Resurfacing

Meetings in Sevilla have ended and I’m stopping in Madrid for the moment. Madrid is on my top cities list, and it’s been really great returning to a favorite neighborhood and seeing familiar places. This is definitely a place I could spend quality time in a future life chapter. Blogging and family history research have been on pause while I’ve focused on my primary duties for the event in Spain.

Things are shifting from here to our Asia Pacific region, and another familiar location or two returns to the travel itinerary. Spain will be back in January and will feature heavily in my travel plans for 2027.

Plaza de España

 

Photo by Patrick Jones. Sevilla. 27 Aug 2019.

Up up and away

 

Photo by Patrick Jones. TWA Hotel, 2 Nov 2024.

Immigrant Heritage Month

June is Immigrant Heritage Month. As with previous years this is a reminder for donations to groups supporting immigration causes, and a reminder to look back at some of the previous immigration stories in my own family. MyHeritage has free access to its US immigration collection this week.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Echo Park, LA. 19 May 2018.

Research Progress June 2026

It's been a month, and once again time to share research progress since the previous update for May. The most significant developments have all been on my maternal side questions, so this month's post will feature that activity. The discoveries from this month show my three previous questions blending together. Some of the bigger discoveries are still being worked through with cousins, and I'm holding off documenting this case study on the blog until hearing back from everyone for now.

1 - Working with Portillo DNA matches. I have been able to use chromosome mapping from matches on FTDNA, MyHeritage, Gedmatch and 23andme to identify segments most likely connected to the Portillo family. There's a lot here to still work through, but these matches are starting to identify specific segments most likely inherited from the Portillo family, and the segments in common are providing a likely generation of connection between Mariana Portillo and my 3rd-great-grandfather Manuel Portillo.

2 - Analyzing mtDNA matches in the maternal line path of Maria Jesus Vasquez. Now with an additional cousin we have some fascinating results and I'm working through them. This mitotree haplogroup is now A2a5b'd'e.

3 - Campuzano YDNA. This has been the biggest result of the month. I've been using a mix of tools, such as Diagrams.net, DNAPainter, and the various DNA testing platforms, to work through the matches and document the issues with this family line. The testers on both branches of the family are now aware, and I have a full recap of the research so far in the works.

[New] 4 - Identifying living descendants of Jose Jesus Amado for YDNA. This is an old research question that has come back after finding two Amado testers on 23andme, and connecting with the manager of an Amado kit on Ancestry. Using chromosome mapping I can see the segments of these Amado testers overlapping with a Campuzano cousin who descended from Maria Concepcion Amado. My hope is the tester on 23andme might be interested in a YDNA kit from FamilyTreeDNA.

Future RootsTech Talk. I submitted two session proposals for RootsTech 2027. Now I wait. Last year I heard back by mid-September that my 2026 proposal had been declined. Either way I'm looking forward to attending in person.

RootsTech 2027 proposal

 

RootsTech 2027. 

My RootsTech 2027 talk proposal is in. The deadline runs to 29 June, but with travel coming up next week, I went ahead and finished the entry. I might send in a second topic, and have the outline already finished.

Santa Monica mountain lion captured

 

SMDP. Mountain lion in Santa Monica. 29 May 2026.

A mountain lion was safely captured yesterday after hanging out in a Santa Monica backyard, right around the corner from our old home. The story reminded me of P-22, the famous mountain lion of Griffith Park. Hopefully the safe capture and relocation of the mountain lion will also drive attention to the Save LA Cougars campaign and the soon to open Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing over the 101.

A Family Secret No More

This is a fascinating long form story in the NY Times (published 15 May 2026), about the families from two brothers originally from New Orleans who were placed in an orphanage. One brother went north to Chicago, passing as white; the other brother stayed in New Orleans. The families later reunited through the journalist who was a former national correspondent with the Times. Well written, and the story weaves in old photos and documents to the present.

A Complicated Map

 

Diagrams.net family map.

