This book aims to help genealogists at every level learn to trace descendants of ancestors, both direct line and collateral. With step-by-step guidance, methodologies, and practical examples, this guide will give you the tools and confidence to find and make meaningful connections with living family members. In fact, finding living relatives isn’t all that different from tracing your direct-line ancestors and their families. The same skills apply—researching, organizing information, and following clues—but with a focus on connecting the past to the present. This process, known as reverse genealogy, involves creating a detailed family tree, identifying relatives down both ancestral and collateral lines, and using modern tools to track them down.

Cheri Hudson Passey is a professional genealogist, instructor, writer, speaker, and owner of Carolina Girl Genealogy, LLC. She hosts the “GenFriends Genealogy Chat Show on YouTube, where she and a panel of professional genealogists meet weekly to discuss all things genealogy. Cheri began working as a genealogist researcher subcontracted by Eagle Investigative Services, Inc., for the US Army Past Conflict Reparations Branch in 2018. She uses her skills to identify and locate the next of kin, along with YDNA and mtDNA candidates for the families of World War II soldiers who are listed as missing in action. The goal is to use DNA to positively identify remains and, with the permission of next of kin, bring our war heroes home.

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Outside of the U.S., the books are available from Amazon and bookstores in the Ingram network. The color supplement can be downloaded anywhere, as is the case with our eBook.

FamilyTreeDNA, founded in 2000, was the first and is still the only company to offer three kinds of DNA testing for genealogy.

• The Family Finder autosomal DNA test provides you with your ethnicity breakdown, plus matches to close and distant family members on both the paternal and maternal sides of your family.
• Mitochondrial DNA tests your mother’s direct maternal line, providing recent matches and deep heritage.
• Y-DNA tests the direct paternal (surname) line for men, providing matches to males who are both recently and distantly related.

All three DNA tests are indispensable for both genealogists and people searching for unknown parents and other family members.

For Both New and Existing Customers!

This book explains each kind of test, when it’s most useful, and how to incorporate the results into your genealogy. Author Roberta Estes provides clear, step-by-step instructions for understanding each test individually, and for deploying them together. If you’ve already tested at FamilyTreeDNA, this book is your one-stop source for understanding and using your results most productively. If you are new to FamilyTreeDNA testing, you’ll learn which test(s) to start with, then upgrade later as warranted. You will also be given purchase advice and learn how to fine-tune your results.

More Value!

In addition to the value of your personal test results, you will discover how joining Surname and other DNA Group Projects supported by FamilyTreeDNA promotes collaboration between genealogists with similar research interests. This book will help you to locate the most beneficial projects to join in order to maximize the value of your investment in DNA testing.

What’s Covered?

Here are just a few of the topics covered in The Complete Guide to FamilyTreeDNA:

• The Science behind DNA tests – written for everyday people
• Y-DNA – Your Father’s Story – types of markers and how to use your results
• The Big Y test and how to interpret the results
• Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) – Your Mother’s Story – matches and what they mean
• Autosomal Family Finder Tests – Matches to All Your Family Lines
• Shared Matches
• Autosomal matches automatically assigned maternally or paternally
• Your Ethnicity Percentages from around the world plus maps and chromosome painting
• Finding, joining, and utilizing Group Projects
• Public Tools for Y-DNA and Mitochondrial DNA
• Creating Your Own DNA Pedigree Chart
• Detailed Glossary of terms used in genetic genealogy

This comprehensive guidebook makes use of multiple visual aids. You will see screenshots like the ones you can expect to view on your own computer; roadmaps and checklists with instructions on how to proceed; plus, an extensive glossary to help you decipher the technical language associated with DNA testing.

 About the Author

Roberta Estes, author of the popular blog www.DNA-eXplained.com is a scientist, National Geographic  Society Genographic affiliate researcher, Million Mito team member, and founding pioneer in the genetic genealogy field. An avid genealogist for the past 40 years, Roberta has written over 1,600 articles about genetic genealogy and provides consulting to major publications and organizations. Additionally, Roberta’s book, DNA for Native American Genealogy, complements her website, the Native Heritage Project, at www.nativeheritageproject.com. Roberta took her first DNA test in 1999 and hasn’t stopped.

