DNA takes genealogy to next level
Technology aids family tree formation
When they run into those inevitable brick walls in search of their ancestors, more and more genealogists are turning not to census data, military logs or death notices, they're spitting into vials.
Genetic testing can enable researchers to identify living people with whom they share common kin and figure out where in the world distant ancestral homes were and long forgotten ethnic roots.
Such testing services are widely available and steadily improving, but there are limits to what they can accomplish. To maximize its potential, Utah-based GeneTree (genetree.com) now provides counselling to help genealogical searchers determine what they can learn through genetic tests, which tests to take and who in your family can provide useful samples.
"If you get a little creative and test your mother's brother, you can extend Y chromosome into different areas in your pedigree," said Scott Woodward, chief scientific officer at the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation, which operates GeneTree. "We can help identify collateral people in your pedigree."
Bennett Greenspan, founder and president of Houston-based Family Tree DNA (familytreedna.com), estimates 90 per cent of genealogical searchers have tapped their genes, or those of a surrogate.
"The problem with genealogy, especially before the Internet, is you always run into a roadblock," Greenspan said. "This could be my surrogate piece of paper."
Greenspan, whose company was among the first in 2000 to offer genetic tests for genealogy, used genetic testing on his own pedigree to determine whether his cousin descended from someone he found in an online database who lived in a Ukrainian village and had the same surname.
The two men's Y chromosomal DNA matched up, proving what Greenspan couldn't using traditional genealogical tools such as birth and marriage certificates, census data, immigration documents and military records.
These paper resources are indispensable, but they don't always survive and are not much help for unravelling adoptions and "illegitimate" births. While records might be destroyed in a fire or a flood, DNA abides and never lies. Increasingly, genetic testing is examining autosomal DNA. Because these tests cast a much wider net, the information they yield is harder to interpret.
Has recibido este mensaje porque estás suscrito al grupo "Genealogia Molecular Mexico" de Grupos de Google.
Para publicar una entrada en este grupo, envía un correo electrónico a genealogia-molecular-mexico@googlegroups.com.
Para anular tu suscripción a este grupo, envía un correo electrónico a genealogia-molecular-mexico+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
Para tener acceso a más opciones, visita el grupo en http://groups.google.com/group/genealogia-molecular-mexico?hl=es.
