Tag: Genealogy

Y-chromosome haplotree growth

World’s largest Y-DNA Haplotree from FamilyTreeDNA (Image generated using iTOL; FTDNA Blog)

Male part of humankind has been having an important role in identification of people by their origin and belonging. Often they were seeking for a new land, trade or better resources, while women and children stayed in camps. Therefore, they were more mobile also in the time when bare foot was the only means of travelling. Those facts are important for understanding the meaning and interpretation of human haplotree, which is created based on testing of Y-chromosome (attribute of man).

Family Tree DNA is a pioneer in DNA testing specialized for genealogy (hosting a Slovenian origin project among hundreds of others), starting with commercial test soon after the human genome was first sequenced in 2003 (The gaps of some DNA parts have been sequenced only recently). Family Tree DNA is actually a pioneer of genetic genealogy with systematically established the world’s largest DNA database for genealogy, comprising not only atDNA, but also Y-chromosome and mitochondrial DNA records. Nowadays, their partner Myheritage, with which they share the testing laboratory, has larger database with atDNA results, but Family Tree DNA remained the leading company with their Y-chromosome and mitochondrial DNA records, which give specific ancestry information of direct lines. You are in the best hands when you test with MyHeritage and Family Tree DNA, as the atDNA results are exchangeable and both interprete the results obtained. You have to bear in mind only that your biological sample sent to Family Tree DNA for atDNA testing (Family Finder), will be kept for further purchases of tests like mtDNA and Y-chromosome DNA. If you send it to MyHeritage, it will be discharged after obtaining their results.

Family Tree DNA is well known for their work with National Geographic on the Genographic Project (2005 – 2019). This was the project with first attempt to build the humankind family tree and interpret migrations for last 200,000 years based on analysis of STR markers on Y-chromosome. I was inspired by book The journey of man (Spencer Wells), which introduced the DNA testing and haplogroups to me. At that time they tested very little on SNP markers (single nucleotid polymorphism) and focused more on STR markers (short tandem repeats).

SNP as genetic marker is a change in the sequence of nucleotides in a DNA chain that indicates a particular phenotype (like hair colour). In genealogical genetic analyses, they determine the matching of SNP genetic markers among descendants (SNP means change in a single letter of DNA alphabet A, C, G, T). A genetic marker means a physical location on a chromosome (locus). Also STRs are used as genetic markers. For example the Y-DNA67 test is a sequence of 67 markers with short tandem repeats (STRs). To learn more about how testing of Y-chromosome evolved over time watch the video from RootsTech presentation.  

The exponential growth of Y haplotree is due to new generation technology, which is commonly named as “Big Y” and has been introduced by Family Tree DNA in November 2013 (See the table below).

FTDNA Y haplotree in 2010 and 2020 (It cannot be shown on a poster anymore). Source – FTDNA at RootsTech.

Big Y analysis has changed the accuracy and level of testing of Y-DNA. However, the raw data results would not help much an average user due to lack of knowledge and equipment. We need strong scientific support of the Family Tree DNA at interpreting the testing results. Even the determination of haplogroup does not happen only automatically.  The SNP markers are carefully examined by a specialist Michael Sager who also manages the Y haplotree. He assesses incoming datasets, which are usually from Big Y results, but may be from other sources, such as academic research, and carefully builds out branches on the tree. At Family Tree DNA they say that it is a one-person job and not a role that can be filled by anyone else. For more information on that process, watch this video from RootsTech. When Big Y tests are completed, they receive the automated haplogroup assignment based on the existing tree, but no new branches will be added to the tree, and no haplogroups will be updated until Sager’s intervention. So, pay attention to your Big Y results: Your haplogroup can be updated several times during years, as the database of testers grow and new information become available. Details for some haplogroups and lineages are still missing, so those, who have tested only markers Y-37, Y-67, or similar are encouraged to upgrade to Big Y analysis to get a better placement on the global Y haplotree. Remember, that a SNP must be observed in at least two related man before it can be uploaded into haplotree as a new branch. So, unless you would like to stay with your “private variants”, contact your Y-37 matches (or similar STR results) and invite them to invest to their Big Y – to place themselves into the tree and also contributing to general benefit of humankind.

The exponential growth of Y haplotree through last 20 years is shown in the table below (Source: FTDNA at Rootstech conference).

