collecting DNA samples in Slovakia in 2004: AI-imagined (left) versus reality (right)

Genetic genealogist Diahan Southard recently asked a number of people involved in this field over the last 25 years to write about their recollections and thoughts for a book she was compiling, So Far: Genetic Genealogy, The first 25 years, 1999–2024. As an early adopter, I was surprised how many memories came flooding back, and struggled to get down to the requested word count, so I’m sharing a less-streamlined version here (with Diahan’s blessing).

free, downloadable book about the first 25 years of genetic genealogy

One aspect of genetic genealogy that never ceases to amaze me is how the media keeps covering it as if it were some newfangled, shiny object. But Diahan’s right. It’s been around for a quarter of a century. I was on board early, so I hope that genealogists’ inherent curiosity about the past will extend to our own history and that you’ll enjoy this personal-timeline, behind-the-scenes peek at genetic genealogy’s first ten years.

1999

You might be surprised to hear that I took my baby steps thanks to the U.S. Army. Hoping to identify soldiers missing from WWI, WWII, Korea, and Vietnam by tracing and obtaining DNA samples from living relatives, they launched a trial run, and I was invited to participate due to a fluke event.

The colonel in charge went to a Washington, D.C. area bookstore where I happened to be speaking that evening. Since my book was genealogical, she approached me after I was done. I would soon make a lasting impression by totaling my car in a telephone pole near her home (pro tip: never leave your car where a kid brother can get at it while you’re on a business trip), but that’s a story for another time.

After they tried a bunch of us on for size for about a year, two of us were awarded contracts. As an Army brat, I was delighted to make the cut. My father served in Vietnam, but he came home. So many other family members weren’t so lucky and have been left wondering for decades. This was a chance to at least make a dent by providing answers for some.

To date, 188 of the 1,717 soldiers I’ve investigated have been identified, and two others received the Medal of Honor posthumously. I’m grateful that “no man left behind” is so much more than a slogan, and to have had the opportunity to play a modest role in these homecomings.

2000

Sleuthing for the military opened my eyes to the possibilities of DNA and how it could be used to solve history mysteries, and I had just such a puzzle to solve in my own family involving all the Smolenyak families in the world (sometimes having a rare, unpronounceable name comes in handy!). We all hail from the same village, and I had traced the four lines back to the1700s, but the records petered out. We were serfs — not the kind to leave much of a trace. How would I ever be able to prove we were all related?

That’s why I was one of the first in line when Family Tree DNA (FTDNA) began offering Y-DNA tests in April of 2000. Since I had a long-established village association, the men I reached out to for DNA samples all agreed, and four of FTDNA’s first thousand kits were mine.

The results destroyed my hypothesis. Initially, I was devastated, but then it dawned on me that these DNA tests had saved me years of futile research. It had seemed so reasonable to assume we were related, so I would have devoted years and who knows how much money trying to prove it. I was wrong, but I was also hooked. What other riddles might DNA testing be able to solve?

2002

New technologies always face resistance, and genetic genealogy was no exception (I’m experiencing déjà vu with AI now). Some genealogists considered the use of DNA “cheating” or an attempt to shortcut traditional research, not yet grasping that conventional and genetic genealogy play very well together. Others opposed it for religious reasons (I still regret not being able to talk an organization I was associated with into accepting 150 free tests from National Geographic, and the main stumbling block was a vague, religious objection). And of course, there was the usual, generic wariness and suspicion about all things new.

Even though I was an established writer and speaker, this resistance meant that it took two years to get an article or talk accepted. Every other family history publication had already turned down “DNA Testing Dispels a Genealogical Myth” before the now-defunct Everton’s Genealogical Helper ran it that May. The piece won an award, so I began booking lectures and participating in Sorenson Molecular Biology Foundation (SMGF) blood-sampling events to encourage participation. The tide was beginning to turn.

2003

I had been eager to write a book about this amazing new tool almost from the beginning, but recognized that there wasn’t a sufficient audience yet. I held off for several years, but finally in 2003, succumbed to temptation and courted Ann Turner, M.D. to be my co-author. I already had a couple of books under my belt, so wrote a proposal and sent it off to my agent. Usually, she landed contracts within weeks, but not this time. All told, we received 37 rejections, one of my favorites being: “I just don’t see people using DNA tests to research their backgrounds except in extreme cases, so I fear the audience for this would be small.”

one of 37 rejections we received for our DNA book

Finally, Rodale rolled the dice on the topic and the resulting book, Trace Your Roots with DNA, will soon celebrate its 20th anniversary.

