Michael John Neill's Genealogy Website
I’m a big fan of tracking not only what genealogical sources have been used, but also of tracking your research process, methods, and logic. Knowing what you have used is only part of the battle. That’s true with DNAPainter as well–particularly for those matches you’ve painted. DNAPainter is a visual representation of the chromosomes you […]
Sometimes one-liners in the newspaper can be bigger clues than you think: W[m?] C. F. Mulch and Miss Ida Sargent spent Sunday with Theo M. and Anne Trautvetter, of Rocky Run. The item appeared in the “Breckenridge Briefs” in the Warsaw Bulletin from Warsaw, Hancock County, Illinois, on 28 August 1891. One might be tempted to think […]
Visit: http://historicalmaps.arcgis.com/usgs/ Type in the name of a location in the “find a place” box and pull down the appropriate place from the drop-down menu. Your map on the main part of your screen should then be centered on that location. Click somewhere in the map that just appeared and you will get a timeline […]
Understanding searches is crucial to troubleshooting them. I’m not always certain I understand how FamilySearch distinguishes strong matches to a search from ones that are not strong. Sometimes I can see the distinction, but others times I cannot. It would seem to me that the following individuals are fairly similar: Johann Michael Gerlach born in 1834 […]
Based upon suggestions from readers, we’ve put together this session on DNAPainter and GedMatch combined. Using just one tool is not an effective way to analyze your DNA matches. Date: This session has been held and recorded. order for immediate download for $17.99–presentation and PDF handout included if you ordered early and did not receive […]
The unexpected treasures in military pension files can be worth the time it takes to find them–most times the best finds don’t just jump out at the researcher. Details about family can be buried in what originally seems to be page after page of financial tedium. That’s what happened in the pension application file for […]
It sounded like a good idea. It may be a good idea. It just didn’t work for me. One of the functionalities on GedMatch.com is the ability to search submitted GedCOM files for specific names and other identifying information. Search results include several things besides the “matching” information from the relative’s name in the genealogical […]
A minor typographical error can significantly change the intent of a piece of writing. A transcription error can create confusion as well. All it takes is one little thing. That’s what I did when reading an article from the 18 August 1906 issue of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch as mentioned in “The Judge Would Have Shot the Right […]
One of the ways to “quickly” try and find the “easiest” of your DNA matches to potentially determine how a DNA kit matches a kit you have tested is to use the “GedCOM + DNA Matches” search functionality at GedMatch.com. There are no guarantees you’ll solve any problems this way and some trees created from […]
