Backup icon by ByLUTFI GANI AL ACHMAD You can find articles everywhere that computer users might read, urging us all to back up our trees, our files, our DNA matches, etc.  One of our members recently brought this up in our Genealogy Chat after discussing the future of the genealogy DNA industry, which is slowing, thus making  less money for  the companies offering these services.   Back Up Your Tree If they did not back them up, Ancestry.com Y and mtDNA testers lost access to their test results and matches  as of September 30, 2014 . So there are examples of this happening before.  All of the genealogy tree-building sites offer a way to back up your bare-bones tree via a GEDCOM, which is a simple text file. If you also want to download your images and other records, you will need instead to"sync" your files using a desktop genealogy application which uploads to and downloads from the online trees. Your DNA Guide has an article comparing what is o...

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 newc...

Black Friday is coming soon, and one item many genealogy researchers will be looking for is DNA test kits to give as gifts for relatives. A common question is should I activate the kit before giving or sending it to my relative? The answer depends on: Which testing company? Will you be in charge of the kit, or your relative? The Basics Let's start with the basics.  Have you tested yourself? If so, choosing the same company for both of you will simplify matters. If not, test yourself too . Test results get their meaning from comparison with matches. If you are purchasing from FamilyTreeDNA, MyHeritage or LivingDNA, you can upload your results to those companies, and my advice is that everyone should do so whether or not you are buying kits for relatives. This is known as "fishing in all the ponds." I would add uploading to Gedmatch to the list above. Have you asked your relative if they want to test? Have you explained to them in as much detail...

The three kinds of DNA of use for family history research* Autosomal - what most of us use, via Ancestry , 23andMe , MyHeritage , FamilyTreeDNA Family Finder and LivingDNA Y - available from FamilyTreeDNA, Yseq and a few others Mt or mitochondrial - available from FamilyTreeDNA Autosomal DNA For autosomal DNA (AtDNA), to make best use of your results for research, you will "fish in all the ponds" by testing with Ancestry and 23andme since neither accept uploads, and then upload your raw data to Gedmatch , MyHeritage and FamilyTreeDNA, which do accept uploads - for free!  The value of autosomal DNA testing is that it covers all of your ancestry back four generations or so, and up to six or seven generations, which is quite long ago. However, as your matches are ever smaller as you go further back in time, your AtDNA will not take you back to your deep ancestry before surnames and record keeping. Y and Mt DNA Both Y and Mt DNA will take you back very f...