• Tierney Christmas 1959
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  • Irish-Ferry-Crossing
  • Coney Island Tierney Family 1920
  • Long Island National Cemetery
  • SS George Washington - Marie Simanek
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  • 23andme

  • Jan28

    No Comments

    How To Get Your Mother to Take a 23andme DNA Test

    Posted in: 23andme, DNA, Fun

    This method was successful. Your outcomes may vary.


    Dearest Mother

  • May10

    No Comments

    Ancestry Finder Data File Import

    Posted in: 23andme, DNA, Technology

    UPDATE (09 NOV 2015): 23andme is retiring Countries of Ancestry (the tool formerly known as Ancestry Finder) as of November 11, 2015. I’m leaving this blog post out here for posterity, mainly due to vanity and the amount of time I put into creating my Excel sheet. 😉

    Update: I have made some changes to the Import tool – you can download the latest version at the original link listed below. See more info at the bottom of the post.

    After creating and writing up my last post on the process to automate the download of 23andme Ancestry Finder data files for your matches, I could not resist working on a way to combine all of those data files into one.

    I figured Microsoft Excel was the best common denominator to use for this process – there are any number of tools I could use to combine the files and work with them at the command line, but that would limit the number of people who could use it.

    So, here’s the quick scoop: My Excel spreadsheet is designed for use with the .CSV data files you have already downloaded from 23andme’s Ancestry Finder. (Again, see my Ancestry Finder Download Tool post for more info on that process.)

    • It will import ALL .CSV data files in a selected folder
    • It will add a column with the name of the 23andme user the data file came from. (It uses the data file name for that, so don’t rename them after you download them!)

    Then it will make you a sandwich. A nice juicy data sandwich.

    Each data row will have the source person AND matching person’s name in it – otherwise you would have a list of a few hundred thousand matches without knowing whom they belonged to!

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  • May9

    22 Comments

    Ancestry Finder Download Tool

    Posted in: 23andme, DNA, Resources, Technology

    UPDATE (09 NOV 2015): 23andme is retiring Countries of Ancestry, (the tool formerly known as Ancestry Finder) as of November 11, 2015. I’m leaving this blog post out here for posterity, mainly due to vanity and the amount of time I put into creating my Excel sheet. 😉

    But, as mentioned in the previous update: you should be using the tools at DNAGedcom.com. Good luck to you!

    UPDATE (11 July 2013): It has been more than a year since I created this tool and process, and the 23andme site has gone through some extensive changes. I have not had time to test if the process in this post nor the spreadsheet is still working properly with any possible data format changes.

    Feel free to give it all a shot, but I recommend that you may first want to take a look at the DNAGedcom.com site, which has automated things in a much more user-friendly way!

    Ancestry Finder Drop DownIf you are a 23andme customer, you may have noticed that they updated their Ancestry Finder (AF) tool to make it possible to see the matches of the people with whom you share genomes. You can also download this data in comma-separated-variable (.csv) format.

    That. is. great. stuff.

    I’m sure that people will soon come up with interesting new ways to triangulate their genetic matches and learn more about their ancestry. But, there is one problem: If you are sharing your results with a few hundred people and want to get all of their AF data files, it takes a drop-down selection, wait a few seconds for AF to reload, then a button click and a Save File As click FOR EACH PERSON IN YOUR LIST.

    Holy carpal tunnel.

    I suppose 23andme might make it possible within their system to get them all at once which will make this all moot. But, I thought there must be a better way to get all of these data files and I found a slightly clunky, yet completely workable method.

    There may be more elegant ways to do this, but for now I created an Excel spreadsheet that will help you get you all the data with only a bit copying and pasting – along with some help from a Firefox add-on.

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  • Sep26

    2 Comments

    23andme Rage Research Snippet

    Posted in: 23andme, DNA, Fun

    23andme Research Snippet Capture

    Genetic testing company 23andme uses “Research Snippet” questions to compare people’s answers to their DNA results.

    Typically they are simple questions and often have obvious usefulness – such as “Have you ever undergone LASIK eye surgery?” I would think a comparison of certain locations of the response group individuals’ DNA could one day predict a the likelihood of a certain affliction.

    But, I am quite amused by the 2nd question in this research snippet screen capture:
    “Does the sound of other people chewing fill you with rage?”
    YES. YES IT DOES. (Actually, not really.)

    But I am left thinking about those who might answer “I’m not sure.”

    “Hmm, well, it is not RAGE exactly, but mandibular gyrations DO cause me to be overcome with a certain combination of ENNUI and MUDEROUS INTENTION.”

    For more information on 23andme’s research see their blog – this post in particular:
    23andMe Research Team Presents Findings at International Human Genetics Meeting

  • Mar25

    4 Comments

    Maternal Haplogroup Matches

    Posted in: 23andme, DNA

    Last year when 23andme had a $99 sale for DNA Day I jumped on the deal (a $400 savings!) and ordered a test kit. Since my results came in I’ve found that while they eventually may present some clear answers, for now the results have mainly provided a path to follow. And the path takes a LOT of reading.

    With the help of others in the 23andme community and some user-run projects I’ve learned quite a bit, but I’ve only scratched the surface when it comes to understanding all of the science and history.

    As of now I’ve got about 350 genetic matches on their Relative Finder, (mostly 5th cousins and higher) and am sharing genomes with several dozen. But it is not always obvious which side of my tree those cousins are from – I’m half Czech and half Irish and I have matches in quite a few countries, with some small clusters toward Germany, Ukraine, Russia and Scandinavia.

    I’m guessing these matches are from further back in the tree my Czech side, but that’s all they are for now – guesses. (It is possible the Scandinavian goes back through my Irish side with all of the Vikings that came down for a visit.)

    So, as any good techno-geek would do, I’ve tried to put crunch the data in various ways to look for patterns that might offer further clues. My first run at this was a simple chart of the Haplogroups of my matches in 23andme’s Relative Finder. My own maternal haplogroup is U5b1 and my paternal haplogroup is R1b1b2a1a2f.

    Interestingly, in my maternal haplogroup matches I do not have any matches in my own U5b1 haplogroup and only 3 out of 195 in nearby U subclades.

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