Towns of Origin in Hungary

Was Rose Roth (1907-1964), wife of Theodore Marmorstein, related to Theodore's mother, Emilia Roth?

Marriage certificate, New York City, May 4, 1929.
Theodore Marmorstein, son of Emilia Roth and Bernard Marmorstein,
married Rose Rother, daughter Helen (Annie) Bercholtz and William Roth.

Someone raised the question upon reading the article about the two marriage ceremonies of Theodore and Rose.

The answer is I do not know, but I don't think so.

Roth is not an unusual name. Just because people share a surname does not mean that they are related.

The Roths were from the country of Hungary. Identifying a hometown will tell us if a relation was geographically possible.

Emilia (mother of Theodore Marmorstein) filed a Petition for Naturalization in 1935. Her information included her birthplace of Abony, Hungary on July 16, 1877.

Petition for Naturalization
Emilie Marmorstein 1935
Collection at Ancestry

William Roth (father of the bride Rose) filed an application for a passport in 1922. His information included his birthplace of Gönc, Hungary on April 18, 1869.

Application for Passport
William Roth 1922
Collection at Ancestry

I visited Jewish Gen to locate these towns. Their Communities Database is vital for locating present-day towns or areas that may have undergone name changes over the generations.

Abony, Hungary
Communities Database of Jewish Gen

Gönc, Hungary
Communities Database of Jewish Gen

I mapped out these two towns. Using modern roads, these two towns are over 200 kilometers apart and about three hours away.

Distance between Abony and Gönc in Hungary
Google Maps

I think it is unlikely that these two Roth lines are related on their most recent lines.

Cousins in Common

The prior article concerned DNA cousins in common.  Finding DNA cousins who match you and some of your other DNA cousins is not uncommon.  You must be careful in drawing inferences in these situations.

Finding cousins in common is a tool at FamilyTreeDNA and GedMatch.  You can manually compare cousins at 23andMe to ascertain if someone matches your cousin- as long as everyone is sharing genomes.  The glitch arises when two of your cousins match each other, but not on the same segments of DNA where you match each of them.

The query:  If three people share different segments of DNA with one another, are they related through a common ancestral line?

Answer:  Maybe, maybe not.

Unless the match is very close, I don't pursue cousins in common.  Early on in my genetic genealogy pursuits, I was overwhelmed with my mother's DNA matches.  They matched her and her other DNA cousins, though not on the same segments.  To this day, I have no direction in this undocumented branch of her family tree.  These cousins either live in or have recently immigrated from Eastern Europe.

Two years ago, my maternal third cousin appeared among the matches at 23andMe.  We share a pair of great great grandparents, John Preston (1857-1928) and Bridget Sheehey (1857-1916).  John was born in Dutchess County, New York to Irish parents.  Bridget was born in Ireland.  (I have no idea where in Ireland they lived.)

Here is the graph of his shared DNA with my mother- three segments:

With this new close cousin's DNA, I compared him to my mother's distant DNA cousins to round up some people that we could place in the Preston/Sheehey branch.


Comparison of my mother's distant DNA cousins from Eastern Europe revealed that this Irish Preston/Sheehey cousin matched a lot of them on multiple segments.  Lots of cousins in common, but from different branches of their respective trees.  To date, no DNA cousin from Eastern Europe matches my mother and this Irish Preston/Sheehey cousin on the same segments.

The point is to be cautious when looking at cousins in common who do not share the same DNA segments.

Cousins of Cousins

A DNA cousin at 23andMe shares identical DNA with my father and three of his close cousins- each from a different branch of the tree.  This is why you need to see the segment(s) shared between DNA cousins and you need to test your own close cousins to narrow down which branch of your tree may hold the common ancestor.

The match to my father will be in his Duryea and Cummings branch because the segment of DNA is shared with the cousin from descended from Abraham Brewer Duryea (1878-1944) and Nellie Cummings (1879-1965).

The segment shared between the DNA cousin and the cousin from the Uhl and Patschke branch could match anywhere in the cousin's entire family tree.

Same for my cousin from the Cook and Neal branch- the common ancestors could be anywhere in his tree (but not too far- they may be about fourth cousins).  Matching my father does not narrow down the possibilities because my father's shared segment with this DNA cousin can be attributed to another branch.

I cringe when people write to me about DNA cousins in common when they don't match on the same segment.

