The Best of 2022

It’s that time of year where we look both backward and forward.

Thank you for your continued readership! Another year under our belts!

I always find it interesting to review the articles you found most interesting this past year.

In total, I published 97 articles in 2022, of which 56 were directly instructional about genetic genealogy. I say “directly instructional,” because, as you know, the 52 Ancestors series of articles are instructional too, but told through the lives of my ancestors. That leaves 41 articles that were either 52 Ancestors articles, or general in nature.

It has been quite a year.

2022 Highlights

In a way, writing these articles serves as a journal for the genetic genealogy community. I never realized that until I began scanning titles a year at a time.

Highlights of 2022 include:

Which articles were your favorites that were published in 2022, and why?

Your Favorites

Often, the topics I select for articles are directly related to your comments, questions and suggestions, especially if I haven’t covered the topic previously, or it needs to be featured again. Things change in this industry, often. That’s a good thing!

However, some articles become forever favorites. Current articles don’t have enough time to amass the number of views accumulated over years for articles published earlier, so recently published articles are often NOT found in the all-time favorites list.

Based on views, what are my readers’ favorites and what do they find most useful?

In the chart below, the 2022 ranking is not just the ranking of articles published in 2022, but the ranking of all articles based on 2022 views alone. Not surprisingly, six of the 15 favorite 2022 articles were published in 2022.

The All-Time Ranking is the ranking for those 2022 favorites IF they fell within the top 15 in the forever ranking, over the entire decade+ that this blog has existed.

Drum roll please!!!

Article Title Publication Date 2022 Ranking All-Time Ranking
Concepts – Calculating Ethnicity Percentages January 2017 1 2
Proving Native American Ancestry Using DNA December 2012 2 1
Ancestral DNA Percentages – How Much of Them in in You? June 2017 3 5
AutoKinship at GEDmatch by Genetic Affairs February 2022 4
442 Ancient Viking Skeletons Hold DNA Surprises – Does Your Y or Mitochondrial DNA Match? Daily Updates Here September 2020 5
The Origins of Zana of Abkhazia July 2021 6
Full or Half Siblings April 2019 7 15
Ancestry Rearranged the Furniture January 2022 8
DNA from 459 Ancient British Isles Burials Reveals Relationships – Does Yours Match? February 2022 9
DNA Inherited from Grandparents and Great-Grandparents January 2020 10
Ancestry Only Shows Shared Matches of 20 cM and Greater – What That Means & Why It Matters May 2022 11
How Much Indian Do I Have in Me??? June 2015 12 8
Top Ten RootsTech 2022 DNA Sessions + All DNA Session Links March 2022 13
FamilyTreeDNA DISCOVER Launches – Including Y DNA Haplogroup Ages June 2022 14
Ancient Ireland’s Y and Mitochondrial DNA – Do You Match??? November 2020 15

2023 Suggestions

I have a few articles already in the works for 2023, including some surprises. I’ll unveil one very soon.

We will be starting out with:

  • Information about RootsTech where I’ll be giving at least 7 presentations, in person, and probably doing a book signing too. Yes, I know, 7 sessions – what was I thinking? I’ve just missed everyone so very much.
  • An article about how accurately Ancestry’s ThruLines predicts Potential Ancestors and a few ways to prove, or disprove, accuracy.
  • The continuation of the “In Search Of” series.

As always, I’m open for 2023 suggestions.

In the comments, let me know what topics you’d like to see.

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12 thoughts on “The Best of 2022

  1. Thank you so much for all your wonderful labors. Although the technical aspects are over my head, I genuinely enjoyed your recent post that had links to your articles about our ancestors back to 1495. Our common ancestor is John of Claiborne County, Tennessee. From there my line goes to William, William Newton, William Edgar, William Edgar Jr than me. William Newton’s life story is extraordinary. I have his military records and there has been a book published about his unit’s journey through the civil war. There are several Indiana connections and names in his service records that are common to some names in your articles which intrigue me. I hope you will consider compiling a book with each chapter devoted to what you have learned about each specific ancestor. I would buy such a book and give them as gifts to family. I was fortunate to visit the churches in Kent this past fall and marvel at your extensive research. Thank you!!!!

  2. Roberta – Thank you for all that I have learned from you. Looking forward to more of that in 2023. I’ll be interested iin your “article about how accurately Ancestry’s ThruLines predicts Potential Ancestors and a few ways to prove, or disprove, accuracy.” I wish that there was a way to say “not a match” to their suggestions. I have a few ThruLines that I know the genealogy is wrong and wiish there was a way to find the correct matches.

  3. Hello Roberta, I have sort of an off-topic question about the Million Mito Project. I have tested myself and was assigned U4a, I learned that I have the defining mutation for U4a2c (T8567C), but a deletion at the defining mutation for U4a2 (T310d instead of T310C), preventing me from getting a deeper haplogroup assignment. Also, my dad’s FMS was batched and went into the analyzing stage two days ago. From 23andme, his mtDNA is U4c1a (I think it is kind of cool we are both U4).

    Anyways, my question is if it is beneficial for the Mito Million Project to test members of the same matrilineal line? I know me and my dad are different clades of U4, but I was thinking about perhaps eventually testing my mother. I am a first generation immigrant from Kosovo, so most of my relatives live overseas. Does testing different members of the same matrilineal line provide a benefit for the Mito Million Project?

  4. I’ve always especially enjoyed your
    daily reports from RootsTech. Hope you’ll be able to attend in person this year – your reportage is the best!! 🙂

  5. Hi Roberta, thank you for all the wonderful educational material that you produce. I frequently steer my students to it, to help them understand a topic in detail. One topic I am very confused about, myself, is Epigenetics. I know it is a relatively new field, and somehow related to discoveries in the “Dark Matter” or so-called Junk DNA, which to me as a scientist means, we just don’t know what it does, yet. Anyway, a good article on what Epigenetics is, and the current state of that field, would be most appreciated.

      • Roberta, I did visit the ISOGG Epigenetics FB group and was totally unimpressed by the lack of any substantive discussion or news on the stated topic. Perhaps I am just spoiled, reading your articles! This group’s lack of focus is similar to the comments, responses and postings that I have seen in general Genetic Genealogy groups RE the field of Epigenetics. The group also has no files posted, which is usually an indication that a group has a low to non-existent level of activity or content on the topic. Perhaps in 5 years there will be some substantive info to share, until then I’m passing on this group and spending my time on more useful topics. Thanks.

        • Unfortunately, epigenetics is not my specialty and I’m no expert. We are still learning so much. It has only been understood to be an actual phenomenon for a relatively short time. I am fascinated by this on a personal level, but I don’t think the nucleotide level changes will affect genetic genealogy. Our experiences will, of course, affect us and perhaps our offspring. I guess I’m in a bit of a holding pattern too.

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