More Lutter DNA

It happened last month and again this month.

Another Lutter has been found through DNA testing.

At Ancestry.com, my paternal aunt shares one segment of DNA with someone who had ancestors of German origin living in Newark, New Jersey. This person also shares DNA with a Lutter cousin.

I started the research with Lydia Bischoff, the great grandmother of the DNA match. She was born about 1861 in Germany. In 1876 she married Albin Oeler in Newark. Only the names of the fathers were provided on this document filed with the State: Anton and Hugo. Albin died in Newark in 1891. Lydia remarried Oswald Schoener in 1892. Her mother's name on this record appears to be Henrietta. No surname given.

By 1900, Lydia had relocated to Brooklyn, New York.

Lydia Bischoff (listed as Lillian here) with second husband Oswald Schoener,
plus her children from both marriages,
at 289 Knickerbocker Avenue in Brooklyn.

Passport photograph of Lydia Schoener 1922

Lydia had a brother, Edwin Anton Bischoff (1866-1923). (Coincidentally, I photographed Edwin's grave over fifteen years ago at Hollywood Cemetery in Union, New Jersey as I attempted to trace my Bishop line.)

Edwin's documents provided the link to Lutter.

In 1891, Edwin married Louise Bechmann (1869-1944) in Newark. His mother's name looks like Nanette Lutter.

On Edwin's death certificate from 1923, his mother's name is Henrietta Lutter.

I located Annetta Lutter and Hugo Bischoff in the 1880 census in Newark. Annetta's age was 45, making her year of birth around 1835. I last found them in the 1885 New Jersey state census. Hugo died 1893 and was buried in Woodland Cemetery. I do not know what became of Annetta. Her death certificate could list her parents.

My great great grandfather, Herman Lutter, was born in 1861. Annetta would have been too old to be a sibling. More records are needed to reveal the relationship.

DNA Matches Released by Living DNA

Living DNA (LivingDNA.com) has entered the pool of companies offering genetic matching to relatives.

This feature, called Family Networks, is in the Beta stage, so we can expect additional features and tools in the future.

You do not have to test with this company. For FREE, you can upload a DNA file from a site where you have tested.

I tested with Living DNA in October 2016. The attraction was a detailed break down of ancestry within Great Britain and Ireland. You can view the results here.

In October 2017 I uploaded my mother's DNA file from 23 And Me (23andMe.com). The breakdown of ancestry is apparently not available for transferred files, unfortunately.

My only DNA relative in the database is my mother.

Including me, my mother has three matches. She has thousands at the other major testing companies.

The percentage of shared DNA was exciting. These people could be second or third cousins. But the centimorgans placed the matches in the fourth to fifth cousin range (assuming no endogamy, which is a frequent barrier in my mother's tree). It looks like Living DNA calculates the percentage at double compared to the formulas at other DNA sites.

I sought to view the shared DNA segments for a better idea of how close these people might be, but no segment information or chromosome browser is available at this time.

I tried to message the matches to request a family history. The messaging feature is not available yet.

I am glad that My Living DNA is participating in relative matching. Hopefully new tools will make this another useful site for genetic genealogy.

Viewing a Family Tree at My Heritage

My Heritage now offers pedigree views of family trees. This was a desperately needed modification.

In this view, you can see the ancestors of a person.

My Heritage originally offered only a "family view." If you clicked on a person, you saw one line of ancestors and could not click back to the original person. This made navigating a tree frustrating.

I discussed this issue three years ago.

My Heritage became an important factor in genealogy research when the DNA testing site 23andMe enabled customers to link to My Heritage to display family trees.

My Heritage is free to sign up, but a subscription charge must be paid to add larger trees and access records.

My Heritage offers its own autosomal DNA testing services. The price for a kit is in line with the other testing companies. DNA tested at My Heritage is compatible to upload to GedMatch.

If you tested your DNA elsewhere, you can upload the file for free to My Heritage for an ethnicity estimate and family matches. No subscription is required to access this information.

I have found many more matches from United Kingdom at My Heritage as compared to the other testing companies.

