Institute for Genetic Genealogy Conference Next Month in San Diego

I4GG Speakers 2016

Please join us for a premiere Genetic Genealogy event, held in San Diego next month. The DNA Detectives brings back the Institute for Genetic Genealogy Conference (I4GG) for 2016, this time in San Diego, CA on October 22 and 23, with 14 experts presenting 21 genetic genealogy topics.

The presentations will cover all levels of experience, beginner, intermediate and advanced. Headlining the conference are leading genetic genealogy educators Blaine Bettinger and CeCe Moore (me), with special guest Schelly Talalay Dardashti of Tracing the Tribe. We are honored to be able to present the following additional speakers with expertise in a wide variety of areas in genetic genealogy: Carol Rolnick, Michelle Trostler, Kitty Cooper, Kathy Johnston, Leah Larkin, Barbara Rae Venter from DNAAdoption and Junel Davidsen, Kathleen Fernandes, Thomas Krahn from YSEQ, Afton Vechery from 23andMe and Janine Cloud from Family Tree DNA. 

This event will cover traditional genetic genealogy as well as genetic genealogy methodologies for unknown parentage, with two tracks to choose from each day. Attendees can choose from one of two presentations (in either track), running all day Saturday and Sunday. The tracks on Saturday will focus on 1) Traditional applications for Genetic Genealogy research and 2) Using DNA for unknown parentage/adoption search. Sunday will start out with an exciting keynote given by Blaine about the future of genetic genealogy. During the two tracks on Sunday experts will cover third party tools, endogamy, Jewish DNA, spreadsheets and triangulation, case studies and you will hear from two of the leading companies in the field.

We are very excited that Blaine will be presenting two brand new talks at this conference, Evaluating a Genealogical Conclusion Including DNA and DNA and the Aftermath of Uncovered Family Secrets. His wonderful new book "Family Tree Guide to DNA Testing and Genetic Genealogy" will be available for purchase on site. 

Both Family Tree DNA and MyHeritage will have an onsite presence at the event. 

Early registration has been extended until the end of the month (since I hadn't had time to blog about it until now). The cost is $169 for both days or $99 for one (videos will be included with the full two-day conference registration). There is still availability in our room block ($145 + tax until Oct. 4, subject to continued availability) at the Sheraton Mission Valley. 

Please go to http://i4gg.org/event-information/ to learn more and to register. Watch our awesome video below and at https://vimeo.com/181412550.


GENETIC GENEALOGY CONFERENCE i4gg 2016 SAN DIEGO OCT. 22 &23 from The DNA Detectives on Vimeo.

EVENT SCHEDULE

Saturday:

9:00 – 10:00 — Keynote: The Power of DNA, CeCe Moore

Track One

10:30 – 11:30 — Evaluating a Genealogical Conclusion including DNA, Blaine Bettinger

11:45 – 12:45 — Using the Tools at GEDmatch to Find Relatives, Kitty Cooper

2:00 – 3:00 — Getting Started with AncestryDNA, Michelle Trostler

3:15 – 4:15 — Digging Deeper with Autosomal DNA, CeCe Moore

4:30 – 5:30 — Searching for Our Most Distant (Paternal) Ancestors in Cameroon – Y Haplogroup A00, Thomas Krahn

Track Two

10:30 – 11:30 — Basics of Utilizing DNA in Unknown Parentage Search, CeCe Moore

11:45 – 12:45 — Mirror Trees Explained, Carol Rolnick

2:00 – 3:00 — How To Use the X chromosome in Family and Origins Searches, Kathy Johnston

3:15 – 4:15 — DNA and the Aftermath of Uncovered Family Secrets, Blaine Bettinger

4:30 – 5:30 — Cold Case Solved:  Autosomal DNA Analysis Reveals Lisa Jensen’s Real Identity, Barbara Rae -Venter

 Sunday:

9:00 – 10:00 — Keynote: The Science Fiction Future of Genetic Genealogy, Blaine Bettinger

10:15 – 11:15 — Exploring Ethnicity Estimates, CeCe Moore

Track One

11:45 – 12:45 — DNA Analytics: Using Databases and Spreadsheets to Find Family, Kathleen Fernandes