Earlier in the month I shared a screenshot from a family relationship map I've been building using the free version from diagrams dot net. The map has now progressed quite far and I've placed 28 DNA testers on the map (there are many more known matches), covering representatives from the two Campuzano families of my 3rd-great-grandfather Vicente Antonio Campuzano. I've also been able to use this map with the multiple relationships from the Portillo family connections.

The map has also proven useful connecting 23andme matches to the tree, and placing them in the appropriate place. On top of this, I am doing chromosome mapping and identifying segments in common with the different testers (except for Ancestry, which does not yet provide this).

A third layer to this exercise has been to query the same prompts of Claude (Sonnet 4.6) and Google Gemini, asking the models to analyze the map given the complicated YDNA case that we now have. After a fascinating back and forth questioning with the models and DNA segments, I have a good idea of how to present the results, and where we need to go next. YDNA testers welcomed.

A new life for a historic home

 

Bar Crisol. Tucson, Arizona.

In 2022 I shared a story on Exo Roast Co in the Barrio Viejo neighborhood of Tucson. The shop is now Cafe/Bar Crisol, located in the former home of my great-grandparents Plutarco Campuzano and Manuela Portillo, at 196 W. Simpson Street.

Ancestry. 1940 US Census. Tucson, Arizona.

Roadrunner

 

Print by Keith D. Jones.

An undated print by my grandfather, Keith D. Jones. I've previously shared some of his artwork and stories on the blog (see California or Bust from 2024).

Magnifica Humanitas

Pope Leo XIV published a fascinating encyclical letter today titled Magnifica Humanitas, focusing on the impact of artificial intelligence on humanity. I'm not Catholic, but there is a lot here crossing my subjects of interest, from my primary role to family history research. I regularly use AI tools, and work in a technology and policy field, so this encyclical will have some closer reading to follow.

Throwback post: Indy 500 History

In May 2020 I shared a set of photos taken by my Gumpy at the Indianapolis 500, perhaps in 1937 or 1938. Today is race day in Indy for the 110th running, so I'm resharing the link to those photos. 

2026 World Cup teams based on family history

FIFA World Cup 2026 kicks off shortly, with forty-eight teams competing across venues in Canada, Mexico and the US starting 11 June and running through 19 July. While we'll be cheering on Team USA, I thought it would be fun to see what other teams I might cheer for during the tournament based on family history connections. I'm not alone in this, based on this FOX5 NY article from 21 May 2026.

Group A features Mexico, which will definitely get some support from our deep roots in Sonora. Group B has Canada and Switzerland. My 4th-great-grandfather Asa Putnam Smith was supposedly born in Nova Scotia in 1783 (I'd love to confirm this with records). We have a Swiss connection through my Dad's side, descending from the Felmey/Völlmi and Imhoff lines of my 5th-great-grandparents.

Group C has Scotland, ancestral home of my 5th-great-grandfather John McIntosh. The group also has Brazil, a surprise landing place for a branch of Allison's Halter line, and Morocco, where we have ancestral origins links to North Africa and the Sephardic community of North Africa on Mom's side of the tree.

Group D features Team USA and Türkiye, where we may have a connection through the Sephardic community of the Eastern Mediterranean. I also have friends and colleagues from Türkiye and hope the team makes it to the knockout stage of the tournament.

Group E has Germany, ancestral home to many branches on both my side and Allison's side of the tree. Group F has Netherlands, and we do have a Dutch connection back to Amsterdam.

Group G features Belgium, and in addition to Brussels being a frequent location for my travel, we have a Belgian connection through the family of Philippe du Trieux.

Group H has Spain (and honorable mention Uruguay). Group I has France, ancestral home to several lines on Dad's side and Allison's side.

Group J includes Algeria, where Allison's 5th-great-grandfather Jean Pierre Halter settled after departing Bas Rhin, France. Defending champs Argentina are also in Group J, and although we don't have a family history connection there (as far as I know), they will be a fun team to watch.

Group K has Portugal, where we have ancestral links on Mom's side to the Azores, Madeira and Portugal. The final group, L, has England, and we have many family history connections on both sides of the tree. This gives quite a few teams for us to cheer along for World Cup 2026.

