Breaking Through 18th and 19th Century Brick Walls: ‘Don’t Let Go of Your EGGOS’

Breaking Through 18th and 19th Century Brick Walls: ‘Don’t Let Go of Your EGGOS’

How to break through genealogical brick walls using an EGGOS search strategy with shared or in-common with DNA matches. #ancestry #genealogy #familyhistory @ancestry

Targeted Y-DNA Testing: Uniting a Band of Brothers, Part 1

Targeted Y-DNA Testing: Uniting a Band of Brothers, Part 1

Sometimes the solution to breaking through your own genealogical brick walls resides within the DNA of other people. You could wait around for that “other” person to test, or you could proactively search that person out. Constructing a research plan to find the living descendants of the family to whom you think you are connected … Read more

Identifying John Wilson’s Irish Origins, Part 3: Documentary Evidence & Conclusions

Identifying John Wilson's ancestral origins, part 3: Documentary evidence and conclusions

Using both Y-DNA and autosomal DNA (at-DNA) in the previous two blog posts, the ancestral origin of John Wilson (1716-1799) appears to be in an area east of Enniskillen, which is the largest town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. The purpose of the final blog post is to use documentary evidence to corroborate previous findings … Read more

Identifying John Wilson’s Irish Origins, Part 2: Autosomal DNA Analysis

Identifying John Wilson's ancestral origins, part 2: Autosomal DNA Analysis

Having identified the probable ancestral origin of John Wilson (1716-1799) using Y-DNA in Part 1 of the blog post series, Part 2 uses autosomal DNA (at-DNA). The purpose here is to provide corroborating evidence that John’s ancestral origin is County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland as well as to offer greater geographic specificity within the county. Compared to Y-DNA, … Read more

Identifying John Wilson’s Irish Origins, Part 1: Y-DNA Analysis

Identifying John Wilson's ancestral origins, part 1: Y-DNA Analysis

Have you been fortunate enough to trace one of your American ancestors back to the 1700s but found no records indicating where in Europe they originated? Oh, and what if you are “lucky” enough for this ancestor to have a common or occupationally derived surname, such as Smith or Miller, providing no clues as to … Read more