Confessions of a Twenty-something Family Historian

First thought, I will never utter another word about Who Do You Think You Are on this blog. I am oversaturated and have lost interest. Despite my irritation that the subjects keep going around talking about the importance of doing family research yet having the actual work done by professionals I will continue to watch the show but my comments will not pollute the bandwidth of my few regular readers. For good measure though, having a show about “finding your roots” and not have the subjects actually do research is akin to making a Survivor contestant watch someone eat a rat and tell them about it.

Second thought, I was taking a look at my Google Analytics and Feedburner accounts and was excited to see that I actually have people reading my stuff… not thousands of people but a few hundred and I actually have a few dozen people that subscribe to my rss feed. So I wanted to say thank you to those that have stopped by more than once!

Last thought, I have a few themes planned for the coming weeks. Not the stuff everyone else is doing. So once I start please let me know what you think. I want to entertain others and not just myself.

There is no doubt that the future of genealogical research is molecular genealogy. The science of examining the bits and pieces of your DNA to figure out where you fit in the human gene pool is popping up everywhere from Ancestry.com to fully dedicated testing sources like FamilyTreeDNA.com.

Every person on earth has DNA which consists of 46 chromosomes (22 pairs of autosomes and 1 pair of sex chromosomes). Autosomal DNA is the hodge podge mixture of chromosomes that we inherit from both the maternal and paternal line and to which both males and females pass on in some random nature to their children. The X chromosome is passed from mother to children and from father to daughters. The Y chromosome is passed only from father to son and stays essential the same between generations. We also inherit Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) which is passed through the maternal line to children of both sex and also stays essentially the same.

DNA is probably one of the trickiest tools to get your mind around in genealogy research. As the above overview shows, we have four types of DNA and all of them can be matched to where we genetically come from. There is nothing inclusive or exclusive about it. We all have it and 99.9 % of it is the same in all of us and the small part that isn’t the same is shared in some way by many of us.

Where many get lost is when the really useful parts of the science comes in for genealogists. Not only do we have all of those chromosomes plus mitochondrial DNA, each chromosome is further magnified into small pieces which is where markers come in to help indentify haplogroups which can in theory show where your ancestors came from.

While haplogroups are interesting, they’re not going to help you indentify whether your great-great uncles kid is another researchers great great grandfather or help you add cousins that someone living could possibly have heard rumor of the existence of.

What I feel to be the true value of DNA in family history research is the connections you can find with more recent generations. Each test offers a difference scope and each has their own shortcomings. You can trace your direct paternal line (Father to grandfather to great-grandfather, etc) with the Y chromosome test, you can verify if someone is your sibling with an X chromosome test, you can find links to your maternal line with a mtDNA test and very soon you will be able to put your autosomes to use to track down cousins from both maternal and paternal lines.

Family Tree DNA, a company that has for many years been the go-to place for genealogical DNA testing has added a new test to their arsenal. Their new Family Finder kit will use autosomal DNA, those 22 matched pairs that contain DNA from everyone that has had anything to do with genetic makeup, to match customers with cousins up to five generations back with relative certainty. Five generations is an amazing range to work within. With mtDNA and Y DNA, you are essentially hunting ancestors with a spear… a direct line. With autosomal DNA testing it’s like fishing with a net.

Bennett Greenspan is the president and CEO of Family Tree DNA and has assembled a team of geneticists and molecular anthropologists to help out family historians in locating ancestors that would be potentially difficult without the use of science. Mr. Greenspan was generous enough to be interviewed by geneacentric.com on the relationship between DNA and genealogy and on his companies new product Family Finder which will be available in the coming weeks.

MH: How long have you been in the DNA business and what inspired you to bring together DNA and genealogy?

BG: I have been an amateur Genealogist for over 40 years and in 1999 I was researching my mother’s mother’s father’s line and I hit a paper trail roadblock I wasn’t able to get beyond…I recalled that the Y chromosome had been used to prove that a male Jefferson was related to a slave of issue from Thomas Jefferson’s wife’s 1/2 sister and that the proof was provided by testing the Y chromosome…I also recalled the use of the Y in testing men who claimed to be Cohanim, in theory decedents of Aaron, the brother of Moses.  I conducted a proof of concept in 1999 and in April of 2000 I began selling Y and in June, mtDNA testing for Genealogical lineage confirmation.

