Hand Jive

[darkerhorse]

My 1st cousin has - and his father and his father's paternal uncle had - a congenital hand disease. They're all in the same surname line (not mine).

The disease is said to be most prominent in Northern Europeans. By paper trail, my cousin is 25% Norwegian, his father was 50% Norwegian, and his father's uncle was 100% Norwegian.

None of them had DNA testing.

Given that the congenital hand disease follows the Norwegian line, how likely is it that my cousin actually inherited more than the 25% Norwegian indicated by the paper trail?

[MarcuccioV]

My 1st cousin has - and his father and his father's paternal uncle had - a congenital hand disease. They're all in the same surname line (not mine).

The disease is said to be most prominent in Northern Europeans. By paper trail, my cousin is 25% Norwegian, his father was 50% Norwegian, and his father's uncle was 100% Norwegian.

None of them had DNA testing.

Given that the congenital hand disease follows the Norwegian line, how likely is it that my cousin actually inherited more than the 25% Norwegian indicated by the paper trail?

Is it Viking's disease..? As for your direct question, your cousin could have more than 25% Norwegian (random replication) and of course if his mother had some Norwegian (or other Germanic/Scandinavian) ancestry as well. While we get exactly 50% of our DNA from each parent, it gets muddy after that. It's possible (albeit not likely) that a person could inherit 0% of a particular grandparent (which would be made up by the other grands) making for an uneven genetic makeup...

[MarcuccioV]

My 1st cousin has - and his father and his father's paternal uncle had - a congenital hand disease. They're all in the same surname line (not mine).

The disease is said to be most prominent in Northern Europeans. By paper trail, my cousin is 25% Norwegian, his father was 50% Norwegian, and his father's uncle was 100% Norwegian.

None of them had DNA testing.

Given that the congenital hand disease follows the Norwegian line, how likely is it that my cousin actually inherited more than the 25% Norwegian indicated by the paper trail?

Is it Viking's disease..? As for your direct question, your cousin could have more than 25% Norwegian (random replication) and of course if his mother had some Norwegian (or other Germanic/Scandinavian) ancestry as well. While we get exactly 50% of our DNA from each parent, it gets muddy after that. It's possible (albeit not likely) that a person could inherit 0% of a particular grandparent (which would be made up by the other grands) making for an uneven genetic makeup...

CORRECTION/CLARIFICATION: If dad was 50%, cousin would be 25% unless (as stated above) mother also had Scandinavian. But he COULD have gotten more DNA from the paternal surname line grandparent.

[darkerhorse]

As far as I know my cousin's mother was Northern Italian and French (France) and his father was Norwegian and French Canadian. As I wrote, the (great)-uncle was Norwegian (with a trace of Danish and German, which I didn't mention so as not to complicate it.)

I just looked up Viking's disease on the Internet. I remember my relatives called it a "contracture" so perhaps it is the Vikings disease. Some of their fingers curl down.

If so, does that mean I also descend from Vikings even though I don't have the disease? My cousin's father was my mother's brother. So, the uncle is my great-uncle too, being our grandfather's brother.

What's better - having Viking blood or Sicilian blood?

[darkerhorse]

It's interesting that neither my mother nor my grandfather had the disease. My cousin's father was my mother's sister meaning we had a common grandfather - maternal for me and paternal for him.

So, the disease went from grandfather's brother to grandfather's son to grandfather's grandson. My grandfather's brother was married but had no children. So how did my cousin's father get it if his own father didn't have it?

[MarcuccioV]

It's interesting that neither my mother nor my grandfather had the disease. My cousin's father was my mother's sister meaning we had a common grandfather - maternal for me and paternal for him.

So, the disease went from grandfather's brother to grandfather's son to grandfather's grandson. My grandfather's brother was married but had no children. So how did my cousin's father get it if his own father didn't have it?

Hard to say how these congenital defects are passed on, yet skip generations. I have the same in my father's family. Yes, contracture is Viking's disease. Apparently passed through ancient Neanderthal DNA.

Yes, I'd say you're better off with the Sicilian...

