Don't Miss My Behind-the-Scenes Article Series Published on the PBS "Finding Your Roots" Website

Credits from Season Two of "Finding Your Roots"

I haven't been blogging a lot lately due to my heavy workload, but I wanted to let my readers know that I am in the middle of writing a series of articles for the official PBS "Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr." website in conjunction with the airing of season two of the series. Since it is impossible to detail all of the research done for each of the guests in the actual episodes, I am providing a behind-the-scenes look at some of the genetic genealogy research - providing explanations about what does air and sharing research that did not make it into the final version of the show. Never did I imagine that I would be working on the show and writing for the PBS website when I wrote my series in 2012 analyzing the DNA research used in season one of "Finding Your Roots".

Below I have listed the articles that have been published so far:

Intro to the Season
DNA 101: The Secret's in the Science
"For me, working on this series is a dream job, and it presents a wonderful opportunity to showcase the potential of genetic genealogy to viewers. Over the next ten weeks, I look forward to giving you a glimpse behind the scenes.

Our ancestors’ stories come down to us in many ways – through historical records, oral history passed through our families and in each cell that makes us who we are. The research team at “Finding Your Roots” relies on all of these to investigate the family histories of our guests. Throughout production, family members are interviewed, genealogical records are intensively searched and DNA is thoroughly analyzed."

Read more...
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/finding-your-roots/blog/dna-101-dispatches-finding-roots-lab/

Behind the scenes of Episode One
Finding Fathers: Decoding the Y-Chromosome
"For last week’s episode, we researched the family trees of three people who yearned to know more about their paternal ancestry – Courtney B. Vance, Stephen King and Gloria Reuben. As a genetic genealogist, the first thing that comes to mind when I hear that there are paternal mysteries to unravel is that Y-chromosome DNA testing is a must."

Read more...
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/finding-your-roots/blog/finding-fathers-decoding-y-chromosome/

Behind the scenes of Episode Two
Autosomal DNA: Hints from Our Ancestors
"Last week’s episode featuring Derek Jeter, Billie Jean King and Rebecca Lobo concluded with a short vignette about each of their DNA. Cumulatively this 6-minute piece represented many hours of research and necessarily simplified the process that led us to the conclusions presented. As promised, I will share details of some of the genetic genealogy work done behind the scenes."

Read more...
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/finding-your-roots/blog/breaking-autosomal-dna/

Behind the scenes of Episode Three
Telling Stories with Autosomal DNA
"For last week’s episode, the 'Finding Your Roots' team researched the families of three storytellers, Anna Deavere Smith, Anderson Cooper and Ken Burns. For all three there were questions that traditional genealogical research could not answer, so we turned to autosomal DNA to see if it had its own stories to tell."

Read more...
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/finding-your-roots/blog/telling-stories-autosomal-dna/

Don't miss tonight's episode airing on PBS with Ben Affleck, Khandi Alexander and Ben Jealous. If you missed any of the previous episodes, they can be viewed here.

"Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates Jr." - DNA in The First Two Episodes

Last night was the premiere of PBS' Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates Jr. with two episodes featuring 1) musicians Harry Connick Jr. and Branford Marsalis and 2) politicians Cory A. Booker and John Lewis. Although I enjoy any television show that brings genealogy into the public eye, I think this series is much more fulfilling for the serious genealogist than NBC's Who Do You Think You Are? In this new series, as in all of his past genealogy shows, you can count on Dr. Gates to present a well laid out, thought provoking story - he never disappoints!

I was really happy to see that genetic genealogy was integrated into both of the night's episodes. It was also great to see that both of my favorite DNA testing companies 23andMe and Family Tree DNA were featured in the show.

In the first episode, in a really fun segment, Dr. Gates DNA tested his friends from the barbershop to determine their genetic makeup. Early in the show, he had each of them guess what percentage of their ancestry was African, European and Native American and then, later, shared with them their actual results. Although they showed a swab collection kit instead of the usual 23andMe spit tube (probably because it was more telegenic), I am quite sure those results were from 23andMe's Ancestry Painting feature that examines a tester's DNA one segment at a time and determines for each stretch whether it was most likely inherited from ancestors in Africa, Europe or Asia (a stand-in for Native American in this case). I thought Gates' presentation of his friends' ancestral origins results using a pie chart format rather than 23andMe's usual 22 chromosome chart was a good choice for the television audience. 

I did feel like a good opportunity for demonstrating the application of Y-DNA testing (offered by FTDNA) was overlooked during the portion where Dr. Gates determined which of the men were the progenitors of Branford's direct paternal line based on the marriage records. Perhaps, Gates and his producers had more information than we in the audience did, but it seemed that a Y-DNA test would have been a more reliable tool for reaching the conclusion that Branford's great-great grandfather was Isaac Black than basing it on the absence of a signature on a marriage license.

The second episode illustrated one of my favorite uses of autosomal DNA by testing Michael Hislop, the theorized (half) second cousin of Cory Booker, and confirming that they were indeed both great grandsons of Dr. Stephen H. Brown (full second cousins would be expected to have an average of 3.125% of their DNA in common, in this case it would be half that since they only share one great grandparent, not two). Mayor Booker's family had an oral history that his maternal grandfather, Limuary Jordan, was fathered by a white doctor, but had no way to determine who that might have been until Dr. Gates' team (which included Megan Smolenyak for this segment) and this DNA test solved the century-old mystery.

Mayor Booker's newfound cousin Michael's comment in response to an inquiry regarding how he felt about being asked to DNA test for the show, was one all enthusiastic genetic genealogist would do well to remember before approaching relatives for their DNA. Implying that he was eased into the idea he reminded, "That wasn't the first conversation that we had!"

Strangely, the collection kit shown for this segment was undeniably a Family Tree DNA kit, but 23andMe's Dr. Joanna Mountain was the one who explained on camera how this type of test works. In reality, both companies offer this service - 23andMe's Relative Finder feature and Family Tree DNA's Family Finder can confirm familial relationships from siblings out to second cousins with confidence. Third cousins and beyond can also sometimes be confirmed, though with more difficulty and diminishing accuracy as the relationship becomes more distant.

23andMe prudently seized the opportunity to debut their new 15-second commercials as "bumpers" at the beginning and end of each episode. You can view them, vote for your favorite and enter a contest to win an iPad3 here.

I was very pleased with the application of and exposure for genetic genealogy in this fascinating new series and look forward to enjoying it every Sunday night through May 20th. I plan on writing a summary about the DNA portion after each episode for those who might want more information on the tests, the methods and the companies used - so be sure and check back!


***Blaine Bettinger shares some interesting insights into the use of DNA testing for this show on his blog The Genetic Genealogist.

 [Disclosure - my company StudioINTV has an existing production agreement with FTDNA that has no bearing on the opinions I express. I also receive a small commission from FTDNA on non-sale orders through my affiliate link, which I use to fund DNA tests. I am currently serving in a volunteer advisory position for 23andMe, for which I may receive a small number of 23andMe kits for my DNA research.  Any opinions that I express here on my blog are my own and do not reflect those of management at either company.  I receive no other compensation in relation to any of the companies or products referenced in my blog.]