RootsTech 2027 Call for Presentations

 

RootsTech 2027.

The call for presentations for RootsTech 2027 is open. As seen in the screen capture above, the submission deadline is 29 June 2026. Last year I submitted a proposal for a 20 minute online topic, knowing I would be following remotely while in India for my March 2026 meetings. RootsTech 2027 aligns with my planned travel later in the month so I can attend in person in Salt Lake City and then continue on to Europe for meetings.

I think I have a better concept for a talk this year and have already started to build the format along with relevant sources and images.

Quiet

Posts have been slow for the past few days with the Mothers Day weekend, preparations for college move-out for our student, and AP exams for our other student. In the background there have been a lot of other moving parts - an expert consultation, more chromosome mapping, and reaching out to cousins who may have the missing key (DNA) to unlock some mysteries on the Mexican side of the tree.

There are some new discoveries and cool stories coming to the blog soon enough, but there are a few more loose ends. 

Vicente's Two Families

 

Vicente Antonio Campuzano's first family.

While trying to untangle the relationships and DNA connections descending from my 3rd-great-grandfather Vicente Campuzano and his two families, it is helpful to step back, draw some pictures and look at what we have. An illustration of Vicente's first family with Benancia Gutierrez is above. On Ancestry's Thrulines tool, my Mom and her two sisters have differing numbers of DNA matches descending from the children of Vicente and Benancia Gutierrez, ranging between 54 and 74. Some of these may be half relationships descending from Vicente only, and others very likely are also multiple relationships connecting to branches on our side through Vicente's second family or other currently unknown relationships.

I'm currently working through the self-paced Endogamy and DNA course through YourDNAGuide. It is timely and helpful, as I can now more easily see the problem of multiple relationships and DNA inheritance on this side of the tree. Previously I wrote about Maria Antonia Campuzano, who married Juan Bautista Calles. If my research is correct, Juan's father was Joseph Manuel Calles, and Juan's sister was Maria Manuela Calles (grandmother of my 2nd-great-grandfather Manuel Portillo). Maria Antonia's sister, Maria Teresa de Jesus Campuzano, married Francisco Calles, who is probably connected into Juan Bautista Calles' family. So we have multiple relationships there with sisters marrying men from a likely connected Calles line, and the Calles men also connecting into my Portillo side.

We also have Ygnacio Campuzano, who had a family with Mariana Portillo. Francisco Calles and Maria Teresa de Jesus served at witnesses to the wedding of Ygnacio and Mariana in 1866.

Vicente Antonio Campuzano's second family.

Our line runs from the second family with Maria Concepcion Amado through son Vicente Plutarco Campuzano. Vicente Plutarco's son, my great-grandfather Plutarco, married Manuela Portillo in Tucson in 1923.

DNA in the news: Franklin Expedition sailors identified with DNA

 

Google Arts & Culture. Cresswell, 1854.

A new study has identified four skeletons from the 1845 Franklin Expedition to the Northwest Passage. The English sailors were part of the crew on the HMS Erebus and HMS Terror. The identifications were made using DNA analysis. Two of the men were identified through mtDNA connections to donor matches, and another through YDNA (see study in ScienceDirect, 6 May 2026).

Returning to our shoemaker in Altar

 

Made in Ideogram. Vicente in 1859. Altar, Sonora.

In December 2025 I created a likeness on Ideogram for my 3rd-great-grandfather Vicente Antonio Campuzano, working as a shoemaker in 1852. Vicente had two families, and from the first branch of the family we have a Big Y 700 tester in cousin Greg. His result provided a clear Iberian connection. A Big Y test has come back from the side of the second family, connecting to my own branch on the Campuzano side. The results are not what I expected, and I'm doing some additional analysis - and guided consultation next Monday - to understand how to proceed next.

There are definite hints of a connection to the Portillo side of the tree. I'll be exploring this further, and first need to connect again with the Big Y testers.