Eddy Family Association DNA Project
How to join the new Eddy Family Association of America DNA
group.
To Go Directly to the DNA
Site
Click Here
The EFA has established --
on the
www.Ancestry.com web site
-- a new DNA group. It
is free to join, however, you must register with ancestry.com to
have access. I
encourage and hope that everyone who reads this bulletin will join
this new project of the Eddy Family Association.
Although it is free to join the site, it does cost money to
have your DNA Y chromosome antigens tested.
Because this is
genetic data, every member must be approved before being able to
view the data -- which
I do after a request has been made to join.
But don’t worry, none of this genetic data will show any
personal or medical or confidential information.
Why
join?
We have established this DNA site to help us determine if the
various lines of Eddy’s in the
United States, and abroad, are
indeed related.
Advances in the understanding of the Y chromosome antigens have
enabled individuals to determine where and from what major groups of
people we all come from.
This science can now be useful for us to understand our large
Eddy family and is explained on the DNA group web site in detail.
To join the group, go to the
www.Ancestry.com website.
When you are at the main page of the website, click on the
icon at the top that says: DNA.
When you are at the DNA page, click on the line that reads:
“Find and Connect to Individuals and Groups with a
Last Name Search.”
On the next screen, you will type the surname Eddy into the
search engine spot.
After you search for the Eddy name, up will pop a listing of DNA
group sites that are on ancestry.com related to Eddy’s.
You will readily see our new Eddy Family Association DNA
group site. Click on
the JOIN button and register.
When you get there you will see how easy it is.
Now, after you register, you will have to ask for permission
to join. After you list
what branch of the EFA you are from, I will be notified that you
have requested to join.
I will then approve your membership.
Just follow directions…it really is quite simple.
This web site can be used
for all sorts of things, not just for the DNA information.
It can be used for communicating with one another as well as
for general announcements.
It is, in essence, a mini-blog.
How
to interpret the data on the Eddy Family Association DNA group on
www.ancestry.com.
You may not readily
understand the significance of the science behind the DNA Y
chromosome testing. Do
not worry as the ancestry.com site has several educational sections
that provide an overview on how to interpret the data.
Take your time to read these sections.
After you have
registered and when you have a working knowledge of our DNA Groups’
site, click the Compare DNA
button. This button
allows you to see the results of the DNA of the members of the EFA.
When you join, each Eddy
family member must outline what line they are from.
This allows me to arrange the DNA results by family line.
When you are on the page that compares the DNA, you will see
names under each of the lines in the Eddy Family Association as
outlined in our books from the 1930 edition onward.
If you are not fully aware
of why Y chromosome antigens can be useful for understanding
genealogy, you may find the following points, adapted from
Ancestry.com, helpful:
-
The Paternal Lineage Y chromosome test
analyzes specific segments of the Y-chromosome.
Depending on how many antigens you pay for, you will get
data on many different alleles or antigens.
These antigen results are compared to other individuals.
-
The Y chromosome is only found in males. Men
have one Y chromosome and one X chromosome.
Women have two X chromosomes and no Y.
-
The Y-chromosome is passed largely unchanged
from father to son. This
is the most important fact to remember.
If you understand this fact you will understand the
importance of the Y chromosome in genealogy.
By contrast, the other chromosomes undergo recombination
and change after each generation little by little.
The consequence of the other chromosomes undergoing
recombination is that after 8 generations, there is not much in
common from the direct descendants of any family after those 8
generations. In contrast the Y chromosome stays very similar
because it does not undergo recombination.
If you don’t understand this, ask your teenage child or a
neighbor’s child who is taking biology to explain this.
-
And because the Y chromosome is unchanged
over the generations (unlike the autosomes), the DNA results
from a male participant today can be used to represent the
paternal lineage dozens of generations into the past.
-
And finally, please remember that although
women do not have a Y chromosome, a women can recruit a brother,
father, or paternally related Uncle or Cousin to provide the DNA
sample. And that sample
can be used as if it were your own!
After you have joined you
will be able to learn more about how this test can answer some
important questions about the Eddy lines.
Summary of current findings of the EFA DNA group (as of
March 21, 2009)
Current data suggests that
the John of Woodbridge line is distinct from the John of Taunton
line. No data has been
submitted from the William Eddye of
Cranbrook
line … so no conclusions can yet be made regarding that line and the
unconnected branches or lines.
Of interest however, when
you go to the site, you may want to compare the two individuals from
the John of Woodbridge line: You will see that both individuals have
identical Y chromosome antigen profiles.
These two individuals are not brothers, but rather they have
a common ancestor five generations back -- They are first cousins,
five times removed! If we
were comparing genetic data from their other chromosomes, we would
see significant differences -- but not with the Y chromosome.
This is further proof that the Y chromosomes just do not
change much over many, many generations.
We will need much more
information submitted in order to make conclusive statements
regarding the Eddy branches.
Further data must be submitted before any final, definitive
conclusions can be made, so I am encouraging one male member of each
family unit to submit data.
Submitted by: Gary E. Eddey, President of EFA
and administrator of the EFA DNA group site on
www.Ancestry.com
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