To celebrate DNA day on April 25, Ancestry.com is having a five day sale starting today.
I have advised many of you to wait for this $79 price and now it is here! Go get some tests.
To learn more about the DNA test at ancestry see this blog post of mine. Also I advise that you also upload your ancestry results to either or both of family tree DNA and GEDmatch to find more matches and have a chromosome browser.
Someone on one of my many genealogical facebook groups mentioned that South African records were online these days and originals could be had for a small fee. Since two of my great-grandmother’s brothers went to Johannesburg to make their fortunes, I could not resist trying out the site at http://www.ancestor.co.za
I searched on the surname “Langerman” and sure enough my great-great-uncles Max and Jacob Langermann appeared in the search. From the dates, these are death records. Note that I have increased the contrast from the original web site (click on the image to see the actual screen shot) as the colors left something to be desired.
I ordered the record for Jacob a few weeks ago and paid about $5.00 US. My first search effort ended too soon, 1900, so I did not see Max. The next time I tried it, I used a better search and ordered the record for Max.
Today I got an email that the document for Jacob was ready plus they have found a few more documents!
Over and over again I see requests for something on the basics of using the GEDmatch.com site. Although I have many many posts about GEDMatch, a set of presentation slides, and a GEDmatch utilities manual (still being updated, sorry Barton) on this site, something even simpler is needed since most ancestry.com DNA testers suffer severe shock on being presented with the no nonsense screens at GEDmatch.
The good news is that professional genetic genealogist Angie Bush has put together an introductory video on GEDmatch which I am embedding here for all of you.
Angie is a molecular biologist as well as a professional genealogist, so is a very qualified genetic genealogist, unlike us passionate amateurs. Better yet, she can explain difficult concepts in plain English! She has a GEDmatch basics guide for sale at a nominal cost on her site at:
http://www.genesandtrees.com/products-and-services.html
She also runs a google+ discussion group named DNA Genetic Genealogy Interest Group:
https://plus.google.com/communities/114217342110393647763
A recent email informed me that my brother and I had a DNA connection to A.J.Jacobs, the writer and Esquire editor who read the whole Encyclopedia and lived a biblical year among other creative endeavors. Having had dinner with this fascinating fellow at my brother’s house during the last Rootstech, I was extremely pleased.
A.J. Jacobs with my brother Shipley at Rootstech 2015
A.J.’s latest mission is pursuing the fact that we are all related, by throwing the biggest family reunion ever on June 6. This is sponsored by most of the major genealogical companies and is a fund raiser for Alzheimer’s, which as A.J. said in his email “hits genealogy particularly hard, since it erases family memories.”
Happily for me, there will be a branch party at the Southern California Genealogy Jamboree where I will be on that day.
His TED talk explains it better than any post I could write: http://globalfamilyreunion.com/ted-talk
This is what I read in the email:
With the help of dozens of scientists and volunteers, my family and I are putting together a world-wide event on June 6 that will unite cousins from all over the globe. You can watch a TED talk about it here. Or hear it on NPR here.
Our partners include the top firms in the field, including: FamilySearch, Geni, MyHeritage, Findmypast, 23andme, Family Tree DNA, and WikiTree.
I hope your Easter and Passover holidays were as lovely as mine were. My son finally visited our new, or not so new, San Diego home and I had the pleasure of showing him some of my favorite places here last week.
So yes I have been on vacation, however I have several good articles in the works so stay tuned. Meanwhile I hope you find this Esto cartoon as funny as I did.
Esto Frigus cartoon from Geneapalooza, used by permission
Also I want to thank whomever ordered that nice expensive diesel heater for their boat via my Amazon