Tag Archives: DNA

RootsTech 2021 – Here I Come!

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Considering that RootsTec 2020 was so phenomenally successful (and no surprise), I’ve already decided that RootsTech 2021 is where I need to be next February 3-6 in Salt Lake City, Utah. This is a genealogist’s Nirvana! The largest, most well attended convention of family history researchers, vendors of genealogical products and software and a place where long distance friends can sit down for a chat. Name any facet of genealogy or family research and it’s covered here: presentations from noted experts, workshops, vendors or everything from A to Z including DNA. The Vendor Hall below on its own was chock full of new technology and much to learn about with the “latest” in just about everything genealogical!

One of the interesting aspects for me is the opportunity to meet, face-to-face, the many colleagues with whom I communicate via webinars, Facebook and other social media. Consider running into someone in the hallway or a lecture hall who looks familiar but until you strike up a conversation, it’s hard to really know who’s in front of you! For example, I participate in a weekly webinar called “Mondays With Myrt,” which is an hour and a half each Monday where upwards of 10 genealogy professionals gather to form the panel. Any number of folks both beginners and professionals can log in and listen, ask questions, answer questions, offer advice or share experiences. You can find nearly 1,000 archived programs from Dear Myrtle at YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=mondays+with+myrt. If you’d like to participate or just log in a watch live, click http://blog.geneawebinars.com/p/calendar.html to view the upcoming schedule. The programs begin at noon Eastern but the calendar will post the schedule as 10am Mountain time.

These conferences are certainly the most famous, well-attended genealogy conferences in the world. This year’s conference was the 10th in an increasingly successful event. The 2020 conference brought 30,000 genealogists of all stripes. There were beginners, professionals and world renown experts to where every subject under the sun was on display. Workshops on research techniques, lectures on some very specific topics such as Irish or Greek research, how to use the proliferating research websites, DNA and other topics. What are the tips and tricks to using www.familysearch.org, for instance, or how to use FamilyTree software. Bargains that you won’t find anywhere at any other time on dozens of worthwhile products.

And the featured guest speakers? Over the years, we’ve listened to Laura Bush, Scott Hamilton, Donnie Osmond, LeVar Burton, to name a few. This year’s speaker was three time Super Bowl Champion, Emmett Smith. And there have been others who have come to speak in front of audiences that would number in the thousands. Below is an image of the theater as the crowds file in. I have no idea what the ccapacity is, but it’s huge!

In addition to being able to attend several interesting presentations, I spent some time with a genealogy group called “Trace” in their Coaches’ Corner. A very successful program, the premise was for a number of professional genealogists to sit with other researchers for 25 minute sessions. These researchers ranged from folks who have just begun their journey to veterans who were simply lookinig for tips and tricks to recharge their own research. I have to say that I found the sessions I worked were very rewarding personally. When you tell someone something they either didn’t know or haven’t thought about for many years, their eyes light up! Each of the visitors was offered the opportunity to contract with Trace for deeper research with any of the affiliated professionals.

Of course, one of the greates benefits of being in Salt Lake City is the opportunity to do some very deep research at the Family History Library. Books, and books, and books in addition to a collection of micromedia that is second to none. Staffed with knowledgeable people who are always ready to help, I was able to locate some records that will complete at least 2 applications I’ve been working on for membership in the Sons of the American Revolution. It’s all good!

In closing, I’ll just say, “See you at RootsTech 2021!”

My 15 Seconds of Fame Courtesy of Western Mass News

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It doesn’t happen very often when I get a chance to brag. The upside is that a local TV station, Western Mass News Channel 40, came into one of my classes at the West Springfield, Mass Senior Center and took some shots of one of the session I was giving there. Actually, I don’t even think it was 15 seconds! OK, my 12.5 seconds of fame!!

