Join Me at MyHeritage LIVE in Oslo, Norway

myheritage liveIf you’d like to go global with your genealogy, the MyHeritage LIVE conference is for you!

MyHeritage just announced that registration is open, and I am honored to have been invited as one of the international guest speakers. I would love for you to join me in Oslo, Norway this November for a fantastic weekend of genealogy and fun.  

Here are all the exciting details from MyHeritage:  

We’re excited to announce that registration is now open foMyHeritage LIVE — our first ever international user conference!

MyHeritage LIVE will take place on the weekend of 2 – 4 November 2018 in Oslo, Norway and we’d love for you to attend.

Register now here

It’s open to anyone, from anywhere in the world, who would like to learn more about MyHeritage – including subscribers, DNA customers, those with free basic accounts, and those who haven’t used MyHeritage yet but would like to find out more.

The conference will feature a keynote speech from MyHeritage Founder and CEO, Gilad Japhet, international guest speakers and lectures from senior MyHeritage staff members. There will be three tracks: genealogy, DNA, and hands-on workshops, designed to suit all levels of experience, plus plenty of opportunities to ask questions and meet other MyHeritage users.

Tickets include entry to the Friday night reception, keynote speeches, and all conference sessions. They also include lunch and coffee breaks on Saturday and Sunday and entry to the exclusive MyHeritage LIVE party on Saturday night. Space is limited so please reserve your spot ASAP. Right now through September 24, you can register at their Early Bird discount price of just €75.00. 

The conference will be held at the Radisson Blu Scandinavia hotel, located in the center of Oslo, near the Royal Palace and its magnificent gardens. For a list of nearby hotels, details of how to get to the venue from Oslo airport and other information, please check the FAQs on the MyHeritage LIVE website.

We look forward to seeing you in Oslo!

DNA Circles – Here’s when they DON’T mean connections on AncestryDNA

DNA Circles at AncestryDNA can get problematic when participants’ trees are unverified. This is why.

Adding people to a family tree without verifying the connection is a fairly common genealogical practice. This happens a lot when people “graft” information from another online tree.

In addition to the problems this can create in your tree, it can create problems when you start looking at genetic connections. We have received a few inquiries about this topic here at Genealogy Gems, and I chatted with a fellow genealogist about this at a recent conference.

The practice of copying online trees factors most heavily in the DNA Circles and New Ancestor Discoveries (NAD) at AncestryDNA. You will remember from our previous conversations that these tools are like parties that your DNA has secured your tickets to attend. Each of these parties is “hosted” by one of your ancestors, in the case of the DNA circle, and a presumed ancestor, in the case of a NAD. Sometimes we catch ourselves declaring that our membership in the DNA circle “proves” our connection to the party host.

But we must be careful. Because it does not.

DNACircleExample“Proves” is too strong of a word. All your membership in the DNA circle can really tell you is that you have a genetic connection to those marked with the orange line. Those with the grey connecting lines have a DNA connection to some of the circle members, but not to you. Placing the name of an ancestor on the cover of this gathering does not guarantee that the named person is your common ancestor. It is just a suggestion; a hint.

Think about this for just a second. Let’s say that Joan does a bit of research and decides that her immigrant ancestor’s father is Marcus Reese, born in 1823 in Wales. She adds this to her pedigree chart. She sees on a census record that he had four children, one of whom shared the name of her ancestor, William, and adds those to her chart as well.

Months later, Charlotte is researching her Mary Reese and sees Mary listed on Joan’s pedigree chart as the child of Marcus. She knows Mary’s father was born in Wales and adds Marcus to her pedigree chart telling herself that she will go back later and double check. And so on.

After a while, we have 7 people all connected back through Marcus and his four children, and they all independently decided to get their DNA tested through Ancestry.com.

Ancestry sees their shared DNA and that they have all listed Marcus Reese as their common ancestor. So they create a DNA circle for the seven of them, with Marcus Reese at the head.

Ancestry did not look at the number of cited sources or the myriad of other genealogical possibilities about how these seven individuals could all be related to each other. It saw a genetic connection and a genealogical hypothesis, and it presented them to you in the form of a DNA circle.

The genetic evidence supports a single common ancestor for these 7 people, but it certainly does not have to be Marcus Reese.  You can become more certain as you gather the traditional genealogical evidence that you would in any other case. As your documentation mounts, so will your confidence, with the DNA acting like an invitation to keep searching for further evidence of your connection.

10 DNA Guides BundleIf you enjoyed this post, you’ll love my series of DNA for genealogy quick guides. Each laminated guide–with quick, clear text that helps you act on what you learn–is targeted to a specific DNA topic, from “Getting Started” to the three types of DNA tests you can take to understanding your results with testing companies AncestryDNA, FamilyTreeDNA and 23andMe. Why not grab the “super bundle” of all 10 guides? You can also shop for them individually here.

Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links and Genealogy Gems will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on these links (at no additional cost to you). Thank you for supporting Genealogy Gems!

New DNA Ethnicity Chart: Display Your Heritage

Just in time for Father’s Day! This new DNA ethnicity chart design is a classy and cutting-edge way to share your family history. As wall displays, this is the perfect conversation-starter for your home or heritage gift for a loved one.

DNA ethnicity chart

There’s a gorgeous new way to display your genetic genealogy from Family ChartMasters! It’s a new custom DNA ethnicity chart, and it’s a fantastic way to spark conversation about your family history with friends and loved ones.

“At Family ChartMasters we believe that family history can save the world,” says owner Janet Hovorka. “The more people know about their background, the more they are inspired with civility, gratitude and compassion for other people because they find out we are all more alike than different. We want to help people make that easy to remember every day.”

