The Top 3 Things You Need to Do to Start Learning About Your Family

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The Top 3 Things You Need to Do to Start Learning About Your Family History Tamara Hallo, MLS & Professional Genealogist [email protected] 786-842-7720 (text please) www.hallogenealogyservices.com

September 19, 2020

The Search for What is Known • Interview your family o Explain your project and ask permission o Seek stories that give life to your family tree o Have interesting questions ready o Let the interview wind its own path o Have patience, you might have to conduct more than one interview o Make the interviewee comfortable ▪ Record the interview with permission ▪ Bring along pictures to spark questions and stories ▪ Conduct the interview while doing something they love ▪ Make it a group interview • Attic and closet search o Call relatives to see what documents and heirlooms they have

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o Search for documents, vital records, Bibles, artifacts, military records, deeds, newspaper clippings, passports, wills or other probate documents, scrapbooks, letters, paintings, clothing, furniture, mementos, etc. o Look for photo albums and write the full names of relatives on the back of the pictures in pencil • Cite your interview, for example: o Gussie (Johnson) Everett (b. 1923– d. 2016), personal interview conducted by Tamara Hallo, 24 March 2006 in Miami, FL. • Record your mementos and precious documents on forms o Special Family Memento Form http://www.cm.genealogicalstudies.com/cm/1forms/amet/Me mento.pdf o Precious Documents Inventory http://www.cm.genealogicalstudies.com/cm/1forms/amet/Pre ciousDocInv.pdf o Personal Records Inventory Form https://www.familytreemagazine.com/freebie/personalrecordsi nventory/

Get Organized • Record your family’s information o Pedigree Chart http://misbach.org/download/pedigree_chart.pdf ▪ Always begin with yourself – You are #1 ▪ Males are even numbered ▪ Females are odd numbered o Family Group Sheet https://www.archives.gov/files/research/genealogy/charts- forms/family-group-sheet.pdf • Genealogy standards o Surnames are in all caps - RUIZ o Record dates as – Day Month Year o Dates – Month is spelled out & years include four digits – 6 Jan 2020 o Enter women by maiden names o Enter locations from smallest jurisdiction to largest

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• Abbreviations o b. – born o d. – died o abt. – about o bef. – before o aft. – after • Genealogy software o RootsMagic https://www.rootsmagic.com/RootsMagic/ o Family Tree Maker https://www.mackiev.com/ftm/index.html o Legacy Family Tree https://legacyfamilytree.com/Features.asp • Research forms ▪ https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Genealogy_Resea rch_Forms ▪ https://www.archives.gov/research/genealogy/charts- forms ▪ https://www.genealogicalstudies.com/eng/forms.asp

o Research log https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/File:Research_Log.pdf o Correspondence log https://www.familytreemagazine.com/freebie/correspondencel og/ o To-do list https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/File:To_Do_List_for_ My_Ancestor.pdf • Tips o Organize as you go o Choose a filing system that works for you and be consistent o Always have a to-do list by your side o Be specific when naming your electronic files o Always write source information and notes on documents/artifacts

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Explore FamilySearch.org and Ancestry.com

Searching FamilySearch Name Search – Search for a specific person with or without filters. Location Search – Location searches can be broad (state or country) or more specific (county level). Use the world map on the search homepage for broad searches. More specific location searches, such as county searches, can be conducted in the catalog. Remember, FamilySearch is tricky with search terms. The system recognizes broad geographic areas first and use the drop-down menus. For example, “United States, Georgia, Walton” or “Sweden, Västmanland, Östervåla.” Collection Search – Groups of indexes or digital images of records. Collections are specific to type, time and place. Think "1900-1910 Georgia Marriage Records" not just marriage records. Search collections if you know the name of the collection, to locate unindexed records or if you want to narrow your name search to one specific collection.

