Finding Helpful Groups We humans naturally put people and things into groups. We group people into generations, such as "The Greatest Generation (those who won WWII)," Baby Boomers, Gen X, Y & Z. In some ways these groupings are useful, such as to companies who want to sell things to each group. But how can we find groups that are helpful for us?  An important factor about groups is their availability and topic. A group that meets in the morning may not be available to people who are employed from 9 to 5, Monday through Friday. Topics that are too narrow in scope will not attract very many people. Some groups cease meeting in the summer or around holiday time. If you are in such a group, perhaps you should take the opportunity to look for other groups. Check out ConferenceKeeper.org , for instance. Most of the readers of this blog are interested in genealogy and family history. And some pay dues to one or more genealogy societies, presumably because these groups offer...

 Collaboration is magic! Your own work, experience and inspiration combined with others who share an interest, create more than seems possible. See  The Magic of Collaboration (and Wikitree)  for more about that. But how to begin?  First, collaborate with relatives Pick up the phone! Set up an interview Write a letter Send images, information and questions, through the mail or email, or shared documents such as Google Drive Ask them to share images and questions too Invite them to your Ancestry or MyHeritage tree Share a timeline for your family Next, collaborate with DNA matches Start with the closest and largest matches, and put them into your tree Use the site tools to figure out who they are (shared matches, dots) Use the site messaging system; give them your email and some information • As you learn one site, upload to another, 1, 2, 3! • Sometimes you will need to build their trees for them; invite them to the tree • Keep sharing as you find more information • ...

 This update is pretty great! FTDNA blogged about it here:  https://blog.familytreedna.com/new-feature-myorigins-chromosome-painter-for-family-finder/  and have produced three short videos  explaining how to make use of their work in your own research, how they produced the 90 population groups, and how they made the chromosome painter as accurate as possible. About 20 minutes each, these are well-worth your time if you have a Family Finder kit on Family Tree DNA, and you care at all about admixture, which is looking at possible origins of your ancestral DNA. Example - father At first look, my father's kit is completely boring: 92.5% Western Europe. However, 21 of the 22 chromosomes on top are 100% Western Europe; on chromosome 1, there is a small segment on both chromatids that is identified as Finnish.  Ted Cowan's Chromosome 1 FTDNA ChromoPainter Since my grandfather is 100% Scottish and my grandmother about 100% Swedish (on paper, at least) t...

  Where is your DNA?  I don't mean in your genes; I mean where have you tested and/or uploaded your raw data files?   Have you looked at your profile lately?  Testing companies are making changes to their platforms, refining features and adding new ones. FtDNA July 1, 2021, Family Tree DNA rolled out several changes to their site.  There is a new look to the Family Finder match page, designed to make easier searching, sorting and filtering your matches.   FtDNA reports that they have made several adjustments to the matching algorithm for more accurately predicted relationship ranges. There is a new Help Button and, coming soon, is a Chromosome Painter.  Check out the features at the site below. Updates To Matches & Chromosome Painter | FamilyTreeDNA Blog When I received the email notice of these changes I immediately thought of doing this blog.  Then the next day I saw that it was the topic for a blog written by Judy G. Russell, the ...