Discovering Ancestors in Names of Cousins

When researching family lines, it is vital that you research siblings of your direct ancestors, as well as their children and grandchildren, because they will yield additional information on your shared ancestors.  Also, when possible, obtain certificates of births, marriages, and deaths, even if you *think* that the record would contain nothing new.  The record would at least confirm other evidence and may provide new clues.

John Duryea (1861-1919) was a first cousin of my great great grandfather, Abraham Brewer Duryea (1878-1944).  Abraham's middle name, Brewer, is from the family of his maternal grandmother, Rene Brewer (1824-1904).

John and Abraham's grandfather was Garrett Duryea (1777-1834).  I am seeking documentation that Garrett's first wife was Charity Horton.  John and Abraham descend from Garrett's second wife, Ann Cornell (1784-1871).

On my most recent trip to the New Jersey State Archives in Trenton, I copied John Duryea's marriage certificate to Katherine Dwyer (1858-1929).  They were married in Hoboken, Hudson County, New Jersey on February 11, 1889.  To my surprise and delight, John's middle name was included on the certificate.  HORTON.  I wonder if the family knew of the origin of this name when John was named, as he is the grandson of Ann Cornell, not Charity Horton.

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Chromosome Mapping

My genealogical research has been enhanced through the use of DNA studies.  Several relatives have kindly submitted their DNA to help me gather both known and unknown branches of the family tree.  Increasing numbers of people are testing their own DNA for different reasons.  Some methods of analyzing the results are provided by the testing companies themselves, while other tools are being developed by (extra)ordinary people.

This weekend I had the pleasure of learning about a new tool developed by Kitty Cooper:  Chromosome Mapper.  (This is for autosomal DNA results and not Y-DNA or mitochondrial DNA tests.)  I was introduced to the idea of colorfully mapping the chromosome by Jim Owston.  The purpose of mapping a chromosome is to visually identify which pieces of DNA came from which ancestor, thereby helping you identify ancestors in common with your genetic distant cousins.

[Here's the short technical aspect:  to use the Chromosome Mapper, you first need to have your autosomal DNA tested, obtain the results, and then identify ancestors in common with some of your matches.  From there, you need to create an Excel spreadsheet of the matches and the MRCA (most recent common ancestor).  If no close relatives have tested and you have not identified the MRCA of any match, then you cannot map your chromosomes.]

My father, David Lutter, has three cousins tested from his mother's side and one cousin from his father's side, so the common ancestors were already identified.  Plugging their numbers into the Chromosome Mapper produces a useful visual tool.

The colors represent areas of David's DNA that can be attributed to specific ancestors.
Chromosome Mapper at KittyMunson.com

When a distant genetic cousin matches David and one of his known close cousins on the colored areas shown above, we know which branch of the family holds the common ancestral line.

Ancestral fan chart (Family Tree Maker 2012)
DNA matches on the blue areas of David's DNA come from the Dunn/Winterton branch of his family tree.

Distant DNA cousins who match David on the orange areas of his chromosome map come from the Neil/Cook branch of his family tree.

DNA matches that fall on the red areas of David's chromosomes come from the Cummings/Duryea branch.

In the fan charts above, the females are indicated in pink and the males in blue.  The chart extends to David's great great great grandparents.  Please note the white boxes, indicating an unknown ancestral line.  It is entirely possible that the most recent common ancestor of David and a distant genetic match lies beyond this unknown area.

The Chromosome Mapper allows for a lot more ancestors and colors, so I plugged in my own matches using my mother's and father's matches.  (I omitted my paternal third cousin, once removed.  I share no DNA with him from our known common ancestors, Mary Neil and Calvin Cook.  Instead, we share a small segment that I inherited from my mother.  At this time, we do not know the common ancestors of my father's third cousin and my mother, but by testing my mother's cousins, we know that the match will be in her Joyce/ODonnell branch.)

Several chromosomes show two colors in the same area because they are showing both the maternal and the paternal sides of the chromosome.  I think that this is so neat to be able to visualize which areas of my DNA came from which ancestors- people I can never meet because they are long gone.

Both of my parents have tested their DNA, so most of my matches can be quickly assigned to either the paternal side or the maternal side.  A few people match me but neither parent, while several people match both my parents!  My grandparents are all deceased, so dividing my parent's matches into their paternal and maternal sides becomes challenging.  Testing cousins from different branches of the family tree narrows down the possible areas in which to look for a common ancestor to a distant genetic match.

