An Update on the Vance/Vans/Wentz DNA Surname Project

The Vance/Vans/Wentz DNA Surname Project - in one picture!

Are you a Y-DNA participant in the Vance/Vans/Wentz DNA Surname Project?  If you're not, why not?  If you are, find yourself on the wheel above! 

Ok, that's partly in jest because the wheel is really intended just as a representation of the project, not for useful analysis.  It's created using the combined Y-DNA knowledge from the project fed into a website called the Interactive Tree Of Life, and all 16 of our current subgroups and all 176 kits currently in the project ARE represented on the wheel (by kit number). 

At the 2019 Vance Family Association Reunion, the VFA DNA Advisor (Dave Vance) gave an update on the Surname Project.  The same update presentation can be found online at this link, or also played directly here: 

Here's the summary of the 16 subgroups currently in the Project (the slide is reviewed in the video):

Origins of the 16 subgroups in the Vance/Vans/Wentz DNA Project

Want more information?  You can go directly to the Vance/Vans/Wentz DNA Surname Project by just clicking on that title.   Also you can find the detailed reports on all 16 subgroups if you click here and scroll down to the table that includes all the details!

Vance Family Association 2019 Reunion

Scenes from the 2019 VFA Reunion

The VFA (Vance Family Association) held their bi-annual reunion for 2019 from October 10th to the 12th at the Pear Tree Inn in St. Louis, MO. 

St. Louis is famous not only as one of the oldest cities in the US (founded in 1764), but also as a center of Native American history, gateway to the U.S. West since before the Louisiana Purchase, and major port on the Mississippi River.  It is also connected to several Vance and related ancestral lines, and some of our members in attendance at the reunion visited ancestors buried in the Jefferson Barracks cemetery during their visit.  Some of us also spent time in the St. Louis Library which houses records and histories of interest to their Vance lines. 

Several members brought family history information and ancestry books which were wonderfully collected and organized memorials of their Vance history.  In addition various groups discussed the current knowledge and theories about common Vance lines and shared earliest ancestors.  And we had presentations and discussions on DNA topics both general and Vance-related. 

On Saturday night the VFA held their business meeting and elected new officers:  Dave Vance as President, Mike Vance as Vice President, and Mary B. Vance as Secretary, with Neal B. Vance continuing as webmaster.  Dave Vance also held a presentation updating the attending members on the Vance/Vans/Wentz DNA project which has been made available online (and which I will cover in a separate post). 

Does your brain ever catch a familiar word from the conversation at the next table and give you a jolt of surprise and recognition?  I spent three days reminding myself that overhearing "Vance" at the next table was no big deal!  But it wasn't ALL about genealogy, members found time to visit Gateway Park and go up the Arch, take a riverboat tour and visit the Anheuser-Busch brewery, the Jefferson Barracks and various museums!

Thank you to all who joined and to ALL who participate in the shared Vance, Vans and Wentz knowledge that keeps the VFA going!