Category Archives: Sale

August Hot News: Ancestry Match Tagging Script, DNA Sales, DNAPainter Newsletter & More

Posted on by
77

August news.png

This wasn’t exactly how I had in mind to convey these news items, but you know that saying, “Life is what happens when you’re making other plans,”? Well, let’s just say it’s one of those weeks/months and years.

So, this article is going to be short and sweet, and I promise a more detailed article in a few days.

However, you need at least some of this info ASAP, so here it is in its rather unrefined raw state.

  • Ancestry Tagging Script
  • Ancestry Acquisition Update
  • Summer Sales
  • MyHeritage Sale
  • FamilyTreeDNA Sale
  • DNAPainter Free Newsletter
  • New Ancient Ancestor

Ancestry Tagging Script (to Save Your Sanity)

A very nice person, Roger Frøysaa, has written a free javascript to group your Ancestry matches. Of course, I’m referring to your 6-8 cM matches that are subject to the upcoming purge later in August.  I’m using Roger’s gracious gift, but struggling because the script keeps timing out, or Ancestry’s backend keeps timing out, etc.

You might need to be at least somewhat comfortable with computers for this to work and it doesn’t work on a tablet or iPad, but does work on a Mac.

I have the latest version of both Chrome and Edge browsers installed on a relatively new computer with lots of memory. For me, the script works best on Edge and in the middle of the night when Ancestry’s servers are less busy. Still, I can’t seem to get below my 6.2 cM matches without the script or Ancestry bombing. It doesn’t help any that my internet service has been flaky this week too.

The author recommends Firefox. (Update. I’ve installed Firefox and it’s running like a champ.)

Here are the instructions: https://docs.google.com/document/d/100BqYdjeVdwmHaT9gTL3miknxm7bKik4KwcHaoUX72I/edit?fbclid=IwAR04u0VQaaVeG-6pkif-ILYmLPQgHTtCf13A0lW4EMPTm0QwOb1hDb9o7L4

Print these out, read them thoroughly, and follow them step by step.

Here’s a link to the script on GitHub: https://github.com/lrf1/ancestry_scripts/blob/master/ancestry_dnsmatches_grouptagger_v2.js

Here’s a YouTube video about how to use the script: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnqGChJL0kw&fbclid=IwAR04iTVzcaKF8YJx2ewX_2rMEXQFaFaNIW5YfPQMlJYG6yfd1U6NvCN47Vc

Individual tweaking is required.

In my case, I have named the group where I want my 6-8 cM matches saved “1saved.” I selected that name because the 1 locates it near the top and I’ll know what’s there.

August ancestry 1saved

Following Roger’s instructions, 1saved should be row 3, but I had to enter row “2” in the script to get the matches to save to the group 1saved.

// MODIFY THE FOLLOWING LINES AS NEEDED

var groupTitle = “1saved“;

var groupRow = 2;

Regardless, the script works, and truthfully, all I really care about is that these matches are preserved.

My biggest problem occurs after the script bombs the first few times, and it will – you’ll need to restart it. Until the script manages to work its way to the location in the file, which is increasing further down in the scrolling, where it discovers matches to be tagged, I must re-enter and re-enter the script to reinitiate the searching.

This is by NO MEANS a complaint because I’m very grateful for this free tool. It’s just an observation that I hope will help you too. Having said that, I can’t tell you how many surnames like Bolton, my grandmother’s birth surname, Estes and Vannoy by various spellings, my great-grandmother’s surname I’ve seen scroll past as they are being tagged. There’s gold in those matches.

Furthermore, many people are reporting successes now that they’re actually looking at these smaller matches. If half of these are identical by chance, or false positives, that means half are NOT false and you need to use your analytical skills to figure out which is which.

Someone asked me earlier if I know anyone who will run the script or tag on behalf of someone else. I don’t, but you could ask on any number of Facebook groups, specifically the AncestryDNA Matching group or the ISOGG group.

If you’re NOT going to use the script, I recommend the following methodology to save at least some of your highest quality matches that are most likely to be relevant.

Select both “Common Ancestors” and “Shared DNA.” Enter the levels of shared DNA you want to view, meaning 6-6 or 6-7 or 7-7, which will display all of your matches where a potentially shared ancestor has been identified (ThruLine.)

August ancestry common plus 6.png

This won’t save anyplace near all of your 6-8 cM matches, but it will save the potentially most beneficial.

I wrote the article, Ancestry to Remove DNA Matches Soon – Preservation Strategies with Detailed Instructions, here, and Ancestry Match Purge Update here.

Note that Ancestry has stated they are delaying the purge until “late August,” but I’m seeing multiple people report that their 6-8 cM matches are already gone, so if you want to save them, one way or another, don’t delay.

Ancestry Acquisition Update

Ancestry’s announced acquisition by Blackstone Group, which I wrote about here, has raised questions about privacy. An article this week in Vice quotes both an Ancestry and Blackstone spokesperson on the topic who say that Blackstone will not have access to user data nor will it be shared with Blackstone’s portfolio companies.

Summer Sales Have Arrived

Late summer always ushers in summer DNA sales.

Right now, FamilyTreeDNA, MyHeritage, and Ancestry are having sales.

AncestryDNA is on sale for $59, here.

MyHeritage is on sale for $49, here and has a significant customer base in Europe where most of my ancestors originated.

Of course, FamilyTreeDNA has Y DNA and mitochondrial DNA in addition to autosomal plus 20 years’ worth of testers in their database.

Regardless of where you’ve tested, having family members in the same database makes your own test so much more valuable because many of your matches will match family members too. I’m in all of the databases, and several of my family members are as well.

Remember, you can transfer tests for free to both MyHeritage and Family Tree DNA from other vendors. Instructions for each company can be found here.

MyHeritage Sale

The MyHeritage DNA kit is on sale right now for $49 and free shipping with 2 or more.

August myheritage

Don’t forget that if you’ve tested elsewhere, you can transfer to MyHeritage for free and pay just $29 to unlock the advanced tools, such as Theories of Family Relativity, or subscribe to the full records package and the unlock is free.

Family Tree DNA Sale

Family Tree DNA offers their Family Finder autosomal test, but additionally, they offer Y and mitochondrial DNA testing and matching which provide insights you can’t obtain with autosomal DNA testing alone.

  • Y DNA is for males only and tests the direct paternal (surname) line.
  • Mitochondrial DNA is for both men and women and tests your direct matrilineal line – your mother, her mother, her mother, etc.

If you’ve already tested at a lower level, you can upgrade.

august ftdna 2

If you know what you want, go right ahead and order.

This is a wonderful time to order tests for family members who represent Y DNA and mitochondrial lines that you can’t test for yourself.

Early in the week, I’ll publish an article that shows how to locate people at each testing company who are appropriately descended from your ancestor whose Y DNA or mitochondrial DNA results you’d like to have.

This sale runs through the end of August, so you have time to search out and find people to ask if they’d be willing to test. Of course, if you already know people appropriately descended, by all means, ask them and get a kit on order. I generally offer a DNA testing scholarship so that the $$ factor is removed from my request. It makes it easier for them to say yes. If they agree, I add a Family Finder test too. I believe in striking while the iron is hot.

If you’d like to read about the different kinds of DNA testing, the article 4 Kinds of DNA for Genetic Genealogy is great to share with others as well.

Free DNAPainter Newsletter

I received an email this week from Jonny Perl at DNAPainter, one of my favorite tools, and he’s now offering a free monthly newsletter with tips on how to use DNAPainter. You can sign up here. I certainly did.

