I'm a Genetic Genealogist

[SnackBitch2020]

I've been a genealogist for 15 years, and branched into genetic genealogy a few years ago. Now it's my main area of research.

For want of a less "cringe" expression genealogy is my side hustle, but with COVID I'm thinking of taking the plunge into doing it professionally.

I've worked on many people's family histories as well as my own, and solved some dna mysteries.

@SnackBitch2020 Thanks so much for your response. It hadn't actually occurred to me that people changed their names. I'm guessing that happened all over the place too so the ancestors I thought might be French could be from anywhere.

At one point my DM adopted the French surname because she thought it made her sound interesting but when we researched it, it's just the equivalent of Baker!

I have been on the Ancestry website. The version you don't pay for. There was only into about my maternal grandmother. Tracing that line back to the same place for generations (Cardiff. Right back to the 1600's) I have never been there. Anyway a distant relative from Canada had compiled the into and got lots of it wrong when it came to my family so my name, and dob are incorrect and when I emailed him, he refused to change it. This is why I think the genetic test is a much more reliable way to get info.

For some reason the idea of being on a database doesn't bother me in the slightest as other pps seem concerned about which is understandable of course but I do have health anxiety and I think that and the cost is why 23 and me haven't had my business thus far!

And yes, very interesting thread and career to get into.

[quote Ylfa]@SnackBitch2020 ‘When you say people who descend from the same line and don't match your DNA, how far back are you talking?’

thanks for getting responding again 😊 I can’t remember exactly how I found these nonmatches now (there was something on ancestry to hook you up with others researching the same ancestors?) but we should share 3x great grandparents or (I manage my mother’s dna results directly) or 2x. On her paternal side there are several strong links starting with a match over 200cm. So I think her mother, my grandma, must have been adopted informally or something like that? She was always incredibly secretive about her past and even her fake paper trail was hard to uncover without help. I suppose my question is whether there are any more places I can upload the maternal dna to check for matches or in very general terms what do you do when the science doesn’t support the records?[/quote]
Hi @Ylfa, yes it's certainly possible. You would definitely share DNA with 3x great grandparents, so I think there is something going on here. If you have a group of DNA matches that you can't place, your theory of your grandma being adopted or maybe her father wasn't who she thought, seems likely, especially as you mention a secret paper trail!

Good luck with your research!

@ConquestEmpireHungerPlague

Great thread *@SnackBitch2020. I'm in the process of tracing my family tree, inspired by @Devlesko*'s thread a few weeks ago about Romany heritage. I had a dead end in my family history that I had a hunch involved a Romany grandparent and it looks like I was right. Interestingly, someone who was helping me has come across some photos of other people with a striking family resemblance, so in the absence of a very good paper trail I'm thinking about doing a DNA test and seeing what shows up.

My question is firstly which company to choose for the best database of likely matches. I would be likely to have UK matches only (plus a subset of Irish relatives) afaik, though it's just possible there may be some Canadian stuff. Do the different companies have a critical mass of samples from one or other country/continent? My DH has distant cousins all over the place - Europe, Canada, South Africa etc - so would he be better off using a different company if he was looking for his own matches?

Secondly, I'm gonna be honest and say I have privacy concerns about handing my DNA over to a commercial company. They all have extensive terms and conditions and I really worry that buried in there somewhere is a clause about the circumstances in which they can share my data. I know in the US there have been some circumstances where data has been shared with law enforcement, for example (not that that specifically is my concern). In this day and age, data is big business. Do you (or anyone on the thread really) have any knowledge about this that I might find reassuring?

Thanks in advance. It's very kind of you to share your expertise freely.

Hi @ConquestEmpireHungerPlague, thanks for your questions.

The company with the largest database of DNA matches is Ancestry. Bear in mind you can upload DNA from Ancestry to other sites such as Gedmatch, Family Tree DNA etc. so one test can go a long way.

I generally recommend uploading DNA to as many sites as possible to increase the likelihood of getting close matches. All you can really do is thoroughly read the terms and conditions and decide for each company (e.g. Ancestry, 23andMe) whether or not you are happy with their terms.
You can ask at any time for your DNA sample to be destroyed if you change your mind.

