DNA and Genealogy Research

Lecture given on 17 January 2013, Virrat Library

The methods of traditional genealogy research and the possibilities of DNA research are in many ways the opposite of each other. The former starts from the present — from living people — and works backwards. DNA research starts from “Adam” and “Eve” and moves forward toward historical times. At their best, as research progresses, the two approaches begin to meet.

Characteristics encoded in genes are inherited by children. The genetic makeup is the same as the parents’, unless mutations occur. Mutations happen from time to time in the chain of generations and are themselves heritable. Those who share the same mutated characteristic belong to the same haplogroup.

Basic concepts

I recommend reading Jaakko Häkkinen’s article “Genetic genealogy: what, why and how?” (in Finnish).

Its first section introduces concepts such as:

Haplogroups are the major groups of paternal lines.

Marker — a gene or DNA sequence with a specific value.

Genetic distance (GD) is a calculated distance; one marker difference between two individuals over two generations gives a GD of 1/67.

True genetic distance (TGD) is found by rooting the lineages to the haplogroup family tree.

SNP (Single-Nucleotide Polymorphism) is diversity at a single base position. An SNP, or “snip”, is a point mutation occurring in the population — a genetic polymorphism based on the change of a single base pair.

If someone has already had a test done but does not understand the results, Häkkinen explains them in Finnish.

A 67-marker result is a series of numbers, such as this series for the Marttinen family of Juva.

Paternal line (Y-DNA)

The most common Finnish paternal line, N1c, has long been known to be eastern in origin — its ancestral region is thought to lie somewhere in southern Siberia. But there are large regional differences within Finland. (From Kalevi Wiik’s book.)

My own paternal line according to genealogical research

Herman Pirttilahti / Kankaanpää (1821–1868)
Matti Pirttilahti (1793–1843)
Matti Pirttilahti (1764–1852)
Heikki Myry / Pohjaslahti (1734–1778)
Matti Myry (1698–1755)
Yrjö Mäyränen / Myry (1661–1721)
Yrjö Mäyränen (ca. 1610s–1666)
Juho Laurinpoika Mäyränen (ca. 1580–at least 1639)

Juho Laurinpoika Mäyränen

Juho Laurinpoika Mäyränen (also Mäyräinen) was a farmer in the village of Kolkinlahti from 1606 to 1639, having settled on a previously abandoned farm. The farm name derives from his surname. Despite the patronymic, he cannot be the son of Lauri Paappainen, the farm’s first known holder. Juho was born in the early 1580s or slightly earlier. The sources often mention him simply as Juho Laurinpoika without a surname. Because the surname is the key to tracing his paternal ancestry, we must find a source that records it. A livestock tax roll from 1635 provides it: the village is Kålkinlaax and the first entry is Jöns Mäyreinen, with a horse, a mare and other livestock.

The names Mäyrä and Mäyränen on today’s map

When searching the National Land Survey of Finland’s map service for “Mäyrä”, 36 results come up — farms, fields and villages across western Finland. The surname “Mäyränen” appears only twice: a field in Virrat and a farm in Mänttä-Vilppula (the same as the starting farm at Pohjaslahti in this research). As an animal-based name, Mäyränen (from mäyrä, ‘badger’) would suggest an eastern Finnish origin — yet searching for variant spellings such as “Meuronen” produces only two hits in modern records.

The word “Meuro” means nothing in Finnish. It only becomes meaningful if understood as the form that Finnish-sounding names took when written down by Swedish-speaking clerks over the centuries.

The Meuronen farm lies on the west bank of Tittarajärvi, where the Luumäki–Viipuri railway crosses the waterway, adjacent to Lake Ämmäinen. On an old 1909 map the farm is between Tani and Pulsa stations.

The Meuronen of Lapee, Maajärvi

Church and poll tax records show that Meuronen is farm no. 1 in the village of Maajärvi, Lapee parish. The name is old there: Klemetti Meuronen was a farmer in Maajärvi at least as early as 1620. The village dates back to the 16th century, but the Meuronen name does not appear there in that era.

The Mäyränen family in Lapee tax records

Connecting the name Meuronen to Mäyränen, the family can be found in Lapee province as far back as the 16th century. In the 1571 silver-tax roll, three Mäyränen men are listed in Lapee parish. The family also appears in the 1549 tax rolls.

Maternal line (mtDNA)

Finnish maternal lines

According to Häkkinen (based on Lappalainen et al. 2008), Finnish maternal lines in order of frequency are: H 39.1%, U 27.9%, W 10.1%, V 5.1%, J 5.1%.

Häkkinen notes: the most common Finnish paternal line N1c has long been known to have an eastern origin … but the maternal lines have been characterised as mainly western — i.e. pan-European. Outside that main group lies a set of maternal lines of eastern origin.

Haplogroup V in Finland

Wikipedia states that haplogroup V (mtDNA) originated in the western Mediterranean approximately 13,600 years ago, on the Iberian Peninsula. The Basques are often mentioned in this context, with 10.4% belonging to Velda’s clan. At some later point Velda split into clans V1 and V2, with V1 further dividing into V1a1 and V1a2. The research situation is not yet developed enough to determine when and where these younger branches arose. Finnish members of the group appear to belong to V1 and probably V1a1.

Examples of haplogroup V from Finnish ancestry:

ID	Earliest known ancestor	Haplogroup
223802	Maria Braski, 1729–1789, Hauhuu, Virrat	V1
218428	Valpuri Heikintytär, Ähtäri, ca. 1700–1762	V1
162929	Greta Pehrsdr, 1784, Kitusuo, Mänttä-Vilppula	V

According to Kalevi Wiik, Velda’s descendants moved northward and northeastward as the continental ice sheet melted. The ice covered nearly all of Scandinavia 16,000 years ago; its edge was at the southern coast of Finland 13,000 years ago; the ice was completely gone 9,000–8,000 years ago.

My own maternal line according to genealogical research

Aune Sipilä (1908–93) — Virtainkylä
Emma Kauppila (1878–1961) — Vaskivesi
Karoliina Ylä-Herranen (1851–1929) — Herraskylä
Vilhelmiina Keski-Ikkala (1823–93) — Toisvesi
Anna Salmi, also Vanhakylä (1794–1867) — Jäähdyspohja
Pirkko (Riitta) Braski (1761–1845) — Hauhuu
Maria Braski (1729–89) — Hauhuu
Anna Heikintytär (ca. 1701–1768) — Uurainen? Simonen??

The picture this gives can, I believe, be generalised to farming families in the old Ruovesi area: wives were fetched from a nearby village, and it is rare for the maternal line to remain in the same place for two successive generations.

Bibliography

Häkkinen, Jaakko: Eteläpohjalaisten geeniperimä. Eteläpohjalaiset Juuret 2/2012, pp. 4–9.
Kankaanpää, Matti J.: Härkösten isä- ja äitilinjoista. Ala-Härkösten viesti 37/2012, pp. 7–9.
Wiik, K. H.: Suomalaisten juuret.

Online resources

Basic information on DNA and haplogroups is available on Wikipedia. The Suomi DNA project: http://www.familytreedna.com/public/finland,finland,finland/default.aspx?section=mtresults