WSGC 2014 - Day 2

Amazing topics today from writing your family history to DNA to Internet genealogy and more. Joshua Taylor gave a great class about using Google and the Internet. He stressed the importance of using a research log during online searches to be a more effective genealogist. He also gave some great tips on how to use Boolean searches to find more databases using Google. I didn't know that a Google search only goes so deep into a website. Think back to what it was like to use a library card catalog. Just like a card catalog rarely has the name of our ancestor in a title, rarely will a Google search turn up the name of our ancestor in a useable database. Google is very powerful but we need to learn how to use it.

Mary Kathryn Kozy gave an excellent talk about autosomal DNA. I now understand why I might have a DNA match to someone who doesn't have any surname or location matches. DNA is a fascinating new branch of genealogy. Her talk inspires me to take advantage of the DNA sales and get more kits to test the older members of my family. The farther up the pedigree tree I can test, the farther back my DNA results will reach, and the more potential cousins I can find.

Have you started writing your family story yet? Stephen Morrison talked about the importance of telling our family stories. He had some practical ideas on how to get started and the key things to include. Documentation is just as important as the stories themselves; otherwise, they are just fiction. His discussion has spurred me to begin organizing what I have. I don't need to have "completed" my genealogy to write about it. I don't want to leave behind working files and a disorganized mess of notes; I want to leave behind something valuable that won't be tossed or sold in an estate sale after I'm gone.

Joshua Taylor wrapped up the conference by presenting an advanced case study from his own family tree. I'm a bit envious at the amazing documents and experiences he had. Although his family was not in the same location as mine, I can still learn from the techniques he used and apply them in my own research. Although I'm not in a place where I can travel to the locations where my ancestors lived to do onsite research—yet—I keep thinking someday...

All in all I'd say it was a successful conference. I'm energized and encouraged. Being with a large group of like-minded individuals is inspiring and I look forward to getting more involved in my local groups. I can't wait to put into practice the principals I've learned, and I'm even getting started on Book One of my family history today! For those of you who have never attended a conference and have only considered going, I highly recommend it. The energy and power behind all those minds in one place is a wonderful experience. There is so much potential to break down your brick walls if only you put yourself out there and ask.

 

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My Ancestry.com DNA Ethnicity Estimates

I finally received my new and improved DNA ethnicity estimates from Ancestry.com.

This particular test looks at autosomal DNA from a saliva sample. Autosomal DNA is the 22 pairs of chromosomes we inherit from our parents, one set from our mother and one set from our father. They do not include those that determine sex, the X or Y chromosomes. If I test other members of the family in addition to my own testing, I can determine which segments have been inherited from whom. So if my brother were to take the test, through comparing our results, I might be able to determine which parts of DNA I didn’t inherit from my parents and which he did.  That would also hold true if I tested my parents, aunts and uncles; I could determine which parts of DNA I didn’t inherit from my grandparents.  It’s important to realize that this DNA test only reflects what I’ve inherited from my parents; it doesn’t reflect the entire potential DNA that exists in my ancestral line.

In general, my results seem to fall in line with what I already know about my family. They show that by far the greatest percentage of my genes is from Eastern Europe. A typical Eastern European native born in this region today has 82% of their genes from here. My DNA reflects 65% of genes from this area, which is actually within the range of the DNA of a typical native. This makes sense to me since both of my maternal grandparents are from Poland; the surnames Chrzanowski and Dabrowski have long roots in this region. Instead of being half-Polish, I guess I’m more like 2/3 Polish.

The other influences reflected in my DNA show a mixture of ethnicities: 17% from Great Britain, 13% from Scandinavia and 1% each from Western Europe region and Italy/Greece region. I think this must come from my paternal grandparents. My family history research is revealing my Conklin, Lent, and Outhouse surnames to be of Dutch origin. The Passtoor and Kolb surnames have Germanic origins, and the Baisley and Lamb surnames, whose origins are yet unknown, are likely from England via Scandinavia. History tells us early Scandinavians, or those who we call the Vikings, invaded England (among other places) and some settled there, so maybe I have some of that Viking DNA in me.  

The remaining bits reflect traces of Finnish/Northern Russia, North African and Irish DNA. The migration of people into North Africa is perhaps from Arabic and Moorish conquests, and it’s likely they brought slaves from other regions with them as they migrated. This could be the source of that less than one percent of DNA. Whether it is from the paternal or maternal side, I don’t know; however it’s likely that the Finnish or Northern Russian traces are from the distant ancestors of my Polish relatives. The biggest surprise was to find I have minute traces of Irish ancestry. None of my research reflects any Irish relatives, but I would guess it’s from the paternal line because of the cornucopia of ethnicities—but I’m glad I can celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day legitimately next year!

Besides learning about my ethnicities, the whole other point of taking the DNA testing was to connect with cousins. Although others have reported receiving a large number of matches where they can determine a common ancestor, I haven’t been so lucky. So far, I’ve only had one meaningful match where we share a common 2^nd great-grandfather. This has been disappointing. So now I’m weighing the option of asking more relatives to test or upload my data to another company in hopes of connecting with more cousins.

What do you think? Is DNA testing worth it?