2004

2004 started off well as I got to meet my co-author, Dr. Turner, about a week after we submitted our manuscript. Living on opposite coasts, we had written our book virtually. Coincidentally, we were both invited to a genetic genealogy brainstorming session hosted by a company in Utah even though no one had any clue that we knew each other.

Later that year, my husband and I went to Osturňa, Slovakia to expand my Smolenyak surname study into a geographic one. The notion at the time was so novel that I recall others asking what I hoped to accomplish. I would respond honestly that I didn’t know, but thought the best way to learn was to experiment like this. Maybe it would be a waste of time or maybe not.

About a year later, National Geographic’s Genographic Project debuted, and my village project didn’t seem so strange anymore.

Although this was my third time to the Smolenyaks’ ancestral village, collecting DNA made it particularly memorable. Our undertaking was announced on the village’s loudspeaker system, men volunteered (the focus was on Y-DNA), and we visited their homes where we were rewarded with warm hospitality that often included slivovitz (plum brandy). My husband gamely took on the role of “designated drinker” since I was driving.

exchanging DNA samples and slivovitz in Slovakia in 2004

In October of that year, Family Tree DNA held the 1st International Conference on Genetic Genealogy, and all the early adopters were there. During a talk, I stated that genetic genealogy was unknown outside our enthusiastic bubble, a remark that spurred Katherine Hope Borges to establish the International Society of Genetic Genealogy to help spread the word.

2005–2007

I continued speaking and writing, and once SMGF switched from blood to mouthwash (they had to seek alternatives as too many feared needles), incorporated swishing sessions into my events!

swish party to gather DNA samples at one of my events

November of 2007 was a memorable milestone as autosomal testing was announced. Two companies — 23andMe and deCODEme (this aspect of this Icelandic company has since shut down) — launched within 24 hours of each other. It cost $1,000 which was daunting as I had to test everywhere to be able to speak and write about the topic, but the prospects were tantalizing!

Fortunately, I was a beta tester for 23andMe, so while I had to pay, my rate was subsidized. Since this was all so new, I conducted an experiment to test the tester. The claim was that they could tell you the relationship, if any, between people who tested with them. I wanted to see how true this was.

Osturňa once again came into play as it’s remote even today, so many with roots there are related in some way. I took advantage of this by selecting a combination of 15 Osturnites who would give me the maximum number of relationships to test among them. Using my village database, I looked for first cousins, first cousins once removed, second cousins, second cousins once removed, and so on. The intention was to compare known, paper-trail relationships with whatever the DNA testing said.

I thought I had been strategic, but the joke was on me.

Reviewing reports for these 15 hand-picked individuals, everyone mapped up tidily. First cousins showed up as first cousins and so on — with one exception. One of my own first cousins showed up as a second cousin. After entertaining theory after theory, I turned to Occam’s razor and realized that the explanation was the simplest and most obvious, but my built-in family biases had blinded me to it.

My father’s only brother was really his half-brother. They had the same mother, but different fathers. Once I figured out how to share the revelation with my father, I reached out to 23andMe. This turned out to be their first-ever family surprise, so I wound up explaining to 23andMe how their service had unveiled this secret. Countless others have since had the same experience.

2008–2009

Having worked on African American Lives and Faces of America withHenry Louis Gates, Jr., I took the opportunity to introduce him to 23andMe. I still remember how excited he was as we walked through his results, so it’s no surprise that genetic genealogy soon became a staple in Finding Your Roots thereby helping to popularize it with non-genealogists. Shortly after, in a hint of things to come, I assisted with my first criminal case, helping identify a murder victim.

This digest version of the first decade is admittedly somewhat sugar-coated because I’ve alluded to but haven’t lingered on the resistance we encountered in the early days. It’s easy to tuck aside because tempering this was the fact that we knew we were pioneers. How many ever get that chance? We were in a brand new playground making it up as we went along — both fun and gratifying. Please never forget that it was curious genealogists who first ventured into, gave shape to, and demystified much of this game-changing crossroads of science and history!

P.S. If you’re curious to hear more on the subject, you might want to watch this chat between Your DNA Guide, Diahan Southard, and yours truly.

