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 single nucleotide polymorphisms in DNA. You can watch it on the Family Locket YouTube channel by either going directly to YouTube and typing in “Family...
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 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...
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...
When working with your DNA, how often do you create a working plan to guide the research? We may recognize the need for choosing record collections to search, but how about choosing a DNA tool? With so many available, do we need to try them all or can we focus on just one or two that will work with our objective? I’ll share the research plan for my current research project in this blog post. I’m working to prove a longstanding parent-child link on my Shults ancestral line using DNA evidence based on Ancestry DNA ThruLines and documentary research. In...
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...
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....
When you start a family history research project and want to incorporate Family Tree DNA test results in the search for your ancestors, I have a hot tip for you! Use the AutoTree tool at Genetic Affairs. I recommend you use it at the beginning of the research project. The AutoTree report gives you a headstart on grouping your DNA matches in clusters of related individuals, connecting their family trees, and it gives you concise data that you can use in connecting DNA matches with your shared ancestors. There are too many important elements in the AutoTree report...
Do you sometimes feel frustrated as you try to sort out the connections between DNA matches and shared ancestors? I do, and I think we all need help with this from time to time. The AutoKinship tool at GeneticAffairs.com can quickly offer possible solutions to the problem. AutoKinship can help you construct a family tree of DNA matches from 23andMe that point to shared/common ancestors when there are few clues about who those ancestors are. The tool is similar to the predicted family tree at 23andMe which groups matches by the amount of DNA shared matches share with each other....
Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about Diana’s Dillard project. For the RLP with DNA study group, she is exploring the possibility that a cluster of DNA matches from her second cousin’s network graph are related through Cynthia Dillard’s parents. The MRCA of the cluster appears to be Elijah Dillard. In this assignment, Diana wrote a report. She shares some of her findings. Read her report by clicking on the link below. Transcript Links Is Elijah Dillard the Brother of Cynthia (Dillard) Royston? DNA Research Report – https://familylocket.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Is-Elijah-Dillard-the-Brother-of-Cynthia-Dillard-Royston_.pdf RLP with DNA Study Group Part 8: Report Writing –...
Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about Diana’s Dillard project. For the RLP with DNA study group, she is exploring the possibility that a cluster of DNA matches from her second cousin’s network graph are related through Cynthia Dillard’s parents. The MRCA of the cluster appears to be Elijah Dillard. In this assignment, Diana followed her research plan and recorded her searches in Airtable. Her research log helped her organize many deeds in Pike County, Georgia, as well as FAN club members. She also used GWorks and the FamilySearch Tree in descendancy view to find additional matches whose...