In the examples below, the tester's parents were from Ireland. At other testing sites, he has many distant matches. At My Heritage, he has several close matches.

Sale Continues at Family Tree DNA

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Use a coupon code for additional savings.

The Family Finder test can be taken by anyone and is a great start to your genetic genealogy pursuits.

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Living DNA Accepting Transfers (For Free)

Earlier this year I tested my autosomal DNA with Living DNA.

This company does not provide relative matching, which is my main focus in testing DNA. Instead, Living DNA provides a detailed ethnicity breakdown concentrated in Great Britain and Ireland.

Interesting, but I have not made much use of these results in my research.

In October, Living DNA began accepting uploads of files from other DNA testing sites. This means that you do not have to send in a specimen.

Living DNA calls this endeavor One Family One World.

Relative matching is a predicted future service, which is great.

While logged into my account, I uploaded my mother's DNA file from 23andMe using this link. (She is deceased, so she cannot test anymore. I have only her DNA computer file to work with.)

I had to wait for "transfer instructions" in an email.

Now we wait until next year for possible relatives to appear for my mother at Living DNA.

Next, I tried my father. I could not upload his file using my account.

You need a separate email address for every file transfer. So I uploaded both parents and that was it. I could create several more email addresses just to upload more people to Living DNA, but that would be onerous.

If Living DNA wants to grow its database of participants, requiring separate emails hinders this goal. But the price is unbeatable.

DNA of Preston Sheehy Descendants at 23andMe

Another Preston/Sheehy cousin tested his DNA at 23andMe.com. K.J. is the father of D.J., who tested four years ago. D.J. was the first relative I identified from my DNA pursuits.

Below is the family tree of the descendants of John Preston (1857-1928) and Bridget Sheehy (1857-1916) who tested at 23andMe.

Below is the chromosome browser view of the shared DNA between K.J. and his three second cousins. Note the wide variation in the amount shared from 195 centimorgans (cM) to 364.

Also important is that the amount of shared DNA drops when we shift from father to son. The amount was not halved; it was quartered. (This is why it is best to test members of the oldest living generation whenever possible.)

23andMe has an "In Common With" feature. This list shows DNA testers who match you and a target person. In the scenario below, I looked for relatives in common with my mother and K.J. Sharing the same DNA indicates that the DNA tester is likely from their shared Preston/Sheehy lines. One DNA tester, R.S., could be a viable lead.

R.S. shares a segment of DNA with the oldest generation of Preston/Sheehy descendants. The chromosome browser reveals that my mother shares the longest segment and this segment broke in the middle. My uncle received one piece while K.J. and my mother's first cousin received the other piece.

R.S. has no family tree offered through 23andMe. This is a common problem with matches at 23andMe- the lack of genealogical information and interest.


The other observation to garnish from this information is that the amount of shared DNA skews greatly beyond the parent - child relationship. In groups on FaceBook, I often see people trying to determine generations or half relationships based on the amount of shared DNA of people well beyond a sibling relationship. You simply cannot do this based on shared DNA alone.

Please see the latest Shared Centimorgan Project by Blaine Bettinger for the ranges of DNA shared by relatives up to a fourth cousin. The numbers found in my cousin comparisons fall within these expected amounts.

Triple Cousins

Two interesting DNA matches appeared at 23andMe on my father's side.

They are close cousins to each other.  Each shares one to four small segments of DNA with my father and his siblings.

Sharing several small segments can indicate endogamy, or intermarrying within a small group of people over several generations.

Below is the DNA shared by my aunt and these two matches.

A comparison of family trees produced the same location of Morris County, New Jersey.  From there, we had to figure out the common ancestors, which turned out to be on more than one line, as predicted by the DNA.  These two DNA cousins are descended from Anna Augusta Cook (born 1843) and James Augustus Estler (1840-1921).

The common ancestors were:

- John Cook (1745-1821) and Jane Peer (dates not determined): My sixth great grandparents.
  My line descends from their son, Henry Cook (1777-1831).
  The Estler/Cook cousins descend from another son, David Cook (1780-1860).