2:00 – 3:00 — Advanced Third Party Tools, Blaine Bettinger

3:15 – 4:15 — Genetic Genealogy Case Studies, CeCe Moore

4:30 – 5:30 — Ancestry discoveries with 23andMe , Afton Vechery

Track Two

11:45 – 12:45 — When Your Tree Is a Banyan: Coping with Endogamy in Genetic Genealogy, Leah LaPerle Larkin

2:00 – 3:00 — Tracing the Tribe with DNA, Schelly Talalay Dardashti

3:15 – 4:15 — Family Tree DNA, Strength in Numbers: Advancing Your Research Through Group Projects, Janine Cloud

4:30 – 5:30 — Practical Applications for mtDNA Testing, CeCe Moore

We hope to see you there!

Videos of the event will be offered for sale at a future date. 

23andMe Introduces Ancestry Standalone Product For $99

Click here to order. 

23andMe has just released a new option for customers in the U.S., offering the ancestry features of the test for only $99. This means that the health results will not be included with this product, but the portions of the test that are important to most in the genetic genealogy community will be - Ancestry Composition admixture percentages, DNA Relatives matching and the haplogroup assignments, plus the raw data. Customers will have an opportunity to upgrade to include the health portion later for $125, if desired. The same chip is used and all new testers will be compared against the existing database, so this is not a separate product. 

If you have been waiting to test at 23andMe, now is the time. Order here. 

New Commercial:

This is the first commercial that specifically talks about relative matching instead of just ancestral origins. I think that is really exciting!

Press Release:

23andMe Offers $99 Genetic Ancestry Service

Mountain View, Calif. – September 21, 2016 – 23andMe, the leading personal genetics company, is now offering its genetic ancestry service as a standalone product for $99. The service features 23andMe’s pioneering Ancestry Composition analysis, enabling customers to trace their lineage to 31 populations worldwide through their DNA. The service also includes DNA Relatives, an optional tool matching willing customers with close or distant relatives based on shared DNA. Customers purchasing the new ancestry service have the option to upgrade to 23andMe’s flagship health and ancestry product which includes an additional 60+ genetic reports on carrier status, wellness and physical traits.

“Our ancestry service is often the source of some of the most life-changing discoveries for our customers,” said Anne Wojcicki, CEO and co-founder of 23andMe. “Through the many stories our customers share with us, we see the incredible power of our science to connect people and expand their sense of self — redefining how they see their ancestry.”

The $99 genetic ancestry service analyzes genetic variants across all chromosomes to provide a breakdown of global ancestry by percentages. The average customer can trace their DNA to at least 5 different populations from around the world. Customers will also have their 23 pairs of chromosomes “painted” — a color-coded digital sketch unraveling your DNA, detailing the amount, or length, of specific ancestry on each chromosome.

Additionally, customers will have access to 23andMe’s DNA Relatives tool, allowing them to share and compare their DNA to that of other 23andMe customers, if they opt-in to do so. Ninety-five percent of 23andMe customers participating in DNA Relatives connect with a third degree cousin or closer relative. And for customers interested in ancient ancestors, our Neanderthal report tells people how much Neanderthal DNA they have.

“The story of human history is captured in our DNA,” said Joanna Mountain, Ph.D., 23andMe senior director of research.  “Our ancestry service unlocks that information, and helps you better understand who you are and where you came from. It also allows you to connect with relatives you may not have known, no matter where they are.”

Customers who purchase the ancestry product have the option to upgrade to 23andMe’s full health and ancestry service for an additional $125.

The company is also launching a new national television ad showcasing the ancestry experience. The $99 ancestry service is only available at www.23andMe.com.

---

About 23andMe

23andMe, Inc. is the leading personal genetics company. Founded in 2006, the mission of the company is to help people access, understand and benefit from the human genome. 23andMe has more than one million customers worldwide, with over 80 percent consented to participate in research. 23andMe, Inc. is located in Mountain View, CA. More information is available at www.23andMe.com.

