A resource worth supporting
If you needed to know something about DNA testing, and you weren’t sure of the answer, where would you look?
Oh, sure, you could enter your search terms into your favorite search engine, and with some luck and a fair amount of effort, hope to find the one resource that will take you where you want.
Or… since you’re obviously a genealogist — you probably wouldn’t be reading a blog called The Legal Genealogist otherwise — you could save yourself a lot of time and effort and just head over to the DNA category at Cyndi’s List.
Yes, Cyndi’s List.
Just celebrating its 21st birthday as a complete research resource for genealogists, Cyndi’s List has a great set of research tools for genetic genealogy.
The overall category is entitled DNA, Genetics & Family Health, and it’s broken down into many subcategories, including:
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Adoption
Analysis Tools
Articles About DNA
atDNA – Autosomal DNA
Blogs
Ethnicity Estimates (Admixture)
Family Health History
General Resources
Genograms
How To
Locality & Ethnic Specific
mtDNA – Mitochondrial DNA
Professional Services & DNA Testing
Publications, Software & Supplies
Social Networking
Thomas Jefferson
X-DNA – X-chromosome DNA
Y-DNA – Y-chromosome DNA
Taking just the General subcategory as an example, there you’ll find everything from the International Society for Genetic Genealogy (ISOGG) and its fabulous wiki to a British company where you can order products like necklaces and ties based on your own DNA.
The Blogs subcategory will take you to Blaine Bettinger’s The Genetic Genealogist, to CeCe Moore’s Your Genetic Genealogist, and even back to the DNA posts here at The Legal Genealogist.
And those are just a few of the resources you’ll find, some of which may already be known to you — and some of which, I guarantee, will be totally new to you.
So check out Cyndi’s List and its http://www.cyndislist.com/dna/”>DNA category — and all the other categories it offers for genealogical research. From Acadian, Cajun & Creole to Writing Your Family’s History, it’s still the best overall free resource anywhere to help us find what we need, even if we don’t quite know what we need or want to find.
And while you’re there… do one thing more.
Think about how much work it takes to maintain a resource like that. Think about what it costs to keep it online and free to all comers. Cyndi’s List is still, after 21 years, the free product of one single individual… and it isn’t free to her at all.
So, if you can, go ahead and hit the Donate button on the Support Us page. Anything you can afford to support this amazing resource and to keep it online and free is a great thing to do. I hit that button myself this morning, to say thanks to Cyndi’s List and its creator, Cyndi Ingle, and as my way of giving back to the entire genealogical community.
For DNA research, for genealogical research, for all of us, join me in supporting Cyndi’s List, won’t you?
Happy birthday, Cyndi’s List… and many happy returns.