DNA in the news: Study on Ancient DNA in pre-Inca Peru

A fascinating paper in Nature (22 May 2026) titled Ancient DNA reveals a family ossuary and long-distance migration on the Pacific coast before the Inca Empire. The paper describes a family grouping between 1240-1410 CE of the Chincha Kingdom. One of the individuals had the A2 mtDNA haplogroup.

Nature. 22 May 2026.

Ahead of the long weekend

It's the Friday of Memorial Day Weekend in the US. We have a full household again, and not a lot of major plans other than dodging the rainy weather. We've been watching the NBA Playoffs, which is sadly missing our Pacers, who one year ago took down the Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals. I'm cheering on Wemby and the Spurs to beat Oklahoma City.

On the family history front, I'm wrapping up the YourDNAGuide Endogamy online course, and continuing chromosome mapping. The long weekend combined with rainy weather provides an opportunity to update my proposed RootsTech 2027 talk. I'm also looking ahead to June travels and the need to solidify the summer schedule before seats become scarce or too expensive.

There are some other threads weaving in the background that I'll hopefully have on the blog in more detail soon.

Testing everywhere was the right choice

 

DNAPainter chromosome map.

I'm now about two months into the process of chromosome mapping of segments, using DNA data from MyHeritage, FamilyTreeDNA, Gedmatch and 23andme. I currently have about 28% of coverage, with 153 segments mapped to DNAPainter. This would not have been possible without the matches who only tested at 23andme.

About a year ago one of my research questions was to identify living descendants of my 5th-great-grandparents Jose Jesus Amado and Gertrudis Palomino. Two of those descendants tested at 23andme. While only one is still alive today, there's are hints of others in the same line, and if they're open to a YDNA kit from FamilyTreeDNA, this might provide some answers on the family's link to Portugal.

Chromosome 10.

Here's an example from my chromosome 10. The two rosé colored segments sandwiched above the yellow segment are both Amados. The yellow segment is Campuzano from a known descendant of Vicente Antonio Campuzano and Maria Concepcion Amado. The overlap is about 16 cM. The yellow is also overlapping with an orange segment from cousin Garry, showing this is a small inherited Campuzano piece.

Chromosome 18.

Another example on chromosome 18 shows an orange segment from a Campuzano tester on 23andme, with a long overlapping piece above two yellow segments who are known Campuzanos descended from my great-grandparents Plutarco Campuzano and Manuela Portillo. All of these testers only appear at 23andme. The tiny brown piece below the yellow is from a Portillo tester who is part of the Guerrero-Leyva group.

There is a cost to all the testing across platforms. I paid for 23andme+ Premium, which is (currently) $69 for a year. So far I've gotten the value and then some with the ability to see matches only available on that platform and see segment data. Many of the other features I haven't yet used, or don't work as well as tools on the other DNA platforms. 23andme's DNA clustering and chromosome comparison is solid and already enabling some discoveries. 

Plaza de España, 2019

 

Photo by Patrick Jones. Sevilla, Spain. 27 Aug 2019.

A throwback shot to our family trip to Spain in 2019. I'm two weeks out from returning to Spain for meetings, once again going to Sevilla.

Mapping the DNA matches across platforms

Last Friday's post featured some simple family maps, built using free tools with Diagrams dot net (formerly Draw.io). This is similar to working in LucidChart, without Lucid's AI tools and no account is (currently) required to use it.

Family mapping in Diagrams.net.

What is helpful is that I can scroll across and build out the trees for both families, keeping the two families grouped above, and then "offscreen" on the left of the chart add DNA matches descending from the children of Vicente Antonio Campuzano. I can then color code those, and show centimorgans in common from the known testers at Ancestry, MyHeritage, FamilyTreeDNA, 23andme, or uploaded to Gedmatch.

This is a manual process for me, but I'm finding it useful to see where there are gaps, groups of closer matches, and then I can use the chart to try to make sense of segments in common from those testers not Ancestry (or who have also uploaded kits to FTDNA or Gedmatch).