Your ethnic “pie chart”

DNA ethnicity results–those “pie charts” that come with your genetic genealogy test results–are one of the most popular aspects of testing. Even those without an active interest in researching their roots often test just to learn what their DNA says about their genetic roots: How Irish are they? Do they have Jewish roots? Is there any truth to that old family story about being descended from an Indian princess?

The science behind DNA ethnicity percentages is still being refined, as is evident from the varying ethnicity results you may receive from different companies. But it’s still fascinating to learn–and super shareable with just about anyone!

DNA ethnicity chart options

Family ChartMaster’s new DNA ethnicity chart comes in three themes to fit a variety of different décor styles: Basic, Antique, and Modern. The Basic theme is clean and fresh, and complements most decorating styles. The Antique theme’s sepia-tone finish brings together the styling of antique maps with your high-tech DNA profile. The Modern theme is graphic and bold, with neutral tones well-suited to contemporary décor.

DNA ethnicity chart

In less than five minutes, you can upload an optional photo and then manually enter your ethnicity estimates from a DNA test. The categories are currently aligned with AncestryDNA’s ethnic regions–which is running a great sale for Father’s Day, by the way, if you’ve been waiting to purchase a test. (Other DNA test providers also have some great prices now; click here to see them.)

After viewing a preview of your DNA ethnicity chart, you can place an order that can be printed on archival Professional Paper or Artist’s Grade Canvas. Following Family ChartMasters’ proven track record of superior service, the beautiful print will arrive rolled in a tube and ready to frame. You can also order PDF downloads for immediate delivery to an email inbox. Pricing starts at $19.95.

(Will your chart come in time for Father’s Day? According to the Family ChartMasters website, orders take 24-48 hours to prepare, and regular shipping takes 2-3 days within the U.S. Faster shipping options are available for an additional charge. If in doubt, order the PDF download.)

These DNA ethnicity charts are perhaps the easiest heritage display you’ll ever make! They also take advantage of the current widespread interest in DNA, making a conversation about your heritage more meaningful and appealing even with those who have never expressed interest in your heritage. Click here to see how to order your DNA ethnicity chart.

DNA ethnicity chartMore than DNA charts: Family ChartMasters is an award-winning genealogy chart printing and design service. It is also the official printing service for most worldwide genealogy software, database, and research companies. Family ChartMasters prints any style of family history chart from any kind of file. They offer oversized draft-quality family reunion charts as well as custom decorative designs.

Click below to read more about….

Getting your DNA tested (or someone else’s)

Creating beautiful and unique heritage displays

Organize DNA Matches in Your DNA “Drawer”

Organize DNA matches with this innovative approach. If you are feeling overwhelmed with your DNA results, you are not alone. Learning to organize your DNA matches in an effective way will not only keep your head from spinning, but will help you hone in on possible matches that will break down brick walls. Here’s the scoop from Your DNA Guide, Diahan Southard.

organize your DNA matches

I can tell whose turn it was to unload the dishwasher by the state of the silverware drawer. If either of the boys have done it (ages 13 and 11,) the forks are haphazardly in a jumble, the spoon stack has overflowed into the knife section, and the measuring spoons are nowhere to be found. If, on the other hand, it was my daughter (age 8,) everything is perfectly in order. Not only are all the forks where they belong, but the small forks and the large forks have been separated into their own piles and the measuring spoons are nestled neatly in size order.

Organize Your Imaginary DNA Drawer

Regardless of the state of your own silverware drawer, it is clear that most of us need some sort of direction to effective organize DNA matches. It entails more than just lining them up into nice categories like Mom’s side vs. Dad’s side, or known connections vs. unknown connections. To organize DNA matches, you really need to make a plan for their use. Good organization for your test results can help you reveal or refine your genealogical goals and help determine your next steps.

Step 1: Download your raw data. The very first step is to download your raw data from your testing company and store it somewhere on your own computer. See these instructions on my website if you need help.

Step 2: Identify and organize DNA matches. Now, we can get to the match list. One common situation for those of you who have several generations of ancestors in the United States, is that you may have ancestors that seem to have produced a lot of descendants. These descendants may have caught the DNA testing vision and this can be like your overflowing spoon stack! All these matches may be obscuring some valuable matches. Identifying and putting those known matches in their proper context can help you identify the valuable matches that may lead to clues about the descendant lines of your known ancestral couple.

In my Organizing Your DNA Matches quick sheet, I outline a process for identifying and drawing out the genetic and genealogical relationships of these known connections. Then, it is easier to verify your genetic connection is aligned with your genealogy paper trail and spot areas that might need more research.

This same idea of plotting the relationships of your matches to each other can also be employed as you are looking to break down brick walls in your family tree, or even in cases of adoption. The key to identifying unknowns is determining the relationships of your matches to each other.

Step 3: See the relationship between genetics, surnames, and locations. Another helpful tool is a trick I learned from our very own Lisa Louise Cooke–that is Google Earth. Have you ever tried to use Google Earth to help you in your genetic genealogy? Remember, the common ancestor between you and your match has three things that connect you to them: their genetics, surnames, and locations. We know the genetics is working because they show up on your match list. But often times you cannot see a shared surname among your matches. By plotting their locations in the free Google Earth, kind of like separating the big forks from the little forks, you might be able to recognize a shared location that would identify which line you should investigate for a shared connection.

So, what are you waiting for? Line up those spoons and separate the big forks from the little forks! Your organizing efforts may just reveal a family of measuring spoons, all lined up and waiting to be added to your family history.

More on Working with DNA Matches

How to Get Started with Using DNA for Family History

Confused by Your AncestryDNA Matches? Read This PostOrganize DNA matches quickguide

New AncestryDNA Common Matches Tool: Love It!

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