Media Contact(s)

media@23andme.com

Switched at Birth: Unraveling a Century-Old Mystery with DNA

The following is a guest post by Alice Plebuch demonstrating the potential of DNA testing. When Alice first contacted me about two and a half years ago with the beginning of this incredible tale, I knew that the answer was just waiting to be discovered one day through genetic genealogy. Many of you may have heard part of her family's story already, but I thought it only made sense for Alice to share it from the beginning through to its completion since it was her DNA test that started the unraveling of this mystery and her persistence that, finally, led to the resolution. (The final piece of evidence just arrived this week and, with it, the confirmation needed by Alice's family to finally share their story.)

Three years ago I blithely took a DNA test at AncestryDNA. At the time, the fact that it was in beta, somewhat alleviated my concern when I first saw my results. I was three quarters Irish with the remainder being a English/Scottish mix, but the test claimed I was half Jewish. It was as if half my ancestry was wrong. The results had to be wrong! I was expecting to see Mc and Mac relatives, but the names were overwhelming Eastern European, Russian, and Jewish. I can assure you, they weren't any of my relatives, or were they?

Alice's Unexpected Ethnicity Estimate

I have six siblings strewn all over the United States. By chance, two brothers visited within days of my receiving the perplexing DNA report. Their reactions ranged from finding the Jewish component mildly interesting, but wrong, to outright ridicule. How could I ever imagine we were anything but Irish, they asked? Nothing makes me take an opposite position faster than being mocked. I defended the test, even as I harbored huge doubts. Looking at the family trees of my matches became a daily endeavor and I wondered, could I really be related to these people?

I called my only sister, Gerry, and shared the disturbing results. Her immediate and intense reaction was that the DNA test was correct. Gerry thought it just felt right. I had conducted some research on genetic testing companies so when Gerry decided to test, I recommended 23andMe where I knew we'd have direct access to our genomes. I also retested at 23andMe.

Waiting on the second round of testing gave me time to imagine incredible scenarios, most notably, "I was adopted" and "Mom had an affair"! Gerry laughingly dismissed those notions by reminding me of how much we all resemble Dad. Everyone in the family has Dad's distinctive eyes and I certainly have his flat feet and massive bones. Nevertheless, it was a real relief when the first thing I saw in my DNA family list was a nephew with the proper relationship. Shortly thereafter, Gerry's results were posted. We were full sisters and both half Ashkenazi! Another brother casually mentioned he also tested at 23andMe. His profile was neither public nor had he even looked at his ancestry composition. We quickly shared genomes and it was three for three.

To be on the safe side, I sent a copy of my genome to Doug McDonald, a retired professor at the University of Illinois, noted for calculating accurate ancestry admixtures. His analysis was quite pointed. "It can't be any clearer. One of your parents is Jewish."

23andMe's Ancestry Composition Feature Shows Fully Jewish Chromosomes for One Parent

Now that the Ashkenazi component was verified, the question of which parent remained. Our prime suspect was Dad. Mom had an extremely well documented family tree, but more importantly, we personally knew many of her huge extended family and they were definitely not Jewish. We had pictures of Mom's family extending back over a hundred years. Dad's parents died while he was young, and kin did not raise him.

So together, my sister and I worked out a plan where we would test first cousins from both sides of the family. Our cousins are considerably older than us and we were concerned they wouldn't be open to DNA testing. We were pleasantly surprised when they eagerly agreed to spit for us. Their one request was that their identities be kept private.

We also asked our brother, Jim, to take a Y-DNA test through National Geographic. His test came back, indicating his genotype is the predominate type in southern Ireland where our grandfather was born. Almost as a footnote, it was mentioned that a small number of Ashkenazi Jews shared the genotype.

23andMe has a facility called Countries of Ancestry that displays areas on a person's chromosomes that are associated with Ashkenazi Jews. Those areas are displayed in blue, the rest in white. Once again, I found myself staring at a computer screen trying to make sense of what I was seeing. I kept flipping back and forth between the chromosomes of Bill, Gerry and myself, when suddenly I had a "Eureka!" moment. Males inherit their X-chromosome exclusively from their mothers while females get one allele from their mother and the other from their father. Blue permeated each and every single chromosome for Gerry and me, but there wasn't a single dot of blue on our Bill's X-chromosome. Dad was Jewish!

