Wiess DNA Project
The search for the ancestry of Simon Wiess has been given a new and powerful tool – DNA. We will focus on the use of the Y-chromosome as it will give a signature for the direct paternal (patrilineal) line. The Y-DNA of Wiess male test subjects will be virtually identical to their distant patrilineal nth great grandgathers and to the patrilineal descendants of those men.
If you are a descendant of Simon Wiess or of any of his paternal ancestors, you are encouraged to join the Wiess DNA Project. Any descendant can join, but only men directly descended paternally from Simon's paternal line can participate in the Y-chromosome part of the Project. (Note that you can also join if you are descended from his father or his father's brothers or anyone in his direct patrilineal line.)
For a basic introduction to Genetic Genealogy, see Intro to Genetic Genealogy.
Simon Wiess Y-Chromosome Project Participants:
The chart below shows which lines are part of the Wiess Y-DNA Project. Only men have a Y chromosome so his direct-line male progeny will receive a copy of his Y-chromosome. The chart shows only his sons and grandsons, though all men descended from him through a direct paternal-only (patrilineal) line will receive a copy (virtually unchanged). There are three other types of DNA which include females, but we are specifically looking for Simon's ancestors and Y-chromosome DNA is ideal for that purpose. Currently, only two of Simon's descendants have tested to the level necessary for this analysis – descendants of Napoleon Wiess, through his son Edward, and Mark Wiess through his son Abel.
The Y-Chromosome descendants of Simon Wiess are his sons, grandsons, etc. who are direct male descendants.
(The lines in red have tested and are represented below.)
Wiess DNA Project Descendant Chart:
Since the Y-chromosome is passed from a father to his sons, any change in it will also be passed. Those changes, called SNPs (pronounced snips), identify a branch in the phylogenetic tree, called a subclade or haplogroup. It is essentially a "father" of all who descend from it.
The SNPs are found by comparing the DNA of test subjects – as new people submit DNA samples, new SNPs will be discovered. The object is to find the most recent SNP that distinctly identifies a family branch – i.e. the "Terminal SNP" for that branch. The descendants of a SNP mutation are called a "haplogroup". On the Block Tree below, the parent haplogroup or SNP is Q-M242, a large group of people, many of whom are Native Americans.
Below is the "Block Tree" generated from the Family Tree DNA BigY DNA tests of our Wiess Project participants. The most recent SNP is called the "Terminal SNP" and it will be refined as new data becomes available. The other families listed are distant cousins of our Wiess family – and may someday help reveal Simon's ancestral surname.
On February 6, 2023, the Terminal SNP for our Wiess Project was Q-FT160504. Due to additional data, the terminal SNP has moved closer and is now Q-FTD56830 (as of Nov. 9, 2023). The SNPs above it are its DNA parents and grandparents and the surnames of their descendants, his cousins, may help us determine Simon's paternal surname. Some surnames include Bloch, Block, Lefkowitz & Litov. This terminal SNP could represent the Y-DNA of Simon Wiess or one of his patrilineal ancestors. We would need Wiess direct-male descendants of his other sons to join the Project to help refine the terminal SNP.
BigY Block Tree
The Block Tree shows the SNPs as blocks similar to a standard genealogical descendant tree. The bottom SNP on each line is called the "terminal SNP". The terminal SNP can change to a more recent SNP as the technology improves and/or more people contribute their DNA by testing.
This version of the chart does not show private SNPs, making manual estimates of dates more difficult.
BigY Time Line
The BigY Time Line shows the SNPs on an estimated chronological time-line. The dashed lines between the vertical lines represent the possible range of time where the SNP may have occurred. The red line traces the SNPs down to the Simon Wiess Project.
The image above comes from the Family Tree DNA Bigy-700 test and shows an estimated timeline of the pedigrees of the matches. It was taken Oct. 30, 2023, so anything after that date may have more information as the technology improves and more people test. Above each person's icon is the name of the SNP that ancestor experienced. We don't know the names associated with each SNP, but it looks likely that Simon Wiess may have experienced the SNP mutation Q-FTD56830. If you are a member of the Wiess Project, you can log into your account and look at your BigY results to see any new information.
Q-BZ37:
Q-BZ37 is a descendant subclade of ancient haplogroup Q-M242. Its paternal line was formed when it branched off from the ancestor Q-Y2754 and the rest of mankind around 1150 CE.
Q-BZ3985:
Q-BZ3985 is a descendant of haplogroup Q-BZ37 when it branched off from it and the rest of mankind around 1350 CE. The currently known descendants of Q-BZ3985 carry the surnames Bloch, Block and Litov and some of them lived in the Czech Republic town of Neuern, which may be where Simon Wiess' ancestors lived.
Q-FT160504:
This descendant of Q-BZ3985 was created around 1700 CE. More testing and analysis will hopefully provide more descendants and reveal more information. Two distinct descendant lines are known at this time — that of Lefkowitz (current descendant's surname is Lane) and Wiess.
Q-FTD56830:
The man who experienced this SNP is estimated to have been born around 1800 CE, making it very likely it was experienced by Simon Wiess or his father. We know this SNP occurred with Simon or his paternal ancestor since it was experienced by two of his third great grandchildren as their Most Recent Common Ancestor (MRCA). Q-FTD56830's paternal line was formed when it branched off from the ancestor Q-FT160504 and the rest of mankind around 1700 CE. This date is an estimate based on genetic information only without relying on any genealogical data. Q-FTD56830 is currently our "Terminal SNP" and represents the Y-DNA signature of a recent Wiess ancestor. The terminal SNP can change as new data arrives.
