What is a Genetic Genealogist?

Blaine Bettinger’s latest post is about how DNA is just one more piece of evidence that genealogists should consider – and if we don’t confine ourselves to being eg a “census genealogist” but instead regard census data as just one kind of evidence (that is necessary to finding the whole story), then is there still meaning in the term “genetic genealogist”? See http://thegeneticgenealogist.com/2016/12/27/what-is-a-genetic-genealogist/ to read the whole article.

Kerry

The DNA Era of Genealogy

An important reminder from Blaine Bettinger about gathering DNA evidence and its connection to traditional genealogy.   To read more about it click here.

History of genetic genealogy

Thanks again to Roberta Estes for what I think is a fascinating history of how (direct-to-consumer) genetic genealogy came about, via the vision of Bennett Greenspan in particular but also Max Blankfeld. See https://dna-explained.com/2016/12/15/lifetime-achievement-awards-for-bennett-greenspan-and-max-blankfeld/.

Kerry

DNA gift for grandkids

Most of us won’t have tested enough people to exactly follow this idea, but maybe you can think of a variation, based on who you have tested?

http://debsdelvings.blogspot.com.au/2016/12/dna-chromosome-map-poster-for-grandkids.html

Kerry

Genetic Genealogy videos

Blaine Bettinger (“The Genetic Genealogist”) posted the following today:

HUGE NEWS!! 19 videos from October’s I4GG conference are now available for purchase! This was an incredible event, with some of the world’s best genetic genealogy speakers. I can’t wait to see some of the lectures I missed. Among the lecturers are myself, CeCe Moore, Kitty Munson Cooper, Kathy Johnston, Lisa Janine Cloud, Thomas Krahn, and Leah LaPerle Larkin. There are great lectures about mirror trees, endogamy (Leah’s talk was great!!), GEDmatch, the X chromosome, case studies, the future of genetic genealogy, and more! I had SO much fun in San Diego at this conference!

The videos can be purchased individually for US$10 or all 19 for US$99 at http://i4gg.org/conference-videos/ I really like watching & listening to lectures like this at my own pace, where I can stop the video and take notes as required.

PersonallyI think that these are most of the best speakers around for “DNA and genealogy” and some of their topics I just wouldn’t want to miss, so I’ll work out how many I really want to hear and then see how the price compares against buying all 19 together. After all there’s nothing else to do at this time of the year is there?

Kerry

Extra discounts at FTDNA

Anyone who has tested with Family Tree DNA is probably receiving weekly emails at present with the latest “Personal coupons” – extra discounts for ordering a new test. These can be shared with others. I’ve already gone through the various coupons I have to give the “Bonus Discounts” to a few people who wanted to order extra tests.

Someone today sent me an email with their latest reward email, in case it would be a help to anyone else (thank you!) It occurred to me that rather than everyone trying to upload to the blog every discount code they have, perhaps anyone still interested in ordering more tests could just add a comment to this blog post saying something like “I’m looking for a Y-DNA discount” (or mtDNA etc). Then anyone who wanted to help could just check the various kits they manage to see if they could offer a discount code.

With the Family Finder test currently at US$59 (as far as I know) no further discounts are being offered for that, but I’ve certainly seen various $$ amount discounts for Y-DNA, Big Y, mtDNA and mtFull. So if you are thinking of ordering any of those tests (either singly or in a package with Family Finder) let us know and probably somebody can help you save more money.

Kerry

12 Myths of Family Finder

Roberta Estes’ latest post is again well worth reading, this time for anyone interested in autosomal test, and in particular the Family Finder test at Family Tree DNA. Here’s the link
https://dna-explained.com/2016/12/12/new-family-tree-dna-holiday-coupons-and-the-12-myths-of-family-finder/

I highly recommend that you subscribe to Roberta’s blog DNAeXplained so you’ll receive an email about her new posts.

Kerry

My Heritage DNA

For those of you who are unaware, there is now a new player in the DNA game.
My Heritage DNA

English
Amaze yourself
Uncover your ethnic origins and find new relatives with our simple DNA test.
Only US $79‎‎‎
Order now – The highest technological standards meet the most affordable price on the market. Your DNA reveals your unique heritage — the ethnic groups and geographic regions you originate from. Find new relatives you never knew existed through your shared DNA.
Already taken a DNA test? Upload existing DNA results.

What if I have already taken a DNA test? Will the MyHeritage test offer me new information?
Yes. Testing your DNA with MyHeritage offers significant benefits even if you have already taken a DNA test elsewhere. You will be able to get unique matches to users who have only tested with MyHeritage, as well as matches with users who uploaded their results to MyHeritage from other providers. Thanks to MyHeritage’s availability in more than 40 languages and wide international reach, you will have better chances of being matched with relatives who live in other countries. You will also receive a comprehensive ethnicity analysis on MyHeritage that may reveal new information.

go to https://www.myheritage.com/dna

Y-DNA DYS38911

Hi Kerry – I am not very proficient analysing data so please bear with me if this is a silly question — in my brother’s Y-DNA STR values, there is a market DY538911 with three red asterisks beside it. (The value is 28). What do the asterisks mean please and are they relevant to other possible matches?  Thank you.

DNA tests bringing new genealogists

A great blog post on the Clue Wagon today about how the world of genealogy is changing when new genealogists start their journey with a DNA swab rather than a stack of papers – and how we should respond.

See http://www.cluewagon.com/2016/12/genealogy-changed-dramatically-in-2016-i-can-prove-it/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ClueWagon+%28Clue+Wagon%29

Kerry