Using 23&Me's Compare Tools

 

23&Me DNA Compare.

I'm looking again at segments in common across DNA matches. Above are three members of a mystery cluster of Beltran matches, with a verified Portillo connection in turquoise and a Bernal match in green. They all overlap on chromosome 3, with a segment about 20 cM.

I found the Beltran matches by first sorting on 23&Me by mtDNA haplogroup, for all of matches in common who were A2d. I thought this might pull in people who had tested on 23&Me and might have some connection to the branches with surnames Portillo, Diaz, Calles, Bernal, Flores, Quijada, Preciado, Grijalva, Lopez, Acuña, or Gradias. Because I do not know my Portillo branch of my 3rd-great-grandfather Manuel Portillo very well, I thought maybe using 23&Me's DNA compare tools might help identify some matches who shared my mtDNA haplogroup and appear to be potentially connected to this branch of the tree.

23&Me has some useful tools for filtering matches, as shown below by haplogroup.

There's more to do, and I am trying to see if these Beltran or Bernal matches appear on other platforms such as FTDNA, Gedmatch, MyHeritage or Ancestry.

4th of July

 

Made in Ideogram. America 250.

Wade in the Water

 

Shawn Pridgen. "Wade in the Water" 2020.

A photo from the Reflecting Pool, facing the Lincoln Memorial by photographer Shawn Pridgen.

Triple Digits

We've hit 102 in Northern Virginia. Dangerously hot outside, and definitely too hot for dog paws to be walking around. I have Spain vs Austria on one screen while working.

Some reading ahead of the weekend - a fascinating New York Times interactive article How a Nation of Immigrants Traces its Roots (1 July 2026, subscription may be required to read). See also the very cool census data map accompanying the article.

Historic Hinkle to Host 2026 NBA Cup

 

Hinkle Fieldhouse, Indianapolis. NBA.com.

The NBA announced Hinkle Fieldhouse on the campus of Butler University in Indianapolis will host the championship game of the 2026 NBA Cup on 11 December. The venue is on the National Register of Historic Places and is a real "basketball cathedral". I've posted about Hinkle Fieldhouse previously. The building was an inspiration to the current home of the Indiana Pacers, now called Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

It's very cool to see Indy and Hinkle Fieldhouse will host the NBA Cup, and we'll certainly be watching (streaming on Amazon Prime).