Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about Nicole’s research to test the hypothesis that Joanna West was Barsheba Tharp’s mother. She worked on this project for the 4th Research Like a Pro with DNA study group and shares her progress on each step. In this first part, Nicole shares her objective, clustering with Gephi, collaborating with a West researcher, the limitations of using DNA evidence for people who lived in the 1700s, making...
Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is an interview with Roberta Estes, author of DNA for Native American Genealogy. We talk with Roberta about strategies for discovering if the myths in your family about Native American heritage are true. We talk about federal recognition of tribes, documentary research, Y-DNA and mitochondrial DNA testing, and using ethnicity paintings of autosomal DNA segments to help isolate Native American DNA. Transcript Nicole (0s): This is Research Like...
Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about using DNA evidence to help with your Pennsylvania German research. We talk with Heidi Mathis about her experience using DNA with her colonial German ancestry. She noticed that her recent German side has fewer DNA matches than her colonial German side. We discuss differences in match lists, using autosomal DNA for more distance research questions, and an example from the Hittell family in 18th century Pennsylvania. ...
You may have wondered, “What are DNA SNPs, and how do they help us find our ancestors?” Sometimes it feels like a strange new world when you venture into using DNA in your family history research. Some terms may be new to you, and it’s a challenge to absorb all of the new information and keep up with technological advances in the world of genetic genealogy. I made a new video explaining SNPs – which are...
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 Nicole (1s): This is Research Like a Pro episode 206, proving a parent child’s link using ancestry...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...