3. 2016 Three new books and charts

I just got  my copy of The Family Tree Guide to DNA testing and Genetic Genealogy by Blaine Bettinger.   What a great beginning-novice book. ebook is available though having a hard copy is really good to see as you research.

I ordered group sheets and ancestor charts.  They have archival charts and  quick delivery https://sgenealogy.com/cart/

At Jamboree 2016 I bought 2 books by James M. Beidler:  The Family Tree Genealogy German Genealogy guide and Trace your German Roots Online.  I went to two of his sessions at Jamboree. More interesting resources are at  http://www.shopfamilytree.com/

2. Here is a list of my favorite DNA resources

facebook.com                 GEDmatch genealogy and Ancestry Group   (request to join)

http://lisalouisecooke.com/   Lisa Louise Cooke

http://www.isogg.org/   International Society of Genetic Genealogy  (Check out their getting                                                                    started wiki)

https://www.gedmatch.com     GEDmatch     (gives you exact chromosome, cm and snp in both                                                                 picture bars and numbers)

https://www.facebook.com/SouthernCaliforniaGenealogyJamboree/   Jamboree 2017 on FB

http://blogs.ancestry.com/ancestry/category/dna    Ancestry DNA Blog

https://segmentology.org/2015/06/11/why-upload-to-gedmatch-or-ftdna/    Jim Bartlett treasure trove

http://blog.kittycooper.com/tag/gedmatch    Kitty Cooper   buy her a glass of wine!

https://www.legalgenealogist.com/2012/08/12/gedmatch-a-dna-geeks-dream-site/
 Legal Genealogist

http://www.cyndislist.com/dna/analysis/
         Cyndi's List

http://gliesians.com/cousins-confidence-calculator.faces   Cousin  Confidence Mapper


just a few links, ha!

1. How I got started with Ancestry DNA

My friend encouraged me to get tested  so I sent in my Ancestry DNA kit.  Then I asked my parents and mother in law for spit for Christmas. Then my husband sent in his, My sister and brother were next!  Am I getting confused?  You bet!

I got an email through a cousin at Ancestry asking me for my Gedmatch number.  She gave me instructions and I did it.

• I made a DNA folder on my computer to put all these files in.
• I downloaded my DNA zipfile from Ancestry.  
• I downloaded my Ancestry tree and kept it zipped.
• I made a special email address for gedmatch security and correspondence.
• I signed into gedmatch.com (free) 
• I uploaded my DNA file and they send you a Gedmatch number.
• I paid $10 to get upgraded resources on GEDmatch 
• I uploaded my gedcom and paired it  with my  Gedmatch number.
•  I repeated this with the other names that I am an Ancestry admin for.
• I experimented with 1-1 matches, 1-many match and many others.
• I sent a few emails and received a few emails and see how gedmatch people are very interested in research while many of my Ancestry contacts are not responding.

At Gedmatch I saw lots of spreadsheets but didn't really understand  the "Why" behind the spreadsheets.  This was a huge learning curve, but I persisted.

I went to the SCGS Jamboree DNA conference in Burbank CA in June 2016.   http://genealogyjamboree.com/2016/about.html     I found out why the spreadsheets is because there is so much data, many people that you need help organizing.  At the DNA conference, I was told to make a spreadsheet for each person, keep track of correspondence, add notes to the spreadsheets that they have.

I decided to use 4x6" index cards for each person that I am interested in.  I put the Ancestry number in the upper right,   Name, Email, connection (Gedmatch/Ancestry etc),  Family tree name & number, common surnames  and descendency on the back,

I intend to put the info on the spreadsheets but I like having an index card summary as I email.  I also need to make surname lists to send to my new DNA cousins.

At one of my conference sessions they said to make a form letter to help with correspondence.

And this is just the beginning!