9 Must-Have Books About Genetic Genealogy

Author: Blaine Bettinger

Description: Discover the answers to your family history mysteries using the most cutting-edge tool available. This plain English guide (newly updated and expanded to include the latest DNA developments) will teach you what DNA tests are available; the pros and cons of the major testing companies; and how to choose the right test to answer your specific genealogy questions. And once you’ve taken a DNA test, this guide will help you use your often-overwhelming results, with tips for understanding ethnicity estimates, navigating suggested cousin matches, and using third-party tools like GEDmatch to further analyze your data.

My Comments: I actually have the first edition of this book! It was, in fact, one of the first books I bought about genetic genealogy, and I found it to be a clear, concise, easy read. The beautiful color images on almost every page are especially helpful for those of us who are visual learners!

Authors: Blaine T. Bettinger & Debbie Parker Wayne

Description: Genetic Genealogy in Practice, the first workbook on genetic genealogy, provides family historians and genealogists who have just begun to explore genetic genealogy practical, easy-to-understand information that they can apply to their research. Readers learn the basic concepts of genetic genealogy. They then build on that knowledge as they study the testing, analysis, and application of Y-DNA, X-DNA, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), and autosomal DNA (atDNA) to reach and support genealogical conclusions. Each chapter includes exercises with answer keys for hands-on practice.

My Comments: Like other National Genealogical Society Special Topics books, Genetic Genealogy in Practice offers the ready an in-depth study with exercises to test your knowledge at the end of each chapter (don't worry, answers are at the back of the book). One of my local genealogical societies coordinated a study group so we could all work through the book together, which kept us motivated and on-task. I recommend finding a group of like-minded genealogists and forming your own group!

Author: David R. Dowell

Description: DNA testing can serve as a powerful tool that unlocks the hidden information within our bodies for family history research. This book explains how genetic genealogy works and answers the questions of genealogists and individuals seeking information on their family trees. This is an older book (published in 2014), but still very relevant today.

My Comments: NextGen Genealogy is another one of the first books about genetic genealogy that I read. The book is a bit science-y, with smallish print and no color images, but I found it to be extremely instructive. In fact, I credit this book for helping me finally "click" with genetic genealogy. Author David "Dr. Dave" Dowell was a member of my local genealogy society while he was writing the book, and I had the pleasure of hearing his updates as the writing progressed.

Click below to read my review of this book.

Authors: Andrew Lee & Devon Noel Lee

Description: Genetic genealogy generates compelling questions as people around the world attempt to understand haplogroups, ethnicity, and genetic matches. DNA Q&A has curated actual questions from real people who've sought to better understand DNA via the Family History Fanatics YouTube channel, eConferences, and live presentations. Is your question, or something similar, in the book? Find out the answer to it and more!

My Comments: If you enjoy the Family History Fanatics YouTube channel, then you're going to love this book! As the description states, the book is a compilation of actual questions from viewers of their videos along with answers to those questions. Organized by topics such as the basic science of genetic genealogy, testing companies, and questions about matching and inheritance, and ethnicity, the book is appropriate for intermediate genetic genealogists or beginners with a good understanding of the basics. At just 88 pages (print version), it's a pleasant and interesting afternoon read.

Author: Diahan Southard

Description: You don’t have to learn everything about genetic genealogy before asking (and answering!) specific DNA questions. That’s the premise of Your DNA Guide -the Book, a unique new approach to learning genetic genealogy. Instead of learning more than you need to know in textbook style, you’ll choose a specific DNA question and start exploring it right away. Follow concrete step-by-step plans, learning important DNA concepts–in plain English—as you go. As you proceed, you will check your progress and be guided based on your specific results at each stage.

This powerful, hands-on approach is based on the author's 20 years of experience in the genetic genealogy industry, including five years of one-on-one client mentoring. Your DNA Guide -the Book is for anyone who has taken a DNA test or may want to. It helps genealogists reconstruct family trees. It helps adoptees identify biological relatives. It can help you identify a specific DNA match. In short, it helps anyone explore what their DNA—and their DNA matches—can tell them about their family.

My Comments: This book is a bit different from the others. It is not meant to be read straight through, from cover to cover; instead, the reader is encouraged to jump around to other sections as they form a DNA Plan (check out the map on pp. 19-20). In my opinion, this is one of the best books for absolute beginners.

Author: Richard Hill

Description: UPDATED IN VERSION 3.1 - The price of some powerful new genetic genealogy tests has dropped below $100. Genealogists and adoptees are using them and other DNA tests to identify ancestors, confirm relationships, and measure their ethnicity.

Unfortunately, there are many similar sounding tests and some of them have different testing levels. So it's easy to order the wrong test or pay too much.

This Guide to DNA Testing provides an easy-to-understand introduction to the different test types, their strengths and limitations.

