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| Jan Alpert, FNGS |
“Have You Tested Your DNA?
Is there a Non-Paternity Event in Your Family?”
Saturday, 12:15 p.m., S431
Jan Alpert, FNGS, chair of the Records Preservation and Access Committee, former president and board member of NGS, and co-chair of the NGS 2014 Family History Conference in Richmond, Virginia, has been working with DNA results since 2003 when she first tested her Mitochondrial DNA. She has managed several family YDNA group projects beginning in 2005 which include her uncle, husband, and cousins. She has worked with several larger YDNA projects including the Hodges-Hodge Society which has almost 200 participants where she found a fifth cousin to test for her Hodge line. In 2010 she tested her autosomal DNA with FamilyTreeDNA and 23andme and then Ancestry in 2012. Her sister, uncle, and cousin have also tested their autosomal DNA and she has sent requests to additional cousins to participate. She continues to discover previously unknown cousins through DNA.
At the luncheon talk, you will hear several examples of non-paternity events that Jan has discovered in her DNA projects. What would our ancestors think if they knew we had a modern tool which exposed long kept family secrets? Perhaps you have a brick wall because the relationship you are trying to prove never happened. We’ve all heard about a shotgun family wedding, but what if the husband was not the father of the first born child? Autosomal DNA can also disclose that a sibling is actually a cousin or vice versa. When a mother dies, a child may be raised by another relative or a neighbor. Jan has a friend who recently discovered her maternal grandfather was not her grandfather. After years of research, 25% of her family tree no longer belongs to her.
If the cost of a DNA test makes you hesitate, then DNA is not for you. Often the best results are discovered by having multiple participants for each surname or branch of the family. Participants must be prepared to discover exceptions to a long established paper trail and then be willing to pursue new research to discover what probably happened. New discovers often lead to additional DNA tests.
DNA is not for the frugal nor faint of heart. Learn if you are ready and willing for DNA to expand your family tree.
Luncheon attendees will have a chance to win an impressive list of prizes: (Winners must be present to claim):
- One DNA test kit, courtesy of Ancestry.com
- Two Annual subscription to Fold3, courtesy of Ancestry.com
- Crossroads, a book about the history of St. Charles County, by Steve Ehlmann, courtesy of the St. Charles County Historical Society
- Two $75 gift certificate for Genealogists.com, courtesy of Genealogists.com
- One 3-month ArkivDigital subscription, courtesy of ArkivDigital
- A bundle of books in PDF format, including Digging for Ancestors by Michelle Roos Goodrum, A Genealogists Guide to Richmond, VA by Shannon Combs-Bennett, A Genealogists Guide to the Washington, D.C. Area by Shannon Combs-Bennett, and Ancestors
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