when we last saw our hero…

Well.. That certainly took longer than I had expected. I told myself several weeks ago that I would take a break from genealogy so I took a vacation, read a few books that I hadn’t made time to read and relaxed and then the guilty feeling of having neglected “the research” creeped upon me. So I felt that I should at least update the blog and says thanks to the people who have been stopping by despite the lack of updates.

As I mentioned a few postings back, I made the leap into genetic genealogy. I ordered a set of DNA tests from Family Tree DNA which included analysis of my mtDNA, Y DNA and also the newly introduced Family Finder analysis of autosomal DNA. It took a few weeks to receive my first results which I was disappointed to see netted me zero leads as it seems I am the only person who has tested the male ancestral line for my family. A month and a half later I received the results of my maternal line which provided a huge list of names… names that aren’t in the least familiar to me and of people of who declined or don’t know how to provide gedcom files so that we can piece together where we all fit in this giant puzzle. Note to those who may order a genetic test… provide a gedcom.. otherwise you are just a name without any hint at where you come from or relate to me.

Of course I didn’t go into the DNA tests expecting the undeliverable so I wasn’t too bummed with the results. With such a new technology, I feel good about my chances of connecting with long lost relatives further down the road. Oh, almost forgot the new Family Finder test. I have several matches most of which are in the 4th cousin range with a few closer but none identifiable when comparing gedcoms with my matches. Hopefully when I check back in a few months and actually learn what all the jargon involved with DNA means I’ll find something helpful. And maybe someone related to me will have tested by then.

On the subject of being related to me, I decided to be voyeuristic and do research on my birth father’s ancestry. I knew next to absolutely nothing about this part of who I am. A long story simplified: I am the child of high school sweethearts that didn’t last and went their separate ways before I made an entrance into the world. No hard feelings and until recently not much in the way of curiosity into my direct male ancestors. My maternal line has definitely kept me busy for the last decade. The curiosity grabbed me though and I decided to pursue it. While I could have went the route of making contact with my birth father and asking directly, I decided I wasn’t quite ready for that and decided to put my research skills to the test. Armed with a name and a birthdate I looked for a birth notice in the local paper and found a generic birth announcement with what I guessed to be my grandparents names. With this I requested a copy of my father’s birth certificate with confirmed my grandparents names and within an hour of snooping around ancestry.com I had traced my paternal family back over two hundred years through census and tax records.

Lastly, I plan on making a few updates to the indexes I had been working on before my extended break. Actually planning a lot of things that I keep neglecting to make time for.