The law enforcement sharing is with Gedmatch, however you can opt out of this and they are very transparent on it. They can't share your DNA with law enforcement unless you opt in. I've opted in personally because if my DNA can help close a cold case and bring someone to justice I'm all for it. I do understand why people are reluctant though.

Good luck with your research!

Thanks @SnackBitch2020. Since I posted I've actually traced a massive amount of my family tree and realised that if I do a DNA test I will probably end up matching with gazillions of 3rd, 4th, 5th cousins a billion times removed. I'm sure it's the same for everyone, just because previous generations tended to have so many children. It made me realise that my motivation for doing one actually wasn't very realistic (unsuspected half-siblings, cousins I never knew about who only grew up in the next town, unclaimed inheritance lol!). I think until I saw my ancestors all written down on a sheet of paper the size of my kitchen table I completely failed to appreciate how bloody many of them we all have. Anyway, to cut a long story short, I don't feel I have the time and energy atm to follow up properly on all the connections I would no doubt turn up, so won't go ahead for now so as not to be a timewaster as far as the other people involved are concerned. It's a great tool where there's a specific mystery to be cleared up though. Thank you for answering my question and good luck with your new career.

Can you tell me please, @SnackBitch2020 if there is any way of looking up German census information when one hasn't a word of German ?

Did German Census records survive the World Wars ?

I know Irish records were lost when there was a civil war in Ireland in 1922-1923.

The person I am researching for dh became a naturalised British citizen in the late 19th century.

@ClaireP20 Not the OP, but some recent research suggests so: your baby probably inherited some of your microRNA (not DNA, but it modifies which DNA of hers is activated):

The article
News about this article that will be much easier to understand.

@SnackBitch2020 I have a question of my own:
My ancestors left Italy 5 generations ago. I managed to track them up to the child who boarded the ship (birth, marriage and death) but only know his father's name. I can't find info on him anywhere, because this was before 1872 in Veneto, which was when records became mandatory.
I am limited to free websites because I am from a third world country and anything that requires payment in dollars/euros/pounds becomes very, very expensive. Are there any websites in particular you think I might have more success in?

Hi, OP not sure if you are still about.
Have you thought of volunteering as an angel for CeeCee Moore.
I had a couple working on mine as consanguinity in my family.
They were amazing, very knowledgeable and all for free.
You'll find them on Gedmatch.

@APurpleSquirrel

How successful are genealogists at tracing cases of adoption? My father was adopted at or around birth & as it wasn't the done thing to discuss at the time (1940s) I've never known any more than that. I tried to find his birth certificate but it wasn't there so assume it is in his birth name which must have been changed upon his adoption. Consequently I have no knowledge of my paternal grandparents. I contacted an intermediary organisation & asked for advice but they were very negative & basically said that as I wasn't the adoptee I'd have no hope of getting any information.

Try getting his Adoption cert from the government, used to be through St Catherine's house. Not sure if that's still the case.

If you're really lucky the pre-adoption name of the baby, your dad, might be on there and then you can look it up. If not, not sure what to suggest.

Like snack says though, a lot of approaching bio. families doesn't work out well.

Hello op.
Do you know much about Lynch Syndrome?

Is it possible for 2 siblings of the same parents to have or pick up different genetic origins? (I Dont know if have clearly expressed myself )
That is for child A to pick up (show in ancestry DNA tests) his afro Caribbean origin while child B picks/shows an Asian, afro Caribbean origin?

I hope I am making sense & I am sorry if that sounds stupid.

@lollipopsdays are you talking about Ancestry Ethnicity? Yes it would be possible for two full siblings. If you have worries or curiosity about their relationship, their number of matches centimorgans is what you need to look at.

@Febrier thanks for the reply/comment. Just to be clear, 2 full siblings can have/show different ancestral origins in their 🧬 DNA?

If you're talking about Ancestry's Ethnicity information, yes, I think it's perfectly possible. The ethnicity is a bit of fun in my opinion.

Think about this way, if they are full siblings they have the same ancestral origins.