Luxegen Quick Guide to Genetic Genealogy Resources & Tools

DNA for Genealogy

Compiled by Joan Miller, Luxegen Genealogy (http://www.luxegen.ca)

This is an evolving list of resources that Joan Miller has found useful for genetic genealogy (DNA for Genealogy).

Websites

International Society of Genetic Genealogy (ISOGG) – free to join, free newsletter. http://www.isogg.org

Genetic Genealogy Companies

Choose the company with the largest database or has a surname, geographic or ethnicity project that meets your needs
Family Tree DNA – http://www.familytreedna.com/ (Y-DNA, mtDNA, autosomal testing) (FTDNA recently acquired DNA Heritage and Ybase.org)

23 and Me – http://www.23andme.com (health results + genetic genealogy. Autosomal DNA testing only)
Ancestry.com – http://dna.ancestry.com
Oxford Ancestors – http://www.oxfordancestors.com/
Others (Google to find)
Testing Comparison Charts at ISOGG – http://www.isogg.org/mtdnachart.htm (2010) http://www.isogg.org/ydnachart.htm (2008)

Mailing Lists, Forums and Blogs

DNA Newbie List – http://www.yahoogroups.com/group/DNA-Newbie
DNA-Forums – http://www.dna-forums.org
FTDNA – http//www.familytreedna.com
ISOGG – http://www.yahoogroups.com/group/ISOGG
Genealogy-DNA (advanced content; high number of posts per day) – http://lists.rootsweb.ancestry.com/index/other/DNA/GENEALOGY-DNA.html
FTDNA on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/FamilyTreeDNA
23andme on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/23andme
Genetic Genealogy Blog lists – http://www.23andyou.com/dna-blogs

Searchable Databases

YSearch http://www.ysearch.org (search Y-DNA)
SMGF http://www.smgf.org (search YDNA and mtDNA)
YHRD http://www.yhrd.org (YDNA haplotype searches)
Ybase http://www.ybase.org (search by surname or by YDNA)
Mitosearch http://www.mitosearch.org (search mtDNA)

Tools for Genealogy Research

Y-Utility: Y-DNA Comparison Utility http://www.mymcgee.com/tools/yutility.html
GEDmatch.com – http://gedmatch.com/ (compare gedcom and/or DNA)
Steve Morse’s List for Genetic Genealogy (DNA) – http://stevemorse.org/
Good list of third party tools – http://www.23andyou.com/3rdparty

Note – check the security policies and privacy statements before uploading your DNA to any sites outside of where you tested.

Webinars

Genea Webinars – http://blog.geneawebinars.com/p/calendar.html
Elise Friedman of Relative Roots has an excellent series of webinars on Genetic Genealogy with a focus on FTDNA – http://www.relativeroots.net ($)

Recommended Reading

DNA Basics

“From DNA to Genetic Genealogy-Everything you wanted to know but were afraid to ask” by Stephen P. Morse – http://stevemorse.org/genetealogy/dna.htm

Books and History of Genetic Genealogy

List of Genetic Genealogy books on this page – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetic_genealogy

Understanding Results

Y-DNA and mtDNA

“I Have The Results of My Genetic Genealogy Test, Now What?” By Blaine T. Bettinger, Ph.D. – http://www.thegeneticgenealogist.com/wp-content/uploads/InterpretingTheResultsofGeneticGenealogyTests.PDF

Understand Your Results (FTDNA YDNA and mtDNA) – http://www.worldfamilies.net/compareresults#matches

Explanation of Genetic Distance and TMRCA calculation: http://blairdna.com/dna102.html

Autosomal

Using Autosomal DNA Testing to Identify An Adoptee’s Roots – Blog Post by the Genetic Genealogist – http://www.thegeneticgenealogist.com/2011/05/05/using-autsomal-dna-testing-to-identify-an-adoptee%E2%80%99s-roots/

Scientific journals

PubMed – http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/ (Search term “genetic genealogy” or “surnames + “genetic genealogy”, etc.)

Version 1.0 Updated May 28, 2011

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About Joan Miller – Joan is the coordinator of the Alberta Family Histories Society DNA Special Interest Group and have been using DNA for genealogy since 2005. Her family has tested at Family Tree DNA and 23 and me. A retired manager of a medical research lab, Joan enjoys helping others learn about genetic genealogy and is available to give talks on the topic.

Have a link to suggest or wish to book Joan Miller to speak? Contact here.