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How To Begin Your African American Genealogy Research

Genealogy research is rarely easy or straightforward, and African American genealogy research adds a whole other layer of complexity when you’re looking for enslaved ancestors. We’ve compiled some of our best tips and information with links to help you get started on your genealogy journey with confidence. 

FINDING AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN IN YOUR GENEALOGY RESEARCH

Researching women in history is already quite difficult, but it can be even more difficult to find African American women ancestors. In this article, African American Women in Genealogy Research, Adrienne Abiodun highlights different cultural practices during various historical periods. For example, when African American women married before the 13th Amendment was ratified, marriage records that could provide maiden names are sometimes very difficult to locate, if one exists at all.

You’ll also learn more about helpful resources such as Bible indexes that could help you find records of births, marriages, and deaths within the family. One such index is the Daughters of the American Revolution online index and the Yancey Family Genealogy Bible index that includes 60,000 surnames!

HOW TO UTILIZE FREEDMAN’S BANK RECORDS IN AFRICAN AMERICAN GENEALOGY

Established in 1885 as a bank to assist formerly enslaved African Americans, The Freedman’s Bank Records has become an invaluable resource for genealogy research. In addition to inventory lists included in wills and probate records of enslavers, these bank records can be a significant source to find an ancestor’s name and other information. 

Between 1865 and 1871, approximately 37 branches opened in major cities in Alabama, Arkansas, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. To learn more about Freedman’s Bank Records and how to use them in your African American genealogy research, read our article here. 

LINEAGE SOCIETIES FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH ENSLAVED ANCESTORS 

There are many challenges when it comes to researching your enslaved ancestors–the records are hardly consistent, and there is a great likelihood that you’ll run into frustrating and devastating brick walls. This can definitely be the case when you’re hoping to join a lineage society like the Sons and Daughters of United States Middle Passage. 

When documentation is hard to come by, how do you use oral histories passed from generation to generation to help you find the paper trail you need to join a lineage society? What types of record collections should you search and where do you find them? Assuming you can make it as far back as 1870, and you still cannot locate your ancestor back to 1860, there are avenues you can still pursue. Read our article Honoring and Proving Formerly Enslaved Ancestors Through Lineage Society Membership. 

How To Use DNA Test Results for African American Genealogy

In 2006, PBS aired a television program called African American Lives in which Henry Louis Gates Jr. explored the genealogies of prominent African-Americans. In this mini-series, Gates used traditional genealogical research in combination with DNA analysis to reveal secrets about his guests’ family histories. 

You can use your own DNA results to help you do what Gates did for others. DNA can drastically change your genealogy journey when it can be difficult to find traditional genealogical records. For more tips on how to use DNA in your African American genealogy research, read our article DNA: Transforming African American Genealogy.

THE BASIC ELEMENTS OF AFRICAN AMERICAN GENEALOGY RESEARCH

Still feeling lost? You’re not alone! Getting started is often the hardest part of any genealogy research project. How do you even know what you’re looking for? What are realistic goals to set? How do you keep from getting discouraged when you hit a seemingly insurmountable brick wall?

In this article, 4 Important Elements For African American Genealogy Research, we’ll walk you through the basics of African American genealogy research to help you feel confident in your strategies and approach. 

WORKING WITH A PROFESSIONAL GENEALOGIST WHO SPECIALIZES IN AFRICAN AMERICAN GENEALOGY

Meet Adrienne Abiodun of Legacy Tree Genealogists:

Genetic Genealogy

Adrienne Abiodun is a senior genealogy researcher here at Legacy Tree Genealogists. She is an energetic researcher who loves challenging genealogical research projects. In addition to her 19 years of genealogy experience, she’s obtained a Certificate in Genealogical Research from Boston University. Her areas of specialty include: Genetic Genealogy, DNA, Unknown Parentage, African American Genealogy Research, Southern United States Genealogy Research, and Lineage Society Applications. You can hear her on a recent podcast episode on KPBS:

KPBS Episode featuring LTG’s Adrienne Abiodun: Reparation Efforts In California Move Forward

“I think what I’m interested in this whole reparations and lineage-based approach is who is going to vet the research? Who’s going to conduct this level of research? It’s not a weekend activity, per se. This could take several years for a person to research their family history–decades even–even though there have been advancements that make this research easier. Records have been digitized–they’re even available online. You don’t have to go to a courthouse, but there are still hurdles that are going to be very hard to overcome. It will look very different from family to family. What people need to have is patience. If you’re talking about starting with a person today, and they have to prove their parents and their grandparents and then their great-grandparents–maybe even second great-grandparents–until they find an enslaved person. And the records are going to most likely be outside California.” 

Listen to the full episode about Reparation efforts in California here. 

 

If you’d like to work with our team of professional genealogy experts to help you find your enslaved ancestors, please contact us here. 

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How Knowing Family Stories Helps Overcome Challenges

Family Stories Build ConfidenceEmbracing Your Family Stories

The genealogy journey is one fraught with unexpected discoveries and stories. As you delve deeper into family history and past stories, there can often be positive and negative surprises that shift your perspective of yourself and the world around you. As you learn about the past, you can choose to create a future that your descendants can be proud of and, in so many ways, come to understand yourself better and grow as an individual. 

