DNA Inheritance – Family Locket

Chromosome Mapping – Visualize Your DNA and Identify the Ancestors Who Passed It On To You

Aug 25, 2019

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 about our parents, grandparents, and so on, back in time. Autosomal DNA is an extremely powerful tool that can help us confirm known ancestors and...

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...

DNA Sources, Information, and Evidence: Sorting it All Out

May 11, 2019

Sources play a vital role in genealogical research, and the quality and quantity of sources matter. Elizabeth Shown Mills, a renowned genealogical expert explains, “Sources give us information from which we select evidence for analysis. A sound conclusion may be considered proof.”[1] Part of the Research Like a Pro process is to “Dig out your papers and locate the sources on the FamilySearch Family Tree or other online trees that pertain to your ancestor. When you’ve gathered all the source documents, a thorough analysis of each and the information found within can clarify what you know and point you to...