The downside is, well, there is no downside…

At any rate, if you have absolutely, positively nothing to do in the next 12.5 seconds, click the link for an amazing performance. You can thank me later!! https://drive.google.com/open?id=1pzbgwKIs8G__SeE511PpUstySZh9uFi6

Genealogy Conferences – Another Level of Self-Eduation

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I’ve talked about conferences many times. At Western Massachusetts Genealogical Society as well as Connecticut Society of Genealogisists we’ve had presentations about why you would want to attend a conference. My shortcut answer is this: “You don’t know what you don’t know.” Regardless of how long any of us have been researching our own families or the families of others, there’s always something new to consider. Especially now, in the electronic age. Don’t misinterpret that statement because “…it’s not all on the internet.” As a matter of fact, it has been estimated that only about 10% to maybe 15% of what’s available has been digitized and indexed to make it searchable at the dizzying number of websites that are available to us today. And the list includes straight-up commercial sites that charge a fee for membership, free websites such as FamilySearch.org, privately uploaded trees, and many others. In a nutshell, with the exception of FamilySearch (free), you get what you pay for. Many offer month to month subscriptions or 6 to 12 months at a time. In addition, sites like Ancestry.com further blur the options by offering graduated levels of access. European websites often offer a per document fee where you would buy a certain number of points to “spend.”

Why is the internet data so scarce? First, you are mostly blocked from seeing documents and records that haven’t been indexed. Indexing is the process handled mostly by volunteers where the words on the image are transcribed into specific fields in an electronic form. First name, middle name, last name and all the rest of the pertinent data that we’re accustomed to filling in on the search pages of various websites has to be made available so a computer can “read” the words. Now computers don’t read words, they interpret complex arrangements of zeros and ones then convert that into the words that we mere mortals can read!  And only digitized documents and records can be indexed. Once a record is indexed and uploaded, you can type in data that can be matched against an electronic record and show it to you in the comfort of your own home.

Now, consider the millions upon millions of documents that are generated each and every day! Babies are born, couples get married, folks die, people join the armed forces, apply for pensions, and so on creating a myriad of records that we will be searching for some day. Can you imagine the size of the backlog of paperwork we create in the 21st century? No wonder the percentage of available electronic records is so low.

So what does all this all have to do with conferences? Searching websites is mostly a self-taught process. Conferences offer the knowledge and advice of professionals who can dispense a wealth of knowledge to large groups of interested people. At genealogical conferences, for example, there is a very broad range of topics and speakers to deliver the messages. Lots to learn! From internet search strategies to off line sources such as libraries and other repositories and archives, DNA (WOW, that’s a hot topic these days), court house research, interviewing relatives, cemeteries, European research as well as other foreign countries, military records and the list goes on and on.

There is so much interest in certain topics that the classes or workshops offered with the best of intentions often fill up the first or second day registration is open!

The whole point here is to encourage you to seriously consider registering for as many conferences that would be reasonable for you. It’s not free, of course, and they’re not always in the next town over! So there are many considerations especially with regard to your time and the expense.

Some of the largest conferences are held in the largest cities in the largest venues than what is generally available. RootsTech is a good example. The initial registration is a little pricey and attendance would require an airline ticket and hotel accommodations for us folks here in New England. But there’s an important, well-attended “bargain” of a conference right here in New England. The New England Regional Genealogical Conference (NERGC) is a bargain.

Here are the featured speakers at the 2019 conference including Thomas D Jones, Blaine Bettinger and Cyndi Ingle.

Cyndi Ingle
Blaine Bettinger
Thomas D Jones

The 2019 conference is being held in Manchester, New Hampshire at the Manchester Downtown Doubletree Hotel at 700 Elm Street April 3rd to the 6th. Many more details including registration information is available at www.nergc.org. Registration will be open until March 30, 2019.

A Powerful Challenge for Adoptees to Overcome

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Recently, I’ve been involved with a few clients who are themselves adopted or have a family member in their recent past who had been adopted. Thus, I feel compelled to bring a few interesting facts to everyone’s attention.

Once again I’ll be discussing a particular use of the results of DNA testing. The focus, though, is on the subject of adoption. As we all know, there are multiple reasons for children to be adopted and there’s no purpose served in enumerating them here. DNA testing has been and will continue to be a cause for joy and misery depending on the circumstances. Discovering an unknown parent or sibling can be a mixed blessing. If you are aware that you were adopted, the right test can answer questions that may have been lingering for decades. On the other end of the spectrum, discovering that you, a close family member or one of your direct ancestors could be a complete, unsettling surprise.

My intent is to point out a monstrous situation that took place in the early 20th century which may give some a clue as to the adoption brick wall they might be facing. I present this here to point out how nefarious adoption activities can be, and this example is perhaps the most nefarious of all. The circumstances of what took place and the repercussions ripple through the decades and may very well be impacting someone you know.