Growing From Your Ancestor's Experiences 

No matter your age or experience with family history, putting the experiences of your ancestors into context and examining how their experiences have shaped your life can give you strength during tough times. 

One way family history can strengthen us in tough times is through the concept of “ancestor salience.” By exploring your ancestors' stories, you can gain perspective and resilience in facing your own challenges. Reflecting on your lineage and the trials and triumphs of those who came before you can foster a sense of belonging and purpose.

The Power of Family History

We all have inspiring stories from our ancestors. One client looked to his grandfather, a remarkable man who overcame significant adversity. Despite a challenging upbringing marked by poverty and loss, his grandfather went on to serve as a distinguished pilot in World War II and achieve entrepreneurial success. This rich family history showcases resilience and serves as a source of inspiration. 

As you think back on your family tree, you might ask yourself:

  • What trials and struggles did my ancestors face?
  • How did they overcome adversity?
  • What aspects of their personalities and characteristics have I inherited? 
  • How can I learn from their experiences to grow in my current situation?

By reflecting on our family stories, we can create new feelings of nostalgia, confidence, and gratitude that can guide our actions today. Nostalgia for our roots can instill a sense of calm, while confidence derived from our ancestors' accomplishments can drive us forward. Gratitude for the sacrifices made by those who came before us can bolster our resolve and willpower under challenging circumstances.

Get to Know Your Stories

Rather than just focusing on completing your family tree, learn about the people behind the names. What do you actually know about your ancestors? How many full stories can you retell? Nothing is more captivating than sharing true stories about people who have shaped who you are and where you are today. 

Sometimes, the challenges you face today can feel overwhelming or discouraging. But knowing that your ancestors made it through challenging times and thrived can help you have hope and determination to push through and find meaning and happiness in the everyday. 

The Impact of Family History on Young People

In the late 90s, psychologists Marshall Duke and Robyn Fivush of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, asked 48 families 20 questions about their family history. They found that the more the children knew, the stronger their sense of control over their lives, the higher their self-esteem and the more successfully they believed their families functioned.

“Hearing these stories gave the children a sense of their history and a strong ‘intergenerational self.' Even if they were only nine, their identity stretched back 100 years, giving them connection, strength and resilience,” Duke said.

When we share these family stories with the younger generation, they benefit emotionally and are better able to handle the challenges that come their way. 

How to Get Started

There are so many ways to start sharing your family narratives and create positive change in your life and the lives of your family. Here are a few ways to get started:

When times are tough, we see the most growth. By connecting and relating to our ancestors and seeing how they overcame challenges, we have greater power to transform our experiences into sources of strength. 

To learn more about your family history, contact us for a free research quote.

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The Best Family History Activities

October is Family History Month, and we’re here to help you find motivation to get started on any piece of your family history that you’ve been hoping to start. Family History isn’t just sitting at a computer looking through archives and search engines. Family History includes learning more about your ancestors’ cultures, and then weaving them into your own family traditions. It’s gathering family around to tell stories and share wisdom. 

This month, we hope you’ll find a bit of time to invest toward discovering more about your family history. We’ve created a Family History Challenge with one simple task every week here–whether you’re a beginner or experienced, we have fun challenges that will revive your passion for learning about your ancestors!

For now, here are some ideas to inspire you and your family to continue your family history in a variety of ways:

 

7 WAYS TO SHARE FAMILY HISTORY WITH YOUR GRANDCHILDREN

Why should you share your family history with your grandchildren?The story of your own life is uniquely yours, and, if not shared with your children and grandchildren, will become lost forever. You can’t just assume that your children already know your stories and will pass them on. They must be shared in a way that brings them to life and gives meaning to others.  

Your story isn’t just about you, but includes your ancestors. Sharing this rich tapestry of family history with your grandchildren not only connects them to their roots but also imparts valuable life lessons, traditions, and a sense of identity.  

In this article, we’ll walk you through a few ways to share your family history with your grandchildren, including:

  1. Start with Your Own Journey
  2. Gather Family History Artifacts
  3. Create a Family Tree
  4. Record Oral Histories
  5. Visit Ancestral Places
  6. Preserve Traditions and Recipes
  7. Embrace Family History Technology

 

GENEALOGY ACTIVITIES TO ENJOY AT HOME

When you need a break from the hustle and bustle, a relaxing day at home is a great time to focus on researching the ancestors that have come before us. Learning about their lives and the struggles they endured can provide perspective, hope, and appreciation for the journey-takers that helped write the pages of our own story.

In this article, we’ll walk you through family history activities to try from home, including:

  1. Find your grandparents in census records
  2. Start a family history book or scrapbook
  3. Take a DNA test
  4. Learn the language of your ancestors
  5. Cook a dish from an ancestral land
  6. Dive into online court records
  7. Record your own life story
  8. Scan and organize old family photos
  9. Audit your family tree
  10. …and more!

