London: “Genetic Hide and Seek: Exploring Missing Ancestor Mysteries with Autosomal DNA”

“Genetic Hide and Seek: Exploring Missing Ancestor Mysteries with Autosomal DNA”

A talk by Dr. Sophie Kay.

Missing ancestor mysteries’ in our family tree – those perplexing blanks where an individual has defied identification in historical records – can seem like an
insurmountable challenge. Yet if that missing ancestor lies within the most recent 6-7 generations of your pedigree, your autosomal DNA may hold the answer. This session will equip you with a clear strategy for tracing missing ancestors using autosomal DNA, no matter which provider you’ve tested with. Using a real-life case study, we’ll walk through a four-step process for identifying an unknown forebear from genetic matches, and showcase some handy tools you can use along the way. Whether you’re hunting down a single mystery ancestor, or are an adoptee looking to reconstruct a significant portion of your biological family tree, this strategy will keep you on course. It’s time to make sense of those DNA matches and realise their problem-solving potential!

The talk will be followed by an informal buffet and the group AGM.

Meetings will be held at the LDS Hyde Park Family Search Centre, 64-68 Princes Gate, Exhibition Road, South Kensington, SW7 2PA. Doors open 10.00; talks start 11.00.

We will have the research facility largely to ourselves for the day of our meetings so will not be restricted on time. We will be able to take coffee and tea into our meetings as well as sandwiches.

If you download and install a Chrome extension on your laptop (which uses the building Wi-Fi), you can search records, use commercial websites for free and download images directly to your laptop after our meeting. In effect, with the Chrome extension, your laptop has the same premium access as the PCs in the FamilySearch Centre. This access only works, of course, if you are within the building on Exhibition Road since it is dependent on the building Wi-Fi address. Ask a member of staff about this if you are interested.

Underground stations: South Kensington (District, Circle and Piccadilly Lines).

Buses: 14, 49, 70, 74, 345, 360, 414, 430, C1