Roache/Roach/Roche/Roch Family DNA Project

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Group Administrator: Jim Roache jfroache@sympatico.ca

Background

Project Surnames:

equivalent names in other languages.	Roach	Roache	Roch
Roche

Group General Fund:

Y-DNA37 2007 Gift Certificate $30* - Kit 111059

Project Background:

Scientists believe that a single family tree unites all humanity. The roots of this tree lie more than 100,000 years in the past. As the tree’s branches multiply, they record the history of our race and dramatic stories of how groups of humans explored and populated our planet.

From a simple mouth swab, FTDNA can identify key genetic markers within your DNA. By comparing these markers with genetic information taken from others, it is sometimes possible to connect family members to a common ancestor - even where no paper trail exists.

This technology is not 100% reliable, not a "magic bullet", but it is not a scam in this case either. FTDNA is the most reputable company I could find. They have qualified geneticists involved, follow professionally recognised scientific protocols and their support staff could not be more helpful nor co-operative. I wish I could report as positively on other companies, but I cannot. DNA gives PROBABILITIES of reliability based on the number of your markers which match those of others tested to date. In combination with oral or written data you might already have, it can often provide the missing piece of you puzzle - or it can let you know that you paper chase has taken a wrong turn.

We can do the test much more cost-effectively now than in the past. The more people tested, the better chance of a match - because results can be compared, not only with members of this "family" (actually a group of three genetic "families" using the same surname), but with all results in the FTDNA and other data banks.

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Project Goals:

The Y chromosome (yDNA) provides a powerful tool for discovering ancestral male lineages because, unlike other chromosomes, its DNA does not change much as it is passed down from father to son.

Occasionally, however, when a Y chromosome is passed on, its genetic code undergoes a very small alteration (mutation). Most are completely harmless and so are eventually passed on to succeeding generations. Over time, additional alterations occur. In this way, separate male lineages become different from one another.

Only males inherit a Y chromosome. Surname analysis, therefore, can only be performed on male DNA. However, women can get information by using a sample from a male relative.

By comparing men’s Y chromosomes, it is possible to judge how closely they are related. If their genetic codes are very similar, we can say that they share a common male ancestor in the recent past. The more differences in their genetic codes, the more generations have passed since their last common ancestor.

Scientists have used this principle to compare the DNA from thousands of men around the world. As early groups of humans spread out from our point of origin, family lines gradually began to diverge. It is these different lineages that form the separate branches of the global family tree and can sometimes tell us where we belong on it.

By comparing female (mtDNA), it is possible to judge how closely they are related. If their genetic codes are very similar, we can say that they share a common female ancestor in the recent past. The more differences that have accumulated in their genetic codes, the more generations have passed since their last common ancestor. But of course, that is biological and of little use in Surname research because women have tended to change their surnames at marriage (sometimes more than once as they re-married).

Project News:

The Roache Families DNA Project, which includes all variant spellings – in English and other languages – including those no longer in use – is for those who can’t entirely document their Family History using a conventional paper trail beyond a certain point in time.

The paper trail consists of birth, marriage and death indices, plus census documents, land grants, wills, immigration records, service records, etc. The Panal Laws in Ireland,the loss of life during the Diaspora, the sheer number of os with so few first names, and the loss or destruction of records that did exist has made it extremely difficult to accurately get very far back in time historically.

This has caused desperation at times and people have simply assumed linkages where they may or may not exist. We need to get around the roadblocks and confusion using another method – DNA analysis.

Since surnames came into existence, diverse spellings have evolved. For the most part, and contrary to popular opinion, these variations are of little significance.

With no Roache-Roach-Roche-Roch confirmed matches to date, it is interesting to see other "families" do so well. Even related families sharing our group have matches.

So if your name is Ro(a)ch(e), you are “into” family history, and you are stuck, yDNA testing may help. The cost has come down significantly in recent years, and, if you find a match, it is well worth it! There is no reason to fear :Big Brother" here --- if Big Brother wants a sample, he will get it from you; he will have no need to do to a labs in the U.S. for a sample.

Two things do perples me - one is that people pay for a test and then don't kkeep their e-mail contact current - so if a match is found, they cannot be reached. The second is when we find a match and people refuse to make contact and follow through to see if it is a false positive or if there really is a link. We have both in our Group, so I do hope, these membrs come around.

Project Results:

The results can be quite surprising - some of even our limited sample match men with other surnames and some with the same surnames are not related and really cannot be considered part of the same racial stock!

Quite honestly, it helps if you know another male from the same part of the world or one who is a suspected “relative”. Other families have had amazing luck, but, so far, we have no Ro(a)ch(e) matches. We have found that we are from three entirely different racial groups (haplogroups)!

As Group Admin, I expected two, but the third was a surprise, primarily because there are so many of them in Ireland. Three different racial groups and and the same surname helps explain the lack of matches in our small sample. As more men take part, the chances of finding a direct connection increase, but men of our surname are not cominf forward quickly nor en masse as I had hoped.

DNA Test Results (mtDNA) for Project Members