I’ve written extensively about DNAPainter, here.

New Ancient Mystery Ancestor

Guess what, you may have a new mystery ancestor. How cool is this??!!

LiveScience reported this week that scientists have detected traces of an earlier human ancestor in Neanderthal and Denisovan DNA. That ancient ancestor existed 200,000-300,000 years ago, in Africa, leaving and intermixing with the Neanderthals then living in the Middle East or elsewhere outside of Africa, but before the move to Europe.

You can read the PLOS article, here.

I don’t know about you, but I find this absolutely fascinating.

TTFN

Enough news for now, although I’ve probably forgotten something.

Order a DNA test, find an ancestor, subscribe to the DNAPainter newsletter, and enjoy summer, safely.

I’ll see you later this week with an article about how to search for family members, in particular Y and mitochondrial DNA carriers that represent your ancestral lines. You never know what critical information is waiting just to be discovered.

_____________________________________________________________

Disclosure

I receive a small contribution when you click on some of the links to vendors in my articles. This does NOT increase the price you pay but helps me to keep the lights on and this informational blog free for everyone. Please click on the links in the articles or to the vendors below if you are purchasing products or DNA testing.

Thank you so much.

DNA Purchases and Free Transfers

Genealogy Products and Services

Genealogy Research

Y DNA + Stories Create a Personal Gift for Father’s Day

Posted on by
6

What DO you get someone for Father’s Day during a pandemic?

Perhaps a nice gift that arrives in the mail and that keeps on giving.

A DNA test is a perfect gift and has a wonderful story to tell.

Males carry the Y chromosome that provides genealogical information directly about their paternal, or surname line. Y DNA information is unique and can answer many different genealogy questions.

  • Do you match other men with the same surname?

You can easily see who you match by looking at your matches – along with their earliest known ancestor.

  • Do you match the ancestral line you think you descend from, or a different one?

Is your genealogy accurate? You can confirm descent from a common ancestor easily using matches and surname projects.

  • Where did your ancestral line come from?

By entering the location of your earliest known ancestor, your matches can see where your ancestor is from – and vice versa. Where your matches ancestors’ are from may provide hints, or confirmation, as to where your ancestors are from.

  • Can you jump the pond?

If you match someone by the same surname from overseas, the location of your matches ancestors may be the location of your ancestors too. I’ve found several ancestors using this methodology that I could never have found otherwise.

  • Do you match a specific group of men who form a clan?

For Scottish clans, you can make this determination by matches and maps. For other groups, such as Native American, Jewish, African, European and Asian, your haplogroup will provide you with a book of historical knowledge.

Y DNA Plus Genealogy = Great Stories!

A wonderful gift for Dad would be a combination of DNA testing and genealogy. Everyone loves a story, especially when the story is about your own family and ancestors.

I like to weave DNA, photos and history into spellbinding stories.

Of course, DNA and genealogy is addictive, so you might want to add an autosomal DNA test, which includes matching and ethnicity for all of your ancestral lines, or mitochondrial DNA which provides information about your Dad’s matrilineal line.

Or, perhaps you can make an additive book, building chapters, adding DNA tests, and ancestors, over time.

Here’s a quick example (with DNA sale prices following.)

Happy Father’s Day!

Hi Dad, and Happy Father’s Day. I’d like to introduce you to a few people you’re going to want to get to know.

FD William Sterling

This man, William Sterling Estes, is your Dad, of course, who served in both WWI and WWII. You might have heard that he ran away and enlisted in the Army as a teenager with his brother, Joe. That’s all true. Those boys got into a mite of trouble together in boot camp, but we’ll talk about that later.

Have you ever seen a photo of your Dad in a uniform before? He’s handsome and I think he looks just like you!

FD William George

This man, William George Estes, is your grandfather. He, on the other hand, never got near a uniform. His specialty was bootlegging in Harlan County, Kentucky, up on Black Mountain.

One family member told he was “mean as tiger pee.” He didn’t drive, smoked a pipe and kept bullets in his pocket at all times. One day, a bullet got mixed in with his pipe tobacco on the Greyhound bus on the way to Tazewell, Tennessee. He lit the pipe and bang. He got himself put out on the side of the road and banned from riding the bus ever again.

Tough as nails, he lived to be just shy of 99 and died in 1973 of old age.

FD Lazarus

His father, your great-grandfather, Lazarus Estes, booted William George right out of Estes Holler down in Claiborne County Tennessee for cheating on your grandmother.

Lazarus drove his team of mules and took his wagon to Knoxville once a month in the summer and fall, selling produce and bringing back supplies for the local folk. He hand-carved all the gravestones of kin in the cemetery, including his children’s and his own mother’s stone stone.

He and his wife died about 3 months apart in 1918, probably victims of the flu pandemic.

FD John Y

His father, your great-great-grandfather, John Y. Estes, fought for the Confederacy during the un-Civil War. Most of the family either fought for or were loyal to the Union. John was taken captive by Union forces and held as a POW. He was eventually released at Rock Island, Illinois, and walked all the way home.

However, all was not well on the home front. A few years later, he left everything, including family, behind in Tennessee, after spending a few months in the clink, and walked to Texas…and back…and then returned to Texas again.

He did this all while limping on a bum leg, using a walking stick. Some say he got shot in the knee in the war, but others say he broke his leg as a child.

I’m telling you, these Estes men are forces to be reckoned with.

His father, John R. Estes fought in the War of 1812, settling in Claiborne County, TN with his young family afterward, living to right around 100.

His father, George Estes, fought in the Revolutionary War out of Halifax County, VA, not once, not twice, but three times – and survived the terrible winter at Valley Forge to tell the story. He lived to be 98 years old. Longevity seems to run in the family.

Our family history tells us that our Estes ancestor was Abraham who arrived on the Virginia shore in 1673 from England.

Your Y DNA test results confirm that that he did sail from England. Not only that, but now we know where too!

You match an Estes gentleman who still lives near Deal, in Kent. After knowing where to look we found marriage records of our Abraham in the church records. His wife and child died before he sailed for the colonies. We found his father too.

white cliffs of dover 2

Our ancestors in England were fishermen and mariners, trawling the waters of the English channel along the white cliffs of Dover, in the shadow of Deal Castle.

castle from distance

They attended St. Nicholas church in Ringwould where they are buried in the churchyard.

st nicholas ringwould churchyard13

Our earliest known ancestor, Nicholas Ewstes was born in 1495, the same year that Columbus set sail, and died in 1533 in the quaint seaside village of Deal, with a will no less.

pier sunrise

Where did we come from before that?

Stay tuned Dad, I’m working on it! I’ve ordered your Big Y-700 test to help answer that question!

Wouldn’t your Dad love a story like this?

Father’s Day Sale Prices

Pretty much everything is on sale for Father’s Day at Family Tree DNA.

FD sale prices

Where will Dad’s DNA take you?

To find out, click here to upgrade or order any of the above tests, or click here to go directly to Y DNA tests.

My preference is for the Big Y-700 because it bundles all of the Y DNA products and tools. However, you can order the 37 or 111 marker test and upgrade later.

_____________________________________________________________

Disclosure

I receive a small contribution when you click on some of the links to vendors in my articles. This does NOT increase the price you pay but helps me to keep the lights on and this informational blog free for everyone. Please click on the links in the articles or to the vendors below if you are purchasing products or DNA testing.

