Honoring my Matrilineal Grandmothers: A Look at Mitochondrial DNA

On this Mother’s Day weekend, I want to honor the women on my matrilineal line. This branch of my family tree goes straight back to Denmark, and the stories of these women inspire me. I share mitochondrial DNA with these women, and I like to think that along with that unique inheritance, I also inherited some of their strength and determination.

About Mitochondrial DNA

We all inherit mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from our mothers, but only females can pass it on. This unique inheritance path is interesting to explore and can be useful in our genealogy research if we understand its limitations. Unlike autosomal DNA, where we receive DNA from all of our close ancestors, the mtDNA we carry is very old and was passed on to us from a grandmother many generations past. The following image demonstrates how both males (squares) and females (circles) inherit mtDNA, but only females pass it on to their children. ¹

 

When you take a mtDNA test, you will receive your haplogroup. The ISOGG Wiki defines a haplogroup as a “genetic population group of people who share a common ancestor on the patriline or the matriline. Top-level haplogroups are assigned letters of the alphabet, and deeper refinements consist of additional number and letter combinations.” ²

FamilyTree DNA gives this statement about mtDNA haplogroups. ³

A haplogroup represents a shared maternal line ancestor that lived thousands of years ago. Everyone in a common haplogroup shares a common distant ancestor.

When you do a DNA test at 23andMe, you will receive a high-level maternal haplogroup. If you do the autosomal DNA test at Living DNA, you will receive a high-level haplogroup and a more refined haplotype. Finally, if you do the mtDNA full sequence test at FamilyTree DNA, you’ll receive your haplogroup and a report showing matches. Unfortunately, because mtDNA is passed down relatively unchanged for generations, it will be very difficult to determine a common female ancestor between you and a match. The best use for genealogy purposes is to target test descendants of a hypothesized female ancestor. This can help to rule in or rule out a proposed ancestor.

My Mitochondrial DNA Haplogroup

I tested at 23andMe and FamilyTree DNA and had my son test at Living DNA. Since he inherited his mtDNA from me, we share the same haplogroup. Here are the results from each company.

• 23andme: U5b1c
• FamilyTree DNA: U5b1c2b
• Living DNA: U5b1c2b

 

Both FamilyTree DNA and Living DNA reported a more specific haplogroup than 23andme. Living DNA provided details that this haplogroup is commonly found in the Saami people of northern Norway, Sweden, and Finland. This Scandinavian connection made sense based on my Danish matrilineal line.

 

FamilyTree DNA gave me self-reported countries of origin for other people with the haplogroup of U5b1c2b who were exact matches with me: England, France, Germany, Ireland, Scotland, Sweden, United Kingdom, and the United States. This was a broadly northern European group.

My Matrilineal Line

My connection to Scandinavia is relatively close. My great-grandmother, her mother, and her grandmother were fully Danish. I’m fortunate to have images of them and information on them via FamilySearch and the relatives who have uploaded photos, stories, and documents.

 

Starting with my mother, here is a small snippet about each of these women. I’ve linked to their FamilySearch profile, which has more information on each one.

Anna Mae Kelsey (1928-2021):  My mother was born in Burley, Idaho, and married her high-school sweetheart, Warren Pace, in 1949. Sadly, he died of cancer just four years later, leaving her with an 18-month-old son. She moved forward with her life and eventually married my dad, Bobby Gene Shults, in 1956. She taught me to work hard, be organized, care about others, and much more.

Florence Matilda Creer (1892-1977): My grandmother was born in Spanish Fork, Utah, and gave up her life of relative luxury to marry my grandfather, Edward Raymond Kelsey, in 1917. They started married life in a one-room shack homesteading in Idaho. She lost much of her hearing early in life but never complained and always thought of others before herself.

Mary Margaret Peterson (1871-1926): My great-grandmother was the first of our matrilineal line to be born in the United States. She married Charles Cannon Creer in 1892 and started married life in grand style in the two-story home he built in Spanish Fork. Sadly, she suffered an accident fifteen years after marriage that rendered her an invalid for the rest of her life. Her talents in music, storytelling, and sewing brought joy to her family and neighbors.

Margrethe Mathilde Rigtrup (1848-1886): My second great-grandmother was born in Randers, Denmark, and emigrated with her parents to Utah Territory as a 7-year-old in 1855. She worked hard to help her widowed mother and married another Danish immigrant, Soren Peterson, in 1867. In 1880, she lost three of her children to diphtheria and died herself in 1886 after the birth of her tenth child.

Johanna Elizabeth Korsgaard (1813-1894): My third great-grandmother was born in Viborg, Denmark, and married Peder Rigtrup on 1 May 1840. They went against tradition and joined the newly formed Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when missionaries visited their village. With her husband, she packed up her family of four children in 1855 and crossed the Atlantic. They settled in Iowa and St. Louis, working to earn funds for the trip west. Before they could begin this trek, in 1857, her husband and son died of smallpox. Determined to make it to Utah Territory in 1859, Johanna and her surviving three children walked all the way. As a widow, Johanna worked hard to support her family and outlived all but one of her six children. Her faith and persistence are inspiring.

I’m grateful for each of these women and the lessons I continue to learn from studying their lives. I love that our mitochondrial DNA ties us together. Perhaps someday, it will be key to discovering an unknown ancestor. The trail runs cold after Johanna’s mother, Maren Christendatter, who was born in 1729.

Best of luck in all your genealogy research!

Learn more about Mitochondrial DNA

How to Use mtDNA Haplogroup Information in Your Family History Research 

Mitochondrial DNA – A Blast From the Past

1.  Debbie Parker Wayne, “Maternal Lines: Using Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA),” Debbie Parker Wayne (http://debbiewayne.com/presentations/mtdna.php : accessed 10 May 2024).
2. “Haplogroup,” ISOGG Wiki (https://isogg.org/wiki/Haplogroup : accessed 10 May 2024).
3. “mtDNA Matches” page, mtDNA Haplogroup information bullet, FamilyTreeDNA (https://www.familytreedna.com/my/mtdna-matches : accessed 10 May 2024).