DNA and Ancestry – The Green Leaf!

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Genealogy tip for the day: DNA and Ancestry – The Green Leaf!

 

We’ve looking at DNA results on Ancestry and learning how to navigate through the information. Today we are going to talk about “the Green Leaf” and what it means for you.

 

You may have already discovered the little waving leaf on some of your ancestors already, when Ancestry has found a potential record that may be about your person. This same leaf is also used in the DNA reports.

 

We talk yesterday about the List of Matches having three icons at the top of the page that you can use as filters: Blue Dot, Yellow Star, and Green Leaf! The Blue Dot as we mentioned before gives you a list of only matches you haven’t looked at yet. The Yellow Star would list those that you have marked by clicking on the star in each entry and turning it yellow.

The Green Leaf is the one with the gold. Regardless of what level of cousin it may be, the leaf indicates that Ancestry has found a common ancestor between you and the person listed.

 

On the potential cousin's page, the ancestor will be listed at the top with your line and the other person’s line going down parallel. Each are designated as to what the relationship is to you: Self, (parent), (grandparent), back to the common ancestor. The other line is marked as related to you: bottom one nearest could be 8^th cousin, then 7^th cousin once removed, 6^th cousin, twice removed, etc back again to that common ancestor.

 

Below this diagram will be the other person’s ancestor chart. What shows on the page may or may not list the common ancestor. But you will see that each name is hyperlinked for further information. As you experiment with this you will see how you can find additional information. This way you will be able to go beyond the Pedigree Chart on the screen.

 

What I have found in some cases is that you or the other person may have more information than the other. In this case you will definitely want to contact them to see about sharing info. I had one line on my dad’s side that I could not get past the wife who married into the family. I was unable to find out anything about her own family, beyond that of her father. Being on Ancestry alone has helped that line. One of my DNA matches also has information, going back several generations.  This is one thing you hope you do find through this means.  It can possibly help you break through those brick walls.

 

Another feature I have found useful is the ‘page’ icon. It looks like a dogeared page with a corner turned down. You have the opportunity to make comments or write notes on each person’s page. You can record what you connection is with this person, keep track of correspondence, anything that you wish. And it is a large field that allows a lot of writing. When you have made any comments on their page, then go back to the list, you will see a page icon appear by their entry. As you scroll or hover of each icon what you wrote will pop up. This way you can easily track the information you recorded.

 

What I chose to do was enter the common line or ancestor and what relation the match is to me: Kingsley/Adams, 8^th cousin, for example. The surnames refer to the husband’s name and the wife’s maiden name. What I discovered as I went through these was I had several matches in various lines. So for example, you could have 5 on the Bowers line, 3 on the Adams line, 4 on the Spear line, and possible one here and one there. This does help you sort and track your matches. I thank Ancestry for having the insight to allow a place where the user can add his own notes and comments.

So in the end I received a ton of information for the price I paid to have the DNA tested. I am, even, learning and finding more bells and whistles as I play with this product.  Maybe this will encourage you to try the same, if you haven't already. Gross as this may sound - get to spittin' and let the relatives roll in! It is quite exciting!

  

“History is who we are; Genealogy is who I am” sg

 

 

If any of these posts are helpful drop us a line in the comments section below. We just want to know if the information we provide to you is beneficial in anyway.

 

Today in History

 

Jovian

February 26

364		On the death of Jovian, a conference at Nicaea chooses Valentinan, an army officer who was born in the central European region of Pannania, to succeed him in Asia Minor.
1154		William the Bad succeeds his father, Roger the II, in Sicily.
1790		As a result of the Revolution, France is divided into 83 departments.
1815		Napoleon and 1,200 of his men leave Elba to start the 100-day re-conquest of France.
1848		Karl Marx and Frederick Engels publish The Communist Manifesto in London.
1871		France and Prussia sign a preliminary peace treaty at Versailles.
1901		Boxer Rebellion leaders Chi-Hsin and Hsu-Cheng-Yu are publicly executed in Peking.
1914		Russian aviator Igor Sikorsky carries 17 passengers in a twin engine plane in St. Petersburg.
1916		General Henri Philippe Petain takes command of the French forces at Verdun.
1917		President Wilson publicly asks congress for the power to arm merchant ships.
1924		U.S. steel industry finds claims an eight-hour day increases efficiency and employee relations.
1933		Ground is broken for the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.
1936		Japanese military troops march into Tokyo to conduct a coup and assassinate political leaders.
1941		British take the Somali capital in East Africa.
1943		U.S. Flying Fortresses and Liberators pound German docks and U-boat lairs at Wilhelmshaven.
1945		Syria declares war on Germany and Japan.
1951		The 22nd Amendment is added to the Constitution limiting the Presidency to two terms.
1964		Lyndon B. Johnson signs a tax bill with $11.5 billion in cuts.
1965		Norman Butler is arrested for the murder of Malcom X.
1968		Thirty-two African nations agree to boycott the Olympics because of the presence of South Africa.
1970		Five Marines are arrested on charges of murdering 11 South Vietnamese women and children.
1972		Soviets recover Luna 20 with a cargo of moon rocks.
1973		A publisher and 10 reporters are subpoenaed to testify on Watergate.
1990		Daniel Ortega, communist president of Nicaragua, suffers a shocking election defeat at the hands of Violeta Chamorro.
1993		A bomb rocks the World Trade Center in New York City. Five people are killed and hundreds suffer from smoke inhalation.
Born on February 26
1802		Victor Hugo, French novelist and poet (Les Misérables).
1829		Levi Strauss, creator of blue jeans.
1832		John George Nicolay, private secretary to Abraham Lincoln
1846		William Frederick Cody, aka "Buffalo Bill".
1877		Rudolph Dirks, cartoonist, creator of the "Katzenjammer Kids."
1879		Mabel Dodge Luhan, American biographer.
1893		I(vor) A(rmstrong) Richards, writer, critic and teacher.
1928		Antoine "Fats" Domino, American singer.

