Have you heard of auto-clustering for your autosomal DNA results? It's something you should try but is it going to help you or be another tool that drives you crazy? Turns out, it might depend who your ancestors were. If you've read many posts on this blog, you know my ancestors are all southern. They aren&…
Showing posts from 2018
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[If you're reading this because your results appear to indicate something surprising and unpleasant, there are s upport groups and services out there to help you . There are consultation services available to help people who have had a major surprise DNA result or that just need more concrete answers than …
The veterans in your family tree are unique like every other ancestor and relative. So this year, instead of an attempt at a semi-comprehensive round-up of resources (covering the majority of the major U.S. conflicts) or a memorial post about the veterans in my family, I'm providing a post as unique to me as my an…
Want to use DNA for genealogy success? You'll need these three easy peasy, I mean three easy Ps. This week I was reminded of some basics of genetic genealogy (that's using DNA for family history). Not basics like what a centimorgan is (cM, that's a unit of measurement) or how much DNA you should expect to…
Creating an email template is much easier than it sounds. You may think you have to figure out technical details specific to your email program, but you don't (although for some programs, you could). Let's look at how easy it is to create an email template as well as some common reasons a genealogist might wa…
Are you asking yourself, "how do I make my family history research faster?" Family history research (genealogy) takes time. Think how long it took to create! But, there are ways to be more efficient and efficient means faster. One caveat. With genealogy, you want efficient, not just fast. Fast today can …
Does summer have you avoiding or missing out on genealogy? It might be the weather or maybe it's your summer schedule. No matter the reason, summer can either be a great time to accomplish some genealogy or a genealogical waste-land (that you often don't even understand). Here are some ideas to sha…
This isn't my normal type of post. This is essentially a round-up of my own posts related to a specific topic. But a topic you can't easily find with a search or a label. If your genealogy skills need a boost, you're in the right place. I hesitate to label these as intermediate skills or advanced skills b…
UPDATE: Some suggestions in posts may no longer be available for AncestryDNA results. This is too massive and changing too fast for me to update everything at this time. There also seems to be a never-ending stream of minor visual changes so some images may once again be a previous version. I do review posts so this i…
UPDATE: I no longer recommend testing at AncestryDNA. Currently there are severe limitations to the tools they offer and your options for third-party tools are now being limited. If you've already tested at AncestryDNA, this post will help you use those results but for faster results, consider a site with more too…
Do you like the idea of a genealogy checklist? A handy little list you just follow and mark items off so you know where you are? I like that idea, too. It sounds much less intimidating than a research plan or doing analysis. I still often yearn for a nice little checklist to walk me through my research. Bu…
Genealogists are notorious for their paper piles. Did you know your excessive amount of unfiled or unorganized material (paper or digital) might indicate a more serious genealogical problem? How to Organize Your Genealogy: Addressing Your Root Problem Falling prey to this problem is so easy, I do it periodically. R…
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About Me
I'm Jennifer, and I'm an Occasional Genealogist... sort of. Like many of you, I started as an Occasional Genealogist. I had to squeeze research into my free time. Then I got my first genealogy job and for awhile, it was genealogy all the time! Now I have two kids. I do other people's genealogy constantly but my own? Coming up with ways to do great genealogy, despite the interruptions, is mandatory.