In the early 20th century, a woman named Georgia Tann went to work for the Tennessee Children’s Home Society in Memphis, Tennessee. Miss Tann eventually became the director and had developed an extraordinarily cruel process to obtain babies and young children to sell to parents who were seeking to adopt. In Tennessee at the time, the process to legitimately adopt a baby cost $7.00. But by going all across the country, she could charge $5,000 and up for her special services. Most of Tann’s “customers” were wealthy families including famous Hollywood stars. The most attractive children were offered to Joan Crawford, Dick Powell and his wife June Allyson, Lana Turner and others.

She was able to get away with this activity due to her relationships with powerful people in and around Memphis. Judges, political “bosses,” anyone willing to look the other way…and share in her fees.  She was not beneath paying unscrupulous hospital workers to assist her efforts.  It is estimated that as many as 5,000 children were ripped away from their parents in one way or another. Mother’s were told that their newborns had died; families were accused of being unfit to be parents and thus the children were taken away.

Many of the children were housed at the Home Society’s offices. It is said that as many as 500 may have died there due to neglect, abuse, or lack of medical care between 1924 when she b

egan her “services” and 1950, the year she died.

Georgia Tann of the Tennessee Children’s Home Society

Georgia Tann (left) was also responsible for the first legislation regarding sealing adoption records. The concept spread across the country and today, 32 states still have these laws on the books.

This story is not well known in spite of being well documented. I have read bits of the events here and there but recently picked up “The Baby Thief” by Barbara Bisantz Raymond. It is available at Amazon.com in a variety of formats, eBook, hardcover or paperback.  See the link below. Or you might want to see the movie “Stolen Babies” starring Mary Tyler Moore as Georgia Tann, Lea Thompson, Kathleen Quinlan and many others.

A social worker by the name of Anne Beals was responsible for bringing down Tann’s empire. She noticed that the infant mortality record was astronomically high in Memphis and Shelby County Tennessee. This led to an investigation that didn’t catch up to Tann. She died of cancer before any charges could be brought.

For some, this and other similar schemes would have a significant impact on DNA results. The babies stolen by Georgia Tann where born between 1924 and 1950, not that long ago. These children were not necessarily placed in Tennessee but across the country from New England to Calif

ornia. Knowing that these adoptions really happened could help shed some light on a variety of brick wall issues for family researchers.

Here are a few other links that may be of interest:

YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2qhVQR5u08 (length 8:51)

YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaiRYfhvj0k  (60 Minutes segment length 13:51)

YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=392NTjM8IR0 (1-hour 45 min)

Tennessee Department of Children’s Services: https://www.tn.gov/dcs/program-areas/fca/adoption-records/faq.html

All of this is to bring attention to some of the bizarre circumstances that can impede a legitimat

e search for the truth.

My final thought is that if this woman was able to create such a horrible network of actually stealing babies, then how many other people were able to do the same around the country. And not necessarily large networks but even individual circumstances where an adpotion was merely moving a child from one household to another.

My heart goes out to anyone who is affected by these circumstances.

DNA Deals Galore

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With acknowledgment to Thomas MacEntee of Genealogy Bargains, I would l ike to share the excellent “deals” on the most popular DNA testing kits from the top testing companies that he was able to put together.

FamilyTreeDNA is advertising their “Family Finder” kit for $49 reflecting a $30 savings. Click here to take advantage of this one. Be aware that this test is for autosomal DNA (atDNA) only. This is the test offered by all of the other companies who offer only atDNA testing such as Ancestry.com and 23andMe.com. (See below for LivingDNA which offers 3 types of DNA tests. More on that later.)The results could help you with the past 4 or 5 generations with less and less accuracy as you travel back 6th or 7th generations and earlier. It’s the nature of the manner in which atDNA is passed down to you.

Yes, it will give you ethnicity estimates, but ethnicity is a moving target as more people test and the data bases of the various companies grow. To illustrate, if there were absolutely NO Irish who have tested, it would be impossible to determine that you had Irish DNA with no one to compare results. Actually, it would almost prove that you don’t! Germany has just recently made DNA testing legal with strict guidleines. I predict that ethnicity reports will begin to be updated over the next few years as more German people, or at least people who descend from populations who live in what we know today as Germany, decide to test.

