YOUNG FAMILY MITOCHONDRIAL DNA TESTING

ELIZABETH  (YOUNG) YOUNG (1827-1896): The Y - Chromosome is inherited only by males (from their biological fathers).  Therefore studies of this nature are in essence exploring the paternal lineage only.  In order to study a maternal lineage, it is necessary to turn to mitochondrial (mt) DNA which is inherited by both sons and daughters from their mother, but can only be passed to the next generation by the daughters.  This type of DNA provides an indication of the deep (anthropological) ancestry of a person in the female line (mother, maternal grandmother and so on back to the "Mitochondrial Eve" who resided in East Africa about 140,000 years ago).  There are 7 "Daughter's of Eve"  who are the ancestors of virtually everyone of maternal European descent.  While it is commonly known that the Y - Chromosome is one of the 46 chromosomes found in the nucleus of most cells in the body, mitochondrial DNA is entirely different.  It is found as a cell inclusion throughout the cell - since its purpose is to act as a mini energy packet that helps to power the sundry functions of the cell.  There are thousands or these bacteria - like organelles in each cell (again, each one coming from the mother).  However, it is also possible to use this form of DNA testing to determine the maternal ancestry of some of the early Youngs.  The wife of Henry YOUNG (1825-1901) was his first cousin, the above Elizabeth YOUNG.  Genealogical reserach has shown that her mother was Mary TERRYBERRY (born in New Jersey), whose mother was Hannah YOUNG, whose mother was Sophia YOUNG (neither were related to the Youngs of the Grand River) who were also born in New Jersey.  Sophia's mother was Anna - surname unknown. To assess the mitochondrial DNA of all these women, an individual who a descendant in the female line, a descendant of Elizabeth YOUNG's daughter's daughter's son, was found to have Haplotype J*. .

Microscopic view of a single mitochondrion, of which there are thousands in each cell of the body (e.g., the skin cells obtained by mouth swab for DNA analysis) - each one coming from the mother, who inherited it from her mother and so on back to the "Mitochondrial Eve".

This finding is particularly interesting and informative since the J* haplogroup is relatively rare, and the specific haplotype (series of mutations away from the arbitrary Cambridge Reference Standard) even more so.  The HVR1 (Hyper Variable Region 1) mutations are 16069T - 16126C - 16224C. While the 69 and 126 numbers are the defining part of haplogroup J, the 224 mutation is what gives this "signature" its power to link up with both recent kin, and with ancient ancestors (since the mutation rate of the mtDNA markers is much slower that what is seen with the Y - Chromosome).  Haplogroup J is relatively common in the Middle East and Northern Africa (e.g., 66% in Bedouins from the latter region) and, although widely dispersed, quite rare in much of Europe (e.g., 7% in Germany where, presumably, the ancestors of Elizabeth Young originated).  Considering the basic J haplotype (69 + 126), it is interesting to note that the J with a 224 mutation has only been observed to date in the Caucasus (e.g., Cossacks, Georgians, Azerbaijanis, and Armenians). Clearly Elizabeth Young had a rare and somewhat exotic mitochondrial DNA profile.  The reason why the test was performed in the first place was that there is some question as to whether Elizabeth's eldest daughter Celestia Jane (YOUNG) HINES (1849 - 1937) was the full sibling of the rest of the children of Henry YOUNG (1825 - 1901) and Elizabeth YOUNG (1827 - 1897).  Therefore, at some point a descendant in the female line from Elizabeth's daughter Hannah Adelia (YOUNG) DAWSON via the latter's daughter Clarissa (DAWSON) STOWE will be located and tested.  If this individual turns out to have the above sequence of numbers, then at least we will know that Celestia is the biological daughter of Elizabeth.

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