The Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) Haplogroup H & HV Project- Background

mtDNA Haplogroups H and HV are Eurasian Haplogroups which likely arose in Central Asia. Branches of H and HV migrated into Europe where H became the dominant maternal lineage while HV remained a much smaller population. H is believed to make up 40-50% of the mtDNA lineages in Western Europe. Much of the research of Human mtDNA only compares mutations in the HVR1 and HVR2 control regions, a smaller but more rapidly changing portion of the mtDNA molecule, which provides a false feeling of sameness to the members of the many subgroups, or clades.

Goals

The primary goal of this project is to explore the individual identity of each subclade. We are working to:

• Educate members of this highly successful mtDNA Clade about their shared heritage.
• Build a sense of community.
• Recognize population clusters in the Clade and Subclades.

Altogether, the project has more than 5,000 participants, making it the largest public mtDNA Haplogroup project. We are working together to understand the dynamics of a lineage that has its oldest branches in Central Asia, the Indian subcontinent, and across Northern Africa yet has a large population from the Iberian peninsula up to Scandinavia.

Organization

The main project is meant to be the home of all who have tested as Hs, HVs, or any subclade. Here we sort project members by the location of their maternal ancestor. This places your results beside those project members who are most likely to share ancestry with you in the genealogical time frame. There are also special subproject areas for those who have taken the Mitochondrial DNA full genomic sequence (mtGenome) test. These are dedicated to the discovering of new subclades and mapping geographic migration patterns. When you receive your mtGenome results you are added to the appropriate subgroup by a member of the project team. Please do maintain your membership in the main project as this allows us to track your membership. As announced at the Spring 2009 Conference in Houston, TX, Family Tree DNA has removed the limit on the number of projects that you may belong to. Please join all projects that seem appropriate.

Leadership

Rebekah A. Canada

Volunteer Administrator: Rebekah has been interested in genealogy since she was seven. It was then that she first began reading the family genealogy compiled by a distant cousin. Twelve years ago she began active work to expand her family tree and research neglected branches. She has her B.S. in Computer Information Systems and is working on her Masters. Her favorite part of DNA Genealogy is making it accessible to the those without a technical background. When she is not working on genealogy she enjoys reading, long walks, and photography.

Charles Moore

Subclade Coordinator: Charles is a retired Financial Manager living in Houston, TX. He has inherited several genealogical documents and possessions, such as 200-yr-old parchment deeds, family bibles, a 200-yr-old silver serving spoon, and a muzzle-loader long rifle custom-made and engraved by his great-grandfather's uncle. His ancestry is traced to the early VA colony at Jamestown, as well as Ulster Scots, and French Huguenots. DNA reveals that his Scots maternal grandfather really descended from Norwegian Vikings, his Irish paternal grandfather really descended from Angles or Saxons, and his English maternal grandmother may have descended from Romans. He is currently participating in the Walk Through the Y Project.

Elizabeth Kipp

Subclade Coordinator: Elizabeth is a graduate in English and Canadian Studies from the National Institute for Genealogical Studies which is part of the Faculty of Information Studies at the University of Toronto (Professional Learning Certificate in Genealogical Studies (PLCGS)). She has a strong interest in history from a genealogical viewpoint and in particular DNA studies and Palaeography with respect to genealogy and is intending to assist in the further development of these two aspects of genealogy. She has given eleven talks on DNA and is currently a co-investigator for the T_FGS project. She is a member of the Guild of one name studies researching the Pincombe and Siderfin families worldwide.

Joan C. Foster

Subclade Coordinator: Joan's interest in genealogy began in 1973; she and her brother found old documents while closing their family home in Santa Fe. They agreed she would undertake to learn why their parents had these faded wills and letters, some dating from the 1700s. No one was left to ask, so Joan's new hobby began with the people in the documents; she used them to populate the generations between them and her grandparents — excellent training for the reverse genealogy often needed for DNA work. Before retiring, she used her BA in English as a production editor for college science textbooks and her art for some scientific illustration. Besides raising a family and between books, she also created enamels, mostly cloisonné. As enameling seemed the perfect addition of science to art, DNA now seems the perfect addition of science to genealogy; both provide a reality check on anticipated results. Envious that her husband's Y-DNA tests proved that a family secret was true, she tested her mtGenome to discover not only that she is a very rare H4, but that serendipity has provided her with a perfect match — so unusual that they are probably related in a genealogical time frame. She acknowledges she doesn't know much about H4 yet, but she's slowly learning the jargon. She also challenges her mind by playing Euro-style board games as often as she can; she has to keep up with her grandsons.

