Genetic Genealogy

Did you get Africa Southeastern Bantu DNA ethnicity in your results? Learn more about how you inherited DNA from this region.

Ethnicity estimates are a fascinating aspect of DNA testing, and sometimes people are surprised by what they see, and it becomes very important to explain the findings.  If you have Iberian and Native American in your ethnicity results, you might be wondering if the simple explanation is that you have Hispanic or Latino ancestry.  In …

If you have Hispanic or Latino ancestry, you might be wondering which DNA is best for you.  In this post, I will explain which test is best for Hispanic or Latino Ancestry and why. Some people are understandably skeptical about whether or not there is a DNA test out there that can provide accurate results …

Did you just get your Family Finder test results back?  If so, this article will help you understand Family Tree DNA results.  My goal is to help you get the most from the experience.  Your DNA results contain a wealth of information about your family's past and present. In this post, you will learn: About …

Do you want to know how they get your ethnicity estimate, how far back they can test, and which company's test you can really trust? Find out here!

We were you expecting to see Native American DNA in your ethnicity estimate from your DNA test?  You are not alone in asking the question of why Native American ancestry doesn't show up in your ethnicity results.  There are a few common reasons why this happens, and we'll talk about them in this article. Reasons …

In this article, you will learn the basics about what makes the Gedmatch admixture results different than the ones provided by your testing company in your ethnicity estimate, and which admixture calculator is the best Gedmatch test for Native American. One of the most popular reasons for people to upload their DNA to Gedmatch is …

If you have been thinking about doing a DNA test, like the one offered by Ancestry DNA or 23 and Me, for example, you might be worried about the safety of your DNA.  There are many issues to consider when it comes to DNA and privacy, and I am going to do my best to …

Are you interested in taking a DNA test for finding living relatives? There are many excellent choices for DNA testing, and this post will explain why Ancestry DNA is the best choice for finding living family members. When trying to find living family with a DNA test, you should choose a company that: is reliable …

Do you want to know if a DNA match is paternal or maternal? Using the information and techniques described in this post, you'll be able to figure out which side of your family your match is on. It's very common to have trouble determining whether a match is paternal or maternal, especially if you haven't …

A few weeks ago, one of my close acquaintances got his DNA results back.  He showed them to his mother, who is the daughter of a Mexican father and and an American mother.  Her initial response was that they were wrong:  "Those can't be right," she said.  "Where is the Mexican in your DNA results?"  …

How accurate are Ancestry DNA matches? Find out when they are 100% accurate and when you need to take a second look. Read more...

Can siblings have different Ancestry DNA results?  If you and your sibling both did the Ancestry DNA test for fun, you might be confused over your results.  If you are full siblings, why are your Ancestry DNA results different?  Before you jump to any conclusions about mom or dad, you should definitely read this post. …

If your DNA match hasn't responded, and you haven't given up hope that they someday might write you back, there are a few things that you can consider to improve the probability that they will write you back.  In this post, I've listed six secret tips that you can try to improve your chances that …

One frustrating aspects of using DNA to learn about your family tree is when you contact DNA matches and there is no response.  Sometimes, you can even send multiple messages different ways and still get no answer.  In this post, I will discuss a few reasons why your DNA matches won't respond, and a couple …

Do you want to learn how to use Gedmatch? Check out this free step-by-step guide to learning the basics of Gedmatch. Find new DNA matches and DNA tools!

What should you do if your elderly relative's DNA test fails?  Are there any options?  This post will give you some ideas about what to do if it happens during your DNA journey. Have you received the dreaded "New DNA Sample Required" e-mail from Ancestry DNA?  It is wonderful when our elderly relatives agree to …

Are you worried that your first cousin does not match on your DNA results? In this post, learn reasons why this might have happened and what to do next. More often than you might expect, people are surprised by their DNA results.  It can be disappointing or shocking to expect someone to be genetically related …

Want to know what the Gedmatch One to One comparison tool can tell you? This is an easy-to-read explanation about how to understand the results!

Did you get your Ancestry DNA results back expecting to see Polish as your ethnicity?  Surprise! In this article, you will learn why your Polish DNA might not show up on Ancestry's DNA ethnicity estimate. This post was originally published in October, 2017, but was updated in August, 2018 to reflect the most current information …

I recently got an elderly relative's DNA test results back from Family Tree DNA (FTDNA), and naturally the first thing that I wanted to do was upload his results to Gedmatch.  There are many reasons that you might want to have a file that contains your raw DNA data, and in this post I hope …

Did you find Europe East in your Ancestry DNA results? In this article, you will learn a bit about what it means to have Europe East Ancestry, including: What countries are included in the Ancestry "Europe East" category Why the DNA ethnicity results aren't separated by country Discussion about whether you might be able to …

