Trace Your Roots with DNA: Using Genetic Tests to Explore Your Family Tree - Softcover

Smolenyak, Megan Smolenyak; Turner, Ann

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1594860068 ISBN 13: 9781594860065

Verlag: Harmony/Rodale/Convergent, 2004

Inhaltsangabe

Written by two of the country's top genealogists, this is the first book to explain how new and groundbreaking genetic testing can help you research your ancestry

According to American Demographics, 113 million Americans have begun to trace their roots, making genealogy the second most popular hobby in the country (after gardening). Enthusiasts clamor for new information from dozens of subscription-based websites, email newsletters, and magazines devoted to the subject. For these eager roots-seekers looking to take their searches to the next level, DNA testing is the answer.

After a brief introduction to genealogy and genetics fundamentals, the authors explain the types of available testing, what kind of information the tests can provide, how to interpret the results, and how the tests work (it doesn't involve digging up your dead relatives). It's in expensive, easy to do, and the results are accurate: It's as simple as swabbing the inside of your cheek and popping a sample in the mail.

Family lore has it that a branch of our family emigrated to Argentina and now I've found some people there with our name. Can testing tell us whether we're from the same family?

My mother was adopted and doesn't know her ethnicity. Are there any tests available to help her learn about her heritage? I just discovered someone else with my highly unusual surname. How can we find out if we have a common ancestor? These are just a few of the types of genealogical scenarios readers can pursue. The authors reveal exactly what is possible-and what is not possible-with genetic testing. They include case studies of both famous historial mysteries and examples of ordinary folks whose exploration of genetic genealogy has enabled them to trace their roots.

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Megan Smolenyak has been an avid genealogist for more than three decades and is an expert at family history research. The lead researcher for the PBS Ancestors series, she is a contributing editor for Heritage Quest and the author of Honoring Our Ancestors, In Search of Our Ancestors, and They Came to America. She currently resides in Williamsburg, VA.

Ann Turner was hooked on genealogy when she learned that her parents' ancestors had arrived in the United States on the same ship yet went their separate ways until her parents met 300 years later. She works at home, writing computer software and composing messages for the popular Genealogy-DNA mailing list. She currently resides in Menlo Park, California.

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Part 1

The Fundamentals

1

If You're New to Genealogy

Just by picking up this book, you've revealed that you're curious about your roots. And if you're curious about your roots, you're in good company! Millions of people are digging into the past, and the good news is that it's easier today than ever before. In fact, we tend to tell so-called newbies that they were smart to wait! One of us has been researching her family for 33 years and has learned more in the past 8 years than in the first quarter of a century.

This is largely because of the impressive and ever-growing collection of online and other resources. In fact, we recently conducted an experiment involving 33 popular genealogical resources. When we inspected the list, we discovered that 11 of them were not available a decade ago (such as www.ellisisland.org, www.findagrave.com, and the 1930 U.S. census released in 2002) and 22 of them existed, but were less accessible (such as resources now searchable at www.familysearch.org, the Social Security Death Index, which conveniently lists most Americans who have died since 1962, and every name indexes for the 1860, 1870, 1880, and 1930 U.S. census). Just 10 years ago, the notion of being able to search fully indexed and digitized records at home in your pj's was a wild fantasy. But it's reality now, and like good 21st-century citizens, we already take this previously unimaginable ability for granted!

If you're new to the game of family history research, we invite you to spend a little time with us as we cover the basics. You may be anxious to jump right into DNA testing, but a bit of genealogical effort invested upfront will ensure that you won't find yourself staring at a report with a bunch of numbers and scratching your head. Your venture into genetealogy will be much more fruitful if you learn some ABCs. Even if you're an old pro, you may wish to consider giving this chapter a skim to acquaint yourself with some genealogical nuances as they pertain to DNA testing.

Thousands of books and millions of Web sites are devoted to family history, so we won't go into great depth (although you'll be able to find more resources in Appendix A). Rather, we'll share enough to help you avoid the most common pitfalls that even seasoned roots-seekers occasionally fall prey to. Developing a few good habits early can save you days, weeks, and even months of frustration, so we'll start with some useful guidelines.

DO YOUR HOMEWORK

We know. You want to get a running start. You want to jump on the Internet or dash out to the nearest library or archive to find everything you can on your family. So don't hate us for telling you that you need to start at home.