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Author Drew Smith has organized the chapters according to the actual process used in genealogical research: Start with yourself, then move on to living family and relatives, and then move backwards in time, generation by generation. Each chapter describes a time period and the kinds of records available for that era, allowing beginners to learn about new types of records just as they need them.

The guide is divided into two parts. Part I (“For All Generations–Preparing to Research”) discusses such things as relationships between family members, naming practices,  genealogy software, how to review existing research, and the basics of DNA testing. Part II (“Generation by Generation—Doing the Research”) begins with a discussion of the major genealogy websites, and then explains the most important record categories for all generations from the present day back to the colonial era. There are also chapters devoted to searching for the origins of American families in the records of Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, and non-English-speaking nations.

This book is written in a clear and charming style. It makes ample use of consecutive Internet screen shots to take the mystery out of online searching. And it is written by an expert genealogist and teacher who is equally conversant with  traditional search methods and the digital world. There is no other book like it.

About the author: Drew Smith is the genealogy librarian at the University of South Florida Libraries in Tampa. He is co-host of The Genealogy Guys Podcast and host of the Genealogy Connection podcast. Mr. Smith is a founder and administrator of The Genealogy Squad Facebook Group with over 53,000 members. He writes a regular productivity column for the Association of Professional Genealogists Quarterly.

Reviews

On March 20, 2023, Margaret M. McMahon (Dr. Mac), who writes the blog A Week of Genealogy.com, says, ” ‘Generation by Generation: A Modern Approach to the Basics of Genealogy’ is a concise way for new genealogists to benefit from Mr. Smith’s wisdom as well as enjoy his warm and approachable manner. . . Part I of the books lays a solid foundation of key knowledge and skills a reader needs to conduct successful genealogical research. In Part II, readers are guided while they actually research their own ancestors. . . This is a book to read and use. It is a way for a reader to bring Mr. Smith home and have him alongside while taking significant steps to research family history.” According to Dr. Mac, Generation by Generation introduces beginners to the main ideas, terminology, and pitfalls of genealogy thereby giving them a strong foundation for more detailed research .

The review by Marian B. Wood, author of the blog, Climbing My Family Tree is succinct and to the point: “Know any newcomers to genealogy? I encourage you to point them toward a new book designed specifically for people just starting their journey into family history. . . . At 170 pages, this large-format book is well-illustrated and highly readable, making the genealogy process accessible to newcomers.  In short, I highly recommend Generation by Generation.”

Thomas MacEntee, writing on his blog, “Genealogy Bargains” on March 8, remarks that, “Over the past year or two, I’ve been hoping for a guide that distilled what can be an overwhelming process into just the “basics.” My hopes have come true, and Generation by Generation is just what the genealogy sphere needs right now . . .” MacEntee views the book as an excellent resource for beginners, easy to understand, full of a librarian’s tips, fair and balanced in its treatment of online sources, and helpful to beginner’s looking for previously published works on their family. MacEntee concludes,  “Isn’t it great when you encounter an instructional guide or website, and you say to yourself: “This is EXACTLY what I needed!”? Or in my situation as an educator, you say “This is EXACTLY how I would have organized and written this book.”

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Figuring out how to incorporate DNA testing into your Native American genealogy research can be difficult and daunting. What types of DNA tests are available, and which vendors offer them? What other tools are available? How is Native American DNA determined or recognized in your DNA? What information about your Native American ancestors can DNA testing uncover? This book addresses those questions and much more.

Included are step-by-step instructions, with illustrations, on how to use DNA testing at the four major DNA testing companies to further your genealogy and confirm or identify your Native American ancestors. Among the many other topics covered are the following:

• Tribes in the United States and First Nations in Canada
• Ethnicity
• Chromosome painting
• Population Genetics and how ethnicity is assigned
• Genetic groups and communities
• Y DNA paternal direct line male testing for you and your family members
• Mitochondrial DNA maternal direct line testing for you and your family members
• Autosomal DNA matching and ethnicity comparisons
• Creating a DNA pedigree chart
• Native American haplogroups, by region and tribe
• Ancient and contemporary Native American DNA

Special features include numerous charts and maps; a roadmap and checklist giving you clear instructions on how to proceed; and a glossary to help you decipher the technical language associated with DNA testing.