Thank you so much.

DNA Purchases and Free Transfers

Genealogy Products and Services

Genealogy Research

GeneaCreations – Unique Genealogy & DNA Products: Shirts, Fabric, Jewelry & More

Posted on by
3

These beautiful, unique genealogy gift ideas by GeneaCreations will be a big hit with the creative crowd.

GeneaCreations logo.png

I met Jeanette, founder of GeneaCreations, two years ago at Rootstech. Jeanette loves to design, create and sell wonderful genealogy themed items and suffice it to say, I cannot get out of her booth without purchasing several things. I’m serious.

Meet Jeanette, holding my “What’s Your Haplogroup?” t-shirt. Her love for her creations just shines through, doesn’t it!

Geneacreations shirt

I also bought a DNA ribbon bow for my hair.

Geneacreations ribbon

DNA ribbon, along with other ribbon is available by the yard.

GeneaCreations ribbon.jpg

I can think of all kinds of ideas for using this ribbon, including making Christmas ornaments or for hanging ornaments on the tree. What a great way to help kids learn about ancestors. I try to slip that in wherever I can (wink.)

Geneacreations jewelry

I bought a DNA necklace at Rootstech too. How could I not? Love that subtle double helix tree.

I’m really REALLY excited about the double helix charm zipper pulls that Jeanette is making for me for my purse, backpack and luggage. (Oops, did I let that slip???) She would probably make some for you too.

GeneaCreatiosn jewelry.png

Jeanette has added lots of new styles to the GeneaCreations line over the past couple of years,  including double helix stud earrings, not pictured, if you prefer that style.

GeneaCreations state.png

Another great idea would be to purchase a charm for every state where your ancestors were from, or states you’ve visited hunting for ancestors. It would make a wonderful gift for a daughter, sister, aunt or granddaughter too.

Jeannette also does custom work, like her “Genealogy Bling” shirts. I just adore these.

GeneaCreations haplogroup shirt.png

You’ll be seeing me sporting one of these lovelies one day at Rootstech 2020 in Salt Lake City, but of course customized for my mitochondrial haplogroup, J1c2f. Merry Christmas to me.

If you’re not comfortable buying a gift for yourself, just think of it as being from your matrilineal ancestors, because that’s the mitochondrial DNA inheritance path. Or paternal ancestors for Y DNA. Repeat after me, “My ancestors want me to have this.”😊

You can obtain your full mitochondrial or Y DNA haplogroup (Y chromosome for males only) at Family Tree DNA.  Those tests are also on sale now, here.

Jeanette will customize this Mayflower shirt with your Mayflower ancestor’s name.

GeneaCreations Mayflower.png

Shirts are available in a wide variety of styles and colors.

GeneaCreations offers printed shirt styles if bling isn’t your thing. These are wonderful for family reunions.

GeneaCreations pedigree fabric.png

For quilters and crafty genealogists, you can purchase pedigree chart fabric which can be made into quilts, vests and wearable art.

GeneaCreations tote.png

Don’t want to make something? How about a ready-made tote – just use a quilter’s fabric pen to fill in your ancestors’ names. (I’d use a pencil first, lightly, and retrace with the pen.) What a great gift idea for a genealogy buddy. Genealogists never have enough canvas bags. Trust me.

GeneaCreations denim shirt.png

This year at Rootstech, I bought a denim shirt from GeneaCreations. I love these for when you need something lighter than a sweater or want something that washes up easily. They’re durable and travel wonderfully. I wear these on planes all the time.

GeneaCreations designs.png

There are lots of genealogy embroidery designs to choose from – more than are shown here.

Here’s just a sampling of the design categories that Jeanette offers:

  • Animals
  • Birds
  • Cartoon
  • Civil War
  • Genealogy
  • Organizations
  • Religious
  • Vehicles
  • Winter

There is literally something for everyone.

DNA Fabric

I saved the best for last, because Jeanette JUST ADDED her brand-new DNA electrophoresis fabric through Spoonflower, here. This geeky-cool fabric is what your DNA looks like as it’s processing in the lab.

GeneaCreations fabric.png

You can order this lovely cotton fabric for quilting or sewing, or you can purchase it in different kinds of fabric or as wallpaper, wrapping paper or ready-made home décor items.

GeneaCreations DNA fabric home.png

This DNA fabric must be purchased directly through Spoonflower, but I received an unlock code discount for signing up at Spoonflower in addition to free shipping because it’s December.

I’m not going to spill any beans, but you might, just might see this fabric again😊

Free Shipping

GeneaCreations is a small business and her website shopping cart doesn’t have the ability to process coupons or discount codes, but, if you e-mail your order to Jeanette directly and tell her that you ordered because of this article, she will either not charge shipping, or refund shipping if you order through the website.

You can reach Jeannette at customheirlooms@yahoo.com

Enjoy!

______________________________________________________________

Disclosure

I receive a small contribution when you click on some of the links to vendors in my articles. This does NOT increase the price you pay but helps me to keep the lights on and this informational blog free for everyone. Please click on the links in the articles or to the vendors below if you are purchasing products or DNA testing.

Thank you so much.

DNA Purchases and Free Transfers

Genealogy Products and Services

Genealogy Research

Fun DNA Stuff

  • Celebrate DNA – customized DNA themed t-shirts, bags and other items

MyHeritage Offers Free Transfers + No Unlock Fee – Available 1 Week Only

Posted on by
30

The news this week is arriving faster than I can write articles!

MyHeritage Unlock Free.png

Today, I received an e-mail from MyHeritage stating that for one week only, from December 11th through 18th, they are offering free DNA file transfers from other vendors, PLUS, no unlock fee for advanced DNA features – ever.

This means you’re grandfathered into all of the DNA tools for the file you transfer during this time, forever, regardless of whether you have a subscription plan or not.

Last year, I checked with family members, then uploaded almost all of the DNA files I’ve tested for people elsewhere. Transferring files to MyHeritage is super useful and has cost me absolutely nothing!

Until today, you either needed to have a subscription (which you can try for free here) or pay the $29 one-time per kit unlock fee for advanced DNA features.

Free DNA Tools

What are the free tools you’ll enjoy in addition to matching?

  • Ethnicity Estimates
  • Chromosome Browser
  • Triangulation
  • Viewing family trees and pedigree charts of matches
  • Shared in common DNA matches between you and your match
  • Shared ethnicities between you and your DNA match
  • Shared ancestral places
  • AutoClusters
  • Theories of Family Relativity which I wrote about here

This timing couldn’t be better, because I have an article scheduled to publish in a few days titled “Triangulation in Action at MyHeritage.” If you transfer now, your results will be ready to follow along by then!

How to Transfer

I’ve written about how to upload TO MyHeritage, here.

MyHeritage accepts DNA transfer files from the following vendors:

Click here to begin your free transfer!

______________________________________________________________

Disclosure

I receive a small contribution when you click on some of the links to vendors in my articles. This does NOT increase the price you pay but helps me to keep the lights on and this informational blog free for everyone. Please click on the links in the articles or to the vendors below if you are purchasing products or DNA testing.

Thank you so much.

DNA Purchases and Free Transfers

Genealogy Products and Services

Genealogy Research

Fun DNA Stuff

  • Celebrate DNA – customized DNA themed t-shirts, bags and other items

Are You DNA Testing the Right People?

Posted on by
8

We often want to purchase DNA kits for relatives, especially during the holidays when there are so many sales. (There are links for free shipping on tests in addition to sale prices at the end of this article. If you already know who to test, pop on down to the Sales section, now.)

