The Genetic Genealogist https://thegeneticgenealogist.com/ Adding DNA to the Genealogist's Toolbox Mon, 24 Apr 2023 20:23:35 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 https://thegeneticgenealogist.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/cropped-Favicon-150x150.png The Genetic Genealogist https://thegeneticgenealogist.com/ 32 32 103181630 The Growing Phenomenon of the Unlinked Family Cluster https://thegeneticgenealogist.com/2023/03/16/the-growing-phenomenon-of-the-unlinked-family-cluster/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-growing-phenomenon-of-the-unlinked-family-cluster https://thegeneticgenealogist.com/2023/03/16/the-growing-phenomenon-of-the-unlinked-family-cluster/#comments Thu, 16 Mar 2023 13:59:59 +0000 https://thegeneticgenealogist.com/?p=4177 Have you experienced this? You’ve identified a very clear cluster that includes numerous DNA matches that all descend from a single family, but you have no idea how this family links into your family tree. Try as you might, and…

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]]> https://thegeneticgenealogist.com/2023/03/16/the-growing-phenomenon-of-the-unlinked-family-cluster/feed/ 47 4177 Leveraging the Power of Siblings and Cousins to Narrow Relationship Possibilities https://thegeneticgenealogist.com/2022/11/12/leveraging-the-power-of-siblings-and-cousins-to-narrow-relationship-possibilities/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=leveraging-the-power-of-siblings-and-cousins-to-narrow-relationship-possibilities https://thegeneticgenealogist.com/2022/11/12/leveraging-the-power-of-siblings-and-cousins-to-narrow-relationship-possibilities/#comments Sat, 12 Nov 2022 21:02:32 +0000 https://thegeneticgenealogist.com/?p=4146 The Shared cM Project is a collaborative research project that uses data from 100s of genealogists to generate shared DNA ranges and averages for nearly 50 different genealogical relationships. The most recent version of the Shared cM Project, Version 4.0,…

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]]> https://thegeneticgenealogist.com/2022/11/12/leveraging-the-power-of-siblings-and-cousins-to-narrow-relationship-possibilities/feed/ 15 4146 Enhancements to the Shared cM Project at DNAPainter.com https://thegeneticgenealogist.com/2022/08/27/enhancements-to-the-shared-cm-project-at-dnapainter-com/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=enhancements-to-the-shared-cm-project-at-dnapainter-com https://thegeneticgenealogist.com/2022/08/27/enhancements-to-the-shared-cm-project-at-dnapainter-com/#comments Sat, 27 Aug 2022 18:24:52 +0000 https://thegeneticgenealogist.com/?p=4124 The Shared cM Project is a collaborative research project that uses data from 100s of genealogists to generate shared DNA ranges and averages for nearly 50 different genealogical relationships. The most recent version of the Shared cM Project, Version 4.0,…

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]]> https://thegeneticgenealogist.com/2022/08/27/enhancements-to-the-shared-cm-project-at-dnapainter-com/feed/ 4 4124 An In-Depth Analysis of the Use of Small Segments as Genealogical Evidence https://thegeneticgenealogist.com/2022/08/07/an-in-depth-analysis-of-the-use-of-small-segments-as-genealogical-evidence/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=an-in-depth-analysis-of-the-use-of-small-segments-as-genealogical-evidence https://thegeneticgenealogist.com/2022/08/07/an-in-depth-analysis-of-the-use-of-small-segments-as-genealogical-evidence/#comments Sun, 07 Aug 2022 16:01:09 +0000 https://thegeneticgenealogist.com/?p=4113 TL:DR Executive Summary: The size of a “small segment” is not strictly defined but is generally less than 10 cM and preferably less than 7 cM; A very large percentage of small segments are not valid matching segments (i.e., are…

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]]> https://thegeneticgenealogist.com/2022/08/07/an-in-depth-analysis-of-the-use-of-small-segments-as-genealogical-evidence/feed/ 11 4113 Losing Distant Matches at AncestryDNA https://thegeneticgenealogist.com/2020/07/17/losing-distant-matches-at-ancestrydna/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=losing-distant-matches-at-ancestrydna https://thegeneticgenealogist.com/2020/07/17/losing-distant-matches-at-ancestrydna/#comments Fri, 17 Jul 2020 11:25:05 +0000 https://thegeneticgenealogist.com/?p=4060 During a phone call with AncestryDNA representatives this week (unfortunately I was not able to attend), numerous genealogists heard two major announcements: The AncestryDNA database has hit 18 million test takers (such great news!); and There are significant changes coming to…

