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Presenter: Janet Akaha

It is is very unusual for someone of Jewish origin to be from a Y-DNA haplotype defined by a single surname. Approximately 1/3 of my "R1b-FGC14605" have some variation of the surnames; SPEAR, SPEIR, SPIRA & SHAPIRO. The explanation for this is that these men are offspring of a famous rabbinical line. Spier have an oral history that they came from Spain, and my SPIRA know that they came to Bohemia from Speyer. Both of these oral histories are consistant with Spira history. Rabbi Samuel Spira was born in Speyer in the 14th Century, but also lived in both France and Spain. This early surname explains why our members have ancestors from Germany, Amsterdam, Belarus, & Lithuania. We will explain how others with interesting surnames like Shapiro can use our methods to ascertain if they are offspring of a famous rabbinical line or other lineage with deep ancestral roots.