Everyone is on a budget, so who should we test to obtain results that are relevant to our genealogy?

We tell people to test as many family members as possible – but what does that really mean?

Testing everyone may not be financially viable, nor necessary for genealogy, so let’s take a look at how to decide where to spend YOUR testing dollars to derive the most benefit.

It’s All Relative😊

When your ancestors had children, those children inherited different pieces of your ancestors’ DNA.

Therefore, it’s in your best interest to test all of the direct descendants generationally closest to the ancestor that you can find.

It’s especially useful to test descendants of your own close ancestors – great-great-grandparents or closer – where there is a significant possibility that you will match your cousins.

All second cousins match, and roughly 90% (or more) of third cousins match.

Percent of cousins match.png

This nifty chart compiled by ISOGG shows the probability statistics produced by the major testing companies regarding cousin matching relationships.

My policy is to test 4th cousins or closer. The more, the merrier.

Identifying Cousins

  • First cousins share grandparents.
  • Second cousins share great-grandparents.
  • Third cousins share great-great-grandparents.

The easiest way for me to see who these cousins might be is to open my genealogy software on my computer, select my great-great-grandparent, and click on descendants. Pretty much all software has a similar function.

The resulting list shows all of the descendants of that ancestor that I’ve entered in my software. Most genealogists already have or could construct this information with relative ease. These are the cousins you need to be talking to anyway, because they will have photos and stories that you don’t. If you don’t know them, there’s never been a better time to reach out and introduce yourself.

Who to test descendants software

Click to enlarge

People You Already Know

Sometimes it’s easier to start with the family you already know and may see from time to time. Those are the people who will likely be the most beneficial to your genealogy.

Who to test 1C.png

Checking my tree at FamilyTreeDNA, Hiram Ferverda and Evaline MIller are my great-grandparents. All of their children are deceased, but I have a relationship with the children born to their son, Roscoe. Both Cheryl and her brother carry parts of Hiram and Eva’s DNA their son John Ferverda (my grandfather) didn’t inherit, and therefore that I can’t carry.

Therefore, it’s in my best interest to gift my cousin, Cheryl and her brother, both, with DNA kits. Turns out that I already have and my common matches with both Cheryl and her brother are invaluable because I know that people who match me plus either one of them descend from the Ferverda or Miller lines. This relationship and linking them on my tree, shown above, allows Family Tree DNA to perform phased Family Matching which is their form of triangulation.

It’s important to test both siblings, because some people will match me plus one but not the other sibling.

Who’s Relevant?

Trying to convey the concept of who to test and not to test, and why, is sometimes confusing.

Many family members may want to test, but you may only be willing to pay for those tests that can help your own genealogy. We need to know who can best benefit our genealogy in order to make informed decisions.

Let’s look at example scenarios – two focused on grandparents and two on parents.

In our example family, a now-deceased grandmother and grandfather have 3 children and multiple grandchildren. Let’s look at when we test which people, and why.

Example 1: Grandparents – 2 children deceased, 1 living

In our first example, Jane and Barbara, my mother, are deceased, but their sibling Harold is living. Jane has a living daughter and my mother had 3 children, 2 of which are living. Who should we test to discover the most about my maternal grandparents?

Please note that before making this type of a decision, it’s important to state the goal, because the answer will be different depending on your goal at hand. If I wanted to learn about my father’s family, for example, instead of my maternal grandparents, this would be an entirely different question, answer, and tree.

Descendant test

Click to enlarge

The people who are “married in” but irrelevant to the analysis are greyed out. In this case, all of the spouses of Jane, Barbara and Harold are irrelevant to the grandmother and grandfather shown. We are not seeking information about those spouses or their families.

The people I’ve designated with the red stars should be tested. This is the “oldest” generation available. Harold can be tested, so his son, my first cousin, does not need to test because the only part of the grandparent’s DNA that Harold’s son can inherit is a portion of what his father, Harold, carries and gave to him.

Unfortunately, Jane is deceased but her daughter, Liz, is available to test, so Liz’s son does not need to.

I need to test, as does my living brother and the children of my deceased brother in order to recover as much as possible of my mother’s DNA. They will all carry pieces of her DNA that I don’t.

The children of anyone who has a red star do NOT need to test for our stated genealogical purpose because they only carry a portion of thier parent’s DNA, and that parent is already testing.

Those children may want to test for their own genealogy given that they also have a parent who is not relevant to the grandfather and grandmother shown. In my case, I’m perfectly happy to facilitate those tests, but not willing to pay for the children’s tests if the relevant parent is living. I’m only willing to pay for tests that are relevant to my genealogical goals – in this case, my grandparents’ heritage.

In this scenario, I’m providing 5 tests.

Of course, you may have other family factors in play that influence your decision about how many tests to purchase for whom. Family dynamics might include things like hurt feelings and living people who are unwilling or unable to test. I’ve been known to purchase kits for non-biologically related family members so that people could learn how DNA works.

Example 2: Grandparents – 2 children living, one deceased

For our second example, let’s change this scenario slightly.

Descendant test 2

Click to enlarge

From the perspective of only my grandparents’ genealogy, if my mother is alive, there’s no reason to test her children.

Barbara and Harold can test. Since Jane is deceased, and she had only one child, Liz is the closest generationally and can test to represent Jane’s line. Liz’s son does not need to test since his mother, the closest relative generationally to the grandparents is available to test.

In this scenario, I’m providing 3 tests.

Example 3: My Immediate Family – both parents living

In this third example, I’m looking from strictly MY perspective viewing my maternal grandparents (as shown above) AND my immediate family meaning the genealogical lines of both of my parents. In other words, I’ve combined two goals. This makes sense, especially if I’m going to be seeing a group of people at a family gathering. We can have a swab party!

Descendants - parents alive

Click to enlarge

In the situation where my parents are both living, I’m going to test them in addition to Harold and Liz.

I’m testing myself because I want to work using my own DNA, but that’s not really necessary. My parents will both have twice as many matches to other people as I do – because I only inherited half of each parent’s DNA.

In this scenario, I’m providing 5 tests.

Example 4: My Immediate Family – one parent living, one deceased

Descendants - father deceased

Click to enlarge

In our last example, my mother is living but my father is deceased. In addition to Harold and Liz who reflect the DNA of my maternal grandparents, I will test myself, my mother my living brother and my deceased brother’s child.

Because my father is deceased, testing as many of my father’s descendants as possible, in addition to myself, is the only way for me to obtain some portion of his DNA. My siblings will have pieces of my parent’s DNA that I don’t.

I’m not showing my father’s tree in this view, but looking at his tree and who is available to test to provide information about his side of the family would be the next logical step. He may have siblings and cousins that are every bit as valuable as the people on my mother’s side.

Applying this methodology to your own family, who is available to test?

Multiple Databases

Now that you know WHO to test, the next step is to make sure your close family members test at each of the major providers where your DNA is as well.

I test everyone at Family Tree DNA because I have been testing family members there for 19 years and many of the original testers are deceased now. The only way new people can compare to those people is to be in the FamilyTreeDNA data base.

Then, with permission of course, I transfer all kits, for free, to MyHeritage. Matching is free, but if you don’t have a subscription, there’s an unlock fee of $29 to access advanced tools. I have a full subscription, so all tools are entirely free for the kits I transfer and manage in my account.