Maybe there's a different way to do this, but so far this works. 

Looking for YDNA testers

I'm at a stage where additional testers would be helpful for this ongoing Campuzano DNA mystery. We need to have a few more testers descending from both the first family of Vicente Antonio Campuzano and the second. There is not currently a Campuzano DNA project at FTDNA, but I think there needs to be one.

If you're in the direct male path from one of the branches of the family, and you've stumbled onto this blog from a Google search, please reach out.

Spring in the marsh

 

Photo by Patrick Jones. Ithaca, NY. 15 May 2026.

Year Two in the Books

College move-out is underway. A mostly rainy drive north today, with the time on the road aided by some fascinating podcast episodes to keep the drive interesting. I highly recommend the One Song podcast (available on Spotify and YouTube). Now I need to read the new memoir from Fab 5 Freddy called Everybody's Fly. Freddy's host duties on Yo! MTV Raps were hugely influential, especially as the show overlapped with my own years as a high school student. I know his show, and his efforts overall opened up a lot of minds to hip hop beyond the roots of the genre.

Crista Cowan's Stories That Live In Us podcast series (available on Spotify, also YouTube) covering the family history stories connected to the states ahead of the America 250 anniversary has also been good and I listened to a few of those as well on the drive.

This week Spotify also released a 20 Year Anniversary feature, covering a personalized recap of my (or your) own Spotify listening history based on their annual Wrapped recap. I was a little surprised to see my Spotify history goes back to 2011. While I think I have an eclectic mix of most streamed songs on my 20 year playlist, I was also impressed to see the number one most streamed by me since 2011 was Blind Melon's Change. 

Released in 1992, the song still holds up strong - ignore the video if you look it up on YouTube, listen to the music. The band's lead singer Shannon Hoon, born in Lafayette, Indiana (also the stomping grounds of Guns N' Roses legend Axl Rose), died in 1995 during my senior year of college. The band had a brief life but continuing legacy, and is underrated as an important band of the 90s.

Tomorrow is a day of packing, cleaning out the dorm and preparing for the drive home.

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. 

Segments in common

 

23andme. Chromosome browser comparison.

I'm continuing to work with DNA data and the chromosome browser tools on FTDNA, MyHeritage and now 23andme. Looking at some DNA matches on the Portillo and Campuzano side of the tree who tested at 23andme, I can see segments in common. I'm exploring a theory that may help resolve a question of multiple relationships, and better place Mariana Portillo on our tree in connection with my 3rd-great-grandfather Manuel Portillo.

Some additional new test information has arrived that calls into question some of what we've thought on the Mexican side of the tree. I'm hoping using the chromosome mapping tools will untangle these complications.

Cinco de Mayo

 

US Postal Service, 1999.

More questions than answers

 

St. Patrick's Parish records. LaSalle, Illinois.

In March I wrote to the Archives for the Catholic Diocese of Peoria, and they directed me to the Parish Secretary in LaSalle. After providing a donation and details on the records I was seeking, the staff conducted a search. Late Thursday I received a reply with some photos, which may provide some new information on the children of John and Bridget O'Brien. The image below raises additional questions, which I've asked to the parish secretary.

St. Patrick's baptisms. LaSalle, Illinois.

If I am reading this correctly, on 24 March 1860, three children of John and Bridget O'Brien were baptised at St. Patrick's:

• Ann O'Brien, "born about 1853"
• Bridget O'Brien, "born about 1856"
• Mary O'Brien, "born about 1859"

I have as children of my John and Bridget: Anna Maria, born about 1852; Isabella, born about 1853; John J. O'Brien, born in 1854; Agnes O'Brien, born in 1858. Bridget also had her surviving son from her first marriage, Michael Dooner, born in March 1850. I thought Bridget O'Brien had died in mid 1859. Maybe the entries above are not for the children of my John and Bridget. Baptisms for John J. O'Brien and Michael Dooner seem to be missing. Is "Mary O'Brien" Agnes? Is Bridget from 1856 Isabella? Lots of questions here. 

