Unexpected Photos

Unexpected Photos

A while back I got a message on Ancestry asking about Mary Sue (I have her listed as my mom’s biological mother on her DNA family tree).  If you’re unfamiliar with our story, Mary Sue is my mom’s biological mother.  […]

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More DNA Matches

For the last few months, I’ve been busy with my new baby girl. I’ll be honest, I would log on to my ancestry account and check to see if my mom had a new top DNA match. If not, I’d […]

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Understanding Shared Ancestor Hints + Video

Understanding Shared Ancestor Hints + Video

Understanding Shared Ancestors & Shared Ancestor Hints In order for you to really take advantage of genealogical DNA testing – especially at Ancestry, you need to understand what shared ancestors and shared ancestor hints are, how they can help in […]

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What does the asterisk mean on GEDmatch

*Asterisk in front of names on GEDmatch “What does it mean when a user has an asterisk in front of their name on gedmatch?” I’ve seen this question at least 20 times on different sites, so I figured I’d chime […]

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Been a bit absent lately – good news!

Why I’ve Been Absent Lately Sorry y’all! I’ve been quite absent from this site for a while now and I’d figure I’d check in and share some of my good news. In June I found out I was pregnant… Yay! […]

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Confusing Shared Ancestor Hints

Confusing Shared Ancestor Hints

Shared Ancestor Hints Recently, I linked my mom’s DNA profile to someone in a mirror tree and I got more shared ancestor hints than what I was expecting.  I had already confirmed this person’s maternal family is related to my […]

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A Quicker Video Tutorial – Mirror Trees

After publishing the video, Mirror Tree Walk Through, I got some feedback.  Lots of people found it helpful which is awesome! I’m so happy this helps.  I also got some constructive criticism that it was a bit long. And for […]

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Don’t Ignore the Boarders

Don’t Ignore the Boarders

Using Census Records If you are building out a family tree, you are going to be confirming those trees with historical records and one record that you are very likely to reference is a census record.  It’s a wealth of […]

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Video Tutorial – Mirror Tree Walk Through

Mirror Tree Walk Through – Video Tutorial Hey y’all!  I got lots of requests asking me to make a video tutorial on the post, Finding Shared Ancestors; A Walk Through.  So I finally figured out how to make it all come […]

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Building Trees & Finding Cousins

Building Trees & Finding Cousins

I mentioned in my last post that my mom has a close cousin. Possibly as close as half first cousin or 1st cousin once removed.  I know her name but that’s it.  So, I’m trying to find her by building […]

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