 

8 WAYS TO CELEBRATE FAMILY HISTORY MONTH

After you have discovered and embraced the heritage given to you from your ancestors, you may wish to share this excitement with others – especially your children and grandchildren – in the hopes that they will cherish their heritage as much as you do. With that goal in mind, especially since this whole month has been designated to celebrate Family History, the following are eight fun ways to help the rising generation embrace and appreciate their heritage:

 

  1. Use social media
  2. Plan an interactive family history field trip
  3. Play ancestral monopoly
  4. Take a tour of a FamilySearch Discovery Center
  5. Join a genealogy society
  6. Craft a Christmas ornament
  7. Make an ancestral scrapbook
  8. Cook a meal

 

5 TIPS FOR DECIPHERING OLD HANDWRITING

One of the hot topics of debate among parents and educators these days is whether it is necessary for today’s computer-age students to learn cursive handwriting. Given the time investment required, is it important enough to continue to be taught in our public schools? If professional genealogists and historians were to weigh in on the subject, we would vote with a resounding Yes! 

Historical documents that are fundamental to our nation’s history and laws, including the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, were written in cursive. And what about handwritten letters from grandpa sent home from the war, or great-grandma’s gingersnap cookie recipe, to say nothing of actual genealogical research in original documents?

Read more for tips on how to decipher your family’s letters and documents.

We hope you find many ways to enjoy Family History Month with your family. Genealogy is a priceless gift and experience that will last for generations.

 

If you’d like help with your family history genealogy project, contact us today to get a free quote!

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Latin American History Month: Intro to Latin American Genealogy Research

Do you have Latin American heritage and want to know more about your ancestors? Latin American history and traditions are rich, complex, and full of life. In this article, we’ll give you an introduction to Latin American genealogy with resources to help you get started with confidence. Here are a few things you’ll want to know to set yourself up for success.

Latina woman

Record Sets for Latin American Genealogy Research

Whether your ancestors lived along the U.S./Mexican border or the southernmost tip of Argentina, all Latin American genealogical research is heavily  dependent on two main record sets–Catholic Church records and civil registration records. Grasping at least a basic understanding of these record types–including their history, the information provided them, and where to find them–is imperative to discovering your Latin American roots.

As you begin your Latin American genealogy research, there are a few record sets you’ll want to dig into:

Latin American Catholic Church Records

catholic church

The Catholic Church recorded three main record types pertinent to family history research: baptisimal, marriage, and death records.

• Baptismal Records

Typically, baptismal records in Latin America will include the following information:

~ Baptismal date

~ Birthdate

~ Name

~ Legitimacy status of child

~ Name of father

~ Name of mother

~ Godparents

 

• Marriage Records

Marriage records created by the Catholic Church are usually presented in the FamilySearch catalog under two main titles: Matrimonios and Información Matrimonial.

Matrimonios, or marriages, may contain the following information:

~ Name of groom/bride

~ Marital status

~ Birthplace of groom/bride

~ Age of groom/bride

~ Name of previous spouse (if applicable)

 

• Death Records

Whether or not one received all the sacraments, the Catholic priest was responsible for recording the death of those under his ecclesiastical jurisdiction. The death records of the Catholic Church will frequently provide the decedent's name, date of death, marital status, name of spouse (if applicable), and, sometimes, names of parents. 

Latin American Civil Registration Records

Civil registration records are birth, marriage, and death records kept by the government. With a few exceptions, Latin American civil registration records began in the late 19th century.

• Civil Birth Records

Birth registration records kept by Latin American governments usually provide information such as the child’s name, date of birth, place of birth, parent’s names, and occasionally the child’s grandparents’ names.

Unlike most Catholic Church records, these records will also provide genealogical details regarding the parents, such as how old they were at the time of the child’s birth or where they were originally from.

• Civil Marriage Records

Like Catholic Church marriage records, marriage registration records also contain similar information regarding the bride and groom: their marital status, the names of their parents, their age, where they were from, etc.

• Civil Death Records

Civil death registration records may contain biographical details regarding the cause of your ancestor’s death. Occasionally, the civil registrar may provide genealogical data regarding the informant of the death. If the informant was a family member, death registration records may become an unexpected clue in your genealogical research. 

Learn more about different record types to help you with your Latin American genealogy research in our article The Bread and Butter of Latin American Research: Church and Civil Registration Records.

Understanding Surnames in Latin American Cultures

Many South American cultures pass along two surnames to their children, which can be a double-edged sword–this can either make your search easier as you can follow unique double surnames, or it can derail you if there is more than one family with the same double name. 

To ensure you have the correct records for your ancestors, it’s incredibly important to check and recheck your documentation, preferably using more than one source. This is especially crucial when you’re going through the pages of any christening, marriage, or death record held by the Catholic church. Don’t just stop when you find one match that appears to be your ancestor. Extract all potential matches and then use other details to determine which one is correct. 

Keep in mind that, for much of Latin America’s colonial history, Catholic priests and church leaders held a lot of political power during the era of invasion and conquest. They kept records of their parish members, but there were often inconsistencies in their records. Be open to see variations of name spellings, dates, places, and locations. Anything that looks even remotely close to a potential match should be considered.

You can read more about researching Latin American surnames in our article How Do I Trace My South American Ancestry? Tips for Success.

DNA Testing for Latin American Ancestry

For those who have completed DNA testing, the centuries of Latin America’s colonization are reflected in their complex and diverse genetic admixtures, with many individuals having a mix of European, Indigenous, and African ancestry.

There is no one-size-fits-all answer to the questions of the best DNA test to help with your Latin American Research, as it will depend on your specific needs and circumstances. Research and comparing different DNA testing companies before deciding is always a good idea.

To learn more about how to utilize DNA testing in your Latin American ancestry research, read our article 6 Strategies for Using DNA to Research Your Latin American Ancestry.

