Family Tree Frog

  Photo by Alex Daw Barley Sugar It's been a while since I've blogged and boy do I miss it. Have you received an email from Ancestry lately suggesting you check out new traits?  DNA doesn't lie, so they say, but I beg to differ.   This will probably be an intensely boring post for those of you who don't really know me but I feel compelled to record my responses to the alleged traits for the amusement or interest of posterity and my family. 16 new traits have been identified for me.  There are 56 identified traits altogether. Let's tackle the new traits first: Competitiveness - likely to be competitive - influenced by my maternal side apparently.  Yes I agree but not with the side of the family.  If you'd asked me I would have said the paternal side.  My paternal grandmother was I believe intensely competitive - witness the articles I have written about her swimming prowess.  I'm struggling to recall any competitiveness displayed by my mother ...

Image by Ekaterine Kantaria from Pixabay The theme for Week 2 is "Origins." Genealogists often get the question, "Where is your family from?" With this week's theme, you could explore an immigrant ancestor, but you could also think about the origin of other aspects of your family. Who was the first person in your family to settle in a particular town? If you have a long line of people with the same occupation, talent, etc, who was the first person you know who did it? If you want to join the challenge, sign up here. Here is my latest ethnicity estimate from Ancestry which, if you have taken a test with Ancesry, you can find under the DNA tab, sub-heading Origins. This has changed over time and there are reasons for that but I don't claim to be a DNA expert so you will have to look elsewhere for an answer.  Suffice it to say that my Irish percentage has increased significantly.  And in my youth I did have a lot of people tell me that I looked very Iri...

It's the little things in life that make it special isn't it?  Like weekends with a friend.  Not that my friend is especially little.  But Loani is very thoughtful and puts little touches like flowers in the bathroom as pictured above.   Oh yes, and I survived my first foray into teaching.  Of course I wish I had done a better job.  I was sick with nervousness beforehand - but thankfully had my brother-in-law and sister-in-law to wish me well and toast my good health on my return to their abode.  Thanks Pat and Terry for "putting me up" or "putting up with me" while we roll out this first Beginners course at QFHS. We already have 5 people on the wait-list for the next one.  How about that? But the BIG news in town this week is that Judy Russell (known as the Legal Genealogist ) and Carol Baxter (known as the History Detective and internationally acclaimed and award-winning author specialising in genealogy and history) will be presenting a...

Pull up a chair and plan your week ahead...there's plenty for everyone.. Friday 11 September 9:00-10:00am Advanced Catalogue Search Seminar at Queensland State Archives Discover how to get the best out of ArchivesSearch, the Queensland State Archives’ online catalogue, with this workshop. To book, please call 07 3131 7777 or email info@archives.qld.gov.au. 10:00-11:30am Fridays@QFHS - Findmypast Confused about searching on findmypast? Come along and learn a variety of search methods for locating records relating to your family.$11 members $15 non-members 10:00-11:30  Fridays@QFHS - DNA Basics - what do I do with my DNA test results? This session is for participants of the session held on 12 June 2015, to discuss the results of DNA tests. $11 members $15 non-members 1:00-2:30pm  Fridays@QFHS - Findmypast  - Afternoon session Confused about searching on findmypast? Come along and learn a variety of search methods for ...

Earlier this year (2nd January to be precise) I ordered an mtFull Sequence test from Family Tree DNA.  I finally got my results last week on 21 April but I had such a busy week at work and home that I didn't realise I'd received my results until yesterday!  Basically this tests my matrilineal heritage.   I'll be honest and let you know that I failed science at school but I will attempt to explain what I understand about this kind of testing.  As I understand it, most DNA testing tests the inside or nucleus of the cell.  Mitochondrial DNA testing is testing the DNA outside the cell's nucleus.  Mitochondrial DNA is only passed from mother to child.  Why did I do it? Well, really in the fond hope of maybe finding some other cousins out there in family history land.  Unfortunately I didn't come up with any exact matches or even close matches. C'est la vie.   But I can tell you that I'm Haplogroup H5a1.  I'd tell you what that means...