- George Wiggins (dates not determined) and Unknown: My sixth great grandparents.
  My line descends from their daughter, Susannah Wiggins.
  The Estler/Cook cousins descend from another daughter, Jemima Wiggins (1780-1851).

Yes, two brothers married two sisters.

- Jacob vanderHoof (1774-1847) and Ann Hopler (1772-1841): My fifth great grandparents.
  My line descends from their daughter, Elizabeth vanderHoof (1799-1878).
  The Estler Cook cousins descend from another daughter, Charlotte vanderHoof (1809-1886).



A family tree contained a picture of James Augustus Estler and ten of his children.  These children are my cousins in three different ways.

If anyone has further information on Wiggins in Morris County, New Jersey, please reach out to me.  Thank you.

Expanding the Lutter Branch

I have more information on the first direct line Lutter DNA match found at Ancestry.com last month among my father's results.

This DNA match descends from Charles Lutter, born about 1862 in Germany.  Charles may have been a brother to my great great grandfather, Herman Lutter (1860-1924).  If not brothers, they were close cousins.  The amount of shared DNA skews beyond the parent-child relationship, so the amount of shared DNA alone will not tell us how current descendants are precisely related.

The family tree below illustrates the possible relationship.

Explanation of the Relations

- The father of Otto and Herman Lutter is given as William or Wilhelm on their records; their mother's name differed every time.
- Ottillia's age is unknown; Otto was born in the 1840s.  Herman and the other possible siblings were born in the 1860s.  They might not share the same mother.
- Herman Lutter's will named Otto as his brother and Ottillia as his deceased sister.  No other siblings were mentioned.
- Ottillia had three children according to Herman's will.  They were Paul, Edeline, and Anna Michel and they lived in Neuhaus, Theuringen, Germany.  I do not know what became of them.
- Otto had children, but only one, Augusta, lived to adulthood.  She had one child, James Michael Kittson (1919-2003), who had no known issue.


Explanation of the DNA

The amount of shared DNA is from Ancestry.com.  One of the matches would have to share results with my account in order for me to see how much DNA they share with each other.  Ideally, they would both upload to GedMatch.com so that I could see the shared segments on my father's genome and attribute those areas to Lutter inheritance.

Charles' descendant and my father are second cousins, once removed if they above diagram is correct.  They share 150 cM of DNA, which is on the high end, but still within range, of the expected amount of DNA shared between people of this relation.

Alexander's descendant and my father are third cousins, once removed.  They share only 23 cM of DNA.  Once we reach the third cousin level, we might see no shared DNA.  So this amount is within the range of expected DNA.


The Paper Trail

The only clue that Herman was related to a Charles Lutter is in the Newark, New Jersey city directory for 1884.  Herman, a wheelwright, and Carl Luther, a cabinet maker, both resided at 40 Rankin.

The other DNA match at Ancestry.com is descended from Alexander Lutter (1864-1897), the same Alexander Lutter who I tracked in Chicago because someone by this name was a witness to Herman Lutter's marriage to Clara Uhl in Newark, New Jersey in 1888.  The DNA match showed that I picked the correct Alexander Lutter.  But how was Alexander Lutter related?

In Chicago, Charles and Alexander Lutter lived together for several years.  This shows a relationship between them.

In 1887 in Chicago, Charles Lutter married Theresa Doanow (spelled many ways, even with a T).  I ordered this record, but do not expect to see the names of parents because Alexander's marriage record from 1890 did not ask the names of parents.

Charles and Theresa had four children in Chicago.  Charles' last entry in the Chicago city directories was 1897, when Alexander died.  The 1898 directory listed Ottelia as Alexander's widow.

Charles had moved to Wisconsin sometime between the birth of Martha in August of 1895 and Emma in February of 1900.

Charles and family remained in Wisconsin for the 1905 state census.


Charles' last child was Otto Herman Lutter, born in Wisconsin in 1907.  The index is online; Charles' birthplace is given as Saxony.  I ordered the record to see if a town is provided.

Charles moved again, this time to Brooklyn, New York.  He and his family appeared in Brooklyn in the federal 1910 census and the 1915 state census.