Alice's X-chromosomes show Jewish DNA

Bill's X-chromosome shows no Jewish DNA

Armed with the knowledge that the Ashkenazi genes came from Dad, Gerry and I made a friendly bet. I wagered that our paternal cousin would also be Jewish. My sister was just as sure he wouldn't be related to us. She had come to the seemingly ludicrous conclusion that "Dad was switched at birth!"

More waiting provided time to research Dad's parents; after all, they could have been Irish Jews or Jews that assumed Irish persona so they could more easily enter the United States. Now that everything is on the Internet, it was relatively easy to verify that our grandparents came from Irish Catholic families, marrying into other Irish Catholic families, for quite some time. There was no hint that they were anything other than Irish.

It was almost as Loki, the trickster, was having fun with us. One cousin's kit had the correct address on it, but it was delivered it to the wrong address and the person just kept it, unopened. The other cousin's saliva didn't yield sufficient DNA and had to be reprocessed. At last the results arrived. 

Mom's nephew was almost classic 1st cousin match. I went cold when I ran the comparison for Dad's nephew. None of us had any genetic relationship with him, whatsoever. He was as Irish as we were Jewish! I lost the bet with Gerry, but more importantly, was left with the unenviable task of telling our beloved cousin that we weren't genetically related.

The family was stunned. Our brothers were no longer laughing. My sister and I swung into high gear to find our biological grandparents.

The big question was how could Dad become separated from his family. In 1913, most women had home births, but Dad's birth certificate clearly states he was born in a hospital. Even today, with high-tech monitoring, occasionally babies are misidentified. Imagine a hospital that has just started delivering babies and didn't foresee mix-ups, much less DNA. We knew when and where the other baby was born so we turned to The New York City Birth Index, in which we identified thirty male infants born in the Bronx within a day of Dad.

Our untested brothers dutifully spit into test tubes so we'd have a better chance of finding a match. Then, all our genomes were transferred to Family Tree DNA and GedMatch to widen our dragnet. Although Jim already took a Y-DNA test, it only reported on 12 markers; far too few for genealogical purposes. Bill volunteered to take the more expensive, but much more accurate, "111-marker Y-DNA" test at FTDNA. Although Bill had the same genotype as Jim, his matches were with Ashkenazi men of Eastern European ancestry, with the notable exception of an Irish man with our surname! We choose to discount the Irish match as being a NPE after talking with the family. Bill had a single "extremely significant" match that predicts a common ancestor within 4 generations. We were hopeful and dared wonder, "Had we found our father's true surname?" Unfortunately, autosomal DNA tests indicated a more distant relationship.

It was suggested that what we should look for a Jewish baby with a surname similar to ours. In fact, there was a male infant with a very close, but distinctively Jewish, surname. Thanks to a birth announcement in the NY Times we were able to trace the family into the present. DNA testing showed he couldn't be the Irish child. Our hopes for a quick and easy resolution were crushed.

Thus began the tedious work of the next two and a half years. On behalf of the family, Gerry and I sent out over a thousand invitations to share genomes at 23andMe. We also contacted many of our approximately 3,000 DNA cousins (each, for a collective total of 7,000 unique cousins) at FTDNA. The overwhelming majority of DNA cousins never responded, a few hurt our feelings by refusing to even speak to us, but enough accepted to build an excellent search base. A few of our Jewish DNA cousins have become fast friends and marvelous co-researchers.

As more and more match data accumulated, it became obvious to Jim, that the spreadsheets we used were unwieldy. Jim used his skills as a developer to create an iPad application, DNAMatch, which easily and efficiently managed the 300,000 plus overlap segments our large family has generated. Real analysis was finally possible.

Jim's DNAMatch Automated Spreadsheet Feature

We had massive amounts of information on the location and surnames of our DNA cousins and were able to make some predictions. Minsk, Vilna and Ukraine were clearly geographic "hot spots", yet some of our closest matches traced their families to Romania. Many were related to us on both sides of their families. While the majority of our contacts knew their ancestors came from Russia, they weren't sure of the town or even the name of the current country. Ancestral surnames changed at a dizzying pace or they simply didn't exist. I hate to admit I was getting depressed over the probability of finding our grandparents, but...