MH: Genealogical DNA testing is something fairly new, at least in mainstream genealogical circles. I became familiar with the idea several years ago after reading an article on the Y chromosome testing of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings’s descendents.

BG: That was the first MAJOR study that electrified the world (or Americans) and got us thinking of DNA testing in general.  As I say it took me 18 months to figure out that I, as a lowly genealogist, could use this technology for my personal purposes.

MH: Why should family historians explore their ancestral DNA?

BG: Everyone runs into a paper trail roadblock eventually.  So when the paper trail doesn’t exist, OR when you have questions about the accuracy of the documentation you can use DNA as a secondary source of that confirmation.

MH: In the Jefferson/Hemings case, there is much debate about whether Hemings are descended from Jefferson or one of his other male relatives. Is DNA testing accurate enough to more easily pinpoint an exact ancestor now than in the late 1990s when this test was performed?

BG: No, Y DNA testing can’t determine WHICH Jefferson male was the father of the one slave child of Sally Hemings, but Y DNA testing for sure has been able to confirm that some Jefferson male was with Sally Hemings.

MH: What can DNA testing not do? I imagine a lot of people go into the process thinking that they’re going to be greeted with a list of relatives that they can easily implement into their research. Is it more likely that they’ll find connections that will take a while to work out?

BG: Yes and no. Yes they will find relatives to the extent that our very large Y DNA database has male or female relatives along the direct Y or mtDNA lineages.  Of course you will also find (i.e.) men who have the same last name and you can’t initially figure out how they are related, but that is what genealogy is all about.  At least by using a DNA test you can easily determine that two men are NOT related, despite having the same last name, and therefore this can save you from wasting a lot of valuable time.

MH: Do you recommend DNA testing for those new to genealogy?

BG: I don’t suggest DNA testing as a substitute but in conjunction with conventional paper trial genealogy.

MH: Should those that are interested put in the time to work their family lines back four or five generations back?

BG: That could be a huge waste of time if the theory that someone is working is wrong…using the DNA as a first filter can save hours or years of wasted research.

MH: My blog focuses, in theory, on being a family historian that still has several living generations to work with. My great grandmother, for instance, just turned 90 years old a few months back. For those of us fortunate enough to have great grandparents around would having them participate in a DNA project be worthwhile?

BG: Yes, especially on the male side (and with our new Family Finder product)  if you are only looking at a direct male or female line. If you have other direct relatives it is not essential to test the oldest family members, but using the Family Finder you can gain another generation or two by testing older relatives.

MH: Will doing so provide better results if both me and my great-grandmother take the mtDNA test?

BG: There is no reason for two close family members who share the same Y or mtDNA to test (except for using Family Finder since the autosomal signal is reduced by 50% in each generation).

MH: Family Tree DNA’s new product is called Family Finder. What is the difference between this test and the Y chromosome and mtDNA tests that your company has become well known for?

BG: Family Finder uses Autosomal DNA and looks for matching HAPLOBLOCKS between two people that is indicative of a common ancestry.  Therefore for lineages that have daughters but no sons the comparison can now be made with Family Finder to show relatedness in ways that we have only dreamed of for the past 10 years.

MH: In the FAQ for Family Finder it is mentioned that the test is most accurate up to five generations back.

BG: Over time the HAPLOBLOCKS get ‘chopped’ up in the recombination process and we feel that a meaningful signal is lost after about the 5th cousin level.

MH: Going back to my own family, would there be any benefit to having my 90 year old great-grandmother take the new autosomal DNA test?

BG: By testing your grandmother you can get to HER 5th cousin which would be potentially a 7th cousin for you.

MH: Where does DNA testing go from here?

BG: Next stop:  Full Genome when the price becomes reasonable for the general public.

MH: Between Y chromosome, mtDNA and autosomal chromosome testing it seems that we’re out of chromosome’s to test and compare. Is it now more of an effort to gain accuracy in testing and to grow the number of samples in the databases to be compared?

BG: Accuracy is there, it’s the larger and larger database for comparative purposes that we are still seeking.

