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. 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 Elder with...
Father’s Day is on Sunday, 19 June 2022, in the United States, you may be interested in giving a gift to a father in your life, and I have a fun idea for you! Family Tree DNA (FTDNA) has Y-DNA kits on sale right now. You can save money on each of the three Y-DNA kits that FTDNA has available. You may have questions about Y-DNA, and hopefully, I can answer some of them in this blog post. What is Y-DNA? The DNA in the Y-chromosome is called Y-DNA. Human males are born with an X and a Y-chromosome and...
Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about setting up a web page to share with potential DNA test takers. Nicole talks about the Daniel Arnold project to find Daniel’s parents. Daniel was born 6 August 1806 and married Lydia Willey. We discuss autosomal DNA coverage, making living people in reports anonymous, and targeted testing of people from independent child lines. We also review the current research and clues pointing to Daniel’s parents. Transcript Links Covering Your Bases: Introduction to Autosomal DNA Coverage – by Paul Woodbury at https://www.legacytree.com/blog/introduction-autosomal-dna-coverage Daniel Arnold Research Project to recruit test takers –...
Have you heard about the latest Ethnicity Estimate tool called SideView™? AncestryDNA launched this new feature on 13 April 2022, and it has features that I think you will really like! SideView™ uses your DNA matches to help assign ethnicity estimates to two profiles representing your father and your mother. This is exciting news! This new feature, found in the “Ethnicity Estimates” section of AncestryDNA, shows you the ethnicities you inherited from each side of your family. The SideView report displays images representing the DNA from specific countries or regions that both of your parents inherited from many generations of...
Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is an interview with Debra Hoffman, a professional genealogist specializing in Maryland and Germany and member of our Research Like a Pro with DNA online course. Debra recently took the Proving Your Pedigree institute course at the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy and shares her takeaways from the course. The purpose of the Proving Your Pedigree intermediate level virtual course was to create a narrative genealogy with DNA evidence confirming traced second great grandparents. Join us as Debra shares what she learned! Transcript Links Debra Hoffman profile in the APG Directory: https://www.apgen.org/users/debra-a-hoffman ...
DNA Day is on April 25. It commemorates the day in 1953 when Watson and Crick published a model of the double-helix structure of DNA in the scientific journal, Nature. Rosalind Franklin’s X-ray diffraction images of DNA and research contributed to their discovery. We love to celebrate DNA Day, too! The innovation and advancements in direct-to-consumer DNA tests and tools give us the opportunity to bring our family history research to levels that could only be dreamt of for millenia. Imagine if records existed that easily and quickly identified all of our ancestors back through the centuries. Wouldn’t that be...
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...
X-DNA has a unique inheritance pattern, and knowing about it can sometimes help you figure out the ancestors you share with a DNA match. Men inherit a Y chromosome from their father, and an X chromosome from their mother. It is easy to imagine that an X chromosome remains unchanged just like a Y chromosome does when it is passed from father to son, but this is not the case with X-DNA. Here is a question from someone in the Research Like a Pro with DNA study group: “This is how my X chromosome compares with my brother’s on 23andme....
Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about what Nicole learned at the SLIG course, DNA Dreamers in Action: Writing Proof Arguments in January. Karen Stanbary coordinated the course and was assisted by Tom Jones, Nancy Peters, and Scott Wilds. The course was a chance to practice writing a DNA proof argument while learning essential skills. Peer review was included as part of the course as well. Join Diana and Nicole as they discuss five takeaways from the course and gain ideas for studying proof arguments in the NGSQ. Transcript Links NGS Conference 2022 Program – Nicole and...
RootsTech is a world-wide, free, online family history conference that will be held this week. In addition to over 1500 class sessions, there is a fantastic feature called, “Relatives at RootsTech,” that can help you in your genetic genealogy research. If you’ve ever wanted to connect with like-minded family members who may share your interest in family history, as well as DNA, here is your opportunity! Do you ever wonder who the people in your DNA match list are and how exactly they are related to you? “Relatives at RootsTech,” can help you become acquainted with your relatives, and discover...