Year of developmentNumber of variantsDeveloper of Y-haplotree
2002245 SNPsY Chromosome Consortium Tree
2006436 SNPsISOGG tree
2008790 SNPsISOGG tree
2010935 SNPsISOGG tree
20122067 SNPsISOGG tree
2013, September3610 SNPsISOGG tree
2014, April6200 SNPsBig Y introduced in NOV 2013
2016, November23,767 SNPsBig Y
2017, November58,590 SNPsBig Y-500
2018, May100,000 SNPsBig Y-500
2019, January200,000 SNPs, 20k branchesBig Y-700 released, 50% more SNP coverage
2020, December350,000 SNPs, 30k branchesBig Y-700
2021, May400,000 SNPs, 40k branchesBig Y-700
2022, 1st of January470,000 SNPs, 50k branchesBig Y-700

A Big Y analysis was a milestone in the Y-chromosome testing and building the global Y-haplotree. However, the genealogysts know very well, that the information on direct paternal line is very little piece of ancestry compared to all other ancestry lines. Therefore, a testing of all other chromosomes gives much more information on recent relatives of last 6 generations and also from paleo-ancestry. It is very interesting to compare our results with archeological samples and read interpretation of MyOrigins how parts of our genom show ancient ethnicities and their migrations.

However, the next milestone has been reached recently by international team of scientists, who combined genetic reports of 3,609 individual genome sequences from 215 populations around the globe to produce the largest family tree ever – it identifies nearly 27 million ancestors and origins where they lived, dating back more than 100,000 years ago (Source: A unified genealogy of modern and ancient genomes/Oxford University Big Data Institute). The authors conclude: “Whole-genome genealogies provide a powerful platform for synthesizing genetic data and investigating human history and evolution”.

A pioneer of modern apiculture is Slovenian

Bees are very important to Slovenians. In the last decade, the number of registered beekeepers has increased from around 8,000 to more than 12,000 in 2020. The front sides of Slovenian beehives are by tradition painted in colours, showing sceenes of daily life or stories.

The first beekeeping teacher in the Habsburg Empire (German: Habsburgermonarchie) was of Slovenian origin: Anton Janša (1734—1773). He was a pioneer of modern apiculture in Central Europe. When the Empress  Maria  Theresia  founded  the  beekeeping  school (Oekonomie-Gesellschaft) in  Augarten (Wienna) in  1769, she soon appointed Anton Janša as the first teacher of apiculture. He learnt the art of beekeeping from his ancestors, as Carniola was known by good yield of honey and special Carniolan bees, the meekest animals among bees. His natural intelligence made him a good zoologist and an expert, whose knowledge the Empress ordered to share after his death in all schools of the empire. His methods and hives are still used today all over the world. Since 2018, his birth day, 20 of May is celebrated globally as a World Bee Day.

Anton Janša was a simple young man from Carniola  who  attended  the  school  for  copper  engraving  and  painting  in  Vienna. Anton Janša originated from  Upper  Carniola  in  Slovenia,  from  the  environment  where  beekeeping  was  very  developed, advanced, and also profitable. Prof Dr Šalehar noticed that Janša’s beekeeping method was based on the knowledge of Upper Carniolan  beekeepers. Janša lectured that the bees must not be killed, he advocated moving hives to bee pastures, he rejected the belief that  the  drones  are  water  carriers  and  lectured  that  a  queen  bee  is  inseminated  by  the  drones  in mid-air, the fact that the old Upper Carniolan beekeepers were the first in the world to discover. He wrote  two  books  on  beekeeping  in  German  language: Abhandlung vom Schwärmen der Bienen (in Wien 1771, reprinted: Wien, 1774; Grätz, 1775; Berlin, 1927) and  Des Anton Janscha … hinterlassene vollständige Lehre von der Bienenzucht (Wien, 1775; Prag, 1777; Prag, 1789 [?]; Wien, 1790, etc., issued after his death). 

Božidar Jakac (1973): Anton Janša

Partial pedigree of the Janša family has been known from several authors. Dr Ksenija Rozman first completed the family history. Anton originates on the father’s and mother’s side from solid Slovene farmhouses. Already his father had over one hundred bee hives himself. By tradition, neighbouring farmers would gather at the village and discuss farming and bee-keeping. In 1769, Anton began to work full-time as a bee-keeper at the Habsburg court in Vienna and a year later became the first royally appointed teacher of apiculture for all Austrian lands. Anton Janša is known as a pioneer of modern apiculture and a great expert in the field. He was educated as a painter, just like two other brothers: Valentin and Lovro, who were both painters in Vienna, Lovro even a professor at Painting Academy in Vienna.

