Tag: AncestryDNA

Tuesday’s Tip: DNA webinars from FTDNA

On 7 April 2015

Yesterday I posted about the FamilyTreeDNA (FTDNA) tests I sent to my grandparents. I was able to transfer my AncestryDNA to FTDNA and I’m anxiously waiting for that to finish up. While I’m waiting, I’m trying to learn as much as I can about the tools that FTDNA has to offer by going through their webinars. Specifically those on the FamilyFinder, the tests I sent to my grandparents and the one I transferred.

The videos are about an hour and a half long a piece and I’m taking as many notes as I can while I’m watching. I also have a list of books I plan on getting from the library on DNA too! GRIP is having a DNA course this summer (still open by the way!) and although I can’t quite manage the cost this year, I looked at the course and noted the pre-reading recommended for the course:

Genetic Genealogy: The Basics and Beyond by Emily D. Aulicino

Finding Family: My Search for Roots and the Secrets in My DNA by Richard Hill

DNA and Social Networking: A Guide to Genealogy in the Twenty-First Century by Debbie Kennett

Trace Your Roots with DNA: Using Genetic Tests to Explore Your Family Tree by Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak and Ann Turner

I Have the Results of My Genetic Genealogy Test, Now What? by Blaine Bettinger, PhD, JD and Matt Dexter (the link is to the PDF version)

So those are now on my to-read list.

So those books, along with the webinars I mentioned should help make me better at interpreting the DNA tests once my grandparents send them in! If you’re interested in learning about using DNA in your genealogy, I highly recommend checking out the free webinars on FTDNA and checking out as many books as you can on the subject! Lucky for me, this was my favorite topic in science so I hope that I will be just as interested now as I was then. 🙂

Any other suggestions for learning about DNA (cost effective is always a plus!)? Leave a comment below!

Happy hunting!

Genealogy Do-Over: DNA

By Nichelle Barra

On 9 March 2015

In Personal, Research

The Genealogy Do-Over was created by Thomas MacEntee and focuses on reexamining (maybe even re-researching) your genealogy to get a better and more fresh perspective on your work.

Although I’m not fully participating in the Genealogy Do-Over, there are certain topics that I feel I should review. This last week’s Genealogy Do-Over topic is about DNA, an area where I could definitely use a do-over!

DNA Testing Options

So, what is it exactly I’m looking to research here? Well, everything if I’m honest! But really, the Witherell’s and the Langeneck’s. Those two are the ones I like to focus on the most in my personal research. With that in mind, here are my testing options:

Y-DNA test – this is for the paternal lineage and only males can take this test. I will do this one for the Witherell line.
mtDNA – this is the mitochondrial DNA test and it’s used for the maternal lineage but for the more distant relatives. Females can take this test as well as males. I’ll eventually take this test too but that’s in the future.
Autosomal DNA – also known as FamilyFinder or ethnic DNA (be sure you understand where those percentages come from though and how reliable they are). Either male or female can test as this test doesn’t use the sex chromosomes and works best for finding more recent ancestors. I will use this one for the Langeneck line.

Plan

My DNA results from AncestryDNA

I have personally tested with AncestryDNA and then uploaded that to GEDmatch. I would like to test with 23andMe as I now know more about what 23andMe has to offer genealogists as far as tools go that Ancestry does not, like a chromosome browser. A chromosome browser allows the test-taker to see what chromosomes match someone else. This is helpful when identifying what relative you have in common. Ancestry.com DOES show if your genetic match has someone in their tree that you also have in yours. I recommend reading The Legal Genealogist’s blog post “Changes at AncestryDNA” for more information on how that works. Testing with 23andMe will wait a bit though as these tests can be expensive…

I know I will probably use FamilyTreeDNA for their FamilyFinder with my grandparents because that requires a cheek swab, and not a spit test tube (and I can transfer my AncestryDNA results for a cheaper price than taking another test) . I know the older you are, the harder it is to do a spit test and even I had a hard time creating enough spit for the Ancestry test!

Continuing Education

I plan on reading as much as I possibly can about DNA and taking coursework in it as well. I hope to be able to add DNA into my genealogy research as part of my business one day, and soon. This is my #1 educational goal at the moment!

