I use a program called DNA Painter for chromosome mapping—the process of assigning segments of your DNA to specific ancestors or ancestral lines. In DNA Painter, users can assign different colors to chromosome segments based on the ancestors from which those segments were inherited. Chromosome mapping is one of my favorite tools in genetic genealogy …
Why Igboland May Be Your Top Ancestral Region
Recently, on October 8, AncestryDNA released a major update to its ethnicity estimates, a feature it calls Origins. One of the driving forces behind this update was a significant expansion of Ancestry’s Reference Panel—a curated collection of DNA samples from individuals with documented, multigenerational family trees and verified regional heritage. According to Ancestry, its Reference …
Continue reading Why Igboland May Be Your Top Ancestral Region
ChatGPT’s Analysis of an Enslaved Ancestral Research Case
I confess that I am not entirely comfortable asking ChatGPT to conduct genealogy research for me, especially research involving enslaved ancestors. Part of what I love most about genealogy is the thrill of the search, and enslaved ancestral research is often far too complex for me to want to rely heavily on artificial intelligence to …
Continue reading ChatGPT’s Analysis of an Enslaved Ancestral Research Case
Caroline’s Roots: A Very Special Reunion
If anyone had told me before 2025 that I would be attending the House of Ogburn Family Reunion in Richmond, Virginia, this weekend, I probably would’ve looked at them strangely. I had never even heard of the Ogburn family! But in 2025, more genealogy research and DNA research finally helped me break through a 30-year …
Finding and Examining Genetic Networks
The Danner research saga continues In many of my DNA-focused blog posts, I have demonstrated how a genetic network—also called a genetic group—can reveal previously unknown connections, solve longstanding mysteries, identify a potential ancestor, and confirm family relationships. DNA matches, especially when analyzed as part of a network, are at the heart of genetic genealogy. …
X-DNA Matters: Following the Trail from Mississippi Through South Carolina to Virginia
X-chromosome DNA, commonly called X-DNA, is an important component of genetic genealogy, yet it seems to receive considerably less attention today than it once did. I suspect that part of the reason is simply accessibility. Many DNA testers do not have easy access to information about their X-DNA matches. Nevertheless, X-DNA should not be ignored …
Was Albert and Alfred the Same Person?
One of the many challenges of genealogy is dealing with names. Variations in spelling are common, but researchers must also account for nicknames, middle names, aliases, and even individuals who appear in records under two entirely different given names. This case presented exactly that possibility. As I traced the history of a likely relative named …
Artificial Intelligence and Genetic Genealogy
My mother's great-grandmother, Louisa “Lue” Bobo Danner, was born on January 21, 1842, on the plantation of Dr. William J. Bobo in Union County, South Carolina. She was the eldest of the many children born to Clarissa Bobo, an enslaved woman on the Bobo plantation. Around 1859, Dr. Bobo relocated to Panola County, Mississippi, bringing …
Continue reading Artificial Intelligence and Genetic Genealogy
Artificial Intelligence and Enslaved Ancestral Research
When I recently made the breakthrough discovery involving the family of my 3rd-great-grandmother, Flora Davis, in which I wrote here, it prompted me to revisit the research I had conducted years earlier on her husband, my 3rd-great-grandfather, Jack Davis Sr. of Panola County, Mississippi. I originally documented that investigation in a blog post published on …
Continue reading Artificial Intelligence and Enslaved Ancestral Research
Hitting Pay Dirt: Mama Flora’s Family
Last week, I made a remarkable discovery. Quite unexpectedly, I learned that after the Civil War, my great-great-grandfather Hector Davis's brother, George Burnett, returned to South Carolina to reunite with his wife and children, leaving his parents, Jack and Flora Davis, and his siblings behind in northern Mississippi. Until then, I had no idea what …