 

Buffalo Bill

 

 

Word for the Day

handsel or hansel

PRONUNCIATION:

(HAN-sel)

 

MEANING:

noun:	1. A gift for good luck given at the beginning of the new year or a new venture. 2. A first payment or installment.
verb tr.:	1. To give a handsel to. 2. To inaugurate or to do something for the first time.

 

ETYMOLOGY:

From Old English handselen (giving into hand), from hand + selen (the action of giving, gift). Earliest documented use: 1450.

 

USAGE:

"Suddenly she thrusts something at him. A small paper packet tied with string. 'A handsel.' she says. 'For Miss Whyte.'"
Joan Thomas; Curiosity; McClelland & Stewart; 2010.

"The School was handselled with two unique archival gifts."
Margaret A. Mackay; Hamish Scott Henderson; Folklore (London, UK); Oct 2002.

 

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

He who opens a school door, closes a prison. -Victor Hugo, poet, novelist, and dramatist (1802-1885)

Today’s Recipe

February - Chocolate Lover’s Month

 

 

Peanut butter and chocolate are great partners and here they combine into a creamy confection similar to a peanut butter cup, though in appearance it resembles chocolate bark. It's too soft to eat at room temperature so keep and serve chilled.

Yield: About 2 1/2 pounds

Ingredients

l lb. plus 2 oz. good quality white chocolate, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups super-chunky peanut butter (do not use old-fashioned style or freshly ground)
8 oz. good quality bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

Method

Butter 15 x 10-inch jelly roll pan. Line with waxed paper or parchment. Melt 1 lb. white chocolate with peanut butter in large bowl in the microwave at 1/2 power, stopping and stirring every 30 seconds, until chocolate and peanut mixture is melted and smooth. You want the mixture warm not hot.

Meanwhile, melt bittersweet chocolate in medium bowl in microwave on 1/2 power, stopping and stirring every 30 seconds, until 2/3 is melted. Take bowl out of microwave and stir until the rest of the chocolate is melted. You may have to put back in the microwave for a few seconds to get the last bit of chocolate melted but make sure you don't heat the chocolate too much. Set aside in a warm place.

Melt remaining 2 ounces of white chocolate in small bowl in microwave on 1/2 power, stopping and stirring every 10 seconds as white chocolate burns easily, until 2/3 is melted. Take out of microwave and stir until the rest of the white chocolate is melted. Again, you may have to put back in the microwave for a few seconds to get the last bit of chocolate melted but make sure you don't heat the chocolate too much. Set aside in a warm place.

Pour peanut butter/chocolate mixture onto prepared pan, spreading to cover surface completely. Using spoon, drizzle melted bittersweet chocolate in lines over peanut butter mixture. Draw tip of small sharp knife through chocolate-drizzled mixture to marbleize. Using spoon, drizzle melted white chocolate over the mixture. Draw tip of knife through chocolates to marbleize. Chill until firm, at least 2 hours or overnight. Cut into 2-inch triangles or other shapes. Cover and chill. (Can be made 2 weeks ahead. Keep chilled.) Serve cold.

 

February’s Recipes:

 

3^rd Molten Chocolate cake

4^th Chocolate Chip cookies – Alton Brown’s

5^th Chocolate Truffles

6^th Slow Cooker Chocolate Fondue

8^th Chocolate Sheet cake

10^th Brownie Tart

11^th Gooey, Decadent Chocolate cake

12^th Chocolate Covered Strawberries

13^th Chocolate Baklava

18^th Mexican Chocolate Cream Pie

19^th Chocolate Chunk Bread Pudding

20^th Marbled-Chocolate Banana Bread

22^nd Chocolate Hazelnut Mousse

24^th Classic Fudge-Walnut Brownie

25^th Texas Sheet Cake

26^th Chocolate Bark

 

 

 

ENJOY!

Now You Know!