I'm training myself to ask questions about my genealogy and family history research of the available Artificial Intelligence tools. This is hard to do for an experienced male aerospace engineer! But it is instructive!
1) Today, my prompt was: How can autosomal DNA help in breaking down genealogical brick walls?
(image created by Microsoft Designer)
I asked this question to the free AI tools on OpenAI's ChatGPT, Anthropic's Claude, Microsoft's CoPilot, Google's Gemini, and Perplexity.
2) In my opinion, by far the best and most complete answer I received was from OpenAI's ChatGPT:
Autosomal DNA can be a powerful tool for breaking down genealogical brick walls. These brick walls often occur when there is a lack of documentary evidence to connect individuals to their ancestors. Here’s how autosomal DNA can help:
1. Identifying Unknown Ancestors
- Finding Common Ancestors: By analyzing DNA matches, you can identify people who share segments of DNA with you, suggesting a common ancestor. If multiple matches descend from a specific couple or family, it can help identify unknown ancestors on your tree.
- Building Clues from Matches: If you have a brick wall with a specific ancestor, looking at DNA matches who share significant segments with you can provide clues. You can then investigate their family trees to identify potential connections to your brick wall ancestor.
2. Validating Hypotheses
- Testing Hypothetical Connections: DNA can help test hypotheses about relationships or family connections. For example, if you suspect a particular ancestor might belong to a certain family, but lack documentation, finding DNA matches who have documented lineage to that family can provide supporting evidence.
- Confirming Documentary Evidence: When records are ambiguous or conflicting, DNA evidence can validate the correct line. For example, if you have two potential sets of parents for an ancestor, and DNA matches consistently point to one set, that provides strong evidence in favor of that relationship.
3. Clustering and Segment Analysis
- Organizing Matches into Clusters: By clustering your DNA matches into groups that descend from the same ancestors (using tools like the Leeds Method or clustering software), you can focus your research on particular lines that may break through your brick wall.
- Analyzing Shared Segments: By identifying shared DNA segments among matches, you can deduce the specific ancestor or ancestral couple from whom the DNA was inherited. This can narrow down which part of your tree to focus on for your brick wall problem.
4. Discovering Surnames and Locations
- Surname Matching: Many DNA testing companies allow you to filter matches by surname or location. If a surname appears frequently among your matches and is associated with your brick wall location or a suspected family, this can provide new research leads.
- Geographical Clues: DNA matches often come with information about where the match's ancestors lived. If you see a pattern of matches with ancestors from a particular area, it might suggest that your brick wall ancestor also has roots there.
5. Solving Unknown Parentage Cases
- Identifying Biological Parents or Grandparents: If your brick wall involves unknown parentage (e.g., an illegitimate birth or adoption), DNA matches can often point directly to close relatives of the unknown parent, helping you identify them.
- Using Close Matches: Close matches (like 1st-3rd cousins) can provide immediate clues about unknown parents or grandparents, giving you a small number of lines to investigate. Analyzing these matches can sometimes pinpoint the exact family or individual involved.
6. Collaborating with Matches
- Contacting DNA Matches: Reaching out to your DNA matches can uncover new information. Your matches might have documents, stories, or photos that can provide crucial details about the ancestor you're researching.
- Shared Research Efforts: Sometimes DNA matches are also interested in genealogy and may be researching the same line. Collaborating with them can lead to shared discoveries that you wouldn’t have found on your own.
7. Utilizing Third-Party Tools
- GEDmatch and DNA Painter: By uploading your raw DNA data to third-party sites like GEDmatch, you can find additional matches that may not be on your original testing platform. DNA Painter can help map out which segments of DNA you inherited from which ancestors, helping identify connections.
- Segment Mapping: Mapping shared DNA segments can identify the common ancestor shared with your DNA matches, providing a clearer direction for research.
8. Working with Multiple Test Takers
- Testing Relatives: Testing multiple family members can help break down brick walls by comparing their DNA matches. For example, if you test your siblings, cousins, or other relatives, you can compare their matches to yours to find unique matches or confirm shared ancestry.
- Reaching Deeper Generations: Testing older generations, if available, can help reach further back into your ancestry and provide more significant connections for solving brick wall problems.
9. Tracking Down Non-Paternal Events
- Identifying Unexpected Parentage: DNA can reveal unexpected non-paternal events (NPEs) such as adoptions or infidelities. Discovering these can help explain why there is a lack of documentary evidence for a certain ancestor and point to alternative lines of research.
- Redirecting Research Efforts: If a DNA test reveals an NPE, it can help redirect your research to the correct family line, bypassing a brick wall caused by an unknown change in parentage.
10. Confirming Lineage When Records Are Sparse
- Overcoming Sparse or Nonexistent Records: In cases where records are sparse or nonexistent due to historical events, migrations, or geographic isolation, DNA matches can provide a genetic confirmation of relationships that are otherwise difficult to prove.
Tips for Using DNA Effectively
- Combine DNA with Traditional Research: DNA evidence is most powerful when combined with traditional genealogical research. Use the clues from DNA matches to guide your search for records.
- Be Patient and Persistent: Brick walls can take time to break down. Keep reviewing your DNA matches regularly as new people test, and consider retesting with other companies to broaden your match pool.
- Use All Available Tools: Take advantage of all the tools and resources offered by DNA testing companies and third-party sites to analyze your DNA matches effectively.
By using autosomal DNA results thoughtfully and strategically, you can overcome genealogical brick walls that might otherwise seem insurmountable.
3) One of the features that I love on Perplexity and CoPilot is that they also offer online links to online information that they base their responses on. I keep those, and check them out. Here are the sources that Perplexity provided:
(1) Genetic Genealogy Demystified: Understanding DNA Testing for Family .... https://bing.com/search?q=how+autosomal+DNA+helps+in+breaking+down+genealogical+brick+walls(2) Genetic Genealogy Demystified: Understanding DNA Testing for Family .... https://www.davisdna.com/our-blogs/genetic-genealogy-demystified-understanding-dna-testing-for-family-history/
(3) What is Autosomal DNA? - FamilyTreeDNA Blog. https://blog.familytreedna.com/what-is-autosomal-dna/
(4) Using a Genealogy DNA Test to Overcome Genealogy Brick Walls - FamilySearch. https://www.familysearch.org/en/blog/genealogy-dna-test
(5) Break Ancestral Barriers | Genetic Genealogy's Power. https://www.dnamysterysolver.com/post/the-role-of-genetic-genealogy-in-breaking-through-brick-walls
(6) Tips for Breaking Down Brick Walls in Genealogy. https://whoareyoumadeof.com/blog/tips-for-breaking-down-brick-walls-in-genealogy/
4) It is obvious to me that all of the AI tools, but especially ChatGPT, have been pre-trained by published genealogy books and sometimes websites on how to answer the question.
While I am doing most of the provided suggestions already, I can see several areas that I can improve my genealogy research and analysis process for using DNA to help my genealogy research.
Copyright (c) 2024, Randall J. Seaver
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