If you’ve been waiting to take a DNA test for ancestry until a great deal comes along, now may be the time. Whether you plan to test only yourself, or want to grab a few kits for family members, you’ll find low prices at every major testing company right now. We’ve listed all of the current offers below so that you can easily compare. Some of these deals have an unknown end date and others expire this weekend.
For avid family historians the search for the perfect tree program can be a challenging one. We need a very specific set of tools, intelligent ways to enter and view data, robust reporting options and ongoing stability – but we also hope for an intuitive and attractive design, access from any device and the ability to easily share our work with family members and collaborators. It’s a tall order to fill.
Millions of people received DNA tests over the holiday season and, as results start to finally roll in, many of you will be looking at ethnicity reports for the first time – 39% of this, 22% of that, 2% of something totally surprising…it can all be very exciting. But what does it all mean? Can you really take these percentages at face value? The answer is a resounding no. While your results certainly contain truths, accepting your ancestry report without additional interpretation will often lead you to confusion and inaccurate assumptions about your family’s history.
Many people are unaware of the fact that not all of Ancestry’s records show up in search. A surprising number of collections have not been indexed and are therefore virtually invisible to the everyday user of the site. These browse-only collections, as they are known, need to be purposely sought out if you want to take advantage of the records they contain. Some collections have been on Ancestry’s site for years and are still not searchable, while others are new collections that have not yet been indexed.
MyHeritage has released an update to their DNA matching system which has greatly improved the number and accuracy of matches, and added a much requested chromosome browser.
American Ancestors, the online research website from the New England Historic Genealogical Society, is offering completely free access to its database of records that include more than 1.4 billion names from 18 countries. You’ll only need to register for a free guest account to search and view these family history records right now. Access is typically almost $90 per year.
With prices lower than ever and curiosity about our genetic past at an all time high, DNA tests are popular gifts. Here are some important things to keep in mind while you’re waiting for your results.
Ancestry is following up on the extremely popular 50% off flash sale they ran in November with a similar offer for the New Year.
If you’ve ever transcribed the text of an old genealogy record by hand, you know how time-consuming the task can be. Even if you just plan to pull out the most important information from a record to include in your family …
How to Instantly Transcribe Your Genealogy Records for Free .
As interest in family history research continues to grow more and more researchers are taking the time to educate themselves about genealogy best practices so they can grow an accurate family tree. Family historians are understanding the value of doing their own unique research, avoiding copying the trees of others, and taking more time to properly source their trees for the benefit of everyone. But a surprising number are not taking the time to do the most important thing they can do for their research.