Deb's Delvings in Genealogy: September 2017

28 September 2017

DNA Analysis Consent Forms

Over the years there have been several discussions about sample consent forms a genealogist might use when asking a person to take a DNA test. Recently, Blaine T. Bettinger, The Genetic Genealogist, posted a sample beneficiary form on a Facebook group. Blaine's example and several others are linked from the ISOGG Wiki page on "Project consent forms."

Catkin, "Consent," CC0 Creative Commons License,
https://pixabay.com/en/agree-english-consent-contract-1728448/.

Blaine's form is specifically written to name a beneficiary to manage a DNA sample after the death of a DNA donor. Because Blaine assigned a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, others have permission to share and adapt the document. I have made two adaptations of Blaine's document.

The first adaptation is for use with my family members who take a DNA test: naming me as beneficiary to manage the kit after death of the test-taker, indicating preferences for sharing the information, whether a legal name or an alias should be used when sharing, ensuring the test-taker knows about the Genetic Genealogy Standards, and that I cannot ensure anonymity no matter how hard I work to do so. Blaine included space for a notary public to witness the signing of the document which would definitely give the document more standing if legal proceedings are ever involved. Most of the time when I am getting a sample from a family member we will not be able to easily access a notary. I changed this section to have two others present sign as witnesses; this is a more viable situation for most of us on a day-to-day basis. You will have to decide if you want a notarized document or if witnesses are an acceptable alternative if you want to do something similar.

jarmoluk, "form," CC0 Creative Commons License,
https://pixabay.com/en/control-work-official-form-427510/.

The second adaptation is for a project member indicating the same preferences and giving me permission to analyze their DNA test results, but not naming me as a beneficiary. No witnesses are requested for this document as I expect it will normally be provided to me through electronic means and I will not be present when the test-taker signs it.

Feel free to take these and adapt them further for your use. PDF and Word 2010 versions of both documents are available on my website Quick Reference Links.

To cite this blog post: Debbie Parker Wayne, "DNA Analysis Consent Forms," Deb's Delvings, 28 September 2017 (http://debsdelvings.blogspot.com/ : accessed [date]).

© 2017, Debbie Parker Wayne, Certified Genealogist®, All Rights Reserved

16 September 2017

Further Your DNA Research and Help Hurricane Harvey Victims at the Same Time

Updated 5 October 2017: Much appreciation goes to Family Tree DNA and its customers who ordered kits in September. This banner on the website shows over thirty-five thousand dollars are being donated to help the victims of Hurricane Harvey. Thank you all.

Family Tree DNA Home Page, 5 October 2017

Original post:

There are still two weeks during which you can help yourself and others at the same time.

Family Tree DNA is located in Houston, Texas, where many have lost homes, jobs, and everything they owned due to floods caused by Hurricane Harvey and the release of waters from the local reservoirs. For all sales and upgrades of DNA tests and paid data transfers made in September, Family Tree DNA is donating a portion of the proceeds toward Hurricane Harvey relief efforts. The banner on their home page today shows $14,882 has been collected so far. That is almost $1,000 per day!

Family Tree DNA Home Page, 16 September 2017

Please consider ordering more DNA tests from Family Tree DNA before the end of September if you can do so. You win and you help the thousands and thousands of people who have been devastated by this disaster.

To cite this blog post: Debbie Parker Wayne, "Further Your DNA Research and Help Hurricane Harvey Victims at the Same Time," Deb's Delvings, 16 September 2017 (http://debsdelvings.blogspot.com/ : accessed [date]).

© 2017, Debbie Parker Wayne, Certified Genealogist®, All Rights Reserved

DNA Workshop, Southwest Tennessee, 28 October 2017

I have been invited to teach an all-day DNA seminar in a workshop format in Germantown, Tennessee, on 28 October 2017. This will include hands-on analysis of autosomal DNA segments and correlating the DNA and documentary evidence.

The original event space in Germantown sold out, but there are spaces available in the larger venue now reserved. This will be my last workshop this year (my other scheduled events have been cancelled due to damage caused by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma). I am looking forward to spending time in Germantown, Memphis, and southwest Tennessee. I hope to see many old friends there and make some new friends.

Registration is available at http://www.tngs.org/event-2556801.

Date: Saturday, 28 October 2017

Time: 8:00am to 3:00pm

Place: Germantown Church of Christ, 8723 Poplar Pike, Germantown, TN 38138

Sessions include

DNA and Genetic Genealogy Today: A brief review of DNA inheritance and basic genetic information, company tools, and third-party tools
Y-DNA and mtDNA Analysis: Match list analysis, project advantages, using Y-DNA and mtDNA to prove Native American ancestry and to link to a common ancestor through DNA matches
Autosomal DNA (atDNA) Analysis: Match list analysis, shared surname, and family tree analysis; genetic networks: shared matches, In Common With (ICW), DNA Circles; and triangulated groups
Correlating DNA and Documentary Evidence: Apply DNA and documentary evidence to answer genealogical relationship questions

A family tree and documents will be used for hands-on activities to confirm (or refute) links in a tree, determine if a newly found DNA match belongs in the same tree, and whether documentary evidence correlates with the DNA evidence to support or disprove a hypothesis.

To cite this blog post: Debbie Parker Wayne, "DNA Workshop, Southwest Tennessee, 28 October 2017," Deb's Delvings, 16 September 2017 (http://debsdelvings.blogspot.com/ : accessed [date]).

© 2017, Debbie Parker Wayne, Certified Genealogist®, All Rights Reserved