The Fonda Blog

According to Wikipedia, the Frisian people are characterized by the R1b subclade U106 DNA profile:

Dutch Provinces

“Based on Y-DNA studies, it is believed the Frisian Y-DNA Haplogroup to be from the Haplogroup U106/S21 and its downstream subclades. Reference Haplogroup R1b (Y-DNA). U106 is defined as R1b1b2a1a by Family Tree DNA. U106 subclades include R1a1b1b2a1a1, R1a1b1b2a1a2, R1a1b1b2a1a3, and R1a1b1b2a1a4.”

Further, the page on Haplogroup R1b indicates the following genetic origin of this group:

“R1b’s frequency is highest in the populations of Atlantic Europe and, due to European emigration, in North America, South America, and Australia. In Ireland and the Basque Country its frequency exceeds 90% and approaches 100% in Western Ireland.[4] The incidence of R1b is 70% or more in parts of northern and western England, northern Spain, northern Portugal, western France, Wales, Scotland. R1b’s incidence declines gradually with distance from these areas but it is still common across the central areas of Europe. R1b is the most frequent haplogroup in Germany, and is common in southern Scandinavia and in Italy.”

Being a Fonda, I had my DNA tested and I am in Haplogroup I1, which has the following description:

Map of the early Nordic Bronze Age, where I1 first became prominent. The Nordic Bronze Age is often considered ancestral to the Germanic peoples.

“Haplogroup I1 is a Y chromosome haplogroup occurring at greatest frequency in Scandinavia, associated with the mutations identified as M253, M307, P30, and P40. These are known as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). It is a subclade of Haplogroup I. Before a reclassification in 2008,[1] the group was known as Haplogroup I1a.[2] Some individuals and organizations continue to use the I1a designation.”

“The group displays a very clear frequency gradient, with a peak of approximately 40 percent among the populations of western Finland and more than 50 percent in the province of Satakunta,[3] around 35 percent in southern Norway, southwestern Sweden especially on the island of Gotland, and Denmark, with rapidly decreasing frequencies toward the edges of the historically Germanic sphere of influence.”

“I1 Anglo-Saxon (I1-AS) has its peak gradient in the Germanic lowland countries: northern Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, as well as England and old Norman regions of France.”

I assume that all the Fonda’s descended from Jellis Douw Fonda would also be Haplogroup I1 (unless my parents didn’t tell me something… lol).  If you would like to get tested, go to the Fonda DNA Group on Ancestry.com and order the Paternal Lineage (Y-46) test.  This test is only valid for males.  I do not know if you must be a member of ancestry.com to join the DNA project.  If there are other DNA comparison groups which are available I would be glad to transfer my results for comparison.  I believe that ancestry.com shares its data with other DNA databases.  Note: I have now entered my data on Y-Search, which is free access.

So far, we only have three Y-46 tests.  The other two are from a Slovenian Fonda and an Italian Fondi who are both R1b’s.

Some further interesting commentary:

“In the book Blood of the Isles, published in North America as Saxons, Vikings & Celts: The Genetic Roots of Britain and Ireland, author Bryan Sykes gave the name of the Nordic deity Wodan to represent the clan patriarch of I1, as he did for mitochondrial haplogroups in a previous book, The Seven Daughters of Eve. Every male identified as I1 is a descendant of this man.”

“Another writer, Stephen Oppenheimer, discussed I1 in his book The Origins of the British. Although somewhat controversial, Oppenheimer, unlike Sykes, argued that Anglo-Saxons did not have much impact on the genetic makeup of the British Isles. Instead he theorized that the vast majority of British ancestry originated in a paleolithic Iberian people, traced to modern-day Basque populations, represented by the predominance of Haplogroup R1b in the United Kingdom today.[44] A similar, more broad-based argument was made by Ellen Levy-Coffman in the Journal of Genetic Genealogy.[45] The book When Scotland Was Jewish is another example. These are direct challenges to previous studies led by Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza, Siiri Rootsi and others.[46] Cavalli-Sforza has studied the connections between migration patterns and blood groups. There has been some discussion of this on a mailing list at RootsWeb.[47]”

Useful links:
Y-Search (A Free Public Service from Family Tree DNA)
Family Tree DNA – Genetic testing to answer your genealogy questions
Whit Athey’s Haplogroup Predictor
Eupedia: Geographic spread and ethnic origins of European haplogroups

written by admin \\ tags: America, DNA, Fonda Family, Holland, Italy

I was back east last month (September 2009) and I took three days to go cemetery hopping in Upstate New York, taking as many photos of Fonda gravestones as I could.  I hit 11 cemeteries in 5 counties and shot about 150 gravestones of Fonda’s, most of which have not been taken before, to my knowledge.  Here is the list… if you would like any of these images I would be glad to forward a high-res file, or you can wait until I get them all posted on Find-A-Grave in med-res within the next month (now done).  I have about 110 Fonda gravestone photos already posted there from various sources.  I appreciate all those who have contributed to this collection.  Special thanks to Adrienne Buckland Knight who accompanied me at the Caughnawaga and Evergreen cemeteries and to Darlene and Larry Nielsen who pointed me in the right direction in Albany.  Here are a few of the nicer gravestone photos which I just took:

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written by admin \\ tags: Cemeteries, Fonda Family, New York

Fourth time lucky?

