Crème de la crème: Targeted Autosomal DNA Testing to Isolate Pertinent Genetic Cousins

We all know that genetic genealogy has transformed the way we perform family history research, but how does it actually work? Join us as we learn about the underlying technology and processes that can transform your spit sample into informative reports and match lists facilitating genealogical discovery.

Most individuals will have at least one case of misattributed ancestry in the first several generations of these family tree. Genetic genealogy testing is often the source of discovery of such events. Even so misattributed ancestry may go undetected unless DNA test results are analyzed carefully. Learn how to detect cases of misattributed ancestry and how to leverage genetic genealogy test results to identify a previously unknown biological ancestor.

Autosomal DNA, Y-DNA, X-DNA, and mtDNA testing and results all have their pros and cons for helping to solve a genealogy mystery. When used in tandem, the synergy of these various forms of DNA evidence aids in pinpointing (or ruling out) relationship scenarios and the source of shared DNA.

Learn how to automatically create citations for your DNA matches to help you in organizing your genetic genealogy research efforts.

MyHeritage's AutoClusters are a great way to start exploring the clusters of your genetic cousins and narrow in on potentially pertinent genetic cousins, but sometimes AutoClusters can only take you so far. Learn to leverage MyHeritage's Theories of Family Relativity, shared matching and DNA match labeling to isolate pertinent genetic cousins for a research question and solve your family history mysteries.

Autosomal DNA tests are utilized in genetic genealogy to solve historic research questions by exploring the genetic traces left by deceased ancestors in the genomes of their living descendants. Any given descendant only inherits a portion of their ancestor’s DNA, and different descendants inherit different portions of that DNA. Based on the relationships between tested descendants of a research subject, it is possible to estimate how much of an ancestor’s DNA is represented in any given database. This information can help in prioritization of testing candidates and can also aid in interpretation of shared DNA between multiple groups of individuals.

While genetic evidence can aid in the resolution of research obstacles, at the end of the day, genetic genealogy is just genealogy and must be considered within the context of documentary evidence. Even so, the aims of documentary research to make sense of anomalies in genetic evidence often center around finding the right person in the right place at the right time to be an ancestor of a research subject. Learn how to creatively use documentary evidence to recognize and detect intersections of DNA and document evidence.

According to the genealogical proof standard, part of pursuing thoroughly exhaustive research is seeking the best available evidence to address a research question. In genetic genealogy research problems, the evidence we use is the test results of living descendants of a research subject, and pursuing the best evidence requires targeted testing of those whose DNA is most likely to help address the research question. In this session, learn to identify, prioritize and invite the best testing candidates to address a research question.

There are multiple reasons you might want to download your raw DNA file from MyHeritage. Paul Woodbury explains why and how to do it.