Next, we have mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) which is passed down to every child, male and female, from their mother. FamilyTreeDNA also has a program and holiday sales for mtDNA. There are 2 levels of testing. The first is a test of just two segments called Hyper Variable Regions 1 and 2. It’s a less expensive test which can be upgraded to a “Full Sequence” test. Click here to read more.

Fnally, FamilyTreeDNA tests Y-DNA, the DNA that is only passed  through the father. If the father passes an X chromosome, the child will be a biological female. If he passes a Y, the child will be a biological male. They will test 4 levels of Y-DNA; 37 “markers,” 67 or 111 markers. Then they offer what they call “The Big Y” which is the most expensive of them all. Click here to read more about the tests and the various holiday discounts.

The other major DNA testing companies also have specials that you may want to take advantage of.

MyHeritage DNA has an offer for a $30 discount. A $79 kit will only cost you $49 until 23 November 2018. There’s a $12 standard shipping charge per kit for 4-7 business day delivery or $25 per kit for expedited 2-3 business day delivery. There are some discounts on shipping for 3 or more kits purchased at once. Read all the details here. As I write this, MyHeritage has announced a “Black Friday” special offering free shipping when you use their promo code topnov18 when ordering.

AncestryDNA kits are discounted to $59 per kit with $9.95 shipping for the first kit and $4.95 for additional kits in the same purchase. Expedited shipping is available for $24.95 for the first kit and $12.95 for additional kits. Click here for the details at AncestryDNA.

The next company to consider is 23andMe. There are 2 levels of tests, an atDNA test ($99) or an atDNA test with a health report for an additional $100. They are offering the basic atDNA kit for $49 each when ordering 2 or more kits. Click here for more details.

Last and certainly not least, the “new kid on the block” is LivingDNA. This is a company based in Britain that is making incredible inroads here in the USA.  Their test covers all 3 types of DNA but they make it much easier to remember which test is which. Their Y-DNA test is called “Fatherline,” mtDNA is “Motherline,” and atDNA is “Familyline.” Their standard price for their “3-in-1 test is $99 but is discounted for the holiday to $79. Details are here but they don’t seem to indicate an expiration date.  There, you can read about their optional “personalised book showing the journey of your ancesry. Your story told in print.” The book is normally $100 but is available during this sale to an additional $69.

There’s lots here to consider. Please comment or ask any questions. I’ll do my best to provide clear, understandable responses. It can be a daunting subject!

One last note: Ask “Alexa” to read your daily “Genealogy Flash Briefing.” You’ll hear Thomas MacEntee with the latest genealogy news Monday through Friday.

DNA Testing – But Which Test and Which Company?

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Many people ask me about DNA testing. My first response is to try to determine why they want to test. Looking for cousins? Looking for medical information? Looking for ancestral origins? There’s actually a test for each a fact that surprises some people and may complicate the decision making process. Taking the wrong test can be a waste of time and money.  Some companies offer a wide variety of choices and others have a very simple offering.

So, where to start. The International Society of Genetic Genealogy has posted a highly informative grid of the 4 major testing companies, what each offers and how much their services cost.

Here’s the link: https://isogg.org/wiki/Autosomal_DNA_testing_comparison_chart

The information you find there should help just about anyone who is considering testing. It’s very easy to order the wrong test and ultimately cause frustration. Decide what your goals are first and then select an appropriate test from an appropriate company.

Good luck! Feel free to get in touch with me if you’d like more details. Use dave@oldbones.info. to reach me directly.

Finally, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the upcoming New England Regional Genealogical Conference taking place in Springfield, Massachusetts starting April 26th and running until April 29th, 2017. Over 70 highly respected genealogists delivering 135 presentations, workshops, Ancestor Road Show, and an Exhibit Hall with approximately 75 vendors. The public is free to explore the Exhibit Hall while attendance to any of the programs requires registration.  Click here for dates, times, featured speakers, luncheons, banquets, historical tour of Springfield founded in 1636, a tour of the Museum of Springfield  History and Archives and about 1,000 fellow genealogists to rub elbows with. Featured speakers include Warren Bittner, a nationally acclaimed genealogist specializing in German research; Thomas MacEntee, another highly respected expert in multiple genealogical pursuits; and Kenyatta D Berry, co-host of the PBS program “Genealogy Road Show.”

Missed RootsTech?