The genealogy data are gathered from the registers of the Radovljica parish, which included the villages of origin of Anton Janša ancestors:

– Hraše, where Anton’s grandfather Andrej had the double-farm homestead (Grundbesitzer) and where the Anton’s father Matija was born;

– Breznica, where Anton’s father Matija moved to and made his home and where Anton was also born;

– Dvorska vas, where mother Lucija Debelak was born as a landowner’s daughter and where the eldest beekeeper’s sister Neža was born. 

There were nine children in the family of father Matija (1683 –1752) and mother Lucija (1705–1781): Neža (1729), Polona (1732), Anton (1734), Uršula (1734), Janez (1738), Jakob (1741), Marija (1744), Valentin (1747) and Lovrenc (1749). Unfortunatelly, there are no known living descendants of this family.

As parents both originated from well situated agricultural families, they could buy their own land, built a house with barns and lived also out of selling honey and other apiculture products. This was quite an advantage, as in this period of feudalism a majority of farmers were still not owners of the land, but peasants working on the landlord’s land and may not freely move anywhere. 

When in 1752 the father Matija died, his eldest son Anton (18 years old) took care over his beehives and helped his mother in raising the family. They kept painting in the barn, until Anton Janša and his brother Lorenz went to Vienna in 1766. Anton brought with him 16 hives with Carniolan bees, which served as initial population for later dissemination all over Austria and Hungary. 

Sources:

Rozman,  Ksenija (1973) Rodovnik čebelarja in slikarja Antona Janše.- Slovenski čebelar 75(1973)3, s. 67-72.

anton_jansa_pedigreeDownload

Source: Šalehar, Andrej (2017) Anton Janša [Elektronski vir] : biografski in bibliografski mejniki.- monografija Rodica : samozal., dLib

Borderless Slovenia

Slovenians, who leave abroad for several generations and do not have documented pedigree, can still find their relatives and prove common ancestry by DNA testing.

Easter, the biggest Christian feast, by tradition brings families together. Long lost children return back home alone, or with their own families from capitals and foreign countries, to visit their parents along with other relatives, who never dared to leave the homeland. A week before and after Easter, roads become extremely busy. As reminders of peoples’ migrations, which were occurring over the Slovenian geo-strategic position also in the history: from North to South, from East to West. These patterns are still recorded in our genes. They are shown out in DNA analysis results and matching.

A celebration of spring starts at the beginning of Holy Week when bunches of spring greenery are brought to churches for the blessing. They differ in forms, size and species of greenery, flowers, and ornamentals, as well as by their names in different parts of Slovenia. The Christian custom of plaiting bundles dates to the 9th century and probably derives from a custom known throughout pagan medieval Europe. Easter has in Slovenia many colourful traditions and customs dating centuries into the past. Due to lack of food during the winter time, it was practical to introduce a long fast, which started on Ash Wednesday and ended on Easter Friday. On Easter Saturday a cooked ham, horseradish, potica, and pirhi are blessed in churches, to be later put on the table on Sunday morning.  A special Slovenian cake, potica, is still made at homes in Slovenia. Also colourful decorated eggs, in Slovenia called pirhi, pisanice, pisanke, remenice or remenke, make the feast special.

Slovenians, who can come for the Easter visit, are settled in other EU countries, as well as in Switzerland and Balkan countries. The largest part of the Slovenian diaspora lives in Germany, Sweden, France,  Austria, and Switzerland. The reasons for leaving home were of an economic nature. Similarly, emigration occurred in republics of the former Yugoslavia. Slovenians live in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia. 

Primarily for the economic reasons, the first compatriots left the homeland already in the last quarter of the 19th century, followed by departures in the 1930s, after World War II, and then in the 1950s and 1960s. Significant communities of Slovenian emigration is located in countries across the oceans in the USA, Canada, Argentina and other countries of Latin America, and Australia. Today, in these countries, we already meet with a third, and sometimes with the fourth generation of Slovenians. Many of them have been mixed with other nationalities, but for quite some, we can still find donors of DNA samples, which could be proved by documents to be of Slovenian origin.