Author and adoptee, Richard Hill, shared his personal success story in his book, Finding Family: My Search for Roots and the Secrets in My DNA.

Now he boils down the basics of genetic genealogy into this concise summary. Learn which tests are right for you. Hyperlinks to specific tests and resources are included.

My Comments: I bought this book many years ago after I read the author's book Finding Family (which I enjoyed immensely). This book covers the basics of genetic genealogy, how to decide which DNA test to buy, and how to understand your results. At only 50 pages (print version), this book is a quick read. It is suitable for beginners.

Authors: Diana Elder, Nicole E. Dyer, & Robin Wirthlin

Description: Would you like to use DNA evidence in your genealogy research? Do you have thousands of cousin matches, but no idea what to do next? Perhaps you have found some evidence to support your theories, but are not confident in your conclusions.

Learn a step-by-step method to organize and use your DNA test results to find and confirm ancestors in your family tree. Diana Elder, AG, Nicole Dyer, and Robin Wirthlin share the method they use in their professional research to incorporate DNA with documentary evidence. Study the methodology in each chapter, then apply it in your own research by completing the associated task. You will group and evaluate your matches, diagram descent from the common ancestor, plan next research steps, track correspondence and research in a log, and write a report incorporating DNA evidence. Work samples and templates are included.

My Comments: This book is new to my Kindle bookshelf, but I'm impressed with what I've read so far. If you've already read their previous book, Research Like a Pro: A Genealogist's Guide, then you're sure to enjoy this one too!

Authors: Brianne Kirkpatrick & Shannon Combs-Bennett

Description: Welcome to The DNA Guide for Adoptees: How to use genealogy and genetics to uncover your roots, connect with your biological family, and better understand your medical history. If you are an adoptee, there’s likely missing information about your past and you hope to change that. You’ve come to the right place!

This book is for you if you have hope that DNA testing might open up the search for information about yourself, your origins, and your future. We’ve worked hard to compile the resources in this book and explain in plain English how DNA and genealogical records fit together like the pieces of a puzzle. In the chapters that follow, we’ve created a place for you to turn as you come face-to-face with questions about health, ancestry, biological family, and DNA.

My Comments: If you're adopted and searching for your biological family, or you are working with someone else who is, then you need to get this book. Not only does the book cover the "nuts and bolts" of genetic genealogy and family history research, but it also discusses the issues of finding support during your search, dealing with anxiety, fear, and expectations of searching, and the best way to reach out to DNA matches.

Author: Debbie Parker Wayne

Description: Advanced Genetic Genealogy: Techniques and Case Studies helps intermediate researchers move up to the next level and advanced researchers apply the new DNA standards and write about DNA. This new book offers an in-home course in advanced genetic genealogy. Case studies demonstrate analyzing the DNA test results, correlating with documentary evidence, and writing about the findings, all incorporating the updated standards for using DNA. Full-color illustrations help the genealogist incorporate these techniques into personal or client research projects. Each of the fourteen chapters was written by a professional genealogist with DNA experience.

Eight chapters study real families (some using anonymized identities), including methods, tools, and techniques. Jim Bartlett covers how to triangulate a genome (mapping DNA segments to ancestors). Blaine T. Bettinger demonstrates the methodology for visual phasing (mapping DNA segments to the grandparents who passed down the segment to descendants, even when the grandparents cannot be tested). Kathryn J. Johnston shows how to use X-DNA to identify and confirm ancestral lines. James M. Owston describes findings of the Owston Y-DNA project. Melissa A. Johnson covers adoption and misattributed parentage research. Kimberly T. Powell provides guidance when researching families with endogamy and pedigree collapse. Debbie Parker Wayne combines atDNA and Y-DNA in a Parker family study. Ann Turner describes the raw DNA data and lab processes.

Three middle chapters cover genealogy standards as they relate to DNA and documentary evidence. Karen Stanbary applies the Genealogical Proof Standard to genetic genealogy in a hypothetical unknown parentage case illustrating start-to-finish analysis. Patricia Lee Hobbs uses atDNA to identify an unknown ancestor and that ancestor's maiden name, moving back and forth between documentary and DNA evidence. Thomas W. Jones describes best practices for genealogical writing and publishing when incorporating DNA evidence.

Three concluding chapters deal with ethics, emotions, and the future. Judy G. Russell covers ethical considerations. Michael D. Lacopo describes the effect on relationships when family secrets are uncovered, surfacing issues for all concerned. Debbie Kennett covers the current limitations and future promise of using DNA for genealogy. An extensive glossary, list of recommended resources, and index are included.

My Comments: Truth be told, I'm still working my way through this one. Each chapter is written by a different genetic genealogy expert and covers a case study that involved DNA. As the name implies, this book is not for beginners, so be sure to work your way through some of the other books on this list before tackling Advanced Genetic Genealogy!