 

If you’d like help with your Latin American genealogy research, we have professional genealogists all over the world who can help you weave together the story of your family. Contact us today, and one of our team members will reach out to you to find out more about your family history goals. 

 

RELATED LATIN AMERICAN GENEALOGY RESEARCH BLOG ARTICLES

6 Strategies for Using DNA to Research Your Latin American Ancestry

The Bread and Butter of Latin American Research: Church and Civil Registration Records

How Do I Trace My South American Ancestry? Tips for Success

How To Use Mexican Marriage Records for Genealogical Research

Ask a Genealogist: Tracing Ancestry in Spain

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Why You Should Create a Family Office and Succession Plan

Many think they have unlimited time to organize a will, structure finances for descendants, and transmit the most important life details to their children and grandchildren. But sometimes, life gets in the way – illness, incapacity, and death come sooner than expected and can leave descendants to unravel the complications left behind.

That happened to Josh Kanter, son of tax lawyer and venture capitalist Burton Kanter.

“When my father passed away from cancer in 2001, I was in the room, and his last words to me were take care of your mother and your sister,” said Josh.

The death of Mr. Kanter posed a challenging situation for his three adult children. They now faced the task of considering their father's succession planning and navigating through his intricately detailed financial matters.

“It took over 12 years of restructuring the enterprise and finishing litigation over my dad's estate. It was almost a requirement that somebody step in and try to figure out how to manage through this,” Josh recalled. Given that Josh was a practicing lawyer, and spent 18 months with his father during his illness, Josh became the natural choice to manage his late father's affairs.

The Evolution of leafplanner

Unraveling his family estate led Josh to develop what is known today as leafplanner, a wealth succession planning digital platform for high-net-worth families. Initially, the plan was much simpler: an owner's manual for the family that could be updated and shared with family members to be ‘educated and empowered.'

But that owner's manual has evolved into a powerful digital resource for wealthy families.

“About three years ago, somebody saw and really liked one of the owner's manuals I created for another family. A lot of stuff has been developed in the wealth industry for data aggregation, sophisticated general ledger systems, specialty programs, and all these things. But nobody has really tackled this idea of information collection. There is nothing like it in the industry. We turned it into a platform with the idea of helping hundreds or thousands of families understand what they need to think about and how to collect, organize, and share information. So that became leafplanner.” Josh explained.

Succession Planning is for Everyone

As people consider their individual situations, they may wonder if they need succession planning. While leafplanner greatly serves complex financial situations, ‘the concepts of what we are doing apply to every single human. We've got $10 million and billion-dollar clients, but the concepts apply to everyone.'

One of the goals of leafplanner is to capture the motivation or why behind decisions. “Using leafplanner or creating an owner's manual is a gift to your spouse, partner, kids, trustees, executors, advisors, or whoever is stepping into responsibility because there are so many ideas, concepts, and relationships, and the why behind these things needs to be passed on.”

The gift of legacy is often discussed in succession plans. While it is important to pay attention to the financial aspects of legacy, it can be equally important to pass on stories of values and character development.

“When you can get families to talk about the stories of what mom and dad went through, the trials and tribulations on their way to becoming financially successful, that's where the values are reinforced. The values don't come from a graph that goes into a straight line from bottom left to top right. The values come from the ups and the downs and what happened along the way,” said Josh.

Knowing about the past creates great momentum for future generations to build upon. In a study done at Emory University, adolescents were asked 20 simple questions about their families. The study found that adolescents who report knowing more stories about their familial past show higher emotional well-being and self-esteem. Combining family stories and values with traditional wealth succession planning creates a more successful future for descendants, and that is one of the benefits of leafplanner.

Creating a Family Office to Pass Down Values 

A term often used in the wealth management industry is family office, but Josh helps us understand, “There is no one definition of a family office. In my view, a family office is designed to manage the family – not just the family assets – for a multi-generational period. The most important function of a family office is to help with the family's success, however, the family defines that success. That could be about legacy, churning out good humans, philanthropy, investment and tax advice, etc. If you take that mental perspective, then all of us are running a family office in one way or another.”

leafplanner tries to take this kind of family office perspective by helping families answer essential questions holistically and comprehensively. Josh explains how every family can benefit from clarity on its mission and values.

“Every family could talk about what they stand for, what they're doing, and why they're doing it. And there doesn't have to be a lot of money involved. Mission statements are based on values. They're based on the family's legacy, where they came from, what they want to do, and how they want to change the world. And the world can be their little nuclear family, or the world can be the world.”

Knowing that every family, regardless of financial status, can benefit from creating a family office and succession plan is empowering. As Josh learned himself in picking up the pieces after his father's passing, ‘If it's going to take me 20 hours to organize the pieces, I guarantee you it's going to take my kids 200 hours to figure out those same pieces.'

It truly is a gift to our descendants when we create a plan and organize the family information to pass on our legacy financially and emotionally. Using resources like leafplanner, owner's manuals, and genealogy research to capture family stories, the future can be smooth and precise for future generations.

To learn more about leafplanner and see if they are right for your family, visit leafplanner.com

 

Ready to learn more about your family history and pass that legacy on to your children and grandchildren? Contact Legacy Tree today for a free research quote.