While studying my Chromosome Map versus my father's Map, I realized that I will have overlapping or common areas of match on my maternal line.  This is because all of my mother's relatives who tested descend from the same set of ancestors, Delia Joyce and Patrick ODonnell.  23andMe provides a mapping function, limited to three comparisons.  Here is my map of my maternal matches (one person in each category).

23andMe
Areas of Jody's DNA in common with descendants of specified ancestors.

And here is the same mapping from Kitty's Chromosome Mapper:

Chromosome Mapper/KittyMunson.com
I specified "paternal" in my spreadsheet to achieve similar coloring to the 23andMe map.
Also, Chromosome Mapper allows input from several cousins to form a more complete map.
The dark blue on this map represents DNA from one cousin (compare to two below).

With the goal of narrowing down which branch of the family holds the Most Recent Common Ancestor, I would prefer to see the areas where I match the most distant generation (a set of great great grandparents/dark blue) dominate.  The longest segment appears instead of the shorter segment, regardless of generation.  Any DNA from these great grandparents (green) was passed down to me through their daughter (light blue), so those two colors actually represent the same branch.  The useful function is to further differentiate the DNA from these great grandparents (Delia Joyce and Patrick ODonnell) into my great grandfather (Frank ODonnell).  I can manipulate which information I put into the Chromosome Mapper.  By adding the areas of match for two cousins of my grandmother's generation, the DNA that they both share with me combines into extended dark blue areas, representing some of the DNA I inherited from my maternal great grandfather, Frank ODonnell.

Chromosome Mapper by Kitty Munson
Jody compared to two descendants of equal relation to this ancestral couple (cousins of Jody's grandmother).
This DNA tool visualizes all of their DNA into one cohesive color and segment.

Great work, Kitty.

Guest Post: Swedish Cousins

This is a guest post written by Tom Stevens.  Our paths crossed as I was researching a Lutter branch and he was researching a Kabitzki branch in Chicago, Illinois.  Below Tom details how he uncovered the genetic relation between his great grandmother, Elna Andersson, and her second husband, Peter Emil Hammerberg.  Thank you, Tom, for sharing your family story with us and thank you for your great work on the Lutter mystery.

My great grandmother, Elna Andersson, was born October 16th, 1876, in Önnestäd, Skåne, Sweden to Anders Persson and Bengta Jönsdotter.  On October 11^th, 1903 she married Victor Hugo Emanuel Wiberg in Kristianstad, Skäne, Sweden.

Elna Andersson and Victor Emanuel Wiberg

Heliga Trefaldighetskyrkan, Church of Holy Trinity, Kristianstad, Sweden
built between 1617 and 1628 by Christian IV of Denmark

Their daughter, my grandmother, Elsa Margit, was born August 8^th, 1904 in Kristianstad.

Elsa Margit Wiberg

Victor and Elna divorced around 1908 and Elna was sent to live in America with an aunt.  Their daughter, Elsa, remained in Sweden and was first raised by her maternal grandfather, Anders Persson, and later by her uncle, Per Andersson (a brother of Elna).

In 1912, my great grandmother, Elna Andersson, then living in Chicago, remarried to Peter Emil Hammarberg.

Peter Emil Hammarberg

Peter insisted they send for Elsa, my grandmother.  At age 16, my grandmother boarded a ship and immigrated to Chicago to live with a mother she barely remembered.  On her Ellis Island documents, Peter Emil Hammarberg is listed as paying for my grandmother’s passage to America.

My mother told me Peter was a wonderful step-grandfather and was somehow related to my great grandmother, Elna.  Intrigued, I explored Peter Hammarberg’s ancestry.

Peter’s World War II draft record lists his date birth as March 31, 1878 in Helsingborg, Skåne, Sweden.  According to my mother, Peter had been banished to America, like Elna.  Peter supposedly was kicked out of college in Helsingborg for getting in a fight, so his father sent him off to America.