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RootsTech is the largest genealogical conference in the world. In 2017, more than 30,000 genealogists of all stripes attended what has been described as a phenomenal event. Their website describes the event: “RootsTech is a global family history event where people of all ages learn to discover, share and celebrate their family connections across generations through technology. At RootsTech, there is something for everyone, no matter your experience in family history or your skill level in technology.”

But, of course, most of us missed it for a variety of reasons. Well, there’s good news!

RootsTech has put up most of the presentations that anyone can view. BUT!! It’s only for a limited time.  I’ve searched around the site and there’s no indication as to how they define “limited time” so my advice is to check out the website and view what you can while you can. You won’t regret it as the conference was chock full of presentations by the best in the business. As far as subjects are concerned…best to check out the website!

Click here RootTech to access the home page and read about the conference itself and plans for RootsTech 2018 and RootsTech 2019 in the FAQ’s section accessible from the menu in the upper right-hand corner. Or just click here: Frequently Asked Questions.

And since we’re talking about genealogy conferences, don’t forget about NERGC 2017 being held this year in Springfield, Massachusett from 26 April to 29 2017. Wednesday the 26th  is “Library and Teacher’s Day with a track on Technology. Thursday through Saturday is the main event with 130 presentations, workshops, lunches and banquets.  NERGC takes place in venues around New England on the odd numbered years. Organized by the New England Regional Genealogical Consortium, the event is quite a bit smaller than RootsTech with a usual attendance of approximately 1,000. However, with 70 speakers, there is no shortage of quality presenters and with 130 presentations, no shortage of subjects covered.

Interested? Early bird registration ends on 28 February 2017!

 

Saved in El Salvador – A Brave Adoption Story – A Brave DNA Story

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Double Helix - Red and Blue with BandsOne of the many people I’ve met while mentoring researchers at the Chicopee Library’s Genealogy Department is a 76 year old woman who has never married but has an adopted daughter. Taking on a 10 year old daughter while single is in and of itself a large challenge. But that’s just the surface of the story which I plan to write about over the next few weeks. About 35 years ago, this woman flew to El Salvador by herself to finalize the adoption and take her daughter home. Now, the daughter is interested in a DNA test to determine if any siblings or other family members got out safely. For historical perspective, just a few weeks after they came back to the States, several Catholic nuns were murdered and left by the roadside. Not a fun place to be. So the story will take a while to cover as she won’t be sending in her sample for a couple more weeks and then she’ll have to wait for results.

I mentioned to her that AncestryDNA might be the best place to start. This is not a case of research first then use DNA to verify the paperwork. This is starting from dead ZERO. We have no information to go by. Anything she can find will be a blessing to her. Hopefully, she’ll order this evening from www.dna.ancestry.com. I hope there’s a sale going  on!

I hope she has more patience than I do!

Stay tuned!

Strawberry DNA

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Here’s a neat article I found in my Feedly posts today. Click “Imagination Station” for a simple explanation of the DNA extraction process. They’re using strawberries in the video, but, as you’ll see, you could try it on just about any living matter…including yourself.

The problem, of course, is other than having a dish of cloudy material as in the video, actually seeing the DNA you extract is a completely different story!

Have you done any DNA testing? Three major companies are in the DNA business: FamilyTreeDNA,  23andMe and AncestryDNA. Which test you take will be driven by the purpose of taking the test in the first place.  The short story is this: The most popular test today is the Autosomal DNA test or atDNA test. All three companies do this test. Keep in mind that there are 23 chromosomes in every nucleus of every cell in your body. One of those chromosomes is the sex chromosome which is either X-X or X-Y. This chromosome determines whether your are female (X-X) or males (X-Y).DNA_animationThat leaves 22 that are made up of a recombination of the DNA from your father (roughly 50%) and your mother (roughly 50%). It’s the recombination process that determines which of your father’s traits you will inherit and which of your mother’s. That’s also why siblings can either vary a great deal in their appearance or, if their appearances seem quite similar, one may have red hair and the other brown.

