My Mitochondrial Family

I have been away from this blog for a while. I hope many of you have kept up with me over on Michigan Redneck II over on Wordpress. I have decided to continue with politics and news on the other site and use this site for ancestry and sewing updates.

For the title of the post. What is Mitochondrial DNA? Wikipedia has this;

Mitochondrial inheritance

[edit] Female inheritance

In sexually reproducing organisms, mitochondria are normally inherited exclusively from the mother. The mitochondria in mammalian sperm are usually destroyed by the egg cell after fertilization. Also, most mitochondria are present at the base of the sperm's tail, which is used for propelling the sperm cells. Sometimes the tail is lost during fertilization. In 1999 it was reported that paternal sperm mitochondria (containing mtDNA) are marked with ubiquitin to select them for later destruction inside the embryo.^[10] Some in vitro fertilization techniques, particularly injecting a sperm into an oocyte, may interfere with this.

The fact that mitochondrial DNA is maternally inherited enables researchers to trace maternal lineage far back in time. (Y chromosomal DNA, paternally inherited, is used in an analogous way to trace the agnate lineage.) This is accomplished in humans by sequencing one or more of the hypervariable control regions (HVR1 or HVR2) of the mitochondrial DNA. HVR1 consists of about 440 base pairs. These 440 base pairs are then compared to the control regions of other individuals (either specific people or subjects in a database) to determine maternal lineage. Most often, the comparison is made to the revised. Vilà et al have published studies tracing the matrilineal descent of domestic dogs to wolves.^[11] The concept of the Mitochondrial Eve is based on the same type of analysis, attempting to discover the origin of humanity by tracking the lineage back in time.

Because mtDNA is not highly conserved and has a rapid mutation rate, it is useful for studying the evolutionary relationships - phylogeny - of organisms. Biologists can determine and then compare mtDNA sequences among different species and use the comparisons to build an evolutionary tree for the species examined.

more here, with all the scientific stuff

Specific for my research in layman terms, I am studying from my mother to her mother to her mother and beyond.

Here is what I know. I will leave out names of living persons. So I will not mention my mother or maternal grandmother. Let's start with my maternal grandmother's mother was Dorothy (Nelson) Reimel Behnke.

Dorothy Nelson was born on July 26, 1900 in Wilmington, Illinois to Henry and Elizabeth Kallis Nelson. She married William Reimel, son of Michael and Katherine (Catherine) Shoemaker Reimel, on April 3, 1918 in Owosso. Officiating was Reverend D. Gale. Marriage information has been taken form marriage license. After becoming a widow, she married Edwin Behnke, of Durand in 1955.

Henry Nelson was probably born on April, 8 1861 in Denmark. Coming to the US sometime during the 1880s. The possible birthday deduced according to info on his death certificate and his stated age on his youngest son's (Carl) birth certificate. According to Henry's and Elizabeth's marriage certificate, Henry's father was Niels Powelson. In the early days, Danish surnames were decided by the given name of the person's father. That is why Henry's surname is Nelson. Technically according to this theory, his true surname is Nielsen; meaning Niel's son. But Nelson is the Americanized version of the name.
Elizabeth Kallis was born to Frank and Elizabeth Selinger Kallis in Diamond, Illinois on January 5, 1864. Possible birthday deduced according to information on her death certificate and youngest son's (Carl) birth certificate.
Henry and Elizabeth Nelson were married on April 21, 1890 at the First Presbyterian Church in Wilmington, Illinois. Officiating the ceremony was Reverend Thomas S. Anderson. Information according marriage certificate.

Frank Kallis was born sometime during 1826 in Bohemia (current day Czech Republic). According to a distant cousin in South Dakota, Frank came from a town called Nosálov. He had a brother named Joseph, possible spelling Josef.
Elizabeth Selinger was born on May 5, 1835 in Bohemia, possibly in a town called Mšeno. According to Henry and Elizabeth Nelson's marriage certificate, "mother's maiden name Seliger." She did have a brother named Wenzel. Wenzel's address was Nassa del#11 Mšeno region Mělnik Bohemia. Possible parents' names were Wenzel and Lena.
Lena lived with Kallis family, in the 1880 census. According to the census info, spelling of given and surnames as Ellen Selezer. She was widowed at the time. I have found an immigration record of a Helena Seliger who was about the same age as my gggg grandmother. She arrived in 1863. Yet, in the 1870 census I can not find her.

Dorothy Nelson Reimel Behnke passed away on July 5, 1995 of a stroke at Owosso General Hostpital in Owosso Michigan. She is buried with both husbands, William Reimel and Edwin Behnke, in the cemetery in Vernon, Michigan. This is family information.
Henry Nelson passed away April 15, 1929 from obstruction of bowel in Durand, Michigan. He is buried with wife and sister-in-law, Emma Kallis at Oakwood Cemetery in Wilmington, Illinois Lot 42. Information taken from Henry's death certificate and family information.
Elizabeth Kallis Nelson passed away on June 20, 1909. Immediate cause was heart failure. She had suffered from Pulmonary Tuberculosis for 6 months. Attending physician was Wm. B. Welch. She is buried with husband and sister at Oakwood Cemetery in Wilmington, Illinois. Information taken from death certificate and family information.
Frank Kallis passed away on December 25, 1880 of unknown causes. He is buried somewhere in Illinois, possibly at a Catholic cemetery. Taken from family information.
Elizabeth Selinger Kallis passed away on April 4, 1918 in Wessington Springs, South Dakota. She is buried in Hope Cemetery in South Dakota. Taken from family information.
Lena/Ellen Selinger most likely passed away in Illinois and would most likely be buried in Illinois. Just an educated guess.