A New Genealogy TV Show – “The Genetic Detective”

5Jun2020

Vicki’s note – I have watched the first 2 episodes of this new ABC TV series  which started May 26 on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. Central Time.  It hits the right notes for television true crime procedurals and learning more about DNA genealogy detective techniques.  I don’t personally care for “procedural” detective mysteries – in television shows, movies or books, but watching Cece in action solving the often long cold cases is fascinating.

Based on an interview at the start of the series –  Cece Moore “created” her self-designated “genetic genealogy” label when genetics first became viable to be used in conjunction with genealogy research.  She reinvented herself from a model and educated herself to become a highly sought after genetic detective. Henry Louis Gates JR  refers genetic issues of his “Finding Your Roots” television show guests to her.

Cece specialized in finding the birth families of adopted people.  When police departments first asked her to apply her skills to finding murdering criminals, Cece  had the same moral/ethical dilemma that many of us genealogists might empathize with – using the DNA test results of unaware relatives to find DNA family connections.  She applies that to finding relatives  of a criminal to narrow down who the criminal is.  She resolved her uncertainty once she knew that individuals voluntarily submit   DNA test results to GEDCOM which lists them  for easy access of all .

Cece knows that she is doing a good thing to solve these crimes, and sometimes stop further (mass) murderers, even though she knows that some of the cases “no one can feel good about.”  The victims families also appreciate having the long ago crimes  be resolved.  The show is worth a watch.

Genealogy is the fascinating study of our families – those individuals that shine, and those that did not.  This is just one more aspect.

Cece uses DNA test results, vital records, and other genealogical documents to create the family trees of people related to the DNA tested criminal.  She is able to pinpoint the (most probable) previously unnamed individual and identify who they are by DNA results.

The percent of shared DNA  shows the exact relationships even when the family history hides the true connections – i.e. the older sister is really the mother of a child,  the father was not the husband, etc.  The amazing thing is that Cece researches and concludes the results in just a few hours – something we all would like to achieve!

You may also want to click to read further information on the television show, and DNA testing uses and issues here:

GedMatch.com

“…an online service to compare autosomal DNA data files from different testing companies.”

AND

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GEDmatch

AND

How a Tiny Website Became the Police’s Go-To Genealogy Database

“I never expected anything like this.”

https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/06/gedmatch-police-genealogy-database/561695/

“To track down the suspect, investigators had created a fake profile on GEDmatch and uploaded DNA from a 1980 crime scene, where it matched a distant relative of the man eventually arrested.”

AND

Dick Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter – https://blog.eogn.com/2020/05/15/series-premiere-airdate-change-abc-news-presents-new-prime-time-series-the-genetic-detective/

AND

ABC News –

https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Culture/genetic-detective-star-helps-law-enforcement-solve-cold/story?id=70879386

DNA GEDmatch is now Genesis

15 Feb 2019

Vicki’s note – GEDmatch has been a database that one can use to compare DNA results from various DNA testing sites.  I have not gotten to registering my DNA results there yet, and now we all know that it has changed to Genesis. Read Shannon Combs Bennett’s full article here.

My Ancestry.com DNA ethnic groupings test results have recently changed radically from the original analysis.  Now I am confused about my identity!  Some ethnic designations dropped and others were added.   It is due to having so many more people taking DNA tests, that they are able to better assign designations.  I also registered my DNA test to MyHeritage.com which had even more different results.  It will be interesting to see more when I register with Genesis.

“GEDmatch Updates to Genesis: What You Need to Know

Shannon Combs Bennett February 11, 2019

Last week, GEDmatch announced it had moved to a new platform, Genesis. So what does that mean for users? This post will break down what you need to know about the new interface—and how it may impact your DNA research.

…GEDmatch sets itself apart as one of the most useful free third-party tools for genetic genealogy…Those who have already uploaded tests to GEDmatch will not need to do so again. All GEDmatch kits migrated to Genesis, so users do not need to create a new account…”

https://genesis.gedmatch.com

DNA Dilema – How Personal is Our Identity?

May 23, 2018

Vicki’s note – I am still pondering the implications of the news about how the “Golden State Killer” Joseph DeAngelo, was traced by DNA and caught after 42 years. His DNA was not found in the massive national FBI database, but by comparing it to a distant relative’s DNA match in one of our (free) genealogy DNA databases – GEDmatch.com

GEDmatch provides DNA and genealogical analysis tools for amateur and professional researchers and genealogists. Most tools are free, but we do provide some premium tools for users who wish to help support us with contributions. You will need to upload DNA and / or genealogical (GEDCOM) data to make use of the tools here. Registration requires your name, email and a password of your choice. Click HERE to register.

