2020 What a year ahead

Well we are nearing the end of January, it has been a terrible time in Australia with the bushfires, loss of homes, businesses, history, wildlife and life. It is a tale we will be telling for a long time, I would encourage those of you affected in these areas to take the time to write about your experiences, not only for the benefit of dealing with it, but as a living history for the future. Moment/s recorded for the future. Even if you were not directly affected, take some time to write about the sky that was just smoke and no blue for weeks, what you saw on television, how it impacted you - these are the tales that we should pass down to our children, grandchildren....years gone by we would have had a bard compose a song about it!
https://img.rasset.ie/00134669-800.jpg

As we begin this week it is new beginnings for our family...our youngest embarks on the first year of high school. For us our last child to begin this journey. I know that as a parent I certainly have reflected a lot over these holidays on what that means to me, to the family and how my journey in life now enters a new phase.
Wouldn't it be nice if we could just slow that clock down for a little while. On the upside, it should give me more blogging time and research time!

This year will see us embark on one of my bucket list adventures when we head to Norfolk Island to visit the place where 3 of my great grandmothers were born. It will also allow us to relax and enjoy a simple life for two weeks!
https://www.norfolkisland.com.au/

In September, Newcastle Family History Society Inc. and Maitland and Beyond Family History Inc.will host the 36th Annual Conference of the NSW & ACT Association of Family History Societies from 11-13 September 2020 at WESTS New Lambton Newcastle NSW. To keep up to date with what is going on go to the website https://ridingthewavesofhistory.com.au/ and subscribe to the Newsletter. There are a lot of interesting speakers planned on a variety of topics! Places will be limited so be ready to register and pay!!
It is exciting for me as after going to a number of conferences over the past few years, this time I am involved in organising it. 

I am lucky that last year I attended a talk organised by Newcastle Family History Society, joined up on the night and have been welcomed by everyone there. It is lovely to belong to somewhere that you feel valued.

Finally, I want to note that it is my mother's 80th birthday today, not that she looks or acts like it, people are a bit surprised when she tells them her age. Born in 1940 she has lived through World War II (doesn't remember it of course), saw the moon landing, our currency change, phones change from operator assisted calls all the way through to iphones. She doesn't totally embrace technology but she knows how to facetime and use a mobile phone. She is fascinated with google maps and is willing to try to learn how to use it and a few other features of her ipad.
She was a stay at home mum and always had the washing up done and dinner on the table. Got up before my father to make his breakfast and then to see him off to work, before getting us up and ready for school. She did all the washing, ironing and putting away. She made our beds and was there for us. We have a great relationship, we talk, go shopping and are at the other end of the phone for each other. She is a great Grandma to the grandchildren.
She is an amazing woman. Always there for others. In recent years she has become more interested in family history than she was (mainly because I've been able to research her lines and it was information she had not know). 
Happy 80th Mum!

Day Two DNA Down Under

Another great day with great information.

From Blaine Bettinger
Genetic Genealogy Ethics
Be proactive not reactive - Educate
Genetic Genealogical Standards.com @ 10/1/15
These are meant as a guideline
Test DNA with consent, preferably in writing and keep a record. Ensure the test taker knows what the test is and talk about what if unexpected results are found.


Shared matches and genetic networks
Group and sub group matches using ancestry dots.

Advanced third party tools
Gedmatch: Tier 1 🛠
Segment search - begin without altering any fields
IMPORTANT...chromosome browsers squish maternal and paternal chromosome results together so only shows one chromosome where there is actually two.
Triangulation can take up to 45mins to run.
Lazarus attempts to recreate dead persons DNA
Phasing - separates DNA into maternal and paternal based on your DNA.
The mapS phasing tool - creates kit for gedmatch for dead people 


From Louise Coakley
Items are now being tested to get DNA from those in the past eg, aerograms, stamps, hair. While currently expensive it is worthwhile to put these items away to test in the future.

The day ended with a great panel discussion on various ethical type scenarios.
Looking forward to day three.

Louise Coakley

Jennie Fairs & Shauna Hicks

Pauleen Cass & Sharn White

Panel: Kerry Farmer; Michelle Patient; Helen Smith;
Brad Argent; Blaine Bettinger; Louise Coakley