Jane Fonda to marry again at 71… as her ex-husbands watch on

Jane Fonda, 71, and fiance Richard Perry will tie the knot in a Christmas ceremony attended by two of her three ex-husbands.

Showing no signs of slowing down, actress Jane Fonda is planning to marry for a fourth time at the age of 71 and has invited two of her ex-husbands. Jane will marry Hollywood music producer Richard Perry, 67, who she was introduced to by her actress niece Bridget Fonda a year ago. According to reports Fonda will invite her second and third husbands, former politician Tom Hayden and media mogul Ted Turner, to the wedding, at which Troy Garity, her actor son by Hayden, will give her away. Jane has told friends she is planning an ‘unconventional union’. ‘She made the announcement during a dinner party at the Malibu home of Barbra Streisand and James Brolin, and now it’s the biggest open secret in showbiz.,’ said a friend.

The Oscar winner’s first husband, French director Roger Vadim, who turned her into an international sex symbol in the film Barbarella, died in 2000. A source close to her revealed: ‘After her divorce from Ted, Jane vowed she’d never wed again. ‘But at this point in her life she has learned to trust her gut instincts and her gut tells her that Richard is a keeper. ‘They fit like a glove, clearly love each other, and share a lot of common pastimes, in­- cluding a keen interest in politics.’ The source said: “The only sense in which she’s a ‘peacenik’ these days is that she wants peace to rule her entire family. So why not invite her two ex-husbands? She’s friends with both now and Jane wants them to share her happiness.

Jane has invited her media mogul ex-husband, Ted Turner, to the wedding.

Jane with second husband, politician, Tom Hayden in 1989.

Jane with first husband, film director, Roger Vadim in 1969.

Jane and her three previous husbands. Her father, Henry Fonda, married five times and her brother, Peter Fonda, has married twice.

written by admin \\ tags: Fonda Family, Marriages, Media, News

Photos from the Caughnawaga Cemetery in Fonda, New York recently taken by Adrienne Buckland Knight:

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written by admin \\ tags: Cemeteries, Fonda Family, History, Landmarks, Montgomery Co.

Another set of photos… from the Fultonville NY Village Historian… a vault with the name Fonda on the door in the Prospect Hill Cemetery in Canajoharie, NY (about 10 miles southwest of Fonda, south of the Mohawk River).  The interior photo is from the outside, looking through an opening above the door.  I would expect the cemetery administrators would know the names of those interred, but anyone with information on this vault, please let us know.  The locations is at 42.895284749023816, -74.57163870334625.  Hint: The only known Fonda’s buried at this cemetery are Marshall H. Fonda (1860-1926) and his wife, Louisa C. Ilse (1862-1906).  Also see the Findagrave listing here, which shows headstones for them both which are not in the vault.

Update, October 2013 – Found a prominent person who was buried here: (see Rootsweb, Findagrave)
Canajoharie, Feb. 26 – The remains of Douw H. Fonda of Albany were brought to this village today for interment in the Fonda vault, in Prospect Hill cemetery. Mr. Fonda was one of Albany’s best known druggists and at one time was a resident of this village. Mr. Fonda was ill but a few months, and only a few weeks ago was carried in a helpless condition from a burning building. Mr. Fonda was born at Fonda, September 10, 1834. He received a common school education and then engaged in the railroad business. He soon went to New York as a clerk, but again took up railroading and was for a time ticket agent at Palatine Bridge under the late Webster Wagner. In 1853 he became teller at the Spraker Bank, in this village, and two years latter, became its cashier. He held this position until 1865, when he went to Albany and formed the Wholesale drug firm of Fonda & Gagley. Mr. Fonda became sole proprietor in 1877, and in 1879 he established the firm of D. H. Fonda & Co. In 1899 the D. H. Fonda Drug Company was incorporated and Mr. Fonda has been its president ever since. He has not been active in business for a year. Mr. Fonda was a member of the Holland Society of New York. He served two terms as school commissioner. Mr. Fonda was a member of Temple Lodge. No. 14, F. and A. M. He was twice married. His first wife was Miss Mary A. French of this village, and his second wife was Miss Ellen A. Barker of Barre, Vt. Johnstown NY Fulton County Republican, Thursday, March 12, 1908.

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written by admin \\ tags: Cemeteries, Fonda Family, Fulton Co., Landmarks