In 1917, Charles' wife, Theresa, remarried to Fredrick Brink in Brooklyn.  They eventually moved to Connecticut.

I don't see an entry in the New York City death index that matches Charles Lutter.  His death certificate might provide the names of his parents.


Questions and Further Research

So what became of Charles Lutter?  He probably died between 1915 and 1917, but where?

Alexander Lutter's wife, Ottilia Dalke, died in 1904, orphaning their three children, who went to the custody of Gustav and Herman Schwabe.  Were these men related?  Why didn't Charles take in Alexander's children?

Alexander's children kept accounts of their spending.  I purchased these records years ago through eBay.  One of the children, Emma, listed names and addresses, but no Lutter was among the entries.  Why?

Why didn't Herman Lutter mention Alexander and Charles in his will?  They predeceased him, but they had living children.  Were they cousins and not brothers?

First Direct Line Lutter DNA Match

My father tested his DNA at Ancestry.com.  He spit July 12th and the results appeared today- a quick turn-around time.

I am already tested at Ancestry.com.  I cannot test my mother because she has passed.  (Ancestry does not accept file transfers from other testing companies.)

To my delight, someone with the Luther surname appeared among the matches.  This is a first.  The amount of shared DNA places him in the second to third cousin range.

No family tree.

Ancestry has a function to check for close cousins in common.  This Luther cousin matches a woman who appeared among my DNA matches two years ago.  This woman is a descendant of Alexander Lutter of Chicago.  A man named Alex Lutter witnessed the marriage of my great great great grandparents, Herman Lutter and Clara Uhl, in 1888 in Newark, Essex County, New Jersey.

Herman Lutter's father was Wilhelm Lutter, based on the marriage records of Herman and his brother, Otto (who used the surname Luther).  That is the end of the Lutter line traced to date- the shortest in my family tree.  Herman was from Scheibe (renamed Neuhaus) in Thuringia (Germany).  (Herman and Otto's mother's name varies.)

This DNA connection could break down that brick wall.

Let's hope he answers my message.

My Heritage Offers an Ethnicity Estimate

Most people who ask me about DNA testing are interested in finding out their "ethnicity."

"Do your family tree instead," I tell them.

Why?

First, you do not carry DNA of all your ancestors.

Second, your DNA is not a proportional representation of your ancestors beyond your mother and father.

Third, your results will vary from company to company and over time.

Fourth, modern-day political boundaries of countries do not represent a homogeny of inhabitants now or throughout history.

Three months ago, I uploaded DNA files to My Heritage because it was free.  I am looking for relatives to fill in missing leaves and branches of my family tree.  So far, my mother has two matches in the second to fourth degree cousin range, but neither has responded to my inquiries.

Today an email signaled the arrival of My Heritage's Ethnicity Estimate.  The spinning globe with music, supposedly from the area of origin, is eye-catching and unique.  I could not reproduce the spinning globe here, so I created some screen shots.  It seems that the spinning globe function is limited to five regions.

The beginning of my spinning globe ethnicity display

The end of my spinning globe

Greek is new to me.  The beauty of my situation is that I can compare my ethnicity results with my parents.  From either parent I can inherit all of a particular ethnicity, a portion, or none.

Neither of my parents is Greek, according to My Heritage.  We've done this before with Family Tree DNA and 23andMe.  Some of the purported ethnicities do not line up with my parents.

The remaining ethnicities for my father do not include Greek.
His Baltic and Scandinavian are not reflected in my estimate.

My mother.  I currently describe her as three quarters Irish and one quarter Russian.

My maternal grandmother's first cousin (O'Donnell/Joyce branch) came up 100% Irish.

DNA Chart for Cook/VanderHoof Descendants

It took a while, but I finally created a McGuire Method DNA Chart for a branch of my family.

Several descendants of my fourth great grandparents, Stephen Cook (1797-1853) and Elizabeth Vanderhoof (1799-1878) have tested their DNA.  Most have uploaded to GedMatch.com, where we can compare everyone, even though people tested at three different companies.