This hits close to home for those of us who pursue genealogy.  It feels like an invasion of a “safe” place where we trust that our most personal information will be protected and only used for pure searching for our relatives and researching our (ethnic) identity.  To reassure you, 23andMe.com  and Ancestry.com refused to share DNA/family matching with the police.

This case is different because the family identity connection was not found from DNA shared by a family member to police, nor from a “criminal” database, but “borrowed” from a distant relative of the killer suspect, without their knowledge.

On the other hand, this police method caught a long elusive serial killer criminal who was masquerading as an upstanding citizen/former police officer.  It was impossible to catch him any other way.  

Genealogy searchers cope with the yin yang of personal identity protection constantly.  We don’t want our personal/family information to be vulnerable to identity thieves or misuse, especially for ourselves or our living family members!  We may not want a family skeleton to be revealed.  However, we sure do chuckle with glee when we find out some more information about any of our family members to add to our Tree, whether they be distant cousin or long-gone ancestor.  Even many long-ago skeletons don’t cause us to be ashamed, but only add flavor to our knowledge of our ancestors, (while still being sensitive to not offending our living relatives who may be upset by the publicity of a “skeleton”.)

Here are excerpts of one article from the Washington Post.  Read the entire article by clicking on the link here.

True Crime

The ingenious and ‘dystopian’ DNA technique police used to hunt the ‘Golden State Killer’ suspect

by Avi Selk April 2, 2018

“For decades, police say, the DNA of the “Golden State Killer” sat in evidence storage — a unique genetic fingerprint that could identify definitively the man who killed 12 people and raped 45 women across California between 1976 and 1986.

And for decades, those samples were basically useless to investigators, who ran into the same wall that has frustrated police since the invention of DNA forensics: A genetic fingerprint is not much good unless you know whom it belongs to.

Whoever the killer was, he apparently was not one of the millions of convicts, offenders and arrestees in the FBI’s national DNA database. The genetic samples from all those crime scenes merely identified the Golden State Killer as a big flashing question mark.

Until this week — when police announced that they had broken through the wall and identified Joseph James DeAngelo as the Golden State Killer suspect using an ingenious technique that thrills law enforcement officials and disturbs privacy advocates:

They tracked their suspect through his family tree.

Police said they checked the crime scene DNA against one of the genealogy sites that have lately become popular — databases filled with the profiles of people who have volunteered their genetic codes in the hope of discovering their relatives and ancestors. GEDmatch, a free service, confirmed that police used it to identify DeAngelo.

If DeAngelo is indeed one of the most notorious serial killers in U.S. history, then his arrest Tuesday is a milestone in the short history of familial DNA searches — a technique that is still on the fringe of forensic science and that some people think ought to stay there, lest it turn us all into potential informants….

 

These cases, however, still relied on DNA obtained by police or through court orders — if not from the suspect himself, then from a family member.

It’s only in the past few years, as millions of people have submitted DNA samples to ancestry websites, that police have used familial DNA searches in ways that read like science fiction, whether you find them hopeful or horrifying.”

Irish DNA Registry’s Facebook Group

by Vicki Ruthe Hahn

SGS Stateline Genealogy Sorter

April 7, 2018

Stateline Genealogy Club @ Beloit Public Library member Karen Bernard inquired about this resource that is new to me.

Irish DNA Registry’s Facebook group –
https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheIrishDNARegistry/

It is a closed Facebook support group that you have to ask to join.

The group is focused on DNA test results connected to Irish results only.

The whole purpose seems to be finding Irish cousins,

and helping genealogy searchers link to finding out more about their Irish (location) origins.

One must first have taken, and gotten results, from a DNA test.

Then upload the test results onto the free universal sharing site –

 

GEDmatch.com  (https://www.gedmatch.com/login1.php)
before joining this Facebook group.
GEDmatch offers a matching tool that may help with interpreting your DNA test results
whether you are Irish or not.