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Australian Aboriginal Genealogy

As you begin Aboriginal genealogy research, it's important to realize that the connection that Australian Aboriginal people have to the land is a concept that is sometimes difficult for non-Aboriginal people to understand. The term ‘Country’ is used to describe the area a family or community came from, and once this is established, the connections can be shared, and links to existing relatives can be established.  

Like many First Nations communities affected by invasion, genocide, and discriminatory government policies, many Australian Aboriginal people still live with the disadvantages and effects of events in the past.  

Government policies that removed people from their Country or removed children from their families cast a long shadow on culture and community to the present day. However, the resilience and strength of Aboriginal Australians in the face of this disadvantage is a huge testament to their connections to family and community.  

The Bringing Them Home Report

A pivotal National inquiry undertaken by the Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from their families was completed in 1997. Extensive consultations were conducted across Australia, and the inquiry was heard from around 1000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It gave survivors a space to tell their stories in their own voices, some for the first time, providing a starting point for the healing process. 

They interviewed over 500 affected people and spoke to organizations and institutions nationwide.  The result was the Bringing Them Home report, which detailed the history of forced removals and provided recommendations for redress. Though it has been twenty years since the report was published, Bringing them Home remains significant today. Many of the report's recommendations have not yet been implemented, members of the Stolen Generations and their families continue to be affected by the trauma caused by forced removal, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are still removed from their families at a very high rate. 

The Bringing Them Home Report and associated research bring together many sources of information related to the Stolen Generation. Although the stories are often dark, grim, and confronting, the centralization of the information and the collection of oral and other personal histories provide a data source for future generations. 

How Can I Test My DNA for Aboriginal Ancestry?  

The major direct-to-consumer DNA tests, including AncestryDNA, MyHeritage DNA, and FamilyTreeDNA, have sample populations for Aboriginal ancestry, meaning they may be able to detect Aboriginal Ancestry. However, sometimes, if the connection is a very distant ancestor, this may not be able to be detected.  

What Is a Reasonable Aboriginal Genealogy Research Goal? 

When you work with professional genealogists like Legacy Tree, we can support you as you develop your research goals. Traditional genealogy goals don’t always apply to clients searching for more information about their Aboriginal ancestry, as Aboriginal communities may have a different ancestral perspective than those removed from their culture and Country. If a client has grown up with cultural connections to place, then research goals might focus more on details about individuals and their stories. However, if a client or their ancestors were removed from their Aboriginal family, then research might be more pragmatic: where does the client’s family come from? Who are their closest relatives? How might they reach out to new family members in a sensitive way?

Aboriginal Family History Research

The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) is the national repository for information and advice on Aboriginal Family History. In addition, each State and Territory in Australia has specific information.   

AIATSIS recommends the following steps as you begin your Aboriginal family history research, and we can always help you along your journey:

  1. Develop a research plan. This includes developing research goals. We help our clients with this process. 
  2. Get organized. Gather all your relevant information and share it with our team. We will work with you to determine what is useful for your research goals. 
  3. Search for records held by institutions and vital records held by the Government. With your permission, Legacy Tree can do this for you.    
  4. Prepare a report on your research.    

Hand-in-hand with our clients, we can work with the below libraries to source information for you:  

How Are Aboriginal Genealogy Records Stored and Protected?  

The Australian Government recognizes the sensitivity of records related to Australian Aboriginal people and has extra layers of protection and privacy regarding the data it holds in libraries and institutions. However, with consent from our clients, we can collaborate with these organizations to engage professionals to assist with research if required. 

If you’d like help with your Aboriginal genealogy research, you can contact us with your questions, goals, and concerns and someone on our team will be happy to help you!

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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 grown from there. 

What are some of the tools unique to GEDmatch? 

Tom: 

  • If you start to dig into your DNA, trace specific family lines, and examine chromosome segment-level data, we have the tools to let you do that.  
  • We also have automated tools that give you answers in five minutes, which would take hours with a spreadsheet.  
  • GEDmatch has tools for specific populations, such as end populations.  
  • Our new tool lets you cluster your matches into smaller clusters to find a common ancestor.  
  • We have some unique tools built to let genealogists go deeper into the data and start figuring out how you're related.

The vision for GEDmatch is to create a workflow with all these tools that prompt the user to apply their data to the appropriate tool to make sense of their match lists. We have tools that do some of that workflow. One tool is called auto kinship. It's a tier-one tool (paid membership), and it will look at your DNA matches and do some triangulation and segment analysis to figure out the most likely family tree in which your matches would fit.

We have 2 million profiles on our site right now, and it's growing every day. You'll find people from all the different testing companies. You can just take one test and come to GEDmatch, and then you can be matched with people from all the other testing sites. 

Which of these tools are available with a GEDmatch Tier-One Membership? 

Tom: 

Tier One includes the auto cluster tool and the auto kinship tool. It also includes many tools that let you dig deep into your DNA, which can get very technical and be overwhelming if you're new. We provide tutorial videos that the GEDmatch community has put together to explain how the tools work and how to use them.  

Tier One is excellent for those who want to go deeper and who are managing multiple DNA test kits for people.  

Can I load more than one test kit into a single GEDmatch account? 

Tom: 

As a free user, you can upload five profiles into your account. For 95% of our users, that's plenty. If you are a paid Tier One user, you get unlimited uploads. If, in the future, you decide to cancel that Tier One account, the kits you've uploaded will not be deleted and will stay in your account. 

