On this date, ten years ago, I started this blog. I used to write a new post once or twice a week but I have slowed down since the death of my husband in 2020, to about once a month. At least I am still blogging.
I started this blog as a way to keep track of my own genealogy and DNA research so that I no longer needed to bombard my cousins with emails. Also I was hoping to teach them how to use DNA to assist their own genealogy research. My first post was about my Dad’s Y DNA test results.
Sample extract of my compact chromosome mapper at GEDmatch
It turned out that my articles were often helpful to others. My focus was frequently on unknown parentage. I even wrote a number of tools to assist people with that research. My most popular tool, Ahnen2GED, turns an ahnentafel list into a GEDcom. Another program, my compact chromosome browser was picked up by GEDmatch, a tools site I blog about frequently. An exciting moment for me was when a screenshot of it appeared on TV in an episode of CeCe Moore’s Genetic Genealogist
When this blog became very popular (much to my surprise), I started to be asked to give talks about genetic genealogy, first at local groups and then important conferences like RootsTech and the Southern California Genealogy Jamboree. This month I will speak about unknown parentage for the North County DNA interest group on November 19. That group is close to my heart since it was there that I first heard CeCe Moore speak in 2012 and got inspired to do more with my family’s DNA test results.
Thank you all for reading my blog.
I’ve been following you for years – didn’t know your report was part of GedMatch! Exciting to be shown on CeCe’s show! I need to go through your archives and teach myself about how to best use all of my family’s DNA results! We all appreciate your blog!
Congrats on 10 years!
Kitty
Your devotion to genetic genealogy is a gift to the entire field and I find your blog posts essential reading. I am proud to be your friend and colleague.
Adam
Kitty, I hope you continue to work with us. You have been one of my favorite authors and I appreciate all that you do for the genetic genealogy community. I scan my email list every morning hoping to find a note from you.
All the best, Chuck
Kitty, New software program request for Gedmatch if it will work. Trying to identify granddaughter’s deceased father’s DNA matches. Her mother, our daughter, has not had an atDNA test. My wife and I have had it. Need software that will find matches to granddaughter that are not matches to us. Possible?
At GEDmatch You could create a Lazarus kit for your daughter from your kits and your daughters kit. Then use that kit with your granddaughter in the top “People who match both or 1 of 2 kits”
If you are all tested at Ancestry you could use DNAgedcom and the technique described in the following post after merging the results for each of you two grandparents
https://blog.kittycooper.com/2018/08/eliminating-the-dna-matches-from-one-side/
Thank you for your posts!
Congratulations on 10 years of your blog. You have helped me and many others with your posts!
Kitty
When I was new to all this you were one of two people whose blogs helped direct me. I’ve listened to your talks (and had dinner with you at the 1st San Diego
Conference)
You were/are a great positive influence and a huge resource for all.
Keep going as you never know who’s life you will touch today. Thanks for all you do.
Congrats on a decade of dedication to the advancement of practical DNA genealogy!
I am forever grateful for your help in identifying the mysterious “Mr. Y” in my family tree.
Best wishes on your continuing work to help people understand and discover the unknowns in their history.
Wish I had found you sooner! Working on changing parent 1/ parent 2 to maternal for some of my maternal matches…Maybe will find more that we or our cousins share. Need to do it in a more organized fashion.
Congratulations on the 10 years! I remember the nice ancestry cluster blog if i am not mistaken.
Happy blogiversary and I enjoy reading your blog posts as well as watching you present!
Congrats — and THANK YOU!!!
I first met you when you spoke at NSDCGS — and whenever we formed individual groups at the tables, I invariably chose YOUR table, because whatever the topic for that table, I just KNEW you’d find time to help all at the table with their individual questions/topics. I have grown immensely in the last decade and now spend most of my time helping others with their DNA mysteries — with skill, care, ethics, and several times with the satisfaction of success.
Again, THANKS!
Congratulations! I didn’t find you right away, but I have considered you must reading ever since I did. You have helped and inspired me and many others over your decade of blogging. May you continue for quite some time!
Thank you for writing this blog. I haven’t followed very long and I see there are many resources, including cooking and gardening! I was intrigued by the chart at the beginning of this article. How interesting to be able to compare the chromosomes of your brother and father along with distant relatives.
Good job!
Illuminating.
Whether we tell you so or not, all of your readers appreciate your writing talent and willingness to share what you have learned or created. Happy “blogiversary” and best wishes to you for at least ten more years of posts.
Miss Kitty, Glad that you are continuing to post. Really appreciate it.
Different subject. I just tried My Heritage “photo tagger” program and it
is pretty darn good. I have about 400 photos there and it did a remarkable job with lots of photos. (child and adult photos) There were some clear mistakes, but more good than not. It appears that one photo tagging may indicate that I made a mistake on a photo from 1870. I need to look more closely at the two photos that were used for comparison. I will definitely take more photos there and find out if the program agrees with my decision makings. Bill
Sounds like something I should try and then blog about, I will email you