Note regarding AI: While I make liberal use of AI to generate images to accompany my articles (and always identify them as such), it has not been used in any way to write this article — no brainstorming, drafting, editing, or any other aspect.

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Secret History of Alan Alda’s M*A*S*H Dog Tags – How I would have loved to have done this research!

The post Genealogy Roundup, July 3 appeared first on Megan Smolenyak.

Soldier Accounted for from WWII (Young, C.) – Welcome home, Tech Sgt Charles Edward Young. Honored to have researched your family. #hero

Ask the Experts with Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak – If y’all are in the mood for a little genealogy chit-chat, please consider watching this conversation I had with Diahan Southard, Your DNA Guide. We had a lot of fun and I hope you will too!

The mysterious tyranny of trendy baby names – Excellent article on US baby names over time. Will surprise you!

Genetic Genealogy’s First Decade – Curious about the early days of genetic genealogy? Curious about the early days of genetic genealogy? I got you covered (thanks to Your DNA Guide!).

Top Photo Credit: Birth and Death Certificate Research – City of Minneapolis Archives under Creative Commons license

The post Genealogy Roundup, June 26 appeared first on Megan Smolenyak.

Genealogy Songs – For anyone who’s playing with Suno, I’ve got a playlist of (AI-generated) genealogy songs I’d be happy to add yours to if you send me the link.

‘Dolly Parton & Family: Smoky Mountain DNA – Family, Faith & Fables’ Set For Release November 15 Via Owepar Entertainment – Who’s up for a 4-part docuseries and companion album on Dolly Parton’s roots (coming in November)? I love that the producer is a cousin – that person in the family who’s the go-to for family history. #genealogy

The post Genealogy Roundup, June 19 appeared first on Megan Smolenyak.

Census Tree FAQ – Hmm. Might be some interesting things that could be done with this cross-pollinated US census data.

Photo Credit: Nikolas Fečunda via YouTube

The post Genealogy Roundup, October 4 appeared first on Megan Smolenyak.

I guess my concern is the current state of AI where it still gets so much wrong, and yet, it’s easy not to notice if you don’t carefully consider the results it hands you.

Even before AI entered the arena, we were already at a stage where poor research often outshouts accurate – if only because so many copy others’ trees without looking at a single record or questioning any aspect – and I fear this will amplify that tendency.

I run into this all the time, but the experience that still stands out in my mind is discovering that everyone had one of Hillary Clinton’s grandparents wrong. That may sound trivial, but at the time, she was the most scrutinized woman, perhaps person, on the planet, and yet, no one had troubled to be sure. So fully a quarter of her story was wrong, as were many who thought they were related to her.

And we’re impatient, aren’t we? I don’t see people waiting until tried-and-tested genealogy AI tools arrive. We’ll all just jump on the first few that are released and touted.

This I can predict with confidence: The premise of one or more of the early tools will be to find your famous relatives in seconds, and should any of them be integrated with sites that host online trees, the error rate will soar to fresh, new levels. Few will know, and I doubt many will care.

The end game will be to market customized medications and other products (I’ll leave aside darker thoughts for now), and those involved will tell themselves that the mistakes will be rendered unimportant by sheer volume. And maybe they’ll be right.

I’ve been a genealogist most of my life so have celebrated and adopted, as well as weathered and tolerated, countless changes, but I’m bracing myself. This article – whoever or whatever wrote it – is correct to describe what’s coming as a revolution, and we’re already in it. Hold tight.

Discover Enslaved People in the Newspapers – Interesting approach! I hope other newspaper collections will borrow this idea.

Sudbury student graduates from same school 100 years apart from great-grandmother – Keeping it in the family!

Statue of Liberty Barbie

Stolen Irish skulls snatched from graveyard finally returned to Inishbofin island – I hope we see a lot more of this kind of thing going forward.

Photo Credit: Samuel Huron under Creative Commons license

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So it was all but inevitable that I would take a genealogical dive to learn more about the family that has given us Ms. Waddingham, and it didn’t disappoint.

Londoner-Manx Mix

In broad strokes, her father’s family tree has been firmly planted in London for generations, while her mother’s is from the Isle of Man. Dashes of Devon, Essex, Hampshire, Kent, and Oxfordshire make an appearance, along with a smidge (1/32nd) of German (hello, Cologne!) and two other countries I’ll explore shortly, but London and Ellan Vannin get the bulk of the credit. It was her mother’s musical talent that brought her to London linking the two sides — and that leads to my next discovery.