Transferring to Family Tree DNA and matching there is free too. There’s an unlock fee of $19 for advanced tools, but that’s a good deal because it’s substantially less than a new test.

Neither 23andMe nor Ancestry accept transfers, so you have to test at each of those companies.

The great news is that both Ancestry and 23andMe tests can be transferred to  MyHeritage and FamilyTreeDNA.

Before purchasing tests, check first by asking your relatives or testing there yourself to be sure they aren’t already in those databases. If they took a “spit in a vial” test, they are either at 23andMe or Ancestry. If they took a swab test, it’s MyHeritage or FamilyTreeDNA.

I wrote about creating a testing and transfer strategy in the article, DNA Testing and Transfers – What’s Your Strategy? That article includes a handy dandy chart about who accepts which versions of whose files.

Sales

Of course, everything is on sale since it’s the holidays.

Who are you planning to test?

______________________________________________________________

Disclosure

I receive a small contribution when you click on some of the links to vendors in my articles. This does NOT increase the price you pay but helps me to keep the lights on and this informational blog free for everyone. Please click on the links in the articles or to the vendors below if you are purchasing products or DNA testing.

Thank you so much.

DNA Purchases and Free Transfers

Genealogy Products and Services

Genealogy Research

Fun DNA Stuff

  • Celebrate DNA – customized DNA themed t-shirts, bags and other items

Celebrate Your DNA

Posted on by
12

One of the challenges I have with conferences is that I spend so much time in the vendor area. Books, maps and DNA baubles are bright shiny objects to me.

I ran across Alex Coss in his role as “Chief DNA Celebrator” in his booth. Yes, that’s really what his business card says. I’m sure it won’t surprise you now when I tell you the name of his company is “Celebrate DNA.”

I ordered two items from Celebrate DNA to celebrate my own genetic heritage. I love wearing DNA-themed items. People ask questions and I get to explain how much fun DNA is and how critical to genealogy.

The great thing about Alex’s items is that many (most) of Alex’s products are customized for you based on your own DNA results.

Celebrate DNA shirt.jpg

I particularly like my double helix t-shirt. I know, that’s the geeky side of me showing through.

Celebrate DNA options.png

Celebrate DNA has are a lot more styles to select from in both t-shirts and sweatshirts.

I think these would be great to wear to family reunions and are sure to be conversation starters.

Celebrate DNA roots.png

Now, I want a canvas bag with my heritage splashed across the world. I don’t care if the percentages align with my genealogy or not, because my ancestors are from those locations. My history lives there.

Celebrate DNA day of the dead.png

I *need* this shirt for research trips, but perhaps in a different background color! There are lots of colors to choose from.

Celebrate DNA offers many other items too; mugs, bags, posters, hats and more.

These would make great genealogy holiday gifts for yourself or others.

Celebrate DNA is having a sale and offering an additional discount if you order by clicking here, then enter ESTES10 to receive a 10% discount on top of the sale prices.

Enjoy!

______________________________________________________________

Disclosure

I receive a small contribution when you click on some of the links to vendors in my articles. This does NOT increase the price you pay but helps me to keep the lights on and this informational blog free for everyone. Please click on the links in the articles or to the vendors below if you are purchasing products or DNA testing.

Thank you so much.

DNA Purchases and Free Transfers

Genealogy Products and Services

Genealogy Research

Fun DNA Stuff

  • Celebrate DNA – customized DNA themed t-shirts, bags and other items

Legacy Family Tree: Webinars and Genealogy Software Both Half Off + Today’s Free Tip

Posted on by
Reply

Legacy Tree Black Friday.png

Did you know that Legacy Family Tree has two completely separate products? Both are great genealogy gift ideas.

  • Legacy Family Tree Webinars – webinars from industry experts about just about anything genealogy that you can imagine. You can watch live or later. Some webinars are free, and some available only with a membership that can be purchased either by webinar or yearly.
  • Legacy Family Tree Software – genealogy software for your computer that facilitates recording information about your ancestors, comes with charting software and syncs with online record resources for online searching.

Now that we know Legacy Family Tree includes genealogy software and webinars, and those two things aren’t connected, what’s included in these deals?

  • 50% Off – Legacy Family Tree 9.0 – upgrade your genealogy software on your computer to Legacy 9.0 Deluxe and get hinting, stories, hashtags, FindAGrave.com searching, Research Guidance, charts, books and much, much more! From $17.48
  • 50% Off – Webinar Membership – 24/7 access to 1,000+ full-length genealogy classes PLUS all 4,600+ pages of instructors’ handouts. Just $ $24.98 (new memberships only)

BONUS – Legacy Tree is also throwing in a FREE Bonus webinar that’s brand new – 25 Uncommon Sources for your Genealogy. You will learn the 25 sources to check after you’ve exhausted the basics like vital and census records. Included with your new or existing webinar membership.

I need this webinar myself. I have so many dead ends.

Click here to see all the Black Friday deals.

Today’s Useful Tip – FREE Webinars

Check out the FREE Legacy Tree Webinars, here.

You can search specifically for the MyHeritage LIVE sessions from both 2018 and 2019 by typing “MyHeritage LIVE” in the search box.

Legacy Tree webinars.png

I was in Oslo in 2018 and Amsterdam in 2019, and I can tell you these free sessions are very worthwhile.

Search Webinars by Topic

If you think the free sessions are great, imagine what else is available. You can search by topic or presenter.

Below are the results when I searched for “DNA.”

What a great lineup.

You’ll need a membership to view most of these but there are three upcoming webinars that are FREE.

Legacy Tree library.png

Pssst – It’s a Secret

Can you keep a secret?

I’ll be recording sessions for Legacy Family Tree Webinars during 2020. I’ll let you know when they become available.

Get the Deals

Click here for all the Legacy Tree Black Friday deals including webinars and software. They even have gift cards.

Offer expires on Cyber Monday, December 2, 2019 at 11:59 PM MT.

Happy Holidays

______________________________________________________________

Disclosure

I receive a small contribution when you click on some of the links to vendors in my articles. This does NOT increase the price you pay but helps me to keep the lights on and this informational blog free for everyone. Please click on the links in the articles or to the vendors below if you are purchasing products or DNA testing.

Thank you so much.

DNA Purchases and Free Transfers

Genealogy Products and Services

Genealogy Research

Fun DNA Stuff

  • Celebrate DNA – customized DNA themed t-shirts, bags and other items

FamilyTreeDNA Thanksgiving Sale + New Comprehensive Health Report

Posted on by
9

FTDNA Thanksgiving.png

FamilyTreeDNA’s Thanksgiving Sale has begun. Almost everything is on sale. I don’t know about you, but I like to have all of my holiday planning and purchasing DONE before Thanksgiving. Some of the gifts I wanted for people this year are already sold out or backordered – but DNA testing is always available. The gift of history, and now of health too.

I wrote about the Big Y test and upgrades just a couple days ago, here, including the restructuring of the Big Y product resulting in a permanent $100 dollar reduction, in addition to sale prices.

FamilyTreeDNA has made a few product changes and introduced the new Tovana Health test. (Update – Note that the Tovana test is no longer offered.)

I’ve included a special section of frequently asked questions (and answers) about tests and when upgrading does, and doesn’t, make sense.

Individual Tests

Let’s start with the sale prices for individual tests.

