Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about Diana’s research log and report from the Shults project. She discusses her Family History Library research trip, how she logged her results, and her findings. We also discuss how she selected DNA matches to help verify the connection between Hickman Monroe Shults and his proposed father, Martin Shults. Transcript Links Proving a Parent-Child Link Using Ancestry DNA ThruLines and Documentary Research: Part 3 RLP 203: Proving a Parent-Child Link Using Ancestry Thrulines – Part 1 Research Like a Pro Resources Research Like a Pro: A Genealogist’s Guide book by Diana...
Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about Diana’s Shults research project to determine if the parent-child link between Hickman Monroe Shults and Martin Shults is accurate. Today is part two of this series and we talk about her research plan to incorporate DNA evidence and documentary evidence into the report. We discuss Thrulines, locality research in Alabama, AncestryDNA communities, exploring DNA tools, and creating a research plan. Transcript Links Proving a Parent-Child Link Using Ancestry DNA ThruLines and Documentary Research: Part 2 RLP 203: Proving a Parent-Child Link Using Ancestry Thrulines – Part 1 RLP 130: How...
Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about Diana’s RLP with DNA 4 Study Group project to prove the parentage of Hickman Monroe Shults, her 3rd-great-grandfather. Long standing documentary research has shown that Hickman was the son of Martin Shults, but Diana shares how she wanted to test this research with DNA evidence. She shares the first four steps of the research like a pro with DNA process and her progress. Transcript Links Proving a Parent-Child Link Using Ancestry Thrulines Part 1 – by Diana – https://familylocket.com/proving-a-parent-child-link-using-ancestry-dna-thrulines-and-documentary-research-part-1/ East Coast Genetic Genealogy Conference – https://ecggc.org/ Puzzilla Descendant Viewer –...
In our previous blog posts in this series, we have been learning all about how to research our Pennsylvania German ancestors by discovering the paper trail they have left behind. What about DNA? How useful will it be in helping us with these colonial ancestors? Even though (for most test-takers) colonial ancestors will be beyond the typical 5-6 generations that autosomal DNA is useful, using DNA with your colonial German ancestors may be a key to bridging the gap between the ancestors you know and those you would like to discover. Here are the takeaways from Pennsylvania Germans and autosomal...
Have you noticed that some of your family lines have many DNA matches and others very little? My dad is seven-eighths 19th-century German, one-sixteenth Pennsylvania German (18th century) and one-sixteenth colonial American/British. I’ve noticed that my dad has many matches on his Pennsylvania German side. However, there are only a few matches on my dad’s 19th-century German ancestor lines. As much as we want our match list to tell us about our ancestors, we have to remember that our match list also reflects who takes DNA tests. Some populations and some families are well represented and some are not. If...
Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about organizing your DNA matches by adding them to your Ancestry tree. We talk about building trees for your matches within one master tree so you don’t have a long list of Ancestry trees. We also go over how to add a floating or disconnected branch to your Ancestry tree to allow you to build your matches’ trees and find the common ancestor. We review privacy settings for Ancestry trees as well as MyTreeTags. Links How to Add DNA Matches to Your Ancestry Tree by Nicole Research Like a Pro eCourse Study...
Using a family tree program to organize your DNA matches is useful for several reasons. You can: – add DNA matches to your tree and link them back to your common ancestor – include DNA matches from various testing databases in one central location – check the evidence for each parent-child relationship and add documentation – build quick trees for DNA matches who haven’t shared a full tree – do descendancy research to find potential test takers – build out a match’s tree checking for more than one common ancestor Many of your DNA matches may have small trees that...
Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about evaluating AncestryDNA Thrulines hypotheses. If you have ever received a Thruline for a potential ancestor and weren’t sure if it was worth pursuing, we will discuss a checklist of criteria that make up a reliable Thrulines. We will also talk about some red flags to watch out for then give several case studies Thrulines we have evaluated. Links How to Evaluate an AncestryDNA Thrulines Hypothesis by Nicole at Family Locket Strategies for Using Ancestry Thrulines in DNA Research by Diana at Family Locket The Danger of Distant Matches by Blaine Bettinger...
Are you wondering how to tell if an AncestryDNA Thrulines estimate is reliable, or even possible? The Thrulines algorithm works by comparing your DNA matches, their trees, and all the searchable trees in the Ancestry public member tree database. If the algorithm can make your tree and your DNA match’s tree connect somewhere, the hypothesis shows up in Thrulines. One problem with this is the many errors in the public member trees database. Also, Thrulines is a computer algorithm, not a genealogist. Sometimes it merges identities that should not be merged. Also, most of us have thousands of matches in...
Have you noticed Ancestry DNA’s Thrulines and perhaps clicked around exploring this new feature? How can it help you in breaking down brick walls? Are there limitations to it’s use? We’ll take a look at these questions and more in this article. If you haven’t yet discovered Thrulines, some exciting clues might be waiting for you. What is Ancestry DNA ThruLines? First, what is ThruLines and how does it work? A big clue is directly on the home page: “ThruLines uses Ancestry trees to suggest how Diana Elder may be related to their DNA matches through common ancestors.” Important words...
