DNA and the Bodo Otto Association

DNA is a powerful tool to connect family members together. It also unravels family secrets.

While we can establish our genealogical link to Dr. Bodo Otto or his children, our current understanding of Autosomal DNA can is not always helpful in establishing a direct genetic link to Dr. Otto and his children. This is because as we get further away from Dr. Otto’s generation, the chance we will have a direct link diminishes.

Remember, we get 50% of our DNA from each of our parents. What makes up that 50% is so random that siblings do not share the same exact DNA unless they are identical twins. Which means our Otto DNA can be in separate places on our chromosomes and in different amounts.

Now is the time we need to isolate the shared genes we carry. However, to do this we need more of us to take DNA tests and share the results with the Association to get a meaningful sample. Have you already had your DNA done at one of the testing sites? If so, if you have not already done so, will you please upload your raw data to My Heritage.org, familytreedna.com, and Living DNA.org which allow you to upload your raw DNA from other testing sites. Ancestry.com and 23&Me do not allow transfers into their site but you can unload your raw data from there to use at other sites. The reason this is helpful in establishing matches is you will gather matches from others that did not take their test at the site you used, and we have a better chance of finding additional matches and getting to know other Dr. Bodo Otto descendants.

Another site you can upload to is  www.GEDmatch.com. We know of a few members who have done so. We would like to gather kit numbers for all of us who have had their DNA on that site so we can build a database of matches.

If you have taken an Ancestry test, please remember to also link your DNA to your Ancestry on-line tree so we will be able to find you.

Besides Autosomal DNA there are two other DNA tests that are available on familytreedna.com. They are Mitochondrial DNA known as mtDNA which follows your mother’s direct maternal line thousands of years back from mother to mother. Y-DNA. We have Paul Otto’s Y-DNA and have his autosomal DNA to use as a baseline for our research.

Please send your GEDmatch kit numbers to the Association using our contact form.

An example of how DNA helps all of us:

For years we were trying to identify a “Mystery Bodo Otto” who was born in Pennsylvania in 1843 and died there in 1909. A male descendant of this Bodo Otto uploaded his DNA to GEDmatch, as did a female who descends through this Bodo Otto’s half-brother born to Bodo’s mother Mary Zimmerman Williams during her second marriage. These two testers have helped us determine this Bodo Otto is indeed related to our ancestor.