DNA and Surname Projects: Getting More from Group Testing
If you have taken a Y-DNA test and are wondering what to do next, joining a surname project may be one of the highest-value steps available to you…
AncestryDNA ThruLines: Promise vs. Reality
If you have taken an AncestryDNA test and linked it to a family tree, you have almost certainly encountered ThruLines — Ancestry’s tool for suggesting how your DNA matches might connect…
The Ships That Brought Them: Dillman Families at Sea
Every Dillman family in America arrived by water. From the Virtuous Grace in 1737 to the Lusitania in 1908, this article examines the ships and ports through which Dillman families crossed the Atlantic — Philadelphia, New Orleans, New York, and Halifax.
MyHeritage Family Tree Builder: A Free Desktop Tool
MyHeritage Family Tree Builder is a free desktop genealogy application that has been available since 2004 — one of the longest-running continuously developed genealogy programs…
Understanding Centimorgans in DNA Matching
If you have spent any time looking at your DNA match list, you have seen the centimorgan (cM) figure alongside each match — a number that tells you how much DNA you share…
Copyright in Genealogy: Who Owns Your Family Tree?
Ask a room full of genealogists who owns their family tree, and you will get a range of confident answers — most of them incomplete. The question touches copyright law…
Faith and Migration: Religion in the Dillman Family Groups
Faith was not merely a comfort to German immigrants — for many Dillman families it was the reason they left, the network that received them, and the community that determined where they settled. This article examines the religious connections documented across the first 94 family groups.
Family Tree Maker: A Complete History and Assessment
Few products have shaped the landscape of consumer genealogy as profoundly as Family Tree Maker. For nearly four decades it has been the best-known desktop genealogy…
Whole Genome Sequencing: The Next Frontier
Whole genome sequencing (WGS) is the most comprehensive form of genetic analysis available to consumers — a test that reads virtually every position in your DNA…
Record Digitization: The State of Play in 2026
There has never been a better time to be a genealogical researcher. That statement has been true for most of the past two decades, and it remains true in 2026…