I Wish for More Tools at AncestryDNA

My mother, wearing the hat, and 

her sister were not surprised 
when their DNA differed. 

I have been a fan of Ancestry.com since I started my membership in 2000 so was very pleased to try their new Autosomal DNA test last summer. Since then, I have coerced three family members to take the test and have several thousand matches, but organizing and taking the time to look at them all is an overwhelming task.

I have 58 pages of DNA matches with 50 matches per page - that's 2,900 matches. One match is immediate family (my mother), another is close family (my aunt), and I have two 3rd to 4th cousin matches; one who I know and love and one who also matches my mother and my aunt, but we don't have a clue as to how she matches us. Ninety-eight of my matches were in the 4th to 6th cousin range making the remaining 2,700+ matches distant cousins in the 5th to 8th cousin range. 

Now, triple the 2,900 matches as I am the administrator for both my mother's and my aunt's DNA. And, add my brother's DNA as his is processing. This will give me approximately 11,600 matches to wade through and more are added each week! Looking at over 11,000 matches is impossible so I don't look beyond 4th to 6th cousin matches. 

Of all of those matches, I have had a few new leads, but I have yet to find any new conclusive matches. Honestly, I can find more by searching the Public Trees at Ancestry.com. 

A newer tool at AncestryDNA puts a leaf next to any match that contains someone in my tree, but, in all of my current matches (almost 8,000), I only have two leaves. 

I have read that having the raw data from AncestryDNA will really help with the matches and that will come soon.  I know that if I can access that raw data, I will need to upload this data to another site such as GEDmatch or FamilyTree DNA.  However, are all those persons who match my DNA going to upload to another site? 

So AncestryDNA, make our matches easier to manage and please grant my wish!

Diana

© 2012

Friday's Photo: Said to be Mary Rourke

This photograph is said to be Mary Rourke, mother of James Murray. I received a copy of this picture from a distant family member who received it from another distant family member. 

James Murray was the father of my husband's grandmother, Susan Murray. There are many who read this blog that can say that James Murray was their grandfather or great-grandfather which would make Mary Rourke their great or great-great grandmother. 

Does anyone have a similar picture? Is this Mary Rourke? 

While I am asking questions, when did James Murray die? What did he do for a living? Does anyone know?

Diana

© 2012

My Other Genealogy Blog

Reddick Bryan 1793 to 1864

If you look to the bottom right on this blog. You will see, above the ads, "My Other Blogs." The Budget SLP is my professional blog and most of you reading this blog won't be interested in my speech and language posts. The other blog is another genealogy blog, The Reddick Bryan Family. Anyone related to my Bryan or Regan family may be interested in this one. Early Giddens family information may sometimes be found at this blog as Jacob Giddens, a brother of my ancestor Mitchell Giddens, lived in the same communities as the Bryan families in both Georgia and Louisiana. 

Reddick Bryan was born in 1793 in North Carolina. His second wife, Elizabeth Span Regan was also born in North Carolina. Both, Reddick and Elizabeth, migrated to Georgia and later settled in Bienville Parish where they both are buried. 

I am slowly writing about this family in the form of a timeline. My last post was about the family in 1821. However, in addition to writing about my Bryan family, I have found much information about slaves owned by the Bryan and Regan families. If you are interested in Slavery and the Bryan Family, click here. 

Diana

© 2012

Friday's Photo: Mary Lucy Glynn Giddens

Mary Lucy Giddens was my great-grandmother. She was photographed with a Mrs. Weller. The picture below also found in the album is labeled Weller's Farm. This farm was in Phillipsburg, Warren County, New Jersey where Mary Lucy Giddens lived with her family.

Diana

© 2012

Friday's Photo: Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day

Whit Criswell Bryan  1920 - 2001

My father, Whit Criswell Bryan, a 20 year old pharmacist mate, was stationed at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. He had transferred from the U.S.S Aragonne to The Mobile Naval Hospital No. 2 on December 1, 1941. 

When the attack on Pearl Harbor began, Dad said that he was delivering newspapers for a friend who had a paper route. He had driven a friend’s car and was at a top of a hill when he saw the planes coming in; first thinking that they were US planes. When the bombing occurred, he left the car and ran back to the Mobile Hospital. He told my brother that, from the hill, he could see down into the cockpits of the Japanese planes. 

Diana

© 2012