DNA – Page 2 – Family Locket

Finding Jeanie’s Father with DNA Part 4: Combining Traditional Research with DNA Analysis

Aug 16, 2019

Have you wondered how to apply traditional research techniques to your DNA analysis? By breaking my DNA matches into clusters, my search was narrowed to a single family with six sons. In this post, I will explain how to use the process of elimination with genetic genealogy and traditional research to narrow your search even more and get you closer to breaking through your brick wall. You can read my previous posts where I start from the beginning of the research process here: post 1, post 2, post 3. 1. Research Descendants: Usually when we do genealogy, we focus...

Charts for Understanding DNA Inheritance

Aug 14, 2019

When using DNA test results as evidence in genealogy, it's important to understand contextual information about DNA inheritance patterns and amounts of DNA shared between relatives. This contextual information can turn raw DNA data into genealogical evidence. In this post I will share several charts that give meaning to the data in our DNA test results. The charts I'm sharing are freely available online. Another excellent source for inheritance charts is the book Genetic Genealogy in Practice by Blaine T. Bettinger and Debbie Parker Wayne. The charts in the book are well done and helpful for understanding the inheritance of autosomal...

Segment Triangulation: Proving an Ancestral Line

Aug 9, 2019

Have you heard the term "segment triangulation" associated with DNA and wondered what that meant? Perhaps you wondered if this could help you confirm an ancestor that you've researched? Which DNA testing and third party companies offer this tool? In this article, I'll define the term and show how the process can help you in your genealogy journey of discovering your genetic family tree. Pedigree Triangulation I previously wrote about pedigree triangulation and used the following visual from the ISOGG Wiki page to explain the concept. You and your DNA match both received DNA from your Most Common Recent Ancestor (MRCA)....

The Chromosome Browser: A Tool for Visualizing Segment Data

Aug 4, 2019

For most of us, the goal of genetic genealogy is to identify how our DNA matches are related to us. We want to determine our common ancestor or identify an ancestor who was previously unknown to us. Chromosome browsers help us do that. By determining that an autosomal DNA segment was inherited from a certain ancestor, we can use that segment information in the future to identify matches whose connection to us is unknown. Chromosome browsers also help us triangulate segments of DNA data shared with 2 or more genetic matches. When segment triangulation is achieved, we are able to...

Pedigree Triangulation: What is it and How Can it Solve Brick Walls?

Jul 25, 2019

Have you heard the term "triangulation" applied to using DNA in genealogy and wondered what it meant? Triangulation is such a powerful tool that the major DNA testing companies as well as third party companies are working hard to provide easier ways for using this concept. In this article, I'll explore pedigree triangulation and show you examples to help you understand what it is and how it can confirm your research and make progress on genealogical challenges. Two types of triangulation can be used with genetic genealogy: pedigree triangulation and segment triangulation. We'll discuss pedigree triangulation in this article and...

Resources for Learning About Genetic Genealogy

Jul 16, 2019

Do you want to start a DNA research project to confirm an ancestral relationship? Have you been wanting to learn more about genetic genealogy but are not sure where to start? Maybe you're interested in joining our Research Like a Pro with DNA study group in the fall and are curious about the prerequisites. Diana, Robin, and I have been talking about what basic DNA education would be helpful before doing a DNA research project. Some of our top choices include The Family Tree Guide to DNA Testing and Genetic Genealogy by Blaine T. Bettinger and Genetic Genealogy in Practice by...

Finding Jeanie’s Father with DNA part 3: Identifying a Familial Cluster

Jul 12, 2019

Have you wondered how you can figure out which of your genetic cousins descend from a particular line on your family tree? Or maybe you have hit a brick wall in your genetic genealogy and are wondering what else you can try. In this post, I will explain the importance of identifying a familial cluster to solve your research objective and hopefully break through that brick wall. I will also continue the story of how I found my grandma's biological father. I hope that you are beginning to feel more comfortable with your DNA research skills By this point you...

Finding Jeanie’s Father with DNA part 2: Shared centiMorgans and DNA Research Logs

Jul 7, 2019

Do you feel overwhelmed by your long list of genetic matches? How do you know how you're related to them? In this post, I will explain the steps you should take after you receive the test results for the person that you decided to test, whether it is yourself or a family member, and how you can discover the relationships. In my last post, I explained the first steps that you should take for a DNA research project. As a review, you should first make a research objective, decide which type of DNA test to use, and decide who the...

Locality Research in a DNA Research Project

Jun 27, 2019

What does locality research have to do with DNA research? Turns out a lot. As I'm working through a research project using documentary sources in tandem with DNA sources, I'm following the Research Like a Pro process to make progress. This portion of the process is all about discovering the locality of my research subject. What records are available to search? Do the localities of my DNA matches match? Taking a look at the place and time is key in our research. The first step in my research project was creating an objective based on my research question: Is Benjamin...

Finding Jeanie’s Father with DNA Part 1: Who to Test?

Jun 20, 2019

If you're wondering how to use DNA to help an adoptee find biological relatives, you'll want to follow this case study series written by Hazel, our FamilyLocket intern. Nicole and I met Hazel at the RootsTech 2019 media dinner. We were impressed with her background in research and jumped at the chance to offer her an internship - the last step in receiving her degree in Family History-Genealogy through Brigham Young University. During her studies, Hazel did a research project using DNA to find her grandmother's biological father. This summer she'll be sharing how she did it in this case...