Is it possible for two siblings to have the same parents, but have different ethnicity results?  This question sometimes causes people to panic, wondering if they have uncovered a family secret.  Is it possible that two full siblings who have the same two parents show different ancestry? The resounding answer is YES.  This is totally …

People have all sorts of motivations for doing an Ancestry DNA test.  One popular reason is to search for Native American Ancestry, or to confirm it.  This leads to an obvious question:  Does Ancestry DNA Test For Native American ancestry? In this article, I'll show you what Native American results look like on the Ancestry …

Do you have extensive Colonial America roots, yet show Iberian Peninsula DNA?  In this article, you will learn how it can be possible to have both Iberian and Colonial ancestry.  Here's a hint:  It doesn't mean that your tree is wrong! Before we get started, I should mention that Ancestry DNA no longer reports the …

If you have tested your DNA, should your other relatives test theirs, too? This article will explain how and why having multiple family members test their DNA can help you learn more about your ancestors. "I've already done a DNA test.  Why should anyone else in my family do one, too?"  Does this sound like …

Shared Ancestor Hints on Ancestry DNA are a great way to find out how you are related to your DNA matches, and can even help you continue to build your family tree.  In this article, I will help you understand what these hints mean and how you can use them to help you in your …

Have you wondered if you should ignore your distant cousin DNA matches? Is there anything that can be gained through trying to identify how you are related to these relatives? Some of us have many thousands of DNA matches. Since it can be difficult to tell which matches are most important, many of us focus …

Do you want to know how to change your Ancestry DNA test settings? In this post, learn how to adjust settings for privacy, sharing, family tree - and more! If you've done your Ancestry DNA test, you might be interested in learning about the different options available to you on your test settings page.  Believe …

In order to get the best results from your Ancestry DNA results, you should consider attaching your DNA to your family tree on Ancestry.  In this post, I'll explain how to quickly attach DNA to an Ancestry tree. Even if your tree isn't completely finished, or even if you only have a few people in …

This post will help you understand your Ancestry DNA results.  People do the Ancestry DNA test for all sorts of different reasons, and sometimes the results can be confusing or unexpected.  In this article, I will show you how to read DNA results: Ancestry DNA. (If you haven't done an Ancestry DNA test yet, you …

Have you found a close match on your DNA test results?  Maybe you are curious to know whether it could be a full or half sibling who is unknown to you?  Find out how much DNA you share with a sibling. On Ancestry DNA, and most other testing sites, they won't be able to tell …

Do you want to know how to upload DNA to Gedmatch? Learn the easiest way to do it in this post, and start using the helpful tools on the site immediately!

I'm so glad that you have decided to get in touch with one (or more!) of your DNA matches!  I hope that with this post you learn how to craft your message, what information to include, and how to increase your chances of getting a positive response.  At the end of the post, there is …

The day that you have been waiting for for weeks has come and gone.  You got the exciting e-mail containing the news that your DNA results are ready.  You looked at them, and it was all well and good.  What should you do now? No worries!  In this post, I'll show you many things you …

Wonder what Ancestry DNA Hispanic DNA results look like? If you have family from Latin America, you MUST read this post about Hispanic DNA results.

It turns out that many people are curious about how many matches it is "normal" to have, or what they should expect.  In this post, we will talk about what to expect as far as the average number of DNA matches for Ancestry DNA customers. How many matches do you have?  Are you disappointed in …

If you are like most people, you probably have a list of DNA matches that contains thousands of people.  The relationships of these "cousins" to you can range from a close relationship, like a first cousin, to an 8th cousin once-removed - or even more distant!  Sometimes, the relationship can even be more distant.  I, …

Do you want to know where to look on your Ancestry match list to find out how many centimorgans you share with your DNA matches? In this post, find the two different ways to access this information and what you can learn. Have you seen people mentioning "shared centimorgans" or seen someone say "shared cMs" …

What is an autosomal DNA test? Autosomal DNA testing has grown exponentially in popularity over the past several years, and in this post, you will learn everything you need to understand about this type of DNA testing. There are several types of DNA tests that are available for purchase to the average consumer. These tests …

Modern humans have been living in the Iberian Peninsula for many thousands of years.  Before modern humans, the peninsula was inhabited for hundreds of thousands of years by other species of hominids.  This all leads to a rich history that can get kind of complicated to understand completely.  In this post, we'll discuss the Iberian …

Are you curious about whether Iberian is Hispanic?  Did you do a DNA test and saw something called "Iberian Peninsula" on your DNA results?  Does this mean that you are Hispanic?  No worries, this is a super common question, and in this post, we will discuss the meaning of Iberian vs. Hispanic. What does Hispanic …