Fish in All the Ponds

-



Fish in all the DNA ponds

We've heard this advice; do we use it? Most often it is given about DNA testing. No matter what company you choose to test with first, download your raw DNA results and then upload to all the sites which allow uploads that fit your research goals.

If you have the funds, test at both Ancestry and 23andMe. Neither allow uploads, and they have the largest databases. If you are using DNA testing for genealogy research, your goal is the most matches possible, and "fishing in all the ponds" accomplishes that goal. You can download your results from either Ancestry or 23andMe or both, and upload to:
  • FamiyTreeDNA - the earliest DNA testing company, and most often used by researchers. The only choice for Y and mitochondrial testing. Upload is free.
  • MyHeritage - most used by Europeans and is the top choice by those who do not want law enforcement to have access to their DNA results and matches. Upload is free.
  • LivingDNA - the newcomer on the list; based in the UK; has the strongest English, Irish and Scots matching database. Upload is free.
  • Gedmatch - best place to compare with cousins who tested at different companies. Offers tools to analyze your DNA results that no other site offers. Upload is free.
  • Wikitree does not take raw DNA data uploads, however, you can link your DNA kits *and* show proven DNA lines, if your cousins who also tested confirm it.

Fish in all the DNA test ponds

Depending on your research brick walls, you may want to also consider Y and mitochondrial DNA tests, which are less common, more costly and provided only by FamilyTreeDNA. If you are trying to find a missing father somewhere in your tree, consider finding a test subject to do a Y-dna test. The best subject will be the closest in the paternal line descendancy. A good video about Y is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5xHtppMNJY

Maternal-line questions can be answered or clarified using mitochondrial DNA tests. Since mtDNA changes extremely slowly it probes very far in the past, so is less useful for recent questions. Roberta Estes has an excellent series of blog posts beginning here: https://dna-explained.com/2019/05/16/mitochondrial-dna-part-1-overview/

Listen!


Fish in all the genealogy and family history research ponds

We often neglect the most basic advice we give to beginners: ask your oldest relatives. Holiday visits are a great time to do this: bring some photos, ask a few questions, turn on your phone's recorder and just listen.

Reach out to those cousins; share a photo or a story, invite them to your online tree, ask them to fix any errors you have made or add their memories and images. 




Fish in all the genealogy ponds by putting trees everywhere

These can be small trees. Make your profile at each site inviting so that cousins can contact you. An email and your gedmatch kit number along with a nice photo are great! By everywhere, I mean upload a gedcom* to:
Important: care for your tree in FamilySearch, by which I mean find or upload source material, photos, obituaries for each person. Ensure that at least your direct line is correct; merge duplicate profiles, fill holes as you find them, and detach mistaken transplants. Why this is important to your research: https://skcgs.blogspot.com/2019/11/why-i-use-familysearch-family-tree-and.html

Fish in all the ponds for records

While trying to track down a relative who seems to be hiding, hopping from site to site searching for records can yield great results. Sometimes the most minute bit of added information, such as a middle initial, birth or death year, or birth or death locality can lead to cracking open the information you seek. If you have not yet read https://skcgs.blogspot.com/2019/12/have-you-tried-ancestorsearch-on-google.html, get started using Google through that tool too! Ancestry, FamilySearch, MyHeritage, Newspapers.com and FindMyPast all have healthy record databases, and some are available free through the local library and/or Family History Center.


Fish for new skills

As our SKCGS President points out, we have to keep learning or we'll fall behind! Besides our upcoming Seminar, there are great new books, Youtube channels, webinars and podcasts all the time, along with blogs and Twitter projects. 

Fish in the biggest ponds first

If you have an Ancestry DNA kit, to make best use of it you must have a tree and connect your kit to YOU on your tree. The more completely you have "built down" your tree on Ancestry, the more useful it will be to you in your DNA work, and the easier it will be to correctly place all your matches on your tree. More about that at https://www.yourdnaguide.com/ydgblog/2019/8/27/how-to-build-the-best-family-tree-for-dna-matches. Ancestry DNA is by far the largest DNA match database, so it is usually the best place to start. Unfortunately they do not offer DNA segment information, so if you need that for your work, you will need to download your raw data and upload as discussed above.

The second-largest DNA database is 23andme, where both tree features are in beta. If you have already weeded and pruned your FamilySearch tree for your direct line at least, you can easily opt into the beta and link to that tree. See https://skcgs.blogspot.com/2019/10/23andme-wants-you.html for details. Your Family TreeBETA is not yet ready for use, in my opinion, but shows promise.  

MyHeritage is good for both research and DNA matches, and they have good tools for both. A warning -- their software does not allow merging multiple profiles, which makes building a tree there sometimes difficult and the biggest site drawback. In addition, family tree size is limited if you do not pay for a subscription. However, if you have recent immigrants from Europe, MyHeritage is a pond worth fishing in!

As the new year draws near, why not lay plans to fish in more ponds in 2020!

* If you have forgotten how to get or create a GEDCOM, see https://skcgs.blogspot.com/2019/02/ill-send-you-gedcom.html

Valorie Cowan Zimmerman

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Looking for a Needle in a Haystack? GAME CHANGER at FamilySearch

-
Image
Generated with Bing ImageCreator (AI), March 13, 2024 Where is YOUR Needle, Your Missing Record? Genealogical Proof Standard When we use the GPS (Genealogical Proof Standard) as our guide, we all know that "exhaustive research" can be both tedious and exhausting. Is life long enough to search page by page through all the counties where all the members of a family might have lived, paid taxes, bought, leased or sold property, made a will or died intestate? It is possible that the new Full Text Search at FamilySearch will  eventually  allow us to do just that. It has been estimated that 75% or more of the records at FamilySearch were browsable but not searchable; the only indexes those found in the records themselves. Those records are certainly attainable by using those indexes and browsing to the record of interest, but the process is tedious, often frustrating, and slow. And once found, the record must be read and transcribed to be useful. This new Full Text Search tackles a...
Read more

What's the Question?

-
Image
We genealogists are often told by experienced researchers how important it is to begin with a research question. I resisted doing this for a long time, but now that I use a series of questions to guide my research, the search is more focused and actually finds more of the history of the family I'm investigating. I use a Google Doc as the  research proceeds, where I keep the question(s), the plan, timelines, checklist of resources to search, etc. all in one place. I've seen others use spreadsheets in the same way, perhaps splitting up things in tabs (Excel or Google Sheets). I prefer a document because I add source citations as I find them and I can begin writing up the case right there in the doc as the hypotheses are proven. Specific Questions in Previous Successes As beginners we often have no clue how much and what details we already know about a person, event or relationship, so it's hard to specify what we want to know. But when looking back at successful research, it ...
Read more

Help Save This Abused and Neglected Cemetery

-
Image
Screen capture from Google Maps History In an exchange of emails this past week in both the main SKCGS group, and in the Washington-State-Genealogy group, many facts were revealed about the history of the I.O.O.F. Comet Lodge Cemetery, also known as the Old Burying Ground, the Georgetown Cemetery, the Graham Street Burying Ground and maybe more.  FindAGrave sums it up this way: "Since it was established in 1881, the Comet Lodge cemetery site has been whittled away to less than half its original 5 acres. Records are sketchy but it's safe to say that some 500 pioneers were buried here, atop unknown numbers of native Duwamish people. New burials ended in the 1930s. Since then, homes and streets were built on top of many of the plots as the neighborhood around the cemetery grew.  "Upkeep and ownership of the cemetery bounced between the city, civic groups, relatives of Comet Lodge residents, and nearby neighbors. For years, much of the property was allowed to deteriorate int...
Read more