The meeting will be held at 7:30 pm on Tuesday, November 7th via Zoom & In-Person. Our AGM will be held at the beginning of the meeting and will be brief.
DNA Clustering: Using the Leeds Method to Sort Your Matches
– Ben Dawson of “Family Tree Project” (Ben will join us via Zoom)
After getting your DNA results, you were likely overwhelmed with the number of DNA matches and information presented. What should be your first steps? How do you get organized? What ancestral lines are each of the matches related to you? One of the most valuable tools that you can utilize to organize your DNA matches is called the Leeds Method. It is a systematic approach to sort your DNA matches into groups that usually result in clusters of matches that belong to each of your 4 grandparent lines. This talk explains the methodology behind the Leeds Method and how you can use it to narrow down your DNA match relationships so that when you reach out to them, you are more confident about the relationship. This will allow you to narrow your focus and limit the possible surnames involved. It also explains when the Leeds method is best applied and situations where it may not be suitable.
Ben Dawson is a life-time resident of London and has deep ancestral roots in the London & Westminster Township area as well as Huron and Bruce Counties dating back to the early 1800s.
Ben took up genealogy in his 20s and has been a member of Ontario Ancestors for the last 8 years. He is currently the Co-Chair for the London & Middlesex Branch and has spoken at Ontario Ancestors branch meetings on topics such as cemetery transcription, genealogical software and genetic genealogy. Ben has been very involved in the social media side of Ontario Ancestors and helps run the Facebook page as well administrating two additional genetic genealogy Facebook groups. Ben serves as a director-at-large on the Board and several committees for the Ontario Genealogical Society.
Ben also has a professional genealogy business called “Family Tree Project”. It includes a blog which offers tips, tricks, and news for the avid genealogist which can be found at www.familytreeproject.ca.
The meeting will be held at 7:30 pm on Tuesday, November 7th via Zoom & In-Person. Our AGM will be held at the beginning of the meeting and will be brief.
Kindly register for the Zoom programme via the following link:
In-person will be in our Branch library on the 3rd floor at Northminster United Church, 676 Simcoe St. N., Oshawa, ON (NW corner of Simcoe Street North and Rossland Road West). Parking can be limited.
