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Saturday, April 20, 2019

Preparing for GRIP 2019: Part 6

 I have been working on many of the tasks outlined in my first several posts about preparing for the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh (GRIP). The course I will be attending is "Advanced DNA Evidence," coordinated by Blaine Bettinger.

I have finished reviewing the first two books mentioned in Preparing for GRIP 2019: Part 1. I am now just beginning to study the newest book mentioned in my last post, "Advanced Genetic Genealogy: Techniques and Case Studies," edited by Debbie Parker Wayne. I am so looking forward to each chapter as they all promise new learning for me.

I have also been reviewing the webinars previously mentioned and watching new ones that have been made available. I have also been spending quite a lot of time investigating the new tools made available by some of the DNA companies. And I am having some great successes if I do say so myself!  I am starting to feel less intimidated by the word "Advanced" in the course title! But there is still a lot of work to be done.

My next set of tasks has to do with DNA tests organization. I manage the tests of many family members and monitor a few more. I have tested with five different DNA companies and have one or more other family members in each company as well. Almost all of the tests have been uploaded to Gedmatch or the newer Genesis. So there are a lot of logins, passwords, test IDs, and permissions to keep track of. I have a spreadsheet with this information that I will update. I will also need to double-check the logins and passwords to be sure they all work.

Some of the third-party tools require paid subscriptions so I will also want to be sure those are kept updated as well.

I also plan to create a set of ancestor fan charts, one for each person whose family I am researching. Each set will consist of a color chart similar to the one seen here, a basic ancestor chart. I'll also add a chart that will indicate which of those ancestors I have connected to through another descendant - a genetic ancestor chart. Another chart I like is an ancestor chart that shows which ancestors would have contributed to the X-DNA of the subject of the chart. My chart is on the right.

Oh my gosh, I just realized that GRIP is only 2 months away. I have a lot of work to do yet!




Saturday, April 6, 2019

Preparing for GRIP 2019: Part 5


Even though I just blogged about books, videos, and 3rd-party tools that I need to review and practice with before my Advanced DNA Evidence class at GRIP, there are already new entries in each of the areas that need to be reviewed. Genetic genealogy is evolving quickly and it's difficult to keep up with everything!

First, a brand new book has been made available, "Advanced Genetic Genealogy: Techniques and Case Studies," edited by Debbie Parker Wayne. I've just been able to browse through it, but I really think it's going to be a great resource. I love that it has case studies as well as techniques. And I love that many of the charts are in color. Plus all of the contributing authors are a "Who's Who" in genetic genealogy.

Secondly, DNA companies used RootsTech week to release new products and/or add-ons to their DNA tools.

Ancestry released three new products which are described here.
  • Thrulines
  • MyTreeTags
  • New and Improved DNA Matches with color coding
MyHeritage released two new tools which were blogged about here.
  • Autoclusters, same creator & similar to geneticaffairs
  • Theory of Family Relativity

Thirdly, there are also more videos made available in the last month. Blaine Bettinger released two short videos on YouTube about the new tools.

And the 2019 RootsTech Virtual Pass contains 5 additional DNA videos as well as many other excellent video classes. This is the first time the virtual pass has been offered and I think it's great even though there is a fee. RootsTech has not yet fit into my schedule for conferences but this is a great substitute.

I have so much catching up to do it feels like I am standing still even though I have been working hard to keep up!