World War II draft registration card for Peter Emil Hammarberg.
Ancestry.com

In 1900, Per (Peter) Emil Hammarberg was living with his parents and siblings in Sweden.  Below is the census for this year.  Per's father is listed as Per Persson, born in 1846.  The children have the last name "Hammarberg" instead of "Persson" or "Persdotter."  Prior to 1900, children’s last names were their father’s or mother's first name with “son” or “dotter” added.  Name Laws enacted around 1901 mandated permanent surnames uniformly passed on to the next generation.  Peter’s father chose the last name “Hammarberg” for his children.  You will soon see the origins of this new family name.  [If your head was not spinning enough with Swedish surname practices, brace yourself:  Newer laws allow people great latitude in changing names and many Swedes do so. --JL]

Swedish National Archives:  www.svar.ra.se  (subscription required)

Here is the 1890-1894 Household record for Peter’s family in Helsingborg, before the Name Laws.  In this earlier census, Per Persson is listed as born on November 8, 1846 in Nosaby, Kristianstad. Note the absence of the surname "Hammarberg."

Ancestry.com (World Membership) - Sweden, Church Records, 1500-1941

Here is Per Persson's birth record from 1846, listing his father, Per Månsson, occupation Bonde (farmer), and mother, Else Olasdotter.  They lived in the village of Hammar, in Nosaby parish, Sweden.  We now know why the name Hammarberg was selected in 1900- Per Persson used a location as a permanent surname for his children and subsequent generations.

Ancestry.com (World Membership) - Sweden, Church Records, 1500-1941

And now the plot thickens.  Here is the birth record of Anders Persson, the father of Elna Andersson (my great grandmother).  Anders Persson was born on November 6, 1833 to Per Månsson and his hustra (wife) Else Olasdotter.

Ancestry.com (World Membership) - Sweden, Church Records, 1500-1941

A photograph of Per Månsson and Else Olasdotter,
grandparents of Elna Andersson and Peter Emil Hammarberg (formerly Persson).

This is the gravestone of Anders Persson taken by my grandmother, Elsa, when she and my grandfather traveled back to Sweden in 1965. His birth year is 1832 on the stone, instead of 1833. Note that his residence, "No. 1 Hammar," is etched on the stone.

Grave of Anders Perrson, Nosaby Parish Church in Nosaby, Kristianstad, Sweden

My Mother and I visited the cemetery in 2008 and it is a beautiful church.

Nosaby Parish Church in Nosaby, Kristianstad, Sweden

Here is Per Månsson and family in the household records for 1845-1850.  The children were born in Hammar from 1831-1846.  Per Månsson's children include Anders Persson (my great great grandfather) and Per Persson, the father of Peter Emil Hammarberg.  I had to call my Mother and tell her that her grandmother, Elna Andersson, and her step-grandfather, Peter Hammarberg, were not distantly related, but rather were first cousins!  Elna and Peter did not have any children together.  Sadly, Peter Emil died in 1943 from pneumonia due to his occupation as an asbestos worker.

Ancestry.com (World Membership) - Sweden, Church Records, 1500-1941

To research ancestors from southern Sweden (Halland, Skåne, and Blekinge läns or counties) the website “Demografisk Databas Södra Sverige” or Demographical Database of Southern Sweden” is an excellent starting place.  It is free and has Swedish and English versions.

[http://www.ddss.nu/(S(a4qu3i552yocryb0bag15z55))/english/default.aspx]

Below is Per Emil Hammarberg’s 1878 birth record found in the DDSS database website.

www.DDSS.nu

DNA Studies: Children of Cousins

In the previous post, I compared the amount of shared DNA between siblings.  Here, we compare the widening differences in the amount of shared DNA between cousins.

With each generation, half the DNA of the previous generation is lost.  Each parent contributes half their DNA to create a new human being.  Beginning with your grandparents, you will not inherit your DNA in precise halves.  In other words, you have 50% of your mother's DNA and 50% of your father's DNA, but not necessarily 25% from each grandparent.  The amount skews with each new child and subsequent generation.

Amount of shared autosomal DNA expected between close relatives.  The actual amounts will vary.

I am fortunate to have been able to test cousins of my grandparents.  My paternal grandfather, Clifford Lutter, only had one first cousin through his mother.  My paternal grandfather, Beulah Cook, had two first cousins through her mother.  If my grandparents were alive to test their DNA, we would expect them to share about 12.5% of their DNA with their first cousins.  Instead, the children of my grandparents (my father and his siblings) have tested their DNA.  We would expect to lose half the DNA with the next generation, placing us around 6.25% shared DNA between first cousins, once removed.  My sister and I are the next generation, so we would expect to share about 3.125% with our first cousins, twice removed.

