maltsoda
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Gedmatch Basics, Part 2
This is the sequel to my post Gedmatch Basics, Part 1. In order to understand the things that we’re going to talk about, you’ll need to understand the things mentioned in that post, so if you haven’t read it yet I suggest you do so. Since I first wrote this post, a lot has changed…
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Mary Cassidy of Longford, Ireland
In Triangulation, Part 2 (1), I wrote about how I have Irish DNA matches despite not having any known Irish ancestors. I’m super excited that I have discovered my first Irish ancestor! Her name is Mary Cassidy and she was my 4th great-grandmother, the great-grandmother of my great-grandfather, Harold Hilliar. I don’t know much more…
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Forensic Investigative Genetic Genealogy (FIGG) Education and Certification
A final follow-up on my posts Genealogy Education and Certification (1) and Genetic Genealogy Education and Certification (2). Both of those posts are a good place to start, since FIGG uses both documentary as well as genetic genealogy, and having a strong foundation in those skills is necessary before developing proficiency in FIGG. I would especially recommend…
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Genetic Genealogy Education and Certification
This post is a follow-up post to my post Genealogy Education and Certification (1). I again want to reiterate the difference between a “certificate” and a “certification,” especially since I have seen people who have acquired a certificate referring to themselves as certified. A certificate is proof of education. While it is meaningful in that the…
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Law Enforcement is not using AncestryDNA
“Genealogical DNA” has been in the news a lot lately! One of my biggest pet peeves about these articles (aside from the fact that that’s not what we call it (1)) is the fact that they mention databases that law enforcement isn’t even allowed to use. If I could make one request to the media,…
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Are we related?
I posted one of my blog posts to LinkedIn (1) and someone asked an interesting question that gave me pause. “What if the two people you are comparing share DNA that you are not testing? How does one know that what is tested allows one to deem common ancestry “impossible,” thereby capable of being eliminated?…
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What’s in a name … et ça se traduit?
I talked in a previous post (1) about how Familial DNA Searching is not the same as Forensic Investigative Genetic Genealogy (FIGG) but how they are often conflated. I posted on LinkedIn (2) about how FIGG goes by a few different names, and mentioned that it is also conflated with Forensic Genealogy. So I thought…
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Holiday Traditions: Gingerbread
When I was a kid my aunt started a tradition of making gingerbread houses for her kids and nieces and nephews. I don’t know inspired her to start this tradition and not only put all the work into making the houses but also hosting all of us — by the time we moved away there…
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Familial DNA Searching vs. Forensic Investigative Genetic Genealogy
I have seen these two techniques conflated in the media and even in academic papers, so I wanted to write this post to clear this up. I can see where the confusion comes from, after all, they both involve family and DNA. However, they are very different techniques and the differences are very consequential. The…
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Solving for Myself
I thought I would show people how solving for unknown DNA works by using an example. Whether it’s for cases involving adoptees, unidentified human remains (UHR) or crime scene DNA, the process is pretty much the same. With adoptees, you have the benefit of using any site for DNA, including Ancestry, but with UHRs or…
Jennealogie 