From Dead Ends to Discoveries: Overcoming Roadblocks in Genealogy Research

[@segolily76]

I’ve been doing genealogy for over 50 years (which really dates me) and am a professional. I have to say that I totally enjoyed your video. No matter how long you’ve been researching there’s always something new to be learned. Thank you so much.

[@anoint426hemi6]

I have a big job that I'm unable to finish. It started with searching for my grandfather's which is still unknown to me. And now? I might be related to various kings and queens, more than a dozen presidents, athletes, poets, authors, scientist, Mayflower descendants, etc... So I 'll never live long enough to know for sure. Thought about contacting Finding Your Roots because wouldn't this be a fantastic story if it is true!

[@CocoAmanda]

Your work is truly appreciated! Thank you. 🙏🏾

[@TaneyaYKoonce]

Thank you for watching!

[@dragonflylady8031]

I had to watch the replay. Thank you so much to everyone! Great content and a wonderful host and panel!!

[@TaneyaYKoonce]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@midlanticwellnesscentermwc5917]

Excellent. Thank you

[@catherinekesseler6505]

Excellent. Thank-you

[@yu12si7]

Thank you all so much for the very useful information.

[@TaneyaYKoonce]

Thanks for watching!

[@marianmckinney6451]

This was delightful! Thank you to the host and panelists.❤ Can you provide a link to the tool Ms. Fanning mentioned?

[@DNAConsultingDetectives]

Thank you for this video! Great advice all around. NPE/MPE cases are about finding the right guy, right age (to some degree), right place, right time. However, I had one case where the DNA pointed to one man, but there was no paper trail having him in the right place. Not even close geographically. I had searcher contact likely half-sibling. After the DNA results came back as half-sibling we learned the birth father was temporarily working on a cruise ship that frequently pulled into port in the the city where the searcher was conceived during the year of conception. Boom. CeCe offered the great advice (years ago) about trying to discover how a DNA match is related, if initial research isn't working well. She suggested just asking the match who their grandparents are (I include asking for maiden names). It's worked really well for me. I never tell matches that I'm seeking a birth father/mother. For contacting birth family, I strongly suggest people send greeting cards (blue for men) and hand write everything, including envelope. Great advise for WHAT to write from Lisa. 👏🏼Thank you to CeCe for giving my life purpose. 🤗

[@nunyabiz6925]

DNA is a game changer for sure. LL Cool J’s story was incredible

[@douglaslloydbuchholz]

Awesome video.

[@jilldowding-walker8066]

Interesting.

[@user-ny6pg2fk7c]

Definitely

[@reesebeasley-stubblefield8700]

Can someone give guidance on finding birth records from early 1800 records I have been trying for a couple years now my 4 time great grandfather Aaron Chew Gibbs

[@awizenwoman]

Didn't learn anything knew that I didn't already know. My main gripe with Dr Gates is with the ethnicity estimate, which is just that, an inaccurate estimate based solely on how many cousin matches have tested. Ancestry admits that its 23+million test kit customers are primarily based in English speaking countries, whereas MyHeritage clients are throughout the world, so picked up on my vastly European heritage of Austrian, Belgian, Dutch, Danish, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Swedish, Spanish, etc, on top of my English, Scottish, Welsh, and Irish DNA despite being born in England of two Irish born parents. So it is not just Americans that are of mixed heritage. I'm two years into working on establishing my true heritage levels.

[@JohnDoe-qr1or]

Dr. Gates did not invent the ethnicity estimates and no, the ethnicity results are not dependent on how many cousin matches you have. Every site has an explanation for how the ethnicity results are generated. All estimates, regardless of company are generated from panels of people tested from current geographic locations. The number of individuals in panels and the number of countries affects the results. The different firms will have a different result, they are not all the same. Ancestry has 71,000 people from 88 different population groups in their base panels. Ethnicity estimates will change as more people are incorporated into more populations groups, regardless of the testing company. Hopefully this gives you some new knowledge and makes up for you wasting your time not learning anything new watching this event.

[@bridgetsmith9352]

Well, sometimes you learn something knew and sometimes you don't.

[@Nancy-mi3xe]

What to do if you suspect a name change of the family in a Eastern European Jewish family? Also, birth records but nothing more? Many of us have DNA tested already.

[@lisathomas5295]

I've been trying to find out who I am and who I come from for over 20yrs now. A couple of months before my mother passed I dreamed of a man over and over again. In my dream I felt as if I knew him but I wasn't sure. Finally I told my mom about this dream and she asked what did the man look like? I described the man to her and she tells me that I just described what my father would like like. For 34 yrs I've been calling my step dad my father. If I never had that dream I still wouldn't know my biological father's name. Unfortunately my Mom passed a couple of months after. I've been trying to find my biological father's family but no luck. I did a DNA with Ancestry but haven't had any luck. I'm now 58 and feel as if I don't know who I am, desperately searching for my missing part. @Henry Louis Gates Jr can you please help me?

[@Jessieja507]

Thinking about joining an African American Genelogy group in your local community or a national one if you have not already that might could help assist.

[@EGSBiographies-om1wb]

18th