Exactly for those we need to devote the most efforts that older generations are not the last Slovenians abroad. Slovenian Genealogy Society supports in organised and professional manner realisation of wishes of new generations to discover their roots and explore places of origin of their ancestors. In successful stories, Slovenes in the motherland and Slovenes around the world find their connections and become increasingly linked to Slovenia by the bond with the motherland, Slovenian language and culture.

Join the ‘Slovenian origin‘ group at FT-DNA. You can ask questions or publish news in the activity feed of the group. The administrators will help you with further information.

easter1   easter2

 

Slovenian Historic Records in Latin and Old German

Despite Slovenians got their state already after the First World War (1918) in the Kingdom of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs, Slovenia was not independent state until 1991, after her split from Yugoslavia. As Vatican was one of the first states that internationally recognized the newly created independent state of Slovenia in 1992, Slovenians will forever remember the Pope’s words in Slovenian at the occasion of his visit in 1996: “Papež ‘ma vas rad!” (“The pope loves you!”). Pope’s John Paul II visit was devoted to celebration of the gained independence of the Slovenian state and to commemorate the 1250th anniversary of Christianity among the Slovenians.

In 8th Century Slovene people start loosing their independance first under Franks, then under the German Holly Roman Empire. This influenced also the culture, including the langugae use. The Freising Manuscripts are known as the earliest document of Slovenian culture, created in 10th Century. These prayers are the earliest preserved writings in Slovenian, as well as the earliest Slavic texts, written in the Latin alphabet. ‘Monumenta Frisingensia‘ (can be listen and read online in translation from early Slovenian into five languages, including modern Slovenian) have documented the use of Slovenian langugae in Christian liturgy in Upper Carinthia, which belonged to the Freising diocese. Later the liturgy was hold everywhere in Latin as this was the official European langugae.

This means that general public still spoke Slovenian langugae, but official languge of nobles and the rulers became first Latin and from 12th century the German. Dictionarium quatuor linguarum is a 16th-century book by the German polymath Hieronymus Megiser that includes a multilingual dictionary with German, Latin, Slovenian and Italian vocabulary. While a large part of Europe in the 16th century adopted a humanistic cursive (“Latin” script, antiqua) as the dominant font, the duality between the “German” and “Latin” fonts was maintained in Central Europe until the begining of 20th century. So the archive documents could be found in Latin and German also for Slovenian origin. While the Latin records are easy to read, a German handwriting is more demanding and requires skilled genealogyst or translator. In both cases basic vocabulary needs to be learnt to understand written information, for example an occupation.

Despite all these historic records in German, and information at the imigration documents, that passanger’s state of origin was Austria, your ancestor may be of Slovenian origin. If you start discovering this by your genetic matches in Slovenia, do not hesitate to contact them – in every family you will find somebody, who speaks English.

Many Americans imagine Slovenia as an eastern communistic country, close to Russia. Which is far from truth. Firstly, Slovenia has a Central European geographical position, and secondly, her communistic party split from Russian policy soon after Second World War. As Slovenia was one of the six Yugoslav republics, certain level of self-governement was retained. For example, Slovenia got her first constitution in 1947. Nowadays we can read legislation and use Slovenian langugae in all official procedures not only in the Republic of Slovenia, but also in the institutions of the European Union. Whether this is a guarantee that a language spoken by 2 million of people will survive in globalised world or not, we can not say.

What is worth mentioning, the Slovenian origin means ethnicities rooted in the geographic regions in Central Europe, where Slovenian speaking people have lived in the past millennium and have been using various Slovenian dialects (Ramovš, 1931).

slovensko-poreklo-grboslovje

Territory of Central Europe in Austria-Hungary Empire with Slovenian names of counties and towns.

Classic vs. genetic genealogy

Since 2000 genetic genealogy is available for commercial use, as the DNA testing became available. Since then, consumer genomics testing has been increasing exponentially, especially for genealogy purposes (can be ordered also for health, nutrition, etc.).  With the help of advanced techniques and information technology, for a consumer, a biological evidence is easier to compare than historical records.  Matching of potential relatives simply occurs on your screen. Of course, the investigation only starts with this and has to be done in combination with data from traditional genealogical and historical records. For the Anglo-Saxon world, great databases of genealogical and historical records have been available online, so your research can be done from anywhere anytime.  Also in our country, you can find great sources of historical information online, like in Digital Library of Slovenia, or the register of cultural heritage (a register of protected cultural monuments, including archaeological sites, secular and church buildings). But, what about the genealogy sources?