How does GEDmatch and genealogy research align?  

Tom: 

In my mind, genealogists like Legacy Tree Genealogists have the resources to help people who need it. If a person is stuck in their research or doesn't have time, they can come to Legacy Tree to get help researching their family line.  

Let's discuss the challenges of data and security in the DNA industry. What has your team had to do to protect your users' data and privacy? 

Tom: 

Data protection, security, and privacy are paramount for us at GEDmatch. They are top-of-mind considerations anytime we consider adding new features or code changes. We've got several things in place to keep data secure. One is our environment. Everything is cloud-based, including Amazon Web services at the enterprise level. We work with third-party consultants who've helped us securely design the system. Whenever a client uploads their raw DNA data file, we convert it to a tokenized format.  

It's our encryption, and then we delete that raw data file. We never save those. We don't have access to it; no one can get it. It stays on our server for a brief period, just enough to ensure file quality, and then it's deleted after seven days. This should reassure our customers that their raw DNA data will not be stored on our site for any longer than necessary. Then, we also eliminate any health-related snips that might be uploaded to the DNA data file. We only keep the snips that relate to how you could be related to someone else. We don't have any health DNA data information in GEDmatch at all.  

No one can download the data. If you have a kit on a DNA profile on GEDmatch, you can't download it. You can download information but can't download the DNA data file you uploaded. So that's another excellent security feature.   

We take security seriously and are always looking for ways to improve the security and privacy of our users. Regarding data in general, we monitor how data flows in and out of the system and ensure it's done in a compliant way. 

What are the vision and future goals for GEDmatch?  

Tom: 

The vision for GEDmatch is ultimately to help people find their family and relatives using DNA and family tree information. The tools built over the years for GEDmatch are very powerful, but there's a learning curve associated with them.  

How do we make GEDmatch easier for people new to genealogy to log into the site and upload their DNA file on their family tree file? The DNA and family tree files are critical to have on the site. That's how you can unlock many family mysteries.  

Imagine the journey. You start with a DNA file, construct your family tree file based on the DNA data, and then GEDmatch comes into play. It's here that the magic happens. GEDmatch can reveal your connections, showing you who you are related to and who you might be related to from our extensive database. The potential for discovery and connection is genuinely exhilarating.   

Our goal is to improve automation because our tools often require someone to use one tool and then bring the data over into another tool or have some things outside of GEDmatch where they're recording the data. We're trying to automate the steps people take to determine where a person could be in their family tree, give them hints, and use data from outside sources to provide them with more insight. 

Will the automation still allow users to access the tools individually? 

Tom: 

We will always keep the tools available individually, but we want to make them more accessible for people who are new to our site, especially the younger generation. We want to attract them to this, and if they've done a DNA test and want to dig into it more and find people who aren't on their testing site but could be on GEDmatch, our goal is to make it easy for them to jump in.  

Tell us a bit about the GEDmatch partnership with FamilySearch. 

Tom: 

We recently added an integration with FamilySearch to import family trees. If a person has a family tree on FamilySearch, they can go into GEDMatch, log in with their FamilySearch account, and import eight generations of ancestors. For each generation of ancestors, they can bring in one generation of descendants, so that's a good-sized tree.  

As we work with FamilySearch more, we will start to add more functions and the ability to match DNA results to the imported trees to validate and prove the tree's accuracy. It's exciting, and this first step in the collaboration will really help our clients with their research.  

Download free DNA ebook

Genetic genealogy is an exciting field and at Legacy Tree Genealogists we work hard for our clients to use the latest tools and resources to help them to make sense of their DNA test results. If you need help deciphering your DNA test results, or are searching for biological family members and need to hire a professional to assist, Legacy Tree can help. Reach out for a free quote today. 

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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 Mexico, and that's when she realized she was pregnant. 

When she came home to Salt Lake, he was gone, and she could not find him. She went to where he was living with his friends. He was 19, and she asked where he was and his last name. They gave my mom the wrong name – Guy Lombardo. And so my whole life, I thought I was Italian, and I've been looking for the wrong person.

At one point, when phone books still existed, we would look through them and call all the Guy Lambardos we could find to ask if they were in Salt Lake at that time. We had no success, so I told my husband my story, and he said, “I'm going to hire this company to find your dad.”

Why We Hired a Genealogy Team To Find My Biological Father

And I said, “No, it's okay. I don't want to. I've had all these years of being let down, and I am in a good space where I don't want to be let down anymore.”

I was okay with not having my dad in my life.

He said, “Nope. I've already paid for it, and we're doing this.”

And I thought, oh no, now all this scary stuff and emotions are coming up. So we hired Legacy Tree Genealogists, and I started working with Sheri as my project manager. She's fantastic, and I kept bugging her for answers. We did the DNA testing, which I didn't have when I was 20 years old and 16 years old, trying to find my dad. 

Using Genetic Genealogy to Find Tiffany's Biological Father

We did the DNA work, and I kept bugging Sheri. “Do you have any information yet? I just want to know something.” 

She said, “You have to wait. You have to wait.” It took a couple of months, and then I learned that my dad's side of the family is German.

