Out on a Limb: ‘DNA Basics’ presentation to be offered

DNA testing has been a major step in advancing people’s genealogy in recent years.

But are you sure that you know how to go about it and, what to expect when your results come back and how to interpret those results?

FamilySearch, the free genealogy powerhouse, will offer this month an introduction to using DNA tests in your genealogy.

Entitled “DNA Basics: An Introduction to DNA and Genealogy,” it will be offered Nov. 19 at noon, EST. The speaker is Certified Genealogist Beth Taylor, who according to her bio, has offered numerous genealogy-related classes and seminars. For information on accessing the class, go to www.familysearch.org. If you cannot join in on the live presentation on the 19th, don’t worry. All the FamilySearch presentations are archived for viewing later at any time on the FamilySearch YouTube Channel and RootsTech’s on-demand library.

One of the concerns genealogists have when signing up for DNA testing is that of which of the many tests is best for their needs. Yes, there are a lot of them out there. The class promises to tell the genealogist “which tests you can take,” surely a time saver.

There are other FamilySearch videos scheduled for this month. If they are past, they will be archived. Included are videos on using U.S. military pension files and using the FamilySearch Wiki.

As always, remember that a DNA test typically will show where in the world the most people with DNA similar to your own are found. That information will help you narrow your search for ancestors more distant in time by giving you the most relevant countries and regions to focus on.

Companies that do DNA tests generally update them from time to time and send you more information even after you receive the original data. You can also receive names of “cousins,” people with whom you share significant DNA.

RootsTech: RootsTech, the annual Salt Lake City and online event featuring scores of presentations, will take place March 6-8 2025. Access to the first day opening sessions require registration and payment of a fee. But the rest of the three-day event is free online. An updated list of online presentations can be found at www.familysearch.org/en/rootstech. The list includes just about any genealogical topic one would care to explore, whether nations, methodology, new developments, DNA, foreign languages and much more.

Additional presentations will be added over the next few months, RootsTech says.

As with other FamilySearch endeavors, presentations are taped and made available via the FamilySearch website for years afterward.

Political ancestors: Had enough politics? Well, if you’re a genealogist and you had ancestors in our region’s politics, you probably want even more information than you already have. Here are some places to look.

A lot of data about our region’s elections and leaders of the past was collected every year in the Wilkes-Barre Record Almanac. Complete copies of the almanac from 1886 to 1962 are available at the Luzerne County Historical Society (membership required) and the Osterhout Free Library, neighbors on South Franklin Street in Wilkes-Barre.

Those old yearbooks will also tell you what digitized issues of the Record (and other local papers) to look at for the actual stories about elections.

Older history books and compilations of the biographies of the area’s leaders over the years – also at both libraries – will give you additional information about the people themselves. Your ancestor, if prominent in politics, might well be in one or more of those volumes.

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Tom Mooney is a Times Leader history and genealogy writer. Reach him at tommooney42@gmail.com.