Dad's Irish nephew has always been supportive of our quest and I provide him with updates. His 23andMe DNA Relatives list doesn't change frequently, so I'd fallen into the habit of checking his matches monthly instead of daily. In the middle of my most current update, rather than report a lack of progress, I stopped and signed on to his profile. OMG! OMG! There, right below his name, was an anonymous woman listed as a second cousin. In my heart-of-hearts, I knew she was the key. With my heart pounding and my hands shaking, I wrote her a personalized invitation, explaining that I managed my cousin’s account. Would she would compare genomes with him to help me solve a 100-year-old mystery concerning my father.

When she accepted, I wrote, “Thank you for responding so quickly. P N [his posted name] is helping me discover who my real grandparents were. Theoretically, we are first cousins, but I found out, through a DNA test that my Irish father is, in fact, fully Ashkenazi Jewish. We tested all our first cousins and he doesn't match my family at all, which is impossible if we were genetic first cousins. Every expert that has looked at the evidence is convinced, as are we, that Dad was accidentally switched at birth with the Irish child.”

Jessica, the young woman, in turn responded, “I was actually expecting to be much more Ashkenazi than I am. My father died when I was very young, but I was always told that both his parents were descended from Eastern European Jews. Through this test I've found that I am only about 2% Ashkenazi and that I am actually Irish, which I had not expected at all. So I'm not really sure what is going on.”

I explained when and where Dad was born and within 20 minutes Jessica wrote to say, “Just glancing quickly through internet records, it looks like my dad's father, Philip, was born on September 24, 1913, so you may well be on to something.” She later confirmed that her grandfather was actually born a day earlier, just like Dad. Her grandfather’s name was on my list of “suspects”, but his surname was misspelled!

It was late at night when we finally emailed our “good nights”. Sleep was impossible, making the wait until morning, and sharing of the joyous news, sheer agony.

We received email photographs of our grandparents the following afternoon. What an incredible feeling it was to look at old snapshots and see those familiar, smiling, faces. There was Dad’s hairline, his nose, his ears, and eyes on his father. Dad’s mother graced him with her marvelous facial bone structure. There is no denying — we’re related.

Alice's parents on their wedding day

Alice's newly discovered biological grandparents Sam and Ida

Alice's father

Our wonderful Jewish DNA cousins constructed our family tree within hours. With a real tree, my closest DNA match at Ancestry found we share the same 2X great grandparents and, today, the DNA test on Jessica’s Jewish grand aunt — my presumed 1st cousin — confirms we ARE indeed first cousins! Dad really was switched at birth!

Matching DNA between Alice and her new
first cousin plus four of Alice's siblings

And now our Irish family is Jewish. Our "Swap Cousins" are Irish and are trying to adjust to this shocking news. We’re all hungry to learn about each other's family and how to intertwine the two families, Irish and Jewish, into one tree.

Despite all our careful planning and matching of cousins, our final success is attributable to a one-in-a-million, unpredicted match. I’m not a particularly religious person, but the inexplicable events that lead us on this remarkable odyssey, and its unexpected and spectacular conclusion, are sure having an effect on my belief system!

Upcoming Events and Why I Have Been Too Busy to Blog

I'm sorry that I haven't had time to blog much lately, but I wanted to share a few of my activities with readers of YGG, so you will know that I have not deserted you. I am presently working as a genetic genealogy consultant and educator more than full time. Here are some of the things that are going on with me that you might be interested in:

23andMe Google+ Hangout Video
On Thursday, I participated in a Google+ Hangout with 23andMe. It begins with my presentation, a very basic 30 minute walk-through of the 23andMe Ancestry features, followed by a 30 minute question/answer discussion with Ancestry Product Manager, Laurie Kahn, Christine Moschella from Customer Care and me. You can watch the video below, but I recommend viewing it directly on YouTube (by clicking the YouTube logo at the bottom right of the screen) and watching it full screen to see the details on my slides. This video was intended for beginners, but the later discussion may be of interest to others.  (I should probably thank CJ Swenson of 23andMe for bearing with my schedule limitations while trying to get this on the calendar for several months!)



