What’s the difference between the Family site and Family Tree Builder?

MyHeritage offers two ways to build a family tree: an online family site and the Family Tree Builder software. The family site serves as an internet-based hub to start a tree, share it with family members, and upload media. Family Tree Builder is desktop software for visually constructing a family tree, adding photos, and generating reports. Users can sync their Family Tree Builder project with their online family site, allowing for collaborative editing and remote access.

What is Cousin Finder™ and how do I use it?

Cousin Finder™ is a unique MyHeritage feature that identifies blood relatives and common ancestors by comparing family trees. It analyzes Smart Matches across MyHeritage's vast network to pinpoint individuals with shared direct ancestors, presenting them as potential cousins. This tool enables users to connect with newly discovered relatives, fostering collaboration and expanding knowledge of their family history. Cousin Finder™ also displays relationship details, ancestry, and contact options for each match, enhancing the genealogical research experience.

MyHeritage is an online platform for discovering, preserving, and sharing family history through family trees, historical records, and DNA testing. It utilizes technologies like Smart Matching and Record Matching to connect users with new ancestors and relatives. Users can create family sites to collaborate with relatives, and a downloadable Family Tree Builder software offers additional features for genealogy research and organization. The platform also provides access to a vast search engine for historical records and offers DNA kits for ethnicity estimates and DNA matching to find relatives.

What are the different types of family trees I can have?

MyHeritage supports three types of family trees. Online Trees are created directly on a family site and can be edited there. GEDCOM Trees are online trees imported from a GEDCOM file. Family Tree Builder trees are created using the Family Tree Builder desktop software, which can sync with an online family site, though Mac support for syncing has been discontinued.

How do I merge two family trees?

MyHeritage does not recommend merging large family trees due to the manual effort required to manage duplicate information and potential inconsistencies. The merging process involves using the Family Tree Builder software to import one family tree into another, typically starting with one tree as a base and then merging a second tree as a GEDCOM file. Users must manually identify and delete duplicate entries, as the process only places both trees in the same project without automatically connecting similar individuals. Backing up projects before merging is advised to prevent data loss.

Cracking Cold Cases with Inherited Clues

Investigative genetic genealogy is a revolutionary approach that merges modern DNA analysis with traditional family history research to generate leads in criminal investigations. This powerful method has provided breakthroughs in cases that have been cold for decades, bringing answers to families and justice for victims by using the same genealogical principles that help people discover their roots. By analyzing the DNA of an unknown individual from a crime scene, investigators can identify distant genetic relatives through public genealogy databases and, from there, build a family tree that leads directly to the person of interest.

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A collage of old historical documents like census records and birth certificates.

Key Takeaways

Investigative Genetic Genealogy (IGG) combines forensic DNA testing with in-depth genealogical research to identify unknown suspects or victims of crime.
The process hinges on finding distant DNA relatives in public databases and then using historical records to build family trees, ultimately pinpointing the unknown individual.
IGG has become one of the most effective new tools for law enforcement, successfully helping to solve hundreds of cold cases, including violent crimes and unidentified human remains cases.
While incredibly powerful, the technique involves significant ethical and legal considerations to protect the privacy of individuals whose data is in genealogy databases.

What is Investigative Genetic Genealogy?

Investigative Genetic Genealogy, often abbreviated as IGG or FGG (Forensic Genetic Genealogy), is an innovative method for identifying perpetrators or victims of crimes by using their DNA to trace their family tree. It represents a significant evolution from the traditional DNA methods used by law enforcement for decades. For years, agencies have relied on comparing crime scene DNA to profiles in government-run databases like CODIS. However, CODIS primarily contains DNA profiles from individuals who have been arrested for or convicted of serious crimes. If an unknown suspect has never had their DNA entered into this system, a search of CODIS will yield no match, and the trail goes cold.

IGG provides a powerful alternative. Instead of looking for a direct match to the suspect, it looks for matches to their relatives, however distant. By uploading a specially processed DNA profile to public genealogy databases, investigators can find individuals who share DNA with the unknown person, essentially identifying their second, third, or even fourth cousins.

