Imagine reading a genealogical article and discovering that your name has been published along with your DNA information and conclusions about your ancestors. How would you feel? How would you react?Some people may not mind if their private information is published. In contrast, others – probably a majority – don’t appreciate their names, parents’ names, grandparents’ names, etc., published for anyone to see. It is about privacy and ethics.Privacy and EthicsWe value privacy in our...
Airtable is a hybrid spreadsheet and database. Most database tools are beyond the technological level of typical users, so most people don’t use database tools. Yet, databases are highly useful. Luckily for us, Airtable is a database tool that doesn’t require that you know how to code. If you are familiar with spreadsheets, you’ll pick it up right away. Each database is called “base.” Think of it as a spreadsheet with multiple sheets/tabs. Each sheet...
Many Americans have been told by relatives that they have Native American ancestry and want to find out if the story is accurate. DNA testing has the capability to help people determine if they inherited any DNA from Native American ancestors. At RootsTech 2020, I attended a class taught by DNA expert Roberta Estes entitled “Native American DNA: Confirming Those Stories.” I am sharing some of the helpful information from Roberta’s class and including links...
Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is an interview with Libby Copeland, author of the new book The Lost Family: How DNA Testing is Upending Who We Are. We discuss some of the main themes in the book, from ethnicity estimates, the history of genetic genealogy, the use of DNA to solve cold cases, and surprises that come from testing. Libby also shares her own experience with genealogy and DNA testing. Links Link to...
Before 2000, DNA was not a source genealogists had access to. Now there are over 29 million people in DNA testing databases. This is an enormous change. Like other sources available to genealogists before the advent of advanced technology, we still need to analyze these sources carefully, understand the context, and create research plans. Genealogy standards guide us in our efforts. Thomas W. Jones, PhD, CG, CGL, FASG, FUGA, FNGS gave the lecture, “The Advance...
Have you taken a DNA test for the fun of discovering your ethnicity estimate only to be blindsided with an unexpected relationship? If so you are not alone. With more people taking consumer DNA tests, family secrets from long ago and not so long ago are being revealed. How does one deal with a new half sibling or biological parent? These questions and more are addressed in Libby Copeland’s new book, The Lost Family: How DNA...
Have you used DNA test results to help with your genealogy research? Maybe you’ve heard that you can verify ancestors with DNA. Or perhaps you have formed a hypothesis about a brick wall ancestor’s parents and would like to confirm it. You may want to identify the biological parents of a recent relative who was adopted. What is the best way to go about using DNA test results to meet these objectives? What tool could...
How can genealogists know if they are using DNA evidence correctly to prove conclusions? What is required to meet the Genealogical Proof Standard when incorporating DNA evidence? Since the 2nd Edition of Genealogy Standards was published last year, I have been studying the new standards relating to DNA evidence, Standards 51-57. Then at the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG) last month, I had the opportunity to learn from Karen Stanbary and her team of...
What lies ahead for genealogy and family history in 2020? Taking a look back at 2019 can be helpful in predicting where we might be headed in 2020. The most viewed blog posts on Family Locket for 2019 included those on DNA, Organization, and Productivity. If you missed any of these, I invite you to do some browsing and see if there is something that could help you in your research for 2020. Below are...
Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is an interview with Dana Leeds about her method of color clustering DNA Matches. This is called the Leeds Method. When she first shared her method last year, it became an instant success. The Autocluster reports created at Genetic Affairs and the Collins Leeds method are both based on the Leeds Method of color clustering. Listen in to hear all about the Leeds Method and Dana’s experience doing...