Tools for DNA and Genealogy Research
GEDmatch provides DNA and genealogical analysis tools for amateur and professional researchers and genealogists. Most tools are free, but They do provide some premium tools for users who wish to help support with contributions. One will need to upload DNA and / or genealogical (GEDCOM) data to make use of the tools there. Registration requires your name, email and a password of your choice. Click HERE to register.

You can  also upload your DNA test results to FTDNA (Family Tree), or MyHeritage for free, as this will add greatly to your contacts and hopefully your results.
You do not have to have a membership to MyHeritage.

The Irish DNA Registry’s Facebook group has enough members to get results:

Members · 5,152

Getting your DNA tested can help break through brick walls.
There is nothing to lose and so much potential for gain.

There are frequent sales at each of the DNA testing companies for about $60 for a general autosomal test.

Males can spend more, and be tested at FTDNA for their Y DNA.

Once your tests are done, and submitted to the various comparison sites (particularly

GedMatch), it is there for posterity.

Your sample at FTDNA is kept for any future developments, so there is no need to re-test.

Ideally you should have your oldest living relative/s sampled, as well as having siblings, cousins and other more distant known relatives tested.  This for comparison and elimination to narrow down most recent common ancestors (MRCAs). (This is a new term to me.
Include as complete a family ancestry tree as you can plus all
known ancestral surnames. To compare a DNA match one needs clues!

Irish peoples have emigrated all over the world.
Searching Irish ancestry seems to be especially difficult, due to the destruction of key records in Ireland.
Here are some especially helpful links to resources to help you search your Irish Ancestry:

(4-7-2018 I am sad to say that Sean E. Quinn’s “all things Irish” website IrishAncestors.net

is not longer available. It was a great resource.  I do not know what happened, and will let you know if I find out.)

(NLI) National Library of Ireland https://www.nli.ie

See MANY, many more links at The StatelineGenealogyClub.wordpress.com BLOG under the top tab
Genealogy Links and Electronic Helps and then search alphabetically DOWN  to

“Irish Ancestors, (see also Scots- Irish Ancestors)”

DNA is increasingly proving the links where paper trails fail.

Karen, thanks for letting us know about this Irish DNA Registry’s Facebook group.
I too am finding my Irish Ancestors difficult.
And thanks for reminding me about uploading my DNA results to GEDmatch.com, and FTDNA and MyHeritage.com.
One more thing that I want to do soon.

How to Use Gedmatch.com for Your DNA Results

Vicki’s note – click on the article link below to learn more from Gedmatch.about how to use this.:

Gedmatch.

Gedmatch can be a great place to collaborate with others who have been tested at other companies and gain access to more genetic tools to try to figure out how you are related to others.

It is a FREE (yes, FREE!) service provided by very intelligent and motivated genetic genealogists. Anyone with genetic genealogy test results from 23andMe, FTDNA.com (the Family Finder test), and Ancestry.com.

1. Head over to www.Gedmatch.com and click on “New User.”

Genetic Genealogy Testing Strategy

Vicki’s note – article from FamilyTreeMagazine.com

 

Two Ways to Create Your Genetic Genealogy Testing Strategy

7/14/2017

By Diahan Southard

You’ve got a limited DNA testing budget but lots of relatives. How do you decide who should be next to test? We’ll show you two ways to create your genetic genealogy testing strategy.

Q. I’ve had autosomal DNA testing done for my father, mother, wife and myself. We’re awaiting the results for my brother’s test. I transferred the Ancestry DNA results to GEDmatch and Family Tree DNA. Whom should I test next? A. The autosomal DNA test traces both sides of your family tree and is helpful in researching the most recent five or six generations. The more distant the ancestor, the less of that person’s DNA you have until he or she “drops off” your genetic family tree altogether. The most basic rule in autosomal DNA testing is to test any relative who doesn’t have both parents living, starting with the oldest generations. But since most of us don’t have the financial resources this approach might require, a testing plan also should take into consideration the reasons for pursuing genetic genealogy. More often than not, test-takers are in one (or both) of two situations:

• they’re trying to solve a family history mystery
• they just want to see what they can find out