The Sponsors

Perhaps I need to look into the sponsors for the baptised children: M. O'Kane, Margaret Gorman, and Julia Clark.

Ancestry. 1860 US Census. LaSalle, Illinois.

In the 1860 US Census, there is a Julia Clark, living in the household of Patrick and Mary O'Kane in LaSalle. We also know that by August 1860, Anna Maria, Isabella and Agnes were placed in the care of the Sisters of Charity in LaSalle, and they appear in the list of pupils at the convent. 

At first I was struggling with the spelling for the sponsor of Bridget O'Brien, born in 1856, but looking at this again I think the name is Margaret Gorman. There is a Margaret Gorman in the 1860 US Census in LaSalle, a 30 year old woman from Ireland, spelled Margarette.

Ancestry. 1860 US Census. LaSalle, Illinois.

Another option is Margaret Conway, born about 1836, from Ireland, living in Grand Rapids, LaSalle, Illinois.

Derby Day 2026

 

LIFE Photo Collection. George Silk. Kentucky Derby 1959.

Later today is the 152nd Kentucky Derby. I've previously shared a set of photos taken at Churchill Downs by my Gumpy, perhaps sometime in the late 1930s or early 1940s. We're looking forward to the race and enjoying the festivities with friends in the neighborhood.

Research Progress May 2026

Here's a monthly recap on progress for my research questions. As with last month, it's been a mix of progress and stall, with a flurry of movement in the past week.

My Paternal Side

1 - Looking for parents of my Irish 3rd-great-grandmother Bridget. I am continuing to work on chromosome mapping using my Dad's results. I also took the leap and submitted yet another DNA kit, this time to 23andme in the hopes of finding some O'Brien/Bridget matches that only tested there. While I did find matches in common to the James O'Brien group there, I'm so far struggling to see any potential matches to Bridget's side of the tree. I have some new information from St. Patrick's Church in LaSalle, Illinois, but this deserves its own post...coming Sunday.

2 - mtDNA matches in the same mitotree path for Sarah Westall and Elizabeth Thornhill Jones. Cousin Lynn shared some information on a 1 step match located in Australia. Doing some digging, I think there's a possible maternal line connection who was born in the UK and placed on a convict ship to Australia in 1786. Perhaps our Westall maternal line connects back to the UK in the past with this match, how far back, we're not certain yet.

3 - Jones YDNA. No further movement since last month.

My Maternal Side

1 - Working with Portillo matches. Surprise movement at the end of the month following my 23andme results. I can see several familiar names connected to the Portillo side of the tree. This will be an area of emphasis in May.

2 - Analyzing mtDNA matches in the maternal line path of Maria Jesus Vasquez. Cousin Joe's mtDNA results arrived, giving us more matches to compare with cousin Catherine.

3 - Campuzano YDNA. Still waiting on cousin Garry's Big Y result to give us a closer-in-time branch point to compare with cousin Greg.

Allison's Sides

1 - mtDNA results in the maternal line path for Dorothea Sophia Gagelmann. Finally results arrived at the end of April.

2 - Separating out maternal and paternal line matches on FTDNA. Not much progress this month.

3 - Analyzing XDNA matches on Allison's side of the tree. I've added some XDNA matches to the spreadsheet, and have been noting which family group I think these matches might belong to.

Future RootsTech Talk

I have made some progress here, building the bones of the talk into a presentation and pulling together the timeline graphics. I probably have half of the talk built in the presentation and the overall outline and themes are done. More to follow in May, and I suspect there may soon be a call for presentations for RootsTech 2027.

Purple Blooms

 

Photo by Patrick Jones. Farnham Castle. 23 Apr 2026.

Matches who only tested at 23andme

Testing at 23andme has proven worthwhile, identifying some matches who only tested there vs on Ancestry, MyHeritage or FamilyTreeDNA but known to connect with documented branches on my tree on those sites. There are some familiar names too, cousins who had also tested on the other sites.