 
World Science Festival in NYC - May 29
This upcoming week I will be participating in the World Science Festival in New York City as part of an exciting panel discussion entitled "It's All Relatives: The Science of Your Family Tree" with Genomic Scientist Catherine Ball of AncestryDNA, Geneticist/Anthropologist Mark D. Shriver, Geneticist/Anthropologist Brenna Henn and moderated by Broadcast Journalist Randall Pinkston. The event will be hosted by Louise Mirrer, CEO and President of the New-York Historical Society.

Researching the farthest branches of your family tree is now faster, cheaper, more accessible and more accurate than ever before. Today you can find distant living relatives, learn how you are related to important historical figures or discover how your ancestors participated in major movements in human history.  And, using advanced technologies to analyze face structure and skin pigmentation, evolutionary geneticists can determine what your ancestors actually looked like.  Join a conversation among leading researchers about how gains in computational power, together with technological innovations, are allowing scientists to come ever closer to understanding how we are all connected.

"It's All Relatives" will be held at the New-York Historical Society on Thursday, May 29th at 6:00 pm. Further information can be found and tickets purchased here.

Harper's Magazine June Issue
The lead story in this month's Harper's Magazine is "America's Ancestry Craze: Making Sense of America's Family Tree Obsession" by Maud Newton. It includes some details of my work excerpted from extensive discussions with the very talented author (and genealogist) last year. Maud will be following up with a book published by Random House to further investigate this subject that is near and dear to many of our hearts.  The magazine can be found at select newsstands and is available to subscribers online.

Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr - Season Two
We are finally close to wrapping up the interviews for season two of the PBS series "Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr."  The season will begin to air Tuesday, September 23 and will include interviews with Ben Affleck, Sally Field, Derek Jeter, Deepak Chopra, Tina Fey, Valerie Jarrett, Carole King, Tony Kushner, Ken Burns, Angela Bassett, Alan Dershowitz, Ming Tsai, Aaron Sanchez, Tom Colicchio, Rebecca Lobo, Nas Jones, Billie Jean King, Stephen King, Courtney Vance and several others. This has been a huge undertaking for me since I am the only genetic genealogist working on the show and I analyze the results of all of the guests across three companies (AncestryDNA, 23andMe and Family Tree DNA). This upcoming month will be my year anniversary working with Professor Gates on the show and his personal genetic genealogy. It sure went by fast (even though I didn't get much sleep)!

Dr. Gates and I, last year's SCGS DNA Day

SCGS Jamboree and DNA Day
SCGS Jamboree is fast approaching where I will be giving three presentations and participating in one panel discussion. My first presentation on Thursday June 5th at 10:00 am will be live streamed, "Real Life Cases from the Desk of a DNA Genealogy Detective". There will be many genetic genealogists presenting both on Thursday and throughout the rest of the conference weekend. Here is my schedule:

DNA Thursday 
TH003 - Thursday 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. "Real World Stories from the Desk of a DNA Detective." DNA testing is revealing unexpected surprises in the trees of many genealogists, involving both immediate and more distant ancestors. These surprises often lead to fascinating stories that could never have been unearthed without DNA and this new-found knowledge has taught us that our family trees on paper may not always be the same as our true genetic genealogy. After learning of its potential to reveal and unravel complex family relationships, many are flocking to DNA testing to solve their own family mysteries. Actual cases from the presenter’s own files will be shared.

TH017 - Thursday 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. "Autosomal DNA: Discovering Your Ancestors in You." As genealogists, we have all invested a significant amount of time and effort searching for information about our ancestors. Rapidly advancing genetic technologies have now made it possible to discover more about our ancestors and in ways we never could have imagined. CeCe will demonstrate the methods that the experts use to get the most out of their results, including chromosome mapping and applications for adoption and African American genealogy. Examples from CeCe's research will be shared to demonstrate the potential for using autosomal DNA to discover more about our ancestors.

Jamboree Weekend
FR019  - Friday 4:00pm - 5:00pm. "Why Should I Take a DNA Test?" This is an introductory presentation for genealogists interested in venturing into DNA testing. It will cover the basics of the three types of DNA testing used for genealogy: Y-DNA, mtDNA and autosomal DNA as well as the pros and cons of the major companies offering services to the genealogy community. Come learn about the potential of DNA testing for opening doors and breaking down brick walls in your genealogy!

