LESS than 25 DAYS for the next i4GG (Institute for Genetic Genealogy) 2018 Conference!

Now only 24 days away!:

2018 i4GG registration Now Open!
Just since our last conference the popularity and public interest in Genetic Genealogy has seen a formidable explosion. Data bases have mushroomed as Genetic Genealogy has gone from exclusive or elite, to mainstream. This begs the question; what will the next 12 months hold for Genetic Genealogy? How are the testing companies preparing for continued explosive growth? How can we stay on top of the latest advancements in this field, including the most comprehensive and most effective  techniques for the successful application of DNA testing to genealogy available now? This and so much more will be the theme of i4GG 2018.

Hosted by CeCe Moore’s DNA Detectives the i4GG 2.5 day Genetic Genealogy conference will kick off with a “company” day Friday December 7 when the major DNA testing companies will own the stage. This is followed by two full days December 8 and 9, 2018 in San Diego CA. As is i4GG tradition, the conference will cover the most cutting edge Genetic Genealogy methodologies for any genealogy application, including unknown parentage.

The talks at i4GG will be professionally video recorded and be provided free of charge to those who purchase tickets for both (2.5) days. For those who opt for one day only, the recordings will be available for purchase at $99 for all videos, or $10 for purchase of individual video recordings.

Newbie or Pro, makes no difference, at i4GG there is something for everyone. i4GG has been called “the most important DNA conference in America” and we will strive to live up to this esteemed repute.

One of my goals this year is to learn more about DNA, obviously.  But another goal is to be as comfortable as possible (I find all-day meetings like this physically excruciating, despite my interest in the subject).

I hope to see some of your there!



© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

i4GG Conference Coming Up Fast!

I posted about this conference in June.  Now it is only 66 days away!:

2018 i4GG registration Now Open!
Just since our last conference the popularity and public interest in Genetic Genealogy has seen a formidable explosion. Data bases have mushroomed as Genetic Genealogy has gone from exclusive or elite, to mainstream. This begs the question; what will the next 12 months hold for Genetic Genealogy? How are the testing companies preparing for continued explosive growth? How can we stay on top of the latest advancements in this field, including the most comprehensive and most effective  techniques for the successful application of DNA testing to genealogy available now? This and so much more will be the theme of i4GG 2018.

Hosted by CeCe Moore’s DNA Detectives the i4GG 2.5 day Genetic Genealogy conference will kick off with a “company” day Friday December 7 when the major DNA testing companies will own the stage. This is followed by two full days December 8 and 9, 2018 in San Diego CA. As is i4GG tradition, the conference will cover the most cutting edge Genetic Genealogy methodologies for any genealogy application, including unknown parentage.

The talks at i4GG will be professionally video recorded and be provided free of charge to those who purchase tickets for both (2.5) days. For those who opt for one day only, the recordings will be available for purchase at $99 for all videos, or $10 for purchase of individual video recordings.

Newbie or Pro, makes no difference, at i4GG there is something for everyone. i4GG has been called “the most important DNA conference in America” and we will strive to live up to this esteemed repute.

One of my goals this year is to learn more about DNA, obviously.  But another goal is to be as comfortable as possible (I find all-day meetings like this physically excruciating, despite my interest in the subject).



© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

I Will Soon Have DNA in All Four Ponds

Okay, now I'll have DNA at the four major players (the others being AncestryDNA, FTDNA, and 23andMe).

Thank you Mom for purchasing DNA kits at MyHeritage.

Please let these four DNA companies be the only ones for a while.  I'm in serious DNA overload right now!


© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Updated myOrigins at FTDNA

My mother's update.  Looks about right based on what I know about her background.  This estimate has West Middle East instead of Caucasus, as AncestryDNA predicts.

My dad lost his curious Ashkenazi and got minor Native American.  I still don't know why or who this is reflecting, but he keeps getting Native American in almost every ethnicity estimate, albeit in vanishingly small amounts.  He has known German ancestors, but I think they are being reflected by the British Isles and Southeast Europe instead of West and Central Europe.  Otherwise the estimate falls into line with what I know about his ancestry.

My own update.  The British Isles and Scandinavia are about what I'd expect.  I just didn't get my mom's Iberian Peninsula, instead I have Southeast Europe and East Europe, and also South Central Asia (as opposed to Middle Eastern/Caucasus as my mom gets).  Also Finland, which neither of my parents got.  No super small Native American, as my Dad keeps getting.

My parents and my myOrigins updated ethnicity results are a lot like our Ancestry ethnicity estimates now.

Our overall ethnicity estimates as they were in 2015, using AncestryDNA, Eurogenes K13 at GEDmatch, FTDNA, and DNA.LAND,




© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

DNA.LAND Updates Its Ethnicity Estimates

DNA.LAND has updated their ethnicity estimates (they call them "Ancestry Reports").

I submitted my parents' DNA back in October, when DNA.LAND's estimates were minimal at best*.

The following are the new estimates:

New "ancestry report" for Mom. This seems to be in line generally with what I've seen for her estimates everywhere else.

This is a big improvement from their first estimates, for sure.

New "ancestry report" for Dad.  There is that Ashkenazi again.  I have yet to figure out why both DNA.LAND and FTDNA estimate this for my dad, but Ancestry and the various GEDmatch tests don't.  After getting help from another user with expertise on Jewish ancestry on GEDmatch who analyzed Dad's estimates, it didn't appear that Dad had any consistent recent genetic ties to known Ashkenazi Jews, but I am assuming it is reflecting an older ancestor (maybe 1500 or before?).

*Previous posts about using various ethnicity estimators:

Ethnicity Estimates on Family Tree DNA Between Me and My Parents

DNA.LAND Results In!

What's the Same, What is Different? My Dad's DNA Ethnicity Estimates

© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Ethnicity Estimates on Family Tree DNA Between Me and My Parents

These estimates are about right for my known Northern European ancestry, but the Middle Eastern seems high (my paper trail shows no evidence of a Middle Eastern great-great grandparent).  It must be a result of the competing Middle Eastern and Central Asian signals my parents seem to have.

My mom has a bit less Middle Eastern, and has Mediterranean/Southern European where I am do not.  I am assuming this is likely coming from her  French ancestors in Virginia.

My dad has an unexpected Ashkenazi reading, as well as some Central Asia.  Not sure where this is coming from, although my experience using GEDmatch ethnicity tests makes me think he has some signals coming from the Georgia/Azerbaijan region, which is midway between Ashkenazi/Eastern Europe and Central Asia. 

The surprise in these estimates are the Middle Eastern/Central Asian signals.  As interesting as my dad's Ashkenazi ancestry would be, I'm not convinced this is real, at least at that amount.  A very helpful user who makes a point of analyzing Jewish DNA on GEDmatch helped analyze my dad's ethnicity estimates, comparing my dad's DNA with others using the one-to-many matches and triangulation, and concluded no solid evidence for Ashkenazi ancestry (although there my be some distant Ashkenazi, but not to warrant the equivalent of a great-great-grandparent).



© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.