A deeper dive into the 2024 update

 

AncestryDNA 2024 update. 

Taking a closer look at things that changed in the 2024 AncestryDNA update, I see the reference panel size is up to 116,000+ samples, vs 72,000+ last year. This is up substantially from 40,000 reference samples in the 2019 update. As I've been tracking these updates since I first submitted an AncestryDNA test in 2012, it has been really fascinating to see the ancestral regions evolve and fluctuate over time. It is a little odd to see Germanic Europe go from 4% in 2019 to 26% in 2024, and for Ireland to completely disappear.

Nigeria (now Nigerian Woodlands) has held pretty steady at 1% since it first appeared in the 2018 update. Clicking on this ancestral region shows another surprise, connecting us to the Tiv ethnic group of Benue State.

AncestryDNA Oct 2024. Nigerian Woodlands sub-region.

 It's nice to see Spain at 16%, and that tracks with my Mom's Spain percentage increasing to 33%.

AncestryDNA Oct 2024 for KDJ.

On my Dad's updated results, his England & Northwestern Europe went up to 62%, while his Ireland lost 6%, down to 12. This seems to be a decrease for Ireland across all the tests I administer, along with the increase on Germanic Europe, maybe that is a sign of a larger trend. Interestingly, because my Mom's results have no Germanic Europe and my sister now has a sub-region of Germanic Europe for Italian Swiss, maybe this comes from my Dad's side.

Dad's results also show two sub-regions in Ireland: Leinster and Munster. This makes sense, as Limerick and County Clare are in Munster, and John O'Brien's obituary from 1901 says he was from County Clare. Longford is part of the western edge of Leinster, so maybe this also helps trace where the family of my 3rd-great-grandmother Bridget came from.

On my results, the sub-region for Scotland's Northern Isles of Shetland and Orkney appear as "strong" connection strength. My Mom shares this sub-region, although her connection strength is "moderate".

Scotland sub-region 2024.

On my Mom's sisters' results, my Aunt Patty retained her 14 ancestral regions, as well as adding the Northern Isles sub-region for Scotland. Her percentage of Jewish went up from 1% to 2% and now shows the sub-region of Sephardic Jews.

AncestryDNA Oct 2024 for PM.

It's interesting that my Mom does have the trace for Nigeria, but Aunt Patty doesn't, and my Aunt Linda has 1% Senegal. My Mom's cousin Irene, who is a great-granddaughter of Vicente Antonio Campuzano and Maria Conception Amado, has a trace of Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana. This reflects a little studied aspect of history that a large number of African slaves were brought to Mexico from along the West African coast in the late 1500s and 1600s, many through the port of Veracruz in the Gulf Coast.

I am really interested to see how MyHeritage's next DNA update, teased earlier this summer, will look in comparison with Ancestry's 2024 update. Maybe this will be out by Rootstech in March.

The 2024 AncestryDNA Update is here

 

AncestryDNA Oct 2024 Update.

The 2024 update for AncestryDNA has been released, and there are quite a few changes from last year. While the 2023 update showed 8 ancestral regions for me, this year's version is down to 6, with a new sub-region for the Northern Isles of Scotland. My percentages for England and Northwestern Europe dropped from 56 to 38%, and my Germanic Europe shot up to 26% from 7. Spain is now 16% from 7. Scotland stayed the same and I added a sub-region. Indigenous Americas - Mexico stayed the same at 5%, but Ireland dropped off along with Wales. I still have 1% Nigerian, now shown as Nigerian Woodlands.

AncestryDNA Oct 2024 for BAJ.

My Mom's results also changed slightly, and now I can see where this mystery sub-region of Northern Isles, Scotland comes from. This region is coming from her paternal side of the tree, either from the McKinley line or the hole I currently have as one of the research questions to determine the identity of the father of Mary Alice Cain Read using DNA.

Her England & Northwestern Europe went up from 17 to 38%. Her Spain also went up from 30 to 33%. Scotland dropped from 20 to 6%. Indigenous Americas - Mexico stayed the same at 12%. Her Sweden dropped from 10 to 4%. Ireland at 4% is new, along with 1% Sephardic Jews. She retained 1% Basque and 1% Nigerian Woodlands.