Paul Malysz

Subclade Coordinator: Paul's first taste of genealogy was going to a courthouse with his sister when he was 8, going through newspapers and microfilm for his maternal side. Decades later, with his daughter was on the way, Paul's interest in genealogy, and in particular DNA genealogy grew. In 2006 when he received the results for his full MTDNA sequence, he was classified as an H*; with no defined subclade. A year later the research had finally caught up and with the help of the H Project, brought H16 as a known and test reported group at FTDNA. As of 2009 he has two full sequence matches, though not related in the past couple hundred years. His day job is with a non-profit community based eldercare organization as a member of the IT department with almost 20 years of experience with technology. He is also currently attending community college with a goal of completing an associates degree in something before his school tenure hits seven years.

Debra S. Katz

Advisory Committee: Debra has been researching her family history for over 20 years and has spent the last 9 years exploring the new frontiers of genetic genealogy. She loves piecing together information from history, cultural anthropology, genetics and genealogy to uncover both the recent and ancient migration paths of her family lines. So far, she's analyzed the DNA story for 14 of her 16 grandparental lines, so the full picture is emerging. Born and raised in southern California, Debra now lives near San Francisco with her husband and two teenage children.

Judy Simon

Advisory Committee: Judy Simon's interest in genealogy began when she was four years old, badgering grandma to identify every single person in the big box of photos and explaining how each one was related to us. She is still obsessively researching her mother's Ashkenazi family from Latvia and her father's Ashkenazi family from Poland. Special interests include anything having to do with genetic genealogy, finding descendants of holocaust survivors on her father's side and tracing deep Sephardic roots on her mother's side. She and her husband Gary contributed four members to the family tree. When she is not doing genealogical research, she practices social work and reminisces about the years she used to be a statistician and epidemiologist. Judy and her husband Gary live in New York but are California dreamin'.

Marianne Dillow

Advisory Committee: Marianne became involved in genealogy after watching the mini series Roots by Alex Haley. Her research started in 1982 on both her Mother and Father's lineages. She is currently working on her brick walls. She is interested in country origins. Her fathers lineage consists mainly of Dutch/German with one line of Scotch and one Tuscarora Indian lineage while her Mother's lineages came from the British Isles to Virginia in which she has two lines that connect to the Plantagenets. She is retired from state government in the field of mental health. On the side, she has been involved in tennis photography for Billie Jean King and Elton John. She has tested her mtGenome and is an H1a1 looking for more matches.

Membership

The Project is open to all who have tested at Family Tree DNA or one of their affiliates. We do ask that our members upload to MitoSearch, update their account settings, and follow the Golden Rule.

MitoSearch

1. Upload your results to MitoSearch.
2. If you have one, add your GEDCOM file to MitoSearch. If you do not have a GEDCOM then myHeritage it a great service that allows for free online pedigree creation and editing.
3. Include a paper trail lineage in your "additional information" field at mitosearch. Here is an example:

   Kit: XXXXXX
    Bill
      Son of Ruth Elaine
        Daughter of Antonina V Canciamillia b. 1909 Los Angeles, CA
          Daughter of Mary Palisi b. 14 Nov 1884, New Orleans, LA
            Daughter of Anna Arisco b. 11 Oct 1857, Contessa Entellina, Palermo, Sicily
              Daughter of Antonina Ferro b. c. 1825, Sicily
                Daughter of Maria Mangiaracina

Account Settings

1. Please keep your mtDNA results turned on. We cannot help you understand them if we cannot see them.
2. Add the information for your maternal ancestor --this is always a woman. If you are adopted please provide an approximate location and time frame.
3. Add the geographic coordinates for your maternal ancestor.

Manners

Be kind and courteous to your fellow project members and to Family Tree DNA staff.