Catalog Search– A traditional library catalog, this searches ALL of the Family History Library’s holdings. It searches books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications. You can search by place, surnames, title, author, subject and keywords. Filters can be applied. Some records are digitized online, some are not. However, new digitized collections are being added all the time. Keep checking back. Items are also linked to WorldCat so you can find them in other libraries. www.worldcat.org Public Trees – Family trees are added by users. They can be edited and merged and living people are kept private. Each person should only have one “Person ID.” These trees are public. Use information with caution, it could be erroneous. Research Wiki – 93,000 articles containing how-to-guides, descriptions of collections, concept explanations, etc. to help you and your research no matter what the question. https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Main_Page

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Searching Ancestry.com Name Search – Search for a specific person with or without filters. Location Search – Location searches can be broad, state or country, or more specific, county. Location searches can be conducted in the card catalog. Use filters on the left- hand side to narrow your search. Catalog and Collection Search– The catalog allows you to search ALL of the Ancestry.com’s holdings, including records that are not indexed. You can search by title, keyword, type of collection, location, and date. Family Trees - Family trees are added by users. They can be public or private. Use information with caution, it could be erroneous.

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You Tested Your DNA, Now What?

DNA in a cell

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What the Different Types of DNA Can Tell You

Illustration DNA What Results Will Tell You Testing Company Mitochondrial • Direct matrilineal line – mother’s, mother’s, FamilyTree DNA (mtDNA) – Egg mother’s, etc. (FTDNA) line • Mother passes her mtDNA to ALL children, male and female • Only females can pass mtDNA • Can go hundreds to thousands of years back • Can show which wife was the mother of a child

Autosomal DNA • All relatives, both maternal and paternal line Ancestry (atDNA) • Passed by both parents FTDNA • Can take you as far back as five or six 23 & Me generations MyHeritage • Undergoes recombination so children, siblings, Living DNA cousins, etc. will have some of the same DNA and some different

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Y-DNA • Direct patrilineal line – father’s, father’s, FTDNA (surname father’s, etc. projects) • Passed from father to son intact • Can trace surname line

X-DNA • Males receive X-DNA from their mothers – Can see results trace portions of maternal line with • Females receive X-DNA from both parents FTDNA • Can possibly help prove how two people are 23 & Me related • Is tested with autosomal testing

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What is a centiMorgan (cM)? • Unit of genetic distance of a section of DNA along a chromosome • Matches are found by comparing how much autosomal DNA is shared • The more autosomal DNA is shared, the closer the relationship • See Blaine Bettinger’s Shared cM Project chart at https://thegeneticgenealogist.com/2017/08/26/august-2017-update-to-the- shared-cm-project/

Ancestry DNA Matches are found by comparing the number of centiMorgans that are shared. The higher the centiMorgan number, the closer the relationship is. Refer to Blaine Bettinger’s Shared cM Project chart.

FamilyTree DNA Y-DNA and mtDNA matches are found by calculating the genetic distance between two people. Genetic distance is the number of differences or mutations between two people. The greater the genetic difference, the further back a common ancestor is. A genetic difference of 0 means there is a 50% chance that your common ancestor is in the last 2 generations and a 90% chance that your common ancestor is in the last 5 generations. A genetic difference of 1 means there is a 50% chance that your common ancestor is in the last 4 generations and a 90% chance that your common ancestor is in the last 8 generations. With a genetic distance of 2, your common ancestor could be six or more generations back. Downloading and Uploading Raw Data FamilyTree DNA, MyHeritage DNA, and Living DNA all allow you to upload your raw DNA for free. You might have to pay a small fee to use all the tools available. FamilyTree DNA • Accepts autosomal DNA • Fee for ethnicity report MyHeritage DNA • Accepts autosomal DNA • Large European database • Fee for ethnicity report

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Living DNA • Accepts autosomal DNA • Must test with them to see full ethnicity report • Focuses on the United Kingdom • Limited matches but ethnicity report is very good

To learn how to download your raw DNA, click here: https://www.yourdnaguide.com/rawdata To learn how to upload your raw DNA to other sites, click here: https://www.yourdnaguide.com/transferring

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