SA049  - Saturday 5:00pm - 6:00 pm.  ISOGG Panel: "Ask the Experts about DNA and Genealogy." This presentation is sponsored by the International Society of Genetic Genealogy (ISOGG). Where are we now? What is the current "state of the art" in relation to each of the major DNA tests? What test tells the percentage of inheritance from different areas of the world? What new tools and utilities will be developed by independent developers? What does the future hold for genetic genealogy? These questions and more will be answered by the experts. Alice Fairhurst, Moderator with panelists: Blaine Bettinger PhD JD, Katherine Borges, Dr. Maurice Gleeson and CeCe Moore. (90 minutes)


GRIPitt "Practical Genetic Genealogy" Course
I am also preparing for the upcoming Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh course in July where I will be teaching with Blaine Bettinger, PhD, JD and Debbie Parker-Wayne, CG (course coordinator). The course sold out mere minutes after registration opened, so the GRIPitt administrators arranged for a second classroom. This will double our teaching load, but will allow many more people to benefit from this intensive, week-long education. Due to its popularity, we will be offering this course again in 2015 (twice).


Institute for Genetic Genealogy Conference
Tim Janzen and I are very happy with how planning is moving along for the I4GG conference. The conference will be held August 15-17 in Washington D.C. and is intended for a wide audience. We will have presentations geared for the beginner all the way through to the advanced genetic genealogist. I have heard quite a few people remark that they aren't advanced enough to attend, so I want to emphasize that everyone is welcome no matter what experience level they have with genetic genealogy. In addition to the more basic presentations like mine "The Four Types of DNA Used in Genetic Genealogy" (title subject to change), there will be workshops presented by both 23andMe and Family Tree DNA on Friday (AncestryDNA has also been invited to host a workshop). These workshops will undoubtedly be of great benefit to the less experienced attendees. I will be posting more updates about this conference in the next day or so.

SLIG Genetic Genealogy Courses
Angie Bush and I will be co-coordinating the "Advanced DNA Analysis Techniques" course for the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy in January and I will also be teaching in the "Getting Started with Genetic Genealogy" course coordinated by Debbie Parker Wayne, CG. The advanced course has several prerequisites since it is intended for the intermediate to advanced genetic genealogist, but the "Getting Started" course is open to any level.   

Registration for both opens on June 14th at 9:00am (Mountain Time).


Working on Various Unknown Parentage Cases
I continue to work on several unknown parentage cases, such as the one involving Paul Fronczak (and others that remain private) with my team(s). These types of cases take a tremendous amount of time and effort, but are well worth it in the long run. 


I hope to have the opportunity to catch up with many of you soon!

Kelly Wheaton's Beginners' Guide to Genetic Genealogy

Genetic genealogist Kelly Wheaton has been hard at work on a beginner's guide to genetic genealogy for the last couple of weeks. She was inspired to share her extensive knowledge by a thread on the ISOGG DNA Newbie mailing list asking (begging!) for easier to understand resources. Since my readers are always clamoring for more educational resources as well, I am very happy to be able to introduce it to you all.

Kelly doesn't draw a lot of attention to herself, but she has been a long-time contributor to the DNA Newbie list and a frequent poster on the 23andMe forums. She has always generously shared her knowledge through these forums and on her website. I consider her to be a very valuable asset to our community. I'm sure you will agree after reading her new guide.

Kelly Wheaton

The guide has received unanimously good reviews from those of us who have read it. One of the nice things about it is that it breaks the instruction into easily digestible pieces, by keeping each lesson short and concise. There are thirteen lessons so far and Kelly says that she will continue to add to it. As she was writing, Kelly had the foresight to share it with "newbies" to receive feedback and make sure that it is understandable for the beginner. This has resulted in a very easy-to-understand resource. Kelly is continuing to accept suggestions for improvements and additions.

You can find this wonderful guide here. Thank you Kelly for all of your hard work and valuable contributions to our community.

