A lightly composed project group, consisting of a few genealogy and local history
researchers with family roots in Terjärv, initiated together with the Terjärv Local History
Association in January 2023 a research on the Rank family with the support of DNA. The
assumption has earlier been that the Rank homestead is the oldest in Terjärv (based on
the oldest known ancestor Per Andersson Rank in early 1500’s) and that the Rank
family originates from Dalarna in Sweden. Previous DNA testing had shown that another
family in Terjärv belonged to haplogroup I which derives from, and is more frequent, in
Sweden.
With the support of a small-scale fundraising several Y-DNA tests were carried out and
the project group was able to determine that the descendants of Rank in fact belonged
to haplogroup N, which has migrated from the east. The project group also found that
several people tested in the Finnish Lake District (Järviseutu) belonged to subgroups of
the Rank haplogroup, and that the family Porcka/Keurkal origin was even found to be
further back in time than Rank. In addition to haplogroups I and N also R1a has been
identified in the area.
The project was initially granted project status at FamilyTreeDNA under the name of
“Descendants of Anders Rank.” As more test results surfaced, or were added by new testers, more interest also grew in surveying family lines outside Terjärv. It therefore became relevant to redefine the project name to Central Ostrobothnia DNA (abbreviated CODNA), which was approved by FTDNA in autumn 2025.
The project comprises research on Y-DNA and mtDNA. The project does not survey
autosomal DNA (“cousin tests”), although predicted haplogroups from such tests may be
included. The emphasis is on the paternal lineage, that is Y-DNA, hence the much faster
mutation rate over mtDNA, which makes it more accurate for tracing lineages from
ancient times to the present. The current most accurate and affordable results are
obtained with the Big Y-700 test from Family Tree DNA.
The project group preferably invite male individuals:
• with family roots in the region of Ostrobothnia, mainly in Swedish-speaking areas,
• from the region of Central Ostrobothnia (the Kokkola area and Kaustinen–Veteli),
• from the Finnish-speaking Lake District (Järviseutu: Lappajärvi–Alajärvi–Evijärvi),
• also other persons in the Nordic countries, especially Västerbotten, Sweden and
emigrants who have documented roots in Ostrobothnia.
1. To trace back in time family and migration routes into Finland and Ostrobothnia.
2. To study migration patterns in the Ostrobothnia area, including how the 16th-
century migrations, known as the Savonian expansion (Savonian settlement
movement), affected the settlement in Ostrobothnia (refer to:
https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savolaisten_asutusliike).
3. To study prehistoric migration patterns between Sweden and Finland.
Contact: Ola Österbacka, ola.osterbacka@icloud.com, phone +358 50 3396383.