DNA Definitions
..............FamilyTreeDNA Website
........Glossary
..............of DNA Terms Click Here

What is a haplogroup?

One way to think about haplogroups is as major branches on the family tree of Homo Sapiens.

These haplogroup branches characterize the early migrations of population groups. As a result, haplogroups are usually associated
with a geographic region. If haplogroups are the branches of the tree then the haplotypes represent the leaves of the tree. All of the
haplotypes that belong to a particular
haplogroup are leaves on the same branch. Both mtDNA and Y-DNA tests provide haplogroup information, but remember that the haplogroups nomenclature are different for each.

Go To FamilyTreeDNA
Y-DNA haplogroups
mtDNA haplogroups
How is my haplogroup determined?
How are the haplogroups named?
YCC Nomenclature System

Summer 2009

Furthering Your Genealogical Education
............... in Trying Economic Times

With financial concerns around every corner in the recent global economic downturn, many genealogists are left wondering how to pay for continuing their genealogical education. Although national conferences and institutes are extremely appealing and worthwhile, they can also be expensive endeavors, especially when food, lodging, and transportation are added. Although often less expensive than on-sight conferences & institutes, online genealogical courses and those offered by correspondence can still be expensive. So, what’s a genealogist to do? What other options are out there?

Faced with an upcoming layoff in my own family, I recently made the decision to forego attending the National Genealogical Society Conference in the States, which was held in nearby Raleigh, NC last month. Having never been to an NGS Conference in the States, I looked forward to attending it since the location was announced a few years ago. I even booked my hotel room last fall in anxious anticipation. Shortly thereafter, however, I learned that my husband is to be laid off later this year. So, when the time came to register for the conference itself, I added up the hotel bill for 5 days, the known food costs, and conference fees and decided I’d best rethink the idea. There would also be additional food and miscellaneous costs, and who could resist buying a few genealogical or historical books while there? I pondered this awhile, really grieving the thought of not attending. Then it occurred to me that some of the lectures might be recorded as they used to be at other conferences using a company called Audiotapes.com. Sure enough, they were! I could buy CDs of lectures for $12 each from Jamb-inc.com, which has provided this service for recent National Genealogical Society Conferences. That decided it for me. While I would greatly miss the experience of being there, the genealogical companionship, and especially the lecture handouts, I could at least have the lectures on CD to listen to again and again and to loan to others too. Most of all, I’d save hundreds of dollars, and with the economy like it is, every bit helps.

Genealogical lectures on CD and tape are sometimes sold by genealogical and historical societies too. For example, the North Carolina Genealogical Society sells recordings of some genealogical lectures given by well-known genealogists David Rencher, Helen Leary, and Mark Lowe.

In addition to listening to genealogical lectures on CD or tape, genealogists can always pour over more books! Your local public and/or university library, especially the genealogy and/or special collection section(s), may offer opportunities for you to read genealogical methods books for free. You will likely be limited to reading some of them on-site rather than checking them out though, and your selection may be limited as well. A solution for this may be Interlibrary Loan through your local public library.

The National Genealogical Society moved its genealogical collection of over 20,000 books to the special collections department at St. Louis County Library about eight years ago. Previously, the collection was only available by loan to NGS members, but now that it is housed at the St. Louis County Library, it is available to the public free through Interlibrary Loan. Not only do they have books on genealogical methodology, they also have thousands of family, state, county, and local history books as well as abstracts of various records.

So, the next time you find yourself fretting about the economy’s effect on your genealogical education, try some of the above ideas to brighten your spirits and help you break down those brick walls!


Websites mentioned in this article:
Audiotapes.com: http://www.repeatperformance.com Click on Genealogy
Note: Many of these are recordings of lectures from several years ago. Keep in mind that
while some topics & genealogical research methods are timeless, others are time-
sensitive. Often it’s better to go with more recent lectures to be safe, in which case it
would more appropriate to use Jamb Tapes below.
Jamb Tapes, Inc.: http://www.jamb-inc.com Click on Genealogy
North Carolina Genealogical Society: http://www.ncgenealogy.org
Look under the Publications Tab, then click on NCGS Tapes & CDs
NGS Book Loan Collection: http://www.ngsgenealogy.org/cs/library_book_loan_collection

http://valeehill.blogspot.com
http://www.valeehill.net/genealogy/links.html
http://munselle.blogspot.com
http://www.squidoo.com/vancegenealogy
http://www.squidoo.com/grandmothers
www.Sggenomics.com
www.ItRunsInMyFamily.com
http://shoestringgenealogy.com
http://writingyourmemories.blogspot.com

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...Using Family History to Improve Your Health
Columnist:
Brandon M Welch, M.Sc.
www.Sggenomics.com
ItRunsInMyFamily.com

Genealogy, the practice of finding your ancestors and charting out your family tree, has become one of the most practiced hobbies worldwide. People of all ages are digging into old family records and getting back to their roots with a myriad of different tools and websites available to assist this growing passion. One aspect of genealogy that is less well known, but may be even more beneficial to you than collecting interesting family stories, is charting your family health history.
A family health history is similar to a family tree in that it organizes your ancestors in generational groups showing parent-child relationships, as well as marriages and siblings. However, a family health history differs from a typical family tree pedigree in that it records certain health issues, illnesses and disorders individuals in a family have had, and shows trends of those illnesses and disorders through families.
Doctors have long known that certain disorders can ‘run in families’. For example, an individual with a strong family history of heart disease has a 9.8 times greater risk for heart disease than an individual without a family history of the disease. Charting a family health pedigree can make health trends and patterns in the family easier to spot. This of course, can be key to preventing health problems from ever developing.
A clearly marked family health history will indicate to you the need to make smart dietary and healthy living choices, as well as be particularly motivated to get tested and screened for family diseases on a regular basis. Sharing and discussing your family health history with your doctor will help you to catch and treat any problems in the early stages before it is too late.

A new website called ItRunsInMyFamily.com will help you create your family health history online. Start your family health history today!

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