Research Progress October 2026

September included a rare mid-month research progress update with the findings of the likely parents of my 4th-great-grandfather William Free, the DNA breakthroughs on the Free line, and additional paper trail discoveries on Nicholas and Caty Free in Pittsylvania County, Virginia. 

A big focus for September was continuing with the DNA Skills workshop, which is wrapping up in the next two weeks. I've been really pleased with the format, the coaching and tools provided by the YourDNAGuide team. It's been worth it. I can honestly say I would not have been able to work through the brick wall challenges on my Dad's side to discover the parents of Bridget Gannon, or the bonus work on the parents of William Free on my Mom's side. I'm looking forward to putting these improved skills to work on the Guerrero-Leyva matches in October and November.

My Paternal Side

I'm continuing to build out trees for matches connected to the Gannons and Hanleys, particularly those Australian and New Zealand matches who tie back to Bridget's Roscommon roots. I'm also adding to the chromosome mapping and have a status update on that work coming up.

Also on my Dad's side of the tree, I'm attempting to identify the parents of my 4th-great-grandfather Thomas Green, using the same approach that worked on my Mom's side for William Free's parents. A longer term project is to find additional testers for my Jones YDNA. Both questions may pick up more in December.

My Maternal Side

It's time to return to some of the questions I was working in June:

1. Portillo DNA matches & the Guerrero-Leyva matches
2. Amado DNA matches and building a genetic map for the Amado side of the tree
3. Campuzano YDNA

Exploring Ancestry's 2026 DNA Update

The AncestryDNA 2026 update will heavily feature in my posts, including observations on changes in my ancestral origins for my kit and the ones I manage, SideView 2.0 and journeys by grandparents, and other discoveries. Mark your calendar for 8 October if you have DNA results with Ancestry. There's a lot of amazing information I'm anticipating to see in the 2026 update.

On the map

Derrymoylin townland. IrishRoots.ie.

The map above overlaps one I shared last month for the parish of Termonbarry, Roscommon. The townland of Derrymoylin was home to the Dooner family before they left Ireland for America. We don't know for certain when Patrick and Bridget Dooner made the journey from Roscommon to Ireland, but they were in La Salle in 1849, when Patrick, his two sons Hugh and John, and Patrick's father Hugh died from cholera. Patrick's brother Owen was in La Salle at least by 1846. This gives another area to mine for information about Bridget before her departure for a new life. The location is close to Strokestown Park and the Irish National Famine Museum.

Bali Sunrise

 

Photo by Patrick Jones. Bali, 25 Oct 2013.

This sunrise photo of a fisherman and child I've shared before, after returning from a conference in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia in October 2013. In a few weeks I'll be back in the same spot, as our October meeting will be there.

2026 Ancestry Origins Coming Soon

Ancestry Blog. 24 Sept 2026.

Ancestry teased the upcoming release of the 2026 AncestryDNA update in a blog published earlier today. The update includes SideView 2.0, a larger reference panel, and new region assignment algorithm. There will be new regional and cultural specificity for Mexico and Central America, which is very exciting for my Mom's side of the tree. There may also be ancestral journeys by grandparents included in the release.

The new update is likely to launch in early October, perhaps in the next two weeks.

RootsTech 2027 registration is open

Registration is now open for RootsTech 2027, the world's largest family history conference. RootsTech will be at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, 4-6 March 2027. Online registration is free! In person registration is $99 for a three day pass or $69 a day for individual days. While I wasn't selected as a speaker for RootsTech, I'll be going in person.

From past experience and knowing how schedules for large events come together, it will be a few months before the session schedule is released. Even if you follow online, there's always a ton of great talks and new information. For those going in person (see my posts from RootsTech 2025, here and here), RootsTech is an amazing event.