Debbie Kennett has just created a page on the ISOGG Wiki with links to beginners' guides here. Right now it only has Kelly's guide and my series for Geni.com. Please add to it if you find basic resources which are helpful to you and, while you are there, look around. The Wiki is a great resource in itself!

Autosomal DNA: A Revelation for African Americans Searching for their Roots

Lately, I have been having great success with autosomal DNA for African American genealogy research. This has been especially true at AncestryDNA with the plethora of trees attached to the DNA matches and the ease of identifying and analyzing patterns with the new search filters and Jeff Snavely's great tool. What was once a dream for African Americans searching for their roots prior to Emancipation is finally becoming a reality. 

Last week I came across a very meaningful example of this and wanted to share it with you. Over at the 23andMe forum, there is a 14 part thread (must be logged in to access) started by genetic genealogist extraordinaire Kelly Wheaton discussing AncestryDNA. Kelly asked the following question of the participants:

"Did AncestryDNA prove to be genealogical helpful? Would you recommend it to others in spite of its shortcomings?" 

One of the responses was so beautifully written and powerful that I wanted to share it with you. With permission, it follows:

"I’ve thought long and hard about this question. For me, AncestryDNA restored my lost heritage and helped me complete an important journey I began many years ago.

For years beginning in the mid 1960s I was the only African American male in my school in central Michigan.  It was difficult and on more than one occasion I endured being called the “N” word, but in the 5th grade I had an exceptional white teacher who cared more about teaching than anything else. She took an interest in me that no other teacher had. I remember her excitedly telling me something about my score on some intelligence test and that she moved me into advanced classes. Years later, I earned a bachelors degree from the University of Michigan Ann Arbor at the age of 19 and eventually became one of the youngest lawyers in my state.

Anyway, one of the assignments that this teacher gave the class was to go home and find out why our ancestors had come to America. I had never thought about that one, but I was later disappointed to hear my parents tell me that we were just “American Negroes” and we came here as slaves. The depiction of slaves in my school books from which they were teaching mainly white, northern children was that slaves were badly clothed, unkempt people with smiling, but dumb expressions on their faces. Supposedly they were slaves because they liked the hot sun and weren’t good for much else. What a horrible and false image to put in a book for children! And how many people still believe that image because that’s what they were taught in school?

When I returned to class the teacher asked each of us what we’d learned. My sense of embarrassment and inferiority deepened. Some kids had ancestors from wonderful sounding places like Ireland and France. Some had ancestors who came on the Mayflower. Others had ancestors who fought for independence. I had no countries of origin of which to boast, only negative, stereotypical images taught to us in our school books.

My parents were concerned. A few years later in the early 1970s or late 60s, my step dad saw an article in the newspaper that a man named Alex Haley was coming to speak on tracing your family tree. The epic Roots had not been completed and most people would not have recognized Haley’s name. I went to hear him and learned much. I followed his advice for years afterward and learned of my courageous slave ancestors who escaped to Canada on the Underground Railroad and who helped free others. I also learned of my mother’s grandfather who was born a slave but became a newspaper publisher and one of the first black lawyers in his state. And there were many others who clearly debunked the monstrous lies behind the negative images of slaves they taught me and the largely white student body in my school.

But even with what Haley taught me, there were many, many brick walls. I couldn’t discover where in Africa my ancestors came from or when. Then came AncestryDNA. First it revealed to me that my ancestry was almost equally divided between Europe and West Africa. It told me of ancestral origins in Benin or Cameroon. Other services also identified Senegal. But AncestryDNA also revealed the family connection between my slave ancestors and those who enslaved them. It brought me full circle back to the fifth grade in revealing ancestors in my past just like the other kids boasted of all those years ago. It led me to my ancestors from England, Ireland, France and other places. There was a Mayflower passenger. There were ancestors I shared in common with George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and even President Obama.

So, in answer to your question, is AncestryDNA worth it? Absolutely! For me, it's a life changer and one of the most important things I've ever experienced. 

--- Charles Holman

Charles with his cousins Lynne Goransson and her daughter Dr. Leslie Goransson

Charles met his previously unknown cousins Lynne Goransson and her daughter Dr. Leslie Goransson through Ancestry.com. They are related through a slaveholding ancestor.