In Slovenia, the primary sources of genealogical information can be obtained from the civil and ecclesiastical archives (Ljubljana, Maribor, Koper), where these are largely still available in the form of original books or their duplicates, created more than 100 years ago. Younger books are still in use by official registrars at administrative units. Because of data privacy rules, an access to these registers at administrative units is very limited: you need to be an immediate relative or registered researcher with an authorization of a descendant to be able to obtain genealogy relevant information even for events 100 years ago.

The main registers, used for genealogical research are birth, death and marriage books, for which responsible registrars or priests enrolled the life events of the residents of a parish to which they belonged in a given period. Thus, it is necessary to know for each person a period in a history, the relevant administrative  or church territorial and hierarchical organization in the Habsburg Monarchy, to locate the register in the correct archive, parish and book. While the church records of settlements which remained in Austria until today are online, for settlements, which are today in Slovenia, this is not the case. Not even half of parish books have been scanned, but also the scanned ones are available via a very limited number of client screens, placed in the archives. A long waiting period, short working hours and long summer holidays make a lot of opportunities for dissatisfaction with the situation.

We would need the wisdom and openness of the enlightened ruler Maria Theresa, who introduced numerous reforms in 18th Century in these countries, still nowadays. Her military surveys have been revitalised by digitalisation and georeferencing in the MAPIRE portal, that serves today online to interested users. Old maps of cities and countries can be viewed in a synchronised and even 3-D view.

But, again in a case of cadastral maps, these are available for neighbouring countries of former Austria-Hungarian Empire. For Slovenia, only Krain/Carniola region is included. As the state archive has no interest to participate in a project. Maybe the Ministry has recognised the financial interest of a private company behind a user-friendly searching of historical places: first, they offer their services free of charge, to attract users and donors of material, then they start limiting the access and charging for their upgrades. However, Slovenia offers the Francis cadaster (SVN Franciscejski kataster, GER Franziszeische Kataser; Franz II, Holy Roman Emperor) of parcels of land and their owners and users for a period 1818-1828 online (zoom-in). 

Franciscejski kataster today

Good news is, that the Archive of the Republic of Slovenia offers also all cadastral maps and scanned registrars at their portal free of charge for low-resolution maps (high resolution can be ordered). These are in a bit rigid archivist form, which demands some knowledge of past territorial organisation. We share this knowledge below to enable their usage for Slovenian land (alphabetical lists of owners and other lists, which enable restoring the farms, are freely available). Nowadays statistical regions are indicated above the historical Habsburg regions for a given period:

  1.  Lower Sava, Southeast Slovenia, Littoral–Inner Carniola, Central Slovenia, Upper Carniola:
  • Imenjska knjiga za Kranjsko (1539-1871)
  • Terezijanski kataster za Kranjsko (1747-1805)
  • Franciscejski kataster za Kranjsko (1823-1869)
  • Reambulančni kataster za Kranjsko  (1867-1882)

2. Drava, Savinja, Central Sava:

3. Carinthia:

4. Mura:

5. Gorizia, Coastal–Karst:

Franciscejski kataster 1826

Picture above: Geographical centre of Slovenia Vače (German: Waatsch) on Francis cadastral map restored at mapire.eu show farms, fields, forest and other categories of land use together with names of settlements (Waatsch), field names and farm names (vulgo surnames), which are all of great importance for genealogy. Three examples on the picture give a basis for the surname explanation:

  • Hostar, the surname still exists today in a form of Hosta (etymology: by field name ‘na Hosty’ = in the forest)
  • Lebek, the surname is extinct (etymology: by field name ‘na Lebeki’)
  • Farbar, the surname is extinct, or it exists in a form of Brvar (etymology: the owner of the farm had also an occupation being a painter = ‘barvar’, from ger. Faerber, Färbar)

Barvar-Faerber

How to start my family history research?

Genealogist reveals personal information about individuals and, according to kinship, brings them together in family relationships in a given time and location. With a fast technological development and Internet-driven information and tools, the first family tree can be created by anybody. If only he or she is interested in personal details of parents and grandparents, like:

  • When and where they were born?
  • Where did they go to school and studies? What exactly is their occupation?
  • What do they do for the living? What interests and hobbies they had?
  • What is their ethnic origin? If immigrated, what is their ancestors’ country of origin? Etc.

