If you've been following this series of DNA blog posts, you are ready to create a research objective and move ahead in your genetic genealogy journey. With access to DNA results and information about matching relatives, you now have a tool that is like a sledgehammer that can break down brick walls in your family history research. DNA alone does not tell you anything about your family history. But when it is used in conjunction with time-honored, traditional genealogical research you have a powerful tool that will help you find your ancestors. With DNA, you need to understand what you’ve...
In our podcast episode today, Diana and I discuss one of our new favorite tools, Lucid Chart! After Robin Wirthlin, our genetic genealogist friend and guest blogger, wrote about using LucidChart, and helped Nicole get started using it, we quickly realized how useful it is when doing client projects involving DNA matches. We talked about how Diana found her sister's biological parents with DNA diagramming complex relationships of matches with MindMup, a free open source Mind Map program. Now she uses LucidChart. We also mentioned some other alternatives. Links Seeing the Big Picture: 3 Ways to Chart Your DNA Matches...
With DNA testing turning up skeletons in the closet left and right, I was interested to read Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate. This fictional account of a family describes the horrific Tennessee Children's Home Society operated by Georgia Tann in Memphis, Tennessee, from the 1920s to 1950. (The above is an affiliate link). Wingate created her story based on recollections of children who were kidnapped from their families and put into Tann's "orphanage." It is estimated that Tann stole over 5,000 children. Many of them were adopted out to wealthy families, mostly in New York or California. The adoptive...
In our podcast episode today, Diana and I discuss three tools we love in AncestryDNA for sorting and using cousin matches. In addition to those three tools, we discuss some of the new features that AncestryDNA just announced at RootsTech as well! We talk about adding notes to your matches, using the shared match tool, and using unlinked family trees. We also discuss the new beta features called "New & Improved DNA Matches" that you can sign up for. This includes new ways to filter, relationship probabilities, and adding colors to groups of matches. Lastly, tune in to hear...
In our podcast episode today, Diana and I discuss how to best contact your DNA matches so that they respond, creating a family tree in your software that includes living cousins, and sharing research and memories with the cousins you find. We also talk about Diana's experience meeting in person with a 2nd cousin she found through DNA and what interesting family document she had which gave Diana helpful information to sort through a difficult discovery she had made years before. Links 3 Tips for Connecting with your DNA Cousins - Diana's blog post Understanding and Using Your DNA Results...
Are you challenged with visualizing how you connect to your DNA matches? DNA companies provide match lists, but sometimes we need to take control of our DNA data and organize it in a way that works for us. Creating a genetic family tree for your DNA matches might be easier than you think. Robin Wirthlin, FamilyLocket's new genetic genealogist shares three ways to view your DNA matches in the following article. I'm looking forward to trying each method to see what works best for me. Why don't you do the same! -Diana Organize After you have identified some of your...
The latest, greatest information about DNA and Genealogy was presented at Roots Tech. There were exciting new programs, tools, and technology announced and explained by DNA companies, and leading experts in the field. Nicole wrote eloquently about some of the classes she attended, and the fascinating concepts presented. It is an exciting time to be involved in genealogy, with new and improved ways of accessing and analyzing information at our fingertips! This article will highlight two of the new programs announced at RootsTech: ThruLines™ by AncestryDNA and The Theory of Family Relativity™ by MyHeritage. What it is ThruLines™ at AncestryDNA.com...
Simplify My DNA Part 1 I know the feeling--you finally submitted your DNA test, excitedly awaited the results, they finally arrived, you logged in, and then…what? After poking around the website, it all seems interesting, but the question remains…What do I DO with it? There are 4 simple steps that will initially help you to understand and evaluate your DNA matches. As you work systematically through these steps, you will gain a better understanding of who shares DNA with you. This article focuses on autosomal DNA (atDNA), but the general concept may be applied to Y-DNA and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA)...
In our podcast episode today, Diana and I discuss three things you should do after taking a DNA test at Ancestry. We recommend downloading the raw DNA data and uploading it to the other testing sites that accept transfers so you can find more matches beyond the Ancestry database. We also recommend that you link a tree to your Ancestry DNA test results! This will help you and your cousin matches SO much. Lastly, we talk about how you can share your DNA test results with family members. This might convince them to take their own DNA test, which will...
We are pleased to introduce our new genetic genealogy guest blogger, Robin Wirthlin. Robin has a B.S. in Molecular Biology from BYU and a Certificate in Genealogical Research from Boston University. Robin loves to use genetic genealogy to solve family history mysteries and break through “brick walls.” We hope you enjoy the first of her series of genetic genealogy posts! -Diana and Nicole An exciting type of information that can be used to identify and connect family relationships is DNA evidence. DNA, which is short for deoxyribonucleic acid, is the genetic code carried in each of the cells in our bodies....