The Mystery Cousin discussed a few weeks ago also belongs on this chart; I just don't know where yet.

click to enlarge

Mystery DNA Cousin Demystified

A few years ago at 23andMe a close match appeared for my father, his siblings, and their third cousin, Bob, on their shared Cook/Neil line of Morris County, New Jersey.  Common ancestors are Calvin Cook (1826-1889) and Mary Neil (1830-1898).

The amount of shared DNA ranged from 1.66% with my uncle to 3.82% with cousin Bob.

The probable relation would be second to third cousin.  The variance in amount of shared DNA is within normal.  Or the higher amount could indicate that this mystery cousin is closer to Bob.

Either way, the person ignored my requests to connect through the 23andMe website.

Recently, 23andMe required users to not be anonymous.  This person bypassed this non-anonymous requirement and instead blocked sharing requests.

This person won't make or break my family tree, so I moved on.

Then Cousin Bob's cousin contacted me.  They share ancestors Patrick Bernard Brady (1830-18xx) and Elizabeth Duffy (1837-1918) of County Meath, Ireland.  They were the parents of Mary Brady (1870-1942), wife of Francis Asbury Cook (1851-1919).

She wondered how Bob was so closely related to her highest DNA match.  This Mystery DNA Cousin had limited contact with Bob's cousin and revealed Brady ancestors on two separate ancestral lines from two counties in Ireland, Cavan and Donegal.

In this situation, we are not using haplogroups to assign relationships or ancestral lines.
We are using them to confirm that we are dealing with the same elusive DNA tester.

The shared percentage with Bob, as well as the haplogroups, were the same for the Mystery Brady Cousin as for the Mystery Cook/Neil Cousin.

So if the Mystery Cousin is the same for both situations, this explains why Cousin Bob shares more DNA with the Mystery Cousin.  They are related through Cook/Neil ancestors as well as the separate Brady line.  For Bob, these lines merged in his great grandparents, Francis Cook and Mary Brady.

The above diagram is my theory on how the Mystery Cook/Neil Cousin (Mystery Brady Cousin) is related to my branch.  If this person comes forward, we can revise the this diagram if needed.

Locations of My DNA Family at 23andMe

The genetic testing site 23andMe released a new tool called "Your DNA Family."

Part of this feature displays the locations of the people who share your DNA.

This is a different concept from "ethnicity."  The three major testing companies offer ethnicity estimates with different labels.

23andMe: Ancestry Composition
Family Tree DNA:  My Origins
AncestryDNA:  Genetic Ancestry/Ethnicity Estimate

My Heritage is attempting to join the genetic genealogy market.  It offers Ethnicity Estimate (beta).

AncestryDNA recently offered an additional view on origins called Genetic Communities.

Ethinic estimates will differ from company to company and over time because the reference populations will change based on new information and increased people who test.  For the latest take on my ancestors, see my post about Living DNA's interpretation of me.


Based on my exchanges with DNA matches at 23andMe, they live across the globe, but mainly in the United States.  The other countries I see most often are Canada, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, France, and Hungary.

I was not surprised to see that a lot of my DNA relatives live in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania because this area is where my ancestors settled after leaving Europe.  Florida and California are popular destinations for New Jersey natives to relocate.


Next I compared my United States map to my parents.  My father has more relations spread across the United States, while my mother does not.

A list view captures the numbers.

I'm not sure where 23andMe is getting the numbers.  A tester answers (or doesn't) questions about themselves, including their current residence.  With the worldwide totals, hundreds of my DNA relatives are unnacounted for.  Maybe people did not answer this question and are not tallied in this breakdown.

Another important factor is that 23andMe (and direct-to-consumer DNA testing) is not available in every country in the world.  According to its website, 23andMe ships to over fifty countries; health reports are not available in most of them.  So if your DNA relatives live in a country that 23andMe cannot ship to, or does not offer the health information interpretation, you have diminished chances of finding these relatives in your matches.

If 23andMe wanted to be more useful for genealogy, it would bring back the profile pages of participants and allow searching and sharing of genomes with people not on your list of matches, currently called "DNA Relatives."