Does anyone know of a descendant (male or female) of female-only descendants of Catharina van Paliacatta who had their mtDNA tested?
This is of great interest as there is still some discussion (if not a debate) on the origins of the Snyman lineage, with suggestions of male progenitors from at least Germany, Bengal and France, and female progenitors from at least Bengal (Catharina) or France.
According to Mansell G. Upham's book: "In hewigen woede" Catharina van Paliacatta is the progenitor of all Snymans, so Catharina forms part and parcel of the question (or of the answer!).
Two examples of continuing debate:
1. One of five goals listed for "The Cape Dutch Y-DNA Stamvader Project" on FamilyTreeDNA is:
SNYMAN - Was Christoffel SNIJMAN the son of Hans Christoffel SNIJMAN or Anthony Jansz DE LATER of Bengale?
Amongst other, this question has been asked because Catharina van Paliacatta was married to Anthony Jansz, and for a long
time it was thought that Anthony was Christoffel's father. However, further research strongly suggested that she had a child
(Christoffel Snyman) with Hans Christoffel Schneider before her marriage to Anthony.
2. Discussion on geni: "Christoffel Snyman, SV/PROG - Is Snyman derived from Seugnet (Senaye) (Senayement =? from Senaye)"
In this discussion (http://www.geni.com/discussions/125743) the question is asked if Snyman could have had French ancestors,
amongst other due to him signing his surname as "Senayement" at his wedding and baptisms of his children, and references to
surnames similar to Senayement in early French Huguenot lists (including Tenayement) etc. There is also a reference to old
records by Anthony Turton noting that Christoffel Snyman's parents were from Flanders.
I was asked by a curator of "The Cape Dutch Y-DNA Stamvader Project" to get my DNA tested, which I did. Those results were the first Snyman DNA results available for genealogical research as far as I known. Assuming this sample of one is valid (no adoptions), it seems clear that Christoffel Snyman was of European descent, but it could be German or French etc. The majority people with that haplogroup (M253) is actually Scandinavian!
If there are people (male or female) whose female lineage goes back to Catharina van Paliacatta, SM/PROG, a relatively simple (and not too expensive) genealogical test could show whether Catharina van Paliacatta was actually the SM/PROG of all the Snymans, or if the other theories (French) are plausible.
I've done a search for geni users who might have inherited mtDNA from Catharina van Paliacatta, SM/PROG, using the very useful tool "History Link graph" (instructions below). However, the visible/public profiles of female only descendants from Catharina van Paliacatta only goes to the early 1800s with a maximum of 6 generations, while I searched 10 generations deep.
So:
** It will be appreciated it if as many South African geni users as possible can check if they are not perhaps "mtDNA descendants" of Catharina van Paliacatta.
** If one is found, a test of his/her mtDNA genes would be of great interest.
The mtDNA project explains how to use the History Link graph to identify geni users who might share your mtDNA: http://www.geni.com/projects/South-African-mtDNA-Progenitors/17863
I'm not an expert, but I would be happy to try to help if you have questions.
(Thanks to Sharon Doubell who pointed me to this "South African mtDNA Progenitors" project and provided the HistoryLink link.)
