Seeking the Best Evidence: Targeted Testing for Genetic Genealogy Proof

Sometimes when trying to solve family mysteries using DNA, we discover that the best matches on the mystery line also have recent mysteries of their own and the connection between the two lies on their respective mystery lines. It's exciting when there are close DNA matches on a mystery line but, equally, it can be frustrating if those matches also have recent blanks or brick walls and it's tempting to treat these kinds of matches as dead ends. In this presentation, Michelle will outline some extraordinary case studies where multiple mysteries linked together and only by investigating them all could answers ultimately be uncovered. She will demonstrate the best techniques for navigating these tricky situations and provide her top hints and tips for working with interlinked mysteries. Often if you can solve one interlinked mystery, you can solve them all!

Finding an adopted child's biological family is especially challenging for genealogists. This presentation list the steps one can take to identify an unknown parent or grandparent and dissects a successful case to show how good methodology combined with document research and DNA matches can put a decades-old question to rest.

One of the most important keys to making breakthroughs in genetic genealogy is determining which ancestors you have in common with your DNA Matches. Discover the tools MyHeritage offers that can help you do this and learn how to make the most of them.

DNA Painter is a popular website for genealogists who want to explore their autosomal DNA test results. Join site creator Jonny Perl for this update on new features for tree visualizations and chromosome mapping, as well as other recent releases and tools.

The MyHeritage DNA test offers the most detailed ethnicity report on the market, pinpointing your origins across thousands of genetic and geographic regions. Learn how to explore, analyze, and interpret your results to gain insights about where you come from.

Traditional documentation clearly identified Fayette's father without conflict. However, the DNA results of Fayette's descendants told a different story. Learn how DNA evidence combined with a trail of clues and the application of the Genealogical Proof Standard revealed a secret from the summer of 1913.

We know the DNA testing industry is changing all of the time, but how much have YDNA and mtDNA changed? Let's cover what is tried and true and what is new with these two "other" kinds of DNA tests.

Clusters can be created using Shared Matches, the Leeds Method, and automated tools such as AutoCluster or the Collins’ Leeds Method. Each cluster represents a group of people who are tied together because of close family relationships based on DNA. Finding an appropriate cluster can help you solve your research question even in cases of misattributed parentage or changed names. This presentation will show you how to work with clusters to answer your research questions.

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.