Episode 338 - Dr. Blaine Bettinger on Ancestry’s Centimorgan Change and How DNA from Heirlooms Could Lead to Great Breakthroughs

Host Scott Fisher opens the show with David Allen Lambert, Chief Genealogist of the New England Historic Genealogical Society and AmericanAncestors.org. David begins by explaining a case of serendipity from which he was the recent beneficiary. Hear what happened! David then shares a great project opportunity for all of us… transcribing anti-slavery manuscripts at the Boston Public Library. It’s something you can do from home! A tribe in California has regained possession of some of their ancestral land. Hear about the tribe and how it came to pass. Then, a 52-year-old cold case has been solved by an amateur genealogist. He had the needed clue to identify a Jane Doe murder victim from 1968! David then talks about a photographer who has taken photos of descendants of famous ancestors in the look of their ancestors’ times. The results are remarkable. Fisher then visits with Dr. Blaine Bettinger about Ancestry.com’s recent announcement that they are raising the threshold for a “match” from six centimorgans to eight. How can we best preserve the six to seven centimorgan matches we already have and how might this change affect our genetic genealogy research? Dr. Bettinger has some thoughts. Fisher and Blaine Bettinger then talk about Keepsake DNA, the new lab that just opened in Salt Lake City that allows genealogists to submit old envelopes, false teeth, hats, glasses and countless other items that may lead to DNA profiles of ancestors long since dead. How useful might these profiles from long ago be in breaking through brick walls? Dr. Bettinger explains his hopeful forecast. David then returns for Ask Us Anything. The guys begin by answering a question about cattle marks and family history. Then, what is the story with British censuses? How come the US has already released its 1940 census and Britain has only released through 1911? When might we get another census from across the pond? David explains the reasons and issues, and what is to come. Eventually. That’s all this week on Extreme Genes, America’s Family History Show!