For great-grandparents and further ancestors, the genealogist intervenes with family and general history. The best stories are told when family history is linked with generalities in the past (find some milestones and characteristics for past generations), and some photos are added.

The first source of information are your parents, grandparents and other older relatives. Ask them about their youth and life, they usually love to talk about these. Collect family photos and be sure, that you recognise people on them by names and origin. Then find a reliable software to create your family tree. Install it on your local computer (for example MyHeritage Family Tree Builder) and be sure, that you have verified information before publishing your family tree online.

If your first thought is still: “How should I start?”, take some time and learn from masters at FamilySearch. This service is still free, you need to register and search for records.

The Journey Begins

The more we go, the longer we see. Goriška Brda – the most western Slovenian land.

Autosomal DNA testing for genealogy has become popular and affordable. In some cases, it is a substitute for classic genealogy research in archives and libraries. Luckily, with the matching of specific codes of the autosomal DNA, there is a possibility of finding a cousin when both submit their biological sample for testing and make their results available for consultation. In 2018, the atDNA results for the purpose of ancestry testing can be obtained for less than $100 from some reliable providers (Family Finder test at FamilyTree DNA, MyHeritage DNA, Genographic test at National Geographics, Ancestry DNA, etc.). Testing of atDNA can be upgraded by testing of Y chromosome, X chromosome and mitochondrial DNA at FamilyTreeDNA, to get deep ancestry information for thousands of years ago and more precise affiliation to ancient tribes. Wast legacy kept in each human genome can be revealed. This is a good investment for the future and great opportunity to preserve our eldest relatives, parents, grandparents alive by their biological sample containing DNA information also after they pass away.

A basic question of this project is: Could we collect genetic genealogy results of Slovenians and Americans of Slovenian ancestry into a joint database and set standards for certain origin of Slovenian population? We decided to address this question to people, interested in Slovenian origin and their own pedigree (see the survey).

Before the World War I and during it, many Slovenians left their country for a better life. In the last decades before the WWI, it is estimated that the process involved up to 300,000 people. The emigrant wave was directed mainly to the United States, partly in German parts of Austria, Germany and Egypt, only to a lesser extent to South America (Brazil, Argentina). As emigrant and immigrant statistical records managed the expatriates by country of origin, to which Slovenians belonged in that time (such as Austrians, Hungarians, Italians, etc.) it is very difficult to find people. Many of them travelled by railway through Ljubljana to European ports as Trieste, Rijeka, Genoa and Western European ports, e.g. Cherbourg, Le Havre, Antwerp, Rotterdam, Bremen / Bremerhaven, Hamburg and other ports, e.g. Southampton in England (M. Drnovšek).

 

Ancient-Trieste
Port of Trieste was a starting point of many Slovenian emigrants. In 1910, there were 60,000 Slovenian inhabitants in Trieste and twice as much of Italians. Today Trieste belongs to Italy.

By passing four to six generations since emigration, many contacts between emigrants and their relatives in Slovenia have been lost during the last century. In the era of early 21st Century, we have the last chance to reveal our ancestral origin to founding populations from just a simple saliva or cheek tissue sample. From this sample, a unique DNA pattern can be determined, which can link individual Americans of Slovenian ancestry to their origins in the territory of Slovenian speaking people, before all information is melted in a contemporary mixing of populations and natural dissolving of inherited DNA through generations.

So, in our project ‘Slovenian DNA Pool’ all interested participants from both sides of the Atlantic Ocean are invited to provide their GEDMatch number along with their real names and surnames and e-mail for the collection of Slovenian DNA Pool, as well as to share their DNA and genealogy data. Managers and administrators of the project will carefully consider the data before publishing. If an alias were provided, it would be displayed in place of the real name along with DNA results.

Collected information will be used for research purposes only. Anonymised data could become part of a bigger database, as it is more and more often for crowd-sourced genealogy. Furthermore, each individual can benefit from the database to find their long lost relatives and upgrade genetic ancestry by family tree.

Join our project as a donor of DNA testing results:

Thanks for joining us! Hvala, da ste se nam pridružili 🙂 

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton

  • Header photo: a scenery seen from a tower in Gonjače in Goriška Brda. In the opposite side, the Port of Trieste and Port of Koper could be observed in the Nord Adriatic See.