Blog – Page 49 – Family Locket

RLP 181: RootsFinder Triangulation Network Graphs with MyHeritage Matches

Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is how to use RootsFinder, a family tree building online tool, to analyze your DNA matches and create a network graph – this time, with MyHeritage DNA matches. MyHeritage is unique because it shows you which of the shared matches triangulate. Network graphs consist of DNA matches, the nodes, and shared match connections, the lines between the nodes. With MyHeritage matches, you can create two types of network […]

By Nicole Elder Dyer December 27, 2021 Podcast

GeneticAffairs AutoKinship: A Tool to Build Family Trees Based on Amounts of Shared DNA

Do you sometimes feel frustrated as you try to sort out the connections between DNA matches and shared ancestors? I do, and I think we all need help with this from time to time. The AutoKinship tool at GeneticAffairs.com can quickly offer possible solutions to the problem. AutoKinship can help you construct a family tree of DNA matches from 23andMe that point to shared/common ancestors when there are few clues about who those ancestors are. […]

By Robin Wirthlin December 26, 2021 DNA, DNA Tools, Research Like a Pro with DNA, Research Tips

Preparing for the 1950 U.S. Federal Census Release

Mark your calendar for 1 April 2022 – not because it is April Fool’s Day – but because the National Archives will release the 1950 U.S. Federal Census on that day. What will this census offer us as genealogists? How can we access the data? How should we prepare? Let’s consider each of these questions in turn. What Information will the 1950 U.S. Federal Census Hold? The United States Census Bureau has made the 1950 […]

By Diana Elder December 22, 2021 Records, Research Tips

RLP 180: RootsFinder Network Graphs

Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about how to use RootsFinder, a family tree building online tool, to analyze your DNA matches and create a network graph. Network graphs consist of DNA matches, the nodes, and shared match connections, the lines between the nodes. In RootsFinder, you import your matches and then link them to the common ancestor in your tree. Then they are automatically colored. Viewing the matches in triangulation/cluster view allows […]

By Nicole Elder Dyer December 20, 2021 Podcast

How to Make a RootsFinder Triangulation Network Graph with MyHeritage DNA Matches

In a previous post, I wrote about making a network graph using the RootsFinder triangulation/cluster view with AncestryDNA shared matches. Today, I’m sharing how to make a network graph at RootsFinder with MyHeritage matches. RootsFinder can create a network graph based on segment triangulation, which is a unique feature. You can also create a separate MyHeritage network graph using just shared matches (and no triangulation data). I will show how to do both types of […]

By Nicole Elder Dyer December 18, 2021 DNA, DNA Tools, Research Tips

RLP 179: RLPDNA Study Group 8 – Report Writing

Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about Diana’s Dillard project. For the RLP with DNA study group, she is exploring the possibility that a cluster of DNA matches from her second cousin’s network graph are related through Cynthia Dillard’s parents. The MRCA of the cluster appears to be Elijah Dillard. In this assignment, Diana wrote a report. She shares some of her findings. Read her report by clicking on the link below. Transcript […]

By Nicole Elder Dyer December 13, 2021 Podcast

Merging DNA and History: American Nations by Colin Woodard: Part 2

In the last blog post, we learned how the book American Nations provides a framework for understanding U.S. History that can give greater context to the community our individual ancestors were a part of. Our ancestor’s small FAN club connected into a larger network of FAN clubs that can be seen in history and in large genetic networks such as Ancestry Communities or the 2017 study published the scientific journal Nature Communications, “Clustering of 770,000 […]

By Heidi Mathis December 11, 2021 Research Tips

RLP 178: RLPDNA Study Group 7 – Research Logging

Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about Diana’s Dillard project. For the RLP with DNA study group, she is exploring the possibility that a cluster of DNA matches from her second cousin’s network graph are related through Cynthia Dillard’s parents. The MRCA of the cluster appears to be Elijah Dillard. In this assignment, Diana followed her research plan and recorded her searches in Airtable. Her research log helped her organize many deeds in […]

By Nicole Elder Dyer December 6, 2021 Podcast

Merging DNA and History: American Nations by Colin Woodard – Part 1

As genealogists, we formulate a hypothesis about our ancestors to make progress in our research. That hypothesis is a lens, a way of organizing the myriad of facts we discover, which we hope will lead us to locate further records, helping us prove or disprove our hypothesis. I like to try to use the same idea to try and understand the history of an ancestor’s time. I want to avoid getting too bogged down in […]

By Heidi Mathis December 5, 2021 Research Tips

RLP 177: RLPDNA Study Group 6 – Research Planning

Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about Diana’s Dillard project. For the RLP with DNA study group, she is exploring the possibility that a cluster of DNA matches from her second cousin’s network graph are related through Cynthia Dillard’s parents. The MRCA of the cluster appears to be Elijah Dillard. In this assignment, Diana made a research plan. First, she created a summary of known facts about Elijah Dillard. Her goal for this […]

By Nicole Elder Dyer November 29, 2021 Podcast