The comparisons at 23andMe illustrate that even close relatives will share varying amounts of DNA.  Long segments of DNA are broken down in recombination, so that little DNA is identical by the time we reach the third cousin relation.

My grandfather's first cousin versus the next two generations.
The expected amount of identical DNA between first cousins once removed is 6.25%
The numbers for this group range from 6.71% to 9.25%
The expected amount for the next generation is 3.125%.  My sister matches only 2.7% while I match 4.44%

Grandmother's maternal first cousins versus the next generation.
In this set, the actual shared amount varies more widely.
The first cousins once removed share between 3.85% and 6.3%
In the next generation, my sister shares a greater percentage than our aunt and uncles,
while I share far less at 2.14%

Grandmother's maternal first cousin versus the next generation.
The amount of shared DNA among the first cousins once removed ranges from 5.64% to 8.6%
Again, my sister shares more DNA with this cousin than three members of the prior generation,
while I share less than expected at 2.95%

  

You see in the above comparisons that your ancestor's DNA quickly breaks up into smaller, non-identifiable segments randomly allocated down different descendant lines.  At this point, I have tested most of the known close relatives of my paternal grandparents (except for the descendants of Ruben Charles Cook and Eleanor Lovelace- hint hint).  It is not surprising that most relatives inthe DNA databases share only one tiny segment with me.

1920 Federal Census
Ruben Charles Cook and Eleanor Lovelace
Newark, Essex County, New Jersey

Grandparents were Cousins?

John Hickman shares a larger than usual segment of identical DNA with my father, David.  The comparison at 23andMe looks like this:

23andMe autosomal DNA comparison

John caught my interest because the segment is three times larger than most of the segments that are shared with the hundreds of other DNA cousins.  In addition, he resembles my father and he is a lawyer who teaches politics- some of my (other) interests.

John Hickman is exploring whether his Hale line is related to Nathan Hale (1755-1776).  Nathan Hale is believed to not have had issue before dying at age 21, so if John's Hale is related to Nathan, it is through one of Nathan's ancestors.

My paternal grandmother, Beulah Cook, was descended from Solomon Brewer (1746-1824).  Nathan Hale was the second cousin, twice removed of Solomon Brewer.  Their common ancestors were John Strong (1610-1699) and Abigail Ford (1619-1688):  Great grandparents of Solomon Brewer and 3X great grandparents of Nathan Hale.

We need a paper trail connecting John Hickman's Hale line to Nathan Hale's line.

In the meantime, I tested my some more relatives.  Surprise!!!  A first cousin of my paternal grandfather shares a segment of DNA with a first cousin of my paternal grandmother.

23andMe autosomal DNA comparison
between my father's paternal cousin and his maternal cousin.
They match.  The question is HOW.

This is the same segment of DNA where John Hickman matches my father, so we compare John against my father and my father's maternal and paternal cousins.  John matches all of them.  The comparison at 23andMe looks like this:

23andMe autosomal DNA comparison.
John shares an ancestral line with David, David's paternal cousin, and David's maternal cousin.
The question:  which line?

This gives us some options: 

---The connection is still the Strong/Ford/Hale/Brewer ancestors- and unknown to us at this time, both of my father's parents are descended from these lines; OR

---The connection is through a different line- but still indicates that my grandparents were their own cousins; OR

---The connection is through lines of the maternal lines of the first cousins, which are not related to my father.

The common ancestor is someone I have not uncovered- someone waiting behind a brick wall.  Many of these ancestral lines lived in the same geographical area, so it is entirely possible and perhaps likely that the lines linked up in the past, split, and then rejoined when my grandparents married.

This is why I say that DNA testing gives us the answer first; we have to figure out the equation.

And it is John Hickman's DNA- a cousin of unknown relation- that provides us with the link between the families.

John is also a published author with his recent book, Selling Guantanamo: Exploding the Propaganda Surrounding America's Most Notorious Military Prison.  I find it fascinating how so many relatives are also researchers and authors.  John is especially fascinating because our potential common ancestors were deeply involved in the politics of their day.  Their actions created the records we use today to document our genealogies.

Cousins remain Connected

Cousins are connected
Heart to Heart
distance and time can't break them apart

Genealogical research and DNA testing brings cousins back together.