MH: What is the rough estimate of the number of DNA samples in the various databases that family historians have to compare their own to?

BG: 300-400 thousand in my best guess. Only Family Tree DNA states the size of the database.  Others do not presumably because they don’t compare well with our vast database.

MH: I think the thing that holds many family historians off from having the various DNA tests done is the cost. The costs have certainly gone done in the last few years and companies like your own offer several tests that many could afford. What would you say to the potential customers that are weighing the cost of the test with the potential return on investment?

BG: A one night hotel stay to look at courthouse records is priced the same as a DNA test.  Plus gas, and TIME…something that is a gift that will not last forever.  By that definition DNA testing is cheap.

MH: Is there a test that tends to produce more results than another?

BG: For men the Y is still by far the best way to find relatives going back 2-400 years on the direct name lineage.

MH: When can we expect to see the new Family Finder test available?

BG: Mid April is my best guess.  Could be a few weeks earlier or perhaps a little later depending on the volumes we sustain in our Phase I rollout.  The cost will be higher than our introductory price, but not substantially higher.

MH: Will there be a super-test option that combines the Y, mtDNA and autosomal tests?

BG: Yes, certainly there will be.

MH: Thank you for your time and I personally look forward to trying out the new offering from Family Tree DNA.

BG: Best regards.

I would like to thank Bennett Greenspan for taking the time to participate in this interview. I will be testing the new Family Finder product in the next couple of months and will post a full report with my experiences. If you have participated in genealogical DNA testing, what have your experiences been and do you plan on seeing what autosomal DNA test will add to your family tree?

As everyone is very well aware, NBC’s new show Who Do You Think You Are is airing tomorrow night. And PBS’s Faces of America is wrapping up. So hooray for mainstream coverage of the obsession that most of us share. I have a bit of a problem with these shows however. Kinda the same problem I have with a lot of genealogy enterprises: Selling the idea that everyone is going to find an ancestor on the Mayflower, in Salem, a concentration camp or fleeing catastrophe. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not down playing any of these events. I would just occasionally like someone to acknowledge that most people are descended from farmers, miners and entrepreneurs rather than Indian princesses, famous shipmates, or accused witches or those that burned them at the stake. Guess it would make boring television to most to watch a series about the less glamorous ancestors that were miners and before that farmers and before that nameless people on a ship coming from a country that we have yet to identify but believe could be Ireland.. or Scotland.. Or..Or..England..maybe Germany. And I would find it far more entertaining to watch a celebrity that is actually interested in genealogy trace their roots on their own rather than watch a professional sit and tell them about it while they only seem somewhat interested. I do like Lisa Kudrow.. so I won’t be too hasty to judge the new show.

I am unorganized. In every aspect. Always have been and probably will continue to be, though every so often I decide to at least temporarily remedy the situation and move things around in a way that at least looks organized from a hundred feet by someone less organized than myself. Well, despite the “and probably will continue to be” pessimism above, I am about to undertake a massive “get it together” weekend and while my genealogical materials are just a small part of the task, they are part of the task. So I will be digging those loose papers out from under the bed and unscattering them from across my desk and putting into what other, sane people would consider order.

“So how am I going to do that?”  I will ask on your behalf. Well, first things first, I need to decide on a organizational method. And there are a lot of prescribed methods floating around! I think I’m going with the Ahnentafel method of numbering my peoples and each head of household will get their own folder which will contain their family group sheet and an contents sheet that lists the records contained. Direct ancestors will get a red file and indirect will get a blue file. And ancestors that have done heinous acts will get a nice black file!

As I enter the information on the documents I have for each family/individual I will save each file to my dropbox folder so that I can stop duplicating my previous finds. I think I have about a dozen copies of my great great grandfather’s death certificate now… and I sadly get excited each time I stumble across it on the microfilm.

The next stop in my efforts to stop being a slob with my genealogy is to organize my software databases. I’m going to start from scratch once my papers are filed away and actually add my source information and then scan the documents and add them to my media folder (which also lives in my dropbox folder so I can stop carrying around the big bag of files when I go to the library).

