Research Progress August 2026

This is my monthly spot to review progress on my various research questions. As I head into the DNA Skills Workshop, it is time for a reset.

My Paternal Side

I had hoped to spend some time in July researching the mystery O'Brien connections who went to Australia. While I continued with chromosome mapping, digging into these Australian connections didn't happen. I may put that off for a bit. In the meantime, here's the current topics that I do want to try to pursue in the Skills workshop:

1. Determining the family of my Irish immigrant 3rd-great-grandmother Bridget.
2. Pursuing the possible leads connected to the Hanley family in LaSalle County, Illinois (see my recap from April 2026).
3. Jones YDNA
4. Working with XDNA matches

My Maternal Side

1. Portillo DNA matches and the mystery Guerrero-Leyvas.
2. Analyzing mtDNA matches in the maternal line path of Maria Jesus Vasquez
3. Campuzano YDNA
4. Creating a genetic map for the descendants of Jose Jesus Amado and Gertrudis Palomino
5. Continuing chromosome mapping using matches at FTDNA, Gedmatch, MyHeritage and 23andme