23andme has some tools that I like - the timeline, the reconstructed ancestors tools and clustering are useful. I like that it did a solid job of calculating my maternal haplogroup and allows you to see matches by haplogroup. There are also some features I find annoying, or are not as intuitive as Ancestry and MyHeritage. Looking at DNA Relatives (matches) is not as easy as Ancestry or MyHeritage, and not immediately clear which side of my tree these people are on. I think Ancestry does a much better job at separating out my maternal and paternal sides. 23andme does have a cool DNA Family Tree feature, but I am finding it's mixed up my Mexican side of the tree from my Mom's Whitley/Matthews side (these are both on my maternal side of the tree, but the Mexican side is maternal-maternal, and Whitley/Matthews is maternal-paternal).

23andme also limits you to 5000 DNA matches, vs the 82,574 that I have on Ancestry. But if this number is quality and represents people who only tested here and not on another platform, 23andme is providing potential connections I didn't have on Ancestry or MyHeritage. There's more to do in looking at the tools and possibilities.

And the results are in

 

23andme Ancestry landing page.

In the hopes of finding some potential connections who only tested at 23andme, I sent off a kit at the beginning of the month. Two weeks later, the results are in and I am looking at comparisons between other tests at Ancestry, MyHeritage and FamilyTreeDNA. 23andme nailed my legacy mtDNA haplogroup, A2d2, while FTDNA's mtFull sequence provides a more refined MitoTree result. For the paternal haplogroup, my Big Y 700 result is definitely more granular than the higher level R-L2.

Before comparing the Ancestry composition results with other tests, it's worth looking at a timeline report from 23andme (below).

23andme. Ancestral timeline.

The report estimates a most recent ancestor from a specific population based on inherited DNA segments. They estimate I had a parent, grandparent or great-grandparent who was 100% English between 1880-1940. Knowing my tree as I do, I know Samuel Oyler was born in Kent, England in 1822. Samuel's son Charles John Oyler (my 2nd-great-grandfather) was half German through my 3rd-great-grandmother Marianna Haiss.

The next interesting entry on the timeline says I had a great-grandparent, 2nd-great-grandparent or 3rd-great-grandparent who was 100% Andalusian, Asturian or Castilian. Here is where some of what I know on my Mexican sides of the tree is useful but incomplete on several of the branches. At the same level, 23andme suggests I also had someone who was 100% Portuguese or Galician, born between 1820 and 1880. I think this was further back, knowing how mixed the people in my tree were about this time.

Between 1760 and 1850, I had most likely a 2nd to 5th-great-grandparent who was Irish. Yes! This would be my 3rd-great-grandmother Bridget, and John O'Brien. 23andme estimates I also had someone at this level who was 100% Scottish. Yes! This was my 5th-great-grandfather John McIntosh. 23andme similarly suggests I had someone at this level who was 100% Austrian or Southern German. Correct, this could come from Marianna Haiss, who was born in Hausen im Killertal in Southern Germany.

Further down in the timeline, there are some fascinating recommendations. 23andme suggests I had a 3rd to 7th-great-grandparent or greater who lived between 1700 and 1820 who was 100% Nigerian. Ancestry's latest origins update from October 2025 estimates this very likely enslaved person was from the Nigerian woodlands, so it's interesting 23andme also shows this trace connection. At this level it also suggests an ancestor who was 100% Southern Mesoamerican (possibly Mayan).

At the lowest level of the timeline, 23andme suggests between 1700-1790, I had an ancestor who was 100% Ashkenazi Jewish, one who was 100% Northern Andean (this is from the Chilean branch of the tree), someone who was 100% French, someone who was 100% Belgian, Rheinlander or Southern Dutch - yes I have this from the du Trieux branch.

Your ancestors aren't who you think they are

 

YouTube. David Reich interview. 21 Apr 2026.

There's a fascinating talk from Harvard geneticist David Reich that was recently uploaded to YouTube. The talk is 49 minutes, but it is broken into sections. Reich published a book in 2018 titled Who We Are and How We Got Here, and the YouTube interview is based on his team's research and the themes of the book.