I really want to attend GRIP this summer for their genetic genealogy program and wish I could get my bank account to agree with me!

Books/Blogs to Read

If you’re interested in DNA and how it can help your genealogy, reading is one of the best things you can do.

Blogs/Websites

The Genetic Genealogist by Blaine Bettinger
Your Genetic Genealogist by CeCe Moore (probably one of my favorites)
DNAeXplained – Genetic Genealogy by Roberta Estes
International Society of Genetic Genealogy has their own wiki – great for looking up some of the terms you may be unfamiliar with!
FamilyTreeDNA has their own collection of webinars on genetic genealogy that is worth checking out
The Legal Genealogist by Judy G Russell (check out her “2015: Most Bang for the DNA Buck” for figuring out what test to take first).

Books

Be aware that there are many ebooks that are popping up with this topic. Always check the price and the reviews to see if it’s something worthwhile to you. Some ebooks are outrageously expensive and can contain information you can learn online and many ebooks tend to be self-published and can have many grammatical errors.

The first two ebooks I link from Amazon are two I personally bought but haven’t read yet.

Genealogy: DNA and the Family Tree (Ancestry, Genealogy Research, Family History Detective) by James Mayflower – the link takes you to the Kindle version which is currently free.
Guide to DNA Testing: How to Identify Ancestors, Confirm Relationships and Measure Ethnic Ancestry through DNA Testing by Richard Hill – the link takes you to the Kindle version which is currently $.99!
Trace Your Roots with DNA: Using Genetic Tests to Explore Your Family Tree by Megan Smolenyak (One of my favorite genealogy authors and this is on my to-read list)
Jump Into Genetic Genealogy: Use Genealogical DNA Testing to Solve Family Mysteries by FamilyTree University – free ebook

Feel I left out a valuable book/website/blog? Please add it in the comments below!

Happy hunting!

Ancestry DNA: Genetic ethnicity

By Nichelle Barra

On 18 October 2013

In Discovery

I know genetic testing has been around for a bit now. It was a bit expensive to have either the mitochondrial test done or the Y-chromosome test, so I had been waiting. Then, Ancestry.com emailed me about their new genetic test that was still in beta. It was offered at a discount but it wasn’t just that part that sold me, it was what the dna test does.

This test tells you where you are from. Now, of course this can be a bit sketchy at times. Because your DNA given to you by your parents is random, you could have more DNA from one area than another (this is why siblings look different). And of course, migration happens. So what Ancestry does is compare your DNA to natives of an area, whose families have been there for say 4-5 generations back (which is really as far back as this test goes for your own results). That’s the simplistic answer and more of the science can be found here.

I was immediately excited and bought the package. Once it came, I had to spit into a tube (I did this when I woke up and before drinking any water – per instructions), then sent it back and anxiously awaited my results. Would I have Native American DNA that I think every American wonders if they have? Would there be Russian DNA from my grandfather’s side? Would I be mostly German as my history of my family seems to say? Would there be a surprise in the works?

I waited for what seemed like forever, but was about 9 weeks. I got the email that my results were ready and excitedly clicked to see my results!

Here is what they were:

… that was it? I don’t quite know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t this. Where was the German? The Russian? The reason why my grandfather and his siblings are a bit darker than me? And no Native American?

Well, after the let down, I realized that this could just show the migration patterns. Maybe they migrated from southern Europe to Germany and then Russia – that makes sense. The 11% uncertain had me think that maybe there was still some change of the other places I had assumed would be there.

Now, because this was a beta, and because they needed lots of samples to compare, I knew that my results would change. Eventually. Yesterday, nearly a year (maybe 2) later, I got the email that it was updated.

Was it ever!

Now THIS was more of what I was expecting! It is quite a bit more detailed as well. This explains my sister’s slightly exotic look, and my grandpa and his siblings more swarthy complexions. Overall, I’m thrilled with the new results! And I love that Ireland has it’s own percentage as well. That makes me quite happy 🙂

I still plan on doing the other two DNA tests as well but even more so now that I’ve seen what it can show. I have always loved DNA (for a brief time it was even my undergrad study). I still find this incredibly fascinating and I love how genealogy allows me to have my science love along with my history love. Best of both worlds!