In real life and in fiction, DNA is used to solve crimes that have stumped investigators for years or even decades. But what if the cold case you are trying to solve isn’t a crime, but rather a family history mystery that is hundreds of years old? What if you have already pored through available records sources to no avail? Many of us have these types of mysteries in our family trees, often referred to as “brick walls.” Do you have an ancestor whose origins are difficult to trace due to … [Read more...]
How GEDmatch Can Amplify Your Genealogy Research
How can GEDmatch help you to accurately identify DNA matches? We recently sat down with GEDmatch's Tom Osypian to understand how individuals can best use the GEDmatch tools to organize DNA matches and reach out to their relatives to create the most accurate family tree possible. How has GEDmatch evolved since its inception? Tom: GEDmatch started around 2010 as a Gedcom comparison site. As DNA testing took off, we started developing algorithms to compare DNA test results, and it's … [Read more...]
What It Was Really Like To Find My Biological Father: love and persistence find a way
The following is a personal account of one of our clients who shares her experience of finding her biological father. You can read her story below, and you can also watch her tell her story here on our YouTube channel. My name is Tiffany. This is the story of my journey to finding my father. I am 49, and I've never known my biological father or his family. My mom was 17 when she got pregnant, and they only dated or hung out for a couple of weeks; she went back to visit family in New … [Read more...]
How To Create Diagrams and Charts for Genetic Genealogy Research
This article is based on a similar article in the July - September 2022 issue of NGS Magazine and is republished here with permission. The Leeds Method, developed by Dana Leeds, enables genetic genealogy researchers to identify clusters of genetic cousins, based on color-code assignment of close matches and their shared genetic cousins. Chart created by author. Genealogists reporting on research should consider the use of charts, diagrams, tables, maps, and other figures to clearly … [Read more...]
“DNA Doesn’t Lie”: How To Accurately Interpret DNA Test Results
When you get your DNA test results, there's a good chance your DNA matches aren't as straight-forward as you had hoped, and there's a lot of room for misinterpretation. Here's some helpful things to consider as you begin your journey into the world of genetic genealogy! If you’ve gotten involved in genetic genealogy at all in the last few years, you have probably heard the phrase “DNA doesn’t lie.” This is meant to imply that, while records left behind by our ancestors can sometimes be … [Read more...]
6 Reasons Why Taking an Autosomal DNA Test Can Bring New Insights Into Your Known Ancestry
How can taking an Autosomal DNA test bring you new insights into your known ancestry? What might you discover when you go deeper using genetic genealogy? Read on to find out how DNA can give you more understanding into your family tree. You’ve spent hours and hours digging into documents, interviewing living relatives, or reviewing journal entries. You know your ancestral lines reasonably far back, and you feel your work, at least on some of the ancestral lines, is complete. Is there … [Read more...]
What Is Genealogy? How To Get Started With Family History Research
What is genealogy? What do you need to know to create a solid foundation for your family history research? What is a family tree, and how create an accurate family tree? How can you use DNA to help you with your research? We'll answer these questions and more for anyone who wants to find their ancestors anywhere in the world. What is genealogy? Genealogy can take many different forms, but what does it really mean? Is it simply names, dates, and places? Is it discovering deep roots at home or … [Read more...]
Autosomal DNA Test Results: Using Ethnicity Estimates to Generate Genealogical Hypotheses
The material in this autosomal DNA blog article was originally published in the October-December 2021 issue of NGS Magazine. It is updated and republished here with permission. Autosomal DNA test results at the major genetic genealogy testing companies (23andMe, Ancestry, Family Tree DNA, LivingDNA, MyHeritage) include two main elements: ethnicity admixture estimates and genetic cousin match lists. While genetic cousin match lists are the most helpful resource for solving genealogical … [Read more...]