Avotaynu -- Winter 2012

One thing that the article didn't go into is how you can use Y DNA to compliment autosomal DNA and vise versa. I think the article represents step one, where we may see connections through the autosomal DNA to strengthen oral history. From here we actually need to find the Y DNA of a Wertheim or Gitterman/Gutterman from this line and at least a second direct line male offspring of Rabbi Samson Wertheimer from a very distant branch to test their Y DNA.
Jeffrey Paull & I set up an autosomal DNA Project and I have had a Wertheim DNA project for several years. So over time I think we may be able to identify the specific chromosomes that carry the Wertheim DNA.

One other problem not mentioned in the article was that many of these families intermarried with the same families. We found instances where several people had both Oppenheim(er) & Wertheim(er) ancestors and also the Brüll name occurred in two cases. So it is really important to be able to identify cases where this occurs. This is another reason that it is important to identify the Y DNA haplogroup for each surname! (I also am the administrator of a project called "The DNA of the Jews of Frankfurt", which is strictly Y DNA focused and attempts to do exactly this. Although we only have the Y DNA of one offspring of Rabbi Samson Wertheimer, and it is clearly necessary to have more than one, our Wertheimer donor falls into a haplogroup that contains offspring of many famous rabbinical lines including; Bachrach, Treves (only one sample so far), and the line of the Weil der Stadt (haplogroup J2a4b1). This is by far the most exciting part of my Frankfurt project and much of this cluster has tested at the 111 marker level!
For any going to the IAJGS in Boston there should be between 1-3 talks on projects related to this depending on which proposals are accepted.
If anyone knows anyone who might be interested in doing a Y DNA test for my Frankfurt project, 12 marker kits are on sale until Feb 27th for only $39, and i might be willing to cover the cost for the right person ..... especially a Rothschild! (Must be a direct line male offspring of one of the families who lived in in Frankfurt as early as the 16th Century).

I might be there.

I thought the section at the end on uncertainty due to ancestral identification bias was very good. We know so little about our genealogies after about 5-6 generations that it is very hard to speculate about deeper generations where the number of ancestors grows exponentially. A genetic match could come from any branch, not just the known one. Because these genetic "coincidences" are perhaps not as unlikely as we think (which is why ftdna thinks all Jews look like 2nd cousins to each other), we need to be careful about extrapolating too much from them.