Recently, an eye-opening DNA cousin appeared among my mother’s matches on Ancestry.com. She shares 23 cM with my mother and shares even more DNA with my mother’s sister and brother – 36 cM and 43 cM, respectively. These are not insignificant amounts of shared DNA, giving me confidence that I could potentially determine how she …
Continue reading Building a Genealogical Case with DNA: Samuel Tanner of Texas
Genealogy requires diligence, patience, persistence, strategy, and above all, hope. For many family lines, answers do not appear quickly or easily. They rarely come from a few computer clicks, and they certainly don’t leap off a screen. Instead, the truth reveals itself over time, often after we return to the same puzzles again and again …
Continue reading Never Giving Up: The Power of Persistence in Genealogy
Someone recently asked if Ancestry.com’s Pro Tools is worth the investment. I wanted to share a quick example based on my experience. (Note: I’m not affiliated with Ancestry.com.) For me, it became worthwhile when they introduced the Enhanced Shared Matches feature. This tool shows how much DNA a match shares with your shared matches—those who …
Genetic groups are very instrumental in discovering family connections that had been either unknown or is a genetic verification to family already found from genealogy research. All my genetic genealogy cases on this blog involve finding or confirming a family member after uncovering genetic groups (i.e. genetic networks) among my parents’ DNA matches. A genetic …
DNA continues to be a strong sledgehammer to pre-Civil War brick walls. This case underscores at least 23 research tips. They are in the conclusion below. Since 1993, I have researched the roots of my mother’s paternal grandfather, William “Bill” Reed (1846-1937) of Tate County, Mississippi. He migrated to northern Mississippi shortly after slavery from …
Continue reading There’s History in a Name: Connecting Dots to the 18th Century
Lauren Lake is a lawyer who was the presiding judge over the television show Lauren Lake’s Paternity Court, where people enter the courtroom to verify the paternity of someone or themselves. It ran for 8 seasons until it was cancelled in 2021, but episodes can still be seen on Amazon Prime. When Lake reads the …
Continue reading My “Lauren Lake Moments” with Genetic Genealogy
Books I’m overjoyed to share that From Fragments to Foundation is officially available! This project comes straight from my heart, mind, and soul. It’s a seven-generation odyssey that brings history to life through the lens of genealogy, resilience, and discovery. More than just my family’s story, it’s a teachable journey—revealing how to uncover hidden roots, trace …
How sure are you that your family's alleged Native American ancestry was really Native American? Several years ago, I read a post on the AfriGeneas African-Native American Genealogy Forum board of someone seeking information on the “Matagascan / Malagascan / Matogascan Creek Indians” because family lore claimed that her great-great-grandmother was from this “Indian” tribe. …
Roots Revealed 