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Setting the clock

If we could choose the time Here on this day in March 2020 when the United States wreaks havoc with the circadian rhythms of its citizens by setting the clocks forward an hour, the question arose on Facebook: to what time would we set the clocks if we could set them...

All the facts…

…and just the facts For nearly two years, the genealogical community has been rocked by news that the DNA testing databases we use to find cousins and (sigh…) consider if we want to trade our lederhosen for kilts have sometimes been used by law enforcement...

2020 alphabet soup: D is for …

GEDmatch is not opting in the dead The Legal Genealogist doesn’t usually write about DNA except on Sundays, but a quick post is needed today despite the pressures of RootsTech prep. Here it is: GEDmatch is not opting the kits of deceased persons into that part...

What DNA can’t tell us

How families are made It’s a common problem posed to anyone who works with DNA. A test result arrives and the results are a surprise. It turns out that the surname we treasure and are so proud of was very different back just a few generations. Or a man we knew...

Is the party over?

DNA testing growth slows First came the news from 23andMe. The headlines all read pretty much the same way: “23andMe slashes 14% of workforce amid slump in DNA testing market.”1 The company’s CEO, Anne Wojcicki, was quoted as saying she was surprised by the...

A new year… and new terms

Updates to terms of use It’s a New Year, there’s a new privacy law in effect in California, and three of the big DNA testing companies — 23andMe, Ancestry and MyHeritage — have updated their terms of use and/or privacy statements to bring...

2019 top posts: DNA

Top DNA posts of the year Here we are, in the last days of 2019, and The Legal Genealogist is continuing to take the chance some extra time-off allows, to think back and reflect. It’s now the last Sunday of the year — the last of this decade — and...

A holiday gift for ourselves

Not too basic, not too advanced Finding the right educational opportunity when it comes to integrating DNA into our research systems can be a little like Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Some courses are just too basic… The Legal Genealogist does not wish to...

Forming consent

Forms to document consent The Legal Genealogist has said it before and will say it again… and again… and again… The hallmark of ethical genealogy is the utmost respect for the privacy of living people and the disclosure of information about living people only with...

2019 alphabet soup: T is for …

A reminder on terms of use The Legal Genealogist was privileged last night to participate in a discussion of the GEDmatch buyout by the forensic biotech firm Verogen. Part of the Wacky Wednesday series by DearMYRTLE, the discussion is now archived and can be reviewed...