maltsoda
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What is a Genetic Genealogist?
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…
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Making an Education Plan
This month, our ProGen Study Group (1) assignment was to make an Education Plan. Last Fall, I spoke about Genetic Genealogy Education and Certification at the East Coast Genetic Genealogy Conference (2), and one of the topics in my presentation was making an education plan, so I’ve given this topic a lot of thought! It’s…
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Welcome to the Matrix
If you’re expecting to choose between a red and blue pill right now, you’re going to be sorely disappointed. But if you’re looking to understand how to read a matrix, you’re in the right place! First, how do we create a matrix? This can be done easily in GEDmatch (1), regardless of whether or not…
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Harold “Shorty” Hilliar
I remember visiting my grandma and sitting at the counter in her kitchen. She had a wonderful chair we refer to as a “grandma chair” that was counter height but had steps that unfolded for her to be able to get into the seat. My grandmother was not very tall and had bad legs (the…
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Primary vs. Secondary Information
I’ve talked about the difference between sources, evidence and proof (1) as well as the classification of sources (2), but I haven’t yet talked about classification of information. In the social sciences, particularly in history, there is no distinction made between the sources and the information that these sources hold. These fields generally think of…
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The Sydney Declaration for Genealogists: The Genealogist as Scientist
I had the honour of giving a presentation about Forensic Genetic Genealogy (FGG) at the recent Canadian Universities for Forensic Science (CUFFS) conference! (1) The program included fascinating presentations about forensic science. Although I felt a little out of place as a genealogist, I found the topics intriguing and thought-provoking. A range of topics in…
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Restoring Old Photos
If you’re fortunate enough to have older photos in your possession, then you more than likely have a number of photos that are damaged or blurry. Perhaps you’d like to display these photos in a Gallery Wall (1), but you don’t want to display a damaged photo. I’ve had a number of photos restored, and…
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GSK, 5 years later: Still building the plane
In April 2018, Joseph D’Angelo, also known as the Golden State Killer, was arrested. Although the identification of the Buckskin Girl (1) by the DNA Doe Project, announced two weeks prior, used the same technique, this arrest made a much bigger splash. Let’s look at what has happened in the five years since, and consider…
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Creating a Gallery Wall
I love collecting photos of my ancestors. A great reason to connect with cousins is that you never know what photos and artifacts have been passed down to them. One of the benefits of being the family genealogist is that these often get passed on to me. It wouldn’t do just to have these pictures,…
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So you want to be a professional genealogist…
I’ve been asked a few times and I see posts all the time in the Genealogy Jobs Facebook group (1) about pursuing genealogy professionally as a career. It’s definitely a challenge to shift into a different field, even if it’s something you’re already passionate about! Unfortunately, passion alone isn’t enough to guarantee that you’ll make…
Jennealogie 