Being a Search Genie in the UK

This book looks at the skills you need to become a genetic genealogist in the UK. We start with a day in the life and move into considering - what attributes are needed? Are DNA conundrums really more difficult to solve than logic, word and number puzzles? We run through a boot camp entitled skills development, to give your skills a boost.

We look at the challenges of working with unknown parentage, from all angles of the search. What is the ethical background? What constitutes proof? How can search genies best manage a client relationship with the people they help? Could more support be provided to widen the scope of this work?

A variety of case studies examine using autosomal- and X-DNA matchlists from direct-to-consumer DNA tests, and time is spent analysing how we can cluster and interpret these matchlists alongside the use of what-are-the-odds charts.

Tips and tricks are shown on how to work with online family trees, and how to vulture these to exploit commonplace errors and uncover the correct genealogical trail. We walk through 20th century records, in particular for England and Wales, with a specific focus on births, marriage and death records, and how these can best be combed for hidden clues.

A lengthy bibliography with a variety of articles from recent times complements the whole. This work is aimed at those who are curious about genetic genealogy in the UK, in particular to answer these questions:

• What am I likely to learn if I took a DNA test?
• Should I attempt to assist someone else who asked for my help?
• I have been given a name of a birth parent: what could be my next steps?
• How can I help someone find answers about their family?
• What clues am I missing to help me understand 20th century family trees?
• I have been working on my DNA puzzle for years: have I missed anything?
• What might happen if I took a DNA test?
• How can I use direct-to-consumer DNA tests to solve unknown parentage?
• How hard is it to work with DNA in the UK?