This series is about how I found my grandmother’s father with DNA. To read the other posts in the series, click below: Part 1: Who to Test? Part 2: Shared centiMorgans and DNA Research Logs Part 3: Identifying a Familial Cluster Part 4: Combining Traditional Research with DNA Analysis Part 5: Using Multiple Databases Epilogue: Meeting New Family Did you know that you can upload your Ancestry DNA test results to other select databases for...
Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about determining which of the many people of the same name and same place is your subject. How do you make sense of a complicated situation such as two individuals with very similar identities? It takes thorough research of all family members, analyzing the data, and then understanding the locality. Diana tells about the Edward Sullivan project, and how she solved it. Links Will the Real Edward...
Are you ever frustrated while writing citations? Many people are! Learning about a simplified formula for citations can lift the frustration and bring calm to an essential part of genealogical research. In a previous blog post, DNA Sources, Information, and Evidence: Sorting it All Out, I wrote that you are a source—you share your DNA with a testing company. The DNA testing company extracts DNA from the saliva, or the cheek swab you sent back...
Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about how to incorporate DNA information into the timeline and analysis part of a research project. The timeline and analysis portion of the Research Like a Pro process is at the beginning. It helps you determine your starting point, because you look at all the sources you already have. After you test your DNA, you have an additional source that will help you in your family history...
Do you create a plan for your DNA genealogical research? What steps can you take to focus and guide the research? I’m using the Research Like a Pro process to test my hypothesis that Benjamin Cox is the biological father of my ancestor, Rachel Cox. Because the paper trail points to Benjamin as the likely father, I’m now working with the DNA evidence to put a rubber stamp on that hypothesis. Previously I created an...
What should your research plan look like if you want to test a hypothesis with DNA evidence? Each project is unique, but all can follow the same guiding principles. In the Research Like a Pro with DNA process, we have already discussed the following steps: Step 1 Take a DNA Test: Which DNA Test Should I Take? and DNA-Recommended Testing Strategy Step 2 Assess: Understanding and Using Your DNA Results – 4 Simple Steps Step...
Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is an interview with Certified Genealogist® Kimball Carter. We discuss Kimballs’ fourth great grandmother, Anne Carter, and the challenging research he undertook to determine her identity and relationships. Anne died in 1789 in Westmoreland County, Virginia and appears in numerous family trees and authored works as the wife of Thomas Carter. Her maiden name was given variously as Neale, Hunter, or Claytor. Kimball noticed some discrepancies in the...
What if you could find an automated program that would help you… – Look through your DNA matches trees to find shared ancestors – Identify triangulated groups, and – See DNA segments that you share in common with your matches Would you be interested? DNA Gedcom tools can do all of that! Rob Warthen, who founded DNAGedcom in 2013, was looking for a faster, better, more understandable way to interpret DNA test results. He and...
Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about the most efficient way to write reports. We discuss the pros and cons of writing as you research and writing at the end of your research. We discuss the process of analyzing the source and information in the records you find in your research notes and report, and when to correlate the information that you find. Listen in to find out what conclusion we came to...
Have you ever tried to explain your pursuit of DNA matches, and found it hard put into words? Have you ever wanted to see an image of your DNA and how it connects you to your ancestors? Chromosome mapping will help you come up with an answer! The goal in using DNA in our genealogy research is to learn which segments of our DNA we inherited from specific ancestors and use them to learn more...
