Week 15: DNA #52Ancestors
Today I “get” to write about DNA. Ever since I completely failed that unit in Mrs. Hershey’s biology class at Columbia High School (#gocougars), I break out in cold sweats when I think about DNA. It makes my brain hurt. Talk about a “brick-wall.”
“Back in the day,” many genealogists would scoff at the usefulness of DNA testing. However, in recent years, the field of genealogy has leapt upon DNA testing with both feet. Testing companies have grown both in sophistication and through aggressive marketing. Frankly that’s not a bad thing. DNA is one of those things where “the more the merrier” rule truly applies. As I understand it, the more people who take a DNA test, the bigger the database is and, the bigger the database is, the more refined the results can be. As of today, Ancestry.com has a database of about 15 million users. 23andMe.com is the next closest with 10 million users.[1] The current price for an Autosomal DNA test for Ancestry and 23andMe is about $99. BUT, Thursday, April 25 is “National DNA Day,” so you can expect some discounts around that time. If you are thinking of doing a test, this might be the perfect time!
I think I’ve mentioned before what a big fan I am of Ancestry.com. Yes, yes, I know it is expensive and some people think they are a big bully, but I think there is nowhere else on the internet where you can get a bigger bang for your buck. In addition to the biggest DNA database, Ancestry has a huge database of records, tons of collaborative members, and great learning tools.[2]
So, there’s a cool brand-new tool on Ancestry to help DNA-challenged people like me. It’s called ThruLines™. It provides a way to look at your Ancestry matches through the family trees you and others have on Ancestry. Just this morning (Monday, 15 April 2019) I am looking at 3rdand 4thcousins I didn’t know I had! Because our shared segments of DNA (called centimorgans or cM) are so small, I would have likely not paid any attention to them as a possible “match.” However, because they have their family trees on Ancestry, I can see exactly how “Karen,” my 4th cousin relates to me through our shared 3rd great-grandfather.
[Sorry, have to take a little break here to do a happy dance.]
Yes, I am this big a genealogy nerd (as if you haven’t figured that out already).
Be grateful that I am such a DNA neophyte, or I would bore the living daylights out of you (okay, I might do that already). I’ll just share just one screen-shot of what one of my ThruLines™ looks like. This one relates to my 2ndgreat-grandfather, Joseph Glaeschen/Glacy (he of week 9). This one has me super-excited as I just recently found records relating to my 2nd great-aunt, Philippina Glaeshen/Glacy. Now I have honest-to-goodness flesh-and-blood cousins to go with my paper research! Awesome!
[1]“Autosomal DNA Test Prices (as of 8 April 2019),” TheDNAGeek.com (https://thednageek.com/dna-tests/: accessed 15 April 2019).
[2]I don’t want to leave out my other favorite research site, which is FREE – www.familysearch.org. Run by the Latter-day Saints, it has a massive collection of records, many of which can be found nowhere else on the internet.
