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By Andy Lee I love logic puzzles and DNA is definitely full of logical puzzles. After reviewing DNA recombinations from my own project, I have developed a chart that helps me understand my grandparent's DNA through Visual Phasing. Visual Phasing is an advanced technique for genetic genealogists where the results from siblings, can be used to determine part of the genetic makeup of grandparents. This technique was developed separately by Kathy Johnston and Randy Whited around 2015. There is a Visual Phasing Working Group on Facebook that is run by Blaine Bettinger if you want to learn more specifics about the technique. 1. You need the DNA results of at least 3 full siblings.  If you only have 2 siblings or if you have 2 full siblings and a half-sibling it is a lot more difficult. From these siblings, you are mapping out where recombination points happened. 2. Go through and assign segments to generic grandparents, as far as possible. 3. Use other close relative matches to re...

SYNTHPOPALOOZA asked in our post  Our Surname Tables for DNA Research What do you do in the case of first cousins marrying each other? This happens three times in my tree, and in one case (my father's father's line) both my 2nd great-grandparents have the same last name, Hurst. They share the same grandparents. How do you chart that? Great question. I have some suggestions but before we jump into answering that question, if you want step-by-step instructions on how to create a surname table, this video should help. Back to the actual question of charting when cousins marry each other. What you are describing is tree collapse. BOY, oh Boy, will your DNA become very confusing. Your cousin matches might suggest someone is more closely related to you than they actually are when you map our your family tree using documents. The more occurrences of tree collapse you encounter, the more confusing your research becomes, as you well know. I do not envy your situation. However, her...

I'll admit, DNA confused me. Even though my husband recently found my biological 2nd great-grandfather and we have a YouTube Channel with 40+ videos about DNA, I still don't understand it as well as I should. I have questions like these: How to use AncestryDNA tools now that I have taken a test (and sweet talked my relatives into it as well).  How to solve DNA mysteries for adoption and unknown parents situations . My grandmother was adopted and Andy (the Nerdy Family History Fanatic) just puzzled out who her bio dad is. How did he do it? How do I tell others to take a DNA test when they know all of their ancestors?  Is it enough to say, "Hey, then you can help me, or others like me, find our kin by being tested"? Finally, how do we triangulate? I thought I was doing that with MyHeritage DNA, but apparently not. Do you have similar questions?  If so, then join me as we learn at the feet of some amazing educators on August 4, 2018 - entirely online!!! And if you'...

In February, MyHeritage DNA released its long-awaited chromosome browser. Woot-woot. Shout praises. Celebrate however you will. This is tool is a game changer for me and I'm enjoying reviewing my results in a user friendly tool. Check this out. I manage kits for myself, my brother, and my two aunts. This allows me to link their DNA results to my tree. I LOVE this feature better than Ancestry DNA. I have five people that I'll be purchasing tests for who aren't interested in tree building. So, I'm in for a lot of work to get their trees built and connected to their DNA results. ANY-WAY, back on track. I began a one-to-many search with my brother, my two aunts, and then a fourth person. Y'all, I don't have to limit myself to triangulation. I can do whatever five people 'angulation' is. And that's where the power of this tool comes in. My brother is red, my two aunts are orange and yellow, and the 'new-to-us' match is green When I reviewed these ...

Researching your family tree using DNA can be complicated when you haven't created a surname table as a cheat sheet for referencing your data. Andy talks about these regularly in beginner DNA classes but I hadn't created one until today! And you're about to see my jealousy rear its beastly head. Before we begin, take a look at Andy's Surname Table: Look at the five spots that are holes in the 4th GGP section. That's not bad. The holes beside the Garnett in 3rd GGP only indicates that the Lees aren't really Lees and from that point on the surname line changes. Are you ready to see my chart? I'm really sad. Before you think I'm a terrible Genealogist, each missing surname comes with a challenge. The Anderson/Sparks is pretty 'righteous' (bad holey/holy pun) because Anderson and Sparks disappear from records after they have a child. There's only one record for William Anderson, of Sweden, in Missouri and nothing else. Oh, yea!  After that, the w...