Donna Rutherford

I’m a New Zealander with English, Scottish and Irish ancestry. Many of my family were New Zealand pioneers. At the beginning of 2015 I decided to take an Ancestry DNA test. Once I got the results I spent all my spare time immersing myself in YouTube videos, blogs and facebook groups learning about DNA for Genealogy. It basically changed my life, as I then set about testing on other sites and testing all my family. Since then I’ve become co-owner and admin of a DNA facebook group where I’ve been helping people with questions about their own results. Last year I became co-admin in a Y DNA project (the Rutherford project). I now manage Big Y tests, MtDNA and many many autosomal kits. I specialise in trying to make the complex side of DNA testing easy to understand for people who are new to genetic genealogy.

Donna's Upcoming Live Webinars (1)

Wed, May 7 2025: 18:00 UTC
Unscrambling Haplogroups: A Beginners Guide to DNA Haplogroups
Wed, May 7 2025: 18:00 UTC
To introduce the concept of haplogroups to beginners, explaining what they are, how they are inherited, and what they reveal about ancient ancestry and human migration patterns. The session aims to demystify the complex terminology and provide practical insights into how haplogroups can be used in genetic genealogy and guide participants to find their own haplogroup.
To introduce the concept of haplogroups to beginners, explaining what they are, how they are inherited, and what they reveal about ancient ancestry and human migration patterns. The session aims to demystify the complex terminology and provide practical insights into how haplogroups can be used in genetic genealogy and guide participants to find their own haplogroup.
Wed, May 7 2025: 18:00 UTC

Donna's Webinars (3)