Logically, if you’ve got 50% of your mother’s atDNA and she received 50% from each of her parents, you can only have 25% from each of her parents. The same holds true with your father’s atDNA and that what makes up the 50% you inherited from him, 25% of which is from his father and 25% from his mother. The farther back you go up your family tree while applying the fact that the 50% gets halved at each generation. You’ll have 12.5% from each of your 8 great-grandparents, 6.75% from each of your 16 2nd great-grandparents.  Then take into account the billions of possible ways that each recombination can produce, it gets a little tricky to go very far beyond 5 or 6 generations. We refer to it as a “cousin finder.” Ethnicity can be inferred to some degree and in broad generalities: Northern European, Sub-Saharan African,  Ashkenazi Jew and so forth.

The second and third types of tests will take you deep into the genetic histories of your direct maternal or paternal lines. Only men have and thus can pass along Y-DNA. A man gets his from his father who got his from his father and so on. So to trace a paternal line, the Y test is quite useful for 2 reasons. It’s biologically impossible to get a Y chromosome from a male ancestor other than from your direct line. And it mutates at a very slow rate meaning that it stays relatively intact for thousands of years, unlike atDNA which “melts” in each generation.

The third test is for mitochondrial DNA, the mother’s unique contribution to the equation. Unlike the Y, mitochondrial or mtDNA is in everyone’s cells. For the lack of a more scientific answer, it is what powers the cells, allowing them to live, divide and recombine so that life can go on.  But, only the mother passes the mtDNA even though both she and the father have it.

Here’s the reason. Mom has her Mom’s mtDNA and Dad has his Mom’s mtDNA. At the point of conception, the ovum contains mom’s mtDNA as she supplied the ovum containing it. Dad supplied the sperm but the mtDNA is in the tail. Picture your science books where the sperm wiggles its way to its destination. At the moment of conception, the tail falls off and thus the mtDNA from the father is no longer a factor. It’s a lot like a space rocket. Once the rocket clears earth’s atmosphere, the boosters fall away. They’ve done their job!

The mtDNA will take you backwards to your mother, her  mother and her mother’s mother and so on.

Both Y and mtDNA can give you reasonably accurate description of your genetic background. But it is important to say that as far as family research is concerned, DNA tests do not replace standard research practices. It will only help to prove or disprove what you’ve discovered.

For a more detailed explanation of DNA and the various types and tests, there are some excellent bloggers whose backgrounds in the science is much deeper than my own:

That should be more than enough to get you started! Good luck!

Visit Old Bones Genealogy of New England at www.oldbones.info

AncestryDNA versus “AncestrybyDNA”

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Animation of the structure of a section of DNA...

Animation of the structure of a section of DNA. The bases lie horizontally between the two spiraling strands. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Hard to notice the difference in the name, isn’t it. Considering that one of the services is selling their test for $69, our eyes seem to glaze over when it comes to the name. AncestryDNA has certainly had its ups and downs, but for the last several months or even a couple of years, they’ve improved their testing techniques, modified the “algorithms” that produce the results and can now be highly recommended. And to be sure, I’m not talking about “AncestrybyDNA.” Be careful to notice the differences in the name!

As a matter of fact, AncestryDNA tests over 700,000 markers to arrive at their results. That fact, combined with the extraordinarily large database of family trees, they are able to make some dramatic “cousin matches.” They are not without their faults as none of the companies are. But their batting average has improved exponentially

AncestrybyDNA, on the other hand is a horse of a different color. In case you didn’t notice, the name is ANCESTRY BY DNA. Where did that “by” come from? It seems that AncestrybyDNA feels that the hidden “by” is enough to distinguish it from the vastly more effective tool for genealogists, AncestryDNA, the one with no “by” in their name.

Groupon is a company that sells products and services such as restaurant deals, clothing deals, vacation deals and lately, DNA testing deals. Keep you eye on the by!

AncestryDNA, FamilyTreeDNA and 23andMe are the 3 companies that should be at the top of your list. Check them out. AncestryDNA tests ONLY autosomal DNA, often referred to as the “cousin finder.” FamilyTreeDNA offers a whole spectrum of tests with a variety of packages and prices. Very reputable. Then there’s 23andMe which has also had it’s ups and downs, but that’s another story. Let’s just say that there’s nothing to worry about with the legitimacy  or integrity of 23andMe or any of these three.

To read a bit more about this from someone who is vastly more experienced than I am, check out Judy G. Russell’s incredibly informative blog,  The Legal Genealogist. You may even consider following her. It’ll be worth it!

FamilyTreeDNA

FamilyTreeDNA (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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