Nature article on DNA and Indigenous Americans

A new article published 22 April 2026 in Nature describes the Evolutionary History and Unique Genetic Diversity of Indigenous Americans. This is the largest genomic dataset of Indigenous Americans to date, helping researchers trace the threads of early migration across the Americas.

It will be interesting to see if this dataset improves future versions of ancestral regions reports from Ancestry, MyHeritage and others. These companies use reference populations in their models, and as the data improves, this can provide more accuracy to these ancestral regions reports.

Through the brick walls

 

Photo by Patrick Jones. Farnham, UK. 23 Apr 2026.

Haplogroup path to Dorothea Sophia

 

Ideogram. Dorothea Sophia about 1820.

Our daughter's mtDNA results have finally arrived, providing a maternal haplogroup back to Dorothea Sophia Gagelmann, who lived in the Province of Saxony from about 1800. I previously shared a story in February describing what her life might have been like in Saxony and in the town of Gardelegen in 1817. It will take another week (hopefully less) for the Mitotree result and Discover report, but for now the legacy haplogroup is H3-T152C!.

H is a very European haplogroup, based on the description in this 2014 publication titled Neolithic mitochondrial haplogroup H genomes and the genetic origins of Europeans. 

Guildford on Saint George's Day

 

Photo by Patrick Jones. Guildford Castle. 23 Apr 2026.

Thursday morning before meetings I was able to walk down the hill into historic Guildford and see the castle gardens. I didn't know at the time this also aligned with Saint George's Day in England.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Guildford Castle gardens.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Guildford Castle. 23 Apr 2026.

Photo by Patrick Jones.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Wildflowers on the Mount. 23 Apr 2026.

Farnham, Surrey

 

Google Arts & Culture. Farnham UK. 1957.

Drawings of buildings in the town of Farnham, Surrey. This area is southwest of Heathrow, and it's where I was yesterday for meetings. Photos from this quick trip to the UK to follow over the weekend.

Ireland's 1926 Census Online

 

National Archives. 1926 Census Search page. 20 April 2026.

Ireland's 1926 Census is now available for searching online at the National Archives. This is the first census to be released for independent Ireland, following the 1901 and 1911 censuses collected under British rule. According to the National Archives of Ireland, the census is being released online in phases.

Another week

Welcome Monday. Since last week, I am still waiting on things I wrote about earlier in the month, although only one of those things I expected to hear back on by now. While Sophia's mtDNA results have not yet arrived (it's been 15 weeks), cousin Joe's results came back (a month earlier than expected).

I have some travel from tomorrow so it's possible I'll have several updates once I return.

From the London Transport Museum

 

Photo by Patrick Jones. London Transport Museum. 5 Dec 2025.

AI making the past come alive

 

Chloe vs History channel, YouTube.

A new YouTube channel has launched featuring a virtual influencer time traveling to various locations and events. The channel, Chloe vs History, is an AI creation from Majestic Studios in the UK (see this April 2026 interview with Majestic's creator, Jonathan Laramy). Majestic uses AI to create realistic videos of historic cities, and the new series takes this a step further with the virtual Chloe. This is a bit more advanced than the usual "AI slop" populating the Internet.

This March 2026 Sky News interview describes how Jonathan uses AI tools such as Seedance and Claude to create the videos. 

I've been thinking for a while about "if your family stories could be streaming", and seeing Majestic's progress with AI storytelling definitely provides ideas for stories that I'd like to see with this approach.

Mapping Mom's side of the DNA tree

 

DNAPainter. Chromosome Mapping.

Using the tools on DNAPainter, I've started mapping the segments corresponding to my Mom's DNA matches on FTDNA and MyHeritage. Because I had already started a chromosome map using my Dad's DNA matches, I paid $55 for a year of access to the tools on DNAPainter. I don't mind supporting the site as I know Jonny Perl does amazing things, and it's a small amount to have more access to the features I already use on DNAPainter.