Day One DNA Down Under

And so it begins...
What a great start to a three day conference.
Blaine Bettinger is very easy to listen to and his talks very informative!
What little things did I learn?
1.Ethnicity results think of as Biogeographical Estimate due to changes in borders over times.
2. Ethnicity can be quickly lost from the Dna as it is passed down in smaller amounts each generation.
3. Denture adhesive can destroy a DNA testing sample so avoid for 24hrs prior to testing.
4. Working out matching segments can mean you can identify segments by ancestor and use DNA painter to record.
5. Build research trees for your DNA matches but keep them private and unsearchable and clearly identified as Research trees or Q&D tress (Quick and dirty)
6. Always make notes in the notes field in your DNA results so you don't keep rediscovering the same thing.
7. We should be trying to disprove what we think we know, our theories/hypothesis to avoid confirmation bias.
8. If you have more than one kit (your  gedmatch it may be worth paying the $usd 10 for a months access to create a super kit as once done this will stay and you can compare your combined DNA to others
9. DNA painter is a new tool you can upload a gedcom file and use.
10. Identify people you match with using surname triangulation, reverse search pictures from profile pics, wikitree searches, searching Facebook,Twitter,Instagram etc ..
So that's my 10 points from the day!
Looking forward to Day 2.

DNA Downunder - It's almost time

I am really looking forward to DNA Downunder Sydney, hoping to unravel the mysteries of DNA for family history so I know what my results are showing me! I believe you can still attend some of the day sessions in Sydney here is the link https://www.dnadownunder.com/sydney/ 

By all accounts the other states have really enjoyed the talks and they were only for one day!!

Stay tuned I will update what I discover!

In the meantime
Head on over to Geniaus' blog post to read all about the Virtual Genealogical Association Conference,that is to be held November 1st - November 3rd. Best thing is you can attend from the comfort of your home! Click on the link: http://geniaus.blogspot.com/2019/08/virtual-genealogical-association-free.html

Are you aware of these records that are available?The Register of Cases of Bubonic Plague 1900-1908 is available now to the public to view.
https://www.records.nsw.gov.au/archives/magazine/bubonic-plague

The webiste home to Irish historic BMD of the GRO. These records now join the indexes that were available. 
https://www.irishgenealogy.ie/en/

DNA - Day 2

So it has been a few days and I have logged back onto GEDMATCH, clicked on my "number" and wow, I have a table full of emails and a lot of numbers!

So now what is the next step?
I think a lot of reading and studying!
This is going to take a while to understand...in the meantime I will share what I find and when!

Pleased I have this done prior to going to the DNA Downunder Conference in Sydney
if you think that you may travel down the DNA path I would highly recommend that you try and attend either one of the DNA Downunder Days in various cities around Australia or come to the conference in Sydney.  You are sure to learn a lot and I am sure if it does not make sense at the time you will have that knowledge when you are trying to understand your DNA.
For more information...
https://www.dnadownunder.com/schedule/

DNA Discovery Journey Begins - Day 1

I will be attending DNA Down Under in just a few weeks and even though I have 6 DNA tests done through FTdna (4 family finder and 2 of these done for MTdna), I have only made contact with a couple of people using the matches and really do not know how to do anymore.

This is now the beginning of my journey to find out more...
Starting with one kit at a time!!

Step One: Download the RAW data   
https://genie1.com.au/how-to-download-your-raw-dna-data/
Step Two: Upload to GEDMATCH
https://genie1.com.au/tips-for-using-gedmatch/

Now I wait to see what happens! It can take 2 days...so I will be back to blog on the results!

Thanks to Louise Coakley Genetic Genealogist for your helpful blog!

Holidays! Memories! Games!

We have just been away for a week, for the first time in 4 years and the first time we were alone with our younger daughter who is 11! This was a great week, time for bonding, activities and games. Now why is this linked to family history? Well on our shopping trip on day one to get food supplies, Coles had "Pick Up Sticks" Wooden ones! Now as a child I had these and played often, not only with my siblings but by myself challenging myself to be able to remove the stick without moving any others. So I bought the box of them much to the excitement of our daughter who could not wait to learn how to play. For almost a week, every night after dinner the three of us would play "pick up sticks" and all enjoyed it!
We also played UNO nightly, read books, did jigsaws and my future paleontologist did her "dig up a dinosaur kits" (plaster of paris that encased various bones of dinosaurs - there were 5 different kits all complete with chisel and hammer) and went for a walk down to the local shops!
It occurred to me during this time just how important family holidays and the sharing of "old" games, no technology past times (jigsaws) were but also capturing the special moments with a quick photograph! 
But also how important it is to capture these times not just on our phones with a picture but to actually go and get it printed, put it in an album and WRITE about the time...and include the instructions for the games played!
I would love for you to comment on your favourite childhood game and how it is played!


But after being away from technology for a week, I have noticed that I have 2 more matches on my recent mtdna tests...so need to see what that is about!
I have no idea what I am doing with dna results and as I am attending DNA downunder in August I need to at least look at results and try and get organised, so I will be blogging step by step on what I am up to and how I go. Four kits have dna done, 2 have now had mtdna done...this should be an interesting adventure!!