There has been recent discussion and confusion about the difference between pedigree collapse and endogamy. Let’s take a look at the similarities and differences and what it means to genealogists. Pedigree Collapse Pedigree collapse occurs when the same person/people appear … Continue reading
Members of endogamous populations intermarry for generations, creating many segments that match, especially at small centiMorgan levels. These matching segments occur because they are members of the same population – not because they are genealogically related in a recent or … Continue reading
Recently, while checking Facebook, I saw this posting from my friend who researches in the same Native admixed group of families in North Carolina and Virginia that I do. Researchers have been trying for years to sort through these interrelated … Continue reading
One of my readers asked why we don’t use close relatives for triangulation. This is a great question because not using close relatives for triangulation seems counter-intuitive. I used to ask my kids and eventually my students and customers if … Continue reading
I wondered exactly how many DNA sessions were at RootsTech this year and which ones are the most popular. Unfortunately, we couldn’t easily view a list of all the sessions, so I made my own. I wanted to be sure … Continue reading
Old, meaning really old records are extremely rare. Once you’ve reached the end of the church records, and you’re back in the early 1600s, the late Medieval age, in remote alpine villages and hamlets in Switzerland, let’s face it, you’re … Continue reading
AutoClusters are so much fun and can provide tons of information. I’m going to step through how to analyze your cluster matches easily and productively in conjunction with the MyHeritage tools, but first, a little light housekeeping. First, please note … Continue reading
Recently, Blaine Bettinger published V4 of the Shared cM Project, and along with that, Jonny Perl at DNAPainter updated the associated interactive tool as well, including histograms. I wrote about that, here. The goal of the shared cM project was … Continue reading
Philip Gammon, our statistician friend has been working with crossover simulations again in order to tell us what we might expect relative to how much DNA we actually inherit from grandparents and great-grandparents. We know that on average, we’re going … Continue reading
Do you want to hit a home run with your DNA test, but find yourself a mite bewildered? Yep, those matches can be somewhat confusing – especially if you don’t understand what’s going on. Do you have a nagging feeling … Continue reading
