It's a St. Patrick's Day DNA Sale, AncestryDNA now $59 'till Mar 18

AncestryDNA
As of today, March 7, Ancestry is having a St. Patrick's Day DNA sale. Now the AncestryDNA (autosomal) test regularly $99 is $59, a savings of 40 percent. Shipping and taxes are extra. This sale ends March 18, 2019, at 11:59 p.m. ET.

We are not sure if the FREESHIPDNA code will work with this sale but it does not hurt to try it.

Nearly 15 million AncestryDNA test kits have been sold now according to reports at the end of February during the RootsTech 2019 conference and a press release on February 28, 2019, by Ancestry. As the testing company with the largest "pool" of potential DNA matches it is a good place to start.

AncestryDNA test results provide an ethnicity/admixture report, a migrations report, a DNA match list, shared matches, an internal member messaging system, and automatic updates to results. 

If you do not have a data/records membership subscription you will not have access to some DNA features/tools. With an active paid subscription to Ancestry, the additional DNA features are New Ancestry Discoveries, DNA Circles, Shared Ancestor Hints, full access to matches' public trees, list of surnames in matches' trees, and list of birth locations in matches' trees. Access to these extra features end if you discontinue your data subscription. Some of these extra features require a public family tree linked to the AncestryDNA kit.

Ancestry offers an AncestryDNAInsights subscription (available by calling customer service) for about $49/year which would give access to all of the DNA tools but not any data/records. (Price as of 2016 we are not sure if the pricing has changed since then.)

Also mentioned with this sale is a new add-on to the AncestryDNA autosomal test called AncestryDNA Traits. This add-on, which is currently advertised for $10 or $9.99 for existing AncestryDNA kits, gives a look at 18 personal traits. These traits are: Sweet Sensitivity, Savory (Umami) Sensitivity, Bitter Sensitivity, Cilantro Aversion, Asparagus Metabolite Detection, Eye Color, Male Hair Loss, Hair Type, Hair Color, Hair Strand Thickness, Iris Patterns, Freckles, Cleft Chin, Unibrow, Finger Length, Skin Pigmentation, Earlobe Shape, and Earwax Type. New traits may be available in the future for additional costs. 

AncestryDNA is the one DNA/genealogy testing site that does not provide a chromosome browser tool which allows you to see the chromosome segments you share in common with a match which is one of the scientific ways to confirm a match is a true match and not a match by chance. To access a chromosome browser you would need to download your kit's DNA data and upload that data to one of the three companies that do provide a chromosome browser: MyHeritageDNA, Family Tree DNA, and the third-party GedMatch.com website.

Want to save on shipping costs? Remember AncestryDNA also sells its test kits on Amazon.com and at sale prices when it is having a sale. Non-AmazonPrime members get free shipping due to the total cost and because it is fulfilled by Amazon; AmazonPrime members just get quicker 2-day shipping for free. But be cautious and make sure the test kit you are buying is "sold by AncestryDNAOfficial and fulfilled by Amazon" to insure you are buying a genuine test kit. You will find this information just below the sale price. See the image below.

Look for this before adding your item to your cart.

We will let you know when we hear about any other St. Patrick's Day DNA sales.

See you soon at Mt. Clemens Public Library!
LE 

This Friday, March 1, at 1 p.m. the MCGG Meeting Topic is: An Adoption Story

This Friday, March 1, 2019, at 1:00 p.m. in the Auditorium of the Mount Clemens Public Library, Carol Bogan will present An Adoption Story, Told from an Adoptee's Point of View.

Bogan will be sharing her genealogical research tips that assisted in her quest to find her biological family. This program will be a great informational source to and for adoptees, birth parents and adoptive parents.

If you are in the Mt. Clemens area, PLEASE JOIN US.

See you soon at the Mt. Clemens Public Library!
LE

Get Ready — RootsTech 2019 Starts Tomorrow at 11:30 am Eastern Time

Are you ready for hours and hours of genealogy learning via Live Stream for Free?

RootsTech 2019 begins tomorrow, Wednesday, Feb. 27, at 11:30 am Eastern Time for those of us who couldn't make it in person and continues through Saturday, March 2.

There are a variety of topics that will be live streamed from Salt Lake City, Utah, around the world. These sessions will be recorded and put online (usually by a week or two after the conference) for viewing later at the RootsTech website. And they are all free.

For those is the area of our meeting, don't forget to tear yourself away and come to our Friday meeting — more information on that in the next post.

See our earlier posts for the RootsTech 2019 Live Stream Webinar Schedule and where to find the conference app and handouts for each session.

Still want more? This year RootsTech has introduced the Virtual Pass, which for a fee, gets you access to 18 additional recorded sessions. The cost of the Virtual Pass is $129 for those not attending the conference in Salt Lake City and an added $79 for those attending the conference. You can see a list of the sessions on the Virtual Pass page. These Virtual Pass recordings will begin to be available 10-15 days after the conference and will be viewable for 12 months.

See you soon at Mt. Clemens Public Library!
LE

The Next MCGG Friday Meeting is Mar. 1; the Meeting Topic is 'An Adoption Story'

On Friday, March 1, 2019, at 1:00 p.m. in the Auditorium of the Mount Clemens Public Library, Carol Bogan will present An Adoption Story, Told from an Adoptee's Point of View.

If you are in the Mt. Clemens area, PLEASE JOIN US.

See you soon at the Mt. Clemens Public Library!
LE

Krul Presents How to Write Your Family Stories at Genealogical Society of Flemish Americans on Saturday, February 23

On Saturday, February 23, from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. (noon), Bill Krul will provide insight and instruction into the creation of your family stories with his presentation, How to Write Your Family Stories, at the Genealogical Society of Flemish Americans.

The Genealogical Society of Flemish Americans is located in the basement of Wing B of American House East II, at 18740 E. Thirteen Mile Road, Roseville, Michigan, 58066.

This is also a Saturday that the research library and museum are open.

See you soon at Mt. Clemens Public Library.
LE

This Wednesday, February 13, 2019, MCGG Let's Talk...Genealogy Meets with MyHeritage Library Edition as Topic

This Wednesday, February 13, 2019, at 7 p.m. the MCGG Let's Talk...Genealogy discussion group meets in the Local History and Genealogy Room of the Mount Clemens Public Library. Our topic for the night is ... MyHeritage Library Edition.
 
Let us all share what we have learned about how to use MyHeritage Library Edition on MeL.org (the Michigan Electronic Library) and what we have found in the database. This is a great meeting to get answers to your questions about MyHeritage Library Edition -- questions like how-to ... and what is there, etc.

New attendees are always welcome.

See you soon at the Mt. Clemens Public Library!
LE

Feb. 10 to 17 get Free Access to MyHeritage.com Marriage and Divorce Records from Around the World*

MyHeritage.com is giving FREE ACCESS from February 10 to February 17, 2019, to all of its Marriage and Divorce Records.

This includes all of its marriage and divorce records worldwide. *Of course, the time frame, type (record image or index only) and the locations available do vary.

Remember, Michigan residents get access to MyHeritage Library Edition for free through the Michigan Electronic Library (MeL.org) website. The library edition and commercial version does vary a little bit.

Happy Valentine's Day.

See you soon at Mt. Clemens Public Library!
LE