Genetic Genealogy Reading List

Soon after receiving our first DNA test results, we spent a couple months reading everything we could find on DNA and genetic genealogy. Afterwards, we kept these bookmarks, and organized them into a logical reading order. Hopefully, it will help you ascend the learning curve faster.

Start Here

  1. Genealogy Beyond the Y Chromosome, Autosomes Exposed, by Stephen P. Morse
  2. Beginners Guide to Genetic Genealogy, by Kelly Wheaton
  3. From DNA to Genetic Genealogy, Everything You Wanted to Know But Were Afraid to Ask, by Stephen P. Morse
  4. The Shared cM Project, by Blaine T. Bettinger
  5. DNAeXplained—Genetic Genealogy, X Marks the Spot, by Roberta Estes

Triangulation

segment-ology.org, by Jim Bartlett, is the go-to for triangulation. These posts are a great place to start on the site:

  1. CA and MRCA
  2. Segments: Bottom-Up
  3. Segments: Top-Down
  4. Crossovers by Generation
  5. Anatomy of a TG
  6. How to Triangulate
  7. Does Triangulation Work?

The post Crossovers by Generation above answers a question we struggled with for weeks …

How long are the alternating segments of DNA from our parents?

This is the only place we found it addressed. This post is a must read. In fact, if you read it first, it provides valuable context for all your reading on this topic. But it does use several technical terms you may want to be acquainted with first.

DNA Match Clustering