Genealogy Websites & DNA Testing

 

“Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city.” –George Burns

With so many people taking DNA tests and then being encouraged to enter their family trees online, you can end up with some really good “pointers” that need to be researched OR you can end up with a hot mess!

While I’m glad that so much genealogy information (in the form of sources) is online, I get tired of correcting and/or emailing people who oversee family history lineages on sites that are trying to build One Big Family Tree. Control Freaks abound in these places, and, if they’re still active, it’s their way or the highway.

I remember now why I stopped doing online genealogy several years ago. I spent almost all of my time policing websites. I also had someone literally copy and paste my personal writing on my blog homepage to their blog page without referencing me or even including a link. This morning, I started a review of current, popular genealogy websites, but, by this afternoon, it looks like Ancestry.com has bought most of them! So, I guess my warning is to be careful of subscribing to multiple sites.

For Genealogists, Thank God for the Mormons!

While I am not Mormon, it is my understanding that Mormons conduct sealings (or rituals) for baptizing and binding the souls of couples and families not only living but also after their deaths. I think that’s how Family Group Sheets entered the mainstream along with the popularity of Family History Libraries at local Mormon churches (called stakes). In order to seal as many ancestors as possible, they needed records. So, along came the International Genealogical Index (IGI) published in 1973. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) has since created FamilySearch.org, which is a free website still owned by the LDS. Ancestry broke from the LDS in 2007. So, what started out small and free has branched out into huge and profitable.

Barb’s Review!	Pros	Cons	Subscription
FamilySearch.org (Offered by the Church of Latter-day Saints)	Some lines are well-sourced. Good selection of sources that differs from Ancestry. They have a mobile app.	Prefers merges with existing trees but not mandatory. Anyone can change or delete your tree.	Free
WikiTree.com (Owned by Interesting.com)	Some lines are well-sourced. They have some great projects that volunteer members work on like the Palatine Migration Project, etc. Shows your DNA test results as a percentage of relationship to an ancestor.	One Big Family Tree. May or may not be sourced. I’m noticing fewer pages being sourced, which is disappointing to me. They have a WikiTree Sourcer app for Apple and Mac products but not Androids.	Free
Ancestry.com (Bought in 2020 by Blackstone, an international investment firm)	No one can change your tree. Looks for possible sources “hints” for each person entered. They have a mobile app. Offers top-rated DNA tests.	Discount w/6-month subscription but $25 fee if you cancel early. You can’t view detailed info unless you’re a subscriber.	U.S. Records $22/mos U.S. & International Records $33/mos
MyHeritage.com (Started out in Israel, bought in 2021 by Francisco Partners an equity firm with an office in Utah)	Good collection of French sources. They purchased Legacy Family Tree software. Offers DNA tests $89.	You can’t view detailed info unless you’re a subscriber. All the research hints I’ve noticed in Legacy Family Tree are from MyHeritage.	Basic - Free. 4 plans ranging from $129/year to $299/year
Geni.com (owned by MyHeritage since 2012)	Some lines are well-sourced. Has many lines going back hundreds of years.	One Big Family Tree. May or may not be sourced. I’m noticing fewer pages being sourced, which is disappointing to me.	Basic - Free Pro - $119/year
Geneanet en.geneanet.org Purchased by Ancestry in 2021.	Focus on Continental Europe.	You can’t view detailed info unless you’re a subscriber. Not sure what the future holds since it was bought by Ancestry.	Basic - Free Premium - from $4.13/mos
FindAGrave.com Purchased by Ancestry in 2013.	Focus on cemetery records. Some include well-written biographies.	Information may or may not be accurate.	Free
FindMyPast.com (Owned by Scottish media firm DC Thomson)	Focus is on British and Irish records. Can create your own tree.	You can’t view detailed info unless you’re a subscriber.	British and Irish Records $60 All Records $90

Of course, there are other sites that are linked to Ancestry like Newspapers.com and Fold3.com that are also subscription-based.

So, why are equity and investment firms investing in your family history? They’re not. They are buying data. You supply the data; they sell the data for profit. Data benefits businesses through insights and analytics.

DNA Testing

According to the NYTimes.com/Wirecutter review updated 16 Nov 2023, here are the top 3 DNA test picks:

1. Ancestry - best overall; largest DNA database; cannot track maternal and paternal heritage independently or trace your ancient migration path out of Africa. $119 deeply discounted around holidays.

2. 23andMe - came in second; for male testers, the tests can provide the ancient migration paths of maternal and paternal lines independently; additional paid service for potential health indicators. $160 deeply discounted around holidays.

3. FamilyTreeDNA - runner up; offers a lot of add-on tests that can quickly add up; voluntarily provides access to its customer data to law enforcement. $89

For genealogy purposes, DNA testing works best alongside of traditional research techniques. While DNA might tell you that you have a Western European heritage, it won’t tell you who your great-great-grandmother is in Holmes County, Mississippi!

Common DNA terms:

Haplogroup - it’s a group that shares a common ancestor. While all humans started out as one original haplogroup in Africa, they have since migrated out and reproduced into separate groups. The four largest haplogroups today are European, African, Native American, and Asian.

Autosomal DNA - this is you in all your glory! This is what you get from your mom and dad (or scientifically, the 23 pairs of chromosomes: 22 from mom and 22 from dad). It tells you what your ethnic makeup is and can match you with living relatives within the past 5 generations.

Mitochondrial DNA - M is for Mom! Often called mtDNA or mDNA, this is what mom contributed to your genetic code. It can tell you about ancient migration routes of ancestors on your mom’s side. It doesn’t play well with others: your mDNA is exactly the same as your mom’s mDNA. It is exactly the same!

Y-chromosome DNA - Just for the guys! Often called Y-DNA, in males it makes up half of the 23^rd chromosome pair that determines your gender: males are XY and females are XX. Poor women all these thousands of years being blamed for not giving birth to a son when we now know it was the dad’s “fault” (Do you hear me Henry VIII?). This test is for biological males only and can show ancient migration routes of ancestors on your dad’s side.

While I don’t understand everything about how DNA is used in genealogy, I am certain that big business and insurance will eventually profit by, and misuse, the information.