Can DNA help us discover an unknown 4th great-grandfather? In the hopes that it can, I’m returning to my brick wall of identifying Cynthia (Dillard) Royston’s father. The Research Like a Pro with DNA study group is a perfect way to tackle a persistent research question. The structure of the assignments helps me stay on track and the process keeps me moving forward. I’ll be sharing my progress in this series. Will I finally be able to answer the question of who was Cynthia’s father? I don’t know. But I do know that I’ll be one step closer by the...
Can DNA help us discover an unknown 4th great-grandfather? In the hopes that it can, I’m returning to my brick wall of identifying Cynthia (Dillard) Royston’s father. The Research Like a Pro with DNA study group is a perfect way to tackle a persistent research question. The structure of the assignments helps me stay on track and the process keeps me moving forward. I’ll be sharing my progress in this series. Will I finally be able to answer the question of who was Cynthia’s father? I don’t know. But I do know that I’ll be one step closer by the...
Can DNA help us discover an unknown 4th great-grandfather? In the hopes that it can, I’m returning to my brick wall of identifying Cynthia (Dillard) Royston’s father. The Research Like a Pro with DNA study group is a perfect way to tackle a persistent research question. The structure of the assignments helps me stay on track and the process keeps me moving forward. I’ll be sharing my progress in this series. Will I finally be able to answer the question of who was Cynthia’s father? I don’t know. But I do know that I’ll be one step closer by the...
RootsFinder, owned by FindMyPast, is a family tree building and DNA analysis website. The premium level allows the use of DNA features and costs $5 a month. RootsFinder has a DNA feature called the triangulation (cluster) view, which allows you to view your matches in clusters – otherwise known as a network graph. In a network graph, the nodes are DNA matches and the connecting lines are shared match connections. I’m sharing how to view your AncestryDNA matches and shared matches as clusters in RootsFinder. Viewing your matches in clusters helps you find relevant matches that are probably related along...
I attended Karen Stanbary’s course, DNA as Genealogical Evidence at the Institute of Genealogical and Historical Research (IGHR) this summer. IGHR is hosted by the Georgia Genealogical Society, and this year, it was virtual. That made it a no-brainer for me to attend! Today I’m sharing some of my takeaways from the course. The instructors included Karen Stanbary, Michael Lacopo, Paul Woodbury, David Rencher, and Kimberly Powell. It was a great group of instructors. Each lecture was a case study including DNA and documentary evidence. We didn’t have typical homework assignments each night, but introspection questions to help us become...
When we work with DNA in our family history research, one of the first steps is to separate the DNA matches into groups or genetic networks. The Leeds Method by Dana Leeds was developed a few years ago as a way to separate DNA matches manually. This method was revolutionary in genetic genealogy! Evert-Jan Blom of Genetic Affairs was the first to create a readily available way of automating separating DNA matches into groups. This process is easy to order, and it takes only minutes to receive an interactive report. Genetic Affairs licensed the AutoCluster tool to MyHeritage and GEDmatch....
Are you ready to tackle a DNA research project but you’re not sure what should be your focus? You could consider confirming one of your family lines or researching a hypothesized line. Before choosing a research objective, using the surname search features on the testing websites can help you determine which lines have pertinent DNA matches. If you are considering researching a brick wall ancestor, a surname search can determine if there is enough information for a viable DNA project. For example, one of my brick walls is Mary “Clemsy” Cline, born in 1818 in Missouri. I have hypothesized that...
We share ancestors with every one of our DNA matches. Sometimes, we can identify the exact shared ancestor(s) without much effort. Other times, we need to put in more time and energy to discover the ancestral connection. A lot of our time working with our DNA matches involves building family trees or seeing where a previously made family tree intersects with ours. Family tree building by researching ancestors back in time is the primary effort made by amateur, intermediate, and advanced genealogists. We use DNA information in addition to documentary research to build family trees. Tracing the ancestors shared with...
Wouldn’t it be great if your autosomal DNA matches were automatically labeled as maternal or paternal? This is also known as “bucketing.” It is helpful to know which side of your family a match is on before you start checking their tree for surnames you recognize or send them a message. What if I told you that you can make this happen at FamilyTreeDNA (FTDNA)? All you need to do is link close matches and up to 3rd cousin matches to your tree in the correct position, and the FTDNA Family Matching algorithm will work its magic. What is Family...
When you hear the words “Forensic Genealogy,” what is the first definition you think of? One of my first thoughts is “DNA and documentary research.” Using DNA to solve unknown parentage cases is one of my areas of focus as a genealogist, and it is a significant aspect of Forensic Genealogy. I recently had the great opportunity to take the virtual Beyond Fundamentals: Hands-on Forensic Genealogy course at the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh (GRIP). The pre-requisite for this course was Fundamentals of Forensic Genealogy, which I took in Pittsburgh in 2018. There was a fantastic team of instructors! Catherine...