Music Is in Her Blood

Hannah’s mother, Melodie, grew up singing, notching contest wins from the time her age had barely reached double digits. At 23, she became the first Manx singer to join the company of the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. But she wasn’t the first gifted singer in the family. In fact, Hannah is at least a fourth generation musical performer on her Manx side.

When her mother’s parents married, the local newspaper proclaimed, “Wedding of Two Well Known Vocalists,” and noted that both hailed from musical families. The bride was also praised for her piano forte skills, while the groom’s sister provided the organ accompaniment for the event.

And though the gift of musicality is pronounced in her mother’s bloodline, it’s not absent from her father’s. One of her fourth great-grandfathers was a musician as were most of his sons. While I had difficulty pinning down anything more specific, he once listed himself as a professor suggesting that he taught, there’s a hint of tin flute skills, and at least one of his sons was a violinist. As with the Manx half, it was musical talent that brought them to London — in this case, from Devon.

And So Is Heroism

Hannah Waddingham’s family has more than its share of military heroes. By way of example, I’ll share one from each half of her heritage.

Whether she knows it or not, one of Hannah’s paternal great-granduncles, George Alfred Steene, was killed in World War I in May of 1915 at the age of 23. Sadder still, he was never recovered and is still missing. His is among the names of the Hall of Memory of the Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing near Ypres, West Flanders, Belgium. Losing him must have been particularly hard for his mother as he was one of only two sons among her nine children, as well as the baby of the family.

One of her Manx great-grandfather’s, Egerton Watterson, was a lifelong mariner, and in that capacity, made it through one-third of a cat’s lives as he survived three shipwrecks. The first was when the Empress Queen went down in 1915 during World War I, while the second was just eight years later when he was injured after the Douglas, a steamer he was on, collided with another vessel and sank.

King Decorates Gallant Manxmen, Isle of Man Times, 29 March 1941. Courtesy of Manx National Heritage.

Decades later at the age of 57, he assisted with the Dunkirk evacuation. Serving on the Mona’s Queen which was sunk by a magnetic mine, he was thrown from the wheel of the steamer, jumped into the water, and was later picked up by a destroyer. The following year in 1941, he and his wife went to London where he received the Distinguished Service Medal from King George VI for “his coolness and courage” during the Dunkirk operation. This last episode made a lasting impression on Egerton as he took out annual memorial ads lamenting those lost on the Mona Queen that day. It’s little wonder that his loved ones chose to inscribe his tombstone with “Safe in home port.”

A Calamitous Colorado Detour

As I mentioned earlier, two other countries come into play in Hannah’s past and one of them is the United States — Colorado and Utah to be specific. Much to my surprise, Mona, one of her great-grandmothers, was born in Colorado. Mona’s Manx parents married in 1891 and her future father went off to America just months later. In December, his wife followed. Had she left a couple of weeks later, she might have been one of the first to arrive at Ellis Island as it opened its doors on January 1st 1892.

Like so many before, they went west where, it appears, her father hoped to strike it rich. Mona was born in Colorado around 1893 — probably in Rico, a silver mining town that now has a population of 288. They eventually settled in Park City, Utah, but Mona’s father continued to prospect in Colorado.

Slept the Sleep of Death, The Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO), 19 August 1897. Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection. Colorado State Library.

Tragedy struck a few years later when, “A well-dressed, respectable-appearing man about 30 years of age was found dead … in an abandoned shaft house above the reservoir on Battle Mountain”¹ in Victor, Colorado. A tax receipt for a ton of coal was found in his pocket with his name and Park City as his address, so locals reached out to the police there.

His wife was too distressed to travel, so asked that Mr. Frey, a former employer of her husband’s, identify him, which he did. A silver watch and $20 were found on him, and Mr. Frey described him as “of sober and industrious habits,” so foul play seemed unlikely. Everyone was mystified until a post mortem determined the cause of death to be heart disease, brought on by pulmonary trouble.

And so it was that five-year-old Mona journeyed to the Isle of Man, the home she had never known. Due to this sorrowful twist of fate, one of Hannah’s great-great-grandfather’s is buried in Victor, Colorado, and should she ever attend the Sundance Film Festival, she would be walking in her ancestors’ footsteps.