[darkerhorse]

I have both Sicilian (paternal) and Norwegian/Viking (maternal) blood. I meant which is better for me to brag about. I suspect your answer is the same!

In my case, the Sicilian might have Viking origins as well (though surname DNA suggests ancient Celtic background for my Sicilian roots.

I believe DNA testing can detect Neanderthal ancestry, which I might have as do many.

I don't know if I'd welcome more surprises...

[MarcuccioV]

I have both Sicilian (paternal) and Norwegian/Viking (maternal) blood. I meant which is better for me to brag about. I suspect your answer is the same!

In my case, the Sicilian might have Viking origins as well (though surname DNA suggests ancient Celtic background for my Sicilian roots.

I believe DNA testing can detect Neanderthal ancestry, which I might have as do many.

I don't know if I'd welcome more surprises...

According to my 23 & me test, I have very little Neanderthal DNA. I have mostly UK ancestry on my paternal side (much of which is Scottish, which has some Viking roots) & some Germanic/Dutch. My maternal side as you know, is Southern Italian/Sicilian/Greek/E. Mediterranean.

In my case, I have 690 maternal DNA matches as opposed to over 28,400 paternal. Since for me, the maternal is rather rare & paternal very popular, naturally I'm rooting for the underdog... If that makes any sense.

[darkerhorse]

I have both Sicilian (paternal) and Norwegian/Viking (maternal) blood. I meant which is better for me to brag about. I suspect your answer is the same!

In my case, the Sicilian might have Viking origins as well (though surname DNA suggests ancient Celtic background for my Sicilian roots.

I believe DNA testing can detect Neanderthal ancestry, which I might have as do many.

I don't know if I'd welcome more surprises...

According to my 23 & me test, I have very little Neanderthal DNA. I have mostly UK ancestry on my paternal side (much of which is Scottish, which has some Viking roots) & some Germanic/Dutch. My maternal side as you know, is Southern Italian/Sicilian/Greek/E. Mediterranean.

In my case, I have 690 maternal DNA matches as opposed to over 28,400 paternal. Since for me, the maternal is rather rare & paternal very popular, naturally I'm rooting for the underdog... If that makes any sense.

That's counterintuitive unless your paternal surnames are that much more common than your maternal surnames, resulting in much larger family sizes.

[MarcuccioV]

That's counterintuitive unless your paternal surnames are that much more common than your maternal surnames, resulting in much larger family sizes.

Some of them definitely are. Others not so much, but even the family trees are equally uneven. I am kinda jealous of people who can trace their Italian roots much deeper than I can...

[darkerhorse]

It's all relative (no pun intended). I have some paper trail back to the 1700s in Sicily but other people go back even further and I'm jealous of them. I believe my ancestral church had old records lost in earthquakes.

If I recall correctly, you're stuck in the 1800s. Maybe you'll get a breakthrough someday. Have you contacted Skip Gates?

My Norwegian side also has paper trail back to the 1700s. But my French side has been well-documented further back, to the 1500s in France. My direct ancestors who came over from France to Canada were founders of Montreal, having status similar to those on the Mayflower. But I prefer the no-name peasants in Sicily.

[MarcuccioV]

It's all relative (no pun intended). I have some paper trail back to the 1700s in Sicily but other people go back even further and I'm jealous of them. I believe my ancestral church had old records lost in earthquakes.

If I recall correctly, you're stuck in the 1800s. Maybe you'll get a breakthrough someday. Have you contacted Skip Gates?

My Norwegian side also has paper trail back to the 1700s. But my French side has been well-documented further back, to the 1500s in France. My direct ancestors who came over from France to Canada were founders of Montreal, having status similar to those on the Mayflower. But I prefer the no-name peasants in Sicily.

1800's, yes. Similar situation. Paternal side (on some branches) back to 1300's. Also famous people scattered on that side (not going to name-drop here). I too, prefer the mediterranean history...

[Konrad38]

Hello! Cool ask! The hand state may come from family, but it's not sure to match with how much Norwegian blood runs in your family. Your cousin might have more Norwegian genes than what the records show. A DNA test might clear up how much Norwegian ancestry is there. Without it, tough to tell if your cousin has over 25% Norwegian DNA.