About the Author

Roberta Estes, author of the popular blog www.DNA-eXplained.com is a scientist, National Geographic Genographic affiliate researcher, Million Mito team member, and founding pioneer in the genetic genealogy field. An avid genealogist for the past 40 years, Roberta has written over 1,500 articles about genetic genealogy, many for the Native Heritage Project at www.nativeheritageproject.com. Roberta took her first DNA test in 1999 and hasn’t stopped.

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Conventional genealogy relies on historical documents, and author Guido Deboeck describes the civil registries, parish registers, orphan acts, meiseniers letters, property transactions, militia records, and tax records he consulted to construct a detailed history of the Deboeck, Girardin, and De Zutter families, describe their occupations, and provide historical background on the places where they lived. Documents, however, can contain errors, may have been written to mislead or hide the truth, or may have been destroyed either on purpose or by accident. Additionally, some relationships may never have been recorded. This book shows family history researchers how to go beyond the constraints of the document world by using DNA testing to verify or potentially correct information extracted from historical documents.

The breadth of this book is such that a variety of other topics are covered as well, including Flemish emigration, particularly in the 19th and 20th centuries; the history of embroidery, lace-making, and beer brewing; a summary of what is currently known about the deep ancestry of the author’s paternal and maternal ancestors and hence the deep ancestry of many Flemish people; and an introduction to the Flanders-Flemish DNA project, which brings together the
DNA from people who have roots in Flanders.

Flemish DNA & Ancestry will greatly benefit not only those interested in Flemish-American heritage and the specific history of the three families documented in this book, but also all genealogists seeking insight into how to integrate the findings of conventional genealogy research with results from DNA testing.

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DNA testing is not the final word in determining your ancestry, but it is extremely helpful. It is most effective when it’s used to confirm that documentation concerning your family relationships is accurate. It is also used to test hypotheses about ancestors for whom little or no documentary evidence exists. Equally important, DNA testing can be used as “cousin bait” to identify previously unknown cousins who may be able to add information to your genealogical research and/or confirm your ancestral connections. DNA test results give you crucial information about where your most ancient ancestor originated and his ethnicity.

The new Second Edition of this handy four-page guide has been completely revised, reflecting all the changes and advances in DNA testing since the first edition was written. Author Angie Bush continues to give the straightforward facts about (a) DNA testing, (b) DNA testing results, and (c) DNA testing companies. She includes a description of the three types of DNA tests: Y-DNA; mtDNA; and atDNA, or autosomal DNA, the most popular type of testing for genealogists. Also provided are a series of tips for getting the most from your DNA testing.

Perhaps most helpful, the section on testing companies has been completely rewritten and expanded. Two additional companies–MyHeritageDNA and LivingDNA/Findmypast–have been added to the three described in the original guide: AncestryDNA, 23andMe, and FamilyTreeDNA. Each of the testing companies has different tools and subscribers, although there is some overlap between them. The five companies featured were chosen because they all provide a list of “genetic cousin” matches, which is essential for genealogical research.

In the end, Bush cautions that there is no “one size fits all” DNA test that will answer all of your research questions about an ancestor. However, you’ll often obtain solid proof regarding your genealogical research questions when you combine the analysis of DNA testing results with good old-fashioned genealogical research.

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One of the purposes of this QuickSheet is to show how to cite sources in compiling a genealogy using DNA analysis. As Ms. Mills demonstrates, the standards for citation, evidence analysis, and proof‚ when using DNA tests for historical purposes‚ are the same as those for sound historical and genealogical research. This QuickSheet demonstrates how to report test results, analyses, and instructional matter in ways that support those standards.

To begin with, she explains the basic citation formats, depending on whether you cite an online resource or an offline report. To make the job of citing sources simpler, she provides a template which shows exactly how you should identify source list entries and reference notes. Then she provides examples, or models, of common source types, showing how to use them in a source list entry, in a full reference note, and in a short reference note. On this complicated subject, nothing could be easier to use.

Written by the doyen of source citation and evidence, this QuickSheet is quick to read, handy to use, and is certain to become the basic guide to citing genetic sources. Following the style of the famous QuickSheet series, it is published as a 4-page folder and is laminated to withstand heavy use.

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