Last year I went to a networking event. The number one question was “what do you do?” Whenever someone asks me this question, I say “I’m a genealogist.” I have discovered that most people don’t know what genealogists do. They get that it has something to do with genes, but usually they think I’m some kind of scientist, like a biologist. I have been called a “geneticist” by more than one person. And while I do think there is a scientific basis (1) to the work that I do, I don’t work in a lab and I don’t work (directly) with genes or DNA.

So what is it that I do? A genealogist is someone who is interested in family history. Usually we start out with an interest in our own family history, which was certainly the case for me. In 2015 my great-aunt posted a picture of a news clipping to Facebook about our family members who were serving in WWII, and I became really curious about my family history. I started digging up everything I could about them, and attaching all the documents I could find that mentioned them onto the family trees that I built. While Ancestry has certainly made the search for documents easier with their green leaf hint system, one thing you learn early on is that not every hint associated with a person actually is for that person. Educating myself as a genealogist has been about learning how to analyze documents properly for both reliability and accuracy, as well as how to take my research beyond Ancestry. Knowing where to find what resources takes education and experience, and it is an extremely valuable skill since only a small fraction of the documents available are digitized. When you hire a genealogist, you aren’t just hiring someone to put together your family tree, you’re hiring someone with the expertise to do the job well, and to make sure that all the information acquired about a family is dependable.

I got into genetic genealogy as an extension of my genealogy research. I found it to be very fascinating and wanted to learn everything I could about it to see what it could tell me about my family tree. As I mentioned, I do not work directly with DNA or genes, but I do work with DNA profiles. When you take a commercial DNA test, such as with Ancestry, they take your DNA and transform it into a profile, so you can see your ethnicity estimate and a list of people you share DNA with. It is this list of matches that I work with, assigning each to a branch of the family tree. If there is a branch of the tree that I want to learn more about, I know which DNA matches to focus on. If you need help with your family tree or with your DNA matches, I can help!

My genetic genealogy interest led me to becoming a Search Angel. Search Angels help adoptees figure out who their biological family is. I have personally helped adoptees reunite with their biological family and it is very meaningful work. Some Search Angels can help figure out the biological family of adoptees further back in their family tree, which is difficult work, since the further you go back the less DNA a descendant has from that family. I have my own family mysteries I am trying to figure out using both DNA and documentary evidence. It’s quite the puzzle!

My work as a Search Angel led me to forensic case work. While DNA analysts process DNA from crime scenes so that it can be turned into a DNA profile, my work begins with the DNA profile. In the same way that I put together family trees for adoptees based on their match lists, I create family trees for unknown DNA found at crime scenes, whether it came from unidentified human remains or a suspect in a criminal case. Using these family trees, the owner of the DNA can be identified. If you’re looking for an experienced Forensic Genetic Genealogist to help with case work, contact me!

Finally, my former experience and training as a teacher means I am an enthusiastic educator for all things genealogical, including genetic genealogy and forensic genetic genealogy. I have written numerous posts on my blog and done several presentations to educate people on these topics. If you have a question you’d like to see answered here on the blog, or you’re looking for a speaker for your conference or group, don’t hesitate to reach out!

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1. Jennifer Wiebe, “The Sydney Declaration for Genealogists: The Genealogist as Scientist,” Jennealogie, 23 May 2023 (https://jennealogie.com/2023/05/23/the-sydney-declaration-for-genealogists-the-genealogist-as-scientist : accessed 16 February 2024).