Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about the first steps to take in understanding and using your DNA results. This episode is part 2 in our Research Like a Pro with DNA series. We discuss setting up a system to track your matches and the information you learn about them. Join us as we cover starting an Airtable research log, DNA testing company notes, clustering matches, and assessing amounts of shared DNA with...
Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is the first in a 12-part Research Like a Pro with DNA series. We will discuss each chapter of our book, Research Like a Pro with DNA, in the series. Chapter 1 is about selecting the appropriate DNA test. We talk about different types of DNA, testing companies, SNPs, STRs, and a strategy for getting the most out of your DNA testing budget. Transcript Nicole (0s): Episode...
When you hear the term endogamy, what communities come to mind? French Canadians, Puerto Ricians, Mennonites, Pacific Islanders, and Ashkenazi Jews are common examples. Some of these examples are from island peoples, so what about the Irish? Last time, I discussed the effect of a clearly endogamous community, Ashkenazi Jewish (AJ), on a relatively non-endogamous community, German, within my dad’s match list. My dad has more AJ matches with longer segments (greater than 20 cM),...
Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about our ancestor, Ettie Belle Harris, Diana’s paternal grandmother. Diana is doing the 52 ancestors in 52 weeks challenge hosted by Amy Johnson Crow. We discuss writing letters to relatives to learn about Ettie, an heirloom passed down from Ettie, and her life story. We also talk about a few tips for writing about ancestors. Transcript Nicole (2s): This is Research Like A Pro, episode 237...
As genealogists we want to understand our match lists. We want to identify the matches that will give us the solid clues we need to make progress on our target ancestor’s family tree. Endogamy and its close cousins, pedigree collapse and multiple relationships, complicates that. Diana laid out the definitions in the first blogpost in this series: “Endogamy, Pedigree Collapse, and Multiple Relationships: What’s the Difference and Why Does it Matter?” Nicole wrote about strategies...
Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about endogamy, its effect on DNA analysis, and strategies to overcome these challenges. We discuss a client case with French Canadian and Acadian lines as well as making a network graph and analyzing it. Join us as we discuss calculating average segment size, sorting by longest segment, segment mapping, and more. Transcript Nicole (1s): This is Research Like A Pro. episode 236 Strategies for Overcoming Endogamy Welcome...
How do you pick a favorite photo? I have so many that speak to me – but for this week’s 52 Ancestors post, I’m choosing a photo of my grandmother in her early years. I only knew her for the last fifteen years of her life, but we share a love of books, learning, travel, family, scrapbooking, gardening, and more. I have written posts about Florence’s later years as a member of the American War...
Can segment patterns help you differentiate matches with paternal grandparent from a maternal grandparent? A tool at DNA Painter helps you do just that. The tool is called Library of Matches – https://dnapainter.com/tools/lom, developed by Cody Ely. In a blog post titled “Introducing the Library of Matches,” from May 2022, Cody shares how he came up with the tool. He was working on an unknown parentage case and was trying to determine if a 333...
Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about Diana’s Airtable template for tracking research on her own ancestors. She has added a DNA status field in order to show which level she has reached for incorporating DNA evidence into her ancestral research. We discuss the levels for documentary research, created by Yvette Hoitink, and the DNA levels that we came up with ourselves. RootsTech Giveaway To enter the giveaway, go the comments section of...
Have you ever suspected that endogamy was affecting your DNA analysis? You might notice a large number of matches from an island population or isolated area. The matches might seem to share a lot of DNA but no common ancestor can be determined. Clustering matches doesn’t seem to produce clusters related along different ancestral lines. Instead, you find one big mass of tightly connected matches. The total amount of shared DNA points to a second...