Surfing the Internet is so easy--and on the surface--so gratifying, but it's apt to be a time-waster if you haven't done your groundwork. If you have a common name, you'll find yourself overwhelmed with the millions of sites that might shelter tidbits about your family. And even if your name is somewhat unusual, you'll probably be startled by how many hits you get when you type it in. A search on the borderline freakish name of Smolenyak will serve up almost 1,500 listings to wade through, so heaven help you if your name is Van Aalst (20,000+), Smithson (175,000+), Pennington (1 million+), or Nichols (2.4 million+)! Maybe there aren't a lot of people with your name in your town, but there are a lot on the planet, and researching or contacting them all is an inefficient method of learning about the ones in your family tree.

And while conducting on-site research in records repositories should definitely be on your genealogical to-do list, it's best to look first for the treasures that may be lurking in your closets, drawers, basements, and attics--and especially the minds of your older relatives. Many a genealogist has been chagrined to finally discover an elusive maiden name, birth date, or village of origin after a year of research, only to find this same information in a suitcase of old papers tucked into the corner of their own cellar. And there's nothing quite as deflating as calling your great-aunt Mildred to announce your latest discovery only to have her reply, "I could have told you that."

To give you a feel of what you're looking for when you play detective in your own home (or maybe your parents', if they'll let you), here are a few items that are the equivalent of genealogical gold:

Birth, marriage, and death certificates

Newspaper clippings including obituaries and wedding and anniversary announcements

Naturalization and citizenship papers, including passports and visas

Religious records (baptismal, Bar Mitzvah)

Family bible

Letters and addressed envelopes

Diaries and journals

Photo albums

Any other documents pertaining to your ancestors (military, school, occupational, business, land, legal)

Heirlooms such as engraved items, samplers, and quilts

And if there's anyone in the family your age or older (and by family, we mean even that second cousin who lives in Denver whom you haven't seen since your sister's wedding back in 1984), pick up the phone! Not next week or next month--today! Talk with them immediately, if only to arrange a time to meet or call to learn more. Do not allow yourself to become one of the millions who bemoan the fact that they didn't ask questions when their parents/grandparents/aunts/uncles/cousins were still alive. If you were to eavesdrop at a genealogical conference or research venue, you'd be amazed how many times you'd hear comments starting with "If only I had . . ."

Draw up an initial list of questions you'd like answered, and be sure to ask about anyone else they think you should contact. Virtually every family has an avid genealogist, and you can be sure that older family members will know who that person is because they will have already spoken with him. Canvassing the relatives like this will turn up countless details that may not have trickled down your direct line. Your mother may not know that her grandmother had the maiden name of Doran, but there's a reasonable chance that one of her cousins does.

DON'T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU HEAR OR READ

Yes, we've just asked you to contact your assorted kinfolk and pummel them with questions, but that doesn't mean you have to accept everything they say as fact. We know this in everyday life, but for some reason, we seem to forget this when it comes to our family history. Because we obtain much of this information from relatives--and everyone knows that Great-aunt Tillie never lies--our family lore takes on the veneer of absolute truth. Many of us will accept oral tradition over the documented paper trail.

How many of us, for instance, have a family legend about our names being changed at Ellis Island? Great-grandpa couldn't speak English and had a difficult time communicating, so the inspectors listed him with the same name as the fellow in line before him. Or the immigration officials couldn't pronounce the surname, so they lopped off the last syllable or two. The reality is that the manifests were created overseas, and the officials here--assisted by translators who spoke all the languages of the immigrants--did their best to confirm the details. If a name was changed, it was almost always because the immigrant wanted it changed, and it usually happened after he walked the halls of Ellis Island. But try telling that to someone who heard the tale from Grandma.

No matter how sincere the intentions of the storyteller, chances are that a little distortion has crept in over the years. Through a combination of misunderstanding, forgetfulness, embellishment, and deliberate twisting, family lore morphs over the generations. Inevitably, there's a kernel of truth--and sometimes 95 percent will be accurate--but routinely accepting all...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Harmony/Rodale/Convergent
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2004
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 1594860068
• ISBN 13: 9781594860065
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 288
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: gpsr@libri.de; gpsr@libri.de; ; Friedensallee 273; Hamburg; 22763; Deutschland