Test Sale Price Regular Price Savings
Family Finder (FF) $59 $79 $20
Y DNA 37 $99 $169 $70
Y DNA 111 *1 $199 $359 $160
Big Y-700 *2 $399 $649 $250
Mitochondrial Full Sequence *3 $139 $199 $60

*1 – You may notice that only the 37-marker and 111-marker tests are listed above. The 111-marker test was reduced to the 67-marker sale price, so, at least during the sale, the 67-marker test is not available. In other words, you get 111 markers for the price of 67.

*2 – The Big Y-700 test includes the Y 111 test plus another 589 STR markers (to equal or exceed 700 markers total) plus the SNP testing. You can read about the Big Y here.

*3 – The mitochondrial full sequence (FMS) aka mtFullSequence test is now the only mitochondrial DNA test available. I’m glad to see this change. The price of the mtFullSequence test has now dropped to the level of the less specific partial tests of yesteryear. Genealogists really need the granularity of the full test.

Bundles save even more – an additional $9 over purchasing the bundled items separately

Bundles

Test Sale Price Regular Price Savings
Family Finder + mtFullSequence $189 $278 $89
Family Finder + Y-37 $149 $248 $188
Family Finder + Y111 $249 $438 $189
Y-37 + mtFullSequence $229 $368 $139
Y-111 + mtFullSequence $329 $558 $229
Family Finder + Y-37 + mtFull $279 $447 $170
Family Finder + Y-111 + mtFull $379 $637 $258

When Does Upgrading Make Sense?

Y DNA Q&A

Q – If I have several Y DNA matches, will upgrading help?

A – If you need more specific or granular information to tease your line out of several matches – upgrading will help refine your matches and determine who is a closer match, assuming some of your matches have tested at a higher level.

Q – If I have tested at a lower level of STR markers and have no matches, will I have matches at a higher level?

A – Sometimes, but not usually. If your mutations just happen to fall in the lower panels, you may have matches on higher panels that allow for more mutations. If you do have matches on a higher test in this circumstance, the person may or may not have your surname. You can also join haplogroup and surname projects where thresholds are slightly lower for matching within projects.

If you don’t test, you’ll never know.

Q – If I have no matches on STR markers, meaning 12, 25, 37, 67 or 111, will upgrading to the Big Y be beneficial?

A – Possibly to probably – and here’s why, even if you don’t initially have matches:

  • The Big Y-700 provides multiple tools including matches at the SNP level, not just the STR level, so you are matched in two entirely different ways.
  • You may have same-surname matches at the SNP level that you do not have at the STR level which are further back in time, but still valuable and relevant to your family history.
  • You may have SNP matches that aren’t STR matches that are not your surname, but reflect your family history before the advent of surnames. These matches can tell you where your family came from before you can locate them in records. In fact, this is the ONLY way you can track your family before the advent of surnames.
  • Even if you don’t have matches, you’ll receive all of your SNP markers that allow you to view your results on the Block Tree, which is in essence a migration map back through time. You can read about the Block Tree here.
  • Your test contributes to building the phylotree – meaning the Y DNA tree of man – which benefits all genealogists. In just the first 10 months of 2019, 32,000 new SNPs have been placed on the tree, resulting in about 5,000 new individual branches. All because of Big Y-700
  • New people test every day and your DNA tests fish for you every minute of every day.

Mitochondrial DNA Q&A

If you’ve previously taken lower level mitochondrial HVR1 and HVR2 tests, now is the perfect time to upgrade.

Q – I have 5,000 <or fill in large number here> HVR1 level matches. Will upgrading reduce the number of matches to those that are more meaningful?

A – Absolutely! Your most genealogically relevant matches, meaning closest in time, are those that match you exactly at the full sequence level.

Q – I don’t know where my ancestor was from. Can a full sequence test help me?

A – Yes. You can use the Matches Map and see where the ancestors of your closest matches were from. That’s a huge hint. You can also utilize your haplogroup, which, in some instances, will point to a specific continent such as Africa, Europe, Asia or Native American and Jewish populations.

Q – If I have no matches at the HVR1 or HVR2 level? Will an upgrade help me?

A – Possibly. Both the HVR1 and HVR2 (now obsolete) tests only allowed for one mutation difference to be considered a match. The full sequence allows for many more differences. If you were unlucky and your mutations just happened to fall in the HVR1 or HVR2 levels, it would prevent a match which will occur at a higher level. Either way, you’ll receive information about your rare mutations – which may well explain why you don’t have matches (yet)! You’ll also receive a full haplogroup which will be useful, allowing you to use the mitochondrial haplotree to track back in time, which I wrote about here.

There are so many ways to obtain useful information. I wrote a step-by-step guide to using mitochondrial DNA, here.

Upgrade Options

Please note that if you are considering an upgrade, it maybe beneficial to upgrade to the maximum test available for either the Y or mitochondrial DNA, especially if you cannot obtain more of the sample. Of course, if it’s your own sample, you can always swab again, but others can’t.

Every time a vial is opened for testing, more DNA is used, until there is none left. Additionally, DNA degrades with time, depending on the quality of the original scraping and the amount of bacteria in the sample. Generally, the sample is viable for at least 5 years, but not always. Some older samples remain viable for many years. There’s no way to know in advance.

Test Sale Price Regular Price Savings
Y-12 to Y-37 $79 $109 $30
Y-12 to Y-67 $149 $199 $50
Y-12 to Y-111 $169 $359 $190
Y-25 to Y-37 $49 $59 $10
Y-25 to Y-67 $119 $159 $40
Y-25 to Y-111 $149 $269 $120
Y-37 to Y-67 $69 $109 $40
Y-37 to Y-111 $119 $228 $109
Y-67 to Y-111 $69 $99 $30
Y-12 to Big Y-700 $359 $629 $270
Y-25 to Big Y-700 $349 $599 $250
Y-37 to Big Y-700 $319 $569 $250
Y-67 to Big Y-700 $259 $499 $240
Y-111 to Big Y-700 $229 $499 $270
Big Y-500 to Big Y-700 $189 $249 $60
HVR1 to mtFullSequence $99 $159 $60
mtDNA Plus to mtFullSequence $99 $159 $60

______________________________________________________________

Disclosure

I receive a small contribution when you click on some of the links to vendors in my articles. This does NOT increase the price you pay but helps me to keep the lights on and this informational blog free for everyone. Please click on the links in the articles or to the vendors below if you are purchasing products or DNA testing.

Thank you so much.

DNA Purchases and Free Transfers

Genealogy Services

Genealogy Research

Big Y News and Stats + Sale

Posted on by
20

I must admit – this past January when FamilyTreeDNA announced the Big Y-700, an upgrade from the Big Y-500 product, I was skeptical. I wondered how much benefit testers would really see – but I was game to purchase a couple upgrades – and I did. Then, when the results came back, I purchased more!

I’m very pleased to announce that I’m no longer skeptical. I’m a believer.

The Big Y-700 has produced amazing results – and now FamilyTreeDNA has decoupled the price of the BAM file in addition to announcing substantial sale prices for their Thanksgiving Sale.

I’m going to discuss sale pricing for products other than the Big Y in a separate article because I’d like to focus on the progress that has been made on the phylogenetic tree (and in my own family history) as a result of the Big Y-700 this year.

Big Y Pricing Structure Change

FamilyTreeDNA recently anounced some product structure changes.

