The Year Ahead – June 12

In the January/February 2024 issue of Family Tree Magazine, they have introduced The Year Ahead, 366 genealogy tips will make 2024 your best research year yet by Lisa A Alzo. Lisa mapped out a day-by-day research plan.

June 12 – Tap into the (mostly) free DNA Painter www.dnapainter.com to demystify your test results with color-coded family trees, chromosome-mapping, and relationship calculators.

DNA Painter is great to see what possible relationships a match has to you. 

For example, when I had an unknown close relative who matched me at 538 cMs, I turned to DNA Painter to see the possible relationships. I could eliminate many of the relationships in the 88% group based on the age of my match. It left Half 1C and 1C1R. Looking at the 9% group, only 1C or half Niece/Nephew were left. In the 3% group, I had Half 1C1R or 2C. Now when I looked at my matches, I could tell, it had to be some sort of cousin on my father’s side of the family. I concentrated on the 1C1R and soon felt it was one of my aunt’s son’s child. After assisting the unknown relative with her matches, she gave me access, I confirmed this speculation. I could figure out who her grandparents were, but not her parents. Her mother's parent's obituaries only listed how many children each had, not who they were. She reached out to her mother’s side of the family, through a DNA match that had the same surname as her maternal grandparents and was given the name of who her mother most likely was. My newly found cousin reached out to this woman who confirmed that she was her birth mother and gave the name of her father, who was the son of my Aunt. 

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!