And I told my mom, “I'm German. I'm not Italian.”  His last name was blank in the results, and it wasn't Lombardo. I remember when I first saw my genealogy tree, and I saw a cousin on my dad's side. That was the first time I'd seen anything from my dad's side. Seeing my tree and seeing a cousin there was surreal. 

This cousin was on 23andMe. I messaged him on 23andMe and said, “I just did my genealogy, and I see your name on my tree.” A while later, he responded to me and shared my whole genealogy. The tree had my dad and my uncle. It also showed that I have a grandma alive, and she's 90.

I have a 94-year-old grandpa, and I never in my wildest dreams thought I would have a grandma and a grandpa. I also have a sister, and she's younger than me. 

Getting all this information was overwhelming and beautiful simultaneously, and I didn't know what to do with it. So, I emailed my new family. Sheri said they could take the next step, but I wanted to do it personally. 

The genetic genealogy team assigned to Tiffany’s project reviewed her DNA test results and found that:

Your 23andMe ethnicity estimates include an average of 72 percent French and German; 10 percent British and Irish; and 7 percent Scandinavian. It is apparent from the high estimate that your French and German heritage is both paternal and maternal in origin, given that we inherit 50 percent of our autosomal DNA from each parent. Furthermore, it appears your biological father is likely almost entirely of French and German heritage.

How To Contact Your Previously Unknown Biological Family Members

I emailed all of the people. I knew where my dad lived—he and my grandma lived in California. I told them, “I did my genealogy, and you guys came up with it. I want to find out how we're related.” I knew how we were related but didn't want to scare them…

When it comes to contacting biological relatives for the first time, the Legacy Tree Genealogist team recommends these resources the following article that include suggestions and scripts for contacting previously unknown, biological family:
How Do I Contact My Birth Parent or Sibling?

…And they never responded. Nobody responded.  Finally, my cousin responded, and he said, “Can I call you?” And I said, “Oh, that would be wonderful. I get to talk to my family.”

I talked to him for two hours on the phone, and he said, this is the best news. We're so excited to meet you. I will call your dad's wife and tell her about you. 

He called back and said, “She wants nothing to do with you, and they want you to stay away. You're kind of ruining their family. So they know about you, but you need to stay away.”

I was shocked. I was like, okay, I understand this is hard for someone to accept, especially when they're married and have children. And my dad's been married to his wife for 40 years and then I come along. And so I respected that, but then I still kept emailing stuff.

I wanted my dad to respond and say, “Yes, I'm your dad, but I'm not ready for this.”

But he wouldn't respond. 

Meeting Your Biological Father For the First Time Isn't Always Easy

I remember sitting there and just crying. I had all of his information, and they didn't get to do that to me. So, I booked a trip to California. I said, “I've just got to do this.” My husband came with me, and we got a hotel and a rental car, but once we arrived, I had a complete panic attack.

I thought, “I can't do this. I can't do this because what if he doesn't want me, which is a possibility, or what if he's not a great guy?” There are all the what-ifs that you hold on to. But I had to complete my journey. 

We went shopping for hours and I kept walking around looking at the men around me thinking, “What if that's my dad?”  I'd never seen a picture of him. I didn't even know what he looked like. And I thought,  “What if that guy walking by me is my dad?”

Finally, I said, “I've just got to do this.” We drove to the house, and I knocked on the door. The lady [my dad's wife] wouldn't open the door. She said, “Who is this?” And I said, “It's Tiffany.” She screamed and yelled at me for about 15 minutes, and I was just bawling.

She would not open the door, so I just said, “Please open the door. I am a mom, too. I understand your pain, but just give me a minute. I'm a hugger and I'm a lover, and if you'll just let me hug you, it's going to be okay.”

She said, “If you want to meet your dad, he's outside.”

I went out there and didn't see anyone. I told my husband, “Let's go. I can't do this. I'm done. Let's go home.” 

My husband said, “I think your dad's in that car over there.”

By then, I was just done and didn't want to meet him anymore. 

But my husband encouraged me and said, “Just go and talk to him.”

And so I knocked on the car window, and it was my dad.

He looked up at me, and he wasn't super happy. He said some mean things, and I was crying uncontrollably. There were more emotions than I've ever dealt with in my life. 

He finally got out of the car and said, “What do you want from me? Do you want child support? What are you trying to do to my family?”

And I said, “I don't want anything. I just want to know that you're my dad, and you didn't respond to me. So I had to do this to bring closure, and I can leave now, and I'm okay.”

He said, “Well, you rented a car, you flew here, and you got a hotel. This is a big deal to you.”

I told him, of course, it's a big deal. You're my dad, and I've been looking for you my whole life. 

And he said, “Okay, do you want to go to the coffee shop?”

A Coffee Date With Your Biological Father

And so he got in my car, and the whole time, I'm thinking, my dad is in my car, something I have always wanted. We went to the coffee shop and didn't know what to say. It was overwhelming for him. It was overwhelming for me. And then I took him back to his house.

He said, “I don't know how to do this. I don't know how to have two families, and you probably won't hear from me again. I need you to stop contacting the family. I need you to go away.”

I went back to the hotel and just cried. I emailed Sheri at Legacy Tree and said it didn't go well, but I met him, and I can put closure to it now. After I flew home, I probably stayed in bed for a week because I was so sad.

