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Charles Campbell (c1750 – c1825) and the Great Warrior Path – 52 Ancestors #19
When I discovered that I was going to be visiting Scotland in the fall of 2013, I couldn’t bypass the opportunity to visit the seat of the Clan Campbell. Campbell isn’t my maiden name, but it was the...
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Inverary Castle and the Clan Campbell
Please notice that this is a sunrise photo. Why was I up this early? Because I fell asleep again right after dinner. Sunrise is not something I normally experience, but I was certainly glad I was...
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John Campbell (c1772-1838) of Little Sycamore Creek – 52 Ancestors #20
John Campbell’s early life is shrouded in the mists of time. We can’t positively identify him until he’s an adult, living in Claiborne County, Tennessee, beginning in 1802. By that time, he would...
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Stories about Surname Origins
How many of us have seen stories about the purported origin of our family surname? Until now, I never thought about DNA perhaps holding the answer to whether these origin stories might be accurate –...
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The Reverend George McNiel (c 1720 – 1805), Frontier Baptist Preacher – 52...
Do you ever save old letters? Thank goodness someone saved this one! This letter is 116 years old and shares with us valuable information that we would otherwise have never known. Some of the...
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Native American DNA Projects
I’m often asked about projects that are for or include Native American DNA results. Please note that different project administrators have different criteria for admission to a project. Some require...
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Invergordon, Braveheart, Urquhart Castle and my Birthday
Today, we’re in Invergordon, Scotland and we began the day by being greeted by oil rigs. They “put” them here in this frith (fjord) for repair and refurbishing when they aren’t needed in the North...
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Ancestry.com Discontinues Y and mtDNA Tests and Closes Data Base
Ancestry.com has not been actively selling Y and mtDNA tests for some time now. However, today Ancestry announced the official discontinuance of those tests and that as of September 5th, their Y and...
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Edinburgh Castle and a Penannular
This morning we awoke to a sunrise over the sea outside of Queensferry which is where the port for Edinburgh is located. Oh yes, and Edinburgh is not pronounced Edinborough, it’s pronounced Edinburg,...
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Bennett Greenspan – The Future of Genetic Genealogy
Bennett Greenspan, one of the founders of Family Tree DNA, spoke about “The Future of Genetic Genealogy” at the Southern California Genealogy Society conference this week. The SCGS has been gracious...
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Marcus Younger (c1740-1816), Mystery Man, 52 Ancestors #23
The Younger story starts with Marcus Younger. It shouldn’t but it does, because we don’t know who his parents were. We may never know, because Marcus Younger’s Y chromosomal, paternal, DNA doesn’t...
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Transfer DNA Results or Retest at Family Tree DNA?
The recent announcement by Ancestry.com that they are discontinuing their Y and mtDNA products and associated data bases, combined with the opportunity to transfer your Y and autosomal Y DNA results to...
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Ancestry Kit Mixup
Every genealogists worst nightmare. A DNA kit swap. You unknowingly receive the results from someone else, and that equally in-the-dark unknown person receives yours. And you’ll never know unless...
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Family Tree DNA Site Update Includes Y Enhancements and Renaming of myOrigins...
Today, Family Tree DNA released a list of updates that they have rolled to their site. Here’s the list: 1. Added a privacy setting that will allow a user to opt out of Big Y matching. By default,...
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Haplogroups, SNPs and Family Group Confusion
The transition at Family Tree DNA from the old haplogroup naming convention to the new SNP-only naming convention has generated a great deal of confusion. It’s like surgery – had to be done – but it...
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Big Y Matching
A few days ago, Family Tree DNA announced and implemented Big Y Matching between participants who have taken the Big Y test. This is certainly welcome news. Let’s take a look at Big Y matching, what...
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Big Y DNA Results Divide and Unite Haplogroup Q Native Americans
One of my long standing goals has been to resurrect the lost heritage of the Native American people. By this I mean, primarily, for genealogists who search for and can’t find their Native ancestors....
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WikiTree Announces DNA Ancestor Confirmation Aid
The following press release was provided by WikiTree. I was pleased to be able to preview the new DNA Ancestor Confirmation Aid. If people will actually use WikiTree for their ancestors, and enter...
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Jacques “dit Beaumont” de Bonnevie, Acadian from Paris, 52 Ancestors #26
Frère Jacques, Frère Jacques, Dormez-vous? Dormez-vous? Sonnez les matines, sonnez les matines Ding ding dong, ding ding dong. I always loved that lullaby from childhood. Brother John, Brother John,...
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Salvaging Every Scrap of DNA Info from Ancestry
OK, it’s a given, like it or not – Ancestry.com is discontinuing their Y and mtDNA data bases on September 5th, 2014. Let’s take every opportunity between now and then to scrape every scrap of...
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