DNA experts who are able to use the data in their tests and the tests of genetic relatives to explore their ancestry fascinate me. The latest webinars about the methods they use are so informative. I take notes and download handouts but somehow nothing really sinks in. It seems that this new genealogical tool is somewhat akin to math, either you grasp it or you don't. But still I plod along hoping that one spark will set me on the path to understanding.
Part of the problem, I think, is that I am a bit slap dash in my approach and a lot of what the experts teach is about being methodical, like tagging and sorting matches once you've looked at them. It seems like it would pay to invest some time and actually get down to sorting through my matches.
Getting them sorted is becoming more urgent. I now have more matches to look through since Living DNA increased the offerings on their database to show probable related testers. I was trawling through my Living DNA matches to see if there were any familiar names attached to the testers when I came across a name I recognized. The name was of someone I know to be a genealogy expert. If I was able to figure out the match, the information on their lines should take me back further. So I sent them a message.
They replied and we tried to find the connection. I sent a link to my tree on Ancestry and we looked to see if we matched on FT DNA and My Heritage. Nada. No matches anywhere else. I was disappointed but when I talked about it in the DNA group for my genealogy society, one of the experts in the group asked me where the matching centimorgans were. I didn't know that information as Living DNA doesn't have a chromosome browser yet but it gave me something to think about. Perhaps the mystery of that match is the spark that will ignite my DNA research.
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