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]]> https://thegeneticgenealogist.com/2020/07/17/losing-distant-matches-at-ancestrydna/feed/ 51 4060 Version 4.0! March 2020 Update to the Shared cM Project! https://thegeneticgenealogist.com/2020/03/27/version-4-0-march-2020-update-to-the-shared-cm-project/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=version-4-0-march-2020-update-to-the-shared-cm-project https://thegeneticgenealogist.com/2020/03/27/version-4-0-march-2020-update-to-the-shared-cm-project/#comments Fri, 27 Mar 2020 13:28:40 +0000 https://thegeneticgenealogist.com/?p=4051 The Shared cM Project (ScP) is a collaborative data collection and analysis project created to understand the ranges of shared cM associated with various known relationships. The ScP has been very successful, with more than 60,000 submissions from amazing genealogists…

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]]> https://thegeneticgenealogist.com/2020/03/27/version-4-0-march-2020-update-to-the-shared-cm-project/feed/ 67 4051 Putting the Milkman Joke to Rest https://thegeneticgenealogist.com/2019/03/25/putting-the-milkman-joke-to-rest/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=putting-the-milkman-joke-to-rest https://thegeneticgenealogist.com/2019/03/25/putting-the-milkman-joke-to-rest/#comments Mon, 25 Mar 2019 15:57:26 +0000 https://thegeneticgenealogist.com/?p=3962 [WARNING: I discuss or imply violent acts by ancestors in this post, read at your own risk]. We’ve all heard it. Some of us have even made it. A joke or implication about an affair or dalliance that conceived a…

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]]> https://thegeneticgenealogist.com/2019/03/25/putting-the-milkman-joke-to-rest/feed/ 93 3962 Examining Outliers in Shared cM Amounts – Part 2 https://thegeneticgenealogist.com/2019/03/21/examining-outliers-in-shared-cm-amounts-part-2/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=examining-outliers-in-shared-cm-amounts-part-2 https://thegeneticgenealogist.com/2019/03/21/examining-outliers-in-shared-cm-amounts-part-2/#comments Thu, 21 Mar 2019 21:08:16 +0000 https://thegeneticgenealogist.com/?p=3950 In this blog post we will briefly review an extreme Grandparent/Grandchild relationship, where a grandchild appears to share just 9% of her DNA with a paternal grandmother rather than the expected 25%. All information is anonymized. I’m a little afraid…

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]]> https://thegeneticgenealogist.com/2019/03/21/examining-outliers-in-shared-cm-amounts-part-2/feed/ 18 3950 New Tools Everywhere! Exploring the New Tools at MyHeritage and AncestryDNA https://thegeneticgenealogist.com/2019/03/12/new-tools-everywhere-exploring-the-new-tools-at-myheritage-and-ancestrydna/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=new-tools-everywhere-exploring-the-new-tools-at-myheritage-and-ancestrydna https://thegeneticgenealogist.com/2019/03/12/new-tools-everywhere-exploring-the-new-tools-at-myheritage-and-ancestrydna/#comments Tue, 12 Mar 2019 12:08:45 +0000 https://thegeneticgenealogist.com/?p=3946 The annual RootsTech convention at Salt Lake City in February has become a showcase for new tests and tools offered by the DNA testing companies. The biggest winner of all, of course, is the consumer! Both AncestryDNA and MyHeritage announced…

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]]> https://thegeneticgenealogist.com/2019/03/12/new-tools-everywhere-exploring-the-new-tools-at-myheritage-and-ancestrydna/feed/ 10 3946 Examining Outliers in Shared cM Amounts https://thegeneticgenealogist.com/2018/12/17/examining-outliers-shared-cm-amounts/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=examining-outliers-shared-cm-amounts https://thegeneticgenealogist.com/2018/12/17/examining-outliers-shared-cm-amounts/#comments Mon, 17 Dec 2018 13:11:52 +0000 https://thegeneticgenealogist.com/?p=3912 Sheryl, a member of the Genetic Genealogy Tips & Techniques group (which just broke 50,000 members!) recently commented on a thread about shared DNA outliers about a situation within her own family. I thought it would be a great opportunity…

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