The Step-by-Step Process: How a Family Tree Solves a Crime

Step 1: Generate a Specialized DNA Profile

The process begins with DNA evidence recovered from a crime scene. This DNA is sent to a specialized lab that conducts a different type of analysis than what's used for standard forensic databases. Instead of the 20 markers used for CODIS, this analysis looks at hundreds of thousands of genetic markers called single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). This creates a detailed data file, similar to the kind generated by consumer DNA test kits, that is ready for genealogical comparison.

Step 2: Upload to Public Genealogy Databases

With a compatible DNA file, investigators, often working with a dedicated genetic genealogist, will upload the data to one or more public genealogy databases that permit law enforcement use under specific terms. This is a crucial step governed by the policies of each database company and evolving legal frameworks. The goal is to cast a wide net and find anyone in the database who shares a significant amount of DNA with the unknown profile.

Step 3: Identify a Network of Genetic Relatives

Once the profile is uploaded, the database generates a list of genetic relatives, or DNA matches. These are often not close family members. In many cold cases, the most significant matches are distant cousins who may share less than 1% of their DNA with the suspect. Even a distant relationship, like that 4th cousin match, can provide the essential clue needed to begin building a family tree.

Step 4: Build Family Trees for the Matches

This is where the genealogical expertise becomes indispensable. The investigative team takes the list of identified cousins and begins to build out their family trees. They work backwards, using a vast array of historical records, to identify the parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents of each match. This work requires skill, patience, and access to comprehensive record collections.

Illustration showing a DNA double helix merging into a branching family tree.

Step 5: Triangulate a Common Ancestor

The goal of building multiple family trees is to find the point where they intersect. By tracing the lineages of several DNA matches, genealogists can identify a shared ancestral couple, known as the Most Recent Common Ancestors (MRCA). This is the great-grandparent or great-great-grandparent couple who connects all the genetic relatives, and, by extension, the unknown suspect, into a single family.

Step 6: Conduct Descendancy Research

Once the common ancestral couple is identified, the work reverses. The genealogist then builds the family tree forward, tracing all of their descendants down to the present day. This process, known as descendancy research, can result in a large tree with hundreds of individuals. The team then narrows down the candidates based on factors like age, gender, and geographic location related to the crime, until they isolate a small number of potential persons of interest.

Step 7: Confirm with a Direct DNA Comparison

Investigative genetic genealogy does not convict anyone; it only produces an investigative lead. Once law enforcement has a credible person of interest, they must legally obtain a new DNA sample from that individual. That sample is then directly compared to the original crime scene DNA using traditional forensic analysis. A match at this stage provides the scientifically validated evidence needed for legal proceedings.

The Genealogy Work Behind the Investigation

The science may provide the initial matches, but the solution is almost always found in the painstaking work of historical research. This is where genealogy professionals bring a unique skill set to law enforcement.

The Power of Historical Records

An IGG investigation is powered by information. Genealogists scour digital archives and physical records to piece together family structures across generations. They use resources like:

Census Records: Documents like the newly released 1926 Census of Ireland can place a family in a specific time and location, listing family members and relationships.
Vital Records: Birth, marriage, and death certificates are the building blocks of any family tree, providing direct evidence of parent-child links.
Newspapers and Obituaries: These narrative sources can fill in gaps, reveal family relationships not found in other documents, and provide clues about an individual’s life and social circles.

Navigating Ethical and Privacy Concerns

The use of IGG is not without its complexities. The technique has sparked important conversations about genetic privacy and the ethics of using family history data for purposes other than personal discovery. Law enforcement agencies and genealogists working in this field must navigate these concerns with care, adhering to strict protocols and respecting the terms of service of the databases they use. Uncovering a perpetrator in one's family tree can be a shocking discovery, and the process raises questions similar to those faced when family history reveals a villainous ancestor through traditional research.

The Future of Cold Case Investigations

Since its first major public success, investigative genetic genealogy has been credited with providing leads in hundreds of cold cases, from violent crimes to the identification of previously unknown human remains. It has fundamentally changed the landscape of criminal justice, offering hope where none existed. As DNA databases continue to grow and the techniques become more refined, IGG is poised to become an even more essential part of modern law enforcement, turning every family historian into a potential, if unknowing, detective in the pursuit of justice. The National Archives recently launched a portal to digitize cold cases to assist in these ongoing efforts. Scientists continue to use these genetic tools, much like how an IU rare disease clinic helps families find answers to long-standing medical mysteries.