The Big Y-700 price has been permanently dropped by $100 by decoupling the BAM file download from the price of the test itself. This accomplishes multiple things:

  • The majority of testers don’t want or need the BAM file, so the price of the test has been dropped by $100 permanently in order to be able to price the Big Y-700 more attractively to encourage more testers. That’s good for all of us!!!
  • For people who ordered the Big Y-700 since November 1, 2019 (when the sale prices began) who do want the BAM file, they can purchase the BAM file separately through the “Add Ons and Upgrades” page, via the “Upgrades” tab for $100 after their test results are returned. There will also be a link on the Big Y-700 results page. The total net price for those testers is exactly the same, but it represents a $100 permanent price drop for everyone else.
  • This BAM file decoupling reduces the initial cost of the Big Y-700 test itself, and everyone still has the option of purchasing the BAM file later, which will make the Big Y-700 test more affordable. Additionally, it allows the tester who wants the BAM file to divide the purchase into two pieces, which will help as well.
  • The current sale price for the Big Y-700 for the tester who has taken NO PREVIOUS Y DNA testing is now just $399, formerly $649. That’s an amazing price drop, about 40%, in the 9 months since the Big Y-700 was introduced!
  • Upgrade pricing is available too, further down in this article.
  • If you order an upgrade from any earlier Big Y to the Big Y-700, you receive an upgraded BAM file because you already paid for the BAM file when you ordered your initial Big Y test.
  • The VCF file is still available for download at no additional cost with any Big Y test.
  • There is no change in the BAM file availability for current customers. Everyone who ordered before November 1, 2019 will be able to download their BAM file as always.

The above changes are permanent, except for the sale price.

2019 has been a Banner Year

I know how successful the Big Y-700 has been for kits and projects that I manage, but how successful has it been overall, in a scientific sense?

I asked FamilyTreeDNA for some stats about the number of SNPs discovered and the number of branches added to the Y phylotree.

Drum roll please…

Branches Added This Year Total Tree Branches Variants Added to Tree This Year Total Variants Added to Tree
2018 6,259 17,958 60,468 132.634
2019 4,394 22.352 32,193 164,827

The tests completed in 2019 are only representative for 10 months, through October, and not the entire year.

Haplotree Branches

Not every SNP discovered results in a new branch being added to the haplotree, but many do. This chart shows the number of actual branches added in 2018 and 2019 to date.

Big Y 700 haplotree branches.png

These stats, provided by FamilyTreeDNA, show the totals in the bottom row, which is a cumulative branch number total, not a monthly total. At the end of October 2019, the total number of individual branches were 22,352.

Big Y 700 haplotree branches small.png

This chart, above, shows some of the smaller haplogroups.

Big Y 700 haplotree branches large.png

This chart shows the larger haplogroups, including massive haplogroup R.

Haplotree Variants

The number of variants listed below is the number of SNPs that have been discovered, named and placed on the tree. You’ll notice that these numbers are a lot larger than the number of branches, above. That’s because roughly 168,000 of these are equivalent SNPs, meaning they don’t further branch the tree – at least not yet. These 168K variants are the candidates to be new branches as more people test and the tree can be further split.

Big Y 700 variants.png

These numbers also don’t include Private Variants, meaning SNPs that have not yet been named.

If you see Private Variants listed in your Big Y results, when enough people have tested positive for the same variant, and it makes sense, the variants will be given a SNP name and placed on the tree.

Big Y 700 variants small.png

The smaller haplogroups variants again, above, followed by the larger, below.

Big Y 700 variants large.png

Upgrades from the Big Y, or Big Y-500 to Big Y-700

Based on what I see in projects, roughly one third of the Big Y and Big Y-500 tests have upgraded to the Big Y-700.

For my Estes line, I wondered how much value the Big Y-700 upgrade would convey, if any, but I’m extremely glad I upgraded several kits. As a result of the Big Y-700, we’ve further divided the sons of Abraham, born in 1747. This granularity wasn’t accomplished by STR testing and wasn’t accomplished by the Big Y or Big Y-500 testing alone – although all of these together are building blocks. I’m ECSTATIC since it’s my own ancestral line that has the new lineage defining SNP.

Big Y 700 Estes.png

Every Estes man descended from Robert born in 1555 has R-BY482.

The sons of the immigrant, Abraham, through his father, Silvester, all have BY490, but the descendants of Silvester’s brother, Robert, do not.

Moses, son of Abraham has ZS3700, but the rest of Abraham’s sons don’t.

Then, someplace in the line of kit 831469, between Moses born in 1711 and the present-day tester, we find a new SNP, BY154784.

Big Y 700 Estes block tree.png

Looking at the block tree, we see the various SNPs that are entirely Estes, except for one gentleman who does not carry the Estes surname. I wrote about the Block Tree, here.

Without Big Y testing, none of these SNPs would have been found, meaning we could never have split these lines genealogically.

Every kit I’ve reviewed carries SNPs that the Big Y-700 has been able to discern that weren’t discovered previously.

Every. Single. One.

Now, even someone who hasn’t tested Y DNA before can get the whole enchilada – meaning 700+ STRs, testing for all previously discovered SNPs, and new branch defining SNPs, like my Estes men – for $399.

If a new Estes tester takes this test, without knowing anything about his genealogy, I can tell him a great deal about where to look for his lineage in the Estes tree.

Reduced Prices

FamilyTreeDNA has made purchasing the Big Y-700 outright, or upgrading, EXTREMELY attractive.

Test Price
Big Y-700 purchase with no previous Y DNA test

 

 $399
Y-12 upgrade to Big Y-700 $359
Y-25 upgrade to Big Y-700 $349
Y-37 upgrade to Big Y-700 $319
Y-67 upgrade to Big Y-700 $259
Y-111 upgrade to Big Y-700 $229
Big Y or Big Y-500 upgrade to Big Y-700 $189

Note that the upgrades include all of the STR markers as yet untested. For example, the 12-marker to Big Y-700 includes all of the STRs between 25 and 111, in addition to the Big Y-700 itself. The Big Y-700 includes:

  • All of the already discovered SNPs, called Named Variants, extending your haplogroup all the way to the leaf at the end of your branch
  • Personal and previously undiscovered SNPs called Private Variants
  • All of the untested STR markers inclusive through 111 markers
  • A minimum of a total of 700 STR markers, including markers above 111 that are only available through Big Y-700 testing

With the refinements in the Big Y test over the past few years, and months, the Big Y is increasingly important to genealogy – equally or more so than traditional STR testing. In part, because SNPs are not prone to back mutations, and are therefore more stable than STR markers. Taken together, STRs and SNPs are extremely informative, helping to break down ancestral brick walls for people whose genealogy may not reach far back in time – and even those who do.

If you are a male and have not Y DNA tested, there’s never been a better opportunity. If you are a female, find a male on a brick wall line and sponsor a scholarship.

Click here to order or upgrade!

______________________________________________________________

Disclosure

I receive a small contribution when you click on some of the links to vendors in my articles. This does NOT increase the price you pay but helps me to keep the lights on and this informational blog free for everyone. Please click on the links in the articles or to the vendors below if you are purchasing products or DNA testing.

Thank you so much.

DNA Purchases and Free Transfers

Genealogy Services

Genealogy Research

Sale Reminder, Conference Speaking Schedule, RootsTech Signup Opens Soon – and Oh Those Yearbooks

Posted on by
13

I’d like to share a few newsy things with you.

First, a quick reminder about the summer sales at FamilyTreeDNA and MyHeritage that end soon.

Additionally, you can still sign up for the MyHeritage LIVE conference next week in Amsterdam and yes, I’ll be presenting at RootsTech 2020. Registration opens soon.

