Wednesday, March 4, 2026

RootsTech 2026 underway

Although I'm not at the conference this year in person, virtual RootsTech is underway and sessions are available online. I am looking forward to following the sessions and learning something new. On my schedule are virtual keynotes, the Tech Forum, updates from Ancestry, FamilySearch and MyHeritage, several sessions from Diahan Southard on "DNA Swim School", sessions on German genealogy, AI & genealogy, and the genealogy YouTubers panel.

I'll be taking notes on how sessions are delivered, and use those observations for a potential talk proposal for RootsTech 2027. I'll also try to have a remote RootsTech wrap-up once I'm back from travel.

I am hoping to be in person for RootsTech next year, as the conference dates may align for travel to Salt Lake City and then I can continue on to Europe for meetings.

Again in India

 

Photo by Patrick Jones. Golkonda. 1 Nov 2016.

I'm on travel as our event is soon to kick off in Mumbai, India, provided I can get there amid current events in the region. Above is a photo from my last trip to India for our meeting in Hyderabad in 2016. My other visit was in February 2008 to Delhi.

Tuesday, March 3, 2026

Monday, March 2, 2026

Research Progress March 2026

Since last month, there's some forward movement on my DNA research questions. The questions and updates are organized below.

My Paternal Side

1 - Looking for parents of my Irish immigrant 3rd-great-grandmother Bridget. This one has been stuck in a holding pattern for a while. I'm hoping to pick this one up after RootsTech.

2 - Analyzing mtDNA connections on the maternal line path descending from Sarah Westall and Elizabeth Thornhill Jones. Pending an update from cousin Lynn.

3 - Jones YDNA. We still need another Jones tester on our line.

That's three for three with little movement in a while. I think my approaches on this side of the tree need a shake-up.

My Maternal Side

1 - Working with Portillo DNA matches and continued genealogy on the matches in common with the Leyva group.

2 - Analyzing mtDNA matches in the maternal line path of Maria Jesus Vasquez. We have a new mtDNA kit in process for cousin Joe, and when his results arrive, it should give us an interesting set of matches to compare, along with possibly a more recent branch point. Catherine's haplogroup recently updated. There's good progress on this one.

3 - Campuzano YDNA. The Big Y results arrived in the middle of the month. We have another  Campuzano tester descending from Vicente Antonio Campuzano who has submitted a Big Y kit. I'm very hopeful this will give us a more recent branch point for our shared Campuzano line. There's exciting developments, but it will be several months before new results follow.

4 - xDNA analysis using FTDNA's tools. Nothing new this month.

Allison's Sides

1 - mtDNA results on the maternal line path for Dorothea Sophia Gagelmann. This is pending the mitotree result, due any day now.

2 - Separating out maternal and paternal line matches on FTDNA. Making some slow progress here, checking against matches on Ancestry.

3 - Analyzing xDNA matches on Allison's sides of the tree.

Sunday, March 1, 2026

Welcome March

 

Photo by Patrick Jones. Alexandria. 4 Apr 2024.

It's the first of March, and it is time to welcome calendar Spring and March Madness basketball. This has been a long cold winter and we're ready for the warmth and colors that follow the calendar flip to the new month. It feels like we're starting to turn a corner, as the last days of February have begun to look more like Spring is on the way.