Ethnicity Estimates If you have tested with more than one DNA company you probably have varied ethnic percentages, especially in the earlier years. Your ethnic breakdown could vary from company to company and, as sample populations increased, your comparison would be adjusted within a company such as Ancestry or FtDNA.  The genetic breakdowns didn't always agree with the genealogical findings either. Ancestry.com MaryLynn's most recent at Ancestry--Scandinavian 11% My Heritage MaryLynn at My Heritage--Scandinavian 34.5% FamilyTreeDNA MaryLynn at FtDNA--Scandinavian 22% My genealogical heritage was primarily English immigrants to New England in the 1600s with the addition of my Scots-Irish maternal great-grandmother in the 1800s.  But my DNA ethnicity always included a large percentage of Scandinavian   results.  I always figured it was due to the many invasions of the British Isles by the Danes and Vikings. Living DNA MaryLynn at Living DNA My test at Living DNA...

Stories Behind the Records Editor's note:  this week's blog contains stories of searches in the 1950 census.  What is your story?  Submit to m.strickland@skcgs.org Finding my parents in the 1950 Census I thought I was ready for release day. I had my parent’s address from 1949 in the Billings, MT, City Directory – 301 S. 32nd St. But when I searched that Enumeration District, the name didn’t show up. So I widened the area to Billings and put in his name again (Naylor). Now something came up – Maylor Thomas K. So clicking on that name took me to the Census page in a different ED and on that name I found my parents, Thomas K. Naylor and Merle R. Naylor. I was there too, but again a mistake. This mistake was in the first letter of my name. The census taker spelled it Sheri instead of Cheri. I was 2 years old. The address was 132-l/2 Terry Avenue. I remember the place through photographs but didn’t know the exact address. It was the back half of an older house. A good friend o...

Chance and Skill Intertwine Editor's note: Recently this story was submitted to society@skcgs.groups.io and several of you read it and commented.  It is such a great example of stating the problem, showing the methodology and resolving with that touch of serendipity we all desire, we felt it needed to be presented here. I had an unusual story to share that I thought this group would appreciate. Research Question: Find a Missing Half-Sibling My mother knows of my interest for genealogy and research and mentioned to me in February her friend has been searching for a half-sibling for a long time and maybe I could possibly help her. My mother is 80 and her friend 74. Skimpy Information of a First Marriage My mother's friend Linda shared that her father was married before he married her mother. She discovered this after he died 35 years ago. Her father's brother shared a newspaper clipping of an article written about the wedding with a photo of the couple seated at a table on an...