I’ll be presenting at two additional conferences this year, in North Carolina and Sweden, but after that, thankfully, my schedule slows down a bit.

And yearbooks, oh those pictures of big hair and old boyfriends!!!

So, this is actually more of a newsletter😊

Family Tree DNA

Labor Day FTDNA.png

Just a quick reminder that the Summer Sale at FamilyTreeDNA ends in another two days – at the end of August.

Almost everything is on sale, including the autosomal Family Finder test for $59.

However, of particular interest for Y chromosome carriers (men), the Big Y-700 is on sale for purchase or upgrade.

When the Big Y-700 was first introduced in January of 2019, there was some skepticism about how effective the new test would be, and how much added benefit testers would receive as compared to the Big Y-500. The results have been nothing short of amazing.

This test is a rerun, not an upgrade, because the chemistry and processes are truly new and improved.

The proof is in the pudding, as they say, and many, literally tens of thousands of new SNPS that divide the Y DNA tree have been discovered. While this is all good for science, which I discussed here, it’s also genealogically relevant – so it’s good for you too.

My own Estes line has branched and I’m desperately hoping for a similar branch in the Campbell line to help identify which of several Campbell men is the father of my brick wall. I’m so close after all these years I can taste it!

FamilyTreeDNA provided the following comparative information as to recent growth of the Y DNA and mitochondrial DNA public trees.

Public Haplotree Updated Statistic Previous Statistic
mtDNA Haplotree • 170,000 mtFull Sequences • 150,000 mtFull Sequences
Y-DNA Haplotree • 20,000 branches • 16,000 branches
• 150,000 variants • 118,000 variants
• 170,000 confirmed SNPs • 160,000 confirmed SNPs

That’s huge growth since early 2019 and all because of people like you and me testing at the Big Y and full sequence mitochondrial DNA levels.

If you’re wondering how to interpret your results, don’t forget about my new educational mitochondrial series and the upcoming Y DNA series as well.

Family Tree DNA Sale Pricing!

Here’s a chart with the regular and sale prices for each product so you can see just how much you’re saving.

Test Sale Price Regular Price Savings
Y37 $129 $169 $40
Y67 $199 $268 $69
Y111 $299 $359 $60
Big Y-700 $499 $649 $150
Family Finder $59 $79 $20
mtFull mitochondrial full sequence $149 $199 $50
Bundles
Family Finder + Y37 $178 $248 $70
Family Finder + mtFull $198 $278 $80
Family Finder + Y67 + mtFull $387 $546 $159
Family Finder + Y111 + mtFull $487 $637 $150
Family Finder + Y37 + mtFull $317 $447 $130
Family Finder + Y67 $248 $347 $99
Family Finder + Y111 $348 $438 $90
Y37 + mtFull $268 $368 $100
Y67 + mtFull $338 $467 $129
Y111 + mtFull $438 $558 $120
Upgrades
Y12 to Y37 $99 $109 $10
Y12 to Y67 $169 $199 $30
Y12 to Y111 $279 $359 $80
Y25 to Y37 $49 $59 $10
Y25 to Y67 $139 $159 $20
Y25 to Y111 $239 $269 $30
Y37 to Y67 $89 $109 $20
Y37 to Y111 $178 $228 $50
Y67 to Y111 $89 $99 $10
Y12 to Big Y-700 $489 $629 $140
Y25 to Big Y-700 $489 $599 $110
Y37 to Big Y-700 $459 $569 $110
Y67 to Big Y-700 $399 $499 $100
Y111 to Big Y-700 $349 $449 $100
Big Y-500 to Big Y-700 $229 $249 $20
mtDNA (HVR1) to mtFull $139 $159 $20
mtPlus (HVR1+HVR2) to mtFull $129 $159 $30

To purchase any of the tests, or upgrade, click on any link above, or here.

MyHeritage Sale and Conference

The MyHeritage sale continues through September 3rd at the sale price of $59.

Labor Day MyHeritage.png

I’m excited, because I hope lots of new people will test at MyHeritage, or transfer there.  They have lots of European testers, and that’s just what I need to “jump the pond.”

The MyHeritage Theories of Family Relativity tool, combined with their triangulation feature, is bearing lots of fruit – connecting people to each other and to their ancestors.

Just yesterday I received an e-mail notification that I have a new Theory and the match to my newly discovered cousin will help me identify others who share that same DNA. Of course, common DNA segments are the breadcrumbs to ancestors.

To order the MyHeritage test, click here, or to transfer a file from a test at another vendor, click here.

You can also order the new MyHeritage ancestry plus health test, here. I wrote about that test, here. I have my results, and I’m pleased.

I wrote a step-by-step article with instructions for how to transfer to MyHeritage easily, here.

MyHeritage LIVE Conference

MyHeritage LIVE 2019 7 days.png

I’ll be at the MyHeritage LIVE conference beginning next week in Amsterdam and will be your imbedded reporter there. I hope to meet many of you, especially those from Europe.

Speakers are listed here. And yes, I’m on two panels, The Future of DNA Testing at 4:45 on Saturday, September 7th, and DNA Testing for Health at 3:00 on Sunday.

You can still register. The coupon code for 10% off is Roberta10. Just enter it at checkout when you sign up, here.

RootsTech 2020

RootsTech 2020 speaker.jpg

I’m presenting 2 sessions at RootsTech 2020 February 26-29 in Salt Lake City, plus at least a couple of guest “booth talks” in various vendor booths.

I’ll write more about this later, but registration opens on September 18th. Not only that, but if you want to stay at the conference hotels, or anyplace close, you’ll need to make those reservations early. I found out the hard way, trust me.

North Carolina Genealogical Society

I’ll be presenting both the keynote and other sessions November 1-2 with the North Carolina Genealogical Society in Raleigh, NC. The flyer with the schedule is here, but their website seems to be experiencing difficulty today.

If you’re interested in DNA, the Lost Colony of Roanoke, or have NC ancestors, this is a great opportunity. Please be sure to say hello if you’re at the Raleigh conference.

Archaeogenetics and Genetic Genealogy Conference in Umea, Sweden

I can hardly wait for my visit to Umea, Sweden to keynote the International Archaeogenetics and Genetic Genealogy Conference hosted by the University of Umea, November 13-14. The schedule is here, but note that only day 1 is in English, except for my session on day 2.

This conference is focused on science and promises to be absolutely amazing! I can hardly wait. I hope to see a number of friends from Scandinavia and meet those of you from that region that might be able to attend. I also hope to see the Aurora Borealis durign my visit!

You can sign up here. Let me know if you’re planning to attend.

Enjoy the Holiday and Torture Your Family with Old Pictures😊

Monday is Labor Day in the US, so enjoy the holiday.

Roberta Estes 1971.jpg

Oh, by the way, Ancestry’s new US yearbook collection is available for free through September 2nd. Are you there? Who can you find? Anything interesting you could take to that Labor Day cookout with your family?

Here’s the link. The indexing has been done using OCR scan technology of course, so if you’re not finding what you want in this collection, the MyHeritage yearbook collection is free too, here, also without a subscription, and includes universities.

Have fun!

______________________________________________________________

Disclosure

I receive a small contribution when you click on some of the links to vendors in my articles. This does NOT increase the price you pay but helps me to keep the lights on and this informational blog free for everyone. Please click on the links in the articles or to the vendors below if you are purchasing products or DNA testing.

Thank you so much.

DNA Purchases and Free Transfers

Genealogy Services

Genealogy Research