Driven by D N A

 

Ever since having taken an autosomal DNA test in 2014, my family history work has been driven by DNA. Building my family tree has included the enrichment of collateral lines for each generation, thanks to the many DNA matches whose identity and connection had kept me stumped for the years before I made that cataloging decision. Now, my tree is connected in many different directions—at least as many as can possibly bring up a match with another DNA test taker in our family tree. I want to know how I relate to all these DNA cousins.

Thus, the numbers on my biweekly tally may seem over the top—but keep in mind mine is not a tree seeking solely to see "how far back" I can go. I'm looking for cousins—sometimes up to fourth and fifth cousins—not the identity of my tenth great-grandparents.

Knowing that background explanation, it isn't quite as surprising to see I added 343 thoroughly-documented distant cousins to my in-laws' family tree over the last two weeks. And the tree's total count of 36,153 doesn't seem so outlandish when put in that perspective. Besides, I've been clipping along at a similar rate now for nearly ten years, so the total size of the tree makes more sense when seen from that perspective.

Of course, that progress is also driven by both my Twelve Most Wanted research plans for the year and my behind-the-scenes follow-up on DNA matches. For instance, since my research goal this month was to focus on my father-in-law's possible relative, all my work so far centered on my in-laws' tree for July—and absolutely nothing happened to grow my own parents' family tree. (That tree still sits at 38,405, where it will stay until we begin work on my father's line in October.)

Follow-up on DNA matches adds more effort on both trees. For instance, behind the scenes this month, I've been working on a collateral line linked to a DNA match from my mother-in-law's side of the family. There's been a lot to add on that family line, thus the growth in that tree. In addition, a new connection with another side of my father-in-law's tree means collaboration with a DNA match may help propel our progress forward through mutual effort—always an encouraging outcome. These latest DNA contacts may help inspire how I round out the posts for the rest of this month, seeing how we've run out of steam in our pursuit of Hugh Stevens. We'll talk about those collaborations on Monday.