DNA and Genealogy - 02/07/17 11:22 PM
Tonight we held our first DNA special interest group meeting at the local historical society. I told everyone who attended that, although I was the facilitator of the meeting, I was only on the first rung of the learning ladder. One person added they weren't on the ladder yet. I guess that made me feel a little better. I had done my homework beforehand. The purpose of the meeting was to learn more about DNA and how to use it in genealogy. I know I want to learn more and having this group will be helpful.
We covered the three types of DNA tests (Y-test, mtDNA, and autosomal). Several of the attendees were not familiar with the tests and what information the tests would provide or how to use the results. Most had taken the Ancestry autosomal test, one or two had taken other tests, and one or two had not taken any test.
There had been a webinar recently on DNA and I used a lot of the information in my outline. There are a couple of really good blogs too that help with explanations. We discussed cMs (centiMorgans), SNPs, organizing and deciphering the information gleaned from close matches and shared matches.
We touched on GEDMATCH too. Next month we will talk more about that; share what we learned during the month; and I will continue reading and studying. There are a couple of good books out. One I purchased but have not read and the other I should order.
We covered the three types of DNA tests (Y-test, mtDNA, and autosomal). Several of the attendees were not familiar with the tests and what information the tests would provide or how to use the results. Most had taken the Ancestry autosomal test, one or two had taken other tests, and one or two had not taken any test.
There had been a webinar recently on DNA and I used a lot of the information in my outline. There are a couple of really good blogs too that help with explanations. We discussed cMs (centiMorgans), SNPs, organizing and deciphering the information gleaned from close matches and shared matches.
We touched on GEDMATCH too. Next month we will talk more about that; share what we learned during the month; and I will continue reading and studying. There are a couple of good books out. One I purchased but have not read and the other I should order.