Emerald Isle Ancestry

As someone of half-Irish heritage, I have a habit of seeking out Irish roots in others, so was pleased to determine that Ms. Waddingham is at least 3/16ths Irish. One pair of her great-great-grandparents hailed from Cork, while a third came from Dublin. His parents married in Dublin in 1845, but trace back to Donegal (possibly Buncrana, but that’s not confirmed) and Offaly. Given that Hannah’s Ted Lasso character owns a team called the Greyhounds, how fitting is it that Killeagh — known for the famous racing greyhound, Mick the Miller – gets the bragging rights?

1845 Dublin marriage record of third great-grandparents (as seen on the Irish government’s invaluable site, IrishGenealogy.ie)

Five Generations of Harry Waddinghams

Some families pass names down, but most only make it to three or so generations. Not so with the Waddinghams who have successfully shepherded the name Harry through five. Among these is one who represents both the heroic and musical aspects of Hannah’s family.

Her grandfather, Harry Waddingham, joined the Royal Navy at the age of 16 and was one of only 26 survivors (out of well over 600) on a ship that was torpedoed by a German E-boat during the Dunkirk evacuation. A year later, he was on another that was sunk by Italian aircraft.

Is this tale ringing a bell? Yes, Hannah had both a grandfather and great-grandfather go down on ships during Dunkirk. Between the two, they survived a total of five shipwrecks. Toss in the Colorado misfortune, and you begin to appreciate how against-the-odds her very existence is.

Returning to Harry, I invite you to enjoy this 2023 BBC interview with this remarkable 106-year-old contributor — yes, 106 — to her gene pool as he describes his Naval experience.

When he’s not responding to requests to recount his World War II days, he’s been known to entertain others at the keyboard of an organ, serve as a church steward, and write poetry. Should you ever find yourself in need of a pick-me-up, I recommend reading his COVID-inspired verses which end with advice to “smile and make a happy face.” Luckily for all of us, his granddaughter’s been listening and paying it forward.

¹ Gilling Is Found Dead, The Victor Record (Victor, CO), 19 August 1897. Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection. Colorado State Library.

Top Photo Credit: Hannah Waddingham on March 20, 2023 in the Oval Office of the White House (P20230320AS-2571, cropped) (Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz). For more, check out these delightful photos of President Biden and First Lady Biden meeting with the cast of “Ted Lasso”.

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Photo Credit: Dharmabumstead under Creative Commons license

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Downton Shabby: One American’s Ultimate DIY Adventure Restoring His Family’s English Castle – If you’re like me and on the lookout for pleasant diversions in your reading, you might enjoy this one. A genealogical fantasy for most of us, but true for this fellow! That said, what a learning curve and commitment!

President Biden invited to visit Galway after discovery of family links – Did this at 1:20 a.m. my time, so fingers crossed I sound semi-coherent. President Biden is visiting Ireland this week, so there’s apt to be some chit-chat about his roots and Irish cousins.

How 27,000 bricks from Biden’s great-great-great grandfather helped build the cathedral where he’ll speak in Ireland next week: Deal made family $25K – before they sailed to the US to start new life – Hey, y’all, it’s that season again. Joe Biden is visiting Ireland this week so there’s going to be a lot out there about his Irish roots and cousins. Some of it has already mentioned my work, but I also expect a few discoveries I had nothing to do with. And this is one of them. Pretty cool.

Joe Biden invited to Galway after genealogist uncovers family ties to the county – This title is a little misleading in that I confirmed what then-potential family members suspected, but yes, he has Galway roots as well.

Cut from the Same Cloth: Joe Biden and Stephen Colbert Share More than Their Irish Heritage – My latest on Medium. Some parallels I’ve been struck by over the years.

Photo Credit: via Wikimedia Commons under Creative Commons license

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So now I’m on Mastodon, Post, and – the latest entry – Spoutible. If you’re on any of them, please let me know!

Captured in Time: Syrian Immigrant Sultana Numeir upon Arrival in America in 1890 – I love that after so many years of being a genealogist, I can still be stunned by where a bit of curiosity takes me. This case was a wild ride research-wise. I had no idea where it was going to take me. Grateful to those who choose to read and/or share.

Museum of Lost Memories helps reunite misplaced family mementos with their owners – Many genealogists do this, but the scale and use of crowd-sourcing take this to another level.

Photo Credit: Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

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