I expect I'll probably create a chromosome map using my own matches, as I'm expecting results from 23andme at the end of the month my from own test. I can't transfer my parents' earlier kits to 23andme, so I'll have to work with my own results there, and I still need to figure out how to transfer segments in common from Gedmatch to DNAPainter. From the transfers to MyHeritage and FTDNA, I am seeing good results so far. I'm up to 69 segments painted (18% coverage) for my Dad's results, and with some limited effort today, I'm up to 56 segments painted (12% coverage) on my Mom's results.

I can already see some cool segments in common on the Campuzano/Vasquez side of tree, because I can compare segments across cousins Catherine, Joe, Greg, Rodger and Eddie with my Mom's results.

There's more to come on this soon. In the short term this update fits with several of my maternal line research questions. 

LACMA reopening

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)'s David Geffen Galleries officially reopen this weekend. I have a ticket for August when I'm back in LA, and I'm excited to see the reimagined galleries, timed for a sunset walk through the new spaces. I last visited the old LACMA twice ten years ago, when I did some night running in downtown LA, and again with the family in September 2016.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Urban Light at LACMA. 4 Jan 2016.

I feel like this is something as someone who has adopted LA as my home away from home, or home in my heart, I need to do, to see the new LACMA space in its opening months (NYTimes article, subscription may be required). As with my January trip overlapping with Indiana Basketball vs UCLA and USC, I'm taking in the sights on occasion when I come back to LA.

An update on the mitotree

 

FTDNA. Discover report on A2a5 match.

We now have an additional result descending from Maria Jesus Vasquez (see also here), as cousin Joe received his mtDNA results. As expected, the haplogroup, A2a5, is the same as cousin Catherine. We're waiting on the mitotree to update and this may provide a more refined branch point for both. Catherine's mitotree updated in February, but I think hers will update again once the analysis is complete on Joe's kit. I suspect the image above will change for him soon when this analysis is updated.

Looking at another pair of matches

As with yesterday's post, I'm exploring DNA matches with my Dad's results on MyHeritage and FamilyTreeDNA, trying to identify segments for chromosome mapping. When I look at a match named Steven, I see he has 68 cM in common with my Dad across five segments. That's pretty good. The longest segment is 43 cM. MyHeritage estimates Steven is a 3rd cousin with my Dad.

Even better, Steven has a sister who also tested at MyHeritage, and she shares that same 43 cM segment. I was able to build a floating tree on Ancestry using their father, and with a combination of sources on Ancestry and FamilySearch work backward until I found a common ancestor in my 6th-great-grandparents William Lee and Catherine Ross. Great! Unfortunately this is too far back to be the only relationship. It's possible this 43 cM segment is Lee/Ross, but the four other segments in common with Steven are pretty small. Multiple relationships mean there's more work to do.

Toward the end of the month, YourDNAGuide's Endogamy and DNA course begins. I'll keep this example in mind as I work through the online course.

Who was Ralph's father

I'm continuing to work on chromosome mapping using matches to my Dad's results on MyHeritage and FamilyTreeDNA. One match I'm struggling with is named Ralph. This match shares 64.7 cM across four segments with my Dad, so potentially this is a good match to see where he fits, and to see if the connection is on Dad's maternal or paternal side.

When I look a little closer, I can see this tester died in 2020. He left a small tree, only with names on his maternal side, and lots of unknowns on his paternal side. Because Ralph's mother was a daughter of German immigrants, I feel like the common ancestor is on Ralph's paternal side. Ralph was born in 1933. His mother married in September 1937 in Cleveland, and the marriage record states this was her first marriage. A profile for the mother on FamilySearch also states that Ralph was adopted by the man that the mother married in 1937. The adoptive father was a child of Hungarian immigrants. The common ancestor has to be on a branch of Ralph's mystery biological father.

Ralph does have a second cousin match with 271 cM in common, also matching my Dad at 26 cM across 1 segment. There's more to do digging into shared matches of matches. Right now I'm parking this to pick up later, and moving on to another match to my Dad in the same range.