A Noble Heritage: The History and Legacy of the Polonsky and Paull Family in America, Chapter 21: "The Greatest Generation" (original) (raw)
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The frequent adoption of different surnames by individual members of the same family in the Russian Empire during the early part of the 19th century resulted in the creation of numerous family units of related people having different paternal surnames. In addition to the Americanization of Jewish surnames, this may explain, in part, why so many closely-related Ashkenazi Jews with Russian ancestries have completely different surnames. This situation has greatly complicated their efforts to trace their ancestries, or to locate common ancestors with individuals with whom they may be a genetic match. As a result of Russian surname laws and mandates, many non-related Jewish individuals acquired the same surname, while many related people acquired different surnames. Hence for Ashkenazi Jews of Russian ancestry, surnames may confer very little information regarding kinship. This situation has created many challenges and has placed many brick walls in the path for genealogists who try to trace the ancestry or locate descendants of a particular Jewish lineage, many of whom have different surnames, as well as for interpreting the different results of DNA tests for Jewish descendants, who are assumed to be related because they share a common surname.
When Y-DNA and Yichus Tell Different Stories
Y-DNA analysis has proven to be a valuable tool in the genealogical research of Jewish paternal lineages. In our research, we have used it to validate the paper trail of pedigreed rabbinical descendants and identify the Y-DNA genetic signature of many different rabbinical lineages. However, sometimes Y-DNA results for Jewish descendants who share the same surname do not match, even though their paper trails indicate descent from the same common ancestor. What happens when Y-DNA testing does not validate the paper trail? What are the possible reasons for these confounding and unexpected results? The purpose of this article is to explain some of the major reasons why Y-DNA and yichus sometimes tell different stories. In this article, we explain: • The meaning and significance of the term yichus to Jewish genealogy, • The process for identifying the Y-DNA genetic signature for a rabbinical lineage, • How we determine whether Y-DNA results prove or disprove patrilineal yichus, and • The major reasons why Y-DNA and yichus sometimes tell different stories.