Wednesday, August 7, 2019

Genetic Genealogy Resources

When we learn about the past, we gather strength for the future. Hank Smith

In recent years, genetic genealogy has become a huge aspect of genealogical research. Genetic genealogy allows you to investigate your DNA and cousin matches to better understand how you are related to others. This is especially helpful if you have a mystery in your tree an unknown parent, grandparent, etc. It can be difficult to know where to start with genetic genealogy (especially if you are like me and not science-minded). Here are some resources to get you started.

The Genetic Genealogist website was started by Blaine Bettinger in 2007 and was one of the earliest blogs on the topic of genetic genealogy. According to the website, The Genetic Genealogist examines the intersection of traditional genealogical techniques and modern genetic research, (Bettinger, 2019).

Bettinger has also published a book Genetic Genealogy in Practice. This book may be purchased through Amazon.

You may also join the Genetic Genealogy Tips and Techniques Facebook group, where Bettinger is one of the admins. I love the Facebook group because it is a great way to interact with Bettinger and other who are interested in genetic genealogy. It is also a great place to ask questions and most of the time you will receive very fast responses.


Another great resource for genetic genealogy is Roberta Estes. Roberta has been a professional scientist for over 25 years and has been extensively involved with genealogy since 1978. You can find her on her website, DNAexplained. She has posts about which DNA test is best, help with Native American genetic genealogy, and posts about updates to DNA software at Ancestry, MyHeritage and many other websites. Her website offers great resources and I would highly recommend it. The only downside is that the website has an older design, and therefore is not as user-friendly as it could be.

CeCe Moore is a popular blogger and speaker in the world of genetic genealogy. She began with a blog called, Your Genetic Genealogist. She has not posted on the blog since April of 2018. However, her archived posts are a great resource and she has a nice library of links to all kinds of genetic genealogy resources. Some of these resources include: other genetic genealogy blogs, a forum for children whose fathers are unknown, and an American Asian DNA Facebook group, among other resources. I would also recommend looking up CeCe on YouTube if videos are more your speed, rather than reading. For me, genetic genealogy/science does not come easily, so hearing someone talk about it is more beneficial than just reading about it.

Lastly, I recommend checking out the International Society of Genetic Genealogy. The site has great recourses for beginning genetic genealogy, information on DNA consultants, a Yahoo forum, and many other resources. Its a great jumping off point when starting to use your DNA to assist with your genealogy.

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