Your DNA Testing Strategy for Solving a Family Mystery

If you have a family tree mystery, create a testing plan that will maximize your chances of finding out more about the ancestor in question. Set your sights on descendants of the mystery ancestors who are from lines other than yours. Say you’re trying to find the parents of your mom’s dad’s mom—your great-grandmother—Jane Lewis. You carry about 12 percent of Jane’s DNA (you have 50 percent of your mom’s DNA and 25 percent of your grandpa’s), and only about 6 percent of the DNA of each of her parents, the people you’re trying to find. To find out more about Jane’s parents, you need more DNA. Testing any of Jane’s descendants is helpful. But most helpful will be testing your second cousins, people who are descended from Jane’s other children—your grandfather’s siblings. These siblings got different parts of Jane’s DNA than your grandfather did, and passed some of those parts down to their children and grandchildren. Testing a second cousin also lets you differentiate the DNA you received from Jane (and her husband; we can’t separate the two at this point) from the DNA you received from your seven other great-grandparent couples. You can do this by studying the matches you share with your cousins using the Shared Matches, In Common With or similar tool offered by your testing company. In that list of shared matches, look for third cousins who might be descended from Jane’s parents or fourth cousins who might be descended from Jane’s grandparents.

Your DNA Testing Strategy for Seeing What You Can Find Out

If you’re testing not to address a particular question, but just to see what you can find out, try this:

• Test second cousins from each of your known great-grandparent lines, starting with older relatives.
• Consider finding a direct paternal line descendant of each of your four great-grandfathers to take a Y-DNA test, which would represent the surnames of each of those lines. The Y-DNA record for these paternal lines can help you sort out how other lineages with the same (or similar) surnames are related.

Get in-depth expertise on DNA testing strategies and results analysis in the genetic genealogy online courses and workshops at FamilyTreeUniversity.com.

 

DNA Testing Sales and Deals

Vicki’s Note – A 6-8-2017 posting by Shop The Hound BLOG.  This is a continuation of the two  informative DNA Testing webinars by Legacy Blaine Bettinger at our Stateline Genealogy Club @ Beloit Public Library program today 6-9-2017. I thought you might like to see that there have been two additional DNA Testing companies added in just the one year since the webinars were recorded – MyHeritage and Living DNA. 

If you were waiting for a sale to get a DNA test, here you go!  Remember – these sales tend to happen near a holiday.  Father’s Day gift anyone?  

The more people that get tested, the more chances you have of ethnicity samples becoming more accurate, and the more chances you have of finding cousins.  If you have had your DNA tested, look back at the results a couple of times per year, you may find more accurate results just from more data being added from new testers. You will not have to pay again.

Or you can pay about $39 to have a DNA test from another company transferred to Family Tree DNA.  The more companies you test at, the greater your chances of having a match with a cousin. 

And information from YourDNAGuide.com about another free option to share your DNA tests.  Download your results to Gedmatch.com   to compare with more users.   GEDmatch provides DNA and genealogical analysis tools for amateur and professional researchers and genealogists. Most tools are free.  Read how to do it in the second part below:

 

• BLOG
• WHO IS THE HOUND?
• SHOP THE HOUND
• WHAT THE HOUND FOUND
• The DNA Angel Project™
• FACEBOOK FEED
• GENEALOGY EVENTS
• LET ME BE YOUR FOREVER AMBASSADOR
• READING GENEALOGY

DNA DEALS

There are so many DNA Deals we had to add a special page for them all. I have to tell you I haven’t met a DNA test that I didn’t like and I’ve tested with every one of these companies. Take advantage of the Father’s Day Specials; for yourself, your dad, your uncle, your aunt. Tell everyone to test, because I’m always looking for cousins.

AncestryDNA (Canada) Get $20 off their DNA kits.  Click HERE

 AncestryDNA (US) Get 20% off their DNA kits.  Click HERE

Family Tree DNA (FTDNA) Save as much as 20% off their DNA kits. Click HERE

MyHeritage Save $20 off their DNA kits. Click HERE

23andMe – Get your genealogy and medical DNA information. Save $50.  Click HERE 

Living DNA Save $40 off their DNA kits Click HERE

 

https://www.yourdnaguide.com/upload-to-gedmatch

• 

Together we can navigate your family tree using your DNA.

• Your DNA Guide HOME
• About

Gedmatch.

Gedmatch can be a great place to collaborate with others who have been tested at other companies and gain access to more genetic tools to try to figure out how you are related to others.

It is a FREE (yes, FREE!) service provided by very intelligent and motivated genetic genealogists. Anyone with genetic genealogy test results from 23andMe, FTDNA.com (the Family Finder test), and Ancestry.com.

1. Head over to www.Gedmatch.com and click on “New User.”