The Sephardic Jewish percentage makes sense, as the Amado surname is known to be of Sephardic origin.

I'll have another post comparing the updates on my Dad's results and others in the DNA tests I administer for the family. 

Irish Travel Posters

 

National Museum of Ireland.

This beautiful travel poster is from the National Museum of Ireland's digital collection. I'm partly posting this so I can easily locate these again to go with future posts and plans for next summer's visit to Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland.

The Pilot

 

Indianapolis News. 24 Oct 1944.

Eighty years ago, Guy Hankins was reported missing over Germany. He had become a command pilot of a B-17 bomber. Any descendant of his will want to seek out his military service record. I do not have the details on his service as a pilot, but I'm sure it would be a fascinating read.

In February 1945, Guy was listed as a prisoner of war.

Journal & Courier. 8 Feb 1945.

Guy's name appears in a record on Ancestry as part of the Arolsen Archives collection, titled Europe, Registration of Foreigners and German Persecutees, 1939-1947. This record gives a glimpse into what happened after he was captured in Germany. The record lists his name, date of birth, birth place and indicates it is a medical record from Oberursel. This was a military hospital north of Frankfurt where captured servicemen were given medical attention and interrogated.

The record indicates Guy was captured on 2 October 1944. The word "mittlefußbruch" translates to metatarsal fracture. He was treated at Oberursel between 2 October and 4 November 1944.

Arolsen Archives.

Another document on FamilySearch related to his prisoner of war status indicates Guy was transferred to Stalag Luft 3 at Sagan-Silesia (now Poland). From there, he was moved to a POW camp at Nüremburg-Langwasser. It is not clear when he was freed, but this camp was liberated by the US Army on 16 April 1945.

I cannot comprehend what Guy experienced those six months when he was a prisoner of war. His service record should provide a lot of information on what happened, and would be essential reading for his descendants.

Guy returned home to Thorntown, and married Frances Hungerford on 7 September 1946. Perhaps the photos on my previous post were from Guy's wedding, or prior to his departure for Europe. In the 1950 US Census, Guy and Francis appear in Thorntown. He was working as a grocery store owner.

Guy died on 8 October 2002. According to his obituary, he owned and operated the Hankins Grocery Store in Thorntown for 32 years, retiring in 1980. The obituary mentions surviving children, and notes the numbers of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Perhaps some of them will find this post, and the previous photos and link to his memory-making 1937 West Coast road trip with his cousins.

Guy

 

Ethel, Guy and David C. Hankins. Thorntown, Indiana.

The fourth member of the group on that amazing 1937 California road trip was Guy Hankins, a cousin of my Gumpy and his brother Bob through their great-grandaunt Minnie Melissa Armstrong. Minnie was a daughter of Easter Vail Armstrong (my 3rd-great-grandmother). He was born in June 1921 in Thorntown, Indiana, about eight months younger than my Gumpy.

I know there are living descendants of Guy out there, and I am sharing these photos and starting his story with this post. Perhaps they've never seen these photos. I likely have more once I search through what might remain from the nine rolls of photos the group took in their two week road trip to California and back.

Keith Jones and Guy Hankins.

Guy was a reserve guard on the 1937 Thorntown High School basketball team. In 1938, he was a member of the Glee Club, and he graduated from Thorntown in 1939. In the 1940 US Census, Guy's father David was a barber, and Guy was a clerk in a grocery store in Thorntown along with his older sister Pearl. With the start of World War II, Guy took a job in the Hoosier Ordnance Plant, otherwise known as the Indiana Army Ammunition Plant in Charlestown, Indiana. The plant opened in 1941, and employed over 27,000 people by May 1941.

Guy signed a draft card in February 1942, listing the plant as his employer. Sometime after signing the draft card, Guy became a supervisor in the plant.

WWII Draft Card. Source: Ancestry.

Guy enlisted in the Army in July 1942, and it appears he was moved over to the Air Corps. He trained in the US, and then moved over to England in August 1944. My next post will pick up the story of Guy and his service in Europe during the war.