Since this is about the third time in the last year I have set out to become organized, I think I should probably make a more hearty attempt at being successful this time. Have you made an attempt to organize your stuff lately? If so how successful were you? And tips are always appreciated.. umm.. monetarily or the advice kind.

I had a lot planned for this week and didn’t seem to accomplish much. It’s nice to have a lazy week, though I should probably wait until the blog loses it’s new car smell.

I have begun work on a series of web pages that will be devoted to specific localities and surnames that I research. The first one that will launch will be a comprehensive resource site for Carter County, Tennessee and will be followed by other Tennessee counties including Washington and Sullivan Counties of east Tennessee. Some planned features are extensive lists of available records and where they can be obtained, research tips, county histories, vital record scans and an on-demand record lookup service. These sites are a few months from launch but I am very excited. I have wanted an alternative to the USGenWeb sites for sometime as they are rarely updated data or design wise. So lots of reading on xhtml and css are in my future.

I’m also excited about the announcement of Family Tree DNA’s Family Finder DNA test (see post below) and am excited to announce that an interview is in the works with Bennett Greenspan, President and CEO of Family Tree DNA. I hope to have that up in the next week or so along with an article on DNA testing.

As an added bonus, I have five Google Wave nomination invites up for grabs for the first give people to request one by emailing me at michael@geneacentric.com. Note that these are nominations so you will get an invite but its not instant.. still much quicker than waiting for google to invite you.

Family Tree DNA has announced a new DNA test for genealogists that will identify not just ancestors and relatives on the maternal line or the paternal line but also from previously neglected maternal father and paternal mother’s ancestors. The test, based on autosomal DNA rather than mtDNA and Y chromosome dna, opens DNA doors that to my knowledge haven’t been explored in genealogy.

I am very excited about the testing range, five generations, as several of my brickwalls are in this range. I am not familiar with paternal line and have yet to work that line back more than the last 30 years. This test could possibly locate relatives within the last 100 years that I could work from. Or maybe help prove or disprove whether my great great great grandmother is the Mary that lived on one side of my great great great great grandparents or the one that lived on the other side. I have been hoping for a test like this for years and have been putting of the mtDNA and Y chromosome tests hoping that this exact test would come along.

I plan to be one of the first to send in my DNA for the people in the white coats to inspect! The test will be available mid-March and more information can be found at FamilyTreeDNA.com and an FAQ on Family Finder can be found here.

I am a big fan of dropbox. And you should be too. If you are unfamiliar, go to Dropbox.com and sign up for an account. You get 2 gigabytes of space for free and will change the way you use computers forever and you will officially not be the last person to hop on the cloud computing bandwagon. So what is cloud computing? Short answer, you store your files on a server that is accessible from any computer or device with an internet connection. You can work on a database on your home PC and save it to your dropbox folder and when you log into your netbook or iphone at the library you magically have that same database to use without any effort on your part.

I have my Family Tree Maker folder stored in my dropbox account (if you are interested in the hows or whys of doing this yourself feel free to ask) so I have access to my database and media anywhere I go. I made a mistake last weekend while doing research at the local history library that doesn’t have wifi. I added extensive amounts of data to Family Tree Maker and then headed home where I logged onto my home pc to work on some leads that I developed and noticed that the information I had added was missing. I closed down Family Tree Maker and started up my netbook that I had used at the library. I opened Family Tree Maker to double check that the data was still there… but it was gone! Four hours of research gone (well, I still had my paper copies but it’s still a lotta stuff to type back in and create source info for). So what happened? The library didn’t have wifi so the file on my netbook never uploaded to dropbox and when I connected to the wifi at home with my pc the newest version of my database uploaded and replaced the one on my netbook. Normally not a big deal as you can revert to previous versions of the file by right clicking on the file in the dropbox folder and choosing the previous version of the file that you want to get back. However, I didn’t synch my netbook to dropbox so dropbox saw the actual “new” database as old and did away with it.

So.. the short of it is this: If you use dropbox and change a file make sure that you synch the device that you were using to dropbox BEFORE using a different device connected to the same dropbox account.

I do highly recommend Dropbox though so if you want to give it a try click on the link and sign up (if you click on my link (any of the nice blue words above) you’ll get bonus space and I will too.. it’s like exchanging gifts that neither of us have to pay for!)