I felt that I had to do at least one more post and give a My True Ancestry New Update.  Rarely would I do this for one company, but they give such an enormous amount of data, and roll out new data and features rapidly.  I won’t go into great detail on how to sign up here, you can list the first to posts to get that information. One of the great things about My True Ancestry is that you can start off with a free assessment and upgrade whenever you want.  Unlike some sites, you do not have to pay a monthly fee.  Plus, they often offer specials to upgrade at a deep discount, and you can add family members and compare. I did three upgrades when the discounts came up, and I now have Olympus access.  This allows me to upload ten GED files.  So I have added the entire family.  I’m going to show you how you can use Living DNA ( I recommend that you send GED to them first, to get Haplogroups ) and My True Ancestry in tandem. Click here to join Italian Genealogy Blog on Facebook Bob’s Ancient DNA Haplogroup from Living DNA Your fatherline has been associated with the migrations that occurred from the Near East to Europe during the Neolithic (New Stone Age). Around 11,500 years ago, haplogroup G2 split into two branches: G2a and G2b. G2b spread across Iran, whilst G2a travelled with its carriers across Anatolia and Europe. WIth the spread of agricultural technologies, practices and ideas came movements of people and populations. The populations that spread into Europe are thought to have carried the G2a fatherline with them, which helps explain the small presence of this haplogroup across Europe today. The high percentage of G2a found in samples from Neolithic burials suggests the carriers of this group played a significant role in Neolithic migrations across Europe some 6-8000 years ago (Lacan et al., 2011). My True Ancestry When I put this information into My True  Ancestry  it gave me a match to G2a2b – Oetzi the Iceman.  He is the person they found in the Alps several years ago.  This makes sense based on the fact that Living DNA shows that my father line DNA goes through the Alps. Marian’s Ancient DNA Haplogroup from Living DNA An ancient motherline, thought to be 32,000 years old. Your motherline signature belongs to the U1 group. U1 is rare, and there is not a huge quantity of information on this group as a result. Haplogroup U1 is most commonly distributed across the Middle East, as well as Anatolia and in low frequencies in eastern European (Derenko et al., 2013). However, it is still found in low frequencies due to being such and ancient haplogroup. It has been estimated to have arisen around 32,000 years ago. The exact place of origin is not necessarily determinable at this point, but the frequencies in the Near East today may suggest that it arose around this area. My True Ancestry Marian did not show any links to anyone famous at the moment, but as I explained earlier, they are always updating information. You  can see the link to my Haplogroup post below.   Skeptical? I know! I always am. A lot of people feel that the DNA tests are made up, or they just support things that people want to see.  My children are both adopted so I am going to show you the My True Ancestry for each of us below.  PCA (Principal Component Analysis) is a statistical procedure that lets you visualize relationships in sets of data. It is ideally suited for visualizing genetic distance and relatedness among samples and populations. Bob Marian Matt Nicole New map showing were your ancestors originated Feb 202 New map showing any royal ties originated Feb 202 Click to purchase from our store or find on Amazon or Kindle

In my second interview with Frank Di Piero, host of “Keeping it Real with Frankie D”, we discuss his two great children’s books “My Big Family” and “Teddy Bianco Goes to Italy”. We also talk about his series called “The Italian American Moment” where he tells the stories of our unsung heroes. Frank Di Piero was born in Chicago and is 100% Italian origin. He has traveled to Italy many times and attended two study abroad programs in Italy, one in Roma and one in Firenze. He is the former President of The Harlem Avenue Italian & American Business Association and was on the committee to start an Italian American Studies Program at Loyola University Chicago. He is a Director of Casa Italia, and LITTLE ITALY Cenetta. He is on the committee of the Festa della Repubblica celebrated at Pompeii Church. He is a Chicago area representative of C.T.I.M., Comitato Tricolore per gli Italiani nel Mondo. He is a volunteer at Casa Italia Library and the Italian Cultural Center. He is a member of the Italian Catholic Federation, Chicago Branch 392. He is the former Sergeant at Arms of the J.C.C.I.A. He also has been a proud and active supporter of The Balbo Monument and the Columbus holiday and statue. He is a former director of Italidea-Midwest. He has performed with (IATC), the Italian American Theatre of Chicago. He is a former committee member of the Columbus Queen Contest in Chicago. He has organized and sponsored a seminar on Italian aviation and a cultural dance for young Italian Americans as well as Italian language classes for the youth and an Italian Community Mass at OLMC. He attended the 54th annual Italian American Studies Association (IASA) conference in Pittsburgh, PA in October 2022. He has lived his entire life around the North Harlem Avenue area. He has been married for more than 31 years to his wife Ivana (who was born in Calabria, Italy) and together they have 2 children. italianamericanlife.com Podcast Click here to join our group on Facebook Video

There is evidence of the presence of a type of Homo Erectus in Calabria along coastal areas as far back as 700,000 BC. More recently ( 12,000 BC ) Stone Age there is a figure of a bull in the Romito Cave. The first villages arrive in 3,500 BC. Click here to join Italian Genealogy on Facebook In approximately 1500 BC the Oenotri or vine cultivators settled in Calabria. According to legend, they were Greeks led by kin Oenotrus. Some say that they were first to use “italoi” which later evolved into Italia. However the Samnites also can make claim to that from the word Vitaliu. The first real documented Greek presence begins during the eighth and seventh centuries BC. When over a dozen settlements were founded ( Magna Grecia ) Some of the more well known are: Cosenza, Scilla, Locri, Acri and Reggio Calabria. Two of the famed lyric poets  were born in Calabria. Crotone became a center of science, medicine and philosophy in the 5th Century BC. The Itali were the first established people of Calabria. The Bruttii from Lacania occupied Calabria and renamed it Bruttium. They were very advanced culturally and originated in what is now Basilicata. This short post is taken from Made In South Italy Today Click the link to read more.   Timeline Map

Kate Kelley is the Photo Angel and she has taken on the task of finding old photos in antique shops, garage sales and contributions through the mail and returning them to the descendants of the people in the photos. It all began with a pile of labeled photos of non-relatives that were mixed in with my grandparents’ old family pictures. Were they friends? Classmates? War buddies? Neighbors? I was determined to find out. So I started poking around genealogy websites and BINGO! I immediately began connecting with relatives of the photographed. Now I’m hooked! I love to visit antique stores to thumb through their pictures in my quest to find those that are labeled so that I may return them to their family members. One woman affectionately dubbed me, “The Photo Angel” which was just so sweet. The purpose of this project is to document success stories and inspire others to search their dusty attic boxes for photos with identifiable information and join in the fun! Happy Hunting! The Photo Angel Website Podcast Click here to join our group on Facebook Video

Peter Franzese talks about his grandfather growing up in the Italian-American enclave of Williamsburg Brooklyn in the 1930’s and 1940’s and how he connected with him. We also talk about his first book “Nettie — Tales of a Brooklyn Nana”. You don’t have to be from Brooklyn or NYC to relate to the fun stories. Born in Flushing, New York and raised in Richmond Hill and Deer Park, Peter M. Franzese is a fourth generation Italian-American. He holds a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism and M.S. in Secondary Education English from Hofstra University, as well as a degree in Mortuary Science from American Academy McAllister Institute. A former television news writer and educator, Peter is a funeral director in Long Island, New York, where he lives with his wife and daughter. His first book, Nettie: Tales of a Brooklyn Nana was released in 2004. Podcast Click here to join our group on Facebook Video