Genealogical meeting inspires writer’s visit to JOGG Web site

I had such a wonderful time at last Saturday’s “Roots to Success,” the meeting of the Maine Genealogical Society in Fairfield. Nancy Battick, Dale Mower and the rest of the organizers did a great job giving researchers a variety of choices for workshops.

I could listen all day to Tom Roderick, a retired geneticist who worked for The Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, talk about genetics and genealogy. He has been one of my favorite speakers for more than 20 years. I was so enthused after hearing him that I promptly:

. Went to a bookstore and bought Bryan Sykes’ “The Seven Daughters of Eve,” which talks about the origins of people with European ancestry. I’m halfway through it and highly recommend the book.

. Replaced my aging home computer, the better to organize my forebears.

. Logged onto www.jogg.info, the Web site of the Journal of Genetic Genealogy.

. Nearly ran off to become a geneticist, but fortunately remembered that I have a family and a job I love, not to mention the fact that a degree in political science is not the most direct path to a doctorate in genetics.

Let’s get back to JOGG. The Journal of Genetic Genealogy is a quarterly publication just beginning. T. Whit Athey is the editor, and the associate editors are Tom Roderick and Dennis Garvey.

The journal will include articles, requests from researchers looking for subjects and questions posed by genealogists.

Some of the articles are quite technical, while others contain much that is more understandable to the layperson. We know, for instance, that we get our genes from both parents, but the Y chromosome is found only in males.

And mitochondrial DNA is the DNA that comes from your mother’s mother’s mother’s mother’s line. Both men and women receive mitochondrial DNA from their mothers, but only women can pass it on to their children.

I’m currently reading from the JOGG Web site Ellen Levy-Coffman’s “A Mosaic of People: The Jewish Story and a Reassessment of the DNA Evidence.”

The focus of the article is the Ashkenazi Jews, but it also brings in research related to two other populations – American Indians and Scandinavian-Shetlanders. Some people in these three groups may have the same ancestors from a part of Siberia.

I haven’t found my ancestors among any of these groups yet, but this article is absolutely fascinating. I won’t finish reading it in one sitting, but I’ll keep going back to it to understand more.

Speaking of cousins, yes, there is such a thing as a half-cousin. If you and another person share a set of grandparents, Tom explained to me, you are “full” first cousins. If you share just one grandparent because of a remarriage, for example, you are only half-cousins.

One last thing about the Maine Genealogical Society, whose members have been loyal supporters of Family Ties for more than 20 years:

I want to thank MGS for presenting me with a beautiful plaque for “a lifetime of contributions” to the Maine genealogical community. It is a privilege to share this column with you, and I am so honored by the recognition. As for that “lifetime” designation, I like to think, “not yet.”

Next week we’ll revisit one of my cousinships to Vice President Hannibal Hamlin. If he is my second cousin, four times removed, how many genes do I share with him? And how many bits of DNA do we have in common? Meanwhile, you might want to check to see if you can think of any relatives you have that are the same relation to you. The answers I’ll share also apply to fourth cousins.

It’s hard to believe that the Penobscot County Genealogical Society is beginning its fourth year. Do come to the next meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 19, in the Lecture Hall at Bangor Public Library, 145 Harlow St. There is parking across the street, and an elevator is available off the children’s entrance on the ground floor.

I’ll be giving a short program on “Writing the Perfect Genealogical Query,” whether for newspaper, message board on the Web, or offices who hold vital records.

Send genealogy queries to Family Ties, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor, ME 04402; or send e-mail, familyti@bangordailynews.net.