When There's No Response

I would still send him texts and invite him to go skiing or come visit. I wanted him to come visit me so I could show him that I wasn't out for money. I didn't want anything from him. I just wanted a dad, and I wanted to get to know him. I messaged him and messaged him, and he never responded for a year. 

I told myself I'd given him a year, and now I will try to meet my grandma. I deserve to meet my grandma. And what if she's not going to be here much longer? I'm a to-do list girl, and I put out my to-do list for January of 2023 -I'm going to meet my grandma. If I have to knock on her door, I will knock on her door, but I will meet her.

The Gift of Grandmothers

In December 2022, I went on a trip to Hawaii with my daughter. I was sitting out on the hotel patio, looking at the ocean in the rain. Suddenly, my phone rang. I had my grandma's phone number saved in my phone, and it was my grandmother. I answered it, and she said, “Tiffany, this is your grandmother.”

She said, “Your dad just told me about you after a year.  He had your business card in his wallet. He pulled it out and said, “I need to tell you something, Mom.”

When he pulled out my business card, and she saw I was a real estate agent, she asked him, “Are you buying a house? What's the story? What's going on?”

He said, “This is my daughter.”

She said, “I just started crying, and I want to meet you. Your dad is so proud of you. He has told everybody about you this past year, and he wants to meet you again. Will you come to California in January and meet him?”

I was crying so hard—it was just the sweetest thing. After we had talked on the phone for a few weeks, I flew to meet my grandma in California. 

We truly connected over the phone, absolutely connected. I took her 48 long-stemmed red roses for all the years that I missed with her. As I came down the escalator, she was standing there so beautiful and sweet. We hugged and hugged, and she had a neighbor drive her to the airport so we could sit in the backseat and just talk the entire time. We were an instant family. 

She is identical to me, and I am definitely her granddaughter. We have the same story of life, the same number of kids, and almost the same life history. She showed me around town and took me to meet her friends. She wanted time with me before my dad got there to meet me. And she was just the sweetest. 

Then, my dad came to town with my uncle, and we met for the first time again. It was a pretty fantastic weekend. We connected right away, and my dad would just sit there and cry, and I would cry. It was this weekend of crying, and we all connected so closely, and it really proves that blood is so much stronger than you think. 

The Unexpected Things

The first night, we went back to the hotel, and my dad sat in my room, and we just chatted until two in the morning. The next morning we both got up early and we went for a walk. And we walk fast. He said, “You are my daughter. You do everything I do. We sit, and we shake our legs. All of our movements are the same. We walk fast. You're identical to me.”

He said, “I must tell you, the best birthday present I've ever received is you. I was 19, and I had never been with anybody. It was my 19th birthday when you were conceived. I still circled a calendar in red on the day I was with your mom. And when I found out about your birthday and who you are, I knew exactly the day. I knew you were my daughter, and I couldn't be prouder to have you as my daughter.”

We had a great weekend with my grandma and my uncle. Three weeks later, my uncle and my dad came to Utah, and we went on a 10-day skiing trip there. They stayed with me, and we went on hikes. 

When I first met my dad, and he didn't want anything to do with me, I had this vision that we were going to go camping together and sit by a fire one day. We're going to talk all day. I kept that vision in my head the entire year that he didn't want to talk to me. And now we have sat by a fire probably five times and been on three Moab trips. That vision came true. 

I ran a marathon in the Redwood Forest, and he came and supported me. We traveled for a week in Northern California, and I got to spend my first birthday with my dad. My grandma flew me back to California, and we spent my birthday with my grandma and my dad for the first time. 

My grandma is my favorite person in the world. She tells everybody about us and will say, “Thank you for never giving up on us because I had no idea. You're my first granddaughter.” 

She's 90, and we're both sad we didn't get to spend all these years together because we're identical, and she has breast cancer now. I feel so fortunate that I hired Legacy Tree Genealogists to find my family before it was too late.

I traveled to California a few weeks ago, stayed with my grandma for a week, and took her to radiation every day. We had the best talks, and she's amazing. I love her to pieces, and she tells me, “I'm doing this radiation for you. I don't want to leave you yet.” She is just the spunkiest, greatest lady ever. 

My grandpa lives in Mississippi, and I will fly out and meet him in February. My dad's wife and daughter won't talk to me, but time will go on, and we'll see what happens. 

Encouragement For Anyone Looking For Their Biological Family

I encourage anyone in the same situation, or whatever your situation is, to never give up because you just don't know. There are still some struggles. There's still the other family, and he has another daughter, and there's still some of that stuff that is not perfect, but it's amazing. 

I don't know what I would've done without knowing my family. It's been the most incredible year of my life, and I honestly owe it all to Legacy Tree. I know it took all of us to get to this point, but I'm so grateful and can't wait to see what is coming.

Advice About Finding Your Birth Family From Legacy Tree Genealogists:

Be patient, this can be shocking news and it may take some time for them to process. Give them time. If they never respond, we are so sorry they are not ready to respond, and we understand that may be difficult and different from what you hoped for. We hope knowing who your biological family is helpful to have answers the questions you have had for so many years. We have had a bio family who refused to believe they had a sibling and that their parent had another child, but they did respond. That was hard, but hopefully with time, they were able to process and accept their new sibling. The typical response is excitement to meet a new sibling and see how much they have in common.

If you'd like to work with Legacy Tree Genealogists to help you find and contact your biological family, contact us anytime.