
· Can I confirm that my Albro ancestry follows a particular line of descent?
· Has there been a non-paternity event (e.g. an adoption) that breaks my apparent line of ancestry?
· Are U.S. surnames Albro, Albrow, Albrough, etc. simply spelling variants, or are there different ancestral origins?
· My surname is not Albro, but there is a family legend that my real great grandfather was an Albro. Is that legend true or false?
Those who are considering joining this project must ask themselves if they are really prepared to accept the surprise of finding a non-paternity event in their ancestry, should it happen. The two most common reasons for a non-paternity event are adoption, and illegitimacy. If you would really rather not know, don't join. If the truth is important to you, join.
As with all surname projects, this one is based on analysis of specific markers on the Y-chromosome. Chromosomes are long strands of DNA that contain your genetic “blueprint”. The Y-chromosome is that one of the 46 chromosomes in each of your cells that was passed on to you unchanged from your father, his father before him, and so on. Only males have a Y chromosome, which is why this study is limited to males. All your other nuclear chromosomes are “shuffled” at each generation, so they are of little use for genealogical research. Mothers pass on an extra-nuclear chromosome called the mitochondrial chromosome, and fathers can not pass that one on. That chromosome is very useful in answering some specific questions about maternal origins, but is not surname – related.
To anticipate some concerns you might have, no blood is drawn in this test. There are no known diseases related to the Y chromosome; moreover, the portion of the DNA that is monitored in this analysis is called “junk DNA”, and is outside the region where your genes are located. Even if the extreme security provided by the analytical company were breached, there is no way your results could be used against you by your insurance company! While the haplotypes (results for each participant) must be able to be compared to be of any use to the project, the participants will not be identified to the other participants unless they want to be. Obviously, the project coordinator (me) will be able to communicate with the other participants, since he must be able to discuss their results with them. Incidentally, you need an email account in order to be a participant.
Family Tree DNA recommends that you opt for the 12-marker determination (Y12). This is the least expensive option. When you find an exact match of the 12 markers with those of some other participant, they recommend you expand your haplotype to 25 or more markers. Since they still have your original DNA sample, they can provide this increased data set for the difference in price between having had a 12- vs. a 25-marker analysis in the first place. The more markers included in two exactly matching haplotypes, the fewer the generations back to your most recent common ancestor.
Alternatively, you might want to save the time involved, and opt for a 25-marker analysis in the first place. Each analytical run can take from one to two months before your results come back. Fully exploring the implications of those results can take even longer.
1. To test the assumption that all U.S. Albros are descendants of John Albro of Portsmouth.
2. To determine whether specific haplotypes identify specific lines of descent from John Albro.
3. To find related individuals in England, which may allow us to connect John Albro to his ancestors.
Most attempts of Albros to trace their family trees are based on the assumption that they should be able to trace their line back to John Albro, who emigrated from England to Boston in 1634 and who was one of the founders of Portsmouth, Rhode Island in 1638. Many find themselves at dead ends, unable to make the connection. Both 1. and 2. above, if accomplished, would help those researchers break their brick walls. On the other hand those researchers who have successfully traced the path from themselves back to John Albro of Portsmouth can not presently trace the line any further back, since we do not know who John Albro's parents were. Objective 3. above addresses this problem.
To accomplish objective number one will require a large number of Albros representing as many lines of descent as possible. This is primarily a statistical study; that is, the more participants whose haplotypes are consistent with a common ancestor, the higher the probability that the assumption is correct. Objective number two can have partial answers depending on the number of lines represented, and the number of individuals in each line. Objective number three, obviously, will only be achievable if the project receives participants in England who have known antecedents.
Simply developing a significant database of Albro haplotypes may make it possible to answer other questions for the participants. For example:
· Can I confirm that my Albro ancestry follows a particular line of descent?
· Has there been a non-paternity event (e.g. an adoption) that breaks my apparent line of ancestry?
· Are U.S. surnames Albro, Albrow, Albrough, etc. simply spelling variants, or are there different ancestral origins?
· My surname is not Albro, but there is a family legend that my real great grandfather was an Albro. Is that legend true or false?
Those who are considering joining this project must ask themselves if they are really prepared to accept the surprise of finding a non-paternity event in their ancestry, should it happen. The two most common reasons for a non-paternity event are adoption, and illegitimacy. If you would really rather not know, don't join. If the truth is important to you, join.
As with all surname projects, this one is based on analysis of specific markers on the Y-chromosome. Chromosomes are long strands of DNA that contain your genetic “blueprint”. The Y-chromosome is that one of the 46 chromosomes in each of your cells that was passed on to you unchanged from your father, his father before him, and so on. Only males have a Y chromosome, which is why this study is limited to males. All your other nuclear chromosomes are “shuffled” at each generation, so they are of little use for genealogical research. Mothers pass on an extra-nuclear chromosome called the mitochondrial chromosome, and fathers can not pass that one on. That chromosome is very useful in answering some specific questions about maternal origins, but is not surname – related.
To anticipate some concerns you might have, no blood is drawn in this test. There are no known diseases related to the Y chromosome; moreover, the portion of the DNA that is monitored in this analysis is called “junk DNA”, and is outside the region where your genes are located. Even if the extreme security provided by the analytical company were breached, there is no way your results could be used against you by your insurance company! While the haplotypes (results for each participant) must be able to be compared to be of any use to the project, the participants will not be identified to the other participants unless they want to be. Obviously, the project coordinator (me) will be able to communicate with the other participants, since he must be able to discuss their results with them. Incidentally, you need an email account in order to be a participant.
Family Tree DNA recommends that you opt for the 12-marker determination (Y12). This is the least expensive option. When you find an exact match of the 12 markers with those of some other participant, they recommend you expand your haplotype to 25 or more markers. Since they still have your original DNA sample, they can provide this increased data set for the difference in price between having had a 12- vs. a 25-marker analysis in the first place. The more markers included in two exactly matching haplotypes, the fewer the generations back to your most recent common ancestor.
Alternatively, you might want to save the time involved, and opt for a 25-marker analysis in the first place. Each analytical run can take from one to two months before your results come back. Fully exploring the implications of those results can take even longer.