Should children take DNA tests? Thought leaders and genetic genealogy experts say yes. In keynote speeches and interviews at RootsTech 2018, Cece Moore, Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Living DNA co-founders David Nicholson and Hannah Morden, reveal their thoughts about the booming DNA industry and how it can benefit children. Overcoming Prejudice LivingDNA is making great strides in the industry, especially in pinning down ethnic origins to specific regions within the British Isles. Yet they also have an altruistic goal - to overcome racial divides through DNA testing. Co-founders David Nicholson and Hannah Morden wowed the audience at RootsTech...
On Saturday, our local genealogy society (PCGS) learned about the power of DNA from genetic genealogist Cece Moore. Cece painted a vivid picture of autosomal DNA inheritance - that our DNA is literally made up of small pieces of our ancestors. We carry bits of them in our cells and this information can be used to help us solve long standing genealogy brick walls. Cece said that after testing with Ancestry DNA, we should sort our matches into genetic networks. Finding the matches of our matches can add additional people to the networks. This can be easily done with Ancestry DNA...
Have you ever saved a web address, commonly known as the URL, only to discover later that the web page no longer exists? What about a website that you had used many times and now can't locate? This can be annoying in normal life. In genealogical research it can be catastrophic. Losing access to a website that included crucial information about your family is a worst case scenario, especially if you didn't record the information. In my Rootstech presentation on source citations I mentioned the importance of adding the access date for a website so that it could be located...
Today at RootsTech I'll be teaching about Confederate soldiers and how to learn about them with online collections and articles. The online syllabus with links to collections is available here: Sources to Research Confederate Soldiers Online - RootsTech syllabus with additional resources After the class today, I will also share the slides from the presentation. I started researching my Confederate soldiers when I taught my children about Memorial Day last year. My 7-year-old son wanted to learn about members of our family who died while serving in the military. I needed to discover more about our Confederate relatives before I...
Diana presented two classes today at RootsTech, and we are sharing her presentation slides as PDF files for you to download and view for future reference: Source Citations Getting Organized One Paper at a Time We hope these are helpful for you! It was fantastic to meet so many of you today. If you are interested in purchasing our book that launched this week on Amazon, click here: Research Like a Pro: A Genealogist's Guide. Thank you to everyone who purchased the book on launch day - we were so happy that the book reached #1 bestseller in the genealogy reference...
Are you ready for RootsTech 2018? You might be here in Utah ready to attend in person or participating from the comfort of your home. Either way, you can share in the excitement. Find a way to connect and feel a sense of belonging in this wonderful world of family history. To help those of you at home connect and feel that sense of belonging, RootsTech will be live streaming the keynote speakers and several of the classes. Here's what you can expect for each day: WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 28 The streaming schedule begins Wednesday at 9:30 am and continues throughout...
Have you heard of SLIG - the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy? I recently attended and want to share my experience today. I had heard of SLIG and other institutes but had never attended. Because registration is several months prior, in the summer of 2017, I decided to attend my first institute. Browsing the course titles, I decided "A Practical Approach: Establishing Genealogical Proof with DNA" would be the most beneficial for my research. Knowing this would probably sell out quickly, I registered within minutes to secure my spot. The course leader, Karen Stanbary, sent a welcome email in the...
In our Research Like a Pro study group, one of the first assignments is to analyze existing evidence. This is actually my favorite assignment. It is so fun to comb through what I've already gathered about a research question and look for clues to help me see where to go next in my research. I've been studying Genealogy Standards, a book published by The Board for Certification of Genealogists to better understand the different parts of analysis: Source (Original record, derivative record, or authored narrative) Information (Primary, secondary, or undetermined) Evidence (direct, indirect, or negative) In my most recent project, I compiled...
I wish I were in Salt Lake City! Diana is attending SLIG, the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy, this week and I'm feeling left out. SLIG is a week-long advanced genealogical education conference sponsored by the Utah Genealogical Association (UGA). She is taking Course 13: A Practical Approach: Establishing Genealogical Proof with DNA. You can read more about it here -scroll down to the section about Course 13. To see what Diana is learning at SLIG this week, follow her on twitter: @DianaElder11. You can also see other tweets about SLIG by searching twitter for #SLIG2018 and following @SLIGinstitute. Tonight, the International Commission...
Have you discovered a will for your ancestor but are puzzled by the legal terminology? You might have extracted some information like names of sons or daughters but aren't sure what to do with the rest. Back to the Basics with Probate Records - Part 1 discussed what information might be in a probate record and how to locate the records for your ancestors. Now it's time to learn about the document that is often first in a probate file - the will. What are the various types of wills and how can you use them in your research? WILLS A...
