While DNA testing and genetic evidence are certainly useful for breaking down challenging historic brick walls, the implications of DNA testing can also hit closer to home in the modern era when it comes to research on misattributed parentage. In cases of adoption, unknown parentage or misattributed parentage, genetic genealogy methodologies enable identification of close biological ancestors whose identities might otherwise remain unknown, and which represent immediate brick walls for any … [Read more...]
Top 5 DNA and Genetic Genealogy Blog Posts in 2022
The use of DNA and genetic genealogy have become widely used strategies for solving challenging genealogy research projects since DNA testing became available to the public in the early 2000s. With our team of expert genetic genealogists at Legacy Tree, we can break through brick walls, discover unknown parentage, and make family tree connections that were impossible just a few short decades ago. In case you missed them, below are the top five DNA and genetic genealogy blog posts of 2022 … [Read more...]
How Genealogy Research Provides Comfort After a DNA Surprise
A DNA Surprise is an event in a person's life where they find out their parentage is not what they had always believed. In this article we talk with Right to Know founder Kara Rubinstein Deyerin about her own DNA Surprise and how genealogy research and other tools can provide comfort during this challenging experience. Tell us how you felt when you had a DNA surprise. I felt like a unicorn. Who grows up thinking they are half Black and learns they're not? I felt very much alone when I … [Read more...]
Five Ways to Use the New DNA Coverage Estimator Tool at DNA Painter
The DNA Coverage Estimator is now available and makes the process of identifying matching ancestors through DNA much simpler than ever before. In April 2018, Legacy Tree Genealogists published an article by Paul Woodbury introducing the concept of DNA coverage – the amount of an ancestor’s DNA represented in a DNA database through the test results of their tested descendants. Different descendants of an ancestor inherit different portions of that individual’s DNA. Therefore, they have … [Read more...]
Eight Steps to Pursue with New Autosomal DNA Test Results
Paul Woodbury is a DNA team lead and professional researcher at Legacy Tree Genealogists where he has helped to solve hundreds of genetic genealogy cases. In this article, a reprint from an issue of NGS Magazine, Paul discusses steps a researcher could take to begin using DNA test results. This article is published with permission. Several weeks after the submission of a DNA sample, the results finally arrive! An email appears announcing that the test has completed processing. It includes a … [Read more...]
Foundations for Genetic Genealogy Success: Profiles and Family Trees
Our own Paul Woodbury follows up on his article about the journey of a DNA sample with a discussion of how profiles and family trees are the foundations for genetic genealogy success. This article is a reprint from a recent issue of the National Genealogical Society Magazine and is published here with permission. In my previous article, "From Spit to Screen: The Journey of a DNA Sample" I described the journey of a DNA sample from the moment a sample is taken to the moment a test taker … [Read more...]
How can DNA Solve Unknown Parentage and Break Down a Brick Wall?
One of our researchers uses her own family tree investigation as an example to explain how DNA can be used to break down brick walls, solve an unknown parentage case and uncover surprises in genealogical research. Important Female Ancestors Who are the important female ancestors you would like to honor in your life? Sometimes finding historical records about our female ancestors is not enough. Sometimes, all you can do is send in a DNA test, hoping that somehow, some way, you will find a … [Read more...]
Better Living Through Statistics: What Are The Odds?
The What Are the Odds DNA tool is a free resource to help you compare the probability of relationships with your DNA matches. The advent of consumer autosomal DNA testing has allowed genealogists to use DNA results to break down seemingly impenetrable genealogical brick walls. Whether your research question is “who is my biological father?” or “who is my third-great-grandmother?”, autosomal DNA can be used to find answers about your origins. Suppose you’re looking at your DNA match list … [Read more...]
The Biological Journey of DNA Inheritance: Meiosis to Fertilization
Understanding the biologial journey of genetic inheritance can help in the interpretation of DNA evidence for genealogy research. *This article originally appeared in NGS Magazine, and is reprinted with permission. Different DNA inheritance paths can help solve genealogical mysteries. These unique inheritance patterns provide important context for interpretation of DNA test results and enable genealogical discoveries, but why is DNA inherited the way it is? What underlying biological … [Read more...]
DNA to the Rescue! Solving an Irish Genealogy “Brick Wall”
A case study that demonstrates how to use document evidence in conjunction with DNA evidence to resolve an Irish genealogy "brick wall". *Shared with client permission Researchers with Irish ancestors have often thrown up their hands in despair when they learn about the massive record loss on that small island. Knowing one’s birthdate or even one’s age was not an Irish cultural value until well into the 20th century, which further complicates Irish research. “Crossing the pond” to document … [Read more...]